Four Hours of Doom's Day

"I always get my target."

Writer: Jaqueline Rayner

Format: Comic Strip

Released: June 2023

Series: Doom's Day 02

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, River, Jo, Doom

Synopsis 

Doom's last day in the Universe kicks off at a maximum security prison... where she runs into someone who may just know the whereabouts of the Doctor.

Doom visits four very different locations as the quest kicks off...

Verdict 

Four Hours of Doom's Day was a decent continuation of the Doom’s Day multimedia story! After an intriguing start in Hour One in the online short story format, this comic strip allowed the arc to burst into colour! It was lovely to get a first visual look at Doom in action and the approach of giving Doctor Who Magazine four hours to play with is fine, although I’m not sure the utilisation was actually that great. Now, my rating shows that I did enjoy this adventure and I am counting it as one story because it all followed on and was by the same writer, but I’m just not sure a twenty page supplement is enough to warrant four hours of Doom’s search for the Doctor. After the way Doom’s visit to Stormcage was hinted at during the final lines of the opening instalment, I was bitterly disappointed that her second hour of Target Selected was only two pages long. That was pretty poor in my opinion as the potential behind Doom and River meeting at length is palpable! It was such a waste. There was so much more that could have been done there and two pages certainly isn’t enough to cover an entire hour. I know the whole idea of the arc is for Doom to have hourly missions and twenty-four chances of meeting the Doctor she needs to prevent her death, but I think it would have been much better served to have a twenty-page story panning over four hours. I’m reading each part of Liberation of the Daleks every month as the magazine is released and I just don’t think six pages is enough. I’ll be blogging that story in full once it is complete, but my thoughts on the format have only been exasperated by this. Six pages isn’t enough. DWM would be much better spending the artwork of the horrific Sufficient Data feature that concludes each issue. Anyway, River set Doom on her way into The Plastic Population and much to my surprise she did encounter the Doctor! It was the Sixth Doctor which was apparently the wrong incarnation and that’s something I’d have liked a little more clarity on. Which Doctor exactly is she looking for? The Auton involvement was very good though and I loved how the Doctor had disguised himself in plain sight as an Auton! That was really good stuff and exactly what you would hope for. Where else would he hide? Doom showcasing her assassination skills with her elimination of the target was good and it was a welcomed demonstration of her being in action. The way the Doctor couldn’t help her and she quickly moved on was a shame, but I loved the imagery in High Noon in Hollywood with the Cybermen in the Wild West at a saloon! We even had a Mondasian version dressed like a mummy which was terrific. I must say, the artwork for this comic strip was outstanding and probably added a mark to the rating alone. It is outstanding and that certainly helps my enjoyment. I could really appreciate the vibrancy. We even had a Cyberman with a blonde ponytail which wasn’t happened before! That was fun artwork. I thought the final hour in this story of The Horn of a Dilemma was the most fascinating as Doom’s mission seemed impossible once we knew what it was! Her efforts to not just destroy a unicorn, but to actually destroy the idea of the myth behind the creature was very intriguing and a fun take on the whole assassination element of her role. Doom was quick to offer the riches to conjure up the unicorn and she soon showed those around her that it was indeed a fake. That was great stuff and I loved that we also got a cameo appearance from Jo Grant! It felt right that she would be there with animals involved and it did have an environmental feel to it which would be right in her ballpark. I think the idea of having to destroy a belief like the unicorn is really good though and definitely something that could be taken further in a longer formatted story. There’s a lot of potential there. I liked the way things finished with Doom now on her way for further adventures to find the Doctor, this time around with Titan Comics. However, her stating that her ordeal won’t be over until she finds the Doctor was a little odd considering she’d literally found him two hours earlier! That’s a gripe of mine for sure. Overall though, a decent read that was drawn and coloured gloriously. 

Rating: 7/10

Hour One

"For a dead woman, she looked amazing."

Writer: James Goss

Format: Short Story

Released: June 2023

Series: Doom's Day 01

Featuring: Doom

Synopsis 

Someone has sent literal Death after Doom. She can only outrun it for 24 hours. Unless she can find the Doctor.

Launching today with the first story below, you can follow Doom as she travels through all of time and space in pursuit of the Doctor to save her from the ever-approaching Death. She only has 24 hours and a vortex manipulator to save herself before her fate is sealed forever.

Verdict  

Hour One was a great little short story to kick off the multimedia adventure that is Doom’s Day! Whilst I’m not sure that an online text story is entirely the best way to kick off a story like this, I thought it was a really fun and entertaining read that almost certainly exceeded my expectations! It really is baffling that in a story that goes chronologically hour by hour we start on a small scale online, but I guess I do understand the marketing there of trying to offer the start for free and entice readers and fans to perhaps delve into the rest of the adventure across the numerous paid stories. I know I will certainly be hoping to consume every single hour of Doom’s journey to find the Doctor, and this was a fine beginning to lay the groundwork and send us on the adventure to come. I think Doom is a fun character and whilst I’m not buying for a second that she’s the universe’s most dangerous assassin, there’s a lot of potential with the character. I thought the promo video that introduced this multimedia adventure a couple of months ago was good and whilst I can’t wait to hear Suz Kempner in the performed role, it was good to finally put some dialogue to the face. Her encounter with the Doctor here was intriguing and I actually didn’t expect that to happen so early. It was also a little odd for the incarnation of the Doctor to not be specified but with the description of him being a grandad, it could only really be the First, Third or Twelfth Doctor. I do hope that we get it specified as the hours countdown, but for now my gut reaction tells me this is the First Doctor. That would make sense to go chronologically through the Doctor’s timeline as Doom hopes to secure her life. I thought Terri was a fun character as almost the secretary for the Lesser Order of Oberon, and that organisation in of itself was very good. It sounded impressive and certainly suited to assassins! I did like how Doom’s success rate as an assassin was sold by Terri confirming the mission as a success purely from Doom confirming she got to the Ball at New Venice, but the involvement of the Doctor proved quite the hinderance. The Doctor was well known in this assassin community which was fun and I loved how if you were sent to kill him that it was a laughable mission. You had no chance. That said a lot about the Doctor which I adored. The Doctor knowing what Doom was up to and warning her to stop was nicely done and it’s fun to think where things will go from here as Doom is dying with exactly twenty-four hours to save her life. The idea of Death itself following Doom is brilliant and with the Doctor being the only one who can save her, that sets us up nicely for the adventure to come. She didn’t want to be taken off the mission rota because that gave her twenty-four chances to find the Doctor. Her missions could be anywhere and when, so she had to use her final day to try and once again find the Doctor to help save her life. Was he responsible? That was implied but still left ambiguous which was fun. I really enjoyed the lead into the next hour with Doom set to head for the Stormcage and surely a meeting with River Song! That really excites me for the next instalment in Doctor Who Magazine, but for now this was a really solid opener! It sets us up very nicely and introduces us to Doom in an entertaining and just a really great way. Overall, a great read! 

Rating: 8/10

Millennium Shock

"If someone's trying to kill us we're really getting somewhere."

Writer: Justin Richards

Format: Novel

Released: May 1999

Series: Past Doctor Adventures 21

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Harry

Synopsis 

It's 1999 and the Millennium Bug is threatening to bring the world's computers to a standstill. Experts struggle to avert disaster, but a powerful force seems determined to work against them.

As the government realises the full implications of Year 2000, one company seems to promise all the technological answers... but what exactly are the methods and motives behind the operation?

What is the connection between the Millennium Bug, a raid on a Russian nuclear base, a break-in at a British defence contractor, and a pen that Sarah Jane Smith kept as a memento of a past adventure? The Doctor and Commander Harry Sullivan of MI5 must discover the truth before the world is plunged into a digital winter.

No longer just an expensive miscalculation, the Millennium Bug could also be the key to an alien takeover of Earth...

