There are 4,118 reviews so far. To add a review of your own, click on the item in question, then click the Vote link.
 |  |  |
 | Great setup, horrible end |
|
| | |
| What: | Winter for the Adept (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
|
| By: | Adam Bradshaw, London, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Thursday 4 October 2018 |
|
| Rating: |   4 |
This story had such an interesting beginning that it really is a huge shame that they ruined it at the end. I really think that it needed another story to resolve the build up so that they didn't have to resort to the most ludicrous ending to a story I have ever seen. Personally I didn't think this story actually needed the aliens and it could've been so much better if they hadn't tried to crowbar in a totally forgettable alien species which, when one looks at the story as a whole, were useless.
| What: | The Ambassadors of Death (Target novelisations) |
|
| By: | Archie Simpson, Canberra , Australia |
|
| Date: | Tuesday 25 September 2018 |
|
| Rating: | 6 |
This is a fairly straight novelisation of the tv story. Still, a nice read.
| What: | Borrowed Time (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
|
| By: | C G Harwood, Dunedin, NZ, New Zealand |
|
| Date: | Sunday 16 September 2018 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
I think the comments on this book shadow my own. So I will say the exact same Hong they all said. WOW.... JUST WOW!!!!!
| What: | Planet of Fire (Target novelisations) |
|
| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
|
| Date: | Sunday 9 September 2018 |
|
| Rating: | 6 |
Peter Grimwade's novelizations of his own scripts are always better than the televised version. Perhaps it is that the original scripts were drastically changed in production. Perhaps it is that novelizing the scripts allowed Grimwade to rethink what he had written. Or, perhaps Grimwade was just a better novelist than script writer. Whatever the reason, the novelized "Planet of Fire" gives us insights into the characters, especially Turlough and Peri, that we did not get on TV. There are also some additional scenes early, which add background and supply some rationality to some of the plot elements. The plot itself is a bit overly complicated in ways it need not be. There are some unanswered questions, such as how a Trion beacon ended up in the bottom of the Mediterranean. Also, in the novel, Grimwade makes Turlough a bit more snobbish, with some worrying opinions about the lower classes. He never does fully explain to the Doctor why he acts as he does. It is also a very small universe in which The Master just happens to need something on a planet used as a kind of prison by Turlough's people, and just happens to have the means to get Turlough there without trying to, and that Turlough's family just happened to crash their spaceship on that planet. Too many "just happened tos" for my taste.
| | |
| Forgive the pun but, Excellent!!!! |
|
| | |
| What: | Hour of the Cybermen (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
|
| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Friday 31 August 2018 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
I am a huge fan of Andrew Smith. He wrote an awesome tale for Tom at just seventeen years of age in the classic Who era, and with Big Finish he has risen to become a firm favourite writer of mine for many reasons. What all of his stories possess now is a brilliant portrayal of the characters. Andrew instantly makes you care for the people in his stories, and it takes some writing skill to make one do this almost in every story he writes. And its even more brilliant when he does it with the return of the Cybermen on audio yet again.
And what is even better is when you have the great original guys playing the Leader and Lieutenant! And both David Banks and Mark Hardy slip back into their cyber roles with gusto and make this story immensely enjoyable. I also greatly enjoy the fact that this is yet another brilliant story for the amount of time the silver giants appear too. I love to have as much cybermen in my stories as possible, and its great the amount they are in this corker of a tale.
Daniel Hopkins is a brilliant and very very intense character. Its great the development he gets in this story. And his story is very believable and his state of mind is brilliantly portrayed by Blake Harrison. And as ever Colin Baker leads the cast with all the usual Old Sixie brilliance. And I also love the character of Riva. I always adore my strong female parts in a Doctor Who story.
What I also love is when the cybermen are portrayed just as they should be. As very powerful enemies who should never be easy to defeat or stump. And the plot of this story is awesome, and the pacing is spot on and the superb sound design and production just make this just yet another Big Finish cyberman success story. David Banks and Mark Hardy are amazing stepping back into the role of the brilliant Earthshock style cybermen. And its great to hear David spar again with the Doctor just as he memorably did with Peter's Doctor in Earthshock. This story also fully incorporates all the best elements that made the cybermen the brilliant and resoundingly awesome villains they are.
