Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Paul Magrs

RRP: £14.99 (CD) / £12.99 (Download)

Release Date: May 2013

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 30th May 2013

The TARDIS brings the Doctor, Tegan, Turlough and Nyssa to the University of Frodsham, close to where the warrior queen Æthelfrid fought a desperate and bloody rearguard action against the savage Danes. Over a thousand years later, in 1983, battle is still being raged, with student activists taking on savage funding cuts… and disrupting a conference about Æthelfrid convened by history professor John Bleak.

Meanwhile, over in the Physics Department, Dr Philippa Stone is working night and day on a top-secret project – but can her theoretical time machine really be the solution to the university's problems?

Present and past are about to collide – and the results, as the TARDIS crew is about to discover, will be far from academic!

* * *

This season of Fifth Doctor adventures has put the companion at centre stage of the story. Last month’s Eldrad Must Die concentrated on Turlough and in The Lady of Mercia we have a very Tegan-centric story.

I must admit that I am not Tegan’s biggest fan. On television I found the character to be rather annoying, but recently in the audio adventures I have warmed to her a lot more. This, I think, is down to the writing which has done the character more justice. Paul Magrs has written a tale which plays both to the character’s strengths and weaknesses. 

The Lady of Mercia is essentially a historical story framed within a science fiction context. The time machine built in the University laboratory is merely a device to propel some of our characters into the main story in the dark ages whilst sending another back to the future. Despite the implausibility (he says reviewing a Doctor Who story) that a university scientist could invent a time machine in 1983, it acts as a neat little device to move the story along. 

Magrs has taken what we know of the Dark Age Queen Æthelfrid and created an intriguing story that adds a few twists to the facts. He plays upon a familiar trope with the classic series’ historical stories where a member of the TARDIS crew ends up impersonating a figure from history. In this case it is central to Tegan’s progression through the story. How she reacts to being cajoled by Æthelfrid into impersonating her daughter to help her keep face with the people of Mercia is great fun.

It is rather touching to see Tegan get so into her role that she starts looking upon Æthelfrid as a mother figure and dangerously adopts the Queen’s battles as her own. Janet Fielding’s performance is fantastic throughout and we see how Tegan’s impatient nature gets her into very serious trouble especially in the climactic scene in York Minster. The scene is one of impending disaster and the main cast do an excellent job of making us feel that it could all go horribly wrong at any second.

The supporting cast is tremendous, the highlight being Rachel Atkins who’s no-nonsense portrayal as Æthelfrid is both witty and incredibly powerful. The other members of the cast do have some fun sub plots to play with, such as student protests and illicit student / lecturer affairs - one of which Turlough is amusedly caught in the middle of. They are lovely moments of comedy in amongst the grand and tense historical drama being played out.

The Lady of Mercia is a very entertaining adventure and a great chapter in this latest trilogy for The Fifth Doctor.

BBC Consumer Products have sent DWO the cover and details for the Doctor Who DVD release of The Visitation: Special Edition.

The Visitation: Special Edition
Featuring: The 5th Doctor

It’s 1666, and medieval England is in the grip of the Great Plague. But when the Doctor and his companions arrive, they discover an even greater threat: the entire planet is in danger.

As the Grim Reaper stalks the countryside, the Doctor uncovers an alien menace intent on wiping out humanity and claiming our planet for themselves.

The Terileptils have arrived – and only the Doctor can stop them…

Special Features:

Disc One: 

•  Commentary with Peter Davison (the Fifth Doctor), Janet Fielding (Tegan), Sarah Sutton (Nyssa), Matthew Waterhouse (Adric) and director Peter Moffatt.
•  Grim Tales - Brand-new 45-minute documentary. Former companion Mark Strickson takes Peter Davison, Janet Fielding and Sarah Sutton back to the original filming locations while other cast and crew discuss their memories of the story.
•  The Television Centre of the Universe: Part One - Peter Davison, Mark Strickson and Janet Fielding return to BBC Television Centre and meet up with old friends and colleagues to reminisce on their time in the iconic building.
•  Doctor Forever: The Apocalypse Element - Examining the world of Doctor Who on audio. Including interviews with Colin Baker, Russell T Davies, Mark Gatiss and many others.
•  Film Trims Shots and sequences cut from the finished programme.
•  Directing Who: Peter Moffatt.
•  Writing A Final Visitation.
•  Scoring The Visitation - Interview with composer Paddy Kingsland.
•  Subtitle Production Notes.
•  Radio Times listings and BBC Sales Sheet.
•  Photo Gallery.
•  Coming soon trailer.
•  Isolated Music Score.
•  Easter Egg.
•  Digitally remastered picture and sound quality

+  The Visitstion: Special Edition is released on 6th May 2013, priced £20.42.

