I want to talk about the Threshold arc in general, so this is more of a review of Ground Zero through to Wormwood. This was designed not around the new doctor, as Scott Gray says in the behind the scenes of Ground Zero, but rather an attempt to turn the DWM comics from supplementary material to the show/novels into its own serialized story. In essence, the Threshold were created in order to make DWM readers excited to tune into the Doctor's adventures month to month, rather than something to read quickly after reading the rest of the issue. Gray does this with the help of Alan Barnes, who wrote a lot of this arc, Gary Gillatt, the brand new editor for the comic strip, and of course the brilliant Martin Geraghty, who does the pencils for the majority of stories in this arc.

I guess that's the first place to start- the art is simply phenomenal. Geraghty proved he was able to capture the likenesses of characters throughout classic who previously, which climaxes in Ground Zero's phenomenal art, in which Seven is portrayed with all of the grit, anger, and maturity that he has in every fan's brain. Dare I say, perhaps with more nuance than Sylvester himself has ever depicted with the character. The Threshold themselves are such an interesting design, becoming even more visually interesting as the arc progresses. By Wormwood, they feel just as frightening, and are now accompanied by the Pariah, a terrifying creation of Rassilon himself. In Fire and Brimstone the Daleks are an excellent throwback to their look in the 70s while still capturing the appropriate scale that Gray, Barnes and Gillett are trying to capture with this brand new era of Who. In Tooth and Claw, the atmosphere is dripping with gothic imagery and danger. I like Izzy a lot, though design-wise she doesn't stand out, Fey does. She has one of the most inspired designs, and where her arc eventually ends, fusing with Shayde, it is all the more satisfying by the way that both characters' designs and personalities mirror each other's.

In The Final Chapter, though still written by Alan Barnes, this version of Gallifrey feels different from the Big Finish series, or even from its depiction in the classic series. There is a certain mysteriousness and gothic quality to the setting that hearkens back to The Deadly Assassin, yet is not burdened by that story's budget constraints. This was also the first run of stories to truly depict the Eighth Doctor. It's amazing how much they understand him from the get go. His compassion is endless, though he still has a sort of rage bubbling underneath. For Izzy, he is a friend and a magician. For Fey, he is an ally, but for everyone else, he is so menacing and threatening. That romantic quality is only there when he is with Izzy, but he can be remarkably cold. Similar to Seven, he is not afraid to trick his friends and put them through hell to gain the upper hand against his enemies, hence the first half of Wormwood, in which his companions believe him to have regenerated into Nick Briggs.

Yeah, I'd say they succeeded. This new take on the comic strip is exciting and artful. Because of Gray and Gillett, the comic strip is always the first thing I turn to when I open up a new issue of DWM, and it hugely influenced the direction Big Finish would later take with Eight.

Listen, I know we don't like Gareth Roberts and the plot is thin at best, but I had a completely s**t day, like I wanted to rip my hair out. And then I came home, took a bong rip and looked at those cows on the moon and it made me really giggle. To martin gehraghty, if you're reading this I want to thank you for these evil cows.

You could play big finish bingo with part 3. If it stuck the landing I think this second series of Dark Gallifrey would be as impressive as its first. But instead we get a cop out ending, a fake doctor, two leads who have no chemistry who each appeared in only one episode of their original series, a generic villain, and flanderizing all of the characters they adapt. Aside from the return of the cowardly TARDIS from episode 1, you can skip part 3 of the Dark Gallifrey: War Master

I love stories that remember that the time war was so bad it forced the Doctor to abandon his morals. The War Doctor series is a little reticent about portraying such a character, but they shine when showing the horrible things that completely broke the Doctor. Lies in Ruins and He Who Fights with Monsters are other great examples. At the end of this story the worst possible thing happens to McGann’s Doctor.

The Doctor is unconscious so long this might as well be a Companion Chronicle. It’s dreadfully boring for most of parts 2 and 3, but it has a fairly strong beginning and end

So the sequel to The Masque of Mandragora wound up being the most invested I’ve been reading this range front to back since the early stuff. It has a really compelling take on 7, which very much justifies this story for me. Ace is also great, and since this is technically an event I guess, the stakes do seem appropriately grand. I would unfortunately say the ending is a major cop out, but for the most part this story is great.

Platt has lost the sauce apparently because this is so boring

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.