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| What: | Relative Dementias (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Tuesday 23 November 2021 |
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| Rating: |   5 |
This novel reads like a piece of fan fiction. The writer has pulled out a few formula plot bits typical of Doctor Who and added some timey-wimey to make it seem clever. The plot involves Doctor 7 and Ace going to retrieve some of The Doctor's mail on Earth. He gets a card from a UNIT scientific advisor who seems to be a replacement Liz Shaw about some strange goings on at an Alzheimer's clinic in Scotland. So, they head to Dumfries, where indeed strange things are happening at Graystairs. The plot then proceeds through Ace getting chased in a spaceship, getting chased on an island, and getting chased in the forest. After all this running around, she and the reader are little wiser about what is going on than they were before all the running around happened. We also get over-emotional Ace, who is alternately petulant and mad at The Doctor, then his most loyal supporter. Ace is not the only character who goes through these oppositional mood swings that happen when the plot seems to be slowing down, thus giving it an artificial kick start. Additionally, there is one heck of a lot of sneaking in and out of Graystairs, the most unguarded base for alien incursion there has ever been. Really, the book seems to have been written on the A.E. van Vogt plan of jamming in some plot twist every 2000 words and never mind if the twist makes little sense. And, to top it all off, we get a whole new set of UNIT characters with no mention of any of the old ones. But these UNIT characters are soppy and emotional, which is what Michalowski seems to think is needed for "realism." Therefore, the reader is awarded with a long diatribe against The Doctor along the old saw that whenever he shows up, people die, so therefore it must all be his fault. It is sort of like blaming the ambulance crew, because after all when they show up people often die. It amazes me that so few can see how ridiculous this blame The Doctor thinking really is. So, ultimately, the novel is just not competently written.
Big Finish brought back Lucie Miller, but since she's dead, they had to create stories that fit within the already finished series. So, we get four stories that occur right after the end of Human Resources. There is a general story arc, important only in story 1 and story 4. In other respects, each of these is a standalone episode, each having a different writer. Story 1 is The Dalek Trap by Nicholas Briggs. This one finds some Daleks, a couple of lost space travellers, The Doctor and Lucie, trapped just inside the event horizon of a black hole, slowly losing their memories and coming under the influence of "The Darkness." This all has something to do with something The Doctor did long ago. The story is mostly a Lucie story, re-establishing the character and justifying her as a worthy companion. Story 2 is The Revolution Game. It's a mixture of Roller Ball and Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Word for World is Forest." This is the story meant to be both fun and serious. Story 3 is the least effective in my view. The House on the Edge of Chaos is a kind of haunted house in outer space, with extreme Downton Abbey overtones. Story 4 brings it back together. Island of the Fendahl returns us to "Image of the Fendahl," sort of. Alan Barnes has decided to write it as a full-on no hiding it pastiche of "The Wicker Man." Are there any islands off the coast of the main British isle that still contain an obnoxious inbred populace devoted to sacrificial pagan rituals? If so, why does the British government not do something about it? The story does close the circuit on the series. This collection does what it says on the box - it gives us adventures of Lucie Miller. Those who love Lucie Miller will probably love this collection. I find that the one-hour format for stories can still be quite limiting in terms of characterization and thematic development.
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 | Decent Ideas, but Too Short |
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| What: | Black Thursday / Power Game (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Tuesday 2 November 2021 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
Here we have one of the 2 for 1 series, 2 stories in 1 package. The stories are very Kamelion focused, and so what happens is not too surprising. The first story, "Black Thursday" is a historical set in a Welsh coal mining town in 1902. Involvement in a mining accident causes the emotions of a recent widow to overwhelm Kamelion's programming. The TARDIS crew must track him down before he does serious damage. This tone of Kamelion being a liability carries into story 2, a science-fiction romp in which an alien is using a fake television game show to recruit unwilling humans to her dirty work. The TARDIS crew have gone off in 1980s Liverpool to track down Kamelion, who has wandered off. Is there a relationship to this TV game show? Again, the story is entertaining, though it gets a little too far-fetched toward the end. Both stories, to my mind, would probably have been better as 4-parters.
