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 | Ace, Hippy, Fungus & the internet |
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| What: | Love and War (New Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Clive T Wright, St Lawrence, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Sunday 7 August 2011 |
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| Rating: |   7 |
Love & War in many ways would have been ideal for the 7th Doctor on TV. As you read you can imagine all the hideous hippy costumes in a green lush world. The underlying myth of the planet combined with cyber/internet hippies somehow works. Doctor Summerfield is of course great from the very start.
Ace finally getting fed up with the Doctor using her all the time is not a surprise, but the gang of loosers she hooks up with are at times a pain.
All in all an entertaining story, which could have been very good but the fungus people are dealt with a little too easily for me.
| What: | Iceberg (New Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Clive T Wright, St Lawrence, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Sunday 7 August 2011 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
David Banks has carefully studied all the 1st & 2nd Doctor's Cyberman stories and then cleverly weaved another between them.
The first half of Iceberg unfolds pulling together in an interesting story around the life of our main characters and a sense of mystry.
But as the boat sets sale this original and clever idea, starts to fall flat becoming just a basic copy of every classic plot device you expect with the cybermen, loosing much of it's strength as the book continues.
In the end Iceberg is simply an easy going story, our heroine however is strong and would have made a good companion for the 7th Doctor shame she missed the boat!
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| Start stop, good then dull |
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| What: | Parallel 59 (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Clive T Wright, St Lawrence, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Saturday 6 August 2011 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
Starting with drama and energy a the reader your pulled in but then it seems to slow down and then goes on with lots of running about.
Again Fritz is getting his leg over endlessly (lets please move on from this) but there is an excellent twist in his story when it comes. Compassion just seems to be in the room and dosen't really do much.
Overall moments of excellence, but peppered with long drawn rambling. An ok read if you can stick it out.
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| Steady, flowing adventure |
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| What: | Frontier Worlds (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Clive T Wright, St Lawrence, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Saturday 6 August 2011 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
A lot of the 8th Doctor books seem to start with the plot up and running and everyone stuck into the adventure. This means you have to catch up with the book and makes it a little slow to start.
However frontier worlds gathers pace and flows very smoothly, the Doctor is in his element and each companion are at their best. How many more women can fritz get away with.
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| Repeating the past success |
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| What: | Robophobia (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Clive T Wright, St Lawrence, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Saturday 6 August 2011 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
A good murder plot with the 7th Doctor in his favourite spot, mixing things up behind the scenes. If felt a little strange not having a companion and lacked some atmosphere at times, too easy to work out who dun it and relying too much on the fact that the robots where back.
Negatives aside, the doctor is strong, a good cast and whilst not a great story its a solid enjoyable one.
| What: | Match of the Day (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Darek Pilař, Pardubice, Czech Republic |
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| Date: | Friday 5 August 2011 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
This is my first DW Classic book which i read. I choose this one, because Leela always was and still is my most favorite companion and on this book she is on the cover :-D
I was very pleased with this book because most of it is about Leela and plus she is just awesome like she was in TV.
On beginning I was little bored with all that Keefer passages, but with more and more pages i accepted and I like it. So because of few paragraph with Keefer and little to fast and simple ending I give 9! :)
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| My favourite monster voices |
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| What: | The Krotons (BBC classic series videos) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Wednesday 3 August 2011 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
Having the misfortune to be sandwiched between two of Doctor Who's all time greatest stories, The Invasion and The Seeds of Death, the Krotons still holds its own very respectably. This is quite a wonderful little tale despitee maybe just a few wooden performances, but this is forgiveable for the stories main theme itself is highly interesting. The only thing that this story does not boast as all Rob Holmes stories after this does is a brilliant double act or a comic duo, but cut him some slack. This is a great first story from a great writer.
Patrick Troughton is ever the more quirky and bumbling which just makes me love him all the more. He always will be my favourite time lord. He just had such infectious energy and such amusing quips that endear him to my heart very much indeed. His annoyance at not getting the questions right in episode two is a classic example of his brilliant portrayal, and his sparkle in his eye as he's annoyed at Zoe afterwards for being so easily coaxed by the Krotons teaching machines. This is pure Troughton magic that never once left the screen during his time as the Doctor.
Frazer Hines is perhaps just a little two sidelined, although his fight with one of the gonds is amusing and funny. Wendy Padbury gets given a good chunk of story to get her teeth into.
