The Life Bringer!

"Once I thought my name would outlast even the mountains!"

Writer: Steve Moore 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: February-March 1981

Printed in: DWM 49-50

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, K9

Synopsis 

She's after being chained up by Zeus on punishment for scattering life throughout the galaxy, Prometheus has been freed and returned to the planet Olympus by the Doctor. Confusion erupts, but would the universe really be so bad if it was scattered with life?

Verdict 

The Life Bringer! was a terrific little story to continue my reading of the Dragon's Claw graphic novel that I'm currently reading. It's actually my cousin's copy so whilst I'm up here I'll be taking advantage of the resource! Now, I know I've skipped reading The Collector and Dreamers of Death but that's because if you span back to May 2014 of this blog, you will find my entries for them. If I had the time to reread them I probably would have but the only time I want to blog a comic strip story for the second time is when I finally do all of the comics in chronological order. I've done them all in a muddled up order and now I want to keep it that way until I have blogged each graphic novel. It's a good way to break things up but I will absolutely do them all in order in the future at some point. That is probably a good few years off yet so that's why I have skipped over Sharon's final two stories as companion. I was surprised to see her departure come this early into the graphic novel but the Doctor travelling alone with K9 isn't a bad substitute at all. I quite like the pairing in the comics because we didn't see it on television outside of a few scenes. The characterisation of the Fourth Doctor was once again excellent with Tom Baker's likeness being captured with ease. There just doesn't seem to have been a comic strip featuring him yet that doesn't nail his likeness. It's just fantastic in every story from Doctor Who Magazine so that really is fantastic. The setting of Olympus was really intriguing and although Greek mythology isn't something I know a great deal about, it has always intrigued me so the focus on it in this story was terrific. Prometheus being freed by the Doctor and K9 was good but I wasn't convinced by him being able to take the TARDIS wherever he pleased. Surely if he could do that he could have freed himself from the chains of the mountain? If K9 could use his stun feature to free Prometheus then surely he could have used some of his godly powers to free himself. I liked how the Olympians couldn't die and that provided an endless battle between Zeus and Prometheus. I liked that Hermes and Apollo appeared and the setting of Olympus as a whole was simply terrific. The Doctor and K9 going on the run and only having Prometheus as an ally was fantastic and I was surprised by Zeus's desire to have a pure universe. It seemed to mirror the thoughts of the Daleks and Davros in The Stolen Earth/Journey's End but the reasoning was wholely different. This comic strip really saw a change in the format of the stories from what we got in The Iron Legion and the first few parts of Dragon's Claw and that's only natural with the comic's extension following the magazine's move from weekly production to monthly. I like the extension and not having a cliffhanger every four pages definitely adds more detail to a story which is always a positive. The Doctor escaping with Zeus and then allowing him to leave and be amongst the stars was a good finish and I liked how the ending was ambiguous about where the Doctor and the story had gone to. It was a very good little story and whilst it had some minor issues, it was excellent. Overall, a very decent story!

Rating: 8/10

The Hand of Fear

"Eldrad must live!"

Writers: Bob Baker & Dave Martin

Format: TV

Broadcast: 2nd-23rd October 1976

Season: 14.02

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Sarah

Synopsis

The Doctor and Sarah return to Earth, but are plunged into danger as soon as they step from the TARDIS. They arrive in a quarry rigged with explosives, and the blast leaves Sarah unconscious in the rubble, a fossilised stone hand in her grip. What strange power does the hand have over Sarah Jane?

Verdict 

The Hand of Fear was an excellent story and a worthy swansong for Sarah Jane as companion. After over three seasons playing the role of the companion, Elisabeth Sladen finally called it a day during the early stages of the fourteenth season. She dresses to be remembered in a terrific Andy Pandy outfit and I thought her performance was absolutely brilliant. Of course, given how much of keystone figure she was in the series, this blog entry will absolutely focus on her departure. It's not really hinted at all during the episodes until the last five minutes or so but the way she gets taken over by Eldrad's hand and possessed was sublime because of the way Sladen played it. She was absolutely brilliant I must say. The story being named what it was is let down a little bit by the lack of the hand appearing much in the third part and not at all during the fourth. I thought Eldrad's full arrival after regenerating could have been postponed until the last part and I think keeping the hand as the focus was where this story worked best. As you can see from the rating below, I still thoroughly enjoyed watching this. I was watching with my young cousin once again after arriving at my grandparents' house and he's persuaded his mum to stay over whilst I'm here so that'll be fun. He loved the story and even rated it at full marks and I was happy to hear that's he's now acquired The Seeds of Doom DVD and has watched that. His Doctor Who knowledge is growing and that's wonderful. I thought the special effects in this story were very good for the 1970s and I especially liked the quarry explosion. That set things up very nicely for the story to come. The hand first possessing Sarah and then Carter followed by Driscoll. The possessed were interesting and I loved how adamant they were in believing that Eldrad must live. Eldrad basing his first form on Sarah based on first contact was terrific and the regeneration on Kastria to his normal state was just as good. I liked both versions of Eldrad and his return to his home planet was actually quite full of sorrow. He returned to his planet to find himself the King of Nothing. Rokon was displayed as playing a message recorded long in the past and now his own species had committed self-genocide in the chance of Eldrad returning to lead conquest. After he found himself ruling over nothingness, he wanted to take over Earth and the Doctor couldn't allow that. He quickly saw him disposed with help from Sarah and his trademark scarf but I liked the ambiguity around the fact of whether Eldrad was actually dead. The end scene in which Sarah departed was quite sad but lovely at the same time. Both the Doctor and Sarah didn't want the other forgetting them and I don't think there was any chance of that happening. Sarah pretending to leave only to be told she had to must've been a great shock. There was a good reference to Planet of the Spiders but ultimately it was all about Sarah as the story ended. Overall, a fantastic story! A worthy sendoff.

Rating: 9/10

War of the Robots

"I mean - alien planet! Travelling through time and space - this is what I love!"

Writer: Trevor Baxendale

Format: Novel

Released: October 2007

Series: DYD 06

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Martha

Synopsis 

On a distant world populated by robots, war has been raging for many years. Can you, the Doctor and Martha discover why the robots are fighting and end the war once and for all?

Verdict 

War of the Robots was a great little book and saw me continue my sporadic readings of the Decide Your Destiny series of books. This was the first book of this format that I've read featuring the Tenth Doctor and I liked how there was a noticeable difference between this and the recent Eleventh Doctor Decide Your Destiny novels I have blogged. This was released a few years before those but I did love how the books really get the reader involved. As seems to be the case with this format, the reader plays a big role and I guess that has to occur when our actions decide the way in which we see the story pan out. When flicking from page to page, you catch glimpses of other routes of the story and you can really notice the difference one choice can make. It really does change the whole story and I really like that. I was originally sceptical about doing these books but after reading three in as many months, I'll certainly look to buy some more if the price is right. This only took me about ten minutes to read so I definitely wouldn't want to pay full price. There have recently been some Twelfth Doctor 'Decide the Future' books released but at £6.99 each, I think that's rather steep. I make it a point not to reread the story by deciding on different choices because once I go one direction I sort of take it as being a fixed point in time. Once I make a choice, that's it. No changing. Whatever lies on the page occurs and that's that. I'm not sure what it is with my readings of this format but the endings always seem to come very abruptly and that's what happened once again here. It cost the story a really high ended rating. I thought the characterisation of David Tennant's Tenth Doctor was pretty good but I really liked how intelligent Martha seemed to be with the reader's presence. She was instantly more on the Doctor's level because she was used to travelling through time and space. I liked how vocal the reader's character was and the Doctor and Martha were happy to go along with what he said which was a little surprising to me. The way we stumbled inside the TARDIS was a little far fetched but I liked how once we entered it was already in flight. The Doctor's reaction to landing in a war zone was very good but with the route I took we only got to see Omnipus and shortly after seeing him and the robot finding out about a war seemed to be the resolution. We didn't have a choice on which page to turn to next and although there was a little explanation that helped clear things up, we didn't really get to see much of a robot wars nor things get resolved. Tela was a fantastic character whilst she lasted but she soon died despite the Doctor and Martha trying to comfort her and assure her that she'd survive. That of course did not turn out to be the case. Trevor Baxendale did an excellent job though in tying everything up as things went along and the only shaky thing was the abrupt ending. He seems to be quite at home writing these kind of books though and I commend him because they must be so incredibly tough to write. They're of course aimed at a younger audience but I thought this was more so readable for the older viewers than my recent readings of Claws of the Macra and The Coldest War. Overall though, a more than decent read and I still own another DYD book that I'm yet to read so that should be blogged soon.