| What: | Human Resources: Part 2 (Eighth Doctor Adventures audios) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Tuesday 2 November 2021 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
Part 2 of "Human Resources" finds our heroes now out to face the Cybermen. It follows the pattern of Cybermen stories, conquer and convert. So, while this is going on, we still have the resolution of the Lucie story to work out. Why was she so interesting to our recruiter for the aliens? Why did the Time Lords take her out of time? Just how involved is the Head Hunter in all this? The details are nicely worked out. The main story is just a little predictable, once it becomes a Cyberman story. Still, the totality of "Human Resources" makes for good Doctor Who.
| What: | Human Resources: Part 1 (Eighth Doctor Adventures audios) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Tuesday 2 November 2021 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
As the season finale, "Human Resources" works very well. Big Finish has brought Paul McGann back to playing The Doctor as The Doctor, without so much of the ennui and anguish that was typical of the Charlie and C'rizz days. In part 1, Lucie gets taken back to the job was interviewing for when she was snatched out of time. However, something is not quite right about the setup. The Doctor extracts a promise from the High Council of Gallifrey to fix his TARDIS and in return, he will track her down. It turns out, she was a pawn in the constant rangling between the High Council and the CIA. But, is there more to it than that? Of course there is. Part 1 works very well as the setup for Part 2.
| What: | The Beautiful People (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Monday 1 November 2021 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
"The Beautiful People" would have sat very well in Doctor Who 1979. It's slightly satirical, joke-filled, and not too taxing on the brain cells. That said, the story plays out fairly well, following the logic of an evil genius who takes dieting to the extreme. Lala Ward is a very good reader, keeping the pace going and not overdoing the impressions. Fans of the Graham Williams / Douglas Adams variety of Doctor Who will like this one.
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| A mystery in the bloodline |
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| What: | Tomb Ship (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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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 |
This episode didn't enamor me as much as I thought it would at first, but it takes up until the ending for the listener to fully appreciate this one. This is an adventure, through and through!
This Indiana Jones-styled adventure in space did not disappoint when the final credits rolled, but it did take a bit of work to get there. I couldn't tell some of the characters apart and the audio mixing had a few issues, but those are minor on the whole. The biggest issue this story faced was the fact that it was too visual. Not only with the setting, but the whole idea of tomb-styled booby traps doesn't work the best in audio. On paper it's great, and the scriptwriters did their best with it, but it slowed down the pace a little too much during some places. However, as you get further along into the story, you realize that you are there less for the traps, and more for the twists. Said twists aren't on a "World Enough & Time" level, but they infused an interesting bit of drama that I was keen to hear play out.
The biggest draw for this episode is the ending. It took me until the final 10 minutes to realize that all I had listened to beforehand was buildup. The climax of the story was expertly acted, The sound design was immaculate, and the music was phenomenal. It had an intensity to it that too few monthly stories attempt. Like I said at the beginning, this is an adventure, through and through. As the cast grew and shrank, motives learned, and loved ones lost, you really get a sense of how much had happened in the past 2 hours. Other audios may feel like standstills or like not much happens (looking at you, "Scavenger"), but this story kept moving and everything culminated into a stellar ending!
Side note: For context, there is a character in this episode that was originally introduced in the previous story "Moonflesh." It's not critical to know who she is, but that is where she is from. This is technically her trilogy, though, she doesn't appear until very late into the story.
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| Great, just needed to be more confident |
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| What: | Tales from New Earth (Miscellaneous 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 |
Great set, just needed more confidence in itself
This set did a really great job at expanding the world of New Earth. Both inside New New York and beyond. It really takes a great approach to expand upon the different religions and species that were introduced in episodes like “New Earth” and “Gridlock.” It has more of a Companion Chronicles approach to its production (partly narrative, partly acted). Being a fan of that series, it was easy to slip into that format. Plus, having a series set in a Doctor Who location, but without the Doctor, himself is a cool idea. Until the Doctor actually popped in, that is.
