Delta and the Bannermen

"Welcome to Shangri La, where your dreams come true."

Writer: Malcolm Kohll
Format: TV
Broadcast: 2nd-16th November 1987
Season: 24.03

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Mel

Synopsis

Boarding a Nostalgia Tours bus, the Doctor and Mel go for a holiday. They will soon learn that their fellow passenger Delta is a Chimeron Queen, fleeing from the Bannermen who wish to make her species extinct. Thus, the time travellers' trip to Shangri La turns into a battle against genocide...

Verdict

Delta and the Bannermen was a really good little story that has to go down as one of Doctor Who's most underrated adventures in my opinion. As I embark on a random BritBox watchathon, I was a little sceptical about this serial as it isn't exactly widely regarded. However, I was thrilled with what I watched and it definitely lived up to my personal expectations based upon reading the novelisation a couple of years ago. This was the first time in eight years watching the adventure and it was only my second viewing, but I really enjoyed it. I might be a tad biased with the setting of South Wales as that is where I reside, but I was absolutely appalled by the line where Wales was referred to as being in England! That is unforgivable and I really wasn't pleased with that. I thought Sylvester McCoy had a decent outing as the Seventh Doctor and Gemma said he was a bit like Mr Bean which is a pretty apt description of Sylvester McCoy's wacky incarnation. I liked the scale of this adventure as we had scenes at the tollbooth, then through space on the Nostalgia Tours bus, before everything culminated in South Wales. Mel taking the bus trip to 1959 Shangri La, the actual destination after hitting the satellite that deterred them from arriving at Disneyland, was rather amusing with the Doctor taking the TARDIS to reach the destination. I was quite impressed with some of the special effects for the scenes in Space, particularly with the TARDIS guiding the Nostalgia Tours bus to a relatively safe landing. Exploring the drive technology of the motor was good, but I do feel the way the initial crystal was destroyed just didn't need to be there. It wasn't necessary that the Doctor would have one. Alas, things still worked out well. I was quite surprised by how little Delta actually did in the story. She really doesn't say an awful lot which was fine, but it just took me by surprise. Ray was the standout character of the guest cast and it's no surprise that she was initially considered to be the new companion after Mel. I'd have loved for there to be a Welsh companion! Sadly that wasn't to be, but all of the traits that made Ace a success were clearly evident. I was definitely a fan of the Bannermen and Gavrok made a good villain as their leader. The moment they just wiped out the entire Nostalgia Tours party was quite something and coupling that with the resolution to the part one cliffhanger where they simply ionised the man who'd called in the bounty on Delta was outstanding. It showed you just how much they meant business which I was rather impressed by. The ending of part two could have been stronger and I didn't fully comprehend how the Doctor was able to just drive off with Mel and Burton, but the swagger in his statement was excellent. Weismuller and Hawk were pretty humorous characters and their reaction at seeing the satellite at the end was great. Their chemistry worked really well which was a big positive. Goronwy and his bees were also rather funny, even if the way the Doctor had led the Bannermen to getting covered in honey and thus attacked by the bees was a bit of a stretch. Billy turning himself into a Chimeron to go with Delta and raise the new Princess and extend the race was intriguing, even if that relationship developed a bit quick. I was very impressed with how the story captured the feeling of the era with the music and the dancing being rather jovial. One thing I can definitely say about this serial is that it had a feel-good atmosphere which made it a breeze to watch the three parts back to back in one sitting. Gemma enjoyed it as well which made my viewing all the better. The conclusion with the Chimeron princess amplifying her sound to defeat the Bannermen was excellent and I liked that the Bannermen were so close to wiping out their bitter enemies. Overall, a fantastic story!

Rating: 8/10

Robot

"I have killed the one who created me."

Writer: Terrance Dicks
Format: TV
Broadcast: 28th December 1974 - 18th January 1975
Season: 12.01

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane, Harry

Synopsis

Trouble is brewing once again; top secret plans are being stolen with their guards killed. All evidence seems to point to the culprit being a sentient robot created by a think tank however, his basic programming prevents him from killing, providing a contradiction to the clues.

At the same time, the Doctor is recovering from his latest regeneration. Can he regain his sense and help UNIT solve the case before time runs out?

Verdict

Robot was an excellent start to the era of the Fourth Doctor! Expect a Classic Doctor Who theme from the blog over the next month as I have signed up for my BritBox free trial and look set to bulk out on those stories whose DVD I don't own and am yet to blog. I have also been trying to get my girlfriend Gemma to explore Classic Doctor Who as she's a huge fan of the new stuff, but hasn't ever delved into this era. Until now. She enjoyed the story a lot more than she expected to which I was very glad of and she didn't even comment about the special effects being very much of their time! The opening part is full of humour with the Doctor getting accustomed to his latest incarnation. I've only ever seen this serial once before, some eight years ago now, so a lot of it felt new and that will be the case with the blog entries over the coming weeks without me owning DVDs. Tom Baker really does set the tone for his fourth incarnation of the Doctor early on in the era which is great stuff. As Gemma pointed out though, it is pretty amazing how little Sarah Jane makes of the Doctor's change in appearance. That was something I haven't picked up on. It really is quite extraordinary when you think about it! The Brigadier's nonplussed reaction was also pretty amusing. I know he's done it before, but even so. The plot that surrounded the Doctor's new persona was really strong and I thought the use of the K1 Robot was brilliant. Whilst the operation and look might be slightly clumsy, I love the idea that it is made of living metal. Seeing it try to go against its primary function of serving humanity was very interesting. Sarah Jane getting to showcase her journalistic abilities was excellent, but I was slightly surprised by how little Harry gets to do in the story. I'm really not sure if he'd warrant becoming a companion based on this adventure, but he did serve a decent purpose in the story as the medic. His scene with the Doctor where he ended up hanging upside in a cupboard was definitely a highlight. Barmy stuff. I thought some of the guest characters in this one were terrific with Miss Winters and Professor Kettlewell being the standouts. The former was really good in hiding what she wanted kept hidden when Sarah Jane came around posing as a reporter for a potential interview that would be published about them. Kettlewell had the look and personality of a crazed scientist which I was a huge fan of, but I was a little taken aback by his turn to truly being on the Scientific Reform Society. I didn't see that coming. The pair's connection was good though and I did love the idea of the Society and how they firmly believed that it was the elite's right to rule over society. The plans for the disintegrator gun being taken by the K1 Robot was great and provided an immediate focus for the rest of the serial to develop around. The use of the disintegrator coming into action was also very good and the idea of the Robot being able to rid anything from existence was great and showed what an asset it could be to waste on the planet! The Brigadier proudly proclaiming that this time they didn't need the Doctor when shooting K1 with the gun was hilarious as he just exasperated the decision by making it ten times worse. The Robot became a giant and kidnapped Sarah Jane before the Doctor had worked on a metallic virus that reduced K1 to a husk. It was quite a sad end for a Robot that was just following orders. Also, I have to mention the beauty of the Doctor's dandelion deduction. Marvellous stuff. Overall, an excellent adventure!

Rating: 9/10

The Piggybackers Part 2

"Let's drop the facades."

Writer: Scott Gray
Format: Comic Strip
Released: 2nd April 2020
Printed in: DWM 550

Featuring: Thirteenth Doctor, Yaz, Ryan, Graham

Synopsis

It's the middle of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the town of Brideport is on edge. Tensions are high and everyone is anticipating ducking and covering from the Atomic Bomb. There are mysteries more local going on though, as what is going on with Miss Harcourt and her mouthless child school trip? And who is Hank really behind the facade?

