Manufacturer: BBC DVD / 2|Entertain

Written By: Malcolm Hulke & Terry Nation

RRP: £30.63

Release Date: 9th January 2012

Reviewed By: Dale Who for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 8th January 2012

Invasion Of The Dinosaurs

Disc One:

The TARDIS arrives back in present day London, bringing The Doctor (Jon Pertwee) to a deserted capital city. However the TARDIS isn't the only time machine operating in the area; and it's up to the Time Lord and his companion Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) to work out who's responsible for the rather large stegasaurus in the middle of Pall Mall in this two disc release from the BBC / 2|Entertain stable; forming one of the two stories making up the U.N.I.T Files Box-set.

Special Features:

Disc One is almost entirely devoted to the six part story, but there are a few little buttons to press that do things...

Episode One in Colour - Episode one is now presented in both formats - both the black and white version that existed in the archives, and now, a re-coloured version.  It's a very nice feeling being able to see the story entirely in colour, and even though the restoration can be a little patchy in parts, it serves well as an option for viewing. Having said that, the black and white version does lend a touch more credibility to the programme's dinosaur shaped co-stars.

Commentary - One of the highlights of recent Doctor Who DVDs is listening to the very smooth tones of Toby Hadoke introducing the commentary; and this time we hear more of him, as well as Paddy Russell; the director of this six part story. The pair work very well together, and Paddy is never less than entertainingly honest and forthright. A welcome addition to the story as it diverts the attention from some of the less successful elements featured, and a great extra.

Coming Soon Trailer - The original TARDIS crew have to keep their cool, their wits, and their voices down when the Sensorites steal the lock of the time machine. Can the Doctor save the Humans, broker peace, and get the TARDIS restored? The Sensorites DVD is the next release.

Production Notes - Behind the scenes information, actors careers and of course those all-conquering dinosaurs are discussed in the on-screen trivia text featured on the disc. As usual with these notes, they're informative, entertaining and always good for raising a smile or two.

Easter Egg - The Doctor vs the Floor Manager in an entirely boring ten second extra... find the hidden light up green Doctor Who logo!

Disc Two:

Special Featres:

Power, People and Puppetry - A half hour look back at the people and production of the story, featuring both cast and crew. Particularly entertaining are Barry Letts and Paddy Russell - especially when it comes to the introduction of the Whomobile. Also with previously taped interview excerpts of interviews with the late, great Jon Pertwee, including a riotously funny account of the Police vs Doctor Who in his super space car.

The featurette, for all it's great interviews, isn't presented that well, and you're really never sure whether the host of the piece is for or against the story - if he's for, then his choice of launguage used to describe the story is lacking. One of the major plusses however is that it doesn't dwell on the dinosaurs too long - we all know they weren't the greatest models ever used in Doctor Who, and it's good that the documentary doesn't linger unnecessarily over this fact. It's touched upon honestly and with humour, but it never overshadows the rest of the featurette.

Doctor Who Stories: Elisabeth Sladen: Part One - Culled from "The Story Of Doctor Who", this featurette does two things: it makes you remember just how great Sarah Jane Smith was, and it breaks your heart when you think that Lis Sladen is no longer with us to reprise that great character. Featured in part one are her experiences with the Third Doctor, from her meeting with Barry Letts and Jon Pertwee, through her memories of Daleks, Exxilons and Whomobiles. It's hardly new material, or in most cases new stories and anecdotes, but it's just great to see such a wonderful Doctor Who legend on screen looking so full of life, even if knowing there'll be no more new stories adds a piquancy to the featurette.

Now And Then - A guide to the various London shooting locations used in the story as they appeared in 1973, and as they are now. Some very nice footage comparison via picture in picture and some great clips used from the show, but with a voice over that sounds like the narrator would rather be elsewhere... and he can't say the word "nuclear", opting instead for "new-kew-lar".

John Levene Commentary - A ten minute featurette of Sergeant Benton's alter ego - John Levene - giving his thoughts on this story. Not terribly long, but if you're a fan of Levene you'll probably enjoy this short piece.

Billy Smart's Circus - There are very few programmes in television history where the star's minute long cameo could send thousands of children into paroxysms of delight. Doctor Who is definitely one of those programmes, as this brief clip of Jon Pertwee [turning up in the Whomobile at this televised circus extravaganza] shows. Jon is clearly amused by his child hosts and their inability to remember their lines or stage directions; but there are few things quite as memorable to a child as hearing the Doctor Who theme start up and the Doctor himself arriving a few feet away from you. Great little piece of telly trivia and nostalgia. Nice of the BBC to caption Jon as "Dr. Who" onscreen, too...

On Disc Two the usual Photo Gallery of cast and production stills and the PDF Radio Times listings are included, and on Disc One there are Subtitles and Audio Description Facilities for those who may want or need them for the main story.

Invasion of the Dinosaurs, whilst not being the most obvious choice for a UNIT story is nonetheless very entertaining, and the recolourisation of episode one is especially welcome. The extras are for the most part well thought out and devised. It's a great DVD release overall, and works well when twinned with the other story in this set, The Android Invasion starring Tom Baker's Doctor.

The Android invasion

In the second part of this two story set, the errant Time Lord (this time Tom Baker in the title role) lands the TARDIS in Devesham, not far away from the Space Defence Station. However as the Doctor and Sarah (Elisabeth Sladen) explore their surroundings, it becomes increasingly obvious that all is not what it seems; with fake trees, people and a set of grumpy space rhinos out to conquer the Earth.

Long before the Judoon, there were the Kraals. The original grumpy space rhino in a manic string vest/1960s dress combo - no wonder they were so annoyed! In a story that borrows rather a lot from Invasion of the Bodysnatchers there's a lot of tension and drama that plays out well. It's a great story, well-plotted, paced and acted, and the extras on this release really support that theme well.

Special Features:

Life After Who: Philip Hinchcliffe - Presented and perfectly pitched by BBC News presenter and daughter of the interviewee Celina Hinchcliffe; this featurette shows just what a versatile producer Philip Hinchcliffe was, and showcases some of the work that kept us glued to our screens away from the TARDIS. A very well paced segment that's interesting and convivial, Life After Who showcases the career of a talented witty man who, although mostly remembered for working on Doctor Who, had a hand in many other memorable programmes. Great piece!

Commentary - Toby Hadoke is in the command chair once more, this time with Philip Hinchcliffe (producer), Milton Johns (Guy Crayford in the story) and Marion McDougall, the Production Assistant on this story. Quite a gentle commentary but always interesting and amusing to listen to. Hadoke is, as always, a very engaging host and the commentary on this story is never forced and strung out. Very nicely done.

Weetabix Advert - John Scott Martin inside what looks like a repainted Supreme Dalek from Planet of the Daleks, and sounding like the voice is his too! Made to promote the range of cut out and keep figures, this entertaining short piece of televisual fluff from the 1970's diverts the attention for a minute or so, and leaves you wondering where a Dalek found a red plunger...

The Village That Came To Life - Nick Briggs; the voice of everything these days - presents this behind the scenes look at the origins, filming and story behind The Android Invasion. Some locals in a pub are interviewed (one of whom has a worryingly prophetic name...) and Hinchcliffe et al provide their thoughts and opinions on what worked, what didn't, and... Tom Baker.  There's a very nice bit in this retrospective from Hinchcliffe about a lacklustre episode ending he spiced up into one of the Classic Series' most frightening and remembered cliffhangers. Very well put together and a lot of interesting talking heads.

Photo Gallery - Set to a bizarre mix of incidental music and weird Kraal noises, the sets, actors and locations for The Android Invasion captured in photographs. Black and white and colour photos, publicity shots, and a particularly charming picture of the late Lis Sladen, signing autographs for kids on location, with Tom Baker behind her doing the same. Lis looks very happy and content, and it's a lovely picture to remember her with.

Info Text - The usual on-screen subtitle trivia section. Facts, figures, audience shares and suchlike are paraded across your screen in a friendly and accessible format. As always, the trivia text even comes up with what the Radio Times was saying about each episode. Frivolous fun that holds the attention well.

Easter Egg - Yes, there's another one on this disc, and it's marginally more interesting than the one on the Invasion of the Dinosaurs disc...Marginally.

With the usual Subtitles for those who may want or need them, and the PDF Radio Times excerpts included on this disc, The Android Invasion is a fantasitc story and the disc can still easily engross the viewer, many years later from the original showing.

The U.N.I.T Files Box-set as a whole works well, even if the stories chosen (especially The Android Invasion) aren't what you'd usually expect for a set about the Doctor's friends and allies in the Armed Forces. However, on a different level, the stories do work very well as tributes for two of the Whoniverse's most-loved and much-missed actors, who passed away in 2011. Nick Courtney and the glorious Elisabeth Sladen are both showcased by this set, and that alone would be reason enough for buying it - even if the rest wasn't up to scratch. Happily, the extras on U.N.I.T Files do both stories proud, and make a great addition to the explanding Doctor Who library available on DVD.

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Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Jason Arnopp

RRP: £14.99

Release Date: 31st December 2011

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 24th December 2011

On the world of Draxine, the continent of Zelonia is in crisis. The city of Garruk is in ruins, completely obliterated by an explosion of monumental proportions. What makes this tragedy more horrific is the fact that it was caused by the hand of the city’s own leader President Harmon, the same man who was found to be the figure head of a sinister death cult.

As if things couldn’t be worse, Garruk’s twin city Stronghaven is in political turmoil. President Karnex has recently been assassinated, and his replacement, Vallan faces a troubled and distrustful populace, particularly since the assassin has just escaped from prison.

The Doctor and Mary Shelley arrive on Zelonia, as a much more frightening chain of events begins to unfold. Something is coming from out of the dark of the ruined city, and it is growing in number and getting closer. Garruk’s dead is rising, and the bones of those who perished are on the march, heading in one direction; the very centre of Stronghaven. 

The Doctor and Mary are caught in the middle as the skeletons Garruk’s dead converge on the outnumbered citizens of Stronghaven. The Doctor realizes there is much more to this affair than the supernatural, but just what terrible truths will he uncover and will everyone survive?

Army of Death is the final play in this trilogy of Eighth Doctor stories is and it is a real gem. The quality of the previous entries has been built upon and this story can proudly hold itself up as one of Big Finish’s best releases of the year. Everything here is crafted expertly. 

The story is very strong, and the plot is so beautifully constructed by Jason Arnopp that not a dull moment goes by throughout its running time. Arnopp has managed to bring a great mixture of thrills, tension and character and this can be seen in the superb performances from the cast.

Paul McGann turns in a stellar performance as the more youthful incarnation of the Eighth Doctor, and you can see the fun he is having as an actor particularly in a very good interrogation scene opposite President Vallan. His Doctor is well served by the writing, as he is courageous, moral, alien and funny. There is a simple joy to see McGann, let go and have some fun with the character.

Then we come to the sublime Julie Cox who once again impresses as Mary Shelley and qucikly becoming another excellent companion for the Eighth Doctor. Even when the characters are separated by events, she is still a delight to listen to as she portrays Mary’s intelligence, compassion and warmth effortlessly. What is wonderful to see is the mutual trust she and the Doctor have with one another. Although she may not always agree with him, she knows that whatever the Doctor decides to do will be the right thing. 

Their relationship goes through some rather surprising developments in this play and it is a credit to Arnopp’s expert handling of them that they do not jar with the overall story, and work to its advantage.

Army of Death is blessed with a very fine supporting cast and no one, no matter how small the role is not left standing on the sidelines. As President Vallan, David Harewood is magnificent, infusing the character with a real humanity as he tries to confront his own growing terror and the reality of his incompetence in the face of the approaching army. He is a man that just wants to do what is right, and his eventual fate is given a much more horrible edge by the brilliance of Harewood’s performance.

Excellent turns come also from, Carolyn Pickles as Lady Meera, Eva Pope as the damaged Nia Brusk, but special mention must go to guest star Mitch Benn.

Playing two roles, Commander Rayner and the aforementioned Karnex, comedian, Benn shows just what a great actor he is. Rayner is a wonderfully to the point solider and his prescence is always welcome but it is with Karnex that Benn has the most fun. Without giving the game away, it must be said that when Karnex is present, it is both creepy and fun. You can hear self-confessed Whovian Benn having the time of his life in the role, and it is one of the many highlights of this release. 

There is very little to criticize here, apart from one or two minor niggles, but if anything predominately negative has to be raised, it is just that the post credit scene is not as strong as the cliff-hanger that comes before. But that is a minor issue compared to the wealth of strong material on show here.

There has been a theme running throughout this trilogy, helping to nurture the ever growing seed of Frankenstein in Mary’s future. The Silver Turk, The Witch from the Well and Army of Death have all dealt with the very nature of death and the control of life. All three warn of the danger and fear of powers mere mortals were not meant to use. This unifying theme has helped to give the trilogy scope and identity, making them all strong stories which complement one another wonderfully.

After the traumatic conclusion to the Eighth Doctor and Lucie adventures, this exploration of the past has proven to be a winning formula for Big Finish. It has given faithful listeners, not just a breather, but an invigorating and excellent run of stories and one the strongest trilogies that Big Finish has ever released.

