Doctor Who: Immortal Beloved Review

Released in April 2007, Immortal Beloved was the fourth Doctor Who audio in Big Finish's Eighth Doctor Adventures range. It stars Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor and Sheridan Smith as Lucie Miller. It is written by Jonathan Clements and directed by Jason Haigh-Ellery.

Big Finish's synopsis:

"Theosophy? Ha! Surely you mean theophany? Because we're not talking about real gods here, are we? We're talking about the appearance of gods. Your heavenly powers are a little too mechanical for my liking. And, if I may be so bold, Lord Zeus, your demeanor is not very godlike."

I started listening to this story expecting next to nothing, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it's actually very good.

The story starts with a loving couple, Kalkin and Sarati, umm... Standing on the edge of a cliff, about to kill themselves. Before the two get a chance to jump, they hear the TARDIS.

The entire cast is brilliant and they all provide believable performances. Paul McGann and Sheridan Smith are at their best so far, Ian McNeice does a wonderful job of Zeus, Elspet Gray's Hera is very good although a little underused, Jennifer Higham's Sararti is great, Anthony Spargo is excellent as Kalkin and David Dobson is good as Tayden. Paul's son, Jake McGann, plays Ganymede very well but he only gets one or two lines, unfortunately.

I'm not really sure what to think of the setting as we hardly know anything about it, other than the fact there's a palace. I do like what I imagined, though!

I think the engine of incarnation is an interesting idea.

Zeus is really, really, really creepy when he's in Lucie's room. After watching his comedic appearances as Winston Churchill in Series 5 and 6 of new Who, I wasn't expecting Ian McNeice to be able to act so creepily.

My favourite non-main character in this story is, without a doubt, Zeus. An excellent, chilling, performance.

Some good lines from Immortal Beloved are:
"Your clothes have gone see-through!" "As have yours', my lady. That is why we close our eyes."
"I am Zeus. Lord of the skies. Bringer of storms."
"What is this? The planet of idiots?"

Overall, the weakest story so far in this range but still incredibly entertaining. Definitely worth the money. I wouldn't recommend it as your first audio because I recommend listening to the Eighth Doctor Adventures in order. Then again, if you're already familiar with Lucie Miller, you should understand everything perfectly.

Overall Rating: 8/10

You can buy Immortal Beloved for £8.99 download or £10.99 CD here.

Doctor Who: Horror Of Glam Rock Review

Released in March 2007, Horror of Glam Rock was the third Doctor Who audio in Big Finish's Eighth Doctor Adventures range. It stars Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor and Sheridan Smith as Lucie Miller. It is written by Paul Magrs and directed by Barnaby Edwards.

Big Finish's synopsis:

"The Doctor and Lucie go glam when the TARDIS makes an unexpected landing in 1974. Slade, The Sweet and Suzi Quatro are Top of the Pops - and brother-and-sister duo The Tomorrow Twins will soon be joining them, if the starmaking Svengali Arnold Korns has his way. But will their dreams turn to dust at a service station somewhere on the M62, besieged by a pack of alien monsters?"

As soon as I saw the title and the writer, I was 99% sure this was going to be good. Well, it's not really what I expected, but I'm certainly not disappointed.

The story starts with The Doctor and Lucie landing in 1974... Then all of a sudden, they find themselves staring at a corpse. Excellent way to start a story!

The entire cast is great. Paul McGann and Sheridan Smith are good as ever, it's fantastic to see Bernard Cribbins - one of my favourite actors, the late Stephen Gately does a great and almost creepy job as Tommy and he reminds me of the kid from Planet of the Spiders, Claire Buckfield plays Trisha very well and Lynsey Hardwick does an excellent job with auntie Pat although she sounds very similar to Sheridan Smith making it a little confusing at times.

Horror of Glam Rock features what is probably the best possible Earth-based setting. Absolutely fantastic.

Some things I found out from listening to this story are that Lucie thinks the Doctor 'Always takes over' and that 1974 is as close as the TARDIS can get to Lucie's time.

I really like what they did with the ending music. Great stuff.

My favourite non-main character in this story is Arnold Korns, mainly because of Bernard Cribbins but hey. That said, it does feel kind of strange to hear him being such a bastard after watching him play Wilfred.

My favourite line is "Torn apart, just like my Bentley. Only less expensive to replace" from Arnorld. How horrible can a human being get? Another line I like is The Doctor's "Magnificent, aren't they?" - reminds me of the Tenth Doctor in Tooth and Claw.

Overall, a great story - recommended. Not exactly top notch, but still of a very high quality. Great stuff and certainly worth the money. I wouldn't recommend it as your first audio though, because I recommend you listen to the Eighth Doctor Adventures in order.

Overall Rating: 8/10

You can buy Horror of Glam Rock for £8.99 download or £10.99 CD here.

Doctor Who: Upstairs Review

Released in September 2013, Upstairs was the third Doctor Who audio in the eighth season of Big Finish's Companion Chronicles. It stars Maureen O'Brien as Vicki and Peter Purves as Steven. It is written by Mat Coward and directed by Lisa Bowerman.

Big Finish's synopsis:

"When the TARDIS lands in a dilapidated attic, the Doctor, Vicki and Steven discover they are on Earth, in London… in Number 10 Downing Street.
However alien forces are at play here, affecting the very fabric of the building… and adjusting the very essence of history itself."

Believe it or not, this is the first Companion Chronicle I've listened to, seeing as I've always spent a good chunk of my money on main range and Eighth Doctor Adventure audios. Naturally, I became curious about this little range of audio drama-like audiobooks after hearing so many good things about it and I thought that, since Steven is my favourite Hartnell era companion, pre-ordering this release might be a good way to see what all the hype is about. Well, it certainly didn't disappoint me!

Like most Companion Chronicles, the cast is made up of just two actors. A lot of the time, it's one companion and one random actor but this time, it's two companions and no one else. Maureen O'Brien sounds a lot older, but of course, she was (and obviously still is) a little bit younger than Peter. She does a legitimately great job with some of the voices, and I really do like her Hartnell impression. Peter Purves doesn't sound a day older than he did in The Savages - I certainly wouldn't have guessed he was in his 70's now! Excellent performances from both actors!

The setting of 10 Downing Street in 1900 is great, and the more you learn, the creepier it gets. Not the Chimes of Midnight or The Holy Terror kind of creepy, but still, creepy. I bet conspiracy theorists are going to love the setting and the storyline.

I think the villain in Upstairs is one of the most interesting villains of all time although, to some people, it's name is probably a huge spoiler so I won't mention it. It's very wibbly wobbly timey wimey near the start of the story and actually makes you think "How are they going to get out of this one!?" near the end of the story.

