Sins of the Father

"That's why you can't see them. The emptiness is an illusion. The sky is filled not with darkness, but with light." 

Writer: Nick Abadzis 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 11th February 2015

Printed in: DWC: Tales from the TARDIS 03

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Gabby

Synopsis 

Gabby, Cindy and the Doctor face their greatest challenge yet! The whole year has been building to this - what state will the Doctor and his companions be left in when the smoke clears?!

• Ancient evil from the heart of the universe!

• An impossible decision! 

• Shocks and surprises right down to the last page! 

Verdict 

Sins of the Father was an excellent conclusion to both the story already started in The Fountains of Forever and Spiral Staircase but also that of the first year of Tenth Doctor comic strip adventures! It's been quite a run and I must say I think it's definitely be my favourite of the three Doctors that initially kicked off the Doctor Who Comic adventures as we've had some stunning adventures on the way. Revolutions of Terror kicked things off very well and that was followed by an equally strong The Arts in Space. Then we had what is perhaps my favourite comic strip adventure of the lot from DWC with The Weeping Angels of Mons! Then came a nice little filler with Echo before we had this five-part epic conclusion to the year. Gabby has been a fresh of breath air in the Whoniverse and I've made it no secret that I absolutely love her as companion. She's truly wonderful and I hope we get adventures with her for a long time to come yet. This story has really highlighted how much she has grown since first meeting the Doctor in the subway and it does seem an awfully long time ago. After the excellent cliffhanger of the fourth part, or second part of the last named story, where Anubis was revealed to us as the son of Sutekh, I was quite surprised with what we got here actually. There were numerous mentions to Osirans which was good but I did very much like the fact that he wanted to distance himself from his father. He wasn't vengeful or destructive, apparently, but despite claiming that he certainly seemed like he had all the capabilities of his long deceased father. The image of the Mummy creatures that did appear in Pyramids of Mars have quite changed here in this story. I loved how Anubis claimed Dorothy, despite his disgust at her having become a human hybrid, to be no longer the Hand of Sutekh but now instead the Hand of Anubis. The concept of the Seeker was brilliant and I loved how Anubus had his speech in black and bold as it made just how serious a threat he brought really stand out. The same can be said for Dorothy and how she has merged with the so called key that Anubis was sought after. I loved the references to the Time War from Anubis and his position in the universe was again highlighted by the fact he referred to that war as a petty squabble. I thought that was pretty good. The continued references to Pyramids of Mars and Sutekh and Horus were good and there definitely comparisons that could be made between father and son. However, one of the things I found most intriguing was the fact that Anubis actually listened to the warnings that the Doctor gave him about crossing through into his desired universe of four dimensions. But he wasn't going to abandon his plans altogether, which I guess wasn't too surprising. Instead of abandoning his plans for crossover altogether, he would give the Doctor a deadline to ensure that his crossover would be safe. The Doctor of course agreed and would do his best to ensure that everything could be resolved. I like how that leaves this story far from finished and despite the year concluding, I'm sure we are from having seen the last of Anubis. I like that idea and a comic strip exclusive alien returning, like with the Hyperions in the ongoing The Hyperion Empire, is always a great thing and I think it definitely gives more credibility to the format and the series as a whole. The ending was good with Cindy looking like she wanted to join the Doctor and Gabby and I certainly wouldn't be against that happening. I loved her in this story and I do hope we get to see more of her in year two. But for now I have no complaints with more Gabby adventures alongside the Tenth Doctor. Year one, you've been superb. More of the same please! 

Rating: 9/10 

Spiral Staircase Part 2

"Science so advanced it's like magic to me eyes."

Writer: Nick Abadzis 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 11th February 2016

Printed in: DWC: Tales from the TARDIS 03

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Gabby

Synopsis 

A terrifying pyramid has appeared in the skies above New York City, and it's here to claim an ancient secret - buried in the body of a very-much alive movie star! 

As the Doctor attempts to unravel the conflict, Gabby and Cindy's friendship is stretched to breaking point. Has Gabby changed too much in her short time away - or has she changed just enough to save the day?

Verdict 

Spiral Staircase continued in excellent fashion and was definitely the best of the four instalments thus far in the story, which also includes The Fountains of Forever. I had quite a rant yesterday in my blog entry of part one of this story about the naming confusion of this year one finale for the Tenth Doctor and Gabby. The pairing is just magnificent but we didn't actually get much of it all here in the fourth part. What we got instead was much of a continuation of the third part with the Doctor and Cindy getting to know each other very well. I actually thought they were very good together and the love they both have for Gabby was magnificently realised when Cindy first entered the TARDIS and realised that Gabby wasn't lying at all about the whole bigger on the inside thing. The story really did have the feel of a first for a new companion through Cindy's eyes and although I can't see it happening, probably because of her lack of appearance in Four Doctors, but I certainly wouldn't be against her travelling with the Doctor and Gabby! I'd love for the Doctor to have two female companions who are best friends as it would offer so much in terms of emotion and humour. The Doctor would probably end up getting bullied but with this incarnation it would work so well. I know I've still got one more part to go, but judging by the direction of the story so far I think the option could be there in year two of these adventures. I loved the fact that this story now serves as a sequel to Pyramids of Mars! I'm not sure where this will leave the relatively recent Bernice Summerfield audio series that features the return of Sutekh, but I guess with his lack of appearance here nothing should really be contradicted. Now, it's been a long time since I've watched Pyramids of Mars but I have actually seen it twice and I've also read the Target novelisation which can be found somewhere in the 660 blog entries I have posted so far, but for those who weren't familiar with the reputable story, we got quite an extensive recount of what went on during the Fourth Doctor adventure. It was a fantastic account of events and I loved the Doctor's interaction in things that went on. Usually we're used to a bit of narration of what's going on in a story from Gabby's perspective as we have seen in The Arts in Space and The Weeping Angels of Mons, but with Gabby really going independent in this story that part of the story was allocated to Cindy through her note making and texting to Gabby on her phone. I thought it was really effective and would definitely fill in for those who don't know anything about Pyramids of Mars as like those possible readers, Cindy was in exactly the same boat. For us Classic fans though, it was a real treat. I absolutely love it when a Classic villain returns to take on a post-revival Doctor and I got that with the Eleventh Doctor in Space in Dimension Relative and Time with the Nimon and now we had the son of Sutekh make an almighty appearance at the cliffhanger! I had expected something of the kind from the start of this part but the moment was still wonderful. It was like turning to the last page of Instruments of War where DWM brought back a Classic version of the Sontaranand things were the same here. I loved it and I'm immediately anticipating the fifth and final part, which also has a bloody different name. Huff. Anubis looks like he's going to be a great villain and the Doctor couldn't believe that he existed which made things even better. An Osiran is back and with Erik and Hanif in awe, this finale is going to be interesting and that's where the rating will of course appear. 

Spiral Staircase Part 1

"You move through this reality like smoke, a beautiful, dangerous idea."

Writer: Nick Abadzis 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 11th February 2016

Printed in: DWC: Tales from the TARDIS 03

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Gabby

Synopsis 

New York City is in a state of emergency as strange structures suddenly pop up all over the city - including an extension to the Empire State Building. Famed movie star Dorothy Bell is rejuvenated into her youth but there's something merged within her. But something more sinister is setting its sights on Earth...

