Time and Time Again

"The dark one has remade the universe so that you never left Gallifrey. You are now president, appeasing the massive Dalek Empire... every day."

Writer: Paul Cornell

Format: Comic Strip

Released: December 1993

Printed in: DWM 207 

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace, Bernice, Sixth Doctor, Frobisher, Fifth Doctor, Adric, Fourth Doctor, Third Doctor, Second Doctor, Jamie, Zoe, First Doctor, Susan

Synopsis 

The Black Guardian has changed time so that the Doctor never left Gallifrey. This causes chaos amongst the stars. The Doctor must revisit his past and hunt for the Key to Time, which will put time back on track and defeat the Black Guardian.

Verdict 

Time and Time Again is a wonderful and celebratory comic strip adventure to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Doctor Who! Featuring the first seven Doctors, along with a new plot devised by the Black Guardian, this had to be good didn't it? And over the 10 pages, it certainly didn't disappoint! I mean, just look at that first page. Earth torn to pieces with the Daleks, Sontarans, Zygons, Yeti, Sea Devils, Silurians, Ice Warriors and Cybermen standing tall to name a few. I loved the story from start to finish, it didn't even matter to me that the actual plot reasoning for all the appearances of the past Doctors wasn't outstanding, the fact they featured was more than good enough for me! The idea though was very good I thought with it somewhat a sequel to both The Key to Time series and Enlightenment, the last time the Doctor encountered the Black Guardian, now eager for revenge. I liked the continuation from The Armageddon Factor with the Doctor having spread the parts of the Key and now they were scattered, subtly hidden, throughout the Doctor's timeline. We saw 6 pages of excellence with the depiction of how either the Doctor or his companions, Ace and Bernice, acquired the segment. A spectacular jump into The Mind Robber was I amazing and I loved how Jamie wasn't convinced about the Doctor giving up his hat. Then we saw the Third Doctor in an infamous sword fight but only this time with his future companion Ace! That's something we didn't know this incarnation of the Doctor got up to during Day of the Daleks. I liked that the page given to the Fourth Doctor was humorous with him in the middle of the events of The Horns of Nimon! Some superb dialogue there with Bernice. The jump into Black Orchid was pretty funny with Adric, as annoying as ever, trying to hit on Ace and being rejected in a tremendous way. She destroyed him, metaphorically, with one sentence. Seeing this Doctor play cricket again was a nice throwback and I loved how the cricket ball itself was the segment and Ace caught her Professor's past self out. I was really intrigued seeing the Sixth and Seventh Doctor's conversation whilst the former was fishing, possibly for Frobisher's benefit. The Sixth mentioning how he wished he'd never left Gallifrey was a big shock to me and I like how the then current Doctor stated that the effects were catastrophic. And this brings me to the highlight of the story for me! The First Doctor. The Black Guardian preventing him from leaving Gallifrey was an astounding concept and thought and it was weirdly brilliant seeing the first incarnation amongst the Time Lords. And then we had the scenes prior to Remembrance of the Daleks (and An Unearthly Child) with the First Doctor holding close the Hand of Omega and being prevented from extermination from his seventh self. But that wasn't all! Once the White Guardian had restored parity, we saw dialogue of the moment the Doctor and Susan departed from Gallifrey. It doesn't really effect the events of The Name of the Doctor if you're able to gloss around the edges but I just loved it! Overall, a fun filled and continuity reference packed story! A well worthy celebration story. 

Rating: 10/10

A Groatsworth of Wit

"Everybody gets forgotten in the end, Rose. Best to make the most of life while you're still around."

Writer: Gareth Roberts

Format: Comic Strip

Released: December 2005

Printed in: DWM 363-364

Featuring: Ninth Doctor, Rose

Synopsis 

The Shadeys are a race that draws on negative emotions. They choose Robert Greene as a host for power. By manipulating the dying Greene they turn his hatred, bike and jealousy of Shakespeare "up to eleven," giving them enough power to crush the planet. 

Verdict 

A Groatsworth of Wit, an intriguingly named story, was a great little sendoff from the comic strip format for Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor who, despite his small run and tenure in the role, has had some decent outings across the DWM range with the notable highlights being The Love Invasion and The Cruel Sea. But this story stood its ground and showed why it could possibly match the standard of the above stories. I loved the idea of the Shadeys targeting people with excess emotional hatred and it was clear that Robert Greene was full of jealousy towards a certain William Shakespeare. And the Shadeys, interestingly from another dimension where time was a plaything to them, were hoping to exploit the anger and use it for their own power. Now the story worked well for me because Robert Greene was so angry and bitter at being forgetting in the future which helped my understanding of the story because I'd never heard of him. Now, during my GCSE English Literature studies, which I found loathsome, I studied a few Shakespeare texts so despite my utter dislike of the man's works, references and appearances of the great writer in Doctor Who I do welcome. I may not like what he's famous for, but I can respect his work. The build up to the revealing of the Shadeys' appearance didn't overly work well as I think a build up to a villain we've never met, who has been named, doesn't really have any effect. I imagine this story inspired the Tenth Doctor TV episode The Shakespeare Code with its obvious similarities. The obvious appearance of Shakespeare himself but the Shadeys were reminiscent of the Carrionites I felt, which I liked because it's brilliant to see the comic stories acknowledge and developed on screen. People annoy me when they question continuity of some formats but surely it's glaringly obvious that, along with the audios and novels, the comic stories are part of continuity. Just take Hunters of the Burning Stone, The Mutant Phase and The Crawling Terror for example. Three amazing stories of which I hold in high regard, but none of them are on TV. Television naturally is the main range but this comic story is a nice of example of ensuring that the rest of formats are acknowledged. Rose was superb in this and I know it's only art but my goodness she looked dazzling. Another similarity with Code there, seeing as Shakespeare hit on both Rose and Martha! Who's the next companion to fall to his charm? The very subtle continuation of the series one arc of 'Bad Wolf' featuring was brilliant and I really did smile upon noticing it. I loved the references in the novels and now here in the comics too, fantastic. The relationship between the Ninth Doctor and Rose was nice to see and due to her apparent love with the Tenth Doctor it's sometimes easy to forget how well she got on with the man who took her away in the TARDIS back in 2005. A clever climax, some good references but maybe the layout could have been better. The ending I liked reading now because of the Doctor's foresight of a time when even he'll be forgotten, in fact after The Wedding of River Song, he'd ensure that himself. Intriguing. Overall, a good sendoff in the comic format for the Ninth Doctor!

Rating: 8/10

The Crawling Terror

"You recover a Nazi machine that's remained hidden since the war, you manage to fund the creation of a high-tech stone circle, and you breed giant insects. So here's the million-dollar question. What's it all for?"

Writer: Mike Tucker

Format: Novel

Released: 11th September 2014

Series: NSA 12.03

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis

"Well, I doubt you'll ever see a bigger insect."

Gabby Nichols is putting her son to bed when she hears her daughter cry out. 'Mummy there's a daddy longlegs in my room!' Then the screaming starts... Kevin Alperton is on his way to school when he is attacked by a mosquito. A big one. Then things get dangerous. 

But it isn't the dead man cocooned inside a huge mass of web that worries the Doctor. It isn't the swarming, mutated insects that make him nervous.

With the insects becoming more and more menacing, the Doctor knows that unless he can decode the strange symbols engraved on an ancient stone circle, and unravel a mystery dating back to the Second World War, no one is safe. 

