I would do anything for that whifferdil. I’m gonna miss him

So, everything that goes on in the A plot is peak Chibnall and if I don’t think about the direction this arc is headed, the Fugitive Doctor is an effective reveal and greater still are the scenes where the two Doctors just get to play off each other. The B plot has aged insanely poorly, both because of the allegations and because of hindsight. The entire thing is worthless, it adds nothing to the plot and is purely nostalgia bait and directly tell the audience what is gonna happen in the finale. Stupid. Relegates Graham, and in the second half, Ryan and Yaz, to the bench this adventure.

Best of the season so far but in part because it feels like a series 11 episode. The fam have nothing to do, Tesla is interesting when playing off Jodie. Edison is obnoxious but not for the right reasons. The Skithra are so basic they forgot that they already did the Racnoss. There’s nothing wrong in this episode that isn’t also recurring throughout the era.

A very, very odd piece of Who when looked at out of context. It is a pure historical, with the only anachronistic elements in the story being the Doctor and the TARDIS. He meets a Japanese soldier, who gets a very heartfelt arc, but the depiction is very dated and pretty problematic. This story is also very nihilistic, and up to this point feels like the culmination of Steve Parkhouse’s Doctor Who. Even The Tides of Time is  very intense for Doctor Who, being much more mystical and abstract. This is a very sharp departure from the Mills/Wagner run, which is more akin to shonen. This comic takes itself very seriously and touches on dark subject matter. There is no monster for the Doctor to fight.

An abysmal episode of the show, and honestly deserves the reputation it has. I think a lot of the Chibnall era isn’t as bad as they say, but this is like a bottom five episode no problem. The Dregs are the most obvious problem. They look like shit and are are not compelling whatsoever. Every shot is either a Dreg that looks like it came from a ps2 game, or a basic corridor except the color of the light is going crazy for some reason.

The twist is really basic and brings nothing new to the table. 13 and the fam are not on top form either. There is a little good stuff with Ryan, but it’s only like one scene where he’s trying to flirt with a girl who can’t act. The “Benni” line has been memed to death but again, it’s warranted. It’s very grating on the ears and it never succeeds in making me care about these two because that old woman can’t act. And then she dies for absolutely no reason.

Overall this is completely skippable. It tries to be an homage to JNT Doctor Who, but doesn’t have any fun with itself. It’s a bore and an annoyance.

Excellent from beginning to end. Easily one of the best uses of the celebrity historical, and Bruce played phenomenally with 13 and Ryan. There are so many moments in this strip that just exude “cool” in the most satisfying way possible. The villain is awesome and this story shows off the unique setting really well. Scott Gray please come back to DWM!

At this point I’m not really looking forward to the influx of Jamie Magnus Stone directed episodes over the next two seasons, and the direction in this episode in particular is exhausting. I feel like the common complaints people have with this era’s closeups, wide lenses, light being far too colorful/distracting, etc, are really laid bare in this episode. No framing/blocking decisions felt motivated at all, and it leaves me as an audience member bored visually and wanting more from the script as a result. And there’s not much to that either so this episode upon rewatch was kind of a dud.

O as the Master is something I became very excited about when I watched this on broadcast. I like him a lot in this episode. Sacha Dhawan’s ability to embody the Doctor’s arch rival. There’s a moment where O tempts Graham to learning more about the Doctor, and talking about her contradictory experiences, very clearly setting up the finale. But I think it’s Dhawan’s subtle Masterisms breaking out that makes the scene interesting. Other than the performance, there is not a single clue that O is not who he says he is. On a screenplay level, it rings very hollow on rewatch, and even Dhawan’s performance ended up being pretty tiring as the show went on from what I remember.

The fam are now structurally not a new family anymore, they’ve been family for a while now. I don’t think this is intentional but there are several scenes in this episode where two of the four talk and it’s always revealing how these characters have very little intimacy and yet we feel like the characters are subtly wanting closer connection. Pretty much every relationship between these four has an unspoken awkwardness to it. For example, when Yaz comes back to the mortal world and Ryan comforts her after abandoning her. He apologizes and pats her shoulder and tells her he’ll never let that happen again and Yaz turns and cries. Now there’s no romance there, it’s just two people who are not intimate with each other, and he can’t help her at all because a closer friend or a significant other would be able to understand Yaz. But instead there’s this underlying sadness that this fam will never be a fully happy family, and they’re all happy together because of shared trauma. I know the mixture of unambitious writing and sincerity of the show is likely the cause for this subtext, but the subtext is there.

