Aquitaine

"Black holes are best studied from a distance."

Writers: Simon Barnard & Paul Morris

Format: Audio

Released: February 2016

Series: Monthly Adventures 209

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan

Synopsis

Today should be much like every other day for Hargreaves, the computer consciousness that co-ordinates daily life aboard the spaceship Aquitaine, stationed on the outer fringes of a black hole. Water the plants, run the diagnostics, cook the Captain's breakfast; then tidy the plates away, rotate the ship, clean the windows of the observation deck. When at least the day's work is done, Hargreaves will dim the lights in the sleeping quarters. But no-one will sleep aboard the Aquitaine tonight. Because the Aquitaine's crew is missing. 

But today will be different. Today, a space/time ship called the TARDIS will materialise in the botanical section, bringing the Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan aboard the Aquitaine. Together, they'll seek to discover the truth of what happened to Hargreaves' crew...

...if only the ghosts will let them.

Verdict

Aquitaine was an excellent story to continue my way through the Monthly Adventures! Release number two-hundred-and-nine doesn't feel real because that's just such a long run and there's still many more to go before finishing the range. It will feel quite surreal when that happens but I'm going to enjoy the ride and I thought this was a fantastic adventure. I really liked the idea of a loud distress call in the TARDIS waking Tegan up because she would be straight into blaming the Doctor, but she was actually pretty reasonable and it's intriguing to hear how she has a little bit of a new perspective after being left behind in Time-Flight and returning on her travels in Arc of Infinity. The Doctor and Nyssa got up to quite a lot in the meantime but she's making up for lost time. I thought the Aquitaine ship as the setting was magnificent and I loved how it was a haven of botanical research. That's not exactly the usual kind of ship you would expect a distress call from, but the situation certainly was distressing! Hargreaves was a really fun character and I couldn't help but liken him to Vision from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The voice was uncannily like him and his nature as a robot butler was very interesting. I thought the fact he rebooted after every storm in the ergosphere was amusing because his memory was wiped and that made things difficult for the TARDIS team. Especially when there were multiple androids he was inhabiting for each of the trio to interact with across the ship. I definitely got strong vibes of World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls when it came to the black hole impacting time on the ship, particularly when there was a safe space on it where time was not impacted. The Doctor being allowed to get technical when it came to time was fun and I loved how he proclaimed he had authority on the subject owing to his species. The analogy of time tracks to parallel dimensions was excellent and I love when we get an adventure about time, rather than just travelling into the past or future. Being somewhere on the ship and talking about what was happening in the present but that not being where the Doctor and Tegan was made for some hard thinking, but I loved that I was almost being challenged. I was a big fan of that. Nyssa being infected presented some challenges and it was a really interesting way to introduce us to the deranged Dr Akunin. He seemed innocent at first but the way he sedated Nyssa and revealed there was no cure to her condition was incredibly sinister. He had the perfect voice for a villain and the fact he was using his fellow crew members as test subjects for his new species of Aquinites. That was disturbing to see the fate that befell Jennings and Anna's reaction to seeing her name on the label of a container housing a human hand was devastating. Realisation that Nyssa was telling the truth soon became apparent! I thought the way the trio were all reunited was pretty emotional and given the proximity to the black hole and all the jumping around, it wasn't actually clear how much time had passed over the course of the story. I think that's rather interesting. I loved the line from the Doctor about the hairs on his neck standing up because of the impending arrival of the TARDIS also. Glorious. I thought Hargreaves's return to an earlier point in time with the utilisation of his system memory was fantastic and he had to wait fifty-three years to catch up and ensure things were averted. The Aquitaine perishing into the collapsing black hole was quite the climatic and final end to the story. Overall, a superb story! Very atmospheric and dark. 

Rating: 9/10

The Grey Mare

"It's not normal to freeze to death in your own house."

Writers: Lauren Mooney & Stewart Pringle

Format: Audio

Released: December 2021

Series: Torchwood Monthly 57

Featuring: Ianto

Synopsis

"Listen. Mari Lwyd. White as moonlight. Rattle-bagged and broken backed. Steed of winter who the pale men carry.

"Who are those that squire you? Slow and ceaseless, yard by yard, house by house, and door by door."

The Mari Lwyd is a fine Welsh Christmas Tradition – the skeleton of a horse roams the streets, begging to be let in for food and warmth. Once she knocks, only the most cunning can send her away.

Ianto Jones has come to a remote village for a quiet Christmas. But the Mari Lwyd has come knocking. And she's real.

Verdict

The Grey Mare was another excellent Torchwood monthly adventure! This range continues to impress and showcase numerous of the main characters in their own light. It's also wonderfully Welsh and as a patriotic Welshman that might be a big part of its appeal. I love hearing the Welsh language spoken in audio drama and unfortunately I'm not fluent, but I definitely know more than poor old Ianto did here! I thought that was fun to play with when it came to Mrs Watkins teasing him about being from Cardiff which despite being the capital city of our nation, it is not the most Welsh-speaking of cities. Far from it in fact. You've got to go quite far west and north to reach that part of the country, and whilst the remote village here wasn't named it did have a sense of being located somewhere along those lines. I was a little sad for Ianto that he was wanting to spend Christmas alone and remotely, but he was going through some things. He was waiting for Jack to make the first move in calling him and that coming at the end of the episode was a nice way to finish. After a hugely eventful Christmas he got his happy ending. I thought the concept behind the Mari Lwyd was terrific and I loved how eery the episode felt. The remote setting certainly aided that and I was impressed with how well the atmosphere was captured. It felt dark and clearly at night which was good and I do think the cover art has a part to play there. The description of the Mari Lwyd was pretty disturbing with it being a horse skeleton and just the image of one of those roaming the streets was fantastic! Talk about scary. I liked how the legend was just local custom to the likes of Mrs Watkins and Daniel. The latter was a strong character and it was good to see how much he was essentially broken gradually as the episode went on. He was almost laughing at the idea of Ianto and Watkins being scared of the Mari Lwyd but not all that long later he was shooting at it with desperation and fear. He was angered by them using the dead as puppets and why wouldn't he be? Especially when one was his uncle. How must he have looked a year on now as an animated corpse? Ianto was on hand to provide expertise though throughout and I liked how strong he was being despite clearly also being scared. The whole idea of the owner of the house needing to give permission to let the Mari in was intriguing and Watkins became quite vulnerable there. She was still reeling a little from the death of her husband and with that being the house Ianto was sub-letting made it a little more eery. All of his stuff was still in the loft so Watkins felt comfortable in the house which is why she wanted some of Ianto's brandy and kept popping by. In hindsight that was rather sweet for the old woman. I did though relate so much to Ianto questioning what she wanted and clearly trying to get rid of her. I thought Watkins playing the main role in sending the Mari packing was superb and a really strong and powerful emotionally charged moment. She told the Mari Lwyd everything that it wasn't and really impacted her to such the extent that Ianto was confident it would never return. Daniel dying was another massive moment that felt devastating and certainly enhanced the threat, but his death was avenged. Overall, a fantastic listen! 

Rating: 9/10

Ride or Die

"I won't wage war for you."

Writer: Rochana Patel

Format: Audio

Released: January 2026

Series: Thirteenth Doctor Adventures 1.04

Featuring: Thirteenth Doctor, Yaz

Synopsis

The Doctor and Yaz have been sent a list of coordinates, each one pointing to a location in time and space where people are disappearing – but why? The trail leads to a war-torn world, where conscripted humans battle the terrifying Banshee. 

Can the Doctor end this conflict before she loses her best friend? 

