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 | Cheap reprints available on Amazon! |
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| What: | So Vile A Sin (New Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Jacob Mason, Manchester, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 10 June 2011 |
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| Rating: |   8 |
This is a fantastic book - I barrowed a copy yonks ago and was blown away.
Aaronovitch and Orman are fantastic authors and they don't disappoint in this book. I would reccomend reading a few NAs before starting on this book, as it wraps up some loose ends from other adventures.
As Aaronovitch couldn't finish the manuscript on time for whatever reason, Orman completed the book for him and as a result it was published after 'The Dying Days' - and although I wasn't old enough to remember it at the time, I'm told the book wasn't available for long as Virgin's license was revoked.
As a result, it sells for silly-money on Amazon, but a reprint-on-demand is now available for just under £5. I can't recommend this enough for those who love the NAs and can't obtain a copy themselves.
The link below is Amazon's page for the So Vile a Sin reprint:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Doctor-Who-Adventures-Vile/dp/0753539756/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1307739048&sr=8-1
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| strong end to a very good trilogy |
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| What: | The Guardian Of The Solar System (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 9 June 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Jean Marsh rocks as Sara Kingdom, cant wait to hear more of her story hopefully not too far in the future! Simon Guerrier has definitely provided three corking good scripts which Jean clearly has enjoyed doing, as its so evident in her pitch perfect delivery and performance. This end to the trilogy is emotinally charged, and has a very strong narrative indeed. The plot too is wonderfully done and very strongly laid out. Lisa Bowerman's direction is totally superb. Niall MacGrger too is excellent in his character of Robert. The end of this trilogy has been long awaited, and it defintely leaves one wanting more. I wonder who will get the chance to write for the brilliant Miss Kingdom next? Whoever they are, they have a very tough act to follow indeed. For Simon Guerrier has produced one of the best trilogies in any genre of stories ever. But I am willing to give any story with the great Jean Marsh a chance. After all, Sara Kingdom is such a brilliant character. The character of Steven and the Doctor is spot on too, and is a fitting tribute to the late great William Hartnell. Its so lovely seeing his face on the cover of new and thoroughly thrilling new adventures. Well done BFP, and well done Jean, and well done Simon.
| What: | Shadow of the Past (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 9 June 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
This story has all the staple Simon Guerrier elements. A strong narrative, strong characters and an easily followable pace. Caroline John sinks back effortlessly again into the role of the brilliant Liz Shaw, whilst Lex Shrapnel is excellent as the soldier in this one. It really is so good hearing tales from the first three Doctors again. Its a real decent tribute to the memory of the great William, Patrick and John. These companion tales just get better all the time. Ive not yet heard a real true dissapointment in this brilliant range of audio books. And Shadow of The Past is one of the strongest, its definitely worth a buy.
| What: | The Emperor of Eternity (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 9 June 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
What nostalgia it is to hear Debbie and Frazer again after all these long years. What nostalgia it is to hear them back in as good a historical yarn as this tale from NIgel Robinson is. What nostalgia to see a new historical appear in the Second Doctor's era. This story is one of the most strongly realised and presented in the whole of the sompanion chronicles so far. Its very very strong indeed. There are elements that are truly horrific, such as the beheading scene which would have been considerably toned down for the screen had this of been thought of way back in the sixties. Debbie and Frazer just gel back together as if they have never been apart. I love historicals and thank big finish for having the sense to bring back the history tales to Doctor Who. Humans are the worst monsters, so we dont always need some alien from Aldeberon 3! A great tale.
| What: | The Invasion of Time (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 9 June 2011 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
The single weakness of this story is the farewell to Leela. She hardly even knows that bloke Andred. Although there are some clearly set scenes where you can see she is beginning to feel something for this time lord bloke. The rest of the tale is paced very strongly indeed, with the shock reveal of the Sontarans in episode four being for once totally unexpected indeed. Tom Baker gives a towering performance as the for once very shifty but highly clever time lord, and hsi shouting is brilliant! Louise Jameson as ever is strong and dependable. The best scene is where she throws that knife right into the back of the neck of that idiot sontaran in the corridor! The humour in this too is good but not over the top. And I love the character of Rodan. Castellan Kelner is another moron of the highest order too. And those shimmering vardans are rather likeable! Derek Deadman plays an excellent Sontaran too. John Leeson as K9 is particularly good here too, as he too seems to be following highly suspicious orders from the Doctor up until part four. And for the first time in this story we get to see a decent amount of Sontarans for once, not just the solatary one. The scene in the TARDIS with the plant and the sontaran is one of the single funniest moments in Whodom, especially when the Doctor shakes that sontarans hand!!!! This is definetly a tale where the writers got the comedy just right.
