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A clichéd badly plotted and incredibly slow audio adventure. Barely anything actually happens until episode 3, and by then I’d pretty much lost interest. If you do listen to this audio, take an episode at a time, as anything more I found my attention wandering.
On the plus side, Colin Baker and Maggie Stables are excellent, and Roy Hudd provides a little entertainment
For a short, to the point, guide this is quite effective, offering the reader a synopsis of each episode and a sometimes biased, sometimes observant, sometimes plain silly review – such as the Time-Flight review ‘episode 1’s mildly intriguing but the rest’s crap.’
As a new fan to the show, or someone seeking another’s opinion, this book will more or less satisfy.
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 | Yetis on the Underground - Aarrh!!! |
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Not the best story to listen to on audio, but considering most of its televised version is lost, there isn’t much choice. The main problems are the gun fights which probably look great on screen but don’t sound that great on CD. Other than that, the story is a good one, the London Underground setting succeeds in bringing the adventure down to Earth, and Yetis are pretty cool (especially their Cobweb Guns).
Some daft ideas (the foam) and slow episodes let down the creepier aspect of the story, such as Mr. Oak and Mr. Quill.
Superb acting, eerie noises and an effective feeling of claustrophobia contribute to making this a triumph for Big Finish. Well done Trevor Baxendale, who has succeeded in creating convincing characters in a terrifying situation with a palpable sense of danger around the corner.
While I'm only now starting to get into Doctor Who novels (this was only my second one, the first being the EDA's 'Book of the Still') I found this one good fun, gripping, and well written.
The problem I'm having with being a new Who fan is that a lot of the explainations don't really make much sense to me. 'The Book of the Still' left me incredibly confused. I didn't have this problem with 'The Feast of the Drowned' in the slightest. Everything was explained gradually and carefully (probably because it's written for people half my age, but there you go) as opposed to there being this huge 'download' of information at the end to confuse me.
I found that in the first few chapters the Doctor's character didn't really come across properlly, like David, I quickly assumed that this had been written before anyone saw David Tennant acting the role, and I strapped myself in for more of a feat of endurance than an enjoyable experiance. Fortunately, I was wrong, and after the first handful of chapters, Cole seems to get a handle on DT's Doctor and writes him brilliantly.
The whole book is very visual, a little bit scary and really, really good fun. When I picked it up, I knew that it's written for the YA crowd, so I wasn't expecting much, but the book completely surpassed all my expectations and even after only two books I can see that some of the conventions used in the old books (like stating something is explained to someone without actually explaining it to the reader) are starting to sneak their way into the new ones, which can't be a bad thing.
In short, maybe this book would be a little 'young' for the hardened reader of Who novels, but as one of my first, I found it a really, really good introduction and something that's going to soften my entry into reading some of the older books.
| What: | Blood Heat (New Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Whites, Southend, UK |
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| Date: | Tuesday 18 July 2006 |
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| Rating: |   9 |
First time i had read a new adventures in years. Top quality and well worth the read. It's fascinating to read a parallel-universe take on what happened after "DOCTOR WHO AND THE SILURIANS" and i thought the Brig' was portrayed very well. If you're a fan of the UNIT stories i suggest you read this book. Immediatly.
I'll admit that this is the first Doctor Who novel I've read, so maybe I'm not in the best place to be review it, but the other reviewers seem to have picked up on some of the things I noticed to, so I thought I'd chip in.
I was buying into this book right up to the last couple of chapters and read it in just over a day. However, as the end approached I found myself looking at the quickly receeding number of pages left and wondering when the hell all of this was going to be explained to me. When it was, it was explained too fast, made very very little sense to me and left me feeling deeply unsatisfied, which is a shame because up until then I had been really enjoying it. I kept expecting there to be a section where the whole temporal paradox thing was explained for us idiots that still had no idea what was going on, but it just didn't happen, and it was only after much thinking about it (and reading in Wikipedia) that I really began to get my head around what had gone on. Really, it wasn't that that it wasn't explained -well- (although certainly it could have been done better), but more that it seemed all to be explained in a huge 'download' at the end that tried to ram too much into my poor, rusty little brain too fast.
