Planet Mondas

Strax has temporarily left the paternoster gang to join forces with two of the most popular characters in the history of Doctor Who – Henry Gordon Jago and Professor George Litefoot.

These two memorable characters, created by the late great Robert Holmes, were brought to life by actors Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter. They first appeared in 1977 with the Fourth Doctor, Tom Baker, in the story The Talons of Weng-Chiang. In recent years the characters have successfully starred in a series of brand new audio adventures from Big Finish Productions.

In this latest adventure Jago and Litefoot are joined by actor Dan Starkey as Strax, who first appeared with Matt Smith in the 2011 story, A Good Man Goes to War.

Actor Dan Starkey said:

The Talons of Weng-Chiang was one of my favourite Doctor Who stories growing up, first in its form as a Target novelisation and then in the prized VHS I got for Christmas 1988. Spool forward nearly 30 years, and I’ve been lucky enough to encounter Jago and Litefoot in their audio incarnation already, with my turn as Mr. Tibbs in Series 9. Now it’s a joy to bring Strax face to face with the characters who in many ways defined how Doctor Who “does” Victorian London. I hope the sonic thaumaturgy of those clever coves at Big Finish will excite the ears and invigorate the imagination, as Henry Gordon Jago might have put it!

Producer Dave Richardson said:

It’s a testament to the great Robert Holmes and these two wonderful actors that Jago and Litefoot remain so eternally popular, and it’s such a joy to have them set foot in the world of current TV Doctor Who as they join forces with Strax for a special investigation. Justin Richards’ script is superb, packed with excitement and wit, and it’s so fun to see the mismatched duo of Jago and Litefoot become a mis-matched trio!

The two-disc set will be released this November and is available to pre-order now.

SYNOPSIS:

In this special double-disc release, the Sontaran suffers a disorienting attack, mistakes the two Victorian investigators for Jenny and Vastra and moves into Litefoot’s home. Together, they are on the trail of a creature that is stealing brains, which may or may not be linked to a haunted house in London.

CAST:

Christopher Benjamin (Henry Gordon Jago), Trevor Baxter (Professor George Litefoot), Dan Starkey (Strax), Lisa Bowerman (Ellie), Conrad Asquith (Inspector Quick), Stephen Critchlow (Marvo)

Written By: Justin Richards
Directed By: Lisa Bowerman

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There is a much maligned film that myself and Mrs W really enjoy, and that is Vanilla Sky, I really don’t understand why it gets such a hard time from critics; I think it is rather beautiful and I have just found out it is out on Blu Ray!

Anyhow, how is this relevant to the latest Big Finish release, well, dear reader, please read on. Vanilla Sky is an adaptation of a Spanish Language film called “Abre Los Ojos” – or in English, “Open Your Eyes” and this phrase is repeated in the remake. So thinking of all the new worlds I have been introduced to whilst reviewing Big Finish releases, I have opened my eyes, my ears and my mind to these worlds and embraced them wholeheartedly – and the latest of these worlds is “The Omega Factor”.

I will admit, until Big Finish started advertising it, I had never heard of The Omega Factor, possibly because I was only seven years old when it was broadcast, never repeated, never released on VHS, then on DVD to little fanfare, so I came to it without any expectations at all, had no frame of relevance to the original series – I was ready to have my eyes opened by Big Finish once again.

The Original series starred the late James Hazeldine as Tom Crane and Louise Jameson as Dr Anne Reynolds, they worked for Department 7 and investigated paranormal occurrences. Tom Crane discovered throughout the series that he had psychic abilities.

The Big Finish box set picks up 36 years later, Department 7 is “under review” (read being shut down) as it is not productive. Dr Anne Reynolds finds herself and her life’s work being rendered redundant, and then she bumps in to Adam Dean and things get interesting. You see Adam is the son of Tom Crane and he has been reading his late fathers reports into the cases he and Anne were involved in in the 1970’s…

The Set is made up of four loosely linked stories:

From Beyond by Matt Fitton

This story sets the scene and the tone for the box set, one word “OMINOUS” – a real sense of dread and impending doom pervades the proceedings. Desperate to keep Department 7 going, Anne revisits an old investigation she has had on the back burner. Mary McConnell is trying to contact her brother Malcolm from beyond the grave through the medium of recordings and believes she has made a breakthrough. Adam’s emerging psychic powers reveal a long hidden tragedy and force Mary to confront her past. Really heavy stuff for a season opener. Both leads are not initially likeable, Anne is obtuse, Adam is argumentative but through the events that they experience together they form a bond. The subject matter is also harrowing and it takes the more worldly experienced Adam to notice what the academic Anne cannot see, or is too caught up in her research to want to see. Interesting, but very grim.

