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 | Good Start, Boring Ending |
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| What: | EarthWorld (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Alexander Amos King-Grey, Campbell Town, Tasmania, Australia |
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| Date: | Tuesday 22 March 2016 |
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| Rating: |   5 |
The problem I had with this book was the over arching themes from the previous books and the fact that the Eighth Doctor has again lost his memory; he must have a severely damaged brain by this point in his life. Anji is a good reluctant companion; highly capble with the amneshaic doctor and supporting cast but Fitz I found highly annoying.
Good supporting characters, my favourite being the teenage terorist group. The three sisters are great physiopathic villians with a very tragic backstory.
Good references to "An Unearthly Child", "The War Machines" and "The Web of Fear" but are so under-used.
Alright book, but overall one of my least favourites.
| What: | The Justice of Jalxar (Fourth Doctor Adventures audios) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Monday 21 March 2016 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
Yes, it really is 1978 all over again with this one. Doctor 4 and Romana I are on the trail of some alien tech that Earth people shouldn't get their hands on. They trace it Victorian London, where, or course, the Doctor meets his old friends Jago and Litefoot. The pair, well really just Litefoot, have become interested in the doings of an apparently superhuman vigilante called The Pugilist. Litefoot is also interested in several cadavers of people apparently cooked to death. It all works marvelously well in an entertaining way. The old hands really seem to be enjoying themselves. Romana gets much more to do than be a damsel in dsitress. Mary Tamm is simply great in this one. My only reservation is that the time constraint of two episodes so compresses the story that it all becomes rather obvious who The Pugilist is and how he got his powers. Not much is surprising, though it all is very entertaining.
| What: | The Butcher of Brisbane (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Andrew Shaw, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Sunday 13 March 2016 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
This was a great story best one in a while< I like going back to hear about TV characters and in my opinion this didnt disappoint, I recommend it and if you like Talons of Weng Chiang even better.
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| Awesome Sixie send off!!!! |
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These four stories produced to finally explain the circumstances of the sixth Doctor's parting from the series is absolutely excellent. Every single story is totally different, and all have a separate feel, but together they give Colin the send off he always deserved but never received on screen in 1986.
The End of the Line begins the story arc eerily. Its brilliant drama mixed with some atmospheric sound design and some great performances from the entire cast. There's only a cameo from the Valeyard in this story, but that's not a downer on the story as the build up is superb to the first cliffhanger on this set. And yet again, Miranda Raison makes a brilliant companion for the Doctor. The sound design like Ive said is particularly good here.
The Red House is a little bit more of a tongue in cheek story but it has its brilliant macabre moments. Michael Jayston too is superb again as the Valeyard, and the sound design once more lifts the whole story into another Alan Barnes cracker. And its great hearing India Fisher again as Charley. A real treat.
Stage Fright is absolutely brilliant in so many ways. First it brings back those two brilliant characters of Jago and Litefoot, who as always are welcome light humour and the performances of Trevor Baxter and Chris Benjamin need no introduction. And Michael Jayston sparks off Colin with such brilliance. And then theres one of my all time favourite BFP Companions, Flip, brought to life brilliantly by the wonderful Lisa Greenwood.
and to finish the set, The Brink of Death by Nick Briggs is superbly written. Colin really delivers an exceptional performance as the wonderful and totally underrated and under appreciated SIXIE. This set is absolutely brilliant and Im chuffed to own it. Great drama and a brilliant bow out for Colin. The ending he really deserves!!!
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| The Monochrome years back again |
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| What: | The Isos Network (The Early Adventures audio dramas) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Monday 29 February 2016 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
This story follows on from one of the very finest Doctor Who episodes of the 1960s, The Invasion. Its always been a favourite of mine. And Big Finish actually produce brilliant cybermen stories, and this follow on from the Invasion truly feels it could have been a simple follow on from the Invasion. Its vividly brought to life the black and white era. And now we have the brilliant classic Cyber controller back for another stab at the Doc and friends. Nick Briggs is brilliant on the voices, and yet again writes a decent story for the metal men from Mondas.
