The Fourth Wall

"Death isn't entertainment."

Writer: John Dorney

Format: Audio

Released: February 2012

Series: Monthly Adventures 157

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Flip

Synopsis 

Business is bad for intergalactic media mogul Augustus Scullop, whose Trans-Gal empire is on the rocks. But, having retreated to his own private planet, Transmission, Scullop is about to gamble his fortune on a new show, made with an entirely new technology. And the name of that show... is Laser.

Back in the real world, far from the realms of small screen sci-fi fantasies about monsters and aliens, the Doctor is interested only in watching Test Match cricket... but finds himself drawn into Scullop's word when his new travelling companion, Flip, is snatched from inside the TARDIS.

So, while the Doctor uncovers the terrible secret of Trans-Gal's new tech, Flip battles to survive in a barren wilderness ruled over by the indestructible Lord Krarn and his pig-like servants, the Warmongers. And the name of that wilderness... is 'Stevenage'.

Verdict 

The Fourth Wall was another excellent audio to make my way through the Monthly Adventures from Big Finish! I’m really enjoying this early run for the Sixth Doctor and Flip, with the latter really making a strong impact as the new companion. The way things started here set the media theme with Chad Walker news bulletins and I liked that Scullop was angered at the leaks of a screening on Transmission. The use of the time and space visualiser in the TARDIS was magnificent and Flip showcasing her humorous qualities in complaining that the images were in black and white was glorious. She wanted excitement in the TARDIS which was understandable! The interference in the visualiser was intriguing as reality itself was being warped and phasing, literally pulling itself apart. So it was no surprise that Flip vanished from the TARDIS. She didn’t seem to go far though as she was communicating with the Doctor through the visualiser which was quite fun. The debut of the new Laser tv show was pretty good and having to delay the premiere didn’t sit well as Shepherd was blamed for malfunctions caused by the TARDIS. She was a really strong character. Flip encountering the Warmongers after saving Jancey was well done and her pork chop line was tremendous. She was confused by the TARDIS translation not working but it turned out that she was on Earth amidst the rule of Krarn the dictator. The overly descriptive explanation of the situation from Jancey was amusing and from there it was clear just where Flip had ended up. She was trapped in a television programme! The concept of it being simultaneously fiction and really was brilliant and I loved how it was referred to as reel life. The Porcians were an amusing race with their uselessness and causing interference, but their knowledge of the Doctor provided some good commentary. They were essentially wannabe invaders and that was a siding. The idea of reality being based on acting was interesting as we had essentially doppelgängers with Matthew being the actor playing Krarn and Kenton as the actor playing Laser. That would cause later confusion, as did Flip with her questions on the reality she was within and the struggles for improvisation. Shepherd revealing that her technology wasn’t quite original provoked a great reaction from Scullop! She was dealing with something dangerous through despite the security measures of the bubble being a couple of seconds ahead in time. That was why they could be viewed but it also allowed the Doctor to combine bubbles and get Flip out in the TARDIS. Chimbly was a decent character as a Porcian and his apparent killing of the Doctor was a shock, but the batteries weren’t fully charged so he was fine. Flip spitting a continuity error as she blurted out that she knew her surroundings were fictional. She challenged Krarn to use her weapon and that resulted in her being dead! The security protocols were down and the Warmongers were free to leave their fictional reality and wreak havoc in the real universe. Quite the cliffhanger! Kenton being confused for Laser was superb and despite awkwardly not knowing the details, Krarn was angered at losing his wife. Jancey thinking her actress Olivia was an android was amusing and I loved the fictional elements still coming into play as the Warmongers were helpless against Laser. We couldn’t have our hero killed! Scullop offering Krarn a deal was a nice shock, and the ridiculousness of the Porcians being angered at their intellectual property being used was good stuff. The revelation that it wasn’t actually the Porcians who took the security device that freed the Warmongers was kind of expected with it actually being Scullop who wanted to enlist Krarn to kill his old business partner! The dictator wasn’t best pleased with the writer who created him giving him the pain of his wife dying just for drama. That got him killed and I loved how due to the inconsistencies in the writing and series details not being fleshed out, that Krarn was going to kill everything proudly with no motive and for no reason. That was comically silly and yet it worked. Matthew pretending to be Krarn was a logical thing to do and the multiple versions of the Laser show bringing several duplicates was a bit silly and confusing, but I still enjoyed. The use of ludicrous weaponry only possible from fictional writing was tremendous as the Doctor wanted to create new weapons from the reality generator. His weapon was to be an anti-fiction but reality un-affecting bomb. The fantasy nullifier was born! Krarn seeing the duplicates continue an endless chain of death was good and him finding out Matthew as a fake was fantastic. But then the bomb worked including an emotional death for Laser in quite a fitting conclusion! Shepherd was rather distraught that her life works were destroyed and it was nice that the Doctor had little sympathy for her interference with reality. The way the Doctor cheated death for Flip in going back and including a ludicrous scene that would just have her awake after an hour of being shot was close to being ridiculous, but with a reality generator who could argue with it? Overall, a superb audio!

Rating: 9/10

The Curse of Davros

"You thought you were his companion, but you were his hostage."

Writer: Jonathan Morris

Format: Audio

Released: January 2012

Series: Monthly Adventures 156

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Flip

Synopsis 

It's been a year since Philippa 'Flip' Jackson found herself transported by Tube train to battle robot mosquitoes on a bizarre alien planet in the company of a Time Lord known only as 'the Doctor'.

Lightning never strikes twice, they say.Only now theres a flying saucer whooshing over the top of the night bus taking her home. Inside: the Doctor, with another extraterrestrial menace on his tail – the Daleks, and their twisted creator Davros! 

But while Flip and the fugitive Doctor struggle to beat back the Daleks' incursion into 21st century London, Davros's real plan is taking shape nearly 200 years in the past, on the other side of the English Channel. At the battle of Waterloo...

