The Ordeal of Peladon

"The old ways are reasserting themselves."

Writers: Jonathan Barnes & Robert Valentine 

Format: Audio

Released: January 2022

Series: Peladon 1.01

Featuring: King Peladon

Synopsis

When King Peladon hears of a holy man with seemingly magical powers and the gift of foresight, he resolves to discover the truth of it for himself. But his quest to understand the shifting loyalties of his people is one from which he cannot return unchanged.

Verdict

The Ordeal of Peladon was an excellent start to the Peladon boxset! I'm a huge fan of the idea behind this collection of stories on the enigmatic world of Peladon, and I thought things started well with King Peladon's narration giving a brief but welcomed account of Peladon for those, admittedly like myself, who haven't encountered the planet in quite a while. Peladon was a world of science and new technology that was proud to be part of the community of the Galactic Federation. It was a good little start, as was the introduction to Skarn who was just a fisherman until he suddenly became all knowing and wise. He seemed to have healing abilities and was apparently sent from the voices inside his head, voices he claimed were the Old Gods of Peladon. It was all very mysterious and certainly captured my attention to kick things off. Skarn was offering help to Harfair and he somehow knew of her daughter that couldn't walk. It appeared he'd garnered quite the reputation on Peladon, so much so that the King wanted to know more about him and why his subjects flocked to him. The King was concerned that Skarn was filling the void left by his seclusion. It was audible that the King was a lot older than when we encountered him during the Third Doctor era, and that worked well in showing us that Peladon had moved on from events of The Curse and The Monster of Peladon. I should also mention I'm a big fan of this boxset continuing the 'of Peladon' titles. For whatever reason, I wasn't expecting to hear an Ice Warrior in this episode so to have Ixmari awaken was a delight alongside Skanlar assisting him. Their journey to Peladon had nearly ended and that meant their investigation could begin. Harfair having become a disciple of Skarn was great and she was sent to the King's Court to warn of a shadow falling and that Peladon had gone off its path. She wanted the King to meet Skarn, and that would prove troublesome for Ixmari's mission. I loved the cameo from Alpha Centauri and do hope she features more in the boxset, and she was keen to reiterate the Warrior's mission. I liked that the King liberated Harfair from ail because of his desire to learn more about Skarn, and their journey to Antonar was not an easy one! Ixmari's scanning for the King and finding him not present was amusing, especially with Raarlan trying to cover it up as best an advisor could. Ixmari offering to help find him was good but he set a hard deadline of one cycle or the inspection of Peladon was failed. The raiders in the wilderness provided some good action and I liked the dynamic of Raarlan wanting Harfair dead despite the King's fascination with her. Ixmari sure enough located the monarch and we soon ensued to an audience with Skarn which was really nicely done. I enjoyed the deity theme for Harfair and how she was given a task through Skarn from them, and the name of the Great Lake of Undoing where Skarn found the gods was fantastic. It was a place of great mystery and only Skarn could touch the waters, coloured like blood. But this was something Ixmari had seen before and he knew that the lake was contaminated by a mineral toxin and that didn't sit well with Harfair at all! She proclaimed the Ice Warrior as an agent of darkness and brutally attacked him which led the King to appeal to Skarn to save him, in return for his following. That surprised me a bit, but Skarn was unable to save Ixmari who passed away and this allowed Skarn to see he truly had no power. It turned out he had fallen in the poisonous lake and had been hallucinating greatly, with his supposed healing often being chance with there surely being other failures not publicised. It all came crashing down for Skarn, but his comment about the Doctor and how he descended from the heavens in a blue box really intrigued me What we got from there and the day that changed everything took me by surprise in a wonderful way as the Tenth Doctor emerged! Hearing David Tennant was absolutely delightful and it was lovely to get a genuine surprise. His comments about Peladon being in his top ten planets was marvellous and the Doctor knew of Skarn as the one who started it all. He kicked Peladon into the opposite of a New Age of Enlightenment and he could already see those forces driving him inside. Skarn knew the Doctor without being told a name, but the Doctor was helpless to interfere as he was already caught up in events in previous bodies, probably alluding to future episodes in this very boxset, and he couldn't interfere as this was a fixed point whilst the web of time was fragile. I thought that was outstanding and really set us up nicely for where this series is going. Skarn had suffered from mineral poisoning and that was that for him, whilst Peladon's mining operations were ongoing but the death of Ixmari needed to be explained to the Galactic Federation which wouldn't go down well! Raarlan supposedly winning as the King accepted he should do as he was advised was a good touch to their relationship, but bringing things full circle with Harfair once again in jail but the King refusing to free her this time was excellent. She still heard Skarn and she warned of chaos ahead, and I expect that's where we'll pick things up in the next episode! Overall, a strong start indeed.

Rating: 9/10

In Remembrance

"No one fights a Dalek and lives."

Writer: Guy Adams

Format: Audio

Released: July 2018

Series: Class Vol 2.02

Featuring: Ace, Miss Quill, Charlie

Synopsis

When an alarm is triggered at Coal Hill Academy, Quill and Charlie encounter a mysterious intruder prowling around school premises. Worse, they also encounter a Dalek. Their only hope of survival lies with the stranger: a woman who calls herself 'Ace'...

Verdict

In Remembrance was a fantastic story to conclude the second volume of audio adventures of Class from Big Finish! I must admit that I’ve been taken by surprise with the first two boxsets of the spin-off range and whilst I actually expected stories featuring all of the main cast together, the approach of splitting everyone up makes sense considering the episodes are set between stories we saw on television. I’m a big fan of Miss Quill and it was fun to have her alongside Charlie for this finale given their troubled and complicated relationship. They were investigating mysterious goings on at Coal Hill and I loved the idea of someone breaking past the school alarm, but Quill had her own alarm system in place because she would be interested in anyone that could bypass the traditional systems. I thought that was fun and really strong characterisation. Finding that the person who broke in was Ace was delightful and it was excellent to hear a familiar voice from the world of Doctor Who in this series. With Ace barely introducing herself, a Dalek also tore through the tear to arrive and really give credence to the episode! Quill seemed to have extensive knowledge of the Daleks which was great and Charlie not sharing that, showing no fear because he didn’t think the Daleks could even conquer stairs was magnificent. Of course, given the connections this story had with Remembrance of the Daleks and the historic permutations that had for the Daleks and stairs, that was really nicely done. Ace and Quill laughed at his comments because they knew just how deadly the Daleks were, but before they could continue their humour Charlie was taken through the tear! On the other side he was met with a destroyed Dalek on the other side along with a soldier guarding. It was wonderful to have him going back to 1963 at the time of the Dalek battle that took place during the Seventh Doctor era. I thought the relationship between Quill and Ace was very strong and definitely a highlight of the episode, with their connections to the Doctor being very different indeed. I liked how Ace realised the Doctor that Quill knew would be different to her own incarnation, and it was lovely for Quill to show some sort of respect or acknowledge she was impressed by the fact that Ace had attended the Academy on Gallifrey. I think there’s a lot of potential for Quill’s character in the wider Doctor Who universe but I’m not sure I’d be in favour of her featuring heavily elsewhere given the recast of the actress. Ace realising that she knew where Charlie went because the displacement was effecting her memory and she recalled meeting her during the time of the Hand of Omega ordeal. I was really impressed with Sophie Aldred differentiating the age of her characters seamlessly, and it was fun for her to meet Charlie again as her younger self. The Dalek being from 1963 was superb and provided a lot of potential. Quill’s sentiment to the Doctor and not being a fan of what Ace described to her about his actions with the Hand of Omega and how it started the Time War was intriguing, and it was a little difficult to argue with really! The ingenuity of the Dalek in researching on the internet and accessing UNIT files was tremendous and it soon gathered what occurred during the Shoreditch Incident. That set in play its course of action and wanting to change the past based on the knowledge gained from the research! That was impressive and I liked how even Quill admired the effort. Charlie seeing a police box in 1963 and thinking it was the Doctor’s TARDIS was delightful and a lovely throwback to The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith. Quill continued to provide humour with Ace’s plan of the deodorant can to destroy the Dalek was marvellous and just a lot of fun! The Dalek attempting to appeal to Quill by offering the chance to get Charlie back was good, and you could tell she was accepting with gritted teeth given her inner turmoil. But it was better than death! Quill linking Daleks to men who like to brag about their genitalia and how they’re often misleading was amusing and a nice way to keep with the adult them. She helped the Dalek and even wrapped Ace up in a hose to ensure she didn’t interfere, but she did have a safety net by refusing to repair the Dalek’s gun following Ace’s explosion. Quill going back in time with the Dalek was a little surprising, but she knew it would die anyway and that’s exactly what happened in quick fashion given the divide in the Dalek ranks! I thought that was slightly risky and a little bit like cheating from a writing perspective, but it was nice to know she had a plan all along to get Charlie back. Overall, a brilliant adventure to conclude the series!

