Tag: tv

Doctor Who Audio Review: Fifty Years Of The Fourth

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

The Curse of Time is a Doctor Who audio drama from Big Finish Productions and is a special effort to commemorate fifty years of Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor. Jonathan Morris writes a pretty good script, which is directed by Helen Goldwyn. Baker is joined by Sadie Miller as Sarah Jane Smith and Christopher Naylor as Harry Sullivan. The guest cast is comprised of Rosemary Ashe, Scarlett Courtney, Angus Dunican, Andrew French, George Naylor, and Terence Wilton.

While answering a summons back to Earth, The TARDIS is pulled through the time vortex into what is thought to be medieval times but is in reality in the far future after humans had fled solar flares that threatened the planet. They have returned, but they are dark secrets awaiting them as well These are the descendants of the humans from a certain Ark in Space. The Doctor and his friends have become legends, but a secret enemy is lurking in the caves, and he needs some help from the Time Lord and is not just going to ask for it.

An aspect of this story that I liked is that Morris doesn’t lean on the trope of bringing an old adversary out to face the Doctor. The story is a sequel to some of those in nineteenth season, however the plot is pretty original. It does a decent job of celebrating the Tom Baker era.

Sadie Miller is really sounding more and more like her mother, Elisabeth Sladen, who originally played Sarah Jane. Naylor is also pretty close to sounding like Ian Marter, who played Harry Sullivan in the television series. Tom Baker sounds pretty well and is as enthusiastic as ever, but I am starting pick up his nearly nine decades in his voice.

The episode isn’t spectacular, but it’s still pretty good. Even if it touches on some earlier stories in the television era, there is enough originality in the plot to feel like an unnecessary sequel.

This felt like a pretty good way to celebrate fifty years of the Fourth Doctor. Big Finish Productions avoided some of the usual trappings of such a milestone and gave its audience something more creative and unexpected in making this almost an ordinary Fourth Doctor romp.

Doctor Who Audio Review: A Celebration Of The Sixth Doctor

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment
Doctor Who: The Sixth Doctor Adventures: The Quin Dilemma

Big Finish Productions releases an enjoyable Doctor Who audio boxset celebrating forty years of Colin Baker as the Doctor’s sixth incarnation. The Quin Dilemma contains six interlinked stories written by three authors and directed by Samuel Clemens. Bonnie Langford and Nicola Bryant reprise their roles of Melanie Bush and Peri, respectively. Miranda Raison and Lisa Greenwood return as Constance Clarke and Flip Ramon, a pair of companions created by Big Finish. Phil Labey accompanies the Doctor as a certain Herbert George Wells in one of the stories.

The Exaltation by Jacquelin Raynor kicks off the set and has the Doctor and Mel on the planet Arunopel where the Time Lord is checking out a temporal anomaly. The king is about to step down, but he is uncertain as to which of his five sons is going to inherit the throne. The king believes the Doctor responsible for the disappearance of his wife many years ago and sets his sons out to find him in various points in his timeline.

Chris Chapman picks up the story with Escape from Holy Island where the Doctor, Peri, and a young HG Wells are visiting an island in the year 739 on the eve of a Viking invasion, however the raiders that are coming may be something else.

It’s a pretty good continuation, and the idea of HG Wells being in the TARDIS beyond the one television adventure Timelash is a fun if rather predictable idea.

Robert Valentine brings in a two-part story featuring the Doctor now traveling with Mrs. Clarke and Flip Ramon on a planet in the midst of a civil war, and Sontarans interfering. Sibling Rivalry and Children of the Revolution are the titles of these two episodes. Also, the Doctor has to contend with potential kidnappers in the shape of two of the quintuplet princes on the hunt for him.

Chris Chapman returns to the story roster with The Thousand Year Thaw in which the Doctor and Peri encounter another of the Quin princes, a pleasant walk turns into another familiar fight for survival.’

This story is pretty notable because there is a very charming and enlightening scene in which the Doctor and Peri reflect on their friendship and recall the Doctor’s rather manic reaction to his regeneration. I always thought this Doctor’s introduction was one of the clumsiest introductions in the series. In The Twin Dilemma, the Doctor nearly throttles Peri to death in a fit of mania induced by the trauma of his transformation. Chapman comes up with a pretty plausible explanation as to why Peri decided to continue her travels with the Doctor after that horrendous episode. It was a great scene, and Baker and Bryant perform it masterfully.

