The Mind of Evil (1971)

Coming straight after Terror of the Autons, The Mind of Evil sees the Master trying to start a war by creating hostilities between the Chinese and the rest of the delegates at the peace conference where the security arrangements are been handled by UNIT. Whilst all of this going on, the Doctor and Jo visit Stangmoor Prison to see the Keller Machine. It seems like a good idea, take all the evil and negative emotions out of a criminal and they are suppose to be a better person as a result. Professor Keller is behind the machine and of course it turns out to be the Master. But it’s quite a while before we see him. Watching in 2011 it’s not a surprise especially as he is on the cover of the VHS but in 1971 it must have been a shock to see him back so soon. What’s quite good is how the events in the prison and at the conference seem so separate but become connected. It is also impressive how the Keller Machine is made to look scary despite being an inanimate object. With an odd sound effect and a wibbly screen effect, you can make anything seem scary.

The problem that there was in the previous story surfaces in this one. The Masters plan is simple yet the way that he goes about it is so convoluted that it slightly ruins the story. Thought there is still a lot to enjoy. The stuff at the peace conference was fairly standard but made memorable by Captain Chin Lee who spent quite a while under the control of the Master. Despite all the aggravation that she causes, there is a great deal of sympathy for her when she becomes herself again. The action in the prison was also impressive. There were three characters that stood out. The first being Barnham who is the gentle giant who befriends Jo. I thought that he was a character that wasn’t always at the forefront of the action but was still important. The net was Mailer who is the leader of the prison revolt and is the one who is the Master’s inside man. He was a naïve character who honestly believed he was important though he only had a limited lifespan. The third character was Dr Summers as played by the brilliant Michael Sheard. He is a character who wants to stand up to Mailer but sadly knows he would lose that battle.

The leading cast is now a foursome and they all put in a great display. Jon Pertwee gives several lovely performances including fear when he is attacked by the Kellman machine. His scenes with Katy locked up in the prison were nice and helped provide a brief pause from the main action. This story was the first example of Jo befriending someone and Katy does it well. Nicholas Courtney is on fine form and gets the rare honour of actually saving the Doctors life. He really does come across a natural then there is the mighty Roger Delgado who despite having a rather convoluted plan, puts in a great performance. Being the suave and confident person before realising that the machine is starting to get too powerful. This is common place for the Master but Delgado does it brilliantly and his on screen chemistry with Pertwee is top notch.

The Mind of Evil is a nice story with a different setting and an unusual threat with just a hint of political tension thrown in for good measure. It’s another example of how a six part story can work when done right. It’s not the best story of the season but it’s still good. Just with it still existed in colour. Though for those long-time fans that have this story on VHS will get a chance to see snippets including the impressive UNIT sequence when they ‘invade’ the prison. Good Stuff!

Terror of the Autons (1971)

The first story of Jon Pertwee’s second series sees the return of the Autons. But more importantly sees the debut of Katy Manning as Jo Grant and Roger Delgado as the Master. For some reason, Liz Shaw has gone. No Goodbye scene at all which I think is a real shame. So what they did was replace a smart scientist female who would think about things and replace her with someone who at the time was a bit dim (but this changed after a few stories). The introduction of the Master is underplayed somewhat. The scene is set in a circus and a smartly dressed man with a fantastic beard comes out of his TARDIS disguised as a horsebox and within 60 seconds has someone under his control. It’s well acted by Delgado and Rosini. Yet despite this rather dull setting the Master is instantly believable. The introduction of Jo is just as good but done differently. Jo is introduced to use as someone who is only there because she knows the right people (her uncle). She ruins the Doctor’s experiment in the belief that she is actually helping. With these elements introduced the story focuses on the Autons who are given a voice which is an improvement. However they do suffer from playing second fiddle to the Master.

Like Spearhead from Space the previous year, this story sees the Autons trying to invade Earth. However with the Master in it the story/plan is slightly more convoluted and this is done by the Master taking over Factory which sees Farrely Jnr. at loggerheads with his father . The death of Farrely Snr. is quite grim and got the show in a bit of trouble, he is killed by a cuddly toy which when it get warm comes to life. Then there is the death of McDermott who is a good friend of Farrely Snr who meets a sticky death by being killed by an inflatable chair. I remember the first time I saw this and it really did spook me. Another moment where Jo gets suffocated after getting to close to a plastic Daffodil. For these three moments, the story is a great one but there is more to this story. It’s about the Doctor and the Master. These two were clearly rivals on Gallifrey and it spills onto earth. The Master season has well and truly begun.

Jon Pertwee has well and truly settled down and feels like he has an equal in the Master. Pertwee always seemed like he got on well with Caroline John but his relationship with Katy Manning is different and as time goes on it gets better. It’s strange watching this and seeing Katy Manning as a young tiny person who is very niave. This is the only story where she is annoying. She ruins the Doctor’s experiement, gets hypnotised, tries to blow up the Doctor and UNIT HQ, almost dies from suffocation and this takes place all in the space of four episodes. It’s an indication that for a brief time, they didn’t know what to do with the character. But the best character is the Master. Roger Delgado is the best actor to play the Master and he shows why from the very beginning. Delgado plays the Master as someone who is smarter than the Doctor but doesn’t go for the quickest or easiest plan but the one that allows him to gloat over the Doctor and explain his plan.

Terror of the Autons is not as good as Spearhead From Space but it certainly does have some interesting moments. But perhaps it would have been better to just have either the autons or the master. There was enough plot for either to stretch into four episodes. Robert Holmes has written an enjoyable story and is on his way (at the time) to being one of the best writers in Doctor Who and it’s a shame that it would be 34 years before they would return. A good start to the eighth season of Doctor Who.

