2025 wasn’t a great year for Doctor Who. The actual TV show didn’t have a lot of highlights and was straight up hated on by a rather unpleasant part of the “fandom” and Big Finish audios didn’t do a great job of picking up the slack, though at least there were SOME highlights throughout the year, and the new on-going Ninth Doctor / Rose and Thirteenth Doctor ranges have been welcome additions… So let’s take a look, oh and I’ll point out that once again I haven’t listened to the December Big Finish releases yet (bar “Dare You”) so if any of those really stand out then, um… oh well!
Kicking off the list with an episode of the TV series that was just “good”. A welcome return to proper sci-fi horror and a little bit of “base under siege” for good measure, with great performances and not too much crowbarred-in positive messaging either… (My review can be found HERE)
“The Curse of Time” was technically a 2024 release but it came out on December 28th, meaning I, and I imagine a good chunk of others, didn’t get around to listening to it before January, so… that’s my excuse! (definitely didn’t get reminded of the release date after having already created all the images for this article or anything…) The story isn’t actually outstanding or anything, but it’s just a really good example of the Fourth Doctor audio, and after some experimental stories that have come out in recent times it was a breath of fresh, if not predictable, air. (My review can be found HERE)
“Lost Among The Stars” is the first story of two in the Eighth Doctor boxset “Causeway” and is sort of a combination of the above two posts as its a good old fashioned space-set sci-fi horror story that may not be outstanding but it’s just a really good example of its genre, and the Eighth Doctor can especially get out-there with some of his releases, so it was good to see a more standard bit of Who drama from one of his ranges. (My review will be coming in the new year, hopefully…)
I had some issues with “Past Forward” but I can’t deny that the unique use of the often-overused Weeping Angels was actually brilliant, and the way its structured as both a companion departure story and a companion introduction story is well done. I may not have liked the Naomi and Harry run of stories as a whole but at least it ended on a high note. (My review can be found HERE)
The first and admittedly only Thirteenth Doctor audio to make it on the list, but I am happy to say the two stories either side of this one were still good, just not as good as the four other Who stories before this one. “The Return of the Doctor” is a fun look at the Doctor as a whole as well as #13 herself and has some great moments. The ending is a bit of a cop out, but it didn’t hurt it too much overall. Still weird we’re getting full cast audios with Jodie Whittaker this early at all, to be fair! (My review can be found HERE)
“Hooklight” was a massive two-release-long story featuring the Fifth Doctor in a rather well-fleshed-out part of the universe we’ve never seen before. The first half does an amazing job setting everything up and introducing some fun new characters but it has to be said that the second half has some issues that made it not live up to the hype it created for itself. Not enough to hurt the overall package too much though! (My review can be found HERE)
Much like the Thirteenth Doctor release two entries ago the Ninth Doctor and Rose series has been very strong, but this one (the one in the middle of three so far again!) is by far the strongest. It had a great new enemy, some fun new side characters and a top class dramatic speech from Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor at the end. Great stuff. (My review can be found HERE)
I wouldn’t have thought a Fourth Doctor historical would make it up this far but here we are! (ignore the Silent in the thumbnail, that’s just a hangover from it being part of a two-story set…) It’s essentially Doctor Who’s version of Anthony and Cleopatra, complete with suitably tragic ending, and it doesn’t pull any punches. Even Tom Baker is on a rare-for-nowadays fine form! (My review can be found HERE)
The second and final actual TV episode to make it on the list, Lux was a great mix of “evil cartoon come to life” and a look at the time period itself (without being too heavy-handed with the messaging again…) “Mr. Ring-a-ding” could’ve been something of a Space Babies-level disaster but it was handled and voiced really well. This is the kind of experimenting I can get on board with… it’s a shame it was the only example this year… (My review can be found HERE)
“Fallen Heroes” isn’t your typical Doctor Who story… hell, it’s not even your typical War Doctor story, but what it is is brilliant. Part crime drama send-up, part X-Files, part-Twin Peaks and then it ends with some proper War Doctor-only tragedy and deadly decision making to cap it all off. I was hooked from start to finish and I was pretty confident that nothing else would beat it this year, which has turned out to be true (which is technically a shame I guess, but whatever!) (My review can be found HERE)
Hogan Reviews 