There are 4,155 reviews so far. To add a review of your own, click on the item in question, then click the Vote link.
Deadline asks "What if Doctor Who had never been made?" and spends more time with the washed up writer who missed with it than with his Doctor, whom he's still writing in his head as he goes progressively mad.
The play's well written, and the flights into fantasy play fast and loose with reality, as the Who mythos is added on little by little, remaining flexible. But it all really hinges on Derek Jacobi's performance.
And what a performance. Now, I've loved everything I've seen this actor do in the past, and he has a great voice. He really makes you go through all the emotions as his character isn't necessarily likeable, and is often pathetic. It's as touching as it is impressive a piece of acting.
For Doctor Who historians, there are plenty of references to the people who made it happen back in the 60s, and some lampooning of the true fanatics, with a policewoman series taking the place of Doctor Who in the hearts of fans. This is where it may get broader, but it still works. Finally, there's a greater message about what Doctor Who has brought to society as a whole.
Overall: The best audio play Big Finish has produced to date, even if the Doctor isn't really in it. It takes a big chance, but succeeds beautifully. (And wraps up the line started in Auld Mortality better than Exile.)
 |  |  |
 | An interesting experiment |
|
| | |
This Unbound plays with the Doctor's personality ("What if he was a right bastard?") and probably feels like the least Whovian of all the Unbound stories. It is the lesser for it, though I do appreciate the experiment.
Part of the problem is that the story, though well told through two timeframes, is rather unartful. There's nothing really new about it, it doesn't really refer to anything else in Who, it's just... average. Furthermore, you get some of the most repetitive musical cues ever in Big Finish. Unartful remains the best word to describe the whole package.
David Collings does a good job with the role, don't get me wrong, and I sometimes think it's worth a listen for the eye-popping last scene, but the buck stops there.
Overall: It's not Doctor Who, and though that's the point, the story around the idea doesn't quite elevate it enough.
| | |
| Great story no matter what universe |
|
| | |
Though David Warner's Doctor is perhaps not all that distinctive, he quickly makes the role his own, and you accept him totally in it. What really works well here is the story, which might have worked with any Doctor, unbound or not.
The Hong Kong setting is well used and unsettling. The retake on The Mind of Evil doesn't really cover the same ground and, again, is well used. The villain has some reasonmable scenes and is defeated smartly. It's all quite engaging and well constructed.
Nicholas Courtney as an older Brigadier who never had the Doctor's help with UNIT makes one of his best appearances on audio, and there's a fun double-act between him and the new UNIT leader (who's a hoot!) played by David Tennant. It's through these guys that we get references to the ol' UNIT stories and how they were changed by the Doctor's absence, and these are natural enough that they stimulate the imagination without stopping the story.
Overall: Though not as "unbound" as some of the other stories in this series, it's a great little thriller that is begging for a sequel (and now it seems it will get one).
| | |
| Rich and complex, beautiful |
|
| | |
Marc Platt gave us the incredibly dense Ghost Light, and Aulf Mortality is totally in that vein, taking a lot from the mythology he created in his novel Lungbarrow, but still not losing the listener.
It's "What if the Doctor had never left Gallifrey?" and it's a beautiful, if sad, tale, dense and rich with Doctor Who history, symbolism, and excellent performances from all involved. This is the best version of Susan I've ever met, for example.
There are lots of winks to Doctor Who lore here, from twisted ankles to Daleks, and the spin given to reality at the end is a moment of exaltation that manages to launch the Unbound series in a fun way.
Overall: Excellent. The kind of audio that immediately merits another listen to get all the texture.
| | |
| Great script because a great episode |
|
| | |
What else can you ask from a script book? This is one of the best Doctor Who stories ever, and Holmes' script crackles with the same wit and energy as the aired story.
| What: | The Discontinuity Guide (Miscellaneous factual books) |
|
| By: | Siskoid, Moncton, NB |
|
| Date: | Friday 14 October 2005 |
|
| Rating: |  10 |
Mine is constantly nearby since it contains a lot of useful or fun information on each episode of the classic series. Briefer than such guides as About Time, but where else can you get all the stories in one small package? Aside from the info, the essays trying to tie up continuity are good and useful, it collects a lot of great lines, doesn't mind laughing at the material, and has some fair criticism of each story.
