Review: Doctor Who – Deathworld

Posted on August 16, 2024 by indiemacuser

The Three Doctors is a beloved story from one of Pertwee’s most popular seasons, debatably one of the most popular seasons for the classic in general; it’s certainly one of mine. As much as I love Season 10, I had never really read any of the production history behind the season, so it was something of a surprise to discover this alternate take on that iconic first multi-Doctor story. Deathworld, originally penned by Bob Baker and Dave Martin and adapted for this new audio release by John Dorney. If you expected this to resemble to that original TV serial then think again, because this is a very different beast. I’m not entirely sure if this the equivalent of fandom sacrilege but this is way more interesting than The Three Doctors for me, although it is so clearly un-filmable on the 70s era budget.

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Review: Doctor Who – The Dead Star

Posted on January 21, 2023 by indiemacuser

Review by Jacob Licklider

The Audio Novels range after three releases has taken a very important step. Big Finish Productions has deemed it profitable to publish an audio novel without a returning villain such as the Cybermen or the Daleks. The Dead Star doesn’t have a returning villain and that alone would be enough to get me excited, but then Big Finish made my New Adventures loving heart sing with the triumphant return of Kate Orman to Doctor Who. Orman is perhaps my favorite writer of Doctor Who and for a whole new generation of fans (and several old generations of fans) this will be their introduction to just what she does oh so well, and what an introduction. The Dead Star is going right into new territory for Orman, her first story to feature the Second Doctor and only written because Orman and her husband and frequent collaborator Jonathan Blum were watching the recent animations. While Orman in the behind the scenes doesn’t mention which animation in particular inspired this story, there is a great sense of a direct continuation from The Power of the Daleks as well as The Macra Terror specifically for its aesthetics.

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Review: Doctor Who – Beyond War Games

Posted on July 8, 2022July 8, 2022 by indiemacuser

Written by Cavan Gilbey

Season 6B is something of a controversial subject amongst fans; many like the use of the Doctor as a Gallifreyian agent being part of his punishment prior to regeneration while others see it as undermining the very effective and emotional ending of The War Games (a personal favourite of the regeneration stories, narrowly beaten by Logopolis). Personally I’m relatively indifferent to Season 6B since, or at least until this boxset, it was something that just seemed slightly lame. But now I must admit I am fully sold on telling stories during this sub-season since Beyond War Games is shockingly compelling and some of the best Second Doctor material Big Finish have published in a long long time; not since The Black Hole have I been this enthusiastic about dedicated releases from one of my favourite Doctors.

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Review: Doctor Who Third Doctor Adventures – The Annihilators

Posted on February 11, 2022 by indiemacuser

Review by Jacob Licklider

2022 is a year of change for Big Finish. We are already a month into the year and the switch to box sets has meant that there is a new format for every range, with a majority of the previous box sets decreasing to three CDs instead of four. To bring the Third Doctor into the new box set era, Nicholas Briggs pens and directs ‘The Annihilators’, Big Finish’s first seven-part story and Briggs’ tribute to Season 7. This is how it was initially announced complete with dummy cover, until it was revealed that Michael Troughton, son of Patrick Troughton, would appear as the Second Doctor with Frazer Hines reprising his role as Jamie McCrimmon. This, while understandable as to why it is integrated into the story, does mean that the second half of the story where Briggs admirably pulls off a story style switch which makes it feel like a completely different story instead of just a different direction. Jamie and the Doctor end up on a mission although it’s not quite clear if it’s for the Time Lords, but considering how Doctor Who expanded universe material likes to make it for the Time Lords that’s probably what’s being done here. There wasn’t an intention to cross the timelines, and it is explicit that the Third Doctor has had his memories altered in some way, and the story ends in a way that we are dealing with timelines in flux, but the sheer different nature makes this more akin to The Daleks where the second half could be a completely different story.