Old Soldiers (2007)

The third part of the companion chronicles sees Nicholas Courtney reprise his role for the first time in 19 years. The one thing that strikes me is how good his voice is, he sounds nothing like the Brigadier from the 1970’s but even so it is a nice voice and is easy to listen to like Tom Baker’s when he is narrating Little Britain. James Swallow has written this story and his previous contribution to the Doctor Who range was the 2005 story Singularity which was a slighltly dull adventure so I had a slight hesitation when I started to listen to it. The first thing that I noticed was the chronological setting of the story, it was set straight after the 1970 story ‘Doctor Who and the Silurians’ which made it feel like a proper adventure.

The main problem I have with this story is that it seemed to really lack a proper menace. I found myself really struggling to enjoy this apart from Courtney. In fact Nicholas Courtney was the best thing in this story as it feels like he is telling the story from experience and his voice works well on audio and should be encouraged to do more Big Finish stories in the future. Swallow’s story was not terrible but compared to Mother Russia and Helicon Prime which were fantastic stories this one is the weakest of the series so far.

The Tomfiles #3 - Big Finish Review of 2007

Question: Has this been a good year for Big Finish?

Well, Yes and No. Without doubt the stories such as Son of the Dragon, Absolution and Nocturne have been absolute crackers with all the pace, emotional material and damn good acting that wouldn't be out of place on TV. But then there were stories such as Valhalla and 100 which were mediocre, bordering on poor. There were big changes to the line up that would see some of the biggest changes that Doctor Who has encountered in the Big Finish range since it was launched in 1999. Gary Russell, who had been the top man behind the series contributed to his final story in Nocturne and Nicholas Briggs took over. There was also a change to the story format with new three parters followed by a single stand alone story. 2007 also saw the 100th Doctor Who story produced by Big Finish to celebrate it there was a different type of story made.

2007 started with Circular Time, which was a four part story with Peter Davison and also starring Sarah Sutton who was making her first Big Finish appearance since the 2005 story The Game. This was a poor story in my opinion as it didn't really seem to have much point to it. The only good part about it was the role of Sir Issac Newton which was played by the brilliant David Warner. I ended up giving this story 2 out of 5. February saw the Seventh Doctor star in Nocturne. This was a brilliant story which had me holding on to every word and by the end of part four was completely blown away which I thought was the best story for a long time and for most of this year was the best story of the year. March saw the return of the Daleks. This was Nicholas Brigg's first story as 'Executive' Producer. This story also featured a new look CD Cover which changed for the first time since Paul McGann's first adventure in January 2001. The story had been written by Christopher H.Bidmead who for new fans who haven't seen much of 1980's Who was the script editor for the end of Tom Baker's era and the beginning of Peter Davison's time in control of the TARDIS. Renaissance of the Daleks didn't have a written by credit but a 'From an Idea by' because apparently he was unhappy with changes been made to his precious script with his name on it. Even though this happens all the time and he must have done when he was script editor he was unhappy with this happening to him. The story was interesting and when I originally reviewed it I said that he should be encouraged to write more and I still stand by that statement. April saw the first three parter followed by a standalone story in I.D and Urgent Call. The three parter was ok but was slightly confusing as I didn't understand really what it was all about but I thought that it was good as three parts because its wouldn't have time to include any boring banter. The inclusion of Gyles Brandreth was one of the few highlights in this story based purely on his voice. The single parter however was not very good as I thought it was a completely pointless episode. May saw the second new style story telling with Exotron and Urban Myth. Unlike the previous release both stories were really good and enjoyable. The characters were well written in both stories and by the end of it I thought it was a good release.

June saw a return to the traditional format of a four part story but Valhalla was a very dull story which wasn't bad or poor like Circular Time but just didn't have a point to it. Slyvester McCoy was let down in this story with a poor story and no one to bounce his character off against as Ace and Hex had been written out of it for some reason. The story was written by Marc Platt who had penned the brilliant 2002 story Spare Parts and so I had high hopes of this release but was ultimately was left disappointed with this release. July saw Bonnie Langford return in The Wishing Beast and the Vanity Box. This 6th Doctor release featured Jean Marsh who had appeared along William Hartnell in the 1965 epic Dalek Master Plan and along the seventh doctor in the 1989 serial Battlefield. The three part story was quite good as if it had been four parts then it might have stumbled a little bit. The single parter was something that I didn't like as I though that even though it was a link to the Wishing Beast story it didn't really work because the pace and language used wasn't right at all.