Verdict

Ride or Die was another great episode to continue my way through the Thirteenth Doctor Adventures! I'm absolutely loving that we have a whole new series with the Thirteenth Doctor and Yaz an it actually still feels very current considering it has barely been four years since Jodie Whittaker's departure in The Power of the Doctor. The chemistry she has with Mandip Gill as Yaz is fantastic and I liked how addressing their relationship didn't feel hidden or in the background quite as much as it did on television. It was essentially openly addressed when Megan Miller was on the scene. I thought her history with Yaz was intriguing and it was fun to think how she had a crush on the now companion, and the Doctor mentioning how she had good sense must have felt really good for her. It would certainly be a confidence booster for me! Once Megan got a sense of what was happening after the transportation to the war-torn world, she could see that Yaz fancied the Doctor. I mean who can blame her but it was important for Yaz to subtly be learning more about who she was and realising that she might actually like women. I thought that was impressive and I was glad it wasn't at the forefront because it didn't need to be. She can find who she is in her own time and I look forward to that character growth continuing over the course of the next eight episodes. There seems to be a story arc building which I'm all for and the Tourist seems to have some part to play there. I'm fascinated and I like how only inklings are there but it appears that someone familiar will be returning. I could be completely wrong of course but that's the sense I have at this point in the series. I thought the story had a lot of similarities to The Doctor's Daughter with both sides of the war not exactly knowing how things started or even what they were fighting for. It was a good take on capitalism too with the whole thing basically being about profiteering. The concept of playing both sides was a bit of a shock and felt horrible as Yaz had persistently questioned if the motive could really be just for money. Newsflash! The answer was of course yes. I work in finance so hearing some of the lingo here was amusing as shell companies aren't actually all that secretive, or illegal. But the Doctor just being able to buy out the entire stock of Prospero shouldn't be possible either no matter how much she was paid for her UNIT redundancy! That was an amusing idea though in tying in with Flux. I thought the Banshee was a good monster and the origin of the name was purely logical. No arguments there! Sergeant Johnson was also a really good character and I liked how he had a military mind and understood all about UNIT. The Doctor's reaction to the psychic paper actually telling the truth in labelling her the scientific adviser was glorious. I thought Megan dying was a powerful moment but I loved that someone close to Yaz perished because of the growth it brings to her character. I'm not a fan of companions not constantly staying in the TARDIS, but I could understand how she related to Ryan's reasons for departing at the end of Revolution of the Daleks. She needed to keep up with what was happening at home and her taking the responsibility to tell Megan's parents of her death was strong. Johnson succumbing to a potential profit was disappointing from his character perspective but the Doctor using maths and stocks to save the day was good stuff. Overall, a really good listen! 

Rating: 8/10

Empty Vessels: Lure of the Zygons

"I'm entirely in character."

Writer: Roy Gill

Format: Audio

Released: December 2025

Series: Eighth Doctor Adventures 16.02

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Liv, Helen

Synopsis

A distress call draws the Doctor, Liv and Helen to a remote world and a crashed ship, where Captain Elhan is searching for her lost sibling...

As the storms close in, the two crews must investigate the wreck together. In the darkness, the Zygons are waiting...

Verdict

Lure of the Zygons was a strong conclusion to the Empty Vessels series of Eighth Doctor Adventures! After a mammoth task and around two years in the making since starting Dark Eyes, I believe that's me all caught up on everything Eighth Doctor! That feels almost ridiculous to say as I've found his incarnation at Big Finish to be the most daunting as there's just so much there. But here we are and I think it's glorious. He's such a strong incarnation and at times it has felt like I've been encountering him too much as I like to jump around the incarnations and eras, but now I don't know what my next Eighth Doctor outing will be! The Zygons are a good lure in terms of a selling point and I was excited by the prospect of them coming up against the Eighth Doctor once again here, but it's been a long time since The Zygon Who Fell to Earth! I thought doing the Zygons in space felt a little like limiting them as there were only a few humanoid characters for them to take the shape of, but it actually helped add to the emotion. I was glad that the story didn't beat around the bushes of them being present and even though we didn't hear one for a while, it was obvious right away that the Helen that was taking care of Liv at the start of part one was not the real article. That puts the listener in a strong position in having knowledge of the Zygons where the companion  doesn't but she cottoned on pretty quickly to be fair to her! And she wasn't a big fan of what she was learning. I thought Shay was a strong character as the captain and the emotional nature of her searching for her sibling was fantastic. That's a strong bond so when they were reunite it was always going to be packed with a lot of weight. Did Wren actually want saving? Her connection with Vorgel the Zygon was very reminiscent of what we saw with Osgood and everything that went down in The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion and I thought that was powerful stuff. Liv was also really instrumental there when it came to Vorgel as she tried to bring out the individuality of the Zygon. She was different from her other brethren and that was fascinating to explore. I liked how she stuck around at the end even when her people were seen off. That really did say a lot. I liked the throwback and references to Terror of the Zygons and the very idea of Scotland supposedly being the name of the glorious home world in which they were heading was hilarious. Maybe not. I did like the status of the Skarasen and it felt crucial to the Zygons and their survival which brought a good sense of vulnerability. These versions did feel almost contained to the shadows and whilst that did weaken them a little, it also made them very dangerous. The mythical history behind the martlet was intriguing and Helen putting her linguistic skills to the good throughout the episode was absolutely brilliant. She was so impressive and really shone, even when challenged from the Zygon taking her thoughts and bringing up the likes of Albie. This was definitely one of her very best stories as companion which is saying a lot! I liked that the Zygons took their duplication feats to a whole new level when it came to the martlet itself but they went one step too far in trying to duplicate the TARDIS. Whilst a fun concept and incredibly audacious to say the least, it would prove to be their undoing. I thought that was really strong stuff. I will say, I think the second part perhaps goes just a little bit too long but it was still a really good listen! I'm delighted to get another outing for the Zygons as it feels like it's been a while! 

Rating: 8/10

Empty Vessels: Eos Falling

"A rescue specialist... but only for the right price."

Writer: Matt Fitton

Format: Audio

Released: December 2025

Series: Eighth Doctor Adventures 16.01

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Liv, Helen

Synopsis

The Doctor, Helen and Liv find themselves on an abandoned spacecraft, hurtling towards an inhabited world. The crew have vanished – but the TARDIS travellers are not alone on this empty vessel...

Have they really discovered a ghost ship?

Verdict

Eos Falling was an excellent start to the Empty Vessels series of Eighth Doctor Adventures! This was a very strong start but crikey I have some worries about where things are going with this legendary TARDIS team. It's no issue at all with the quality of storytelling as that's been incredibly strong and continues to be with this story here, but with all the talk within the story about neither companion not wanting to depart the TARDIS and give up being a companion, along with the significance of Helen finding familial connections wherever and whenever the TARDIS takes them, I can't help but get a feeling that we're gearing towards some sort of ending. I feel like the line in the episode regarding not wanting to break up such a good team is an in-joke of what's to come. I just get that sense of dread and I feel like it will be Helen in particular that everything gets a little too much for to pile on top of Albie's Angels and everything that came before regarding her family. The Sinclair Foundation being responsible for the colony here was fascinating and I'm intrigue that Helen and Liv are keen to keep that little detail away from the Doctor. There is no such thing as a coincidence as far as he's concerned and this would only heighten that. I was surprised that the trio spent so much of the episode apart from one another but I guess that does allow things like hiding details which I'm sure will come into play later down the line in the timeline for this trio. I thought Jenkar was a fun character in how she was doing good in answering the SOS and rescuing the people of the colony, but only if the price was right. Bidding for rescue! Some concept that fair play. She was almost appalled by the prospect of somebody else arriving on the scene to help because she wanted her full fee. Later finding out that it was actually the colony she was from, or at least used to be, was intriguing. Even more so when the Doctor deduced that she was actually one of its founders. With the connection to the Sinclair Foundation, I can't help but notice how close the name Jenkar is pronounced to Chenka. I feel there has to be a connection to come there down the line. I'll be honestly stunned if there's not! I thought the Eos ship itself was a strong setting and the eery feel was there almost immediately which I liked. It was a tense atmosphere without much bickering which is usually difficult to capture! I was a big fan of that. Roscoe wanting to save and be reunited with his daughter Willa was a strong emotional pull and the ghostly apparition presence for them on the ship was really good stuff. I thought Helen spotting Willa initially was good and let her know again that there was a reason for them to stay. This girl needed saving and I liked how that became a common goal for everyone. Even Jankar by the end had a change of heart because she thought hard about her family history. I liked that when she was ready to give up on her own colony, she was convinced otherwise thanks to the Doctor's offer of getting to go anywhere she liked (within reason) on top of her full fee. Considering the episode was less than an hour, the growth her character underwent over the course of the episode was fantastic. I was almost proud of her! I'm intrigued to hear the character direction for the companions moving forward and we've got a very fun looking finale to this boxset to come! Overall, a terrific start to the series!

