Audio Reviews

[Deleted]

A little thread for anyone who listened to any Doctor Who audios and wants to rip them a new arsehole… or review them. What ever takes you fancy.

Masters of Earth

A 2014 Dalek story that sees Six and Perri, post Trial, end up in on earth in 2163, a year before the events of The Dalek Invasion of Earth. While the Doctor wants to leave ASAP, shit happens and he’s got no choice.

Given my love of the original, you can imagine I was really looking forward to this one and for the most part of works… though there are a few issues.


The Doctor and Peri’s dynamic here is very interesting when compared their time together in the show. I think the show’s worked better then many give it credit for, but this Peri is more confident and has a lot less patients for Six’s antics, while Six himself is trying to be better then the Doctor she remembered but some of what he dose are things he dose for a reason. It give them a bit more edge and reminds me of Seven and Ace, but with less grand plans.

While the rest of the caste do a good job, only 2-3 of them really matter. In particular the character of Moira Brody. This because she’s not only with us for the Most of the story but is helping drive the narrative. The fact she is actually a Roboman Elite is pretty well handled, with some good hints that were not to obvious. The Robomen Elite are also a great idea and are treated as an early version the Duplicates the Daleks would later us. Where things go a bit nuwho is that Moira is able to break her programming, free other Robomen Elite and plans to lead a revolution against the Daleks and convert humanity into Robomen Elite so they can be superior to what they were before.

Now on the surface this is not while a bad idea and the reason Moira goes down this path is understandable, but it all feels a little to contrived and worse treated as if this will all 100% going to happen. This has the negative affect of downplaying the Daleks in there own story, worse it ignores the fact that the Daleks, while flawed, are not stupid. Part of the plan is to let the Daleks do all the converting for them because they’ve had confirmation of the plans success, but right afterwords the Black Dalek in control of the facility is killed. Now previously we had seen the alarm raised automatically when a single Dalek Drone was taken out. A Black Dalek would cause a far bigger panic, and even if there was some way to hide the fact, the Daleks would eventually notice and/or will send a team to check. It’s just not as clear cut as they’d have believe, and I struggle to take it as seriously as the story wants me to.

My other conflicted issue is the Daleks themselves. As any classic fan will know, the Daleks of Invasion are somewhat different from how they are generally viewed in pop culture. They lack a lot of the catch phrases and some of the traits later Daleks would have. Yet here, if not for the deliberate steps to point out there older design, they talk just like nuwho Daleks, with Exterminate being thrown around with abandon. This is not the first story to do this, though to BF credit in their new First Doctor range they deliberately didn’t do this for there story Return to Skaro which was a sequel to the Daleks.

Fortunately they don’t fly, instead using there hover platforms. fokk any piss takers or retconners, the Classic Daleks can’t fly and they ruled earth with an iron grip for a decade in spite of that. Not scary my arse.

Another minor fokk up is with the Supreme Controller, it at least his title. He’s called Supreme Commander and refers to himself as Supreme Dalek, but it’s made pretty clear that he’s the black Dalek in Bedfordshire. A minor point but it’s confusing enough that none has updated Tardis wiki to include the Supreme Controller as part of this story. It’s not as if it’s just a passing mention either, he appeared in person at the end, thanks to the Doctor pulling the old “mice was on all the time” trike, and activates the Robomen Elite’s kill switch. Then again it’s not like this is the only time, as Models of the Supreme Controller are often just labelled Supreme Dalek.

For all my moaning on these points the story dose capture the feel of a Dalek occupied earth very well, as well as forcing the Doctor and co to trek cross country as in the original. There’s some rather dark moments such a Moira telling Peri that the neck restraints used to have sharp edges until prisoners started using them to cut their own throats. One point was an expansion on the Dalek plan for earth once it became a ship, The Doctor and Co unwittingly stumble into a plantation of Varga plants. Peri gets stung as they symbols through the “trees” and we see how the plants affect the individual’s mind as well as there body. Peri’s struggle to hold off the Varga influence is very well done and there is a very somber moment between her and the Doctor when she realises that she has hours at best. The Doctor is able to save her in the end thanks to a blood transfusion with himself.

The Slyther appear also, as the group try to travel to islands off the coast. It’s short, and not as effective as the how the Varga are used, but it’s a nice nod to the original. I do wonder if the aurther of this story read the novel rather then saw the episodes, or if they relied more on Terry Nation’s original script discrimination of the Slyther as they are used and described more like that. That said it’s gives a good indication as to just what extent Daleks will introduce invasive species from Skaro to worlds they occupy.

The big twist of the story, alongside the Robomen Elite and Moira being one, is that the whole the whole journey, at least from the break out of the Dalek factory with Moira, to the arrival on the island, is a staged test to find ideal individuals for processing. While it dose seem a bit grand, it’s very much in the Daleks sadistic nature to come up with such a test I feel, especially for one that has applications beyond earth.