I was invested in seeing the inexperienced Devon grow over the four-hour box set and really come into his own, but unfortunately, the Doctor won’t let him. When the Doctor comes in, he completely takes center stage and Devon is stuck in the role of secondary companion (as the second main character of the episode usually does more than him). I even forgot Devon was there at some points when Tennant’s incarnation took over. You can tell 10 was just thrown in because Big Finish was worried the box set wouldn’t sell. But honestly, it doesn’t need him there for any of the episodes, much less two of them.
My favorite from the box set is the last story, “The Cats of New Cairo.” It really invested me in the world-building and the hierarchy of cats. Plus, it felt like a properly epic conclusion. It was exciting hearing the main villain shout to all the underlings, and even though you can’t see anything, you get a very clear picture of how screwed the world is going to be! There are some places of patchwork in the episode and the denouement is rushed, but that doesn’t detract from the episode much. The rest of the audio definitely makes up for it.
Now, I will give a few notices. If you are sensitive to PC stuff, you’ll be fine with this set. The main character is gay, but he’s an actual character and not used as a political concept. He’s written very maturely.
For those that swing the other way, I will put out a trigger warning. This set deals in the “bury your gays” trope. It’s not just there to be there, it does have a narrative purpose as fuel for Devon’s character, but it is still there and something the entire box set is kinda reliant on. This one might be worth a skip if that bothers you.
All in all, this is not a “blow your socks off” story, but it is a lot better and deeper than what people who haven’t listened to it give it credit for. The characters are fun, the stories are consistent, and it’s easy to re-listen to. I recommend trying this one if you see it on a sale sometime.
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| Overall, strong run, but a few nitpicks |
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| What: | The Weeping Angels of Mons (Titan graphic novels) |
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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 |
My review will be of each of the stories separately...
1) THE WEEPING ANGELS OF MONS: Many believe that the Weeping Angels will never reach the menace they first had during “Blink,” but this story takes a remarkable stab at it!
The DW comics universe gives us this beautiful, gritty, and fantastically drawn WWII story with aliens. Seriously, the art style is great here. The hard lines add a gritty feeling that is contrasted by both previous releases and future ones too. It helps tell the story and is stand-out. This is my favorite visual representation of WWII.
There isn’t a large and complex story filled with multiple plot twists in this comic. It’s a straight action-adventure piece with some horror elements. We are in WWII, here are your characters, there are Weeping Angels, go!
Everything felt even, the characters were nice, and the way that this story utilized the Angels was unexpectedly clever. I was literally sitting there thinking; “Okay. This is bad. How are they going to get out of this one?” And then something unexpected, but completely logical happened and it got me strangely excited. I literally started whooping and cheering in my room. That shows how powerful and intense these comics can be.
The only downside to this comic is David Tennent’s exuberance being exaggerated again. He feels like Matt Smith more than he does David Tennent here, as most Doctor Who media outside the TV show tends to do (Yes, that includes Big Finish, which is why “Death and the Queen” is poor. Check out my old review on it).
Overall, if you are looking for a place to start the DW comics, or are a little iffy about 10’s adventures, I would give you this as my recommendation! Volumes one and two are great and this is my favorite comic story yet! Excited to see what happens in the third installment!
9/10
2) ECHO: You ever heard of Technobabble?
Following up the mature, gritty, and long "The Weeping Angels of Mons" (which was pretty fantastic), we have this rushed little mess of an otherwise neat premise. Essentially, Gabby goes back to Earth to visit her family and the duo uncover a strange phenomenon where people can't stop screaming. It's a neat idea that could have made for an intriguing read, but the previous story didn't leave the artists enough pages to flesh it out correctly.
The alien explanation behind everything is in-your-face and turns what could've been a slowly building mystery into a non-stop action piece. During the action, the Doctor reams lines and lines of random technobabble to explain what the aliens are, the weapons they are using, and what their plan is. It's basically a Wikipedia page, but with one or two more explosions than your average encyclopedia. Then, the duo travels to one location and magically fix everything with the wave of the sonic screwdriver... I usually like the sonic screwdriver, but the comics are more and more just using it as a scapegoat.
