The Tomfiles: #10 - Big Finish Review of 2010

Big Finish has continued to flower in 2010. They had continued with the successful series format and this year saw the return of a few familiar names and voices. It also saw the debut of spin-off series and the regeneration of a Big Finish series.

JANUARY – MARCH: THE KLEIN SERIES
This series saw the return of Elizabeth Klein who had previously appeared in the 2001 adventure ‘Colditz’. Nearly ten years later after fans had been asking for this and they got what they wanted. All three stories were very good as they dealt with the character of Klein well. They didn’t gloat about her being a Nazi scientist but rather her own individual morals. This was well handled in all three stories. The first story was A Thousand Tiny Wings which was what I thought was a truly superb story and it was dark and at times quite grim. Then there was Survival of the Fittest which followed Klein’s story which told of what happened to Klein after Colditz which was better than SOTF. The final story was The Architects of History which was the best story of the series, it was a fitting end to the series and showed me why people have been asking for Klein’s return since Colditz.

APRIL-JUNE: THE JAMIE SERIES
These three stories saw the return of Jamie as played by Fraser Hines. Jamie had only been heard of in the Companion Chronicles. Unfortunately it wasn’t quite as successful as I had hoped for. City of Spires wasn’t the best of starts as I wrote in my review “Ultimately though the main problem with this story is that it took way too long to get going. Had it not been for that final 20 minutes where pretty much everything was revealed, I would have found this a real disappointment.”. The next story was slightly better but the thing about The Wreck of the Titan as I mentioned in my review “When the story finished I found myself liking this story but not totally sure as tow why. I think that whilst it was mysterious for large parts of the story it wasn’t too confusing as for me to stop caring.”. The final story was Legend of the Cybermen which saw the return of Zoe Harriot to the series as played by Wendy Padbury and also it was the first Cyberman story since 2008’s Kingdom of Silver. In my review of the story I said “It’s the best story of the three but that’s not really a compliment. If I had to pick a fault with the story is that it spends too long getting started. The first episode has too much of Jamie and the Doctor running around the void. Its only when the Artful Dodger turns up that it really gets going. The thing about this story is that it has a lot of loose ends to type up and it does this effectively and in a way that a simple mind like mine can understand.”

Like I said before, it wasn’t quite as successful as I had hoped and I still can’t quite figure out why. It’s not Frazer Hines or Colin Baker’s fault as they performed well. The only thing that I think it could be is the whole story arc didn’t quite work due to the way that the series are structured the arc becomes quite important to the series. Hopefully if Jamie returns they will do something a bit simpler.

JULY-SEPTEMBER: THE RICHTER SERIES
These three stories saw for the first time since 1983. Tegan, Nyssa and Turlough return with the Fifth Doctor. Janet Fielding had only made one appearance since leaving the show in 1984 and it was in the 2006 story ‘The Gathering’. The first story was in my opinion the best. Cobwebs was curiously set after Nyssa had left the series in Terminus but before Enlightenment. For Tegan and Turlough it had been a few days but for Nyssa it had been 50 years. I wrote in my review that I thought “The whole thing about this story is clever”. I also commented on how “it was slightly disappointing that Janet Fielding didn’t make more of an effort to sound like 1980’s Tegan.” The next story was The Whispering Forest which couldn’t quite live up to what we had been in Cobwebs. There was some quite interesting stuff in it but it lacked some action or energy. The final story was The Cradle of the Snake and saw the return of Mara which made this story the best of the series. It was a fitting end to the series and as it was a Marc Platt story it was neither too complicated or too dull.

The success of this series and popularity has led to another series of Nyssa/Tegan/Turlough series of adventures being planned for mid-2011. Its wonderful news to have Tegan back as her 2006 appearance in The Gathering wasn’t brilliant and it would have been a shame if that were her only contribution. I look forward to this new series with great enthusiasm.

SEPTEMBER - NOVEMBER: THE HEX SERIES
Another series and another series with great expectations from myself. It had been over a year since the last series with Ace and Hex and at the end of that series, Hex had been shot. The first story was Project Destiny and was the best story of the series. It saw the return of Nimrod who previously appeared in Project Twilight (2001) and Project Lazarus (2003). From start to finish it was wonderful and whilst it wasn’t the best Project story it was still highly enjoyable. Hex departed in a ‘mock’ exit which implied that he was leaving for good. The story had a wonderful lead-in to A Death in the Family. However despite all this, A Death in the Family was massive disappointment. Despite being voted Best Story in the Toms Tardis 2010 Awards, I found it too be the worst story for quite sometime. That’s democracy for you. The story saw the return of the Word Lord or Nobody No-one which I found exciting because I liked the character in Forty-Five as well the return of Evelyn Smythe. Neither of these could rescue it. The final story was Lurkers at Sunlights Edge which was a nice ending to the series. It wasn’t a fantastic story but there was something about it and it was way better than the previous story.

Overall the series was a disappointment. Apart from Project Destiny, I found the series to be aimless and without direction. Whereas the Klein and Jamie series had a end point and you knew where it would go there was none of that in this series and out of the three series I would rate this one bottom.

The final main range story of 2010 was The Demons of Red Lodge & Other stories which was a series of stories quite like The Company of Friends and Forty-Five. This year it featured the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa. This was a good release and totally changes my original opinion of single episode stories. It shows that with the right story that 25 minutes is an ok amount of time to tell a story.


THE COMPANION CHRONICLES
It’s been another fantastic year for Companion Chronicles. A particular highlight was The Suffering which saw two companion tell their story. Shadow of the Past was another top quality story and would rank in my top three companion stories of 2010. Night’s Black Agents was ‘the fourth story in a trilogy’ story which was a cracking story. The final story of Series 4 was brilliant as it featured India Fisher who was returning as Charley and David Ballie who appeared in The Nightmare Fair. Series 5 started off with The Guardian of the Solar System

THE LOST STORIES
This year saw the rest of the Sixth Doctor stories with a varying amount of success. There were stories like Paradise 5 and The Macros (written by the late Ingrid Pitt) which were enjoyable and left me wishing that they had been made for TV. Then there were stories like Point of Entry and The Hollows of Time which were just dreadful. In particular The Hollows of Time which was meant to feature the Master but due to the character been used in the David Tennant finale couldn’t be used by Big Finish so we are left with a mess of a story that frankly wouldn’t have been saved even if the Master had been in it.

We also got the First Doctor and Second Doctor stories which were more like Companion Chronicles but were still enjoyable. In particular Farewell Great Macedon which was a fantastic release read brilliantly by Carole Ann Ford and William Russell.

JAGO & LITEFOOT
Well after months of waiting and a successful ‘pilot’ in The Mahogany Murderers. In June we got four adventures. All four stories were great in their own way but I think that the best was The Bloodless Soldier. I did wonder how the series would work. It’s one thing in a Companion Chronicle but its another when you have four hour-long adventures. However credit where its due they managed it. This worked so much that two more series have been commissioned. Christopher Benjamin & Trevor Baxter were superb and its crazy that it took over 30 years to get to this stage. After the successful return of Klein & Jago and Litefoot, I learnt one thing. Don’t fret.

EIGHTH DOCTOR ADVENTURES
It was announced this year that 2010 would see the last separate series for the Eighth Doctor. At the end of 2009, Lucie Miller said goodbye and we said hello in 2010 to Tamsin. However this final series had more ups and downs than a rollercoaster. The series seemed to be a bit lacklustre especially after Nevermore but then when we got to the Book of Kells things picked up and as we ended 2010 there are just a few more stories to go before this thrilling series concludes. It’s a shame in a way that the Eighth Doctor will have to return to the main range in 2011 because I think that the Eighth Doctor thrives from having more stories than the others and we will have to get use to just three stories a year instead of eight or ten.

2010 has been a superb year and was the best yet. There has been a concern for me at times that Big Finish have been stretching themselves too far but I think that they need to in order to find the revenue to continue making more Doctor Who stories. However it’s the quality side that I am more concerned about. Including the main range, Jago and Litefoot, Companion Chronicles, Lost Stories, EDA and the Four Doctors special, there were 47 releases and about 6 or 7 of them were duds which is quite a good percentage when you think about it. I go into 2011 with high hopes and a strong feeling that in twelve months time I will be writing that Big Finish has had another fantastic year. Everyone at Big Finish stand up and take your applause!!!

TOP 5 STORIES OF 2010
1. Guardian of the Solar System
2. Shadows of the Past
3. The Wreck of the Titan
4. Solitaire
5. Cobwebs

WORST 5 STORIES OF 2010
1. The Hollows of Time
2. Nevermore
3. Bernice Summerfield and the Criminal Code
4. Point of Entry
5. A Death in the Family

The Demons of Red Lodge and Other Stories (2010)

For the last few years, there has been a single release that has consisted of four single stories. This year it was the turn of the Fifth Doctor to get this treatment. What is quite special is that one of the writers won a competition set up by Big Finish and was won by the curiously named Rick Briggs. I suppose anyone who submitted a story for the competition and didn’t win might be slightly envious of Rick for this opportunity and are eager to see what he produced that won him this spot.

The Demons of Red Lodge is the first story written by Jason Arnopp and sees the Doctor and Nyssa wake up to find out that they don’t remember where they are and after investigating the surroundings they find that the speara (not sure about spelling) are planning an invasion and are trying to convert the inhabitants and the first stage is to basically knock them out and then the second stage is to take full control of their personalities. The Speara are trying to convert the Doctor and Nyssa but think that their human and when they try to copy the Doctor’s two hearts affect the plans of the Speara.

I really liked this story. It’s a I thought that there was enough threat from Speara and it was great how the Doctor and Nyssa seemed genually scared at the beginning of this story. With a few tweeks this could easily make a hour long or even four part drama. Jason Arnopp has written a good opening story and it’s a good starter for this release.

