No Place Like Home

"I must see the Doctor die!"

Writer: Ian McLaughlin 

Format: Audio

Released: January 2003

Series: DWM Bonus 03

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Erimem

Synopsis 

Whilst showing his latest companion, Erimem, around her new home, the Doctor discovers that the TARDIS seems remarkably keen to be as unhelpful as possible. Almost as if it wants rid of its occupants...

Verdict 

No Place Like Home was an excellent audio adventure and a great immediate follow up to the highly impressive The Church and the Crown. If you're wondering how an adventure can work with just the Fifth Doctor and Erimem, the answer is quite simple. The Doctor was showing his new Egyptian companion a tour of the TARDIS and Peri was simply nearer the console room in her own room. I thought it was nice that the Doctor and Erimem were getting on marvellously after she graciously accepted the official offer of becoming companion in the last audio story. Isn't it just typical Doctor Who that even when the Doctor is showing his companion around the vast ship of which they travel in, which also somehow includes cricket fields and rainforests, there is still great danger. This time it was Gallifrey that was endangered and in quite the surprise Shayde featured! A character associated with the comic strips, there's a running theme lately in Big Finish bonus stories of comic strip characters making their performed Doctor Who debuts. We had Beep the Meep in The Ratings War, Frobisher in The Maltese Penguin and now we've got Shayde. Having not done any Fifth Doctor comic strip adventures myself, I'm more familiar with the character as part of Fey as was seen in the latter stories of the Oblivion graphic novel. I rather liked the character when he was fully functioning on his own and acting as an agent to the Time Lords. The warning was somewhat Genesis of the Daleks-esque but on a much smaller scale. Where in that story the Time Lords envisaged a time where the Daleks ruled the cosmos, here it was the Rovie that was feared to take over. In other words, mouse-like creatures from Gallifrey that are nothing more than rodents. Only this particular member of the species had taken refuge in the TARDIS, managed to expose itself to energies allowing it to gain intelligence and increase in size, so much that it wanted to take over the TARDIS! The Doctor and Erimem's reaction to discovering what was playing havoc with the TARDIS navigational layout was outstanding. They just couldn't stop laughing. It really does seem that the Fifth Doctor and Erimem have bonded terrifically well in this story and that should hold them in good stead for future stories, which I look forward to immensely. Peter Davison gave another assured performance as the Fifth Doctor and again places doubts in my mind over whether the criticism this incarnation gets is worthy or not. I'm inclined to argue that it is not justified. He injected a lot of emotion when talking about his past companions and family and it's nice to know that his former travelling friends still hold a place in his hearts. We had mentions of Leela with her skins, Jamie and his kilt and also Victoria's dress that Sarah borrowed in Pyramids of Mars. Some very nice throwbacks! I also loved how the Doctor seemed to have a low opinion of the way he user to dress in previous incarnations with him not too proud of his frilly wearing third incarnation or fur wearing second incarnation. He didn't seem too embarrassed by his fourth incarnation's attire though and seeked quite pleased with how useful that ridiculously long scarf had been during his travels! He even wrapped it around Erimem. The pair reminiscing about home was a touching moment with a nice reference to The Eye of the Scorpion but after a humorous mouse invasion, and some funny cat banter, Shayde dealt with the Rovie problem. Overall, a wonderful bonus! 

Rating: 9/10

The Church and the Crown

"There's a little law in this country. What the King wants, the King gets!"

Writers: Cavan Scott & Mark Wright

Format: Audio

Released: November 2002

Series: Main Range 38

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Peri, Erimem

Synopsis 

A nation divided...

A Queen's life at risk...

A net of conspiracy closing in...

Sometimes being a time travelling adventurer just isn't easy...

For a start there's a temperamental TARDIS that lands a few thousand years off course in 17th century Paris. But why shouldn't the Fifth Doctor, Peri and their travelling guest Erimem take a look around the city on the morning of King Louis' annual State Ball?

As Peri becomes embroiled in a plot to kill Queen Anne and smash the unity of the Church and the Crown, the Doctor finds himself duelling musketeers on the streets.

With Peri missing, Erimem catching King Louis' eye and a Musketeer's sword at your throat, could things get any worse?

Probably.

Verdict 

The Church and the Crown was an excellent audio adventure! A brand new TARDIS trio and a pure historical, this story really did have all the elements of a great story and it certainly didn't disappoint. This was a pleasure to listen to for the 103 minutes that it was on for. The length was very good and I thought the pace of the story flowed brilliantly and was very consistent which is always a bonus. I count this as the first official adventure with the Fifth Doctor, Peri and Erimem and what a wonderful trio they were! The chemistry was magnificent between them and I think it's certainly helping things that even for just the pair of the Fifth Doctor and Peri, it's still relatively new seeing as the only two adventures they shared together on television were Planet of Fire, where Peri arrived, and The Caves of Androzani where the Fifth Doctor departed. Now we get a whole bunch of adventures in between, though I remain skeptical about how much you can include between those stories. I'm not too technical though, where there's a gap there's endless possibilities for stories and I'm loving that they're exploited. For Erimem's first adventure in the TARDIS, I thought she was terrific. I really liked her in The Eye of the Scorpion, which was nicely referenced but also seems quite a while ago no, and I'm glad that she didn't disappoint in her follow up story. It seems that this TARDIS trio is going to grow to become a big favourite of mine, that I am sure! The Fifth Doctor has often been criticised in audio stories and although I'm still relatively early in the Main Range running order, I can see why from stories such as Red Dawn. However, Peter Davison was excellent in this story and gave a real assured performance. Not too long since watching Black Orchid, I think it's rather ironic that I get another doppelgänger-like story! Where in that TV story it was Nyssa who bared an uncanny resemblance to an Ann, it was Peri here who looked exactly like the Queen of France! I'm not sure if I agree with the comparison but in audio you can get away with details like that. No split screen or constant change of clothes required, just Nicola Bryant using a different accent. I really liked that this was a pure historical and I'm certainly a fan of Big Finish returning to a practice often affiliated with the First Doctor era. I'm shortly moving out and heading for university to study History so I'm a big fan of these types of adventure. You don't need an alien threat in every story to make it good or dangerous. Here we just have the TARDIS trio getting caught up in 17th century Paris and all the trouble that went with it. The loose references to the Three Musketeers was cleverly referenced and I liked the Doctor's dilemma of meeting King Louis when he already has but in the future of the monarch. I thought Delmarre and Rouffet were quite a comedic bunch and I loved how Peri escaped them with ease. Erimem having her way with them to get an audience with the King was also marvellous. The Doctor really was impressed! I loved her princess facade throughout and Peri's reaction to hearing of that was great. The Duke of Buckingham almost acting as the villain was an excellent bit of irony. After all the times the Doctor saved England, it was the Prime Minister who he was trying to prevent takeover France! It even acted as a cliffhanger. Peri questioning whether history could be changed once again cast my mind to that enormously important scene in The Aztecs. You can't rewrite history - Peri would soon learn. The climax was very good and logical and I liked how it kept with the pace despite it being the longest part at nearly thirty minutes. Overall, a fantastic little audio adventure and I look set to enjoy this TARDIS trio very much. 

Rating: 9/10

The End of the World

"You never take time to wonder the impossible. That maybe you survive."

Writer: Russell T Davies

Format: TV

Broadcast: 2nd April 2005

Series: 1.02

Featuring: Ninth Doctor, Rose

Synopsis 

The Doctor takes Rose on her first voyage through time, to the year five billion. The Sun is about ti expand, and swallow the Earth. But amongst the alien races gathering to watch on Platform One, a murderer is at work. Who is controlling the mysterious and deadly spiders?

