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 | Matt Fitton being formulaic |
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| What: | Out of Time (Out of Time audio dramas) |
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| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
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| Rating: |   5 |
This is a Matt Fitton script playing into his strengths as a writer: just making something functional.
Matt Fitton isn't a writer I get too fussed about. He can make an hour-long story of whatever you ask him to, but he doesn't do much outside the box. He's mostly used to balance out the continually experimental John Dorney in the 8th Doctor box sets. With that in mind, this script definitely needed a different writer. It’s not bad per-say, I quite liked the idea of the setting, and involving Dalek supreme was also a great idea.
Although, you can't absorb yourself into the setting of this one all that well. Sure it's a complicated place to begin with, but the Doctors kept bombarding us with technical jargon to explain the cathedral. The first ten minutes practically was just either one of them telling us the cathedral is multi-dimensional. They repeated the same stuff over and over, just with different wording. Not only that, but the Dalek invasion didn't allow for much exploration to be done at all with this cool environment. The entire story takes place in four rooms.
The banter between Baker and Tennent was cool when it got going, though it certainly took its time to do so. Tennent masquerading as a lost tourist was funny in the beginning, but when the action started, he was still deceiving his younger self for no reason. At one point Tennent even says that Baker has figured him out, but then continues to try and deceive him for another 10 minutes before finally revealing who he is. It was also weird how Tennent practically played the companion role and seemed like he didn't know the Doctor at all. Tennent asks the Doctor more questions than the actual companion of the episode. That aspect made it feel like both Doctors were not equals.
There was still some great stuff though. The actual plot was tight and well-crafted, and the nods to both Nu and Classic Who were great. Particularly, the reference to "The End of the World" (one of my favorite eps from Eccleston's season). That bit was my favorite. The climax and resolution were both fantastic, practically faultless in my books.
All in all, this isn't a bad episode by any stretch of the imagination, but I wished for something a bit less formulaic from an episode with both an astounding setting and the most iconic Doctor Who team-up. I'm looking forward to the other "Out of Time" releases!
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| A very poor representation of 10 & Donna |
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| What: | Death and the Queen (Tenth Doctor Adventures audios) |
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| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
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| Rating: | 4 |
First off, the plot and the overall story are extremely admirable, and I was in love with the character of Death. Yet, Matt Smith was really annoying in this one. Oops, sorry, I mean David Tennant. The writers really screwed up David and made him sound like Matt Smith at his most annoying. David was forced to overact practically every line and was constantly doing things that were stupid (such as walking out and losing a wrestling match with a skeleton and pretty much everything he did/said in the flashback to meeting the prince). He was also completely oblivious to Donna when she was expressly telling him she wasn't happy. That entire scene was honestly aggravating and not like the tenth doctor at all. Poor characterization everywhere with these two. Donna herself seemed to be poorly done too, but not to the extreme David was at. She felt more like the Donna from Runaway Bride, and not Donna from series 4 (which is who we had during the previous two stories).
The actual plot again is one I will praise, and the resolution was clever in a good way. I loved the poetic ending this one had and it really was something special. If only the poor characterizations didn't overshadow it. Some people reading this may think I'm exaggerating, but if you listen to it you will understand what I mean.
So to sum up, death was the best character in this masterful story, but David Tennant was the weakest ever. This could have been a masterpiece if the writers could have written for him better. It's not something that will dissuade me from ever listening to it again, but it's also one I'm not wanting to experience anytime soon.
I totally recommend "Time Reaver" and "Technophobia" though, they are the much better releases of this box set. They don't have any of the poor character writing I mentioned in this one.
| What: | Time Reaver (Tenth Doctor Adventures audios) |
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| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
This was a fantastic example of Big Finish's take on the 10th Doctor and Donna. The characterizations are a bit exaggerated during some moments, but in this story, it doesn't happen all that often. The story and setting are both classic Big Finish, but with David Tennant and Catherine Tate playing Doctor and Companion.