Rating: 8/10

Time-Flight

"Behind every illusion there's a conjuror."

Writer: Peter Grimwade

Format: TV

Broadcast: 22nd-30th March 1982

Season: 19.07

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan

Synopsis 

The TARDIS arrives by accident in the middle of Terminal One at Heathrow Airport. One of the supersonic Concordes has disappeared mid-air and the Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa soon become involved in a hunt for the missing aeroplane. But what connects its disappearance to prehistoric Earth and why is a mysterious sorcerer so interested in the Doctor's TARDIS? A flight through time will reveal all.

Verdict 

Time-Flight is a terrific little story and one that in fan polls does not get the recognition it deserves. It's a great little finale to the nineteenth season and I think some people have been overly critical. It's ambitious, fun whilst remaining serious and sees the return of the Master in one of his best disguises yet. I was watching the story once again with my young cousin and I made it a point not to mention that the Master appeared in the story. Thankfully the DVD case had no images of him on the front and no mention of the Time Lord in the synopsis made me very excited to see his reaction to the part two cliffhanger. It's one I love because you just wouldn't expect Kalid to be a disguise of the Master. There doesn't even seem to be a need for him to be hiding his identity and picking what appeared to be an Asian sorcerer was just really out there and I loved it. My cousin immediately looked at me with a smile once the Master arrived and I was glad that he didn't know of his arrival. That familiar laugh of Anthony Ainley was a joy to behold and I liked how shocked the Doctor was to seeing his arch nemesis present. Seeing an aeroplane in Jurassic England was quite a sight and I also loved the Master hiding his TARDIS as the first aeroplane that was lost in time. There were some fantastic references to Full Circle, Castrovalva and Earthshock with this story following on immediately where the latter left off with the death of Adric. Tegan wasn't coping as well as the Doctor and Nyssa but I liked how they were still feeling the effects of his sacrifice. The scenes in Heathrow Airport were quite comical especially at the story's end with the explanations about what had occurred. The TARDIS turning up again sparked an excellent reaction. Captain Stapley and Professor Hayter were fantastic characters and I liked how the latter died with the knowledge of the universe. That's all he ever wanted and more. He was staggered by the temporal engineering of the TARDIS and wanted to know more. The Xeraphin were intriguing and the way the Master took control of them and harnessed their energy was good. The Doctor soon saw that the Master would be taking a visit to their home planet though by some fiddling with TARDIS components. The cricket analogy for the Doctor overcoming the Master's TARDIS was very good and fitting for this incarnation. Tegan not making it into the TARDIS was a very good way to end the series and I liked how it was resolved in Arc of Infinity. Tegan had felt very at home at Heathrow Airport and it was nice to see her actually become a stewardess, even if it was only temporary. She was having a lovely look around the airport when the Doctor had to leave in a quick flash without her. I'm not sure what my reaction would have been at the time but after the Master being disposed of, seeing Tegan left behind must have come as a big shock to finish the season. I'm sure it got people talking though so it was successful in gaining interest. Overall, it does have its issues but I think it's fantastic.

Rating: 8/10

Dragon's Claw

"Energy weapons, star-falls, bronze men... there's a mystery here."

Writer: Steve Moore 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: July-October 1980

Printed in: DWM 39-45

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Sharon, K9

Synopsis 

China, 1522 AD and the Doctor and Sharon have been captured by ferocious monks from the Shaolin monastery. Escaped to talk to the hermit, Hsiang the Ancient, they soon find the mystery of the Hall of Eighteen Bronze Men and the Doctor is reunited with some old enemies...

Verdict

Dragon's Claw was a terrific comic strip adventure and kicked off my unexpected reading of the graphic novel of the same name in terrific fashion. After arriving at my grandparents and catching up with my young cousin on all things Doctor Who, he was quick to boast about receiving this graphic novel for his recent eighth birthday. I was quite surprised but also rather happy as whilst I'm up I'll be able to take advantage of having a copy in the house to read. I don't think I'll be able to read and blog it all before leaving as I did with the stories in his copy of The Amazing World of Doctor Who, but I'm sure as hell going to try! I loved the setting of 1522 in China and I must admit I was expecting things to be quite similar to Marco Polo but they really weren't which was positive. That's not to say I don't like the First Doctor serial (that's far from the truth) but I do enjoy differences and deviations between stories. With the amount of Doctor Who content out there things can get repetitive but that was avoided here. The story was rather strange in the way the number of pages varied from each part with some having just three pages whilst others were extended up to eight. I think that was part of the transition of Doctor Who Weekly becoming Doctor Who Monthly but it was strange that they kept to the same story with such a difference in page numbers for each part. There was a noticeable difference when the parts got extended and that was more so down to the fantastic return of the Sontarans! I had totally forgot that they featured in the story and that was just magnificent because I got to be shocked by the cliffhanger in which they were brilliantly revealed to be the occupants of the Hall of Eighteen Bronze Men. Just what they were doing in China at this time begs to be questioned but their presence was just superb. The way they were depicted through the artwork on the opening page of part five was sublime but the only problem I had with the Sontarans was how easily they were defeated at the end by Chang. I get that he went on a frenzy but combat is what the Sontarans cherish so for them to be mowed down like that is where the story fails to get full marks. I thought Sharon was terrific in this comic story and was probably her best showing to date. The reliance on K9's stun feature was very good and I like how you can get more use out of the robot dog in the comics due to no real life restrictions. The characterisation of Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor was once again excellent as has been the case with his stories so far in DWM starting with The Iron Legion graphic novel. I really liked Hsiang the Ancient and the comedy surrounding his enjoyment of jelly babies and demand for breakfast was really great. Him failing not to cross his legs was just magnificent and really did provide some humorous images. Yueh Kuang was a brilliant enemy in the role of the Abbot and I also liked the villainous nature of Brother Li. The pair being in league with the Sontarans was very good and I liked how the brotherhood could be triggered into killers by just one phrase. The Doctor fantastically saw around that though thanks to some help from K9. I liked how Hsiang was restored as the Abbot and the brotherhood were returned from fighting amongst each other. The Sontarans were gone and the Doctor had restored normality. Overall, a superb comic strip story!

Rating: 9/10

Doctor Who and the Cybermen

"They lived by the inexorable laws of pure logic."

Writer: Gerry Davis 

Format: Novel

Released: February 1975

Series: Target 14

Featuring: Second Doctor, Polly, Ben, Jamie 

Synopsis 

One by one, their limbs became diseased – they were replaced by plastic and steel! 

Little by little, their brains tired – computers worked just as well!

With metal limbs, they had the strength of ten men. They could live in the airless vacuum of space. They had no heart, no feelings, no emotions and only one goal – power!

