Omega

"The only rulers of Minyos now are fear and violence."

Writer: Mark Griffiths

Format: Comic Strip

Released: January 2021

Printed in: Omega #1-4

Featuring: Omega

Synopsis 

The people of the planet Minyos are in revolt against their alien gods. This chaos is being stoked by the rogue god Omega, who longs to free himself from his black hole prison and wreak revenge. But brave Princess Malika, last of the Minyan royal family, is determined to fight back. 

Verdict 

Omega was a really good comic strip story! I’m a big fan of these Cutaway Comics adventures and it’s really nice to explore the world beyond the Doctor. He wasn’t even mentioned or referenced here and that was absolutely fine! That happens a lot in numerous spin-off ranges from Big Finish, so it only seems natural that we would have comic strips doing the same! Omega is such a strong character and is more than warranted in carrying his own series, and these four issues forming one story worked tremendously well. I liked the continuity with Underworld in tying him in with that world of Minyos. That setting was superb here and I thought the artwork was actually brilliant. It was definitely an improvement on the style of Lytton’s comic series, and the vibrant colours really added a lot to the adventure. I thought Malika was a fantastic character and she really carried the story well as the protagonist. The cliffhanger at the end of part one where she literally regenerated was wonderful, but I do think it might have had even more of an impact if the death by firing squad was the cliffhanger and then the resolution was the cellular renewal. That was nicely done and tied in very well with the Time Lords being the gods on Minyos, even if they weren’t named. I’m assuming that’s a copyright issue, but it was well established and worked neatly. It’s quite amusing that even Omega wasn’t referred to as a Time Lord. He was considered a god and rightly so given what we know about the term and it standing for. The artwork presentation of him within the mind of Oxirgi was fantastic and it was intriguing that it was probably this man who was the biggest villain of the piece, not Omega. Of course, Omega was essentially in control of Oxirgi through his perceived deity status and everything he was doing on Minyos was in an effort to being Omega back to the universe of matter and free him from the black hole prison he was held within. That was good and I really liked the efforts of using psychic power thanks to distress on Minyos to free him. It wasn’t difficult to try and implement that discontent and uprising feeling in the political space of the planet as there were conflicting views on whether the gods were welcomed. I liked the imagery of the protests. I’m fascinated that this comic strip has been adapted into an audio adventure with Brian Blessed as Omega, especially when it didn’t seem that Omega had an awful lot of dialogue. At least not until the final issue that is, but of course that could be easily expanded in an audio version. I thought Malika’s desire to defeat Omega was impressive and the depths she had to sink to at the end of part three in firing the missiles on her own planet to stop him was quite incredible. The unthinkable soon became the only option as with the whole planet dead, there would be no psychic power for Omega to feed upon and return. The matter machine looked good as his means of returning to our universe, and Oxirgi was hellbent on ensuring this god returned. His reactions to Malika surviving and constantly evading were fun, as he was really angered and wanted her dead. That never came though, even when the missiles struck her in space! His reaction to having intruders at that moment was brilliant and the action that followed in the hold was really good stuff. Oxirgi being devastated that Omega left his mind was a powerful moment and showed that the god was selfish and out for his own gain and that alone. Kyril being the one who initially showed Oxirgi how to control psychic energy was great and their battle of the minds was pretty sensational. It allowed the comic strip format to shine and the old man died, but that allowed a free body for the service of Omega which was really good. I was surprised with how different part four felt as we moved to Draktria and it was quite something to see Omega almost humanised. Malika appealed to him from within after using a funky beetle to traverse the black hole, but Omega was clearly mentally unstable. He went through a wide range of emotions and after seeing that his creations even became atheists, Omega was outraged that his own creations defied him. That was superb stuff. I thought the ending was slightly weak whilst allowing Omega’s means of return, but I was expecting Malika to fully try and destroy the god instead of keep him trapped. She did though save his creations as they were people free to think and believe in what they desired, and I do wonder if this is the last we see of her despite the toll this ordeal took on her with her apparent death at the conclusion. Regardless, a really great comic strip adventure!

Rating: 8/10

The Hourglass Killers

"You can't kill sand."

Writer: Justin Richards

Format: Audio

Released: March 2012

Series: Jago & Litefoot 4.04

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Jago, Litefoot, Leela

Synopsis 

The sands of time are running... and they are in pursuit of Jago, Litefoot, Leela and Ellie. As the final battle gets underway, the infernal investigators make the decision of their lives...

Verdict 

The Hourglass Killers was an excellent episode to conclude the fourth series of Jago & Litefoot! I think this has been a fantastic season and there really doesn’t seem any sign of letting up just yet. Following on from the cliffhanger finish of Claudius Dark revealing himself to actually be the Sixth Doctor, I thought the humour that came from Jago and Litefoot trying to rationalise his change in appearance was delightful. The threat of the Sandmen was immediate and I really liked the simplicity of Jago getting some sand in his shoe. That would prove helpful to the Doctor and Litefoot in their research on sand composition and taking that to the library was magnificent. The comedic value in Jago being loud and then ousting Litefoot when he rose in volume was simply magnificent. Jago at his very best. I was intrigued by the importance of Bedfordshire as that obviously has history in Doctor Who and I was glad that the Doctor did loosely reference The Dalek Invasion of Earth regarding that. The fact that there was a village in the county called Kempston Hardwick was very amusing though! The Doctor having hidden the TARDIS within the mud of the Thames was a bit of a surprise but I do enjoy the vulnerability of our hero when his trusty ship is indisposed. The need for a distraction to get the Doctor out to Bedfordshire was good and I loved that Jago and Ellie took up the roles of the Doctor and Leela. I imagine their appearances would have been amusing, but hearing their fake dialogue and getting into their respective characters was marvellous. I liked how Kempston and Hardwick thought they were always in control and having already located the TARDIS, they seemed well on their way to getting the secrets of time. The base of Lord Ampthill’s house on his vast land was good and I liked the atmosphere being set with the locals saying it was a haunted space. The fact the Lord himself was found inside an hourglass painted quite the picture, as did the fact that there were countless other hourglasses in the vicinity! The temporal theme was excellent. The background story of how Ampthill found the Temperon craft was great and it was nice to find out just what and who Kempston and Hardwick were. The revelation and continuity regarding the TARDIS being drawn in by Payne’s temporal experimenting of the last series was superb and that had also brought the Temperons here. The concept behind their race of desiring true time travel was fascinating and I loved the uncomfortable feel of them being within every grain of sand. They intended on adding artron energy to every grain within the hourglass, but the Doctor seemed to ridicule this effort at time travel. Whilst this was all going on, having everyone trapped into the giant hourglass was excellent and a strong threat. The use of bookcase momentum to smash their way out was pretty ingenious and the comedy that came from the bundled efforts was very good. I liked how the duplicates of Hardwick and Kempston could take any forms, but the Doctor was already boasting about defeating them as they drowned in the sand before the TARDIS was called. They literally crumbled into pieces from the water with them being composed of sand. The cliffhanger finish of Jago and Liefoot going to travel with the Doctor was just lovely too. Overall, a tremendous finale! 

Rating: 9/10

The Lonely Clock

"You have killed someone tonight."

Writer: Matthew Sweet

Format: Audio

Released: March 2012

Series: Jago & Litefoot 4.03

Featuring: Jago, Litefoot, Leela

Synopsis 

The enemy is revealed and Jago and Litefoot are on a train to nowhere. Can Leela and Ellie save them, in a race against the clock?

