Stories Audio Drama The Lost Stories Mind of the Hodiac 1 image Overview Characters How to Listen Reviews 4 Statistics Quotes 1 Overview Released Wednesday, March 30, 2022 Written by Scott Handcock, Russell T Davies Runtime 141 minutes Time Travel Present Location (Potential Spoilers!) Earth, England Synopsis In the depths of space, the mysterious Hodiac is manipulating the Galactic Stock Exchange to raise money. His aim? To hire mercenaries for a deadly quest across the stars. Meanwhile, on Earth, an ordinary British family is plagued by a series of psychic events. The one thing connecting these events is a magnificent patchwork coat – which just so happens to belong to the Doctor! Listen Listened Favourite Favourited Add Review Edit Review Log a repeat Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Owned Save to my list Saved Edit date completed Custom Date Release Date Archive (no date) Save Characters Sixth Doctor Melanie Bush The Hodiac Show All Characters (3) How to listen to Mind of the Hodiac: Big Finish Audio Mind of the Hodiac Reviews Add Review Edit Review Sort: Date (Newest First) Date (Oldest First) Likes (High-Low) Likes (Low-High) Rating (High-Low) Rating (Low-High) Word count (High-Low) Word count (Low-High) Username (A-Z) Username (Z-A) Spoilers First Spoilers Last 4 reviews 24 May 2025 · 429 words Review by Voyager Spoilers This review contains spoilers! Original (French) Translation (English) L'histoire, elle, est mi-figue, mi-raisin (une expression française qui veut dire qu'on est mitigé). Déjà parce que la première partie est écrite par RTD (prévue pour la saison 24) sauf que : 1 - Colin BAKER a été viré pour avoir trompé la femme du producteur ; 2 - la série classique s'est arrêtée en 1989 et la BBC a dit à RTD à l'époque merci mais non merci et que la deuxième partie est écrite par Scott HANDCOCK. Et cela se voit que trop bien malheureusement. D'une part, la partie RTD se reconnaît très bien car chacun de ses scénarios a une part politique importante (capitale, montée dangereuse de l'ED, sociale...). Ici, il se moquait du capitaliste avec deux personnes qui ont pour objectifs de s'enrichir grâce à l'esprit du Hodiac. D'autre part, dans la partie de Scott HANDCOCK, bah... Elle est où la critique du capitalisme ????? Elle est où ????????????????????? Pour remplacer, on a donc une avancée de l'histoire. Bah du coup, ce qui fait, ouais on a une fin pour une oeuvre a qui été inachevée depuis 35-34 ans (RTD l'a postée en 2020 sur Internet pendant le Confinement) mais d'un autre côté... bah, je pense que cela aurait été dur pour Big Finish de demander à RTD de finir ce scénario qui l'avait totalement abandonné (et je pense oublié). Pourquoi ne pas l'avoir faite durant sa première ère (2005-2010) alors ? Bah parce qu'il avait d'autres idées en tête et en plus, il devait aussi voir les autres scénaristes pour voir si leurs travails correspondaient bien à ses attentes. Mais alors, tant mieux puisque l'histoire est très longue et n'est pas adaptée à la série télévisée. Et donc, voilà ! On a l'idée du Hodiac d'envahir la Terre par l'esprit et c'est une excellente idée ! Mais c'est assez longue cette histoire. Dommage parce qu'il y avait plein de potentiels (l'idée d'enfermer les personnages dans un bâtiment pendant la nuit, la salle 12B qui n'existe pas par ascenseur et qu'il faut chercher par les escaliers...). J'ai adoré la manipulation d'esprit du Hodiac "Your mind, my mind. My mind.... in my mind. Two minds, one mind.". Cela me faisait penser à la fusion mentale vulcaine "My mind to your mind. My thoughts to your thoughts". Sauf que lorsque les Vulcains font ça, c'est pour aider la personne en difficulté, rarement pour manipuler. Le Hodiac, lui, avait pour but de manipuler les esprits des gens pour faire ce genre d'action. Les personnages secondaires sont intéressants. La musique est géniale et très prenante. Bref, cette histoire n'est pas tout à rejeter mais pas à tout garder non plus ! The story is so-so (a French expression that means mixed feelings). Firstly, because the first part is written by RTD (intended for season 24) except that: 1 - Colin BAKER was fired for cheating with the producer's wife; 2 - the classic series ended in 1989 and the BBC told RTD at the time thanks but no thanks, and that the second part is written by Scott HANDCOCK. And unfortunately, it is all too evident. On one hand, RTD's part is very recognizable because each of his scenarios has a significant