A Big Hand for the Doctor

"I don't laugh. I don't play games. I have a serious mission."

Writer: Eoin Colfer

Format: Novella

Released: November 2014

Series: 12 Doctors, 12 Stories: 01

Featuring: First Doctor, Susan

Synopsis 

The First Doctor is in persist of a hang of cut-throat Soul Pirates in Victorian London. Missing both his left hand and his beloved granddaughter, Susan, his quest to retrieve them promises a journey into a land he may never forget...

Verdict 

A Big Hand for the Doctor was an excellent little novella! A really excellent short story. I like to think of this little series of eBooks, a set I was lucky enough to be given for Christmas in the superb postcard edition, as quick Quick Reads if that makes sense. They're obviously considerably smaller than the Quick Reads, a range which is rather self explanatory but the length was actually pretty much perfect for the story to my surprise. I tend to be rather fussy when it comes to length of stories, particularly comic strips and those printed in the Annuals, but this worked a peach. I loved reading a story set before An Unearthly Child as it allows us to see what the Doctor and Susan got up to after leaving Gallifrey before meeting Ian and Barbara at Coal Hill School. The opening chapter was very good and I loved the conversation between the Doctor and Aldridge. It's intriguing seeing regeneration, Time Lords and Gallifrey not only mentioned but talked about by the First Doctor himself. It almost seems wrong but that rarity makes it all the more better I feel. The fact that the Doctor had a bionic hand for much of the story was quite a surprise but I did love his haggling in trying to get his new, five-fingered, hybridised hand cheaper. I liked how Aldridge's currency wasn't really currency at all. He wanted the Doctor's services and to the Doctor, especially this incarnation, I imagine that's quite a hefty price! This story and that reaction highlighted to me that the Doctor who appeared in The Infinity Doctors just can't be the First Doctor. I'm not sure who I had in mind when reading that novel but it most certainly was not William Hartnell's incarnation, not even a much younger version. The Doctor's love for Susan was sublime in this story and we really do get to see a softer side to the often grumpy incarnation of the Doctor. He really does love Susan incredibly, and perhaps a reason for that is what I implied had happened to her mother, which in turn would be the Doctor's daughter. Susan claimed she'd found her when in the grip of the orange beam. Is she lost? Had the Doctor lost his daughter, or even all his family excluding Susan? Maybe that's why the Doctor reacted the way he did when he saw what appeared to be his mother in The End of Time. The fact that his mother had a small piece of dialogue in this story is rather incredible I think! Add that to the Doctor wishing he'd already regenerated into the one with the bow tie (not my words!) and there really is a lot to smile and be surprised about in this short piece of prose. The Soul Pirates were good enemies and I liked how they bore resemblance to what was going on in The Doctor's Wife with body parts and what have you being harvested. But there would be junkyard for these Pirates because they'd gotten their name from the fact they left absolutely nothing to waste. They harvested everything and anything and then some more. Their intellect being the way the Doctor defeated them was really good though, I always think of the First Doctor being the most witty and intelligent of the Doctors. Appearing to be the oldest but actually the youngest, it seems the Doctor got childish with age and regeneration. The somewhat subtle reference to the upcoming Second Doctor was great comedic value because we know Patrick Troughton's incarnation really didn't have any fashion sense. I was fascinated by the communicators the Doctor and Susan talked on and I think they could come in handy in some future stories. I really liked Colfer's style of writing, it was a nice break from the many Terrance Dicks' novels I seem to have been reading lately, and it was terrific seeing what the Doctor was thinking from time to time. His refusal to let the Soul Pirates take his granddaughter away was superb. I liked how he had made it his mission to track down the Pirates through time and space and eradicate them. He genuinely seemed to despise them. It won't belong until he meets an even more despicable race on the planet Skaro. The resolution was very clever with the Doctor linking his DNA to the explosion of the Pirates' ship destroying them and allowing the Doctor, Susan and the others being saved along the way a safe passage to ground. The story, obviously being set in the Classic era, had very much a revived series feel to it which actually I think helped. There's little to go on with the First Doctor, especially set before the very first episode, because his experience in seeing the universe was only beginning. However, this novel did a spectacular job of capturing Hartnell's Doctor and gave us a terrific plot with some wonderful references. Overall, fantastic! 

Rating: 9/10

The Family of Blood

"War comes to England... a year in advance."

Writer: Paul Cornell 

Format: TV

Broadcast: 2nd June 2007

Series: 3.09

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Martha

Synopsis 

1913, and war comes to England, a year in advance, as the terrifying Family hunt and close in on the Doctor.

Verdict 

The Family of Blood is an outstanding conclusion to the quite incredible story already started in Human Nature. Together combined as one story, it's easy to see why this adventure ranks as my favourite Tenth Doctor story and one of my favourites of all time. The resolution to the brilliant cliffhanger was great with Martha proving why she's an efficient companion as she quickly took control of the ounce of lost concentration by the Family as Timothy opened up the fob watch for just a second, giving the Family a sniff of the Time Lord. The tables were turned and Martha was holding one of the Family's own at gunpoint. Joan was soon released and Martha, wonderfully pointing out that scared and a gun in hand is a risky combination, fled to try and find the watch and bring the Doctor back. After an opening episode of relative calm, despite there being a Scarecrow army, this episode was where the action kicked off. A school of teenagers against an alien race looking to harvest a Time Lord for their continued survival. A mismatch, surely? Seeing the man we know as the Doctor lead an army of children into battle was quite a shock. Now we all know the Doctor destroyed his own planet and people in ending the Time War (well, after The Day of the Doctor that's actually no longer the case) but we never actually saw him do it and we've always doubted whether that could actually be true. The battle scenes with the intruding Scarecrows were very emotional with some incredible camera work capturing the frightened looks and the boys' faces. I liked the headmaster as a character in this story and it was intriguing how daunting the situation became when the school was deprived of their headmaster from the shot of the young girl Daughter of Mine had taken over. The Family simply being named as the familiar relations was a masterstroke I felt. It's so simple but it makes them all the more creepier which is just magnificent because they're scary enough as it is, and that's without the Scarecrow army! Timothy's subtle opening of the watch, giving the Family more of a taste for the Time Lord they desired, was great and I like how when faced with Daughter of Mine, he opened it directly at her to escape but that gave them the information they wanted. They now knew everything about the Doctor was contained within the watch. They no longer needed John Smith - it was just the watch they desired. Martha and Joan accompanying Smith into safety was good and it couldn't be more heartbreakingly obvious that the former was basically third wheeling. Martha proving her credentials as a medical doctor was excellent and I love how the very idea was frowned upon in 1913. The prophecy of the looming war being mentioned was superb and I like how Timothy's vision from the last episode came full circle and saved his and Hutchinson's lives. Martha being returned the watch from Timothy opened up some astounding dialogue and emotion, it really was something incredible. Martha was pleading and begging for John Smith to turn back into the Doctor, something that would effectively kill the persona. But amazingly, and something as the viewer we just couldn't allow or contemplate, he wanted to stay human and live his life with Joan Redfern. The imagery of the potential future he'd have was astounding with the man we see as the Tenth Doctor having children, getting married (something that would come later for this incarnation and the one following) and dying. The emotion in this episode really is something else. It appeared that Martha had failed to persuade John Smith to become the Doctor again as he went to the Family's ship with the watch and was stumbling everywhere knocking switches. However, the watch was empty and the Doctor was back. David Tennant's incredible performance as John Smith was over and he was back to being the terrific Tenth Doctor. He destroyed the Family's ship and after their efforts to harvest him, we'd see the no second chances Tenth Doctor from The Christmas Invasion. He gave the Family the immortality they wanted but in a way of torment. Son of Mine was a scarecrow, Daughter of Mine trapped in every mirror, Father of Mine stuck in unbreakable chains and Mother of Mine in the middle of a dwarf star. Not the immortality they'd sought after. Just when it seemed things were settled and the ruthless Family were dealt with and John Smith was no more, the Doctor went to Joan and the short conversation was incredibly powerful. He begged her to travel with him in the TARDIS, but she flat out refused. The Doctor wasn't John Smith. She believed he was braver than a Time Lord. He chose to die. The Doctor didn't change back and was shown the door by being heartbreakingly told about the deaths he had caused. The episode though did end on a happy note with Timothy saying goodbye to the TARDIS pair and then seeing him as a War veteran, still holding the watch. A lovely end to a quite astounding double episode, one that is my favourite of this incarnation of the Doctor. 

