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 | Near Bottom of Davison Era Episode |
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| What: | Arc of Infinity (Target novelisations) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Thursday 21 December 2017 |
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| Rating: |   2 |
"Arc of Infinity" was one of the least of the Davison-era episodes. Johnny Byrne, who had written a cracking good story in "Keeper of Traken," here comes up with a very drab story. Much of this is down to extremely vague science and not much of a grasp of the backstory. In fact, it feels as if the script were quite hastily written, with some ad hoc off-the-cuff explanations thrown in. Just what is the Arc of Infinity? How does it "shift"? Why does its shift matter? A matter-antimatter explosion would certainly be worrisome, but not of the universe-ending proportion that it is made out to be. Near the end, we also get the dreary scenes of the side characters sidelined to watch the Doctor do his magic. They fret and worry, then all go "yay" when he succeeds. A similar thing happened in "Four to Doomsday" and was not particularly interesting in that show either. Terrance Dicks does his usual job of reproducing the script with minimum amounts of dressing up. The storytelling is a bit clumsy at first, but once he gets into it, the Dicks manner of racing along and not giving the reader time to think comes through. So, while the book is very true to the original episode, not much more is learned from reading this. The many problems of the script remain.
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| Weak Novelization of Weak Story |
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| What: | Time-Flight (Target novelisations) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Saturday 16 December 2017 |
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| Rating: | 3 |
Time-Flight was one of the lesser Davison-era stories. Part of this was down to the we've-run-out-of-money sets and effects. Another part was a seemingly hastily written script that peculiarly involves The Master seemingly shoe-horned into a story that might not have been written for him. That is how it feels, even if that may not be the case. We return to Heathrow Airport, last featured in The Faceless Ones from 1967. As with that story, once more we have a missing plane with passengers. This time, though, rather than taking a ride to low Earth orbit, they take a ride to prehistoric Earth. The TARDIS gets sidetracked by the time meddling and the Doctor has to pull out the UNIT card, making him suddenly involved in the whole affair. The story continues the approach to The Master that John Nathan-Turner would favor through his time running the show. The Master is heavily disguised, only to be revealed as The Master after half the story has gone by. Also, The Master is greatly reduced as an adversary. His main motive is to save himself rather than to take over the universe. His motivation is desperation rather than domination, and it greatly reduces any threat potential The Master may have. This, too, is typical of the Nathan-Turner era Master stories. One major problem with this story is that there is no clear reason for The Master to be in disguise, and none is given. Add to this several plot holes and overly convenient ways out of dead-end situations and one concludes that the story needed serious revision. Peter Grimwade's approach to novelizing his story is to focus on the "for children" brief from Target, so that there are many clumsy explanations that read as if a presenter from Blue Peter were telling the story. It's a brisk read, but insignificant.
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| Daleks of the World Unite! |
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| What: | Brotherhood of the Daleks (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Saturday 16 December 2017 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
A five-part drama involving a weird experiment is as intriguing as it is confusing. A Thal scientist has somehow gotten a hold of the works of Karl Marx. Running his operation as a socialist collective, he works to integrate Thal psychology into Daleks, trying to turn Daleks from essentially National Socialists to Marxist Socialists and thus to end the war between Thals and Daleks. That in itself is an interesting idea. Alan Barnes has complicated matters, though, by making the experiment depend upon hallucinations from psychotropic drugs, and introduced Dalek replicants into the mix. Thus, there is quite a bit of "is this reality?" running through the story. The trouble with the "what is real?" approach is that the writer needs to signal to the listener at the right moments whether a particular scene is real or imaginary, while at the same time not making the revelation so obvious that the listener would not believe that the characters couldn't catch on. Barnes has not really negotiated this aspect of hist story very well, so that by about part 3 it is nearly impossible for the listener to trust that any scene is real or that any character is not a Dalek replicant. Add to this some un-accounted-for gaps in scene changes and Barnes has greatly reduced the impact his central idea may have.
| What: | Shada (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Trevor Smith, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 14 December 2017 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
I’ll admit I was a little bit sceptical when I heard that Shada was to be the next classic story to be animated. Shada? Again? But oh this is so good and so much more than just a reanimation. The team behind this have really gone to town, not only animating missing scenes, but creating film scenes to fill the gaps and making them look like they were made in 1979 as well as getting the (surviving) actors to come back and fill in the missing vocal gaps. A ton of extras are including the VHS and Big Finish/Paul McGann versions of Shada. Wonderful stuff.
