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| What: | Last of the Cybermen (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 |
1: Colin Baker, together with my favourite companion ever, namely Frazer Hines as Jamie, are brilliant together yet again in this second Locum Doctor story. Add Wendy Padbury to the mix and you're bound to be onto a total winner.
2: Big Finish actually get writers who know how to write great stories for the Cybermen, the best of all Doctor Who monsters. Unlike the new TV series which has totally moronicized the silver giants, here with BFP they are still as menacing as they used to be back in the black and white sixties!
3: Alan Barnes seems to be a very dependable writer. And Last of the Cybermen has to be one of his finest stories.
4: Big Finish do the best Doctor Who around today, and here is a story that clearly shows this off to great effect.
| What: | The Defectors (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 |
Placing later Doctors with earlier companions is a brilliant idea. And its great to hear Sylv with Katy! They just gel so very well indeed in a highly entertaining story by the ever dependable Nick Briggs. Big Finish do the best Doctor Who around today, it has to be said. This story flows along nicely, and as per usual the soundscape and score are brilliant and totally in keeping with the Jon Pertwee era of the show! The Defectors is a great story, and the ending really surprised me in that Jo gets so flared up about...well I wont give too much away but I will say this is a great start to The Locum Doctors trilogy!!
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 | Still of a high standard..but... |
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| What: | Series 9: Part 2 (BBC new series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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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: |  8 |
I definitely thought the ending with Clara going off with the most annoying character ever on Doctor Who, except for maybe River Song and Rose Tyler, ie Me or whatever the annoying character wants to call herself just a load of balderdash. Who would honestly wanna run off in a TARDIS with a prat whose previously has been responsible for your death I ask you?! Seriously off the mark were the final moments of Hell Bent. One again it was about only Peter Capaldi himself stopping this episode from being another lame duck of a series cliffhanger. And just what the hell does Ohila think she's going on about, saying the Doc's breaking every set of rules he ever made just by doing what he did a long long time ago again?!!!!!!! I don't know. Maybe I'm just thick and someone else can enlighten me.
Hell Bent was such a disappointment that it did truly mar what for me was an otherwise superb season. The double episode Zygon adventure for a start was a rare return to the feel of the old series. Its good to see the Zygons again being developed beyond just being out and out villains. And Peter Capaldi's "peace speech" in part two has to be his Doctor's finest moment ever so far, bar none. What brilliant writing here. And the zygons do a lot more than just stand around in this episode too.
Sleep No More is an odd little episode but I cant see why Ive already seen so much negative stuff from others about it online. I think this episode is definitely different, but good different. And the ending is pretty scary. What Doctor Who should always be. Its not the best episode ever, but its not in the worst section either, not by a long chalk. A stolid Mark Gatiss story as ever.
Face The Raven (until it was totally ruined by the mess that was Hell Bent) was another superb example of Doctor Who at its best. Newcomer writer Sarah Dollard has written the best female written episode of the new series to date. I was crying at Clara's death at the climax of this powerful episode. Ive loved Jenna Coleman, and now I think she's seriously contending with Cat Tate to be my favourite new series companion! But grrrrrrr I still feel so marvellously cheated by what comes after this story in Hell Bent. It totally made me groan. Cant any person in the new who stay dead properly? Especially when their exit before was so gut wrenching. Not a good idea. I think I'll pretend I never saw the end of Hell Bent.
And Heaven Sent I thought was leading up to something great. Peter was absolutely superb in this episode. Handling his almost solo role in an episode nether the less still packed with frights and brilliant scenes. The fact that it didn't really carry on into Hell Bent was a real disappointment for me. Hell Bent was really really annoying.
Which is sad as the rest of the episodes were definitely strong and very enjoyable.
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| The REAL 50th Anniversary |
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| What: | The Light at the End (Miscellaneous audio dramas) |
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| By: | James Vick, poole, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 7 January 2016 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
A 50th anniversary done right, all the Doctors and companions used here are used perfectly, the Master is used perfectly, unlike some of his/hers more recent TV appearances and the plot isn't easy to follow. The only very minor complaint i have with this story is the its a shame Big Finish couldn't use New series content at the time because it would have been brilliant to hear David and the others interact with the classic Doctors, but that's a very minor issue and doesn't effect the story at all. 10/10 Big Finish at it's best!
