There are 4,107 reviews so far. To add a review of your own, click on the item in question, then click the Vote link.
Simon is a fantastic, steady writer with no bad story to his credit yet, and with the second outing in the Destiny set, he delivers a great story once more. Frazer Hines as always brings the whole crew of "his" TARDIS crew to vivid and awesome life, especially with his uncanny and brilliant Pat Troughton. And here his impressions are about the best ever. Evie Dawnay is also great in her role in a story that is fast paced and yet boasts a few pepperings of horror and comedy, and just sums up all that was so brilliant about the Second Doctor's tenure on the screen all those years ago in the late sixties. Pat has always been my favourite Doctor and its still so sad to know that he's been long gone, but Frazer is so ruddy excellent in his portrayal of him that in some places youd swear Pat was in the recording studio with the other two actors, he's that efficient. Every character of the TARDIS crew is spot on too, with Jamie being the dependable scot, and Zoe being the somewhat aloof but easily rattled Zoe, and the second Doctor appearing to be comedic and dilly dandy but really is very very clever and misleading. And the cameo from the eleventh Doctor is good and interesting too. The shadow itself is also well realised, and the reasons for their behaviour novel and yet very believable. This should have been done all those years ago on screen. For this script flawlessly evokes such memories of those classic black and white days. Well done Simon, and well done Frazer and Evie.
| What: | War Against the Laan (Fourth Doctor Adventures audios) |
|
| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Thursday 9 May 2013 |
|
| Rating: |  10 |
War Against the Laan maintains, if not exceeds, the brilliance of the Sands of Life to deliver one of the finest endings to a Doctor Who story in the whole history of the show, at least in my opinion. The grit and tension mounts up splendidly well, and never once is the whole story stilted or laboured. And also we get one of Tom Baker's extremely riveting and diverting stabs at absolute fury, one of my all time favourite scenes of his Doctor in the classic series was his irate anger at the murderous antics of the Captain in the Pirate Planet, and here we get another of those rare moments where Tom displays the reason why he's such a brilliant actor. And as once more he's aided so very amply by the brilliant late, great Mary Tamm then one can not fault this story in anyway whatsoever.
Even David Warner's Cuthbert seems to up his psychotic attitudes, and becomes one of those excellent Who baddies who has no shred of goodness in his bones at all, but is supremely bad and deviant, and makes the story so much more spicy because of it. And now for the last two episodes we have yet another absolutely brilliant actor, in the form of Hugh Fraser, on board as the weak willed Professor Tallister. The guy gives just his usual vivid performance and is a total contrast to Cuthbert.
And here in these last two episodes I love the rising gumption that Sheridan Moorkurk gets at last to stand up to the Conglomerate and also make peace with the Laan. And Jane Slavin's Laan again are brilliantly realised and make for a very well explored alien character. The Auntie Matter was a whimsical brilliant starter for this season, but this five part story is one of those epics that still are so exciting that it doesn't seem like over 2 hours at all. War Against the Laan is absolutely brilliant writing. One expects no less from the great Nicholas Briggs though....
 |  |  |
 | Absolutely Brilliant 1978 |
|
| | |
| What: | The Sands of Life (Fourth Doctor Adventures audios) |
|
| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Thursday 9 May 2013 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
Though it is still with a tinge of sadness that I listen to the brilliance of Mary Tamm in this second series of Big Finish audio stories for the Fourth Doctor, one cant not admit that this three episode start to what is basically a five part story is one of the very best stories I've heard with Tom so far since he's returned to the role of the Doctor so triumphantly.
The Sands of Life features an excellent cast for a start, David Warner, that brilliant stalwart actor who never fails to deliver a knockout performance, here gives one of his best performances as the decidedly moronic and genocidal villain Cuthbert, and the scenes he has with Tom Baker are really like the clash of the titans, and these scenes are gritty and tense and sparkling with absolutely corkingly good dialogue.
The Laan also are a really interesting race, and its good having a species once more that really, to begin with, doesn't have any hostile intent for the human race, and as per usual, its the psychopathic human race that have all the violent tendencies. The sound design in this tale is particularly excellent, and thee wail of the Laan in pain is particularly gut wrenching and very effective.
I love Hayley Atwell, who just captures the right amount of naivete in the role of the earth President, and is a really likeable character. And yes, its always great to hear the great John Leeson in the role of K9, culminating in the return of one of the very best Doctor and companions pairings in the whole history of the show. And its particularly brilliant to hear in a story as good as the Sands of Life.
