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| What: | Apollo 23 (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Adam Regula, Horseheads, NY, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 9 March 2011 |
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| Rating: |   8 |
This was my first doctor who novel ever. I have been a huge fan of the show for a long time (when I was growing up in the 80s you could only see Doctor Who late at night on Public Television) and I'm glad to start seeing doctor who fiction more common in book stores. A great start for the new doctor I thought. As always a little short but a quick and clever plot, with a few moments that make you laugh out loud.
These are both great stories! The western is my favorite of the two.
| What: | Prisoner of the Daleks (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Adam Regula, Horseheads, NY, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 9 March 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
This was my first 10th doctor novel, and I absolutely loved it! Daleks (like most whovians) are my favorite villains and this book illustrates why they have been the Doctors longest and most feared foe. Dalek – X is a great character and I loved the idea of elite warrior Daleks with two gun arms. Very cool plot with well developed characters for such a sort book. All and all a great read!
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 | Excellent overall, except for one thing |
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| What: | The Black Guardian Trilogy (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Wednesday 9 March 2011 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
Mawdryn Undead is an excellent and very complex story. The p[lotting is very tight and one has to really think to catch the total gist of what is going on. Valentine Dyall makes a brilliant return to the role of the Black Guardian, with just the right mix of charm and evil to make the character very interesting indeed. Mark Strickson too starts very strongly in his role as one of the most interesting companions in Who history. And yet again David returns to Doctor Who to play Mawdryn, really a very different breed of alien threat. Who isnt really totally evil, bnut just woefully misguided. And the young Tegan and Nyssa (Go on Lucy!) are really cute. The end of the tale is downbeat and sad for once too. And Nicholas Courtney was excellent here, returning to the role of the Brigadier as if he had never been away. Its very sad that he has now passed away, he was a terrific asset of Doctor Who.
Terminus has many excellently realised moments, but for the ludicrous shock reveal at the end of Part three. This really is the most absurd theory to ever appear in a Doctor Who story. It is totally unconvincing. Which is sad, for the lazar disease section and Nyssa's goodbye scenes are all rather memorable and downbeat and totally gripping. Even the Garm isnt as bad as all that, and I love his voice. And the cramped and untrusting relationship between Tegan and Turlough is very well written indeed, with both actors giving excellent performances, even if they are relegated to scrambling through tunnels for most of the storys length. I really liked Sarah Sutton, she played such a good character. She had such a high moral tone and carin attitude. Its sad to see her go. Thankfully shes back now in audio as strong as she was here.
Enlightenment is visually very striking, and is storytelling at its best. the Black Guardian finally flips and even nearly kills Turlough. And Turlough's role within this story is involved and excellent. Keith Barron and Lynda Baron though are who particularly shine here. Both play very good and interesting characters indeed. Yet again this is original too, and the plotting is very tight and the pace of the story is believable and very engaging indeed. And for once the fact that an alien can read thoughts is very well scripted too. And the Eternals as a whole really are rather soulless and creepy too. The climax too is good, bringing the Guardian trilogy to a successful end engaging end. These are overall very good stories, just forget that unstable fuel thing in Terminus and you might give this a ten, but no. 9 it must be for that one totally silly blunder.
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| Oh no, this is all getting beyond stupid |
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| What: | A Christmas Carol (BBC new series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Wednesday 9 March 2011 |
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| Rating: | 3 |
Matt Smith deserves better than this, for he is really an excellent Doctor. If only the BBC would let Steven Moffatt take a break for a while for his storytelling has become so stale and uninspiring its totally boring now. This take on A Christmas Carol really is rather bland and BORING most of all. And like the series five finale, this story suffers from much to big a layer of impenetrable plotting. People try to be really clever but the end result is just baffling. The inclusion of an air swimming shark could have been done far better, as the shark here really is laughable. A Christmas Carol has been done to death in many different forms now, and this Doctor Who is definitely one of the weakest takes on the tale. Its totally lacking in originality. It has a Scrooge who isnt really convincing, and a heroine who is a little too he he to be believable. And Amy and Rory basically get nothing to do for the whole of the tale.
Matt Smith's acting is the only thing that saves this story at all. I lament for the poor fellow having to put up with silly tales like this. Half of his firsts eries was similarly affected by the things that make this story so bad. That back and forth TARDIS riding is plainly filler, and the kisses are all totally overdone, the word romantic is a world away from my mind here. Only The Pandorica Opens and The Big Bang are worse than this story in the whole of Doctor Who history, truly a spectacular letdown. I dont think my interest in the modern series is going to last if they keep on churning out stuff like this. The classic series always was far more enjoyable, and possessed something this series has never had: CHARACTER.
