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 | Not the worst, but very close |
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| What: | The Space Age (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Emma Bowman, Sydney, Australia |
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| Date: | Friday 16 November 2012 |
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| Rating: |   1 |
At times I despaired in reading this book - it frustrated and annoyed me to the point where I just wanted to walk away and leave it unfinished. But I struggled through to the end in the hopes that it would improve, and that the ragged threads of the tedious and uninspiring plot might be brought together in some satisfying resolutions. But it just didn't happen, and now this book is kept at the very back row of my bookcase out of sight, because I will never read it again, nor will I ever recommend it to anyone else. Very disappointing.
| What: | The Claws of Axos (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Trevor Smith, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 15 November 2012 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
Episodes 2 & 3 have been considerably improved by the RT team.
There is a good making of on the SE as well.
If you don't have a copy of this story, get the SE rather than the standard version.
| What: | The Ambassadors of Death (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Trevor Smith, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 15 November 2012 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
Season 7 is we're I came in & AOD is my favourite 3rd Doctor story so I was really looking forward to seeing this in full glorious colour.
Like Invasion of the Dinosaurs the work the RT has done on this story is staggering. If your familiar with the VHS release you'll know the problems they had to work with & they have worked miracles. Splendid chaps all of them.
The story is a tightly directed exciting story that feels very modern compared with the black & white era.
Pertwee is a very James Bond Doctor & UNIT bring a real sense of danger & excitement.
The extras on this DVD are a bit thin apart from a good "making of" documentary.
The commentary is good but a bit sad featuring, among others, the late Caroline John. But this is a good tribute to Liz Shaw & Caroline.
Highly recommended.
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| Doctor Who Weird Fiction Mode |
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| What: | Foreign Devils (Telos novellas) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Monday 12 November 2012 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Former script editor Cartmel has indulged his penchant for mixing the supernatural with science fiction. "Foreign Devils" is "Doctor Who" in the weird fiction mode of Lovecraft, Derleth, Machen, etc., but mostly of William Hope Hodgson. The story involves the second Doctor, Zoe, and Jamie meeting Hodgson's ghost hunter character, Thomas Carnacki. The story involves a Chinese curse, an isolated mansion on a winter's night, assorted sordid characters, a spiritual medium, and a mysterious other-dimensional gateway. As if in response to all those stories that have the female companion out of the main action, this time Jamie spends most of the story in drug-induced sleep. Even so, Zoe is not particularly effective, spending most of the story fending off upper-class perverts and wondering what the Doctor is doing. One's enjoyment of this novella really depends upon how much one likes the weird fiction genre. I am not much a fan of it myself, so this novella just was not all that interesting to me.
| What: | The Silver Turk (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Doug W, An Alternate Reality (formerly Pocono Summit), United States |
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| Date: | Saturday 10 November 2012 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
I'm not entirely sure how to feel about some of The Silver Turk. Overall, this is a great, dark (but not too dark), atmospheric, compelling story, made more interesting than average by the presence of Mary Shelley as the Doctor's companion, and a pair of very, very early Cybermen on Earth, some time before the Mondas incident of The Tenth Planet (this is the linear timeline - no time-travelling Cybermen here). There's a lot going on here that's very intriguing, and often creepy, as in the scuttling noises made by the band of animated marionettes that come into this.
However, some elements here, including the above mentioned band of animated marionettes, try to push the plot into the realm of nonsense. While the concept of the living marionettes is a bit fascinating, it veers sharply off of what the Cybermen are, into the realm of fairytale land. Just how are the marionette voices made so much better than the Cybermen's own voices? How are so many produced? Are they crafting more of themselves, and if so, just how is this level of programming and functionality achieved, based on damaged Cyber technology? Are they duplicating clothing as well?
Those are some of the questions that started popping into mind by the end of this story, and which I couldn't hold back. But the setting, production and performances are done so well, with the possible exceptions of some of Paul McGann's lines being delivered without a lot of engagement, that the weaknesses in the otherwise very intriguing script are compensated for, for the most part.