Verdict  

Millennium Shock was a great novel! I’m a huge fan of the Past Doctor Adventures range and having this as a sequel to the Missing Adventures book of System Shock was a terrific surprise. I only read that book a few days ago and it was only after reading that I realised there was a sequel so with the events fresh in my memory I thought it would be prudent to purchase on eBay and get blogging it. I was delighted with this and it was a fitting sequel consistent in quality which is always welcomed. At the same time, this one somehow felt both very different whilst being similar to its predecessor in the fact that we had the front of a big business this time around with Silver Bullet. However, this adventure was more about the potential return of Voractyll rather than having this augmented AI creature as the villain. That was good because we already knew the threat it carried so the Doctor was adamant that it couldn’t return. I really enjoyed the continuity between the two books, especially with the sequel’s first page being a repeat of the first book’s final page. That was really good stuff as we popped in on Harry and Sarah Jane meeting up after the whole Voractyll incident. Sarah Jane had departed as companion now for the Fourth Doctor, and it was a rare chance to see him travelling solo which was great. I loved having him reunited with Harry and he feels more mature now with his position at MI5. He’s not so clumsy and is a bit more confident which made him a fine companion for the novel. I think it was a good move to have a different branch of Voracians featured here whilst the intended software theme was rather different here. This time around we were concerned with the millennium bug which is a terrific concept. The explanation coming from an article written by Sarah Jane was a lovely touch and it’s such a gripping idea because the potential scale of things going wrong is extraordinary! It’s also fun to think that this book was released in 1999 prior to the millennium actually turning so it captured the craze of Y2K very nicely. The way this story captured contemporary politics was terrific in highlighting the Soviet threat and fears. The idea of their technology being even more susceptible to the millennium bug was amusing but it would only highlight the lack of capabilities of Prime Minister Brooks. The moment where he revealed that he’d actually been involved in the millennium bug fixes being reversed and the SB005 chip ensuring that the turn of the millennium would mark disaster was tremendous. He wanted to create a situation where martial law was warranted with the apparent coup attempt from Randall, but revealed all when threatened with a Russian missile and the audacity of him thinking that the Soviet countdown would be in English. That was a stellar moment! I thought Andi Cave was a disturbingly good character although her demise was rather brutal. The description of the amalgamation between flesh and robotic was gruesome with the hanging of the former. I find the whole concept behind the Voracians intriguing as they seek to add flesh components, although it was good to see them convert Dave Hedges to their cause as well. The role of Krimkov in the political tension was great too and Attwood revealing himself as being in league with the Voracians was good stuff. Sylvia was a lovely character as being in Harry’s employ with her fate in hospital being a pivotal moment in the story. Harry felt awful that she’d ended up there and couldn’t help but blame himself, but it was nice that the Doctor was there to try and ensure that he didn’t do that. He couldn’t be to blame. Constantly visiting her in hospital was lovely though. I thought the emergence of Voractyll was paced very well and the conclusion came with strong excitement as the snake came back to life ready to infiltrate the millennium bug SB005 chips to takeover the entire world with the chip being in literally any electronic appliance. The Doctor had ensured that wouldn’t happen though as it would actually emulate the millennium bug but it in the opposite way so there was no threat after all. The description of Voractyll within the system being angered by that was terrific though. Mike Foley was another good complimentary character as part of the CIA to help flesh out the PM. As a whole, I thought the story was very good and a really interesting exploration of a fun craze that sadly I wasn’t old enough to fully experience. Imagine social media at a time like that! Overall though, a strong read. 

Rating: 8/10

The Doctor and His Amazing Technicolour Nightmare Coat

"We are criminals, Doctor."

Writer: Gary Russell

Format: Audio

Released: May 2023

Series: Interludes 05

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Mel

Synopsis 

A loose thread on his spectacular coat ties the Doctor and Mel into complicated knots. With an obstreperous otter and assorted cloned bureaucrats on their coat-tails, they have to unravel a multitude of scams and schemes to get the Doctor's coat – and his TARDIS – back.

Verdict   

The Doctor and His Amazing was a decent story to continue the Interludes series and act as a nice addition to the Purity Unleashed third series of Sixth Doctor Adventures! I’m a massive fan of the Interludes because getting more stories in a boxset is something I’m always on board with as you really cannot beat a bonus adventure! This one didn’t really fit in with the continuity of the whole Purity arc and that was absolutely fine because a break is no bad thing. It is actually rather refreshing and felt like a bit of a smaller scale story where we could relax in terms of the stakes. I must say, I think the cover artwork for this story is glorious and really a fine use of colour for the word technicolour. It’s so simple but so effective because it’s not something we usually see. I’m a big fan of that. Now, something I’m not a huge fan of is the focus on the Sixth Doctor’s infamous coat. Yes it’s brash and bold but so is this incarnation of the Doctor and I think it suits him. It’s exactly what you would expect from that childish nature of the Doctor to wear something that can be flaunted like this. I think the negativity around the coat is old now. We’ve had a story in the Short Trips range in The Doctor’s Coat so I hope this is the last of coat-focused tales. It’s just not a strong enough grab for an entire story. This became slightly long at an hour in duration. Unfortunately, I also wasn’t a massive fan of Rosie Baker in the narrator role. I’m not entirely sure who she is but I didn’t think she was well suited to the story. Her lack of impression for the Sixth Doctor and Mel certainly hurt my enjoyment as it became so noticeable that this was just a reading of essentially a prose adventure. That’s not ideal in my opinion. I thought Kolpasha was a decent setting although the Doctor and Mel getting split up for so long is a bold approach and scarcely believable for the duration of three months as happened here. It was fun for Mel to have gotten a job and funds, and that was something she wanted to iterate to the Doctor. It was her money that she had earned. He seemed nonplussed about that and would happily spend it! The TARDIS being a shuttle ride away was good stuff and the funds were needed to travel there, and it’s always good when the Doctor is separated from the safety net of his ship. The confusion of the Doctor accidentally stealing the otter’s profits was a bit silly in my estimation. I did though like the Evenni and their economy centring around hijacking was brilliant. There’s a strong idea there that certainly warrants further exploration! I liked it a lot. I thought the way things ended was a little underwhelming as the money was just returned and Mel lamented on wanting to get rid of the coat. Overall, some decent ideas but perhaps not the right format and a tired focus. 

Rating: 6/10

Buried Memories: Burrowed Time

"Have you come to rescue us?"

Writer: Lani Woodward

Format: Audio

Released: September 2019

Series: New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield 5.04

Featuring: Unbound Doctor, Benny

Synopsis 

Centuries ago the Byrinthians were wiped out. Apart from one underground train which is still travelling the tunnels of this long-dead world. With a passenger on board.