August saw Slyvester McCoy return to in Frozen Time which was written by Nicholas Briggs who's last penned story The Nowhere Place (2006) was a brilliant adventure. Sure enough this story was also a well written, well acted piece of sci-fi. The biggest shock of the year came when it was revealed that the Ice Warriors were in main baddies. Unlike the companion-less story of Valhalla, McCoy was given a great script and had co-stars that complimented his Doctor. Nicholas Briggs is a brilliant writer and has shown time and time again that he can write a cracking script and it is only because he is doing the Dalek Empire and Cyberman series that we don't see more of his work. Early September saw release 99 and Son of the Dragon. This in my mind is the greatest story of the year. It was the sort of story that only comes round one ever few years and had the feel of an adventure that should be made for TV on my a big Sci-Fi budget. The addition of James Purefoy was a masterstroke in an adventure which will be around for a long time before being beaten in terms of quality writing and acting. Late September saw the 100th release in the brilliantly named 100. To celebrate this milestone four of the most popular writers penned a single episode. Paul Cornell, Robert Shearman, Joseph Lidster and Jacqueline Rayner. I was disappointed by this because I thought that single part stories just don't work. The only story that worked for me was the 100 Days of the Doctor which whilst wasn't brilliant was the best of a bad bunch.

October's release was Absolution which saw the first eighth Doctor story with C'Rizz and Charley since Memory Lane in late 2006. This was the second story in three which I thought was brilliant. Not because it wrote out the character of C'Rizz but because of the way of the exit. It was the most emotional story that has ever been done and actually made me Miss C'Rizz. Absolution saw three guest roles in the form of Robert Glenister who stars in the BBC Drama Hustle, Christopher Villers who stars in the ITV soap Emmerdale and Natalie Mendoza who stars in the BBC drama Hotel Babylon. November saw Peter Davison in The Minds Eye which had Owen Teale who had starred opposite Davison in The Caves of Androzani in 1984. The Mind's Eye was a really good story that was enjoyable but was let down by the single part story. December's story saw the exit of Charley in The Girl Who Never Was. Now this story was supposed to be the great ending for a character that had been with the eighth Doctor since he started the Big Finish plays in 2001. However I found it a little disappointing because it was more complicated than it needed to be. The ending was really heart breaking and was the perfect ending to a fine character. The special release that accompanied the The Girl Who Never Was. Return to the Web Planet saw the 5TH Doctor and Nyssa encounter the Zarbi in a story that was quite interesting. Another big name was Sam Kelly who was famous for starring in the BBC Comedy 'Allo 'Allo.

This has been a big year for spin-off releases. January saw all four parts of the Companion Chronicles released. These feature companions of the first four Doctors who cant (or wont in Tom Baker's case) appear in audios. Maureen O'Brien read as Vicki for the First Doctor, Wendy Padbury read as Zoe for the Second Doctor, Caroline John read as Liz Shaw for the Third Doctor and Lalla Ward read as Romana II for the Fourth Doctor. The success of this series led for Big Finish to produce a second series which started in October. By the end of 2007 Peter Purves had read as Steven Taylor for the First Doctor and Frazer Hines read as Jamie McCrimmon. Both these audios continued to the strong stories that had been produced by the first series. The lack of 8th Doctor stories in the regular range was down to the fact that the Doctor was busy on the digital radio station BBC7 in eight brand new adventures. This was a success because it had created a new companion in the form of Lucie Miller who was played by Sheridan Smith. These stories were released every month from January to August. The success of the series must have made the writers and producers decide that C'Rizz and Charley were surplus to requirements. If that's the case then they have replaced two well established characters with one that isn't quite on par with them but with time has the potential of being one of the greatest companions in the audio Doctor Who's.

2007 also saw the return of the most successful spin-off series that Big Finish has ever had. Dalek Empire returned with two former Doctor Who stars taking the lead roles. Noel Clarke who had played Mickey Smith from 2005 to 2006 played Silus Kade and Maureen O'Brien who had played Vicki from 1965-66 was playing Angnes Landen. The series is really well written and any doubts that I had about whether Clarke would be right for the role or whether Nicholas Briggs had left it to long since Dalek Empire 3 went as soon as Part 1 was released.

