Klein's Story

"I will never accept this reality."

Writers: John Ainsworth & Lee Mansfield

Format: Audio

Released: February 2010

Series: Monthly Adventures 131a

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Klein, Eighth Doctor

Synopsis

Elizabeth Klein is an anomaly. A renegade from an alternate future in which the Nazis won World War II. In an attempt to get to know his latest companion, the Doctor invites Klein to tell him how exactly she came to be in possession of his TARDIS and of the events that led to her trip into the past to Colditz Castle.

Verdict

Klein's Story was an excellent little adventure to get the 131st Monthly Adventure kicked off! I wasn't a big fan of the format Big Finish took around the 100 mark of this range with an abundance of releases separated into three-part and one-part stories, but I have to admit that after listening to this episode that the return to that style was most welcomed for this release. I thought this was a really helpful way to set the record straight about Elizabeth Klein and inform those listeners about who she was and her significance. She appeared in Colditz which was an excellent audio adventure, but that was way back at the beginnings of the Monthly Adventures so this little insert was a fantastic way to bring everyone up to speed, new and old listeners both. I was very much a fan of that as it has been a long time now since I listened to that early release, and I thought the format here worked well with the immediate continuity from A Thousand Tiny Wings and how the Doctor was going to take her aboard the TARDIS. We learned a lot about Klein and her inability to accept that what we know as established history was not the correct timeline is really intriguing and just hearing her describe how Hitler died in 1961 and the way the Reich was able to use laser technology to develop the nuclear weapons that saw bombing rampages on Washington and Moscow to win the Second World War was incredibly fascinating. I'm always up for some alternate timelines and when that gets meddled with history as important as the Nazis and World War Two then it's right up my ally. It was also good to establish Klein's scientific background further and I liked learning of her beliefs in the temporal theory. Her desire for the Doctor's TARDIS after learning of the significance of events at Colditz was great and I loved how it was actually the Eighth Doctor who was the man to give her its key! Of course, he was fantastically disguised as Johann Schmidt. Having an alternative Eighth Doctor was so clever and using Klein's lack of knowledge on regeneration against her was so well done. I loved the description of events that led to the Seventh Doctor's regeneration in Klein's timeline and it's fitting that it mirrored the cause of death in The Movie. The Seventh Doctor from the current point of view wanting to learn of his future self's appearance was amusing and I liked how he'd clearly realised what his alternate future self had constructed. The TARDIS had no time logs so his work regarding those was very good indeed. He was playing Klein like a fiddle in order to go back and save his life and restore history. Jonas was a very good character to play off Klein and I liked how he was horrified by her suggestion of going back in time to when the Doctor was alive in order for him to show how the TARDIS worked. That was very good. He was sceptical of Schmidt all along which was admirable. Klein's reaction to the Seventh Doctor explaining about regeneration was delightful and I loved how shocked she was to find that Schmidt was actually the Doctor. She realised she had been defeated and that was brilliant. It really has presented a new twist to what was already a hugely intriguing dynamic and prospect with this pairing together in the TARDIS. I can't wait to hear how things move forward. Overall, a fantastic little episode! 

Rating: 9/10

A Thousand Tiny Wings

"You've possibly the saddest eyes I've ever seen."

Writer: Andy Lane

Format: Audio

Released: January 2010

Series: Monthly Adventures 130

Featuring: Seventh Doctor

Synopsis

1950s Kenya. The Mau Mau uprising. A disparate group of women lie low in a remote house in the jungle, waiting for a resolution or for rescue. Among these British imperialists is Elizabeth Klein, a refugee from a timeline that no longer exists... thanks to the Doctor.

Reunited, the Doctor and Klein are forced to set aside their differences by terrifying circumstances. People are dying in this remote place. One by one. And there's something out there, in the jungle, accompanied only by the flutter of a thousand tiny wings...

Verdict

A Thousand Tiny Wings was a great audio adventure to kick off the latest trilogy of the Monthly Adventures as I work my way through the mammoth range! It's a little scary to think that even now the range has concluded, I am still not even halfway. But alas, we push on and here we have an intriguing tale and a fantastic return for Elizabeth Klein who is back quite a lengthy time after Colditz! I was a big  fan of that early audio in the range and hearing her return alongside the Seventh Doctor was a delight. I liked that Ace's absence was addressed and the prospect of the Doctor doing battle alone against the facist was excellent. She oozed confidence and had an impressive aura around her that made her a more than worthy adversary for the Time Lord. Her refusal to accept the Allied Victory as the 'true' course of history was terrific and I like how she is still determined to put history back on its right path as far as she is concerned. And that means a Fourth Reich. I think that's such a fun concept because of how dangerous it is and if history has taught us anything, it's that it will repeat itself. I enjoyed the unique element of the setting here as it's not often we get a historical trip to Kenya! The 1950s and the Mau Mau uprising worked well and even though it's an event I had next to no knowledge about, some of the racial comments in the story were very important to raise. The Doctor's bartering with Sylvia about her subtle ideals was great and the constant reference to the natives and how they were incapable of ruling themselves was fantastic. I was a big fan of that theme shining through. The Doctor making no efforts to hide future knowledge worked well because we knew that these women weren't a typical female group. Abraham was a decent character and even though his inability to speak hurt things slightly given the audio format, Klein seeing the potential for experimentation in him was very good. An alien with multiple joints in its limbs was a little hard to picture, but that image towards the end where the thousands of birds descended on him to join as one as the Cheylis was quite something! It was a good way to explain the scratches featured throughout the adventure. The fate of Lucy was also a powerful moment and I liked the threat of that being the fate of the entire planet if Sylvia didn't stay and guard after everything was all buried and that mission passed down amongst generations. That was a lot of confidence the Doctor was entrusting her with. Klein being infected was a good threat to have and I liked the character of Joshua Sembeke and the fear he invoked amongst the female non-natives. Him being caught signalling to his fellow Mau Mau was great! Even though it was predictable that he was a native, it was still a good moment. I didn't think the cliffhangers were anything special this time around which was a shame, but not at all a big negative. This adventure setting things up for the next batch of stories in the range with the Doctor taking Klein with him on board the TARDIS was really good and I'm intrigued to hear where we go next. The idea of Klein having access to a time machine opens up so many possibilities! It's inevitable she will go into action for herself at some point, so I look forward to that moment occurring. But for now, this was a very good audio adventure!

Rating: 8/10

The Highlanders

"It takes a McCrimmon to play the pipes."

Writer: Gerry Davis

Format: Novel

Released: November 1984

Series: Target 90

Featuring: Second Doctor, Polly, Ben, Jamie

Synopsis

History books don't always tell the whole story. Certainly there is no record of an episode that occurred when the Scots, led by Bonnie Prince Charlie, were defeated by the English at the Battle of Culloden in 1746...

And the presence at the time of a blue police box on the Scottish moors seems to have escaped the notice of most eye-witnesses...

The Highlanders sets the record straight. And while the incidents described may not be of great interest to historians, for Jamie McCrimmon they mark the beginning of a series of extraordinary adventures.

