G'Day of the Doctor is a one-day Doctor Who event to raise funds for victims of the terrible Australian wildfires. It will take place at The Royal Vauxhall Tavern - one of London's most iconic LGBT+ venues - from 1pm - 6pm on Saturday 9th May 2020. 

Guests (subject to work commitments) include: Katy Manning, Nicola Bryant, Lisa Bowerman, Janet Fielding, Mark Gatiss, Ian Hallard, Peter Purves, David Benson, Joe Lidster, and Nev Fountain. There will also be Doctor Who drag queens, stand-up comedy, a new adventure performed LIVE, and much much more! This isn’t a convention - it’s an entertainment spectacular! 

Also featuring:

The UK premiere of the colourised Day of Armageddon: Episode 2 of The Daleks' Master Plan! 

Cabaret from The Vixens - stars of the Edinburgh smash-hit 'Doctor Whosical'! 

Stand-up comedy from Charlie Ross! 

Auction

The Quiz of Rassilon ON TOUR!

Lots more surprises...! 

Organiser Richard Unwin said:

“I toured Australia with a play a couple of years back, and fell completely in love with the country. The people, the animals, the scenery - it was simply a joy to exist in such a beautiful land. While I was there the Doctor Who Fan Club of Australia invited me along to be a guest speaker at one of their meetings in Sydney, to discuss my work as an actor with Big Finish. I was flattered and amazed - to receive such a warm and generous welcome whilst so far from home - on the other side of the world! But that’s the Doctor Who community for you - full of warmth and generosity and kindness. 

So when I first saw the pictures of that country burning - the place that had stolen my heart, in literal flames - I instantly knew that we could rally the troops of fandom and organise something to help in some small way. And in the past several months I’ve been blown away by the amount of support that we’ve received already. I run a London based group for LGBT Doctor Who fans called The Sisterhood of Karn, and we’ve teamed up with Anthony Townsend of Diva Loka - the Brighton Doctor Who Social Group, Beth Axford of The Time Ladies, and Michael Snooze of The Quiz of Rassilon, to put on a one day fundraiser - G’Day of the Doctor. The legendary London Cabaret venue The Royal Vauxhall tavern have very kindly offered to host our event on the 9th of May - our huge thanks to Dave Cross the events manager there for this generosity.

What’s perhaps unusual about our organising Committee is that we have an actual Doctor Who legend helping to plan and direct. When Katy Manning heard about what we were doing, she not only offered to appear at the event, but also to be a key part of the planning committee - attending meetings and undertaking research and admin. She’s been invaluable!” 

Katy Manning said:

“I arrived in Australia in 1982 with two sickly children, two suitcases, and one telephone number. Australia gave my children their health, it gave me friendships across the vast beautiful country, it gave me my partner of 28 years - the legendary  Aussie Barry Crocker CBE. It gave me the opportunity to travel to almost every tiny corner of that diverse island - from the Sydney Opera House to the outer Barcoo and everywhere in between. It gave me the beauty of the Aboriginal people & their dreamtime. It gave me the joys of Banjo Paterson. It gave me mind blowing night skies, exotic flowers, rainforests, deserts, sweeping plains, snowy mountains, blue seas, white sands, and incredible wildlife. 

I have seen many fires and floods during my years, but being there during these fires will remain with me for life. Even the most resilient Aussie spirit was momentarily broken, and the wildlife devastated. The firefighters worked tirelessly to quell the fires devouring whole towns, while others worked relentlessly to save the unique wildlife. For this country I love, that gave so much to me and so many, I now want to be part of giving something back during this their time of real need, to help bring back the heart to this extraordinary land.”

Who we are:

We are a collective of Doctor Who fan groups who wanted to channel the power of our fandoms into doing something to aid those affected by the awful bushfires in Australia.

The Sisterhood of Karn - the LGBT+ Doctor Who fan group

Diva Loka - The Brighton Area Doctor Who Social Group 

The Time Ladies - A blog by and for women who love Doctor Who 

The Quiz of Rassilon - The legendary monthly Doctor Who quiz night

Who we are supporting:

We have decided to split the proceeds of this event 50/50 between animals and humans, and have picked a charity for each. 100% of what we raise will be going to these charities - we are not taking a single penny in fees or commission. Huge thanks to all of our guests who have given their time free of charge. After much deliberation, the charities that we have chosen to support are: 

WIRES - NSW Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service: https://www.wires.org.au/

BLAZE AID - Helping Communities Rebuild After Natural Disasters: https://blazeaid.com.au/

Tickets and info:

For more information and ticket details, you can find any of our organisations on Twitter, along with a dedicated event account at: @GDAYOFTHEDOCTOR. There’s also an event page on Facebook, just search for: G’Day of the Doctor. Strictly limited tickets will be available to purchase via vauxhalltavern.com.

+  Facebook: facebook.com/SisterhoodofKarn
+  Twitter: twitter.com/sisterhood_karn

[Source: Richard Unwin]

TARDISMonkey's Torchwood Diary - watching Torchwood an episode a week from the start...

1.9: Random Shoes

This episode starts off with a very different style by the narration of a man called Eugene Jones (Paul Checquer) as he describes the effect of different scientific forces and how life can really run away with you. As the camera pans down from the sky, feeling like we’re descending from Heaven, we see a helpless Eugene laying on a country road before getting up and running over to the Torchwood team, acting as if they have been best friends for years. Everything appears to be quite happy and normal, until we see the dead body of Eugene on the side of the road. But how can he both be alive and dead at the same time? Is he a ghost? A projection? Something the Torchwood team or more specifically Gwen, wishes to find out.

The other members of Torchwood dismiss the whole event as a typical RTA and as Owen says “No alien involvement” so he’s not particularly interested in the situation whatsoever. It’s an interesting take on narrative for an episode that’s 3/4 of the way through the series, as we have a very Torchwood team light story.

‘Random Shoes’ revolves heavily around flashbacks to previous events in Eugene’s life, as we see a younger version of himself in school losing at a Math’s quiz competition against another school. The narration from Eugene makes it clear that he feels all the bad mistakes that have happened in his life originated from this one moment. Eugene freezes as can’t answer the questions he knows, showing huge disappointment in his father who is eagerly taping the show. However this is Torchwood, it’s never as simple as losing a maths quiz and having a resolution of a story revolve around that. No, one of Eugene’s teachers takes pity on him and decides to show his collection of weird and wonderful scientific discoveries, as he takes out an unusual looking memento of an alien eye. 

This is where Eugene’s world is really turned around. The alien eye becomes an obsession, as it’s something that distracts him from ‘real world’ situations, such as his dad running away from the family. The scene is so perfectly composed; we hear the parents screaming at each other in the background, as Eugene is distracted by looking at the planets on his bedroom wall. The audio includes screaming and slowly mixes with David Bowie’s Starman, as Eugene narrates the wonder of the universe and how he wants to get the eye back to the original owner. It’s a fabulous juxtaposition of reality and fantasy and how it impacted Eugene’s decisions, up until his death. You could call this episode the ‘Love & Monsters version’ of Torchwood. The parallels between this scene and Elton running around his room to ELO, are just uncanny.

We establish how Eugene knows Torchwood, as we cut to a flashback of him meeting the team with only Gwen acknowledging his presence. It all just seems a very normal encounter as Eugene just appears to be a very eager nerd who wants to help out Torchwood and get some answers about this alien eye. He’s a very hopeful person and one who always wants to meet the alien owner. LINDA awaiting for the Doctor anyone? The theme of the narrative is played as very light hearted but  with the subject of Eugene being dead, it does hold over your head like a great stormy cloud waiting for the conflict to occur on this theme.

Gwen takes the whole situation under her own belt, as she has a ‘feeling’ that the whole death of Eugene is more than just a RTA. There’s a really emotional moment when Eugene is starting to come to terms as to how his death is making an impact on his family and friends, as he stares through the window to see his mum crying her heart out and yet he can do nothing about it. The accompaniment to the montage of 'Hope there's someone’ by Antony and the Johnsons, really makes it a heartbreaking moment and you really feel as if you’re in his shoes, experiencing his pain.

Eugene, throughout the episode, is talking to himself quite happily as no one can hear him. That is until Gwen decides to carry on her investigation work without the team and winds up at Eugene’s local cafe and Gwen orders Eugene’s typical lunch of, ham, egg and chips. It almost feels like it’s breaking the fourth wall down, as we the audience, relate to him as he narrates his life to us. She also responds to Eugene’s apology relating to the £34 charge for a DVD rental, from what appears to be one of the most stereotypical 2006 fashion styles I’ve ever seen in my life. The shop owner is a huge creep. however, Gwen completely keeps her cool in the situation to help get the clues she needs to find out why Eugene died.

What makes ‘Random Shoes’ so unique in its story, is it seems to be so mundane. Eugene appears to have led a pretty solitary life, only speaking to a few people in the office where he worked and obsessing over an alien eye and artefacts with a few mates. The story also revolves around the themes of mental illness as many of his friends asked if he committed suicide. It’s a hard hitting subject which really contrasts with the style of Eugene’s upbeat narration. Eugene’s tone in the narration quickly shifts as he realises once the investigation is over, that is it, but what will happen to him?

Gwen discovers the eye that Eugene has been so obsessed with is actually a Dogon Sixth Eye, which allows people to reflect on their past. You could say Eugene has been reflecting on his past pretty well. It’s a rollercoaster ride of his friends trust, as they try to swindle their own friend out of £15,000, when Eugene tried to sell the eye on eBay, as well as finding out his dad didn’t run away to America but to a MOT garage in Cardiff. The build up of emotions his final moments, is really touching, as the story comes full circle when Eugene runs away with the eye after swallowing it to keep it safe, after his friends tried to steal it and accidentally runs into the path of an oncoming car.

‘Not the biggest turn out you could hope for.’ is the view Eugene takes on his future life, the life he wouldn’t get to live; however he’s always grateful for what he has, and how his death created a bond between his dad and his mum again, when Gwen finally makes the phone call announcing Eugene’s death. Is this the resolution that sets him free from the eye’s influence? Not quite. We come to the final scene of the story, with Gwen walking away from Eugene’s family’s house and nearly getting hit by a car herself, however Eugene somehow manages to manifests himself into existing again and pushing her to safety. The whole family and the Torchwood team watch in shock until Eugene quickly starts ascending into they sky as if he’s finally going to heaven to rest. If anything, this is a nice if not slightly weird conclusion to the story. Was it him saving Gwen that made him finally free, or fixing all his past mistakes giving Eugene peace at last?

There are some questions that are left unanswered such as, who was trying to buy the eye? How was his soul or consciousness trapped in the eye? The story tried its best, even if certain aspects seem a little clunky for my taste.

The last narrative line is, live your best life, and that is a pretty upbeat motto for Torchwood by far.

Ellie (TARDISMonkey) 

 

+ Follow @Tardis_Monkey on Twitter!
+ Follow @DrWhoOnline on Twitter!

[Source: DWO]

TARDISMonkey's Torchwood Diary - watching Torchwood an episode a week from the start...

1.8: They Keep Killing Suzie

We kick-start this episode in true Torchwood style as they walk onto a crime scene already being investigated by the police. They’re met by Detective Swanson (Yasmin Bannerman), who her and her team think Torchwood’s approach to situations are a little unorthodox and quite rightly so. As the team enter an average looking suburban house, a horrendous murder has taken place with a slightly more unusual clue to the suspect. In huge blood soaked words on the wall, “TORCHWOOD” takes central place, which immediately alarms Captain Jack, with a true heroic ‘Doctor Who’ cliffhanger camera zoom to the face… Titles roll!

Tosh examines the DNA evidence left at the murder site which the analysis reveals that the murderer had an unknown compound, “B67.” Owen immediately identifies it as the RetCon drug, which was also the same drug Jack used on Gwen. Gwen in a state of panic becomes incredibly worried as to the implications and side effects of the drug, as the Torchwood team themselves realised they’ve screwed up massively. I mean an organisation who drugs not just one but 2008 people, is slightly problematic in itself… again. Not only that, but the team are now questioning if the drug can cause violent tendencies. Jack quickly jokes that Gwen shouldn’t go near sharp objects however, the joke doesn’t sit well with me.