Rating: 9/10

One Night Only (A Fela Kuti Story)

"Never underestimate the musicians."

Writer: Tade Thompson

Format: Novella

Released: August 2025

Series: Icons 04

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane, Harry

Synopsis

Sarah Jane doesn't know who she is any more.

She's applied for a job as a secretary at a run-of-the-mill office, with just one other co-worker. 

He's nice enough. A little strange, a little charming, clearly an innovator. For a snappy dresser, though (Sarah loves the scarf) he's strangely quiet. 

That's because, of course, he's the Doctor. Working with UNIT to try to restore Sarah's memories, he's found himself battling an alien group harvesting the minds of unsuspecting victims. 

But he's already on the back foot, and as the alien hive mind draws in its followers, he's very much in need of a friend. 

Enter legendary musician Fela Kuti. Another innovator – just as challenging, and just as charming. He might just be the one to save the human race.

Verdict

One Night Only (A Fela Kuti Story) was a pretty average novella I'm afraid to say. I thought so much of this story was actually really strong but I'm not sure I've read a story that was so let down by its ending. I'll get to that in due course but I was very excited by what I was reading at the start. Thankfully, I had not read the synopsis prior to starting the book which I am eternally grateful for as I think it spoils the entire first chapter. The whole premise there is just blurted out which doesn't feel right so I'm thankful that when borrowing the book on BorrowBox as part of my local library service, I just dove right into the story. The concept of Sarah Jane having her memories distorted was really well done and having her as a secretary to the Doctor is certainly enough of a job to drive anybody up the wall! The details and ludicrousness of his letters to the editor of The Times that Sarah was having to scribe were incredible with the Doctor complaining about the aftertaste of the ink on his fingers from reading the paper and how that impacts his jelly baby eating experience. He was certainly testing her! I thought it was bonkers and that's the Fourth Doctor for you. Of course, this was a time jump ahead in the story from where Sarah had actually been the victim of the Harvesters known as Anthophillae. I thought they were decent enough as the villain and I do like a hive mind even if it's very much not a new concept now in Doctor Who adventures. They almost felt like a mix between the Zygons and the Krillitanes with them taking on the form of the most dominant species on whatever planet they arrived on. Their claim here though was that they just wanted to get back home and I was surprised with how accepting the Doctor was of that. He was going to help them finish building their Navigator which would have been a disaster. Sarah was actually able to utilise her connection to the hive mind against the Harvesters also and could see that they were actually planning an invasion. I thought the role of Fela Kuti was pretty minimal in the adventure which felt odd for this series. I must admit, I didn't know who he was prior to reading the book and he's certainly a unique character to focus on as an icon. I don't think he was presented as being special in the story which was a shame and I think there's some blaring continuity errors in him having met the Fourth Doctor specifically on a number of previous occasions, but not Sarah Jane. It's established in Doctor Who and the Face of Evil that during the events of Robot the Doctor did momentarily sneak off but he wasn't in a place mentally to interact and build a friendship with Fela as was presented here. I also thought the take on his language and accent was poor. It didn't make sense and just wasn't really necessary in prose. Just describe the way he's talking rather than make it not make sense in the spelling of words to present an accent. I didn't like that. Much of the story took on the form of negotiation and UNIT and the Brigadier specifically being on hand with a plan b of an airstrike felt right. I was also a little disappointed in the Doctor for questioning Sarah Jane in wanting to catch up with Harry when she realised it was 1976 with this being set after Terror of the Zygons and his departure. But then we never get a goodbye! The ending was disappointing in its predictability, vagueness and just how quick it was. I know this is a novella so it's not going to be as detailed as a full novel, but it was just a very quick turn on of Fela's music and the sound reverberating so much that it disconnected the Anthophillae from their hive mind and home world and saw them all die almost immediately. It felt lacking in explanation a little which was a shame as I really did enjoy the whole memory wipe element. I wished we stayed longer in Sarah's secretary life with the Doctor as that was undoubtedly the best part. Her line about writing her autobiography and correcting herself to subtitle it The Sarah Jane Adventures was absolutely golden though. Honestly one of my all time favourite lines in Whoniverse prose history. It brought a huge smile to my face. Overall, a decent concept but the chapters were too long for a novella and the ending brings this down massively for me.

Rating: 6/10

The Red List

"Your country is burning."

Writer: James Goss

Format: Audio

Released: November 2021

Series: Torchwood Monthly 56

Featuring: Ace, Mr Colchester 

Synopsis

At first it was lights in the sky. Then the country started falling apart. Torchwood has come to help. So has A Charitable Earth. But there's a problem. 

Mr Colchester and Ms McShane find themselves trapped in a quarantine hotel in the middle of an alien invasion. 

Can they save the world without leaving their rooms?

Verdict

The Red List was a very good audio to continue my way through the monthly Torchwood range from Big Finish! I never imagined that we would be getting Ace popping up in Torchwood but with her A Charitable Earth charity it makes a great amount of sense! We know from At Childhood's End and The Power of the Doctor that she is a big charitable figure in the modern day so to have her getting mixed up with Torchwood should not come as any surprise. In fact I should be asking why hasn't it happened sooner! I thought the pairing of her alongside Mr Colchester was very fun and whilst they weren't entirely working together given his thoughts toward charity and hers towards Torchwood, I thought the development of their relationship was pretty strong. There was good humour that came from them being confined and this story reflecting thoughts and feelings on the pandemic was done brilliantly. I imagine a lot of the details were very close to home if you listened close to release date with things being very fresh in the memory. This still resonated with me here and I definitely got that sense of confinement which was important to the story. I think things would have been helped if we actually had the country named and whilst it is indicated to be somewhere in Latin or Southern America with the references to El Presidente, I didn't really like not having a definitive answer on where Mr Colchester and Ace were. Even if it was somewhere made up as we saw in The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion, that would have been beneficial in my opinion. The lines about locking visitors up were certainly on the nose in terms of being political but it was hard to argue against them. The indoctrination of the quarantine hotel was fascinating and it was done really subtly over the course of the episode. I thought it did a really good job for over an hour in presenting how long Mr Colchester and Ace had been stuck in the hotel. One newspaper and one television channel. The banter that came from them competing the crossword together much to Colchester's annoyance was really fun but all of the answers were leading towards a certain way of thinking which I liked. By the end of the ten days, the pair were both very much against El Presidente and wanted to see him dethroned in any form or fashion. That came as a surprise to Ace and Colchester which I enjoyed. I thought these two being together was also fun for the simple fact of them both hating their first names. Ace playing on Colchester's in particular was great banter. Xavier was a fun little character and with Colchester now alone following Colin's death, he was out for some fun. He needed fixing. And he probably wasn't far wrong! The flirtatious building of their relationship with each maintenance visit was good and it was painfully obvious that they were going to work something out together. After all of the brainwashing efforts, Ace and Colchester not actually definitively guaranteeing that they weren't the copied versions of themselves was quite the ambiguous way to end the episode! They knew what had been trying to be achieved against them for assassination and things clearly got in the way like bodies falling from the twelfth floor, but I do wonder if this is something we may come back to in the future. I would love to get another go around with this pairing, especially if they're questioning their own existence! Overall, a really strong listen. I love this range.

Rating: 8/10

Tales from the Vortex: When I Say Run...

"This definitely isn't an interactive event."

Writer: Ben Tedds

Format: Audio

Released: April 2025

Series: Short Trips 13.02

Featuring: Tenth Doctor

Synopsis

You love listening to these audio stories as you go about your daily routine, so it's awkward when an alien entity takes control of you during your morning run. Maybe the Doctor can have a word in your ear?