Finally, we get the amusing pleasure of watching several versions of the Sixth Doctor interact with each other in Rayner’s The Firstborn. The various companions also meet up to find the answers to this potential paradoxical catastrophe.

Somehow the idea of four different versions of the same Doctor meeting up seems like it wouldn’t work on audio, but it comes off pretty well without as much expected confusion. Colin Baker sounds fantastic throughout this set.

Some stories are a little better than others, and I was rather pleased that some of the seemingly inexplicable choices that Peri made in the television series were addressed.

Jonnie Broadbent is the actor portraying the Quin brothers and does a pretty good job at vocally differentiating between the characters.

I have had mixed feelings about the Sixth Doctor before Big Finish rehabilitated him with much better writing that fleshed out the more appealing sides of his personality. Although much of his familiar brashness was kept, he also displayed far more moments of compassion and cleverness than in the television series.

There is a bit of muddling in the plot, but the performances and intended celebration of this Doctor makes it tolerable. Besides, Doctor Who is a bit of a muddle anyway.

The Quin Dilemma is a set that shouldn’t be passed over. May Colin still have many more years with Big Finish as well.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Doctors, Daleks, And Temporal Leakage

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

The Four Doctors is a Doctor Who audio drama from Big Finish Productions and is a pretty decent multi-Doctor episode, although there have been better. It is written by Peter Anghelides and directed by Nicholas Briggs and Ken Bentley. Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, and Paul McGann all star as the Doctor. Nicholas Briggs also returns to voice the Daleks. The other members of the guest cast are David Bamber, Ellie Burrow, Nogel Lambert, andAlex Mallinson.

There is a vault with a dangerous secret, and the Fifth Doctor has discovered something called temporal leakage at this station run by biomechanoids known as the Jariden. A Dalek attack force is on the way, and a Jariden finds himself swept up in the Doctor’s timeline where he encounters several different versions of the Time Lord.

There are some interesting directions this story takes that differ from other multi-Doctor stories. The Doctors don’t really spend much time together other than kind of a tacked on final scene, which I am sorry to give that much of a spoiler. Most of the story deals with this Jariden military officer who is accompanied by a wrecked Special Weapons Dalek and pursued by the Dalek Prime. He encounters the Doctor in different incarnations as he gets swept up by some breaches in Time.

The main plot idea is solid enough, and the performances are more than acceptable. I guess I was a little let down that Anghelides felt the need to have the Doctors interact with each other without actually working together to solve a crisis. I just believe that one must have a multi-Doctor adventure, let him argue with himself and deal with the threat. If Anghelides wanted to have the Doctor work on some piece of the problem from various points in his timeline, that would be just fine because it would be something not really experienced by the audience all that much.

Doctor Who has a lot of silliness imbedded into its DNA anyway, but generally the multi-Doctor episodes tended to stretch that absurdity to the limit. They just are not usually written that well. Big Finish does do a better job with this type of episode than the television series could manage

Still, most of the major elements in this episode work quite well. Even if I feel the Daleks are a little overused, I didn’t mind their appearance here. The Doctors were still great. The main story had some creativity, and there were even a few profound moments that were kind of moving.

Even if I would have preferred a different final scene, it’s still an enjoyable episode on the whole.

Doctor Who Audio Review: The Time Lord And The Ghost Hunter

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

The Seventh Doctor shares a trilogy of audio adventures with an investigator of the supernatural known as Thomas Carnacki in the set entitled Doctor Who: The Doctor and Carnacki. Sylvester McCoy makes a welcome return to Big Finish Productions studio in a trio of macabre episodes. Joe Jameson and Dan Starkey share the role of Carnacki, who is presented in various stages of his lifetime. Samuel Clemens.is the director of this release.

Thomas Carnacki is the fictional creation of William Hope Hodgson, who was killed in 1918 during World War I. Carnacki is probably better known among the more dedicated readers of supernatural fiction. As mentioned before, there are three stories to discuss, so I will get on with it.

The Haunter of the Shore by AK Benedict starts this series off. Joe Jameson plays the younger version of Carnacki with Caitlin Joseph and Shogo Miyakita also lending their vocal talents.

Carnacki is called in to investigate the appearance of skeletons on a lakeshore near an estate inhabited by a recent widow and possibly strange spirits lurking in the shadows. A hermit is also discovered. He has a distinctive Scottish accent and surprising ideas about Time and where the spirits may originate. The Doctor and Carnacki meet for the first time.