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| Hugely maligned, for no reason.. |
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| What: | Destiny of the Daleks (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 9 June 2011 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
Genesis of the Daleks is weaker than this story by a long chalk. In the fact that their are far more daleks in this tale, given the fact that its also two episodes shorter. Genesis of the Daleks had a better Davros, one has to admit, but David Gooderson is nowhere near as bad as many seem to think he is.
But still, even Destiny has its inherent weaknesses.
I love the comedy inherent in this script, that was sadly the last to come from Terry Nation's great brain. Lalla Ward and Tom Baker so clearly spark off each other. Lalla Ward makes an instant good impression as Romana too, although Ive always been bewildered by the fact that Mary never got a proper goodbye scene. And obviously Time Ladies have a different kind of regeneration cycle too!!
The Daleks here do look very battle scarred and warpoed, which is a brilliant point actually, considering they have been in a war thanks very much indeed.
And Romana can clearly fool those stupid tin pepperpots, as she says they were once humanoid themselves but earlier under the daleks lie detector she says she knows nothing at all about the daleks, the devious little woman!
The two things I hate about this tale is firstly that woeful Why not try climbing after us scene. Right from The Chase we SEE that daleks can go upstairs, although we're left wondering how until Rememberance of the Daleks. So this scene is just a totallly moronic and cringe worthy scene that spoils this episode no end. Secondly its that dalek threat to the Doctor, that they will exterminate all the slaves in turn til he surrenders. And its a gross character misjudgement to have the Doctor wait til two have been killed before he acts! That is the most lamentable dog mess in the whole of the Tom Baker run of the series.
Thankfully the rest of the story is of a far stronger quality. The Movellans are a very intereseting race of robots. Its brilliant in all the seasons where they flail about after there power packs have been snatched off their belts! And i love it when Romana boots Sharrells arm off! Quite brilliant comedy there which makes up for the earlier rubbish.
So this is nowhere near a perfect tale, but it does on the whole satisfy more than Genesis of the Daleks. That Davros triggers the daleks demise too is another excellent moment too! Ha ha!
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| "RUBBISH? I CALL IT NEARER BRILLIANT" |
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| What: | Time-Flight / Arc of Infinity (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 9 June 2011 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
The thing that seems to happen a lot in Whodom is an overglossing and over praise of stories that are actually pretty weak at heart, Like Pyramids of Mars and The Robots of Death, and a tendancy to lambaste stories like The Monster of Peladon, Timelash, and these two tales presented here in this fine boxed set.
The first story, Time-Flight, admittedly does have its weak points, I agree, but not enough to stop it from being highly enjoyable. The main problems are the design of the Plasmaton and that hand puppet thing, and the Xeraphin arent perhaps the most realistic monster, being just silver suited with a wierd little head piece. But for me as a whole that is where the stories failures end. I for one cant see why this script apparently boasts rediculous lines aplenty, Ive never heard them up until now. What this story also presents is Anthony Ainley doing a different sort of voice in the guise of Kalid, enough so to make it genuinely surprising when its revealed that he's the Master. His inflection is great as the india chinese like figure. For Once I had no clue that it was going to be the Master. Another thing that is really strong in this story in particular is the the wonderful friendship between Nyssa and Tegan, a wonderful amount of scenes here show how good Sarah Sutton and Janet Fielding are in their seperate roles. And the first TARDIS scene as they crew lament the loss of Adric is rather well done i feel, a nice overtone that isnt overdone by any of the three TARDIS occupants. And all the supporting actors just truly add to make this story far from the worst in the fifth Doctor's era. Peter Davison too is no less brilliant as the most human of Doctors. So this is a tale only let down by the monsters, and some of the decidedly wooden sounding sets, but Ive never really cared about that.