Andrew has woven a corker of a tale and this joins the ranks of the heights of Spare Parts and Kingdom of Silver for awesome cyber telling! I hope this also isn't the last we hear of David or Mark!
| | |
| A little too pleased with itself |
|
| | |
| What: | ...ish (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
|
| By: | Fraser Gibbs, London, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 29 August 2018 |
|
| Rating: | 3 |
"...ish" is, if anything, extremely ambitious. It plays with the English langue frequently and oft uses word play to comedic effect... Unfortunately the play is more concerned with that aspect of it's script than it is the actual plot of the episode which ends up dry and unpolished.
Little happens of consequence and any vaguely interesting narrative concepts are skipped over far too quickly to return to aimless conversation where random words are slurred to include the phrase "ish".
Despite some genuinely funny moments "...ish" has very little actual substance to it and appears to want you to think it's saying a lot more than it actually ish...
| What: | The Sirens of Time (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
|
| By: | Fraser Gibbs, London, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 29 August 2018 |
|
| Rating: | 4 |
This adventure felt very much like Big Finish finding it's feet. The first three episodes vary hugely in quality with some of the returning doctors adapting to the audio only format much more gracefully than others.
However, despite teething issues, there's massive amounts of fun to be had here especially come the fourth and final episode where the three doctors meet.
| What: | Night Thoughts (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
|
| By: | Harry Ross Gorman, Bromborough, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 29 August 2018 |
|
| Rating: | 8 |
This story has a great atmosphere and the first episode is definitely a stand out in terms of mystery and engagement. Overall all the characters are engaging and have very believable motives. The only problem with this story is that it is not sure what it is trying to be in some places and I think the time travel element is not need as I think the reasons would be best left to the imagination. Besides from that, Lizzie Hopley gives a stand out performance as "Happy" and that ending is absolutely worth any story that could be put before it.
| What: | The Collection: Season 12 (The Collection Blu-ray box sets) |
|
| By: | Sofia Fox, Hale, United States |
|
| Date: | Tuesday 21 August 2018 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
There's SO MUCH content in this set that I haven't even finished it yet. Overall the season is REALLY good and the US set is quite bare-bones in terms of presentation but it's pretty good. At least its got a slipcover. Not embossed but still, they gave us one!
| | |
| A Wonderful Chiller indeed |
|
| | |
| What: | Static (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
|
| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Friday 17 August 2018 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
It’s been some time since Big Finish have produced a story that is genuinely non-stop disturbing and unsettling.
But ‘Static’, featuring the Sixth Doctor, Flip and Mrs Clarke, is more than enough to send a shiver down the spine.
First we have to mention the superb sound design and production, delivering an incredibly atmospheric tone. The sense of loneliness in the Caravan Park setting is well delivered; the mist is also somehow felt by the audio instead of seen. With a story set mostly within the confines of the park, it’s not surprising that the soundscape is very claustrophobic. Chris Dale, as the voice of the Static, gives a weird, eerie performance.
Colin Baker is superb as the Doctor, as always. As his audio-tenure so often has, the Sixth Doctor is once again shown to have two caring hearts beneath the bluster and self-aggrandising. Writer Jonathan Morris’ grip on each Doctor is always superb and he’s well known to use time as a major element of his scripts. But here he uses time in a fresh and beguiling way, which has to be applauded. This story is about as timey wimey as they get.
The consequences of messing with time are once again laid out in effective detail. Each of the characters must find a way to deal with the fallout of what is going wrong with time. Which has set loose the frankly soulless Static to do what he wants to the human race. Morris somehow manages to combine so many different elements together in a narrative that is never convoluted or rambling.
Miranda Raison and Lisa Greenwood together still make for a dream team. Constance is the mature older sister and Flip is the teenager learning that she might need to grow up. Both characters are so well drawn, especially in the face of the wringer which Morris puts them through. It takes fine actresses indeed to deliver the goods and both deliver 100% along this adventure. The whole cast is pushed down some very nasty paths. It wouldn’t be surprising if wounds incurred here take some time to heal in future stories. Percy Till, played by David Graham, is a character whose plight you end up sympathising with more than you’d expect. As an old-hand in Doctor Who, it’s sometimes a little hard to separate the actor from the character. But that actually works to the advantage of this release.
Doctor Who is at its best when great acting, superb monsters and plenty of scares blend in one story seamlessly. ‘Static’ delivers on all these areas and more. Jonathan Morris is a safe pair of hands to craft this kind of tale. This story boasts all the fear factor that made ‘The Chimes of Midnight‘ a firm fan-favourite. It seems likely that ‘Static’ will gain the same renown, and deservedly so in this chilling production. Its one Id give a recommendation of to anyone.
| | |
| Absolute gem of a Troughton outting |
|
| | |
| What: | The Morton Legacy (The Early Adventures audio dramas) |
|
| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Friday 17 August 2018 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
After a pure historical and a brilliant sci-fi fest for the Second Doctor early adventures second series, what can we expect from ‘The Morton Legacy’?