In the year 2070, a small blue planet caught their attention. They would land on its satellite and, from there, attack, ransack, destroy and finally abandon...

THE SATELLITE WAS THE MOON

THE HELPLESS PLANET – EARTH

THEIR NAMES? THE CYBERMEN!

Can the Doctor defeat an enemy whose threat is almost as great as that of the mighty Daleks?

Verdict 

Doctor Who and the Cybermen was an excellent novelisation! It really did present in an intriguing insight into The Moonbase and despite having numerous deviations, it did allow us to do the complete story. Of course, the missing parts of this televised serial have since been recreated in animation and whilst that's absolutely terrific, it's still not quite the same as having the actual episode right there. When reading the novel though, there are no differences between parts and it flows a lot better than watching the DVD and switching between black and white and animation. I read this novelisation on the usual train journey from south to mid-Wales and at 150 pages, it was longer than my usual choice of novelisation. I finished the book just in time which was great. The cover still irks me because it features the design of the Cybermen that appeared in The Invasion but I was put at ease by the illustrations within the novel having the correct design. I loved the inclusion of a Cyber Leader and I know that was done, along with the cover, to coincide with Revenge of the Cybermen. Naming the Cybermen is something I'm not a huge fan of because then having identity seems to contradict their whole lack of emotion and difference to humanity. It's not a big problem though. I was surprised there was no mention of The Underwater Menace which was the last Target novelisation I read but I did enjoy the references to The Tenth Planet and The Highlanders. I was quite shocked by the very first chapter which gave us an insight into the creation of the Cybermen and I was very shocked for Gerry Davis to claim that Telos was where the Cybermen were born. I've always thought, and still assume due to the Spare Parts audio, that Mondas was where the Cybermen were born so for the novel to claim Telos was the birthing place, in a story set prior to The Tomb of the Cybermen, was quite strange. I thought the story was excellent and I really enjoyed the 2070 setting on the Moon. Jamie not being able to grasp his head around where they were was a really great comedic moment. I thought the characterisation of all four TARDIS team members was superb and I enjoyed the characteristics of Patrick Troughton's incarnation very much. Polly was as wonderful as ever and she really is one of my all time favourite companions. She is just so loveable and nice and it's pretty much impossible not to like her. Ben hinting at Jamie liking her was an interesting moment. The Moonbase setting was terrific and I really liked the focus on the Gravitron. The way the Doctor utilised it to defeat the Cybermen was superb and the image of them flying off into space was depicted very well in prose. I thought Benoit, Hobson and Evans were very good characters and I liked the diversity of the Moonbase crew with all the different nationalities present. Some of the chapter endings were good although I was quite surprised by the way the cliffhangers were presented. The ending was great and I liked how the Doctor and companions just quickly disappeared before having to answer any questions. Their departure was just as odd and mysterious as their arrival and I really liked that. Overall, a superb novel that was a joy to read!

Rating: 9/10

The Pestilent Heart Part 2

"Never trust appearances."

Writer: Mark Wright 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 28th July 2016

Printed in: DWM 502

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor

Synopsis 

Something isn't right in London's Underground. The Doctor is no stranger to trouble in these areas but he hasn't seen anything quite like this. What connects a cyborg and an ancient plague pit? The Doctor soon finds the horrifying answer... 

Verdict 

The Pestilent Heart continued in excellent fashion with this great second part of the story! It advanced things on very nicely, had terrific artwork and was full of excitement. I liked how this story takes a new direction with things similar to Doctor Who Comic's latest Twelfth Doctor story The Twist. We see things ahead of the television series now rather than alongside it and that presents a bundle of opportunity. Speaking of the televised series though, I'll get back to the comic strip itself shortly. So as is the case with my blog entries of the Doctor Who Magazine comic strips, I'll preview my reading of the magazine itself. Although it's been over a week since issue 502 was released, my reading of this story was the first words I read from the magazine. I only purchased it on Tuesday and I have been delved into reading A Game of Thrones so I haven't fancied reading anything else, in terms of text rather than a comic, whilst I'm reading the novel. I will be finishing it tonight though so and a familiar train journey awaits tomorrow so I'm sure I'll be straight into a Who novel followed by delving into this magazine. I'm really looking forward to some talk on Series 10 as everything has been a bit hush hush lately but seeing Pearl Mackie on the cover, as well as Matt Lucas, alongside Peter Capaldi has instantly got me excited for the new series. That TARDIS team looks like it's going to be a bundle of fun and I'm really looking forward to things panning out. I anticipate the episode preview issues of this magazine greatly. As per usual, I'm looking forward to reading Relative Dimensions which I noticed no longer follows the comic strip after I finished this comic strip. I'm not sure why that is but it doesn't make much difference as I hardly ever read the magazine in order. An interview with Steven Moffat isn't exactly rare but it's always insightful so I look forward to reading that. Galaxy Forum is always a wonderful read and I'm sure that after the last issue the focus will be firmly on Tom Baker, and why wouldn't it be? That humongous interview spread over six years was superb. Gallifrey Guardian and the DWM Review will also be good reads as usual. Now, back to the comic strip itself and after spending time reading DWC this week it seemed strange to be doing a comic strip on pages as big as the magazine. The artwork was very good and I liked the continuation of the 1972 setting with the London Underground focus. The characterisation of Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor was fantastic with his likeness being captured tremendously. The resolution of the cliffhanger wasn't quite as good as I was hoping but it was logical so I can't complain too much. Jessica filling in the companion role again was expected and I'm really liking her character more and more. I wasn't so fussed on her in The Highgate Horror but I am liking her now. Seeing her parents was interesting, especially Lloyd who seems to have gotten a dose of the bubonic plague, whose strain has conveniently advanced considerably in the 300 years it has had in isolation in the London Underground. The Doctor's reaction to a railway being placed alongside an ancient plague pit was humorous to say the least. The Doctor and Jessica being taken into space (not literally) was good and I liked how they saw Moan'na and the Hakuai's history explained. Something that did need explaining though was the cliffhanger in which Jessica's Dad appears to have undergone quite a transformation! Overall, a very good second part of the story!

Return of the Rocket Men

"Pirates. Raiders. The scourge of the sky."

Writer: Matt Fitton

Format: Audio

Released: November 2012

Series: Companion Chronicles 7.05

Featuring: First Doctor, Steven, Dodo

Synopsis 

Once before the Doctor battled the sadistic Rocket Men and once before he won. But when the dreaded pirates of the skies raided a remote frontier planet, he's not the only member of the TARDIS crew for whom they are old enemies.

Steven Taylor knows them well. Back in his days as a pilot, on his twenty first birthday, Steven's ship was brought down by the malevolent Van Cleef. He barely escaped with his life. And now he's going to have to go through that again.

But this time round, he knows what happens. And he knows there's no way out. Steven Taylor has to make a choice. A choice where either way... he loses.