+  Compare Prices for this product on CompareTheDalek.com.

+  Check Out the DWO Release Guide entry for this product.

[Source: BBC Consumer Products]

In light of the recent news reports which appear to be evolving from an original report from the Birmingham Mail story, DWO decided to put together a definitive guide to the 50th Anniversary Doctor Who special, separating fact from fiction, and getting down to the original sources of some of the recent rumours.

What are the rumours?

According to the Birmingham Mail report, all 11 Doctors are set to feature in the 50th Anniversary special. Christopher Eccleston is said to be reconsidering his earlier decision not to take part.

David Tennant, interviewed on a radio show, claimed that he had yet to be invited – but gave the presenter a knowing wink, thus hinting at his possible involvement in the special.

DWO contacted Paul Cole; the writer of the article in question who had the following to say:

"The article in question was a speculative piece based on all the available information, recent interviews with the five Doctors taking part in the 50th anniversary audiobook, comments made by Eccleston. I would be amazed if the 11 doctors are not featured in some form, be it surviving actors, film footage, storyline, plot device or online."

What is the likelihood of past Doctor's returning for the Anniversary special?

This is a difficult question to answer without adding our own flame to the fire surrounding the rumours, but going on what the BBC have done for previous anniversary specials, it would be odd if at least one past Doctor didn't turn up.

- 10th anniversary special was titled 'The Three Doctors' and featured all 3 incarnations of The Doctor.
- 20th anniversary special was titled 'The Five Doctors' and featured all 5 incarnations of The Doctor.
- 30th anniversary featured a short two-part adventure titled 'Dimensions in Time' as part of Children in Need and included performances from 5 of the surviving Doctors (3-7).

All of the surviving actors who have played The Doctor have been asked questions from press and fans regarding their involvement in the 2013 Doctor Who Anniversary special. Here are some of their responses and the original sources:

Tom Baker (The 4th Doctor) - speaking at Collectormania 18 - (June 2012)

"I think if they ask me nicely or I can see what they want me to do, I'd consider it. I think the fans have been so good to me, they'd expect me to at least make an appearance."

Peter Davison (The 5th Doctor) - speaking at New York Comic Con - (October 2012)

“Every day I check the phone to see if Steven Moffat has called me. I don’t know what’s happening next year, I have nothing to report. I’m sure it will be something fantastic! But I don’t know what. I think if [the classic Doctors] aren’t invited, I’m going to make my own rival video. I’ll do my own 50th anniversary special. Colin Baker’s prepared to work for nothing!”

Colin Baker (The 6th Doctor) - speaking via Twitter - (22nd January 2013)

“Alas apart from The Big Finish plans I am not aware of any 50th stories nor have I been approached." When probed further by fans on whether he was double bluffing, Colin then tweeted: "There's no point in me tweeting if you don't believe me".

Sylvester McCoy (The 7th Doctor) - speaking at DragonCon - (2012)

"No. Nothing whatsoever. The only thing I've heard about, and I'm sure you've all heard about is that Mr Moffat and Mr Gatiss are going to write a play about the beginning of Doctor Who. But I haven't heard anything about us, no nothing. Nothing whatsoever."

Paul McGann (The 8th Doctor) - speaking to The Independent - (July 2012)

"I mean, I know it's imminent but no, there's been no invites to or sounding out taking place but maybe it will happen, we don't know."

Christopher Eccleston (The 9th Doctor) - several sources mentioned below - (2011-2012)

In April 2011, Eccleston was famously quoted on Graham Norton's BBC Radio 2 show as saying “No, I never bathe in the same river twice.” when asked if he would ever return to Doctor Who.