The feel of this story too really feels true to the era too. There's a feel of claustrophobia just as In the Invasion and The Web Of Fear. And there's a new alien species added to the mix for additional good measure. There is also some great character sections in this story, And there's some few decent comedy pieces sown between the seriousness too. Everything then that a Doctor Who story oughtta be.
And again Frazer Hines seriously evokes the late great Pat Troughton with ease, and he's great to listen to as Jamie too, who was always my favourite Doctor Who companion. And Wendy Padbury just slips back into the role of Zoe with consummate ease. And its also brilliant hearing exactly the same Invasion cyber voices again. To me one of the best and eeriest cyber voices ever done for the silver giants.
The Isos Network brings this second Doctor early adventures set to a brilliant climax. This is great stuff.
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| Name of the Rose Who Style |
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| What: | Asylum (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Saturday 27 February 2016 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I do not like all the extra stuff that is thrown in; on the other hand, I like all the things this book could have been. The main story involves Doctor 4 investigating a murder in a Franciscan monastery in Oxford. The murder involves Doctor Mirabilis, Roger Bacon. This part of the novel works very well. It is similar to "Name of the Rose" in that the murder involves books and the clash between the unbending Medieval view of the cosmos and a potentially new understanding. Intrigue, local politics, and fear all play their parts in driving this plot. Darvill-Evans has done his history homework, so that life in Medieval Oxford is realistic. I simply do not understand why Darvill-Evans could not have been content with that. Instead, he piles on numerous irrelevancies. The most baffling of these is having an older Nyssa (maybe in her early 30s) meeting Doctor 4 from before they meet in "Keeper of Traken." Why? This device serves no purpose to the story and builds needless complications. And the only out that Darvill-Evans comes up with for this is that the Doctor is just going to remember to forget the next time he meets Nyssa? Surely, a writer as intelligent as Darvill-Evans is, given the evidence of his postscript about historical fiction, would recognize how unsatisfactory that resolution is to this little complication. Why not have the novel be Doctor 5 and Nyssa if he really wants Nyssa in the story? That gets us to problem number two, which is that if he is so keen on using Nyssa, why does he not use her? Instead, she gets sidetracked into a hideaway in a castle converted into a garden, and spends almost the whole of her time in the novel saying "leave me alone." There is a whole side plot with a knight who falls madly in love with her, but only reminds her of the death and terror she has faced, causing panic attacks. Why? What purpose to the story does this serve? Apparently very little given how easily the murderer kills the knight and that Nyssa's only involvement in the main plot is to be threatened by the murderer and stab him instead. This PTSD Nyssa is frustrating because there is no clear rationale for her condition and for this secondary story. The third problem is that to get the Doctor and Nyssa to Oxford 1278, Darvill-Evans creates a flimsy contrivance that something is going wrong with timelines surrounding Roger Bacon's role in history. Surely, if one has a TARDIS one does not need this excuse to have the Doctor arrive at whatever setting one wants. Nothing in the plot actually relates to this time line foul up, no one messing with time machines, nothing of the kind that would warrant placing it in the story. The fourth problem is that there seems to be some sort of stranded alien bit involving Brother Thomas. Why? Unknown. The Doctor never discovers the stranded aliens not even that they exist, and they are not really needed for Darvill-Evans to explain Thomas's behavior. In short, had Darvill-Evans just stuck to his main plot idea and used straightforward means to get the characters there, this would have been a cracking novel. As it is, the novel has too many distracting side bits.
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| Problem of Big Ending with Small Cast |
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| What: | The Key 2 Time: The Chaos Pool (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 3 February 2016 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
By choosing The Key to Time quest as a sequel, Big Finish set up the requirement for, well, a big finish. Herein lies the problem for this episode. It has to provide the big finish, but the budget can handle only a small cast. This means there is quite a bit of bringing the major players together and have them give pompous speeches at each other. In fact, apart from giving speeches, the Doctor seems hardly in the big events of the story at all. Given also that the story requires all-powerful beings, or nearly so, there is quite a bit of magic going on. This is always a problem. If characters can suspend or break all the laws of nature at a whim, what is the point of the story? It is also like a Japanese anime in that many situations "require" a character to do this or that, but there has been no lead up to this requirement and characters simply "know" without any explanation that they are required to do this or that. Everybody is "using" the "power" of the segments or some other magical object, but how do they know how to use this power? The writer also works on the A.E. van Vogt model of writing, which is that at preselected intervals a plot twist must be introduced, and the twist must be "ironic" in a certain way.