The Old Gods by Phil Mulryne

Following a lead from Tom Crane’s investigations leads Anne and Adam to a remote community ruled of by Edmund Fennick (Terry Molloy) that has been stripped of the trappings of the modern world. Adam poses as a sufferer of electrosensitivity and is admitted to the community to investigate further. This one is pure Amicus – remote community, cult trying to summon an ancient god, psychic powers – basically the horror kitchen sink. Terry Molloy is superb as Fennick, not evil, worse, a fanatic who truly believes his world view is the right view. Really exciting stuff, again doom laden in atmosphere, but a different less personal take on horror than the previous story.

Legion by Cavan Scott

I got the feeling from listening to this one that it was a sequel to a TV episode (I looked it up, it is) and features a catatonic lady called Morag in an institution, an exorcist called Wanda Maccrum. This is good, really really good, so good that I want to see the original episode it is based on. Morag has been catatonic for over 30 years, but she is becoming active, her mind is reaching out to Adam for help. This episode is worth the entry price alone it has it all, brilliantly acted, very visual, full of genuine danger for the characters, a winner.

The Hollow Earth by Ken Bentley

Investigating disappearances of homeless people at an Edinburgh church Anne and Adam along with the Vicar and church warden are trapped in the church as a portal into hell is opened. A suitably maudlin, but compelling episode to end the set, death, murder, sacrifice, faith, revenge and a big explosion . A really deep story and thematically very similar to the first, exploring the darker more base side of human nature, not for the faint-hearted or the easily disturbed…

So four doom laden tales; I felt that the characters didn’t experience the stories but suffered through them, boy do they go through the emotional wringer Louise Jameson and John Dorney don’t put a foot wrong – world weary, panic stricken, desperate, intelligent, compassionate and that is just Louise in her first scene – this really put the actors through their paces, the material demands nothing less than a real human performance and we get it in spades from all the actors. With material that could lend itself to scenery chewing it is played completely straight and is teated with the respect that it deserves making the drama real and believable.

If I had to criticise at all, maybe it is a little slow paced, especially the last episode, but maybe this slow ponderous pace is part of the atmosphere building…

So eyes open, ears open and mind open – and wallet open as well as the DVD has been added to my wish list on a well known site named after a South American river – a great first box set and hopefully many more to come I factor in a score of 9/10.

Written by Ed Watkinson

SYNOPSIS:

Over thirty years have passed since Tom Crane left Department 7, a top secret organisation that investigates the paranormal.

Anne Reynolds now runs the operation, and for three decades their enigmatic nemesis Omega has been silent.

But that peace is about to be shattered. When Crane’s son Adam is drawn into Department 7, the past quickly catches up with Anne and her team…

From Beyond by Matt Fitton

Dr Anne Reynolds finds her life’s work under threat as Department 7 faces review. Is there really any place for paranormal investigation in government? Help arrives from an unlikely source, as a young man comes to Edinburgh looking for answers. Adam Dean holds a connection to Anne’s past, which will open the doors of perception and take them down a new and disturbing path…

The Old Gods by Phil Mulryne

Looking into Tom Crane’s legacy, Anne and Adam investigate a remote community, isolated from the distractions of the twenty-first century. As Anne fights to justify Department 7’s existence, Adam begins to learn how dangerous his new life can be. For when the world is stripped of the trappings of today, only the old gods are left to rule it…

Legion by Cavan Scott

Exorcism is alive and well and making a healthy profit in modern Scotland. As one practitioner’s unsavoury methods are called to account, a terrible force threatens to be unleashed.

The Hollow Earth by Ken Bentley

A church is meant to be a place of sanctuary. Of peace. Of protection. But when Anne and Adam look into disappearances among the homeless of one Southside parish, they find themselves trapped and terrified within the walls of St Nicholas as all hell breaks loose around them…

While Anne follows the trail left by Tom Crane, Adam hears a voice from his father’s past calling for help – but what will it cost him if he chooses to answer?

CAST:

Louise Jameson (Anne Reynolds/Demon), John Dorney (Adam Dean/James/Volunteer 2), Alan Cox (James Doyle/Beast/Ian Raskin/New Orderly), Sandra Voe (Mary McConnell), Natasha Gerson (Morag), Tracy Wiles (Reverend Lucy Douglas/Angie), Terry Molloy (Edmund Fennick/Malcolm McConnell/Chief Superintendent Malcolm Wade), Camilla Power (Dr Jane Wyatt/Presenter), Kate Bracken (Elinor Gordon/Volunteer 1), Georgie Glen (Wanda Maccrum/Demon), Hilary Maclean (Dr Jacqueline Everson/Samntha Matheson/Demon/Clerk), Derek Hutchinson (Fraser Kirkland/Peter/Orderly 2), Laura Dos Santos (Lorraine Armstong/Jill)

Producer David Richardson

Script Editor Matt Fitton

Executive Producers Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs

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Saturday afternoons in the 1980’s, remember them? If it wasn’t World of Sport or Grandstand then it was Open University on BBC2 followed by a classic war film. The Cruel Sea seemed to be on almost every Saturday (on a related note, there was ONE weekend in 1984 when Operation Crossbow was on the BBC on a Friday and ITV on a Sunday. Definitely!). So World War two films were as much part of growing up for me as Doctor Who (we only had three channels…) and this months Short Trips release is a great homage to those films – especially the naval ones.

