Phobos (2007)

Phobos is a strange story but in a good way. After Blood of the Daleks, Horror of Fang Rock and Immortal Beloved the one thing that could be said about these stories is that they are different from what we have heard but all have classic Doctor Who elements. This story is written by Eddie Robson who’s last contribution was for the Eighth Doctor in Memory Lane (2006). That story wasn’t a particularly memorable story for me (sorry for the pun) but this story is a far better offering.

The thing about Phobos (by that I mean the planet) is that it is for adrenaline junkies. The thrills of a 26th century adrenaline junkie can’t be met on earth but on a moon. Throughout this story there are characters who typically personify this type of activity. Due to that they are annoying but they are expected to be and so are useful characters to have around. The story is essentially everyone on Phobos ignoring Kai Tobias who is always going on about monsters. But of course no one listens to him in the glorious tradition of storytelling. It only happens at the end of the story and is done in a particularly memorable way.

Paul McGann and Sheridan Smith are very good in this story. Their relationship has settled down and Lucie Miller is starting to become a very strong companion and could be up their with some of the best that Big Finish has created. But it is the guest stars that make this a wonderful story. Timothy West is very good as Kai Tobias, the character was well written and West gave the character the edge that it needed. Nerys Hughes was great as Eris. Hughes previously appeared in Kinda (1982) and so becomes the first person (to my knowledge) to star in a TV and radio Doctor Who story.

After not having not hearing anything from the Headhunter in Immortal Beloved. It was good that this part of the story got back to the forefront of the series. We all want to know about Lucie. At the end of the day, Phobos isnt that bad a story but it just didn’t engage me like some of the other stories from this series. Those that enjoy watching skiing programes or skydiving shows on late night tv would probably like this story but as far as I am concerned it just didn’t hit the mark for me.

Castle of Fear (2009)

Having no knowledge at all of Stockbridge I ventured into this story. When I say that I new nothing I mean nothing. I didn’t know that the story had featured in Doctor Who Magazines and also that it was a real town. That said I was expecting a lot from these stories. This story sees the first appearance of the Rutans who made their only appearance in the TV series in Horror of Fang Rock (1977). This story also makes references to their war with the Sontarans which has gone on for so long that no one knows what started it.

The story is mainly a comedy in the first two episodes. It’s actually quite annoying after about 20 minutes. When I first started to listen to it I had to actually stop listening because I was getting so frustrated with it. When I went to listen to it again I started to enjoy it. I thought that the character the Earl of Mummerset was an obviously annoying character but then it changed as we learnt that he wasn’t actually the Earl but just pretending to be. Joe Thomas (from the Inbetweeners) was very good but as both the Earl and as Hubert. But it was John Sessions that stole the show for me. He was just brilliant as Roland of Brittany because when he first appears in the story he is a French knight but is played like John Cleese in the Monty Python film The Holy Grail (1975). Soon he too turns out to be someone else and that’s when he really shines.

I did like the nod to the Sontarans and the connection to The Time Warrior (1973) where Linx has taken refuge in a castle so he can repair his craft and get back to the war. The Rutans plan seems to be to wait for this one Sontaran and destroy him. A bit of a petty but expected thing to do.

There were two things about this story that didn’t quite work for me. The first was the fact that it took way too long to get into the castle. As the castle features in the title I was hoping that it didn’t take until the latter part of episode 2 before we even got into any part of the castle. The second was the voice of the Rutans. I thought that they sounded too similar to Daleks. I know that they sounded similar to the Rutans that appeared in their story but I felt that there was room to change the style slightly as most of the younger fans will not know of the Rutans and think that someone has copied the Daleks.

Despite this being an Alan Barnes story it’s quite straight forward. There were no complex plot points like in Brotherhood of the Daleks (2008) or in The Girl Who Never Was (2007). Barnaby Edwards makes a welcome return to directing a Doctor Who. This story needed someone who would be able to stop the story from descending into an early pantomime. Overall this is a good opening story for the Stockbridge Trilogy.

The Genocide Machine (2000)

The Genocide Machine is the first story to feature the Daleks in the Big Finish range. It’s the first Dalek story since Remembrance of the Daleks (1988). The story is written by Mike Tucker who worked on the show during the last few years and also worked on such shows like Red Dwarf.

The Daleks are known for not being impatient and also for not giving in. So it was quite ingenious that the Daleks had been waiting in some sort of cave. There was a sense of Déjà vu when Ace got copied and her duplicate was took into the library. This mirrors the Daleks plan in Resurrection of the Daleks (1983) so it’s not a new plan so there is not the air of the unexpected. Also the Time tunnel reference in episode two was also first mentioned in that 1983 story.

This story sees a character that could have been a really good companion. Bev Tarrant was a role that would have worked well with Ace and I could see their relationship be more like brother and sister. Louise Faulkner was very good as Tarrant and I liked how she could have been a new Bernice Summerfield.