I like a lot of what’s going on here though. The globetrotting identity of this story works very well in my opinion. The final fifteen minutes are fantastic. The Kasaavin are neat if not a bit generic. Thirteen has a good moment playing against Lenny Henry, which is probably the highlight of the episode.

I would absolutely call this the best Doctor Who novel that I have yet read, and it’s a major highlight of the 13th Doctor era. It combines a breakneck pace with unsubtle yet biting social commentary. The supporting characters are a product of this, but they are also very great characters. The fam all have moments where they individually shine. Juno Dawson’s writing is awesome

To be honest I can really not tell if this comic is trying to be funny or if it’s intended in earnest. Given the context it was released in, Im guessing probably the latter, but it’s so genuinely funny and entertaining it’s hard to dislike Abslom Daak.

One of the show’s most successful instances where it took the rules and flipped them completely on their head. From the opening that is surprising for how unusual it is, to part 3, which erupts into camp chaos. The Romans is, in my opinion, the absolute standout of the Lambert era, and is unlike anything that Doctor Who has ever done. I always forget how genius this TARDIS team is, and splitting up Ian and Barbara from Vicki and the Doctor is really smart, because William Russel and Jaqueline Hill have tons of charisma together, as do Maureen o’Brian and William Hartnell. I wish Doctor Who could have the guts to be playful with the regular formula to this extent again, which, to his credit, Moffat would often attempt. This is Doctor Who at its funniest.

Holy shit??? The Dalek capture the Doctor and just lets him get off with a warning? The lore implications within this projector slideshow is insane!

I’m am so impressed with Scott Gray’s run of DWM 13 comics. These four stories are some of the most cohesive and compelling Dr Who I have ever seen, and I will be revisiting it many times I believe. This finale story, Mistress of Chaos brings it all together. I do believe Yaz gets a little sidelined in this adventure, but it’s such a big one with so many moving parts. If THIS was on TV, I know it would be beloved and 13 would be remembered as one of the greats, because her Doctor in particular really shines. We see her very darkest hour and how she can flip on a dime to become the Oncoming Storm. The villain reflects this brilliantly, and is now one of my all time favorite Who baddies. I don’t know, I could gush all day long. I had so much fun with this story, and I could not recommend it enough to anyone who can get their hands on it.

Without the lost memory hook, I’m afraid this adventure would be left feeling a little weak and standard, and since that hook becomes less relevant as the story goes on, so my interest declines slowly. I will say though, it is a very intriguing story at first, and the Doctor and her fam are all written great by Jody Houser yet again

This was a fun! It was very light and easy, but that’s no reason to discredit it. That ending is really weird though, huh? It very clearly sets up a third novel which never released, but for about a page, after questioning himself for most of the book, Graham admits something might be seriously wrong with him. The Doctor puts up her guard and examines him, and Ryan is almost ready to throw hands with the Doctor if she steps out of line and hurts his granddad. Graham is after all nothing if not sympathetic, and not one of her companions ever truly believes she’s fully trustworthy, and neither do we. For about a page we see a completely new dynamic within the group, and it’s pages like that which are the reason why I’m going through 13’s expanded media. Because every so often, something like that happens. And if you’re not paying attention you miss it.

I really love the Graham-bots, and I’m personally a huge Audrey Hepburn fan so this whole story really worked for me

Did you know that according to the Doctor, flossing is the most well known dance in the universe across all of time?

Can I just say f**k Kerblam? The original episode is not this impressive feat of filmmaking, and the incredibly frustrating third act, including a speech from the Doctor that is infamously out of character, is just another frustration to pile on top of an already middling episode from a middling season of television (for the most part).