Read by Sophie Aldred this short trip is a rarity for the Seventh Doctor, it is a pure historical. The TARDIS materialises on board the Submarine HMS Thunder, it is on a rescue mission to save another allied sub, but is caught in a game of Cat and Mouse with a German U-Boat. The Doctor helps with the radar whilst Ace befriends some of the crew and volunteers for a rescue mission to collect survivors. Wow, another cracker from Big Finish, this, and massive kudos to writer Mark B. Oliver, director Lisa Bowerman, and Sophie Aldred for performing the play.

In my head I saw it as a grainy black and white Saturday afternoon film and was transported back to my teenage years watching The Cruel Sea with my Grandfather. This release gets it just right, small scale, not a wasted line, yet so much happens and you really do care for the characters, you see them through Ace’s eyes, and even though they are all performed by Sophie, she instills them with a sense of reality, camaraderie and honour which typifies our servicemen in World War 2. The end is shocking, but very very realistic – not all war stories have happy endings and even the shortest amount of time can see people forming bonds in adversity.

July has been a magnificent month for Big Finish and this release continues the level of excellence.

Overall, a dark portrayal of a dark time for the world but the light of bravery and defiance in the face of adversity is wonderful, another 10/10.

Written by Ed Watkinson

SYNOPSIS:

Materialising aboard the corvette HMS Thunder during the Second World War, the Doctor and Ace join Commander Fitzgerald and his crew as they track an allied submarine in trouble.

While the Doctor advises the Captain on navigational matters, Ace joins in a daring mission to rescue sailors in the water. With German planes overhead, no-one’s survival is guaranteed…

CAST:

Sophie Aldred (Narrator)

Written By: Mark B Oliver
Directed By: Lisa Bowerman

Producer Michael Stevens
Script Editor Michael Stevens
Executive Producers Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs

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The Worlds of Doctor Who (as Big Finish call it) is a big diverse place including many spin off series – Counter Measures is one of these. Series 4 however is NOT a great jumping on point, so dear listener, I have some homework for you, go and watch Remembrance of the Daleks, listen to Counter Measures series 1, 2 and 3 and the main range audio The Assassination Games.

All done and up to date? Then I will continue.

Counter Measures is a spin off from the popular Remembrance of the Daleks TV story and sees Group Captain Gilmore (Simon Williams), Professor Rachel Jensen (Pamela Salem), Dr Alison Williams (Karen Gledhill) from the TV episodes team up with the decidedly amoral Sir Toby Kinsella (Hugh Ross) to investigate strange happenings – a sort of prototype UNIT, but with more cloak and dagger and not half as much family atmosphere!

This fourth series as I have previously said, is not for the faint-hearted, in fact if you were not familiar with the first three series it is fair to say that you would be completely lost – Counter Measures wants you heart and soul, not just for the odd story, and discussing the individual episodes would spoil the enjoyment for long time listeners and confuse newcomers, so I will talk about something that Counter Measures has by the tonne – it has atmosphere. If you close your eyes, you can just imagine Counter Measures as a 1960’s ITC filmed TV show, it is an incredible homage to the 1960’s, the incidental music, the pictures drawn with words, the Cold War cloak and dagger espionage feeling that runs through this series – and what a series it is. Beginning where season 3 left off, it hits the ground running in the first story “New Horizons”, slows down and gets its bearings in the second “The Keep”, ramps up the tension in the third “Rise and Shine” and then reaches a crescendo in the final part, “Clean Sweep”.

Without giving any spoilers away, the theme that runs through is mind control, identity, trust and conspiracy – and the ending of part four literally left me slack jawed – Big Finish have completely raised the bar with this release – the much used phrase (commonly attributed to P.T Barnum) “leave them wanting more” really does apply to this release as the cliffhanger to part four has left me chomping at the bit for Series 5.

The main cast all play their parts excellently and effortlessly, they are so believable, but if I had to pick a favourite it is Hugh Ross as Sir Toby, completely amoral a good man to have in your corner, but don’t turn your back on him – devious, calculating, manipulative and brilliant – Hugh Ross plays him with an oily charm, a truly multi faceted character. The thing about Counter Measures is its sense of realism, yes it deals with extra terrestrial threats, but it is the way that the characters treat each other, the way that each is willing raise the stakes to win at any cost, our heroes (maybe not Sir Toby…) seem a last bastion of decency in a world where honour and chivalry are being lost  to a new generations ambition – they are undoubtedly the same characters we met in Remembrance, but given real believable lives outside the job – I am so pleased with this as I believe that the bedrock of a good story is good characterisation.