Also, I have to say, though again I'll say this is the first Doctor Who novel I've read, the Doctor did seem to spend most of this book passing out, falling over or just generally getting tied up and tortured, and after a hundred or so pages of that I was starting to get sick of it. He didn't really seem to be in control at any point (with a couple of exceptions) and just drifted along and let stuff happen around him.
All in, I did enjoy this book, but I would have enjoyed it -more- had I been eased into all the explaination at the end a little better.
| What: | Frontios (Target novelisations) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Monday 17 July 2006 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
"Frontios" was not one of my favorites of the Davison TV serials. No matter what, insect villains have never looked right on Doctor Who. And the sight of Turlough slobbering "Tractators" is off-putting all by itself. The name "tractators" simply conjured bizarre images of potatoes dressed up as trains. Bidmead's novelization of his own script, however, makes up for many deficiencies. The reader can create a fully functional and truly frightening tractator in his/her imagination. The plight of the people of Frontios comes through with greater clarity and elicits greater pity from the reader. And the tractator machines ae more terrifying given Bidmead's descriptions. There are some problems, such as no awareness of how gravity actually works. The Chief Orderly seems inconsistent and prone to sudden changes in direction. Nevertheless, reading this novelization will clarify many of the fuzzy issues in the TV serial.
| What: | The Mutant Phase (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Monday 17 July 2006 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
"The Mutant Phase" is one of the best of the Big Finish productions. The Daleks are much more menacing in purely audio format than when seen. But there is more to it than that. The story itself is fascinating, with the Daleks finally facing an enemy that truly frightens them - themselves gone berserk. The acting is excellent all around, and everyone makes his or her part seem real. Another plus is that, as with David Whitaker stories in the past, different characters have different motivations and no one, not even the Dalek Emporer, is out and out bad. There are two flaws in my view. One is the loose genetic science. DNA just does not migrate cross-specially. The other is the "it didn't really happen" ending. I hate such endings because they make the entire previous story seem pointless. Apart from that, "The Mutant Phase" is gripping drama well worth listening to.
Fans have a love/hate relationship with "Genesis Of The Daleks." It is often considered a classic, yet, close analysis shows that it has the usual weaknesses of Terry Nation scripts. One of those weaknesses was padding in the middle, such as Sarah's pointless breakout attempt, which goes on too long, ends in nothing, and advances the story only to the extent that it allows Harry and the Doctor to figure out where Sarah is so that they can rescue her. This audio version, released on LP some time in the '70s, cuts away large amounts of the deadwood to the betterment of the story as a whole. Some of the better aspects are the performances of Michael Wisher (still the best Davros) and Peter Miles, and the premise of the story. The thousand year war with two sides nearing total social collapse is a marvellous idea. Another one is having Dr. Strangelove (aka Davros) running the whole show. Nation does a brilliant job of showing how totally paranoid and haywire any such situation would be.
The children's radio special "Exploration Earth" is there mainly for curiosity appeal. Designed to teach children about the formation of the Earth, the story gives silly lines to Sarah and presents us with the very silly and not at all frightening bad-guy, the Migron Just what it does and what makes it so bad are never quite explained, but any monster put out by a few flowers is not really deserving of the name "monster."
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| More Suitable For Film Than Radio |
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| What: | The Ghosts of N-Space (Miscellaneous audio dramas) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Monday 17 July 2006 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Three yeares after the production of "The Paradise Of Death" came "The Ghosts Of N-Space," with basically the same team as before. Sadly, this would be Jon Pertwee's final performance as the Doctor. Here, he drops back into the role and demonstrates again why many think of him as the definitive Doctor. A revelation is Stephen Thorne, playing the villain Max Vilmius. Thorne, when used in past Doctor Who, was used mainly for his size and voice - both big to say the least. As a result, he was left to bluster his way through his roles, and I never found him at all convincing. What a difference the years make. Given the right role and some experience, Thorne really makes this role work. Though his Brooklyn accent is not wholly convincing, yet he makes Vilmius more than just another big, bad wolf. Harry Towb's over the top job as the Brigadier's uncle Mario is a different matter. Plenty of funny lines, but he never sounded Italian to me. The story is the real let-down. The whole explanation of N-forms and N-bodies as the truth behind both demons and the soul, or at least near death experiences, is rather complicated and unconvincing. In the end, it comes down to swapping names - call it an N-body rather than a soul and hope that no one noticed the switch. Another problem is that toward the end, many of the characters are required to provide awkward narration in the form of talking to themselves because so much of the story is more suitable to film than to radio. The production has many good moments, but needed a better story.