I should also point out that Moira only breaks her programming because of the Doctor and what he tells Peri to do to fight the Varga influence. So while I have done issues with her sub-plot, this at least gives a tangible explanation that ties into the narrative.

Despite my gripes I did have a lot of fun with this story and I’ll likely listen to it again.

7/10

[Deleted]

Lords of the Red Planet



A lost story from Troughton's era, Lords is something of an origin story for the  Ice Warriors, or is it? 

Synopsis:
The TARDIS crew land on Mars, home of the Ice Warriors, far back in its history. The Doctor is convinced it's much too early for them to meet their frozen foes.. but the Doctor is wrong.

Far below the surface of the planet an evil scheme is in motion. A scientist works night and day at the command of an insane despot. A despot intent on creating a terrifyingly familiar army.

What exactly does Zaadur plan? What dark secret lies at the heart of the Gandoran mines? How far will the Doctor go to save his friends? In the deepest caves, the true Lords of the Red Planet are ready to emerge... Can anyone possibly survive their birth?

Based on that last line you'd expect this to be about how the Ice Warriors eventually come to be the rulers of Mar... well not exactly. I'm not even shore that final line could even be applied to the Ice Warriors of this story.

Before going on there’s a few things I feel I need to talk about first. First this story was going to be part of season 6 but was rejected and Seeds of Death took its place. There were apparently two drafts, both of which were used here, and finally this is an adaption of that script, not a word for word production of it. This is important in regards to the Ice Warriors because frankly they have outgrown it. Had it been used back then, there would be little issue, however thanks to their two Peladon stories and later expanded works, the Ice Warriors evolved from simple enemy monsters to race of people. As a result an origin story like Genesis of the Daleks and Spare Parts cannot really be applied to them anymore. As a result the story has to bend over backwards to accommodate that fact.

Now that’s not to say the story is bad, far from it, but it’s a fact to keep in mind when listening. In fact I day say I don't recommended it as a first time story for anyone wanting an Ice Warrior audio story for that reason.

The Ice Warriors here are products of forced evolution on a native Martian species called Saurians, who resemble tortoises. They are described as being rougher than those the characters had previously met, with natural shells in place of their exoskeleton armour in other appearances. They were created to be the slaves, then solders of the original inhabitants of Mars, the Gandorans. Gandorans are a humanoid reptile race, suggested to be more human looking then the Ice Warrior (think nuwho Silurians), with forked tongues and skin that changes colour with mood. The Gandorans of this story are a dying race, made immortal by "life drink" and live in the last city of their race.

The two main Gandorans for this story. Quendril could be viewed as the Davros of this story though they have little in common. Quendril is simple a scientist who was desperately trying to preserve his race in the face of extinction as Mars became less habitable to them. He created the "Life Drink" and eventually would seek to improve upon his own kind. The final outcome of his work was Zaadur, a forcibly evolved Gandoran who didn't need Life Drink to survive and was stronger and smarter than the rest of her kind. However this made her cold and contemptuous of her own kind, seeing them as inferior, and hated her father for the pain her forced upon her. She would slowly begin taking over the city until she was its shadow ruler. During this time she would begin blackmailing Quendril into making the Ice Warriors for her purposes.

As a result most of the Ice Warriors have little personality, being simple monsters for Zaadur to control, however there are two exceptions. Risor, a failed Ice Warrior proto-type who acts as Quendril's assistant and playing the role of his Igor (though in a more sympathetic light) and Aslor, the "Super Slave" or the First Ice Lord. Unlike his fellows he develops a connection with Zoe, as she had interfered with his mental evolution/process because she couldn't stand to see him suffer. After he breaks his conditioning he becomes a powerful ally to the heroes, taking down an entire squad of Ice Warriors single handily at one point, and finally giving his life to help repay his debt to his Mistress Zoe.

In Aslor we see the spirit of what the Ice Warriors would become post-Troughton, warriors of honour, while the others reflect what they originally were.

When the story ends the actual beginnings of the Ice Warriors is left ambiguous. Are they created or will they evolve naturally? Personally I prefer that they will eventually evolve naturally, and that these ones are but imperfect picture of what was to come. I just can't see a created race developing into a fully fledged people. The Daleks, Cyber-men and Sontaran, while having their own civilisations, all bear the hallmarks of being a race created with a purpose in mind. Ice Warriors lack this.

Some may feel let down by this subversion, but I feel it works in the way I describe, though I must laugh that someone took the time to develop the story into this ambiguous tale when these days "Doctor Who" has no canon lol! It's even funnier with all the nuwho crap that gets forced into reworked older stories by Big Finish these days. Though thankfully Lords is free of such stuff.