After the Doctor and co are stranded in the nineteenth century, their hunt for the TARDIS leads them to a string of murders. With seemingly only one possible culprit, it’s up to our heroes to prove his innocence and find the ship. Unfortunately, there’s Josiah Morton has a reputation. You might even say, a Morton Legacy.
Justin Richards is a regular contributor to Big Finish and for good reason. And while this lacks the scale of a grand adventure, it has the personal touch of a smaller, but no less entertaining, story. Justin’s writing is always incredibly diverting and always has us doubting if we can trust Morton.
‘The Morton Legacy’ is quite special on a few levels. The acting is as ever, perfect matched to the story. Director Lisa Bowerman has chosen the strongest talent to perform in this story. David Sibley is totally winning as Josiah Morton. Frazer Hines is once more sublime channelling Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor. He does all this and still manages to recreate Jamie with no trouble. Anneke Wills and Elliot Chapman are wonderful together as Ben and Polly also.
Big Finish go to great lengths to make this as authentic a Sixties era sounding adventure as possible. Toby Hrycek-Robinson has provided the score and sound design, giving the piece a very consistent soundscape. It evokes the 1800s while still feeling like a sci-fi serial made with Sixties sensibilities. Lisa Bowerman’s direction as ever too is spotless.
Not for the first time, Jamie taking a shine to a guest character: the charming Jemima Morton, played superbly by Kerry Gooderson. The playful ribbing between Ben and Jamie over his crush is a light-hearted touch that the classic era of the show always had in such abundance.
Jemima isn’t the only one along for the adventure, however. We get a well-rounded and decent performance from both Ewan Bailey and Alan Blyton as Copeland and Dexter. But it’s Bailey who steals the show in a dual role, also playing Morton’s manservant Blazzard. His performance has all the subtlety and panache of all the best Doctor Who henchmen.
Justin’s pacing is spot on, despite the fact that this isn’t some high octane all guns blazing adventure. It is a joyous little story with extremely strong characters and a well thought out plot with a great twist near the end. My only nitpick may be that Jamie’s crush doesn’t get the resolution that I was hoping for. It’s definitely in-character for the shy Scotsman, but a little more of a payoff would have capped it neatly.
With some great character touches and good humour, this is yet another firm success for Justin Richards and Big Finish. Thank goodness the Sixties era of the show is kept alive and fresh by such amazing talent! This is definitely a love letter to the brilliance of the Troughton era!
| | |
| Yet again an awesome Pat display |
|
| | |
| What: | The Second Doctor: Volume Two (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
|
| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Friday 17 August 2018 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
The Curator's Egg is a wonderfully bonkers tale indeed. Its bursting with larger than life themes, and the whole story is a wonderful mush up of brilliant ideas that form a whole that is wonderfully zany and crazy but still lovable. Anneke Wills really gets the chance to shine and proves yet again why she is such a great companion! Elliot Chapman really does himself proud as Ben Jackson and the two twin brothers who are totally radical and funny. Yet behind all the fun and lightheartedness of this story, there is still the touch of macabre horror and uneasiness. This all comes over as being superbly well fitting with the feel of season four on the TV series. Julian Richards has woven a very very pleasing tale with even a touch of Jurassic Park about it!
Dumb Waiter is a wonderful meeting of fierce minds, mainly those of Louise Jameson and Frazer Hines are superb as Leela and Jamie, who initially severely distrust each other and even get a brilliant sparring match. I also think how Victoria gets treated in this story is amazingly good. She gets to show us that she is more than just a screamer. Its superb to see her get much more development even if one is very sad Debbie Watling herself was no longer here to take on the voice of Victoria herself. Frazer yet again truly shines as the Doctor and Jamie and this story never loses pace and is very very good indeed.
The Iron Maid continues to maintain the complete superbity that is John Pritchard's writing. It was a total pleasure hearing his former companion chronicles and this story does not disappoint either. He has a knack of bringing superb historically flavoured stories alive. He treats all the characters he makes with the utmost respect. he is quickly becoming one of my favourite chronicle writers. His stories are character rich and extremely enjoyable to listen to. The setting of this story comes over superbly well with the sound design being amazingly effective. The sound of the knocking on the inside of the tank is extremely spooky. And to cap it all Wendy Padbury shines again as Zoe. Oh boy this story is freaking excellent.