Tom Baker of course needs no mention at all, giving his great sterling performance as the time lord once more, and there's some of the usual great acid tongue moments with the villains of the piece. It all serves to remind me just how great this chap is still to this day as the Doctor.
But most of all I love Mary Tamm. Here in this story perhaps at last given something more to do than she ever had given to her in the classic series, and her connection to the breeding Laan is very convincingly done. Mary was such a fine actress, and its great hearing her last acting in top in this series of audio tales. Its a great loss to the acting world. RIP Mary...
| What: | The Seeds of War (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
|
| By: | Clive T Wright, St Lawrence, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 8 May 2013 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
Seeds of war starts in traditional style, arriving at the wrong time and quickly gives the Doctor and Mel a mystery. However this twists into a far bigger and refreshingly original plot in which the Doctor himself is a pawn.
Seeds of war builds a strong vision of a galaxy on the edge of starvation and a hidden evil working in the shadows.
Great story.
| What: | The Androids of Tara (Target novelisation readings) |
|
| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Tuesday 7 May 2013 |
|
| Rating: |  4 |
.....what was wrong with Terrance Dicks version of this tale. David's writing is far better when in script form. His long descriptions just leave much dialogue from the original TV serial left out, and so this doesn't work with me at all Terrance was altogether far better at novel writing in my book at least. The only thing is that John Leeson is an excellent narrator. But even his voice cant save this for me. Nothing like the original and not as brilliant as Terrance's take on the tale which is far more faithful to the original tale....
IS THE BEST OF THE FOURTH DOCTOR AND MRS WIBBSEY SETS! ABSOLUTE CLASS IN EVERY RESPECT!
Tom Baker is extremely impressive.
| | |
| Bonnie seriously impresses |
|
| | |
| What: | Paradise Towers (Target novelisation readings) |
|
| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Tuesday 7 May 2013 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
Bonnie Langford seriously impresses with the plethora of voices she managed here with this audio reading. Makes this one of the very best and most memorable of the audio novel readings so far. Even her seventh Doctor isn't bad at all. And the story itself here is just as brilliant as the TV original, and Bonnie's chief caretaker is better and far more creepy than poor Richard Briers somewhat clichéd and not very original interpretation on the TV version, which was my only tiny niggle with this otherwise classy story. This story doesn't seem nearly 5 hours either. The sound effects are effective and chilling. But the best thing is Bonnie's talent as the reader.
| | |
| Ian Marter's weakest story novelisation |
|
| | |
| What: | Earthshock (Target novelisation readings) |
|
| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Tuesday 7 May 2013 |
|
| Rating: | 6 |
Ian was a great novel writer back in the day when the Target novelizations were coming out thick and fast. He had a way of fleshing out the action and giving the characters such a broader back story, and frequently making the baddies even nastier, or the horror more vivid. His particular heights in this regard were his brilliant The Sontaran Experiment, and The Ark In Space, and The Invasion. He brilliantly brought to life these stories with so much more darkness and nastiness than the screen originals.
But the thing wrong with Earthshock, or at least this audio version, I can sum up I two main points: 1: Firstly the Cybermen are described within this novel as being even more emotive and provoked than the TV serial, and yet later in the novel Ian still writes the ine the Doctor says with "Emotionless brains", and so the earlier emotive descriptions given to the cybermen jar even more here. 2: The cybermeen voices here are totally wrong. The prose writes, even if not very cyberman like, that the voices are heavy with anger and stuff, yet Nick's cyber voices are flat and so makes the novelisation's presentation of the Cybermen totally stupid.
But its not all bad, it has to be said. Once more the nastiness in places makes the screen version pale into insignificance. And the description of the caves and the cybermen themselves are great. Also the ending is a little different from the TV version, but just as poignant and good. Its just the emotionally portrayed giants that let this novelisation down. And the flat present series cyber voices. Not the best audio reading at all.
| What: | The Twin Dilemma (Target novelisation readings) |
|
| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Tuesday 7 May 2013 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
Colin Baker is a great reader to listen to. Some times the people who've done these audio book readings have sounded profoundly bored or else otherwise have had the job of bringing a monster to life with their voice treated abysmally (Like poor late Liz Sladen in the Planet of the Spiders, with the childish spider voices that mars the whole reading, a little). But here Colin reads with sustained fervour and doesn't once sound bored in the slightest.
This book version by Eric Saward has to be applauded greatly. Though I don't see actually that much wrong with the TV version, the ending is greatly improved no end by Eric actually deaming to tell us what exactly it was that the Doctor throws at Mestor to finally end his life. And throughout the characters are all somewhat lavishly fleshed out, and very different in some cases to their screen originals.