Aside from all I've droned on about, the actual plot is interesting in itself, a story of the struggle to survival, eugenics and the dark outcomes of when the two cross paths. In this respect Zaadur is very much like the Daleks, though unlike them she is not a wholly unemotional creature. In fact she may be a prime example of a more realistic fate for such a being, whose cruelty and contempt only bring about their own defeat in the end.

As for the main cast we have one of the best Tardis Teams of all time, The Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe. Given that this was originally written during 1969, all of them are very much in character, with Frazer Hines portraying Jamie perfectly in audio as well as the Second Doctor thanks to his amazing impersonation of Troughton's Doctor. Wendy Padbury, I feel, is one of the few older classic actresses who still reasonably sound like she did in the 60s. A little older yes but not so noticeably as say Carol Ann Ford or Deborah Watling.

Overall I feel the Lords of the Red Planet is a great story that has the unenviable job of trying to balance it's what was and is in regards to its primary monster. Still it tells a fun sci-fi tale with one of my favourite Tardis teams.

8/10

[Deleted]

The Prisoner of Peladon

Just do you know I’m working my way through these audios in their rough canonical order.

This was an odd one. Not bad but not overly strong either, in fact it was something of an oddity on release. Our main character is King Peladon, despite this being a Companion Chronicles story, and it’s a rare sole story for the Third Doctor, who has recently parted ways with Joe.

Sadly this feels like a filler story at its core. While I’m happy that BF gave use more adventures in the classic style, sometimes they struggle to make an idea truly great. That is not to say that there is nothing worth listening to.. Mind you it may be because this is an hour long story that it feels very bare bones at times. The middle of the story, the unraveling of the mystery is way to fast passed to be truly engrossing.

King Peladon is thankfully more of a character here then in Curse, primarily because of him being older and not stuck in the middle of so many advisors trying to pull him in different directions. The fact we can see his thoughts also helps. Sadly he’s still not very proactive even in a staring role, only truly taking at the end of the story, though given it’s caused by people treating him disrespectfully (as was done in Curse) it’s good to see him take charge and even be on the threshold of arresting his allies if they don’t tell him what’s going on.

It is from the Ice Warriors that this story’s conflict and themes truly come from. Their has been a military coup on New Mars, the new home planet to the Martian race, and the Grand Marshal has executed the royal family. Many Martians have fled their home and seek refuge on other planets, Peladon being one of them, in spite of threats made by the New Mars government.

What we gave is something I have always liked about the Peladon stories, their parallels with real life events. Curse mirrored the UK joining the common market, while Monster had parallels to Mining Strikes and I always respected that while writer did support a side, they bothered to let all sides be presented, unlike the black and white narratives of the Jodie era.

While this story is a bit more black and white due to its content, it still at least gives our villains a voice. The Martian refugees could be seen as reflecting any influx of refugees in British history, and we hear that their are Peladon groups who wish them gone to the point of violence, while the events on Mars itself bring to mind the events that led to the creation of Communist Russia. As you can tell this is also something of a prequel story to the events of Monster.

It’s nice that some explanation was given to why the Ice Warrior coup has occurred. There are Martians who feel that they have become little more then plodding policemen to the Federation, a pretty nasty blow to a race who put much stock in honour and strength. It’s also a good contrast to the ill feelings groups on Peladon have, who think the Federation views them as a small, backwards planet only good for its resources. A clash of collective ideals and national identity in both cases, the Martians are warrior, the Peladons are mort antiquated in their society then most federation members.

And not without grounds. The Federation has, as we learn, had hidden the last surviving member of the Martian Royal family on Peladon, without the King’s knowing, for her protection until she could be moved to a safer location. Given that Paladin was already putting itself a risk letting the refugees stay despite the Grand Marshall’s threat, this painted a target right in their back and nearly leads to a full political incident when assassins from New Mars begin causing havoc. It also nearly destroys King Peladon and Alpha Centauri’s friendship when it’s discovered the hexapod was part of the plan.

While this make for a good sci-if political drama, the aforementioned run time means that there is little actual meet to the story itself. In fact the culprit is outed early in the second part.

Another thing is that we get a little look into Martian people outside of the ice warriors. Though most are never described, the princess is add to be slender, with scaled skin larger scales or spikes on her head. She is also wearing a dress, a shocking contrast to the Ice Warriors. It is also said here that they have red eyes.

The Third Doctor is rather underused here sadly and I’m not really fond of his portrayal. Three was by far one of the least likely to play games, especially in regards to his friends, as he was more often getting exasperated by peoples inability to make people understand him. This really feels more the Second, Fourth or Six Doctor.

While think the story has its heart in the right place, it feels very rushed and underdeveloped in spite of what it gets right.

5/10

[Deleted]

The Cyber Trilogy



Three interconnected stories produced in the mid 00s, based around incursions of the Cybermen on earth. The first to be produced was Harvest in 2004, while Reaping and Gathering come along in 2006, with the former retroactively being made part of the later twos story.



I'll give my thoughts in what I could gleam was now the recommended listening order.