The second part to the Key to Time, the sequel, is something of a refresher. It's a lighthearted retelling of the Ali Baba legend. The premise is that the Key to Time is decaying and this is affecting both the Black and White Guardians so that they get stuck in just five dimensions "like everyone else." Both have taken roles in the 9th-century Caliphate and have been waiting for decades for the Doctor to show up. The story has much fun with what we might call the Hollywood version of Arabia (actually the Sudan). The best fun of all is David Troughton's portrayal of the Black Guardian as a cheeky chappie. And wow does he sound like his father.
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| The Wit and Whimsy of Doctor Who |
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| What: | The Tomorrow Windows (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Leon Coward, Sydney, Australia |
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| Date: | Friday 29 January 2016 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
"The Tomorrow Windows" is a Douglas Adams-style romp with a murder mystery stretching across a number of planets. Each planet is memorable, as Morris forms it around a concept and magnifies it ten-fold: the planets, in their early histories, have also been visited by what appears to be a 'god' wishing to help their development. This mysterious character is integral to the plot. However, god's intervention results, for example, in one race inventing the internal combustion engine before fire (and so the race eventually reproduces itself by parts on a conveyor belt, waiting to be assembled like cars) - so you get the gist of how Morris finely balances comedy, wit, intrigue, with suspense and even horror.
There are also the politicians of Minuea, the warmongers of Valuensis, and the monks of the Shardybarn, who line their planet with atomic bombs to blow it up. (The faith of the planet?s inhabitants is waning, so to restore belief in their god, they want him to come at the end of the world and prove his existence. He doesn?t, and the planet does go boom).
(Those aren't really spoilers... and besides, there is a lot in the book!)
The various concepts provide a refreshing nod to the old Doctor Who series, and the ways in which alien races generally provided a somewhat allegorical representation of different facets of human behaviour and groups. Morris successful integrates the appealing style of the Tom Baker and Sylvester McCoy eras, with the freshness of contemporary science fiction.
A fast-paced story, filled with wit, imaginative concepts, and funny social parodies. Morris is ingenious at tying together all of these madcap concepts into a well-balanced and engaging storyline.
(This review is adapted from a review of "The Crooked World" and "The Tomorrow Windows" published by the reviewer in the February 2012 issue of "The Online Book Group" e-zine)
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| Morality and the Laws of Physics |
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| What: | The Crooked World (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Leon Coward, Sydney, Australia |
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| Date: | Friday 29 January 2016 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
"The Crooked World" explores the scope novel form allows for Doctor Who, and is an entertaining but engaging piece of fiction that will appeal to even those unfamiliar with the series.
In "The Crooked World", Lyon creates a world where the laws of reality are that of a cartoon. When the Doctor and his companions arrive, their reality and the Crooked World’s reality clash. This results in hilarious comedy and unexpected twists where the plot can take unexpected turns and become spontaneous - imagine Roadrunner-esque action, and being able to instantly produce banana skins to make the villain stumble.
The book covers serious ground, however: the inhabitants of the Crooked World are used
to cartoon-style violence that never results in tragedy or actual harm, but the reality clash means that events take unforeseen turns, and the inhabitants are introduced to experiences and concepts they’re unfamiliar with - such as death, mourning, and justice for physical harm. In essence, the story is about these bizarre creatures and their struggle as they begin to develop a concept of morality and community justice. The story eventually resolves around the premise of the cartoon-world, and remains entertaining and thought-provoking till the very end.
(This review is adapted from a review of "The Crooked World" and "The Tomorrow Windows" published by the reviewer in the February 2012 issue of "The Online Book Group" e-zine)
| What: | Blood Heat (New Adventures novels) |
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| By: | ross hamilton, basingstoke, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 29 January 2016 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Jim Mortimore is a genius! This book was already one of my all time favourites but the expanded edition, a really nice covered hardback is just amazing. I got my copy this Christmas and it brings so much more to the story. Bernice fans should definitely look into this, a definite 10/10. Plus Jim is a great guy who gets back to you and really takes on fans ideas and listens, can't wait for his next expanded adventure!
| What: | Lungbarrow (New Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Leon Coward, Sydney, Australia |
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| Date: | Friday 29 January 2016 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
This is an odd novel and isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea.... it's even odd for a Doctor Who story... but AS an odd novel and an odd Doctor Who story, it is fantastic!
