Review: TV Century 21 Audio Annual 2022 – Anything Can Happen

Review by Cavan Gilbey


Big Finish’s recent collaborations with Anderson Entertainment have been simply brilliant, bringing many of Britain’s best cult action sci-fi shows back to life with audio adaptations of otherwise inaccessible novels and comic strips. This month sees two major releases; a pair of full cast Thunderbirds stories based on fan-favourite comic strips and this audio annual which collects a series of short stories written for the respective show’s annuals. Anything Can Happen brings together Thunderbirds, Stingray, Captain Scarlet and Joe 90, some of these shows I am more familiar with than others; Joe 90 is the one I am least familiar with outside of the basic premise and insanely catchy opening theme. This collection makes for a good, nostalgic listen, harkening back to an era of pulpy camp story telling that certainly charms and excites and its great to have these otherwise rare tales preserved by excellent narration from Nicholas Briggs and Wayne Forester and sound design from Briggs and Benji Clifford; makes them closer to feeling like traditional episodes of the shows rather than simple short stories.

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Audio Review: The Worlds of Blake’s 7 – Zero Point

Review by Ian McArdell


The Terra Nostra: Zero Point is the third in a set of audiobooks tied to Big Finish’s The Worlds of Blake’s 7 range. A companion to the recent boxset The Terra Nostra, it deals with the insidious organisation who wield soft power in the criminal underbelly of the Federation. Continue reading →

Review: Doctor of War – Destiny

Review by Jacob Licklider


Doctor of War: Genesis was the first of a surprise two release miniseries reviving the Doctor Who: Unbound range by giving listeners a chance to explore essentially one aspect of the Time War that the normal Doctor Who ranges either couldn’t do or just haven’t done. The entire idea is that the timeline is rewritten at the “Do I have the right?” speech in Genesis of the Daleks, Sarah Jane and Harry are killed, and the Doctor regenerates into a fifth incarnation played by Colin Baker as reality fractures. Doctor of War: Destiny continues from Doctor of War: Genesis in three separate stories that on the whole does something that the idea of Doctor of War could have become if it were a bit more self-indulgent in retelling classic Doctor Who stories in this new timeline. Doctor of War: Genesis really only did that with the first few scenes to show where the timeline diverged while taking some ideas from other stories but not just remaking them, Doctor of War: Destiny opens and closes with two stories that do takes on classics with the middle story not quite being filler, but being a story to do world-building with the universe and playing around with the Time War at a conceptual level and how changing time can affect a civilisation. What’s especially interesting is this is a set that wraps up the story fairly completely, there is a post-credits sequence that implies it’s possible for this Doctor of War series to continue, but the arc itself is basically over and the threads have found their endings.

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Review: Tenth Doctor – Classic Companions

Review by Cavan Gilbey


Companions become just as much of a friend to the audience as they do to the Doctor, so seeing them return by having them reunited with Doctor after ages can be really refreshing and rewarding. However this concept is only going to really work if we have actually spent some time away from those characters, which with Big Finish is nigh on impossible because every companion is omnipresent there and you can find a new Peri audio just as much as you can a new Jamie story. Tegan and Ace returning to TV feels significant since they’ve not been seen for ages, but we have heard so many extended adventures with them so having them meet a later Doctor on audio doesn’t hit that spot. This is where we come to the main issue with Tenth Doctor, Classic Companions; it’s too much of a gimmick. Sure Classic Doctors, New Monsters is a gimmick but you can understand it more with the monsters than you can with the companions. This set feels like it exists solely to give Ten some stories with older companions as opposed to crafting interesting stories based around the way their relationships have changed, which doesn’t exactly make this an enticing listen.
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American Horror Story Season 11 official title and release date confirmed

The official title and release date for American Horror Story Season 11 has been announced.

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‘Interview With the Vampire’ series renewed for Season 2

The “Interview with the Vampire” series at AMC has been renewed for Season 2 at AMC ahead of it’s Season 1 premiere on Oct. 2nd The 8-episode second season will reportedly be set in Europe.

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Casting announced for Taiki Waititi’s ‘Time Bandits’ series at Apple

The “Time Bandits” TV series at Apple from Taika Waititi has announced its main cast, Variety has reported. The series will be loosely based on the original “Time Bandits” film that was released in 1981 and directed by Terry Gilliam.

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Review: The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield – Blood & Steel (Vol. 7)

Review by Jacob Licklider


This review was always going to be a difficult review to write. As announced The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield: Blood & Steel is set in Weimar Germany during the rise of the Nazis and as such this review will be discussing fascism, bigotry, and anti-Semitism due to the historical setting. This is also discussing the last time David Warner will be playing the Doctor due to his passing this year, though not the last Big Finish release (or even Doctor Who release) to feature Warner. While there is no word yet from Big Finish, it would not be a surprise if this was the end of The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield as a range, ending as a fitting tribute to the Doctor who came to define the range, appearing as the secondary lead in five of the seven box sets released. As a range, it became a wonderful opportunity for new talent while continuing the legacy of perhaps the most important character to Doctor Who’s continued life during the Wilderness Years. Bernice Summerfield is what gave the Virgin New Adventures their longevity and is where Big Finish Productions got their start. If this is the end for the range and possibly the character, it is a brilliant set to go out on, but since there have already been two Bernice Summerfield ranges before this, Benny may not be truly gone. At least, not yet.

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Netflix ‘You’ season 4 gets teaser and release date.

Neflix has given us a first teaser and release date for ‘You’ Season 4 as part of their TUDUM fan event. The first part of the season will return February 10th 2023; with the second part due to release March 10th 2023.

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‘The Crown’ season 5 gets release date

Netflix has announced the release date for Season Five of royal drama The Crown as part of their TUDUM online fan event. The show returns November 9th 2022 following a long gap to Covid-related production delays.

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