The second story is the one written by Rick Briggs called The Entropy Composition. It sees the Doctor and Nyssa arrive in 1968 in a prog rock musician called Geoff Cooper who wrote a song called White Waves, Soft Haze that was never released. He is accompanied by Erisi and there are clues early on when the animals disappear. Erisi is a Entropy Siren and the music is basically eroding all the music on the archivist planet and is creating chaos. There is a lovely scene where the Doctor and Nyssa are trying to convince Mrs Malloy who they are and Nyssa trying to pretend she’s a swinging 1960’s girl but not understanding what the term groupie means.

I found this a harder story to understand than the previous one. It took a few listens to fully understand it and that shouldn’t really be the case in a 25 minute story. Don’t get me wrong I do think that it’s an interesting story but when you have such a short amount of time to tell a story then it should be far simpler than it was. I did like the characters that Briggs has written. I thought that Mrs Malloy was a lovely character and her exit was quite a shock and Naloom was also very entertaining as the archivist.

The third story was called Doing Time written by William Gallagher and sees the Doctor in a prison on the planet Folly. The opening dialogue was a mirror of the opening scene of the BBC Sitcom ‘Porridge’. The Doctor collects a future echo that tells him a planet is going to explode but arrives a year too early. He is put in prison by a very nasty Governor who has desires of becoming President. The whole story is very entertaining story that sees the Doctor create an interplanetary version of the Cricket Ashes.

It’s a good story with some good characters and in particular Susan Kyd as Governor Chaplin. She was very entertaining throughout and was probably the best guest character of the entire release. Gallagher has written a fun and often amusing story.

The final story of this release is called Special Features written by John Dorney and is a 25th Anniversary DVD commentary to a 1970’s horror film called Doctor Demonic’s Tales of Terror. This is an original way of telling a Doctor Who story. It’s quite a brave attempt because commentaries are improvised and require the viewer to be actually seeing the images as opposed to just listening to the action. There is a lot of talk between the contributors about a curse and the bad luck that befell some of the cast. I thought it was a really good story because this takes place over the course of 20 or so minutes and in one long scene. The story manages to pack a lot in despite the short running time but this is thanks to the writer.

All the cast do a great job and along with Dorney’s writing this is my favourite story of the entire release. John Dorney has been one of the shining stars in 2010 with Solitaire springing to mind and he does another good outing with this story. He’s managed to make this episode seem like it was done like a normal commentary.

So the final regular release of 2010 is a good one. They were all good in their own way and despite the Rick Briggs story, they were all very straightforward and enjoyable. On the subject of Rick Briggs I think that he should be allowed to write a full four part story like Steven Hall did this year with A Death in the Family because I think that he could do a good job. The Demons of Red Lodge and Other Stories should be listened to by anyone who likes short stories and who likes creepy stories.

The Waters of Mars (2009)

The Water of Mars is the penultimate adventure for the Tenth Doctor. This story is a break from the norm as it is far darker in tone that previous stories. It’s a classic case of the Doctor’s rule of not changing history getting severely tested on the Mars colony ‘Bowie Base One’. This story won the 2010 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and it’s not hard to see why. It features one of my favourite story plot devices. The being in a confined space with little or no chance of escape. Stories such as The Moonbase & The Tenth Planet are similar in theme.

With the Doctor arriving on Mars, the crew of B.B.O become infecteced by the Martian water and it turns the victims into weird creatures which leads to one my favourite prosthetics that the modern era has come up with. It’s unnerving and very effective. The Doctor knows that the events that happen on November 21st 2059 are a fixed moment in time. The Doctor realises that as he is the last of the Timelords then technically he only has to obey himself. Thus seeing for the first time a psychotic Doctor who changes history and saves the lives of people who were suppose to die. There is a brilliant moment with the Doctor walking back to the TARDIS with all the talking/shouting that’s going on in the Base and then decides to return and rescue the crew. This leads Adelaide to take her own life because she knows she was meant to die on Bowie Base One. It’s at this point that the Doctor realises he has made a mistake and sees an Ood. This is the beginning of the end for the Doctor.

The story isn’t perfect and this is due to the stupid irritating robot called GADGET who keeps repeats his name every time he says it. Also it bears a striking resemblance to the Wall-E robot. Sadly despite the story being set on Mars there are no Ice Warriors in the whole 60 minute story. They do get a brief mention but nothing more than that. We do however get a Dalek woven into the story with the story told by Adelaide about how she saw a Dalek and the Dalek saw her yet didn’t exterminate her.

The acting is brilliant in this. David Tennant is truly superb as he plays both sides of the Doctor’s personality. There are flashes of why is one of the most popular Doctors. Lindsay Duncan is the best of the guest stars and that’s not really surprise because of things like Rome where is fantastic. With no regular companion, Duncan’s character becomes the temporary companion and is the viewers point of entry into the story and she does this well. In this she is believable as the leader of Bowie Base One with a family on Earth. Despite the opportunity to live even though she is meant to die, she decides to kill herself because she knows it’s the right thing to do. The rest of the crew of the base all deserve some credit because they put in good performances and help create the impression that even 50 years in the future there is room for nationalities working together.

It’s by far the best of the 2009 specials and the best 10th Doctor Story for sometime. True, there are some things that don’t quite make sense such as why now has the Doctor realised that he controls things. There are countless instances where he could have stepped in but chose not to. There are some wonderful special effects and it leads me to ask why they don’t make more stories like this before. The Waters of Mars is a fine story and always worth

The Next Doctor (2008)

The 2008 Christmas Special came shortly after it was announced that David Tennant would be leaving the show. This meant that the title seemed to peak everyones interest. Was it going to reveal the identity of the next Doctor? Of course it wasn’t but what it was going to do was answer how could someone else think they were the Doctor. This story saw the return of the Cybermen after they were last seen in the 2006 series finale. The story sees the Doctor land in London on Christmas Eve in 1851. The real Doctor comes across someone who is calling himself the Doctor travelling with someone called Rosita (Rose) and has a ‘sonic’ screwdriver and a TARDIS (which turns out to be a hot air balloon).

As well as the mystery of this guy who’s calling himself the Doctor there are the Cybermen who are working with Miss Hartigan (Dervla Kirwan). It’s been a while since there was a female baddie in Doctor Who and the character seemed to be a classic nutter in that she wants power. However as was always going to be the case for anyone who’s like this she becomes unstuck when she is clamped into the Cyber King chair. The explanation about this guy thinking he was the Doctor was very smart. Jackson Lake (David Morrisey) had looked into one of these info stamps and took the Cybermen’s data on the Doctor. This made Jackson’s life quite tragic and it was at this point the story really stepped up a gear. The main talking point for me was the Cyber King. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but its safe to say it wasn’t what we got. A lot of people seem to rather dislike it but I actually love it. It was a brilliant creation though perhaps a little out of character for the Cybermen. What wasn’t such a good creation were the Cyber Shades which looked rubbish. They did look like someone in a costume and they were the only thing that didn’t work for me in this story.

The supporting cast did a great job. In particular, praise should go to David Morrisey who was superb as Jackson Lake. The emotional journey that his character went on made the story in between the bits with the Cybermen enjoyable. David Morrisey will probably go down as the greatest Doctor who never was. Dervla Kirwin was also very good as Miss Hartigan. She was a standard bad person before being put in the chair and showing the Cybermen that her mind is more powerful than the Cybermen thought and that is when Kirwin really shone. She really did quite sinister with those black eyes. Velile Tshabalala also put in a good performance as Rosita, Jackson’s companion. She was bordering on irritating with her voice/accent but she was still important in this story and I could believe that Rosita travelled with Jackson.

The special effects for this story were left until the end with the Cyber King. The whole thing looked beautiful and the sight of the Cyber King stomping its way through Victorian London was a visual highlight. The Next Doctor is a very good Christmas story, I think out of the four that we had at this time, this was the best. It was the one that felt most festive and had a nice story and some good direction. With only a few stories left before David Tennant handed over to Matt Smith, this was a nice festive story which is the last time there would be any real fun in the Doctor’s story.

The Four Doctors (2010)

I was absolutely delighted when I heard that we were going to get a Multi-Doctor story. It’s always a special moment when this happens though amazingly it’s been seven years since we had this (Project: Lazarus). Written by Peter Anghlides (The Chaos Pool), this story also features the Daleks and Robomen. The story follows Doctors 5-8 through a particular moment in their life. However the story is really driven by the Colonel Ulrik, for it is he who we spend more time with. Initially he starts out as this military figure and someone who betrays people to try and do a deal with the Daleks but that’s soon turned on its head where Ulrik is transported back in time before transported somewhere else. The problem with this story is that I think the writer tries to fit too much into this story. There is too much tooing and frooing for my likeing. If it had started with the Fifth Doctor and worked its way to the Eighth Doctor then it would have probably made more sense to me. I did like the fact that apart from the four Doctors there were only four other characters being played by two actors. David Bamber did a great job as Colonel Ulrik and also Whitmore. Ellie Burrow also put in a good performance as both Professor Kalinda and Lady Cowen. Both these guest stars were great and hopefully appear in more Big Finish plays in the future.

As for the Doctors, they were all good in their own parts of the story. I quite liked how the Fifth and Eighth Doctor interacted with the fifth not knowing that he was talking to his future self. All the Doctors played this story just as if it was their own story. I was expecting to be able to pick a favourite thinking someone would put in a brilliant performance but actually they all did a great job. The final scene with all four Doctors finally meeting each other was the best bit for me and I would suspect for most Doctor Who fans. It was explained how the 5th, 6th and 7th Doctors don’t remember any of what’s happened. That was what was running through my mind throughout this story and luckily they didn’t kop out. The moment where they were all in the same place and the Seventh Doctor commented that McGann’s Doctor was the most recent because “he didn’t recognise him” was something that that I found quite amusing.