Verdict

When I Say Run... was a good little story to continue my way through the Tales from the Vortex thirteenth series of Short Trips! I was a little sceptical going into this story from the synopsis description describing it as a story for 'you and the Tenth Doctor' because I'm not a massive fan of the format of involving the listener in the adventure. I think it works for a younger audience perhaps and I know the Short Trips range isn't exactly the most complex and is one of the more accessible with them largely being standalone adventures, but especially with it being the Tenth Doctor I think I was getting strong Decide Your Destiny vibes in audio format! It wasn't quite like that as the decisions were all made for us and I don't think the character that was addressed as if it was the listener actually felt that way. It was just a different kind of perspective which was pretty intriguing, but I'm not really sure it was necessary. It wasn't bad at all but I don't think the adventure actually gained anything from utilising this approach. I thought the story itself was actually pretty good and it certainly felt modern which is good when including this particular incarnation of the Doctor. I don't think Clare Corbett's impression of the Tenth Doctor was anything to write home about and that's no big surprise or problem, but I have high expectations after recently listening to The Wednesday That Wasn't and her tremendous take on the Thirteenth Doctor! The Elekron app was a good basis for much of the story and that's where acting as a character for the listener came into play. I am someone who has sporadically taken up running in the last couple of years and recently completed the Nos Galan road races on New Year's Eve in my home town, so hearing some of the motivational speech and comments felt very familiar. I must be honest though, if I had an app in my ear with an artificial intelligence giving me encouragement or updates I think it would drive me bonkers. I like a good podcast when running and I think the app was a little conservative in building up to a 5k. I don't think that's too long at all! The Elekron feeding off the energy of the app users was intriguing but once the Doctor arrived they felt incredibly inferior. That showed just how much of a presence the Doctor has as a Time Lord and with the Elekron home world perishing in the Time War, they were no match for the Doctor. They actually seemed to quiver when inside the TARDIS but they were audacious in planning to infiltrate the console to go back in time to their home world and prevent its destruction. I thought them challenging the Doctor that he wouldn't rather than couldn't save it was bold, but they just ended up taking him up on the offer of a new settlement which felt a little underwhelming. The Doctor pondering on not getting to do the whole one chance line was fun stuff and it's actually a shame I felt that we didn't get a little more exploration of the Elekron living dormant within the app of a phone. I find that really interesting rife with potential, especially with AI as this world gets more and more technologically reliant and advanced. No such worries in the TARDIS though! And just a final note, how can we have a story named as this one and it not feature the Second Doctor? That feels like a missed opportunity, but that doesn't have an impact on the adventure! Overall, a solid listen indeed.

Rating: 7/10

Deathworld

"All lower creatures fear the power of the Ice Warriors!"

Writer: Steve Moore

Format: Comic Strip

Released: January 1980

Printed in: DWM 15-16

Featuring: Ice Warriors, Cybermen

Synopsis

The Ice Warriors trace trisilicate to the planet Yama-10, but they are not the first to arrive...

Verdict

Deathworld was a magnificent little comic strip adventure to continue my way through The Return of the Daleks graphic novel of backup stories! This was right up there in challenging the titular story for the best in the collection so far, I really was that impressed. I have had a rather tough today with work, very early morning rises from my daughter who then had a vaccination that overran considerably, so I needed something good like this. This really raised my mood! I was delighted enough to see that this was going to be an Ice Warriors story and the continuity with The Curse of Peladon and The Monster of Peladon in having them searching for trisilicate was terrific. I was a big fan of that and they were really keen on obtaining a source by venturing as far as they did to Yama-10! That planet being described as the titular Deathworld was fun and I thought the narration from the Fourth Doctor who bookended the story and introduced each part was really beneficial. It felt very much in character which was marvellous and given how this story ends for both the Ice Warriors and the Cybermen, you couldn't help but understand his smile! The cliffhanger at the end of part one with the Cybermen already being on the planet and claiming it under the Cyberman Empire was tremendous, even if it was wholly predictable in the best way possible. The artwork of the Cybermats was absolutely glorious in capturing the likeness that we saw on screen in The Tomb of the Cyberman which is undoubtedly the best design. It meant I knew who the metallic creatures being hinted at were and I was very excited for their arrival. I didn't know I needed it, but conflict between the Ice Warriors and Cybermen was fantastic! I loved the contrast between the two races and housing this battle on a world that had considerable heat was very intriguing. The Ice Warriors obviously don't react well to that so they were actually a little appalled by the Cybermen having resistance to the climate. I enjoyed that a lot, but the Ice Warriors had a plan of their own and that meant using ice alongside water to short circuit the Cybermen. They'd impacted the natural environment significantly and in typical Ice Warrior fashion, they plunged the planet into ice. The Cybermen being defeated there by the buildup was great and I thought the fate of the Ice Warriors in letting themselves be consumed by the ice and play the waiting game was fascinating. They're certainly a patient race but it's a lovely throwback to The Ice Warriors to showcase that they will just wait until thawing. It certainly shows how important trisilicate is! The line from the Doctor at the end about the ice being thick and the Ice Warriors underestimating that was really fun. I do think it was supposed to indicate that both races defeated one another, but I'm going to give this victory to the Ice Warriors! I think the story was really good and full of action for a worthy cause. A rare battle between two famous foes and I think the only thing that might have made it perfect was a few more of the letter s in the Ice Warriors dialogue. That would make things feel just slightly more authentic, but this is still very early days for the comic strips and I can't be complaining too much. A superb read! 

Rating: 9/10

Daemons in Levenshulme

"Miss Hawthorne is the sacrifice that Azal requires!"

Writer: Paul Magrs

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2025

Printed in: The Adventures After 03

Featuring: Thirteenth Doctor, Yaz

Synopsis

Discover what happened after...

A remarkable collection of new Doctor Who short stories that give a glimpse into the moments just after the Doctor saves the world, and the credits roll.

The Doctor has had many adventures, visited many planets and made a whole host of friends (and some enemies). 

But if you thought it was all over after the TARDIS doors closed, and the time ship dematerialised, onto the next adventure, you'd be very much mistaken.

From Earth's past, present and future, to the furthest reaches of the universe, here are eight tales that give us a glimpse into the worlds the Doctor left behind. Sometimes triumph, sometimes tragedy (and always chaos) these are stories you'll never forget.

Verdict

Daemons in Levenshulme was a great story to continue my way through The Adventures After collection of sequels! I think The Daemons is a fine serial to do a sequel to as that is one that has a considerable amount of lore and a very high standing in fandom, but I would not have expected it to be done with the Thirteenth Doctor and Yaz! I'm going into reading these stories very dry on what exactly the sequels are apart from the image at the start of the chapter and I can only then guess which Doctor and companion combination will feature. This was a really nice surprise as I think the Thirteenth Doctor is severely under appreciated and whilst her wonderful surprise cameo at the end of The Reality War is helping people readjust their opinion alongside the glorious Thirteenth Doctor Adventures at Big Finish which are selling out, it's lovely to see this incarnation getting a lot of love. I think it's wonderful to bring a cult classic monster like the Daemons and Azal back but having the Doctor and now the Master as well in female form. I thought it was great stuff to acknowledge how terribly modern this all was and that came from the wonderful returning Miss Hawthorne! I don't think it would have been really possible to do a Daemons sequel without her and here she was at the ripe age of one-hundred-and-two still going strong! The fact she has a cat named Benton was fun stuff but as a cat owner myself, I can't believe how she copes with twenty-five of the feline creatures running around! That would drive me insane. I thought Missy returning here in the role of Ms Magister was tremendous and I loved the continuity from The Wonderful Doctor of Oz in acknowledging that this is not the first time the two female incarnations have faced off. Missy acknowledging that they had gotten a little out of sync was a nice touch although I reckon she'd have been just fine with the Scottish fella showing up instead. Referencing that the Doctor was still adjusting to the revelations of her past in Ascension of the Cybermen/The Timeless Children was strong stuff and I thought Yaz was good in going with the flow of the story. However, I would have expected more from her when it came to Missy being present as a female incarnation of the Master. Given everything he put her through in Spyfall and the aforementioned Series 12 finale, I thought she would have reacted more. I do wish she got to properly confront her also! I liked the reunion between the Doctor and Miss Hawthorne and the latter reacted well to finding out that the woman was the Doctor she once knew. That was very nice indeed and she complimented the Doctor and Yaz very nicely! She was clearly concerned by the coming of the Devil himself once again although the Doctor was on hand to explain to her companion that it was actually a race of demons from Daemos. Yaz being intrigued by aliens possibly providing the basis for historic myths and legends was fun stuff and something good to ponder. I must admit, I was a tad disappointed by the resolution in having Azal almost be reformed as a demon. I'm not sure that's the right move but it's certainly different! I think it was trying to highlight the change of the modern world compared to 1971 which I'm fine with, it just felt almost like a letdown after a very strong build. The fact he then subjected Missy to the microcosm in which he had escaped his fate was fascinating as that would be something fun to explore with her frustrations at ruling over nothing more than dust and atoms. But then maybe she's not there at all with it seemingly being the case that this reformed Azal was a projection all along? Perhaps a little too much ambiguity there, but still a really lovely read. Overall, a fun little story to continue the collection! 

