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Spoilers ahead.
After the intensity of the events of the past three episodes, Insurgency slows things down a bit, while still escalating the progression of what has begun. The offworlder students at the Academy are being stirred up by the increasing restrictions that are being placed on them by the Gallifreyan government. This raises tensions among the student groups themselves, as racial differences become highlighted. In the midst of all of this, Leela has been persuaded to try her hand at teaching a class in the Academy, and is asked uncomfortable questions by the students, and someone has (apparently) been maneuvered into making an attempt to find and steal the Great Key (we are not yet told who has instigated this). Romana is slowly becoming unhinged, and Inquisitor Darkel has now launched an open challenge to her presidency.
None of the action in Insurgency is as enthralling as what we've had in the first three episodes of this series, but it is a solid story that continues the chain of events. While listening to this, it occurred to me that Louise Jamison is really excellent in this series as Leela. Lalla Ward has also been great, but her performance in this episode gets a bit strained as Romana begins to get a bit burnt-out here.
A solid 7, not quite an 8.
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 | Silly fun and and androgum! |
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This is not the best-ever episode of Doctor Who! Yet it does manage to be many of the things which make this series so memorable. Featuring Patrick Troughton, making a rare appearance in color, and Colin Baker, who was the then-current doctor. Toss in two of the doctor's companions (Jamie and Peri) along with a space station, sudden death, beautiful ladies, the menace of the Sontarans, and the well-played Shockeye the Androgum with his unending quest to taste the flesh of one of those delicious human beasts!
Seeing the Doctor transformed into an androgum, with voracious appetite and bushy orange eyebrows is not to be missed! Silly fun, yes, but still a favorite: not every episode has to be all grim and serious. Enjoy.
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| Horrific, Intense and Complex |
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| What: | Gallifrey: Pandora (Gallifrey audio dramas) |
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| By: | Doug, Pocono Summit, PA, USA |
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| Date: | Saturday 10 March 2007 |
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| Rating: |   8 |
Some spoilers ahead.
First, I wish I could revise my rating of the previous episode in this second Gallifrey series. Upon listening a second time, I would rate Spirit more highly, giving it an 8. I think that knowing what was actually going on while listening to it again allowed me to have a better appreciation of the quality of the writing and production.
In this third episode, "Pandora," we return from what at first appeared to be a slight detour in the previous episode, and are thrown fully back into the political machinations being orchestrated on Gallifrey. This episode is easily the most intense Big Finish production I've listened to so far, and I've listened to quite a lot of them. I thought of giving this a 9 for the quality of the writing and overall production, but I feel that the episode is actually *too* intense, so I feel I must lower the rating to an 8.
The story being developed here has to do with political ambitions on multiple fronts, and the Pandora creature feeds on ambition. This episode portrays Pandora as being horrifically powerful and elusive - even though the Time Lords believe they have contained and controlled it, it appears to be able to act as it wills with impunity. But this may be a misperception - the truth may be that it has only been freed again through the carelessness of one who is out of his depth in this situation and is being played. It's difficult to tell for sure.
The big enigmatic hook from the previous episode is, at long last it seems, resolved as the truth is revealed. Not that much time has actually passed, but it seems like a long process has gone on until the events finally all come to their completion and the circle begun in the previous episode is finally, dreadfully closed.
The writing in this episode and the plot that is being weaved are superb and unsurpassed in my experience of other Big Finish stories. The multi-episode story arc feature of this series allows for a very substantial story to be developed, and this feature is being used to the fullest extent so far. This is a fantastic episode - fully engaging - but as I say, it really gets a little *too* intense. This really is amazing - I would not have expected as much from this series, which easily surpasses much of the main line of audios that feature the Doctors themselves.
Moderate spoilers ahead.
"Telos" is a competent and suitable wrap-up for this four-part series, but I'm sorry to say that it doesn't quite maintain the momentum and intrigue that had developed by the end of part three - "Conversion." At this point, there is an attempt to bring everything to a rather frantic conclusion, and in the process, the storyline becomes more standard - more of the familiar dire crisis and resolution. As an android taskforce heads to Telos to attempt to prevent a mass reactivation of Cybermen, followed by Cybermen from Earth who mean to stop their interference, the body count quickly begins to multiply. One of the lead characters meets a particularly nasty end, and she is slowly, horribly, horrendously done in.
