There are 4,122 reviews so far. To add a review of your own, click on the item in question, then click the Vote link.
| What: | The Mark of the Rani (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
|
| By: | Trevor Smith, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Thursday 10 October 2013 |
|
| Rating: |   4 |
Recently watched this for the first time in ages. What a mess. A story that meanders all over the place & makes no sense at all. The Rani's plans seem amazingly over complicated and what the hell is the master doing in this ? Why is he necessary to the story ? What does he add ? Poor old Colin a Baker does his best with this mess & poor Nicola Bryant has to wear a dress that looks like a tent. The Rani's TARDIS is a thing of beauty & the one good thing in this story & then people get blown up into trees ????!!!!
Another Pip & Jane Baker mess. Avoid.
| What: | The Emperor of Eternity (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
|
| By: | Andrew Shaw, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 9 October 2013 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
I love the 2nd Doctor stories anyway and all the companion releases seem to have the theme of his sort of time and you could imagine the B/W on the TV of them & I would have loved to have seen this I can probably understand with them not having Fraser playing the voice of Patrick to steal the story from Deborah as its her tal but it sounds great the only part what would be dfferent if when she hears the recoerder being played as he only knew one tune and this tune being played was a well played different tune so it had me thinking it was someone else playing it, I really think if this was made properly it would be great on TV but it would have been even better if Patricks voice was done by Fraser, but I thought that about the old man as soon as they were talking about him, but good story again, wish we had the episodes of his and Hartnell's stories because I love them both but Troughton comes a very close second to Tom Baker in my favourite Doctor's...........
| What: | Terror of the Zygons (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
|
| By: | Trevor Smith, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 9 October 2013 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
With Zygons coming out it's the end for the range of 4th Doctors glorious run on DVD.
All of the 4th Doctors adventures are now available & the run comes to a finish with an all time classic.
The 4th Doctor, Sarah-Jane, Harry, a The Brig, UNIT, Zygons & the Loch Ness monster. What a treat.
A real corker of a story that rattles along at a fair pace & now includes an extra opening scene that you will never have seen before. Once again the RT have performed wonders in not only buffing up the story to make it look like it was made yesterday but also to splice in the fully restored opening scene of the TARDIS landing in Scotland ( or Sussex standing in for Scotland)
You'll have probably seen this story lots of times so you don't need me to tell you what a corker it is. If you haven't, you're in for a treat.
There are lots of lovely extras on the 2nd disc including lengthy interviews with Tom Baker & the much missed Liz Sladen.
Do yourself a favour, buy it know. You won't regret it.
| What: | Harvest of Time (BBC prestige novels) |
|
| By: | Earle DL Foster, Invercargill, New Zealand |
|
| Date: | Monday 7 October 2013 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
An equally impressive follow-up to the introductory new Past Doctor Novel, and an ever interesting twist to the multi-incarnation storyline. Mr Reynolds has penned a fitting homage to the Pertwee era, and I for one hope this rejuvenated series will continue well into the upcoming 2014.
I was very disappointed by the rubbish cardboard sleeve around it, what a shame. I've now got it, so can't do anything about it - why BBC? Why? Not happy, because it doesn't match my other CDs, and it also doesn't look right and is bent in the wrong way. Stupid idea BBC - and more trees have been cut down for it too. Disappointed.
| What: | Scream of the Shalka (Miscellaneous TV spin-offs) |
|
| By: | Trevor Smith, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Monday 30 September 2013 |
|
| Rating: | 7 |
And so the Doctor Who that could have been, the Doctor who briefly was, makes it on to DVD.
While glad that this wasn't the future of Doctor Who there are things to admire in this oddity.
A great story by Paul Cornell, a great cast Richard E Grant, David Jacobi, Sophie Okenodo & even David Tennant in a very tiny, blink & you'll miss it, role. Some beautiful artwork including a lovely TARDIS console & some great monsters.
Yes it's not the best Dr Who ever & thank goodness RTD brought it back to our screens, but it's a fun romp.
The DVD extras are excellent including an exploration of the BBC online. The commentary is not really a commentary because apart from the episodes that feature Paul Cornell it's obvious that Toby Hadoke & guest aren't watching the story but it's still full of interesting nuggets including the fact that Robbie Williams was considered for the role of the Doctor.
All in all for fans only but a fun release.
| What: | The Book of Shadows (Miscellaneous short stories) |
|
| By: | Time Rotor, Earth, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Sunday 29 September 2013 |
|
| Rating: | 9 |
Cracking good read!
