Bill and the Three Jackets

"Ziggy stole my face!"

Writer: Dorothy Koomson
Format: Short Story
Released: 8th March 2018
Printed in: The Day She Saved the Doctor

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Bill

Synopsis

Preparing for a date, Bill goes shopping for a new jacket. In the mysterious shop on the outskirts of Bristol city centre, she tries on three jackets but is prevented from taking selfies in them. Ziggy, the shop assistant, claims to be preventing plagiarism but the real reason is far more consequential...

Verdict

Bill and the Three Jackets was an average story but a somewhat decent conclusion to The Day She Saved the Doctor collection of stories. This was the most recent, chronologically, story in the set and I was quite surprised by how little the Doctor actually featured. I fully appreciate that this book, released on International Women's Day, was all about highlighting the women of Doctor Who but compared with other stories in this collection, he didn't feature much at all. I thought the concept of this story was pretty good with someone taking over Bill but the means by which that was achieved was a little too easy and silly for me. I was sceptical of this story purely based on its title which I know is wrong of me but how could a story actually be about jackets? I didn't think it would be so centred on jackets but it actually was! Sadly, it didn't quite have the quality of The Doctor's Coat but it certainly wasn't without its positives. I thought the writing of Bill was actually fantastic and with her being in another body, we got a trip into her mind and I really liked reading her thoughts. She didn't panic too much and was sure that she was able to convince the Doctor of her true identity. Sadly, I just think the idea of taking the companion out of their own skin has been recycled too many times and this was just lacking some originality. The characterisation of the Twelfth Doctor was decent and I liked that Nardole was mentioned, but I just don't buy that the Doctor wouldn't have noticed that Bill had been taken over. He seemed to immediately know when Martha was cloned in The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky, down to a single hair detail, so for him to need convincing here was quite surprising. However, after a while of dismissing who he saw as a stranger, he was rather quick in being convinced that Bill had actually been subjected to a body swap. Ziggy was an interesting one and she seemed evil at first but I found her explanation quite annoying really as things didn't make much sense. If all she wanted was to go home, which was actually the case, why go to such efforts to get to the Doctor and ask him to take you home in the body of his friends if you were then going to reveal your identity anyway? It just didn't make much sense to me which was a shame. Sadly, the story itself was average but Bill's kindness was so powerful throughout this book and that's why it scores a respectable rating.

Rating: 6/10

The Grief

"The Sorshans killed themselves and their planet."

Writer: Dan Abnett
Format: Comic Strip
Released: March-May 1992
Printed in: DWM 185-187

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace

Synopsis

In the back of a C.H.E.X. all-terrain vehicle on the surface of the dead world Sorsha, an unspeakable device known as the Grief has just brought back to life a nightmare that had been extinct for three thousand years...

Verdict

The Grief was a very good comic strip and a welcomed return to decent quality in my reading of the Evening's Empire graphic novel! I was quite worried when I saw that this adventure shared the same writing as the rather bad Conflict of Interests but thankfully the Doctor and Ace were back in the comic strips and that injected a lot of quality and familiarity which was very much welcomed. The setting of Sorsha was very intriguing and I found Ace's dismissive reaction to the planet once they exited the TARDIS quite humorous. Her thoughts soon changed though as the Doctor revealed why the planet was somewhat war-torn and that he was paying respects to the Sorshans. The story concerning the Sorshans and their sacrifice to rid the universe of the Lom was very enlightening and incredibly surprising and they immediately became the heroes and focus of the story without even featuring. I thought that was quite impressive and I would love a story one day that depicts the awful but incredible sacrifice of the Sorshans. They even sacrificed their planet along with themselves which was the most selfless act one could imagine. I thought the relationship between the Doctor and Ace was very interesting and it seemed to shift quite a bit with each part of the story. I liked the confidence she had in the Doctor's abilities to put things right even when she had heard all about the Lom and the extent the Sorshans went to in order to eradicate them from existence. Their warlike desire and nature was interesting and I found their locust mentality in travelling as one very intriguing. It was quite different to a traditional enemy. Frethil was a good character whilst she lasted but I was quite surprised by how bluntly the Doctor revealed she had succumbed to the fate of the Grief. That weapon being the most deadly of the Lom's was terrific and I liked how it actually rewrote DNA to create a new member of the Lom species. They could constantly replenish themselves with each world they devoured. The sacrifices of both Skrane and Strauss were incredibly courageous and echoed the actions of the Sorshans in order to stop the Lom from spreading and devouring the galaxy. Ace's reaction at her and the Doctor surviving again when others die was quite sudden but something I was a huge fan of. I look forward to seeing if this has any kind of effect on their travelling relationship and the lack of response by the Doctor spoke volumes. Overall, a very good adventure!

Rating: 8/10

Conflict of Interests

"Sontarans - can't live with 'em, can't shoot 'em."

Writer: Dan Abnett
Format: Comic Strip
Released: January 1992
Printed in: DWM 183

Synopsis

The Foreign Hazard Duty team led by Captain Geoff Monmouth are on the planet Aleph 777 in he Deneb Sector protecting the ruins of a site of great archaeological significance from the Sontarans. Breaking from the fighting and under a white flag, the leaders try to establish why the other is there.

Verdict

Conflict of Interests was not the best comic strip story in the world, it has to be said. This is my lowest rating for quite some time and one of my lowest ever - I actually don't think I've ever given less but I would have to check. That would involve some serious consultation of my notes or scrolling through 1300+ blog entries and that just doesn't appeal to me. I was hoping this would see a positive return to the Evening's Empire graphic novel for myself but sadly it really was quite the opposite! It's such a shame that the quality in this collection of stories thus far has been incredibly fluctuating and I do hope that now I get into a consistent run of purely Seventh Doctor comic strips, the quality improves and becomes more consistent. I am fully appreciative of the conditions surrounding this release with the issues concerning the production and deadline of the graphic novel's titular story at the time in Doctor Who Magazine, but that doesn't really mean that I should not give this story any slack. It was quite bad and just rather boring. I couldn't comprehend why we shouldn't understand what the Sontarans were saying and it just made their panels quite pointless. It didn't add anything to story because we had no idea what they were saying! We had a brief translator but even then he wasn't sure on what precisely was said so that just seemed another waste. I do hope the FHD feature in some of the stories that I have to read in this collection as that would make sense in terms of the ordering of the stories in this graphic novel but they didn't exactly seem the most interesting bunch of characters so I won't really mind just forgetting all about this one. Nothing much happened, nothing was resolved and it was bland. I'm honestly surprised I gave it as high as I did! I do think the lack of the Doctor's presence contributed to the poorer standard of story but there have been numerous adventures without him that have been superb so that is no excuse. The Sontarans are a great and familiar enemy but they really didn't offer much here which was a big shame as I adore them. The ending was shocking and I mean that in the negative, not surprising, tense. Nothing was resolved and the FHD and Sontarans just continued fighting as the story had started. It didn't make much sense to me and left me a little disappointed. Overall, this was quite a poor comic strip.

Rating: 4/10

The Parting of the Ways

"Everything human has been purged."

Writer: Russell T Davies
Format: TV
Broadcast: 18th June 2005
Series: 1.13

Featuring: Ninth Doctor, Rose, Captain Jack

Synopsis

As the Daleks attack the Game Station led by their Emperor, the Ninth Doctor finds himself helpless. He knows he must make big sacrifices if he is going to survive. But does this mean losing Rose?

With Captain Jack assembling an army and the Doctor powerless against the Dalek Emperor, a deadly net closes around the whole universe. One thing is for certain, not everyone will make it out of this deadly battle alive. But who or what is Bad Wolf? It's time for the Doctor and Rose to find out.