Verdict   

Burrowed Time was a sublime episode to conclude what has been a hugely impressive fifth series of the New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield! They really did save the best until last with this boxset and I really liked how this story took on the Buried Memories theme. The concept of a lost train doesn’t feel original or unique but it was played out so well and I really was gripped from start to finish which is exactly what you want from an audio adventure. It was fun to have Benny and the Doctor on seemingly good terms and I particularly liked the discussion about this version of the Doctor being in this universe even though he wasn’t supposed to be. I do wonder if that will be expanded upon as we move forward in the range as there is a lot of potential there. I must admit I was expecting more to be made of that fact this series, but there really isn’t much of a rush. This one was right up Benny’s alley with there being some history to patch together and find the truth about. It had been centuries since the Byrinthians were wiped out but there was still a lost train revered in myth and history. Landren as a professor having researched it was good and he was almost obsessed with finding out the truth and particularly a train serial number! He was a strong character to compliment the Doctor and Benny. The way the pair inadvertently went their separate ways to find the train wreckage was good as Benny fell through the pit and the fact the roof sealed itself back up made it seem that she was going to be lost from the Doctor! He’d used the sonic to find his own way down, and the landing wasn’t exactly a smooth one given the height! That was a fun image. I really liked that Benny was the fun to encounter the lost train first and her reaction when she found a passenger had still survived was terrific. She was rather surprised given the fact centuries had passed since the crash, but for Anita she thought she had been awaiting rescue for just a few days, a couple of weeks at the most. She took it quite well to find that the train had actually been trying to keep her alive and that was something very intriguing to explore. Benny being in discussion with a sentient train sounds a bit preposterous but I really liked it! The failsafe of a crash protecting the driver was good but he’d died so it then sought out the youngest passenger and tried to save them. That’s what had happened with Anita who initially seemed to just be a ghostly apparition. The Doctor wasn’t too impressed when Benny blurted that out to Anita though! That was a very humorous moment. The Doctor soon turned it on Benny and she realised she didn’t particularly enjoy being told she wasn’t real even when she knew that wasn’t the case. The shift to the older version of Anita was really great and injected a strong sense of emotion as she realised the extent of what had happened to her with the train and her position as lone survivor. That was a big burden to carry. Overall, a fantastic finale! 

Rating: 10/10

Buried Memories: Dead and Breakfast

"You'll always be found out."

Writer: April McCaffrey

Format: Audio

Released: September 2019

Series: New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield 5.03

Featuring: Unbound Doctor, Benny

Synopsis 

Bernice and the Doctor are trapped on a planet where people who are unusual have a habit of dying. They're in trouble.

Verdict  

Dead and Breakfast was a brilliant episode to continue my way through the Buried Memories fifth series of the New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield! This was a fascinating episode and a really great take on the umbrella theme that’s overarching this series. A series I may add that is hugely impressive thus far! The way this one started was a lot of fun as the very idea of the Doctor and Benny pretending to be husband and wife is not something I imagine either of them were best pleased about. It’s no secret that over the last three series they’ve had a very strenuous and quite confrontational relationship, so having them in need of playing loved ones was a great way to start the episode. They played it up pretty well and whilst I wouldn’t say they were overly convincing in their roles, just hearing them have to call each other the likes of dear was tremendous. It was also a lot of fun to have the Doctor referred to as Dr Summerfield! That just felt a little uncomfortable but that’s exactly why I liked it. The awkwardness of the pair being in their hotel room and tackling the issue of only having one bed was fun and the Doctor was quite contempt on the floor for no other reason than the fact he believed Benny would steal all of the duvet! I’m sure that’s something anyone in a long term relationship can relate to, myself included. That’s just not something you expect from the Doctor so it did make me chuckle. I thought the setting of Neirut was fantastic and I absolutely loved the idea of anyone even being accused of a crime meaning they would disappear from society. That’s a dangerous precedent to set that even accusation is enough to basically see someone gone away for good and I think the power that provides to ordinary people is extraordinary! Daphne was a good character to try and highlight that as she was supposed to go with the approach of innocent until proven guilty, but that just didn’t happen. She was manipulated by Zilla who was exerting an ultimate form of control in this society. Her taking over of Benny was good stuff and really allowed Lisa Bowerman to shine in playing the villain for a short while. She did excellently with that. Flor was also a great character and I was so impressed by Jacqueline King’s performance. She’s obviously an actress that we know well as Doctor Who fans. Whilst it was instantly recognisable as her, the variation of this kind of role was lovely to hear and she performed it brilliantly. Her nature as a cyborg was really fun to explore and I wasn’t expecting her eye to be utilised at the conclusion to trap Zilla! The Queen was stuck in an eye that didn’t work and that was quite a neat and tidy way to see her out. Benny revealing to Flor that she and the Doctor weren’t actually married was good because two people of the opposite sex even being just friends could be interpreted as a crime here on Neirut which was a fine representation of the ridiculousness of the planet’s laws! It was a good disguise and it also brought back emotional memories for Flor of her relationship with Margaret who was now gone. A cyborg showing emotion was a neat twist too and something we don’t usually hear. Rylan was another crazed character that seems to be a common theme in this series and he really was rather remorseless. He was selfish and that made him an easily unlikeable guy. All of the deaths being councillors was a good way to implement him. Overall, an excellent story!

Rating: 9/10

Buried Memories: Clear History

"You've been lied to."

Writer: Doris V Sutherland

Format: Audio

Released: September 2019

Series: New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield 5.02

Featuring: Unbound Doctor, Benny

Synopsis 

The people of Civitas-G have retreated into an idyllic recreation of their homeworld. And they're refusing to believe that it is now breaking down.

Verdict  

Clear History was a great story to continue my way through the Buried Memories fifth series of the New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield! This was a really good episode and I’m enjoying the continuation of the theme that is referred to in the umbrella title for the series. Whereas we had a deleted and fake history in the opener of Pride of the Lampian, this time around we had an augmented reality where history was literally created to suit the deranged and childish antics of the Administrator. Before we got there, the exploration of the relationship between Benny and the Unbound Doctor felt a little different this time around which was good and it was actually quite refreshing for them not to be bickering or feeling rather testy towards each other! That’s actually been quite unusual since the third series of this range so I certainly appreciated a more normal Doctor-companion dynamic. I’m saying that though, I kind of hope it doesn’t stay that way as it is part of the charm of this unique pairing. I must admit that whilst I did really enjoy the episode, I think more should be being made of the fact the Unbound Doctor is in a different universe. He doesn’t seem to be too excited by the potential of exploring in a whole new universe which is surprising given the curiosity and just general travelling nature of the Doctor that’s shared across all incarnations. It seems lacking in a sense of adventure which just feels slightly off, but I’m hoping that we’ll still get there as the series continues on. I thought the setting of Civitas-G was very good and I liked that Benny had a history with the planet. She’d actually written a dissertation based on it so her knowledge was extensive given the amount of time and research she would have dedicated to its study. That would actually prove critical though as she knew that the supposed history of the planet was now wrong. With no real knowledge of the planet, it was nice for the Doctor to back her on this which was a very different take on the precious episode. I’m sure that is something she would have appreciated. I liked Zeta as a character and she would be another important piece in working out that the history on the planet was artificial. That’s a concept in of itself that is terrific and it was fun for the Doctor to not exactly be thrilled in dealing with simulations and the like. Anything that wasn’t reality was not exactly up his street. Zeta actually being somebody that was deemed not to fit into the Administrator’s desire history was very good and hearing her in limbo after being removed was excellent. That was another strong concept and maybe one I would have enjoyed exploring a little more. Lloyd was also a great character to see out the cast and it was good to have him being a servant but one that was perhaps a little too helpful. Of course this version of the Doctor would pick up on that! But hearing him come to terms with that and what he was made for a fascinating listen. He was just a really nice character though. Someone who wasn’t exactly nice was the Administrator and he made for a strong villain. I think part of his quality was the childish-like nature which made him sound particularly deranged and almost petty. It was appealing because trying to reason with him became a little difficult and he was certainly maniacal in nature which is always a good trait in a villain! His desire to have a better history was brilliant and I loved the idea of him creating an artificial one and deciding what would fit. He even went so far as to renouncing his given name as a child and deciding that he just needed a title now. I was hoping something from the Doctor would come here as that’s essentially exactly what route he had taken, but alas it wasn’t to be. His demise being brought about by himself seemed rather fitting given all of the removals he’d made from history too. Overall, a really strong listen! 

Rating: 8/10

Buried Memories: Pride of the Lampian

"Every object is a symbol."

Writer: Alyson Leeds

Format: Audio

Released: September 2019

Series: New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield 5.01 

Featuring: Unbound Doctor, Benny

Synopsis 

Bernice Summerfield finds the last relic of a lost civilisation. One that the Doctor is worried may never have existed.

