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 | Don't be put off by the giant porcupines |
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| What: | Winner Takes All (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Liz, Newport |
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| Date: | Sunday 5 June 2005 |
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| Rating: |   8 |
The characterisations are very authentic and the story has some great plot twists. It's weird and surreal with villains who are comic at best, but holds together pretty well. The scene in which the Doctor agonises over altering Rose is unmissable.
| What: | Series 1 Volume 1: (BBC new series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Peter Pavey, U.K |
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| Date: | Thursday 2 June 2005 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
This is what doctor who is about pure action without any scaleable trimings. And for a fair price as well.
A fine book. Well written. But I never really felt emersed in the story. Character development was very good with a well thought out story. But agian with a lot of Doctor Who Stories it seemed 95% of the book was build up and everything got solved in only a couple of pages at the end. I enjoy more of a drawn out ending. Where things are revealed and answered more slowly. Something that gives you more to guess at and try to figure out yourself. But all in all a strong story.
Started well, but after time, the Doctor's lack of action and Mel's treatment was just not real.
Mel's mental and physical torture reached a point that the story just drifted off into a feeble squibb.
The final straw was a pill to cure all the suffering, which pushed the whole thing over a cliff.
Like many recent Big Finish productions, could have been good but just lost itself.
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| Left me a little Cold blooded |
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Three's a crowd, lacked something. A good spin on the modern world and our dependance upon technology making us solitary creatures. However this idea was milked to the point of madness. The pathetic cry's of a young girl facing people for the first time was very good to start with, however 60 minutes later it started to get on my nerves.
Overall not great but not terrible, just could have been better.
| What: | Series 1 Volume 1: (BBC new series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Stephen Carlin, Huddersfield, England |
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| Date: | Sunday 29 May 2005 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
I must admit that I was in two minds about the new series. For a start, I don't rate Russell T Davies, Mark Gatiss or Paul Cornell highly. Secondly, British TV has gone down hill over the past decade.
My worst fears seemed confirmed when I finally Rose, the first episode of the new series. Appalling dialgoue, an appalling story, appalling story telling, appalling humour and appalling direction (later episodes go to show how poor a director Joe Ahearne is) - my heart sank when I watched the first episode. The trailers had me convinced the series was back with a vengeance, Rose convinced me that the series was doomed. Yet, I knew I had to keep on watching, just in case...
Thank God, The End of the World was far superior. The humour, pathos, dialaogue, direction - all head and shoulders above the previous episode. There was a glimmer of a snse of wonder, something lacking from a great many current SF shows.
The Unquiet Dead was quiet good, better than most of Gatiss's novels. I even chuckled when Dickens remarks "What the Shakespeare!" - a wonderful throwaway line. The only downside is the most over-used idea in the world of Doctor Who fiction from the 90s onwards - possessed dead people wandering around.
Overall, a poor start followed by two good episodes. Enough to convince me to keep on watching. Christopher Eccleston is a wonderful addition to the league of splendid chaps. Billie Piper, to be honest, is unremarkable - not bad, but not outstanding either.
| What: | The Ancestor Cell (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Stephen Carlin, Huddersfield, UK |
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| Date: | Thursday 26 May 2005 |
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| Rating: | 2 |
One long running story arc ends, another begins. Could have been a wow, instead, the whole Faction Paradox story arc has been an utter waste of space. The end of Gallifrey and the Time Lords is little more than a fizzle. The return of the TARDIS merely produces a yawn and shows just how unadventurous the so-called "high concept" ideas are.
I just cannot work up any enthusiasm for this book at all - apart from the initial realisation of Gallifrey. Its sad that a lot of the 8th Doctor books have been intensely dull and this is a prime example of non-thought provoking dross.
| What: | EarthWorld (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Stephen Carlin, Huddersfield, UK |
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| Date: | Thursday 26 May 2005 |
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| Rating: | 1 |
After the dreadful Pirates CD adventure I wondered how much was due to the notion or to the author. Having endured this book I can see that the fault lies squarely with Jacqueline Rayner.
