The Hyperion Empire Part 1

"You'd be Grumpy, or maybe Dopey, all those questions you keep asking."

Writer: Robbie Morrison 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 31st December 2015

Printed in: DWC 2.04

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara 

Synopsis 

When Clara and the Doctor land in 2015 London, they discover that the Hyperions have attacked our olsnet and reduced most of its cities to ashes! But what can the Doctor and his companion do when the dead rise to the Empire's aid? Will they be able to save the Earth's fate?

Verdict 

The Hyperion Empire started off fantastically with this excellent opening part to what looks set to be a thrilling four-part finale to the 'first year' of Twelfth Doctor and Clara comic adventures. I know with being in Britain and having to purchase these comics simultaneously, something I'm absolutely fine with as it is a money saver, we've had a bit of a jumper with the whole early reissuing of DWC to accommodate the brilliant Four Doctors story, something I'm still not entirely sure why happened, but I'm just very glad that we're getting them! They offer so much more than a television or audio story can because there really is no budget. There aren't any limitations in a comic strip story which I think is rather exciting. With that being said, the format obviously has its limits in that it is not performed so it's down to the writers to nail characterisation of the main characters, particularly the TARDIS team which in this case was the most current consistent pairing of the Twelfth Doctor and Clara. We had two full seasons of this pairing and I have pretty much done every story to feature the pair thus far, discounting their stories printed in Doctor Who Adventures, of which I would claim to not being canonical. I've done each of the five novels, both Doctor Who Annuals, every DWM and DWC comic strip available in the UK and all three audio adventures. It's fair to say I know this pairing pretty well and it's testament that there's still a lot more to come from them. I must admit that after Terrorformer, I was not expecting such a quick return from the Hyperions, if a return at all. I do like the idea of finishing the year as we started it with the Hyperions. It's a good way to go that's for sure and I like how this segment of the magazine resisted the attempt of having a big surprise return of a major villain, as was the case in Conversion with the Cybermen. I look forward to seeing how that pans out over the coming months but I'm just glad each Doctor has his own identity within the comic. The story started off rather aggressively and there's no disputing that the Hyperions mean business! They wiped out the International Space Station rather emotionally, annihilated the Lake District and seems to have left London in such ruins that Clara thought they'd arrived in the aftermath of the Great Fire of London. But much to her disbelief, it was 2015. Her time. And London was covered in ash, as well as human DNA. Not an encouraging thought at all. I thought the characterisation of Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor was done marvellously throughout, as it has been in nearly every printed story to feature the current incarnation, and I thought Clara got characterised pretty well as a whole. I really liked her narration page where she momentarily seemed to follow in the footsteps of Gabby, no artwork though, in telling us her perspective. I was glad to see the inclusion of Kate Lethbridge-Stewart once again after her appearance in The Fractures and after seeing her get included, albeit not artistically represented too well, it has made me want to purchase UNIT: Extinction a whole lot more. I do have some other audios to get through or purchase first though I think. We'll see how it goes. For now though, I was glad to see her back once again. Clara referencing Dark Water/Death in Heaven was quite sad but I loved the way she pointed out her love of travelling with the Doctor in the TARDIS. Who would want a normal life anyway? I could hardly blame her. She continues to be magnificent even after death (and to my annoyance, resurrection). The cliffhanger seemed a bit sudden I must admit, but it was pretty good one! I'm not sure how the Doctor is going to solve the Hyperion crisis but I look forward to finding out! One thing looks certain though, Hyperios Rises. Can anything stop it? I'm intrigued to discover the answer in the next few parts, and the final one is where the rating will be found. 

Dark water/death in heaven 

The Sins of Winter

"I'm afraid I can't hold back death."

Writer: James Goss

Format: Audio

Released: 3rd December 2015

Series: NSA 24

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara 

Synopsis 

The TARDIS is summoned to a cathedral in space by Shadrak Winter, the High Cardinal of the Cult of the Prime Self. Soon to be relieved of his post by way of assassination, Shadrak has used his family's calling card to bring the Doctor to his aid. His followers have fled the Sinful, highly contagious slug-like creatures. Shadrak himself has been infected and they now threaten the Doctor and Clara. 

As the Sinful spread through the cathedral, the Doctor and Clara are on the run for their lives and their souls. Who is behind the plot to assassinate Cardinal Winter, and why isn't the Doctor feeling himself?

Verdict 

The Sins of Winter was a very good and entertaining audio adventure that continued the interlinked quartet of Twelfth Doctor and Clara audios along very nicely! Following on from my back to back listening of The Gods of Winter and The House of Winter, I thought I'd better put some of my Christmas money to good use and purchase a few Doctor Who items, some of which should be blogged pretty soon. The last blog entry of Engines of War was one example of that as it arrived on Friday, with this very audio, and was completed shortly thereafter. It was a fantastic read and with myself being a little busy today, I limited myself to just the solitary 70 minute audio rather than a Main Range 2 hour plus audio that I had hoped to fit in today. It didn't matter though and instead I returned myself to the excellent pairing of the Twelfth Doctor and Clara. As baffling as it might sound, it actually seems a while since I did a story with this pairing which considering the amount of stories I've done with the pair over the last year seems quite silly! The pair are magnificent together though and the relationship from Series 9 was captured in this audio extremely well by James Goss. The good humoured enjoying of each other's company was prevalent and I loved some of the dialogue. It really was fit for a novel and I guess you could lay claim to this being an oral novel. I prefer to think of it as almost like a BBC Books Companion Chronicle but instead of a companion telling the story from their perspective, it's from a member of the Winter family. That's something I really like and it followed well in the footsteps of the first two audios. Despite the audios being linked by the Winter family, I really like the difference in time of the generations of each Winter family member. The stories don't really get referenced between each other and despite the arc connection, each story certainly has its own feel. I could imagine this incarnation of the Doctor getting rather tiresome of the Winter calling card. He did seem quite frustrated in the first two audios but that wasn't the case this time around and to me that a saw a shift in the audios as I think I mentioned in my blog entries that the first two had a Series 8 feel but this time around it definitely felt like it was placed in Series 9. I'm not sure if that was intentional or not, but whatever way I liked it. I thought Robin Soans did a pretty decent job at reading the story overall. I really wasn't struck on his portrayal of Clara but thankfully the dialogue from Goss more than made up for that in getting the feel for her characterisation. However, I thought he was absolutely magnificent in portraying Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor! He had all the traits, mannerisms and even the accent all associated with this incarnation of the Doctor. It was joy to listen to. Clara making reference to her English teaching was very good and I loved her likeness to getting out of trouble by using excuses and the like which she had picked up from her pupils! Some teacher she was then. I found the confessions of the Doctor very intriguing considering the depth the Doctor and his confessions went into during Series 9 with his confession dial, namely in The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar and Heaven Sent/Hell Bent. The humorous remark to the Sixth Doctor's coat offending people was superb and probably my favourite piece of dialogue from the three Winter audios yet. It was magic. The Doctor referring to the Daleks, and probably Genesis of the Daleks, as a confession was excellent. I also liked his reference to The Day of the Doctor and trying to destroy his own planet. The other references in the story were good too with Clara mentioning events of Dark Water/Death in Heaven and The Time of the Doctor. I particularly liked the description of the latter story. The Cult of the Prime Self was a decent backstory and I thought Shadrak was a pretty decent character and member of the Winter family. The religion factor was intriguing and I liked the Doctor's humour in his founding religion only being the fourth most popular. The climax and revelation surrounding Shadrak was a tad predictable but I still liked the revelation a lot. Overall, a very good audio adventure! 

Rating: 8/10

Engines of War

"'Now, there was nothing but the War. It had consumed him, remade him into something new. A warrior."

Writer: George Mann

Format: Novel

Released: July 2014

Series: NSA 51.5

Featuring: War Doctor, Cinder

Synopsis 

"I've had many faces. Many lives. I don't admit to all of them. There's one life I've tried very hard to forget - the Doctor who fought in the Time War."