Verdict 

Spiral Staircase continued the story already started in The Fountains of Forever very well with this third part of the story as a whole. Now, don't get me started on the confusion that the name of this comic strip adventure brings because I just don't understand what the hell they have decided to do! After some research I discovered that the story as a whole has five parts, but only three different names which is unprecedented but extremely baffling. I mean, the first part of the story actually has two parts? And the second part of the story which are actually the third and fourth instalments are taken back to being called part one and part two? Well, confused I was. Very much. I must admit that when I purchased this latest issue of Tales from the TARDIS, I had a momentary panic as I thought they'd gone and skipped ahead without finishing The Fountains of Forever. I would of course learn that it wasn't the case but I just don't understand why they can't give an umbrella title or have an individual title for each part because doing it this way just makes things very confusing! Anyway, enough of a rant over the name as it doesn't really mean too much. The story itself continued very well and after rereading the first two parts I delved straight into this third instalment. I'm not sure what relevance the name has yet but I hope that comes in the fourth part (or second). I must say just how much I'm loving Gabby as companion and I hope I get to read adventures with her and the Tenth Doctor for a long time to come yet. They're truly magnificent together and with Cindy playing a prominent role in this story, we can see just how much Gabby had grown as a character since her debut in Revolutions of Terror. I bloody love her though and I hope she stays for a long, long time. Speaking of Cindy, she was very good in this part and I liked how she willingly did as the Doctor said and stayed out of the way. I think she realised that she was out of her depth which was really good and just again highlighted how good Gabby now is. The characterisation of David Tennant's Tenth Doctor was pretty good which was great and there were definitely some of the traits that made him arguably the nation's favourite Doctor yet. He's not mine, but he rarely gave a bad performance. Dorothy going around New York and affecting all the landmarks was quite the scene and I think this must be the story that has impressed me most with artwork as the skyline presented was almost like looking at a picture. I've been to New York and what I saw on the pages here was very real which was actually quite remarkable. Credit must go to Rachael Stott for a spectacular job. It added so much to the story which was fantastic. Cleo was good once again and I'm liking her character more as the story goes on but I do think there's something more to her which I hope does get realised. Erik and Hanif are pretty creepy dudes and the latter seems to be believing in some religious prophecy regarding the artefact that allowed Dorothy to be rejuvenated. I'm not quite sure what she has been merged with but

my interest is there and that's one of the most important things in a story. The same can be said for whatever is inside the mysterious black ship headed for Earth. Judging by what it has said, it seems to recognise the Doctor and has been involved with the planet before so that points to a past enemy which excites me greatly. For now though, we had a very good third instalment of the story which now has a new bloody name! Overall, a very good continuation and I now anticipate the fourth part very much! 

The Natural History of Fear

"Questions are bad for the common good."

Writer: Jim Mortimore

Format: Audio

Released: February 2004

Series: Main Range 54

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Charley, C'rizz

Synopsis 

IT IS A CRIMINAL OFFENCE TO COPY OR ATTEMPT TO COPY ANY PERSONALITY OR MEMORY-RELATED ARTICLE SHOWN OR DISPLAYED IN THIS PUBLIC THEATRE, INCLUDING THIS WARNING. PUNISHMENT OR CONVICTION IS AN UNLIMITED REDUCTION OF AUTHORISED OVERTIME HOURS AND TOTAL PERSONALITY REVISION. YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO BRING ANY JUKEBOX OR RECORDING EQUIPMENT INTO THIS PUBLIC THEATRE. THIS WILL BE TREATED AS AN ATTEMPT TO BREACH COPYRIGHT. ANY PERSON DOING SO CAN BE EJECTED AND THE EDITOR MAY CONFISCATE SUCH ARTICLES. WE ASK THE PUBLIC TO BE VIGILANT AGAINST ANY SUCH ACTIVITY AND REPORT ANY MATTERS AROUSING SUSPICION TO THEIR LOCAL CONSCIENCE. THANK YOU. 

Public Warning 

Faction Against Character Theft   

Verdict 

The Natural History of Fear was not the best audio adventure by a long stretch of the imagination. Sadly, it didn't live up to expectations and failed miserably and has even taken over The One Doctor's place as the worst Big Finish Main Range audio yet which is something I really wasn't expecting prior to listening. I'm not sure what it was but I just didn't like it at all. Don't get me wrong, there were good moments but as a whole, I thought the story was extremely poor and that's the reason for the very rare low rating. I'm growing a little tiresome of the Divergent Universe arc now as I don't feel things are being utilised as well as they should be. Having the TARDIS team in an alternative universe should present an incredible story but instead here we got a story that would be more than at home in the normal universe. I was listening to this on an unusually late train back to Bath from South Wales, which was stunningly quiet by the way, but instead of passing the time I just found myself rather bored. As was the case in Zagreus, I despise it when the main cast characters like the Doctor and his companions play other roles in stories. I hate it and in my opinion it just shouldn't happen. It took the best part of two hours for McGann and co to actually play their characters and even then we barely got fifteen minutes of them. After C'rizz's debut as companion in The Creed of the Kromon last time out, I really thought things would push on but instead we got this. If the producers were keen on having this story then that's fine, but at least get the placement right. It just made no sense whatsoever placing it straight after C'rizz joined the Doctor and Charley. I just didn't like it nor where it appeared. Right, let me try and be positive for a moment and think of what j enjoyed. I thought the inclusion of talk about missing episodes when it came to the broadcasts was the one moment of genius this story had and when I heard that mentioned I won't deny it put a smile on my face. There were also very good references to The Claws of Axos and The Web Planet and I also liked hearing the flashbacks, or broadcasting of memories rather, from the recent adventures of Neverland, Living Legend, Scherzo and The Creed of the Kromon. I thought Paul McCann and India Fisher were very good in this to be fair but I just really disliked their roles in the story as they weren't the Doctor or Charley! The memory use just didn't make sense to me (I don't mean I was confused, I just don't understand why it happened) and an insanity virus did seem like it was going to be viable but we only heard it mentioned once really which was a shame. The use of questions not wanting to be asked was actually pretty good but it just went on and on and there seemed to be a lot of repetition which hurt things sadly. There didn't even seem to be a resolution to the story that was going on and nothing really seemed tied up. It offered nothing in terms of the arc progression which has to occur when you go with a story arc and the cliffhangers were even pretty poor, resulting in the final part being a far too lengthy 50 minutes long. Overall, far from being a favourite of mine which was bitterly disappointing. 

Rating: 5/10

The Creed of the Kromon

"It's the home of the Kromon. It's where we'll all die."

Writer: Philip Martin 

Format: Audio

Released: January 2004

Series: Main Range 53

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Charley, C'rizz

Synopsis 

The Interzone is a fearsome nether-world protecting a zone ruled by the Kromon. Theirs is an aird land of dust and dying trees. Across the landscape are spheres that look like giant anthills. The Doctor believes that within one of these structures lie the clues that will lead him to his lost TARDIS. 

The spheres are ruled by the insect-like Kromon who covet the TARDIS. When Charley is captured she is forced to metamorphose into a hybrid-insect Queen, and to save her, the Doctor must barter his knowledge of space-travel technology, all the while knowing that he risks opening up all the realms of space to a rapacious race whose creed is not to create, only to plunder. 