Benedict gives the listener a pretty good start to this collection. McCoy still sounds great. Age has had little effect on McCoy’s vocal abilities and performance so far. It’s a pretty solid haunted house story; however, the Doctor discovers a more extraterrestrial origin to the troubles. There’s nothing too spectacular in this one, but it’s pretty good. The performances hold up, and now that I have read up a little on Carnacki, it’s a pretty good idea to have the Time Lord meet this guy.

The House by Georgia Cook has a rather unimaginative title, but the story itself is quite a bit better that it would suggest. Harry Hart plays a friend of Carnacki’s named Arkwright, who is haunted by a house in a most unusual way. His affliction goes back to his and Carnacki’s childhood, and the Doctor has arrived to help find the answers.

Starkey has taken over the role as an older Carnacki and is just as solid a performer as ever. It’s a unique take on a haunted house story since Arkwright is becoming the house or something.

Anyway, it’s a pretty good contribution to the set

Finally, Jonathan Barnes concludes this set with The Institute of Lost Souls. Rebecca Crinnion, Ewan Thomson, and Alan Cox are included in the guest cast with Dan Starkey continuing on as Carnacki.

Carnacki has a story to tell about a refuge for wounded soldiers that comes under attack by strange and savage creatures. The Doctor arrives again, but he is burdened with a terrible secret regarding Canacki’s fate.

The collection is quite enjoyable, largely because I appreciate a good ghost story even if there is an alien malevolence involved. Starkey is always a treat when he performs. He also is a compelling narrator. The last story is framed with a scene of Carnacki recounting his latest encounter with the Doctor to a group of close friends, which apparently was a common literary device used by Hodgson.

There is some real imagination at work in all three of the writers. McCoy remains in top form as the Doctor. The sound effects are great.

I appreciated the introduction to a fictional character of whom I know so little. The Seventh Doctor is a good foil for Carnacki, but I suspect I would have enjoyed it regardless of the Doctor’s incarnation.

Anyway, it’s a fun addition to the series and worth the time to sit back and listen.

Doctor Who Audio Review: The War And Fugitive Doctors Clash

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Big Finish Productions brings the Doctor Who: Once and Future audio saga to a close with Coda: The Final Act which stars Jo Martin and Jonathon Carley as the two secret surprising incarnations of the Doctor. Tim Foley wrote the script which was directed by Ken Bentley. Lisa Bowerman reprises her role as Professor Bernice Summerfield. Chase Masterson returns as the glamorous galactic bounty bunter Vienna Salvatori. Nicholas Khan, Richard Reed, and Imogen Stubbs round out the guest cast.

The War Doctor has little time to recover from the effects of a degeneration weapon that had him flitting between prior incarnations when he has to rejoin the fray known as the Time War. A mysterious stranger in a TARDIS attempts to intercept him, but the woman at the helm is a fugitive from a time in the Doctor’s life that he cannot remember. The War Doctor is gathering some unexpected allies, and an old friend is caught in the crossfire as well.

First of all, I am not one of the fans who was overly enthusiastic about the creation of the iteration known as the Fugitive Doctor who first appeared on the television series during Jodie Whittaker’s era. This audio episode hasn’t really changed my mind all that much. Jo Martin in that role is not the problem. I am just one of those old school fans who had no problem accepting that William Hartnell played the First Doctor, and no prior incarnations needed to be invented for the sake of racial diversity or whatever. I know the television producers spin this rather differently, but I believe then to be rather disingenuous.

Saying that, it’s not a bad episode, although it feels somewhat just tacked on. Martin is a talented performer, but I just don’t find her version of the Doctor all that interesting. I have come to enjoy the War Doctor series, although I was a little exasperated with this idea of a sudden secret incarnation of the Doctor which seemed to like just ab excuse to have John Hurt in the role. Carley does a masterful impression of Hurt, and the War Doctor series is actually rather compelling. Maybe I need to give the upcoming Fugitive Doctor a chance before I write her off completely.

Anyway, it was rather interesting when Carley and Martin do get together. There are some amusing moments whenever the pair finally figure out how they are being manipulated by some mysterious opponent.

Even if I am not too keen on some paths the television producers have chosen to take, Big Finish does manage to take the ball, run with it, and come up with a pretty good episode. Any time Bowerman is involved does guarantee a few laughs as well.

Anyway, I am glad that I got to hear the conclusion of this saga despite my reservations, and Foley is a decent and imaginative writer and definitely needs to stay on with Big Finish as a regular contributor. I may even be curious to give the Fugitive Doctor a more serious try when more of her stories are released, but that’s still in up in the air.