Although, this isn't a total trainwreck. The art here is stunning. It really shows off the team's capabilities after going from a gritty and bleak warzone to a sprawling cityscape featuring glowing alien whales. The visual of peoples' screams being stolen from their bodies was unsettling and very well handled. The tone is constructed perfectly through the visuals, but the script doesn't match it. The action, while rushed, was kind of fun too. Plus, Gabby was on top form here. I really like her character. In just a few stories she seems so capable of being in the Doctor's world for the long run.
All in all, the only real downside to this story is that there wasn't enough of it.
7/10
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| A cinematic audio drama? HECK YES!! |
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| What: | The Middle (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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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 |
Can I call an Audio Drama cinematic? That doesn’t matter because I will definitely use that word to describe this one. The setting is novel for Doctor Who and there really isn’t anything like it in New Who, Classic Who, or even the audios before and after this. It’s set in a sprawling, colorful, and beautiful futuristic city and it stays in that elegance for the entirety of the audio. Not once does it have characters run down gloomy corridors, or explore the slums. It keeps the beautiful, cinematic feel all the way to the end.
This is a story that takes a weird concept and runs with it. Initially, it seems like a basic euthanasia plot, but then a striking twist happens concerning “the end” that took me by surprise. I won’t spoil it, but it did feel a bit absurd upon first listening. Yet, over time they take this laughable concept and add just enough seriousness to it that I actually believed it. The cliffhanger of part 3 is what made me enjoy the concept of the end much more than I had previously.
This is the first episode I’ve heard with Flip or Constance and the fact that they are broken up gave me a great idea of what they were like without one overtaking another. I love these kinds of stories that seed companions or even the Doctor into the normal, everyday life of the world they are on and have each work on the inside. My only problem is that I wish this concept was pushed further.
As is surprisingly frequent with Big Finish, the ending was poor. The last 10 minutes or so were tacked on, messy, and took away from the original plot rather than create a great ending for it. It wasn't the worst ending, but it did end up being a bit of an annoyance really. That being said, this is still a sensational audio drama that puts you in the mindset of one of the most beautiful cinematic landscapes you can imagine!
| What: | Resolution (BBC new series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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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 |
Here we are promised to have a sprawling, earth-shaking epic, but most of the run-time has the companions and the Doctor being stuck in the TARDIS, while Ryan berates his father.
The tone was all over the place. From boring soap opera to boring “sci-fi.” It did, however, have an excellent beginning. The Dalek loose in the sewer was creepy and well implemented, and the idea of it taking over human bodies was genius. I seriously loved that bit, and wanted that to be the whole episode. Sadly, that’s not the case. What does happen instead is the Dalek leaves the sewers and tries to rebuild its casing on an earth junkyard. This sends us into a boring new plot.
I literally laughed out loud when the junkyard Dalek was on screen because it looks stupid. Also, I want to point out that there is no way that a Dalek could build a new, fully functioning, missile-loaded battle tank in less than an hour in an abandoned shed. Plus, I think it’s absurd that it was blown up by a bomb fashioned out of a microwave at the end. It is so tacky and last minute.
This episode was also played for laughs most of the time but in a very forced manner. Specifically, the one-liner told about drunk people on New Year. I also hated how the show completely got rid of UNIT in the stupidest joke possible. The entirety of series 11 tries too hard to be too new and “relatable.” Most of the damage this series has done is irreparable. UNIT cannot come back now (or at least it can’t in a way that doesn’t feel like “Uh oh, we screwed up. Put them back in, put them back in the show!”)
Honestly, there is so much wrong with this and series 11 as a whole, I cannot describe it all here. So, I will instead talk about what could have made this episode good: Having everyone stay in the sewer and split up. One by one everyone is taken over by the Dalek as it tries to learn more about the Doctor. Making this a slow-burning horror story would have been the best way to go, especially since that is how it starts (only for it to take a hard shift in tone that lasts the rest of this snooze-fest).
