There are 4,137 reviews so far. To add a review of your own, click on the item in question, then click the Vote link.
| What: | The Ancestor Cell (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
|
| By: | Matt Saunders, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 27 July 2011 |
|
| Rating: |  10 |
It is such a clever little book and I really loved this. We get to see so much of the Eighth Doctor's personality too. We also get to see more of his Tardis than normal, and this sets up the next few really excellent "Earth bound" books. Buy this second-hand, well worth it.
| What: | The Sun Makers (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
|
| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 27 July 2011 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
The Sun Makers is a story that prooves that you dont need all out action to have a thoroughly excellent story. The Sun Makers I feel is perhaps Rob Holmes most brilliant story, full of his trade mark expertly written characters. But here there is just some added dimension that makes the whole story sparkle no end. It really is no wonder that Louise Jameson said that this story was her favourite. It has so much amusing stuff floating around, not least of all the quite brilliant mix of the Gatherer and The Collector, two of the most over the top and yet excellent villains to ever grace the Doctor Who universe.
And the taxed citizens go through a nice change about, they start out being rather weak and tepid and all mouth and no action, but then the at last get some back bone and go against the grain of the enforced system now imposed on Pluto. That the planet should itself be now thoroughly taken over and made habitable is a really interesting notion.
The Blood sucking leech, in the form of a Uxarian is brilliantly brought to vivid life and is such a well rounded character. Nicely evil and sadistic in how he loves to watch the torture and death of all of his employees! A real marvel of a character. This story really does have a bold point: taxes taxes taxes. One of the biggest bains of modern society I know. And Rob definitely lets us know how he feels about such things in this delightful tale that is my favourite Tom Baker story of all.
Louise jameson is on fine form, she doesnt scream, she just is fierce to the fore. All the more spice to an already delicious tale! And theres no real need to mention Tom Baker at all really, except that he's his usual brilliant bold and bright self...
 |  |  |
 | Complete and utter brilliance |
|
| | |
| What: | The War Games (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
|
| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 27 July 2011 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
I have to say that Doctor Who is one of the only programmes that can have a serial last for ten episodes and keep the interest fresh and imaginative all the way from the start right to the end. And to say the very least, The War Games is a triumph of television in every respect. It boats all the perfect elements that made the Patrick Troughton years so brilliant, theres the comedy, the seriousness, the well thought out plot and the brilliant acting from everyone involved.
The characters here are all solid and have guts. The rebels are all fantastically portrayed by every single player. The villians of the piece are all on top class form as well, especially Noel Coleman as the decidedly soulless General Smythe, and Phil Madoc doesnt really need any introduction. His War Lord is one of the most memorable villains in the shows history. There is so much tension and grit all along the road with this story.
Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury too are on perhaps the best form theyve ever been, Jamie getting to leap into action to save Zoe or Lady Jennifer ( who happens to be one of my very favourite Doctor Who characters ever) almost at every turn. And we also have his bumbling and amusing side, when he first meets all the rest of the resistance parties! These scenes are comical and offer an oasis of comic relief amidst the more harder plot elements along the way.
The climax part , Episode Ten has to be counted as one of the finest episodes of Who in the universe. Its a brilliant end to the Pat Troughton reign as the errant Time Lord. We get our first hint at who the Doctor really is and his background, although enough is left unsaid so still the character has a lot of mystery about him. And Pat is on sublime form all the way throughout this highly engaging adventure, his best performance in his three leading years as the Doctor. He gets to be manipulative, caring, giving, and angry at many times throughout the script, which adds up to some very very good scenes.
And for the time, even the action scenes are not that badly done at all. It manages to convince and isnt over the top at any place. Its all just peppered throughout the tale well. The story itself is highly imaginative and is pretty bold a notion too for the time. And all the plot threads gel strongly and one never feels that the story is getting strained or weak along the way, the pace is just brilliant and never gets tepid or lazy. So all these factors combine to make this story definitely in the top five slot of the entire history of Who for me. One cant get much better than this story in my opinion, its great television!
| What: | Spare Parts (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
|
| By: | jason Oakley, Portsmouth, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Friday 22 July 2011 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
I have listen to this more than any other, there are lots of great stories but to me this remains the best of all Big Finish audios, superb
| What: | The Resurrection Casket (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
|
| By: | Jade Teague, Gold Coast, Australia |
|
| Date: | Thursday 21 July 2011 |
|
| Rating: |  8 |
Great story and enjoyable with lots of twists and an ending that makes you want it to keep going. It's good to read more than once so you don't miss any details.. some things i didn't pick up until the third time.
| | |
| Reasonable but not great. |
|
| | |
| What: | The Clockwise Man (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
|
| By: | Jade Teague, Gold Coast, Australia |
|
| Date: | Thursday 21 July 2011 |
|
| Rating: | 6 |
Good author and story but its not so exciting that you would want to read it more than a few times. Worth reading though.
| What: | The Magician's Oath (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
|
| By: | Clive T Wright, St Lawrence, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Monday 18 July 2011 |
|
| Rating: | 9 |
In many ways Magican's oath is a just classic 3rd Doctor story, crashed alien, prison ship, mind control etc. The magican is good and the images of frozen people combined with strong dialong alone makes this a good story.