This release didn’t really fire me up with unrelenting enthusiasm, but neither did it really bother me as much as I feared.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Escaping From Beyond

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

The Great Beyond is a Doctor Who audio drama from Big Finish Productions that is pretty interesting if a little confusing at times. The script is written by James Kettle and directed by Ken Bentley. Peter Davison returns as the Fifth Doctor and is joined by Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton, and Matthew Waterhouse as Tegan, Nyssa, and Adric, respectively. It’s a pretty long story this time, so the guest cast is relatively lengthy and is comprised of Anna Crichlow, John Hopkins, Philip Hurd-Wood, Maggie Service, Paksie Vernon, and Andrew Wincott.

The Doctor and his companions encounter a sentient prison on a distant planet that changes and involves and moves over the surface. Tegan starts off trying to locate the Time Lord and her other two friends, however they have no memory of her when she catches up with them. The prison itself is not the worst of the threats that the Doctor has to overcome. He also has may have to sacrifice his freedom in order to save his friends and live a life of confinement that he has always fought to avoid.

The idea is pretty ambitious and impressive, but it is difficult to picture some aspects of the story in the mind’s eye sometimes. As usual, the performances are terrific. There seems to be some interest in stretching this incarnation of the Doctor into some creative predicaments, and this effort for the most part is worth the journey.

Kettle starts off in the middle of the adventure, and the audience has to go through some flashback sequences to get the proper context. It’s not a bad way to go here.

Big Finish’s intent is to give the Fifth Doctor a six-episode adventure, which was never done on television. There is a risk of the story dragging a bit, and that sort of happens here but it’s not too bad.

Kettle does manage to display something rather creative and unique in this story, which is hard to pull off considering how vast Doctor Who has become. It was nice to not have to rely on some of the old classic enemies to try to carry this longer than usual story.

Anyway, not every aspect of the story was easy to understand, but it was still worth the time. Big Finish continues to often outshine the television series.

Doctor Who Audio Review: The Cybermen Are Certainly Not Angels

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

The Quintessence is an excellent Doctor Who audio drama from Big Finish Productions and features the Third Doctor and Jo Jones. Nicholas Briggs directs this episode which is written by Stewart Pringle and Lauren Mooney. Nicholas Briggs provides the voice as the Cybermen, as usual. The rest of the guest cast is comprised of Chris Larkin, Felicity Cant, Emily Joyce, and Gary Turner.

Tim Treloar resumes his role of the Third Doctor with his steadily improving impression of the late Jon Pertwee’s performance. Katy Manning plays a much older Jo Grant, who is now Jo Jones, and has rejoined the Doctor in the TARDIS.

The story begins with a strange dream that Jo is having about a young girl in an isolated manor. She receives a set of coordinates and convinces the Doctor to check it out. They find the estate in the midst of a storm raging across a desolate planet known as Nethara Reach. They find that it is occupied by a couple with a sickly daughter who believe they have been communicating with angels. It doesn’t take long for the Doctor to recognize these supposed angels as one his most ruthless adversaries. The Cybermen have targeted the daughter for a horrifying purpose. The Doctor and Jo will have to embark on a rescue mission to save a family from a terrifying transformation.

The Daleks are apparently the most popular villains in the franchise, but my heart still goes with the Cybermen as the more chilling of the Doctor’s foes. The relentless of survival by converting anyone and anything into one of their numbers is effectively chilling…especially without all of the maniacal shrieking the Daleks like to cut loose.

The plot is actually pretty creative even if some old adversaries are brought out of the mothballs. Katy Manning gives one of her stronger performances. She is always good and obviously slips into the role with ease. Treloar is good. I also have to note that Chris Larkin as Arthur Pepperdine undergoes a compelling and convincing character transformation, which was quite wonderfully performed.

This is a six-part story, which has a tendency to drag, however the writers for this serial kept this one pretty interesting throughout. Nicholas Briggs handles the directing with his usual precision and skill as he voices the emotionless, unrelenting Cybermen.

Big Finish is reliably solid when it comes to casting and story ideas, however this particular release ended up surprising me with stronger than usual performances and a pretty fascinating use of common scenes and soundscapes. This story would be an unusual fit for the Pertwee era, however it’s a welcome departure and stretch of creative muscles.

The Quintessence is probably one of the top releases for the year, which is saying something since Big Finish is so consistent with the care and attention they put into these releases.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Big Decisions For The Seventh Doctor As His Time Winds Down

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Big Finish Productions has released the first of a two-part audio finale for the Seventh Doctor, and it’s a bit of a confusing jumble, which is often typical of this particular incarnation of the Doctor. The Last Day- Part One is written by Matt Fitton and Guy Adams and has Sylvester McCoy returning to the mic as the Seventh Doctor. Samuel Clemens is the director.