My favourite line is "NUMBER 10 DOWNING STREET, AHA!" - it doesn't make an amazing quote, but Maureen O'Brien's eccentricity while saying that line was amazing.

There are some good funny moments, such as The Doctor, Steven and Vicki walking in on someone in the washroom. Even if it's not very much, I always appreciate a little humour in sci-fi!

It's nice to hear something about the TARDIS food machine for the first time in a long while. Something I really like is how the story gives us some insight on what was going on in Vicki's head during her travels with The Doctor.

Mat Coward is just one of many new Big Finish writers in recent months, and if his future scripts can live up to this standard, then I know they will all be a joy to hear. Looking forward to more from him.

I highly recommend giving this a listen. Full of great ideas, great characters and great music / sound effects. Excellent stuff.

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

You can buy Upstairs for £7.99 download or £8.99 CD here.

Blink- 10/10

(I have decided to share this post due to the fact that Blink has a perfect score. This is really rare for me. Mainly because I am grumpy.- Rebecca White) 

A ten! Yes, you read right, a ten! The big one-zero. This is how you properly do a Doctor Who episode! This is by far, one of my favorite Doctor Who episodes.

Where to begin? It starts off catching my interest right off the bat. It keeps my attention throughout the whole episode as well. That is the way it should be. There is also zero romantic scenes between Martha and the Doctor. That is always a plus ten thousand in my book. 

This is really one of the freakiest episodes I have seen so far. The concept of statues moving when you take your eyes off them makes my skin crawl. Not only that, you can't even blink! To make things worse, they can turn lights off. You can't escape them! I also liked how you were sent back in time when they touched you. This creative villain was a breath of fresh air. I am so tired of the Cybermen and Daleks. It makes me look at an everyday object in a whole different way. 

The whole idea of having the Doctor interact through the DVDs was awesome. It was a good way to make it a "Doctor light" episode. It was definitely better than Love and Monsters. I really enjoyed having to gradually find out what the Doctor was talking about on the DVD. At first it seemed like he was crazy, but in the end it all made sense.

I loved how you got bits and pieces as the episode progressed and it all came together in the end. I wish they made more stories like this. This episode was really fun to watch.Typically I end up just frustrated.

Rebecca White likes to sit at home and watch Doctor Who with her husband Ethan and her dog Moomar. She has a cat, but she does not like watching Doctor Who with him. (He gets ideas from the Daleks.) Follow her on twitter @grumpywhovian and check out her blog grumpywhovian.wordpress.com. 

Doctor Who: Persuasion Review

Released in July 2013, Persuasion was the 175th Doctor Who audio drama to be released in Big Finish's main range. It stars Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor, Tracey Childs as companion Elizabeth Klein and Christian Edwards as companion Will Arrowsmith. It is written by Jonathan Barnes and directed by Ken Bentley. It is the first part of the 2013 Seventh Doctor/Klein/Arrowsmith trilogy.

Big Finish's synopsis:

"The Umbrella Man is back. But when the Doctor recruits UNIT's Scientific Adviser Elizabeth Klein for an off-the-books mission to the apocalyptic final days of Hitler's Germany, he isn't expecting Klein's hapless young assistant, Will Arrowsmith, to be joining them too.

The Doctor isn't the only alien creature seeking to loot a very particular secret from a Nazi base in Dusseldorf, however. Strange and sinister beings are converging on the same time/space location in search of the scientist Schalk, whose experiments are the key to a devastating power...

The power of Persuasion."

So, the umbrella man is back but unfortunately, I've yet to see a positive review of Persuasion and so I started listening to it with incredibly low expectations. Well, I was pleasantly surprised and I actually think it's quite good! Certainly not as good as The Chimes of Midnight, but still, good.

This is the first story I've listened to that features Klein, and of course, the first I've listened to that features Arrowsmith. I think they're both good, likeable characters and I can't wait to hear more. I just hope Arrowsmith stops being so clumsy because it'll get old after a while!

The villains in the story, the Shepherd and the Khlecht are both very good. The Klecht are pretty funny with the way they destroy stuff, actually. "Heeey guys, good news!"

There are quite a few settings, and while they are pretty good, I can't say I'm overly impressed by any of them. Unfortunately, I didn't really get the feel of the setting that I generally get with Big Finish's audio dramas... It's probably because there isn't any great music or sound design.

My favourite lines are "Hello there, I do hope we're intruding!", "Looks like the first in line to punch you on the nose, Schalk!" and this incredibly long piece of dialogue from Arrowsmith: ''My heart rate has increased and I've started to perspire. I admit I didn't expect to find this so alarming, I have already passed through numerous peculiar rooms full of the most bizarre and unexpected things. I've seen cupboards the size of cathedrals, and what I think must have been a fridge freezer full of vegetarian food which extended as far as the eye could see. There are libraries stacked with impossible books, a cinema showing films in five dimensions, though I have yet to see the slightest sign of the Doctor... Somehow being here... it  feels more like stepping into a man's mind than into a real place.''

The title Persuasion is more than appropriate because the words "persuasion" and "persuade" are used countless times throughout the story. Hell, it revolves around something called a Persuasion Machine. It's nice to see such a simple, one-word title once in a while.

The story runs at a very nice pace. It didn't feel slow at all to me.

While in the TARDIS with Mr. Arrowsmith in episode 4, McCoy is very enthusiastic which is, of course, fantastic (oh hey, that rhymed!). When Hinterberger realises that Arrowsmith can record audio with his dictiphone, he sounds extremely happy. Very good acting there!

...And, since there isn't much more to say, I guess I'll let you find out the rest for yourself!

Overall, a pretty good story, but not without it's fair share of flaws. It's much better than people have been saying it is and it certainly doesn't deserve the awful reputation it has. I've heard that the next story in this trilogy, Starlight Robbery, is a lot better and so I can't wait for the chance to listen to that - the trailer makes it seem very interesting!

Not absolutely amazing, but not bad either. I recommend giving it a listen, as long as you're already familiar with Klein. If you're not, then you might want to listen to Colditz.

Overall Rating: 7/10

You can buy Persuasion for £12.99 download or £14.99 CD here.

Doctor Who: 1963: Fanfare For The Common Men Review

Released in September 2013, 1963: Fanfare for the Common Men was the 178th Doctor Who audio drama to be released in Big Finish's main range. It stars Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor and Sarah Sutton as companion Nyssa. It is written by Eddie Robson and directed by Barnaby Edwards. It is the first part of the 1963 trilogy.

Big Finish's synopsis:

"If you remember the Sixties, they say, then you can’t have been there.

The Doctor remembers the Sixties. That’s why he’s taking Nyssa on a trip back to November 1963. Back to where it all began. Back to the birth of the biggest band in the history of British music. Back to see those cheeky lads from Liverpool...