So that has been 2007 in the Big Finish universe. 33 releases and out of the regular releases the following returns saw a average rating of 3.62 which was an improvement from 2006. It actually was the second highest rating since the Doctor Who range began only losing out to the 2001 rating of 3.83.

So what can we expect from 2008? Well I hope that they don't do as many three part stories followed by a single story because they just don't work. Also I hope that the quality of the stories continues to improve like they have done this year. More stories that don't have companions would also be good even though there should be at least one with every companion.

2007 has been a great year for Big Finish and 2008 looks like it could be even better.

Dalek Empire 4 - The Fearless (Part 4) (2007)

The fourth and final instalment of Dalek Empire 4 is even better than Part 3. The story is really about Kade finally confronting Landen about what how she has manipulated him to do her bidding. The actual story was quiet a good one as it was a good veichle for Kade and Landen to do some good scenes and highlight the point that they just dont get on and that Landen is manipulating Kade with him seemingly going along with it. The scene at the end where Kade shoots Landen was the best moment of the entire series as for a brief moment there was doubt as to whether Kade would actually shoot Landen or not. When he did it was something that was a total shock because you though that Kade had enough restraint to just give her Landen with the fear that he could have shot her. The end scene leaves it open for Dalek Empire 5 and I hope that there is because Noel Clarke has been impressive throughout this series with his character well thought out and well acted. Maureen O'Brien has been another great actress in this series. Her role of Landen has also been well written and it has been subtle but integral to the story and to the character of Kade.

What I also liked was how the end of this series was linked to the end of Series 1 where The Angel of Mercy shouted 'Death to the Daleks'. I thought that it gave this series a nice place of fitting in with the chronology of Dalek Empire. This part of the series was the most thrilling of the series and that is no disrespect to the other three parts because they have all been very strong stories.

Dalek Empire 4 - The Fearless (Part 3) (2007)

The third instalment of Dalek Empire 4 is without doubt the best. This part was about Kade’s attempt to try and assassinate Susan Mendes. The plot was very strong and it was well supported by some fine acting. There were some classic moments including the moment where Kade and Fisk have a row, what was so supprising was the intensity of it and also the fact that it was so unexpected because they had been the best of friends for the past two stories so when the moment did come it was well acted by both actors. The star of the story in my opinion was the character of Ollander, she for me has proved to be one of the most under rated characters in the whole series. She did well in part two but it was in this part when she tried to paint the picture that Kade and his men were the murderers for wanting to kill a woman who in her eyes was only doing good was a turning point for the story of this episode and confirmed to me what a great character she is.

Of the other characters Noel Clarke continues to impress. His attitude when his dead wife and child are mentioned was not overplayed and was used to heighten the emotional tension. Maureen O’Brian had her best story yet. She seems to me to a manipulative character who is using people’s emotions to do her work. Its one that at the moment only seems to shine when it is against someone like Silus Kade.

This story seem to be a single part story in a series but even if that’s not the case it was still a cracking episode and it is the best one that Nicholas Briggs has penned. Brilliant.

Helicon Prime (2007)

Helicon Prime is a story that sees the return of Jamie McCrimmon to the Doctor Who series. The character of Jamie was played by Frazer Hines from December 17 1966 to June 21 1969 with a brief appearance in the 1983 story The Five Doctors and also returned alongside Patrick Troughton in the 1985 story The Two Doctors. Frazer Hines is perhaps one of the most well loved characters in Doctor Who partly because of his innocence at not knowing what was going on due to the fact he came from 1746 and also partly because he was willing to engage with the baddies and his loyalty to the Doctor. Helicon Prime is also the first contribution from Jake Elliot and sees the second story to be directed by Nigel Fairs. Something else that is worth noting is that it occurs whilst Victoria is away on her Graphology studies following the story Fury from the Deep. It occurs during the infamous Season 6B which is a weird concept but as long as that isn’t taking to literally then the story is far more enjoyable.