At last! John Hurt is back playing the War Doctor and its brilliant! John Hurt is an absolute delight to listen too and the supporting cast are also amazing. 9/10
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| This book should have been better. |
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| What: | Twilight of the Gods (Missing Adventures novels) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Monday 4 January 2016 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
This novel is a sequel to the TV story 'The Web Planet.' The story concerns Doctor 2's returning to Vortis, the web planet. It hangs together well. The companions were not pushed off into a meaningless subplot, but were instead active participants throughout the book. This makes a welcome change by Bulis, who all too often has little for the female companions to do except be stranded and wait to be rescued. The Menoptera are depicted as rather overbearingly noble. Also, there does not seem to be much plot. It's all rather like sight-seeing than story. What story there is involves another invader of Vortis, but one that is politically divided into what we can call Imperialists and Communists. This situation gives the reader some highly simplified political science to go with the story. There is also a strange bit involving Menopteran gods who turn out to be real, after a fashion.
| What: | The Ghosts of N-Space (Missing Adventures novels) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Monday 4 January 2016 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
Barry Letts' novelization of his BBC radio drama is reasonably good as a novel on its own. Letts has filled in some details, rounded out characters, and generally gone beyond merely reproducing the script with a few descriptive details. The faults are mostly in the original conception of giving a seemingly scientific justification for the popular concepts of an afterlife.
This book is a collection of critical essays by academics. There are some truly bad pieces here that show many of the excesses that have crept into academic critical studies. Among these are Tat Wood's "The Empire of the Senses," a truly and typically illogical essay in the manner of Foucault that has all the faults of such readings, such as mistaking analogy for equivalence, lack of historical context, and breathtakingly sweeping generalizations. Alec Charles' "The Ideology of Anachronism" is little better. Charles takes a post-colonial position, so the conclusions are as predictable as they are trite - "Doctor Who" stories use "narrative closure" to reinscribe colonial values in a wave of nostalgia for empire. On the good side are David Butler's "How to Pilot a TARDIS," which makes some keen observations about the relationship between the show and its audience, and David Rafer's "Mythic identity in Doctor Who," a look at the various mythical elements of the program. The editor should be praised for including material on multiple aspects of the show, including the music, the original novels, and the Big Finish audios.
| What: | Mission to Magnus (The Missing Episodes novelisations) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Monday 4 January 2016 |
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| Rating: | 4 |
What was to have been the sequel to the excellent Vengeance on Varos never got made for TV. So, this novelization came out. Since it was part of the Target line, it had to be kept simple for the young audience. The story itself is nothing like the gritty "Vengeance." Instead it is rather a farce with The Doctor as the former victim of a Time Lord school bully now being scared of the same bully and trying to hide much of the time. In typical camp fashion, the plot is basically "boys vs. girls," to go with the schoolyard theme begun with Anzor the Time Lord bully.
| What: | Harry Sullivan's War (The Companions of Doctor Who novels) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Monday 4 January 2016 |
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| Rating: | 3 |
One would think that Marter could write the character he played better than this. The novel is basically a Hitchcock-styled spy thing with Harry caught up as that man in the wrong place at the wrong time who gets chased by baddies. Harry spends most the novel fumbling around and being kind of stupid through most the plot. The villain is rather bland, and the plot has many holes.
| What: | Legacy of the Daleks (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Sunday 3 January 2016 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
This sequel to The Daleks' Invasion of Earth is one for the fans, with plenty of the things one would expect to have the fans going "wow." This is particularly true when The Master turns up. The novel's post-apocalyptic setting works well, with a society rebuilding and going through the typical political problems that seem unavoidable for humans. The novel has quite a bit of death at the end.
| What: | Nightdreamers (Telos novellas) |
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| By: | Matt Saunders, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Wednesday 30 December 2015 |
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| Rating: | 3 |
..at all. Some of the personality of Jon Pertwee's Doctor is excellent, but the story as a whole: not good. Sorry.