As a special release this has to be one of the best in recent years. Peter Anghelides has written a good story with a restricted number of characters that all work well with the different Doctors. The few issues that I have with this story don’t really detract from how I enjoyed this. True, it wasn’t quite what I expected but it was still enjoyable. Unlike in previous years this release wont be available in twelve months which in a way is slightly disappointing and a tad bit unfair by Big Finish because it’s a shame that a only potentially small audience will get to listen to this historic story. Maybe they will change their mind in the future.

A Christmas Carol (2010)

It’s become a tradition now. Every Christmas Day we are treated to a Doctor Who special. It seems weird that there was a time when there wasn’t Doctor Who on Christmas Day. This story borrows a lot from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Even borrowing the name. The story is quite a simple one, Amy and Rory are on a spaceship that is hurtling towards the planet but the clouds are hampering their attempts at a safe landing and the only person who can help them is a Ebenezer Scrooge type character called Kazran Sardick (Sir Michael Gambon). The clouds are controlled by Kazran and can only be operated by him. The Doctor has to try and convince Kazran to be nice. This involves the Doctor going back to when Kazan was a boy and doing nice things to a young woman called Abigail (Katherine Jenkins) however Abigail reveals a secret to Kazran and this is what turns him into the miser that we see at the beginning of the story.

Michael Gambon steals the show. It’s quite remarkable that someone of his acting distinction appears in Doctor Who. As Kazran Sardick he starts off as the miser Scrooge but by the end of it he plays a sad and softened character which is does very well. Every scene he was in was a joy to watch and the story wouldn’t have been as good had it been someone else. Katherine Jenkins does a good job. She revealed in Doctor Who Confidential she had never done any acting before this and to be honest I couldn’t tell. It did take me a long time to really like the character. I think that her acting was ok but she really came into her own when she had to sing which is of course her day job. She really is a very good classical singer. Normally I’m not a fan of young actors but I must admit that I found Laurence Belcher to be very good as the Young Kazran, he didn’t have a whiny voice or irritating manner. Also Danny Horn was good as the Middle Kazran who’s role mainly consisted of kissing Katherine Jenkins, though I could think of worse jobs to do. Matt Smith is very good in this and seems to have well and truly settled into the roll. There are a lot of funny moments and Matt did them well. That’s one thing that I’ve been surprised with about him. He doesn’t look like the sort of actor that can do funny and serious acting in equal measure. He puts a lot of energy in his performance and really shone when he shared scenes with Michael Gambon. Even though they weren’t really in the story very much I did think that Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill were very good. Their scenes were largely on the ship but it would have still been weird without them.

As well as the acting, I found the sets very impressive. Especially Kazran’s study which was very big and suitable for some wonderful scenes between Matt Smith and Michael Gambon. It was also empty which summed up Kazran. I watched this in HD and it the quality came through brilliantly. Also the chamber with the capsules were eerie and very effective and created some wonderful moments which included the scene where the young and old Kazran were hugging. Every moment of this right down to the spaceship showed that a lot of time and money had been spent on it and I loved it. The shark flying scenes were very odd but very Doctor Who, its Christmas after all and so instead of a reindeer we get a shark.

I think that this is the best Christmas Special that we have had. It had Christmas running through it like Blackpool rock. Top writing from Steven Moffatt and fantastic directing from Toby Haynes but it’s the special effects that I was most impressed with. They were truly spectacular and I was just blown away with them every time I saw them. A Christmas Carol has to rank in my Top 10 of new series episode. Great way to see out Christmas Day 2010 and as for the trailer that appeared at the end, it looks like its going to be as the Ninth Doctor would say ‘Fantastic’.

Relative Dimensions (2010)

The final story from the Eighth Doctor of 2010 is a truly family affair. After all the drama with Crows, Monks and Ice Warriors it seems that in this festive period that we should have a Christmas themed Doctor Who. Relative Dimensions is a TARDIS bound story and that is something that I have been waiting for since I first saw ‘Inside the Spaceship’. This story also sees the return of Susan and Alex who previously appeared in the 2009 subscribers special ‘An Earthly Child’. It still seems odd that Susan calls the Eighth Doctor Grandfather and even odder than Alex is the Doctor’s Great-Grandson. I think that you would have needed to have listened to or at least be aware of ‘An Earthly Child’ before listening to this.

The story has a slow build up. A large chunk of the first half is getting the Doctor, Lucie, Susan and Alex into the TARDIS for Christmas dinner. Its clear something is not right. What we learn is that there is a creature which is causing these problems and it came from Susan room. Which is as we learn has been moth-balled in a never before heard of thing where the Doctor stores the rooms of his previous companions. I’m not sure whether if this would still be going on with the Matt Smith Doctor. But it shows either that the Doctor is deluding himself or nostalgic. Either way it seemed quite a clever use of introducing and explaining the monster. Another thing we saw was whether the Doctor was trying to persuade Alex to join him in the TARDIS. This creates a mini-conflict with the Doctor and Susan. Whilst the story reaches a good conclusion we are left with a snippet of a story arc when Lucie decides she is going to travel with Alex.

It’s impressive how the story works with just four characters. Paul McGann puts in another solid performance, instead of having to play the hero and stop some mad scheme to colonise a planet or something and has to play host and a grandfather. It’s nice to have Sheridan Smith back and she puts in a lovely performance having some wonderful scenes with Jake McGann. I think that Jake McGann puts in a good performance and gets into his stride in the second half of the story. But for me the best performance was from Carole Ann Ford who is just brilliant. I think that Carole Ann Ford doesn’t sound that different from when she was on TV. She doesn’t have the slight irritation that she had on TV but thanks to Big Finish the Susan we get here is more mature and that’s gives Carole Ann Ford something to work with and give a stronger performance.

Relative Dimensions isn’t the most action packed story of the year but that is what I like about it. I like this story because its more of a character piece and its what is needed every so often. It’s another Christmas Special like ‘Death in Blackpool’ but I think this one is better. Marc Platt has written a good story that uses all the characters to their potential and doesn’t make the story too complicated. Barnaby Edwards has done a good job as director and keeps the story going throughout. A lovely end for the Eighth Doctor year of adventures.

Lurkers at Sunlights Edge (2010)

I must admit that I was quite intrigued when I heard the title of this story. After a disappointing ‘A Death in the Family’ I had high hopes that this story would end the Seventh Doctor series of adventures in 2010 in a positive way. Written by Marty Ross (writer of Nights Black Agents). The story has influences of HP Lovecraft which I wasn’t aware of. Amazingly I had never heard of Lovecraft but since looked him up on Wikipedia and found out who he was.

The Doctor, Ace & Hex arrive and its not long before all hell breaks loose. It’s also not long before they are all separated. Hex spends most of his time with Professor August Corbin (Alex Lowe) who sounds at time like he is about to have a mental breakdown. Hex also has to spend time with Emerson Whytecrag (Stuart Mulligan). Whytecrag is some weird character who wants to access a cave. Then the Doctor is with Dr Freya Gabriel (Kate Terrance). The story spends a portion of the story portraying CP as someone who is quite dangerous and its not long before the truth about him is unveiled. What the story then spends the latter half doing is giving CP some emotional depth and at the end were sad at what has happened to him. He was neither human nor alien and just wanted to be something. It’s interesting how Ace and Hex have been through the mill in the previous two stories and that continues in this one. The bond that Ace and CP build up is one of the highlights of the story. In fact I would go so far as to say that CP is one of the best things in this story. Michael Brandon gives a superb performance from start to finish. Sylvester McCoy also puts in a great performance and whilst it might not have been as emotional as Ace’s it was still a solid outing.

The main thing about this story was how did this little island that wasn’t off the coast of Alasks four years, three months and six days ago get there. I’m the sort of fan that is more concerned with this little thing than anything else in the story. Thankfully this puzzle was answered and in a plausible way. Basically it was on the surface before until it sank before rising back up. There were two aliens encased on this island with a third being sent to Earth (CP). Mystery runs through this story like a stick of Blackpool rock. Marty Ross has written a story that has enough positive elements to keep me entertained throughout. I liked it far more than ‘A Death in the Family’ because I was able to follow it and found that it was a far more straightforward adventure. That said its still not on par with Project Destiny which I would say is the best of the series.

Everything Changes

So this is where it all began. The first (proper) spin-off Doctor Who series sees the return of Captain Jack Harkness to our screens. Captain Jack was last seen being exterminated in The Parting of the Ways. The name Torchwood had obviously been mentioned in several episodes of David Tennant’s first series. The title of this story was quite apt. Everything Changes is quite like Rose in many ways. The story is seen from the point of view of PC Gwen Cooper who is trying to follow Captain Jack. There was another nod to Doctor Who where the base of Torchwood is located. In Boomtown back in 2005, the rift was coming from that weird structure thing in the bay.

The story has a lot to do, it has to introduce all the characters and also have a story that the regular characters are involved in. On both counts this story is a success. Apart from Captain Jack, all the characters are new and whilst their not all perfect none of them are totally ridiculous. Owen Harper (Burn Gorman) is the most irritating character, he is the young arrogant and cocky Doctor but it’s just overboard. Then there is Toshiko Sato (Naoko Mori), I found the character to be interesting but lacking something which I cant put my finger on. It’s also worth noting that Naoko Mori played a Doctor in Aliens of London back in 2005 but there’s no mention of that here. I did think the best of the new characters was Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd). Remarkably it’s around the 20 minute mark before he makes an appearance yet his performance is very good. What I did find a shock was Indira Varma who plays Suzie Costello. It was made to look like she was a regular for the entire series but her character proves to be the baddie in this story and her death came as a true shock. Perhaps the shock that the series needed and what Russell T Davies intended. Varma played the role brilliantly and it’s a shame that she wasn’t in it for more because I think she would have been great.