Verdict

The Parting of the Ways was a stunning conclusion to the story that already started with Bad Wolf. It's just a sublime finale and a fitting end to the Ninth Doctor's run. It really was fantastic and following on from the reveal of the Daleks and their survival of the Time War, the Dalek Emperor also returned in epic style. I really liked the dialogue concerning the Time War and the reaction of the Doctor was actually quite surprising though. He acknowledged that the Time Lords died for nothing but didn't seem to react much and instead was immediately concerned with eradicating the Daleks from existence for good. The Emperor explaining how his ship survived the Doctor's inferno was really good and it made us know that it was the Doctor who ended the Time War. The Daleks here were desperate though and the reveal that they had extrapolated cells from the human race to replenish and rebuild the Dalek race. The Doctor's reaction to that was excellent and I loved how he stated that they hated their own existence and that made them more dangerous than ever. The Daleks hated everything that wasn't them and now they even hated themselves. There might be no stopping them. Their invasion of the Game Station was tremendous and the rise through levels from 495 to 500 was superb and full of tension. They easily despatched of the obstacles and even exterminated Captain Jack at point blank range. Their hatred stretched so far that they went down to floor 0 and killed the hundred or so stranded people that weren't evacuated. Lynda's reaction to that was very sad and her extermination was incredible though. The way we didn't hear the Dalek say 'exterminate' but just saw the lights flashing on its head was superb. The verbal battles between the Doctor and Dalek Emperor were brilliant and I loved how the latter was constantly challenging the Doctor. One thing I did love was that the Doctor saved Rose in quick time, doing exactly what he said he would, and invoked fear in the seemingly emotionless Daleks. Their little step back so to speak was so powerful as to just what the Doctor meant to the Daleks. His building of the delta wave to wipe out the Daleks was good but it would wipe out Earth and everything on it too, and he was too much of a coward to do that, as he admitted. He surrendered and admitted that maybe it was time for his extermination which was surprising with the Earth being ravaged and continents being destroyed. He had no more answers but then Rose returned with the power of the Time Vortex running through her after she managed to get back after the Doctor harshly but selflessly sent her home. His reaction was one of shock and Rose revealed that she was the Bad Wolf. She created herself and sent the words through time to lead her here to save the Doctor and wipe out the Daleks. The Doctor took the power from her once she destroyed the Daleks and brought Jack back to life, but that would prove too much for him. The regeneration process had started and I liked how quick but detailed his hints at would now happen were. It was terrific and I liked how the Ninth Doctor's final words were simple and just fantastic in stating that both Rose and himself were just that. Overall, a superb finale!

Rating: 10/10

Bad Wolf

"Don't try to escape. It's play or die."

Writer: Russell T Davies
Format: TV
Broadcast: 11th June 2005
Series: 1.12

Featuring: Ninth Doctor, Rose, Captain Jack

Synopsis

Separated and with no TARDIS, the Ninth Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack have to fight for their lives on board the Game Station, but a far more dangerous threat is lurking, just out of sight. The Doctor realises that the entire human race has been blinded to the threat on its doorsteps, and he was the cause...

Verdict

Bad Wolf was an outstanding episode and just about the perfect first part of a series finale! It really is superb from start to finish and sets up the final episode incredibly well whilst being a fantastic episode in its own right. It is a sequel to The Long Game and the links with that episode really are terrific. The Doctor didn't actually fix things when he defeated the Mighty Jagrafess, he actually sent Earth into chaos by shutting down all of the news programmes and the blankness allowed the Bad Wolf Corporation to step in and take control. The concept of the game shows is a brilliant one and seeing the Doctor in a Big Brother house was just marvellous! His reaction to what was happening when he realised he was in the diary room was superb and I also loved how Jack was dealing with a dangerous makeover from Trinny and Susannah. Rose taking part in The Weakest Link was very good and I liked how her lack of knowledge as to what happened to those voted as the weakest link was presented. She couldn't understand why people were reduced to tears. To her it was just a gameshow and the Doctor had similar feelings with eviction in Big Brother. He knew he was needed though and broke property to force an eviction but he would not get disintegrated. Instead he managed to get out and from there, he joined with Jack and took Lynda with him and started to cause chaos. His realisation that he was at fault for the horrendous condition of Earth was fantastic and he really did share a wonderful relationship with her. She was very sweet indeed. The tension was magnificent and drip fed at a perfect pace and just as Rose was about to be disintegrated, the Doctor burst in and could save her. Except he didn't and she was shot with the disintegrator. The reactions of the Doctor and Jack were so different yet both told the story of how horrific this was. There was nothing worse. The Doctor soon got into action and engaged in an intriguing conversation with the Controller and I liked how it was her that brought him here to stop her masters. She'd had enough and now she had brought their downfall. The reveal of the Daleks was simply perfect and I adored how in just a few minutes, they were incredibly fearful. There were half a million of them. They had Rose. They shouldn't be there. Their dialogue when they conversed with the Doctor was so good as well and just simple Daleks. Everything they should be. They had the Doctor's companion so he would obey. But he didn't! He was coming to save her. He was going to wipe out the Daleks. And he was going to do it all without a weapon. As well as this episode hyping up the Daleks, it also showed how much the Daleks feared the Doctor and I thought that was simply sublime. It really was an incredible episode where everything just clicked. I look forward to its conclusion but for now, absolute brilliance!

Running Out of Time

"I have to tell you who you are."

Writer: Dorothy Koomson
Format: Audio
Released: November 2010
Series: Short Trips 1.08

Featuring: Eighth Doctor

Synopsis

A young man is on the run. But he can't remember why he is running - or who is following him...

Verdict

Running Out of Time was a bit of an average return to my listening of the Short Trips range of audios! I jumped back to the very first series because it is available for free on Spotify and I really couldn't do anything of much longer length due to the simple fact of it being Boxing Day. There's so much going on with football and food but, along with some university work, I impressed myself by continuing my lengthy consecutive day run with this adventure. I was glad to be back doing an Eighth Doctor story but honestly, you couldn't really tell which incarnation of the Doctor featured here. The only element of description illustrating his appearance could easily have been construed as that of the Sixth Doctor but given that India Fisher is reading, who was of course brilliant companion Charley, and the fact there's already been a Sixth Doctor tale, I'll safely assume it was the Eighth Doctor. Anyway, enough of my pedantic nature and I thought the story was a bit average. There was only so much that could be done in around quarter of a hour but it just didn't seem very good for the most part. It had its moments and the concept actually wasn't bad at all but it didn't quite work in the format it was provided with. One actress makes things difficult with no other voice to hear but I did think India Fisher did a decent job of narration. I do really like her so it was nice to hear again. The story behind Jeff was quite interesting and I was surprised that he had been in the TARDIS before. I didn't expect that but we quickly learned all about his past with Malson and the way he had become part of him had the prospect to be a very good story. However, the time constraints meant things seemed extremely rushed. The revelation concerning Isobella seemed to come so quickly that it almost felt like we'd just found out about the character she turned out to be! Everything was happening very quick and it just needed some time to reflect and elaborate on what was happening. I liked that the means for the resolution were laid out by the Doctor with him needing Isobella's DNA to free Jeff of Malson. Once that was the direction the story was heading for, everything fell into place quite suddenly but I wasn't expecting Jeff to sacrifice himself to see off Malson. That was a shock and I did like how that showed the Doctor why the human race was worth saving. But as a whole, it just needed more depth and elaboration. Overall, it had a good concept but couldn't quite deliver what it was attempting to do.

Rating: 5/10

Supremacy of the Cybermen

"You look for crisis in the beating of a butterfly wing."

Writers: Cavan Scott & George Mann
Format: Comic Strip
Released: July-November 2016
Printed in: Supremacy of the Cybermen #1-5

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Eleventh Doctor, Alice, Tenth Doctor, Gabby, Cindy, Ninth Doctor, Rose, Captain Jack

Synopsis

The Cybermen have already won... YOU WILL BE DELETED!

Exiled from Gallifrey at the very end of Time, Rassilon, fallen leader of the Time Lords, has been captured by the last of the Cybermen. Now the Cybermen have access to time travel! With it, every defeated is now a victory. All of the Doctors' lives are in grave peril, but will they be able to defeat the odds and champion over a Cyberized universe?!