Verdict

The Piggybackers continued in decent style with this second part, but my firm focus for this blog entry will be on the issue of Doctor Who Magazine in which the next instalment of the comic strip adventure continues. I have to say, the inside cover (ie after opening the packaging and the cover of the physical magazine) might just be my favourite yet. It is absolutely incredible paying homage to The Talons of Weng-Chiang in a rather beautiful way. Even the feel of the magazine is literally different with it being considerably smoother. It's just a wonderful edition. To celebrate the milestone 550th issue, there are a bunch of freebies given to us with a quite glorious set of retro collector cards celebrating enemies from the era of the Fourth Doctor. They really are terrific. As if that wasn't enough, we've also got a classic-style poster magazine as well as the ability to recreate the Fourth Doctor's iconic wooden secondary control room! I'm no craftsman, but my girlfriend has already committed her willingness to try and put it together. I'm excited to see what she comes up with. There's also a free Big Finish audio from the ridiculously expensive Philip Hinchcliffe Presents boxset which is fantastic, but a little annoying that there may be no other way of listening to the first story without forking out big time. I'm really looking forward to this issue's focus on Season 14 with the upcoming Blu-Ray release inbound, with the End of Innocence and Season 14 Diary features looking like real highlights. I am delighted to see that the Apocrypha feature continues and in just the second edition, it's exploring a story that I have actually blogged in Exploration Earth. You'll have to go back to 2014 for my entry on it though! I look forward to revisiting it this issue. Another thing I am thrilled about with this issue of DWM is that they have reprinted an entire text story in the form of Dr Who and the Hell Planet. I really can't wait to read it as I really don't know where I would have known or even comes across a text story from the Daily Mirror. So thank you to DWM for this. A real treat. Expect a blog entry soon. Sadie Miller, the daughter of the late Liz Sladen, being interviewed about her mother's Sarah Jane Smith character should be a lovely read and one that I will look on fondly. Production Notes from Chris Chibnall are always exciting and I'm intrigued by the After Image feature looking back at Series 12. As a whole, this looks to be a pretty sensational issue of DWM! Now, onto the comic strip and I can't believe how little I care about it in this issue because of what else is going on! It's also a little difficult to have a lot to talk about when the second part was only six pages. I feel like that's shortchanging readers a little and I think eight is certainly the minimum it should be. Not a lot happened and I just feel that this will lead to another lengthy story. I'm not personally a fan of them going past the four-part mark. Hopefully that isn't the case here. Playing on the tensions of the Cuban Missile Crisis is fantastic though and I hope we get more of that. Yaz and Ryan being in the school is good, especially with the latter following the every word of Miss Harcourt and losing his mouth. Revealing how she does that will be good. Graham was also very unlucky in this one as he was just doing some questioning to ascertain the local scene and ended up tied up by a being who was not the Hank he thought he was. The Doctor's conversing with Mr Endicott continued to be good, if rather little of it, and I get the feeling he knows more than he's letting on. I look forward to seeing where things go from here, but hopefully it gets extended in the next issue allowing for more development.

God Among Us: Thoughts and Prayers

"The sky looks like it's burning."

Writer: James Goss
Format: Audio
Released: June 2019
Series: Torchwood 6.12

Featuring: Captain Jack, Yvonne, Mr Colchester, Tyler, Ng, Orr, Andy

Synopsis

Cardiff lies broken. Torchwood's leaders are either arrested or dead. In a storage unit something forgotten has been reborn. And underneath the city, a terrible impossibility has been built.

The streets are filled with the prayers of the desperate. Because everyone knows – The end of the world is nigh.

Verdict

Thoughts and Prayers concluded God Among Us in an excellent way! I really enjoyed this finale to Torchwood's sixth, and at the time of writing, final series. It worked well and tied a lot of loose ends up in an enthralling way where all of the main characters got a chance to shine. I was a huge fan of that. Starting things with God and Jack in a cell was a great way to start and I was glad that the pair got to meet. It turned out that it was God who had given Jack a sense of mortality once again after the conclusion of Day Zero where he was pronounced dead. I also liked how obvious Jack's reaction was to God mentioning that she had gone to see Gwen and Anwen and learn everything about him. That was powerful stuff and I'd have loved for Gwen to have been featuring in this story. Now that I have finished Torchwood's chronological series run, I'm hoping to try and make more of an effort in getting some of the extra media done and begin some of the other audios as well as finally delving into prose. Anyway, Yvonne also being under house arrest was good and it seemed that Torchwood was helpless. She didn't even seem too pleased when Tyler came disguised as a pizza deliverer to help her escape. Andy had a fantastic episode and I really was shocked when he was seemingly on the side of the Disaster Recovery Committee. It was a different side to him and it really did seem that he'd had enough of Torchwood in the city. I was fooled that's for sure and it was his shooting Jack dead that convinced me. That was a very powerful moment. I was definitely happy when it turned out that he'd been working for Jack all along though. They haven't had the smoothest of relationships throughout Torchwood's history, but this was a nice moment in its finale. Orr continued to be living in torment and it was clear she was struggling big time. It was once again a little tough to listen to, but I have to credit the performance even if it was a little over the top in some instances. The plan of the Committee being revealed was outstanding and I'm really glad that they didn't actually feature. They didn't need to be here. Their attempts to use God and the impending reset on planet Earth to then make their way and take the empty planet was brilliant. They had revamped the Torchwood Hub and commissioned their own Rift manipulator that made a pathway with their home world. I was a very big fan of their plan as it made logical sense and was incredibly audacious! I found the moment where Orr was in the car and couldn't handle the power she had been given by God very impactful. She couldn't answer everybody's prayers but she couldn't help but try and give everyone, literally everyone, what they wanted. I can't begin to comprehend that internal feeling. I really did think that the explosion meant it was the end for Ng and Mr Colchester. It wasn't to be the case though as Orr was instead giving the storm what it wanted in order to save them. God revealing that she'd given up her powers and would be stuck on Earth was very intriguing now, but my only qualm with the episode was perhaps that we should have known more about her origins other than being so old she'd forgotten. After two series of build, there could have been a little more. The talk of how Yvonne couldn't be trusted and had made Torchwood too visible was really good and I enjoyed her reaction a lot. The episode's conclusion pretty much ending with the team all in the Torchwood Hub was marvellous and a nice homage back to the good old days. The plan being for God to take her power back and stop the Committee's plan seemed good, but what we got instead was a whole lot better and great continuity for this sixth series as a whole. She would use the Lens harking back to Flight 405 in wonderful fashion. It was superb stuff and even then they went back to save Yvonne after she'd helped Orr save the world by sending all of her energy to the Rift and taking out the Committee to keep them away from the planet. Torchwood had to go on the run now as the damage was blamed on them, but Andy had given them the heads up and I like the idea of things subtly ending with everyone going their separate ways in semi-hiding. It could leave Captain Jack ready for the events leading into Fugitive of the Judoon whilst also leaving things open for a possible seventh series. The comment at the end was quite fitting, "you've all been marvellous" indeed. Thank you, Torchwood. Overall, a fine finale!

Rating: 9/10

God Among Us: Day Zero

"Where has all the water gone, and when is it coming back?"

Writer: Tim Foley

Format: Audio

Released: June 2019

Series: Torchwood 6.11

Featuring: Captain Jack, Yvonne, Mr Colchester, Ng, Orr, Tyler, Andy

Synopsis

They've been warning about it for ages. Poisonous mould in the water supply. But it's finally got out of hand. It's day zero – the day Cardiff runs out of drinking water.

As people start fighting over the last remaining supplies, the Disaster Recover Committee takes drastic action. Because there's one place that still has clean water. And Torchwood will do anything to stop them from getting it. 

