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After the reaping I was looking for something special and with Tegan coming back was couldn't wait. Although this wasn't a horror of a story it just failed to come together. Tegan had issues but had moved on and you could fell the fall out of her time with the doctor but it was all too sarah jane smith. The plot was patrick troughton it just didn't wow me.
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 | Families who would have them!! |
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Introducing Peri's family and the effects of her leaving is obviously inspired by the new TV series but injecting the elements of success from TV into audio helps to build a punchy plot which runs at great pace delivering a great story.
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| Paradise Towers eat your heart out |
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| What: | Red (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | writingbluebear, jersey |
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| Date: | Tuesday 3 April 2007 |
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| Rating: |   9 |
After Paradise Towers I started to hate Doctor Who, I just wish they made this one instead. Mel has really come along as someone you can believe in and stands out as her own person not just a scream. Great plot, good action.
It's been a long time since I have not had a really good idea of what the outcome would be. The atmosphere was great, good sound track which pulled you into the story. Winning but with great loss and acknowledging the cost is rare in todays stories but more of this please.
I think for most the plot and location is nothing new. However if the result is good why nock it too much. Lots of running about, plenty of dialog but all comes together well.
| What: | Shada (Miscellaneous audio dramas) |
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| By: | Doug, Pocono Summit, PA, USA |
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| Date: | Sunday 1 April 2007 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
I enjoyed this version of Shada, and I happen to feel it was a great improvement over what remains of the cancelled original. The premise is interesting - the idea is that when the Fourth Doctor and Romana were taken away from Cambridge by the time scoop in The Five Doctors and were later rescued from the time eddy and returned, they never completed this adventure with Professor Chronotis. So now, in his eighth incarnation, the Doctor finally becomes aware that he needs to return with Romana and K9 and complete what they were supposed to do there. From there, the original story resumes.
However, the interesting setup is also the biggest weakness of the story. It whips by too quickly, and the new (Eighth) Doctor's first meeting with Romana is just too brief and flippant. She pretty much just says, "I like the new body," and leaves it at that. A longer and/or better written opening scene would've been nice.
The rest of the story is, well, Shada. The characters were well-cast, and I happen to think that Paul McGann worked very well here. The sound design was excellent, and it all went together to create a fun listening experience, if a bit long. Recast in this way, I'd say this was a very good Season 17 story, and an interesting remake.
Apologies to Katy Manning. I gave these a good try, but this one and The Devil in Ms. Wildthyme are unlistenable, poorly-written, poorly-acted, amateurish audios. Manning herself displays great acting skills, but unfortunately, they are painfully misapplied in the character of Iris Wildthyme, and she really gets no help from the rest of the cast or from the script...
Maybe I only feel this way due to having been familiar with David Tennant as the Doctor before listening to this audio, but after listening to this entire story, I'm left with the impression that Arabella Weir as The Doctor was badly upstaged by David Tennant as "Time Lord 2." As already noted by the other reviewer, Weir's Doctor isn't really given much of a chance to actually *be* the Doctor here, and as a result, the other two Time Lords, especially the one played by Tennant, end up with better roles than the Doctor.
Having said all of that, this is a very funny production. It's hard to rate this one. It's great fun as it jokes around about the trial scenes in The War Games (the Quarks are rubbish!), and the muffled music in the background in the squalid hotel room the two Time Lords are forced to stay in makes for some laugh-out-loud funny scenes there. The Doctor's drunken cohorts and Nick Briggs' "Previous Doctor" are all great elements, but having a drunk, belching, puking Doctor... that's just not right! It's laughably funny and cringingly disgusting at the same time.
If nothing else, it can certainly be said that Exile is unique...
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| Swords, Sorcery, Science and Spaceships |
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Hartnell stories can, let's be honest, be hard work. There's a worthiness that infects the writing, and a temptation to make knowing reference to the actor's absent mindedness and temper that always seems to end in caricature.
With one or two exceptions (Barbara and the Doctor come off worst), Christoper Bulis manages to steer clear of these pitfalls and delivers a good piece of writing that has humour, twists and turns and doesn't quite end up where you expect it to.
