The Aztecs

"The Aztecs always showed the utmost courtesy to their intended victims."

Writer: John Lucarotti

Format: Novel

Released: September 1984

Series: Target 88

Featuring: First Doctor, Susan, Ian, Barbara

Synopsis 

The TARDIS materialises in Mexico during the Aztecs civilisation. The Doctor and his companions step outside to discover they are inside a tomb - the tomb, it turns out, of Yetaxa, once High Priest of the Aztecs. 

Barbara is hailed as Yetaxa's reincarnation by Autloc, High Priest of Knowledge, and Tlotoxl, High Priest of Sacrifice, when they find her in the precincts of the tomb wearing the bracelet if the deceased Priest, now revered as a god. 

As she takes advantage of her position of unaccustomed power to try and dissuade the Aztecs from practising human sacrifice...

Verdict 

The Aztecs was an excellent novelisation and a really great way to finish the year! 2015 has been an incredible year for both Doctor Who and myself personally. Series 9 was hugely successful with some quite outstanding stories in which we saw the wonderful Ashildr debut, Clara emotionally die and the Doctor finally step foot on Gallifrey again. We've seen the release in the UK of the Titan Comics adventures from the USA with the Ninth (just about), Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors having some quite wonderful adventures in which we saw the Nimon, Celestial Toymaker and Weeping Angels all make magnificent returns. I really am a huge fan of this magazine and I hope all remains well for it next year. Doctor Who Magazine has been very good this year and the comic strip content in there has been to a high standard which is really pleasing. For me personally, it's been a hugely eventful year and that's why I didn't quite achieve the 308 blog entries of 2014, something I'm not sure I'll ever do again, but 274 isn't too shabby at all. For next year, I do hope to increase the novels during the summer as they're just so difficult to manage to do whilst I'm at university and have academic reading that I need to do. I expect 2016 to be dominated by comic strips and audios as they're what I'll buy the most of and I'm absolutely fine with it. I will continue to read on the train journeys to and from university and I'll fit in the odd television story in along the way! It's a year I'm looking forward to and if I can get anywhere near 274 stories I'll be happy! But now let's talk about the story at hand and it was one I really enjoyed. I was a bit sceptical as to how I'd respond to this story because I've watched it at least four times so it's fair to say I know it pretty well. With each watch, my rating has actually improved and with the novel getting the same rating as the last time I watched, it's fair to say that is what I truly think of the story. I just love it and as my interest in History has increased between each watch (and now read), I really found myself loving Barbara blurting out all she knew about the Aztecs. It's a superb setting and although the story is set in Mexico, it somehow doesn't seem to be in a foreign country - not that it mattered. There were quite a few deviations from the television story and I actually really liked them. The use of the torch from Ian to stun Ixta was great and I loved the description of the latter's reaction. He just couldn't understand how light was made without fire. Despite doing this story so many times now, I'm not sure why I haven't researched the Aztec period as I'm sure it would add to my enjoyment of the story if I knew more about the period in which the serial, or in this case the novel, was set. I really love the Doctor in this and Lucarotti did an excellent job of characterising William Hartnell's First Doctor. Steven Moffat has been a tad critical of this incarnation not actually being the Doctor as we know him now but I would disagree with that. I think he's just magnificent and on television I would just about say he's my favourite incarnation. He really is superb. I was disappointed buy the delivery of the infamous "you can't rewrite history, not one line" quote which was a shame as I was looking forward to reading that part of the novel. I really did anticipate it and it was a shame. Tlotoxl was brilliant as the villain in the story and I love the irony in me calling him that because well, it was actually Barbara who was the wrong one in this story. Tlotoxl was absolutely correct in what he was doing throughout the story which I just think is brilliant. Susan didn't play as big a role as I remembered but the highlighted roles of Ian and Susan more than made up for that. Ian and Ixta's battles were fantastic and Ian using just his thumb at one point was really great. Barbara serving as Yetaxa was marvellous and I loved the essence of the plot in it basically being about opening a tomb. Ian's venture to the TARDIS in doing so was eventful to say the least! I really enjoyed Autloc's emotionally story and Barbara's disappointment at what she did, even if the Doctor convinced her she had done good. The dash to the TARDIS at the climax was very good and overall, this was just a wonderful read! A great way to finish the year. 

Rating: 8/10

 

Planet of Fire

"Continue the sacrifices! See that this Doctor burns slowly..."

Writer: Peter Grimwade

Format: TV

Broadcast: 23rd February - 2nd March 1984

Season: 21.05

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Turlough, Peri

Synopsis 

A strange signal from Earth draws the TARDIS to the island of Lanzarote, where Turlough rescues a young American girl, Peri, from drowning. Among her possessions is an artefact bearing an alien symbol - the same triangular mark that Turlough has branded into his arm. 

The mystery deepens when Kamelion falls under the control of a powerful mind, and the TARDIS travels to the volcanic world of Sarn. As Turlough is forced to face his past, the Doctor must stop his oldest enemy from harnessing the revitalising powers of numismaton gas... 

Verdict 

Planet of Fire was an excellent story and served as a great penultimate adventure for Peter Davison's fantastic Fifth Doctor. The bulk of what I've done with the Fifth Doctor since I started this blog has been his Main Range audios from Big Finish and perhaps a novel or two, both original and Target, but watching him on television once again was a joy as he really is superb in this format. Davison gave a stellar performance in this serial I thought and it was brilliant to be doing a story with this incarnation where the Doctor was on form. He's been rightly criticised for his performances for Big Finish and although I feel some of the criticism is exaggerated as it's far from being the case that every story he has is a bad performance, but he doesn't quite feel the same as he does on television. It's a shame really as I think every other Doctor to grace the audio stage thus far has improved on their television performances. I'm looking really forward to the upcoming release of Only the Monstrous to see how John Hurt's War Doctor does with some more performed stories. Anyway, back to the story at hand and I thought it was a really good one to be fair. Doctor Who once again subtly makes a mockery out of religion and I absolutely love it but the story was hugely significant for a number of reasons. After the emotional and eventful events of Resurrection of the Daleks, in which Tegan departed the TARDIS after a rather lengthy stay, the Doctor would say goodbye to another friend of his in the form of Turlough. I'm really glad that after a shaky start with the Black Guardian, he became centrepiece to the story and really stole the show in my opinion, even if his attire was somewhat questionable. Well, I say he stole the show but I may have to immediately retract that statement after what Nicola Bryant showed us in part one. She looked absolutely sublime in her bikini and that was something that rather amused my seven year old cousin with whom I watched the story with. It had been a while since we watched a story together, I think the last was Terror of the Zygons back in September, but with me at university across the border, we had to take advantage of a night together. With time constraints and football to watch in between parts, we decided upon this story rather than my Christmas present of  The Twin Dilemma. For Peri's first story, I thought she was magnificent and I really am grateful to Big Finish for giving us more Fifth Doctor and Peri stories, along with the addition of Erimem to the fold. For a debut, she was magnificent though and I loved how she was trying to swat the mini-Master when she caused him to exit his contraption that was controlling Kamelion. Ah, poor old Kamelion. He's not the best thing ever to come out of the series is he but for the two adventures he appears in he's not all bad. The design and ability of the robot is far inferior to K9 but I do like the idea of a shape-shifting robot. The idea is actually really good but I think it just shows how difficult the robot was to use for filming in that we had Howard appear in between states for the most part. The cliffhangers were pretty good and if I was watching on broadcast and the surprise hadn't been revealed, I would've absolutely loved part one's ending. The Master's arrival was excellent, as it usually is. Anthony Ainley is a superb incarnation of the Master and he gave arguably his best performance here as he wasn't being an all mighty and powerful Time Lord for the most part. He was showing the signs of a wounded robot. The Master being miniaturised was quite funny and I loved the cliffhanger to part three very much. As if he was in a position to threaten Peri! I really liked and just loved how despite being in no position of advantage or authority, the Master still thought he was superior. I liked the references to Time-Flight and The King's Demons very much and I think it was fitting that before the Fifth Doctor departed, he battled his greatest adversary one more time. The majority of the setting being on Sarn was excellent and I really liked the Trion involvement. The revelation that Turlough was a prisoner and this was his race's prison planet was superb. After getting a reprieve from exile and a way back home, Turlough was always going to say farewell to the Doctor. It's only fitting that Peri took his place after she was saved from quite pathetically drowning earlier in the story. It was a nice moment when the changing of the guard occurred. The way the Master was dealt with was sublime but also rather surprising! This time, the Doctor was taking no risks with the Master. After putting Kamelion emotionally out of his misery, he saw that the Master was destroyed. The ambiguity of the Master's final words not being finished was fantastic. Overall, a really good story with the likes of Malkon and Timanov serving as good characters. We really enjoyed! 