This book is appalling - there is little story to speak of, the situations are poorly thought of, the characters are uninteresting and badly realised, all too often some characters simply disappear...then again, who cares.
Its badly written, plain and simple. There is nothing worth mentioning about this book. There is a kernel of a good idea but it is discarded quickly and replaced with dreary meandering. The final third of the book is an utter mess and an utter drudge. AVOID!
| What: | The Monsters Inside (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Joe Ford, Eastbourne |
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| Date: | Tuesday 24 May 2005 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Much darker than I would imagine with far more adult references than I thought would be allowed, this was still a superb read from Steve Cole. The prose is much denser than it was in Winner Takes All and the plot mechanics, characters and dialogue were good enough to keep me going. Its a great use of an underated of some underated monsters and the feeling of paranoia they exude helps the book no end.
| What: | Jubilee (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Steve Bundy, Bangor |
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| Date: | Friday 20 May 2005 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
I watched dalek before listening to this, and can say its just as fab after watching its cut down copy!
The characterisation of the dalek is spot-on! Much more so than in the later show, but they have more time in the play to discuss the nature of fascism etc.
Also, since this was the first Sixth Doctor / evelyn play i have listened to (not including the slightly dodgey but free -yey- real time and the madness of zagreus)- and have to say they make a great coupling. Might have to break the trend of buying eighth doctor cds and try a few of the other sixth doctor ones after this...
Recommended 8/10
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| Saved by Collin and Maggie.... |
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When rating this story, it is important to take into consideration that you can listen to it free on the bbci website - a fact that gets it an instant extra two points from me as a poor student!
The half cybermen and the suprise about the controllers past are really really good, but alas there is something wrong when the emotionless, dispassionate cybermen manage to out act the human cast. Both the doctor and evelyn are amazing as ever, but the rest of the acting is a little dire (with specific mention of the guy who was also in the tvm...forget his name now...)- not something ive ever had to say about a big finish play before!
So yeh, a mixed bag, but as a freebie with the animations on bbci it makes for a fairly ok listen.
Ha love this story it certainly has a good pace going! If only things like the chase had only had four parts...
Sebastian Grail makes an excellent villain, and all the supporting actors throughout are fantastic. The Doctor and Charley are probably my fab team on audio and make for great light listening.
And the "suprising" enemy? I nearly howled with laughter when i found out but they are actually nicely underplayed...
A definite nine for me - an excellent story from an excellent season.
| What: | Divided Loyalties (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | AKB, LouKy |
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| Date: | Thursday 19 May 2005 |
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| Rating: | 5 |
I'm not totally sure how I feel about this book. Peter Davison was/is my favorite Doctor, followed closely by Jon Pertwee, but I'm just not sure I can get behind this book.
The thing that constantly irritated me was the fact that Gary Russell doesn't seem to like Peter Davison. Everytime he narrates from Adric's perspective, he makes some reference to how Tom Baker was better, or the "real" Doctor, or some other such nonsense. I wasn't sure if he was trying to portray that as Adric's perspective, or if it was his own opinion, but it came across as his own feelings, and this is not the forum for voicing those opinions.
Also, having never seen a William Hartnell episode, and disliking long flashback sequences in writing in the first place, I was utterly bored with the entire flashback sequence. Readig it was more like a chore than fun, and I constantly wanted to get back to MY Doctor, the reason I got this book and started reading it: Peter Davison.
Overall, I suppose I didn't especially like it, but I didn't hate it either... but not what I am looking for from Who fiction.
| What: | Amorality Tale (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Claire Chaplin, Gillingham, Kent, Ebgland |
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| Date: | Thursday 19 May 2005 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
A different story appproach here, and a very well written third Doctor story. The gangsters can be a bit annoying at first, but trying to fit together what is happening and what role the Doctor and Sarah need to fufill because of a photograph, to prevent a greater tragedy, may make the book complicated but it is a brilliant read!
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| better,better...but not best |
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I love a good ghost story. Even better I love a story about a mysterious ship of unkown origins. I was hoping for something similar to Rondivous With Rama by Authur C. Clark or Ringworld by Larry Nivan. I was a little disapointed.