I will say, however, the last 10-15 minutes is a bit of a mess, but the rest of the audio flows really well from one idea to the next. Easily the best of the box set.
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| It's basic & familiar, but also funny |
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| What: | Torchwood: Sync (Torchwood audio dramas) |
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| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
Suzie Costello’s second Torchwood story is a shallow retread of the familiar plot of “Boom Town.” But, it is still somehow pretty fun!
Suzie and Margaret are bound by an extraterrestrial device. Which, is exactly what you think it is. Alien bracelets attach themselves to Suzie and Margaret. “If the bracelets move too far apart from each other... ZAP!”
The exploration of Suzie’s character was intriguing. At least, when Margaret wasn’t there to practically shout to the viewer “Hey! This is how you should feel about Suzie! I’ll speak aloud her character traits for you!” Meanwhile, Margaret herself was a mixed bag. Again, she was mostly there to shout Suzie’s character traits, but the abstract exploration of her character was very well done. Lines like “I love Solitaire. A game where you have all the cards, I could play that for hours!” really does a great job at showing who Margaret is, instead of telling the viewer. However, she’s also fickle. She keeps saying that she doesn’t want to kill Suzie because Suzie is necessary and Margaret doesn’t want to drag her dead body everywhere, but then she tries to kill Suzie anyways! Multiple times. Whether it be by a car crash or physically hunting Suzie.
Although, most of the poor characterization issues aren’t as in-your-face as other stories like “Death and the Queen.” This story keeps a fun tone with some neat dark humor moments. It’s unique to see a Torchwood episode that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Making funny episodes in this range could bring something really unique to Big Finish. The banter in this episode is certainly not your typical Doctor Who jokes! Plus, the ending was quite clever. I didn’t expect it to be honest!
All in all, this is nothing stand-out, but it’s fun. The characters are the main focal point, but the writing is hit-or-miss with them.
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| Andy Davidson at his best! |
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| What: | Torchwood: Fallout (Torchwood audiobooks) |
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| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
What a great example as to why Andy Davidson is a phenomenal character!
This is a very strong story featuring my favorite and mostly-underrated character from the spin-off, "Torchwood." We get a great insight into what Andy's everyday life is like as a cop while also seeing that routine get interrupted by a menacing alien. I won't spoil anything about the story, but it is one great ride. We see a lot of development in the character and this story showcases his willingness to help people, despite wanting absolutely nothing to do with Torchwood. It is important to mention that this story takes place after "Miracle Day." You don't need to watch Miracle Day to understand the story (because I haven't seen it and I could still understand everything perfectly), but just know that the Torchwood team is broken up at this point.
Everything from Tom Price's narration, the music that plays, the sound design, and the actual words on the page are extremely solid. It's nothing that will completely blow you away, but man is this just a strong piece of science fiction. Nothing gets overdone and the characters are extremely likable!
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| False start, but really compelling after |
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| What: | Torchwood: Made You Look (Torchwood audio dramas) |
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| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
“Made You Look” is a fine enough episode that, had it not messed up in the beginning, would've been a perfect 10
Hearing the idea of a being that actively messes with both the main character and the audio format itself is amazing. It's lovely to hear when an audio can pull something like that off. However, it takes a while for this idea to work. Going into this audio, one would expect a slowly building narrative that works to isolate the main character and play on paranoia. Unfortunately, the first 10-15 minutes are rushed. We get the basic rundown of how the villain works right out of the gate in a way that feels clunky and not well thought out. These ideas should have built up naturally over the narrative, but instead, we start off with a clunky example of the villain's powers.
After this, the episode then decides it wants to slow down into the snail's pace, atmospheric plot it wanted to be from the beginning. This transition is jarring and takes a little bit to get used to. However, when both you and the story settle into a groove, it is an amazing experience. The atmosphere is tense, not being able to see anything yourself plays to the story's advantage, and the villain makes you, the listener, feel like you're losing your mind too.