The Reaping - Overview with Spoilers



The Reaping see Six and Peri return to her hometown Boston after she learns of the murder of a close friend. Sadly for Peri her disappearance has badly soured her relationships with her mother and friends, who have all been getting along without her, mean while the Doctor investigates the murder, uncovering what appears to be a Cyberman invasion.



Despite its somewhat stereotypical setup, the Reaping proves to be a very atypical Cybermen story as it develops. At first it appears to be a highly subtly invasion, with the intended end game to be converting corpses of the recently diseased into Cybermen. Peri's dead friend was the local mortician and was under cyber control, as are the local police force. This is done via ear pieces, likely a nod to the Cybusmen, though thankfully it’s made clear these are the 80's guys at work. As the story progresses we learn that the mortician seemed to have broken this control and left a message for his children and Peri's mother, which Peri finds, mean while the Doctor finds the man accused of his murder and learns about what actually happened. All good stuff, but the real stand out moment is when they find a strange ship in the graveyard, one which like the Tardis is dimensionally tansindentel. Within we find a Cyber-Leader, damaged and bonded to the timelord machine. We then learn the entire thing was a trap for the Doctor, there is no cyber invasion, in fact there is only one other cyberman. The Cyber-Leader arrived here but accident but thanks to its knowledge of the Doctor and Peri, it created this rouse in order to capture the Doctor. Its true plan is to force him to alter the history of earth by converting early humanity, using Peri, her mother and friends as hostages.



The Doctor is able to trick the Cyber-Leader by having the ship travel back to the present day, but not to earth. Instead they travel to Mondas two years before its destruction. The damaged Cyber-Leader realises the deception to late and Six leaves it there to be taken apart by its Mondaisan counterparts. He returns but Peri elects to say behind with her mother and friends, one of whom was left paralyzed by his converted father. The Doctor leaves, returning to the location where he and Peri first learned of the murder, only to find out that Peri's mother died in an explosion, which unbeknownst to them was caused by a piece of cyber technology they had kept as a memento, though based on its description the technology was not in the original state it had been, seemingly having been split in half. With nothing tying her to earth anymore Peri leaves with Six.



Thoughts



Probably my faviort of the trilogy, Reaping tells a story that captures a lot of the stuff I love about the Cybermen, while doing it in its own way. Firstly that they are, in retrospect, the Doctor's true most bitter foe. In the classic series, nuwho and audio, the Cybermen inflict very personal costs on the Doctor and his companions from time to time. Here it's to poor Peri, who has her entire life on earth destroyed by them, while the Doctor has to live with the knowledge that they all died because the Cyber-Leader was after him. The plot twist was a much appreciated surprise and while the Doctor's victory did seem a little too easy, the Cyber-Leader was damaged and desperate, and the Doctor relied on dreaded "continuity" for his ploy to work. It does make me laugh that Attack of the Cybermen is lambasted for such a thing yet people lick BF's ass for doing the same. Humans really aren't logical.



It was nice to get some background information of Peri and her relationships, the story dose a great job of showing how her time with Six had changed her. Six himself is still his harsh though BF softened self, with his interactions with Peri's mother being particular highlights. the rest of the cast are acted very well, with my only complaint being the Cyber-Leaders voice. This us Briggs at his early worst, and while he would get better with time, his need to voice every classic monster regardless of skill is grating at times.



A really great story



9/10



The Gathering - Overview and Spoilers



The best way to sum this one up is a Cybermen story, without true Cybermen.



The first half is told in semi-flashback form by Kathrin Chamber, one of Peri's friends from Reaping, whose father was killed and converted, while her brother was paralysed. Originally studying to be as doctor, she could not cope with the horror of what had happened or her brother condition, which had worsened. Unwilling to let him die in peace, Katherine met another student, Jamie, who specialised in technology (and according to a quick wiki search is an agent of "the Forge", whoever they are). Together they worked to unlock the secrets of the Cyber Conversion device Peri's mother had, stealing half of it and causing her death. Fearing discovery Kathrin and James fled to Brisbane, Australia with her bother. 22 years later they are running their own medical company, and continuing to work on the cyber conversion device in the hopes of finding breakthrough cures.



The Fifth Doctor, after discovering alien energy signatures on earth makes his way Brisbane, deliberately choosing not to go to Boston 1984 after hearing that that a version of himself is already there. He tracks down Katherine, who recognises him after he tells her who he is, and in a panic she invites him to a patient/friends birthday surprise party. That person is non-other than Tegan, 20 years on from when she left the Tardis. The meeting is naturally very mixed emotionally for both of them; Tegan knows the Doctor is a magnet for trouble, while the Doctor is still hurt and disappointed as he had expected her to do more with her life. It gets worse when why she's Katherine's patient, she has terminal brain cancer. The two do eventually make common ground, but while they talk Katherine contacts James to figure out what to do. James kidnaps Tegan and Katherine's secretary Eve Morris at gun point, and the Doctor and some of Tegan's friends follow.