Verdict  

Pride of the Lampian was an excellent start to the Buried Memories fifth series of the New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield! After a fascinating end to the last series with Benny and the Unbound Doctor making their way to N-Space as the former’s own universe, this was a strong start to proceedings even if that wasn’t really expanded upon. That’s not a problem as there is still a lot of time to explore moving forward in the series and the episode was a very strong one so I’m happy to be patient! It started off well with Benny taking the Doctor to a market and I was quite surprised that given her profession and academic background she was upsold so easily! She felt a connection the clay figurine which was good and certainly peaked my interest, but before she knew it she was listening to Gariff as the stall holder talk a lot of rubbish about it coming from the supposed ancient and lost race of the Lampians. I mean, it was so obvious that he had made it up and what almost made it worse was the fact that Benny even asked him if he had just looked at the lamps around them and conjured up the name in a bid to make money! She ignored that, and whilst it may not wholly have been down to her showing a little vulnerability with the figurine being something more, it still was a bit of a surprise! It was interesting though which you always want and it provided quite a frosty dynamic between the Doctor and Benny as her investigations went on. The relationship Benny built up with Drolla as the archivist was superb and I loved that she claimed to know every item in the archive catalogue. So she was very shocked to find that there was a Lampian record despite her insistence to the contrary. The Doctor was adamant that the Lampians did not exist and his desire to prove himself right didn’t sit well with Benny because as far as she was concerned, she was doing what she loved in uncovering a lost civilisation. The Lampians were supposedly removed from history and that led me to thinking that we had some Time Lord involvement in erasing them from Time, but that wasn’t to be. The Unbound Doctor also pondering on not getting involved with this universe’s version of the Time Lords was good too, although that’s something I would love to explore in the future! The pace of the episode was brilliant and I loved that the Lampians were heard in the background as if they were almost returning from the depths of oblivion. Their supposed conquests were being recreated and having the Doctor investigate and explore those planets where the Lampians had apparently conquered was brilliant because it hadn’t happened and he could be a bit pompous knowing he was right. Benny and Drolla were right in their element piecing the Lampian history together and that was lovely to hear. So it was quite saddening that they had to be told they were wrong and that the history was constructed from Benny’s mind herself. She’d been linked with the figurine and that meant she’d actually been the catalyst for the creation of the Lampians. The Doctor getting his worlds a little wrong in describing her imagination as bland was amusing but right in line with the characterisation of this alternate Doctor. I thought it was nice though that just when Benny looked like she was going to defy the Doctor that she accepted that the Lampians were fake and ousted them from the true course of history to put things back on track. That was a great conclusion. Overall, an excellent series opener!

Rating: 9/10

Hold Your Horses

"It's really the Canterbury Embroidery!"

Writer: Nicholas Pegg

Format: Short Story

Released: August 2008

Printed in: Doctor Who Storybook 2009

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Donna 

Synopsis 

When Donna goes missing entirely from the timeline in 2061, the Doctor seeks out to find her. And the answer seems to lie in a schoolboy called Alex, not that he knows it...

Verdict 

Hold Your Horses was a great short story to continue my incredibly sporadic reading of the 2009 Doctor Who Storybook! This was a really enjoyable read that had a big idea for a small format. Nine pages of printed A4 probably sounds less than it actually is and with the gorgeous illustrations to accompany the prose, this is a format of adventure I would very much be in favour of returning. I can’t compliment the artwork enough and it really does help to have visual aids, especially in a short story where there may not be enough time to fully flesh out the characters and their background and description. That’s a positive move. I thought starting off in a school was intriguing although I must say that I’m not usually a huge fan of children being main characters. For some reason they just don’t have the same appeal and I think the jeopardy there feels a bit wrong. How much danger should you really put a child in? That wasn’t the case here though as Alex was only in danger from mistaken identity when it came to antics in a classroom and finding his way outside of the headmaster’s office. The Doctor would see to putting that right thanks to an excellent eyewitness account which was fun. I was impressed with the characterisation of the Tenth Doctor in this story as he was clearly up to something but given Alex’s age he could just tell him what he needed to know. Donna going missing from existence is a tricky predicament to try and solve, but it was a situation which I enjoyed exploring. History going off course is always fun to delve into and the Norman Conquest differentiating was a very exciting prospect! The idea of a Harold III was great and Alex’s interest in history was lovely to read. I’m a huge fan of it myself given that I’ve studied it to a Master’s level! The Doctor having to study and study to find the moment where the divergent timeline had jumped off course was good but surely that’s an impossible task. Even for the Doctor after months and months, the detail is so tiny! It’s a little coincidental that he would meet Alex in 2061 where Donna would go missing, but then the whole thing was a paradox and they couldn’t really be explained. Older Alex had told the Doctor of his own future actions, therefore they must then happen to keep history in tact. It’s fun to play with and Donna trying to wrap her head around it all was tremendous. She confidently stated she’d nearly got it before the Doctor proclaimed that she very much did not. It was intriguing for Donna to be missing for most of the story but she made one hell of an entrance when the timelines were restored! She was far from best pleased with the Doctor and what had happened to her. His recruitment of Alex was decent and I liked that he was able to assure the boy of his lack of wrongdoing and that he was doing just fine. He knew him from the future which was a little bit of cheating, but hey ho. The significance of the Bayeux Tapestry was good and I liked that Alex would go on to take the place of Turold. That coming at a time where the Tapestry was being discussed in his history lesson was good and the Doctor actually deciding that Alex would take the place of Turold in history to put it back on course was quite fun actually. The paradoxical nature of things is a nice and easy way out as they literally cannot be explained! Overall, a really nice read with the final lines of Turold being described in Alex’s lesson as a mystery a really nice touch. 

Rating: 8/10

 

System Shock

"We're dicing with death on the information superhighway to hell."

Writer: Justin Richards

Format: Novel

Released: June 1995

Series: Missing Adventures 11

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane, Harry

Synopsis 

A rebellion on another planet. A kidnapping in central London. The head of MI5 assassinated. A hostage siege suddenly and violently ended by the SAS. A computer CD slipped into the Fourth Doctor's pocked by a dead man...

It's 1998, and the global information superhighway is about to come on line. OffNet controls everything digital from cars to sliding doors, from interactive television to military command and control systems.

The Doctor and Sarah met join forces with an old friend in a race against time: to prevent the breakdown of technological society and foil an unconventional alien takeover bid.