Verdict 

The Curse of Davros was an excellent story to continue my way through the Monthly Adventures from Big Finish! Another trilogy looks set to kick off with this adventure here and it was nice to start with some familiar characters in the form of Flip and Jared on the bus witnessing a spaceship crash. They weren’t exactly massively main characters in their opener of The Crimes of Thomas Brewster, but they felt really important from the off here which was superb. Finding the Sixth Doctor in a disoriented state was an intriguing way to bring him into the story and I liked the nugget dangled of hearing Davros briefly in a flashback scene. Jared not having a lot of trust in the Doctor was unexpected as he revealed his whereabouts to the authorities, but the Daleks were quickly on the case and had them under their control in a very literal fashion. I thought Flip was outstanding here for a debut as a fully fledged companion with some comments on the Daleks being nothing short of remarkable. Her reference to the exterminator as an egg whisk and the Daleks themselves being mobile wheelie bins was just marvellous. I thought she was terrific from start to finish. The Doctor and Flip needing to get away from the Daleks was good so having them actually head to the Dalek pursuit ship was fun stuff. The Doctor being able to listen in on the mind exchange network was intriguing and that concept of Daleks swapping minds with humans was incredible! It would prove very important by the end too. The Doctor and Flip using the phone to track the signal and send the Daleks on a goose chase after the bus was amusing, until the passengers and hostages were all killed. That was a sharp turn of events. Davros being in the position of Emperor was terrific and I was surprised that he wanted the Doctor and Flip kept alive. The latter’s description of Davros as a talking corpse was tremendous too as she continued to shined. The story shifting from 2012 to 1815 was a nice move as we headed to southern Belgium. Flip’s confusion about the TARDIS translation circuits was magnificent and when they were thought of as spies, her admitting she was English when speaking it was hilarious. The Doctor was perplexed. The Daleks wanting to change history here at the Battle of Waterloo and its historical significance was good stuff. Flip’s reaction to encountering Napoleon was brilliant and I liked how he knew she was from the future. The references to Abba and the Waterloo song were wonderful too, and he would surrender by the end. The concept of Napoleon being in league with the Daleks was fantastic too and it played out really will. The Doctor seemingly killing Bouvier in his escape was unsettling and was the first allusion to him not being himself. Flip also wasn’t comfortable with Davros being killed and she seemed to have sympathy for him being in what she considered to be a wheelchair. The Doctor ordering her out of the way was ruthless and uncharacteristic, but we soon learned of the mind transfer between the Time Lord and the Dalek creator. Davros not being at all bothered about returning to his withering and decrepit form was a shock but he actually embraced having a Time Lord body! The Doctor locking Davros up with a Dalek was fun and whilst it was a little strange in audio format for the voices to be reversed, the concept was fun to play around with. Flip asking after Evelyn was a nice touch and it was nice to hear she was left with Rossiter. The British Army having knowledge on the Daleks was not something I expected. Jared encountering the Duke of Wellington was good stuff and the Doctor’s mind swap ruse being up presented some interesting interactions with the Daleks! Davros ordering the Dalek guard to self destruct and then punishing the Supreme Dalek for his actions with internal torment was excellent after the brain scan confirmed Davros was within the Doctor’s body. We finally got a flashback scene of the moment of transfer, but I thought the explanation from the Doctor of why he did it should have come here. We didn’t have to wait too long though as we learned of his plan to use the mind probe to wipe the minds of the Daleks! He planned to strip them of Davros’s control and potentially see them start again as a force for good. It was an admirable intention! The delivery was never going to happen though. Davros wanting the Doctor to know and feel his pain forever was good stuff, although with the story concept I felt we were lacking that big moment between hero and villain. The French army being replaced with Dalek minds was tremendous and the fact they were armed with Dalek weaponry made them pretty formidable! The Doctor disguising himself as a Dalek by placing the upper half of one on top of his casing when in the mind of Davros was very fun stuff. Flip paralysing the Doctor before the transfer back happened was good stuff. Davros immediately wanting to go back to the body of the Doctor was hilarious and the ensuing confusion over whether the transfer back was successful worked pretty well for the audio format. The Doctor gained the upper hand though! Napoleon helping put history back on track after being shown the future was a nice touch and he would purposely lose the Battle of Waterloo for the sake of humanity. That was admirable. The Daleks needing the minds for their Battle Computers was fantastic and good continuity with what was to come in Remembrance of the Daleks. The French soldiers returning to the hatchery to get their minds back provided a ruthless moment as Davros overloaded the systems and killed them all. That was brutal. The Doctor setting the Dalek mothership on a delayed countdown was good and I loved how the mind probe was used in having it not work on Davros, but on the Daleks as they didn’t recognise their creator. Flip leaving Jared to go alone to 2012 was nice and saw her take her place as the new companion! I think she’s going to be tremendous fun. Overall, a fantastic audio!

Rating: 9/10

Anything You Can Do

"Hopeless was the Doctor's speciality."

Writer: Dave Rudden

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2018

Printed in: Twelve Angels Weeping 12

Featuring: The Doctor

Synopsis 

On every planet that has existed or will exist, there is a winter...

Many of the peoples of Old Earth celebrated a winter festival. A time to huddle together against the cold; a time to celebrate being half-way out of the dark.

But shadows are everywhere, and there are some corners of the universe which have bred the most terrible things, lurking in the cold between the stars.

Here are twelve stories – one for each of the Twelve Days of Christmas – to remind you that to come out of the darkness we need to go into it in the first place.

We are not alone. We are not safe. And, whatever you do: don't blink.

Verdict 

Anything You Can Do was a great adventure to conclude my reading of the Twelve Angels Weeping collection! I’ve really enjoyed this volume of stories celebrating the villains of Doctor Who where we really have had quite the range of monsters! There have been returns for the likes of Zygons and Ice Warriors, new takes on the Daleks and Sontarans, and just outstanding stories with the Weeping Angels and Ice Warriors to name a few! And who else could we finish with but the Master? I thought the approach in this story was intriguing in that specific incarnations of the Doctor and Master were not referenced and with this being a short story at just over thirty pages, I think that was more than fine. A valuable source of mine in the Doctor Who world being TARDIS Wiki claims that the Fourth Doctor features here based on the illustration, but I’m not buying that. This is just the Doctor and the Master in their purest form and that was excellent. The idea of the Master trying to be the Doctor isn’t entirely new as we did see Missy have a go of being Doctor Who in World Enough and Time, but it was on a much larger scale here. The Master was going around with companions but wasn’t getting it quite right as those that would take that role either didn’t want to stay for long or not join up at all. That’s where it became difficult for the Master to accept and to keep the guise of the Doctor. He didn’t deal well with rejection so staying calm wasn’t entirely easy! He let through the fact he wasn’t the Doctor to the reader on more than one occasion and that was fun stuff. Of course, we knew from the subtitle that the Master featured here so it was clear right from Faye rejecting him that this was the Master in another scheme. The Doctor would accept that she had a life that she’d built and didn’t want to give it up. The mimicking of Rose was amusing there with the Master thinking he’d forgotten something in mentioning again that the TARDIS could travel in time and was bigger on the inside. From there the Master was off to do a half-arsed job of being the Doctor. The situation with Nu-Paris was fascinating and sparked an entire for the Cybermen that I thought was tremendous and definitely needs revising. There’s so much potential outside of a throwaway line to having them strip away the Earth’s atmosphere and harvesting humanity’s dead for conversion. I thought that was a brilliant basis for a Cyberman story! Instead we just saw that the Master watched on alongside Cassie as more ships blew up molecule by molecule. She was grateful to be saved and for the fact that Nu-Paris was also safe, but the rest of the planet’s atmosphere was gone! That was pretty un-Doctor like. One thing I really loved about the story was the Master’s appreciation for the Doctor having a companion. With all of his mad schemes and ideas, he enjoyed having someone to explain it all too. That was great stuff. The story with Ocelot in particular was striking and that seemed to go slightly longer than other pairings with the Master. She could see that the Master was slightly more tumultuous than he initially appeared. The moment with Cade was good too and it just felt like there was an air of defeat as soon as the Doctor communicated through. I really liked how disgusted the Doctor was at having the renegade Time Lord use his name and he had gone and put right all that the Master had done in the name of the Doctor. That horrified the Doctor the most. That’s a great idea and it’s certainly a strong way to attack the Doctor. By the end, it was clear the Doctor had the upper hand and had used unity from all those encounters and would-be companions the Master had treated badly. Hell, even the Sontarans and Rutans were part of an alliance which I wasn’t overly fond of until the General had to be told to stop firing on the Host! The ambiguous ending was a slight let down as were just told that the Doctor would think of something to defeat his old enemy, but as a whole this was a fine exploration of the Doctor and the Master. A very good way to finish what has been a terrific book!

Rating: 8/10

The Rhino of Twenty-Three Strand Street

"Songbirds shouldn't look at the sky."

Writer: Dave Rudden

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2018

Printed in: Twelve Angels Weeping 11

Featuring: Thirteenth Doctor

Synopsis 

On every planet that has existed or will exist, there is a winter...

Many of the peoples of Old Earth celebrated a winter festival. A time to huddle together against the cold; a time to celebrate being half-way out of the dark.

But shadows are everywhere, and there are some corners of the universe which have bred the most terrible things, lurking in the cold between the stars.

Here are twelve stories – one for each of the Twelve Days of Christmas – to remind you that to come out of the darkness we need to go into it in the first place.

We are not alone. We are not safe. And, whatever you do: don't blink.