The B-Plot is about a murder that the Torchwood crew is investigating at the very beginning of the episode. It takes a bit of a back seat for about 30 minutes or so before coming back for the last 20 minutes. I thought that it was a well handled part of the story and the identity of who did it came as a total shock to me. The reason why Suzie killed seemed slightly cold but that was more to do with Indira’s performance. She was slightly mad and bitter because of all the not exactly glamorous aliens that Torchwood encounter.

The language is quite strong. The show was trying to be different from Doctor Who and perhaps stand out as a drama in its own right. However even at this early stage when I first saw it I remember thinking that it wasn’t the right way to make it seems different. There was a surprising amount of gore. The bit where the Weevil bit into the porter’s neck and the blood spurted out was a shock. Also something that doesn’t quite work is all the sexual content in the story. What I did like were the Ariel shots of Cardiff. Both the day and night shots looked great especially the bit where Jack and Gwen are on top of the building. Very good.

This is a very good opening episode. Not totally perfect but when I originally watched this back in 2006 I turned off thinking that it was a good start but hopefully some things would improve or be cut out.

The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance (2010)

The second story from the first Doctor Lost Stories Box set is a lot shorter than Farewell Great Macedon. Also written by Maris Farhi, this story is a simple tale of love and how it can literally end your life. It was the first to be written by Maris as a sort of introductory story which is why it runs in at 35 minutes as opposed to the 2 and half hours of the previous story. The story sees Barbara become friends with a guy called Rythym except that Rythym has fallen in love with Barbara. The story also sees the Doctor waiting for a new component to be built.

It’s always interesting how people use Barbara as the one who has the love interests. That might have something to do that Jacqueline Hill was so good at developing relationship unintentionally. Even though she is not in this it’s easy to believe that Jacqueline would have done another great job. There is a wonderful scene when Barbara is about to leave the TARDIS to spend the rest of her life with Rythym. In a moment reminiscent of An Unearthly Child when the Doctor sets of controls of the TARDIS and dematerliases.

Like the previous story there are wonderful performances from William Russell and Carole Ann Ford. Though there was slightly more of the old Susan in this story than in the Farewell which was a slight worry but overall the pair did a great job. John Dorney has a smaller role in this than as Alexander. However it was still a nice performance. The new voice in this is Helen Goldwyn whose performance is quite good. It sounds weird and wonderful and helps create the impression that this is an alien world with weird seas and suns. All in all, the performances are what help make this story more than a bland story.

There is something quite lovely about The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance. It’s not the most action packed story however as its so well told by William Russell and Carole Ann Ford the whole thing is something that still makes it enjoyable. Both of these stories have been worth the money. Admittedly they are dangerously close to been called Companion Chronicles because they are stories that weren’t actually lost because it got cancelled due to lack of studio time or something else but just never got commissioned as a TV story. That said I Nigel Robinson has done a good job adapting these stories for audio and Lisa Bowerman directed these stories brilliantly. A good job all round.

Resurrection of Mars (2010)

Resurrection of Mars is the second story in the Ice Warriors story. It continues with the Ice Warriors’ plan to change the atmosphere of Mars so that it becomes suitable for them. However as this story shows there are consequences to the Doctor’s plans. This is shown to Tamsin thanks to the Monk. The Monk who had previously appeared in The Book of Kells. The reunion between the Doctor and Lucie has been a relatively long time in the making. It’s hard to believe that it’s not even been a year since Death in Blackpool.

The story about the Ice Warriors does seem to take a back seat to a certain extent and its about the Doctor, Tamsin, Lucie and the Monk. The relationship between Tamsin and the Doctor seems to have broken down. Thanks to some words of ‘warning’ from the Monk, Tamsin thinks that the Doctor is a monster and is nothing what he proclaimed to be. She finishes this story in the Monk’s TARDIS. It’s quite a turnaround for the character, she seemed to go from being happy to travel with the Doctor to thinking he’s an evil dictator. It’s not simply not enough to say this to Tamsin but actually shows her by taking her to a planet which the Ice Warriors take over after their plan on Mars is foiled by the Doctor. I loved how elements from earlier stories of this season got bought back. The advert that was placed in Situation Vacant got repeated here after it was revealed the Lucie applied for it. There is also references to The Book of Kells.

I thought that Nicky Wardley was really good in this, it’s probably her best so far. Her reaction to the Monk’s revelations was well played and her anger at the Doctor was something that I personally haven’t seen before like this. Her interaction with Sheridan Smith was a highlight and it was great to have her back as she played a brilliant character. Paul McGann put in another good performance as he has to battle against the Ice Warriors and the moral anger of Tamsin. Graeme Garden is just brilliant as the Monk, it’s perhaps the best piece of casting since David Ballie became the Toymaker.

The Resurrection of Mars has a lot of things in it about morals. Is it worth sacrificing a few hundred lives for thousands or billions for just a few thousand. Jonathan Morris deals with this effectively and doesn’t dwell to long on it so that the action is allowed to continue. I think that this is a good conclusion to this story. It’s not the best Ice Warriors story that Big Finish have done however it is still a good one. It also means that this final separate series of Eighth Doctor Adventures has gone up a gear and the last few stories should be a cracker.

Farewell, Great Macedon (2010)

Due to the success of the Sixth Doctor Lost stories, we now get some of the first Doctor Lost Stories. The thing about those adventures is that the two characters the stories were written for are still alive and its easier to tweak it to make it feel like a story from that time. The difference with this one is that as both William Hartnell and Jacqueline Hill are no longer with us it essentially becomes a Companion Chronicle story. This story is a six part adventure written by Moris Farhi which was commissioned by then script editor David Whittaker to form part of the first season in 1964 though it didn’t get made.

The story is about how the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan arrive in Babylon where they meet Alexander the Great. However there is an attempt on Alexander’s life as well as the three people that would become king and the Doctor and his companions are framed for their murders. With the three successors dead it at this point when the Doctor and his friends get put on trial with the Doctor forced to walk over fire and Ian choosing to wrestle. The story works along the knowledge that is pointed out that Alexander does die and when that moment comes there is a desperate debate about whether the Doctor should try and put this off. Alexander suffers a slow death with the instinct desire for no one to save his life. Given the friendship that Alexander had worked up with the Doctor and his friends it was a difficult thing and well played by William Russell, Carole Ann Ford and John Dorney. It’s quite a familiar thing that the Doctor and his companions strike up a nice relationship with whoever they meet and that is the case in this.

I must say that all three actors did a superb job. Especially John Dorney who was just splendid as Alexander. The character of Alexander was likeable and was a character that you bought to life superbly by Dorney. Dorney’s best scenes came towards the end when his death was at the centre of the story. Carole Ann Ford and William Russell were also superb in this story and bought a lot of enthusiasm to the story. I have heard Russell read Target Novels that have been turned into audios and his companion chronicles. He is a great reader and has a voice that I could listen to for hours. Likewise with Carole Ann Ford who I think gives a great performance and at times seems to be putting in a better performance than Russell. Both Russell and Ford do a great job in pretending to be William Hartnell and Jacqueline Hill. It’s never going to be an exact impersonation but they still do a good job.

The thing that strikes me about this is how much like a first Doctor story that it feels like. You could believe that it’s a story that has been wiped and only exists on audio that was made in 1964 as opposed to being made by Big Finish in 2010. Over the course of the three and a half hours the story moves at the sort of pace that the Hartnell era did in the early years. It’s not entirely perfect. The first 10 minutes were painfully slow and I wasn’t quite sure that this story was going to work. There was a lengthy scene which was introduced all the characters and I just kept hoping that the story would get going soon.

Farewell Great Macedon is a good story and it’s a shame that it never got made because I think it would be rated higher than other historical stories such as Marco Polo and The Aztecs. I think at times the episodes were slightly too long with no episode shorter than 30 minutes. There are some wonderful scenes between all three actors and even if this wasn’t released with the other story then it would still be worth the £20 that I paid. I think that this is one of the best Lost Stories that Big Finish have produced.

The Talons of Weng Chiang (1977)

The Talons of Weng-Chiang is the final story of the 14th season and is one of the best stories of the Tom Baker era. In fact it ranks quite highly in the DWM Mighty 200 survey. Written by Robert Holmes, this is another classic Hinchcliffe gothic story. As well as having Holmes write this story, it was directed by David Maloney. The story is set on Earth in Victorian London in 1890 where woman have being going missing. All the action in the early part takes place in a theatre run by Henry Gordon Jago.

The first sinister character we meet in Li H’sen Chang as played by John Bennett, from the moment he appeared on screen it was clear he was up to something. However it was Mr Sin that was more creepy as played by Deep Roy. The character was the Oddjob of Doctor Who with a sense that even though he was the smallest thing on screen, he could be the most deadly. Both of them were in the service of Magnus Greel, played brilliantly Michael Spice. He has to ware a truly gruesome mask which is revealed in a confrontation with Leela.

There is some wonderful outside filming which is obviously down to David Maloney. Possibly some of the finest of that era. It’s helped that filming it at night as it gives some tension to the show. Scarier things happen at night as opposed to the daytime. The scenes in the theatre were equally well directed and every frame has richness and its one of those rare occasions where it looks like money has been spent on it. Only the TARDIS console room would have ruined it. There are some memorable scenes in this story such as when Professor Litefoot has dinner/supper/tea whatever you want to call it with Leela. Who grabs a leg of meat and eats off the bone, after a few moments Professor Litefoot picks up a leg.