And just to put the icing on yet another superb Second Doctor chronicles cake, we have The Tactics of Defeat by Tony Jones. What we get is the wonderfully unexpected return of Daphne Ashbrooke as Ruth Matheson. And yet again she doesn't disappoint. And Matthew Brenher delivers a brilliant performance as her jailer in this superb finishing story of this awesome set. And despite the fact that the Doctor is almost totally absent from this story, it still works so brilliantly as a story in its own right. And how Zoe fits in with it is brilliantly worked out and the story pans of perfectly. Its a great end to another run of four first class tales that makes me say I cant wait for the next second doctor volume!!!!
| | |
| Decent Novelization of OK Story |
|
| | |
| What: | The Awakening (Target novelisations) |
|
| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
|
| Date: | Friday 3 August 2018 |
|
| Rating: | 5 |
Eric Pringle has stuck closely to his original teleplay for this novel. The Doctor and companions are off to visit Tegan's grandfather in the quaint little village of Little Hodcombe. However, the village is running a re-enactment of a battle from the English Civil War, a re-enactment that is getting all too real. The basic premise of the story is fine enough. Where it goes off the tracks is that Pringle keeps adding more and more so that the plot becomes rather unwieldy, all built around the harnessing of "psychic energy." Pringle's novelization keeps most of the dialogue and all of the scenes from the original, while adding mostly light interior monologue that helps the reader understand the motivations of the characters.
| | |
| Superb Superb Superb Superb |
|
| | |
| What: | Breaking Bubbles (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
|
| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Thursday 2 August 2018 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
Breaking Bubbles starts the quartet of stories off brilliantly. It gives us a nice entertaining nugget that considering its packed into just half an hour is superbly paced and has some great character moments indeed. Colin and Nicola as ever need no mentioning as they are always sublime. It touches on the pointlessness of war and battle in an engaging way.
Of Chaos Time The is a brilliant paradox tale. Its not remotely difficult to follow like some of the Moffatt era paradox stories and at its core is a very good emotional little core. It has again some great characters and some superb sound design that all just add to the feel of this set being very special indeed.
An Eye For Crime is another delightful story this time a bit of a pseudo historical, and the Doctor gets to do some good stuff trying to not be conspicuous in an all female college! And the menace in this story is awesome and definitely very intriguing. And the setting is very believably conveyed from the superb sound design and production I really do love Una McCormack's writing. She has a gift for characterisation in particular that really connects with this listener.
But the definite treasure of the set is The Curios Incident of the Doctor In The Night Time, which I feel is superbly written by Nev Fountain and so far easily his best story for big finish, and that's really something as this is only a single parter. But this story shines brilliantly, it tackles a very poignant subject with me as I happen to share the affliction the central character of this piece has. I find the story not insulting or derogatory at all. In fact its a brilliant little heart warming tale that should get an award. This is what these tales of the unexpected style one parter Doctor Who stories should all be like. Nev has hit the nail right on the nose with this superb little emotionally charged ditty. In fact I might even go as far as to say that this is my favouritest ever single episode drama that Big Finish has ever done. It really is that good.
| | |
| Very different but very very welcome |
|
| | |
| What: | The Scapegoat (Eighth Doctor Adventures audios) |
|
| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Thursday 2 August 2018 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
This story is to say the least strange. But it is the best possible strange you can get. For a start it has a great turn from Samantha Bond, who is yet again sublime in her role. It has Paul McGann quite possibly at the apex of his game as the Doctor. And it has the awesome Sheridan Smith as his sidekick. Im not too sure as to what kind of genre you'd place this story in. Its part pseudo historical, part farce, part shock gore for a Robert Holmesian dash of the black comedy. Its a great mix that comes together well and the story flows along well and the characters all seem 3D and believable. I am a massive fan of the eighth doctor and Lucie. They just work so well as a team. And throw them into a weird and wonderfully characterised story like this, and you have a great time indeed! This story is far better than Pat Mills earlier eighth doctor adventure, and that was superb enough!! And yet again it really goes without saying that the sound design and production are top notch. A brilliant little adventure
| | |
| Eighth Doctor Robert Holmes Style |
|
| | |
| What: | The Beast of Orlok (Eighth Doctor Adventures audios) |
|
| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Thursday 2 August 2018 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
This story feels like it should be a Tom Baker Phillip Hincliffe produced story. It has all the nice and nasty horror elements mixed in with a great sci fi twist that makes it immensely enjoyable. It has some superb character writing and the villain is nicely baroque and grotesque and horrible in the extreme. And to top that we have it with the Doctor and Lucie back together and amazing as heck yet again! I love Paul McGann, and he shines in a period pseudo historical like this which I must say has been perfectly written by the very talented Mr Barnaby Edwards. This is a great little story that adds a hammer horroresque touch to the third series of eighth doctor adventures. And its very very welcome indeed!! Yet again the sound design and production add to the realism of the piece and the setting is chilling and foreboding. One of the finest stories from the third series for sure.
