Adam (2008)

When I saw the trailer for this story I really wasn’t looking forward to it. It looked like the show was returning to its old ways of having emotional stories with very little in the way of interest. But how wrong I was, this story showed us another side to all the characters but most importantly saw the biggest insight into Captain Jack’s past. The story started in a strange way which I thought was quite a shock, for once you were thrown into the story instead of seeing it from the beginning. I genually thought that I had missed the first 10 minutes or something like that but when I realised what was actually going on it seem quite a nice way to start an episode.

Another thing that was interesting and kind of weird was how the main characters were completely different from what they normally are. Tosh was confident and in love, Owen was a geek who had lost his cockiness and Gwen had forgotten who Rhys was. The most shocking thing was seeing Ianto emotionally destroyed thinking he had brutally attacked and killed women. Jack’s journey was perhaps the most interesting because we got a glimpse into his past. What he was like as a child and the fact he lost his brother was perhaps the most emotional few minutes in Torchwood. After waiting nearly three years to find out anything about the character, what we did find out about Jack was worth it. The scene where the team are being hypnotised and about the take the amnesia pill was well acted and well written, when Tosh was saying goodbye to Adam was really sad as you knew that she was about to say goodbye to the only person who had any feelings for her ever.

A very good episode which was far better than expected and infact I would go so far as to say that it was the best episode of the series so far.

Max Warp (2008)

Max Warp is described as Top Gear in Space and that is what the writer must have had in mind when he penned this story. I wasn’t expecting much from this story but to be honest I was pleasantly surprised with a story that had a very good plot and was well structured. The first thing that I liked about this story is how it had a jokey front to it whilst beneath it was a Agatha Christie murder mystery story to it. The cast on a whole were very good. Paul McGann and Sheridan Smith were as usual on good form in this story with great chemistry and at times great comedy timing. Graeme Garden was very good as Geoffrey Vantage and James Fleet was very funny as O’Reilley. Nick Brimble was perhaps the best of the guest stars as The Kith as the voice was very unusual and gave a nice impression of what they would look like if this were made for TV. Samantha James was impressive as President Varlon and I liked the character because she personifies what a President or Leader is like. Katarina Olsson who is becoming a regular regular in these Eighth Doctor releases was on form as Judd Gillbride. The only piece of casting that was a bit of a let down was Duncan James who played Timbo, now it isn’t because he was from a boy band but it was that his voice didn’t really work in this play. It seems more suited to advertising Daz or some other well known brand. That may seem harsh and I know that Stephen Gatley (Horror of Glam Rock) was in a boy band but the difference with James is that he was only in it for a few minutes at the beginning and at the end whereas Gatley was in it for most of the story. The actual plot was quite interesting as it seemed to have a bit of Curse of Peladon about it, someone trying to start a war and people trying to keep the peace. Trying to find out who had murdered Timbo was quite entertaining as the people who it could have been changed every few minutes but the possibility that Timbo’s death wasn’t all it seemed to be dawned on me quite early on. It had a nice ending to it and overall it was a really good story. Whilst not on par with Dead London, it was still a very entertaining story.

Catch 1782 (2005)

Catch 1782 was originally released in April 2005 and was the first story to be written by Alison Lawson. The story is quite a simple story in that it’s just a rescue adventure with a romance thrown in. It’s not a fast action paced story like some of the past stories but in a way that is a good thing in some stories. The plot is a basic one of the companion getting into trouble by going back in time and the Doctor having to rescue her but not knowing when or where exactly she is. Now whereas it would have been simple for the Doctor and Mel to just go straight back to 2003 there was the small matter of Henry Hallam falling for Mel. You got the feeling as the story moved on Henry Hallam was slowly going mad due to the loss of his wife and the weird fact that Mel couldn’t remember who she was. There was also the added twist that Mrs McGregor who was the maid of the house who had a soft spot for Henry Hallam and also was jealous of Mel until she realised where Mel came from.

The plot was well written and constructed but also the acting was very good. Colin Baker put in an as usual superb performance, he was genuinely saddened by what had happened to Mel and seemed really sorry when he was apologising to Mel for taking so long and that is what you come expect from Colin Baker. Bonnie Langford was also very good in this story, during her time in the TV version she was extremely annoying and is ranked quite lowly in any list of favourite companions. Thanks to stories like this one she has been recreated and is now Derek Benfield who played John Hallam was very good in this story and served very well as a sort of companion for the Doctor. Keith Drinkel was the best of the guest cast members as Henry Hallam, he brilliantly portrayed a man who was slowly losing his mind after losing his wife and tries to replace her with Mel. The moment he went mad as Mrs McGregor symbolised what the characters mental state was like. Jillie Meers who played Mrs McGregor was a character that changed quite late in the story because she thinks for most of the story disliking Mel because she thinks that Mel is there to rob Henry Hallam and then changes once the Doctor tells her where Mel comes from. Ian Fairbairn (Professor David Munro) and Rhiannon Meades (Rachel) were two characters that also worked well in this story.