Rating: 10/10

Human Nature

"I need to stop being a Time Lord... I'm going to become human."

Writer: Paul Cornell

Format: TV

Broadcast: 26th May 2007

Series: 3.08

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Martha

Synopsis 

England 1913, and a schoolteacher called John Smith has strange dreams of adventures in time and space.

Verdict 

Human Nature is a sensational episode of Doctor Who and an outstanding 45 minutes of television drama, and the story is only just getting started! I just love everything about this episode (and the one that follows) from start to finish. We get a taste of something going wrong with the Doctor and Martha under attack from an unknown gang of aliens. We've never encountered them before but they're deadly and they want a Time Lord. But suddenly, the Doctor really is John Smith and a human school teacher with Martha as his maid. You'd think the scenes were some sort of dream but the TARDIS scenes were actually the dream! A quite incomprehensible concept. Could the Doctor's life really have been a dream? Obviously not, as more information was fed to us throughout the episode. But whilst we weren't quite sure what was going on, it really was fascinating seeing John Smith dreaming of being the Doctor. The depictions of the dreams were stunning with far too many flashbacks to mention! But they were all there. Adventures and faces of all incarnations of the Doctor we know and love, and even in human form the Doctor still didn't want to remember anything about the War incarnation of himself. Not even a murmur. The Journal of Impossible Things was an incredible collection of sketches and information and I really did admire the artwork! The reference to Rose being simply a character that disappears was quite sad I thought. Although I wouldn't say I'm her greatest fan, she deserves far more of a mention than that when it comes to the Doctor, especially this incarnation, because she's the companion the Doctor fell in love with. But now, John Smith fell in love with Nurse Redfern which made Martha absolutely heartbroken. I think she was just a companion too late! Had she worked in a shop where an Auton attack commenced then maybe she'd have been the one the Doctor would have fallen in love with. It was instantly noticeable that Martha could see where things were heading between the man she so unsubtly loved and the matron. 1913 was a tremendous setting and watching now, 101 years after the story is set, it's intriguing to see just how utterly unlike schools are nowadays. Imagine children learning how to fire a gun! It's almost unthinkable. But a century ago war was a common thing and there'd be a tremendously huge one waiting around the corner. The reference to John Smith's parents being called Sydney and Verity and was a stunning throwback to the creation of the series we're still loving today! Seeing the Doctor still have his skill with a cricket ball was great and I loved how his remarkableness was just increased. He wasn't even a Time Lord anymore but he was still absolutely brilliant. The Family's arrival was superb and I just adore everything about them. Their creepiness is uncanny and just sublime. Baines as Son of Mine is one of the best villains in Doctot Who history in my opinion. As if the story wasn't good enough, we get an absolutely excellent villainous character too! The whole Family though really are magnificent together and add that to their army of Scarecrow soldiers and you've got quite an alliance on your hands! I've recently managed to get my little six-year-old cousin into Doctor Who after he found himself watching Deep Breath with me earlier this year. He's since watched every Twelfth Doctor episode so I thought it was time for him to experience a new Doctor and what better than my all time favourite Tenth Doctor story that I've found myself on in my mini rewatch of Series Three. With the Doctor human it was difficult for him to make a judgement on the Tenth Doctor himself but the reason I'm mentioning him is because of the impact the Scarecrows had on him. I never thought of them as one of the scariest monsters to appear in Doctor Who but watching him react to them was just magnificent from my perspective. I'll never get that feeling of watching a Tenth Doctor story for the first time and it was the look in his eyes that just made me smile so much. I've introduced the show to a brand new pair of eyes very close to me and that really makes me proud. I can't wait for him to watch more! The intrusion of the barn dance where John and Joan were having their first date was brilliant. Timothy had opened the fob watch which contained everything the Doctor was for just long enough so that the Family knew who they were after. One problem, the Doctor had changed his biological makeup using the chameleon arch, something I remember swinging about in Rise of the Cybermen, and had a perception filter on the fob watch. He genuinely didn't know who he really was. To him they were just echoes from dreams. He'd need to remember quickly though because the Family had his companion and his newfound lover at gunpoint. They'd both be killed if he didn't change back to being a Time Lord. Just one problem - he had no idea how nor what the family were on about. After a story of beauty surrounding the Doctor as a human, things are going to get a whole lot nastier in the second episode! And that's where my final rating will appear. But even as just an opening half of a story, this really is one of my all time favourite episodes. 

Keepsake

"No false modesty! You saved my life, and now we must join forces to save another in peril!"

Writer: Simon Furman

Format: Comic Strip

Released: September 2011

Printed in: Doctor Who Classics: Volume 7

Featuring: Seventh Doctor

Synopsis 

The Doctor follows a distress signal to the planet Ryos, a waste dump. Here, he is chased into being unwillingly rescued by Keepsake and an unlikely and unhappy alliance is formed. 

Verdict 

Keepsake was a pretty good comic strip story but after the wonderfully brilliant Culture Shock I really did think DWM had finally found the direction they wanted to go in with the brand new Seventh Doctor taking up the pages. After getting rid of Frobisher in A Cold Day in Hell, something I think was now a mistake even if I'm not his biggest fan, we still haven't had the Doctor travelling with a companion! Well, we had Olla for one story but that didn't really end well now did it. You can get away with the Doctor not having a companion across many formats for a limited number of time, just look at the gap between series four and series five with the Tenth Doctor specials. They were hugely successful with the Doctor alone and that might be because of the looming return of the Master and regeneration of the Doctor, but even in each adventure there was a lite companion. Not having a companion in comic strips, especially ones at lengths such as this, is really hurting things and it's also taking away some of the Doctor's brilliance. We don't really get to see scenes in the TARDIS interior anymore because without a companion there is no need. The Deadly Assassin worked so well for the Fourth Doctor to be without company because it was a Gallifreyan story. But here, in a random visit answering a distress call, it hurt a lot and I think it's the main reason why my rating is perhaps not as high as it should and could have been. The depiction of Ryos was very good and the colourisation really added to the image of it being a waste and dumping ground of a planet. I really don't think I'd have captured that in my mind had the story been printed in black and white as it originally was. I think that's where I'm overjoyed by IDW for publishing these updated Classic DWM comics! Also a big thanks to Forbidden Planet for importing them into the UK allowing me to purchase! The story itself was decent with the Doctor being chased by the Ryos natives, what he had done goodness knows! The Doctor really could be dangerous if he was travelling alone! No restrictions and nobody to tell him how ludicrous some of his antics and suggestions are. A worrying thought. Although despite the image, I would argue that the Seventh Doctor is the most sensible incarnation since the First! That's an intriguing thought seeing that Sylvester McCoy pushes Patrick Troughton and Tom Baker to being the most goofy and comical Doctor. The hitchhike scenes were quite comical and I loved how the Doctor took the quick take off, an action trying to avoid the Doctor travelling aboard, as quick thinking and good help. That was the highlight I felt. I really liked how the Doctor took the initiative and demanded, in a subtly kind manner, that Keepsake (I think that's what the man was called, it wasn't clear whether that was the name of him or the ship!) would help to cure the distress of whoever the medic was that sent it. I didn't like the sudden ending with Keepsake somehow the hero being kissed by a women with an incredible figure and some quite stunning assets. The Doctor saying how it was Keepsake who was the hero was intriguing but I don't see why the story couldn't have been two episodes and we could see what just went on! The references to the strange bird looking like a certain someone's wife were comical. Overall, a decent story but a sudden ending and lack of companion hurt things. 