Verdict 

Return of the Rocket Men was a brilliant Companion Chronicle! It was a terrific audio adventure and served as a superb sequel to The Rocket Men. That story got a good little reference as you might expect and there were numerous more references in the story as things went on. They seemed to come in blocks and that was absolutely fine. This was one of Big Finish's few stories to feature Dodo as a companion and I liked doing a story featuring her, as my blog has scare adventures featuring her. I'm yet to read a novel featuring her and although I have done every television story she's appeared in, a good chunk of those were missing so it is difficult to take from it exactly what was intended from just recons and stills. Peter Purves gave a terrific performance reviving his role as Steven. He really was an excellent narrator and I also enjoyed his impression of William Hartnell's First Doctor. He painted him in a joyous and comedic light which was delightful to listen to as in stories set earlier in the First Doctor's life he is seen as grumpy, and rightfully so, but to hear him declare how proud he was of Steven really was terrific. I must admit that after listening to the Rocket Men's debut story which is named after them, I was surprised that they returned here. I mean, I purchased both stories at the same time so I always knew they returned but after listening to the first story I was more surprised by the decision. That's despite the first Companion Chronicle being very good. This story wasn't too dissimilar to their first with the space setting and flying around but Steven being in the lead role in place of Ian certainly shook things up a bit. Van Cleef was a good enemy and I loved his shock at seeing what he thought was Ramires (I believe that's the correct spelling) still alive. The different factions amongst the Rocket Men was intriguing and I loved that we got to hear Steven's first encounter with them, and then this very story turned out to be that encounter! That was quite a revelation and it put a smile on my face when it came. The future Steven, who was currently travelling in the TARDIS with the Doctor, saving his past self before we met him in The Chase, another story that was nicely mentioned, was brilliant. It answered a lot of questions but it was just great! We had fantastic references to The Ark, The Gunfighters, The Celestial Toymaker and Mother Russia and I also loved how Steven reflected on the amount of loss that he had seen during his travels with the Doctor, particularly that of which occurred in The Daleks' Master Plan. The Doctor's reaction to knowing that the Rocket Men had returned was very good and I loved the description of them that came from Steven at the start of the audio. It summed up the Rocket Men perfectly and can be seen above as my opening quote. I liked how the pirate nature of the Rocket Men was on display once again but their rather violent characteristics were also clearly on display, and at times was a little uncomfortable. The Rocket Men were aggressive though and that was good. Steven taking on the form of a Rocket Men, much as Ian did in the first story, was very good and I liked how he came to Dodo's rescue. Steven being honoured in the way he was at the end of the audio was a really nice touch and I liked how moved the Doctor was with Steven's honour. Overall, a fantastic audio adventure!

Rating: 9/10

The Time Witch

"Such is the boredom of eternal life, that when the sun itself goes nova... there is no-one watching..."

Writer: Steve Moore 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: June-July 1980

Printed in: DWM 35-38

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Sharon

Synopsis 

The fabric of time itself has ruptured within the Tatdis and the Doctor and Sharon have been sucked through into another dimension where the Time Witch has created a world with her own mental powers.

Verdict 

The Time Witch was an excellent comic strip story to conclude my reading of The Iron Legion! This saw me finish the very first graphic novel and I must say the whole collection has been of a very high standard. Considering these are five of the first six comic strip adventures printed in Doctor Who Magazine (Timeslip was a part of the later The Tides of Time collection), I have been pleasantly surprised with what I've read. These early comics have been ambitious, challenging and full of a vast amount of quality. We have been introduced to a brand new companion in the form of Sharon, taking to a parallel universe and we've even seen the return of the Daleks. Considering this collection houses just five stories, things certainly have been eventful! This final story was fantastic and I loved that we got to see Brimo's imprisonment in the eternity capsule. It was the thing she feared most after spending countless lifetimes trapped inside watching her own planet die as well as an infinite amount of stars and suns. She had ventured into what the Doctor called the black dimension and was eventually freed but in this alternate dimension she had a vast amount of power. Through telepathy she could conjure up just about anything she wanted. If I was her, I think after an eternity in a capsule I'd conjure up some people but Brimo seemed pretty contempt living on her own in this dreamed up paradise of hers. The power she was using though was having an adverse effect on the normal universe and the Doctor would soon see to stopping it, not that he had much choice after he, Sharon and the TARDIS were sucked through the gateway. The Meltron was a good character and the scene where it was literally split into two different personalities was terrific. One wanted to kill whilst the other just wanted to make a cup of tea! Talk about a contrast. I thought the characterisation of Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor was absolutely brilliant with his likeness captured seemingly with effortless ease. The appearance of images of the Doctor's past enemies in what was supposed to be a physics lesson was humorous as instead of newtons and earth wires we saw Daleks, Davros, Zygons, Sandminer Robots, Cybermen and Kraals! That wasn't quite what the Doctor intended to show his young companion. I was quite surprised that K9 only featured at the very end as he's been a mainstay in the comics ever since jumping into DWM's pages from the television series. Brimo being defeated by the Doctor making her think of the eternity capsule was superb and I liked how because she was a prisoner, he didn't feel bad about what he had to do. The TARDIS acting as a plug in the gateway between dimensions was good as it prevented Brimo from using up anymore power. The journey back into normality though had quite the taking on the Doctor and Sharon though as they aged four years upon passing through! I wasn't quite sure about the explanation of that but I like how Sharon went from being a girl into a young women. Now she seems more like a companion in my eyes. Overall, it was a very good end to what has been a fantastic graphic novel!

Rating: 9/10

The Twist Part 1

"So you're creating a diversion for a man you don't know. Right. That makes perfect sense."

Writer: George Mann

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 28th July 2016

Printed in: DWC: Tales from the TARDIS 09

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor

Synopsis 

In the wake of Clara's exit, the Doctor is flying solo — and finding just as much trouble, danger, and cosmic wonder as when Ms. Oswald was around!

Verdict 

The Twist kicked off a new story, and a new era, in great fashion with this fantastic first part! I say new era because following The Fourth Wall, this comic strip story sees the Twelfth Doctor venture beyond Series 9 as he is travelling alone after the events of Face the Raven and Heaven Sent/Hell Bent which saw Clara die and the Doctor's memory of her lost. Doctor Who Comic has yet to follow Doctor Who Magazine's The Pestilent Heart in addressing the Doctor's memory loss of his latest companion but I'm sure that will come in good time. Here in the UK, we've still got some way to go for the Twelfth Doctor comics with this just the sixth issue to contain adventures from the second years of comics. I thought things started well and I loved the image of the Twelfth Doctor rocking it out amongst a crowd at a concert and I originally thought he was just genuinely on the Twist to see the band. He did admit to being a fan and owning all of their albums, of which were yet to be released, but he was there to solve a mystery. It appeared his curiosity had got the better of him once again, though that's not exactly a surprise anymore. Ever since my first viewing of The Daleks I've not been surprised at curiosity defeating the Doctor. It's the one thing he can't give in to. I must commend this comic strip for having incredible artwork and I must say I think it's the best I've ever seen in a Doctor Who comic strip. It was absolutely incredible and I really have never seen the like before. Credit must go to Mariano Laclaustra for bringing this story to life in incredible fashion. Just look at my above picture to see how good it was. I don't often mention things like artwork in my blog entries so for me to be praising it like this it must have been very good! Seeing the Twelfth Doctor travel alone is no strange concept to us as it was presented to us in both Series 8 and 9 that Clara didn't constantly stay in the TARDIS. She came and went so that had to mean the Doctor travelled alone at some point. We scarcely saw it other than in The Women Who Lived but this comic really allows us to explore life after Clara for the Doctor. The Twist was an interesting setting and I liked how impressive it looked in space. The Doctor's arrival was not simply by chance and his interest in the man that turned out be Jakob was intriguing. I was very happy to see George Mann named as the writer of the story as I think he's a terrific writer. His Engines of War novel ranks as one of my very favourites. I am interested to see whether Hattie will stay on as companion to the Doctor after filling in the role in this comic strip although I must say her punk appearance doesn't seem befitting of a companion. I'm sure there'd be a lot of humour and banter surrounding music but at this stage in my reading, I hope she just fills in during this comic adventure. She did seem a bit out of her depth but I did like her interest in the Doctor and his being at the concert. Jakob being blamed for the death of Idra was interesting but it seemed she was killed for a reason after the Doctor discovered her secret room. There were sightings of a humanoid looking wolf, considerably smaller than the Werewolf we saw in Tooth and Claw, but a wolf-like creature nonetheless! And that very creature attacked the Doctor, Hattie and Jakob in the park when they were looking for answers surrounding Idra's death. I'm intrigued to see where things go from here and that's exactly what a first part of a comic strip should be about. I look forward to its continuation!