Highly recommended.

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Christopher Bailey and Marc Platt

RRP: £14.99

Release Date: 31st December 2011

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 24th December 2011

Christopher Bailey is a writer well-regarded by Doctor Who fans and Kinda is one of most popular stories in the show’s history. This is extraordinary considering only two of Bailey’s stories reached broadcast, the last being Kinda’s sequel, Snakedance. Bailey did have two other scripts that went under consideration by the BBC that were eventually rejected. The first was May Time and the other, The Children of Seth. The rejection of both stories drove Bailey away from a career in television and back into a life of academia. 

Bailey’s thoughtful and complex stories have stood out to fans and have grown in reputation over the years, even gaining a DVD boxset to those stories alone earlier this year. So it is with high expectations that Big Finish, with Marc Platt’s adaptation, bring to completion Bailey’s missing work to close this season of Fifth Doctor lost stories. 

The story begins when an experiment of Nyssa’s brings up a message on the TARDIS’ temporal scanner. It is simply one word “Idra”. The Doctor is intrigued enough to set a course for the origin of the signal, the Archipelago of Sirius.

Whilst there, Nyssa, Tegan and the Doctor discover a society on the brink of war, as the mighty Autarch is due to announce a new campaign against the enemy of his people: Seth, the Prince of the Dark. It soon becomes clear, that all is not as it seems, for deep in the court lies treachery and something unexpected and sinister building in power. Will the TARDIS crew discover the mystery at the heart of Sirius and just what is on the dreaded Level 14?

The Children of Seth is not an easy listen. This is to the play’s credit, however. The story is complex, and provides many questions and multiple plot strands. This is not a story that you can idly dip in and out of as it requires nothing less than your full attention. The story is not hard to follow at all, but its complexity only serves to enrich the listening experience. Since this play derives from a Christopher Bailey story it is hardly a surprise. Marc Platt is to be commended for bringing Bailey’s ideas to life, and adding his own distinctive touches to the final work.

There are some great performances here, particularly Adrian Lukis as the villain of the piece, Lord Byzan. This is a wonderfully power hungry character, driven to destroy any threat no matter how small from achieving his goals. It is one of the highlights of the play, which includes even more great performances from Honor Blackman as Anahita and Vernon Dobtcheff as Shemur.

However not all the cast is well served by the story. David Warner, who plays the role of Siris, the Autarch, is in very little of the play, and only comes to the foreground toward the end. In the handful of scenes he is in, the character merely becomes a senile leader, completely overwhelmed by the events that are occurring around him. It is a little bit of a waste for an actor of his talent, but for the time he is there, Warner’s presence is a welcome one.

Poor Sarah Sutton is once again, as has been common in this trilogy, relegated to the sidelines, allowing Janet Fielding to come out in front. Tegan is well served by this story, and Fielding’s great performance makes up for the lack of Nyssa. It would be nice to see more of these two companions together in future stories, as the moments when they are together are great fun to listen to. 

It is difficult to review The Children of Seth without giving too much away and I have to say that not everything about the play works, but it is a slow and rewarding play and I believe those rewards will increase on repeated listens.

This trilogy of lost stories has revealed a definite linking theme. These are stories about hierarchies and societies perilously close to collapse from the corruption of morals and ideals from within. Each story presents a leader of people, unaware of the chaos that will soon erupt and when it does it is disastrous for all concerned.  It would have been interesting to see if this story had made it to television, as it is certainly one of the most interesting, surreal and thoughtful Doctor Who lost stories I’ve experienced.

The Children of Seth is certainly not for a casual listener if such a thing exists. It requires much more of you, and although not perfect, it is certainly a recommended conclusion to a thought provoking trilogy.

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Terrance Dicks

RRP: £8.99

Release Date: 31st December 2011

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 17th December 2011

There are some sequels that are inevitable, and there are those which are completely unexpected, and this new release in The Companion Chronicles is certainly one of the latter.

Jason and Crystal have survived yet another adventure in the TARDIS, and the Doctor has managed to hoodwink both of them into recording a report of it to the Time Lords, something he himself would rather avoid. Together, they both relate what happened. The adventure begins when their former enemy Karl, contacts the Doctor to attend the funeral of Madam Delilah, hostess of the Bar Galactica. But Karl has ulterior motives. He has heard of the legend of Ultima Thule, a legend made more compelling by the words of a dying fellow mercenary. For at Ultima Thule, there is hidden treasure and a very serious threat to the whole of the Universe. The TARDIS crew with Karl in tow seek out the truth behind the legend, and a dark new enemy waits for their arrival, including a few old ones...

When Big Finish decided to make an audio version of The Ultimate Adventure Stage play, it was met with excitement and nervousness. After all, this was a pantomime of Doctor Who, and if that weren’t horrifying enough to some it also had songs. Songs!

The final result however was, I felt, a rather fun and charming piece of Who lore put together and performed really well. It was certainly surprising to hear that a sequel was to be made, so long after the original play was written.

Let’s get the good or bad news out of the way first. There are no songs this time round. What is interesting though, is that, unusually for a Companion Chronicle, the Doctor himself is involved in the action as played by the ever reliable Colin Baker.

The play also has the added appeal of Terrance Dicks returning to the same characters, in his Big Finish debut. It is always fun to see Dicks return to writing Doctor Who, as he always manages to pull something interesting from up his sleeve.

Noel Sullivan and Claire Huckle both reprise their roles as Jason and Crystal and they provide the main focus of the play as it unfolds. It is puzzling that this sequel was done the way it has been, as, with the exception of David Banks, the entire main cast has returned. It might’ve made more sense to have done this play as a full cast audio as opposed to a talking book.

Since Banks is not here reprising Karl, his presence is filled in by both Huckle and Sullivan throughout. One of the guilty pleasures is hearing Sullivan deliver Karl’s cockney lines in Jason’s French accent, particularly since that accent is at times perilously close to ‘Allo ‘Allo quality.

That is not to say that the performances are bad. Far from it, for Huckle and Sullivan are engaging narrators and perform the piece in the spirit it was intended.

As the year draws to a close, it seems that after a run of rather thoughtful Companion Chronicles, Big Finish have decided to have a little bit of fun. The play as a whole is very true to the spirit in which its predecessor was written and even has the fun feel of a Choose your own adventure book, where you’re not quite sure what is going to happen next. Despite this, not everything works.

The sudden appearances of various old monsters from Who lore (ones, it should be mentioned, that are famously associated with Dicks) can be quite jarring, and seem to be of little point other than to be yet another obstacle for the Doctor and his friends to get past. When we do meet the villain of the piece, he is a rather simple creation, and dispatched of in an infuriatingly easy manner.

But this is not a play for fans of deep dark storytelling. This is after all a sequel to The Ultimate Adventure. Cynicism must be kept low or completely switched off. This a universe in Doctor Who, where old enemies pop up out of the blue without a second thought and are dispatched just as quickly; A world where an 80s night club singer and a French aristocrat can travel the far corners of space and time together. It is also a world where one can repeat the phrase “murderous mercenaries” at various times and not feel a little silly.

All in all Beyond the Ultimate Adventure is trying to be nothing more than the fun romp it is and it succeeds at that well enough. It sadly it lacks some of the charm that made The Ultimate Adventure such a fun listen, but if you’re looking for different and just plain camp Doctor Who then this release is recommended.

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Paul Finch, from a story by Peter Ling and Hazel Adair

RRP: £14.99

Release Date: 30th November 2011

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 25th November 2011

The Fifth Doctor returns in the second of this trilogy of Lost Stories and it is a rather strange but interesting play.

People all over the world are going missing andthe only person who seems to care is journalist Mike Bretherton. After gathering evidence, Mike is ready to break the story of his carreer, but one night he too vanishes, and his story with him. Unlike the others who vanished, Mike has an advantage.

His disappearance does not go unnoticed, especially since he was the old boyfriend of one Tegan Jovanka. Fearful for his safety, she implores the Doctor to go looking for him, and the mystery of it all is more than enough to get him curious. Following the trail the TARDIS lands, on the uninhabited planet of Luparis. At least it was when the Doctor last visited; now it seems to be an exact recreation of Tudor London. The mystery deepens as the Doctor is brought before the powerful Queen Zafira, a determined monarch living in a time of civil unrest amongst her people. The Queen is proud and not shy about doing almost anything  for her and her subjects to survive.

Something is certainly not right with Luparis. There are creatures hiding in the shadows, and treachery and usurpers are afoot amongst the Queen’s court. Will the mystery of Luparis be uncovered and will Doctor escape a fate worse than death: Marriage to the Queen herself?

Hexagora is chockfull of quite frankly bonkers ideas and set pieces. Yet it has the most wonderful underlying story. However it has to be said that while there is a great deal to enjoy here, not everything about the play works.

It can be said that no fault lies in the performances. Everyone works incredibly well here, especially Peter Davison and guest star Jacqueline Pearce. Pearce finds the likability in this self important monarch whose every whim is granted above all things. She is the highlight of the production and there is never a dull moment when she is present.

Toby Hadoke is a great addition to the cast, playing not only a convincing Australian, but probably the only man in the Universe who might just able to put up with Tegan for a lifetime. Hadoke also voices many minor parts throughout, all of which he attacks with great enthusiasm, and I hope he becomes a Big Finish regular, especially after hearing his performance in Robophobia earlier this year.

The rest of the cast do sterling work. Janet Fielding is always a joy to listen to when Tegan gets angry at something or someone and Sarah Sutton, despite not being in the play that much, is very good indeed.

The other guest stars, Richard Mark, Dan Starkey and Sean Brosnan make up a very good cast and everyone excels in their own roles splendidly.

At its heart, Hexagora presents many fascinating ideas, but sadly not all of them are explored as fully as you would hope. As the secret of Luparis slowly reveals itself, you get to see what a brilliant concept the story is. It is highly original and some of the more absurd elements do eventually come together to make sense. But there are many threads left unexplored or just resolved too quickly. 

One of the most obvious is the relationship between Mike and Tegan. It is implied and heavily stated that Tegan’s feelings towards Mike are very strong, and he says just as much about her himself. But we rarely get to see any of it when the two confront one another. It feels like not so much an old love rekindled, but more of an old acquaintance awkwardly revisited.  Particular revelation of Tegan’s past deserved more attention than what is granted here.

Thematically, Hexagora shares many things in common with last month’s story The Elite. I would argue that Hexagora acts as a suitable companion piece to that play. Without giving away spoilers, many of the ideas in The Elite are explored here but inverted, whether intentionally or not.  When listened to together, it is impossible not to draw some comparisons, as the themes of a civilisation surviving by any means necessary run strongly in throughout both productions, but they not fully explored as they are in The Elite.

The final resolution to the whole play feels somewhat rushed, and may leave a listener feeling a little unsatisfied. This is a shame as Hexagora has so much to offer and it is certainly a recommended listen. It is intriguing, exciting and rather fun in some places and very entertaining despite the somewhat flat ending.

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Rick Briggs

RRP: £14.99

Release Date: 30th November 2011

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 24th November 2011

Hidden within the grounds of the estate of Tranchard’s Folly, there is an old, overgrown sealed well. When the curious owner of the house, Aleister Portillion, and his excavation team break it open, they unleash a horror that has been trapped for centuries. 

Two teenage twins, Lucern and Finicia barely escape with their lives, rescued by a woman calling herself Mary Shelley and a man known only as The Doctor.

The mystery of the ancient evil only stirs the Doctor’s curiosity, and he embarks on a journey to the past to uncover its origin. It isn’t long before things go terribly wrong, and the Doctor and Mary find themselves separated in Tranchard’s Folly’s past and future.

In the Twenty-First Century, Mary and the twins go in search of an artefact that may hold the key to the horror within the well and in the Seventeenth, amidst a wave of fear and persecution; the Doctor feels the wrath of Master Kincaid, the Witch-Pricker.

As the paths of all converge, it seems that even across centuries and universes, thou shall not suffer a Witch to live.

The Witch From the Well, the second in the new trilogy of Eighth Doctor adventures, is a rather fun story, filled with great concepts and characters. As you may have guessed from the title, there is no shortage of witch related moments, most significantly in the sequences set in the Seventeenth Century.

The Doctor’s quiet and disappointed disgust with the primitive superstitions of the villagers is written well and Paul McGann excels in his delivery.

Many of the plays most interesting scenes are the confrontations between The Doctor and Kincaid, played brilliantly by Simon Rouse. There's usually a danger of treating men of extreme faith with contempt and it is a credit to the writing and Rouse’s performance that Kincaid does not become a raving stereotype. The Doctor and Kincaid are simply men on opposite sides, both striving for a similar goal, the only difference being their beliefs and methods.

There are a great many characters throughout this play all served by terrific performances, particularly Serena Evans as Agnes Bates, the poor innocent herbalist, condemned as all women of her kind were.

Having Mary and the Doctor separated in the past and future, allows for her to stand alone for nearly the whole story. Julie Cox once again, impresses as Mary Shelley and it is nice to see the character be her own person, rather than fall into the trap of simply following the Doctor around and getting forgotten in all the mayhem. The interesting subplot in which Mary comes close to discovering her future is interesting and it is intriguing to see the character wrestle with the temptation of it. It would have been nice to see more of Mary with the Doctor as such a great rapport was set up in The Silver Turk.

