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| What: | Doctor Who and the Pirates (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 25 October 2006 |
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| Rating: |   1 |
I agree with Stephen Carlin. This is awful drivel. We get thrown one cliche after another, over-the-top performance after over-the-top performance. It is full of wretchedly silly dialogue. By the time episode 3 comes around and, having exhausted all the other pirate cliches, the producers heap Gilbert and Sullivan on us, I have lost all my patience with this. I am sure that many fans like it because it is "silly" or some such thing, in the same way that fans like those horrid Star Trek episodes with gangsters and Romans. I find the whole thing is just an insult to the intelligence.
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 | Another Winner From Shearman |
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| What: | Jubilee (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 25 October 2006 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
Jubilee contains many of the ideas that would go into Shearman's teleply "Dalek" (the best of the Eccleston episodes). The parallel history idea is a bit contrived, and the notion that the Doctor has to "hold back" by unknown means the past from breaking into the present just does not make much sense. However, the alternate history itself is brilliantly conceived, with Martin Jarvis providing a standout performance. Shearmen works the device of pairing off characters for confrontations and revelations to great effect. As usual, his dialogue strikes the right emotional tones.
| What: | Arrangements for War (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 25 October 2006 |
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| Rating: | 4 |
Arrangements For War is a very chatty production - lots and lots of talk. Unfortunately, it is just not interesting talk. Mostly it is people being foolishly emotional and acting quite stupidly in the process. The alien menace promised in episode 1 does not show up until the end of episode 3, and mostly it is just gunfire sound effects. The unconvincing part is that somehow in a matter of days and entirely indepently of each other, The Doctor and Evelyn manage to become important within the governments of a world not their own, and both do so entirely accidentally. Furthermore, we get a stock baddie at the beginning, but then there is a change of heart in the writer and the baddie's assistant becomes an even more cliched stock baddie in his place. I know actors love this sort of thing because they get to emote like mad, but as a listener I just got annoyed with everyone.
| What: | Real Time (Miscellaneous audio dramas) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 25 October 2006 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Real Time has been written with a sequel in mind. That sequel has not and probably will not be done. Thus, there are some very obvious holes in the story that have been deliberately left to fill. Thus, the whole thing just has an incomplete feeling to it. It does work in a very traditional Doctor Who way, similar to
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| Colin Baker Gets To Be Bad Again |
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| What: | The Sandman (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 25 October 2006 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
This story I found better the second time I listened to it, but it still has many problems. The idea that the Doctor must be evil incarnate to someone is fine. The choice of Doctor for this role is also good, since before Doctor Who Colin Baker was known for his baddies on TV. The problems with it are these: 1. Why does he not just tell Evelyn what he is up to rather than stringing her along? It is not as though she is one of the kids the Doctor usually travels with. She is more than capable of handling the moral ambiguity. 2. The memory egg idea needs more work. Even the slightest knowledge of genetics reveals the silliness of the idea. 3. It is a small world - everyone keeps conveniently running into everyone else (this is known as lazy writing). Still, the production is worth listening to; one gets to hear why Colin Baker works so well asa bad guy.
| What: | The One Doctor (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 25 October 2006 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Doctor Who has rarely been any good when played just for laughs. One need only recall The Romans and The Gunfighters to see that the format is not generally conducive to continuous humor. The Once Doctor is the great exception to this rule. Playing on the lore of the program, the story rarely goes for the "in" joke. Similarly, the satire is brilliantly managed. The choice of Doctor and companion is also just right, with Colin Baker as the "pompous" Doctor, only he could play the part of the wounded ego so well. Mel as the most "goody goody" of the companions supplies additional natural fodder for the jokes. And there are so many good jokes in the program, so many memorable lines: Oh here we go on another journey round the English language; everything seems to be "great" on Generios; prepare to be disassembled; I'm sorry Doctor, but you are the feeblest contestant. The One Doctor will probably remain the best production Big Finish has produced.
| What: | Rags (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Harold Cogle, Irmo, USA |
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| Date: | Tuesday 24 October 2006 |
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| Rating: | 1 |
This was just an excuse to write a horror novel. The Doctor Who characters were not themselves. I consider it a non-Doctor Who book and not an enjoyable read at all.
| What: | Arrangements for War (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Doug, Pocono Summit, PA, USA |
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| Date: | Monday 23 October 2006 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
In Arrangements for War, the Doctor and Evelyn go to the planet Világ to give Evelyn some time to slow down for a while and process her experiences with the Doctor, so she can decide if she wants to continue with him or not. They remain there for some time, and separately, they both get rather involved in the society's affairs.