The Great Time War has raged for centuries, ravaging the universe. Scores of human colony planets are now overrun by Dalek occupation forces. A weary, angry Doctors leads a flotilla of Battle TARDISes against the Dalek stronghold but in the midst of the carnage, the Doctor's TARDIS crashes to a planet below: Moldox.

As the Doctor is trapped in an apocalyptic landscape, Dalek patrols roam amongst the wreckage, rounding up the remaining civilians. But why haven't the Daleks simply killed the humans?

Searching for answers the Doctor meets 'Cinder', a young Dalek hunter. Their struggles to discover the Dalek plan take them from the ruins of Moldox to the halls of Gallifrey, and set in motion a chain of events that will change everything. And everyone.

Verdict 

Engines of War was a phenomenal novel and I must say it really is quite magical to read a brand new adventure and only the second feature length story we have for this unprecedented, hidden and denied incarnation of the Doctor. The introduction of the War Doctor in The Day of the Doctor really opened up a lot of doors for Doctor Who on how to deal with the sixteen years that the show didn't have a television series. Through this novel, and now the Big Finish audios, we are getting brand new adventures with a brand new Doctor. I would definitely include his incarnation as part of the revival era and it shouldn't be associated with the Classic era as the latter parts of the Eighth Doctor's tenure, as we saw his position in The Night of the Doctor, are what I would argue would be the start of the new era. The story itself though seemed to be a lead in to The Day of the Doctor which I thought was excellent and it really explained to us what drove the Doctor to calling for no more. He was going to put an end to the Time War once and for all and this is the story of why. Obviously, I would assume a lot of things occurred prior to the novel's events, as I'm sure we'll explore in the new audio series, but this was the final straw in what I imagine to be a very large haystack. I thought it was a bold move by George Mann to pair the War Doctor up with a companion but he created Cinder to be so absolutely wonderful that it absolutely worked. She was such a magnificent character and I thought she paired extremely well with this incarnation of the Doctor. I like how upon meeting her, the Doctor revealed that he was not worthy of his name anymore and that he was already not using it himself, suggesting quite a dark past within the War already. I liked that Rassilon was the Lord President and I loved the explanation of the Master's disappearance which would ultimately lead into Utopia. It tied things up fantastically well and it didn't contradict anything mentioned in The End of Time either which was a real positive. The inclusion of the Daleks was obviously expected and whilst it was clear they were the enemy, as I would expect with any War Doctor story from here on in, but I liked how they didn't dominate the novel. They were basically non-existent in the second part of the book which was titled Gallifrey. Part one, Moldox, was fantastic and I really liked how the destruction of the Daleks was being felt in just about every part of the universe. The Time War was raging through space and time and it was having devastating effects. This was actually my first novel to feature the Daleks and I thought they were captured in print majestically by Mann. Their tone was clearly visible in the writing which was really pleasing. I liked the brief appearance of the Dalek Emperor, though I would've enjoyed it had he made more of a showing! In his place though we had the Eternity Circle who were really good. I loved the Dalek use of calling the Doctor not by his name, but as Predator instead. The concept of the Predator Dalek was pretty horrifying and the Doctor was described as genuinely being terrified and who could blame him? There seemed no escape from him becoming a Dalek whose first act was to exterminate Cinder! The way that was prevented was brilliant irony with Karlax. It was clear the Time Lord and the Doctor didn't at all get along and after the Doctor saved him from his imploding TARDIS, after the successful regeneration in the Zero Room, the Doctor left Karlax to the mercy of the Daleks. No more mister nice guy. The Doctor had had enough and when those closest to him were threatened, he would show no remorse. I can't say I blamed him. Something from this story I was not expecting was the appearance of Borusa, last seen in The Five Doctors! That story got a nice reference and explanation. However, he was nothing like what we saw in that story and Rassilon had horribly retro-engineered him into a despicable possibility engine. The thought of Borusa shining with regenerative energy and being in a constant state of flux between incarnations, having the vortex run through his head, was quite awful. The Doctor was appalled and did his best to free Borusa from the monstrosity. The references to The Invasion of Time, with the Doctor reminding he was a former Lord President, and Genesis of the Daleks, the point which the Daleks claimed to be the beginning of the Time War, were marvellous. The Dalek plan to eradicate Gallifrey from all of time and space was quite something! It must be the most dastardly plan of the Daleks yet, and they've tried to pilot the Earth! They were hoping for a universe where the Time Lords had never existed and that would have huge consequences. The Daleks would be left to wreak havoc and assert themselves as the superior beings. The determination of the Doctor not to use the Tear of Isha to close the Tantalus Eye, the source of Dalek power, showed that he was still worthy of his name. He wouldn't allow billions of human lives to be lost on a dozen worlds for the sake of a Time Lord victory. Instead he defied his own people, escaped from an inescapable cell thanks to Cinder, and used Borusa's power to eradicate the Dalek plan from history. The demat guns were quite powerful to say the least and the Temporal Weapon Dalek using it on Finch was horrible, as we instantly saw Cinder lose the memory of her friend ever existing. The closing of this novel was a very sad one with Cinder sadly dying. Her life in exchange for billions of others. They were odds she was happy to die for which the Doctor found very admirable and so very human. He contemplated bending history to bring her back but he decided he didn't have that right. But through Cinder's death he would make a promise. No more. The War needed to end and he wouldn't stop until it was over. Overall, an outstanding novel full of adventure and intrigue. I think it's testament that in the first story to feature the War Doctor after his only televised appearance, the story to me was all about Cinder. Despite brilliant characterisation of John Hurt's incarnation, she was the highlight in this epic adventure. 

Rating: 10/10

Home Truths

"It's not the props that are important. I want to hear the story..."

Writer: Simon Guerrier

Format: Audio

Released: November 2008

Series: Companion Chronicles 3.05

Featuring: First Doctor, Steven, Sara

Synopsis 

There's a house across the waters at Ely where an old woman tells a strange story.

About a kind of night constable called Sara Kingdom. And her friends, the Doctor and Steven. About a journey they made to a young couple's home, and the nightmarish things that were found there. About the follies of youth and selfishness. And the terrible things even the most well-meaning of us can inflict on each other. 

Hear the old woman's story. Then decide her fate.

Verdict 

Home Truths was an excellent audio adventure and a great start to the return of Sara to Doctor Who! I must admit when I first delved into the Companion Chronicles range on the Big Finish website, I we rather surprised to see that Sara had three audio adventures because well, she kind of died in her one and only television appearance alongside the First Doctor and Steven in the absolute epic that is The Daleks' Master Plan. It's twelve parts of joy and the story absolutely holds throughout its entirety, including the much talked about part seven which aired on Christmas Day and saw the Doctor break the fourth wall to wish us all at home a merry Christmas. There isn't really a lot of room to manoeuvre a new Sara story but they just about managed it with the amount of moving around that went on between episodes seven and eight of The Daleks' Master Plan. It was a clever little inclusion and there is no doubting that there could be an extra adventure, or three as I assume with the later audios to come, in between. Jean Marsh read the story very well though I wasn't entirely sure about the revelation that we were being told the story and memories of Sara through her apparent ghost. I really don't know why they just didn't have the story go in real time as would later be the case with quite a few stories, such as The Jigsaw War which was fantastic. Some of the moments described for the First Doctor were magnificent and so brilliantly characterised for William Hartnell's incredible incarnation. The moment where he thought he'd worked out the concept of the house and thought that by willing the kitchen door open it would do just that, but instead he walked into it, was just golden. I really found myself laughing at that one and I must say I think it was the biggest laugh I've had in a Doctor Who story for a long time. The curiosity of both the Doctor and Sara in this story was lovely to see as ever since The Daleks I've just loved how passionately curious this first incarnation of the Doctor is. I say is and not was because we're still getting new adventures with this Doctor, over half a century since he debuted on our screens in a junkyard with an impossible box. Sara telling her story to Robert, or rather the latter wanting to come and here the former's account was very interesting and I did enjoy how he worked out what was going on eventually. He built things up as the story went along and tied everything up very well. I'll give it to him, he was quite the listener! The many references to The Daleks' Master Plan were good and it was fantastic to hear Sara reflecting on some of her questionable actions in that serial, particularly murdering her brother before she could bare to hear the truth. I loved how we explored Sara's history as a police officer and that being linked in with the present setting of the story was really well done which was nice to hear. The concept of the intelligent house was rather intriguing and the use of wishes, from within the mind, was an interesting direction to go I must say. It provided a lot of my mystery and questions which was good. The cliffhanger was really well done which pleased me as sometimes in Companion Chronicles they tend to be a bit weak but that was far from the case here! It appeared Steven was all but dead. Overall though, a really interesting and entertaining story with just some questions over its telling! Did it really happen? Well I guess it's up to me to decide Sara's fate...

