So here we have it, the final full cast Blake’s 7 audio review. It’s a shame it had to come to an end, but with yet another key cast member down, there isn’t any other choice. So does Restoration, and indeed Blake’s 7 Audio Series… series as a whole go out with a bang?! Let’s find out!
After the sad passing of Paul Darrow, the full-cast Blake’s 7 audios got put on hold while they re-wrote the scripts and such. Seemingly though, that must have been mostly for Part 3 as this boxset was full to the prim of wonderfully snide and sarcastic Avon! Hooray! All four stories were really good, and one was straight up great, so let’s take a deeper look, shall we?
It’s been a little while, but we’re back with more Blake’s 7 from Big Finish. Following on from the three-box series “Crossfire”, the first box of “Restoration” not only settles the cliffhanger from the end of the previous set, but also puts us on an interesting course going forward, as any good follow up should do, while not forgetting plot points already set in motion… So let’s take a closer look at these four episodes, and kick off “Audio Series 5”!
Hour of the Cybermen is two things. First it’s the second in a loosely connected trilogy based on 80s UNIT (or possibly a specific member of 80s UNIT), and it’s also the long-awaited return of the more talkative, fist-clenching “EX-cellent!” shouting 80s Cybermen! On top of all that, it’s actually a really good story, so let’s take a closer look!
The second half of the second “series” (or boxset, let’s face it) of the Eighth Doctor’s Time War adventures is a pair of pretty standard stories. Neither “In the Gardren of Death” or “Jonah” will make you jump out of your seat and praise how great they are, but neither will leave un-entertained at the same time. In fact they’re both good stories, but they just lack that spark of originality… so let’s see what I mean!
The Time War returns with the second series of Eighth Doctor stories set during the universe-altering period. These first two stories are entirely stand alone, with the first one being quite dark and dramatic, and the second being quite campy and fun (while still being the Time War, so not all laughs, obviously…) It’s a good double bill, so let’s look at them a bit more deeply, shall we?
The monthly range continues with a second “Sixth Doctor paired with a sort-of new companion for one story” … story, as The Doctor becomes paired with famed civil engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel during the time he was excavating the Thames Tunnel with his father. Sounds dull? Well, there are some ghosts… and an alien world connected to London via a bunch of portals… Also, there’s a good story as well! Hooray! Let’s have a closer look then!
The main range takes a brief detour from the trilogy format to give a solo Fifth Doctor story based around him meeting a previously unheard/seen incarnation of UNIT. Admittedly this is to set up a lose trilogy of UNIT stories in the main range that will be split up throughout the year (so not really breaking from the trilogy format, but hey-ho…) and if this is anything to go by then… I’m not that interested. It’s a fine story, The Doctor in particular is well handled, but it’s slow going, and when it gets going it soon stops again. Let’s have a closer look, and try not to accidentally type “The Halifax Rift” while we’re at it…
While the first two parts of Ravenous 1 were pretty much standalone, the second half of the set is a two-parter, clearing a few lingering things from Doom Coalition before setting the foundations for this series going forward. It features the return of crazy rouge Time Lord The Eleven, but also features the return of Z-list villain The Kandyman, though not as an evil Bertie Bassett this time. Does it all work?! Well, let’s find out, shall we?
When the Doom Coalition series of boxes ended with a cliffhanger, many were left confused as the 8th Doctor Time War sets soon began their run… Thankfully, a new series of boxes titled “Ravenous” was soon announced as being the continuation of the Dark Eyes-Doom Coalition story strand. So how does it start? Oddly, it starts completely in isolation, the first two parts being more like throwaway stories from the old Eighth Doctor Adventures range of one-hour tales, but I enjoyed them a lot, so it worked for me! After all the arc heavy stories and Time Wars it’s nice to hear Paul McGann in a somewhat normal environment again (normal for Doctor Who anyway!) So let’s take a look at the first two parts of “Ravenous 1”, shall we?
Hogan Reviews 