This story is a quite basic who-dun nit and of course it is been solved via Jamie’s eyes. The story has a nice feel to it with a great setting and interesting music to help create a party like atmosphere and gives a greater sense of the relationship that Hines and Troughton had. Elliot has written a story that sees the plot moving at a quick pace. The addition of Suzanne Proctor as Mindy Voir who interacts very well with Hines and they have some really good scenes. It starts off with Voir looking over Jamie who had banged his head on the moors and tries to remember an adventure he had with head which is a fairly loose way of introducing a character but it is still effective.

Frazer Hines is very good in this story. He plays Jamie exactly like he did 40 years ago. What surprised me about this story is how he managed to get Patrick Troughton’s voice more or less spot on. His voice has a nice warm effect and listening to him was a joy. Normally when a companion has to do the Doctor’s voice or another companions then it tends to be a bit of a let down but in this instance it’s the exception rather than the rule. Suzanne Proctor is also very good in this story, the character of Mindy Voir was a nice one. Proctor has a nice voice and it blended in well with Hines’. Jake Elliot has written a very good script that catches the essence of that era in Doctor Who. It is nice when a story is simple in plot terms because it means that you can focus on the other elements of the story and just revel in what is perhaps the best of the Companion Chronicles so far. Hopefully he will be able to get chance to write for the regular series because I think with more time and more characters then he could write a really nice classic Doctor Who story. Either that or write another Companion Chronicle story. Nigel Fairs directs his second story and perhaps takes the advantages of the script and uses it keep the story at such a pace that you never realise how long the story has been going on for and soon it’s the end. Whereas Mother Russia was a fairly complicated story which resulted in the story struggling to get its full potential out, Fairs has managed to push the pace and excitement of this story to the max.

Dalek Empire 4 - The Fearless (Part 2) (2007)

The second instalement of the fourth series continues with all the action and pace that part one had. The plot moved along quite a lot in this episode with there being several interesting scenes. The first being the boarding of Kade onto the Dalek ship. There was also the scene between Kade and Agnes Landen was very interesting to listen to. The biggest revelation was what Landen wanted Kade to do and that was to kill the Angel of Mercy. For the first time it really felt like this fourth series was really part of the Dalek Empire storyline. The moment that it was revealed the Kade would have to kill Susan Mendes was a brilliant moment and a excellent cliffhanger.

It was also nice to see in this part Susan Mendes get in on the action with her interaction with Ollander. The character of Ollander is quite a sad one because she seems to be one who would go out of her way to be your friend but has been treated poorly by the Daleks with them taking certain parts of her brain including the part which remembers what her first name is. The fact that the Daleks did such a callas thing not only creates a new character that we can get to know (Ollander) but reminds us of what evil and vicious creatures the Dalkes can be.

Noel Clarke was on brilliant form again as Silus Kade. In this episode he didn’t seem to be as obsessed with his wife and daughter as he was in Part 1, this may have been because he was busy spending time with a nearly dead Dalek. Clarke continues to amaze me in this series as he still doesn’t bare any resemblance to Mickey Smith in the TV Doctor Who. Maureen O’Brien also continues to impress me in this series. In this part she seemed to have more input into the story and her scene with Clarke at the end was an important moment for her.

Nicholas Briggs has continued to the successful return of the Dalek Empire series and it seems that the final two parts will be just as exciting and thrilling as the first two instalments have been.

Return to the Web Planet (2007)

The special release for Subscribers has become a regular thing now. It’s a way for Big Finish to say Thankyou to the fans that spend a lot of money for these releases. Usually these stories are different in terms of structure because whereas regular releases are four part stories totally 100 minutes or so with these there is no cliffhanger and the story is just under and hour so there is little time to pad out plots or characters and there would only be about 25 minutes to tell the story. Over the last few years we have had Cryptobiosis, Her Final Flight and the Daleks. Last year saw the Daleks get the special treatment and this year we are treated to a former alien that last appeared 42 years ago. Of all the monsters to bring back to a modern day audience that appeared in the early days of Doctor Who, Big Finish decided to bring back The Zarbi. Not quite sure what the logic was behind it but The Zarbi appeared in the William Hartnell story The Web Planet in 1965. The thing that I doubted whether the Zarbi would work on audio. The advantage that this audio has over the 1960’s version is that you can create a different landscape to what was produced on a minute budget. Return to the Web Planet is written by Daniel O’Mahony who as far as I am aware is making his debut for the Big Finish/Doctor Who range.