However the real strength of this story is the underlying sense of Captain Yate's feelings of loss, loneliness, regret, lost love. Mixing this all together makes this a great story.
| What: | The Sentinels of the New Dawn (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
|
| By: | Clive T Wright, St Lawrence, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Tuesday 12 July 2011 |
|
| Rating: | 6 |
Sentinels feels like a jumble of old 3rd Doctor plots or a thin rehash of the Time Monster, it even has a large flapping winged monster, but this time its black.
Its not bad but like the time tunnel in the plot its a simple straight line of a story, nothing challenging or original.
| What: | Paradise Towers (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
|
| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Monday 11 July 2011 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
Paradise Towers always seems to be one of those very badly recieved Doctor Who stories. But I for one am not going to lambaste a story that is genuinely execellent in every respect.
The First major success factor of this story is Sylvester McCoy, his Doctor is such a different one from all the previous Doctors. He's at once more mysterious, more deep and more unpredictable. He actually may just be the perfect mix as the Doctor. He gives a truly alien feel to the character.
The second factor is Bonnie Langford as Mel. She's given her most meaty script segment here, and she's not just the out and out screamer many seem to think she is. She has guts here, and her handling of Pex is brilliantly done. Mel Bush is a brilliant character!
Those old ladies are suitably disarming, in the fact that they truly do seem genuinely sweet until that dark as hell twist at the climax of episode two. Miss Spriggs especially is execellent as Tabby.
The Kangs too are brilliantly realised. They are such wonderfully OTT girl gangs, all the actresses though bring such heart and feeling to the roles that really electrifies the story no end. The fact that all the people in the towers come together at the end of the story for me is a lovely touch.
And some might lambaste Richard Briers for his totally OTT take on the Chief Caretaker, but I love his approach. Its a serious source of comic relief amoungst the darker elements of the script. And his rendition of Kroagnon once in the Caretakers body is very plausible, As I do believe a voice would be rather distorted if its from a mind thats just inhabited a new body!
So, I really cant see anything at all wrong with this story. Theres so much imagination rampant through the tale, its engaging and different. Its packed with first class acting talent and its one of the very best Doctor Who stories ever.
It boasts it all: comedy, action, thrills, scares. Brilliant stuff.
| What: | Series 6: Part 1 (BBC new series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
|
| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Monday 11 July 2011 |
|
| Rating: | 8 |
I must admit I approached watching this sixth season of the new Who with much trepedation. Im getting fastly tired of the series up until here. Gratefully, overall, I was hugely surprised by how good this season is overall. There are still a few weaknesses, but far less than in the last series.
The weaknesses come in the opening two parter, and in the finale. Id like to know what exactly the Silence had invaded earth for in the first place, as this is not touched on in the script at all. And the Doctor's lack of mercy with these creatures again highlights the point that this Doctor now isnt all that much of a hero. Id have thought he'd have given his token one chance for the creatures to leave, before having them all murdered. But aside from this quibble, the silence themselves are very creepy indeed, in may book more creepy even than the Weeping Angels.
The Finale story is just another convuluted load of garbage one has to state here. Theres just too much packed into 50 minutes, that the episode sags seriously and becomes in many areas incomprehensible. About the only decent factor of this story is Matt Smith's performance, and that guy whose the wonderfully characterised Sontaran. But Im trying to get my head around everything else along the way. And how exactly was this the Doc's darkest hour? He's faced far worse in his time than what he does here. And the partial resolution to the mystery of River Song has rather fallen short of my expectations. Just to be the daughter of Amy, whats so earth shattering about that? And dont even get me started on why he just walks away from Amy and Rory in the end...