Verdict

Supremacy of the Cybermen was a superb comic strip adventure! I have been waiting for over two years to do this story but I have never found a good enough offer and the local library sadly doesn't have it in their collection. However, I opened it this morning as a terrific gift from my wonderful girlfriend and with no festive episode of Doctor Who on, I had to read this straight away! It was quite different to what I expected and I was surprised that the Doctors didn't actually meet up. Instead, it was pretty much a Twelfth Doctor tale with extended flashbacks to the three immediate predecessors. That was a decent approach and I think it definitely worked well with Cybermen rewriting time. I question why the publishers of this graphic novel didn't put the prologues at the very start of the collection but I really enjoyed them, and the little flashbacks to Classic-era Doctors was terrific. I particularly loved the Fifth Doctor and Peri arriving on Skaro but found that the Cybermen had wiped the Daleks out. That really sold just how much the Cybermen were in control. Pairing them with Rassilon following his expulsion in Hell Bent was an incredible concept and a brilliant partnership. Imagine just how powerful they could be with full cooperation! The Ninth Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack rescuing Jackie from a Cyber-ravaged Earth in 2006 was intriguing and I thought Rose getting partially-converted was fantastic. The Doctor's reaction to that was one of immense anger but he quickly accepted that he wouldn't get her back. The Tenth Doctor, Gabby and Cindy encountering the Sontarans was delightful and I loved the irony of the Doctor being appointed Field Marshall. The Rutan had been made extinct by the Cybermen and now the Sontarans didn't know what to do. I was surprised they quite obviously feared the Cybermen and seeing a Sontaran Prime was also excellent! The Eleventh Doctor and Alice being on prehistoric Earth to find a fruit for Vastra was great but they soon encounter Cyber-Silurians! I loved that idea and the Doctor's reaction to it was tremendous - it just shouldn't have been possible. One slight qualm here, I didn't think the artwork for the Eleventh Doctor was too good sadly but that didn't have an effect on the story. The Twelfth Doctor returning to Gallifrey via Karn was superb and I just loved that we had another modern era story set on the planet of the Time Lords. The return of the General was very good and I liked all of the statues of past incarnations of Rassilon very much. The plan to create a new universe and give the Cybermen the powers of creation was staggering but they soon turned on Rassilon as they wanted everything for themselves. The Cyberiad was an interesting concept and I also liked that we saw the CyberKings and the Cyber Controller. The latter has been well overdue a return! The ending was pacy and quick with the Doctor and Rassilon making contact in the traditional multi-Doctor story way with the latter realising that an alliance with the Cybermen was not the way forward. Their rewritten victories were soon returned to defeats and time was put back on its rightful path. The use of regenerative power going backwards there was a simple yet great way to defeat the Cybermen. Overall, a superb comic strip! Merry Christmas!

Rating: 10/10

Evening's Empire

"This is my world and I decide who I share it with."

Writer: Andrew Cartmel
Format: Comic Strip
Released: October 1991/September 1993
Printed in: DWM 180/DWCC Autumn Holiday Special

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace

Synopsis

Arriving in Middlesbrough, the Doctor, Ace aid Colonel Muriel Frost in an investigation into a plane crash during World War Two.

Meanwhile, women are being kidnapped, and UNIT is trapped on a strange world of contemporary Earth consisting of building, primitive human bows and arrows and two suns in the sky.

How are these events connected? The Doctor and Ace will soon find out.

Verdict

Evening's Empire was a superb comic strip adventure! I can clearly see why this gets the title of the graphic novel as it was simply a masterpiece from Andrew Cartmel. I adored it from start to finish and I just loved its enigmatic atmosphere. The character of Alex Evening was brilliant with his disturbed nature and I have to say, the feel of the story was so perfectly reminiscent of the Seventh Doctor's era. The writing was just outstanding and I loved how little the Doctor actually did. That's not too unfamiliar for the seventh incarnation and he just stood back, watched things play out, and then came in once he'd worked out how to fix things. It was incredibly good. I really liked the relationship between the Doctor and Ace and he acknowledged that she had gone through a lot in Alex's reality but didn't want to dwell on it. Ace joining the other girls who had been drugged and captured was quite interesting but things soon got stressful and ambiguous surrounding what their fate actually was. They hated it when they did the thing with the head and the imagery of that was very distressing. The warriors that Alex had created were barbaric and very Roman-like and the prospect of them doing battle with UNIT troops was very exciting. I thought the artwork for this story was absolutely tremendous and the switching between panels and merging pages was divine and it just added to the enigmatic feel of the story. Everything just clicked which was hugely impressive. Colonel Frost was a very good character and I liked that UNIT had a female in charge. Her relationship at home with Nick was quite fragmented and it seemed he was only staying with her for sex, even though he made it abundantly clear he was imagining somebody else each time they engaged in physical activity. I found it quite surprising for something like that to make it into a Doctor Who comic strip but it made things very real which was good. Ives was a great character and her fate was very sad though. She died simply because she was 'fat and ugly' which was horrific. The Doctor's reaction was calm but sorry and now he would fix things. Finding the spaceship that had crashed during World War Two being so small was good and the Q'Dhite sounded like a very intriguing race. They weren't evil, but Alex Evening's mind was and he'd used them for twisted purposes. The Doctor brought Alex's mum to his reality though and that shattered everything. His secret was revealed and she wasn't happy. The link with the Bible and how he was raised was good and I liked how Ace was still shaken up. She was going to be okay, and now Alex's warped reality had been stopped. I loved how his imagination had literally been captured but the Doctor saw that it ended. Overall, a simply superb comic strip story! It's a great shame that it didn't get a full release in DWM but at least it was completed in the end. It's fantastic.

Rating: 10/10

Living in the Past

"They're building a town!"

Writer: Andy Lane
Format: Short Story
Released: July 1990
Printed in: DWM 162

Featuring: Seventh Doctor

Synopsis

The Doctor arrives in what will become Mongolia during the Cretaceous period to pick up Ace, whom he had dropped off there some time ago. Along the way he encounters a put of Dholes and an alien slave who has escaped from a nearby construction site. Where is Ace, and can she play a role in stopping the colonisation?

Verdict

Living in the Past was sadly a bit of an average start to my reading of the Evening's Empire graphic novel! It seems to be a good collection of stories and my final bunch of Seventh Doctor comic strips but I decided to read things in release order and that meant starting with this text story that was printed some eighteen issues before the rest of the collection. I'm not sure why they would print things in a different order to the way it was released but I do understand the desire to kick things off with a comic strip rather than a text story. Sadly, this adventure failed to capture my imagination in a great way and I was always left wanting more. But I think the very nature and format of the story meant it was defeated right from the word go. A story that is just three pages, including illustrations, really does not have a lot of room to impress but even so, there just needed to be more happening. It was basically the Doctor wondering around, seeing a few different kinds of dinosaurs, nearly falling down a hole, seeing that there was civilisation being built and then Ace emerging on a dinosaur and trampling it. It probably sounds a bit more exciting than it actually was but I was very surprised to find out that this was Ace's debut in Doctor Who Magazine fiction! Surely they could have saved such a momentous occasion for a better story? It was quite a good image though seeing her riding a dinosaur but I just felt there needed to be more going on. There just wasn't enough backstory for anything to be impactful and that begs the question of the point of these kind of stories. I mean, it won't stop me reading and blogging them but I do question their necessity. It did actually tie in well with the comic strips as Ace's whereabouts here were acknowledged in Train-Flight but I just felt there needed to be more elaboration on why Ace had been left here and why the Doctor chose now to come and pick her up. The prospect of a civilised town being built in the Cretaceous period was very interesting but it wasn't developed much at all sadly thanks to Ace's trampling on a dinosaur. I liked the idea of an alien coming to Earth in prehistory and trying to build civilisation for slaves - there's a fantastic idea for a story there - but it just needed more time to expand and become meaningful. The Doctor barely had a conversation with the escaped slave and had he, I think it would have been important. The dholes provided a decent illustration but that was about that. The Doctor and Ace were later reunited and off they went. It was a bit anticlimactic and just needed more elaboration, action and impact. Overall, the ideas are there but the delivery was difficult which I fully appreciate.

Rating: 5/10

The Warmonger Part 3

"They were thrown into a hyper-dimensional orbit around the physical universe."