Verdict

Day Zero was an excellent penultimate episode of the God Among Us sixth series of Torchwood! This set things up for what I hope turns out to be an epic finale after such a long build over the past 23 stories. This really has been a lengthy story arc and as a whole, this new Torchwood has been very good indeed. The idea of Cardiff losing all of its water was really great and following that on from a tsunami that took out a good chunk of the city and left it badly damaged was fantastic. What more could the city take? Torchwood itself was barely existent after all that's happened with Yvonne and Jack and the split. Andy made it clear that he has had enough of Torchwood now and that quite simply they failed. He was clearly struggling to cope with what had occurred in Cardiff and his desperation and not being able to handle the situation came across brilliantly in the story. We certainly saw a different side of him which was quite refreshing after all that he had endured in recent times. His outburst to Yvonne was terrific and exactly what I would expect of somebody in his position after what she did with the Committee and selling herself out. His newfound position as Director of the DRC was definitely having an impact and I liked that Colchester challenged him and commented on how different Director Davidson was to Sergeant Andy. It was an incredible difference thinking all the way back to the man we saw way back when in Everything Changes. Yvonne had a strong episode, possibly her strongest since her return last series, and her interactions with a number of key characters were good. I liked that after all she had put him through and how she'd essentially torn apart Torchwood, Jack still wanted to help her and he couldn't understand why she never came to him for help. That was admirable and showed just what kind of man he truly was. His interaction with Andy ended up proving incredibly costly as what had been alluded to in previous episodes came into full fruition at the end of the story. After stepping in front of a helpless kid who was just trying to protect his residence and their clean water supply, Jack was shot and pronounced dead. Could it be that he really isn't immortal anymore? I doubt it, but I'm intrigued to find out what's going on. Ng and Colchester had good chemistry and the poisonous mould coming back into play was magnificent. The former being challenged by Andy and how she wasn't Gwen was incredibly harsh and must have struck a chord with her, but she took the comment really well to be fair to her. She's becoming an increasingly likeable character which I'm delighted to say. Tyler didn't have much to do in this episode, but his interaction with Colchester was pretty amusing. Colchester finding out that it wasn't his Colin who brought him back from the dead was a good moment and I'm looking forward to hearing how that's addressed in the finale. God played a casual and calm role in this instalment and her questioning of whether she even is God anymore was very intriguing. For the sake of the story arc and lengthy build, I do hope she doesn't have second thoughts! A lot has led us here. Her conversation with Yvonne and telling of their similarities was very insightful and a good thought to ponder. Orr's torment in producing the water for everyone was tough to listen to at times and her strain will surely have an impact. Overall, this was a brilliant way to set up what I hope is an epic finale! Torchwood deserves it.

Rating: 9/10

God Among Us: ScrapeJane

"Are people's lives so empty that they need to believe in made-up monsters?"

Writer: Robin Bell
Format: Audio
Released: June 2019
Series: Torchwood 6.10

Featuring: Mr Colchester, Ng

Synopsis

ScrapeJane is a myth. A monster made up by an urban explorer. A monster that's caught on. A monster with forums, with merch, with a book deal. A monster that people have started to believe in.

A monster that's started killing.

Verdict

ScrapeJane was a very good Torchwood episode and a marked improvement to the final boxset of God Among Us! I was quite surprised at this stage in the series that what we had was predominantly a standalone story. Starting things with the Cardiff Unknown podcast was a fantastic move to go down after it being a bonus in the previous boxset, but Jeff didn't last long as the podcast explored the mysterious story of ScrapeJane. The concept behind her was really intriguing and I was very much a big fan of it being a modern creation. Jeff actually getting torn apart by ScrapeJane was a bold way to start things and I was honestly thinking that we were going to have another episode similar to The Man Who Destroyed Torchwood with the podcast focus. Thankfully that wasn't the case, although I think this particular podcast would have worked much better. Meredith Pope being the creator of the ScrapeJane story and her shock and horror, whilst also displaying a little semblance of knowledge, at finding out that her creation had killed someone was great. She didn't understand, but the popularity of ScrapeJane was so high that she required to file copyrights to the creature! That really does show the scale of the myth and it stemming in Cardiff worked very well. Ng and Mr Colchester leading the episode was very good, but I do wish more of the main cast featured more regularly. Whilst I am still very much enjoying the official continuation of Torchwood, I do wish it was more like the good old days of Series 2 and 3 with some familiar cast. I would never have expected at the start of Aliens Among Us that things would change so much. Anyway, the pair are still very good characters and their chemistry worked really well in this episode. Their hunting of the ScrapeJane creature leading them to a Weevil nest was terrific and fantastic Torchwood continuity. I liked that only Colchester could see the ScrapeJane creature and it stemming down to the fact that he believed in it was good. The description of the Weevils being torn apart was quite disturbing and whilst Colchester's beliefs might have brought ScrapeJane to life, the creature was very much real. It was that belief in the supernatural and the feeling on your shoulder. That was all it needed. Playing on breaking down the walls between fantasy and reality is a wonderful concept and I'm always a fan of that being the case. ScrapeJane finding its way to the flat of Colchester and Colin was really interesting and brought the threat home before Ng saved the pair quite triumphantly. Ng making the connections with the belief of ScrapeJane and God was excellent and showed the purpose of the episode in the overall story arc of the past two series. God had helped spread belief, but Ng had lost her faith which was very intriguing. Her efforts to rid Cardiff of ScrapeJane by having Meredith Pope write/spread its death and make it a fact throughout social media seemed fantastic. However, she had soon been hacked which provided a new threat that she would never be gone. The confrontation between Ng and God and how it was inevitable they'd end up in their respective positions because that's what always occurred was really good. A very interesting conversation. ScrapeJane eventually being compounded to fiction was a great way to end what was as a whole a very decent episode!

Rating: 8/10

God Among Us: A Mother's Son

"What can you do when a city's half drowned?"

Writer: Alexandria Riley
Format: Audio
Released: June 2019
Series: Torchwood 6.09

Featuring: Captain Jack, Yvonne, Tyler, Orr, Andy

Synopsis

Cardiff has suffered a catastrophic flood. Dozens are still missing. Survivors fill camps across the city. An inquiry has been set up to find out what happened.

Bethan's comes to the city looking for answers. Her son is among the missing and no-one seems to want to help her find him. It's starting to look like there's a cover-up. What is Torchwood? Can it really be behind it?

Verdict

A Mother's Son kicked off the third and final volume of God Among Us in pretty average style it has to be said. This was an interesting adventure and followed on from where Eye of the Storm left things, but after such an impactful cliffhanger I was really hoping for a lot more. This was definitely just setting the scene for what will hopefully be a much improved final three stories of Torchwood's official sixth series. What was left of Cardiff was incredibly eery and with it being a city that I know extremely well, some of the descriptions were rather harrowing. The city was essentially a mess and the idea of camps was a little disturbing. Apart from the physical damage that was caused by the tsunami at the hands of the Committee, some of Cardiff's description seemed quite apt and relevant given the current state in society with the coronavirus outbreak. I found it very interesting that Alexandria Riley wrote the episode given that she plays Ng and she would have had some good character insight. Instead, her whole story was completely centred around Bethan. I wasn't a huge fan of that and it might sound harsh, but I just didn't care about her efforts to find her son. If I knew who she was prior to the episode then my feelings would have been completely different. It did provide a good account of how much the flood had changed the lives of everyday people who had sadly lost loved ones, but the lack of familiarity was not overly appealing. There was nothing at all wrong with her character though, it was just a personal preference. I also thought the episode was a little slow being focused on the enquiry. I did like how it was revealed that Yvonne was responsible for filling the water supply with retcon that ridded all of those asked about the flood and who warned them to either evacuate or put up defence to reveal who had warned them. Captain Jack didn't feature much at all which was a shame, but his efforts to bring down Yvonne after all she had done were great. He knew she was a traitor now and that had to be brought down. It was also interesting to explore the relationship, or what's left of it, between Yvonne and Andy as well after all that went on during the last boxset. Orr returning was an unexpected but pleasant moment and I like that she can't remember who she is. Her desire to just please would backfire on her and the idea of a queue outside of her tent at the end as society made their demands to see their loved ones for just a moment was a little horrifying. I felt incredibly sorry for her. Colin and Tyler had relatively quiet stories as well and I didn't understand why Mr Colchester didn't appear. It definitely seems that the cast have been spread around a little more during this series. Bethan's defiance to get the answers she felt she deserved was very good and definitely her best trait. I liked that instead of a lousy minute silence as she essentially called it, every night her and a number of others would take part in an hour's silence. That must have been incredibly powerful and the silence alone would speak volumes and ask all that would be required. Bethan, with Jack's help, revealing the Torchwood involvement was decent but it should have been a lot more impactful in my opinion. There weren't really any dramatic elements in the revelation which didn't feel right. Yvonne and Bethan at the end was a good conversation, but I wasn't a massive fan of not knowing whether Bethan did indeed take up Yvonne's offer to lose the memories of her son. I would massively lead to no, but it seems I'll never know. Overall, an interesting tale but it needed a serious injection of excitement.

Rating: 6/10

The Many Hands

"The dead are here to drag us down to Hell."

Writer: Dale Smith
Format: Novel
Released: April 2008
Series: NSA 24

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Martha

Synopsis

Edinburgh, 1759.

