The Zygon Invasion

"The ceasefire's broken down." 

Writer: Peter Harness

Format: TV

Broadcast: 31st October 2015

Series: 9.07

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara 

Synopsis 

The fragile peace between humans and Zygons is on a knife edge. Tensions runs high as factions within the Zygon community seek to incite violent action against humans. Called in by UNIT, the Doctor and Clara fight to bring the situation under control. But one question remains: where on Earth is Osgood?

Verdict 

The Zygon Invasion was a very good beginning to this two-part story! Yes, it's another double episode which seems to be theme of this ninth revival era series thus far. It's not a problem from where I'm watching and I know it's pleasing a lot of the older generation by having cliffhangers every fortnight - something they used to get every single week! I'll get to the almighty cliffhanger later on. But first I need to discuss the once again disappointing viewing figures of just under four million. They're nowhere near up to scratch on previous series' ratings which is disappointing and I can only put it down to the horrific BBC scheduling. It's just on too late. This is Doctor Who, a family programme, and it should be starting at no later than 7.30pm. It's such a shame that so many people are missing out on stories like these, with another high standard of adventures for the Twelfth Doctor this year! I'm really loving Peter Capaldi this year and he really is adding his own quirks that seem to go wonderfully with the modern incarnations of the Doctor. He's got the jazzy sonic sunglasses, the funky electric guitar and he's even going around calling himself Doctor Disco. Now to me, that's absolutely the Doctor. I really liked how this was an immediate sequel to The Day of the Doctor and it's actually quite astonishing that an anniversary story of that importance serves as a prelude to a mid-series adventure! But it absolutely works. I loved the flashback at the start to the special reminding us of the beginning of the plot thread and that wasn't the only referencing that I enjoyed. Terror of the Zygons getting a mention was expected but I still enjoyed as much as any other! I also loved the painting of the First Doctor appearing on the wall! That was not expected and really did put a smile on my face. I think we sometimes forget what happened with the Zygons last time we saw them agreeing to the peace treaty. But now it was the nightmare scenario. After twenty-million Zygons were secretly embedded into society, they wanted more. Or some of them at least. Osgood making her return, or at least the other version of her that wasn't killed by Missy in Death in Heaven, was magnificent. She's such a good and just extremely likeable character. She really is fandom represented on screen. The throwback to the Seventh Doctor in her attire was wonderful! Her contacting the Doctor that the ceasefire had broken down was very good, as I loved the Doctor's reaction to seeing that nightmare scenario was now happening. After originally getting what he wanted with the Zygons becoming part of society, much like I imagine he would want with the Silurians, his old enemies were back for more. Jenna Coleman looked stupendously stunning in this story - the best she's ever looked in Doctor Who in my opinion, eclipsing her outrageously good look in Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS. The reveal of her turn at the cliffhanger was fantastic. I knew she was a Zygon from the moment she tied her hair up but it was still a superb moment. Jac realising everything added to that. But if that wasn't enough, it was proclaimed from Zygon Clara, or Bonnie, that Clara and Kate were dead and it appeared the Doctor was next! After his prancing about in the plane as President of Earth, it seems his days are numbered after what we thought was Clara sent a missile straight for his plane! Not a bad start to the story at all! Plot twists, surprises and excitement. I look forward to the second episode very much, which is of course where the story rating as a whole will appear.   

Four Doctors Part 3

"The universe is dying. And I'm letting it."

Writer: Paul Cornell 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: October 8th 2015

Printed in: DWC 2.01

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

Synopsis 

The Doctor is an Allen who walks like a man. His Tenth incarnation is trying to get over his post-Time War guilt by sprinting along in a happy-go-lucky guise - but he keeps shooting himself in the foot, because all his guilt, rage and frustration is buried just underneath. 

Gabriella Gonzalez is a young would-be artist from Sunset Park, Brooklyn, New York, who is travelling the universe at the Tenth Doctor's side. Her youthful spirit and artistic eye are coupled to an adventurous and quick-witted mind. 

Verdict 

Four Doctors once again continued in excellent fashion with this third part of what will be five as a whole. I'll now have to wait for the next two issues of Doctor Who Comic, which with this issue has had a bit of a revamp, for the final two parts of this story but that's not a problem at all. I've been used to waiting for next parts of stories through Doctor Who Magazine and numerous times with the televised stories and that'll just mean more anticipation and a greater urge to go and purchase the next issue which is actually out next week! My, how time flies. I took a detour from doing this third part immediately after the first two due to a combination of travelling home from university for the first time and a lot of reading and tasked work set over the past week. Thankfully I've made the time today and yesterday to fill my Doctor Who gap. The story continued somewhat differently to what I was expecting after the cliffhanger of part two. There, the Voord stood triumphant as they got what they wanted in bringing the three post-Time War Doctors together and ensured the photograph that Clara was so desperate to prevent occurred. That could only mean trouble. I was surprised that we didn't see the Voord again until the cliffhanger but what we got in between was sublime. The idea of a continuity bomb was superb and that definitely seems like an excellent weapon of the Daleks during the Time War! Its effects were rather devastating and we got to see first hand what it could. Delving through alternative timelines, we were taken back to an alternate take on the closing moments of The End of Time. After the "He will knock four times" prophecy was fulfilled, the Tenth Doctor in this timeline refused to switch places with Wilf. He didn't want to go and he left Wilf to die. If that wasn't bad enough, the Eleventh Doctor reversed events of The Wedding of River Song and that meant that in this timeline all of history was still happening at once! Quite the disaster. I loved how Cornell split the Doctors and companions up in leading to the continuity bomb. There were some interesting pairings that's for sure! I can imagine the Twelfth Doctor and Gabby getting along magically and the hint of what Alice travelling with the Tenth Doctor would be like was also brilliant! I really liked the what should be familiar pairing of the Eleventh Doctor and Clara. However this was at a point prior to Asylum of the Daleks where the Doctor first met a splinter of Clara Oswald. The Eleventh Doctor acknowledging the existence of his successor was very good and I like how surprised but happy he is. He really must have been worrying about having no regenerations left! Well he knows everything works out so as he says that certainly must be a weight off his back. The ambiguity surrounding the alternative timeline of the Twelfth Doctor was very interesting. Whereas before with the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors, the Twelfth knew the outcomes and therefore understood that what was being shown was wrong. Here however, he was unaware of the future and it seemed quite a lot had changed! Clara seemed to have done something terrible to the terribly aged Twelfth Doctor. Just what could that be? But was he the Doctor at all? I'm really not convinced but I like that it's got us thinking about things! Just why was this apparent future Twelfth Doctor so intent on causing harm to his idiotic past faces as he so delicately put it. And now he seems to be the leader of the Voord! Just what is going on? Why have the Doctors all come together? Where's the War Doctor? Why can't they remember Marinus or the Voord? There's a lot to be answered in the next two parts but I have every confidence I will be happy and impressed! But for now, this was another terrific part to what has thus far been a superb comic strip. 

Ghost in the Machine

"You were all... buried alive?"

Writer: Jonathan Morris

Format: Audio

Released:

Series: Companion Chronicles 8.04

Featuring: Third Doctor, Jo

Synopsis 

Mary had a little lamb, its fleece was white as snow

And everywhere that Mary went, that lamb was sure to go

The TARDIS is empty. The Doctor is gone. 

Jo Grant steps outside into the darkness and finds the frozen body of her friend, and the ship's log recorder. On it is attached a simple message - 'Use Me'. 

As she explores this place, recording her every move, Jo discovers the horror that lies in the shadows. 

But by then it is too late.