Verdict 

The Rhino of Twenty-Three Strand Street was a decent story to continue my reading of the Twelve Angels Weeping collection of short stories! The Judoon aren’t a bad choice by any stretch of the imagination to include a story about in a celebration of villains in Doctor Who, and they’re certainly one of the more impactful monsters from the modern era in particular. The approach here was totally different to what I was expecting though as we met a younger Judoon for the first time! That was an intriguing concept and coupling him with a young human girl made for a pretty good matchup. Although the Thirteenth Doctor features here, the story is all about Patricia who’s a very inquisitive young girl. I like that she was always asking questions and building her knowledge in the school library, but being from Ireland her education was often centred around religion and her sisters as teachers weren’t too thrilled about what she was learning about. Who cares rhinos? Well, Patricia certainly did after finding that one had seemingly moved into Mrs McCarthy’s house after she passed away! That was quite an amusing concept as I just couldn’t envisage a Judoon settling down and living in a small house, but with it being a young member of the species it did make a little more sense. Whilst there was nothing particularly wrong or bad about this story, I think my rating is slightly lower than others in this book because not a lot actually happened. There was no Judoon threat which was a shame and we actually just had a nice tale of Patricia taking the child Judoon under her care and even providing food and comfort. There just wasn’t much excitement and it was difficult to get too invested in a ten-year-old. I appreciated that she was snooping around to find food and fauna for the Judoon, going so far as to even find a bucket of mud and not get her clothes too dirty. I wasn’t massively a fan of the way that Patricia was doing everything she would for a normal white rhino. That didn’t seem entirely accurate given that the Judoon were alien, although I can’t deny the similarity in appearance! Surely the fact it was walking on two legs though would be enough to show it was rather different than a traditional rhino. The fact it knew it was on Earth thanks the drawing of circles in the mud and the hologram ring surrounding the house should also have been indications for Patricia. But then again she was only ten no matter how advanced she was for her age. It was pretty interesting to learn that this story was only released four days after the broadcast of The Woman Who Fell to Earth so life for the Thirteenth Doctor was very much in its infancy! With that being said, the characterisation was really impressive and I definitely got strong Jodie Whittaker vibes! The type of explanation of events like was the case here would become a hallmark of her era so that felt really good. Just when she was travelling alone is anyone’s guess though! The ending was a little sad as after the Doctor knocked on the door to check in, both Patricia and the child Judoon panicked and set off to run. The police wording on the TARDIS probably didn’t help in their efforts to stay put either! Patricia was pretty devastated though that the Judoon just ran away and back into space and beyond. After all she had done for it and it just left her behind. It was some solace though to know that the Judoon could have easily outpaced her and left her behind, but it kept pace with her to see that she was safe. Their nature was as mercenaries, but this Judoon did show some kind of appreciation for it being looked after. Overall, a good read to serve as the penultimate story in the collection!

Rating: 7/10

The Third Wise Man

"War is poison."

Writer: Dave Rudden

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2018

Printed in: Twelve Angels Weeping 10

Featuring: War Doctor

Synopsis 

On every planet that has existed or will exist, there is a winter...

Many of the peoples of Old Earth celebrated a winter festival. A time to huddle together against the cold; a time to celebrate being half-way out of the dark.

But shadows are everywhere, and there are some corners of the universe which have bred the most terrible things, lurking in the cold between the stars.

Here are twelve stories – one for each of the Twelve Days of Christmas – to remind you that to come out of the darkness we need to go into it in the first place.

We are not alone. We are not safe. And, whatever you do: don't blink.

Verdict 

The Third Wise Man was another excellent story to continue my way through the Twelve Angels Weeping collection! Now we were always going to get a Dalek adventure in this collection focused on villains in Doctor Who because they are the epitome of what a Doctor Who villain is. I’m a big fan of including the Doctor to go against his greatest enemies yet again, but it was perhaps not the incarnation I was expecting! I love the Time War as a setting because although thanks to the likes of multiple Big Finish series, Titan comics and the Engines of War novel we know a lot about it and have examples of the fighting, there’s still so much untapped potential there. Literally anything could happen within it and that’s hugely exciting. Just hearing the way Time Lords described the past, present and future as battlefields and wanting to station an assembly in the latter was incredible. That’s not how war ordinarily works but it was really fun to hear. The use of different technology in the story was good too and just hearing weaponry such as the Anything Gun is terrific. I don’t know what it means but it excites me that it could literally be a gun of anything. With the Time Lords responsible for it, the potential is endless. I thought the narration was pretty good although I’m not sure why Dave Rudden insists on not revealing the identity of the narrator until the conclusion of a story. It worked well in A Soldier’s Education but having it happen again here felt repetitive. I would have honestly preferred it to just a remain a nameless Time Lord. It was fun to know the General had the history with the Doctor stemming from here and even knowing him as a Lord President, but I just think the story would have been even better if we knew who was telling it from the early stages. There was no real benefit in hiding. As you can tell from my rating though, that didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the story! The characterisation of the War Doctor was very good and I liked that he still had those infamous Doctor traits despite dropping that name. He was more referred to here as the Renegade which didn’t seem to quite fit, but that uncomfortable and just alien nature of his incarnation is good stuff. It’s almost the intention and I can appreciate that. The Doctor picking up a distress signal was interesting and his reputation in the first year of the Time War, at least that’s how it would become to be known, was high as someone not always fighting the Time Lord cause. He was against the Daleks absolutely, but that didn’t mean he was on the side of his own people. That was fun to play around with. The reactions of the Time Lords when it looked like he was answering a Dalek distress call we’re brilliant. They were almost in shock despite the Doctor’s reputation and the persistence of his old Type-40 TARDIS. That was fun to think of with the battered police box always a presence amongst Daleks. Getting an encounter between the War Doctor and Davros is just tremendous and it actually depicting the moment he was taken into the jaws of the Nightmare Child was sensational! Davros was as deranged as ever which was no surprise given the Time War setting. We even got a mention of Dalek Caan trying to save Davros which we know would be successful. That was a nice continuity moment. The fact Davros saved his side in the War from his own tortured creation was terrific and I thought the concept behind the Nightmare Child in being a Dalek that knew all about its species without fighting for its cause was tremendous. Overall, a fantastic read!

Rating: 9/10

The King in Glass

"Throne rooms generally only had one chair."

Writer: Dave Rudden

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2018

Printed in: Twelve Angels Weeping 09

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Amy, Rory

Synopsis 

On every planet that has existed or will exist, there is a winter...

Many of the peoples of Old Earth celebrated a winter festival. A time to huddle together against the cold; a time to celebrate being half-way out of the dark.

But shadows are everywhere, and there are some corners of the universe which have bred the most terrible things, lurking in the cold between the stars.

Here are twelve stories – one for each of the Twelve Days of Christmas – to remind you that to come out of the darkness we need to go into it in the first place.

We are not alone. We are not safe. And, whatever you do: don't blink.

Verdict 

The King in Glass was another fun adventure to continue my reading through the Twelve Angels Weeping collection! The Zygons were a certainty to feature in this collection and their presence wasn’t felt much throughout, but that wasn’t an issue as from the subtitle we knew they were coming and the anticipation was built pretty darn nicely. I must admit that prior to reading given that this story featured the Eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory, I was hoping that this adventure would depict their encounter with Zygons mentioned and taking place during the events of The Power of Three when they were no longer full time travelling companions in the TARDIS. Unfortunately that didn’t happen and I think it was a slightly missed opportunity to fill in a gap, but that’s not to take anything away from this story in its own right. It was really entertaining! I was surprised that apart from a brief cameo at the start when she was a hologram, Amy didn’t feature here and allowed us a rare tale with the Eleventh Doctor essentially having Rory as a sole companion. That was a fun dynamic and it’s clear that Mr Pond isn’t quite as headstrong as his wife. It’s not even close really! That provided some fun humour which was lovely to read. I must say that the characterisation of the Eleventh Doctor was excellent and it really did capture all of the traits of Matt Smith on the page. That’s always beneficial! It really did work well in providing an accurate take on this incarnation. The moments where he was talking fast and Rory couldn’t get a word in was great stuff. I thought the Numina Vitri setting worked well and the monarchy system there was slightly different to what we are used to! It didn’t differentiate in terms of a monarch ruling for life, it’s just that the titular glass was reference to a suit of armour that was adorned by the King or Queen that essentially acted as a life support meaning they could rule for millennia! It was more efficient that way. By the end, I thought Rory being able to relate to that length of service thanks to his two thousand years as the Lone Centurion was magnificent. Amy even mentioning that he was forgiven two thousand times over for his actions as an Auton was lovely. The love there was very real! The emergence of the Zygon potentially came a little late but we always knew they were coming which meant it was built to pretty nicely. They were a little different here in taking on a metallic form of the kingly armour suit instead of a normal organic body, and it didn’t sit well with them at all! The Doctor would pounce on that though and take advantage of a glass-like makeup, especially with Vitri glass being immune to the effects of the sonic screwdriver. The Doctor pondering on the motive behind the murder victim in trying to get the throne was good and we could see his mind ticking over and working things out as the story went on. The humour that came from it not actually being the Vizier was fun stuff! The Doctor and Rory certainly went a long way from their arrival in skipping the queue to aid with the murder investigation to now literally working it all out with the Zygons! It was a really solid tale from start to finish and the Zygons were dealt with pretty easily in the end by the new King, but at least they didn’t get the power they were after. Overall, a really great read! 