Unfortunately I don’t like The Web Planet even though I do appreciate the risk that the production team took in making it. The advantage of listening to this on audio is that you can imagine a green and pleasant land. We don’t have to cringe our way through unfortunate costumes and sets. I think that the budget limited what could be done and as a result we have six episodes that move so slow that time feels like its standing still. 2 hours and half hours seems like such a long time when you don’t know what is going on.

Peter Davison is very good as The Doctor. His relationship with Nyssa is a strong and well developed as usual. Davison has a nice style in the way that he plays the Doctor. When he is given the right sort of script, Davison can show why is perhaps the best Doctor of the 1980’s. Occasionally though Davison does have to struggle to show his stuff but not in this case. Sarah Sutton continues to perform very well as Nyssa. In my opinion she is the best companion for the Fifth Doctor. She is my favourite companion because she is on the Doctor’s level in terms of intelligence and also she doesn’t scream at the slightest unnerving thing. Sutton always worked better with Davison’s Doctor as opposed to Tom Baker’s Doctor and the best time for Nyssa was when she was the only companion.

I found the guest cast to be top stuff. Sam Kelly is great as Acheron and his voice sounds very much like the Menotra. This isn’t Kelly’s first foray into Doctor Who. He previously appeared in The Holy Terror. What I liked about Kelly’s performance was how he sounded like a character that we could put some interest in. Matthew Noble was very good in this story as Yanesh, the character was a well written one for Noble and he played it with the sort of innocence that you would expect from a primitive planet compared to ours. Claire Wyatt also put in a good performance as the Speaker. Julie Buckfield is a name that might sound familiar and that is because she is the sister of Claire Buckfield. Whilst Claire has been given good solid characters Julie unfortunately wasn’t. In this story she plays Hedyla, the character was likeable but ultimately the way the character was written in the story didn’t really seem to serve a purpose which is a shame. She was only there really to give Acheron someone to interact with at the beginning. The idea that the Speaker was once human but has become involved with the Zarbi was a really interesting story plot and helped the story. The moment where Yanesh and the Speaker merge together was a nice moment but it wasn’t really given the emotional tone it deserved.
The characters were generally well written and well acted. The music and sound effects helped add to create the planet Vortis. With the production values of the imagination I find myself hoping that they don’t wait 42 years before returning. Daniel O’Mahony has written a story that is a simple enough story with characters that have enough about them to have us interested in them. It’s clear from the very beginning that he must have a fondness for them because he has managed to get the feeling of Vortis along with the Zarbi down to a tee. Barnaby Edwards did a very good job as the director. He allowed the characters just enough time to show what they are about. He kept the pace going at a nice pace and made it an entertaining story. I don’t often credit the music/sound designers very often in reviews because they tend to blend into the background. It’s often However was David Darlington did was create a great impression in my mind. The sound effects used was some of the best that I have heard in a Big Finish play for quite sometime.

Overall this is a very good release. Much improved in terms of satisfaction over Return of the Daleks. Considering that it was free for me because I subscribe but I ask myself with this release Would I pay for it? And the answer in this case would be YES. I found the story an enjoyable 50 minutes and it’s a story that I strongly recommend to anyone who wants encounter a monster from the classic series. Well done Big Finish and Thankyou. Here’s hoping that they choose a monster that would come a fans mind to bring back to challenge their and mine thoughts of them.

The Girl Who Never Was (2007)

2007 has been a good year for Big Finish. With such stories as Son of the Dragon and Nocturne leading the charge for Story of the Year contender it was important that the final story was a really good one. The final story of 2007 also saw the final story for India Fisher and for Charley. The character had made her debut way back in January 2001 and was written by Alan Barnes, so it was only fitting that he wrote the departure of the character. The Girl Who Never Was is a follow up from the previous 8th Doctor release Absolution and so had a lot to live up to which was always going to be difficult considering the circumstances. The conclusion of Absolution came a bit out of the blue. Of course Charley feels grief after losing a friend she is going to want some space which is quite similar to how Evelyn felt in Project: Twilight when Cassie died and spent some time away from the Doctor. It was clear that her departure wasn’t going to be the normal.