Verdict 

Ghost in the Machine was a superb little audio adventure! I thoroughly enjoyed this story for a number of reasons but one particularly is the fact that it was actually my first Companion Chronicles range audio for a good eight months! I'm not sure why I've been away from the range so long because I really do love it in that it gives us a more detailed focus on the companion rather than the lead character of the Doctor. It also brought back to life the eras of the First, Second and Third Doctors and along with the Lost Stories and Short Trips ranges, it's incredible that half a century since they were the current era on television, we're still getting new stories involving those characters. What a legacy this wonderful programme has! My Companion Chronicles listening looks set to continue pretty quickly after this, providing university allows me the time, as I was just successful in purchasing The Time Museum on eBay for a mere £2.70! I do know how to strike a bargain, I only paid £2.05 for this audio - and that was brand new and sealed! Speaking of eBay, and bringing eras back to life, I was also lucky enough to be the highest bidder on the 1984 Doctor Who Magazine Winter Special. That arrived today and I really am chuffed with it. Studying History, this is almost like a primary source to me and it really will hold a special place in my collection. It's incredible to think that what I can hold in my hand is over three decades old and that there had only been six incarnations of the Doctor! Anyway, back to the story at hand and I thought Katy Manning gave an assured performance returning to her role as the lovely Jo Grant. I've never had any criticism towards her when it comes to Third Doctor Companion Chronicles and this was no different! She was wonderful once again. This story was certainly of a very similar standard to The Many Deaths of Jo Grant but what we got was very different. I'm not usually the biggest fan of Jonathan Morris but here I thought his writing was sublime. I loved how he managed to make this in real time rather than the usual recollection from a companion. The way he accounted for the absence of the late Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor was also magnificent. The use of a recorded tape from the TARDIS log really was very clever I must say - I was very impressed! The plot was very good and although the story was solely just Jo for more than I expected, it never became boring which is sometimes a worry when there's just the one actor or actress. Once Benjamin arrived, the idea of him (and later Jo) only being able to say what they had previously recorded was extremely interesting, and a concept I really liked. Jo not being able to say butterfly was quite humorous I must say! The cliffhanger was very good and it made me want to listen to the next part right away which is exactly what I'm looking for. The second voice served as quite an enigmatic enemy which was very good and it seemed almost undefeatable, until the Doctor made his presence felt for the first time through Benjamin. The whole body-changing fiasco was quite comedic with many of the latter minutes dominated by Katy Manning playing the Third Doctor! He'd taken over Jo's body but in doing so saved the day with some nice trickery in the TARDIS. Hiding the key in his mouth was genius. He granted Benjamin his wish of finally being allowed to die and the second voice was no more. Overall, a very good audio adventure and one that definitely seemed suited to its era. 

Rating: 9/10

The Beast of Babylon

"You're going to save your favourite planet. You're going to rescue a whole race. What does my one life matter compared to all theirs...?"

Writer: Charlie Higson

Format: Novella

Released: November 2014

Series: 12 Doctors, 12 Stories: 09

Featuring: Ninth Doctor

Synopsis 

A young girl called Ali sees a silver orb fall from the sky and soon learns it is her ticket to seeing the universe. Desperate to retrieve the mysterious object, the Ninth Doctor lets her join him on a trip to ancient Babylon, where he must battle a giant Starman for the fate of Earth.

Verdict 

The Beast of Babylon was an excellent little novella and such an audacious one at that! It's unprecedented and well, just unthinkable that there could be a Ninth Doctor story without Rose as the companion. When we first meet Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor in Rose, it's clear he's recently regenerated from what we later learn was the Last Great Time War. After successfully defeating the Autons and the Nestene Consciousness, Rose would then join this incarnation of our favourite Time Lord on his travels and she was there continuously until his regeneration in Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways, but here we have a Ninth Doctor actually set inside the events of Rose! A whole adventure took place between what we thought was the Doctor immediately returning to tell Rose that the TARDIS also travelled in time. Now that's a superb way to fit things into the storytelling continuity! No complaints from me at all. This gave us an unseen (or rather unread) perspective on the Ninth Doctor I was really intrigued by his persona, especially with it noticeably soon after the regeneration that we briefly saw the beginnings of in The Day of the Doctor. Ali filled the companion-role for this story and although I really liked her, somewhat contradictory she's the reason this story didn't quite score as high as every other in this series, excluding Tip of the Tongue which is the only novella from the collection that I would consider to be relatively poor. The threat of the Starman was pretty good here and I really thought the description was fantastic. It's almost too difficult to comprehend how it could be twins but one entity but I did like how it was depicted as almost looking not quite in existence. I loved the Doctor's mentioning of some of his past companions, notably Susan, Polly and Leela putting a smile on my face. I love a Classic reference in a revival era story I must say. Though I'm not too big a fan of inferring that the Doctor travelled with companions that we haven't seen anywhere before - not even in comic strips or audios. That seems a bit of a strange one to me but I can skip over it I guess. Ali knowing all about the concept of a TARDIS and the now long extinct Time Lords was intriguing but what made me like her immediately was the way she challenged the Doctor with questions and eventually got her wish in travelling with the Time Lord to Earth to Babylon. That historical setting is one I'm very fond of and although I prefer modern History in terms of my historical interest, I enjoy any visit to the past. Gurgurum and Hammurabi were typical of the period which was really good writing I must say. The Doctor expertly talked himself out of trouble yet again which was great. Ali got progressively less enjoyable as the story went on which was a real shame. She just killed numerous people and I was amazed and appalled by the Doctor almost dismissively saying it was okay because she thought it was right. I don't care which incarnation it is, the Doctor wouldn't accept that as a warranting reason. The resolution was decent and I like how we saw Ali persuading the Doctor to return to Rose and make sure she couldn't say no to the offer. We returned to the closing scene of Rose and a new Who episode received some sort of novelisation for the first time! Overall though, a very enjoyable read but a few little flaws that slightly bring it down but to what is still a great rating! 

Rating: 8/10

The Woman Who Lived

"It can't have been easy... outliving the people you loved."

Writer: Catherine Tregenna 

Format: TV 

Broadcast: 24th October 2015

Series: 9.06

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor

Synopsis

When the Doctor tracks an alien artefact to England 1651, he clashes with a notorious highwayman known as the Knightmare. The pair discover they have a common goal and form an uneasy alliance. But you should never trust a highwayman and this one has been economical with the truth. There's been no mention, for instance, of the fire-breathing beast which lurks in the grounds of the Knightmare's home...

Verdict 

The Woman Who Lived was a simply sensational episode of Doctor Who. It really was. Halfway through and we've already had two full mark stories from myself (with The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar a two parter so that's really half of the episodes getting full marks) but yet the series can't reach the five million mark when it comes to the viewing figures which I just find baffling. I blame it entirely on the BBC schedule, as I have mentioned in a few blogs of Series 9 episodes now. 8.20pm is just too late - it should be on two hours earlier. I will watch whatever time it is on but I do think the younger viewers and more so their parents will be put off by the fact Doctor Who will be finishing later than 9 o'clock. But anyway, hopefully BBC learns from their mistake. Anyway, back to the episode and it was just phenomenal from start to finish. It's so nice to see a female writer back and I'm a big fan of Catherine Tregenna for her stuff in Torchwood but here she's just blown things out of the water! An immediate sequel to The Girl Who Died, a story which was obviously but nicely referenced, this bettered it. I was quite surprised that we only got a snippet of Clara in the closing scene but my goodness did Jenna Coleman look amazing. Speaking of which, Maisie Williams looked absolutely divine. Having watched her in Game of Thrones she rarely gets the chance to dress extravagantly but here she looked dazzling. I love the choice of title implying that now Ashildr is no longer a girl but a woman. She has been living for around eight centuries now so I guess she does qualify to be fair. Ashildr, or Me as she now liked to be called, had certainly changed considerably since being made immortal by the Doctor. She was finding things very tough though watching those she loves die while she just stays the same. I'm actually in the midst of studying the Plague, specifically in London, but the figures were similar everywhere. The amount of death was incomprehensible and she had lost her children to that. I can't blame her for not wanting anymore that's for sure! What she wanted was to not be on the slow path experiencing all of History as it all happened. She wanted to see the stars and go travelling with the Doctor. Maisie Williams absolutely has to return in the future based on dialogue in this episode. She knew a lot about the Doctor and although I love the idea of her cleaning up once the Doctor had abandoned those he saved, but I'm absolutely convinced there's something more especially with her popping up in Clara's pupil's selfie. Still watching. Still lurking. Still wanting to fly. She wanted it earlier though and joined forces with Leandro to try and open the portal to the stars. As we've seen so many times before, she was just being used but brilliantly once she was horrified by the realisation, Me ended up saving the day. The usage of the second Mire medical kit was such a good inclusion bringing both episodes, though absolutely not a two parter, around full circle perfectly. It was a fantastic end to a magnificent episode. I absolutely adored the chemistry between Peter Capaldi and Maisie Williams when they were searching for the portal creator or Eyes of Hades. They were just so good together. I must say that Peter Capaldi is doing an absolutely stellar job as the Twelfth Doctor and I'm just loving him this series, especially in that he's embracing the hugs from Clara. She really does mean so much to him and the feeling is definitely mutual! They need each other but with Clara echoing the words of Rose in Army of Ghosts, she's leaving soon. I really like how they've kept quiet on how or when she's going to depart but when she does I will be gutted for sure! However, she's had a good run and this episode was a preview of life without her. But we still have six (hopefully) more episodes of her left so let's enjoy them! But let's enjoy thinking of when Ashildr/Me returns! There's something else going on there and I can't wait to see what. Overall, a stellar episode of Doctor Who. A lovely Captain Jack reference, superb plot and sublime strangeness. What more could you want?