This the first full length adventure by Rick Briggs for Big Finish, having previously been the lucky winner of BF’s writer’s opportunity. The result of that contest was The Entropy Composition, an excellent story which was included on The Demons of Red Lodge and Other Stories released last year. 

With The Witch From the Well, Briggs has certainly established himself as a writer to watch, as there is no end of original ideas here. Witches are foremost in the mind of the story, but they are not employed to simply put a Doctor Who spin on a popular myth. What Briggs chooses to focus on is how the persecution of others can destroy not only the persecutors but also those being condemned.

To say how this theme develops further in the play would be to spoil a surprisingly dark motivation for the story’s antagonists. It is a very neat twist, and raises very interesting questions that stay with you long after listening.

Overall, The Witch From the Well is an entertaining and thought provoking adventure that is well worth a listen.

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Simon Guerrier

RRP: £8.99

Release Date: 30th November 2011

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 23rd November 2011

The Doctor is dead. Steven Taylor and Oliver Harper are on the run. Trapped on the planetoid Grace Alone, they arrived to face the fate which had been haunting them since Oliver joined the TARDIS crew in 1960s London. Greeting them were the massacred bodies of the planetoid’s crew, and the perpetrators of the deed; an alien race known as the Vardans. Steven has felt recently, that when travelling with the Doctor he is living on “borrowed time”. Time is very quickly running out, and not everyone will escape it alive.

The First Wave is the conclusion to, and the strongest entry in the Oliver Harper trilogy.

The story itself works nicely for the format. It is not over complicated but it has a wonderfully tense and reflective feel. The theme of the story is most certainly about borrowed time, and how this has become a part of Steven Taylor’s character throughout the trilogy. His reflections on those he has lost when travelling with the Doctor, and cool resignation that he is next in the firing line are played superbly by Peter Purves who carries this play almost single handed with another fantastic interpretation of the First Doctor.

That is not to discredit the performance of Tom Allen as Oliver, who has grown on me throughout the course of the trilogy. There is something unapologetically heroic about Oliver towards the play’s conclusion, and Allen, particularly in the closing scene plays him beautifully.

The inclusion of returning villian, the Vardans, has thankfully not been shoe horned in for nostalgia’s sake. Their presence makes perfect sense and works to the story’s advantage, particularly in the final sequence.

Simon Guerrier’s writing is on top form. The play is written more as a two handed drama, with flashbacks and flash forwards narrated by Purves and Allen. This approach works very well, and the sense of foreboding about the inevitable fate of Oliver is clear and present but not so much that the conclusion lacks an emotional impact.

The closing scene is too good to spoil, suffice to say it is unexpected, original and done very well indeed. 

The only real criticism I could give is that the character of Oliver has gone before he had more time to really flesh out. I could see more stories with Oliver Harper, as the character had begun to grow, and his back story was strong enough to merit more exploration of his character but sadly it seems it was not to be.

With sterling direction by Lisa Bowerman, The First Wave is an excellent conclusion to what has been an intriguing trilogy for the Companion Chronicles.

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Mark Wright and Cavan Scott

RRP: £8.99

Release Date: 31st October 2011

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 23rd November 2011

“The day of my death started normally enough...”

As opening lines go it's rather hard to come up with a more intriguing one, particularly when this Companion Chronicle delivers what its title promises.

UNIT is anticipating the return of the Doctor, and the Brigadier is not happy that he is late. Jo Grant on the other hand, hopes the Doctor has not forgotten her now that he has regained control of the TARDIS, but sure enough the Doctor returns and he is not alone. He has rescued a persecuted Alien refugee, one whose race, the Zoanthrax will not give up the search for her easily.

The Zoanthrax attack UNIT HQ, and as the Doctor lays down ready to die, Jo will demonstrate her loyalty to the man she is prepared to die for. A noble sacrifice; A sacrifice that will occur again, and again and again.

This is a story about the nature of Jo Grant and her feelings toward the Doctor. Jo is someone who completely believes in the Doctor. His presence in the Universe, to her, is far more important than her own life. A strong opening sequence sets this theme in motion brilliantly, but after that the drama starts to become sadly somewhat repetitive. This is ironic considering that the play wears its intent on its sleeve. 

What follows are a series of similar scenarios, all linked by a single character called Rowe who appears in many guises throughout and is integral to the final revelation at the play’s conclusion. Jo sacrifices herself many times, in a variety of even more bizarre life threatening situations. Throughout the listener is dropped dramatically into the each story that the peril becomes sadly redundant. But that seems harsh to judge the play by that since this is more of a character study of Jo than an adventure.

You might think that a character, so ready to die for the Doctor might get a bit tiresome but in the hands of the glorious Katy Manning, Jo Grant remains one of the finest companions in Doctor Who history. Manning’s performance here is the strongest part of the release and well worth checking out for that alone. Nicholas Ashbury is excellent playing the various guises of Rowe throughout, and is particularly brilliant in the story’s conclusion.

But overall, the story doesn’t quite hang together fully with its many threads and scenarios, but nonetheless, The Many Deaths of Jo Grant is a good listen and makes this reviewer want to hear more of Katy Manning in the Chronicles.

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: John Dorney, from a story by Barbara Clegg

RRP: £14.99

Release Date: 31st October 2011

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 23nd November 2011

After what was to my mind, was a mixed season of releases, the Lost Stories return, with the Fifth Doctor making an excellent debut in the range.

After the events of Arc of Infinity, Tegan is back in the TARDIS and the Doctor has mixed feelings about it. He decides to take both Tegan and Nyssa to the paradise world of Florana but they wind up under the dome of a battle scarred planet, run by the Elite. The Doctor is intrigued by this place, one in which the people are all young and the old are absent. While the military fights for the glory of the Elite, everyone lives in reverence or fear of the High Priest who lives hidden in the cathedral of power. The situation is about to dangerous for the High Priest knows the Doctor of old, and an old enemy will stir.

The Elite is very good indeed. A gripping and intriguing narrative, coupled with exciting all out action, particularly near the story’s conclusion.  Everything about this release feels like authentic Peter Davison era Who from the characterization, to the suitably Peter Howell-esque musical score.

Peter Davison himself delivers an excellent performance throughout, as do the rest of the main cast with Janet Fielding in particular on good form.

What gives The Elite its hook is the central mystery of the High Priest. I will not spoil it for you, but when his true nature is revealed, it is very satisfying.  Dorney does an excellent job of keeping us guessing right until the revelation, and it is a credit to the rest of the story that it does not get swamped by its magnitude.

In fact The Elite has so much more on offer than a mere plot twist. 

What impresses is the exploration of the abhorrent ideology of eugenics and the examination of the church versus the state. The ugly nature of the Elite is slowly revealed and what disturbs is how much it’s young citizens have such absolute conviction that the elimination of the weaker elements of society should be erased.  It is played with complete conviction by the cast and credit must be given to the actors involved, as it ensures their characters do not become mere soundboards for the Hitler Youth politics the Elite believes in.

The depiction of religion in the play is fascinating.  The acolytes of the High Priest, such as the character of Thane, played like a true zealot by Ryan Sampson, are completely devoted to the ideal of the High Priest as their one true God, even when his divinity comes into question.  Although the Thane character comes close to being worryingly two dimensional towards the end, he best represents the shadowy nature of the religious organization and its suspicion of the military powers. The mutual distrust between the military and the church, and their rightly held belief that one is trying to overthrow the other is explored well and offers some excellent dramatic tension throughout.

The Elite, is a thoughtful, exciting and rich play. The only downside is that some of the characters aren’t as well served by the script as others. Poor Sarah Sutton is relegated to the sidelines and spends most of the time under the spell of the military education, a plot line that is underdeveloped which is sad considering how much strong material is on display. However The Elite is a very strong debut for the Fifth Doctor in the Lost Story range. Highly recommended.

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Marc Platt

RRP: £14.99

Release Date: 31st October 2011

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 22nd October 2011

The Eighth Doctor without Lucie Miller?; Surely we all said the same thing when Charley Pollard left the TARDIS and now without Sheridan Smith in sight, how will the Doctor cope? Well he won’t need to as this Doctor has not met both of those well loved companions. This is a younger, less hardened Doctor, and it is with this trip to the past that Big Finish brings Paul McGann back into the main monthly range.

Our story begins in Nineteenth Century Vienna. The Doctor arrives with Mary Shelley, after their meeting in Switzerland, hoping to rendezvous with his other companions, Samson and Gemma.

As soon as they arrive, they hear gossip of a killer on the loose and a mechanical marvel that can play musical instruments, and beat anyone at a game of their choice. Intrigued, the Doctor and Mary venture to the great Viennese Exposition, where Alfred Stahlbaum unveils his marvel, the Silver Turk. But nothing is what it seems with the Turk, as one of the Doctor’s greatest enemies makes an unwelcome return.

It is no secret that the returning foes here are the Cybermen, but more specifically the earliest version of the Mondas monsters. It is familiar territory for writer Marc Platt as he worked with them in the wonderful Spare Parts, and to see him writing them again is one of the joys of this audio. 

Platt has crafted a very simple but gripping story, where every character has a significant part to play. The story does not offer any big or grand ideas, for what we get is a creepy and exciting adventure and it serves as a wonderful introduction to a new companion.

The cast here is first rate. McGann’s younger Doctor, but still possessing a rather dangerous edge, is a welcome change after the trauma the character suffered in his last story with Lucie Miller. Although it is a little anti climatic not to have that storyline continue, the decision to go back to the past I believe was a good move, allowing long devoted listeners a bit of breathing space and an essential reminder of what makes McGann so great in the part.   

Julie Cox, returning as Mary from her appearance in last year’s The Company of Friends, is marvellous. The character’s enthusiasm for the life of travel and a particularly brilliant scene where the frightening nature of the situation she finds herself in threatens to stop her journey in the TARDIS before it has begun is superbly played and I look forward to hearing where the character goes in the following stories.

The supporting cast are all fantastic, with Gareth Armstrong as marionette making Dr Johann Drossel a particular highlight, putting one in mind of Tobias Vaughn for more than one reason.

With Shelley in the story, you cannot escape the obvious references to Frankenstein. The Cyberman known as Gram, becomes a prototype for Shelley’s future Creature, mistreated by its masters and demonised by the Doctor. It is the mark of a good writer if he can generate sympathy for a cybernetic creature that speaks like an ancient computer and Marc Platt pulls it off remarkably well. Gram is a fascinating creation, and it is a credit to the vocal talent of Nicholas Briggs that he injects some humanity into the inhuman creature. Gram is by no means a hero for he is still driven by the Cyberman desire of conquest, but with Briggs’ performance and Platt’s handling of him, you feel a smirk of triumph when he finally gets his own back for his mistreatment, culminating in a rather unexpected but brilliant line of dialogue.

Mention must go to the wonderful sound design and musical score by Jamie Robertson, who is quickly becoming one of Big Finish’s best composers. He is also responsible for one of the biggest surprises of this release, a brand new theme arrangement for the Eighth Doctor. It is very different to hat you have heard before, but after a few listens it fits in rather nicely.

With a new theme tune, new companion and new direction, The Silver Turk is an excellent start for the return of the Eighth Doctor to Big Finish and well worth your time.

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Simon Guerrier

RRP: £8.99

Release Date: 30th September 2011

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 22nd October 2011

Memory is a peculiar thing; it can be both a valuable and dangerous, especially if it is manipulated, and it is this concept that drives this rather excellent Companion Chronicle.

Zoe Heriot, dreams every night of adventures she may or may not have had with the Doctor and Jamie in the TARDIS. Now she is a prisoner of the Company. They are convinced she has travelled in time and they want to know more about the Doctor. But what can Zoe tell them? After all she is renowned for her total recall of even the most insignificant details. If she had travelled with the Doctor, surely she would know about it. The Company have found some evidence to help jog her memory; documents which place Zoe with the Doctor and Jamie in a Russian town in the aftermath of the revolution, where something or someone came out of the night, taking the town’s children. Faced with this evidence, Zoe slowly begins to remember what happened. Or does she?

This is an excellent two hander between Wendy Padbury reprising the role of Zoe and Charlie Hayes, Padbury’s own daughter in the role of Jen, Zoe’s interrogator. Both play the mutual suspicion of one another convincingly, and it is the strength of their performances which draw you into the story.

Padbury is superb playing a much older and hardened Zoe, showing at times how the character seems to have become a being of detached logic and reason. Jen is the counterbalance to this. She is firm but sympathetic, simply wanting to know the whole story, and Hayes does a wonderful job playing her.

This Companion Chronicle is a tale within a tale, so what of the story that both Zoe and Jen relate to one another?

The story itself is creepy but rather at times a pedestrian affair, although with some wonderfully disturbing images such as the Children encased in Alien cobwebs. But what becomes clear as the drama unfolds is that it is not the story that is important, but who is telling it.