But with no time to wait, as in true Torchwood style we’re off, as Gwen suggests using the Resurrection Gauntlet from ‘Everything Changes’ to question the murdered people to find out if they saw anything. Jack and Owen quickly disapprove of the idea, with their closed body expressions as they try to turn away from Gwen; the pain of Suzie’s death still haunts them, even now. Gwen being the determined police officer she is, suggests they have a duty of care following the murder victims death; they have responsibility for their actions in respect of drugging people, which is a very just cause in my opinion.

Captain Jack tries the glove on their first murder victim, however this instantly fails. Owen immediately passes up the opportunity to try the glove again, stating only Suzie was the one who managed to get the glove to work. Gwen being the badass she is, volunteers to wear the glove as a cautious glance is exchanged between Jack and Owen, stepping up to the role to try it on with immediate success. The first victim, Alex Arwen, screams out. Gwen trying to show some humanity as Jack shouts at him trying to get a clue, immediately dies again. The rage shows in Gwen’s face as she is determined to use the glove not to just use the murdered victims but to get justice for them. It’s a true showmanship to her police training and her character. The next victim Mark, gives an emotional performance which is beautifully accompanied by Murray Golds’ music, as he tries to help the team with clues as to who the killer could be but also just wanting to see his wife one last time. Mark reveals a couple of names Pilgrim, Max and in a shocking twist, Suzie. Coincidence? I think not!

The Torchwood team dig up some more evidence related to Suzie and Pilgrim, which turns out to be a a religious support group. Tosh and Owen are completely dismissive of the idea that Suzie would join a group like this, when Gwen questions how much do the team really know each other? It’s a true testament to their characters about how they all get so wrapped up in fighting aliens and the unknown, that they forget the fundamental point of sitting down and talking. Jack accepts the fact he messed up and makes the ultimate decision, they need to wake Suzie up.

The Torchwood crew gather around a frozen Suzie as they assess the situation as to what they’re about to do. Tosh who can’t bare to look her former colleague in the eye quickly departs the room. The others braving their fears of Suzie herself, gear themselves up ready to get their last clue and to leave Suzie to rest. This is what is amazing about Torchwood, alien monsters can be frightening, but a person who has been dead for 3 months can still send a shiver down your spine from their past actions and this is what makes for a great villain for a story. After a few false starts and a life knife through the heart in a completely brutal fashion, the camera circles around them all;, Suzie is back from the dead. It’s a brilliant scene that builds up the confusion and frustration of everyone in the room, as they desperately want to stop the killing and settle their difficulties once and for all. Gwen using the glove for too long is shot back across the room, as Jack very angrily shouts at her for getting hooked on the glove as well. Jack has a tendency of learning from his mistakes and almost plays a father figure to the team, however his younger team mates want to prove themselves and almost get killed in the process. We soon learn that there are consequences which become a reality for unfortunate Gwen. They think it’s all over until Ianto claims that Suzie’s heart is still beating.

The Torchwood fam (yes I’ve used it) wanting to give Suzie the benefit of the doubt about her past incriminating life, ask for her help to catch the killer who is after them. They go to a club where one of the members from Pilgrim works before she becomes the next victim. After a brief punch up and Gwen getting hit again, goodness me does Gwen take some punches, they catch the killer.

All of this seems simple and straight forward, a very typical Torchwood episode until Gwen is suckered in by Suzie’s guilty charm and her own revelations of the team not being sympathetic towards other members and decides to take Suzie to see her dying father. Now this is when the tangled web of evil and villainy comes into force. Owen to his horror, discovers why Suzie isn’t dead again. She’s draining the life force away from Gwen. This is where the differences lies between Gwen being a part of the team rather than Suzie; the team actually spring into action to help her. They've been fooled twice; shame on them.

I love Torchwood, it always seems to be the most bonkers plot to cram into a 50 minute story. So here’s a break down of Suzie’s plot, Shaun of the Dead style:

Gwen takes her car, drives over to Suzie’s dad, Suzie kills her dad. Gwen immediately starts getting a headache because the gun shot wound that killed Suzie is being exchanged and she gains her energy back. Suzie then drives to the docks to get rid of Gwen’s body. Torchwood calls on Detective Swanson who breaks them out using a secret code to counteract the other secret code announced by the original killer who Suzie drugged to help her get back from the dead. They get to the docks before Suzie gets away on a boat to live forever.

I tip my hat off to the writers, Paul Tomalin and Dan McCulloch for getting in so much plot without the story feeling too fast.

The final stand off between Jack and Suzie resulted in me making the most satisfying air punch I’ve ever done. The part where Jack finally takes Suzie down and Tosh takes the glove out with one final shot to break the tie between Suzie and Gwen, was just so perfect in tying up the elephant in the room of everyone feeling sorry that Suzie killed herself, when actually she was the real monster all this time.

Ellie (TARDISMonkey) 

 

+ Follow @Tardis_Monkey on Twitter!
+ Follow @DrWhoOnline on Twitter!

[Source: DWO]

Luxury brand Corgi and BBC Studios have today launched the range of Doctor Who knitwear worn by Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor in the latest series of the BBC One show.

Corgi’s Doctor Who range will include 100% cashmere socks, wool socks, a cashmere scarf, a wool scarf and a hand-made cashmere and cotton blend jumper. All our luxury yarns are sourced from the very best suppliers in the UK who use yarns from sustainable sources. The knitwear is made using traditional hand knitting techniques and hand finished to the very highest standard. All the products are made in the UK at Corgi’s factory in Ammanford, Wales.

The range was designed by Costume Designer Ray Holman (Doctor Who, Torchwood) for the Thirteenth Doctor’s costume and is now available to fans across the world for the first time.

Ray Holman, Costume Designer, said:

“I chose to work with Corgi after visiting the factory and seeing the high quality materials they use and the beautiful products they create. As a small company in the heart of Wales the craft of knitting is still very much alive and we were able to use these skills in the creation of the jumpers, socks and scarves for this range. It has been a pleasure to work with Corgi and create such a wonderful range of garments for The Doctor.” 

Corgi is a Welsh, family-run company producing luxury socks and knitwear. Established in 1892, the company is still located in a small Welsh mining town and has developed a reputation as a leading luxury sock and knitwear brand. Corgi was awarded a Royal Warrant by HRH the Prince of Wales in 1988, and continues to supply the Royal family with knitted goods.

The launch coincides with a royal visit at the Corgi factory in Wales, with Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal arriving to meet staff in her capacity as President of the UK Fashion & Textile industry. Princess Anne was shown the new Doctor Who range as part of this visit, and presented with a cashmere Doctor Who scarf as a gift.

Chris Jones at Corgi, said:

“We’re very excited to be working with BBC Studios on a product range for Doctor Who. Working with the creative team, we have produced a beautiful line of distinctive knitwear and socks that deliver both style and high quality that we hope fans will love!” 

Products are available to fans worldwide on the Corgi website www.corgisocks.com and range in price from £19 to £295 RRP.

+ Post your questions to Ray Holman in the DWO Forums Ask & Answer section!

[Source: BBC Studios]

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Stephen Wyatt

RRP: £14.99 (CD) / £12.99 (Download)

Release Date: February 2020

Reviewed by: Nick Mellish for Doctor Who Online

"Lots of fun for the family, at the Greatest Show in the Galaxy!

When a junkmail robot invades the TARDIS, the Doctor gets led down an unnervingly familiar path.

Meanwhile, space beatniks Kingpin and Juniper Berry just want to hitch rides and busk – until a greater purpose calls.

The Doctor’s past and Kingpin’s future are entangled by malevolent forces. The Psychic Circus is just beginning: it may lack clowns, but it already has a Master..."

WARNING: The following review contains spoilers. You have been warned!

The Greatest Show in the Galaxy seems to be the in thing right now for Big Finish. First we had the return of Mags, then there was Feast of Fear, which riffed on familiar sinister circus imagery, and now we've this, which acts as a prequel to the main attraction itself (and possibly a sequel for the Doctor? It's never quite clear).

In my reviews of the Mags plays, I noted that I think Greatest Show is brilliant but questioned the need to bring Mags back: was there really more to say? Just because you can revisit a past character or story or setting, it doesn't necessarily mean you should. At best, it could do something genuinely novel and worthy and change your perception of the original story for the better. At worst, it can tarnish a good memory. Wherever you fall, you'll probably annoy the fans (as happened with The Last Jedi. Best Star Wars film in years and it was hated on by the fans so much we ended up with The Rise of Skywalker...).

Somewhere in the middle though is arguably the worst reaction of all: "Why?"

I am absolutely in the middle with this release. The cast is very good (Ian Reddington and Chris Jury slip right back in like they've never been away, especially the former who is excellent), the cliffhanger to Part One is pleasingly Doctor Who-ish (the Doctor threatens… to juggle!), Sylvester McCoy is on top form, but… but why? Why does this release exist?

It is nice to have original writer Stephen Wyatt back in the fold, and the script is not necessarily bad, but does The Psychic Circus say something fundamentally new? Not really. We learn why the circus ended up on Segonax and, more notably, a bit about the Chief Clown's origins (turns out he is from, erm, Paradise Towers. I guess Wyatt couldn't help himself). That's about it though, and I'm left wondering: did we need to know any of this? It doesn't take anything away, but it hardly adds much.

Of course, they're not the only people in the spotlight here. Semi-obligatory Gods of Ragnarok cameo aside, there is also the Master to contend with, though his role is so dull and muted you wonder why (that word again).

The most interesting thing of note about the Master here is that it's the incarnation played by James Dreyfus: does he 'count' now? He was first introduced in the box set of David Bradley First Doctor plays, which weren't meant to necessarily be canonical, until perhaps they were and Normal Who Susan met David Bradley Susan and then Bradley's Doctor himself popped up in The Legacy of Time, at which point it was anyone's guess what counts and what doesn't. If Big Finish themselves don't seem to know or care, should we? At all?

As for Dreyfus, he is fine, though I wonder if (and suspect) it will be his last outing in the role? His opinions on Trans politics has, to be polite, not gone down well with a lot of fandom online, and it's telling that here he was not mentioned in the press release for the story when it released, nor is he present in the extras, and the forthcoming Master box set from Big Finish have him conspicuously absent: and this is the set that has apparently remembered that Alex Macqueen exists at long last. You get the impression he wouldn't have even been on the cover if it hadn't been too expensive to change it, but his name is not there on the front.

It again makes this play seem more intriguing than it really is. The fact Wyatt is back, the fact Dreyfus is here, the fact some of the original Greatest Show cast return. Why though?

And that's the problem. Why? It never answers this question and as a listener, I never felt it earned its place. An irrelevant release where the things around it are in disproportion to the things it says. Far from the greatest show in town, let alone the galaxy. Why bother listening to it? I'm not sure I know.

+ The Psychic Circus is OUT NOW, priced £14.99 (CD) / £12.99 (Download).

+ ORDER this title on Amazon!

Bad news for those expecting the long-awaited Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 12 box-set this Monday, we're afraid. According to an email from Amazon, and some reports from customers who got theirs a little early, the set has been pushed back to 30th March.

In a further blow to fans, it was also confirmed today that Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 14 box-set has been pushed back to 4th May.

We will keep you posted if there are any further updates.

+  See all the 2020 releases in the DWO Release Guide.
+  Discuss all the Doctor Who DVD releases in the DWO Forums.

[Source: Amazon.co.uk]

TARDISMonkey's Torchwood Diary - watching Torchwood an episode a week from the start...

1.7: Greeks Bearing Gifts

We finally have our Tosh specific episode and it's about time.

The episode starts off in Cardiff 1812, with what appears to be just a young woman running through the forest with her solider boyfriend. Not quite… It appears she is a prostitute winding up the redcoat solider, as it seems he is a virgin or as she jokes about her name “My name’s Mary, like the Virgin.” The teasing of this doesn’t seem to settle with the soldier as he slaps her viciously across the face before Mary sees an ominous light through the trees, It's something straight out of an alien abduction film. There’s a brief chase before the solider goes to shoot Mary stating “Do whores have prayers?” - bit extreme in the circumstances - before making a harsh cut in the edit and going straight into present day. 

The Torchwood team are sent out to a building site (which if you look in the background you can see the filming vans.) as there is a skeleton found with mysterious wounds. It’s the team working in these situations that really show the difference between Doctor Who and Torchwood. It brings a sense of realism around death, the consequences of it and the investigation work that happens afterwards. Owen claims the body is a woman with a single gun shot wound to the chest. However in contrast to the discovery, the camera pans over the crime scene to what appears to be Mary in 2006 watching over them. Spooky.
What happened? Why is Mary still alive? All will be discovered.