political aspect (capital, dangerous rise of the ED, social...). Here, he was mocking the capitalist with two people who aim to get rich by exploiting the spirit of the Hodiac. On the other hand, in Scott HANDCOCK's part, well... Where is the critique of capitalism???? Where is it???????????????????? To replace it, we therefore have an advancement of the story. Well, so it turns out, yeah, we have an end for a work that had been unfinished for 35-34 years (RTD posted it in 2020 on the Internet during the Lockdown) but on the other hand... well, I think it would have been hard for Big Finish to ask RTD to finish this scenario which he had totally abandoned (and I think forgotten). Why not have done it during his first era (2005-2010) then? Well because he had other ideas in mind and moreover, he had to also meet with other scriptwriters to see if their work matched his expectations. But then, so much the better since the story is very long and not suited to the television series. And so, here we are! We have the idea of the Hodiac invading Earth through the spirit and it's a great idea! But this story is quite long. It's a shame because there was a lot of potential (the idea of locking the characters in a building during the night, room 12B which doesn't exist via the elevator and you have to search by stairs...). I loved the Hodiac's mind manipulation "Your mind, my mind. My mind.... in my mind. Two minds, one mind.". It reminded me of the Vulcan mind meld "My mind to your mind. My thoughts to your thoughts". Except when the Vulcans do this, it's to help the person in distress, rarely to manipulate. The Hodiac, on the other hand, aimed to manipulate people's minds to perform this kind of action. The secondary characters are interesting. The music is great and very engaging. In short, this story isn’t entirely to be dismissed but isn’t completely to be kept either! (Translation generated by AI, so mistakes are possible). Voyager View profile Like Liked 0 15 March 2025 · 95 words Review by Guardax Spoilers 2 This review contains spoilers! I just couldn't really get into this one. There are some stories you start, and you just immediately feel it not leaving much of an impression. A shame, as there's some fun ideas there. Part one has a critique of hedge fund capitalism, and the concept of the Hodiac is pretty cool. For whatever reason, it just came off as dull to me. There's nothing embarrassing or bad or anything, but can't imagine I'll remember this one much. Other than centering around family at the end, I'd have no clue this was an RTD script. Guardax View profile Like Liked 2 25 January 2025 · 132 words Review by thedefinitearticle63 Spoilers 2 This review contains spoilers! This is part of a series of reviews of Doctor Who in chronological timeline order. Previous Story: The Seeds of War I have a feeling if it weren't for the Russell T Davies connection this lost story would have never been produced by Big Finish. It's got nothing worthwhile going on. The Hodiac is a really interesting character but they're let down by being in a story so dull you can hardly keep your eyes open. This story barely even seems like an RTD story. It's got none of his hallmarks (that I noticed atleast). The only oddity I noticed was 6's characterisation being quite bizarre which seems to me like a relic of the average fan's view of the character. Besides that, there's nothing to recommend here. Next Story: The Exaltation thedefinitearticle63 View profile Like Liked 2 8 January 2025 · 57 words Review by 15thDoctor 1 I found it enjoyable but hard to follow - so had to keep scrolling back. I ended up getting it all in the end though. Great dialogue. Fun ideas. Ultimately doesn’t add up to much. The best thing about it is the mind melding clash of eras - for which I am very grateful to Big Finish! 15thDoctor View profile Like Liked 1 Open in new window Statistics AVG. Rating62 members 2.72 / 5 Member Statistics Listened 101 Favourited 4 Reviewed 4 Saved 6 Skipped 0 Quotes Add Quote Link to Quote Favourite MEL: It’s a strange book, this one. Full of chapters they leave out of adaptations, like The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. DOCTOR: Ah yes. When Mole and Ratty go on a quest to find a missing child, and discover him safe in the arms of the great god Pan. MEL: Sound like an average day with you. DOCTOR: Well, if I’m Mister Toad, that must make you distinctly Ratty, hmm? — Mind of the Hodiac