Almost all of the Seventh Doctor’s friends and foes come out to play in this one. Sophie Aldred as Ace come back and gathers a team that includes The Master, played by Geoffrey Beevers, Edward Peel as Kane, and Stuart Margolin as Garundel.

Other followers of this audio range will recognize Lisa Bowerman as Professor Bernice Summerfield, Philip Olivier as Hex, and Bonnie Langford as Melanie Bush.

All of reality is at stake yet again. Ace is recruiting various adversaries to go against the threat, but that appears to be the Doctor, who is up to some grand plan or other.

Yet again, the performances and the nostalgia of these characters returning helps, but it does seem a little trite to have the Doctor in a such a convoluted mess.

The story is supposed to take the fans up to the moments before the Doctor regenerates in the 1996 television movie which introduced Paul McGann.

There are some interesting moments, and I am sure the second part will clear up some of the threads being laid out here. Still, the ambition by the writers seems to not take account of the challenge of keeping a coherent image in a listener’s mind as this is playing.

I have never been a fan of just throwing every major villain and allies in one story, even if it is supposed to be a finale. Also, I am not sure that McCoy is actually not going to do more of these audios. Also, the whole of reality or the universe being at stake is not a plot that really interests me. One of the best regeneration stories in the series involved the Doctor trying to save the life of his companion.

Fitton and Adams are long-time contributors to Doctor Who fiction in various mediums, but it does feel like they may have bitten off more than they can chew.

Yes, I will purchase the second part to this story and hope the conclusion is more compelling than I anticipate.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Strange Birds, Ghosts, Gigantic Beasts, And One Time Lord

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Big Finish Productions returns to the travels of the Eighth Doctor, starring Paul McCann, with an eclectic and entertaining set of Doctor Who audio dramas entitled Echoes. Nicola Walker and Hattie Morahan are also accompanying this Doctor as Liv Chenka and Helen Sinclair. Ken Bentley directs this trilogy of adventures and continues to prove himself more than capable of continuing in that capacity for future releases. The guest cast includes Derek Griffiths, Jane Asher, Fiona Button, and Dan Starkey.

Tim Foley starts off the set with his story, Birdsong. The TARDIS arrives on a world where there are apparently two women who were scouting it out for an arriving colony. There are peculiar birds in the distance but coming closer. One of the women the TARDIS encounters is strangely ill. Something in the woods appears to be watching.

Foley has become one of Big Finish’s more prolific and reliable scriptwriters, and this story is a pretty good example as to why. It’s a pretty spooky story with an interesting twist toward the end. The main cast is once again in top form with their performances. Fiona Button and Jane Asher are the only two guest actors, and they are more than capable foils for the well-tuned main cast of this particular TARDIS crew.

Lost Hearts is the second story and is written by Lauren Mooney and Stewart Pringle. The Doctor, Liv, and Helen have been investigating strange disturbances emanating from an ancient university. Phantoms have been seen, and something odd seems to have an important message for the Doctor. They are assisted by a nervous undergraduate and a writer of supernatural phenomenon. The student has a profound connection to Helen Sinclair, and the writer has an important destiny on the world’s literary stage.

Timothy Bentinck and Steve Brody are two of the guest actors and, as expected, well chosen. Bentinck goes a little over the top with his performance in the climax, but the whole episode is still quite enjoyable. The revealing of the full identity of the Brody’s character, Montague, is kind of a nice treat. The story takes place in a university containing a lot of shadows and dark corners, which is almost always a great place to begin a Doctor Who episode.

Dan Rebellato is the writer tasked with bringing this set to a close with Slow Beasts. The Doctor and his companions arrive on a planet with an amazing sight to behold. A settlement is watched over a group of enormous alien figures standing in the plains. The Renn gain some benefit from the tourism arriving in their midst to see this strange arrangement. It does not take long for the Doctor, Liv and Helen to discover there is a dark secret behind the majestic view. When the secret comes to life, the Renn find themselves facing a retribution that may be well deserved.

The final story is also quite compelling, although there is not a lot of detail about how the Slow Beasts look other than their immense size. Derek Griffiths, Maya Saroya, and Dan Starkey are part of this guest cast. Rebellato is a pretty new writer to me, but this story is a promising introduction. He is not a new writer overall, but he seems to be a pretty recent addition to the Big Finish stable. The story raises some engaging moral dilemmas and questions. I thought Griffiths take on the settlement leader, Mathryn, was very interesting. Mathryn does have some undoubtedly selfish and immoral motivations, but the audience is left with a sense of possible redemption.