Verdict 

The Lonely Clock was another excellent episode to continue my way through the fourth series of Jago & Litefoot! I thought this was brilliant right from the off and after the cliffhanger at the end of the previous episode with Hardwick and Kempston getting what they wanted with the main characters getting on the train, we started proceedings in mysterious style as Jago and Litefoot were plunged into still darkness. That was an eery start and I really enjoyed the atmosphere throughout. It set the tone for the hour ahead which fitted perfectly. The smell of perfume revealing there was a woman with them was intriguing, especially when that woman was undergoing rigor mortis! The realisation from the pair that they had lost an entire night in time was good and I loved that someone would be interfering temporally. That was even more fascinating when Ellie and Leela were frozen outside of the train carriage as far as our titular characters’ perspective was concerned. Winnie was a strong character and the first interaction between her and Leela was magnificent. This was Leela at her very best without comedy and she had been watching Winnie in the Red Tavern. She deduced that she had killed her husband that evening because she was clutching at her ring and from the way she was generally acting. That was marvellous. It was a fun twist for Winnie to be confident that she couldn’t be caught because her lawyers were a certain Kempston and Hardwick. I was a little surprised that Winnie agreed to help Leela and Ellie in going to her lawyers, but it was nice to have them involved more. The hours being returned to Jago and Litefoot as they saw the hands on their watches literally reverse was brilliant but there was no sign of their circular line tour coming to an end. That was rather fun. Leela’s continued suspicions of Winnie were fantastic and she knew there was something more to her. She had seen her dead husband at the window which was interesting and I loved the mystery of the clock. Winnie had a history with it and it was why she was around as it signified the beginning and the end all at once. Jago and Litefoot meeting Winnie alive was a fun encounter considering they’d already seen her dead when their hours were taken from them! That didn’t seem to surprise her though as it had the feeling that Winnie knew she was going to die. There was a sense of inevitability to the situation. I loved the revelation that the clock was actually a time cracker which sounded brilliant and I liked that it generated spatial temporal discontinuities whilst being limited to four intervals. It sounded impressive. Winnie doing all she was doing for Sandy was intriguing and it seemed she was going along with his plan to see if it was worth it or right to kill him! Jago pushing Litefoot out of the carriage was amusing but I liked the effort to decouple the carriage and increase their chances of escape. Hardwick revealing himself as the train driver was an unexpected twist and it was actually he who was Sandy, exploiting her love for him after having plucked her from time just moments before her death. Having two versions of Winnie together in the same time was odd but I loved that Hardwick and Kempston were trying to get the attention of anyone who was against temporal anomalies. That of course meant the Doctor! Winnie seeing her ghostly self with Sandy was intriguing and I liked how Dark was there too alongside her. The fact she died by falling off a platform and her bones being crushed on the track from a train. Talk about gruesome! Winnie pondering if they would all hear her own bones crack was graphic though. The Doctor finally emerging after Leela confirming he could be trusted was terrific but it was a somber ending as we found out that Winnie didn’t survive. There were pressing issues ahead as we move into the finale which is exciting as the Sandmen seem to be on their way! The mud creatures shaping themselves for their destruction is a fine way to send us into the final story. Overall, a brilliant episode!

Rating: 9/10

Beautiful Things

"See the infinite world of art."

Writer: John Dorney

Format: Audio

Released: March 2012

Series: Jago & Litefoot 4.02

Featuring: Jago, Litefoot, Leela

Synopsis 

Jago, Leela and Ellie take a trip to the theatre to see Oscar Wilde's new play and discover something sinister during the interval. Meanwhile, bodies are turning up at Litefoot's lab, and Wilde meets his biggest fan...

Verdict 

Beautiful Things was a tremendous audio to continue my way through the fourth series of Jago & Litefoot! I’m thoroughly enjoying the spin-off range and this continued things along very nicely. I enjoyed the continuity of Litefoot still repairing his home following the structural damages of last series, and it was about time that the mysterious Professor Claudius Dark emerged at last. Of course, it’s rather clear that with the trust Leela has put in him and the fact she recognised him in the previous episode that this truly is the Sixth Doctor. Leela was in on it all along which was a little surprising, but I was glad that Jago and Litefoot were pretty angered after events and wanted an explanation. They did at least get one with him explaining that he had to dash quick because his enemies got to him. The reveal that Brighton was actually Dark’s idea through Leela was another surprise, but it’s fun to have the Doctor in control whilst hardly featuring. Dark offering tickets to the latest Oscar Wilde play was good compensation and meeting the playwright was delightful. The proposition he was offered by Gadd was eery and I was also surprised that Litefoot was against attending the play. Ellie happily took his place at the sought after show! The moment we were introduced to Gadd alongside the creepy creature/man was excellent and the truth of that would be revealed later, but initially it peaked my interest. Quick being on the scene to describe how a number of men were brain dead and disappearing in London with the tie in to the story being pretty disturbing. Leela’s bumping into Gadd at the play was intriguing and she showed her qualities yet again in realising that something was wrong with him. He was scentless. Her huntress instincts in full flow! The humour that came from her dismay at the interval of the play not being the finish was brilliant as well. She didn’t seem a big fan of the arts! The way Leela took things into her own hands and went after Gadd was excellent and I loved the shift of him being able to sneak up on her. The fact she didn’t realise really surprised her and provided some brilliant vulnerability we don’t often see. Those found brain dead had invitations from Gadd on their person which incriminated him and the very concept of consciousnesses being stolen away was fantastic. The claim that the creature was Gadd’s father had merits but Litefoot recognised it as being the exact same man just distorted. His medical expertise on fine display there! The similarities with Dorian Gray were interesting although I can’t pretend to have any knowledge of the character. The Wilde connection was nice though. The revelation that Gadd’s parents had died in the same brain dead fashion was great background history. Gadd looked to be in his mid-20s but his birth certificate found by Jago detailed him as being twice as old. He was maintaining his youth at the expense of his other. The search for Leela in Gadd’s house was good and I liked that she was caged, not much else could contain her that’s for sure! The mystery of the two almost identical paintings was mightily interesting, as was the infinite library with books containing every possible combination of words! The scale of that was unfathomable. It was the same with the paintings too. I really loved that idea! The avatar of Gadd storing imperfections explained a lot about the version our main cast encountered, but finding out that he created the library himself and need more and more power was fascinating! Eventually he would be requiring everyone on the planet to hold the most exquisite art. A unique take on this kind of threat! The twist with the younger Gadd actually being the avatar was terrific and this was actually the opposite of Dorian Gray! He was holding back a bullet in his mind but the library would now drain him in time in a neat cliffhanger. I liked the conclusion with it being revealed as all a plan by Hardwick and Kempston to get to Dark, but not even this potential paradox drew him out! They got what they wanted though as their supposed escape on the train was exactly what these mysterious villains wanted. I’m excited to hear where things go from here! Overall, an excellent episode. 

Rating: 9/10

Jago in Love

"I am not a madam!"

Writer: Nigel Fairs

Format: Audio

Released: March 2012

Series: Jago & Litefoot 4.01

Featuring: Jago, Litefoot, Leela

Synopsis 

Escaping the shadowy presence of the mysterious Professor Claudius Dark, Jago, Litefoot and Leela take a holiday to Brighton. There, Jago meets and falls for music hall singer Abigail Woburn, a relationship that threatens to split the infernal investigators apart, as dark forces gather on the beach...

