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| What: | Last Man Running (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Ted, Texas |
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| Date: | Wednesday 17 August 2005 |
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| Rating: |   3 |
This is the first of the BBC Past Doctors books I've read, and I was disappointed. Chris Boucher may be a good writer, but he missed the mark here. The doctor's dialogue is often out of character -- just doesn't have the right tone. And the plot, what there is of it, alternates between boring and confusing. Leela's character rang true, but it wasn't enough.
| What: | I Scream (BBV Audio Adventures in Time and Space) |
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| By: | Phil Ince, Rab Nesbitt's sweatband |
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| Date: | Tuesday 16 August 2005 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Excellent and actually frightening.
Lance Parkin's absorbing story is performed and produced with force and imagination. Lisa Bowerman - who I usually want to slap when I hear her glibly performing the tiresome Bernice Summerfield - is given the opportunity to demonstrate her range and to my great surprise it's wide and without a false note.
The denouement is reminiscent of the more sinister episodes of The Twilight Zone and the sound effects contribute profoundly to the atmosphere. Unexpectedly wonderful.
| What: | The Clockwise Man (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Georgina, London |
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| Date: | Monday 15 August 2005 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
The Clockwise Man is a Fantastic read ! It was exciting, puzzling and brilliantly written. The storyline was dark yet mysterious. I just couldn't put the bok down . I would give this book 10/10 !!
| What: | The Monsters Inside (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Georgina, London |
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| Date: | Monday 15 August 2005 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
I thought The Monsters Inside was brilliant!!
I found once I had started reading this book I couldn't put it down.
If you have been watching the Doctor Who series you will especially enjoy this book. The whole way through the story I had an picture of The Doctor and Rose doing all they could to find each other again.
The story line was great and I loved the idea of the Slitheen/Blathereen returning and trying to take over lots of planets instead of planet Earth. All together I would definitely give this book 10/10!
| What: | EarthWorld (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Podmix, Sydney, Australia |
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| Date: | Monday 15 August 2005 |
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| Rating: | 1 |
I didn't mind the story, quite cute. I didn't mind the setting, some nice twists. What I did mind was the complete disregard for characterisation (compare the Anji here with her more sophisticated verion in Escape Velocity!). It's a challenge for any reader trying desperately to become familiar with characters in books (I still haven't completely pegged Fitz...), but it becomes near impossible when their basic language\thought patterns become garbled this early in their in-book life. Instead of consolidating the strength of the character, we instead get a completely bimbo-ised version - shame! I've since managed to warm to the character, no thanks to this book. Maybe I should've skipped it and gone straight onto Vanishing Point.
| What: | Escape Velocity (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Podmix, Sydney, Australia |
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| Date: | Monday 15 August 2005 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
I thoroughly enjoyed this conclusion to the story arc beginning with The Burning: it manages to reunite the central characters in a satisfying way, and also introduce Anji and making her identifiable. The shock of going from one narrative style to another (from this one's intelligence to the portrayal in a patronisingly simplistic Anji of "Earthworld") made this book so much the better in comparison. True, it's probably a year since I read it, but if it's made that strong a positive impression that I still remember it...
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 | At least there wasn't a deus ex maxhina |
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| What: | The Council of Nicaea (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Phil Ince, Trudy Styler's tantric colostomy |
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| Date: | Saturday 13 August 2005 |
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| Rating: | 3 |
The Council of Nicaea - hmm. I hated it. I really didn't want to but I did. It struck me as formless - who was the intended focus, what was the plot? The Doctor and Peri entirely marginal and Erimem worse than ever. Not thick this time but for all her protestations of disloyalty, she was the disloyal one and I'd have been quite happy to have her stabbed. She came across to me as repulsively priggish, abusive and treacherous to her friends and, fundamentally, an ignorant hypocrite; espousing a cause she had no understanding of or connection to.
We've wound the clock backward to Adric. But - with the crutial exception of Saward's shit-headed writing whose aspirtation is banality - even Watertrouser's seasons were largely better written than this.