The sound design in this production is rather exquisite. Everything is very finely done, from the ambient sound effects to the incidental music, and from the newscasts to the dramatic clipped tones and sibilance of Gabriel Woolf (voice of Sutekh in Pyramids of Mars) as Governor Rossiter. Listening to Gabriel Woolf really is kind of mesmerizing.
It's a good thing that Arrangements for War is technically superb, because the story falls flat. It really didn't even begin to feel important until the end, when the Doctor can't deal with the results of his actions, and it appears he's going to do something he's repeatedly said he could not or would not do. But instead of getting an interesting shocker of an ending, we get a cop out from the writer, and an ending that's probably the thing that sent the previous reviewer here on his tirade.
Still a nice production though.
| What: | The Mark of the Rani (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Roddy Toddy, Dundee |
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| Date: | Friday 20 October 2006 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
Despite what other people might think i thought this was a good story, with an interesting setting. It also introduced The Rani, a good villain.
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| Ive travelled a long way to be here! |
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Dont take on board the rants of the few below the Doctor is spot on, Boucher is the only writer ive read so far that has realy captured the personalitys of the 4 doc and leela, the era and the style so there!. I do agree the charactures are unlikeable but the whole civilisation is too read the damn thing properly and you might see that. All doctor whos tv and book have some unlikeable (and dyslexic)charactures.
words cant express how bloody boring this book is ok the chactures of the doc and peri are right but oh my god dont wast your money on it to find your self wishing you'd got a better one.
Why is the question in my mind when i read this, very boring to much about the state the empires become and how the church has turn into a goverment thank god for the end which was good far play, but to sit through the middle was a struggle not the best sequel by far (and why are all of the morestrans named like italians).
And once again Boucher has captured the spirit of the series "spot on". Considering he wrote 3 of Tom Bakers best and most remembered stories (Face of evil, Robots of death and Image of the fendahl)its not a suprise that this book is so good.The Doctor and leela are probably the best representations in the book series ive read thus far (for more of the same check out Last man running) and the characterisations of Toos, Uvanov and Poul are indistinguishable from the tv show (its always nice to have a face to charactures). The plot is edge of your seat, intriguing and plays by the rules but gives you something new(what more could you want)like other Boucher books has gore but thank god it is only in 1 maybe 4 scenes on boy its coldly graphic rather than in your face and out of touch. In this book Boucher has given a face to Kaldor city and the class and political systems within and who could forget the robo-phobia something that has for me been almost "made flesh" as it were. His style of writing is fantastic and people who critisize are more at home with writers like Mick lewis or Dave stone (for to opposits to each other as well as Boucher) for both new and old who fans this is one of the best sequels so go out and buy,borrow but dont steal unless its from some one you dont like.
| What: | Her Final Flight (Big Finish subscriber bonuses) |
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| By: | Doug, Pocono Summit, PA, USA |
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| Date: | Tuesday 17 October 2006 |
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| Rating: | 4 |
Her Final Flight is a bonus story that's only half the length of the regular audio productions. As such, I suppose it is what it is, and we shouldn't expect too much of it. During the course of this story, the sixth Doctor runs into Peri again many years after losing her on Thoros Beta in Trial of a Timelord. This alone is problematic due to the mess that Mindwarp became, and I understand why no other writer attempted to feature this meeting before now. The Doctor and Peri talk about what happened, but the conversation doesn't really work - this meeting should've been much different. (And indeed, as it turns out, it doesn't actually count anyway...)
The bulk of the story is very simplistic, but another "layer" of the story adds a bit more to it. What's actually happening only becomes clear during the final ten minutes. When it was all over, what I was left with was the thought that a dull and ultimately inconsequential story was used to cover up a far more interesting backstory that the listener only gets little hints of here. Overall, it just doesn't quite work.