Other books go more in-depth, but no other book is as accessible and casually perused.
Like the Discontinuity Guide with a lot more discussion, this guide to the 3rd Doc is all the better for its many essays on various aspects of the show, answering niggling continuity questions and placing the series in its context. A critical analysis in addition to the usual geeky information.
The authors have a tendency to trash certain people (from Who and not), but it's not overblown in this particular book. Just take such things with a grain of salt, since this is shaping up to be a definitive guide to Who.
| | |
| Daleks, what did you expect? |
|
| | |
Goes through the creation of Doctor Who's most famous enemies, with stops at every story they appeared in in the classic series, up to publication, including stage plays, the Dalek movies, strips, etc. with many black and white photographs.
Nothing incredible, and I certainly wouldn't go out of my way to get this, but it's a fair primer to the Daleks, if quite out of date.
| | |
| Satisfying, but could it be more? |
|
| | |
| What: | The Clockwise Man (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
|
| By: | Siskoid, Moncton, NB |
|
| Date: | Friday 14 October 2005 |
|
| Rating: |  7 |
The Clockwise Man was enjoyable as I read it, but fell apart in my mental analysis once it was all over. Filling, but not nutritious, I suppose.
Among its strengths, I count an appropriately melancholy Doctor, great mood throughout, frequent enough twists and turns, and the reappearance of both bad wolf and Big Ben (placing this in Year 1, it makes the clock tower a better nexus point).
The book produces some nice moments and images, mostly centered around the Painted Lady. Oh, and I LOVE the way the cats are portrayed, a sure sigh that the author knows cats well (just something that resonates with me).
The clockwork stuff, well, sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. I've been exposed to better steam-punk, and I wish Justin either made it more realistic, or gone way over the top (like an entire steamtech planet).
Among its weaknesses, there's the hard to follow political plot (in the sense that it's hard to know who's who at first) and, having started on The Monsters Inside where the Doctor and Rose are incredibly witty, a poor representation of their banter. It's cheeky, but not fast-paced or funny enough. That, and the final action scene isn't as well written as the rest, with a total change of attitude for the villain of the piece.
Overall: A quality novel, but suffers from being out first, with the protrayal of the main characters too demure. But well drawn setting and mood.
| What: | The Taking of Planet 5 (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
|
| By: | Siskoid, Moncton, NB |
|
| Date: | Friday 14 October 2005 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
This is a very weird book, but I loved every page of it. The tie-in to Lovecraft is excellent and in keeping with Whovian tradition, but goes to more extremes. The future Timelords and Old One's eye view are really interesting. The unravelling of the TARDIS and subsequent ending are beautifully rendered.
There may be a little too much continuity going on with other EDAs, specifically relating to Alien Bodies and the tv series (Image of the Fendahl), but it didn't cause me any problems.
It's not the first time, but the ideas and imagery really elevates a story that doesn't have that central a participation by the Doctor and his companions. Still, I was totally charmed and devoured it.
| What: | Zeta Major (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
|
| By: | Siskoid, Moncton, NB |
|
| Date: | Friday 14 October 2005 |
|
| Rating: | 8 |
I really liked Zeta Major, but usually when it wasn't a Doctor Who story. Everything in the Morestran Empire was great, from the political stuff to the various document inserts to the violence and retro-science. Very cool, and a number of memorable characters (though a lot of generic clergy).
The Doctor, however, doesn't do much. He caused it, isn't that enough? ;-) Well, at least Tegan and Nyssa get to be a lot more active, the story spanning a much longer time span than most adventures. Oh, and I did enjoy the cameo by the actual television series.
As the story comes to a head, it loses focus. By this time, the supporting characters are dying like flies, and then the supposedly grandiose ending is half reset button, half comic book. Not quite up to par with the rest of the novel, but adequate.
