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Titan builds on the previous story arc with great success. Surprises and twists carry the story along at a good pace. There are many dramatic, hollywood size moments in Titan, whilst some work well, others feel over powering on audio, with the cast required to describe too much to the listener. But Titan is a great story and a real roller coaster, the ending is excellent and leaves you with questions and wanting more.
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 | Very Intricate, Clever Story! |
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| What: | Apollo 23 (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Tom Moloney, n/a, Ireland |
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| Date: | Monday 14 June 2010 |
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| Rating: |   7 |
The opening of The doctor and Amy turning up at the shopping centre is very well done and does not drag on for very long, Amy on the run from the crew of the ship and trying to unscramble what the unconscious woman has to say: Brilliant!!! A really good novel, although could have done with more Geronimo's (like the tv series as matt smith has only really said two or three times)
| What: | Patient Zero (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 11 June 2010 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
that these latest bf audio stories seem to be better than ever.
these stories hold my interest longer than any of the new tv series stories. they are better written and far more twisty and involving.
colin baker leads a brilliant cast in a rather scary adventure. theres a subplot that is brilliantly realised. it is all directed and presented so brilliantly. nick briggs cetainly knows how to write brilliant stories. and ha ha, the viyrans arent destroyed by those stupid tin pot devils the daleks! ha ha! weakling idiots. and the closing scenes especially are thoroughly brilliant and thrilling, leading well into the following story in these last trio of stories for the brilliant Charley.
India has been a fantastic companion. She is so fun and light as a companion, her ride has been a thrilling one. Sorry if thats all i can say about this play for now but ive just read the news page on bf site itself and and am highly excited for it sounds as if the great Tom Baker may soon be involved in the series, please let this not be just a rumour...
anyway, back to the story. sorry if i ramble. im just glad at this piece of news. i think the only thing i can add is this story has a monumental feel to it, what with the setting being a place where every virus ever known is stored within the walls...quite a frightening premise...well, i think you get the gist...get this excellent story!
| What: | Scaredy Cat (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Thursday 10 June 2010 |
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| Rating: | 4 |
"Scaredy Cat" had possibilities, yes it did. However, it gets bogged down in the Gaia hypothesis for its "science" and gets further bogged down by an obvious, stock bad guy. It was just lazy writing more than anything else.
| What: | Exotron (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 9 June 2010 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
"Exotron" is the kind of story that could not have been done in the "classic" days of Doctor Who. In that respect, the Big Finish people have used the audio format well. The story itself is interesting enough, involving desperate colonizers and a secret science project going horribly wrong. This is definitely a Davison-Doctor story, using his willingness to sacrifice himself for the sake of others. What drags it down a little for me is the overly-sentimental ending that drags out the denouement far too long with pointless dialogue serving no purpose other than for the actors to emote, really, really emote. The one-part additional story is cute little puff-piece. It has some nice humor and does not at all feel constrained by a twenty-minute duration.
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| Not a good start to a mini series |
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Why oh why are all the characters in this drama so stupid? Everyone acts on emotion, no one stops to think. Another problem is that too much of what happens is magic, in the sense that it "just happens" without rational explanation. How is it that Amy can get a piece of the key when Zara tries to steal Amy's? It just happens. How is it that Zara is 500 steps ahead of the Doctor? It just happens. The story jumps in time without exploring its most interesting element - the gift-based economy of the Martians. Finally, the Doctor is surprising disinterested when Zinc kills a Martian just because. I was surprised at how loose and ill-conceived the script is given Guerrier's novels.
brian minchin is a genuis, the who story line was phenominal. i really got into the story. welll written.
this story is about a mammoth in the new york history musuem. the fbi are ready to shoot it down but the doctor has other plans. come on a white mamoth? might aswell be something else?