Rating: 8/10

Conversion Part 1

"You're currently riding a motorbike along the Berlin Wall in 1976, Jones. As unexpected life directions go..."

Writer: Rob Williams

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 31st December 2015

Printed in: DWC 2.04

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Alice, Jones, ARC

Synopsis 

The search for the Entity brings the Doctor and Jones to Berlin in 1976. There they are chased across the Berlin Wall by motorcycle and end up in deep space via a wormhole. After an eventful but safe return to the TARDIS, there's an old foe awaiting in fourth century Rome...

Verdict 

Conversion started off magnificently here with this excellent first part to the story! It seems like Doctor Who Comic has had a bit of a shake up over Christmas and decided to relocate the adventures of the Tenth Doctor and Gabby to DWC's sister title of Tales from the TARDIS, which I'm absolutely fine with as I will definitely be continuing collecting that, and it means that we get double the dosage of two particular incarnations of the Doctor each month! I think where the double dosage will be two parts from the same story, as was the case with Weapons of Past Destruction in issue one of Tales from the TARDIS, it will help the story quite a lot actually as the memory will be more than fresh and I imagine there will be those that would read both parts back to back. Now, I don't do that because whilst these are current, I aim to read them as they were intended and I also wouldn't feel comfortable having a blog entry that would say The Fractures Parts 2 and 3 for example. I either wait until the story concludes in its entirety or I blog each part individually, which has been the case with every single DWC story yet. This story really had a lot going for it and with the Doctor still feeling the effects of his wrongdoing in The Rise and Fall/The Other Doctor, where he became CEO of SERVEYOUinc and caused the Entity to be hurt, the Doctor was out tracking the mysterious alien to try and make amends. The Doctor and Jones riding a motorcycle on top of the Berlin Wall in 1976 really was a sight to behold I must say! It fitted magnificently for the Eleventh Doctor and had this been for a television story I have no doubt that Matt Smith would have jumped at the opportunity to create such an image. Throughout his comic step run in DWC, the characterisation of the Eleventh Doctor hasn't been all that great to be honest but here I thought Rob Williams did an excellent job. I thought this was probably the best story yet for Jones since his debut in What He Wants... which was really pleasing as I was quite critical of him in the last story Four Dimensions in my blog a couple of days back. I also found myself finding Alice as a familiar companion which I thought was really good. She got off to a shaky start but lately I have been liking her as companion and I do hope she just keeps on improving. I can't envisage ARC hanging around for too long after this story concludes as I think it should see us into what was the second year of Titan Comics stories in which I would think all first year stuff would be wrapped up. He's (is he correct?) not been the best of companions that's for sure but I has provided a link with SERVEYOUinc and the Talent Scout which has been good. I do like that he's loyal to the Doctor and doesn't blame him for what happened in the Entity separation. The travelling through the wormhole and into what was a rather cold deep space was quite humorous and I did like the silliness of the pair's mouths being temporarily frozen when they were trying to speak. The arrival into a Roman battle in the fourth century caught my eye as a very intriguing setting and I'm looking foresee to see what goes down here, especially with the almighty cliffhanger! From the title I really should have guessed that they'd be back but I didn't have a clue that the Cybermen would be making an appearance, and they seem to have quite an association with the Entity! Just what effect that will have on the deadly creatures is unknown but I did love how the design seems to mirror those that we saw in Closing Time with this very incarnation. I'm now really excited for the next instalment of the story as I do look forward to seeing a possible link between SERVEYOUinc and the Cybermen! Oh, I can't wait but I'll have to. Overall, a fantastic start snd as always, the rating will appear where the story finishes.

Super Gran

"He's all grown up now Doctor. He knows you're not real."

Writer: Paul Lang

Format: Comic Strip

Released: October 2015

Printed in: Doctor Who Annual 2016

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara 

Synopsis 

Gertie used to travel with the Doctor. A long time ago. She knows she will see him again on September 26th... she just doesn't now what year. Each year she waits and tells her grandchild stories of time and space but he's getting older now and Gertie is becoming impatient. Will the Doctor ever come back?

Verdict 

Super Gran, a name I absolutely despise for a Doctor Who story, was a pretty average conclusion to the story already started in Zorgo the Terrible. Here we are again then, another Doctor Who Annual and another criticism heavy blog entry. I'm sorry but I just can't understand why the Annuals have to be so ridiculously child friendly. I get that most Annuals are bought for children but the age of this apparent target audience seems to be extremely young and not fitting for a Doctor Who programme. Despite what people say, Doctor Who is not a children's programme. It's dubbed as for the family and that means it's to be enjoyed by everybody, regardless of age. It really does anger me when in charity shops they put Doctor Who novels in the children's section. Thankfully this week, I actually found my first charity shop finds since moving out and into university with incredible finds of Doctor Who and the Planet of the Daleks and Doctor Who and the Green Death at just £1 each. I think my point about the Annuals was proven as I did see the 2015 edition in the children's section but to my surprise and happiness, the Target novels didn't appear with it! I can't remember the name of the charity shop off the top of my head, but I can remember where it is and I'll be sure to make another visit soon! I doubt I'll be as lucky but there's no harm in looking is there? I thought not. I was quite surprised by the audacity of a Doctor Who Annual (speaking of today, in the Classic era I would be fine with it) to introduce what appeared to be a new and unseen companion for the Twelfth Doctor. That's an extremely bold step considering we've only seen the current incarnation travel with the wonderful Clara. Following Face the Raven, we knew that a new companion would soon be coming but not even in Doctor Who Comic has a different companion for this Doctor been presented but instead we get it in an Annual? That was a surprise and something I'm not really a fan of. I mean, there's plenty of gaps for where the Twelfth Doctor and Gertie could have travelled together due to the number of times the Doctor has popped up at Coal Hill School, who knows what he did in between, but references to Daleks and visits to Mars that we didn't see seemed intriguing but annoying at the same time. There seemed to be something resembling a mix of Pyramids on Mars and Mummy on the Orient Express, but if we are going to have a new companion for this Doctor, whilst Clara is still around outside of television, then I want to see the adventures she was telling her grandchild all about! Her adventures certainly did sound interesting and who knows, I could be wrongly criticising the writer and she may have appeared in Doctor Who Adventures as the companion, but as Clara appeared in Empire's Fall, the one and only comic strip I have done from the revamped magazine, I'll be confident in thinking that this was her one and only story. I liked the idea of the Doctor not telling her which year he meant when he said he would see her again on September 26th, but not a lot really happened in this story which is quite an achievement considering there are only six pages to play with. Usually the Annual comic stories feel rushed but this didn't have enough content! How is that possible? Once the Doctor and Clara arrived immediately following the events of the first part of the story, it was quite fun with a sweet reunion and Gertie's grandchild being bewildered by the dragon and the existence of the Doctor. Overall, as a two part story, I liked that something new was tried in having both comic strips linked as one story but it was still just far too childish. Will I ever get my wish?

