On the Slippery Trail

"No one was safe from the powerful suction..."

Writer: Paul Crompton

Format: Short Story

Released: 1976

Printed in: The Amazing World of Doctor Who

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Sarah

Synopsis 

The Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith arrive on a seemingly deserted planet but with a giant trail left behind it's clear that the planet hasn't been deserted for long. Where will the trail lead?

Verdict 

On the Slippery Trail was a pretty good little story to continue my ongoing reading of The Amazing World of Doctor Who! I don't think I've ever consistently read a collection of stories that is, or in this case resembles, a Doctor Who Annual since my sporadic reading of the 1980 Doctor Who Annual. That was quite a long time ago now after I fantastically found it in a local collector's shop for just £3.50. In my opinion, that's an absolute bargain for an Annual from the Classic era. But when I consider that to be a bargain, I'm just incredibly envious that my auntie paid a tiny £1.10 for this copy of The Amazing World of Doctor Who and I'm convinced it's pretty rare. I'd never even heard of it before seeing it in the bedroom and although my collection isn't the largest, but is still rather vast, there isn't a lot out there that I don't at least know about. This book took me by surprise and I just had to take advantage of the resource whilst it was available. My cousin and auntie are currently living with my grandparents so we've spent an unprecedented week together now and after watching Revenge of the Cybermen together, I am hopeful that two more television serials will follow. But before that I still have two stories to get through in this interesting little book. I'm still not quite sure what to make of it as we've had some excellent stories in the form of A Fresh Start and The Vampires of Crellium but there have also been some stories that, whilst not disappointing, have also failed to hugely impress and I've probably been a tad generous with my ratings. I would think this story falls into that latter category because whilst there wasn't really anything to be negative about, not an awful lot actually happened in the story. That's obviously why there wasn't much to speak badly of but one thing I do want to highly praise is the characterisation of Sarah Jane Smith. The likeness of Elisabeth Sladen's popular companion was captured with absolute ease and her interaction with the Doctor was superb. The dialogue was absolutely perfect for the time of her character and I even now have her on my Doctor Who Legacy team lineup. I'm really enjoying that game despite the fact I wasn't able to play it much today but I've still got a tremendous amount of time to fulfil my gaming needs. I was quite surprised that the story length was only four pages long and even for a collection of stories like an Annual, that is very short. It becomes so difficult to tell an effective and entertaining story with a such a small format so I do commend the writers when they manage to pull it off. The Doctor and Sarah just following a trail for most of the story wasn't boring because of the strong dialogue, but there was distinct lack of action. I wasn't overly struck with the Doctor defeating the Jannosaur with salt, of which there was plenty in the local surroundings. It just seemed random and to come out of nowhere but I must admit it made me laugh at how pathetic and ignorant the Anthrons must have been not to use it as a weapon. It was quite comedic but it shouldn't have been and in all honesty that's not important. Overall, a decent little story with not a lot wrong. It just need something more to happen for a better rating. 

Rating: 7/10

The Vampires of Crellium

"Marsalla's telepathic message was unemotional, but her words were like cold knives..."

Writer: Paul Crompton

Format: Short Story

Released: 1976

Printed in: The Amazing World of Doctor Who

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Sarah

Synopsis 

The Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith have tracked a psychic power of immense ability to the thought deserted planet of Crellium. What are the Drakka? And what do they mean for the planet's vampires?

Verdict 

The Vampires of Crellium was a fantastic little story and is a fine example of how to do a Doctor Who Annual story. Although technically this story isn't from a Doctor Who Annual, it's presented as being so in The Amazing World of Doctor Who book which I am currently working my way through whilst being away for over a week at my grandparents. The book is actually not mine, which actually disappoints me, and is owned by my seven year old cousin with whom I watched Revenge of the Cybermen with yesterday. In between watching that story, he has been reading my copy of The Iron Legion graphic novel and has actually finished whilst I am yet to start! I had actually planned on starting this week but with The Amazing World of Doctor Who unexpectedly presented itself for my blogging. I like to think that my blog has numerous strange entries with verdicts given on some uncommon adventures ranging from appearing in Doctor Who Storybooks to stories such as these. I have blogged my fair share of Doctor Who Annual stories and I have been particularly critical of the format of the modern day Annuals, with the 2006 edition an exception, but I just love the Classic ones and even if the stories don't live up to my hopes, as many have failed to do so, at least the Annual itself presents itself in an appealing way to fans of all ages. That's something today's Annuals fail to do and it really does disappoint me. Although it was out around a year ago, I'm still yet to read The Art of Doctor Who special edition of DWM but I honestly can't see this book getting much of a mention. I've still got three adventures to go but other than A Fresh Start, the artwork has been pretty poor in the stories that followed. I know the Classic Doctor Who Annuals aren't renowned for their incredible artwork but the accompanying drawings for thus short story seemed rather poor which was a shame. It thankfully didn't have as much of an effect on the rating as occurred with The Psychic Jungle but I think that's because this was a text story whereas that was a comic strip. In a comic story you really do need the art to be good and I think that failing to be the case with The Dragon Lord is what has probably made it my least favourite DWM comic strip in a long time. Speaking of DWM, I must take time in the blog somewhere to mention how fantastic the 500th issue has been in my reading so far. I'm reading in stages with a rather busy house at the moment but I am absolutely loving it. Fitting in blog entries has been proved further difficult by my downloading of the Doctor Who Legacy game on my phone. I only started today but it's safe to say that I'm addicted! It's a real gem of a game and having the quick additions of the Shayde, Abslom Daak and Frobisher thanks to DWM has really helped with my gameplay. I'm delighted to see some of the characters that appear and I'm sure I'll be mentioning this game in more blog entries in the future. I also managed to grab a local bargain at the market today by purchasing The Coldest War DYD book for a mere £1. If I see something for that price, I simply can't not buy it. I thought this story was very good with great characterisation of Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor and I also loved the presentation of the relationship between the Doctor and Sarah. They're terrific together but I must admit I was surprised not to see Harry in the story. That's not a problem but I do hope he is in the next story I read. The faceless Marsalla was a brilliant character and her sacrifice to stop Krem-Ling was very admirable. The concept of the Communal Will was also pretty decent. Overall, a very enjoyable read! 

Rating: 8/10

Revenge of the Cybermen

"They're utterly ruthless. Total machine creatures."

Writer: Gerry Davis 

Format: TV

Broadcast: 19th April - 10th May 1975

Sesson: 12.05

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Sarah, Harry

Synopsis 

Arriving on Space Station Nerva in its distant past, the Doctor, Sarah and Harry find its crew threatened by a mysterious plague. Discovering that things are not as they seem, they stumble upon a plan to commit genocide, devised by the Doctor's old enemies, the Cybermen.