Mark, James and Korky. The Common Men. The boys who made the Sixties swing with songs like Oh, Won’t You Please Love Me?, Just Count To Three and Who Is That Man.

The Doctor remembers the Sixties. And there’s something very wrong with the Sixties, if the Beatles no longer exist…"

After listening to the amazing 1-part story Urgent Calls (also by Eddie Robson and available free of charge on Big Finish's Soundcloud), I was expecting a lot from this. Does it disappoint? No. It's absolutely brilliant. Best main range release this year. Crazily creative and a great idea overall.

If I were to tell someone about this story, I'd say something along the lines of "A thrilling adventure where The Doctor and Nyssa go to England in 1963 to see the Beatles, but when they arrive they find out that the Beatles don't exist and they're going to be seeing the Common Men instead. Somehow, Nyssa ends up in Germany and The Doctor soon realises that someone is messing with time. I'll let you find out the rest for yourself."

I can't say a bad word about the cast - full of amazing actors, especially Peter Davison. I'm starting to like the Fifth Doctor more and more which surprises me as, in the past, he's always been my least favourite Doctor! And of course, most of us will recognize Lenny's voice actor, Ryan Sampson, as young genius Luke Rattigan from Series 4's The Sontaran Stratagem / The Poison Sky.

The various settings are all very similar and they're all brilliant. I wasn't around back in the 60's, but this gives me a feel of what I imagine they'd be like. Great to see The Doctor go back to 1963 and the few seconds we heard of 1940 were good too.

My favourite character featured in this story other than the main two is probably the mysterious-for-a-couple-of-minutes Paravatar. I found him to be very interesting.

There are quite a few good lines - some funny, some powerful and some just sound good:
"Kids like pop music, job done, there you go."
"An alien? Hahahaha, I think I'd know if I were an alien, Nyssa!"
"Kids don't want to go to church anymore to feel bigger, they go to our gigs."
"I don't want to be helped, I want to burn everything that refuses to be mine... And I'm gonna start with you!"

Some more things I like about 1963: Fanfare for the Common Men are: It's nice to see The Doctor up against a time travelling villain and the reference to Susan and her music.

One thing I don't like about the story is that Lenny's voice sounds extremely generic for a villain but maybe that's just my brain. Other than that, I can't really fault it.

Overall, an incredibly creative idea of mixing Doctor Who with 60's music and it works very nicely. Not something I'd want to hear every month, but it makes a very good one-off and it's certainly an enjoyable two hours. I think it would make quite a good first audio for most people and I hope it isn't forgotten when it's as old as stories like Phantasmagoria and Winter for the Adept. As I said before, it's the best Doctor Who audio of 2013... So far.

Definitely worth the money and hopefully The Space Race, The Assassination Games and The Light at the End are just as good!

Overall Rating: 9/10

  

You can buy 1963: Fanfare for the Common Men for £12.99 download or £14.99 CD here.

Doctor Who: The Holy Terror Review

Released in November 2000, The Holy Terror was the 14th Doctor Who audio drama to be released by Big Finish. It stars Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor and Robert Jezek as companion Frobisher. It is written by Robert Shearman and directed by Nicholas Pegg.

Big Finish's synopsis:

"The TARDIS lands in a forbidding castle in a time of religious upheaval. The old god has been overthrown, and all heretics are to be slaughtered. Obviously it isn't the sort of thing which would happen there every day - just every few years or so.

And when the Doctor and Frobisher are hailed as messengers from heaven, they quickly become vital to opposing factions in their struggle for power. But will they be merely the acolytes of the new order - or will they be made gods themselves?

An evil destructive force is growing deep within the crypt. And the pair soon find out that they will be lucky to escape their new immortality with their lives."

When it's written by Robert Shearman, it's gonna be good, and this is no exception. I thoroughly enjoyed it all the way through. Creepy, thrilling, just completely brilliant!

This was my first experience with Frobisher the shape-shifting penguin and my first thoughts were "he's hilarious" and that he reminds me of Pingu. Such a brilliant and creative idea for a companion! Robert Jezek does a great job and it's a huge shame that this and The Maltese Penguin are the only audios that feature him.

Right, let's move on to the acting: Robert Jezek basically steals the show - he's excellent, Colin Baker is just fantastic, Stefan Atkinson gives a very believable performance, Sam Kelly is great, Peter Sowerbutts is great, Peter Guinness is an amazing choice to play an amazing villain and the rest of the actors are all good too.

The setting (a castle) is quite creepy because, for most of the story, The Doctor and Frobisher aren't completely sure about where they are. Actually, the reason the place exists is extremely creepy. The idea behind the actual setting is very good and the production team manage to pull it off perfectly.

My favourite character featured in this story other than the main two is Pepin VII. I can't really explain why, but if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have enjoyed the story quite as much. I'd like to give Eugene a special mention as well.

My favourite line is more than just one line but here it is anyway:
"Your father comitted the ultimate blasphemy." "What's that?" "He died. Gods aren't supposed to do that sort of thing." - There are loads of great lines scattered throughout the story and this is just one of them.

The religion of the castle is extremely messed up but no one wants to change it. The main villain in this story is Eugene's son (spoiler, highlight to see it) and wow, just from hearing him, I know he's creepy! I was listening to it in the dark at 2 AM and I had to turn the light on! Just why, Robert Shearman, why do you have to be so good at writing scary stuff!?

I think the way the TARDIS goes on strike is great. Frobisher thinks it's just because she wants attention but it's actually been drawn there for some reason. I'll let you find out why.

The fact that Pepin VI fell asleep in the bath and drowned put a smile on my face. It's probably not good to laugh at death, but that's a brilliant way for someone to go, especially a God. Hell, if I were a God, that's how I'd want to die!

The Holy Terror is a perfect mix of creepiness, funniness and entertainingness (wait, is that even a word?) An amazing story full of fantastic, creative ideas. Frobisher is extremely underappreciated.

It would definitely make a good first Big Finish audio - It's a must-have for pretty much any Doctor Who fan!

Overall Rating: 10/10

You can buy The Holy Terror for £2.99 download or £5.00 CD here.

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: The Marian Conspiracy Review

Released in March 2000, The Marian Conspiracy was the 6th Doctor Who audio drama to be released by Big Finish. It stars Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor and Maggie Stables as companion Evelyn Smythe. It is written by Jacqueline Rayner and directed by Gary Russell.

Big Finish's synopsis:

"Tracking a nexus point in time, the Doctor meets Dr Evelyn Smythe, a history lecturer whose own history seems to be rapidly vanishing.

The Doctor must travel back to Tudor times to stabilise the nexus and save Evelyn's life. But there he meets the Queen of England and must use all his skills of diplomacy to avoid ending up on the headman's block..."