Rating: 9/10

Now You Know...

"We've got to find someone who is being bullied."

Writer: Tim Leng

Format: Audio

Released: July 2018

Series: Class Vol 2.02

Featuring: Tanya, Mattheusz 

Synopsis

Following a series of freak attacks on staff and pupils, Tanya and Matteusz find themselves investigating a mystery that dates back to the 1960s. Together, they hope to solve it – even if that means turning on one another to do so...

Verdict

Now You Know... was a decent little story to continue the second series of audio adventures for Class from Big Finish. This allowed a focus on what I'd consider two of the least exciting cast members in the for of Tanya and Matteusz, and I wouldn't ordinarily think of those two working well as a pair. We started though with Tanya and her childhood best friend of Michelle, who was less than keen on her new friends that form the main cast of Class. Things soon started to boil at Coal Hill following an attack on the caretaker and Matteusz was quick to let Tanya know everything that was going on with the multitude of crowds at the school alongside the media frenzy. I thought the discussions between Tanya and Matteusz regarding popularity were very powerful and probably the highlight of this particular adventure. It was a good way to incorporate the school setting, although I'm still having trouble seeing Tanya as a fourteen-year-old as she is far more mature than that in my opinion. Chris talking down to the pair was a little sad and Matteusz confronting him afterwards had us on the brink of violence, but then it came in a strange form with the tear at the school ensuing and something coming through to protect Matteusz was intriguing. I also liked the idea of him hearing the caretaker within the tear as that led us to think those already taken were being kept beyond in some kind of realm. I found the coverup from Coal Hill putting the medical instances down to a bacteria was amusing and I did enjoy Tanya's hacking of the school emails to get information on what was happening. Mr Deacons the caretaker was comatose and unresponsive in a deteriorating condition, whilst Chris was in a similar situation. Things looked bleak for those effected by the mysterious voice proclaiming that now they knew. Michelle's racism and sexual disparaging of Matteusz was awkward as a way to precede her getting attacked from the same boy. Tanya realising that there was a pattern of bullies being targeted was great and I liked the idea of the culprit being a child from the past. Hearing Coal Hill referred to as a school instead of academy was wonderful and Tanya scouring the digital files to try and find the identity of the boy was brilliant as we got a lovely reference to An Unearthly Child with two schoolteachers and a pupil going missing in 1963. Marvellous. She soon found that he was Peter Dillard who went missing in 1969, whilst Matteusz just found him attractive which was a bit out of place. The appeals of his mother Brenda through the years and seeing them through the archived news was very good. Tanya and Matteusz trying to be nasty to each other in effort to attract Peter to them was a little laughable as I just couldn't take them seriously, but the logic was sound. He eventually did come and reeled off his personal story of being bullied and how he was taken away from it all through the rift, and he was now in union with the creature as the two had a relationship where it could learn about humanity whilst Peter took revenge. Tanya and Matteusz following Peter into the tear was good and I liked how Tanya challenged Peter about him being a bully himself now, even though it's something we've seen many times before. He just wanted to scare not kill, and upon giving up the realm was destroyed and everyone returned to normal in a neat little conclusion. Overall, a decent little story! 

Rating: 7/10

Everybody Loves Regan

"You make me feel strange. I don't like you."

Writer: Tim Foley

Format: Audio

Released: August 2018

Series: Class Vol 2.01

Featuring: April, Ram, Tanya

Synopsis

When Reagan Harper joins Coal Hill Academy, everybody instantly loves her – everybody except for April. Is there really more to Reagan than meets the eye? Or are there other forces at work in Coal Hill?

Verdict

Everybody Loves Reagan was an excellent start to the second volume of Class audios from Big Finish! I thought this was probably the best story yet from the spinoff range in this format and I liked that we had three of the cast together for the first time on audio. It gave it a feeling of completeness which was good and I also enjoyed that Charlie and Mattheusz were mentioned which rounded out the entire main cast of the teenagers. April is a lovely character and I liked how she was trying to set up a buddy scheme after school. She's always trying to engage and interact by extracurricular activity and I admire her for that. Her efforts to help her get to Switzerland on an exchange programme for three months didn't go down well with Ram who was clearly unhappy despite the fact the pair had only recently got together. April's scheme was saved from disaster by the titular character of Reagan who joined up, but after interacting with her April ended up still at school three hours later with no sign of her new buddy. She'd spaced out and Reagan had disappeared which really set the scene for an enigmatic feel to the story. Tanya knowing Reagan was intriguing and I was fascinated to find that she'd been attending Coal Hill since the start of term as April hadn't known her. That was coupled with the fact Ram knew her as well and was the one who sent her to April's scheme after some fan girling at the football. Mrs Garrett being unconscious added to the uneasy feeling the audio had given she was a councillor. I really loved that April was bothered by Reagan and didn't hide her feelings. She felt there was something wrong with Reagan, but before she knew she found herself zoned out again after interacting with her. So she did a deep dive which I loved and shocked Ram, finding that no other previous schools in the area of Manchester, where she claimed to be from, had a Reagan on file. The way Reagan took over the buddy scheme was quite spiteful and harsh on April who I felt sorry for throughout. Ram thinking he took Reagan to the prom instead of Rachel was the final straw and April recalled the events of For Tonight We Might Die really strongly. Tam also claimed to have known her since primary school despite Coal Hill being nowhere near Manchester, and she was dismissive of the obvious falsehood. Reagan holding a rally was good and her threat of hoping that everyone survived was fantastic. Ram starting to remember the memories was great and I loved the concept of Reagan slipping into bad memories and making them better. That purpose was excellent. She fed ons trees so a school was the perfect setting for that, but she was annoyed that Reagan was different and just got more stressed after each spacing out instead of being refreshed. The idea of Reagan being from the planet Manchester amused me and was a bit of a stretch for me, but April's moment at the end in forcing Ram to remember Rachel and ensure that all of the bad memories weren't made better was brilliant. She sent Reagan packing her bags in a terrific way. Overall, a very strong opener! 

Rating: 9/10

Heritage: The Ghosts of Greenwich

"A premonition of the future."

Writer: Paul Morris

Format: Audio

Released: June 2019

Series: Paternoster Gang 1.03

Featuring: Vastra, Jenny, Strax

Synopsis

Strange things are happening to the people of Greenwich. Phantoms of the living appear, while others are aged beyond their years. A clocked figure stalks the streets, and time is out of joint.

Vastra, Jenny and Strax find all clues points towards the Meridian Line. Beneath the Royal Observatory lies a secret – something terribly ancient and horribly dangerous...