The Nor' Loch is being filled in. If you ask the soldiers there, they'll tell you it's a stinking cesspool that the city can do without. But that doesn't explain why the workers won't go near the place without an armed guard.

That doesn't explain why they whisper stories about the loch giving up its dead, about the minister who walked into his church twelve years after he died.

It doesn't explain why, as they work, they whisper about a man called the Doctor.

And about the many hands of Alexander Monro.

Verdict

The Many Hands was an excellent novel to conclude my adventures with Martha Jones in full original prose! It has taken me a very long time to get around and I still have plenty of Tenth Doctor books to get through, but I think I have become accustomed to the pairing of the Tenth Doctor and Martha so the next book with this incarnation will be quite different. Anyway, onto the novel at hand and it was a terrific read! It started off very fast paced with the Doctor and Martha involved in a stagecoach chase with a fight occurring on top! It worked well starting things seemingly mid-venture and that pace didn't really seem to slow down throughout the book. I loved the setting of Edinburgh in 1759 and it worked so well with the idea of the story. With the threat of death very much real and a theme of horror in a number of chapters, there was something about the Scottish capital that just seemed perfect. This book was released some twelve years ago, but I'm very glad I have waited until now to read it because I actually went on holiday to Edinburgh last year so I was able to recognise a lot of the sites mentioned with fondness. There was a lot of chasing around the city with a firm focus on Edinburgh Castle which was magnificent. The concept of the hands was a very disturbing one and I initially felt that the use was actually superior to that of The Hand of Fear. However, as the story advanced I retracted my thoughts there as the hand became a much bigger extension which was still great. The story behind Alexander Monro was very intriguing and the chapter conclusion where it was revealed that Alexander and Monro were not actually father and son but actually the same person was very unexpected! I didn't see that coming at all so it was a wonderful surprise. The science behind it was also brilliant and it was a bit refreshing to have that happening by a method other than time travel. The difference in the two versions of Alexander Monro was palpable and I liked how that was played upon throughout the book. McAllister was another brilliant character as the Captain in command and his arrest of the Doctor was excellent. He always wanted to remind the Doctor of that fact which worked really well and it was great to see how their relationship developed throughout the novel. Once it was clear that the Doctor was the one with the answers to defeat the threat, McAllister calmed down on the threat of hanging him. Martha was really good as the companion in this one and her relationship with the elder Monro was really nice. The humour that came with the Doctor's continued distain at the medical curriculum that Martha went through was really good and their relationship throughout was terrific. They're a very underrated pairing in my eyes. The references to the likes of Gridlock and The Lazarus Experiment were good and I also loved that the Doctor referenced Jamie. The story fitted in very nicely with Series 3 and I liked that the Doctor apologetically warned Martha that a TARDIS protocol may refer to her as Rose. The passages inside the church were good and even though I am quite against religion, the description of the church and the meaning behind it was outstanding. One of the most sublime paragraphs I've read in Doctor Who prose, it was honestly that good. The return of McVicar to his church twelve years after dying was a good moment and the imagery of all the dead coming back to life was great. Them literally just being dead people was interesting and the use of the hands on their hearts to animate them was very intriguing. The hands all being the same hand was a good revelation and the description was just creepy. The whole book had an eery feel which is definitely a positive. The arrival of Kith in taking over Alexander and being the entity behind the science was good and it probably worked well that he came very late into the adventure. There wasn't any more needed. His desire to escape death was fantastic and the Doctor offering his Time Lord DNA to save the city of Edinburgh was brilliant. I was a big fan of that and Martha's reaction was good as she quickly offered herself up instead. She didn't have Time Lord DNA though! Kith leaving the Doctor and instead wanting the TARDIS was a good plot twist and his craving for immortality made him a good villain. The way everything tied with electricity, lightning and the visit of Benjamin Franklin to Edinburgh was superb and a really emphatic way to be rid of Kith once and for all whilst returning Alexander Monro. His efforts to revive his father were in vain, but he was still alive. Overall, a fine novel.

Rating: 9/10

Return of the Krotons

"We're the power behind your shiny new empire."

Writer: Nicholas Briggs
Format: Audio
Released: December 2008
Series: Bonus Release VII

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Charley

Synopsis

The dead planet Onyakis is being plundered by the last survivors of the human race, and their leader Commander Cobden, will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Already there are rumours of those who stand against him mysteriously disappearing. But when the Sixth Doctor and Charley find themselves on the side of those trying to expose Cobden, they discover something far more sinister.

Deep in the mines of Onyakis, alien technology is reactivating. Power is flowing. Something is forming in the darkness...

Verdict

Return of the Krotons was an excellent audio adventure to fit in very nicely with the Main Range stories of the Sixth Doctor and Charley. I am really loving this pairing and the mystery that comes with the Doctor knowing that something is up with his companion and Charley still not being able to reveal how she had recently been travelling with the Eighth Doctor. I still can't wait to find out why the Doctor didn't recognise Charley when he first encountered in Storm Warning, but we're taking baby steps. I have been wanting to get to this audio for such a long time now purely because of its title! Now, The Krotons is a good story, but it's far from being one for the ages. However, I just love that the Krotons make a comeback because they're an interesting enemy and any monsters coming back from the black and white era is something I'm a sucker for. I love the nostalgia associated with it. I wasn't expecting the connections with The Ark in Space and how this was set during the age of solar flares with humanity going its separate ways from Earth. The Doctor's mention of the Nerva ark was terrific and I liked how that resonated with those he encountered here on Onyakis. The adventure was really strong from start to finish. Cobden served as a fantastic villain before the Krotons emerged and his murder attempt with the demolition was brilliant. I felt that should have saw the story split in two as that would have made a superb cliffhanger. The rumours of the K-7 having a connection with a crystalline life form was magnificent and even though the title gives away their return, this was the clear moment where the presence of the Krotons was confirmed. Cobden being obsessed with the headset that was the Kroton teaching machine was very good and I liked the similarities it had with the machines used in the Second Doctor tale to test intelligence. The Doctor feeling a sense of familiarity regarding what was going on was good and I was glad that it didn't drag out longer than it needed to. These Krotons being more advanced than those the Doctor had previously met was a good way to go and I liked that they referred to some of humanity as high brains. Romilly was a wonderful character and his death was a very emotional fall as he fell victim to the flood by falling. Charley's reaction was devastating, but his return as literally being a Kroton was a very surprising and heartfelt moment. The threat of dispersal was great and harkened back to the first appearance of the Krotons. I was really impressed with how fearful the Krotons were made out to be and the Doctor wanting to surrender spoke volumes. It was a powerful moment that I really enjoyed. The desperation of Romilly in his Kroton form was quite difficult to listen to because he really wanted to destroy the Krotons. That was all he wanted. His efforts of putting out into the sense of Charley, the Doctor and co for a programme to send expand a crystalline bubble and set Onyakis en route into its sun. I thought that was excellent, but then Romilly and another Kroton destroyed each other which allowed for the Doctor to present that catastrophe and temporarily save the non-Krotons on the planet. That just left the imminent threat of suffocation! With the Doctor and Charley separated, the latter suggesting that the former should leave her as he was in close proximity with the TARDIS was intriguing because her comment about them never meaning to be together anyway came back to bite her. The Doctor's plan soon came into action though and I liked how it was revealed soon after the Krotons were actually defeated. It seemed to involve fizzy nostrils! That was quite funny. It was actually the result of hypoxia and the Doctor expanding the atmosphere generators to increase the pressure and filter out the oxygen. The human body produced euphoria at this stage and instead of the high intelligence the Krotons required, humanity became silly and that was enough to see off the Krotons. I thought that was brilliant. Charley's dazed reference to Absolution and the fate that befell C'rizz was very interesting, but she once again delayed in her explaining. The Doctor continues to push and it seems that The Raincloud Man will start in a cafe. Overall, an excellent audio adventure!

Rating: 9/10

The Astrea Conspiracy

"She had been called upon as a spy."

Writer: Lizbeth Myles
Format: Audio
Released: February 2019
Series: Short Trips 9.02

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor

Synopsis

The conspirators sit in Antwerp, plotting to kill King Charles the Second. Aphra Behn's mission is simple: get former lover William Scot to turn against his treasonous comrades. But her money is running out and the complications don't stop there. A strange Scottish man arrives at her inn with troubling news.

