Review: Doctor Who – Dalek Universe 1

Review by Jacob Licklider


The Dalek Protocol started off the Dalek Universe miniseries with a fairly standard but enjoyable tale with no real connection to what would become the series at least based on the first set. And a day later, Dalek Universe begins itself properly with the first three stories in the miniseries being released to acclaim. To make what’s most likely going to be a long review short, Dalek Universe 1 is a brilliant start to the miniseries and if you haven’t already, go do yourself a favour and buy it. This is one of those sets that I cannot critically evaluate without losing my restraint on spoilers so from this point forward. You have been warned. Each installment of Dalek Universe 1 is truly part of a miniseries, blending together which helps as two of the episodes are from John Dorney, and the third deals with the character fallout from the previous two episodes before moving along to what will eventually become the conclusion of the set while transitioning into the second set. An interesting note, this set barely features the Daleks, like The Dalek Protocol before it, they are an off-screen presence bar a few scenes, the writers instead electing for setting this around the time of The Daleks’ Master Plan and dragging the Tenth Doctor out of time into his own personal timeline.

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Review: Dalek Universe – The Dalek Protocol

Review by Jacob Licklider


Hype is an interesting phenomenon. When Big Finish Productions announced Dalek Universe, of course there was going to be hype: it’s three whole box sets starring David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, the return of Anya Kingdom, and a two-hour Fourth Doctor prologue with Leela and K9 to boot. This is the type of release that is designed to build hype, yet now that it is April and the first release is out, The Dalek Protocol starring Tom Baker, Louise Jameson, and John Leeson, and some of the trouble with extreme hype is that is can actually put off listeners. For The Dalek Protocol it is imperative that before you purchase or listen, you understand that it was never actually intended to be part of a bigger series. Recorded in 2018, the behind the scenes on the release are enlightening as Nicholas Briggs was simply commissioned to do what he loves and tribute Death to the Daleks while bringing back Anya Kingdom. This means that the ending of the story feels final, the Doctor and Anya don’t get to reunite which is important as the Doctor hasn’t even met her yet, and that there really aren’t apparent threads which will be carrying over to Dalek Universe proper. As a part of the series, it seems the most disconnected which is fine as it was never written to be a part of a greater whole, so listeners should be wary of those expectations before going in as you will not enjoy it nearly as much when that is in play.

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Doctor Who: The Ice Warriors coming to vinyl

Demon Records presents the narrated TV soundtrack of a partially ‘lost’ six-part adventure The Ice Warriors set in a future Ice Age, starring Patrick Troughton as the Doctor.

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Audio Review: Carolyn Seymour in Conversation

Review by Ian McArdell


Carolyn Seymour in Conversation is the latest in an occasional range of in-depth interviews with Big Finish’s biggest stars. Perhaps best known in cult television circles for her starring role in the first series of Terry Nation’s Survivors, Carolyn Seymour has worked extensively on both sides of the Atlantic, on both stage and screen. In 2014 she reprised her role as Abby Grant in the audio continuation of Survivors, and has since appeared across a number of their ranges, most notably the Doctor Who spin-off Counter-Measures, where she plays the returning villainess, Lady Suzanne Clare.


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Review: The Lone Centurion (Vol. 1)

Review by Jacob Licklider


With David Tennant joining Big Finish in 2016, and the recent return of Christopher Eccleston in a series of four box sets, the New Series representation at Big Finish increased; yet Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor has thus far been relegated to Short Trips and The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles due to only Alex Kingston’s participation in Big Finish. However, an announcement of a two volume spin-off following the Auton Rory Williams while he guards the Pandorica in a now deleted universe brings Arthur Darvill back to the worlds of Doctor Who in a release that nobody was quite expecting. Rory Williams is one of those characters which you really don’t know what to expect, often taking a back seat in episodes and only given companion status by the start of Darvill’s second series in the role. Rory is essentially comic relief and on the surface relegated to supporting roles, so The Lone Centurion is something which doesn’t actually have anything to go on in terms of what it can accomplish, complicated by the fact that as an Auton Rory is more difficult to kill as this takes place in between The Pandorica Opens and The Big Bang. The premise is intriguing: the Pandorica has gone missing meaning that Amy has gone missing, and Rory is attempting to find it, shenanigans ensue. Continue reading →

Trailer released for ‘Loki Disney+ series

Disney/Marvel Studios have released a new trailer for the Disney+ Series ‘Loki’. 

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Review: ‘Master!’

Review by Jacob Licklider


With the acquisition of Eric Roberts returning to the role of the Master in The Diary of River Song, Ravenous 4, and Masterful, it became a matter of time before Big Finish Productions gave him his own spin-off box set.  Announced in 2020, Master! is essentially a precursor to Big Finish’s new three disc box set model for releases going forward.  Eric Roberts’ Master is also a character who does not actually have a fully fleshed out character.  He is a character who was over the top and camp in his one television appearance, under the guidance of a director who simply did not understand who the Master was and didn’t allow Roberts to actually give any menace in his performance.  Big Finish obviously worked to correct this in his first three appearances, but giving him a full length box set audiences finally get the chance to explore just what this version of the Master is and what he actually stands for.  Master! contains three stories from three writers, all telling an overarching story of how Eric Roberts’ Master escaped the time vortex and was eventually tracked down by an assassin and the Daleks, and of course escaped.  Interestingly unlike The War Master and Missy where the Master is a protagonist, Master! actually plays it with the Master directly the role of the antagonist, with each story essentially following other characters interacting with the Master and essentially trying to stop him from succeeding in each episode’s plan as things escalate towards the eventual conclusion.

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Disney+ releases Star Wars vintage collection

Disney Plus has released several new releases today (April 2nd) including a big treat for Star Wars fans.

The streaming service has added some rare spin-offs to a new Star Wars vintage collection.


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‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch’ Disney+ series trailer released

Disney Plus has released a trailer for the upcoming Star Wars animated series Star Wars: The Bad Batch that will premiere on May 4th (AKA Star Wars Day).

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Review: Torchwood – Lease of Life

Review by Jacob Licklider


Aaron Lamont got his start with Big Finish Productions with the Dark Shadows audio drama The Haunted Refrain, a story set in a house dealing with the destruction of a once happy marriage as someone wastes away and Quentin Collins is trapped on a gramophone record. Lamont’s script is characterised by character drama as someone wastes away, not taking advantage of the life that they are privileged to have. I bring this up because the first story where Lamont steps away from the Dark Shadows range, Torchwood: Lease of Life, plays with a similar theme in an almost more horrific way. The entire conceit is based on bad roommates, something that every adult has experienced in one way or another at some point. The opening of this audio doesn’t even include Owen, this releases lead, it just takes the necessary time to establish the relationships between Ellie, Seren, and Nye, the three flatmates whose flats is a large fixer-upper. Ellie is stuck home with a hangover, being annoyed by Nye who has been blaring rock music while locked in his room, and Seren is just trying to get to her job. These are people who if not stuck in a living situation would probably be close friends, but the flat just doesn’t allow them to really get along and a surprise inspection from the ‘council’ and Owen Harper makes things worse. There is a dangerous mould encroaching on their living space, the landlord is nowhere to be seen, and Ellie’s hangover is only causing problems. The mould, of course, is an alien coming to consume the house through the Rift and essentially the audio transforms into an hour long horror play in a trapped location. Continue reading →