After listening to the amazing Jubilee, I thought I should listen to some more Evelyn stories, and where better to start than her first adventure? More on Evelyn in a minute, for now I'm going to say that this story is absolutely fantastic. No aliens, just a pure historical story - something that has been very rare since the Hartnell era.

I thought Evelyn seemed like a brilliant companion in Jubilee and it turns out she's amazing from the second she first speaks! I really like the fact that she's a historian as history is one of my favourite subjects. Maggie Stables is an amazing actor, and it's a huge shame that she hasn't been in any recent audios due to her poor health - I really hope she gets well soon. A simply amazing character!

As for the acting, everyone is good but this is not The Doctor's story. This is Evelyn's story. Maggie Stables does a better job than anyone else involved, including Colin Baker (although he too does an amazing job!). Other actors involved are Sean Jackson (George Crow), Gary Russell (John Wilson), Jez Fielder (William Leaf), Jo Castleton (Lady Sarah), Anah Ruddin (The Queen), Nicholas Pegg (Reverend Thomas), Barnaby Edwards (Francois De Noailles) & Alistair Lock (Royal Guard). I can't fault the cast at all. Every single person in it does an amazing job and I'd love to see this entire cast in another audio!

The setting of London in 1555 is captured exceptionally well and the music is great too. The Marian Conspiracy features some of the production team's best work, even as of 2013.

My favourite character in this story other than the main two is Francois De Noailles. Barnaby Edwards plays him extremely well and, honestly, I wouldn't have expected him to be part of a plot to kill Queen Mary. (Highlight that to see it, but please note it's quite a big spoiler).

My favourite line is "What would you say if I were to tell you that I once destroyed an entire race, that I have led friends to their deaths and caused numerous wars, that my intervention has led to peaceful people taking up arms and good people having their faith or reason destroyed? Because I failed to act, millions upon millions of people have been enslaved or killed. What if I had done all of those things but had always, always believed I was doing the right thing?" from The Doctor. As I said before, it's basically Evelyn's story but it does have some very memorable moments for the Sixth Doctor such as this one.

Absolutely excellent story and that's all I have to say. I'd definitely recommend it as your first Doctor Who audio drama, it's a great re-introduction to the Sixth Doctor and I can't recommend it more. I feel I've been giving too many near-perfect & perfect ratings recently, but this one definitely deserves it. I'll review some more average (aswell as some extremely bad) audios soon.

Considering it's just the sixth Doctor Who release from Big Finish, The Marian Conspiracy is a masterpiece!

Overall Rating: 10/10

You can buy The Marian Conspiracy for £2.99 download or £5.00 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.

Doctor Who: Blood Of The Daleks Review

Released in January and February 2007, Blood of the Daleks parts 1 & 2 were the first and second Doctor Who audios in Big Finish's Eighth Doctor Adventures range. The two episodes star Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor and Sheridan Smith as Lucie Miller. They are written by Steve Lyons and directed by Nicholas Briggs.

Big Finish's synopsis of both episodes:

"People of Red Rocket Rising, my fellow citizens. Our long night is over. I've been contacted by a benevolent people. They too have known great trials, but they have overcome them and made it their mission to help others do the same. They have offered us refuge, and passage to the nearest human worlds. They have the resources, and the patience and compassion, to evacuate every one of us. My fellow citizens, my friends, rescue is at hand!"

"The crashed ship. The one Tom Cardwell saw all those years ago. And you borrowed its technology, didn't you? Maybe even found a Dalek or two in the wreckage. Dead, but intact. And you began to turn human beings into creatures like them. You did that? I'm right, arent I?"

This is a bloody amazing story and the Eighth Doctor Adventures range is fantastic - if you're in to new Who and want to get into the world of the Eighth Doctor, this lot of audios would be a brilliant starting point as these are 45-60 minute episodes as opposed to 120 minute stories told in four parts, and Blood of the Daleks is a great introductory two-part story.

I must admit it makes me a little bit sad to see the Eighth Doctor without Charley Pollard but my first impressions on Lucie are that she seems like a great character. Basically a younger version of Donna, although not quite as Donna-like as Molly O'Sullivan. Donna is definitely my favourite new Who companion so far, so I consider this to be a very good thing. I've already listened to a couple of later Lucie audios but I don't remember enough about them, so this is my first real experience with her. I'll be buying more from the EDA range soon!

The story starts with The Doctor in the TARDIS when all of a sudden, Lucie bleedin' Miller appears. For some reason, she seems to know that the TARDIS can travel in space and time. It doesn't surprise The Doctor to find out that this is the work of the Time Lords...

Everyone in the cast is a very talented actor. Sheridan Smith is absolutely amazing as Lucie, Paul McGann is as good as always, Anita Dobson and Hayley Atwell both give very good performances and Kenneth Cranham is pretty funny with his tin foil hat and stuff. As always, Nicholas Briggs provides fantastic Dalek voices.

The Daleks are as good as ever in this story. Wait, no, they're better than they usually are. I really like the idea of the Daleks made by Martez - they pulled that off much better than the Dalek Sec Hybrid thing in Series 3.

Red Rocket Rising is a great name for a planet and yet again, the production team does a great job at making it feel realistic. Red Rocket Rising... Who couldn't like that name?

My favourite character featured in this story other than the main two is Asha... Or Martez... Whichever you want to call him/her... Very interesting character and something she did was really horrible but more on that in the story!

My favourite line is, without a doubt, "LUCIE BLEEDIN' MILLER!" which comes out of Lucie's mouth while she's with the Daleks. Lucie's jokes about Tom's tin foil hat put a smile on my face as well.

Overall? A really nice two parter to begin the EDAs and introduce a new companion. There's some great Dalek action, fabulous performances, and it's a great listen. Highly recommended.

I'd definitely recommend this as your first audio. It's the absolute best way to get into the world of Big Finish. It's a simply amazing starting point and if Doctor Who: The Movie were like this, I doubt it would have failed! I've given a lot of 9 and 10 ratings lately so maybe I need to review some worse stories soon!

Overall Rating: 10/10

You can buy Blood of the Daleks part 1 for £8.99 download or £10.99 CD here.

You can buy Blood of the Daleks part 2 for £8.99 download or £10.99 CD here.

Doctor Who: Creatures Of Beauty Review

Released in May 2003, Creatures of Beauty was the 44th Doctor Who audio drama to be released by Big Finish. It stars Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor and Sarah Sutton as companion Nyssa. It is written and directed by Nicholas Briggs.

Big Finish's synopsis:

"A planetary ecological disaster! An incurable, disfiguring, genetic disease... Aliens, in breach of galactic law!