Rating: 8/10

The Potential Daleks: War of the Morai

"Your empathy and compassion protects you."

Writers: Nicholas Briggs & Mark Wright

Format: Audio

Released: December 2025

Series: Second Doctor Adventures 4.03

Featuring: Second Doctor, Jamie, Zoe

Synopsis

The Doctor and friends dash back to the Vanishing Point, hoping to warn Ananke and the Morai of an impending invasion. However, what they discover is a fiendish plan in operation and a population in exile. 

Zoe must resort to an extraordinary use of her own mental powers, while the Doctor, Raven and Jamie fight to restore order and save the universe.

Verdict

War of the Morai was a strong story to conclude what has been an excellent The Potential Daleks fourth series of Second Doctor Adventures! I thought this rounded out what has been a really fascinating and complicated storyline nicely, and things are far from being over for this splinter version of the Second Doctor! I find that incredibly exciting and whilst it is audacious and kind of cheating in going Season 6b about it by having this Doctor just moments before his forced exile in The War Games, I'm all here for it when we get storytelling like this. I have found things enthralling and it's just wonderful to continue the adventures with an older Jamie and Zoe. Will they get a goodbye that they deserved this time around? I'm skipping ahead here but the idea of them all going to Gallifrey in the next boxset excites me greatly. This would be the earliest depiction we have of the Doctor on his home planet post-The War Games and that excites me greatly, especially with this being right after as far as the Doctor is concerned. The throwback to The Vanishing Point here was good and expected given what the Daleks were trying to do in using the barricade to create an eternal Skaro. That's a tantalising prospect and hearing the Emperor revel in him being a Dalek mutated from Time Lord DNA was glorious. I sincerely hope we haven't heard the last of him and with it being alluded to that he might have survived the fate of the passage, I suspect he will return and I'm very excited for the rematch. There's just something special about the Emperor and Nicholas Briggs does a stellar job in making him sound booming and a much larger presence than your average Dalek. I thought the returns of Ananke and Aither were really good and the former really presented well just how much the Morai and the Vanishing Point have been impacted by the coming of the Daleks. It's been an awfully long time since the Doctor, Zoe and Raven were around and I enjoyed the emotion of the devastation. Aither being resurrected was unexpected but I guess it shouldn't have been given the nature of the Morai! The description of how they never really died was eery but then when we got into the calcification of the race and how this made the barricade of the Vanishing Point it got into the realm of being uncomfortable. Zoe's relationship with Aither was good to expand upon and he really did seem broken at not being accepted as companion in the TARDIS. He wanted to travel and who could blame him! I liked that the Doctor was sombre as he admitted that in ordinary circumstances he would accept him alongside them, but after everything that happened with the Daleks here and his very nature, that wasn't going to be possible. I thought Raven was a little quiet in the story which was a shame but it was Zoe who shone by manipulating the Daleks with her eidetic memory. She'd willed into being the belief that only Aither could control the gateway and his shock at that was fun stuff. She was playing things very well and ensured another ending for the Daleks within the barricade of the gateway. Who knows what fate befell the Daleks here. It's a neat way to conclude things but it still leaves things open-ended for their inievtiable return. But it's this Doctor's return to Gallifrey alongside Raven that I'm now very excited for moving forward in the next boxset! It does feel like we're building to an ending of this arc and whilst I don't know if that is the case, it feels like it and Gallifrey is a wonderful place to finish if so. Overall, a great occlusion to the series! 

Rating: 8/10

The Potential Daleks: Secret of the Daleks

"I see eternity."

Writer: Mark Wright

Format: Audio

Released: December 2025

Series: Second Doctor Adventures 4.02

Featuring: Second Doctor, Jamie, Zoe

Synopsis

The Daleks have returned... or have they?

Following the lingering trail of the Daleks' space-time corridor, the time travellers are surprised when the TARDIS arrives on a tropical forest world. Taking refuge with the population of a peaceful village, the Doctor wonders if he has finally defeated his most terrible enemy. 

Is the secret of the Daleks about to be revealed?

Verdict

Secret of the Daleks was another excellent episode to continue my way through The Potential Daleks fourth series of Second Doctor Adventures! This followed up the outstanding Humpty Dumpty opener in strong style with another fascinating Dalek story. The Daleks have been done and done again in Doctor Who but I think putting them against the Second Doctor here in a story set beyond The War Games and at an untapped point in Time Lord history and the Doctor's chronology, something special seems to be happening. I love the idea of Time Lord and Dalek conflict this early on in chronology and it works well. It's no wonder that the Time Lords acted in Genesis of the Daleks by sending the Fourth Doctor on a mission to prevent their creation! This builds into that history of conflict very nicely and the concept of the Daleks wanting Skaro to exist at all points throughout history is staggering. It's almost difficult to comprehend as surely it exists for quite a big continuous chunk at the very least up until Remembrance of the Daleks? Still, it's audacious and I'm all for messing around with time. The very idea of the Dalek Emperor being made up inside of at least partial Time Lord through Celestin is fantastic and frankly ludicrous! The Emperor of the Daleks being able to make telepathic contact in the form we often see in multi-Doctor adventures was incredible. I never anticipated anything like that so it was quite the treat! I thought the revelation of the Emperor having camouflage on Skaro was good stuff as the picture painted initially upon landing was one of a rather beautiful place. Raven was cautious with the Doctor seemingly wanting there to be Daleks all along, and his suspicions were soon proved correct as he knew they'd be somewhere not on the surface. That didn't literally mean they were underground but it wasn't far off! The Daleks wanting to get to the Vanishing Point in order to have Skaro exist throughout history is intriguing continuity and sets us up nicely for the finale. I like the idea of them trying to extract the coordinates to get there from the Doctor but he put up a strong fight and ended up within the Dalek Pathweb! That felt very Asylum of the Daleks which was fun. I also liked the strong continuity with The Evil of the Daleks in having the Emperor in new casing now that the Doctor didn't think was as impressive as the one viewed there but I'd love to have seen it! It's a shame there's not an Emperor redesign on the cover art. Touching on the civil war that the Doctor was blamed for was terrific stuff and a reminder of why he is considered their greatest enemy. I do think it's a bit strange though that they end up getting to the Vanishing Point coordinates from Raven as she was there, but she's been in their thrall the entire time? The Doctor suspected her of being controlled by the Daleks which I'm not surprised by and I'm glad she's fighting back because I think she offers so much. She couldn't quite hold them off when it came to the telepathic contact at the end which is a shame but it sets the sights strongly on an exciting finale to come! I expect a lot of loose ends and tendrils to be tied up. I'm very much looking forward to it! Overall, a fantastic listen. 

Rating: 9/10

The Potential Daleks: Humpty Dumpty

"I can't allow you to die alone."