The One Part 1

"I give her my sonic... one day. I tell her my name."

Writer: Rob Williams

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 28th July 2016

Printed in: DWC: Tales from the TARDIS 09

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Alice, Squire, Abslom Daak, River

Synopsis 

Time to take the fight back to those who have accused the Doctor of horrible war crimes! The TARDIS team needs to break into a remote prison to get the tech that will allow them to pull off an incredible heist... Sounds like they'll need some expert help!

Verdict 

The One was an absolutely superb comic strip to kick off the latest story in the run of Eleventh Doctor adventures! It was just incredible from start to finish, full of action and excitement and continued the overlapping story arc in brilliant fashion. Following on from the tremendous end to The Judas Goatee, we saw the Eleventh Doctor and River Song united together in a comic strip for the very first time. That alone filled me with bundles of excitement but I must say it was magnificent to see the Doctor's thoughts about his future wife. This was an intriguing dynamic for a River story because there was no Amy or Rory as companion with the Doctor leaving them to get on with their honeymoon. Alice being referred to as the side companion was marvellous. The Doctor's annoyance at River being able to read him was sublime and placing a familiar character associated with the Eleventh Doctor alongside him certainly provided us with the best characterisation of Matt Smith's incarnation yet. The likeness was captured effortlessly in the conversing between the Doctor and River and that really was wonderful to read. The involvement of the Master was still at the forefront of things and I even suspected at one point that the Then and the Now was actually his TARDIS but that didn't appear to be the case. I can't wait for what is surely his inevitable inclusion in the latter stories of the second year of adventures and after getting a taste of seeing the Eleventh Doctor and the Anthonly Ainley incarnation of the Master in The Choice, I'm very eager for more altercations between the pair. I liked how the companions seemed to take a bit of a backseat in this comic with River coming in and owning the place. I do hope she stays for the rest of the year but I'm going to guess this is a one story thing. And that's absolutely fine. The references to The Husbands of River Song, The Name of the Doctor and Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead were fantastic and I also liked the little mention of The Wedding of River Song. The way the Doctor was letting the accusation of genocide get to him was most intriguing and I liked how River allowed him to see the good he does. I'm very intrigued to see what involvement the Squire had in the Doctor's past and at first River didn't think that she'd travelled with him but later admitted that she'd definitely known him in his past. I liked Abslom Daak's reactions to how River was sweeping the floor of the Doctor and it was obviously a look he has scarcely seen on the Time Lord's face. He didn't know how to react and even Alice was surprised by the pressure the Doctor was put under. One thing I was surprised about was the ease in which River allowed the Doctor to see his future in her journal. I guess the accusation of genocide and potential interference in the Doctor's memory allowed a little insight though, even if the Doctor wasn't going to take it. The cliffhanger was simply outstanding and something I didn't at all expect! The Doctor wanted to steal the Master's TARDIS and by using the Then and the Now to break into an impossible prison, Shada was not what I was expecting! The utilisation of the lost prison planet of the Time Lords was incredible and I really was shocked. It genuinely surprised me and I just love it when that happens. What occurs in the next part of the story will be mightily intriguing but things have kicked off in an incredible way! Overall, a fantastic first part.

Her Final Flight

"Bring forth the flames of Sohelai."

Writer: Julian Shortman

Format: Audio

Released: December 2004

Series: Subscriber Exclusive 02

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Peri

Synopsis 

When the Doctor lands on Refiloe, he's not impressed.

In fact, he doesn't intend to stay for more than just a few minutes.

But someone has decided that the TARDIS has made her final flight.

Someone whose future depends on the Doctor's death.

Verdict 

Her Final Flight was a very good audio adventure! Coming as a bonus alongside the lengthy The Next Life which concluded the Divergent Universe story arc involving the Eighth Doctor, this story was of a much shorter length and was a solitary audio rather than being a part of an overlapping story arc. As fate would have it, listening to this story came at an interesting point in my Doctor Who timeline after listening to Peri and the Piscon Paradox just a few days ago. The Sixth Doctot was initially travelling alone and although that technically remained the same throughout the story, we did see him alongside a manifestation of an older Peri. I do wonder if this Peri was one of the five versions mentioned by the Time Lord in the aforementioned Companion Chronicle. It would certainly make sense and the audios wouldn't contradict each other at all which is terrific. That didn't really happen here, other than the mention of Peri trying to get back to Earth after the way she was left on Thoros-Beta in The Trial of a Time Lord. We saw a lot of the softer side of the Sixth Doctor in this audio which was good and I think I stand by some of my previous comments in saying that Colin Baker is my favourite Doctor on audio. He really is just wonderful and we get to hear so much more of his incarnation. He's just superb and the emotion he put into this performance was excellent. He couldn't lose Peri again and although he wasn't to know she was just a manifestation, the desire he had to save was commendable. I have known of this audio for quite some time and the title has always intrigued me. The CD cover seems to point towards it referring to the TARDIS and that has always had my interest. It's taken me quite a while to get to this audio but after finally getting here, I liked how they cleverly got around it not actually being the final flight for the TARDIS. It obviously couldn't have been but there's always that element of doubt once you're enthralled in a story. Time can be rewritten as they say. Rashaa was a very good character and I enjoyed the way she was toying with the Doctor and manipulating him. She in turn was made a fool of in front of the Agent which cost Rashaa her life but whilst the Doctor's mind, or part of it at least, was open to her she enjoyed seeing how the Doctor reacted to what she presented. I really liked Damus as he was a likeable character and Hamiyun was pretty good too. I thought Refiloe was a great setting and the description of the surroundings was fantastic. Nicola Bryant was as wonderful as always and I loved the notable change in her performance in playing an older version of her infamous character. I imagine being older herself made things easier but I'm not convinced it was an easy task. I really liked her, although in saying that it's very rare that I ever don't. The Doctor was willing to sacrifice the TARDIS to put things right here and I must admit even I was surprised with how far he was willing to go. He was going to jettison the interior of his beloved ship to get rid of the source of time distortion that was so cruelly killing or healing people. The risk of allowing it to be maintained was too much so the Doctor would give up his most prized possession. The price for his freedom would be paid. Except, everything he was experiencing was not reality and the TARDIS didn't have a scratch on it. I suspected that was the case as it was pretty obvious but even when it was confirmed, I enjoyed the revelation. Overall, a very decent audio adventure!

Rating: 8/10

Arena of Fear Part 1

"His name is Captain Jack Hotness."

Writer: Nick Abadzis

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 28th July 2016

Printed in: DWC: Tales from the TARDIS 09

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Gabby, Captain Jack, Cindy

Synopsis 

It's the Doctor and Gabby versus Captain Jack, Cleo and Cindy, with the mysterious Mr Ebonite pulling the strings!

Forced to race each other for an extraterrestrial artefact, friendships are put to the test in the most surprising of ways - and the TARDIS team changes forever!