Verdict 

The Crawling Terror was an absolutely outstanding novel and is undoubtedly the best of the first three novels released for the Twelfth Doctor and Clara. Now, you may remember the high praise I gave for Silhouette which was just marvellous but I think in this story having just the Doctor and Clara as the familiar characters, along with a magical historical link, put Terror on top with regards to the best of the newly released novels. From the prologue I could tell I was going to enjoy the story. The mystery giant insects were envisaged much better than the obvious story to link this to, The Web Planet. The idea of the insects being giant was much better utilised here with them being test subjects for the Wyrresters. Despite the aliens being the ones truly evil and conjuring up the plan predating to the Second World War, the villainous menace of Jason Clearfield. Ravaged, effected and disgusted with the Doctor, he really was a highlight and just superb. I was glad that for the first time under the Twelfth Doctor, in the novelised format, Clara got to shine. Her limelight was possibly overshadowed by the Paternoster Gang in Silhouette and she was a small piece of the story for much of the time in The Blood Cell so I was glad of how good she was here. I think I'm enjoying the novels with the new incarnation far more than the TV stories, as a whole, because with the books it's simply all about the story but on TV there's the series arcs continuing which I'm getting tired of. I'd rather a quality story to finish a series rather than a culmination of hints and miniature scenes in the preceding episodes. The setting of Ringstone, very cleverly named, was stunningly good. Closed off to the outside world by giant insects or their webs, a small village community was really the perfect setting. The guest characters (ie the village residents) were really great! Robin Sanford and Kevin were fantastic together whilst I really liked Captain Wilson, Angela and Gabby. The use of linking the story back to World War Two was just mesmerising and with so much secrecy surrounding the last year of the War who's to say each side wasn't looking to the extra-terrestrial for the answer to victory. With my love and study of History, especially the Nazi aspect which I've covered in detail since 2011, the numerous references to the Luftwaffe, Mengale and Hitler himself were much welcomed. The relationship between the Doctor and Charlie was brilliant and I loved how easily the latter accepted that the Doctor had a time machine. The cliffhanger if you like of chapter 12 with Jason triumphant was wonderful. His speech regarding the placement of the Bell and talking of the Nazi failing was just sensational. Once the British Bell was opened, the Wyrrester's description was very good. They weren't have been out of place in a The Ark in Space I wouldn't have thought! The way they were just going to leave their species to die whilst the 'deserving' would transfer to Earth was shocking! But nowhere near as much when Clara awoke in the body of a Wyrrester! That really was something. The village becoming zombified was intriguing and it somewhat seemed like a serious version of the comedy film Shaun of the Dead. I recently read a review of this story on www.doctorwhotv.com which I disagreed in their statement of the Doctor being too nice. I found him to be quite serious, especially when his escape plan in 1944 was sending two prisoners to their deaths. That was quite a surprise despite the fact it was established history. The climax I very much enjoyed with the Doctor wonderfully bargaining for Clara's safe return, a 70 year meeting in waiting coming full circle and the unexplored Luftwaffe bomb actually saving the day. Overall, a superb and thoroughly enjoyably thrilling read! The Nazis actually helped the Doctor, now that's something to think about. 

Rating: 10/10

The Caretaker

"You're a spacewomen? You said you were from Blackpool."

Writers: Gareth Roberts & Steven Moffat

Format: TV 

Broadcast: 27th September 2014

Series: 8.06

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis 

The terrifying Skovox Blitzer is ready to destroy all humanity - and worse, Danny Pink and the Doctor are going to meet.

Verdict 

The Caretaker was another very good episode to continue our brand new series for the brand new Doctor, the brilliant Peter Capaldi. Now, despite my rating, the story didn't jump out as anything majorly outstanding but it was very entertaining and told a decent story. I think Steven Moffat has made a slight mistake in not having at least one two-part story other than the finale as I think as the series continues fans might get tired of what sadly seem 'filler' episodes. Anyway, back to the story at hand and basically all this story was doing was revealing to Danny the secrets Clara had been hiding. Just why she had magically tanned, pulled seaweed from her hair or change dress in an impossible amount of time was all revealed now. Danny discovered everything about the Doctor, the TARDIS and time/space travel. And to say he was shocked was a humorous understatement. I'm not liking the direction that the writers are taking Clara in under the Twelfth Doctor. The impossible girl arc under the Eleventh Doctor was wonderful and she was enigmatic and just absolutely sensational. But now my opinions on her are decreasing as to be honest, I couldn't  care less about the relationship of the companion! Why can't they just continuously stay in the TARDIS? I don't get it. I'm just praying now that Danny doesn't follow Rory on board the TARDIS. The soldier past hopefully ensures the Doctor doesn't allow it to happen just like he refused companionship to a soldier in Into the Dalek, a story that was nicely mentioned. The Coal Hill setting was very good and despite its ability to be dreadfully similar, it was much different from School Reunion. The Doctor was undoubtedly the highlight of this story and Capaldi was just magical. He's slowly creeping up the ranks of my favourite Doctor and I'm still to reach double figure stories across all formats to feature the new man. The scene where the Doctor oversaw Clara with Adrian, looking rather similar to his previous incarnation, whom he thought was Clara's serious dates person was just superb. And despite getting the person wrong, causing a very humorous scene in the TARDIS, I loved how highly the Doctor thought of Clara and wanted to ensure that the man she was dating was good enough for her. He admired his companion greatly and was extremely thankful for all she'd done for him in their time travelling. I was surprised that An Unearthly Child or Remembrance of the Daleks weren't referenced with the infamous school setting. The Doctor's plans to protect the school, children and Earth was great to see and his authoritative attitude was fantastic. When he found out that Clara was dating Danny, the soldier who he refused to accept was a maths teacher over a PE teacher, it was terrific. He wanted him explained by Clara after she'd explained himself to him. (If that makes sense). The threat of the Blitzer was good but I'd have liked it revealed a little sooner perhaps but then I suppose that'd take away the mystery behind it. The Doctor's attempts to lure the robot killer to the vortex he'd create were great and the way Danny inadvertently thwarted it didn't help his efforts in impressing the Doctor. Danny's understanding of Clara going off with the Doctor was good to see and I loved how much she loved seeing the universe. The new plan devised by the Doctor was very good and, with some help by Danny, causing the defeat of the instinct killer robot got Danny and the Doctor off to a good start. I hope he's more like Mickey than Rory though with his role! The reference to Barbara was a nice throw in as well as the references to Listen where the Doctor said Danny's surname reminded him of the colour. For such a serious Doctor, the new persona really is full of comedy and it's just marvellous. Overall, a good story, a sweet moment with Courtney and the return of Missy with the policeman entering the 'promised land'. It's nice to see how much the Doctor values Clara. 

Rating: 8/10

Victory of the Daleks

"The Daleks have no conscience. No mercy. No pity. They are my oldest and deadliest enemy. You can not trust them."

Writer: Mark Gatiss

Format: TV

Broadcast: 17th April 2010

Series: 5.03

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Amy

Synopsis 

After receiving a phone call from Winston Churchill, the Doctor and Amy arrive in London 1941 where the British have acquired a brand new type of soldier in their war effort attempts. The Daleks. 