Nyssa, under arrest! The TARDIS, inoperable! The Doctor, facing interrogation!

Another situation of dire peril is unfolding for the Doctor and his companion. However, what if it is not clear who is right and who is wrong? Who is ugly and who is beautiful?

Where does the story begin, and where does it end? Sometimes, it is all a matter of perspective."

This is just brilliant. Fantastically brilliant. Words cannot describe just how brilliant this story is. It's a very confusing story - maybe not as much as Flip-Flop, but I kept wondering if I was listening to it in the right order. I don't think I'd describe it as wibbly wobbly timey wimey, but definitely confusing. Mind blowingly confusing. I mean, it should all make sense, but it doesn't... Atleast, not until you've listened to the whole thing... And then still not all of it makes sense. I like stories like this.

The story starts with The Doctor and Nyssa quickly stopping on a planet called Veln in order to warn the inhabitants about the dyestrial pollution, but he doesn't exactly get the welcome he was hoping for. That's all I'm going to say here.

Let's talk about the acting for a minute - Peter Davison is very good - I'm normally not a huge fan of his Doctor but he was excellent here. Sarah Sutton is very good as usual, David Daker gave a good performance, as did David Mallinson. Of course, Nicholas Briggs gave good performances in all seven of his roles. There aren't any actors involved that I would consider bad, so that's definitely a good thing... All the acting in this audio was actually top notch.

The villains are great because, well, they're not aliens. This sometimes means you're going to get a ridiculously boring story but nope - this was a very interesting and unique story! The concept behind it is brilliant and Nicholas Briggs manages to get everything right!

As for the setting of Veln, it's done extremely well. Definitely one of Big Finish's best. As usual, the production team was able to make them feel realistic and make you feel as if you were there. Great planet too.

My favourite character featured in this story other than the main two is... Well... I just can't decide. Maybe Gilbrook, but that's probably because of David Daker's appearance in one of my favourite TV stories. They're all so well acted and likeable that I can't choose a favourite.

My favourite line is, without a doubt, "Like paint spilling across the table. He said it was almost beautiful." - An almost beautiful line!

Everything in Creatures of Beauty is a good idea. It seems very dark, with brutal murders, Nyssa being arrested on suspicion of murder, extremely horrible ear-destroying screaming in pain, not much music, excessive use of minor swear words such as b****rd... It's a story that you're never going to see on TV, but luckily, can enjoy in the form of audio.

Brilliant story, has you hooked from beginning to end but your mind strays away from the story while you're trying to work out what's going on and if you're listening to it in the right order or not!

I think this would make a perfect first audio, especially if you're a Fifth Doctor fan. Brilliant in every way possible.

Overall Rating: 10/10

Buy Creatures of Beauty for £2.99 download or £5.00 CD here.

Doctor Who: Dark Eyes Review

Released in November 2012, Dark Eyes was the first box set in Big Finish's Eighth Doctor Adventures range and the second box set in the Special Releases range. It stars Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor and Ruth Bradley as Molly O'Sullivan. There are four episodes, the first one is set directly after To The Death - the final single release in the EDA range.

Big Finish's synopsis of Dark Eyes and the four episodes:

" ‘I really hoped it would be a wonderful view... to look back from the end of everything... to see how things finally turned out.’
The Doctor is looking for hope. But instead, he finds himself on a mission. The Time Lords have uncovered terrifying fragments of an insane plot to destroy the universe. And somehow, at the centre of that plot is one, random female in Earth’s history, Molly O’Sullivan.
Soon, the Doctor and Molly find themselves thrown headlong into a series of dangerous and terrifying adventures, with the dreaded Daleks never far behind them. "

"Voluntary Aid Detachment nursing assistant Molly O’Sullivan spends her days facing the horrors of the Great War. Little does she know that a man from another world has arrived, looking for her.
But what are the strange sounds coming from the battlefield at night? Where is the glowing gas coming from? And is everyone who they claim to be?"

"With the first objective of his mission reached, almost nothing is going to plan for the Doctor. He finds he cannot contact or return to the Time Lord’s home planet, Gallifrey. And just when Molly O’Sullivan thinks she’s escaped one conflict, she finds herself in the thick of another one.
What is it that connects the Doctor, the Daleks and the mysterious Ides Scientific Institute?"

"Something happened when Molly O’Sullivan was just two years old, and the Doctor thinks it’s high time they found out exactly what it was.
Meanwhile, the Daleks are fully activating their Temporal Chamber. And while the Doctor and Molly get closer and closer to the terrible truth, the nature of reality itself seems to be in question."

"‘Subject is called Molly O’Sullivan. An inhabitant of Earth. Born Earth year 1891. Has travelled in space and time with Time Lord known as the Doctor.’
With Straxus and his TARDIS destroyed, the Doctor and Molly have tracked the mysterious ‘X’ to the planet Srangor. It is here that the truth of the threat to the universe will finally be revealed.
What is the Dalek Time Controller’s ultimate plan? What exactly is the space-time projector? Who will survive this epic battle for survival?"

Right, well that was uh, pretty damn long! Now onto the review!

Dark Eyes is an amazing story in my opinion. Some parts are better than others, but it manages to be a good, strong, enjoyable four-hour story that never seems slow. I think the Eighth Doctor's new hair and clothes look great, although I can't bring myself to like them as much as the old ones. Oh well, things change!

I've seen quite a lot of hate for new companion Molly O'Sullivan and I can't quite understand it - I thought she was great! I love Irish accents, she's got quite an interesting background, being from World War I, I think the writing a letter to her mother throughout the story was nice and for a lot of the story, she doesn't really like The Doctor which is another thing I like. I like how she calls the TARDIS a "tardy box" and calls The Doctor "The Doctor" as opposed to just "Doctor" but then again, The Doctor calls her "Dark Eyes" as opposed to "Molly" seeing as her eyes are darker than any other human's. And of course, she just punches anyone who annoys her on the nose... How awesome is that!? She sort of makes me think of a WW1 Donna Noble - my favourite 2005+ series companion. I really like her and want to hear more of her.

So, now I'll talk about the acting - Paul McGann is brilliant as always, Ruth Bradley is surprisingly fantastic, Nicholas Briggs provides awesome Dalek voices as always, Toby Jones (the man who played the Dream Lord in Amy's Choice) gives another brilliant performance - this time as now-ex Time Lord X (aka Kotris), Peter Egan is great as Straxus (who is actually a very interesting character), Laura Molyneaux gives a damn good performance as short-lived Isabel Stanford and Ian Cullen was very good as Nadeyan.