In July 2012, Eccleston attended a Q&A at National Theatre. A fan in the audience noted his Doctor Who related comments:

"[He] felt that one series isn’t enough to get under the skin of the character and that if he’d had two or three series he’d have developed the role considerably. He said that if you looked at the other Doctors (with the exception of Tom Baker) you can see them working out how to play the character through their first series because it’s such a complex and challenging role. He said several times that there was more for him to do with the character... "

In November 2012, RedCarpetNewsTV grabbed a very brief interview with Eccleston asking about his involvement in the 50th Anniversary, to which he replied: "Would I like to be involved? If I told you that, I’d have to shoot you”.

David Tennant (The 10th Doctor) - several sources mentioned below - (2012-2013)

In July 2012, Tennant was interviewed on Attack Of The Show. When asked about his 50th anniversary plans, Tennant stated:

"I cannot be drawn on anything. Who knows what will happen next year. I'm sure there are lots of plans being discussed in quiet rooms by men with long beards and great power. I am confirming nor denying anything." When asked if he still has his suit on standby, Tennant added: "I do have it in a very secure location. Yes!"

In November 2012, RedCarpetNewsTV interviewed Tennant at the world premiere for Nativity 2. When asked if he would like to be involved in the 50th anniversary celebrations, Tennant said:

"I can't imagine there even are going to be any anniversary celebrations are there? Look at my agent getting twitchy!"

In January 2013, Tennant was interviewed on The Jonathan Ross Show, and when asked by Ross if he would be returning, Tennant simply stated: "No-one has spoken to me. I know nothing." 

What are the facts for the 50th Anniversary Doctor Who Special?

- The story will be written by Steven Moffat.
- The duration will be 60 x Minutes to be broadcast in Autumn of 2013 (most likely the actual anniversary).
- Matt Smith will be The Doctor in the adventure (but hopefully not the only one). 

[Sources: DWO; Birmingham Mail; New York Comic Con; The Independant; Collectormania 18; Twitter; RedCarpetNews TV; BBC Radio 2; Attack Of The Show; The Jonathan Ross Show]

March 26th 2013 will see Royal Mail celebrate the 50th anniversary of the world’s longest running science fiction series in TV history - Doctor Who - with the launch of a special set of 11 stamps.

The stamps will feature each of the actors who have played the role of the Time Lord over the last 50 years. The stamp design will see the face of each Doctor appearing out of the iconic swirling screen idents, made famous by the opening credits of the TV show. The first two stamps are in black and white, as the first two incarnations of the Doctor were broadcast in monochrome.

Featuring on the stamps are the present Doctor, Matt Smith, as well as David Tennant, Christopher Eccleston, Paul McGann, Sylvester McCoy, Colin Baker, Peter Davison, Tom Baker, Jon Pertwee, Patrick Troughton and the First Doctor, William Hartnell.

In addition to the 11 stamps featuring the Doctors, a five stamp miniature sheet will also be available. In the centre of the sheet is a stamp featuring the Doctor’s space and time travelling machine, the world famous Time and Relative Dimension in Space or the TARDIS as it is more commonly known. The remaining four stamps feature some of the Doctor’s most famous foes; a Dalek, a Cyberman, an Ood and a Weeping Angel.

Andrew Hammond, Managing Director, Stamps and Collectibles at Royal Mail, said:

“We are delighted to be able to celebrate this remarkable 50th anniversary. These stamps pay tribute to the brilliant actors that have played the Doctor over the years as well as the adversaries that helped make the show so popular.”

Fiona Eastwood, Product Development Director, BBC Worldwide Consumer Products said:

“The Doctor Who stamps are the perfect way to mark and celebrate the 50th anniversary of this much-loved programme. The collection is really impressive, and I am sure they will delight all Doctor Who fans.“ 

+  The stamps launch on March 26th 2013, but fans can pre-order today by registering at www.royalmail.com/doctorwho.

[Source: Royal Mail]

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: John Dorney

RRP: £14.99 (CD) / £12.99 (Download)

Release Date: 30th September 2012

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 10th October 2012

The Houses of Gadarel and Sorsha have been at war for decades.

Each House has a claim to the Imperial Throne of the Drashani Empire. The civilisation that spans galaxies is now soaked in the blood of millions and finally seems to be at an end. The process for peace was near to completion with the union in marriage of Prince Kylo and Princess Aliona. But the marriage was halted when the Princesses’ wedding galley crash landed on the planet Sharnax.