Verdict

The Highlanders was a decent little novelisation of the televised story sharing the same name. I was intrigued before reading as to what I might expect when going through this book because the entire televised serial is sadly missing from the BBC archives and it's fair to say that I don't have the strongest memory of the Loose Canon reconstruction that was used to blog the story back in 2014. It's obviously synonymous with being the introduction of Jamie as a companion and he would stay alongside the Second Doctor right up until The War Games. I must admit that I don't actually remember Jamie featuring so prominently in the serial so that was a refreshing element of the book. It was also good to start with just the trio of the Second Doctor, Polly and Ben because we only got to see that in The Power of the Daleks so the story starting out with them as the lead characters was magnificent. Of course, I think the writer utilised the foreknowledge and Jamie's standing in Who folklore throughout the book, especially when referring to the McCrimmon clan. I thought it was fun for Polly and Ben to think they had arrived back home because of the weather, but surely they couldn't just assume that they'd landed in their own time given the fact the TARDIS travelled in time? That was a little annoying. I know it's early days for the Second Doctor in this story, but I didn't think the characterisation was overly impressive for Patrick Troughton's incarnation. It just didn't quite feel like a traditional Second Doctor writing of the lead character and that was a little off-putting. I'm not a big fan of him dressing in drag as I don't think it offered a huge amount to the adventure and he certainly seemed to be getting from place to place in quick fashion! The chapters flowed well given there were a lot of them with a consistent page count of 8-10 which is ideal for the novelisations, but I thought they could have ended in more of a cliffhanger style at least a couple of times. Polly had an outstanding story and I loved her relationship with Kirsty. They were great together and reading how she flaunted herself confidently was a delight. She was getting the upper hand of Algernon in quite wonderful style. She was right at home. Her and Ben's confusion over why the English were the enemy was amusing and I liked the idea of a story set during the Battle of Culloden and during the eighteenth century conflict between Scotland and England. The search for Bonnie Prince Charlie was good and I liked the Doctor placing Jamie in that role. The Scot's outrage when he didn't cotton onto the fact that the Doctor was on his side when accusing him and getting out of jail was great. Solictor Grey and Perkins alongside him made for a good villainous historical figures and they fitted right in with the era. The Scots being offered life, death or slavery was quite something and showed just how different times were in this era! Ben being sentenced to death managing to survive was great, but the Doctor greeting him after his swim was a little too convenient. I liked the separation from the TARDIS, but one thing I couldn't quite grasp was what exactly the Doctor and co were sticking around for. Once they were all back together, it seemed logical that they would just find the TARDIS. I never got a huge sense of the end goal and that meant the conclusion couldn't quite be as exciting as it ought to have been. There seemed to be a lack of stakes. Despite that, it was still a very enjoyable read with a great use of historical setting and a lovely little introduction for Jamie. Overall, a good story! 

Rating: 7/10

Mindwarp

"There's nothing more enjoyable than watching people suffer."

Writer: Philip Martin

Format: TV

Broadcast: 4-25 October 1986

Season: 24b

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Peri

Synopsis

The Doctor is on trial for his life. Plucked out of time and space by the Time Lords, he is charged with transgressing the First Law of Time. He must defend himself against the prosecution led by the sinister Valeyard...

The Valeyard's prosecution continues as he presents damning evidence of the Doctor's interference on the planet Thoros Beta. Dangerous experiments are being carried out there that could affect the future of all life, and they must be stopped.

But why is the Doctor so determined to help his former enemy – the greedy, opportunistic Sil? And why has he turned against his companion, Peri? One thing is certain: someone will die...

Verdict

Mindwarp was a great four-parts to continue the epic that is The Trial of a Time Lord. I thought this was a solid continuation of the series as things got really tasty in the courtroom whilst we saw the Doctor's adventure immediately prior to being brought to Gallifrey to answer for his crimes. I thought that in of itself was a fun concept and the Doctor having amnesia was great because it hinted to there being something greater at work. His continued alluding to the Matrix perhaps not being as reliable as the Inquisitor might have us believe was intriguing and interference on that scale is obviously brilliantly interesting given the complexities that would go with that. I thought it was very amusing when the Doctor interrupted the evidence of the Valeyard which showed the TARDIS arriving on water on Thoros Beta because of its relevance and I almost felt like that was a mockery of the start of nearly any episode comprising a first part of an adventure. A lovely little moment. The effects for the pink water and the twin planet were really impressive in my view considering this story aired thirty-four years ago and it gave a different look and definitely felt alien which was commendable. The Doctor leading Peri on a mild wild goose chase of sorts by not telling her that the planet was the home of the species that Sil was made me laugh and seemed to be good preparation for his next incarnation! Peri's reaction to seeing the slimy villain after what occurred during Vengeance on Varos was excellent and I thought she had an outstanding adventure for her swan song. I liked the cliffhanger at the end of part seven with Peri apparently being shot and that foreshadowing her fate at the following part's conclusion was very good. I thought her relationship with Yrcanos throughout was a lot of fun with him considering her to be his queen. His desire for fighting was a lot of fun and he was pretty bonkers throughout. Lord Kiv made a great head of the Mentors and his efforts to transport his brain into another body for a good plot. Crozier was a good character as the medic trying to perfect the transference and him achieving it resulting in the interference of the Time Lords was testament to his abilities. His seeing Peri as nothing more than a specimen for his experiment showed all that was needed for him as a person. Sil was a lot of fun in the story as you might expect and him being befriended by the Doctor in particular was very well done. I thought Colin Baker was outstanding as the Sixth Doctor in this story with him feigning being a turncoat and having been impacted by the mind device, as well as in the courtroom reacting to Peri's death and being turned into the host for Lord Kiv. He couldn't accept that events unfolded as was shown during the trial and losing his friend was hard to take. As a singular story, I thought this one worked very well for the most part and whilst there were some minor issues with pace and excitement, the story at its heart was very good indeed. I think I'd have preferred it if Kiv went straight from his initial form to Peri rather than have the one that adorns the blog in between. Still, a very good story to help tell the epic that comprises Season 24!

Rating: 8/10

The Feast of the Drowned

"If all these people have gone under, where've all the bodies gone?"

Writer: Stephen Cole

Format: Novel

Released: April 2006

Series: NSA 08

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Rose

Synopsis

When a naval cruiser sinks in mysterious circumstances in the North Sea, all aboard are lost. Rose is saddened to learn that the brother of her friend, Keisha, was among the dead. And yet he appears to them as a ghostly apparition, begging to be saved from the coming feast... the feast of the drowned.

As the dead crew haunt loved ones all over London, the Doctor and Rose are drawn into a chilling mystery. What sank the ship, and why? When the cruiser's wreckage was towed up the Thames, what sinister force came with it?

The river's dark waters are hiding an even darker secret, as preparations for the feast near their conclusion...

Verdict

The Feast of the Drowned was an excellent novel! This was a fine addition the early era of Series 2 for the Tenth Doctor and Rose and was an exciting and thrilling tale from start to finish. I liked how there was no messing around with the book and we were taken straight into an interesting start which isn't always the case in feature-length novel adventures so that was most welcomed. It worked well to have a modern day setting and Rose's proximity to events through Keisha and her brother Jay was a very good element. I really loved how impactful the events of Aliens of London and Rose's disappearance for a whole year had on the story and the relationships between a number of characters, with Rose's thirst for travelling in time and space fragmenting her relationship with Mickey and reducing it to friendship, whilst she'd also lost touch with Keish. I thought that was important and really good to read because it showed the toll being the Doctor's companion had on others. Realising the effects of those left behind and the normal world was fantastic, and it was also good for Jackie to have a prominent role in the book. The aquatic theme and everything centring on the Thames was fantastic and I loved the idea of people throwing themselves into the water after being lured by loved ones who had fallen victim to the Ascendant's sinking. That was a disturbing concept in of itself and the atmosphere of the book that this created along with the location and the description of events taking place at night was superb. I was a big fan of the feel of the story. The Doctor's introduction to Vida was a lot of fun and her playing dumb after knowing that he'd used a cleaner's entry card was excellent. She was a really good character and reading how she grew to trust him as the pages turned was terrific. She ended up giving him full access to equipment, knowledge and laboratories that he really ought not to, especially as the public weren't even fully aware of its existence. The Ascendant being returned for examination in segments was interesting and the Doctor cottoning on straight away to the fact that it couldn't have bene an accident that this happened was great. The idea of cellular involvement with hydrogen was very good and the idea of harnessing and even instruction molecules is always fun. It's hard to combat on that scale. Crayshaw made for a really good villain as the head of the Waterhive and his always wearing sunglasses provided a good explanation for him being revealed as part of the hive with his pearly filaments. I thought Rose endured a lot in this book which was a little distressing at times and her struggles to not think of Jackie and Keish when she had fallen victim to the hive were very good indeed. She went one step further though and used the desire for loved ones to get a message out warning them off. That was very clever. Mickey was a fine addition to the book and the banter he share with the Doctor about his usefulness was great as always. Keisha having lied to him about what the pair shared when Rose had gone missing was powerful as I can't imagine having to live with those lies, especially with everything that came with it after his countless police station visits. The Doctor encountering Jay after the ghostly apparition appeared in the house but for real was good and the chase through the wet and blood-soaked vaults was fantastic. Overall, this was an excellent book and I liked the simplicity of the conclusion. A great read!