Verdict 

Arena of Fear kicked off, or rather continued the stories already started in Cindy, Cleo and the Magic Sketchbook! and Medicine Man in brilliant fashion. I must admit I was not expecting to see a newly named comic strip in this issue of Doctor Who Comic after the way the last story finished but it definitely now looks like that I will be combining the ratings of this story, whenever it shall end, and Medicine Man. It didn't really address either of the last two story's cliffhangers but did so in a clever way by having the entire party of characters suffering from memory loss. The way we got artistic narration from Cindy instead of the usual Gabby was terrific and I do hope that once things settle down she ends up joining the Doctor and Gabby on their travels. I love that pairing so much and I think it's the best thing to come out of DWC, but adding Cindy to the mix would just increase the greatness in this segment of the comic because she's a fabulous character in her own right. Her opinion of Captain Jack was interesting to say the least and you can see just a snippet of her thoughts in my humorous opening quote. She was certainly attracted to him! Cindy was not quite as commendable though to Cleo and Erik. I must admit that I am surprised that these particular characters have returned as although they're not at all bad, they didn't have a big impact on things to the extent that I thought they'd return. The blend of times in this story was really interesting with the likes of Munmeth and Muthmunna meeting Sunzberro and Mem-Brain. The latter two characters were very comical and that matched their appearance which was good. I'm not sure Erik had more than one line but the way his eyes were illustrated clearly demonstrated that he was a bit mad, despite the memory loss. Mr Ebonite running proceedings some 29,000 or so years in the past was really interesting and I'm intrigued to see if his prospect of everybody dying comes true. His referencing of The Five Doctors and comparing the Arena of Fear to the Death Zone on Gallifrey was excellent. I really liked that. I had hoped for a more joyous reunion between the Doctor and Jack but I'm hopeful that they'll embrace each other more warmly in the next part of this story. Things were rather eventful and they may not even fully remember their experiences together. The mention of Jack's involvement with Torchwood was good and I'm now intrigued to see if there'll be any mention of Miracle Day after my recent watching. In terms of Jack's character, this story acts as the latest point in his life that I will have blogged. That excites me greatly. I thought the absence of Gabby from all but one page hurt things a little bit and after the Doctor had part of his memory back I was hoping he'd quickly realise that his companion was absent. That wasn't the case though and it was soon revealed that she seemed to be working for and under the spell of Mr Ebonite! She looked dazzlingly evil which was worrying but I did miss the flashes of sparkle she brings to pretty much every comic strip she appears in. Gabby is a wonderful companion but I'm interested to see how she fares playing an evil character now. I'm sure the Doctor will have something to say about it. I'll have to wait a month or so to find about and I look forward to it with great anticipation. Overall, a great comic where the rating will come at the story's conclusion.  

The Rocket Men

"We're going to steal the jewels from the sky."

Writer: John Dorney

Format: Audio

Released: August 2011

Series: Companion Chronicles 6.02

Featuring: First Doctor, Ian, Barbara, Vicki

Synopsis 

The TARDIS has landed on Platform Five, a floating city in the sky of the planet Jobis, and for a time the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicki get the chance to enjoy this idyllic place.

Then the Rocket Men arrive, led by the sadistic Ashman.

When the only other option to certain death is suicide, Ian Chesterton takes the gamble of his life...

Verdict 

The Rocket Men was another very good Companion Chronicle audio! I seem to have been doing a lot of this range in recent days and that's largely due to the recent weekend Big Finish offers that involved downloads of some of the range's stories for just £2.99. How can I resist a price as tempting as that for a range that I love listening to? They're just so easy to listen to at around an hour long and although I've only ever given two stories a perfect rating, I've rarely granted a rating less than 8/10 for a Companion Chronicle. That says to me that the range is solid and consistent and I never seem not to enjoy a story, even if I give a low rating. I'm always impressed with the quality of a story that features just two actors performing and the way some of the actors revive the first three Doctors through their impressions is just magnificent. That was the case in this audio with William Russell who I thought was wonderful. His impression of William Hartnell's First Doctor was terrific and he really did nail the traits and characteristics of that fantastic first incarnation. I bloody love the First Doctor and it's a shame that a lot of his run is made up of missing episodes but these audios are making up for some of that material we aren't able to see. Russell didn't just do a great impression of Hartnell though, he also absolutely nailed his impressions of Barbara and Vicki which was something I did not expect. Five decades on from first appearing in the televised series and William Russell can still give an incredible performance. I tip my hat off to him. He really did make the audio an absolute breeze to listen to. The story placed this TARDIS quartet in unusual circumstances and the beauty of audio shone through because you realised that a story like this just wouldn't have been able to have happened back in the 1960s. It just isn't feasible but now we get the joy of listening to it. It works very well in audio and I must admit I think that's largely down to Russell's narration. The Rocket Men, whom the story was cleverly named after in a subtle homage to the show's past, were very interesting because they didn't really seem alien at all. They just seemed to be humans with a rocket strapped to their back. I know it was a bit more than that but it wasn't far off from being that simple. I thought they were quite violent which was good and I really loved that Ian challenged them about being sadists. They enjoyed the pain they inflicted in others and that was something Ian couldn't let slide. One thing I wasn't a fan of in this story was the way events didn't run concurrently. We jumped back and forth between different times of things unfolding and I didn't like that too much. I don't see what is gained by doing that and it just made me think I'd missed things whilst listening only for them to be revealed soon after. I found it intriguing how this story made Ian's feelings towards Barbara no secret and one thing about that which I was a tad surprised about was the Doctor being able to see it. The relationship between him and Ian at this point in their travels was good but for the Doctor to warn him not to put off telling her his feelings was very fascinating. I thought the cliffhanger was decent and I also thought that Ashman was a good leader of the Rocket Men. They were sadistuc pirates. You can't go far wrong with a race like that! The way the Doctor went off for most of the story by doing scientific research which led to the Rocket Men's demise was fantastic. In typical fashion of the First Doctor, he wasn't there for much of the story but ended up as the hero. I loved that about him and I was glad to see it continue in audio. Overall, a good audio! 

Rating: 8/10

Peri and the Piscon Paradox

"I'm being hunted down by fish, and they're using nets to catch me!"

Writer: Nev Fountain

Format: Audio

Released: January 2011

Series: Companion Chronicles 5.07

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Fifth Doctor, Peri

Synopsis

The Doctor and Peri journey to Los Angeles 2009 to do battle with a Piscon. His name is Zarl, and he's a fish of utmost evil.

Zarl is going to steal all the water of Earth and sell it to the highest bidder. Or blow up the San Andreas fault. Or the planet. Or something like that. He's a bit vague on that point.

Fortunately, to stop him there's help from an unexpected source: a future version of Peri. She knows Zarl's dark secret. 

But should the future Peri be on Earth at all? Something smells fishy - and it's not just Zarl.