The Perpetual Bond (2011)

The latest companion chronicle is quite a bold one because it introduces a new companion for the First Doctor. This is the first time that a character has been created for the first four Doctors. We are introduced to Oliver Harper (played by Tom Allen) who at first seems like your typical 1960’s human but its not that simple. The story is set immediately after The Daleks Master Plan and the TARDIS lands in the very junkyard where it all started in An Unearthly Child. The Doctor intends to see Ian and Barbara to try and cheer themselves up after the death of Sara Kingdom. However the Doctor gets sidetracked and then the story moves to a sort of stock exchange where they meet Oliver.

The story introduces us to a race of Mushroom-shape headed aliens who are traders but are dealing in humans. Te idea is that as Britain nearly went bankrupt due to World War 2, the aliens started to trade in humans because there were just too many. They would take a certain amount from each part of the country. At this point it sounded very familiar to what they were doing in Torchwood: Children of Earth. Anyway what is quite good is that the government were aware of what they were doing and allowed it to continue. The thing I don’t quite believe is that they have been doing it for hundreds of years. The problem is that they don’t have enough menace for me to find that believable.

Apart from that minor quibble is actually a very good story. The resolution of the human trading story was very clever but did take me a while to get my head around. But once I did then it made it even better. The voice for the alien was very good and at least made them sound alien. Peter Purves was brilliant in this. After his last appearance in the Toms Tardis Award winning story ‘The Suffering’. It was great to hear his William Hartnell impression. Just as impressive as Frazer Hines’ second Doctor voice. He probably has it pitched slightly too high but its still a good attempt. As Steven though he doesn’t seem to try and do something like the old Steven Taylor but instead does his own voice but he is enthusiastic and that that is what is great about Peter Purves. As the newbie, Tom Allen is superb as Oliver Harper. He has a perfect voice for radio and according to the extras at the end of the release has been on Big Finish’s radar for quite sometime. He played it perfectly as a rader who is thrown into an alien situation. The fact we are going to get more of Tom Allen is only a good thing. As a double act Purves and Allen work well together and I think it makes Doctor Who history by being the first all-male TARDIS line-up only took 48 years but better late than never.

After the story seems to have finished we get a bit more and that is Harper has a secret and he hopes that the Doctor and Steven don’t find out (which of course they will). I don’t know what this secret is but I hope it’s a good one and not a monumental disappointment, only time will tell. As a story in its own right, the Perpetual Bond is a nice story in a setting we don’t get to experience in Doctor Who very often. How it will compare to other stories to other stories in this story arc is unclear but at this moment in time I am not worried. Apparently the idea for the creation of Oliver Harper came from David Richardson who as producer of the Companion Chronicles has a better idea than most what will work. Praise should go to him but also to Simon Guerrier who has written an enjoyable story. Though when you look at his track record you shouldnt be surprised. It’s not a shock for me to say it’s the best companion chronicle of 2011 (even though its only the second release of the year) and after a great Peri and the Piscon Paradox, it’s a continingly good start for the companion chronicles.

Square One (2004)

The second release of Gallifrey Series 1 is set immediately after the events of Weapons of Choice. Romana despatches Leela and her K9 to where a historic temporal summit is about to take place to see if there is any evidence of the terrorist Free Time group. After setting things up in the opening story it was time to get straight into action with Stephen Cole’s offering. The story sees Leela have to be an exotic dancer and they don’t go very well when a body is found and Leela is framed for the murder because she is a dancer and a savage. Things then seem to go back to an earlier part of the story which Leela seems to find familiar. When things don’t go the way they want then time gets wound back to the beginning.

The political unrest is something that very interesting and it seems perfectly suited to the Gallifrey series. The story is written by Stephen Cole who also wrote The Apocalypse Element and in the early stages of this story I did notice there was a faimilarity to that story. It took me a while to fully understand what was going on but after a while it started to make sense and the main scene where it is all explained is done quite well. Cole has managed to make the story quite smart but not complicated that no one would get it. I think that the relationship between Leela and Romana really shines in this story but its Leela that really pushes the story for the early part. It does seem quite an adult idea that Leela becomes a salacious dancer. It’s not something that would have been attempted in the main range.

Lalla Ward is very good as the President. I have always thought that Ward was the best of the two Romanas and she is believeable as the President. Her frustration is something that the Romana on TV did quite well and its nice to know that some 20 odd years later she hasn’t skipped a beat. Likewise with Louise Jameson who’s voice is slightly different to that of her TV time but its still sounds like Leela and its nice to have these two working together. Miles Richardson (Cardinal Braxiatel) and Sea Carlsen (Coordinator Narvin) are two well written characters and the two actors are very good.

Square One is an interesting idea but I didn’t find it as engaging as Weapons of Choice. The actual ending is slightly disappointing and that a shame because the rest of the story does a good job in keeping the listener entertained. Stephen Cole has written some interesting characters and the Gallifrey series is really starting to take shape.

The Feast of Axos (2011)

2011 marks the 40th Anniversary of The Claws of Axos so its only fitting that this is when Axos makes its return. The return of the Axons occurs in the middle of the Brewster Series and after a thrilling Crimes opening story there was quite a bit riding on this story. For those who are a bit new to Doctor Who and haven’t watched The Claws of Axos (review for it is here), the Third Doctor encountered the Axons and it ended up with him sticking them in a time-loop. The duty of writing the return of the Axons falls to Mike Maddox who wrote the 2010 adventure Legend of the Cybermen. The thing about when Big Finish bring a classic monster back, even one that only appeared once, is that there has to be something new about them and something that we didn’t get in a previous adventure. We slightly get something like this in this story with the humans approaching the Axons as opposed to vice versa. The humans are all after the energy from Axons. The first set of humans are on board the Spaceship Windermere which has been financed by Campbell Irons (John Banks) but as usual, billionaires are without morals and has booby trapped the ship much to the annoyance of Joanna Slade (Andree Bernard). The second spaceship is the French run Jules Verne. Thankfully they weren’t portrayed as the evil French baddies who were without scruples but they were actually the good guys. I really liked the character of Joanna because it was so typical of a lot of female character in Big Finish plays where they are feisty people yet are slightly vulnerable. Andree Bernard does well with the character and is one of the best supporting actors in this play.