Verdict 

Revenge of the Cybermen was an excellent Doctor Who story and one I throughly enjoyed watching with my cousin. He's growing fast and is nearly eight years old now but his knowledge of Doctor Who, both old and new, is quite incredible for a boy of his age! With some of the stories he has watched, I was actually rather surprised that this one had omitted his viewing. I would've thought the Horror channel would have aired it by now but their failure to gave me the pleasure of watching it alongside him. I am hoping to watch at least one more story with him whilst I'm up but for now I'm going to talk about the story that he gave a perfect rating. It's a significant story for a number of reasons and the most obvious would be the return of the Cybermen. It still amazes me that given their frequency in appearing against the Second Doctor, they didn't feature at all against the Third Doctor. The Invasion is a fantastic story but I bet viewers at the time didn't think they would have to wait seven years before the metal men returned again. The change in appearance seems to happen with every story that the Cybermen are a part of in the Classic era but I seem absolutely love each design. That opinion changed with Nightmare in Silver a few years ago but before that I just loved how each design was so different yet instantly recognisable as a Cyberman. I think I am a sucker for nostalgia and all things retro as even now my favourite design of the Cybermen is from The Tenth Planet. That story got a nice little reference here which is always great. Watching this story with my cousin made me appreciate just how brilliant Tom Baker was as the Fourth Doctor, particularly in these early days of his tenure. The comedy he brought to the role shined brightly in this serial with me and my cousin looking at each other in laughter on more than one occasion. The Doctor's facial expressions also add so much to a story and I think they were a big reason as to why he was so appealing and popular as the Doctor. The scene at the start of part four when he realised Harry was going to unstrap the bomb, which in turn would detonate it, was outstanding. After reading the stories of The Amazing World of Doctor Who, that also feature the Fourth Doctor, Sarah and Harry (and will continue tomorrow), it was refreshing to have a change of format whilst maintaining the same TARDIS team. I think it will be beneficial when I come to read the final four stories in the aforementioned book. The plan of the Cybermen to destroy Voga was great and I am surprised that gold hasn't since been used much as a weapon against the Cybermen. It occurred in Earthshock but that's about it. The costumes for the Vogan people were very good and I liked the kind of civil war that was occurring on the planet. Tyrum and Vorus leading each faction was good and the bickering that those two shared was excellent. I thought Kellman was a terrific character and even though I've previously watched this story on two separate occasions, I actually forgot that he was a double agent working against the Cybermen until it was revealed! No matter how many times you watch a Doctor Who story, you'll still find something new with each viewing and I think that's just amazing. Lester and Stevenson were also good characters but for me it was the Cybermen that stuck out in this story, as one might expect. It continued off from Genesis of the Daleks and immediately led into Terror of the Zygons, but sometimes this story gets forgotten in some quarters. I thought Sarah was terrific in this serial and I also enjoyed the action and close calls that came with the climax. I liked how the Doctor didn't want to say goodbye and I also loved his lack of reaction to Sarah saying how good it was to see him. Overall, not quite as high a rating as my cousin gave, but it wasn't far off.

Rating: 9/10

The Psychic Jungle

"Nature has provided this planet with the perfect form of defence..."

Writer: Paul Crompton

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 1976

Printed in: The Amazing World of Doctor Who

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Sarah, Harry

Synopsis 

The Fourth Doctor, Sarah and Harry arrive on a barren planet that is nothing more than just a desert. However, the companions don't see things that way and with psychic powers in the air, illusionary threats start to become very real...

Verdict 

The Psychic Jungle was a pretty good little comic strip adventure and continued my reading of my cousin's copy of The Amazing World of Doctor Who. I still can't quite believe that he has this in his small but growing collection and I must admit I am incredibly envious. I found out my auntie paid a mere £1.10 for it in the local car boot sale and if all goes well, I may have to venture to it myself. Things have been a little hectic at my grandparents' house lately but tomorrow me and my cousin will finally settle down and get watching a television story that he is yet to see. I must admit though, judging on fun tests and some questions about stories he has seen, there aren't many of those left to be honest! But just as luck would have it, the four Classic era DVDs that I packed with me are ones he hasn't seen so we're spoilt for choice which is terrific news. The Classic era Doctor Who Annuals are, in my opinion, so much better than what we've had in recent years. I thought that with the change of ownership of Doctor Who Adventures that things might have been different for the 2016 Annual but it was still far too child orientated. This book, although not a Doctor Who Annual, was set out very much like one and contained considerable reprints from the 1976 edition but it's just instantly recognisable as being for all ages. Both adults and children can enjoy the comic and text adventures whilst the other features aren't set out to appeal to a younger audience even if that was the attention. It really does appeal to all ages. Speaking of appeal, that was sadly something this comic strip didn't instantly have. Other than the drawing and colouring of the Fourth Doctor, I thought the artwork for this comic strip was appalling. The characters of Sarah and Harry weren't recognisable in the slightest and that really was a huge disappointment. It really did leave me annoyed with what I had just read despite the story still scoring a decent reading. At just six pages long, it's rather difficult to tell a brilliant comic story but this did a decent job in fulfilling what it was required to do. It was entertaining and was recognisable as Doctor Who. People might think I'm mad by blogging each story from this book individually but in over 750 blog entries, I haven't ever done a blog that contains more than one story, such as an anthology of adventures. I will do them all on their own because they all are different and will secure their own ratings. Anyway, despite the artwork of Harry being a complete shambles, I thought his characterisation was excellent and that was a real positive of the comic strip. Sarah's characterisation wasn't bad at all and I actually thought Tom Baker's likeness as the Fourth Doctor was captured pretty well. I loved the ambiguity surrounding the ending when the Doctor avoided answering the question over what fears he saw in the supposed jungle. The concept of the planet was very good and although the arrival and departure of the spider seemed abrupt, there was a lot of potential there and I think this story could have credentials to be developed further. The time for that might have passed but with Doctor Who you can never say never. As I say, the story itself was decent but with the artwork being as bad as it was it just had to affect my rating for the story. The quality of Doctor Who Annual stories can sometimes be questionable but if they can continue to score the same rating or higher as this did then I'll be very happy with what I have read. I will continue to take advantage of the resource whilst I have it at my disposal so the stories from its pages will continue to fill my blog! Overall though, a good little comic strip that was severely let down by its artwork. 

Rating: 7/10

The Sinister Sponge

"Stuck inside a cabbage!"

Writer: Paul Crompton 

Format: Short Story

Released: 1976

Printed in: The Amazing World of Doctor Who

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Sarah, Harry

Synopsis 

The Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane and Harry arrive on Inscruta, a planet that the Doctor has previously visited. But things aren't as pleasant as the last time he was here and something sinister lurks in the clouds...

Verdict 

The Sinister Sponge was certainly an intriguing read, that is for sure. I was immediately drawn to the story's title and I think it just has to take the award for being the most ludicrous, ridiculous and obscure story title of all time! I believe it was originally printed in the 1976 Doctor Who Annual but as was the case yesterday with A Fresh Start, I was actually reading in The Amazing World of Doctor Who which houses a number of reprints, mostly from that aforementioned Annual. Whilst I'm in the same vicinity as my cousin, who luckily found the collection of stories at a local car boot sale, I'm going to make the most of the resource as I'm not sure if it will be here the next time I visit. That won't be far away but I'm not taking any chances! It's great that this collection will give me some more stories featuring Harry as companion as he always seems to be a Classic era companion that I seem to forget despite him appearing in such classics like The Sontaran Experiment and Genesis of the Daleks. I'm not sure why I become forgetful when it comes to his tenure in the TARDIS but despite him not being bad in the slightest, I think he just failed to make an impact. He never fully seemed to settle in when travelling with the Doctor which was a stark contrast to Sarah and that's why she became arguably the most popular companion of all time. She didn't feature much at all in this short story but when she did her relationship with Harry was great as always. I thought the characterisation of the Fourth Doctor could have been improved with Tom Baker's likeness not captured as effectively as it could have been. The artwork that accompanied the five pages of text that this story was comprised of was a little hit and miss to be honest. Things didn't always seem entirely relevant to the page on which they appeared and on the fourth page the artwork actually interfered with the reading of the text which was a big negative in the layout of the story. In saying that though, the story itself actually was pretty good and that's something I must admit I wasn't expecting with the story name. When I looked at the contents at the start of the page I just laughed at how absurd the story title was. Whoever could conjure up a Doctor Who story about a sponge? It's barmy but it somehow managed to just about work. The Doctor being reunited with Elkalor was very good and I liked how the natives of the planet were highly sensitive to sound. I liked that the women were not affected in the way that men were and that had allowed the wives of the people of Inscruta to take control of things. Sarah enjoyed that rather a lot but the Sponge that had caused this was rather apologetic. I can't believe I just typed that sentence but that's what had happened. We later learned that the Sponge creature had changed the atmosphere and in doing so had caused the male of the species to be greatly effected. The Doctor soon saw to an elixir to cure the disease and also would provide a way home for the Sponge. Overall, a pretty decent short story that had a good plot, quite a bit of humour and excitement but was also completely ridiculous! Just look at the story title and my opening quote to see that.

Rating: 7/10

A Fresh Start

"Faster than snuffing a candle, he pays with his life."

Writer: David Whittaker 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 1976

Printed in: The Amazing World of Doctor Who

Featuring: The Daleks

Synopsis 

They say the strongest fears are born of ignorance and fed by imagination. The Daleks know little fear. But how can they fight an enemy they cannot see? How can they hope to guess the motives of an aggressor who will not show himself, a conqueror content to sit and watch?