Overall: The Morestran society is well drawn and the thriller aspects gripping. As Who fiction, maybe it fails. As straight fiction, it reads much better.
| | |
| Represents its era too well |
|
| | |
| What: | Last of the Gaderene (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
|
| By: | Siskoid, Moncton, NB |
|
| Date: | Friday 14 October 2005 |
|
| Rating: | 7 |
Yes, last of the Gaderene could slip right into the UNIT era of the series, but it so closely follows that formula that it can hardly be called original. The Gaderene couldn't be realized on the tv budget of the time, but they're still clichés. As is everything that happens.
And yet, it's all done very well, with a lot of loving care put into the guest cast and making the village charming and its people endearing. I found myself caring for them and everything.
Overall: Like watching a 3rd Doctor episode, but maybe the novels should try a little harder?
| | |
| High weirdness works well in Who |
|
| | |
Though the novel is oddly Doctorless, it still works as an Ace story, and as an exploration of Ancient Gallifrey and how Rassilon came to power. Marc Platt has an immensely strange and wonderful imagination, creating images even when his concepts aren't entirely explained.
I find that high weirdness works very well in Doctor Who, even if the tv series couldn't really do it because of budget constraints. And Platt definitely does this. The main idea of an inside out TARDIS and time seen as a space is interesting, and the paradoxes are well worked out.
But it's not perfect by any means. I don't mind the absence of the Doctor, so that's not the problem. The prose can be confusing at times, especially as reality is falling apart in the beginning, and you never really get to know what the Process was/is. Strange, fine, but let's have the strange elements backed up. Still, if I'm reading about Gallifrey, Marc Platt's my man.
Overall: The good definitely outweighs the bad, and Ace has a good role.
| What: | Divided Loyalties (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
|
| By: | Siskoid, Moncton, NB |
|
| Date: | Friday 14 October 2005 |
|
| Rating: | 3 |
Divided Loyalties (bad title) has one thing going for it, and that's the flashback sequences to the Doctor's academy days. These act as a reasonable prequel to The Celestial Toymaker, though they are sludged up by heavy continuity. It took me a while to match the students with the various rogues they became, and it's more than a little fortuitous that they were all in the same class.
But apart from that, the best I can say about the book is that it breezes by quite fast. It's unintentionally funny at times, but that depends on how funny you think Adric's body odor problems are. Lots of Adric bashing, and much of it juvenile.
I'm not a big fan of the original Toymaker episode because I just don't like stories told in set pieces (not a big fan of the 5 Docs either, for example). The novel is also built this way, with the companions getting theirs, but also a bunch of "original" characters getting trapped by the Toymaker. These chapters are quite boring, and worse, these people don't really have an impact on the story later on!
Overall: Some good ideas here and there, but buried in a miasma of winks to continuity and humor at the expense of the characters.
| What: | Marco Polo (Target novelisations) |
|
| By: | Siskoid, Moncton, NB |
|
| Date: | Friday 14 October 2005 |
|
| Rating: | 5 |
Like most people born after 1960, I've never seen Marco Polo and I wasn't really aware of the story's details. The Target novelisations are handy for that. But Marco Polo comes off as a rather average tale of the early Dr. Who era here. The dialogue isn't on the level with The Crusage or The Aztecs, and it usually all falls pretty flat. Sometimes seems like the author had to pair down the talk to fit his overlong story into 144 pages.
It's not a total dog, with the Doctor using his smarts rather often and not being outstaged by Ian, and Susan has some interesting bits. Barbara is sorely underused however.
Overall: Fair, but unartful adaptation.
Pirates is great, great fun. Not just a change of pace, but a well-realized one. It is many things: a Gilbert & Sullivan parody, a touching relevant story, a play on narrative structure, and not everyone's cup of tea!
It starts out with Evelyn seriously screwing up a pirate story, going back and forth, changing details, exaggerating, correcting errors, etc., all of which is highly comedic and pleasant. When the Doctor arrives, we'll get to one of the most hilarious cliffhangers in the history of the series.