I was SURE the novelization would improve things, and in a lot of ways it does. McTighe’s prose is very good. It’s a quick, engaging read that builds upon key details from the original episode, primarily adding backstory for both Judy and Charlie. Which is precisely what makes it so enraging for me personally whenever the third act, once again, portrays the Doctor as ignorant to the flaws of capitalism and the “heroes” are completely amoral while Charlie, the antagonist, becomes the only sympathetic character.

Judy especially, who is sort of just this hapless administrative person in the original episode, is such a strange character in the novelization. Her backstory as someone who grew up in poverty due to mass layoffs portrays her as a “f**k you I got mine” figure as she tells us that only ten percent of the staff of Kerblam are organic. Despite this, the Doctor repeatedly congratulates her for having humanity’s back, and her decision at the end to hire more human workers comes out of nowhere. Charlie, on the other hand, is shown to be much more sympathetic. His relationship with Kira is a lot sweeter in prose than the actor was able to portray on TV. The backstory with years and years of fighting for basic human rights is treated by the novel as immoral, simply because he and his parents would lie to police. His decision to use violence to harm Kerblam is completely justified, although his plan makes no sense and is stupid as can be. The Doctor of course makes the exact same speech about how individuals are the problem, not the system, and I’m left feeling angry and disappointed that the Doctor would do such a thing (let alone the implication that the 7th would as well, which happens on the final page). This is easily the most angry I’ve been reading Doctor Who. I know McTighe isn’t a bad writer, but this is an abomination

This is a solid adventure, this time putting the Doctor alone with Graham. It’s an episode that actually explores who Graham is, why he’s here, and the grief he’s experiencing, all of which we get little bits of throughout the show, but is explored better in spinoff media, such as this and the novel, ‘The Maze of Doom.’ The alien threat isn’t super memorable, but the interaction at the end more than makes up for their interaction at the end of ‘Can You Hear Me?’

Once again I’m blown away by the art and the creativity. There’s not really enough for the companions to do in this, and it mostly focuses on the Doctor, but to be fair this is a short one.

This has been my favorite 13th Doctor novel yet! While I was hesitant about the return of the Nimon, this proves to be a globetrotting adventure that feels authentic to the era while also developing these characters further than what we see on screen. Yaz, Ryan, and Graham all shine quite a bit in this book. Graham especially we spend a lot of time with, and we see him in his lowest points and his highest, given Ryan’s life is at  stake for the second half of the book. There are a few Thasmin moments between those two characters, which is very cute. The two antagonists are very hatable and easy to root against, though I’m unsure how I feel about their redemption at the end. The whole book just feels like this huge finale to the season 11B era of the show that we never got.

The Skirkons are hilarious! A really well drawn alien race and I’ve never seen anything like them in Dr who before. Based on design alone, A tier villains for sure.

I want to see 15 go up against Thrax

Looked at objectively, the TV Comic series is dogshit, but to my eyes, it’s very charming. The art is great, and the bare bones of the story work same as something like The Daleks works. The dialogue is where this all falls apart, as every speech bubble is just a character explaining the plot as it happens, and it’s very unexciting and bears absolutely no insight into any of the characters or themes in the strip.

Based on the reviews I expected the worst, but I actually really liked this story! I absolutely adore this TARDIS team and I really love the sci-fi take on Treasure Island or something. Parts of this adventure felt very “swashbuckling,” and even though the guest cast are pretty bland, I did like Anjili Mohindra’s character. Overall this one was cool. I wouldn’t say it’s the best or even a standout, but I had fun

This is another knockout story from DWM’s run with the 13th Doctor. I have been reading A LOT of 13 books and comics lately and I say with no exaggeration that these Scott Gray comics are the best there are (though the Titan comic range from Jody Houser are also fantastic). Herald of Madness completely understands 13 and her fam, and the staging and blocking of the illustrations makes this run of comics feel far more cinematic than her TV stuff. 13 herself is a lot more nuanced in Herald than we had seen her be up until this point. The stakes are huge and the supporting cast is brilliant. I very much hope that we see the villain as well as the fake-out villain from this story make their return.