| What: | Earthshock (Target novelisations) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 13 December 2017 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
Earthshock is, like most Eric Saward scripts, a bit controversial. I found the TV episode quite compelling as the story pens in the Doctor tighter and tighter. There are a few aspects that don't quite make sense. For instance, no one on Earth seems to know what a Cyberman is, at the same time that an important multi-world conference is going on to create an alliance to fight the Cybermen. I also thought that the Cybermen were introduced too early, which detracts from the impact of the Doctor's reaction. The audience should learn about them when the Doctor does. Well, that is the script that Ian Marter has to work with. He very judiciously changes very little of the plot and keeps most of the original dialogue. He has added a couple of explanations to some things that seemed merely convenient for the plot in the teleplay. It's a swift read and quite as suspenseful as the original.
| What: | The Doomwood Curse (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 13 December 2017 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
The Doctor and Charley head to the library to return an overdue book, an over-the-top 19th-century historical Romance that Charley (Edwardian, or that should be Georgian, adventuress) simply adores. They end up charring the book while Charley thwarts some fact-obsessed aliens in their mission to burn books that contain "bad facts." On their way to retrieving another first edition to replace the charred one, they end up in the late 18th century where reality seems to be changing to fit the rules of the damaged book, with Charley the center of it all. It is an intriguing ploy to get Doctor 6, Mr. Overthetop, into a genre in which he can really go over the top and not seem out of place. The story is quite amusing and performed very well, with plenty of literary allusions. Some listeners might be put off that it does not seem to "go" anywhere, but it still is a fun ride.
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| How to Recycle a Character |
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| What: | The Condemned (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 13 December 2017 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
Big Finish decided to finish Charlotte Pollard, then decided not to. The answer? Stick her with a different Doctor. And which Doctor might be furthest away from Doctor 8? Doctor 6, of course. So, stranded in the distant future and believing the Doctor dead, Charley thinks she gets a reprieve when the TARDIS turns up in answer to her distress call. However, it's not her Doctor whose TARDIS she runs into. Unable to tell this Doctor who she is (laws of time and all that), she lies, poorly, that she has amnesia. Doctor 6 becomes quite interested in this conundrum of a young lady, and takes her along hoping to figure her out. Their first stop is Manchester in 2008. There, they stumble across a murder in condemned block of flats, but, of course, nothing is quite what it seems. Charley gets kidnapped, and the Doctor pairs up with a sarcastic police officer, DI Patricia Menzies. Aliens are hiding themselves as humans. Why? And why was one murdered? The story itself is somewhat standard Doctor Who fare with a rather preposterous explanation.
The audio version of the infamous stage play The Ultimate Adventure works well for what it is supposed to do. The play was created in 1989. It's primary audience was family. This meant that the play had to work for the under-teens. The plot, then, is rather simple. There are some bits where The Doctor must make horrible noises to "talk" to alien species. He gets two "nice" human companions and furry little one who makes only cooing noises. Plus, there are some musical numbers, some set pieces, and some rather more than usually personalized Daleks. To make the play work in audio format, much of the scene description is transferred to dialogue, so that far too often some character is mysteriously describing the action. It's a nice bit of Doctor Who memorabilia, but not really all that good in audio form. Perhaps the play on stage was more entertaining.
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| Turns out There Was a Trilogy |
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| What: | Assassin in the Limelight (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Friday 1 December 2017 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Until one gets to Assassin in the Limelight, one is unlikely to realize that Robert Ross had been writing a trilogy. Here, he brings his previous two adventures together for a final (almost) summation. We get the return of Dr. Robert Knox, as he calls himself, from Medicinal Purposes, and the unnamed blue ball of energy monster from Pier Pressure. Listening to the previous two stories, the audience is unlikely to see that a trilogy had been brewing, but Assassin makes it so. This time, Knox has established his traveling historical horror show at Ford's Theater and the assassination of President Lincoln. Knox, now posing as Oscar Wilde, is up to something, but we are not sure exactly what. The story itself plays out like a 19th-century American melodrama, with a dishonored army major, a femme fatale, a crooked policeman, a dishonest theater owner (sort of), a devious actor (John Wilkes Boothe) and a lovely heroine. There are, of course, a couple of dodgy American accents, since not all the actors are American or Canadian. Of the three Ross stories that make up the trilogy, this is the best, being the most coherent.