Verdict 

A Fresh Start, or Eve of War as it was originally known, was a superb comic strip adventure! I was really pleasantly surprised with this little comic story and I say little because I literally mean just that as the story was only five pages long but it absolutely impressed me! After reading The Five Doctors on what used to be my usual train journey from south to mid Wales, I do plan on watching a couple of serials with my cousin who I have mentioned in quite a lot of my past blog entries. Upon arriving at my grandparents' house, where he's temporarily living due to my auntie being in the long process of moving house, my attention was drawn by a particular book amongst his things. There were copies of Doctor Who Adventures and his Companion Guide from the Doctor Who Exhibition but I saw this copy of The Amazing World of Doctor Who and it was something I hadn't actually seen before! Whilst I'm here, I think I need to take advantage of this tremendous resource and blog all seven stories within its pages. That's certainly the plan so things might get a little repetitive over the next week or so but I don't really care to be honest. The book itself is set out very much like a Doctor Who Annual and after doing some research on it (that's the historian in me), I found out that the book contained two original text stories along with two other text reprints and three comic strips reprinted in its pages. After asking where my cousin acquired the gem of an item, he told me it was at a local car boot sale so I think that's somewhere I need to take myself. I've never been to one before and after finding numerous bargains in charity shops, I think the car boot sales is where I need to go next. The addition of text links between each page was very good and I think it certainly helped with the flow of the story by reading it all in one go, page after page. That wasn't the original way in which the story was printed as I learned that the comic strip was originally printed in five separate parts, all consisting of just one page, in TV Century. I found that very interest in and I think if that existed today I would find it very difficult to blog! The Daleks having their own comic strip shows just how popular an enemy they were and that's obviously recognised by their continuing returns. I was surprised we didn't get a reference to The Chase with the return of the Mechanoids and I'm pretty certain that this was the first story I have blogged in which they appear after their televised appearance. The Daleks didn't seem to recognise then which was good because it made a distinction with these Daleks perhaps not being familiar with who the Doctor was. Despite being a part of the Doctor Who Universe, this story wasn't about our hero at all. He doesn't appear and he shouldn't. The Dalek Empire audios show just how successful the Daleks can be on their own and I'll soon be finding out the same about the Cybermen in the first series of their audio spinoff series. The appearance of the Dalek Emperor, in a story originally penned in 1965, was something I really loved and I also adored the colour of the comic. It really was attractive and things jumped off of the page which was great. The appearance of a Red Dalek as leader was fantastic and would be a tradition followed in later stories such as The Stolen Earth/Journey's End. I really liked the action that came with the battles between the Daleks and the Mechanoids and the idea of a cloud that could infect and hypnotise the Daleks blocking the identity of their enemy was tremendous. The Daleks would of course gain the upper hand and although things weren't settled between the two races, you felt it was just the start of many battles to come. I'm not sure where I'll be able to acquire those stories but I'll do my best to! But for now, this was a fantastic comic strip adventure!

Rating: 9/10

The Five Doctors

"A cosmos without the Doctor. It scarcely bears thinking about!"

Writer: Terrance Dicks

Format: Novel

Released: November 1983

Series: Target 81

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Tegan, Turlough, Fourth Doctor, Romana II, K9, Third Doctor, Sarah, Second Doctor, Brigadier, First Doctor, Susan

Synopsis 

Why are all five Doctors being removed from their separate time-streams? Who is the enemy they will have to unite against? What will become of the Doctors when the battle is over?

We have travelled a long way with Doctor Who. The Five Doctors gives us a chance to turn the clock back and meet some old friends - and some old enemies.

Verdict 

The Five Doctors was an outstanding novelisation of the superb anniversary television story that celebrated the twentieth anniversary of Doctor Who. It was an incredible feat to achieve at the time and although we have since had the fiftieth anniversary celebration with The Day of the Doctor, reading this story have it a somewhat different feel and I'm inclined to believe that the novelisation was even a little better than the televised story despite them both securing the perfect rating. The book has instantly become one of my all time favourite Target novelisations and Terrance Dicks really did seem to convert this story into prose with absolute ease. He captured the characterisation of all five Doctors, as well as their companions, with sublime simplicity and that just makes reading the story so much better. Even Anthony Ainley's likeness as the Master was effortlessly captured. It really was a fantastic job by the prose master that is Terrance Dicks. The plot of the story is brilliant and I love the setting of the Death Zone on Gallifrey. It's brilliant to hear the First and Second Doctors mentioning their home planet in this story which is something we never heard them say on screen. This novel also firmly reminds us that Susan is also a Time Lord and the description of the look between Susan and her grandfather when they realised where they were was tremendous. The Daleks had to appear in this story in some form and I think having just one gave them more of an impact. Pairing it up with the First Doctor was a move that I liked. The novel allowed us to see some things that weren't shown in the televised story, name the way Susan was captured by the obelisk. The references to The Dalek Invasion of Earth were great and I just love how different the novels can be despite telling the same story as what we can now watch on television. The pairing of the Second Doctor and the Brigadier was magnificent and I liked how the Doctor had come to hear the Brigadier's speech. Their capture and scoop into the Death Zone had caused many references to The Web of Fear, The Invasion and The Three Doctors which were all fabulous. The humour that seems to follow the Second Doctor really was captured marvellously. The reference to A Girl's Best Friend was very good in having Sarah captured by the obelisk and I love how she's still venting anger at the Doctor for abruptly abandoning her in The Hand of Fear. Her annoyance at the Fourth Doctor being missing from the Dark Tower once all the Doctors met up was fantastic and I think that feeling was shared by all the viewers as well. The capture of the Fourth Doctor and Romana II was quick but good and I think it is a real shame that Tom Baker didn't play a prominent role in the story. I thought the novel might change that but sadly it wasn't the case. The Fifth Doctor feeling the effects of his past selves being taken out of their time-streams was good and in a prose format it made me appreciate more just how helpless Tegan and Turlough were to help him. They were trying their best to get out the signal the Doctor was mumbling about but specifics were difficult with the Doctor fading from existence! The Master's arrival in the Death Zone, on the order of the High Council of the Time Lords, was greeted with good humour by the Third Doctor after he had eventfully rescued Sarah. Her reaction to seeing this particularly incarnation of the Doctor was excellent. A Planet of the Spiders reference followed and there were also numerous other stories referenced throughout this story. The Keeper of Traken, Logopolis, Earthshock, Arc of Infinity and The War Games all got a mention with the latter reference particularly causing controversy that would eventually be resolved in Players. The idea of the Game of Rassilon was terrific and I loved the riddle that only the First Doctor seemed to grasp the meaning of. The man behind the Death Zone and time-scoop turning out to be Borusa seemed more obvious in the novel but maybe that was just because I've seen this story on numerous occasions, I'm not sure. I still enjoyed the revelation when the Fifth Doctor saw the truth about the Harp of Rassilon. Each Doctor had an eventful journey to the Dark Tower, with each taking a different direction of entry. The Third Doctor and Sarah, after encountering Cybermen and the Raston Warrior Robot, took above whilst the Second Doctor and the Brigadier encountered a Yeti before entering below. The First Doctor and Tegan, in an uncanny matchup, took the more conventional route of between. There were nice illusionary appearances of Jamie, Zoe, Liz and Mike Yates but the meeting of the Doctors by the Tomb of Rassilon was wonderful. The banter between the Second and Third Doctors was as wonderful as their previous meeting and I liked how the first three Doctors realised that the current incarnation was in trouble once Borusa arrived. His seeking of immortality was understandable, even if he was a Time Lord, but the way he was granted it was disturbing. He who won had lost. The riddle had proved true and under the immense powers of Rassilon, the Doctor and his past selves were protected from danger. All would be returned in a pretty comedic goodbye and I loved the final comment about the way the Doctor had begun his journey through the universe. He wouldn't be fulfilling his duties as President, and that was hardly a surprise. Overall, a simply tremendous novelisation! 

Rating: 10/10

Partners in Crime

"The fat just walks away."

