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| What: | Paradise Towers (BBC classic series videos) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Monday 2 May 2011 |
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| Rating: |  10 |
This story for me is one of the all time greats of Doctor Who. It has such a lot going on in it, but all the threads gel together so very well indeed.
First we get to see Sylvester settling into the role of the seventh Doctor, the most harshly viewed Doctor of the lot in my opinion. He was a palpable chap and actor, whose precision at going from camp to totally dark in an instant was unparrallelled. I really like his characterisation throughout this story.
Bonnie Langford gets about her best treatment as a companion here, nearly being eaten by those still so lovable cannibal old biddies! The acting leading up to the cliffhanger is brilliant, as it genuinely shocked me when you saw the sudden darkness beam in those two old biddies eyes! A real good moment of acting.
My Dad thinks Richard Briers ruins this story, but I dont. I really like his rather slapstick approach to the role of the Chief Caretaker. One of those memorable idiots who are totally over the top. But all the other characters are of a far more serious tone. I love the Kangs, played so well by every actress who appears as one of them.
That the villain should be a disembodied brain in a basement is hardly a wholly original idea, but its never been done quite so grippingly as it is here. And thoserobots really are rather creepy looking. Everyone here is on fine form, and I for one cant see why the season from which this heralds is so badly reviewed, theres more going for it than nearly all of the new series!!
The tone of sadness at the loss of the Pex character at the end is very sensitively handled as well, particularly for a Doctor Who, as I had a lump in my throat at the end of this story. This story is definitely in my top ten Doctor Who stories. Along with four other Sylve stories, so that must say something surely?....
I am so glad this is coming out on DVD soon. I cant wait!
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 | This isnt Frankenstein... |
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| What: | The Brain of Morbius (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Monday 2 May 2011 |
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| Rating: |  3 |
Ive somehow just never gelled with the Brain of Morbius. Yes, I know that Phil Madoc is excellent as Solon, and Michael Spice provides a chilling voice for Morbius, but this is just so very boring, I think thats the problem for me. It plods so very badly indeed. Tom Baker isnt used well either, with no explanation as to why hess delivered back to Solon apparently dead at the end of episode three. The Morbius monster may be a brilliant piece of design work, but as with the Zarbi in The Web Planet, its just sad it isnt in a better story. Colin Fay is the best thing here, playing aa very sympathetic character, and as usual he's killed off too early. But these points cant stop this from being totally slow and tedious.
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| Do this again please BBC... |
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| What: | K-9 Tales (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Monday 2 May 2011 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
The ruined version! What happened to the end of episode three?! Oh, this is horrible for a fan who always had had something of a soft spot for the heavily maligned The Invisible Enemy. Yes, there are those flaws aplenty, but I still love the story, its great! That giant prawn really is very very likeable. And Louise Jameson is her usual brilliant primitive Leela. The sets inside the Doctor's brain are highly imaginative, although Ive always wondered where his blood was and just how they breathed in there! But he is an alien anyway so..maybe! Please though BBC, re-release this with the episode three untampered with please if thats ok. I love this story and want it undefiled please! That bit of editing was rubbish and ruined it so much for me!
K9 and Company isnt bad at all thanks. John Leeson comes back with that oh so memorable voice, and Elisabeth Sladen was wonderful again as Sarah Jane, it really is tragic about her death. Very sad indeed. She always was such a brilliant companion. Im glad we had the four seasons of The Sarah Jane Adventures too. Theyre something very special!
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| Give me this any day of the week... |
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| What: | Revisitations 2 (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Monday 2 May 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Give me the unadulaterated, bad languageless, OMG minimal and plainly brilliant classic Doctor Who series any day. It always will triumph over the new series. The new series may well have brilliant effects and mind warping scripts, but thats just the problem. Theyre convuluted and very bad in the extreme. And one thing that continues to get on my nerves is how many people does that Time Lord have to kiss for goodness sake? Get back to the days when Doctor Who was innocent and just plain and simple fun. Where the universe could be in dire peril without all the innuendo and all that bland and repetitive rubbish. Matt Smith deserves far far better than what he's getting.
