Big Bird reference!

Prerequisites: None needed.

Birdsong is a fairly alright opener, although I can't say it wasn't a little underwhelming. The premise is very solid, as the crew finds a planet seemingly devoid of a presence beyond that of two women and their bickering. Unfortunately, I didn't find either Myra or Bex to be interesting characters, and as such none of the subsequent twists and turns in the story really grabbed me. The ending was quite nice though, I'll give it that. I also wish there was more actual conflict between Helen and Liv here, because it seemed like a perfect setup to have that. Still, this was a fine story, just nothing essential.

11's hour is over now, the clock is striking 12's.

Prerequisites: References are made across the entire Smith era, so honestly watch all the Smith episodes prior to this to get the full experience.

The Time of the Doctor has an emotional core that I love, but I find most of the dressing and details to be lacking. The first fifteen minutes is honestly a pretty weak segment, and a prime example of annoying 'Moffatisms'. We've got everything here: annoying over-sexualization (the whole 'don't wear clothes to church' thing is idiotic), a completely irrelevant section dedicated to a companion's family that we never see again, a woman introduced who feels exactly like River Song (Tasha Lem), and a hodgepodge of different mystery boxes all coming together. I'm also not a fan of the reveal that the Silents were confessional priests the whole time (silly idea that adds nothing), and the reveal that the Doctor's biggest fear from the God Complex was the cracks in time (boring answer). Still, despite all of those flaws, the middle section is genuinely pretty good, and the last fifteen minutes are truly excellent. In particular, 11's regeneration speech is one of my favorites in the entire show, and I adore pretty much everything about that scene. Overall, this is a pretty messy episode, but I do still quite like it on the whole.

No sir. All thirteen!

Prerequisites: Given that it's an anniversary celebration, I'd recommend having seen as much of the show as possible up to this point for the full experience.

Spoilers!
I'll fully admit that some aspects of The Day of the Doctor aren't my favorite thing. I would have vastly preferred the Eighth or Ninth Doctor to be the one who had actually ended the Time War, the Time War itself is portrayed a little too much like conventional warfare for my tastes, and the whole pseudo-retcon of whether the Doctor actually committed genocide is something I'm split on. Still, it's remarkable to me just how much of this special does work, and I love it to pieces. It's cinematic, bombastic, and contains some of my favorite individual moments in the entire series (Tom Baker's Curator cameo is particularly touching and respectful). This is some great stuff, and it's one of the most rewatchable episodes for me.

"Nothing could possibly go wrong!"

Prerequisites: Nothing explicit, but I'd recommend watching this paired with the other 50th Anniversary episodes.

Spoilers!
The Last Day isn't a bad minisode, but it is admittedly very short and fairly cheap. The ideas are cool; I like the concept of these 'premonitions', and the headcam perspective was novel. The ending, while predictable, is effective, and it all makes for a fairly decent introduction to The Day of the Doctor.

Physician, heal thyself

Prerequisites: The Name of the Doctor gives context as to why this exists at all, and the TV Movie provides the only other televised appearance of the Eighth Doctor (at least in person).

Since the last time I saw this, I've listened to almost all of 8's audios with Big Finish, and yeah this is peak. McGann effortlessly 'is' the Doctor here, and nearly every line he delivers is wonderful. Hands down, this is one of my favorite regeneration scenes in the show, and I love almost everything about it. McGann should been the character the War Doctor became, if Moffat had to go down this route, this is the absolute best result we could've gotten, and for that, I'm beyond grateful.

Trenza-Lore drop

Prerequisites: The previous bits of Series 7, and pretty much the entire River Song saga.

Spoilers!
The Name of the Doctor isn't the best-written finale, not by a long shot. The Whisper Men are underutilized for how cool they are, a lot of things are frustratingly hand-waved (like the idea that you can time travel in dreams), and there really isn't any explanation for how exactly the Doctor was able to save Clara at the end. Still, I really like this episode, and it's one of the stronger stories of Series 7. Not only does Smith give a great performance here, but the concepts Moffat employs are just really cool. Trenzalore itself is a great setting (far more engaging than would be found in The Time of the Doctor), the huge Tardis tomb is awesome, and the overall atmosphere is nicely dark. The Paternoster Gang is always fun as well (although Jenny's death wasn't given enough time to breathe before she was revived). Also, River Song's appearance here is genuinely really well done. It ties into her overall arc nicely, and her final goodbye with 11 is great. Finally, the ending stinger is iconic, and for good reason.

Cyber-Chess

Prerequisites: Nothing specific, although there are a few references to The Impossible Girl arc.

Spoilers!
Apparently, Neil Gaiman ran into some assorted difficulties with this script, with the first draft allegedly being lost on a plane, and him not being able to communicate his ideas with the director. Unfortunately, it absolutely shows. It's almost unbelievable that Nightmare in Silver was written by the same writer who did The Doctor's Wife. Still, there are some genuinely good ideas on display here. Showing an emperor of the universe in hiding is fun, having the Doctor battle a Cyberplanner in his mind is cool, and having Clara be forced to grapple with leading a squad of inexperienced soldiers is a fine idea. The issue is that none of these concepts are utilized fully. Porridge frankly doesn't have enough characterization for me to care about him, Smith's performance as Mr. Clever is a little uneven, and nothing interesting happens with the soldiers. Plus, this is some of the worst child acting I've seen on this show, combined with some of the worst dialogue given to children I've seen on this show. This is just a poor episode. I don't dislike it nearly as much as others, but it's in the running for the worst Smith-era story.

