The Children of Seth (2011)

The Children of Seth is the third story to come from Christopher Bailey. Bailey had written twice for Doctor Who on TV with ‘Kinda’ in 1982 and ‘Snakedance’ the following year. The thing that those two stories have in common as well as having the Mara in them is that they are very experimental adventures, especially for their time. I’m more of a fan of Kinda than Snakedance but I was curious to see how this one would pan out. Marc Platt has taken responsibility of adapting Bailey’s story and bringing the Fifth Doctor series of Lost Stories to a close. The story takes place on the Archipelago of Sirius after receiving a message containing the word Idra. When they arrive they discover that all is not well as the society is on the verge of breaking down. It appears to be quite a strict society where people who are bothersome are sent to ‘Level 14’.

It’s not an easy story to follow and to be honest I did lose my patience with it at times. I’m not against stories that test the listeners patience so I’m not going to be totally harsh to it because there were things in it that were quite good. The casting was mainly it and there were two that stood out for me. The first being Honor Blackman. The former Bond Girl who had previously appeared in ‘The Trial of a Timelord’ back in 1986 appears as Anahita and her character is well written and fits in well with the whole tone of the story. Another fine piece of casting was that of David Warner who quite frankly could play anything and be magnificent. He was the only good thing in ‘Circular Time’ back in 2007 and as Siris he continues to impress but could have done with being in it a bit more. Another good performance was from Adrian Lukis as Byzan, it was a clever little performance which like Blackman’s fitted in well with the tone of the story.

Of the regular performances, Sarah Sutton is poorly treated yet again in these stories. She starts the story off by her experiment being the reason why the TARDIS goes to where it does but besides that she does very little. Janet Fielding is on the other hand is given far more of the story. Considering she was the emotional force of ‘Hexagora’, it would have been fairer to give Nyssa the dramatic parts instead of Tegan. Peter Davison’s performance is perhaps the oddest. It does seem for large chunks of this story like he’s just going through the motions and its only when he starts seeing numbers that he steps up a gear.

It sad to say that this story is the weakest of the Lost Stories for the Fifth Doctor. It didn’t grip me in the way that I hoped it would. Out of the three stories we have had its easy to say that ‘The Elite’ was the best and ‘Hexagora’ is second. It’s nice that these stories have been made and this story probably would have gotten a better result on TV.

The Tomfiles: #15 - Big Finish Review of 2011

It’s that time of year again when I look back at the previous year of releases. Big Finish has continued to produce a high number of stories ranging several different spin-offs. We saw companions return and depart in some of the finest releases that Big Finish have produced. The year started of traditionally with January.

JANUARY – MARCH: THE THOMAS BREWSTER SERIES
Thomas Brewster finally returned in ‘The Crimes of Thomas Brewster’. It also marked the return of Maggie Stables after about two years out of the main range. The Crimes of Thomas Brewster wasn’t as good a starter story to the year as ‘A Thousand Tiny Wing’s. When we got to Feast of Axos, I found the series picked up as the Axos were a under appreciated story. The final story was ‘Industrial Evolution’ which I think was a disappointing end to the series. Ok it wasn’t a terrible story as it was written by Eddie Robson but I think that the whole series could be summed up as OK.

APRIL – JUNE: RICHTER 2
Due to the success of the previous Nyssa/Tegan/Turlough series in 2010. It was obvious and appreciated that they returned for a second series and actually I think that it was better. Heroes of Sontar marked the first appearance of the Sontarans in a Big Finish play and it was a brilliant adventure. This was beaten by Kiss of Death which I think is the best story of the year as it was about Turlough and was a wonderful story. The final story was the ‘weakest’ story of the series but only because the other two were so good. I still enjoyed ‘Rat Trap’ and would listen to it again if I got the chance.

JULY – SEPTEMBER: SEVENTH DOCTOR & ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL
This series of adventures featured the Seventh Doctor travelling alone. For the first time since 2008, the Doctor who likes to roll his R’s had to save the universe on his own. The first story ‘ Robophobia’ saw the return of the Robots from ‘The Robots of Death’ and whilst I questioned the decision to bring them back I rather enjoyed the story. The series took a brief break as the main range celebrated it’s 150th release with Recorded Time and Other Stories which were four single stories. I rather enjoyed this release but then it went back to the series and two fantastic stories in succession. I really enjoyed this story and House of Blue Fire and along with Kiss of Death formed three of my favourite stories of the year.

OCTOBER – NOVEMBER: THE MARY SHELLEY TRILOGY
With Lucie Miller having left in March’s ‘To The Death’ it meant that the Eighth Doctor was free to appear in the main range for the first time since 2009’s ‘Company of Friends’. In fact its one character who appeared in that story that was chosen to replace Lucie and it was a bold idea to use a famous person from history. The relationship wasn’t the same as any that we had known since McGann joined Big Finish in 2001. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect and by The Army of Death I had actually grown to like the companion as she had been played very well by Julie Cox.