These revisited tales were brilliant anough first time round, but now full of even more extras its a real treat. I would have liked an overall look at the Ice Warriors involvement in Doctor Who, but only get The Seeds of Death adventure discussed in detail on The Lords of The Red Planet, which is the only dissapointment in the whole of the set. The Seeds of Death always was a brilliant Doctor Who story, and here for once their is real sympathy you feel for the characters, especially Fewsham. That is a real strong moral tone to the character. One can empathize a lot with the character along the way. Pat Troughton is as brilliant as ever too, which makes the whole programme one of the best in the shows history. Wobbly walls included! Its part of the appeal of the show too! Some fans dont seem to get that all that much. The cast on this serial all shine and none are just plastic characters. Real good stuff, a brilliant return for the Ice Warriors. Who are more sadistic and menacing here than in their first adventure.
Carnival Of Monsters possesses a highly imaginative script from Robert Holmes, which is well realised and directed By Barry Letts, and the Drashigs truly are a great looking monster, and they really do look pretty realistic too! The extras here are absolutely brilliant, the making of documentary is particularly good, with Katy Manning being her ludicrous and funny self as usual with that brilliant chicken impression! Jon Pertwee always was a brilliant Doctor, and here his morals are to the fore, with his disgust at what is happening to the beings trapped in the miniscope. Kalik is a deliciously evil and manipulative Who villain again, brought to liife by the ever dependable Michael Wisher. Vorg and Shirna are another in the line of brilliant Rob Holmes double acts. The guy is a far better writer than any of the new series guys in my opinion. Sad he is no longer with us. He had such imagination. Carnival of Monsters is one of the best Jon stories, it has it all. Oh yeah, even the first appearance of Ian Marter, who was later to become Harry Sullivan for just one pathetically short season!!!
Ressurection of The Daleks is a really gritty, grim dalek tale, perhaps the darkest of all the original dalek tales. And theres a liberal dose of death going around in the tale, its no wonder Tegan is truly repulsed by all shes seen in the end. She gets a very sharp, quick leaving scene, but here it is highly poignant and moving. Its one of the best leaving scenes in my opinion. Terry Molloy instantly grabs your attention as the lunatic Dalek Creator Davros, with his ranting just right and never too stupid. Rula Lenska isnt all that bad either, and all the other characters just make the show sparkle. The Daleks are also very well utilised, although one can tell that dalek falling out of the window is just a model, but as ive already said i dont care much about weak effects, if the story can still carry itself off well, which Ressurection does very well indeed. The Dalek troopers are decidedly evil and blank and emotionless too, and Maurice Coulbourne is great in his first appearance as Lytton. Peter Davison is also brilliant when it comes to his showdown with Davros, well scripted and presented. We just knew the most human of doctors would never just murder without reason.
So these are three standout stories, and all have been remixed and represented well in this new set. The BBC so far have chosen well with their revisitation sets. Im looking forward to the next one. (Just not getting any of the new series, its lost all character and hope in my view now)
| What: | Beltempest (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Emma Bowman, Sydney, Australia |
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| Date: | Saturday 30 April 2011 |
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| Rating: | 1 |
My biggest complaint with this book is not the plot holes, the confused mess of narration styles, or even the dodgy and unclear storyline. My biggest complaint is that Jim Mortimore portrayed the Doctor as a blithe, oblivious, savant who hurled himself into every unlikely and implausible situation with a fixed grin and some ridiculous comment that made me want to growl with irritation every time. Yes, the Doctor traditionally uses babble to confuse his enemies, but he most certainly doesn't blither mindless drivel every time he opens his mouth, and the overly cheerful smile-in-the-face-of-imminent-death-whilst-whistling-arias-from-famous-operas approach was so painful I felt embarrassed by it.
