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| What: | The Doctor Trap (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Matthew, leeds |
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| Date: | Saturday 13 September 2008 |
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| Rating: |   8 |
What can i say about The Doctor Trap? well:great, brilliantly written, but also confusing in parts. It has a brilliant plot but i didnt feel the character of Donna was explored very well!! Still great though! If you want to read this then please see it through to the end as it can get a little conusing!!
| What: | Peacemaker (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | C G Harwood, Dunedin, NZ, New Zealand |
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| Date: | Friday 12 September 2008 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Absolutly brillant!!!! This book i could not belive how fast i read this book, I couldn't put it down. All the charecters were interesting and i cared about them all, even the enemy in this.
I loved the references to the past series (especialy The OK coral gunfight reference). I disagree with Tim, i found the book to be very funny at times.
If you new to these books read this one first. This is genuine Doctor who, that is not hard to follow.
No hesatation in giving 10 out of 10.
| What: | Planet of Evil (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Trevor Smith, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 12 September 2008 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
A classic. I can remember thinking that this was really creepy when I first saw it back in the 70's. Great story & wonderful sets. Buy.
| What: | The King of Terror (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Trevor Smith, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 12 September 2008 |
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| Rating: | 5 |
An interesting enough premise that never really gets going. You wait for it to kick in & it never does before it fizzles out.
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 | Retro Sound Effects, Fake Zygons |
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When is a Zygon not a Zygon? When it's in The Zygon Who Fell to Earth.
I don't know... to my mind, Zygons just don't go so well with blatant comedy. The only televised Zygon story we have to look back on was one that was a bit gothic horror in character. Terror of the Zygons defined the race, and the Eighth Doctor book, The Bodysnatchers (referenced by the Doctor here in this story?), revisited the murky goth guise. To be fair, The Zygon Who Fell to Earth is not all funny stuff - it definitely has a dark side. But these just don't feel like the Zygons we know at all. (Hmmm - have I used the word "Zygon" enough in this review?)
In spite of that, the sound effects here are almost worth the price of entry alone - they're right out of Tom Baker's story. Groovy and nostalgic... hm.
An 'okay' story.
| What: | Grand Theft Cosmos (Eighth Doctor Adventures audios) |
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| By: | Doug, Pocono Summit, PA, USA |
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| Date: | Thursday 11 September 2008 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
I really enjoyed Grand Theft Cosmos. It's a fairly simple, maybe somewhat familiar caper story - we have competing parties, one of which is the Doctor and Lucie, trying to get their hands on a rare, valuable and strange item. We also sort of get a bit of Great Train Robbery on the side, with a twist of the paranormal thrown in for good measure. And it's delectably set in the late 19th Century. With Paul McGann and Sheridan Smith, as well as a couple of other returning characters, it all adds up to a very tasty combination that I found thoroughly enjoyable.
But I think the most amazing thing about Grand Theft Cosmos is that Sheridan Smith wasn't even present with any of the rest of the cast when she performed her roles. Due to scheduling difficulties, she had to come in and read all her lines on her own (well, with Nick Briggs), which she did in an hour and a half, and then all of her parts were edited into the rest of the audio play in post. It's really amazing, because it all really flows seamlessly.
Funny, interesting, vivid and atmospheric... this being such an enjoyable story, so perfectly produced, and really offering nothing to nitpick about, I must give Grand Theft Cosmos a glowing 10.
| What: | Paradise Towers (BBC classic series videos) |
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| By: | Matt Saunders, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 11 September 2008 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Loved this story for it's very dark side. Canabalistic old dears! Excellent. The plot and run arounds are such fun. Mel's best story.
| What: | Time and the Rani (BBC classic series videos) |
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| By: | Matt Saunders, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 11 September 2008 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
This was one of the first stories I ever watched and I liked it. It's a little silly, but it is an enjoyable story.
I always seem to miss it on TV, but watched this DVD and loved every minute of it. Well done RTD!
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| Please dont do this again to the Zygons! |
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| What: | Sting of the Zygons (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | C G Harwood, Dunedin, NZ, New Zealand |
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| Date: | Wednesday 10 September 2008 |
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| Rating: | 3 |
I have read a few of these New Series novels, and this one i didn't enjoy. I found it was a book that tried to be to cleaver for its own good. The book takes to long to get interesting then when it finnaly gets going I thorught to myself "Ok, Why do I care about this".