The cast was top notch in this. Tom Baker and Louise Jameson were on top form in this and especially so for Louise Jameson who had to pretend to be scared from a giant (if not realistic) rat. This story saw the first and only TV appearance of Henry Gordon Jago and Professor Litefoot. They became a staple part of this story especially in the second part of the story. In fact it wouldn’t be until 2009 before they appeared in a companion chronicle before getting their own series. It’s credit to Christopher Benjamin & Trevor Baxter that they provide comedy in a very dark and grim situation.

This is a fine example of a great story, set design, acting, directing and most importantly high entertainment. Robert Holmes is at his best with this story, It was Philip Hinchcliffe’s final story as producer before being replaced by Graham Williams. The pressure that Mary Whitehouse had put on the show and the BBC caused this change in producers to take place. It’s a fine way to end your time on the show and rates as one of the best in Doctor Who history.

Invasion of the Dinosaurs (1974)

I have mixed feelings about Invasion of the Dinosaurs. Written by Malcolm Hulke, this story comes in the final season for Jon Pertwee as the Doctor at a time when the quality of stories is far below what viewers had come to expect. The story sees the Doctor and Sarah Jane arrive on Earth finding the streets to be deserted. They are soon arrested accused of armed robbery. When they are cleared they find that Dinosaurs are appearing and disappearing which forces UNIT to evacuate London.

The main failing of this story are the dinosaurs. They’re just crap. Even a primary school kid could have done a better job and given that the story has Dinosaurs in the title then it’s a pretty big problem. Every time I was starting to get into the story the dinosaurs would appear and all that would go out of the window. The creation of the Dinosaurs was done by a freelancer who convinced Barry Letts that he could do it. Boy way he wrong. The first cliffhanger which exists only in black and white in part one looked ok but just looks awful when part two begins. That said there was one brief moment of when the Pterodactyl attacks the Doctor and Sarah Jane in the garage. That was good though it might have been down to the black and white quality.

When you take the Dinosaurs out of the review then this story is a corker. Which isn’t surprising considering that Hulke has written some cracking stories over the years. The idea that a group of scientists and military people are trying to create a new world with no pollution is quite a noble one but alas with most plans in Doctor Who, the way they went about it was totally the wrong way. You kind of sympathise with the characters even though one of the main scientist will be Nyder in a few years. The think that really throws a spanner in the works is the involvement of Captain Mike Yates. He had been a solid reliable figures throughout Pertwee’s time on the show and to put him in a position where he puts the Doctor’s life in peril is quite a shocking thing. Especially as we know that they are friends but Yates does have some morals and won’t allow the Doctor to be killed.

Parts of this story became a case of ‘who can you trust?’. With The Doctor and Sarah Jane being constantly thwarted in their attempts to understand what’s going on and even the Brigadier hits a brick wall on more than one occasion. The story soon sees the Sir Charles Grover capture Sarah Jane. After a hypnotic session, Sarah Jane wakes up on what appears a spaceship with crew who believe that they are travelling to a new world which is devoid of pollution. Essentially they are being conned and they spend all this time in the mock-up of a spaceship whilst the Professor Whittaker (Peter Miles) and Butler (Martin Jarvis) work on getting London evacuated.

Jon Pertwee does a good job. I think his best times were behind him and the departure of Katy Manning and the death of Roger Delgado have clearly had an effect on him. However he is professional and is still quintessentially the Doctor. Elisabeth Sladen is very strange in this story compared to her Tom Baker stories. She is still in her journalist phase and so she is in that suit which is more suiting the character, it’s just a shame that she didn’t stay like this throughout her time. The other characters are also very good. Peter Miles and Martin Jarvis are a sort of bickering couple and even though I have seen them in previous things and Miles goes to play Nyder I still believe in the characters. I also thought Carmen Silvera (previously in The Celestial Toymaker) was a wonderful bit of casting. Her role of Ruth went from believing absolutely in the setting she was in before changing once she found out the truth. However it was Richard Franklin that I found the best of the guest stars. Being on both sides of the fence meant that we got to see a different side to a UNIT officer. He had to basically lie to the Doctor’s face which must have been difficult.

If you take the Dinosaurs out of this story then it’s a bloody good adventure. Even at six parts it doesn’t seem to drag and that’s unusual for a six parter. However if you put the dinosaurs back then the story does lose a bit of sparkle. Invasion of the Dinosaurs should only be watched when you turn the TV to black and white then you will get a better response.

The Poison Sky (2008)

The first Sontaran story of the new series, with Wilfred choking to death in his car it was going to be interesting to see how the Doctor was going to get Wilfred out of it. The main problem with the new series two-parters is that very often the second part is not as good as the first. This story corrects that. Helen Raynor made a mistake with her Dalek two-parter the year before but has managed to keep her eye on the end and has written a story that is quite good.



Not only does the Doctor have to deal with the Sontarans but he has no TARDIS and also the cloned Martha. The story does think of the long time fan with a brief mention about Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (who was stranded in Peru) and then the mention of the Rutans who the Sontarans have been in a war with for an astonishing 50,000 years. The Sontaran’s are accused of cowardice which is the ultimate no-no. They plan to change the atmosphere of Earth so that they can breed billions of Sontarans.

If I had to pick this story up for something it would be for the cloned Martha. Unfortunately Freema Agyeman can’t do evil. I just can’t take her seriously when she was playing the evil Martha. The ending is quite abrupt, after an emotional scene with the Doctor, Donna and Martha before the door slams shut and the TARDIS takes flight effectively creating another cliffhanger to the next episode. On the whole, the story is quite good. I think that the re-design of the Sontarans is very good and Christopher Ryan is good as General Staal. They look muscular but it doesn’t look like padding which is a problem that dogged the previous designs. The masks that they have to wear are very impressive though the “they look like baked potatos” comment was obvious and had to be said. It’s obvious that they could afford to do masks for every Sontaran extra (like they couldn’t with the Judoon) but I think in retrospect that was a wise move because it made them to look more like soldiers.

Everyone in this story did a great job. David Tennant is on usual good form as is Catherine Tate who is showing how far the character of Donna has come since The Runaway Bride. It’s good how Donna and Martha didn’t bicker when they first met. Bernard Cribbins’ casting in this series is one of the best decisions of the RTD era. Cribbins gives a warm and friendly feel to proceedings when he is on screen. Ryan Sampson is a lot better in this second part as Luke Rattigan, he slowly starts to realise just what a monumental cock-up he’s made and puts it right at the end when he sacrifices himself and blows up the Sontarans battleship.

The Poison Sky is a great end to this two part story with a great script and some lovely directing. There was another blink and you’ll miss it appearance of Rose Tyler. Yet again I was hoping that something more would be revealed but congrats to RTD for not giving in an revealing too much.

The Faceless Ones (1967)

The Faceless Ones is sadly one of those stories that doesn’t exist in its entirety on film and it’s a massive shame because from what does exist, there are clear signs that this story would be one of the best Troughton stories had all the episodes exist. This story was written by David Ellis and the fantastic Malcolm Hulke. Who couldn’t write a poor story if his life depended on it. The story has a modern feeling and set at an airport.

The main ‘enemy’ of this story are the people of Chameleons Tours but as the story progresses, it turns out that their entire race have lost their identities and faces and are dying out. The story starts off with a death and the Doctor trying to get the airport authorities to take the matter serious. Slowly the authorities start to co-operate just as the Chameleon Tours’ plan get going. With a six part adventure, at some point the story is going to need something different or something fresh. In this story it’s Samantha Briggs (played by Pauline Collins), her brother is missing and wants to know what’s going on. With Ben and Polly out of the picture, Jamie needs someone to share his scenes with and Collins does the job well. As a mouthy scouser she soon becomes an immediate presence and it’s a shame that she doesn’t become a companion at the end.

I thought that Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines performed well in this story. But it was the supporting cast members that deserve a mention. Colin Gordon was brilliant as the Commandant. His refusal to accept what was going on in front of him was well acted. Also Bernard Kay did a great job being the voice of reason and common sense as Crossland. Kay is making his second appearance after previously appearing in The Dalek Invasion of Earth. As Crossland he gave the Doctor the benefit of the doubt even though he himself was 100% sure of things. The story has some wonderful cliffhangers. Cliffhanger #1 was a nice one because it was strangely mysterious. Though the Episode 3 is the best one, one moment there are passengers on the plane and then they just disappear with no weird noise or explosion. Just gone, I would love to have actually seen what that was like instead of listening to it.

This story marks the end of Polly and Ben’s involvement in the series It’s a shame that they didn’t get a better send off. It’s as if the production team remembered that they had more regulars than Patrick & Frazer and so there was a rush scene where once Polly and Ben realise that the TARDIS has landed on the exact day that they left Earth in The War Machines. It follows the equally bad exit for Dodo in that same story. The story does something quite strange where it leads into the next story ‘The Evil of the Daleks’. The TARDIS is stolen but the question is by whom.

David Ellis & Malcolm Hulke did a great job with this one. The Faceless Ones is a wonderful story and its just a shame that it doesn’t exist in its entirety on film as I think that it would rank higher than it did in the DWM Mighty 200.

Remembrance of the Daleks (1988)

Remembrance of the Daleks holds a special place in my heart. It’s the story that got me into Doctor Who. Watching it at school (for reasons I’m not sure) I saw Episode 2 and as it was set in a school I remember watching it and then instantly running out into the school playground and pretending there were these creatures around. I imagine that was in 1988 but it would be 1993 before I would watch this story in its entirety.