Verdict 

Victory of the Daleks is an outstanding episode for the early days of Matt Smith as the Doctor! Watching the episode back from a stand alone point of view it's really tremendous seeing how far Smith's incarnation developed over his three series at the helm. Here, he seems extremely young and still getting to grips with the new body. Amy, too, seems well out of her depth at first but I guess that's the loveliness of the early days of a new Doctor and companion at the same time. The setting is actually my favourite part about the story and I guess that just shows my love for History and explains why it's the subject I'm applying to do a degree in. We saw the secret underground cabinets, London during the Nazi bombings and even Winston Churchill himself! The Doctor's relationship with Winston was fabulous right the way through the episode with some great wit regarding the TARDIS and its key. I like how after the lead in of The Beast Below, the Doctor arrived a month late of which the 'Ironside' had been created. A wartime Dalek really is a frightening thought but I loved how reminiscent the Daleks were of how they planned and connived in The Power of the Daleks. There they were servants and now they were soldiers. The Doctor's utter hatred for them was outstanding and just majestically portrayed by Matt. Already he'd done a stellar job. The way he described how hate looked like a Dalek was ironically beautiful. I loved the pride he had when stating how many times he'd defeated his most fearsome enemies. The follow on from the events of The Stolen Earth/Journeys End was excellent with the Dalek ship being so deadly damaged that its Skaro inhabitants weren't even recognised as Dalek anymore. They were inferior. The idea behind the progenitor was very intriguing and once the testimony was brilliantly given, a new breed of Daleks would arrive on our screens in the form of the Paradigm. Now, the idea I absolutely love but the design of the new Daleks are somewhat questionable. The size isn't too much of an issue to me it's just the paint job that I dislike. It's too bright and ebullient and is exactly what a Dalek isn't. Had they been a more common colour, with just the Supreme standing out, I think this story's rating would have been higher. I think the design is partly why we didn't see a full Dalek story again until the start of series seven. The voices of the Paradigm though were superb. The way the survivors of the Doctor-Donna welcomed extermination was a bit of a shock but that left the Doctor with a massive dilemma. Save the Earth or wipe out the Daleks. Bracewell would be key, a fantastic concept of a character. A creation of the Daleks who actually thought he was the creator of them. Well, he's no Davros now is he?! But the emotion he brought to the climax was terrific. Good old Doorabella proving that Bracewell was truly human. Love is the greatest of our emotions and it seemed he had it an abundance. The walking bomb, who humorously wasn't deactivated, was prevented from destroying the planet but the Daleks had gotten away, stronger than ever and ready for future adventures. Amy was lovely in this with her getting along well with the underground battalion as Danny boy wiped out the Dalek light source, and also in retrieving the TARDIS key from Winston as the pair said their goodbyes. The Doomsday reference was brilliant, the plot was fantastic and the setting was outstanding! A real gem from Mr Gatiss. 

Rating: 9/10

Buzz!

"Alright hornets, why don't you try picking on someone your own size..."

Writer: Oli Smith

Format: Comic Strip

Released: September 2010

Printed in: Doctor Who Annual 2011

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Amy, Rory

Synopsis 

The TARDIS team visit Kenya in 2013 were a new bio-enhancing hormone is causing quite a stir amongst the locals as insects are slowly growing in size...

Verdict 

Buzz! isn't the greatest of comic strip stories by any stretch of the imagination. I'm not entirely sure why the Annuals still persist on doing poor quality, small in length comic stories. Surely, with them being released just the once a year, as a celebration of the year before it of sorts, that it would be the ideal opportunity to do a spectacular comic strip would it not? Usually with these stories from the annuals, they either go one way or the other: very good or pretty poor which is a shame. This story just seemed a bit random and all over the place. The reasons the Doctor, Amy and Rory arrived in Kenya in the near future (of when the story was released) were never really explained. The father and son they were helping weren't given any background or anything which was a shame. The humour from the Doctor upon arrival was good but I didn't get at all just why Rory was present. I don't think he actually had a line over the six pages so it was pretty much a waste of colour including him! It was nice seeing how much the Doctor cared for Amy though when she realised that the enhancement wasn't diluted as it would have been upon testing. But with an interesting throwback to The Christmas Invasion, the Doctor amended that with the TARDIS weather control device, wherever that was added on board. The portrayal of the giant wasp, completely different from The Unicorn and the Wasp, wasn't anything spectacular but it did the job for an Annual story I guess. Overall, far too short which I'll never understand. There isn't much more that I can say other than it did its job without really exciting. 

Rating: 6/10

The Pescatons

"They are aggressive. Actually, the Pescatons are like a cross between two fish species which are similar to those found on this planet: the shark...and the piranha... It's a charming combination, isn't it?"

Author: Victor Pemberton

Format: Novel

Released: September 1991

Series: Target 153

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane

Synopsis 

An invasion of meteorites and an environmental crisis! 

A scientific expedition has disappeared from the bed of the Thames Estuary, where a giant meteorite had landed years previously.

Having landed the TARDIS in the same vicinity, the Doctor and Sarah Jane are attacked at night by a vast, roaring creature. 

Something reminds the Doctor of his encounter with the marine denizens of the planet Pesca, but before his worst fears are confirmed: strange meteorites are landing all over the world, and the Pescatons invasion has begun. 

Verdict 

The Pescatons was a very intriguing read and it was a rather nice story to do with being based on an audio adventure that I'd never even heard of prior to purchasing the novel at a local market for a bargain price of £2. That's 50p cheaper than when it was first released back in 1991! It's always good to do a Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane story and the relationship between them throughout the novel was magnificent as it always was on screen. I think the Fourth Doctor could have done with a bit more humour but instead we got to see the serious side of one of, if not the most, popular Doctors. With the Doctor genuinely worried for the safety of the planet he so dearly loves, along with his fearsome tone and comments, made the Pescatons sound like a real threat which was fantastic. The picture of the enemy on the front cover doesn't really look all that scary or domineering but with some great descriptions in the book they were made out much better than they looked. This story proved why some stories are suited to some formats as I just couldn't see this working well at all on television but in novelised form, and I can imagine on audio, this works really really well. I was intrigued to learn more about the Doctor's past relationship with Professor Emmerson. Just how had the pair met and what made them so close that the Doctor constantly referred to him as "bud" when in conversation. It was really interesting seeing the Fourth Doctor be so friendly with a fellow human, but I guess the pair's shared love of the stars is a major factor in that. The representation of Sarah was brilliant and the fact that she was utterly petrified of the Pescatons again enhanced the fear factor behind the debuting villains. The statement she made about her and the Doctor never encountering something quite like the Pescatons was quite a compliment! In her travels she'd come up against the likes of Daleks, Cybermen, Zygons and Sontarans! Could the Pescatons really be thrown into a category of villains of that standard? I still have my doubts. The use of 'meteorites' was very good throughout with them actually being the arrival of the Pescatons, in their absolute masses, across the planet. Mike and Helen were terrific characters and I really like the relationship they had together and then with the Doctor and Sarah. The scenes in the underwater spacecraft between the guest pair were a highlight of the novel! The use of green slime and cocoons that were undoubtedly impenetrable were excellent and again showed how much of a threat the Pescatons really were. I can imagine on audio that their ability to replicate the voice of whom they were speaking to was extremely frightening. It would certainly be uncomfortable! I was intrigued from the synopsis, and multiple references in the story, of when the Doctor had previously met these Pescaton invaders. Now obviously I knew they hadn't appeared on television but I found myself worried that I was reading a sequel to a story I hadn't done. Thankfully that wasn't the case and the flashback chapter of the Doctor's visit to Pesca was outstanding. Now, of course in the audio it would have been Tom Baker voicing the encounter with Zor but I was struggling to work out just when the Fourth Doctor had been travelling alone, seeing as Sarah was the companion in the story. For the novelised version, I like to think that it was the Third Doctor who visited Pesca. But hey, continuity impossibilities in Doctor Who thrive! The encounter with Zor setting up the resolution which literally occurred on the penultimate page was tremendous. Zor was the power supply behind the entire race, he was the one providing the thoughts of each and every Pescaton. If the Doctor destroyed him then the much publicised invasion was over. The zoo scenes were good and the use of giant lights to disintegrate the leader was pretty good. The lead up was better than the actual destruction I thought. The descriptions of the Pescatons' disintegrating into powder across the planet was fantastic and the threat was over. Martin was safe, Mike and Helen had survived and now the governments had a mass cover up to deal with whilst the Doctor and Sarah quickly left. Overall, a good and intriguing read! 

