Dark Gallifrey: The War Master Part Two is an audio drama released by Big Finish Productions and continues this intriguing range that is a spin-off from Doctor Who. Scott Handcock directs this piece written by James Goss. Lisa Bowerman is back as Professor Bernice Summerfield and has to contend with the attentions from both Derek Jacobi’s version of the Master and James Marsters reprising his Torchwood role of Time Agent Captain John Hart.
Jason Forbes, Chris Lew Kum Hoi, and Tariye Peterside round out the cast.
Back to lecturing at Braxiatel University, Professor Bernice Summerfield has befriended the new Provost and has started a relationship with a student named John. John has started showing an interest in something the professor had once found, and he wants her help to get him to Dark Gallifrey. The Provost is also not who he claims to be and is indeed one of the Doctor’s most persistent enemies. Captain John Hart and the Master go from rivals to reluctant allies to get Bernice to once again seek out the secrets of Dark Gallifrey. Bernice may also have her own agenda and may be able to spring a trap of her own.
The story is a bit hard to follow sometimes, but it still works. Jacobi is just too fun in his performance for me to mind a bit of confusion. Marsters is also pretty amusing. There is a bit of a comedic and compelling fight scene between the Master and Captain John that is quite amusing.
Jacobi does give a delicious performance as the Master before he fled the Time War and hid so well that he had forgotten his own identity. He indulges himself with another clever disguise.
The chemistry between the lead trio is quite engaging and at times quite comical.
The Master did not really appear in the previous episode; however, the familiar charm and ruthlessness are in full supply in this one.
The other cast members are solid enough, but Derek Jacobi in particular is quite hard to keep with. Also, Lisa Bowerman also gives a masterclass in audio performance.
The sound design is expertly executed as well, thanks to Rob Harvey.
One more episode before this phase of the Dark Gallifrey closes out, and another one kicks off.
Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures: The Return of the Doctor is an audio drama from Big Finish Productions with a rather humdrum sort of title, but the episode is actually better than it would appear. Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill return to the mics as the Doctor and Yasmin Khan in a story written by Rory Thomas-Howells and directed by Bethany Weimers.
The guest cast is comprised of Stephan Bessant, Charlie Kelly, Will Kirk, and Belinda Stewart-Wilson.
The Doctor and Yaz have just stopped an alien invasion menacing the Zaarians, who apparently resemble armadillos or something. Anyway, a young Zaarian is injured but is expected to recover, so the Doctor does what she always does and takes off. Yaz talks her into returning to help with the recovery, however the TARDIS takes them ten years into the future, and another more insidious alien presence is feeding on their guilt and sowing deep suspicion. It all starts with a whisper.
Jodie Whittaker’s turn as the Doctor on television really isn’t my favorite era of the program. This episode, in spite of the dubious title, is actually pretty good. Gill and Whittaker do have a pretty compelling chemistry which is performed quite well. My issues with Whittaker’s time on the television series had more to do with the writing and production choices than her as an actress.
Also, a new race and new adversary is introduced, and they are well written and realized.
I have said for years that Big Finish Productions successfully rehabbed the Sixth Doctor, who suffered low popularity ratings among the fans until he was able to showcase his talent with the aid of much better writing. It’s possible that Whittaker can enjoy the same experience.
Anyway, this episode was quite nicely done, and I may finally be able to appreciate the Thirteenth Doctor a bit more.
Kiowa Trail is my first foray into the works of Louis L’Amour, and it turned out to be an enjoyable read. I do not usually read westerns, but I think I will work some of that genre into my reading queue.
The story is laid out in first person from the perspective of a cattle driver named Conn Dury. Dury works for a young widow named Kate Lundy, for whom he harbors a secret love. Kate has a younger brother named Tom who is a pleasant enough man with an eye for the ladies. when he crosses the street to speak to a woman who is the daughter of a local tycoon. When he would not heed the warning to stay on one side of a certain street, he paid for that decision with his life. Kate Lundy wants her brother’s death avenged, and she thinks that Conn Dury is a man who can help.
L’Amour is a talented writer, but his plot is a little muddled at times. It wasn’t so muddled, though, that I couldn’t find some enjoyment out of it. Who doesn’t like a good revenge story in the Old West?