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| Interesting, But Too Long |
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| What: | The Paradise of Death (Miscellaneous audio dramas) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Monday 17 July 2006 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
With Doctor Who out of action on TV, fans within the BBC decided to resurrect an old idea - do it on radio. They reassembled an old team - Doctor 3, Sarah, and the Brigadier, got Pertwee-era producer Barry Letts to write the script, and then hoped for the magic of yesteryear to emerge. The result both does and does not meet expectation. On the one hand, the story idea itself is quite interesting. The idea of the rather obviously named rapine is another good one. Both key in on the anti-capitalist, pro-environment flavor of the Pertwee years. The radio format allows for Letts to go big and not worry about budget and appearance. The regulars are all excellent, returning to their roles as if they had never left them. Of the "guest" cast, Peter Miles is the standout, with smooth, convincing delivery. Radio is the idea format for his extraordinary voice. The character of Jeremy FitzOliver, on the other hand, just does not fit in. Perhaps he is there to lighten the load on what is a somewhat grim story, but I tend more toward the Doctor's annoyance with him than finding anything comic in his behavior. The bits that do not work so well involve Onya and the natives, and the whole Skyland segment. All are there mostly to deliver awkward and preachy speeches of a quasi-zen philosophy. On the whole, though, this was quite entertaining. Final reason to listen: The Brigadier has the hots for Onya.
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| Good Atmosphere, Shoddy Explanations |
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| What: | The Land of the Dead (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Monday 17 July 2006 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
The story has some good sound effects to make it quite scary at times. With the character of Nyssa getting more thought and development, Sarah Sutton has stepped back into the role with a much firmer control. Peter Davison convincingly recreates his Doctor. Though heavy on atmosphere, "The Land of the Dead" is rather light on explanation. Just what the Permians are, how developed, why they died out, and why no previous fossils had ever been found are all questions left begging. The concept of creatures with the skeleton on the outside holding the parts together through some electic force is so counter to all known evolutionary paths on Earth that one just cannot believe that they are not from some other world. Some deeper thought into the whys and wherefores woud have boosted the story.
This already pretty good story is given a boost by David Tennant's entertaining reading of it. His unique voices for different characters are brilliant (especially Mickey and Rose) and his performance as the Doctor is predictably fantastic. The interview included is a nice bonus as well.
Although I found the book overall a very good read the begining was rather confusing. Ian & Barbara did not know each other and had not meet either Susan or The Doctor before. Yet having just read The Unearthly Child - the very first Dr Who book Ian & Barbara were Schoolteachers where Susan was a pupil. The end of that book had them landing on Skaro.
| What: | Series 1 Volume 2: (BBC new series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | E.B., Australia |
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| Date: | Sunday 9 July 2006 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
World War Three is as good, if not better as my greatest ever favourite, Inferno (which I have only seen once, a few years ago). But the others, only average.
| What: | Series 1 Volume 1: (BBC new series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | E.B., Australia |
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| Date: | Sunday 9 July 2006 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
I thought that the actors in these three stories were exeptional, the special effects amazing, but the stories were not quite up to scratch. The first one was rather average, the second one was admittedly amazingly good (and stood out as an especially good story in the whole series), but the third one was terrible. I mean, ugly zombies and weird ghosts just don't make good sci-fi. Leave them to horror. I also think that the first one focused too much on Rose, which is also a downfall of lots of the first doctor stories. (Though the doctor's humourous comments and exclamations were as good, if not better than usual.) Overall, it wasn't too bad, but not quite as good as I would have hoped.
| What: | Inferno (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | E.B., Australia |
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| Date: | Sunday 9 July 2006 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
I must say that this is an exeptional story. I think that this is the best Doctor Who story ever! (Though I watched it years ago and I've yet to see the 7th Doctor's encounter with the daleks. I expect it to be good.)
A welcome return to the pseudo-historical story setting, with a new, very encouraging companion brilliantly played by Elisabeth Sladen. The whole aspect of the Doctor acting patronisingly towards Sarah and women in general is just plain irritating though.
