Plague of the Daleks

"The Doctor and the Daleks go back a long way."

Writer: Mark Morris

Format: Audio

Released: December 2009

Series: Monthly Adventures 129

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Nyssa

Synopsis

Stockbridge used to be such a lovely place. The loveliest village in all England, according to the guide books. But hardly anyone visits Stockbridge now: a few tourists, a couple of Trust guides, the odd beady-eyed raven.

But something is coming to Stockbridge. Something which turns village cricketers into ravening zombies – a plague such as the Earth has never seen, falling through history from a time when humanity's greatest enemy was a race known as the Daleks.

The Doctor and Nyssa visit Stockbridge for the final time, to confront the terrible secret buried at its heart. The storm clouds are gathering...

Verdict

Plague of the Daleks was an excellent audio adventure to continue my way through the Monthly Adventures of Big Finish and to conclude what shaped up to be a pretty darn good trilogy! This really worked well as the finale of the Stockbridge series of adventures and it was a pretty emphatic way to finish the village's role in Doctor Who! It has cropped up a number of times for the Fifth Doctor now across the audios and the Doctor Who Magazine comic strips and I liked how we took things way into the future of the forty-fifth century. It was good immediate continuity from where we left off in The Eternal Summer and the eery feel of the village being empty and the Green Dragon pub in particular having a sense that everyone had been taken in an instant was brilliant. The repeated dialogue of Withers behind the bar was intriguing and her continued efforts to discuss the weather was amusing. Professory Jabbery was a fun little character and his distain for the human race and their emotional and whacky ways was terrific stuff. I enjoyed him a lot but by the time he was exterminated by the Daleks, it felt about right in terms of timing. Isaac was a fantastic character and his initial reaction to the arrival of the Doctor and Nyssa to Stockbridge was very good. Of course, Stockbridge in the forty-fifth century was one of the last remaining areas unaffected by the solar flares that had caused the human race to uplift and depart the original homeworld to conquer the stars and expand. The protective bubble was good and I liked how it ended up playing a big role in the story's ending. It's a bit frustrating by now when a story that features the Daleks in the title has their arrival as a cliffhanger as it's something we've been waiting for the entire time of listening, but it was good to hear how the adventure shifted once they were involved. Their role with the plague was fantastic but I was more concerned with the fact that they'd set a trap for the Doctor around Stockbridge considering he always popped up there. I liked that a lot and discovering that the Daleks had been dormant and lying in cryogenic sleep for seventeen centuries! They were determined, I'll give them that. I thought Nyssa had a really strong story as the companion and her reaction to the Daleks being present did a great job in selling their threat and fear factor. The pace of the final two parts with the Daleks in full flow was terrific and I loved the audacity of the Daleks telling the Doctor that he would become one of them. The prospect of that is tremendous and whilst I never believed that he had succumbed to the Dalek plague and became a servitor, it was nicely done and Peter Davison played the role really well. This was a superb outing for the Fifth Doctor. The revelation that the TARDIS would provide the means for the Dalek resurrection was magnificent and I had been wondering all along when that would show up. It served a great purpose and the Doctor convincing the Daleks to take a test flight was wonderful. Lysette was a very good character and I enjoyed her relationship with Nyssa so her turn as a Dalek servitor was a lovely surprise. I didn't see it coming so I really liked that. It wasn't so much of a shock that Isaac also turned out to be one after that revelation, but it was as a whole an excellent twist. The way the Doctor appealed to him to fight the Dalek plague inside him was outstanding and a shining moment for the fifth incarnation in audio in my opinion. I really loved the proximity of the adventure with the Dalek Empire series and the Doctor mentioning how their species was wiped out was terrific. The story of Lysette's wife was very saddening and full of emotion. Lysette's role in bringing about Stockbridge's demise by destroying the protective bubble was extraordinary and even after the Doctor had brought the retrovirus into play to wipe out his greatest foes, the plague was still within her and that meant the Dalek instincts were still kicking so she was able to bring about the end of Stockbridge. Overall, an excellent adventure! 

Rating: 9/10

The Archive

"The sisters who very nearly brought an end to history."

Writer: David Llewellyn 

Format: Audio

Released: May 2015

Series: The Worlds of Big Finish 01

Featuring: Abby, Zara

Synopsis

From the streets of Edwardian London to the corridors of a near-infinite library in the distant future, a single book holds the key to the fate of life on Earth.

Some believe it predicts our future – and the apocalypse – with unnerving accuracy. Others will stop at nothing to destroy it, and will chase it from one side of the universe to the other; from a country house in the Roaring Twenties to the casinos of Mars, and from 221B Baker Street to the terrifying desert world of Sisyphus IX...

Featuring Abby and Zara, Sherlock Holmes, Dorian Gray, Iris Wildthyme, Vienna Salvatori and Bernice Summerfield, The Worlds of Big Finish brings together some of Big Finish's best-loved characters in an adventure spanning thousands of years!

Verdict

The Archive is a great little audio adventure to serve as the opening instalment of the rather ambitious release that is The Worlds of Big Finish! I was delighted to see that this first episode was offered for free from Big Finish as part of their Lockdownload weekly deals and releases and I was really glad that it was the Graceless sisters that kicked off this story because it was the only part of the release I am currently interested in! I'm a huge fan of Abby and Zara and I think their spinoff was terrific so it's really good to have completed their run of adventures in their entirety with this particular story. I don't know anything yet about Vienna, I know very little of Bernice on her own and Iris Wildthyme, and I've no interest in Sherlock Holmes or Dorian Gray, so this is certainly where my listening of this release will start and end. Which is why I'm glad it was released for free as I would never have been able to justify spending money on a six-parter for just the opening half an hour or so! I really liked that Abby made reference to the spinoff series and The Battle in particular where Chi prophesied that the next time the sisters met Marek it would be their deaths. I thought that was very nicely done and it meant that this adventure could slot nicely into the Graceless series and the adventures of Abby and Zara as a whole. It tied in very well. Hearing the sisters again was great from a personal perspective because I'm a big fan of both and it was also lovely to have the traditional Graceless sound effects of scene transitions. I love that. Hell, I even found myself almost dancing to the opening theme! It was just great to get to revisit them and have them returning to the Archive. It wasn't exactly how they'd left it and they got the timing off by about a millennium, but that didn't stop Romulus and Lucien knowing about them. They had garnered quite the reputation through time which I really enjoyed and it was good to later have their abilities targeted against them by a sudden turn from Lucien. Getting to know more about the Archive was really good and I loved how complicated it was for the sisters to understand. The Archive was an incredible composite of books and the humour that came with the meta-archive being the archive of the Archive was excellent. Abby and Zara's reaction to the use of universes plural was brilliant and the position of the Archive in the universe was great. The theory that the Archive contained the universe was also really fun to play around with. The Gomegon was an interesting addition to what was happening at the Archive with the archivists seemingly being murdered and I liked how Abby and Zara were initially accused of that. The truth was harder to stomach with it being told how the archivists seemingly killed themselves with poison in some sort of religious doing. Their positioning after death and holding the book was interesting to say the least. I liked the idea of different branches within the Archive pertaining to regions of the universe and it was inevitable that Earth was going to get involved in some way! The sisters leaving the book containing a portion of the history of Earth for Sherlock Holmes to find and deal with is a fun way to set up the second part and the rest of the release, and whilst I'm sure it will be entertaining and a good story, I'm more than happy to leave things here and continue catching up on my incredible backlog across a number of formats! Overall, a lovely listen.

Rating: 8/10

War of the Daleks

"You can't defeat the Daleks by becoming the Daleks!"

Writer: John Peel

Format: Novel

Released: October 1997

Series: EDA 05

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Sam

Synopsis

The Doctor is repairing the TARDIS systems once again when it is swept up by a garbage ship roving through space, the Quetzel.

When another ship approaches and takes the Quetzel by force, the Doctor discovers that he and Sam are not the only unwitting travellers on board – there is a strangely familiar survival pod in the hold. Delani, the captian of the second ship, orders the pod to be opened. The Doctor is powerless to intervene as Davros is awakened once again. 