Rating: 8/10

The Heist

"Even Sea Devils can drown."

Writer: Dave Rudden

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2018

Printed in: Twelve Angels Weeping 08

Featuring: Ood

Synopsis 

On every planet that has existed or will exist, there is a winter...

Many of the peoples of Old Earth celebrated a winter festival. A time to huddle together against the cold; a time to celebrate being half-way out of the dark.

But shadows are everywhere, and there are some corners of the universe which have bred the most terrible things, lurking in the cold between the stars.

Here are twelve stories – one for each of the Twelve Days of Christmas – to remind you that to come out of the darkness we need to go into it in the first place.

We are not alone. We are not safe. And, whatever you do: don't blink.

Verdict 

The Heist was another great adventure to continue my reading of the Twelve Angels Weeping collection! There was no familiar character in this one, but more so an assembly of a few familiar villains! That was a fun approach and I was a little surprised that despite being titled as the Ood villain story, something that I was surprised about in the first place, one didn’t appear until near the end! That was not a problem for my enjoyment of the story, but it just felt slightly odd given this was supposed to be an Ood story. It felt more like a Krillitane one! Agrakos felt like a lead character in charge of the trio trying to break into the Maldovarium. The timing of that was fun with Dorium having to leave abruptly as he answered the call of the Eleventh Doctor as depicted in A Good Man Goes to War, leaving his famed institution rarely vulnerable. Agrakos was more than ready to pounce! He had alongside him a Sea Devil in the form of Vertebrae and Kiz a famed but now unwilling assassin. It made for a fun trio and the relationship between them was surprisingly good despite the egos at play. The build up to the attempted robbery was intriguing and it was clear that there were more than credits that the Krillitane was after. Dorium had an extensive DNA collection that the Krillitanes wanted to swallow to help enhance their empire, and the humour that came from the Sea Devil and Kiz going along with it once fifteen million credits each were on offer was good. Kiz was an interesting character throughout though as he didn’t seem interested in killing anymore despite being a highly reputable killer. That wasn’t something that he enjoyed hearing about himself and he actually had a woman to get back to and hopefully rekindle his relationship. He only left to keep her safe which must have been an incredibly rough decision. I liked that at the end he got to see her and his son realising that they were better off without him so he’d leave them be. His ending was brutal though as he was subjected to seeing and hearing the names of every single one of his victims. And it took 33 years to reel them off! That must have been torment. He wanted a normal life now. The Auton duplicate of Dorium was very fun to have featured and it being one left over and reprogrammed from The Pandorica Opens was a nice touch and strong continuity. Its failure to notify the would-be medley of thieves about the Ood turned out to be a slight problem, as the devastation it caused was quite spectacular! I think it’s a little more enhanced than anything we’ve seen from the Ood before, but it’s good to make them a little scarier. There was no sign of silent obedience here! From there, the story kind of petered out with the Ood in full control of defending the Maldovarium and doing so in quite brutal style. The description of the tendrils falling from within was a great nod to Planet of the Ood and strong continuity. Overall, a really great read!

Rating: 8/10

The Red-Eyed League

"Have I slept so long only to die?"

Writer: Dave Rudden

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2018

Printed in: Twelve Angels Weeping 07

Featuring: Vastra, Jenny, Strax

Synopsis 

On every planet that has existed or will exist, there is a winter...

Many of the peoples of Old Earth celebrated a winter festival. A time to huddle together against the cold; a time to celebrate being half-way out of the dark.

But shadows are everywhere, and there are some corners of the universe which have bred the most terrible things, lurking in the cold between the stars.

Here are twelve stories – one for each of the Twelve Days of Christmas – to remind you that to come out of the darkness we need to go into it in the first place.

We are not alone. We are not safe. And, whatever you do: don't blink.

Verdict 

The Red-Eyed League was another great story to continue my reading through the Twelve Angels Weeping collection! Whilst this book focuses on villains, I thought the Silurians being used for both heroes and enemies here was a clever use and kind of sums up their position in Doctor Who folklore. Are they really villains as a whole? Sure, there are some rogue members of the species but it’s not as if they’re like the Cybermen or Daleks where every single one would be considered a villain. Following on from A Soldier’s Education, it’s fun to have Strax in his familiar role here as part of the Paternoster Gang. I’m a massive fan of the Victorian trio and I’m so glad that Big Finish has provided a spin-off series for them, but I’ve always felt they warranted one on television too. Maybe with Disney+ getting involved with Doctor Who now, this could be a possibility? Let’s hope so! For now though, any extra story we get with the Paternoster Gang is most welcomed in my book. As one might expect with a story sub-titled as Silurians, the focus was firmly on Vastra and she really did shine. For me, the story was all about her relationship with Jenny and that was tested in a big way here. It’s often easy to forget just what life might be like for Vastra here as she’s millions of years out of her time and hiding away. She hides that well in her demeanour but she has become quite fond of humanity, something other Silurians may not share. That was the case here as another Silurian made herself known to Vastra. Kisimos was the real villain of the piece and I thought she was an excellent character! She seemed superior to Vastra but I think that’s just because this was the first time she had encountered another of her species in a very long time. She even struggled with the traditional Silurian tongue, not even getting her name quite right in pronunciation. Imagine getting corrected on that! Kisimos didn’t hold back in trying to make Vastra remember who she was and didn’t very much take kindly to the fact that humanity were ruling what she still considered to be her planet. Her comments on the pollution and what they’d done to the Thames were fun, but Vastra was quick to defend that they were still a young species. Developments would come, but that didn’t interest Kisimos. The fact she was actually interfering in the work that the Paternoster Gang had accomplished was never going to work as a means of showing Vastra her past. She acknowledged that time travel could happen in many different ways and for her, Earth had moved forward whereas the Silurian race had not. That was powerful stuff. Initially, Kisimos was thought of as being good and someone Vastra could confide in after claiming to be lonely with no others of her race around. Well, that didn’t go down well with Jenny! She really was quite offended that Vastra didn’t feel she could talk her about serious stuff like that. Jenny was onto Kisimos from the start after events with the Widow and the murder, as only the Paternoster Gang linked the cases. Kisimos was undoing all of the good that Vastra had done with her Paternoster friends, all in a failed effort to revert her to her roots. She admitted she wasn’t of human kind, but she no longer considered herself to be a Silurian of the kind Kisimos was promoting. She was still favouring hunting and a pack mentality, but that was long gone now. The ending was good with Kisimos having servants, but they were all no match for Strax’s rat bombs to knock them all out. Vastra instructing the Doctor to put them back in stasis was a neat touch too. Overall, a great read!

Rating: 8/10

A Soldier's Education

"Victory is your birthright."

Writer: Dave Rudden

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2018

Printed in: Twelve Angels Weeping 06

Featuring: Strax

Synopsis 

On every planet that has existed or will exist, there is a winter...

Many of the peoples of Old Earth celebrated a winter festival. A time to huddle together against the cold; a time to celebrate being half-way out of the dark.

But shadows are everywhere, and there are some corners of the universe which have bred the most terrible things, lurking in the cold between the stars.

Here are twelve stories – one for each of the Twelve Days of Christmas – to remind you that to come out of the darkness we need to go into it in the first place.

We are not alone. We are not safe. And, whatever you do: don't blink.

