Stories Audio Drama The Fourth Doctor Adventures War Against the Laan 1 image Back to Story Reviews Add Review Edit Review Sort: Default 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 16 January 2025 · 291 words Review by KnuppMello Spoilers 2 This review contains spoilers! Original (Brazilian Portuguese) Translation (English) "The Sands Of Life! The Sands Of Life! The Sands Od Life!" . Temos aqui uma história que não agrada a grande maioria de seus ouvintes. Sendo bem sincero, eu até reconheço e entendo as críticas direcionadas ao comportamento narrativo lento focado mais nos diálogos e nas negociações, seja elas com as criaturas ou entre os personagens. Mas ainda vejo uma história bem estruturada muito bem dosado que não apresenta nada que comprometa sua qualidade, você pode achar as vozes das "Laans" meio cringe e superficiais, tudo bem, mas isso não anula o fato de que elas possuem um conceito bem bolado e interessante, são criaturas telepaticas de sexo feminino que se assemelham a baleias, elas vivem no vórtice temporal, se materializam em vários planetas para encontrar territórios adqueados para dar luz aos seus filhotes usando energia temporal. O interessante é que inicialmente as "Laans" acabam escolhendo apenas as mulheres para se comunicarem telepaticamente, por motivos de confiança, ambas possuem semelhanças de afeto e amor materno. Mary Tamm é adorável como sempre, seu desempenho é de grande destaque e totalmente alegre, um outro destaque é a Presidente da Terra "Sheridan", é interessante com a problemática vai a cada minuto testando a personagem colocando a várias vezes contra a parede em situações que geram grandes indecisões em suas ações. Os motivos de Cuthbert ser o cara malvadão da vez, são bem convincentes pra mim, existe todo um acordo com o governo que acaba sofrendo um entrave, se compromete durante a ""invasão"". Envolvido diretamente nisso, Cuthbert faz ameaças a presidente deixando indecisa várias vezes (como dito anteriormente). Enfim, temos aqui uma história bem injustiçada na minha opinião...Muito Underrated! . "Você é igual a nós, Romana...Uma mulher que se move pelos oceanos do tempo". "The Sands Of Life! The Sands Of Life! The Sands Of Life!" We have here a story that does not please the majority of its listeners. To be honest, I even recognise and understand the criticisms directed at the slow narrative behaviour focused more on dialogues and negotiations, whether with the creatures or among the characters. But I still see a very well-structured story, very well dosed that does not present anything that compromises its quality, you may find the "Laans" voices a bit cringe and superficial, that's alright, but that does not nullify the fact that they have a clever and interesting concept, they are telepathic female creatures that resemble whales, they live in the time vortex, they materialize on various planets to find suitable territories to give birth to their offspring using temporal energy. It's interesting that initially the "Laans" end up choosing only women to communicate telepathically with, for reasons of trust, both have similarities of maternal affection and love. Mary Tamm is as lovely as ever, her performance is of great prominence and totally cheerful, another highlight is the Earth President "Sheridan", it's interesting how the drama each minute tests the character putting her several times against the wall in situations that create great indecisions in her actions. The reasons for Cuthbert being the bad guy this time are very convincing to me, there is an entire agreement with the government that ends up in deadlock, it gets compromised during the "invasion". Directly involved in this, Cuthbert makes threats to the president leaving her undecided several times (as previously mentioned). Anyway, we have here a story that in my opinion is very unfairly judged...Very Underrated! "You are like us, Romana... A woman who moves through the oceans of time". (Translation generated by AI, so mistakes are possible). KnuppMello View profile Like Liked 2 25 May 2024 · 162 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 Sands of Life I'm undecided whether this was better or worse than the last part. On one hand, it's much more engaging and interesting, but then it's also got way more nonsensical action sequences. The Laan continue to be a fairly interesting concept, but they don't evolve beyond that, a fairly interesting concept. Cuthbert is the same, maybe even a bit duller, but then the President takes on much more of a role and is therefore more interesting. As a two-parter, it's not bad. It's far from being a favourite and anything I'd relisten to but I also can't say that my time feels wasted. It's just a story that I'm completely indifferent towards, which is a shame, because it could have been a lot more interesting. As far as Briggs' work goes, it's right in the middle. Next Story: The Justice of Jalxar thedefinitearticle63 View profile Like Liked 2 16 June 2025 · 506 words Review by Ryebean Spoilers This review contains spoilers! REVIEW ALSO POSTED IN THE SANDS OF LIFE The longest Big Finish Fourth Doctor Adventure on an epic scale - this feels more like a New Series opener with the President of the World getting involved - but isn't the Doctor the President of the World? This story focuses more on Romana, which is great because we unfortunately didn't get enough of Mary Tamm due to her unfortunate recasting and untimely death. Her performance is fantastic, balancing the two sides of her character that Season 16 used - the damsel in distress in the first half, and the magnificent and independent Time Lady in the second. I like that the Doctor is slightly jealous of Romana because the Laan contacted her instead, and plays out as humorous, but there's a deeper meaning for him as he's not as important as he believes himself to be, as his character arc in Season 16 explains. Poor K-9, struggling to move in the desert. His presence feels authentic and very similar to the TV series, being limited by his environments, but it's a shame he's not used more - I miss that tin dog! I'm not sure who to talk about here - the Laan aren't the real monsters, the humans are. Let's start off with Cuthbert - the first of a few appearances in the Fourth Doctor Adventures, and David Warner just excels at this. I like those powerful characters who clearly have a lot of influence if they're not too over-the-top or generic, like Van Statten. For once, he doesn't get what's coming to them - the President says she'll try and make him accountable, but we don't see that, leaving him open for more adventures, and I'm interested in seeing what's coming next. I love this grand scale, with the military not being too stupid and stereotypical, but willing to accept alien life and using it to their advantage. The opening story amused me for personal reasons - I'm currently writing a story with the Fourth Doctor in Africa, so it was a great help to hear him in the Sahara Desert. I love the way that it spreads across the world and even beyond. It's a story of epic proportions, and it makes it more tense and raises the stakes. Hayley Atwell's in this story! They really have a stellar cast for this, don't they? Of course she's the President of the World - She's an independent and brilliant character and her relation to the Laan is great. I love the idea of humanity expecting an invasion, but is just a misunderstanding of a birthing cycle on the wrong planet - it's unique, but it's rather annoying how they keep repeating the same information. If they cut that down, it could probably be just four parts. This is an amazing, massive story, boosted with many stars at the top of their game! It slows down near the end and, as I say, it can get a bit boring and repetitive, but overall it's definitely worth a listen! Ryebean View profile Like Liked 0 2 June 2025 · 27 words Review by Rock_Angel Idk how to put it into words but I loved all of this cuthbert I hate you if I see you again it will be too soon Rock_Angel View profile Like Liked 0
