A nice change of pace - Rated 
I have quite a few of these audio adventures and I really enjoyed this one. Circular time is a great change of pace compared to the other Doctor adventures as it has four episodes but each episode is a complete story connected to a season. All the stories feature Peter Davidson's doctor and his companion Nyssa, who is fast turning into my favourite audio companion. The first story is spring and is about a Timelord other than the Doctor meddiling in another planets affairs. The second is summer and features Issac Newton and is simply a great story and it is a shame there isn't a full story with him in it. The third is Autumn and is a sadate story set in England with the doctor playing for a local cricket team and Nyssa falling in love but suprisingly it is quite gripping and enjoyable. The fourth and last story is winter and is a story which starts off quite wierd with the doctor being married but it ends very well. All in all the story runs for over a 100 minutes and you should definatley have it in your collection. Bravo to Big Finish for having the confidence to produce this CD.
Something for everyone? - Rated 
As has already been noted, Circular Time is not a single four-part story, but four half-hour plays, featuring the 5th Doctor and Nyssa, loosely linked by a common theme.
The common theme is that there is a kind of time that is circular, that things do not necessarily move lineally from birth to death, but that events can be cyclical, returning to the beginning and repeating themselves rather like the seasons. This is not entirely clear in the first two stories, but is more explicit in the final two.
The writers have tried to give us 4 different types of Doctor Who story: 'alien planet, pure historical, social realism and shameless fan service'.
"Spring" features a renegade Time Lord trying to create an avian empire. It has a clever plot, but doesn't really resolve anything by the end.
"Summer" is a pure historical, set in the 17th century, in which Isaac Newton extrapolates the future history of the Earth from a handful of coins that Nyssa has handed over. A new spin on an historical character that we thought we knew.
"Autumn" returns us to Stockbridge, where the fifth Doctor's comic strip adventures were set (as featured in "Doctor Who Monthly" and now collected as "Doctor Who Graphic Novel #3 - The Tides of Time"). The Doctor's fifth incarnation returns here every few years, just to play cricket with the village team. A charming tale with no monsters and no sci-fi elements at all, but a romantic encounter for Nyssa.
By contrast "Winter" is for the nerds amongst us. Where the earlier stories featured Nyssa and the Doctor whilst they were travelling together somewhere between series 19 & 20 ("Time Flight" and "Arc Of Infinity") this one features an older Nyssa whose dreams are being invaded by the Doctor as he subconsciously seeks the support of his former companions before regenerating. Full of zero rooms, technobabble and symbolism. Definitely one for the fans.
An eclectic mix, stylishly presented and entertaining.
A brilliant four story collection!!!! - Rated
Doctor Who happens to be my favourite thing on TV at the moment, and I love the orignal series too. But I must say that in my opinion, the Big Finish range of audio stories are some of the best stories ever. And if i were to choose a story to show how brilliant and diverse the range is, then !Circular Time" would have to be it.
This disc of four one episode stories is brilliantly written. And each episode is distinctly different.
"SDpring" is a good start to the disc, with a good take on the actions of a rogue time lord called Zero. Quite a few other "other" time lord influenced stories are rather starined, but this is not one of them.
"Summer" is really good. I think David Warner makes this episode with his brilliant performance. The whole story being really based on a two pound coin is brilliant, and not at all stupid. I first expected this episode to be silly when i read the synopsis, but it isnt in the slightest.
"Autumn" is my very favourite part of this story. I think Sarah Sutton really shines in this episode. A wonderful romantic without being over the top sweet story. A rare treat.
"Winter" ends the stories with a believable plot by the Master to trap the doctor, but of course it doesnt succeed. The doctor being married even if its only a dream, is a neat twist too.
So overall, a thoruoghly enjoyable play that is worthy of listening to again and again. Masterful storytelling.
Bit of a mixed bag - Rated 
I've enjoyed almost all of the Doctor Who audio adventures from Big Finish but this one was disappointing. The four episodes included here aren't part of a single story but are in fact four completely separate stories:
- Story 1: an exciting and fast paced tale, set on another planet and involving bird people and a rogue Timelord, that left unanswered questions. It would have been better as a two-parter. I hope that one day it's revisited and concluded.
- Story 2: a thoroughly enjoyable romp, set on Earth and involving Isaac Newton. The best of the collection.
- Story 3: a dull tale, set on Earth and involving Nyssa writing a book to deal with her sense of loss over the destruction of Traken and the death of her father while the Doctor plays cricket. I kept waiting for something to happen but nothing did.
- Story 4: a confusing tale set in a dreamscape where the Doctor is married with kids and living on a farm. The mystery built up nicely it didn't quite work and the ending was a bit of a let down.
It's a shame that the experiment didn't work as story number 2 proved that single episode stories can work if they're fun, self contained, and in the spirit of Classic Who.
Four for the price of one... - Rated
Taking a novel approach this 5th Doctor and Nyssa release comprises four thematically linked but ultimately stand-alone short stories. Admiteddly not all of them are entirely sucessful, but unlike the more bloated Big Finish production's they never outstary their welcome.
'Spring' features the 5th Doctor and Nyssa going up against another renegade Time Lord who has set himself up as king of a race of avian aliens - probably the weakest story of the set this is rather too light and fluffy, and lacking in any rewarding payoff or motivation for the enemy of the piece.
'Summer' is an improvement, being a slight but fascinating encounter between the Doctor and Isaac Newton, though the supporting characters play with such ripe over the top comedy turns they threaten to derail the whole thing.
'Autumn' is another slight but poignant character piece as Nyssa has her first romantic encounter.
The real highlight of the set however is the stunning 'Winter', an unashedly huge dollop of fanwank that actually manages to add to the already brilliant television regeneration of the 5th Doctor by casting a new light on events, with Nyssa on hand to see the 5th Doctor through his own death just as she was there to see him emerge from the death of the 4th in 'Logopolis'. Possibly this will be too confusing for those not up on their th Doctor history, but for the fans this story alone is well worth the price of the set.
A variable, but mostly excellent set.
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