The idea that Constantine - Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire -, a man who murders his own wife in a nasty way would have the trust, the patience and crutially the time to allow strangers and plotters to dash into and out of his palace and go running around the streets of the city was absurd. It was farce without the gags and more dependent on the ancient Hartnell story, The Romans, than one might have cause to expect.
Full of trite lines, what happened? A few streets were run up, a few houses run into, a few repeated conversations - "Don't betray me", "You betrayed me!", "Give me one more chance" -
By the time of the part 3 cliffhanger - "Ooh, she's got a bruise!" - I was just bored, just restless, inattentive. Just tired.
The one hope for poor staggering Bog Flush is that someone like Nigel Fairs - who did such a great job at bbv with the Faction audios - may yet give The Flushings a lift. Isn't he doing some 8th Doctor stories soon? Christ almighty, roll 'em on.
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| Stolen ideas and lazy ending |
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| What: | Winner Takes All (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | simon, Bristol |
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| Date: | Monday 8 August 2005 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Whilst this is a well written and enjoyable novel, its plot is lifted from The Last Starfighter and given a slight twist. The Last Starfighter was far from a great movie, but it did have an interesting idea for a plot - aliens who need someone to fight their wars for them put a video game in earth arcades and wait to find a player who can be their hero. Jacqueline Rayner has simply stolen this idea for her book. Sure it's a bit more complex, but essentially this is The Last Starfighter with the Doctor and Rose. And even if you think that Last Starfighter didn't engage some of the issues about the morality of killing things as a game, you'd be better looking at Terry Pratchett's Only You Can Save Mankind than here.
Rayner's aliens are porcupines - a rather thinly veiled reference to Sonic the Hedgehog of video game fame (which she spells out later anyway). Rose's old school bully is cliched and the ending is a simple and lazy recapitulation of the end of World War Three on television. Original this book is not!
All this is a shame since there is some great characterisation here - particularly the Doctor and Rose's relationship. And some of the ideas about how the game is played are good, leading to a genuinely funny sequence of the Doctor speaking to Mickey using Rose as a sort of ventrilloquist's dummy. But more of this is needed to redeem this novel.
There are many elements to admire in this novel: a love affair spanning millennia; the depiction of Nineteenth Century Russia; the fleshing out of the backstory alluded to in 'The Talons Of Weng-Chiang'; the character of Aphrodite; and the nature of Dusha's and Razum's existence and their punishment.
But in equal measure there are many things that annoy about this book. Again the TARDIS crew are split apart and continually flit between time zones, each of which are far too overpopulated for you to care about most of the characters. It seems that each era had about 3 villians, which resulted in me being confused about their motivations and caring even less. The best realised time zone was 1812, as the 'soap opera' element of the Vishenkov story made me want to find out what happened. The later two time zones weren't very interesting however, and even telling them apart was a challenge at times!
Also, this book contains FOUR different methods of time travel (the TARDIS, the time-belts, the Misl Vremya and Aphrodite's lake travel), which has to be a record for one novel! This sums up a problem with this book - too many great ideas crammed into one story.
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| Dark and sinister. A superb read |
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| What: | The Monsters Inside (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | simon, Bristol |
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| Date: | Sunday 7 August 2005 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
This is a dark and well written book. Rose's first step onto an alien planet is well recorded - complete with the Doctor's cavalier attitude. When the two are separated the driving instinct of each to find the other fits the relationship established in the television series. The Slitheen are made to feel a lot more sinister than previously, but even they pale in comparison to the human-run prison system. This is excellent - the best Doctor Who book for ages. It just shows how far we've come since the Target novelisations!
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| Captures the spirit of the new series |
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| What: | The Clockwise Man (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | simon, Bristol |
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| Date: | Sunday 7 August 2005 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
This captures the spirit of the new series well. The Doctor and Rose have some great banter, the strength of Rose comes through and there's even a Bad Wolf moment. The plot has the same paciness as we've come to expect from the Ninth Doctor, although hasn't Big Ben already had a central role in the action in Aliens of London? A small grip about a really good fun book.
