Doctor Who

An archive of blog entries about British science-fiction programme Doctor Who.

Tuesday’s “oppressive Who” news

15 June 2010 Rob Buckley 4 Comments

Doctor Who

Film

British TV

  • Ofcom gives Beeb go-ahead for Freeview HD anti-piracy technology

US TV

Audio and radio play reviews

Review: The Companion Chronicles 4×10 – The Time Vampire

14 June 2010 Rob Buckley Post a comment

The Time VampireOoh, another one of these double-header Companion Chronicles where we get not one but two former companions: in this case, fourth Doctor companions Leela and K9, as voiced by Louise Jameson and John Leeson.

Now, as soon as I heard it was a Leela story, my heart sank. This isn’t because I dislike Leela – actually, I quite liked her. No, the trouble is that Louise Jameson is pals with regular Big Finish writer and slaughterer of the Sapphire and Steel range Nigel Fairs. And so far, he’s written all the Leela Companion Chronicles.

The Time Vampire is no different in that respect, and despite the presence of K9, is largely no different in other regards, too: it also includes the forgettable Z-nai (Ed: who?), it’s overly complicated and despite initial promise it turns out to be painfully bad.

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Audio and radio play reviews

Review: Doctor Who – 134 – The Wreck of the Titan

10 June 2010 Rob Buckley 2 Comments

Wreck of the TitanHere we are again in the middle of another Big Finish trilogy. In City of Spires, the sixth Doctor returns to 18th century Scotland where he bumps into former travelling companion James Robert McCrimmon (aka Jamie), who has no recollection of the second Doctor, the TARDIS or anything else. More than that, Scottish history’s gone a bit weird: Edinburgh and Glasgow have been destroyed and replaced with what seems like an oil refinery. What could be happening?

Well, we never found out at the end of City of Spires. With The Wreck of the Titan, though, we’re starting to get a few clues.

Here, the Doctor and Jamie land on board the RMS Titanic, which is heading for an iceberg. Or should be. Except the moon’s all wrong, the crew aren’t the ones recorded by history, and most of the doors just lead to blank bulkheads.

More mysteries to solve. But will there be answers this time?

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Audio and radio play reviews

Review: The Companion Chronicles 4×9 – Shadow of the Past

10 June 2010 Rob Buckley 2 Comments

Shadow of the PastLiz Shaw: brilliant companion from the brilliant seventh season of Doctor Who. Yet it’s been over three years since she last featured in one of the Companion Chronicles, The Blue Tooth. Hooray, she’s back!

Doubly hooray, it’s Simon Guerrier who’s writing for her, Guerrier being responsible for the brilliant Home Truths and The Drowned World. Can so much excellence all in one place lead only to excellence or is this going to be a letdown?

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