The Daleks are good as always, in fact quite a lot better than usual. In Tangled Web, The Doctor fantasizes Skaro in a time where the Daleks realise they're wrong after a war that destoyed The Doctor's people (Time War reference? I think so). Actually, they start caring about humans, playing with children and saying "please" and "thank you". The Doctor knows something is up but has a difficult time figuring out what.

Being four hours long, you'd expect it to be set in quite a few places and it is - Ireland, England, France, Srangor, Dunkirk, London, Halalka at various times. They're all done fantastically and if you try hard enough, you can really feel like you're there with the characters. Some of the best of Big Finish.

My favourite character featured in Dark Eyes other than The Doctor and Molly has to be Kotris - excellent performance from Toby Jones and the character's background story is very interesting but I'm going to try not to spoil that for you.

My favourite line... Hmm, that's a really tough one... There are so many good ones...
 "It's a war alright but there's nothing great about it. The worst war more like" from Molly and "That is the difference between me and the Daleks because there is no underneath it all for them. They weren't made with an underneath it all. They were made by a mad man to be what they are... They're like a stick of rock with 'exterminate' written all the way through" from The Doctor were both good, as was Kotris' "I looked at the history objectively, truly objectively and realised the Time Lords are far worse than the Daleks" even if he was wrong. I can't decide on a favourite between the three!

To The Death may have been slightly better, but this is still a brilliant box set and it's certainly among the best of the Eighth Doctor's audio adventures. Fantastic story, but don't get your hopes up too much for it. It's a very enjoyable four hours and provided you know the events of season 4 of the Eighth Doctor Adventures and who Lucie Miller and Susan are, it would make a very nice purchase. I think it's a brilliant story, but you might not. Just try it out for yourself!

Okay, I'm going to rate the individual episodes before I rate the story as a whole:
The Great War - 9/10
Fugitives - 8/10
Tangled Web - 9/10
X and the Daleks - 7/10

Overall Rating: 9/10

You can buy Dark Eyes for £35.00 download or £40.00 CD here.  

If you're reading this before Friday 6th September, you can get it for just £20.00 following these instructions.

Doctor Who - The Ice Warriors - DVD Review

For years, two episodes of the six-part Troughton story The Ice Warriors have been missing from the BBC's archives, and so the story has never been officially released on DVD (actually, it was released on VHS but the two missing episodes were audio-only.) Well, thanks to Qurios and their team, these two episodes have been animated for a DVD release and they really do look good! In fact, I'd say it's the best Doctor Who animation so far!

So, what do I think of the story?
I wasn't expecting too much from The Ice Warriors thanks to all the reviews that say it's disappointing and slow, but I was very pleased with it!

I think it's a good, solid six-parter that introduces the Ice Warriors and has some great scenes (the bit where the TARDIS lands upside down and the end of part 1 / start of part 2 are brilliant!) and of course, fantastic acting from Troughton, Hines, Watling and quite a few other members of the cast.

The Ice Warriors are great monsters here - they want to get back to Mars and don't really care about Earth, but that doesn't mean they won't kill people who get in their way. I love the setting of another Earth ice age, it feels really well done.

Now, unfortunately, The Ice Warriors suffers from the same fate as quite a few other early Who stories - it's too damn long and didn't need to be six episodes long, and could have easily been four. Luckily that's the only problem I have with it so it's not bad at all to be honest. All in all? Brilliant story with some brilliant scenes but it's a little bit too long, and that's all I can say, really.

The animation?
WOW! Even if you're not a huge fan of the story, this is a great reason to go out and buy this DVD! Qurios, Chris Chapman and everyone else involved did an AMAZINGLY AWESOMELY BRILLIANT job! I just can't fault the animation at all! Honestly, as people have said, it's so good you kind of forget it's animation!

It's obviously not the best animation ever made, but, excluding the upcoming Scream of the Shalka, it's certainly the best animated Doctor Who DVD release so far. As good as The Invasion and The Reign of Terror were, this is just fantastic. A HUGE reason to buy it! A must-have for any Doctor Who fan, old or new!

Alien Design?
I love the Ice Warrior design - as you can see, Marsians are not little green men from outer space! Brilliant aliens which were great in their Series 7 appearance Cold War. I really hope Capaldi gets to meet them!

Special features?
These are another major reason to buy this DVD. There are three different sets of commentaries:

1. Frazer Hines, Deborah Watling, Sonny Caldinez, Jeremy Davies and Pat Heigham commentate episodes 1, 4, 5 & 6). 2. original archive recordings or readings of text written by Brian Hayles, Derek Martinus, Martin Baugh, Bernard Bresslaw, Peter Barkworth, Wendy Gifford and Sylvia James on episode 2. 3. Patrick Troughton's son (Michael) commentates episode 3.

Very interesting way to do the commentary, they're all pretty good too!

It has programme subtitles and subtitle production notes, don't really have anything to say about those.

On disc 2, there is a 25-minute documentary called Cold Fusion where the cast and crew look back on the making of the story, featuring Frazer Hines, Deborah Watling, Sonny Caldinez, Jeremy Davies and James Bresslaw. Quite interesting, worth a watch.

There is a short behind the scenes video called Beneath the Ice which features the producers and directors of the animated episodes. It tells you a bit about how they were made. Again, quite interesting and definitely worth a watch.

It has the original VHS links featuring Hines and Watling linking the missing episodes, which is a pretty nice addition.

It features a Blue Peter design a monster competition which ran during the transmission of this story. Fairly interesting, and again, a very nice addition. An entertaining 10 or so minutes.

It also features the second part of Doctor Who Stories: Frazer Hines which looks back at Jamie's later Doctor Who appearances. Very interesting, especially if you're a fan of Jamie.

Of course, there's the standard photo gallery, Radio Times listings in PDF format, programme subtitles and a coming soon trailer for Scream of the Shalka which will be released next month. It's a very good trailer and honestly makes me want to watch the little animated story starring Richard E. Grant!

Overall, a great buy for just about any Doctor Who fan. The animation doesn't take anything away from the story, and I'd take this animation over a pictures and audio reconstruction any day, as much as I respect the people who make those.

Overall Rating: 9/10

Amazing story, amazing animation but minus one point for being a bit too long.

Buy The Ice Warriors on DVD here for £14.00!

Doctor Who: Jubilee Review

Released in January 2003, Jubilee was the 40th Doctor Who audio drama to be released by Big Finish. It stars Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor and Maggie Stables as companion Evelyn Smythe. It is written by Robert Shearman and is directed by both Robert Shearman and Nicholas Briggs. It later became the 2005 TV story Dalek starring Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper.

Big Finish's synopsis:

Hurrah! The deadly Daleks are back! Yes, those loveable tinpot tyrants have another plan to invade our world. Maybe this time because they want to drill to the Earth's core. Or maybe because they just feel like it.