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| A good romp that grates after a while |
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| What: | Byzantium! (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | simon, Bristol |
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| Date: | Sunday 7 August 2005 |
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| Rating: | 5 |
Much to enjoy here - a historical romp that has power politics, death and plenty of sex. But the very bits that are so enjoyable are also irritating. The Monty Python references begin to grate after a while, especially when they're as unsubtle as setting up a virtually identical 'what did the Romans ever do for us?' scene. Ian starts spouting some very poor cockneyisms that don't suit him and Vicky is redundant. The characterisation of the different factions within Byzantium is too black and white, with occasional glaring anachronisms. But none the less, there is fun to be had with Byzantium!
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| Doctor Who by numbers - but great fun! |
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| What: | The Eight Doctors (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | simon, Bristol |
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| Date: | Sunday 7 August 2005 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
I found this surprisingly good fun to read. Terrance Dicks has never been Booker material, but he does the job well, setting the 8th Doctor in the context of his seven previous lives. There's nostalgia aplenty as the 8th Doctor appears at moments remembered from the TV series. The size of the book and the number of previous incarnations that have to be met mean that this was never going to be a intricately plotted work, but it is great fun and nicely sets up the character of the 8th Doctor by distinguishing him from his previous selves. At times it becomes Doctor Who by numbers. But it is at least good fun Doctor Who by numbers!
now this story has a bad reputation but I think its brill HONEST! its just so easy to watch and very entertaining. Good performances good location work and good music top of a simple easy script. Ok it can be a little corny but thats what makes it so good in my opinion. This is one of the most strangest storys ever comisioned I mean what person would have comeup with such a corny plot its quite weird. But still thats what makes it so brilliant and one of my favourite storys. I LOVE IT!
| What: | Interference: Book One (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Phil Ince, Highbury, London |
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| Date: | Saturday 6 August 2005 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
... heavily-plagiarised by Big Finish for their interesting Zagreus release.
| What: | Interference: Book Two (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Glyn Viney, Isle of Wight, UK |
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| Date: | Friday 5 August 2005 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
Right... so I.M. Foreman's travelling circus, IS I.M. Foreman... The 3rd Doctor gets shot and regenerates, and the 8th Doctor doesn't do a great deal. Still, not a bad read.
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| Pass the Prozac PLEASE!!!! |
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| What: | Interference: Book One (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Glyn Viney, Isle of Wight, UK |
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| Date: | Friday 5 August 2005 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
What a depressing book!
The 8th Doctor locked in a cell, being tortured, and forced to use his own blood to write time equations.
Fitz incorporated into Faction Paradox.
The only uplifting bits involve Sam and Sarah, fighting the Remote.
And then there's the 3rd Doctor, meeting I.M. Foreman on Dust.
| What: | Emotional Chemistry (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Glyn Viney, Isle of Wight, UK |
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| Date: | Friday 5 August 2005 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
After all the interminable multiverse Sabbath books, it was nice to hit a change of pace. Here is a book with a plot that, basically, boils down to a love story. No major villain to sort out, no planet to save, (well, not really), no universe to destroy/save (depending on plot), just the Doctor trying to re-connect two lost loves, seperated by time. It did take a little while to gather momentum, but when it did, I didn't want to put it down. One of the better 8th Doctor books.
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| the best film in the world |
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| What: | Series 1 Volume 3: (BBC new series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | ellie, worlsly manchester |
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| Date: | Friday 29 July 2005 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
i wached it every week
every episode i enjoyed
and so now i want to buy all of the D.V.Ds
so i can wach it every day
docter who is the best
docter who rules, docter who rules,
xxxxxxxxxxx
| What: | The Harvest (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Phil Ince, Highbury, London |
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| Date: | Tuesday 26 July 2005 |
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| Rating: | 3 |
If the converted human that chases Ace and Hex is 8 foot tall, how does it fit behind the wheel of a Mercedes?
Badly underwritten. Excellent core idea, rubbish development, indifferent execution.
