Review: The War Master – Escape From Reality

Posted on December 28, 2022 by indiemacuser

The War Master range has easily become one of Big Finish’s finest spin-offs, certainly one the most popular at any rate. But it may shock you to hear that prior to this boxset I had never heard any of Jacobi’s audio boxsets. I had listened to the War Master’s adventure in River Song’s audio series, and really loved it and the characterisation of this particular incarnation of the character but I never went on to get any of his solo outings. But that all changed with Escape From Reality, which I absolutely had to hear due to it being a spiritual successor to The Mind Robber from Troughton’s era of the TV show which happens to be my favourite all time Doctor Who television story. Getting to see the Land of Fiction become corrupted by an evil presence was always going to be interesting, the fact that it got to be Jacobi’s Master is an added bonus.

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Audio Review: The Confessions of Dorian Gray – The Anniversary

Posted on November 3, 2022 by indiemacuser

Review by Jacob Licklider

The Confessions of Dorian Gray is a range from Big Finish Productions which had its start in 2012 using the public domain character from Oscar Wilde’s novel with the premise that instead of destroying the portrait with a knife Dorian kept on living throughout the century. The range ended after five series in 2016, with an audiobook revival in 2019 reading three unmade stories, a quick free story during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, and now one special anniversary release on vinyl, The Anniversary. Ordering The Anniversary from the Big Finish website also includes behind the scenes interviews, a music suite, and a reading of Scott Handcock’s 2012 story, Gray Matters. While Gray Matters is a story, it does not share continuity with The Confessions of Dorian Gray and will not be discussed in detail for this review, though I will say it is an excellent piece of short fiction as long as you separate it from the typical continuity due to the characterisation of Dorian as a character being more lonely and detached. Continue reading →

Review: Doctor Who – Mind Of The Hodiac

Posted on April 3, 2022April 3, 2022 by indiemacuser

Review by Jacob Licklider

There isn’t often the opportunity to see some of the first work of an author that has gone on to make an impact. Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson had both early works published in some form (Jordan’s being published by hid wife and Sanderson publishing a first draft as a Kickstarter reward), yet with Big Finish it’s almost surprising that something like Mind of the Hodiac hasn’t happened sooner. Russell T. Davies found the initial script for Part One and storyline for Part Two in a box in 2020 when Emily Cook was doing the Lockdown watch-alongs on Twitter which he wrote at some point between 1986 and 1987 before even making it into TV, the first script he sent to the Doctor Who Production Office which was, of course, rejected. In finding the script, pictures were posted on Twitter of some of the pages as a treat and in Davies’ mind that was the end of that. But then Scott Handcock, director and writer for Big Finish, contacted Davies with Emily Cook in tow as one of the newer producers to acquire a copy of the script (apparently physically and not just scanned into a computer if the behind the scenes interviews are correct in its implication). Continue reading →