Rating: 8/10

The Futurists

"The Doctor's trapped and we're in a cage in the middle of I dunno how many thousand Roman soldiers..."

Writer: Mike Collins

Format: Comic Strip

Released: August-October 2006

Printed in: DWM 372-374

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Rose

Synopsis 

Soon after the leader of the Futurists group disappears, Milan is destroyed. In its place arrives a huge futuristic city. En route to discovering just what has happened, the Doctor and Rose travel back to 3rd century Wales where more surprises await...

Verdict 

The Futurists was another very good comic strip adventure in what is shaping up to be an excellent The Betrothal of Sontar graphic novel. Thus far, the title story has remained the best but there is definitely time for that to change with three stories to go. The graphic novel must rank as the best bargain I've ever had (and trust me, there have been so many!) at just 38p of my own money. Thanks to a university challenge (no, not the television programme) I won a £5 Amazon voucher some time ago now and somehow on the website somebody was selling a brand new copy for a mere £5.38 and that included postage and packaging! How could I resist? I was going to buy The Flood instead but that was considerably more expensive. With me having The Iron Legion and The Tides of Time graphic novels still to do, I'm going to put off returning to the Eighth Doctor comic strips - although I do anticipate more visual adventures with Paul McGann's magnificent incarnation. The audios are wonderful and of course with McGann starring they're better than the comic strips for knowing what happened all between The Movie and The Night of the Doctor because there's nothing quite like performed Doctor Who. But the ridiculous amount of novels and comic strips mean he has just as many adventures as every other Doctor before and after him. But enough about the Eighth Doctor, this story featured the Tenth Doctor and once again in this graphic novel the characterisation of David Tennant's popular incarnation was once again superb. It really does make a difference when the dialogue and actions of the Doctor on television are replicated in print here. Mike Collins took on the unusual task of both writing and providing the artwork for this story. I suppose that's easier when setting out the storyboard for how the story will appear once printed. I've often thought that a comic strip adventure must be the most difficult to write because there surely has to be an abundance of communication between the writer and the artist to ensure that what is printed is what the writer wanted, and also that the amount isn't too much or too little. I really do appreciate comic strips (maybe that's why I seem to have done so many lately!) and I love that the budget is infinite. As seen with Relative Dimensions a few days back, we can get a visual story with the Twelfth Doctor and the Celestial Toymaker! I'm going to be praising this story for a long time because it's just ridiculously amazing! We also had some good ideas here in this story with the Futurists. Although it's nearly been a decade since the story was originally printed in Doctor Who Magazine, just like F.A.Q. it seemed to be very modern and certainly in line with some weird and whacky ideologies. It was just today that I heard on the news that there's a group calling themselves trans-human and they believe that ageing is a disease that needs to be cured. It made me laugh to be honest and I immediately thought of that group when the Futurists were mentioned. Their ideologies and beliefs were pretty interesting but something I just laugh upon. Something I did love was the Silurian tribe making an appearance! No, it wasn't the ancient reptiles we first saw in Doctor Who and the Silurians, but an actual real life 3rd century Welsh tribe! I thought that was mightily clever and the Doctor's reaction to first hearing that getting mentioned was outstanding. Caerleon and Cardiff getting nice mentions was nice for me being patriotically Welsh. I lined how we got a nice reference to Boom Town as well from Rose. She was characterised pretty decently in this story which was good but reading these comic strips it has made me realise how long it has been since Series 2 appeared on our screen! I really liked Rose's relationship with Altea as they get on very nicely. The switch in realities with Valente and Giovanni was intriguing and certainly not expected! The Hajor seemed like a less impressive version of the Reapers in what their purpose in the universe was and their appearance was a bit of a mix between a jellyfish and the Rutan Host! The artwork and colour of them was very impressive to be fair. The plot worked well and I really enjoyed the cliffhanger to part one. I thought it was excellent. There was a lot of good and I thought the speeches made by the Doctor were fantastic and definitely helped with the demise of the Hajor. Overall, another very good comic strip adventure with the Tenth Doctor and Rose! It's turning out to be a great graphic novel which is really pleasing.

Rating: 8/10

Nuclear Time

"Yesterday I was going to be one of the most important men in history. Yesterday I was going to change the world. Today I am nothing."

Writer: Oli Smith

Format: Novel

Released: July 2010

Series: NSA 40

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Amy, Rory

Synopsis 

"My watch is running backwards."

Colorado, 1981. The Doctor, Amy and Rory arrive in Appletown - an idyllic village in the remote American desert where the townsfolk go peacefully about their suburban routines. But when two more strangers arrive, things begin to change...

The first is a mad scientist - whose warnings are cut short by an untimely and brutal death. The second is the Doctor...

As death falls from the sky, the Doctor is trapped. The TARDIS is damaged, and the Doctor finds he is living backwards through time. With Amy and Rory being hunted through the suburban streets of the Doctor's own future and getting farther away with every passing second, he must unravel the secrets of Appletown before time runs out...

Verdict 

Nuclear Time was a very good novel and it was actually the first time I've read a book on what was my usual train journey from one parent to the other since reading Big Bang Generation in the reverse direction of what I arrived today. It had been a while since I had done a story featuring this trio, a long time in fact, and with my only other experience of this threesome being The Chains of Olympus and Hunters of the Burning Stone graphic novels, only totalling five stories that they appeared in, this was a really nice story and I found myself really enjoying Amy and Rory being together for the entirety of the story. They really are a great couple and their relationship was captured in print excellently I must say. It was a joy to read their scenes together with both characterised fantastically which really pleased me as this was Rory's debut in prose so it may not have been up to scratch. However, no issues there. Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor was also characterised excellently which was great and many of the traits that make him my favourite Doctor were present. The clapping of his hands getting included was just one line but it makes it for me in terms of characterising the specific Doctor for the story. Each Doctor is so different so even though we can't see what incarnation the story features, it has to be sold to us. It's no use just writing on the back which incarnation features. There have to be elements of the character in that specific incarnation and that was absolutely the case here. The story was quite an audacious one from Oli Smith, a writer whose work I believe I was doing for the first time. Talk about timey-wimey! I thought Deep Time had a lot of that but this blew out of the park! I must admit that at times I found myself confused but that was mostly due to a delay in giving the explanation. Once we were explained how things happened, with some nice analogies to string and throwing rubbish out of a car, things seemed to click into place. But it wasn't 100% worked out in my head. I wasn't too keen on the jumping around of time for each chapter. If it had happened for 4-5 chapters in a row I would understand but when there are nearly twenty chapters not quite in chronological order, it can get a bit muddled. It did have some positives though I must admit! We saw the causes of effects but we were also placed in the Doctor's shoes on times by seeing the effect prior to having the cause revealed to us. The idea of the Doctor living backwards time was a difficult one to get my head around but fair play to the author, he made it work pretty well. I wasn't overly struck by the backwards words appearing in print as often as they did but it didn't really present too much of an issue. The Doctor meeting the version of himself living backwards through time was great and I liked the intrigue the Doctor showed. Thanks to the psychic paper, he knew what he had to do. The concept of Appletown was interesting and it just wouldn't be in any other place than the USA would it? A test town to obliterate an entire mission. Was robot weapons disguised as humans and actually having a conscience a bit too advanced for the 1980s? Possibly, yes. But the linkage with the Cold War was superb I thought. There's the History student in me showing as I really liked how that played a big role in the story. The government had planned to nuke the town full of near indestructible robots who thought they were on a mission but didn't want to create a mushroom cloud and alert the Russians to their testing. The Doctor dealing with that on his checklist in the climax was great. I thought Albert was a very good character and his story was played out very well over the course of the novel, even if it wasn't in the correct order. His relationship with Isley was interesting to say the least and I liked his loyalty to his dear robot despite Geoff and everybody else being wholeheartedly confused by his commitment to her. Could you really love a robot? It appeared so, but what was even stranger was the fact that it seemed she loved him back! It was a nice relationship though. Amy and Rory had that greatly too and I also liked the moment the Doctor and Rory exited the Doctor and the Time Lord worked out their location and time zone simply by smelling and tasting. He does like to show off. Albert and Geoff had a mixed relationship throughout but I loved how they got to finish on good terms with Albert getting his life back. The climax was good and the TARDIS playing a huge part in saving the day was superb. Overall, a very good story with some brilliant characters and a whole lot of tension and timey-wimey. 