Writer: Russell T Davies 

Format: TV

Broadcast: 5th April 2008

Series: 4.01

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Donna

Synopsis 

Donna Noble is determined to find the Tenth Doctor again - even if it means braving the villainous Miss Foster. But when the alien threat escalates out of control, can Donna find her Time Lord before the march of the Adipose begins at last?

Verdict 

Partners in Crime is a great episode to kick off the fourth series of Doctor Who following the 2005 revival! It's unusual in the fact it reintroduces a character we have previously met as companion and I can only think of Nyssa to be in a similar position for past companions. She first appeared in The Keeper of Traken but didn't actually become companion until Logopolis (and that's at the earliest!). However, those stories followed each other whereas here with Donna we had a whole series between her first two appearances. She was absolutely brilliant the first time we saw her in The Runaway Bride, a story that was very nicely referenced, and I like how the effects the Doctor had on her life in that episode were clearly present here. She seemed a lot more fun and even intelligent and I think that's important for a companion. As comedic and humorous Donna is, there's no doubting her intelligence and I think that was present with her mentioned attempts at finding the Doctor. The plot of this story wasn't bad at all but I think it's the comedy that is most memorable from the episode. The way the Doctor and Donna kept missing each other in the Adipose Industries call centre was great and that even continued in the streets after we first saw the truth surrounding the Adipose. The idea of a diet pill in a Doctor Who story is actually a fantastic one and I thought the execution was done well here. Miss Foster was a good villainous character and I loved that she had her own sonic device in the form of the sonic pen. The moment that was revealed was another fantastic piece of humour. I remember the original trailers for Series 4 and there was an immense amount of speculation surrounding that sonic pen scene and thinking back now, I can't quite believe that it's been over eight years since the episode aired! However, I'm now very much inclined to buy the new Tenth Doctor and Donna audios that have been recently released. There's no doubt that I'll but then but it's just a question of when. I really liked the numerous references in this story to the finale of The Stolen Earth/Journey's End with the mentioning of planets and bees disappearing. The appearance of the ATMOS sticker in the taxi is so simple but just a wonderful foreshadowing of events to come in The Sontaran Strategem/The Poison Sky. The highlight of this episode was probably the moment the Doctor and Donna both saw each other for the first time. Done through silence with the superb background music, it really was comedy in Doctor Who at its very best. It certainly gives The Romans and City of Death a run for their money, that's for sure. Miss Foster interrupting the reunion was a humorous disappointment. The action that followed was good and I liked how Penny was constantly just left tied up. Once the Doctor finally freed her though, as people usually do she ignored his instruction and wound up tied up once more. The Doctor and Donna wonderfully teaming up to prevent the Inducer from killing one million people was terrific and the moment Donna pulled out the second golden capsule was superb. I think that's when the Doctor accepted her as his companion once more. Donna being ready for everything including the Planet of the Hats was good and we even had a surprise cameo return for Rose! We'd of course learn more by the time of Turn Left but I remember my reaction on broadcast and it was one of shock. Miss Foster got a shock of her own when she realised that her place on the Adipose mothership was not required after she helped breed the newborn babies. Babies of fat. Not a pleasant thought to be honest. Wilf sighting the TARDIS with Donna inside was a magnificent moment to finish on and it was just great to see how happy he was for his granddaughter. Overall, a good start to the series and great return for Donna! 

Rating: 8/10 

The Robots of Death

"Robots cannot kill."

Writer: Chris Boucher

Format: TV

Broadcast: 29th January - 19th February 1976

Season: 14.05

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Leela

Synopsis 

On a distant, barren planet, Storm Mine 4 trawls across bleak deserts and through fierce duststorms in search of rare and valuable metals. Onboard the Sandminer is a small skeleton crew, who alternate between indulgent relaxation and skilled mining work. The mundane, day-to-day duties of the mine are attended to by a much larger complement of servile robots.

This is a society that is dependent on robots for all areas of life, the people comforted by the knowledge that the strictest safeguards are built into each and every robot's programming. So when one of the Sandminer crew is murdered, suspicion falls on two new arrivals...

The Doctor and Leela arrive on board, and are immediately accused of being the suspects. But the Doctor deduces that the killer is possibly not human. More deaths occur - can he persuade the remaining crew members that the killer may be a robot?

Verdict 

The Robots of Death was an excellent story! There's no denying that this story is an instant classic and its consistently high performances in ranking polls will confirm just that. This was only my second time watching the story and my first on DVD and with it being nearly four years since my original outing, it's fair to say that things were fairly new to me. I don't own the Target novelisation so I haven't since clued up on the story's events but I definitely think that was beneficial because doing a story that feels brand new means that you're surprised by the twists and surprises that occur and that was exactly the case with this story here. The confined setting of the Sandminer worked really well and although the set was rather dull, it actually worked for the story that was being told. That obviously wasn't the case with the Warriors of the Deep set but there were no such problems here. I really do love the pairing of the Fourth Doctor and Leela and it really does seem a while since my last performed story to feature the TARDIS pairing. I was quite surprised by how little comedy there was between them which almost seemed a little strange. It was still present but there didn't seem to be much other than the yoyo scene in the TARDIS. Watching stories sporadically really made me aware of how poor the wood-panelled TARDIS console room is. I'm not sure why it was adopted for a season or so but it just seems compact and well, lacklustre for what the TARDIS should be. The Doctor explaining the workings of the TARDIS being dimensionally transcendental was wonderful and it showed all of the early signs in the relationship between the Fourth Doctor and Leela. Of course, she'd only just arrived in The Face of Evil but it seems like the humour would just increase as the stories go on, and I think perhaps even more so in the audio adventures starring the pair. The Sandminer Robots have gone on to become an instantly recognisable enemy from the Classic era of Doctor Who and I think that's testament to how good this story is. There's no doubting its popularity and I was surprised to read that Tom Baker was actually quite critical of the script! I don't think there are any problems with the script to be honest and it's just some of the costumes and direction that are the reasons this serial just misses out on full marks. It's pretty obvious, at least to an observant viewer like myself, who the man behind the murders is from part two. Dask is clearly the culprit but even though that was presented to me from the start, it was still excellent to see the story unfold and build towards that revelation. The fact that he was Taren Capel was something a little less expected though and I loved how the Doctor knew that the mad scientist was on board. The costume designs of the Sandminer Robots are simply sensational and I'm actually very proud to own an action figure of all three classes of robot. The distinction between the Dums, VOCs and Super VOCs is fantastic and I loved how at least one robot from each class had a significant role in the latter stages when the Robots were carrying out orders to kill all humans. I thought the D84 Robot was terrific and it was good hoe it seemed to be the only robot that anybody could trust. The Doctor certainly had a good relationship with him but the same can't be said for the SV7 Robot. He appeared to be the commander behind the numerous murders that were occurring on the Sandminer for a time but then so did Commander Uvanov. I thought he was a rather strange character but I liked his striving towards making a profit. He didn't seem to be at all interested in the murders if it meant that they were losing valuable time and money for the expedition. Toos and Zilda were favourite characters of mine with Borg and Poul also standing out in a pretty impressive guest cast. Leela's perception of body language being proven right was fantastic as was the rather action packed ending! Many robots died and although this story is full of murder mysteries, death doesn't seem to be why this story is remembered. Tom Baker and Louise Jameson were terrific and the Sandminer Robots would go down in history. Overall, a terrific serial!

Rating: 9/10

The Stockbridge Showdown

"Something's rotten in the state of Stockbridge!"

Writer: Scott Gray

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 26th May 2016

Printed in: DWM 500

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Max, Frobisher, Destrii, Izzy, Majenta, Sharon

Synopsis 

A very special celebratory comic strip adventure from Scott Gray, Dave Gibbons, Martin Geraghty, Roger Langridge and many more! Doctor Who Magazine reaches its 500th issue!