It has a lot of quirky ideas, and a sense of the gothic, sublime and romantic. There's definitely some Mervyn Peake in it, some Neil Gaiman, some Terry Gilliam.
The backcover blurb sums it up nicely - the Doctor has been recalled to Gallifrey, to his House and all of his Cousins awaiting his return... so that, after hundreds and hundreds of years, they can finally resurrect their frozen head of house, to read his dying will. Except... the Doctor has been accused of murdering said fellow.
This general plot is woven throughout, and you're continually waiting to find "whodunnit" (all puns intended).
There are two things I admired most about this novel.
The first is the care Platt has taken in ensuring the reader is satisfied. There are many things that are either briefly mentioned (such as a Ghost shimmering frozen in a booth; or some kind of giant beast locked in a kitchen) and one half waits for these things to be left unexplained. Platt does an excellent job at tying up all of the loose ends he creates - he delivers, and makes it seem effortless. He plotted and planned this novel exceedingly well - when to drop hints, when to introduce elements, when to resolve them, when to introduce new elements. Platt also does a satisfying job to integrate the novel with so many other backstories from Doctor Who's history. (Platt also deserves praise for his handling of the Doctor and his companions --- too often, especially in the Eighth Doctor novels, one can feel like "who is this companion? I'm so lost!!!!" --- this didn't occur even though this is the first time I've read a story featuring the companion Chris, references to other companions I have encountered either, and so forth. Platt does a good job at making the reader comfortable).
The other thing I admire is the sense of the fantastic. Giant wooden handshaped chairs which can crush their sitter; 'Drudges' - tall wooden house servants which stalk spookily; the House - the idea that Time Lords grew houses and that these domains are living organisms with thoughts and emotions and can bear witness to events within them; and the "Looms" in which Time Lords are born; and even the concept of a 3D painting - you can step into Monet's garden. ("The Day of the Doctor" is only about 16 years out!)
One of the great charms about Doctor Who is its ability to retain a sense of identity, but still provide a variety of stories, handled in varied ways. This book is a delightful discovery.
Lungbarrow is hard to find, and expensive. View it as an investment - it is worth saving up pocket money to find a copy.
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| Foyle's War - in Space! Part 2 |
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| What: | The Mutation of Time (Target novelisations) |
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| By: | Leon Coward, Sydney, Australia |
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| Date: | Friday 29 January 2016 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
It's unfair to review this without mentioning it's a continuation of the story set up in the Daleks' Master Plan Part One "Mission to the Unknown".
Many of the comments I made in my review about the first book http://www.timelash.com/tardis/reviews.php?591 I would extend to this second volume.
This second book concerns the Daleks chasing the Doctor and the TARDIS crew across time and space, in order to retrieve the Taranium Core for their *megalithic* weapon: the Time Destructor. The idea of the Time Destructor is a nice one: it has the capacity to either reverse a planet and its lifeforms to their earliest days (protoplasmic amoeba globules and all) or it can send it forward, making everything decay into dust in a matter of minutes. The story is mainly sent in Ancient Egypt, and features the return of the Meddling Monk (from "The Time Meddler") and the scenes with him and fun and are totally spot on in recapturing Peter Butterworth [from Carry On] as the Monk, in both presence and dialogue.
The only disappointment is the inclusion of material from the Christmas episode broadcast. It is obligatory, given it is a novelisation - but the light-hearted slapstick comedy is better on television and is very weak and chaotic in novel form (no criticism for John Peel's efforts, though). 50 or so pages in and I was wondering when the Daleks' Master Plan story would continue - it seemed all but forgotten about. That said, the playful scenarios are helpful in the reader warming to the character Sara Kingdom as a companion.