William Scot is out and the Doctor is in.

Verdict

The Astrea Conspiracy was an average little audio that didn't seem to do too much to excite me as a listener, whilst also not really doing a huge amount wrong. It was a bit of a weird one in all honesty and the best way I can try and describe it is just that it won't be a memorable one. The concept was intriguing with Aphra being on a spy mission for King Charles II. I thought the setting could have been used well, but I am not sure it was a good fit for the Short Trips format. With just one actress and not a lot else going on when it comes to sound and visuals, a more modern or at least familiar setting works better in my opinion. Maybe that's just for my personal enjoyment, who knows? I wasn't a big fan of the use of the Astrea alias and whilst I am not overly familiar with this period of history – in fact I actively avoided during my Bachelors and Masters Degrees in History – this might have been true to history and in that case it's fine. I just wouldn't have named the story after it as it didn't seem to serve too much of an important purpose to the adventure as a whole. I thought Neve McIntosh did a pretty good job in narrating the story and being Scottish she was obviously able to take on some of the mannerisms of Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor which was beneficial. However, I wasn't a huge fan of the way the Twelfth Doctor was written in this audio. There was the customary mention of the eyebrows when it comes to his description and that's gotten so tiresome in stories with this incarnation that I think I've just overlooked it. I really enjoyed the concept of the whole of English literature being at stake and that could have been incredibly exciting. Instead of things stemming back to the setting of this story, I think a kind of bounce-around with different authors throughout history would have been magnificent. Alas, it wasn't to be. The paradox created by the Doctor was intriguing and I liked Aphra's reaction when the differently clothed version from earlier in his personal timeline appeared. More should have been made of the earlier version not understanding how Aphra could have met him. The Doctor giving up Aphra's true identity as an English spy was an unexpected move but I did really enjoy her dumbfounded reaction when he was then trying to help her escape from the prison cell. He was the one that got her in there so why was he trying to now get her out? Things definitely did get a little confusing, but that's part and parcel when it comes to stories involving a paradox. Especially one that the Doctor created himself! I wasn't entirely convinced that everything was neatly wrapped up in this story and I would have liked a stronger connection between Aphra's relationship with William Scot and the whole of English literature being at stake. The Doctor taking the role of being the one that betrayed Aphra was good, but even for this incarnation I thought his heartlessness at the end was very much out of character. Aphra would be in debtor's prison now and in the 17th century that's not where you want to be. I didn't like that he didn't show remorse. Overall, a decent little outing but it needed a bit more oomph.

Rating: 6/10

A Gamble with Time

"I've seen the future."

Writer: Steve Lyons
Format: Short Story
Released: February 2016
Printed in: The Legends of River Song 03

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, River Song

Synopsis

"Hello, sweetie!"

Melody Pond, Melody Malone, River Song... She has had many names. Whoever she really is, this archaeologist and time traveller has had more adventures (and got into more trouble) than most people in the universe.

And she's written a lot of it down. Well, when you're married to a Time Lord (or possibly not), you have to keep track of what you did and when. Especially as it may not actually have happened to both of you yet.

These are just a few of River Song's exploits, extracted from her journals. Sometimes, she is with the Doctor. Sometimes she's on her own. But wherever and whenever she may be, she is never far from danger and excitement.

This is just a tiny portion of her impossible life. But it will reveal more than you've ever known about the legend that is River Song.

Verdict

A Gamble with Time was an excellent continuation of The Legends of River Song! I really enjoyed this adventure from start to finish and the 44 pages just seemed to fly by. It was an easy read and perfectly suited to one sitting with its pace and excitement. The pairing of the Eleventh Doctor and River Song rarely fails and this was another wonderful example of their time together. I was quite intrigued that things were relatively early on for the Doctor as for him, this story pre-dated the events of The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon and everything that went down at Lake Silencio. We haven't had a huge amount of encounters between the Doctor and River prior to that so it was good to get an addition there. I'm a huge fan of stories that play around with time and as its title suggests, this one did exactly that. The Doctor's coming to Stormcage to enlist River for what was dubbed a simple, but turned out to be extremely complicated, mission of essentially babysitting Martin Flint after he was thrown back in time by eight to ten hours thanks to a whirling storm that opened up access to the Time Vortex itself. Things got complicated in a good way then with all the timey-wimey stuff that was happening. It was a lot of fun and I thought the format of having the entire be told from River's perspective as an entry into her diary was brilliant. It worked tremendously well and I have to credit Steve Lyons for some highly skilled characterisation if the River Song character. Magnificent stuff. River rushing to try and prevent Martin Flint from meeting his future self was a lot of fun and her only answer was to plant a snog on the slightly older version who had gone through the time storm. He didn't seem to be complaining too much in some comical moments where River hoped her knowing that he was single was a rhetorical question. The emergence of 'Mr Smith' into the story was intriguing and I had hoped that a different name could be used purely for originality. However, the Doctor's enjoyment at meeting someone else going by that alias made up for that immediately. Even though he didn't appear in much of the adventure, the characterisation of Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor was also fantastic. Gharjhax turned out to be the giant, green slug behind the Mr Smith disguise and his distaste for Time Agents was very good indeed. He didn't seem the brightest bulb in the room though when it came to identifying them as neither River nor the Doctor were working for any time agencies. The race against time after the house scuffle to get the younger Martin Flint to his interview on time was terrific and I liked the dangers that came with the fact that he was late. The memories of the older Martin not concurring with what was happening was very interesting and his fate was soon sealed in quite saddening circumstances. It was known that the Doctor and Gharjhax would get into some sort of altercation at the back of Flint's interview site and with the Doctor on the brink of death, the older Flint was encouraged by River to go and save him as the only thing that was fixed was that Martin Flint saved the Doctor and ended up in the time storm. It didn't specify which version though. He would end up in a time loop which was a little sad and just a bit unfair after his efforts, but he had given his slightly younger self the edge by placing a sneaky bet and earning £20,000. Not too shabby! I thought the use of the hallucinogenic lipstick to warn the Doctor was marvellous and the summary of events to finish off the adventure and diary entry was very beneficial. That worked really well. As a whole, a really great short story!

Rating: 9/10

The Beast of Orlok

"The Beast of Orlok is a myth. A silly story. It doesn't exist."

Writer: Barnaby Edwards
Forward: Audio
Released: May 2009
Series: EDA 3.03

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Lucie

Synopsis

With fans like splinters, claws like knives, the Beast of Orlok gobbles lives.
With brimstone breath and eyes aglow, he'll eat your soul - to Hell you'll go!

Germany, 1827. The town of Orlok is under a curse, haunted by the memory of a spate of grisly murders that shattered the community twenty years before. At the time, townsfolk blamed the legendary Beast of Orlok, a nightmarish creature from medieval folklore.

And now, it seems, the Beast has returned. As the killings begin again, the people of Orlok are understandably suspicious of two strangers newly arrived in their midst. The Doctor and Lucie must face their darkest fears as they find themselves plunged into a decidedly grim fairytale.

