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| What: | Plague of the Daleks (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Doug, Pocono Summit, PA, USA |
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| Date: | Wednesday 17 February 2010 |
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| Rating: |   7 |
Pun intended...
Warning: Some moderate spoilers ahead.
Plague of the Daleks brings us to the end of the Stockbridge trilogy featuring the fifth Doctor and Nyssa. After the events of The Eternal Summer, time has catapulted them forward, to the end of time for Stockbridge. Things are appear normal... at first. But appearances can be deceptive. As oddities increase in number, the truth of the situation is finally revealed to the Doctor and Nyssa... and then the excitement begins. As the villagers suddenly begin a monstrous transfomation, it's a case of 'out of the frying pan into the fire' as Daleks awaken from centuries-long slumber...
An engaging end to the trilogy, and a fairly good Dalek story.
The best story in the book has to be Virus,but second is Kaleidoscope, the one without Jack, because it shows how they can cope without him, and how they fit in together. In this book you learn more about the dynamics of the group and their partners-and what they do to keep them safe.
I'd recommend this to any fans of Ianto especially, but also Jack fans.
PS:Go Ianto!
| What: | The Masque of Mandragora (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Trevor Smith, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 12 February 2010 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
This story is an underrated Who classic for me.
It's 70's Who at its most confident and this story is full of good things. beautiful location shots, a great script ("You will be breakfasting on hot coals") wonderful BBC costumes, Tom Baker & Liz Sladen in perfect sync, over the top baddies and a cracking script with some wonderful ideas.
Some nice extras on the disc. As well as a making of feature there is a very entertaining history of the TARDIS designs featuring the always entertaining Rob Sherman. Recommended.
| What: | The Slitheen Excursion (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Ken Lawrence, Birmingham, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Wednesday 10 February 2010 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
I really did not like the Slitheen in the TV Series (ok, well they werent that bad but the 'farting' really made me think its just toilet humour for children.
Luckily there's no farting in this book and really made me take note of the Slitheen and appreciate their plots. Interesting story, bit slow in parts and had me shouting at the book (like you do on the tv) "Do this!" and "Thats the answer, you've seen it 3 times already".
All in all, a great read, and leaves open opinion on Ancient Greek Monsters.
| What: | Wooden Heart (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Ken Lawrence, Birmingham, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Wednesday 10 February 2010 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
One of the better of the books i've read. A bit drawn out in parts, but an excellent story that just kept moving.
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 | "The Key to Time is miiiiine ahahaha..." |
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| What: | The Key To Time (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Huw Davies, Taunton, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Sunday 7 February 2010 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
It was a brainwave on 2|entertain's part to re-release this superb boxset at the end of 2009, as it gives us normal folk the chance to see one of the best series of Doctor Who, without having to fork out over £200 for a limited edition set.
'The Ribos Operation' is a cosy affair. With new companion Romana, this is a breath of fresh air for Who, and Robert Holmes gives us a little gem of a story about a stupid warlord being duped by a hilarious conman, played by Iain Cuthbertson - brilliant.
'The Pirate Planet' is a debut to Who for H2G2 writer Douglas Adams, and this story is just what we'd expect of him. Brilliant, well thought-out sci-fi, and lots of gags throughout. Bruce Purchase as the Pirate Captain is especially good.
'The Stones of Blood' is the best of the six - Doctor Who's last great 'gothic' story (discounting maybe 'State of Decay'). The location filming is great, and Beatrix Lehmann as Prof. Rumford gets my award as the best one-off Who character, partly as she is so much like my own grandmother.
'The Androids of Tara' is a very domestic piece.
Although the acting is stellar, the story for me doesn't have enough scope - Grendel's aim appears simply to take over an estate. So what, I ask myself.
'The Power of Kroll' has its moments, but it is by far the weakest of the boxset. Even Robert Holmes had his bad days, it seems; 'The Krotons', 'The Space Pirates', and this. The story plods badly, and the characters are shallow, and at times its difficult to work out what's meant to be happening. Pity the monster's ace.
'The Armageddon Factor' is the last of the six stories, but although it does provide a satisfactory conclusion to the quest the fact it has six episodes means it suffers from Episode Four and Five Drag Syndrome. We are, however, given a delightfully insane villain in the Shadow, and the Black Guardian (later to appear in Peter Davison's era) also pops by briefly.
With a collection of average or good stories, and some superb extras ('A Matter of Time' on the Ribos disc is especially good), 'The Key to Time' is a must-buy, and now there's a standard edition out it can be enjoyed by one and all again.
Some pretty unoriginal elements here - we get a bit of a rerun of The Invisible Enemy as the Doctor uses the TARDIS dimensional stabilizer to shrink the trio of himself, Mike Yates and Mrs. Wibbsey down to miniature size to go into the head of a stuffed zebra to go after the queen of the swarm. The way the Doctor end up dealing with the queen doesn't make much sense, but some more dimensional stabilizer jiggery-pokery puts an end to it all.
In the end, this is an interesting series of medium-length productions that appear to be set between The Invasion of Time and The Ribos Operation. It would be great to get Tom Baker back again - with some good scripts and better production.
| What: | Death in Blackpool (Eighth Doctor Adventures audios) |
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| By: | Trevor Smith, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 4 February 2010 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
A wonderful, entertaining yet poignant end to Charley's adventures with the 8th Doctor.
