*checks watch* Oh, it’s new version of Shada time already?! Seriously though, this is presumably the last time this partly filmed Douglas Adams “classic” is re-released, not just because it’s finally “complete” with the original cast, but because it’s really good! I’m sure one day I’ll do the Paul McGann/Eighth Doctor 2003 version, but this will probably be the only Fourth Doctor version I review… so let’s get too it!
After a short delay to re-subscribe to the main range, we’re back with the trio of the Sixth Doctor, Constance and Flip. Tackling the “problem” of older people’s role in our society, The Middle does a good job of tackling this issue while also creating a very alien yet believable dystopian society. Not without flaws, but pretty damn good! Let’s take a look!
So we did a contemporary Earth invasion and a pseudo-historical, so what’s left on the Russell T. Davies hit list? Oh yeah, a story entirely in space! Throw in the 10th Doctor’s first encounter with the Ice Warriors and you’ve got a fun, if not a bit plain, story. Let’s finish off the 10th Doctor adventures – Box 2, shall we?
So we had an “present day Earth” invasion story, so what’s up next? Well, it a story where the Doctor meets an historical figure and gets into alien-based hijinx, obviously! Big Finish continue to nail the feel of Russell T. Davies era Who, and create a good story to boot! Let’s have a look!
The Tenth Doctor Adventures Vol. 2 has landed in my… download tray, and so off we go with the first story in the set! The Doctor, Rose and Rose’s Mum Jackie star in an Earth invasion story, so they’ve got the “feeling like the period” bit right, that’s for sure! But what’s the actual story like? Well…
Having to wait until I get paid at the end of next week to renew my monthly range subscription for another 12 releases means that this Early Adventure comes first! (that sentence is going to be pointless to anyone who reads this review via the tabs above later on…) Anyway, I wasn’t expecting much from The Morton Legacy, it didn’t sound very interesting and the trailer did nothing for it, and sure enough, there wasn’t much to it. Rather dull, overall… Or am I lying for literally no reason?! You must read on to find out!
Titan Comics does the Third Doctor with Heralds of Destruction, and boy do they ever do it justice! Rare for Titan Comics, this story has consistently great artwork and a story that while it has some strong continuity nods, still tells a really good tale. So let’s take a look at what will, sadly, be a very rare Third Doctor comic story!
Blake’s 7 Full Cast audio reaches Series 4, and this time the series isn’t consisting of a single boxset, instead it’s spread over three, four-story boxes! Once again we’re set in the third TV series (due to Blake being off limits due to death and the rights to TV Series 4 being complicated, this is likely to continue…) and we see the beginning of a civil war, with the crew of the Liberator in the middle of it! How do these four stories fare? Well…
Continuing on catching up with the Doctor Who Year 2 Titan comics, the next volume of Eleventh Doctor somehow manages to be even more full of continuity references and characters than the previous comic collection… The Master, River Song, the Time War… Shada even plays a major role! Let’s see if they can pull all this together and still tell a good story, shall we?
The first box (or Series, sorry…) of The Time War comes to a close with “The Conscript” and “One Life”, two very different stories, but both equally great. I had my doubts due to the up and down nature of the War Doctor boxsets, but these four stories have been a triumph, both in terms of the storylines and in actually using the Time aspect of the war so well. So let’s take a closer look at Parts 3 and 4 then, shall we?
Hogan Reviews 