Ever felt like a third wheel? Well Tosh is the perfect character in this moment as Gwen and Owen play around like a couple of teenagers in love. To Tosh’s horror she discovers they’ve accidentally kicked out the computer plug ruining her alien translation. Gwen and Owen are the perfect example of opposites attract, as Gwen apologises for damaging Tosh’s computer whereas Owen doesn’t seem to own up to any kind of responsibility and in fact becomes defensive by asking Tosh “Does the stick up your ass have a stick up its ass?”. Tosh understandably annoyed by this, goes out on the town on her own.

Tosh sitting all by herself still reminiscing about her interest in Owen, isn’t alone for very long as suddenly Mary walks up to Tosh claiming a random man is trying to hit on her. It’s interesting as an audience, knowing that something is amiss with Mary as she was alive 200 years ago and almost feel a need to protect Tosh. The mystery around Mary becomes more apparent as she suddenly knows Tosh’s name without Tosh telling her. As Mary explains the situation of knowing how she knows Tosh, it becomes clear from Tosh’s expression there's a deep trust now between them, over Torchwood and alien tech. Sound familiar between Gwen and Owen?

There begins a touching moment as Tosh in mid conversation starts spilling all of Torchwood trade secrets to Mary as they’ve had a glass or two of wine. It's a very quick bonding session which as an audience makes you question has something happened to Tosh, until she realises she shouldn’t divulge such confidential information. Has this plan of Mary’s failed, or is there a lack of trust again? To solidify this uncertainty, Mary gives Tosh a gift of a pendant which innocently she tries on, to shockingly discover she can hear everyones thoughts in the room. Tosh seems completely overwhelmed by this situation, however it would have been nice to see her come to terms in a more scientific approach, as she is the go-to woman for working out how alien technology works. The moment makes for a good bond between Tosh and Mary, but does it make Tosh too dependent on Mary too quickly? The close ups on the camera and the sound that closes in around Mary’s voice, makes it a compelling and intimate scene, that makes Tosh question her sexual identity, before Mary claims “That I want to kiss you.” Is it the pendant that makes it so irresistible to Tosh or the alien herself, Mary? There seems to be a lot that is not divulged or explained in this episode.

Ok, so this is where the alarm bells ring. Mary comparing herself to a god, while giving away a so called family heirloom, I don’t know about you, but that just sounds a little creepy to me. 

Tosh with all her common sense and justice is dissuaded from showing the Torchwood team the pendant, however instead uses it to read her friends thoughts. Is this a good idea? Maybe not around Gwen and Owen. This scene is a great way in showing how through a voice over of their thoughts, the tone and expression in their voices gives away how they’re completely hormonal for each other, while keeping composed in their facial expressions in front of Tosh. The way everyone keeps themselves so composed is a true testament to their characters as finally Tosh has to break it off as it all becomes too overwhelming for her.

As Tosh walks home, who should be waiting right outside her front door but Mary. Now if someone came to me in a bar, knowing who I was and then waited outside my house after work, I don’t think I’d be the person leaving the door wide open for them to walk in. However this very uncharacteristic trait of Tosh, allows Mary to walk straight into her house and then sleep together. Again it's never explained if it’s the power of the pendant that makes Tosh fall for Mary or Mary herself. There’s some very unusual camera transitions and angles that suggest some force is at work but again is never explained on screen. Mary finally bows down to Tosh to reveal her real name, Philoctetes.

The whole episode seems to be a theme of fun and games about who wants to sleep with who and peoples thoughts about being a James Bond villain, when it suddenly takes a dramatic turn as a man wants to kill a group of people and himself. Time for super Tosh to come to the rescue. The scene is a huge juxtaposition to the story, which would have been a great theme to stick with rather than the alien manipulating Tosh. You could have Tosh become this power hungry superhero who the team have to help, rather than the school playground scenario with the 'who likes who' narrative. This side plot is very quickly resolved and does feel very out of place in terms of how it affects the main story.

Back in Torchwood, Tosh can’t read captain Jack’s mind and the secret of the pendant is slowly being revealed to the team. Gwen, Owen and Captain Jack are playing around whilst trying to discover what happened to the skeleton found in the pre-titles. In another Cardiff arial shot later, Gwen is working out why Owen doesn’t want to look at her, whilst Jack is observing an alien object found at the building site and talking to the prime minister. Torchwood has a very good reputation of squeezing in as much plot minute by minute every time.

Mary in a last minute attempt to not face the Torchwood team reveals her true self as a ghostly purple skeletal alien in front of Tosh, in some kind of hope that Mary won’t have to face them as she fears she’ll be locked away. This is kind of true if you’ve watched the last 6 episodes so far. (Also anyone recognise the alien from The Sarah Jane Adventures here?) This again is where my mind wonders as to why Mary is still alive? Is she now just Philoctetes? Or both? Again a question never explained or as to why she stole Mary’s body.

In true Torchwood style and an aerial shot of Cardiff later, Owen quickly discovers his analysis of the body is completely wrong and is in fact the murdered remains of our redcoat soldier at the beginning of the story. The tangled web of this story is slowly unravelling itself as Tosh seems to be losing control of her own thoughts, as the camera spirals around Torchwood as if we’ve entered a nightmare. 

Mary contradicting herself now wants to get into Torchwood to retrieve the transporter. Tosh again agrees out of the blue; even with this being a very light Captain Jack story, he comes to save the day by showing how much of a fraud Mary is. It’s a nice touch to see that Jack can still have a huge impact on concluding complicated situations even when he’s not majorly involved in the whole story. It gives a sense he’s always watching and not as gullible as the villainous aliens make him out to be. Tosh focusing on Jack’s voice shows the true loyalty to the team and no matter what mistakes happen, Torchwood will always have their backs.

The final reveal of Mary being the person ripping out people’s hearts and getting her comeuppance rounds off the story in a neat little present with a bow on top. Jack tricking Mary into doing it herself makes it even more perfect.

Tosh owning up to listening to everyones thoughts makes a difficult but touching scene between the team. Tosh being completely apologetic about invading their personal space is equally balanced with Gwen apologising about how they are not the ones to take the moral high ground. It shows that actions have consequences; no human is perfect and that what the series is all about. Gwen telling Tosh “Love suited you,” is such a heartwarming place to finish their friendship at that moment.

Now I understand why Tosh smashes the pendant but it also makes me slight saddened. It would have been a perfect moment for her to stand up to her fears and explore them, however it's just metaphorically trodden on, to be forgotten forever.

Overall this episode has been very mixed in terms of themes and characters. Some didn’t live up to my expectations but there are moments which work so well and a key highlight for the series. We’re now half way through the series and moments are now becoming more established with the Torchwood teams friendship and Captain Jack’s mysterious personality.

Ellie (TARDISMonkey) 

 

+ Follow @Tardis_Monkey on Twitter!
+ Follow @DrWhoOnline on Twitter!

[Source: DWO]

Build-A-Bear Workshop and BBC Studios have today launched a Doctor Who range, launching a Doctor Who Bear and accessories inspired by the popular BBC series.

The Doctor Who Bear features branded blue paw pads and a blue heart on its chest.

Complete your Time Lord’s look with the iconic Thirteenth Doctor or Tenth Doctor outfits. Sport the striped top and braces worn by the Thirteenth Doctor, or the suit, trousers, glasses and trainers worn by the Tenth Doctor. Each furry friend will arrive with a sonic screwdriver in its own TARDIS gift box.

The new range is available in the UK and can be bought exclusively online at: buildabear.co.uk. The range will be launching online in the US later this month.

The Doctor Who Bear is available online now for £21.50, with outfits and accessories starting at £8.

[Source: BBC Studios]

TARDISMonkey's Torchwood Diary - watching Torchwood an episode a week from the start...

1.6: Countrycide

The pre-title sequence is a scenario that has been lifted straight out of a typical slasher style film, with a poor unfortunate woman being dragged out of her car with blood curdling screams by a mysterious figure… Torchwood has diverged into the world of horror. 

Jack and co start investigating recent disappearances in the area. Owen begins to complain about being outside the city, making a quite delightful bit of banter between Gwen and Owen;  Gwen takes great joy in Owen’s disdain of the outdoors. The team feel as if they’re a proper family unit going on their first outing together, with the kids bickering in the back. With night approaching, the team set up camp in the middle of the field. With everyone circled around, Gwen gets the team to recall their most recent kisses with people. It all starts off as fun and games when Tosh mentions her kiss with Owen at Christmas. However it’s quickly turned as Owen mocks her for not being as promiscuous as the rest of the team. Captain Jack quickly steers the conversation by asking if non alien lifeforms count, followed by Owen’s smug response referencing his and Gwen’s make out session whist being chased by the Cyberwomen. It all seems to being going so well, until the mood shifts as Ianto mentions his last kiss was with in fact, his now deceased girlfriend Lisa. Oops. 

Avoiding the now awkward situation, Owen and Gwen go away to search for firewood, or that’s what Gwen thinks. As they walk through the forest, Gwen, who is understandably annoyed about Owen mentioning their kiss – is grabbed by him and pushed against a tree. In a heat of passion, Owen describes how great they’d be together. As they almost lock lips, they see a shadowy figure in the distance. It was a scene I was slightly worried about, as Owen leans closer and closer towards Gwen – leaving almost no space between their lips as they whisper their plans on how to catch the mysterious person. It’s a very sexually charged scene which depicts the whole theme of Series One in general. It's a great moment of passionate tension which quickly juxtaposes to the horror they’re about to endure.

As they give chase, they stumble across a body in the forest, however; this is no ordinary body. The whole of the flesh has been stripped back to the bone. Sorry for anyone who doesn’t like gore, this is not the episode for you. The contrast between the scenes depict the characteristic of Torchwood’s themes. One moment it’s horny passion and then the next, body horror. It's a technique that gives the show it's uniqueness for story telling. The Torchwood team have been rumbled, as they hear the Torchwoodmobile drive away. Thankfully, Ianto is able to track the vehicle and follows the car for 4 miles where it appears to have stopped. Said the spider to the fly...

We join the team as they encounter a rather abandoned looking village, something straight out of ‘Village of the Damned’. The environment has all the 'horror film' hallmarks of a place you really shouldn’t visit. The setup feels almost claustrophobic as they are very much cut off from the outside world. The intercutting with a POV shot, makes the scene feel uncomfortable as they’re being watched from the inside. 

The Torchwood team foolishly split up to find the Torchwoodmobile (have they not seen an episode of Scooby Doo?) and to check out the pub for any ideas as to what’s going on in the area. Gwen very quickly discovers another body carved exactly the same as the one she and Owen found previously in the woods, and a mysterious noise echos from the distance. As Gwen and Jack give chase, Gwen is dramatically shot in the stomach with a shotgun. Who or what can weald a shotgun and create such horrors to humans? Typically here, the camera would go to a close up of the situation, however in a more interesting editing choice – the audience is taken through a long POV shot, almost as if we’re an animal watching its prey. It’s this 1st person perspective that really makes for carnal viewing, and adds to the intrigue of the story. Thankfully Doctor Owen is on hand to take care of Gwen’s wound, which in the spirit of Torchwood, makes even that a sexy scene between Gwen and Owen.

Meanwhile, if that wasn’t enough, Ianto and Tosh are kidnapped and locked away in what appears to be a dark cellar. A blood covered fridge catches their eyes as Tosh anxiously opens it up to discover why they’ve been captured; they’re going to be the main course. The suspense leads up to the horror across Ianto’s face as he quickly closes the door with an echoed bang. Their fate has been sealed. The story is very plot heavy; not a scene goes by that doesn’t expand the characters, or the unravelling situation that they find themselves in.

There is a huge amount of plot that happens within this story, however it never detracts from developing the characters of the whole team, such as Jack’s concern over Gwen and the unity between Ianto and Tosh when they’re captured by the cannibals! In a shocking plot twist, it transpires that the villains are actually humans.. cannibals. This is the first time we’ve had a villain who isn’t an alien, which we the audience wrongly assume. It’s a horror/slasher film lover’s dream. In true Torchwood style, Captain Jack comes to save the day by driving a tractor through the main barn doors and shooting the place up in slow motion. I don’t think we could get anymore 2006 with that dramatic moment.