Writer: Scott Gray
Format: Comic Strip
Released: 13th December 2018
Printed in: DWM 533

Featuring: Thirteenth Doctor, Yaz, Ryan, Graham

Synopsis

The Doctor encounters the daughter of an old enemy, and the younger Dogbolter is out for revenge after what the Time Lord did to her father. Gatan continues to be ravaged by the televised battle and the Doctor is not happy. Will she be able to survive the wrath of Dogbolter before she can stop the destruction?

Verdict

The Warmonger continued in very good fashion with this great third part. I'll talk more about the comic strip imminently but for now let's delve into the magazine itself and it looks set to be a fantastic Christmas issue! I really love the subscriber-exclusive cover and that is something I have been very impressed with lately. I haven't actually read any of the content other than the comic strip yet but I'm very much looking forward to the preview of Resolution. A New Year's Day special is quite intriguing and I'm excited to see what is in store. It looks set to be an extended preview compared to what we had for Series 11 and that is a big positive in my book. It's the last new episode for over a year so it better be good! I'm still a bit sceptical over the new-look Time Team but I am quite excited to read their thoughts and reactions to The Feast of Steven. I do hope they don't knock what is a superb episode! An interview with Sharon D Clarke should be very good as Grace played such a key part in the last series despite dying in the first episode and I'm also looking forward to the return of The Fact of Fiction with A Girl's Best Friend. It's certainly a unique choice for a Christmas issue! The Season Survey is something I always love filling out so I will really get into that and I should also say that Frazer Hines is a terrific guest for Out of the TARDIS. I've also really liked the reviews of the Series 11 episodes so seeing more of those should be brilliant. Now, onto the comic strip itself and seeing the Doctor and Dogbolter, both female, was really great and a contrast to past comic strip adventures. It didn't make much difference though and I liked that the latter was after revenge following The Stockbridge Showdown and what the Doctor did to her father. Ryan and Graham being reunited with her was good but that didn't last long but I was intrigued by the fact Dogbolter wanted them to be comfortable. The ease in which they convinced Sandola to leave them be though was a tad easy. I didn't mind though and I do wonder where Graham has found the escape. Yaz showing her command presence was unexpected and I'm not sure it was befitting of her character but I liked that she was standing up against violence and bullying. Tondi being reunited with her aunt was good and I liked that Yaz has got her to her relative and I also liked how Dogbolter had done her research on the Doctor and seemed to be one step ahead of her. That's something we're not quite used to so it was quite a shift to usual circumstances. The cliffhanger was exciting though and I do like action so the prospect of the Doctor getting her head chopped off was rather extraordinary! I do wonder if we'll get a freeze-frame resolution again but it seems improbable that she'll escape unscathed! That's a good sign in a cliffhanger. Overall, a very good continuation!

The Forgotten

"I've got my own exhibition?"

Writer: Tony Lee
Format: Comic Strip
Released: August 2008 - January 2009
Printed in: IDW: Doctor Who (2009) #1-6

Featuring: Tenth Doctor

Synopsis

The Tenth Doctor discovers a museum dedicated to all his lives and has to remember events from his previous incarnations in order to restore his fading memories. The TARDIS is missing from time and space and the only links to the Doctor's past are mysterious items connected with some familiar looking outfits...

Verdict

The Forgotten was a very good comic strip adventure and an improvement on Agent Provocateur from IDW! It was much different to their first stab at Doctor Who and it definitely didn't feel as alien and different, and that's not just because I read the previous release yesterday. The writing of the Tenth Doctor was much better but I still have to question some of the artwork. I thought the format was very similar in nature to The Eight Doctors but showing a mini unseen adventure with each Doctor didn't quite have the same effect as the Doctor visiting a previously seen story. It was still good to see the first ten Doctors in action and it was also nice to see some old companions too. The link between the objects associated with each Doctor and the adventure seen was decent but something that could have been a bit stronger. I do question the drawing of some of the key characters though, particularly the Second and Sixth Doctors and Jo. The latter was horrendously done and until she was referred to by name, I was convinced that she was Liz. Anyway, it wasn't overly important but it definitely should an could have been better. The Fifth Doctor battling the Judoon was great and I liked how fond the Tenth Doctor was of this predecessor following Time Crash. Martha featuring was good and I was surprised that she continued to be IDW's choice of companion even though she had departed the show over a year previous. However, it didn't turn out to be Martha at all and was actually the TARDIS as an interface! I liked that but I wasn't sure about the whole shuffle setting of companions. It was nice to get snippets of what adventures with the likes of the Tenth Doctor and Leela would be like. His regret towards the way he left Susan behind in The Dalek Invasion of Earth was quite emotional but I really liked his brilliance in deducing that Martha wasn't who she appeared to be. When a subtle reference to Turn Left was made, I was questioning the story placement but the Doctor also losing memories of his future was a great twist. Some of the imagery of past stories and enemies was fantastic and I loved seeing the likes of a Voord helmet and Cyber-head. The cliffhanger to part five was extraordinary and the prospect of the Meta-Crisis Doctor going rogue and somewhat Master-like was incredibly unexpected but he turned out to be a Tactire, a species that was part of the missing planet saga in The Stolen Earth/Journey's End that had its entire species wiped out by the Daleks and the Doctor's battle. I thought that truth of him being Es'Cartrss came a little soon but I loved how the Doctor just laughed off the suggestion that he was in fact the Valeyard. The image of the ten Doctors all in the Classic-era console room was wonderful and I enjoyed that the differing incarnations all got to have a little conversation. The Doctor restored his memory and was alone again with the TARDIS. Overall, a great comic strip!

Rating: 8/10

Agent Provocateur

"One survivor, one person to remember... one key to the past."

Writer: Gary Russell
Format: Comic Strip
Released: February-August 2008
Series: IDW Doctor Who #1-6

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Martha

Synopsis

Over the course of seemingly unrelated adventures, the Doctor and Martha find that events are being manipulated by an alien Pantheon who need the Doctor to clean up their mess. They just want the best milkshake the galaxy has to offer, but end up in a heap of trouble...

Verdict

Agent Provocateur was a really intriguing read and a decent start to my reading of the IDW comic strips! It was incredibly different to the stuff produced in DWM and from Titan and I really just found it fascinating. The story was more six interconnected adventures than a single one spreading over six parts but those connections were strong so that was absolutely fine. I thought it was good to start off with a familiar enemy in the form of the Sycorax and the Doctor realising that it was just after him and not Martha was really good. I thought the first page backstory and what exactly Doctor Who is all about and just who the Doctor is was really beneficial to new readers and a clear target at setting the scene for the comic series as a whole. Now, the artwork was somewhat questionable and often fluctuating, which was going to happen with a number of different artists, but it wasn't great in terms of consistency. I did think the drawing of Martha particularly was quite horrendous for the first few parts as her likeness wasn't captured at all. I also found that the characterisation of both the Doctor and Martha was quite poor at the start but it did improve considerably as the adventure went on. I just found the whole thing really interesting and it was quite unlike anything I've ever read in the Doctor Who world. It was clearly  written for the American audience which was fine and I did enjoy the multiple jumps in setting. That kept things fresh. The Pantheon were an intriguing bunch and I liked how they all came together to see if they could lure the Doctor into fixing what they did wrong. The inclusion of the Catkind was a big positive and I liked that we got to learn a lot more about their history. I also liked the continued reference to The Lazarus Experiment where Francine lashed the Doctor. He hadn't got over that at all. Reading Martha's gratitude towards the Doctor for being on her travels was really nice but I thought their relationship was weirdly presented with the likes of them sharing a drink with two straws. Bubastion was an interesting character following the Doctor and Martha around and I also thought Silas Wain was intriguing and there's definitely unfinished business there which I was quite surprised about given the circumstances around his departure from the Doctor. Tharlot made a good villain but I thought his demise came a little suddenly but it was in quite horrific circumstances! His desire to have the sonic screwdriver and use it as a weapon was incredibly unique but I liked how the Doctor used it with the sonic canon to destroy the beast from the other universe that had contracted Tharlot and saw that this universe was saved. Overall, an action-packed and incredibly intriguing adventure!