The Silver Turk was the best story of the series and it was voted Best Main Range story in this years Toms Tardis Awards and its not hard to see why. I think that it was a different take on the Cybermen and uses the original design which I love. The next story The Witch from the Well is a perfectly standard story and Army of Death is actually the best story for Mary Shelley.

01) Kiss of Death (8.50)
02) House of Blue Fire (8.44)
03) The Doomsday Quatrain (8.38)
04) Heroes of Sontar (8.25)
05) Army of Death (7.99)
06) Recorded Time and Other Stories (7.88)
07) The Silver Turk (7.50)
08) The Feast of Axos (7.50)
09) Robophobia (7.50)
10) The Witch from the Well (7.50)
11) Rat Trap (7.25)
12) The Crimes of Thomas Brewster (7.13)
13) Industrial Evolution (7.00)

Average – 7.76


THE COMPANION CHRONICLES
The Companion Chronicles continued to be strong. It started off with a cracking CC in the form of Peri and the Piscon Paradox. It was a mad story which with any other writer would have been a terrible story but Nev Fountain found the right balance. 2011 saw a trilogy of adventures where we were introduced to Oliver Harper. He had a secret which turned out to be that he was a gay man in the 1960’s. Not the biggest secret but anyway but the end of the trilogy ‘The First Wave’ had a wonderful ending and was only beaten by the first story in the series ‘The Perpetual Bond’.

There were some stories which didn’t quite hit the mark. ‘The Sentinels of the New Dawn’ was the weakest story which was compounded by the fact that it was a Liz Shaw story. Another duff story was ‘The Forbidden Time’ which I just didn’t like at all.

This series shows no sign of getting tired and with the slight tweaks to the format, its nice to think where the series could go.

01) Peri and the Piscon Paradox (8.25)
02) The First Wave (8.20)
03) The Perpetual Bond (8.00)
04) The Many Deaths of Jo Grant (8.00)
05) Tales from the Vault (7.88)
06) Beyond the Ultimate Adventure (7.80)
07) The Memory Cheats (7.63)
08) Ferril’s Folly (7.50)
09) The Cold Equations (7.25)
10) The Rocket Men (7.00)
11) The Forbidden Time (6.75)
12) The Sentinels of the New Dawn (6.50)

THE LOST STORIES
The term Lost Stories was stretched somewhat in 2011 because we had the Seventh Doctor series which introduced the character of Raine to the show. I quite liked the character of Raine as she was well played by Beth Chalmers. The combination of Raine and Ace is a nice one and hopefully it will result in a main range adventure. We also had fifth Doctor series of adventures where it was just Nyssa and Tegan. It’s been a good year overall with 2012 looking to be another great year.

TOP 5 LOST STORIES
The Elite (8.38)
Thin Ice (8.31)
Crime of the Century (8.19)
Animal (7.69)
Earth Aid (7.56)

GALLIFREY
Gallifrey returned for the first time since 2006. I had listened to the previous three series in preparation to this series and I must admit that whilst this series was slightly more easy to understand than the other three it was still enjoyable. Some didn’t seem to enjoy it but I did and thought that the idea that the regular characters were looking for a new home was quite a good story arc. Hopefully it wont be another five years before we get Gallifrey V.

JAGO AND LITE FOOT – SERIES II & III
Jago and Litefoot returned for not one but two series of adventures and they got better with each series. Series 3 was my favourite of the two because Louise Jameson returned as Leela and it gave the series a freshness that some may feel it didn’t need but to me it made it seem like it was from the 1970’s.

Both series did have something in common and that was the best story was the first. Both Litefoot and Sanders and Dead Men’s Tales were the best stories of the series. It’s quite amazing that two characters that appeared once in the TV series back in the 70’s have managed to spawn so many stories with more coming in 2012 and hopefully beyond.

The overall feeling about this year is that its been a solid year. I don’t think the Doctor/Companion line up has been as solid as in previous years. I don’t think that it was necessary to have Thomas Brewster return and Mary Shelley was another curious if slightly better realised decision. 2012 is going to be a big year for Big Finish with the arrival of the fourth incarnation. I hope that when I do my review of 2012 that I will be saying it will be the best yet.

Destination Nerva (2012)

Well he’s finally here! Tom Baker has arrived at Big Finish Towers and has lent his voice to a full cast adventure. There has been a lot of excitement since it was announced that he had signed on to do these adventures and its clear that Big Finish have massive plans but that’s all in the future and what we have is Destination Nerva written and directed by Nicholas Briggs and sees the Fourth Doctor and Leela (I love writing that!) arrive at Nerva at a point where it wasn’t an ark or the setting the Cybermen but as a Docking Station. I was expecting a four part adventure however what we got was a two part adventure and this is apparently how the format will be for the upcoming releases. I must admit that I wasn’t sure what to expect but any fears that I had were unfounded because whilst it didn’t feel like a 1977 adventure it sure did feel like a fourth Doctor adventure.