Rating: 9/10

The Children of Seth

"Tradition is no longer a right."

Writers: Christopher Bailey & Marc Platt

Format: Audio

Released: December 2011

Series: Lost Stories 3.03

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan

Synopsis

During one of Nyssa's experiments, the TARDIS's temporal scanner picks up a message: 'Idra'. Just one word, but enough to draw the Doctor to the Archipelago of Sirius. 

There, the Autarch is about to announce a new crusade. A mighty war against Seth, Prince of the Dark...

But who is Seth? What is the secret of Queen Anahita, Mistress of the Poisons? And what terror awaits on Level 14?

Verdict

The Children of Seth was not the greatest of Lost Stories audio adventures. For whatever reason, I just couldn't take to liking this story for the most part which was a shame as the first two stories within the third series of the Lost Stories range were very good. Sadly the loose trilogy didn't end on a high for my liking. I actually enjoyed the start with Nyssa experimenting in the TARDIS and I really think there could have and should have been longer. She has gone through a lot recently with the events of The Elite and Hexagora so seeing her on the repair here was really nice. Unfortunately, what followed wasn't to my enjoyment as things were very slow from the off despite not fleshing out the society of the Archipelago of Sirius in any way in my opinion. With the summoning from the mysterious Idra, it felt like this was a sequel of sorts and whilst it was clear that the Doctor had been involved there previously, there wasn't enough fleshing out of that previous adventure for me. Anahita as the Queen was somewhat decent and she was a good character for the most part with her relationship with Tegan being a particular highlight. Her history with the Doctor should have been alluded to more and it was clear that the Doctor wasn't in his current incarnation when that meeting took place, so I was a little surprised that she recognised him despite the change of appearance. The religious theme in the story was average and Anahita's book didn't seem to be as important as its role made out it was. The Doctor being given one on his last visit just seemed a bit too convenient and whilst I did like that all of the other books had been burned, it being banned and burned didn't seem logical if Anahita remained Queen. The whole revelation that Seth was just an idea seemed a bit of a let down for me because everything seemed to be building towards him. I didn't understand why Byzan continued with the same name from the Queen's theory as that just seemed incredibly lazy and really was a source of frustration for me. I thought it was a good dynamic to have the Fifth Doctor and Tegan together for most of the story given their testy relationship and that also allowed Nyssa to go off on her own where she can often shine. I liked that she was subjected to a memory wipe and the dream reality, if that's what it could be called, went on too long for me and there really should have been a lot more focus on Nyssa thinking she was the Doctor. That could have been really great but we didn't get her in much action which was a shame. I also thought Tegan's ability to talk her back into remembering her true identity as Nyssa was far too easy. It just wasn't believable for me given that we had listened to two hours almost of her forgetting herself! Shamur was an okay character and I liked his role in the story for the most part, but that echoing and booming did go on a bit by the end! I didn't think the cliffhangers were overly exciting and they didn't really have me wanting to get the next part on straight away. That's a big negative in my eyes. I have certainly focused more on the negatives with this audio, but for me that rating is very low! All of the performances were to a high standard but sadly this was a story I just couldn't get behind. 

Rating: 5/10

The Book of Kells

"Someone who meddles with time."

Writer: Barnaby Edwards

Format: Audio

Released: September 2010

Series: EDA 4.04

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Tamsin

Synopsis

'Anyone who's prepared to kill for a book interests me.'

Ireland, 1006. Strange things have been happening at the isolated Abbey of Kells: disembodied voices, unexplained disappearances, sudden death. The monks whisper of imps and demons. Could the Lord of the Dead himself be stalking these hallowed cloisters?

The Doctor and his companion find themselves in the midst of a medieval mystery. At its heart is a book: perhaps the most important book in the world. The Great Gospel of Columkille. The Liber Columbae.

Verdict

The Book of Kells was an excellent audio adventure to continue along the fourth series of the Eighth Doctor Adventures! This was a really strong story and probably my favourite so far of what is shaping up to be a rather excellent series. I liked the sudden impact in the way things started with the TARDIS being drawn off course in pretty abrupt fashion and this meaning that the Doctor and Tamsin were going to be stuck in their new surroundings for at least a day was good because that opened up the opportunity for exploration which the Doctor was very much a fan of. I think this pairing are growing together and their relationship is really developing well, as is Tamsin's character as a whole in the companion role. I'm impressed with her more and more and she's a good deal of fun. I love her clumsy nature accompanied by the brash confidence that isn't exactly merited yet given her lack of experience travelling alongside the Doctor. Her glee in getting to produce a jack-in-the-box moment was wonderful. She's a lot of fun and that's a fantastic attribute in a companion. I was a big fan of the setting for this episode as it isn't often we get an adventure set in 11th century Ireland! It was a famous time though and this episode actually providing the historical explanation for the disappearance of the Book of Kells was brilliant. I'm a fan of the Doctor's involvement in human history and Tamsin starting to realise what life was like as she realised she was destined to actually be involved in this historical event was magnificent. I thought it worked well in the explanation and I've actually seen the Book of Kells first hand on one of my three trips to Dublin. I remember thinking of this story when visiting because I knew of it so getting to now listen to it brought back some good memories. Of course, one of the highlights of the story is the return of the Monk in wonderful style and I love the Doctor's confusion as to who is actually his old adversary. He initially thinks it to be Brother Bernard and after reeling off a big speech about his past with the Monk referencing the likes of The Time Meddler and The Daleks' Master Plan, the reaction from this helpless monk was terrific. He had no clue. I would have suspected the Abbott was the Monk all along as that just seems a right fit but it was still a fun moment at the reveal. The Monk is one of my all time favourite villains so getting a new incarnation here is absolutely most welcomed. Him having his own sort of protege in the form of Lucianus was intriguing and the post-credits scene where he was actually revealed to be Lucie Miller was not at all expected! That was quite stunning and I'm sure we'll be coming back to that in the series at some point. The Monk falling victim to the old switch getting highlighted was fun because that's just so typical of him and him mentioning that the Doctor devised a cunning plan was humorous. The idea of his DIY time scoop was great and that explaining events of Situation Vacant and Nevermore with a Time Lord involvement was very good, if a little quick. The dead Vortisaur was an unexpected inclusion that was used well in showing that time was very much a factor in the episode. As a whole, this was a wonderful return for the Meddling Monk who was back up to his old tricks and now alongside Lucie Miller somehow! Overall, a great story.

Rating: 9/10

Nevermore

"Everyone has something to hide."

Writer: Alan Barnes

Format: Audio

Released: August 2010

Series: EDA 4.03

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Tamsin

Synopsis

A bizzarre manifestation in the Control Room forces the TARDIS onto the Plutonian shores of the irradiated world Nevermore, whose sole inhabitant is the war criminal Morella Wendigo – a prisoner of this devastated planet. But the Doctor and his new companion aren't Morella's only visitors. Senior Prosecutor Uglosi fears the arrival of an assassin after the blood of his prize prisoner. An assassin with claws...

There's no escape from Nevermore, whose raven-like robot jailers serve to demonstrate Uglosi's macabre obsession with the works of the 19th century horror write Edgar Allan Poe. An obsession that might yet lead to the premature burial of everyone on the planet's surface – wreathed in the mist they call the Red Death!