Verdict  

System Shock was a very strong read! I thoroughly enjoyed this and it was a brilliant companion to have on an insane travel schedule to Turkey to watch my beloved Wales suffer another defeat. But enough  about football, the nature of the train trip from the Welsh valleys to Stansted meant that I nearly completed the entire thing in one sitting! It was terrific stuff but also very intriguing coming from the perspective of reading in 2023 with the slightly outdated technology now. Having Sarah Jane visit her near future was really strong to have her tackling technology that she was somewhat familiar with, but recent advancements meant she was rather clueless. Technology was advancing at a very quick pace and for Sarah jumping to 1998 was a bit of a step too far. The Doctor also had a battle with technology throughout which was fun stuff as he literally went through a love-hate relationship with it. That provided some humour as his mood on it changed quickly and frequently. What I wasn’t expecting from the story was the return of Harry Sullivan! That was a delightful treat and so well done as he emerged working for MI5 and certainly able to vouch for the Doctor’s UNIT credentials. It was so lovely to encounter him shortly after the Doctor and Sarah last did so in The Android Invasion from their perspective, but it had been two decades for Harry! That was a fun dynamic and it was nice that the final page ended with Harry meeting up with the older Sarah Jane of 1998 too. For her some considerable time had passed since the Voracian threat. That threat was fantastic and I thought they were a really fascinating enemy. They weren’t too dislike from the Cybermen in terms of their ideology and logical beliefs, but the distain they had for organics was excellent. The way they even despised the notion of a drink and having to bodily functions like using the toilet was very unique. So the revelation when it turned out they were trying to add organic parts to their own components was a big surprise! I liked the idea of Voractyll very much with him being essentially a sentient virus that was very close to gaining control of Hubway, and that meant control of basically everything electronic. Train signals, traffic lights and even everyday household items were threatened and the scale of the potential disaster looming was superb. I liked the descriptions of the Voracian appearance with the mechanical nature behind the horrible flesh and the brutal way in which Sarah Jane took out Johanna with the pen at the end through the eye and destroying her systems causing her head to blow off was gory to say the least. I loved the discussions the Doctor had with Voractyll on the CD as it tried to tackle with logic and the place of organics as slaves to them. The Doctor challenging it on reason, freedom and why organics were superior was terrific. I liked that he got the upper hand by explaining how organics had original thought to mark himself a genius. The internal power struggle amongst the Voracians was something that fascinated me with Stabfield the subject of being ousted by Lewis. All for a 3-5% chance of improving the outcome? That didn’t really seem warranted and was the major element of the book I didn’t enjoy. It didn’t impact my enjoyment too much as my rating reflects, but it just didn’t make too much sense to me. Both characters were really good and shared different but strong relationships with Johanna, and the moment that she made the nod that resulted in Lewis being killed when he thought he was overthrowing Stabfield was brutally good. They were such a good trio though to complement Hanson very nicely. He seemed to hang along a little too long at the end, but it was good for the Doctor to be introducing his own Voractyll CD with a few tweaks that would repair the damage done to Hubway by the original. The Doctor always felt in the upper hand which is extraordinary to say given that Sarah Jane was held hostage, but the moment he was hiding in the toilets was terrific! Fourth Doctor characterisation at its best. Overall, I thought this was a really solid book with a fitting end if not lingering. 

Rating: 8/10

Once and Future: The Artist at the End of Time

"The universe is dying."

Writer: James Goss

Format: Audio

Released: June 2023

Series: 60th Anniversary 02

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Jenny

Synopsis 

Suffering the effects of degeneration, the Doctor heads towards the end of the universe in search of answers. Instead, he finds his daughter – Jenny – and an Artist whose works appears to mark the end of every world they touch.

The Doctor stabilises into his Fifth form to join forces with Jenny and the Curator to solve the mystery of the Final Gallery and the art it has collected.

Verdict  

The Artist at the End of Time was a strong story to continue the Once and Future celebration from Big Finish as part of the sixtieth anniversary celebrations! The stories are coming thick and fast now as it doesn’t seem long at all since I listened to Past Lives which set up this story arc pretty well, and the continuation here was decent. I must admit that so far I am slightly underwhelmed by the whole degeneration angle that is consuming the series as it does seem a little messy at the moment. It almost feels a bit rushed which is a shame because the producers have made it clear that this arc has been a long time in the making with the mix of characters we have seen and will continue to hear together. The combination of the Fifth Doctor and Jenny alongside an unfamiliar Curator was hugely exciting and it was their dynamic which I really enjoyed. For obvious real world reasons, it’s very fun to have the Fifth Doctor and Jenny together because they’re father and daughter, just like the actors who play those roles! It’s a crazy world really that this is the case and the chemistry between the pair was understandably mesmerising. It was the highlight of the episode for me. It was so great and gave a bubbly side to the Fifth Doctor that we don’t always hear so that was wonderful. I was instantly intrigued by the inclusion of the Curator in this episode, specially with him being played by Colin Baker! I’m still very much in the infancy of the Eighth Doctor’s run with Big Finish so my reading of the preview of this episode in Doctor Who Magazine really enlightened my as it seems Big Finish have taken the character of the Curator and ran with it across the multiple incarnations! That’s really exciting and I’m looking forward to delving into that in the future, but for now this was a brilliant insight into this version of the character. Colin Baker is magnificent and he played the role with a strong sense of ambiguity and mystery which is exactly what you want. The artistic theme was strong here and the idea of the Curator going to worlds that were about to die and drawing their final moments was daunting but admirable. The later revelation that the Curator was actually responsible for the planets dying was a big shock. I liked it a lot though. The setting of the end of time was very good and I liked the idea of Jenny bouncing off the Time War to get there. The survival of the Braxiatel collection was also fun to see it last so long. I was a bit sceptical regarding the excuse of the Doctor’s degeneration stabilising because of Jenny’s presence with them sharing DNA. If I’m not mistaken when the Doctor regenerates his DNA is literally rewritten so surely her DNA would only be reminiscent of the Tenth Doctor? That felt a little off for me, but I didn’t mind letting it slide because the relationship between the Doctor and Jenny was just magnificent. Whilst it was nice to hear from the early incarnations of the Doctor, I can’t help but feel like it’s a bit of a token gesture at the moment which is a shame and I do hope we get more from them in a major role as the series roles on. The cliffhanger finish leading into the next episode with the Seventh Doctor taking the realms for an encounter with Davros and literally entering the Time War was very exciting! Overall, a great listen. 

Rating: 8/10

Cuddlesome

"A good old fashioned furry friend never goes out of date."

Writer: Nigel Fairs

Format: Audio

Released: March 2008

Series: DWM Bonus 06

Featuring: Fifth Doctor

Synopsis 

Do you remember the Eighties? The Rubik's cube... Duran Duran... deelyboppers... and the Cuddlesomes: pink vampire hamsters, the must-have toy of 23 Christmases ago.

For so long now, the Cuddlesomes have been forgotten, lying in attics and junk shops. But now they're waking up. And they want to give us all a cuddle. A long, slow, deadly cuddle...

Landing in an England gripped by a strange new plague, the Doctor is soon on the Cuddlesomes' trail. But the toys are just part of a twisted plan to wipe out a whole generation...

Verdict  

Cuddlesome was a great audio adventure and an absolute steal being for free! I’m quite saddened that we don’t get original freebies from Doctor Who Magazine these days, but it’s safe to say that Big Finish is very much established now and doesn’t really need to promote in that way. Sure, DWM does get a number of freebies these days but I’ve often already bought them and there just feels something special about the exclusivity. By now, some fifteen years later, I’m lucky enough to get to listen to the story for free on SoundCloud and I actually couldn’t believe that I hadn’t listened to it already! I’ve always just assumed that I had but on a blog search it was clear that I hadn’t and after listening I was certain that was the case. It was good to have the Fifth Doctor travelling solo and this was definitely a strong performance from Peter Davison in the role. I really liked the chat age of Angela in that missing companion role and she would certainly have potential to become a fully fledged companion in the future. I was a big fan of hers and she was almost like a slightly more energetic version of Evelyn with her being older than the typical companion. The contemporary setting for the Fifth Doctor was fun and tying back to his era of the 1980s was excellent. I thought Ronald Turvey was a very strong character as the man who invented the Cuddlesome but he was incredibly troubled. It was actually quite sad to learn of his childhood and journey into university with his childish demeanour meaning that he didn’t exactly fit in as a fresher. He was bullied and degraded and that would set him off on a plan to eradicate people like that. I thought it was fascinating that he didn’t exactly want to use the Cuddlesome to kill children, but to kill what they will become. That was quite horrifying and his childish like nature with a failure to have grown up made him a really strong villain. Of course, it was more the Tinghus behind him that was the enemy but it took advantage of the childishness of Turvey which was pretty devious. The voice of the Cuddlesomes was freaky and I didn’t exactly think they were suited to being a children’s toy! Hearing one of them with John was pretty disturbing I must say. It was good though for people to be feeling retro and nostalgic about the Cuddlesomes as they returned to the market and all of those locked up in attics or storage were now coming back for revenge. That was frightening! The link between Turvey and the Tinghus was interesting to explore but I couldn’t help feel a little sorry that once that was broken it resulted in both being dead. Angela’s relationship with the Doctor was good and I thought the ending was rather fun with the Doctor returning three years after he initially smashed her greenhouse just to return her hammer! John having left her was not a big surprise but she was hardly bothered by it! She was quite okay with moving on with things and less impressed by the Doctor destroying her greenhouse once again! They weren’t exactly cheap. Overall, this was a really strong listen with a good emotional pull at its heart and some great characters! You really can’t go wrong with this for free. A hidden gem. 