The fact that Prink wasn’t able to speak was quite funny, it gave a comedic feel to the beginning of the story. It was part four before we even heard the talkative cataloguer speak. Elgin was a very good character. I felt Bruce Montague gave the character a feeling that he could be trusted and gave the idea that you could be trusted. Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred sound as good in this story as they did in Survival. The relationship between them is very enjoyable to listen to and is one of the highlights of the early parts of this story.

There were a few things that I found strange. First thing was how strange the Daleks sound. They almost don’t sound like Daleks. Even the strange sounding Daleks back in Day of the Daleks (1972) weren’t as bad as these ones. Ok the Emperor Dalek sounded quite good but the rest of them were weird. It’s not a brilliant story but just average. I think that this being the first Dalek story there was a lot of expectation and it just didn’t work. The pace of it wasn’t particularly fast at time it was frustratingly slow but it’s early days for Doctor Who in the Big Finish world so give it a few stories and we might see what can be done.

The Prisoner of Peladon (2009)

The Prisoner of Peladon is our second visit to the planet in just under two years. Following on from The Bride of Peladon (2008) we have a story that is a who-dunnit. This story is written by Cavan Scott and Mark Wright who have a track record of writing great stories. The Project series (Twilight in 2001 and Lazarus in 2003) and also The Church and the Crown (2002) were obviously full cast stories so it was always going to be nice to see how they handle a companion chronicle.

Set sometime after The Green Death (1973), when Lady Jo of TARDIS has left this story sees quite a development of the events that went on in the Curse of Peladon (1972). Peladon is now part of the Federation and in now allowing refugee Ice Warriors. But things are not going as well as they could be. The tensions that are rising could have been taken out of today’s news headlines.

The speech that King Peladon gave to the Doctor about needing someone echoes the one that Donna Noble made to the 10th Doctor in The Runaway Bride (2006). It’s a point that was never raised during the classic series which is quite an obvious one. It seemed an obvious point as the Doctor that we get in this story isn’t quite the same Doctor that we know. He seemed to be very laid back and not taking things as seriously as he normally would. Its not easy to say whether he is still pining for Jo or whether he’s just having an off day but its definetly not the 3rd Doctor we know.

David Troughton was brilliant in this story. Its hard to believe that it had been 37 years since he played Peladon but he made it seem like months not years. The only issue I have was that the voice of Alpha Centuri which was just Troughton doing a high pitched voice. There was no treatment to it which would have made it sound better. The revelation that Princess of the Ice Warriors had been held captive on Peladon without the King’s knowledge did slightly devalue him in my opinion and just showed him as a weak leader. It was a shock to know that Alpha Centuri could be so deceptive but elevated that character above a pantomime horse. Nicholas Briggs did a good job as the Ice Warriors. It was interesting how he did several different versions of the voices. I like how they

This was a good story from Scott and Wright. They wrote a story that was structured to go one way in solving who committed the murders and then change it halfway through and find out the person who had been kept prisoner. Nicola Bryant did a great job in her first story as director of the Doctor Who range (She directed some of the UNIT stories a few years ago). She managed to keep the feeling of the original Peladon stories and weave that way into the stories. Hopefully she will be able to direct some of the regular releases in future.

At the end of the day, the Prisoner of Peladon is a gem of a story. Its got a nice story, strong characters and more importantly the sound effects and music to create the Peladon that we saw all those years ago. This credit goes to Toby Hrycek-Robinson.

Circular Time (2007)

The first release of 2007 is not a good one. It’s an interesting one but it ultimately falls short of what I come to expect from a Big Finish plays. This is also a story written by a new series writer (well co-written) Paul Cornell who wrote Fathers Day (2005).

The story is split into four with each episode representing a season. Cute idea but at the end of the day there has to be a narrative that makes sense and stands out. The first episode (Spring) was ok. The idea of a planet of birds has an appeal that I think would make for a great four part episode. The ‘Summer’ episode was good only because it had the fantastic David Warner in it. Playing Sir Issac Newton was a joy to listen to. The way that he gave the dialogue was what you would expect of him

It’s only the final episode where everything starts to get good. The ‘Winter’ episode is set quite sometime after the first three episodes and we come to a point probably towards the end of the Fifth Doctor’s life when he has parted ways with Nyssa. If the rest of this story had been like this episode then we would be looking at one of the best stories for quite sometime. The idea that Nyssa has a husband and children is completely different from what we obviously know.

Peter Davison and Sarah Sutton did a great job with what they were given. Its such a shame that the story didn’t quite suit them. The main problem with this story is that it just seems aimless and with no real incentive to actually care for any of the supporting characters. It’s a shame for someone of Paul Cornell’s calibre that I find myself writing this but unfortunately Circular Time is one of the weakest offerings from Big Finish in quite sometime. Hopefully the next time that there is a Fifth Doctor and Nyssa it will be a lot better than this story.