Writer: Nicholas Briggs

Format: Audio

Released: December 2025

Series: Second Doctor Adventures 4.01

Featuring: Second Doctor, Jamie, Zoe

Synopsis

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall...

A nursery rhyme through time is on the brink of causing a cosmic catastrophe. And for the Doctor, Jamie, Zoe and Raven, this is just the beginning of a final battle.

A battle which began on Skaro.

Verdict

Humpty Dumpty was an outstanding start to The Potential Daleks fourth series of Second Doctor Adventures! This is easily one of the most exciting ranges Big Finish currently have going on because having an entire Second Doctor era set after The War Games feels like cheating and really shouldn't be possible, but yet here we are! I absolutely adored The War Games in Colour which feels like if it is canonical then this series shouldn't be able to exist, but Raven's reiteration again here of this being a splinter version of the Second Doctor is fascinating. It signals that there could be a definitive ending for this version of the Second Doctor which is very intriguing but it also opens up a lot of possibilities as well as providing some real jeopardy for this version of the second incarnation. It was indicated that this version perhaps can't regenerate when it came to debating him making the sacrifice with the other and true version of the Doctor(s) getting to live on. I thought the continuity from the entire Conspiracy of Raven series last time out was very strong and it's a shame this came so long after its release with a production delay because it does basically immediately follow on. Touching on the origins of the Kippers was fascinating stuff and the very concept of them being potential Daleks is not something I saw coming. I liked the concept of the Daleks being wiped out which I assume is an allusion to the intended final end in The Evil of the Daleks, but hearing of what Raven thought she was working towards means they're very much on the comeback trail. The idea of Raven aiming to help bring about a new Dalek Emperor with Time Lord DNA is staggering but something I absolutely loved. There feels something special about exploring conflict between the Time Lords and the Daleks at this early stage of the Classic era and I am absolutely all here for it. The Doctor working out that the multitude of materialising Skaros were linked to the Kippers actually being Daleks was incredibly interesting and I loved the audacity of it all. It's ludicrous but certainly the right kind. I thought the care home setting for Angela was incredibly eery and the way she was repeating the nursery rhyme of Humpty Dumpty was uncomfortable to say the least. That was in 1951 and having Zoe and Raven there whilst the Doctor and Jamie were in 1877 when Angela was a baby worked brilliantly. The Daleks were utilising the two years and Angela's nursery rhyme in particular to bring about a time corridor through which they could return, and when the Humpty Dumpty nursery rhyme was getting more and more Dalek sounding I loved it. I think the return of Celestin was a nice touch and great continutiy dating back to Beyond War Games, and I can't wait to see how he plays into things with his connection to the Dalek Emperor. Jamie in particular had a really strong story here as companion and I loved that even as a little older his loyalty to the Doctor was absolute. He wouldn't be letting him go at it alone which was admirable. I thought Violet as Angela's mother was a strong character too and hearing how she had supposedly invented the phonograph was terrific stuff. Of course, she was no scientist and it was implanted within her from the Daleks. The pending return of the Daleks was a strong cliffhanger with the Celestin/Emperor going full Dalek in the nursery rhyme. I can't wait for the next episode! A sublime start. 

Rating: 10/10

Tales from the Vortex: Dark Watchers of California

"This world wants us to feel like monsters."

Writer: Riley Silverman

Format: Audio

Released: April 2015

Series: Short Trips 13.01

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Bill

Synopsis

Susie hides out in California's Big Sur, but finds she cannot entirely escape a 1966 San Francisco riot. Can the Doctor and Bill Potts catch up with Susie before her past does, and discover what the menacing Dark Watchers want with her?

Verdict

Dark Watchers of California was a strong start to the Tales from the Vortex thirteenth series of Short Trips! This was a really solid outing and right from the off I was excited by the prospect of a Twelfth Doctor and Bill story. It seems an awfully long time since I have done one of those and it turns out that having this particular companion around for the adventure was very important indeed. I was a big fan of the 1966 setting and exploring San Francisco was a refreshing change from the norms of a mundane London. It's brilliant that these audios are not restricted by budgets and can just simply venture off to California and not the usual touristy sites either. That was really good and the Big Sur made for a fine base for the story. I thought Susie was a pretty good character and it soon made sense why Rebecca Root was the narrator for this adventure with her being a transgender. I was initially sceptical and confused as to why she would be telling a story featuring the Twelfth Doctor! I was taken aback as I pressed play because I hadn't read the details beforehand on who was what when it came to story roles. It's a smart bit of casting by the end and having Bill alongside her instantly makes her feel more comfortable which I could really appreciate. America in 1966 is not a place where many people other than white men might feel comfortable or accepted so having Bill as a lesbian alongside Susie as a transgender was a powerful message. I liked that a lot and it was great to have Bill's personality shine in how upfront she was about her sexual orientation. She instantly recognised that Susie was running from hers as she could see all of the signs from her own experiences. That was all positive. And then came the persistent Officer Finch who was just a horrible person. Nothing much needed to be said about him as his insistence on continuing to hunt Susie and not take well to being told no by her was more than enough to show what kind of person he was. Especially in the America of 1966. Trying to use his position of power to get what he wanted and not understanding why he was denied it when people like Susie had to resort to selling themselves was really strong stuff but I appreciated the realism. We even got a description of it often being rough! I didn't see that coming but it really hit home. I thought the involvement of the Watchers actually got in the way of the emotion of the story for me and whilst I did like that Susie rejected her previous meeting as nothing more than a nightmare of her childhood when she was who she considered to be somebody else, the Watchers had actually come back for more of what she had provided the first time around. The Doctor recognised that they were after something was intriguing and that turned out to be guilt. I thought that was a little random but it's no surprise that she had it in abundance to give after everything she had been through. She was confused as to why it was a surprise though and she wasn't the only one! It sent them packing though as did the psychic paper from the Doctor for Finch. It was nice at the end though for her to want to finally return home and get involved in the trash clean up demonstrations. That felt like a powerful historical message. Overall, a strong start to the series! 

Rating: 7/10

Warlord of the Ogrons

"Don't punish me if I fail!"

Writer: Steve Moore

Format: Comic Strip

Released: January 1980

Printed in: DWM 13-14

Featuring:

Synopsis

Dr Linus Leofrix has a dastardly plan to enslave the Ogrons for his own personal gain, but why try and control them all when you can control the one that leads the race?

Verdict

Warlord of the Ogrons was another very good little comic strip story to continue my way through The Return of the Daleks graphic novel! I am absolutely loving venturing to different parts of the Whoniverse without the Doctor and I think the fact the stories were published so early on in the tenure of Doctor Who Magazine and when the Fourth Doctor was still current makes them feel all the more retro and authentic. That's a big bonus in my opinion because now with the world of Big Finish we have had so many spinoff series beyond the Doctor ranging from the likes of Graceless and Jago & Litefoot to Sarah Jane Smith and the Zygon Century to name but just a few. However, tackling the Ogrons in 1980 is a delight because they're still pretty fresh from their appearances alongside the Third Doctor in Day of the Daleks and Frontier in Space so getting a comic strip adventure on their home world must have been pretty exciting! I certainly would love for example now to find in the pages of DWM a comic strip story that was like a spinoff featuring the Smilers. They're on a similar kind of level but I'd be all for exploring more of them and their world! I was impressed with the artwork in the comic strip because there was some development and evolution of the Ogron appearance that I actually think worked. I'm not often a fan of a redesign unless it comes to the Cybermen or a Dalek paint job, but this definitely worked and expanded on the Ogrons that we saw on screen. I like the brute nature of the Ogrons and them just thinking in terms of war and violence is part of their charm because they're pretty stupid otherwise. It's all part of the fun. I think that vulnerability actually made the scheme of Linus and Rostow all the more criminal. I actually felt sorry for the Ogrons and I think here on their home world they wouldn't actually be considered 'bad guys' per say. I think that's intriguing because they've clearly been bargained for by the Daleks when we see them on screen so they're out to make a living. Who can argue with that? I thought the plan for Linus, and Rostow in particular, in wanting to subjugate Gnork to their technological advancement was very good because now with opening up parts of his brain that he wouldn't use before and giving him lessons and visual aid on strategy, he would become Warlord of the Ogrons as the title suggests. It didn't quite work out that way though as he quickly became much more intelligent and used his brute force alongside to become a rather handy Ogron! The logic in wanting to control the Ogron that could control all other Ogrons was sound, but it was never going to work! Not with this violent race. The fight between Gnork and Gwunn was good stuff and I liked the idea of seeing an Ogron challenge, but Gnork was out to save his race and not see them subject to men's will. That was an admirable trait. The way they rose up as a small band against Linus and Rostow was strong and Gnork now taking his newfound intelligence and position to leave the men behind on the Ogron planet while he took the ship and ventured into the galaxy was quite audacious. Overall, a really strong little story. 