There is no charecter development, and the one i realy disliked was the French jounerlist. Although I love the Zygone and hope to see them soon in the New Series I just didn't find them belivble (and dont get me starteds on them shape changing into a herd of cows.).
It normaly takes me a week or so to read one of these books (not the fastest reader in the world). For me the sign of a book I'm not enjoying is that I keep looking at how many pages i have left to read, and i did this alot.
I was also forgeting who all the charecters where so spent a lot of time going back to recheck who everyone was. But having said all that even bad Doctor Who is better than 90% of most other crap out there.
To sum it up, Love the Zygons, love to see them on TV again, but Hated (no thats not true) Disliked this book. 3 out of 10
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| A good historicle adventure. |
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| What: | The Stone Rose (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | C G Harwood, Dunedin, NZ, New Zealand |
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| Date: | Monday 8 September 2008 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
I enoyed this book, but didn't like the Genie, it only complicated the story in the end. The only other problem i had with this book was the the gladiator’s arena, I agree with everybody else that it was too long. As a historicle story this works very well and she has got the Doctor and Rose spot on, I even didn't mind Mickey in this.
An enojyable read but i enjoyed her Winner Takes All more. but they were both good and enjoyable 8 out of 10
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| A Terrific Low Budget Thriller |
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In 1993, BBV gathered four of the living actors who had played the title character on the BBC's classic science fiction series Doctor Who together for a special film. But instead of getting Jon Pertwee, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, and Sylvester McCoy to reprise their respective Doctors BBV produced something completely different. Not a Doctor Who story, but a low budget environmental thriller that gave each actor a chance to show something different.
Colin Baker is TV weatherman Arnold "Archie" Davies. In the role, Baker shows off an almost perfect blending of comedic and dramatic abilities as he goes from lowly weatherman to environmental crusader. Baker proves once and for all that he is more then just the colorful jester version of the Doctor. He is a serious actor with some serious ability. Baker isn't the only one to step out form his shadow though. McCoy plays the tireless activist/reluctant ally to Davies and shows off his ability to convince anyone of strange things being real. Davison, who plays reporter Al Dunbar whose ghostly appearances send Davies on his quest, shows off a more serious and frustrated side of his acting abilities. Last, but not least, is Jon Pertwee who pops in every so often to give commentary and words of wisdom as Dunbar's mysterious mentor. Each proves to be more then just the Doctor of their respective TV era's.
The supporting cast is just as good. Nicola Bryant and Michael Wisher (who had also appeared on Doctor Who) step out of their shadows from the series to bring to life two curious characters who push the story along. The former Doctors are further supported by the venomous performances of Bernadette Gepheart and the soon to be discovered Alan Cumming. Rounding out the cast is Nicholas Briggs (who now does voices for the revived Doctor Who series) as Sam Flint, the news editor with divided loyalties. The cast is certainly a mix but they strength to the production.
Considering the low budget nature and short length (around an hour) of the Airzone Solution it is still quite effective. From the opening shots of Dunbar's documentary to the climatic scene at the trade convention, writer Nicholas Briggs and director Bill Baggs keep up the tension and audience interest. If there is a big fault in the film, it's the low budget. While set in the near-future there's enough to date the film to the early 1990's, mostly it is the technology, such as the old computers and floppy disks that look ancient just fifteen years after the film was made. A story like this requires depth, certainly more then the films; low budget could give.
The special features also make this worth your money. There's an interview with Peter Davison who talks about his work on this production and the challenges of doing a low budget film from an actors point of view. There are some hilarious outtakes which shows that even on low budget things can go wrong. There's also some behind the scenes footage showcasing the making of the film along with interviews with fans, and two trailers for the film. For a low budget film, these are some terrific special features for a DVD release.
Yet despite the low budget, the film still works from the script and direction to the actors, this film proves that low budgets can't weigh down a good story under good circumstances. While Doctor who fans might be disappointed in not seeing their favorite Doctor's in action, they can enjoy something different. They can enjoy a taut, low budget thriller that beats most Hollywood movies.
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| The Best Story Of The McCoy Era |
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There is a saying about going out on top. Sylvester McCoy (and indeed Doctor Who itself) found itself coming to an unexpected end in 1989 with some of the original series best stories. Of those the best of them would be The Curse Of Fenric. With this DVD release this classic story is seen not only in its original form but in an expanded "special edition" that presents the way it was originally intended. The result is a unique release of what I consider to be the second best Doctor Who story ever.