The Mouth on Legs extra with Janet Fielding is very very nice, only its far too short. Considering she spent three years in the TARDIS, 10 or so minutes is not enough to talk with such a fine actress!
Arc of Infinity has a classic villain return to the series in the guise of Omega, but here his character is more of a puzzle, and more multi layered than in the first story he appeared in. The only major fault in this tale is that Nyssa's line that the creature is formed from Anti matter instantly wille voke fans memories so its easy to guess who the villain will be. But aside from this minor scripting quibble this is overall yet another highly engaging story. Colin Baker marks his first role in Doctor Who as the clearly up himself Commander Maxil, a role that he excels in as much as he did in his time as the Doctor. He works so well with Paul Jerricho's Castellan. Paul Jerricho plays a slightly moronic time lord excellently, as every scene he's in he rather steals. And its really nice to see Michael Gough again as Hedin, although amidttedly he does seem to lack a lot of the power of his original performance as The Toymaker, but even so even here he's great, and really underplays his roll. Janet Fielding makes her immediate comeback as Tegan. I just love her character to bits. And here she is for once allowed a very good amount of script, as she takes it on her own back to investigate where her cousin has got to. The characters of Stewart and Colin are funny too, with particularly Stewart being quite the dunderhead, but a likeable dunderhead. And Ian Collier as Omega has to be mentioned. He's excellent in the role, bringing more subtlety and restrain to his interpretation of Omega, whereas Stephen Thorne was just bluster, here the character has far more depth, and one even feels sorry at the end of the tale when he comes to his apparent end. I just knew here that he wouldnt have been killed. The Doctor's clear pain at having to destroy Omega again is well done indeed by Peter Davison, and one knows he's only really actually expelled him back to anti matter, one can just see it in his eyes! And I dont need to mention the ever reliable Sarah Sutton. I love her too, she was so gentle and such a kind giving character that should have stayed in the series longer. The location work in Amsterdam isnt all that bad either, all though its not as pronounced as Paris in City of Death or Spain in The Two Doctors. But its nice to see a different location entirely for once in the series.
All in all then these stories arent bad at all, on the conterary theres a whole lot of things to mention here in these two tales. They both have far more merits than shortfalls.
A Gateway
| What: | Home Truths (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Saturday 4 June 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Whoever had the thought of bringing Sara Kingdom back to life should be given a million quid.
Jean Marsh is back! After her three oh so excellent performances on screen during Doctor Who's original tenure, she is now back as the second of those characters. the great space agent Sara! One was shocked at her death at the end of the Dalek's Master Plan.
Add to the fact that Simon Guerrier has written this tale and you certainly have the recipe for success. This story is genuinely scary, with the sound and score being totally menacing and this helps gives the story much impact that really hits home every time. That she should come back as the house is in itself a harrowing and yet brilliant idea. This is truly one of the best of the companion chronicles so far.
And another good thing about these tales is they arent over long, so they are easy to follow and yet still dont feel rushed like many of the new series episodes do (although I must say so far series 6 has been far far more than I ever expected it to be).
Welcome Back Sara! Its been too long.
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| The best monsters in the best 2 stories! |
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| What: | Mannequin Mania (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Huw Davies, Taunton, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Wednesday 1 June 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
The Autons have always been my favourite monsters. In my opinion they take the most rudimentary and normal object as a mannequin and turn it into a terrifyingly sinister weapon. Here are there two classic series appearances, one a 'Special Edition' re-release of an early DVD, the other a brand new release.
'Spearhead from Space' is the SE release here. The main thing you notice about it is its stunning appearance - the film already gives it a super quality, and the brilliant restoration just adds to it. The story is reasonably simple but dazzlingly effective - Episode 4's Auton massacre on Tottenham Court Rd is one of Who's most redolent images.