| What: | System Shock (Missing Adventures novels) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Monday 21 December 2015 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Justin Richards tries to take on the emerging Internet culture as a subject of this near future, for the time, novel. The Doctor and Sarah arrive in London 1998 when the total world wide web is set for complete linkup. Harry Sullivan now middle aged and working for MI5 is investigating a shady tech company called I Squared. The Doctor and Sarah get involved when they are sitting in a pub minding their own business and an agent investigating I Squared is now on the run from one of its homicidal execs and drops a CD-ROM into the Doctor's pocket. So, the setup for the story is rather contrived. The bad guys in this are a bunch of androids that have added organic components from their snake-like creators. Now, they have come to Earth to enslave the entire population to a hybrid robot-corporate ideology virtually embodied in a computer super-virus that will take over the entire human computer network. After some spy-novel bits in the first third of the novel, the rest is a hostage story very similar to "Die Hard," with The Doctor in the Bruce Willis role working as a lone agent to try to thwart the villains. There is quite a bit of running through the building dodging bullets until The Doctor finally gets out of the building, when, fresh out of ideas, Richards has to substitute Sarah running through the building dodging bullets. The novel has several bits of clumsy writing. Though some of the ideas are interesting, I am confused by the high ratings this novel gets. It really is just run-of-the-mill.
This was just wonderful, fun and fascinating. Well done, Big Finish! Sir John was excellent, as was Jacqueline Pearce, and the other actors. I really liked the character of Rejoice. I can't recommend this audio set enough. It doesn't matter if you like the new or old series best: this has a foothold in both! Sir John, I salute you. Thank you.
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| I Always Thought She'd Be Good at This! |
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| What: | The Drosten's Curse (BBC prestige novels) |
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| By: | Earle DL Foster, Invercargill, New Zealand |
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| Date: | Monday 30 November 2015 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
The Death Pit has literally quadrupled in size and sheer velocity. A.L Kennedy has more than outshone her earlier effort in the Time Trips anthology, with an outstanding characterisation of King Tom, and two enjoyably new companions who deserve visual representation in their own right. And I always was a fan of Fawlty Towers, so tremendously loved the subtle cultural references throughout where appropriate.
| What: | City of Death (BBC prestige novels) |
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| By: | Earle DL Foster, Invercargill, New Zealand |
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| Date: | Monday 30 November 2015 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
I already have an unofficial novelisation of this epic story (which was enjoyable enough), but this brand new presentation has delivered so much more in both televised and literary detail. Undoubtedly the best effort yet of James Goss, and I also hope that this could be the beginning of yet another branch of Who-related reading merchandise.
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| Yeti another brilliant spin off |
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| What: | Downtime (Miscellaneous direct-to-video spin-offs) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Wednesday 18 November 2015 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
It was great to see Nicholas Courtney again in his usual brilliant role of the Brigadier. It was great to see the first appearance of Kate, his daughter and his grandson. Its great to see he never lost his flair for acting the role of the Brigadier so effortlessly! Its a real massive insult that the new series of Doctor Who never had him back in the role one last time before Nick's untimely death. He was a superb actor, and always seemed to be a thoroughly decent old chap too. I'll cherish his Brigadier forever.
And it was also great nostalgia seeing Debbie and Jack Watling back in this superb spin off show too. Here too Debbie somehow manages to gain my feeling very badly for what's happened to her here since she left the Doctor. She's not totally controlled, and so she's not predictable. And I think the ending, with her just seeming to disappear is wonderfully mysterious. Could leave the way open for a return story. And Debbie doesn't scream here too, which is relaxing for the ears for once! And Jack Watling is superb in returning to his role of Professor Travers, the embodiment of the Great Intelligence.
And the effects too I was rather glad to see weren't half bad either. And the red eyed Yeti are a brilliant reappearance but the most woefully underused monster of the classic series I feel. Only the zygons share that title with the yeti. To see them thwarting UNIT and crushing heads and smashing people about is great. The soulless New World group are all creepily eerie too. As is the booming, resonant voice of the Intelligence. And this DVD has been superbly restored too. Just as good as the BBCs Doctor Who releases, if not better.
Marc Platt's script is not nearly so convoluted as Ghost Light, and he packs a lot of twists and turns into the mix. And one cant write a proper review without mentioning the ever brilliant Elisabeth Sladen either. Yet again she adopts the role of Sarah Jane Smith with the ease of putting a coat on! So, altogether this makes for a delightful little snippet of Spin off. Very good indeed.