Any good production must have a god cast and this one has one of the best of the series. The performances start with the regulars: Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor and Sophie Aldred as Ace. McCoy gives his single best Doctor Who performance in this story as he strikes just the right balance between his more comedic Doctor of season 24 and the more serious Doctor of season 25 and earlier in season 26. Just look at the final episode (or the last half-hour of the special edition) to see McCoy at his best. Sophie Aldred also gives one of her best performances as Ace. This was the middle story of what has become known to fans as the "Ace Trilogy" (the other two stories being Ghost Light and Survival) due to their heavy focus on Ace and giving Aldred a chance to show off her skills as an actress. Aldred doesn't disappoint with a strong disappointment with a strong performance as the companion who discovers that her past is interlinked with the vents unfolding around her. Despite their excellent performances, McCoy and Aldred is just the tip of the cast.
There is also an excellent supporting cast as well. There's Dinsdale Landen as Dr. Judson, the crippled computer scientist who unleashes the title and effectively embodies it. Alfred Lynch gives an excellent performance the obsessive Commander Millington who grows more and more paranoid as the story unfolds. There are also excellent performances from Tomek Bork as Soviet Captain Sorin plus Joann Kenny and Joanne Belll as the two teenagers Jean and Phyllis. Even the smaller roles are filled with good actors and actress like Anne Reid (Nurse Crane), Steven Rimkus (Captain Bates), Janet Henfrey (Mrs. Hardaker) and Raymond Trickett (the Ancient One). The true highlight of the supporting cast is Nicholas Parsons as Reverend Wainwright. Parsons, who apparently is better known in the UK for his more comedic roles and game show hosting, gives one of the best performances of the McCoy era as the priest who lost his faith and pays for it. There is a wonderful scene in the church where he is giving a sermon to an empty church that illustrates this beautifully and gives Parsons his best moment in the story. All together they form one of the show's best casts.
The story also has some strong production values as well. From the outset we get a rather well-done recreation of a WWII era army camp complete with trappings of the era (including a well done 1940's computer). Then there's the Haemovore's: the vampire possible future evolution of humanity brought back to the past. The Haemovore's, especially the Ancient One, are amongst the best monsters ever designed for the show as they are incredibly spooky and convincing. Couple this with the underwater filming and excellent location work and the result is a story that proves that under the right conditions a low budget can be overcome.
Then there's the heart of it all: the script. This is a story with many threads and layers. It is a story about war and faith that explores the nature of evil plus the lengths one must go to fight it. On top of all that there is the obvious horror aspect in the form of the Haemovores. Ian Briggs also manages to tie together stories from the McCoy era (Silver Nemesis, Dragonfire) to explore the background and character of Ace. Above all, this story is a sort of chess game between the Doctor and is ancient enemy named here as Fenric in which all the other characters act as their pawns. This is a story where one must watch to get everything that is going on making this not only a action story but one of the show's most cerebral as well. It is because of its complexity that the "special edition" is worth watching.
The DVD is packed with special features including interviews, commentaries, making of stuff etc but the true star of this release: the "special edition" version of the story. This version is movie length with new scenes, CGI effects and a 5.1 soundtrack which makes it the superior of the two versions. This is not only because of the CGI effects and the excellent 5.1 soundtrack but because of the new scenes added to the story. The new scenes add a new depth to the story that expands on the backgrounds of some character sand the actions of others. This version also is helped by the regarding done the story which brings a new degree of atmosphere that the story was previously missing. The result is a classic story made all the better and this version of the story alone is worth the price of the DVD.
The Curse Of Fenric is Doctor Who at its finest or close to it. It is defiantly the best story of the McCoy era at any rate with its strong performances, good production values and a strong script. This DVD release, with the "special edition" version, is the definitive version of this classic Doctor Who adventure. Believe what you've heard: The Curse Of Fenric is excellent.
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| The Doctor Comes To Audio! |
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Doctor Who And The Pescatons, originally released in 1976, is interesting for a number of reasons. First it was the first Doctor Who story specially done for audio but more importantly perhaps, it is the only Doctor Who audio drama to feature the classic teaming of Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen. So how does this thirty year old audio drama hold up? The answer: surprisingly well.