Anyway, Dury is kind of an interesting protagonist in that he is a tough old cowboy who had been educated in England after he had been held captive by an Apache tribe for a few years. Anyway, he has an interesting background which makes a bit more sense in the book.
There are a few moments where L’Amour seems to lose track of some of his details such as time of day in the narration, however these lapses are pretty minor.
Overall, it was a good reading experiment to dip into this genre, and I will likely continue to revisit this genre as well as the numerous works left by the late Louis L’Amour.
Next up, Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope has to reexamine an old murder case where the woman convicted of the crime turns out to be innocent, which means that she still has a killer to find in Telling Tales by Ann Cleeves.
Doctor Who: The Ninth DoctorAdventures: Star-Crossed is an audio boxset that brings River Song in close quarters with the Ninth Doctor, played by Christopher Eccleston, in a satisfying trilogy of clever stories by three very reliable writers for Big Finish Productions. Alex Kingston returns to the microphone as the mysterious and often mischievous Professor River Song, and as much in love with the Doctor as ever. Helen Goldwyn gets to return to the director’s chair for this one.
The first story is written by John Dorney and is entitled Swipe Right. As the title would suggest, it concerns a dating app that has gone very wrong. The guest cast is comprised of David Holt, Tom Neenan, Beth Chalmers, and Francesca Mills.
The Doctor and River Song are each separately investigating disappearances on the planet Crell. They discover a being known as the Matchmaker. The Doctor and River Song are already married, but not just yet from the Time Lord’s perspective. As expected, the fireworks are about to light up the stars.
Dorney once again delivers an interesting story that sort of reflects something that could be going on in today’s society. Of course, no one is being forced into online dating in the real world, but there are likely going to be some interesting problems with AI.
When the Doctor and River finally meet up, it’s about as amusing and volatile as hoped. Eccleston and Kingston hit all the right notes in their performance. The script has also plenty of Doctor Who‘s expected humor.
This first entry is a solid kickoff to the set.
Lizzy Hopley follows up quite ably with Face of the Apocalypse. Charlie Tighe, Paul Reynolds, and Nadia Albina join the audio antics with Eccleston and Kingston as the guest cast.
The plot here concerns River Song’s face is being used to bring about total destruction of space and time through a complex computer algorithm. The Doctor has to unravel the problem with the help of a legendary pair of star-crossed lovers. He and River Song meet a couple whose union could be even more fraught with discord than their own. In order to save the universe, the Doctor and River will have to engage in a bit of couples’ therapy.
This story took me a little more patience to feel fully engaged. It does get better, and my appreciation for Hopley’s contribution grew due to the continued chemistry between the two leads. There are some pretty good one-liners, especially when River Song needles the Doctor about her face being the key to the universe’s survival.
It is once again down to the talent and enthusiasm exhibited by Eccleston and Kingston when performing this episode.
Finally, the set concludes with Tim Foley’s Archipelago. John Banks and Trevor Cooper are the guest actors.
The Doctor and River Song aid a captain who is taking a dangerous voyage to find his lost partner. His ship is going through a field of massive time distortion, and the last of the Time Lords may be the last chance for this boat to make it through.
The Doctor and River finally find the adventure in which they will get to know each other deeper than River could ever hope. The Doctor also gets spoilers as to his future and understands more of the connection between himself and River.
This story is a little hard to picture in my own mind, but I loved the performances. River Song is playing a dangerous game with being in the Doctor’s past. There are some amazing callbacks to the television series.
The solution is neatly imagined, and the continuity of the series remains intact.
River Song is usually an exciting foil for the Doctor in any of his incarnations. Her encounter with the Ninth Doctor was better than I thought it would be.
It’s a great set overall. I think the last story is my favorite out of this collection. So, the Doctor travels on….and so does River Song.
The Woman in White is a mystery drama film that was released in 1948 and is actually quite impressive in regard to the look but is a little slow on the plot development. Peter Godfrey is the director of the film while the screenplay was written by Stephen Morehouse Avery. The film was based on a well-known novel by Wilkie Collins, which was written in 1860. That could explain why the film feels a little slow at times.
