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I was Fourteen when The Happiness Patrol aired I'd been watching who for ten years and In the last three years I was only one of three viewers at school both (interested in Tory politics). I felt who's unpopularity was due with not competing with Star Wars ,How I longed for stories to compile history on Cybermen and Sontarons and not the campness of Necros's Dj or the Fantasy Factory and then came This Story, It made me realise Who was surreal and shouldn't Be James Bond, Let the hip kids have there Alien we had a pink tardis, My friends at school were appalled at an Attack on Thatcherism I thought it was great, I was too young to understand irony and I felt embaressed by the idea of the Kandy man Although I loved the Idea ofm being hunted for being miserable (like being sort by A bully for a weakness) Ten years later and I now realise All the references to Homophobia and undermining Minorities in Unions and am proud My T.V. show and its team had the guts to attack a suttle form of fascism. (as a matter of interest, If your tv has a angle adjuster put it diagonal and tune it to near black and white its what Chris Clough,director wanted)
Yes, it made about as much sense as the above. But some good bits. The Doctor's not in it till about page 150.
| What: | Singularity (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles |
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| Date: | Wednesday 16 August 2006 |
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| Rating: |   6 |
I see that there is a real split among reviewers about this one. My surmise is that the trouble is in the story, which is neither here nor there. On the one hand, the Somnus Foundation could be a dead ringer for Scientology. On the other, there is the "tragedy" of the human race being left behind for good. The real sticking point for me is that old bad idea that "emotions" are what make us "human." In other words, don't think, just feel, and you will be "human." Give this half a second of thought and you will see how preposterous the whole proposition is. And to have Turlough, of all people, defending what makes one human? Therein lies the trouble. What should be grand satire is played in dead earnest. It would have been much better to have taken a full assault on Scientology, to let the satire take hold. Taken seriously, little in the story works well.
Sometimes it seems that "fun" trumps story too often in the fan world. Yes, it is fun to have Peri kidnapped and kick her kidnappers where it hurts. It is amusing to have wholly incompetent Musketeers. It is delightful in a way to have Erimem out-think the Doctor in worming their way into court. However, mostly, this Alexandre Dumas retread, with plot and counterplot and never mind the reality. The she looks just like... plot is so old it is a wonder that it has not crumbled to dust. Tramping around history may be fun, but in the TV days it was done because of budget problems. With no visuals to create, the radio dramas can truly expand out into the cosmos, and leave mankind's cradle behind. So why not?
This one is much more highly rated than I would give it. The reasons for my lower assessment are mainly the huge number of cliches in the story. All the chariot and battle sequences do not come off at all well, sounding wholly unrealistic. The villain Yannis is so one-dimensional that the edge of a playing card would seem like the Great Wall of China compared to him. Mass intelligence mind control has already been done in the Yeti stories. Everyone except the Doctor seems too easily taken in by wholly transparent plots, such as the forged letters and lost heirs. There are strengths to the story. There are some funny bits when the Doctor has to explain the embarassing parts of Egyptian culture. Peri again gets a much stronger role than in the TV series. Erimem's doubts are convincingly portrayed.
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 | Decent Story Wonky Science |
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| What: | Red Dawn (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles |
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| Date: | Wednesday 16 August 2006 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
The Doctor Who byproducts have tended to be heavily revisionist, and this is no different. Granted, Brian Hayles expanded the range of possibility for the Ice Warriors during the Pertwee years, but that was to make them more three-dimensional. Justin Richards has returned them to one-dimensionality, albeit a different dimension. So, instead of ruthless militarism, we get long and shallow conversations about honor. The other major problem with this story is the dreadful science. Even if one could graft alien and human DNA into a workable being, DNA does not transfer learned traits. This theory of inherited acquired knowledge is the old long-disproved Lamarckian theory of evolution. The knowledge of how to ride a bicycle does not genetically transfer from parent to child, and neither can one be born with the ability to operate Martian technology simply because one has some Martian DNA. Those two problems aside, the story does have some redeeming features. Peri is made to be braver and more intelligent than in the TV series, to the better of story. The Ice Warriors too, though a little single-minded, are in no way stupid. The rocket science is more accurate than the biological science. There is some good dialogue and a few snappy lines.
So good the script would have taken me a whole day to write. Colourful, nostalgic - yes. Fun - maybe. Good Doctor Who - Not really. It's nice to see Hartnell, Pertwee and Troughton together though. Rest in Peace all three of them.
By the way, Hatman, listen carefully. Go to www.tv.com, sign up using your email address, then search for Fireexit112 in the forums section - that's me.
| What: | The Nowhere Place (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | steve., devon |
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| Date: | Tuesday 15 August 2006 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
fans may be pleased to hear this is not the usual sad sack story of poor evelyn,dicky ticker,sob weep hankies out, but a return to the old days.
Good plot,fast paced,could do with a tad more humour.
[but thankfuly no singing, or penguins...lols]
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| Explaining Away The Movie |
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Having already read ‘The Book of the Still’, ‘The Crooked World’ and ‘Casualties of War’, I decided it was about time that I went back and started at the beginning. I have to say that, while I didn’t really enjoy this book, I do have a lot of respect for it.
The reason I have a lot of respect for it is because the point of this book is pretty much to try and patch some kind of sense together out of the whole Doctor Who universe after the –ahem- movie. With that in mind, the plotlines that Dicks had open to him were pretty limited, and considering that, he did a good job. By the end of the book, all the ‘What the f*#$?!?’ factor that the movie left you with is pretty much sorted out, which is a good thing, and the stage is set for the later novels, which is even better.