The cover gives a little too much away for my liking, but the relationship between science and magic (together with the dangerous possibilities of being infected by the latter) is a plot device that wonderfully subverts the genre that the book seems at first to be aiming for. And the final scene with the Sourcerer and his apprentice is masterfully done.
A good read.
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| A Great Metaphor, but a Poor Story |
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| What: | Time Works (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Doug, Pocono Summit, PA, USA |
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| Date: | Saturday 24 March 2007 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
"Our lives were not always like this, Miss Pollard. The records show that things were different once."
"Then what went wrong?"
"Nothing went wrong. This is the latest step in our progress. We have built our civilization, written our books and fought our wars. Our buzzword now must be 'efficiency.'"
The metaphor here is worthy of its place in the spotlight. The planet's name is Industry, and this is the figurative truth for us as well. Indeed, the ruler of this present age is the Accountant. All hail the bottom line! Efficiency is of utmost importance, and there is no longer any room to keep doing things the way people prefer, if it doesn't increase profits. We must keep busy at all times; our kids must be involved in three different sports and finish homework in six subjects before bedtime every night. And this is all for our own good, for our great goal is Completion! Ruling over us all is The Future. Time, as personified by the Clockwork Men of the story, will continually and secretly brainwash us as they sneak around between the tick and the tock, infiltrating our minds and programming us. For the truth is that Completion is something we cannot reach. It is a flawed concept, because we are already there.
Maybe it's just that I could see early on that Time Works is one huge metaphor, but I found that the metaphor was basically all I could really see here. The story seems to be simply the method of delivery. As such, it seemed to be as mechanical and sterile as the clockwork men, marking time just to fulfill its higher purpose. It felt tiresome; the drama and performances seemed uninspired. Nevertheless, as I say, the metaphor is worth paying attention to.
| What: | Daleks: (TV episode audio soundtracks) |
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| By: | Mr. Lamorak Korving, St. Albans, Herts.,AL1 1UX |
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| Date: | Thursday 22 March 2007 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
I normslly hate Daleks since there is no real
science behind them, unlike the Cybermen. That
said,I thought David Whitaker's Dalek stories
were excellent, particularly The Evil of the
Daleks, which introduced my favourite female
companion, Victoria Maud Waterfield.
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| Welcome back Colin and Nicola |
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| What: | Whispers of Terror (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Chris Harwood, New Zealand |
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| Date: | Wednesday 21 March 2007 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
This story was the first i had listened to, and am glad to say that it was everything i hoped it would be. Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant jumped straigh back into the roles easily, and the chemistry between them was there all the way through. Colin shows us what we mnissed out on in the 80s, if only he had been give a chance.
The plot is a little hard to follow in a few places but the rest of the story makes up for it. The suport cast is good, but none were outstanding. But the mojor thing about this story is how clastrophobic i felt while i listened to it. I really felt i was in a sound proof studio, cut off from the rest of the world.
if you were a fan of the 6th doctor listning to this will renew your faith in Colin Baker. If you didn't, give this one a listen.
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| Underrated Satirical Brilliance |
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| What: | Bang-Bang-a-Boom! (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Doug, Pocono Summit, PA, USA |
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| Date: | Wednesday 21 March 2007 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
Bang-Bang-a-Boom! has got to be the most laugh-out-loud funny Doctor Who story I've ever heard or seen! Certainly the funniest audio since The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. And yes, I would even say this one tops The One Doctor, though it is true that The One Doctor has more consistency. The only real shortcoming of this story, such as it is, is that the second episode vascillates rather noticeably at times between being humorous and being rather serious.
Among the characters in this production are Jane Goddard's mouse-like Geri, who sounds very much like Alpha Centauri from The Curse of Peladon (while managing to be funny rather than irritating), and Patricia Quinn's Queen Angvia, who managed to be consistently hilarious. In her first scene, I thought, "Oh, no - not another hideous Russian accent," but she is genuinely, outrageously funny throughout. Then we have Sabina Franklyn's Dr. Eleanor Harcourt, who is sort of a female version of a cross between Mr. Spock and Leslie Nielsen. She has some of the absolute best lines, which she delivers with a deadpan, fake American accent similar to that of Nicola Bryant's Peri.