Verdict 

The End of the World is a very good episode of Doctor Who and I don't think it gets the credit it deserves on times. It's in an extremely important slot in the series and after all the hype that went with Rose, the first televised regular Doctor Who episode since 1989, what would happen second time around? Would the high ratings maintain beyond the first back? This episode does very well in attracting viewers to stay for the rest of the series. It's rather a daunting title wouldn't you say? For Rose's first trip in the TARDIS she sees the destruction of her home planet five billion years in the future! Surely the Doctor could have shown her something a little more comforting. I like Rose a lot better with the Ninth Doctor because things are still relatively new for her. She just enjoys her travels with this incarnation but following his regeneration, I think things become a lot more serious for Rose and she ultimately falls in love with the Doctor. Here though, he's still a stranger. Their arrival on Platform One was good with the introduction of the psychic paper in humorous fashion. The Doctor does know it all. Christopher Eccleston gives an outstanding performance as the Doctor, especially when recalling about the Time War. Although names weren't mentioned, we got everything that we needed. Gallifrey was gone. The Time Lords were dead. The Doctor was the sole survivor. Things would become a lot clearer in Dalek, but for new viewers who perhaps haven't watched Doctor Who before this gives a different edge to the hero of the series, especially seeing as this incarnation follows the War Doctor. He's living with the guilt of blowing up his entire planet which was actually reversed in The Day of the Doctor. I love the anger that Eccleston can bring to the character, but then he can contrast that with such huge emotion as seen with Jabe when he sheds a tear for his people. Jabe's death was difficult to watch but at least she died for a good cause, after revealing to first time viewers that the Doctor is a Time Lord. The number of alien species coming to witness Earth's demise was great though I can imagine it must have been quite overwhelming for Rose! She had the Face of Boe, the Moxx of Balhoon and Lady Cassandra! Upon first viewing I was quite surprised that it was the latter who was behind the sabotaging robot spiders. The last human? She was more like a trampoline. Rose calling her Michael Jackson was pretty amusing I must say. Out of all the new enemies that came during series one, I'm surprised that it was Cassandra that became the first recurring villain in revived Doctor Who. Or do the Slitheen get that honour? I'd argue that Boom Town is a sequel to their first story so it wouldn't quite count as recurring. I'll leave that to the technical people to decide. It's more surprising though that she's able to come back in New Earth given how she goes out here - literally with a bang. The Doctor has no sympathy for her trying to kill everyone in the Platform. He lets her expand and stretch until she just breaks. Everything has it time. After all the times saving Earth, I'm surprised that the Doctor just wants to kick back and see the show. He obviously knows everything has its fine but although it's not his home planet he shares great affection for it so it must have hurt a little to see it smashed to smithereens. The effects in this episode were very impressive I must admit and it shows how well technology has advanced and why the show will benefit from the newfound modernisation. It's a lot more action packed and with the new format the pace has quickened dramatically. Though, I don't doubt for one second that this story would have worked well in the Classic era because overall, it is fantastic. 

Rating: 8/10

The Doctor's Daughter

"He saves planets, rescues civilisations, defeats terrible creatures. And runs a lot."

Writer: Stephen Greenhorn

Format: TV

Broadcast: 10th May 2008

Series: 4.06

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Donna, Martha

Synopsis 

On the planet Messaline, in the middle of an endless war, the Doctor meets someone very special who could become the most important woman in his life. 

Verdict 

The Doctor's Daughter was an excellent episode of Doctor Who in this fantastic fourth series since the revival. Just look at the title! We've seen the Doctor's granddaughter plenty of times in his early days travelling but for Susan to exist that obviously must mean that the Doctor has a child. Jenny was far from turning out to be anywhere close to being Susan's mother but she was absolutely the Doctor's daughter. The following on immediately from The Poison Sky with Martha getting stuck on board the TARDIS was great and although she gave her travelling up she still admitted she absolutely loved the bit where they exited the TARDIS and into the unknown. They could be anywhere in time and space. I do love a story where a companion that shouldn't really be there is on the adventure. It doesn't happen on television often, if at all, but in audios and novels it is more common. It's lovely that we get to see Donna and Martha be companions together. They're obviously acquainted plenty after battling the Sontarans but it's just nice to have the last companion join with the current. I thought David Tennant was once again outstanding as the Tenth Doctor. He rarely gives an average performance. Catherine Tate was also once again tremendous as Donna and I just loved the GI Jane and Rambo comments. Martha's venturing with Hath Peck was good but the way it ended was extremely sad. That's where Martha knew she just couldn't stay travelling. But that left a door open which Jenny would fill. After her being created by asexual reproduction from the Doctor, so he was technically her father and mother, at first she was everything the Doctor would most definitely not raise. A soldier. All she knew was war. Her goal was to defeat the Hath and all she knew was war and death. Gradually though the Doctor came to accept and then embrace her as his daughter. She had two hearts and she was quite the acrobat! The way she seduced the guard into letting them out of the cell was brilliant. Who could blame him? Georgia Moffet is absolutely beautiful. Speaking of beauty, Freema Agyeman looked stunning in this episode as well. Donna's comments about wanting to see the Doctor try seduction to escape a cell was astounding. The revelation that the war had only been going on for seven days was a shock upon first broadcast but now watching again, for the I'm not sure how many time, a smile was on my face as Donna was deducing the code. General Cobb killing Jenny at the climax was a shock, though he was aiming for the Doctor. After the Source was found simultaneously by both human and Hath, the Doctor emphatically declared the war over. The planet would be terraformed and the species could coexist. For Cobb that wasn't good enough. He didn't want the war over. He wanted it won. It's quite sad really. The Doctor pointing the gun at Cobb was a shock moment but of course he never would. What a fantastic motto to build a new society from. Martha saying goodbye was again was sad because she's definitely my favourite Tenth Doctor companion. However, it won't be long before she's back again. The end scene with Jenny technically regenerating, not quite like the Doctor, was lovely. The Doctor's daughter lives! I'm just baffled why, 7 years later and a reference in Death in Heaven, why hasn't the Doctor found her? There was a nice reference to The Christmas Invasion but my only qualm was the fact what the Hath were saying wasn't translated. But overall, an excellent episode. 

Rating: 9/10

The Roots of Evil

"Sometimes he was like a child, sometimes a god. Often he seemed to be both at once."

Writer: Philip Reeve

Format: Novella

Released: November 2014

Series: 12 Doctors, 12 Stories: 04

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Leela

Synopsis 

The Fourth Doctor and his companion Leela arrive on a massive free space station, known as the Heligan Structure. Little do they know that the tree has been asleep for centuries, dreaming of vengeance against a man in a blue box...