Owen Teale (Ewan) and Maxine Evans (Helen) give fantastic and down right skin-crawling performances as a couple who, along with the rest of the village it seems, take part in a ‘harvest’ once a decade, on unsuspecting tourists. The line, ‘because it made me happy’, as Gwen confronts Ewan about the horrors they’ve committed, is spine tingling. As he sits there with a grin like a Cheshire Cat, with no remorse or care, it’s an image that will haunt my dreams forever. It really makes for uncomfortable, disturbing viewing.

However, I love the contrast in the final scene as Gwen narrates how she could have had a normal life, having kids and staying with Rhys, but Torchwood has set her on a new path. It’s just that moment when you think she’s talking to herself or to us as the audience, until Owen appears in the reflection of the window, showing her how her life is changing. She’s not the same woman we saw at the beginning of the series. She’s seen things that nobody else could comprehend and wants to take comfort in someone that does. Is Owen and the Torchwood team the right choice? We’ll have to wait and see...

Ellie (TARDISMonkey) 

 

+ Follow @Tardis_Monkey on Twitter!
+ Follow @DrWhoOnline on Twitter!

[Source: DWO]

DWO have received the cover art and details for the upcoming DVD & Blu-ray release of Doctor Who’s missing serial The Faceless Ones, which will be released on 16th March 2020.

The Faceless Ones is the mostly missing eighth serial of the fourth season of Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from April to May 1967. Starring Patrick Troughton as the Doctor, the story concerns a sinister race of identity-stealing aliens known as the Chameleons.

Only two of the six episodes are held in the BBC film archives with snippets of footage and still images existing from the other four. Fortunately, off-air recordings of the soundtrack also still exist, making the animation of a complete serial possible once again.

The six new animated episodes are being made in full colour and high definition and will include the following exclusive special features:

·  Photographic reconstruction of the story, including surviving footage of episodes 1 & 3
·  Audio commentary on episodes 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6
·  ‘Making of the animated series’
·  Camera script PDF’s
·  Surviving film fragments from the story
·  5 x ‘Easter Egg’ surprises
·  Coming Soon Fury from the Deep trailer

Check out the teaser trailer in the player, below:



+  The Faceless Ones is released on 16th March 2020.
+  PREORDER this title from Amazon.co.uk! 

[Source: BBC Studios]

Doctor Who Magazine have sent DWO the covers and details for Issue 548 of DWM.

SACHA DHAWAN ON THE RETURN OF THE MASTER!

The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine has an exclusive, in-depth interview with Sacha Dhawan. Other highlights include:

• A choice of collectable covers, one featuring Sacha Dhawan and one featuring Jodie Whittaker.
• Exclusive previews of the final four episodes of Series 12.
• The latest Production Notes from showrunner Chris Chibnall.
• A report from the filming of Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror at the Nu Boyana Film Studios in Bulgaria.
• An exclusive interview with Robert Glenister, who played Thomas Edison in Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror.
• A tribute to the 1960s writer and story editor Donald Tosh.
• Peter Purves shares his memories of Donald Tosh.
• The director of Doctor Who and the Silurians, Timothy Combe, looks back on its production.
• Remembering the late Doctor Who comic-strip artist Bill Mevin.
• Updates on Doctor Who luminaries, past and present, with new feature Time and Space Visualiser.
• Public Image looks at how Doctor Who is doing in the TV ratings.
• The Fact of Fiction continues its epic exploration of The Daleks’ Master Plan.
• The final part of Mistress of Chaos, a new comic-strip adventure featuring the Thirteenth Doctor and her friends.
• Reviews of the Series 5 Blu-ray Steelbook and Sophie Aldred’s novel At Childhood’s End.
• Big Finish previews and reviews, news, prize-winning competitions, The Blogs of Doom and much more!

DWM Issue #548 is available as two collectible covers.

[Information supplied by DWM Editorial Assistant, Emily Cook]

+  Doctor Who Magazine Issue #548 is Out Now, priced £5.99.
+  SUBSCRIBE to Doctor Who Magazine, digitally from just £4.99 a month!
+  Check Out The DWO Guide to Doctor Who Magazine!

[Source: Doctor Who Magazine]

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Guy Adams

RRP: £14.99 (CD) / £12.99 (Download)

Release Date: January 2020

Reviewed by: Nick Mellish for Doctor Who Online

"The Eleven has a plan. A grand plan. An appalling plan. A plan that endangers all life in the cosmos.

With Ace working for the enemy, the Doctor must rely on scheming Time Lord Cardinal Ollistra for help. The stage is set for an epic confrontation.

Because the Doctor has a plan to stop the Eleven. A grand plan. An appalling plan. A plan that endangers all life in the cosmos.

Whichever one of them wins, the Dark Universe won’t want to lose..."

WARNING: The following review contains spoilers. You have been warned!

With so many releases across so many ranges, it is semi-inevitable that at some point they will converge in one place. We’ve seen that recently with the Who/Cicero crossover play Tartarus, and now we are mixing the streams again with the Eighth Doctor box sets and the main range in this, Dark Universe. In some ways this was an inevitable release, what with the Seventh Doctor having kicked off Doom Coalition in the first place. We know he captured the Eleven, so I suppose temptation would always be succumb to in the end and we’d get the story of how it unfolded.

That is not surprising. What arguably is surprising is that Dark Universe very much relies upon you knowing who the Eleven is and how he operates. You get a brief hand-waving exercise of “this is his basic modus-operandi” but not much beyond that, and an entire cliffhanger resolution being wrapped up in knowing that one of his incarnations was nice is the icing on the cake. Unfamiliar with the Eleven? You’ll get the vague gist of things but hand on heart(s) I am not sure this is necessarily the best introduction, which is odd as this is, chronologically speaking, the Eleven’s debut appearance in the world of all things Who. Ah well: the show loves a paradox, doesn’t it?

Speaking of confusing states of affair, Dark Universe sees an older Ace reunited with the Seventh Doctor, still up to his old tricks, years after they parted. If you thought tracking the chronology of the Eleven is hard, good luck trying with Ace. I have listened to every single Big Finish release featuring her (not an exaggeration), and I’m largely lost nowadays. Can you imagine how a casual listener must feel? The Big Finish main range is not a welcoming one.

Back to the play in hand, though. With any prequel, you run the risk of things feeling redundant. We know how everything ends, so just how exciting can the road there really be? A fair bit, it turns out. Guy Adams is definitely having fun here. We expect some of the cliffhangers before they come, but that’s part of the game. A weapon is discovered, it’ll have devastating effects… and the Doctor wants the enemy to have it! He doesn’t think they will use it… but they do! And so on. The game here is to play along, anticipate, hear it happen with a knowing wink, and smile as the episode ends. It’s a playful approach that benefits the script enormously.

I felt that perhaps things ran their course a little by the end, mind. The final episode carries on with what you expect: the Doctor looking at the bigger picture as if playing Chess; Ace calling him on it and the two of them being at loggerheads. It’s something we’ve seen many times before but unlike the cliffhangers and playfulness earlier, it’s so era-specific, instead of the wider tropes from earlier, that it feels like a cliché and little else. Perhaps it will lead to more meaningful things in the range down the line, but that’s hard to say.

As it stands, there is a lot to recommend with Dark Universe. Does it work as an introduction to the Eleven for new listeners? I’m not sure it does. But the play is fun with some nicely imaginative parts, and whatever else, Dark Universe is a declaration of intent.

The main range is increasingly wanting to acknowledge the other ranges Big Finish has to offer. We’ve had these crossovers before, but I’m not sure it’s felt as apparent then as it does right now. (New Series) UNIT dipping its toes into the Lady Christina box set is one thing, but (New Series) UNIT dipping its toes into the main range would be something else entirely. Right now, it feels plausible. Case in point, we’ve Churchill making an appearance soon: a New Series character, yes, but one who has also had two box sets of his own, and I’m sure the play will be sure to remind us of this.

What to make of this approach? It’s probably a smart move on Big Finish’s part, reminding us of just how much there is out there, but as with Ace and her timeline jumping, it’s arguably also symbolic of how intimidating Big Finish can appear from the outside looking in. Maybe having Eleven personalities at once to digest it all would help? Time will tell, it always does… ah, maybe there’s something in era-specific clichés after all.

+ Dark Universe is OUT NOW, priced £14.99 (CD) / £12.99 (Download).

+ ORDER this title on Amazon!

Further to Tuesday's news about the Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 12 blu-ray box-set re-appearing for preorder on Amazon, DWO have a couple more 2020 related DVD / Blu-ray updates.

In regards to The Collection - Season 12, the ability to preorder was removed again on Wednesday, after just a few hours, but as of this morning, it's now back up again on Amazon for £39.18. You can also order at HMV, Zavvi and Zoom.

We reached out to BBC Studios for confirmation on the replacement discs, who stated the corrected discs (discs 3 & 5) will be included.

A release date has now also been confirmed for The Faceless Ones, which will be released on 9th March 2020. You can preorder this title for £14.99 (DVD) / £18.99 (Blu-ray) on Amazon.

The 2020 DVD & Blu-ray release schedule now looks like this:

27th January - Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 26
10th February - Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Series (Steelbook)
2nd March - Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 12 (re-release)
9th March - Doctor Who: The Faceless Ones
16th March - Doctor Who: The Complete Twelfth Series
20th April - Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 14
Date TBA - Doctor Who: Fury From The Deep 

Further titles are expected in 2020 and DWO will keep you posted as soon as we get more information.

+  The Collection - Season 12 is re-released on 2nd March, priced £56.16.
+  PREORDER this title from Amazon.co.uk.
+  See all the 2020 released in the DWO Release Guide.
+  Discuss all the Doctor Who DVD releases in the DWO Forums.

[Sources: BBC Studios, Amazon.co.uk]

After working on Doctor Who for a grand total of 15 years, it is our sad duty to report that last week's episode (12.6: Praxeus) was the final contribution from prosthetics and creature design team, Millennium FX.

Going right back to Christopher Eccleston's first episode in 2005 (1.1: Rose) Millennium FX were in charge of producing the Auton masks and arms we saw on-screen. They went on to produce countless creations for the show, including: The Ood, Davros, Clockwork Droids, Weeping Angels and Judoon (to name just a few), finally ending with the praxeus virus skin-effect from last weeks episode of the same name.

At the time of writing, it is unsure as to why the team are leaving but MFX Director, Neill Gorton confirmed the news on his Instagram page:

"So sixteen years ago the first episode of Doctor Who I worked on was the Autons - an alien intelligence that inhabits plastic and brings it to life to kill people. This is my last episode and its one about a space virus that infects people through plastic and kills them. Anyway, moving on."

We at DWO are genuinely sad to hear the news; we were actually invited to visit the MFX studios by Neill and his team way back in 2007, and were blown away by the sheer amount of hard work and detail that went into each of their creations. You can read our article from the visit, here.

We would like to wish Neill and the team at Millennium FX all the best for the future, and thank them for all their hard work on Doctor Who. 

+ Purchase a range of MFX Doctor Who masks at MFX Warehouse.
+ Follow @Millennium_FX on Twitter! 

[Sources: DWO, Instagram]

Amazon are now taking orders for the re-release of the popular Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 12 blu-ray box-set.

Whilst we wait for an official word from the BBC, we understand the release will be exactly the same as the 2018 release, except with the corrected, replacement discs.

The title is due to be released on 2nd March 2020, and is currently available to preorder for £39.17 from Amazon.co.uk. 

Season 12, Tom Baker's first as the Doctor, features five stories over 20 episodes, including The Ark in Space and Genesis of the Daleks. The Doctor is accompanied in this season by Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) and Harry Sullivan (Ian Marter) and was first broadcast between December 1974 and May 1975.

The new Blu-Ray release includes existing bonus material from the original DVDs as well as the brand new features below:

TOM BAKER IN CONVERSATION
A candid new one-hour interview with the Fourth Doctor.

BEHIND THE SOFA
Classic clips from Season 12, viewed by Tom Baker, Philip Hinchcliffe, Louise Jameson, Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton and Sadie Miller.

NEW MAKING-OF DOCUMENTARIES
For The Sontaran Experiment and Revenge Of The Cybermen.

IMMERSIVE 5.1 SURROUND SOUND MIXES
For The Ark In Space and Genesis Of The Daleks.