Catch 1782 is a very good story and would highly recommend this story to anyone who wants a simple non-complicated story to spend time listening to.

The Game (2005)

The Game is the second story of 2005 and is the first to have the Fifth Doctor & Nyssa combination in just less than two years (May 2003 in Creatures of Beauty). This story is written by Darin Henry who has written episodes of Seinfeld and Futurama. Henry is making his first contribution to the main Doctor Who range and hopefully it won’t be his last. The story is different to most Who stories in that there are six episodes instead of the standard four. I am not quite sure what the reason for it being, the result of the increase in episodes is that the duration is shorter which also means that the cliffhangers come more quickly. I read somewhere that this story was intended to be a Sixth Doctor/Evelyn story but got changed for some reason (probably scheduling).

The story sees the return of William Russell to the Doctor Who world. Russell played Ian Chesterton and travelled with the First Doctor between 1963 and 1965. In this story he plays Lord Carlisle who is a peace negotiator who has an admirer in the form of the Doctor. The basic point of the story is centred around a game called Naxi which is essentially two gangs who beat the living hell out of each other. With the sound effects and the dialogue we get the feeling that this is a truly brutal game and perhaps is barbaric. At several points in the early part of the story we have the matches which are short but very intense. There is commentary from Jonathan Pearce who provides commentary for the BBC Match of the Day programme and you get the feeling during points of this story that you are listening to the radio. Pearce is very enthusiastic throughout and that helps add to the entertainment factor.

The way that Lord Carlisle was written was that he was meant to be this great man who would go to troubled situations and sort things out. That is why the Doctor was such an admirer obviously because the Doctor can’t sort things out without people close to him dying. Throughout the early part of this story is that there is something not quite right about Carlisle. It’s not clear exactly what that problem is but then learn that Lord Carlisle doesn’t solve the problems but in fact it is the Doctor. There is also another question that needs answering and it’s raised by the Doctor. It is a different way of using time travel in that the Doctor is the one that has been sorting the peace problems out yet it is Carlisle getting the credit and the Doctor doesn’t know why. There is a little bit of sadness with my enjoyment of Carlisle when Nyssa finds out some of Carlisle’s notes which show how the fighting can be extended not finished. Nyssa starts out being a bit sceptical of the Doctor’s admiration of Carlisle however quite quickly it is Nyssa who becomes attached and makes it clear she would like to stay with Carlisle but we all know that she leaves in Terminus so any mention of departing from the Doctor is meaningless and just wastes time.

Peter Davison is very good in this story. At the beginning he is the fan looking forward to meeting his hero. It’s a scenario that many Doctor Who fans have been in when they go to a Sci-Fi convention and they know their favourite Doctor is going to be there. We have all been there and it’s a nice feeling to have. He is very good throughout this story and once he realises that it is he who solves the problems and not Carlisle we see the normal Doctor that he plays so well. It is so good to have Sarah Sutton back. As Nyssa I think that she is one of the best companions in Doctor Who history because she is smart but not too smart and doesn’t scream like a stereotypical female companion would. William Russell is superb in this story as Lord Darzil Carlisle. He is an enjoyable character who becomes even more likeable when we discover that he is actually a fraud and is a fan of the Doctor’s. Russell’s voice really suits radio and hopefully he does more in the future. It’s good that he played someone who wasn’t Ian Chesterton because it meant the Russell could play someone different that would test him. Christopher Ellison is another notable name. He appeared in such shows as The Bill and in this he plays Morian who is a gangster and that suits what he played in the Bill. Jonathan Pearce who as mentioned is a Football commentator is enjoyable as Garny Diblick who sounds like he could be one of you friends talking about football. Ursula Burton was very good as Ambassador Faye Davis who is Carlisle’s assistant. She is very aware of Carlisle job and doesn’t look to kindly to strangers who distract him. Robert Curbishley plays Ockle Dirr very well and has a nice voice for radio.