Verdict 

A Soldier's Education was an excellent story to continue my reading through the Twelve Angels Weeping collection! The Sontarans were a necessity to include in this book and I must admit that as I started reading, I said to myself that I do hope the Doctor features to do battle with them. What we got was so much better though and an incredible insight into the birth of Sontarans and the first few minutes of their lives. The first seven minutes of this Sontaran to be precise. I was a little worried initially when we had another audio file pulled up and I thought the style was going to be very similar to the preceding story of Student Bodies, but thankfully that wasn’t the case and we had a story listening to an interface from the point of view of the newly-born Sontaran all of the way through the adventure. The Sontaran Subliminal Education Matrix was our home for the twenty-six pages or so and it turned out to be magnificent. This is where newly born Sontaran clones could learn all about the glory of Sontar and the Sontaran Empire. A lot of ground was covered with the different data entries. There were some tongue and cheek references with related data entries that we didn’t get to explore, such as the inconsistencies of Sontaran fingers and being referred to as baked potatoes. The data entry on art simply being to state that it was pointless was hilarious, and I also loved pondering on whether nurses were a necessity or cowardly. Given the incredible revelation at the end of the story that this particular Sontaran was actually Strax, that was really well done. A huge smile crossed my face when the name designation was chosen as getting a full origin story for a Sontaran we know very well was an absolute delight. The Sontarans were obviously very high on honour and battle, and I loved how they sold their weakness of the probic vent as their strength in always facing the enemy. Their height was also turned into a strength in being compact which meant there were more resources for ammunition instead of armour. It was hard to argue with that! Sontarans hoping to murder other races who did mock their height was neat though. Their thoughts on the Daleks were fascinating as they did appreciate they were the right height, but that their hatred for all others unlike them had consumed them beyond the point of honour. For even the Sontarans to recognise that says a lot about the natives of Skaro. The Sontarans having a respect for the Cybermen was amusing as well as they liked how they recognised they needed upgrading, but said this should be done before birth like they did. The enemy they had hatred for the most was obviously the Rutan Host with their comments about them being expectedly disparaging. Of course, there was one other single alien who had caused them a great deal of trouble and that was the Doctor. The Sontaran’s own files acknowledging the events of The Time Warrior with the same title but it applying to the Third Doctor was terrific, and I also enjoyed the reference to The Sontaran Experiment and them believing the Fourth Doctor to be colour blind because of his scarf was magnificent. The data entry on the Doctor’s companions referring to them as pets was marvellous and it was nice to get a little entry for Sarah Jane in particular. The entry describing the events of The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky was excellent too and the Sontarans seemed pretty happy with that plan before the Doctor’s interference. Other than the reveal of Strax being the Sontaran whose birth we were following, the highlight for me was how the Sontarans spun all of their defeats into them actually achieving their goal of dying in battle with honour. Glorious stuff. Overall, this was just a wonderful read and something brilliant to compliment the Sontarans. A magnificent read. 

Rating: 9/10

Fortitude

"There's something in the storm."

Writer: James Goss

Format: Audio

Released: January 2020

Series: Torchwood Monthly 35

Featuring: Queen Victoria 

Synopsis 

Queen Victoria is stranded with Maharaja Duleep Singh on a mysterious fort in the middle of the ocean.

The fort has been ravaged by storms since it was built. There are ghost inside and there's something alien outside. It'll do anything to get its release.

Verdict

Fortitude was an excellent story to continue my way through Big Finish’s monthly Torchwood adventures! I must admit the prospect of another outing with Queen Victoria didn’t entice me from the off, but after listening this was a really great audio. I liked how the atmosphere was set right from the off as Victoria and Duleep Singh were sailing amidst some very stormy seas. The sound effects there were tremendous and I loved how it just felt like nighttime and very wet. That was the opposite of the environment in which I was listening as it was very early morning and indoors after a pleasant morning walk in overcast weather. The storms got so severe that they needed to abandon ship but they did reach the sea fortress that Victoria proudly proclaimed to own. She was the Queen after all! I thought the violins in the opening theme arrangement was rather beautiful and reminded us that this was a Torchwood of the nineteenth century which I really liked. Colonel Crackenthorpe was a really strong character to meet the Queen and Maharajah, and the eery atmosphere was heightened when Singh was hearing voices in the corridors. Crackenthorpe describing the voices as imps was a little odd but I guess with him being used to them by now he could name them what he wished. The fact he was used to them showed just how long he’d been stationed at the fortress. The way the adventure shifted when Victoria was standing over Singh with a knife was very sudden but pretty brilliant! He was initially a little scared as the lady maharajah and started with quite the retort about the treatment of his family and country by Victoria and the British. That was sublime. His realisation that the monarch was sleepwalking was fantastic too and he hoped to take advantage. He didn’t waste time in calling her an old hag but was quick to blame the voices for consuming him, as Victoria seemed to think had happened to her. That was a humorous moment as panic set in for Singh that she’d overheard. The pair then creeping around the fortress to get back to Victoria’s room was entertaining and creepy with the chair rocking despite nobody sitting in it. That was very fun. Singh starting to converse with the imps was intriguing and the moment where Crackenthorpe found him and Victoria in his quarters was quite something! Angry doesn’t begin to cut his reaction. He was missing his wife who was in an asylum and it honestly felt like he ought to be too as he was talking to her in the voices. The fortress positioning in the sea was no secret as it was on top of an alien power, one that was keeping Crackenthorpe young as he had been offering forty years of service there. That was quite the timescale and didn’t match his appearance as far as Singh was concerned. The idea of there being something contained in the storm was great and the description of it being a scream of creation was outstanding! Singh pondering on his country’s history and becoming part of the British Empire was fantastic and linking that with the imps creature also wanted freedom was great stuff. The creature being trapped below the fortress was good and Singh encouraging them out made for a fine conclusion as the action increased adding to the tension. Victoria claimed that the creature had learned mercy was good and a fine emotional appeal. She planned to keep the fortress in place until the creature was ready to come through as she seemed to be living up to her creation of Torchwood and the protection of humanity. Her comment about Torchwood always being there and also protecting aliens from humanity was a nice touch. Victoria’s apology to Crackenthorpe for the time he spent on the fortress was admirable at last, but Singh was now instructed to stay as the sentinel. Overall, a really excellent audio!

Rating: 9/10

Expectant

"I swore I'd never get pregnant again."

Writer: Xanna Eve Chown

Format: Audio

Released: December 2019

Series: Torchwood Monthly 34

Featuring: Captain Jack, Ianto

Synopsis 

The Yalnix Empire is a fragile alliance of a dozen systems, under constant attack from their ancient enemy, the Vad. With the Empress unable to trust any of her court she gives the job of growing the next Ruler of the Yalnix to an old friend – Captain Jack Harkness.

With hunters on the loose and a battlefleet in orbit, Cardiff's suddenly became a dangerous place for a man to be pregnant.

Verdict

Expectant was a really good audio to continue my way through the Torchwood monthly adventures from Big Finish! It’s been a while since I’ve covered some Torchwood so I was glad to get back to it, and this was a barmy one judging from the cover and name! We didn’t waste any time in getting going as we started with Jack and Jonty on top of a burning building with the former responsible for it being engulfed in flames in order to stop an airborne virus. Jack being pregnant with the spawn wasn’t really surprising given what we know about bus man! I thought Jonty was a pretty good character and I must admit I found it a little annoying at the start that he was talking in the first person. I did get used to it though! Jonty being Jack’s midwife was a fun dynamic and they did share a pretty amusing relationship. Jonty was hardly happy that Jack was Weevil hunting in the sewers. It was hardly the activity fit for a pregnancy. Jack’s hormones were messing with him which was rather funny with his sense of smell being heightened. Jack not liking how the spawn was referred to was good and I thought it was very nice for him to christen the unborn alien as Junior. That felt right. Jack actually carrying the next ruler of the Yalnix Empire was good stuff and the mood swings kept coming which provided some light relief. His refusal to rest up and not protect Cardiff was admirable. The Tomvaris arrived in search of the next ruler of the Empire, and that sparked a rare UNIT appearance in Torchwood! That was a really neat touch. The Vad being described as the ancient enemy was good and it was clear they’d soon be arriving. Ianto keeping tabs on Jack was really nice and I thought he dealt with it very well considering! The placement of this episode was poignant as the deaths of Owen and Tosh were very close. Exit Wounds wasn’t far in the rear view mirror at all with Gwen off to Tenerife to help deal with, and after Jack also lost John and Gray he was thinking that he could now bring life into the world. Ianto was struggling with things too so his lover getting pregnant wasn’t exactly ideal! The Yalnix using others as surrogates was an interesting way to breed but it was their way and the idea of it being used to promote harmony in their conflict was quite something. The Empress now being in a position where she couldn’t trust anyone meant Jack was the chosen candidate! Ianto being chosen to look after Cardiff as Jack finally accepted that he needed to go off somewhere was good and he was the only real candidate! Jack was taken to the Golden Monkstone health form and I loved that this was a former asylum. It now seemed like a nice resort to go to, but the barred windows were a nice touch. The war between the Yalnix and Vad going on so long that Jonty didn’t even know what the enemy looked like anymore was a fun touch and very much in line with his personality. Pauline at the health farm was a good character and she wanted to secure Jack as the hunt for the next Yalnix Empire ruler was fully in pursuit. When it seemed like the Vad were coming, the timing was perfect for Jack to go into labour. I was expecting a little more time on the actual birth as there was little information on what that actually looked like given Jack was a man and not of the same species! He had given a child life though and that was a really touching moment. I thought the revelation that it wasn’t actually the Vad was nicely done as Junior had been protecting itself on a psychokinetic level and had gone so far as to turn the health farm workers and residents into warriors! I really didn’t see that coming. Ianto arriving on the scene to come and save Jack was good and I liked the story of how they got to the birthing ship, only for them to be spawn in hand down in the skewers! Not the most pleasant of places for a newborn. Jack being emotional when Jonty was taken away was completely understandable and even as a man, I will never comprehend how surrogates can deal with the emotional challenge of not keeping the baby. All credit to them. Jonty acknowledging that Jack did good once Junior was taken away was a neat way to finish. Overall, a great listen!