OPTIONAL BRAND NEW UPDATED SPECIAL EFFECTS
For Revenge Of The Cybermen.

GENESIS OF THE DALEKS - OMNIBUS MOVIE VERSION
Unseen since broadcast in 1975.

THE TOM BAKER YEARS
The 1991 VHS release, on disc for the first time.

PRODUCTION ARCHIVE MATERIAL
PDF files from the BBC Archives.

+  The Collection - Season 12 is re-released on 2nd March, priced £56.16.
+  PREORDER this title from Amazon.co.uk.
+  Discuss all the Doctor Who DVD releases in the DWO Forums.

[Source: Amazon.co.uk]

TARDISMonkey's Torchwood Diary - watching Torchwood an episode a week from the start...

1.5: Small Worlds

Grab the tissues everyone, this is an emotional ride. 

We are greeted by the adorable character of Estelle Cole, played by Eve Pearce, as she explores the hidden and enchanted world of fairies. It's a classic opening to a Brother’s Grimm.

Estelle starts taking pictures on her film camera of these seemingly harmless looking creatures until she starts walking away, satisfied with her discover; however the creatures turn into evil demons ready for the kill… Cue title sequence. (I can safely say this is the first Torchwood episode that has gripped me straight from the off.) 

The camera pans through Torchwood until we see a sleeping and very shirtless Captain Jack, which is a shot definitely for the men, ladies and anyone in-between. We’re thrown back in time to what appears to be a nightmare with Jack seeing his army platoon on a train, dead,with flower petals in their mouths. A disturbed Captain Jack quickly leaps out of bed from the nightmare, prepared not to sleep for the rest of the night. However he finds a petal on his desk. Was this a dream?

Small Worlds offers an array of themes here, but the most interesting has to be the exploration of Captain Jack’s past. This is the first time we’ve had real hints and stories about Jack’s history, and the troubles that he’s been so good at covering up so far.

Murray Gold’s music creates a dream like world as if we’re living in a childhood fairytale, thus creating the perfect introduction to Jasmine Pierce, a primary school girl waiting for her parents who are late picking her up. In a sharp turn of events and a harsh cue from Gold’s music, a disturbing man watches her from afar. Jasmine continues to walk from school on her own, as the predatory man creeps behind her in his car, but is she alone? The camera cuts to a green eyed perspective as the man tries to grab Jasmine, until a strong wind whirls around the paedophile who gets his comeuppance as his face smashes against his car. He runs away in terror as Jasmine watches in glee and skips away. Not a way I would react if someone tried to grab me or having an unknown entity save the day. It creates a divide of are these creatures the good or the bad guys?

Torchwood really brings that grey area into the world that is so typically written as black and white. However there is justice when the paedophile man starts coughing up petals and water, as he runs through Cardiff Market wanting to be arrested by a police officer nearby. It’s a true body horror moment that makes for an uncomfortable watch. Are these creatures forcing him to repent or filling him with pure terror as they have taken guardianship of Jasmine. As Gwen quotes ‘One persons’ good, could be somebody else’s evil’.

Meanwhile, Jack and Gwen attend a talk about the legend of Fairies – hosted by none other than Estelle. Gwen, seemingly very unconvinced by the whole situation, dismisses the theme of fairies existing and questions whether Estelle’s either making it up or has a really distorted view on the world. That is until Gwen starts to notice Jack and Estelle getting very close, hinting at a past intimacy. As they turn up to Estelle’s house, Gwen notices a man who looks very similar to Captain Jack, however Jack is adamant it’s his father. It’s a great twist on the norm here, for the audience who know the picture is our Jack – it’s good to see it play the other way around, with Gwen using her detective powers to work out it’s not Jack. It’s a very similar style to ‘Columbo’ where we know who the murderer is before the story is introduced.

The main part I love about this story, is the relationship between Jack and Estelle. It feels that there is such a strong bond between them, as if they’d been married for years. It’s a nice moment to see Captain Jack as we’ve never really seen him before. It’s a softer approach to his character, exploring his long term relationships during the war. It’s a love that seems could last forever.

Elsewhere Jasmine appears to be forming a stronger bond with the fairies everyday, as her parents become increasingly more and more worried about her relationship with her friends and staying out in the garden. As we see into Jasmine’s home life, it becomes more apparent that her stepdad Roy is seemingly despondent and uninterested in poor Jasmine. Dismissing her left, right and centre, which contributes to family conflict and Jasmine’s increasing feeling of loneliness, this is the fairies time to strike everyone down.

The first attack starts off with the typical Torchwood style alien murder mystery, as the paedophile finally gets his comeuppance as he’s attacked in his empty prison cell by the Fairies, in much the same way as previously seen – he chokes to death on flower petals. However, the fairies don’t stop there.

We come to the changing of the equilibrium in one of the most emotional sides of Torchwood so far. The death of Estelle. The fairies in their chance to get their chosen one, Jasmine, will try anything to make sure the Torchwood team and especially Captain Jack, from stopping their plans. Estelle is so brutally taken away from us and it easily becomes one of the most heartbreaking deaths. I will not be afraid to admit I cried my heart out. It shows how incredible Peter J. Hammond’s writing is, to create such a bond with a character in the first 20 minutes of the show. John Barrowman equally makes it such a heart breaking moment as he holds her in his arms one last time, before kissing her on the forehead as he leaves. It creates a truly upsetting moment as Captain Jack will never be able to reveal his secret of who he actually was. (Damn you Murray Gold and your stunning music to this scene) - a scene that will be the pinnacle moment which reveals how Torchwood was such a fantastic show and pushed those boundaries like never before.

Captain Jack now has to make an impossible choice, a theme that is regularly brought up in Doctor Who. Torchwood has the same flexibility in its story telling, being able to confront the horrific demons of the past, as Jack knows the fairies need a chosen one or they’ll destroy the world. How do you make that decision when the chosen one is a child?

The final showdown between the fairies and the Torchwood team ends up in Jasmine’s garden, as her stepdad is brutally killed by the fairies shoving petals down his throat. Jasmine’s mum in complete distress, looks upon Captain Jack for the reassurance that the Doctor would show. However, unlike the Doctor, where some impossible choices are taken from him, Captain Jack faces them.

We approach the forest where it all started and a struggling Jasmine wants to join the fairies in eternal life, but in a shocking turn of events Jack lets her go. The second crying moment ensues. Jasmine’s mum watches in horror as her little girl runs away and disappears as if she never existed. This is a heartbreaking moment, in which Jasmine’s mum blames Jack for the loss of her family and is also the moment Captain Jack realises he had no choice, no matter how broken he would feel afterwards. It’s a true testament again to the relationship between Captain Jack and his team, that would so easily have created a TARDIS team to separate. (Damn you Murray Gold again and your stunning music). 

Small Worlds is real horror story and a great theme for a true Grimm’s Fairy Tale. The only criticism I have is the CGI of the fairies do somewhat let some of the scenes down. For me, I would have love to have seen the fairies still looking small and innocent but with razor sharp teeth, rather than a full sized, green alien style. It just creates a juxtaposition that no matter how innocent something appears, there’s something always deceptive underneath its appearance.

Captain Jack’s love for Estelle and the guilt he felt for letting Jasmine go, is one of the most powerful performances we’ve had in the series so far. (Ok Gareth David-Lloyd did give a hell of a performance is ‘Cyberwoman’). This episode has been a true testament of stunning performances from the supporting cast, as well as the main team. 

Ellie (TARDISMonkey) 

 

+ Follow @Tardis_Monkey on Twitter!
+ Follow @DrWhoOnline on Twitter!

[Source: DWO]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Actor, Nicholas Parsons.

Nicholas was known for the playing the role of Reverend Wainwright in the 7th Doctor adventure, The Curse Of Fenric.

His career began at the end of the Second World War, making his stage debut as Kiwi in The Hasty Heart. Nicholas then went on to have further credits in Film and TV; The Eric Barker Half-Hour, Look At It This Way, Here And Now, The Adventures Of Robin Hood, Four Feather Falls, The Ugliest Girl In Town, Benny Hill, Cluedo, The Wotwots and Good Omens are just a few from his many performances.

Nicholas was also the host of popular BBC Radio 4 panel game, Just A Minute - a show which had its first broadcast in 1967! There were some episodes where he relinquished his chair to be a panellist, but was famed for never missing an episode until 2018, where Giles Brandreth stood in for him due to illness.

On a personal note, I met Nicholas in 1998 during the Southampton leg of The Rocky Horror Stage Show. I was studying drama at college at the time, and all of our class were dressing up as characters from the show. As I knew Nicholas was in Doctor Who, I decided to dress up as him with flour in my hair and eyebrows and a cravat (much to the confusion of some of my peers) - in hindsight, this was also my first-ever cosplay!

I met him after the show (pictured-right) and he was incredibly generous with him time. A gently spoken man who looked back on his Doctor Who role with pride. He even found time to give me a few career tips and advice. Lovely man!

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Nicholas' family and friends.

[Source: DWO]

TARDISMonkey's Torchwood Diary - watching Torchwood an episode a week from the start...

1.4: Cyberwoman

Our next episode once again, is written by current Doctor Who show runner Chris Chibnall. We start with the Torchwood team playing a friendly game of basketball while a pterodactyl flies around because reasons? Its quite nice to see Gwen finally being accepted as one of the team, however there’s a figure who appears to be left standing in the shadows, Ianto.

Ianto has been a character whom we just assume is taking up the role of the butler. He just stays in the background, cleaning up the mess of the Torchwood team. However, this episode starts turning into a case of a whodunnit as Ianto runs off to meet a mysterious Doctor, while the team goes out for drinks.

We’re introduced to the secretive world of Ianto Jones, as it is discovered he has been keeping Lisa Hallett, a former employee of Torchwood One down in the basements of Torchwood Three. Although in a shocking revelation tying into the aftermath of the battle of Canary Wharf, Lisa is part Cyberman or should I say Cyberwoman! The story of Ianto doing everything he can to save the woman he loves, is a dynamic way to quickly explore his character. It’s a tragic tale of two people in love, which drives this episode forward in its themes.

However, what should be a very emotional scene between the reveal of Ianto and Lisa is let down slightly, in the design of the Cyberwoman. Unfortunately the design of the cyberbra and cyberknickers isn’t exactly what I had in mind when cybermen converted people. Does this mean other people get cyberboxers or cyberbriefs? It detracts from the overall seriousness of the situation, whereas I would have had more of a Frankenstein’s monster look proving no matter what you look like, there’s always someone who will love you, no matter what.

Ianto with the help of Dr Tanizaki, try to save Lisa by reverting part of the cyber process to help her live as a human again. In true Torchwood style, this all goes horribly wrong. Lisa’s cyber programming kicks into gear as she tries to process an unfortunate Dr Tanizaki, killing him. What creates a shocking twist is she is doing this out of love? The idea of human emotions and partial cyber conversion is a great concept, briefly explored originally in Doctor Who with Yvonne Hartman crying as a Cyberman. The Torchwood team quickly discover what Ianto has been doing all this time and try and stop his plans. Again this questions the loyalty of the team, as Ianto admits he couldn’t trust Torchwood to protect Lisa from being destroyed.

I know I mentioned the theme of Frankenstein’s monster earlier, but this literally happens within the ending of the episode. It created a major shock factor with Lisa trying to prove her love and not processing human emotions properly. She kills a poor pizza delivery woman and swaps her brain out to replace it with Lisa’s.

The finale of the story ends up with Ianto making a choice either letting Lisa live or shooting her for the murderous rampage she undertook. I feel this part should have been left to Ianto for his redemption. However this was brutally taken away by Captain Jack shooting first. It almost detracts from Ianto’s choice, as I think it would have made a greater impact if he shot her because he loved her so much but couldn’t let her carry on murdering people.

Overall I did prefer this episode to ‘Day One’; the conflict between the Torchwood team and Captain Jack has become a recurring theme, as well as the secrets of Jack’s past with him not being able to die, makes the team lose their trust even more. Maybe Torchwood should get a better vetting system for their staff?

Ellie (TARDISMonkey) 

 

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[Source: DWO]

Toy Fair 2020 (London) is upon us; the annual event that showcases some of the merchandise coming out throughout the year. In recent years there has been a steady decline in the volume of Doctor Who related releases, and, unfortunately, this trend continues for 2020.

