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This book has everything you need even the unfinished co-ordinates of the Dalek fleet (PotW)
| What: | Gallifrey: Panacea (Gallifrey audio dramas) |
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| By: | Doug, Pocono Summit, PA, USA |
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| Date: | Monday 5 November 2007 |
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| Rating: |   6 |
It seems that time has run out for the Gallifrey series. This final installment of the third series makes a sudden attempt to tie up a number of loose ends, bringing together a few elements that we've seen before and lurching Gallifrey into a very strange state of being.
After a brief visit to Romana's Lungbarrow-like family house of Heartshaven, the Free Time virus explodes back onto the scene, and Gallifrey is suddenly and preposterously becoming overrun by "zombified" Time Lords. (No, that's not a joke.) It turns out that both the Free Time infection and its cure (the titular "panacea") were a brilliant plot to take down Time Lord society and sink Gallifrey, so as to benefit other races in the galaxy. And this all involves experimentation with and infestations of pig rats. Oh dear. But somehow, it actually does all fit together well enough, in a very odd sort of way. Seemingly on the brink of economic collapse, Gallifrey is negotiating the sale of Pandora's temporal weaponry. But that's not all that's thrown into the pot. A mystery figure comes back onto the scene (I won't spoil this detail), and a big fact about Darkel that comes out of nowhere is revealed.
By the end, what we have is a rushed attempt to tie up the series that is a very strange ride, but actually does set Gallifrey up nicely for the coming Time War, as spoken of in the new t.v. series. What is unforgivable, though, is the cliffhanger of all cliffhangers at the end. The story ends before it ends - prepare to be very frustrated by the ending. Will there be a Gallifrey series 4? It seems unlikely, and if not, the end of Panacea is a real cop-out.
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 | Let's Get Ready to Rumble |
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| What: | Gallifrey: Mindbomb (Gallifrey audio dramas) |
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| By: | Doug, Pocono Summit, PA, USA |
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| Date: | Monday 5 November 2007 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Mindbomb was entertaining and kept my interest throughout. There's not a whole lot more to say about it - the production was competent, and the dialogue fairly well-written. The story is pretty much all about an anything goes, interpret and reinterpret the law as we go, race for presidency of Gallifrey. There are more turnabouts here than in a professional wrestling match, and they are executed with about as much sense. The recent events involving Pandora and imperiatrixes, and the civil war have left the leadership of Gallifrey open to any number of intrepretations and legal loop-holes, and pandemonium reigns.
| What: | Seasons of Fear (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Paula, Johnstown, PA, USA |
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| Date: | Monday 5 November 2007 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
I enjoyed this one quite a bit, for the most part. The romps through various historical periods and the Doctor's explanations thereof to Charley put me in mind of the historical veins of early Who. Too bad the one little smidgen of American history to make the script wasn't even true (Franklin was never President... pedant, me...).
I enjoyed McGann's narration in this one, but with one minor quibble... The placement of the narration relative to the dialogue tends to make the switch a bit jarring when it sets in. Other than that, great episode. I find that I very much enjoy listening to Charley and the Doctor (considerably more than I like listening to Lucie's adventures in the TARDIS later on, actually).
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| Overall good, but not 100% |
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| What: | Shada (Miscellaneous audio dramas) |
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| By: | Paula, Johnstown, PA, USA |
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| Date: | Monday 29 October 2007 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
Given that the majority of this is the Douglas Adams script, most of the lines are written for the Fourth Doctor's style, and it shows. McGann worked extremely well with what he was given on the pages, but the bottom line is that, even with the continuity re-work, this is not an Eighth Doctor story. McGann's version of the Doctor simply does not speak or behave in this manner.
That said, I'm thrilled that the full version of the story now exists in a form beyond the Tom Baker video. The sound design is fantastic, and the guest voices are excellent. This is definitely a worthwhile purchase, if for no other reason than its release to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Who.
This is obviously the TV story, though it is well written. The big shock is the end. This is of course the famous first regenaration and the book is very different. *SPOILIER WARNING* In the TV broadcast the doctor falls to the floor & regenarates in front of Ben & Polly, in this book he lies down & pulls a sheet over himself. When the sheet is pulled back the new Doctor is reveled.
| What: | Bullet Time (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Trevor Smith, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 25 October 2007 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
A good, excting story told at a cracking pace. An unusal story with a meeting of the 7th doctor & Sarah Jane. Lots of action well told & a sex scene for Sarah Jane !!!!