Throughout Jen relates the details through the historical documents and archives provided by the company and the gaps are filled by Zoe’s memories as they break through the wipe placed on it by the Time Lords. But all is not as it seems.

To give away the ending of this play would rob it of its excellent shock value, but suffice to say it is revealed brilliantly and will leave you pondering way after the closing music has played.

This is a play without easy resolutions and raises many questions about the accuracy of stories. Should we believe what we are told and does written information hold the truth about everything? Can we ever really know the truth about anything?

This is a very fine addition to The Companion Chronicles and yet another reason why this series is an important part of Big Finish’s output.

Manufacturer: BBC DVD / 2|Entertain

Written By: Malcolm Hulke

RRP: £20.42

Release Date: 3rd October 2011

Reviewed By: Dale Who for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 17th October 2011

The Doctor (Jon Pertwee) manages to get the TARDIS working... almost, and he and his companion Jo Grant (Katy Manning) arrive on the planet Uxarieus in the middle of a feud between a band of Colonists and a division of the Interplanetary Mining Corporation. En route to sort out the dispute is an Adjudicator from Earth, who may not be all he seems either. Can The Doctor overcome killer robots, giant lizards, primitive tribesmen, prune headed priests and Gail from Coronation Street, save the day and get Miss Grant safely back to Earth, or will an old adversary win the day?  You can find out on this new single disc DVD release from BBC DVD / 2|Entertain, out now.  With all six episodes looking sharp and sounding great and some entertaining and fun extras to compliment the story, it's time to step inside the TARDIS for her first flight of the Pertwee era...

Commentary - It's a very busy commentary this time round as Toby Hadoke guides his six guests through the story. Katy Manning (Jo), Bernard Kay (Caldwell), and Morris Perry (Captain Dent and no relation to Arthur Dent) join up with script editor Terrance Dicks, director Michael Briant and assistant floor manager Graeme Harper to relive their memories of the adventure.  Vey enertaining, and Katy is always very entertaining to listen to.

From The Cutting Room Floor - Annotated edits and trims from the filming of the story; location filming and model filming trims are used.  You do get the idea of just how appalling some of the conditions on locations actually were.  Mud, anyone?  There's almost thirteen mintes of trims and edits and shots, and it does tend to drag on somewhat, unless you're a real fan of these things.

IMC Needs You! - As an extra, this deserves prizes for keeping you entertained and giggling at the behind the scenes view. From seas of clay in freezing temperatures, via very unusual TARDIS landings and a spectacular and funny animation inviting you to grow a moustache. Most of the same crew as in the commentary are here on-screen giving life to the trials and tribulations of IMC robots and the problems of getting them through an average doorway...

By far the funniest revelation from director Michael Briant is why the TARDIS behaves so oddly when she materialises; an effect that has sparked many a fan debate over the decades. Was the landing due to the Time Lords controlling the TARDIS, or because of the shaky rebuilt dematerialisation circuit the Doctor's put together? Nope. To find out what it is... you'll have to watch.

A very light, fun, and well handled twenty five minute look back at Colony In Space, and it tackles the problems of the shoot without crossing over into regret or bitterness. Great stuff. And kust when you think it can't get any better, Briant re-appears on screen to talk about realising the diminutive alien hidden inside the wall, and the poor actor trying to give a performance with his neck almost breaking...

Photo Gallery - A selection of stills in colour and black and white, featuring the story's production, design and some well known publicity shots set to some background music/atmospheres, and the noise of that battered old blue box arriving.  Some very interesting pictures in there, no mater how much you know about the serial!

Coming Soon Trailer - Dinosaurs! Styggron! More dinosaurs! Dopplegangers and replica pubs! Two Doctors, one amazing assistant (tip of the hat to the glorious, and much much missed Lis Sladen), an irreplaceable and also greatly missed Brigadier (another hat tip to the wonderful Nicholas Courtney) and UNIT soldiers. Lots of UNIT soldiers. But then this is... The UNIT Box Set. Out in January! Oh, and there's dinosaurs. Did I mention there's dinosaurs? And UNIT soldiers.

With the usual production notes filling you in on trivia and factoids via their onscreen subtitles, subtitles for anyone who many want or need them, and the Radio Times listings for the story presented in PDF format for those on computers to peruse, Colony is a slightly long, but very rewarding story with a wealth of great performances, and the ever watchable Roger Delgado as the first incarnation of The Master. The characters are well rounded, and The Doctor, Jo, and a TARDIS exterior that had definitely seen better days have a blast. Well worth buying.

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Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Mark Morris

RRP: £14.99

Release Date: 30th September 2011

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 22nd September 2011

Fear can get to us all, even the Doctor, and it is this that lies at the heart of this second of Big Finish’s releases for September featuring the Seventh Doctor and quite frankly, it is the best.  

Our story begins with a lost girl; confused and alone at the front door of Blue Fire House, a tumbledown hotel on the very edge of nowhere. She is met by Mr Soames, the elderly caretaker who tells her that she is expected by the Master of the house, and her room is ready. This is news to the girl, as she has no memory of how she got here and who she is.

Gradually, she comes to realize that she is not the first. There are others like her, all without their memories, addressing each other by their room numbers, in place of lost names. If things could not get any worse, the house seems to be haunted, plagued with strange visions and noises and just who is the tall man in the window of the tower room? These people are slowly being drawn together for a dinner date with fear, and something far more ancient is lurking in the shadows.

What is striking about the first episode of this play is that it is virtually Doctor Free. The bulk of the episode is carried brilliantly for much of its length by Amy Pemberton and Miranda Keeling who play No 18 and No 5. This should go down as one of the finest opening episodes in a Big Finish story in its history. It is beautifully atmospheric and played to perfection and when the Doctor finally turns up he gets the best line in the whole play. 

Sylvester McCoy is in fine mode, turning out another strong performance as do the rest of the cast including acting royalty Timothy West as Soames.

The rest of the play repeats a similar plot device to The Doomsday Quatrain, in that the story eventually reveals itself to be a lot more than we have been led to believe. Unlike the former, the revelation works more strongly here. It is not perfect by any means as it does somewhat diminish the wonderful atmosphere set up in the first two episodes; however it magnifies the motivations of the central antagonist, a creature who creates fear to feed off it. 

This brings us to the villain of the piece, The Mi’en Kalarash. Its presence is mostly dealt with off audio, for want of a better phrase but it is eventually given voice by possessing one of the characters. The concept of the Time Lords having their own boogieman is fascinating, and McCoy sells the threat presented by this creature, even if it eventually sounds like a sinister voice overdubbed with a vocoder. 

Overall though, with a strong story, more hints of the mysterious Black TARDIS and the tantalising suggestion of a new companion for McCoy, House of Blue Fire is definitely worth your time.

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Emma Beeby & Gordon Rennie

RRP: £14.99

Release Date: 30th September 2011

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 21st September 2011

The Doctor meets Nostradamus; already a fascinating idea which forms the central starting point for this second release for the Seventh Doctor in the main Big Finish range.

Florence in the 16th Century. As the city runs about its normal business, the people are in intrigued and puzzled by the prophecies of the local seer Michel de Nostradame, for he has predicted the end of the world; An end that will come, when ships sail in the sky, bringing monsters from the heavens to unleash fire upon the world. So when the doomsday quatrain starts to come true no-one is more surprised than The Doctor, after all he has seen the end of the world, and it certainly shouldn’t be happening now.

Throwing the seventh Doctor together with the famously celebrated and debunked seer Nostradamus, should make for a delicious cocktail of a story, but what we get is something quite unexpected.

We begin with what seems like a standard historical romp, as the Doctor finds himself in Florence and for the first two parts we get a pretty standard run of mill history meets sci-fi run-around. When the big twist in the story comes at the end of part two, it is an intriguing but rather a small let down.

Essentially, what we thought was Florence is really an artificial reality, and from here on in the setting becomes unimportant effectively rendering Nostradamus and his world to mere window dressing for the rest of the story.

The play does deal with some interesting ideas from a result of the twist, and it stops the story from becoming too dull but, without giving too much away, the ideas themselves are strong enough on their own, that the story doesn’t really need Nostradamus in it. Sadly the mixing of both these plot lines have a detrimental effect on one another, as neither is explored in as much depth as you would hope.

The main antagonists of the piece, the crocodilian Crowe are a rather dull villain. Though they have a rather enjoyably nasty way of progressing through their chain of command, they are in effect useless and not much of a threat.

The other alien presence, the highly evolved Poldigon’s, two of which are voiced very well by John Banks and Caroline Keiff, turn out to be as much of a mystery as the Doctor says they are, and quite why they are building planet size facilities to create realities out of raw liquid material for paying clients is anyone’s guess. Again there is a wealth of ideas here, most of which are sadly glossed over or unexplored entirely.

However one of the things there is to enjoy here is a passionate and grand performance from David Schofield as Nostradamus, who finds himself at one point playing companion to Sylvester McCoy’s Doctor. McCoy himself is having a wonderful time here. As Robophobia showed brilliantly, the Seventh Doctor is at his most compelling when he has no familiar companion around him and McCoy puts in a fun performance despite the madness of the plot. It is a pity that not much more was made of the meeting of the Doctor and Nostradamus, as the potential for the butting of ideologies between the two would’ve elevated this story somewhat.

The Doomsday Quatrain is not a bad play, nor is it a strong one - there is enough to enjoy, but one cannot help feeling that the overall story was an opportunity missed.

Manufacturer: BBC DVD / 2|Entertain

Written By: Louis Marks

RRP: £20.42

Release Date: 12th September 2011

Reviewed By: Dale Who for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 31st August 2011

The Doctor (Jon Pertwee) is called on by UNIT to investigate a particularly murderous ghost; and from there he and his assistant Jo Grant (Katy Manning) are drawn into a web of time paradoxes, guerilla warfare and history changing events, all sponsored by those persistent perambulating pests...The Daleks! Can our intrepid hero, aided by UNIT, save Earth from World War Three and invasion by the cantankerous Kaleds?

Every now and again, something very special comes along on a Doctor Who DVD that stops you in your tracks and leaves you slack-jawed as to it's brilliance. This is one of those instances. This story has one of the most ambitious, well-done and ridiculously brilliant extras you could ever wish for...more of that in a moment.

The two disc set, from the BBC / 2|Entertain stable has the usual hallmarks of Classic Who as it is now presented; the original programme has been cleaned up and looks pin sharp and sounds clear and crisp, and there's a raft load of extras that really should not be missed. Incidentally, for those of you who like inane trivia, the original version of the story is the only one in Who history that keeps the sting (that's the electronic howl from the cliffhanger into the Who theme) on the recaps of episodes two and three.

Disc One:

Commentary - Anna Barry and Jimmy Winston (Anat and Shura respectively) talk us through the story with the late, great Barry Letts, and script editor Terrance Dicks. Also on hand to talk technicalities is vision mixer Mike Catherwood. The whole commentary is nicely paced, fun, and very entertaining to listen to.

Blasting the Past - Cast and crew old and new look back at the original story, it's strengths and weaknesses and what made it so successful. On hand are Katy Manning, Anna Barry and Jimmy Winston who were there at the time, being menaced by Rick Newby, who was inside one of the Daleks. Also contributing to this look back are Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks, John Friedlander (maker of monsters), and with further commentary from Dave Owen from DWM, new series writer Paul Cornell, Classic Series writer Ben Aaronovitch, and voice of pretty much everything these days Nicholas Briggs. Again, this half hour documentary has been handled with a lightness of touch that makes it flow very easily, and is very enjoyable to watch. It happily wallows in nostalgia without getting bogged down in it.

A View From The Gallery - Mike Catherwood and Barry Letts talk about the changing way Doctor Who was filmed and vision mixed over the years, as well as the technology then compared with now. This twenty minute piece shows just how well the two men know their craft, and can talk about it without getting monotonous. An illuminating little feature, that gives a clue into just how much technical expertise went into producing television in the 1970s.

Nationwide - A short piece from the BBC's flagship magazine programme of the time about a junior school that made the silly, silly mistake of winning the Radio Times writing competition...first prize: one working, crabby, angry Dalek. This report shows the somewhat smaller than expected pepperpot arriving at the school and the kids' reactions to it. Amusing nostalgia...you'll see the Dalek and nearly die laughing.

Blue Peter - Peter Purves is joined in the BP studio by the original TARDIS prop (looking in an absolutely terrible state!) and three Daleks to look back on his time during Doctor Who. Again, it's all amusing nostalgia, and a rare glimpse of how BBC Children's TV communicated to their audience over thirty years ago. Do wear sunglasses whilst watching this, as some of the fashions on display could easily burn out your eyes.

Coming Soon Trailer - Courtesy of the Time Lords remotely steering the TARDIS, The Doctor and Jo pitch up on the planet Uxarieus to face off with Reverend Magister, a walking prune, a rather violent IMC robot and some terribly unhappy miners. Colony In Space is next month's Classic Doctor Who release!

With the usual Info Text (which this month tells you where to spot edits and bloopers and gives an exhaustive rundown of Dudley Simpson's score for the show), a Photo Gallery and Subtitles for those who may want or need them, it's a great DVD...but wait...that's JUST Disc One!