Verdict 

Jago in Love was a strong start to the fourth series of Jago & Litefoot! I’m really enjoying this spinoff range and I know it had a strong reputation amongst fandom, but it’s lovely to hear that it’s not disappointing! In saying that though, I thought the complete lack of follow up to the Claudius Dark cliffhanger was a bad move. With Colin Baker voicing him and probably being a disguise for the Sixth Doctor, not getting him in this story meant I felt a little cheated. We got a brief moment pre titles with Leela recognising someone who I assume would be Dark/the Doctor, but I was dying for some interaction! Instead we shifted into the near future with Jago completely inundated with Abigail despite being together for just three days. I liked that the setting was established as Brighton which was a nice change from the usual London, and having an almost Companion Chronicles style format in having Jago retell the events to Abigail was nicely done. The attack by the fiendish creature after Jago and Litefoot departed from Dark was unexpected but I loved the suddenness in which Litefoot dispatched of it with his cane in a brutal stabbing. The description of it being made from earth and left as a pile of sand and grit was tremendous. I adored the humour that came from Jago exaggerating the events when retelling the story back at the Red Tavern, and Leela being the one to suggest a Brighton holiday was a nice touch. They certainly all needed a break! Nancy Lee was a fun character and I liked the suggestion of her having psychic powers. Jago’s history with her was entertaining and useful in obtaining lodgings, but it was clear something was unusual there. Leela was at her very best comedy-wise when it came to her confusion regarding Jago being hit by Cupid’s arrow as she genuinely thought an attack had been carried out! That was glorious. Jago was absolutely entranced by the performance of Abigail on stage to the point where Leela thought he had been possessed! Leela feeling ancient forces in Abigail’s dressing room was interesting though with the suggestion of something being trapped peaking my intrigue. Litefoot also felt something come over him in the room and with him seeing something in the cracked mirror, things got creepy. That was enhanced when we learned that every mirror in the property was cracked! Quite the image. Everyone breaking back into Abigail’s dressing room was humorous and it was obvious when Jago was retelling events, there was much more to her than it appeared. Litefoot suffering from fever for two days whilst Leela had vanished with Nancy Lee meant that Jago was prone to Abigail’s influence which worked well. I also thought the horror that came from Litefoot’s appearance was really good and presented as being genuinely horrifying! Jago proposing to Abigail was a big surprise but he was very much smitten. The mystery surrounding George Nevil was very intriguing and hearing Litefoot continually ask after him was strange and eery. The reveal of Mary’s spirit actually having been trapped in a mirror was terrific and I liked how she had borrowed Litefoot’s body in order to search for husband! The pair had both passed away in a snowstorm, except Mary’s soup had got trapped in a mirror and George didn’t know he was dead all along. That was why he had no reflection. Talk about morbid! Jago smashing the mirror to seal the fate was amusing because he realised he might have trapped Litefoot forever! But alas, that was not the case. The mysterious conclusion with a Mr Hardwick and Mr Kempston sets us up nicely for the rest of the series after they had tried to use Abigail to separate Jago from the pack. Her failure meant death though which showed these two mean business! Overall, a good listen to kick off the series! 

Rating: 8/10

Judgement Day

"The lie betrays life. The truth defies death."

Writer: Scott Gray

Format: Audio

Released: November 2011

Series: SJA Audio 10

Featuring: Sarah Jane, Clyde, Rani, Sky

Synopsis 

The Veritas are an ancient force for justice. For centuries they have pursued criminals across the universe, showing them no mercy. Now they have come to Earth, and found the worst law-breaker of all... Sarah Jane Smith.

Why are creatures made of living flame rampaging through a shopping mall? Who is the mysterious magician Clyde and Sky must overcome? And why does the entire crisis seem to revolve around Rani's mother Gita?

Sarah Jane's past has finally caught up with her. It's judgement day...

Verdict 

Judgement Day was an excellent story to conclude my run through the audios of The Sarah Jane Adventures! It’s a slightly somber ending given that it was released alongside the unfinished fifth series, and it just doesn’t quite feel the same knowing that Elisabeth Sladen was no longer around. She absolutely epitomised the show but credit must go to Anji Mohindra for stepping into the narrator role effortlessly. She really was tremendous and brought the adventure to life quite beautifully. I thought the sound effects that accompanied the story were also very impressive in helping the story feel authentic and more than just an actor reading some prose. The focus on Gita having a new stall at the White across mall was good and I liked the description of exotic particles being detected. A fancy way to say alien! The magic tricks on display by Zondo were interesting and I liked the contradiction of there actually being no alien presence detected despite Mr Smith’s detection. The booming voice that arrived with a force field in toe was great and really set the story going, especially with the description of what would later be dubbed Flameoids! They were a really fascinating concept and I loved the idea of them being composed of living flame. That was a sublime image. It wasn’t a surprise that the shoppers were scared whilst their counterparts were turning into flames! It was an interesting move to have those transforming not being scared though despite the spheres attacking. The emergence of the Veritas was brilliant and I really enjoyed that they were out to seek a deceiver. Their questioning of Sarah Jane because of her alien technology in the form of the sonic lipstick was nicely done and I loved how they questioned why Gita had a block on her mind regarding her encounter with aliens. That was a strong way to hark back to The Vault of Secrets and Sarah was trying to explain how she did this to protect Rani’s mother. The Veritas questioning this was excellent and I liked how we saw holographic projections of memories. I was impressed with everything happening here and how it utilised the audio format. The flashback to the events of Prisoner of the Judoon and Sarah and Rani feeling what Gita felt was superb. That was a completely new perspective and a great emotional tie in. Sarah’s journey through her own memories was brilliant and I loved that we got to her as a student getting educated about journalism! It was always a nice touch to see her back when she was at UNIT HQ and Rani seeing alongside her was lovely, especially when the TARDIS was spotted. The reference to Invasion of the Dinosaurs and how Sarah played a part in the coverup story was marvellous. The Veritas having a serious problem with Sarah admitting this deception was a fantastic concept. Clyde getting to name the Flameoids was fun and I liked how Sky was able to use her abilities amidst all of the magic. Sarah mentioning cover stories again was great and I loved that she mentioned having to cover up the Loch Ness monster in a wonderful Terror of the Zygons reference. Having the Veritas judge Sarah Jane as the planet’s greatest liar was terrific thanks to her cover ups with her deemed a perpetrator of deceit. I thought that was pretty brilliant. Sarah getting to shine in challenging the Veritas to adhere to their honour code and show them their past was good and we got some important background when it came to the burden they were carrying. They were just three left now thanks to a falsehood, something they had no concept of. Zando being behind the Flameoids was a fun twist and they were all a distraction for the Veritas. The fact they wanted him because they considered his illusions as deception was incredible. I thought that was so fun to take things literally. Sarah’s appeal to the Veritas regarding her deceptions and how humanity was not ready for the truth was terrific and her sentence was cancelled. Clyde also showing that Zando was just acting in fiction not deception was a nice way to finish. Overall, a brilliant audio!

Rating: 9/10

The World Tree

"You're just a figment of my imagination."

Writer: Nick Slawicz

Format: Audio

Released: December 2022

Series: Short Trips 12.X

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor

Synopsis 

Nora Wicker is forgetful. Not big things – not yet, anyway. She remembers her address and where the shops are. She remembers people when they come to visit, no matter how rare that is.

But she doesn't remember where the bush with the red leaves in her garden came from – and she definitely doesn't remember asking for a house call from the Eleventh Doctor.

Verdict

The World Tree was a really strong Short Trips adventure! I’m a massive fan of the Paul Spragg Memorial Opportunity because it’s a lovely way to give new writers the chance to dip their hand into the word of Doctor Who and Big Finish. It’s always a Christmas treat to download a free audio too and this was certainly terrific! I must admit that I was a little disappointed before listening to find that Lisa Bowerman was the narrator for an Eleventh Doctor story, but by the end I thought she did a stellar job. That initial disappointment had nothing to do with Bowerman herself - I think she’s tremendous for the record - but because I was hoping for more Jacob Dudman. Of course, with the Eleventh Doctor Chronicles ongoing I shouldn’t be too greedy, but he really is uncanny in his likeness and impersonation of Matt Smith’s incarnation. He’s almost become synonymous with the role for Big Finish now. However, the story was far from being the Doctor’s here. Nora was a tremendous character and she was just a very sweet old lady who was missing her Earnie and getting on with the life. Bowerman played her beautifully and despite the story not having any kind of action or what felt like a strong threat, her personality and caring touch was more than enough to keep my interest firmly in the story and her character. I was a big fan of hers. The relationship with the Doctor was fantastic and I adored the way she worked out that he wasn’t really there in the kitchen with her. At least not physically. The psychic paper showing Nora that the Doctor was carrying his medical degree around was pretty amusing and he even seemed a little stumped by that. The truth soon came out though that this wasn’t the first time the Doctor had met Nora. Far from it in fact! They’d encountered each other well over 16,000 times but on each occasion Nora’s memory had reset. That was the trouble of inadvertently caring for the World Tree. The innocence behind that natural plant was very intriguing and the danger and damage it was going to cause without realising made it very threatening indeed. But it just did nothing, except grow. It couldn’t be seen with the audio format of course, so the beautiful artwork on the cover really came in handy there. The green was a very nice touch too. I liked how the Doctor was able to explain the dangers of the tree with it growing continuously with no stopping because it didn’t know any other way. Within a month its roots would destroy the entire planet! The Doctor not being able to contain it in space so trying to do so in time was tremendous. I thought that was genius and a quite brilliant way to deal with the threat it posed! The Doctor had created a bubble to envelope Nora’s garden and cottage that reset everything within it, meaning the World Tree reverted back to its size and hadn’t done too much damage within a day. Nora’s earlier realisation that the Doctor was a hologram was simply wonderful and her knowing that because of the gate not making its noise was sublime. An old lady at her best! She really was lovely and her relationship with the Doctor was so nice, even if she didn’t understand half of what he was saying with Blinovitch and a temporal paradox. My only issue came in the ending as it seemed a little too simple after 16,000+ attempts that the Grand Aboretum were just going to come and collect the Tree safely, but Nora’s feeling sympathy for it after it would be alone just made her an even more likeable figure. She really was marvellous and I’d love to hear more from her! The way she was telling Earnie a story at the end to conclude was lovely. Overall, a great adventure! 