So, a great box set, but a set to listen to as part of an ongoing series rather than as a stand alone – it really rewards long time fans (and if you are not a fan already then why not?) So, why not buy the whole lot and then catch up with Series 4??? Highly enjoyable 60’s homage this box set Measures up at 9/10.

Written by Ed Watkinson

SYNOPSIS:

Four brand new adventures with the Intrusion Counter-Measures Group, as long-held secrets are torn open… and the deadly truth dawns at last:

New Horizons by Mark Wright and Cavan Scott

When an explosion disrupts work on a monorail, Gilmore, Allison, Rachel and Sir Toby investigate the enigmatic company behind the project. But with government interference on one side, and dangerous businessmen on the other, who can they possibly trust?

The Keep by Ken Bentley

For many years Sir Toby has used the Keep – the most secure and secret prison in England – to hide away incredibly dangerous threats to the country. But now two prisoners are attempting to escape – and they’re not the only ones.

Rise and Shine by John Dorney

Old enemies are becoming friends. Old friends are becoming enemies. As they finally discover who they’re up against, and with the future of the planet at stake, the Counter-Measures team have to risk everything to survive.

Clean Sweep by Matt Fitton

The dust may have settled, but the threat lives on. With the team in hiding, and an unknown enemy at their heel, they need to turn the tables, and quickly. But can they ever really be safe?

CAST:

Simon Williams (Group Captain Gilmore), Pamela Salem (Rachel Jensen), Karen Gledhill (Allison Williams), Hugh Ross (Sir Toby Kinsella),  Philip Pope (Templeton), Richard Hope (Heaton), Oscar Pearce (The Captain), Nigel Carrington (Graham Finlay), Francesca Hunt (Bryant), Dominic Rowan (Sergeant West/Shurik Barkov), Adrian Lukis (Professor Jeffery Burridge), Denise Black (Control), Phillip Bretherton (Sir Keith Kordel), Alex Ferns (Mr Parks), Mary Conlon (Hilary).

Written By: Mark Wright, Cavan Scott, Matt Fitton, John Dorney, Ken Bentley
Directed By: Ken Bentley

Producer David Richardson
Script Editor John Dorney
Executive Producers Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs

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Can the 1980’s really be THAT long ago to be nostalgia? I remember the first broadcast of Time and the Rani like it was yesterday – however 28 years really have passed since Season 24, and the more things change the more they stay the same – The Doctor is Scottish again, we have a Tory government again, the world seems just as dangerous as it did in the 1980’s, the legacy of Thatcherism is running rife after Osbourne’s first all Tory budget. As I said, the more things change…

What is different though is how Big Finish have unlocked the potential of Mel Bush – never a fan favourite for her TV appearances Big Finish have really transformed her into the companion she was never really allowed to be on the TV. Bonnie really was hamstrung on TV by the legacy of Violet Elizabeth, and really all she did was scream. Big Finish have rectified this completely, and nowhere better than We Are The Daleks.

Coming after the momentous 200th release, this starts a new era for Big Finish, a great jumping on point for new listeners, and what a great story it is – an homage to previous Dalek stories, a satire of the 1980’s mantra of “greed is good”, a period piece in the same way that Remembrance was a period piece in 1988.

Imagine if Season 24 had been a bit more like season 25 and 26, still with the kitsch and the glitz, but Sylvester playing the darker rather than the clownish Seventh Doctor, imagine Bonnie being given the same sort of character development as Ace or Rose had, and you are somewhere near to We Are The Daleks.

It’s 1987, and London is dominated by the Zenos Tower, a modern construction in the shape of a Dalek – Alex Zenos has made a business partnership with The Daleks who rather than “conquer and destroy” have the mantra “invest and return” – the ultimate nightmare for an old Liberal – THATCHERITE DALEKS! They have an offer to make the UK the centre of a galactic trading zone, and are at their devious best manipulating newly elected MP Celia Dunthorpe (Mary Conlon) into their way of thinking, playing on her greed and prejudices, her lust for personal glory, her ambition to make the UK head of an empire again – perfect Dalek Quisling fodder.

As a background to this a new computer game console called Warfleet is sweeping the nation, offering state of the art graphics and online play in 1987, and it isn’t long before the connection between the two becomes apparent…

This is a classic Dalek story, it works on so many levels – it feels familiar, it has rebels, oppressed worlds, an Emperor Dalek and the beginnings of the Dalek Parliament seen in Asylum of the Daleks. McCoy is wonderful, he is my favourite classic era Doctor by a country mile, and he has rarely been better than he is here, completely shedding his Season 24 persona and becoming the frightening, dark, manipulative Seven of seasons 25 and26 and beyond. His speech to the Dalek Emperor in the final act is chilling – he lists his names The Doctor, the Ka Faraq Gatri, The Oncoming Storm – brilliant stuff.