Verdict 

Peri and the Piscon Paradox was an outstanding Companion Chronicle! It really was superb and has now joined Solitaire in a very exclusive club of audios from this range that have secured the perfect rating from myself. I've done a considerable amount of the stories from this audio range in a really muddled up order so for me to award full marks it must really have been special. It was unusual for the range in being over two hours long and having four parts and despite there only being two actors, it really did feel like a Main Range story. I loved the way the two discs were split up with the first and second parts being told through Peri during her time of travels with the Fifth Doctor whilst the third and fourth parts were from the perspective of an older Peri, whose existence was in question right from the word go. Peri finished her travels with the Doctor in complicated fashion in The Trial of a Time Lord but this audio intriguingly revealed that she didn't just stay as a princess. Peri was in fact assassinated during the events of the Doctor's trial and we now know that there are five different versions of Peri living out there in the cosmos! That's quite incredible really. I've sort of started where the audio ends but it hit such an emotional chord with me that I don't think I have any other choice. To discover that this future version of Peri suffered the same fate as Jamie and Zoe did in The War Games really saddened me. That story is my favourite of all time and the emotion behind the companions' departure has stayed with me for a long time. This future Peri only remembering the events of Planet of Fire was heartbreaking to hear, even if her description of events was brilliant. The role of the Sixth Doctor in the story was full of humour and I loved that he defeated Zarl pretty much straight after arriving on the scene. That meant that he had to keep his past unaltered by pretending to be him instead! We'd already listened to events unfold so to then be told that Zarl was actually the Sixth Doctor really did make me laugh. It was magnificent. Some of the dialogue the Doctor had to improvise was fantastic and I loved all the ways the Sixth Doctor was trying to lure the Fifth Doctor into killing him! It was purely ludicrous and that was marvellous. Nicola Bryant did a good job narrating and switching between her present and future self and although I didn't think her impression of Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor was all that good, the way she addressed it in the storytelling was outstanding. I really liked that so it didn't matter to me that Bryant didn't sound anything remotely like Davison. I was absolutely fine with it. The 2009 setting of Los Angeles was very good and I loved Peri's reaction to seeing the near future. That's one of the beautiful things about these audios is that you can accurately place Classic era characters in the present day. The End of the World was set only a few years from now and of course predictions weren't accurate but with the audios we can do it with ease and it's just wonderful. The reference to Doctor Who and the Pescatons was superb in giving a comparison of what the Piscon were like and although I haven't listened to that audio, I have read the novelisation. The other references to The Caves of Androzani, Vengeance on Varos, Timelash, Revelation of the Daleks and Mission to Magnus were excellent. I liked how the format of the story somewhat mirrored that of Project: Lazarus and I also liked that the cliffhangers were very good. Part two didn't really have one other than a foreshadowing of events to come on Androzani Minor and that in itself was great. Overall, an excellent audio that was full of both humour and emotion that was balanced beautifully. Quite a revelation about Peri!

Rating: 10/10

The Dogs of Doom

"Be a good dog! Mustn't attack the Doctor!" 

Writers: Pat Mills & John Wagner 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: April-June 1980

Printed in: DWM 27-34

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Sharon, K9

Synopsis 

The Doctor, Sharon and K9 board the Spacehog ship in the New Earth System, only to find an invading army of Werelox. But their masters are known as the evil ones, and they're very familiar to the Doctor...

Verdict 

The Dogs of Doom was another excellent comic strip to continue along my reading of The Iron Legion graphic novel. I still can't believe that I paid less than a fiver for this gem of a collection and with the quality of story on display so far, it's absolutely been worth the price! Even if the story quality was poor, something I've found rare in a Classic comic strip adventure of this length, the purchase still would have been worth it because it would just add to my Doctor Who knowledge and would also be added to my collection of blog entries, something which is approaching four digits faster and faster by the day. The story itself almost seemed to be split into two with the first four parts painting the Werelox in the role of the enemies. They're where the story gets its name from and I liked how they seemed to be a hybrid of both dog and werewolf whilst also being humanoid. Brill really was a brilliant character and the changes he went through across the eight parts were marvellous. He went from villain to companion in a short space of time and that was all down to the Doctor hypnotising him. I thought the characterisation of Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor was once again excellent and that's something I've been impressed by in my reading of this graphic novel thus far. In saying that, this is the penultimate story in the collection and once I read the final comic strip I think it will be an excuse to buy a new graphic novel. Anyway, back to the story at hand and I thought the cliffhanger to part three was fantastic with the Doctor transforming into a Werelox and even though I saw it coming from an early stage, or at least suspected the possibility, I was still very glad to see it occur. After Sharon's arrival in The Star Beast, I was quite surprised by how little dialogue she had. Maybe things were a bit too eventful for her on her first trip in the TARDIS but even though she was put in danger and foolishly stowed away on a suicide ship, she enjoyed her time with the Doctor and didn't want things to end. The Doctor and K9 didn't seem too sure and despite clearly being young, I'm finding that I like her. Her relationship with Babe Ruth here was marvellous. Some of the names that cropped up in this story were rather humorous reading from my point in time, some 36 years since the comic strip was first printed in the pages of Doctor Who Magazine. The relationship between the Doctor and K9 was magnificent and was the only recognisable connection with the televised series really. Oh, and the returning Daleks of course. Their return was sadly not a surprise to me but even though I knew that they'd be showing up, the big reveal was still terrific. The story was suited very well for them and I loved that they were using the Werelox as their puppets as it were. The Daleks wanting to add evil qualities to their demeanour was intriguing, especially with them wanting an addition of slyness. Once the Daleks arrived, things got very action packed and that was tremendous. The Doctor defeating the Daleks by using their own time travel technology against them and trapping them in a time lock was superb. Overall, a brilliant story and I think the lack of Sharon playing a major role is why this doesn't get full marks. I can't really complain with a rating like this though.

Rating: 9/10

Loving the Alien

"How do you measure time outside time?"

Writers: Mike Tucker & Robert Perry

Format: Novel

Released: May 2003

Series: PDA 60

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace

Synopsis 

Ace is dead. Or at least she will be - soon... In a secret room deep inside the TARDIS the Doctor has been examining the body of Ace's future self. He knows how she was killed, where she was killed and when she was killed. What he doesn't know is why...

To find the truth the Doctor makes a dangerous decision and takes the unsuspecting Ace to the very time and place of her death, hoping to cheat Time and find her killer before he can strike - but Time has other ideas. With Ace missing and the clock ticking the Doctor turns to old friends for help and finds that there is unfinished business for him to deal with.

What is the secret experiment being conducted by the British Rocket Group? Why are giant ants appearing in the suburbs of 1950s London? Who is the mysterious figure that is watching the Doctor's every move?

As events spiral out of control the Doctor realises that someone is manipulating time with careless disregard for the consequences to Ace - or the rest of the universe...

Verdict 

Loving the Alien was a very good Doctor Who novel. It was full of shocks, surprises and even other dimensions and also acted as a direct sequel to Illegal Alien, a book I read not too many months ago. That book was excellent and when doing my follow up research on it (usually on TARDISWiki) I found that this book was its sequel. I was somewhat surprised by the inclusion of footnotes in an original Doctor Who novel and this is the first time that I have come across them in the same way that I footnote my History essays in university. There have been accounts of using an asterix in the Target novelisations but this was the first time I saw it numbered here. The only footnote that I knew about was the aforementioned novel that featured the Cybermen but after reading the acknowledgements at the end of the book, it turned out that the two writers had referenced their works together on at least one occasion. The story was a good one and it caught the Seventh Doctor and Ace at a bad time together. They'd just seen, to my utter shock, Mel dead in a previous book I'm yet to read and now the Doctor had found Ace's dead body whilst he was still travelling with her. She was off in the pool while he was experimenting on her future selve's dead body. That must have been a horrific experience! The cliffhanger at the end of part two of the novel in which we saw Ace die was simply sublime. It must go down as one of my all time favourite cliffhangers across any format because Ace was shot in the face from point blank range and then her body was dumped in the river! That's pretty tough to resolve and I'm not entirely convinced that it was. Ace's explicit sexual encounter with Jimmy was interesting as it was the first time a companion in the Classic era has been painted in that light. Sex was seemingly forgotten in the old days so to read that Ace, who I'm not convinced is only 18, was sexually active was interesting. She even got pregnant according to the Doctor but she would be having no baby. The return of George Limb as enemy was fantastic and I loved how he was still jumping through time, albeit in small distances, with the Cyberman time machine that the Doctor was convinced would scatter him through time. Instead, Limb kept on going back through his timeline to try and avert his destiny. The Doctor helped him achieve that in a brutal way though. I thought Rita was an excellent character and the way she presented herself as a decade younger than she appeared was terrific. Her venture to an alternate dimension was great and I liked how she was struggling to cope with an electrically surged human race. The constant comments of sympathy and isolation about her being American was good and I liked the differences in the outcome of World War II in that reality. The arrival of the Doctor certainly brightened up her day. She couldn't bare the thought of an electrical upgrade. The reference to The Tenth Planet was fantastic and the alternate dimension seemed to be like Spare Parts but in prose. The Cold War setting of 19 years after the last time the Doctor and Ace encountered Cody McBride was pretty good and I liked that the difference in appearance and age was directly mentioned on more than one occasion. It was great to see McBride back as well as Mullen although the latter suffered almost immediately after finding out the Doctor was back by getting his legs amputated thanks to an explosion. The other characters that appeared were decent with Drakefell and Crawhammer particularly impressing. Davey O'Brien, both of them, was brilliant too. The plot was pretty good with the British of an alternate reality invading although they were pretty easily sent back home in my eyes. The ending wasn't that great which is why the book doesn't get quite as high a rating as I would liked to have given and a lot of that is down to the randomness of Ace's return and apparent resurrection. Overall though, still a very good novel! 