| What: | The Natural History of Fear (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Saturday 3 November 2012 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
"The Natural History of Fear" may put off many listeners because it is not really Doctor Who at all. So, let us remove the entire Doctor Who apparatus from this story and listen to it for what it is. At that level, this is one of the best pieces of dystopian science fiction to appear in quite some time. The premise seems to be "What if the BBC bureaucracy were to run the world?" People's lives are "edited" so that they become entirely different people with entirely different lives. Their entertainment is a constantly reworked series of adventures on other worlds, in essence "Doctor Who" on endless re-runs. (This touch in turn provides a very clever way to have the world of this story connect to the Doctor Who characters). The whole arrangement is designed merely to keep operations running, and every day is "high productivity day." What makes this really work is the dialogue. Political theory mixes with personal tragedy, political rivalry with psychological realism. India Fisher is marvelous at sounding genuinely distressed, a person who believes absolutely in the values of her culture ("I love the State"), but finds her world falling apart in spite of it. Paul McGann gets a real range of emotion and motivation in this one. The ending was to me a complete surprise, but entirely logical and consistent with what was presented. I subtract a point only because using the Doctor Who actors sets up an expectation for the listener that this story could not possibly deliver. Otherwise, an impressive performance.
| What: | The Lost Stories: Earth Aid (The Lost Stories audio dramas) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Saturday 3 November 2012 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
"Earth Aid" has much of what is the best and worst of the Cartmel approach to "Doctor Who." On the one hand, we get an interesting plot with multiple twists. Characters are nicely differentiated. On the other hand, the villains are rather one-dimensional, even with an unusual psychology. The script is rather joky, sometimes in wrong places. The story starts in the middle of things, with the Doctor already operating from a plan. I was not much of a fan of these "Doctor hatches a plot" stories, such as "The Happiness Patrol." On a side note, Beth Chalmers as Raine sounds uncannily like Bonnie Langford.
| What: | Son of the Dragon (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Andrew Shaw, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 1 November 2012 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
I bought this second hand, and the person I bought it from said it was the worst of all the stories he had heard , a couple of other people did too, I dont know if they know any of the truth about the real Vlad story and were expecting a Hammer Horror style Dracula, so I was expecting a disappointment but I enjoyed it from the start being about real Vlad, with a few added extra's of course theres lots of points I like and some obviously not too keen like others said there should have been more action from the Doctor as there about him, and you would think Peri would learn to start acting abit differently in different times as she was told things were different then, and I liked Radu's frustration as Vlad gets away, but I wonder if it is him who returns or his son who looks supposedly identical in a few books ive read thats where the immortality part in Bram Stoker comes from, but great story loved it...
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| Solid story with pace but fizzles out |
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| What: | The Burning Prince (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Clive T Wright, St Lawrence, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 1 November 2012 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
A break from his companions, throws the Doctor into a fast paced story, that rushes towards its end. Monsters, empires, families, twists, crashes and lots and lots of death. An enjoyable story but as you wade through corpses as the plot rushes towards its conclusion you just know what's going to happen.
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| A rushed and confused end |
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| What: | Gods and Monsters (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Clive T Wright, St Lawrence, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 1 November 2012 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
Many elements of the end to this trilogy are original and entertaining. The image of a giant chess board, some good twists to the plot, combined with a powerful ending all add up to a great story.
However Gods & Monsters is the weakest of the trilogy as the story lacks substance. In many episodes the listener is left feeling like everyone is running around in circles far too often.
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| The setting is superfluous |
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| What: | Black and White (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Clive T Wright, St Lawrence, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 1 November 2012 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
Black and white introduces us to some great new companions, with an interesting twist. The introduction of Beowulf is handled well, but lacks something as mixing up an amazing story with aliens isn't original but still handled well. The monster is fun.
| What: | Protect and Survive (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Clive T Wright, St Lawrence, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 1 November 2012 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
I love it when there is a real sense of mystery in any story. Separated from the Doctor, we are able to see Ace & Hex at their best, bickering together. Mixed together with a nice trap, with a few twists and turns sets us up for a great trilogy.
| What: | The Oseidon Adventure (Fourth Doctor Adventures audios) |
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| By: | Doug W, An Alternate Reality (formerly Pocono Summit), United States |
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| Date: | Saturday 27 October 2012 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
As you can see on the cover, The Oseidon Adventure brings back the Kraals, along with all of the great sound effects from The Android Invasion. Unfortunately, a Kraal Marshall in this story is just too stupid to be believable as a Kraal. This takes a bit away from the story, as does what the Master is doing here. The tone of the whole thing is just not quite right. But then, the story takes a different turn as we are shown what has actually been going on this whole time, and the tone of the story shifts to one that seems much more appropriate. It turns out that the Doctor's first meeting of the Master in the previous two-parter was not actually the Doctor's first meeting of the Master. I'll say no more than that about it. By the end of this story, when the real game is revealed, what appeared to be a weak two-part conclusion shapes up to become a much more interesting story, and one much more appropriate for the Beevers Master.