The Red Scare

Prerequisites: A few scenes only make sense given the context of The Snowmen and The Bells of Saint John, but they aren't strictly necessary.

Spoilers!
The Crimson Horror is yet another pretty mediocre story in a season full of mediocrity already. To be fair, I do like some elements on display here. I always enjoy the Paternoster Gang, and the flashback with the Doctor and Clara is a pretty fun exposition dump. However... that's about it. Not only is the plot unremarkable, but I find the villain's motivations to be nearly completely nonsensical and incomprehensible. How did she find out what Mr. Sweet could do? How did they build a rocket in Victorian times? Is there any motivation at all beyond 'she's crazy'? These are all questions I had, and none of them received satisfactory answers. Plus, 11 behaves weirdly sexually here (kissing Jenny without warning, getting a sonic 'boner'), and I really don't like that. That all being said, this isn't an actively painful watch. It's just not good.

Tardis Tantrum

Prerequisites: There are references to The Impossible Girl arc, which requires the previous bits of Series 7 to follow.

Spoilers!
Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS plainly just had a lot of potential. Put shortly, the concept is simply fantastic. Having a companion lost in the center of a malfunctioning Tardis as the Doctor tries to rescue them is a great idea! Unfortunately, Steve Thompson failed to really follow through on this potential. To be fair, there are some good bits here. I quite liked seeing all the different Tardis rooms, and the scene between her and 11 as he confronts her about her mysterious origins is great. However, those are really the only two bright spots in this entire episode. For one thing, the side characters are all just... insufferable. They're poorly acted, poorly written, and frankly some of the stupidest Who side cast I've ever seen. Seriously, the one brother's refusal to give up that egg (even at the blatant cost of his brother's life) actively took me out of the episode. Plus, despite the fun glimpses into various rooms, most of what we see is just... hallways. I get that this probably cut down on the budget, but I'm of the rather firm opinion that if you can't do an idea justice, either don't attempt it or do it another way. This did neither, and watching the Doctor and Clara run through hallways gets old after a while. Finally, it's silly that the story's events got erased. Not only does this cheapen the cool confrontation between 11 and Clara, but it makes watching this episode feel pointless. Overall, this is a pretty deeply flawed episode, but even still I didn't actively hate my time watching it. It just doesn't hold up under any critical thought.

Cat-man

Prerequisites: None needed.

Spoilers!
Survival is a remarkably solid finale for a serial that wasn't written to be so. It features genuine themes of, well, 'survival', and what's worth doing to simply keep existing. Such a message is either ironic or poignant, depending on how you view the show's cancellation. Either way it's fitting. Additionally, Ainley gives probably his best, most subdued performance in the show here, which is nice to see, alongside some surprisingly great little monologues from McCoy. Everyone point it out, but it bears repeating just how beautiful those last lines are; they encapsulate the show in a very nice way. Of course, there's the standard awkward pacing, poor special effects, and rough delivery from the extras, but on the whole this is good.

Every lonely monster needs a companion...

Prerequisites: Nothing specific, but there is a reference to The Impossible Girl arc, for which you'll need the previous bits of Series 7 to understand. The rest of the episode is stand-alone though.

Spoilers!
I quite like Hide, and I think it's one of the better episodes of Series 7. For starters, I really like the concept; ghost hunting has always been a fun activity to watch in media, and combining that with Doctor Who seems natural. The setting and atmosphere here are suitably creepy, and I even love the entire concept of this shadowy pocket dimension. The side characters aren't anything amazing, but I think they're suitable (and the love story is cute). Really, the only major complaint I have is that the last-minute of Hide simply doesn't need to exist. From browsing the wiki, it seems like this was tacked on later to emphasize the story's themes, but I honestly think it retroactively weakens the story by portraying The Crooked Man as nothing more than a lovesick creature. In a way, not only does it posthumously remove tension, but it also renders certain story beats confusing (like why The Crooked Man would bother with scaring the Doctor in the first place). Still, I very much enjoy the rest of this episode. It's nothing amazing, but this is a very solid time.

Icy Reception

Prerequisites: None needed.

Spoilers!
I think Cold War is one of the more underrated episodes of Series 7. It's nothing great, but it's a perfectly competent base-under-siege adventure, and it has a lot of aspects that really work. For starters, the setting and concept are absolutely inspired; having the entire story take place on a cramped Soviet-era submarine during the height of the Cold War is awesome, and that's taken full advantage of in the script. The camera work and direction are also quite good, and I noticed the lighting did a great job of emphasizing the more horror aspects on display. Apparently, this was pitched as 'The Hunt for Red October' meets 'Alien', and those two concepts blend really quite nicely. Cunningham gives a great performance as the captain, and Warner is as excellent as always. Really my only significant criticism is that the ending feels like a copout. I'd argue that having Skaldak's people rescue him at the end removes much of the tension from the ending, and there ceases to be any narrative threat once they arrive. Still, this was very fun.