This isn’t an especially groundbreaking story, and generally just recycles Ice Warriors tropes. I like the initial joke that the Doctor takes Margaret to the future to see her paintings be celebrated far after her death, but she has an existential crisis. A very compelling take on that Vincent and the Doctor scene. Beyond 4, Leela, and Margaret, there’s not really very much here to appreciate, but this trio is magnificent.

I don’t really know what to make of this. The prose is fun but it’s so short I’m not really sure what I should be taking from this. The fugitive Dr cameo is fun!

Every 13th Doctor book I’ve read so far has surpassed my expectations. This one is no exception. 13 and her fam must collect 3 keys from across time and space in a race against time to prevent the obliteration of human existence. It’s very Keys of Marinus if you can’t tell, and direct allusions are made to the “x amount of keys to save the galaxy” trope from the classic series. Since 13 is a Doctor whose adventures feel more akin to the classic show compared to her nuwho contemporaries, this type of story is right at home with her. It naturally allows her three companions to shine individually, something a book, as a format, has the advantage of.

I won’t lie, it’s not the best written novel in the world, but on average I’d say it’s more interesting prose than is typically used in the BBC New Series Adventures range. David Solomons is a fun writer and I’m excited to read his follow up novel, ‘The Maze of Doom’.

I cannot imagine what this must’ve been like to watch in 88. Watching this directly after watching season 23 and 24, this is like night and day. More than just a good episode, it’s a return to form that still feels fresh and exciting. It’s probably the quintessential Doctor Who episode. It’s the best starting point for new viewers because it’s a promise that Doctor Who is capable of more interesting things than pantomime. Plot threads are set up here that will have a huge impact in the New Adventures novels, and the characterization of the Doctor in this one serial defined this incarnation of the Doctor forever. The look of this, the pacing, the Doctor companion relationship is all the best it’s EVER been because it has all been shocked with electricity and brought back to life from JNT hell. Remembrance holds up as the best that Doctor Who has to offer.

Watched the episode and then watched the ‘Behind the Sofa’ commentary. The funniest tidbit is that Sylvester says he prefers Delta and the Bannermen out of his first season because it was “much closer to his later stuff.” I find that so interesting because from a performance perspective, I would very much agree, though I will stress in overall tone of the episode I would definitely not. 7’s persona is a lot quieter and more sinister in that one, as opposed to the three other stories where he, ESPECIALLY in Dragonfire, adopt a much more naive persona? Part of what works brilliantly about 7 is that the fool is a facade for the chess master. In Dragonfire he gives a great performance in slapstick, but there is nothing behind those eyes. Delta and the Bannermen, and especially Remembrance of the Daleks were when they really settled on where to take this character. In spite of that, I cannot stress how great he is in Dragonfire. Edward Peel is also fantastic in this.

And jesus christ this episode looks ugly

These are basically my thoughts on the whole of Demon Quest, because I didn’t have enough to say about individual episodes.

This is my first foray into the Nest Cottage Chronicles, because unlike Hornet’s Nest or Serpent’s Crest, Demon Crest was actually at my local library. This came back to bite me when the twist of the final hinges on having listened to Hornet’s Nest, so it really didn’t work for me and had me scratching my head and though I believe I was adequately attached to Mrs Wibbsey, only before the reveal did the finale have an emotional impact on me. The last thirty minutes felt like I was smiling and nodding but without the proper context for it.

On the whole I like this miniseries, but not a lot. Every episode was a lot of fun, generally, with Tom Baker playing the Doctor as the highlight in each episode. 2 was my favorite, and 4 was easily my least favorite. I think the fusion of prose and screenplay is a very smart decision and I think you get the best of both worlds. I wish Big Finish would do this more often.

Honestly my favorite episode of the set, and that’s just because things started to take a lot greater shape. After Kippers I wasn’t sure where this arc was leading at all, but it’s very clear with the way this episode ends. Ideally the next box set will be a three parter wrapping things up and featuring a showdown between the Doctor and the big bad.

I really adore how they use Jamie and Zoe here. This is maybe the first time I’ve seen them reflect on their travels with the Doctor critically, and it’s a new angle I would not have expected to see. It really gives the adventure a lot more emotional stakes that I felt were missing previously.