But this is no out-and-out rescue of Davros. Delani and his crew are Thals, the sworn enemies of the Daleks. They intend to use Davros as a means to wipe out the Daleks, finally ridding then universe of the most aggressive, deadly race ever to exist. But the Doctor is still worried. For there is a signal beacon inside the pod, and even now a Dalek ship is closing in...

Verdict

War of the Daleks was an outstanding novel to continue my way through the Eighth Doctor Adventures books! This was a superb story and I have to say that after five adventures, this is shaping up to be a spectacular range with this already the third to receive full marks. There is no doubt that this is an audacious book and it impacts on the wider Dalek continuity in a very big way, but I think it absolutely works and I thoroughly enjoyed how everything was tied together in this book. It's a brilliant use of the Daleks in prose to give the Eighth Doctor his first outing against his greatest foes and I liked how Sam had heard of them already from the Doctor, only to be a little surprised by how hospitable they were! Of course, her opinion would change the more she got to know them but that initial comment was mightily interesting. I was a big fan of the format of the book with the four parts splitting things up nicely and the little interludes that came after each one were fantastic. It was really nice to explore so much Dalek continuity and the interludes taking us to the Mechanoids, Draconians and even the SSS was brilliant. The action within each was great and a welcomed addition and it was just nice to explore beyond the televised knowledge whilst referencing it. In particular I thought Faber's nod to Marc Cory was magnificent linkage to Mission to the Unknown. I loved that the Thals were featured in a big way as I think there is so much potential by pitting the natives of Skaro against each other, and their role here directly following on from the events of Planet of the Daleks and the Doctor encouraging them to fight on his behalf had led to them committing outright murder when they arrived on the Quetzel. That was very powerful. I thought Ayaka was a tremendous character and when she was ordered by Delani to then commit murder herself and terminate both the Doctor and Sam, she shot him dead in an incredible moment! It was a great twist. I thought all three cliffhangers at the end of each part were actually magnificent and it was good to give it the feel of a televised serial. Sam was a wonderful companion again in this book and I think she's slowly shaping into a really great character. Her taking a fancy to the Doctor was expanded on in a big way here as she was getting quite jealous of Chayn and how much the Doctor was admiring her. That was intriguing to explore and with the Doctor focused on the technician, Sam was left with Loran and the way she turned him down by revealing she wasn't of age was magnificent. Him and his dad both falling victim to the Thals had some sort of sick emotional irony to it which made for compelling reading. The settings of the ships were very good and I loved that we got quite a lot of Davros before the arrival of any Daleks. He's always an outstanding character and the interactions with the Doctor were excellent. The Thals hoping to obtain his services was something I didn't see coming though! That really did show how far the Thals had changed to go as far as wanting to enlist the creator of the Daleks to amend their biology and make them better killers. That was outrageous! I really enjoyed the Thal prelude in their own space and that further showcased how much they had changed when they obliterated Therakis with a planet buster all as a mere lure. They weren't afraid of innocent casualties now which was quite a contrast to the pacifist Thals we've met in the past. When the Daleks arrived, the story took a noticeable shift but I thought they were written ever so well. The speech from the Doctor to Sam earlier in the novel where he explained all about the Daleks and his history with them and what they stood for was absolutely sensational. It was a sublime passage and did so much to sell how evil and deadly the Daleks are. The Doctor accepting death at the end of part two also added to that but the twist that they were keeping him alive and he'd be looked after was unique to say the least. The Doctor getting to explain the colour hierarchy was really good and whilst I prefer the title of Emperor, the Dalek Prime still worked great. This adventure retconning the events of Remembrance of the Daleks and finding out that Skaro was not actually destroyed was audacious but the way this tied in with a huge number of other televised serials was extraordinary! The idea that the Prime, who was an original Dalek dating back to Genesis of the Daleks, had concocted an extraordinary plan based on finding the Hand of Omega information of Remembrance during the events of The Dalek Invasion of Earth, which sparked off a separate timeline (ie Day of the Daleks) and led to an incredible turn of events from Destiny of the Daleks onwards! It was complicated but it actually made sense which is testament to a very impressive tying of the threads by our author. Skaro was saved and Davros was tricked into believing he'd destroyed it when in fact it was actually Antalin. Excellent stuff. It's good to have Skaro back! I thought the action throughout was impressive and there was a lot but it worked really well which isn't always the case in novels. The conclusion with the hidden Dalek factory headed to Thal space was great and the Doctor's fiddling with the TARDIS lock was a lot of fun to have come around and cost him interference by the Daleks. Not only had they planted a bomb, but when that failed they had a lecturn chameleon Dalek there to exterminate! The imagery of a Dalek in the TARDIS was great and it worked well to have a threat after all seemed solved. Overall, an incredible novel that had so much going on. But it all worked in my view. I mean, we even had Spider Daleks and the revelation that the Movellans were Dalek creations! A new Dalek civil war was a lot of fun and the trial being a means to flesh out those not loyal was terrific. There really is so much I could write, but to sum everything up this was just pure excellence. 

Rating: 10/10

The Victorian Age

"The nineteenth century is when everything changes."

Writer: AK Benedict

Format: Audio

Released: March 2016

Series: Torchwood Monthly 07

Featuring: Captain Jack

Synopsis

London, England, the 1890s. Queen Victoria, ruler of Great Britain and Ireland and Empress of India, has arrived for her annual inspection of the Torchwood Institute. This year, everyone is quite determined, nothing will go wrong.

Several minutes later a terrible creature is unleashed on the streets of London. No one knows where it comes from, hat it is, or even why it's on Earth. It's ruthless, has no morals, and is quite unstoppable. Captain Jack Harkness is on the loose, and Queen Victoria is along for the ride of her life.

Verdict

The Victorian Age was a fantastic audio adventure to continue my way through the Torchwood monthly audios from Big Finish! I think it's a wonderful idea to visit Torchwood London in the 1890s and see just what the Institute was up to in its early days with this really not being that far removed from its beginnings in Tooth and Claw. Having Captain Jack present in Victorian London is brilliant and I love that the Jack we see here is relatively young (at least compared with what we would see on television!) and still had a long way to go until he would get back to the Doctor and see his vision for Torchwood Cardiff fully realised. I love that Queen Victoria featured and I really enjoyed her character and relationship with Jack throughout. She knew a lot about alien encounters and even suspected that the whispers about Jack were true before actually seeing them confirmed first hand. Her inspecting of Torchwood London was amusing and Jack keeping calm whilst Josephine was incredibly trepidatious about the prospect of the Queen arriving and shutting them down was great. I absolutely loved the use of the violin theme arrangement and it was something that gave the audio a unique feel and more genuinely a part of Victorian London. There is so much room to explore Torchwood in the Victorian era and I really do hope that this isn't the only audio to be set there from this spinoff range. The potential is endless. The creature that was rampaging through London during this story made for a good monster and I thought the concept of it feeding from the young and burning up all of its energy at rapid pace was excellent. It even aged Jack by a good fifteen years which was intriguing, but it had the opposite effect on Queen Victoria which was a lot of fun. From just one quick touch she was rejuvenated by a few years and had a spring in her step, so the way to defeat the creature was clear. Now it was just getting close to it. I thought Victoria was great throughout the audio to be honest and it was lovely to hear her enjoying life and the fact she was getting a thrill. It's a wonder she banished the Doctor and Rose if she was having such a good time here hunting aliens! The aura of superiority she brought was brilliant and I loved that we also got to just see her in a pub and fitting the bill for everyone. That was really nice. Jack explaining a number of the times Torchwood have presented an assassination attempt on the Queen's life was good and her continued comments that she would still have to shut Torchwood London down were intriguing, as I think she was merely playing. The revelation that the creature was intended as a living youth serum for someone in Her Majesty's Government was very interesting and I liked how this played into the lighthearted comments by Victoria regarding politicians and if they are actually human. That was very subtle but very well done. I suspect this is something to do with the Committee and I'm sure we will get a reference in a future adventure, but for now I like the ambiguity there of not quite knowing. Jack being offered the job of heading Torchwood London was expected, but the Welshman in me was delighted to hear that he maintained that his place was with Torchwood Cardiff. And why wouldn't it be? It's the greatest city in the world. Overall, a fine audio!