But the four in between stories are quite brilliant through and through. The Curse of The Black Spot may be just about the most stupid title of a Who story ever, but the story itself is exellently written. The siren looks very good indeed, and Arthur Darvill reaches his heights here as Rory. I love this guy, hes so funny and yet so brilliant. The ship itself and all the crew are exellent too, especially Hugh Bonneville who takes to the lead brilliantly as the Pirate Captain. Theres a real good neat twist at the end too, which is warming and good, in the vein of the SARAH JANE ADVENTURE The Mad Woman in The Attic. A nice and calm and good ending.
The Doctor's wife is a real piece of action with a decent plot that is meaty and with acting prowess to match, its an original story too. And the TARDIS in female form is rather brilliantly thought out. Another highly recommended episode for once I have to admit here. That the TARDIS actually picked the Doctor for travels together is believable, and the story also keeps pace very well. And we have the Time Lord distress box back at last, last seen in The War Games!!! WOW! And here its utilised well again as in the brilliant Patrick Troughton finale.
The Rebel Flesh and The Almost People is one of the finest episodes of the series since Chris Eccleston came to the role in 2005. It is freaky as hell, and the Gangers are suitably unsettling and menacing, yet at the same time you really truly feel for them, as they have been misused and maltreated for so long. This makes for an electrically charged story that doesnt seem like 80 minutes at all, its so well paced and the drama is tense and riveting. The finale is suitably shocking too, and should have led into a brilliant finale, but it sadly didnt. But this still is far far better a season so far than series five in almost every respect. The writing is of a far higher standard, and the acting is too. This isnt on the spot, but its the closest to the mark since Catherine Tate left the role of Donna after her full season...
| What: | The Doctor Who Audio Guide (Miscellaneous factual books) |
|
| By: | Colin John Francis, Somerton, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Monday 11 July 2011 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
Still available :-)
| | |
| A nice collection of clips. |
|
| | |
An interesting 'documentary' concerning the Rise and Rise of the new series. It's 'scary' to think that Christopher Eccleston seems so long ago now.
"A small number of the "original" CDs were distributed prior to the recall, which should turn out to be a very rare collector's item for the lucky recipients." = Yay! That'll be me then :-)
| | |
| Back to the standard format |
|
| | |
After the cliff hanger of the last story, I was looking for something that continued the hard hitting story and twists. It didn't happen and we have gone straight back to the standard Benny story.
Dispite this big moan, Tartarus gate is still a good story, with Benny and her boy friend vs the Bad guys.
So the range continues with a good story but hoping the plot develops with future stories.
| | |
| At last hard core drama and action |
|
| | |
This starts as the typical Benny story, light hearted fun, stumbling into another adventure. Horror you are in for a surprise, as this quickly turns into a fast paced hard hitting (at times disturbing) story.
For some I'm sure it will feel too much of a change but I thought it was great.
| What: | The Perpetual Bond (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
|
| By: | Clive T Wright, St Lawrence, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Sunday 10 July 2011 |
|
| Rating: | 8 |
This story could have been written for the credit crunch. A mirror of our world today, with a good question "what depths would do we go to make money during hard times".
In many ways this is a tongue in check romp, a light hearted poke at the 60s and old school boy net work.
A fun and enjoyable story.
| What: | Find and Replace (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
|
| By: | Clive T Wright, St Lawrence, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Sunday 10 July 2011 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
Jo & Iris are delivered with great style and energy by Katy Maning in a fun, sad story that takes us down memory lane with great style.
I've never followed Iris' stories but after listening to this, I think I will pick up some of her stories.
| What: | The Doll of Death (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
|
| By: | Clive T Wright, St Lawrence, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Sunday 10 July 2011 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
At times a little creepy, lots of twists, lots of time (although backwards), bucket loads of atmosphere and a great reading.
The Doll of death is so far one of my favourates.
| | |
| A great start to the line |
|
| | |
| What: | Frostfire (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
|
| By: | Clive T Wright, St Lawrence, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Sunday 10 July 2011 |
|
| Rating: | 9 |
I like many have picked up listening to the Companion range in the wrong order but was very interested to see how it started.
Frostfire dosen't disappoint, quickly you are taking back into the world and feel of the first doctor. It's great to see what happened to Vikki and hear as he past becomes linked with her future with a clever plot.
Sadly Disappointing
| | |
| Limited music but what the hey |
|
| | |
| What: | Travels in Time and Space (Target novelisation readings) |
|
| By: | Huw Davies, Taunton, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Friday 8 July 2011 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
This is a superb set. The three stories are all very well written and read expertly by 'Ian' actor William Russell, especially 'The Crusaders'. My one gripe is there is not the same scope of music one has come to expect from these CDs but to be honest it doesn't detract from the story and what music and sound effects are there are effective.
Thoroughly recommended (if you can get hold of a copy!) 10/10