Rating: 7/10 

Culture Shock

"The electric fog of our syntelligence is alive with the raw mathematics of fear."

Writer: Grant Morrison

Format: Comic Strip

Released: September 2011

Printed in: Doctor Who Classics: Volume 7

Featuring: Seventh Doctor

Synopsis 

The Seventh Doctor is pondering about going home to Gallifrey... for good. But when an internal nucleonic structure cries for help from an invading virus, the Doctor soon steps into action. 

Verdict 

Culture Shock was an unexpectedly brilliant little comic strip adventure! Since purchasing the IDW collection of original DWM comic stories updated with colour I've been a little hard to impress. Now, I'm not saying I've been disappointed in the slightest but in every graphic novel I've previously bought there's usually been at least one standout story by this point but I don't think I've had that yet sadly. However, with this little gem I think I've stumbled upon it! It was really intriguing from start to finish with the mystery behind the syntelligence. I was surprised by the Doctor's pondering over whether to return home to Gallifrey for good. In fact, it almost caught me off guard to be honest. During Sylvester McCoy's tenure as the Doctor things really distanced themselves from the Doctor being a Time Lord and going back to Gallifrey from time to time. I think the BBC really took a disliking to The Trial of a Time Lord! Just why I'm not so sure. I think this comic strip highlighted just how much the Doctor needs a companion for both his and the reader's benefit. He can't go on talking to the TARDIS like it's his companion now can he! Well, knowing the Doctor he probably can. It does seem though that he's really suffering from not having anybody around to talk to or explain something they don't understand. The idea behind the story was an extremely clever one with the thoughts of an internal nucleonic setup being telepathically transmitted! It was almost like an emergency SOS but from within an organism. The overbody references were terrific and I loved how from inside anything beyond the body was considered to be outer space! Genius. The Doctor picking up the cry for help was terrific and it gave him a kick of inspiration to continue seeing the universe. His conversation with the syntelligence was lovely and I really liked how he enjoyed the situation of a mass mind in a nucleus being petrified of the invading virus! He of course got the antidote and injected it and helped it on the way to the desired destination of the ocean. Their thoughts on the Doctor soon changed after they thought him to be an ignorant and inconsiderate alien whilst he fetched the antidote. Now he was a hero to the internal civilisation which I thought was very nice! The story itself was short, as is going to be the case with just one part, but for once I actually thought the length was perfect for the story really! Everything seemed to fit just about right. An excellent little adventure and I do hope the Doctor finds a companion sooner or later! 

Rating: 9/10

Claws of the Klathi

"How can you deny the evidence of your own eyes?"

Writer: Mike Collins 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: September 2011

Printed in: Doctor Who Classics: Volume 7

Featuring: Seventh Doctor

Synopsis 

The Doctor teams up with the Lunar Society to tackle the strange happenings of the Satan Twins in Victorian London.

Verdict 

Claws of the Klathi was an excellent little comic strip! I love the idea of the Doctor travelling alone in the TARDIS, goodness knows what kinds of mischief he'll get up to, and probably into as well! I liked how upon immediately arriving he was mistaken as the burglar of Nathanial but after it was confirmed he wasn't he soon found himself getting along nicely with the scientist (obviously it's going to be a good match there isn't it!) and was invited back to his quarters. I loved how the Lunar Society, supposedly the greatest human minds of their time, were baffled and bemused by terms such as 'laser' and 'robot'. Of course, it's understandable with the words not being needed hence the lack of invention of them but I still found it quite funny. The setting of 1851 was superb, you can't really go wrong with Victorian London can you! Just look at the success of the Paternoster Gang and all the stories they've appeared in, none seem to have been anything short of fantastic whether it's on screen in the likes of The Crimson Horror or in print in Silhouette. Their success, and that of Victorian London, was rewarded with a special DWM comic strip, The Crystal Throne, also which was very good. You couldn't go wrong really and with the Dickens mention at the start I thought we may have gotten a loose prequel to The Unquiet Dead but I'm probably glad that wasn't the case. The cliffhangers of each episode (if they can be called that in a comic strip) were excellent with the second one standing out more. Although the attack of the robot did provide a nice injection of action! The portrayal of the Seventh Doctor was good although I'm struggling to imagine the flow of things as Sylvester McCoy as easily I have done with the recent Twelfth Doctor comic stories. But I guess DWM, where this story was originally printed minus the colour, improves with age and experience. The story behind Caval was probably the highlight and you felt sorry for the obviously unintelligent guy being manipulated and used by the Satan Twins so they could depart the planet which would result in their ship causing the deaths of approximately ninety-thousand people. The climax was decent but nothing spectacular I felt, and it seemed to repeat itself. Though, nowhere near as much as in Last Christmas! Overall, a very good comic strip with a great plot and some terrific characterisation. 

Rating: 8/10

Last Christmas

"It's Christmas Day, it's the North Pole, and you're dying. Who are you going to call?"

Writer: Steven Moffat 

Format: TV 

Broadcast: 25th December 2014

Series: 2014 Christmas Special

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis 

Four crew members of an Ice Cap Solar Base - Ashley Carter, Bellows, Professor Albert and Shona - are under attack from the alien Kantrofarri. Fortunately for them, help is on the way. But desperate though their situation is, how willing will they be to accept one rescuer who arrives in a police box, and another who turns up on a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer?

Verdict 

Last Christmas was an interesting episode with a varying mixture of ups and downs. I still don't know why the Doctor Who Christmas Specials actually have to be about Christmas. The Runaway Bride and The Next Doctor didn't feel Christmassy but I thought there was a touch too much of the theme throughout the episode today. I mean, Santa actually appeared for crying out loud! I really didn't like how after interrupting the end credits of Death in Heaven, a story nicely referenced, nothing was made of Santa knocking on the TARDIS door. He was with his merry elves and reindeer which was just a step too far for me. I'm glad the appearance of Santa was kept to quite a minimal. I think had this episode not been a Christmas Special it would have worked spectacularly but with it being so it just felt a bit tacky at times. The base was a good setting and I really love the idea behind the Kantrofarri of them being blind and deaf but telepathically they could see what someone who was thinking about them could see. Now that's a creepy concept! Their appearance was pretty horrifying and their method of killing was frightening! They just casually smothered themselves around your face while they sucked your brain dry. Describing the dream state as a sense of anaesthetic was outstanding and possibly the high point of the story. At least you'd die happily in a situation you conjured up for yourself. I really wasn't too pleased to see Danny return in the dream. I mean, I thought he was dead already. Once a character is killed off, they should stay that way. Or at least be utilised successfully as with Adric in Time-Flight. I mentioned that the anaesthetic dream state may have been the highlight but I think that role has to go to the Doctor and Clara, or rather Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman. I thought they were outstanding together once more in this episode and highlighted just what a poor guest cast we had. I read in the recent Christmas edition of DWM that Steven Moffat always wanted to cast Michael Troughton in a role because of his obvious family connection but that's something I strongly disagree with. Actors should be hired on merit and I really wasn't overly impressed by Albert. It's not really a nasty thing to say that his death was his biggest highlight and contribution to the story as the Kantrofarri emerged from the visual sets. I do like the idea of dreams within dream - I really did like the idea of the story! - but the number of times the Doctor and co awoke from a dream only for it to be another dream was pushed too far I felt. It happened a few too many times. I know Moffat likes to confuse us but this was just beyond! Even at the climax with the Doctor going to Clara it was another dream! There was just no substance to things. Nick Frost did his best to distance his portrayal of Santa from what we'd consider traditional and I thought the elves of Ian and the Wolf provided some good comedy, even if they needlessly referenced racism a few times. Upon watching this episode I'm glad I'm only eighteen years old and not yet a parent as for any young fans I think some parents have got some extremely awkward questions to answer tonight! The episode affirmed to us that Santa was just a dream. A myth. A fairytale. Clara stopped believing at nine years old, I just hope my six year old cousin who I've converted into a big Who fan at an early age didn't question my auntie about the reality of Santa! The efforts of trying to confirm he was real were in vain I felt as for some young fans the idea of Santa not being real may have only hit after this episode. And I think that's a darn shame. Doctor Who was intended for children and to confirm Santa only exists in our dreams was awfully sad. However, I did like the Doctor taking command of situations assuring concentration of those around him, making sure they awoke from the dreams. Once everybody finally woke up, departing the sleigh one by one, I liked how it was Clara who was last to depart. I really thought she was going to leave as companion as an old women which I wouldn't have liked at all. The Doctor's comments about age not making a difference in how he sees his companions was beautiful though! I must admit, amid the speculation surrounding Jenna Coleman's status in the TARDIS, I punched the air when Clara accepted the second chance of going off with the Doctor. I think Series Nine will see a more happy relationship between the pair than we saw in 2014 as they really were delighted to be joining each other once more. After they both admitted they were lying, I think they both need each other now. I look very forward to The Magician's Apprentice but this Christmas Special was pretty good, but definitely the worst Christmas Special yet which is sad to say. It still gets a decent rating though!