When the Daleks' Master Plan plot resurfaces, it does so in its former spirit. There are less political machinations and plot twists, but it has a steady pace and you can't tell where it's heading. The ending is satisfying, and the portrayal of the traitor Mavic Chen, and his attempt to rule the Daleks, makes for very engaging scenes.
| What: | Mission to the Unknown (Target novelisations) |
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| By: | Leon Coward, Sydney, Australia |
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| Date: | Thursday 28 January 2016 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
If Doctor Who had Anthony Horowitz writing for it, I imagine it'd be not too dissimilar to "Mission to the Unknown" in terms of tone and the writing style (especially like Horowitz's writing for younger readers [such as his "Alex Rider" series] - the writing is to the point, and it helps keep up a nice pace).
This is the first part of "The Daleks' Master Plan" (the continuation being the novelisation "The Mutation of Time"). The overall gist is that the Daleks have formed a secret alliance with other galaxy rulers, and together they plan to conquer the universe. Mainly destroy earth, but they're thinking 'big' too. The Doctor more-or-less stumbles across their plans and has to work out how to scupper them. It's a pretty far-stretched story concept... That said, it lays the foundation for essentially a wartime/espionage space opera with secret information being traded, relationships turning on their head, covert operations, treason, and various political moves against one another.
The story aforementioned doesn't develop too much (as noted, there's the follow-on novel) but what it does do is develop the sense of character, scenario, and plot twists. Situations spiral out of control and its very much a chase story. It feels like a continual chessboard game, and you're continually waiting to see how the pieces behave - because you're not necessarily sure what piece is what, and on which side they are!
There were two really enjoyable aspects about this novel. The first is Peel's efforts in writing it with the mindset of colouring it with details from the "Whoniverse" as it developed decades later on television. Although the episodes (on which this book was based) were broadcast in the '60s, in this book there are references to the 'Draconian' empire and also the 'Movellans' -- races that were invented for episodes in the '70s.
The second aspect I really enjoyed was the structure of the story itself and how characters behaved, which is a credit to the original episode writers and production team. It is a contrast to the 2005 revived TV series. A companion sacrifices herself (I don't think there are any spoilers here) and there is no dramatic emotional music, no weeping, no tantrums, no farewell speeches... it just happens. And the Doctor can't do anything but say (essentially) "She did what she thought she had to" and they have to keep on going as they were (because the story isn't over - this is midway through the book!). I also appreciate the nuance given to the Daleks... they are far more intriguing than most other episodes and far more political (this is their 'hour' of a story, so to speak). Of note, there is a particular scene where some Daleks failure to capture the Doctor - they are declared 'failures as Daleks' and blown up by the other Daleks. (A far cry from the new series "Asylum of the Daleks" where Daleks cannot bear to kill another Dalek).
The thing that comes across strongly from these early Dalek stories-----this one especially----is you can't but help realise how strong post-war Britain and experience of wartime and wartime politics, influenced Doctor Who's writing and its success - the types of characters, scenarios, and its ability to resonate with audiences then. The stories were 'presented' in a palatable way, but the stories did not shy away from being mature in scope and giving harsh consequences for characters' actions.
| What: | Millennium Shock (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Sunday 24 January 2016 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Justin Richards makes the mistake of writing a sequel that is little different from the original. This creates the "why bother" effect. Picking up where he left off in System Shock, Richards has a new bunch of Voracians (get it, they're voracious) who are no different from the old bunch of Voracians try to resurrect the Voractyl virus the first bunch of Voracians failed to activate in System Shock to do exactly the same thing that the old bunch of Voracians wanted to do. The new bunch of Voracians are again modeled on corporate executives obsessed by "efficiency" and have again replaced key figures in government and business. There is once more a big showdown at the end in a government-owned mansion. The only differences are moderate: the plan this time involves hijacking the "millennium virus" of 2000 (when all the computers would supposedly stop working), there is a side plot involving ex-Soviet separatists trying to seize a nuclear missile, and no significant role for Sarah Jane. It's not different enough and not enough of an improvement to warrant having written it.