Verdict

The Beast of Orlok was another very good story to continue along the third series of the Eighth Doctor Adventures very nicely! I am very much enjoying getting things back to normal after the events of the series two finale and what happened in Orbis as it's just lovely to have the relationship of the Eighth Doctor and Lucie back to normal. They really are a fantastic pairing and they work so well together. The setting of 1827 in Germany worked very well and I loved the humour that came with the Doctor establishing the setting when he and Lucie met up with Hans at the site of a destroyed carriage. Before we got to that, the opening scene with Teufel and him being confronted about mysterious deaths returning to Castle Orlok as soon as he returned after a 20 year absence was very interesting and foreshadowed all we needed to know about the man. Of course, it would turn out that he was actually General Zoff who had taken on the persona of Teufel. The Doctor, Lucie and Hans made a very good trio and I liked how they were thrown in jail as suspects for the crash site that they were in attendance at. Otto made a good jailer but he seemed to disappear from the story relatively early. Teufel claiming to have no memory of his life prior to the day of the story's setting was an interesting development, but the Doctor was having none of it and worked out everything forcing the man to reveal his true self. He had actually orchestrated the attack and the true Teufel had conducted gross and gruesome experiments on humanity that required fresh bodies and resulted in some awful remains being scattered about. Therefore, the Beast of Orlok was brought back to life as a way to cover up the truth. I thought the tale of the Beast was great and definitely fitted in well with the era and country of setting. It just seemed a little German which I realise is a tad odd to say. Teufel knowing that the Doctor was a Time Lord was a very unexpected moment and I think it made me sit up a little on my sofa during lunch break! One element of the story that I enjoyed very much was the dramatic music which is something I very rarely mention, particularly in an audio format. It fitted in wonderfully well with the atmosphere of the story which was a big positive. The Doctor being described as a meddling space policeman was pretty much a perfect description that made me smile a lot. I thought the cliffhanger with the Doctor nearly being turned into tarmac was nothing more than okay and I think it would have been beneficial to have visuals. Nothing much was made in terms of impact when it came to Frau, the mother of Hans, saving the Doctor. Her narrative of how she blinded Teufel was an interesting story, but from there things didn't seem to advance naturally. I liked that Zoff was after some biological devices and wanted them even before because to him, the Doctor's presence meant that the Time Lords wanted them too. Frau claiming knowledge of what he was after didn't seem right, but then we were told her intriguing tale of the star children that turned out to be Hans and Greta. That was rather interesting and a little more probably should have been made of that. Lucie and Hans having their own subplot and the former nearly drowning was good action, but it somehow never felt overly important which was rather strange. The emergence of the Golum was intriguing and its concept was excellent! It was an outlawed artificial life form that was the best soldier in the universe. It never gave up, its makeup was indestructible and it always obeyed with orders unable to be countermanded. Pretty unbeatable! Again though, it probably should have come a bit earlier in the story for a longer effect. The Doctor would use its nature to defeat it and send Zoff packing, but it nearly cost him his life. Thankfully, Lucie enacted the LTD (Locate the Doctor, as far as she was concerned) to take the TARDIS right to him for rescue. I thought that was a lovely ending and it was delightful to have the pair enjoying each other's company. Overall, a very good audio adventure!

Rating: 8/10

The Word Lord

"You literally can't get away with murder here."

Writer: Steven Hall
Format: Audio
Released: November 2008
Series: Main Range 115d

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace, Hex

Synopsis

In a top secret military bunker deep beneath the Antarctic ice a mysterious death threatens peace negotiations and could spell disaster for the inhabitants of Earth. Can the Doctor cross the t's and dot the i's? Or will his efforts get lost in translation?

Verdict

The Word Lord was a fantastic conclusion to the Forty Five audio anthology celebrating Doctor Who's 45th anniversary! This set has certainly finished on a high point and was definitely a great collection as a whole. I was probably a little disappointed that there weren't any familiar elements making a return unexpectedly as part of the milestone celebrations as that seems to take away from the fact that it was an anniversary release. It sadly didn't really feel special, but don't let that take away from this outstanding adventure! This was a superb story and whilst the element of the '45' seemed a bit forced in parts and was probably my only main complaint. Having a setting of 2045 is absolutely fine, but the likelihood of a system wipe occurring every 45 hours just didn't seem logical and didn't really fit any kind of pattern. I thought it would have been fun to further explore the Second Cold War setting, but time was against us here and that was probably why more wasn't made of that. I'd love for a future story to occur in this time period where the prospect of nuclear war was on the horizon. That could be a very tense tale! This one followed the first two stories in the collection slightly in seeming a bit rushed and you could particularly tell that with some of the actors and how quick they were speaking. That was a slight shame. Thankfully, the story itself was terrific and my enjoyment was all down to the concept behind the Word Lord. It was almost like the personification of elements seen in The Mind Robber and I loved the mysterious ending where it appeared that he did escape and will surely return for a full story in the future. The concept is just too good! I really loved the idea of a linguistic entity and the power that the Word Lord had in being able to take advantage of words becoming reality. His name being Nobody-No One obviously benefitted things in a unique and subtly clever way. It even enabled him access to the TARDIS which surprised Ace in a big way! Hex didn't have a massive amount to do in this particular audio, but when the story was barely half an hour that isn't so much of an issue. I was a little surprised to find that the Word Lord was after a bounty on the Doctor's head given the power he would be able to utilise by having words at his disposal, but I do think it could be a lot of fun to play around with different beings coming for the price that was on offer for the Doctor. The Word Lord wanting to see the look and lights on the stalk of the Dalek Supreme when he brought it the Dalek was very amusing. The Cybermen also had a price, but that didn't quite seem as good as the Daleks. The ending was very good and of particular interest as it was just brilliant to get the TARDIS translation circuit to be a prominent element of a story and the resolution. Hex was able to just switch it off with the Doctor's instructions and that set the Word Lord into disarray as his power was lost in translation after coming from 45 billion universes to the side and found solace in an instruction manual. However, he escaped with the power of words from an unbeknownst sayer. Overall, a fine audio adventure to finish the anthology!

Rating: 9/10

Casualties of War

"Secrets. Everyone's got them."

Writer: Mark Michalowski
Format: Audio
Released: November 2008
Series: Main Range 115c

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace, Hex

Synopsis

Opportunity knocks in postwar London. But when a tea leaf steals from the wrong woman it becomes a race against time to discover the truth. Only some truths are best left untold.

Verdict

Casualties of War was an excellent continuation of the Forty Five audio anthology celebrating Doctor Who's 45th anniversary! I have to admit that for an anniversary celebration, this collection doesn't really feel special in ways the likes of The Three Doctors or The Day of the Doctor did for anniversary celebrations, but there is still one more story to go so who knows what may be thrown up in that one. Regardless, this was a fantastic story and definitely the best of the set so far. I really liked how we were taken back to VE Day in May 1945 with the Doctor on the tail of some alien technology that had no place being there. I loved the continuity in having the Forge be part of the adventure without actually appearing as it was just their transportation that had been ambushed enabling Joey Carlisle to run off with the alien technology. That was a good premise in of itself, but then things were complicated further by the fact that the technology was right on the street that Ace would go onto grow up on! Ace getting to once again meet her mother a little older than when she did in The Curse of Fenric was excellent and it was very good to play on her emotional strings. The emotions of Hex were also played with when he was interrogated and his eyes seemed to tell that he wanted to be Ace's boyfriend. That's a very unique dynamic when it comes to mixed gender companions and spending all of that time together in high risk situations must provide some sort of sexual tension. It's only natural that Hex might feel that way! I'm very excited to explore their relationship further and to see if they ever will become more than just friends. Sylvester McCoy was terrific as the Seventh Doctor once again which is great to say. I was very impressed with the pace of this particular audio story as it didn't at all feel rushed which could not be said for the first two adventures in the collection. So that was absolutely a big positive. May was a really good character and I very much enjoyed her relationship with Ace, especially with the latter seeming to know a bit more about the family than she ought to. Miss Merchant was a brilliant villain and I loved her confrontation with Ace on the doorstep to the house her mother would soon grow up in. That was a fantastic standoff and showed Ace at her very best which was just magnificent. I really enjoyed her defensive and defiant attitude and it showed just how much she cared about her family, even if they wouldn't know who she was yet. Ace wanting to protect her image in the area she would one day be known in was quite humorous when it came to Hex wanting to take a lunge in the pub. She hadn't even been born yet so why did she care about her reputation! That was quite a humorous moment. The use of the truth bracelet throughout was really good and I liked that it turned out to be the key feature of alien tech in the audio. There was no need to try and overload things with other devices because there just would not have been sufficient time. This worked well. As a whole, a really good and enjoyable audio that flew by, even for it being quite short in nature!

Rating: 9/10

Order of Simplicity

"The doors of perception were flung wide open."

Writer: Nick Scovell
Format: Audio
Released: November 2008
Series: Main Range 115b

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace, Hex

Synopsis

Dr. Verryman has devoted his life to the advancement of knowledge. When his experiments on a remote planet threaten the entire human race only the Doctor can help – if he puts his mind to it.