Verdict

The Ghosts of Greenwich was a really fun adventure to conclude the first volume of Heritage and the first series of adventures with the Paternoster Gang! I seem to have really flown through this boxset and it really was a delightful start to the range. I thought this concluded strongly and we've ended up with a very high quality boxset! I really liked the premise behind this one and the focus on the setting of Greenwich. Strax's humour was magnificent in referring to the place as a green witch, but he soon came around to the quirk of the English language. He probably had his strongest showing in this audio and I really liked the value he placed on the gossip and information provided from Smallpiece because he was a drunkard. He knew all the finest establishments in London and to Strax, his ability to drink copious amounts of alcohol meant his word was very trustworthy. Jenny didn't share those options and her reacquainting with him didn't go down too well! I really liked how much Vastra's position as the Great Detective was admired in the audio and she certainly had a reputation that preceded her when it came to investigating the abnormal. Her search for the strange in the newspapers was great and I loved Strax asking if she had found anything satisfactory, something preferably requiring immediate action and violence. The idea of a premonition of ghosts was fascinating and I liked how it could be used as a warning for those seen ghostly but not already dead. The thought of seeing someone as a ghost who wasn't dead, only for them to then die, was a startling one but it's a concept I really enjoyed. The eery feel felt right in line with the Victorian setting and that's also where the man in the cloak fitted in very nicely. I thought Plumstead made for a good villain and his belief that he was manipulating and in control of the creature was great, if not a little sad for the deranged man. I loved the focus on the Royal Observatory and the idea of the Meridian Line not actually being a human construct was terrific. Vastra's reaction to that was marvellous. Using her existence and the fact she was from a time of 65,000,000 years ago in a story focused on time was very good. I enjoyed the concept of negative chronons and the analogy to anti-matter was really useful in understanding the effect they were having on Greenwich. I loved that the situation in this region had been occurring throughout centuries past and Vastra scribbling on a library map to find the pattern was very amusing. Plumstead turning out to be the same man he claimed was his great-grandfather was a good reveal if not a little predictable when it turned out that victims were being aged, whilst he was being given immortality. Vastra appealing to him and showing him that the creatures were actually using him was very good, and the only way was to give up his life and finally call his time on life. He'd had a good innings, but these creatures couldn't be allowed to control the time around Greenwich any longer. Overall, a really good story to conclude the series! 

Rating: 8/10

Heritage: A Photograph to Remember

"Memorial photographs are our specialty."

Writer: Roy Gill

Format: Audio

Released: June 2019

Series: Paternoster Gang 1.02

Featuring: Vastra, Jenny, Strax

Synopsis

The Paternoster Gang are shocked to discover a rival group on the streets. A Sonataran, a Silurian and a human – only their intentions are not quite so noble as Madama Vastra and friends.

And when the recently-photographed dead begin to return home, strangely altered, will this 'Bloomsbury Bunch' be more of a help or a hindrance?

Verdict

A Photograph to Remember was another great story to continue my way through Heritage and the solo adventures of the Paternoster Gang! This was a bit darker than the opening instalment of The Cars That Ate London! but the premise of a rival gang was a lot of fun. Speaking of fun, I thought the way things opened with Jenny and Strax together was wonderful and I really enjoy the dynamic that pairing has together. They're so different and it makes everything so much fun, The concept of spirit photographs was great and felt very Victorian, and I have to say I was impressed with the atmosphere during this story. It felt smoggy and that's what I imagine this era like. It was a little disturbing to have posthumous memorials in the form of photographs as that just didn't seem possible! The human cloaking of Stonn was a little poor as that familiar Sontaran voice was so clear in the audio format, we just knew the true identity. The premise of this adventure having the dead coming back to life with different identities was horrifying as imagine seeing a loved one return to life, only for them not to be who you remember. That must be emotional torment on another level! Jenny faking the death of Strax to try and get her way in on the act was good, and before long the entire Bloomsbury Bunch were revealed! Vella was a fantastic character as the Silurian of the Bunch and she even attacked Jenny, not sharing the same sentiment towards humanity that Vastra did. Tom being the human element of the trio was a pretty good character and his desire for photography played a big part in the eventual heart of the story. I liked how the Bloomsbury Bunch knew all about the Paternoster Gang and didn't exactly have good opinions on them. Tom being romantically involved with Stonn felt a bit too much of a stretch to try and contrast the Paternoster Gang, but I definitely didn't see it coming! Stonn being the one to command the Bunch was fun and his counterpart Vastra showing her admiration for humanity was a sharp contrast to Vella whom she was keen to engage with as she thought there were no other Silurians around. Strax and Ethel being chased by the undead revenants was full of action and the latter suffered a deadly fate. That showed the threat of the revenants in a big way. The Gang and Bunch realising they needed to form a temporary alliance was great and I liked how Vella was aggravated by it, giving me vibes of Cold Blood/The Hungry Earth. Stonn and Strax meeting was a delight as they tried to work out the hierarchy and where they stood in Sontaran command. Marvellous humour. Tom's camera containing a Malampus crystal was a little weird and not the emphatic reveal I was expecting, but I did like the it had an aura and was used as a divine method to find hidden truth. The use of the glass negatives being intermingled with the other photographs was nice done and I loved the description of imprinting like a shadow. The conclusion hiding us towards freeing the prints to release the revenants was good but Tom didn't want to give them up. The final focal points of the lens being how they were animated was a decent final stretch and it needed to be destroyed, but Tom ran away. Stonn reasoning with his lover was very good although I was unsure about a Sontaran admitting he cared for something. The lens wasn't the art and Tom eventually saw reason which was nice. Vella's attack on Strax showed that the alliance was very much over and it was a fun prospect for Vastra to judge the Bloomsbury Bunch but that wouldn't happen as they teleported away. Surely they will be back throughout the series? I hope so, despite the coincidental believability of a similar trio. Overall, a very good audio! 

Rating: 8/10

Heritage: The Cars That Ate London!

"What we require is your non-cooperation."

Writer: Jonathan Morris

Format: Audio

Released: June 2019

Series: Paternoster Gang 1.01

Featuring: Vastra, Jenny, Strax

Synopsis

The advent of electric carriages on London's streets causes a stir – until they start careening out of control. Elsewhere, factory workers lose their senses, while a brand-new power plant suffers mysterious outages.

Genius industrialist Fabian Solak has a vision of the future – free from pollution, running on clean electricity. But Madame Vastra knows such ideas are ahead of their time...

Verdict

The Cars That Ate London! was a great start to the first volume of Heritage and the Paternoster Gang spinoff series! I am so delighted to have gotten started on this range as I think the trio of Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax were so good on television and it really is a no brainer to give them their own series. I loved the vibe that the title music provided and it was so in line with my expectation for the series. It was a fun start in Victorian London with Jenny buying some racing pigeons before an out-of-place electric carriage burst into explosion. I like how Vastra is clearly the one in charge as Jenny was quick to recall events to her. From there, I really liked how Inspector Cotton was on hand to request the urgent assistance of the Paternoster Gang following a mob attack on Beckett. I thought straight away that the Sumatran he described was actually going to be Strax, and it took a little while for the Sontaran to arrive on the scene. Vastra's questioning of the prisoner left over from the attack was good and I liked how she was using the effect she had on humanity to get answers, but he didn't have any memories. The prisoner had been emptied after searching for factory work with Solak. I liked how the Solak Factory was engaged in new electrical power which seemed a little ahead of its time, and that's what provided the intrigue. Strax being with Beckett for a bargain in trying to reenergise himself with the electrical current was terrific. The lack of subtlety in Strax causing a distraction at the factory was magnificent and it allowed the Gang to set off investigating after Solak. Strax's admiration for the efficiency of the factory and how it was stretching human resources was superb characterisation. Their plan to head to the management level on the top floor was good and I liked how Vastra recognised they were being observed in their quest to find what happened to those deemed with high intelligence. Strax's comment about wanting hand-to-hand combat with a car and thinking they had a tactical advantage because cars didn't have hands was excellent. The idea of what was essentially transformers in the Doctor Who universe pt a smile on my face. I also liked how Solak was getting the Gang's intelligence assessed, but Vastra was quick to challenge Solak on his contact with the future that she suspected. I liked the management structure and how it was a sphere containing the minds emptied of those deemed intelligent. The threat of Jenny being next would have made a perfect cliffhanger, but this one was all the way through. Solak having seen the future and what it would mean if fossil fuels were the power source for technology was fascinating, and I liked how there was something in his head opening a window to the future for him. Strax mustering the workforce at the factory to rebel was the perfect role for him and he was utilised well throughout. Madeline was an unfortunate character as she was interested in Solak, but he was married to his factory. The reveal that an extrapolator of a Sontaran battle computer was within Solak's head didn't seem like the big reveal it deserved, but it did make sense for it to follow the default objective of taking over the world. That explained the Automates search and the very idea of automobiles that could eat people was quite ludicrous! Solak having his mind emptied was a fitting result for his character, and Madeline would follow suit as sufficient intelligence was gathered for phase two of the project. Vastra didn't want to allow that though and her appeal to the humanity within was admirable. The downfall being that Strax's mind was attempted to be absorbed, but that just meant all of those minds already taken was filled with Sontaran aggression and they were fighting amongst themselves from within which caused the management sphere to overheat and cause detonation. The factory was rubble and the cars deactivated with no guiding intelligence to bring things to a neat end. Overall, a really strong start to the series! 