I have to say that Echoes pretty much gets high marks from me all the way down the line. It’s hard to say which episode is my favorite because I was pretty impressed with all three of the stories, which is a rarity as much as I love Big Finish and Doctor Who. There was not reliance of old adversaries. Yes, Big Finish has visited its fair share of shady universities in its long catalogue before, but the second episode is still imaginative enough for me to forgive that trope. McGann remains as compelling as ever as his version of the Doctor. The chemistry and banter between Morahan and Walker remain on point, which is particularly impressive since this group of writers haven’t written much in this range. Although this TARDIS team have been around a good number of years for the Big Finish consumers, this collection of stories seems to have found a way to ensure that audiences want more of this particular TARDIS team.

Doctor Who Audio Review: A Raven, Kippers, And Old Friends

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Michael Troughton returns to the mic at Big Finish Productions to honor his late father’s Doctor Who legacy in Doctor Who: The Second Doctor Adventures: Conspiracy of Raven. He is joined by Wendy Padbury and Frazer Hines, reprising their roles of Zoe and Jamie, respectively. Nicholas Briggs and Mark Wright have collaborated on the three interlinked episodes with Briggs also serving as director.

This series continues on from the saga started in the set entitled Beyond the War Games. Just before his forced regeneration and exile to Earth, the Second Doctor was reunited with Jamie McCrimmon and sent on a series of missions throughout time and space at the direction of a mysterious Time Lady known as Raven. Jamie has been whisked away out of the TARDIS in this chapter, and Zoe Herriot appears to provide valuable assistance to help locate him. Raven has become an unlikely and untrustworthy ally, but she is not in control as much as she initially appeared.

Nicholas Briggs introduces this particular conspiracy with his story Kippers. Emma Noakes returns as the enigmatic Raven. The Doctor and Raven find themselves aboard an abandoned space station, and Jame has disappeared. An alien menace known as Kippers has killed the crew, and the two Time Lords are in their sights. The Doctor finds that Raven may not be working for who she believes. He has to keep them alive and start a search through time and space for his lost friend.

The inclusion of Emma Noakes is actually a pretty good move. Troughton does a decent job of emulating his late father, Patrick Troughton. I still think Hines’ impression was a lot closer, but it seems fitting to have Michael Troughton give his take. He does sound close enough like his dad to not be distracting. Anyway, Briggs provides another intriguing script. The sound effects come off quite well. Overall, a great launch for this particular collection.

Catastrophe Theory is written by Mark Wright. Padbury’s Zoe Herriot has appeared in the TARDIS. Raven has been left behind on the space station, but she is not out of the picture just yet. The Doctor and Zoe trace Jamie a space cruiser on the course to disaster. A savage alien attack is about to commence, and the Doctor is surrounded by catastrophe with time running out on more than one front.

This also is a solid continuation of the journey. There is nothing remarkable about this one, but it’s not bad and serves the purpose of pushing the Doctor and his friends forward into the machinations of a mysterious presence. A few more answers are revealed, and the mystery of who is making alterations to established history and manipulating the Doctor into more dangers continues to build.

Wright and Briggs share writing credit for the concluding episode entitled The Vanishing Point. The Vanishing Point is a mythical place that resides somewhere between science and magic. The Doctor and his friends have arrived to see if questions can be answered and to hopefully confront the threat to all of time and space.

It’s a pretty good set overall. I am a little dubious about this business of shoehorning these series of episodes set between the final television Second Doctor serial and the introduction of the third incarnation. Raven has now become a pretty intriguing addition to the cast. Noakes seems to be pretty inspired casting. The banter between her and the Doctor is quite amusing and compelling. Another notable guest cast member is Jacqueline King, who is best known as Sylvia Noble in the rebooted television series. She plays a different character and does a great job.

Tom Baker is my favorite Doctor, but Patrick Troughton’s performance ranks high up there in my estimation. Michael Troughton speaks about adding some bits of himself in his efforts to honor his father, and he does seem to be getting better as he does more of these episodes. I just like new Second Doctor stories, and I get the emotional significance of adding having Michael to the casting sheet. Even if I think Frazer Hines nails the Patrick Troughton vibe somewhat better, Michael Troughton is still more than capable of satisfying the fans of his father’s era on the program.