Verdict

Order of Simplicity was a very good continuation of the Forty Five audio anthology to celebrate Doctor Who's 45th anniversary! This was definitely a bit of an improvement from the first story whilst also sharing the issue of probably being a victim of its own format. Had this been extended into a feature length adventure I think it would have made for an instant classic! Instead things seemed a bit rushed and while that was a little annoying, it made for quite a frantic pace which absolutely enhanced the excitement. I love it when the Doctor's curiosity gets the better of him and that was the case once again here with the code. I thought this was definitely one of Sylvester McCoy's best performances as the Seventh Doctor in a long time and he was definitely the highlight which isn't a common occurrence if the truth must be told. Ace and Hex had pretty decent outings in the companions roles, but they were definitely second fiddle to the Doctor this time around and sometimes that is just how it needs to be. Hex showing that he was quite scared of his surroundings was good whilst Ace continued to make boyish impressions which was very much in line with her character. I seemed to have a vibe similar to the recent airing of The Haunting of Villa Diodati when listening to this one as the setting seemed contained and that usually works well for me. Mrs Crisp was a creepy character whilst seeming to be very normal which was a strange but likeable balance in a character. Her reveal as being the Order of Simplicity was intriguing and I found that whole concept very interesting. It probably warranted more time to explore but time just didn't allow. She was here in a response to Dr. Verryman's experiments in trying to open the brain to enhance its intelligence. I loved the idea of human experimentation and tampering in a way that wasn't the Cybermen because it was a little unique which is always good. I didn't expect to find out that he was his own first subject but that definitely answered some questions about his personality. He was certainly a little mad and would soon regress to having an IQ of 45 once the code's viral effects took their toll. The idea of the code's solution making it airborne seemed like it wouldn't be defeated and with the Doctor infected and on some sort of mental breakdown, the likelihood only increased. The answers lying in the third bedroom on the third floor of the house was good and Hex finding two individuals who had reverted to an intelligence level of just IQ 45 was great and just so intriguing as they still had their memories and understood what had made them this way. I think it's slightly harsh for them to be credited as a 'Thing' in the cast list though! Mrs Crips's relationship and distain for Verryman was excellent and that really did show. She was undoubtedly committed to her cause and it was a shame that she perished in such quick but brutal fashion. The conclusion was very fast and seemed to be over in a flash which suited the rest of the audio's pace. The use of fire and linking it back to the very first big jump that humanity made was good and I also liked the humour at the end with the TARDIS having been left seaside with the tide now in. Overall, a great little audio adventure!

Rating: 8/10

False Gods

"You are heritage raiders!"

Writer: Mark Morris

Format: Audio

Released: November 2008

Series: Main Range 115a

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace, Hex

Synopsis

In the blistering heat of the Egyptian desert, Howard Carter and his team search for the lost tomb of Userhat, a servant of the god Amun. What they discover sheds new light on the history of the world as we know it. 

Verdict

False Gods was a pretty decent start to the Forty Five audio anthology to celebrate Doctor Who's 45th anniversary! This is certainly an interesting way to celebrate the milestone by having four mini stories featuring the Seventh Doctor, Ace and Hex. I'm surprised that they didn't go with a multiplicity of Doctors and companions, but it does allow for some good continuity and a rare chance to get four back to back adventures with this trio. I liked the concept of the audio very much, but it just seemed a bit rushed to be able to get a higher rating which was a shame. There have been far too many times where a Doctor Who story has ended up falling victim to its own format or timing. That's a real shame. I really liked the use of time distortion as that's always something fun to play with and it was just really nice to actually get a lengthy TARDIS scene with our trio of main characters. I'm really not sure when that last happened! The time and space machine landing in Egypt in 1902 provided a really good and intriguing setting, but we didn't get a huge opportunity to explore it which was a little bit of a shame. What we did have though was a good historical figure in the character of Howard Carter. He is famous for discovering Tutankhamun's tomb some twenty years after this audio was set. Hex seemed inundated to be in the presence of such an important figure which was good dynamic to have on display. I loved that Benedict Cumberbatch was in a role as he's a great actor and I look forward to what I presume will be further appearances in the three remaining stories in the set. Hex continuing to hear different voices was terrific and I liked how he knew they shouldn't be dismissed as part of the time distortion as the Doctor wanted to infer. Ace and Jane ending up going forward in time as a result of all the time dislocation that was in place around them was very interesting as they were propelled to a time where the ozone layer no longer provided protection from the sun. Now that is a scary thought! I wasn't too sure how blankets were going to save them, but before that could be taken a further a TARDIS arrived! I really didn't expect it to be Jane's and finding out that she was in fact a Time Lord who had come to Earth centuries ago as part of a field trip for a module at the Academy was excellent. I was a big fan of that, but it was all done too quickly! Her and Antak had been hit by a time spike and ended up crashing to Earth in the Ancient times, becoming revered as gods as their arrival to the planet was witnessed. Antak became Amun and she became Thoth, a name Hex had heard already in the TARDIS. Jane needing to find the TARDIS was good and it had been disguised as a Shabtai figure through the chameleon circuit. Imagine trying to find a TARDIS for all that time without knowing what form it had disguised itself as! Impossible. The tomb breaking down as Antak was calling to them was again intriguing and the only way out was for Jane to kill her TARDIS. That involved piloting it directly into a star with the Doctor then materialising his TARDIS inside of hers to save her. He would then take her back to Gallifrey to answer for what she'd been doing all of this time. It seemed a fair compromise to set everything right. But time distortion provided trouble again inside the TARDIS with Jane thrown back through time and Ace commanding Hex to materialise them elsewhere. Jane was gone, but after some good reflection from Carter her being Thoth made a great deal of sense now. The Doctor would tell her story. One that was her destiny. Overall, a decent tale with a fantastic concept but it just needed some more time! 

Rating: 7/10

State of Change

"The Romans have been learning how to build an atomic bomb!"

Writer: Christopher Bulis

Format: Novel

Released: December 1994

Series: The Missing Adventures 05

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Peri

Synopsis

"In less than 25 years the Romans have invented electricity generation, airships, radio and who knows what else. Is that reasonable?"

Ancient Egypt, 41 BC. The Doctor and Peri watch as Cleopatra's pleasure barge glides up the Nile in preparation for her fateful meeting with Mark Antony. And an alien presence observes the TARDIS, waits for it to dematerialise, then pounces. 

When the time ship lands, the Doctor and Peri find themselves in Ancient Rome, in the tomb of Cleopatra. But something is very wrong. The tomb walls depict steam-driven galleys and other disturbing anachronisms. The Roman Empire is preparing for a devastating war – using weapons from the future capable of destroying the entire world.