Rating: 10/10 

 

Four Doctors Part 2

"Baby Doctor and posh Doctor seem to think I'm... scary Doctor."

Writer: Paul Cornell

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 8th October 2015

Printed in: DWC 2.01

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

Synopsis 

The Doctor is the last of the Time Lords of Gallifrey. His Eleventh incarnation is a gangly boy professor with an old, old soul. Not guilty or embarrassed about anything, he has made mistakes - some enormous! - but owns each and every one. 

Former Library Assistant Alice Obiefune has grown into a courageous hero since her travels with the Eleventh Doctor began. Having put the death of her mother behind her, Alice now embraces all that travelling in the TARDIS can offer her. 

Verdict 

Four Doctors continued in tremendous style after a phenomenal opening part! Although I've started the latest issue of Doctor Who Comic nearly a fortnight after it was released, I don't have to wait long at all until I read the next part of this already sublime story! That's because this issue is unique so far for DWC in that all three stories printed are parts of the same umbrella title. Why that is I'm still not sure but it would be a crime if we had to wait four months to see a story of this magnitude unfold! I've taken some time to get to reading the issue due to my busy schedule of university work and wanting to do other Doctor Who related things, as well as watch the new series unfold on television, but as long as it's blogged that's all that counts. The story was a lot more quick paced than the first part which I expected with the Doctors and companions all met up. Once again though, the bantering and conversations between the three most recent incarnations was spectacular. It never fails to be good in a multi-Doctor story, whether it's just two incarnations as in The Two Doctors or numerous as we saw in The Light at the End. I just love it when past incarnations meet up because it simply shouldn't happen. Although it's happened many times now, it never gets old and I'm not sure it ever will. I'm yet to see how it goes in a novelised format but I have just ordered the Target novelisation of The Two Doctors so it shouldn't be too long before I see that play out. This is the first time I've experienced it without performances from the actors but having the excellent visuals of all the incarnations there certainly helps things. The characterisation from Cornell for all three incarnations was very good. I adored Gabby's artistic introduction, it reminded me a lot of The Arts in Space, and how she envisaged the other selves of the Doctor. What she got with the Eleventh and Twelfth Doctor was a lot different than she'd hoped. There was bickering, age differences and more than enough difference of opinion. Which in itself may seem baffling as despite the difference of appearance, they're all the same person. I absolutely loved the jumping through the different TARDIS interiors. The Tenth Doctor thinking the Twelfth's was the Master's was magnificent! I really did love that moment. This obviously is set before The Day of the Doctor so the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors had no recollection of that encounter, ensuring the Tenth Doctor wasn't impressed at all with his next incarnation's decoration of the TARDIS. The Twelfth Doctor bantering that the Tenth Doctor merely kept the TARDIS interior that came before him was quite funny but how would they react to any incarnation prior to the Eighth Doctor? Speaking of which, I was quite surprised we didn't get a single appearance of the War Doctor in this story, not that it really mattered but I figured we'd see each incarnation at least once in each part. The Reapers were very good and the reference to Father's Day was excellent. The chase for the Eleventh Doctor after the Reapers decided on the middle incarnation was very comedic. The way the three Doctors tackled their threat was superb but I'm still not sure why they can't recall the planet Marinus. That really is questionable but I have a feeling it will be worked into the story, after visiting their twice in the first incarnation and then during the Time War. The companions were very good here and I liked that the Twelfth Doctor remembered enjoying Gabby, though the foreshadowing of her departure was intriguing. I hope that's not soon! The new and improved Voord standing tall at the end of the part was superb and I just never thought they'd return in a modern Who story, especially one of this magnitude! It must have something to do with these Doctors being after the Time War, of which Marinus and the Voord are involved. I can't wait to see it unfold! 

Four Doctors Part 1

"We're all going to have some sort of 'multi-Doctor... event!' Whether you like it or not!"

Writer: Paul Cornell 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 8th October 2015

Printed in: DWC 2.01

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

Synopsis 

The Doctor is never cruel or cowardly, he champions the oppressed across time and space. His Twelfth incarnation is done with guilt, wants to fix things, and now he feels he has the license to - and doesn't have to be a happy, fun Manic Pixie Dream Doctor to do so. 

Clara Oswald has known the Doctor through both his Eleventh and Twelfth incarnations, and has stuck with him through thick and thin. A teacher at Coal Hill School, she juggles her 'real life' with her secret adventures in the TARDIS! 

Verdict 

Four Doctors kicked off in tremendous style with this superb first part of the feature length comic adventure! Ever since Titan Comics released Doctor Who Comic in the UK, I've been excited about this one for a very long time. Now, I wholeheartedly disagree with the decision to skip ahead to this story but while it's happened there's nothing much I can do about it. I now have an incentive to purchase the graphic novels though. This story sees a revamp of the magazine and a return to issue one, why I'm not so sure but that's the direction they've gone in. This really did have it all and if anyone should be trusted to write a multi-Doctor comic strip story, then it's Paul Cornell. The choice of the four incarnations is an intriguing one in having the War Doctor featured instead of the Ninth Doctor. I'm not complaining at all but I'm surprised we haven't had a meeting of the four revival Doctors in any form yet. I'm sure that will come! This started off on a planet I certainly did not expect - Marinus! I absolutely love The Keys of Marinus, it really is one of my all time favourites, so that story getting referenced and the War Doctor revisiting the planet was sublime. The Voord have had quite the revamp as well! They'd changed considerably since their TV appearance and Domain of the Voord and I liked how that was down to the effects of the Time War. Marinus was now just an acid desert but what significance it has in the Time War remains to be seen. I loved the artwork in making the War Doctor look a lot younger than when we saw him in The Day of the Doctor. Clara referencing that story was very good. She was excellent in this meeting up with Gabby and Alice and she was so convincing and passionate about the trouble the Doctors meeting would cause that her predecessors took to her pretty much without question. Past companions meeting each other is one thing, but I must admit I absolutely love it when the Doctors all join together! It seems even more special when it's the revival Doctors as it hasn't happened much at all since 2005. We had the brief but brilliant Time Crash and then The Day of the Doctor. The Classic Doctors have met numerous times now thanks to the superb audios so this really did feel special. The Twelfth Doctor reacted exactly as I would have hoped for and he wasn't too impressed with his past selves. I didn't like that he couldn't remember Marinus though! The banter and bickering amongst the three Doctors was superb and it was excellent that the Tenth and Eleventh knew that the Twelfth just shouldn't exist. Calling him an abomination was a bit far though I thought! The return of the Reapers serving as the cliffhanger was another added bonus and I liked how it came about very much! It's going to be interesting to see how they pan out in comic strip format but I have every confidence in Paul Cornell. Why wouldn't I? The reference to The Next Doctor was outstanding and really fitted in with the point of travel for the Tenth Doctor and also the possibility of what the Twelfth Doctor was. Seeing the Eleventh Doctor not recognise Clara was also interesting but this is obviously a long way before The Snowmen in the timeline of that Doctor. How Clara acquired the photo of the three Doctors together is interesting but I'm not sure what the presence of ARC will mean. But anyway, for an opening part this was phenomenal! And I don't have to wait a month for part two - I just need to flick the page! I can't wait to see what happens. 