The story was very well writen. Sometimes being a bit over complicated. If you can use a simplier word to explain something why use a word that makes you have to stop and think. A very good story flows. This one kind of hick ups sometimes.
And while I can wrap my mind, with a little difficulty, around the way the author choose to end this book. It is not the way I would have chose to do it. personally I'm not much for stories that out of 280 pages lead up to a 2 page explaintion of events for an ending. It could have been much better developed. So little of the ship and its function was actually explored.
I do believe it deserves better then the 5.2 rating it has so far. I give it a 7 out of 10
| What: | Verdigris (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Claire Chaplin, Gillingham, Kent, Ebgland |
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| Date: | Wednesday 18 May 2005 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
It's a matter of taste with Paul Magrs novels, if you like the bizzare then this is definately the novel for you.
A friend lent it to me to read and we're still talking about it now!
An enjoyable read that is a change from the norm.
| What: | The Wormery (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Claire Chaplin, Gillingham, Kent |
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| Date: | Wednesday 18 May 2005 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
A typical Paul Magrs style script, which is a very easy listen. Iris is played brilliantly by Katy Manning, and this now has a firm place as one of my favourite BIGFinish audios.
There aren't many things that I want to listen to again a few days after originally listening to them - this is the exception.
Memorable lines that you can be quoting for months afterwards, although weird, this is a must for fans of the audios!
| What: | Kinda (Target novelisations) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Tuesday 17 May 2005 |
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| Rating: | 4 |
"Kinda" is one of the top Doctor Who stories in its TV version, an intriguing concoction of comparative religion and critique of English colonialism. In this respect, it is like Doctor Who does Roger Zelazny. Therefore, it would have been very interesting to have read a novelisation by the original scriptwriter, Christopher Bailey. Instead, Terrance Dicks does his usual bare bones writing here. I have said elsewhere that Dicks is a better scriptwriter than novelist, and this one proves that beyond doubt. Dicks provides simple descriptions in primer sentences, but principally just transcribes dialogue. One can hardly call this writing. Most frustrating is his verb choice. No part of speech can make writing come alive better than a well-chosen verb. Dicks, however, sticks to neutral and general-purpose verbs, such as "was" and "looked" and "found." Additionally, he adds little descriptive detail and few phrases or adjectives that would enhance one's mental picture of events. It all makes a lively story go flat.
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| Like Dicks' Novelisations |
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| What: | Enlightenment (Target novelisations) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Tuesday 17 May 2005 |
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| Rating: | 5 |
In its TV production, "Enlightenment" was like several other Davison-period serials, larger in conception than the BBC were capable of producing. At least in one respect it was very successful - namely in bringing the "Black Guardian" story arc to a close (we can all be thankful for that). This one is very much a Turlough-oriented story. Turlough was the first of the complex companions. Others may have provided some challenges for the Doctor, notably Leela and Romana, but Turlough was the first whose history and motivations allowed for writers to develop beyond one-dimensionality. This story is one of the better ones in this regard, bringing complexity to Turlough's character.
On the down side, Barbara Clegg, the original scriptwriter, has taken the Terrance Dicks approach to novelising the script. It is a brisk read through mostly dialogue, with only a few very basic descriptive and analytical passages. Clegg missed an opportunity here to fill in gaps left in the TV version. Thus, none of the descriptions has the grandeur or elegance or detail that can separate a novel from a TV production. It reads as if one is simply getting a description of what was on the TV screen.
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| Not as kiddie as you might think! |
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| What: | The Clockwise Man (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Joe Ford, Eastbourne |
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| Date: | Sunday 15 May 2005 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
This was much better than I dared to hope for, for I feared that with the reduced page count and the new kiddie audience to cater for we would be dealing with dumbed down novels. This is another great Justin Richards book with his trademark twists and ability to capture the early twentieth century so atmospherically but with a re-captured sense of zest and fun that has been lakcing in his past few books.
The Doctor and Rose are captured beautifully and the guests characters all have something to contribute.
The Big Ben staged climax is rather brilliant, especially when the Dooctor is smashed through the clock face. Fantastic!