DWO trawled the many stands finding very little in the way of Time Lord offerings, save a few posters, puzzles and some FUNKO Pop's, we literally couldn't find anything worthy of note.

Thankfully, Character Options - makers of the official Doctor Who action figures, were able to give us a sneak peek at their 2020 range.

Whilst admittedly the range is small, we will be getting the following 5.5" action figures, currently slated for release this February:

- The 13th Doctor (with Bag & Sonic Screwdriver Accessories!)
- Graham O'Brien
- Judoon Captain
- Reconnaissance Dalek (with Dalek Mutant Accessory!)

We also saw Ryan and Yaz action figures, which we expect to be released in due course.

In addition to the above figures there will also be The Thirteenth Doctor Electronic TARDIS, featuring a loyal replica of the on-screen TARDIS with lights, sounds and opening doors. Also on show was the 13th Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver replica, although it was unclear whether this was the same one released last year or an updated model.

Having attended Toy Fair for the past 10 years, it was quite disheartening to see the limited number of Doctor Who related licenses. One can only hope this will change during 2020...

[Source: DWO]

TARDISMonkey's Torchwood Diary - watching Torchwood an episode a week from the start...

1.3: Ghost Machine

We encounter the Torchwood team in an epic chase through Cardiff, but chasing who?

Gwen nearly catching the suspect through Cardiff market (where they make very nice Welsh Cakes by the way) unfortunately only grabs his coat as he runs off. Gwen thinking she failed, repeatedly apologises, while a happy Tosh shouts in her ear she’s got it. But what has Gwen discovered?

The opening sequence creates a fantastic juxtaposition. After an adrenaline filled chase, Gwen finds a unique piece of alien tech - changing the pace of the story entirely. Pressing its button, Gwen is unknowingly transported to, we assume, WW II. We see a young boy leaving the train station wearing a name tag, looking lost and calling for help. However in the same instance, Gwen is thrown back into the present… Looking around shocked, she utters “I’ve seen a ghost.”

This is the first episode which has grabbed my attention straight from the off. This episode starts to focus around Owen, which again seems to show the themes of the series that everyone has a story dedicated to them. Gwen and Owen seek out who the boy from Gwen's apparition is. They later discover via a phonebook, (which a sarcastic Owen holds in his hands), it's a Mr Tom Erasmus Flanagan. They visit the now elderly Tom and realise the alien technology was showing them a real person's past, not a fictional vision.

The stand out line for this episode has to be when they are trying to track down the original suspect Bernie Harris, who stole the alien tech: 'Splot' 'Splot?' 'I believe estate agents call it Splough…’. 

Its the brilliant comedic element that Torchwood is perfect for. The down to Earth part when they use their detective skills to find him, establishes the normal everyday aspect of working in Torchwood. This is a complete contrast to their other counterpart flying around the universe in a TARDIS.

As the Torchwood team have no luck ‘catching them killers then’ (Hot Fuzz reference for anyone there), Owen quickly stops in his tracks as they walk under a bridge and the Quantum Transducer activates. The whole world seems quieter and colder. Unknown to Owen, he has been transported back to the 1960's, where he unwillingly watches the rape and murder of Lizzie Lewis, coldly carried out by Ed Morgan. Owen can't move or bring himself to take action. It really does become an uncomfortable moment to watch, leaving Owen in tears as the Quantum Transducer brings him back to the present. This harrowing scene becomes the key driving force for Owen to get justice for Lizzie.

Posing as a Police Officer, Owen tracks down Ed Morgan to his house, which leads to an intense battle of wits. Owen describing the incident to Ed in such detail, makes us as the audience feel as insecure as Ed. The heart beat sound and the close up shots, creates the sense of panic, claustrophobia and guilt, as he’s finally been found out. It’s a fantastic scene between the characters, to which both Burn Gorman and Gareth Thomas (yes Blake’s 7), make the scene teeth clenching.

The Torchwood team finally track down Bernie Harris, but in a intriguing plot twist, it is revealed that there are in fact TWO parts to the Quantum Transduce; one to show you the past, the other to show you the future. Bernie, afraid of the alien tech, sees his death. Having earlier blackmailed Ed Morgan he becomes afraid of what's to come. Gwen on the other hand touches the future side of the QT, and sees herself with blood on her hands - but who's? All this builds up to be a true murder mystery tale with a side of time travel, which is what Torchwood is perfect at playing.

We have reached the final confrontation. Ed Morgan is about to be held to account by Owen Harper. Morgan has the knife, as previously seen in Gwen's future vision - he is ready to kill anyone before his terrible murderous secret out. It's another fantastic show of Gareth Thomas's acting as he builds up the intensity as the situation escalates. The agoraphobia is making him panic and not think rationally or logically. This is on the edge of the seat viewing. Captain Jack quickly pounces on him, while Owen takes the knife. Owen almost takes on the role of vigilante in this episode, taking justice into his own hands and fighting for the late Lizzie Lewis. Owen holds the knife to Ed's face - can he do it? He quickly realises that actually, he is the better man, and doesn't act. Sound familiar? Unfortunately this is where the ending slightly lets it down. Ed runs towards Gwen to hug her for helping him, to ultimately stab himself. Why was Gwen holding the knife pointed outwards so that someone could get stabbed? I feel the resolution is a slight let down, as it would have been nice to see Ed finally show redemption for his actions. However the final scene of Captain Jack easing the pain of Gwen accidentally killing Ed is really sympathetic and full of wonder, straight out of Tomb of the Cybermen style with the Doctor and Victoria.

Helen Raynor has created a diverse, atmospheric and witty script. Overall I think this has been the strongest episode so far next to ‘Everything Changes'.

Ellie (TARDISMonkey) 

 

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[Source: DWO]

BBC Studios have kindly sent DWO a copy of the upcoming 'Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 26' blu-ray box-set, and we've just uploaded an unboxing video to the DWO YouTube channel, which you can view, below:



Stay tuned to DWO for our full review of the set will be online later next week.

+ Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 26 is released on 27th January 2020.
+ PREORDER this title from Amazon.co.uk for just £39.99 (RRP: £56.15)!

+ Follow @DrWhoOnline on Twitter!

[Source: DWO]

Demon Records presents a double bill of unique full-cast BBC radio adventures for Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor, based on the enduringly popular BBC TV series.

The Paradise of Death reunites the Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith and the Brigadier for an adventure that takes them from Hampstead Heath to the far-flung planet of Parrakon, where they face dangers aplenty from the hostile Freeth and Tragan.

In The Ghosts of N-Space, which features Jon Pertwee’s final performance as the Doctor, the Time Lord is in Sicily where he discovers trouble in the form of spectral monsters from another dimension. 

Presented across 6 x 180g pieces of vinyl, these two fast-paced adventures were specially written for radio by former Doctor Who producer & writer Barry Letts. Co-starring Elisabeth Sladen and Nicholas Courtney, both also feature the incidental music and Doctor Who theme arrangement of Peter Howell of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Among the supporting cast for the stories are Maurice Denham, Sandra Dickinson, Harold Innocent, Peter Miles, Richard Pearce, Harry Towb and Stephen Thorne. 

The set will be available in two different versions:

-  Limited Edition Amazon Exclusive ‘Space World’ & ‘Spectral’ Splatter vinyl,
-  Standard Edition ‘blue & yellow’ vinyl.

+  This product will be released on 28th February 2020, priced £89.99.
+  PREORDER the exclusive edition on Amazon.co.uk!
+  PREORDER the standard edition on Amazon.co.uk! 

[Source: BBC Studios]

Maze Theory have been in touch with DWO to let us know that Doctor Who VR game 'Edge Of Time' will be released on Oculus Quest on 23rd January.

Oculus Quest is an untethered version of the popular Oculus VR headset, and was released earlier in 2019. Fans have been wanting to know when Doctor Who: Edge Of Time would be getting a Quest release, and we now have our answer! 

Speaking to DWO, Maze Theory CEO, Ian Hambleton said:

"It’s benefitted from getting a lot of the patches and feedback from the community, plus it’s got the free-roaming untethered benefits of Quest.

I’ve actually been playing in the garden with my kids in a massive 6 x 6m space to let them go in and out of the Tardis and walk around it freely."

In addition to the news, Maze Theory have also supplied us with a few teaser images (viewable in the right-hand column).

Doctor Who: Edge Of Time - game synopsis:

Be transported into the extraordinary world of Doctor Who to face a sinister force that threatens to destroy the very fabric of reality.

Join the Doctor (played by Jodie Whittaker) along with iconic and never seen before enemies to discover new horizons in this feature length, fully interactive and breathtaking VR adventure. 

Look out for DWO's review later next week!

[Source: Maze Theory]

BBC Studios continues to offer Doctor Who fans the opportunity to build their own home archive on Blu-ray. Debuting on Monday 20th April is Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 14; Tom Baker's third season as The Doctor.

In 1976, Doctor Who took a dramatic new turn, electrifying audiences with changes in format, companion and appearance of the TARDIS. Season 14 saw the departure of the Doctor’s long-term companion Sarah Jane Smith, and the introduction of Leela. The season contains some of Tom Baker’s most iconic serials, with intrepid investigations in Victorian London, deadly robots in a murderous whodunit, a return to the Doctor’s homeworld, and one of the saddest goodbyes in Doctor Who history.

Producer Phillip Hinchliffe led Doctor Who through a creative high, joined by Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, Louise Jameson as the Doctor’s captivating new companion Leela and guests stars Tim Pigott-Smith, Stephen Thorne, Peter Pratt, Pamela Salem, David Collings, Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter.

Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 14 includes the following stories and extras, spread out over 8 discs:

THE MASQUE OF MANDRAGORA
THE HAND OF FEAR
THE DEADLY ASSASSIN
THE FACE OF EVIL
THE ROBOTS OF DEATH
THE TALONS OF WENG-CHIANG

With all episodes newly remastered from the best available sources, this Blu-ray box set also contains extensive and exclusive special features which include:

-  Immersive 5.1 surround sound - The Deadly Assassin
-  Brand new audio commentaries - Tom Baker and Matthew Sweet on selected episodes of The Face of Evil and The Talons of Weng-Chiang.
-  Behind the Sofa - New episodes with Tom Baker, Louise Jameson, Philip Hinchcliffe, plus companions Sophie Aldred and Peter Purves.
-  Our Sarah Jane – Elisabeth Sladen Tribute - A feature-length look at the life and career of Sarah Jane Smith, played by Elisabeth Sladen.
-  Whose Doctor Who Revisited - Toby Hadoke meets the producers and grown-up stars of the very first Who Documentary.
-  In Conversation - Matthew Sweet chats to producer Philip Hinchcliffe.
-  Blu-Ray trailer - Louise Jameson has trouble with her new home assistant.
-  Brand new interviews
-  Rare archive material
-  Convention footage
-  HD photo galleries
-  Scripts, costume designs, rare BBC production files and other gems from our PDF archive

+ Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 14 is released on 20th April 2020, RRP: £56.15. 
+ PREORDER this title from Amazon.co.uk for just £39.99!

[Source: BBC Studios]

TARDISMonkey's Torchwood Diary - watching Torchwood an episode a week from the start...

1.2: Day One 

Well, well, well. If Torchwood wanted to prove that it’s more grown up theme wasn’t the family friendly Doctor Who we all know, this is the episode that proves it. 

This is the first Torchwood story written by current Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall. The whole theme of ‘Day One’ circulates around themes of sex, which for the Doctor Who Universe was a bold move to make.

‘Day One’ follows Gwen Cooper on her first day as part of team Torchwood. As a meteor crashes into Earth, Gwen leaves her very cute date with Rhys to join the gang where during some banter, Gwen quite literally throws a spanner (accidentally) in the works. It lands in the meteor letting out a purple gas cloud, which heads towards a very upset Carys Fletcher on the phone telling her boyfriend to die. This is when it all gets a bit weird.

The extra-terrestrial sex gas turns an unexpected Carys Fletcher into a killer by absorbing climatic energy. A sentence I thought I would never write… 

The episode really explores the themes of sexuality with Gwen kissing her first woman, Owen being a bit of a lad after recording both Carys and Gwen kissing and then being caught out himself by getting locked away without any clothes on. How about Tosh looking away from Owen without any clothes on, is she shy about her sexuality? The Torchwood team also question Captain Jack’s sexuality and his ties with the past again, cementing the overall story arc. It’s the start exploring the LGBTQ+ themes that will be revealed in full later on in the series.