Verdict

Nevermore was an excellent audio to continue the fourth series of the Eighth Doctor Adventures! I thought this was a really strong story from start to finish and served as an impressive first venture in the TARDIS for Tamsin as the new companion. I thought she was terrific throughout the audio and she's a marked change from Lucie which brings out a different side in the Doctor which is never a bad thing. I loved the idea of him showing her around the vast TARDIS interior and the likes of the sauna room and even a mile of Margate beach were intriguing rooms to say the least! She was a lot of fun and almost enjoyed playing with him emotionally when it came to the cat in the console room. That was an image in of itself and the Doctor explaining that he had no cat and wanted his new companion to fetch a broom was hilarious. I have a cat myself so that must have just added to my amusement as they really are magnificent animals! Its role in luring the TARDIS to Nevermore was brilliant and I thought the entire concept of the planet turning out to now be a theatrical prison was very good. Morella Wendigo turned out to be an outstanding character and her being imprisoned on the planet she sought to destroy was fantastic. She was a lot of fun and oozed confidence which is always good to hear in a villain. Hearing of her past was great and I liked how she saw past the Doctor's attempt to disguise himself as Uglosi. The real senior prosecutor was another fine character and his fascination with Edgar Allan Poe was strange! I liked the enigmatic atmosphere that brought though and the links back to Mary's Story were a welcomed treat. I thought that was pretty seamless and the literary similarities there were a lot of fun. There's something about a dark story featuring authors that works well and this was another fine example. The Doctor recounting the meeting he had with Poe once in order to save Tamsin from the strange mind of Uglosi was fascinating and I loved the description of the final message in the bottle being tarnished by running ink. That was a sign of the times for sure. The ravens were an interesting element in the adventure and whilst I wasn't a huge fan of their voices, I really liked what they brought to the story and how different they felt. Berenice was a good character and hearing how she was adopted and named after one of Poe's creations told us more about the mad mind of the senior prosecutor. Uglosi was damaged that was for sure and clearly evidenced by his laughter at the conclusion which made him great! I thought the cliffhanger came a little suddenly but that isn't a major issue when it comes to an hour-long adventure. Tamsin being mistaken for a Time Lord worked well and nearly resulted in her thinking she'd been buried to death when the psychotic trauma was being implemented! The ease in which the Doctor ridded himself of that was brilliant. Paul McGann was in fine from as always as the Eighth Doctor. The links this adventure had with Situation Vacant and that mysterious time traveller were intriguing and I was a big fan of the arc continuing immediately. The Doctor ruling out the Master was good and with the clear meddling going on for Uglosi on Corinth, the prime suspect might be clear. The Doctor pondering on that was very good and I look forward to this arc continuing and getting resolved! Overall, this was a brilliant audio.

Rating: 9/10

I, Rorius

"I became the Emperor of Rome."

Writer: Jacqueline Rayner

Format: Audio

Released: April 2021

Series: The Lone Centurion 1.03

Featuring: Rory

Synopsis

Legend tells of the Lone Centurion – a mysterious figure dressed as a Roman soldier who stood guard over the Pandora, warning off those who would attempt to open it: a constant warrior whose story appeared in the folk history of a dozen civilisations. 

Only... he seems to have misplaced it.

Travelling to Rome in search of the Pandorica, Rory finds himself forced to perform as a gladiator in the Colosseum... where he attracts the attention of the Imperial household.

Drowning in a sea of plots and conspiracies, Rory just wants his life back. But in Ancient Rome, people don't retire, they die. And that's a bit difficult when you're immortal.

Verdict

I, Rorius was a fantastic story to conclude the first volume of The Lone Centurion! I was really looking forward to this spinoff series when it was first announced and I'm really glad that it didn't let down and I'm now looking ahead to the second volume next year which I am sure will maintain the high standard set here. This rounded out the series nicely and following on from the incredible events at the end of The Unwilling Assassin, Rory was now fully integrated in the role of unwilling Emperor. That really was so much fun and hearing his quandaries over the expectations of the Roman ruler with the likes of the sacrifices and gods was excellent. I thought it was a lovely touch for him to have his own goddess created in the form of Amelia, the goddess of ponds, and I thought the comments about the statue's legs and her proportions were magnificent. Rory was clearly very fond of his loved one's legs and whilst nobody can blame him, I thought that was a great fit for the Roman period. His delving into the possibility of an alternative timeline given that there was never actually a Roman Emperor Rory was interesting and surely goes some way to legitimising these events with what would happen over the course of The Big Bang. Rory's relationship with Anna in this adventure was delightful and hearing him event admit to his goddess that he thought she was pretty was amusing because Rory is always one to test things a little! He wouldn't be able to act on his thoughts for obvious reasons pertaining to Amy, but his pondering on the lonely centuries ahead must have made it a difficult decision because the interest was clearly mutual. That was evidence in how clearly pained he was to refuse her company at the conclusion of the audio where he left Rome after passing on the Emperorship to Hilarious which was a fun little moment. Juliana was also a really good character and I liked how she was clearly annoying Rory over the course of the episode. Although to be fair, pretty much everything was annoying him when it came to being the Emperor. He was sick of being graced and honoured and announced for every little thing he did which was terrific. I did enjoy how he revelled in the authority he did posses though when it came to having his shrine of Amelia created. Before apologising. The idea of Rory being the target of an assassination attempt was fantastic and the would-be assassins were a lot of fun and they couldn't understand how their multiple methods had so far failed. Little did they know that Rory wasn't really human anymore. A scorpion, an arrow to the shoulder and even a poisoned duck couldn't do the job. Rory housing chickens and ducks in his shrine rather than sacrificing them was magnificent and him ordering them to have supplies was wonderful. Word going around regarding the Emperor's lack of eating was also a fun element of the episode and whilst this was certainly an upbeat and amusing adventure, it was also very poignant for Rory as we saw him dwelling on his decision to guard the Pandorica for so long. It was secured now which was great to know, but being Emperor certainly had its toll for the Lone Centurion, and he has a long way to go yet. Overall, a fantastic finale to a really fun boxset!

Rating: 9/10

The Unwilling Assassin

"How about I pretend to kill you?"

Writer: Sarah Ward

Format: Audio

Released: April 2021

Series: The Lone Centurion 1.02

Featuring: Rory

Synopsis

Legend tells of the Lone Centurion – a mysterious figure dressed as a Roman soldier who stood guard over the Pandora, warning off those who would attempt to open it: a constant warrior whose story appeared in the folk history of a dozen civilisations. 

Only... he seems to have misplaced it.

Travelling to Rome in search of the Pandorica, Rory finds himself forced to perform as a gladiator in the Colosseum... where he attracts the attention of the Imperial household.

The Roman Empire has a new official assassin. Lethal, cunning, and utterly unsuited to the job. Can Rory Williams succeed at assassination without actually killing anyone?