Rating: 8/10

Zorgo the Terrible

"I've wasted my life trying to kill you, Doctor. And now I'm old and weak. Dying."

Writer: Paul Lang

Format: Comic Strip

Released: October 2015

Printed in: Doctor Who Annual 2016

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis 

The Doctor and Clara come face to face with an enemy that the Time Lord has defeated countless times before. However, the Doctor doesn't recognise Zorgo but will soon realise just how terrible he really is. 

Verdict 

Zorgo the Terrible wasn't too bad for a Doctor Who Annual comic strip. To be fair, it did have some good moments but I just can't understand why the audience has remained wholeheartedly for very young children. The last few Annuals have been nothing short of dismal to be honest and I really don't get why the audience has remained as those readers who purchase Doctor Who Adventures rather than Doctor Who Magazine. The two Annuals that I have and those that I have done on Scribd from the Classic era were just fantastic and the 2006 edition followed that format but ever since the Tenth Doctor took the throne, the Annuals have been very poor in my opinion. The DWM Special 2016 Yearbook could be argued as being the adult equivalent of the Annual but that doesn't hold the same sense of nostalgia and definitely isn't as prized a possession in my collection. Well, that's my opinion anyway. After picking the Annual up for a considerable decrease on the laughable RRP of £7.99 today, I was actually chuffed that I didn't get this for Christmas! It's an improvement on last year but it's really not that much better. I just find it so disheartening and it is something I feel strongly about because it could be done so much better, acquiring for both the young and adult audience. The Classic Annuals did it so wonderfully well and I can't understand why it doesn't get replicated nowadays. The story itself was surprisingly the first of a two part story in the Annual with the second comic strip within the pages actually being a continuation which was at least something new. I can respect that they were trying something new and even if the audience is aimed at DWA readers, I'm glad we'll have an extended story and it'll be double the length of the usual Annual stories. I do wish that they just called it part one and part two instead of two different names so I could do it as one blog but hey, that would just be too easy wouldn't it. I've criticised comic strip stories having differently named parts in the run of the Eleventh Doctor in DWC and I just don't see the point! Especially in an Annual. From what I know, it doesn't happen in DWA so why should it happen here? Zorgo changed his mind about the Doctor awfully quickly which was strange but I liked the idea of the Doctor arriving after defeating the enemy countless times. It was similar to The Roots of Evil I found with the Fourth Doctor dealing with the effects of an Eleventh Doctor victory over an enemy. A dragon appearance so soon after The Dragon Lord was something I didn't expect and I found it quite ironic after I criticised the DWM story for being a bit childish. There were some positives I thought though which may come as a surprise. It wasn't all bad! I did enjoy the flashbacks even if I did think it was a golden opportunity to showcase a different TARDIS pairing but then again as I write, I realise that would be rather difficult considering the Twelfth Doctor didn't recognise Zorgo. We could have had an incredible glance at a future incarnation of the Doctor but I do understand why that didn't happen. It shouldn't have happened, at least not in a Doctor Who Annual comic strip that is! DWM and DWC could get away with it no problem but not here that's for sure. It just wouldn't be the right place. I thought the characterisation of both Jenna Coleman's Clara and Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor were very good which was pleasing and that stance seems to have improved across all formats lately which is pleasing. I'm not sure what to expect from part two after seeing this part of the story end with the Doctor and Clara on a dragon but despite my loathing of its name, it will still get blogged. But until then, that's where the rating will appear. I just hope it somehow improves! 

The Husbands of River Song

"This is where genocide comes to kick back and relax."

Writer: Steven Moffat 

Format: TV

Broadcast: 25th December 2015

Series: 2015 Christmas Special

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, River

Synopsis 

When a crashed spaceship calls upon the Doctor for help, he finds himself recruited into River Song's squad and hurled into a chase across the galaxy...

Verdict 

The Husbands of River Song was an excellent Christmas special episode and it was certainly an improvement on last year's disappointing Last Christmas. That's all I was really after this year after the mixed quality we got last year and with the return of River Song being announced back in September, I felt confident that things would be a lot better this time around because I just think she's brilliant. Alex Kingston finally got her name highlighted in the opening titles (something I think was long overdue!) and it's fitting that it happened in what has to be her final episode. I'll be very surprised if she makes a future TV appearance alongside the Twelfth Doctor again after what went on here. It was simply stunning and just tied what has been her incredible seven year long story up beautifully. I'm going to get straight into the ending because it was just done so well. I've been waiting so long for that sonic screwdriver that we see used in Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead to show up and finally here it is! The references to that story were just astounding to be frank and I really do think Steven Moffat is a genius. How he brought Darillium and the Singing Towers into this and having the Doctor finally end his journey with River was just brilliant. After his recent events on Gallifrey, the Doctor seems to be enlightened by what and what can't happen and even he is now accepting that not everything can go on forever, something I liked but was also quire surprised by. River's reaction to the Doctor revealing that a night on Darillium lasted 24 years was fantastic and the Doctor revealing it the way he did was just oh so typical of the great man. Peter Capaldi was superb and he's really rising up those favourite Doctor rankings of mine. He has been and will continue to be sublime. The reason for River being given the screwdriver by the Doctor was a nice comedic inclusion due to the fact that she had a sonic trowel! A lovely reference to her being an archaeologist. Right, I'll backtrack now and mention that I thought this started very well and I loved the idea of River not recognising the latest and unprecedented incarnation of the Doctor. It made sense and I loved some of the comments made about this being what River was like when the Doctor wasn't around. I'd expect nothing less from her and I loved it. The marriages of the Doctor to Elizabeth I and Marilyn Monroe were great references to The Day of the Doctor and A Christmas Carol. The references didn't end there though! It was said how River had just experienced the events of The Angels Take Manhattan and there were also nice references to The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang and The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone. The story was described as a romp in the DWM previews and that's precisely what it was. Apart from the final ten minutes or so there wasn't a lot to shout about but the story was certainly a lot of fun. Seeing the Doctor's reaction to River revealing not one but two husbands in King Hydroflax and Ramon was excellent. River's speech about the Doctor not loving her back was incredible but it's one I wholeheartedly disagree with. I was sceptical prior to The Name of the Doctor but after that story I was convinced that the love was mutual and even after regeneration I believe that has stayed. The Doctor getting his own 'bigger on the inside' was something so wonderful and I loved how excited he was at getting the opportunity to do it properly. It was a lot of fun. Flemming was a good enemy and I loved the idea of a place for genocide committers. I am sure the Doctor wouldn't lose much sleep over that spaceship crashing. Overall though, after the amount of praise I've wrote the rating may come as a little surprise but it's for the episode as a whole where this blog entry is more focused on River. I think this was goodbye and if it was, what a way to go. She's been superb. Will she come back? Spoilers. 

Rating: 8/10

The Dragon Lord Part 1

"Ten seconds after landing, running from a monster already! New record?"