'Terror of the Autons' has become one of my favourite stories since I watched it. It takes all the concepts of 'Spearhead from Space' and turns them up to 11 - where SfS had dummies coming to life, TotA has the same dummies but they can talk, and are armed with new weapons: the 'Nestene Autojets' (plastic daffodils to you and me). Where SfS had the sinister villain Channing, TotA gives us the DW legend that is the Master, played by Roger Delgado.
The whole set is wonderful. Take DW's best monsters in 2 of DW's best stories, plus the best restoration of stories to date, and you get a simply stellar boxset! Bravo, 2|entertain
| What: | Beneath the Surface (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Wednesday 1 June 2011 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
The Silurians always has been a giant of a Doctor Who story, in that it packs so many good elements together in an easy to follow and engrossing way. We have the extremely high calibre of acting from cast members such as Fulton Mackay and as usual Peter Miles, who are both excellently cast in their respective roles. This story also has one of the strongest moral fibres of any Doctor Who story ever. If their were these creatures in the distant past, it would be good to work with them and not blast them off the face of the planet. And also the film work on this story is highly credible and seriously brilliant. And Jon Pertwee already gleams and steals every scene he's in. Hes such an immense presence in that flowing cape of his that no one else really gets much of a chance, but they all truly give it their all! Liz Shaw is a brilliant companion, played to perfection by Caroline John. The particularly effective disease plot thread is startlingly realistic, and in some places quite awful and harrowing. Doctor Who gets increasingly more and more mature during the Third Doctor's tenure on the show. The Silurians is a real high quality story.
The Sea Devils follows on very strongly indeed. The Sea devils are very well realised in deed, and Roger Delgado as the Master is absolutely at the hieght of his powers as the charming and evil Master. The Story also again has a high moral content and Jon Pertwee again gleams like a tall light bulb and glitters somewhat all the time.
Warriors of the Deep has always had stick for the rediculous Myrka. But that is all that is lamentable about this tale. What is striking is their are no really black and white characters, just a bunch of grey and sometimes offensive people, but one still feels sorry for the female parts of this story. And yet maybe there is one other lamentable section, where Ingrid Pitt tries karate on that stupid pantomime horse. But the silurians redesign is superb, and the Sea Devils are just as good as in their first appearance on our screens all those years before. JNT certainly had some sense in bringing back faces from the past. The final scene of this tale is highly engaging and ends on yet another moral high, with the Fifth Doctor's famous "There should have been another way" line of real importance. One feels sad that the new series silurian tale just lifted wholesale elements from these three stories, and didnt bring much new to them either. But these tales overall are all very good pieces of Doctor Who. Yeah, I dont care about things like the Myrka if the story itself is still rescuable from the performance of all the other cast members. Brilliant overall indeed. Great three linked stories!
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| Very Interesting tale indeed |
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| What: | Frontios (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Wednesday 1 June 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
You sometimes get a story which seems rather out of place in the season its in, either because its glow makes the others just glow dully, or it has a highly interesting idea at the core of it. Frontios is one of those stories. We get presented with a highly different race, not inherently evil, but not whiter than white either, and they are possessed with an interesting and different kind of power which is very well presented and directed within this excellent four parter.
Peter Davison leads an excellent cast in a story that is packed full of very good ideas indeed. Mark Strickson really impresses here, for once given a sizeable chunk of script to get his teeth into. His depiction of fear of a race memory is believable and very palpable indeed, so credit must go to him above all else. A really decent character who was often sadly left out somewhat from most other stories of his tenure as Turlough.
The Tractators too are well realised too, and their voices are also of a good sound. The plot threads in this tale all meld together so well too, and the pace is not too fast and not too slow either. And this story also ends on a cliffhanger, with the TARDIS gripped by a far more dangerous force. So all the way through this story is imaginative and possesses some very good set design too. What more could one expect from a class Doctor Who story?
| What: | The Kingmaker (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Wednesday 1 June 2011 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Only the slightly over long feel to this tale mars it in any way, shape or form. One just gets the notion that this would have been better if it had been slimmed down just a little. There are other tales which are excellently paced and dont feel overlong, but this story is not one of them Im afraid.