Rating: 8/10

The Queen of Time

"She was without doubt the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and the most deadly."

Writer: Brian Hayles (Adapted by Catherine Harvey)

Format: Audio

Released: October 2013

Series: Lost Stories 4.02

Featuring: Second Doctor, Jamie, Zoe

Synopsis

Somewhere outside our universe, she is waiting.

A god-like immortal, living in a realm of clocks. The hours tick slowly by as she plots and plans. She is readying her trap. A trap for a very special man in a very special police box.

Hecuba has all the time in the world. But for the Doctor, time is running out.

Verdict

The Queen of Time was an outstanding Lost Stories adventure! Whilst I can't really see this story having worked on television during the Second Doctor era, I thought this was a tremendous tale. I absolutely adored this from start to finish and it started interestingly with the woman infiltrating the TARDIS through the scanner and she was described as being beautiful and red nailed which painted quite an image. I liked how the Doctor thought she was familiar and the invitation was terrific. I loved the theme of time throughout and having clocks all around in the domain was excellent. The constant tick tock background noise was also brilliant and really made for an enigmatic feel. We even had cuckoos being threatening which was amusing. The clocks within Hecuba's domain being previous guests who didn't play well was intriguing and I loved the concept of the Grand Chronometer. It had the power to move time forwards or backwards, or to even freeze or loop it. Zoe's knowledge of one of these was great and I liked how Hecuba knew all about the Doctor. She was flirting with him which felt a little weird for the Second Doctor, but how uncomfortable that was for him made it magnificent. The pair embarked on a lengthy dinner whilst Jamie, entranced by the beautiful woman, and Zoe were kept captive. I liked the idea of becoming captive to Hecuba and time itself if one failed in the series of games that would follow, and in my note-making throughout listening I actually jotted down that it had a vibe of the Toymaker which came around nicely at the end! The Doctor not enjoying dinner didn't go down well with his host so she was quick to threaten his companions if he didn't undertake the challenge. The cliffhanger at the end of part one was sublime as the Doctor's metabolism was stopped and Jamie and Zoe had five minutes to find the clock governing his life or he'd never breath again! Zoe's intelligence shone in the resolution though as all they needed to do was find the clock that wasn't moving. Marvellous stuff. The TARDIS being in a time loop made a good explanation for how it was trapped in the domain and it was good that only by setting challenges did Hecuba have power to keep the Doctor captive. The dinner date music was excellent and I loved how out of his depth the Doctor seemed with a beautiful woman, especially in this incarnation. The Doctor being forced to watch on as Jamie and Zoe were jumped through time from 1066 to 1769 and then 2012 strapped in a rocket was brilliant, especially when that was set to explode on take off! Another fantastic cliffhanger. I thought Hecuba's challenge to the Doctor regarding his feeling of love towards his companions was powerful and she threw away the fact that they were merely frozen in time. The Doctor being forced to play soldier was superb and having him pick weapons was fun, and Hecuba's reaction to him picking peace was great. I loved the image of Jamie and Zoe being in an hour glass and the threat of sand was palpable, although I wasn't convinced by the Doctor's fake farewell message. Time was moving forward rapidly as we headed for another excellent cliffhanger with Zoe ageing uncontrollably! The control keys being the resolution was good and Jamie using shards to throw at the necessary letter was good, as we went backwards but that saw Zoe as a child. It was all going on. The outrage that ensued from Hecuba's dress having custard spilled on it was great and I liked how angry she was in chucking the Doctor into her time booth for the final challenge. The booth could summon any great event from human history which was a fun concept, as was the idea of the Doctor being kept as a grandfather clock if he was defeated. The Doctor trying to trick Hecuba by saying the hand of the Grand Chronometer was the only thing that could destroy the TARDIS was terrific, and they so nearly gave it away with Zoe blundering her thoughts that it was indestructible! I loved the picture of the TARDIS being lodged between the hands of the Chronometer to stop time, and the world will crumble with Hecuba trapped in the time booth following dematerialisation. The Doctor revealing at the end that Hecuba was the Toymaker's sibling was just tremendous, and as a whole this was an outstanding Lost Story!  

Rating: 10/10

Machines: 9 to 5

"Happiness makes for better workers."

Writer: Tim Foley

Format: Audio

Released: July 2018

Series: Torchwood One 2.03

Featuring: Yvonne, Ianto 

Synopsis

It's Monday morning. Stacey loves Mondays. Stacey loves every day. Stacey lives to work. She's a temp and she loves it. Only there's a man in the coffee queue who has a terrible warning for her. Stacey is going to die today.

Verdict

9 to 5 was a great story to conclude the Machines second series of Torchwood One! In my blogging of Blind Summit I mentioned how it appeared that this boxset was going to contain three individual stories rather than an arc going throughout the series, but I was completely wrong as this adventure brought the whole series full circle in an impressive way. I thought it started a little strangely with Stacey as the new temp but having Ianto arrive rather hastily to apparently save her and claim she didn't have long to live immediately provided some intrigue. Tanya was a very annoying character for her brief moments as Stacey's friend and her constant referral of her pal as babes was grating. I was so happy when she made a quick shift into a robot and was exploded into her component parts! I'm really not sure I could have gone an entire hour with her playing a big part. Yvonne's faking being the head of HR at Stacey's workplace was amusing and I liked how she was firmly wanting to know about the new project in place. Yvonne knew a great deal already and the moment she was trying to tell Stacey a home truth was a little sad. Stacey didn't know what the weather was like nor what transport she had arrived to working, because she was a robot. HQP as the employer was basically a dummy organisation with the initials not standing for anything and it was all part of a government file digitisation programme and they had gone to Temporary Solutions for some very cheap labour. The idea of the Temps was a little sad and the concept of them only existing between the hours of 9-5 was quite something! Stacey going to what she believed was her flat but it not being how her memories had it was sad as she came to the realisation of her life. But Stacey was different to other Temps with her developing traits and becoming more and more human with each date, and she was keen to help take down Temporary Solutions after learning her truth. Elaine Hartwell was a great character as the head of HQP and I liked her concerned interrogation of Stacey when it came to the security breaches. Stacey showing her loyalty to both sides was fun and it seemed a shame that the Temps schedule was to end today, meaning she'd likely die. Elaine being unable to infiltrate Torchwood as part of the programme, but that's where phase two kicked in and the idea of bring the master network online and putting Temps in every UK workplace. She would hold the private data as ransom against the government to enact this which was fun, and Yvonne was subjected to retrieve the information on Torchwood. Except, Yvonne was always in control as she realised that the Blind Summit tech had been utilised to create Elaine as a cheap copy – of Yvonne! That was a lot of fun to hear her revel in that moment. Elaine was a Temp too, but she wasn't the only villain. WOTAN was back which I adored! I didn't see the return coming so it was areal delight. WOTAN 2.0 was back and in full action, with Yvonne still required for installation. I think we needed a bit more of an explanation as to how it survived The Law Machines, but it was wonderful for it have Work Machines now! Marvellous. The idea of WOTAN couldn't be destroyed, but Stacey challenged it in a big way which was brilliant. Who did WOTAN work for? The upgrade comments and timing was amusing as that's happened on more than one occasion in my employment, but Ianto was on guard to corrupt the back up and create a syntax error so there was no file and no way back to the cloud for WOTAN to finally see the ancient computer programme off! What a triumphant return in this boxset though, a delight. The time approaching 5pm was sad as everyone had been too busy to find a solution to the Temps, and Stacey was over. It was an emotional end to what was a great conclusion to a really solid second series.

Rating: 8/10

Machines: Blind Summit

"You are weak. We are the future."

Writer: Gareth David-Lloyd

Format: Audio

Released: July 2018

Series: Torchwood One 2.02

Featuring: Yvonne, Ianto

Synopsis

Ianto Jones has just moved to London. He's broke, has no friends, no future. One day he loses the one thing he's been holding on to, and suddenly people around him are dying. Could a mysterious woman really offer him salvation?