Writer: Steve Lyons

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 10th December 2015

Printed in: DWM 494

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara 

Synopsis 

Upon exiting the TARDIS, the Twelfth Doctor and Clara find themselves in deep trouble as they are faced with a dragon! The dragon is not alone and after joining forces with the local village, a battle with the Dragon Lord ensues...   

Verdict 

The Dragon Lord was a pretty decent start to the latest comic strip adventure to take place in Doctor Who Magazine! I seem to have forgotten in the last few issues that the magazine actually does have a very good comic strip feature and I think that's down to the fact Doctor Who Comic (which has now extended to two magazines!) has been so good lately. But the comic strip is not why I buy DWM. This month it's a festive edition with Christmas tomorrow! Yes, I'm reading two weeks after release but I've managed to fit in reading the previews of The Husbands of River Song prior to its broadcast tomorrow evening. It's been described as a romp by Steven Moffat and after the eventful and emotional Face the Raven and Heaven Sent/Hell Bent, I really like the sound of that. The idea of River not recognising the Doctor could be a lot of fun and I just can't wait to see how Capaldi and Kingston interact. I get a feeling they're going to be magnificent! This will be only the third Doctor that River has met (from the viewer's perspective anyway) and I can't wait to see her reaction to the Doctor surviving past his twelfth regeneration. It's quite incredible that it's been over seven years since Alex Kingston debuted in Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead in which her story ends but despite comments in the DWM preview and interview, I hope this isn't her TV swansong! She's just so good. Galaxy Forum was a good read as per usual but I was quite surprised by some of the incredible praise The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion got. I mean, it was brilliant but I felt some letters went a bit overboard. I was glad to see that I wasn't alone in being critical of Sleep No More and it absolutely remains the worst story of the series. How anyone criticised Face the Raven is beyond me but that's the beauty of polarising opinions in the Whoniverse! I can't wait to read Relative Dimensions as always with Jacqueline Rayner yet to fail in providing a page of entertainment. The DWM Preview is of particular interest for me this month with Only the Monstrous and The Legends of Ashildr being previewed - two stories I am eager to get my hands upon. The DWM Review rarely fails so that should also be a good read. I'm also intrigued by the Rassilon feature. Despite my loving of DWM, I'm not at all convinced that £5.99 is a justifiable price. The addition of the poster in an adult audience magazine I find a bit silly to be honest. A fiver is the maximum it should be in my opinion. Anyway, back to the comic strip itself and I love how along with the Twelfth Doctor segments of DWC the adventures for Clara in the TARDIS (the Doctor's one that is) are far from over. I thought the artwork was a bit questionable in this story which was a real shame but the story was quite festive in having a fun theme. This was the closest Doctor Who has come to a Game of Thrones crossover yet and the idea excites me greatly. It would be the most incredible thing ever! I absolutely love GoT so the show getting a mention by Clara was a real treat. The inclusion of dragons had me dying for an appearances by Daenerys but obviously I knew that wasn't going to happen. It happened in the dream I'll have tonight though! The story was good with some excellent characterisation of both the Doctor and Clara, although it seemed to have more of a Series 8 feel rather than being current. However, that doesn't really alter things too much. The interaction between the Doctor and Weezie was excellent and I can't wait to see that relationship continue in the second part, which is of course where the rating will appear should the story conclude. But for now, a good start! 

The Wormery

"The audio medium... It can be so deceptive."

Writers: Paul Magrs & Stephen Cole

Format: Audio

Released: November 2003

Series: Main Range 51

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Iris

Synopsis 

There's one place in creation where the truth really can be found in the bottom of a glass - Bianca's, a very special and very exclusive little club. 

The Doctor, careworn and seeking quiet distraction, gains admission. But his rest and relaxation is soon shattered by the wobbly arrival of louche trans-temporal adventuress Iris Wildthyme. She claims she's on a secret mission of vital importance, the success of which hinges on her getting paralytic. When she's drunk, she can hear the whidohsring voices in her head...

The Doctor soon learns that Bianca's airs and graces cover not just one malevolent power lurking in the shadows, but several. And a wriggling, writhing presence has designs on the clientele - just as Bianca herself has designs on the Doctor. 

At last, after so many centuries, the weary Time Lord is dragged by the heels into that darkest of undiscovered countries... love...

Verdict 

The Wormery was an excellent audio adventure to kick on the Main Range of Big Finish audios after the rather eventful Zagreus and fortieth anniversary celebrations. Prior to listening, I was a bit sceptical about the inclusion of Iris Wildthyme in the companion role as I had never listened to a story with her before and I really do think ranges should remain exclusive. That's why I'm not a huge fan of the Rocket Men appearing in the Fourth Doctor Adventures as there may be those who collect the Tom Baker stories and have no desire to listen to the Companion Chronicles in which they made their first two appearances. But hey, that's just me. Thankfully, with two great writers at the helm, Iris and the Doctor's history was explained to us magnificently well and she was a welcomed character in my opinion by the end. Before listening, I was unaware that Iris was a fellow Gallifreyan to the Doctor and once I knew she was a Time Lady, my perspective on her character changed greatly and absolutely for the better. That opened up a lot of exciting opportunities but I most definitely wasn't expecting the one that we got! I thought it was incredible to do a version of the Valeyard for Iris! With hints dropped throughout, once the revelation was made and everything came together I had a smile on my face. It was extremely clever and from it we almost had the female version of The Trial of a Time Lord, a story that was neatly referenced on more than one occasion. I also really liked the references to The War Games and The Two Doctors. The concept of the story was somewhat similar to Ghost in the Machine with the use of tapes to tell the story. That audio adventure also coincidentally featured Katy Manning but in a completely different role. As Iris, she was flirtatious and flaunting everything she had, which reminds me of a particular picture with a Dalek. But with Iris involved, this was as close to the modern series as we've had so far from a Classic era story in terms of love. I'm quite surprised they chose the Sixth Doctor as the incarnation to follow that trail with but it absolutely worked! Colin Baker was just fantastic yet again and there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that he is the most underrated Doctor of them all. He's definitely the best on audio. The interaction between Baker and Manning was fantastic and once Iris found out, or thought she had, that the Doctor was in love with Bianca I thought she was going to tear the house down! I really liked Mickey telling the story of the events we were listening to in the form of a story to Mr. Ashcroft. The revelation at the climax that he was actually the Seventh Doctor was a welcomed treat I must say! I was wondering throughout if we'd learn the identity of the keen listener but I wasn't expecting a cameo from the Seventh Doctor! Just what was he doing listening in on a previous adventure for his predecessor? Whatever it was, I liked it very much. The use of wormholes as means of transport to Bianca's was superb and I really liked the Doctor's disgust at this. He did end up playing her a treat in making her think he'd fallen in love with her and that was the key to solving the problem. I really liked the characters of Allis and Ballis but Iris actually stole the show with the incredible turnabout that Bianca's was the remains of her future TARDIS and Bianca was following in the footsteps of the Valeyard with the Doctor in wanting her remaining regenerations. It all came together wonderfully well, even if the shadow revelation was a bit disturbing! But everything got fixed with a clever climax and all was well. Overall, an excellent audio adventure! 

Rating: 9/10

 

Weapons of Past Destruction Part 2

"I fought the war to end all wars - and I won. The only survivor."

Writer: Cavan Scott 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 17th December 2015

Printed in: DWC: Tales from the TARDIS 01

Featuring: Ninth Doctor, Rose, Captain Jack

Synopsis 

The Ninth Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack: it's the classic TARDIS team in an all-new adventure, as ancient weaponry from the Time War begins to show up on the intergalactic black market! Can the Doctor stop the Time War from happening all over again?