Included in the cast are Alexis Smith, Eleanor Parker, Sydney Greenstreet, Gig Young, Agnes Moorehead, and John Abbott.
A man hired to tutor a woman on drawing walks from a train station to an estate known as Limmeridge encounters a woman in white in the night. The woman vanishes when a carriage approaches. The man, Walter Hartright, is told of an asylum nearby, and that a woman had just escaped. Hartright makes it to the house and meets the residents. He then meets Laura Fairlie, who bears a striking resemblance to the woman he encountered during his late-night walk. Hartright begins to learn some strange secrets of the house, including a cousin who disappeared some years before. There is a fortune at stake, and Hartright finds that he may have to free a woman wrongly imprisoned within the asylum and figure out which member of the house is capable of murder to protect their secrets.
Okay, this is a pretty strange and convoluted plot. The acting was pretty good though. I also was impressed with the set design considering the time when this film was produced.
It feels a bit of a slog to sit through this thing at times because I had a hard time staying focused on the gist of the story.
It is a film that take some concentration at times.
The costuming and set design were remarkably well done. It’s a very pretty movie to watch in spite of it being in black and white. That alone may be enough reason to give this another viewing.
Anyway, there are some challenges when it comes to understanding the motivations of the characters and some elements of the story, but it’s still a film worthy of some time.
Alixion is a Doctor Who audio play from Big Finish Productions and is the latest addition to The Lost Stories range. The addition has its good points, especially with Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred leading the cast as the Doctor and Ace, respectively, however it’s a bit of a confusing mess as far as the story goes at times.
This story was originally intended to be produced during the television era in the 1980’s, however that is when the series got cancelled. Robin Mukherjee wrote the script and was able to adapt it to the audio format. David O’Mahoney serves as the director. Ali Bastian, Jon Edgley Bond, Matthew McQuinn, Beverly Longhurst, and Shri Patel make up the guest cast. Even O’Mahoney himself lends his own vocal talents to the effort.
Another planned holiday for the Doctor and Ace goes awry when they arrive at a luxury resort that has been compromised by an entity that feeds off memories and regrets. The Time Lord and his young friend have to face their own darkest secrets and fears as well as a malevolent alien who can inflict the most diabolical of mental tortures.
The plot itself sounds pretty intriguing; however, I think this would have worked better on television since there is quite a bit of flashbacks.
McCoy and Aldred are too good themselves to make me regret listening to this, so I may just need to return to this one to get a better grasp of the events that I can only picture in the mind’s eye.
The Seventh Doctor can be considered one of the more complicated incarnations depicted, and this story does play with that, which still keeps things intriguing.
I know I called this episode a confusing mess at the top of this post, but that doesn’t mean that I disliked it overall. Sometimes, the joy of listening the performances of pretty much any of the Doctors and their companions does carry manage to carry me to some significant enjoyment, and this experience was no exception.
I have found that listening to the cast and crew interviews most of these releases now contain does help my comprehension of the story quite a bit.
In spite of my occasional perplexion of some elements of the plot, I still found quite a bit to appreciate about this release and hope that McCoy and Aldred have a lot more gas in the tank to perform new stories to represent their era of the series.
The Thursday Murder Club is a charming mystery film that manages to stay pretty faithful to the novel written by Richard Osman. The screenplay is written by Katy Brand and Suzanne Heathcote. Chris Columbus is the director of this piece which stars Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie as a group of retired residents in a village who meet on Thursdays to review cold murder cases. David Tennant, Tom Ellis, Naomis Ackie, and Daniel Mays are also included in the cast.
A small group of residents in a rather swanky retirement village meet once a week to review cold cases. Mirren plays Elizabeth, who once worked for MI6. Brosnan plays a rather brash former union leader named Ron. Kingsley is the empathic psychiatrist, Ben, and Celia Imrie rounds out the group as the recently recruited retired nurse named Joyce.
They are examining a case from 1973 in which a woman was apparently shoved out the window. While the small club is searching for new information, one of the owners of Coopers Chase is murdered nearby. The Thursday Murder Club have their first fresh case; however, they also learn that there are plans to redevelop their village into more luxurious apartments. Not only is there a killer lurking; the club has to find a way to save their new homes.