This all feels so rushed and ill though out. Snore.
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| Two of the very best stories in Whodom |
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| What: | Mara Tales (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Wednesday 9 March 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
These two stories are excellent in different ways.
Kinda has the scariest moments of any Doctor Who in the original series, Tegan's dream scape is brilliantly done, with everything pitch black and the characters she meets within her dream really are creepy as hell. The acting all round within this very different Doctor Who tale is impressive too, particularly Simon Rouse who gives a very meorable performance as the unstable Hindle. And here in this story Matthew Waterhouse also prooves that he is not half as bad an actor as many people seem to think. This is far more psychological than any other story before or after in Who history too. And despite that rather silly snake at the end (which needless to say I still rather like actually!) the plotting is original and disturbing. Roll over Nightmare on Elm Street, learn a thing or two about the facts of what scary really means. It isnt all about slashing and blood and guts you know. Its all about the delivery from the actors. There arent any weak characters here, even the mute Kinda are all felt and portrayed very sympathetically. So this marks as one of the best stories of Peter Davison's era.
Snakedance may not quite be as original as Kinda, but the set design, the acting again, especially from Janet Fielding all help to make this story yet another brilliantly done story. And its good that this sequel is totally different from the first Mara story. The cliffhanger to episode one must rank as one of the best in the shows history. The first time i watched this when I was younger it nearly made me wet myself. Peter Davison too here is at the height of his powers. And his role for once is more interesting in that he has to contend with suych a bunch of blinded idiots. All of the supporting cast too are on top form, with a very good performance from new boy Martin Clunes, rather less silly and rather more understated than most of his other roles which followed on from this. And the snake here is far better than in the original Kinda.
Both of these stories are better for the fact that they rely more on brilliant storytelling rather than just army violence or crude fisticuffs. Here you have to use your brains a bit, which is always a good thing for TV. These two stories are a credit to the production team and to Chris Bailey. Its great to see he's adapting a lost story for big finish too, I look forward to that with the keenest pleasure. Kinda and Snakedance rank within my top ten stories of all time.
'The Stuff of Nightmares' is the first of BBC Audio's (now AudioGo) new audio-exclusive series 'Hornets' Nest',
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| I stepped from the TARDIS - You did not! |
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| What: | Genesis of the Daleks (TV episode audio soundtracks) |
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| By: | Huw Davies, Taunton, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Sunday 6 March 2011 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
This CD soundtrack version of 'Genesis of the Daleks' is a brilliant reproduction of the original LP. The cover artwork, length of the feature, even the appearance of the disc (it is black on both sides just like a vinyl record) is exactly the same, and obviously the quality of the content has not deteriorated.
After watching the DVD version of this story, I did find it both brilliant and over long/padded. The 1hr format of this CD completely eliminates the latter point, slimming the story by over half to make a super-speedy tale which still makes sense and is cohesive.
Linking narration is provided by Tom Baker, however here is where the release slightly falls down. The narration is not nearly as extensive as on modern CD soundtracks, so that in some parts it is difficult to work out what is going on. Indeed in some parts the narration is totally wrong, and it's obvious: the first line "I stepped from the TARDIS onto a bleak planet" is incorrect, as we find out only a minute later that the Doctor had been travelling via transmat and had been intercepted by the Time Lords.
Thankfully this is not too much of a detraction, and this remains not only a solid version of a classic tale but also a brilliantly nostalgic reproduction of Doctor Who's first ever soundtrack.
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| Here's my review, Marco Polo! Read it! |
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| What: | Marco Polo (TV episode audio soundtracks) |
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| By: | Huw Davies, Taunton, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Saturday 5 March 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
My first experience of 'Marco Polo' was an ultra-condensed 30 minute version on 'The Beginning' boxset. As good as this was, I knew that massive chunks had been skipped out. Now listening to this, with those chunks restored, it is far better!
The imagery portrayed by John Lucarotti in this story is superb, and comes across really well on audio - William Russell's narration + my imagination = some brilliant imagery, which probably wouldn't have come across within the limitations of 1960s TV.
The story itself is an epic one in the truest sense of the word - the whole thing plays across many weeks, as Marco Polo's caravan travels from the Plain of Pamir to Peking, taking in the Gobi Desert, Shang-Tu (aka Xanadu) and the Cave of Five Hundred Eyes - again, brilliant imagery here.