Rating: 6/10

Scherzo

"There can be Lords of Time here. There is no time to be a Lord of."

Writer: Robert Shearman

Format: Audio

Released: December 2003

Series: Mange Range 52

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Charley

Synopsis 

Once upon a time...

There were two friends, and together they travelled the cosmos. They thwarted tyrants and defeated monsters, they righted wrongs wherever they went. They explored the distant future and the distant past, new worlds and galaxies, places beyond imagining. 

But every good study has to come to an end.

With no times or places left to explore, all the two friends have now are each other. But maybe that's one voyage too many. Maybe they'll discover things they'd rather have left undisturbed... hidden away in the suffocating, unfeeling, deafening brightness.

Once upon a time. Far, far away.  

Verdict 

Scherzo was an interesting audio adventure and a very brave attempt but sadly I didn't feel that it delivered quite as well as it could have done. Having recently watched Heaven Sent in which Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor went at it alone, I was expecting something similar here and in some respects I got it. However, I think with the lack of visual aid, this just couldn't quite hook my interest. With the Twelfth Doctor, at least there were things happening around him that he could react to but for the Eighth Doctor and Charley here, there was literally nothing for a long time. I was expecting something different to follow on from the bonkers Zagreus and after Charley stowed aboard the TARDIS through the dubious backdoor, I was expecting more of an immediate reaction than what we got. Maybe the whole story was the reaction to Charley not being willing to let the Doctor exit the universe but I was hoping for something better initially. The idea of exploring a brand new universe was done very well when the Doctor and Charley first exited the TARDIS but thereafter I thought things went a bit downhill. It must be difficult trying to adapt to a whole new universe but there were some points I just didn't agree with. I don't care if the Doctor and Charley had arrived in a new universe, not designed for their kind, I didn't agree that Charley lost her bearings of time and need of food and drink so easily. No matter what the surroundings are, I don't think they can have an effect on humanity's needs. It just didn't make sense to me. The dialogue between the Doctor and Charley was rather eventful I must say! I thought the Doctor was very harsh in some instances especially when he appeared absolutely genuine in wanting to be allowed to die alone and felt that Charley had taken that away from him. It was quite a shock to me and although the remnants of Zagreus may still be looming, that seemed very unlike the Doctor. Despite that, this audio adventure could go some way to claiming that it has the most intimate scene between a Doctor and companion. On more than one occasion, Charley told the Doctor that she loved him and although he eventually said it back (but I don't think meaning it in the same way as  his companion), he was very upfront and rather quite nasty about Charley loving him. He simply explained that he had no use for his love and when he previously said it, it was only because he thought she was dying. That was surprising to say the least! India Fisher was marvellous once again as Charley and after the pair finally made up, I'm looking very forward to seeing them explore the Divergent Universe and interact with the elements. It seems like literally anything could happen so I'm expecting some good stories! The concept of the Sound Creature was interesting one and I liked how the Doctor was slowly working out all that was going on around he and Charley, even if I didn't buy into the supposed length of time they had been walking in what turned out to be loop. The creature repeating the sounds it had heard from the TARDIS and its occupants was very good and I do wonder if those translation circuits will work in another universe. They worked just fine in E-Space so I shouldn't think there would be a problem, at least I hope not. The demise of the Sound Creature was done pretty well and I liked how the brilliant TARDIS pairing, my favourite on audio, returned to the TARDIS and were just about intact. We had nice references to Storm Warning and Zagreus, but now the pair are ready to go and explore a brand new universe and I am excited. Overall though, I was expecting a little better and I thought the last part was a bit like Zagreus in that it didn't seem to make much sense. But a very strong adventure.

Rating: 7/10 

Four Dimensions

"Do as you're told and I will give you everything you want. It's only forever. Not long at all."

Writer: Al Ewing

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 31st December 2015

Printed in: DWC 2.04

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Alice, Jones, ARC

Synopsis

Succumbing to the Talent Scout's lure, the Doctor became CEO of SERVEYOUinc. He outlawed creativity, feeding artistic thoughts to the Entity, caged in the heart of the TARDIS. Luckily, Jones, ARC and alive still believed the Doctor could be saved. But can the Doctor forgive himself?

Verdict 

Four Dimensions was another excellent comic strip adventure from Doctor Who Comic and it was certainly a great way to kick off the new year! It was perhaps a day or two later than I would have liked but a busy New Year's Day and a football away trip meant that I had to wait until I returned back to my university accommodation for the first blog entry of the year. And here's to many more! This could be a quiet month though as I have at least one assignment each week which is going to take up quite a lot of time, but I'm going to try my best to give myself a break and do some stories. We'll see how things go but for now the latest edition of DWC has started with a bang. Well, I say started but I just fancied doing the Eleventh Doctor story of the comic strip first this month. I have absolutely no problem with the Tenth Doctor segment of the comic being moved to the sister title Tales from the TARDIS alongside the Ninth Doctor, as long as the three parts/stories remain in each issue I have no problem with how many feature a Doctor. This should mean we will catch up with the USA in their releases which I think is the ultimate aim. I would love that to happen as I already see the graphic novels of the stories ahead in Waterstones and WH Smith but I have resisted the urge to glance upon what lies ahead for our Time Lord hero, in any of the incarnations. The idea of this story was very good and the name was certainly fitting! The comic strip mostly being split into four was a fantastic concept and I liked how with ARC being plugged into the TARDIS telepathic circuits, and the problem of the Talent Scout luring, caused the TARDIS to seemingly momentarily explode! It wasn't quite what we saw in The Mind Robber with the console literally thrown outside of the TARDIS, but even in comic strip form it looked particularly impressive. I really liked the artwork in this story and the colour scheme indicating which part of the TARDIS each member of this fascinating TARDIS foursome was housed. We had Alice still in the control room, ARC in the engine room, Jones in the swimming pool and the Doctor... well, thrown outside. This whole story arc with SERVEYOUinc is getting a bit timey-wimey now and I liked the helpful addition of the events surrounding the Talent Scout being shown to us on a chalkboard, one that would surely soon become familiar. We're still not entirely sure what the aim of SERVEYOUinc is but they're intent on doing damage to ARC and using the Entity for their own twisted gain. The Doctor won't be having it though and that means trouble. The Doctor being disappointed with his actions in The Rise and Fall/The Other Doctor was not a surprise and in circumstances where people get hurt he is always quick to blame himself. But he had his companions to save the day this time and he was thankful for them which was clear and nice to see. He did have some problems being thrown outside of the TARDIS and into space but it did provide some crucial information in building the story of the Talent Scout and SERVEYOUinc. The birth of the villain as we currently know him was interesting and we also saw how ARC came to be today. ARC still having great fear of the Talent Scout was fantastic and I thought this was the strange companion's best story yet. However, I think it was the complete opposite for Jones. He's just not very good in my opinion and other than a brief laugh at a lack of understanding modern technology, he doesn't offer anything. He's had about five different appearances and I really am just not a fan. I hope he leaves in the what is surely looming first year finale. I assume that part fifteen of each incarnation will be pretty big as that's where Titan Comics finished Series 1 if you like of the adventures. With build up from the very start, it's bound to be a good one from this segment of the magazine! We've already been told that the Tenth Doctor gets an epic five-part story to see him into the would be Series 2 of adventures. I just hope it's good. At the start of these comic strips, I was quite critical of Alice but ever since The Eternal Dogfight/The Infinite Astronaut where she stood up to the Talent Scout after he took the form of her deceased mother, the added aggression to her character has made her very likeable. If I'm honest, I still wouldn't mind her leaving and being replaced by a new companion, with the stories taking place between The Angels Take Manhattan and The Snowmen, but I certainly won't complain with the pairing I thought we were having for the long run at the start of these comic strips. The climax was very good with Jones stumbling his way back to Alice in the console room and ARC joining them shortly later. I loved how Alice plugged herself into the TARDIS telepathic circuits and the moment she opened the doors for the Doctor was wonderful. His reaction was magnificent and I loved how once ARC knew the Doctor was coming back, he grew the courage to launch the Talent Scout into oblivion! But as the chalkboard showed, and the last words of the story prophesied, the next meeting could well be the last. Overall, another excellent comic strip. 