Rating: 9/10

The Slyther of Shoreditch

"It was time to move the Hand of Omega to its final resting place."

Writer: Mike Tucker

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2019

Printed in: Target Storybook 08

Featuring: Seventh Doctor

Synopsis

In the middle of a Dalek civil war taking place on Earth, the Doctor sees a familiar face from his home planet. What starts as a cold beer soon develops as a mad dash through the streets of Shoreditch as a deadly Imperial faction Slyther hunts the scent of the Hand of Omega...

Verdict

The Slyther of Shoreditch was a very good little adventure to continue my reading through The Target Storybook! I thought this was a lot of fun and I love the idea of placing a mini adventure like this one during the events of Remembrance of the Daleks. That's such a pivotal serial for a large number of reasons and with there always being a lot going on with the two Dalek factions, Ace, the Counter Measures group and beyond, there's certainly enough room here for the Doctor to swan off temporarily and have an encounter with a Slyther! I think it's a really good move to bring back a Slyther and incorporate it into the Dalek civil war and I just love that it gets to return here, with some amusing illustrations at the start of the story, following the debut in The Dalek Invasion of Earth. That is such a good serial in of itself so connecting it here with Remembrance is just delightful. I was a little taken aback by the return of the Time Lord we saw instruct the Fourth Doctor to wipe out the Daleks at the beginning of Genesis of the Daleks so the encounter with the seventh incarnation here was magnificent. I think it was a missed opportunity to expand on this character and whilst we didn't necessarily need a name, a role in Time Lord society would have been welcomed. Nevertheless, there was certainly a history between him and the Doctor and the discussion of Time Lord interference in Dalek schemes and even their creation were beginning to have a retaliation. The Daleks being the ones to name the Time War was an intriguing move and something I thought was excellent. Of course, Remembrance ends with the Doctor sending Skaro supernova so that's quite a move against the Daleks on behalf of the Time Lords, but the fact that they were already planning a temporal war after learning of the Time Lord efforts to stop their creation was fantastic. The secretive nature of the seventh incarnation continuing here was good and I liked how he didn't want to reveal that the Slyther was hunting for the Hand of Omega. The Doctor questioning the Time Lord about being in the timezone and place was good and I loved how he was wondering if it had anything to do with his first incarnation and Susan who had of course recently ran away from their home planet. I thought that was a nice touch and a good reminder of the setting. I have to say that whilst it was a little bit silly to have the Doctor entering Donlevy's house to steal a pair of his long-johns, it was pretty perfect for the Seventh Doctor. It was a barmy image but one that was well suited and as they had been close to his skin, they could be used to lure the Slyther away due to their proximity with the Hand of Omega. That device being intelligent and cloaking itself to prevent it from being found was a good development as well and an idea I really enjoyed. The Time Lord having to drive a getaway from the encroaching Slyther was quite the picture and his reaction to getting involved in events was very good. It was quite an amusing little tale and the relationship between the Doctor and the enigmatic Time Lord was very well presented. The use of the electrical power from the National Grid to emphatically wipe out the Slyther was pretty decent and certainly a final end for the monster. It was nice of the Time Lord to be showing it some dignity even after its death as it wasn't its fault that it had been changed by the Daleks. Overall, a really good little story!

Rating: 8/10

The Eternal Summer

"I've been here as long as you can remember."

Writer: Jonathan Morris

Format: Audio

Released: November 2009

Series: Monthly Adventures 128

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Nyssa

Synopsis

It's been a long, hot summer in Stockbridge. Longer than the villagers can remember. Summer's lease is never-ending – and all thanks to the Lord and Lady of the Manor!

One man alone knows that something's wrong: Maxwell Edison, Stockbridge's unofficial ambassador to the Universe. or 'flying saucer nut', as the locals have it. He'll need help proving it: from the local postmistress Miss Nyssa, perhaps; or the village Doctor, the fellow that's been living at the Green Dragon Inn these last 30 years.

They'd better hope that autumn never comes to Stockbridge. When autumn comes, the world is doomed...

Verdict

The Eternal Summer was an excellent audio adventure to continue along Big Finish's Monthly Adventures and the Stockbridge trilogy! This really was a superb story and a fantastic continuation of where things were left in Castle of Fear. The immediate continuation worked well and I thought the bubble timeline setting of Stockbridge worked tremendously well. The Doctor was immediately put off by his accommodation and his discussions with Alice and Harold about his always being there and even them remembering him being there on his wedding day some thirsty years previously was intriguing. I loved the idea of time happening all at once in the village of Stockbridge and when the Doctor tracked down Nyssa in the post office, the pair were given two vastly different answers of 1984 and 2009 as to what year it was. That was heightened by the fact that a number of the village's population were wearing attires from much earlier than the 1980s. The wedding of Alice and Harold occurring shortly after the Doctor heard of it from the marriage subjects was fantastic and the fact that time was moving so quickly and in a disrupted manner made for a really interesting tale. It was quite morbid for the pair's wedding and funeral to occur in the same day! Of course, that was how it was perceived in Stockbridge but with time happening all at once that wasn't quite the case. It was a really interesting plot device. The inclusion of Maxwell Edison was terrific and I love that we get continuity with the Doctor Who Magazine comic strip adventures, even referencing and providing a performed flashback of some of the events of Stars Fell on Stockbridge. That was really well done and whilst it was a little strange to hear the character with a performed actor, I like that he was featured and the way he was written and his stature in the village was excellent and exactly what I remember from his DWM comic appearances. I was a big fan. The Doctor's reaction to him was amusing and his being slightly stupid but also having that all important sixth sense proved crucial. His relationship with Lizzie was lovely and I really liked the whole concept of PIG. That anagram was amusing and tickled me in a big way, probably more than it should have for a psychic investigative group! Max being invited to be part of it was a nice moment and their relationship developed really quickly which was good to hear. I thought the cliff-hangers were very good in this audio and the reveal that the Doctor and Nyssa were the Lord and Lady of the Manor was excellent, even if it was predictable. Both Davison and Sutton put in tremendous performances in their villain role and the flashback sequence for Lady Nyssa when she remembered all of Nyssa's life including moments from the likes of Primeval and The Mutant Phase was wonderful. I'm a sucker for that and the latter remains one of my very favourite audios. The connection the Manor had with the remains of Stockbridge Castle and it being built on the remains of the Rutan ship was very good. The time bubble concept was really good and I liked how Wells Wood was the weak point. Lizzie's description of how Stockbridge just vanished into a singularity some time after World War Two was an interesting tale and I liked how there were echoes and images of what remained from time to time. The summer setting was also great and I liked how the prospect of autumn meant doom. The search for immortality from those in control was excellent and I liked how it was all a kind of game. Max's role in restoring Stockbridge to normality and ensuring that it had never gone missing in the first place was really good and I liked how things reverted back to the Doctor and Nyssa being in the gap between times as we head into another audio with a good cliffhanger! Overall, a really strong audio and a brilliant listen!

Rating: 9/10

The Unwinding World

"There's a lot to correct in human nature."

Writer: Ian Potter

Format: Audio

Released: June 2015

Series: Companion Chronicles: First Doctor 1.02

Featuring: First Doctor, Ian, Barbara, Vicki

Synopsis

Office life is tough, the commute is a grind, nothing works quite as well as you'd like. Vicki seems to remember things being better once, before the little flat. It's time she put some excitement back in her life. It's just a shame the Doctor can't help.