The story has one main strand, that of the Doctor trying to retrieve the TARDIS from Marco Polo, but also several subplots - Barbara's kidnap in the cave, Ping-Cho's arranged marriage to a 75 year-old, and the warlord Tegana's betrayal of trust with the mighty Kublai Khan. They all add to the plot by taking the focus briefly off the Doctor's plight, which could get quite tedious.
As previously mentioned William Russell provides linking narration here, and his delivery is dramatic but thankfully not obtrusive to the listener's experience. It is a lovely touch which rounds off a lovely set.
I think I've got myself a new favourite story!
| What: | The Natural History of Fear (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Jake Johnson, Last Seen In, United States |
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| Date: | Thursday 3 March 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
This audio is what I consider to be a masterpiece. On the first listen-through, this seemed like a good, Orwellian tale with some nice twists.
But this audio goes deeper. The meanings of each scene could change when you associate different scenes with them. THis entire audio is a puzzle, one without names and without definite solution. That is what makes this worth every listen through.
This is definitely not the audio of choice for someone who's trying to relax and stop thinking, nor is it one for someone expecting C'Rizz to be developed, nor is it for anyone who dislikes experimental works. But even to them, I'd suggest it. Every part of this play is a mystery, and it's a mystery that someone that one can still ponder on the hundredth listen.
| What: | The Death Collectors (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Trevor Smith, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 25 February 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
I am a sucker for creepy space stations and this is one the best. Poignant & creepy as the seventh Doctor reaches the end of his journey.
| What: | Lucie Miller (Eighth Doctor Adventures audios) |
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| By: | Trevor Smith, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 25 February 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
One of the best BF audios ever. Exciting, gut wrenching, epic stuff. Can't wait for part two
| What: | The Ark (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Tuesday 22 February 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
It is a shame for me that the Monoids never came back. True, maybe they werent overly convincing with those plasticky looking heads and those rather funny single eyes, but I for one dont think they are anywhere near the worst of the Doctor Who monsters to appear in Doctor Who. And give them their due, at least these aliens seem to have some depth of character, especially in the second half of the story.
This story is good for a whole lot of reasons. Jackie Lane's first full appearance as Dodo is rather remarkable for a beginner, I honestly felt from watching this story that she had been in the series for far longer. She just eases into the role of the often overlooked character of Dodo so well. It was very sad that her stay on Doctor Who was to be short and sweet. And here is one of her best performances of them all.
The second is the storyline itself, and this really must be the first story where the TARDIS crew are inadvertently the cause of all the future chaos that happens to the Ark's inhabitants after part two. The scenes of the flu virus really getting a grip are very well directed indeed, and the story flows along very nicely. And one would certainly not have thought that this was one of the lower budgetted stories of this season, in fact, with all those excellent shots of zoo animals and birds this has the feel of one of the most expensive looking Doctor Who's of the old series.
And William Hartnell gives a very strong performance as the Doctor. I always liked the First Doctor. The Eleventh Doctor should take a leaf out of his book when he comes back. For the Eleventh Doctor isnt half the Doctor Will Hartnell was. And I actually like the movements of the Monoids, waddling ducks that they are! All in all this is one of the better Doctor Who stories, with imaginative sets and pretty good effects for the time. This is definitely in my top twenty Doctor Who TV stories of all time.
| What: | Nuclear Time (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Oliver Franks, Telford, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Sunday 20 February 2011 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
Overall, it's a good story, however, towards the second half of it, it gets very confusing, which put me off a bit. As well as that, Amy seems slightly out of character early on in the book, otherwise, Oli Smith has captured the character's perfectly.
| What: | The Ark (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Huw Davies, Taunton, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 18 February 2011 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
Cooking up a storm...
| What: | The Ark (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matt Saunders, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 18 February 2011 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
Granted - the Ark is not the best of Hartnell's era, but it's still a pretty good story. It's another great use of time travel in this era (Space Museum does it too) and it has some good lead roles from Hartnell's Doctor (for once!).
In addition the extras on this DVD are brilliant - some tongue in cheek; others fascinating. I particularly love the interview with Peter Purves which has some sadness attached to it too when he discussed the departure of Hartnell due to ill health. The other interesting documentary is the one looking into why some monsters only appear in Doctor Who once - sometimes because they're just a bit rubbish! This was certainly true of the Monoids, though I love the ideas behind them. However, quite rightly one of the interviewees, Jacqueline Rayner pointed out that the real reason is the writers don't write for Doctor Who again - in this case quite right. Is it time for the Monoid's to return to Doctor Who?