Rating: 8/10

Fortunes of War

"The tides of time can't be turned back."

Writer: Justin Richards

Format: Audio

Released: September 2018

Series: BBC Audio 04

Featuring: Sixth Doctor

Synopsis 

"You've seen what happens, Mark. You know what time can do if it's damaged."

Travelling alone for once, the Sixth Doctor elects to return to Earth, and the First World War. There he must solve, once and for all, a mystery he unearthed in earlier incarnations. Someone has been interfering to alter the course of the war – but to what end?

With Captain Mark Steadman and Nurse Annie Grantham, the Doctor travels to a forest in Germany, on a cold morning in November. At the heart of the forest is a massive temporal disturbance, and there he will rendezvous with whoever is behind significant changes to the accepted history of the Great War.

But the forces of Time bring other entities to the meeting place: a terrifying, corporeal ghosts of soldiers from many centuries of battle. If the Doctor, Mark and Annie are to escape with their lives – and return history to its proper course – they will need help from unexpected quarters.

Verdict

Fortunes of War was another great story to conclude the trilogy of BBC Worldwide adventures marking the centenary anniversary of the First World War. This really did feel like an ending which was good and I liked that the War actually seemed to take something of a back step here as the Doctor was mopping up past errors and works around it. I thought it was tremendous to have Colin Baker narrating and actually telling the story in that way with the Sixth Doctor himself as the narrator was tremendous. It was a rare occasion where this incarnation was travelling alone, so it was finally time to put things right after delaying and putting it off for multiple lifetimes! He had to go back to the First World War now and put right what started going wrong way back in his first incarnation. I liked that he explained why he hadn’t done it until now because he didn’t want anyone else to have to see what he’d have to do. That was good in selling the extent of what was required in this story, although I do think there were other opportunities he could have done that! I mean, the Third Doctor was solo between having Jo and Sarah Jane as companions, as well as the Fourth Doctor being alone between Sarah Jane and Leela as companions. But alas, better late than never! Arriving in 1918 was good and I liked how this kind of book-ended the First World War and the trilogy of adventures. That was a nice touch, as was reuniting the Doctor with Annie and Steadman! The Red Cross hospital felt like the right place to catch up with old friends and it was good to get the two narrators of the previous stories back here in the companion role. That was a neat move. Moving the adventure to Germany was excellent and I think it’s great to explore other countries during this wartime setting. We may not know as much about it so it’s fun to explore. The hunt for Caxton was good and I liked that he was traced to a forest, and for Steadman he was rather surprised to find the significance of this man as a threat. He didn’t really have much of an impact in Men of War so he was a little shocked, whereas for Annie his role in Horrors of War was profound and we knew we’d be encountering him again. I thought the moment where Steadman was asking about Sara was such powerful stuff and left the Doctor pondering over the death of a companion, something that is a very rare occurrence. Him asking if she died well was intriguing and the Doctor was able to explain her sacrifice and how Brett would be very proud. I thought that was a tremendous moment. The use of flowers replacing bodies and in particular having poppies almost flourishing was delightful and a fine way to mark the centenary anniversary of the War’s conclusion. That somehow felt right so incorporating the poppy into this trilogy was nicely done. It presented a timely and powerful image. Caxton felt more desperate here and I was fascinated that he actually seemed like he wanted to stop the changes happening to history centring on the First World War. The Doctor’s description of Time as a force was excellent and I loved that it was described as being implacable and unchangeable. The Doctor’s appeal to Caxton about saving the lives was good and it was all rather easy to get him thinking in alignment. The explanation of how Caxton actually got to 1913 and would then go onto change the course of the War was good stuff and explained a lot of what had been happening over the course of this trilogy. The Doctor’s ability as a time sensitive thanks to being a Time Lord fitted in well with the temporal theme and the idea of him just nudging the War and history back on track was pretty fun. There being a rift that pulled different points in history that shouldn’t meet together was good and pretty logical, and the image of the ghosts being seen just actually being glimpses of what has been or what will come was great. That worked really well. The simplicity of the Doctor stopping Caxton from going to 1913 in the first place was good and I liked how that meant the war interference never happened in the first place. History was getting back on track and that was evident with Caxton fading. The Doctor getting to save both Steadman and Annie was wonderful though and they had new memories now of how they were saved. Overall, a terrific listen!

Rating: 8/10

Horrors of War

"There will be four years of hell."

Writer: Justin Richards

Format: Audio

Released: July 2018

Series: BBC Audio 03

Featuring: Third Doctor, Jo

Synopsis 

"Somewhere in this hospital there is a man, or a woman, who has been possessed by the raw energy of time."

The year is 1914, and the Great War is just getting started. In a field hospital in Ypres, Belgium, Nurse Annie Grantham receives two visitors: a distinguished doctor and his administrative assistant, Miss Grant. They have many questions to ask of Annie, and of her distressed and wounded charges. 

The Doctor is returning to a scenario he encountered long ago: a version of the First World War where the Archduke Ferdinand wasn't murdered, leading to changes all along the subsequent timeline. He now suspects that someone is at large in 1914, intervening in events with some unknown purpose. 

What force is causing injured soldiers to disappear into the night? Does the answer to the mystery lie in Sarajevo, six months earlier, at the scene of that assassination attempt? With the help of the TARDIS, the Doctor and his friends are about to find out.

Verdict

Horrors of War was a very good story to continue my way through the BBC Worldwide audio trilogy set during the First World War! It’s such a good idea and I didn’t even realise when listening to the opening instalment that it was actually to commemorate the centenary anniversary of the First World War. That’s such a lovely idea and I think it works well to have the same author for a trilogy like this. Justin Richards is a really great writer and he’s able to really flesh out an idea here which I’m enthralled by and really intrigued in. Of course, the First World War has such historical significance so playing around with changing crucial aspects of it is excellent. I was fascinated that we came to the very start of the War in 1914 considering that the opener was two years later so those events technically hadn’t happened yet in a purely linear perspective. That was an interesting move but one that I enjoyed. I thought the Doctor could have perhaps realised the significance of the War a little earlier but I guess when the first story’s events were two lifetimes ago memory can become a sketchy thing! Katy Manning was tremendous in the narrator role and I thought she was terrific in differentiating between her character of Jo and the narration of Annie. Her impression of Jon Pertwee’s Third Doctor was also fantastic and a lot better than some of her counterparts which is impressive! I’m such a Manning fan and she really did make this audio a breeze to listen to. The First World War setting is so good and has a lot of potential no matter when or where that takes place. Ypres was just great from a field hospital and the arrival of the Doctor and Jo worked very well indeed. Annie was a strong character and no surprise that she was suited to be the narrator. Her connection with Men of War was great in being there when the Arch Duke wasn’t assassinated as history should have happened. I liked how it was established that events here weren’t quite as dangerous as the opener in the trilogy given that history was only off course by a week here, whereas in 1916 it was by a month. That was good stuff. Some of the other characters here were strong and I liked the enigmatic nature of both Dr Penrose and Private Taylor in being two of only three that were exposed to the victims. The continuation of time trying to fix itself and taking soldiers was nicely done. I really like the idea of Time as something to try and tackle as it can’t be considered a villain and is a very severe natural force. It’s a phenomenon that is very difficult to stop. The way the story fitted into the era of the Third Doctor was impressive with the Time Lords taking an interest in events here, and Jo also mentioning that the Master could be responsible for what was happening. They were a long way from the 1970s though! The significance of Caxton was an unexpected development considering his position beneath Haig in the previous story, but it was good continuity. I thought the exploration of war as a theme was strong stuff. The time energy revelled with a voice in the pointlessness of war but the retort from the Doctor was a highlight for me when he emotionally said how there was always hope, there was always love, and there was always life. That was really strong stuff. I thought the conclusion was done well and paced nicely throughout as Private Campbell was spared by time and should’ve died two weeks back, but hope from Annie kept him going. Things are still ambiguous with regards to solving this issue, but a finale awaits! Overall, a really great listen. 