Whilst I thought it was a good story it was overly complicated. There seemed to be no real need at all to set it in both 1942 and 2008 because all you really needed was a simple adventure with the Cybermen and you would be sorted. Another thing that found wrong was when Charley had been converted, it just didn’t work for me and it just felt like it was a poor attempt at a Cyber voice. I half expected her to jump out and turn talking like she normally does. Also in this story it would have been nice if Charley’s mother had made an appearance. Another negative thing is that I had difficulty at time understanding just what was going on and that was due to the time settings. The first story for the character of Charley (Storm Warning) was a simple adventure which had monsters, a feisty companion and a historic setting whereas The Girl Who Never Was was the exact opposite. When I finished listening to this four-part adventure I did feel slightly confused but that isn’t to say that there weren’t any redeemable features. The first were of course the Cybermen, they were making their first appearance in the regular releases since their double-header one back in September 2006 (The Reaping and The Gathering) and their two-parter in the BBC7 series so it was the most that the Steel baddies have had in Big Finish for quite sometime. The sound of them was absolutely spot on and added a genuine menace to the proceedings. The one downside of the Cybermen (which has nothing to do with Big Finish) is that there is no consistency to how the Cybermen look or sound. With the Daleks apart from one or two stories they have looked and sounded the same. With Big Finish plays they have the same sound in every story.

The introduction of the Cyber-Planner was not only a fantastic idea but it had a brilliant voice. The fact that someone else was playing Charley was a genius move and made me interested to find out just what had happened to Charley and why she couldn’t remember the Doctor the first time she saw him. The scene towards the end where its revealed that it wasn’t in fact the real Charley but someone from 1942 who had lost their memory and took on the name Charley was a nice move and was the only thing that made sense out of the whole 1942 thing. But the best thing about ‘The Girl Who Never Was’ was the exit of Charley from Doctor Who. It wasn’t melodramatic, it wasn’t boring and it most certainly not dull. It was totally unexpected though and the fact there was no real goodbye made it that more emotional.

Paul McGann puts in a different kind of performance in this story. He has to deal with the death of C’Rizz and the shock decision by Charley that she wants to leave and on top of that has to deal with The Cybermen. It’s a good performance from him and its always a sign of what sort of Doctor he could have been had that US version being successful. India Fisher puts in a superb performance in her last story with the Eighth Doctor. This partnership on a actors level has been a joy to listen to and will be deeply missed. The character of Charley has been a really interesting character. She hasn’t stuck to the stereotype of being from the 1930’s but has developed really well over the near seven years that the character has been around. Stories such as Zagreus and Scherzo have really tested the relationship between the Doctor and Charley and have made this combination just a successful as the Sixth Doctor and Evelyn. The introduction of C’Rizz in late 2003 didn’t really allow interfere with the bond these two had which made the character of C’Rizz seem like even more of an outsider. I personally don’t believe the tosh that the character had gone its course, if so why is Peri and Nyssa still around nearly 20 years after they left and its not just because their classic companions. I think that just because this is the last adventure chronologically speaking it doesn’t mean it has to be the last story at all. Set future 8th Doctor/Charley stories just after Charley joins the TARDIS or before C’Rizz joins. In my opinion the departure of Charley will be a sad loss. Anna Massey is a distinguished actress and she played Miss Pollard superbly. Her involvement of this story helped add another emotional side that I thought was a nice touch. Another good involvement in this story was Danny Webb as Byron. The character was well written and was a lot of fun to listen to. Webb has previously been in the seventh Doctor story The Dark Husband and the two-parter TV story The Satan Pit & The Impossible Planet.

Whilst Absolution was a brilliant story for a character that didn’t really fit in, it seems a shame that this story was overly complicated for a character that was the best thing about the 8th Doctor stories. Alan Barnes has written a story which some fans may like but left me feeling like it didn’t need to be like this. It’s difficult to know whether the partnership had run its course but with the arrival of Lucie Miller who is a feisty companion, Charley’s days were numbered.

