Tag: tv

Doctor Who Audio Review: From Christmas To Cybermen

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles Volume 5: Everywhere and Anywhere is a recent audio boxset from Big Finish Productions with Jacob Dudman reprising his role of the Eleventh Doctor with his uncanny impression of Matt Smith. Safiyya Ingar continues in her role as cyborg companion Valerie Lockwood.

In this set, Nicholas Briggs is back behind the mic as the voice of the Cybermen.

Other guest cast members include Maddison Bulleyment, Sean Connelly, Edward Harrison, Jack Myers, and Brad Shaw.

This collection was directed by Helen Goldwyn, which is often a good choice.

There are three stories featuring the Eleventh Doctor and Valerie Lockwood, and they are pretty solid.

The first story is basically a Christmas story, done Doctor Who style written by Georgia Cook. Spirit of the Season concerns a child who says her name is Clara, and she wants to kill the Doctor and Valerie. They are trapped in a strange house with other people, including Valerie’s strangely resurrected mother, played by Mandi Symonds.

It’s a pretty good start to this collection. Becky Wright plays the malevolent alien claiming the name Clara and is appropriately wicked.

All’s Fair, written by Max Kashevsky, has Valerie on a first date in Chicago during the World’s Fair 1893. A man turns up claiming to be Valerie’s husband, and the TARDIS team find out how merciless Time can be. Valerie is destined to die in this time period, but she has to defeat the monsters stalking the streets of Chicago and ruining her date.

It was an interesting story and well performed. I am not all that familiar with this particular writer, but I thought he presented a decent script. Some of the action scenes were hard to interpret by audio, but that’s not unusual for this medium.

Sins of the Flesh, written by Alfie Shaw, brings this collection to a close. In a society that is trying to eradicate sinful behaviors, they have turned to something called Redemption Suits. The Doctor recognizes this as taking a step into conversion into a Cyberman. He and Valerie are trying to prevent a colony for paying a terrible price in their efforts to remove temptations of the flesh.

I tend to enjoy a good Cyberman story, and this one qualifies. It gets a little preachy though, which is distracting at times, but Shaw still sparks the imagination when he depicts of the horror of cyber-conversion. Briggs hasn’t lost his touch in bringing voice to one of the more iconic Doctor Who adversaries.

Dudman continues to shine in his impression of Matt Smith’s interpretation of the meandering Time Lord. Valerie is a somewhat intriguing companion, and Ingar does well on some of the more emotional moments in this story and the previous ones in this collection.

This is a pretty solid trilogy for the most part. Valerie is a creation of Big Finish and as usual an intriguing addition to the crew. Dudman is a gifted impressionist and does well in representing the Eleventh Doctor era.

It’s an enjoyable release but not really a remarkable one. It’s good enough for me to continue collecting in this range though.

Book Review: Imposter Alert!

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Identity Theft is a recent Star Trek novel by Greg Cox that kind of tested my patience at the beginning and got better as my voyage through the pages progressed.

The crew of the Enterprise is sent to the planet Voyzr twenty years after they had helped the denizens end a civil war to attend a celebration of the peace agreement that has lasted. The problem is that a group of exiles have hatched a plot to assassinate the current leader of Voyzr since not everyone felt they received fair treatment. This group has gotten hold of a mind transference device and are able to abduct one Commander Pavel Chekov to have him replaced with a disgruntled and determined imposter. Chekov, now in the body of an alien, must escape his captors, catch up to the Enterprise, which has been sidetracked by another rescue mission, and stop an insidious plot to reignite a war.

I experienced a moment of exasperation when I realized that this was a mind-swap story, which is a pretty common plot in science fiction or fantasy. The novels tend to spend a little too much with somewhat nostalgic plots. Of course, the television episode, Turnabout Intruder, was heavily referenced.

As the story unfolded, I found myself more compelled by the idea of Chekov being the focus of the story. This takes place sometime just before The Undiscovered Country. The crew have already experienced the death and subsequent rebirth of Spock, the voyage to the twentieth century to find whales in order to save Earth and facing down a being who was impersonating God.

This novel focused on an older Chekov, who was able to use his Starfleet experience and the examples left by Captain Kirk to overcome the various obstacles to reclaim his body and foil the assassination plot.

Cox has written several Star Trek novels and is usually quite reliable. I should have had a bit more faith in his ability to make this somewhat overdone science fiction trope into something a bit more compelling.