Rating: 7/10

Submission

"Welcome to the bottom of the world."

Writer: Ryan Scott
Format: Audio
Released: July 2011
Series: Torchwood: The Lost Files 02

Featuring: Captain Jack, Gwen, Ianto

Synopsis

Torchwood are chasing aliens down the M4, when Jack accidentally blows a hole in the Severn Bridge, and the SUV hits the water. Whilst submerged, Jack, Gwen and Ianto hear a strange noise, which, back at the Hub they realise is a cry for help. They track the cry to its source which turns out to be the deepest part of the Ocean - the Mariana Trench. Ianto rings old Torchwood flame, Carlie Roberts, who's an expert in marine geology, and Jack pulls strings with the US government to get them all on board the USS Calvin, an Arleigh Burke class destroyer, which is heading for the Trench. From there they board the Octopus Rock, the only submarine built to withstand the pressure at that depth, and follow the signal. But when the Submarine crashes, the team are left at the mercy of a hungry alien.

Verdict

Submission was another very good Torchwood audio adventure! In a round about way, over a number of years, it saw me conclude the full cast Torchwood audios from the BBC and I was very grateful once again to Libraries West for their online service allowing me to access this story for free. It was a fantastic little adventure and I thought the predominant setting of the bottom of the ocean at the Mariana Trench was excellent. It was like a completely different world down there and I found it really fascinating that the submarine went deeper than ever before in human history. That was quite the feat for the Torchwood team! With a journey planned across the Severn Bridge tomorrow, thankfully into Wales (no tolls!), the image of half of it blowing up was quite something! It turned out to be a minimal feature of the audio though and the plunge into the waters below was of more importance. The noise heard was quite entrancing but I liked how once it was slowed down it was a cry for help. So Torchwood being what they are, they tracked it down and wanted to help. Ianto enlisting Carlie, an old flame from his days at Torchwood One, was really good and I liked how knowledgeable she was on the Trench. She was really helpful for explaining just what it was and what was around them. Gwen was terrific once again here and I just really liked that we got an original adventure with this Torchwood trio. I wish there were more of them. The dangers below the sea with the immense pressure were fantastic and I liked how the submarine used was the only one built to withstand it. Jack had to pull some strings at UNIT by mentioning the Doctor to get it which was good. Sam was a hugely fascinating character and the history behind the 1959 mission was really intriguing. The alien parasite actually being hungry for memories was a good twist but I thought the revelation surrounding the connection over the 50 year wait and the fact that Sam was 50 on the mission was a little too obvious. It worked well though and after going through all of his memories, the parasite needed more to feed on. It needed to replace the memories of losing a loved one which I thought was quite emotional but its connection with the underwater volcano, and only being able to breath in the proximity of its toxic atmosphere was good, and it made for a simple resolution. Once it took over Carlie, Jack being more than willing to see her to die to rid the ocean of the parasite was very good but Ianto couldn't quite see it the same way. His determination meant she would survive though and I loved how Gwen didn't let him give up. Overall, a very good audio!

Rating: 8/10

The Devil and Miss Carew

"Every piece of technology will fail."

Writer: Rupert Laight
Format: Audio
Released: July 2011
Series: Torchwood: The Lost Files 01

Featuring: Captain Jack, Gwen, Ianto

Synopsis

When Rhys's elderly Uncle Bryn has a heart attack while listening to the shipping forecast, it seems like another routine death at Ivyday Nursing Home. But when Rhys and Gwen go to collect the old man's effects, Gwen's suspicions are roused by another elderly resident. The conversation is cut short, though, by a fire alarm, one of many consequences of the mysterious power cuts that are sweeping the nation. Gwen has a hunch that something is wrong and her search leads to Miss Carew, a suspiciously fit and strong octogenarian who, despite having supposedly terminal heart disease, has left Ivyday and gone back to work at the computer firm she used to run. Miss Carew has been offered a deal by Fitzroy, a wandering alien with an aversion to electricity who is looking for a home. It's a deal that Miss Carew can't refuse. But the consequences for planet Earth are unthinkable.

Verdict

The Devil and Miss Carew was a great audio adventure! It has been far too long since I have done a Torchwood audio and even longer since I've done one set between the original televised run. It was lovely to take a trip back down memory lane and I really enjoyed this. It was delightful to hear Gwen, Jack and Ianto together and I like the gap that's available between Series 2 and 3 for these kind of stories. It works well and there's no contradictions whatsoever. I really like Torchwood and part of that is its familiarity with the Welsh setting. Hearing places like Crickhowell get a mention and partial setting is very nice. Gwen is one of my all time favourite characters from any television show and she was on top form again here. She's just so likeable and her determination is admirable. Her sympathy towards Miss Carew in this adventure was lovely to see, even though she was tied up! Miss Carew herself was an intriguing character and something unique about this story was that she wasn't under Fitzroy's control. They'd simply made a deal together and she was going to keep her end of the pact because she liked the idea of a simple world without technology. It was a somewhat frightening concept and I can't imagine the chaos if the world's electrical supply just vanished but that made it an excellent threat. The danger really was on a global and catastrophic scale. Jack and Ianto's relationship was terrific here too and I quite liked how they were separated from Gwen. That allowed us more time with Rhys which is something I'm a big fan of hearing. The innuendo between Jack and Ianto was great though, particularly concerning the bushes. They're just fantastic together. Their encounter with Fitzroy was very good and I liked how we learned all about his loneliness and how he needed electricity out of the way to make Earth accessible for his form. I had hoped to learn a little more as to what exactly he was but I liked the idea of him talking through radio. He was almost like a male version of the Wire from The Idiot's Lantern. The ending seemed a tad too easy for me with Miss Carew just falling off the roof as the satellite needed alteration to send the killer signal that would allow for Fitzroy to come through, but the emotional way in which she died and had a final conversation with Gwen and Rhys meant I couldn't dislike it too much. I felt there needed to be just a bit more done like blocking the signal for good or something to sell the fact that Fitzroy's threat was no more. But as a whole, it was still a hugely enjoyable audio adventure and I was delighted to be back doing some performed Torchwood!

Rating: 8/10

Clara and the Maze of Cui Palta

"It's important to stop and smell the flowers."

Writer: Susan Calman
Format: Short Story
Released: March 2018
Printed in: The Day She Saved the Doctor

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Clara

Synopsis

The Eleventh Doctor takes Clara to Cui Palta, voted the Most Beautiful City in the Galaxy, only to find the place completely deserted. Against her better judgement, Clara convinces the Doctor into entering the Maze of Cui Palta, but the pair are soon wondering around for hours and seem lost and beyond help...

Verdict

Clara and the Maze of Cui Palta was a terrific little story! It was definitely the best of The Day She Saved the Doctor thus far and I was really impressed with Susan Calman's first contribution to the world of Doctor Who. It was a little gem I have to say. She really nailed the characterisation of the Eleventh Doctor and managed to capture all of the little quirks of Matt Smith superbly well. Her writing of Clara was also good and I thought the feel of the second half of Series 7 was very much felt which was a big positive. It sat well in its era and that's definitely a benefit. I was quite surprised that the Doctor and Clara were the only characters in the entire story and when it's put like that, it sounds like it might be boring but this was far from the case. The centrality of the maze was excellent and I really liked how the Doctor's confidence in his ability to solve the puzzle slowly decreased as the story went on. Clara worked out pretty quickly that they were just going around in circles but the Doctor wasn't having any of it. He was stubborn and wanted to solve this puzzle. The danger being the unknown was very good and I liked how well-paced the adventure was. Considering it pretty much all took place within the maze, things advanced quickly and that was testament to the writing. I really enjoyed it. Some of the Doctor's jokes were perhaps in slightly bad taste (ie I couldn't see him actually joking about someone's skeleton's skull falling off). That was really my only issue with this though so it hasn't done badly at all there. The feeling of anxiety was very well portrayed though Clara as she yearned for escape but it wasn't coming. They had seen victims of presumably long waits, walls were ascending out of nowhere and the three doors labelled for escape just brought them straight back to the entry point. There was no way out. I did like that the Doctor eventually admitted he was lost as I thought he would be too stubborn. The Doctor and Clara having to separate for the latter to work out what was going on was great because we could see just how much he trusted her. In an instance, it was absolutely clear that the Doctor went from joking and humour to absolute seriousness. Of course he trusted her. Clara realising that the flowers, which had been making her sneeze, were the reason for the maze disorienting and deceiving them was good but a little quick and easy, but I enjoyed that the signs had been there throughout the adventure. The Doctor did as he was instructed and the haze was cleared and the Doctor and Clara were fine. They'd just been walking around in circles for a long time. Overall, a great story!

