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Never mind what people say about Colin Baker's The Twin Dilemma, I think this is the worst ever DW story. Ridiculous plot, poor directing, bad acting and special effects and awful music and looks (not the transfer but the original looks!). No wonder they cancelled it not long after that. I can't wait for better Sylvester McCoy stories like Dragonfire or Greatest Show In The Galaxy to come out on DVD to erase this from my mind!!!
A well written story from Susans point of view on how The Doctor came to like us "Humans".
| What: | Patient Zero (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Trevor Smith, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Sunday 13 September 2009 |
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| Rating: |   7 |
The first of this trio of 6th Doctor & Charlie story's gets off to a cracking start with Patient Zero. A taught imaginative story with lots of twists & turns. Is this the end for Charlie Pollard ? Can't wait to find out. Recommended.
| What: | The Twin Dilemma (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Trevor Smith, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Sunday 13 September 2009 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
This story is one of the least popular Dr Who story's ever. To me this unfair. Of course there are problems with it, the giant gastropod for a start. But approach it with an open mind and there is much to enjoy. Colin Baker's approach at playing the 6th Doctor was a brave, if flawed approach.
The extras are wort your money. There is a nice little extra in witch Colin Baker and a fashion expert look at the other Doctors costumes and there is the always excellent Stripped for action segment looking at the 6th Doctor's comic strips.
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 | Sad, unlikely, favourites, subplot |
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The sudden twist for Charley although a little wild is great fun, a long standing subplot which has been running for sometime comes out well and very convincing. I'm looking forward to what happens next.
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| Excellent and well realised |
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This audio finally brings back Tom Baker - perhaps Big Finish were not offering enough cash? Anyway, this audio is slightly different to what we're used to with Big Finish - large monologues with Tom and others. The plot is interesting and a little creepy. It's well worth listening to Tom's tones once more, and well worth buying!
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| A Part 1... Crystals and Intrigue |
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| What: | The Eight Truths (Eighth Doctor Adventures audios) |
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| By: | Doug, Pocono Summit, PA, USA |
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| Date: | Saturday 5 September 2009 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
The Eight Truths is the first part of a two-part season ending story for this third Eighth Doctor and Lucie season. Something is disrupting the operations of government satellites, and the Doctor offers his expertise on the matter. Having left Lucie at their hotel before dashing off early for that, she runs into Karen, the Headhunter's old assistant, outside the hotel, and is persuaded by her to go and check out The Eightfold Truth, an organization that she says teaches a "life course." Lucie begins to be influenced by the strange, insidious crystals being used by the members, and is persuaded along to their "Center of Balance," which is located at a former BBC television center. All of this results in the Doctor getting knocked out of action for a rather long time, and by the time he's coherent again, a new sun has approached Earth (the "rebel sun" of the Eightfold Truth prophecy), the population is in a panic, and Lucie has become very strongly involved in the rapidly growing, cultish Eightfold Truth organization. I will not reveal some major spoilers about what happens near the end of this story, and I hope other reviewers keep it to themselves too - the end of episode 2 is one of those OMG, no WAY! kind of developments, which reveals yet another old alien, and also finally explains what happens at the end of episode 1. Very cool. And in addition to all of this, we have the involvement of the Headhunter, and a certain Gallifreyan artifact... So another important thing happening here is that the ongoing storyline left dangling at the end of Orbis is finally picked up again in earnest.
Well written and produced, The Eight Truths is set in contemporary England (well, 2012 actually), along with some of today's issues, like global warming and economic troubles. The members of The Eightfold Truth speak like many of today's "New Age" authorities, and the story seems to be poking fun at or criticizing these movements, or turning them around into something truly nasty here. With a good script, good incidental music, and nice direction, The Eight Truths is a gripping, thought provoking and snappy production.
Now we'll see if it all holds up in the final story of the season, Worldwide Web.
| What: | Frayed (Telos novellas) |
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| By: | Steve Hauley, Milton Keynes |
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| Date: | Friday 4 September 2009 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
Very clever how the 2 seemingly unlinked stories come to together at the end and make perfect sense.
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| "Revive... the warriors!" |
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| What: | Beneath the Surface (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Huw Davies, Taunton, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Sunday 30 August 2009 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Yes, we know - apparently Warriors of the Deep is rubbish. Well, I actually find it reasonably entertaining. More on that later, though...
'Doctor Who and the Silurians' is long by name, long by nature - the first of Season 6's 7-episoders. As highlighted in the super documentary What Lies Beneath it is a super portrayal of 1970s Britain, and with a homegrown threat this a reasonably unique story.
'The Sea Devils' is my personal favourite, simply because it is much more action-packed and fluid. The Navy's involvement boosts the story to the max, with hovercrafts, diving bells and warships taking to the sea to combat the Sea Devils, a cooler version of the Silurians from the depths of the ocean. Plus a welcome return from the Master - his Clangers scene is certainly not just that. Also a mention of "reversing the polarity of the neutron flow" - now we've never heard that before!