The story sees Bernard Holley return as Axos the role he originally played in 1971. This added a bit of a connection to the previous story. His voice is very distinctive and is at times very creepy. There are also references to The British Rocket Group which was mentioned in Remembrance of the Daleks. Colin Baker is as usual on very good form not just as the Doctor but as the Axon Doctor. I thought that the Axon Doctor was pitched just right. One stand out moment for me was when the Doctor thought that Evelyn was gone forever, there was genuine sadness and that was felt due to the acting of Mr. Baker. Maggie Stables is brilliant in this, she is the defender of Brewster and doesn’t even entertain the idea of the Doctors plan which would result in the death of Brewster. She also forces the Doctor to forgive Thomas and take him back to his own time. I don’t think that Peri or Mel would be able to have this effect. I thought that the moment where Evelyn was space walking was one of the funniest things I have heard for quite sometime. She was child like with a little “weeeeeeee” just to drill that idea home. John Pickard didn’t really have as much of an impact in this story as he did in Crimes. He found himself being helpful to the Axons but apart from that he wasn’t as productive as before. Hopefully this wont be the case in the next story but in this story he was still very good. I think that Pickard is very good as Brewster and the character does have a long future.

The Feast of Axos is a good story with some interesting characters and a nice relatively simple story. I think that this is Maddox’s best offering as I was never really sold on Legend of the Cybermen but with this story I am completely sold. I enjoyed it very much and think that it’s just as good as The Crimes of Thomas Brewster and it means that there is a lot riding on Industrial Evolution.

Inferno (1970)

On the day that I write this review, Wednesday 23rd February 2011, the news has broken that Nicholas Courtney has passed away. This is one of many superb performances from Mr. Courtney.

Inferno is the fourth story of the 1970 series and marks the final appearance of Liz Shaw. I think that the 1970 season is the best season of Doctor Who ever! That might be a controversial statement but Inferno is the final story of a consistently high quality series. The story takes place at a top secret drilling operation. The story sees the closing stages of Professor Stahlman’s drilling to the centre of the earth. Written by Don Houghton the story does (like most Pertwee stories) have a message at the heart of the story. This one is about being cautious about the desire to find alternative and cheap forms of energy. Especially without knowing more about it. The story is relatively a simple one where the Doctor is trying to get back to his own world whilst fighting against the Brigade Leader and the drilling.

Due to power being withdrawn from the Doctor’s experiment at the crucial moment the story moves into a parallel world where the drilling is at a more advance stage than in ‘our’ timeline. That’s not the only difference, we find the Doctor in a Fascist world where all our familiar characters are slightly different. Brigaider Lethbridge Stewart is now the Brigade Leader with a wonderful eye patch, Liz Shaw is now Section Leader with an amusing black wig. There is also Stahlman who’s hand is more infected than in our world and there is Greg Sutton who doesn’t seem that different from the other Greg (except he’s in a suite). Apart from Episode One and the latter part of Episode 6, the action takes place in the paraell world where the Doctor has to try and persuade the Brigade Leader that he is who he says he is. It fantastic to see the regular character (bar the Doctor) in a different way than normal, it must have been a relief to play the characters differently.

As the story progresses, the countdown to penetration gets closer and the tension is wracked up. Especially in the parallel world where for the latter half of the time everything goes crazy and the camera effects help create an impression that its hot and getting very stuffy. There is also some superb ‘having trouble breathing’ acting from the cast to help the effect. Jon Pertwee puts in a great performance as does Caroline John. In her final outing she is given something that most companions don’t get to do and that is to have some strong stuff to do. It’s just a shame that she doesn’t get a send off because the next time we see her its 1983 and she’s a vision to the Doctor. Derek Newark (Greg Sutton) and Sheila Dunn (Petra Williams) are very good supporting characters who’s romance is subtle at the beginning of the story and carries on in the parallel world. Christopher Benjamin (Sir Keith Gold) is a nice character. He’s a civil servant who is the voice of reason at the complex and is one of the thorns in Stahlman’s side. His potential death did come as a shock but then thankfully it’s a ploy by the writer and he turns up safe and well (apart from a broken arm). Olaf Pooley is great as Professor Stahlman who starts of a brilliant scientist who wont listen to anyone telling him what to do on his project before turning into the Primoid. Nicholas Courtney’s performance is one of his best and its because he gets to be a bit more than the Brigadier that we all know and love. As the Brigade Leader he seems to thrive in the role and that eye patch helps him a great deal.

Inferno is a fantastic story that over seven episodes keeps the drama at a high with some superb acting (most notably from Courtney) and great writing. Keeping a story interesting for anything longer than four episodes is always a tough thing but Don Houghton manages it and it’s a fitting end to the 1970 series and a story that should be a must in any Doctor Who fans collection.

Planet of the Spiders (1974)

Jon Pertwee’s final story isnt the story that was originally intended. Apparently the story was supposed to be called ‘The Final Game’ which would have seen The Master give his life to save the Doctor’s. However due to the death of Roger Delgado this was scrapped and replaced with Planet of the Spiders. The Doctor had been spending what felt like an eternity trying to get to Metabelis 3 and it’s sort of been a running joke. Despite the rather abrupt change in story, its quite a good story.

The story starts off in a country retreat where Mike Yates has been staying since he went wacko in ‘Invasion of the Dinosaurs’. It was nice to have Mike back as he is a good character that had a rather interesting character change and so it would have been a shame not to have him back. It’s not long before he is reunited with the Doctor and Sarah Jane. There is a sequence which typifies the Third Doctor story where there is a prolonged action sequence. The Doctor drives/flies his Whomobile and then he boarded a hovercraft. It almost a break from the main action but its not long before were dragged back to the action.

Most of the story is set on Metabelis 3 where the human looking inhabitants are in fear of the ‘eight legs’. There are curfews and no one ventures out after dark. The humans are actually well thought of. I believed their fear that they had and thought that their fight back against the spiders was enjoyable. There is some slightly dodgy CSO but it seems that in order to push the bounderies of technology, CSO is a staple of Doctor Who stories. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, sadly in this case it doesn’t.