Verdict 

The Stockbridge Showdown was a sensational comic strip adventure and an absolutely beautiful tribute to Doctor Who Magazine's comic stories over the past 500 hundreds. This blog entry is also significant for being my own personal 750th entry, but for a magazine to reach an incredible 500 issues is an incredible feat and I had no problem paying double the usual price because what we got was absolutely worth it! Or, at least I hope it is. With exams and moving back home, I was only able to purchase the magazine yesterday so I haven't read much yet other than the comic strip but I really am looking forward to this issue, which probably sounds very obvious. I read the initial letter from the Doctor which was quite humorous and I did like the bragging that occurred in the editor's column because DWM has every bloody reason to brag! It's an astonishing and record-breaking feat and they should absolutely boast and be proud of what they have achieved. Speaking of pride, I was absolutely delighted to see that my letter got published in Galaxy Forum for this issue and now my name will forever be printed in this historic issue of DWM. It still incredibly kept up my 100% run of having every letter I've sent in being printed. I'm not sure how long that will last but I'm delighted that my name appears in this particular issue. The magazine, or rather magazines, look tremendous and I love the throwback cover to the first issue. Being the longtime fan that he is, I bet Peter Capaldi was absolutely overjoyed to be the current Doctor for this landmark DWM issue. He has so much fun playing the Doctor and I think that's what makes him so enjoyable as the Twelfth Doctor. His characterisation in the extended comic strip story here was done very well by Scott Gray and it was of no surprise to me to see that he was given the honour of penning this celebratory comic strip. That's exactly the word I think best suits this story because it really was just a celebration but instead of just being full of nostalgia, it still managed to tell an excellent story and show the Doctor at his very best. It was quite ironic for myself and I had some good fate occur somewhere with my decision to read The Moderator yesterday. It tied in perfectly with events here and I loved that the Doctor still vented his frustration at what Dogbolter did to Gus. It was wonderful that the Doctor hadn't forgotten about his short-lived companion. I hadn't yet met some of the returning companions in this story and it has made me realise that I should crack on with the numerous graphic novels I don't yet own. I will have to do them all in order at some point but for now I'm going to continue buying at random. I loved the return of Frobisher in the disguise of Chiyoko who I of course know from The Child of Time graphic novel collection. There were also returns for Izzy and Destrii both of whom I know pretty well and even though my experience of Sharon is minimal, I was glad to see her back once again. Majenta is a companion I know a lot less about as I've done barely any Tenth Doctor comics from DWM but I was glad to see Max Edison back again! It's clear that he's made returns following The Stockbridge Horror as he knows the Doctor can change his face so I look forward to those, but for now it was just great to be back in Stockbridge and I loved the little throwback to Stars Fell on Stockbridge. The numerous appearances of aliens from past comic strips was very good and the whole story and magazine just has such a good feel about it. I'm really looking forward to seeing what Jacqueline Rayner has to see in Relative Dimensions which is a favourite feature of mine and I'll be intrigued to read the Fact of Fiction about The Day of the Doctor. I'm expecting a few retro features that I don't know of but I'm sure I'll enjoy them nonetheless. The second magazine giving a pictorial history of the first 500 issues should be wonderful as well and it's just magnificent that the magazine has an outstanding comic strip adventure in its pages. 

Rating: 10/10

The Moderator

"To waste or not to waste. That is the interrogative."

Writer: Steve Parkhouse 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: January-April 1984

Printed in: DWM 84, 86-87

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Angus

Synopsis 

The Doctor and his new friend Gus arrive on Celeste, a world populated by intelligent soldiers. Yet all is not what it seems. The soldiers are under the control of the sinister Moderator, who is using the gift of Celeste to create a link to Earth. Can the Doctor stop him from invading another planet?

Verdict 

The Moderator was a very good comic strip adventure and has brought an end to my reading of The Tides of Time graphic novel. After purchasing it for a mere £2.99 (which somehow also included postage!) before Christmas, it had taken me some time to finally delving in to the collection of comic strip stories from the pages of Doctor Who Magazine. I'm not too sure as to why that was but the same can also be said for Doctor Who and the Iron Legion as I purchased that graphic novel before this one and I still haven't started it! But I have mentioned previously that I like having a graphic novel to do so I don't think it'll be too long before I delve into that collection of Fourth Doctor adventures. Speaking of which, my first blogged entry from this collection came in the form of Timeslip which was a very good bonus comic strip featuring the Fourth Doctor. Just why that story didn't get published in either of the graphic novels to feature Tom Baker's incarnation of the Doctor is something I'm not too sure about, but I'm sure it wasn't done without reason. I'm sure the same can be said for this story and the absence of new comic strip content in the 85th issue of DWM. I haven't since researched why that issue was skipped in having a part of this story published, but I must admit it does seem pretty strange. However, it wasn't at all relevant to my reading of the story today as it has been over three decades since the comic strip was published. And that beautiful magazine is still going as I will be blogging about tomorrow. Anyway, I'm just glad that a graphic novel as good as this didn't finish with a failure and overall, The Tides of Time has been simply sublime! The title story was an absolute epic and then we had two fantastic stories with Stars Fell on Stockbridge and The Stockbridge Horror. Both were brilliant and I've loved the overlapping story arc that continued, despite a shift in events, in Lunar Lagoon. Then we come to my blogged stories of the past two days where we saw epic returns for the Ice Warriors and the Monk in a wonderfully unexpected collaboration before the debut of Josiah W. Dogbolter in this story. I have of course met the frog before in The Shape Shifter as I have already read the Voyager graphic novel and I loved how this story set the scene for that one. I would guess that it immediately follows it so from my standpoint I was glad to read the prequel so to speak. That's not how it was of course but that's the way it's gone with my path of reading. I love his affiliation with money and the moment the Doctor mentioned his time machine was superb as he deduced that if time is money, then more time is more money. I really liked that. The Wrekka was quite a humorous robot as he seemed to be constantly spewing Shakespeare lyrics whenever he encountered people! It was bordering silly but it did provide me with a laugh which is always good. The revelation in part three that the narration we'd been having in the previous two parts was by the Moderator himself was good and it brought the story full circle very nicely. With this being the last Fifth Doctor comic strip from DWM, I knew that Angus had to leave here because of his absence from the Sixth Doctor comics. It was good that it'd been hired to destroy the TARDIS and presumably the Doctor as well and the way it was causing destruction to anything that resembled the police box. The Doctor getting Angus back home seemed like it was going to be a nice touch to finish on but instead he was shot dead by the Moderator and that saw something very unique in the Classic era. The Doctor took hold of a gun with a tear in his eye but instead took him to a hospital and saw that he got life support. But Hob, Dogbolter's assistant, disconnected that to finish the story on a rather sad note! Overall though, a very good end to what has been a magnificent graphic novel! I really do think having one writer for all of the stories has made a difference in terms of story quality.

Rating: 8/10

4-Dimensional Vistas

"I'm lost in infinity..."

Writer: Steve Parkhouse 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: July-December 1983

Printed in: DWM 78-83

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Angus

Synopsis 

The Doctor still feels saddened shock over the death of Fuji, for which he partly feels responsible. But he is soon joined by an American Air Force pilot in the form of Angus. A story of parallel worlds and tides in time soon unfolds, and the Doctor will meet not one but two old foes...