What makes the episode very tongue in cheek but realistic, is the fact the cast play it seriously. You can tell that Carys Fletcher has a conflict in herself for control and the distress its causing to her when then alien kills people. Gwen faces the situation by using her police training to tell Captain Jack, eating a Chinese meal or Owen filming them kissing in the cell is not the way they should be handling any situation with a distressed person. The conflict makes a noble stance of their moral grounds, until they realise they’re both on the same level of respect, when Jack reveals he’s been analysing Carys Fletcher to get her the best help.

The scene in which Carys steals The Doctor’s hand and Captain Jack being incredibly protective of it, just shows the incredible bond both him and The Doctor have. This is very apparent when the jar is smashed and Jack cradles the hand as if he’s holding the hand of a loved one. It's provides a heartwarming and upsetting scenario and also reveals why Captain Jack is apart of Torchwood.

‘Day One’ has a dignified and emotional resolution with the alien dying, with a weirdly poignant quote ‘Travelling half way across the universe for the greatest sex… But still end up dying alone’. It again explores the overall arc of who is Captain Jack and what has happened in the past for him to think this way.

Even though this isn’t my favourite episode out of the series, I can understand the shock factor ‘Day One’ brings and its take on being different with its sexual themes Doctor Who hasn’t been able to do before. This is what Torchwood is all about.

Ellie (TARDISMonkey) 

 

+ Follow @Tardis_Monkey on Twitter!
+ Follow @DrWhoOnline on Twitter!

[Source: DWO]

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Writer: Nicholas Briggs

RRP: £10.99 (CD) / £8.99 (Download)

Release Date: August 2015

Reviewed by: Nick Mellish for Doctor Who Online

“The Doctor reveals to Leela that they’re heading for the planet Telos. And K9 has new masters...

On Telos, in the past, the Second Doctor and Jamie are exploring the ‘tomb of the Cybermen’.

Meanwhile, the Cyber-Controller and Cyber-Planner consolidate their plans. Spare parts from Krelos are being used to construct a mighty Cyber army. The Doctor must be captured.

Out of control, the TARDIS tumbles down a chasm and the Doctor and Leela find themselves caught up in full-scale planetary invasion.”

There is a school of thought that says that big is better, and you can see that in work here: an adventure with the Cybermen! Ah, but let’s go one further: bring in an old companion! But we can do more: make it a sequel to a past adventure! Brilliant. But: no, let’s go further: we can set it during the past adventure! And let’s not just do any old story, no! Let’s set it during a much-loved classic: The Tomb of the Cybermen!

On paper, it probably sells: the Fourth Doctor and Leela meeting Jamie on Telos is a scenario which is going to get a certain type of fan tingling with anticipation, and it’s no great leap to put both Nicholas Briggs and David Richardson in that category seeing as they’ve gone ahead and made this tale.

It’s not the first time that this approach has been taken. We had The Five Companions by Eddie Robson taking place within another story, and it worked really well: it was a neat fit that took advantage of a period within the existing story when it could logically have taken place without too great a pinch of salt.  So, we have previous, and a successful example at that.  You can see why they felt confident enough to go down that road again.  Indeed, we’ve had mixed-up Doctor/Companion tales very recently, too, and sequels to popular stories in the past time and again.  How does it fare here, though?

First things first: the ‘fit’ between new tale and old tale is pretty sloppy, and I’m being generous here.  We get Frazer Hines doing his Troughton impression to try and help gel things, but… well, it sounds good in small doses, but often it just sounds like Frazer Hines pretending to be Patrick Troughton, so the effect is not as seamless as everyone seems to think it is if the Extras to this play are anything to go by.  The fit in with the plot of Tomb itself can conceivably work I suppose, but only at a push and certainly not as smoothly as Robson managed before.  This feels far more like someone desperately trying to squeeze something in than something that clicks; like someone pushing the incorrect part of the jigsaw into the wrong hole. You can make it fit, but it’s a clumsy mess.

Second up: Jamie in a Fourth Doctor story. Now, Jamie seems to continually bump into the ‘wrong’ Doctor whilst facing the Cybermen, so this feels less novel and more old and worn than it should do.  Sadly, again it’s a clumsy fit.  Quite simply, there is no need whatsoever for this tale to take place during Tomb beyond it being set on Telos, which it could be at any time.  It’s been done purely to try and shift CDs and with no regard to the story itself.  We’re looking at quantity over quality with regards to elements here.

Thirdly, the story. Again, it’s pretty poor. Cybermen are nasty to K-9, things happen, technobabble, reset, the end.  It’s dull at best, predictable at worst, and sadly as jaded and boring as the inclusion of Jamie and the notion of setting it within another story.  I understand that Big Finish tend to keep things as they are and the risks are normally minimal and then repeated– the four-by-four format was successful once and so we have it once a year now; a Northern companion worked well, so they’ve been aping Lucie Miller ever since; the false-departure for Charley worked well, so let’s do it again (and again and again…) with Hex! Heck, even the covers tend to stick to a type nowadays and take few risks– but this is about as boring an execution of old tricks that we’ve seen.

We need more, especially after a story in which nothing much happens whatsoever, but what we get here, though it has more incident than Krelos, shows less flair or innovation.  Not a good sign.

More than anything else, this feels like a huge disappointment after how strong this series of The Fourth Doctor Adventures has been.  We’ve had sparks and new things, and then… this.  A story so keen on continuity, it forgets to do anything interesting whatsoever. I really wish Big Finish would stop doing this; it’s utterly without point, and I can’t see who it appeals to.  Certainly not this listener.  I’m only giving it two out of ten because the Cybermen voices are at least pretty good. That’s overly kind of me, though.

 “You will be like us,” say the Cybermen. If that entails being anything like this play, then that is a threat indeed.

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Writer: Nicholas Briggs

RRP: £10.99 (CD) / £8.99 (Download)

Release Date: July 2015

Reviewed by: Nick Mellish for Doctor Who Online

“There are dark skies on Krelos… and something gigantic is descending.

Meanwhile, the Doctor and Leela set off for some fishing in the mountain pools of Krelos. K9 has interfaced with the TARDIS and has reactivated the architectural configuration from the days of the Doctor’s second incarnation. In passing, the Doctor notes it could do with a good clean. And there’s a familiar piece of material snagged on the console.

Far up the mountain, an aged explorer is in trouble. Will the Doctor and Leela be able to save him and his planet? And what is it that K9 has discovered in the TARDIS?”

The Doctor gets up to an awful lot of things when we’re not looking.  We know this from various sources: the Doctor himself, glimpses of downtime in stories such as Midnight, The Romans, Army of Ghosts and Turn Left (it all goes to pot there, but to start with at least, Donna and the Doctor are just having fun exploring an alien market), companions reciting stories not seen on screen (Rose in Boom Town, for example), and the nagging sense that it can’t all be continual peril for the Doctor and his friends, or you wouldn’t go travelling, would you? There are definitely times when the Doctor and his entourage take a break and simply have a good time.

Why, then, have we not seen this in full before? The argument will no doubt be that if nothing much happens, then it’s not going to be the most exciting of tales, but as if that were a gauntlet thrown on the table, Big Finish have decided to try and prove us wrong and The Fate of Krelos is the result.

What happens in this story, then? Well, Leela and the Doctor wander around the TARDIS for a bit and decide to go fishing whilst K-9 is on the blink. They meet the locals and have a jolly.  And that’s it.

It’s a strange tale in that the format actively fights against the story being told.  We need a cliffhanger midway through the tale, one at the end, and a healthy dose of leading-into-the-final-play-this-series-style plot for Return to Telos to work properly. Because Nicholas Briggs, the story’s author, wants to tell a tale where the Doctor and Leela just relax instead of rush around, there is an inherent wrestle between these necessities and Briggs’s desires. So, K-9 is not how he should be but everyone ignores it uncharacteristically because that would kickstart a story.  Likewise, we get a truly horrendous and cringeworthy bit of info-dumping early on where Leela learns about Jamie purely so that she will know who he is come the final play this series. It’s a scene that exists purely to push things forward and stands out all the more than it usually would, such is the lax pace and absence of event surrounding it all.

Things suddenly whirl into action right at the end, again because it is needed by the demands of both Doctor Who as a series and The Fate of Krelos’s position in the running order of this season of adventures. Maybe placed somewhere else other than the penultimate adventure, a tale like this one could have worked, but as it is, we have what would struggle to fit a standard twenty-three-minute-long episode stretched beyond breaking point.

In spite of all this though,I cannot help but admire Briggs for giving this a shot in the first place. Does it work? Not really, but as a one-off experiment, it is at least worthy of merit. The use of Michael Cochrane in the guest cast is a nice touch, too, giving The Fourth Doctor Adventures a sense of continuity with its past (he was brilliant as Colonel Spindleton in the first series) in much the same way that repeated appearances of Bernard Horsfall and his ilk used to do on screen.

Telos beckons now, so hopefully this is but a blip in what has been the best series of adventures for the Fourth Doctor from Big Finish so far. At least Leela knows who Jamie is now… 

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Writer: Nicholas Briggs, Alan Barnes, Matt Fitton, Simon Barnard and Paul Morris

RRP: £40.00 (CD) / £20.00 (Download)

Release Date: August 2014

Reviewed by: Nick Mellish for Doctor Who Online

“A very special story which at last provides a heroic exit for Colin Baker's much-loved Time Lord. Four hour-long episodes, connected by the presence of the Valeyard, the entity that exists between the Doctor's twelth and final incarnations.”

If you’re looking for a success story with regards to Big Finish, then the Sixth Doctor is it. On TV, he was trapped at a time when there was chaos behind the scenes and whilst very few have anything bad to say about Colin Baker, who gave it his all regardless of what he was given (whatever people say about The Twin Dilemma, Baker himself is magnificent in it through and through), it’s arguable that poor Sixie, as he’s affectionately known, deserved better. The books which followed gave it a good shot, as did the comics, but it was the creation of Big Finish and getting Baker himself back into the driving seat that really worked wonders. Hearing him get his teeth into some fantastic scripts, and then being paired with Evelyn and Frobisher as well as Peri and Mel, thrust him back into the limelight and created a massive reappraisal for that most criticized of incarnations.  It was long overdue and much deserved, so it seems fitting that it’s Big Finish who are telling the story of Sixie’s demise.

Well, telling one version of it, anyway.  The novelisation of Time and the Rani threw some tumultuous buffeting our way (… no, me neither), Gary Russell had a go in Spiral Scratch and then we have Time’s Champion as well, bobbing around in the background.  The good thing, then, is that if people aren’t too keen on this version of The End of Colin, we have others to dip into, even those with tumultuous buffeting. (Whatever happened to the seatbelts seen in Timelash? There’s a story for another day…)

Big Finish’s approach to Sixie’s end (stop laughing at the back) is to give us four, hour-long stories (give or take. The final play clocks in at under sixty minutes whilst the first is closer to seventy-minutes-long). They’re set in various places in The Doctor’s life and have one link beyond the Sixth Doctor himself: the Valeyard. Considering what he was set up to be, it’s amazing really that nothing more was ever done with him on screen, so it makes sense to explore that here instead and it’s fitting that it’s the Sixth Doctor once more doing battle with him.

Sadly though, whilst all this looks good on paper, it doesn’t entirely translate well when listened to. The main issue really is one of connectivity.  This release is called ‘The Last Adventure’, so it’s not unfair to have an expectation that everything is going to slot together neatly, but no. Only the final play can in any terms be labeled a ‘last’ adventure, and it only really fits in with one other play in the release, leaving one wondering why they bothered listening to the other two.  As one-offs, they’d be fine, but as a build-up to the final hour, they fall massively short as they don’t actually build much.

Let’s look at the plays themselves in their own rights though.  We begin with The End of the Line by Simon Barnard and Paul Morris, a ghostly tale of mysterious trains and even more mysterious deaths. The mixture of trains, abandoned stations and Colin Baker cannot help but bring to mind In Memory Alone, the third story in the Stranger series, Bill Baggs’s straight-to-video series which found its lead writer and plot visionary in… Nicholas Briggs! You do wonder if the inclusion of this tale here is a nod to the roots of Briggs’s working relationship with Baker, but I am probably reading too much into things.