Rating: 7/10

The Wednesday That Wasn't

"We demand the missing day."

Writer: Luke Hollands

Format: Audio

Released: December 2025

Series: Short Trips 14.X

Featuring: Thirteenth Doctor, Yaz, Ryan, Graham 

Synopsis

The Galactic Lost Property Office is where the universe stores what it has misplaced. But instead of a scarf from Trenzalore or an umbrella from Peladon, someone has handed in a Wednesday. A whole missing day.

The Doctor says she was keeping it safe before someone wished it away. Now it's loose and dangerous – with a treacherous crowd who claim ownership ahead of her in the queue. 

Verdict

The Wednesday That Wasn't was a very good audio adventure! I'm a big fan of the Paul Spragg Memorial entry into the Short Trips range as whilst not a writer myself, I'm very much in favour of those trying to make a break into the scriptwriting business getting an open go at a Doctor Who adventure. I think it's the right move to have a theme and this year the focus was rightly on the Thirteenth Doctor after Jodie Whittaker's stunning debut at Big Finish with the Thirteenth Doctor Adventures, as otherwise there would be so much scale for the judging panel to go to and I imagine it would actually make it difficult to judge. At least all of these entries would have a certain feel with them limited to one incarnation of the Doctor. That Doctor was presented here fantastically well and I was so impressed with the narration of Clare Corbett. She was really engaging but also her impression of Jodie Whittaker when taking on the role of the Thirteenth Doctor was magnificent! It's obviously wonderful that we have the real article in her own series, but this is no bad substitute if this Doctor was to show up in any more minor series like the Short Trips. I'm all for that! She nailed it and that instantly helps the story in my opinion. I thought it was good to have a kind of time jump thing with the Doctor arriving at the Galactic Lost Property Office alone to make a claim on the missing Wednesday, but then the contents within that day seeing the Doctor alongside the original fam of Yaz, Ryan and Graham. They feel authentic for this Doctor even though they didn't see out her entire run all together. Whilst featuring the three companions, it was actually Edna as the worker at the Property Office that felt like the companion for the story which was pretty fun. She was a really strong character and I liked how she was trying her best to follow protocol but the prospect of getting to actually see what was within the Wednesday was too much for her not to leave her desk. I thought the Skitrax was a decent villain and I loved the idea of sentient currency. I feel there's a lot of untapped potential there and we've barely scratched the surface on what could be presented. There's so much that could happen if money could literally talk as the saying goes, so for the Doctor to shut things down and impact the very nature of money itself from shares to stock exchanges really did have a ripple effect! Those then who had a downward turn financially were trying to claim the day for themselves which I thought was logical and made perfect sense. It was a really solid plot and I'd have actually just liked more time experiencing the danger of sentient currency. I know that wasn't possible in a Short Trip which is fine, but it's definitely something that could be taken further in the future. I thought it was also cheeky to mention a number of lost items and the cover art as well is a thing of beauty. The Doctor convincing Edna of ownership of the day and the threats that would happen if the day wasn't reinserted into the timeline was great stuff and rounded out a really good little story. For free as well! I look forward to next year's entry already. A terrific little listen.

Rating: 8/10

K9's Finest Hour

"Beware of the dog!"

Writer: Steve Moore

Format: Comic Strip

Released: April 1979

Printed in: DWM 12

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, K9

Synopsis

K9 is the inadvertent target of an attack against the Doctor, and the assailants bargain for me than they can handle when the robot dog gets involved...

Verdict

K9's Finest Hour was a mighty fine story indeed to continue my reading through The Return of the Daleks graphic novel! I think K9 is the perfect candidate to have his own comic strip story and hell, I'd love for him to even have his own comic strip series because he's perfect for that kind of format and if this is anything to go by then it's a clear indication of success. I think it does help just by virtue of being a robot dog that K9 is well suite to the comic strip format because he really does look like a comic strip character. That's a big compliment and I'm honestly surprised we haven't had more solo comic strips featuring the companion because of that. This was only four pages long which really isn't much time at all in terms of page count, but they utilised every single panel. A clear and enjoyable story was told and it was very fun for K9 to take centre stage in mistakenly being the one brought from the TARDIS by the gravatronic tractor beam. Firandel as the main villain wasn't exactly happy with Rolgot botching the job but it's a good job that he did because the fate that was to befall the Doctor was pretty darn gruesome indeed. Upon arrival, there would be no air and the Doctor would suffocate! Talk about a brutal end. I would love to know a little more about how the beam had the capabilities to infiltrate inside the TARDIS, but that's part of the fun of these kinds of comic strips. There just isn't enough room or time to explain everything and sometimes you just have to go with the flow. It was really fast paced as I would expect over just four pages and K9 was quick to get onto Rolgot and Firandel about their intentions for the Doctor. I thought the line about them working for the Sontarans was good fun and with th timing of this release, I assume they are still unhappy about the events of The Invasion of Time hence their desire to see the Doctor dead. I'm surprised they didn't want the honour of killing him themselves, but I did like that there was a bigger picture at bay that could potentially tie in with the televised series albeit loosely. I thought the fun of K9 interacting with Firandel and Rolgot was great and the literal nature of the robot dog can provide so much humour and that was certainly the case here. It was bad enough for them that they didn't get the Doctor but now they had a robot dog that was talking back to them! I also really appreciated the mention of the Crab Nebula as this seems to be a system in space that has its own entire continuity now which is really fun so I loved getting to actually travel through it here even if we didn't stop to explore. The Doctor eventually following K9 through was good stuff and he was always going to save the day from there alongside his faithful companion, but it was rightfully K9 who stole the show. It was his finest hour after all! Overall, a really fun comic strip story! More of this please. 

Rating: 8/10

The Well-Mannered War

"Soon you will crave the luxury of extinction."

Writer: Gareth Roberts (Adapted by John Dorney)

Format: Audio

Released: April 2015

Series: Novel Adaptations 05

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Romana II, K9

Synopsis

The edges of space, the far distant future, an era even the Time Lords are not supposed to visit. 

Laid claim to by disputing factions of humans and Chelonians, the planet Barclow has become the catalyst for an unusual war. In two hundred years of hostilities not a shot has been fired, and the opposing combatants are the best of friends.

But when the Doctor, Romana and K9 arrive, they discover the peace is not going to last. Something dangerous is happening behind the scenes. An election looms. Bodies are piling up. Tensions are growing. Someone, somewhere is trying to make this well-mannered war very angry indeed. 

Only the time-travellers can save the day. But that might be their biggest mistake.

