Review: Doctor Who – The Ravelli Conspiracy

My relationship with Doctor Who started, perhaps; in slightly different place than many North Americans of my age and fighting weight. I often read of Canadians and Americans who first discovered the good Doctor via PBS; usually beginning with Tom Baker and working their way forwards and backwards as the addiction set in.

The first episode of Doctor Who that I ever saw; thanks to a television station called YTV, was “An Unearthly Child”. I’d heard of the show; being a science fiction fan and having the benefit of British parents, but this was my first real exposure. Every day, after school, a new episode. I was hooked. Before long, I was haunting every bookstore I could locate, looking for Target novelisations, New Adventures and Missing Adventures; everything, in fact, I could find that was even slightly related to the show. The logo began to festoon every school binder and scrap of paper within reach of my fevered hands.

Having started at the beginning, unlike many younger fans, the Hartnell and Troughton eras hold a particular nostalgia for me,although without the benefit of an Internet, the jumping around that set in as the series progressed was a trifle confusing. (Not to mention the sudden disappearance of the show from the air once we’d finally reached Survival.)

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Review – Doctor Who: Order of the Daleks

Review by Doctor Squee (Host of Gallifrey Stands Podcast)


I rarely comment on the artwork for Big Finish releases. It is always good; but when the artwork for Order of the Daleks was released, it definitely caught the eye. Stained glass Daleks. Genius! This certainly peaked my interest.

This story does not disappoint. It’s a marvellous script by Mike Tucker, who in the past has worked as a visual effects assistant in the original run of Doctor Who and in the 2005 version was a model unit supervisor who worked on the design of the modern Dalek. The passion for the show and the Daleks very much oozes out of this script. Continue reading

Review: The Third Doctor Adventures – Volume 2

Review by Doctor Squee (Host of Gallifrey Stands Podcast)


The Transcendence of Ephros
The planet of Ephros is due to die of natural causes and some of the inhabitants are over the moon about it, as their religion tells them they can use the planets destruction to ascend. Meanwhile the Galactux Power Inc is mining what is left of the planets natural resources. When the Doctor and Jo arrive on the planet and get in broiled in the goings on, could there be more that meets the eye happening here?

This is a good story with lots going on and some great characters. Sometimes Bernard Holley is a little ‘large’ as a character as Karswell but he and the rest of the cast do a great job on the whole in this one.

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Review: And They Watched (Short – 2016)

Review by Jay Kay


AND THEY WATCHED (2015) is Written and Directed by Vivian Lin.
andtheywatched002-820x410We move through this world observing amazing and terrible things. We see sights that make us wonder, make us cope as well as struggle with the notion of good and evil. In the short film AND THEY WATCHED by Vivian Lin; we find that even in the service of those in pain, we learn that our ignorance can come back to haunt us. Inspired by the reinstatement of the electric chair in the state of Tennessee and an incredible part of the 2016 ETHERIA FILM NIGHT selections; we follow a janitor played by John Cianciolo completing his duties in a dark and dreadful hallway leading down to an execution chamber. This section of a prison is a grizzly reminder of the finality with this weapon of death just beyond the glass. As the janitor cleans the window, straightens up the rooms and takes meticulous care to clean the electric chair after the latest execution, through incredible use of light, tense score and eerie visual effects, we understand that something did not fully leave the chamber or this earth. With a production design mirroring the most effective and insidious ideas guiding the frights of a haunted house, we learn that a spirit has returned to re-create the injustice and terror with the one person who happens to be there not for any other reason than he was paid and he watched. Continue reading

Review: Doctor Who – Destiny of the Doctor (The Complete Adventure)

Review by Doctor Squee (Host of Gallifrey Stands Podcast)


2013, the year we had all waited for when Doctor Who was turning a history-making 50 years old. We got to see Two regenerations, Two new doctors, an amazing multiple-doctor story on TV and another on audio with Big Finish. Everyone wanted a part of the celebrations and to put out something amazing. The now defunct Audio Go was no exception. Partnering up with Big Finish they came up with the idea of releasing one audio story a month; based on one of the then Eleven Doctors. As the anniversary was in November, starting at the beginning of the year in January made it all work perfectly. They assembled companions from most of the Doctors as the narrators for the stories, aside from the 9th (although getting in Nicholas Briggs is no bad replacement) and pared them with another actor to co-star. It seemed like quite a coo as well to get the then current companion Jenna Coleman involved. A big shout of to all of the wonderful writers in this set too including Andrew Smith, Matt Fitton and Nev Fountain to name just a few.
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Review: Doctor Who – The Memory Bank and other stories

Review by Doctor Squee (Host of Gallifrey Stands Podcast)


I am always amazed at how many different types of storytelling Big Finish comes up with; Two hour stories divided up into episodes, hour long adventures, box sets with 3 or 4 interlinking hour long stories and short trips. Then they throw into the mix the 4 half-hour stories in one release!

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Review – Sonita (Documentary – 2016)

Presented with English Subtitles.

This real-life documentary from director Rokhsareh Ghaemmaghami follows the every-day life of Afghan refugee Sonita Alizadeh; now living in Iran.

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Big Finish – Doctor Who Short Trips: The Blame Game/Damascus

Review by Kenton Hall (Director of ‘A Dozen Summers‘ featuring Colin Baker)


Big Finish, as regular listeners will have no doubt noticed; offers an embarrassment of riches when it comes to providing new Doctor Who stories from across the history of the programme. With numerous Doctors and Companions taking part in full cast stories; however, some of the other narrated ranges can; occasionally I fear, get lost in the shuffle.

The Short Trips range is a case in point. I hope I’m wrong and that these marvellous short stories, enthusiastically performed by a range of wonderful actors are taken to the bosom of fans everywhere. And then removed from their bosoms and put in their ears, because that makes more sense. Continue reading

Big Finish Review: Doctor Who – Maker of Demons

Review by Doctor Squee (Host of Gallifrey Stands Podcast)


I could almost feel like when Matthew J Elliott wrote ‘Makers of Demons’ that he had read my review of ‘Fiesta of the Damned’. I am not enough of an ego-maniac to think so (and he wouldn’t have had enough time) but it’s like he missed any of the pitfalls I found in ‘Fiesta’ to deliver a wonderful story (with due respect to the fore mentioned story!)

The story is straight-forward and engaging. The Doctor and Mel have been to the planet Prosper to settle some humans in with the locals (the Mogera) and negotiate a treaty to make this possible. Leaving behind a new and sustainable energy source ‘Doctorium’ (discovered and named by guess who!). Years later The Doctor, Mel & Ace return to the planet; but the peace has been shattered and the Mogera have been transformed into monsters, seemingly by Doctorium; but as you might guess there is more to this than meets the eyes.

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Big Finish – Doctor Who: The Chimes of Midnight Limited Vinyl Edition

Review by Doctor Squee (Host of Gallifrey Stands Podcast)


When Big Finish first got the rights to add the 8th Doctor to their line-up it was such an exciting moment. At the time we only had one TV outing for this Doctor and a few books. Yes, the first adventure sets a tone for a Doctor but there was still so much to know about him. So once we were getting 8th Doctor audio’s what would they do with him? Some of these first audio’s seemed to lean into the suggested psychic powers from the TV movie; others tended more toward a sense of mystery, but the best included a heavy sense of wonder and excitement to them and an adventuring spirit buoyed on by his new companion Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Pollard (Edwardian Adventurer).

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