| What: | 100 (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Friday 1 December 2017 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
Another in the Big Finish series of releases that are made up from four loosely connected, but mostly independent, stories. Since each lasts about 25 minutes, the stories are clever, quick, and mild. First is 100BC by Jacqueline Rayner. Here, Evelyn and the Doctor disagree over whether they should meddle in history, in particular in whether they should affect the birth of Julius Caesar. In My Own Private Wolfgang, Robert Shearman has concocted a typical closed-world tale, which he rather likes to do, involving the fate of Mozart, here played with gusto by John Sessions. Joseph Lidster's Bedtime Story is the weakest of the set, involving an alien wreaking revenge on an unsuspecting family. Last is the 100 Days of the Doctor, typical fan-feed fare from Paul Cornell. The Doctor is infected by an assassination virus and must visit locations where different incarnations exist to find out how to stop it. This is basically a two-hander with the characters describing events rather than interacting with others. It's all entertaining and not too demanding.
| What: | Earthshock (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Sofia Fox, Hale, United States |
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| Date: | Thursday 30 November 2017 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
I have this story on "The Cybermen" DVD as a special feature and what a story and a heart-breaking companion death (Won't give out the name, Spoliers!) Great story!
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| Great story for departing 11th Doctor |
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| What: | The Time of the Doctor (BBC new series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Sofia Fox, Hale, United States |
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| Date: | Thursday 30 November 2017 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
By far, the most heart-breaking for me as Smith was my first Doctor, but nevertheless it was a great story...not the best but great
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| Great story for departing 10th Doctor |
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| What: | The End of Time (BBC new series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Sofia Fox, Hale, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 29 November 2017 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
I loved the story. The way entropy was portrayed wasn't as prominent as in Season 18 but ok. I didn't like that line wher 10 says he doesn't want a new incarnation In his tardis
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| The Early Years...for DVD! |
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| What: | The Beginning (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Sofia Fox, Hale, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 29 November 2017 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
I love this boxset...I am heading to get the US Re-Release but at the moment it's fine. Although I thought the Marco Polo 30 min recon was too short. I watched the Loose Cannon (post-2003) recons after that one it was still ok! Excellent! (too bad the US didn't get individual for Stories 2 and 3 and the re-release is a all-in-one...)
| What: | The Daleks (BBC new series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Sofia Fox, Hale, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 29 November 2017 |
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| Rating: | 1 |
I have most of the episodes except for the Series 7 and 8 Episodes and Genesis of the Daleks, but this was a budget release and not well restored. It came with The Daleks and a 10th Doctor Sonic Screwdriver toy but that broke. Don't get it, just get Series 1-8 Box Sets and Genesis of the Daleks DVD.
| What: | The Cybermen (BBC new series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Sofia Fox, Hale, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 29 November 2017 |
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| Rating: | 1 |
I have most of the episodes except for the Series 8 Finale and Earthshock, but this was a budget release and not well restored. It came with The Daleks and a 10th Doctor Sonic Screwdriver toy but that broke. Don't get it, just get Series 2-8 Box Sets and Earthshock DVD.
| What: | Black Orchid (Target novelisations) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Friday 24 November 2017 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Terence Dudley's novelization of his own teleplay is actually better than the original episode. This episode was a two-parter that felt truncated at two parts. The novel format allows Dudley to fill in some gaps and add some depth to the character. The story itself is a typical 1920s mystery/adventure, with The Doctor mistaken for a Cricket player, taken to a stately mansion in the countryside and becoming the chief suspect in a murder. Yet, something's not right at Cranleigh Hall. Add to this a bit double-trouble when Nyssa and the current Lord Cranleigh's fiancée are nearly identical, one South American native with a deformed lip, a masquerade ball, and one get all the elements typical of the genre. In this, Dudley has perhaps gone a bit overboard. There are some clumsy bits of foreshadowing of the "little did he know that in the very near future he would be in deep trouble" variety. It's light and fun and not much else.
Saward's novelization of his own script generally meets the requirements set by the Target novelizations. It is not too difficult, so pre-teens can read it and not get lost. It preserves most of the televised episode. It has novelistic characteristics enough so that a reader does not feel that he/she is simply reading a reformatted script. It's not too demanding and bit more of a novel than the typical Terrance Dicks novelization.