It's all a bit silly and rubbish! However, there are some good bits - the singing and I like the story being told from their POV. The rest is absolute drivel though.
| What: | Invasion of the Dinosaurs (BBC classic series videos) |
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| By: | Jamie Hardwick, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Sunday 21 October 2007 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Amazing! One of the best Who episodes ever! Should be out on DVD already!Jon and Elisabeth play the parts brilliantly with the supporting characters great!
After the recent devastation brought about by the civil war and the Pandora virus, Gallifrey is defenceless - the transduction barriers are down. The alien races who have recently been duly irritated by the Academy disasters are still hanging around, and immediately take advantage of the opportunity to invade. A new war has begun, possibly more devastating than the one that has just ended. But has it actually ended? Now the key players are engaged in attempts to seize the presidency through controversial political maneuvering. The legal mumbo jumbo is flying fast and furious, while the desperate struggle to repel the invaders goes on...
Though the dialogue gets rather ridiculous at times when delving into Time Lord law, Appropriation is much more focused and less ambitious than Warfare, so it is much easier to follow. A competent and interesting story.
| What: | Circular Time (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Matt, London |
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| Date: | Wednesday 10 October 2007 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
I really liked the four completely different stories. Very well written with interesting and different views of the 5th Doctor than we are used to - particular note was the last episode.
| What: | Silver Nemesis (Target novelisations) |
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| By: | Matt, London |
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| Date: | Wednesday 10 October 2007 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Again this is a good book compared to the tv episode. Very impressive.
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| Much better than the script |
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| What: | Time and the Rani (Target novelisations) |
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| By: | Matt, London |
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| Date: | Wednesday 10 October 2007 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Excellent and much better that the tv version. Well done Pip and Jane.
| What: | Earthshock (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | nathaniel maxfield, London |
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| Date: | Thursday 4 October 2007 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
It is one hell of a story. It has power and creepiness (ep1) and despite being amazing still has the fact that Eric Saward's only two good stories are this and the Visitation.
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| A Dark, New Era & Time Lord Secrets |
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Pandora: ...And now Romana has delivered herself to its very door.
Valyes: Of course - co-existing in the same timeframe as you - her earlier regeneration.
Pandora: Exactly. She's become anomalous thanks to me. I rather think the sentience will want to keep her in the vault, and... play... with her.
A very desperate sort of civil war is now underway on Gallifrey. Though it seemed that President Romana was at the mercy of the physically manifested Pandora at the end of Imperiatrix, she and her supporters are now waging a struggle against Pandora and her forces. (It is unclear why and how Romana has been able to remain free.) Leela has been blinded in an explosion, and has set off without Romana to find medical treatment. Things are not going well, and Romana has been forced to ground all TARDISes. To regain the upper hand, Romana heads to the Anomaly Vaults with the aim of obtaining Winter's TARDIS that has been impounded there, effectively shielded from the disruption that has immobilized all of the other TARDISes. But she does not know what will be there waiting for her, and endures an ordeal that may have changed her forever...
In spite of the slightly confusing start and unclear dialogue in a couple of places, Fractures is an gripping new chapter that progresses the Gallifrey storyline into new territory, and introduces the very strange and interesting Anomaly Vaults...
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| Good Idea, but should have been longer. |
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| What: | The Sirens of Time (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | C G Harwood, Dunedin, NZ, New Zealand |
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| Date: | Monday 1 October 2007 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
The problem i had with this story was exactly what everybody else has said, its three stories with the last episode stitching them all together - a good idea and one Doctor who has done to good efect in the new series (eg Mr Saxon, Bad Wolf etc) but in this story it didn't work simply because there was only 24 minutes for each episode. This would have been so much beter if they had decided to make it a 6 episode story (and considering it is the first, they could have done it).
By themselfs Davidson, Baker and McCoy were very good and slipped back into there roles very well, all three were very belivable. However when they got together the story and there acting knid of fell apart. they knid of didn't know weather to be nice to each other or argue the whole time.
If i was going to recomend a story to somebody who had no idea who the doctor was I wouldn't recomend this one. This was a good idea but just didn't work well.
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| Cell Phones, Cyberpunk & Giant Termites |
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| What: | Valhalla (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Doug, Pocono Summit, PA, USA |
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| Date: | Sunday 30 September 2007 |
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| Rating: | 4 |
Spoilers Ahead
Valhalla starts out, seemingly, with a companionless, mellow Seventh Doctor whose life is winding down (with a fully-transitioned McGann TARDIS interior, incidentally), arriving on a world whose civilization has wound down. Valhalla is the capitol of Jupiter's moon, Callisto, and the Doctor appears to be putting himself up for sale to abandon his time travelling days and work for an employer. Riiight.
