Doctor Who

Doctor Who: The Ark (Audio Lost Story) Review

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The Ark is another not-really-lost Lost Story based on an earlier draft of a later revised and filmed Fourth Doctor story, in this case The Ark in Space (and therefore has nothing to do with the First Doctor TV story The Ark, just to make the story’s title even more confusing!) I think The Ark does at least offer a greater difference to the TV story than Return of the Cybermen did but it’s definitely weaker than the TV story we did get (so good job there, Robert Holmes!) begging the question “why did they bother adapting a rejected script?” The answer? I don’t know, but I’ve listened to it now, so I’ll review it one way or another!

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Doctor Who: Once and Future – The Artist at the End of Time Review

David HoganLeave a comment

Big Finish’s 60th Anniversary series reaches part two with Once and Future: The Artist at the End of Time. In case you didn’t catch part 1, the story focuses on The Doctor (most likely his Eighth self, but possibly the War Doctor) “degenerating” into past bodies due to the effects of an unknown weapon, and that’s why this story starring Peter Davison is technically not a Fifth Doctor story. Most importantly though: is it a good story? Well, it’s more focused than the first at least, though at times it feels more like Colin Baker’s episode than Davison’s!

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Doctor Who: The War Master – Solitary Confinement Review

David HoganLeave a comment

The War Master is back, but sadly Solitary Confinement feels extremely safe, touching on all the usual character beats that the character brings but doing nothing new with them. Now, as I always say, Derek Jacobi is amazing in the role and carries the set through all its predictability but this time there really were some stories that I just sat and listened to without any feeling of investment in it. Ah well, let’s take a deeper look.

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Doctor Who: Comrade-in-Arms – A Mother’s Love & Berserker Review

David HoganLeave a comment

The early War Doctor adventures continue with another trio of stories and this time the middle story, Berserker, is fantastic. Being the middle story I couldn’t separate it into its own review but it really does deserve more spotlight, not that “A Mother’s Love” is bad either. So let’s take a look at both stories and act surprised by a rare case of returning Big Finish continuity!

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Doctor Who: Pioneers – Northern Lights & The Beautiful Game Review

David HoganLeave a comment

The second and third stories in the “Pioneers” set are, um, something alright. Not quite sure what happened here but there seemed to be a bet between the two authors as to who can write the duller pseudo-historical as they both cover historical periods / characters but while both are clearly written by people who are genuinely interested in the subjects both are really… not very engaging. Oh well, let’s take a look…

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Doctor Who: Pioneers – The Green Gift Review

David HoganLeave a comment

The Ninth Doctor is back and this time he actually has a continuing storyline he needs to tie up! Yes he’s still travelling with Callen and his talking dog Doyle, looking for a place the two can settle, and would you believe he ends up in a place that’s repeating a mistake from his distant past? What are odds?! Let’s take a look!

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Doctor Who: Once and Future – Past Lives Review

David HoganLeave a comment

Here we go then, Big Finish’s contribution to the 60th Anniversary celebrations is a series of audios where the Eighth Doctor (seemingly) “degenerates” into his past selves and has to go searching for a way to stop the phenomena while wearing his old faces. It’s an interesting idea though it does put my ordering of the stories completely out of whack. Do I count this as a Fourth Doctor story because the Doctor is played by and apparently looks like Tom Baker? Do I put all the stories in the Eighth Doctor page? What about the fact that we know Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant are also in the series? I have no idea, that’s why I’ve made this thumbnail template using the 60th Anniversary logo… Well, either way: let’s have a look at Past Lives and hope future entries aren’t this over-packed and muddled!

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Doctor Who: Conflicts of Interest – The Edge of the War Review

David HoganLeave a comment

The second story in Conflicts of Interest isn’t as frequently downbeat as its predecessor but given its set just before World War II it isn’t the light relief you might be looking for either. It’s also oddly structured in that each part has a very different feel to it, which given Part 1 goes for the “main cast are acting like normal humans living normal lives” plot point, one I never really care for, that at least came as a relief… Let’s take a look!

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Doctor Who: Conflicts of Interest – Friendly Fire Review

David HoganLeave a comment

Conflicts of Interest was a strange boxset, a very serious tone was present throughout but none more serious than this first story: Friendly Fire. Tackling the subject of racism and prejudice with zero hand-holding should be applauded and in that sense it is a really well written story but I have to admit I don’t normally watch/listen/read Doctor Who stories to feel downbeat afterwards, so I can’t say I liked the story, even if it was undeniably a good story. Confused? Well, let’s take a deeper look…

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