Verdict

The Unwilling Assassin was such a fun adventure to continue the first volume of The Lone Centurion! This really was a right little romp that was full of humour, intrigue and a really solid plot at its centre. I think this was perfect for Rory and the Romana era and whilst my only qualm might have been including a mention of the Pandorica as that is why Rory continues to be in this time period, I thought everything else was brilliant. The atmosphere of the episode was excellent and following on from Gladiator was really good as we got to hear Rory in his new role as the Empress Augusta's new assassin. This wasn't a role that he embraced and the very idea of Rory being a hired mercenary for the kill is amusing in of itself, but placing him in the bloody and brutal days of the Roman age made that even better. Of course he wouldn't be getting his hands dirty and doing the Empress's bidding! The play on the mispronunciation of empress's assassin was quite fun and I was glad that there wasn't a huge amount of attention paid to the fact that a female now ruled. Given the time period that could have become a big talking point so it was good to hear Augusta revealing her new position and not being shy of giving out a command to kill. No sympathy for the wicked. The inclusion of Tacitus in the story was an unexpected delight from a personal perspective as it took me back to my university days as I actually did a joint presentation on him back in my second year! It was a rare chance for me to delve back into Ancient History as part of a module on the history of history (yes, really) so hearing him in a Doctor Who adventure was a huge amount of fun. His poems predicting the looming demise of Augusta were great and I liked how that meant that Rory had one of his victims. Decima was a wonderful character and I loved her position as Chief Spy of Augusta. That would make Rory's job, or rather his lack of carrying out, rather difficult now that his every move was being watched. That was a really fun dynamic and the relationship between the pair was brilliant. I thought it was great stuff. Augusta pitting them off against each other was very good and Rory being able to use the method of poison figs to convince the spy that he was actually carrying out the orders of the Empress was excellent. I loved his story about playing with the head of another of his supposed victims and managing to get that verified. It was a great deal of fun. I thought this was a superb use of the setting and time period and felt authentic with Rory thrust into a position he did not enjoy. Augusta taking matters into her own hands when it became clear that she was being played and couldn't even trust her Chief Spy, which she denounced in brutal fashion, was fantastic and her fate coming true as told by Tacitus was quite the ending. Rory, given his Auton tendencies, wouldn't exactly be prone to a poison fig so his testing of one followed by Augusta suffering the fate it was intended for was a fitting ending! The dying line about her assassin finally managing to kill someone was magnificent and it was impressive to put some comedy into a moment like that. The ending having Tacitus realise a new prophecy and Decima join in pronouncing Rory the new Caesar and Emperor of Rome was just terrific. This has set us up for what is set to be a great and incredibly fun finale! 

Rating: 9/10

Gladiator

"The people expect at least one gruesome death."

Writer: David Llewellyn

Format: Audio

Released: April 2021

Series: The Lone Centurion 1.01

Featuring: Rory

Synopsis

Legend tells of the Lone Centurion – a mysterious figure dressed as a Roman soldier who stood guard over the Pandora, warning off those who would attempt to open it: a constant warrior whose story appeared in the folk history of a dozen civilisations. 

Only... he seems to have misplaced it.

Travelling to Rome in search of the Pandorica, Rory finds himself forced to perform as a gladiator in the Colosseum... where he attracts the attention of the Imperial household.

Kidnapped, Rory is taken to Rome and thrown into the area, where his hapless inability to die brings him to the attention of the Emperor. 

Verdict

Gladiator was a great start to the first volume of The Lone Centurion! From the first time this boxset was announced I was right on board as I think the idea would be so much fun and this was definitely a solid beginning. It almost seems perfect for a Big Finish spinoff with how it easily fits into the narrative put forward in The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang and Rory guarding the Pandorica with Amy inside for two millennia. Given the time period that long wait started in and the very nature of the task, it was obvious that things would go wrong somewhere so depicting such events here is a lot of fun. I think Rory is a very underrated character and having him as the lead in his own series is a smart move and Arthur Darvill reprises his role as the companion to the Eleventh Doctor and husband to Amy Pond in a delightful way. It really is a joy to hear him back in the role. I thought the style of the story was terrific and I liked the humorous inserts that were accompanied by the fun music effects. Background music definitely helped with the tone and atmosphere of the episode and it was intriguing tot think just how brutal the Roman era was whilst this was somehow lighthearted despite the scenes in the Roman Colosseum and the death depicted. Except, Rory wasn't quite dying and his use of that ability was fantastic. Hearing him and Marcella act out their fight to the death was marvellous and exactly what I would have expected from our resident Roman. He was all about saving people which was nice. His relationship with Augusta was brilliant and definitely a highlight of the episode. I really liked the scene where it seemed that she was coming onto him in a sexual manner only for her to turn things quickly and ask Rory to become the bodyguard of Caesar. I think it's clever not to name the Caesar that we heard in the story and given all of the complications to time that come with that Series 5 finale, it could be any of them! The insinuation that he was gay and that Augusta knew about it was a very good touch as well. There really was some fun stuff going on. I thought the use of the Roman setting was decent and Rory's continued referring to it as Ancient Rome was really well done. Had he not come to grasps with the time period he was now living in? I love the concept of him losing the Pandorica and having to do Augusta's bidding to get it back, and her role in actually saving Marcella was unexpected but a welcomed occurrence. Lepidus was another good character and it was interesting to hear Jacob Dudman in a non-impression role. His reveal towards the end, or rather claim, that he had orchestrated the attempts on Caesar's life was very good and Rory pretending to be an inspector and testing the swords ahead of the performance on stage from the Roman ruler was very good. Rory's reaction to dormouse stew was another great utilisation of the setting and I also like how he has something of a reputation when it comes to guarding the Pandorica. Augusta knows who he is and when it's revealed that she killed Caesar in order to take advantage of the Succession Laws to effectively become the new Caesar, she has no fear because she knows where the Pandorica is and can now manipulate Rory. It must be pretty good to have an immortal in your back pocket! I liked how that set us up for the next episode and the very idea of doing an interlinked story arc over the three episodes is very much welcomed. Overall, this was a really good and fun start to what I'm sure is going to be a delightful spinoff series!

Rating: 8/10

The Witchfinders

"This was living history and that woman was dead."

Writer: Joy Wilkinson

Format: Novel

Released: March 2021

Series: Target 163

Featuring: Thirteenth Doctor, Yaz, Ryan, Graham

Synopsis

'I am an expert on witchcraft, Doctor, but I wish to learn more. Before you die, I want answers.'

The TARDIS lands in the Lancashire village of Bilehurst Cragg in the 17th century, and the Doctor, Ryan, Graham and Yaz soon become embroiled in a witch trial run by the local landowner. Fear stalks the land, and the arrival of King James I only serves to intensify the witch hunt.

But the Doctor soon realises there is something more sinister than paranoia and superstition at work. Tendrils of living mud stir in the ground and the dead lurch back to horrifying life as an evil alien presence begins to revive. The Doctor and her friends must save not only the people of Bilehurst Cragg from the wakening forces, but the entire world.

Verdict

The Witchfinders was a very good novelisation of the televised episode of the same name! It's a decent choice to serve as the first novelisation from the Thirteenth Doctor era and whilst I probably would have gone for an alternate adventure, it's a smart choice given that it's largely self contained. It also worked well with the historical setting and getting to write that into the prose was excellent. I liked the additions as I always expect with the Target novelisations and the beginning having an addition to the Morax story with the Queen and King and hearing of how they were imprisoned at Pendle Hill. It was a little quick and didn't seem entirely worthy of a lifetime imprisonment, although as I write that I realise that murder on that scale of innocents was obviously punishable! It's a little weird to think that the Morax then don't show up until well over two-thirds into the novel. The other interludes from Willa whilst she was in her own gaol cell was very good and whilst it was clear who the author was throughout, I liked that this wasn't revealed until later in the book. I thought the writing of Team TARDIS throughout was impressive and I really enjoyed the backstory of Yaz getting fleshed out here. It was powerful to learn of how she was bullied to an extreme level and relaying that to Willa here was a really nice touch. Reading their relationship was terrific and I think she made a brilliant character. The entire setting of Lancashire during witch hunts was fantastic and I love the dynamic that presents with the Doctor's recent change in gender following her latest regeneration. The continuity from Kerblam! was a welcomed piece of continuity and I loved that the Doctor was also harking back to The War Games and The Trial of a Time Lord when it came to her turn to be accused of being a witch. The annoyance in her voice at the predicament she was faced with because of the time period and the thoughts on women was great. I didn't think that Graham and Ryan featured a huge amount and that was absolutely fine and I liked how with the focus on women not being equal, it was good to focus on Yaz as the companion. Becka made for an excellent villain and her story was quite incredible as we got the reason for all of her actions and killings of supposed witches. The mud could have sounded more impressive if it had a special name but I liked its role with the tree that wasn't a tree and the tendrils were a fun addition that sparked Yaz into action. King James didn't seem as fun in this novelisation and that's not to say that he turned bad, because he really didn't, but I think the relationship with Ryan was much more prominent on television than was the case in this book. I didn't mind that though it was just a stark contrast from the broadcast episode. The episode itself is a really good one and I found myself surprised that the Morax Queen and King were dealt with whilst there were still twenty-five pages to go. It was fast-paced and a little simple to conclude the chapter, but the addition we got to the fate of Willa was a nice touch and a good expansion, if not a little cheesy. I thought it was wonderful to have the Doctor and the fam rescue her from the witch trial in her adulthood in 1634 after going back to Bilehurst Cragg following their finding of the letter she'd written, but the add on with her seemingly seeing out her days with Clara and Me a little too much. Still, this served as a nice expansion on the character and I thought the overall book was well written and a fine novelisation of what is a very good episode! Overall, a great read.