Verdict 

The Roots of Evil was a wonderful little read! Now, I know these novellas are pretty short but I must say that the standard of the first four adventures from the 12 Doctors, 12 Stories set that I was given have all been tremendous! A Big Hand for the Doctor kicked things off with the First Doctor seeing a premonition of his future self in the Eleventh Doctor, but here we have that same incarnation in the form of a statue! I think this story highlights just how wonderful novels can be and that still, over 30 years since Tom Baker left his role, we're still creating incredible adventures for the Fourth Doctor. And here we was, suffering the consequences of an Eleventh Doctor adventure! I am intrigued to know if the Doctor's later visit to the Heligan Structure will be depicted but it's probably best that it isn't. Once the Doctor arrived and first reference was made to his appearance not matching the statue, and the Doctor not recognising the name Golrandonvar, I did get the assumption that the statue would be a future version of the Doctor. I wasn't expecting it to be the Eleventh Doctor though! The Doctor didn't seem too pleased with the idea of wearing a bow tie but as the story went on he admitted that he might be able to see himself wearing one at some point in the future. It also seemed that Leela took quite the shining to the future Doctor! Bow ties are cool and it appears that the Eleventh Doctor is very handsome. You know what you've got to do now - make the Eleventh Doctor and Leela meet! What a team that would be. The theme of trees in this story was excellent and after reading I think the title is superb. Everything seemed to link to a tree somehow, whether it was bark or branches or what have you. The threat of the Spores was good and I liked the truth about them and how they should be going out into space and creating more tree space stations. Tree space stations - now isn't that incredible. Only in Doctor Who is that going to happen! I really liked Ven's character and his reaction to seeing the TARDIS and the Doctor was very good. I also liked Aggie and I thought the things their names were short for was hilarious! The Doctor really wasn't welcome. The characterisation of Leela in this story was absolutely perfect and I also liked the inclusion of some of the typical Fourth Doctor traits. The references to The Face of Evil and The Sun Makers were excellently placed though I was hoping that if K9 was going to be in the story it would be more than a cameo. The Justiciar and Chairman's bickering over who was truly in charge was pretty good and I really liked what Leela thought about that. Director Sprawn was a good enemy but I think he could have appeared a bit earlier! Overall though, a great climax to a fabulous little read. I really am enjoying the format this collectors' set has been presented with each story getting its own separate mini book. I think it gives a feeling of separation unlike where they were first printed just appearing one after another. Of course, with this set I've got the added bonus of a Twelfth Doctor adventure and fabulous postcards of the attire that each Doctor wears, as appears on the front cover of each print. This really is a whacky set, and this was a wonderful adventure from it. 

Rating: 9/10

The Sandman

"I am every bit the monster they perceive me to be."

Writer: Simon A. Forward

Format: Audio

Released: October 2002

Series: Main Range 37

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Evelyn

Synopsis 

The Clutch is a fleet in constant motion, ships jostling for position, in an endless migration between the stars. For the Galyari, forbidden by an ancient curse from settling on a world ever again, the Clutch is home. But the curse travels with them...

The Sandman, a figure of myth and folk-lore, preys on the young and old alike. He lurks in the shadows and it is death to look upon him.

All too soon after the TARDIS arrives, it is evident that the Doctor and the Galyari share a dark history, and Evelyn is shocked to discover that, on the Clutch, it is her friend who is the monster.

The Sandman, according to the tales, also goes by the name of the Doctor...

Verdict 

The Sandman was a very good audio adventure and I think slowly but surely over my well deserved summer break and getting into the swing of things in regard to these audios. I remain hopeful that I can push along the Main Range relatively quickly and hopefully catch up with the current releases before too long. That's going to require some effort though and with myself all set for university at the end of September, I'm not sure where I'll find the time once moving out. But we'll see what the future holds. In this story however it was centred on many of the Doctor's past actions. I was intrigued by the start of the audio and the reasoning for the Doctor choosing this place as the destination for their visit. I thought it was quite humorous that it was revealed the Doctor actually had intended to park the TARDIS outside rather than inside. Would the TARDIS ever do as he intended? It doesn't appear so! It seemed a while since I had listened to an audio adventure with Evelyn as the companion and in her past outings I've been open in saying that I didn't consider myself to be too much of a fan. I prefer the more stereotypical companion of the young good looking female. Evelyn does not match that criteria at all! Don't get me wrong, I'm in favour of audio exclusive companions as I absolutely adore Charley, but I just haven't taken a shining to Evelyn. Until this story though. I thought this was her best audio yet! She didn't have an overly expansive role and maybe that's why I liked her so much here. She was critical of there being too much running with the Doctor which is of course true, but she just seemed to fit into the plot magnificently. I thought it was wonderful to hear Anneke Wills in a Doctor Who story once again! Obviously she wasn't playing Polly, though a return of one of my all time favourite companions would have been astounding, I thought it was lovely that she was back doing Doctor Who. Nintaru was a really intriguing character though I remain surprised that the character was male! I couldn't quite grasp my head around that. The Doctor being known amongst the Galyari was intriguing, especially when he claimed to be the Sandman! Evelyn wasn't impressed. I really liked the first part cliffhanger but I must say the resolution was awful. I hadn't started overly liking Evelyn by that point. Thankfully she made up for it. The use of narration by the Sixth Doctor was intriguing to describe his past visit to the planet, though I still remain confused by the fact this story got a reference in The Rapture. It's not exactly anything much significant. I thought the guest cast were decent with Mordecan and Shol standing out as personal favourites. I love how the Sixth Doctor's coat actually helped out and was for a time being the centre of the story. It wasn't quite like The Doctor's Coat but I loved the fact that due it its splurge of colour and pattern the Galyari couldn't bare to look at the Doctor! Ha! The climax was good, it could have been a bit more pact but overall this was another very good audio adventure! 

Rating: 8/10

Black Orchid

"Why do I always let my curiosity get the better of me?"

Writer: Terence Dudley 

Format: TV

Broadcast: 1st-2nd March 1985

Season: 19.05

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Adric, Nyssa, Tegan

Synopsis 

England, 1925. The TARDIS materialises on a quiet railway platform where the Doctor, Tegan, Adric and Nyssa soon discover they are expected at an afternoon cricket match. And when the time travellers are invited ti stay at Cranleigh Hall for a fancy dress ball, it isn't long before they uncover a terrible family secret. Who is murdering the servants and why? A rare flower may hold the answer...

Verdict 

Black Orchid is an excellent little adventure plonked in the middle of this nineteenth season of Doctor Who. At this point Peter Davison has more than settled into his role as the Fifth Doctor and the companions are all at home with one another. There's no post-regenerative trauma, no alien menace, no squabbling. This is just a good old trip to 1920s Britain and the Doctor actually gets to play a game of cricket! His attire finally comes of use and we can see just why he's keen on being the Edwardian charter all the time - he's really rather good at cricket. As the Eleventh Doctor is fantastic at football in The Lodger, the Fifth Doctor demonstrates quite the skill for the sport. Although I'm anything but a cricket fan, I thought it was rather nice to see the Doctor genuinely having some fun. I loved the moment when the Doctor and co first meet everybody and the Master is mentioned. Of course, this did not refer to the Time Lord nemesis we last saw in Castrovalva. The Doctor's reaction to the misunderstanding was wonderful. Although it wouldn't be long before their paths crossed again. I've never been a massive fan of Tegan before (I've never disliked her either for the tecord) but I thought she was magnificent in this story! She looked splendid in her green fancy dress I must say. It's certainly a whole lot better than that air hostess uniform! This isn't Logopolis anymore! I liked the references to Full Circle, The Keeper of Traken and The Visitation, particularly the latter, but I must admit I did enjoy Alzarius and Traken being namedropped as places that Adric and Nyssa were wrong. They weren't wrong of course - just they wouldn't be found on Earth! Adric was pretty dull in this story, as usual you might say, but literally all he does in the two parts is criticise the railways and scoff his face. Every scene he featured in it just seemed to see him with a plate full of food. Tegan's dancing with Lord Charles was lovely and I loved how she was teaching him her modern Aussie lingo. She did enjoy that Charleston too! But of the companions, the obvious highlight was Nyssa in this story. Or namely Sarah Sutton. She got to play her double roll which was most intriguing. I bet she had some fun playing Ann, an Edwardian women, rather than a very intelligent Trakenite. The direction was very good in this story and for me to mention that is extremely rare so for it to have caught my attention it must have been impressive! The 1925 setting was refreshing and although this was a murder mystery story, I liked how this differed from The Unicorn and the Wasp in that there was no alien threat. This was just your classic whodunnit. The revelation surrounding Lady Cranleigh, Lord Charles and George was quite a sad story. Ann's former fiancé had actually returned but was somewhat worse for where. He'd successfully brought home the rare black orchid flower but it has literally cost him his tongue. He certainly owed a great deal to Latoni for surviving at all. The Doctor's wondering around the corridors after letting his curiosity get the better of him (I love it when that happens) was fantastic. He stumbled upon a dead body but in his absence his costume had been worn and a murder committed! The Doctor was almost being framed. The way he used the TARDIS for the police to see that he was actually telling the truth about being a time traveller was fabulous. Their reactions were excellent. The climax was entertaining with the fire providing some good danger but now the truth was all out. George however tragically fell off the roof and would not be reunited with his beloved Ann. Overall, a fun and very stylistic adventure. The cliffhanger could have perhaps been better but this was very good. 