Firstly, this book is DEFINATELY not for kids. There is not much swearing but this is about the most violent book out of all 15, and I have all 15. People are constantly getting their insides "removed" should we say. It is strangely fasinating in a horrible way, I was hooked and finished within four days. Gwen is split up from Ianto and Jack for most of the novel. She is with Rhys trying to get to several different places through the strets at night, and goes mad at one point. I won't tell you what Ianto ends up doing but it's pretty amusing. There are thousands of deaths an Mark does a great job at describing the things going on, you can really picture it all. Parts are really shocking, others are just mad, I thik this would make a wonderful episode on TV. It isn't too adventarous, and it's kept easy to follow. There isplenty of guns aswell, more than any other book for sure. The plot is nice and original too, for once its not all about orld domination. I won't tell the plot because it's only revealed at the end, it's a very shoking end at that. Overall it's wonderful, only reason it's not 10 is because I don't really believe in utter perfection.
| What: | Only Human (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Tommy, England |
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| Date: | Tuesday 1 June 2010 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
I was a bit dissapointed that Cap'n Jack was hardly in it atall, he's only real appearence is in that diary thing of his experiences with Das. I also found it really hard to picture where they were, past, planet or future. It was also impossible to understand the monsters and picture them, and what is it with that grey door? But I liked it when Rose got married just so she could save the neanderthals, kinda funny. But it was also good in that it suprised us. Untill halfway, we didn't know chantal was a bad girl. An ok read, very complicated though and hard to follow. Ultimatlly, not TV worthy.
It was an action packed and fairly entertaining read. However, I don't think Justin really understood Jack very well because he was completely unlike himself. It was like he was secretly in love with that immobile girl (forgot her name). If you watch Torchwood you'll know that first, he's gay and second, he isn't that emotional. But the general plot was good and I loved the monsters, they were scary, and plenty of action, a real Doctor Who story.
I loved the characteristics of the Doctor especially. He is just like the one out of the TV series. It was also a bit of a laugh, I loved the humour where the Doctor does not understand Keisha's grief and keeps running tests on her. Only bad point is that too much of it is set in "secret London" and there isn't much location variety, other than that, it's great!
Yikes! We've missed out on a lot of action between the end of Survival of the Fittest and the beginning of The Architects of History.
Architects is a crazy, wicked time paradox story that takes the Nazis where they've never been before - we now have a Galactic Reich with a department of temporal affairs, headed up by Auberst Elizabeth Kline! I'm not a fan of alternate universe Nazi stories, or any Nazi stories, but trust me - this is a good story. It's 2044, and some version of the Doctor is Kline's prisoner on a Moonbase. There's a whole potential multi-story arc in here which has not been taken advantage of (tut-tut, Big Finish), and at this point, Kline has reshaped Earth's history and near future into quite an amazing state. But suddenly and inexplicably, an attack begins that they should've seen coming, but didn't.
Yes, the aliens are ruthless walking armored sharks. Somehow, that didn't bother me here. Maybe it's partly because they weren't nearly as campy as they could've been, and maybe it's partly because their vocal effects are pretty good.
The causality here is so twisted that I had to listen to part one again after the end of the story, and after doing so, it still really doesn't make sense. And yet, again... this didn't stop Architects from being one heck of a good story for me. Added to this is the somewhat surprising secret of Rachel's, which I won't mention here, and the hidden but apparently implied role the Time Lords have played behind the scenes, as a setup to clean up what's been going on, which is revealed, apparently, in the resolution. There's so much in here that it makes for a dense, real thinker of a story, which I found quite satisfying.
I'd say The Architects of History is on par with the best stories of the new TV series. But what a missed opportunity for Big Finish - they could've gotten so much more mileage out of this story arc before closing it off.
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| Excellent, apart from one thing.... |
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| What: | Enemy of the Daleks (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Monday 31 May 2010 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
The only thing wrong with this story:
Okay, the daleks at last have an adversary that is as powerful as they are, no bad things there...only, what about the mechanoids? I thought they were good enough dalek killers themselves too? Maybe im just being a bit dim, but just listen to the Juggernauts and youll see what I mean. But that is the only quibble about this otherwise excellent dalek story. I really like the Xabier, or however you spell them. They have a great voice, one of the best for a new big finish monster. I hope this is not the last we see of these foes.
Sylvester McCoy impresses again, showing why he is such a brilliant doctor, along with that oh so brilliant duo Ace and Hex. This is raw and claustrophobic and climactic all along the way. Looks at the "do i have the right" scene in a different light, just like the other reviewers have stated. A good job big finish produce these dalek stories. I was on the point of not liking the daleks at all really once, but then i discovered Big Finish and i like the daleks a whole lot more now. They bring in writers who actually utilise them so well!