Rating: 8/10

Echoes of Extinction

"It crawled into their minds and fried them in an instant."

Writer: Alfie Shaw

Format: Audio

Released: April 2021

Series: Time Lord Victorious

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Tenth Doctor

Synopsis

Trapped, a haunted monster waits to consume new victims. It needs help. It needs a doctor. Unfortunately, it also needs to kill whoever it meets. Thrust into immediate danger, and on the back-foot, it will take all of the Doctor's ingenuity to triumph.

Two interlinked adventures. Two Doctors. One foe.

Verdict

Echoes of Extinction was a great and very unique adventure to conclude the Time Lord Victorious crossover event series! In all honesty, this didn't have a huge bearing on the overall story arc of that but it was a very good addition to add to the series. The idea of the Eighth and Tenth Doctors together in an audio drama is magnificent and even though they never actually meet, this definitely works despite being admittedly a little weird. This was a brand new experience for me listening to my first vinyl after managing to get ahold of the LP on Amazon in quick fashion and thankfully my girlfriend Gemma has a record player so I was able to listen to this and not have to just buy the download. It was interesting not wearing headphones and just the whole experience and process of the physical record playing was intriguing to me. I thought this adventure could have benefited from being a little longer, but each part for the respective Doctors coming in at around forty minutes meant we had a fast pace in a dark atmosphere which was a pretty neat dynamic. I started with the Eighth Doctor's tale and after listening I was glad of this given that the Tenth Doctor was vaguely remembering his presence on the ship despite a big knock to the head on Karn in a tremendous reference to The Night of the Doctor. I thought Paul McGann was excellent as the Eighth Doctor and the guest cast in his section were very strong. I liked Jasmine a lot as the villain and the one hiring killers rather than doing the killing herself. She was in charge of the beastly killer at hand here which worked well. I thought Edwards was a very fun character and I also really liked the concept of the Network as a psychic killer. I thoroughly enjoyed the description of its killing that I took for my opening quote and the sheer scale of that with millions falling victim was pretty spectacular. The Eighth Doctor having a plan of just convincing the killer to leave was amusing and I was a little taken aback by the lack of proactive action by each Doctor in this adventure. The idea of an enemy being inside the head of the population was terrific and the Network's return after literally just being disposed of was a great moment. The Doctor was escaping with Jasmine and left things be. I liked how that led into the Tenth Doctor's part in the story and hearing him alongside Arthur Darvill let my imagination run wild at the prospect of him and Rory meeting, but alas that wasn't to be as Darvill's character Cooke was far removed from our beloved companion. The resemblances between Cooke and Edwards worked well to correspond over the story. The prospect of Cooke and Joshi not getting their share of the seven billion credits was also a delightful moment. I thought it was a little harrowing to hear the Tenth Doctor's thoughts on his eighth incarnation and everything he has ahead of him with the Dark Times and the Time War. This Doctor was solemn in memory and remembering being lonely which was a little sad but an important reflection. I thought the ending was a little simplistic for the style of story but the Doctor's likening of events on Orriv to the Kotturuh was good. His reference to All Flesh is Grass and them being wiped out was a nice comment to bring something of finality to the overall series of releases. Overall, a great little story to finish and a new experience for myself, this could have been improved with a bit more time but still very good!

Rating: 8/10

Wednesdays for Beginners

"I've got a stalker."

Writer: James Goss

Format: Audio

Released: June 2017

Series: Lives of Captain Jack 1.02

Featuring: Captain Jack, Jackie

Synopsis

Captain Jack Harkness – time-travelling con-man, saviour of the Earth, and intergalactic adventurer. He has lived many lives...

Jack and Jackie Tyler must unite to rescue the Powell Estate from a force whose name Jackie can never say.

Verdict

Wednesdays for Beginners was a great little story to continue The Lives of Captain Jack's first series! It was a really nice adventure and a good insight into Captain Jack's time on the Powell Estate as was hinted at in Utopia. Of course, this was set during a time where Rose was off travelling with the Doctor which was good and I loved the continuity following on from the fate at the end of The Parting of the Ways with Jack hoping to find a way back to the TARDIS and the Doctor and Rose. It was pretty powerful stuff hearing how much Jack wanted to reunite with them and at this point in time I thought that was particularly intriguing given his connections to Torchwood. Pairing him with Jackie Tyler was a wonderful move and they gelled really well together. This was definitely a lot of fun and a lot of that had to do with Jack and Jackie's interaction. The latter believing the former to be her stalker was excellent and the way Jackie revelled in an American hunk checking her out, or so she thought, was terrific stuff. She was soaking it in and I wouldn't have expected anything less from her. Jack actually moving in on the Powell Estate was very interesting and I wonder if he does still have ownership of the property! His comments about finding the right Doctor were brilliant and I liked how that pointed to the possibility of him having encountered previous incarnations, or at least looked on from afar and been denied the chance to pick up his travels. It was quite an emotional tale for Jackie hearing how much she was missing Rose and feeling lonely so it was nice for her to get some company here. Hearing how much she wanted a gossip about Jack was great and having the entire population of the Powell Estate disappear around her was not ideal. There was nobody in and the fake postman routine she pulled on Jack was delightful stuff. Jackie at her best. The fog was a good element for the threat of the Harvesters and Jackie's continued comedic reaction to their name was a lot of fun, even if it went a little too long. The Powell Estate moving into its own reality bubble was very good and the concrete within crumbling because of the sheer amount of power needed to be converted to keep the reality going worked well. Everyone being out of phase was good and something I like when it happens and Jackie's memory and desire to want them to exist allowed Jack to see them after he initially couldn't which was intriguing. Jackie's efforts to put on a spread for the estate despite nobody being there was excellent and I loved how she was just getting on with things. The memory prism was a fun element and Jackie's annoyance at Jack giving it a name was terrific. She liked to keep things simple. Her continued comparisons of Jack to the Doctor were wonderful and I liked how they were able to talk about him. Jack also admited he knew Rose and Jackie wanting to know what her daughter was like in space was really touching. I liked how everything turned out to be a trap and when Jackie was close to solving things but not quite able, she called upon Rose which meant the Harvesters could soon have the Doctor. That was also tough for Jack as the TARDIS was heard but he had to urge Jackie to call off its arrival. From there, it was a little quick to have the Harvesters dealt with just by the TARDIS not showing, but hearing Jack and Jackie sat in the reality bubble waiting for it to dissipate and return to N-Spasce was lovely. Overall, a really good little audio!

Rating: 8/10

Shadow of the Sun

"There is danger in this ship's quiet."

Writer: Robert Valentine

Format: Audio

Released: May 2020

Series: FDA Special

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Leela, K9

Synopsis

After an accident, the TARDIS lands on a luxury star-liner. Leaving their ship to repair itself, the Doctor, Leela and K9 find themselves facing a great terror: mingling at a cocktail party. 

Something seems awry behind the pleasantries, however. Guests are going missing, and equipment is breaking down. When the Doctor investigates further he discovers that the star-liner is literally on course for disaster. 

But no-one seems surprised by this information, still less troubled. What's going on? And can the Doctor and his friends save everyone... when nobody wants to be saved?