Why? For starters if you're a Tom Baker fan you will love this. Baker not only gets to play the role of the Doctor, he also gets to narrate the story as well. It is Baker who serves as our guide through the story and he is one who sells it. His voice takes us underwater towards the beginning of the story and to the far off world of Pesca in part two. Baker's acting chops are huge and here, more then anytime in his tenure on the TV series, he gets to show them off.
Backing Baker up is Elisabeth Sladen and Bill Mitchell. Sladen, of course, reprises her role as Sarah Jane Smith from the TV series. While she doesn't appear near the amount that Baker does, she does add a lot to the story. Her presence helps sell the terror of the first scene on the beach and later if a desperate rescue attempt the Pescaton invasion. Mitchell's appearance is the smallest of the three roles but he is the story's villain. And what a villain he makes as one can only wish we could have heard more of him in the story.
Despite the fact that this is only a three hander (the technical term mean "this only has three actors in it") this story still manages to feel epic. The sound effects are exceptional and one only needs to listen to the segments featuring London first in peace and then in terror from the Pescaton invasion to realize that point. I should also mention that this story has a few well placed sound effects that will more then likely make you jump. To back these sound effects is the music. The music by Kenny Clayton could easily rival anything composed by then series composer Dudley Simpson. What does this lead to in the end? An eerie Doctor Who story without some of the laughable special effects from the series (even as a fan one has to admit how the bad effects often hurt the series). But that's the obvious fun of audio drama: you create the adventure's visuals.
The story isn't perfect of course and does have flaws. Victor Pemberton's writing is terrific in terms of plot (even though one can trace the stories origins to other Doctor Who TV stories especially Jon Pertwee's story The Sea Devils), but it is in the narration that the flaws in the writing can be found. Scenes seem to jump too quickly, for example how the opening scene on the beach jumps to the Doctor's underwater exploration with a quick piece of narration. The story needed development in terms of bringing in more scenes and character to add depth to the story. But this can be forgiven when keeping in mind the limits of the LP technology thirty years ago. Yet even when this forgiven, it is an inescapable fact that this is still a major flaw.
The other interesting aspect of this release is the contents of the second disk. Disk one is the actual program (the story is only about 45 minutes long) while the second disk contains a treat: an interview with Elisabeth Sladen. She discusses (along with interviewers Mark Ayers and Michael Stevens) the rather rushed production of this story. But outside of that discussion they go into Sladen's time on the TV series. It offers a behind the scenes glimpse into the series, in particular why Jon Pertwee left the series and Sladen's view on the controversy surrounding the "horror sequences" of the series. It's interesting to listen to, especially if one is a fan of this era of the series.
As a fan of Doctor Who, it is hard not to enjoy this story. It's the only audio adventure featuring Tom Baker's fourth Doctor after all. Yet this offers a chance any fan can, and should, relish: a chance to take a classic Doctor and a great story and create the visual aspects of the story in our minds. No bad special effects to hamper the terror and thrills. Instead we have only the sounds of the actors, the incredible sound effects, and the creepy music of Kenny Clayton. If that's not worth a fan's time and money, what is?
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| A Good Idea With A Mixed Result |
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Following on the release of the 1996 TV movie with Paul McGann as the eight Doctor, BBC Books decided to launch a new book series featuring the adventures of the Eighth Doctor. To start if off they brought Long-time Who script editor and writer Terrance Dicks. What Dicks produced is an enjoyable trip through the best moments of the original series.
Dicks was script editor of the series during the Jon Pertwee years and was the writer of most of the novelizations published by Target books during the 1970's and 1980's so he was a good choice to start off the adventures of the (then) new Doctor. How better to do that then have the new Doctor go back and meet his past selves?
But instead of having it done along the lines of his own story The Five Doctors, Dicks chooses to do a direct continuation of the TV movie. While that idea is a good one, the downside of it is that Dicks does tend to spend a lot of time on some Doctors (especially three and six) while devoting as few pages as possible to others (the seventh is really short changed). It's a good idea with a mixed result.
The charm of this novel is that it makes good use of the continuity of the series...for the most part. Dicks uses the concept of the Doctor visiting his past selves to fill in the occasional gap in the series like how the Master escaped after The Sea Devils or the downfall of the government on Gallifrey mentioned in The Trial of a Time Lord. There is also some good use of Sontarans, the Master, and even the return of his own Reston Fighting Robot. That said Dicks also creates a few continuity problems such as setting the seventh Doctor down on Metebelis Three. After doing so well with the continuity of the other Doctors, Dicks goes and messes up big time. I don't mean to sound like a raving fan boy but this was more for the third Doctor not the seventh. Its Dicks one bad use of continuity (if one can call it that) and like the novel's concept proves to be a good idea with a mixed result.