Like a lot of other reviewers, however, I also had problems with the very forced scene with Sam at the end which seems to come pretty much out of the blue, and also the lack of balance between the various past incarnations. The focus on the Sixth Doctor for most of the book’s actual plot was unfortunate, given that being a newcomer to Doctor Who, I’m not well acquainted with all the ins and outs of the previous Doctors, and Colin Baker’s maybe least of all. So that one left me a little confused because where, say, the section with the Third Doctor was very well done and explained well, the section with the Sixth felt far too rushed for me. A more experienced fan may have been able to make a little more of it, but being a child of the generation that can only just remember the Seventh Doctor, and who is now looking back over the others all the characters and places and plotlines left me a little . . not really confused, because the plot of the book is so simple, but certainly without much of a founding in what was going on. That said, the very brief section with the Seventh Doctor was very good, I just wish there had been more of it.
I don’t know if it’s just me, but I also had a problem with the sci-finess of this book. For me, one of the appeals of Doctor Who is the fact that it’s science fiction without really being the clean, high sci-fi that it could be, it’s different and refreshing, and this book was just a little too science fiction for me what with all the organisations, politics and blasters wedged into it, it just never really sat right with me.
That said, as I’ve already mentioned this book did a good job of both filling in the holes and setting the scene, so I can’t rue it too much.
| What: | The Three Doctors (Target novelisations) |
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| By: | Barry Cronin, Manchester, UK |
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| Date: | Sunday 13 August 2006 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
I love the televised Three Doctors, because it has my two favourite Doctors (Pertwee & Troughton) on great form. Hence, I love the novelised Three Doctors. As with all the Targets, it won't tax your brain - what it will do is gently stroke every nostalgic bone in your body. They say fans these days are spoiled - I think we were, back in the early 70s, when we saw the 3rd Doctor's adventures for the first time, and then had the pleasure of the Target books. Trust me, those WERE the days.
No one picks up a Target novelisation expecting great literature - but I'm, still surprised by Claws of Axos getting such a low average score. Having just finished it, I'd recommend it to anyone wanting a perfect snapshot of the 3rd Doctor/Jo/Master/UNIT era. Disappointed Terrance Dicks didn't explain how or where the Master got his face from, when he tricked himself past the UNIT guard to get to the TARDIS, but otherwise every box was ticked, it licks along at a great pace, and I can think of worse ways to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon.
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| Very Highly Reconmended Book |
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| What: | The Stealers of Dreams (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Mimi, UK |
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| Date: | Saturday 12 August 2006 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
I vote this to be the best book out of the 9 Doctor Who Books that ive read so far. This book captures the charactors in a true and relistic way, as well as telling a well thought out, imaginative story that grips you untill the end.
| What: | Independence Day (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Hatman, Washington |
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| Date: | Friday 11 August 2006 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Average. Has a good ending. You can trust Hatman. You don't have a choice. Well, actually you do. But trust him anyway! The book? I've already finished with the thing! Oh I forgot to mention that Bullet time has Russians in it. I really should get repaired soon. For the motherland! Go away now!
One of the best Dalek stories written. The acting is superb ,Davros is great and the Daleks are returned to glory after Destiny. Sublime!
| What: | Shada (Miscellaneous audio dramas) |
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| By: | Nathaniel Maxfield, London |
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| Date: | Thursday 10 August 2006 |
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| Rating: | 4 |
Shada is an alright story. Maybe this adaptation would be better if it had a different Doctor. The fact is Shada might, if it had ever been broadcast, have been a good Tom Baker story. But when you are watching a webcast with the extremly dull Paul McGann it's hard to find any good points with it apart from some good voice acting from guest stars. Boring
| What: | Psi-ence Fiction (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Hatman, Where all da rappers are |
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| Date: | Wednesday 9 August 2006 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Yet more philosophical mumbling and timeline bending nonsense. Most Doctor who books have a fair bit of the stuff. It looks like a kind of white sludge, like tar but white. What am I talking about? I forgot, during the cold war...
| What: | The War Games (BBC classic series videos) |
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| By: | Nathaniel Maxfield , London |
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| Date: | Wednesday 9 August 2006 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
The War Games stands as one of the best Doctor Who stories of all time. Phillip Madoc's performance as the War Lord, Edward Brayshaw as the War Chief, I could go on. Certainly the best Troughton story if not the best of Black and White Doctor Who.
| What: | The Day of the Daleks (BBC classic series videos) |
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| By: | Nathaniel Maxfield, London |
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| Date: | Wednesday 9 August 2006 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Day of the Daleks is a strange story. Although the daleks get to exterminate people at the end,they don't really get much intresting screen time. Alright but nowhere near as good as Genesis, Frontier in Space etc.
| What: | Bullet Time (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Hatman, kong hong |
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| Date: | Tuesday 8 August 2006 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Very good. until the end. Contradicts the 2006 series episode School reunion. Why? Read it and find out! If the ending was good, this would have got 8. If the rest of the book was like the ending, this would have got 4.If this book was city of the dead, this would have got 2. If? Why? Who? What? When? How? Where?
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| We are the supreme beings! |
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| What: | Superior Beings (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Hatman, are you calling me a liar? |
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| Date: | Tuesday 8 August 2006 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
seems like a mix of only human, half-life and fear of the dark. taking the bad elements from all three. The fox creatures (Valethske)were good villans, though.