Rating: 9/10 

The Aztecs

"The Aztecs always showed the utmost courtesy to their intended victims."

Writer: John Lucarotti

Format: Novel

Released: September 1984

Series: Target 88

Featuring: First Doctor, Susan, Ian, Barbara

Synopsis 

The TARDIS materialises in Mexico during the Aztecs civilisation. The Doctor and his companions step outside to discover they are inside a tomb - the tomb, it turns out, of Yetaxa, once High Priest of the Aztecs. 

Barbara is hailed as Yetaxa's reincarnation by Autloc, High Priest of Knowledge, and Tlotoxl, High Priest of Sacrifice, when they find her in the precincts of the tomb wearing the bracelet if the deceased Priest, now revered as a god. 

As she takes advantage of her position of unaccustomed power to try and dissuade the Aztecs from practising human sacrifice...

Verdict 

The Aztecs was an excellent novelisation and a really great way to finish the year! 2015 has been an incredible year for both Doctor Who and myself personally. Series 9 was hugely successful with some quite outstanding stories in which we saw the wonderful Ashildr debut, Clara emotionally die and the Doctor finally step foot on Gallifrey again. We've seen the release in the UK of the Titan Comics adventures from the USA with the Ninth (just about), Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors having some quite wonderful adventures in which we saw the Nimon, Celestial Toymaker and Weeping Angels all make magnificent returns. I really am a huge fan of this magazine and I hope all remains well for it next year. Doctor Who Magazine has been very good this year and the comic strip content in there has been to a high standard which is really pleasing. For me personally, it's been a hugely eventful year and that's why I didn't quite achieve the 308 blog entries of 2014, something I'm not sure I'll ever do again, but 274 isn't too shabby at all. For next year, I do hope to increase the novels during the summer as they're just so difficult to manage to do whilst I'm at university and have academic reading that I need to do. I expect 2016 to be dominated by comic strips and audios as they're what I'll buy the most of and I'm absolutely fine with it. I will continue to read on the train journeys to and from university and I'll fit in the odd television story in along the way! It's a year I'm looking forward to and if I can get anywhere near 274 stories I'll be happy! But now let's talk about the story at hand and it was one I really enjoyed. I was a bit sceptical as to how I'd respond to this story because I've watched it at least four times so it's fair to say I know it pretty well. With each watch, my rating has actually improved and with the novel getting the same rating as the last time I watched, it's fair to say that is what I truly think of the story. I just love it and as my interest in History has increased between each watch (and now read), I really found myself loving Barbara blurting out all she knew about the Aztecs. It's a superb setting and although the story is set in Mexico, it somehow doesn't seem to be in a foreign country - not that it mattered. There were quite a few deviations from the television story and I actually really liked them. The use of the torch from Ian to stun Ixta was great and I loved the description of the latter's reaction. He just couldn't understand how light was made without fire. Despite doing this story so many times now, I'm not sure why I haven't researched the Aztec period as I'm sure it would add to my enjoyment of the story if I knew more about the period in which the serial, or in this case the novel, was set. I really love the Doctor in this and Lucarotti did an excellent job of characterising William Hartnell's First Doctor. Steven Moffat has been a tad critical of this incarnation not actually being the Doctor as we know him now but I would disagree with that. I think he's just magnificent and on television I would just about say he's my favourite incarnation. He really is superb. I was disappointed buy the delivery of the infamous "you can't rewrite history, not one line" quote which was a shame as I was looking forward to reading that part of the novel. I really did anticipate it and it was a shame. Tlotoxl was brilliant as the villain in the story and I love the irony in me calling him that because well, it was actually Barbara who was the wrong one in this story. Tlotoxl was absolutely correct in what he was doing throughout the story which I just think is brilliant. Susan didn't play as big a role as I remembered but the highlighted roles of Ian and Susan more than made up for that. Ian and Ixta's battles were fantastic and Ian using just his thumb at one point was really great. Barbara serving as Yetaxa was marvellous and I loved the essence of the plot in it basically being about opening a tomb. Ian's venture to the TARDIS in doing so was eventful to say the least! I really enjoyed Autloc's emotionally story and Barbara's disappointment at what she did, even if the Doctor convinced her she had done good. The dash to the TARDIS at the climax was very good and overall, this was just a wonderful read! A great way to finish the year. 

Rating: 8/10

 

Planet of Fire

"Continue the sacrifices! See that this Doctor burns slowly..."

Writer: Peter Grimwade

Format: TV

Broadcast: 23rd February - 2nd March 1984

Season: 21.05

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Turlough, Peri

Synopsis 

A strange signal from Earth draws the TARDIS to the island of Lanzarote, where Turlough rescues a young American girl, Peri, from drowning. Among her possessions is an artefact bearing an alien symbol - the same triangular mark that Turlough has branded into his arm. 

The mystery deepens when Kamelion falls under the control of a powerful mind, and the TARDIS travels to the volcanic world of Sarn. As Turlough is forced to face his past, the Doctor must stop his oldest enemy from harnessing the revitalising powers of numismaton gas... 

Verdict 

Planet of Fire was an excellent story and served as a great penultimate adventure for Peter Davison's fantastic Fifth Doctor. The bulk of what I've done with the Fifth Doctor since I started this blog has been his Main Range audios from Big Finish and perhaps a novel or two, both original and Target, but watching him on television once again was a joy as he really is superb in this format. Davison gave a stellar performance in this serial I thought and it was brilliant to be doing a story with this incarnation where the Doctor was on form. He's been rightly criticised for his performances for Big Finish and although I feel some of the criticism is exaggerated as it's far from being the case that every story he has is a bad performance, but he doesn't quite feel the same as he does on television. It's a shame really as I think every other Doctor to grace the audio stage thus far has improved on their television performances. I'm looking really forward to the upcoming release of Only the Monstrous to see how John Hurt's War Doctor does with some more performed stories. Anyway, back to the story at hand and I thought it was a really good one to be fair. Doctor Who once again subtly makes a mockery out of religion and I absolutely love it but the story was hugely significant for a number of reasons. After the emotional and eventful events of Resurrection of the Daleks, in which Tegan departed the TARDIS after a rather lengthy stay, the Doctor would say goodbye to another friend of his in the form of Turlough. I'm really glad that after a shaky start with the Black Guardian, he became centrepiece to the story and really stole the show in my opinion, even if his attire was somewhat questionable. Well, I say he stole the show but I may have to immediately retract that statement after what Nicola Bryant showed us in part one. She looked absolutely sublime in her bikini and that was something that rather amused my seven year old cousin with whom I watched the story with. It had been a while since we watched a story together, I think the last was Terror of the Zygons back in September, but with me at university across the border, we had to take advantage of a night together. With time constraints and football to watch in between parts, we decided upon this story rather than my Christmas present of  The Twin Dilemma. For Peri's first story, I thought she was magnificent and I really am grateful to Big Finish for giving us more Fifth Doctor and Peri stories, along with the addition of Erimem to the fold. For a debut, she was magnificent though and I loved how she was trying to swat the mini-Master when she caused him to exit his contraption that was controlling Kamelion. Ah, poor old Kamelion. He's not the best thing ever to come out of the series is he but for the two adventures he appears in he's not all bad. The design and ability of the robot is far inferior to K9 but I do like the idea of a shape-shifting robot. The idea is actually really good but I think it just shows how difficult the robot was to use for filming in that we had Howard appear in between states for the most part. The cliffhangers were pretty good and if I was watching on broadcast and the surprise hadn't been revealed, I would've absolutely loved part one's ending. The Master's arrival was excellent, as it usually is. Anthony Ainley is a superb incarnation of the Master and he gave arguably his best performance here as he wasn't being an all mighty and powerful Time Lord for the most part. He was showing the signs of a wounded robot. The Master being miniaturised was quite funny and I loved the cliffhanger to part three very much. As if he was in a position to threaten Peri! I really liked and just loved how despite being in no position of advantage or authority, the Master still thought he was superior. I liked the references to Time-Flight and The King's Demons very much and I think it was fitting that before the Fifth Doctor departed, he battled his greatest adversary one more time. The majority of the setting being on Sarn was excellent and I really liked the Trion involvement. The revelation that Turlough was a prisoner and this was his race's prison planet was superb. After getting a reprieve from exile and a way back home, Turlough was always going to say farewell to the Doctor. It's only fitting that Peri took his place after she was saved from quite pathetically drowning earlier in the story. It was a nice moment when the changing of the guard occurred. The way the Master was dealt with was sublime but also rather surprising! This time, the Doctor was taking no risks with the Master. After putting Kamelion emotionally out of his misery, he saw that the Master was destroyed. The ambiguity of the Master's final words not being finished was fantastic. Overall, a really good story with the likes of Malkon and Timanov serving as good characters. We really enjoyed! 