Rating: 8/10

Missing Habitas Frond

"I'm afraid there's been a murder."

Writer: Dave Sudden

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2020

Printed in: The Wintertime Paradox 10

Featuring: Missy

Synopsis 

Did you Davros and the Doctor met for three Christmases, on different planets, across time and space? Have you heard the one about the time the Plasmavores came to pay a festive visit? Or when Madame Vastra fought a cyborg?

The perfect collection of the bleakest – and sometimes brightest – time of the year, these are the tales to get you halfway out of the dark...

Verdict 

Missing Habitas Frond was an excellent adventure to continue my way through The Wintertime Paradox collection! This was a really fun story and I was delighted to open the page and find Missy’s face adorning the whacky illustrations that kick off these tales. I’m such a fan of hers and if there is any new material for Missy released, I am all over it and want to consume it straight away! I think her Big Finish series is incredible and Michelle Gomez is just absolutely tremendous in the role. She is a defining feature of the Twelfth Doctor era and I do hope that we haven’t seen the last of her. She’s simply magnificent and that was on full display here. I thought the author did a good job in capturing the characterisation of Missy as the female incarnation of the Master, and I loved that she used her mental strength to get a seat on the train after she was politely asked to move from Habitas Frond’s pre-booked seat. That felt a bit more modern than the 1909 setting, but the early twentieth century timeline worked well when it came to the lack of technology involved in the theft and murder spree that took Christmas Eve in Edinburgh by storm. The Scottish Crown Jewels being stolen was fun and it was obvious that Missy would have had some involvement, but that wasn’t clear from the outset. Her conversation with Frond was amusing and she genuinely did seem apologetic towards him for his firing that day. I mean, when you allow thieves to escape with Crown Jewels because you were getting a bag of chips, I’m not sure what else he would be expecting. It wasn’t exactly the best excuse but it did make for fun reading! Even Missy realised by the end that he was far from being a good constable or detective. She obviously knew more about him too. The way she tried to get him back into the thick of things with the events she was orchestrating was brilliant and I loved that she was doing all of this because she was bored. The Doctor was busy with River Song on Darillium enjoying married bliss as was depicted in The Husbands of River Song, so she was just waiting around for him. The Scottish city reminding Missy of the Doctor was a nice comment too. It seemed like she needed to be tested and only the Doctor could provide that for her. The mugging on the platform turning into a murder at the hands of Missy via hairpin was a sublime revelation and Frond’s reaction to realising that it was her all along was sensational. He really wasn’t the best detective. The fact he believed that Missy wasn’t responsible for the mugger’s fall off the roof was almost hilarious. Of course he didn’t jump to his death in order to not face the law! The very thought. Horrinthal as the superintendent was a good character and I loved that Frond and Missy went to confront him. Missy almost convinced him that it was his former superior responsible for the deaths, before she finally wound the knots to show that it was all her. He couldn’t believe that. Missy was at her delicious best here and the fact that she killed Horrinthal in the same fashion with a hairpin was gruesome and brittle, yet somehow neat and tidy. Such small things can cause devastating consequences. This was hardly a fun Christmas for anyone involved. Missy’s comment about the mugging being a coincidence and it being a good job that happened because otherwise the old lady who had initially refused to share seats with her was getting it was just tremendous.  

Rating: 9/10

A Perfect Christmas

"We don't run to the Doctor before we talk to each other."

Writer: Dave Sudden

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2020

Printed in: The Wintertime Paradox 09

Featuring: Vastra, Jenny, Strax

Synopsis 

Did you Davros and the Doctor met for three Christmases, on different planets, across time and space? Have you heard the one about the time the Plasmavores came to pay a festive visit? Or when Madame Vastra fought a cyborg?

The perfect collection of the bleakest – and sometimes brightest – time of the year, these are the tales to get you halfway out of the dark...

Verdict 

A Perfect Christmas was a decent story to continue my reading of The Wintertime Paradox collection! I was really glad to get an adventure with the Paternoster Gang as they rank very highly on my favourite characters list. Their Big Finish spin-off range is brilliant and I do hope we haven’t heard the last of it, but getting an extra story here with the trio is just a delight. This one didn’t have much of an upbeat feel though which was a little strange given the Christmas theme and the usual joyful humour that comes from the Paternoster Gang. Strax was definitely on hand to inject some comedy where needed, as evidenced with him smashing a fifteen-year-old girl in the face with a frying pan as she tried to break and enter into their house, but there were serious undertones between Vastra and Jenny. The position of their relationship here was a little testy and it wasn’t a new thing. Vastra had been keeping a mental list of awkward and uncomfortable instances between the pair over the course of a year, ever since a previous Christmas where they nearly lost each other. That was intriguing stuff and it had led Vastra to no longer be reliable. She was visibly distracted and it cost her on more than one occasion in this story. Even for Victorian times, Christmas was a celebratory event and I loved that Vastra liked to dip in and out of the human holidays that she liked or disliked. She didn’t refer to them as alien because Vastra had walked the Earth long before they were a thing and this planet was hers, but they were hardly common for her. To make up for her previous actions last Christmas, Vastra was planning the perfect Christmas and it just couldn’t go wrong. She wouldn’t allow it up to the point of near obsession and just how much fun could be had on a list that was forty-eight pages long? She was running a tight ship to say the least! Jenny seemed less bothered by the circumstances of their relationship and just wanted her Vastra back to normal. That was nice and showed the human side of Jenny. She wasn’t bothered about a perfect Christmas, she just wanted to spend it with Vastra. She caught onto her lizard wife being completely distracted and that was nicely evidenced in her ability to sneak up on her. That just wouldn’t normally be possible. I thought Madge was a run character and her introduction to the story with Strax calmly providing a theory on the tattered coat was sublime. Vastra showed her intelligence though as she matched Madge’s claim that she wanted her coat back and that was all. Except Vastra had emptied the thieve’s pocket in the collar which had contained a special ruby. The significance of it was unexpected but I really liked how it contained a key to the TARDIS, and had been buried with Tasha Lem! That was fantastic continuity with The Time of the Doctor and a fine way to extend her background and importance. The Papal Mainframe was of course a church of the fiftieth century so having it play a part in a Victorian-era story was great. It seemed a little too convenient in parts for everything to tie back to the Doctor, and events certainly interfered in Vastra’s plans for a perfect Christmas. The fact she was tempted to just ignore it was a surprise, but of course that wouldn’t happen. Vastra was almost dismissive of Jenny in some instances when it came to dealing with the key, so it was nice for the human to appeal to the Silurian later in the story to explain that she just wanted her wife back. That seemed to light a fire in Vastra and from there she could take the context of Jenny’s words to realised that they had been played as pawns. The ending was what really irked me with this adventure and severely decreased the rating as I was thoroughly enjoying it up to that point. But then Vastra just handed the ruby back to the cyborg that had come for it, and that was that. Whoever had planted it was after the Doctor and nearly got him summoned. Except, surely if whoever it was in the mysterious After sequence that orchestrated these events could rob Tasha Lem’s grave and then plant it in the Victorian era, surely they could find an easier way to get the Doctor? I don’t know, it didn’t sit well with me which is a shame as it was a really strong adventure up to that point. Overall, still a good read. 

Rating: 7/10

A Girl Called Doubt

"They will learn or they will die."

Writer: Dave Sudden

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2020

Printed in: The Wintertime Paradox 08

Featuring: Fifth Doctor

Synopsis 

Did you Davros and the Doctor met for three Christmases, on different planets, across time and space? Have you heard the one about the time the Plasmavores came to pay a festive visit? Or when Madame Vastra fought a cyborg?