He also delves into the mind of the would-be assassin named Ryjo, who finds himself experiencing the special comradery Chekov has experienced serving with his friends for a couple of decades. Ryjo ends up being instrumental in saving the lives of several of his crewmates when their unexpected rescue mission goes seriously awry.

This novel turned into a nice surprise in that I enjoyed more than I expected when I first started out. I always have fun revisiting the Enterprise under the command of James T. Kirk, and Cox helped make sure that I will return when the next installment hits the shelves.

Next up, I am going to see what all the hype is about concerning Freida McFadden’s The Housemaid.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Even The Doctor Can Still Find Uncharted Territory

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Doctor Who: Time War Uncharted 1: Reflections is a recent Doctor Who audio boxset from Big Finish Productions and takes the Eighth Doctor, played by Paul McGann, into some intriguing depths of the Time War in four episodes. Emma Campbell-Jones and Sonny McGann reprise their roles of Cass Fermazzi and Alex Campbell, respectively. Alex is the Doctor’s great-grandson who was resurrected by the peculiarities of the Time War that has thrown the universe into an upheaval. Cass has been lost between dimensions and struggles to find her way back to her friends, who may nor remember her.

Some familiar faces or voices are part of the guest cast. Familiar to Big Finish listeners anyway. The guest cast is comprised of Dempsey Bovell, Helen Goodwyn, Holly Jackson Walters, Amara Karan, Nicholas Khan, Hattie Morahan, Jon-Paul Rowden, Dan Starkey, and Conrad Westmaas.

The first of the four episodes contained in this collection is Nowhere, Never by Katharine Armitage. Cass finds herself living as a housewife in a place where air raids are being conducted on her community. The Doctor and Alex are trapped in a peculiar hospital ruled by an even more peculiar Matron. No one seems to remember much about their pasts, but the Doctor will soon start to understand how fractured the universe has become.

This is a bit of a confusing mess to be done on audio, but the performances more than make up for it. It’s also setting the stage for the Doctor’s participation in the Time War. The character of Cass is starting to grow on me, and the banter that has developed between her and Alex is quite well written. Paul McGann’s performance continues to flourish as well.

Although I called this particular story a confusing mess, I still enjoyed it. The nature of the underlying story concerning a Time War is just going to cause all kinds of mental gymnastics in understanding the sequence of events.

Tim Foley follows up with The Road Untravelled in which the Doctor, Alex, and Cass find themselves aboard a strange spaceship. The Captain of the vessel is an old, unreliable adversary, who is played by Conrad Westmaas. They are trapped in the Void, however another presence has followed them, and the Time War rages even there.

The second story by Foley is pretty good as well. It’s one of those awkward episodes which continues the set-up to the big reveal that is going to occur in a future episode. Westmaas was better known in the franchise as C’rizz, a companion of McGann’s Doctor many years before. He does get to stretch a bit more in this role as Hiernonyma Friend.

Foley is a reliable writer and will hopefully be commissioned many more times. He also gets to wrap up this set, but I will get to that in a couple of paragraphs.

James Moran delivers what I think is the most compelling episode in the set entitled Cass-Cade. Cass is trapped in a space station is falling into a sun, and she keeps encountering the Doctor and Alex in different moments of the adventure out of sequence. Unfortunately, they don’t remember her beyond some vague sense of familiarity. Anyway, this sounds more confusing and muddled than the first episode, but it actually holds up and makes a little more sense. Campbell-Jones gets a plethora of one-liners throughout, and she delivers them sublimely.

Anyway, I enjoyed that one the most, but the set is pretty good overall.’

Finally, Tim Foley gets to return with Borrow or Rob which has the Doctor and his companions losing their grip on reality, leading to a shocking betrayal.

I like this particular TARDIS team. The Eighth Doctor’s struggles within the Time War are to continue, and I am ready to continue that ride as well.

Big Finish Audio Review: The Professor Between The Master And A Captain

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

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 Audio Review: Vengeance Crossing Time And Space

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Doctor Who: The Third Doctor Adventures: Operation Vengeance is a new audio drama released by Big Finish Productions and stars Tim Treloar, stepping into the shoes of the late Jon Pertwee as the Doctor. Treloar also has the distinction of co-writing the script with Nicholas Briggs, who is also directing this piece.