Other characters that performed well in this story include Gregory Donaldon who plays Coach Bela Destry who asks Carlisle to come to sort the problems out thus being a nice character in my eyes. Andrew Lothian plays Hollis Az and does a good job. Dickon Tolson also does well as Coach Sharz Sevix which is the leader of the other team and helped with the tension between the two teams.

Darin Henry has written a superb story. There is a lot going on for six episodes and all the characters are well structured and are totally engaging. I particularly like the Jonathan Pearce character and think that the setting is just right. Gary Russell has taken a brave approach in recent releases with new writers and he has helped their inexperience by directing them and perhaps getting them back to a listenable story. With The Game there is no need for him to direct it like he has done as the story tells itself. He manages to get the right pace as with a short run time in each episode he cant afford to waste time with meaningless scenes and this helps the enjoyment.

Meat (2008)

Episode 4 is a strange episode but strange in a good way. Written by Catherine Tregenna who penned two previous episodes from series 1. The story was about Rhys who is a character that had been portrayed as a clown and silly figure who was only popped up to make Gwen seem the most normal of the Torchwood crew. After 16 epsiodes they managed to make the Rhys character the exact opposite of what he is perceived and that was done by throwing him into the middle of the story. The story itself would have been average had it not been for the Rhys element. I liked the idea that there was this group that were selling alien meat because they had captured this alien that didn’t seem to be intent on world domination or anything but just had the misfortune of been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

There were several moments that I thought were particularly interesting. The first was the moment when Rhys went into the Hub. Instead of taking him through the boring entrance Gwen took him down on that pavement slab that Gwen went up with Jack in 1.1 – Everything Changes. The monster itself was well created, the CGI used was some of the best that I have seen for a monster that I have seen in Torchwood and the end bit where Jack and co are infront of it after it died was quite impressive. Speaking of the monster the moment when Owen had killed it I found the moment rather sad as Jack showed on screen.

The fact that Gwen didn’t give Rhys the amnesia drug indicates that he is likely to play a bigger role in the series which is a good thing. Had this story happened in Series 1 then it might not have worked but as its come this year when we are ready to accept Rhys it works and works very well. Great story, Great acting and it maintains the high standard that the series has created so far. Very Entertaining

To The Last Man (2008)

This story was written by Helen Raynor who penned the Dalek two-parter last year and also Ghost Machine for S1 Torchwood. This story is another story with a historical theme to it. I thought that this story wasn’t the strongest one of the series but that’s because the previous two stories were absolute crackers. To The Last Man is essentially a Tosh story and the previous one featuring this character (Greeks Bearing Gifts) was a dull episode but I think that where they improved with this one is that it wasn’t all from Tosh point of view. The character of Tommy had formed a loving relationship with Tosh in what was in his eyes just four days, now at first this seems unbelievable but when you stop and this of it then its quite believable.

The writing was very good and all the characters were given good material which helped. The scene where Gwen walks into the ward and sees the soldier with an amputated leg and then he walks towards her was a really good moment, Owen wasn’t sarcastic in this episode which was weird but refreshing. Ianto was on form again in this episode and Jack was also very good in this story. The pacing of this episode was a nice steady one and when it all ended I didn’t feel short changed or confused.

Whilst its not as good as the previous two episodes it was still a good episode which proves that the producers have learnt their lessons from Series 1.

Dead London (2008)

Dead London is the first story of the second series of 8th Doctor adventures featuring Lucie Miller. This is the sixth full series of adventures starring Paul McGann and is one short of Tom Baker’s seven that he did for TV. This is also the debut story from Pat Mills and it isn’t the sort of story that you would expect to start a new series but is ideal for the eighth Doctor.

The Doctor and Lucie are separated in what at first appears like normal London but the Doctor is trapped in the 18th century and Lucie is in the first world War. It moves at a good pace which is just as well because with just 50 minutes there isn’t a lot of time to get any of the finer plot points out. What I liked about the story was how it seemed to be a little complicated but not too much that I lost interest and that is a fine balance to try and get right but Mills has done it. The cast in this story is absolutely brilliant. Claire Buckfield who previously appeared in the 2001 story The One Doctor and also last years Horror of Glam Rock is well suited to this role as she is a likeable character who doesn’t hinder the story in any way and by the end of the story you want her to travel with the Doctor and Lucie. Rupert Vansittart is also a very good addition to the cast, his multiple voices are all convincing and not at all over the top. Paul McGann is on good form in this story as does Sheridan Smith as Lucie. Lucie and The Doctor is a combination that works very well and goes from strength to strength. Thoroughly impressive start to this series with hopefully more of the same to come.