Verdict

Shadow of the Sun was a fantastic audio adventure to serve as a lovely little bonus within the Fourth Doctor Adventures! It seems such a long time ago now when this audio release was announced as having been recorded entirely from the actors' homes and it sounded really interesting so I'm glad to have finally picked it up and listened as it's a real delight. Of course, at the time of release home recording was something of a novelty but it has very much now become the norm which is a big shame. However, you really couldn't tell that this was performed in isolation or over Zoom as everything flowed well and I thought all of the actors bounced off each other really well. The premise of the story was something I liken to The End of the World except they were on a moving ship rather than stationary Platform One. The beginning with Professor Nicely being forced out of the airlock set a dark tone but thanks to the Autopilot we had quite an upbeat feeling. I'm a big fan of the cause of evil sounding cheery as it's rather unsettling and that works well. I loved the arrival of the Fourth Doctor, Leela and K9 and the former trying to get his companion to mingle was terrific. Leela was on point here as per usual in the companion role and I think she works so well alongside K9. Her recalling the events of The Face of Evil and explaining why she travels with the Doctor was delightful and I liked how out of place she felt at the party. The Doctor's relationship with Lady Malina was really good and I thought she was a great character as a whole. Zorn was also a very good character and I liked the twist with all indications pointing to him being the culprit behind the actions of the Autopilot, only for it to actually be Hix. Admittedly, I didn't see that coming so I quite enjoyed being taken by surprise. The threat of a collision with the Sun was pretty damning and it also had elements of 42 given the close proximity shared to our Solar System's central star. I enjoy the idea of exploring close to the Sun because obviously it's impossible in reality so any interpretations are most welcomed in my view. I really liked the concept of Heliotopia because of how ludicrous it was and that resulting in nearly all of the ship's crew not accepting sanctuary aboard the TARDIS was an incredible way to end the audio. His himself even apparently turning to their religion by the end was testament to the power of the Helios Society, but as we heard that was all in vain. It really is quite something for the Doctor to have to leave by the end of the story and leave all those refusing to be saved to their deaths at the hands of vaporisation. All those screams! It was incredible stuff. I thought the pace of the adventure was fantastic and I have to give credit as well to the background music. It was excellent throughout and really helped with the flow of the story. Impressive. The Doctor causing mild panic at the party when he was revealing the truth behind the ship's route path was very good and exactly what you'd expect of the fourth incarnation. A little more from K9 could have been good, but his realisation that the escape doors could be opened manually was an important contribution. As a whole, I thought this was a brilliant little audio and a much welcomed bonus! 

Rating: 9/10

Grounded

"The nuttiest of the nutters."

Writer: Una McCormack 

Format: Short Story

Released: November 2019

Printed in: The Target Storybook 11

Featuring: Clive Finch

Synopsis

"We're all stories in the end..."

In this exciting collection you'll find all-new stories spinning off from some of your favourite Doctor Who moments across the history of the series.

Discover what happened next, what went on before, and what occurred off-screen in an inventive selection of sequels, side-trips, foreshadowings and first-hand accounts – and look forward too, with a brand new adventure for the Thirteenth Doctor.

Each story expands in thrilling ways upon aspects of Doctor Who's enduring legend. With contributions from show luminaries past and present – including Colin Baker, Matthew Waterhouse, Vinay Patel, Joy Wilkinson and Terrance Dicks – The Target Storybook is a once-in-a-lifetime tour around the wonders of the Whoniverse.

Verdict

Grounded was a fun little adventure to continue along my reading of The Target Storybook! I feel like I'm in the home stretch now when it comes to this whacky little collection of stories and we firmly entered the modern era of Doctor Who with this particular contribution that was an intriguing use of the Ninth Doctor era. I'll be honest, I would have definitely preferred a new adventure with the Ninth Doctor and Rose purely on the basis that there just aren't enough stories out there for Christopher Eccleston's incarnation, but that doesn't mean to say that we got wasn't good! Because it really was and I think this could have been added in the collection alongside an outing for the Ninth Doctor. With the way this story ended with Mr Palmer using his own device to wipe the memory of Clive Finch of what had happened with saving the alien and reuniting it with its people, I was almost half expecting him to reveal himself as the Doctor! Of course, the illustration that accompanies the start of this adventure should have eradicated those thoughts from my head before they even got there. It's quite strange to think how much of a renowned character Clive Finch has become after what was only a pretty brief appearance in Rose. He's grown in stature thanks to the likes of the Rose novelisation and his appearance in The Dimension Canon series and I get the feeling that there is still more to come from him. His fascination with the Doctor is brilliant and I would love for him to one day meet the Doctor, whichever incarnation that may be. I'd just love to see his reaction. He dealt well here with encountering the alien and I think it is a little shame that he will have no memory of helping Mr Palmer. His son Ben was actually the focal character of the story which was interesting and I loved how well McCormack was able to capture childhood in her writing. It was really impressive and as someone who definitely got into their fair share of trouble as a child thanks to a football, I could relate a lot to what I was reading and it gave me a bit of a nostalgia kick to be honest. I really liked it. Getting pally with dad to not quite be severely grounded was fun and with myself having a baby boy on the way, I do wonder if I'll follow suit! It wouldn't at all surprise me if that happens, especially if any evidence as a cat dad is to go by! Ben clearly got on well with his dad Clive which was nice to read and even though he thought his focus on aliens and the Doctor in his shed was a bit over the top, he still admired him and saw him as a grown up which I liked. The alien presence at the heart of the story was something simple which was just as well given that Clive was our familiar character and it was simple case of reuniting a lost alien with the rest of its ship and species. Mr Palmer was a right nutter and I liked the clarity surrounding that, but he served as a much needed point of intelligence to accompany Clive. All three of them promising not to blurt out a word to mum about not adhering to the grounding was very good and as a whole, I thought this was just a nice, solid and simple little tale. Overall, a good read!

Rating: 8/10

A Small Semblance of Home

"I don't what day it is anymore."

Writer: Paul Phipps

Format: Audio

Released: September 2018

Series: 8.09

Featuring: First Doctor, Susan, Ian, Barbara

Synopsis

It's become his obsession. Through the hottest of deserts and the coldest of snows, the TARDIS crew have searched for the one remaining piece of the Doctor's most important experiment. But now Barbara's exhausted. Why hasn't the Doctor learned his lesson? What's so important that his scientific curiosity outweighs the safety of the crew once again? And will his latest arrogant trespass be the last he ever makes?

Verdict

A Small Semblance of Home was a tremendous little Short Trips adventure! I thought this was an excellent story from start to finish and it explored a lot of what makes that first TARDIS quartet so brilliant. I liked how things were clearly still early on for Ian and Barbara after stumbling aboard the TARDIS during the events of An Unearthly Child and it was still a little difficult for them to adjust to their new lives. Barbara in particular was getting exhausted by the Doctor's latest crazed plan and her struggles with dealing with the concept of time on board a time and space machine were mightily intriguing. I was a big fan of that and I loved her efforts to try and keep track of time and what day it was in order to maintain some sense of normality. Would it be possible to achieve that travelling in the TARDIS though? I really do have my doubts, especially with the first incarnation and when he gets in an obsessive mood like we heard here! I thought Carol Ann Ford did a wonderful job as the narrator of the episode and I really liked her take on William Hartnell's First Doctor. It was very impressive and definitely one of the best takes for his incarnation from a female narrator! Nothing can come close to Peter Purves though! The connections this story had to The Daleks and the Doctor trying to achieve some scientific goal or experiment and supposedly not caring for the safety, concerns or even desires of his companions was magnificent. That's exactly what I would expect of the early First Doctor so that was fun to see another example of here. The First Doctor being up to no good and keeping nobody in the loop is definitely one of my favourite elements of the incarnation. He's so mischievous and even without Hartnell in the role here, it's still great imagery to have him chuckling in my head. Susan trying to defend the actions of her grandfather only to later regret not stopping from exiting the TARDIS was good and I enjoyed how ebullient the Doctor was after landing on the planet with its acidic qualities. His experiment was a closely guarded secret which I liked and the end result was not anything I was expecting in the slightest! The use of the tribe and Nylok as its head worked very well and I enjoyed the Doctor taking advantage of their somewhat lack of intellectual qualities. The soil on the ground coming from Earth but the planet not being Ian and Barbara's home world was an intriguing occurrence and I really liked how that suited the Doctor's plans. The tribe having guarded the plant of camellia sinuses was good and finding out what this was Latin for was an extradorinary revelation. This plant having evolved over the generations with the tribe forgetting why they were guarding it was terrific and it supposedly having the powers to take you back in time was magnificent with the double meaning if it taking one back to normality and home. It was tea! Tremendous stuff. Barbara was delighted to have a cuppa and reminisce about her Sundays which was lovely and I really liked how the Doctor's experiment was all centred on appraising her and making her feel somewhat normal in the TARDIS and having something to remind her of home. The way everything tied back at the end was delightful. Overall, an excellent audio!