Verdict

The Unwinding World was an excellent Companion Chronicles audio adventure to continue my way through the first volume of the First Doctor boxsets within the range! This was such a good little story and I really appreciated the unique way in which it was told. Maureen O'Brien was delightful in reprising her role as Vicki and the way the other TARDIS crew members were incorporated into the storytelling was very clever indeed. It almost had the feel of a full cast audio drama despite the entire thing pretty much being a conversation between Vickie and Connie. The way it started with the computer voices describing the actions of Barbara, Ian and the Doctor as workers was intriguing and I thought it was a good decision to not have Vicki talking straight away so we could establish the setting. Where they had arrived was a very unique environment and the TARDIS being taken almost immediately provided us with a good plot device and my imagination run wild thinking of how the First Doctor would react to his prized ship being taken away abruptly. I can't think of any incarnation that would react worse! The role of the TARDIS for this society was fantastic and I loved how there was descriptions of the same design appearing throughout time across the galaxy where there were disruptions and revolts. The indication that the Doctor had involvement in a number of those in his personal future and across a multitude of different incarnations was terrific and the caveat of the TARDIS dimensions not always matching was delightful, given how the exterior altered from time to time in different eras. Connie being a nickname for the Controller of the work environment was fantastic and I really liked how she was named to put more of a face on things and provide some sense of normalisation. I thought that was brilliant and made a lot of sense. Hearing of how the Doctor, Ian and Barbara had provided Connie with suspicions since their arrival was great and exactly what you'd expect and the little ways they were trying to gain information or change things was very good. Barbara trying to learn more of the history with un-archived information and Ian also going out of bounds was good and I loved hearing Vicki defend their actions. The use of lip-reading to include the Doctor without the need for an impression was superb and really subtle but made for a wonderful way to include him. I did have to laugh at how Connie even read a 'hmm?' from his lips! Excellent stuff. The computer system also describing the actions of Ian and Barbara was good and the mechanical feel of the adventure was terrific. I was a big fan. The discussion of memory was something I really enjoyed and Connie describing how we alter our own memories was mightily intriguing and somewhat sad. The Doctor fasting when realising that there was a chemical in the food that altered the memories was good and it made sense for the chemical to attack the way we programme and calibrate our own memories. I was mightily interested. Vicki being able to turn that on Connie by the end was excellent and I liked how their being there for a period of months worked to the advantage of the plot resolution as Vicki had a plan in action for a lengthy period of time, and had actually managed to end up manipulating Connie into providing the information she wanted and ensuring that what she should think of as odd wasn't. And that was odd. I really liked that. Vicki had freed the population and provided them with free thought and the system was defeated to ensure that there was no more control. It was a pretty simple and neat way to conclude what was an excellent audio! It was very close to full marks, perhaps with a better cliffhanger it might have got there. Regardless, a great adventure!

Rating: 9/10

Under ODIN's Eye

"We owe everything to ODIN Industries."

Writer: Alice Cavendar

Format: Audio

Released: May 2019

Series: Short Trips 9.05

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Peri

Synopsis

Sad about your local market shutting down? Don't worry about it! Come on down to ODIN Megastore, where we have everything you'll ever need. Enjoy your Hygge atmosphere. Browse stylish new ODIN wardrobes. Relax with friends on our new ODIN sofas. Friends gone missing? Meet new ones at our food-hall, where you can chill out and live happily ever after.

Welcome to ODIN Megastore, where everything is for sale. Even your planet.

Verdict

Under ODIN's Eye was a very decent little Short Trips audio adventure! I'm a big fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and I am actually currently making my way through the films and television shows in chronological order (currently halfway through Defenders if that's of interest!), so I was very intrigued by the story's title to see if there would be any obvious links with the Norse mythology and any parallels or connections with what we get in the MCU. Other than a few character names and the obvious connection with ODIN, that didn't come which was fine but it still meant I was interested. I thought the story synopsis was actually very good and really did hook me into wanting to listen to this story over other Sixth Doctor Short Trips. I usually plan my blogging schedule a month or so ahead and today was always pencilled in as a shorter adventure featuring this incarnation. Whilst I did enjoy the adventure, I firmly believe that the story didn't really live up to the synopsis and didn't quite correlate with what was presented. I would really have liked more exploration of ODIN and its multitude of stores and items up for sale. There was hardly any indication of a planet being for sale and whilst we have seen rumblings of that before, I think that would have been something very good and interesting to occur. I like the humour of the Doctor having visited the planet before and his old greeting was traditional custom when he last visited, but he was almost ridiculed for doing so here as it seems to have become quite antiquated! In my brief research after listening to this story, I have come across a lot of likening this one to Kerblam! which I can see, although I don't think there was a huge amount of overlap. They're both quite distinct and this one worked on more of a grounded level, despite people being sent off world. I thought Nicola Bryant did an excellent job with the narration for this one as she was really able to create a number of distinct characters with just her voice. It must be difficult to perform as a single actor with a number of roles to play but she performed in a stellar fashion here. The way she was able to separate her narration to playing the role of Peri was fantastic. I really appreciated that. I thought Sven as the store supervisor was a very good character and I liked how there was some TARDIS familiarity. The fact that we had a character called Thor was also something brilliant and I really wish the Doctor could have made more of a comment on him. Especially in this incarnation! The writing for the Sixth Doctor was good though as a whole and there were definitely elements of that irritable side of the incarnation which were great. I thought the whole plot centring on the conflict between the Borusia and the Morpatha worked pretty well and the sacrifices of Lucas and Ingram brought a stark impact to what was a relatively upbeat audio before that. There was some semblance of a dark atmosphere, but it never felt like the stakes were raised so that made for a powerful moment. As a whole, I can appreciate the idea of an intergalactic store setting but I'm still not sure that there was ever any large peril that got me fully invested into proceedings. Still, Bryant's narration was excellent and I liked the overall idea with some strong characters. Overall, a good listen!

Rating: 7/10

Castle of Fear

"I'm here to vanquish the demons."

Writer: Alan Barnes

Format: Audio

Released: October 2009

Series: Monthly Adventures 127

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Nyssa

Synopsis

1199: Returning from the Crusade, Hubert, the new Earl of Mummerset, comes to take possession of Stockbridge Castle, his ancestral home. The only trouble is, in his absence, demons took possession of his Castle...

1899: The Stockbridge Mummers' play takes a wholly unexpected turn, when the dragon slays St George.

These events are not unconnected, the Doctor and Nyssa discover. There's an alien presence squatting in Stockbridge Castle, and it's their job to expose it. If Turkish knights, killer boars and a gang of rogue paladins don't stop them first...

Verdict

Castle of Fear was a decent audio adventure to continue my admittedly sporadic run through the Monthly Adventures from Big Finish! I have to admit that I thought the first two parts were particularly slow and whilst they thankfully picked up after the excellent cliffhanger of part two, I don't think it can be forgotten that it was a task to get there! I actually really liked the focus of the Stockbridge Castle and the town itself which is obviously synonymous with Doctor Who Magazine's comic strip stories, so I was surprised that the Doctor didn't really mention it or there be any reference to that. The pairing of the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa works well and I thought both had a really good outing here. The use of the play at the start of part one was good and quite fun when the Doctor was trying to pass off the likeness of his being a character along with the blue crate that was impossibly bigger within than outside. It was obvious though where the adventure was heading from there and whilst it was pretty enjoyable to get there, it didn't seem to matter with the predictability. That's potentially a little harsh but I have to be honest. Thankfully, everything was largely saved at the end of part two when the mystery behind the demons of the castle were revealed to be the Rutan Host! I really didn't see that coming so when the Doctor named them it was a fantastic moment and the lift the audio required for a very good second half. I thought the setting of 1199 and the links that had with The Time Warrior made for a terrific moment and the Doctor trying to understand that each party was on the hunt for the other was wonderful. That Third Doctor serial is one of my all time favourites so I adored the continuity here and insinuations of the Sontarans and Rutan being on each other's tail. Great fun. The caste playing host to a deadly scheme from the Rutan to take on the Sontarans at their own game of cloning. The Rutan are synonymous with shapeshifting so there efforts to try and find some longevity of escaping their jellyfish form was brilliant. I really loved that plot device. They wanted to clone those they had shapeshifted into whilst in human form to build an army for them to control which was fantastic. I thought the originality there was magnificent. Whilst I'm usually a big proponent of historical stories, I was not much of a fan of the guest characters here. I think it was the village setting that did it for me as the characters all just sounded annoying! Their roles were good but I think sound is so overbearing in an audio so I definitely think this particular story would have worked better on TV. Hubert, or as he would be revealed George, was a fun character and his not actually being the heir to the castle and title was great. I loved the scene where he and the Doctor had to prove they weren't actually a Rutan. Maud the Withered had a good role and her defiance in thinking the castle was full of demons was good, but I just wasn't a big fan of hers. Nyssa being taken over seemed a little predictable and didn't last too long but I thought she still had a solid story as a whole and her role in defeating the Rutan was very well done. She saved the Doctor by giving the Rutan exactly what they wanted and I liked how he reacted badly to that, only for her to challenge him by saying he would have done exactly the same thing. Because he definitely would have! Nyssa knew what she was doing though and provided the enemy with unlimited power that provided fatal as it overpowered them into defeat. The cliffhanger ending as we continue the trilogy theme was superb with the explosion imminent and the Doctor and Nyssa trapped on the ship through the portal, mid-sentence! How they'll escape this one I don't know, but it's definitely got me anticipating the next story! Overall, a slow start but definitely a decent listen as a whole.