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| Doctor Who Meets The Invisible Man |
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| What: | Last of the Colophon (Fourth Doctor Adventures audios) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Saturday 18 November 2017 |
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| Rating: | 5 |
With the Doctor 4 series, Big Finish have aimed for recreating the spirit of 1970s Doctor Who. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't. It depends upon which aspects of that era one wants to emphasize. With Last of the Colophon, Jonathan Morris has chosen to go with the Doctor Who reworkings of classic science fiction for emphasis. In this case, the remake is of H.G. Wells' The Invisible Man. This could work reasonably well in audio because it is easier to give the sense of invisibility. The trouble with Last of the Colophon is that Morris sticks too closely to Wells' concepts and the changes he makes add little to what Wells had already done. Basically, invisibility turns an ordinarily nice guy into a power-mad lunatic. In this story the lunatic, played superbly by Gareth Thomas, is all we get. So, even the main lesson is somewhat lost. Another aspect a little worrying is Doctor 4's rather cavalier attitude toward death. As people through the story die, he just does not seem to care. And he rather quickly runs to the solution of killing the villain, again with no particular remorse. Some strong script editing could have hammered out these problems and provided a more coherent and entertaining story.
| What: | Tomb of Valdemar (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Sunday 5 November 2017 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
Simon Messingham is definitely one of the more interesting writers of Doctor Who novels. It's the ambition that sets him apart from so many of the others. Tomb of Valdemar is probably his most ambitious Who novel, and for that reason alone most reactions seem to be either love it or hate it. My own feeling is that in this novel Messingham has tried to do too many things and probably should have taken more time than the publishers no doubt gave him to work it all out.
On the level of plot, at least for the main story, there is not really that much unusual. The Doctor and Romana are on their way to track down part 2 of the Key to Time, but get sidetracked by an anomaly onto a deadly planet where a mad cult leader is trying to resurrect an ancient superbeing known as Valdemar. The Doctor is quickly convinced that there is no such thing as Valdemar, but instead there is an ancient gateway or access to some "higher dimensions" that, if let loose, would rewrite the physics of the cosmos. To add to the troubles, the cult leader Neville is an upper-class fugitive from a new workers' revolution, and the ruthlessly dedicated Hopkins, a kind of witch-finder general, is on Neville's trail.
The ambitious part of the novel is the manner of the telling. This is a frame-tale novel in which the main plot is told by someone telling it to someone else. In this case, an old woman identifying herself as one of the chief figures of the adventure, the novelist Pelham, is telling this story to a group of barbarian fur traders on a far away planet. But, she is really telling it to just one fur trader, Ponch, who seems strangely affected by the whole thing. About three quarters of the way through the tale, the old woman dies, and Ponch leaves his life behind to discover the source of his meaningless existence and complete the tale in his own imagination. There are several discussions along the way of this frame tale about the power of storytelling to change people's perceptions, which it seemingly has done for Ponch, who never looks at his world in quite the same way.
One thing that may disturb the reader while going through the story is the level of detail that storyteller Pelham seems to know. There are far too many details that Pelham could not possibly know, especially details about Gallifrey and about what Romana in particular is thinking at any given moment. However, Messingham manages to resolve this problem at the end.
What keeps this novel from meeting its ambition is mainly the difference in quality between the frame story and the inner tale. So, while the attempt seems to be not only to validate the value of storytelling, but also to validate the value of Doctor Who as a storytelling mechanism, an explanation for why so many people keep reading and watching, this message gets undercut by the rather ordinary plot of the inner tale, the only one that the Doctor is actually in. A better Doctor Who story with more direct referentiality to the frame tale would have made the novel's structure more effective in getting across this key message.
Some stray observations: 1) Messingham writes a very good version of Doctor 4, a feat that few other novelists were able to master; 2) As I've said elsewhere, Messingham is very good at writing interior monologue, and quite good at portraying the mental states of deeply disturbed people; 3) The character Redfearn from straight out of two-bit American Westerns has no business being in this novel; 4) There is too much focus on mental powers that can destroy the universe; 5) The villains Neville and Hopkins are too much stock characters, baddies of little particular interest.
So, high marks for the ambition, but some demerits for lack of imagination in some core parts of the novel.