Rating: 8/10

The Futurists

"The Doctor's trapped and we're in a cage in the middle of I dunno how many thousand Roman soldiers..."

Writer: Mike Collins

Format: Comic Strip

Released: August-October 2006

Printed in: DWM 372-374

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Rose

Synopsis 

Soon after the leader of the Futurists group disappears, Milan is destroyed. In its place arrives a huge futuristic city. En route to discovering just what has happened, the Doctor and Rose travel back to 3rd century Wales where more surprises await...

Verdict 

The Futurists was another very good comic strip adventure in what is shaping up to be an excellent The Betrothal of Sontar graphic novel. Thus far, the title story has remained the best but there is definitely time for that to change with three stories to go. The graphic novel must rank as the best bargain I've ever had (and trust me, there have been so many!) at just 38p of my own money. Thanks to a university challenge (no, not the television programme) I won a £5 Amazon voucher some time ago now and somehow on the website somebody was selling a brand new copy for a mere £5.38 and that included postage and packaging! How could I resist? I was going to buy The Flood instead but that was considerably more expensive. With me having The Iron Legion and The Tides of Time graphic novels still to do, I'm going to put off returning to the Eighth Doctor comic strips - although I do anticipate more visual adventures with Paul McGann's magnificent incarnation. The audios are wonderful and of course with McGann starring they're better than the comic strips for knowing what happened all between The Movie and The Night of the Doctor because there's nothing quite like performed Doctor Who. But the ridiculous amount of novels and comic strips mean he has just as many adventures as every other Doctor before and after him. But enough about the Eighth Doctor, this story featured the Tenth Doctor and once again in this graphic novel the characterisation of David Tennant's popular incarnation was once again superb. It really does make a difference when the dialogue and actions of the Doctor on television are replicated in print here. Mike Collins took on the unusual task of both writing and providing the artwork for this story. I suppose that's easier when setting out the storyboard for how the story will appear once printed. I've often thought that a comic strip adventure must be the most difficult to write because there surely has to be an abundance of communication between the writer and the artist to ensure that what is printed is what the writer wanted, and also that the amount isn't too much or too little. I really do appreciate comic strips (maybe that's why I seem to have done so many lately!) and I love that the budget is infinite. As seen with Relative Dimensions a few days back, we can get a visual story with the Twelfth Doctor and the Celestial Toymaker! I'm going to be praising this story for a long time because it's just ridiculously amazing! We also had some good ideas here in this story with the Futurists. Although it's nearly been a decade since the story was originally printed in Doctor Who Magazine, just like F.A.Q. it seemed to be very modern and certainly in line with some weird and whacky ideologies. It was just today that I heard on the news that there's a group calling themselves trans-human and they believe that ageing is a disease that needs to be cured. It made me laugh to be honest and I immediately thought of that group when the Futurists were mentioned. Their ideologies and beliefs were pretty interesting but something I just laugh upon. Something I did love was the Silurian tribe making an appearance! No, it wasn't the ancient reptiles we first saw in Doctor Who and the Silurians, but an actual real life 3rd century Welsh tribe! I thought that was mightily clever and the Doctor's reaction to first hearing that getting mentioned was outstanding. Caerleon and Cardiff getting nice mentions was nice for me being patriotically Welsh. I lined how we got a nice reference to Boom Town as well from Rose. She was characterised pretty decently in this story which was good but reading these comic strips it has made me realise how long it has been since Series 2 appeared on our screen! I really liked Rose's relationship with Altea as they get on very nicely. The switch in realities with Valente and Giovanni was intriguing and certainly not expected! The Hajor seemed like a less impressive version of the Reapers in what their purpose in the universe was and their appearance was a bit of a mix between a jellyfish and the Rutan Host! The artwork and colour of them was very impressive to be fair. The plot worked well and I really enjoyed the cliffhanger to part one. I thought it was excellent. There was a lot of good and I thought the speeches made by the Doctor were fantastic and definitely helped with the demise of the Hajor. Overall, another very good comic strip adventure with the Tenth Doctor and Rose! It's turning out to be a great graphic novel which is really pleasing.

Rating: 8/10

Nuclear Time

"Yesterday I was going to be one of the most important men in history. Yesterday I was going to change the world. Today I am nothing."

Writer: Oli Smith

Format: Novel

Released: July 2010

Series: NSA 40

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Amy, Rory

Synopsis 

"My watch is running backwards."

Colorado, 1981. The Doctor, Amy and Rory arrive in Appletown - an idyllic village in the remote American desert where the townsfolk go peacefully about their suburban routines. But when two more strangers arrive, things begin to change...

The first is a mad scientist - whose warnings are cut short by an untimely and brutal death. The second is the Doctor...

As death falls from the sky, the Doctor is trapped. The TARDIS is damaged, and the Doctor finds he is living backwards through time. With Amy and Rory being hunted through the suburban streets of the Doctor's own future and getting farther away with every passing second, he must unravel the secrets of Appletown before time runs out...