Another big problem of the novel is that the addition of introducing a new companion. Samantha Jones, who would go on to become a companion of the eighth Doctor, is given a rather poor introduction in The Eight Doctors. It's not that the character was badly written, but the fact that the introduction seems a bit forced and awkward in the midst of a trip down memory lane (or is Totters Lane?) which doesn't help the novel out at all.
While it does have its problems, The Eight Doctors is far from the worse Doctor Who novel. In fact it's one of the better ones I've read. Dicks' novel is not a piece of literature (far from it in fact) it is fast paced, fills in a few plot holes from the series (along with creating a few), and is above all enjoyable. And that's what Doctor Who is first and foremost: enjoyable.
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| A fair start but not the best |
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| What: | Dead London (Eighth Doctor Adventures audios) |
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| By: | C G Harwood, Dunedin, NZ, New Zealand |
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| Date: | Saturday 6 September 2008 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Usally the opening story to a new season of anything is a little slow. Which is what i found about this new BBC7 Production. I was in the garden while i listened to this, and I had to go back more than a few times. This story just didn't grip me.
The pase and plot was very slow and then the ending seamed rushed. Which is a shame as this is the first BBC7 I have come across that i didn't want to listen to again. But I supose that just proves that you can't please everybody.
This story will not put me of BBC7 audios as i have loved most of them (out of my top 5 Audio adventure 3 are BBC7). If it has put you off them then i sagest you go and listen to the next one in the series Max Warp - Its absolutly brillant!!!
| What: | Shada (BBC classic series videos) |
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| By: | Matthew Kresal, United States |
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| Date: | Saturday 6 September 2008 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
Shada may have one of the most complicated behind the scenes stories of all time. Originally conceived as the six-part finale of the 1979-1980 season of Doctor Who by Douglas Adams (then script editor and creator of Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy) and was extensively set at Cambridge University. Now all of the location filming at Cambridge had been completed and some of the studio work done before an actors strike halted the production. Then the decision was made not to finish all of the filming. Then in 1992, the BBC finally decided to take the recorded footage from 1979 and use Tom Baker to help tie those sequences that were never filmed with narration. This is the result.
To say the least this is one of the most impressive Doctor Who adventures. Adams script is taught, tense, and even fun at times. The story is complicated to say the least and is virtually impossible to quickly summarize. Yet despite this (or rather because of it) the story keeps your riveted to the screen and waiting for the next scene right up until the very end.
The performances by the actors are good and amongst the better ones of the series. Tom Baker is at his height as the Doctor, playing everything so well that it is hard to find a problem with it. Lalla Ward is well as Romana and this is one of her better episodes as well. Beyond them is a strong supporting cast in the form of Denis Carey as Professor Chronotis, the retired Time Lord who is not what he seems. Christopher Neame as the evil Skagra, who is evil despite the laughable costume (white outfit, complete with silver cloak and hat) and the addition of the mind draining sphere helps immensely.
The story was never fully filmed and is tied together by clips of narration featuring Tom Baker. This is actually a pro rather then a con. Baker brilliantly reprises his role of the Doctor and narrates the story's missing parts expertly. Baker gives in his narration an inkling of what Shada could have and should have been. It is a testament to his power as an actor that the story works as well as it does in an uncompleted form.
The one big minus of the story is in the special effects. The special effects are up to par with those of the series at the time. Yet there are some special effects featuring spacecrafts that don't work at all. It seems that the producers of the video decided that these special effects should only give an inkling of what was intended. A great shame really.
Shada is the sum of its parts. With the combination of a fine script, fine performances, great humor, some terrific location filming, and some brilliant narration by Tom Baker, Shada is more then just a lost story from a classic series. It is an inkling of what could have a Doctor Who classic. While it is isn't as good as seeing a full-fledged story (though Big Finish audio did the full story in audio form starring Paul McGann's eighth Doctor) this is still an amazing sci-fi epic. For any serious fan of Doctor Who or Douglas Adams, this is a must see.
| What: | The Skull of Sobek (Eighth Doctor Adventures audios) |
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| By: | Doug, Pocono Summit, PA, USA |
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| Date: | Friday 5 September 2008 |
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| Rating: | 5 |
Another nice production. But a lot of it doesn't make much sense, and it needed to be longer and better developed. If stories were people, The Skull of Sobek would be a small, retarded cousin of Time's Crucible...