The Krotons are a brilliant looking race, and their comeback is highly interesting and a little different for once. But what i like the most about the Krotons is those grating harsh vibey voices that drown out nearly all the other sounds on screen whenever they are talking, they truly are one of the most effective voices that the BBC ever came up with, more piercing than even the Daleks and Cybermen. And their diamond heads are brilliant, and the melting of the Dynatrope at the end is particularly well done and looks pretty flipping cool if you ask me.
The only thing that mars the tale a bit is the totally unremarkable Gonds, aside from Phil Madoc no one really gives a knockout performance here, although maybe the Gond leader is a little better than the rest of the Gonds. But as I said this is the only slight quibble, and some scenes are a lot better than others, such as when the Doc tries to help Vana come out of her coma, that is one of the best scenes in the show.
And its the first time we get to hear of the HADS. So theres a little vain of brilliance when the TARDIS appears to have been destroyed but has only moved to escape from being damaged by the Krotons.
So yes, the Krotons may not be an all out knockout, but for a first story from Rob its solid and works quite well all in all. By no means is this one of the worst stories, it just above middling in that there is plenty to spark the interest and keep it throughout.
Just that snake like cam thing could have been a bit better realised too! But its just ha ha and still makes me grin even now. And i do rate this better than Pyramids of Mars and The Robots of Death!
| What: | Paradise Towers (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Trevor Smith, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Tuesday 2 August 2011 |
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| Rating: | 4 |
There is so much to the story that should make this a real classic, futuristic tower block, gangs of feral young girls, killers machines, but it is let down so badly by many things.
Richard Briers terrible overacting, some hammy acting, terrible props ie the thing in pool & the cleaners for starters.
Sylvester McCoy does his best to rise above this and he has some nice moments, rasing his hat to a machine for the start.
The DVD extras are not much. Horror on the high rise is a standard making of doc while Girls! Girls! Girls! is an intresting chat between 80's female companions Sophie Aldred, Janet Fielding & Sarah Sutton.
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| Obvious plot from the start |
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| What: | Torchwood: Border Princes (Torchwood novels) |
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| By: | Almatos Miren, Madison, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 27 July 2011 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
The inclusion of the new character made it very obvious from the beginning how the story would ultimately play out. Adding in the romance with Gwen did not help to make the character more believable (or Gwen more likable, truth be told), simply adding to the overall "alternate reality" feel of the book. No matter how much the author tries to spin the idea that everything will have been forgotten in time, simply too much happened emotionally to the main characters to have it fit into the main timeline of the show.
Writing wise, I did not like the way this was written. I found the language and style confusing at times, the actual story getting lost in 60s-ish hyperbole. A more straight-forward story would have made this one better, I feel.
Unfortunately when I started to read this book, I was getting bored of the Eighth Doctor line - mainly because I hadn't stopped since the Eight Doctors - one every two weeks or so, and so I really didn't get into this. This year, I started this one again, and absolutely loved it. I am not going to give it 10/10 because it took me a while to get into it - but once it picks up the pace, wow. It's sad, happy and painful. Well done to the writer. Buy it second-hand or one of the re-prints.
| What: | The Ancestor Cell (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Matt Saunders, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Wednesday 27 July 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
It is such a clever little book and I really loved this. We get to see so much of the Eighth Doctor's personality too. We also get to see more of his Tardis than normal, and this sets up the next few really excellent "Earth bound" books. Buy this second-hand, well worth it.
| What: | The Sun Makers (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Wednesday 27 July 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
The Sun Makers is a story that prooves that you dont need all out action to have a thoroughly excellent story. The Sun Makers I feel is perhaps Rob Holmes most brilliant story, full of his trade mark expertly written characters. But here there is just some added dimension that makes the whole story sparkle no end. It really is no wonder that Louise Jameson said that this story was her favourite. It has so much amusing stuff floating around, not least of all the quite brilliant mix of the Gatherer and The Collector, two of the most over the top and yet excellent villains to ever grace the Doctor Who universe.
And the taxed citizens go through a nice change about, they start out being rather weak and tepid and all mouth and no action, but then the at last get some back bone and go against the grain of the enforced system now imposed on Pluto. That the planet should itself be now thoroughly taken over and made habitable is a really interesting notion.