The story itself is fine, but nothing new.  We’ve had ghost stories in this manner in the past and the twists are, again, nothing Big Finish haven’t done before.  It’s not to say that the play is bad per se, just a bit… underwhelming.  We’ve been here before and will do again.  Likewise, one of the big selling points for this tale is something the Sixth Doctor specifically, and arguably uniquely (sorry, Clara), has experience of: the introduction of a new companion some way into their friendship.  wap Mel for Constance, and hey presto.

Again, I imagine that the parallels here between Constance and Mel both getting introduced in ‘final’ stories for the Sixth Doctor are intended, but whereas Mel came with a fully kitted-out character, Constance here is the ultimate definition of generic.  Miranda Raison is a fine actor, but she is given nothing to go with here. Her character is blander than any of the support and you wonder just why they bothered.  I imagine someone at Big Finish said “Hey! Now here’s a good idea!” and then went ahead and commissioned this without actually working out what her character is. I hope so at least, or her forthcoming trilogy is going to be painful.

Second up, we have Alan Barnes in the writing seat and The Red House. Reuniting the Doctor with Charley, it’s a tale of werewolves, scientists and afflicted villagers. It feels similar to The Doomwood Curse in that respect, with a clash of science fiction and folktale trappings, but whilst The End of the Line felt overly recognizable, Barnes’s script here feels fresh and fits in with Charley perfectly, maybe because of the familiarities. (If you’re the sort of fan who is kept awake at night by the thorny issue of continuity and placements, then fret not: we get a very clumsy introduction where Charley reels off a list of previous adventures and where this one falls. It’s painful, but is going to satisfy a certain type of fan, so it’s probably best to have it in here than not!)

This play actually ties in to what’s to come, and as such has more merit in this box set than others. It also uses Charley and her relationship with this particular incarnation of the Doctor intelligently, and at over an hour doesn’t outstay its welcome, telling a decent story in its own rights whilst also moving pieces forward in anticipation of the finale.

Sadly, the same cannot be said for Stage Fright by Matt Fitton, which reunites the Sixth Doctor with Jago and Litefoot whilst Flip is in tow.  It’s not a bad story in itself, but what Red House gets right, this gets wrong.  It barely touches upon the final installment at all, and lovely though it is to have Jago and Litefoot present and correct, there is no reason for it whatsoever other than it being a selling point for the box set. Flip, meanwhile, seems to be here purely to give us contrasts between the time period and our own (“Oh! It’s just like The X Factor! Star Wars! Other-Franchise-That-Is-Popular!”) and little else. She’s also responsible for a dénouement which makes the oft-criticized schmaltz of Fear Her look subtle.  Surely Peri, being an American in a time of colonialism and the Empire, would have been a better/more interesting fit, especially now we know that she carries on travelling with Sixie after the events of Trial? It feels like a wasted opportunity.  Indeed, the exclusion of Peri from proceedings, given how integral she was to the Sixth Doctor’s era on screen and indeed Trial of a Time Lord, feels like a massive oversight, and makes this whole set seem more a celebration of Big Finish and its various creations than representative of the Sixth Doctor’s tenure, really.

This is very apparent in the final story of this set, Nicholas Briggs’s entry, The Brink of Death, in which Mel is mostly ignored in favour of this set’s Not-Lucie-Miller-Companion, Genesta the plucky Time Lord. Ever since Lucie was a hit, Big Finish have been trying to ape her success (again, see Flip), and this is but the latest effort. No spoilers here, but it doesn’t work and she has ‘Disposable’ written all over her from the word ‘go’, and I wish they’d stop doing it.  It’s getting tedious now.

There is an attempt to use her fate to compare attitudes to death and life between the Doctor and Valeyard, but nothing really comes of it. For all the talk of the two Time Lords being Yin and Yang/one and the same, you never get the impression that they are actually the same person. You’d think there would be an attempt to show the Sixth Doctor being tempted down that path but it never materializes.

So, with Mel put to one side and a substitute companion in place, this play harkens back to The Red House and works its way towards the end.  We know from the very off that the end is approaching, so much of this is painted as a race against time: or would be, if time wasn’t continually extended and frozen all over the place, ruining any sense of pace.  No matter though, what about the plot itself?

Well, it’s reliant on two things: the Doctor having no real sense of curiosity (“Oh! So that explains that thing that happened ages ago that I probably should have looked into but didn’t because Reasons”) and the Valeyard being nigh-on omnipotent.  A big point is made time and again of the Valeyard thwarting all of the Doctor’s plans because he knows exactly what he did before and what he’s thinking, which only makes the ending– the Doctor does something that all logic and story suggests the Valeyard should see coming but, erm, doesn’t because it’s the end of the story– all the sillier and frustrating.  It’s lazy and, more importantly, at odds with everything we’ve been told so far, so what, I wonder, was the point of it all.  It certainly makes little more sense than tumultuous buffeting: arguably, that makes a smidgeon more sense than what we get here.

The end is here though, and Time And The Rani approaches. The plot of this dovetails neatly into that story (sort of. It’s never explicitly stated that it’s the Rani firing beams at the TARDIS here, but it surely has to be, or else she’d die on Lykertya or at the very least not look like Kate O’Mara).  Colin, of course, gets some final words.  Well, several.  He has a brilliant last line when talking with the Valeyard, but sadly then waffles on for a whole other scene and gets a line that is in no way as memorable or satisfying. It’s a shame that they sacrifice less for more, but that is perhaps indicative of this set overall. We could have got a series of episodes that builds up to the final end, but instead we get an advertisement for Big Finish Productions.

Final thoughts then? Tricky.  It’s an ending for sure, and the final episode isn’t awful, just illogical.  What’s most trying with this release is that you can easily see where things perhaps should have gone: a set leading to a finale, rather than a finale with almost no build-up. A set absent of Peri and largely ignoring Mel in favour of Big Finish’s own creations.  An introduction to a new assistant, but one without any characteristics whatsoever. A set that doesn’t know when to stop or, really, start.

The Sixth Doctor is surely still Big Finish’s success story, and Colin Baker still a star, but for such a flagship release, we should have got something far better than this. This is in no way the best this incarnation has to offer or even close to the best Big Finish and Baker have given us. Call this a last adventure if you will, but I’m hoping for far better to come. 

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Writer: Eddie Robson

RRP: £14.99 (CD) / £12.99 (Download)

Release Date: June 2015

Reviewed by: Nick Mellish for Doctor Who Online

“The TARDIS brings the Doctor, Steven and Vicki to the Italian city of Ravenna in the year 540 – besieged by the army of the celebrated Byzantine general Belisarius. Caught up in the fighting, Steven ends up on a boat bound for Constantinople, the heart of the Roman Empire.

Rescuing Steven, however, is the least of the Doctor's problems – because he shouldn't be mixed up in this particular adventure at all. Someone has sabotaged his own personal timeline, putting him in the place of his First incarnation... but who, and why? The truth is about to be revealed – but at what cost to all of the Doctors, and to the whole future history of the planet Earth?”

It’s been a bumpy old ride, but finally here we are: The Secret History, the final story in Big Finish’s latest trilogy. We’ve had the more-Fourth-than-Third-Doctor story The Defectors and then, sadly for us all, Last of the Cybermen, which is about as awful a play as we’ve ever been given by Big Finish, even if it did try to explain away the photograph-roundel-walls in the TARDIS. (I begrudgingly give it a nod for that.)  This has been a pretty lackluster trilogy so far then, but thankfully they’ve gone and saved the best ‘til last.

For a start, this feels just like a First Doctor story. Put William Hartnell in the title role instead of Peter Davison and it would feel just right in the way the other two plays would not have done.  Eddie Robson has easily written the most successful play for this different-Doctors remit, no question about it.

It perhaps also helps that Steven and Vicki, the two companions in this tale, fit in perfectly with the story being told, too, and gel with the Fifth Doctor in a way that makes you long for this troop to have further adventures. Peter Davison, Peter Purves and Maureen O’Brien are all class acts and they milk Robson’s brilliant script for all it’s worth.

The story itself takes place in the year 540 CE: Ravenna is under the control of the general Belisarius, Steven has been whisked off to fight, and someone is in the shadows, manipulating the Doctor’s personal history and timeline… but who? And why?

The question of who is a thorny one, really. It should be a big secret, and indeed if you simply downloaded the story and seen the cast list as put on the Big Finish website, it would be. However, if you get the CD, then there is a whacking great spoiler on the cover, clearly showing you the name of the actor playing the antagonist, a character that actor is associated with. Added to that is the CD artwork which decides to place an image representing the antagonist in the centre of it all: why that and not, say, a generic roman soldier or even Belisarius? It seems odd that Big Finish have gone to great lengths to hide the identity of the Doctor’s foe and then place them smack-bang in the middle of the cover.  It’s a pity as it would have been a nice surprise otherwise.  Instead, having seen the cover and then received the CD, I met the revelation of the baddie with a shrug instead of the shock I should have felt.

Just in case you haven’t put two and two together though or been spoilt, I’ll refrain from naming them here. Suffice to say that they fit perfectly though, with both the story and the notion of incorrect Doctors across this trilogy. The actor in question works brilliantly with Davison, and again, you would gladly see more of them in the future if possible. It’s also a welcome return to their character; a nice continuation of their story which adds some genuine sadness to proceedings. Yes, they’re doing the wrong thing, but you can see why and it is heartbreaking in many ways, as is the implication that they’ve tried to carry out this plan time and time again, forever caught in a loop of revenge and upset and rage.

The use of this character proves a smart one for this, the 200^th ‘main range’ release from Big Finish, as it ties in with one of their other most successful runs: a celebration, and rightly so, of some of the company’s most popular outputs.  It’s nice to see Big Finish approach this milestone with some subtly and restraint as it’s not something they’ve been doing as of late, and as such it makes for one of the most satisfying releases from the company for a long while.

Two hundred releases though: an impressive milestone.  Not every release is a gem, and there is a strong argument to be made that quality has suffered as of late due to the vast quantity of output, but the importance, and indeed at times genuine brilliance, of Big Finish is not something to be sniffed at. The world(s) of Doctor Who, and indeed my own world, would be far poorer without them.

Just think of three things they’ve given us off the top of your head: the Eighth Doctor’s adventures through time and space, the Sixth Doctor and Frobisher, the Companion Chronicles.  Impressive, and one can easily pluck out three more: Dalek Empire, Charlotte Pollard, the magnificent Jago and Litefoot series. And more still: Melanie Bush and the Sixth Doctor and Adric all being given stories arguably far better, and certainly far better received, than they had on screen. And then there is the array of brilliant writers: Eddie Robson and Joseph Lidster and Rob Shearman and Uma McCormack and Jacqueline Rayner and Andrew Smith and John Dorney and… and…

And one could go on.  This has not been an especially good run of stories, but The Secret History itself is a fantastic play that richly deserves the full marks it’s been afforded below.

The not-so-secret history of Doctor Who will sing highly of Big Finish in years to come, and rightly so.  Here’s to more adventures… 

Doctor Who Actress, Georgia Moffett is starring in an upcoming proudction of Joe Orton's play; What The Butler Saw.

The actress, who previously starred as The Doctor's Daughter in the 2008 episode of the same name, will be playing the role of Geraldine Barclay and will be starring alongside fellow Doctor Who actor, Tim McInnerny (Mr.Halpen in 4.3: Planet of the Ood), Samantha Bond (Ms.Wormwood in The Sarah Jane Adventures), Omid Djalili, Nick Hendrix and Jason Thorpe.

Previews for the production begin from 4th May 2012, and ticket prices begin at just £15.

Show Synopsis:

When psychoanalyst Dr Prentice instructs his new secretary to undress, little does he expect to be interrupted by his wife, her blackmailing lover, a meddling government inspector and an inquisitive policeman. But hiding a naked woman is the least of his worries, as libidos run riot, identities are swapped and social decorum is buried. Madness and mayhem mock morality, and laughter reigns supreme. What the Butler Saw is the last and arguably the finest work of one of this nation's most celebrated playwrights. A gloriously witty and shockingly hilarious comedy, you'd be mad to miss it!

A trailer for the production can be viewed below:

[youtube:IpdU8dyEPBg]

+  Book Tickets for What The Butler Saw via the Nimax Theatres website.

[Source: Vaudeville Theatre]