Rating: 8/10

Road Rage

"I'll suck this world into a different cosmos!"

Writer: Craig Donaghy

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 13th August 2014

Printed in: DWA 352

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis 

Clara is rushing to meet the Doctor who has required her services urgently but she gets trapped in deadly traffic, quite literally as the road rises and tries to engulf the planet into another dimension! 

Verdict 

Road Rage was a pretty good little comic strip considering it was from the Doctor Who Adventures range rather than the more adult targeted and feature length stories of those in Doctor Who Magazine. With this issue released before the airing of Deep Breath, I liked how it allowed Clara to take the centre stage for the entire comic. I'm not sure why I used the word 'entire' there seeing as the whole story was only spread over 4 pages. I know the magazine is aimed at the very young fans but surely they'd want a story lasting more than 4 pages, would they not? Clara riding the motorcycle as she did in The Day of the Doctor was terrific and I like how a prominent part of The Bells of Saint John has continued. The idea of a road not really being a road but instead an alien monster was intriguing to say the least! The way it monstrously rose up to engulf the planet into another dimension was good but the courage from Clara was marvellous! She just accepted the situation and took on the road monster herself, not even calling for the Doctor. The resolution contradicted itself a little I felt as despite the tail following Clara wherever she went, surely for the road monster to engulf its tail Clara would have had to sacrifice herself? I'm not sure, the idea was there but the way it was carried out wasn't quite sufficient. The moment Clara returned to the TARDIS was good and although we didn't see the Twelfth Doctor's face, it was clearly he who took Clara's hand and humorously mentioned the road monster and how, as he thought, had destroyed itself. Overall, extremely short which is something that puts me off this comic range, but it was quite fun and I liked how Clara was of centre stage. 

Rating: 7/10

Boom Town

"We've got a prisoner. The police box really is a police box!"

Writer: Russell T Davies

Format: TV

Broadcast: 4th June 2005

Series: 1.11

Featuring: Ninth Doctor, Rose, Captain Jack, Mickey

Synopsis 

The Doctor and his companions, Rose Tyler and Jack Harkness travel to modern day Cardiff and meet up with Rose's boyfriend, Mickey. There, they discover that their thought dead foe, Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen is very much alive. Without an easy escape route from the planet, she is willing to rip the planet apart to ensure her freedom.

Verdict 

Boom Town was a fantastic penultimate story to the first series of the revived Doctor Who! It's fair to say that the series as a whole has been a major success with some instant classics such as Dalek and The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances. But here we had a sequel to Aliens of London/World War Three and it was excellent! I really liked the storytelling of the characters as well as the plot itself which was pretty basic yet effective. The return of a Slitheen is a good thing I think as I'd think they'd be popular amongst the youth but after a successful novel in The Monsters Inside I think they're more popular with the more astute fans such as myself. The fact that Margaret was the sole survivor of the missile strike of Downing Street was very good and the reason of her survival was logical which was nice. Something that can't be said for the Dalek in Victory of the Daleks. The humour between Margaret and the Doctor was brilliant throughout the episode with the Doctor going to her office, preventing teleportation and then having dinner and stopping himself from being poisoned. After the events of the yet to be blogged previous story, the TARDIS team really has improved with the addition of Captain Jack and I love how someone with a similar knowledge and presence as the Doctor is now companion. The humour regarding the plan in the Mayor's building was fantastic. I really liked the many references to past stories with An Unearthly Child, The End of the World and The Unquiet Dead all wonderfully referenced. I loved in particular how the Doctor loved having the TARDIS stuck as a police box. It's nice to know that he's fond of a glitch that occurred all those years ago in 1963. The continuation of the rift from the latter mentioned episode was good and it's nice to see, with Jack here to experience it, that the origins of Torchwood are being created. The way Margaret was touched in the toilet scene was nice, she wouldn't bring herself to murder a pregnant women having lost all her family. I wasn't keen on the Doctor dismaying the 'Blaidd Drwg' reference. For someone so intelligent he really is quite blind in missing continued links that form the series arc. The use of the extrapolator locking on to the TARDIS and draining its power was a good plan and the fact that the heart of the TARDIS caused the defeat was pretty good too! I'm not sure if I liked that Margaret became an egg but the idea of second chances is cool with me. Mickey was a bit out of his depth here and I'm not a fan of his character during series one I must admit. He's just annoying and stupid really which is a shame because someone like Rose would deserve so much better than a whiny idiot. Overall, a good episode with great storytelling! Very enjoyable. 

Rating: 8/10

Domain of the Voord

"Last time we met you were trying to kill me. Ring a bell?"

Writer: Andrew Smith

Format: Audio

Released: September 2014

Series: The Early Adventures 1.01

Featuring: First Doctor, Susan, Ian, Barbara

Synopsis 

The Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara land on the planet Hydra, where Admiral Jonas Kaan leads a vast flotilla of ships trying to elude the vicious race that has invaded and occupied their world. But his ships are being picked off one by one, vessels and crews dragged underwater by an unseen foe. 

The time travellers find themselves pitched into battle against the Voord, the ruthless enemy they last encountered on the planet Marinus. As they take the fight to the very heart of the territory now controlled by the Voord the stakes get higher. First they lose the TARDIS... then they lose that which they hold most dear. And that's only the start of their troubles.

In the capital, Predora City, they will learn the truth of what it means to be a Voord. And that truth is horrifying. 

Verdict

Domain of the Voord was a fantastic audio adventure to kick off the brand new range of Early Adventures from Big Finish. I've been anticipating this story for in excess of a year now after the announcement was made in 2013 and my excitement wasn't just because it's a new range but because we were going to be getting a sequel to The Keys of Marinus, an all time favourite of mine even if it isn't popular amongst the general consensus. But to me it's desperately underrated and I just love it! The title was intriguing and it was clear we'd get to learn a lot more about the Voord, and we did so and it was fantastic. It's always nice to do a story featuring the very first TV TARDIS crew and just like Farewell, Great Macedon, we got a feature length and full cast story. The Companion Chronicles are all well and good but full cast stories are always favourable for me. William Russell and Carole Ann Ford reprised their roles as Ian and Susan admirably and told the story through narration when bedded with elegance. Based on the dialogue between the TARDIS foursome, and some of the reactions to the story's events, I like to place this story in season 2. The setting of Hydra was very good and the way it was described was stunning. It seemed a lovely planet and the fact that there was just one land mass and ocean spanning the entire world was very unique! The way the Doctor and Barbara's disappearances, which sadly has to be accounted for with the late actors unable to appear, was shown was very good hear. The sinking of the ship taking the Doctor and Barbara to their seemed deaths, along with the TARDIS, was outstanding! It left an intriguing dynamic with just Ian and Susan left by themselves with them accepting the deaths of the Doctor and Barbara. Just what would they do? They'd a Voord invasion to deal with whilst coping with the trauma. With my adoration of Keys, at first I wasn't all that impressed with the representation of the Voord. They really didn't sound like they did in the classic TV serial and that didn't change throughout the audio to my annoyance but I learned to live with it and after discovering that this story was set just after a century of the TV story I got it into my head that they'd developed significantly after the Marinus failures. The way the Doctor and co took pride in their defeating of the Voord was something I loved and it reminded me somewhat of how the First Doctor acted towards the Daleks in The Dalek Invasion of Earth. I absolutely loved the cliffhanger of part 2 with Ian calling the shots and demanding the materialisation of the TARDIS off of Hydra, leaving any hope of the Doctor and Barbara surviving behind. The sound of the TARDIS leaving was a huge shock as we knew it was nigh on impossible that the TARDIS would be able to return. Tarlak, the brother of Yartek, was a brilliant leadership villain from the Voord. He wasn't quite as sinister as Yartek I found but I still liked his ruthlessness. The depiction of the Voord capsules was wonderfully reminiscing of what was seen back in 1964 and the new information about the origins of the Voord was frightening. The revelations of the 'true blood line' and nature of the mask was outstanding and really gave some superb insight into what the Voord really are all about. The way the Doctor and Barbara were found safe and alive and reunited with Ian and Susan was excellent. And that led to the Doctor taking charge once again and leading the fight to the Voord and saving the planet. The way he caused a mishap between the telepathic link was a great and logical resolution. The guest cast brought some brilliant characters who had some interesting relationships with Ian and Susan. Amyra and Kaan stood out as highlights. Overall, a wonderful start to this brand new range and it's amazing to have a sequel to a story I absolutely love. An outstanding adventure to mark my 250th blog entry!