Full of tears, laughter & wonderful twists.
Goodbye & good luck Charley Pollard.
| What: | The Lost Stories: Leviathan (The Lost Stories audio dramas) |
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| By: | Trevor Smith, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 4 February 2010 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Listening to this thrilling, twisting story only makes you wish more that this had been made for TV but then again the scenery and effects on TV would never have been as good as the ones in your head.
This story has everything. Action, chases, plot twists, great monsters and so much more that I can't tell you about without revealing to much.
This reminds me why I love the 6th Doctor's audio adventures so much.
Highly recommended.
very good story, good to see an improvement in the sound and picture quality.
| What: | Peladon Tales (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Trevor Smith, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Wednesday 3 February 2010 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
Two tales from my early years of watching Dr Who.
The Curse is a delightful romp through caves and dark castles with the third Doctor & Jo go in search of Aggedor. The Monster retreads a lot of Curse and at 6 episodes loses its way a bit.
Some nice extras especially the Ice Warriors story. The commentary track is fun as well. Recommended.
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| Loopy Time Loopage, Dodgy Causality |
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| What: | The Eternal Summer (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Doug, Pocono Summit, PA, USA |
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| Date: | Monday 1 February 2010 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
In this, the second installment of the "Stockbridge Trilogy," causality goes out the window, and we get what really is a pretty lightweight story, in The Eternal Summer. My main causality gripe here comes from the impossible identities of the "Lord and Lady of the Manor," which the story tries to deal with in the final episode, but fails to do so. However, extra points given for how writer Jonathan Morris had fun with the script, in the ways it plays with time, and also for the presence of Maxwell Edison, who I hope to see again (I have to dig out my Fifth Doctor comics to find his origin there, apparently), and especially for the final episode and ending. The ending really serializes this story, making it clearly part of something much bigger and giving it and this trilogy a bit of an epic quality.
Recommended.
| What: | Castle of Fear (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Doug, Pocono Summit, PA, USA |
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| Date: | Sunday 31 January 2010 |
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| Rating: | 2 |
One of the few modestly comedic moments:
(Floundering in the moat,) "I am a knight of Brittany! I do not... belong in the water... like some... common... Saxon!"
Monty Python this is not. Shades of Blackadder... I'll grant you that much - in Joe Thomas' Hubert, Earl of Mummerset. On and off comedy, with a Rutan that sounds like a Dalek thrown in. That's about all I can say about this one. It's possible that I just don't quite get it...
Unfortunate.
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| Pigs, Hounds, a High-Speed TARDIS Tour |
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A Sting in the Tale continues the very macabre trend in these Hornets' Nest stories... Going further back in time, the Doctor makes a desperate journey through a snowy forest, and finds an old nunnery with a bizarre Reverend Mother. We have more animals inhabited by the alien hornets, and one leads the Doctor on a wild chase through the vast interior of the TARDIS. Eventually, time settles into its already established course, and a familiar outcome finds its fulfillment.
The jaunt through the "pocket universe" of the TARDIS interior, as the Doctor puts it, is quite interesting, though a bit rushed, and makes this oddity of a story all the more engaging. Not the best story of the bunch so far, but a solid entry in the series.
good
| What: | Novel Who (Miscellaneous factual books) |
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| By: | Pete, UK |
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| Date: | Friday 29 January 2010 |
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| Rating: | 1 |
A self published effort that devotes a single page of a target sized book per story. Half of that is taken up by details - title, number, isbn etc. Leaving room for usually a two paragraph or less comment on each novelisation. Obviously only the barest of details can be offered. There is room in the marketplace for a good book with a proper critique and reviews of the Target Books by a professional. This isn't it. This doesn't even try to be it. It's simply a waste of money.
| What: | The Eyeless (BBC new series audiobooks) |
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| By: | qasim, birmingham |
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| Date: | Friday 29 January 2010 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
this is a really good program so i want to buy this book
A wonderful completion of the two Nothing At The End Of The Lane books in one handy package.
Lots of terrific articles on the history of Who.
Highly recommended.
| What: | Farewell Great Macedon (Miscellaneous script books) |
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| By: | Trevor Smith, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 28 January 2010 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
A glimpse into the beginning of Dr Who and how the programme might have gone in a different direction before the Daleks came along.
A fascinating full length, unfilmed adventure for the 1st Doctor and the original TARDIS crew as thet arrive at the court of Alexander the great.
Reccomenned for Who fans and those intrested in the history of UK TV alike.
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| Not altogether that great |
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The Slitheen are once more the bad guys and once again they were okay but not all that interesting or impressive. The story was okay, the writing was good and the plot was original enough but the end product wasn't really all that great.
The Doctor wasn't particularly interesting, not a particularly stellar characterisation. The character of June, a one-shot companion, wasn't too bad though and didn't come off as overly good or bad and yet managed to avoid being unimportant - though many times it seemed her purpose was solely to be a witness to events not happening in the presence of the Doctor.
The only real saving grace for this book is that I'm an ancient history buff and I love reading stuff about Cretean, Mycenean and Greek history... which kind of ruined a surprise for me at one point, though I smiled anyway.
Wouldn't be on my list of 'should reads'.