| | |
| Superb and compelling storytelling |
|
| | |
The Sons of Kaldor does what all the best sequels to previous stories do. It takes a completely different slant to the original story but still remains excellent. The Sons of Kador is a sequel to the legendary Robots of Death, which to me actually isn't as brilliant as its made out to be by so many I found myself vaguely disinterested by the whole original story if I'm honest, and thought it rather bland. But gladly the Sons of Kaldor at last sparks my interest in the Voc robots. Andrew Smith's script is very slickly written, the pace is excellent and the performances are top notch. I like the different slant Andrew gives to the robots in this story. This definitely makes for another superb offshoot from the original story, the other brilliant offshoot being Nick Brigg's superb Robophobia a few years back. But here the development of the robots is very nicely portrayed and makes for some very interesting listening indeed.
The Crowmarsh Experiment then gives Louise Jameson the superb chance to be centre stage for an hour. The story is really well written and gives her character a great dilemma to deal with. I really like how the emotional side of Leela of the Sevateem's nature is explored in this story. And despite the fact that Tom's fourth Doctor may be sidelined, he is still most certainly palpably present in this story so it doesn't feel like its lack in tooth and curls. I really like the ending of the story, and its a little on the sad and gutting side again as again Big Finish add layers to a companion's nature and psyche. The Crowmarsh Experiment makes for some superb listening indeed.
The Mind Runners and The Demon Rises would have most certainly had Mary Whitehouse have kittens had they have been televised adventures! John Dorney yet again gives us a story dripping with atmosphere and zeal. And also starkly superbly rounded characters. And there are some really deliciously nasty characters in this story. And some moments that would have been gruesome in the extreme if shown on TV. The core of these four stories too riffs on the superb talents of both Tom Baker and Louise Jameson, and together with John Leeson they make a totally brilliant team of the TARDIS. John's story has them as strong as ever, and the way this story unfolds is brilliant and the ending is suitably epic and yet again the sound design and production values add to the sense of complete enjoyment with this superb first half of the seventh series of Fourth Doctor adventures! These are four superb entries indeed!
| | |
| Well-written & under-rated. |
|
| | |
| What: | Dancing the Code (Missing Adventures novels) |
|
| By: | Hugh E. Oxburgh, Cambridge, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Sunday 29 July 2018 |
|
| Rating: | 6 |
I was a bit puzzled by Harry-Ross Gorman's review. How can you give a pretty good rating & then try to justify it in one sentence? By way of contrast, although David's review is too hard on the story, he does at least try to justify his stance. While I don't agree with his second paragraph (especially), he does at least show you where he's coming from. I don't enjoy criticising other people's literary styles, but I really can't see how you can sum up a book in just one sentence. This is Paul's best "Doctor Who novel.
| What: | The Shadow of Weng-Chiang (Missing Adventures novels) |
|
| By: | Hugh E. Oxburgh, Cambridge, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Sunday 29 July 2018 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
I cannot disagree strongly enough with David's review of the story. It is BRILLIANT & as he says, Mr Sin was one of the best villains from the Tom Baker era, not least because he doesn't speak.( Which is why I thought the original Autons & The Malus were so good). Although sequels don't always work (especially in films) this one most certainly does, and it is a LOT better than "Face Of The Enemy.
| What: | The Quantum Archangel (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
|
| By: | Hugh E. Oxburgh, Cambridge, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Sunday 29 July 2018 |
|
| Rating: | 7 |
I would pretty much agree with what Dan Mould & Trevor Smith have said about this & take issue bigtime with the reviewer who criticised Craig Hinton's style. Although it is a bit mind-boggling & a pretty good knowledge of the show's backstory is certainly needed, I think it was a highly creditable sequel to "The Time Monster"-in fact, I think it has a better storyline. I'm not a great fan of the character of Mel, mainly because I'm old enough to remember the actress from the "Just William" TV shows and I saw Mel as an equally annoying adult version of her character. I am however most definitely a fan of Colin's portrayal of the Doctor, and like the other PDAs & MAs that feature the Sixth Doctor, this novel does justice to him in a way that the BBC scripts never did.