Rating: 9/10

Time Heist

"Picture the thing you want most in the universe... and decide how badly you want it."

Writers: Stephen Thompson & Steven Moffat

Format: TV

Broadcast: 20th September 2014

Series: 8.05

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis 

The Doctor turns bank robber when he is given a task he cannot refuse - steal from the most dangerous bank in the cosmos.

Verdict 

Time Wise was a very good episode to continue the strong eighth series of Doctor Who with our brand new Twelfth Doctor, and once again Peter Capaldi gave a stellar performance in his new role. He really has taken no time at all to settle and after reading Silhouette and The Blood Cell since watching Listen, novels of which both feature the current TARDIS pairing, I'm more than familiar with this combination now and I'm loving the contrast between them. Jenna Coleman once again looked absolutely sensational as Clara in her stylish look, something similar I'd imagine the Doctor might wear if he became a gorgeous women after a regeneration. The scene in Clara's house when she was getting ready for date number two with Danny was outstanding humour. The Doctor didn't understand, or seem to ackowledge, the whole dating concept. The reference to Clara's "filled in" face and his failure to notice her lovely hair for the evening was wonderful. But the moment that had me howling was the reference to Clara needing high heels to reach a shelf. Capaldi said it so seriously which made the comedic value from it just ooze. The continuation from The Bells of Saint John with the phone ringing was good and I'm sure that the whole Missy arc, which has been rather quiet since Into the Dalek to my surprise, will reveal all about the enigmatic women in the shop. After reading the preview for this episode in DWM this morning I was intrigued by co-writer Stephen Thompson's comments. The plot sounded good, robbing the most secure bank in the universe with an added dose of time travel. It wasn't all too dissimilar to the aforementioned latter of the novels I'd read this week with the Doctor having to break out of the most secure prison in the cosmos. The idea of a telepathic creature searching for guilt in the mind was very good. It takes the whole meaning of mens rea to a new level! The Teller looked quite weird, that's how I'd describe it. It wasn't a frightening or menacing creature and seemed to border on the line of looking a bit silly. Ms Delphox was a brilliant character and she really was cold and callous and seemed to be the true villain in the story. Psi and Saibra were good additions to the Doctor and Clara in trying to break into the bank and I liked how the memory worm made another appearance after the humorous scene with Strax in The Snowmen. It was an intriguing dynamic having a shapeshifter and an augmented human teaming up with the Doctor and Clara but it provided some superb dialogue. The traces being left by 'the architect' of the robbery was fascinating and I loved how things played out with it turning out to be the Doctor himself who set up the robbery using the TARDIS. The surprise revelation regarding Karabraxos herself was very intriguing and led to the Doctor knowing who the architect was very well. She was the wealthiest person in the universe and would destroy her own clones. Quite horrifying if you ask me! The rewards of Psi and Saibra were very nice with their heroic turns after they were thought dead but I wasn't too impressed by the Doctor and Clara's. It was too similar to Hide. I like the fact that it was rather a rescue mission than a robbery, but we did we really need the scene with them walking off home? But anyway, another very good episode! Cinematic plot, wonderful comedy and even a throwback to The Leisure Hive! Those flashbacks were of mass intrigue and the performance of Capaldi, especially in the climax, was outstanding. 

Rating: 8/10

The Darkening Eye

"I went beyond death, and I believe I can save you."

Writer: Stewart Sheargold

Format: Audio

Released: December 2008

Series: Companion Chronicles 3.06

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Adric, Nyssa, Tegan

Synopsis 

While investigating a debris-littered battlefield in deep space, the TARDIS crew are salvaged by an ancient race of collectors known as Dar Traders.

Seperated from the Doctor after an accident, Adric, Tegan and Nyssa find themselves at the mercy of the Traders' curiosity. But the Traders have salvaged a cabinet from the battle that could be very dangerous indeed.

What does the suave assassin, Damasin Hyde, know of the cabinet? And why is everybody so interested in the missing Time Lord?

To find the Doctor, the TARDIS crew will have to enter a violent inter-planetary war. Where someone will die, and it will change everything.

Verdict

The Darkening Eye was a brilliant Companion Chronicle that was wonderfully performed by Sarah Sutton who, once again, reprised her role as Nyssa. Now, I've sometimes been a bit critical of the pairing of the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa in the Main Range stories due to the seemed poor performances by the actors but here Sutton threw all that doubt back in my face because she was tremendous! I loved having a new Season 19 story, if you like, and it was intriguing hearing the takes on both Adric and Tegan. Sarah did a great job of including the Australian accent of her fellow female companion and also captured the somewhat youth-like tone of Adric. Her impression of the Doctor, who didn't appear too much, was also very good in my opinion. The story itself was excellent with a ghoulish theme of death! The Dar Traders were an intriguing species and what they hoped to experience was rather daunting. But I really liked it. They wanted to know and capture the threshold between life and death, if there was one at all. I found the concept mightily intriguing! Is there anything between life and death, just for a split moment? If there was, the Dar Traders wanted to experience it to fulfil whatever sadistic fantasies they had. Their use of trading was an interesting one and they literally meant it in regards to just about everything! The emotional references by Nyssa to The Keeper of Traken and Logopolis were really heartfelt and it really made me realise just how much she went through in her early days in the TARDIS, of course then with the Fourth Doctor. The descriptions of the Master wearing the face of her father, Tremas, was also full of emotion. She utterly despised the renegade Time Lord but how could she go about destroying the one thing that was left of her father? With this emotion it was very good how Nyssa took the central role amongst the companions (as was always going to be the case of course with her performing). Her consoling of Tegan was nice but there always just seemed a bit of tension between her and Adric. The arrival of the assassin, Damasin, was good and his apparent killing of Adric was great! But, being Alzarian, his internal organ structure was different so he survived the stabbing he received. The triumphant return of the Doctor was superb and the way the downfall of the suave assassin as it seems he's known was tremendous, despite the fact he couldn't be killed as he was stuck in a flux between life and death. I almost envied him, I'd love immortality! A good climax to a great little story. Good relations amongst the TARDIS crew, unique concepts and characters and a fantastic performance by Sarah Sutton.

Rating: 8/10

The Cruel Sea

"The sea is alive. Every drop of it... And it's screaming with pain and shame."