As for the songs, there are 2 or 3 that really stick out in my mind, and the CD does have better replay value than most. You'll get more mileage from them if you know your Who references, but they can be funny and, in one case, rather sad, even if you're a relative newbie. Extra marks for the very special packaging for the CD, in the G&S poster style.
It's not all roses of course. This may seem rather irrelevant a story, but it's a personal one under all the comedy. I think it doles out drama in enough measure. It walks that highwire well. My one beef is with the villain of the piece, Red Jasper, who's way OTT and screechy.
Overall: An odd duck, but immensely enjoyable, but I guess only if you don't have an aversion to musicals.
| What: | Nekromanteia (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
|
| By: | Siskoid, Moncton, NB |
|
| Date: | Friday 14 October 2005 |
|
| Rating: | 4 |
While this audio has some good performances by the regulars, including Morris' Erimem, I found it to be a screechy mess. The chanting witches grate on the nerves, certainly, but it's not the only thing. Sound design is all over the map on this one.
It's hard to follow the story, period. There's a lot of jumping from venue to venue, with characters that may or may not be human with strange accents. Well, I did enjoy the variety there, but it's all a bit jumbled.
The "shocking cliffhanger" IS memorable, but excessively gory for Doctor Who, and may be considered unrespectful of the characters. The insertion of a rape into the story is likewise dubious.
Another big flaw for me is the presence of the supernatural. Even when Who does horror, there's usually some kind of SF principle behind it, but here, it's like the characters walked into Mordor or something. The fantasy cop-out ending doesn't help either.
Overall: While there are some good bit between the characters, the adult elements are force-fed into a story that is barely Whovian to begin with. A despressing mess.
| | |
| Chapter 2 wows, rest a talky |
|
| | |
| What: | The Rapture (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
|
| By: | Siskoid, Moncton, NB |
|
| Date: | Friday 14 October 2005 |
|
| Rating: | 6 |
I like more than dislike The Rapture, but it's due to 2 things really: Ace's subplot and Chapter 2's collage editing.
The plot itself isn't anything great, especially as it turns into a babble-a-thon in the later parts. Don't tell me, show me, I always say. The theme of mental illness running through it fails to capture my imagination. And though the final reveal has been called predictable by some, it came much too out of left field for me. I have real trouble with the Caitriona character as well.
But beyond that, Ace's reunion with a long-lost family member has some real emotion behind it, and isn't unrealistically dealt with. Her day off is an interesting idea too, even if I haven't read the relevant McShane material in the New Adventures novels.
To me, the real star of this audio is the collage technique which comes to a head in chapter 2. Anyone interested in audio editing should listen to this and how the story is woven. Gimmicky in places perhaps, but since the story deals with club DJs who mix tracks for a living, I think it was quite clever and well done.
Overall: Story's kind of naff, and there are few characters to care about, but the editing and Ace's story hold some interest.
| What: | ...ish (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
|
| By: | Siskoid, Moncton, NB |
|
| Date: | Friday 14 October 2005 |
|
| Rating: | 9 |
loooooved ...Ish. If there's one thing about the 6th Doctor, it's that he's found on puns and general wordiness. And this story plays right into that, and how infectious this behavior was for Peri it seems. And quite literally ;-).
The structure is your standard murder mystery/monster story, but it's made something more by the joyful playing with words. The various meanings of "ish" and how it is used in the language of the play, the creative use of bleeping, Book's interludes and bridges... it's all quite magical. Just the idea of an ultimate dictionary! It smacks of Borges more than traditional SF.
Overall: Seems like it's not for everyone, but it plays to audio's strengths quite well, and isn't half as experimental as some fear it to be.
Oh it's a good little runaround with some moody scenes and good interplay between the Doctor, Evelyn and the Brigdier, but doesn't leave me very satisfied.
If there's one thing I find less than interesting in audio-land, it's screechy, affected voicework. It manages to be at once over-the-top and annoying (even if those two aren't mutually inclusive for you). Great to have the Brig, but they could've done more with him too.
Overall: Meh. Enjoyable, but only superficially.