I liked this much more than the opener. The scenes with the Doctor and Zoe are really sweet. There’s more focus on the overarching story, and much less on the story of just this episode, which I don’t really prefer personally. This honestly flew by.

Though I’d still give this story a generally positive rating, my overall impression is one of disappointment. The second doctor is my favorite doctor from the classic series, and I just think it’s very frustrating seeing 2 finally get his own Big Finish range, only for it to be extremely underwhelming and the last thing I really want to hear from Big Finish. On an individual story basis, there’s not one episode from this range that I dislike, in fact Kippers is probably my least favorite so far and it was still fine I thought. But with each passing boxset it’s more and more apparent that they’re taking this into a much more serialized direction that explores more serious threats as well as Gallifreyan society. The episode lengths are closer to the modern series, but despite that we’re still reusing Jamie, and soon to be Zoe, both companions I would’ve rather left alone. Especially since seeing an old version of Jamie and/or Zoe with their memories back is such a cliche (The World Shapers, Last of the Cybermen, Legend of the Cybermen, Tales of the TARDIS). And yet the new characters we do get are characters like Paul and Raven, who are so camp and ridiculous I don’t know how the hell Nick Briggs wants me to ever care about them. Especially with the long gap between releases.

Raven specifically I just do not like at all. She seems to be a sort of Veklin type but without any of the nuances found in that character. She works for the CIA and sends the Doctor on missions, and where we previously thought she was just a scheming evil Time Lord, Kippers reveals she’s just as in the dark about the CIA’s intentions with the Doctor. This is not a revelation I care about because the only thing we really learn is that Raven isnt the big bad, but she’s still a stereotypical baddie and she’s clearly going to be a staple of this range long term, which is extremely disappointing. I heard Nick talking about how much he and Mark love this character, and I just have to ask… why? Does no one at Big Finish care enough to tell Nick he completely misunderstands the appeal of his self proclaimed favorite Doctor? Or that his bland original characters don’t work? The best story of the range BY FAR has been Wrath of the Ice Warriors, because it’s a two hour story where 2 faces the ice warriors, and for the most part it’s very self contained. Two box sets later and I’m very concerned we won’t get another story like that in this range for a long time.

Kippers specifically is decent. While Raven’s more or less fulfilling the companion role in this episode, I’m glad she killed off the shroud, and I think Michael Troughton is getting better and better as 2. The “what could’ve killed these time lords” trope is another cliche I really just can’t stand, and the last thing I want is a second Doctor story set on Gallifrey. Despite this, I’m intrigued at the monsters in this episode, and it makes me happy that this arc is starting to move a little.

Season 6B is not that interesting to me a concept, and THIS isn’t close at all to what I imagine when watching The War Games. It’s very weird that this is the direction we’re going. This story doesn’t resemble the second Doctor era at all, and because of that I’m disappointed.

Reading good Neil Gaiman is a little more frustrating following recent news. Other than that, I quite like the character of the Corsair and wanna know more about her.

I was pretty much completely bored reading this until the final sentence and then I groaned because of course it’s one long joke leading to a punchline. Alrighty.

Now I’m not normally a Moffat fanboy. I actually think his writing is pretty hit or miss. But in 19 pages Moffat made me cry reading a 13th Doctor story. He pulls out all the stops doing it; this is the most Moffat has ever Moffatted, but this was really good.

Woah! A fully fleshed out TARDIS team? A unified, interesting aesthetic? A fast pace and unique concept? This may be the best 13 story, I won’t lie.

Good, but a very standard historical. I like Hanna quite a bit

A very fun adventure. I think Guy Adam’s leans in a little to the more Douglas Adams-y side of the 4th Doctor. The two additions to the cast are fun and play off Tom Baker and John Heffernan well to allow both of the leads to shine. I do have to hand it to Guy, he does a really good job making the 9 feel like a completely different incarnation than the 11, similarly to how he handled the 12. I honestly think this character is at their best when written by Guy Adams as opposed to John Dorney and especially Matt Fitton. The 9 especially is the perfect incarnation to play off Tom, since they’re both doing a comedy routine essentially. This is almost two hours but flew by.