I cant finish this review without heaping more praise on Bonnie Langford, getting to play the character Mel really should have been, using her skills as a computer programmer, showing her bravery, using her intelligence, she is absolutely stunning here – a completely believable, three dimensional character.

So a great beginning to another (hopefully) 200 releases for Big Finish, my favourite classic era Doctor being the Doctor he should be, Daleks, politics, multi layered thought provoking story about greed and ambition and the exclusion of the other. Well worth the investment of time, as it returns a 10/10.

Written by Ed Watkinson

SYNOPSIS:

The year is 1987, and Britain is divided. In Bradford, strikers are picketing and clashing with the police. In the City of London, stockbrokers are drinking champagne and politicians are courting the super-rich. The mysterious media mogul Alek Zenos, head of the Zenos Corporation, is offering Britain an economic miracle. His partners wish to invest – and their terms are too good to refuse.

While the Doctor investigates Warfleet, a new computer game craze that is sweeping the nation, Mel goes undercover to find out the truth about Zenos’s partners.

The Daleks have a new paradigm. They intend to conquer the universe using economic power. The power of the free market!

CAST:

Sylvester McCoy (The Doctor), Bonnie Langford (Melanie Bush), Kirsty Besterman (Serena Paget), Angus Wright (Alek Zenos), Mary Conlon (Celia Dunthorpe), Robbie Stevens (Niles Bunbury/Frank Lewis), Ashley Zhangazha (Brinsley Heaton), Lizzie Roper (Shari), Dominic Thornburn (Afrid), Nicholas Briggs (The Daleks).

Written By: Jonathan Morris
Directed By: Ken Bentley

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Think back to City of Death, all that wonderful dialogue about Paris having a bouquet, like a fine wine. Wonderful stuff, eh? So to allow wines to taste their best, they have to be allowed to breathe, to be opened and given time for the air to react with the wine before pouring and enjoying.

In the case of The Fate of Krellos Nick Briggs takes on the role of oeneologist and sommelier – he crafts an excellent vintage from the component parts in episode one, gives it just the right time to breathe in the early stages of part two and pours a particularly good glass of vintage Who in the closing moments. To put it in simple terms, The Fate of Krelos is a bit of a classic – Nick Briggs truly is a renaissance man – actor, director, writer, raconteur and at his very best in this story. And what a story!

What starts off as a light-hearted interlude with The Doctor and Leela going fishing, gets more and more sinister. The cast is small, Tom, Louise, John Leeson, Michael Cochrane and Veronica Roberts with the main bulk being Tom, Louise and John – but the atmosphere, the world building the tension is superb.

Krelos is a world that has reached total connectivity, every item connected to another, this is proudly announced by the Mayor of Krelos City. The Doctor and Leela decide to do some fishing on Krelos and meet the robotic form of Geralk (Michael Cochrane) an old explorer reliving his youth through his robot avatar. But something is wrong in the TARDIS – K9 has been interfacing with the TARDIS – the console room has turned back to how it looked in the era of the second Doctor, K9 tries to warn of danger and acts more and more strangely…

Any more would give away way, way too much – needless to say the tension is ramped up, the danger level goes up to 11 and you really truly do get a sinking feeling when it finally clicks in to place as to what is going on. Long time listeners may well be able to work it out before the Doctor does, but this does not in any way spoil the enjoyment.

The performances are spot on; there is a wonderful scene between Tom and Louise where they discuss going back in time to avert the catastrophe that they witness; it is very reminiscent of the scene between the Eleventh Doctor and River Song in “The Wedding of River Song” where River says all Eleven has to do is ask and an army will come to his aid – the 4th Doctor is under no illusions about the answer he will get and a lot more cautious about changing time than his future version. Michael Cochrane is quite, quite heartbreaking as Geralk, in a few lines you can picture his life, what he looks like, how he will react to situations – Nick Briggs has the characterisation spot on. Oh, and it ends on an almighty doom laden cliffhanger so there is more to come.

Really couldn’t ask for more in a Doctor Who story, disparate threads coming together, the threat of an almighty catastrophe hanging over everything, wonderful characterisation and a story that is perfectly paced – one of the best this year so far 10/10.

Written by Ed Watkinson

SYNOPSIS:

There are dark skies on Krelos… and something gigantic is descending.

Meanwhile, the Doctor and Leela set off for some fishing in the mountain pools of Krelos. K9 has interfaced with the TARDIS and has reactivated the architectural configuration from the days of the Doctor’s second incarnation. In passing, the Doctor notes it could do with a good clean. And there’s a familiar piece of material snagged on the console.