Rating: 7/10

Doctor Who and the Green Death

"You are useless and have no further right to exist."

Writer: Terrance Dicks

Format: Novel

Released: August 1975

Series: Target 29

Featuring: Third Doctor, Jo, Brigadier

Synopsis

The Green Death begins slowly. In a small Welsh mining village a man emerges from the disused colliery covered in a green fungus. Minutes later he is dead.

UNIT, Jo Grant and Doctor Who in tow, Carrie on the scene to investigate, but strangely reluctant to assist their enquiries is Dr Stevens, director of the local refinery Panorama Chemicals.

Are they in time to destroy the mysterious power which threatens them all before the whole village, and even the world, is wiped out by a deadly swarm of green maggots?

Verdict

Doctor Who and the Green Death was an outstanding novelisation of the Season 10 finale! I knew this would be a good read because the televised serial is a fantastic story but I think I might have actually enjoyed the book even more! Right from the start, I was hooked and it was a most welcomed relief and reward this afternoon after completing some overtime. I pretty much read it from cover to cover in one sitting which is quite rare for me so that is testament to its quality. It's such a solid adventure. I love the simplicity of it and apart from the Doctor's little side venture to Metebelis III, everything is pretty much grounded to Earth. And what better setting than a little Welsh village? I really appreciated Llanfairfach as the location for the story and myself living in the Welsh valleys, I could appreciate the community feel of the village and the mining influence and importance to everyone who lived there. Of course, this was set and released in the mid-1970s when mining was very much still a big part of the Welsh community and reading of the National Coal Board having decided that the local mine had to shut was interesting to say the least. The distain felt in the village towards the English was great stuff and something I couldn't help but appreciate given my support of Welsh independence. The use of the Welsh language was nice but it would have been good for Terrance Dicks to actually write in the language! Ted's inspection of the mine was great and I liked how that soon turned from normality into something very serious as disaster struck and he was infected with the green death. The descriptions of that with the green glow were brilliant and I loved how it was a slow deterioration to death once coming into contact. Cliff Jones was a brilliant character and the way he was standing up to Dr Stevens and Panorama Chemicals was terrific. He was a Noble Prize winner which said a lot about his character and abilities, but he wasn't overly liked in the village after moving in recently. In fact, his home was dubbed the Nut Hatch which was a lot of fun! His relationship with Jo was wonderful and I loved how he didn't reveal his identity when they first met. That was wonderful stuff and although I maintain that their relationship develops into love and marriage at quite a stupendous pace, it's great to see how much Jo likes him and was interested in him over the Doctor. The likes of Dr Stevens and Hinks made for a brilliant villains behind Panorama Chemicals and I really liked the dynamic of Elgin not being under the influence of Boss. Inevitably, that ended up in him being taken over and tragically dying. Boss was a fantastic villain and the idea of an inefficient computer to ensure full efficiency was magnificent and actually made some sense. The Doctor confusing the logic-thinking computer with double entendres was terrific. I thought the use of the maggots was really well done and their arrival didn't come until about halfway through which is testament to their impact as they are always the talking point of this serial. We don't get the visuals of them like we did on television, but the illustrations dotted throughout the novelisation are just magnificent. I'm a huge fan of them as they break things up and actually add so much to the book! They really enhance the reading experience in my opinion. The serendipity of the fungus powder actually being the way to defeat the maggots and provide Cliff with his antidote was very good and the anger sparking that moment was very powerful. The Brigadier was superb throughout the book and I loved how he was facing difficulties in prioritising his appointed role and the clear wrongdoings of Panorama Chemicals, despite his orders to protect them. The mine central focus was excellent and I liked how that ended up being bombarded to keep the maggots within. Their development through chrysalis was very good and a great threat with the prospect of the green death going global. The Doctor managed to lure the dragonfly in before disaster struck and its neck was broken, and Benton not understanding his fascination with those they seek to defeat was a very good comment. Overall, this was a superb novelisation and it's heartbreaking to think the Doctor has a tear in his eye after Jo opts to go to the Amazon with Cliff. 

Rating: 10/10

Too Many Masters

"Oh no, it's a sequel!"

Writer: John Dorney

Format: Audio

Released: June 2020

Series: Missy 2.04

Featuring: Missy

Synopsis

The Monk has captured Missy. And he will have his revenge...

But the Ogrons are also looking to settle an old debt. And when they call it in, they find themselves with too many Time Lords on their hands.

The Master owes them big – and the Ogrons know who the Master is. Don't they?

Verdict

Too Many Masters was a delightful way to conclude the second series of Missy! This has been a fantastic boxset from start to finish and a terrific addition to what we got in the first series. I have really enjoyed the continuity from this range and I don't think I was expecting that which has made me enjoy it even more. We even got a brief 'previously on' for this episode which was fun and I love the idea of a sequel to Divorce, Beheaded, Regenerated and a reunion between the Monk and Missy. I honestly believe that their first encounter is one of the greatest audio dramas Big Finish have ever produced so I was salivating at the prospect of a reunion and they didn't disappoint! We had a fantastic cliffhanger at the end of Treason and Plot with the Monk being revealed as the one interfering with Missy's plans concerning the Gunpowder Plot and it was brilliant to have a dynamic of the Monk having Missy within his captivity. Except, that didn't last long at all and by the time he was finished boasting about the mighty death traps he had surrounded her with, she was out. It's wonderful to hear how much fear the Monk actually has for Missy and his efforts to get revenge for her leaving him stranded in the sixteenth century were admirable. As if the pair being together again wasn't enough, throwing in the Ogrons was excellent and I really liked how this was also a sequel to Frontier in Space as far as they were concerned. It worked so well to have them hunting the Master through their generations in search of their payment for helping start a war between the humans and Draconians, but of course the Master had managed to escape before coughing up the bill. The Ogrons being a little confused over who out of the Monk and Missy was actually who they were owed from was delightful and hearing the Time Lords try and convince their capturers who really was the Master. The Ogron Empress was a very good character and I loved the lengthy sequence where she was conversing with her Time Lord captives. The Monk's role in guessing the events of what occurred the last time the Master encountered the Ogrons was magnificent. The lack of respect Missy shows during conversations says a lot about her mindset and the fact she gets bored mid-sentence will never get old. Great stuff. The Ogrons' inability to make sense of gender fluidity amongst Time Lords was very good and I also liked how Missy admitting she had been engaged to the Monk backfired on her as within Ogron culture, she was then considered his property! Her reaction to that was priceless. Lydia was a good character and her being a fellow time traveller and one of many enslaved by the Ogrons as they tracked anyone from the Vortex in the hope it was the Master to get their small pay of a galaxy and a couple of planets. The Monk offering to settle the bill before knowing what was promised was fantastic. I'm really enjoying the Monk try to shake off that tag, but it will never get there and the comment at the end from Missy commanding him to robe up was great stuff. Missy adding to the command lock of the Monk's TARDIS so he couldn't control it without her being present was superb and it will never get old to hear how often the Monk gets bested. Lydia's death was a very powerful moment and a stark reminder that Missy is very much still the Master we know and love. Even the Monk was shocked and just added to his fear as we set up future adventures between him and Missy in his own TARDIS! Such a fun prospect for Series 3 and a full boxset between them would be most welcomed. Overall, a fitting end to the series! 