Watching this story today its easy for me to argue how this is the best Sylvester McCoy TV story. The story is set in 1963 with the implication that it’s around the time of An Unearthly Child. There is even a in-joke when the TV is playing and the announcer talks about a new show called Do…. and this was meant to be talking about Docctor Who which is just mind boggling. Anyway that isnt what the story is about. Its about two Dalek factions beating the hell out of each other with the Doctor and Ace in the middle. The story is about both Factions wanting the Hand of Omega. One faction is called the Imperials and they are lead by Davros or the Emperor as he’s referred to. The colours on a Dalek have never impressed me before but I think that the imperials are the most beautiful looking Daleks ever. Then there are the Renegades who’s colour scheme is more fitting to the older Daleks. These renegades are led by the Battle Computer which is powered by a little girl. The story was the first of McCoy’s second series so all that awfulness of the last season was gone and what we get from this story onwards is (forgive the pun) the real McCoy. With Mel gone and Ace now in we get a Doctor Who that feels more adult in content and less childish.

McCoy’s performance is his best so far not that that’s a massive compliment. The mystery surrounding his character begins in this story with the idea that he had something to do with the Hand of Omega.

Doctor: And didn’t we have problems with the prototype.

Ace: We?

Doctor: They

This brief scene does what Lost did so brilliantly well whilst it was on the tv. It gets the viewer curious and wants to know more. At this point Doctor Who fans would think they knew everything about their favourite Timelord yet that all changed. McCoy’s Doctor starts properly from this story as it would be impossible to imagine the scene between the Doctor and Davros taking place 12 months earlier. That scene was brilliantly played between McCoy and Terry Molloy. Speaking of Molloy, this was another great performance from him. This was his third outing and despite only really being involved in it for two episodes, those two episodes were played well. Molloy has now been playing Davros for 27 years and despite being the third actor to play the role, its weird when you see Michael Wisher or David Gooderson playing the role. This story is Sophie Aldred’s second story and is a vast improvement on Dragonfire. She had some wonderful scenes such as beating a Dalek up with a baseball bat. Aldred has only grown even after all these years.

As well as the battle between the two Dalek factions, the one thing that this story is famous for is being the first time that a Dalek is seen going upstairs. Of course there are the killjoys who like to point out that they were implied to have been flying in ‘The Chase’ and of course Davros was hovering in ‘Revelation of the Daleks’. But this is the first time that the Daleks themselves are scene hovering up the stairs. I can remember when I first saw it and was totally stunned by it. I actually think the effect is far more impressive than the one in ‘Dalek’ in 2005. Also another thing I love about this story are the explosions. There are some of the biggest explosions that I have ever seen in Doctor Who. Ever time I see those explosions I cheer. I just think that it the production teams way of saying ‘this is a new start’. They probably didn’t but I like to think this.

It’s very rare for all three cliffhangers to be of high quality. You would normally get one but in this story there were three of them. The first one is obvious with the Dalek climbing up the stairs, then the second saw three Daleks surround Ace whilst screaming ‘Exterminate’. Then there was the third with the Imperial Dalek ship landing in the school yard with the glass in the classroom occupied by the Doctor and company smashing all over the place. These are wonderful cliffhangers and would have had me wishing the next seven days would hurry up. With the creation of DVD/VHS it meant I only had to wait seconds. They were well devised by Aaronovitch and well directed by Andrew Morgan.

Remembrance of the Daleks is a brilliant story (just in case your were unclear!). Brilliant story with brilliant performances. It’s a brilliant start fro the Doctor/Ace relationship and Ben Aaronovitch should be congratulated on written a superb script. Best story of the 1988 series.

Mission to the Unknown (1965)

Mission to the Unknown is a single twenty-five minute episode that was broadcast as a teaser to The Daleks Masterplan. Broadcast before ‘The Myth Makers’ this story stands out because not one of the regular cast members makes an appearance.

This story focuses on Jeff Garvey, Marc Cory and Gordon Lowery who are stranded on the planet Kembel. Garvey gets killed by Cory. Corey then finds that Garvey had a Varga thorn at the back of his head. Soon after that Lowry gets a Varga thorn in his hand before turning into a Varga plant. He uncovers the Daleks plans and records a tape telling the authorities of the plans but is exterminated before it can be sent. Though the tape survives (for the Doctor to find is several weeks time).

Despite not having any of the regulars in it. The three guest stars do a good job. Barry Jackson (Jeff Garvey), Edward de Souza (Marc Corey) and Jeremy Young (Gordon Lowery) manage to make this slightly more than a play of the day or week or whatever those single episode dramas that the BBC did at that time were called.

Sadly this story doesn’t exist on video but thanks to someone recording the sound we now have an idea of what it was like. The reason why the story came about was due to Planet of Giants being cut from four episodes to three and it was also Terry Nation’s attempt to write a Dalek story without the Doctor thus potentially paving the way for a series in the US. This episode is relatively ok with some interesting characters and of course it has the Daleks.

The King's Demons (1983)

The King’s Demons is a two part story that marked the end of the 1983 season. It wasn’t intended to be this as it was planned for a four part adventure called ‘The Return’ which would have seen the return of the Daleks. However due to industrial action prevented this from being done. It followed after the Black Guardian Trilogy which was unfortunate. This story was written by Terrence Dudley who isn’t my favourite writer and unfortunately despite some impressive location filming at Bodiam Castlet this story isn’t anything spectacular. Set on Earth in 1215 in the court of King John of England.

This story sees the return of Anthony Ainley as the Master. He was last seen in Time-Flight which was the last story of the previous series. Everytime the Master returns his identity is hidden both in the Radio Times listings and also with make-up. Normally this works however the make-up job was so bad that it was obvious that Sir Giles Estram was the Master. Though the first line after he changes into the Master was quite funny.

Master: Oh my dear Doctor, You have been so naive!

The regular cast do a relatively good job despite the script. Peter Davison is the best (as you would expect) and his highlight was the sword fight that he has with the Master. It’s just a shame that he was wearing his cricketing outfit whilst he was doing it. Janet Fielding and Mark Strickson do their usual good job. The best of the supporting was Gerald Flood as King John. I liked the times that he was on screen. Flood not only did the role of King John but was the voice behind the worst creation in Doctor Who history – Kamelion. The character is fine when it's sitting down but is useless when it comes to moving about as it would be made clear in the documentaries it was a nightmare. How the Master thinks that it would convince anyone is beyond me. Over the years, I wondered what was behind the decision to go ahead with Kamelion. Only by the watching the documentary on the DVD was it explained and I just shook my head saying ‘Why?’. It looks stupid and it’s not hard to understand why it didn’t get another outing until Planet of Fire a year later.

The King’s Demons only saving grace is that its two episodes long. Had it been four then it would have been much worse. Terence Dudley’s script doesn’t have anything that stands out and is a poor way to end the series. Tony Virgo did an ok job but struggled with a script that doesn’t have anything good about it. It’s not the worst story that has ever been as this story is watchable however after a consistently good series its’s a shame this doesn’t stand up to the rest.

The Armageddon Factor (1979)

So it comes down to this. After 20 weeks, we are down to the final six weeks where the final segment of the key will be found and the quest is over. The story marks the final appaearance of Mary Tamm as Romana before Lalla Ward takes over in Destiny of the Daleks. The story was written by Bob Baker & Dave Martin and was given the hard task of finding an fitting end to this epic series. However this story came at the end when as was the case with Doctor Who in the 1970’s, the budget had pretty much run out and this story was no different.

The Doctor and Romana arrive on the planet Atrios which is at war with neighbouring planet Zeos. They meet the Marshal of Atrios who is slightly unbalanced. The story seems is good when its about the Marshal and the battle between Atrios and Zeos but then it got replaced with a slow tedious story. The actual segment is something that I thought was quite interesting. We’ve had a planet and a monster as segments for the key but this time it’s the ultimate part when its actually Princess Astra. Princess Astra is pushed into the middle of the story but no one clues on to what importance that she has in the search for the segment. Despite all the doom and gloom, there is a bit of humour. The humour comes in the form of Drax a guy from Gallifrey who has developed a cockney accent. Barry Jackson (Drax) does a great job and has some great scenes with the Doctor. One of the best scenes in the entire piece is when the Doctor and Romana are in the TARDIS talking to what looks like the White Guardian but is in fact the Black Guardian. You can tell that the Doctor knows instantly that its not the White Guardian and plays it perfectly.

Lalla Ward put in a performance which is surprising if you see her performances as Romana before this. She is a lot less confident and brave as Astra. She must have convinced Graham Williams because after this she was offered the role of Romana. It’s quite odd watching Romana I and II in the same scenes even though of course Lalla Ward isnt Roman yet. Mary Tamm puts in another solid performance in her final outing. It’s a shame that she didn’t want to do another series because I think that the character would have developed even more than it had already done in this season. It’s a shame that Mary Tamm didn’t get to do a regenerations scene. The one at the beginning of Destiny doesn’t really count as we don’t seem Tamm at any point. She was a great companion and her reading of a Companion Chronicle in 2009 shows why she is so good. We also get a great performance from William Squire as the shadow. I loved every scene that he was in and that was partly down to his voice but also down to the costume he was wearing. It added to the grim setting he was in.

Linking an entire season with a single story arc isn’t anything odd now a days. In fact it would seem odd when they don’t use it. However it must have annoyed the viewers when the Doctor broke up the key to time after spending five months looking for the different segments. It’s a shame that this story wasn’t as good as it should have been. I just found the last half of the story to be so slow and tedious that I was glad when it got to the end and it moved into the TARDIS. Despite everything I think that there are good things in the story and its one of those that you would have to be ready for and not watch it like I did at 11.30 at night after spending the rest of the day watching the rest of the series.

The Key to Time series was a bold experiment for the series and it wasn’t until 1986 that this style got used in the classic series. Graham Williams and Anthony Read did a great job of producing six stories that stayed true to the series but made sense in relation to the Key to Time story arc.

The Stones of Blood (1978)

The Stones of Blood is a very special story. It is the 100th Doctor Who story and is also the third story in the Key to Time series. After a slightly disappointing previous story, it was important that the series got back to doing what it does best and that’s scaring little kids. This is the first of two stories in this series to be written by David Fisher and to be honest it’s difficult to choose the best between the two. This story has a modern (at the time of transmission) setting which I always like.