Verdict 

Weapons of Past Destruction continued in excellent style here with this tremendous second part! Following on immediately after the cliffhanger of part one, literally on the next page, this was well paced and quite informative which was a real treat. Prior to The Day of the Doctor, Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor was the incarnation we would most associate with the Time War and whilst the Big Finish audios are now going to considerable length to highlight to us that it was not that way, I thought it was intriguing to have the Ninth Doctor talk so expressively and openly about the Time War. This was obviously set before Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways so that added to my intrigue. Despite this Doctor being the incarnation to deal with the aftermath of becoming the sole surviving Time Lord, we didn't really learn much at all about the Time War until the Tenth Doctor came around. That's something now, thinking back, I find quite interesting. I love how this incarnation of the Doctor regenerated on screen over a decade ago now but we're still getting brand new stories and probably story arcs with him. That's the beauty of comic strips and it's a big reason why the blog is going to be full of them over the coming months. I don't think it'll be as much as I think but I do still have a considerable amount of The Betrothal of Sontar to get through as well as starting The Iron Legion and The Tides of Time graphic novels. So we'll see. I've been thinking to myself that once I've purchased each comic strip, I'll go back and do them all in order! It's something I'd also love to do with the Target novelisations but expense will make that task a lot more difficult to achieve. But I do like a challenge! Speaking of which, after the excellent cliffhanger of the previous part, the Doctor had quite the challenge to try and save Rose! He was absolutely determined to ensure that she survived and after tracking her through some quite snazzy TARDIS technology, his reaction when just her jacket returned to the console room really did say a lot about how much the Doctor thinks of Rose. His outburst to Jack about not believing the facts and doing something to change them was superb. But once the Doctor and Jack were reunited with Rose on Fluren's World, there was a lot more for the Doctor to have an outburst about. His disgust at discovering the Time War weaponry from Gallifrey was superb and the characterisation of Christopher Eccleston's incarnation was absolutely brilliant throughout. If they keep that up, I'm going to absolutely love his place in the DWC comic strips! The characterisation of both Rose and Captain Jack continued to be excellent and for the latter I think that's particularly impressive to capture the Series 1 likeness as we've had him return in Utopia/The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords, The Stolen Earth/Journey's End and four series of Torchwood! So bravo to Cavan Scott for that. I think the same could be said for Rose as well after her return in Turn Left and adventures with the Tenth Doctor. The story itself looks set to be superb and the name seems to be more understandable now. The Doctor offering his mind for the right price as he knew how to operate the weaponry was quite a surprise but I love how outrageous the Doctor seems to be when things that shouldn't happen do occur. The Unon, or Riders, didn't appear but we learned a lot more about them which was good. I liked the twist with the Lect showing up at the cliffhanger which wasn't expected! It didn't have the same effect as part one and wasn't as good but it will advance the story on nicely. Overall, another brilliant part and it's great to have the Ninth Doctor comics in the UK. The rating will appear whenever the story concludes! 

Weapons of Past Destruction Part 1

"He's seen all of space and time... You'd think nothing would surprise him any more."

Writer: Cavan Scott 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 17th December 2015

Printed in: DWC: Tales from the TARDIS 01

Featuring: Ninth Doctor, Rose, Captain Jack

Synopsis 

Leaving World War II behind, the Ninth Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack discover that Time Lord technology, lost in the wake of the Time War, is being sold on the intergalactic black market! 

Now the threat of a new temporal war brews on the horizon. Can the Doctor stop history repeating itself?

Verdict 

Weapons of Past Destruction kicked off in tremendous style with this fantastic first part! It really was an excellent way to kick off the brand new series of Ninth Doctor adventures! I was shopping in Swansea on Saturday and as I looked to purchase the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine (quite a bit late yes, I know) I happened to notice the image of the Twelfth Doctor and Clara on a more comic-like style magazine than Doctor Who Comic is actually printed as and upon closer inspection I was absolutely delighted to discover that it was a brand new sister title of DWC! Tales from the TARDIS is a magnificent name and with my absolute joy at DWC over the past year, I've been really hoping that we would get the Ninth Doctor stories released in the UK in some way. I would have happily settled for the graphic novels but instead we're going to be getting another fortnightly release of comic strips! I can't wait! Every fortnight now I'll be picking up three brand new comic strips and with the success and quality thus far, I really don't care if comic strips dominate my blog whilst I'm at university. They're arguably the most creative format for Doctor Who and as seen with Relative Dimensions yesterday, just about anything can happen! I love how the unexpected absolutely does happen with the Titan Comics series and I really do need to pick myself up the collection of IDW Eleventh Doctor stories labelled as the TARDIS archives. It looks like the comic strip content is just going to increase, which is fine by me as the length is perfect whilst I'm at university really. Even though I'm currently home for the Christmas period, I'm finding myself busy but fitting in a comic strip story is proving just fine. It's actually been quite a while since watching my last Ninth Doctor episode and the last story I did at all with this incarnation, excluding the cameo in Four Doctors, was The Beast of Babylon in which the rarity of Rose not appearing occurred. These comics however look set to go with the TARDIS trio of the Ninth Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack! I certainly wasn't expecting that but I'm absolutely thrilled that's going to be the case! I'm a huge fan of Torchwood and for a long time during the spinoff's airing, I thought it was better than Doctor Who. Although I rarely give a Torchwood episode a bad rating (I consider 7/10 and less to be bad), that opinion has since changed. But Captain Jack is a huge reason why I still absolutely love the spinoff so I'm delighted to be getting new visual stories with him alongside the Ninth Doctor. It seemed to come and go in a flash on TV so I get the feeling I'm going to really enjoy these. Judging by the story's synopsis, this is going to be a good one and jump straight into putting the trio in serious danger. The threat of both the Lect and Unon were considerable to the Doctor and co but I liked how the two quite domineering species clearly had trouble with each other. The Doctor immediately noticed that something was seriously wrong but didn't reveal it and I'm sure we'll learn all about that in due process. The characterisation of each member of the TARDIS trio was excellent and Cavan Scott really did capture the feel of Series 1 which I think is really important. He did a great job. I really liked how Rose was surprised by the fact the Doctor had seen something new. He was much travelled but even for a Time Lord, all of space and time was a big place! The climax was superb with an abundance of action which was fantastic. The Unon literally obliterated the Lect ship and that caused trouble! The TARDIS then dematerialised in quite a rush, and Rose was not on board. The Doctor's reaction to that was one of horror and then we just saw Rose falling and floating in space, presumably to her death. An excellent cliffhanger to a fantastic first part of this story! I'm so happy we've got the Ninth Doctor comics in the UK now and I just hope the Eighth and Fourth Doctor stories now follow. But for now, this was brilliant and the rating will come whenever the story concludes. 

Relative Dimensions

"He's the Toymaker. Spawned in the chaos before time... Get trapped in his domain and you're his plaything for all eternity."

Writers: George Mann & Cavan Scott

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 17th December 2015

Printed in: DWC: Tales from the TARDIS 01

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis 

Christmas is always a special time of the year for the Doctor, but when he recorded an impossible Christmas card, delivered direct to the TARDIS, it's his cue for an extra-sized adventure of unbelievably festive proportions! 