The Blood sucking leech, in the form of a Uxarian is brilliantly brought to vivid life and is such a well rounded character. Nicely evil and sadistic in how he loves to watch the torture and death of all of his employees! A real marvel of a character. This story really does have a bold point: taxes taxes taxes. One of the biggest bains of modern society I know. And Rob definitely lets us know how he feels about such things in this delightful tale that is my favourite Tom Baker story of all.
Louise jameson is on fine form, she doesnt scream, she just is fierce to the fore. All the more spice to an already delicious tale! And theres no real need to mention Tom Baker at all really, except that he's his usual brilliant bold and bright self...
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| Complete and utter brilliance |
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| What: | The War Games (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Wednesday 27 July 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
I have to say that Doctor Who is one of the only programmes that can have a serial last for ten episodes and keep the interest fresh and imaginative all the way from the start right to the end. And to say the very least, The War Games is a triumph of television in every respect. It boats all the perfect elements that made the Patrick Troughton years so brilliant, theres the comedy, the seriousness, the well thought out plot and the brilliant acting from everyone involved.
The characters here are all solid and have guts. The rebels are all fantastically portrayed by every single player. The villians of the piece are all on top class form as well, especially Noel Coleman as the decidedly soulless General Smythe, and Phil Madoc doesnt really need any introduction. His War Lord is one of the most memorable villains in the shows history. There is so much tension and grit all along the road with this story.
Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury too are on perhaps the best form theyve ever been, Jamie getting to leap into action to save Zoe or Lady Jennifer ( who happens to be one of my very favourite Doctor Who characters ever) almost at every turn. And we also have his bumbling and amusing side, when he first meets all the rest of the resistance parties! These scenes are comical and offer an oasis of comic relief amidst the more harder plot elements along the way.
The climax part , Episode Ten has to be counted as one of the finest episodes of Who in the universe. Its a brilliant end to the Pat Troughton reign as the errant Time Lord. We get our first hint at who the Doctor really is and his background, although enough is left unsaid so still the character has a lot of mystery about him. And Pat is on sublime form all the way throughout this highly engaging adventure, his best performance in his three leading years as the Doctor. He gets to be manipulative, caring, giving, and angry at many times throughout the script, which adds up to some very very good scenes.
And for the time, even the action scenes are not that badly done at all. It manages to convince and isnt over the top at any place. Its all just peppered throughout the tale well. The story itself is highly imaginative and is pretty bold a notion too for the time. And all the plot threads gel strongly and one never feels that the story is getting strained or weak along the way, the pace is just brilliant and never gets tepid or lazy. So all these factors combine to make this story definitely in the top five slot of the entire history of Who for me. One cant get much better than this story in my opinion, its great television!
| What: | Spare Parts (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | jason Oakley, Portsmouth, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 22 July 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
I have listen to this more than any other, there are lots of great stories but to me this remains the best of all Big Finish audios, superb
| What: | The Resurrection Casket (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Jade Teague, Gold Coast, Australia |
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| Date: | Thursday 21 July 2011 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
Great story and enjoyable with lots of twists and an ending that makes you want it to keep going. It's good to read more than once so you don't miss any details.. some things i didn't pick up until the third time.
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| Reasonable but not great. |
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| What: | The Clockwise Man (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Jade Teague, Gold Coast, Australia |
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| Date: | Thursday 21 July 2011 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Good author and story but its not so exciting that you would want to read it more than a few times. Worth reading though.
| What: | The Magician's Oath (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
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| By: | Clive T Wright, St Lawrence, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Monday 18 July 2011 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
In many ways Magican's oath is a just classic 3rd Doctor story, crashed alien, prison ship, mind control etc. The magican is good and the images of frozen people combined with strong dialong alone makes this a good story.
However the real strength of this story is the underlying sense of Captain Yate's feelings of loss, loneliness, regret, lost love. Mixing this all together makes this a great story.
| What: | The Sentinels of the New Dawn (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
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| By: | Clive T Wright, St Lawrence, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Tuesday 12 July 2011 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Sentinels feels like a jumble of old 3rd Doctor plots or a thin rehash of the Time Monster, it even has a large flapping winged monster, but this time its black.
Its not bad but like the time tunnel in the plot its a simple straight line of a story, nothing challenging or original.
| What: | Paradise Towers (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Monday 11 July 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Paradise Towers always seems to be one of those very badly recieved Doctor Who stories. But I for one am not going to lambaste a story that is genuinely execellent in every respect.