It’s hard to go wrong with the main cast. I am less familiar with Imrie, but she did great alongside the more familiar names such as Mirren, Brosnan, and Kingsley. Imrie may not have quite the same name recognition as her costars, but she is certainly no slouch when it comes to her charisma and ability. She certainly does have a lengthy filmography herself, so she should have no problem continuing her career.
I had read the book fairly recently, and the movie does follow it fairly closely.
Brosnan and Mirren are as reliably charismatic as ever, while Kingsley still maintains that quiet, yet powerful dignity that also makes him compelling.
In spite of some of this being somewhat of a comedy, there are plenty of somewhat poignant moments that are handled quite well.
Even though I knew the solution to the crime, the film may be worth a rewatch to just admire a group of long-time actors who can still appear to be at the top of their game.
I was just pleased that there were not enough alterations from the source material to evoke real annoyance.
Holland is a psychological thriller that has a few moments of almost being interesting but just couldn’t quite get there. Mimi Cave is the director of this mediocre cinematic effort, which was written by Andrew Sodroski. Nicole Kidman has the lead role and is accompanied by a cast which includes Matthew Macfadyen, Gael Garcia Bernal, Jude Hill, and Rachel Sennott.
Nancy Vandergroot is a teacher in the small town of Holland, Michigan, which is rather proud of its Dutch American roots. She is quite happy with her family until she starts to wonder if her husband, who travels a lot for work, is having an affair. She enlists the help of a friend and colleague to help her confirm her suspicions; however, the truth is something that is far worse.
The film does have some elements that are somewhat interesting, but somehow the end result is still rather hollow. The exploration of Dutch American roots is something not commonly displayed in movies, so I thought that was a decent start. I think that I had a hard time really caring about any of the main characters. Kidman is usually a solid casting choice, and she does fine with this role, but there is nothing all compelling about her character. I had a hard time being all that interested in her plight that starts to unfold.
The plot of a seemingly dutiful husband’s double life is somewhat overdone even if the setting in this film was a little eccentric and unique.
The performances were not terrible, which was helpful, but also nothing was all that memorable. The town did seem to have some charm.
Although it’s hard to have any real criticism of the film’s technical elements, I just found that it was missing something that should have made it more gripping.
Doctor Who: The War Doctor Begins: Comrades-In-Arms is another compelling collection of episodes presented by Big Finish Productions in which Jonathon Carley channels the performance of the late John Hurt as the Time Lords once known as the Doctor. Ajjaz Awad returns as the cyborg known as Case, a new piece on the board as the Time War continues to rage between Gallifrey and the Daleks.
Barnaby Kay serves as director for the three stories that are each worthy of appreciation for a variety of reasons. Most of all the War Doctor, who I sort of had a derision reaction to when he was first introduced in the fiftieth anniversary special The Day of the Doctor, has become more fascinating under the auspice of Big Finish Productions.
Of course, Nicholas Briggs fires up his voice modulator to voice the Daleks. The guest cast for this collection is comprised of Michael Amariah, Tiegan Byrne, Beth Chalmers, Esmonde Cole, Sophie Khan Levy, Georgia Mackenzie, Deeivya Meir, and Lynsey Murrell.
The first episode to discuss is entitled A Mother’s Love by Noga Flaishon. The War Doctor, played by Jonathon Carley, has arrived on a Time Lord field hospital known as Haven. It is operated by an Artificial Intelligence known Medbay Operation Mainframe or MOM. The War Doctor also has another encounter with an old ally known as Case, who was partially converted to a Dalek but was able to override the programming. A new but dangerous friendship is developing between her and the War Doctor, but they may not have time to explore that before MOM and the Daleks interfere.
This first story is pretty good. The idea of Case willing to enter into the Time War on her own terms. Carley’s impression of John Hurt’s voice has done nothing but improve. Also, the difference between this incarnation and the other Doctors is slowly coming to light. The War Doctor desperately wants to show the compassion displayed by his other selves, but he is a warrior now. Also, Case has become a fascinating conundrum herself. If there isn’t enough of a reason to be suspicious of AI, this story just adds fuel to that particular fire.
