4th Doctor

Doctor Who: The Valley of Death Review

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The second of the two Fourth Doctor Lost Stories (for now!) is not lost in the same way as a lot of the other ones. “The Valley of Death” by all accounts is based on an idea Philip Hinchcliffe had during his time as a producer on the show where he wanted to do a story set in the Amazon, but sadly for him none of the writers were all that interested, so he dropped it. So it was an idea rather than anything already scripted or even pitched on paper, so although Mr. Hinchcliffe did give all his ideas to Jonathan Morris to adapt here, this feels more like a “Phillip Hinchcliffe Presents” release rather than a truly lost story. Still! The main thing is… well, is it any good? Let’s find out!

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Doctor Who: The Foe From The Future Review

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When Tom Baker finally joined up with Big Finish most fans flocked to “Destination: Nerva”, the first Fourth Doctor Adventure, but I was one of the few who headed straight for the Fourth Doctor Lost Stories box set (which to be fair, was rather expensive at launch…) and so this was the first Fourth Doctor audio drama I heard, and boy… it’s a damn good one! Admittedly, looking back on it you can tell Tom is still just getting into the groove but hasn’t found the same older Fourth voice he eventually settled on yet. Still, is it a match for the six parter that eventually replaced it? Let’s find out!

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Doctor Who: Out of Time Review

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If you asked me what my dream multi-Doctor story was, I’d always say “10th and 4th Doctors in a Two Doctors style crossover”. Well, earlier in the year this story was announced and I was thrilled! Finally something great came out of the currently not-at-all-great situation the world finds itself in as it allowed this apparently long-gestating story to finally be made due to Mr. Tennant’s TV schedule rather predictably being dramatically reduced. Does it live up to the hype? Does the addition of the Daleks add or take away from the experience? Let’s find out!

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Doctor Who: Shadow of the Sun Review

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DW Shadow of the Sun

Shadow of the Sun is a “Lockdown Special Release”, recorded entirely from the casts’ homes. How does that effect the release? It doesn’t, other than a bonus Fourth Doctor release in May… which sounds good to me! The actual story is two parts bog-standard run-around, one part interesting religious examination. Does that mix work?! Let’s find out!

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Doctor Who: The Talons of Weng-Chiang Review

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DW The Talons of Weng-Chiang

The Season 14 Blu-Ray set has been released, and that means it’s time to review a story from the set! It was close in terms of which ones I hadn’t watched in the longest time, but I decided to go with Talons because… the other was Masque of Mandragora, and while I’m sure my memories of it being dull might not be true, I fancied a nice long evening with a fun six-parter that I surprisingly haven’t watched in nearly a decade. The Doctor, Leela, Jago, Litefoot, Greel, Mr. Sin… it’s full of characters, quotes and moments engraved in your head, so let’s look just how and why it still stands up, despite… “questionable in today’s world” visual effects.

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Doctor Who: Black Destiny Review

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DW Black Destiny

We’re nearing the end of our run through the Ground Zero GN, with just this story to go before we reach the final and titular tale. Black Destiny, much like most of the stories in this run, is set during a rarely seen time, in this case it’s The Doctor, Sarah Jane and Harry, who are on the way back to Earth after having just dealt a blow to the Cybermen (though let’s face it, had Liz Sladen and Ian Marter still been alive, Big Finish would have mined this period dry!) and deals with zombies and Chernobyl. Now there’s a combo! Let’s have a look…

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Doctor Who: The Quest of the Engineer Review

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DW The Quest of the Engineer

The fourth and final story in the ninth series of the Fourth Doctor Adventures (Numbers!) is an odd one. The setting and some of the scenes are really great and get the old imagination going, but some of the script is slow going, and the villain over-written. Does it balance out, or does it swing one way more than the other? Read on!

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Doctor Who: The Planet of Witches Review

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DW The Planet of Witches

Series 9 of the “Fourth Doctor Adventures” continues onwards, but after the all-out classic of “Chase The Night”, what chance does “The Planet of Witches” have to stand out? Well, to be fair, it goes in a completely different direction and is perfectly fine. I guess the month in between listening sessions helps! So let’s take a closer look at the next Doctor-Romana-Adric-K9 four parter, shall we?

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Doctor Who: Purgatory 12 Review

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DW Purgatory 12

It’s a rare thing, but it’s time for a new-to-Big-Finish Doctor-Companion team! Yes, in what is possibly the last TV team yet to be recaptured via full cast audio drama (with the original cast members), we have the start of a four-story series involving The Doctor, Romana and Adric trying to escape from E-Space. Purgatory 12 also does that classic Big Finish thing of filling in a gap in character development, as Adric starts to come to terms with the death of his brother, something never really explored on the original show. Does it work? Let’s find out!

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