Rating: 9/10

Ghost Light

"Don't worry. I always leave things until the last minute."

Writer: Marc Platt

Format: Novel

Released: September 1990

Series: Target 149

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace

Synopsis 

Perivale, 1983

A column of smoke rises from the blazing ruins of a forgotten, decaying mansion. 

Perivale, 1883

In the sleepy, rural parish of Greenford Parva, Gabriel Chase is by far the most imposing edifice. The villagers shun the grim house, but the owner. The reclusive and controversial naturalist Josiah Samuel Smith, receives occasional visitors.

The Reverend Ernest Matthews, for instance, dean of Mortarhouse College, has travelled from Oxford to refute Smith's blasphemous theories of evolution. 

And in a deserted upstairs room, the Doctor and Ace venture from the TARDIS to explore the Victorian mansion...

Who - or what - is Josiah Smith? What terrible secrets does his house conceal? And why does Ace find everything so frighteningly familiar?

Verdict 

Ghost Light was a pretty decent read but in all honesty I was expecting a lot better than what I got today! I thought the TV story was excellent during my only viewing nearly three weeks ago so I had high expectations for the novelisation but they were reduced significantly as I pressed on with the novel. Why it was 160 pages I'm not sure at all. Around 125 is the standard number of pages for a Target television story novelisation and the extra 35 pages just seemed to drag things out completely unnecessarily. Had this been a normal standard length novel then I think it would have been a lot better as the pace would have quickened dramatically and that's something this novel was lacking. It did seem dull in parts and when you watch the TV story that this is based on you do wonder how that can be. This is the latest released Target novel I've done so maybe as the years went on the novels were requested to be longer, but it just seemed strange for it to be as long as it was. This was my first experience of both the Seventh Doctor and Ace in novelised format as I'm yet to read any of my other owned novels (Paradise Towers, Remembrance of the Daleks and Transit) with this incarnation but I must give credit where it's due and say that the characterisation of both the Doctor and Ace was absolutely spot on. Although I question the author's style and structure of the novel, he wrote the lead characters so well and it made up for a lot of the flaws in this book. The plot was good but I think with it being dragged out over the length it was it led me to thinking similarly with Ace - just what was going on? If you're thinking that in a novel then it's not a good sign. When it comes to my ratings, I consider anything under 8/10 to be pretty poor and after a streak of five blogged stories in a row to score 8/10, I was hoping for a break in the chain. I did get it but not in the way I was hoping! I'm just now waiting for that story to come out and wow me and get me back up to the high ratings. I won't switch my ways though and choose a story I know I'm going to score highly, like The Five Doctors for example. I've planned already what I'll be doing tomorrow and I will stick to it. But back to the story at hand. The Gabriel Chase setting was a good one and I felt that was transferred into print very well, though I'm still baffled why they decided to give a house a name. I loved the bickering between Darwinism and religion betwen Josiah and Ernest but there'd of course only be one winner. Spoiler alert - it's not bloody religion! I was so glad to see that evolution was confirmed in this story (it is of course widely accepted now) and religion was defeated. As you might be able to tell I'm an Atheist so any chance to put religion down in Doctor Who I love. Despite that, the story could have been better. I found certain aspects quite similar to The Last Dodo with Light wanting to catalogue every single species but where in the Tenth Doctor novel species kept becoming extinct, here they kept on evolving. Light's work would always need to be updated. Change was a constant on Earth and that led to Light despising the planet, once it was finally accepted that's where the ship had landed. Off course of course (try saying that three times when you're drunk!). Gwendoline was a nice character and the emotional reunion with her mother, who'd been hidden in plain sight, was a nice moment. The story behind Control was also quite emotional though I wasn't a fan of her inability to speak English fluently. That came across poorly in prose. Her relationship with Ace was magnificent throughout though. The Doctor bringing Ace to the house to test her was quite a surprise and I liked how Ace had a troubled history with the location, though that was 100 years in the future. It was good that the effects of this story had implications for Ace's past. It was quite paradoxical. The first half of this novel was actually pretty tough to get through but thankfully the latter 80 pages set the story back on a good motion with some very good action scenes. The climax was entertaining, though not as detailed as it could have been. Considering this was extended compared with normal Target novels, I felt we needed a bit more explanation as to what was going on. It was a nice moment with the Doctor and Ace to end on though. Overall, a decent novel but a perfect example of why the novels are not the same as their televised counterparts, because the TV story is so much better than this. 

Rating: 7/10

Amy's Choice

"You can't spot a dream while you're having it..."

Writer: Simon Nye

Format: TV

Broadcast: 15th May 2010

Series: 5.07

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Amy, Rory

Synopsis 

It's been five years since Amy and Rory last saw the Doctor but now he's back and a terrible danger lurks in the village. Or are they still on their travels and approaching death in the form of a cold burning star? A choice must made. Which is reality and which is a dream?

Verdict 

Amy's Choice was a very good episode! I think it takes place at a nice time during series five, the first to feature the magnificent Matt Smith as the Doctor. When deciding what Doctor Who to blog today, I was in the mood for watching some televised Who once again and who better than my beloved Eleventh Doctor. After reading Ten Little Aliens recently I've been debating once more who my favourite Doctor is but this episode just ultimately confirmed that it is the Eleventh. Matt Smith is just absolutely wonderful as the Doctor. For a young man he plays the Doctor so well and you can easily believe that he is 907 by the traits of the actor. He's brilliant. I like how this episode doesn't show any foreshadowing of The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang as no cracks appear and that allows the episode to act as a standalone story with ease. There's no arcs to add into the story it's just back to basics and a good old 45 minutes of adventure. The idea of the Dream Lord was very good and I liked that the TARDIS trio, which by now is established after The Vampires of Venice, had to decide between two worlds which was reality and which was fake. Were Amy and Rory still travelling with the Doctor in the TARDIS and drifting towards a star burning cold? Or had they left the TARDIS five years ago only for the Doctor to return during an alien attack by pensioners! The Eknodine were an intriguing race and I liked how the Doctor could immediately see how old the pensioners really were. For him, around eighty years old was nothing. When he saw age he meant on a much larger scale. The fact Amy was pregnant and Rory had a ponytail led to me thinking that Upper Leadworth was the dream world. But then Rory died in emotional circumstances, in a harsh foreshadowing of Cold Blood. Amy's reaction of her husband to be dying was excellent shown by Karen Gillan, who when in the TARDIS scape looked absolutely incredible. Amy risked killing herself if it meant that she had a chance of being with Rory again. She would hold true to this action in The Angels Take Manhattan. The mention of Elizabeth I was very good and ties in brilliantly with The Day of the Doctor. I also liked how the Dream Lord was actually the Doctor's dark side personified, maybe this could tie in with The Trial of a Time Lord and The Time of the Doctor in that somehow he was also the Valeyard. It's an interesting theory. Nonetheless, I liked his mocking of the Doctor and it seems that these are actually the Doctor's thoughts about himself. Does he really care what others think of his appearance? I'm not convinced. But I think it's fascinating to have what the Doctor has the potential to be as an enemy for the story. Amy crashing the camper van to end the Leadworth dream was quite drastic but I did like how the Doctor trusted her. It was quite a scene to see her mowing down pensioners! Anything to be with Rory. But when it seemed that the Dream Lord was defeated and the star burning cold was real, the Doctor casually announces that he's going to blow up the TARDIS. Of course a star can't burn cold! They were both dreams. The essence of the Dream Lord being revealed was good and I liked the embrace between Amy and Rory at the end after the latter discovers why his ponytail wearing dream came to an end. Overall, a very good episode and I loved that the Doctor said he threw the TARDIS manual in a supernova because he disagreed with it. However, there were some flaws with the pace being questionable at times and the constant mind changing over which world was reality. I did like though that despite the constant switch, the Doctor always seemed in control. The rating seems to be a running theme lately!