The Highgate Horror Part 1

"A vampire. In Highgate cemetery? Seriously?"

Writer: Mark Wright 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 15th October 2015

Printed in: DWM 492

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara 

Synopsis 

In 1972, the Doctor and Clara find themselves in Highgate cemetery. There they meet a startled woman called Jess. Why was she there? To track down a vampire of course...

Verdict 

The Highgate Horror started off this brand new comic strip adventure in tremendous style! It really did have a magnificent atmosphere throughout with the added bonus of fantastic artwork! I'll get to the comic strip in depth a bit later on but first it's a brand new edition of Doctor Who Magazine! I always look forward to a new edition of DWM and this week was no different with it being my first one purchased whilst at university. It looks set to be another superb edition and before writing this I have read a little bit. Before yesterday's broadcast of The Girl Who Died, I did read the preview and as you can guess from my blog entry and rating of that story, I was not left disappointed. I'm going to keep the other three previews until the day of broadcast so the information remains fresh in my mind. Steven Moffat's column was as comedic as ever though I must admit I loved how he took up nearly all his allotted space by talking rather wonderfully about The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar. It's such a good series opener that I imagine will be talked about for quite some time actually. Gallifrey Guardian was excellent as always and following on from last night's episode I've wrote in for the first time since winning a copy of The Good Soldier for my praise of Blood and Ice. I'm looking forward to seeing what Jacqueline Rayner has to talk about this month in the always sublime Relative Dimensions. She really needs to pen a TV episode in my opinion! I'm not usually a fan of The Fact of Fiction but seeing once again how this issue wraps up The War Games I might have to give it a read as that is, and probably always will be, my all time favourite Doctor Who serial. The continuation of the Kate Walshe interview should be good as I enjoyed part one and I imagine the Toby Whithouse interview will be just as good! The DWM Review is always great when the new series is on television but I must admit I actually prefer the Coming Soon segment of the magazine! Thankfully DWM gave us the extra 8 pages free of charge because charging over £5 for a magazine would be hugely unfair in my opinion. It irks me enough when they charge £5.99 for the inclusion of a poster, of which they are always too big. I absolutely agreed with Tom Spilsbury's comments about the viewing figures for the series opener and although I was left stunned by the unannounced return of Davros, had he been announced beforehand or included in the title then my excitement for the series would have been increased tenfold. The Back to Skaro feature though looks set to be good! Wotcha! is always a comical finish to the magazine as well. Now then, back to the comic strip story and after a very successful culmination of Spirits of the Jungle, this new instalment started superbly! It looks set to be phenomenal which from just one part is always a good sign. The characterisation of Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor wasn't quite up to scratch but it wasn't miles away so that wasn't too bad. However, for possibly the first time in the pages of DWM, Clara's characterisation was perfect! Mark Wright really nailed her down to a tee and it certainly fitted in with Series 9 very nicely. Jess was a good character and I liked her interaction with the TARDIS pairing. The threat of a vampire looks set to be more than intriguing, especially as towards the end there wasn't just the one! I also thought the cliffhanger was one of the best in recent comic strip memory. Somehow, the TARDIS was just another tombstone! We weren't on Trenzalore were we? No, it's far too early for that. But with the Doctor seriously weakened, Clara unsure what to do and the TARDIS no help, how will they escape the oncoming threat of the Highgate vampires? I can't wait to find out next issue! No rating yet, but upon the story's conclusion I'm sure it'll be a good one if this part is anything to go by. 

The Girl Who Died

"I'm not in the mood for Vikings."

Writers: Jamie Mathieson & Steven Moffat 

Format: TV 

Broadcast: 17th October 2015

Series: 9.05

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis 

Captured by Vikings, the Doctor and Clara must help protect their village from space warriors from the future: the Mire. Outnumbered and outgunned, their fate seems inevitable. So why is the Doctor preoccupied with a single Viking girl?

Verdict 

The Girl Who Died was a superb episode to continue along the ninth series of revived Doctor Who very nicely! I've been looking forward to this story the most since getting to know a bit about what the series would have in store for us and that's because of Maisie Williams guest starring! I'm a huge Game of Thrones fan having watched the five seasons all this year in roughly four months and Maisie's character, Arya Stark is a personal favourite of mine. I'm just waiting for Daenerys to become companion once Clara leaves. That would make my day! If somebody had asked me before this episode for the Doctor Who story closest to Game of Thrones I'd have struggled for a comparison but this, whether intentionally or not, was the closest yet by a long way. The Vikings meeting the Doctor for the first time was wonderful and I just loved his reaction to getting captured almost immediately after he and Clara exited the TARDIS. He wasn't pleased at all. Add on top of that the fact Clara was in a spacesuit, they destroyed his sonic sunglasses and then ensued a two day boat trip. It wasn't quite the length of the boat journey in Island of Death but with this incarnation of the Doctor I imagine two days would seem a lot more for those around him. Agitation is an understatement I would think. I've probably said this in most stories because she's just beautiful but Jenna Coleman looked simply stunning in this episode, even in the spacesuit but more so once she changed into that denim attire. She will be missed that's for sure! I noticed in Under the Lake/Before the Flood that Clara may be taking her travels for granted and I noticed it again here. She just seems to accept that the Doctor always wins which isn't necessarily the case. I wonder how she would react to what the Sixth Doctor and Evelyn experienced in my recent listening of Project: Lazarus. That would be quite different to what she's used to that's for sure. It seems to me that since she lost Danny in Dark Water/Death in Heaven, she's got nothing to lose now. I really am intrigued to see the manner in which she departs which by when she will become the longest serving companion - and rightfully so. The preview to this story in the latest edition of DWM by Jamie Mathieson suggested that the title was perhaps misleading into the atmosphere of the story and he was definitely right. It wasn't dark at all and despite the threat of war and the vicious Viking abduction simply for testosterone, it was somehow quite fun. The moment Clara knew the Doctor was going to stay and defend the village was magnificent. I also adored the Doctor's reaction to seeing that Clara was returned to the surface nice and safe. He became a hugger! Is he a Bayley fan I wonder? (That's a wrestling reference, another thing I'm a huge fan of). The Mire looked very good and were another excellent enemy created by Mathieson after his hugely successful Foretold and Boneless last series. I really liked Odin and I thought he was played fantastically by David Schofield. The moment he appeared in the sky God-like was brilliant because of the Doctor's reaction, just as he was pretending to be Odin himself. Ashildr was a marvellous character and although there was a lot of rumour regarding the character, I'm glad she wasn't a returning Romana or Susan as has been suggested. Just because she's in Game of Thrones doesn't mean Maisie Williams will be a new form of a returning character. The sacrifice she gave to defeat the Mire would prove too much for her though. After the Doctor incredibly found the way to defeat the Mire with the most primitive and basic of resources, she added the final touch but it would be her last contribution in life. That was until the Doctor had an incredible realisation as to why he had the face he did. It was talked about in Deep Breath, which we had a flashback too but the incredible thing was the other flashback and continuity from The Fires of Pompeii. I thought it was outstanding! I'm pleasantly surprised that Peter Capaldi's previous appearance before becoming the Doctor has actually been incorporated into the storytelling of the show. It would serve of a reminder that people can be saved. He is the Doctor and he absolutely saves people. He knows the Time Lords are out there somewhere otherwise he'd have died in The Time of the Doctor, but they're not going to stop him from saving one girl's life. The Doctor reprogrammed Mire technology and brought Ashildr back to life. Just one problem, it was permanent. And the Doctor gave her another of the reparation devices so she wouldn't be alone. Immortality was seeing the people around you die. But at least she'd have someone with her along the way. I refuse to accept this as a two-parter but the fact that Ashildr is back in the next story, by a different writer, suggests to me that this will be more of an immediate sequel. I can't wait to see how that goes because this was superb! 