When eventually learn that Kathrin and James have been developing a computer System capable of diagnosing and curing any illness. However it's not yet complete. They had selected Eve's consciousness to become of the System, completing it, and for Tegan to be its first patient, to prove its effectiveness. During this time we find that Katherine’s brother has undergone a process similar to cyber conversion. Despite the Doctor's best attempt to convince them that this can only leaded to another race of Cybermen eventually, his words fall on deaf ear, worse Katherine decides that System should instead scan him and gain all his biological and intellectual information. Thanks to Tegan and her friends the process in not completed and the Doctor convinces Katherine's brother to destroy System. Katherine is left broken by her guilt at everything she has done, though James escapes with a copy of their work and the Doctor's data.



After handing Katherine over to the police the Doctor and Tegan part ways, and while things are not perfect, they are better then when she left before.



Thoughts



A good story, though I am somewhat mixed on its contents. As a sequel of Reaping it works very well, dealing with the fall out of such an event in a very interesting way. It examines the ideas of grief and an inability to let go very respectfully, as well as further building on the how costly the Doctor's encounters with the Cybermen can be. Another nice theme is that it's not just the Cybermen that are dangerous, their technology and it's misuse are just as dangerous, with every chance of allowing them to achieve their goal without them even being there. A concept examined in other stories like the Cyberman series.



What I was not fond of was the inclusion to Tegan, or at least some of it. Tegan's more bitter relationship with the Doctor was a welcome change, as was the idea of a companion who hadn't become a better person for knowing him. The cancer was just once last twist of the knife. While the story tries to turn this around, trying to show that Tegan is happy with her life and her memories with the Doctor, frankly that was mistake in my eyes and it feels rather hollow in the end anyway. It would have been far better to just play it straight imo, to show that the universe is not always fair, that things don't always turn out for the best even for the Doctor's friends. Maybe it was done to lighten up the story given how dark the Cyberman plot it, but then I ague it goes against the themes the story. There was also a question raised as to wither Tegan had been in-love with the Doctor, though thankfully Tegan makes it very clear that no she ever was and the Doctor does not seem ok with the prospect.



While I haven't mentioned it, there's some attempt at making a direct link between Reaping and Gathering in a message from Five to Six, since Five learned that Six had no memories of this story, but it amounts to nothing and Six doesn't remember anyway.



A good story but a bit messy in places



7/10



The Harvest - Overview and Spoilers



The Seventh Doctor and Ace are investigating a hospital they believe is utilising xenotech. Ace is undercover as staff, while Seven is posing as technician to break into their System. While they are doing this a Paramedic nicknamed Hex becomes involved after the death of his friend and his interested in Ace. Ace asks him about C-Programme, and they are almost killed by an augmented human. Unable to let the events go, Hex follows Ace, making his way into the Tardis and meeting the Doctor. After they explain why they are here, he agrees to help.



When they attempt to break into the C-Programme, they discover that they are already suspected and that Seven's modifications to the System have been overwritten. Ace is then captured by Cybermen and while Hex & Seven escape. The pair breaks into C-Programme, just in time as Ace is about to dissected for organ transplants, and we learn what is going on. The European Union encounter and made a deal with a small group of Cybermen, in order to begin and gain an advantage in the new space race Europe wanted to develop astronauts who could better survive in space. they Cybermen would assist them in this endeavour but for something in return. These cybermen wanted to regain their flesh. As such the hospital head surgeon has, alongside developing Cybermen for the EU, has been doing his best restore the original cybermen to organic bodies. This has proven difficult due to constant tissue rejection. The Doctor meets the Cyber-Leader, called Subject One, who explains this to him and tries to get his help. Seven is tempted by the prospect of redeemed Cybermen, but has his reservations, as he believes there is no true way to revert back from what they had done to themselves, physically or psychologically. His reservations are proven correct as the new Cybermen begin to go out of control as they hunt for Ace and Hex, as soon as they were allowed access to firearms, they began slaughtering everyone in the hospital indiscriminately.



It is then revealing that the now organic Cybermen had no intention of undoing themselves. They merely wanted the access to the illogical capabilities of the organic to further the Cyberman cause. Fortunately the head surgeon installed failsafe in the new cybermen, and Ace and Hex are able to shut them down. With no means of threatening him, Seven walks away from organic cybermen, leaving them to die from tissue rejection and makes shore to erase all the C-Programme data to insure none can continue the work.



He and Ace then leave, with Hex now tagging along.