The story introduces a character called Tommy who starts off as a simpleton who is simply discarded by the other members of the household as a bothersome fool but due to looking into the crystal he becomes a different person and is on par in terms of intelligence with the other housemates. At the start of the story he is seen as a fringe character but soon becomes integral to the story. Elisabeth Sladen is very good in this story. The scenes at the beginning with Mike Yates are really good and that is followed by her scenes with Tommy. Then there were the scenes where she is possessed by the Spider. For his final regular performance, Jon Pertwee gives a dignified performance. He has had some iffy stories during his final season but this wasn’t one of them. He gave a wonderful performance that gave him a chance to show everyone why his time was so good.

Regeneration sequences are always a sign of the time that they were recorded in. In 1974, the technology was the best it had been since the show started and as a result we got a pretty impressive (even by today’s standards) regeneration. The appearance of Lord K’Anpo to help ‘give the regeneration a push’ is the first and only time where someone else is help in the regeneration. The fact that there is a period of time from when the Doctor leaves Metabelis 3 and arriving on Earth meant that there is a whole collection of Big Finish stories that could have been made if Jon were still alive. The Third Doctor’s era ends on a good note. Every time I watch this story there is a sense of sadness when I see Pertwee’s performance. The story is very good and everyone gives a great performance. Planet of the Spiders is a story that people new to the series should see as soon as possible.

Death to the Daleks (1974)

Death to the Daleks is a story that is quite possibly one of the worst Dalek stories ever. This was the third Dalek story in two years and whereas Day of the Daleks was an ok offering, it was just good to have the Daleks take on the third Doctor. Then Planet of the Daleks is a nice story that isn’t original but still has a lot going for it. Now we get to Death to the Daleks which despite the explosive title doesn’t reach levels of excitement. The story is set on Exxilon which has managed to drain the TARDIS of all its energy which as we all know is quite an achievement. The fact that the Daleks cant exterminate left right and centre like they use to was quite an interesting idea however its quickly discarded and they go back to their usual ways.

The story itself is nothing special. The Doctor meets up with some space marines looking for a cure to the space plague whilst Sarah is about to be sacrificed by the natives. The music is totally misplaced in this story. Whereas it should have been a dark tone with some lighter hints to not make it totally depressing. What we get quite a jolly tune which totally ruins the story. Also the model of the city is poorly realised with the dodgy CSO, the melting of the city also looks rather poor.

The Exxilons are quite a good creation, the costume is well realised and they seem like someone/thing that can be trusted. I also found the human characters to be particular enjoyable. Normally humans on an alien world tend to bore me however because there was so little to enjoy they were actually the highlight of the story. Dan Galloway was the best of the supporting characters because he starts off the story as a rather horrible person but by the end he has blossomed into a nice person and then sacrifices himself.

Jon Pertwee and Elisabeth Sladen have a rough time in this story. The relationship between the Doctor and Sarah Jane doesn’t seem to be working as well as the 3rd Doctor/Jo relationship or even the 4th Doctor/Sarah Jane relationship. In particular all the Sarah Jane has to do is to scream and to be caught before being sacrificed. Pertwee’s time isnt much better though he does have the better scenes. It does at time when I think about it feel like Pertwee is a lone man. He doesn’t have Katy Manning, Nicholas Courtney or Roger Delgado. The hey days of the Pertwee era seemed like a distant memory.

Death to the Daleks is a poor poor story which continues the nose dive in terms of quality to Pertwee’s final season. Take the Daleks out and it would have been a much better story but unfortunately Terry Nation appears to at this point to have run out of ideas and the reputation of the Daleks is at risk, something would big would be needed to reinvent the Daleks. Thankfully such a thing is just round the corner.

The Curse of Peladon (1972)

The Curse of Peladon is the best of the two Peladon stories. The story is set on Peladon which is about to join the Galactic Federation, at the time of broadcast (January/February 1972), the UK was about to join the European Union so this story was a bit closer to home for viewers at the time than it would be considered now. There are people on Peladon who don’t want this to happen and hatch a plan where they try and spook the delegates into leaving and abandoning the plans. The Doctor is mistakened as the Earth Delegate (don’t you just hate when that happens!). Something that is never really made clear is what does Peladon have than the Galactic Federation want or what can Peladon offer that the Federation doesn’t have? Peladon is quite a primitive planet in many respects with not a lot to offer. Maybe I’m missing something.

This is quite a good story for Katy Manning. As the ‘princess’ she has the attention of the King she also is the voice of reason to the other aliens. This doesn’t really happen in any other story to this degree. The relationship between Katy Manning and Jon Pertwee is something I like to talk about when I am reviewing a Third Doctor story because its so good. Jon Pertwee gets to do his heroic acting at several points in this story especially when he has to fight the King’s Champion and there it’s a wonderful scene and it shows why the Third Doctor is unlike anything that came before or since. Peladon is played by David Troughton who is the son of Second Doctor, Patrick Troughton. This was his second appearance in Doctor Who, he appeared in The War Games (1969) and would play Professor Hobbes in Midnight (2008). He puts in another good performance as a young and at times unsure King. The fact that he was smitten with Jo was particularly normal (see Planet of the Daleks) and gave something different to the drama of the story. Geoffrey Toone is very good as Hepesh because he is someone who is meant to guide the King but ultimately manipulates (or tries to) the King. His death is well played by Toone because at no point did I dislike the character too much.

I quite like the idea that the Ice Warriors are perceived to have evil intent in the early part of the first episode because it plays along the message of never judge a book by its cover. Once their integrity had been established it was a chase to find out who had been behind it all. It was obvious to me that it was Hepesh but it wasn’t because he wanted power but I think it was that he was scared. That is why his death despite how he might have deserved it was very sad and it was helped by David Troughton. Alpha Centauri is one of the funniest creations in Doctor Who. The voice is of Ysanne Churchman and it’s a little bit of comedy in an otherwise dramatic setting. Arcturus is another good creation, ok the head is slightly iffy and it’s not the most mobile creation but its role in the story and the voice of Terry Bale made the character stand out.