Verdict 

4-Dimensional Vistas was an excellent comic strip adventure and really did continue The Tides of Time graphic novel terrifically well! I get the feeling that despite having one story left to read in the collection that the overlapping story arc is finished after what went on here in an action packed six parts! The story really was eventful and I really liked how it continued pretty much immediately where Lunar Lagoon left off with the Doctor catching up with the American Air Force pilot who shot Fuji at the conclusion of the aforementioned story. To my surprise, that man actually become a new companion for the Fifth Doctor! Angus was very good and I liked how suspecting he was of the Doctor at first but once he entered the TARDIS and saw the Earth from above, and spotted the good ol' US of A, he was certainly ok the same page as our Time Lord hero. I enjoyed how the whole events of this graphic novel were tied into what was going on here. There were good references to Stars Fell on Stockbridge and The Stockbridge Horror which is always an immediate positive in my book as I do love continuity of pretty much any kind in a story. It just adds something special and keeps the overall identity of the show intact. You know it's still very much Doctor Who when other stories get a mention. I've loved it ever since I started watching eight years ago and I'm only going to continue to enjoy them. And in terms of nostalgia in an adventure, the two foes of this comic strip were full of it! Not only did we have the epic return of the Ice Warriors, which delighted me enough, but we also had the return of the Monk! That was certainly unexpected but I must say the moment he was revealed as the Time Meddler the smile on my face was huge! I felt like each part seemed a bit separate and that's probably where the story's one mark lost comes from, but it was full of action and pace. The Doctor realising he was on a parallel version of Earth where World War Two was still present in 1983 was terrific and I loved the moment where he realised, due to what the Ice Warriors and the Monk were up to, he had been going sideways in time for quite a while now. That was obviously causing issues. The Doctor referring to the Monk as a failed Time Lord really was superb but I must admit I was surprised to see a collaboration between him and the Ice Warriors. It was completely unexpected and that was just what made it so good. I rarely get surprised by returns or revelations in Doctor Who due to spoilers or by simply being not up to date or just knowing of other stories, but this was a full surprise and I was truly thrilled. The characterisation of the Fifth Doctor was once again excellent but that was wholly expected with Steve Parkhouse penning his fifth consecutive comic strip as in his previous four he really has captured Peter Davison's likeness with ease. As I've said in countless previous blog entries, it's such a simple thing but it makes a story that much more enjoyable. Angus enjoying the battles with the Ice Warriors was fantastic and I was also just glad to see that the Ice Warriors were fully evil and not on the good guy's side. Good is something they shouldn't ever be and thankfully they were not on this occasion. I quite liked the chase ending with the ravages through the corridors of time between the Doctor and the Monk but the former simply outsmarted the other and landed exactly where the Monk would a millisecond later, which meant his TARDIS and the Ice Warriors were obliterated into nothingness as two things couldn't occupy the same point in space as well as time. Overall, a fantastic return for the Ice Warriors and an unexpected pleasure to see the Monk return!

Rating: 9/10

Caerdroia

"Every time we're in a dark place and you wonder off, something bad happens."

Writer: Lloyd Rose

Format: Audio

Released: November 2004

Series: Main Range 63

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Charley, C'rizz

Synopsis 

Self-exiled to a new universe, separated from his TARDIS, opposed and manipulated by the Divergence and their agent the Kro'ka, the Doctor has been struggling to work out the nature of the cosmic game in which he's an unwilling pawn. Now, at last, he has a chance to find the answer and regain the TARDIS!

Threatened and desperate, the Kro'ka abandons his behind-the-scenes machinations to confront the Doctor directly. But will both of them lose their way in the maze of the strange world in which they find themselves? A world in which a clock may have a cuckoo but no hands, a labyrinth imprisoning a paradox, and a Garden of Curiosities reveals something the Doctor has never seen before.

As the Doctor faces these challenges, Charley and C'rizz provide valuable help. But with the TARDIS itself at stake, the Doctor reaches deep inside himself to find some surprising new allies...

Verdict 

Caerdroia was an excellent audio adventure to continue along the Main Range of Big Finish audio adventures! It really does seem that with this story following the outstanding The Last that the Divergent Universe story arc for the Eighth Doctor has taken a huge swing in the right direction! I was thrilled with what I listened to here and I enjoyed how the story arc finally came centre circle after six previous stories of just going from one Interzone to the next. I wasn't against that and there was always some interaction with Kro'ka to keep the overall arc firmly in the listener's mind, but the first half of the arc was a little disappointing as I didn't think that the setting of a completely different universe was utilised as it should have been. That has since changed and I just loved how the Doctor finally got the upper hand on the Kro'ka after a lengthy time of being in the dark. The Doctor has always held firm that he would eventually get into the driving seat and this story saw that happen, and it was fantastic. The first part was probably my favourite of the four that made up the audio because the Doctor was enjoying taunting the Kro'ka so much. He played him to the perfect tune and never looked like losing control. We learned a lot about the Divergence and their relationship with the Kro'ka and it wasn't what we thought at all. The Kro'ka had been charged with finding out how to get into the TARDIS and really just to get all he could from the Doctor. But this story saw that swim down the drain and the Kro'ka was soon in extreme trouble with his masters for inadvertently bringing the Doctor back to his TARDIS. I really liked how the time sickness of the Doctor, in a universe with no time, brought him to the very place he'd been searching for. I loved that the story was called Caerdroia because of it being a Welsh word and I loved its connections with Greek mythology. I imagine I'm not the only Welsh Doctor Who fan who was thrilled to see a Welsh word on a cover of a performed story and I really did like the subtlety in its meaning for the story. I was not expecting the story to feature three different versions of the Eighth Doctor but the moment that happened at the part one cliffhanger was brilliant. The only thing that really let me down about the story though was Charley's explaining of how each duplicate was a different mode of the Doctor's personality but it didn't really come across that way to me. It was still fantastic to hear three different versions of the same Doctor, and I did enjoy a lot of the dialogue, but it wasn't quite what was said. I liked how with Charley and C'rizz splitting up in the story's events, they were both accompanied by a Doctor whilst the Doctor was still also on his own. Three versions really did provide a lot of opportunity which was magnificent. The final part was terrific in the relationship of Charley and C'rizz and I don't think I've heard them get along as well as they did hear. That's not to say they haven't been friends in earlier audios but things just seemed extra nice here which was wonderful. The scenes inside the cuckoo clock were superb and I also really liked the maze and Minotaur trouble that everybody got themselves into. I was really hoping for a The Mind Robber reference but that didn't come sadly. We did however get great references to Zagreus, Scherzo and The Creed of the Kromon. I liked the humour surrounding the numerous rabbit references but I think the real highlight of this story was the Doctor getting the TARDIS back and I loved how the TARDIS was helping the Doctor to save her. It worked well and it does seem now that things are going to come to an end for the Divergent Universe arc and the timing is certainly right. C'rizz experiencing TARDIS for the first time was brilliant and overall, an excellent audio!

Rating: 9/10

New Earth

"I look a bit different but it's me. It's the Doctor."

Writer: Russell T Davies

Format: TV

Broadcast: 15th April 2006

Series: 2.01

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Rose

Synopsis 

In the distant future, an order of cat-nuns cure all illnesses, but the Tenth Doctor is suspicious of their methods. He must uncover the truth and save Rose from the vengeance of his old enemy, the Lady Cassandra.  

Verdict 

New Earth was a very good episode to kick off the second series of revived Doctor Who! It saw David Tennant's first real full episode as the terrific Tenth Doctor and I was impressed with how good he was this early on in his tenure at the helm of the TARDIS. He of course had his first shining moments in The Christmas Invasion but after being asleep for most of that episode suffering from post-regenerative effects, this is where the Tenth Doctor really begins. And immediately, watching in hindsight and over a decade since broadcast, Tennant already displays many of the traits that we'd come to love and associate with the Tenth Doctor. I loved the comments about him wanting a little shop in the hospital and that sentiment would be repeated in the opener of the next series in Smith and Jones. The Doctor taking Rose to New Earth after the events of The End of the World, a story that was marvellously referenced, was really good and I liked how it pretty much became a sequel to the events that occurred on Platform One. Lady Cassandra might not have been everybody's first choice as a returning villain but I can't blame Russell T Davies for bringing her back, even if she was quite literally talking out of her arse. She would soon be talking out of Rose's mouth though after using a banned psychograph to shift her consciousness into Rose's body. I must say the scenes that followed were particularly pleasing with Billie Piper looking absolutely sensational in that shirt that was just a little too small. I had no complaints with that and David Tennant was one lucky man to get a snog like that off of his companion! She truly looked stunning. She was actually a little distracting in some scenes, that's how good she looked. But anyway, enough about Rose and her looks. I was happy to see the Face of Boe return and I really loved the foreshadowing of Gridlock with his prophecy about the dying wish he would reveal on his third meeting with the Doctor. That would of course turn out to be the Master but that's quite a way ahead yet. I thought the numerous references to the Doctor's new body were great and I thought the Sisters of Plenitude acted as very good villains. I liked the irony of both the Sisterhood and Cassandra being the enemies but they were actually working against each other. That's a pretty unique position to have in a story and it worked pretty well here so that was good. The way the Sisterhood was curing disease was pretty deplorable it has to be said. As much as they were going to try and defend their actions, the Doctor would be having none of it, and rightfully so. He was also disgusted with what had happened to Rose. His reaction to this song earlier in the episode was fantastic though. If was just another day at the office for the Doctor as he cured people infected with every single disease and in doing so created a new sub-species of human being. Not a bad day's work. The disinfectant scene with Rose was something I mustn't forget as well. Another remarkable scene in which, with the added bonus of being showered in water, she looked outstanding. The scenes with Cassandra swapping bodies from Rose to the Doctor were good and I liked Chip's loyalty to his mistress. The episode coming full circle with Chip, possessed with Cassandra, told her former humanoid self she looked beautiful. It would turn out to be the last time she heard those words said about her and I liked how after all Cassandra has done, we were left feeling sympathy towards her at the conclusion. I enjoy writing like that and it was done very well here. Overall, a great start to series two and the first full story that actively features the Tenth Doctor!