Purity (2006)

The second part of this Davros series is written by the same people who wrote the outstanding Live 34 (2005). The story of Davros has move on a few years and we now find the future Dalek creator working as a tester for weaponry. It’s a fairly important job but Davros feels like it is beneath him. Well we know what he’ll become so we know it’s a job beneath him. In this story we get to hear Terry Molloy in a full-length role as a younger Davros. To be honest I wasn’t sure whether Molloy would be able to pull this off considering that he’s not exactly youthful and has spent 20 years doing Davros’ regular voice. But to his credit he pull’s it off very well.

The story itself is quite a nice continuation of the main story. It was nice to see Magrantine return after his unfortunate end in Part One. The character of Yarvell is something that is growing on me. I found her to be just an irritating woman but in this she seems to develop into a more rounded person. Her initial reaction to when Davros returned home did have whiffs of sincersity. But this is shrouded in a lectre because Yarvell is becoming more and more political and this is starting to have an affect of Davros himself.

This story is enjoyable enough with enough names and references to classic Who for long-term fans to recognise. The writers have done a good job in developing all the characters and just making me want more. Gary Russell has also do another good job keeping the pace and the energy going throughout.

All in all an enjoyable release.

I.D (2007)

I.D is a truly unique story. Well its new for Big Finish anyway. This release has two stories over four episodes. I.D is a three part story whilst the fourth episode is a single 25 minute adventure. To start this new way of putting the releases out they have chosen Eddie Robson who has become one of the best writers so far with such stories as Memory Lane (2006).

The I.D story was quite a complicated one I found. The idea that people who basically have their personalities uploaded onto a computer chip was quite a good one. There are also people who are a new version of dyslexic. These people’s brain can’t connect with a computer which is probably what will happen in the 32nd century.

As much as I wanted to like Urgent Calls I must say I was disappointed with it. All these single episodes stories are set to form part of the virus strand. The story needed much longer than 25 minutes. I also sort that the story (as it was) was a bit dull. The chances of the same two people just happening to meet each other on the phone stretched the believability factor a bit too far. Colin Baker did his best to try and make it a bit entertaining but ultimately it was a lacklustre story that just did nothing for me. Baker has a wonderful chemistry with Kate Brown. In particular Brown manages to show a genuine niceness about her character which shines through.

As a whole release I must say that this 3+1 format has potential. I think it would require the single part story to be extended by 10 minutes but the 3 episode format is ideal for some stories because a lot of the regular stories have to have a lot of padding to make it fit four episodes.

Renaissance of the Daleks (2007)

Renaissance of the Daleks is the first story of the post-Gary Russell era. Nicholas Briggs has decided to shake this up big time. His first offering as Executive Producer is a Dalek story. This story is ‘from a story by’ Christopher H. Bidmead. Bidmead served as Script Editor on the show. Inside the booklet it says that Bidmead wasn’t happy with putting his name to changes made during the script editing process. That meant either it was going to be terrible or brilliant. Sadly I think it was leaning towards bad.

The problem with Renaissance is that it doesn’t quite know what it wants to be. The plot seems to be all over the place trying to decide what it wants to be. There is an opening mystery when the Doctor visits the Earth in 2158 and finds that the Daleks haven’t invaded Earth. This is a mystery cause we all know in The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964) this was meant to happen.

Peter Davison and Sarah Sutton both don’t do well out of this story. They get lost in the messy story and never get a chance to show why they are such a good combination. Also the Daleks are used badly here as there are toy Daleks which show that Bidmead must have had an accident with a Dalek when he was a child. The other characters in this story also don’t work. General Tillington is an annoying character just because of the American accent. I really can’t stand American accents because they are usually done by British actors who can only do stereotypical US accents. Only Hugh Laurie in House has managed to get a decent accent.

Unfortunately for the second story running the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa are given a duff script which doesn’t utilise their abilities. Circular Time was a disappointment because of the way the story was told not necersarily the plot. I must mention the Behind the scenes feature which is a new thing for Big Finish. It’s a wonderful thing to stick on the end of the CD. It’s nice to hear the actors and writers opinions of their characters and their knowledge of Doctor Who prior to doing this story. Its irrelevant whether they saw the very first Doctor Who episode or have never seen an episode before but its nice to see they understand their character.

Renaissance of the Daleks is the first of the Nicholas Briggs era however it wasn’t the best of starts.

Innocence (2006)

Well the Daleks had Genesis of the Daleks (1975), Cybermen had Spare Parts (2002) and finally 31 years after he made his first appearance in Doctor Who, Davros’ early years are told. We find out how he became the evil genius he is and how he ended up in the chair. Over four episodes we will see him grow from a child to the leader we see in the Tom Baker story. The first instalment is set when Davros is a child. The story is written by Gary Hopkins who previous credits include The Last (2004) and Other Lives (2005). Hopkins clearly had been watching Rome or I,Claudius because there is a distinct Roman Empire feel to the story.

The characters in this story are really well written and acted out brilliantly. There is such a broad spectrum of feelings towards these people. You start to understand why Davros ended up the way he did partly because of his parents. Calcula who is Davros’ mother is totally manipulative and she is so unlikeable. His father who is Colonel Nasgard is a military man who is your typical army guy.