Author has put sample text here:
http://www.mediafire.com/view/gsd9l269niuvhur/3_books_-_info_and_sample_text_-_01a.pdf
 |  |  |
 | why weren't these stories pulbished? |
|
| | |
| What: | The Age of Broken Miracles (Miscellaneous short stories) |
|
| By: | Time Rotor, Earth, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Sunday 29 September 2013 |
|
| Rating: | 9 |
bought mine from Lulu. simply put: brilliant. A bit skimpy on author comment (would have voted 10 otherwise) but the ideas are crazy. the author has put hi res covers on his deviant art page (search for Jim Mortimore on deviantart) with a link to sample text for the books.
| | |
| Strange writing style - disappointing |
|
| | |
There are so many conflicting accounts of this book. So many people seemed to really love it, and I hoped that I would be one of them.
Unfortunately, in the end this book just didn't appeal to me. The concept was interesting and parts of it were reasonably well done. However, I couldn't get past the fact that there was no actual dialogue in the book at all, and in my opinion that reduced the plot to a dull two dimensional story that just dragged awfully. Quite a let down, sadly.
| What: | The Murder Game (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
|
| By: | Trevor Smith, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 25 September 2013 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
I must admit I approached this book with some trepidation because I'm not really a crime/murder mystery/ whodunit fan & after reading the blurb on the back of the book I thought that's what I would be reading.
And that's what it is, a whodunit, but oh so much more. It slowly evolves into a base under siege, thrill a minute, throughly riverting read.
It builds to a wonderfully excting page turner & I found myself racing towards the end to find out how it ends as the spaceship/hotel comes under attack.
Steve Lyons "gets" the 2nd Doctor, Ben & Polly spot on. You can really hear the voices reading the lines.
This feels like Ben's story as he has the bulk of the action.
All in all one of the best PDA I have read.
The two lost stories combined here provide an interesting glimpse into the Doctor Who that might have been. "The Foe from the Future" was originally supposed to be the series ender in 1977, but proved unworkable given television standards at the time, so "Talons of Weng-Chiang" was quickly substituted. "Foe" begins in the Gothic style of the time, with ghosts, a lonely English village, a haunted mansion, and a crumbling church. By the second half, however, it has become more straightforward science fiction than much of what had been produced in the Hinchcliffe era. Baker and Jameson work well together. The script, even at 6 parts, is fast-paced and manages to avoid endless capture-rescue-capture plotting that slowed down some of the longer stories. There are a few too many confrontations between the Doctor and Jalnik, all of which happen in pretty much the same way. The jokes are not too egregious. Baker's delivery is a bit slower than would have been in the 1970s, but that's age for you.
"Valley of Death" starts as a kind of Lost World story for the first two parts, then becomes something a bit like the early parts of "Shada" in the next two parts. Baker has picked up speed a bit in this story and seems more comfortable returning to the Doctor role. Whereas "Foe" was produced as a pastiche of Hinchcliffe era, "Valley" is produced as a pastiche of Williams era Doctor Who, when the original storyline had been submitted. Thus, there is much more off-the-cuff joking and less attention to plot logic than in "Foe." The story itself is, as the extras commentary says, "bonkers." In particular, the magical properties of the Lurian sun just make no sense whatsoever.
The set comes with an extra disc of about an hour of interviews with the cast. This is mostly in the typical "everything is wonderful" making-of style that one expects from these things, and not much is here to edify.
In sum: The stories are well produced to recreate the feel of this period in Doctor Who history. In this respect, the writers got things absolutely right. "Foe" is in general the better story because even though longer it is more tightly plotted and more careful about its dialogue.
| What: | Self Portrait (Cast biographies) |
|
| By: | Trevor Smith, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Sunday 22 September 2013 |
|
| Rating: | 8 |
A fascinating insight into the swinging Sixtes from one who was there, the lovely Anneke Wills.
Truth be told the Dr Who bit is only a small part of the book, as it was in her life, but the book is an interesting insight into her life. Recommended.
| | |
| The Second Doctor Returned |
|
| | |
| What: | The Glorious Revolution (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
|
| By: | Andrew Shaw, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Tuesday 17 September 2013 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
This was a great story in my opinion I had never seen Jamie do anything like this before and want to alter history and it had me wanting to listen to more all the time and again Frazer Hines portrayel of Patrick Troughton is superb it actually sounds as if Patrick is reading his own lines, he has a great talent there I love watching the second doctor and his group so this is a top story in my opinion.
