Doctor Who

Audio Review: The Worlds of Blake’s 7: Avalon (Volume 2)

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Review by Ian McArdell

Following three Earthbound tales, this second volume sees Avalon (Olivia Poulet) and her reluctant ally Argo Madison (Cliff Chapman) escape to the stars. While I found plenty to enjoy in the first set, notably the exploration of Earth’s society as glimpsed in Blake’s 7’s first episode, I found the central character of Avalon underdeveloped; despite her famous name we came away knowing precious little about her, save for a ruthless determination to destroy the oppressive Federation system.


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Review: The War Doctor Begins – Forged in Fire

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Review by Jacob Licklider

The War Doctor range was one of the Big Finish ranges sadly cut off due to the passing of Sir John Hurt.  A fifth box set was actually planned and some of those scripts have been used in other ranges such as The War Master, at least in similar premises.  Now that time has passed, the character has been recast with Jonathon Carley, most well known for several fan Doctor Who productions, and instead of continuing John Hurt’s legacy as the character which may have been insensitive if done incorrectly, goes back to the beginning of the character to explore what the War Doctor actually kind of means.  The War Doctor Begins was announced as four box sets, starting release in June 2021 all looking to lead to essentially where their War Doctor releases began.  Forged in Fire sports a beautifully painted cover by Claudia Gironi featuring Daleks and Thals and a younger John Hurt.  It also is a set which sets up something interesting for the character, taking a step away from what Steven Moffat implied with the character, that he was the version of the Doctor who went against everything that the Doctor stood for, that his purpose was to be a warrior.  There is something to be said to the recast; Carley joins Jon Culshaw’s Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Sadie Miller’s Sarah Jane, and Elliot Chapman’s Ben Jackson (among others) in Big Finish’s roster of perfect recasts.  Carley worked closely with director Louise Jameson to ensure that his impression was more than just an impression, but really embodying the younger version of the character.  He makes it his own and Jameson’s direction is also a welcome change as her touch makes the entire set have a different atmosphere to Big Finish’s usual output. Continue reading →

Doctor Who companion Jackie Lane passes away

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English actress Jackie Lane has died aged 79.

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Doctor Who lost story ‘The Myth Makers’ getting Vinyl release

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Demon Records/BBC presents the narrated TV soundtrack of a ‘lost’ four-part adventure The Myth Busters set in ancient Greece and starring William Hartnell as the First Doctor.

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Doctor Who The Web of Fear cover art and special features revealed

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The cover art and special features of the partially animated version of The Web of Fear, releasing on DVD, Blu-Ray and Steelbook on 16th August 2021, have been revealed.

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Doctor Who actress Damaris Hayman passes away

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We are sad to report that actress Damaris Hayman has died aged 91.
Among several film & TV credits Hayman appeared in the Doctor Who serial The Dæmons (1971) as Miss Hawthorne, the self-proclaimed White Witch of the village Devil’s End.

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Review: Doctor Who – Out of Time (Volume 2)

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Review by Jacob Licklider

Out of Time was a release that couldn’t have come at a better time: we were reaching the fall and the COVID-19 pandemic was still getting worse and lockdowns were getting to people and Nicholas Briggs brought together Tom Baker and David Tennant in an exciting adventure with the Daleks. It was a fun release and with David Tennant’s availability due to the pandemic being more available to record from home, two further releases were announced where the Tenth Doctor meets the Fifth and Sixth Doctor set to be released in June 2021 and 2022 respectively. Well, it’s June 2021, if only by two days and Out of Time 2: The Gates of Hell sees the Fifth and Tenth Doctors in Paris, 1944 facing off against the Cybermen in the Catacombs. There’s also a Time Agent calling herself grapefruit but French. This is a script from David Llewellyn and he packs a lot into a single hour, almost too much for a single story to do. As the title is ‘Out of Time’, the idea is that Cybermen have been using the Transit of Venus, whenever the planet Venus passes directly in between the Sun and another planet (in this story Earth, obviously). It’s actually a really interesting idea with a piece of alien technology from the Cybermen being sent back in time and essentially being put into the hands of aristocrats to weasel their way to survive. This is a Cyberman story after all and it just feels right, though if there is one big and glaring issue with the story is that they don’t actually feel like a threat. Continue reading →

Audio Review: Avalon – Volume 1 (From ‘The Worlds of Blakes 7)

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Review by Ian McArdell

Avalon Volume 1 launches Big Finish’s new range exploring ‘The Worlds of Blakes 7’. With the sad passing of key cast members rendering full-cast dramas with the Liberator crew untenable, this spin-off range aims to broaden the storytelling universe. Focussing on other characters and situations, other battles against the Federation, it still allows for some of the original cast to feature, essentially as guest stars. In this first boxset, Sally Knyvette and Stephen Greif reprise their roles as Jenna Stannis and Travis respectively.


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BBC Re-Releases Doctor Who The Collection Season 10 & 18

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Seasons 10 and 18 of Doctor Who: The Collection are the next two Blu-ray titles to be re-issued in standard packaging after Season 12 and 19.

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Review: The Third Doctor Adventures (Volume 7)

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Review by Jacob Licklider

Big Finish Productions with the Third Doctor Adventures have perhaps taken the greatest risk since the inception of the range with Tim Treloar replacing Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor, and that’s releasing a box set without any returning cast members from the Third Doctor’s era. Katy Manning’s Jo Grant is not present nor John Levene or Richard Franklin. Fans of Jo Grant, fear not, she will be reappearing in Volume Eight, as Volume Seven brings one story from Season 7 and one from Season 11, meaning that they include Liz Shaw and Sarah Jane Smith as companions, bringing back Daisy Ashford and Sadie Miller in those roles as well as Jon Culshaw as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Taking this step (and announcing Miller’s involvement in Volume Eight) means that Big Finish are not afraid to use their recast performers in the ranges resulting in fully recast casts instead of having at least one original cast member present. The Third Doctor Adventures Volume Seven also brings two new authors into the range: Big Finish veteran Mark Wright (although not writing with his usual writing partner Cavan Scott) and, in his first four part story, Tim Foley. This takes the range into new territory as Big Finish goes headfirst into its new box set led era of stories.

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