The perfect collection of the bleakest – and sometimes brightest – time of the year, these are the tales to get you halfway out of the dark...

Verdict 

A Girl Called Doubt was another great short story to continue my way through The Wintertime Paradox collection! This was another fine adventure and followed in similar fashion to the previous story in having the focus be away from the Doctor for the much part. Whilst our resident Time Lord hero did emerge at the end triumphantly and for more than what I would consider a cameo, it was nice to have the focus on Doubt and her fellow natives. At least that’s how it appeared on the outset. I really enjoyed the setting of Agrippina as it was unique and just presented as being ravaged by the Cybermen. The Cybermen were presented brilliantly here despite the bulk of them having moved on from the planet for the war effort that was taking place on an interplanetary. It was great to highlight the impact the Cybermen had on the planet and its people, with so many of them converted. Even architecture had been modelled on the Cyberman and the idea of the planet from above looking like a mix of human and Cybermen was pretty eery. I loved that there were so many Cybermen left behind that weren’t in full condition, with them being literally torn in half in some instances but still moving forward. There were no Cyber Leaders anymore to give the Cybermen orders, and with them being damaged they weren’t worth the energy or resources to repair. That’s the ruthless efficiency of the Cybermen at its best. The lack of emotion and pain was evident in so many broken Cybermen still persisting to move on, and Doubt describing the horrors of the war still being felt because it had been fought, destroyed everything she knew, and they were still around. That visibility must have been difficult. It wouldn’t feel like any kind of victory. I thought some of the other characters were decent to surround Doubt with Memnis and Raoul doing well, but the star of the show from the pack was undoubtedly Terrick. He was a typical sergeant in not having any sympathy for Doubt and having all his attentions and sights set on his people and those in his command. It was all about what he wanted to achieve, and given the Cybermen were still around that wasn’t entirely irrational in my opinion. I loved that the locals on Agrippina and had dubbed the Cybermen as ‘Steelers’ because that matched both their appearance and actions. They certainly did steal the people and everything about them, and it was a little sad to learn that their scientists had tried to find a cure to the conversion process. There was no coming back once you were a Cyberman. I was expecting this story to be another one without the Doctor, but alas the TARDIS was described as arriving rather brilliantly. I loved the emergence of the Fifth Doctor and whilst the description to ensure the reader knew which incarnation we were dealing with was a bit too much, it was lovely to have him! I thought the importance of the celery was good as Doubt hadn’t seen greens in a very long time, but then she had not seen the truth either. Doubt actually being a Cyberman was incredibly surprising and the Doctor actually felt sorry for her because the others around her had made her think she had a life. She was someone else, but then the grating Cyber voice came through and she realised. I thought the ending was pretty ambiguous in just assuming the Doctor would put things right, but the focus was all on Doubt and it was nice that she got a bit of a happy ending in the end despite her predicament. Overall, a good read!

Rating: 8/10

Christmas with the Plasmavores

"I'm a blood-drinking alien from the depths of space."

Writer: Dave Sudden

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2020

Printed in: The Wintertime Paradox 07

Featuring: Fourth Doctor

Synopsis 

Did you Davros and the Doctor met for three Christmases, on different planets, across time and space? Have you heard the one about the time the Plasmavores came to pay a festive visit? Or when Madame Vastra fought a cyborg?

The perfect collection of the bleakest – and sometimes brightest – time of the year, these are the tales to get you halfway out of the dark...

Verdict

Christmas with the Plasmavores was a tremendous little story to continue my way through The Wintertime Paradox collection! Whilst the Doctor didn’t appear until the very last page and didn’t really offer anything other than a humorous line, he was far from missed as this was just a really fun and emotional tale. The title itself is just ludicrous but to actually have a little family known as the Plasmivores was hilarious. They were referred to as such throughout the story which was terrific, but I don’t believe they actually introduced themselves as such. Although Catherine did seem to think they were French but I am assuming that would be more to do with Amelie’s forename than her surname. Regardless, it was really fun stuff. The dynamic between Catherine and her dad Maurice was intriguing as they weee both dealing with the grief of losing their mum/wife in different ways. Maurice wasn’t being much of a dad in the six months that had passed and it was a little sad to read how Catherine felt like she was the one parenting him! At nine years old, that was hardly the right thing to be occurring. She was certainly mature and despite her trepidations at inviting the Plasmavores in amidst their apparent engine troubles, Catherine was the one offering coffees and producing a spread including some very deadly salt and vinegar crisps. The importance of that would prove pivotal to the conclusion which is barmy, but Plasmavores had to be very careful about their salt intake. Very careful indeed. That’s why human blood was so perfect for them because it got the balance just right. That was an intriguing note. I thought the reaction of the Plasmavores to finding out about the death in the family was rather horrific as they didn’t seem to offer condolences of any kind. They seemed a little hurt by what they considered to be a complete waste. The Plasmavores viewing humanity as nothing more than a supply stock was pretty eery. When the Plasmavores said that their mechanic wouldn’t be out until the morning and that they could find a hotel, it was obvious that Catherine didn’t want them to sleep over but that would be exactly what her dad would offer. Maurice tried to sell the excitement of a sleepover and to her credit Catherine did try and get in with the social norms. She preferred her own company which I admire and can relate to, but offered to take Amelie to her room where she could sleep. The descriptions of the Plasmavores moving around in silence was excellent and added to the chilly atmosphere that came from the late at night Christmas setting. That worked very well. The moment I’ve taken as my quote stunned me a little as it was just so emphatic! Amelie was the Plasmavore all along and she really emphasised that her species drank blood which was fun. I didn’t expect her parents to actually be Slabs though imprinted with her psychic pattern to present them as her parents. Something like this worked on lesser species such as humanity of course. I enjoyed the continuity with Smith and Jones there. The little chase around the compact house was presented well and I loved the horror image of Amelie being spider-like on the ceiling after she recovered from Catherine’s attack with one of her numerous books about war. I liked how we slowly built to the conclusion with Amelie wanting a photo of Catherine’s mother as the basis for a Slab, because she was literally going to become the Sullivan family with her leather slaves! That was an audacious plan, but at last Maurice stepped up to the plate with a devious ploy to ensure that Catherine’s salt packets she stole from restaurants, something she lovingly didn’t see as stealing because they were there to take anyway, were thrown all over. Of course the photos wouldn’t be at the back of the top cupboard! It was brilliantly executed. I’m not actually sure the cameo at the end from the Doctor at the door to explain that sugar was detrimental to Plasmavores was completely necessary, but it was nice to know he’s keeping an eye out on just about anyone and everyone! Overall, a really nice story! A great read. 

Rating: 9/10

We Will Feed You to the Trees

"Usually I have to at least know what's going on before I end up in chains."

Writer: Dave Sudden

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2020

Printed in: The Wintertime Paradox 06

Featuring: Seventh Doctor

Synopsis 

Did you Davros and the Doctor met for three Christmases, on different planets, across time and space? Have you heard the one about the time the Plasmavores came to pay a festive visit? Or when Madame Vastra fought a cyborg?

The perfect collection of the bleakest – and sometimes brightest – time of the year, these are the tales to get you halfway out of the dark...