Most of the cause of the decline in listening satisfaction here is due to the fact that the majority of the action is taken away from the Earth locations featured before, and shifted to a mostly uninteresting space ship and the poorly realized Tomb on Telos.
Still, it's not like this is a poor episode. It just didn't measure up to the quality of writing present in the previous three installments, and didn't provide a totally spectacular, blow-out ending. The surviving lead characters could be interesting in a continuation of the story, if further series of Cyberman are produced in the future. As it is, even though a wide opening has been left for the continuation of the story, enough has been achieved and concluded in the story to make this a adequately fitting, if perhaps not fully satisfying end of the series.
What more can I say? Entirely, unremittingly, embarassingly awful and beginning to receive the mocking stick it deserves. Possibly rushed out to precede ITVs Primaeval but whatever the explanation, it's inexcusable cack. Badly-acted, abysmally-conceived, writing of wincing awfulness, pompous, juvenile, 30-something shit.
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| Can anyone explain what that was about? |
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| What: | Beltempest (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Tardisuser, Cowes, Isle of Wight |
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| Date: | Monday 5 March 2007 |
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| Rating: | 2 |
Well?
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| One of the best Dr Who books |
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| What: | Who Killed Kennedy: (Miscellaneous original novels) |
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| By: | Mark1963, UK |
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| Date: | Monday 26 February 2007 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
A wonderful novel; one of the best! Takes an outsiders look at UNIT and the Doctor from the mid-60s on. A fan's delight full of detail and asides. Quite apart from that, it's a very, very good read. Highly recommended.
Aye! A more rum scurvy mess of a tale I never did see! Har!
I do feel that this story deserves a 2, at least. You see, the sound design is superb, and is worth 7, but the pirate story contributes a negative 5 to the score. The comedic stuff is a nice try, but it just doesn't fit, there's just too much of it, and it tries way too hard, which successful comedy never needs to do. It does have its moments though, including the sixth Doctor's "Gallifreyan buccaneer" song, which had me smiling with raised eyebrows... But the overall result is just a painful, confusing embarrassment. Irritating rubbish.
| What: | Made of Steel (Quick Reads books) |
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| By: | simon, Bristol |
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| Date: | Sunday 25 February 2007 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
It's not an easy thing to write a book that is this short and which meets the needs of the Quick Reads series. Add to this the requirement that the chief monster from Series Two (seemingly completely destroyed) be included and the fact that Terrence Dicks (who has been guilty of some woefully lazy writing in some of his Who novels) is writing it and the Cloister Bell could well ring, warning of impending formulaic Who-by-numbers.
But be assured, Dicks does the job here with some style. There are touching moments when Rose is recalled (though not by name), the Cybermen have
a good reason still to be there and this may even plug one of RTD's plot holes from Doomsday. There's even an explanation as to why Martha resembles one of the Torchwood employees killed in that series finale.
This is, of course, the obvious interest of this book - the first encounter with Martha Jones, making her print debut as new companion before she is introduced in Series Three. She isn't Rose mark 2 and there's enough here to excite interest without giving too much away. By now we all know that she's a medical student and there are only minor spoilers for the new series opener.
The Doctor comes up against another branch of the UK military. If you include UNIT and Torchwood then this is getting to be a habit, not just on screen but also in print (check out Stephen Cole's The Feast of the Drowned for example). It's good to know that our armed forces are aware of the Doctor, but can't they come to some arrangement with him. All the arrests get rather tedious, and if you're relying on him to save your bacon so often, then it may even seem a bit impolite. And surely they should at least use his full title (Sir Doctor)...
Other than that, this is a tightly plotted book that doesn't really seem limited by the format. (In fact I suspect that Dicks is well served by having some fairly restrictive rules to work to.) Well worth the two quid for an enjoyable hour or so's reading.
| What: | The Stone Rose (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Lorna, Wales,UK |
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| Date: | Saturday 24 February 2007 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
I love anything to do with ancient history and too combine that with Doctor Who was great! I like the way the Doctor runs about on his own and does stuff on his own, its nice to know he can! I think this whole book was brilliant!
This was the first Doctor Who book I read it was brilliant! Usally takes me a month to read a book it took me a week!