Richard Franklin who played Mike Yates during the Jon Pertwee years is very good as Nasgard. He sounds the part and is totally believable as what we are loosely told is Davros’ father. Carolyn Jones is simply brilliant as Davros’ mother and I don’t think that anyone would have made the part work like Jones did. Rory Jennings who was recently seen in TV Who was really good as Young Davros. He managed to capture some of the evil genius elements of Genesis Davros. The moment when Davros causes Magrantine’s death was really grim and a bold move by the producers. What was perhaps even more grip was the fact that when Davros took his mother to the laboratory that he wasn’t death but horribly mutated.

Opening stories are very tricky things and very often don’t quite work because most of the story is spent setting up the characters and also the various plot strands. However this story is a really solid opener. It bodes well for the rest of the series.

Colditz (2001)

Colditz is a very strange story. Which isn’t such a big shock considering Sylvester McCoy’s Doctor revels in strange plots and weird stories. Having already done a Second World War story before with Curse of Fenric (1989) it was going to take something pretty big to make different to make this story work. Another reason is that Dust Breeding was such a strong story for the Seventh Doctor.

The two main guest characters of Klein and Feldwebel Kurtz as played by Tracey Childs and David Tennant respectively. I found both characters to be utterly bad and not likeable (as you would expect from Nazi soldiers). In particular it was Childs’ performance that I found the stronger of the two. It was of course the two main stars that stole the show. Sylvester McCoy had some wonderful scenes and it’s such a shame that he never got the chance to do this sort of story when he was on TV. Sophie Aldred seems to be at a turning point in her life. From now on she wants to be called Dorothy McShane. It’s a moment that shows how far she has come from her first story in Dragonfire (1987).

I did find the story to be quite difficult to follow towards the end which is a shame because three quarters of the story was enjoyable stuff. I think when there is a shift is whats going and it happens this late on in the story then it causes problems. It made it slightly easier to sit through cause it was Klein and the Doctor and those two really worked well against each other.

This story is a good story. There are elements that need to be listened to again to be fully understood but everything is there to have a good story. Again I was particularly impressed with Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred who showed their wonderfully close relationship for everyone to enjoy. The Big Finish stories for the Seventh Doctor have certainly been the highlight so far and here’s hoping that it continues.

Blue Forgotten Planet (2009)

2009 TOMS TARDIS AWARD WINNER

• Best Writer (Nicholas Briggs)

Back in December 2008 we said goodbye to Charley. After 7 years it seemed that Charlotte Louise Pollard had taken her last adventure with the Doctor. Despite wanting to leave at the end of Absolution there seemed to be a hope of staying with the Doctor. What we got was the biggest twist in Doctor Who Big Finish history. This story was written by Eddie Robson who wrote Memory Lane back in 2006 and also 4 of the 8 episodes of the Doctor Who & Lucie series. This story is a first for Doctor Who, not just in audio but in TV as well. A companion who has spent time with one Doctor is now travelling with another. I know that it has happened with Romana appearing with the sixth Doctor in The Apocalypse Element but this is the first time that a companion has appeared with a previous Doctor. The main question I had for this story was ‘How could the Eighth Doctor not recognise Charley if she met the Sixth Doctor?’, anything else seemed irrelevant. One thing that I never comment on is the cliffhangers. The first was a big let down and just felt like they were going to end it in a place where they didn’t intend to. The second and third ones were better. The idea that Sam was actually Ackley House was quite a good idea as you thought it was strange that he didn’t interact with anything in this story.

Colin Baker put in another good performance and his Doctor seems to work well with Charley. Mr Baker is the best Doctor in this audio range as every story seems to play to his strengths. In this story the Doctor starts guessing straight away that there is something wrong with this visitor to his home and no sooner has he got one mystery to deal with he has a dead body to deal with. Then he as DI Menzies who I will come to later. But no matter who he works with be it Maggie Stables, Nicola Bryant or Bonnie Langford, he shows he can work with anyone. India Fisher is also very good in this story and shows that there is still more to see from this character. The Charley that appears in this story seems so different from the Charley that travelled with the 8th Doctor from 2001-2007. I liked the bit where she is trying to pretend to the Doctor that she’s never seen the TARDIS before was quite entertaining. She is a hopeless liar but I have a hunch that she wants to be caught out. The supporting cast was also on good form in this story helping support the Doctor and Charley. The star was Anna Hope, who has appeared in two Doctor Who stories (New Earth in 2006 and Gridlock in 2007). Her character was well written and Anna got the most out of the character that help the interaction between DI Patricia Menzies and the Doctor all that more entertaining. The character of Menzies was written as your typical stereotypical Northerner. She clearly doesn’t take any rubbish from her colleagues or from the public but she is forced to deal with the people and events that occur. William Ash who appeared in the 2007 story 42 was very good in this story and was a good casting decision. His contribution to this story was well very important. It takes a while to really work out what his role in the story is but pretty soon it’s a shocking revelation that I would never have guessed. Sara De Freitas was also another good actor in this story as Maxine, she was the sort of character who had fallen into trouble and the evil elements were manipulating that fact and forcing her to keep Charley hostage for quite sometime. She started off a little bit weak but picked up brilliantly by episode 4.