Disc Two:

Day of the Daleks: Special Edition - New FX! New scenes! New Music! More Daleks! More Ogrons! More UNIT troops! New Dalek Voices! It's Doctor Who, Jim, but not as we know it!

Now although it's obviously the same story, it really doesn't feel like it. The team have done a stunning job in fixing things that could have been done better with more time and money (e.g: the Daleks' floating monitor has been stabilised, so it no longer looks like the start of "Victoria Wood As Seen On TV"), and they've tackled the big issues people have had with the show over the years - they've also addressed in the extras on the second disc.

The Making of Day of the Daleks: Special Edition - The producer of this Special Edition shows us what prompted the upgrade, what's been done, and how. Very entertaining and clever, this documentary showcases the level of love and interest that's gone into the package - even to the extent of making a brand new Day-era Dalek for help with filming some scenes! With contributions from all those involved, this is a must see, and gives a great insight into the level of dedication given to this revamp of a Classic story.

Now And Then - The latest in the series of "How much has it changed since we filmed Doctor Who there?" gives us an overview of what became Auderly House, and the tunnel, to see what, if anything, has changed. Toby Hadoke narrates the short piece.

The UNIT Family: Part Two - In the second part of this series, we get to see the strong "family" that was UNIT. Featuring contributions from the three UNIT regulars (including the much missed Nicholas Courtney), as well as Barry Letts, Katy Manning, and Derek Ware amongst others, this goes a long way to explaining the logic and thought into giving the Third Doctor a decent backup team. It also has some rather entertaining admissions and anecdotes from the cast and crew, which endears it no end to the viewer - Richard Franklin in particular being remarkably entertaining and witty.

The UNIT Dating Conundrum - Apparently, there are some people in fandom who want to know the dates/time frame of UNIT's involvement in Doctor Who. Why they would want to know such a thing is a matter for discussion somewhere else, but in case you are one of those people, Toby Hadoke tries to piece it all together using the very few dates there are to go on. Terrance Dicks, Ben Aaronovitch, and Dave Owen don't help at all, and by the end of it poor Toby is being carted off in one of those special dinner jackets with the wrap around arms.

The Cheating Memory - Steve Broster goes on a journey to try and find out why Day of the Daleks was so different in reality from the memory of his six year old self. A fascinating extra, with input from a psychologist as well as the usual talking heads featured on this DVD; namely Nicholas Briggs and Ben Aaronovitch. It is something that most Doctor Who fans can relate to, having memories of something being insanely epic, scary, and frightening when you were little, only to watch it again and feel yourself deflate as the second viewing doesn't live up to your memories of the first. A wonderfully worthwhile piece, and very enlightening.

Day of the Daleks: Special Edition is a masterpiece. With both the original and the frankly amazing redux of the story on the release, it's bound to keep all parties happy. The new version is simply stunning, and well worth the time, money and effort spent on the release. This is a must buy, a simply-cannot-miss DVD, and bears repeated watching to find just what's been changed and updated. It's not all CGI Dalek rays, there's some very subtle tiny touches as well that make the release even more enjoyable when you discover them.

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Manufacturer: BBC DVD / 2|Entertain

Written By: Robert Holmes

RRP: £20.42

Release Date: 1st August 2011

Reviewed By: Dale Who for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 16th July 2011

The Doctor (Tom Baker) lands the ever unreliable TARDIS on Pluto, a dwarf planet on the outermost reaches of our solar system, where he finds it isn't the cold, barren, lifeless rock he was expecting. Someone's been very busy; Pluto now has a breathable atmosphere, it's warm and very humid, and has six suns. It also has an overly efficient taxation system, oppressed work units who live underground, and public executions. Can the Time Lord, Leela (Louise Jameson), and a small robot dog free the people and bring down the sinister Collector and his Internal Retinue? This single disc release from the BBC and 2|Entertain will let you find out... all praise the Company!

The Sun Makers is an enjoyably daft romp; a satire on taxation and bureaucracy. Two characters steal the show from start to finish; Leela, as played by fan favourite Louise Jameson, and Henry Woolf's delightfully odious and fiscally-obsessed Collector. Leela has all the best heroic lines - including a beautifully withering put-down of the less than brave rebels - and The Collector has all the best villainous lines, backed up with a characterisation that's hard not to warm to. It's all small fry by Whoniverse standards, and isn't an especially memorable story for plot reasons, but it's diverting and fun. The K-9 prop is so noisy it's untrue, the TARDIS door doesn't want to lock, and The Doctor no longer knows what a jelly baby looks like.

Annoyingly, the DVD is let down by a lack of decent extras, with only a few things holding the interest for any length of time; mostly because the rest of the extras are very, very short.

Commentary - This time, the commentary boasts both main cast members sitting in as both Tom Baker and Louise Jameson join Michael Keating and The Sun Makers director Pennant Roberts to talk about the story, the production and life during and after Doctor Who. Tom is always great fun to listen to, and teamed up with Louise again, the commentary provided is both entertaining and informative.

Running From The Tax Man - Louise Jameson is one of those people you instantly adore. She's very gentle and calm, witty and warm. She's also honest - but in a nice way that doesn't tread on people's toes. She's easily the best reason to watch this retrospective of The Sun Makers, and she reveals why this story above any other is her particular favourite. Also in the mini-documentary discussing the story are Michael Keating, (best known as "Vila" from "Blake's 7"), director Pennant Roberts, and an astronomer and a historian have been drafted in as well, partially to explain about Pluto and it's new status as a dwarf planet rather than a planet. It's an odd extra as it seems to repeat the same information several times, especially when it comes to the astronomy parts; but it's entertaining enough for that.

Outtakes - Citizen Cordo's gun fails to go off twice...No, really, that's it. Hardly an interesting or justifiable extra in itself, but would have been better used hidden away as an Easter Egg on the DVD, perhaps.

Trailer - The original BBC1 trailer for The Sun Makers.  Again, nothing else, just the one trailer.

The Doctor's Composer: Part Two - The second and final part of the series on one of Doctor Who's most prolific composers, the fantastic Dudley Simpson. This segment concentrates on his Doctor Who work from the seventies with the man himself talking us through much of his work and utilising many examples of his famous compositions through a wealth of clips. It's a delight to watch, as you try and figure out which music came from what story. A nice piece, with a genuine affection for one of Doctor Who's often unsung but most deserving behind the scenes heroes. This brilliant featurette gives a warm nostalgic glow and it's hard not to be drawn down memory lane for an enjoyably exciting jaunt.

Coming Soon Trailer - This one will blow your socks off. The Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and his assistant Jo Grant (Katy Manning) team up with UNIT to help save a peace conference being hosted by Sir Reginald Styles. However, those tinpot terrors The Daleks have other ideas... With new Dalek voices, and a wealth of new special effects and CGI, the Day of the Daleks Special Edition is out in September.

With the usual Photo Gallery of production and publicity stills, the Radio Times Listings in PDF format, and Subtitles available for those who might need them, and the usual information text on hand with trivia and viewing figures, The Sun Makers is a worthy enough story, rather badly supported by the extras available on the disc, and it all feels a bit empty as a result.

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Manufacturer: BBC DVD / 2|Entertain

Written By: Stephen Wyatt

RRP: £20.42

Release Date: 18th July 2011

Reviewed By: Dale Who for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 23rd June 2011

Mel, as played by Bonnie Langford, wants to go for a 453 appendix 1 subsection 6 swim. If this were everyday drama, she would, and that would be that. However this is Doctor Who and things rarely go according to any sort of plan the main characters have, in this 1987 story, remastered and released on this single disc DVD from the BBC / 2|Entertain team of Caretakers.

The Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) pilots the TARDIS to Paradise Towers - a "remarkable architectural achievment" promising a clean, lovely, comfortable living experience, and with a swimming pool on the roof.  Accordingly, Mel can paddle whilst the Time Lord can have a (512 appendix 2 subsection 9) look around and investigate things. However upon exiting the now materialised time machine they discover a much different world of uncared for spaces, unexplained disappearances, and unfriendly inhabitants in all shapes and sizes… and something truly horrific in the basement.

Paradise Towers is one of those stories that you may remember as being not terribly good; but happily it's not the case at all. Despite a few cases of acting so wooden it puts the section 9/41, subsection 12c props to shame, it's a clever tale of high-rise horror and society meltdown in a confined area. It manages to feel tight and claustrophobic, and the script and wordplay used are first rate. Cleaned up and remastered in a way the Towers never were, this first season McCoy story manages to succeed on many levels - probably due to the Kangs pressing the buttons for all the floors on the alleviator again..

The special features on this release are well thought out and worthy of a 178 appendix 13 subsection 7 round of applause:

Horror on the High Rise - Mark Ayres takes a look at the making of the story, with contributions from writer Stephen Wyatt, script editor Andrew Cartmel, incidental music composers Keff McCulloch and David Snell, and actors Richard Briers, Catherine Cusack, and Howard Cooke. Clever, insightful and revealing, it shows the story's roots, along with the strengths and weaknesses of the tale.  Entertaining and informative, with some accurate and amusing views on the way some of the actors chose to protray their characters.

Girls! Girls! Girls!: The Eighties - Presented by Doctor Who stalwart Peter Purves, this riotously funny and entertaining featurette has Sophie Aldred, Sarah Sutton and Janet Fielding discussing the highs and lows, the trials and tribulations, and the ins and outs of being a Doctor Who assistant. Fielding especially is brilliantly funny, her acidic humour never crossing the line into nastiness, but still demonstrating some of the slightly less eviable things the 80s female companions were expected to put up with, from high fabshion disasters to stereotyping after leaving the show. Defintely a winner, and a team that should be assembled again to discuss all things Who.

Deleted and Extended Scenes - From the first edit of the story, some trims and edited sequences that never made the transmitted version of the show; and there are some very good scenes in there too.

Audio Options - Not only does this DVD have the usual available 304 subsection 12 commentary, hosted by Mark Ayres again, with Judy Cornwell, Stephen Wyatt and Dick Mills, it also has something of a rarity - an entire second incidental music score.

The original score by David Snell was vetoed by showrunner John Nathan-Turner back in the day, and Keff McCulloch was commissioned to do a very quick replacement.  Both of these versions are available on the DVD, with Snell's score in particular giving a dark, more menacing feel to the story.  

Continuity - The linking announcements for the BBC1 transmission, together with plugs for some of the Doctor Who VHS tapes avaialbe at the time.  Notable for an announcer getting the name of one story wrong, and for one link cutting off a mere second before being exposed to the "hilarity" that was "Hi-De-Hi".

Casting Sylvester - A very short piece from Clive Doig explaining his working relationshop with Sylvester McCoy and how he helped with Sylvester being chosen to play the seventh incarnation of The Doctor.

Coming Soon Trailer - The Coming Soon section itself has had a 915 appendinx 8 subsection 2 makeover. Gone is the vworping TARDIS, and in it's place is a slick little end sequence after a great trailer for the next release.

The TARDIS arrives on Pluto, to find Citizen Cordo about to take a header off the roof as he can't pay the taxes levied by Gatherer Hade and a small venomous leech called "The Collector".  Can the Fourth Doctor, Leela and K-9 lead a work unit revolution, or has the Time Lord's life expectancy overdrawn? The Sunmakers DVD is out in August.

With the usual Photo Gallery, Radio Times listings, Subtitles for those who may need them and the Production Notes and Info Text giving you facts and trivia along the way, Paradise Towers is an enjoyable Doctor Who story well worth watching again, on pain of a 327 appendix 3 subsection 9 death.

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Manufacturer: BBC DVD / 2|Entertain

Written By: Donald Cotton & Eric Pringle

RRP: £30.63

Release Date: 20th June 2011

Reviewed By: Dale Who for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 16th June 2011

The Gunfighters

Disc One of the EarthStory double release from the BBC and 2|Entertain is this 1966 adventure, in which the TARDIS materialises in Tombstone, Arizona; so The Doctor can find a dentist.  Unfortunately, the dentist is one Doc Holliday and not far behind him are the Clanton brothers, Wyatt Earp, and Johnny Ringo.  It's time for the gunfight at the OK Corrall...

The Gunfighters is a very difficult story to judge. The series regulars all put in smashing performances - Hartnell in particular having some great moments and lines; his constant renaming of Wyatt Earp to "Mr Werp" is guaranteed to raise a smile, and his reaction to his introduction to the Clanton brothers is simply priceless. The rest of the story is actually fairly enjoyable if a little pedestrian; and boasts some nifty camerawork and ideas, and, for a 1960s television serial, a great set with a great cast inhabiting it. Marred only by the incessant caterwauling of "The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloo n" at every given opportunity. It's a very different view of how historical events played out, with large portions of the show seemingly lifted from a number of Western films, but it's no less enjoyable for that.

As usual, the DVD version has been cleaned up considerably, and the qual ity of the presented material is top rate.  The DVD also has some great extras, although it is sadly lacking a mute function to save you from the constant high pitched wailing of Lynda Baron singing that wretched ballad.