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| Too much continuity, but good fun. |
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| What: | Mission: Impractical (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | simon, Bristol |
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| Date: | Saturday 24 February 2007 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
David McIntee says that this book sees the end of the continuity references that he wanted to do. Phew. It's rather over heavy with continuity, from the TV programme and the DWM comic strips. Taran androids, for instance, feature as an aside. All this tends to give the impression that he's trying too hard.
That said, I enjoyed the book. It has a sense of humour (which can't be said of all continuity-laden novels) and it has a cleverly worked through series of schemes on a number of different fronts. Frobisher funtions well as a character in the world of the TV programme (Big Finish have also shown this). The second Whifferdill was less welcome and doesn't really work as a character.
Definitely a good way to pass a few hours, though.
| What: | Annual 2006 (Panini Annuals/Storybooks) |
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| By: | earle, new zealand |
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| Date: | Thursday 22 February 2007 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
A very good introduction to the newest TARDIS crew (that is, before the Tenth Doctor arrived in "The Christmas Invasion"), with breathtakingly original new stories and well-informative articles.
Christopher Eccleston's cockney, leather-wearing Ninth Doctor could have been well explored and developed further, had he not decided to relinquish the role at the end of Season One. Still his portrayal will be nonetheless memorable for its standout mode to other incarnations.
Murray Gold's music is the strongest the show has ever had and will hopefully stand the test of time (I love the Radiophonic Workshop crew's contributions but more from a nostaligia stand point than thinking much of it stands up today). Whereas Dudley Simpson's 'music' augmented the visuals perfectly, in isolation they hardly make for relaxed listening. In that regard, Murray's music is bliss - elegant, spiritual, dynamic. If anything the music overpowers the visuals a tad too often on telly (certainly overpowers some of the dialogue), but on CD the effect is magical and listening in a darkened room is the perfect way to transport yourself back to the atmosphere and mood of key scenes from the first two series. I eagerly await volume two.
Oh and it has Neil Hannon whose genius even outshines that of Gold!
| What: | Live 34 (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Mark, UK |
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| Date: | Tuesday 20 February 2007 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
I disgaree: it is Dr Who just a different take; a different perspective. It uses the audio medium well and I found it refreshing...
What holds The Church and the Crown together are the rather fun dialogue moments here and there. The story itself is rather ho-hum, and as another reviewer mentioned, it makes use of the very tired plot device of the look-alike/double. At several points, I didn't find it very easy to visualize the action, and at times, such as in some of the fight scenes, it was a bit difficult to follow what was happening. But the script and the characters, most notably the fresh presence of Erimem, made for many entertaining moments. Erimem is a standout character here, and is very believably played full-on by Caroline Morris. Michael Shallard's Cardinal Richelieu also gives us some interesting scenes.
Basically, don't expect anything brilliant here, but I think The Church and the Crown is entertaining enough to be worth the listen.
Better than expected. This is very entertaining, written more in the style of classic Who adventures. Much better than some of the junk that cluttered up series two of the TV series.
Congratulations, Mike Tucker...
A great start to a promising series that re-launches the Big Finish audio adventures. Sheridan Smith and Paul McGann make a good team, and the plot races along at breakneck speed. And the Daleks are in it too! Roll on Part 2...
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| Declining episode by episode |
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| What: | Memory Lane (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | the Traveller, the end of the world |
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| Date: | Sunday 18 February 2007 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Part One is brilliant, Part Two not so good, and so on. It's not bad, but the plot deteriorates rapidly towards the end, which is a shame as the regular cast are all brilliant and there are some great ideas here.
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| one of my personal top 5! |
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| What: | EarthWorld (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | roseveare, UK |
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| Date: | Saturday 17 February 2007 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
I don't understand the negative reviews here. This was a decently written, amusing book that does something I haven't seen a lot of in the series -- actually takes the characters' experiences in previous novels and uses them to inform the story. In particular the seldom-mentioned but you'd think fairly psychologically significant fact that Fitz isn't Fitz, and I love this book to bits for actually addressing that. It's also a better introduction to Anji than her actual first story. It's maybe a bit more character based than usual, as a whole I feel it's nicely done, and it's one of the EDAs I re-read the most often.