Writer: Robert Shearman

Format: Comic Strip

Released: August 2005

Printed in: DWM 359-362

Featuring: Ninth Doctor, Rose

Synopsis 

It's the 22nd century. Mars has been cleaned up, dusted off and turned into a leisure planet. The rich sail the artificial seas and drink cocktails. But... the sea is hungry. The Doctor has once again landed himself in trouble and his companion is in the middle of an intergalactic dispute... and a wedding with very disturbed guests.

Verdict 

The Cruel Sea was a superb story and is certainly, so far of what I've read anyway, the best Ninth Doctor and Rose comic strip! We finally get a feature length story spread across four issues which is in my opinion the ideal length to tell a great story, and that's exactly what we got here. It began well with some typical Doctor-Companion humour with Rose all space suited out expecting Mars to just be a rock. Instead it'd become a tourist destination, of sorts, for the super rich. Now, the concept is certainly a striking one and perhaps contradictory to some Ice Warrior stories set past the 22nd century but I actually liked the idea. A beautiful sea, apparently made from cranberry juice, and artificial air. To me, this story was a kind of cross between Turn Left and The Curse of the Black Spot despite it being released some time before each of those stories. But you had the whole idea of beings coming through via reflection, as in the latter mentioned story, and then we saw remnants of an alternative life for Rose had she not accepted the Doctor's offer to travel with her back in Rose, which was excellently referenced and flashbacked to. I loved how this alternative direction in life shown was actually derived from the nightmares of Rose Tyler herself. She has fallen in love with travelling in the TARDIS, seeing the wonders of the universe, and it seems clear she's ever so grateful that the Doctor returned a few seconds later to tell her the TARDIS can travel time. The rest is, as you know, history. But this led to me thinking that did Rose use this experience as inspiration during the above formerly mentioned story? I rather like to think so. Here, she doesn't like to think of her life without the Doctor and in Turn Left, she's horrified thinking of a universe without him. The guest characters were intriguing all named as basically numbers following the word 'wife'. How can a guy at the age of 143 have been married well into double figures amount of times? The women's mental health certainly has to be questionable, especially with one who crawled into the mouth of her ex-husband. Yes, that happened and it was horrifically brilliant. The threat of permanent divorce was a humorous concept I thought and just showed how pathetic these women's lives had become. Keeping a guy alive for money basically. Is it really that important? The 'reflectors' taking over the Doctor's body was fantastic. Excuse the pun. But I liked how it was the undying trust between the Doctor and Rose that ultimately prevailed and stopped the evil Alvar. Overall, a wonderful comic strip but I was just hoping, seeing as the story was set on Mars, for an Ice Warrior reference. Sadly, we didn't get one. 

Rating: 9/10

The Blood Cell

"The thing about 428 is that he never turns it off. That's what suddenly and hugely got to me then. That air of quiet, almost smug amusement."

Author: James Goss

Format: Novel

Released: 11th September 2014

Series: NSA 12.02

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis 

An asteroid in the furthest reaches of space - the most secure prison for the most dangerous of criminals. The Governor is responsible for the cruellest murderers so he's not impressed by the arrival of the man they're calling the most dangerous criminal in the quadrant. Or, as he prefers to be known, the Doctor.

But when the new prisoner immediately sets about trying to escape, and keeps trying, the Governor sets out to find out why. Who is the Doctor and what's he really doing here? And who is the young women who comes every day to visit him, only to be turned away by the guards?

When the killing finally starts, the Governor begins to get his answers...

Verdict 

The Blood Cell was sadly a bit of a mixed bag of a novel. Now there's doubt that the good outweighed the bad but there were quite a few negatives from my perspective that hurt my final rating for this story. I'll get right into the bad points to start with so I'll finish on the highs. This was my first read of James Goss's work and I didn't like the fact the story was written in the first person at all. I thought after the first chapter that it was intriguing to open from the literal point of view of a character who was obviously going to play a prominent role but to do the whole novel in that way just didn't take my fancying. I couldn't adapt to it at all. That was the main issue really. I liked the story and the humour that came with it. The most secure prison in the cosmos and yet the Doctor is escaping on more than one occassion from his cell. Well, actually he was doing it pretty frequently to my amusement. The idea of the sonic spoon was a bit silly I thought but once Clara eventually arrived on the scene her reaction made it improve a little. Talking of Clara, I really disliked how long it took for her to be introduced into the story and then once she was, she had such a small role for the most part which was a real shame because once that role increased she stole the limelight. The ambiguous references to Danny were neatly thrown in to tie along with the TV series that's currently on and their relationship is developing. I also liked the admiration the Doctor clearly had for his companion in referencing The Name of the Doctor. The return of the Doctor's use of Venusian aikido seemed rather fitting for this incarnation seeing how similar he is to the Third Doctor. The Doctor using the Cybermen and Clockwork Droids as examples of beings who disregarded human life, similar to the way the prison was treated, was fantastic. His hatred for his enemies burned deep as we saw recently in Into the Dalek. The Governor himself, despite the story being told through his eyes, sounded pretty boring for someone who was an exiled HomeWorld president suffering the humiliation of governing the prison. The guest characters were pretty good with the likes of Bentley and Lafcardio standing out. The latter was a character I related to who had pride in his book collection which I admired as I too take great pride in my collection, even if it isn't the biggest. I can't imagine my reaction if they all crisped away in the fire the way that occurred in this story. I would be absolutely distraught! The prison setting was actually really good but I thought the Custodians were a bit contradictory in their nature. I mean, one minute they were helpful and then it took a while to explain why they'd become rampaging killers the next. Just like I find with some of Jonathan Morris's comic strips, there was a clear lack of explanation towards some things. We didn't really know how the Doctor had ended up in the prison or even what he had done that was so awful and caused numerous references. I don't like to guess. I also disliked how he was friendly with the Doctor yet despised him for his alleged actions. You can't like and hate someone at the same time. Not truthfully. Clara's charming nature won the Governor over though which was lovely to see. Her banter with the Doctor was excellent, especially when she pretended she was in charge of the Doctor. The way the Doctor became partly inactive because of a stubbed toe was pretty ridiculous I thought. The shooting should have come earlier! The name of the story wasn't even great in my opinion, I mean it took until the final 28 pages for any reference at all towards a 'blood cell'. And then what we got was just about average. After 220-something pages of suspense and build up we were given the Judge who seemed to me to be a really rubbish rip off of the Krillitanes. The way it wore Bentley to speak was frighteningly good though, that was depicted greatly. The emotional cimatic speech from Marianne was a superbly courageous ending which set the pace for the destruction of the Judge. Overall, I assure you I did like the story but I think it could have been done much better in the third person rather than the first. We didn't need to know as much as we did about the Governor. A poorly timed revelation, repetitive style of chapter endings and a loose ending really hurt a story with brilliant potential. Overall, decent but the Twelfth Doctor's worst story to date across the formats. 

Rating: 7/10

The Grey Hole

"Entire galaxies, untold solar systems, held in a pocket universe... and all of it teetering on the edge of oblivion!"

Writer: Trevor Baxendale

Format: Comic Strip

Released: September 2010

Printed in: Doctor Who Annual 2011

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Amy

Synopsis 

The Doctor and Amy arrive on the Gemstone Moon of Regol Genaralon where they find a prefabricated human research base that appears to have been abandoned for the last two weeks.