(Btw - points deducted for 'Lucie the croc'.)
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| Best Companion Story So Far |
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| What: | Here There Be Monsters (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
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| By: | Charles G. Dietz, San Jose, CA, United States |
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| Date: | Friday 5 September 2008 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
This story is exciting and Carole Ann Ford does an excellent interpretation of the 1st Doctor and her fellow travellers.
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| Disturbing, Thought Provoking, A Classic |
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Since their first appearance in The Tenth Planet back in 1966, fans have been debating the origins of the Cybermen, the half human half machine race from Earth’s long lost win planet Mondas. So it seems natural that Big Finish would eventually take the Doctor and companion to Mondas at the point of the Cybermen’s birth. What doesn’t seem to be natural is what writer Marc Platt did with the story. Spare Parts isn’t just another Doctor Who adventure by any means. It’s a compelling blend of science fiction and drama in a story that asks one of the most basic questions of human nature: how far would we go to survive?
The performances from the regulars are nothing short of astonishing. Peter Davison what I consider his single best performance as the fifth Doctor, going from reluctant innocent abroad to the man trying to change history for the better. Late in the story there’s a plot twist that shocks the Doctor and Cybermen battle to its core and Davison plays it incredibly well. Spurring him on is companion Nyssa, played to perfection by Sarah Sutton who also gives her single best performance in the role. In fact it is Nyssa’s friendship with the Hartley family that makes her force the Doctor to make that change. The performances of these two give the story much of its emotional depth and make it even more compelling.
The supporting cast is just as phenomenal. The Hartley family as played by Paul Copley (as the Dad), Kathryn Guck (as the optimistic and sickly Yvonne), and Jim Hartley (as the impatient Frank) serve as a microcosm of the people of Mondas, trying to remain hopeful in a world fast running out of hope. On the other side of the spectrum is Darren Nesbit as the spare (body) parts dealer Thomas Dodd, the shady businessman thriving on the pain and suffering. Yet he’s the sane one when compared to Doctorman Allan (Sally Knyvette) and Sisterman Constance (Pamela Binns), just two of many scientists and doctors slowly converting the population into Cybermen for work on the surface…or so it starts out. Then there’s the voice of the Cybermen, Nicholas Briggs. Briggs provides the voice not just for the various Cybermen but for the Central Committee who runs the city and there’s something about the voices (the Cybermen’s based on their voices in The Tenth Planet and the Central Committee’s on the Cyber-Controller’s voice in Tomb of the Cybermen) that sends chills down the spine and makes one listen.
If the performances weren’t enough, Marc Platt’s script is enough reason to consider this story amongst the best for the show in any medium. Platt made the smart choice not to do a Cybermen version of the classic TV story Genesis of the Daleks (not that’s a bad idea: see the new series two parter Rise of the Cybermen / Age of Steel) but to do a story entirely different. At its heart Spare Parts is the story as old as history of a civilization on the verge of collapse desperate to survive by any means possible. The means in this case is the use of saws and laser scalpels to remove emotions and insert cold logic, in essence the death of humanity and the birth of machines with human bodies.
In fact, the most chilling sequence of the story comes when a member of the Hartley family finds themselves in the assembly line for that process. To hear those saws and lasers coupled with screams, tears, and cries for help makes for a moment where even the most hardened listener stops to feel the shiver going up one’s spine. Platt plays the horror of that and when coupled with how closely Mondas is like our own world in the mid-1950’s (a fascination with television and even a form of Christmas) there’s only one description for it: chilling. The dilemma faced by the people of Mondas is only slightly different from the questions we face regarding genetics and other scientific advances that give us reason for pause.
The fundamental question of Spare Parts is how far must we go to survive and what must we sacrifice to do so? Marc Platt’s script asks that question and gives us a horrifying answer. That script, when coupled with the excellent performances, makes for one of the best Doctor Who stories ever. Science Fiction works best when its not just adventure but a question of moral importance. There are few examples as great as Spare Parts. Perfect for old fans and those new to Doctor Who (I once had two friends sitting around a CD player for the full length), Spare Parts may well be Big Finish’s best Doctor Who story. If not, it’s defiantly the most disturbing.
