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| What: | The Sea Devils (BBC classic series videos) |
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| By: | Francis Salvi, Chester, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Saturday 10 October 2009 |
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| Rating: |   9 |
this is basically a rehash of The Silurians, but a good one. the story does not drag at all, but it's missing something
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 | The experiment has been a success! |
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| What: | The Sontaran Experiment (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Huw Davies, Taunton, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Saturday 10 October 2009 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
I saw this on UK Gold years ago and found it boring and too short, but after rewatching it on DVD recently I have had a change of heart.
The story is anything but boring, and the monster is very effective (although maybe not the robot).
The actual DVD is a first for the 2|entertain range, a "standard edition" release with minimal extras. The only main VAM on this story is "Built for War" - an interesting and informative documentary on the history of the Sontarans.
Plot, pace, action, fun and a real sense of place, I can't wait to see what happens next.
| What: | The Keys of Marinus (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Trevor Smith, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Wednesday 7 October 2009 |
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| Rating: | 4 |
For me this is Dr Who's first failure. After the first four brilliant story's, this is an over ambitious story that looks like it is, a last minute story written in a hurry. the whole thing just feels disjointed. Of course it nice to see it all cleaned up, & for the first time since it was broadcast complete, for DVD.
The extras are very bare. There is an interview with the designer & the usual, & always entertaining & informative commentary. The best extra for me is the PDF of Doctor Who & the Daleks sweet cigarettes cards. Wonderful nostalgia.
If your idea of fun is reading science textbooks then this is the book for you. This is the only one in the series I could not be bothered to finish.
| What: | The Magic Mousetrap (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Doug, Pocono Summit, PA, USA |
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| Date: | Saturday 3 October 2009 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
Spoilers Ahead
The Magic Mousetrap is a real oddball of a story that feels like one of those strange PC adventure games that take place in some quiet, dreary mansion, in which the player goes through rooms one by one, that are filled with strange, sometimes nightmarish objects, exploring and looking for clues as to what's going on and what the objective is. Until the end of episode two, it's pretty tough to get any sense of what these people are doing in the odd setting of this sanatorium in 1926 Switzerland. The situation is doubly clouded by the fact that the Doctor has amnesia (again!), and by the fact that Ace and Hex are putting on fake voices for some reason and have taken on new identities. (Sophie Aldred is so good at this that at first, I had no idea that this was Ace and Hex!) Then, when the Doctor comes upon a ventriloquist's dummy in a cupboard, he suddenly realizes that what he's looking at is The Celestial Toymaker. And the dummy starts to speak...
That is quite a spoiler, but if you are a Toymaker fan, I highly recommend this one, and there's nothing else in the packaging or description that gives any indication of his presence here. It's very easy to pass this one by without that bit of info...
As a bonus, we get Polly's Story, which is apparently in an ongoing series of "The Three Companions." Read by Anneke Wills with John Pickard and Nicholas Courtney as a (very) retired Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, the story features the Second Doctor, Ben, Polly, and Jamie paying a visit to an industrial planet scheduled for demolition, but stuck just before the point of destruction. The characterizations are great, but the flashback story Polly is telling the Brig about is more like one of Virgin's Missing Adventures than something from 1966's season four, though I suppose it actually isn't too far off there either.
| What: | Remembrance of the Daleks (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Huw Davies, Taunton, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Saturday 3 October 2009 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
As I have got a new computer since my original review, I have decided to write a review on the newly released special edition.
This new release features two documentaries: 'Back to School', a making-of, and 'Remembrances' (my favourite of the two), a look at the continuity in this nostalgia-fest. Also a good addition is a 5.1 soundtrack, which is always a good thing.
| What: | Wishing Well (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | patar, Warrington |
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| Date: | Friday 2 October 2009 |
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| Rating: | 5 |
Didn't really like it. The story was quite boring. The write made it hard to picture the villain attacking and stuff for some reason. Not much in the characters either.
| What: | Wooden Heart (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | patar, Warrington |
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| Date: | Friday 2 October 2009 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Not bad. Compared to some classics, it was bad, but for a Doctor Who book, it's definitely in the top end. And yeah, the story never stopped lol.
I love that audio paring of Davison and Sutton, and this installation is no exception. What could be more fun than the Fifth Doctor returning to Vortis in the far-flung aftermath of his previous visit - to once again navigate the complexities of Zarbi and Menoptra species? Well, I can think of a few things - but they are all quite fun.
The Doctor and Nyssa find themselves drawn to the planet, along with many other space faring vessels - all pulled in by a mysterious force. Future humans play out their fascinatingly complex role as bio engineered beings destined to seed the cosmos - against the backdrop of giant sentient termite/ants and moth people.
A solid 9.
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| Enjoyable but a tad disjointed. |
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After reading the previous book in this series, I was very hesitant to start another multi-book, multi-author story line, however, this book wasn't bad.
The story was somewhat confusing and disjointed in places, but overall I liked the concept and thought that the writing was quite good.
The Process was an interesting concept that wouldn't have worked in some situations, but it worked fairly well in this story.
The backstory of Gallifrey was intriguing and I hope that it gets built on.
While this isn't the best book I have read, it was entertaining and kept my interest.
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| Troughton and Dicks at there best |
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This is the best 2nd Doctor book that I have read (2nd only to The War games). This is the first of the 2nd Doctors to be novalised so i think that is why Dicks takes his time on this one, I only wish that he had been alowd to write most of his others like this. The charectors are great and you really get a feel for the cold and lonelyness of the himalayers. I read this book in the middle of winter and was reading it my bedroom without the heater on, and i think that added to my enjoyment of the book.