This is well worth a buy. And yes, the electric guitar score is somewhat suited to this fast paced Robert Holmes feel tale. David Bishop has done a memorable tale. Some very fine performances and really good characters. That is why most of Sylv's big finish outtings are the best!
Beth Stokes, sad she had to go at the end. Nice totally human character. One of my fav one off big finish characters so far. Thanks for killing her off David!!!!! not!
good book but could of been a4 size instead of a3.
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| The thrill of the chase.... |
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| What: | The Space Museum / The Chase (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Monday 31 May 2010 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
It is true that the first episode of The Space Museum is better than the other three put together, but Im still liking this tale more than Pyramids of Mars and Robots Of Death. My favourite scene is when the Doc puts all those images on that flippin telly, hilarious comedic moment!!! The first part is highly atmospheric, and is somewhat let down a little bit by the follow on, but not as much as the aforementioned Tom Baker boring tales.
But the Chase is brilliant. It boasts great comedy, the "Oooh Archie!" scene is in my book the funniest doctor who moment ever i think. The mire beasts aint that bad a design at all either, just apart from when they flop everywhere, but i suppose real octopi do that all the time. And i love it when that silly daleks runs itself off the sailing ship into the water, rummin brilliant laughs.
The mechanoids and daleks sequence is extremely well done for the time. very chaotic and brilliantly directed, and i do wish Richard Martin would stop having such a go at this story in the documentary, he doesnt even accept his own talent, the humble bloke. And the sets are all pretty well done all in all, i love the haunted house especially.
Ian and Barabra's leaving scene is done very well indeed. A nice and fitting end to two brilliant companions time in the series. its sad Jacqueline is no longer with us, would have been nice to have had her in a companion chronicle.
All in all, some very good Doctor Who indeed!!!
| What: | Peladon Tales (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Monday 31 May 2010 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
THE CURSE OF PELADON:
What this first story boasts is some excellent set design, this really does have the feel of a medieval castle. It is one of the most convincing sets in a long time on Doctor Who.
It also boasts a lot of good alien characters, who are all ok in there own ways i suppose. But for me this story is two things, one its more like a stage play, with so much talking and very little action at all.
It may boast a far more convincing fight scene than its larger accomplice to come, and the set may look fresh and imaginative, but this is all too stagnant and boring for me. Not that I have anything against the actors involved, i just dont think its quite as good a story as many people seem to make out. Yeah, im different i know.
THE MONSTER OF PELADON:
Now this story may boast some rather noticeable flaws along the way, the fight scene in part four in particular, and who can forget the refinery door and the miners who all come back to life several times throughout the show? But if youre like me, and can look past visual flaws and get to the heart of what the story itself is all about, then maybe you could see it in as cool a light as i do.
I like this story far more than Curse. For one, it is none stop. And apart from the very obvious face of Terry Walsh in part four, all the action scenes are rather well handled to be fair.
And I know what a lot of people say about Nina Thomas as Thalira, and Im here to disagree. This character is one In fell in love with when i first saw this tale. She instantly became one of my favourite one off characters and has been ever since.
What I really like far better in this story is the amount of actual interest. Miners on strike, monstrous ghosts breathing heat rays, and one very good element of this story is I never really expected the main villain to be Eckersley, wonderfully underplayed by Donald Gee. And of course, Ralph Watson is just right as the ever so radical and mad Ettis, as good a character as the series ever gives us.
And Elizabeth Sladen is well and truly getting into the role of the oh so wonderful Sarah Jane Smith. I think her scenes as she thinks the good old Doc is dead are wonderfully acted. That scene in the refinery when her tears fall on the Doc's face are some of the best in Jon's time as the Doctor.
Yes, so even with all the fluffs and flaws and loose haemaphrodite heads and viewable feet (just look!) , this story is still an excellent one full of action and excitement from the word go. I really like this second tale a lot. Far far better than the mediocre Curse.
It may tread some of the same ground as Curse, but Monster is so much better at presenting it. And if you can get the bbc audio cd, then you can hear this tale without any flaws at all! which is even better! This is a programme that used to have very little budget, so cut the crews and cast some slack please. With all the trouble they had its a wonder half the stories made it to screen. And as Monster didnt have as high a budget as Curse, its still by far the better tale in my view!!!