Verdict

Blind Summit was a great story to continue Machines! This second series of Torchwood One looks set to follow more of a theme than an ongoing story arc like Before the Fall and I'm absolutely not against that, with a fun throwback to The Law Machines and the line about Yvonne Hartman being required. I thought this was a welcomed addition to the Torchwood library for two important reasons and both concerned Ianto. It was wonderful to get an origin story for how he ended up with the job at Canary Wharf, and I love that it was the Ianto actor Gareth David-Lloyd that wrote it! I think that's such a fun little nugget and it's a gem of a piece in all honesty. It's good to get an insight into Yvonne running Torchwood before any of the regular Torchwood characters we came to know were present and just hearing Ianto struggling to get to grips with living in London and being new to the capital was intriguing. It was a little different to the character we knew and that was good because he was untouched by Torchwood. He was behind on his rent and whilst I didn't appreciate there Llancock reference from his landlord regarding him being Welsh, it displayed his predicament. Yvonne and Tommy discussing the Brett Archive was good and I liked the quick cover up about how it was used before Ianto came on board. Before Torchwood, he was slumming it with his dad who really didn't sound like he was in good shape, and Yvonne didn't make an effort to hide her disgusted reaction to his appearance. Ianto was working in a coffee shop and I loved how when Yvonne entered, she was familiar but he couldn't quite remember her. All the signs of retcon. The coffee place quickly ended up as a place for weapons testing injected some action and Ianto even got shot, although that seemed to be forgotten about rather quickly. The use of robotic soldiers was fun and we were soon introduced to the lead villain of the piece in the form of Pascal, the CEO of Blind Summit. It was a biotech company and they were testing a drug stolen from Torchwood. The failed experiments ended up in the canals (yes that's people!) and excelium was clearly more than a flu vaccine. If it had gotten out, then there was a mole at Torchwood One. I must admit I did find Yvonne's insistence that it wasn't Matthew a little overboard and pretty much an early clincher that he was the turncoat, although the fact she had used truth serum on him did provide some comfort. The development of Ianto's father going missing was interesting and later finding out that it was orchestrated by Yvonne said a lot about her. The name Yvonne Hartman being a telepathic trigger for Ianto to provide protection worked well and I liked how he inadvertently went on an undercover mission and was subjected to the excelium rather quickly. It was all to prevent his dad ending up in the canal, but this was quite the first day on the job! The effect of the drug on Ianto was fascinating and I liked how he thought Yvonne was in his head through the microscopic earpiece, but the drug had also brought his memories back which was a really great development. The revelation that Matthew was the mole was a decent moment even though it was predictable, and the Arachmed being used as a torture device on Yvonne provided some tension and urgency. He wanted the Brett Archive which worked well, although I wasn't expecting to ave Matthew and Pascal romantically involved! That should have been a more prominent Ange. Tommy had a good role in saving the day and the joke he made regarding Pascal to Matthew was wildly inappropriate given his condition! The Arachmed dealing with Matthew also brought things to a brutal end. Yvonne paying off the debts and rent for Ianto was nice, and she even dealt with the rat which was fun! I liked that Ianto rejected the offer of Torchwood and wanted it retconned from his memory, as he headed back to the museum job. However, Yvonne showed up their too after a Viking ship discovery that Ianto was overseeing, and the recruitment drive was in full force again. Overall, a terrific listen! 

Rating: 8/10

Machines: The Law Machines

"WOTAN needs Yvonne Hartman."

Writer: Matt Fitton

Format: Audio

Released: July 2018

Series: Torchwood One 2.01

Featuring: Yvonne, Ianto

Synopsis

The Mayor of London is launching her bold new law and order initiative. The capital will be kept safe from crime, from fear, from terrorists. The Law Machines are launching. What could possibly go wrong?

Verdict

The Law Machines was a great start to the Machines second series of Torchwood One! I still maintain that this spinoff range is a tremendous idea for a series and getting a follow on after Before the Fall is terrific news. I have been wanting to listen to this particular adventure for such a long time now because The War Machines is a serial that I absolutely adore and holds a place of nostalgia in my heart, so the idea of WOTAN returning to take on Yvonne Hartman and Torchwood was a combination I could never have imagined. It's such a barmy idea but thankfully Big Finish make brilliance like this possible. There was no messing around when it came to getting stuck into things with a very action-packed start. I liked the references to the aforementioned serial where the War Machines made their mark, but this time around we were introduced to Law Machines in a fashion not too dissimilar to the Daleks in Revolution of the Daleks as they were here to provide defence as part of a new law and order measure. I liked that dynamic a great deal. I thought Julian was a fun character as the young and brash technical savvy individual and him being the one that WOTAN gained control through was very good. I loved that Yvonne and Ianto were referencing the events of Post Office Tower in the 1960s and how it couldn't possibly be a rogue computer program that was four decades old that was the reason for the Law Machines going off the beaten track and causing destruction. Of course it couldn't be. But it was! The first moment where we heard the voice of WOTAN brought a huge smile to my face as it was delightful to hear this old enemy in a modern setting. WOTAN trying to deal with the technical advancement that had occurred in the forty years since it was last active was tremendous and I loved how even something like the internet was alien. It still wanted to connect on a phone line! It was really well done. I enjoyed that it was Torchwood who were around in the 1960s to tidy up the aftermath of the War Machines and hearing of how their disposal of the computer that contained WOTAN was done through recyclable methods provided a fun route back for the demented computer programme. Tommy had a fun little role in the story and it was nice for him to reference the previous regime of Rachel that was the previous boxset's focus. I liked the action and the frantic nature of trying to find a solution, and Fiona as the Mayor instructing the National Grid to cut power to their postcode was a logical development but she wouldn't see that it would come into fruition and she died quite unexpectedly! It said a lot about the threat of WOTAN and the Law Machines though. They meant business. Julian's reaction to Yvonne pretending she wasn't who she really is was magnificent, because the internal struggle was audible. Yvonne was required, but she was dead! I thought it was a slightly anticlimactic ending with Yvonne essentially just deleting the WOTAN file and having the battery and hard drive melted which seemed to seal WOTAN's fate for good, but boy was it good to have another story featuring the computer programme! Overall, a great start to the series. 

Rating: 8/10

The Invention of Death

"How can you have a world without fear?"

Writer: John Dorney

Format: Audio

Released: July 2018

Series: First Doctor Adventures 2.01

Featuring: First Doctor, Susan, Ian, Barbara 

Synopsis

After an experimental flight, the TARDIS crew find themselves on one of the strangest worlds they have ever encountered.

Alien life takes many forms, and on Ashtallah the travellers find all their preconceptions tested.

But this world is about to make a discovery – and it could mean the end of everything.

Verdict

The Invention of Death was a very decent start to the second volume of First Doctor Adventures! I must admit that I'm still getting a little used to the quartet of the First Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara being completely recast and played by the actors who played the original actors portraying the roles (yep, that's confusing!) in An Adventure in Space and Time, but I'm more than happy to plough on and add to the extensive library of adventures for them. I must admit that I thought David Bradley was really impressive as the First Doctor here and he more than made the part his own whilst having those favourite little characteristics and idioms associated with William Hartnell. I thought the humour that came from the attempted time slingshot to get Ian and Barbara back home was fantastic and him completely disregarding any such theory at the end of the story was terrific, as it had far from worked on this attempt! The setting of Ashtallah was certainly alien and I liked that Ian pointed out that even for them and all they'd seen, this was particularly different to anything they had ever encountered. That was demonstrated early on as the local inhabitants couldn't quite be seen, or at least were approaching something like transparency. It painted a good picture and whilst I wasn't initially a fan of the Ashtallans, they grew on me as the audio unfolded. We were introduced to Sharlan and Brenna as our focal points of the species and they were really quite something. Their insistence on playing games made them a little childlike but the cliffhanger to part one with Barbara being thrown a particularly sharp object because it made it harder to catch showed that they had no fear of injury, or worse. We soon learned of their quick self healing abilities and the concept of anyone or anything else not sharing that was a huge surprise to them. This species was very alien indeed. The Doctor trying to explain the concept of mortality was brilliant and I liked how once it clicked, the Ashtallans almost envied humanity because they had a deadline on getting things done with their short lifespans. That's why they had transportation and machinery whereas life on Ashtallah was a little dull. That was a fascinating insight. The coincidence of the TARDIS arriving and the first Ashtallan dying was obviously more than just that, and discovering that it was Barbara's blood that was the poison was intriguing. She'd been healed when blending some of the Ashtallan flesh with hers, but when the process was reversed the result was devastating. I thought Sharlan's experiment was logical at first, but for her to continue with it in the hope of bringing technological development to her race went a bit far and she was just out of her depth which was a little sad to hear. She refused to be called a murderer and referred to her victims as test subjects, but it had got out of hand and the death was now contagious. The Doctor referring to his regenerative abilities a little offhandedly was amusing as Ian understood as simply referring to cuts and bruises healing. Ian discovering what Sharlan was up to was great and I loved the cliffhanger to part three with him being thrown out of the window, although his easy survival was a little bit of a let down. Still, the Doctor and Susan were quick to isolate the 'poison' and conjure a vaccine, but it was too late for Sharlan as she took the infection to ensure that the first newly produced child Ashtallan survived. The concept of love and compassion was thriving, and that was touching that Brenna and company refused to leave the side of Sharlan after she passed with a firm belief that she would heal and return. That was a sad way to leave the planet, but onwards and upwards into a traditional cliffhanger ending of the era as we returned to Earth and encounter Samurais! A fun set up for the next story in the volume. Overall, a good adventure! 