Rating: 8/10

Rose and the Snow Window

"Two worlds were about to collide."

Writer: Jenny T. Colgan
Format: Short Story
Released: March 2018
Printed in: The Day She Saved the Doctor

Featuring: Ninth Doctor, Rose

Synopsis

The Doctor and Rose hang out in a Toronto apartment, waiting for the effects of a slow time puncture to manifest. After discovering that one of the apartments in the tower opposite contains a Russian room from the 19th century, they use written notes to communicate with displaced occupant Count Nikolai Artem Livosich. Using the TARDIS to travel to St Petersburg in 1812, the Doctor investigates the count's palace and the shocking truth is revealed...

Verdict

Rose and the Snow Window was a decent read and a good continuation of The Day She Saved the Doctor! I really liked that Rose's story was with the Ninth Doctor because that's an incarnation that is severely lacking in adventures compared to his counterparts and I really liked how things were clearly still quite early on in the travels of the Doctor and Rose. The feel of Series One was something I was a big fan of in this adventure and I have to give credit to Jenny T. Colgan there. She really did deliver in that regard. I also thought her writing of the Ninth Doctor himself was excellent, although I think maybe a little more authority was needed. I really liked the reference to The Unquiet Dead and Rose seeing things that were clearly still extraordinary to her was magnificent. Count Nikolai was a very good character and I liked his relationship with Rose very much. They got on incredibly well, even if he did smell a bit, and his reaction to seeing the twenty-first century and having a power shower was quite humorous. I thought the mix in setting of 2005 Toronto and 1812 St Petersburg was brilliant and I liked that the two were in danger of colliding. I felt there needed to be a little more in terms of action and to sell the threat of that collision but it was still good. Rose and the Doctor being referred to as anomalies was also something I liked and that's the moment in the story where the Doctor came into action and he went from just merely investigating the time puncture. That in itself was an intriguing concept but one I thought needed a little more elaboration in terms of its creation. I do appreciate the lack of words for a story such as this though so it was no major issue. The Causubus turned out to be pretty decent enemies and their plan of wedding to gain power, and that's not political power, was good but I liked how taken Nikolai was with Rose that he no longer wanted to marry. Not that he did in the first place but he was willing to for his family. He cut the ribbon quite symbolically after getting married but the Doctor quite simply took his place and offered the energy required to get the Causubus home. It was a bit of a simple ending and one that was maybe a little too easy but it was also effective which must be a bonus. Overall, a very decent story that just needed a bit more action and threat! But still, it was a good read.

Rating: 7/10

Rhythm of Destruction

"There's every chance we may not leave this gig alive."

Writer: Darren Jones
Format: Audio
Released: November 2017
Series: NSA 31

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor

Synopsis

The Doctor arrives on the uninhabited planetoid Quish, famous for having the biggest natural amphitheatre in the galaxy. The Blitzats Jazz Quartet are playing - but, shortly after their gig, the planetoid explodes.

Teaming up with ambitious journalist Tommy Loco, the Doctor learns that wherever the Quartet play, they leave a trail of destruction in their wake: someone dies; a city is wiped out; an entire planet vanishes... But why - and how?

Searching for answers, the Doctor and Tommy trail the Quartet, following leads and seeking out frightened contacts. It's a dangerous investigation - and for the Doctor, answers lie close to home.

Verdict

Rhythm of Destruction was a very decent little audio adventure! I enjoyed it and whilst there were a few things that could have been improved, it was a good story. The Twelfth Doctor travelling alone is somewhat of a scary prospect but I can't say I'm surprised that he would be looking to catch a band somewhere in the galaxy. We saw the likes of that occur in The Twist so it didn't surprise me here. I thought Dan Starkey was a very good narrator and I really liked his impression of Peter Capaldi's Doctor. The problem sometimes with the NSA audios is that there's just one reader and that can make a story sometimes a tad difficult to follow or maintain interest. However, that wasn't the case here though and the differing characters all sounded distinct which is an incredibly important occurrence. Quish was a good setting for the small portion of the audio that it remained intact and the concept of the Blitzats Jazz Quartet being the key for a number of incredible destructions was really intriguing. Tommy investigating the links they had with deaths, city wipeouts and planetary disaster was good. He got on well with the Doctor after a little bit of a shaky start and I thought his inability to actually be a journalist was quite humorous. He sensed the trail and the possibility of a story with the Quartet but he couldn't quite put things together. As the Doctor pointed out, he was asking all of the questions but couldn't put a link together. The revelation that Jamella was actually the client of the Quartet was a little bit of a surprise but it actually worked well. Her backstory being that she was a member of the Dreed was interesting and the Doctor's history with that species was her motive for planetary destruction. That occurring through music was a theme I really liked and I don't think there could have been a better fit than with the Twelfth Doctor. He wasn't into jazz though, he made that clear. Jamella's annoyance at the fact he only vaguely remembered the peace he introduced to her species was good but the Doctor was one step ahead at all times. She'd made him incredibly angry in trying to get his attention through destruction and he would have no mercy. Her fate was very good and I liked how he saw that she would be seen to justice through her own action of releasing the escape pod. The current Quartet realising that they too were victims and just pawns in her grand scheme was decent too but perhaps came a little late. Still, I liked it and overall I thought this was a good audio adventure!

Rating: 7/10

Hungry Thirsty Roots

"You're angry because no one remembers you."

Writer: Alex Paknadel
Format: Comic Strip
Released: November-December 2017
Printed in: The Eleventh Doctor #3.12-13

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Alice, Sapling

Synopsis

The Doctor and Alice must finally face up to the Sapling's true nature... but has their influence managed to calm his destructive instincts? Or will they find themselves at his terrifying mercy? With the Scream hot on their tail, intent on using the Sapling for his own nefarious purposes, the Doctor and Alice must make an impossible choice...

Verdict

Hungry Thirsty Roots was a sublime comic strip adventure! It was quite incredible really and a worthy finale to the third year of Eleventh Doctor comic strips. I really did enjoy this one and the year-long arc concerning the Sapling was finally concluded in quite epic style. It followed on from the end of Strange Loops very well and I really liked that the Doctor and Alice were searching for a console room that wasn't effected by the Sapling's growth. Growth that wasn't really stopping! The TARDIS managed to help the Doctor by shifting her internal organs and they found the very first console room which meant some serious reminiscing of the past. I loved that the Doctor named some of the adventures he had from this room with lovely references to The Keys of Marinus, The Ark and The Krotons. Alice's reaction to hearing the latter's name was quite funny but I loved how important that story turned out to be here as it jigged something in the Doctor's memory. He could use the H.A.D.S. to separate the TARDIS and the Sapling. It seemed a genius idea but the Scream was on a similar wavelength and could anticipate the Doctor's action. Just as the dematerialisation would occur, the Scream merged with the Sapling and we had a giant Scream at the TARDIS console's centre! It was an unbelievable sight. I thought it was really interesting how Alice had so much sympathy for the Scream because he just wanted to be remembered. It was understandable because being forgotten all the time can't be a nice feeling at all. The cliffhanger was excellent and then seeing some action on a planet made from the Doctor's memories was superb! The sonic screwdriver skyscrapers were quite something and I loved that the artwork allowed us to see the likes of Axons and Cybermen looking a little more human. The performance of Jones to unite the memories of the Doctor and Alice was wonderful and a great nod to the past of this comic strip, and that also occurred with the appearance of a Kharitite which was a lovely nod all the way back to After Life. The Eleventh Doctor as a homeless man didn't actually look too unfamiliar but the mention of Nyssa was great. The Doctor and Alice joining together to remember each other and work together was brilliant and they managed to convince the Scream not to kill them because then it would have nobody left to remember him. But he had merged with the Sapling and that meant he could make copies of himself. That's what he did from the advice of Alice but just as many were made and the plan for millions across the universe was proclaimed, he turned his back on the copies and forgot himself. I thought that was a magnificent way to finish. It was emotional but absolutely brilliant. Very clever. The Sapling having grown up was good as well and I liked how Alice's narration finished the story and year. I do hope we get more adventures with this trio. Overall, a stunning story!

