Doctor Who: Enemy Aliens Review

Released in August 2013, Enemy Aliens was the eighth Doctor Who audiobook to be released by Big Finish and AudioGO for the Destiny of the Doctor range. It is read by India Fisher who plays Charley Pollard and also features Michael Maloney as Hilary. It is written by Alan Barnes and directed by John Ainsworth.

Synopsis:

"1935: a message from a Time Lord in trouble sends the Eighth Doctor and Charlotte ‘Charley’ Pollard to the streets of London’s West End, in search of a mysterious alien adversary – unaware that something monstrous is already on their trail.
They soon discover that an insidious conspiracy is indeed at work, its tentacles extending the length of the British Isles. Proving its existence won’t be easy, however, after a confrontation in a music hall ends up with the Doctor under arrest and Charley on the run, suspected of murder. All their hopes rest in a musical clue and a man named Hilary – neither of which are much consolation, with the two time travellers the object of a nationwide manhunt.
And all the while, the enemy aliens are drawing closer and closer still…"

Paul McGann is among my favourite Doctors and Charley is among my favourite companions so I was really looking forward to this and it does not disappoint. I'm glad they chose Alan Barnes to write the story because he knows Charley better than anyone, seeing as he brought the character into Doctor Who. I'm also very happy that they chose Charley over Grace, Chang Lee, C'rizz, Lucie or Molly - don't get me wrong, they're all great, but I think Charley has become the iconic companion for McGann's Doctor but then again, since not all listeners will know about Big Finish's Eighth Doctor audios, it might feel a bit confusing to some. Well, it's fantastic to see (actually, I mean hear) her again as it's her first appearance since Solitaire in 2010!

India Fisher is a great audiobook narrator, but we already knew that thanks to an amazing 2010 Companion Chronicle! Michael Maloney does a brilliant job too - he's every bit as good as India Fisher and his Hilary voice is incredibly chilling and absolutely fantastic! Oh, and the vicar voice is great too!

The story basically revolves around William Tell so that's quite interesting.

There are quite a few sneaky references to past Eighth Doctor / Charley stories which I enjoyed spotting, even if things like this are the main reason Attack of the Cybermen gets so much (in my opinion, undeserved) hate.

I was a bit disappointed by what the "enemy aliens" turned out to be. I'm not going to spoil it, but don't assume they're going to be something ridiculously crazily awesome because they're really not. The build up is brilliant but then you realise what "enemy aliens" means...

The setting is wonderful even if it is just 1930's London, it's done brilliantly. Captures the place almost exactly as I'd imagine it!

Some good lines are "The key is in the house with the straggly witch... That's where the aliens are!", "Ahh, scrambled eggs... Oh lord! Ah, they're ruined!" and "Time Lords United 2, Enemy Aliens nil". Of course, "But we'll have to get those clothes off you first!" was kind of funny, but we had the same joke in the 2012 Christmas special The Snowmen so that ruined it a little.

Charley is the master of disguise she's been since her very first adventure (Storm Warning), the strange drumming noise thing reminds me of The Master and the Eleventh Doctor cameo was quite good.

My only problems with the story are:
#1. Somewhere near the start, there is a dog barking and that can be a little distracting at times.
#2. It can be a little bit slow at times.
#3. When the cavern roof comes crashing down, it's ridiculously loud, especially if you're a headphone user.

Overall, it's a very good, solid, enjoyable story despite a couple of minor flaws and so far, it's my favourite story in the Destiny of the Doctor range. Fantastic to see the Eighth Doctor with Charley again, everyone involved did a great job and we've got the amazing Alan Barnes to thank. I'd recommend it to just about anyone who likes the Eighth Doctor or Charley.

Overall Rating: 9/10

You can buy Enemy Aliens for £3.99 download or £5.10 CD here.

Doctor Who: Night of the Whisper Review

Released in September 2013, Night of the Whisper was the ninth Doctor Who audiobook to be released by Big Finish and AudioGO for the Destiny of the Doctor range. It is read by Nicholas Briggs with John Schwab as McNeil. It is written by Cavan Scott and Mark Wright. It is directed by John Ainsworth.

Big Finish's synopsis:

"New Vegas, 23rd Century – a sprawling city huddling beneath an artificial atmospheric bubble on a distant moon. Pleasure seekers flock there from every corner of the galaxy, to take in the shows and play the tables in the huge casinos. But beneath the glitz and the glitter, organised crime rules the streets.
Whilst Rose Tyler works as a waitress in the Full Moon nightclub, Jack Harkness poses as a reporter for the Daily Galaxy. Meanwhile, the Doctor is helping the police department with their investigation into The Whisper, a strange vigilante that has been terrorising the city’s underworld. But the Doctor is also on a mission of his own – to save Police Chief McNeil’s life at all costs."

It's Ninth Doctor month so let's get this reviewed! This was quite an interesting audiobook. Not the best in the range so far, but still, interesting. Due to the rights issues with Big Finish and new Who, it's the first thing Big Finish has produced that features the Ninth Doctor, Rose or Captain Jack. It appears to be set between Boom Town and Bad Wolf as Rose claims she's been to Raxicoricofallapatorius and Woman Wept.

The story starts with The Doctor, Rose and Jack visiting New Vegas in the 23rd century. While there, Rose gets a job as a waitress in a night club called The Full Moon, which is owned by Wolfsbane (not sure if that's how it's spelt but let's just leave it at that). Shortly after the story begins, the night club gets attacked. What's going to happen next!?