Rating: 8/10

Men of War

"My dreams were haunted by the faces of lost soldiers."

Writer: Justin Richards

Format: Audio

Released: May 2018

Series: BBC Audio 02

Featuring: First Doctor, Steven, Sara

Synopsis 

"The Battle of the Somme is the pivotal moment of this conflict... History hinges on it!"

It's the start of August 1916, and war is raging on the battlefields of France. In the front line trenches, British soldiers are vanishing without trace. Captain Mark Steadman witnesses one of his comrades being pulled down beneath the mud, and realises that something is terribly wrong.

When three civilians and a large blue box arrive on the scene, Steadman finds himself helping in their enquiries. The Doctor declares that something has gone wrong with the timeline of the War; the Battle of the Somme should have already begun, yet there is no sign of it. He demands an audience with Field Marshal Haig! A crater in no-man's land reveals the grisly horror of the the missing men's fate, and brings the Doctor and his friends into terrible danger. There are forces at work here which even he can't fully comprehend.

Verdict

Men of War was a really strong story to kick off this trilogy of war adventures from BBC Worldwide! I’ve been very excited for a long time to blog this trilogy and it started really well here. I thought Peter Purves made an instant impact with the narration as he’s just a really strong actor and whilst he wasn’t narrating as Steven, he was brilliant and really added a lot to the listener experience. Establishing that soldiers Peterson and Hodge had gone was intriguing and Steadman served as a strong character for the narrator point of view. I’m not usually a fan of unfamiliar characters telling the story from their perspective, but I thought he worked well! The description of the tendrils from within the trench emerging and dragging Michaels down was excellent and really helped establish the threat at hand. It was pretty eery. The arrival of the TARDIS trio was good stuff and I really enjoyed how Sara’s uniform was taken as being of the military. Her gender caused issues there though and she didn’t react too well to the outburst from Haig about women not being recruited for the military when she was a high ranking officer of the SSS herself. Steadman’s first impression of the Doctor as being an ant antithesis of war was fantastic and I liked how he could just feel the aura of the old man. The Doctor effect was very much in play! I loved the Doctor’s reaction when he found out that the date was 1 August 1916 as there was no sign of the Battle of the Somme which was of course rather problematic. The importance of the battle is not lost on me and a whole month where it should have been raging not actually happening was quite the interference with history. Steven’s unfamiliarity with the First World War felt a little odd but it was a good reminder of just when he came from. His allusion that nothing was worse than the Daleks was great and a healthy reminder that this story takes place during the events of The Daleks’ Master Plan. They were still on the run from the Daleks with the Doctor having the taranium core in his possession. That was really good stuff. The story from Sara about being part of a military organisation and respecting rank was so powerful as she described taking orders and killing her own brother. Brett was lost now and that wasn’t something she would forget easily, carrying that burden with her wherever she went. Haig wasn’t exactly welcoming of the Doctor and his companions which presented a fun dynamic but the Time Lord’s credentials being a letter from Churchill was rather fun! By this point in 1916 he didn’t have a place in office but when the credentials were given he was Home Secretary so the Doctor pounced on the authority given by the office rather than the man in that position. Brilliant. He was a special adviser given all access which felt like an approach that would come later than the First Doctor era, but I certainly welcomed it. The Battle of the Somme getting back on track thanks to the Doctor was decent and I thought Headman’s reaction to finding that the battle would last until November was palpable. It really showed what it was like to be caught up in the perspective of the war. The direction of the story moved well when they all fell below the crater and the search for the bodies was good stuff. Upon finding them though they weren’t quite what they seemed! The concept of the mud actually stripping the skin from them and leaving bones within uniforms not even remotely muddy was excellent and pretty eery. The mud being sentient was decent to play around with and I liked how it was linked with time energy seeping out due to the Somme not starting as history intended. The tendrils actually being a means of the web of time trying to heal was really well done and I loved the Doctor’s explanation of that web. The mud becoming inert as the soldiers were dying putting history back on course was intriguing, especially when not enough were dying to compete the reversion. The threat of even the Moon moving as the absorption threat rose was fantastic. The mud not knowing that the battle had started was good and I really liked how it couldn’t measure by the lives lost, only from the time taken from its victims. That meant it needed something old and the Doctor was the perfect person. The fact he was prepared to sacrifice himself was admirable and I loved how he pondered on not getting to regenerate and wondering what those future incarnations would be like. Talk about a sacrifice! The use of the taranium core in his pocket in absorbing the mud was very clever and outstanding continuity with the story placement. The allusion at the end of there being a British girl that actually stoped the Arch Duke from being killed at the start of the War was interesting and appears to set us up for what’s to come, with the First Doctor preoccupied by the Daleks they would find him if he’d stay too long. This would be a job for a future incarnation after all. Overall, an excellent listen!

Rating: 9/10

 

Queen of the Mechonoids

"The moment of vengeance is at hand."

Writer: Jonathan Morris

Format: Audio

Released: January 2021

Series: Diary of River Song 8.03

Featuring: River Song, Anya, Mark Seven

Synopsis 

Sapce Security agents Anya Kingdom and Mark Seven answer a distress call – and find River Song, ruling a city of Mechonoids.

But another shock awaits beneath this planet's icy surface. The Mechonoids have been upgraded and are about to be unleashed upon the galaxy!

Verdict 

Queen of the Mechonoids was an excellent episode to conclude the eighth series of The Diary of River Song! After a somewhat shaky start, this turned into a really strong series and what a way to finish! I really liked the idea of River crashing on an ice planet and her distress call being picked up by the familiar characters of Anya Kingdom and Mark Seven of the SSS. They had quite the run alongside both the Fourth and Tenth Doctors, so it was nice to hear them alone and encountering River Song. Upon investigating the ship, Mark wasn’t so sure that the ship had actually crashed with the source of the signal actually coming from within in the city. The introduction of the Mechonoids was good and I loved the loose idea of River being their queen! She was welcomed into luxury after her arrival which was fun. It was never going to be as simple as just leaving with Anya and Seven, and that was evident when the Mercury core had been removed from the SSS ship. It seemed the Mechonoids didn’t want their Queen to leave! I really liked how Mark was constantly suspicious of River’s crashed ship story which made their relationship rather testy. The artificial tunnel below the city leading to River’s ship was far more than a coincidence and a good mystery to explore, whilst the action that was injected from crossing the ice bridge with the giant tentacled creature beneath was brilliant! The discovery of finding the diamond encrusted Mechonoid was terrific and the discovery of a half man within was quite the surprise. It turned out to be former Earth councillor Annam Henic who had been missing for 1,600 years and thought destroyed. It was certainly hoped he was destroyed as far as Anya was concerned! River wanting to bring him to justice after his crimes was a good direction for the story to take but he had the golden Mechonoids protecting their master! The story of how they’d saved him from certain death by putting him into a Mechonoid was fantastic. The golden Mechonoid image was tremendous too! I liked that River hadn’t revealed all information and she was actually tracking Henic all along with her archaeological routes shining through. Anya had cottoned onto that which was brilliant and showed her qualities. It was actually River that had built the tunnel but caused the ice sheet to collapse on her ship in an accident that led her to then sending out the distress call. It tied together nicely. River instructing the city Mechonoids for defence was very good and I loved the development of the golden ones being able to fly! With the traditional versions not able to shoot up, the numbers advantage was completely eradicated. The battle that ensued was exciting and I liked that Anya now had the mercury core intact from River’s ship with the battle then causing the ice sheet to collapse amidst the detonation countdown. It really was all going on! River trying to not leave with Henic in her clutches to ensure he served justice was admirable, but there was no other option than to leave him to his death. Or so we thought! River ending up with the idea of writing a book instead as she wouldn’t get a finder’s fee now was fun stuff, but the cliffhanger finish of Henic not actually being dead and with enough Mechonoid power for a millennium was a fun surprise. Might be back to torment River in the future? Overall, a fantastic conclusion to the series!