Verdict 

The Grey Hole was a fantastic little comic strip which actually came to my surprise considering some of the past stories to feature in the Annuals and the distinct poorer quality in artwork from the DWM or IDW ranges which I'm currently reading. This was my first story with Amy since my rerun watching of Series 7 so it was nice to see her, by herself, with the Doctor. As I've mentioned on more than one occassion, I much prefer Amy as a sole companion than when she's with Rory and the example set by her is why I'm worried about Clara and Danny's increasing relationship in the current series. I absolutely love Clara and I don't want her to become associated with anyone like Amy did. But anyway, in this short story Amy didn't have much to do or say other than ask the questions which I guess is about right for a story of this length. The plot itself though was outstanding in my opinion! The concept of the grey hole was superb and one I would love to see developed further in a TV, novelised or audio format. It has a lot of potential as you can see from my opening quote. Just what is inside? It could be anything! It's almost like a physical void. You've got what we already know with the black holes, what many believe to be the opposite in white holes and then there's the stuff in between. That's where the grey hole wonderfully pops in. The research on a distant moon by a colony was very good and I loved the humour in how they'd gotten lost within the hole during research! That's taking work a bit far isn't it? Ha. The Vorpon were decent villains and I liked how they were created to guard the nexus by the grey hole itself. The reasoning by the Doctor to get he, Amy and the search team they'd found safe out of the gateway and to safety was good. The only downside was the lack of explanation as to how the search team had gotten so far into the grey hole where the Doctor needed the TARDIS to reach. But overall, a brilliant little comic strip that I hope is expanded in some form. 

Rating: 9/10

The Doll of Death

"Lethbridge-Stewart, meet us yesterday evening!"

Writer: Marc Platt

Format: Audio

Released: September 2008

Series: Companion Chronciles 3.03

Featuring: Third Doctor, Jo

Synopsis 

"Retrocausation! Events before their cause. Time in reverse."

While investigating a temporal anomaly in Central London, the Doctor and Jo Grant meet Professor Harold Saunders, a man who possesses an unstable alien artefact, and who is seemingly haunted by the ghosts of dolls.

Who is the mysterious Mrs Killbrew? Why is a pack of hounds hunting them in reverse? And can Jo pick up any bargains while backwards shopping on Oxford Street?

Verdict 

The Doll of Death was a fantastic audio and a great debut performance from Katy Manning in the Companion Chronicles range. She effortlessly reprised her role as lovely old Josephine Grant, something she hadn't done for 35 years since her departure in The Green Death. I was intrigued by the point of view at which the now older Jo was telling this story from. I'm not entirely sure it's necessary to have the older version of the companion giving a brief introduction of themselves long since they left the Doctor. But here we got to know about Jo's husband Cliff and shared some humour regarding the climate conference she was attending. The story itself was great with the first part being the slightly better of the two I thought. The use of retrocausation was staggeringly good! I absolutely loved the concept. Things happening in reverse. The effects of an explosion, as we saw in the story, were on show some time before the impact actually occurred. It's not quite comprehendible but to me it's fantastic. The way it was affecting speech was enigmatic brilliance and just made those ghostly dolls even more eery and creepy after their freaky description. The roles of Third Doctor era UNIT regulars; the Brigadier, Sgt Benton and Mike Yates were very good and with the Brigadier in particular sparked some terrific honour with his continued bickering with the Doctor. I do wonder if those two, in this incarnation, have ever gotten along. The way the Brigadier just ridiculed some of the Doctor's theories, desire him pretty much always being correct, baffled me. Is he really that stubborn and ignorant to think he knows better than a Time Lord? I enjoyed the cliffhanger and its resolution (of sorts). The character of Mrs Killebrew was very intriguing and I liked the confusion around her and Hannah. The mystery of the blue tablet was a great focal point of the story and explained why time was going in reverse and how some people were feeling the effects and on the parallel time stream. The reference to Terror of the Autons was nicely thrown in with Jo referencing being under the Master's control as she faced similar circumstances here. The climax was a good one with the debate over the tablet and why Hannah was on Earth during the 1970s. She was an observer and she'd come to look at this Earth's first contact with alien life. The one constant in history. The Doctor. I liked that very much as did I enjoy the concept of the Doctor's past being Hannah's future and vice versa. The Doctor being eager to know when his exile would end was tremendous but quite sad too. Our hero was still trapped and was desperate for adventure! But he'd remain stuck a while longer. A great climax! Things worked out well and the Doctor was officially a British citizen! That was a shock. 

Rating: 8/10

Silhouette

"This Doctor bothers me... He affects an air of ignorance and indifference. But beneath it are undercurrents of knowledge and curiosity."

Author: Justin Richards

Format: Novel

Released: 11th September 2014

Series: NSA 12.01

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara, Paternoster Gang

Synopsis 

"Vastra and Strax and Jenny? Oh no, we don't need to bother them. Trust me."

Marlowe Hapworth is found dead in his locked study, killed by an unknown assailant. This is a case for the Great Detective, Madame Vastra. 

Rick Bellamy, bare-knuckle boxer, has the life drawn out of him by a figure dressed as an undertaker. This angers Strax the Sontaran. 

The Carnival of Curiosities, a collection of bizarre and fascinating sideshows and performers. This is where Jenny Flint looks for answers. 

How are these things connected? And what does Orestes Milton, rich industrialist, have to do with it all? As the Doctor and Clara join the hunt for the truth they find themselves thrust into a world where nothing and no one are what they seem. 

Verdict 

Silhouette, a wonderful name for a novel, was in itself absolutely wonderful! A stormer of a story to kick off the Twelfth Doctor's novelised era (or is that The Blood Cell)? I'm not sure. All three novels (The Crawling Terror also) were released on the same day and when I purchased them from Waterstones it was this novel that was on the left of the three so I figured that this was set first of the three. Anyway, from the prologue I could tell this was going to be good! I adore the Victorian setting of the 1890s and with it being a pseudo-history story, and the addition of the Paternoster Gang, I was confident this was going to be brilliant and indeed it was! The mystery behind the murder of Marlowe Hapworth was a great focal point and then you throw in the deaths of other people and each member of the Paternoster Gang has a task, trail or lead for their role in the story. I was surprised that it took over 50 pages for Madame Vastra to be introduced but the humour of the Doctor arriving without saying hello made it more than worthwhile. I liked Justin Richards' dialogue for Jenny very much, he really captured her from on screen effortlessly. The same can be said for Vastra but maybe quite not for Strax and that's purely because of the format so it was far from a problem! The humour from Strax, as with all his previous appearances, was excellent. I'm surprised that the story's title, despite its beauty, was named after Silhouette and not Affinity. Now, Silhouette was a stunning character and her beautiful description was matched by her appearance on the cover. It even sparked a sense of the Doctor fancying her which was a pleasant shock. But for me Affinity was the star character, both as villain and in the end hero. I loved the concept of people as weapons, as was the plan of the outstanding villain Orestes Milton. The red crystal method of control was superb and I loved his disgust when the effects were slightly fading momentarily on Silhouette and she showed compassion towards others. Right from that moment it was clear Milton was ruthless. His businessman background was great, even more so when it was discovered he was on the run from the Shadow Proclamation! It's about time that organisation played a prominent role in a story after the events of The Stolen Earth. Back to what I was saying with regards to Affinity, the use of face-changing really was a unique idea of a villain's accomplice. Enslave a man then genetically modify him to take on the face of who he wished! It's actually pretty frightening, which I think was the idea. The different personas who introduced himself to each of Clara, Jenny and Vastra were all terrific! You had Oswald who Clara quite fancied, forgetting her relations with Danny momentarily. Then there was Jim who, despite Jenny's vested interest with Vastra, she was quite attracted to! And then there was Festin who I think caused the saddest moment of the three by far! Pretending to be a fellow Silurian, Vastra seemed delighted to not be alone but then it just turned out to be a trap. From that point onward I knew things weren't right and I was anticipating the turns of Oswald and Jim as I read on. The references in this novel to A Good Man Goes to War, The Snowmen and Hide were all very clever and delicately placed within the dialogue. The Carnival of Curiosities was depicted fabulously and it being the focal setting of the story was tremendous. The different amusements on display were described as being fun and exciting. It bared similarities, I thought, to The Greatest Show in the Galaxy. And I'm sure you can tell from the Carnival's name that the Doctor would love the place! The humorously shared reference between the Doctor and Clara towards the Time Lord's overwhelming curiosity. The plot itself centred on emotion in an incredible way! Milton was going to unleash his "greatest weapon" yet and intended on using London as an example of it working. He wanted to unleash a cloud of anger, quite literally. London was going into chaos as people become vented with anger through no fault of their own. But the Doctor's plan was brilliant and I loved how he did it in calm fashion. In the Carnival, the Doctor along with Strax's help as the Strong Man, was putting on a sensational show keeping the attendees' spirits high and immune from the effect of the anger cloud. And the way he ridded London of the cloud was great and logical! He would use Empath, another enslaved assistant of Milton. The Doctor took off the ring that kept him out of his own control and demanded he soaked up the party atmosphere full of joy, fun and happiness, entertainment, glee and euphoria. With it built up so much, the Doctor then demanded it be released into the heart of the cloud, wiping it out. It was a stunning moment! After brilliant origami bird threats, a face-changing man and Vastra and Jenny being lured into being trapped, the cloud was defeated but the story wasn't quite over. Milton, now angry himself, was threatening to destroy Southern Britain with missiles as he escaped. But then in an outstanding ending, what he thought was the Shadow Proclamation calling giving him a pardon for his past sins, turned out to be Affinity luring him into the path of the real Proclamation's missiles who'd carried out their execution warrant. A superb and brilliantly clever climax to a wonderful story! Outstanding plot, fantastic characters and a lovely relationship between the Doctor & Clara and the Paternoster Gang. What more can I ask for?