Rating: 9/10

The Year After I Died

"You were one of the people who fought the Daleks on the Game Station."

Writer: Guy Adams

Format: Audio

Released: June 2017

Series: Lives of Captain Jack 1.01

Featuring: Captain Jack

Synopsis

Captain Jack Harkness – time-travelling con-man, saviour of the Earth, and intergalactic adventurer. He has lived many lives.

Set in the year 200,101, on an Earth ravaged by the Daleks, Jack struggles to save humanity from its oldest enemy.

Verdict

The Year After I Died was a decent story to kick off the first series of The Lives of Captain Jack spinoff. Of course, Captain Jack already stars as the lead character in his own spinoff of Torchwood but it's great to get some inserts of his life, or lives, between his forced departure from travelling with the Ninth Doctor and Rose to becoming a part of Torchwood. It's a really intriguing time for Jack and placing this episode just a year after the events of The Parting of the Ways was a big appeal for me. It's such an interesting time for Jack as a character and it's really clear to see how much he has developed by the time the first series of Torchwood comes around. So filling in some of the gaps for his character is an absolute joy from Big Finish. I have been wanting to get started on this series for a very long time now and I was delighted to pick up all three series in the recent sale from Big Finish. I was kind of expecting a little more from the first episode despite my good rating and I think my initial disappointment was how little of Jack we actually had in the first twenty minutes or so! Silo was a very good character and I liked her relationship with Jack, but I didn't think it worked well for the opening episode of the series to not feature a lot of the main character for the first chunk! Still, his presence was felt with Silo acknowledging that she should have adhered to Jack's warning regarding Trear Station. I liked how Jack was known to Silo from having been on the Game Station and fighting the Daleks and the period in Jack's life here being one where he wanted a quiet life and lived in a cabin was excellent because I just couldn't imagine him settling down and living quietly! The setting of 200,101 was intriguing and hearing of how ravaged the Earth was after the Dalek attacks was brilliant. I really liked the continuity and whilst I think it was very good to explore and it was good to hear things from Jack's quiet perspective, I thought a little more could have occurred regarding the wider Earth and how damaged it was. Attempting to get humans off the home world was also great and the situation was clearly dire with the likes of rations but Jack seemed to be doing well. The Hope Foundation was clearly a sham and I thought Vortia made a pretty decent villain. Her wanting of eyes in the literal sense was not expected and I liked the audacity of literally taking anything she wanted. Humanity was being taken advantage of in the biggest way after being a species and planet in ruins. I feel like one episode for Jack in this time period isn't enough to give it the exploration required, but I really loved the ending with Jack sacrificing himself to put an end to the Trear Station situation and thinking that this was why he was given a second sense. Him describing his revival on the Game Station as blacking out and not realising that he had actually been exterminated was fantastic and I loved how he survived once again here! It was his first taste of realising he might just be immortal and whilst it wasn't clear if he'd accepted that fact yet, it was so much fun to get an early example of this happening. Gorky turned out to be an interesting character, but I wasn't much of a fan of the ending he shared with Vortia. For me, this was all about Jack and whilst I would have wanted more from the time period, this was a good little episode to start the series and see Jack revive for the first time following the Game Station death. 

Rating: 7/10

The Stone Rose

"Without art, life would have no meaning!"

Writer: Jacqueline Rayner

Format: Novel

Released: April 2006

Series: NSA 07

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Mickey

Synopsis

Mickey is startled to find a statue of Rose in a museum – a statue that is 2,000 years old. The Doctor realises that this means the TARDIS will shortly take them to Ancient Rome, but when it does, he and Rose soon have more on their minds than sculpture. 

While the Doctor searches for a missing boy, Rose befriends a girl who claims to know the future –  a girl whose predictions are surprisingly accurate. But then the Doctor stumbles on the hideous truth behind the statue of Rose – and Rose herself learns that you have to be very careful what you wish for...

Verdict

The Stone Rose was an excellent novel! This was my first book to feature the Tenth Doctor and Rose and with the proximity of my Series 2 rewatch through the modern era, the timing just felt right when it came to fancying an NSA to read this afternoon. I'm a big fan of Jaqueline Rayner as an author and her quirky style certainly didn't let me down here. She captured the era ever so well which was surprising in hindsight as I found that this novel was actually released prior to the broadcast of New Earth! That's quite rare but it's nice to fill in a little gap and explain why we see the Doctor and Rose depart at the start of that episode as well as setting there sights on departure at the end of The Christmas Invasion. I loved the premise of the start of the book with Mickey finding a statue of Rose in the British Museum that was two millennia old and that decided the next TARDIS adventure for the Doctor and Rose with all sights set on second century Rome. The excitement there was fantastic and I loved how unique of a setting this felt for this pairing. It worked really well and the era as a whole just felt guanine. It really did have a feel akin to The Fires of Pompeii which was superb. The image of the Doctor and Rose in traditional Roman wear was wonderful and some of the comments amongst the pairing were a lot of fun. Their relationship throughout was really terrific and the passage regarding the Doctor almost having married an elephant was delightful. I thought there was a strong batch of characters in this one with Gracilis certainly a standout. He instantly took a liking to the Doctor and Rose after they offered to lend a helping hand and aid him in his search for his missing son Optatus. That set in motion a pretty rapid chain of events as we learned that he hadn't been seen for four days and the last person to see him was Ursus, the private sculptor hired to create a statue for his sixteenth birthday. The unveiling came as the Doctor and Rose arrived and the former being immediately suspicious of the sculptor was magnificent. It was clear right from the off that Ursus hadn't been challenged like this before and later finding out that Optatus wasn't the first was not a surprise. It was a good development and I enjoyed discovering that he actually thought he was doing the bidding of the goddess Minerva. The Doctor being provided with a phial containing the solution required to revert the statues back to their life form was intriguing and the familiarity of the voice that provided it gave us a good indication of the paradoxical elements to come. When Rose inevitably became petrified, the panic induced by the Doctor was telling, especially when he went back to the British Museum with Mickey and the solution didn't work. Except, that was a good thing because this wasn't the real Rose. I thought the later development that it was actually the Doctor that had sculpted the Rose statue was such a lovely touch. It was by someone who knew her well, and who better than he? Vanessa was another fantastic character and I liked how her character was threaded out over the course of the novel. At first appearing as a slave prophet, she was actually from the twenty-fourth century which was brilliant! Her revealing knowledge of Hadrian's Wall and England and Scotland without them actually existing yet was a clever way to reveal there was more to her, and it was great that Rose thought nothing of it but it didn't get past the Doctor. Her role in bringing the GENIE to the period was great and I thought that anagram was just tremendous. The idea of wishes being granted through technological means was very good and I thought the future history of Earth explanation from the Doctor and how the GENIE's brought about its end was excellent. This particular GENIE turned out to be the first which was why it hadn't been wiped out, and Rose wanting to ensure that it was free and happy was a fantastic fate for it. Overall, this was a lovely read! 

Rating: 9/10