Rating: 8/10 

The Next Life

"You've got villain stamped right through you..."

Writers: Alan Barnes & Gary Russell 

Format: Audio

Released: December 2004

Series: Main Range 64

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Charley, C'rizz 

Synopsis 

"All things must die."

Washed up on the sandy shores of a paradise island, a wild-eyed shipwreck survivor is rescued by the wife of Daqar Keep, the richest man in the galaxy.

Her name's Perfection. He's the Doctor. Together, they face a journey into the dark heart of this mysterious island, to discover the deepest secrets of this timeless cosmos. That's if the giant crabs, killer crocodiles and murderous natives don't get them first.

Meanwhile, fellow travellers Charley and C'rizz have their own ordeal to endure, in the grip of the Doctor's most dangerous rival.

And in a universe that's facing extinction, even the best of friends may soon become enemies...

This life is almost over. Not everyone will make it to the next.

Verdict 

The Next Life was a very good audio story and finally saw us come to the end of the Divergent Universe story arc that has spanned the last eight adventures featuring the Eighth Doctor. This story was very lengthy at over three hours long and a unique six episodes, and that's why it's taken me nearly two months to get around to listening to it which has slightly annoyed me I must admit. I really do want to try and push on with the Main Range of audios as well as reading but this summer has been a lot busier than expected so things haven't quite gone to plan. I've still managed to keep up with daily blogging though so I'm very happy with that. I'm not sure why this audio was so long as I didn't really think it was necessary. I was hoping for an eventful and climatic end to the story arc but we didn't get that. Had the length of the audio been cut by 45 minutes or so, I think it would have served much better. In saying that though, I still thought it was excellent and we had our many questions answered. The Doctor caught up with Rassilon as expected but the truth surrounding him and the Kro'ka was a fascinating revelation. The Divergent Universe was a figurative circle and I loved how that explained the lack of time in the universe. It worked very well I must say. The relationship between Rassilon and the Kro'ka was interesting throughout but it was clear that the former was merely using the latter. The character of Daqar Keep was superb and the fact that he was an amalgamation of the Doctor and Charley was certainly a shock! He worked very well though and I loved how he, along with Perfection, were orchestrating a lot of what went on in this universe. Perfection's relationship with the Doctor was terrific and I liked that there was more than one account of sexual innuendo. The scenes in the companion's respective subconscious were fantastic as I liked that each of them was reunited with someone they loved and thought lost. C'rizz quickly worked out that L'da couldn't be real after he agonisingly killed her in The Creed of the Kromon - a story that was neatly referenced on more than one occasion. There were also excellent references to Storm Warning, Faith Stealer, Caerdroia and Zagreus. Perhaps my favourite reference though was that of Scherzo and Rassilon and the Kro'ka enacting the exact same conversation the Doctor and Charley had on their arrival in the Divergent Universe. I must admit, I was not expecting Zagreus to reappear as the villain of the story and although he wasn't nearly as bad as the first time we met him, I do hope his story is told. Hearing that rhyme again just reminded me of how much of a cluster the fiftieth Main Range audio was. The hint that the Doctor is a Liverpool supporter put a smile on my face as I too support the redmen so to hear that the Doctor has in his memory records of seasons spanning a fifty year period was wonderful. Guidance was another brilliant character and I loved the revelation that C'rizz was his son. I was surprised by how important his role in the Doctor's escaping back to N-Space was but I liked it very much. The conflict between Charley and C'rizz was very interesting with the latter's comments about her having a thing for Time Lords really striking a chord. The Doctor making sure they were on the same page before escaping the universe and back to reality was a wonderful moment. Paul McGann really is shining in these audio adventures. The cliffhanger ending was a bit of a surprise but I absolutely loved it! Davros and the Daleks were the welcoming committee for the Doctor and co's return to normality. Some welcome! Overall, a very good audio and finish to the story arc.

Rating: 8/10

 

Fear Her

"It came to her because she was lonely."

Writer: Matthew Graham

Format: TV

Broadcast: 24th June 2006

Series: 2.11

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Rose

Synopsis 

London 2012, and the Doctor and Rose set off to see the Olympics, only to find terror on the most ordinary place. Who, or what, is taking children from a harmless council estate? And why is a mother so scared of her daughter?

Verdict 

Fear Her was not the greatest episode of Doctor Who ever to air. In fact, it actually goes down as my lowest rated episode from the post-2005 revival era which is a real shame. It just doesn't quite work and seems a bit silly and all over the place. I mean, the main enemy is a little girl who likes to draw which is something intriguing and could be done right, but when that girl is petrified of a drawing of her late father that she drew herself is where things annoy me. It just didn't make sense because if a girl is having nightmares and knows the effect her drawings have, why would she draw something that scares her? I just found it difficult to buy into and when that happens I get frustrated when other elements of the story are good. I liked the 2012 setting for a 2006 broadcasted episode and it followed Dalek in travelling to the immediate future. We saw that future a lot more prominently this time with the council estate setting and the Olympic torch run. I found myself laughing a little too much at the poster advertising a greatest hits album for Shayne Ward. If he's a Doctor Who fan and has watched this episode recently I'm sure he'll be wondering where things went wrong. He's not done bad for himself but he certainly won't be having a greatest hits album! The idea of a scribble creature is just rubbish and the way the Doctor just literally rubbed it out with a pencil eraser was ludicrous. Come on now, this is Doctor Who. I know a lot of silliness has occurred over the countless stories that have been produced, but that went too far for me. I found myself shaking my head. One thing I did love about this episode though was the relationship between the Tenth Doctor and Rose. It really was wonderful and it's terrific to see how happy they make each other. Rose clearly loves having the opportunity to travel with the Doctor and he likes having her along with him. The foreshadowing of the events to come in Army of Ghosts/Doomsday were quite daunting but how the Doctor can see an oncoming storm in the sky of 2012 when that storm took place in 2006 is beyond me. Even for a Time Lord, surely that can't be right. Chloe Webber was a good character and the way she was taken over by the Isolus was decent. An episode directly dealing with child abuse and loneliness was a good move even if the quality wasn't great. The scenes between Rose and Kel were the highlight of the episode in my opinion as they really were very humorous. The pod hiding in recently laid tarmac was pretty ridiculous though. I did think that Trish was a good character with the way she was so frightened of her daughter. The Doctor saw that immediately but was soon drawn and taken out of the real world. He would return though to pick up the Olympic torch and light the flame that declares the Olympics open. The addition of the drawing of Chloe's father coming to life and being defeated by song seemed a bit unnecessary but I did like how it showed that Rose could manage on her own. Overall, not the best but still not entirely bad.

Rating: 6/10