And when those pesky pepperpots are in town, there is one thing you can be sure of. There will be non-stop, high octane mayhem in store. And plenty of exterminations!

But never fear. The Doctor is on hand to sort them out. Defender of the Earth, saviour of us all. With his beautiful assistant, Evelyn Smythe, by his side, he will fight once again to uphold the beliefs of the English Empire. All hail the glorious English Empire!

Now that sounds like a jubilee worth celebrating, does it not?

This is a brilliant story! I was a bit hesitant on buying it because I thought it might be too similar to Dalek which I've seen so many times before, but it ended up being very, very different, hell, it was better than Dalek!

Other than The Marian Conspiracy, this was the first story I listened to that featured Evelyn and I must say I'm completely sold on the companion and will definitely be buying more stories that feature her!

So, the acting - Colin Baker is bloody brilliant and really shows us that with a good script, he's an amazing actor. Maggie Stables is just as good as Colin and as I said before, Evelyn is a great character. Martin Jarvis is very good, Rosalind Ayres is great, Nicholas Briggs plays all three of his roles extremely well. A story FULL of good actors.

Jubilee feels so different to Dalek... It's longer, darker, more developed. Just amazing, one of the best audios I've listened to so far. The daleks are at their best here and how could anyone forget about the Dalek song? We are the Daleks and this is our song, we are very naughty and do lots of wrong!

I LOVED the setting of the Tower of London. Thanks to the amazing production and direction, you actually feel as if you're there watching it if you're really in to it.

I loved how everyone in Britain seemed to love the Daleks so much and find them fascinating, despite hating them so much.

My favourite non-main character in this story is Nigel Rochester. Can't really say I know why, I just like him.

My favourite line comes from Evelyn - "You're still my dearest friend... Still the best thing that ever happened to me. The places you've taken me, the wonders you've shared... I know that whatever happened to me along the way, even death, it was worth it." - such a beautiful line that really helped me like Evelyn!

Excellent, interesting, entertaining Dalek story that really had me hooked. I really wish Dalek was a bit more like this, but still... Another fantastic Robert Shearman story and I really hope we get to see more of his work in future Big Finish audios! And again, if you're worried about it feeling too similar to Dalek, then let me tell you the two are nothing like eachother, and this still feels like a whole new amazing adventure! One of the best Doctor Who stories of all time!

I'd certainly recommend this as your first Big Finish audio, although I'd recommend listening to Evelyn's first story (The Marian Conspiracy) first... At £2.99 each, they shouldn't be too hard to afford!

Overall Rating: 10/10

You can buy Jubilee for £2.99 download or £5.00 CD here.

Doctor Who: Seasons Of Fear Review

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.

Released in March 2002, Seasons of Fear was the 30th Doctor Who audio drama to be released by Big Finish. It stars Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor and India Fisher as companion Charley Pollard. It is written by Paul Cornell & Caroline Symcox. It is directed by Gary Russell.

Big Finish's synopsis:

"On New Year's Eve, 1930, the Doctor lets Charley keep her appointment at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. But his unease at what he's done to time by saving her life soon turns to fear. Sebastian Grayle: immortal, obsessed, ruthless, has come to the city to meet the Time Lord. To the Doctor, he's a complete stranger, but to Grayle, the Doctor is an old enemy.

An enemy that, many years ago, he finally succeeded in killing. And this is his only chance to gloat.

The Doctor and Charley desperately search human history for the secret of Grayle's power and immortality. Their quest takes in four different time periods - the Hellfire Club, the court of Edward the Confessor and the time vortex itself. And when the monsters arrive, the stakes are raised from the life of one Time Lord to the existence of all humanity.

This one is pretty wibbly wobbly timey wimey! Since it comes right after The Chimes of Midnight, I wouldn't have cared if it were a bad story, but it's not a bad story. It's another brilliant (not to mention confusing) story with some really clever ideas... AND it's written by Paul Cornell!

The story starts with The Doctor and Charley arriving in Singapore to meet someone called Alex. While in a cafe, a mysterious man comes up to The Doctor, bragging about how he'd killed him in the past. The Doctor soon realises that this man's past is The Doctor's future, the timeline they're in is not real and the mysterious man is called Sebastian Grayle and is the grandfather of Charley's friend - Alex Grayle. The Doctor and Charley go back in time to prevent Sebastian Grayle from doing any harm... But will they succeed?

The acting... Paul McGann was amazingly brilliant as usual - so much lost potential for a TV series! India Fisher was fantastic, Stephen Perring (Sebastian Grayle) was fantastic, Robert Curbishley (Lucillius and Nimon voice) was amazing, Justine Mitchell (Lucy Martin) was great and all the other actors with minor parts were pretty damn good too.

Seeing the Nimon in a good story really made me happy. I love the things but I think The Horns of Nimon had the potential to be a lot better, even if I did quite like it. I also like how Paul McGann narrates the story, a lot like he did at the start of Doctor Who: The Movie. The Zagreus poem (or whatever it is) is great too... Zagreus sits inside your head, Zagreus lives among the dead, Zagreus sees you in your bed, and eats you when you're sleeping. I've got no idea if I'll like the story Zagreus, but I certainly like the little poem.

The various settings were all fantastic! The production team made them feel extremely realistic!

My favourite character featured in this story other than the main two is Lucy Martin. She's just so much like Charley. I just want to know what happened to her at the end, so I'm guessing I need to listen to Embrace the Darkness!

My favourite line comes from The Doctor - "I'm shopping around, trying out all the different cults". Oh, and just about everything that thing said in the end was cool and creepy.

It's just a really good story that had me hooked from beginning to end, despite a couple of parts that feel slow. Honestly, I wasn't expecting to see the Nimon again after the awful reputation of their debut story and bringing them back was a very brave move. A very entertaining two hours!

I probably wouldn't recommend this as your first Big Finish audio though - you should get to know the Eighth Doctor and Charley through Storm Warning, and maybe you should listen to Invaders From Mars and The Chimes of Midnight before this.

Overall Rating: 9/10

You can buy Seasons of Fear for £2.99 download or £5.00 CD here.

Doctor Who: Bang-Bang-a-Boom! Review

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.

Released in December 2002, Bang-Bang-a-Boom! was the 39th Doctor Who audio drama to be released by Big Finish. It stars Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor and Bonnie Langford as companion Melanie Bush. It is written by Gareth Roberts & Clayton Hickman and directed by Nicholas Pegg.

Big Finish's synopsis:

"Dark Space 8 - an advanced monitoring station floating serenely among the stars. Its crew - a dedicated and highly-skilled group of professionals, calmly going about their vital work. Its mission - to boldly host the Intergalactic Song Contest.