Man this book is boring i mean realy boring, dont get me wrong its well writen the characters are very well developed, beliveable and spot on (the Doctor, Peri, Churchill, Ribbentrop etc) and nicely leads to World game but god how bloody boring sorry Terrance this time no.
Go for World game its much better.
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| cannibal ferox or cannibal terrible |
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| What: | Combat Rock (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | justin , swansea, wales |
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| Date: | Tuesday 17 October 2006 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
Well what do we have here, feels like im reading zombie flesh eaters rather than Doctor who very odd. Very readable indeed if you love the banned video nasty most Doctor who fans my feel alienated though.
Not a bad book in all, fast paced and theres always somehting going on but to have Pat troughtons doc in among all the gore, prostitution and needless drug refrences dont fit the era or capture the innocence and in my opinion rather distastful, Mick lewis could have had say the 6th, 7th, or 8th doctors and would have worked better.
Now i must say that this book was not that bad, after all Gary Russell has created the right mood, the Doctor, Tegan, Nyssa and Adric's characterisation are spot on.
The Doctor's vulnerability and repressed anger. Tegan the opposite, Nyssa boring and singular (really nothing new there then)and Adric who cares. I suppose theres a few bad points but others have already pointed them out my only greivance is the "deca" why is magnus aka War chief in there. In the War games he and the Doctor clearly dont know each other which makes his apperance seem like hes there to add another name to the list of renegades. Over all a good read drags a bit just befor the climax but very good, and Michael Gough seems to be in every word said by the toy maker.
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| Rushed, and disatisfying. |
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| What: | The Eight Doctors (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Ray, Merseyside |
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| Date: | Monday 16 October 2006 |
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| Rating: | 5 |
This is the second Eighth Doctor novel I've read, (the other being Sometime Never...) My intention being to read through them in sequence, knowing of Terence Dicks reputation and and the high price this book currently fetches I was looking forward to a damn good read.
How disapointed I was. From the offset the book feels rushed, events take place in an astoundingly simplistic sequence, and where the Doctor-Sam partnership is finaly struck up my toes actually curled.
However, the novel does tie up a few confusing lose ends; the master/snake thing, and the Ravalox (Trial of a Time Lord) situation. Also, Dicks writes his characters very well, and leaves you with an impression of the Eighth Doctors personality as strong in your mind as all seven other Doctors.
My advice is to buy it, read it and sell it on.
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| UNIT are better than Torchwood. Fact. |
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| What: | Series 2 Volume 5: (BBC new series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Nathan Lloyd, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England |
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| Date: | Monday 16 October 2006 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
This is the final volume of the Tenth Doctor's first series. Fear Her is an average story. A child abducting people in her drawings is very unbelievable, even in Doctor Who standards. The line I like about this episode is the Doctor saying 'I was a dad once...' this is a reference to the Classic Series with Susan Foreman being the Doctor's grand-daughter. Army of Ghost/Doomsday is a fine two parter. This does tie up all of the lose ends of this series and throws in two classic villains- the Daleks and the Cybermen. As much as I like this story, I don't think it as good as The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit story because the Doctor was dealing with a creature that he didn't know what it was, but here he knows who the villians are after facing them many times.
| What: | Series 2 Volume 2: (BBC new series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Nathan Lloyd, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England |
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| Date: | Monday 16 October 2006 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
This volume is way more inferior than the previous volume. Tooth & Claw is a very great story involving Pauline Collins as Queen Victoria and the werewolf looks real. Also, David Tennannt has the chance to talk with his native Scottish tounge in this story; and Torchwood is coined. The story I don't like though is School Reunion. Me being a fifteen year old get bored of school- we want more variety. I pleased to see Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith and K9 returning. The real gem on this disc is The Girl In the Fireplace. The oximoron between the 18th and 51st century is fascinating along with the time windows. Sophia Myles makes the role of Madame de Pompadur her own and is brilliant in the role. Overall this disc would have got ten from me, but School Reunion brings my mark down slightly.