Jon Culshaw returns as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, who was originally played by the late Nicholas Courtney. Sadie Miller reprises the role her mother originally portrayed in the television series, Sarah Jane Smith. Katy Manning returns to her role as Jo Grant. Gareth Armstrong, Hannah Blaikie, Max Bowden, and Bronte Alice-Tadman are included in the rather lengthy guest cast.

The Doctor has been to the planet Konzomia, previously accompanied by Jo Grant. An old enemy thought dead has revealed himself to be among the living and has a wicked plan of vengeance to execute. The Doctor has Sarah Jane Smith at his side and determines that he has to return to Earth during the period where the Second World War was being fought. He is able to stop and collect his stalwart and courageous friend, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in order to find Jo Grant’s father, who is in the midst of battle. The brilliant but maniacal scientist known as Raelchun is also displaced from his time and home planet and has his own plan to erase Jo from existence by killing Private Terry Grant. The Doctor, Sarah, and the Brigadier are determined to protect one of the Time Lord’s most cherished companions in the midst of one of the most terrible conflicts in Earth’s history.

There is quite a bit going on that keeps this from being a generally unpleasant listening experience, however I doubt I am going to count this among my favorites. In spite of how exciting the plot sounds, it seems to drag at times. Gareth Armstrong’s performance as Raelchun is pretty good, but he seems kind of a cliche Doctor Who villain at times.

Treloar’s efforts to emulate Jon Pertwee are quite effective. It’s not quite so hard to imagine that Pertwee himself is delivering the lines. Also, Sadie Miller is really sounding more and more like her late mother, Elisabeth Sladen.

Sometimes, the action was not that clearly depicted in the soundscape, but that’s bound to happen in an audio play.

There are some moments that are compelling, such as when we learn a bit more about the Brigadier’s past.

Although there some merits to this release, I still had some trouble staying with it all the way through.

I do applaud Treloar’s efforts to stretch himself as a writer, but it was a good thing that Briggs was there as his writing partner.

Even though I have a few criticisms of this episode, it still had some interesting ideas and themes. The chemistry between the main characters was still evident and made this more than bearable. The irony here is that very few of the characters are played by the original actors.

Anyway, it’s not the greatest thing that Big Finish has produced, but it’s still not necessary to pass it by completely. There is some still enjoyment that is not hard to find.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Early Days With Ace

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Doctor Who: The Seventh Doctor Adventures: Wicked! is an audio boxset which takes the audience back to when Ace first joined the Doctor in the TARDIS in this trilogy of episodes. Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred once again prove themselves to be more than capable of replicating the enthusiasm they displayed when they started out on the television series almost four decades ago.

The guest cast in this set is comprised of Luke Barton, Tom Alexander, Alexandra Barredo, Simon Callow, Sophie Kennedy Clark, Ekow Quartey, and Paulo Vieira. Samuel Clemens returns to the director’s seat for all three episodes. I was not sure about the notion of going all the way back to the beginning of Ace’s travels in the TARDIS, but the set is overall quite good.

Alison Winter kicks off the set with Backwards and in Heels, which takes place in 1920s Soho. Ace and the Doctor are swept up into a [peculiar treasure hunt, and an alien presence has the young companion questioning her decision to accompany the Time Lord.

This story was a decent one if not the most memorable. I like the setting, and Ace being kind of impressed with a 1020s flapper. The friendship between the two lead characters starts to solidify as Ace gets a taste of what like traveling with the Doctor could entail.

Katharine Armitage follows up with The Price of Snow which takes place in the futuristic ski resort where some guests have disappeared, and the authentic snow seems to have some suspicious origins. There is also an unfortunate rift between a daughter and father.

This story is a bit better than the previous one. The alien menace at the heart of this one is new and not that badly realized. Tom Alexander is pretty compelling as the owner of the resort and the architect of the dangers as he uses some pretty ruthless calculations to keep his alien guests fed.

Finally, it is Alan Ronald who brings this set to a close with The Ingenious Gentlemen as Simon Callow delivers a hugely campy yet powerful performance as Don Quixote. In this case, the windmills may be something that is needed to be fought. Ace begins to notice some strange parallels between the partnership of Don Quixote and Sancho and her association with the Doctor.

Callow is absolutely magnificent, and the Doctor’s childlike joy at meeting him is perfectly performed by McCoy.

Obviously, this is the episode I consider to be the best in this collection.

I have to say that Sophie Aldred being able to pull off her younger voice when she is now in her sixties is quite impressive. I know that Aldred is a well-practiced voice artist, and I shouldn’t be that surprised, but her precision is still something to appreciate.