Rating: 9/10

A Forever Home

"Our pet requires food."

Writer: Alfie Shaw 

Format: Audio

Released: January 2021

Series: Diary of River Song 8.03

Featuring: River Song, K9

Synopsis 

River finds herself caged and feeling under the weather. Luckily, her new owners are on hand to take care of her in her 'forever home'. 

But which of River's keepers can she trust? Is robot cat FE- all she seems? And is K9 still a girl's best friend?

Verdict 

A Forever Home was an excellent episode to continue my way through the eighth series of The Diary of River Song! This was easily the best story of the boxset so far and it was very amusing to have a situation where River wasn’t in control as she was forced into her new home after seemingly being deemed dangerous. The robotic cat Feline was all I was expecting as the robot element that has been the theme of the series, and having her come to buy River from the Pound was hilarious! However, the arrival of K9 was just joyous and he was here to adopt her! Magnificent stuff that had River rather shocked. The moment where it was mentioned she would have to be house trained was truly spectacular. The very idea! K9 soon revealed a truth beneath the deception with him saying that the Doctor actually sent him to rescue and she needed to stay in her cage for protection. It felt odd as she was also instructed to eat the sludgy food, and she also had to be walked! It kept getting better. K9 suggesting that she put on a collar was tremendous and I was fascinated that we had more than one version of the robot dog. There were also copies of houses as we soon learned of the an attack by the Master on the SS Polyamer! That was an unexpected revelation but I loved the idea of River doing battle with the renegade Time Lord once again. The use of an organic weapon made sense with robots not being affected and the copies of houses on the street were the result of the Doctor having saved River and she was being quarantined in a time loop. The sludge was her treatment which was pretty logical. The maestro shop was a funny way to have a disguise for the Master and it was obvious even more when rules said you couldn’t go inside. The Master looking on at River like she was a subject was good and the ruthlessness of him killing a robot because instructions weren’t followed was important to highlight. There was a strong air of suspicion when River was advised not to talk to strangers by K9 as not all of them were aware of the Master and figures from their own lives had been used to enable the time loop to make sense to them. Feline believing everything that K9 said was true was intriguing as River was able to challenge her on the truth about the time loop and the Master. She took her opportunity and pounced. K9 actually being an agent of the Master was a very fun dynamic, and it was soon clear that the Master was not the true article. River ridiculed that idea nicely. I wasn’t expecting Feline to actually bring a woman trapped as a robot so that took me by surprise! The fake Master being Balthazar Drix made for a fun character and he got the info to trick River thanks to a mind probe. River being offended by him calling Feline ‘it’ was nice to hear as she defended her new friend no matter what she was. The story of Drix suffering from ruddle’s syndrome was quite powerful with his unique chameleonic DNA just causing mutations and adapting to each different treatment. Maria being the woman inside Feline led to an incredibly emotional story of how she was picked up as Drix’s deputy. We learned all about the research being focused on a cure despite her advances and Drix’s ruthless side was massively highlighted in the flashback moment to him expelling all of the other crew members except Maria! It soon became a plague ship and Maria was left to the disease which quickly took her body, but her mind was now in a computer imprint. Her help coming in the form of K9 looking for Sarah Jane Smith after being sent by the Fourth Doctor was sublime! River offering to help cure Drix if all of the prisoners were released was a bit of a shock after all he’d done, but the villain really was able to show his horribleness with the all cats have their day secret code instructing the K9 copies to terminate them instead. The scale of that was extraordinary! Drix wanting use the regenerative qualities of River’s DNA to heal himself was a good move but Maria then being killed really highlighted Drix being a total bastard. I thought it was fun for River to put the cure into herself whilst destroying the genome data to prevent Drix having his own cure. Having the original K9 kept was fun and I liked that he restored all of the other unit copies and River quickly ordered them all to stun Drix! It was nice for her to also find Maria’s personality file and she would send the cure back to Drix’s people. The conclusion with K9 headed for Croydon and leading into A Girl’s Best Friend and the chameleonic crate was delightful. He’d find Sarah Jane after all! A fantastic episode. 

Rating: 9/10

A Brave New World

"You're using too much oxygen."

Writer: Tracy Ann Baines

Format: Audio

Released: January 2021

Series: Diary of River Song 8.02

Featuring: River Song 

Synopsis 

Rache has made a choice and joins a new society at the start of its journey. But she has not bargained for the worst instincts of humanity. 

After leaving her ward behind, can River make it back in time to save her?

Verdict 

A Brave New World was a great story to continue my way through the eighth series of The Diary of River Song! This was a vast improvement on the Slight Glimpses of Tomorrow opener, but I did like the continuity with that episode in having the colonist ship named as the Armis 20 and a neat reference to the star map. River and Rachel were thought of as stowaways and proclaiming that they’d be disposed of was a fine way to lead into the opening credits as well as introducing Bryson. Captain Linos spared their blushes and River didn’t waste any time in pouncing on her opportunity and rather humorously put Bryson in the cell instead! That was River at her best. I was intrigued that Rachel was welcomed on the ship due to the fact she was synthetic, but it did seem a little quick for her to feel a sense of responsibility and wanting to stay on the colony ship. She had a connection with Armis of course and this was her legacy but it did catch me a little off guard. Aaron talking of a shift lasting a lifetime on the colony ship was dark but showed the sacrifice needed to preserve the future of the race. Some were needed to perform manual tasks! Linos clearly had something in the works for Rachel as her tone immediately sensed an opportunity with her. River having left Rachel behind meant she could catch up with the Doctor in some fun short bursts of scenes. The Doctor was turning the TARDIS swimming pool into a sauna where she’d join him and I also liked how she’d had enough of war and made reference to the name Doctor being a touchy subject in a first encounter with the War Doctor! She also met the Ninth Doctor for dinner which was fun whilst doing battle with some robots alongside the Eleventh Doctor shortly after! Linos and Bryson thinking less of Aaron was a little bit of a shame and the confirmation of the voyage having no route back set into motion their plan for Rachel. She was put to work on the ship rather literally as she was plugged in whilst they went into stasis in a selfish bid to save their own lives. Rachel eventually remembering River and who she was thanks to a water reference was a nice touch. The cameo appearance of the Tenth Doctor voiced by David Tennant himself was a wonderful surprise! He and River were chasing a demon and we got a cheeky comment about fezzes but then she received the distress call from Rachel and had to leave him to it! A wonderful scene. I was glad River kept to her word. The revelation that Rachel had been a slave for 497 years was rather shocking and it was nice that Aaron had wanted to protect her. The fact she still put the colonists firsts was admirable and the threat of electric eels was actually a lot better than it sounded. River waking up Bryson and Linos to threaten them with being shot was excellent and I liked that she went ahead to the planet alongside Rachel and Aaron. The latter repairing the eye of the former was nice and their relationship was wonderful to hear throughout. The eels killing Bryson was a little surprising and I really enjoyed the concept behind them in technically always being dead. They were bacteria with an electrical charge which was a fun concept and they were the result of Aaron’s experiment going unchecked for nearly half a millennium! They’d mutated over the years and this wouldn’t have happened if Linos had kept him around to check on the progress. The moment where the computer didn’t comply with the instructions of Linos was superb and it was clear she had lost right there. It didn’t recognise Aaron’s supposed mutiny and the action packed conclusion that came with Rachel being disrupted by the electromagnetic field was great. The moments shared on the new colonised planet with Aaron proclaiming his love for Rachel were lovely and she was just super nice in not wanting Linos punished. Overall, a great listen!

Rating: 8/10