Verdict

The Well-Mannered War was an excellent audio adventure! This was one I debated on listening to prior to reading the novel but I thought why not. Everything that comes my way would be a big surprise and with me not yet owning the novel and a huge backlog of books to catch up on before I even think about purchasing it, I felt it was safe to listen to this adaptation. I had no idea prior to listening of pretty much anything within the store and that was fun as there is quite a significant plot twist near the end with the return of the Black Guardian! I'm glad that I was not spoiled that and hopefully I'll forget about it by the time I do come to eventually blog the book. I'm a huge fan of the pairing of the Fourth Doctor and Romana II and they didn't disappoint here. It did feel like their relationship was very much how it reads in prose which is intriguing and the continuity with The Romance of Crime in having Menlove Stokes return was magnificent. I really didn't see that coming and whilst he was less focused on selling his art this time around, he was still a bit of a useless nuisance who was mostly just in the way. But he filled that role marvellously and Romana's reaction to him being present said all that was required. I thought the concept of the time spiral was fun and the Doctor having to adjust to it with the component that Romana had just found was obviously too much for coincidence, but it was wonderful in going to a time so far in the future where even the Time Lords didn't like to venture. That's a fascinating concept and whilst things didn't seem as distant as the likes of Utopia, it still did seem pretty futuristic. K9 was on hand to provide all the logical humour and I just thoroughly enjoy his presence and what that brings. The fact he ended up running for President in an election was not something I could envisage but the tagline of being the logical choice was tremendous. Top notch stuff. I thought the whole notion of a war that wasn't really a war was fascinating but I loved the politics behind it. On the inside both parties were quite chummy and could not believe it when it was suggested that some actual conflict be initiated. There were those on both sides that did actually want to get the war into action but after centuries of nothing happening, things started to get testy. I thought the returning Chelonians were good but it was definitely the Darkness that stole the show. The idea of a hive mind is strong and it was very clear almost immediately that the buzzing of flies was going to become significant. I suppose if I had read the book prior to listening that would be something I would have appreciated knowing the twist to come. The fact they came every two-thousand years for a feast and were lured in here by the Fembots and ultimately destroyed by the Doctor. I thought Stokes stumbling on a crystal and being the one that was in place of the pilot who could actually manually pilot the ship when the computer went wrong was fun stuff and the link back to the Key to Time with the crystal here seemingly being another segment or at least something similar was fantastic, especially when the Black Guardian emerged as one of the main villains of the piece! I had no idea he would show up but with the heavy focus on the Randomiser in the TARDIS it makes sense. I thought the Doctor evading him again by using the same console button of emergency departure in The Mind Robber that saw him taken out of reality altogether was impressive as that's some way to deal with the hive mind. It's a shame we don't get a next audio in a series to hear where the Doctor and Romana ended up, but I'm sure reading the Missing Adventures series will reveal all at some point. Overall, a fantastic story! 

Rating: 9/10

The Stolen TARDIS: A Tale of the Time Lords

"We're prepared to let you work in TARDIS maintenance."

Writer: Steve Moore

Format: Comic Strip

Released: December 1979

Printed in: DWM 9-11

Featuring: Fourth Doctor

Synopsis

Browsing through the Gallifreyan archives, the Doctor watches the tale of Plutar, a young Gallifreyan prevented from being a Time Lord, but gets an unexpected adventure all of his own...

Verdict

The Stolen TARDIS was a good story to continue my reading through The Return of the Daleks graphic novel! I'm really enjoying this collection so far and it's honestly marvellous that there's an entire early run of comics within the pages of what was Doctor Who Weekly beyond the Doctor in the Whoniverse. This one went to Gallifrey which is right up my alley as my love of History really does extend into fiction as well. I am fascinated with the world of Westeros from A Game of Thrones and beyond and absolutely adore House of the Dragon, and I find diving into Gallifrey's history a similar kind of experience. It's shrouded in mystery and records which might not always be true and that's fun to explore. The Fourth Doctor bookending the story was really good and secured him a spot in the featuring section of my blog despite him not really appearing in the adventure. I like the idea of him just watching historical records even if sitting around isn't in the nature of this incarnation. I have read online after reading that some inferred from the story's events and the lack of further visual evidence that Plutar may be an early version of the First Doctor but I have to say I didn't get that vibe at all. I'm not saying I couldn't be swayed and I wouldn't vehemently be against it if it did get confirmed somewhere, but the idea of the Doctor watching a historical record of his past just seems a tad odd to me. I like the idea of Plutar wanting to travel though and not being a fan of the Time Lords having the golden rule of non-interference. They take responsibility which is good but surely they could see a little more than just sit back on Gallifrey? I've always felt that and honestly it's incredible there aren't more people like the Doctor. I thought the limitation of the TARDIS that Sillarc stole only being able to move in time and not space was fun and he ended up back in the dinosaurs rather than his intended target of changing history altogether. I thought he was a pretty strong villain for this kind of story and the space circus in particular worked very well for the comic strip format even if it was a little whacky! I thought his appearance was very much in vain as a space villain. The concept of Plutar being a TARDIS mechanic because he failed to get into the Academy and become a Time Lord was strong and it's clear to see why he has anguish towards not being able to travel. So with Sillarc in play he must have loved getting to throw it large with some gargantua! I thought the conclusion was a little lucky for Plutar though with the dinosaurs moving the TARDIS and that meaning he returned to Gallifrey in exactly the wrong location, even with Plutar pulling timey wimey tricks and going back in the past even further to work out where was best to capture him. Plutar proving his worth and seemingly becoming a Time Lord was a nice touch despite the ambiguity from the Doctor's comments being a little cheeky, I think it's clear he did! Overall, a really good look into Gallifreyan history with some fun stuff in between! 

Rating: 7/10

It's a Wonderful War

"Are you ready to save the world?"

Writer: Jonathan S Powell

Format: Audio

Released: December 2025

Series: Christmas 1.04

Featuring: Eighth Doctor

Synopsis 

On an asteroid drifting at the edge of a great war, Foreman Galen Smith is having bad dreams. Dreams of monsters descending from the sky and exterminating his people. 

Fortunately, Galen has a guardian angel, an angel who calls himself the Doctor. And he's here to earn his wings.

Verdict

It's a Wonderful War was a good little story to conclude the first series of Christmas! I listened to this one just a few days before the big day and I must say I'm not sure if the Time War is the right setting for a festive story! Still, I appreciated the unique nature of it and Gallifreyan Christmas is quite an interesting concept. Of course, it wasn't quite as straightforward as that but it was still fun to play around with. I thought the concept of Christmas being celebrated after every cycle was fun and it's a very scientific way of describing the passage of time. The focus on Galen Smith was intriguing and I liked that the Doctor was on hand in the position of his guardian angel. That was played very well and I mean if someone is suited to being that then it's certainly the Doctor! Did he even know he was serving as a guardian angel though? Bad dreams about Daleks are obviously prone especially in the Time War so the Doctor being a guardian certainly makes sense even if he has decided at this point in his eighth incarnation not to firmly take part in the conflict. He can't escape it though given the scale of the conflict which is a strong distinction to make in my opinion. Just because the Doctor is getting caught up in things here with the Time Lords doesn't mean he wants to be involved in their war against the Daleks. I thought that was presented well here and was clear with Galen and what he really was. I loved incorporating a chameleon arch into the story as that's a device that has so much potential when used correctly. The information being contained within the true person that was Galen was quite something and everything built around him was essentially a cover. That put him in quite the predicament when it came to the scale of what might be lost should he revert to his original Time Lord self which was a strong emotional pull. I thought Sharla was really strong to accompany him there and knew he was far from a selfish man. He'd be completely selfless, especially where children were concerned which was admirable. I thought the use of narration to try and make the story like a fairytale was a bit rubbish to be honest. It did help establish the Doctor as a guardian angel type figure, but it just felt like it was trying to fit into the Christmas theme of the boxset a little too much there. It didn't feel authentic to the story that it would be told elsewhere which was a shame but at the same time it didn't take too much away either. It just seemed awkward as it wasn't always consistent. I thought the revelation at the end of the War Doctor having been around in disguise for the whole episode was tremendous. I do like what seems to be happening with the War Doctor across numerous Time War ranges in having him not be the only incarnation of the Doctor involved in the War. The chaos it is causing paratemporally is fascinating to play around with as we've already heard in Susan's War and it's continued here which is great. It's just a shame that we didn't have much time at all with the War Doctor at the end or at least the listener could know the truth a little during the course of the episode. Still, what an image we also got on the cover and within the story here of a Dalek in Christmas theme! Now that's a figure begging to be produced. Overall, a good episode to close out the boxset! 

Rating: 7/10