Doctor Who Big Finish and Audio stories review blog...

Post Reply New Topic

REVIEW: The Foe from the Future by Robert Banks Stewart, adapted by John Dorney

SERIAL: FDLS1, 6X30 minute episodes

LISTENED TO IT BEFORE?: No

One of the most famous Doctor Who stories, The Talons of Weng-Chiang, had its roots, more or less, in an outline by Robert Banks Stewart called The Foe from the Future. Because Robert Banks Stewart couldn't work on the story, Robert Holmes had to write a new story. While a few elements of The Foe from the Future were used, it was a very different beast to the later story, and Big Finish would later come to adapt the story of The Foe from the Future from Stewart's outline for their Lost Stories line...

Staffham, 1977. A small Devon village, home to a haunted estate, the Grange, where the reclusive Jalnik dwells. The Doctor and Leela have been drawn here by a rip in time, where the history of the village appears to be changing. Jalnik, a hideously deformed man, seems to have the ability to manipulate time. But what is his purpose? What are the Pantophagen? And what does it all have to do with a ruined Earth in the 41st century? The Doctor and Leela have to fight more than one foe from the future, but can they stop all creation from being wiped out?

One can see many of the elements reused in The Talons of Weng-Chiang, including a villain deformed by a dangerous time travel experiment and gigantic animals. But it's better to see the differences, as The Foe from the Future is very much a different beast to The Talons of Weng-Chiang, and this isn't a bad thing at all. It's a good story that seems reminiscent not only of many of Steven Moffat's work on the new series, but also of stories preceding where this one would have been. The nature of the future and why it is involved is quite well done, with there being a bit of humour from the future's misunderstandings about the present, and the dialogue is pretty good. There's a loose thread here and there, but otherwise, it's a good story.

Tom Baker is very good as the Doctor, while Louise Jameson's Leela actually gets some pretty good characterisation, even being rather intelligent and playful. Paul Freeman is a delight as the insane and mildly sympathetic Jalnik, and Camilla Power also plays a suitably nasty secondary villain in Councillor Kostal. The other parts are well cast, with Louise Brealy as Charlotte, Blake Ritson as Shibac, Jaimi Barbakoff as Supreme Councillor Geflo, and Dan Starkey as Historiographer Osin being notable.

And once again, what can I say about the sound design that I haven't already said before? Big Finish didn't quite make it sound like it was Saturday teatime in 1977 all over again, but having a modern sound wasn't a bad thing at all. There were occasions when the sound mixing threatened to drown out the dialogue, but nothing too major. A mere quibble.

Overall, The Foe from the Future was a welcome change from the usual Fourth Doctor Adventures. Not the same as The Talons of Weng-Chiang by any means, it nonetheless stands tall on its own merits, and a highly enjoyable romp with the Fourth Doctor and Leela...


SCORE: 10/10


For the moment, I've decided to forgo the randomiser technique, as there are two adventures in particular I want to listen to: The Silver Turk, and The Creed of the Kromon. Watch this space...

REVIEW: The Silver Turk by Marc Platt

SERIAL: 8AAA, 4X30 minute episodes

LISTENED TO IT BEFORE?: No

The Eighth Doctor, for a time, travelled with Mary Shelley, a story long alluded to in the Big Finish series. However, it wasn't until recently that these travels were dramatised for Big Finish. And for the debut story, Marc Platt wrote a story about Cybermen, the Vienna Exposition, and puppets. Marc Platt is always an excellent writer for the Big Finish audios, but can he pull off another masterpiece?

The Doctor has taken Mary Shelley to Vienna, not, as he believed, to 1816, where Shelley departed from and where the Doctor left his actual companions, but to 1873, and the Vienna Exposition. There, he encounters the Count and Countess Wittenmeier, the Count being one of the patrons of Alfred Stahlbaum, the man who has claimed to build an automaton known as the Silver Turk. But the Doctor soon finds that the Silver Turk is a damaged Mondas Cyberman, and Stahlbaum is under its control. But what links Stahlbaum to the mysterious Dr Johan Drossel? How is an old model of Cyberman present on Earth when Mondas is over 200 light years away? And what links it all to a series of vicious murders with the victims' eyes gouged out?