Easily the worst episode of the show if you hate fun

All that exists still is the musical segment, so the rating is for that. I did not see the event because it was so limited.

While Part 2 certainly clears up a LOT of the confusion I felt listening to part 1, it also is subject to a lot of the same issues that plague that first part.

Let me address the elephant in the room. Yes, The Last Day Parts 1 and 2 are very hard to follow and almost don’t seem aware of the medium of radio. There are a lot of subtleties that I felt went over my head, and many revelations that are simply not very clear and leave you feeling like you missed something. Beyond the enormous amount of prerequisites that this release requires, the bigger issue is that it’s hard to follow, and I found myself rewinding a lot throughout. This is a problem I have with most Matt Fitton scripts to be honest. I find the man’s writing to be very frustrating but at least we have Guy Adams to reign him in a bit.

However, I have to stress that overall I liked it and I’m glad I bought it. It’s epic in scale in a way I have personally never seen before. It might just be the most intricate crossover in the entire franchise. It brings to a close not just 7’s arc, but Ace’s, Hex’s, Sally’s, and the Crispy Master’s. Not to mention it’s a delight getting to hear characters like Kane and Mother Finsley, both of whom previously only appeared in one story, be used to the fullest. Both characters are highlights in this release.

The way that they pull together continuity from 30 year old novels and comic books is head scratching, but also they did it in the smartest way possible and in a way that feels earned. The final hour of this thing is completely ridiculous and some of the character stuff with 7 and Ace and the Dark Citizens feels like a bit of a cop out, but it’s so grand and fun that I didn’t entirely mind. Plus cop outs are what BF do best. Over half of their releases have cop out endings.

Overall this ride was fun. Its flaws are obvious to any listener. But it achieved what it set out to do. I just wish there was more Dark 7 like we got in Dark Universe and in brief glimpses here.

Also, (SPOILERS) and this just bugs me personally a lot, but what’s the point in the episode 9 cliffhanger if Chris just shot her a second time? I feel like there’s a lot of missed opportunity where a character could be revealed as the 2nd incarnation of President Dee.

A clever, fanservice-y issue that is easy to have fun with.

I expected I’d enjoy this more on a re-listen but I actually kinda liked it less. It’s fairly fun to have all these characters back but it’s way too far up its own ass and hardly means anything. The whole appeal for me is to see 7 post-Dark Universe, in his Time Lord Victorious mode. We get a little bit of that (and I mean a little bit), but it’s far too bogged down in monologues and callbacks and technobabble. Maybe part 2 will make this better in retrospect? I certainly hope so.

Trickster archetype 7 is peak 7. Most everything about this really works for me, and I feel like this achieves the same result as an upper tier Russel finale. It contains hilariously high stakes as well as a plethora of character drama, but it also has a very underwhelming final ten minutes.

”Have you heard the one about the Dark Universe? It’s a tragedy.”

Aside from a mediocre performance from Kingston, this is an incredibly impressive story from Tim Foley and Helen Goldwyn. I honestly can’t say I’ve ever heard the 9th Doctor as authentic as he appears on TV, but the finale of the 9th Doctor Adventures finally delivers an episode that far surpasses most of his TV episodes and actually delves deep into who 9 is. His brokenness and amazement at simple wonders is a juxtaposition no other doctor does quite like him. It feels right for him, and I’m so glad we finally got a story that focuses solely in on this part of the character, and it reminds me why I love dr who.

Eh? I don’t fully understand the hype behind this story. It feels like a very basic, uninspired season 15 or 16 story to me. The setting isn’t too interesting, though if it were visual, perhaps I’d feel the Hinchcliffe inspiration more. The witch itself is underwhelming, and the guest cast is VERY unmemorable

An alien android makes Tegan listen to The Talking Heads in this one!

Thematically, I think this story accomplishes a lot. Functionally, it doesn’t quite work. It is a nice tiny experiment though.

Salvage is strongest when focusing on the dynamic between 8 and Bliss, and is fairly weak when attempting an abstract time war story, because the prose is not good enough to hold it up. I become lost in what’s physically happening in the story and am only brought back when it’s just 8 and Bliss talking in the TARDIS, or on her bed.