Verdict 

The Creed of the Kromon was an excellent audio adventure to continue along the Eighth Doctor and Charley story arc in the Divergent Universe! Following on from the intriguing Scherzo, I was glad to see that after that story and Zagreus, the Eighth Doctor has returned to his normal loving and Edwardian self which with the Edwardian adventures Charlotte Pollard, we have my favourite audio pairing back in full flow. The placing of adventures in the Divergent Universe is a fantastic opportunity for adventures and one of my favourite things about this story was the fact that the Kromon had no concept of time. This alien universe merely has a grasp of space and it seems that time is simply irrelevant here which is quite extraordinary and actually a rather difficult concept to wrap my head around. How can a universe exist without time? But one of my main questions was how a universe that has no concept of time would effect the TARDIS. Everything seems very engineered here and with the talk of experiments before and after the Doctor and Charley interchanged between zones, I get the feeling the Kro'ka knows exactly where the TARDIS is and is sending the Eighth Doctor on a wild goose chase. I know we have four more adventures in a row with what is now this trio, so I am going to hazard a guess that the TARDIS won't be retrieved until the end of the final story. I just hope the build up is worth it but it does seem extremely weird not having the TARDIS appear in numerous consecutive stories. The story was a good one and I did like the Kromon as enemies. They were firstly presented as insect like and I must admit I feared for something similar to what we had in The Web Planet but thankfully my fears were not realised. In saying that though, I thought the Fifth Doctor story Return to the Web Planet allowed the Zarbi to work really well. Maybe that's because we couldn't see them? Who knows. The voices of both the Kromon and Kro'ka were very good and definitely didn't seem out of place for the Divergent Universe. I really liked the Oroog and he was rather nice in risking his life to help the Doctor, Charley and C'rizz. He was quite subtle at first which was good and just added my interest that little bit more. Listening on the train back to South Wales from across the border in England, in what is now a familiar train ride, it gives an alternative viewpoint than just listening in an isolated view in my opinion. I'm not sure whether it's because I listen to the whole story back to back or because my surroundings are different but I definitely notice a different grasp on an audio story when doing it on the train. I usually opt for books but I thought it had been too long since my last Main Range audio so I got back into things and I didn't regret it. The setting of different spheres, whether bio or alpha, was excellent and was an aspect of the story that I very much enjoyed. The references to Vengeance on Varos and Storm Warning were magnificent but I must say I loved the talk of Bloodtide with Darwin and the reptiles mentioned, who were of course referring to the Silurians. The story behind C'rizz and L'da was extremely sad, especially when the former had to put his lover out of misery by killing her. The Doctor was determined he wouldn't have to do the same for Charley when she became the new Queen. With the help of the Oroog, the Doctor managed to turn off the Kromon's water supply which they needed in vast quantities to function. Charley had received an antidote and all was about well. Their stay in Eutermes wasn't all that great and the TARDIS had not been located, but C'rizz was now part of the team and there's already questions about his loyalty. There's intrigue and mystery there, and I like that. 

Rating: 8/10

The Caves of Androzani

"In times of war, the innocent die too."

Writer: Robert Holmes 

Format: TV

Broascast: 8th-16th March 1984

Season: 20.05

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Peri

Synopsis 

Arriving on the barren world of Androzani Minor, the Doctor and Peri find themselves embroiled in a long-running underground war.

Military troops mount an armed blockade whilst gunrunners bring in weapons for the sinister, masked renegade, Sharaz Jek. Meanwhile, lethal androids guard the caves, and a deadly creature lurks in the shadows, killing all in its path. At the heart of the conflict is a substance called Spectrox - the most valuable item in the universe... and the deadliest! 

The very presence of the Doctor and Peri on Androzani sets in motion a chain of events that will have dramatic consequences for everyone involved. As the situation gets even more desperate, the Doctor realises time is running out - both for Peri and himself. 

Will the Doctor make the ultimate sacrifice to save his young friend's life...?

Verdict 

The Caves of Androzani is just spectacular and ranks as one of my all time favourite stories. It really is just superb and serves as one of the strongest scripts to come out of the Classic era. It's a worthy sendoff for Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor as on television, he was for a long time my favourite incarnation of the Doctor. That was when I would go out and purchase random Classic DVDs and not watch in any order but I think the fact he was my favourite shouldn't be taken lightly. Matt Smith has since taken over that role of favourite but for now, I'm just going to enjoy giving my verdict on this spectacular story. Going in, everybody knows that this is the last story for the Fifth Doctor but the fact we have such a strong script for him to deal with first is great. People often forget the stories involved in a regeneration story but that isn't the case here. It starts off very well with the Doctor and Peri's arrival on Androzani Minor and just like in The Daleks, the Doctor's curiosity gets the better of him. This time, it cost him his own life as well as countless others with every male in the story failing to survive. That's quite a feat in itself and just goes to show how deadly things were. The setting of Androzani and the caves, well blowholes, was magnificent and I must congratulate Graeme Harper for an astounding effort in direction. It's very rare that I talk about direction in a televised story but this was just like nothing before it and was actually quite revolutionary where Doctor Who is concerned. It was superb and just added so much to the story. The direction contributed massively to why this story is so successful and always ranks amongst the elite when it comes to story polls. Sharaz Jek is an excellent character and his obsession with Peri's beauty can be quite disturbing but that's what makes him so good in parts. The masked appearance is brilliant and I like how we actually end up feeling sorry for him by the end, once his hideous face is finally revealed. I probably would have preferred it if we didn't get to see behind the mask but it didn't hurt things either way. Peri was wonderful following on from her debut in Planet of Fire, a story that got nearly referenced and one I watched not all that long ago. That was part of my reasoning for watching this today actually. The local war for the Spectrox served as a great backdrop for a story and the two factions constantly trying to negotiate with one another was marvellous. The atmosphere was rich with tension which again just added so much to the story. I think Peter Davison gave one of his best performances as the Doctor in his farewell and why wouldn't he? He'd want to go out with a bang! Speaking of bangs, the cliffhanger to part one ranks as one of my all time favourites because it just seems impossible to escape death. The start of part two even sees Peri drop dead to the floor just to sell the previous episode's ending further. It really is outstanding. The revelation that they were actually androids was unexpected but one I very much liked. I also loved the part three cliffhanger with the Doctor attempting to manually land the ship but expected in all reality for it to be more of a crash landing. Davison was doing a stellar job by this point. The subplot of the Doctor and Peri being infected with Spectrox toxaemia was fantastic and subtly throughout we got the hints that this was the end for the Fifth Doctor. Nicola Bryant was stunning in her performance which mightily impressed me as it was so early in her run as companion. The Doctor's sacrificial efforts to attain the cure of milk from the Queen Bat was testament to why the Time Lord is a hero and I think it's very good for the Doctor to go out saving his companion's life. The Doctor only having enough of the cure for Peri was brilliant and then we had the regeneration scene which is one of my favourites. We see once more all of the companions that travelled with the Fifth Doctor willing him to remain alive but then appears the face of this incarnation's greatest enemy, the Master, telling the Doctor to die. He would of course regenerate and immediately Colin Baker made an impression as the brand new Sixth Doctor. Despite unpopular opinion, I love Baker as the Sixth Doctor and I think this was just the perfect arrival for him. Overall, nothing to complain about. An instant classic. One of the very best. 

Rating: 10/10

Shada

"Beware the sphere. Beware Skagra. Beware Shada."

Writer: Douglas Adams

Format: TV

Released: August 1992

Season: 17.06

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Romana II, K9

Synopsis

The Doctor, Romana and K9 receive a message from an old friend - a retired Time Lord living as a college Professor in Cambridge. He's misplaced an ancient Gallifreyan artefact that could unlock the dark secrets of Shada - the lost prison of the Time Lords - and unless they find it before the crazed scientist Skagra, every sentient being in the universe is doomed...