Rating: 7/10

Doctor Who and the Mutants

"Their hands turned to claws, their spines grew curved and knobbly, and finally they changed into a creature that looked like a giant insect."

Writer: Terrance Dicks

Format: Novel

Released: September 1977

Series: Target 44

Featuring: Third Doctor, Jo

Synopsis 

A massive shape scuttled out of the darkness and strikes the earth Overlord down. It is a Mutant - a huge insectoid creature. It moves in a crouch, its back arched and scaly, with huge knobbly vertebrae. The controlling Overlord, the Marshal, has ordered all such Mutants killed instantly. 

What was happening to the people of Solos? Why are they gradually turning into Monsters? Hands that become claws, flesh that turns scale-like...

When Doctor Who meets the Marshal and Jaeger, he realises that all is not as it appears to be. The Marshal has a sinister plan to gain control of this planet, and Doctor Who must save Solos from this mad earthman, as well as save the Solonians themselves. 

Verdict 

Doctor Who and the Mutants was a very enjoyable, pleasant and relaxing read on this Christmas Eve! I didn't even realise until it came to providing the information section of my blog entry that I had read yet another Terrance Dicks novel! Other than my reading of The Masque of Mandragora, it seems all I read is the work of the novel master as I've done Endgame, Made of Steel and Revenge of the Judoon all recently. This was much different to those mentioned stories, as you'd expect with it being based upon a TV story. It was nice to once again do a story with the terrific pairing of the Third Doctor and Jo whose personas were expertly captured in print. The story itself has a lot going for it with a lot of conflicting interests and bitterness. I liked how the Doctor didn't seem too pleased about being sent as an agent from the Time Lords once again and he was given a black box who would only open for who his superiors intended. One small problem, he didn't know who that person was at first. A wild goose chase on an unknown planet or spaceship seemed ahead then. I liked Jo's eagerness to go with the Doctor in the TARDIS and with him still facing exile, it was nice for them to get away from the Brigadier and UNIT for a bit! The characters in the novel were very good with Stubbs and Cotton probably my favourite. I liked how they were always together, not believing everything the Marshal did was for the best of intentions. They would of course turn out to be correct. The villainous Marshal was a fantastic enemy and his ruthlessness and callousness was shocking at times! He's possibly the most selfish person we've seen in Doctor Who! He wanted Solos to be independent but only under his command and once he'd ridded the planet of its native inhabitants. Referring to the Mutants as "Mutts" was a bit of a disgrace, considering it was assumed that the reason for the mutations of the Solonians was under his doing in attempting to change the atmosphere of the planet to make it completely breathable for humans. The reference to The War Games was nicely included and I loved how Jo didn't know why the Doctor was in exile. It's intriguing to think what she would think the Doctor had done. The characters of Ky and Varan were very good and the climax being based around the former was excellent. With much of the Third Doctor era featuring UNIT, this really was a breath of fresh air and it was nice to see the pair roaming around the Skybase orbiting Solos. I imagine the view was spectacular for Jo! The plot was very good with much of Solos under threat. The Doctor's particle reversal coming into fruition was superb and I liked how he eventually got the box to the person it was intended for - Ky. In it was scrolls and messages containing information from the Old Ones regarding the history of civilisation on the planet. The way the Doctor and Sondergaard worked out what the storage of the box meant was terrific. It was brilliant to see the Doctor quickly put things into place and work out the truth about the mutations. That would prove pivotal for the climax. The scenes in the caves were very good but I did think Jo and co got captured perhaps a few too many times. The Marshal really didn't have the best security it seemed! The arrival of the Inspector allowing the Marshal's downfall was good and I liked the character, even if he was petrified of the Mutants. The full transformation of Ky, via the crystal, was a good ending which would see the death of Marshal. He was sent into nothingness. Solos was saved, Earth would be able to grant its independence now. Overall, a very good story for a terrific TARDIS pairing! 

Rating: 8/10

 

The Crossroads of Time

"See, when people get in my way I either bargain with them or kill them."

Writer: Simon Furman

Format: Comic Strip

Released: September 2011

Printed in: Doctor Who Classics: Volume 7

Featuring: Seventh Doctor

Synopsis 

The Doctor collides with something so ferocious in the time vortex that the time warden responsible for solving matters is frightened off...

Verdict 

The Crossroads of Time was a very good little comic strip! Now when I say little I really do mean it due to the story only spreading across eight pages in just the one part. But what we got really was fantastic! Quick fire blasts to the past with many references to past stories, enemies or accessories, all of which were welcomed wonderfully. I loved the idea of a Time Warden, an early branch of the Shadow Proclamation perhaps? Although the chap was actually rather useless when he saw what it was that the Doctor had just collided with. A giant of a mechanism - Death's Head! The name itself is just frightening but the sheer size and scale of the monstrosity when compared with the Doctor was just horrifying! There'd surely be no escape for the Seventh Doctor this time. But desperate times called for the upmost of desperate measures as the Doctor pulled out the Tissue Compression Eliminator! A gem of an item at a time like this and at least he would be using it sparingly which can't be said for the device's previous owner in the Master. I liked the throwback to The Chase with the Mechanoid reference and I also loved how when faced with the prospect of death, the Doctor offered Death's Head a jelly baby. Humour in the face of adversity is something the Doctor has always had which is just magnificent. The way the Doctor used a horrific device of the Master's to eventually defeat an antagonist is quite a turn of events. Never would we expect the Doctor to use such a device, even if he did mock the name, while he was in complete control. Where we've seen in stories such as Castrovalva and Planet of Fire, where the Master leaves his victims as a puny and embarrassing size, the device only brought Death's Head down to the size of the Doctor (now that wouldn't be a good story name would it!) but that actually enabled the Doctor to get rid of his new foe. He'd pretended to give up the TARDIS as a bargain for his life but once inside he sent the mechanism to Earth in the ninth millennium! Goodness knows what destruction will ensue there, but the Doctor rarely visits in the 8000 and something's does he. The Time Warden letting the Doctor off was a nice touch to a decent story with an unexpected device returning for use by the Doctor! I just wish it could have been longer! 

Rating: 8/10

The Web of Fear

"Perhaps the best way to describe it is a sort of formless, shapeless thing, floating around in space like a cloud of mist only with a mind and will."

Writers: Mervyn Haisman & Henry Lincoln

Format: TV

Broadcast: 3rd February - 9th March 1968

Season: 5.05

Featuring: Second Doctor, Jamie, Victoria

Synopsis 

In order to escape an attack in space, the TARDIS makes an unscheduled landing and ends up deep inside the London Underground.

Here the travellers soon find themselves engulfed in a thrilling battle with the Great Intelligence and the Yeti, a deadly enemy set to invade the Earth. But as events take a turn for the worse, it becomes clear that the golden prize is not just the Earth, but the Doctor's mind too...