About average fare for the 9DAs. It’s very accessible and pleasing, and I enjoyed listening but I definitely won’t remember much in a few days. 9 and River have more chemistry than River has with any classic doctor, and it’s refreshing to see 9 get a reluctant companion like River. They worked together really well in this episode, which is good, since this whole box set kinda hinges on that. Lizzie Hopley had one job and she didn’t mess it up.

I have a few nitpicks, I think there are a few too many conveniences, a few scenes should’ve been cut, and Dorney’s emphasis on Moffat dialogue can get grating really fast, but overall this was a great listen. The 9DAs really struggle with characterizing 9. I often feel like Christopher Eccleston is playing the 6th Doctor or the 5th Doctor, whereas Swipe Right literally could not have been more fitted for the 9th Doctor. Alex Kingston is great as always, the supporting cast is good, this is a fun listen.

This is a fantastic script by Timothy X Atack, and has very strong direction from Nick Briggs. To be honest, this may be my favorite Doctor Who episode set on Gallifrey. It’s that good. It brings a lot of mystery back to the Time Lords in a way that feels authentic to the Hinchcliff era, including gothic imagery, high concepts, and absurd characters.

I think that retcon about the Doctor and Master‘s names is pretty smart to be honest, and this version of the Master, though played by a problematic actor, is very well written here, and it’s by far the best way I’ve seen this incarnation utilized. I loved it, especially his interactions with Tom. A weak resolution unfortunately brings the episode down. Unfortunately this is common with Big Finish, where, rather than own their deus ex machina ending like the show does, they make it a blink and you’ll miss it monologue full of technobabble and before you know it the Master is defeated. I feel like I have this frustration a lot, but here it’s especially egregious because the episode is otherwise very very good.

All three of these episodes are quite good. Tim Foley is by far my favorite writer currently working with Big Finish. Scott Handcock and Robert Shearman  have moved on to greater things and John Dorney doesn’t necessarily ensure a phenomenal episode the way his name did during Doom Coalition. But I digress. Tim has impressed me with every episode he’s written so far, and he brings freshness and authenticity to Doctor Who that Big Finish can sometimes struggle with. He certainly delivers with this first series of Dark Gallifrey.

The first episode is slow, as it’s really a long, 3 hr 30 minute story and the first hour is just the first act. The second part is seriously very captivating and includes political themes that genuinely surprise me with their nuance. The relationships between the characters feel very authentic, something Foley excels at. I especially loved the way Argento is repeatedly compared to Morbius, the two being foil characters for each other, with Morbius haunting Argento both literally and mentally.

Though he is second billed and on the cover, I was not expecting very much Tom Baker in episode 3. But they truly deliver a 4-Morbius rematch. I’d even say it works even better than his showdown with the Morbius Beast we got on television. It feels like proper, exciting Doctor Who, and while the characters we’d been following the past two episodes are pushed aside for the third act, they still get satisfying endings.

However, I do not recommend buying this. I was not planning on buying this. To be honest, the only reason I did was because of the upcoming Morbius the Mighty, and I do follow the War Doctor range pretty religiously. Big Finish sure know how to get me. But I will say I found it very difficult to justify the price. I paid $35 for this, and it’s worth about $25, if that. This monthly release schedule worked for Sontarans Vs Rutans (which I did not buy because of the price) because they were separate stories. This series of Dark Gallifrey does not work unless you binge all three episodes, because it’s one story with many nuanced characters. There is no reason why this should not have been a box set. The Dark Gallifrey storyline they set up in episode 3 is very intriguing, though unless a future series receives phenomenal reviews or I need to listen to understand a range I closely follow, I will not purchase future monthly releases from this range, and I don’t recommend it to anyone on a budget.

Now THATS a classic Marvel Dr Who comic. It’s so unapologetically bombastic and edgy. It’s so different from the tone of the entire rest of the franchise, but I find it very appealing. I love how macabre the ending is, and how grotesque and vile the cannibals are. It’s an odd story that just wants to gross you out and make you feel bad.