Sam likewise was unjustly portrayed as a cringe-worthy, headstrong, rebellious, authority resenting teenager. Apparently, she felt the need to go to great lengths to get herself into as much trouble as possible so she could try to prove herself to the Doctor, only to realise that placing herself in such serious jeopardy, the Doctor was doing to have to rescue her anyway. There was just too much "helpless young companion in distress", with the whole Doctor father figure attitude blowing their relationship out of proportion.
A frustrating and disappointing Eighth Doctor novel.
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| I know so little about telebiogenesis... |
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| What: | Castrovalva (Target novelisation readings) |
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| By: | Huw Davies, Taunton, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 21 April 2011 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
...and let's face it, who doesn't? Above you will find an example of one of the clangers of dialogue prevalant in 'Castrovalva' - and luckily this dodgy dialogue is this release's only problem.
Peter Davison's reading of this novelisation is very good - dramatic, tense, and when reading his own character a brilliant replication. His version of Ainley's Master is surprisingly good also - somehow he seems to have captured the actor's essence, and every now and then a word flitters past that sounds as if Ainley has read it himself - it's brilliant.
The novelisation, bar the aformentioned silly scientific stuff, is a robust one. It doesn't take many liberties with the script, but with a complicated story like 'Castrovalva' that's probably for the best. The way the Portreeve and Shardovan are written (as on TV) so that the former appears to be a kindly old man whereas the latter seems to be the Master in disguise (in the event the reverse is true) is a nice idea, and the 'Master in disguise' element is one that would be reused in 'Time-Flight' and 'The King's Demons'.
Simon Power's sound effects are of course brilliant when we get them, though I would have liked more - though with nearly half the book set in the TARDIS this might have proved difficult. My one quibble is the Cloister Bell sound: personally I think the other-worldy sound of the TV bell is better than the simple church bell Power employs here.
Overall, this is a strong release, and I must say I love the cover artwork; whod've thought Ben Willsher, he of the satirical cartoon printed with DWM's DVD review, was also able to produce something of this beauty?
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| Quietly chumbling along... |
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| What: | Galaxy 4 (TV episode audio soundtracks) |
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| By: | Huw Davies, Taunton, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 21 April 2011 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
I don't really mind 'Galaxy 4'. The hatred it has been given by many fans is pretty unfair, because there is nothing glaringly wrong with it. My main problem is that its story is far too run-of-the-mill, and as a result it does suffer.
The idea isn't a bad one: two races trying to get off an exploding planet, with the Doctor and his companions caught in the middle. It's very simple, but 1960s 'Who' was simple so that's not a problem. However it just seems a very lazy plot; the characters simply walk back and forth from each ship effectively playing Chinese whispers, and the plot goes nowhere fast. The 'beauty is skin deep' idea is nice too, but is again not really that integral to the plot as it is quickly obvious that the beautiful Drahvins are the enemies.
From reading the CD information booklet, it appears to have been a lazy production too, with both sides reusing sets from past 'Doctor Who' stories for their own benefit. From publicity stills also the look of the Chumblies is clearly rubbish, at least on the CD cover they managed to 'zhuzh' it up a bit.
So if you're looking for a deep, complex story that's a great example of black-and-white 'Who', miss this out. But it's simple and although not a great example, it's not too bad, and here's the proof. Stuck in a traffic jam on the way to Cornwall once, my mum asked if I had any CDs in the car to while away the time. The only one I had was 'Galaxy 4'. We listened to it all the way through, even after the jam was clear - and she didn't complain once. In fact, she rather enjoyed the whole thing.
| What: | Planet of the Spiders (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Huw Davies, Taunton, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 21 April 2011 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
I've gotta say, I really enjoyed 'Planet of the Spiders'. For all its faults (and there are some), it's a really great story which ends the Pertwee era perfectly. It features some great characters and ideas, and its only downfall is its 6-episode length.