It was quite a strange idea to set a story in such a familiar place. The Nerva beacon had featured twice during Tom Baker’s first season on TV. It’s not somewhere that I would have thought of to set a story in but credit to Big Finish for doing it. The restricted setting should have been a big selling point for me but because of the Doctor and the plot it barely registered with me. All the performances were very well played and weren’t over the top.

Tom Baker is very good and whilst he might not sound like he did back in 1977, he still has some of those characteristics. I had briefly heard him in The Hornets Nest series that he did for BBC Audio but not much. I mention the voice but to be honest Peter Davison doesn’t sound like his TV self but it doesn’t detract from the story. Louise Jameson puts in another solid performance. From interviews that she has done, Jameson and Baker didn’t have the warmest relationship however that has changed and one of the things that I like most about this story is that their relationship is very good. Raquel Cassidy makes another return to the Big Finish world after appearances in ‘The Judgement of Isskar’ (2009) and ‘Recorded Time and Other Stories’ (2011). Her character has suffered a loss and so her reason for being there is reasonable. As Doctor Allison Foster, Cassidy does a good job as the connection between the regular characters and she slotted in very well.

Destination Nerva was the perfect way to introduce Tom Baker’s Doctor into the Big Finish world. It’s not too complicated and it isnt dumbing down for anyone. It’s just a nice big slice of nostalga cake and for those of us not born until sometime after Baker’s era had finished, it’s just nice to hear Tom Baker.

Army of Death (2011)

Army of Death is the final story of the Eighth Doctor series and also of 2011. It’s a surprising decision to have a story so mired in the themes of death at such a festive month. This is Jason Arnopp’s first story for the main range after his highly enjoyable contribution to the ‘Recorded Time and Other Stories’ release back in December 2010. This story sees the Doctor and Mary Shelley arrive on the planet of Draxine where there are two citystates called Garrak and Stronghaven. Garrack is pretty much on its knees thanks to its leader President Harmon who as it turns out was the leader of a cult. Whereas Garrak is in physical ruin, Stronghaven is in the middle of a political upheaval. Their president has been assinated and the replacement is also in trouble. As you would expect, the Doctor and Mary are caught in the middle of the story.

Paul McGann is fantastic in this story. His character’s attitude seems to have changed since Lucie Miller’s departure and McGann has had his best year since joining Big Finish in 2001. I thought that his best scene was President Vallan but to be honest all his scenes were well acted. Julie Cox puts in her best performance so far with the adventure. I must admit that I wasn’t sure whether the character would work considering how short a time she had in ‘Company of Friends’ but to the credit more of Miss Cox than the writers, the character has worked and despite the uncertain conclusion for the character. Mary Shelley has been one of biggest surprises of 2011. The big name in this release was that of David Harewood who is perhaps best known in Doctor Who circles as playing Naismith in the David Tennant two-part finale ‘End of Time’. Some people have an instantly recognisable voice and Harewood is one of those. He gives a very good performance which fits in well with the mood of the story. Mitch Benn is another name that I was familiar with. His involvement in this story was leaked out somehow by the man himself. Benn is perhaps most recognisable to British listeners for his contributions to the BBC Radio Four show ‘The Now Show’. I have to admit that despite being a regular listener and fan of that show I struggled to notice him in this. Now I know who he plays I may go back and listen to it again

Army of Death might not be the chirpiest story of the year or of recent times but it has to be said that it’s a solid story and whilst most people might be going wax lyrical about The Silver Turk, I think that Army of Death is the more satisfying. Arnopp has managed to get the most out of the Mary Shelley character which has been something that hasn’t really happened in the previous stories. It’s been a rocky year for the Eighth Doctor (emotionally) but it looks like 2012 will be a good year for him and Mary Shelley looks like she could be a fine companion.

2011 Tomstardis Awards

BEST DOCTOR - Paul McGann
BEST COMPANION - Sheridan Smith (Lucie Miller)

BEST MAIN RANGE STORY - The Silver Turk
BEST MAIN RANGE WRITER - Marc Platt (The Silver Turk)
BEST MAIN RANGE DIRECTOR - Barnaby Edwards (The Silver Turk)
BEST MAIN RANGE COVER DESIGNER - Alex Mallinson (The Silver Turk)
BEST MAIN RANGE MUSIC & SOUND DESIGNER - Jamie Robertson (The Silver Turk)
BEST SERIES - Eighth (The Silver Turk/The Witch from the Well/Army of Death)
BEST GUEST STAR - David Schneider (Ernest Bratfisch – The Silver Turk)

BEST GALLIFREY STORY - Dissassembled

BEST COMPANION CHRONICLES STORY - Peri and the Piscon Paradox

BEST LOST STORY - The Elite

BEST JAGO AND LITEFOOT STORY - The Theatre of Dreams

BEST EIGHTH DOCTOR STORY - To The Death

SPECIAL RECOGNITION - Simon Guerrier