So to sum up, stupid overpowered Dalek that’s blown up by a microwave, and people on New Year having their WiFi shut down for a little while as the high stakes...
At least it looks pretty.
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| This is a beautiful piece of work |
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| What: | Arrangements for War (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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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 |
It's a Doctor Who episode that takes you on a roller-coaster of emotions in the 2 hours it presents you. It's a story that involves itself with the world it created instead of trying to blindly chase a plot. I always love stories that focus on characters and takes their time with them. Having the Doctor and friends live in an alien world instead of solving things in one visit.
The story doesn't try to pander to audiences with unnecessary action. It really wants you to care about what the characters are feeling. Evelyn especially, as she goes through the wringer with this one. It is an emotional experience worth purchasing. I found it surprisingly easy to re-listen as well. It's certainly one to save when you want to feel and not just be led down dingy corridors with a monster trailing the titular heroes.
If I had to make a criticism, the majority of the final act does play out exactly like a Shakespearean tragedy. If you are a fan of those then you will love this, if you aren't, you might find it a bit corny. However, it doesn't detract from the rest of the audio and the denouement is so poetic and subtle. It's a nice break from the intense action intense emotion episodes that try too hard to make you cry.
The revelations with Evelyn in this story are also extraordinary and unexpected (at least to me). I won't spoil it, but it is well delivered and well-acted. Which is exactly how I would sum up this gorgeous audio, well delivered and well-acted.
| What: | A Town Called Fortune (The Companion Chronicles 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 |
The beginning scene is probably the strongest part of the entire story, but the rest still holds its own very well. Except for the second half of part 1, personally, I felt that slowed things down too much. However, things picked right back up again in part 2. The story itself is a bit complex, but not in a science-fiction way. Paul Sutton (the writer) managed to create an engaging conspiracy plot set in a small western town. The villain is a bit on the nose but is very functional in his role.
The music is also astounding. Simple, yet effective and has all the twangs in just the right places to make it feel old, yet exciting! I feel the sound effects themselves such as the rifle and horse hooves could have been a lot better, but that’s a minor thing on the whole. The story was quite clever too.
Maggie doesn't have the best Colin Baker impression (which is nothing against her I'm just giving fair warning to those who might dive into this audio for the first time), but her female characters were very nuanced and on point. The guest actor did a phenomenal job in his role, and all the characters themselves were so well written.
In short: This is a fun adventure set in an old western town. The plot is great and the characters are equally so. This is a surprisingly underappreciated, but nevertheless a very fun audio!
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| Easy to listen & very engrossing |
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| What: | Colditz (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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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 story is one of the easiest listens to get into. I found myself losing track of time while getting lost in this world and wound up halfway through the story before I realized that an hour passed. It felt like only a few minutes. It's a great one to just pick up and listen, at least for the first half. At around the time, the concept would begin to become stale, writer Steve Lyons introduces the amazing mystery wrapped in an enigma known as "Klein" (played by Tracy Childs). I won't spoil anything about her, but she is an important character in the 2010 7th Doctor trilogy "A Thousand Tiny Wings," "Survival of the Fittest," and "The Architects of History" (January 2010 - March 2010). It is an amazing concept to hear for yourself!
Not only does the story shine, but the acting and performances from everyone are top-notch. We have Sofie Aldred doing her best as always, Tracy Childs proving to be a captivating listen, and Sylvester McCoy giving a good performance this time. Not only that, but we also have David Tennant playing his first-ever role in Doctor Who. Since this came out in 2001, Doctor Who was still canceled when this episode was recorded and released. David Tennant had yet to play the titular Timelord and was still 3 years away from his starring role in Dalek Empire III. The music was neat and blended in with the aesthetic of the story as well.
All in all, this was a great, deceptive listen that both sucked me in and caught me off guard.
| What: | Loups-Garoux (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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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 |
This story feels longer than other monthly series stories, and I can't tell if that's because the pacing is REALLY slow or if it actually does have a longer runtime. Either way, this took a lot for me to get through, which is a shame because I loved the opening. Turlough seeing the werewolf during the parade fantastically opened the story and got me excited for more. Then we get to the train... This is the part where things got slowed down immensely as all of the lore is exposition dumped on us in-between moments where Turlough gets bullied by some werewolves and a side-plot about a girl in the desert.