But this is not bad at all though. There are certainly a whole scope of ideas which are well scripted and well thought through, and all come together in a really good way. Although I think I should say we've always known the Doc is no superhero, he just always tries his best, so the whole make him admit he's not perfect thing in this story is a little laboured and usual.
Where the story does work better is in the pairing of Erimem and Peri, the bond here between them had reached its full height. And Erimem's busting of a blokes arm is a wonderfully comic little scene, as is the whole Doctor Who section with that robot on the front cover which sadly make me feel this might be a toymaker story, for it bears such a resemblence to the robot in the Celestial Toymaker, so I was slightly miffed to find out it wasnt.
The whole point that a stupidised Willi Shakespeare should be the whole reason for this story is rather good though, and I genuinely did feel this was going to turn out to be a Master tale, so it was a decent surprise when it wasnt in the end. But this is one tale where the three main actors definitely save it from being protracted and boring. Good on them! Otherwise this story would have been too too long.
| What: | Spearhead from Space (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Hugh E. Oxburgh, Cambridge, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Tuesday 31 May 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
This is one of the alltime greats-no question. The Autons have always been my favourite monsters, not least because they don't speak (except in Terror of the Autons) & that scene of them bursting out of the shop windows is iconic. THe reason its so good after 40 years is because it was shot entirely on location & so has a freshness that a lot of the studio-bound ones just don't have. Its hard to believe tat the sho's future depended on this one dong well & what a return to form it was. Hugh burden is brilliant as Channing & John Woodnutt gives one of his numerous great performances as Hibbert, though his best one was yet to come! I strongly recommend buying the new boxset "Mannequin Mania" to relive this one, not least for the moment when the replicas come alive in the waxworks & begin to leave. Creepy.
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| A Redeeming Novelisation... |
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| What: | The Ghosts of N-Space (Missing Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Jacob Mason, Manchester, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Tuesday 31 May 2011 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
Having listened to the original BBC radio serial, I was very, very sceptical about reading it's novalisation. Listening to the recordings, the cast sounded ancient and I could barely make it past a few episodes. But I cast aside my scepticism and pictured the characters as they were in the original 1970s serials, and it works perfectly.
This is by far one of the better written tie-in novels I've read; although the concept and explanation of N-forms and N-bodies is a little bit feeble, it's still a very exciting and fast paced story. A pleasant and enjoyable read - worth the money.
| What: | Heroes of Sontar (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Monday 30 May 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
They come along very rarely. Stories that are funny, but still with so much action and drama to balance. This story is one of the funniest in a long while. The humour is just right, and never even approaching over the top. The characters of all the four main stars are spot on, and the Sontarans are all very interesting indeed. Alan Barnes has done it big time with this brilliant four parter. Starts the season very very strongly indeed.
| What: | The Doctor Trap (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Hessel Hoekstra, Maassluis, Netherlands |
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| Date: | Monday 30 May 2011 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
When you read the backside of the book, and the first 40 pages, you might think: great story! But nothing is as it seems, and the supposed hunt escalates into a deadly game of bluff between the Doctor and Sebastiene, which is very confusing towards the reader. The clou of the story came too late, and was too expected. But Messinghams fine writing style compensates the negative points.
| What: | The Way Through the Woods (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Hessel Hoekstra, Maassluis, Netherlands |
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| Date: | Monday 30 May 2011 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
This book starts with many different storylines, which are slowly merging with each other as the story progresses. This is very nicely done. Also the characters are interesting, and a good writing style.
| What: | The Time Warrior (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Wednesday 25 May 2011 |
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| Rating: | 5 |
This story is one of those few Doctor Who stories that does pull you left and right in terms of its merits and shortfalls.
Kevin Lindsay must be given a large amount of credit here, for his interpretation of the first Sontaran we see is flawless. A great new alien foil for the Doctor. And the make up here too and costume are all highly commendable given the fact there were obvious budgetary limitations inherent for this story. And his voice is totally different than that of his later, also memorable Kanpo in The Planet of The Spiders.
But I feel that maybe David Daker as Irongron is just a little too over the top. Maybe kings of that time would have acted like this, but for me it just makes a large chunk of the story too farcical for words to describe. Its his clamer scenes when he actually works better, rather than his totally stupid bluster.