Verdict   

What a joy it was to have watched The Web of Fear in more or less its entirety, thanks to the incredible efforts of Philip Morris discovering four of the five previously missing episodes! I mentioned my immense thanks to the man in yesterday's blogging of The Enemy of the World, a story nicely referenced here, where everything of that was restored fully. I love the coincidence, if that's what it is, that the two recently found stories were broadcast straight after each other! Following the shocking end to the previous story with Salamander falling out of the TARDIS, we start with a thrilling opening with the doors still remaining open. Jamie eventually managed to flick the switch that closed them but the danger surrounding the TARDIS was far from over after the ship soon become surrounded by a mysterious web that was attempting to bring the TARDIS to Earth. I liked how the Doctor averted landing where the captors expected them too and I also was intrigued by the Doctor's acknowledgement of the number of times and frequency that they land on Earth. I liked how there was no time wasted in revealing that the Yeti would be present in this story after seeing a large creature along with Professor Travers at an early point in episode one. I loved the setting of an abandoned London Underground and I thought the sets were absolutely outstanding. They really did add to the story magnificently and they really were impressive. I read online that apparently the BBC received a letter of complaint from London Transport for filming on their premises without permission. I find that incredibly brilliant! What bigger compliment for the production and design team than that? This really was a prime example of an excellent 'base under siege' plot and the return of the Yeti so soon after their first appearance is hugely beneficial I think. Despite it only being two stories since The Abominable Snowmen, it had been twelve weeks for viewers upon broadcast (those lucky people who watched episode three!) so the memory of their first appearance would still be fresh but not so soon that the return would have been a nice surprise. The aim of the Great Intelligence to harvest the mind of the Doctor leaving him mentally as basically a child was excellent. After being defeated in Tibet, and in Victorian London in The Snowmen, amazingly an Eleventh Doctor story that would act as a prequel to this, the Intelligence wanted revenge on the Doctor and wanted to acquire his knowledgable brilliance, I really did like that objective of the villain. But it was the Yeti who stood out for me and I thought they were much better than in their first appearance. They were destructive, frightening and ferocious which I thought was spectacular! The change in appearance didn't really do much I didn't think - it didn't add nor take away anything from the hairy beasts. It was wonderful to see Nicholas Courtney return to a Doctor Who story after his superb role as Brett in The Daleks' Master Plan. This story though saw the birth of a character who would live on in Doctor Who for half a century and counting. Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart, soon to be promoted to Brigadier, had a fantastic debut story commanding the forces in the Underground. His relationship with the Doctor was very good throughout, even if it was implied that the Doctor thought him to possibly be the one in cahoots with the Intelligence. Evans was a character I adored and I loved how typically Welsh he was! We even had a rendition of 'Sospan fach' which I never thought would appear in a Who story. I loved how stupid he was at times and it's obvious why he was just a driver - he was utterly clueless at most things! I loved the moment where Victoria recognised Travers past his ageing from the last meeting back in 1935, that really was nice. Speaking of Victoria, I thought she was absolutely wonderful yet again and I really have been impressed with her since The Abominable Snowmen. She looked absolutely beautiful in that dress too! Ranching I must say. Staff Sgt. Arnold was a very good character and I liked how he was revealed to be controlled by the Yeti in the final episode. The threat of the misty fungus spreading underground was tremendous and I liked the cliffhangers that it caused. The cliffhanger of episode four had to be my favourite though! I really enjoyed that one. Anne was a terrific character and with her being a scientist it was splendid seeing her relationship with the Doctor throughout. Relations weren't so keen surrounding Chorley for most though as he was a journalist for the press and probably wasn't liked due to the spin of things he would be inclined to put on stories. His disappearance during the serial was neatly explained. The climax was an exciting one with the Doctor entering the pyramid machine that would drain his mind but with a Yeti under their own command, the transformation was soon thwarted and the Intelligence's link with Earth was destroyed. The Doctor though was disgusted at being saved to my surprise. He had other ideas and had reversed things to make him drain the Intelligence of its memories instead. That was not to be and the Intelligence was still roaming around in space. We'd soon see a devastating return in the likes of The Bells of Saint John and The Name of the Doctor. But in what was an incredible and unbelievable treat for the fiftieth anniversary celebrations, this story really is a treat. 

Rating: 9/10

The Enemy of the World

"You're the most wonderful and marvellous man that's ever dropped out of the skies."

Writer: David Whitaker 

Format: TV 

Broadcast: 23rd December 1967 - 27th January 1968

Season: 5.04

Featuring: Second Doctor, Jamie, Victoria

Synopsis 

The TARDIS lands on an Australian beach in the 21st century. But this is no seaside holiday - within minutes, the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria are under attack.

They soon discover that the Doctor bears a startling resemblance to Leader Salamander, would-be dictator intent on world domination. Before long, the Doctor and his companions are plunged into a dangerous game of espionage, intrigue and deceit as they face off against the enemy of the world...

Verdict 

The Enemy of the World was a very good serial and it's just such a privilege to have watched this serial in its entirety on DVD! Around two-and-a-half years ago in July 2012 I started the entire watchathon of TV stories and 260 days later I watched what was then the last broadcast serial of The Snowmen. Sadly during that run I had to bypass this story but now thanks to incredible efforts by Phil Morris I can watch this story in full and give my thoughts in this blog. I was trying my best to not let the fact that this is a 'new' Troughton story influence my rating and I'm certain I achieved that. I really wasn't sure what to expect as there's only so much you can ascertain about a story from episode three on Lost in Time so I certainly got all the shocks and surprises that were thrown my way. I wasn't too keen on the opening I must say with the Doctor running into the sea, even if it did highlight just how barmy this incarnation is! I really am loving Victoria as companion now and there's absolutely no doubt that she's settled in wonderfully. I love how well she gets on with Jamie and I bet he must have liked pretending that she was his girlfriend after the comedic reference to female attire in the previous serial, The Ice Warriors, which was also nicely referenced. This episode is notorious for Patrick Troughton's dual role and what a stellar job he does playing both the Doctor and Salamander! However that shouldn't overshadow the brilliance of some of the guest cast with Kent, Astrid and Bruce all impressing in their respective roles. The setting of 2018, now watching in 2014, really was intriguing to see what writers of the 1960s thought life would be like fifty years from penning the script to the depicted story. I suppose it does have some resemblances but the fact that the political situation was actually kept pretty vague helped the perception. The idea of Salamander attempting to become a world leader was good and I did admire the subtle similarities to the way Hitler gained his power in Nazi Germany in 1939. Salamander had somehow convinced a group of people to go below the Earth's surface into 'safety' causing natural disasters was excellent! The events they'd trigger, believing they were preventing the continuation of a nuclear and atomic war, were effectively Salamander's Reichstag Fire. He was hoping to exploit anything he could which I did admire the character for - a wonderful villain. I loved the impersonation of Salamander by the Doctor and it just highlights perfectly how good an actor the late Patrick Troughton was, playing both the protagonist and antagonist! The idea of world overpopulation is a running theme lately with the appearance in the previous story which I find interesting. The run of the plot for this story was decent and well paced but I do think the cliffhangers were pretty poor overall. There wasn't really a threat of fear at all and there were five of them! The climax was really good with Astrid going down below the surface and revealing all to those and how they'd been cheated and played all for Salamander's aid in attempting to become a dictator. The comedic value between people mistaking the Doctor and Salamander or vice versa was terrific! I thought the ending was rather surprising with a sudden takeoff and the antagonist sliding out of the TARDIS to his death. An intriguing lead in to the next serial, one which was also recently discovered! 

Rating: 8/10

To Cut a Blade of Grass

"Larger than life men look like small dolls tucked away in their beds."

Writer: Cindy Garland

Format: Audio

Released: August 2011

Series: Short Trips 4.06

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Peri

Synopsis 

The Doctor visits an old friend, Walter Wibberley, in his hospital bed for the last time.