'Warriors of the Deep' isn't (in my opinion) as bad as everyone says - the Myrka is god awful, yes, but elements of the story are good, and considering this was broadcast in 1983 when nuclear strikes weren't exactly a distant fear it must have had an added sense of realism. My favourite of the extras package is the BBC Schools feature with Kjartan Poskitt about Doctor Who's visual effects, mainly because I met the guy recently - a fascinating chap.
| What: | The Three Doctors (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Huw Davies, Taunton, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Sunday 30 August 2009 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
We all know the criticisms associated with The Three Doctors - that it's done for the sake of it, that the monsters look rubbish, that the sets are tacky.
This is all untrue. The simple fact is that The Three Doctors is exactly what it was originally conceived to be - classic Doctor Who. We have sets made of wood, Bessie, UNIT, the Time Lords, smatterings of continuity and real world references, and of course a gravel pit. The story of the Time Lord's power loss and the only help available being the Doctor's other selves works well and the blobby monster that kidnaps Ollis, Bessie and UNIT HQ is mysterious and in my mind effective.
The extras on this reasonably early release are OK, with several interviews; the one which sticks in my mind the most is the one with Patrick Troughton as the moment he started talking my sister fainted (she was having her first earrings put in at the time).
All in all, a good story, and for a 2003 release the extras are first class.
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| Remember remember - the 5th of November |
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An excellent book with wonderfully dynamic and written characters. Definitely recommended, one of the best new past Doctor adventures.
after recieving this book from amazon two days ago, i haven't put it down. an excellent storyline and classic 10th doctor style action. a must read.
| What: | The Eyeless (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Dean , West Midlands |
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| Date: | Wednesday 26 August 2009 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
I think that this is one of the best Doctor Who novels that i have read. The doctor on his own creates a new dynamic that has not been explored before. The mystery of the planet, the weapon and the eyeless is great throughout the book and come to a great climax at the end of the book.
The descriptions of the appearance and technology inside the fortress is great and really puts an image in the readers mind. The Eyeless make great enemies in the story and i would love for them to be brought into the TV series.
The tenth doctors personality is perfectly shown in this book as his fun and joking side is set against the stern and all knowing side that the doctor has.
A great read and an all round great story. Well worth a read 10/10
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| A mixed bag with a couple of stonkers |
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I have to say I wasn't looking forward to this, but I was really surprised. Scoring individually Mary was an outstanding 10, Benny a strong 9, Izzy a good 7 but Fitz an average 6. Overall really enjoyable and have listened to Benny and Mary several times.
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| Pace, energy, original, Excellent |
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Wirrn dawn has high energy and pace, although at the start very simular to a certain space bug movie, it is still fast and fun a great listen
| What: | The Burning (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Andy, Gosport , England |
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| Date: | Saturday 22 August 2009 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
A fantastic and very bold new start for the EDAs, as the Doctor has no recollection of who he is or where he is from. The disposing of so much baggage that the books had built up is a breath of fresh air, and here we have a great 'jumping on' point for fans new to the book range.
A great setting, story and characters all make this book something to be thankful for.
Heartily recommended.
Disc One Mawdryn Undead 8/10
Fun Story but let down because it's confusing but great opening story for turlough
Disc Two Terminus 8/10
Interesting Idea but let down by a poor props but still a emotioninly goodbye of Nyssa
Disc Three Enlightment 10/10
Best story good for people who prefer modern who as it is modern acting
Disc Four Enlightment Special Edition 10/10
Makes a good story better
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| Robot Violence and Causality Loops |
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| What: | The Cannibalists (Eighth Doctor Adventures audios) |
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| By: | Doug, Pocono Summit, PA, USA |
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| Date: | Sunday 16 August 2009 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
The Doctor Who comics come to audio! Woo-hoo! But hold on. First, prepare yourself to endure what is some fairly disturbing violence at the opening, even if it's entirely among robots. Pretty nasty. Brought a few vague flashbacks to the original Iron Legion story in the comics (well, the original that made it to actual comic book format in my neck of the woods, anyway). This is some pretty crazy stuff here, sort of robot horror meets cyberpunk, playing out stuff you'd never expect on TV. In spite of the nastiness, the story shapes up into a fairly interesting one by the end, even offering a bit of inspiration to those who are dreamers, have seemingly silly pursuits or who are a bit different. Ah. If only having a real chance to change the world could be as easy as finding the Reset button...
Some good performances here, and a well-written story that reaches a satisfying end of its cycle in two episodes. An extra point for freshness and the gutsy move of producing this.
The Slow Empire is different and weird enough that it remains interesting throughout, despite some marring flaws. Personally, I found the Jamon de la Rocas first person parts tedious and repetitive, seeming to fill the word count rather than contribute much to the plot. And the plot needs some contribution. It's a little muddled at the end, and it could have benefited from being a little less rushed. Despite this, there is some good stuff here. The Doctor, Fitz and Anji are all written very well, and the wacky scenes on Goronos are very intriguing, as are the Collector, and the Vortex Wraith attack at the beginning. Although there is the feeling of something lacking at the novel's conclusion, it is still one of the better Doctor Who books and a perfectly acceptable read. And a few of the notes are pretty funny, too
| What: | The Angel of Scutari (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | KJ, Hrycek |
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| Date: | Thursday 13 August 2009 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
10/10