All contact and hope it seemed was lost.

A rescue ship is dispatched to discover the fate of the Princess with representatives from both Houses; the Prince included trying desperately to not let the chance of peace slip away. There are those on both sides however who do not wish for peace, and sabotage is not too far away. 

Arriving on board the rescue ship by accident, The Doctor soon becomes entangled in the games of power and peace with deadly creatures not too far behind. Can The Doctor avert more bloodshed or will the Prince Kylo’s burning desire to be reunited with his love destroy the fates of all?

For the final trilogy in the main range this year, Big Finish have gone and created an epic story. Across three releases, each with a different Doctor, they want to tell the history of one sector of space and its history over time. It is an ambitious undertaking for the last three releases of 2012 but if they live up to the strength of The Burning Prince it just might be the crowning jewel of what has been a very strong year for the Doctor Who main range.

The Burning Prince is a thrilling under siege and whodunit story wrapped up in the fabric of a grand space opera. There is a remarkable amount of world building here woven into the core and background of the play, and it is a testament to John Dorney’s abilities as a writer that he makes all of the threads work and not crumble under its own weight.

The story charges along at break neck speed and even in the quieter moments there is always something exciting going on. It is a very linear plot but this is to the play’s strength making it one of the most enjoyable Big Finish stories this year.

One of the interesting aspects of this trilogy is to remove The Doctor’s companions from him and in The Burning Prince the decision works to the story’s advantage.

As great as it is to hear The Fifth Doctor with his regular companions, on his own here with no one to vouch for him, we get to see what makes The Fifth Doctor work well as a character. He is completely under suspicion but still possesses that remarkable ability to get people on side very quickly. Without the familiar companions the sense of peril is ramped up and you just have no idea who is going to make it out alive. This is a refreshing change from the norm and one I’d like to see repeated.

The ensemble cast is fantastic and it is incredible how many of the characters make an impact despite some of them being killed off a few scenes afterwards. 

Peter Davison is on top form as The Doctor, balancing both moral outrage and a dry sense of humour. He is incredibly funny in a few scenes and I’d love to see more of this in future Fifth Doctor stories as his characterization gets a little more room to develop here through the perspective of strangers.

There are excellent performances by Clive Mantle as Tuvold and George Rainsford as the tortured Prince Kylo. The highlight of the play is Kirsty Besterman as Princess Aliona. To do an in-depth exploration of her character would be revealing too much of the story but rest assured her performance is exceptional, layered and memorable.

The twist in the story is a little obvious if you are listening carefully but the result of it is chilling and rather bleak which is very similar to the latter Fifth Doctor television stories.

It remains to be seen just what elements of this play will either thematically or explicitly run through the rest of the trilogy but if The Burning Prince is anything to go by, it will be very much worth finding out.

Manufacturer: BBC DVD / 2|Entertain

Written By: Christopher H. Bidmead

RRP: £20.42

Release Date: 30th May 2011

Reviewed By: Dale Who for D octor Who Online

Review Posted: 18th April 2011

Let's get something straight and out in the open right from the outset...  There is a type of creature that is made scarier by making it larger.  In Doctor Who's long history, they would be giant maggots and giant spiders.  They work with an already present fear or revulsion of the creatures to produce a memorably scary Doctor Who monster.  In the not scary bracket are giant ants and butterflies (the Zarbi and Menoptera from 1965's "The Web Planet")... and woodlice.  Woodlice are not scary.  Not even remotely.

Frontios is a polarised story.  Some parts of it work brilliantly, and some parts of it really don't; and this new BBC / 2|Entertain DVD showcases both these aspects and examines them in the special features on the single disc release.

Starting with the story itself, Frontios is a fairly low budget studio bound Doctor Who, coming towards the end of Peter Davison's tenure as The Doctor.  The regular cast continue to shine, with Davison and Janet Fielding especially stealing every scene they're in; and there are some brilliant guest stars in Jeff Rawle as Plantagenet and Lesley Dunlop in the role of Norna.  There are some great lines and jokes along the way, and the Doctor is in one of those "grouchy professor" moods that suited his young persona so very well.  