The Curse of Peladon is a good story even on its own. The idea that someone is trying to prevent something they don’t approve of from happening isn’t original but in this story it’s well done and superbly acted. The brief yet impressive ‘exterior’ sequences help create an alien atmosphere. When people talk about their favourite Doctor Who stories or even favourite Third Doctor stories its not very often that The Curse of Peladon comes up (certainly not in my discussions) which is a shame because it’s a neat little story that ticks every conceivable box that a Doctor Who fan would want. It’s just a shame that when it was released on DVD, it was released along with Monster which isn’t as good.

Weapon of Choice (2004)

With the imminent arrival of the Fourth series of Gallifrey, I have decided to listen to the first three series that I bought at a sale but for some reason I have never listened to (apart from this one years ago). Gallifrey has been an intriguing place ever since we learnt about it and over the years the Timelords have been portrayed as a rather snobbish yet powerful race. Nothing has really come close in my opinion to seeing what makes the Timelords tick and what happens to them on a daily basis. Now (or in 2004), Big Finish have addressed the balance with Lalla Ward as President Romana, Louise Jameson as Leela and John Leeson as K-9.The series is set sometime after The Invasion of Time where Leela chose to stay on Gallifrey for spurious reasons. Romana is now President after leaving in Warriors Gate where she was in E-Space. Leela’s love interest in Invasion of Time has gone missing presumed dead and there is an interesting moment where Romana says she can’t rely on the Doctor to help out.

The opening story sees Leela travel to investigate claims that a terrorist group called ‘Free Time’ have acquired a terrible and powerful weapon called a Timonic Fusion Device. The story sees President Romana send Leela to seek it. The thing I like about this opening story is that its how the Timelords are trying to form an alliance. It’s always nice to see how Gallifrey works when the Doctor doesn’t arrive. With the Doctor not around to swoop in and save the day there is a possibility of things going belly up.

Lalla Ward is very impressive as the President. Of the two Romana’s I always found Ward’s version to be the strongest. As the President she is believable as she has that air of authority about her. She isn’t afraid to get down and dirty but delegate the least enjoyable jobs to other people when it was needed. Louise Jameson also puts in a great performance as Leela. Having decided to stay on Gallifrey it was nice to see what the character would be up to and it turns out, not a lot. That said the events of this story changes that but I think that Louise has done a good job in making Leela sound more or less exactly the same as she did in 1978. A mention should also go to John Leeson as K9, I may not like K9 but I kept an open mind and found the character to be quite enjoyable. Of the other characters it was good to have Lynda Bellingham back as Inquisitor Darkel, despite her brief appearance it was enjoyable. Miles Richardson was on good form as Cardinal Braxiatel.

It’s not a perfect story. I still don’t know why or how Romana went from being in E-Space to being President of the Timelords. I don’t know whether I missed something but nothing was mentioned in this story. For anyone who is just getting into this and has seen Warriors Gate they will be baffled so it would have been nice to have an explanation. Also there is a few minutes during the middle of the story where it does slightly lose its way. I don’t really get whats going on however it is a brief moment before making sense again. Weapon of Choice as a story is a good story. Alan Barnes has written a story the sets the regular characters up and the ongoing story arc as well as telling a good single stand alone story in the process. A Good start.

Planet of the Daleks (1973)

Planet of the Daleks follows on immediately from Frontier in Space, except there are no Ogrons, no Draconians and most notably, No Master. What we do have as the title suggests are Daleks. Written by Terry Nation (creator of the Daleks), this is the first time that Nation had written for Doctor Who since The Daleks Master Plan in 1965/66. A lot of people have commented on how it’s basically a remake of the very first Dalek story back in 1963. They have a point up to a certain point, the Dalek does encounter a group of Thals who are battling against the Daleks and they become infected with a fungus (in the 1963 story they get radiation poisoning) and one of them climbs inside a Dalek to take the rest into the city to pose as prisoners. But I think that there is a lot more to this story than most people give it credit for.

There are some fantastic scenes in this story. The first being the scenes in the ice tunnels. They were a great creation of Nation’s and they didn’t appear in any previous stories (to my knowledge). Then there were the scenes set in that room with the shaft that leads to the surface. The actual floating on the characters was well directed and very enjoyable. I like the final scene between the Doctor, Jo and the Thals where the Doctor tells the Thals not to glamorise the events on Spiridon. This was a lovely moment which could be used in today’s stories where people are often portrayed as action heroes. This is typical of the Letts era where morals would be woven into a story, even as late as the end of Episode Six they manage to slip one in.

Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning put in great performances in this story. With the Doctor out for the early part of Episode 1, this allowed Katy Manning to lead the story and actually be quite smart in a weird way. That is until she gets covered with the fungus. Jon Pertwee spends most of his time with the Thals but his sadness when he thought Jo had been killed was just as impressive as his relief when he discovers that she is alive. The friendship between these two is more than just on screen and it’s one of the reasons why this era of Doctor Who is so strong. Even the Thals cast is good which is an improvement on the 1963 Thals. The Thals we meet in this story are people who don’t want to be there but will fight to survive and escape. Prentis Hancock (Vaber) was good as someone who seemed to do anything to escape even if it were doomed to fail. His constant rows with Taron were important to both characters. Bernard Horsfall (Taron) is an actor I think is great in every Doctor Who story he appears in. Taron is the opposite of Vaber and likes to be cautious. Horsfall is believable as someone who has become leader by default and doesn’t particularly like being in command. Jane How (Rebec) was a late cast inclusion as she appeared in Episode 3 but her involvement is just as important as everyone’s else. This was a time where female characters were starting to become more like the male characters. She loves Taron and this adds another element to the story. Credit for Terry Nation who seems to have given every character a purpose and more importantly the actors used were great. David Maloney is one of the best directors in Doctor Who history and this is another well directed and well cast story.