Rating: 8/10

Kane's Story/Abel's Story/The Warrior's Story/Frobisher's Story

"The Skeletoids have demolished two mighty empires. They're at the gates of the planetary federation. The Draconian Empire will be next."

Writer: Max Stockbridge 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: September-December 1985?

Printed in: DWM 104-107

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Peri, Frobisher

Synopsis 

As the threat of the Skeletoids, the most dangerous monsters in the universe, draws nearer, the Doctor, Peri and Frobisher are joined with unlikely allies with the quest to save the galaxy.

Verdict 

This comic strip adventure, which should have an umbrella title, was a great finale to Voyager. The blog will be a little different in that I will post my entry after reading each part to actually give us a four-in-one blogged story! 

Kane's Story

This was a very good opening part to what looks set to be a brilliant four-part adventure to conclude the Voyager graphic novel! She's finally back on board the TARDIS - Peri has finally arrived back on the TARDIS and this time she's not an illusion. The reference to Funhouse was very good though I'm not sure it required asterisk with it being the last story. The Doctor and Frobisher crash landing in the middle of what seemed to be a robotic city was pretty humorous but there didn't seem anything funny about what the Doctor and co would surely soon be up against. The Skeletoids didn't need much selling as a threat when it was revealed, and shown, that they had crushed the Dalek and Cybermen empires! The Doctor's two deadliest foes. Now they were after the Draconians. Quite a list they were gathering! The Draconian looming in the background at the start was also fantastic! But now, with Peri picked up and the services of the in the know Kane acquired, it looks like the Doctor may be attending a meeting in which Davros and the Cyber Controller are present...

Abel's Story

This was a decent second part to the story though it didn't continue the story quite how I was expecting. We had a lot of insight into Abel and I do hope it was worth the pages and he plays a big role in the final two parts as the TARDIS team didn't feature at all and the story mainly comprised of a news bulletin following the Skeletoid occupation of yet another planet. These enemies seem to definitely be ones not to mess with! They were executing off-worlders and tourists and would soon take over the space ports. These monsters meant business. I'm intrigued to see if there'll be any further mention of the suits. I'm also fascinated by the science of alchemy that Abel is famous for. Will that play a role in the next two stories? The ending was quite humorous with the TARDIS changing course without its pilot even knowing! And we look set for the return of the Draconians in part three, with the Cyber Controller confirmed for the summit but no word from Davros. However it was great that he was featured in a cameo! 

The Warrior's Story

This third part of the finale of the Voyager graphic novel advanced things on tremendously! I think it's very intriguing that we get to see things from a Draconian's point of view and I really am glad that they've returned more than once since Frontier in Space in this graphic novel. They're extremely underrated in my opinion so it's nice for them to be returning here, but not in the capacity one might expect. I like how it's typical of Davros to keep stalling on whether he'll appear at the galactic summit or not, though I am surprised no mention of Resurrection of the Daleks has been made. Maybe that'll come when the Doctor hears of Davros's involvement. I do hope we get an appearance from the Cyber Controller though - even if it's just a cameo! The introduction to the President who I assume will be conducting the summit was good and I thought he was a great character. Edd was quite humorous as his assistant of sorts. It seemed like things were going sour as the Skeletoids draw closer to conquest with Abel presumed dead and the Draconian missing on Xaos, but the cliffhanger to lead into the final part was magnificent! The team of the Doctor, Peri, Frobisher, Kane, Abel and the Draconian had all been drafted to save the galaxy! That's quite a formidable team and now I'm really looking forward to what should be a very exciting climax.

Frobisher's Story

This was an intriguing end to the story but wasn't quite what I was expecting. Sadly I thought this was actually the worst part of the story, not that it wasn't good, but it just seemed to rush by awfully quickly! Considering the Skeletoids were dubbed as being one of the most dangerous villains in the cosmos, they were defeated awfully easily. Don't get me wrong, the team of the Doctor, Peri and co was strong but the method of defeat was too quick for my liking. After all the great build up this seemed like an anti-climax of sorts. Despite that, there were definitely positives with the Sixth Doctor and Kaon working together in an unlikely alliance. A good Draconian? I am hopeful that theme doesn't continue if the foreshadowed future meeting does occur. I've been very critical of the Ice Warriors not being evil and I hope the Draconians don't go down that same path. Peri was in action which was nice though she's been awfully quiet since making her comic strip debut. Considering this was from Frobisher's point of view, he didn't have much to do either. The banter between him and the Doctor is good but this wasn't what I was hoping for in a climax. 

However, overall this finale was a great ending to what has been a brilliant Voyager graphic novel. I've really enjoyed it with Voyager and Once Upon a Time Lord really standing out as phenomenal stories. We've seen the arrival of a new penguin companion, a new barmy Time Lord villain in Astrolabus and the return of the Draconians! A good finale.

Rating: 8/10

Funhouse

"For the universe's best-travelled nan, your sense of direction is the pits!"

Writer: Max Stockbridge

Format: Comic Strip

Released: July-August 1985

Printed in: DWM 102-103

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Frobisher

Synopsis 

A creature with the form of a rambling of house has possessed the TARDIS. Now both the house and TARDIS hurtle through the time vortex with the Doctor and Frobisher struggling to regain control.

