Home » Tales of a Timelord: Meaning of Magic

Tales of a Timelord: Meaning of Magic

Tales of a Timelord Cover Art

The eighth episode of the third season (sort of), “Tales of a Timelord” goes for a quaint, self-contained episode before its grand finale. While filler on the page, its execution is like a well-crafted bottle episode. Something that attracts those familiar and, perhaps, uninterested in the Doctor.

Secret History and Timelord Bottle Adventures

Researching how much the historical figure, Giordano Bruno actually thought the universe worked was a fun exercise. Comparing what would’ve been outlandish at the time, to today’s sci-fi/fantasy-inspired world comes off as almost surreal.

The initial meeting of the two time-displaced geniuses is like a one-act stage place. You can see the venue inside your mind; a simple set design with not a lot of moving parts. This wholesomeness between the Doctor and Giordano is what elevates the story to a higher playing field. Even a casual Doctor Who fan has the potential to become a bigger one with this episode. That’s not even including the prequel series or past seasons of the show.

A Twisty Plot and Time Travel Mechanics

Never a moment of boredom while listening, each subsequent meeting between Bruno and the famous timelord is like a master-apprentice plot that isn’t meant to last but is still beautiful nevertheless.

The twist into the second meeting is a bit confusing as you aren’t sure if the Doctor knows who Giordano is or not. The historical figure, not the man he met. The lack of focus on time travel tropes for the service of the story is like “Avengers Endgame” and its view of that particular sub-genre of science fiction. Still, it’s one of the few problems this story has and it never addresses it one way or the other. Whether previous episodes or seasons follow that same disregard for time travel tropes, doesn’t much matter for this episode.

If you’re wondering why there’s only a handful of episodes on the Tales of a Timelord podcast feed, the remainder of the episodes can be found on their Bandcamp store. Don’t worry they’re free to stream and download and include some bonus material. There’s a discrepancy with the seasons as the Bandcamp page has this episode as simply episode 8. Logistics aside, if you’re a fan of Doctor Who, you’ll definitely want to check this out.

9/10 Stars

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