Rating: 8/10

1001 Nights

"This isn't a fairytale."

Writers: Emma Beeby & Gordan Rennie, Jonathan Barnes, Catherine Harvey 

Format: Audio

Released: December 2012

Series: Monthly Adventures 168

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Nyssa

Synopsis 

A long time ago, two travellers came from far away...

In the performed palace of an omnipotent Sultan, a girl must tell stories to keep the man she cares about from a cruel and horrible death. She spins tales of distant lands she has visited with a mysterious traveller, of fabulous creatures and fantastic adventures – and of a blue box that can travel in time and space.

Meanwhile, in the dungeons below the throne room, there lurks a secret which will bring down the kingdom – perhaps even the universe.

Can the Doctor and Nyssa escape from this never-ending story before the final chapter spells their end?

Verdict  

1001 Nights was a decent and rather unique audio adventure to comprise the one-hundred-and-sixty-eighth release as part of the Monthly Adventures! It was unique because it was almost four separate stories and despite my trusty source of TARDISWiki stating that this release actually comprises four different adventures, I am not considering it as such and that’s purely down to the framing narrative. With the stories being told within a story, I only consider this to be one adventure in a similar way to my blogging of The Story of Martha last year. I just don’t see any feasible way where the specific 1001 Nights story that forms the framing narrative could be blogged by itself or listened to in isolation. It just wouldn’t work. I thought the tales of adventures had by the Doctor and Nyssa were decent, but I think the problem with this kind of format is that it’s not entirely believable that the stories Nyssa would choose to save her life with are ones unseen, unheard of unread by the listener and would all feature just the pairing of her alongside the Fifth Doctor. That’s just not believable given all of her travels with the likes of Adric and Tegan as well. Surely one of those ought to have featured in at least one retelling? I thought we’d be getting that when Nyssa mentioned about having previously travelled with the Fourth Doctor and Adric, but sadly it wasn’t coming. I thought the respective tales themselves were pretty decent but I was much more interested in the actual overlapping story regarding Nyssa and the Sultan. The Doctor being trapped and sent for execution was good jeopardy and the only way out was Nyssa telling good stories. It was a good idea to have stories as a currency, but at one point we had a story within a story about stories which got somewhat complicated and probably a little too convoluted. I think my favourite of the three mini stories would be The Planetarian as that was a fun concept and he was a solid character to carry it. I was less of a fan of My Brother’s Keeper which was a shame as initially it appeared that the Miaxa would have a lot of potential but that never really materialised fully in my opinion. Maybe it was because this was where the tired and lousy Houdini line was used to get the Doctor out of an inescapable predicament. I am so bored of that. I think Smuggling Tales was an improvement through to conclude which was great despite the story telling confusion. Lottie was amusing and I liked how limericks were tackled with poetry. I enjoyed that. The way the Sultan tried to take over the Doctor’s life was quite something and hearing him acting as if regeneration was near was fascinating. He was also after the TARDIS but Nyssa knew that couldn’t happen, he needed to be a Time Lord to pilot it but the Sultan didn’t think that would be an issue. The Doctor having endured over 1,000 nights before being reunited with Nyssa was a big surprise, and a little more could have been made of that in my opinion. I figured she would show more shock! The ending was rather simple as the Doctor merely tricked the Sultan into waiting around for three months to believe himself cured, but as a whole this was a story with a solid idea but the format just was a bit off for me to give any higher of a rating, but it still shows to be good! Overall, a decent listen. 

Rating: 7/10

Everyone Says Hello

"It makes everyone talk."

Writer: Dan Abnett

Format: Audio

Released: February 2008

Series: Torchwood BBC Audio 02

Featuring: Captain Jack, Gwen, Owen, Tosh, Ianto

Synopsis 

Across Cardiff, ordinary people are behaving in odd ways: saying hello to one another, and going out of their way to greet people. Torchwood discovers that an alien communications field is gathering strength in the city.

The team must find the device responsible and shut it off – before civil unrest engulfs the city.

Verdict  

Everyone Says Hello was an excellent BBC Audio adventure of Torchwood! I must admit that prior to listening I was a little put off by the fact the runtime of the story was a whopping two-and-a-half hours in the prose format, but I was so impressed with Burn Gorman in the narrator role. He brought his character of Owen to life in brilliant fashion, but what was even better for me were his impressions of the other main cast. His American accent on Captain Jack was fantastic and really felt authentic which always helps in how much I enjoy a story. Jack is Torchwood during this era of the show with the story fitting in during that first series, so having him sound something akin to John Barrowman is very much in my favour. His take on Ianto was also brilliant with that thick Welsh accent presented in a humorous but unoffencive way. Tosh didn’t feature too much with her remaining at the Hub and working her magic from there, but when Gorman was required to voice her his impression was faultless. The same can be said of Gwen as well. It really didn’t feel like we had a reading of 150 minutes with just one actor. Credit to Gorman. I loved the concept behind this story and it built really well from the simplicity of Owen and Gwen getting into work early and people stopping them on the street and saying hello. That seemed harmless enough, but they soon went into their life story in very quick fashion with a barrage of pointless and random facts about themselves. Some of that was amusing with a woman revealing she’d never had an orgasm to a man revealing he liked cod and chips. It was all a little wild and chaotic which was great! Jack thought nothing of it initially but the direction soon shifted to realising that everyone being too polite and saying hello was an alien interference. I really liked that the story was trying to work out the source and that sent us out on a lengthy and very interesting adventure. It was exciting and well paced. It was good that the Torchwood team had their bracelets on to ensure that they weren’t impacted by the field that was sending everyone into a diatribe of their life. The way this was worked out to be communication software on a large scale was excellent and that was a concept I really enjoyed! It forced people into expending knowledge about themselves in the name of learning. However, the communication field had been set off automatically after the ship it was a part of had crashed and the explorer had died. There was nobody for the acquired knowledge to go to. The idea of feeding it gibberish to confuse and overload the software and make it think the planet was too alien to be worth anything was decent, but it still seemed slightly lacking and was my only qualm with the story really. I felt something a little more impactful was deserved for the climax, but it wasn’t bad by any means! The cliffhanger with Jack losing his protection was very good and I liked how it was he who was vulnerable as that’s usually not the case! The way he was tackling the challenge of not reverting into constantly introducing himself was great through. Pratt having a history with Gwen in the police force was good although I could have done with less of the humour regarding his name and personality. That was a little unnecessary. Overall though, this was a thoroughly enjoyable audio adventure with a strong and unique concept at heart!

Rating: 9/10

The Memory Box

"No one is allowed to hear my name and live."

Writer: Jonathan Morris

Format: Audio

Released: February 2013

Series: Vienna 1.0

Featuring: Vienna

Synopsis 

Berkeley Silver, one of the richest men in the Earth empire, lies dead in the Penthouse Suite of the Galileo space-hotel. Law Enforcement Officers Detective Captain McGinnis and Detective Sergeant Mead are called in to investigate – but it seems to have been the perfect crime. Even when subjected to a memory scan, everybody in the space-hotel has an alibi for the murder. 

Which means it can only have been the work of one woman. The most accomplished – and the most glamorous – bounty hunter in the galaxy. Her name is Vienna Salvatori. And she has a little rule; nobody gets to hear her name and live...