Nicholas Briggs did quite a good job for the most part - especially with the Eccleston voice, but the Captain Jack voice was just awful and McNeil sounds more like Jack than Jack! There's a nice little cameo from the Eleventh Doctor and he was voiced very well so that's certainly good. The Rose voice... Well, I'm not going to talk about that since it was basically just a slightly higher version of Nick Briggs' (extremely awesome) normal voice. The Wolfsbane voice was very good and I'd actually recommend this audio just to hear it. The voice of the Whisper was great - very sinister sounding.

The Whisper is a great villain - "Justice will be served - justice for all!" and what's more interesting is what the mysterious figure turns out to be. It's a legitimately creepy villain for a while.

I think the setting of New Vegas was pretty good. I'm guessing it has something to do with New Earth, especially with the slightly funny New New New Scotland Yard?

My favourite character featured in this story other than the main three is Wolfsbane. I kind of want to say the Eleventh Doctor but I believe that would be cheating, but that actually brings me onto the next bit...

My favourite line is "Just something Pond used to say!" from the Eleventh Doctor. Some other lines I like are "Stupid, stupid apes! You hit me, I'll hit you harder! Like that ever works!", "Justice will be served" and "Evil Knievel taught me everything I know!"

There are some legitimately great scenes such as the spud gun and banana thing. Daisy's scream really makes me feel uncomfortable because it's so loud - horrible for your ears, especially if you use headphones! Wolfsbane being addicted to e-cigars kind of reminded me of the First Doctor in An Unearthly Child so those were some nice scenes. The Doctor pretending to be Inspector George Dickson certainly put a smile on my face.

Overall, a nice addition to the Destiny of the Doctor series. Not overly amazing but certainly not bad. I think I'd just about recommend it, provided you're okay with audiobooks instead of full cast dramas. Nicholas Briggs is very good as usual, it's just a bit of a shame they couldn't get Billie Piper or John Barrowman to read this one.

Overall Rating: 7/10

You can buy Night of the Whisper for £3.99 download or £10.20 CD here.

Scripts Underway For Charley Pollard Audio Series

Scripts underway for Charlotte Pollard audio series. Hopefully recording in October. Very excited.
— Nicholas Briggs (@BriggsNicholas) August 31, 2013

According to Nicholas Briggs' Twitter page, scripts are underway for a spin-off audio series starring India Fisher as companion Charlotte (aka Charley) Pollard. For those unfamiliar with Charley, she travelled with the Eighth Doctor during his original main range adventures. After that, she travelled with the Sixth Doctor for a while. Since then, she has appeared in the Companion Chronicle Solitaire, read the eighth Destiny of the Doctor audiobook and is set to appear in Big Finish's 50th anniversary special The Light at the End.

Are you excited to see Charley again?

Night Of The Whisper Is Available Now!

The ninth Destiny of the Doctor audiobook is available now! It is written by Cavan Scott and Mark Wright, directed by John Ainsworth and read by Nicholas Briggs with John Schwab.

"New Vegas, 23rd Century – a sprawling city huddling beneath an artificial atmospheric bubble on a distant moon. Pleasure seekers flock there from every corner of the galaxy, to take in the shows and play the tables in the huge casinos. But beneath the glitz and the glitter, organised crime rules the streets.
Whilst Rose Tyler works as a waitress in the Full Moon nightclub, Jack Harkness poses as a reporter for the Daily Galaxy. Meanwhile, the Doctor is helping the police department with their investigation into The Whisper, a strange vigilante that has been terrorising the city’s underworld. But the Doctor is also on a mission of his own – to save Police Chief McNeil’s life at all costs."

 Buy it from Amazon or Big Finish.

Destiny Of The Doctor 11: The Time Machine Cover Revealed

The cover for the eleventh audiobook adventure in the Destiny of the Doctor series has been revealed, and here it is!

The story is called The Time Machine, is written by Matt Fitton and will be read by Jenna Coleman who plays Clara Oswald in Doctor Who. It will also feature Nicholas Briggs and Michael Cochrane.

It will be released in November and will be the final Destiny of the Doctor audiobook. You can pre-order it here.

Destiny Of The Doctor 10: Death's Deal Cover Revealed

The cover for the tenth audiobook adventure in the Destiny of the Doctor series has been revealed, and here it is!

The story is called Death's Deal, is written by Darren Jones and will be read by Catherine Tate who played Donna Noble in Doctor Who and it will also feature Duncan Wisbey.

It will be released in October and you can pre-order it here!

Destiny Of The Doctor #8: Enemy Aliens Is Out Now!

The eighth Destiny of The Doctor audiobook is out now! It is written by Alan Barnes and read by India Fisher who plays Charley Pollard in Big Finish's Eighth Doctor audio adventures aswell as some Sixth Doctor audios along with Michael Maloney reading Hilary's parts.

AudioGO's description of the audiobook:

"Celebrating 50 years of Doctor Who, a brand new adventure for the Eighth Doctor. 1935: a message from a Time Lord in trouble sends the Eighth Doctor and Charlotte ‘Charley’ Pollard to the streets of London’s West End, in search of a mysterious alien adversary – unaware that something monstrous is already on their trail. They soon discover that an insidious conspiracy is indeed at work, its tentacles extending the length of the British Isles. Proving its existence won’t be easy, however, after a confrontation in a music hall ends up with the Doctor under arrest and Charley on the run, suspected of murder. All their hopes rest in a musical clue and a man named Hilary – neither of which are much consolation, with the two time travellers the object of a nationwide manhunt. And all the while, the enemy aliens are drawing closer and closer still… India Fisher – Charley in the Big Finish Doctor Who audio series – and Michael Maloney perform this original story by Alan Barnes, with music and sound design."

You can buy Enemy Aliens here.