Verdict 

Shada was an excellent story and served as quite an unprecedented blog entry! It's a Classic era story in the television format that I had never seen before which is beyond rare where this blog is now concerned as I had seen every broadcast episode of Doctor Who (to the best that it currently exists) but now this little beauty showed up! I'm not entirely sure why it took me so long to get around to watching this which I actually purchased quite some time ago as part of the Legacy Collection boxset and I think it must have escaped my memory. I'm glad I got around to it though as it was a little interesting but brilliant to be seeing brand new footage on camera with Tom Baker and Lalla Ward. I must say, I loved the linking narration scenes with Tom Baker himself and I thought the setting of what was obviously a Doctor Who exhibition was magnificent. Every time we cut back to Baker, he had the likes of Ice Warriors, Vervoids or the K1 Robot standing behind him! It was maybe a little distracting but to be honest I enjoyed the comedy that came with those linking scenes. It's just a real shame that this story didn't get completed and it has robbed Douglas Adams of his sole on screen credit as script writer rather than script editor. His contribution to City of Death of course won't be forgotten but this was intended to close the season and shed some light on the Doctor and more prominently the Time Lords which I really like the sound of. I'm now determined to read the novelisation of this story in the near future as I think it will be much more beneficial to have completed the story uninterrupted, even if it is in a different format. It'll only give me an alternate perspective and I'm sure I'll actually understand it more by the increase in detail but also by having seen the surviving footage here. I must mention Lalla Ward here and praise her. She reminded me just why Romana II is my all time favourite companion because she was just wonderful! I love her opposite Tom Baker and together they really are incredible together. I must also that she looked absolutely stunning and her attire was just astounding. The costume designer did a stellar job here and the fashion sense of Lalla must really be terrific because to say she looked great would be a huge understatement. She was the shining light of this story in my opinion and it has actually made me want to actively listen to the ongoing series of Fourth Doctor Adventures audios in which this TARDIS pair reunite. I liked the character of Professor Chronotis very much and the fact that the Doctor was visiting a retired Time Lord was excellent. The mention of having been to the Cambridge college in a different incarnation was very good too. The revelation that Chronotis was actually Salyavin didn't come as a surprise to me as it was heavily hinted prior to the reveal, but I did like that idea. A war criminal sentenced to the Time Lord prison planet of Shada, he had actually made the Time Lords forget about Shada and had orchestrated his peaceful stay on Earth. The use of the spheres from Skagra was good and I liked their abilities. The graphic work in this story was decent for 1979 I must say with the flight of the spheres and invisibility of the ship captured very nicely. The Krarg's looked pretty intriguing and their concept of crystal matter was very good to be fair. The cliffhangers, that survived, were very good and they did make me want to watch the next part immediately which is what I look for. Chris and Clare were excellent guest characters but perhaps my favourite thing of the story was that Chronotis' room at the college was actually a very ancient TARDIS! To hide it, he lived in it. Brilliant. We didn't really get to see the climax unfold as intended but what we got was pretty good and although nearly two hours of material remains, it's very difficult to give an accurate rating for the story, but I have tried my best with what we've got. Overall, a wonderful watch seeing new Classic material and a good story to match. 

Rating: 8/10

 

Weapons of Past Destruction Part 5

"It creates a bubble around the planet, speeding up time. Everything inside crumbles to dust within minutes."

Writer: Cavan Scott

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 11th February 2016

Printed in: DWC: Tales from the TARDIS 03

Featuring: Ninth Doctor, Rose, Captain Jack

Synopsis 

The Ninth Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack are in trouble. Separated from each other amidst the battle between the Unon and Lect which could create a new Time War, this time-manipulating and violent threat may prove too much, and it could cost the Doctor his brain!

Verdict 

Weapons of Past Destruction concluded in fantastic style here with this brilliant fifth part. Prior to reading the story finale it required quite a lot of rereading with four parts to get through and even though it hasn't been that long since I read and blogged parts three and four, knowing this was the finale I thought it would be beneficial to read the story as a whole to finish it. I'm now very glad that I did that as everything tied together and we had a good and action-packed finale! The characterisation of Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor was very good as it has been throughout this story and I think Cavan Scott has been very clever in capturing the atmosphere of both a story including this incarnation and also that of Series 1. It felt right at home within that first series of the revival which is exactly as it should have been. We had mentions of Time Lords and Daleks which by now Rose was at home with and even though this is set shortly after Captain Jack's arrival to the TARDIS team in The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, the knowledge he has of the Time War and Time Lords is intriguing. But I think with Jack we tend to forget that he comes from the 51st century so his knowledge would obviously be vast and then you can add to that the fact he's a member of the Time Agency so he's jumping around time enhancing that knowledge. I've loved some subtle moments where Jack has challenged the Doctor's leadership and authority in this story and it occurred again in this part. The moment at the end where the Doctor just looked and smiled at his companions was stunning and I think these comics are trying to shed the light on the softer and less sinister side of the Ninth Doctor which is very good. I liked Rose's role in this story and I loved the twist regarding the cliffhanger of the last part. Through Rose, we actually learned a great deal about the Lect and I liked that they staged the transmatting of the Doctor. He wasn't too thrilled with everything that went on but he was soon okay with Rose's actions after the Lect were revealed to really be Excrothians. The Doctor was horrified by what had happened to the species and through the telekinetic connection, a lot was learned of the history between the Lect and Unon. The latter wanted to take the place of the Time Lords and would use violent to ensure that nobody got access to controlling time as the Time Lords once did. Jack's visit to the void was intriguing and the foreshadowing of Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways, with Jack getting exterminated but then subsequently returning to life, and Children of Earth: Day Five with Jack sacrificing his own grandchild for the human race was rather dark. That's the beauty of having comic strip stories with past TARDIS teams released over a decade after they appeared on television as you can incorporate elements of their future which was seen with the image of the War Doctor previously and now these with Jack's. It's just very clever and it really does add a lot to the story. The climax seemed to come pretty quickly but with the action that came with it and the Doctor offering a fresh start, it was a good end to a great comic strip adventure. I had no idea that there were initially only these five parts of the Ninth Doctor's comic strip run with Titan Comics and I'll have to wait until at least April for them to continue. I'm not sure where this is going to leave the crossing over with DWC and the Tales from the TARDIS but I hope Titan do things well. It could get messy but I trust that they know what they're doing (I hope!). Overall though, a marvellous comic strip debut for the Ninth Doctor and co! 

Rating: 9/10

Theatre of the Mind

"Intelligent crystal. Crystal that learns."

Writer: Roger Langridge

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 4th February 2016

Printed in: DWM 496

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara 

Synopsis 

It's 1925 and the Twelfth Doctor and Clara visit New York. Mystical powers are in the air as an enigmatic crystal ball seems to hold incredible powers. Along with the help of his old friend Harry Houdini, can the trio escape back to reality?

Verdict 

Theatre of the Mind was an excellent comic strip adventure in the latest edition of Doctor Who Magazine! I think it might be my favourite Twelfth Doctor and Clara comic from DWM yet which was a real treat and one I wasn't expecting from a one part story, especially after the relatively poor Space Invaders!. I'll get back to the comic strip shortly but for now I'll preview the magazine itself as has become tradition with my blogging of the DWM comic strip. It seems ages since I blogged part two of The Dragon Lord and I guess that's because I've picked up this DWM some 10 days after its release which is very rare on my behalf but essay after essay at university has taken its toll. But we're back on track and as I went to get the magazine it seems I was quite lucky with my timing as there were only two copies left in WH Smith! I also picked up DWC: Tales from the TARDIS so it was a nice treat after handing in my penultimate essay on Friday. The cover is brilliant with John Hurt taking prominence ahead of the release of Infernal Devices. If it's anything like Only the Monstrous then I'll be sure to enjoy it and I'm definitely looking forward to the interview with the great actor himself which is the main feature this month. I have already read Steven Moffat's column which as usual involved some great humour, especially with the coming of Chris Chibnall as the new head writer from 2018 onwards. It's going to be a blast and I'm just grateful that he follows in the footsteps of being a huge fan of Doctor Who. Judging by the episodes he has already penned I'm sure he's not going to let us down. As well as the interview with John Hurt, I'm looking forward to the separate War Doctor feature that looks ahead to the rest of this incarnation's Big Finish releases. I'm very intrigued by the Doctor Who Videogames feature and that looks like it will be a lot of fun and I'll probably see a lot of what I have missed out on! The only Doctor Who related game I've had was the Top Trumps game on PlayStation 2 which I actually adored but for whatever reason I never purchased the DS or Wii games with the Eleventh Doctor. And of counted there's Destiny of the Doctors but that was quite some way before my time as a Doctor Who fan. I'm intrigued to see what pops up. Public Image was very good and I was glad to see that The Husbands of River Song performed very well in the viewing charts on Christmas Day. Although we have to wait well over a year until the next series of Doctor Who, I'm glad the scheduling has been changed to spring which is where it always should have stayed. Galaxy Forum should be a good read as always and I'm once again looking forward to reading what the barmy Jacqueline Rayner has in store for us this month. Her column is one of my favourite things in the magazine. The DWM Review should be good as per usual and I do hope I win some of the prizes this month! The Space Museum audio particularly caught my eye. Now, back to the comic strip itself and I thought it was just marvellous. There have been numerous mentions of the Doctor previously meeting the great Harry Houdini in the past, particularly with the Twelfth Doctor, so to see this incarnation be reunited with the great escapist was truly magnificent! It's wonderful that we're still getting new adventures with Clara and I thought she was characterised very well here. Peter Capaldi's likeness of the Twelfth Doctor was also very good which was pleasing, but to be honest it rarely isn't well presented. Diamanda was an intriguing character and I liked the disguise used to trick her into revealing that she falsely talked to the dead and even had the cheek to charge for it. I really liked the artwork in this comic strip which was a change from the last that featured in DWM as it actually suited the story magnificently well which is quite a rare occurrence. The trio of the Doctor, Clara and Houdini was fantastic and the numerous escapes they had to perform were terrific! There was a lot of humour, a nice look at the Fourth Doctor's attire hanging up and very good and entertaining climax. Overall, a superb little story! 

