Doctor Who 155: Army Of Death

Eighth Doctor & Mary Shelley

Cast:

The Doctor - Paul McGann
Mary Shelley - Julie Cox
President Vallan - David Harewood
Lady Meera - Carolyn Pickles
Nia Brusk - Eva Pope
Commander Raynar/Karnex - Mitch Benn
Sherla/Baden/Tox - Joanna Christie
Captain Maddox/Stennan/Sentries - Trevor Cooper



Synopsis:

"The TARDIS brings the Doctor and Mary Shelley to the continent of Zelonia, on the frontier world Draxine – where, many moons ago, the twin citystates of Garrak and Stronghaven bore testament to mankind’s colonial spirit.

That was before the sinister death cult of Garrak’s President Harmon took hold – and Garrak annihilated itself, utterly, in an apocalyptic explosion. Before the bones of Garrak’s dead came back to life, and its skeletal citizens began marching, marching, marching on Stronghaven itself.

But what do they want, this army of death? And can anything stop them? In search of answers, the Doctor and Mary must journey into the dead heart of a dead city to face a terrifying adversary, whose ambitions transcend the stuff of life itself."


Review:

The last one of the Eighth Doctor's trilogy. Can it improve on the previous two? Well story wise at least, it was enjoyable. But that's about as excited as I can get. It was another one where The Doctor didn't really seem to be a part of the story and was just along for the ride offering the occasional observation. Mary Shelley was useless or absent for most of it. Apart from the last part, where they had a couple of decent scenes together, they didn't seem to offer much to this story. But the story was still enjoyable despite this with a relatively simple plot line to follow and some mildly interesting characters. There's nothing here that I disliked but also nothing I can really rave about either.

Score:

0/7 - Non-existant
1/7 - As bad as you can get
2/7 - Poor
3/7 - Quite poor / too many poor points / didn't like it
3.5/7 - Neither good nor bad / undecided
4/7 - Quite good / plenty of good points / liked it
5/7 - Good
6/7 - As good as you can get
7/7 - Impossible perfection

Writer: Jason Arnopp
Director: Barnaby Edwards
Produced By: Big Finish
Released: December 2011

Doctor Who 154: The Witch From The Well

Eighth Doctor & Mary Shelley



Cast:

The Doctor - Paul McGann
Mary Shelley - Julie Cox
Master John Kincaid - Simon Rouse
Aleister Portillon/Squire Claude Portillon - Andrew Havill
Agnes Bates - Serena Evans
Beatrix - Lisa Kay
Finicia - Alix Wilton Regan
Lucern/Cornet Swallow - Kevin Trainor




Synopsis:

"A shrieking, killing nightmare erupts from an overgrown well, hidden in the grounds of an old house, Tranchard’s Fell – and Mary Shelley, the Doctor’s latest travelling companion, rescues teenage twins Finicia and Lucern from the clutches of the monster.

But a TARDIS trip in search of the origin of the horror goes terribly wrong when the Doctor, Mary and their two new friends find themselves stuck in the middle of a seventeenth century witch scare.

While the Doctor investigates the strange lights at Vetter’s Tor, and the twins go in search of an artefact from the Hecatrix Dimension, Mary confronts the secrets of her past…and her future. The truth will out: Master Kincaid, the terrible Witch-Pricker himself, commands it!"

Review:

This story started out very average, an Alien lives in a well and the locals think it's a Witch, and I fully expected the rest of the story to play out this simply with the only hope of enjoyment coming from Paul McGann's and Julie Cox's characters and performances. Towards the end of the first episode though, it takes a slight interesting turn and makes it a pretty entertaining story. (Note: I didn't read any synopsis or blurb before listening to this so I didn't know what to expect from the story other than how it was presented as it happened).

Paul McGann as the Doctor is once again great and has some good moments and the growing relationship he has with Mary Shelley is also a great listen. They work well together. There's also a good cast of interesting support characters here.

I think I'll give this one a 4 but it could have been pushing for a 5 with a bit more work.

Score:

0/7 - Non-existant
1/7 - As bad as you can get
2/7 - Poor
3/7 - Quite poor / too many poor points / didn't like it
3.5/7 - Neither good nor bad / undecided
4/7 - Quite good / plenty of good points / liked it
5/7 - Good
6/7 - As good as you can get
7/7 - Impossible perfection

Writer: Rick Briggs
Director: Barnaby Edwards
Produced By: Big Finish
Released: November 2011

4th Doctor 1.01 - Destination Nerva

Why Briggs? Why?

Fourth Doctor and Leela

 
Cast:

Fourth Doctor - Tom Baker
Leela - Louise Jameson
Dr. Alison Foster - Raquel Cassidy
McMullan/Pilot - Sam Graham
Laura Craske - Tilly Gaunt
Giles Moreau/Jenkins - Tim Bentinck
Jim Hooley/Drelleran 1/Security Guard - Kim Wall
Lord Jack/Drudgers/Drelleran 2 - Tim Treloar

Synopsis:

"After saying their goodbyes to Professor Litefoot and Henry Gordon Jago, the Doctor and Leela respond to an alien distress call beamed direct from Victorian England. It is the beginning of a journey that will take them to the newly built Space Dock Nerva… where a long overdue homecoming is expected.