I cannot praise this story enough after the first 10 minutes, however, I also can't forgive the first ten minutes.
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| Disturbing just for the sake of it... |
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| What: | Torchwood: Corpse Day (Torchwood audio dramas) |
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| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
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| Rating: | 2 |
This early release in the Torchwood range starts off as a fun police adventure featuring two of my favorite characters, Owen Harper and Andy Davison, but then it turns into a messy, grotesque, and disturbing story that feels like wading through vomit.
The beginning was a bit rushed as both the characters whiz through different locations and rarely ever explain what they are doing, but the acting talent and the fun dialogue made me not mind and I fell in love with these two characters all over again. However, after that first 15 minutes or so, the plot becomes unfocused, confusing, and just plain disgusting. The themes the episode tackles is so in your face and unrestrained that it comes near the point of being unbearable. I expected this episode to take a darker turn, but this is something else entirely. This is screwed up and unrelentingly morbid.
The villain of the story is basic and plays into many different tropes (brainwashing, psycho father, unrealistic religious nut, etc). Except, these characteristics are randomly introduced throughout the story for no artistic reason. It’s almost like James Goss just randomly jotted these ideas down while he was writing the final draft. They don’t mean anything or add anything, they are just there to be there. I will give credit to Nigel Betts as his vocal performance did give the character some menace, but the character itself felt so random.
After listening to this, I’m confused as to why this was made. Aside from the opening, this wasn’t fun, or entertaining, or enjoyable. This is just pain and misery displayed over 60 minutes. This audio is a disgusting far cry from what the Torchwood range would become. There was no tonal balance or artistry here.
Just disturbing for the sake of being disturbing.
| What: | Myth Makers: Mary Tamm (Myth Makers VHS & DVD interviews) |
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| By: | Daniel Shillito, Haywards Heath, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Tuesday 26 October 2021 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
The Myth Makers documentaries have been put on Britbox so I'm cherry picking the ones that truly interest me, and who better to start with than the absolutely lovely Mary Tamm recounting her life, career and her Doctor Who character, Romanadvoratrelundar aka Fred aka Romana I.
Half documentary and half tongue n cheek parody of Alice in Wonderland. It recounts Tamm's accounts of her early life and why she decided to leave the show. She comments on her fantastic working relationship with Tom and how upset he was at her leaving due to how much they worked well together easily being able to bounce ideas off each other and even alter the scripted lines to better suit their characters.
Something I really didn't know was that Louise Jameson and Mary Tamm were good friends at drama school and Louise put in a good word for Mary when they needed to cast the next companion. That's bloody adorable. Something Mary ended up repeating herself when she nominated Lalla to succeed her.
Nicholas Briggs very cheekily drops hints about a possible return to the series... something Mary is clearly very sceptical about here but would later come around to finally accepting with her appearances in Big Finish before her untimely death in 2012.
Thank you Ms Tamm. You were truly the noblest Romana. We miss you dearly.
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| Myth Runner > Blade Runner |
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| What: | Myth Runner (Miscellaneous video interviews / documentaries) |
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| By: | Daniel Shillito, Haywards Heath, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Tuesday 26 October 2021 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
It's official, The Myth Runner >>> Blade Runner 2049 >>> Blade Runner.
Half loveable spoof of Blade Runner, other half outtakes from the Myth Makers series of interviews from actors and behind the scenes people from the history of Doctor Who. It's very much a passion project to behold with Nicholas Briggs and Mark Ayres fully committing to the absurd little parody with both going all out in order to successfully parody Blade Runner in every sense and manner with the utmost respect.