With representatives from myriad worlds competing, the eyes of the universe are on the station. But dark deeds are afoot aboard Dark Space 8... and people are starting to die.

The haughty Queen Angvia, the gaseous gestalt Gholos, the disposable pop idol Nicky Neumann, erratic Professor Fassbinder and the icily-efficient Dr Helena Harcourt all are suspects. Could old political rivalries be manifesting themselves among the contestants? Is this the work of a breakaway terrorist faction? Or has someone just got it in for singer-songwriters?

With peace in the galaxy hanging by a thread, it's vital that the mystery is solved and fast! Can Dark Space 8's unconventional new commander, with the help of his personal pilot, Mel, find the murderer in time to prevent a major intergalactic war?

Or will it be null points for the entire universe?"

I was really looking forward to this story since it's written by the same two people who brought us The One Doctor a year ago. Then I noticed it gets next to no love from fans. Is it as good as it's predecessor? No. Is it disappointing? Yes. Is it still decent? Yes. Just keep in mind, if you're expecting something incredibly funny and brilliant like The One Doctor, you're going to be disappointed.

The story starts with The Doctor and Mel attempting to get to France but ending up on some kind of spaceship where they notice what seems to be a bomb. Soon after that, they find themselves transported to some other spaceship called Dark Space 8. In an attempt to stay out of trouble, The Doctor and Mel decide to pretend they are the now-dead commander and pilot. They then learn of the Intergalactic Song Contest. Shortly after this, people start dying. Can The Doctor find out what, or who, is causing the deaths?

So, as for the acting... Sylvester McCoy is brilliant as usual, Bonnie Langford is pretty good and Mel isn't really annoying in this story. Actually, all the actors in this are very good.

I love the setting - an spaceship where an intergalactic talent contest of sorts is being hosted. It sort of reminds me of the Series 1 TV episode The End of the World although Bang-Bang-a-Boom! is probably the better story.

My favourite character featured in this story other than the Seventh Doctor is Gholos. Just hell yes, a very cool alien.

My favourite line... Hmm, that's a tough one. Honestly, it'd have to be "If we don't stop him, it's bang-bang-a-boom!" - the reason for the story title.

Another thing I like is how in episode 4 when The Doctor and Mel are about to leave, the ending theme comes on then goes off with The Doctor saying "It's too easy" then it goes back to the story.

Bang-Bang-a-Boom! features some very interesting scenes such as the Seventh Doctor dining with Queen Angvia which results in him... Falling in love with her? What? Isn't that a little out of character? Alright, something really is wrong with him. I didn't want anything like that to happen but the scene where he tells Mel about it is quite funny so it's forgiven, I guess.

Something I really didn't like was the way I had to listen to Nicholas Briggs recap the episodes. I know it was meant to be a joke and they were almost funny but as cool as Nicholas is and as awesome as his voice is, I just want to get on to the next part of the story - they're not broadcast in the form of weekly episodes here so the ridiculous recap is just unnecessary. The story was also a little slow and there are a couple of moments that make me cringe just thinking about them (the pits of Angvia...) but it's got just enough good things to make it a decent story.

I definitely wouldn't recommend this as your first Big Finish audio. It's not really bad but they've produced so many better stories. I'd recommend getting into Big Finish through something like Storm Warning, The One Doctor, The Chimes of Midnight, Blood of the Daleks, Spare Parts, The Holy Terror or Flip-Flop.

Overall Rating: 6/10

You can buy Bang-Bang-a-Boom! for £2.99 download or £5.00 CD here.

Doctor Who: The One Doctor Review

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.

Released in December 2001, The One Doctor was the 27th Doctor Who audio drama to be released by Big Finish. It stars Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor and Bonnie Langford as companion Melanie Bush. It is written by Gareth Roberts & Clayton Hickman and directed by Gary Russell.

Big Finish's synopsis:

When the evil Skelloids launch an attack upon the seventeen worlds of the Generios system, its peace-loving inhabitants face total destruction.

So it's fortunate that the famous traveller in time and space known only as the Doctor is in the area, and doubly lucky that, with the help of pretty young assistant, Sally-Anne, he manages to defeat the deadly creatures and save the day.

But now it looks as though the Doctor's luck has run out.

Who is the mysterious, curly-haired stranger who insists on causing trouble? What role does the feisty redhead Melanie play in his scheme? And what have they to do with the sinister alien cylinder approaching Generios?

One thing is certain: for the Doctor and Sally-Anne, there's deadly danger ahead...

Now THIS is what you call a good story! No, it's not exactly Genesis of the Daleks but in it's own way, it's just as good - fun, exciting and entertaining story with LOTS of hilariousness. I can't imagine it working so well for any other Doctor...

The story starts with the Sixth Doctor and Mel... Playing monopoly... Then arriving in the Generios system in the "vulgar" part of time, so far into the future that everybody seems to know everything. Once they get out of the TARDIS, they notice that everybody seems to be celebrating. They soon learn that The Doctor has saved the seventeen planets from evil aliens called the Skelloids. When the Sixth Doctor claims he's never been to Generios, Mel suggests it was a future version of himself but the Sixth Doctor doubts it. Not long after, another invasion happens - this time, it's The Cylinder and he wants the three greatest treasures of Generios. Can this other Doctor, of whom the Sixth Doctor believes to be some kind of imposter, save the day again?

As much as I liked Seasons 22 and 23, this is the Sixth Doctor I would have liked to see on my TV screen - Colin Baker proves to be an amazing actor, despite not being the most popular Doctor. It's also the Melanie Bush I would have liked to see on my TV screen - yes, in this story, she's actually a likable character with some great lines! Top notch acting from everybody involved!

Gareth Roberts and Clayton Hickman are brilliant writers, both of whom have given us some amazing content in The Sarah Jane Adventures. Gary Russell is a fantastic director too.

The setting is interesting, with the jumping from planet to planet trying to collect the three greatest treasures of the Generios system in order to prevent the Cylinder from destroying Generios.

My favourite line is Mel's "Don't talk about giving up because I'm a Bush and Bushes never do!" - It was really inspiring but thanks to all the humour in the story, all it made me think of was the sort of bush you find in gardens.

As I mentioned previously, The One Doctor is a story that's absolutely full of hilariousness. The Jelloid, two Doctors, one of which isn't really The Doctor and so much more. Oh, and some of the music used in the story just makes me feel really happy for some reason!

I would definitely recommend this as a first Big Finish audio, I just can't fault it. Just as good as The Chimes of Midnight, which as I said in the previous review, is just as good as classics like City of Death and The Caves of Androzani. Honestly, when Mel Bush is a good character, you know you're in for a good story.

Overall Rating: 10/10

You can buy The One Doctor for £2.99 download or £5.00 CD here.