Verdict 

Funhouse was a very good comic strip adventure to get me right back into the swing of things with the Voyager graphic novel. This was a very decent penultimate story and I found it in some pretty obvious ways similar to The Doctor's Wife. Obviously we didn't have the Doctor and co leaving the universe and the possibility of more Time Lords existing, as this features the Sixth Doctor they're not yet destroyed, but we do have an evil house that is trying to take over the TARDIS! And it seems to do just that as it almost merges with the time machine. The two seem to become one and that causes a mass of trouble for the Doctor and Frobisher. I think in almost every blog for the stories in this graphic novel I've vented my frustration at Peri not appearing when she's on the front cover but I guess, on a technicality, that I can't continue that as finally she does make an appearance, even if it is in just a cameo role and created by the illusions of the Funhouse. It seems that she's simply been dropped off somewhere which I find intriguing. Surely we could have seen that happen in a comic strip story? It would seem to flow more naturally from The Caves of Androzani or The Twin Dilemma. Frobisher was a good companion in this story and I liked that in the climax we saw the reverse through time with his appearances from The Shape Shifter and War-Game. I think this story gave the reader a subtle insight into what it's like to be a companion around the Doctor on times. After the good cliffhanger I found myself agreeing with Frobisher in not having a clue what the Doctor was talking about. He seemed to understand the situation with ease, as seemed in my reading of Ten Little Aliens yesterday, whilst his companion just entrusted that he knew what he was doing and would save the day. That was certainly the case here I felt. The pace was very good and I thought the characterisation of the Sixth Doctor was once again very good, as it has been in pretty much every story in this graphic novel. I'm really enjoying the artwork, which is slightly to my surprise as I was skeptical about reading comic strips in black and white, and I'm sure it'll continue to impress me in past and future graphic novels. I liked that the end scene on almost every page was of the TARDIS and a caption of Funhouse admiring its power. It needed the merge. The climax was very good and energetic and I loved that we got to see a brief cameo of all five previous incarnations of the Doctor as he seemed to de-age in freeing the TARDIS of the Funhouse. The Time Lord used time itself as his means of escape and trapped the deranged house in the vortex - something it actually seemed to enjoy! It really was quite the barmy funhouse. It certainly wasn't the kind of thing you find at the funfair! It's not often that a comic strip story has an epilogue but I found that intriguing and it filled a nice little gap at the end. Overall, a very good comic strip and I now look forward to the intriguingly named four-part finale, in which Peri better make an appearance! 

Rating: 8/10

Ten Little Aliens

"The old boy was a real mystery, but it seemed his life was just one long adventure that he was willing to share with his mates."

Writer: Stephen Cole 

Format: Novel

Released: June 2002

Series: PDA 54

Featuring: First Doctor, Polly, Ben

Synopsis 

Far out in space, on the ragged edges of Earth's bloated empire, an elite unit of soldiers is on a training mission. But deep in the heart of the hollowed-out planetoid that forms their battleground, a chilling secret waits to be discovered: ten alien corpses, frozen in time at the moment of violent, bloody death. 

The bodies are those of the empire's most wanted terrorists, and their discovery could end a war of attrition devastating the galaxy. But is the same force that slaughtered them still lurking in the dark tunnels of the training ground? And what are its plans for the people of Earth?

When the Doctor arrives on the planetoid with Ben and Polly, he soon scents a net tightening about them. And as the soldiers begin to disappear one by one, paranoia spreads; is the real enemy out there in the darkness, or somewhere among them?

Verdict  

Ten Little Aliens was an excellent novel adventure! Now before I get into the story, I just want to give my criticisms first and then conclude with the positives, of which there are many. Now I may sound like I disliked this novel but for a lot of the time I found that I couldn't put it down which is obviously good! However, I wasn't too much in favour of the way the chapters were seemingly split at random. It seemed that almost each paragraph was numbered by a Roman numeral and I just don't understand why. I've never seen anything like it in a novel before and I think it created far too many breaks in the story. I also didn't approve of the amount of swearing that appeared in the book. I know these novels are more orientated for an adult audience like myself, but despite me being the target audience I like to think of Doctor Who as a family show, and at times it lost that wonderful feel with 'ass' and 'bitch' repeatedly used when there was just no need for it. My final criticism, at what is actually frustration at the style and structure of writing by the author rather than story, is at the 40 or so pages of what can only be described as a Decide Your Destiny chapter. I didn't understand why that was included at all and despite owning a couple of Doctor Who DYD stories myself, as yet unexplored, I find myself put off by the fact you have to flick from page to page. It didn't seem so bad here but I just found it very random. Now, onto the positives of what was a very good story and my first original novel to feature the First Doctor. I've previously done Doctor Who and the Tenth Planet with this trio, which was phenomenal, but I found them absolutely wonderful together here. It's a damn shame that this trio lasted for as little as it did with only The Smugglers and the TV story of the aforementioned novel counting but I'm definitely going to look for other stories featuring this trio, though I assume this might be the only one in existence due to the difficulty in keeping it to stay in line with the TV continuation. I will now definitely seek out Doctor Who and the Smugglers (I'm guessing that's the name!) though. The characterisation of all three members of the TARDIS trio was absolutely nailed by Stephen Cole who impressed me in that field just again, as he did recently with Sting of the Zygons. The plot was good and I heard that this novel had somewhat of a violent tone, and whilst that may be true in the latter chapters I didn't find it to be so overall, especially not compared with Fear of the Dark, another of the stories rereleased as part of the 50th anniversary. However, I was lucky enough to find the original novel (there's nothing quite like the originals) in a charity shop for a mere 50p prior to the rereleases and now that has been more than valued! What a bargain. I'm somewhat a genius at finding those in stores. The plot was a good one with some unexpected twists to say the least! First it seemed a general consensus that Denni was the insider with the Schirr but then it turned out that it was Haunt all along! The whole thing was actually a rescue mission. I must admit a smile crossed my face when I read that revelation. I do enjoy a good twist and Cole provided that here. The relations between the characters was excellent and I liked that they obviously had a long history together. Shade stood out along with Denni as my favourites though I did enjoy the relationship Ben shared with Frog. That provided some great humour. I was intrigued that it was made blatantly obvious, albeit through subtlety, that Polly and Ben shared romantic feelings for one another. Ben didn't like how Polly took an interest and she disliked his constant laughing with Frog. I think in the long run it'll just make them stronger as a pairing, though this makes Mondas Passing all the more a sadder story. The Doctor was brilliant in this novel and it's been a while since I've done a story featuring the first incarnation, one I sometimes think is the best. The dialogue was spot on and I liked how his age as well as his wisdom was captured with apparent ease in this novel. It was very typical of the First Doctor to seemingly know what was happening but not enlighten everybody else. I loved that about William Hartnell's Doctor. I could just imagine that legendary little laugh after some of the extraordinary moments that took place in the story, such as the Schirr bodies vanishing. I liked the eery setting though I would liked to have been given a time frame for when this story was set. I assume it was quite some way into the future with many planets being named after major cities. The Toronto incident flashback was fascinating. The reference to The War Machines was very nicely included and I like how this obviously set very closely before The Tenth Planet with the Doctor seemingly feeling a regeneration approaching. The moment Polly tried to see into his head was incredible. We caught just a snapshot but it was astonishing. It was nice to know that we got the feeling the Doctor very much liked Polly though, and why wouldn't he? She was wonderful throughout. The climax was good with the crew seemingly being transformed into Schirr. But Polly had incredibly found the crystals that would steer the planet away and reverse the process. The Cherubins method of killing was pretty appalling and it made them merciful villains as they simply smiled but they were eventually dealt with. As were the Schirr. All was over, and despite some losses along the way, the majority survived when it could have been a whole lot worse. The talk of magic at the goodbye followed by the TARDIS dematerialisation was a lovely finish. Overall, I'm surprised this was chosen for the anniversary as I'm sure there'll be better First Doctor novels but this was very, very good. 

Rating: 8/10 

The Rapture

"I like clubbing and dance music so I must be okay..."

Writer: Joseph Lidster

Format: Audio

Released: September 2002

Series: Main Range 36

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace

Synopsis 

Ibiza, 1997, and thousands of young people are acting like mindless zombies.

Which is to be expected. Ibiza, the island of dance music, sex, drugs and alcohol, is the ultimate hedonistic paradise.

God has sent help from on high to save the sinners of Ibiza. He has sent his angels to save their souls.

Which would be simple enough if these souls didn't include an alien time-traveller working in a bar, a woman who disappeared in 1987, a young man carrying a photograph of a girl he's never met and an Irish girl who doesn't even know who she is anymore.