The First major success factor of this story is Sylvester McCoy, his Doctor is such a different one from all the previous Doctors. He's at once more mysterious, more deep and more unpredictable. He actually may just be the perfect mix as the Doctor. He gives a truly alien feel to the character.
The second factor is Bonnie Langford as Mel. She's given her most meaty script segment here, and she's not just the out and out screamer many seem to think she is. She has guts here, and her handling of Pex is brilliantly done. Mel Bush is a brilliant character!
Those old ladies are suitably disarming, in the fact that they truly do seem genuinely sweet until that dark as hell twist at the climax of episode two. Miss Spriggs especially is execellent as Tabby.
The Kangs too are brilliantly realised. They are such wonderfully OTT girl gangs, all the actresses though bring such heart and feeling to the roles that really electrifies the story no end. The fact that all the people in the towers come together at the end of the story for me is a lovely touch.
And some might lambaste Richard Briers for his totally OTT take on the Chief Caretaker, but I love his approach. Its a serious source of comic relief amoungst the darker elements of the script. And his rendition of Kroagnon once in the Caretakers body is very plausible, As I do believe a voice would be rather distorted if its from a mind thats just inhabited a new body!
So, I really cant see anything at all wrong with this story. Theres so much imagination rampant through the tale, its engaging and different. Its packed with first class acting talent and its one of the very best Doctor Who stories ever.
It boasts it all: comedy, action, thrills, scares. Brilliant stuff.
| What: | Series 6: Part 1 (BBC new series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Monday 11 July 2011 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
I must admit I approached watching this sixth season of the new Who with much trepedation. Im getting fastly tired of the series up until here. Gratefully, overall, I was hugely surprised by how good this season is overall. There are still a few weaknesses, but far less than in the last series.
The weaknesses come in the opening two parter, and in the finale. Id like to know what exactly the Silence had invaded earth for in the first place, as this is not touched on in the script at all. And the Doctor's lack of mercy with these creatures again highlights the point that this Doctor now isnt all that much of a hero. Id have thought he'd have given his token one chance for the creatures to leave, before having them all murdered. But aside from this quibble, the silence themselves are very creepy indeed, in may book more creepy even than the Weeping Angels.
The Finale story is just another convuluted load of garbage one has to state here. Theres just too much packed into 50 minutes, that the episode sags seriously and becomes in many areas incomprehensible. About the only decent factor of this story is Matt Smith's performance, and that guy whose the wonderfully characterised Sontaran. But Im trying to get my head around everything else along the way. And how exactly was this the Doc's darkest hour? He's faced far worse in his time than what he does here. And the partial resolution to the mystery of River Song has rather fallen short of my expectations. Just to be the daughter of Amy, whats so earth shattering about that? And dont even get me started on why he just walks away from Amy and Rory in the end...
But the four in between stories are quite brilliant through and through. The Curse of The Black Spot may be just about the most stupid title of a Who story ever, but the story itself is exellently written. The siren looks very good indeed, and Arthur Darvill reaches his heights here as Rory. I love this guy, hes so funny and yet so brilliant. The ship itself and all the crew are exellent too, especially Hugh Bonneville who takes to the lead brilliantly as the Pirate Captain. Theres a real good neat twist at the end too, which is warming and good, in the vein of the SARAH JANE ADVENTURE The Mad Woman in The Attic. A nice and calm and good ending.
The Doctor's wife is a real piece of action with a decent plot that is meaty and with acting prowess to match, its an original story too. And the TARDIS in female form is rather brilliantly thought out. Another highly recommended episode for once I have to admit here. That the TARDIS actually picked the Doctor for travels together is believable, and the story also keeps pace very well. And we have the Time Lord distress box back at last, last seen in The War Games!!! WOW! And here its utilised well again as in the brilliant Patrick Troughton finale.
The Rebel Flesh and The Almost People is one of the finest episodes of the series since Chris Eccleston came to the role in 2005. It is freaky as hell, and the Gangers are suitably unsettling and menacing, yet at the same time you really truly feel for them, as they have been misused and maltreated for so long. This makes for an electrically charged story that doesnt seem like 80 minutes at all, its so well paced and the drama is tense and riveting. The finale is suitably shocking too, and should have led into a brilliant finale, but it sadly didnt. But this still is far far better a season so far than series five in almost every respect. The writing is of a far higher standard, and the acting is too. This isnt on the spot, but its the closest to the mark since Catherine Tate left the role of Donna after her full season...
