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 … >
Throughout the years, British television has provided viewers with an array of iconic developments. In turn, there’s been a belief that Britain’s creative thinking regarding TV shows has led the way in global entertainment. Even though traditional on-screen viewership has suffered during the rise of on-demand services, British creations have been able to branch out … >
London’s Soho district in the 1950s was an area in transition. A bustling crowded enclave of pubs, clubs and cafes that had emerged from the harshest restrictions of post-War austerity but which was a decade away from being able to embrace the seedy and the satirical sides of the swinging Sixties. The swirling pea-soup smog … >
Doctor Who: Stranded 1 sees the Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) facing a challenge like no other. In the wake of the epic Ravenous finale, having defeated The Eleven and multiple Masters, he must endure a truly alien environment: the Time Lord and his friends Liv (Nicola Walker) and Helen (Hattie Morahan) must live on their … >
‘Scorched Earth’ is the latest adventure for the engaging trio of the Sixth Doctor, Flip and Constance. Set at the end of WWII, it grapples with the transition from wartime to peace and the theme of revenge. The TARDIS arrives in Lombardy, 1944, to see British troops arriving post-D-Day and hailed as liberators of France. … >
Big Finish released Doctor Who: The First Doctor Adventures Volume 04 in March 2020. Like previous volumes (such as volume 03) it’s two stories over four discs, mimicking the original four short episode stories we often had in the 1960s and 1970s. This range brings us a reimagined and entirely recast TARDIS team. The Doctor and Susan … >
Dark Universe heralds a fresh year of Doctor Who Monthly Adventures at Big Finish. It is a release which makes narrative connections in many directions, but the headline must its be choice of companion. Set some twenty years after they travelled together, the story sees the Seventh Doctor encounter Ace. The other notable familiar face … >
The War Master: Anti-Genesis is the latest boxset of audio dramas to chronicle the exploits of Derek Jacobi’s Master during the Time War; the temporal conflict between his own people and the Daleks. The problem with a concept so unfathomable, however, is that us mere mortals can really only handle a small slice. Luckily, this … >
The Robots Volume One is the first in a set of stories starring Nicola Walker as Liv Chenka. Liv is a current companion of the eighth Doctor but has taken time out (during the boxset Ravenous 2) to spend time back home in Kaldor City. Story dynamics revolve around her relationship with sister Tula (Claire Rushbrook) … >
With Travis as its unexpected anti-hero, new Big Finish Blake’s 7 audiobook Outlaw, examines the off-screen history of the series’ most celebrated male villain. The plot carefully aligns with and extends the show’s canonical history to impressive effect. The book explores two separate timelines: the early years of Blake’s putative rebellion against the Federation, which … >