The End of the Line - An honest, truthful and sometimes uncomfortable documentary about the end of William Hartnell's time as the First Doctor.  Fascinating to watch, it's a tale of constantly changing writers and editors, forced cast changes and Bill Hartnell's deteriorating health as ateriosclerosis took a toll.  With contributions from Donald Tosh, Maureen O'Brien, Peter Purves and Anneke Wills, "End of the Line" shows just how much of a complete slog it was getting Doctor Who out every week on an almost impossibly long production run.  

If you're a strong fan of William Hartnell it can be a tad unsettling to listen to the less than glowing remarks made of his irascibilty due to illness, but happily Maureen O'Brien and Peter Purves share the other side of the original Time Lord, a deeply passionate and caring man who was very protective of the show itself.  It also sheds a somewhat harsh, if truthful, light on Vicki and Dodo's departures from Doctor Who and just how much of an impact The Daleks had on the production of the show.

Tomorrow's Times - Mary Tamm adds a great deal of effortless glamour to the First Doctor edition of "Tomorrow's Times", which shows the the brief flirtation the British Press (notably the Daily Mail) had with Daleks and the earlier days of Doctor Who.  Very reminiscent of an episode of Points of View in styling, this fun little extra begins the story - already continued on other DVDs for other eras of the show - of the love-hate relationship between journalists and The Doctor and his trusty TARDIS.

Commentary - Toby Hadoke sits in the captain's chair once more; as Peter Purves, Shane Rimmer, David Graham, Richard Beale, and production assistant at the time Tristan de Vere Cole talk us through The Gunfighters.  Always fascinating to listen to anecdotes and gems from a production made forty five years ago, this entertaining and useful extra on the DVD serves double duty; as switching on the commentary drowns out a great deal of the Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon.

Photo Gallery - An amazing selection of vintage photographs of the set, cast, and production of The Gunfighters.  The photo's have been cleaned up amazingly and there's some glorious views of the whole, from the TARDIS sans lamp to the camera tower erected in the middle of the studio to give some innovative camera angles to the production.  Set to the full length version of The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon.  Brilliant if you know where the mute button is.

Coming Soon Trailer - The death of Caretaker 345/12 Subsection B informs us that the TARDIS will soon be arriving at Paradise Towers, home of the Kangs, the Rezzies, and Pex (who puts the world of Paradise Towers to rights...).  There's something nasty and very hungry in the basement... and on most other floors of the high rise building as well. Can The Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) and Mel (Bonnie Langford) find their way to the swimming pool without being put to a 327 appendix 3 subsection 9 death?

The Gunfighters DVD also has the listings from the Radio Times in PDF format, subtitles available, and the usual production notes are also included.  

A great package and well worth watching for some excellent performances and moments of genuinely funny comedy in a competent and well made Who story; if you can get past the singing.

The Awakening

In the second of the 2|Entertain / BBC two disc DVD release EarthStory, the Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Turlough arrive in Little Hodcombe to visit Andrew Verney the local historian - also Tegan's grandfather. However something's affecting the locals and their re-enactment of the local War Games is getting rather too realistic...

The Awakening is a short, punchy story that's a deserved fan favourite in the history of Classic Who. The cast are superb, the locations and sets stunning, and The Malus is one of the most memorable Doctor Who monsters for several reasons; notably because it works so well and it really does look creepy. Everything from the incidental music to the costumes seem to fit together seamlessly, and make a thoroughly enjoyable two part adventure.

Stealing the show are Polly James as Jane, and Keith Jayne as Will Chandler, both of whom work so well in the story. Jane is the single voice of reason before The Doctor arrives, and Will is simply one of the most endearing and innocent supporting characters in Who's long history. And of course, The Awakening does have one of the most iconic monsters on hand in the shape of the Malus - even more remarkable when you consider it was only onscreen for a couple of minutes in total.

The DVD release also has a number of very well thought out and produced extras that seem to exude a warm, happy glow about the story; and as always, sound and vision throughout the DVD are crisp and bright.

Return to Little Hodcombe - A twenty minute look at the area, as Little Hodcombe was a gestalt of three villages, with the director Michael Owen Morris, script editor Eric Saward, and Janet Fielding (Tegan) and Keith Jayne (Will). From the outset of this piece, Morris brings senses of warmth and fondness to proceedings that are hard to ignore. He obviously enjoys his work - both on Doctor Who and his other projects - and it clearly shows.  

There's some fun snippets of locals talking about when Doctor Who came to their village, an event that still seems to be a subject of local pride, and Janet Fielding remembers the cast being quite protective of the new director on his first TV work. Keith Jayne discusses Will Chandler, and Eric Saward chimes in on how the story was re-written and whether Will would have made a good addition to the TARDIS crew. A nice sweet old lady tells us about lame horses on set, and her husband tells us how to spot Doctor Who fans on location...

Making the Malus - A fun look at the giant face in the wall, with designer Tony Harding and model-maker Richard Gregory.  A short piece on how the Malus was conceived and built, with a rare look behind the face to see how the different parts of the monster were controlled.  To finish, there's a short interview with Paul Burrows who bought the Malus at auction and what happens when utilites workmen find giant stone monsters mounted on your living room wall...  Another fun and entertaining short, and again, with some warmth and affection for the subject matter leaving you with a very positive feeling.

Commentary - Toby Hadoke once again chairs the commentary team, this time with director Michael Owen Morris and Eric Saward as their share knowledge and opinions of the serial as an audio option on the DVD. Again, Morris' obvious fondness for his work shows through easily and keeps the mood light.

Now & Then - The three villages used as locations in The Awakening are revisited to find that not a lot has changed. There's still thatched cottages and farm buildings, and there's still a ford across the road, even if it is now somewhat waterless...  clips and photographs are used effectively, and the linking narration fills in any blanks nicely.  

From the Cutting Room Floor - Some extended and deleted scenes from the story, including an appearance by Kamelion. There's also some of the film rushes from the location shoots, and some timecoded VHS sequences that were trimmed.

The Golden Egg Awards - Taken from another BBC1 staple of the time, this excerpt from The Late Late Breakfast Show hosted by Noel Edmonds shows the now infamous outtake featuring a horse, a cart, and a prop lychgate being unexpectedly demolished.  Peter Davison is on hand to collect the trophy from Noel Edmonds.

Isolated Music - The Awakening has some excellent incidental music, and this option of the DVD gives you a chance to view the story with the isolated music score. Well worth a listen if you're a fan of the somewhat under-appreciated composers on Classic Doctor Who.

As usual, the DVD also features a photo gallery of production and publicity shots, the Radio Times listings from the story in PDF format, subtitles for those that may need them, and the Production Notes Info Text available to have onscreen as the story plays out.

The Awakening is a great addition to Classic Doctor Who on DVD, and if you're a fan then the EarthStory DVD set is a must-have for your collection.

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Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Andrew Cartmel

RRP: £14.99

Release Date: 31st May 2011

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 2nd June 2011

The Seventh Doctor is regarded as the most manipulative or Machiavellian of all the Doctor’s incarnations and that was the responsibility of Andrew Cartmel, who was script editor during Doctor Who’s last three seasons before it went off the air in 1989. So with the unproduced season 27 forming the basis of this latest series of Lost Stories, it is only right that Cartmel should be involved. Unfortunately, Crime of the Century isn’t as strong a story as you would hope from the man credited with laying down the legendary “Cartmel Masterplan”.

Our story begins in 1989 with Raine Creevy, daughter of cheeky chappie Marcus Creevy from the previous story Thin Ice. Raine is not only charming but an expert safecracker and Cat burglar. One night while trying to rob from a safe at a very fashionable house party in London, she finds something or rather someone inside it she hadn’t counted on; a strange little man from her distant past.

Meanwhile Ace has found herself in the remote Soviet republic of Kafiristan, where the local tribesmen are engaged in a rebellion against the Russian army. There she finds an old enemy and stories of demons hiding in the mountains.

It isn’t long before Raine and Ace find themselves knee deep in the Doctor’s mysterious plans which seem to have something to do with a high security vault on the Scottish border.

One of the strongest elements of this audio is the performances, particularly from Beth Chalmers as Raine. She is sassy, confident and a wonderful contrast to Ace, played superbly as always by Sophie Aldred. Sylvester McCoy, in an at times reduced role for the Doctor is particularly mysterious and the supporting cast all excel.

What lets this audio down somewhat is that it is not sure what tone it should be. The first three episodes contain some incredibly bleak and dark moments and then shifts rather suddenly into a baffling mix of absurd comedy, mostly from the story’s alien menace the Metatraxi. The questionably comic scene where the Doctor fixes their translators seems ill placed in a story which is laced with death.

The Doctor is once again back to his Machiavellian ways, effortlessly moving the people around him to achieve his aim, but throughout I found myself asking why? There doesn’t seem to be any real sense of peril in this story, more a series of often infuriatingly cryptic events which lead us to the climactic scene in the high security vault where the Doctor finally gets what he is after. There are some great moments. Raine’s introduction as a character is brilliantly achieved. Her first meeting with Ace and their subsequent sizing up of one another promises that sparks will fly in future stories.

Crime of the Century suffers by trying to be a loose sequel to Thin Ice, mostly in a couple of recurring characters and the Soviet connection.

Although the continuity is nice, I would’ve preferred a cleaner break from the previous story. Possessing a really good musical score and sound design, there are moments to enjoy in Crime of the Century and Cartmel does succeed in creating a believable and strong new companion for the Seventh Doctor, but overall I was hoping for just a little bit more.

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Peter Anghelides

RRP: £8.99

Release Date: 31st May 2011

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 16th May 2011

What if the search for the Key to Time wasn’t as easy as we once thought? What if the Fourth Doctor and Romana took a few detours along the way? This intriguing idea is a highly appealing factor about this latest Companion Chronicle. 

Set between The Stones of Blood and The Androids of Tara, The Doctor and Romana arrive in a small quiet village in Norfolk, following a strong signal that will lead them to the next segment of the Key.

In their search they stumble into the observatory of former US astronaut and recently widowed Lady Millcent Ferril. Lady Ferr il is a woman with her eyes fixed firmly on the stars, who has created rather grotesque metal sculptures in the gardens of her estate and that is not the only thing that is made of metal. The Lady has plans of a maliciously cosmic kind and she quickly realizes that the Doctor and Romana are the only ones who can help put those plans into action, whether they like it or not.

As a two hander between Romana and Lady Ferril, the play’s greatest strength is the point of views given between our heroic protagonist and antagonist. To hear events unfold through the villain of the piece is a lovely idea and Lady Ferril is deliciously evil creation played fantastically by Madeline Potter. To have her as an American character helps with the transition between Romana and Ferril’s grasps of events which can happen quite suddenly and unexpectedly throughout. The Doctor spends some good portions of the story out of sight and the bulk of the narrative falls between the leading ladies. Mary Tamm shines as Romana and her tired slightly annoyed tone at the high jinks of the Doctor are one of the play’s highlights.

As a story, it is quite a strange tale but feels genuinely like it could have slotted itself easily into the Key to Time sequence as writer Peter Anghelides captures the feel and tone of that season very well.

Lady Millcent’s ability to control metal makes for some rather gruesome moments but the main criticism that I have about this release is the rather confusing and disappointing ending. To reveal the nature of my disappointment would spoil play but let us just say that to have the majority of your play told by two people in hindsight and have one remaining after dispatching the other with no clear resolution is very confusing and a real let down. I kept waiting after the closing music to hear if there would be an epilogue but sadly not and I felt that it might mar a listener’s overall enjoyment of the story as a whole.

All in all Ferril’s Folly is a very enjoyable tale, with two excellent performances but it loses marks for its baffling and disappointing ending.

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Paul Finch

RRP: £8.99

Release Date: 30th April 2011

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 10th May 2011

The Companion Chronicles have become of late, spring boards for new series such as Jago and Litefoot, or a way to explore concepts only hinted at in previous audios. The Sentinels of the New Dawn is one of these. Conceived as a prequel to the Sixth Doctor lost story Leviathan, it's written by the same writer Brian Finch, using the opportunity to flesh ideas hinted at in Leviathan and offering the tantalising possibility of further stories to come.

The story has Liz Shaw; now back at Cambridge, finding herself caught up in a colleague’s time travelling experiments. Concerned about the potential effect this could have, she calls her old friend the Doctor to have a look for himself. After an accident in the midst of testing her colleague’s machine, the Doctor and Liz are transported to the year 2014, and find themselves guests of the enigmatic Richard Beauregard, the head of a strange and rather sinister political movement called New Dawn. As the ugly truths of New Dawn’s practices are discovered by Liz and the Doctor, they begin to be hunted down by New Dawn’s devoted followers and something far more terrifying...

For an audio intending to expand on ideas touched upon in a previous story, The Sentinels of the New Dawn is a rather 'by the numbers' affair. It does a terrific job of authentically recreating a Third Doctor story with an earth bound adventure filled with numerous chase sequences, Venusian aikido and the Doctor flying a helicopter, but it feels too standard for the Companion Chronicles which have become a great forum to further explore the ideas raised in Doctor Who.

But that is not to say it is a bad story. It is thoroughly engaging and Caroline John gives a marvellous delivery, with great interaction from Duncan Wibsey playing the various supporting characters.

