There are 4,149 reviews so far. To add a review of your own, click on the item in question, then click the Vote link.
| What: | Peladon Tales (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
|
| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Monday 31 May 2010 |
|
| 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!!!
 |  |  |
 | Something a little different... |
|
| | |
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...
| | |
| An incredible ride, including part 7! |
|
| | |
| What: | The Daleks' Master Plan (TV episode audio soundtracks) |
|
| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Thursday 27 May 2010 |
|
| 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.
| | |
| A darker historical than usual, excels.. |
|
| | |
| What: | The Massacre (TV episode audio soundtracks) |
|
| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Thursday 27 May 2010 |
|
| 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.
| | |
| An Insect's Point of View |
|
| | |
Amazingly, the Big Finish writers are coming up with some really fresh concepts again. Survival of the Fittest takes a really interesting look at what communication might be like for insects, and specifically, at how the TARDIS handles the most incompatible communication between species.
But probably of as much or more interest, actually, is the single-episode Klein's Story, which fills in her, well, back story. It's a brief but fascinating tale of time travel and an alternate history, featuring a very special guest, whose identity I won't divulge here. It explains where she's coming from quite well, for those who haven't heard Colditz for a long time (her first story), and for those who've never heard it at all.
The one trivial issue I might have with Survival of the Fittest is that Klein's characterization seems somewhat inconsistent, due to the nature of her concern for the insect species they encounter. Either that, or Klein really is more complex and multi-dimensional than one would suppose at first glance.
this is probably the best typical doctor who book ever written, almost as good as players!!
| What: | The Boy That Time Forgot (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
|
| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
|
| Date: | Friday 14 May 2010 |
|
| Rating: | 5 |
I have yet to figure out why Paul Magrs is considered such "noteworthy" writer. This story is not fully rubbish, but it is not all that brilliant either. The Doctor attempts to create block transfer computation by seance so that he can find his TARDIS, which Brewster has stolen. Instead, he contacts the mind of Adric, not dead, and he, Nyssa, and two Victorian cliches get transported to prehistoric Earth. There, Adric has set up a kingdom in which he rules a colony of giant, intelligent scorpions. Say what? Adric not dead? No, he is now a 500 year old dottering fool with a Nyssa fixation. How did he become king of the scorpions? He connected his mind to the alien computer the Cybermen had installed on board the freighter? Say what? He's not played by Matthew Waterhouse, but by Andrew Sachs? Say what? What the ... is going on here? Apart from the weird casting of Adric, the problem in this story is that Magrs is trying to do Bidmead and simply cannot pull off the imitation. Bidmead is well-read in the extremes of modern physics, and so bases his ideas on this background to explore the theoretical limits. Magrs, on the other hand, either is not so well read on these matters or cannot convert the ideas well. Judging by his "Hornets' Nest" series and this script, I would say that his imagination is primarily Victorian. That would be fine, and the Victorian "lost world" and H. Rider Haggard parts of the script work reasonably well. It is the quasi-scientific gobbledygook explanations for it all that just do not hold together.
Jonathan Morris is playing with time again. The story is a variation on the "Flip-Flop" idea that future "versions" in history can interact with the past. In this story, some unnamed gas beasties have chosen a Dickensian orphan named Thomas Brewster to haunt by projecting to him images of his dead mother and then getting him to construct a time machine. The ghost of Brewster's mother is genuinely creepy. The story is divided so that each part gets told within a different genre: Part 1, Dickens; Part 2, Sherlock Holmes; Part 3, Haunted House; Part 4, Christopher Bidmead style Doctor Who. Strangely enough, it works on the whole, giving the story variety. We get to see events from three different perspectives (Brewster's, The Doctor's, and Nyssa's). There are a few problems bringing down my rating. One is the awful, and I mean truly awful, soundtrack music. This boring techno-lite late 70's Cluster/Moebius deal does not in any way fit the content or atmosphere of the story. Another problem is the senseless death of McIntosh. He goes from "You betrayed me, Doctor" to "I will sacrifice myself for you, Doctor" faster than it takes Rush Limbaugh to down a bottle of Oxycontin. Finally, that Brewster can just walk into the TARDIS and get it going on his own contradicts all the lore suggesting that the TARDIS is very hard to work. However, overall this is an interesting story, well paced and well acted.
| What: | Parallel 59 (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
|
| By: | a person, hayfield |
|
| Date: | Tuesday 11 May 2010 |
|
| Rating: | 7 |
This is a fairly average book. The plot is fine as are the characterisations, however, I felt that it jumped about too much and it was a bit confusing. Worth reading but don't expect anything fantastic.
This is one of the better EDAs, it begins with the reader not really knowing why the doctor is there but it soon becomes clear and rapidly turns into an excellent addition to the series! However, I did not give it ten because it is not really particularly original but it is well-written and enjoyable!
| | |
| Mental Doctor into Sane Doctor |
|
| | |
| What: | New Beginnings: (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
|
| By: | JG, Gallifrey, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 5 May 2010 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
Tom Baker's 'Mental Doctor' into Peter Davison's 'Sane Doctor' .
The Keeper of Traken 9/10 - This is a classic story to re-introduce The Master.