Verdict 

To Cut a Blade of Grass was a lovely little Short Trip audio adventure! It really did highlight the difference between the Sixth Doctor on television and on audio, and I think they're so different because on television they were trying to make the Doctor a much more sinister and darker character but with that bright coat and the lovely Peri as companion it proved difficult. After all, Colin Baker only had eight stories on our screens despite appearing in three seasons. So there's little that can be developed across such a small space of time. It can be seen even recently with Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor, just look at how the character has grown and developed between Deep Breath and Death in Heaven. That's over twelve episodes so it just shows that the smallest margin of episodes and stories really can make a difference for an incarnation. This story perfectly captured the 'softer' Sixth Doctor that appears on audio and I really do love this incarnation. The pairing that appears in this audio, the Sixth Doctor and Peri, is one of my all time favourites because they are just perfect for each other. What the Doctor was doing for his old friend Walter here was absolutely lovely. A man who the Doctor simply bought pasties off because they were delicious and after a few visits they became good friends. The Doctor even gave him a telescope and told the truth about being a Time Lord and going off in time and space! I guess he must have known about regeneration too as Peri didn't recognise Walter and she's been with the Doctor ever since this incarnation arrived at the end of The Caves of Androzani. The character of Rosie was splendid and of course she was disturbed by her father being in hospital. Of course, once there was a mention of another visitor I just knew it had to be the Doctor. His conversation with Rosie was touching but what he did for her father was just sublime! He took him in the TARDIS to see the future, a future he sadly wouldn't be a part of as he was suffering with illness that would prove fatal. He was shown his daughter as an older women. He was shown his grandchildren. He was there on his daughter's deathbed. If you're going to die, then seeing the future of those you hold most dear, those whose future you won't get to see, must be the perfect way to depart. I don't think there's any doubting that Walter would have died happily, all thanks to the Doctor who just liked his pasties. Peri's admiration of the Doctor was wonderful to see and I loved how she knew he wasn't supposed to do what he did, even if he was a Time Lord. But as she put it, the Doctor did a real neat job in making his dying old friend happy. Particularly with it being the Sixth Doctor, that was really nice to see. Overall, a really nice audio story!

Rating: 8/10 

The Sleeping Guardians

"As the bombs exploded, the rockets directed white-hot beams which incinerated everything they touched..."

Writer: Paul Crompton 

Format: Short Story

Released: September 1979

Printed in: Doctor Who Annual 1980

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Romana I, K9

Synopsis 

The Doctor, Romana and K9 get caught up in an embroiled invasion, with the only way to defeat the invaders is to find the key to awaken the sleeping army of soldiers...

Verdict 

The Sleeping Guardians was a brilliant little story to bring an end to my very enjoyable readings of the 1980 Doctor Who Annual. After purchasing the little gem of an item in a sci-fi collector's shop for a mere £3.50, I've really enjoyed going through each story and blogging my thoughts on each one. After the infamous 'Key to Time' season, which was all we saw of the Fourth Doctor, Romana I and K9 on our screens in the six episodes, I'm very glad that this Annual alone has given us a further seven adventures with the trio and over the course of the stories I've really warmed to the trio in this short story and comic format, some of which really are fantastic stories such as Terror on Xaboi and Reluctant Warriors. And this story as well was superb as well, a splendid end to the Annual and I do hope I can be lucky enough to find another Classic Annual at some point in the near future. I loved the humour surrounding the Doctor and Romana with the latter constantly mocking his "old age". This Doctor is actually pretty young when compared to the incarnation we currently have on our screens! To decide where the TARDIS would go next, the Doctor got his companions to partake in a little number game and they soon ended up in Valeria, at the point of an invasion! Tallis welcoming the strangers into hiding was a nice touch and I liked how he was apologising on behalf of his enemies who were destroying the town above. The description of the invasion really was bloody and brutal which I was surprised by. But I liked it as in these short stories a genuine fear factor is certainly a bonus. K9 playing an active role in the story was tremendous and I just love that robotic dog as companion, especially when things are taken so literal. I'd normally associate the famous companion with Romana II after Warriors' Gate or Sarah Jane after School Reunion and her own spinoff series that followed but here with Romana I it just easily works. The discovery of the sleeping army was really intriguing! They'd arrived in the middle of a dormant army 10,000 strong. I liked the subtle similarity to the Battle of Hastings with the Valerians coming out of hiding where there was no sign of the enemy but then immediately they came and destruction soon ensued once more. I was mightily shocked that the Doctor's answer to the problem was to just leave! Under no circumstance for the Doctor does even he believe that it's a justifiable resolution. That was a shock but it did allow K9 to find the key in what were average circumstances it has to be said. I really did enjoy the story but how the key had become lost and the way it was found were the only slight lowlights. It was a tad too easy for my liking but the Doctor's reaction to the finding certainly put a smile to my face. The army awoke and battled the invasion successfully. Tallis rushed to bid the trio goodbye and it was excellent that K9 wanted to be acknowledged for his help despite not usually wanting thanks. Overall, a very good story to end the Annual which I have thoroughly enjoyed reading! 

Rating: 8/10  

Redemption

"It is only fitting that after all this time, we learn who is master and who is servant!"

Writer: Simon Furman

Format: Comic Strip

Released: September 2011

Printed in: Doctor Who Classics: Volume 7

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Olla

Synopsis 

The Doctor, being waited on by new companion Olla, is soon occupied as the TARDIS is held in space and the fearsome War-Lord Skaroux demands Olla be handed over to him.

Verdict 

Redemption was an intriguing and almost quite sad comic strip story. Pretty much following on immediately from the previous adventure, the Doctor was being waited upon by his new companion Olla. The Doctor has had numerous companions throughout his lives including Trakenites, shape changing robots and even a robot dog. But I think having a companion with the ability to absorb heat from others, which usually proves fatal, something we saw her try to do with the Doctor! I found it interesting how much he was enjoying her company after reluctantly accepting her request of having a lift home following Frobisher's departure. The story itself was quite rushed sadly due to it only being spread over one part which equates to just the eight pages (still much better than the Doctor Who Adventures and Annual comic strips!). Olla being frightened of Skaroux was intriguing and I thought that we may be getting some sort of backdrop for our brand new comic companion, and I suppose we got that but not in the way I would obviously hope for. It was a case of master and servant. And the master (ie Skaroux) wanted his servant Olla back. Except that wasn't what she was which I found to be a tad silly. The video messages to the proclaimed War-Lord (no, not the architect of those war zone games as seen in The War Games) were interesting and I was surprised how two of his men beamed on board the TARDIS. It's usually nowhere near that simple enough to get on board the Doctor's ship! I liked seeing the aggressive side of Olla when Skaroux entered the TARDIS and she threatened to kill him but it was clear she didn't know some of the Doctor's most valued morales. Murder isn't an option. The revelation that Olla was actually not a slave and was his willing counterpart was quite surprising to say the least. I thought the way it was revealed was almost like I was waiting for her to ridicule the last gasp attempt of Skaroux to save his life. But instead she just admitted her atrocities which I found sad. The way her backdrop and escape to A-Lux was referenced and tied in with A Cold Day in Hell was the highlight as that did work splendidly. But after learning of Olla's past, the Doctor could no longer travel with her. He just wanted to ensure she got a fair trial which was a nice farewell touch, though I doubt he'll feel grief of her departure as he might have felt with Peri or Frobisher's goodbye. But overall, a decent comic debut and farewell for Olla! 

Rating: 7/10

A Cold Day in Hell

"Using this planet's weather control system, I have shaped A-Lux into the new Mars..."

Writer: Simon Furman

Format: Comic Strip

Released: September 2011

Printed in: Doctor Who Classics: Volume 7

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Frobisher

Synopsis 

The paradise planet of A-Lux, the perfect place for Frobisher to have a getaway and forget about the departure of Peri, is much different from the brochure. The planet is surrounded in ice, and the Ice Warriors are back. Their aim - the creation of a new Mars. 