The acting performances weren't bad, but they also weren't good either, even by early Big Finish standards. The microphones clipped A LOT! Especially during the train scenes. Eleanor Bron could barely get through a scene without her microphone giving up on itself, even when she was just calmly talking to the Doctor. Plus, that cover is one of the worst Big Finish has made. It's down there on the list with "The Highest Science."
Overall, it had some good ideas, but they were overshadowed by the horrid pacing and effects. It's certainly one I'm never going to revisit.
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| The worst Nev Fountain story... |
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Did you like The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit? Clearly, Nev Fountain didn't and decided to spit in the face of it.
To be honest, most of the runtime is okay. The plot felt a little slow to me, but it doesn't get truly dreadful until later on. Nicola Bryant did a fine job narrating, though doing so many characters at once alongside the job of actually narrating had its toll on her. It's one of those "good in multiple things, but not stellar in one" type of situations. The characters were also enjoyable with the plot having some good comedic elements to it. Plus, the references to Classic and Nu Who were subtle, but great.
However, the ending undoes a lot of good in the Doctor Who universe. This episode explains the literal devil as a kind of misunderstood alien for no actual reason. The way this is set up is that this "devil" travels in a box made of human bones, but since he looks scary, humans just immediately called him the devil and that's what he's been ever since.
Nev Fountain usually makes good scripts, specifically for the monthly range. He's responsible for such greats as "The Kingmaker," "The Curious Incident of the Doctor in the Night-Time" (Breaking Bubbles Anthology CD), and "The Widow's Assassin," but this one is completely unfounded. The box of bones is not connected to religion at all and is just there just because it's scary. The Satan Pit two-parter (which was released about seven years prior to this one) carefully took into account every religion and came up with an idea that wouldn't prove nor disprove anything. It was spectacularly done and well-crafted. Unlike this dismissive piece of garbage.
Fortunately, this CD isn't consequential anymore as Audio GO is now defunct and the majority of Doctor Who fans have completely missed this release. However, that doesn't excuse it from being bad in the first place. It's an unresearched mess that screws with cannon.
Side note: I'm not actually making the claim that Nev Fountain hated the Satan Pit two-parter from series 2 of Nu Who. I don't know what his preferences are.
| What: | The Lost Stories: The Macros (The Lost Stories 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: | 6 |
This is a fine enough story that somehow turns the idea of parallel universes, tyrannical rulers, and an alien coup into something that can only be described as "meh."
The two-part finale to Colin Baker's Lost Season isn't the most epic, but it is very grandiose. It starts out as a neat little horror story set on a rusting military ship stuck in a time loop. Think of the first part of "Carnival of Monsters" without the blue people and with more of a horror atmosphere. Then, we get hit with the idea that the time around the ship is being drained by a different universe. The Doctor and Peri hop between alternate realities to try and stop a tyrannical ruler from destroying a ship and killing its crew. While that concept may sound great, the actual execution of it was boring. It somehow felt "last-minute" even though it gets introduced within the first half-hour. Not only that, but the majority of the time is spent exposition dumping and waiting for characters to do stuff. The second part gets things moving along, but even then it doesn't feel exciting. There are no real action scenes to speak of and it's mostly just sneaking around two worlds we are never properly introduced to.
I don't hate the episode, though. The music is great, the sound design was the best of the season, and the acting from both the main and guest cast somehow shine through the bland script. If only the episode itself stuck with one theme all the way throughout instead of smash cutting us into something completely unexpected. Honestly, I only finished listening to it yesterday and it's hard to remember any details for this review. It's just a bit of a forgettable stand-still. Though, I would be lying if I said I didn't at least enjoy myself. It nails the vibe of Colin's TV era in the best ways. So, even when nothing of consequence was happening, I can immerse myself in the feeling of an 80's Colin Baker episode that doesn't aggravate anyone to death.