Verdict  

The Memory Box was an outstanding episode to kick off the Vienna spinoff series from Big Finish! I’ve always been fascinated by the existence of this series and after finally reaching The Shadow Heart in the Monthly Adventures, I’m delighted to have made a start here with this incredible pilot! It’s no surprise that based on the quality of this story that subsequent entire series were made because this really was excellent from start to finish. Vienna made a big impact alongside the Seventh Doctor but she more than carries things here on her own. She just screams lead character and the way she arrives in this episode was magnificent. I loved the entire basis of a murder scene and McGinnis and Mead as the captain and detective sergeant respectively were tremendous characters. I thought they were really fun with their investigation and a memory scan was a clever way of showing whether someone was innocent or guilty. Vienna being the disguised woman going by the name of Miracle was magnificent and she really shone in that guise! It was amusing and after the investigation showed that everyone had an alibi, pay per view records indicated ‘Miracle’ was responsible as she’d faked the memoirs and had actually watched the film about Kylo and Aliona the day previously, but purchased it at the time of the murder as well. Who would watch the same film twice in a row at the exact same time? Some way to find the murderer! I thought the victim being Berkeley Silver was excellent and I loved his character. The way he tried to be two steps ahead to seek out the agent who worked for Flaming Sword was brilliant, but Vienna being the brilliant assassin she is meant she was even two steps ahead of him. Mead being part of Flaming Sword without even knowing it was marvellous and I loved the moments throughout where the key phrases were spoken and characters delved off into somebody totally different, or a background far from what they thought of themselves. Vienna having that trick up her sleeve for McGinnis was unexpected and a really delightful moment. She was quite the assassin and I’m really loving her intelligence. She almost seems more genuine for her credentials by the fact she’s American and I must say I’m a big fan of Chase Masterson. She’s really talented and I can’t wait to hear more of her moving forward. I thought Norvelle was an excellent character and he initially seemed a little trepidatious to be part of Vienna’s escape, but the internal heater was quite the bargaining chip! The idea of her setting that off and melting him from within was sensational. She was heartless in a very attractive and sincere way. I’m looking forward to that continuing as we move forward into a full series. Norvelle revealing himself as actually being another body for Berkeley Silver was superb and really did take the memory box concept to a whole new level. It was really fun stuff. I thought it was tremendous to Vienna to then use her own name as the code to unlock it once Norvelle was back in his own body after she threatened Berkeley with the internal hater. He’d offered her everything and his price was basically internal imprisonment! Because nobody spoke Vienna’s name and lived. Overall, a wonderful pilot episode and I’m really excited to start the series now. 

Rating: 10/10

The Shadow Heart

"I know you of old."

Writer: Jonathan Morris

Format: Audio

Released: November 2012

Series: Monthly Adventures 167

Featuring: Seventh Doctor

Synopsis 

One empire has fallen and another has taken its place. The race known as The Wrath are expanding into new territory. Only the Earth Empire stands in their way. 

It's been fifty years since the Doctor last visited this sector of space. And one man in particular has been awaiting his return. As the mistakes of his past come back to haunt him, and with a price on his head and bounty hunters on his tail, the Doctor is heading for a last reckoning.

The pieces are finally coming together. Somewhere deep within The Shadow Heart.

Verdict  

The Shadow Heart was a very decent story to continue my way through the Monthly Adventures and conclude the trilogy that started back with The Burning Prince and continued into The Acheron Pulse! It’s been quite a journey as three different incarnations of the Doctor have tackled the Drashani Empire and encountered the deranged Prince Kylo in very different forms over a period of eighty years. I think it was fun for the Doctor to be arriving fifty years after we last left Kylo in the guise of Tenebris and he seemed certainly as whacky as the last time. I wasn’t sure about his character direction after the humanity the Sixth Doctor showed him last time out, but he was once again consumed by his love for Aliona. It’s amazing to think how long this has lasted now and those feelings don’t seem to have dissipated despite her actually cutting off his hand and throwing him out of the air lock. Talk about forgiveness! It’s rather a shame for him that the love was unrequited, but he had a way to fix that. He had actually gone as far as resurrecting her through unconventional methods to the extent that he could condition her to love him. That was rather disturbing and even at the end when she knew the truth, Aliona admitted to really loving him which was quite the way to bring things full circle. It was a good position of jeopardy for this version of Aliona to be the last as the copies couldn’t last too long, especially when they were copies of copies. The lifespan just got less and less and only a year was the timeframe now which wasn’t much of a life! This story is an important one in introducing us to Vienna Salvatori who was absolutely the highlight of the story for me. I’ve known about her for a long time now given that she has her own spin-off range and also stars alongside the Eric Roberts incarnation of the Master in his own series, but I hadn’t managed to listen to any of her until now. That will certainly change moving forward now I’ve been introduced to her character and she’s certainly a great one! She didn’t show much remorse in killing when her name was revealed or known, it was the best policy. Her being after the Doctor was good and I think she more than stood her own against him, even if he always seemed to be two steps ahead of the game. That was the feeling even when he was actually behind the curve on what had happened because for him, he didn’t meet Vienna in the right order. That was a direction I wasn’t a big fan of to be honest as it got somewhat tiresome by the end. It felt a little convoluted and not entirely necessary to what was happening in the plot with the Wrath. The significance of the Shadow Heart itself was good and I liked that it was basically the heart of the Wrath and their evolved position, and the fact that the Doctor using himself as a template for their rewriting meant they couldn’t help but interfere was pretty amusing. More should have been made of that! The Doctor actually stopping his hearts was nicely done and I really loved that Vienna was arrested at the end, but we definitely haven’t heard the last of her! Overall, another solid tale but I can’t say I’m not happy to moving on from this trilogy despite its strong points.

Rating: 7/10

The Acheron Pulse

"Not all fairytales end with marriage."

Writer: Rick Briggs

Format: Audio

Released: October 2012

Series: Monthly Adventures 166

Featuring: Sixth Doctor

Synopsis 

The planet Cawdor. Deep in the heart of the Drashani Empire.

The Doctor lands thirty years after the Succession of Blood brought Empress Cheni to the throne. For most of her reign there has been peace and prosperity. The Empire flourished. But five years ago, the War came. And nothing was ever the same again. Now the Drashani are at war with the mysterious alien race known as the Wrath, led by the Warlord Tenebris. As more and more planets fall to their advance events are rushing to a head.

What exactly does Tenebris want? What is the secret of the Wrath's weapon, the terrifying Acheron Pulse? As the Doctor races to save an Empire, he may not like the answers he finds.