The release of this story on DVD in 2009 was memorable because for the first time since it was transmitted, Episode 3 could be seen in colour. This was done and when I was watching episodes one and two I was wondering whether it would match the other five episodes and I am relieved to say that it does. If I didn’t know any better I would say it was the original version. Whenever I watch Planet of the Daleks, I am impressed with just how good it is. Ok some of the things in it are taken from previous Dalek stories but that doesn’t matter. If something’s not broke, don’t fix it. It’s just sad that this is the penultimate story for Jo Grant.

The Time Warrior

The Time Warrior is the first story to featured Sarah Jane Smith. The Sarah Jane Smith we meet in this story is very different from who we see leave in The Hand of Fear. The story sees the introduction of the Sontarans. The story also makes history by giving a name to the Doctor’s planet – Gallifrey. We meet just one lone Sontaran called Linx who has crashed in Medieval Earth. Linx has kidnapped scientists to help him repair his ship. Written by Robert Holmes this story mixes history with a bit of science. Apparently Holmes didn’t like doing historical stories but was forced to do by Terrance Dicks. To be honest, he does quite a good job with his back against the wall. The Sontarans are a very good design and it’s the best version of the creature that we ever see. Not just in terms of the outfit it wears but for the mask, its seems much more natural than what we get in future stories with perhaps exception of the new series version. Kevin Lindsay is very good as Linx and is the best actor to play a Sontaran. It’s one of the reasons why The Sontaran Experiment (1975) is so good.

There is a moment where Sarah believes that the Doctor is helping Irongron and works against him. Thankfully it doesn’t last for long but there is an underlying tension between them more to do with the feminism side to the Sarah Jane character. The story manages to mix two stories together, as well as the Doctor trying to prevent Linx from his plans and then there is between Irongron and Edward of Wessex. This is a simple story but made all the more interesting by the characters and the superb acting. In particular David Daker as Irongron, the character was just the right side of being an effective bad guy. I also found the performance of June Brown to be funny. Knowing that she would soon find even bigger fame from her time in Eastenders, her role is small yet interesting. I enjoyed every single second that Professor Rubeish was on screen.

In his final season as the Doctor, Jon Pertwee gives a performance which doesn’t show that he’s lost interest in the role or show. It’s quite sad watching the opening part with the Brigadier because it’s a sign that this era of the show is coming to an end. Anyone who replaces Katy Manning would have difficult shoes to fill but Elisabeth Sladen fills them brilliantly. It’s why she is still popular and still going strong nearly 40 years after her debut. Elisabeth Sladen is completely different from Katy Manning and in a good way. It’s just a shame that she loses the edge towards the end of her time on the show.

If there is an issue with this story then it’s with the cliffhangers. Apart from episode one, none of the cliffhangers are any good. They seemed rushed and ill thought of. It’s a shame but when watching them on DVD they spoil the enjoyment slightly. Also the vent on the back of the Sontarans is a rubbish feature on a creature. It might as well have a massive sticker on it telling people about it. Apart from these two issues, the story is pretty good.

This story comes with CGI effects on the DVD which help improve it a great deal. Normally the CGI effects are good but there is one effect in particular that ruins the spectacle. It’s the moment where the castle blows up, to be honest it’s just as bad as the explosion it replaces. The Time Warrior is a reasonable story. It does a good job in introducing Sarah Jane Smith and also the Sontarans. Robert Holmes stories are held in high esteem by Doctor Who fans and whilst this isn’t his finest it is still an enjoyable four part adventure that sets of the Third Doctor/Sarah Jane era off well. Know, off to fight terrible looking Dinosaurs on the streets of London.

Peri and the Piscon Paradox (2011)

2011 TOMS TARDIS AWARD WINNER

• Best Companion Chronicle

The first release of 2011 is a special one because it features Peri and two Doctors. The story is written by Nev Fountain who is Mr Nicola Bryant. I’ve never been a massive fan of Nev Fountain’s writing as his two previous contributions to Doctor Who (Omega in 2003 and The Kingmaker in 2006) were not the best of adventures. None the less I listened to this with an open mind. The story is basically split into two parts with the first half of the story being told with the Fifth Doctor involved and a younger Peri and then the story shifts to an older Peri with the Sixth Doctor. Colin Baker is the ‘guest star’ in this release as the Sixth Doctor.

The first part of this story has quite a lot of humour, which normally would be an issue for me but in this story I thought it was well placed. I actually like how Nicola Bryant said as Peri that she wasn’t going to do an impression of the Fifth Doctor which and there were several instances. The story sees a chain of events which we see the other side of in the latter half with the Sixth Doctor. The events of the second half see the Sixth Doctor trying to put things right and this is where some of the humour subsides and is replaced by heartbreaking drama. The story mentions a guy that Peri was going to settle down with and he’s portrayed as this nice guy but we learn from the ‘older’ Peri that he’s a bit of a b*****d as she has been involved in some domestic violence which due to Nicola Bryant’s superb performance make’s it even more heart breaking.

Colin Baker is in the unusual position of being the supporting cast member. Probably not since Zagreus nearly 10 years ago has he not being one of the main characters. If I had to pick a fault with this story and this is nit-picking of the highest order here, then it would be weather Baker was needed. That said I suppose that his involvement was needed at the very end when Peri’s story was revealed. Nicola Bryant puts in one of her best performances for quite sometime. It’s not to say that she doesn’t give great performances but this is the first time where she takes centre stage and she shines with some very funny dialogue.

For a long time in this story I wanted the explanation that I had heard this story was going to give about what really happened to Peri at the end of Trial. It was saved to the very last possible moment where it’s explained that people involved in trying to set the Doctor up were planning to assinate Peri. When the new President read over what had happened they thought living with the King was a fate worse than fate worse than death (another funny line). So they decided to do a Jamie and Zoe and wipe her memory and dump her back on Earth. This explanation might seem unoriginal but was handled very well and was a satisfying end to the production. The final few lines were really nice and it was the name of Peri’s show Worrier Queen (as opposed to Warrior Queen). A nice tie in.