Thoughts



Given that this was the first story in the trilogy, and was created two years earlier, Harvest feels very disconnected from its fellows. In fact they only thing linking them is the hospital's System, suggesting it was based on the one created in Gathering. It also lacks the darker themes of the prior two despite being a Seventh Doctor story. That said, this is when Hex joined the Tardis and begin a very long, interconnected story arc by BF that would run for years. Having done a quick wiki read on Hex, while he would turn out alright in the end, like Ace he would suffer a lot of traumatic events travelling alongside the Seventh Doctor and eventual lose his life, though he would be resurrected. Also despite his romantic feelings for Ace, they would ultimately never be together and his death would badly damage her relationship with Seven. With that in mind, one could argue this dose count and fits a pattern of each other these stores effecting people ate different stages of their travels with the Doctor. Peri during her travels, Tegan at the end and now Hex in the beginning. Not also, though very loosely ties into that theme of the Cybermen's affect on the Doctor and his companions, though very, very loosely.



If Gathering was about how the Cybermen and their technology exploit negative emotions and Reaping how they exploit positive ones, here we see how they exploit greed and the desire for advancement. The idea of them wanting to obtain an organic advantage for the cyber cause reminded me of the cult of skaro, who would appear in nuwho two years later. While at first I thought the idea could be developed further, I know realise that it would really have nowhere to go. The cult of skaro had potential because their daleks, organic beings with a narrow mindset, and nuwho really did nothing interesting with it either. For the Cybermen though, their whole stick is that they become this to survive, they went the organic road and it failed them. there really is only one story you could tell and it's so disgustingly nuwho I could puke. A cyberman becomes human but decides to revert back because emotions suck or sum such bullshite. With that in mind its better as a nice twist to a more basic Cyberman plot that ends before it can get stupid.



Seven and Ace are as good as ever, though their relationship is clearly fraying at the edges somewhat given a few of Ace's comments. Its early days but a clear sign of how their relationship would deteriorate in the future.



A fun, is more simple story, but then I'll take a well done basic Cybermen story over an experimental crap one any day.


8/10

[Spark Doll King]

The Sontarans



Big Finish is kind of a double edged sword in many respect, in one area in particular I find this is their "between the gapes" stories of older who. While they can create truly great stories, at times they feel like their just padding out stuff at best and creating something incompatible with the series at worst. I learned this lesson the hard way with a group of stories I was genuinely excited for. These were the Dalek Master Plan stories, tales from the Sara Kingdom travels with the Doctor and Steven as they tried to evade capture by the daleks. I was really looking forward to what they could pull of here, especially with Sarah Kingdom as a character. Sadly it fell well below my expectations. Firstly we hit the problem of developing a character beyond the limits allowed. The Sara of big finish is a very, very different person we met in Master Plan. She's a person who had been on many adventures with the doctor and grown in ways that just are not there in Master Plan. Second the stories are really not that good for the most part, The Companion Chronical set of stories are ok but no terribly intreasting in execution and their hampered by the insistence of including a the pointless framing device of Sara's consciousness becoming part of a house  in Home Truths. While not as bad as a total rewrite of her fate, its an attempt try and lessen the eventual dark fate of the Character. This is something I've grown to hate over the years, and I know iank doesn't like it either if his video I listened to this morning was any indicator, an is another major issue not only of big finish but other works a well. People just can't die or have a bad end anymore, especially if they were a women.

Anyway the best story of this entire lot is the one I'm talking about today. The Sontarans is the story of how the Doctor first met his militant potato foes for the first time. While time hoping to escape the Daleks, the Doctor and Co find themselves on a strange asteroid covered in flowers. While exploring they encounter a group of Space Security Agents from Sarah's history, who are on a mission to counter the Sontarans who are stationed on the asteroid. Sarah and Steven both recognise the Sontarans but the Doctor has never heard of them. How much that bothers you is down to taste I feel. A lot of people don't apparently like the fact that the First Doctor knew nothing of the Daleks, and I'm shore some don't like this lack of prior knowledge either but I don't mind. The Doctor, especially an early incarnation who spent most of his life on Gallifrey, is not going to know every single alien he bumps into. 

The Sontarans themselves here are depicted very well, with their stilted sense of honour on full display. Interestingly these Sontarans are a bit more familiar with humans then Linx and Styre were, though the story dose a good job of displaying difficulty in comprehending aspects of human nature. They cannot grasp the idea of "not being at war" and find human military ranks overly complicated & a sign of poor efficacy. They feel it is better to be bred with purpose then to have ones innate talents discovered and cultivated over time. This is an important aspect of their characters, for while the Daleks are aliens filled with hate and the Cybermen humans turned cold and calculating, the Sontarans are more complex at heart. They are not without some common ground with ourselves but in other ways they are completely incompatible. This is shown when the Doctor is able to convince Commander Slite that there is not honour in killing civilians and helping him to see the bravery of their actions, but Slite is not willing to let the main caste go after the fact either. Another aspect shown, that is again unique to the Sonatarns, is there willingness to adapt in comparison to Daleks and Cybermen. The Sontarans not only study humans for weaknesses but also for strengths, so that they can be understood and possibly used to their advantage. Humour is one aspect this group has adopted because of the believed above 80% improvement to  combat efficacy it grants humans, yet again we see that they only comprehend it though their filter. Perhaps the most shocking revelation was that on of the Space Security Service was actually an undercover Sontaran agent, using Rutan technology to change his form, yet this leads us to see the limitations of the Sontaran as Gage is killed without warning by Slite, after being talked down by the Doctor, who says he had been warned that Gage's time undercover may have altered him. 