Verdict 

The Rapture was a very good and interesting audio adventure to continue along Big Finish's Main Range rather nicely. They're well into their stride now with this being the conclusion of the third straight year (not calendar of course) of monthly releases and almost immediately within listening the story had my praise with Tony Blackburn (a celebrity apparently, but I've never heard of him) talking about a song that hasn't been played in about a month. Once that song is played, what is it? The Doctor Who theme of course! I thought that was a very clever start to the story and it definitely put a smile on my face which is certainly a bonus. The setting of Ibiza in 1997 was an intriguing choice and I think it's typically brilliant that even here the Doctor knows somebody. He doesn't quite seem the partying type though does he? In his eleventh incarnation perhaps, but definitely not the seventh! Speaking of which, I thought the Seventh Doctor had a rather limited role as the Doctor when compared to some past audio stories featuring the pair. However, this story was more about Ace which I was absolutely fine with. There was a lot of emotion filled behind her in this story and I definitely get the sense of Big Finish hoping to see the character grow up somewhat. I think we have tendency to forget that she's still very young, or was at least during the TV seasons. After recently watching Silver Nemesis, I questioned my criticism of the TARDIS pairing but after doing this audio I'm not sure I was correct to. They weren't bad at all but there's something that somehow makes me feel not suited to them. I really don't know what it is, but I just seem to prefer every single other TARDIS pairing. It didn't take away from the story at all though which was nice. I'm not sure why Ace wanted to be referred to as McShane during the story - it just seems ridiculous. And she should also know that when travelling with the Doctor you can't expect a day off from the trouble! It's part and parcel of travelling in the TARDIS. I was surprised by the numerous references to sex in the story. That obviously comes with the setting which has a reputation for music and drugs, which are fine to mention in Doctor Who, but I think sex is a contemptuous issue. Of course, after Day One nothing is off limits but seeing as this was released in 2002 I found myself surprised that a reason for coming to Ibiza was "to get laid" appearing in a Classic Who story. The story behind Ace's long-lost brother was definitely an emotional one. Liam meeting his sister for the first time they could both remember was a nice moment and it's lovely that the audios are able to develop the companions by exploring their family as is the case here. It can work even more so with Ace as there's a huge gap to play with between Survival and The Movie. The references to Dust Breeding and Colditz were very good and I like how recent adventures seem to be catching up with Ace. She's feeling the effects and it's testament to the Doctor that he tries and gives her the holiday break she desires. The religious theme was an interesting one and although you may think I'd be against it due to my Atheism and loathing of religion, if it fits then I'm absolutely fine with it. I often like it because it usually confirms that God is just a mere myth, as I felt was the case that here as the truth about Gabriel and Jude was revealed. That linking with Ace and Liam was a fantastic inclusion. I thought the cliffhangers could have been better though I did enjoy part three's surprise revelation. I wasn't overly struck on the Doctor Who theme remixes for each part but that doesn't take from the story, which was a very solid adventure. A nice foreshadowing of what's next with The Sandman too!

Rating: 8/10

...ish

"English - what a remarkable, versatile language! Ever expanding, adapting, surviving..."

Writer: Phil Pascoe

Format: Audio

Released: August 2002

Series: Main Range 36

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Peri

Synopsis 

A conference of lexicographers: bromides in tweed. But the leading expert in the field is found dead by her own hand - and by her hologlyphic assistant. Is he responsible? Does the death for any conventional definitions? Can the Doctor deduce who wrote the suivide note and why, exactly, it was riddled with spelling errors?

Peri should help out, but there's a guy. Someone who loves language even more than the Doctor. Maybe, she realises, enough to kill for it. Or perhaps just enough to ask her out to dinner. Unless, of course, he's already spoken for...

Is it madness? Seeking transcendence in the complete lexicon? Having the right words on the tip of your tongue but never quite knowing when to use them?

If so, how?

Verdict 

...ish was a pretty good and intriguing audio adventure with one of my all time favourite TARDIS pairings. Despite the wonderful pair of the Sixth Doctor and Peri, who currently just about edge the Fourth Doctor and Leela as my favourite audio pairing, this was probably their worst adventure together. I really enjoyed the first three Lost Stories they did and also the only other Main Range story they did in Whispers of Terror, which seems a lifetime ago, but somehow the pair didn't quite live up to my expectations. Maybe I like them so much that I just expect brilliance every time? I'm not sure. The development of the Sixth Doctor in the audios from the television stories continues wonderfully and it's nice to see the softer side of this incarnation of the Doctor once again. Alongside Peri, 'softer six' as he's been dubbed absolutely shines. The relationship between the two is just fantastic and I like to think that the audios are somewhere late on during Season 22 or actually, more closer to preceding The Trial of a Time Lord. There's a big gap for Big Finish to do just about whatever they want there and it's nice to see that they're more than taking advantage! After doing a little research on the writer, it doesn't surprise me that this is Phil Pascoe's only contribution to performed Doctor Who. It was good but it was far from the best. A near two hour audio story based on the theme of linguistics? Now, I'm a fan of Countdown but two hours of a dictionary story could become a little tedious and boring. Sadly, in some parts that was exactly what happened. Part two was quite disinteresting sadly. The latter parts did make up for that though to give us a solid story overall. The arrival of the Doctor and Peri wasn't all that dramatic and neither was the story as a whole really which was a shame because I felt there were moments where a few action scenes could have been thrown in. Even in audios, although we can't see the story adding some action adds to the pace and flow of the story greatly. The main thing that sees this story receive what I consider to be a low rating is there was a lack of oomph. I thought I might get it after the second part's cliffhanger but it wasn't to be sadly. There was no real moment of triumph where the Doctor could step in and save the day, establishing himself as the hero. Despite that, I felt Colin Baker gave a very assured performance and his vocabulary skills were most impressive. If this script was for the Second or Seventh Doctor then I think it'd turn out very differently! I must admit that I've been looking very forward to getting to this story in my Main Range run, which isn't proceeding as quickly as I might have liked, due to the name. I've been intrigued by it for a long time as it doesn't really offer us any insight into what the story is going to be about. However, it wasn't quite up to what I was hoping for. The characters were good and I liked that the Doctor and Osefa had a history but I hoped that could have been explored a bit more. The relationship between Peri and Warren during the early parts of the audio was lovely though, a standout from the adventure. Book was a very intriguing character I must say. The concept of trying to produce a dictionary as vast as it was tasked was almost incomprehensible! The omniverbum problem was a good inclusion and the mystery of it being said to be the word equivalent of pi was a superb analogy. It was so big that only the English language could defeat it for size! I liked how the story took advantage of the Doctor having an American companion and the differences in the English language they have ultimately proved to be the plot's resolution. Together, the Doctor and Peri saved the day. The setting could have been explored a bit more with some detail added but it sufficed. I also would have liked some TARDIS scenes as despite their simplicity, I think they add greatly to the start of a story. Just look at The Land of the Dead for example. Overall, an interesting choice of theme for a Doctor Who story. The worst audio since The One Doctor, but a brave effort.

Rating: 7/10

Blood and Ice Part 4

"They don't all die. The splinters don't all die!"

Writer: Jacqueline Rayner

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 25th June 2015

Printed in: DWM 488

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis 

With the Doctor and Clara locked up at the hands of the merciful Dr Audley, it appears that Winnie has betrayed them and joined with the evil human experimenter. What does this mean for the Doctor, if the splinter doesn't help him survive?