Verdict 

A Cold Day in Hell was a fantastic comic strip adventure! A really superb debut for the Seventh Doctor in the comic strip format which also saw an infamous companion in the format, depart the TARDIS. Now, you may think that my information section surrounding the story at hand is incorrect but I assure you it is not. I always ensure that the information surrounds the edition of the story I am reading (just look at the photo and information regarding my entry for Players for example). I was recently lucky enough to pick up the American issued IDW collection of Classic Doctor Who comic strips. Man, they've got it so much better over in the States when it comes to Doctor Who comics! Darn licensing issues annoy me. Why can't we, as well as the DWM strips, have a monthly comic to buy for each Doctor? How excellent that'd be! But upon a rare visit to Forbidden Planet in the glorious capital city of wonderful Wales, I purchased this collection of updated comic stories. I just love how they've gone back and garnered up all the old DWM comic stories and colourised them! It certainly made the story modernised and much easier and pleasant to read. The cliffhanger of episode one was magnificent with the Doctor and Frobisher being faced with the Ice Warriors as the species who thrived in the cold! A-Lux had been transformed from the sun-baked paradise planet that the Doctor intended to give Frobisher as a holiday getaway and instead it www covered in snow. The Ice Warriors were back up to their old tricks of weather control, but unlike in The Seeds of Death, they weren't attempting to conquer Earth. Instead they were aiming to make A-Lux the new Mars! A restoration if you like of the red planet prior to it becoming uninhabitable. I thought the design of the comic was superb and I loved how the story jumped ahead of itself, pushing the story on nicely and having an excellent flow to things. The scene where Frobisher and Olla were being chased by the Ice Warriors was excellent! I liked how after attempting to drain the Doctor of all his heat, a survival instinct of hers, she soon got along well with his penguin companion after the arrival of the Ice Warriors! Korr saving the pair after his trap worked on the Martians was great but it was quite comical how he wasn't all that pleased with only having two creatures caught. The cliffhanger of episode 2 was astounding! The Doctor was dead! Or so we thought. Back up to his usual tricks of sending absolutely every part of him into sleep mode if you will. The mixture of Ice Lords and Warriors was good and this was a ploy that would come soon after their debut and my recently watched The Ice Warriors. Bringing the emphasis on the letter 's' into print was marvellous, even if it did seem slightly exaggerated. I loved the plan of the Ice Warriors and I actually do think it's an original one, even if it's by recycled methods. I found it intriguing that this group of Ice Warriors knew about the events of The Monster of Peladon and aspired to the leader of that party! He was an influence to them and now Arryx was leading in the same horrific example. He despised the Federation and I liked the comical reference to the Doctor not being on too good of terms with them either! Frobisher missing Peri was awfully sad to see. After her sudden and shocking departure in The Trial of a Time Lord, he really was missing her. And how could you not? She was beautiful and brilliant! Even the Doctor had changed now. The way he'd inadvertently robbed Frobisher of being the hero and messing with the siphon of the Ice Warriors was heartbreaking! Despite the Doctor preventing damage via an explosion by reversing the polarity, he basically made Frobisher looked stupid which was quite sad. The penguin did seem quite out of place with the Seventh Doctor, that was noticeable even if my only other experience of the companion is on audio in The Holy Terror. His farewell was a nice one and I liked how he wanted to stay on A-Lux and help in the rebuilding of the planet. There was a new Doctor on the pages, and things were a changing. The Ice Warriors aren't a bad scalp for your first comic strip! And their defeat was done tremendously. 

Rating: 9/10

The Ice Warriors

"Five thousand years of history... crushed beneath a moving mountain of ice."

Writer: Brian Hayles

Format: TV

Broadcast: 11th November - 16th December 1967

Season: 5.03

Featuring: Second Doctor, Jamie, Zoe

Synopsis 

In the distant future, Earth faces a new Ice Age. While a dedicated team of scientists battle to hold the approaching glaciers at bay, a startling discovery is made deep within the ice... an alien warrior frozen for millennia. When the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria arrive they soon discover Earth is under threat from the Ice Warriors - fearsome Martians intent on conquering our planet for themselves.

Verdict 

The Ice Warriors is a fantastic story which sees the debut of a brilliant enemy who will become far too familiar for the Doctor in his future. It's not been a bad bunch of stories lately involving the Second Doctor with his last four adventure featuring the Daleks, Cybermen, the Great Intelligence and the Yet and now here with the Ice Warriors! Quite an introduction for the young and innocent Victoria as companion. Speaking of which, I thought this was her best story yet. Captured by Ice Warriors, set free with instructions but then captured again - I really did like her watching this story. I wasn't too excited about her becoming companion after The Evil of the Daleks, a story which was nicely referenced, but now she's certainly grown on me after two positive performances in this and the preceding story. I guess she's just needed time to settle down and it certainly looks like she has done now. She was far superior to Jamie in the companion role in this episode with the highlander not doing an awful lot. I loved how the Ice Warriors first arrive on our screens, coming to life after thousands of years suspended in ice, frozen. The discovery of the Warrior in the ice was done brilliantly and I really liked how they first thought it was a Viking due to the helmet. Far from it actually! This was an Ice Warrior from the planet Mars! The appearance of them is just terrific and terrifying! An almost human mouth behind a reptilian-like armour. Much larger than your average human, menacing claw hands and a slithering voice with a wonderful emphasis on the letter 's'. That really is a quality of an enemy like no other. The plot of the story was excellent with a tremendous glacier setting and some magnificent characters in the form of Clent and Penley as the highlights. Their relationship was conflicting and I really liked how throughout the story things were edging towards a much smoother future for them after the danger was averted. The comment by Clent at the end was superb. I loved the animation of the missing episodes 2 and 3 and I think it's just marvellous that we can now watch this serial in full! Varga was the standout Ice Warrior as commander and I liked how he was handing out threats left, right and centre! He certainly would follow through with them as we saw with the cliffhanger of episode four. Some of the cliffhangers were very good with episode 1 and 2's being my favourite. The Ice Warriors believing the ioniser could and should be used as a weapon immediately added to their evilness which is obviously needed in a great enemy and judging by the number of times they've returned, the Ice Warriors are just that. Their interest in science was intriguing and it was also very good that they needed fuel so would have to go to the base to try and attain it. The way the Doctor and Victoria defeated the Ice Warriors was very effective and it was ironic that their helmets worked against them! The computer was finally ignored and the Warriors were no more thanks to their own instruments being used against them. Overall, a splendid debut for the Ice Warriors in a memorable and strong story. 

Rating: 9/10

Endgame

"Compared to Truman, Stalin would be a pushover. If the Players are operating in Moscow... the atomic button could be pushed any day now."

Writer: Terrance Dicks

Format: Novel

Released: November 2000

Series: EDA 40 

Featuring: Eighth Doctor

Synopsis

Winning is everything - and nothing.

Losing is nothing - and everything.

All that matters is the game.

The Players have decided on an Endgame. Play ends only when one side has been annihilated - even if the entire planet is destroyed in the process. They weren't expecting the Doctor to be one of the pieces - and neither was he. He really doesn't want to get involved. 

The Doctor doesn't know who he is - but he's fast ceasing to care. Caught up in ennui, nothing seems to matter to him any more. He has no interest in the Cold War, in spies or double agents or secret documents. 

But he's soon forced to take an active role. Because as far as the authorities are concerned, the Doctor is The Third Man... 