It makes me wish that this still exsisted in print, and also angree that this was destroyed but episodes like the Dominators wasn't.
I have also listened to the soundtrack for this and have come to the concluton that if the BBC ever get around to animating all these missing stories and putting the soundtarack on them (like they did to The Invasion) this would be the perfect one to start with.
I love this book, and if you are unforminlar with the 2nd doctor (or the black and white area) this is a great place to start reading.
| What: | Combat Rock (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Simon, Brazil |
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| Date: | Friday 25 September 2009 |
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| Rating: | 1 |
I was apalled by such a terrible story. I've read hundreds of Doctor Who stories, and this one has to be the worst ever. The gratuitous violence and gore has nothing to do with the Doctor I know, positively making Ian Marter look like a saint. The Doctor shows a completely out-of-character indifference to life, just standing by as people are beheaded and mutilated around him. Come on! This is the Doctor that defeated the Daleks, the Cybermen and the Ice Warriors... And it treats the companions in the same manner: Victoria throws up (because of all the gore and mutilation) more than she screams, and Jamie taking pleasure in fighting alongside the bloadthirsty rebels?
The action revolves around either sadistic mercenary forces, murderous rebels or cannibals that are fighting each other, and the story could very well carry on completely without him or the companions.
I find it hard to believe that there are novels with worse ratings.
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| Lord of the flies meets time machine |
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The standard from Big Finish remains high this year. Throwing together some many strong elements, great acting and a few scary moments makes this great one.
Fans of Doctor Who will have already encountered each story element of this book from previous stories, both in the new series and in the old. That said, I like these things and haven't encountered them in a couple of years - so, it's all good.
A plenitude of monsters, abandoned spooky places, nutters with driftwood collections (and guard ducks), and a culmination of events that could lead to the end of life on Earth as we know it.
You can also make a drinking game out of it - taking a drink every time you read the word "cables", and make it a double each time you read "thick cables". Mike Tucker is a visual thinker, and it comes across with plenty of set dressing (the man loves him some cables).
The dialog and characterization of The Doctor and Rose were well done, and welcome lite fare. Not too many surprises in here, a story built of cliches, but still a fun time that I am happy to have enjoyed. (7.5 stars)
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| "You must buy this DVD for me..." |
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| What: | The Keys of Marinus (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Huw Davies, Taunton, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Sunday 20 September 2009 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
There's no denying it - The Keys of Marinus is brilliant. I have stated elsewhere on this site that The Rescue is my favourite Hartnell, but after watching this after 2 years this has pipped Vicki's debut to the post.
We start off with a great idea - a glass beach, by the shores of an acid sea. The alien Voords (realised pretty well on the tight budget this story had to work with) have taken over the planet and to save it the Doctor and his companions must find the four keys of Marinus. We are taken to the city of Morphoton for some hypnotism by giant brains (my favourite episode), the screaming jungle including telepathic plants, the snows of terror where frozen ice soldiers become revived, and to a courtroom where Ian is tried for murder...
The whole thing finishes up well - but you'll have to watch the DVD for the ending!
On the extras side, we don't have the best package - one featurette with designer Raymond P Cusick talking about his work on the story. This is understandable, as being a 1960s quest story most actors will only have appeared in one episode, plus many have died, so this is why there is no 'making of' documentary.
Overall, the 2nd best release of the year (behind the War Games, of course.)
| What: | Autonomy (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Camden, Geelong, Australia |
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| Date: | Saturday 19 September 2009 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
In the what would seem months without my Doctor Who fix, I have been waiting for this book for a long time. And at last I got it, and I'm happy to say I was not dissapointed in the slightest. The Doctor is yet again in the right place, at the wrong time. But makes the most of it and with the help of his secret undercover companion, the two of them help to stop the Autons and the Nestene Consciousness from taken over the Earth once again.
| 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 18 September 2009 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
As a fan of sci-fi story's set on space ships with aliens, I loved this story. It has a really creepy & atmospheric mood. Sylvester McCoy puts in one of his best performances. A really good, thought provoking story. The supporting cast are excellent especially the very sexy Katherine Parkinson from TVs "The IT Crowd."
| What: | The Black Guardian Trilogy (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Trevor Smith, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 18 September 2009 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
A mixed bag. Mawdyn Undead is an excellent story that rarely (for Dr Who) uses time travel & the consequences, as the main plank of the story. There are some lovely locations & how nice to see the Brigadier back again.
Terminus is a dull story that never really gets going and is a poor way for Nyssa to leave the series. It also features the Garm, or a man in a dog suit, as it should be known, of of the worst realised Who monsters ever. It was interesting to hear Steve Gallagher, the writer talking about (on the commentary track) how he had wanted the Garm to look like. A poor effort.
Enlightenment is a classic story. A great cast, especially Keith Barron as the creepy striker.
The story is only slightly let down by Lynda Barron's ridiculous overacting.
There are some really good extras on all the discs. For me the optional CGI effects are a real boon that really boost the story's (even Terminus to a degree) & the all singing, all dancing movie version of Enlightenment is a real treat. Recommended.
| What: | The Black Guardian Trilogy (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Charles Curtis, Culver, United States |
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| Date: | Tuesday 15 September 2009 |
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| Rating: | 3 |
These 3 stories plod along and aren't very inspired. The writing and the acting are average for stories of the Davison Era. The Black Guardian should have been left behind at the end of 'The Armageddon Factor'. He wasn't very menacing and Turlough was a less than inspired choice as a villain. They are on a par with 'Four to Doomsday', 'Kinda', and 'Snakedance'.