Despite only being 65 minutes long and incredibly amateurish in its production, microphone booms clearly in shot, a cameraman falling over a park bench, no attempt at grading the raw footage and fixing technical flaws in the recording, The Doctors: 30 Years of Time Travel and Beyond is an incredibly enlightening documentary and some very frank opinions from many of the cast and crew about their time on the show. Peter Davison and Mark Strickson are especially fascinating to listen to given how honest they are about everything, with Peter coming across as really upset for most of it due to his rather negative time in the role but still giving it his all. Sylvester ends the documentary on a rather light-hearted note with his incredible banter with Sophie Aldred.
Despite becoming increasingly irrelevant with every passing DVD release, be it Lost in Time or BBVs recent Uncut range, The Doctors: 30 Years of Time Travel and Beyond serves as a great set of highlights with some fantastic insights.
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| Another Emotion Eating Monster |
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| What: | Phobos (Eighth Doctor Adventures audios) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Monday 18 October 2021 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
"Phobos" takes place on a kind of thrill resort on the Martian moon Phobos semi-run by ex-hippies. Of course, something is wrong here as one of the ex-hippies tells tales of monsters and the tourists start dying. It all has to do with "fear," which is what "Phobos" means. The resolution involves an ancient evil thingy that feeds on fear. This is old hat for Big Finish and they should make a contractual obligation with the writers never to use this contrivance again.
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| Probably Better If Longer |
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| What: | No More Lies (Eighth Doctor Adventures audios) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Monday 18 October 2021 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
"No More Lies" has an interesting premise or two. We get a messing around with time story linked to the question of whether a bad guy can redeem himself. The story starts with Doctor 8 and Lucie about 3/4 through an adventure trying to stop the nefarious Dr. Zimmerman. This is to establish the "bad guy." We are not given any more information about this adventure than this. Zimmerman escapes and the Doctor and Lucie track him down to Earth about 30 years later in Zimmerman's timeline. Things have radically changed for Zimmerman. However, on his tail are some ravenous time-eating, deep-voiced beasties who believe he has stolen something of theirs and want it back. I think the listener could get more invested in this if there were more to know about Zimmerman. That is why I think it would have better if it were longer. On a side note, this particular season of audio Doctor Who seems to have a running theme of love stories. I am not sure whether that was accidental or intended, but there it is.
| What: | The Prisoner of Peladon (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Monday 18 October 2021 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
"The Prisoner of Peladon" falls in line with the normal form of Companion Chronicles, being mainly a character from Doctor Who telling a story to someone. This one involves King Peladon relating an adventure with Doctor 3 after "Curse of Peladon" but before "Monster of Peladon." The story itself falls in line with pattern of Peladon, a planet of medieval society and technology with a sincere leader trying to keep the society both traditional, but worthy of entry into the Galactic Federation. Old friend Alpha Centauri is here, as are the Ice Warriors. There is much political intrigue and a mystery to solve. David Troughton is an excellent storyteller. He brings the characters to life and uses just the right amount of emotional emphasis in just the right places.
| What: | The Second Doctor: Volume One (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Tuesday 5 October 2021 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
This box set in the Companion Chronicles series continues the trend of playing with the format and moving it closer to full drama. There are four stories covering the Troughton period. The first is The Mouthless Dead, from year 1 of Troughton, with Polly, Ben, and Jamie, narrated by Frazier Hines and Anneke Wills. To give a full complement of TARDIS crew, Elliot Chapman was brought in to play Ben. I must say, Chapman is fantastic as Ben, not only sounding a bit like Michael Craze in timbre, but imitating his vocal mannerisms with remarkable accuracy. The story itself is a mixture of Dickens' "The Signalman" and Sapphire and Steel. Dead soldiers haunt a lonely signal station when the train carrying The Unknown Warrior is passing through on its way to Westminster. Next is "The Story of Extinction" with Jamie and Victoria. This one is farthest from the Doctor 2 era on TV, and would have been impossible to create on TV. It mixes computer/internet technology as if viewed or imagined from a 1967 perspective. Frazier Hines and Deborah Watling trade narration duties here and this feels like it is mostly a Victoria story. It involves a special kind of paper that anticipates what one wants to read. The third story, "The Integral," is the weakest in my view. This one involves Jamie and Zoe. The TARDIS crew end up in a kind of mental facility for victims of a violent computer game that makes players become raging monsters, the computer "virus" becoming a kind of human "virus." Wendy Padbury gets to stretch her acting talents on this, voicing multiple parts and making each a distinct character. This story has a stock bad guy and rather predictable pattern, but picks up on a central theme of the whole set that becomes fully apparent at this point - the education of Jamie. That theme reaches its climax in "The Edge," which gives us another stock baddie, but focuses almost exclusively on Jamie. Frazier Hines has sole narration duty on this one. The final story is the one that really feels that it could have been done on TV in the late 60s. All told, this set is one of the better entries in the Companion Chronicles and definitely worth checking out.