Rating: 9/10

Treason and Plot

"All hail Queen Missy!"

Writer: Gemma Arrowsmith

Format: Audio

Released: July 2020

Series: Missy 2.03

Featuring: Missy

Synopsis

The Gunpowder Plot. It's a favourite of time travellers. If Missy's going to hitch a ride, that's the place to cause trouble. Especially if trouble makes a really big bang.

The only person in her way, trying to keep history on track, is a rookie Time Agent. But Rita Cooper wanted excitement...

Verdict

Treason and Plot was an excellent audio adventure to continue along the second series of Missy in fine order! This was probably my favourite story of the boxset so far and it was really close to full marks as it had so many elements that were right up my alley. I'm a huge fan of historical stories and having Missy interfering in the Gunpowder Plot was a really fun prospect. It was a terrific setting for her to cause mischief and the continuity from Brimstone and Terror with Missy having trouble with the vortex manipulator and her Master TARDIS was very good and then wider continuity that followed at the episode's conclusion was magnificent. I thought the way the audio started was just delightful with Missy being proclaimed as the Queen, although that didn't really end up figuring into the plot but it set the tone for what was a wonderful listen! Missy absolutely revelled in being in the seventeenth century and I actually loved that her interfering in something as historically significant as the Gunpowder Plot had real merit from her personal predicament. Her initial explanation of the events of the Gunpowder Plot before they had even happened was good and the comment that followed with her saying that she was going to kill her listener now. She'd failed to reveal that part which was just delightful! I have to mention as well that the background music throughout, particularly in the first half of the story, was outstanding and really added to the adventure and atmosphere. It was pretty whacky and that's perfect for Missy. The moment she first introduced herself to Guy Fawkes and the other plotters was fantastic and she wasn't respecting any of the laws of time when it came to telling of the future. She quickly manipulated her way into controlling Catesby which provided such a fun dynamic and the sequence where she was putting the plotters through a regime of push ups was terrific. Missy was loving being in control and I thought it was brilliant for us to get a moment where we saw her put someone under hypnotic spell. She was their Mistress and they will obey. I think we can get more of that so I loved hearing it here. I thought the inclusion of Rita as an amateur Time Agent was really well done and she was quite a likeable character. The Gunpowder Plot being an easy task on the Time Agent agenda for newbies was intriguing and the inclusion of Missy to play havoc made for a superb dynamic. Rita's shock at Missy's lack of respect for the timelines and continuing to cause chaos was very good, and I really liked how they both nearly ended up going up with the Gunpowder Plot. History inevitably ended up back on course and Rita soon got promoted to more serious missions, but she failed to disclose that the fake letter informing of the plot was not her doing. That provided us with a fantastic conclusion where Missy was held under the grasp of the returning Monk! I'm a huge fan of him and Missy's relationship and her distain for him being a budget villain was just excellent. Of course, the Monk is out for revenge after Divorce, Beheaded, Regenerated and I love that we have a fantastic finale on our hands! For now though, this was such a fun historical romp and having Missy diddle in the past with a big part of history was delightful. Overall, a great story!

Rating: 9/10

Brimstone and Terror

"An army of schoolboys with Missy as their leader!"

Writer: Roy Gill

Format: Audio

Released: July 2020

Series: Missy 2.02

Featuring: Missy

Synopsis

Missy wants an army, a brigade of willing youngsters, trained to serve. So she takes a teaching post at a remote Scottish boarding school.

But one of these boys knows Missy of old. And when Oliver Davis summons his sister for help, Lucy brings an ally from London. One Mr Strax...

Verdict

Brimstone and Terror was another very good and fun audio adventure to continue the second series of Missy's own spinoff! I think fun is going to be the adjective I most use when writing about this boxset because that's exactly what Missy is! Michelle Gomez is just delightful in the role and a common theme that centres on her adventures so far is that she's bored and that just adds to the devious and barmy nature of her plans. I loved the continuity that stemmed once again from the first series with the returns of Oliver and Lucy from A Spoonful of Mayhem but we got a much different story from that outing. I was a fan of Missy heading up an all-boy's school and her efforts to educate and build herself a private army was terrific, although surely there were better options than some young Victorian boys! I guess that wouldn't have been as audacious though. Missy's facade here being that of Miss Birdy was perfectly suited to her and she seemed to enjoy her role very much. She was head mistress which was obvious yet still just fantastic and I love it when she takes on a role that isn't really a disguise. She seems to have so much fun and that just makes for such easy listening. As well as Lucy and Oliver returning, I was delighted that we had Strax appearing! I'm a huge fan of his from television and I am really looking forward to finally getting the Paternoster Gang spinoff series at some point, but for now it was just brilliant to have him featured here and being enlisted by Lucy following her receiving the letters of warning from Oliver. The way she was standing up to Missy and actually going toe to toe with her despite literally being a child was great, and you could tell that Missy was toying with her somewhat. Her being prepared to kill her along with the general was Missy at her best. That was honouring her routes as the Master in fine fashion. Her discussions with the general when it came to her being removed as running the establishment was hilarious because the comment that followed about her literally having the board in her pocket was just brilliant. I absolutely love literal humour and a TCE joke is just magnificent. Missy's inability to understand why they couldn't comprehend what she was saying was meant literally was great stuff. I'm not convinced that Missy's intentions behind having a schoolboy army served any purpose other than curing some boredom, but her intentions to become the Queen of Winter was definitely something I could get behind! I thought that revelation probably came slightly too late, but her attempts to harness the power of Beira and become the winter goddess was delightful. That's a role I'm sure she would thrive in and she was pretty darn annoyed to have her plans thwarted by Lucy who had managed to ensure that Mr Cosmo made a return! That was an intriguing development that I didn't see coming and I liked how Strax managed to get Jenny and Vastra to free it from the bottle universe stuck within the British Museum. Strax and Lucy were fun together and the Bluetooth comment from Lucy after she thought her DNA splice from the Sontaran was a bite was wonderful. I was a huge fan of that. Missy managing to escape a lifetime in captivity was expected and the links with the vortex manipulator linked to the Master TARDIS was good, and I get the feeling that something more is coming. Overall, a really good and fun adventure!

Rating: 8/10

The Lumiat

"The only way you're getting your spear back is if I impale you on it."

Writer: Lisa McMullin

Format: Audio

Released: July 2020

Series: Missy 2.01

Featuring: Missy

Synopsis

Missy is glorifying in the chaos, hoping that a certain someone might turn up.

What she doesn't expect is an entirely different do-gooder spoiling her plans and teaching her life lessons.

Because, whoever she is, the Lumiat knows far more about Missy than anyone should...