Like I said in the beginning, it's a fine enough story (in fact I'd say it's perfectly innocent) but that also is kind of its downfall.
I did not know what to expect going into this audio, but if I had a million guesses, I never would have guessed this plot. I picked this up thinking it was going to be a light-hearted outing that brought Ianto and Rhys closer together. What I actually got was a phenomenal and emotional story about grief that blended some neat horror elements in as well.
The music was phenomenal, though used very sparingly. Most of the scenes heavily focused on the fantastic acting abilities of Kye Owen and Garrett David-Lloyd which they didn't put music over. The plot was great with a nice slow pace that steadily ramped out throughout the entire hour. There are heavy topics and political themes in this one, but unlike Chibnal's era, this one doesn't try to force the narrative. Every twist reveal was well-written, well-implemented, and very impactful. Throughout all of the horror and heartbreak, there was a fantastic infusion of comedy that won't make you laugh out loud, but sounds exactly like what people would say to try and lighten the situation. Also, the episode is very quotable. "Look, if you are going to start doing explanations, I need a beer."
If I had to nit-pick something, it would be the inclusion of “Toxic Masculinity.” The way it is presented is very petty and shallow. It plays more into stereotypes than anything else. Thankfully, the topic disappears as soon as it starts to make way for the much more important and much more real issue that many try to keep hushed.
Overall, this is a really fun, creepy, and impactful listen. I will not forget this anytime soon.
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| An amazing adventure fleshing out Polly! |
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| What: | Resistance (The Companion Chronicles 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 |
If you usually aren’t a fan of purely historical stories (like me), give this one a try!
It’s nice to have a story set during WWII without going the cop-out route and setting it in the trenches. Instead, this episode details what everyday people do to fight back against the Nazi regime. A couple of farmers forming a resistance group and smuggling the Doctor and Polly around is a very entertaining idea that played out well. I was a little sad to hear Jamie and Ben leave the episode within the first 10 minutes. I love this team, but rarely hear any episodes featuring all three of them. That being said, it was actively necessary for the story once you figured out Polly’s purpose in it.
Hearing Polly question herself and her role in the group brought a neat spin on what could’ve easily been another basic Doctor Who episode. It leads to some rather unexpected scenes, especially towards the end. This idea coupled with the plot twists makes this one stick out in your mind long after you’ve listened to it.
The music was on-point and the guest actor did a fantastic job. Switching between the stories of Polly and a seemingly unrelated airman that dropped into enemy lines kept the plot moving at a nice pace. I never felt bored at any point.
The last 7 minutes are a bit scattered and rush through what could’ve been an amazing third part, but due to the format, we couldn’t get a third one. It doesn’t drag down the quality by any means and it’s certainly not the most frustrating missed opportunity (I give that title to “The Witchfinders"), but it could’ve been a great addition to the script.
All in all, it’s a spectacular story that builds intensity over the hour runtime!
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| Relatable and funny with genuine heart |
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| What: | Torchwood: Fall to Earth (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: | 10 |
This is the perfect example of a “relatable” script done right! This hour-long plot was gripping, emotional, and funny all at the same time. It finds a perfect balance between raising tension and knowing when to release it. If you are tired of people failing at writing relatable scripts or just generally have frustration with telemarketers, then this story may suit you well.
***Spoilers Ahead***
After all that praise I gave, I will bring to light a negative about this piece: This particular episode doesn’t work with a happy, “everybody lives” ending. With the way that the episode played out, it felt forced and unsatisfying. Everything was set up perfectly. Zeynep learning what it means to sacrifice herself for others, Ianto learning what it means to be a member of Torchwood, the elongated and sad goodbye each of the characters made, all topped off with that chilling moment when Ianto found the parachute. I see no reason as to why things in literally the last 30 seconds should suddenly change after setting up a much better ending over the previous 5 minutes.
Other than that personal flaw, I have absolutely no problem with this episode. I still rate it a ten and recommend it to anyone!