Verdict 

Relative Dimensions was a phenomenal comic strip adventure and it was certainly right up there with the very best from Doctor Who Comic yet! However, this wasn't the normal DWC that I started collecting back in February. To my absolute delight, it appears as if there is now a sister title DWC labelled 'Tales from the TARDIS', a name which I think is really snazzy, and not only did it feature this incredible Twelfth Doctor story but it also houses the first two parts of the very first Titan Comics Ninth Doctor story! Yes, the Ninth Doctor stories are now in the UK and I couldn't be happier! This is a magnificent Christmas present and although I mentioned yesterday that I seem to be doing a considerable amount of comic strips, that trend looks set to continue with my DWC content now becoming a fortnightly thing! For me, it works well with university as the stories can be read quickly and as we saw with this story, there really are no boundaries! Never in my wildest dreams did I expect the Twelfth Doctor to do battle with the Celestial Toymaker! That was a pleasant shock and has to be the best surprise sprung from DWC yet! For me it tops the return of the Nimon in Space in Dimension Relative and Time because simply I enjoyed the villain a lot better. That respect is probably the same for their audio returns respectively in The Nightmare Fair and Seasons of Fear. However, the Nimon were a lot better on audio and in comic strip than they were on television in The Horns of Nimon but the Celestial Toymaker has remained consistently brilliant ever since his debut in The Celestial Toymaker, a story that was wonderfully referenced and flashbacked to. There's a reason Solitaire is my favourite Companion Chronicle audio and that's largely down to the Celestial Toymaker himself. I just love the idea of the villain! This story started off with something that would have been even more of a surprise if it actually stayed true as I thought for a moment that Susan was back reunited with her grandfather! That would have been quite something and may have topped Ian and Barbara's return in Hunters of the Burning Stone. However it wasn't to be and she turned out to be just another toy in the Celestial Toyroom. The manifestations we saw of the Brigadier, K9 and Donna were all excellent. It was also excellent to see toy glimpses of Amy, Rory, Ian and Barbara. I do love glances into the past I must say - and this was full of them! The deck of playing cards showing Jack and the Seventh, Tenth and Eleventh Doctors was just marvellous! A really great moment. I thought the comic strip format for a Celestial Toymaker story was beyond perfect and the scene where the Doctor and Clara were forced to play snakes and ladders was just stunning. That might be my favourite double page in comic strip history. I thought it was astoundingly good! And I would expect nothing else from the two esteemed writers who penned this awesome adventure. The Doctor still having his recorder was quite the shock I must say but it was a wonderful touch and throwback to the Second Doctor. I liked the Doctor mentioning how he recently has grown to dislike Christmas due to someone trying to kill him before Boxing Day! I thought that was quite humorous. The characterisation of Clara was again marvellous and DWC has excelled in capturing her likeness whereas DWM still has some way to go before receiving my highest praise. But in terms of comic strip content, DWC is blowing DWM out of the park currently. The game of charades to reveal the return of the Celestial Toymaker was excellent but I also loved the people the Doctor had on his team that evenly matched the Toymaker's accumulation of toys. The Doctor had the K1 Robot, Autons, a Peg Doll, a Voc robot and even Bessie! That wasn't a bad team at all to be fair. I thought the revelation that the Toymaker was scared of the universe outside of his Toyroom was outstanding and it actually made a lot of sense! He wouldn't be able to control or manipulate his surroundings so the Doctor tricked him into getting helped. Using the TARDIS zero room that we frequently saw in Castrovalva, the Doctor had made the Toymaker another Toyroom that he could maintain control over. Clara recognising the similarities was a nice way to end, but the image of the Toymaker playing with figures of himself and the First Doctor was just a beautiful way to finish a simply amazing comic strip adventure! For one part, it ranks up there with the very best. One of my all time favourite comic strips. I loved it. 

Rating: 10/10

Gangland Part 2

"We rose from the waters of the planet Octos like leviathans! We broke across the universe like a tidal wave!"

Writer: Robbie Morrison 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 3rd December 2015

Printed in: DWC 2.03

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis 

When Clara and the Doctor landed amid the bright lights of 1960s Las Vegas, a group of intergalactic high-stake marauders, known as the Cybok Imperium, crashed the party, intent on world domination - and on erasing all who stand against them with the help of a stolen Time Lord weapon! As Clara flees for her life alongside legendary lounge singer Frankie Seneca and his Wolfpack, it's up to the Doctor and boxer Sonny Lawson to muscle their way past the Cybock...! How much is the Doctor willing to gamble to save Earth from being wiped from existence?

Verdict 

Gangland concluded in excellent fashion with this superb second and final part! It's taken me around two weeks since purchasing the magazine to finish and that's just down to me being ridiculously busy this past month and well, since November really! University work really stepped up and throw in a trip to Dublin, Christmas on the horizon and coming home for three weeks and to be honest I've been surprised by just how much I've been able to do these past six weeks or so. I even had my birthday thrown in between everything else! For a comic strip, something I seem to be doing an awful lot of lately, this was brilliant to be fair. Doctor Who Comic really is getting better and better with the release of the sister comic that I picked up today (more about that tomorrow), it can only mean success is occurring and that the magazine will be here for a long time coming. The first part was very good and after re-reading, something I do for my own benefit as usually it's been a month since reading the previous part and I've covered a whole lot of other Doctor Who in between, I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. I think I had been caught up in the hype surrounding Four Doctors (and why wouldn't I be?) that I forgot about this particular adventure. I wasn't overly struck by the cliffhanger of part one but I loved the beginning of part two here! We had the Judoon making a brief return! I did enjoy that although I must raise a question I haven't really thought of until reading this story. Is the Judoon Captain we saw in Smith and Jones and later in The Stolen Earth and The Pandorica Opens the same captain that appeared here? If so, where does that leave the Doctor's encounters with the commander of the intergalactic police? Or do all Judoon captains simply look the same? I'm not sure and while it doesn't really need to be answered I thought it was an intriguing point. The idea of Rassilon's Time-Gun is brilliant I must say. It's arguably the most dangerous weapon we've seen in Doctor Who! Not only does it kill, but it erases the victim's entire timeline! Clara hanging out with the Wolfpack was wonderful and this story really had a feel of Series 9 to it which, whether intended or not, worked magnificently for me. Clara being adventurous and wanting to see history is the companion that I want to see and I got it in abundance here. I love how she challenges the Doctor and the mention of the competition of who could get in the most trouble was fantastic. Sonny Lawson appearing in the story and getting quite an extensive background feature was a pleasant surprise. I'm a huge sports fan and seeing this really was brilliant. I love how Robbie Morrison brought real life historical events into a Doctor Who story the way he did. The characterisation of both the Twelfth Doctor and Clara was outstanding and was right up there with the best of any comic strip range I must say. This story was excellent as a whole and the only reason that the story doesn't quite achieve full marks is down to the Cybox Imperium really. I wasn't a huge fan of the comical appearance and when a monster looks as ridiculous as that, it's hard to take seriously the threat they provide and the fact that the Time Lords had to outsmart them to thwart them. Clara working out that the Doctor had tried to cheat his way to victory with the Time-Gun was fantastic. I just loved how she knew him so well by now that for him to know that Rassilon had provided safeguards the Doctor must have tried to tamper with it! Brilliant. The last line of "I did it my way" was a marvellous inclusion. The tying up of the opening of part one and the climax of part two was brilliant and overall this story really was magnificent! I was impressed and it was just a shame it couldn't quite join the elite full marks club which has been quite rarity in DWC despite the consistently high standard. 

Rating: 9/10

F.A.Q.

"What if there was a perfectly simple explanation... all we'd need is somebody clever to come along and explain it all..."

Writer: Tony Lee

Format: Comic Strip

Released: May-July 2006

Printed in: DWM 369-371

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Rose

Synopsis 

The Doctor and Rose find themselves in London, but something is amiss - a tree with human faces on it, a barbarian attacking them, and a fissure. What is this barbaric place?