I enjoyed it, but left me severely disappointed. I feel like this story works incredibly well on paper, but unfortunately neither Sullivan nor Cross are charismatic enough to carry this episode’s A plot. Ultimately what I’m most disappointed in is this, because they weren’t super captivating companions in Storm of the Sea Devils either. There was a relationship further delved into in World’s Apart, but as their dynamic developed into this second boxset, I realized it’s not really working for me. A central beat this season seems to really be building is Naomi’s growing sense of self and realization of her own capabilities. This has been present in all three episodes, but and Harry’s purpose for Naomi’s storyline is to encourage her as she solves the Toymaker’s “riddle’s three.” I have not listened to their later adventures with the 7th Doctor and 21st century UNIT, so perhaps I could get more out of them if I had. The impression I got was that their 4th Doctor Adventures was the ideal introduction to them.

Tom is on top form though. His performance is often unpredictable and engaging. Every interaction he has with Harry has felt odd, since on Tom’s side it’s just like season 12, but I don’t think this new actor is capturing Ian Marter’s charisma in the slightest. Tom’s interactions with the Toymaker are really interesting, and given the latest season of the show, I was more alert to, but also just interest in the newest actor to play the Toymaker. While I don’t think she did anything unique with the role, the scale of the godlike Toymaker against Tom’s wit and unpredictability is always interesting.

It’s actually properly really good, but I have several really low hanging criticisms, which unfortunately is a theme for the Chibnall era. Mainly, I think the way UNIT was written out is frustrating, the wi-fi cutaway is extremely cringe and I get secondhand embarrassment watching it, and I also think this episode reinforces the black absent father stereotype.

I really dug this adventure (pun intended) the first half of this adventure. I feel like the relationships and dynamics between the TARDIS team are the strongest I’ve ever seen them, and honestly exactly what I want from a 13th Doctor novel. On the other hand, once we get into the classic who style cave runaround for the majority of the novel, I definitely checked out emotionally. Cool book, but I lost interest about halfway through and I never got it back.

Fortunately not half the flimsy, discordant, incomprehensible mess that I’d previously thought. Obviously I never bothered to rewatch this after the initial broadcast, and I liked it more in retrospect. I’ve been really enjoying Graham’s arc this season, and I’m actually a big fan of how it’s concluded here. Walsh’s performance is mainly what sells it.

Is the episode good? No, but like it’s far from the worst that this season or the show has to offer. It still features an uncomfortably stilted and in charismatic lead performance. This is Chris’s best season finale unfortunately. 13’s era is by far the one I make the most comparisons to the classic era. This time I found myself constantly reminded of Time and the Rani. Make of that what you will.

I read about two thirds of this but could not for the life of me finish the novel. One of the dullest, most lifeless prose I’ve ever read, at least since John Peel’s previous book, Timewyrm: Genesis. Sam is reduced to just getting jealous of other capable women around the Doctor, which is in line with her character, but she’s also very capable in her own right. The supporting cast is frustratingly bland and if I’m being honest most of them blend together in my mind. I don’t much mind the fact this whole novel is a canon plaster, but it’s not a good book in its own right.

The Edgar Allen Poe puns are pretty much worth it on their own. Besides that, this adventure doesn’t offer a lot unless you’re a mega fan of both Poe and season 23 era Sixie

This is certainly not a must-read, but as a series 11 era adventure, it’s one of the better ones and does a really good job fleshing out different key aspects for each companion, some better than others. Ryan is really great in this, whereas Yaz follows the Doctor around asking questions like usual. The Doctor herself is great, and I love the pacifist message.

I’ve been sleepwalking my way through season 2 and 3 of this range. I liked the first one well enough but since then it’s the most uninteresting sludge that BF put out. I had to be really really high before I could finally appreciate an episode, but I have to say, I’m happy with this one. They gave me my McGann cameo, and then they gave Vienna and Passion a sweet send off, and then we got a cliffhanger teasing camp fun with this incarnation of the master.

Unless the quality of the writing and performances get better, nothing will, but Vienna getting written out was 100% necessary and it felt great and paid off her entire arc with both Passion and the Master.