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| Peter's been the best served... |
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| What: | Series 9: Part 1 (BBC new series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Tuesday 17 November 2015 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
Peter Capaldi is simply brilliant as the thirteenth Doctor. He's done a brilliant job of capturing so many finest elements of the previous doctors, but then adding his own touch to the role. I love his more serious, slightly darker take on the character. I would not want to get into a slanging match with this Doctor, no way. And together with the ever charming and lovely Jenna Coleman they make a winner of a TARDIS team!
I was not sure at first when greeted with the Doctor's new hobby of guitar playing....but its no more ridiculous than the recorder was for Pat Troughton or the Jelly Babies were for Tom Baker, so I soon settled down into accepting this after an initial bafflement in the first episode. But beside that, the rest of the first two parter is excellent. I loved all the returning classic series daleks, and I do believe Julian Bleach gave a better, more in depth and brilliant take on Davros here than in his debut story. The sparks that fly off him and Peter are brilliant. Im also loving Michelle Gomez now. Shes such a lovable yet still deeply psychotic feminine Master. Missy is wickedly fun and is perhaps the light relief amidst the grittier dalek side of the story.
Under The Lake and Before The Flood returns to the tried and trusted Base under siege theme again. But this story is as creepy as Doctor Who ever gets. And the story is fast and the Fisher King is a tower of an ugly freak! And the rest of the characters are in the vein of your feeling for them when they die. Some terrific performances. And that scene of the dam breaking: whoh!!!!
The Girl Who Died is another brilliant pseudo historical, even if its depiction of the Vikings may be suspect. But I can forget that as the story is brilliant, and its great to see a foe being defeated by no more than out and out trickery! A brilliant build up I thought of what was to come in the last episode of the first part of the season. Jenna Coleman here again is also so brilliant.
The same cant be said for what I feel is the only boring as heck episode in this series so far, The Woman Who Lived just drags, with no real excitement flaring, even the word farts cant even induce humour into this very dull and disappointing episode. And the monster isn't utilised as well or as much as it could have been. And I cant say that I'm overtly enamoured with Maisie Williams as Ashildr yet either. She was ok in The Girl Who Waited, but here her whole character verges on being tepid and annoying. Glad to see though that so far of the first nine episodes there's been only one dullard. Like I said, Peter's been by far the best served of all the new series Doctors so far.
The fisher king, Colony Sarff, The Mire and the ghosts are fantastically gruesome designs too, making this season seem far more scary than Peter's first excellent season!
And then we come to Series 9 part two..but that's another review....
| What: | The Yes Men (The Early Adventures audio dramas) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Tuesday 17 November 2015 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
...BIG FINISH YOU GOT THE OPENING THEME VERSION WRONG HERE! PATRICK'S FIRST SEASON WAS STILL NEARLY ALL STILL USING THE ORIGINAL TITLES FROM WILLIAM'S TENURE OF THE SHOW! BUT THAT DOESNT STOP THIS STORY FROM BEING EXCELLENT.
Elliot Chapman makes a brilliant first impression as Ben. He does his character superb justice, maybe not sounding 100% like Mike Craze, but getting all the inflections and Ben's character spot on. I'm so glad to hear people taking on the mantle of other actors without bumbling them up. Tim Treloar has been superb as Jon Pertwee, and here the same is readily true of Elliot. And he meshes immediately well with Frazer Hines and Anneke Wills, both of which return to their roles with obvious ease. And don't even get me started on Frazer's brilliant channeling of the late great Pat Troughton! He remains constantly superb. And the story's pretty flipping good in all! The Yes Men is an excellent start to the second Doctor run of Early Adventures. It feels like im listening to monochrome 1960s television all over again, and its delightful. Big Finish just keep getting better and better all the time.
| What: | The English Way of Death (Big Finish novel adaptations) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Tuesday 17 November 2015 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
This kind of has an Agatha Christie-esque feel to it. The characters are all very large in volume and are brilliantly witty and interesting at the same time. I haven't ever read the original novel of this audio adaptation but going just from this superbly cast and acted story its an all out winner again for Gareth Roberts.
Lalla Ward is brilliant as Romana, and yet again her pairing with Tom is perfect season 17 again. And there seems to be just a hint of Shada amidst the folds of this story too. Tom is on fine form too, as is the rest of the superb cast. This could have been done as a Doctor Who film! The sound design again is superb. This really does feel like a classy romp back in the thirties. I cant wait to hear The Well Mannered War soon, to complete my Gareth Roberts audio set! If its as good as The English Way of Death, then i'm in for a treat....