PATPP is a highly enjoyable adventure. It’s brilliantly written, superbly acted and everything about it worked. The rest of the Companion Chronicles will have to work hard to beat this because in my mind it’s a very early contender for Best Companion Chronicle at this years Toms Tardis Awards.

Carnival of Monsters

Carnival of Monsters is the first story since The Three Doctors where the Doctor was given his freedom back and allowed to roam time and space in the way he wants to. This story doesn’t rank highly in my favourite Doctor Who stories for one simple reason. It’s not very exciting. There was never a serious threat to either the Doctor or Jo and its 100 minutes of nothing. It’s a shame because it’s a Robert Holmes script and with his track record you would expect better but sadly on this occasion it just suffers with a lack of enthusiasm.

The story sees the Doctor and Jo arrive inside a Miniscope which were banned by the Timelords but somehow one managed to escape. The story largely takes place on a CSO riddled planet Inter Minor. Another problem is large portions of this story involve the Minorians who are covered in silver/grey make up and are your typical bureaucratic characters. Also the make up is a little suspect on them, it’s not completely painted on properly. Now it’s plausible that its suppose to be that way but somehow I’m not so sure. There were a few moments that did make me chuckle. The first being the appearance of Ian Marter who in less than a year would be returning but as Harry Sullivan. The moment where the Doctor and Harry – sorry Lt. Andrews – have a impromptu boxing match. The Drashigs work quite well but sadly don’t appear in the story more. The stuff in the Miniscope is actually quite funny. The bit at the beginning where the Doctor is trying to convince Jo that just because something looks like a chicken doesn’t mean it isn’t intelligent and then when they are discovered, the Doctor comes all over posh.

Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning are kind of sweet in this story. Their chemistry is enough to get you through the early part of the story until the Drashigs appear. Ian Marter is good as Lt. Andrews but whenever I see him through my long time fan eyes, I will always see Harry. There are a couple more familiar names in this such as Michael Wisher (Davros in Genesis of the Daleks) who appears as Kalik who seems the best out of the three Minorians we meet. Then there is Peter Halliday who’s best role was Packer in The Invasion plays Plectrac. It’s not the best story for either actor which is a shame.

When you buy the DVD the best thing about it (as of February 2011) is the commentary with Katy Manning and the late and very great Barry Letts who was the Director. The commentary takes on a slightly different tone in my mind when you think about the contribution that Letts has had on the show. Carnival of Monsters is a story that should be viewed if not to see Ian Marter before he became Harry. It’s quite odd that given story such as The Three Doctors, Frontier in Space, Planet of the Daleks and The Green Death which are either big dramatic stories or have moral messages that Carnival of Monsters somehow seems like a four week respite.

The Mutants

The Mutants is a story that doesn’t have much of a good reputation. Written by Bob Baker and Dave Martin who did a good job with The Claws of Axos. The story is set in the 30th Century where a group of humans are decolonising Solos. The story has a strong moral message like most stories from the Barry Letts era did. The thing about these moral messages is that they are still relevant today in some form. The story is dull, there’s no way of getting around it. At six episodes it is way too long and the studio sets start to look drab and uninteresting. It was at this point that the series tended to move away from UNIT/Earth based stories. It was when the Timelords would be deciding where the TARDIS would land sort of being driven somewhere by your parents.

The opening shot is compared to a scene from a Monty Python show, unintentional according to director Christopher Barry but to be honest the thing that this story could desperately have done with was some humour. Man alive this story is about as funny as a nuclear bomb going off. There is a point that is raised in the commentary. Why don’t the Timelords put a message on that rock thing as to who it is going to and where they can be found. Had this happened then a lot of the early part of the story could have been taken out. The Doctor and Jo don’t really seem used very well. Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning do their best with the what they are given but don’t really shine in the way they should.

The main problem with this story is their neither side are particularly nice and I just don’t really care about them. The only two characters that were slightly bearable were Jaeger and The Marshal. Paul Whitsun-Jones as the Marshal was almost a pantomime villain but that was enough to make his character the best of the supporting line-up. I also liked George Pravda as Jaeger. His character was sort of hovering between being good and bad. I really like Pravda as an actor and thought that he was superb in The Deadly Assassin and in The Enemy of the World and he continues that good run in this story.

The Mutants is not the best story of the Third Doctor era. I think that ultimatley too long, the characters aren’t interesting and it’s a story that didn’t need to be released on DVD yet when there are even slightly better stories waiting to come out. You know that its not the best story when people involved in making it aren’t entirely satisfied with it. Katy Manning thinks its one of the best stories she was involved in and then there is Christopher Barry who doesn’t think so highly of it. I would tend to side with Barry.

Prisoner in the Sun (2011)

Prisoner of the Sun is a story that I had high hopes for. I think that Eddie Robsn is one of the best writers that Big Finish use. Such stories as The Raincloud Man, The Condemned and most recently Situation Vacant are stories that I really rank highly. However this story falls slightly short and its sad to write this but it could be a contender for worst story of 2011. The story sees the Doctor imprisoned inside a sun and the Doctor cannot escape otherwise the sun will explode and kill two billion people.

The story starts off quite well as the captures know that the Doctor wont escape and risk the lives of billions which is quite clever but then the plot changes where in fact nothing happens and again I think that is clever and makes the drama better with a reasonable twist but then the story just nosedives in terms of quality. I have listened to this story three times and I just don’t get it and that is what I find disappointing about this story. It’s never made clear (or to me at least) what is actually going on. Was the Doctor aware of what was going on or is he just pretending? Just when I thought I had got a hand on what was going on something happens to make me confused. There are some good things in this release. I thought that Paul McGann put in a good performance and Sheridan Smith also had a good outing as she was playing an android called Daphney. Anthony Costa was a surprise as a former pop start I wondered whether his acting would be any good and actually it was. I would go so far to say that he was the best guest star. That’s not saying that that the rest of the cast aren’t any good but I was quite impressed with Mr. Costa.