Story-wise, it's good up to Part 4, when the "oppressed humans" stuff that we've seen on 'Who' time and time again returns to us. Sure the chase sequence in Part 2 is a little long but it's great fun, taking in land, sea, air, and even a bumbling policeman for comic relief on the way. Part 6 takes us back into solid action with the reveal of the Great One, a giant spider who is realised quite well for the day. Then of course we have the Doctor's regeneration, and although the actual effect is a bit unimaginative it is all played very tense and emotionally, which is great.
In the character department the main villains are the Eight-Legs, or spiders, whose voices are done by Ysanne "Alpha Centauri" Churchman, Kismet "wife of Roger" Delgado, and Maureen "the Great One" Morris. The voices are great and really add a sense of drama and other-wordliness. Lupton, the lackey of the spiders for much of the story, is also played very well - wonderfully evil! Also guest-starring are John Kane as the simpleton Tommy (this is also an exemplary performance) and Kevin "Sontaran" Lindsay as the sort-of-Time-Lord monk Cho-je.
If slimmed to a 4-parter this might have been up there as one of the greats. As it is, it isn't that far off.
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| Confusing and a bit pointless... |
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| What: | Mission: Impractical (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Max Allen, London, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Tuesday 19 April 2011 |
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| Rating: | 3 |
it was mostly all a real mess, the conflict in the story didnt really seem all that necessary. The Doctor was OK. Frobisher was inbewteen, Sabalom glitz however was spot on.
your really not missing much by Not reading this one..
| What: | Revisitations 2 (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Trevor Smith, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Monday 18 April 2011 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
Box of Delights
| What: | Asylum (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Trevor Smith, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Monday 18 April 2011 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
This has a really good beginning, explaining how Nyssa meets the fourth Doctor, and this sets up the story really nicely. Pity then that the story sags a lot in the middle & Nyssa feels irrelevant to the rest of the story until the gripping ending.
A lengthy explanation plus historical notes from the author after the story are a nice bonus
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| Far better ending than usual... |
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| What: | Planet of the Spiders (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Monday 18 April 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
It may be true that the regeneration from Jon pertwee into Tom Baker is one of the most dissapointing of the whole of the classic series, but the final whole scene has to be one of the finest in the show's long history. And far more poignant and effective than those stupid way over the top new series finales. Understated and excellently acted. It really is a scene to make you sad that Jon is finally leaving the role. Well let me put it this way, this scene on first viewing was one of the only times in the show's history that I nearly cried!!
His final story in his maintime of acting the errant timelord is packed with excitement and adventure and spiders that actually arent that bad looking at all. The story is extremely well paced for a six parter, one of the most ripping yarns of the third Doctor era. The finale with the Queen Spider in the cave is still one of my favourite Doctor Who endings ever. And its brilliant that the villian iniates her own downfall.
Elizabeth Sladen always seemed far more better served as a companion during her single season with Jon than in her two with Tom Baker. She got decent sized chunks of script to get her teeth into. And she really was a stellar companion. And we get the return of Richard Franklin as Mike Yates who always was such an interesting character. The other characters too are all well rounded and none appear to be too extremely faceless. All the elements tie together rather well.
The cliffhangers throughout this story too are very satisfying and tense. This is all one could ask from a final story. A crescendo that delivers on all fronts. This is one of the best stories of the original series, with plenty to offer. Far better than anything in that stupid new series. The new series has totally lost its way. Im not looking forward to the latest series from all the new casts on the BBC site: i hope theyre not planning on making the role of the Doctor more moronic and antihero than ever...if they do its a serious mistake indeed....The classic series always has been far more fulfilling. Yes, even with its wobbly sets and dodgy effects and stupid costume design at times. It had such character. And Planet of the Spiders has plenty of that.