| What: | Immortal Beloved (Eighth Doctor Adventures audios) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Tuesday 5 October 2021 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
Doctor 8 and Lucie arrive on a planet just in time to prevent a pair of lovers from jumping off a cliff. Thus begins Immortal Beloved, in which the remnants of an Earth colony have devolved into a quasi- ancient Greek culture sustained by endless cloning of the elite, who fashion themselves as the gods of old. It is an intriguing enough premise and perhaps may have been better given the 90-minute treatment to explore the consequences of the ideas. As it is, at 60 minutes Immortal Beloved feels a bit rushed.
| What: | The Mahogany Murderers (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Tuesday 5 October 2021 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
As Big Finish have gone along with the Companion Chronicles, they have gotten more experimental with the format. In this case, we get two characters telling each other fundamentally the same story, as their exploits converge about halfway through. Henry Gordon Jago and George Litefoot have teamed up again to solve the peculiar case of the resurrected criminals made from wood. Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter fall right back into their roles from thirty years before. They work extraordinarily well together. The story itself suits the Victorian setting. It's a fun ride.
| What: | Independence Day (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Sunday 3 October 2021 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
Peter Darvill-Evans' "Independence Day" is a bit of a mishmash of multiple elements that do not quite come together. The plot is basically rescue the princess from the tower, done twice. The setting is the twin planet system of Mendeb Two and Mendeb Three. The novel has a little vignette opening with Doctor Two and Jamie in which Jamie takes a communicator component from a ruin as a kind of souvenir, and The Doctor does not really recognize its significance. When the main plot starts, it is now The Doctor several regenerations later with Ace, who discovers the old communication device and sets it up as a kind of objet d'art in her room. The Doctor recognizes the object, this time realizes its significance, and heads off to Mendeb Two to return said object. However, this becomes the excuse for yet another blame The Doctor. The situation is not quite what The Doctor has expected. The two planets, both with Earth colonists from centuries before, have devolved into lower level societies. On Mendeb Two, you get fisher folk and farmers at a medieval level who have no clue that there is another civilized planet nearby. On Mendeb Three, you get a mixed up society of medieval political structures, 18th-century military styles, and 20th to 21st century technology being reintroduced. This is all thanks to two aristocrat scientists, the impossibly perfect in every way pair of Kedin Asher and Tevana Roslod. These two have sold their technological rediscoveries of the former Earth colonists to a local warlord, Vethran, who uses it to make himself king of the planet. To ensure Kedin's cooperation, and because he has the hots for her, he takes Tevana captive. Using the new technology, he has his armies invade Mendeb Two to steal the population, give them a drug to make them docile, and then turn them into slaves. Along come Ace and The Doctor. Ace apparently cannot control her sex drive and falls instantly for Kedin, who apparently looks quite a bit like Richard E. Grant. Kedin extracts information from her, uses a modified form of the slavery drug on her, and sells her into slavery. But that's ok. He's good looking and impossibly perfect in every way, and so late in the novel when she comes to her senses she forgives him and wants to become his new consort. Go figure. Kedin has been secretly plotting to overthrow the evil Vethran, not so much because Vethran is evil, but because he wants to get back Tevana. But they are both impossibly perfect in every way, and so that is ok. The plot splits The Doctor and Ace for almost the whole book. So, while Ace is enslaved to advance Kedin's plans of rescuing his princess, The Doctor unwittingly becomes a kind of Spartacus to the enslaved people of Mendeb Two so that he can rescue Ace, his princess so to speak. The novel has quite a bit of political scheming, and seems to be a means of getting medieval politics joined with high technology. It reads more like a historical than a science fiction story on alien worlds. Darvill-Evans keeps the plot going apace. There is plenty of action and subterfuge. It's entertaining enough, even if the various different kinds of story do not fully gel.