Rating: 7/10

Eclipse

"Nobody goes out after sunset."

Writer: Lisa McMulin

Format: Audio

Released: January 2022

Series: Charlotte Pollard: The Further Adventuress 1.02

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Charley

Synopsis

The collective noun for a swarm of moths is an eclipse. And when the chattering, nightmarish Hellstrung descend from the forest canopy of planet Pteron, they threaten to snuff out the lives of the human settlers below. 

Wantig to know what's stirred up the Hellstrung, the Doctor and Charley venture deep into the woods as darkness falls.

Verdict

Eclipse was a great story to continue my way through The Further Adventuress of Charlotte Pollard and the Eighth Doctor! I liked that we had a little reference to The Mummy Speaks! but it's clear that these episodes are certainly standalone and that's an approach I'm a fan of listening to. It started with a lot of action as the Doctor and Charley were being chased by a bunch of moths and we soon learned that these were actually known as the Hellstrung on the local planet of Pteron. They didn't eat people which seemed to limit their threat, but the idea of being chased by moths on a nightly occurrence immediately made me itchy. The planet itself was a decent enough setting and I liked that Charley was taken in by Keelda, a strong character who played a big role in the story. His brother was lost and later found to be dead which really sent the story in a new direction, especially with his research and suspicions. The ecosystem on the planet had reached tipping point and whilst it was a humorous moment for the Doctor to be the one in his lab, it was so obvious! The creaking in the makeup of the house worked well for creating an eery and contained atmosphere, and the explanation of atmospheric pressure was always going to be ruled out. The truth of it actually being the eggs of the Hellstrung as the houses were made out of their nests was excellent and disturbing. The Doctor was also sensing a humming noise that he described as the forests being frightened which was a fun concept, but they were whimpering. I thought Tarper made a strong villain and her being in charge and the last of the first generation was intriguing, and I enjoyed that Charley cottoned on early to the fact she looked too young. The Hellstrung attacking right after dark was intriguing and I thought the Doctor's comments about those in charge not following their own rules when it came to the curfew very amusing given the current state of the UK Government. Charley being taken by the Hellstrung at the cliffhanger was pretty good, but the threat soon died down as the Doctor knew one was injured. The image of the Doctor and Keelda riding a Hellstrung to get to Charley was hilarious and I found it great comedy when the latter didn't jump off. Charley being in the Hellstrung's nest was fun, especially with the later reveal that they were just protecting her. It was nice of Charley to promise the forest that they would help and it's nice to see her caring nature on show again. Tarper bottling the sap of the forest for rejuvenation explained a lot and it was something I should have seen coming. She was destroying the ecosystem as it was food and it had linked her telepathically to the forest from the volume she'd consumed. Tarper being the one to give the order to kill Tymon wasn't much of a surprise at all, but Keelda's reaction was sad to hear. The sonic mimicking the Hellstrung's distress call and him essentially becoming their queen temporarily to see out the conclusion was good and a fun image, and the fate of Tarper in becoming part of the forest literally as one of their own after a metamorphosis side effect was ironic with the lifespan she would have now. Overall, a fantastic listen!

Rating: 8/10

The Lichyrwick Abomination

"This town is unnaturally old."

Writer: Joe Vevers 

Format: Audio

Released: December 2021

Series: Short Trips 11.X

Featuring: Ninth Doctor

Synopsis

Every night, a creature stalks the streets of Lichyrwick. Everyone in town knows that catching sight of it is a death sentence, and no one knows this better than Malcolm. Yet, he won't be able to hide away much longer. The Doctor's in town, and it's time Malcolm finally faced the Lichyrwick Abomination.

Even if it kills him.

Verdict

The Lichyrwick Abomination was a great little Short Trips audio! I'm a big fan of everything about the Paul Spragg Memorial Opportunity and this was a fantastic addition to the range and I still can't believe that it's given away for free. This was a solid tale right from the off and I'm all about the Ninth Doctor's era getting extended with every opportunity possible. He just didn't have enough on television but thankfully that's beginning to feel like it's getting rectified with stories like these. It was fun to know that the Doctor was travelling alone because he'd dropped Rose off at a Spice Girls concert in 1998, and he got to know Malcolm instead for this adventure. Things starting with Malcolm as the narrator and hearing the story from his point of view was excellent. I thought the story behind the creature being in his house was fascinating and it seemed that things went beyond their initial making a game of the creature. Freya was dead and Malcolm blamed himself for his sister's death which was difficult to hear and must be awful to live with. I was a big fan of Jacob Dudman's narration with his impression of the Ninth Doctor very impressive. The Lichyrwick setting worked well and I liked how it was described as being dull and grey. That helped with the atmosphere of a rainy place which suited what was going on in the town. The meeting between Malcolm and the Doctor coming after the latter was denied some chips made for fun listening and I loved how things came full circle with Malcolm buying him some at the end. I loved the Doctor's response to hearing of danger being that he was exactly where he needed to be and despite being warned to leave like all of the other tourists, he was going to stay so Malcolm offered him accommodation, although his mum was less than thrilled! The creature being cursed was a good description and people in Lichyrwick didn't look at it and even locked themselves away. There were stories and whispers of what it looked like, but nobody was sure. The Doctor staying up when the creature came to Malcolm's house was good and it resulted in him wanting to explore the creepy and quiet places of the town. It was such a powerful moment when the Doctor knew of Freya being gone simply from an empty room and I also enjoyed how he felt the town was eery. The revelation that time was fracturing, being split and stitched back together again, caught me by surprise but it all ended up making sense. The time distortion was altering the townsfolk's perception and they couldn't see how sick the town was with the likes of street signs and fencing splicing and scattered objects being strewn. It was a vivid description. The creature's existence was a wound in time and the concept of the distortion being the bruising was fantastic. It was a fun twist to learn that the creature had taken the same route every night in the town and it was looking for Malcom. The description of it being a giant vulture was a little weird although I did like the detail of it having disturbingly human eyes. It was a little pathetic though and Malcom was disappointed to learn that the nightmare of the town was essentially a frightened animal. That was very good. The creature being able to step through time tied things up nicely as we saw Malcolm as a child on the fateful night for Freya, but it wanted to show him innocence and that Freya's death wasn't his fault. I thought that was really nice. He knew he couldn't change the past, but at least now he wouldn't live with the guilt. Overall, a great little bonus story! 

Rating: 8/10

God of War

"Only primitive fools believe in Gods."

Writer: Sarah Grochala

Format: Audio

Released: January 2022

Series: Fifth Doctor Adventures: Forty 1.02

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Adric, Nyssa, Tegan

Synopsis

The Doctor is still being jolted through his own timeline, and has now found himself with Nyssa, Tegan and Adric in ninth century Iceland near a Viking settlement on the edge of a volcano. A settlement whose leader has just found a god in the ice.

The TARDIS crew are soon in a battle with the fearsome Ice Warriors. There are a lot of lives to save... and not just those of their new friends. 

The Doctor's about to find that his biggest battle may be with his own conscience.

