‘The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who’ book review

Sometimes it’s easier to tag Doctor Who as science-fantasy rather than science-fiction. After all, there’s not a lot of lab-coat methodology you can apply to ‘remembering’ someone back into the universe, or using lightning to transmit your DNA into hybrid Dalek-People. And we won’t mention the words ‘moon’ and ‘egg’. But it’s a show that … >

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Blake's 7

‘Blake’s 7′ audio boxset review: ‘The Liberator Chronicles Volume 11’

The Liberator Chronicles from Big Finish are a regular set of boxsets, each of three CD releases telling new stories for the Liberator crew. Unlike the full-cast series, these stories each have two main narrative voices though in recent releases these are often supplemented with additional, minor characters. They have always been interesting, entertaining and … >

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Sylvester McCoy

‘Doctor Who’ audio story review: ‘Damaged Goods’

Big Finish has just released its latest set of novel adaptations, the first of which is ‘Damaged Goods’. A Seventh Doctor story starring Sylvester McCoy accompanied by two new-to-audio companions Chris Cwej (Travis Oliver) and Roz Forrester (Yasmin Bannerman), the significance of this story is in its origin – the original New Adventure story was … >

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Paul Darrow as Kerr Avon

‘Blake’s 7’ audio story review: ‘Truth and Lies’

In ‘Truth and Lies’ the quest for missing crewmember Dayna comes to a conclusion as the Liberator crew have tracked her to the obscure planet Appalion Five. Of course, nothing is straightforward… Justin Richards, the series script editor, wrote this final piece and took great care to balance the story, giving the regular crew plenty … >

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‘Doctor Who’ spin-off book review: ‘Lethbridge-Stewart: The Forgotten Son’

Just as Terry Nation famously retained rights over the Daleks, so did Henry Lincoln & Mervyn Haisman over their characters and creations who starred in ‘The Abominable Snowmen’ and ‘The Web of Fear’. The latter tale, of course, famously featured the debut of the Doctor’s long-standing ally Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart – best known to Doctor … >

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‘The Art and Making of Penny Dreadful’ book review

‘Art of…’ books are often a bit something-and-nothing: pretty to look at, nice to flick through, but otherwise a shallow experience destined to be left on the shelf or under the coffee table. So it’s always nice to encounter one which exceeds expectations, and delivers you more than big glossy pictures and a sprinkling of … >

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Blake's 7

‘Blake’s 7’ audio story review: ‘Devil’s Advocate’

Devil’s Advocate is a full-cast Blake’s 7 story continuing the crew’s search for Dayna. This month it is the turn of Steve Lyons to move the series arc forward while also giving listeners an enjoyable story in its own right. This he does with admirable skill. At first the story is a standard Avon (Paul … >

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Big Finish’s ‘Vienna’ Season 2 audio boxset review

The impossibly glamorous bounty hunter Vienna Salvatori (Chase Masterson) often sits on the wrong side of the law, so it was quite a shock to discover her in a new position for her second run. Vienna’s first season saw her revel in technological tricks, using memory boxes to disguise her motives and threatening to off … >

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