Verdict 

Blood and Ice concluded in excellent style with this fourth and final part! The Twelfth Doctor comic strip has started off pretty strongly with a solid The Eye of Torment, which amazingly started nearly a year ago. It then continued wonderfully with the return of the Sontarans and Rutans in The Instruments of War which was followed by a slight detour in terms of quality with Space Invaders! But now all is restored as this comic strip adventure is certainly the best of the Twelfth Doctor run thus far! I'll get into the details shortly but before I do, let's have a look at what this issue of DWM has in store for us. It doesn't seem like a few days since I picked up the last issue due to A-Level exams, in which I incredibly won star letter of the month due to my praise of this very story. But here we are again, late, but only by a few days this time. I'm really looking forward to the Ingrid Oliver interview as I think the character we see in Osgood on screen is not far from the actress herself at all! I'm sure that'll get confirmed during the interview. I'm intrigued by what a main feature on Doctor Who cosplay has to offer. I can't imagine what that'll consist of other than pictures. The thrills of dressing up as our heroes? I can't say I've ever wanted to do that, though I do own a Fourth Doctor sonic screwdriver and Tenth Doctor fob watch as part of my collection, so maybe there's something deep inside me that wants ti join the cosplay party. I'm looking forward to the continuation of looking at Doctor Who's history on home video as I've enjoyed that feature a lot over the last few issues. It's incredible to think that almost instantly the birth of the DVDs just destroyed the VHS market. I'm enjoying the retroness (is that a word?) of some of the covers and it's nice to know that whilst Doctor Who was off our screens, and with episodes not readily available on the internet, fans were able to watch Classic adventures that they may never have seen before or at least not seen for years. That's the one thing that's sad from my perspective in having watched every TV story ever, there's nothing new for 39 weeks of the year. Thankfully, I've still got loads and loads of audios, novels and comic strip stories to explore to fill the void, but there's nothing quite like the television stories. Steven Moffat's column was a superb read and it's nice to see how positive he is about the John Nathan-Turner interview that appeared in the last issue. He's exactly right about Season 26 too - it's fantastic! Galaxy Forum is always a great read as we get to see other fans' thoughts on just about anything! And as always, I can't wait to read what Jacqueline Rayner has in store in her Relative Dimensions column which is usually a highlight of the magazine. Anyway, speaking of Jacqueline Rayner. What a wonderful comic strip she's given us with Blood and Ice. A superb finale for a superb story. I feared that after the first two magnificent parts, and part three not following at the same high standard, that the story may dwindle to lower than I had first hoped. But thankfully that was not the case! The experiments came to an end and after the fearful cliffhanger of the last part, Winnie truly did give her life to save the Doctor. I think it's brilliant that whilst the TV series seems to have forgotten about Clara's impossible girl gimmick, other than a reference in Deep Breath, the comic strips can still deal with the aftermath of The Name of the Doctor. It's such a landmark occurrence! But it's nice to know that everything said in that story does happen. The splinters do sacrifice themselves for the Doctor. Of course we saw preludes to that in Asylum of the Daleks and The Snowmen, which was nicely referenced, but after the story in which the splinters are born we see that it's not all bad. Clara feels so guilty for what she has created but she had no other choice. The embrace between Clara and Winnie at the end was a lovely touch as all seemed lost. The Doctor catching on to Winnie's hints to thwart Dr Audley was brilliant. Of course the splinter was going to save the Doctor! That's what she was born to do. And by chance she survived. The blue blood continuation was fantastic and I liked that Clara was going to step in a a Winnie when the latter's mother arrived. However, whilst the characterisation of the Twelfth Doctor has easily been mastered, I still feel that they can't get Clara quite right. But hopefully there's plenty of time to get that right. Overall though, an excellent comic strip across the four parts with some incredible past references, flashbacks and dwelling. A very good plot with some great characters. 

Rating: 9/10

Wooden Heart

"The mystery of it all - a Mary Celeste that drifts in the spaces between the stars..."

Writer: Martin Day

Format: Novel

Released: April 2007

Series: NSA 15

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Martha

Synopsis 

A vast starship, seemingly deserted, is spinning slowly in the void of deep space. Martha and the Doctor explore the drifting tomb and discover that they may not be alone after all.

Who survived the disaster that overcame the rest of the crew? What continued to power the vessel? And why has a stretch of wooded countryside suddenly appeared in the middle of the craft?

As the Doctor and Martha journey through the forest, they find a mysterious, fog-bound village - a village traumatised by missing children and prophecies of its own destruction...

Verdict 

Wooden Heart was a fantastic novel adventure with the Tenth Doctor and Martha! This is a pairing that I enjoyed on television for series three and was actually the pairing that in my first ever Doctor Who story, The Lazarus Experiment. Amazingly, that story is near the bottom when it comes to ranking episodes but thankfully it didn't put me off the programme! Here we are, over eight years on and I'm reading a brand new story with this pairing, a pairing which is increasingly going up the ranks when it comes to TARDIS pairings thanks to the three novels I've read recently. I noticed how good this pairing was in prose during Sting of the Zygons, it occurred again in The Last Dodo and definitely continued here! I was reading the story on the train back home after a week away, in which I was very busy with mainly comic strips, so it was nice to be back doing a novel after reading Meglos on the train journey up. Whilst the comic strips were brilliant, it was nice reading a story that had a lot of detail. That's obviously natural with novels, they're a lot more detailed with a much lather backdrop than say a two-part comic strip story like Once Upon a Time Lord. Funnily enough, that gets a considerably higher rating from me though. I'm not sure if you can compare a comic strip to a novel. When it comes to ratings I'm pretty sure I don't judge it on past stories but if I were, it would only be on ones in the same format I think. I liked how the start of the novel, setting the scene, initially seemed to conflict with where the Doctor and Martha arrived. Usually we have the scene set and the TARDIS arrives during what the viewer/reader already knows. But where we had disappearing children in a village, the Doctor and Martha landed on a deserted space station! Now, how are those two things going to become linked? The result was very good. The moment the Doctor and Martha were done exploring and intended to return through the door they came to get back to the TARDIS but instead arrived in a forest was great. The Doctor seemed incredibly excited! I liked the enigma that the ship had. The Doctor had worked out quite a lot from very little, as you expect him to, and it was clear early on that the Doctor didn't like what he saw. This wasn't an ordinary research ship. This was also a prison. On which there were experiments - a word the Doctor said with utter distaste. I absolutely loved my opening quote, a wonderful observation. Though for obvious reasons, I was hoping for a reference to The Chase! It didn't come however. But we did get some very nice references to Smith and Jones and The Shakespeare Code. Unlike Made of Steel, with those the only TV stories referenced we can assume this is very early on in Martha's travels, but she did seem very assured. I guess that's due to recent encounters with Zygons and Dodos. The characters were mostly good with the strained brotherly relationship of Petr and Saul the standout. I certainly wasn't expecting the revelation that Thom was actually Saul's son though! That did shock me. The Dazai was very enigmatic and I liked how she seemed to know everything. The Creator of the village, who was nameless which wasn't ideal, reminded me of a certain character from Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways in that she was hooked up and powering the station. She was tormented and the Doctor was so sorry. His plea to hold on to powering the village was excellent but I wasn't overly struck on the reason for the children disappearing. The analogy to a hard drive was repeated too often. However, Jude was a wonderful character and the moment the Doctor referenced one of the most famous songs of all time in saying "hey, Jude" was just magic. The climax was good with all just about ending well. The dark creature had allowed the Doctor and Jude to live, and they'd saved the rest. Overall, a very enjoyable read!

Rating: 8/10