Rating: 9/10

The Eight Doctors

"You cannot fight evil with evil's methods. The end never justifies the means." 

Writer: Terrance Dicks

Format: Novel

Released: June 1997

Series: EDA 01

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Sam, Seventh Doctor, Sixth Doctor, Fifth Doctor, Tegan, Turlough, Fourth Doctor, Romana II, Third Doctor, Jo, Second Doctor, Jamie, Zoe, First Doctor

Synopsis 

"Trust the TARDIS..."

Recuperating after the trauma of his recent regeneration, the Doctor falls foul of a final booby-trap set by his arch-enemy, the Master.

When he recovers, the disorientated Doctor looks in a mirror and sees the face of a stranger. He knows only that he is called 'the Doctor' - nothing more. But something deep inside tells him to trust the TARDIS, and his hands move over the controls of their own accord. 

The TARDIS takes him to a strangely familiar junkyard in late-nineties London, where he is flung into a confrontation between local drug-dealers and Samantha Jones, a rebellious teenager from Coal Hill School. 

But the Doctor soon finds the TARDIS transporting him to various other places in order to recover all his memories - and that involves seeing seven strangely-familiar faces...

Verdict 

The Eight Doctors is just magnificent and it now ranks as my all time favourite Doctor Who novel. I just loved it from start to finish and it was real joy to read this weekend. I don't even know where to start because there's just so much to talk about! I'm actually quite amazed that everything fitted in to the 280 pages that we had. Starting off where The Movie left off, Terrance Dicks made no secret that he did not like that brief revival story but used its elements extremely effectively for the basis of this story. After the Master's demise into the Eye of Harmony in the TARDIS, the Eighth Doctor was now afresh and safe from having his remaining regenerations stolen. But unsurprisingly where the Master is concerned, he had left one more trap even after death. With it, just a little tear survived on the Eye, the Eighth Doctor was once again suffering from amnesia. This time though he had lost nearly all of his memories and knew very little about himself and his surroundings. All he knew was that he was called the Doctor and he was inside the TARDIS. He was told to trust the TARDIS and after all they had been through, why wouldn't he? He was led back to the original control room which did surprise me and from there he left his time machine in charge. The idea of the Doctor having to meet all seven of his previous incarnations to regain his memories is a mightily intriguing idea and I thought it worked wonderfully. Some critics may ask why he didn't just immediately go to the Seventh Doctor, but it was so much more fun this way! We started way back during An Unearthly Child at the moment where the Doctor wanted to return to the TARDIS but his granddaughter and new companions wanted to help with an injury. This was probably the briefest of meetings between the two Doctors but I thought it was outstanding. Once the Eighth Doctor had his memories returned from the life of the First Doctor, he was quite critical of his former self's actions, and quite rightly so. The First Doctor was going to commit murder in a scene we didn't see on TV! The Eighth Doctor interjected though and challenged the First Doctor of still being influenced by Gallifrey and thinking Time Lords were above everybody else. That was magical and gave the First Doctor quite a lot to think about. We then headed to the scene of The War Games which I just loved and we got a nice little alternate scene featuring the Eighth Doctor crossing war zones. The reference to the Romans spotting the ambulance going back through the mist was described beautifully and I just loved that we seemed to even get a little bit of an extract from the Target novelisation with the moment the Second Doctor called in the Time Lords. It was magical reading Jamie and Zoe learning the truth about the Doctor and it has made want to read that very novel soon! The moment the Second and Eighth Doctors minds touched and the memories returned was fantastic and I loved the advice of the latter in showing the Time Lords all the good he had done since leaving Gallifrey. It really was magnificent. I think my perhaps by favourite segment of the novel was that featuring the Third Doctor. It was fantastic as we actually got an extension to The Sea Devils! It actually continued right where part six of that story finished off with the Master escaping by boat. We immediately had the Doctor and UNIT tracking him and a great little adventure took place! The Master didn't take the boat very far and instead hitched a ride to Portsmouth. Or so it would seem. In an unexpected turn of events, we were returned to Devil's End which was of course the scene of The Dæmons. I thought that was superb and I must say that Dicks captured the characterisation of Roger Delgado's Master excellently. To be fair though, I didn't think he characterised one character badly. He is the master of the Doctor Who novel after all. It was entertaining and we had some comedic scenes with Jo and the Brigadier, especially once the Eighth Doctor arrived.  The grandfather clock that seemed to accompany him though was of course not his. The Master once again escaped but the Eighth Doctor was getting closer to being whole again with the memories of his first three incarnations returned to him. I loved the foreshadowing of Planet of the Spiders during this segment of the novel very much. What I didn't expect from the story was for the Time Lords to play such a big part! This novel really did have everything. President Flavia was great and I liked how she obviously had respect for the Doctor and gave him some leeway on the fact that he was breaking the Laws of Time to meet his past selves. The tracking of his activity was really good and kept us nearly updated with the Doctor's progress, that was until he left the perimeters of being tracked as we headed to the scene of State of Decay and a meeting with the Fourth Doctor. We got another extension with this story here and I thought it was really good as well! Xan was a very good character and I liked the dynamic in the relationship between the Fourth Doctor and Romana II. I was overjoyed that the Eighth Doctor's arrival saw him interact with Romana for quite some time. They get on really well and once he met the Fourth Doctor, the two Doctors worked very well together trying to put an end to the legacy of the Three Who Rule. It seemed they finally achieved just that with the help of a convenient fire. The Eighth Doctor had over half of his memories returned now and seemed to exit E-Space rather easily! That's where we headed to the aftermath of The Five Doctors and we were met with the Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Turlough. They had gone to their original destination of the Eye of Orion for a bit of relaxation. That's exactly what they didn't get though! Prior to the Eighth Doctor arriving, the Fifth Doctor and his companions had to deal with a deadly Raston Warrior Robot making a quick return. This was of course thanks to Ryoth and the CIA on Gallifrey but once that wasn't enough, and thanks genius on both Doctors' behalf in using Buridan's ass theory to put the robot out of action, the Sontarans arrived in a marvellous chapter ending. I wasn't expecting them to appear so that was a real treat. As if that wasn't enough once the Robot and Sontarans had destroyed each other, a Drashig turned up! That was quickly sent back to who it came from with deadly consequences but now the Doctor was beginning to be whole again. He was getting close to normality now but things would soon take a spin in the wrong direction after the memories of the Fifth Doctor were restored. We then headed to the chaotic scenery of The Trial of a Time Lord during an unseen alternate timeline where the Valeyard was attempting to kill the Sixth Doctor early! The Eighth Doctor came to the rescue though and ensured this timeline never became reality. We met a Flavia after she was deposed of her first presidency and we actually learned a great deal about the Doctor's trial. It was revealed all to be a ploy by the CIA which involved the President and the High Council. Thanks to an inquiry of their own, the Sixth and Eighth Doctors were able to ensure that the Doctor was not convicted of any crimes. His freedom was restored and for the Eighth Doctor, all of his memories were nearly regained. Just one more stop, and it would be the most dangerous. The segment with the Seventh Doctor was intriguing as it didn't take place during or in the aftermath of a television story and instead we saw the previous incarnation to the current close before the events of The Movie. I was quite surprised by the thoughts of the Seventh Doctor and it seemed that by becoming quite aged in this regeneration and the lack of companion had really gotten to him and he wanted to either die or cure. He set travels for Metebelis III, a place where he died once before and very nearly did so here if it wasn't for the Eighth Doctor's arrival. It was short but sweet and I loved the Eighth Doctor warning the Seventh about upcoming events with the Master. The placement of the Master leading up to The Movie with the Deathworm was magnificent and tried to go some way to fixing some of the continuity problems. However, Dicks himself created some contradictions himself with Borusa (contradicted in Engines of War), Sontara being the home planet of the Sontarans (it has of course now been established as Sontar) and the immediate return to the original console room, something not in line with Storm Warning. However, he made reference to an abundance of stories, such as; The Three Doctors, The Two Doctors, Attack of the Cybermen, The Invasion of Time, The Romans, Doctor Who and the Silurians, The Mind of Evil, The Claws of Axos, Terror of the Autons, The Web of Fear, The Ambassadors of Death, Day of the Daleks, Inferno, Spearhead from Space, Colony in Space, The Curse of Peladon, Full Circle, Mawdryn Undead, Arc of Infinity, The Deadly Assassin and Survival. And they were just the ones I picked up upon! I'm sure there were plenty more. As if all this wasn't enough, the novel actually kicked off a brand new range and introduced a new companion in Sam who I have immediately taken a liking to. I'd like to now do this range's novels in order but I think price and time will derail any hopes of that which is a shame. But for now, I have no issues with jumping around the range now I've read the opening story. It was just wonderful. 