Marc Platt is always an excellent writer, and The Silver Turk is filled with wonder and horror in equal measure. In a way, it seems reminiscent of Robert Shearman's Jubilee, in which we are invited to feel sorry for a Dalek, only this time, we have Cybermen. It doesn't quite explore the same themes though, or at least not to the same depth, but my only real problem is that we don't quite get an explanation of how Drossel became involved, with the final revelation about him providing limited closure. We also have a few bits here and there that seem to indicate plot points that weren't taken up properly. However, it's an excellent, creepy story with a vaguely lyrical air.

Paul McGann is a wonder as the Eighth Doctor, which is little surprise. Julie Cox is also interesting as Mary Shelley, the only historical figure to truly become a companion to the Doctor (unless you count HG Wells in Timelash), and the story has many great scenes, including a number of Jubilee-esque scenes where she converses with Gran, the (admittedly unfortunately named) Cyberman, as well as a scene where she is overwhelmed by the implications and horrors of her initial trip with the Doctor. Although Drossel isn't as good a villain as I could have hoped for, Gareth Armstrong attacks the role with aplomb, as does Christian Bassington as Stahlbaum, Claire Wyatt as Mitzi, and David Schneider as Bratfisch. And Nicholas Briggs adds the cybernetic cherry on top, playing Gran and Brem (is that how you spell their names?) as rather more pitiful and pitiable, but still very dangerous Cybermen.

I can't say anything about the sound design of Big Finish stories that I haven't already, really. It sounds wonderful, with music and sound effects doing well, and the sound mix managing to avoid obscuring the dialogue. And while many people hate it, I actually love Jamie Robertson's remix of the Doctor Who theme used for this release. It really gets the blood going, and gets me in the mood for adventure, Doctor Who style.

Overall, while not perfect, The Silver Turk nonetheless is another winner from the pen of Marc Platt, and one of Paul McGann's finest adventures in the series...


SCORE: 9.5/10

The next story will probably be The Creed of the Kromon...

Actually, at about the time I decided to listen to and review The Silver Turk and The Creed of the Kromon, I decided to try the d4 and make it official, only for it to come up with a 4. Although I have ignored the result for now, before I listen to The Creed of the Kromon, I will listen to one of the specials. Specifically, Iris Wildthyme: The Iris Wildthyme Appreciation Society.

I've changed my mind for the moment. I'm going to wait until I get my motivation back up, and/or more Big Finish audios. I'm currently waiting on more than a few...

I might be listening to a new audio soon, to make sure it's all right. This audio is The Boy That Time Forgot.

In addition, I am adding the following stories to the list: Heroes of Sontar, The Harvest, and The Next Life. There may be further additions come Saturday, but the following are how the randomiser list will be arranged now, using a d4 to choose the following categories at random...

1= Fourth and Fifth Doctors

2= Sixth Doctor

3= Seventh and Eighth Doctors

4= Specials and Companion Chronicles


For category one (d4)...

1= The Valley of Death

2= Heroes of Sontar

3= Prisoners of Fate

4= Mission of the Viyrans


Sixth Doctor (d4)...

1= Urgent Calls

2= The Apocalypse Element

3= Project: Twilight and Project: Lazarus

4= Doctor Who and the Pirates


For category three, with the Seventh and Eighth Doctors (d10)...

1= Bang-Bang-A-Boom!

2= Colditz

3= The Harvest

4= Forty-Five

5= The Shadow of the Scourge

6= Neverland

7= The Creed of the Kromon

8= The Next Life

9= Blood of the Daleks

10= The Book of Kells


The specials (d4):

1= UNIT: The Coup

2= The Davros Collection (I, Davros episodes 1-4, and The Davros Mission)

3= Iris Wildthyme: The Iris Wildthyme Appreciation Society

4= a reroll

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!

REVIEW: The Boy That Time Forgot by Paul Magrs

SERIAL: 6C/L, 4X30 minute episodes

LISTENED TO IT BEFORE?: No

Doctor Who has such a rich seam of continuity and history that is often mined. Sometimes, companions are revisited long after they leave the Doctor. But Big Finish and Paul Magrs dared to do something that should have been impossible. In The Boy That Time Forgot, they bring back a companion who should have remained dead...