Verdict 

F.A.Q. was a quite brilliant comic strip seventy I must say! I was pleasantly surprised by how good this was as judging from the name (I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover but I can't help it sometimes!) I wasn't expecting anything glorious but this was actually superb. I know that now it's nearly a decade since the story was released but I think the setting of 'today' couldn't be more true. It fitted in with the story like no other predecessor before which I thought was sublime. Has a setting ever been more suited to the story? I think not. I am struggling to think of something even closely resembling the impact this had on me. Now, I can't relate to any of the issues raised with children in the story as thankfully I haven't had the misfortune of dealing with the likes that Craig had gone through here in this story. I'm glad to say that I don't know anybody personally going through any similar issues but I am certainly aware in society that there are children who suffer and turn to things such as imaginary friends, as was the case here. For a comic strip, the story was extremely real which was a superb achievement from Tony Lee, a writer I don't believe I've had the privelage of reading a story from before. This might be his only work in Doctor Who, I'm not sure. But I will definitely be looking into researching to see if he has done any other stories! I would be really intrigued to see if he went with a similar style. I'm not sure how much blogging will get done over the next few days as I really must crack on with some university work but I will be trying my best to fit things in before and around Christmas! The 2015 Christmas special will of course get blogged on Christmas Day, just as Last Christmas was last year. I just hope things turn out to be an improvement! With River Song returning, it surely must be better! It simply has to be. But enough about that until Christmas Day itself. This story had a really good plot and I loved the idea of the Doctor and Rose landing in a virtual world. It's such a good and modern idea and I really am surprised that it hasn't been used more often. There are pretty much endless possibilities as well, it's virtual! There aren't any restrictions when dealing with the virtual world. I really liked how Craig could make whatever he wanted to happen by simply asking questions. We had some nice superhero appearances and arguments, mostly cantered around the Revenger, of which the Doctor appeared to have read the entire collection! Along with the Eleventh Doctor in the recently read Four Doctors, the modern Doctors really do seem to like a comic collection! I can't say I'm at all surprised. I thought the references to Rose and The Christmas Invasion were very good and although they got a mention for the second consecutive story in this graphic novel, I still thought it was fantastic. The Betrothal of Sontar graphic novel is proving so far to be right up there with the best collections! And considering I only paid 38p for it, I am most pleased. The characterisation of both the Tenth Doctor and Rose were excellent which also impresses me with it still being early on in the pair's run. The characterisation has been captured a lot earlier than the current comic strip pairing of the Twelfth Doctor and Clara, which would appear in The Eye of Torment graphic novel. One I probably won't buy as I have all the DWM issues so it doesn't really seem worth it. I just can't believe it took me until 2013 to start collecting the great magazine! Trudy served as the enemy in my opinion and I really enjoyed the concept of an imaginary friend trying to break out into the real world! Now that is audacious. Tony Lee made it work with ease though and towards the end, I liked how the Doctor got control of his virtual surroundings and it was he who could now change everything by asking questions. And as he called for the monsters to be locked up, Trudy got included in that confirming the Doctor's assumption. She was thwarted, and overall this was a simply brilliant comic strip adventure! The cliffhangers were pretty good too! 

Rating: 9/10

The Lodger

"When he gets killed, he just comes back better-looking..."

Writer: Gareth Roberts 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: April 2006

Printed in: DWM 368

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Mickey

Synopsis 

The Doctor lands the TARDIS in present-day London, but before Rose can emerge the TARDIS dematerialises with the time settings not locked. The TARDIS jumps a time track and moves ahead several days, leaving the Doctor to live with Mickey as he waits for the TARDIS to return. 

Verdict 

The Lodger was a great little comic strip adventure! It already seems quite a while since I listened to Living Legend last Friday on the train back home from university and after the effect of being home has now calmly cooled down, and my hectic schedule has now cleared, I was glad to be back blogging another story! I was travelling for a football away day on Saturday, we had a meal on Sunday, I had a darts tournament on Monday and I went to watch wrestling on Tuesday so I really have struggled to fit things in as well as spending time with the family. It was only a short read at one part but actually the story was quite a significant one! You may have been expecting a completely different blog judging by the story's name, expecting a certain Eleventh Doctor TV story. But instead you get the comic strip adventure that inspired that superb episode! I thought this was a really intriguing read having obviously seen the television version of The Lodger and whilst that was quite different to what we got here, the fundamentals of the episode could be seen as clear as day here. We had the Doctor unexpectedly showing up at Mickey's house this time instead of the unsuspecting Craig. Now, that's not to mean that Mickey was expecting the Doctor to just show up and stay with him for four days! Judging by the Doctor's comedic arrival, Mickey was none the wiser as to who was inside his house. His toothbrush had been replaced by the sonic screwdriver and that had quite drastic consequences for Mickey and his teeth. It was nothing the screwdriver and the hands of the Doctor couldn't put right though. As with Amy in the televised adaptation of this story, Rose as the companion got stuck on board the TARDIS. Now, there was no communication between her and the Doctor and I really liked how the whole thing took just a few seconds for Rose while Mickey had been driven mad by the Doctor for the last four days! He'd one-upped him whilst playing football, which was something that was nicely kept for the TV episode. I'm a huge football fan so to know that the Doctor is rather good in at least two incarnations is fantastic for me! I could probably more so see the Tenth Doctor being skilful than the Eleventh but both were good which was great to see. Whilst simply being at home with Mickey, I thought it was pretty incredible that the Doctor thwarted the Bandrigans with nothing more than 2006 electrical household equipment! He made it sound so simple and sounded so smug when explaining which I adored. The characterisation of the Tenth Doctor was magnificent and David Tennant's likeness was captured very well. I thought the representation of Mickey was interesting though and it was good to get a different insight into what the character was like at home whilst his girlfriend was out travelling the stars with a man who changes his face. The comment about regeneration which I chose for my opening quote was something I really enjoyed. The Doctor winning the shooting and violent video game without shooting or violence of any kind was magnificent. That was a superb touch. I also liked the honour involved with the Doctor altering the television signal to receive programmes from ten years in the future. So, what we watch next year should be part of what we saw come through on screen in this story! It's not quite a Back to the Future hover board thing though. The cameo of Rose at the end was nice and along with the Rose and The Christmas Invasion references, I do feel for Mickey and what Rose puts him through! He was just grateful to have her back with him at the conclusion. Overall, a very good little comic strip story and it's nice that it got to be adapted into a full length episode! 

Rating: 8/10

Living Legend

"They're... duller than a turtle marathon."

Writer: Scott Gray

Format: Audio

Released: November 2003

Series: DWM Exclusive 05

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Charley

Synopsis 

The world faces imminent destruction when Italy wins the World Cup! Can the fabled Time Lady Charleyostiantayshius save humanity from the dreaded Threllip Empire, or will her idiot assistant, the Doctor, ruin everything?

Verdict 

Living Legend was a very good audio adventure and it certainly was a lot of fun! For the Main Range audios, this was like a breath of fresh air after the painfully long Zagreus. Even though I have a ridiculously generous rating for that one, I wasn't much of a fan at all and in my opinion it certainly was not worth the wait from Neverland and it most definitely should not have been the direction to go with for the fortieth anniversary and Big Finish's 50th Main Range release. They could have done so much better with that cast! Thankfully, Charley found her way back on board the TARDIS unbeknownst to the Doctor but for me this story is most definitely set before the aftermath of that. There's just too much that went on for it to be ignored! I mean, the Doctor was banished from the universe itself and although Charley went with him, this just can't be the immediate aftermath. I'm not sure what the next full audio to feature the pairing is (I try to know as little as possible prior to listening to get the biggest benefit - as was the case with me not knowing that Clara would die in Face the Raven), but it is one I'm eagerly anticipating. This though was a very nice break away before we get set for a whole new set of adventures with the unseen but absolutely brilliant pairing that is the Eighth Doctor and Charley. I just love them together and although both Paul McGann and India Fisher are tremendous, I think a lot of it is down to the fact that it's entirely brand new. A Doctor we only saw on screen once for an hour in The Movie (and an incredible eight minutes more recently in The Night of the Doctor) with a companion we've never seen. Add to the unknown the fact that they are magnificent and you have in my opinion the best pairing on audio. I know we already got a new audio exclusive companion with Evelyn in The Marian Conspiracy, but it just feels much more special with Charley and I'm not sure why. She's definitely the closest the Classic series (yes, I absolutely consider the Eighth Doctor's audio run as part of the Classic era) has come to the modern companion, and that's even with Sarah Jane making her return in School Reunion. The story itself here was very good as well as being a right old laugh which was hugely positive. The setting of Italy in 1982 after they had just beaten Germany in the World Cup final was an instant tick in the right direction for me being the listener. The Doctor tricking Vengorr into thinking he had caught World Cup fever was just wonderful. Absolutely genius. Scott Gray, I loved that. The Doctor and Charley playing Time Lords was fantastic and I loved how the former pointed out that the latter made a better Time Lord than him! Judging by the story's events, he was not wrong. India Fisher was just magnificent throughout, I really don't think she's had a bad story and I'm really looking forward to when she somehow travels with the Sixth Doctor. I think that will be an outstanding dynamic! I know I'm going to have to wait a while, but I can't wait to get to her own audio spinoff series as well. I think I'll really enjoy that. The concept of the Threllips was interesting and I just adored the Doctor's description of them, as you can see with my opening quote. They instantaneously sounded boring! That meant I was quite surprised to find they had previous dealings with the Time Lords. What would that have all been about? I'm really not sure but for the Doctor and Charley they didn't really have much of a problem, did they? Defeating the story's enemies simply by displaying their acting skills and dressing in Gallifreyan fancy dress. I'm sure the Doctor was thrilled about that - but at least it got the job done! Overall, an abundance of fun but at the same time we actually got a good story which sometimes doesn't always happen with these types of short audio. I was pleasantly pleased. 