Rating: 10/10

 

The Vampires of Venice

"I like the bit where someone says it's bigger on the inside."

Writer: Toby Whithouse

Format: TV

Broadcast: 8th May 2010

Series: 5.06

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Amy, Rory

Synopsis 

The Doctor takes Amy and Rory, soon to be married, on a romantic trip to Venice, 1580 to make Amy focus on her relationship with her fiancé. However, things aren't quite what they seem.

Warnings of the plague are spreading about despite having died out years before, and pale, creepy girls who don't like sunlight are lurking around. Could it have something to do with the school run by the mysterious Rosanna Calvierri?

Verdict 

The Vampires of Venice was a very good episode of Doctor Who and continued Matt Smith's debut fifth series as the Eleventh Doctor very well! This story pretty much followed on immediately from the climax of The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone where Amy came on to the Doctor, kissing him, on the eve of her wedding day to Rory. The aforementioned two-part story was nicely referenced more than once in this episode and I liked how the Doctor was doing something about his new companion's antics. He did admit that Amy was a great kisser and judging by the kiss she gave Rory later in the episode, I'd have to agree! Karen Gillan is pretty incredible and Arthur Darvill is one lucky guy getting paid to kiss a woman with as much beauty as her. Gillan really did look stunning in this episode but she wasn't the only one! I think this must be the most raunchy episode of Doctor Who yet with the Doctor seemingly very much enjoying the fact that there were beautiful young girls who were actually vampires! Well, they weren't vampires but they resembled everything about them and that was excellent. I'd probably have preferred the story if they actually were vampires as I didn't think the Saturnyns were that impressive in their true form. Their appearance looked a tad silly and not really threatening. It's hard to be scared by a walking fish, even if it has sharp teeth. The Blowfish worked much better in Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang because it had a gun. But these just had screeches. Thankfully, I really liked Rosanna as the figurehead of the species and she actually made the episode really good which is reflected in the rating that it just about achieves. She was brilliant and her relationship with the Doctor throughout was superb. The scene where the pair exchanged an answer for an answer was wonderful. Her calm reaction to the Doctor being from Gallifrey was fantastic and I liked just how much she knew about the Time Lords and the Time War. This episode was hugely important in what we'd associate as the Series 6 arc of the Silence but they got mentioned many times here. Looking back we can obviously pick upon the points here but the only thing about the Silence that I can recall from my watching on broadcast nearly six years ago was the final scene with Rory saying how all he could hear was silence. That stayed with me and I knew it was going to be more than just a strong note to finish on. It really was a great ending scene. I liked the references to The Eleventh Hour and foreshadowing of The Day of the Doctor very much. I think my favourite scene of the episode came when Rory first entered the TARDIS and the Doctor was disappointed that he didn't get a 'bigger on the inside' moment. He must really love that and I do think part of the reason he takes on a new companion is just for that moment! He loves it, and why wouldn't he? Francesco was a bit of a weird character and didn't offer too much, but Guido and Isabella were marvellous. The Doctor vowing to stop Rosanna because she didn't know Isabella's name was stunning and so in line with this brilliant incarnation of the Doctor. Matt Smith is just so good and the scene where he stopped Venice from sinking with the humorous off switch search was great. Overall, a very good episode with a good plot and decent characters. Rory has now officially joined the TARDIS team and the Saturnyns were stopped, even if Rosanna gave herself to her own people who would now go hungry. Very good. 

Rating: 8/10

Code of the Krillitanes

"They're warlike empire-builders who'll enslave the human race..."

Writer: Justin Richards 

Format: Novel

Released: March 2010

Series: Quick Reads 05

Featuring: Tenth Doctor

Synopsis 

"I blame those new Brainy Crisps. Since he started eating them, he's been too clever by half."

Can eating a bag of crisps really make you more clever? The company that makes the crisps says so, and they seem to be right.

But the Doctor is worried. Who would want to make people more brainy? And why?

With just his sonic screwdriver and a supermarket trolley full of crisps, the Doctor sets out to the find the truth. The answer is scary - the Krillitanes are back on Earth, and evryione is at risk! 

Last time they took over a school. This time they have hijacked the internet. Whatever they are up to, it's big and it's nasty.

Only the Doctor can stop them - if he isn't already too late...

Verdict 

Code of the Krillitanes was another very good Quick Read novel! Following on quickly from the I Am a Dalek novel that I read on the short (ish) journey back home from university, I again went with a Quick Read for the journey back across the border and into England. This format of novel was perfect as it was easily finished before I got off the train and with a looming essay due in on Friday, I just didn't have the time to be doing anything Doctor Who other than the free time I had on the early train journey. The novel took my mind off the disrupted journey due to the stupendous weather Storm Imogen brought and I think it's very good to see a recent enemy return in the form of the Krillitanes! I know they appeared in another novel, The Krillitane Storm, I am yet to actually purchase that so for me this was my first encounter with the returning Krillitanes since their debut in School Reunion. I'm not sure which novel came out first but with the differing lengths I imagine the stories are extremely different. However, it's probably best that we start with this story and I really liked how it started with the Doctor in the shop. His interest with the new Brainy Crisps was excellent and I loved the humour he had with the children playing football. The description of their ball and goals was exactly how I used to play when I was around the age of 11-12 so the memories of that brought a smile to my face. There were a lot of similarities in this story to School Reunion and I was actually quite surprised that the Doctor needed to do tests on the crisps in the TARDIS to find out what and who was behind the science of the crisps making people brainier. Surely it was obvious that the Krillitanes were involved? It was exactly their method of taking over the school in their first appearance and now they were just using crisps instead of chips and expanding to a national scale. I liked the test that came with the crisps and that was where the true intention of the Krillitanes lied. They were hijacking the internet and hoping to feed in personality traits of those who were aggressive or impolite to their new and improved Super Krillitanes. After all the changes they had gone through, eventually having their own oil becoming poisonous to them, they wanted to start from scratch and improve hugely on what they had already developed into. The confidence of the Doctor in this story was staggeringly good with the characterisation of David Tennant's Tenth Doctor a real highlight. I quite liked Henry though I thought things were a little confusing with it being hinted that he was a Krillitane. When Jeff died, I just got a tad more confused by the Doctor questioning whether Krillitanes could cry or not. Once it was confirmed to me that he was human, and just stupid enough not to ask questions about what was going on, he was great and it was lovely how the Doctor had such confidence in him to save the day. I quite liked some of the Krillitane characters with Sir Manning Cross and Stella Sark standing out as the leaders of the alien group. Their fatal mistake though was to underestimate the Doctor and continuously gloat when they were far from victory. I loved how the continuity from The Christmas Invasion shone here with the Doctor offering no second chances. He did offer that here though and pointed out how that was very rare, especially in this incarnation. I really liked Gabby and I'm not sure where this story lies in regards to Revolutions of Terror, but she was definitely not the companion we met in that brilliant comic strip adventure! The way it was revealed she was a Krillitane was magnificent and tied in with Jeff's death very well. I thought the climax was very good with Henry having fed in positive and polite personalities into the new Super Krillitanes. They just wanted to play with the Doctor and Henry, not murder them. Their demise, and that of the original Krillitanes, was quite action packed which was good. Overall, a very good novel!