Stephen Aintree & Steve Hansell provided 8 voices between them and so as a result they deserve some credit. Lennox Greaves has performed in several stories for Big Finish and can always be relied upon to perform well. The main plot of the story which was not the mystery of Charley but in fact what was going on in Ackley House. It took a long time to get going but once it did get going it was non stop and I though it worked really well. The moment when Charley discovered Sam was the flats was one of the eeriest scenes I have known. I was hoping in this story that there would an answer to why the 8th Doctor doesn’t remember Charley when she met the 6th Doctor but that might get explained in future stories but the only point that was raised was the fact that the Doctor kept calling Charley Charlotte all but once. The line that the Doctor doesn’t recall doing that means he is either lying or has a brief bout of memory loss. The potential for this story is the strongest one for quite some time and the one with the most potential and we will have to wait and see whether the mystery is answered. The combination of the 6th Doctor and Charley worked very well and bodes well for future stories featuring this combination and hopefully it wont be long before there is a sixth Doctor/Charley/Evelyn story because I think that would be as good in quality as this story. The thing about stories like these is that people’s desire to know what is going on and hopefully Big Finish will manipulate this for as long as they can.

Eddie Robson has written another superb play. The revelation that Sam was in fact the flats was truly shocking and totally out of the blue. All the characters were really strong and no one was weak. This dark story is a superb start to the Sixth Doctor/Charley mystery. Nicholas Briggs does another great job as Director. He always manages to direct a great story and give it that much more energy that it normally needs but it just adds to this story.

Overall a fantastic story.

Project: Twilight (2001)

Well two Colin Baker stories in two months and their both absolute crackers. This one is perhaps the more impressive as it doesn’t rely on an old monster to help the story. This story is also far more grittier and darker than Bloodtide and this is why it has to be considered a serious contender for story of the year.

This story is set presumably on modern day earth. Though with most Earth set stories in Doctor Who a ‘modern’ story is usually four years in the future so we could assume this story was set in 2005. The opening scene was very well acted out by Colin Baker and Maggie Stables. There’s something quite charming about a Timelord who has travelled billions of miles in space and time and who has enjoyed some of the finest cuisines imaginable and he seems to enjoy some greasy Chinese takeaway on the Thames.

This story relies heavily on the characters rather than the plot. The character of Reggie (played by Rob Dixon) was one of the best guest characters. The character is a complete nasty piece of work and at times very psychotic. Even before he is revealed to be a vampire its clear that there is something sinister about him. The character of Cassie is one that is written and played to be quite an emotional one and it is down to Rosie Cavaliero and Maggie Stables who had a sort of Mother/Daughter bond that helps give the listener an emotional connection. Its hard not to feel some sort of sadness about Cassie after we find out what a miserable existence she has had. The character of Amelia Doory (played by Holly De Jong) was another very well acted character that helped paint a grim picture in my mind. Stephen Chase (Nimrod) was also another actor who gave a simply stunning performance. The character proves to be nutter who created the Twilight project. These four actors should be congratulated for providing Colin Baker and Maggie Stables with something wonderful to act against.

This story has to be placed in my top 10 stories. Cavan Scott & Mark Wright have written a truly superb story that had nothing but good things in it. Gary Russell deserves a mention for directing this story in a way that wouldn’t be out of place on TV.

Dust Breeding (2001)

Dust Breeding has the hallmarks of an early classic. It has all the classic elements needed to make a truly great Doctor Who story. Eerie setting, strange goings on and a familiar adversary that it portrayed as one character but turns out to be someone else. It has the feel of Earthshock (1982) when the Cybermen shocked us all when they appeared at the end of Episode 1. The Master makes a shocking return for the first time since Survival (1989). Before this revelation he is Mr. Seta (must have taken the writer ages to this that one up!).

The revelation of the Master is quite a different one. It’s the first adventure he has after Survival and the body that the Anthony Ainley Master has been taken away and he is being controlled by the creature that is hidden away. Geoffrey Beevers who played the Master in The Keeper of Traken (1980) was very good as his voice was very sinister and creepy. Another name from the TV series was Caroline John (Beever’s wife) who played Liz Shaw in 1970. She was good as Madame Salvadori, though I do think she over did the voice a little. This story sees the return of Bev Tarrant who appeared in The Genocide Machine (2000). There is a great deal of suspension of belief to think that Bev Tarrant just happens to be on Duchamp 331. Don’t get me wrong I like the character but I think that she should have been put into the story as a companion. I think the setting on Duchamp 331 was a brilliantly thought out place. A planet where the wind sounds like a bunch of Daleks gave a brilliant red herring before the real revelation. I like the idea that the base is a sort of truckers rest stop that you would see on the Motorway services.

Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred were on good form again. The first episode of this story really shows how their relationship has developed over the years and since the very first Big Finish adventure. The scene in the art gallery part of the TARDIS was a nice touch and added a bit of the early aspect of the Doctor/Ace relationship.

This is a very good story. It was better than The Genocide Machine but that’s because it was structured so well with interesting characters and a wonderful setting.

The Church and the Crown (2002)

Amazingly its been over a year since The Eye of the Scorpion (released in September 2001). This is another purely historical story and yet again I found myself enjoying it which I wasn’t expecting. Certain aspects of this story are not exactly original. Such as Peri being mistaken for someone else.

Certain scenes are done with a bit of tongue-in-cheek which actually works. The swashbuckling scenes were very entertaining but I liked how Nicola Bryant played Queen Anne. As Bryant has been playing the role of Peri for nearly 20 years there isn’t much more that she could do to make the character sound any different (apart from older) so its refreshing when she does something different. Her scenes with King Louis (played by Andrew Mackay) were enjoyable as Mackay plays the role of the King with such repulsiveness that it becomes fun to listen to. Having pointed that out it seems quite bizarre that the writers have decided that Erimem shouldn’t be the main focus of the story, given that its her second story I would have thought this was her best chance to show what she can do. Instead they seem to have wasted.

This isn’t quite on the level of Project: Twilight (2001) which Scott & Wright wrote. Then again The Church and the Crown doesn’t have any vampires in it. This story is a likeable adventure which shows how this combination has the potential to become a strong one. The Peri/Erimem relationship is nicely played one which is a sister-like one and that means that the Doctor’s role can be more like a father.

If you’re a fan of historical stories then you’ll love this story. Even if your not your still going to find enough in this story to like. Hopefully they will do better in pushing Erimem in the next story.

No Mans Land (2006)

No Mans Land is a story that starts of well (very well in fact) but then just disintegrates and becomes a disappointment. This story is set in a military hospital in Northern France in 1917 and against the backdrop of people losing their lives is the fact that the Doctor has been asked to investigate a murder that hasn’t happened yet. Now there is the temptation to ask the question “Why doesn’t the Doctor just got to the exact moment before the murder is committed?” Well if you start thinking like this then it’s a slippery slope to destroying other parts of this story.

It’s a story that rings true today. This story has soldiers trying to cope with where they are and the appalling conditions that they find themselves in. Hex has the tougher time out of the three regulars. He is subjected to the Hate Machine and the moment when the machine is turned on and he is clearly in pain I have to admit I found it uncomfortable and unnecessary. Once the murder happened the story became redundant. I think I was hoping that the prevention would take up most of the story but it got wound up quite early on and then we were left with the B plot of this story which was what going on in that little abandoned church. I have to admit the sound effects and dialogue used in that part of the story was quite creepy.

All the main cast were very good in this story. Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred were on usual good form in this story. McCoy has some good scenes with Michael Cochrane and Sophie Aldred plays Ace in a slightly different way as she is the only female in the cast. This allows for Ace to have a different sort of relationship than she would have done with another female member of the cast.

When I first listened to this story I was really disappointed with it and felt that it was one of the weakest of the year. However upon listening to it again I don’t think as bad about it as I did before. Granted it does go downhill in the second half of the story but that is two different stories that seemed rammed together which is why it doesn’t work.

This story is another story that benefits the Doctor/Ace/Hex combination as they all have different adventures in this story. However I think that it was Hex that did well and his improvement continued with this story. I think that with all the pros and cons of this story laid out I think this is a story that will grow on me.

Sword of Orion (2001)

Sword of Orion is the second adventure for the Eighth Doctor and Charley and it is also the first adventure featuring the Cybermen. Doctor Who’s silver enemy finally makes an appearance. The story could quite possibly have been made for TV as it has all the classic elements. The opening scene was very eerie and made me think of Earthshock in many ways. Nicholas Briggs wrote and directed this story as well as doing the Cybermen voices.

I liked the whole feel of it. The sound effects and the music help creates a wonderful eerie setting. The Cybermen’s appearance in the story doesn’t dominate or dictate the story. Charley seems to be adjusting quite well to live out of 1930’s Earth. A bit too well as her reaction to meeting the Cybermen isn’t quite what I would have given. She does do the classic companion thing of standing up for an alien race which is what she does when the Orion Androids have problems. There are faults with this story. The build up to the Cybermen’s arrival was drawn out a bit too long. Now in the good old days of a familiar character’s return it would happen at the end of the first episode. Not the end of the second.

Paul McGann is doing a grand job in showing what he would have been like had the TV movie moved into a full series. All the comic strips and novels in the world wouldn’t show how good McGann would be as a Doctor. India Fisher is also very good as Charley, her reaction to life outside of 1930 might seem a bit too blasé for my liking but that’s a minor issue from a character that shows promise.

As a Cybermen story its not the greatest that it could have been. I was hoping for more from the metal monsters but the story was a nice progressive one for the Eighth Doctor and Charley partnership.