Verdict

The Lumiat was an excellent start to the second series of Missy! I am so happy that we got a second volume of adventures for Missy because she really ranks as one my all time favourite characters from any era of Doctor Who. I think a lot of that goes back to my genuine surprise at the end of Dark Water when she was revealed as an incarnation of the Master, and Michelle Gomez also is a huge contributing factor as she is just delightful so it was wonderful to hear her once again her as the maniacal female incarnation of the Master. It was a lot of fun to have her essentially imitate the Doctor in wanting a companion in the form of Bertram and I loved how her explanation of him being eye candy literally meant candy in terms of a lollipop. She was brutally honest and devious with him from the start and the idea of her sparking a full on battle from a picnic by just arriving was brilliant and something I would expect Missy to revel in. Having someone other than the Doctor challenging her was a fun dynamic and the mysterious woman with a wand stopping the battle between the strangers who thought they were engaged in war, and spoiling Missy's fun in the process was terrific. I loved how Missy initially thought of this woman as the Doctor and even when she said that she was not, Missy wasn't having any of it. She had felt the two hearts! The idea of potentially encountering another Time Lady was intriguing, but I think we got was actually so much better. Missy's hunt for the Doctor was a fantastic theme to thread through the episode and Missy's inability to admit she sought out the Doctor was great. She liked to torture him, but it was clear there was a lot more than that. The woman reminding Missy that she wasn't the Doctor, but referring to Missy's greatest foe as female was fun and brought the story into quite a contemporary setting in parallel with the current series of Doctor Who. The venture to UNIT's Black Archive was great and I loved that Missy recognised TOMTIT harking back to The Time Monster. The very concept of a Cyber-cat was intriguing and the woman having this as a solution to the flesh-eating rats that Missy let loose to lure who she thought was the Doctor was brilliant stuff. Missy finally accepting that the woman wasn't the Doctor was very good because the reference back to The Trial of a Time Lord was just marvellous because this woman was the Master's version of the Valeyard! Tremendous stuff. The Master with all of the bad taken out. All of the good had been consolidated and Missy's reaction to that was tremendous. Gomez's delivery of the word 'good' in her Scottish accent with a tone of distastefulness was sublime. The explanation of how the Lumiat was created from an Elysian Field was very good and I liked that it was outlawed by the Time Lords, but that wouldn't stop Missy! She actually chose to create her version of the Valeyard and that stemming from The Doctor Falls and providing an explanation as to how she survived and became the Sacha Dhawan incarnation was fantastic! Even at the end of the cycle, an Elysian Field sparked regeneration which was a fun concept. The Lumiat toying with Missy over her future and the poetic culprit of who killed her was excellent. The continuity from The Belly of the Beast and the first boxset with Missy obtaining a Master TARDIS was most welcomed and I hope the theme continues through the boxset. I like the issue of it not working in being able to attract other TARDISes. The comment from Missy about boiled eggs and the soldiers being present was outstanding, although I didn't think the scenes with the egg and the truce were really needed. Bertram's murder seemed untimely as well, but Missy proving that she was far from good is always fantastic. Overall, a terrific start to the series! So much fun.

Rating: 9/10

The Christmas Invasion

"You will surrender or I will release the final curse... and your people will jump."

Writer: Russell T Davies

Format: TV

Broadcast: 25 December 2005

Series: 2005 Christmas Special

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Rose

Synopsis

It's Christmas Eve and high above London, the alien Sycorax are holding the Earth for ransom through blood control. A third of the population is at risk, and following his recent regeneration the Doctor is out of action. Rose and the human race are helpless. Can they avert slavery?

Verdict

The Christmas Invasion was an excellent episode to continue on my rewatch of the modern era! It's a fine way to introduce David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor in a full episode and as a whole it serves as a great episode. It encapsulates everything about Christmas television and although I had never watched Doctor Who when this was broadcast, I can imagine it being a real hit in how it combined the Christmas theme along with a traditional Who tale. It's a great blend and also serves as the introduction for a brand new Doctor, who actually spends most of the first half an hour of it asleep which is quite ironic. I really loved the continuity with Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways and Mickey and Jackie meeting in the street as they heard the groaning engines of the TARDIS as they had been waiting for any sign that Rose was okay. Their reaction to the new Doctor is a great deal of fun and seeing him waltz around in a dressing gown is just barmy. David Tennant is on fine form here and the scene with Jackie where the Doctor is trying to explain what he needs after being woken up too early is simply sublime. The acting there was outstanding! I was of course watching this with Gemma as we go through the modern era together for the first time and it's fair to say she's a huge fan of the love story that ensues between the Doctor and Rose, and she really sees the beginnings here. At one point, she was overcome with emotion in saying how much she loved them! We actually watched this episode back on her birthday which was a nice treat and I'm glad that things fell on a good adventure! I liked the use of the Robot Santas in showing the alien threat and them being pilot fish was a very good concept. Mickey using the computer to obtain the research about them was good and I found his having to ask permission for use of the phone line to use the internet mildly amusing! Oh how times have changed. You often forget how quickly things change. Mickey questioning Rose about her relationship with the Doctor and even using the word love worked well and it's clear to see that she adores him and the life in the TARDIS. The moment at the end with the pair almost giddy together about wanting to ask if they will remain a pairing was really nice and it's clear straight from the first episode that they will get along just pleasantly. The return of Harriet Jones was great and I think she's such a fun character. The Torchwood story arc beginning here is fantastic and I love the look on her face at the end when she has to face the Doctor after giving the order to wipe out the Sycorax ship. The Sycroax themselves look impressive and their blood control powers are excellent, although they don't really do a lot else! The scene where the translation slowly flows int English showing that the Doctor is alive and well after Jackie's tea did the restoration trick was great and the emergence from the TARDIS is a fine moment. The fight scene is great stuff and the shock of the Doctor getting his hand cut off is magnificent, but the highlight for me is the sudden change in emotion when it comes to him throwing the satsuma and showing he's a no second chances kind of man. Sublime stuff. As a whole, there isn't a lot to dislike about this episode. We have a strong plot, a good enemy and a great and fun introduction for the Doctor. Although his absence for a large portion of the episode might not be the best way to kick off a new incarnation, it allows Rose to shine and adds an emphatic impact when the Tenth Doctor finally does emerge into action. Overall, a fantastic episode! 

Rating: 9/10

The Edge

"Intellect comes at a price."

Writer: Rob Nisbet

Format: Audio

Released: June 2016

Series: Companion Chronicles: Second Doctor 1.04

Featuring: Second Doctor, Jamie, Zoe

Synopsis

The Edge is the galaxy's scientific hub of experimentation, theoretical breakthroughs and invention – just the sort of place to interest the Doctor and Zoe. However, a secret lies hidden in The Edge laboratories. Jamie instinctively knows that something is wrong, and it doesn't take long for him to be proved right...

Verdict

The Edge was a fantastic conclusion to the first series of Companion Chronicles for the Second Doctor! This boxset has largely been great with the exception of The Integral and with The Mouthless Dead receiving a rare perfect score in this range to kickstart the volume, I was glad that we didn't finish too far behind! I thought it worked really well to have this as essentially a Jamie story and Frazer Hines did a lovely job in the narration. His take on Patrick Troughton's Second Doctor continues to be just magnificent and he really is a huge asset to Big Finish in being able to recreate this era with a genuine feel. The trio of the Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe is quite revered after what we saw during Season 6 and the dynamic that comes with the contrasting intelligence levels of Jamie and Zoe is often so much fun. That was evident here with the tests and the fascinating with the laboratories on offer at The Edge. It really did have a feeling akin to The Krotons with how the Doctor and Zoe were being tested and I thought we were going to get another gag about Zoe getting a superior score than the Time Lord. Alas, she was still quicker than him which I thought was great! The introduction to The Edge through Sebastian's little tour worked well and I thought it was a brilliant setting. I do like a good asteroid and the nebula that it was within also didn't come without a story. I liked the shift in Sebastian's character once Provost Curtis was introduced and the sudden impact in which his command to kill the waiter was carried out was excellent. Jamie seeing that and realising that he was the next target was very good and I thought it quite humorous that he knocked over some boxes which gave up his hiding place. There was a good level of tension throughout this audio and the excitement that came with the build to the cliffhanger was tremendous. I thought the cliffhanger itself was superb with Jamie seemingly falling to his death off a stupendously large cliff-face, but the resolution was actually logical as he amusingly clamoured mid-air to get the gravity boots off to allow him to float to safety. I enjoyed the depiction of the nebula and its scale was interesting considering the amounts of Acumen that were present there. It was the most prized material in the galaxy (boy, we've heard that one before!) and Curtis had his very own monopoly hidden in another dimension which was a fun twist. His place as being the galaxy's most intelligent man was good and I thoroughly enjoyed his need and desire for something new. What more could somebody with all knowledge want? The way he thought he was toying with Jamie in an effort to learn something new from someone he deemed dull was fantastic and I loved how our resident Scot was determined to help the Doctor and Zoe be free of Curtis's forced employ. Curtis being surprised that when the situation shifted, Jamie still tried to save him worked very well and the excitement that came at the conclusion along with some great background music made for a thrilling end! Jamie's threatening of pulling the dimension stabiliser after Zoe explained the TARDIS's at the start of the adventure was wonderful and a very clever way to bring things full circle. His going through in pulling the stabiliser to be rid of the source of Acumen for Curtis and the quake that followed and the dash to safety added to the thrill. The music really added to this sequence given it was in audio format and I loved how Jamie was the hero. He even knew that the Acumen was a form of intelligence and his somewhat knowledge gap in that department allowed him to get a feeling for the atmosphere. Overall, a fantastic audio adventure!