One other impressive thing in the book version is that despite the Doctor's very rough regeneration, Eric involves the little scene where the Doc is thinking back to the guilt of past failings, recalling Adric as the foremost of his guilt. This shows us a Doctor that can actually still be greatly liked despite his bad crisis of renewal.
And the back story given to most of the other characters is also interesting and vividly differing from the TV version. All this though makes this a very very good novelisation, and ye, even I have to admit that this is better than the TV version.
But Colin makes it so with his easy to listen to narrating voice, and Mestor here is voiced somewhat more menacingly than on TV.
| What: | Rags (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
|
| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
|
| Date: | Saturday 4 May 2013 |
|
| Rating: | 6 |
"Rags" is something like "Doctor Who" had Clive Barker written it. The basic story is that an ancient evil thing that causes people to go on murder rampages for the heck of it has been reawakened because of a nearby car crash between a group of punk rockers and a group of upper-class twits. Feeling the negative vibe between the two classes it decides to torque up the hatred between the two groups with predictable bloody results. Delighted, it then decides to create an apocalyptic class war through a punk-rock hippie caravan in southwest England. The thing resurrects cadavers to use as puppets for its mesmeric tricks, but gets most of its success through exuding a psychic influence that stretches for miles.
Like Mick Lewis's other book I read, "Combat Rock," this novel is deeply unpleasant. Lewis as a writer seems to enjoy his own descriptions of murder just a bit too much for my taste. Lewis's 1978 England is land of nothing but hatred, disaffection, and bitterness. Almost all of his non-DW characters are overly fond of the word "shit." As with most horror novels, explanations of the horrible thing are thin and unconvincing. [Spoiler Alert]. The ending of the novel has the Doctor mostly lecturing the horrible thing just long enough to allow the person you most expect because he is the person you are supposed to expect least to effect a heroic self-sacrifice and re-entomb the horrible thing. [End Spoiler Alert. You may return to your regular activities]. Lewis's characters are mostly realistic in their particular distasteful ways, as is the dialogue. He writes a good sentence and describes action very well. I suppose one's satisfaction with this novel will rest on how much one likes gory horror stories. I do not like such stories in general, so could not work myself into liking this novel all that much.
| | |
| Wooster eat your heart out |
|
| | |
| What: | The Auntie Matter (Fourth Doctor Adventures audios) |
|
| By: | Clive T Wright, St Lawrence, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Friday 3 May 2013 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
So many ingredients, PG Woodhouse meets Doctor who, gives us a great tongue in check fun.
| What: | Spaceport Fear (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
|
| By: | Clive T Wright, St Lawrence, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Friday 3 May 2013 |
|
| Rating: | 8 |
Take a space port, roaming monster, failing power, devolved Society of passengers, throw in a little mystery and its the recipe for a great story.
| What: | The Wrong Doctors (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
|
| By: | Clive T Wright, St Lawrence, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Friday 3 May 2013 |
|
| Rating: | 9 |
A great concept with double the fun of Two Mels and Two Doctors and both at different stages of their lives. The plot and feel captures the 1980's to perfection, I can just imagine watching TV with them running around golf courses and a small village, low budget but fun.
| What: | 1001 Nights (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
|
| By: | Clive T Wright, St Lawrence, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Friday 3 May 2013 |
|
| Rating: | 8 |
10001 nights is a clever story, mingling classic Arabian stories with the Doctors own adventures. Good twists with a strong cast of characters with each tale carrying the bigger story forward.
| What: | The Wrong Doctors (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
|
| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 1 May 2013 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
Two Colins. Two Bonnies. Realising the potential of Mel as a character at last. Featuring her in a brilliant story that never pauses for breath. This story ticks all these boxes and I love it! Youll have to concentrate though, because this is a little bit twist and turny. But if you pay attention then youll find this is a classy Doctor Who story with the usual high standard of performances and sound design. And Mel doesnt scream either, which is another brilliant relief! She is a greatly underused and underrealised companion. And standing by the as always brilliant Colin Baker she gleams very well indeed. This is a great start to the 50th anniversary year for BFP!
| What: | Festival of Death (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
|
| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 1 May 2013 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
One doesnt often get to read a book that gets the balance of fitting in with the era of the show its placed in but also being something new and brilliant and engaging. But for goodness sake, Jonathan with his first Doctor Who story doesnt half impress.