The Wormery (2003)

Let me get this out of the way. The Wormery is terrible. This story has nothing good about it and I found myself just bemused at how bad it was. Following on from a complex and imaginative Zagreus release we somehow are left with a story that just bumbles through four episodes.

This story sees the return of Iris Wildthyme which wasn’t a massive reason to cheer. Its great that we get to hear Katy Manning on a Doctor Who release but surely something that a bit more suitable. Having a drunk Iris was fun awhile then you start wishing that she would sober up then she would be a good companion for the Doctor. Also the Tequila Worms as interesting as they might be they were just your typical alien menace. Nothing spectacular.

The story isn’t without its good points. The setting of a 1930’s club was interesting and the way that Mickey was telling the story and more over I found her voice almost mesmoring. Jane MacFarlane could read the phone book like this and it would be an interesting four parter. Returning to Katy Manning I thought that she was better in this then in the Excelis story and I also found that she worked better with Colin Baker than she did with Peter Davison. Baker’s Doctor’s reaction when he saw Iris was quite funny and helped add a bit of humour to proceedings.

If you want to say that you have listen to every Big Finish play then listen to The Wormery. However I would stay away from this. It’s a shame that I write this about a Sixth Doctor story but the sooner he gets back with Evelyn or Peri or Mel the better.

The Eye of the Scorpion (2001)

The Eye of the Scorpion is the debut story of Erimemushinteperem or Erimem for short. The creation of Erimem is only the second companion in this range that hasn’t appeared on TV or another other medium. This is a story that I didn’t expect to like as it is a purely historical story set in Egypt.

This story is a relatively simple one. The Doctor and Peri rescue Erimem. But soon afterwards there is a mystery to solve as the Doctor realises that there never was a Pharoah called Erimem in recorded history. So either this means that the Doctor is wrong or that Erimem will die. The story has a good character called High Priest Horemshep who is plotting against Erimem and we are meant to dislike.

Nicola Bryant gets a good amount of time to herself. Peter Davison is missing from Episode 2 and this allows Bryant to show Peri can take the lead of the story. We also get the rare moment where Nicola Bryant is speaking in her normal British accent and not an American one.

I do have a slight issue with the character of Erimem. I think that the way the character speaks suits this story very well however in future stories this wont do. Her style of speech will be slow and boring compared to more modern ways of talking. Like Victoria Waterfield in TV Who her speech was well suited to The Evil of the Daleks (1967) story but changed to be a bit more like 20th Century speech. Caroline Morris is very good as Erimem. She brings a new dynamic to the Fifth Doctor adventures and gives Peri a sister like figure to interact with so this bodes well for future stories.

The Eye of the Scorpion is a brilliant story. The structure and pacing of this story was just right. It totally surprised me because everything about it should make me dislike everything in it but for some reason I don’t and this is due to the superb writing of Ian McLaughlin, the great directing of Gary Russell and the great acting from Peter Davison, Nicola Bryant, Caroline Morris and the guest cast.

Doctor Who and the Pirates (2003)

Doctor Who and the Pirates is a story that is totally different from any other story in Doctor Who. A musical that is more of a comedy than science fiction but does have some Sci-Fi elements. I like how it has an alternative name of “The Lass That Lost A Sailor” as it somehow give a different impression of this story. It’s the second to written by Jacqueline Rayner who wrote The Marian Conspiracy (2000). Its also the first story to be directed by Barnaby Edwards.

This story is a parody in many ways of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance. It starts of with Evelyn visiting a student and there was a moment where it could have been set after she leaves the Doctor but that illusion is smashed when the Doctor comes bumbling in. Bumbling, slightly exaggerated characters are rife through this story. Red Jasper (Bill Oddie) is perfect example cause he is the sort of baddie that you would see in the Pirates of the Caribbean films, the type of baddie that we are comfortable with.

Colin Baker thrives in this story. His singing abilities were just a joy to listen to. The highlight was the Gallifreyean Buccaneer song. I could listen to it for ages and that’s what makes this story so great. If you take the songs out of this story then you have a story that would make for a nice ITV drama/comedy. We have Sally who is our link to this story and she usually jumps in with logical lines about how ridiculous the story is. There are two deaths in this story that make story work. Firstly there is the death of Jem which is the reason Evelyn is telling this story and then there is the death of Sally’s boyfriend.

This isn’t your typical Doctor Who story and it certainly was a bold move for Big Finish to take but I have to admit that it works. Both Baker and Stables does a great tongue-in-cheek job and seem to enjoy themselves. Also the guest appearance of Bill “The Goodies” Oddie was a great choice because of his eccentricity and history in comedy more than suitable for this story.

The Settling (2006)

The Settling is a very enjoyable story. Its only the second story in the Big Finish range (that I’m aware of!) that is a purely historical story with no alien force or invasion involved. The first was The Marian Conspiracy (2000) which was a brilliant story. This story is very good but for different reason. It’s the story that shows us what Hex can do. So far Hex has had an easy ride and this is his first real test.