Verdict  

The Acheron Pulse was another decent story to continue my way through the Monthly Adventures from Big Finish! This was a direct sequel to the previous story of The Burning Prince and I liked that whilst it was heavily linked to everything that went down during the events of that adventure, it had a very different tone and atmosphere. It also had a different Doctor which was a nice change of pace from the usual trilogies that have been occurring in the range in my recent blogging, with this one more so following the style of the Excelis saga which is fun. We look set to conclude with the Seventh Doctor, but alas there is much to discuss before we get there! It was odd and quite fun to have the Sixth Doctor travelling solo as we just don’t get that often across all formats, and I wouldn’t say that anyone struck me as filling that companion role here which was fine because it never felt like one was missing. Colin Baker was superb and really shone. The reference to The Visitation with the Doctor longing after the sonic screwdriver was amusing and it’s staggering really to think that this incarnation of the Doctor will go his entire duration without the trusty device. That is almost unfathomable! Returning to the Drashani Empire was something I must admit I was not overjoyed with as whilst I did enjoy the previous story, it didn’t seem to grasp my attention in the way that a trilogy should warrant. I enjoyed the politics and history of the Doctor’s involvement, but I couldn’t help but feel the whole Empire was a glorified and just expanded version of Peladon. But just not as interesting. The Doctor being the only survivor from the crash that would send Kylo and Ariana into the mythological ethos was brilliant and I loved how that had been spun in the thirty years since the Doctor was around to see what happened. The shock and awe his reveal of what Ariana did to Kylo was fantastic and it it was a stark reminder of just how terrifying she was. She cut off his hand and threw him out of the airlock from 30,000 feet! So I was very surprised to find that Tenebris was the prince himself very much alive! I I thought that was good but I’m not entirely sure how feasible it is, but the power of the mind is a strong thing so I appreciated that being the explanation. It did tie in with his abilities to generate fire from his thoughts. Maybe it was possible? He was much changed now though and him having a different face tied in nicely with the Doctor having regenerated since their last encounter. The Wrath were pretty good and I really liked that the Igris were back in a big way with the Doctor knowing exactly what they were this time around. It was rather horrifying with the idea of the pulse not killing someone, but merely stretching them to the point of breaking and their mind going to the under void. The part three cliffhanger with the Doctor ending up there was good. I thought the conclusion was slightly anticlimactic with the Wrath just wanting a purpose, so who better than the Doctor himself to program them after? He seemed quite proud of that. I liked the emotion that came out of Tenebris when it came to discussing Aliona and even after everything she did and all these years, he still hoped to win her back. The brutality in which he shunned off marriage and proclaimed that fairytales didn’t always end that way was stunning, so his calm and normal demeanour by the end of the episode was a bit quick to be matched with that kind of evil streak. It was nice for him to acknowledge that the Doctor showed him humanity he didn’t deserve though. Overall, a very decent story! I’m not sure how we get another adventure to conclude this trilogy as this certainly had a feeling of finality. 

Rating: 7/10

The Trial of George Litefoot

"You're as good as dead."

Writer: George Mann

Format: Audio

Released: September 2013

Series: Jago & Litefoot 6.04

Featuring: Jago, Litefoot

Synopsis 

Professor Litefoot stands accused of murder, and the court is determined to find him guilty. With fire about to rain down on London, Litefoot's only salvation lies in the most unexpected hands...

Verdict  

The Trial of George Litefoot was a great episode to conclude a stellar sixth series of Jago & Litefoot! I thought this finished off what has been another hugely enjoyable boxset and I really can’t wait for more adventures with the infernal investigators. This followed on immediately where Military Intelligence left off with Litefoot being arrested by Quick for the apparent murder of Jago, but thankfully it soon became clear that Quick was merely going by the book and had no doubts that he wasn’t responsible for the death in the warehouse. I thought it was good that the body found was actually that of Drucker, but it was never really feasible that Jago would actually have been the one who died. Even if I had listened to this on release and wasn’t aware of future series, I’m confident in saying I wouldn’t have thought he was actually dead. What I didn’t see happening though was him disguising himself as the Colonel! That was amusing purely in the fact of it being far from convincing. It did provide humour but it did get a little silly at times, but that’s where Jago does shine. I thought it perhaps went slightly too far when Jago came to be the one who was defending Litefoot in court though. However, the moment where Jago revealed that fact to Litefoot was probably the highlight of the episode. He really oversold it in the most glorious way and whilst it was so obvious who the big reveal was building towards, it was still just majestic. I thought the actual trial itself was entertaining although it was rather predictable that no matter what happened, Litefoot was going to be found guilty and then Jago would reveal himself as not dead at all. The stunned reaction he had when the opposition simply stated that it didn’t change things, merely the identity of the murder victim. Jago would then be charged as a potential accomplice to murder and certainly in contempt of court. His stunned reaction to that was priceless. I thought the plan of the Colonel was rather whacky in him wanting to take out Buckingham Palace in one fatal shot that would wipe out the Royal Family, and with him having it all planned out the ammunition and offerings to the military would ensure he would take his place as Emperor. He was keen on restoring the glory of the British Empire in a rather crazed way and that made him a good villain. Jago being the one to rejig the calculations that would ensure the mechanical device would just shoot up and then wipe out the building was a little far fetched, but it did seem right that he was the one to stop the Colonel. The importance of the Royal Family to Jago and Litefoot was also interesting to explore and they really are patriotic. The involvement of Agatha and Ellie was great too and I liked how we got a brief flashback of how the former dragged Jago to safety after the warehouse incident. Agatha was intending on using her royal influence to pardon Jago and Litefoot, but her death meant that wouldn’t be possible and it would set us up nicely for the next series to come. Litefoot was now a convicted murderer and Jago was his accomplice. And the Queen was out to get them as they were inadvertently blamed for Agatha’s death which had impacted her highness in a big way! Whilst the Colonel was dead, the situation for Jago and Litefoot was rather dire indeed. Quick was able to give them a head start, but now they’re on the run and under new aliases. That’s an exciting premise for the future! Overall, a fine conclusion to a fantastic series.  

Rating: 8/10

Military Intelligence

"It's mechanical through and through."

Writer: George Mann

Format: Audio

Released: September 2013

Series: Jago & Litefoot 6.03

Featuring: Jago, Litefoot

Synopsis 

There are Sentinels on the streets of London, killing without mercy. And as a web of intrigue unfolds, Jago and Litefoot move closer to confronting the enemy of the Crown. A battle to the death will demand the ultimate sacrifice... can this be the end of Jago and Litefoot?

Verdict  

Military Intelligence was a sublime episode to continue my way through the sixth series of Jago & Litefoot! I was hugely impressed with this episode and whilst it did seem to be setting up the finale, it just captured my attention from start to finish and was as suspected in revealing that the Colonel was not a representative of Queen Victoria after all. That didn’t come as much surprise but it was so obvious that was the case when he was being very bullish in wanting all of the details of the infernal adventures experienced by Jago & Litefoot! He didn’t hide the fact he was almost desperate for details on a technological theme and that dated all the way back to The Mahogany Murderers which was fascinating. That was quite a history that the Colonel was aware of and I’m looking forward to exploring that in the finale. Of course, the technological theme would soon be explained as we were introduced to the Sentinels who were an intriguing element of the episode. I do think that is a name that has been overused in the Whoniverse but having machines of this nature in Victorian London was good stuff. They were obviously a big threat and from a modern perspective I appreciated the clockwork sound effects to make them sound of the time, and Litefoot’s question of asking if there was a man within was so simple but so effective. It was a nice reminder of how the Victorian mind worked. Agatha was a terrific character and whilst she seemed out of place at the Red Tavern, it was good for her to build a relationship with Ellie. It was lovely to have the barmaid back once again and it feels right that the fate of her future won’t be addressed yet. There’s plenty going on so no need to rush things. She was just having fun and she was happy to help Agatha with her manly troubles. It wasn’t the kind she thought of though but Jago believing he was the man in question was glorious. She turned out to actually be an agent of the Crown and was questioning our internal investigators on their involvement with the Colonel. Jago and Litefoot were digging deep on the Colonel in their own right and questioning Sergeant Quick for his credentials. That brought a strong warning from Drucker about asking questions which only heightened the suspicions regarding the Colonel. He was a fun character though and I hope he plays a part in the finale. I suspect he will. Agatha following Jago was good and I loved that genuine concern for Litefoot showed her that Jago was not lying about their affiliations and the fact they’d been duped by the Colonel. They built a strong relationship from there and I think she offers a lot. I don’t think it can be overlooked that we have a writer the quality and standing of George Mann penning an adventure in this series and I do hope it won’t be his last! I thought the cliffhanger ending was extraordinary with Jago seemingly dead following the defeat of the Sentinels! I loved how he was able to control and confuse them duly taking advantage of that lapse, but the way Litefoot was then blamed and charged with Jago’s murder was superb! That sets us up very nicely for the finale which is now set to be an epic. 

Rating: 10/10