McCoy has also not missed a step here, and he is much older.

The idea of returning to Ace’s early travels seems like it should have been done earlier, but Big Finish continues to develop their stories and characters quite masterfully.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Why The Doctor Never Goes Back

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

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.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Match Making Gone Wrong

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures: 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.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Knights And Time Meddlers

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Doctor Who: The First Doctor Unbound: Knights of the Round TARDIS is an audio drama that kicks off a new range for Bog Finish Productions. David Bradley returns to his version of the First Doctor alongside Claudia Grant, Jamie Glover, and Jemma Powell returning to their versions of original TARDIS companion, Susan, Ian, and Barbara.

The script was written by LR Hay, and the director is David O’Mahoney. The guest cast is comprised of Matthew McQuinn, Robert Gill, Ewan Goddard, Adam Howden, Sophie Matthew, Joseph Millson, and Keith Wickham.

The TARDIS has taken its occupants to thirteenth century Oxford where they encounter a figure known as a precursor to English democracy, Simon de Montford. Friar Roger Bacon is also there; however, he seems to have another identity that knows the Doctor very well. The Monk is back in a new guise, but the Doctor has not encountered him before from his perspective. History is about to be radically changed unless the Doctor intervenes.

Bradley does a decent job in his presentation of the First Doctor, yet he seems to be able do it without relying on an impersonation of the late William Hartnell. Bradley, of course, played Hartnell some years ago in a special docudrama about the origin of Doctor Who.

The idea is to have a series that isn’t quite so hung up on the continuity within the television series, although I am not really sure how successful the writers and producers are in actually accomplishing that.

I am not that familiar with the historical context this series was supposed to convey, but I still enjoyed it. I may have to research some of the figures like de Montfort and Roger Bacon to understand their significance to British history to better appreciate this story.

Bradley is considered something of a legend in British drama, or at least he works pretty consistently for a guy his age, which is eighty-three. Anyway, I love his portrayal of the First Doctor.

Wickham also seems to be a solid casting choice for Bacon, who turns out to be the renegade Time Lord known as the Monk. Apparently, he was inspired to emulate the style of the original actor, the late Peter Butterworth, who appeared in the original television serial entitled The Time Meddler alongside Hartnell.

It’s fun to revisit the First Doctor era in its many iterations presented by Big Finish, and this episode is a promising new direction.

Book Review: Never Just Sightseeing When In The TARDIS

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Sightseeing in Space is a volume containing two mediocre Doctor Who novellas written by David Bailey and Steve Lyons.

To be fair, I think the target audience for this release is significantly younger than me, but I couldn’t help still being a bit disappointed.

The first story is entitled Terminal of Despair written by the usually reliable Steve Lyons. He has been writing Doctor Who fiction for many years for several ranges in print.

The Doctor and his companions, Amy and Rory, arrive on a spaceport in which would-be passengers have been quarantined for several months by strange creatures which feed on hope. These creatures resemble three-legged bulldogs that have some tentacle that protrude from their mouths to latch on a victim’s neck and drains any sense of hope from them.

The alien species dubbed Desponds is new, but I had some trouble visualizing these things. Also, there was no real clear opponent in charge of this chaos. Lyons does a decent job of capturing the Eleventh Doctor’s mannerisms for the most part.

I had some trouble maintaining any real interest in the side characters. Also, no one died, which I guess is an indicator that the youth were the intended audience.

I remember looking forward to a Lyons novel and usually appreciating his imagination, so I had high hopes for his contribution here. Sadly, my hopes were unrealized. The story was not terrible, but there was not much of an impression left.

The second story, David Bailey’s The Web in Space, is a slightly better. The Doctor, Amy, and Rory become trapped in a spaceship which is being attacked by scavengers. It also becomes trapped in a giant web in space where a massive spider awaits to feed. A maniacal robot has its eyes set on access to the TARDIS. The Doctor has a lot of threats to resolve before he and his friends can be on their way.

I enjoyed this story more, but there are still better contributions to Doctor Who literature. Bailey is a competent writer, but there is nothing that really stands out about his writing style.

At least it was some Doctor Who I had not read before. The volume is another that is not a complete waste of time, but it does not leave much of a lasting impression.

Next up, I am revisiting a reliable and favorite thriller writer of mine. Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis being investigating a curious double murder at a poolside in Jonathan Kellerman’s The Ghost Orchid.