Rating: 8/10

I Am a Dalek

"It's all that's left of the most terrifying thing in the universe."

Writer: Gareth Roberts 

Format: Novel

Released: May 2006

Series: Quick Reads 01

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Rose

Synopsis 

Equipped with space suits, golf clubs, and a flag, the Doctor and Rose are planning to live it up, Apollo mission-style, on the Moon. But the TARDIS has other plans, landing them instead in a village on the south coast of England; a picture-postcard sort of place where nothing much happens. Until now...

An archaeological dig has turned up a Roman mosaic, circa 70 AD, depicting mythical scenes, grapes - and a Dalek. A few days later a young woman, rushing for work, is knocked over and killed by a bus, then comes back to life. It's not long before all hell breaks loose, and the Doctor and Rose must use all their courage and cunning against an alien enemy - and a not-quite-human accomplice - who are intent on destroying humanity. 

Verdict 

I Am a Dalek was an excellent little novel! Reading on what has now become the normal train journey home to South Wales from Bath, I seemed to fly through this despite it being from the Quick Reads collection of books. I know they're meant to be done rather quickly but I don't think I took a breath between reading chapters! I just rolled off one after the other and I think that definitely helped with the pace and flow of the story from my perspective. I really liked how the story started immediately with action and the Doctor and Rose intending to walk on the Moon quite some time in the past. I loved the humour surrounding the Doctor deciding which flag to plant in the surface to give the first moon walkers quite a surprise when they got there. Of course, he couldn't do it but the intent was there and I liked that. This was really nice to read after a week of comic strip adventures from Doctor Who Comic or the Tales from the TARDIS sister title which my last five blog entries actually have been. It has seemed a little while since my last story that required reading like this with Engines of War, but speaking of that novel and my recent listening of Only the Monstrous, I liked how the Doctor referred to the Time War in quite considerable detail in this story which, given its chronological placement, actually surprised me a little bit. The events of The Day of the Doctor were of course foreshadowed for the reader at the time but from the Doctor's timeline perspective and me reading nearly a decade after the novel was released, I can somewhat relate to what the Doctor had to go through during the hellacious years of the Time War. There was death and devastation and the Doctor's initial reaction to seeing the Dalek casing wasn't too far removed from the Ninth Doctor's reaction to seeing a solitary Dalek in Dalek. If the Doctor is scared or worried then it goes some way to selling the threat which was in this case the Daleks. Now they don't really need much in terms of selling but the fact the Doctor was scared showed just how horrific the Time War must have been. As the Big Finish War Doctor adventures expand, we're going to learn a lot more about it and I can't wait. Kate Yates was an excellent character and her introduction to the story was an entertaining one as she found herself listening to the radio in bed before work and before she knew it she was late for work. It's happened to me before on a Friday for my 9am seminar where I woke up five minutes after my bus had left so I could certainly relate to her. The use of the Dalek factor in this story was unexpected but I loved the similarities to The Evil of the Daleks! I also loved the references to Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways, Father's Day and The Romans with the latter particularly putting a smile on my face. Frank was a brilliant character and I loved how despite his reluctance to wanting to, he ended up believing every word the Doctor said about meeting Nero and knowing about the Daleks. The story of Frank was great though with his lovely little love story with his wife at Durham University. I certainly hope a situation like that doesn't happen to me! The Doctor helping out his friend though through breaking the laws of time and allowing Frank to meet his wife ten years earlier as the Doctor knew that he was responsible for his death. The Dalek wanted its gun back and once it did, it exterminated everyone on that train. The Dalek was ruthless and I liked that very much. The climax was brilliant with Rose being the centre of attention and talking the Dalek into its demise. The Doctor didn't seem to have a choice between the Earth and another planet in space but through Kate, Rose was wonderful and talked her way to destroying the Dalek. It really was a great ending to a fantastic little novel! 

Rating: 9/10

The Comfort of the Good Part 1

"I wanted to be someone special. Someone like nobody ever before. I wanted to be one of the stars."

Writers: Al Ewing & Rob Williams

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 28th January 2016

Printed in: DWC 2.05

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Alice, Jones, ARC

Synopsis

The Doctor, Alice and ARC remain in 4th century Rome after fending off a Cybermen attack. Jones thinks he's dead whilst inside the Entity. But when the TARDIS turns its back on the Doctor and leaves with no way of leaving, how will they rescue Jones from entering a timestream of nothingness?

Verdict 

The Comfort of the Good kicked off in tremendous style with this brilliant first part to the story! If it carries on in the same way then we're going to have quite the first year finale for the Eleventh Doctor and co! Starting pretty much where Conversion left off, I finally got the story I was after with Jones! He finally felt like a companion and he actually contributed and played a major role in the story which was pleasing. I mean, it took for him to think he was dead for that to happen but at least we finally got there! Judging by his lack of appearance in Four Doctors, and what occurred towards the end of this story here, my guess is this story will be his last as companion and although I haven't been his biggest fan since What He Wants..., I can't say I've disliked him. He's just not contributed greatly but hearing what he would tell his mother made me think that actually he had done quite a considerable amount on his travels in the TARDIS. There were great references to The Rise and Fall/The Other Doctor and Conversion but as he was flying the air he seemed to have quite enjoyed what he took to be dying. He was having a whale of a time in the afterlife and to be honest, what we saw was exactly how I'd depict Jones! It was just perfect for what had happened to him and suited his character perfectly. ARC played a prominent role in the story and it seems his time as companion may soon be up as well. After the Doctor hurt him to save the people from the Entity Cybermen, the Doctor wasn't sure if he could learn from what he had done. ARC still had a connection with Jones who was now in the Entity itself and through that the three of them in fourth century Rome managed to help him back just in the nick of time. For me though, whilst Jones was extremely prominent I thought the story was absolutely all about the Doctor and the TARDIS. The relationship between the pair hasn't been brought to the forefront of a story since The Doctor's Wife, which actually chronologically takes place after this story, but never have we had so much information revealed about Time Lords and their TARDIS! There was a connection of trust on both parts which I found extremely fascinating as it led me to ask are there evil TARDISes as well? How else could you explain the Master and the Rani's respective TARDIS trusting them. I was quite surprised that after everything the Doctor and his TARDIS had been through, that these events saw him locked out, and apparently for good. The characterisation of Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor was outstanding here with his anger portrayed sublimely. It really did feel like a Smith story with all that anger ventilated! I loved it. He got outraged by the TARDIS closing her doors on him and that led him to calling her his. His TARDIS. She should do as he commanded and that led her to run away. The Doctor revealed what happened in that situation as usually it would just return to Gallifrey but with the planet lost, it would now go to the nearest Time Lord. The only problem was, there are no others left. Or are there? We saw a brief glimpse of one a long time ago now in After Life and I do wonder whether that is truly the same women we saw at the incredible cliffhanger! When I first read it, I was not ready for that bombshell! Even if this Time Lord turns out to just be another trick of the Talent Scout as I suspect, the fact we now know unambiguously what the mother of the Doctor looks like makes these comics a huge deal! We weren't entirely sure in The End of Time but the artwork doesn't really contradict whether the two are the same women or not, and with regeneration I don't think it really matters. But now we have an actual image to start basing a family of the Doctor off. Other than Susan, we know pretty much nothing about the Doctor's family but now things could change. The cliffhanger was superb and so was the story! I just hope it continues well which is of course where the rating will appear. 