Though the Doctor has genuinely seemed to be a tired, lost soul, in the second half of the story, he suddenly reveals that he found a sales catalogue of Valhalla from 200 years in the future. It has a listing of people for sale which features all of the details of their lives, including "confidential" records of criminal offenses (or "lies" as one guy says in reaction to hearing the info listed about him). And he had apparently learned that they were being trafficked as slaves, and couldn't resist dropping by to stop it. So which is it? Lost soul at the end of his life, or just another manipulative intervention? To make matters more confusing, at the close of the story, he seems to return to the initial slant of being tired of saving the universe.
The traffickers are the giant termites, it turns out, who have recently gone from nicking the sugar bowl to carrying away entire city buildings after some assisted evolution, apparently in an effort to heal the "wound" left as human civilzation has moved across the galaxy.
The trouble is that firstly, the story is rather boring, and secondly, none of it is very well-realized on audio here, though I think it would be even more dreadful on video. This must be the worst story ever vomited out of the pen of Marc Platt. Maybe all the magic mushrooms are finally taking their toll... Of course, I'm holding Platt to a high standard here, because I know he's capable of so much better.
The sound effects, production, and mixing are done rather well here, but unfortunately, this is just somewhat brilliantly-produced crap. I'd pretty much say that all 4 out of 10 points are for the technical excellence. And the best humor here is to be found in the behind the scenes interviews in the "cd extras."
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| Good story, but not great. |
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| What: | The Genocide Machine (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | C G Harwood, Dunedin, NZ, New Zealand |
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| Date: | Sunday 30 September 2007 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Dont get me wrong, I liked this story, but i wouldn't listen to it again. The proformances by McCoy and Aldred were as strong as they always are. The Dalek voices were great especialy the Empire Dalek, and i loved the sound of the Specials Weapons Dalek when it started fireing.
There were two charecters that amoyed me, and for the same reason. Prink and Beverly, these two just were not neaded for the story.
The one thing in this story i realy liked was the living rain. And when they drown the daleks in the shells that was the best bit. That would have looked so cool on TV.
The Daleks stories are always a Home-Run but this time i think this story is more of a base hit.
Mike Tucker always writes well for Dr who and this was no exception, He had a great idea but fell short a bit this time. I just wish he would try to do another Dr, he always does the 7th.
But my main throught threw this story was that it was good. It wasn't great but it wasn't bad eather.
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| This is the 6th Dr we should have had |
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| What: | The Marian Conspiracy (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | C G Harwood, Dunedin, NZ, New Zealand |
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| Date: | Thursday 27 September 2007 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
My entire throught threw out this audio was 'Dame you Micheal Grade, this is the Colin Baker we should have had in the 80s' Bakers proformance was brillant.
He was backed up by a good story and very good directing by two people who obviousely knew what they were doing, I look forward to Mr Russle and Ms Rayner working together again. It was realy nice to see three cliff-hangers that made me want to listen to the next episode straigh away.
The Highlight for me (apart from Bakers proformance.) was the introduction of a new companion. THis to me was the best intro for a companion that i can remember, and i hope Maggie Stables does more. Its nice to see that the Doctor didn't have to carry the story for once. She was actualy better than some of the extablished companions that have done these audios. although pls next time leave the cocco at home.
I liked that the suport cast was small, it made following who everybody was a lot easyer for me, and the lady who played Queen Mary was brillant.
When you listen to this prepare to lose 2 hours, and trust me it goes very quickly. I was actualy very suprised when episode 4 started.
the only bad thing about this story (apart from the cocco) was the title?????? and I'm still not sure what the temperal Nexis was (i must have missed something, oh well its not important).
In closeing, great acting, great writing, great direction, just great everything (except the cocco). If your new to these audios defantly give this one a try first. You wont be dissapointed.
I want to give this 9.5 out of ten but i cant so i'll give it 9.
| What: | The Invasion (Target novelisations) |
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| By: | Quist, NZ |
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| Date: | Thursday 27 September 2007 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Ian Marter's love of gritty realism has it's fullest expression here. One of the most memorable and best realised Troughton tales is lovingly brought to life as Marter presents a gritty tale in adult fashion. Tobias Vaughn strikes the reader as a heartless, power-driven corporate type and the Cybermen (and UNIT) are well-served but it is Packer who really impresses here. On-screen he seems a stock-standard henchman but in the book he really comes across as a thoroughly nasty piece of work. Sadistic, violent and totally without any redeeming features, Marter almost seems to pay obsessive attention to his excesses - particularly in the scene where he draws back to kick Jamie full in the face. What a rotter!
An action thriller in every sense of the word. Make sure you get a copy of this one...