The Minds Eye & Mission of the Viyrans (2007)

The Mind’s Eye is the second story written by Colin Brake. His previous story also featured the Fifth Doctor, Peri & Erimem. The story is also the fourth story to feature the three part and one part story that has been used on I.D, Exotron & The Wishing Beast. The story is set on a planet that apparently has no name, this seems ridiculous to me as all planets have names and as soon as the name has been revealed then it is mentioned all the time. That is really my only problem with the whole story and as you can probably tell that’s just nit-picking. The story is a really fast paced one and there isn’t one point throughout this adventure that drags. The sequences where Peri and Erimem are living their own lives or believe that they gives a really good impression of what their lives would be like after they travelled with the Doctor. Recently there has been a lot of emphasis on the departures of companions. With the recent departure of C’Rizz and the future exit of Charley it seems that Erimem might be leaving. This is what I was thinking because of the way that she was in Son of the Dragon where it seemed really likely that she was going to be leaving but didn’t and at several points in this story it seemed like this would be leaving. Out of the pair, it seems that Erimem would be more suited without the Doctor as her role in the colony was what we would expect of the character. Peri’s alternative life seemed very much what you would think her life would be. Even though Peri’s life takes a turn for the worst towards the end it seems that both of them would get on fine without the Doctor. Which is quite reassuring because it shows that they don’t see the Doctor as some sort of father figure who they require attention and would be totally emotional drained without him. The single part story was something that I wasn’t expecting a lot from. Previous single part stories have proven to be poor. The only on that has been any good was Urban Myths which accompanied with Exotron. I have to admit that whilst it wasn’t as good as Urban Myths it was still a very good effort. The idea of the Viyrans was very good as they sounded human like but didn’t sound ridiculous. The picture of them does make them sound like Cylons out of Battlestar Gallactica. The fact they aren’t set on total domination was a nice change but ultimately might result in there downfall when or if they return in future adventures. I put the fact that this single story was ok due to the fact that it was penned by Nicholas Briggs who can be trusted to put together a strong story. Again I think that like most of the single stories that have fallen short of my expectations this story could do with being a three or even four part story.
The plot point that there are plants that are slowly consuming both Peri and Erimem was quite creepy and it served the purpose of moving the story along. There was enough to keep you interested and at no time did I look at how much was left of each episode. The characters in this story are written well and are used in a sensible way and are effective. Owen Teale, who had appeared in Torchwood and had appeared in Doctor Who back in 1984 was brilliant as Hayton. From the way that he was talking to the Doctor and to Major Takol it started giving me the feel that he was up to something then that feeling went away, it soon became obvious that he has alterative motives. Teale voice works very well in this story and it is by far the best voice in this story. I think even with a bland script Teale would manage to make the character seem menacing. If you ever watch Torchwood then you would know what I mean. Peter Davison seems to be on a roll. This is his fifth story of 2007 and he has now done three great performances and one mediocre and one poor performance. I think that because of the scripts sometimes Davison’s Doctor came seem to be taking a bit of a back seat in action. What I liked in this story about Davison’s performance in this story is that there didn’t seem as much of the humorous side of his character as there normally would be, it was straight into the action and as soon as he discovered what was happening he went straight into helping Erimem and then helping Peri. Caroline Morris was on fine form again as Erimem, like in Son of the Dragon she was very strong against people she was placed with. Like Kharto who was considered an enemy to the colony just because he had different views was treated as someone who could be spoken to in a respective way. Owen Teale wasn’t the only person who has appeared in Doctor Who on TV as well as on audio. Thomas Brodie-Sangster who was in the Human Nature/Family of Blood two-parter played Kyle in Peri’s life. He was very much the awkward step-son but didn’t overplay it and didn’t try to steal the scenes. His voice is quite distinctive and it the moment he first comes into the story you can tell its him.

This story was well written by Colin Brake and was suited as a three-parter and I think that had it been stretched to four then it would have lost a lot of the pace. The setting was just right and the plot was well thought of and executed in a fine way. Barnaby Edwards has done a good job with the directing of this story. Nothing really out of the ordinary for Edwards but what managed to do was to keep the different shifts in scenes to a reasonable level and by that I mean it wasn’t to complicated.

Rating for The Mind’s Eye was 4/5 and also Mission of the Viyrans got a 3/5. Theres not really a great deal that I could say about this story except that it was a lot better than previous single parters that have been done in the past.