The main baddy is Cessair of Diplos who uses the Stones as her heavies. The Stones are simple yet effective. All they do is move along the ground in a way that is probably similar to the weaping angels and they also glow as they move. There is one moment when a couple who are camping in the woods encounter the stone and when one touches it she’s dies. Another grim moment. Their clearly not intelligent as one is tricked over the cliff by the Doctor waving his coat in front of it.

The first half of the story deals with a circle of stones which has something about it. It appears that it is a mini Stonehenge which attracts druids. The second half of the story strangly moves into a trial which could see the Doctor executed for breaking the seal on a door which contains the Megara. Vivien Fay is leading the case for the prosecution. It takes a while for her true identity to come out. But due to a clever quick thinking by the Doctor, Vivien is knocked unconscious and it allows the Megara to find out find out she is really Cessair of Diplos and what is wanted for. The cliffhanger to episode one was very well realised by just using Mary Tamm. She can hear the Doctor but there is no sign of him. At the very last second something pushes her over the cliff and we’re left to think that it’s the Doctor. Apparently it was intended for us to see the Doctor but Tom Baker objected and actually I think it would have been a less effective ending.

Another story and another set of wonderful actors. Susan Engel is just brilliant as Vivien Fay. From the moment she appeared on screen it was clear there was something odd about her. Nearly stabbing the Doctor with a tripod stand is hardly the best way to introduce yourself to someone. From that moment on she becomes even better as her true colours are revealed she becomes one of the best baddies of this series. Beatrix Lehmann was just a delight to watch as Professor Rumford. She has such a presence on screen and she has an innocence about her yet manages to act in defiance when she is needed to. Tom Baker puts in a reined in performance. It’s not quite as comedic as it has been and deals with the situation more sensibly. Mary Tamm puts in her best performance despite wearing that awful hat. The bickering between the two characters is less evident that in previous stories and it seems that their relationship is bedding down.

To sum up this story I’ll repeat something I mentioned earlier. The story is simple yet effective. The first half of this story seems to have to deal with druids and stones that can kill and then it moves on into hyperspace. With impressive sets (especially the Hyperspace ship), The Stones of Blood is a highly enjoyable story.

The Sontaran Experiment (1975)

The Sontaran Experiment is a story that was a rush job when an initial six part story fell apart and something was needed to come after the four part story ‘The Ark in Space’. The result is this story. It sees the return (oddly enough) of the Sontarans after their very good debut story in The Time Warrior. This entire story is set outside with no one second of studio recording on offer. It’s written by Bob Baker & Dave Martin (writers of the Wallace and Gromit stories and creators of K9) which means that we’re going to get a good story.

The story is set on an abandoned Earth from the Nerva Beacon. All they find is a single Sontaran who is performing tests on some colonists. The Experiment that the Sontaran is performing is to see the strategic point of the Earth. Considering the story is only two episodes long, the Doctor, Harry and Sarah spend a lot of time apart but the story still feels like its moving forward. The story is very dark and it fits in well with the Philip Hinchcliffe era which is pretty much dark and gothic in every story. At one point we come across someone who is close to death.

Unusually I found Sarah to be very annoying. I cant put my finger on it but there is something that doesn’t sit well with me. Maybe it’s that stupid yellow outfit she’s got on. Practical it may be but visually, its not good. Tom Baker is good in this story throughout. It’s only his third story but he has nailed his Doctor down. This is the story where Tom Baker broke his collar bone which meant that the fight sequence between the Doctor and Styre had to be performed by Terry Walsh. It’s a shame that we only get close-up shots of Baker because I think that the fight might have been a bigger deal. But as it stands it’s a perfectly fine scene.

Baker and Martin have written a good story that is helped out a lot by the outdoor filming. Had it been set in a studio then it wouldn’t have been anywhere near as good. Rodney Bennett has done a brilliant job as the director managing to make the drama and tension fit perfectly into 50 minutes. He uses the surroundings effectively and that is one of the reasons why I love this story. The fact that the story is set outside gives the story a different feel to it and it’s a shame that the story was only two episodes long. The Sontaran Experiment is a sharp story that has good characters and also some good direction. The scenery is just wonderful to look at and the fact it’s in the middle of nowhere (pretty much) means that the basic setting is solidified.

The Ribos Operation (1978)

The Ribos Operation is the first part of the Key to Time series. The first time that an entire series would have a theme. This series was Graham Williams’ second series as producer and Anthony Read’s first full series as Script Editor. The story is written by Robert Holmes who is one of the best writers that Doctor Who ever had. This story is only one of two stories that is entirely studio based. It starts off with a set up for the entire series. The TARDIS loses power and the Doctor joins the White Guardian who looks like he’s living in a wine vineyard in France. Then there is a nice little scene which introduces Romana. The search for the first segment sees the Doctor and Romana arrive on Ribos just as a con-artist called Garron is trying to sell a medieval planet to the Graff Vynda-K. Ribos is a horrible planet which is snow ridden. The inhabitants of the planet are quite primitive with seekers and people living in the concourse.

The Romana character is very snobbish which isn’t anything like a character that Doctor Who has ever had. The snobbishness does get toned down in future stories but in this one it basically Romana pretending that she is better and clever than the Doctor. Mary Tamm is very good as the first incarnation of Romana. She looks like she’s in the wrong show. It looks like she should be appearing in a glamorous ITV drama not a BBC Sci-Fi show. The character does seem a bit two dimensional in the early stages of the story but she does develop by the end. It’s nice to see the Doctor not getting on with his companion. I don’t know whether there was a tension between the two actors but it does give this first story the impression that they are not friends but two people set on a mission that have to put up with each other.

There’s a solid group of actors in this (aside from Baker and Tamm). Iain Cuthbertson and Nigel Plaskitt are a great double act (a Robert Holmes trick) and their early scenes are very comedic. Paul Seed plays the Graff Vynda-K like a spoilt brat who has been deprived of something he feels should be his and throws a wobbler. Robert Keegan is actually quite believable as a deputy in the form of Sholakh. He seems more like a military man than the Graff Vynda-K does. There’s a nice return appearance from Prentis Hancock. Previously seen in Planet of the Daleks. I always find his performances to be highly enjoyable.

The problem that there is with this story is that it does feel all over the place. First there is the story of the Doctor and Romana looking for the first segment of the Key. Then there is Garron and Unstoffe trying to con the Graff Vynda-K and then there is the story of the Graff who has been deposed on his own planet and is seeking revenge. Then there was the cliffhanger to Episode two, firstly Paul Seed (Vynda-K) looks directly at the screen with no real authority. Then it’s another four or five seconds before there’s a close-up of Tom Baker’s face.

The Ribos Operation is a reasonable opener. It suffers from being studio bound as there isn’t the impression of scale that perhaps it should have had. Robert Holmes has done a good job with the script and George Spenton-Foster does a reasonable job in keeping the majority of the action going.

The Power of Kroll (1979)

The Power of Kroll is the penultimate story in the Key to Time series and is perhaps the most ambitious. It’s the second story to be written by Robert Holmes (after The Ribos Operation) and is memorable because it had at that point the biggest monster seen on Doctor Who and it also saw John Leeson (voice of K9) make a physical appearance as Dugeen.

The story is set on one of the moons of Delta Magna, Delta Three which sits a protein collection and manufacturing refinery. There is a group of humans and are at war with ‘swampies’ who are inhabitants of the moon that are green. As with a Robert Holmes script there is a double act that the closest that there is the Varlik and Rohm-Dutt partnership. The story soon moves to the rising of Kroll which has been woken up by the refinery. The one thing that this season has been good for are the cliffhangers. This story was no different. The cliffhanger to part one was a bit silly because had it been a creature (obviously not going to be Kroll) then that’s one thing but as it turned out it was just someone dressed up like a giant crab.

Tom Baker and Mary Tamm did another good job together and they didn’t have the annoyance of K9 to deal with. Mary Tamm managed to continue Romana’s good fashion sense as she was suitably dressed for the setting of the story. The guest cast is worthy of a mention as they all did a sterling job. I’ve mentioned John Leeson who character of Dugeen always seemed to be the sane one. Neil McCarthy returns to the show after playing Barnham in ‘The Mind of Evil’ in 1971. In this he plays the very paranoid leader of the refinery Thawn. McCarthy makes him from the outset someone who is going to make a massive mistake which will threaten the lives of everyone on the refinery. Philip Madoc is someone else who makes a return to Doctor Who. His most recent appearance had been in ‘The Brain of Morbius’ and you just know when Philip Madoc’s name is on the credits of a story that you’re going to get a wonderful performance.

The realisation of Kroll is actually quite good. There are some impressive shots of it as it comes out of the water and the tentacles that grab people also add the full scale of the monster. For a relatively small budgeted show like Doctor Who they did a good job making it look like they did. It was good how they decided that it was Kroll that would make up the Fifth segment of the Key. Equally good about how they worked this out in the actual scene.

The Power of Kroll is my favourite story from the Key to Time series. The act it’s largely set outdoors is always something I like. I do wonder whether it was wise to make the swampies green especially as it turns out it was difficult to get off the actors skin. I think that as with most stories of this season, the location filming was one of the best things in the story. One word for the Power of Kroll – Wonderful.

The Pirate Planet (1978)

The Pirate Planet is the second part of the Key to Time series written by for by Douglas Adams, who was behind the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and also served as script editor for the 1979/80 series. It’s clear that had another script been available then The Pirate Planet would never have been made. This was when Tom Baker’s Doctor was starting to get a bit too comedic for my likening. The story is set on the planet Calufrax where the people of that planet are living in ‘perpetual prosperity’. There is a group of people with weird power called the Mentiads. The planet is run by a captain who is a pirate. The Doctor discovers that they have arrived on a hollowed-out planet called Zanak which dematerialises around planets and consumes them. The captain is actually been controlled by the person who appears to be a nurse but is actually the ancient tyrant Queen Xanxia who uses the resources that they get from the planets to achieve immortality.