Rating: 9/10

Flip-Flop

"You've traded in your history... and there's no way you can get it back."

Writer: Jonathan Morris 

Format: Audio

Released: July 2003

Series: Main Range 46

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Mel

Synopsis 

Christmas Eve in the year 3060 and the planet Puxatornee is home to a prosperous human colony. 

A space craft has arrived in orbit carrying the Slithergees, a race of obsequious alien slugs. Their home world has been destroyed and they are humbly requesting permission to settle on the first moon. 

And if they don't get permission, then they are humbly threatening to declare all-out war.

The future hands in the balance. The decision rests with Bailey, the colony's president - but she has other things on her mind...

Christmas Eve in the year 3090, and the planet Puxatornee has changed beyond all recognition. 

The Doctor and Mel arrive, on a completely unrelated mission to defeat a race of terrible monsters, and soon discover that something rather confusing has been happening to history...

Verdict 

Flip-Flop was a great audio adventure and probably the most audacious yet of Big Finish's experimental stories! We've had comic strip characters make their performed Doctor Who debut in The Holy Terror, novel characters arrive to the performed world in The Shadow of the Scourge and even a take on a Doctor Who musical in Doctor Who and the Pirates! Not to mention the out of narrative presentation for Creatures of Beauty. But this was just incredibly audacious and experimental. A story with two discs, each containing two episodes, that could be listened to in either order? Could it possibly work? Did it work? Well, the answer is yes. Jonathan Morris isn't usually my greatest thought of writer but fair play to him for pulling this off in the way he did. The reason though the rating isn't as high as it might have been is because there was a lot of repetition over the two discs, which I understand but that's the price for doing a flip-flopped story. The pairing of the Seventh Doctor and Mel were wonderful together and I just enjoy this incarnation's stories so much more when he's with his first companion than with Ace. Sylvester McCoy seems so much more Doctor-like and that's probably down to Doctor-companion interaction. Mel and the Doctor just get along without any arguments which can't be said for the same incarnation and Ace. What the pair were up to involving the Quarks would have been nice to be seen in a story or some sort! Maybe we'll get it at some point in the future. I'd certainly like to think so as this whole story was actually a sidestep to the battle with the Quarks! I think they'd be magnificent on audio to be honest. They deserve another chance after The Dominators. Instead the enemy aliens here were the Slithergees who could have been improved a bit. They were quite threatening but they lacked a decisive edge. They didn't feature too prominently though so that wasn't much of a problem which was nice. Stuart and Reed, the first versions we met, well from the perspective that I listened to the story, were superb characters. They were quite aggressive in trying to achieve what they wanted but it made for the whole topsy turvy timey wimey affair that this story was. First they wanted to kill the president. Then they wanted to reverse their actions. Then they wanted to prevent the president from being shot. And they wanted those actions later reversed. If you weren't concentrating it really would be easy to get caught up in what was going on. Bailey actually made an excellent president I thought - I really liked her. Mitchell was also very good and I liked the comedic radio calls that came with the arrival of an alternative timeline Stuart and Reed. It was quite a shock that although this story almost seemed to happen twice, everybody died. Both sets of the Seventh Doctor and Mel left in a hurry so the other could arrive without destroying the TARDIS which in itself seemed a bit of a paradox. This whole story certainly was like one big time loop! Although one that could be escaped from. I bet the Axons would be a tad jealous. There was a lot of comedy in an otherwise quite dark story which I thought was a good sidetrack. It didn't perhaps seem as dark and aggressive as it later seemed when looking back now. It's not often that everyone other than the Doctor and companion dies but that was the case here, twice in some cases actually. Overall though, a very good and audacious story! A decent plot, excellent guest cast and a more than reasonable resolution. However, despite the good there was a lot of overlapping repetition which is the main reason why the story lost the marks that it did. 

Rating: 8/10

Project: Lazarus

"I don't want to be a monster anymore!"

Writers: Cavan Scott & Mark Wright 

Format: Audio

Released: June 2003

Series: Main Range 45

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Evelyn, Seventh Doctor

Synopsis 

"I'll survive Doctor. I always do."

Unfinished business.

A frightened girl is stalked in a land of eternal night.

A hunter longs for recognition and power.

A traveller in time returns to correct the mistakes of the past and faces a danger that could rob him of his future. Unless his future intervenes. 

And in the shadows stands Nimrod. Waiting...

Welcome to the Forge.

Verdict 

Project: Lazarus was an excellent audio adventure and finally breaks the trend of consistent ratings that has occurred over the last four or five Main Range adventures. While those ratings are more than good, I'm looking for great judging by the rave reviews Big Finish has accredited. Deservingly so I must add. I was worried that things might not advance to the higher levels of ratings but it's right back on track after this story. I'd have been worried if it wasn't to be honest! The cover alone shows that this one should be good and as I suggested in my blog of Project: Twilight, which was some eighteen months ago now, I didn't think the story from within it was finished. And as I thought we got a sequel (and then a sequel to the sequel within the story). I found the format very interesting and after time went on I was fearing we'd get a multi-Doctor story similar to the Heart of TARDIS novel in which the Second and Fourth Doctors don't actually meet. That actually is the case here but thankfully we get a near hour of Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy performing together. The moment the Sixth Doctor's voice was heard after the Seventh Doctor arrived more than put a smile on my face I must say. After thinking my hopes of Doctor interaction were over we did get it, even if the sixth incarnation was just a clone. These two incarnations couldn't be more different from one another really and that created a stunning contrast. The Seventh Doctor's foreshadowing of what happens to Evelyn was very intriguing. Does that mean she'll be leaving soon? I hope not as despite a shaky start I'm actually warming towards her as companion. Maybe it's because I'm now studying for a History degree? I'd like to think so. The Doctor revealing that he'd made a breakthrough in the Twilight virus was excellent and I'd almost forgotten myself about that story, one I didn't enjoy as much as I could have. But now the same evil team were heading a new project. Lazarus. They were looking at cheating death and who better to understand that than the Doctor? Nimrod was as brutally vicious as the previous time we met him, arguably even more so, and he served as a fantastic villain. Cassie was much changed thanks to him which was a shame as I really liked her last time we met her. I thought it was pretty convenient that the TARDIS was brought along to England from Norway for the Doctor but I'm not going to be too harsh! I was surprised though in the way the Sixth Doctor left. There was a lot left to be answered for though I couldn't blame after what he had to witness happen to Cassie. He was outraged and rightfully so! When he told Evelyn what had happened she was heartbroken. After the revelation about her heart, including a nice reference to The Marian Conspiracy, would this be the final straw and lead to her leave the TARDIS? It wouldn't surprise me. If she doesn't though I am very interested to see where the relationship between the pair goes from here. There's a lot that needs to be fixed! The Seventh Doctor travelling alone was a rare commodity and obviously places the adventure somewhere close before The Movie. Sometimes the lack of companion can prove to be a bad thing but by having a clone of the Sixth Doctor there it was barely noticeable. The climax with the Seventh Doctor thus bringing an end to the story and I would presume the arc was excellent. The emotion between the Seventh Doctor seeing what his previous self looked like die must have been incredibly difficult. Overall, a superb story! The Main Range's upper level ratings are back on track! 

Rating: 9/10

Creatures of Beauty

"It's all a point of perspective..."