A homecoming that could bring about the end of the human race."

Review:

Ah, Tom Baker has arrived at Big Finish. Shame that his first story was a bit of a let down. It was a very slow start with not much happening for a while, and when the pace did pick up, everyone was running about not knowing what was happening. Which is a sentiment i shared with the characters. People were doing stuff, there was plenty of action, but there was no story progression of any sort till very near the end then everything got wrapped up in the blink of an eye just as it started getting interesting. By the end of part two I was looking forward to another two parts but obviously, two parts is all we get.

There were parts of the story that i really liked and had that touch of Briggs, especially towards the end, but for the most part was too dragged out and slow. Nicholas Briggs has wrote his first story that I didn't really care for. I don't know what to believe anymore.

Other than my gripes about the storyline, Tom Baker was okay and Louise Jameson was great as usual. Overall it was enjoyable but I expected much more.

Score:

0/7 - Non-existant
1/7 - As bad as you can get
2/7 - Poor
3/7 - Quite poor / too many poor points / didn't like it
3.5/7 - Neither good nor bad / undecided
4/7 - Quite good / plenty of good points / liked it
5/7 - Good
6/7 - As good as you can get
7/7 - Impossible perfection


Written by: Nicholas Briggs
Directed by: Nicholas Briggs
Produced by: Big Finish
Released: 31 January 2012

Doctor Who Special: The Five Companions

Ian Chesterton meets The Doctor and Other Companions

Fifth Doctor, Ian, Steven, Polly, Nyssa, & Sara Kingdom

 
Cast:

Fifth Doctor - Peter Davison
Ian Chesterton - William Russell
Steven Taylor - Peter Purves
Sara Kingdom - Jean Marsh
Polly Wright - Anneke Wills
Nyssa - Sarah Sutton
The Daleks - Nicholas Briggs
Sontarans - Dan Starkey

Synopsis:

"Inside a cluster of fused-together derelict spaceships, four of the Doctor's oldest friends - and one of his newest ones - are lost and confused. They don't know how they got there or what they're meant to be doing - but as the place is infested with Daleks, Sontarans and dinosaurs, their first priority is staying alive.
To their collective relief, the Doctor turns up and has a reasonable idea of what's going on. If the six of them work together, they can escape this place and get home. But, unexpectedly, others may be working together to ensure they all die here..."

Review:

I enjoyed this, but not so much because of the story. The story had plenty of action with The Daleks facing off against the Sontarans, a few dinosaurs thrown in too, and The Doctor and his companions trying to escape the situation. It was a good fun story I guess but not exactly going to win awards or make you think or anything. The best part about this audio was having the five companions and The Doctor meet and interact with each other throughout the story. I did like the return of Dwarf Star Alloy and the performances from Nicholas Briggs and Dan Starkey were good as the Daleks and Sontarans respectively. There's a nice moment where The Doctor's talking to Polly about the times they travelled together

So, the story is fun, but the real treat here is The Doctor catching up with the companions and the companions w--king together. The storyline itself wraps up rather poorly but that can forgiven.

And of course, Ian was the star of the show here, and The Doctor practically said it himself. Four regenerations on and he still recogninses Ian as the awesomeness that he is.

Score:

0/7 - Non-existant
1/7 - As bad as you can get
2/7 - Poor
3/7 - Quite poor / too many poor points / didn't like it
3.5/7 - Neither good nor bad / undecided
4/7 - Quite good / plenty of good points / liked it
5/7 - Good
6/7 - As good as you can get
7/7 - Impossible perfection


Written by: Eddie Robson
Produced by: Big Finish
Directed by: Ken Bentley
Released: December 2011

Doctor Who: The Companion Chronicles 6.05 - The First Wave

What does a Vardan need with a spaceship?

Steven and Oliver

 
Cast:

Steven Taylor - Peter Purves
Oliver Harper - Tom Allen
The Vardans - Lisa Bowerman

Synopsis:

"Caught in the inevitable path of its own history, the TARDIS arrives on the planetoid Grace Alone, where the Doctor, Steven and Oliver expect to face their fate. What they don’t expect to find is a massacred crew – and a race of alien invaders known as the Vardans."

Review:

This episode plays off the fact that the radio signals we've been creating for years are getting sent out into space and still travelling. An alien species picks up the signals and comes to our solar system. We pick up the story with Steven and (new companion created for the audio series) Oliver trying to survive this alien attack, stranded on an mining colony, and with The Doctor dead.