Stranded in Victorian London when Thomas Brewster stole the TARDIS, the Doctor and Nyssa have gathered a number of people for a risky experiment. Using Block Transfer Computation, he intends to retrieve the TARDIS. But something goes horribly wrong, stranding them, along with writer Beatrice Mapp and explorer Rupert van Thal in the distant past, where giant arthropods rule. In a vast City of Excellence, sentient giant scorpions do calculations, all under the rule of His Excellency, the Scorpion King. But the Doctor and Nyssa, brought before the Scorpion King, are shocked to discover that he is a person who should have been dead long ago. For the Scorpion King is none other than an aged and bitter Adric, and he has plans for the Doctor and Nyssa...

The story for The Boy That Time Forgot is ultimately a pretty simple one, albeit an immensely enjoyable one. It's not only a good romp, but it masterfully executes a resurrection that could easily have turned out badly. The scorpion subplot is admittedly weaker than it should have been, but the confrontations between the Doctor, Adric, and Nyssa are much better, with a wonderful resolution.

As usual, Peter Davison and Sarah Sutton are great as the Doctor and Nyssa. Adric is written very well here, although his turn back to helping the Doctor doesn't quite make sense. Andrew Sachs plays the role with many of Matthew Waterhouse's vocal mannerisms, but while he does a fine job, I feel he hams it up rather too much. The rest of the characters are pretty decent, particularly Harriet Walter as Beatrice and Adrian Scarborough, later to play a role in the TV series revival, as Rupert.

Sound design, as usual, is excellent. It's cinematic, and everything sounds great. Unfortunately, there are a couple of times where the sound mixing disappoints, with the music and sound effects drowning out dialogue. Another disappointment is the lack of treatment on the voices of the scorpions. Even a little bit of voice treatment would have helped.

Overall, The Boy That Time Forgot is a good story, and one that skillfully manages what could have been screwed up badly. Not perfect, but pretty good all the same.


SCORE: 9/10

As I have recently obtained one more Big Finish that I haven't listened to before, the following is a revised list.


For category three, with the Seventh and Eighth Doctors (d12, 12 is a reroll)...

1= Bang-Bang-A-Boom!

2= Colditz

3= The Harvest

4= Forty-Five

5= The Shadow of the Scourge

6= Master

7= Neverland

8= The Creed of the Kromon

9= The Next Life

10= Blood of the Daleks

11= The Book of Kells

I rolled a 3 earlier, so I might consider using the randomiser to choose my next story...

I rolled a 3 on the d4, and rolled a 3 on the d12. So...

REVIEW: The Harvest by Dan Abnett

SERIAL: 7W, 4X30 minute episodes

LISTENED TO IT BEFORE?: No

As noted before in previous reviews, Big Finish gained some freedom in being allowed to introduce its own companions. I have listened to the debuts of Erimem, the Egyptian queen companion of the Fifth Doctor, and of Evelyn Smythe, history professor companion to the Sixth Doctor. But now, finally, I come to the debut of Hex, who would accompany the Seventh Doctor and Ace...

St Gart's Hospital, London, 2021. Thomas Hector Schofield, better known to his friends as Hex, is a nurse working at the hospital, where everything is controlled by the System. His 21st birthday is meant to be a happy day, but it turns out to be anything but. When a friend of his dies on the operating table and is taken to the secretive Floor 31, Hex becomes suspicious, especially when he and an inquisitive HR worker, McShane, are nearly run down by a car. And when he takes McShane home to a carpark in Shoreditch, Hex soon learns that she has her own reasons for being involved. Along with the Doctor, posing as a hospital janitor, McShane, really Ace, are investigating alien technology being used, and organ grafts are being used to keep strange people alive. The Doctor and McShane know these beings of old, and soon, Hex will be in for the most dangerous day of his life...

The story of The Harvest itself is quite a simple one overall, mostly intended as a vehicle to introduce Hex. It's still enjoyable to a certain degree, but I'm just left wanting a touch more, really. Even so, given the adversaries it brings back (something I will avoid spoiling here if possible), it deals with some pretty heavy themes. It almost feels like a story from the new series in terms of pace, and while this isn't a bad thing, it doesn't sit completely right with me. And I don't think the implications of System apparently being semi-sentient were explored enough in this story.

Much of the story is told from Hex's point of view, in much the same way as Rose told the story of the series from Rose's point of view. This is actually a good thing, making it a good start-off point, and Philip Olivier as Hex is pretty good, if a bit too fond of freaking out. Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred as the Doctor and 'Just McShane' Ace are good, as usual. While the other parts are okay, perhaps the biggest guest star is William Boyde as the enigmatic Subject One, whose exploration of his gradually increasing humanity is well-done, and makes the climax all the more shocking.