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| Something a little different... |
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As always with the Quick Reads, they are short sweet and aimed at those with read difficulties or young readers. Though after you thought Terrance Dicks was finally bringing his writing to the new audience in Made of Steel, he produced the sloppy Revenge of the Judoon. So was this was what to become of the quick reads, beloved writers being sloppy in 100 pages, well Jac sure weren't. Although this is still a quick tale of sweet short scenes and action. Jac seems to be understanding that it can work in the format. It's fun, actiony and the characthers certainly impress and we get the Sontarans being properly meancing. It's interesting tale because the sontarans are on the hunt of an enemy but side step for fun to toture the human athelets in horrible challenges though some elements are clearly in mind of a very young audience, the Sontaran Games offers a great twist which I doubt an adult even could have been 100% sure was coming...
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| An incredible ride, including part 7! |
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| What: | The Daleks' Master Plan (TV episode audio soundtracks) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 27 May 2010 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
It has to be said that Doctor Who is about the only show Ive ever come across that can have a story carry on for nearly five hours and still maintain interest doggedly right up until the very end. The Dalek's Master Plan is a brilliant piece of Doctor Who for many reasons.
The first very striking thing about this story is it doesnt play around, there are two companions who die for a start, and both deaths are directed so well, you can hear that, as to make them two of the most heart wrenching death scenes in Doctor Who. Sara's death, even just by hearing it, actually done a rare thing and presented me with a doctor who almost cry moment. That very rarely happens with me otherwise, but this story's ending is one of the most horrible and most memorable.
The second thing is the very high acting standard throughout. Yes, and that includes episode seven. It fits just right as a breather from the daleks just for one episode. And it is a comic gem that is rather tasteful and has a distinct one off feel to it. Just a nice rest amidst the chaos of the dalek's plans. Kevin Stoney is wonderfully over the top as Mavic Chen. And William Hartnell is sublime. He really should be better remembered.
The third brilliant element is the involvement of Peter Butterworth as the Meddling Monk, that oh so mischievous and delightful creation from Dennis Spooner. The scenes with him all made me smile.
This story really is quite an awesome and memorable ride. It truly is an epic. It boasts far less comedy and far more threat than usual in a Doctor Who story. The final scene with the Doctor and Steven utterly drained by the experience has to already be my second favourite Will Hartnell scene ever, after the mile long speach in The Massacre. This really is a classy adventure.
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| A darker historical than usual, excels.. |
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| What: | The Massacre (TV episode audio soundtracks) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 27 May 2010 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
One of the biggest mistakes of the BBC after William Hartnell's tenure as the Doctor was to leave the purely historical tales behind. From The Highlanders we only have the psuedo historical, which arent as informative or as enlightening as some of William's excellent early tales. And in my book The Massacre is by far the most gritty, relevant, and different historical of the lot, as it is pure drama, with no corny and stupid jokes incorporated which lighten most of the other historical tales of this time. This story has shocks aplenty and some terrific acting from Bill as the serious Abbot of Amboise. A total different kind of creation than his witty, grandfatherly grouch act of the Doctor. The final scenes with Steven sickened at the way things have turned out are some of the best scenes of Doctor Who history. The pace is steady and unravels very absorbingly for me. This is all a historical tale should be. Plain and realistic and solid. And its nice to see Peter Purves get a better role than usual as Steven, getting to lead the events for a change. Thanks for this story BBC, its one of your very best. Beats anything in the (overall) awful new series. Sum up this tale in one word: RAW. Its a real darn shame its only available on audio.
Often excoriated for the dreadful The Mutants and The Armageddon Factor, these Bristolians deserve a fairer appraisal for their other work than the two clunkers they are constantly beaten with. The Claws of Axos has ideas that the show's budget could not realise, and has good explorations of the Doctor's (and other characters') hidden and shifting loyalties. The Three Doctors also has good characterisation for Omega, alternately megalomaniacal and sympathetic. The Hand of Fear is also a good story, and has a nice scene where the manager of a soon-to-explode nuclear power station phones his wife for one last time.
Bob Baker and Dave Martin certainly had their faults, but their grandiose ideas and good characters deserve better appreciation.