Verdict

God of War was a great story to conclude the first volume of Forty! It's been a terrific opening instalment to celebrate forty years of the Fifth Doctor and I think it's fun here to get his earliest chronological encounter with the Ice Warriors. I've always felt they would be a brilliant match for this incarnation of the Doctor and I have longed for their meeting ever since this Doctor mentioned them in Castrovalva when going through post-regenerative trauma. Of course, we've had it on audio before in the likes of Red Dawn and The Judgement of Isskar, but this felt a little different. I liked the vibes of The Ice Warriors going back with the uncovering of Xasslyr from the ice and having the dynamic of this Ice Warrior being seen as a god amongst the Icelandic settlement was fantastic. It was brilliant to have a ninth century setting because that's very unique and the humour that came with the Doctor missing the mark on Heathrow again was tremendous. The Doctor's reaction to seeing that Adric was present after the news he received in Secrets of Telos regarding his death was really noticeable and I liked how at the end he felt a burden of knowing the future. When the TARDIS quartet were separated and the Doctor was paired with Adric on the hunt for the Ice Warriors, he wanted to let his companion know that he feared for him and was apologetic for some of the ways he treated him in the past. That was nice and it was good that the Doctor confided in Adric the truth regarding his time slippage. I thought it was a good approach to have Xasslyr suffering and his gun causing his outer casing to short circuit was evidence of that, along with the lack of hand. Revna was a terrific character as the head of the settlement and the history of her treatment by her husband leading her to kill him was startling, along with the fact she'd resettled with her eleven daughters! Their fate being sealed by the Ice Warriors was brutal though as the amount of anguish and torment that must cause in one go for her would have been extraordinary, but it was the Ice Warriors at their ruthless best. Nyssa showing her scientific skills in working on the damaged Xasslyr was fantastic and I thought she really got to showcase her qualities. Her tincture and use of sulphur to try and boil the lake at the top of the volcano was nicely done and it seemed that this was the logical way of defeating the Ice Warriors with the heat factor. The humour of Tegan, Adric and Inga stowing away on the Ice Warrior ship was marvellous, although they got shot down which was tense. The cliffhanger with Xasslyr proclaiming to take the Earth after finding Mars was dead was decent, but he wouldn't see out his goal. The ending with the Doctor refusing Inga to come on board the TARDIS as companion was a little surprise, but it wasn't her fate. She understood that, but Adric didn't and his pompous nature shone through when he said the planet wouldn't be primitive for long with him on it. He soon came around when realising he'd get bored easily. And so the time slippage began again... I'm looking forward to hearing who's behind this and what the end goal is, but for now I'm just enjoying the ride! Overall, anther very good audio adventure! 

Rating: 8/10

Secrets of Telos

"The man is becoming cybernetic."

Writer: Matt Fitton

Format: Audio

Released: January 2022

Series: Fifth Doctor Adventures: Forty 1.01

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan

Synopsis

Professor Parry's expedition to the tombs of Telos was hardly an unmitigated success. The handful of survivors limp home  in a spaceship... unaware that the deadly peril they faced from the Cybermen is not yet banished. 

Into this situation stumble the Fifth Doctor and his friends Nyssa and Tegan – and they're soon in a deadly fight for their lives.

Except things aren't quite that simple – something odd is happening to the Doctor. He's suddenly in a different part of his own timeline inhabiting his future self with no idea of why or how this has happened.

Who is bouncing him through time? And what could they possibly want?

Verdict

Secrets of Telos was an excellent start to Forty! I love the idea of the Fifth Doctor getting a double boxset to celebrate forty years of his incarnation, and although my opinion has since changed he was my favourite Doctor when I delved into the Classic era so I love that we get to celebrate him here. I wasn't expecting it to start with a sequel to The Tomb of the Cybermen, but that's an idea I absolutely love and it was pulled off very well. I was intrigued by the concept of the Doctor jumping forward into his timeline from somewhere shortly afterwards the events of Four to Doomsday to somewhere shortly after Arc of Infinity. The big difference between those two timeframes was the missing companion in the form of Adric. The Doctor trying to get knowledge about the fate of his companion was intriguing because that was knowledge he just couldn't be allowed to have. Nyssa and Tegan trying to come to terms with the Doctor being from the past was fantastic and I liked the issues it presented. I liked that we never actually got an answer as to why the Doctor was pushed forward on his time vector to lead into the next story where it seems that he's been transported back to when he belongs. It was delightful to have some returning characters from Tomb on audio with Parry and Mr Hopper featuring extensively and I was fascinated that for them it had only been around six hours since they departed Telos. They took some time in coming to terms with the fact the Fifth Doctor was the same man they met and who helped them defeat the Cybermen, but they eventually came around which was nice. I loved the throwback to the serial that this is a sequel of with the droney version of the Cyber voice and it was also nice to have another infiltration of Cybermats. Tegan's relationship with Hopper was amusing as he was sexist and she wasn't having any of it. The Doctor realising that Tegan and Nyssa had knowledge of the Cybermen when he hadn't encountered them yet in their presence was superb, and the build to the cliffhanger at the end of part two was outstanding. After an ejected Cyberman continued to knock from outside in space to the ship, Hopper being killed and then the ship going into free fall to the planet that shouldn't exist and didn't show up on any charts, Tegan blurted out that they were going to suffer the same fate as Adric. The Doctor's reaction was one of being stunned and I'm fascinated to see if he will retain the knowledge that Adric will die. That will be tough for him to live with if so! The shift in story once we got to Telos Minor was great and it felt like its own distinct adventure which is often what you need in a four-part adventure. Vansom turned into quite the villain with her use of Cyber technology and her sick desire to create soldiers for Earth's military to sell on. The Cyber Converters were those failed experiments on up to seventy subjects which stalked the forest and sparked a whole new sense of danger with the unfinished Cybermen going down as pretty scary indeed. The manufacturing process on Telos Minor was brilliant and I loved how crazed Vansom was and how she saw the Cybermen as perfect with their mixture of organic and machine. The Cybermen didn't feel the same way as her though as she was seen as the source of corruption for those Cyber Converters that were seen as aberrations, in something not too dissimilar to the Daleks on numerous occasions. The factory exploding though brought things to a swift end and it was nice that Parry and Morton wanted to stay behind. Overall, this was a tremendous opener to the boxset and a worthy adventure to celebrate forty years of the Fifth Doctor! I look forward to hearing more.

Rating: 9/10

The Mummy Speaks!

"The forgotten magic of the Pharos."

Writer: Alan Barnes

Format: Audio

Released: January 2022

Series: Charlotte Pollard: The Further Adventuress 1.01

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Charley

Synopsis 

The Carnaval de Paris, 1841. Amid the sideshow tents, the Doctor and Charley discovery something truly novel: an Ancient Egyptian mummy that speaks – despite being dead for more than 4,000 years!

But what the mummy has to say translates into terror for the TARDIS twosome... and proclaims doom for the entire world.

Verdict

The Mummy Speaks! was an excellent start to The Further Adventuress of the Eighth Doctor and Charley! I am so delighted that we have a brand new boxset with this TARDIS pairing as they really were a shining light of the early days of the Monthly Adventures, and now we get four brand new outings! It's nice to have a change of pace with them being two-parters instead of the normal four that occurred with this twosome, and taking them to Paris in 1841 was a brilliant start. The return to these two felt seamless and it was just a delight to hear the Eighth Doctor and Charley together again. They managed to get themselves into some comical trouble early on as they were three months following the funeral of Napoleon, and some insults with Charley thinking his coffin tiny and the Doctor calling him Boney as a nickname really didn't go down well at all! I loved the humour that came with Charley trying to speak French whilst getting to grips with the TARDIS translation circuit, and it was a nice familiar background as we arrived at the Carnaval de Paris, a terrific setting. I must admit that going from the title alone this wasn't where I was expecting things to take place, but the little links to Egypt coming in with the discovery of the sarcophagus and the un-decayed corpse was very interesting. Cagliostro was a fantastic character and his claim of bringing the mummy back to life was a lot of fun. Of course, this turned out to be the Great Khaset and he was far from an ordinary mummy! He wanted to be released from his master after a brave question from Charley in the audience as she asked of the pain he was feeling. There was a lot of action in the story with Charley having lost her scarf and also trying to invent the taxi, whilst the Doctor started speaking with and enlisted the help of a gorilla. It was all going on at quite a fast pace! I thought it was nice that Charley promised Khaset she'd come back but we quickly found the dark truth of Cagliostro and the literal hold he had over the mummy, with possession of his mechanical heart. The Doctor and Charley helped restore the heart to Khaset, but that turned out to be a pretty bad mood as Khaset could continue his mission now. And then a great cliffhanger with the Doctor and Charley blamed for the murder Khaset carried out and set to face the guillotine, something Charley feared upon arrival! It was great stuff. The Doctor escaping death through suspended animation was a little like cheating, but the humour that came from him having had some adventures with the now waistcoat-wearing gorilla was stupendously brilliant. I liked Charley realising the significance of the location and how it was close to where the R101 would come down, resulting in some nice memories of Storm Warning and the flight on the back of Ramsay. The story of how Cagliostro came into possession of the heart was good and a nice little flashback into the past, and the connection with Le Roi in the present tied things up nicely. The reveal of the Hatred as the insectoid beings and their seeing the dead as vehicles and the more preserved they were the better probably came a little late, but I loved the concept. The image of floating pyramids as the ships of those that were more than just the emissary was fantastic and I loved the control through the eye and the order to destroy the neighbours. That was a mid-story cliffhanger! I liked how the mothership had rotted after waiting in sub-space for three millennia, and it didn't take much to cause it to explode. Khaset jumping and proclaiming to return leads me to think we're far from finished with him and the Eighth Doctor, as it could skittle away to safety, albeit with no technology to help it. But what if stayed dormant until the 2020s? Time will tell. Overall, a romp of a start to the series! 

