Russian pandemic thriller To The Lake, currently streaming on Netflix is proving to be something of a ‘sleeper hit’, amongst discerning genre critics at least. It’s not the easiest sell to the casual viewer, especially in the midst of a real-world viral catastrophe. It is a show infused with recognisable eastern European dramatic motifs: it’s … >
Blue Boxes is the latest Doctor Who Short Trip, set in Season Seven, with the Third Doctor still adjusting to his Earthbound exile. With UNIT’s telephones under attack, and some mysterious deaths, the Doctor and Liz Shaw dive into the world of ‘Phreaking’. Like early hackers, the ingenious phreakers used homemade generators to replicate the … >
The War Master: Hearts of Darkness is the fifth boxset to chronicle the exploits of Derek Jacobi’s Master. Set amid the Time War, the storyline here steers clear of the Daleks in favour of a battle of wits between the Eighth Doctor and the Master. As with most of the sets in this range, the … >
Shadow of the Daleks 1 is the first of two volumes, which together make up an eight-part story. It sees the Fifth Doctor sucked into the Time War; the devastating temporal conflict between his people and the Daleks which belongs in his own personal future. Compelling the Doctor to repeatedly encounter the same faces, Shadow … >
Forget Me Not takes a necessary detour on Discovery‘s journey to find Starfleet. In many ways it’s a consideration of identity played out on two levels; it’s also a rather beautiful, if inward looking, episode. First let’s talk about beauty. Many times while watching Star Trek (both Discovery and Picard) we’ve stopped to admire the fabulous cinematography … >
After starting to build an overall idea in The Paternoster Gang: Heritage 3, the current set of stories brings this sequence of boxsets to what feels an abrupt close. The three stories in set each fails to contribute to a coherent whole, and feels like a series of missed opportunities. The stories aren’t necessarily bad, they … >
People of Earth. Star Trek: Discovery has a predilection for lengthy pre-credits sequences and this one is a whopper; before the titles run we catch up on Commander Michael Burnam’s missing year (and changing hair styles), restate the exploding dilitihium mystery and finally see Saru take his rightful place in the captain’s chair. Back on … >
A lonely night-time stakeout by PC Andy Davidson takes an unexpected turn when he’s joined by Torchwood operative Owen Harper, who seems to know more about the police case than he’s willing to let on. But it’s not just Owen’s reluctance to disclose that’s irritating Andy; it’s the fact that he’s been given this thankless … >
Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill sat for a video interview to promote Doctor Who: The Monster Vault, a new book by Jonathan Morris, Penny CS Andrews, Lee Johnson, Paul Lang published by Penguin/Random House. The two actresses shared laughs and chills when discussing their experiences filming with Doctor Who monsters. “I love the Pting,” Mandip … >
He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not is the first of a trio of Eighth Doctor full-cast audio dramas from Big Finish, part of their contribution to the Doctor Who’s multi-platform event Time Lord Victorious. Featuring one of the TLV’s main players, Brian the Ood assassin, the tale begins on Atharna. Seeking one of the … >