The main character in this (apart from the Doctor and Romana) was the Captain, brilliantly played by Bruce Purchase. His is just border-line OTT but is still entertaining whenever he is on the screen. The parrot was also funny but I knew that when I first saw the parrot that there was going to be a dual between it and K9 and I wasn’t disappointed. Andrew Robertson plays Mr Fibuli as the dogsbody who seems to just be there to be shouted at by the Captain but does seem to know what he’s doing. The only other character that really stood out was the Nurse (played by Rosalind Lloyd) who does a tremendous job of seeming insignificant at the beginning of the story but does become quite important towards the end. Tom Baker and Mary Tamm both put in good performances. Tom Baker’s was a bit to comedic at times for my liking but he redeemed himself with the screen between the Doctor and the captain surrounded by all the planets that had been consumed. It was reminisant of his early days as the Doctor before the comedy took over. Mary Tamm’s performance was a little less snobbish in this than in The Ribos Operation. There was a little bit at the beginning but once of Zanak, she toned it down.

The scenes set outside were very good and showed what was lacking in the previous story. A bit of outside filming always livens up a story and the stuff filmed inside the caves in what was meant to represent Calufrax was even better. It summed up perfect the grimness of the truth when it was realised by the Doctor. Not everything in this story was good. The problem with this story is that its not as good as it could have been. The Mentiads are a group of people I could have done with out. The look of them was stupid and the look on their face suggested that they haven’t had a good nights sleep for months. Also they were just irritating for 99% of the time that they were on screen. The effects that were used when the guards were firing guns looked naff. The only time that the story was interesting was when it was on the bridge and dealing with the grim reality of Zanak.

The Pirate Planet is the weakest of the Key to Time series. When I first saw this I really didn’t like it as I thought it was quite dull. In recent times though I have re-evaluated it and found that apart from one or two bits, the story works quite well. Douglas Adams’ story has some flashes of brilliance and shows why his work is held in such high regards.

The Androids of Tara (1978)

The search for the fourth segment takes the Doctor and Romana to Tara. Unusually whereas it wasn’t until the last minute that they found the third segment it took 7 minutes and 45 seconds to find the fourth segment. This is the second story to come from David Fisher following his previous story. This story benefits like The Stones of Blood from some wonderful location filming which seems to have capitalised on the lovely weather.

The Doctor and Romana are in the middle of a political war between Count Grendel and Prince Reynart. Grendel has a plan and that is to kidnap the king so that when it comes to corona ting him he wont be there and that means Grendel can step up and wed Princess Strella before killing her and becoming ruler of Tara. Strella is identical to Romana and at that leads to obvious not knowing which is the real Romana and which one isn’t. There is one wonderful moment where the Doctor goes fencing with Grendel. It’s the first time since The Sea Devils in 1972 I think since we saw this. It was a surprise because I didn’t think that the fourth Doctor did that.

The acting in this was top notch yet again. Tom Baker puts in his best performance of the series so far. Mixing humour with seriousness, Baker seems to be having a ball and I thought he did well. Likewise with Mary Tamm who aside from looking very very fashionable in that purple outfit. Tamm has to double her acting as she plays Romana and Princess Strella. The character of Strella was not that different from what I could tell to Romana. I did like the scenes where Romana had to talk to in one scene to the Princess and in another to the android. Both were well directed and used the technology well. Peter Jeffrey puts in a great performance as Count Grendel. It’s not the most original character by Jeffrey pulls it off and makes it somehow a nasty character. Neville Jason also does a good job as Prince Reynart. His performance as the Prince was matched with his brief speeches as the android Prince. Both of them did well against each other which is always good. Simon Lack is someone else that I thought did a good job as Zadek, Lack had previously appeared in the Jon Pertwee story ‘The Mind of Evil’ is a dependable actor and did the job in this as a solid member of the Prince’s security team.

Another story and another memorable cliffhanger, however I don’t think for the right reasons. Episode two was quite shocking the first time I saw it. The Doctor appears to have killed or seriously harmed Romana but as we see in Episode 3, its infact an android but the thought that it was the real Romana was scary one. I also thought Episode three was quite memorable because it shows Grendel throwing a spear into the android Prince before jumping over the banister and fleeing with Romana. The filming was also impressive as Leeds Castle in Kent (??) doubles for Grendel’s castle. Unusually for Doctor Who (or at least it seems it) there is some genuine night filming. Not in a studio with the lights turned off or actual outside filming but with effects applied to create the impression of darkness but actual night time filming. This gives the story a different feel.

The Androids of Tara is a thrilling story. The story wasn’t really about the segment as that was dealt with so quickly but more about trying to survive a political war. David Fisher has written a rip roaring script with plenty of strong characters and some wonderful scenery and that one is thanks to Michael Hayes who makes full use of Leeds Castle. A top story that would have been just as good without the search for the fourth segment of the key to time. Good stuff.

The Moonbase (1967)

The Moonbase is a story that sadly no longer exists in its entirety on film. This story was featured on the Lost in Time DVD with the two parts that exist mixed in with the two that don’t. This was the first time that the Second Doctor encountered the Cybermen and it was an impressive outing. The story does have similarities to The Tenth Planet in that the Doctor and his friends arrive in an isolated place that is under attack from the Cybermen that is about as similar as it gets really. I just love the claustrophobic feel of this story as it’s not like anyone can just walk out and travel to the next village or vice versa.

The writer’s (Kit Pedler & Gerry Davis) have done a great job in writing a story that continuously keeps the drama and tension up through out the four episodes. In fact they wrote on of the best quotes in Doctor Who history.

“There are some corners of the universe which have bred the most terrible things. Things which act against everything we believe in. They must be fought!”

I like the different nationalities that are represented. It creates the impression that in 2070 (when this story is set). All nationalities are working together in relative peace with the strong British leader not standing for any nonscene. In fact Hobbs is a more likeable version of General Cutler in The Tenth Planet. The reason why he is better is that there isnt the emotional thing that Cutler had with his son. Hobbs is still sceptical of the Doctor at the beginning but comes round to his way of thinking once the Cybermen move into the story.

The early part of the story is about the mystery of what or who is killing the crew of the base. It’s not revealed straight away that it’s the Cybermen and that’s very clever by the writers. Morris Barry as the director also does a great job creating some visually stunning moments like when the Cybermen are walking across the service of the moon. It’s the perfect point to comment on the new design of the Cybermen. In their first outing they still looked human but with bits and bobs glued onto them. In The Moonbase, they look a lot more mechanical. I do like this design because it looks like some money has been spent on it whereas the old design whilst I think is a nice design does look cheap.

The regular characters are still finding their feet as it was Patrick Troughton’s fourth story and it was the second one with Jamie as a companion and it’s the classic ‘crowded TARDIS’ syndrome where Jamie is sidelined. He spends the first half of the story either in a coma or suffering from a fever. This is the story where Polly actually shines for once as she comes up with the polly-cocktail. Patrick Troughton is quite good despite this still being early in his run. There’s a sense that the Doctor isnt always the smart figure that he later becomes when it takes him such a long time to figure out what is going on. Michael Craze is sort of in the middle of the action which is a shame really.

The Moonbase is a fine story has some strong characters, good sets, good directing and also some cracking music. This was the golden era for the Cybermen because of all their encounters with the Doctors over the years, it’s the Troughton stories that are the best and this story has to be in the Top 3.

The Green Death (1973)

The Green Death is a story that was one of the first that I remember buying on good old VHS. It was just before the TV Movie aired in 1996. Back then it was split into two tapes but thankfully it’s been put on one disc for its DVD release. The story is just as impressive today as it was back in 1996. The Green Death is as political as you would want Doctor Who to get. The story is set in a Welsh mining village where the local big bad company ‘Global Chemicals’ has been pumping its waste down the mine creating giant maggots. There you have the bad guys lead by Stevens who as it turns out is being controlled by something else.

The special effects are hit and miss if I am being totally honest. I think that the maggots are really good. Despite some of them being inflated condoms (if that’s the truth) the effect is quite good and you could believe that they are giant maggots. Also I thought the effect of the people infected by the green ‘oil’ was brilliantly realised. It’s very impressive considering that it’s probably a basic effect. If I had an issue with this story it’s that the actual imagination of B.O.S.S left a lot to be desired. A CSO screen with a wavy line isn’t what I was hoping the real bad guy would be like. Then again I suppose it’s the best they could do with the budget they had in 1973.

I was really impressed with Jerome Willis as Stevens. He started off as who we thought was the baddie because he was the head of Global Chemicals and that was really good because you end up despising him and wanting the Doctor to defeat him but then you feel sorry just before he’s about to die. It’s the typical journey for most baddies. Tony Adams was very good as Elgin who was Steven’s deputy. He was the good guy within the company because he seemed to have morals. It was a shame that he was taken ill during the recording because I felt that the character had more to offer the story.

This is the final story for Jo Grant as played by Katy Manning. Her exit was prepared with her romance with Clifford Jones very obvious throughout the six episodes. Her final scene was heartbreaking. Not because Jo was leaving but because you could feel the pain that the Doctor was feeling and Jo was sad when the Doctor left without saying goodbye. Credit to Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning for the superb way they played this. Their friendship on screen was genuine and it showed. The final shot of the Doctor driving across the landscape with the sun setting was the perfect way to end the story and the season.

The Green Death is a wonderful story and despite the environmental slant to the story it doesn’t strangle you and spoil the rest of the story. It’s one of the highlights of the Pertwee era.