The first part is good and concentrates most on Steven reflecting on the past whilst trying to survive the alien attack with Oliver with occsional flashbacks that set up the story to the point we're at now. The story itself is pretty simple, but also an interesting one and slightly unexpected in places, and leaves enough of the plot to focus on Steven's reflections which is really well done.

A bit more happens in the second part with some nice twists and a good conclusion to the story and triology. In all, it's a really good sentimental story with a great musical arrangement to compliment it.

Score:

0/7 - Non-existant
1/7 - As bad as you can get
2/7 - Poor
3/7 - Quite poor / too many poor points / didn't like it
3.5/7 - Neither good nor bad / undecided
4/7 - Quite good / plenty of good points / liked it
5/7 - Good
6/7 - As good as you can get
7/7 - Impossible perfection


Written by: Simon Guerrier
Directed by: Lisa Bowerman
Produced by: Big Finish
Released: 8th November 2011

Doctor Who Companion Chronicles 6.03 - The Memory Cheats

Zoe Herriot

Cast:


Zoe Heriot - Wendy Padbury
Jen - Charlie Hayes


Synopsis:


"Zoe Heriot remembers everything. But she remembers nothing. 

A genius with instant recall, Zoe’s mind has been purged of her memories of travelling with the Doctor and Jamie in the TARDIS. And years later she is in deep trouble – prosecuted by the mysterious company that has evidence that she has travelled in Space and Time.

Except Zoe knows they’re wrong.

Aren’t they?

But if that’s the case, why is there proof that Zoe was in Uzbekistan in 1919.

Can the memory cheat?"


Review

It's a tricky one this. I really wanted to like it because Zoe is a great character with a lot of clever storytelling potential, and the set up of it with Zoe being questioned about her time with The Doctor is good. She can't remember this herself due to memory blocks placed by the Timelords but with the help of documents and things, her interrogator works with Zoe to regain her memories. This part of the story is great and has a fantastic conclusion, and it's generally these vehicles in which the companion stories are told which are the most interesting parts. Unfortunately in this case, the story told by Zoe and her interrogator isn't all that interesting and really drags at times. This would have worked much better as a shorter story focusing more on the interactions between the two characters rather than the story they're telling.


Score:

0/7 - Non-existant
1/7 - As bad as you can get
2/7 - Poor
3/7 - Quite poor / too many poor points / didn't like it
3.5/7 - Neither good nor bad / undecided
4/7 - Quite good / plenty of good points / liked it
5/7 - Good
6/7 - As good as you can get
7/7 - Impossible perfection


Written by: Simon Guerrier
Directed by: Lisa Bowerman
Produced by: Big Finish
Released: September 2011

REVIEW: Doctor Who 153 - The Silver Turk

Eighth Doctor & Mary Shelley




 SYNOPSIS:

"Roll up! Roll up! To the great Viennese Exposition, where showman Stahlbaum will show you his most wonderful creation, the Silver Turk – a mechanical marvel that will not only play for you the fortepiano, the spinet and the flute, it will play you at the gaming table too!

But when the Doctor brings his new travelling companion Mary Shelley to nineteenth-century Vienna, he soon identifies the incredible Turk as one of his deadliest enemies – a part-machine Cyberman.

And that’s not even the worst of the horrors at large in the city… "

CAST:

The Doctor - Paul McGann
Mary Shelley - Julie Cox
Dr Johan Drossel - Gareth Armstrong
Alfred Stahlbaum - Christian Brassington
Ernst Bratfisch - David Schneider
Count Rolf Wittenmeier - Gwilym Lee
Countess Mitzi Wittenmeier - Claire Wyatt
The Cybermen - Nicholas Briggs


REVIEW:

Here we are, the welcome return of the Eighth Doctor to the monthly range. Now we get full four part stories rather than just the two of the Eighth Doctor Adventues. What we don't have though is either Lucie Miller or Charlie Pollard. Instead, The Doctor has a brand new toy to play with, this new toy coming in the form of new regular companion Mary Shelly.

I love the first part of this with The Doctor excited to show his new companion the delights of travel through space and time and Mary Shelly not being quite as impressed as others would be. The first half of this story not only has the joy of getting to know a new companion relationship, but there's also a Cyberman who is performing for its human master - playing piano, challenging people to games - as he takes it on tour. Nothing much really happens in the first half but it all gels together into an interesting narrative.

Eventually The Doctor and his companion split up so we lose their chemistry from the story, but we do gain an interesting twist to the Cyberman's story. The writer, Marc Platt, does a great job of making you care for Cyberman. If you're looking for action, there's very little of it here but there are plently of great character pieces in this story.

Score:

0/7 - Non-existant
1/7 - As bad as you can get
2/7 - Poor
3/7 - Quite poor / too many poor points / didn't like it
3.5/7 - Neither good nor bad / undecided
4/7 - Quite good / plenty of good points / liked it
5/7 - Good
6/7 - As good as you can get
7/7 - Impossible perfection

Writer: Marc Platt
Director: Barnaby Edwards
Produced By: Big Finish
Released: October 2011