Verdict

We Will Feed You to the Trees was a good little story to continue my reading of The Wintertime Paradox collection! This one felt a little different from other adventures in the volume and there were a number of reasons for that. Firstly, it was really nice to delve into the Classic era for the first time in the book as this was a solo outing for the Seventh Doctor which was ever so clearly established by the description of his attire. I thought the author probably went a little overboard in the reiteration of the question marks adorning his vest and the inclusion of the umbrella with question mark handle to compliment was done on a too frequent basis. For whatever reason, I just got the feeling that even the author wasn’t wholly familiar with this incarnation of the Doctor. There were even a couple of references to how small he was which just didn’t feel right when describing our heroic lead character, no matter how true it may be of this particular regeneration. Now, that may have something to do with the second way in which this story felt different from others in the collection with it being told in the first person. I’m really not a fan of that format and every time I see a story starting that way I groan or sigh for what’s ahead. It’s purely personal preference but I particularly don’t enjoy it when it’s from the perspective of an unfamiliar character. I think it would work fine if it was the Doctor or a companion in that almost narrator role, but here when it was a nameless woman I just couldn’t get emotionally invested. It’s a good job that the story being told was great to go some way in making up for that. I thought the forest setting worked very well and I liked that the Doctor was in chains almost immediately upon his arrival. The Doctor being in chains is nothing new but as my quote suggests it usually takes him to actually do something other than arrive for that to be the case. The woman as a guard was decent and I liked that she was set in the ways of her faith. The Doctor would fall victim of that as every year a sacrifice was made to the forest to ensure the life of everyone else could go on. The fact that policy dictated any strangers would be that sacrifice so nobody else had to die was chilling, but pretty logical in a heartless thinking society! When lives are at stake, it’s not a massive surprise to find that the people of this forest were selfish and looking out for themselves. The Doctor was always talking and eventually did get his guard to loosen her grip on him and open up, finally having her ask questions rather than just accept what was deemed tradition or necessary in faith. That was really good and it genuinely seemed that the Doctor’s curiosity rubbed off on her. He knew it wasn’t right that sacrifices held the forest back during the Siege season, so he set out to find the scientific resolution to the situation. I thought it was slightly predictable that it was all just a malfunction, but the misconception about what service the forest required being lost through generations over time was terrific. It didn’t need a sacrifice, it just needed some technology fixed! It was good to learn that all of those sacrificed hadn’t actually died, but the woman realising that they had to go on believing because if they didn’t then their loved ones had been sacrificed in vain. That was a powerful moment. I thought the imagery of the heart of the forest with the biggest tree of all was good and the woman seeing how the Doctor was infused with it was great. She’d seen sacrifice before though and it had hit home because her own wife was one that had been given to ensure everyone else survived. The Doctor knowing that because the grief and mourning was still written on her face was excellent. That’s the Doctor at his best. He had of course applied his scientific knowledge to fix the terraforming systems that had gone wrong on this colony, but someone would still need to serve for a year to ensure everything would move smoothly. But that’s a small sacrifice to pay when the previous price was death! The woman narrator taking on that burden was a nice touch and a fine end to what was a really solid read. A little shorter than the others that came before it, but that was not a problem at all! 

Rating: 7/10

Visiting Hours

"People can get lost in memories."

Writer: Dave Sudden

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2020

Printed in: The Wintertime Paradox 05

Featuring: River, Rory

Synopsis 

Did you Davros and the Doctor met for three Christmases, on different planets, across time and space? Have you heard the one about the time the Plasmavores came to pay a festive visit? Or when Madame Vastra fought a cyborg?

The perfect collection of the bleakest – and sometimes brightest – time of the year, these are the tales to get you halfway out of the dark...

Verdict

Visiting Hours was another fun short story to continue my way through The Wintertime Paradox collection! This was a unique tale in having Rory team up with River Song and that’s a pairing I never knew I needed. I absolutely loved them together and it was delightful to explore their relationship. There’s so much potential between the characters in their own right but then you throw in the complicated familial connection they have in and there’s a fascinating dynamic there. That was explored ever so well here and being the father of a 17 month old myself, I can’t imagine what Rory would have gone through to see River be taken away from him at birth and then to find out he’d met her all grown up before he’d even conceived her! I thought it was fun to play around with the confusion of River’s genetics and I just love how she exudes confidence. She loves her predicament of being in Stormcage and actually using it as free accommodation. It was so fun to read how she was starting to collect contraband in her cell! That of course included sprouts. The Christmas theme was really well used here as whilst this was far from being a Christmassy adventure, Rory was hurt at what Christmas with his daughter was. Amy wasn’t around for this story, but Rory really wished she was because she was just better at this kind of stuff. Rory probably went slightly overboard when it came to not seriously acknowledging River as his daughter, but he apologised for that. River understood though which was really nice and it was lovely that she knew her father just wanted a traditional Christmas. A visit to Stormcage was far from that! Chyll was an intriguing character for a prison guard and his desire to actually tell the story of River Song was very unique and I quite liked it! Unbeknownst to him, River was already coming and going as she pleased but his offer to ease her escape and not report it so it still appeared that she was locked up was amusing! The explanation of why she was actually in jail was also brilliant when put plainly with the Doctor faking his death and River paying the price because everyone thought she had been the killer. Of course, that’s wasn’t the case and she was fine with her situation if it meant the Doctor was safe. I loved how Rory came into his own towards the final pages of this story as Chyll just couldn’t believe that he would be the one to produce River. He knew all along about Chyll’s plans to tell River’s story and see in her action, but then he shone when pronouncing how he’d been an Auton, set fire to the Cyber legion fleet and even locked Hitler in a cupboard. That was a pretty defining moment for Rory and a fine reminder of his companion credentials. He’s just brilliant. The little After section was intriguing and leads me back to the opener in thinking that there may be something tying all of these adventures together. But for now, this was a great read!

Rating: 8/10

For the Girl Who Has Everything

"UNIT is all about taking the mystery apart."

Writer: Dave Sudden

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2020

Printed in: The Wintertime Paradox 04

Featuring: Osgood

Synopsis 

Did you Davros and the Doctor met for three Christmases, on different planets, across time and space? Have you heard the one about the time the Plasmavores came to pay a festive visit? Or when Madame Vastra fought a cyborg?

The perfect collection of the bleakest – and sometimes brightest – time of the year, these are the tales to get you halfway out of the dark...

Verdict

For the Girl Who Has Everything was another very strong story to continue my reading of The Wintertime Paradox collection! I’m liking that we move away from the Doctor here and get a full on story with just Osgood as the main character. She made such an impact on screen and even more so with the UNIT run of adventures from Big Finish, but having her here as the lead character is more than warranted. She’s brilliant from the start and I think it’s good placing to have this very early on during her time with UNIT. She’s only a month on the job and having to spend Christmas not at home was alien to her. I thought the family connection to UNIT was good although there was certainly a missed opportunity in not establishing that Osgood was the daughter, or at least a relative of some kind, to Tom Osgood of the UNIT from the Classic era. A gap in the knowledge of the show from the author, perhaps? That’s pure speculation on my part though based on this collection so far just encompassing the modern era. Still, Frank Osgood was at least aware of UNIT but hadn’t taken a job at the organisation and now our Osgood was understanding of why. It was completely full on and UNIT didn’t stop for Christmas. I loved that this was a loose sequel to The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky and having the Sontaran cloning devices feature was brilliant. I love that we get follow on from alien encounters on Earth and it’s a welcomed reminder that not all is well once the Doctor departs. I enjoyed how much Osgood was clued up on the events regarding the Sontaran Stratagem which was fun to have the episode title how it was referenced by UNIT files. It was fun to play with the idea of the cloning devices still functioning despite them not having any live DNA or bodies to replicate, so what Osgood encountered in this adventure were four very different clones literally scraped together from the dregs and remnants of those previously used. That was pretty disturbing and created quite the image! I’m not sure the Sontarans would be thrilled to find their own cloning devices creating parts of their species that were not pure. Osgood couldn’t believe what was happening to and having to tackle the threat of these clones whilst her sister was aggravating her via text regarding her lack of Christmas presents and shopping. Nora was a lovely name and I liked how Osgood associated her sister’s name with the spatial aspect she shared similarities with. It’s a beautiful name but I must say she did seem like a bit of a nag! Osgood going to sincere depths to get her dad a special present for Christmas was nice and I thought it was very true to her character that she wouldn’t cheat or use her job to get anything whacky or alien. She would go by the normal routes. Of course, by the end of her encounter here she had the means of giving him some Sontaran cloned bone! At least Nora could take credit for Osgood’s original gift. The apparent return of Luke Rattigan was a huge surprise but certainly a pleasant one! He didn’t last for long outside of clone form, but just the idea of him returning was terrific and fun to exploit. Osgood always felt in control though and she knew all about Luke and his sacrifice of the Sontarans. She regretted what she had to do to ensure the four new clones here were defeated, but with spatial folding existing in the Grey Archive, she could throw what they wanted in the form of the Sontaran power cube into the vortex which saw them jump straight after it into oblivion. The cameo appearance from Kate at the end was good stuff and I like how the events of this adventure would see Osgood actually promoted into reporting direct to Kate! That’s how we would meet her on screen so it was nice to set us up for that. The reference to The Day of the Doctor and the Black Archive nuking itself upon any thieves entering was a nice touch too. Overall, this was just a really solid adventure and a great exploration into UNIT. 