Far up the mountain, an aged explorer is in trouble. Will the Doctor and Leela be able to save him and his planet? And what is it that K9 has discovered in the TARDIS?

CAST:

Tom Baker (The Doctor), Louise Jameson (Leela), John Leeson (K9), Michael Cochrane (Geralk), Veronica Roberts (Relly/Krelos Mayor)

Written By: Nicholas Briggs
Directed By: Nicholas Briggs

Producer David Richardson
Script Editor John Dorney
Executive Producers Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs

BUY YOUR COPY HERE

Big Finish has announced a new range of boxsets featuring heroes and monsters from the new series of Doctor Who.

Leading this new wave of adventures is Alex Kingston who first appeared as River Song in 2008’s Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead.

River will be stepping into the era of the Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) for Doctor Who: Doom Coalition 2, alongside Liv Chenka (Nicola Walker) and Helen Sinclair (Hattie Morahan). But how can River help the Doctor if, in this incarnation, she must never actually meet him?

Producer David Richardson says:

The idea of River meeting previous Doctors was actually proposed by Steven Moffat and it’s just irresistible, isn’t it? Alex embraced the idea of returning to the role, and so she will be starring in no less than two box sets next year. And yes, we are still pinching ourselves!

River will then return later in 2016 in Doctor Who: The Diary of River Song, an epic four-hour adventure that takes River across space and time, seeking out the secret rulers of the universe. Paul McGann will reprise the role of the Eighth Doctor in the final installment.

The New Series adventures will continue in Doctor Who: The Churchill Years, in which Ian McNeice returns as the indomitable Winston Churchill. In the four-hour saga, Winston relates a number of encounters with the Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Doctors in his memoirs, battling alien incursions, metamorphosing creatures… and a Dalek! The stories are told by Ian McNeice, supported by a full cast of guest actors, including Danny Horn as Kazran Sardick, in a story taking place within the 2010 special A Christmas Carol.

Executive Producer Nicholas Briggs says:

Ian has played Churchill in just four episode on TV, and yet it feels like it was many more. It was such a brilliant, definitive performance, and how wonderful that we will be continuing Churchill’s adventures with the Doctor on audio.

Finally, the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Doctors will face a new generation of monsters in Doctor Who: Classic Doctors, New Monsters, a brand new, four-story run featuring creatures from the New Series. Peter Davison takes on the Weeping Angels, Colin Baker encounters the Judoon, Sylvester McCoy will meet the Sycorax… and Paul McGann will face a new clone batch of Sontarans on the edge of the Time War…

Executive producer Jason Haigh-Ellery says:

It’s the ultimate mash-up and we have some great scripts lined up for these landmark stories. There is no doubt that 2016 is going to be a brilliant year for Big Finish!

All four boxsets will be released across 2016, and are available to pre-order today from the Big Finish website. Doctor Who: Doom Coalition 2 will be released in February, and is available as part of a special bundle of all four Doom Coalition boxsets.

Doctor Who: The Diary of River Song, Doctor Who: The Churchill Years and Doctor Who: Classic Doctors, New Monsters can be pre-ordered for just £20 each on CD or Download, and are also available as part of our Doctor Who New Series bundle.

Thanks to Big Finish

Being a life-long Doctor Who fan, I have come to realise that if there is one thing Who fans love it’s an anniversary celebration! The frenzy over the 50th had only just died down when fans were clamouring for a celebration of ten years of New Who (which didn’t happen) – no, despite our differences we are a celebratory bunch who enjoy celebrating our shows history.

200 is a good number to celebrate, but unlike the celebratory release 100, this one is not so obvious a celebration. Some stories are for the general viewing or listening public, some stories are “for the fans” and The Secret History falls most definitely in to the latter category. But lets take a step back, readers of my reviews of the last two main range releases The Defectors and Last of the Cybermen will know that something very strange is going on. The Seventh Doctor has somehow been reunited with Jo Grant, the Sixth Doctor has joined forces with Jamie and Zoe – someone or something is manipulating the Doctor’s timeline and who that is and why it is being done is revealed in The Secret History.

This one is the last in the “locum Doctor’s” trilogy, the theme of later Doctor’s being teamed up with their previous companions continues, this time The Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) is teamed up with First Doctor companions Steven Taylor (Peter Purves) and Vicki (Maureen O’Brien) for what, on the surface of it, appears to be a pretty standard Hartnell era historical. They arrive in the city of Ravenna in the year 540 AD – the Roman Empire is falling, Rome itself has fallen, the Emperor Justinian is based in Constantinople and his general Belisarius (Giles Watling) is laying siege to the city to try to reclaim it for the Empire. So far, so Hartnell – Davison even comments on the team not splitting up as this was the cause of all his problems back in his first incarnation; with comedy foreshadowing, they get split up, Steven gets caught up in a riot and taken to Constantinople, The Doctor and Vicki team up with Procopius (Tony Millan) sage and writer to track Steven down. This story has a lot to do, it has to be celebratory, be a great homage to the Hartnell era and it has to finish off the “locum” trilogy satisfactorily. In the words of Meat Loaf “two out of three ain’t bad”.