Berserker by Timothy X. Atack brings the War Doctor and Case to face the most dangerous of Daleks. One that has gone made from the centuries of isolation and not being able to kill anyone or anything. In an underground bunker, the War Doctor and his new companion have to face an insane threat that is a ruthless killer at the best of times and each other as it becomes apparent how the War Doctor can use his companion as a devastating weapon against the Daleks.
Briggs puts in a deliciously terrifying performance here. He is the expert over the years he has portrayed the Daleks, and he achieves a new level of insanity with this piece. The more mercenary tendencies of the War Doctor also become more evident, although the more familiar traits are not entirely gone. The War Doctor does genuinely care for Case and still wants her to make her own choices on how she wants to fight in the Time War. The conflict and suspicion displayed is well written, and Carley knows how to hit those right notes of sorrow and determination that John Hurt could exude so well when he first played the part.
The middle story has plenty of merit here.
Finally, this trilogy comes to a close with Phil Mulryne’s Memnos. The War Doctor and Case have arrived at a secret base where a project known as Memnos has been launched. The idea is to preserve the memory of planets and civilizations devastated by the Daleks. Case also has a chance to find her origins before she was so corrupted by the Daleks. The Dalek Time Strategist also is on their trail and has his own plans for Case.
There are some heart wrenching moments between Case and the War Doctor as she becomes more uncertain as to his loyalty and motives for trying to help her. The Time Strategist also emerges as a most dangerous and despicable foe.
This is another fascinating entry into the range. It also is a strong finish to the set. The lead actors are excellent in all three stories. It is surprising that this is becoming a favorite range for me.
Also, it is slowing becoming clearer as to why the War Doctor made the decision to end the Time War with the destruction of both sides, which haunted him when the new television series was aired in 2005.
In spite of this bold direction in the franchise, it is reassuring that many other elements of the Doctor’s nature shine through at times. There are even some familiar moments of humor even in the midst of such a dark backdrop.
As usual, the sound engineering is stellar. There is little to criticize here. Some of the action sequences are hard to imagine occasionally, but there is plenty to still enjoy and at times marvel as these episodes blare from the speakers.
If one has to be in a Time War, the War Doctor would be the one to have in their corner. Although it is sad that John Hurt is no longer with us, Jonathon Carley is more than capable of honoring him with his participation in this series.
Vampire Weekend kicks off a new range of Doctor Who audio dramas for Big Finish Productions. Jodie Whittaker has joined the stable of Doctors providing new adventures for us fans. She is joined by Mandip Gill reprising her role as Yasmin Khan.
This adventure is penned by Tim Foley and directed by Ken Bentley. Jeremy Ang Jones, Anna Crichlow, Mandi Symonds, and Daniel Walford comprise the guest cast.
Yaz has joined some friends for a weekend away for a wedding party. They have rented a large manor where they plan to enjoy the weekend. The Doctor turns up and is on the trail of an ancient enemy who turns out to be a vampire with more unusual appetites than others of its kind. The vampire is able to disguise itself as anyone in the group, and Yaz finds that she may not know her friends as well as she thinks.
It’s no secret that Jodie Whittaker’s era is not my favorite, but I was hoping that Big Finish would be able to make some improvements on how her version of the Doctor was written and depicted. If those hopes are to ever be realized, this episode didn’t really do it.
Foley is a pretty good writer, and he scored some pretty amusing lines in the dialogue. I had some trouble determining who was speaking during this thing because the women in the cast all kind sounded alike. Whittaker’s Doctor often speaks in rapid fire, so it takes me a bit to catch up.
Also, this vampire’s particular power was a little silly. Doctor Who has a lot of silliness, but I just found the schtick with this creature to not be all that interesting.
It pains me a little to be more critical than usual when it comes to Big Finish output, but this release earned my misgivings.
Now, am I going to give the next episode with the Thirteenth Doctor a chance. Yes, I will. I am likely to even listen to this episode again sometime in the future. This episode was not really terrible, but it just didn’t work for me as well as so much of the other content from Big Finish has.
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