Logopolis 10/10 - My favorite Master (played by Antony Ainley) is more evil in this than any other story to include The Master. The regeneration itself - it is good to see the 4th Doctor's enemies & companions.
Castrovalva 9/10 - Best regeneration recovery story.
| What: | Lost in Time (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
|
| By: | JG, Gallifrey, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 5 May 2010 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
This is the best Box-set of Dr Who ever! Almost all of orpaned episodes in 1 whole Box-set on 3 DVDs. All we need now is the animated episodes.
This Book takes a rest from the recent turmoil in the main character's lives but in doing so allows for a low key murder investigation coupled with the development of a recurring character. It is all handled so expertly by Aaronovitch that you do not for one moment feel that you are immersed in this new culture that I am sure we will see more off.
| What: | Wetworld (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
|
| By: | Donna Torchwood, St Louis, MO |
|
| Date: | Friday 30 April 2010 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
Read this on a train on the way to Chicago. In parts it reads like some of the best writing of master horror writer Stephen King. Both the Doctor and Martha have solid help with the characters in this adventure Candy, Ty and the villain Mr. Pallister. Allons-y!
an awful programme. not only it is not all interviews, the other parts are just picture montages of old dr who memorablia, "fast facts" (some of which are incorrect), and the interviews are either small co-stars or poor footage for DT and john barrowman. not recommended for any fan. (buy creature from the pit instead!)
| | |
| Have I Got Doctor Who For You |
|
| | |
| What: | Peladon Tales (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
|
| By: | Huw Davies, Taunton, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Tuesday 27 April 2010 |
|
| Rating: | 9 |
I suppose you could probably say this is the closest Doctor Who got to a political satire, although to be honest these are merely 'themes' that run throughout. 'Curse' reflects the UK's decision to join the EU (then the EEC), and more blatantly in 'Monster' we have references to the miners' strike.
'The Curse of Peladon' is by far superior to its 1974 sequel. We are introduced to a menagerie of aliens, including the Ice Warriors, Arcturus (creepy voice) and the brilliant Alpha Centauri. The villain here is not who you'd expect, though!
Other well-played characters are David "Son of Patrick" Troughton as the King and Hepesh, the dodgy High Priest. Aggedor doesn't look too bad, either!
'Monster' is a bit more rubbish. As a 6-parter it has to spread out its slightly sparse material out even longer, and I think the miners strike references could have been toned down a bit more. Plaudits have to go to Elisabeth Sladen in only her first season - she does well here.
Extras include 'The Peladon Saga', looking at not just the making-of but also social references (in the vein of 'What Lies Beneath'), and 'The Warriors of Mars', an Ice Warriors documentary (better than 'Sssowing the Ssseedsss' on the Seeds of Death DVD).
The return of jamie has been handled with great strength and at last some mystery in the story arc. City of Spires creates a vivid picture of an alternative highlands, with a strong cast and a great ending, what's next?
| | |
| This is very good on all levels... |
|
| | |
| What: | The Lost Stories: Paradise 5 (The Lost Stories audio dramas) |
|
| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Saturday 24 April 2010 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
The Lost Stories series has been one of so much diversity and Paradise 5 is one of the very best of them so far.
Although I cant see all that much similarity between this and Terror of the Vervoids which replaced this story as the third segment of the Trial of the Time Lord epic. And this story if its possible, to me is even better than that excellent fragment of Trial!
Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant are as assured and brilliant in there roles as ever.
And there are plenty of good ideas rolling around in this little space adventure. The cherubs are a tragic part of the story, but well utilised and thought out.
And the elohim could have been a great new monster for the Doctor to fight. This story has all the atmosphere of a horror tale, woven aboard a futuristic so called paradise space station. And as in every paradise there is a rather vile serpent.
Good speech from the Doctor in the final scene. Makes the sixth Doctor a little more likeable than some of his rather overtly violent outings in previous tv outtings. An interdimensional creature seeking armies to fight. Good idea. You just cant get away from wars can you?
And the acting support is excellent. Memorable and good characters. All the ingredients of great Doctor Who are there once again. This tale really is a one of the best stories Ive heard in a long time...
And so we follow on the heels of the excellent Leviathan. One question on my mind when I ordered this story: would it live up to Leviathan's standards? In short the answer is a resounding yes! Had these stories have been produced and shown in the time when they were first realised, I could have seen the audience figures going up and up and up.
I cant believe stories as good as The Hollows Of Time never made it to the TV. Goodness knows why the BBC couldnt have started over with all these excellent lost stories.
Chris Bidmead has crafted a tale with good pacing and good spins and turns. And the Tractators are back. And they are not quite as bad as they first appeared to be in that great tv story Frontios. I notice they have used some of the score from that story again. The Tractator's theme it should be called.
And is Professor Stream the Master? What is really good is that you can easily think so, but you dont find out. I find this an intruiging thing to do. Leave it to the veiwer or listener in this case to decide. And if it was the Master, or whoever, blowing into pieces isnt a very nice end at all for anyone. That might have been just a bit too over the top for a PG 1986 adventure but it certainly is a great ending.
And again it boasts good characters that are likeable. And the relaxed start is a breather from more far paced tales that sometimes are too quick for their own good.
This is another delightful example of what might have been. This really should have been made at the time it was written. But im glad its been done now!!!!