Firstly as a celebration, it works, past glories of the Big Finish main range and of other ranges are referenced (one particular plot line from a few years ago is central to the plot, no spoilers, but you will know it when you hear it). Secondly it is a fantastic recreation of feeling for the Hartnell era historicals – for the first two and a half episodes at least – it has our heroes getting split up, captured, meeting historical characters and trying desperately NOT to get caught up in Historical events. Thirdly it has to finish off the trilogy, and here for me at least it is only a partial success – the villain of the piece is revealed and they really have been “hidden in plain sight” to use an old phrase, very clever work by Big Finish there – but the resolution, its just too New Who involving redundant timelines, changing the future, altering the past and all those annoying cheats that Moffat is so fond of. A shame as I really was enjoying it up until the reveal of the villain.

Back to positives, the whole cast are universally excellent; Davison is effortless, Maureen O’Brien actually sounds like a younger woman, Purves is suitably heroic and stoic as Steven – and the guest cast really do get in to the spirit of things, no-one camps it up, all the performances are convincing and very “Hartnell Era”. The reasons for the villain’s actions are also very believable, the motive is there, but to have the emotional connection you really do have to have been a very dedicated Big Finish fan.

So, in summing up, some great things, some disappointing moments – on reflection the good outweighs the bad but the denouement just seems a little, I don’t know, maybe “off” is the best description. For the brilliance of the first half (and a bit) of this historical homage, I give release 200, 6/10.

Written by Ed Watkinson

SYNOPSIS:

The TARDIS brings the Doctor, Steven and Vicki to the Italian city of Ravenna in the year 540 – besieged by the army of the celebrated Byzantine general Belisarius. Caught up in the fighting, Steven ends up on a boat bound for Constantinople, the heart of the Roman Empire.

Rescuing Steven, however, is the least of the Doctor’s problems – because he shouldn’t be mixed up in this particular adventure at all. Someone has sabotaged his own personal timeline, putting him in the place of his First incarnation… but who, and why? The truth is about to be revealed – but at what cost to all of the Doctors, and to the whole future history of the planet Earth?

CAST:

Peter Davison (The Doctor), Maureen O’Brien (Vicki), Peter Purves (Steven), Lysette Anthony (Sophia), Sarah Woodward (Theodora), Tony Millan (Procopius, Yazid), Giles Watling (Belisarius), Tim Wallers (Justinian)

Written By: Eddie Robson
Directed By: Barnaby Edwards

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So there you are in 1989, minding your own business, enjoying season 26 – and what a wonderful season that was! – and as 1990 comes around you speculate as to what will happen in Season 27. Rumours of McCoy regenerating into Richard Griffiths part way through, a new female companion who’s a safe-cracker, Ace becoming a Timelord. So I, like millions of other Who fans, tuned in in September 1990 to watch… STOP!!!! – you are using the Bernice Summerfield trick of putting post-it notes over the most painful parts of you memories!

Actually what happened in 1990 was pretty awful as we all know, but in June 1991 something rather wonderful happened, they were small in size but big in concept, totally bigger on the inside – they were Virgin’s New Adventures Novels; and, do you know, they were not just as good as the TV series they were better.

Then in October 1992 a character would be introduced who was the companion, one Professor Bernice Surprise Summerfield (Benny to her friends), archaeologist, drinker, witty, intelligent, smart, flawed and brilliant and we were treated to my TARDIS team 7, Ace and Bernice.

This box set is a celebration of the 1990’s New Adventures era, but it also carries Benny’s story forward.  This is set later in her timeline after her divorce and the death of her husband, but it also sees the long overdue return of one of the most popular villains from classic Who, in the form of Sutekh – and he is once again voiced by Gabriel Woolf.

This box set has a very delicate balancing act to play, and two very distinct types of fans to please – classic series fans who hold Pyramids of Mars with reverence and New Adventures fans who love the “Times Champion” Seventh Doctor, gung -ho Ace and wise cracking Bernice – are the two compatible? – oh yes, indeedy they are!

Told over a hefty four hours, but split into four parts, the story tells of an epic plot for Sutekh to be reborn and bring his gift of death to all mankind. The best way to describe this set is a blockbuster, a real Hollywood style blockbuster, if Michael Bay got together with Marvel to make a Doctor Who film, The Triumph of Sutekh would be the result.