There is the perfect amount of comedy and horror, with the suicidal computer ERIC being of particular regard, this computer would have slotted in like a piece of jigsaw into the 17th season that not many people seem to like very much aside from me.
What is also excellent is the pace, never once did I feel on the way through that this is getting boring and stilted, no, for the story just flowed onwards like some raging river. The dialogue is frequently extremely funny, but also tinged with plenty of yuck moments.
But I feel the best thing here is the absolutely spot on nailing of the characters of the Doctor and Romana 2, they are so very very in keeping with their screen personas, and this should have been done for the series. And if Big Finish ever decide to adapt more of the classic Who novels, then Id nominate this as a top contender to be realised on audio! This is Doctor Who at its best in book form. Faultless.
I have seldom laughed more at a Doctor Who story in book form. Jonny, good boy for such a terrific debut!
| | |
| Doctorin' the Tardis: A Reveiw |
|
| | |
| What: | Doctorin' The Tardis (Miscellaneous music & sound effects) |
|
| By: | James Davis II, Springfield, United States |
|
| Date: | Friday 26 April 2013 |
|
| Rating: | 7 |
This album is an awesome find! I was lucky enough to discover it at an outdoor flea-market, a local radio company had gone under and was selling promo records from their library. I had though it was a Blues Brothers album at first glance, then I saw "Timelords" and was like, "WHAAAA!?!?!".
The album is a perfect selection for background music for any Doctor themed party, or just to get pumped for watching new episodes.
| What: | The Sands of Time (Missing Adventures novels) |
|
| By: | Trevor Smith, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 17 April 2013 |
|
| Rating: | 8 |
Really enjoyed this book. A cracking story that paces itself really well & has an excellent twist at the end.
The writer cures the Doctor & Tegan really well, Nyssa is hardly in it.
There's lots of timey wimey stuff in it that expands & adds to the story.
Reccomended.
| What: | The Face of Evil (BBC classic series videos) |
|
| By: | kevin glover, Cornwall, Canada |
|
| Date: | Tuesday 16 April 2013 |
|
| Rating: | 8 |
Criminally underrated from the excellent season 14, this story is sadly placed between two juggernauts with slightly better productions although the story ideas in this are just as good if not greater then the other two famous stories.
The face of evil was Bouchars first script and the man hits the ground running with some wonderful science fiction ideas, added with sublte assaults on religion, that makes this agnostic blush with pleasure.
Usually the Doctor is forced into events by ever changing circumstances against his will but Here the story is the resault of his inept actions and he must set everything right not from a heroic duty but out of choices he made. Almost everything works Louise Jameson makes her Debut as Leela and she holds solid footing against the charismatic Baker showing herself to be one of the strongest actors to inhabit the role of a companion, and maintain a credibility as an alien jungle girl were lesser actors would have just sleeped walked. The jungle sets are impressive and though it does look like a studio with the choice of lighting you can suspend your disbelief and find yourself transported to another world.
What doesent work are the scenes on the space ship and the Tesh are a pathetic excusse of adversaries, But Tom Baker as Xoannon is trully one of the most terrifying sights to see especially that scream. All in all a wonderful story I can watch again and again
Rating - B+
| What: | The Mind of Evil (BBC classic series videos) |
|
| By: | kevin glover, Cornwall, Canada |
|
| Date: | Monday 15 April 2013 |
|
| Rating: | 8 |
This was my first Dr Video that I got on a winter day in 1999, I came home from a bad day at school and my mom had a friend over and so I went for a walk, it started to snow lightly and when I returned my mom's friend was gone and she had a radient smile and showed me what she discovered at the Video store. My Day was made.
For the story itself, The Mind of Evil feels like it belongs to the more dark and dirty era of season 7, the threat seems more valid, and there is a greater scope of dramatic tension that abandones the comic book style action that comes from the story before and after. Since this was my first with the Master and Delgado, Im just glad to say this is possibly his BEST outing in the role him, he's plotting machevelian and always one step ahead of the game, and you cannot have a finer Master moment when hes sitting in the back of a Limousine with a fat stogie. Simply fun
Sadly the story does suffer from the typicle Pertwee hinderance of being a runaround the Doctor and Jo spend way to much time being locked in prison cells that after awhile you just want to fast forward to the end. Also the idea of nothing happening to Jo while a bunch of vicious criminals are loose does streach the limits of credibility, I know this is a family show but their should have been Hints of certain harmful activities against her. Either way these criticisms aside this is a pretty good Pertwee story made atmospheric for being in B&W
RATING - B