Sadly for Frontios, that's about where the good ends.  The sets - although you can see an awful lot of effort and thought went into them - don't work in convincing that the studio is the surface of an alien planet, some of the performances really aren't great, and then there's the Tractators.  Giant flapping woodlice that fail in just about every way possible to be even remotely thrilling.

This story will be remembered for two main reasons; firstly this is the one where the previously indestructible TARDIS was destroyed (albeit briefly!), and secondly for the unpleasant infestation of some particularly large  and rubbish woodlice that hung around for two (and a bit) episodes.  Its failures certainly aren't for the lack of trying: the direction, the handling and the production all work well with what they've got.  However it looks cheap and rushed and all a little too hurried to carry off what still wouldn't have been a great story with a budget ten times larger.

It is also worth noting that several of the concepts shown in this story (the colonists being pulled down through the ground, and witnesses referring to this as the Earth being hungry) were re-used and utilised to much better effect in the 2010 series of Doctor Who, in the Silurian episode "The Hungry Earth"... now where did they get that title from?

Special Features:

Driven To Distractation - There are many reasons to love this half hour featurette; it has a lot of frank honesty, a lot of humour, and gives a robust defence of the story itself.  It almost succeeds in making you like the story more.  Almost.  What it definitely succeeds at is showing the rush-job that the Doctor Who cast and crew faced to get the story in the can, in the face of several tragedies and setbacks; and it shows the thought processes behind the writing of the serial.  It's nicely put together, uses relevant footage from the time and is decidedly non-judgemental and supportive in what comes across in quite a sweet way.  The writers and stars do admit where there were mistakes made, and it's very brave of them to do so, even if Christopher H. Bidmead neatly places the blame on everyone but himself.

Extra / Deleted Scenes - Minor trims and one or two scenes that play rather well but didn't make it into the final cut of the programme.  There's a brilliant bit about the Doctor's spectacles, and Tegan being an android that really should have been aired; they're funny, clever, and give Tegan and the Doctor some great lines.

Commentary - Peter Davison, Jeff Rawle, Dick Mills and Eric Saward sit around a red table and give opinions, anecdotes, memories and an overall view of how the show holds up for them twenty seven years on.  It's all quite pleasant and jovial and Rawle and Mills especially give some new angles on how the guest stars, and the "special sound" on Doctor Who were used.

Info Text - The usual trivia packed information is available on this disc as well, although most of it seems obsessed in pointing out where anything over two seconds of cuts were made to trim episodes down from over running.  It also points out a couple of continuity errors and the careers and times of the guests stars that appeared in Frontios.

Coming Soon Trailer - The next absurdly themed boxed set: Earthstory, in which William Hartnell's Doctor lands in Tombstone in search of a dentist and gets rather caught up with "The Gunfighters", and Peter Davison's Doctor lands in Little Hodcombe and discovers a centuries old evil lurking in the local church in "The Awakening".

With the usual fripperies as well, such as the Radio Times PDF files, and the Photo Gallery from Frontios, these features help buoy a story that's not as strong as it might have been; however it's certainly not for the lack of trying.

+  Compare Prices for this product on CompareTheDalek.com!

In a recent article for the Daily Mail newspaper, Classic Series Doctor; Peter Davison discusses his recent trip to Australia and New Zealand.

On the thought of travelling with children, Davison had the following to say:

"My wife Elizabeth and I thought it sounded a great idea but we had two major reservations. It wasn't the fans, the signings or hanging out with the likes of Hercules and Flash Gordon at sci-fi events that bothered us; it was the thought of dragging our two boisterous boys, Louis and Joel, both aged under ten, halfway across the world. The prospect of a nightmare 21-hour flight was not enticing. But we decided to bite the bullet and booked New Zealand, with a stopover in Sydney."

On the New Zealand leg of his trip, Davison got to meet the Weta team, who, it became clear, were big Doctor Who fans:

"Mix in a dash of geekdom (one of the Weta guys disappeared suddenly, only to return from his house around the corner with an obscure episode of Doctor Who circa 1982 that he just happened to have on his bookshelf) and their success in the film industry begins to make sense."

+ Read the article in full on the Daily Mail website.

[Source: The Daily Mail]