Part One is called The Pyramid of Sutekh by Guy Adams. On Mars during a conflict, a pyramid has been uncovered and Professor Bernice Summerfield is sent to investigate and what she finds will change everything forever. Any more would spoil the story, but a youtube trailer below will give you the idea.

It hits the ground running and does not let up for the whole length of the episode. Think Indiana Jones, Tomb Raider and The Mummy, but with added depth and an emotional punch, because this truly is epic, the stakes really have never been higher – the Doctor is locked in battle with Sutekh and he is losing…

Part Two is called The Vault of Osiris by Justin Richards – If the first installment was Indiana Jones, this is a classic heist movie complete with gangsters, crosses and double crosses. Ace and Bernice are in Egypt 2015 trying to track down The Doctor. This leads them into the shady underworld of stolen antiques and artefacts as they desperately try to obtain the Eye of Horus – but they are part of a much bigger plan and the forces in action have been manipulating things for a very long time. Oceans 11, Taken, Thomas Crown Affair spring to mind whilst listening to this one, it’s so filmic, so visual, and the resolution is so unexpected.  If this was on TV you would be shouting at the screen.

Part Three is called The Eye of Horus and is by James Goss. Bernice finds herself in Ancient Egypt in the time of the reign of female Pharaoh Hatshepsut (Sakuntala Ramanee) and the pace finally lets up. This is the most cerebral part of the story, The Doctor has been in Egypt for years before Benny arrives, and his plans are far advanced, but he genuinely does not know Benny and whats more is engaged to be married to the Pharaoh. This story is the calm before the storm; Sutekh is growing in power and this episode has him gaining control over Pharaoh to be Tutmosis (Matthew J Morgan) by charm, flattery and manipulation and having him usurp Hatshepsut. This is quite a horrific piece, the true cruelty of Sutekh is shown in all its horror, no punches are pulled and Gabriel Woolf chills as Sutekh; the power in his voice is chilling.

Part Four is called The Tears of Isis by Una McCormack. The world has ended, Sutekh has won, just a small enclave of his most loyal servants still live. Have the Doctor’s plans come to nothing, has Sutekh brought his gift of death to all mankind? All this and many more questions will be answered in this final cataclysmic episode. No more here, too tempted to spoil…

Wow, what a box set! What an epic and what a genuine rollercoaster ride. The undoubted star of this set is the lady herself, Lisa Bowerman. If there is just one wish I could have, it would be for Bernice to be in the TV series, just for one episode, it would make this New Adventures fanboy who kept the flame of New Who alive in the 1990’s very happy.

Lisa just brings Benny alive; she gets every nuance, every inflection, every sarcastic put down just right; she just is Bernice and long may she play her. Gabriel Woolf is oilily menacing as Sutekh – though in this set and especially in the last episode he comes across like Judge Death from 2000AD and in my eyes McCoy, especially the “Times Champion” version just is the Doctor, my Doctor, in a way none on TV have ever managed to convey, along with the gun-toting, gung-ho Ace and the wonderful Benny, they are the perfect TARDIS team.

Is this box set perfect? Probably not. It zips along at such a pace that it is almost too much to take in in one session.  It’s very “graphic novel” and would sit well in such a format and has a certain Marvel Superheroes film feel to it, but these are no bad thing and not a criticism of this superb production, which is a triumph and I have no hesitation in giving it a triumphant 10/10.

Written by Ed Watkinson

SYNOPSIS:

The Pyramid of Sutekh by Guy Adams

Professor Bernice Summerfield, archaeologist and adventurer, has discovered a Pyramid on Mars. Inside she finds her old friend the Doctor is fighting a battle with the Osiran God Sutekh. One he is losing.

The Vaults of Osiris by Justin Richards

Egypt in 2015 is an unsettled place. The trade in stolen antiquities is a murky one, and it’s about to get a whole lot worse, as an ancient and terrible force enters the market.

The Eye of Horus by James Goss

Ancient Egypt is enjoying a golden age – peace, prosperity and a powerful Pharaoh. But something is moving through the sands. A forgotten god requests an invite to the feast.

The Tears of Isis by Una McCormack

Russell Courtland prophesied the world would end on Tuesday. No-one was more surprised than he was when it did.

CAST:

Lisa Bowerman (Professor Bernice Summerfield), Sylvester McCoy (The Doctor), Sophie Aldred (Ace), Gabriel Woolf (Sutekh the Destroyer), Diveen Henry (Alozza), Nicholas Briggs (Vasha), Sakuntala Ramanee (Hatshepsut), Matthew J Morgan (Tutmosis), Dan Bottomley (Kamos), Matthew Bates (Courtland), Rachel Atkins (Susannah), Naomi McDonald (Alyx), Guy Adams (Cultist)

Producer and Script Editor James Goss
Executive Producers Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs

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