Rating: 9/10

Exile

"I don't think we deserve to be on trial."

Writer: Nicholas Briggs 

Format: Audio

Released: October 2003

Series: Unbound 06

Featuring: The Doctor

Synopsis

What if... the Doctor had escaped the justice of the Time Lords?

"They want to punish me for being me!"

All the Doctor has to do to avoid being caught by the Time Lords is to work in a supermarket and go to the pub. It's a cunning plan – certainly far less dangerous than fighting the dreaded Quarks and all those other alien friends.

But just when everything seemed mundane and safe, alien transmissions, exploding poison gas; Princess Anne and wobbly trolleys burst onto the scene to ruin everything. It's a crisis! A fiendish alien plot! And the Doctor must use all the resources at her disposal to defeat it.

She'll probably need to have a large vodka first, though. 

Verdict

Exile was a very good and mightily intriguing adventure to continue my way through the Unbound series from Big Finish! I love the idea behind this story pondering the question of the Doctor escaping Time Lord justice at the end of The War Games. We got a humorous take on the War Lord and his people being dematerialised for ever and next up on the chopping board was the Doctor, but he'd escaped which just felt right. The Time Lords conducting the trial were quite the pair with David Tennant a noticeable standout given my listening in hindsight. The idea of a female Doctor in 2003 must have been pretty impactful and the Unbound series was the perfect opportunity to try it out. Of course, it proved that the gender of the Doctor means absolutely nothing. Of course, The Woman Who Fell to Earth kicked off a whole new female-led era of Doctor Who so this was particularly intriguing to look back on and see how a female Doctor was presented, even in a humorous take in a universe that didn't matter in terms of continuity. The idea of the Doctor becoming an alcoholic who worked in Sainsbury's didn't set well with me, and I was quite surprised by the fact that she seemed to have been hiding on Earth for around thirty years. The Time Lords arrived on Earth in an effort to seek her out and put her on trial and had intended to land in 1970, but they got it all wrong. The constant mentions of the Quarks was amusing and trying to present them as deadly whilst admitting that they were pretty rubbish was terrific. Stairs versus lasers! It was a no contest really. Cherrie and Cheese were good characters as the Doctor's friends and co-workers, and they all just seemed to enjoy a vodka a bit too much. I think it was unfortunate to see how much the Doctor's life had deteriorated and I really could have done without the belching and throwing up, but the Doctor thinking she saw the Master but was actually just a guy called Bob in a black suit was marvellous. The idea of the Doctor defeating the Master with vomit was comical. I loved that the Doctor took on the moniker of Susan Foreman to live her life on Earth and even obtained her National Insurance number! It was really nice for the Doctor to remember her granddaughter and take on her identity to get by. I thought the idea of the method of changing sex during regeneration only resulting from a suicide was pretty shocking and something I'm not sure would fly in today's world! It was a surprising revelation but I quite liked there to be an explanation. Having the Doctor encounter her past self was also an unexpected treat in the likes of a mirror and even a vodka bottle which was strange, but this incarnation referring to his being murdered when it came to the regeneration was excellent. The Doctor's hunt for her TARDIS being her downfall and resulting in capture was a shame, but the scenes back on Gallifrey with the trial and the Doctor being found guilty were a sham. She was sentenced to imprisonment within her TARDIS or facing dematerialisation forever. And it seemed that she fell for the note from one of the Time Lords that egged her on to escape! The ambiguous ending worked well in what was a bold and comical adventure! Overall, a great listen.

Rating: 8/10

Downward Spiral

"Isolation does strange things to the human mind."

Writer: Alan Flanagan 

Format: Audio

Released: July 2020

Series: Short Trips 10.07

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Nyssa

Synopsis

Travelling through space on your own can be lonely. It's why Siobhan Matthews' ship has been installed with COMPANY, an AI that has stored personalities of Siobhan's nearest and dearest. Someone to talk to when the silence is overwhelming. 

Siobhan has other guests today, which is impressive considering she didn't let them onboard. They're called the Doctor and Nyssa, but they've arrived at the worst possible time. Siobhan's ship is spiralling towards something in the dark, and it's hungry.

Verdict

Downward Spiral was an outstanding Short Trips adventure! I absolutely loved this story and it has to go down as one of my very favourites from this gem of a range. You really can find some terrific little stories hidden in this series and this is a prime example. I’m a huge fan of Nyssa so having her as the primary character in the story alongside the Fifth Doctor certainly appealed and I really liked her narrative opening addressing the listener about zero gravity and how she was about to tell a story. And what a story she told! The description of Nyssa and the Doctor shouting amongst each other in the TARDIS was a bit of a surprise as they usually have a splendid relationship, but cabin fever was real. Nyssa was keen to go to a meeting of the greatest minds whilst in typical fashion of the Doctor’s fifth incarnation, he fancied going to a planet made entirely of bouncy castles instead. Terrific. I wouldn’t mind a visit myself! The TARDIS had other plans though as it picked up a distress call from 2155 and when arriving at the ship, there being no gravity was a lot of fun. It’s on my bucket list to experience zero gravity so I was jealous! Siobhan was a wonderful character and I enjoyed her shocked reaction to seeing actual people on her ship. It had been so long for her. The narration switching to a form where Nyssa was addressing Siobhan was unique and I loved how that came full circle at the end with it being a recording. Brilliant stuff. It turned out the TARDIS had actually arrived in 2055 missing the target and arriving aboard the Reverance, the first manned ship to Venus. Here we were introduced to COMPANY which was an intriguing form of artificial intelligence! It contained a personalities programme where Siobhan had artificial versions of her dad Dai, her husband Jim, best friend Gina, daughter Nicole and even her boss Ashraf. It seemed a good way to tackle babe psychological effects of isolation as being alone for so long certainly isn’t fun! I absolutely adore Sarah Sutton’s Irish accent as it was so good and I’m just a sucker for it. The dust cloud that nearly cancelled the mission was a good obstacle and I liked that something was blocking the view of space and it didn’t want to be seen, but the Doctor knew it was no coincidence. The TARDIS had come a century early to before a point where the force in 2155 was too strong and it was so afraid it locked the Doctor and Nyssa out until all was resolved! The Doctor wanting to know that they were dragged in from an orbit was good and the threat of being dead in twenty minutes provided some late urgency! Nyssa questioning if the AI message had actually got to the engines was interesting as there was no help around at all. The fire breakout was fantastic from just a small drop of fuel that caught, and I loved that this was a deliberate act of COMPANY as it was designed to protect Siobhan under any circumstances, no matter how literal. There was no reasoning with her, but Nyssa tried her best appealing and using her father’s death to show she understood. She wanted Siobhan to think of the goodness of her own father, not the artificial one, and ask if he’d want his daughter to die. It was powerful stuff! Siobhan blurted out the kill switch for COMPANY and she was free of its grasp. The problem was solved a century early  and I like how things came full circle with Nyssa concluding her recording and us getting that little rewind to what we heard at the start. Overall, a magnificent story!