Writer: Nicholas Briggs

Format: Audio

Released: May 2003

Series: Main Range 44

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Nyssa

Synopsis 

A planetary ecological disaster... An incurable, disfiguring, genetic disease... Aliens, in breach of galactic law...

Nyssa, under arrest... The TARDIS, inoperable... The Doctor, facing interrogation...

Another situation of fire peril is unfolding for the Doctor and his companion. However, what if it is not clear who is right and who is wrong? Who is ugly and who is beautiful?

Where does the story begin, and where does it end?

Sometimes, it is all a matter of perspective.

Verdict 

Creatures of Beauty was a very good story and certainly gave us a most unique perspective on a Doctor Who story. Nicholas Briggs presenting the four part audio adventure out of narrative is something I'd never have even thought about but with Flip Flop not too far away in my Main Range run, maybe this was dipping the toes in the water? If you'd have told me beforehand how this story would go, I wouldn't think it would work with having the arrival of the TARDIS occurring in the part after they leave, but it did work very well to my pleasant surprise. I have been quite critical of Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor in the past but here I thought he was actually very good and this was actually one of his best audio performances. Nyssa was delicately delightful as per usual but in this unfamiliar pairing that we never saw on television, apart from briefly at the start of Arc of Infinity, there seems to be a little something missing. Tegan, perhaps? The setting of Veln worked well and I really liked the aggressive nature of Gilbrook. He really was your typical outer space chief security officer. He wasn't pleased at all with Brodlik's interrogation of Nyssa which was good and I liked his smug arrogance. Brodlik did have an alterior motive and wasn't being truthful to his higher in command but that was all for the Trakenite's benefit. Gilbrook just refused to believe that there could be other aliens than Koteem. That must have frustrated the Doctor, having so little imagination. Lady Forleon was a good character also and I liked how the muddled narrative effected how we perceived her. I imagine it would have been quite different if the story was presented to us chronologically. I enjoyed the reference to The Land of the Dead, a story which really does seem a lifetime ago but a good one of that. It feels like a long time since I listened to my last Main Range audio story, Doctor Who and the Pirates, but with a rare free night from university work I just couldn't resist listening to a Classic full cast adventure! Hopefully I can fit in a few more over the course of the year, probably on weekends, but I'm just glad that along with Little Doctors I've reached my aim of two stories outside of Series 9 for the week. I imagine as time goes on though that will become increasingly difficult. The story of how the Veln came to be disfigured was very interesting and the alternative narrative certainly delayed that being explained to the listener. I found humour in the fact the Veln admitted how ugly they were, especially when compared with the Koteem. They certainly didn't get along with the dyestrial pollution! I really liked the relationship between the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa here and with just the two of them together we really do get to see them blossom as a pair and actually become closer without having to battle over Tegan and Adric. That would change again though. My future audios (as in ones I haven't listened to) knowledge isn't the best, probably because I'm 161 stories behind, but I am intrigued to known how long we'll get just Fifth Doctor and Nyssa stories in the Main Range. I'm not complaining but the more there are the bigger that gap after Time-Flight becomes. As long as it's done right I have no complaints. Overall though, this story was very good. It had a more than decent plot, most intriguing presentation with the out of sync narrative and a great resolution - even if it came when it wasn't expected! A brave and audacious format but one that worked. I look forward to seeing what Nicholas Briggs has in store for us next. 

Rating: 8/10

Little Doctors

"You should see it on the inside..."

Writer: Phillip Lawrence 

Format: Audio

Released: February 2015

Series: Short Trips 5.02

Featuring: Second Doctor, Jamie, Zoe

Synopsis 

The TARDIS brings the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe to a sophisticated Earth colony. Olympos is a world of hi-tech cities, where the lives of the populace are controlled by an all-seeing, all-knowing super computer: Zeus. When the Doctor sees how the human inhabitants have been robbed of the more simple pleasures, he sets out to bring real life back to the colony. But his mental connection to Zeus has some unexpected consequences...

Verdict 

Little Doctors was a very good little Short Trips audio! I must say that for this story being under the Short Trips banner, I thought the increase in length was brilliantly beneficial. Many times in the past when I've blogged stories from the first four series of Short Trips, writing about stories that are only twelve or thirteen minutes long can prove difficult but with this story going over the half hour mark, it's not hard at all to be honest! It's up there with the lengths of Last of the Titans and The Ratings War which are dubbed bonus stories and that's exactly what I consider this range. At £2.99 the value is excellent and I would definitely recommend the series to any Doctor Who fan! They're all Who stories at heart no matter the format or who is narrating. Speaking of which, I thought Frazier Hines was absolutely magnificent narrating the story. He really was. Based on the Companion Chronicle audios I've done in the past I didn't think it was surprising and I didn't really expect anything less, but it was just so lovely to hear. He absolutely nailed Patrick Troughton's Second Doctor so well that you could be forgiven for thinking it was the late great actor himself! When narrating it didn't sound as though it was the actor who played the companion we all know and love in Jamie McCrimmon but when he needed to voice the part of a character he's now been playing for the best part of five decades, he stepped back into the role sublimely. When you've got a narrator as good as this, it makes the story so much more enjoyable. The story itself had a decent plot and I loved the name a lot more after listening. The thought of loads of little baby Patrick Troughton Second Doctor's was marvellous. What a sight that would be! The humour that came through with this story was really great. I found the reference to The Wheel in Space in regards to Zoe very intriguing and judging by some of the dialogue within the audio that this was Zoe's first journey since arriving on the TARDIS following her encounter with the Cybermen. I'm not sure where chronology officially stands on that point but I can see it as more than feasible. Olympos was a good setting and I loved how it served as a futuristic Ancient Greece. Zeus was interesting to say the least but I found the society accepting pre-planned birth in such a way quite disturbing. What happened to traditional intercourse? Anyway, I won't go into that. Lev and Drex were fantastic characters despite my thoughts on the way they were going to conceive a baby. They got on well with the Doctor and co which was good. I loved their reaction to the TARDIS arriving but I thought the Time Lord's response was even better. I really did love that. The resolution to the numerous little Doctors running around the place was decent and I liked how it tied things up nicely. This TARDIS trio is a great one and they were presented fantastically well with some phenomenal characterisation. A good plot, superb characters and a phenomenal narrator. Overall, despite its relative shortness, this was a really great little story. I thoroughly enjoyed. 

Rating: 8/10

Before the Flood

"What's the point of having a time machine if you can't meet your heroes?"

Writer: Toby Whithouse 

Format: TV 

Broadcast: 11th October 2015

Series: 9.04

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis 

A twisted survival plan is pieced together by an alien warlord called the Fisher King. The universe will feel the consequence. Can these events be stopped? Can the Doctor ensure the future is coming and do the impossible?