It all helps to paint a very fascinating picture of the Sonatarns.

I would also like to point out that when interrogating Steven, the Sontarans show a great deal if interest in his encounter with the Daleks. It's intreasting not only due to their clear desire to want to fight them, but also that the Sontarans would also come into conflict with them several times in Big Finish audios, a fact note worthy because aside from the Master, enemy cross overs are exceedingly rare in Doctor Who. The Sontarans also have a very cool moment when they drop down into an active volcano in pursuit of the heroes, fall into magma and match out as if it's nothing. A great reminder of just how big a threat they are in their own right.

The main caste are all ok, with Purves' Steven being great and his probably the to doing an impression of Hartnell. Sadly Sara sufferers from the same issues as her prior stores, having clearly out evolved her tv self, also Warden's voice, like many of the 60's actors, clearly gives away her age. The is the standerd affaire BF is known for.

An over all good story with a few weak points 8/10

[rushy]

The Invention of Death from Volume 2 of the First Doctor Adventures (David Bradley) is one of the best Doctor Who stories ever written. The plot - as the title implies - involves the TARDIS crew accidentally introducing the concept of death to an immortal society, and the heartbreaks, denials and chaos that follows.

[Spark Doll King]

Aug 4, 2022 23:37:42 GMT rushy said:

The Invention of Death from Volume 2 of the First Doctor Adventures (David Bradley) is one of the best Doctor Who stories ever written. The plot - as the title implies - involves the TARDIS crew accidentally introducing the concept of death to an immortal society, and the heartbreaks, denials and chaos that follows.

This was a fantastic story. These David Bradley stories did a good job of capturing the experiment and adventurous nature of the first Doctors era. There all pretty good, save Hollow Crown, but The Invention of Death was a truly amazing bit of writing.

[Spark Doll King]

The Defectors




First in the "Locum Doctors" trilogy, we see the Seventh Doctor miraculously displaced into the Third Doctor's era. Now this is an intreasting idea, as you could not find two more diametrically opposed eras but sadly the story doesn't quite live up to it's potential. 

With this kind of story I was expecting a clash of eras, the manipulative Seventh using his skills in the more era when the Doctor was a Bondesch figure, but sadly the story kind of bottlenecks Seven into being just a stand in with a slightly different flair. Despite some of Joe's statements towards the end about "Her Doctor" nothing really occurs to really differentiate them. Three was very kind and understanding to other life forms and would have done much the same in he narrative, and so I wonder whats the point? The only real bit of different character stuff is actually from Joe right at the end and it has some pretty dire consequences all round, creating an almost none wins scenario. Its very out of character for one of classic who's most empathic companions. 

Despite all that the plot is fun, reminding me a little of the Second Quatermass movie from Hammer, as well as having an intreasting plot elements that paint humans in a less then good light which is appropriate for a Pertwee era tale. The aliens of the story, while not repeat apperances worthy, were intreasting with a very funny quirk that made me laugh out loud when I heard it.

An ok story that fails to really grasp the entire point of it's concept.

6/10

[Spark Doll King]

Last of the Cybermen


Well this was disappointing. Not totally without some good stuff but I was really hoping for more. 

For the bad, this is one of the most generic cybermen stories I've ever listened to. It's basically almost a complete cut and paste job from multiple classic Cybermen stories. Almost all of it was done better in classic episodes and the new bits are pretty underwhelming. The Big Cyberhead on the cover? Never properly explained despite acknowledging Cybermen would not build such a thing. The Super Control is a bloated giant to big to be carried by any  normal ship, yet dose nothing beside to be addicted to feeling, while claiming it's above such things.

With such a generic story there is bugger all original for Six to do here. I should point out this is later BF Six, who mellowed out. Nothing wrong with that persay but to use him over his more intreasting and abrasive earlier self? That earlier version would have butted head with Zoe and especially Jamie a lot more, leading to a more fun dynamic then what is there. The only real thing of note is his lack of a sonic screwdriver. He also has a weird turn and tried to send a message to the Time Lords for help, ala War Games, to make up for what he thinks is his mistake. The rest of the caste is fine, if basic. There also a twist in the final part that really wasn't that could and just dragged the arse out of the ending. 

The only upside is that the all the main caste do a good job and Colin is able to express his Doctor's character more then McCoy did, though again he's really not doing much Troughton couldn't have plot wise. 