Rating: 10/10

Listen

"All the clocks have stopped. This is the silence at the end of time."

Writer: Steven Moffat

Format: TV

Broadcast: 13th September 2014

Series: 8.04

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis 

What will the Doctor find at the end of the universe? What scares the Doctor? Ghosts of the past and future. Listen!

Verdict 

Listen was a dark, mysterious and enigmatic episode that was mostly brilliant. I loved the immediate irony of the pre-titles scene with the Doctor alone in the TARDIS wondering why people talk out loud when they're on their own. Yet, all the time, he was alone in the TARDIS talking to himself, and he was enjoying his own company I think which I loved. I love the continued use of the TARDIS chalkboard with the Twelfth Doctor, it's such a simple yet effective tool. The Doctor's curiosity in this episode was just wonderful! Once he'd set his mind on wondering why people talk to themselves, considering whether there are creatures perfectly evolved to hiding, he had to find out. The scene where 'Listen' was written on the chalkboard by someone other than the Doctor, when he was alone, just confirmed his mission. He was going to do everything to find out and discover if his theories were correct. I'm not sure he'd have minded if they were wrong, it's just as long as he knew. The Doctor's picking up of Clara was quite humorous as he parked the TARDIS in her bedroom on a night he knew she was on a date. Just what would have been the reaction if the date was very successful and they took things back to her place? Typical Doctor. His lack of understanding towards Clara after a terrible date was magnificent. The date scenes were a bit longer than they needed to be I thought but Danny's awful nervousness made it quite funny. But in my opinion, if you're on a date with someone as beautiful as Clara you make the most of it! She looked absolutely stunning yet again. As always. The use of the TARDIS telepathic circuits to take it to the place where Clara had the nightmare of waking up and someone grabbing your ankle from under the bed was good. But of course, fresh from a date, she was distracted and accidentally guided the TARDIS to Gloucester at the time when Danny, or as we found, Rupert, as he was formally known, was a child. Clara's consoling in the young boy was lovely to see. He was scared of what he thought was under the bed but Clara showed him there was nothing to be afraid of as she dived underneath and encouraged Rupert to join her. And as he did, something sat on the bed. Something unseen, unnatural as we know. The Doctor's arrival to the building and then the bedroom at the scene of the hiding creature was fantastic. The respect the Doctor had for the being (or entity) was superb and I liked how he made Clara and Rupert show it the same respect. It was a creature dawned to hiding and it was seen. The ultimate betrayal but it was allowed to leave in peace. The Doctor's curiosity must now have been at an absolute peak. So what does he do? Just takes Clara to the end of the universe on the very last planet. Now, despite this episode being mostly brilliant as I've mentioned, I loved the idea of the Doctor and Clara going right to the end of time. A place the TARDIS shouldn't even go (with the safeguards turned on of course, but guess who turned them off...). I did have a problem that the last surviving being was a human, and even more so a descendant of Danny Pink. Orson Pink. I couldn't buy into that but because of the rest of the brilliance on show and another stellar performance from Peter Capaldi, I could let it slide and just have the idea prevail. Orson carrying the 'Dan the man' toy soldier that Clara had earlier christened was a lovely touch. The Doctor noticing the door being locked in the spaceship was marvellous and it raised the subtle question - if there's nothing left and nobody out there, then why's it locked? Those creatures the Doctor was so curious about were out there. He was convinced. And he needed to see them. His angered authority towards Clara when she disagreed with him staying to look was surprising. He demanded her to go in the TARDIS or she wouldn't travel with him again. Quite a "deal"! Although some might consider it annoying, I think it's right that we didn't really see the lurking, hiding creatures. The effect the opening doors had on the Doctor was frightening and his curiosity almost killed him yet again. But Orson saved him a terrific moment. Scared of what was possibly coming into the TARDIS, Clara took the lead and inserted herself back into the TARDIS telepathic circuits to materialise the time machine away from danger. And the destination was overwhelmingly incredible. Steven Moffat pulled off an absolute gem of a scene! It was an all time favourite of mine and my jaw literally was dropped from the words "Time Lord" to a while after the end credits. Clara had heard a young boy crying, someone who wanted anything but to become a soldier. At first we assumed it was Danny but instead we got something unbelievably incredible. It was the Doctor! The Doctor as a child appeared. It was such an amazing scene. Clara hid under the bed of the Doctor as two Time Lords came in trying to comfort the crying child Doctor. I was in disbelief at this moment. And then Clara reveals all that this wasn't just any ordinary barn. It would be one the Doctor would return to a long way in his future. This was the barn in which the Doctor contemplated ending the Time War with the Moment. The flashback to The Day of the Doctor with the War Doctor was staggering. I was just in love with the scene! The TARDIS was on Gallifrey long, long ago in the Doctor's past. And then the basis of the story came full circle beautifully as Clara grabbed the ankle of the Doctor and tried to convince him it was a dream. She told him his oath of being the Doctor which was lovely and then she returned to the TARDIS and demanded the Doctor asked no questions of where they were and just left. And after persuasion he obliged. But the moment had occurred which I loved. The TARDIS had been back to Gallifrey and I think it's a hint of what's to come and what was said in the anniversary year. Gallifrey has to be returned to soon. It's inevitable. But overall, a superb episode! Full of intrigue and an enigmatic atmosphere, with an outstanding scene on Gallifrey, just the fact that Orson was a descended relative of Danny wasn't believable. And I don't like that Clara's pretty much in a relationship now! Keep companions away from all that nonsense! However, a marvellous episode. 

Rating: 9/10