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| One great, one not so great |
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| What: | Kamelion Tales (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Glyn Viney, Newport, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Sunday 17 April 2011 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
Out of the two, surprisingly I find The Kings' Demons the better tale. Succint and a great entry for Kamelion.
Planet of Fire has never rated highly for me, but the Special Edition with confusing cuts, and a pointless prologue, just makes a bad story worse.
| What: | The Wormery (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Andrew Shaw, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 14 April 2011 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
At first when I heard that the Building was a Tardis I wondered who it was then when they mentioned The Valeyard I sort of guessed who it was but they both worked really well together I thought and I thought the person talking about the past about the Tapes was talking to a villian until the end of the story.
| What: | Zagreus (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Andrew Shaw, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 14 April 2011 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
I did enjoy this story but I like it better when the past Doctors are playing themselves I understand its his concsiousness (think I spelled that right) I didnt like the way Rassilon was defeated I know the Doctor is the hero but Rassilon was meant to be one of the mightiest Timelords and think it could have went a different way nevertheless I did enjoy it and had to listen to the John Pertwee parts on my Hi Fi as I couldnt hear him properly on my MP3 player. Plus I didnt like the fact they said the Doctor will lose his Timelord senses in the new universe, because Tardis Time and Doctor should always be together, Ive still got to get through the future ones so something might change about this (Hopefully)
| What: | Prime Time (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Max Allen, London, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 14 April 2011 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
The Real McCoy
| What: | Goth Opera (Missing Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Max Allen, London, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 14 April 2011 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
Top range stuff!
| What: | Black Orchid (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 1 April 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
What struck me the most about this wonderful two parter is its brilliant costume design. The ladies dresses particularly look highly authentic and convincing. This is light relief from the stories around it. And yet this story is a really touching little jewel. George is a tragic character, and the treatment he's recieved from other characters is barbaric. Sarah Sutton too gets a brilliantly strong role as Nyssa and Ann Talbot. I love Nyssa a lot. She has such a caring attitude which appeals greatly to me. The fall from the roof by George is a really downbeat and sad conclusion to a brilliantly realised whodunnit. This is definiely a very very very good Doctor Who story. And the Doctor has to explain what trains are to his alien companions, which is a good case in point as the crew seem to know rather a lot about Earth otherwise which I always thought was a strange point, so Terrence actually remembered for once that Adric and Nyssa are alien.
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| The Time Meddler medal... |
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| What: | The Time Meddler (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 1 April 2011 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
This tale is a comedic rest after the Chase. William Hartnell is on fine form, Peter Purves really gets into the role of Steven, and Maureen is great as usual as Vicki. The inclusion of Peter Butterworth is inspired, he's excellent as the Meddling Monk. The natives are interesting, although the vikings here are wonderfully stupid and spineless! The fight sequence is a bit flaccid, but this was the 1960s. This is a highly entertaining character piece, and Peter Butterworth dominates everything so very well indeed. A great historical piece.
| What: | The Beginning (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 1 April 2011 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
An Unearthly Child is a brilliant start to the best series on TV, at least the classic series anyway. It starts with a good mystery, and quickly rips off into an historical yarn that is dark and very convincing. The Daleks is at times a little strained and slow, but the conviction of the entire cast is a revelation. The Edge of Destruction is brilliant, a good little piece of psychology and a good character piece. The characters are really studied in depth and so we begin to feel we know them after these tales. This was Doctor Who back when it first began: With style and drive. These were very strong stories. The fight between Za and Kal is unexpectedly realistic, and the moral dilemma in the Daleks is addressed excellently. The start of something really cool is what these three stories were....
William Hartnell was perfectly cast as the gripy Time Lord, and Carole Ann Ford was a wonderful foil to his strong character, in that she frequently calmed him down when he flew off the handle at anyone or anything. And William Russell and Jacqueline Hill were totally awesome characters. They had such humanity and charm, and they all worked together so well. The stories are all the better for their chemistry.