5/10

[Spark Doll King]

The Secret History



While still suffering from the same problems as the first two, this is probably the best of the trilogy.

The Fifth Doctor, Steven and Vicki feel by far the most natural of these mixed up teams, possibly because the story has more for them to interact about and maybe because I don't place the same expectations on Davison's Doctor. None feels bottlenecked into behaving out of character either. The more historical setting is a nice change to.

The main crucks of the story however is that we learn why the Doctor has been jumping back down his time line, which none remembers after the fact I should add. It because of the actions of the Monk, in his Graeme Garden incarnation from the Eighth Doctor range. I've taken to calling this version The "Wannabe" Monk, given his attempts to ape the behaviour of the Doctor and the Master, foolishly thinking he can do it even better. Well he takes it one step further here. He sets up an elaborate trap to have the Doctor taken out of history by the Time Lords, only for him to jump in and supplant him, becoming the New Doctor. In all this the fifth doctor actually has a purpose, the Monk wanted him because of his self questioning nature, which would cause him to fall for his trick, unlike most other incarnations who are far more self-assured. The latter two stories it turns out where just experiments by the Monk and of no grander cosmic meaning, make of that what you will.

Graeme Garden dose a very good job as this incarnation, who feels very self righteous for someone who spends much of his time wanting to be in better men's shoes.  Though I suppose many such people are and it's a nice contrast to Butterworth's more jovial, prankster incarnation. 

The only real let-down was the ending which had that rushed, to clean feel some nuwho stories have, but still a fun listen

7/10

[iank]

I heard and did enjoy Secret History. I was surprised how well O'Brien managed to sound like her 60s self too (esp compared to some).

[Spark Doll King]

Aug 18, 2022 22:39:25 GMT iank said:

I heard and did enjoy Secret History. I was surprised how well O'Brien managed to sound like her 60s self too (esp compared to some).

Indeed, she and Padbury really do sound like their younger selves. Sadly all the other pre 80s actresses don’t. It took a while to get used to it the first time I started listening and when I stopped for a while I had to get used to it again. It was good that they bring back the caste members but honestly the completely re caste Bradley audios are a much easier listen in comparison.

[Spark Doll King]

Hornet's Nest - The Stuff of Nightmares

My first ever Doctor Who Extended Universe story and the one that let me know it even existed.

Overall this was a pretty good start to the series. Honestly I found the story very spooky a times, Tom's dialog, combined with the music and sound effects, was very effective at putting the wind up my back at times. Never has a story captured the creepy nature of stuffed animels so well. Yates' return as our audience stand in was even better this time around now, as I've grown to know the character even better now thanks to watching all the Pertwee era. Tom's on brilliant form, he's always amazed me with how good he is even in audio form. 

I will say part of me wishes that this was the entire story, the Doctor battling killer stuffed horror in the english county side (a concept that is hinted at as being more of a Third Doctor style story), but the mystery is very gripping at this stage.

If the story has a flaw, its that it's not given much room to breath as it's trying to be the opening act of the story while also being part of an episodic series of events. One example is Mr. Noggins, who could have mad for an intreasting antagonist but sadly he's summed up and tossed aside in a blink.

Still a good start.

8/10

[Spark Doll King]

I always forget how this story progresses. I recall the beginning but all of the stuff either the Doctor being shrunk down an placed in a doll house always catches me by surprise. It’s not because it’s bad mind you, it’s actually the best part of the story, I don’t know why.

The story is painted in a wonderfully vivid fashion once again thankfully. I’ve never been to Cromer myself, but I have other classic British sea sides and the story captures the vibe well. While still fast, this stories pacing is more linear with less hopping around or talking about lots of separate events.

The Hornets truly come into their own as antagonists also. Before they were just insects that controlled stuffed animals, but they possess the power to manipulate matter via vibrations. The threat grows.

Pretty fun

8/10

[Spark Doll King]

This is a good story but brought up mixed opinions for me.

Circus of Doom gives me a feeling akin to the Hinchcliffe, in that there are some very darkly mature themes on display. Ringmaster Antonio constant leering at women and the fact women in particular are abducted into the circus suggests the deformed man is using the hornets powers for more then just revenge and entertainment. The macabre acts, spoken of and seen, only add feeling and the caste of characters are some of my favorite of this whole set. Yet while the story captures the feel these events should have, I can;t help but feel that this part struggles toe keep the cohesion of the story.

It's mainly two things that bring this feeling. Firstly the Hornets do not appear to be any less aware of the Doctor then they did in the Dead Shoes, despite the fact that this is, canonically, only the second time they have ever met. They should be much more surprised to meet this man again after so long. The other is the ending, in which the Doctor is too caught up in his emotions to notice Francesca Body has been whisked away. Not impossible but seemingly very unlikely when all theses events are tied to the same mystery.

Still it hits the right spots more then it doesn't

7/10