I'm in the minority, as in I came to listen to this story not knowing *anything* of it's back-story. Also, not as much of a fan of the black&white era of the show, or rather, not having seen enough of it to know if I was a fan of it. I think I've only seen three stories of the first Doctor. Regardless, I liked this. After listening to it, I've seen comments about this story being dull, but I didn't find it that bad. I thought everyone involved in the production did a good job, from voice actors to sound design. The story wasn't awesome, but it wasn't horrible either, and it evoked the feel of those 3 stories I'd seen many years ago. Despite the length, it was worth the time to listen to it.
| | |
| Vengance on Varos Special Edtion |
|
| | |
| What: | Vengeance on Varos (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
|
| By: | Trevor Smith, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 4 September 2013 |
|
| Rating: | 9 |
A wonderful SE of this, my favourite 6th Doctor story, is most welcome.
The original release of VoV was one of the earliest releases & as such was very thin on content apart from the story itself & a great commentary.
This newly buffed up and shiny new version features lots of new extras including a great making of with writer Phillip Martin.
It also features an optional 3.1 surround sound mix which is just wonderful and adds new layers to the enjoyment of this wonderful, multi-layered, ahead of its time story.
Buy it, you won't regret it.
| What: | The Ice Warriors (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
|
| By: | Trevor Smith, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Tuesday 3 September 2013 |
|
| Rating: | 8 |
And so at last the Doctor's first meeting with the Martian warriors is out on DVD & it's been worth the wait.
The story is excellent. A well crafted "base under siege" story that manages to engage for all 6 episodes though I've all ways thought it would have been better as a 4 parter.
The cast are excellent and really believable.
The real stars are the Ice Warriors themselves, a great example of the BBC creating brilliance on shoe string.
Some people have been less than pleased with the animated episodes 1 & 2. While they aren't up to the quality of The Invasion or Reign of Terror they were okay as far as I was concerned.
The DVD also has an excellent set of bonus features.
Reccomended.
| What: | Dark Horizons (BBC prestige novels) |
|
| By: | Trevor Smith, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Monday 2 September 2013 |
|
| Rating: | 7 |
An okay sort of book that for me took to long to get going and just never really got the 11th Doctor at all.
| What: | Dying in the Sun (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
|
| By: | Chris Arnold, Bundaberg, Australia |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 28 August 2013 |
|
| Rating: | 7 |
The first two 'reels' of this novel grabbed my attention greatly. A refreshing setting and interesting characters. The movie Hollywood style lends the text an almost noire feel and I quite liked Chate as a character. Unfortunately once the alien threat was revealed I found it hard to warm to where the novel was taking me. The cult sections lacked interest for me but I enjoyed the attention to detail given to the regulars. A strong novel overall with much to enjoy.
| What: | Heroes of Sontar (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
|
| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
|
| Date: | Friday 23 August 2013 |
|
| Rating: | 7 |
"Heroes of Sontar" is the Doctor Who take on Dad's Army, with a bunch of hapless Sontarans as the fighting fools. To the extent that this is the principal idea of the story, it works quite well. The Doctor and crew arrive on a planet of peace and love only to find that everyone is dead and the only things left are the ruins and some pinkish (or was it orange?) moss covering it all. Then, the Sontarans arrive, whose mission, unknown to them, is simply to die and thus break a "curse" that has led to multiple Sontaran defeats. Of course, nothing is quite as simple as that.
The whole is indeed quite amusing. There are many good lines, and Peter Davison has excellent comic timing. Because this one is played for laughs much of the time, the companions get simplified into their respective types. Turlough is ever so cowardly, Nyssa ever so helpless, and Tegan ever so bossy. In fact, the most amusing moments come from Tegan, either through sarcastic putdowns of Sontarans or bossing around Sontarans.
Like other Alan Barnes scripts, this story's detriments mainly come from stretching a premise too far and not having a clear and plausible rationale for the events. In typical Barnes fashion, there is much about beings melding with each other; the moss is melding into Nyssa and the phantom swordsmen are a gestalt entity who become powerful by absorbing other beings and merging together. These same sorts of ideas are central to "The Next Life," another Barnes script. Frankly, the swordsmen do not make much sense as a concept. What they are, what they do, and why they do it remain rather hazy. If they want to grow stronger by absorbing Sontarans, they seem to be going about it in an overly complicated manner with low chance of success.
So, high marks for comedy; just passing marks on rationality.
I will admit that when I tried to watch The Ice Warriors on TV I didn't like it and was so bored by the plot that I fell asleep in the middle. That said, in book format I liked it much better. Brian Hayles' writing has a lot of flourish even though he is writing for children, it is very evocative. A must-read for fans of the big green Martians.