And the working robot looks rather pathetic too. But Ive never been one to dwell on weak looking effects. its part of what made the show what it was.
Elisabeth Sladen bucks the story up no end with her very strong characterisation which sadly seemed to greatly diminish in her two Tom Baker seasons in the role of Sarah Jane Smith. She immediately grabs the attention in a good way. Her views on where she thinks she is at the end of part one and the beginning of part two are highly amusing and well directed.
But is it just me or does Jon Pertwee not really get all that much to do in this story other than chuck stink bombs over a wall and try to fight off a sontaran? He just seems to be a bit of a spare part for the most part of the story. And this is bad as Jon deserves far better treatment. Gratefully it didnt happen all that often in his time as the Doctor. But even in the bits he's in he prooves just how brilliant a Doctor he was. The final scene of the arrow in the neck of the Sontaran is also very well done. Although the rather tepid explosion is rather sad, considering the BBCs penchant for brilliant explosive work. The CGI extras really help this one no end for a change.
Nick Courtney in his single episode is also keenly felt, although he's only in two scenes really. I always loved his character. He always was so well utilised in the Third Doctor's run of stories.
June Brown though seems rather off par. not even Dot Cotton here. Alan Rowe is a little better, but not all that much, hardly as good as the character of Skinsale in Horror of Fang Rock. So all in all, a real mixed bag that doesnt really hit the target as great Doctor Who. One story where the pros arent in as high abundance as the cons im afraid to say.
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| Axos calling Earth plot thread exhausted |
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| What: | The Feast of Axos (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Saturday 21 May 2011 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
I havent bought any new audio adventures for a while before my birthday, so it was a delight to hear Maggie Stables again after such a long time. I love Evelyn, shes such a solid character, and she just slots into place with the character of Colin Baker's sixth Doctor.
But now we have the added dimension of that idiot Thomas Brewster to the mix, which rather upsets the flow of these two characters I have to say. Im not saying John Pickard isnt good, im just saying that this trio is one for me that doesnt seem to work so well at all. Which is sad. Thomas Brewster was okay with the fifth Doctor, but no so well with Colin. I love the classic mix of just the Doc and Evelyn. Ill have to try to get used to this new companion for the sixth Doctor. Maybe he'll grow on me.
At least Maggie's still her old self, and is what lifts this story up rather a lot on the whole. And its really great to hear Bernard Holley return as Axos, although most parts of his vocals here are a little less recognisable as Axos, due to the fact that he is over forty years older! But not too bad a job on Bernard's part at all.
And yet one isnt glad that this is just another run of the mill follow on from the classic Claws of Axos. And the ending is rather too similiar, albeit Axos now going round forever into an explosion rather than just a time loop. Here Campbell Irons is the high up official replacing Chinn in the original. Rather the same type of character, with the same kind of plot thread too. One would prefer the axons to come back in a totally original tale with only the fact that its Axos being the sole link to the past show, which in my opinion is better than this story. Sad, considering Mike's first whole script for Big Finish, Legend of The Cybermen, was so brilliant.
And another problem is the almost total lack of natural form axons. And as in the original story the axon clones had huge strength, then Id like to know how Brewster can hold onto a writhing mass of sphaghetti at the climax of this tale! Axos by this time is getting more strength after all. Maybe the axons actually were a wrong choice for audio for once.
But its not all negative though I have to say. The climax to part three is rather emotional and Maggie gives it her all here, and the Doctor's temporary loss he feels is brilliant acted by Colin. And like ive said, Thomas Brewster isnt written badly, its just for me he jars too much with the Doc and dear old Evey. But the sound scenes all set within axos are brilliantly similar to the original, and so you feel youre back on axos again. Believe me this is not the best story big finish have done, but its still better than a huge range of episodes in the new series.
Just please tell me that this DOC/ EVELYN/ BREWSTER mix isnt going to go on for too long. One would rather have Jamie with this group again, that would be a far better mix, and a far more interesting one! A rare dissapointment in the Big Finish range. Thankfully they dont appear with regularity.