Rating: 8/10

The Revenants

"Legends are the stories that last."

Writer: Ian Potter

Format: Audio

Released: May 2012

Series: Companion Chronicles Special

Featuring: First Doctor, Ian, Barbara

Synopsis 

The present day: the Orkney Ferry, where Ian Chesterton meets a stranger who he is able to confide in.

Decades earlier: the TARDIS lands on Orkney, and Ian and Barbara are abandoned when the Doctor and his ship vanish in front of their eyes. As the pair head for civilisation, something is stirring in the treacherous bog lands.

And only the ancient Wissfornjarl can protect them...

Verdict

The Revenents was a great little Companion Chronicles audio! I must admit that before this was re-released as part of the recent Big Finish 12 Days of Finishmas, I had no idea it even existed so this was a much welcomed treat! There are only a couple of stories in the Companion Chronicles range that I am yet to blog, so having an addition is a real treat! I liked having William Russell as the narrator as he’s wonderful and it’s always a delight to revisit Ian. The storytelling perspective in the modern day with Ian recognising a familiarity with Jeannie was fun and I thought the Orkney setting worked well. The suggestion of time moving differently there set things in motion for what was to come in the episode, and the discussion about Janet provided some strong backstory to her character before she even featured. She was Jeannie’s aunt and a witch of sorts which was fun! She had passed and Ian was here to pay respects after their encounter, which is the story he would tell her niece of how he first came to Orkney! The recollection of the events seen in An Unearthly Child was brilliant and I imagine was there for the benefit of readers of DWM perhaps not familiar with the Classic era and its origins. It was also good to get some story placement during Season 2 with Susan having recently departed putting this somewhere soon after The Dalek Invasion of Earth. That would prove important later in the episode. I thought it was nice that the Doctor now firmly believed he could get Ian and Barbara back home to London 1963, and their arrival here was met with excitement as they both firmly agreed they were on Earth. They could smell actual sea air! The image of Ian and Barbara being locked out of the TARDIS in similar fashion to how Susan was on her forced departure was excellent, and it dematerialising meant Ian and Barbara had to seek out civilisation. The village they found themselves in was mysterious and the smell of decay really set the scene for their surroundings! Janet’s arrival was brilliant as a spay wife and her belief that the island was safe due to magic was a fun element to have Ian tackle as a science teacher. He’d try and find rational explanations to her beliefs. The Wissfornjarl keeping the peace was fun to play with, especially once the Marsh-Wains emerged! Their description was terrific as bog creatures dripping with mud and the gurgling was a good effect in audio. The defence of running water being superstitious did not exactly thrill Ian which was fun, but not as much as the cliffhanger with the Doctor himself revealed as the Wissfornjarl! That was glorious. The explanation that the TARDIS hadn’t fully materialised to allow the keen Ian and Barbara to exit was good and the Doctor was pulled to the past by a strong force, meaning he’d been waiting for time to catch up for years all along! Barbara’s reaction to that in particular was lovely. The realisation that they had never been closer to home being in Scotland 1956 was superb to play with and I thought it was fun to imagine the First Doctor keeping a low profile due to the police box design not having reached this far north yet. Having to apply the legends to their situation in order to find a resolution was fascinating for the Doctor to suggest, and I liked the makeup for the Marsh-Wains moving as one being and the ground even mounding with them. That was a distorting image! It was seeking a mind to give it structure which seemed logical and the science behind it was good to explore with it being made from peat. The only things used against it would be cold iron, running water or the bible, and I loved how the latter made the Doctor audibly laugh. The ambiguity regarding the catastrophic event in the past that created the creature was a little disappointing, especially with it also pulling in the TARDIS. Janet being protective of the Marsh-Wains was really good though and I liked that she thought of them as newborns looking for form. Her comment about them needing a nurse rather than a doctor was magnificent though and a story highlight. The combined psychic template of the TARDIS trio along with Janet being enough to send the creature off into defeat was decent, if not still a little ambiguous, but it was more than sufficient. The temptation for Ian and Barbara to stay in 1956 was sublime and I liked how they know they owed the Doctor more time given that Susan had recently departed and he’d waited years for them. Overall, a really strong audio!

Rating: 8/10

The Flood

"Flesh will always fail."

Writer: Scott Gray

Format: Comic Strip

Released: July 2004 - February 2005

Printed in: DWM 346-353

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Destrii

Synopsis 

The Eighth Doctor and Destrii arrive on Earth to find rain falling on a market place, rain that radically alters emotions. It is a test being conducted by Cybermen from the future...

Verdict

The Flood was a superb conclusion to the graphic novel of the same name, and to the comic strip run of the Eighth Doctor! It really has been a wild ride of adventures for the eighth incarnation across four incredible volumes. This was a fitting conclusion and whilst we didn’t get the regeneration we might have been hoping for, this definitely felt like an ending which was rather lovely. At eight parts, this is is a mammoth story but it really is paced so well and it’s actually incredible to see how much influence this comic strip may have had on the early era of the modern series. We have Cybermen in disguises that aren’t akin to ghosts, the Doctor holding the power of the Vortex within him and even collective thought. They are big aspects of the first three finales under Russell T Davies, and yet the story is entirely original. It’s good to have continuity with The Fallen in bringing back MI6 and Leighton Woodrow, with the Doctor not exactly being thrilled to be reunited with the organisation as you might expect. I thought the way Destrii had just oozed companion after a hasty arrival in Sins of the Father was intriguing and I was a fan of having her presented as human form. It helps with familiarity and feeling normal, but she has all of the traits of the creature we know. Her reaction to being on Earth was terrific and her claims of being a local expert were humorous considering she didn’t know what money was and had severely offended a Chinese couple running a food stall at Camden Market. Having a focus on Camden was good and later discovering that this was because of the diversity of the area was brilliant. Now, this comic strip does a fine job of reinventing the Cybermen and I think it’s chilling that they genuinely believe they have arrived on Earth to save it. The conversation between the Cyber Controller and the Doctor regarding emotion is sublime and I just love that the Doctor refuses to think of emotion as a weakness. He will never see the way of the Cyberman and that was brilliant. I think this might go down as the best comic strip adventure for the Eighth Doctor in terms of his character because he gets so much time and many moments to shine. He’s centre stage and for his swan song, that’s exactly how it should be. The fact he literally offered himself dying as an offer for the Cybermen to leave Earth and the ultimate way to make them stronger was incredible. That wasn’t the clever thinking Destrii had in mind when the situation got desperate, but it showed the heights the Doctor was willing to go to in order to save Earth. It was a defining moment. I must admit, I was not a huge fan of the redesign of the Cybermen presented here. I’m glad that it was acknowledged they were from the future but they seemed almost too flexible and didn’t have that kind of booming presence you might expect. They didn’t invoke fear, but I still liked that a lot of familiar elements were there. The triangle helmet was a nice touch though. Their plan was incredible though and I loved the logic behind it. It was so thought out and in disabling the nuclear power of humanity, panic was ensuing and that meant heightening emotions through the rain was an easy means of getting man to beg for Cyber conversion. That was a really powerful image. The complete blankness of the Cybermen was having them at their best and I thought they did so well in showing that they really were emotionless. Having both the Cyber Leader and Controller present was great and it’s always fun to have some sort of hierarchy. I liked the fact that only Destrii could see the Cybermen initially with the golden haze around them looking great. The real world feel this adventure had was impressive and I loved the extensive news coverage the Cybermen had garnered. The scale of this story really was impressive! Despite things visually being contained to Camden as the primary test site of the Cybermen, the whole world did feel at threat. Destrii not having any fear of the Cybermen was tremendous and she was far from backing down in getting them in a fight. That was amusing stuff and pretty damn admirable. I’m just one story Destrii firmly became a companion for me and that made the ending all the more poetic. Let’s get to the conclusion then and I thought the part seven cliffhanger with the Doctor jumping into the fragment of the Space-Time Vortex that powered the Cyber ship was outstanding! Then having him ascend and almost mock the Cybermen was incredible. It was a tremendous way to rid them from the story and really asserted the Doctor’s status as a Time Lord. The imagery of the Cybermen melting away was fantastic and a brilliant use of the comic strip format. The Doctor saves the day brilliantly and the somber ending of him and Destrii walking off into the sunset over the hill is a nice way to see them off into future and unseen adventures. However, the commentary that accompanied this graphic novel was enlightening as DWM were actually offered the chance to depict the regeneration of the Eighth Doctor into the Ninth! The fact this was turned down is pretty incredible, but reading how passionate Scott Gray was about Destrii and his thoughts on a regeneration story was more than understandable. I was fully in agreement that we would need Destrii there and having the Ninth Doctor in the clothes of his predecessor. In hindsight of course it’s a good job this didn’t happen as it may have robbed us of The Night of the Doctor, but alas a regeneration in comic strip might have been something special! But regardless, it was still a fitting finale for this epic run and the narration from Izzy as she looked on at events and also getting cameos from Grace and Max Edison was tremendous. Overall, a sublime finale!