As usual, Big Finish manages to make an excellent soundscape, cinematic in scope. However, a recurrent bugbear, particularly towards the end, is the sound mixing, with sound effect occasionally drowning out dialogue. A more irritating and frequent concern, however, is the music. I mostly enjoy the music in the Big Finish audios, but this techno nightmare doesn't do it for me most of the time. I'm sorry, but I didn't really like it. A shame, really.

Overall, this was a decent introduction to Hex, and while not a standout entry in the Big Finish line, it still should hold a place in a collection. It's a good entry point to the series, and I still recommend it for that purpose at least...


SCORE: 9/10

The next story will probably be Heroes of Sontar...

The next one will probably be Master, actually...

REVIEW: Master by Joseph Lidster

SERIAL: 7Y, 4X30 minute episodes

LISTENED TO IT BEFORE?: No

In 2003, Big Finish celebrated the 40th anniversary of Doctor Who by releasing a trilogy of villain-oriented stories, culminating in a fourth story, Zagreus, on the actual anniversary. I have listened to all of these stories bar one: Master. But now, the time has finally come for me to listen to this exploration of one of the Doctor's most tenacious and evil enemies...

The Doctor interrupts an assassin, and tells him a story of good and evil, life and death. On the Earth colony of Perfugium is the residence of the mysterious and disfigured Doctor John Smith, who is celebrating a birthday of sorts, the tenth anniversary of when he was found wandering the streets. He invites two of his closest friends, Adjudicator Victor Schaeffer, and Schaeffer's wife, the philanthropic Jacqueline. But Perfugium is plagued by death of late, with eleven prostitutes and an innocent girl butchered in a macabre manner. Smith's home is said to be cursed, with strange whispers emanating from the walls. And a strange man, calling himself Doctor Vaughn Sutton, has arrived, heralding even more trouble. Every occupant of the house has secrets, from Doctor John Smith to the maid Jade, and before the night is over, masks will be torn away, Smith will discover a dark legacy within himself, and even the Doctor won't come out of it untainted...

What can I say? The story, while structured simply, is an excellent meditation not only on the character of the Master, but on the very nature of good, evil, and morality in general. Indeed, almost the entirety of the second episode is given over to an extended discussion on morality between the Doctor and John Smith, and while this may not appeal to most people, it works for me. Dark and atmospheric, this is easily Joseph Lidster's Masterpiece, if you forgive the pun, and while a different kind of beast to Mastermind, another story exploring the Master's character, it's also at the same level of excellence, with many an unexpected twist, which I shouldn't spoil. A Masterful melodrama.

Funnily enough, while Sylvester McCoy is great as the Doctor, as usual, it is Geoffrey Beevers as John Smith, or (and this isn't much of a spoiler to those familiar with the Big Finish audios, or indeed to those who bought this title) the Master, who steals the show. Beevers makes John Smith a tragic figure, and also contrast it sharply with the Master when the Master surfaces, even if only briefly. Philip Madoc is a wonder as Victor, as is Anne Ridler as his wife Jacqueline, who have hidden depths of hypocrisy and darkness within their otherwise uptight selves. Charlie Hayes as Jade seems rather like a generic maid, at first, but in the final episode, she gets the chance to be better, in a startling turnaround.

This story doesn't exactly have cinematic sound design this time. However, it feels right for this particular audio that the sound design is as it is. Eerie voices, the atmosphere, it feels so dark, and so right for this story. What else can I say?

Overall, I consider Master to be the best of the Villains Trilogy of 2003. An excellent meditation on the nature of good, evil, morality, and that most vile of the Doctor's opponents, the Master.


SCORE: 10/10

REVIEW: Heroes of Sontar by Alan Barnes

SERIAL: 6H/D, 4X30 minute episodes

LISTENED TO IT BEFORE?: No

As mentioned before, Doctor Who and comedy is a combination that doesn't always work out. Even so, sometimes, when the stars align, things do very well, especially in the Big Finish audios. Heroes of Sontar adds a comedic edge to the Sontarans, which I heard was Dad's Army meets the Sontarans. Would it be any good? Well, I've just found out...