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| I've died and gone to heaven |
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| What: | Colouring Book (Miscellaneous activity books) |
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| By: | C G Harwood, Dunedin, NZ, New Zealand |
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| Date: | Saturday 16 January 2016 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
I LOVE this book. The art work is fantastic. Be prepared to spend a good few hours colouring in these pictures. I hope this is going to turn into a series of books because I'll be getting them all.
| What: | Terror of the Sontarans (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 14 January 2016 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
A brute of a sontaran ( kind of in the form of Styre from the sontaran experiment ) leads this great story. Bonnie Langford again doesn't scream, and she gets on so well with Slyv McCoy as the ever brilliant seventh persona of the Doctor. And this story is genuinely scary in places. Its always hard to deliver scares in just the audio format I feel, but Big Finish have done it expertly so many times before and here they do so again. Thank goodness these sontarans are the classic series black clad militaristic brutes too and not those bluey purple laughable ones of the new series. Altogther this is yet another brilliant story from big finish, written by none other than a sontaran himself! Thank goodness there's no sign of that dummy Strax here though. No, this is just a real action packed frightener.
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| The superb feelof the late 80s |
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| What: | The Warehouse (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 14 January 2016 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
This story was written by Mike Tucker, a name I am glad has come back to Big Finish after many years of not a whisper of him. He previously wrote the superb stories The Genocide Machine and Dust Breeding. I was really glad when I saw that he had contributed a new story to Big Finish again. I really like Mike's writing. He's one of those writers who instantly manages to drag you into a story, and keep you hooked.
The Warehouse is a pure delight from start to finish. It has totally the right feel of the era in which it is set. And it also boasts Bonnie Langford as Mel but gratefully without the screams, which I'm sure Bonnie must be glad about too. With Big Finish Mel has been allowed to blossom as a companion and she is really really catching as a companion. And she works brilliantly with Sylvester McCoy. They are just as strong a double act as Seven and Ace are to me.
The characters in this story are all very well rounded too. And the story never pauses for breath. The tension mounts well in this story too, as one discovers just what is brewing in the Warehouse. I love the Doctor and Mel's packaging scene in particular. This has wholly the feel of the first season of Sylvester's on TV. It was an age of new discovery and varied storytelling techniques that I found totally endearing honestly. And The Warehouse would fit right in with the four stories of the much underrated season 24.
As ever Big Finish''s attention to sound design and production is flawless and one can easily picture the huge warehouse and the pulsating mould and the huge alien rats. The climax is superb, and the underlying tones of regret for past beliefs in falsehoods is written extremely well by Mike. It adds a very interesting slant to the story that is already amazing and very entertaining. So this is nothing more than yet another Big Finish hit.
I am really glad to welcome Mike Tucker back to the Big Finish fold. And with the Warehouse, he doesn't disappoint at all. We have a full on piece of Doctor Who with some great themes and some great set pieces. And the actors all portray very likeable and varied characters that add spice to an already satisfying story indeed. I would recommend this brilliant tale to anyone! The Warehouse is a Big Finish highlight.
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| Flaming henry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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| What: | We Are the Daleks (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 14 January 2016 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
This story has to join "Enemy of the Daleks" and "Jubilee" and "The Curse of Davros" as Big Finish's finest scripts for the famous pepper pots from Skaro. Its great how new avenues never seem to run out with these metal beasties as Jamie would say. The story in this episode is really superb and surprisingly thought provoking too. And Jonathan Morris does what he always does and tells a frankly excellent story which is then added to by the brilliant acting of the performers. This story is hugely enjoyable, and is already one of my favourite audio stories from Big Finish. Bonnie Langford is no longer a screamer which is a bit of a relief as it gives us yet again the chance to hear what a brilliant companion she is.
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| A great end to the Locum Docs... |
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| What: | The Secret History (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 14 January 2016 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Its been great to hear later Docs with earlier companions. Here the trilogy comes to a brilliant head with the return of an old psycho and a new one! And I always have loved Lysette Anthony, a first class actress. Peter Davison is on high form and goes really well with Steven and Vicki, and Peter and Maureen easily bring these sixties characters back to brilliant life again in this highly brilliant tale from the ever reliable and clever Eddie Robson. Im so glad Big Finish consistently choose the best writers to still keep all the classic Doctors alive and kicking. This trilogy really does have the overtones of a Will Hartnell story, and its a great end....