Sun-day

Prerequisites: Nothing specific, but there are references to The Impossible Girl arc which started at the beginning of Series 7.

Spoilers!
The Rings of Akhaten is a pretty controversial episode; I've seen people put it as one of their favorite Smith episodes, and I've seen people despise it (seriously, there's no way it's the worst Smith-era episode. The 2014 DWM poll was insane for thinking this is worse than stuff like Closing Time). Personally, I like this, although it's got a few notable flaws that keep it from being anything great. For starters, the music used here is truly excellent. This is some of Gold's best vocalised work, and his score in this episode is really great. I also really like the Eleventh Doctor's big speech against The Old God. Not only is it framed very nicely, but Smith himself gives a heck of a performance, and I it's a great moment. However, I think that this moment's effectiveness is brought down greatly by the subsequent ending. Apparently, Moffat gave Cross a script note that suggested that Clara save the day instead of the Doctor. I'm not opposed to that in itself, but I think the execution of this idea is kinda bad. Clara overloading the parasitic god with the power of her 'what could have been' leaf doesn't make a lick of sense; are you telling me that none of the other aliens in that crowd had offered up similar items of sentimental potential in their previous offering? It's ridiculous, and takes the drama out of the moment. Cross should've stuck to his guns and had the Doctor's speech actually work, or perhaps weaken it in some way. Overall, I think this episode has enough going for it that I enjoy it, but the ending is messy.

Having a minisode nearly entirely dedicated to my least favorite aspect of Series 5 doesn't make for a great time, but this has its moments. I really like the Doctor's explanation of why he likes to travel with a companion; it's the sort of explanation I would've loved to see in the Series proper. Still, it's a bit hard to get over that hurdle of how I quite dislike this part of Amy's early characterization.

This is nothing too crazy, but it's a fun bridge between The Eleventh Hour and The Beast Below's opening. Smith and Gillan are great as ever, although I can see why this was probably cut from the tv airing; it would've slowed down the pacing and interrupted the nice introduction shot of The Beast Below. Still, this is fun, and this is one of my favorite explanations for why the Tardis is always a police box.

*Insert Chibnall wifi joke here*

Prerequisites: Asylum of the Daleks and The Snowmen give needed context.

Spoilers!
The Bells of Saint John is a fairly fun, if flawed companion "introduction" piece. I say "introduction" because this is kinda Clara's third introduction, and I'd argue it's also her weakest. To start, Clara's character here just isn't that well set up. She lacks the genuinely fun mystery element Oswin had in Asylum, and she also lacks the fun little pieces of characterization she got in The Snowmen. Instead, I imagine that Moffat was using those previous episodes as a crutch when writing her here, because her only character traits I can really make out are 'clever' and 'flirty'. Don't get me wrong, Coleman and Smith have some fun exchanges, but it's nothing I'd call exemplary. What I do quite like, though, is the vibe and setting. While admittedly the whole 'wifi is sucking up people' thing is goofy, I really enjoy just how adventurous this feels. We don't see a lot of the Doctor zipping around a modern metropolis in Who, and it's fun to see it here. I like the motorcycle stuff, and I even like how the Great Intelligence pops up again. Overall, I think this is a fun little episode, although were I to sit down and analyze it further I'm absolutely sure that my rating would lower.

This is fairly amusing, but by no means a must-watch. The beginning is pretty schlocky, with Barrowman putting in a less-than-stellar performance, but contextually it makes sense with the reveal that it's actually just Barrowman himself pretending to be Jack on set. Once that reveal occurs it's fun enough, but it's still nothing great.

Frosty the Great Old One

I actually enjoyed The Snowmen a decent amount more on this rewatch. The setting is charming, Victorian Clara is fun to watch bounce off of the Doctor, and I do enjoy the premise of 11 having given up companions following the Ponds' death. One note here is that I frankly wish the episode was a little more self-serious; we're dealing with the Doctor in a darker place than he's been in centuries, and (a) Clara literally dies at the end. The constant tonal shifts to comedy contrast with this, and makes it difficult to give the actual story enough gravitas. To that effect, I maintain that the actual plot here is fairly nonsense. It's great having Ian McKellen and Richard E. Grant in Doctor Who, but neither is really given that much to do. Overall, I enjoyed this, but it's fairly far from the best Christmas specials.

More like Sirens of Whine, amirite

In principle, having a multi-Doctor audio story would work quite well in the format laid out by The Sirens of Time. Each Doctor has his own introductory part, and then they all come together in the finale. However, in practice, this makes for a disjointed story. For one thing, none of the individual stories are that interesting; I was a little bored honestly. Plus, each one ended with an unresolved cliffhanger, so I completely forgot the state of each Doctor by the time the last part rolled around. Part 4 was genuinely fun, if only in the base layer of fun in any multi-Doctor story. In short, this isn't exactly a bad audio, but it is a forgettable one.