Verdict 

Nuclear Time was a very good novel and it was actually the first time I've read a book on what was my usual train journey from one parent to the other since reading Big Bang Generation in the reverse direction of what I arrived today. It had been a while since I had done a story featuring this trio, a long time in fact, and with my only other experience of this threesome being The Chains of Olympus and Hunters of the Burning Stone graphic novels, only totalling five stories that they appeared in, this was a really nice story and I found myself really enjoying Amy and Rory being together for the entirety of the story. They really are a great couple and their relationship was captured in print excellently I must say. It was a joy to read their scenes together with both characterised fantastically which really pleased me as this was Rory's debut in prose so it may not have been up to scratch. However, no issues there. Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor was also characterised excellently which was great and many of the traits that make him my favourite Doctor were present. The clapping of his hands getting included was just one line but it makes it for me in terms of characterising the specific Doctor for the story. Each Doctor is so different so even though we can't see what incarnation the story features, it has to be sold to us. It's no use just writing on the back which incarnation features. There have to be elements of the character in that specific incarnation and that was absolutely the case here. The story was quite an audacious one from Oli Smith, a writer whose work I believe I was doing for the first time. Talk about timey-wimey! I thought Deep Time had a lot of that but this blew out of the park! I must admit that at times I found myself confused but that was mostly due to a delay in giving the explanation. Once we were explained how things happened, with some nice analogies to string and throwing rubbish out of a car, things seemed to click into place. But it wasn't 100% worked out in my head. I wasn't too keen on the jumping around of time for each chapter. If it had happened for 4-5 chapters in a row I would understand but when there are nearly twenty chapters not quite in chronological order, it can get a bit muddled. It did have some positives though I must admit! We saw the causes of effects but we were also placed in the Doctor's shoes on times by seeing the effect prior to having the cause revealed to us. The idea of the Doctor living backwards time was a difficult one to get my head around but fair play to the author, he made it work pretty well. I wasn't overly struck by the backwards words appearing in print as often as they did but it didn't really present too much of an issue. The Doctor meeting the version of himself living backwards through time was great and I liked the intrigue the Doctor showed. Thanks to the psychic paper, he knew what he had to do. The concept of Appletown was interesting and it just wouldn't be in any other place than the USA would it? A test town to obliterate an entire mission. Was robot weapons disguised as humans and actually having a conscience a bit too advanced for the 1980s? Possibly, yes. But the linkage with the Cold War was superb I thought. There's the History student in me showing as I really liked how that played a big role in the story. The government had planned to nuke the town full of near indestructible robots who thought they were on a mission but didn't want to create a mushroom cloud and alert the Russians to their testing. The Doctor dealing with that on his checklist in the climax was great. I thought Albert was a very good character and his story was played out very well over the course of the novel, even if it wasn't in the correct order. His relationship with Isley was interesting to say the least and I liked his loyalty to his dear robot despite Geoff and everybody else being wholeheartedly confused by his commitment to her. Could you really love a robot? It appeared so, but what was even stranger was the fact that it seemed she loved him back! It was a nice relationship though. Amy and Rory had that greatly too and I also liked the moment the Doctor and Rory exited the Doctor and the Time Lord worked out their location and time zone simply by smelling and tasting. He does like to show off. Albert and Geoff had a mixed relationship throughout but I loved how they got to finish on good terms with Albert getting his life back. The climax was good and the TARDIS playing a huge part in saving the day was superb. Overall, a very good story with some brilliant characters and a whole lot of tension and timey-wimey. 

Rating: 8/10

Zorgo the Terrible

"I've wasted my life trying to kill you, Doctor. And now I'm old and weak. Dying."

Writer: Paul Lang

Format: Comic Strip

Released: October 2015

Printed in: Doctor Who Annual 2016

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis 

The Doctor and Clara come face to face with an enemy that the Time Lord has defeated countless times before. However, the Doctor doesn't recognise Zorgo but will soon realise just how terrible he really is. 

Verdict 

Zorgo the Terrible wasn't too bad for a Doctor Who Annual comic strip. To be fair, it did have some good moments but I just can't understand why the audience has remained wholeheartedly for very young children. The last few Annuals have been nothing short of dismal to be honest and I really don't get why the audience has remained as those readers who purchase Doctor Who Adventures rather than Doctor Who Magazine. The two Annuals that I have and those that I have done on Scribd from the Classic era were just fantastic and the 2006 edition followed that format but ever since the Tenth Doctor took the throne, the Annuals have been very poor in my opinion. The DWM Special 2016 Yearbook could be argued as being the adult equivalent of the Annual but that doesn't hold the same sense of nostalgia and definitely isn't as prized a possession in my collection. Well, that's my opinion anyway. After picking the Annual up for a considerable decrease on the laughable RRP of £7.99 today, I was actually chuffed that I didn't get this for Christmas! It's an improvement on last year but it's really not that much better. I just find it so disheartening and it is something I feel strongly about because it could be done so much better, acquiring for both the young and adult audience. The Classic Annuals did it so wonderfully well and I can't understand why it doesn't get replicated nowadays. The story itself was surprisingly the first of a two part story in the Annual with the second comic strip within the pages actually being a continuation which was at least something new. I can respect that they were trying something new and even if the audience is aimed at DWA readers, I'm glad we'll have an extended story and it'll be double the length of the usual Annual stories. I do wish that they just called it part one and part two instead of two different names so I could do it as one blog but hey, that would just be too easy wouldn't it. I've criticised comic strip stories having differently named parts in the run of the Eleventh Doctor in DWC and I just don't see the point! Especially in an Annual. From what I know, it doesn't happen in DWA so why should it happen here? Zorgo changed his mind about the Doctor awfully quickly which was strange but I liked the idea of the Doctor arriving after defeating the enemy countless times. It was similar to The Roots of Evil I found with the Fourth Doctor dealing with the effects of an Eleventh Doctor victory over an enemy. A dragon appearance so soon after The Dragon Lord was something I didn't expect and I found it quite ironic after I criticised the DWM story for being a bit childish. There were some positives I thought though which may come as a surprise. It wasn't all bad! I did enjoy the flashbacks even if I did think it was a golden opportunity to showcase a different TARDIS pairing but then again as I write, I realise that would be rather difficult considering the Twelfth Doctor didn't recognise Zorgo. We could have had an incredible glance at a future incarnation of the Doctor but I do understand why that didn't happen. It shouldn't have happened, at least not in a Doctor Who Annual comic strip that is! DWM and DWC could get away with it no problem but not here that's for sure. It just wouldn't be the right place. I thought the characterisation of both Jenna Coleman's Clara and Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor were very good which was pleasing and that stance seems to have improved across all formats lately which is pleasing. I'm not sure what to expect from part two after seeing this part of the story end with the Doctor and Clara on a dragon but despite my loathing of its name, it will still get blogged. But until then, that's where the rating will appear. I just hope it somehow improves! 

The Husbands of River Song

"This is where genocide comes to kick back and relax."

Writer: Steven Moffat 

Format: TV

Broadcast: 25th December 2015

Series: 2015 Christmas Special

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, River

Synopsis 

When a crashed spaceship calls upon the Doctor for help, he finds himself recruited into River Song's squad and hurled into a chase across the galaxy...

Verdict 

The Husbands of River Song was an excellent Christmas special episode and it was certainly an improvement on last year's disappointing Last Christmas. That's all I was really after this year after the mixed quality we got last year and with the return of River Song being announced back in September, I felt confident that things would be a lot better this time around because I just think she's brilliant. Alex Kingston finally got her name highlighted in the opening titles (something I think was long overdue!) and it's fitting that it happened in what has to be her final episode. I'll be very surprised if she makes a future TV appearance alongside the Twelfth Doctor again after what went on here. It was simply stunning and just tied what has been her incredible seven year long story up beautifully. I'm going to get straight into the ending because it was just done so well. I've been waiting so long for that sonic screwdriver that we see used in Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead to show up and finally here it is! The references to that story were just astounding to be frank and I really do think Steven Moffat is a genius. How he brought Darillium and the Singing Towers into this and having the Doctor finally end his journey with River was just brilliant. After his recent events on Gallifrey, the Doctor seems to be enlightened by what and what can't happen and even he is now accepting that not everything can go on forever, something I liked but was also quire surprised by. River's reaction to the Doctor revealing that a night on Darillium lasted 24 years was fantastic and the Doctor revealing it the way he did was just oh so typical of the great man. Peter Capaldi was superb and he's really rising up those favourite Doctor rankings of mine. He has been and will continue to be sublime. The reason for River being given the screwdriver by the Doctor was a nice comedic inclusion due to the fact that she had a sonic trowel! A lovely reference to her being an archaeologist. Right, I'll backtrack now and mention that I thought this started very well and I loved the idea of River not recognising the latest and unprecedented incarnation of the Doctor. It made sense and I loved some of the comments made about this being what River was like when the Doctor wasn't around. I'd expect nothing less from her and I loved it. The marriages of the Doctor to Elizabeth I and Marilyn Monroe were great references to The Day of the Doctor and A Christmas Carol. The references didn't end there though! It was said how River had just experienced the events of The Angels Take Manhattan and there were also nice references to The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang and The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone. The story was described as a romp in the DWM previews and that's precisely what it was. Apart from the final ten minutes or so there wasn't a lot to shout about but the story was certainly a lot of fun. Seeing the Doctor's reaction to River revealing not one but two husbands in King Hydroflax and Ramon was excellent. River's speech about the Doctor not loving her back was incredible but it's one I wholeheartedly disagree with. I was sceptical prior to The Name of the Doctor but after that story I was convinced that the love was mutual and even after regeneration I believe that has stayed. The Doctor getting his own 'bigger on the inside' was something so wonderful and I loved how excited he was at getting the opportunity to do it properly. It was a lot of fun. Flemming was a good enemy and I loved the idea of a place for genocide committers. I am sure the Doctor wouldn't lose much sleep over that spaceship crashing. Overall though, after the amount of praise I've wrote the rating may come as a little surprise but it's for the episode as a whole where this blog entry is more focused on River. I think this was goodbye and if it was, what a way to go. She's been superb. Will she come back? Spoilers. 