Verdict 

Endgame was a brilliant novel, a quite excellent read! What better way to delve into the Eighth Doctor Adventures novels than with a writer I know will deliver in Terrance Dicks (an author I've had a lot of experience with lately with my readings of Made of Steel and Revenge of the Judoon). But now he's back, from my perspective of course, writing a full length novel and to help my accessibility into a new range for me, I'm presented a story with a familiar enemy in the shape of the returning Players. The last Classic novel I read was Players so whilst the memory of that story was still clear in my mind I thought it'd be a good idea to do their return pretty quickly. And what an excellent return it is! The prologues started the book wonderfully with the Players declaring the Endgame which seemed would result in total annihilation, and then we had a heartbreaking moment at the Festival of Britain with a magnificent little cameo from the Seventh Doctor and Ace. But of course, continuing with the Earth arc and the Doctor being amnesiac, he sadly didn't recognise his immediate predecessor or his past companion. That really was a striking moment. I loved the historical nature of the story with the setting of 1951. The aftermath of the Second World War will always provide an excellent setting for a Doctor Who story and what better than the early days of the Cold War? We had the Doctor travelling across Britain, then to Washington and then to Moscow before mopping things back up in the US capital. Along the way we had some quite brilliant characters! The death of Oskar was quite a sudden shock and I loved how it enraged the Doctor. Up to that point I thought the representation of him had been mightily intriguing with him showing absolutely no interest in just about anything. He just wanted to live a quiet life and genuinely just didn't seem to care about political affairs. But when a friend close to him died that all changed. He, albeit under blackmail, had a good relationship with Kim Philby. Of course, he'd taken the TARDIS to get the Doctor to cooperate with him but they did get along. I was very intrigued that the TARDIS was never referred to by name and just as the "blue box". Even if the Doctor couldn't remember what it was, it meant a great deal to him. His failing to notice even a hint of beauty or attraction in Penny, despite her unsubtle attempts, was typical Doctor I thought. It was a lovely touch at the end where he said she looked "very nice". The scenes on the boat trip with Guy and Donald were quite comical with the pair being drunk and ending up in bed together. Naked. But what led to that trip was excellent! Action packed writing. Axel, an assassin who'd failed to kill the Doctor previously, and had been ploughed into a hedge after failing in a car chase, was on the same boat. His vanishing abilities were decent attributes! The Doctor seemed to get along well with just about everyone in this story! Jim Anderson and Kent Howard included. Oh, and how could I forget President Truman, the most powerful man in the world so they say. The way he got the President to authorise his entry into Project Kali was outstanding. And what we saw inside the facility was strange indeed. The Doctor being able to answer the seemingly impossible questions without the aid of the Players' psychic addition was just terrific. When he told Myrek that he had been deceived, that just bold brilliance! The return of the Countess was much welcomed and I loved how off the back she was trying to influence Stalin in the Players' little game of causing atomic warfare. I was very surprised that it took until her arrival, pretty late in the novel, for Players to be directly referenced. Her descriptions of the Second and Sixth Doctors was hilarious! Patrick Troughton's Doctor really is a "little clown" isn't he. I found it interesting that the Countess seemed to be able to give the Doctor his memory back, but he didn't want it. The speech he gave about the human race being so incredible was just sublime. Absolutely astounding! He'd soon changed the mind of the Countess when it came to human history merely being a game. This led to an exciting and action packed climax full of bloodshed as Helga, Myrek and Axel all perished as psychic powers turned against them. The Countess declared to the Adjudicator that the Endgame was void, and the Doctor had his blue box. All just about worked out, and there he was, back at the Cafe des Artistes drinking his coffee and eating his cheesecake, oblivious to the gorgeous girl trying to cheer him up and show him a good time. Overall, a tremendous novel!

Rating: 9/10

More than meets the Eye

"The sonic is the ultimate lock pick - and now it's in the hands of someone who could really misuse it."

Writer: Richard Cookson

Format: Comic Strip

Released: October 2014

Printed in: DWA 357

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis 

The city is being targeted by alien magpies who are taking anything they can that's shiny - including the sonic screwdriver! 

Verdict 

More than meets the Eye was a pretty decent little comic strip! The name really did catch my eye despite the title and I like the amount of ambiguity and mystery that could be thought of for a Doctor Who story with a title such as this. Of course, I've more than grown out of the style of comic strip which appears in the Doctor Who Adventures magazine but with the app installed on my phone, for occasions such as this, I was happy to get a notification saying that this issue was downloadable for free. Now, it's more than debatable whether the Doctor Who Adventures comic strips should be considered canonical with their length and style (I personally would be inclined to say they were despite my age), but this one did have a very good idea! The Seevith were extremely intriguing and I did like the revelation that they were alien magpies! Now, when I say that I don't mean they were literally magpie birds from out of space, I mean that they would take anything shiny! The scenes of the shiny objects being taken away was quite comical but things soon got serious when the Doctor's had a personal item stolen. Not just any personal item, the sonic screwdriver! He managed hands free from his fifth to seventh incarnations but ever since The Movie he hasn't been able to cope without the sonic! Just how much it meant to him was made abundantly clear in Smith and Jones and I'm sure the Twelfth Doctor is just the same as his tenth (well, eleventh) self. Clara referencing the Judoon was excellent and I do wonder where she has met them! I'd really like to blog that story as Judoon stories can always be intriguing, whether it's in Doctor Who or the Sarah Jane Adventures. The threat of the Seevith at the cliffhanger of the comic strip was pretty good but I really am against a cliffhanger in a story that only consists of four pages! Now, I know it's the same team who do the Doctor Who Adventures comic strips that do the Doctor Who Annuals and I think I've more than made it clear my feelings on the length of stories. DWA is basically full of rubbish to be honest so I don't understand why they don't extend the comic stories and perhaps gain a couple more buyers every fortnight! The revelation about them being magpies was interesting. The Doctor identifying who the TARDIS pairing were up against from a book showing the fifty most peskiest species wasn't terrific I didn't think. And I did like Clara in this comic strip but the fact that shiny paper was used to power a spaceship didn't sit right with me. I just couldn't accept that! But overall, a decent comic strip that started off very well but a poor resolution let the story down somewhat sadly. 

Rating: 7/10 

Return of the Electrids

"There was a cloning error, giving a character reversal. This clone is mindless, but moral."

Writer: Paul Crompton 

Format: Short Story

Released: September 1979

Printed in: Doctor Who Annual 1980

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Romana I, K9

Synopsis 

As the Doctor and Romana celebrate the extinguishing of the evil worm-like Electrids, the hysteria is dampened as the evil ones return.

Verdict 

Return of the Electrids was quite a decent little short story to continue along my reading of the 1980 Doctor Who Annual rather nicely. Sadly, with wretched mock exams this length of story has been all I've managed to do but as they near an end I do look forward to a very Doctor Who filled festive period as I embark on reading more novels and also continuing along with my Patrick Troughton adventures where I'm currently sitting at The Ice Warriors. That's an exciting story to be on from my perspective as the two missing episodes I'll get to see in animation thereby completing the story visually and then I reach the two stories that were found a couple of months prior to the 50th anniversary celebrations. Anyway, back to the story at hand and despite being pretty decent I didn't think the story quite lived up to the quality of previous stories in the same Annual such as X-Rani and the Ugly Mutants and Reluctant Warriors which I both enjoyed very much. I like the idea of starting off at the moment the Doctor and Romana were saying their goodbyes after defeating an evil race in the form of the Electrids. But with a force field in place preventing the TARDIS from dematerialising, and a sudden return of the Electrids, the Doctor, Romana and K9 would be going nowhere. Instead they'd have to defeat the worm creatures once more. I liked how much of a role K9 had in the story, he was used excellent and the speech really came across well in print which I think can prove difficult at times with the brilliant robot dog (of whom I recently purchased the magnificent figurine from Waterstones!). The Doctor actually asking Romana to check the controls for a fault was interesting as he is usually quite boisterous in defending the TARDIS and his ability to fly it. But what better second opinion than your companion and fellow Time Lord? The scenes in the tunnel where they were searching for the Electrids was pretty good although I wasn't convinced by the trap doors and the falling. Zani was a pretty good villain and I did like how, as a "loner", he raised the Electrids for his gain. I wasn't too struck on his clone and the way his downfall occurred. It lacked clarity which I think is essential. But overall, a pretty good little short story! There's just one story left for me to complete the Annual now!

Rating: 7/10