Rating: 9/10

Spiral Scratch

"No matter what universe we're from, some things take the same path, it's just the scenery that differs."

Writer: Gary Russell

Format: Novel

Released: August 2005

Series: PDA 71

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Mel

Synopsis

Carsus: the largest repository of knowledge in the universe – in any universe, for there is an infinite number of potential universes; or rather, there should be. So why are there now just 117,863? And why, eery so often, does another one just wink out of existence?

The Doctor and Mel arrive on Carsus to see the Doctor's old friend Professor Rummas – but he has been murdered. Can they solve the mystery of a contracting multiverse, and expose then murderer?

With the ties that bind the Lamprey family to the past, present and future coming unravelled around him, only the Doctor can stop the descent into temporal chaos. But he is lost on Janus 8. And Schyllus. And a twentieth-century Earth where Rome never fell. And...

Verdict

Spiral Scratch was a great novel to serve as the final chronological adventure for the Sixth Doctor! I really do love that we get a full adventure depicting the events of the Sixth Doctor's regeneration which we saw abruptly at the start of Time and the Rani and it's a fitting sacrifice that leads into that change of incarnation. Before we got there though, we had quite the adventure with a threat spanning the entire multiverse which was a concept I thoroughly enjoyed. There was a great deal going on in this book and I thought the way things started were intriguing, if not a little confusing. I am not sure I was biggest fan of all of the jumping around between different characters and settings for a number of the opening characters, but they did eventually tie in towards the end which was good. Regardless of that, I think there was probably a little too much of what wasn't actually essential to the plot and that's why I couldn't give this book a higher rating than what I got. Which was a shame because I thought the ending was absolutely outstanding. I loved the pairing of the Sixth Doctor and Mel and I really do think this is an underrated TARDIS team. They work so well together and I loved how the latter was boisterous and confident, not having any qualms about standing up to the Doctor and his ways. She was getting a little frustrated by his inability to tell the whole story and answer questions, even if they were clearly quite complicated. I thought Rummas was a fantastic character and the concept of the Doctor and Mel arriving to him to find him assassinated alongside an alternate version of the Doctor was great. The multiverse theory is something I love and I thought its presentation here was fun and there was so much going on. Jumping around different versions of the Doctor and Mel was very good and I think that should have been the focus, rather than the likes of the green children, DiVotow and Marlern. Differentiating between versions by having Mel, Melanie and Melina was very nicely done and some of the descriptions of the alternate Doctors were also fascinating, particularly that of the one with the eyepatch and scar. Mel's relationship with her alternate selves was an interesting dynamic as well and she thought of her splinter selves as quite bitchy! That was certainly unexpected but she had a point. The Lamprey connection between the family and the threat to the multiverse was very good and I thought they made for a good villain, with Monica Lamprey as the focus. She was remorseless and I thought the moment where she tricked Rummas into actually killing Sir Bertrand thinking it was her was terrific. The Doctor's reaction to that was superb and I enjoyed the characterisation of the sixth incarnation throughout. It was very well written. I thought the focus on the sixteenth birthday party was enjoyable, although I wasn't a fan of a semi-repeated chapter from the perspective of alternate versions. That was a bit of a cheat for my liking! Huu and Woltas were a good pairing alongside the professor and their guarding, if you like, of the universe – all of them – was good stuff. I liked how outraged the Doctor was at finding that Rummas knew all along about the threat and events that he sent the Doctor and Mel on in the first place, and from there he knew what was required and would sacrifice himself, all of himself from each universe, to overpower the Lamprey with chronic energy and wipe them out from existence. For good. The threat of never having existed was good to play with a concept I really enjoy, but one of the highlights for me was Mel's initial reaction to thinking the Doctor was going to sacrifice Helen before she realised he would be giving up himself. The way the final two chapters were written to lead into the Doctor's regeneration was sensational and honestly might be up there with my favourite endings of a Doctor Who novel. It was so well done and full of emotion and intensity which made it more than fitting of a regeneration. It was excellent. Overall, a great read despite some issues.

Rating: 8/10

Alternating Current

"Something went wrong in the past to change your present."

Writer: Jody Houser

Format: Comic Strip

Released: November 2020 - February 2021

Series: Thirteenth Doctor #3.1-3.4

Featuring: Thirteenth Doctor, Yaz, Ryan, Graham, Tenth Doctor, Rose 

Synopsis

The Tenth and Thirteenth Doctors accidentally created an alternate timeline where Earth was overrun by Sea Devils. Discovering the Skithra were actually behind the invasion, they teamed up once more, along with the fam, a war-torn Rose Tyler, and human-friendly Skithra Queen, to set things right...

Verdict

Alternating Current was a fantastic comic strip adventure to continue the run from Titan Comics! Unfortunately, due to production and scheduling issues caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, this story was released a lot later than planned which is a big shame considering it was due to form the second half of the second year of Thirteenth Doctor comics. I love the continuity with it turning out to be a direct sequel to A Little Help from my Friends with immediate continuation from those events and I love the idea of having a paradox stemming from the actions of both Doctors in defeating the Weeping Angels and Autons last time out. There was a lot going on in this one which was very good and I thought the concept of the alternate timeline of an Earth where the Sea Devils had ruled the planet for a century was so much fun. To be honest, I thought we would be getting a little more from the Classic series foes but it was still great to see them in comic strip form. The cover of issue 3 that I chose as part of my pre-order is definitely up there as one of my favourites, even if it didn't quite resonate with the story within. They're a superb villain. What I wasn't expecting was having the Sea Devils joined by the Skithra! I think it's a good move to have a returning enemy from the era of the Thirteenth Doctor and that species having direct involvement in where the timeline went wrong was really nicely done. Referencing and almost returning to the events of Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror was magnificent and I loved how genuinely excited the Tenth Doctor was at getting to meet the scientist. The inclusion of Rose from the alternate timeline was an intriguing move and whilst it wasn't clear why the Tenth Doctor had ended up seeking her out, the contrast to the companion we know that travelled with the Doctor was superb. I liked how she was good with a gun and the Tenth Doctor not liking how she didn't suit that was excellent. I think one of my favourite elements of the comic strip was how the speech shifted between the Tenth and Thirteenth Doctors prior to the TARDISes merging. That was wonderfully done and it was really fun for the anticipation of the different incarnations meeting once again, even if we have just had that occur. It's still so much fun. I liked how the fam were always one step behind the Doctor and their inability to comprehend that they couldn't just repeat events with Tesla was terrific. The Skithra Queen of the alternative reality being on the side of the humans was a good contrast and I thought her sacrifice to save humanity was admirable. The Doctor begrudgingly leaving her behind after time had been restored was a powerful moment and the questionable reaction and looks she got upon returning into the TARDIS alone had a big impact. Tesla and Edison getting comic cameos was fantastic and the way they were saved was quite simple, but it still worked and was definitely fun. The inclusion of an alternate Pete and Jackie Tyler was brilliant and whilst the artwork was surprisingly not quite up to the Titan standards, it was good to see the Thirteenth Doctor's reaction to them. Rose having to deal with her whole world being 'fixed' was something good to play with and I liked how she wasn't comfortable on Earth where things had been restored. This Rose wanted to fight for a cause and the Doctor would find her planet where the Skithra had invaded for her to settle on instead. I liked how this story led into the events of Time Lord Victorious with Defender of the Daleks but it ending on its own cliffhanger with a returning Corsair was wonderful! I'm a huge fan of hers so another adventure featuring her is definitely most welcomed. Overall, a fantastic comic adventure!

Rating: 9/10