Conversion Part 2

"The Entity with the might of a Cyberman army... an army that now shows you what your heart wants most as they attack."

Writer: Rob Williams 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 28th January 2016

Printed in: DWC 2.05

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Alice, Jones, ARC

Synopsis

Jones is lost within the Entity. TARDIS is sulking. And the Doctor is all out of ideas... Together with Constantine Augustus they have to face an unstoppable army... An army that can use your deepest desires and turn them against you!

Verdict 

Conversion concluded in excellent style with this brilliant second part of the comic strip adventure! I thoroughly enjoyed this story I must say though I probably should admit that I did not know it was ending after just two parts. I'm not sure why, but I had gotten it into my head that this story was a full five-part whammy of a first year finale for the Eleventh Doctor but evidently that is not the case. It's not a problem at all and in fact I'm actually glad that we're going to be getting another story in this ongoing run of adventures and what will surely be the conclusion of the year long story arc involving SERVEYOUinc. It's been quite the ride and with this much effort put in across numerous stories, it deserves a fitting finale. But for now, we had another superb story on the way to getting there! I was thrilled with the cliffhanger at the end of part one with the emergence of the Cybermen intertwined with the Entity, but I initially thought the build up from the stories of the year previous was all for the Cybermen. My belief was that they were behind the Talent Scout and SERVEYOUinc but that actually wasn't the case. With the action packed events of part one, the Entity had inadvertently intercepted a Cyberman invasion ship and had actually taken them over and formed a horrifying hybrid! The Cybermen did look disturbing I must say and I really am glad that they appeared in their design prior to the drastic change in Nightmare in Silver. I thought the characterisation of Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor was excellent and arguably the best it has been in the entire DWC run thus far. It was really good, which it sometimes hasn't been. Alice has grown on me hugely as the stories have developed and I loved the way she challenged the Doctor here, even going as far as referring to him as a god. In human terms it would be hard to argue that he wasn't. He was constantly changing the past and future as he roamed through time but now Jones had been taken over by the Entity Cybermen and she wanted the Doctor to do something about. I was quite surprised that the Doctor just left Jones even if there wasn't really anything much he could do. I loved the continuation of the Roman setting at the battle for Milvian Bridge. Constantine, the Roman Emperor following the demise of Maximus, was brilliant and I loved the courage he displayed in wanting to protect his people and city by battling against the Cybermen. The way it was said that aliens, no matter how terrifying they were, always wanted something and just that allowed them to have a spot of weakness was superb. No matter how desperate, there was always a chance and I think that must be what the Doctor has always thought over his many battles against evil. Not many have topped the Cybermen when it comes to that respect and I just loved their appearance here. The reference to The Stolen Earth/Journey's End was fantastic and so was the climax of the story. To take on the Entity Cybermen, the Doctor became one with ARC and together they became one with the Entity. Once intertwined, the Doctor took charge and used the ability of showing what your heart most desires against the Cybermen and people around. It could possibly be seen as a birth of religion with numerous deities seen, and even a Cyber Deity that scared the Cybermen off! ARC seemed largely affected by the affair, but the Doctor had saved so many lives. However, Jones was still missing and they couldn't be sure whether he was alive or dead. Alice wasn't too pleased about that, but I refuse to believe he would simply vanish as being his conclusion as companion. I'm convinced he'll appear in the next story, which must surely serve as the first year finale! But for now, this was a superb comic strip story.

Rating: 9/10

The Hyperion Empire Part 2

"I seem to have inadvertently reanimated a small army of smouldering zombies."

Writer: Robbie Morrison 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 28th January 2016

Printed in: DWC 2.05

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis 

The Hyperions are burning up! And they're planning on taking our planet with them... Can Clara and the Doctor, alongside their new friend, Fireman Sam, stop the complete destruction of what remains of the human race?

Verdict 

The Hyperion Empire continued in tremendous style with this excellent second part to the four part first year finale of Twelfth Doctor and Clara comic strip adventures! I bet Titan Comics are secretly quite happy with the news that Doctor Who won't be airing Series 10 until spring 2017 as their second year run of comics with the current incarnation, as far as I'm aware and can guess from Relative Dimensions, also features Clara as the companion. I think it's great that through Doctor Who Comic, and I'm guessing through the comic strip content of DWM, that we are still going to be having numerous adventures with Clara. I mean, we've had plenty so far but I've got absolutely no problem with us having a few more! She's just brilliant and even in these comic strip adventures she just continues to impress. The story itself continued very well after the suffer cliffhanger of the first part with Clara and Sam emerging to the Doctor's rescue. When I reread that part, it seemed a whole lot more familiar than my recent rereading of parts for Weapons of Past Destruction which I blogged over the weekend. I'm not too sure as to why that was but I think it did help remembering a lot about the previous part and rereading just consolidated what I already had fresh in my mind. The story itself is just devastating and it's quite a brave move in having London, and the rest of the world, completely obliterated really. I mean, it worked for The Dalek Invasion of Earth but that was set two centuries after the broadcast. This is modern day London, a story in the present, and presenting it as being a burned wreck is a bold way to go. I must admit, I like the audacity of Robbie Morrison to go in that direction and it presents an interesting dynamic for characters we are familiar with such as Clara and Kate. I really liked having Kate included again after her appearance in The Fractures and this part she was a lot more prevalent than in the first. The moment she and the Doctor met again was magnificent and I just loved the continuation from Dark Water/Death in Heaven with the Doctor again exercising his right as President of Earth. The entire planet was at the mercy of an extraterrestrial race and that meant that the Doctor was in charge. His word was law so what he said went, and it nearly resulted in a politician getting his head cut off with an axe! It was all a misunderstanding that was quickly resolved though. I really liked the relationship between Clara and Sam in this story and I especially loved the Doctor's reaction to finding out that Clara had gotten friendly with fireman Sam. I must admit, I'll be surprised if we don't get a kiss moment like Gabby had in The Weeping Angels of Mons but I'm not sure how far after Danny's death this is set. Is Clara ready to see other people? They certainly seem to have hit it off together. The characterisation of both the Doctor and Clara was very good and I must say DWC has absolutely nailed the likeness of Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor and lately they really have captured Jenna Coleman's portrayal wonderfully well too. I have a feeling that Robbie Morrison is a big fan of Game of Thrones as I noticed a couple of references to that incredible show in this comic strip. We had the Doctor saying "off with his head!", a catchphrase of Joffrey, and then we also had the infamous "winter is coming" said! That was magnificent and I do hope more GoT references come! The cliffhanger was very good with the Hyperion Angels (no connection with the Weeping Angels I believe) arrived and had the Doctor, Clara and co sentenced to incineration. There was a lot of intrigue in the story with an apparent Human-Dalek hybrid being part of the historic alliance that took on the Hyperions. The Scorched were a horrific concept and we had great references to The Time of the Doctor and Terrorformer, but these angels really intrigued me and I can't wait for the next part!