Verdict

State of Change was a very good novel and served as a great addition to the tales of the Sixth Doctor and Peri. Any novel featuring the pair just seems to be perfect to fit between Revelation of the Daleks and The Trial of a Time Lord as there is so much room there and this filled in well whilst looking back on a few episodes in their first televised series together. The connections with Vengeance on Varos were not a huge surprise given the appearance of Peri on the book's front cover, but the idea of reverting back to a past incarnation if you like was fantastic. It worked well with Peri in how the mental impact that the transformation on Varos had on her was so powerful that it was what she reverted to without the protection of the TARDIS from the energy flux tube that sent things into turmoil. The Doctor though reverted back to his fifth incarnation in an outstanding chapter cliffhanger relatively early on. I really did think that was magnificent and really peaked my interest after a slightly slow and muddled start. The idea of Ancient Rome as a setting worked terrifically and was very well suited to a Doctor Who adventure, but then throw in that the Romans have modern technology because of a mysterious Oracle and you have the makings of a very enjoyable read. Finding out that the Oracle was actually an exact copy of the Doctor's TARDIS console was definitely a good surprise as I really didn't expect that to be the giver of future knowledge to Roman society. It definitely made sense though! The Doctor's reaction was very good. I thought the characterisation of Colin Baker's Sixth Doctor was brilliant throughout the book and they did a very good job of capturing his relationship with Peri. That was definitely a strong point of the novel for sue. Finding out how things had got copied, including the entire setting, was very intriguing and certainly a point of fascination. I thought the return of the Rani was handled pretty well and I love that she returned chronologically in a story prior to Time and the Rani. The description of how she escaped the clutches of the Master and her TARDIS was very good and I'm glad that it was addressed rather than have her apparent demise dismissed. Her taking on the persona of Cleopatra Selene was very good and I loved the moment where the Doctor named her and revealed the culprit behind all that was going on. In fact, she hadn't actually concocted everything that was going, but more so had taken advantage. The prologue featuring her, along with a number of intermittent paragraphs, whilst nameless worked well and probably should have continued more frequently given that the Rani's reveal came after page 200. That's a long time to wait for the identity of your villain! The Doctor's planned fight with Gandos was terrific and the battle itself was actually great. I loved how confident he was and being able to utilise his surroundings and let the personality of his third incarnation take over was wonderful, even if it didn't make a huge amount of sense. It was a lot of fun to play with. Peri undergoing the transformation she endured on Varos was intriguing, but this time she was in control and was able to utilise her abilities. She was getting a bit too comfortable in feathers and wings and having Peri actually fly to save the Doctor as he retro-regenerated back to his first incarnation was just incredible. Getting a brief moment with what was technically the First Doctor and Peri was delightful. The shining character in the book was without doubt Ptolemy as he was just pretty marvellous. His shock at finding out what had happened to his world was good and he seemed to accept quite easily all that happened. The politics that was on show throughout between the triumvirate of him, Cleopatra and Alexander was excellent and the latter stages of the novel focusing on getting Ptolemy the support of the people to gain power was terrific. I really did enjoy that and the pacing of him getting the support required worked very well. I was a big fan of that aspect of the book. The conclusion itself could have probably been a tad clearer, but the fate of the Rani after being ousted by the Doctor was decent whilst being both final and ambiguous. Iam was a good character and it was nice for the Doctor to be able to let it know that instead of adhering to the Rani's wishes and maintaining the copy world here, he could build them there own world where he could then go and never be alone. That was a nice thought. As a whole, this was a very enjoyable read and definitely managed to take my mind off troubling times. Overall, a great book!

Rating: 8/10

The Last Party on Earth

"Did you all just say the world is going to end?"

Writer: Matt Fitton

Format: Audio

Released: September 2019

Series: Rose Tyler: The Dimension Canon 04

Featuring: Rose, Jackie

Synopsis

Rose and Jackie visit a home very close to the one they left behind. But some old friends are missing, and some are unexpectedly present... Rose meets two young men she knows should be together – it can sometimes take the end of the world to see what's right in front of you. 

Meanwhile, the Powell Estate faces Armageddon in the only way it can – by throwing a party. 

Verdict

The Last Party on Earth was a bit of an average way to conclude what was a very strong first series of The Dimension Canon to serve as the opener for a Rose Tyler spinoff series. I really was expecting big things from the finale of the series, but it sadly didn't end up paying off in the way I had hoped for. I was glad that Rose and Jackie got a story together as lead characters and it definitely has been refreshing that Rose has had a different familiar character with her in the lead role for each story in the boxset. However, this one felt far too much like a soap opera despite the circumstances that had occurred in this reality. The audio was very much centred on the Powell Estate which worked well given that it was Rose and Jackie starring and it was nice to explore how things were familiar. It felt like home, but there were little twitches that made the differences. Jackie meeting Odessa was pretty good and I liked that she was the equivalent of what would be Mickey's mum. Jackie knew her universe's version well so it must have been quite strange for her to meet a familiar woman who didn't recognise her at all. Rose had quickly deduced that there were no similarities to events that had occurred in Rose or The Christmas Invasion so she was quick to wanting to leave the universe as they wouldn't be finding the Doctor here. I liked that because that's exactly how things should have been on every visit to each different universe. I wasn't really sure why they stayed and it was quite annoying that they did because there was no end goal for the story to head towards. It was intriguing to explore a universe where Earth only had eight days left before being destroyed by an asteroid, but it just didn't seem necessary. Mook and Patrice's relationship was a bit forced into the narrative, at least that's what it seemed like to me. I did very much get intrigued by the fact that once the fate of Earth had been announced, things had died down after an initial craze. I can't really begin to imagine what I'd start doing tomorrow if it was announced that the world was ending. It was a nice thought to know that time had become priceless and that everyone was now on an equal footing with just over a week until oblivion came. Roni was a good character and I liked his interaction with Rose a lot. They had a very good relationship. Rose not being believed in the chemist when she revealed that she was actually from a parallel world was good and it was funny that it was thought her story was how she was dealign with the end of the world. The development of Odessa and Jackie's relationship was pretty good and I liked how the former questioned some of the latter's knowledge, even when it came to the way her door had to close because it stuck. Little things like that worked pretty well. I think it's a big shame that Mickey didn't appear as he would have been perfect fitting into the episode. Finding out that Patrice was a criminal didn't really offer much to the story in my eyes and I just didn't care that much about him at all. Mook pouring out his emotion at the end to his grandad seemed forced and again, just not relevant to the overall series. The way the story ended seemed a bit anticlimactic given that there was no kind of lead into Partners in Crime or Turn Left with Rose finally finding her way back to the Doctor's universe. We just had Rose and Jackie depart and proclaim that they'd keep on looking. I like that it sets things up for a potential second series, but I think it should have had a deeper tie with the televised series. Overall, not the best but not the worst. An average end to the series. 

Rating: 6/10

Ghost Machines

"There's love after death."

Writer: AK Benedict
Format: Audio
Released: September 2019
Series: Rose Tyler: The Dimension Canon 03

Featuring: Rose, Pete

Synopsis

Pete decides it's time he accompanied Rose on one of her dimension jumps. But he couldn't have picked a worse time. They arrive in a world where technology took an extraordinary path, and where the recently deceased Pete Tyler had a very different kind of success.

As machines start to break down, Pete meets his widow, and he and Rose must confront truths about their 'family'. But they may not escape this Earth alive.

Verdict

Ghost Machines was another very good audio adventure to continue Rose Tyler's The Dimension Canon spinoff series! This one made things take a dark turn as we went into a parallel universe where things took a harrowing turn. It started off with Pete getting killed whilst on the phone to Jackie which was quite tough to listen to as I can't imagine how she must have felt hearing her husband get hit in similar circumstances to what occurred in Father's Day. The parallels there were excellent and it was good for Rose to look back on those events when she found out what had happened to this universe's version of her father. Pete continued to be an inventor in this universe and he was on a pretty large billboard promoting his SoulTech company. The concept of that was intriguing and at first I initially thought the spelling was SolTech meaning the planet. The truth was a whole lot worse. No wonder there was considerable graffiti going around displaying 'Let them go.' The idea of an anti-progress group of people was good and I liked how things were subtly fed to us regarding the truth of who exactly needed letting go. Arriving at Castle Tyler was very good and once Jackie was introduced into the episode, I was very surprised to find that she knew all about other universes and that they were dying. She'd heard so from the Elders which was very interesting, but the idea of a Centre for Parallel Worlds where you could and watch what was happening in different realities or universes was incredible. I loved that a lot and I think it could be fun to explore that further. Jackie pretending to know about the Doctor so Rose and the alternate version of her dead husband wouldn't shoot off back to where they came from. That was a little obvious, but it did work well when Rose discovered that was the truth. Jackie talking about the ritual her and the mysterious Wallace did to summon the Doctor was intriguing and I found it quite funny that the ritual was afternoon tea. I am still not sure if I was laughing for the right reasons. When it was revealed and confirmed that the technology behind SoulTech somehow involved taking the dead and putting them to technological use I was quite stunned despite it being quite easy to predict after all of the signs throughout the story. The kettle scream was honestly very difficult to listen to and I just can't imagine what it would be like for a life in technology after death. No wonder people wanted letting go when they were forced into literally driving taxis or being kitchen appliances. It was awful to think about. Discovering that Wallace was behind the death of Pete was hardly surprising and his plan to keep Pete's consciousness to put him into his own technology was very good. He'd manipulated the system into getting people to sign up for SoulTech and despite everything, Rose couldn't stay detached from this universe's version of her mother. Pete getting the chance to join Rose in what I guess would be the companion role was magnificent and allowed him to shine with Clive left behind on Pete's World and being able to hack into Wallace's system to bring it down. It really was a stunning concept that was harrowing and in some parts actually quite difficult to listen to, but it made for great Doctor Who and was good in showcasing the differences of parallel universes. Overall, a very good audio!

Rating: 8/10