| What: | Shada (BBC prestige novels) |
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| By: | Matt Saunders, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Wednesday 17 October 2012 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
This novel is such a stunning novelisation of the Shada story, and is well told by Gareth Roberts - the great author of many great books and episodes. The whole plot feels very Douglas Adams (especially if you have read Dirk Gently, which Adams wrote after Shada with many of the ideas copied over....), but also very Gareth Roberts too. Unlike in the Target novelisations, Roberts feels no need to describe the Doctor (which is good), and just gets on with the plot. I don't want to say any more, because it just needs to be read - please do it today!
| What: | Trail of the White Worm (Fourth Doctor Adventures audios) |
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| By: | Doug W, An Alternate Reality (formerly Pocono Summit), United States |
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| Date: | Monday 15 October 2012 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
Trail of the White Worm is by far the best of these new Fourth Doctor stories so far. Script, cast, directing, performances and finished production here are excellent, and the result is an exciting two episodes, to be concluded in the next story, The Oseidon Adventure.
The cast here is particularly superb, with of course Tom and Louise, joined by Geoffrey Beevers, Michael Cochrane, and Rachael Stirling. The story is well-paced, the dialogue is well written, with a couple exceptions I'll comment on in a moment, and the performances are the best yet of this series. Tom is really back here in this one, and the other main players are all great as well.
My only little gripe is with the initial meeting of the Doctor and the Master. Considering what was happening when they last saw each other, IF this follows on from The Deadly Assassin, which was so strongly written, the tone just isn't right - the script at that point is weak, in my opinion. Just a little personal disappointment there, though.
Overall, this is great stuff. A great idea for a Fourth Doctor story.
| What: | Energy of the Daleks (Fourth Doctor Adventures audios) |
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| By: | Doug W, An Alternate Reality (formerly Pocono Summit), United States |
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| Date: | Monday 15 October 2012 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
At last, in Energy of the Daleks, Tom Baker has been brought pretty fully back to effectively sounding like he did back in 1977, which was sadly not quite the case in the previous three fourth Doctor releases. I think the key is to have a good amount of sound effects and other ambient sound and music in the mix, to cover over the moments when the effects of the passing of 35 years of time since 1977 would be apparent in a more subdued and basic mix.
However, the result is that this audio play does not sound like it could fit in between seasons 14 and 15, unless perhaps a completely different production team had taken over suddenly, I suppose. With all of that sound, there's a lot more going on here than was typical for the shows of that era. The season 14/15 TARDIS sound effects help with this, though, and are a great, and necessary touch. Nevertheless, what results here is a high quality Big Finish audio production, much better produced and directed than the previous three (Destination Nerva, The Renaissance Man, and The Wrath of the Iceni). Though the previous three are good productions, Energy of the Daleks is noticeably better. Here, Tom has a higher energy performance and better dialogue that is more on pitch with his TV run.
None of these are fantastic stories so far, though they are entertaining, and it's great to hear Tom back in the role. Having the fourth Doctor back and joining in these full cast audio dramas is indeed, imo, the biggest event Big Finish has had going for a number of years. Mention must also be given to Louise Jamison's pretty consistently excellent performances here, who is no stranger to Big Finish, as she has appeared in numerous Gallifrey series audios.
| What: | Empathy Games (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
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| By: | Clive T Wright, St Lawrence, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Monday 8 October 2012 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Whenever the doctor arrives in any paradise you just know its always built on lies or about to be destroyed. Whilst not an original idea, bringing in the savage warrior and building the plot around her is refreshing and exciting.
The Companion chronicles has been able to do something the classic series often failed to do, developing the companions character, testing their relationship with the doctor and their own past. Empathy games has it all.
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| Mystery, twists and monsters |
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| What: | Binary (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
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| By: | Clive T Wright, St Lawrence, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Sunday 7 October 2012 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Binary combines all my favourites in a Dr Who plot. Being trapped, being chased, time running out, a mystery and lots of twists. This is a great one go and get it.
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| Classic plot but something missing |
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| What: | The Wanderer (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
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| By: | Clive T Wright, St Lawrence, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Sunday 7 October 2012 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
Sometimes having the Dr meet or influence an historic figure just doesn't feel right, this is one of those occasions. That aside on its own this is a good solid story as ever carried by a great reading from William Russell.
| What: | The Jigsaw War (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
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| By: | Clive T Wright, St Lawrence, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Sunday 7 October 2012 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
An outstanding and clever plot, which forces you to concentrate hard, pulling you in to work out the mystery for yourself. Set in a tight close location, with limited number of characters but all compelling. Moving backward and forward in any plot or time line can be difficult. In jigsaw this is handled with class and is my favourite of the season.