There are some lovely moments such as Liz expressing her regret at leaving the Doctor so soon, though it sadly only comes from hindsight. Exploring this idea more dramatically and allowing the Doctor’s own opinion of Liz’s departure to be heard would have been a rather interesting idea to explore, something very much in keeping with the Chronicles themselves. 

In the end, the play shows itself to be a set up for a greater plot arc in future releases, a bit too readily. Although there are enough ideas in this story to entice listeners to hear more about the New Dawn, this Companion Chronicle, although enjoyable, comes across as merely the stepping stone for something far more intriguing.

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Marc Platt

RRP: £14.99

Release Date: 30th April 2011

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 10th May 2011

When the closing credits of Survival rolled in 1989, no one watching knew that Doctor Who would not return for a good long while. Production on what would have been season 27 had been suspended leaving potential future storylines for the Seventh Doctor and Ace in limbo.

After the very successful first Lost Stories season featuring the Sixth Doctor, Big Finish have brought to life the missing Season 27, giving us an incredibly fascinating insight into where the show would have gone if it had not been taken off the air.

The first of these stories is Thin Ice, known popularly as Ice Time in fan lore. 

It is Russia in 1967. The Cold War is raging and the Russians are hoping to gain an advantage with the retro engineering of captured Alien Technology but not just any alien tech. This is the ancient horde of a Martian war lord and his devoted followers want it back. Meanwhile the Doctor and Ace arrive and in the midst of getting entangled in the various powers wanting this technological prize, Ace begins to suspect that the Doctor once again knows more than he is letting on.

It is no secret that the returning monsters in this story are the Ice Warriors, who have become something of a favourite recurring foe in the recent audios. But that isn’t a bad thing, due to the vocal mastery of Nicholas Briggs who brings real, dare I say it, humanity to the reptilian warriors.

The appropriately named Hhessh is a fantastic character, speaking one line in particular that had this reviewer stifling laughter on public transport. Various supporting Ice Warriors as well as a number of key supporting parts are played very well by veteran Nigel Lambert.

Sylvester McCoy is in fine form, accurately recreating the rather secretive seventh Doctor from his time on the show and Sophie Aldred slips back into a younger Ace with such ease that is completely believable. The supporting characters are equally well drawn with special mention going to Ricky Groves who makes a convincing Harry Palmer/James Bond turn as Markus Creevy. Beth Chalmers, who will have a greater part to play in the upcoming season, is brilliant in a play in which everyone has a moment to shine.

Writer Marc Platt has done something quite remarkable with Thin Ice, in that he creates the feel of a McCoy era television story on audio so convincingly you can see it in your head... most of the time. However little touches such as the biker gang with Ice Warrior helmets recall the Cyber Henchmen from Silver Nemesis; visual ideas so baffling they could only work on television, which is one of the weaker points of the audio in that a lot of visual ideas fall a bit flat in the audio medium.

All in all, Thin Ice is a rather fun and exciting way to kick off this season of Lost Stories, with some rather unexpectedly dark moments and little hints of the stories to come. If Season 27 had seen the light of day on television, this story would’ve given Doctor Who a strong direction in the nineties.

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Alan Barnes

RRP: £14.99

Release Date: 30th April 2011

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 10th May 2011

Since Big Finish began producing audio adventures for our favourite Time Lord over a decade ago, they have brought back many of the classic and more obscure monsters from the television series, yet, Heroes of Sontar marks the first time the company have used the Sontarans.

Quite why it has taken so long to bring these clone soldiers to audio is baffling considering how much fun this story turns out to be.

Heroes of Sontar is the first instalment of the second series of adventures for the Fifth Doctor, Turlough, Tegan and Nyssa, and focuses on a platoon of seven Sontaran troopers being deployed to the Planet Samur; a peaceful haven conquered by the armies of Sontar twenty years earlier. 

These soldiers have been given sealed orders for a secret mission, sending them into the furthest reaches of Rutan space. Unknown to the Sontarans, the Doctor and his companions have arrived on Sumar too, looking for some rest after Tegan’s latest encounter with the Mara. Eventually, after crash landings and getting separated the travellers and the Sontarans are thrown together, for there is something ancient and deadly hunting in the dark.

Let us begin with the stars of the audio, the Sontarans. These are the Sontarans of the classic series. You can hear in the pitch perfect voices the echo of the late Kevin Lindsay as Linx and Styre from adventures gone by. It is thoroughly authentic and one of the great pleasures of this release.

What strikes you listening to this play is its rather light approach. The seven Sontarans have very different personalities but all are by the book soldiers and just a little bit thick. Writer Alan Barnes has made no secret that these are the Dad’s Army of the Sontaran Empire and he is not joking. 

They are all very individual characters with their own quirks, strengths and failings, whether it is  Seargant Mezz, an officer driven exclusively by protocol or the incredibly doom laden thoughts of the subtly brilliant character Trooper Jorr.

Some listeners may have an issue with the humorous tone of the story, but it is a clever plot device as it becomes quite clear as the story unfolds, there is a much darker reason as to why these Sontarans are so utterly useless. These are Sontarans that we, dare I say it, care about and it is all the richer for it.

The performances are all very good indeed. Peter Davison excels as always and Sarah Sutton, as the older Nyssa is wonderful, but a special mention must go to Derek Carlyle who puts in a very touching performance as Trooper Vend.

If anything negative can be said about this play is that some of the humour doesn’t quite work. Tegan’s acerbic put downs to the Sontarans become a bit annoying and Turlough has moments of cowardice that seem at odds even with his cowardly personality. The mysterious antagonists could have done with a bit more back story but what we are given is enough to make them work as rather chilling villains. 

With excellent direction by Ken Bentley and a superb musical score by Jamie Robertson, Heroes of Sontar is a highly recommended debut for the Sontarans at Big Finish and a strong start to the new Fifth Doctor season. 

Manufacturer: BBC DVD / 2|Entertain

Written By: Christopher H. Bidmead

RRP: £20.42

Release Date: 30th May 2011

Reviewed By: Dale Who for D octor Who Online

Review Posted: 18th April 2011

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

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

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

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

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

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

Special Features:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Manufacturer: BBC DVD / 2|Entertain

Written By: Robert Holmes

RRP: £30.63

Release Date: 9th May 2011

Reviewed By: Dale Who for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 16th April 2011

The Classic Series Auton stories get a paired release in this two disc set from the BBC / 2|Entertain.

Spearhead from Space: Special Edition

Starting off the Third Doctor's era is Spearhead From Space; and with the show now in colour and set on Earth in contemporary Britain, the whole feel of the programme changes radically.

As with previous older releases, it looks like the recording has been cleaned up considerably, and the print is fresh, sharp, and looking and sounding first class.  Spearhead from Space also benefits from being on location and film, as opposed to the studio based scenes and with the usual videotape recordings.  The story looks more expensive and runs more smoothly as a result.

A swarm of meteorites land on Earth drawing attention from UNIT and a new and deadly alien menace emerges; and at the same time an old blue Police Box lands in the middle of Oxley Woods, and a strange man with an odd metabolism emerges and passes out...

Featuring an amazing debut from the unstoppably charismatic Jon Pertwee, a perfectly pitched and suitably sceptical Liz Shaw arriving on the scene with Hugh Burden being amazingly creepy as the not-quite-what-he-seems Channing.  Also missing shoes, overly sticky blood platelets, and a Hoover 913 Commercial...

The Spearhead from Space Special Features focus, understandably, on the changes that Doctor Who as a programme was going through.

Special Features:

Down To Earth - A clever look at the problems facing the show at the end of the Troughton era, how it narrowly avoided being cancelled, and how a new team in front of and behind the camera and the advent of colour television turned the show's fortunes around.  It's easy to see the level on love and passion for Doctor Who here, especially from Terrance Dicks and the late - and much missed - Barry Letts.  A smart set up to keep the narrative flowing, Down To Earth works very well indeed.

Regenerations - A closer look at the introduction of colour and how it affected Doctor Who.  From colour test transmissions to getting round the tricky problem that colour cameras didn't replicate the show's "howlaround" title sequence effects, this enlightening little documentary demonstrates all the changes behind the scenes that the entertained Who viewer never knew anything about.  

UNIT Recruitment Film - Serving as a timely, if unintended tribute to the recently deceased Nicholas Courtney, this spoof film about the life of a soldier in UNIT now mixes the humour with a twinge of sadness.  Narrated by Adam Woodyatt (EastEnders' Ian Beale) and the aforementioned Brigadier himself, it's a short, warm tribute to the Earth-bound Pertwee years with the UNIT family.

Trailers - The BBC Two trails for the mid 1990s repeats for Spearhead From Space, and one for BBC Two's Doctor Who Night; the latter featuring a traumatised child on the sofa and evil possessed goldfish.  Fun fluff, if nothing else, good for raising a smile.

Commentaries - With this release there are two commentaries available, one with Caroline John (Liz Shaw, who debuts in this story) and Nicholas Courtney, and one with story producer Derrick Sherwin and script editor Terrance Dicks. 

Trailer - The TARDIS, with the Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Turlough on board, is heading for a rather bumpy arrival on the planet Frontios.

Terror of the Autons:

It's the return of the Plastic People!  In a story with another few firsts, smart and sassy Liz Shaw has been replaced by small and screaming Jo Grant (Katy Manning), as Terror of the Autons heralds the debut of one of Doctor Who's major player villains; the only person who's managed to cause the Doctor to regenerate not once but twice... fellow Time Lord and all round bad egg; The Master.  Here played by the absolutely glorious Roger Delgado, this incarnation was impeccably mannered, unstoppably suave... and as black hearted as they come.  UNIT has also expanded with Mike Yates (Richard Franklin) on the crew, and there's some memorably monstrous moments from the Nestenes causing pandemonium once more.

Doctor Who stalwart (and later to be Davros), Michael Wisher puts in a great performance alongside the major cast members, but the scenes are stolen by the ingenious ways in which the writers came up with to kill people... notably scarily faceless Policemen and murderous clammy black plastic sofas…

In a step beyond its coloured VHS release, the BBC / 2|Entertain release has been fully restored so the colour looks a lot more natural this time around.  Again the restoration looks pin sharp, with top quality sound and visuals.  The story justifies the amount of love and attention given to the release, and it's all top quality entertainment paired with its earlier Auton outing.

Special Features:

Life On Earth - Another, wider look at Doctor Who being set on Earth and its implications.  This time around there's talk around the newer, post-2005 Doctor Who as well as the influences and origins of the Russell T. Davies era Autons.  It's a very interesting and entertaining documentary, with a really clever visual style, some really honest interviews, and again, it all goes to show the level of commitment shown to Doctor Who past and present.

The Doctor's Moriarty - A look at The Master, who turns up to meddle in the Doctor's affairs for the very first time in this story.  Quite naturally this little retrospective focusses mostly on Roger Delgado's era of The Master, but mention is made of the Master's later incarnations as well, right up to John Simm's recent outings as the character.  A decent featurette looking at the origins of the character, uses and overuses, and what made Roger Delgado so good as the Doctor's Nemesis.

Plastic Fantastic - A short look at the Autons, their creation, uses and the society they were unleashed upon, with writers and historians shedding some light on the Nestenes' favourite substance to inhabit. 

With a highly entertaining Commentary from Barry Letts, Nicholas Courtney and Katy Manning, the usual info text option to divulge trivia, audience figures and bloopers and the same Coming Soon Trailer for Frontios, this rounds off an appallingly titled, but absolutely stunning Auton double feature that should feature in anyone's collection.  Brilliant.

just remember DVDs are made of plastic... 

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Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Writ ten By: Eddie Robson

RRP: £14.99

Release Date: 31st March 2011

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 15th April 2011

The Industrial Revolution is not a new subject for Doctor Who or for the Sixth Doctor.

Having encountered luddites in The Mark of the Rani,  the Doctor now gets entangled with all the cogs and machinery in this somewhat disappointing end to the latest Thomas Brewster trilogy.

The story begins with Brewster working at a Brass mill in 19th century Lancashire, left there by the Doctor after his request to return to a more normal life. Unknown to Brewster, the Doctor is not too far away, keeping an eye not just on him, but the mill’s mysterious owner Samuel Belfrage.

After a series of gruesome accidents, it’s not long before there is real trouble at the mill as the nature of Mr Belfrage’s business begins to wreak havoc.

While the play is not a bad one, you cannot help but feel the sense of missed opportunity, particularly with Brewster. John Pickard is as ever charming and rascally as Brewster, but the character is once again simply scheming with the people not on the Doctor’s side, a theme that has occurred throughout this trilogy. Separating Brewster from the Doctor once again, makes you question whether he was actually needed as the story could have worked just as easily without him.

Colin Baker and Maggie Stables continue to show why The Sixth Doctor and Evelyn Smythe are a perfect Doctor and companion team and the supporting cast do give it their all but the story seems a little stretched in places.  

The villains of the piece are almost steampunk in nature and with some excellent sound design and musical score make very effectively creepy antagonists.

There are some interesting ideas about our over dependence on technology as well as an obligatory class issue as Brewster engages the factory workers to strike, which amounts to padding at best.