This story is told in the form of a flashback. The story starts off with Hex on top of a mountain in the TARDIS with Ace trying to comfort him. This story sees all three separated and have adventures but it is Hex’s story that is perhaps the most interesting. Hex encounters the historical figure Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658). The Cromwell that we hear in this story is not evil however he just someone who is difficult to talk to.

Unfortunately making Hex’s story the centrepiece of The Settling this means that Ace and the Doctor become effectively redundant. He spends his time looking after a pregnant woman which is noble but irrelevant. The relationship between Ace and Hex continues to venture more towards sexual tension but unfortunately it’s a one sided view. Clive Mantle is the big name guest star in the release. Having starred in Casualty and the Vicar of Dibley. He plays Oliver Cromwell and does a superb job. He makes the historical figure seem real if not likeable. There would be some people who think of Cromwell as a monster who ruled this country like a dictatorship and no doubt this story would horrify them but at the end of the day it was more about Hex and his relationship with Cromwell and not about what Cromwell was like or could have been like.

At the end of the day I thought that The Settling was an enjoyable story that showed how good Hex can be and how you cannot change history. Not One Line!!

Paper Cuts (2009)

Following on from Patient Zero we have another story that manages to not answer the question that we all want answered. In this story we have the return of the Draconians who made their only appearance in the 1973 Jon Pertwee story Frontier in Space. This story wasn’t just Frontier in Space 2 but it did help give a bit more insight into Draconians and their beliefs. The Big Finish guys have done well in bringing back monsters that only appeared once in the TV show and justifying it. They did it with the Toymaker (The Magic Mousetrap - 2009), The Eight Legs (The Eight Truths – 2009), Autons (Brave New Town – 2008) and the Wirrn (Wirrn Dawn – 2009). The cliffhanger from Patient Zero was resolved very quickly and then we learn that the TARDIS has e-mail which isn’t something that would have been likely in 1986.

The thing about the Draconians is that they are not far removed from Japanese culture. They all believe in honour and respect. It would have been easy to set this on Draconia and link it to the events of Frontier in Space but Marc Platt doesn’t go for the easy path but sets the characters on a ship which is essentially a tomb for a ruler that died. Except that he hasn’t actually died but is been kept alive for all time, to me that’s slightly creepy. I liked the Origami soldiers that are lethal but are made of paper.

The characters in this story were very interesting. I particularly liked the Queen Mother character who was within a whisker of being a typical evil mother that manipulates people to get what she thinks she’s entitled to. Sara Crowe played the Queen Mother and also the Tomb Keeper which was a weird character and totally fooled me that it was essentially the same character. I also liked the Prince who knew what he was going to get but for some reason was unwilling to wait three days. Anthony Glennon did well with this character and made it along with the Queen Mother characters one of the reasons why this was a good story.

My only issue wit this story was with the final episode. The first three episodes seem to move along at a good pace with a lot of interesting things going on. However for some reason I found the final part to be dragging. Paper Cuts wasn’t a story that I was holding out much hope for. I think because Patient Zero was going to be a good opener and nothing was going to happen until Blue Forgotten Planet so this was a simple story about a familiar character. Marc Platt has been knocking out stories consistently over the last few years with varying levels of success. I think that at the end of this story I would class it on the good side of things.

The Gathering (2006)

Following on from the emotional yet powerful The Reaping we have another story from Joseph Lidster that boasts something that we have never heard of in the Big Finish range. The Gathering is the first story to feature Janet Fielding as Tegan. Fielding returns to the role she swore she would never play again. She played the role from 1981 to 1984 and until now remained the only person to star in the original series to play their character on audio. Thankfully she changed her mind however I don’t think this was the best story for her to return to. Unfortunately it followed on from the superb Reaping story so ultimately.

The 8687 plot is something the spreads across both stories. It finally gets answered in this story. I thought that it was quite clever but perhaps a bit drawn out. It was something that never got explained properly in The Reaping and the idea that the Doctor planted this 8687 code to remind him of Kathy in his Sixth Incarnation does smell a bit like Rose and the Bad Wolf thing.

I thought the moment when the Doctor and Tegan first met was well handle and also the subsequent revelation that she is dying was a massive shock. It was interesting to see how Tegan has survived without the Doctor. She doesn’t just rush back into the Doctor’s arms but seems happy with her life in Australia.

Janet Fielding sounds exactly the same as she did when she left the show back in 1983 albeit a few years older. She was fantastic and played the older and more sicker former companion really well and hopefully she will play it again real soon. This was another good performance from Peter Davison. You could tell there was some tension between the two of them but it was coming more from the Doctor’s side that Tegan.

Joseph Lidster has done a good job writing two stories that manage to deliver something in each one. The Reaping was definitely the stronger one but I think that if you would need to listen to this after listening to The Reaping otherwise on its own the story is just a simple case of the Doctor meeting up with Tegan and there being some problems nearby.