I did like the end of the story with the message from Lucie, it leads in nicely to the next story ‘Lucie Miller’. I really have high hopes for this release. Prisoner of the Sun is not the weakest story of the series (that particular honour will always go to Nevermore) but its nothing special and that’s sad because after a good run of stories I was hoping that this story would continue the trend. I still think that Eddie Robson is a extremely good writer and I suppose that every writer is entitled to a below par story. Hopefully the next Eddie Rosbon story will seem him back to his best.

The Three Doctors

The Three Doctors is a historic story in the history of Doctor Who. For the first time, all three actors who have played the Doctor appear on screen together at the same time. Well I say at the same time, Pertwee and Troughton appear on screen at the same time, Hartnell is just on the scanner due to being quite ill at the time so this is technically two and a half Doctors. As an anniversary story it had to be something special and yet without Hartnell in it more than he is and without anything else that made the show successful such as Daleks or Cybermen or the Master. The story sees people disappearing and its connected to a ‘light stream’ that leads into a Black Hole. At the end of the Black Hole is Omega. The story does have a fair amount of comedy but it manages to keep it in the foreground just underneath all the main stuff. The bickering between the second and third incarnations was a bit of comedy. However it subsided at just the right time. Then there is the stuff with the Brigadier, Benton and Doctor #2. Troughton

Omega in this story is very impressive. From his grand reveal to the mask itself, the character of Omega is a great creation sadly his effectiveness is reduced in Arc of Infinity. Omega was abandoned and feels let down by the Timelords even though he is considered a hero by the Third Doctor, its not enough for Omega who feels he should be treated as a God. Stephen Thorne as Omega is a great theatrical characters. There are problems with the story. The Anti-Matter monster is a bit poor. To be fair it uses pretty colours but that’s the best that I can say about it. Also the Gell creatures are also a bit naff, they waddle at such a slow pace that its hard to believe that anyone could find them scary. You could flee from them at a reasonable pace.

The most impressive sequence for me in the entire episode was in part three/four where the Doctor is fighting Omega’s champion in his mind. Very well thought of and directed. The creature that is playing Omega’s champion in his mind is very creepy and wouldn’t look out of place in The Talons of Weng-Chiang. The fact that there is nothing colourful in the background and its being done in slow motion manage to pull something dramatic out of it. The cliffhanger is particularly impressive.

Jon Pertwee and Patrick Troughton do a good job leading this story. Pertwee as the current Doctor gets the best stuff which is only right yet Troughton is rubbished or talked down to. His contribution is just as good as Pertwee’s. It’s a bit sad having Hartnell in this story. Dumped on a flight of stairs in a dark corridor. It was only a couple of years before his death and this proved to be somewhat of a swansong for him. At least all four episodes of his final story exist unlike The Tenth Planet. People like Katy Manning, Nicholas Courtney and Ian Lavine all take a backseat roll and are left to ask the questions.

The Three Doctors is a great tribute to Doctor Who. Bob Baker and Dave Martin have made up for the slightly dull ‘The Mutants’ with a story that has everything you would want. The best thing I can say about it is that it shows that you don’t need the Daleks or Cybermen or the Master to make something special. Just having the main actors and a really strong villain is or you need. With the show just two years away from its 50th Birthday it would be nice to have a similar story using the surviving Doctors. This story is far better than what would be used to celebrate the show’s 20th Birthday.

The Claws of Axos

With the Axons about the return to the world of Doctor Who in a Big Finish play led me to watching this story. I have never been a massive fan of this story as I think that the Axons. This story was written by Bob Baker and Dave Martin who would go on to create K9 and also write the Wallace and Gromit stories. The story centres around a ship that crash lands, the occupants promise to give the humans something they call Axonite however all is not what it seems and to cap things off the Master is on board. The 1971 series is famous because The Master features in every single story which I think is quite smart because it gives the story a theme which the new series uses every year.

The characters in this story are what are good about this story. The tramp Pigbin Josh was a funny little addition to the early part of the story. It was just a shame that his usefulness only lasted 16 minute. I also found Chinn to be a loathsome character. He was always intended to be so and Baker and Martin should be praised for that. He is a character of his time and was totally out for himself and there only to make himself more powerful. There is also a fine outing for Tim Pigott-Smith as Captain Harker. The four main regulars all put in solid performances. This is the third story for Roger Delgado and his magnificence is on show here. The relationship between Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning is well and truly evident and there are fine performances from the pair. Nicholas Courtney has a lot of fun as the Brigadier battles against Chin. The Brigadier can be a bit irritable as an army man but its nice to know that even he can be irritated by someone higher up the food chain.

The initial build up to the story was very exciting. It was curious to see the build up to the revelation of the Axons. When they arrive they portray themselves as a race that have the ability to help out humanity. I quite liked how the Doctor used a bit of his desire to leave Earth to try and defeat the Master and the Axos. This leads into a shift in character for Bill Filer. He all of a sudden doesn’t trust the Doctor who thinks he is trying to bail out of the situation (which he sort of is). There is some wonderful location work in this which is helped by the fact that it seemed to snow unexpectedly. The scenes filmed on the Kent coast are some of the most atmospheric and lovingly shot of that series.

There is quite a lot wrong with this story. Firstly American Bill Filer’s hair. I know it was the 1970’s but even hair from that decade can be acceptable. As a result I find that the character loses a little bit of credibility. The Master’s introduction wasn’t particularly good. I thought more fuss would have been made even considering that he was a regular in every story in the 1971 series. The look of the Axos from the neck downwards is also very poor, it just makes them look cheap and not menacing.

I have to admit that after watching this story on DVD to review this. My opinion has changed because its not that bad. Ok some of the creatures don’t really stand up particularly well and they get painted green and return in the Seeds of Doom but this story is an enjoyable four part adventure. Bob Baker and Dave Martin have written a solid script that had just enough in it to make it interesting. Not the best story of the 1971 season but that’s because of the quality of the season.