Rating: 8/10

The Dragon Lord Part 1

"Ten seconds after landing, running from a monster already! New record?"

Writer: Steve Lyons

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 10th December 2015

Printed in: DWM 494

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara 

Synopsis 

Upon exiting the TARDIS, the Twelfth Doctor and Clara find themselves in deep trouble as they are faced with a dragon! The dragon is not alone and after joining forces with the local village, a battle with the Dragon Lord ensues...   

Verdict 

The Dragon Lord was a pretty decent start to the latest comic strip adventure to take place in Doctor Who Magazine! I seem to have forgotten in the last few issues that the magazine actually does have a very good comic strip feature and I think that's down to the fact Doctor Who Comic (which has now extended to two magazines!) has been so good lately. But the comic strip is not why I buy DWM. This month it's a festive edition with Christmas tomorrow! Yes, I'm reading two weeks after release but I've managed to fit in reading the previews of The Husbands of River Song prior to its broadcast tomorrow evening. It's been described as a romp by Steven Moffat and after the eventful and emotional Face the Raven and Heaven Sent/Hell Bent, I really like the sound of that. The idea of River not recognising the Doctor could be a lot of fun and I just can't wait to see how Capaldi and Kingston interact. I get a feeling they're going to be magnificent! This will be only the third Doctor that River has met (from the viewer's perspective anyway) and I can't wait to see her reaction to the Doctor surviving past his twelfth regeneration. It's quite incredible that it's been over seven years since Alex Kingston debuted in Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead in which her story ends but despite comments in the DWM preview and interview, I hope this isn't her TV swansong! She's just so good. Galaxy Forum was a good read as per usual but I was quite surprised by some of the incredible praise The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion got. I mean, it was brilliant but I felt some letters went a bit overboard. I was glad to see that I wasn't alone in being critical of Sleep No More and it absolutely remains the worst story of the series. How anyone criticised Face the Raven is beyond me but that's the beauty of polarising opinions in the Whoniverse! I can't wait to read Relative Dimensions as always with Jacqueline Rayner yet to fail in providing a page of entertainment. The DWM Preview is of particular interest for me this month with Only the Monstrous and The Legends of Ashildr being previewed - two stories I am eager to get my hands upon. The DWM Review rarely fails so that should also be a good read. I'm also intrigued by the Rassilon feature. Despite my loving of DWM, I'm not at all convinced that £5.99 is a justifiable price. The addition of the poster in an adult audience magazine I find a bit silly to be honest. A fiver is the maximum it should be in my opinion. Anyway, back to the comic strip itself and I love how along with the Twelfth Doctor segments of DWC the adventures for Clara in the TARDIS (the Doctor's one that is) are far from over. I thought the artwork was a bit questionable in this story which was a real shame but the story was quite festive in having a fun theme. This was the closest Doctor Who has come to a Game of Thrones crossover yet and the idea excites me greatly. It would be the most incredible thing ever! I absolutely love GoT so the show getting a mention by Clara was a real treat. The inclusion of dragons had me dying for an appearances by Daenerys but obviously I knew that wasn't going to happen. It happened in the dream I'll have tonight though! The story was good with some excellent characterisation of both the Doctor and Clara, although it seemed to have more of a Series 8 feel rather than being current. However, that doesn't really alter things too much. The interaction between the Doctor and Weezie was excellent and I can't wait to see that relationship continue in the second part, which is of course where the rating will appear should the story conclude. But for now, a good start! 

The Wormery

"The audio medium... It can be so deceptive."

Writers: Paul Magrs & Stephen Cole

Format: Audio

Released: November 2003

Series: Main Range 51

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Iris

Synopsis 

There's one place in creation where the truth really can be found in the bottom of a glass - Bianca's, a very special and very exclusive little club. 

The Doctor, careworn and seeking quiet distraction, gains admission. But his rest and relaxation is soon shattered by the wobbly arrival of louche trans-temporal adventuress Iris Wildthyme. She claims she's on a secret mission of vital importance, the success of which hinges on her getting paralytic. When she's drunk, she can hear the whidohsring voices in her head...

The Doctor soon learns that Bianca's airs and graces cover not just one malevolent power lurking in the shadows, but several. And a wriggling, writhing presence has designs on the clientele - just as Bianca herself has designs on the Doctor. 

At last, after so many centuries, the weary Time Lord is dragged by the heels into that darkest of undiscovered countries... love...

Verdict 

The Wormery was an excellent audio adventure to kick on the Main Range of Big Finish audios after the rather eventful Zagreus and fortieth anniversary celebrations. Prior to listening, I was a bit sceptical about the inclusion of Iris Wildthyme in the companion role as I had never listened to a story with her before and I really do think ranges should remain exclusive. That's why I'm not a huge fan of the Rocket Men appearing in the Fourth Doctor Adventures as there may be those who collect the Tom Baker stories and have no desire to listen to the Companion Chronicles in which they made their first two appearances. But hey, that's just me. Thankfully, with two great writers at the helm, Iris and the Doctor's history was explained to us magnificently well and she was a welcomed character in my opinion by the end. Before listening, I was unaware that Iris was a fellow Gallifreyan to the Doctor and once I knew she was a Time Lady, my perspective on her character changed greatly and absolutely for the better. That opened up a lot of exciting opportunities but I most definitely wasn't expecting the one that we got! I thought it was incredible to do a version of the Valeyard for Iris! With hints dropped throughout, once the revelation was made and everything came together I had a smile on my face. It was extremely clever and from it we almost had the female version of The Trial of a Time Lord, a story that was neatly referenced on more than one occasion. I also really liked the references to The War Games and The Two Doctors. The concept of the story was somewhat similar to Ghost in the Machine with the use of tapes to tell the story. That audio adventure also coincidentally featured Katy Manning but in a completely different role. As Iris, she was flirtatious and flaunting everything she had, which reminds me of a particular picture with a Dalek. But with Iris involved, this was as close to the modern series as we've had so far from a Classic era story in terms of love. I'm quite surprised they chose the Sixth Doctor as the incarnation to follow that trail with but it absolutely worked! Colin Baker was just fantastic yet again and there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that he is the most underrated Doctor of them all. He's definitely the best on audio. The interaction between Baker and Manning was fantastic and once Iris found out, or thought she had, that the Doctor was in love with Bianca I thought she was going to tear the house down! I really liked Mickey telling the story of the events we were listening to in the form of a story to Mr. Ashcroft. The revelation at the climax that he was actually the Seventh Doctor was a welcomed treat I must say! I was wondering throughout if we'd learn the identity of the keen listener but I wasn't expecting a cameo from the Seventh Doctor! Just what was he doing listening in on a previous adventure for his predecessor? Whatever it was, I liked it very much. The use of wormholes as means of transport to Bianca's was superb and I really liked the Doctor's disgust at this. He did end up playing her a treat in making her think he'd fallen in love with her and that was the key to solving the problem. I really liked the characters of Allis and Ballis but Iris actually stole the show with the incredible turnabout that Bianca's was the remains of her future TARDIS and Bianca was following in the footsteps of the Valeyard with the Doctor in wanting her remaining regenerations. It all came together wonderfully well, even if the shadow revelation was a bit disturbing! But everything got fixed with a clever climax and all was well. Overall, an excellent audio adventure! 

Rating: 9/10