Rating: 9/10

Sins of the Fathers

"Remember me? I'm your distraction."

Writer: Scott Gray

Format: Comic Strip

Released: April-June 2004

Printed in: DWM 343-345

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Destrii

Synopsis 

The Eighth Doctor takes Destrii to Hippocrates Base for her to recover from their recent ordeal. However, the Zeronites have plans for the hospital of their own...

Verdict

Sins of the Fathers was another great comic strip adventure to continue my way through The Flood graphic novel! I have nearly reached the end of the line for the Eighth Doctor in comic strip format now and whilst I didn’t read all of his adventures in publication order, something I do wish I had done in hindsight, I can safely say that it has been a wild time but we are from being done yet! This feels like a brand new beginning which is really intriguing given that there is only one comic strip story left to tell in the collection, but given the size of that and remembering that we would normally only get one part of the story each month, Destrii’s tenure as companion would actually exceed the likes of Martha and Bill on screen which is pretty crazy to say! She still seems like an odd choice as companion but I think that quirkiness is part of the production team’s decision to have her. She’s not human and is basically a fish, something that comes into play in a big way here with the Doctor having her descend into water to calm her down and bring her back to her senses after the dodgy nurse tampered with her drug intake. I thought it was nice to follow on from Bad Blood with the Doctor bringing Destrii to Hippocrates Base and the medical expertise of Dr Partho. He was a nice character and it was a shocking moment when he was murdered by Tollios! That made such an impact and the different reactions of the Doctor and Destrii really does make me question how they will get on together. The Doctor was horrified to have lost a friend who helped him dearly, whilst Destrii called the way they killed him ‘nice’! That took me by surprise and is not what you expect from a Doctor Who companion. Her development is clear to see though and even though the Doctor had to prize it out of her, she would thank him for saving her life after being left for dead by her uncle. I really enjoyed the hospital setting and it allowed for some really funky artwork with a lot of alien species present. One thing I would also like to mention regarding the artwork is just how beautiful the Eighth Doctor’s TARDIS interior looks! I’ve always been a huge fan of the design and in particular the console. I own the Eaglemoss figurine console of this and it’s a prized possession of mine. It really is a thing of beauty and looks tremendous in the comic strip here. I really liked the history behind the Zeronites and Tallios was what you might expect as their leader. They were bred by the Kulkans as nothing more than a kamikaze race to exist in zero gravity which was quite the concept, with them manning missiles and space equipment with the intention of their lives ending when the mission did. Some lifespan! Hippocrates Base was not just a hospital though, it was a former weapons centre and the Zeronites had come home to enact revenge on anybody baring the DNA of their creators. That was wild but they didn’t care. They didn’t even fear death when Destrii had the ability to make Tollios into a mural which was succinctly put, so her threats weren’t exactly frightening. The resolution to the final cliffhanger with the Doctor emerging at the start of part three to put forward a challenge was brilliant, and he easily goaded Tollios into accepting a fight with Destrii that had stakes. The action of that sequence was impressive but the impactful nature of its conclusion was incredible! I really didn’t see it coming but when using the TARDIS as a power source, the Doctor was able to bring gravity into play and ensure that Tollios soon did have a concept of down. The sudden way he met his demise was pretty gory even for a comic strip, but I admired it and it certainly had me raising my eyebrows in surprise! That was an emphatic way to deal with the main villain and from there we had a straightforward conclusion as the Zeronites were in custody. Destrii then arrived officially as the companion and whilst she has ground rules unlike any of her predecessors, she was delighted with the opportunity! Overall, this was a really strong comic strip and I’m excited to read where things go from here in the finale! A brilliant read. 

Rating: 8/10

Bad Blood

"All we are to them is meat."

Writer: Scott Gray

Format: Comic Strip

Released: December 2003 - April 2004

Printed in: DWM 338-342

Featuring: Eighth Doctor

Synopsis 

The Eighth Doctor arrives in America and joins General George Custer and Tatanka Yotanka as men begin to turn into monsters...

Verdict

Bad Blood was a very strong comic strip story! This continued my sporadic reading of The Flood graphic novel nicely and was a really good outing for the Eighth Doctor riding solo. However, it appears he will be solo no more as he reaches his comic strip finale but more on that as we get there. I was a big fan of the 1875 setting and even more so with it just being referred to as Dakota. No north or south. It’s quite staggering to think how long the USA has actually been its own country given the superpower status it now has, but 1875 doesn’t seem like it’s a huge amount of time into the past and yet at that point the country wasn’t even a century old! That provided a strong basis for the story and the conflict between Americans and Natives. The soldiers here weren’t exactly pleasant towards their Indian counterparts and were far from adhering to the treaty in place between their peoples. That was a shame as I thought some of the tribespeople were brilliant characters! I was particularly a fan of Running Bear who held position as the de-facto leader fantastically well and was experienced in liaising with the soldiers despite them being non-complimentary of their existence. The idea of the Doctor being expected and arriving out of nothingness was terrific with him having a fun reaction to that fact. He always does enjoy being anticipated. I thought it was fun for him to be wearing the local clothing and the way he stood between the soldiers and Indians was great. He didn’t want conflict. The return of Jodafra and Destrii was not unexpected but was a really strong cliffhanger that sent the entire story into a completely different direction than I was expecting! After a relatively slow build with the Windigo who looked pretty ferocious, the image of their arrival almost from heaven and shooting death rays to wipe out the legendary beasts was impressive. The Doctor wasn’t exactly overly thrilled to see his old adversary and friend, but at least they had been spared. The mention of Izzy and references to Oblivion were great continuity and I really liked how Destrii was flaunting herself. She was far from what you’d expect in a Doctor Who companion and whilst I know that’s part of her charm, she’s really quite unique! It’s still odd to see her as almost like a fish but it’s striking and works well in the comic strip format. I certainly don’t think she’d last long on screen as a regular character. The power struggle between Jodafra and George Custer was a real highlight and the use of the former rounding up the children of the natives to feed to the Windigo was pretty horrifying. He had no regard for human life and that showed, regardless of their age. The Doctor realising that alcohol was the catalyst for the DNA rewrite in the miners that had become Windigo was good and explained a lot, and it also highlighted the purity of the children which was a crying shame. Destrii was quiet for much of the comic despite flaunting herself and even taunting the Doctor about getting with her, but when she saw what her uncle was up to with the children she came into her own and showed more than enough companion capabilities! I was less a fan of her apologies to her uncle as it was clear she had done the right thing in stopping the operation, but familial connections like that are tough to break. Jodafra was outraged by his niece though and left her behind! The Windigo being dealt with through flaming arrows was brilliant given that it was furry and soaked in alcohol, and the natives wanting dynamite to seal the cave and trap the soul was excellent. I thought that worked really well. The Doctor literally picking up Destrii at the conclusion and taking her for refuge in the TARDIS was admirable and I’m sure will provide a fun dynamic moving forward. Overall, a great comic strip adventure!

Rating: 8/10