Verdict 

Before the Flood was a decent episode to continue along the superb story started in Under the Lake. After last week's excellence and a cliffhanger that I thought was one of the best in recent memory, this didn't quite deliver to the very high standards I was hoping for. That's not to say this wasn't good because that would be incorrect, but I was expecting a higher rating after the previous episode. Although this was a two part story, this second episode had such a different feel from the first which may have hurt things somewhat. It never quite felt the same and because we had seen all the ghosts previously, they didn't have the desired effect two weeks in a row. Last week it was scary but tonight it just never felt like being quite so. I really wasn't sure about the pre-credits opening scene with the Doctor seemingly breaking the fourth wall and telling the viewer a little story about Beethoven and the bootstrap paradox. The exception in The Daleks' Master Plan was done beautifully but a whole scene? I'm really not too keen on that. Neither was I struck by the remix of the opening titles, something which seems to be happening every week now and is actually starting to annoy me. Can we just keep it consistent please? Despite what appears to be a critical tone from myself, this episode certainly had a lot of positives most notably with the guest cast. They really were magnificent and O'Donnell was my standout favourite. I absolutely loved her reaction to having travelled in the TARDIS, she just couldn't compose herself and that was marvellous. She also knew a considerable amount about the Doctor which I found interesting though it paved the way for some marvellous references to Harold Saxon, Rose, Martha, Amy and Kill the Moon, with the first of those probably my favourite. Her death was a bit premature in my opinion though and I was actually gutted that she died! That's a sign of a great character. Bennett was very good and I liked how he stood up to the Doctor when he knew he'd change time to save Clara but not for O'Donnell. He also was angered by the Doctor knowing the fact the list of the ghost Doctor was the order of who was going to die. Was he really just testing out his theory? I'm not convinced. Bennett telling Lunn that he needed to tell Cass how he felt about her was a stunning moment and the moment the pair embraced in a kiss was really heartfelt. Cass was once again magnificent and I loved how she stood up to Clara in asking how she's become so willing to let other people sacrifice their lives. This was an interesting episode for Clara and she was definitely in the full on companion role for this story which somehow seems a rarity. She was rather selfish though in not wanting the Doctor to die, as she'd seen envisaged with his ghost, because of the effect it would have on her. I absolutely love Jenna Coleman but I used to consider Clara as probably my all time favourite companion but lately that's far from the case. That's just down to the way she's been written I think. The Fisher King looked mightily impressive I must say and I liked how a variation of a Torchwood villain from Greeks Bearing Gifts in the Arcateenians. I'm glad to see the ratings are now above the four million mark but I still think that's not quite enough for the quality of the show. The programme just needs to be on earlier! Seeing Prentis pre-ghost was good and I liked the similarities to The God Complex in the Tivolians adoring being conquered. The resolution was good and tied in with the name and the first episode nicely. A bootstrap paradox is an interesting way to go but it worked. Overall, a decent showing but not as good as the first part. As a whole though, still a fantastic story over the two parts. 

Rating: 8/10

The House of Winter

"On the worst day of your life, call the Doctor."

Writer: George Mann 

Format: Audio

Released: 1st October 2015

Series: NSA 23

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara 

Synopsis 

The Doctor and Clara are called to a mysterious, isolated house on a moonlit in the Asurmian Reach. There they meet the inscrutable Justin Winter and his two assistants, Joey and Carenza. Winter has called for the Doctor's help: he and his friends are trapped in the house, all exits having long ago been sealed. 

Verdict 

The House of Winter was an excellent audio adventure and continued along the new bimonthly quadruple set of Twelfth Doctor and Clara audio adventures very nicely! I thought this was an improvement from the previous story, The Gods of Winter, which I only listened to a few days ago so everything was still fresh in my mind from that adventure which was certainly beneficial. I'm not sure where things will stand for the December release but with my Doctor Who blogging sadly on the decrease due to insufficient time now that I'm at university, all should be okay. Although the stories are all interconnected by the mysterious calling card that can summon the TARDIS and the fact that each time it's a member of the Winter family, past listening isn't really necessary to understand the adventure. I wouldn't have said you needed to listen to the previous release before doing this story as it was all pretty much explained within the narrative of the story. I thought David Schofield was a marvellous narrator and his interpretation of Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor was absolutely brilliant. Credit must also go to George Mann for characterising the current incarnation of the Doctor near perfectly. It really was that good of a representation, which when in the audio stories of this format (ie no full cast) is really impressive in my opinion. As a male, he didn't quite seem to capture the essence of Jenna Coleman as Clara which wasn't the end of the world but her characterisation seemed more fitting for a generic companion rather than her character specifically. That was my only real qualm with the story really and probably why it doesn't get full marks. I thought the plot was superb and in a narration audio, a format I must admit I have struggled with in the past, it definitely kept me entertained and interested. I'm glad it did as I paid nearly £10 for this and the first release! I can't complain with that though really as the RRP is £9.25 each so purchasing for £4.95 on iTunes certainly saves going out and searching for it and also nearly half the cost! I'm glad I bought them as my original intention when starting this blog knowing that Peter Capaldi would soon be on his way in, I wanted it dominated by the current Doctor. Now, although I've kept up with every TV story, comic strip (from both Doctor Who Magazine and Doctor Who Comic), novel (I'm currently on the Twelfth Doctor's last of the second trilogy), I don't feel that has been the case probably because I didn't anticipate that for nearly every month of the year so far I've done a blogged story every day. I never thought I'd have been able to create the time but thankfully it allowed me to be that way for so long! University is a different challenge altogether though and I'm glad I've been able to uphold my aim of two stories plus the weekly TV episode per week this week. Harrison Winter being the member of the family calling the Doctor this time around was an intriguing shift from Diana in the last release. He seemed utterly shocked that the calling card actually summoned the Doctor, even if it was to the mass displeasure of the Time Lord. Even though this was only the second time it's occurred, he's getting rather sick of being called out when people think it's the worst day of their lives. The story surrounding Harrison was definitely unexpected but I thought the revelations were marvellous. He'd blended his DNA with the bloodmoths that also inhabited the house and that had driven him to being almost like a Menoptera! The Doctor saying that was a lovely throwback to The Web Planet. References seem few and far between in these audios so anything is a bonus but that was quite nostalgic. I liked how Joey and Carenza were actually androids who'd been reprogrammed by Harrison himself - as they were his guards! He wasn't supposed to be let out of the house but the Doctor worked tirelessly to see him escape. Once he'd worked out the truth he was cleverly lured back in. Overall, an excellent story with a very good plot, brilliant resolution and a magnificent narrator - I can't really ask for much more! 

Rating: 9/10

The Gods of Winter

"It's the worst day of my life... and I need your help."

Writer: James Goss

Format: Audio

Released: 20th August 2015

Series: NSA 22

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara 

Synopsis 

On a remote human colony planet, under the cover of a protective dome, young Diana Winter summons the TARDIS. Brought to her side by the power of a mysterious calling card, the Doctor and Clara are given one of their unlikeliest assignments yet. Yet it is one that will have far-reaching consequences...

Many years later, on the homeworld of the alien Golhearn, the time travellers once again meet Diana - but this time the stakes are much higher. The Golhearn's savage madness is threatening to destroy their own civilisation, and Diana has a personal reason to call for the Doctor once again. Is he willing to assist, or must Clara go it alone? Can anyone discover the cause of the monstrous insanity that threatens them all?

Verdict

The Gods of Winter was a very good audio adventure and a great way to kick off the Twelfth Doctor's run in the audio format! It's about time we had some new original audios with the current incarnation of our favourite Time Lord and I must say I am quite disappointed that we didn't get any during the last series. But not to worry, that wrong has been corrected thankfully and we've now been given a foursome of stories that are all interconnected, an idea which I really like. Released every two months, these audios will mean that they'll be fresh and the memory of the previous adventure will still be close in the mind. However, my strategy was to originally purchase the CDs but with no luck finding this in WH Smith or Waterstones, to my surprise, I ended up paying half price through iTunes which was pretty nice. I consider this blog as my collection so not having a physical copy doesn't bother me and it also meant that I could listen to the story almost immediately after paying which was very nice. I'm not entirely sure why, but this story didn't seem to have a feel of Series 9 going about it. Now I'm not sure if that's because it was released a month prior to it airing, but I do think that as this sort of served as a prelude into the new series, it should have felt somewhere close to it. The Twelfth Doctor, though wonderfully characterised, certainly seemed like what we saw during Series 8. I'd like to think of this as being set somewhere close after Last Christmas but quite a long way before The Magician's Apprentice. The Doctor still had his sonic screwdriver and he was quite opposed to doing people personal favours. The story is undoubtedly set after the eighth series due to the reference to Dark Water/Death in Heaven when Clara was reminiscing about Danny. Will we ever be ridded of those references? He's dead. We've had our remembering period in Clara's dream in the Christmas special so can we just be ridded of it please. Anyway, back to the story at hand. I thought Clare Higgins read the adventure very well indeed though at times I could have mistaken her for Missy! She sounded a lot like Michelle Gomez at times which was good actually as the Scottish tendencies of Peter Capaldi were coming through when she was reading the dialogue of the Doctor. She also managed to capture the essence of Jenna Coleman for Clara as well which I would argue is quite difficult in an audio adventure. Credit must also go to James Goss for allowing the superb characterisation to take place. Diana Winter was a very good character and I loved the horror from the Doctor when he found out about the mysterious calling card that could summon the Doctor whenever she liked. The fact the Doctor knew nothing about these calling cards was very intriguing to me. I do hope that the acquisition of the calling cards for the Winter family is explained as the series of stories goes on. The fact Diana summoned the Doctor from all of space and time because her car was missing was wonderful. Terrifically typical of an eight year old girl! As you could imagine, the Doctor wasn't too pleased. But after some soft persuasion from Clara, he reluctantly accepted to assist in the task of helping Diana find her cat. No saving planets or stopping people from dying, he was here to find a cat because it was the worst day in the life of a young girl. It was all change as the story went on though as we saw Diana forty years in the future and on the Golhearn homeworld. That alien race was very intriguing though I'm not sure they were entirely utilised. The Eye of God was quite humorous and I loved the Doctor's reaction to the concept of a god. Of course there's no such thing. The Doctor getting warmed to Diana once he'd met the future version was nice to see. Overall, a decent plot with quite a good resolution. A great beginning to what looks to be a brilliant set of adventures! Fantastic reading and superb characterisation. 