Rating: 10/10

Strange Loops

"How do we fight an enemy we can't remember?"

Writer: Alex Paknadel
Format: Comic Strip
Released: August-October 2017
Series: The Eleventh Doctor #3.9, 3.11

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Alice, Sapling

Synopsis

The Sapling continues to grow, under the influence of the Eleventh Doctor and Alice - but can it suppress its programmed instincts for mass-destruction? When the three take a trip to the most inhospitable spot in the universe, the truth will come out!

Verdict

Strange Loops was a very good comic strip and a great penultimate story of the Eleventh Doctor's third year of adventures! It seems quite unbelievable that I've nearly managed to catch up with the tales between the Doctor and Alice but when I complete the The Sapling: Branches graphic novel, I won't have any further Eleventh Doctor comics to get through and I have no idea if a fourth year of tales is planned. But for now, I enjoyed this one and I really liked that the Sapling got to do a bit more as it was the one that had the memories of the Doctor's previous visit to Zoline. The Doctor's reaction to being greeted by Bax was quite humorous because he had no idea who he was! The Sapling was quick to point out how different things were than from the last time the Doctor was here. And that was just thirty years ago. The Doctor's mind soon became inquisitive as too much had been altered in such a short amount of time. The time tremors were a really intriguing aspect of the story and seeing how badly they had an effect on the Doctor was fantastic. He seemed in genuine danger and the threat of regeneration was more than there. As acknowledged by the Doctor, there was just the small problem of him not having any left. Seeing his memories of the likes of Martha and a Cyberman was interesting and I also liked how he echoed his final words to Leela in The Invasion of Time. Seeing him deal with the memory of him using the Moment in The Day of the Doctor was excellent too. Alice didn't have a great amount to do in this comic strip which was a bit of a shame but she was there when the Doctor needed her. The Golden Triangle was a very interesting group and I thought the revelation about them was superb! It just came perhaps a tad late but what they had done to Orphan was heartbreaking. She was actually the Orphaned Hour, a Time Lord WMD from the Time War, and she was being used every thirty years or so to reset this world. The Doctor was having none of it. He had hoped for a Time Lord that he could get along with but instead he got this disgraceful trio and he really wasn't impressed. Luckily, their weapon had pretty much ran its course and the Doctor gave them the book required to fix their environment and condemned to that. But the TARDIS absorbed the Orphaned Hour and that had quite the disastrous effect as the Sapling was needed to keep it together. And the Scream sensed its invitation and it seems we have quite the finale on our hands! Overall, a great comic strip!

Rating: 8/10

Sarah Jane and the Temple of Eyes

"Pain, then a sudden awakening to blindness, with no knowledge of what had happened in between."

Writer: Jacqueline Rayner
Format: Short Story
Released: 8th March 2018
Printed in: The Day She Saved the Doctor

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane

Synopsis

While exploring a market in the ancient Roman port Ostia, just outside Rome, the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane learn of a recent spate of inexplicable blindness amongst the wives of powerful merchants. What links these women and who is behind the attack on their sight?

Verdict

Sarah Jane and the Temple of Eyes was a decent start to The Day She Saved the Doctor! It was my first foray into a book that is a collection of short stories but with this being yet another library resource I could read for free, I finally took the plunge and I'm excited to see how the rest of the stories pan out. For now though, this was all about the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane and I was delighted to see that Jacqueline Rayner, a favoured writer of mine, was the one penning the adventure. It wasn't quite her best work but it is probably quite difficult to produce an excellent story with only around forty pages to play with. You obviously can't go into as much detail as a full length novel but I thought this was an entertaining read. It was placed somewhere soon after The Brain of Morbius which seemed a good placing following Sarah's blindness there and the theme of this story. As this book was released for International Women's Day, the theme was absolutely female power and I liked how that was portrayed in this story. It wasn't quite overdone and I really liked how Sarah Jane's thoughts about Caesar's attitude towards his wife and his chauvinism really irritated her. The relationship between the Doctor and Sarah was decent and I thought the story fitted into its era pretty well. One aspect of the adventure I really enjoyed was delving into Sarah Jane's biggest fears. She was extremely scared of snakes and, after her recent experience, blindness and I liked how she described how it was the everyday fears that scared her more than the likes of Daleks and Sontarans. I thought that was really interesting and just a fantastic point. The foreshadowing of The Hand of Fear and its aftermath was quite emotional though as we learned that Sarah Jane most feared being without the Doctor. That was sad considering we knew her future. The temple of Bona Dea was a lovely little partial setting and it being sacred to women was great. I liked the concept of four women going blind and losing their memories very much but I wasn't expecting their memories to have been taken as visual stories! Especially, as Marcia would have people believe, for the gods. Her history with the machine was a bit of a surprise and I thought the resolution of the Doctor simply fixing the machine to stop it from taking people's sight was a little easy but still effective. Sarah Jane willing to give up her sight to save the Doctor was wonderful and a brilliant sacrifice. Overall, a decent little story!

Rating: 7/10

The Culling

"She's you... and she's me."

Writers: John & Carole E. Barrowman
Format: Comic Strip
Released: November 2017 - February 2018
Printed in: Torchwood #3.1-4

Featuring: Captain Jack, Gwen

Synopsis

With the alien Navigators in retreat, Jack and Gwen are menaced by a ticking genetic time bomb they have left behind, in the body of... their daughter?! Discover the past - and future - of the woman known as Sladen...

Verdict

The Culling was a great comic strip adventure and a marked improvement on the Torchwood comic strips from Titan! I was really delighted with this one and I was so glad that the current trilogy of available stories ended on a high. It was more of a sequel to Station Zero than an immediate follow on and I think that approached definitely worked more favourably. I also really liked that Captain Jack and Gwen became the sole focus and there wasn't too much attention on the rest of the Ice Maiden crew. Dana and Shelley were pretty important but that was it, and I think that was a positive move as it left us with more action for the more familiar characters that are associated with Torchwood. I really loved the prospect of the pair having a child together and we got to see a great deal of the life of Sladen. She was born out of the DNA of both Jack and Gwen (no, not from intercourse) so the concept wasn't as shocking as it might sound but I did really love Gwen's reaction. I very much liked the role of Captain John in this story and his being away from the actual events worked really well. He reminded me a bit of the Master which is a big compliment. I thought the writing of both Jack and Gwen was very good and I really liked their relationship. Sladen herself was a hugely intriguing character and seeing her try be the subject of Docilis and his manipulation was excellent. She wasn't so sure about her purpose to destroy life on Earth and become a weapon of mass destruction. She was learning quick though about her abilities and how she was able to eradicate life was horrendous! Docilis wasn't her favourite person in the world though and his death looked excruciating, but it was a terrific moment. I still didn't like some of the narration and I thought it was overdone and made too much effort to be humorous when it really actually wasn't. But that's a small sidetone on what was a great story. Learning of the night spent between Dana and Shelley was unexpected but I was less surprised that the former spent a night with Jack. The subtle link to Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang was magnificent and seeing that Dana had been on Arcadia battling a Blowfish was very good. The use of the TARDIS coral was hugely intriguing and I liked the ambiguous ending with Sladen still having some. How she came about it, I'm not sure but I do wonder whether she has a connection with the original Sladen that was Dana's partner who sadly perished. The Vervoid link was good and I liked the story a lot as it was dealing with numerous effects that had already resulted from the actions of previous adventures. Overall, a very good comic strip story!