Rating: 8/10

Infernal Devices: The Neverwhen

"War is our landscape. It is the air we breath."

Writer: Matt Fitton 

Format: Audio

Released: 22nd February 2016

Series: War Doctor Adventures 2.03

Featuring: War Doctor

Synopsis 

On an isolated world ravaged by battle, time itself has become a weapon, laying waste to all who live and die there. Arms and technology are in a state of flux - and it seems that everlasting war is their only option.

The arrival of one bartered Type 40 TARDIS inside this nightmare offers hope to the combatants trapped within.

But when he discovers the truth, the horrors of the Neverwhen will shock even the War Doctor...

Verdict 

The Neverwhen was an absolutely outstanding audio adventure and, at the sixth attempt, has saw a War Doctor score a perfect rating! I was absolutely thrilled with this story from start to finish and it really was a superb conclusion to Infernal Devices. It continued on pretty much immediately where A Thing of Guile left off and an hour or so later quickly replaced it as the best War Doctor audio so far. The story itself got a nice reference in the story and I liked how the Anima device fitted in with the plot of this one. The same can be said for the Annihilator as the series as a whole quickly all tied together with it being revealed that recents events for the Doctor were all a plan to get to the Neverwhen anyway. The references to The Heart of the Battle and Legion of the Lost were excellent and I like how close in proximity the first series is to this second. I'm not sure if the release dates had anything to do with that or not but it's merely academic. This series has certainly been better than the first but that's not taking anything away from Only the Monstrous as my ratings would indicate. I think the reason the quality has been able to increase is the freshness of having three separate writers for the stories. I mentioned in earlier blogs of this boxset that each story seems to have more of a sense of individuality whilst maintaining the overarching story and theme of weaponry in the Time War. It's a brilliant, and of course obvious, theme to focus on and the difference between the weapons in each of the three stories have been great. However, it was the Neverwhen weapon that really stood out for me. The time phasing was simply phenomenal and the concept of it was executed wonderfully by Matt Fitton. The time flux was a horror weapon and the Doctor's reaction to finding out the truth about it clearly indicated that. The Doctor arriving on the planet against his will was good but I liked how he was immediately helping someone out that was infected with the sickness. Daylin was a fantastic character and I liked how she was thankful for the Doctor's help and willingly believed that she wasn't a spy from the other side. Thrakken was accepting but was willing to give him a chance. However, the Doctor would soon be on the run as the first time distortion hit the planet whilst he was there. It turned out that he was on enemy territory and that the very people he was interacting with and had helped were actually Daleks! The time flux had reverted them back to a primary version of the Kaleds and when they were reverting back to the Daleks that we all love, it was simply brilliant. I don't think I've smiled at something in a Doctor Who story in the way I did for an incredibly long time. It was my favourite moment for many a story, I really did adore it. But with the time flux, it meant the Time Lords reverted back to their evolutionary state of the Dark Ages. It was sticks and stones against the Daleks and the death toll would be huge. Except with the time distortion, the dead returned to die again. That was something the Doctor couldn't accept. Kallix and Barnac were good characters and I was glad to hear Valis again after her recent appearance. I liked how Cardinal Ollistra stepped into her own with this story and it was revealed that she wanted to use the Neverwhen flux, along with the Anima device, to destroy the time lock on Skaro and cause civil war at every point on the planet's timeline. That was ruthless but I loved how Ollistra questioned once again why the Doctor has revoked his name. Deep down, this story highlighted that the War Doctor was still very much the Doctor. He was disgusted by the Time War and wanted to see it end as much as anyone, with a wonderful foreshadowing of The Day of the Doctor thrown in, but he couldn't accept the Neverwhen experiments. So by using the potentiality warp, he destroyed it on its beginnings saving many from dying and dying again. Ollistra was disgusted but she would soon be even more annoyed by the Doctor's escape. He'd excellently turned his artron leash into his own weapon and was soon leaving Gallifrey once again. Overall, a simply magnificent audio!

Rating: 10/10

 

Infernal Devices: A Thing of Guile

"Every Time Lord must be a soldier now."

Writer: Phil Mulryne

Format: Audio

Released: 22nd February 2016

Series: War Doctor Adventures 2.02

Featuring: War Doctor

Synopsis 

The Daleks are developing a secret weapon on Asteroid Theta 12. It is imperative that their plans are uncovered.

Cardinal Ollistra has her hands full studying the range of ancient and mysterious armaments the universe has to offer, but she makes it a personal mission to investigate the Dalek project.

On this dangerous assignment, there is one particular Time Lord she wants at her side - and he will be accompanying her whether he wants to or not. 

Verdict 

Legion of the Lost was a brilliant such adventure and continued Infernal Devices along very nicely. This second series of War Doctor audios seems to be rather different from Only the Monstrous as where that series followed on story by story, this seems to be more about a running theme of weaponry in the Time War. Now, the stories do follow on from each other but they seem to be standing more alone in this second series which wasn't really the case in the first. I'm fine with either direction as I'm just extremely grateful to Big Finish for providing us with performed stories for the War Doctor! These really are filling the gaps of the wilderness years and that's something I'm delighted about. Legion of the Lost was expectedly referenced and I liked how the story continued here where that left off. The Doctor was literally placed on a leash by Ollistra which was unexpected but I really enjoyed the predicament he was put in. He was helpless inside his own TARDIS. He must have been infuriated! The mission of the Time Lords, or particularly Ollistra, was fantastic and I loved the Trojan horse analogy in getting the TARDIS behind enemy lines and onto Asteroid Theta 12. The exploration of the asteroid was questionable from Ollistra with her sending Jarad and Solex out to see what faced them with the TARDIS scanner not working. Jarad died pretty quickly afterwards in horrific style after being eaten by a space worm. Once the Doctor and Ollistra headed out to see things for themselves, I loved the revelation that the tunnel they were exploring had been dug by the very same worm. But before that, the Doctor trying to interact with a ghostly species in the tunnel was very intriguing with the revelation that the shimmer field brought. It was of course the Daleks. That moment really put a smile on my face I must say. The idea of these Daleks being scientists was very good and I really enjoyed how their experiments weren't even known to high command in the Dalek ranks. The experiment itself though was outstanding. These Dalek scientists were trying to retro-evolve the Dalek species and revert back to the humanoid Kaleds! That was a pretty incredible concept and to hear a humanoid Dalek speaking was superb. It was in pain however and just wanted to die. So the experiments still had some way to go but thanks to the Doctor and Ollistra's intervention, there wouldn't be a seventh specimen. I enjoyed the diversion of the Tempest ship with Trelon and Valis providing the story with two great characters. I really loved the impact the Doctor had on the former's life and it was nice to know that the Doctor had even made huge differences in the lives of Time Lords by his exploration of the universe. The Doctor's talk of companions at the beginning of the story was of particular interest to me but I must admit I like how there hasn't really been a chance of the War Doctor having a companion in this series so far. That's how it should be. I mean, it worked wonderfully well with Cinder in Engines of War but I feel in the audios he should remain companionless. The references to The Myth Makers and Genesis of the Daleks were good and I liked the way the Doctor hid the fact that he had worked out what the Anima device's function was. It was a psychic weapon that turned allies into foes and Ollistra willingly used it on the Daleks which resulted in the scientific base and the high command squadron being destroyed. I wasn't sure why Solex sacrificed himself for the Doctor earlier on in the story but I did think it was brilliant that despite the Doctor revoking his name, deep down he was still the same person he's always been, whether he wants to admit it or not. Trelon sacrificing himself while Valis got away was valiant but I liked the somewhat comedic ending with the Doctor chucking Ollistra out of his TARDIS and leaving her on the asteroid. But she wasn't done tormenting him as she'd sent the TARDIS to its next destination already with the Dalek info input. Overall, a brilliant story and probably the best War Doctor audio so far! 