Ultimately though, it is a story that doesn’t really go anyway, although the intriguing nature of Brewster’s departure leaves an opportunity open for him to return. 

I hope it is a far more interesting affair, as the character does have a great deal of potential to develop further than the artful dodger persona he seems to be stuck as.

Industrial Evolution is not a complete failure but it is certainly not one of Big Finish’s strongest plays.

Manufacturer: BBC DVD / 2|Entertain

Written By: Robert Sloman and Barry Letts

RRP: £20.42

Release Date: 18th April 2011

Reviewed By: Dale Who for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 20th March 2011

The epic, six part conclusion to Jon Pertwee's era of Doctor Who arrives with this double disc DVD from BBC DVD / 2|Entertain.  Disc one is the episodic version of Planet of the Spiders, complete with an optional commentary from Elisabeth Sladen, Richard Franklin and the now sadly passed away and much loved and missed Nicholas Courtney. All the info usual text is available and it's a great romp; one hundred and fifty minutes of classic science fantasy television.  The giant spiders of Metebelis Three are after the blue crystal The Doctor removed from the planet back in The Green Death, and will stop at nothing to get it back in their webby little legs...

Pertwee's swansong adventure is a long, but very entertaining affair.  It features every form of transport you can think of, and even some dashing about in the TARDIS - something or a rarity for this incarnation of the Time Lord.  The UNIT family are all together one last time, and it's a celebration of the Third Doctor, and all handled in precisely the way that had made the first colour season of Doctor Who work so well.  It's fun, exciting and worth every second.  You'll never look at those big spiders in your bathroom the same way again...

On disc two there's the extras, and something quite surprising.  There's a really nicely put together look back over Pertwee's time as the Doctor, and an equally warm feature with Barry Letts looking back on his time with Doctor Who; both of which show just how much work and love went into the show from start to finish.  Both featurettes have contributions from a variety of sources, including Jon Pertwee, Terrance Dicks, and of course Barry Letts himself.  There are also some great anecdotes from people like Mat Irvine on the spider props and the lesson of telling people what you need in good time; and from John Kane, the immensely likeable and gentle Tommy in the story, on his memories of Who and what he's done since.

Then there's the longest television trailer ever for a repeat run of Planet of the Spiders shown as one long story on a Saturday afternoon in December on BBC1 - the trailer just rambles on and on and on, with clips upon clips; it looked like the BBC had a lot of time to fill that Christmas!

And then, the surprising thing is... they included the abridged story itself!  The unrestored and very long edited together version is here too for your enjoyment, which slightly mystifies me, as there's no extra material as there was with the Battlefield release for example, but if you're a completist it's all good for the collection.

The story gets 10/10 for being suitably epic and wrapping up the UNIT years with panache and style, and the extras get 10/10 for leaving you with a warm glow that Doctor Who was genuinely loved and cared for during Pertwee's tenure as the Time Lord.

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Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Mike Maddox

RRP: £14.99

Release Date: 28th February 2011

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 6th March 2011

Bringing back an old foe in Doctor Who is always risky, especially if that villain is as iconic as Axos.  With characters like this, simply rehashing old storylines is an easy trap to fall into and one that this adventure seems at times perilously close to.

The sentient parasite is brought back in the latest Sixth Doctor audio and one of the most exciting things about this release is the return of Bernard Holley to the role of Axos, 40 years after playing the role in The Claws of Axos.

The story picks up immediately after the cliff-hanger from The Crimes of Thomas Brewster, where Brewster has hijacked the TARDIS demanding the Doctor take him back to his own time. Of course things don’t go according to plan when they land in the time loop where The Doctor originally trapped Axos many ages ago. Inside the parasite they find a group of astronauts working for Space Tourism billionaire Campbell Irons, intending to revive Axos and use its energy to solve the world’s energy crisis. But of course the newly awakened Axos has other ideas.

What follows is, to put it simply, a slight inversion of The Claws of Axos.

In that story, Axos intended to feed off of Earth’s energy and now the Earth intends to return the favour. Despite an interesting current event twist, it becomes somewhat lost as Axos’ intentions are essentially the same as before though I suppose one can’t ask much more of a space parasite with a large appetite.

What seems to be the focus here are the characters, with the focus shifted onto Brewster yet it all seems a bit of a retread. At end of the previous audio there was potential for a sparky team relationship with The Doctor, Evelyn and Brewster however once again the characters are separated, leaving Brewster to get up to his old tricks. The potential for these characters with such differing personalities working together more is tantalising but to have them separated yet again is somewhat of a let down.

In The Crimes of Thomas Brewster, Thomas was in cahoots with a sentient planet to try and save it from destruction by emulating the heroic nature of the Doctor. Now Brewster, angry and hurt turns his services over to a sentient parasite to punish the Doctor but of course with his own gains in mind. For once I’d like to see Brewster in a non-scheming mode. I know it is a driving force of his character, but it is becoming a little tiresome.

The supporting characters, although serving their parts well, tend to get lost in much of the noise and Campbell Irons, a potentially great villain, seems in the end to be a bit wasted.

Despite this, there are some lovely moments with the Doctor and Evelyn and a rather distressing cliff-hanger to Episode Three however the stand out of this audio is Bernard Holley.  Sounding every bit like he did in 1971, his rich voice really serves well on audio and the impact of Axos, a very strong visual presence in the original television serial, loses none of its impact here, although the same cannot be said of the Axonites. He is so good that he almost dominates the whole adventure.

Despite some flaws there is a lot to like in The Feast of Axos, but like Axos himself, you end up wanting a little bit more.

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Dick Sharples & Terry Nation (Adapted by Simon Guerrier & Nicholas Briggs)

RRP: £25.00

Release Date: 31st December 2010

Reviewed by: Paul Everitt for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 18th February 2011

Big Finish continue their Lost Stories season, with a very special box set dedicated to the second doctor; the great Patrick Troughton.  The box set includes two adventures plus over fifty minutes of bonus material – including interviews and a look behind the scenes. The first adventure sees Earth in a very different light, with a very sinister undertone throughout. The second adventure is rather special in its own right, a lost story involving the mighty Daleks which never saw the light of day...

The first adventure, Prison In Space see’s the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe looking for a little vacation. Even Jamie has become tired of fighting “wee little beasties”.  Promising them a vacation, with perhaps a picnic, the Doctor flies the TARDIS to safe haven – one with plenty of greenery and peace, or so he thinks. 

It’s not long before our heroes find themselves in trouble, arrested for trespassing the soon find that their so called haven is actually run by a mad tyrant – Chairman Babs. Not only do they find themselves arrested, the Doctor and Jamie soon realise that this world is run by women, who see men as inferiors – men are the weakest and are therefore treated like animals, with contempt and disdain. Soon things get even more serious as Jamie and the Doctor are sent to a prison in space, trailed and convicted for their crime – Zoe is left in the hands of the Chairman, forced to choose sides – with the resulting events proving to be explosive and quite unexpected. 

For this adaptation we see the return of Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury, reprising their roles as the Doctors companions. It’s great to hear the Scottish accent of Jamie return; Zoe is as bright as ever, in a part which really pushes Zoe to the limits. The sound effects bring back the sense of the sixties incarnation of the show, helping to push the narrative along at a great pace. Big Finish has adapted this lost script brilliantly, bringing back the essence of Patrick Troughton’s Doctor. This could have easily proved to be one of the second Doctor’s best TV adventures...

Moving onto the second adventure included in this box set, The Daleks: The Destroyers, is the adaptation of the unmade US TV Pilot. Big Finish has adapted this script into a gripping space adventure, full of tension and scares. This is definitely one to listen to by yourself in the dark. 

The adventure takes place around Explorer Base 1, a human exploration station – located on the surface of meteorite M5. Newly built and protected by a force wall, the occupants have no reason, to think of anything dangerous, from the swamp lands laying, just past the force wall. However in the darkness lurks a terrible threat – The Daleks. Within the first five minutes of the adventure, the station is ripped apart – all personnel killed in cold blood. 

Enter our three heroes, sent to investigate by the Special Space Security forces. Sarah Kingdom, played brilliantly by Jean Marsh is an intelligent, efficient agent, who has a habit of screaming. Mark Seven the android, with an emotion chip, classic good looks and superhuman strength. Played by Alan Cox, who gives the character life, making great use of the lines to inject some life, into what could have been a dull character. Then we have the leader of the squad, one Jason Corey rugged and intelligent. Jason is played by Chris Porter with an authority, which brings the character to life in your head.  The intrepid trio soon find themselves playing a cat and mouse game with the Daleks, trying to remain hidden – whilst discovering the alien’s master plan.

The narration to the story, drags you into this new world – masterfully read and acted making the hairs on your body tingle with excitement. The story is a lot darker than I had imagined, giving the Daleks a meaner darker look, than I can remember from the sixties. Even though there is a definite darker undertone, Big Finish have still managed to make it sound like an original episode from yester year. The main theme brought flashes of sixties TV flooding back, its catchy American style stays in your head, hours after listening to it. The score sets new standards, becoming at times operatic in substance, making you tense up, feel elation all at the right moments. Even the sound effects help you build a picture of what could have been, allowing you to connect to the main characters. A blinding story, which ends on a cliff-hanger, which I hope is resolved.

Also included is a fifty minute documentary, detailing how Prison In Space happened. A fascinating look into how the original script was found and the process that followed. It’s full of fact and gives us an insight into the love that the team had for Patrick Troughton. 

This box set prove compelling listening for any fan out there, showcasing what could have been if things were done a little differently.

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Jonathan Morris

RRP: £14.99

Release Date: 31st January 2011

Reviewed by: Matthew Young for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 3rd February 2011

Part of Big Finish’s Sixth Doctor range, The Crimes of Thomas Brewster marks the return of the eponymous past companion as part of a fine cast in this funny, referential but somewhat unbalanced adventure...

The story begins when The Doctor (Colin Baker) is called to London by the Metropolitan police to investigate a mysterious gangster known only as...‘The Doctor’! The fun of this premise isn’t so much the mystery of who might be behind this (the title gives you a fairly good guess to begin with) but The Doctors reaction to the situation. Investigating, he at first assumes the gang leader could be a version of himself from a forgotten past or yet-to-occur future. Discovering that ‘The Doctor’ is collecting weapons for some unknown purpose, he wonders if his future self could be capable of something which, to him, seems unthinkable; “doesn’t sound like me” he muses. This timey-wimey conundrum is furthered by the inclusion of DI Patricia Menzies (Anna Hope reprising her role from The Condemned and The Raincloud Man) who, previously a companion to The Doctor, has now encountered him from before he has met her. All the while, she must keep quiet about knowing him in order to secure their time line. As well as some humorous scenes where Menzies feigns amazement over time travel, I laughed out loud when Menzies said she figured all of this out by reading ‘The Time Travellers Wife’ (“well, watched the DVD”). It’s a brilliant piece of referential humour that brings a great sense of fun to the story while also playing with the concept of time travel to great effect.

Moments like this reveal The Crimes of Thomas Brewster as a story driven by its appealing characters. It’s strongest when it allows them to let loose with some great humour and energy. I have always loved Evylne Smyth (Maggie Stables) as a companion – an elderly British History professor travelling with The Doctor just makes sense – and her dialogue and relationship with The Doctor is at its best here.  There are also some brilliant Colin Baker moments that will give you the giggles: The Doctor finds a use for that coat; asserts that he is “not captain Kirk!”; and even lets out a well timed “Geronimo!” 

Gangland goings on are not the only thing the Doctor has to contend with, however. He is also being attacked by Terravores; giant and deadly robotic mosquitoes. To continue with the theme of displaced meetings, they have met The Doctor before; but he has yet to meet them. As the story progressed, and The Doctor got involved with the police and murky underworld of London as supernatural goings on transpired, I couldn’t help but be reminded of a contemporary version of The Talons of Weng-Chiang. This, in my book, is a very good thing and the first two parts of the story have a similar sense of referential fun mixed with genuine threat. I wish the story either embraced its setting of modern London more or had picked another time period as a setting. There are references to iPhones, Twitter and Lady Gaga which make it unmistakably modern, but there is also a large cast of stereotypical cockney gangsters which, while causing some serious titters, seemed out of place. 

In fact, the setting of London was so fun that some of the lustre was lost once the action shifted to a mysterious alien world. The storyline involving the Terravore conflict with ‘The Locus’ – the hive mind of a living planet – is interesting in itself, but feels drafted from another story. While modern London and this alien world are linked – quite literally – in the story, I felt that after leaving London the story never replicated the sparkle present in the first two parts. This is made worse by the late introduction of two needless and little used characters and the absence of Evylne’s lively self in the later sections. Most disappointingly, Thomas Brewster (John Pickard) himself isn’t used to great effect. Again, he is closely linked to the story line but, other than a compelling conversation with The Doctor explaining his actions, he is by no means the heart of the story I was hoping for. I felt more interested in his history and activities in London than the story of the Terravores and Locus.  While consistently entertaining, this story had all the ingredients to be much more. Thankfully, the final minutes suggest we might learn more about Brewster very soon...