Rating: 8/10

Death Among the Stars

"It's too late for me. I'm already dead."

Writer: Steve Lyons
Format: Audio
Released: September 2017
Series: NSA 30

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor

Synopsis

At Kennedy Space Centre, in 2060, the Doctor meets Amber Lewis. Both are there to observe the launch of Earth's very first off-world colony ship, as it heads for Jupiter's sixth moon. But to everyone's surprise it seems that somebody has reached Europa before them. The figure is oddly familiar to the Doctor and Amber in particular...

So begins the adventure of a lifetime for Amber, as she journeys in the TARDIS to set foot on a distant moon. Events take a bizarre turn when she and the Doctor apparently witness celebrity figures wandering freely on the rocky surface. A sinister presence lurks behind the apparitions, and Amber is about to fall into its clutches.

An alien base, a stranded abductee and a group of sinister 'Icemen' all add up to trouble for the Doctor. Can he rescue his new friend and avert disaster on humanity's new frontier?

Verdict

Death Among the Stars was a very good little audio adventure! It has been quite some time since I've managed to do an original audio from the BBC and I have to say I was really happy with what I listened to. These types of stories can sometimes be a tad difficult to listen to with it being just one actor narrating and performing the story and it is definitely more of an audiobook than an audio drama that we'd associate with Big Finish, but Nicola Bryant did a wonderful job here. It was quite interesting to hear how different she sounded when she wasn't playing Peri and I liked her Scottishness when it came to evoking the Twelfth Doctor. I thought the writing of this incarnation of the Doctor was pretty decent throughout and I liked how he was at the Space Centre in 2060 but wasn't overly happy that he wasn't actually on the rocket heading for Europa. The concept of mankind's first foray into space settlement was fantastic and it really provided an excellent basis for the story. Of course, it turned out that there was somebody already on Europa as picked out by the probe and she was very familiar. Amber was a lovely character and she filled the companion void really well. I liked how Bryant was able to play her and with her being American, it definitely made her job easier! She wasn't a typical guest character by being a little older at the age of 43 and I thought that was a good step to make. Beck was a very unique character and having been on Europa for 43 years without human contact must have been a tumultuous time. However, he did have the ability, or at least gained, to make the Icemen into anyone he wanted to. That certainly could bring the ability to have a lot of fun. I can't imagine what I would do if I could just conjure up anyone right in front of me! I couldn't help but think of all of the missing Doctor Who episodes from the archives when it was mentioned that every TV broadcast dating back to Kennedy's assassination was available and I had a severe sense of envy. Beck was quite mad, as you would expect, but the revelation that he wasn't actually Beck at all was unexpected excellence. I really didn't see it coming but seeing his reaction to the Doctor showing him the internet search of his name and the story of him being abducted was striking. I really liked it. The self destruct button being searched for at the audio's conclusion was quite saddening but I thought it was great that Amber got to step foot on Europa and see the wonders of the TARDIS. She was a hugely likeable character. Overall, a great audio!

Rating: 8/10

The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos

"Those that came before us failed and fell."

Writer: Chris Chibnall

Format: TV

Broadcast: 9th December 2018

Series: 11.10

Featuring: Thirteenth Doctor, Yaz, Ryan, Graham

Synopsis

Answering nine separate distress calls, the Doctor and team arrive on the remnants of a brutal battlefield on the planet Ranskoor Av Kolos. This planet has many secrets. An amnesiac commander? Mysterious mists? Who or what are the Ux? A deadly reckoning awaits the Doctor and her companions once they have the answers...

Verdict

The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos was a very good series finale! Now, it really wasn't quite on the level of finales from previous series gone by which was a shame but it was still a great episode in its own right. It certainly felt like there was a bit more riding on things than in previous episodes this series but it was missing that oomph factor that is so associated with a conclusion to a series. The team were challenged and the Doctor had to take a lot of responsibility which was good. This episode did make me realise, if I needed any further confirmation, just how bad the new TARDIS interior is as I just don't think it works and that's why we haven't had too many scenes inside it. The theme of faith was decent and I really liked the concept behind the Ux. The idea of them living for millennia and only ever being two was quite extraordinary and I loved the Doctor's reaction when she learned of who and what Andinio was. I thought Yaz had a quiet episode which was a bit of a shame but I liked how Graham and Ryan were challenged. The return of Tzim-Sha wasn't too surprising for some reason but I loved the reactions of all of Team TARDIS. They had been devastated by what he had done to Grace in The Woman Who Fell to Earth and now he was back. He was clearly in a bad way and was after revenge on the Doctor following the way she defeated him 3,407 years previously. The link between the conclusion of the first episode and the start of this one with his arrival to the Ux as their supposed Creator was intriguing and I liked how he used his position to use their abilities along with Stenza technology. The physical torment on Delph was clearly visible when he was trying to use them to get Earth and the prospect of moving planets was extraordinary, especially with previous ones being inside diamond-like objects. The use of the Ux and the TARDIS was decent and I liked how angry Tzim-Sha was at being stopped again. His disgust towards the Doctor was fantastic and I liked how he also confronted Graham. His desire to kill the alien that killed his wife was quite something and the Doctor was also shocked and she couldn't have him kill if he was to travel with her. Of course, he was the better man and the legacy of Grace lived on which was nice. I thought Tzim-Sha was stopped a little too easily but I loved the irony of him getting a taste of his own medicine by being put in a stasis chamber. Overall, a decent finale! 

Rating: 8/10

Station Zero

"I'm not an alien! I'm Welsh!"

Writers: John & Carole E. Barrowman
Format: Comic Strip
Released: February-May 2017
Printed in: Torchwood #2.1-4

Featuring: Captain Jack, Gwen

Synopsis

Torchwood. Earth's last line of defence against the extraterrestrial and temporal threats that it faces, and led by the immortal former Time Agent and all-round charmer, Captain Jack Harkness.

The alien Navigators have begun their plan to harvest the Earth, aided by the duplicitous Lady Karina and the roguish Captain John Hart. Jack and his team must find a way to stop them, and the answer may lie in Captain Jack's past as a Time Agent and some former enemies of a certain Time Lord...

Verdict

Station Zero was a bit of a mixed bag and was not the continuation I was hoping for following World Without End. I'm really not sure about the direction of Titan's Torchwood adventures and I really don't see why the story still hasn't concluded! I fully appreciate that in comic strips the need for story arcs is there and I more than welcome them, but this is far beyond a mere arc. This story just followed on where the previous one left off and with a gap between release dates that was quite considerable, I just don't understand it. This wasn't all bad though, far from it. I really liked that we got to see a flashback, albeit into the future, of Jack's past as a Time Agent and his mission to Mogor with John was really intriguing. Introducing the Vervoids to Torchwood was a really great step and after their appearance in The Trial of a Time Lord, I liked how that story was subtly referenced. I thought it was the right step to not mention the Doctor and Captain Jack really did shine in this story. Seeing his younger self was very good and I just love the idea of a Classic era monster from Doctor Who appearing in Torchwood. The artwork was very good for them and I also liked that some of them had interbred with humans and created hybrids. That is what Jack thought Karina was and it seemed to make sense. I thought Gwen had a bit of a quiet story which was a shame as she's such a strong and powerful character and believe it or not, she wasn't the one who said my quote for this story! Being Welsh, I really liked that outburst from Rona. Her meeting her dad unexpectedly was interesting but things were just moving awfully fast without a lot of clarification as to what was actually happening. Dana was badass, as was stated, and Hollis was experiencing considerable pain, but there wasn't a lot of development for the Ice Maiden crew that seem to have made the new Torchwood. Honestly, I'm not a fan and I'd have much preferred something set with the old team. Captain John was very good as the villain and I liked how he let on that Jack knew more than he was saying but the way he revealed the location of the astrolabe seemed far too easy. I also thought more was needed about this mysterious TARDIS. For me, the story had its good elements but it seemed to be trying to do too much at once. There was an awful lot going on too fast. It was all there but not quite in the right places. Overall, a little frustrating and harsh but it just wasn't there for me.

Rating: 6/10