Rating: 9/10

Infernal Devices: Legion of the Lost

"I wasn't supposed to be a soldier..."

Writer: John Dorney

Format: Audio

Released: 22nd February 2016

Series: War Doctor Adventures 2.01

Featuring: War Doctor

Synopsis

In a time of war, every means of victory must be explored. In the Time War, the unthinkable must be thought, and neither side can afford to be squeamish about their methods. 

When the destruction of an obscene weapon leads to the Time Lord once known as the Doctor uncovering a secret Gallifreyan initiative, he cannot believe what is being considered.

Should victory be sought at any cost? Or are there worse possibilities than losing to the Daleks?

Verdict 

Legion of the Lost was an excellent start to the second batch of War Doctor audio adventures! I've been looking forward to starting Infernal Devices, the umbrella title of the second series of stories, ever since I purchased the set off eBay just under a fortnight ago. I was lucky enough to get it for £15.99 including postage so I saved myself a good fiver by waiting three months and buying elsewhere. I absolutely adore what Big Finish have done but I must admit, I never seem to buy audios off of their own site! It's just wonderful that John Hurt agreed to do these audios and I love how the Time War is being explored in such specific detail. It's clear that the Time War has been raging for a long time before these audios and Only the Monstrous gave us an insight into that. The first series was referenced nicely in this story but I do like how this second series is clearly going in a different direction. Cardinal Ollistra was still present but only at the story's conclusion to provide the cliffhanger leading into the next audio in this collection. I enjoyed the action packed beginning to this story and a smile did cross my face when I heard the militaristic composition of the Doctor Who theme. It really does give the War Doctor audios their own feel and that's exactly how things should be. The scenes on Vildar were excellent and I loved that the Varga plants were present in protecting the Annihilator. They have cropped up since first appearing in The Daleks' Master Plan but I loved how they were specifically targeted to Time Lord DNA. It was a pretty decent defence for their destructive weapon but the Doctor was determined to see that the Annihilator was destroyed. I thought Collis was a wonderful character and I liked how she filled that companion role amiably. The Doctor killing her, despite her willing sacrifice, showed just how different things are in War Doctor stories. It's brilliantly different and I love it. It's exactly what the Doctor isn't and that makes this stage of his life incredibly intriguing. I'm just delighted that it's getting explored as it absolute deserves it. Once the story shifted to Aldriss, it got very sour for the Doctor. He didn't get along with Shadovar at all and once he learned the truth about the Time Lord resurrections, the Doctor was keen to put a stop to it. And that's exactly what he did. I liked the Time Lord involvement with the Technomancers but the sacrificing of the Vildarians was done in horrific style. The Daleks had already wiped them from history with the Annihilator but Shadovar was sacrificing them after plucking them from the mightily interesting Non-Time. That concept was outstanding and I think it could yet play a role in future Time War stories. The Doctor's relationship with Co-ordinator Jarad was a highlight of the story and I also loved how the psychic paper was used by an incarnation of the Doctor that preceded the Ninth Doctor. I really loved Solex referring to the Doctor as the Renegade and I'd really like it if that caught on in the War Doctor audios of the future. The foreshadowing of the events of The Day of the Doctor and the reference to The Night of the Doctor were both brilliant. I really liked the ending with the Doctor putting a stop to the murder of the Vildarians by, fantastically, retrieving the Annihilator from Non-Time after originally turning it on itself by reversing the polarity. He used it on Shadovar after learning that the Horned Ones were a part of each Time Lord that was revived. That was a pretty frightening prospect but the Doctor stopped it in excellent style. I was surprised that the Daleks appeared as little as they did in the story but I thought that was rather fresh. It was nice to hear the War Doctor in a story with a different enemy, in this case Shadovar and the Horned Ones. Overall, a brilliant audio and a great start to the second collection and series of War Doctor audio adventures.

Rating: 9/10

Pull to Open

"It can be perceived only as an expression of simplicity."

Writer: Si Spurrier

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 5th May 2016

Printed in: DWC: Tales from the TARDIS 06

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Alice, Squire, Abslom Daak

Synopsis 

The Doctor and Alice have met persistent foes before - but never anything like the THE THEN & THE NOW, the group of supremely strange cosmic bounty hunters sent to bring them to justice! It's getting so they can't even solve an intergalactic war crime without having to flee for their lives! 

Verdict 

Pull to Open was a superb comic strip adventure to continue along the Eleventh Doctor segment of Doctor Who Comic's Tales from the TARDIS. It seems such a long time now since The Hyperion Empire concluded the original format for Doctor Who Comic and having just the Tales from the TARDIS comic really has given the second year of adventures its own feel. I'm surprised that the other comic didn't continue with the availability of the comic strip stories of the Fourth, Eighth and Ninth Doctors but as long as the graphic novels from Titan Comics are made available in this country I'll be more than happy with that. Anyway, I guess it's a bonus that we're getting the stories from the Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors so I shouldn't complain. It actually seems a while now since I read The Then and the Now but I liked how this story referenced its events in some detail. It was a good start to the year for Eleventh Doctor adventures but it quickly saw my hopes of the Doctor and Alice travelling alone dashed as the Squire and Abslom Daak joined the TARDIS crew. I don't know an awful lot about Abslom Daak but based on these first two stories to feature him, he's a rather aggressive character. His denial at being the Doctor's companion was something that I really enjoyed but I think the highlight of this story was the immense references to the Time War. It wasn't something that I expected but it does seem like it's going to be a running theme in the stories featuring this incarnation of the Doctor. That's exciting for me and I really do like the idea of the Doctor being tested about his actions in the life he has tried so hard to forget. The cameos of the War Doctor portrayed him in a way we have never seen the Doctor before and I think that's brilliant because that was exactly what was intended by this hidden incarnation of the Doctor. He was somebody the Doctor hated so much that he revoked his own name. But it seems that the Eleventh Doctor is now suffering the repercussions for crimes the War Doctor committed, but crimes that the Doctor couldn't remember happening. That brought its own problem which was fantastic and I really liked how the memory of a Time Lord was looked at in quite some depth. I had a moment of embarrassment in this comic as I learned that the Squire was actually female whereas I originally thought she was male! I'm not sure how I managed that but thankfully my perception got rectified early on in the run of adventures. That could have caused a lot of confusion in the future. The relationship between Alice and the Squire was intriguing and I liked how the latter knows a lot about the TARDIS and the Doctor from what he saw under the companionship of the War Doctor during the Time War. It's going to be interesting to see where these comics fit in with the War Doctor audios but because the Time War span such a lengthy period, and the depiction of the hidden incarnation looks very young in this story, it shouldn't make much of a difference to things. I do hope Abslom Daak becomes a little less aggressive though but I guess with his wife dead and the TARDIS playing tricks, he had every right to be angry here. The TARDIS shifting its inner dimensions of her own accord was a contrast to The Doctor's Wife and I liked that very much. Exploration of the innards of the TARDIS is always a welcomed sight in my opinion. The Eleventh Doctor thinking he was being tried by the first ten Doctors for his actions as the War Doctor was a sublime scene and really did provide a great image. As has been the case for much of the last week, this story has saw a welcomed break from revision but today was my last day of revision for the year! Tomorrow I sit my final first year exam at university and then I head back home for the summer. I'm looking forward to it very much, just like I'm looking forward to the next comic in this segment of the adventures after the sighting of the the Then and the Now. Overall, a great story!

Rating: 9/10