Rating: 8/10 

Under the Lake

"They can walk through walls. They only come out at night..."

Writer: Toby Whithouse 

Format: TV

Broadcast: 3rd October 2015

Series: 9.03

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis 

When an underwater base comes under attack, the Doctor and Clara must save the frightened crew and defeat an impossible threat. But what is behind these terrifying events? And can they really be haunted by ghosts?

Verdict 

Under the Lake was an excellent episode of Doctor Who to continue along this already superb ninth series! We kicked off in epic style with a finale-standard opener in The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familar and it seems like the high quality is going to continue with this two parter. If the first part is anything to go by then we've got one exciting adventure on our hands! Toby Whithouse is a brilliant writer so I'm confident he'll follow this up majestically. It started off well giving us an immediate insight into the process of how somebody would go from living to being a ghost. Upon the arrival of the TARDIS, three days following the conversion of Moran, the Doctor immediately disputed the existence of ghosts. How preposterous was that? It echoed what he had said in Hide but after a lengthy spell on the Drum, his thoughts were changing somewhat. I thought Peter Capaldi was absolutely sublime as the Twelfth Doctor in this adventure. He's slowly becoming a very favoured incarnation of mine though I must say I'm very worried with the latest viewing figures. At less than four million, a figure which saw the show cancelled 26 years ago, is the future in jeopardy? I sincerely hope not. I place blame on the BBC schedule. Doctor Who always has been, and always will be, a family show. So why the hell is it starting at 8.25pm? It should be on two hours earlier. The production schedule should also have ensured that the show didn't clash with Strictly again but that wasn't avoided. Just put it on before the bloody dancing! Anyway, back to the story before I get too carried away. I'm still not sure about the Doctor replacing his sonic screwdriver with sonic sunglasses, but it's something new I guess. It certainly adds some humour and also an element of surprise in that you wouldn't expect even the Doctor to have sonic sunglasses! I really enjoyed Clara's sense of adventure and after her emotional whirlwind last series, she just wants the thrill of travelling in the TARDIS. She loved what was going on and ironically so did the Doctor! He was delighted at the prospect of ghosts. It was impossible but yet it seemed the only explanation. He referenced Autons and the Nethersphere wonderfully as things they weren't. He just seemed so happy and despite the threat they provided, he just wanted to ask them questions! Although, if anyone should know about death then it's the Doctor. He's died enough times. His relationship with O'Donnell was magnificent! Her accent is simply stunning. Cass was a wonderful character and I must say how impressed I was with Sophie Stone. I can't imagine how difficult life is being deaf but I loved how she was leader of the base. I wholeheartedly agree with Toby Whithouse's comments in the DWM preview that actors should be cast in spite of disability, not because of it. Whithouse relying back to The God Complex was very good and I liked how the Doctor referenced the Tivolians. The Doctor working out that what the ghosts were saying was actually a transmitter of coordinates was most intriguing. They didn't sound like them at all but once explained it made sense! The reference to Orion must have been nice for the Doctor. The chase to capture the ghosts was very entertaining and the aftermath which saw the Doctor and Clara get separated opens up a whole batch of opportunities. The first being the incredible cliffhanger - one of the best in recent memory. It was just superb! The Doctor had gone back in time to before the flood, not that we'd seen him arrive yet, to get an idea of what caused the happenings at the Drum. But for Clara, all she saw was an echoe of the past more than come to haunt her! The Doctor was now a ghost, just floating about in the open ocean. Where this leaves things I'm not quite sure, but it was a phenomenal cliffhanger! An excellent episode - bring on part two. 

The Woman Who Sold the World

"Call me old-fashioned if you like, but I just can't ignore a cry for help!"

Writer: Rob Davis

Format: Comic Strip

Released: May - August 2007

Printed in: DWM 381-384

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Martha

Synopsis 

The Doctor and Martha go to Loam and find the people are going to be killed thanks to a woman who sold the world...

Verdict 

The Woman Who Sold the World was a very good comic strip adventure! I believe this is my first ever Tenth Doctor and Martha comic strip from the pages of Doctor Who Magazine but thankfully it was very good. Reading this in the collected Tenth Doctor comic strips DWM Special Edition, thanks to the magnificent website that is Scribd. It houses a significant amount of Doctor Who and any Classic Doctor Who Annuals stories (excluding the 1980 one of course which I am lucky enough to own a copy of) I have blogged have all come from that. It was brilliant enough to provide me with The Other Doctor which for some reason Doctor Who Comic seems to be skipping in order to catch up with USA running order, something which I think is very sad. It's also allowed me to blog stories such as Pay the Piper thanks to them having numerous editions of Doctor Who Magazine and also the wonderful and rare Dalek Annual which I blogged some time ago. It must have been a good year now since I discovered the collected Ninth Doctor comic strips special edition of DWM on there and quickly got all those stories blogged but it's taken me a long time to get to this collection of Tenth Doctor stories. I'm not sure why I've put it off for so long but now being at university I'm glad I did! I need quick stories if I'm going to continue blogging relatively often and comic strips are perfect for that. Although this obviously isn't the length of a graphic novel, it still gives me some adventures with a TARDIS pairing that I really like, and have recently loved in the novels. In that format, the characterisation has been superb and here I thought Martha was portrayed excellently, especially with this being her first comic strip adventure. Her likeness was captured very well though I thought the artwork could have been improved a bit. That goes for the Tenth Doctor as well, in some parts it didn't look like David Tennant very much at all. That being said, the artwork isn't absolutely crucial that it's perfect as long as the characterisation is somewhere close which for the most part it was here. Released alongside series three, it definitely had a feel of the early episodes in that series which was a very good thing. I enjoyed the plot and the title really caught my eye before reading and I liked how it was brought to realisation. Sugarpea and Sweetleaf, both very intriguingly named, were wonderful characters and I liked the ambiguity on whether they were together or not. The talk of who was responsible for the planet being bombarded by the Goliax was actually quite emotional. I found the format in this collected edition very intriguing with the cliffhangers being taken out. I say that, I mean it wasn't specified where one part ended and another began, though it wasn't too difficult to guess. Kingfish was a very good character and I liked how the Doctor didn't get on with him at all. That relationship got off to a bad start and there was no hint of an improvement - especially when the Doctor was thrown into that infuriating queue. He'd have to be patient, which is not one of his best virtues. Brassneck and Kipe were good characters too and although I thought the resolution could have done with a tad more explanation, I enjoyed it. The Doctor and Martha reuniting at just the right moment was fantastic and I liked the little sparks of banter between the pair. That's always good to see between Doctor and companion. Overall, a decent story and a very good start to both Martha's comic strip adventures and thus little collection of stories. 

Rating: 8/10