I won't spoil the surprises in the plot - reading the standard synopsis is all that should be done before listening. Bang-Bang-a-Boom! is priceless satire and in a category of its own, but still manages to be Doctor Who in the end.
| What: | The Time Warrior (BBC classic series videos) |
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| By: | ben, witney uk |
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| Date: | Monday 19 March 2007 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
the story as a whole is good but the story is in a omnibus which is not so good.
| What: | Spearhead from Space (BBC classic series videos) |
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| By: | ben, Witney UK |
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| Date: | Monday 19 March 2007 |
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| Rating: | 5 |
this story is okay but if you have seen it more than once (like me!) it tends to get a bit BORING.
| What: | The Day of the Daleks (BBC classic series videos) |
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| By: | ben, witney UK |
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| Date: | Monday 19 March 2007 |
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| Rating: | 4 |
this dalek story i found very poor. the daleks voices were very slooowwwww & the plot was stupid too!
| What: | The Robots of Death (BBC classic series videos) |
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| By: | RM, jupiter |
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| Date: | Monday 19 March 2007 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
this is okay. it's like a murder mystery.
| What: | Pyramids of Mars (BBC classic series videos) |
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| By: | ben rigsby, witney UK |
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| Date: | Monday 19 March 2007 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
this is my fave story ever!!!!
| What: | Lost in Time (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | ben rigsby, witney uk |
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| Date: | Monday 19 March 2007 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
as well as the invasion this is a brilliant dvd set!
Spoilers ahead.
I realize that I'm comparing Imperiatrix to the other four episodes that preceded it, but my opinion on the bulk of this episode is that somehow, Imperiatrix is just a little light on substance. Maybe it's just that the events of this episode mostly deal with terrorist bombings and sneaky political wrangling, and it's all just a bit too mundane and too close to 'real life' for me.
Romana seems to be obsessed with changing Gallifrey in a way that the Doctor probably would've liked to - to open the world and the Academy to close contact with other races and to share the secrets of time with others who are capable of responsibly working with them. But whereas the Doctor took the course of just leaving, perhaps seeing the task to be too great, Romana is insisting on instituing drastic changes through the power of her presidential position. Much of Time Lord society appears to be in stark disagreement with her policies, and does not want Gallifrey to 'progress' in this way, yet she continues to push her agenda forward. And her obsession is driving everyone involved into power plays and violence.
Of course, all of this rather unpleasant and mundane action comes to a dramatic climax in the last 28 minutes (which are on the poorly marked *second* CD), where we are finally shown a clear view of much of what has been mysteriously orchestrated throughout this series. Romana is forced to enact a dictatorial takeover of Gallifrey's government (thus the title of this episode, "Imperiatrix"), the extent of Inquisitor Darkel's ambition is exposed, and the real player behind the "Free Time" movement steps forward. After Romana dramatically turns the tables on Darkel, the resulting tumult brought about by these extreme power plays has caused a situation to arise in which Romana is pressured into making a desperate move in order to neutralize a grave and imminent threat. Pandora takes full advantage of the situation to manifest in a form that will now topple Gallifrey over into civil war.
The character of CIA Coordinator Narvin really shines in this episode, as his strength, integrity and loyalty to the well-being of Gallifrey comes to the fore, and he is very well-acted by Sean Carlsen. Lalla Ward, on the other hand, is still struggling with the emotionality that has been thrown into Romana's character. Mary Tamm is again fantastic here. I would have given this episode a 9 if not for the fact that the story seems to muddle around and take too much time to reach a sudden jump to its climactic end.
This second series has had regeneration and identity as central running themes; the question of true identity is being explored here. Who is the real Romana? Who is the real Andred? When a Time Lord regenerates, does the original personality really remain? These themes of fighting with yourself, the search for true identity, and this Time Lord quest for the identification of the soul have indeed made for a very interesting subtext.