Two decades ago, the planet of Samur was invaded by the Sontarans during their biggest incursion into Rutan territory. Repelled by mysterious warriors called the Witch Guard, the Sontarans bombarded that world with a moss-like weapon. Seeking a place for Tegan to relax after the latest attack by the Mara, the Doctor, unaware of the invasion, lands on Samur. So too does a squad of Sontarans, handpicked for a mission to Samur by Fleet Marshall Stabb. But these Sontarans are the most inept of them all, but even they pose a threat to the Doctor and his companions. But the Sontarans aren't the only threat on this world. Between Nyssa infected by the Sontaran's bioweapon, belligerent Sontaran misfits, and a mysterious curse, it will be luck if they get out alive...

Heroes of Sontar is fun. There's no two ways about it. It's got a comic edge throughout, partly due to the Sontarans being inept, and also because of the interactions between the Doctor, his companions, and the Sontarans, with Tegan's snipes at them being particularly entertaining. An edge of horror is still present, with the Witch Guard and Nyssa's infection. The main quibbles I have is I don't quite understand how the transmitter caused the pain to the Sontarans and the Witch Guard, or where the Witch Guard came from (the latter possibly due to elements mentioned below).

As usual, the regulars are a delight, with each of them being given things to do. The Doctor, Tegan, and Turlough in particular get good roles in the story, while Nyssa's role is mostly to get infected with the moss, unfortunately. Of the Sontarans, Duncan Wibsey's Thurr, Andrew Fette's Clun, and Derek Carlyle's Vend are the most interesting.

The sound design, for the most part, is pretty good. Unfortunately, it does tend to suffer from the Big Finish sound mixing bugbears of dialogue being obscured by sound effects too much. A more concerning problem, however, is the voice effects of the Witch Guard. Half the time, I can't discern more than a few words of their dialogue, something which was especially frustrating during the climax of the story, where vital dialogue was obscured.

Even so, Heroes of Sontar was a fun romp and an enjoyable one. Nowhere near the best the Fifth Doctor Big Finish stories have to offer, but immensely enjoyable all the same.


SCORE: 9.5/10

I probably won't be listening to any more stories until after Christmas. Watch this space...

Here's the latest randomiser list...


1= Lost Stories prior, Fourth and Fifth Doctors

2= Sixth Doctor

3= Seventh and Eighth Doctors

4= Specials and Companion Chronicles


For category one (d6)...

1= Lords of the Red Planet

2= The Valley of Death

3= Prisoners of Fate

4= The Mind's Eye

5= Mission of the Viyrans

6= The Bride of Peladon


Sixth Doctor (d6)...

1= Whispers of Terror

2= Urgent Calls

3= The Apocalypse Element

4= Project: Twilight and Project: Lazarus

5= Doctor Who and the Pirates


For category three, with the Seventh and Eighth Doctors (d12, 12 is a reroll)...

1= Bang-Bang-A-Boom!

2= Colditz

3= Forty-Five

4= The Shadow of the Scourge

5= Neverland

6= The Creed of the Kromon

7= The Next Life

8= Absolution/The Girl Who Never Was

9= Blood of the Daleks

10= Horror of Glam Rock

11= The Book of Kells


The specials (d6):

1= UNIT: The Coup

2= The Davros Collection (I, Davros episodes 1-4, and The Davros Mission)

3= Iris Wildthyme: The Iris Wildthyme Appreciation Society

4= The Light at the End (50th anniversary special)

5= Bernice Summerfield: Oh No It Isn't!

I'll consider listening to some of these soon...

I am just wondering where you find all this amazing material?

I order Big Finish audios mostly via a physical store in Brisbane, or getting it via Book Depository, but you can also order it via the Big Finish website. I believe that some of the audios are available, albeit for a relatively high price, via iTunes.

Okay, well, thanks to a poll I did on the Big Finish forums, I've selected five stories to listen to soon: Oh No It Isn't, The Valley of Death, Doctor Who and the Pirates, Colditz, and The Light at the End.

However, given repeated constructive criticism of my scoring system in various corners, I have decided to shift to a new scoring system, a five-star system. I will be implementing this from now on in this thread, and will be using it for other review threads later.

Now, my old numerical scoring system was rather skewed, so here's what the equivalent scores would be...

10/10= 5 stars

9.5/10= 4.5 stars

9/10= 4 stars

8.5/10= 3.5 stars

8/10= 3 stars

7-7.5/10= 2.5 stars

6.5/10= 2 stars

5/10= 1 star