Rating: 8/10

The King of Sontar

"An entire platoon was condensed into one..."

Writer: John Dorney

Format: Audio

Released: January 2014

Series: FDA 3.01

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Leela 

Synopsis 

Dowcra base. The third Elite Sontaran Assassination Squad closes in on its target. A dozen trained killers, but even they will be unable to bring down the invincible Strang...

Manipulated by the Time Lords, the TARDIS also arrives on Dowcra. And the Doctor is set to encounter the greatest Sontaran ever cloned...

Verdict 

The King of Sontar was an excellent audio adventure to kick off the third series of the Fourth Doctor Adventures series! I have been after this story for quite a while now due to my love of the format of this audio range, the brilliance of the Fourth Doctor and Leela together and because I am a huge fan of the Sontarans! It had all the ingredients for a fantastic story and it certainly did not disappoint. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting but that didn't matter at all! All that counted was that it was superb. I bought this as a treat with my birthday money and it arrived last week so I got around to listening to it very quick by my standards! I have novels I've bought years ago and still not read them, but I will get there eventually that is for sure. Ever since The Face of Evil, the pairing of the Fourth Doctor and Leela hasn't failed me and I am glad to say that they were once again wonderful together. Throw in the Sontarans and we have a great adventure! This was obviously set prior to The Invasion of the Time in which the pair would meet the Sontarans again but they were very different here from that meeting. I loved the inclusion of Leela understanding the Sontaran warrior way and how they should be allowed and not robbed of dying with honour. Dying was an irrelevance as long as it was done with honour. Her relationship with Vilhol throughout was a real highlight of the story in my opinion. I can't envisage any other companion respecting the moral code of the Sontarans which made Leela absolutely the perfect companion. Reaver was a very good character too and I also liked Rosato and the role he played with the Sontarans. The idea of a King of Sontar wasn't really explored, which was what I thought the story was going to be. It didn't disappoint me as the idea we got was a metaphorical King instead and it worked tremendously well. Strang was played superbly by Dan Starkey and he really did seem like a blend of Sontaran both Classic and post revival which was really good. I really liked the Sontarans on audio in The First Sontarans and they just improved here. The idea of Strang being the result of the Sontaran cloning process going wrong was an intriguing theory and it worked very well thanks to some marvellous explanation. Instead of the cloning pod producing an entire batch of Sontarans, it malfunctioned and the entire batch was put into one Sontaran. This provided great problems for the Doctor! The probic vent weakness was eradicated and at the cliffhanger it almost cost the Doctor his life. I thought the references to Frontier in Space and Genesis of the Daleks were very good and I loved the disgust the Doctor felt when he realised that the Time Lords had sent him on another little mission. The use of the portal was interesting and the threat it provided was more than reason for the Time Lords to send the Doctor scurrying where he didn't want to go. I was quite surprised that the Doctor wasn't too happy to hear that Strang's plan was to obliterate Sontar and wipe out his entire race. The reasoning was excellent though! Without the Sontarans, the Rutan Host would rage riot on the universe with no endless war to occupy them. Leela taking matters into her own hands at the climax of the story was sensational I thought! I really loved how she decided she just couldn't risk the Doctor changing the cloning process. With Strang blown up in the portal, the rest of the cloning equipment simply had to go. I thought the Doctor would have been more angry but I liked how he realised that he may be teaching her incorrectly. He didn't order her to leave but did take her home to at least think about things. I'm now intrigued by the direction of this series so I look forward to seeing how things pan out! Overall though, a fantastic audio. 

Rating: 9/10

Four Doctors Part 5

"Your buried fear is stronger than you, Doctor!"

Writer: Paul Cornell 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 3rd December 2015

Printed in: DWC 2.03

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara, Eleventh Doctor, Alice, Tenth Doctor, Gabby

Synopsis 

The Old Twelfth Doctor is the leader of the Voord. The Doctors tried to escape him, but failed. Their memories altered, they were thrown back into the Vortex, with no hope but to relive everything they've just experienced, with no chance of altering their ultimate fate. The Doctor-Voord didn't need Gabby or Alice, so ordered them shot on sight. As the pair tried to make it back to the TARDIS, a Voord shot rang out, and Alice fell. And Gabby... Gabby opened the Eleventh Doctor's package of comics, the last she had connecting her to the Doctors - and was gone, with a terrifying cry!

Verdict 

Five Doctors concluded in excellent fashion with this fifth and final instalment of the quite epic adventure from Titan Comics! Doctor Who Comic decided to print the story a little earlier than they should have, skipping a few adventures with each of the Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors, but it didn't really spoil anything which was nice and I'm very thankful that DWC, now in its second regeneration, are going to continue with the normal running order. That pleases me very much! I do not lie gaps in my knowledge! The only questions I have raised from them printing this story early is where were Jones and ARC? I'm sure I will soon find out what happens with them and it's just bound to have something to do with SERVEYOUinc. I'll be amazed if it doesn't! Everything else with the Eleventh Doctor has. The style of continuing on exactly from where the cliffhanger to the previous part left off was very good with Gabby having just witnessed Alice die at the hands of the Voord. She had to do something about that but all the Doctors were trapped and all she had was the French comics of the Eleventh Doctor. But they weren't really going to just be comics, were they? Of course not! It was a Weeping Angel! And they could grow! Gabby knows all about those villains that's for sure after the epic encounter in The Weeping Angels of Mons. But how clever was it for the Doctor to find just the right Angel that would send Gabby back to the table meeting of companions that we saw in part one, right at the very beginning of this incredible tale. Gabby confronting Clara, Alice and her past self about the events on Marinus was excellent and I liked the comical method of story advancement and having the Doctors catch up on events. So instead of avoiding Marinus, they headed straight there in typical Doctor fashion. I'm not convinced three really were better than one! Along with the three companions, who were all brilliant throughout, they would surely find the solution. And that they did, after a while. After the continuity bomb went off, they should have chosen the timeline in which River refused to kill the Eleventh Doctor and all of history was happening at once. Once they finally reached the domain of the Voord, the Twelfth Doctor reached the Voord mind and encountered his alternate future self. He was victorious with words as he always is. Clara helped hugely with that and apologised greatly for whatever betrayal she apparently would commit in the future. Would that be the events we saw in Face the Raven and Heaven Sent/Hell Bent? I'm not so sure. I don't think we'll ever see it to be honest and that's how it should be. I was very surprised that we didn't get another glimpse of the War Doctor after he kicked off the story in part one. He was the reason after all for the story getting a number four in the title! I guess some would argue the case that you could use the Voord Twelfth Doctor as his replacement for the latter parts. However, we did get a lovely glimpse of the Ninth Doctor and Rose enjoying their crepes in the French restaurant where all of this started! I do hope we get to see the adventures of this TARDIS pairing from Titan Comics in DWC at some point as I think we should get the lot over here in the UK! The comments were really intriguing though and if there were a billion alternate timelines, I would have placed the Ninth Doctor at the top of the list for possibly being the most un-Doctor like acts. But to me this just confirmed how much Rose meant to the Doctor. He really was fantastic but for even the Twelfth Doctor to acknowledge that really surprised me I must say. Overall though, as a five part story, this was magnificent. I will continue to dispute the accuracy of the title but that's my little problem. I never imagined the Voord returning so that was pretty incredible! I loved how they were ruled by an egomaniacal future Twelfth Doctor! The characterisation of all the Doctors together was just wonderful and even the companions together was just superb. It was never going to disappoint though, was it? Of course not! It excelled to excellency and I now look forward to the rest of the adventures from DWC. 

Rating: 10/10