Your Gateway to the Universe of Doctor Who

The Last Great Theatrical War

Prerequisites: While everything is technically explained, I'd really recommend being well-acquainted with New Who Time War lore, specifically The Day of the Doctor.

War Stories is a very solid Short Trip; kudos to Patrick Ross! The prose here is nice and pleasant, and Cox's narration is buttery smooth (his Doctor and Bill impressions are fine but unremarkable). The concept here is creative; it immediately strikes me as something that the show itself could do. I also like how this story explicitly acknowledges the grey area in which the Doctor both did and didn't destroy Gallifrey. My only substantial critique here is that the villain here is defeated way too easily, and by merely waving the sonic around. This isn't quite a bad a resolution as The Power of Three, but I wouldn't call it fleshed out. Accepting that, however, this is good stuff. The rapport between Bill and the Doctor is nailed especially well, which I appreciate given the lack of proper Twelfth Doctor content from Big Finish.

Another good Dalek story. I really liked how this episode handheld the 'loss' of the Doctor, and the effects on the companions, as well as Graham and Ryan's exit.

To anyone who thinks modern Big Finish doesn't have perfect stories anymore: listen to this one. It is incredibly well-told, emotional, and a perfect showcase for an iconic TARDIS team. The Fifth Doctor meets one of his childhood heroes, and when things go wrong he has to fight harder than ever. Nyssa and Tegan have great story arcs, and the ending is genuinely emotional.

It doesn't get better than this.

This is just a collection a four ripped of games with a kind of Doctor Who skin :

- The first is a sort of poor Pacman, and is clearly the worst (mostly because of the high difficulty). The "Maggot's" RNG can make the level impossible, especially at the end when they run faster than the four pixels representing the Doctor, and the extra large hitboxes don't help.

- The second is a Frogger, but with sprites that hurt the eyes. The art design is terrible and can make it difficult to read the sprites emplacements. It's the only real challenge.

- The third remind Space Invaders. It can be tough, but with some training it's okay. It's just that : okay.

- The four is a 3D "Battleships". It is difficult to understand it at first (because of the 3x3x3 cube reduced to a 2d pattern). But when you start to understand, it is actually fun ! The best game by far even if the controls and the grid make it a bit harsh.

Apart from the title screen, two apparitions of the TARDIS and the minimalist scenario (which is just an excuse for the levels), "Doctor Who: The first Adventure" have nothing to do with Doctor Who. And as the games have better versions elsewhere (apart maybe the fourth ?), I can't recommend it. But it remain nevertheless an interesting curiosity of Doctor Who history. Also the game isn't helped by the fact that the best level is hidden behind the three first (especially the atrocious first one)

(As English is not my first language, I apologize for the probable grammar mistakes in this review)

Snake Oil

Prerequisites: None needed, although there are some references to the Mara from other stories

The Gloaming marks a decidedly mediocre story to end this boxset on. Nothing was terrible here, but frankly I just wasn't that interested. While I haven't seen the Classic Who serials featuring the Mara, it seems pretty un-engaging as a concept. Maybe it works better given the longer format of Classic? Whatever the case, here, I didn't quite buy it. The side characters are unmemorable, and it's all wrapped up in a basic moral against capitalism (which has been done much better before). Admittedly, there are some bright spots: the Doctor reminding Charlie of their adventures together was a nice moment, and ending the audio on a conclusion that Dekkar was simply too stupid to be possessed by the Mara was pretty funny. All in all, forgettable.