| What: | The Mind Robber (Target novelisation readings) |
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| By: | JG, Gallifrey, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 17 February 2011 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
The Mind Robber, on it's own, is an OK story, thankful with the CD, there's no torture of watching it, compaired to just listening to it. Like the TV version, it's good at the start, from the middle till the end, it's just total rubbish. :P
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| A Read for all the Family! |
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| What: | Doctor Whom (Miscellaneous humour / parody) |
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| By: | JG, Gallifrey, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 17 February 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Doctor Whom - it's a good p*** take of Doctor Who (you don't have to be a Doctor Who fan to read it, but it helps!), the book itself is brilliant. The actual contents of the book, are in a muddled up order (the chapter's don't cotain confusing, profound made up words (OK, they actually do) but the chapter's themselves are in a muddled up order (a bit like previous reviews!), for example, you have the 'Preamble' (watever that is!) followed by the 'Contents' page, according to the 'Contents' page (and the inside the book, itself), you have 'Chapter 12 - The End' then 'Chapter 2 - The Dimensions of the TARDY' followed by 'Chapter 1 -' ... You get the gist of wat I was currently saying. Hang on, that's not right - You get the pist of wat I am saying (Tht's better!). The book takes the currently established Doctor who Mythology and shines a comedic light on it. Like, for example, the TARDIS, is now the TARDY, Gallifrey is now Garlicfree, The Master is now the Master Debater.... The Time Lords are Time Gerntlemen - they, go around the universe, fixing any and every grammatically incorrect sign, by drawing an apostrophe on the aformentioned sign (which apperently fixies Time in-normalities). As the inner bool flap describes (it's a Hardback with a Dust Jacket, my comment's will be in [] those kind of brackets, just so y'know-- Anyway), on the third paragraph "Oh yes. Join the Dr., (full stop then a comma - that can't be right - look there's a little squiggly green line under it) Linn [Assitant stroke Companion] and Prose [Again, Assitant stroke Companion] as they fight to protect the galaxy from the perils of bad grammar, sloppy punctuation and careless sentence construction. Not to mention, the Cydermen [They're name basically describes the comedic transformation here], the remorseless android Garleks [Mutated between a Cyborg and millions of cloves of garlic], and the Celebrity Chefs du Mondu" Doesn't this book jhust scream a good read for the whole family?
10/10
| What: | Timeless Adventures: (Miscellaneous factual books) |
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| By: | JG, Gallifrey, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 17 February 2011 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
For my first factual book read, it was good. The book talks about the different stages of the Show's devlopment, in each 'Era'. (The decades, were named after certain producial, & techinal, stages. The 1960's was called 'Black and White Heat'. From 1970 to Demcember 1974, it was called 'Colour Seperation Overlay'. From December 1974 till the end of the 70's, 'Gothic Thrills'. The 1980s was called 'Time Lord on Trial'. There is, also a section on Fandom (1990s) called 'The Fandom Menace'. And finally, there's a section on the revived, New Series, called 'Regeneration'). It's a good book, there's interviews from certain people (Like, Vertiy Lambert & Terrance Dicks, & more). I wish this book was published before 2006, it would've been a great addition to 'The Beginning' Box Set (As a pdf. file, of course).
The only flaws with this are:
"The Target Book range was finished in 1993" Which is odd, as we all know the Target Book range actually, finished in 1994! (With 'The Evil of the Daleks').
According to this book, "As of 2008, however, there were still 106 missing episodes of Doctor Who." So between 2004's The Daleks' Master Plan ep 2 'Day of Armegeddon' and 2008, 2 episodes have been found.... & I haven't been told, why?(!)
Doctor Who and the Ice Warriors - it was a damn, brilliant one! The brother-sister-esque relationship between Jamie and Victoria and the Father-Uncle-esque figure of the Second Doctor take on the Ice Warrior's! This book - unlike, the TV counterpart, which I've still yet to see - is quite fast paced. Most books have like, 10 or so pages, just for people saying Goodbye etc. but it wasn't until the last page, when the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria leave, even then it isn't actually written, when the Doctor and Co. leave - the only time we are given an hint they've left the (Britianncus) Base, is when (Leader) Clent, turns around to congratulate on the Doctor (for saving them), but he is nowhere to be seen. In this, it is really giving you the impression of the surroundings - compared to other novelisations (i.e. written by Terrance Dicks), like for example on page 11 - "The weird landscape--a nightmare of snow and ice which had been driven, part melted, and had then re-frozen into bizarre grottoes and sculpted caverns--looked as bleak and unwelcoming as the wildest reaches of the Antartic" - Brilliant words written by Brian Hyles, who wrote the TV and novelisation of [Doctor Who and] The Ice Warriors. On one final note - The Doctor and Co. don't appear until page 18. 10/10