| What: | Horror of Glam Rock (Eighth Doctor Adventures audios) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Monday 20 September 2021 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Here is another example of Paul Magrs love of kitsch, and his usual method of getting in as many cultural references as he can despite their making any sense in terms of plot. Doctor 8 and Lucie arrive in England, north of London, in 1974, the closest The Doctor can get to getting her home. They step into a diner under siege because one the performers in a glam rock band is in contact with aliens through his stylophone. Plus, Lucie meets her Aunt Pat before Lucie is even born and spills the beans about time travel and all that. If kitsch and nostalgia are what one wants in Doctor Who, then this is the story.
| What: | Prime Time (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 15 September 2021 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
BBC effects designer, Doctor Who fan, and frequent co-author with Robert Perry of Doctor 7 fiction Mike Tucker goes solo this time. He lets his inner fan run rampant in "Prime Time," a novel that seems mainly to be a vehicle for him to let out his anger at the BBC for cancelling Doctor Who. Doctor 7 pursues a mysterious "signal" to planet Blinni-Gaar, a once agrarian society now completely enthralled to the massive television corporation Channel 400, run by the slick, merciless, tasteless, and generally odious Vogol Lukos (sounds just a bit too much like a James Bond villain name?). Lukos has one interest only, to capture the attention of the entire galaxy through his programming, and so programs only the lowest grade forms of "entertainment," which have already mesmerized the entire population of Blinni-Gaar into bland capitulation to endless TV wherever they go. Now, Lukos has made some kind of arrangement to fulfill his dreams by using The Doctor as his newest star attraction, without The Doctor even knowing it. The novel is another entry in the wink and nod to as many Doctor Who references as you possibly can kind of story. Everyone in the universe, apparently, knows who The Doctor is, the Time Lords, the TARDIS, and the whole of all of Doctor Who. This sort of thing changes The Doctor from "just a traveler," which is what he should be, to "world-famous crime fighter" of the kind in 1930s movies and comics made for boys. The resolution of the plot rests on magic again. Can one really create a fully functioning clone copy down the clothes in just a couple of hours? The novel is not irredeemable. Tucker paces the story well, with plenty of exciting and desperate actions to keep it going. He ties up the story well, so that there are no obvious loose ends. Still, it is just too much in the Pip and Jane Baker variety of Doctor Who for me find it enjoyable.
| What: | Doom Coalition 2 (Doom Coalition audios) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Tuesday 7 September 2021 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
The second Doom Coalition collection is not exactly a full follow-up to Doom Coalition 1. It feels more like an independent adventure. These box sets are necessarily set up so that there is a central plot, but each story is a self-contained incident. Thus, they end up following the quest formula, thus limiting the narrative potential. This time, we get introduced to a new Time Lord villain, eventually to become The Sonomancer. We also get an injection of River Song, who, of course, cannot actually meet the Doctor because it is too soon. This is always problematic to me because River Song inevitably gets overly written as so competent and so smart that necessarily The Doctor looks like an idiot. Also, The Eleven is back for the final episode, but is totally wasted here. All he gets to do is bully Liv a bit. The stories have some genuine interest and pace, and would probably be better if each were wholly independent.
