Genesis of the Cybermen adapted by David K. Barnes (from an idea by Gerry Davis) and directed by David O'Mahony

 

Not at all what I was expecting from this story and all the better for it. I had been pre-warned (or pre-informed perhaps would be a better word) from David K Barnes in an interview that I did for him on a podcast that this was a synopsis that had some strange science and bafflingly little of the Cybermen in it. When you know that, it is easy to see all the strengths that David brought to the story including a strong sense of why the Cybermen came to be, who was responsible and a real sense of tying things up with The Tenth Planet in a very satisfying way. 

Is this as good as the much celebrated Spare Parts? Well, no. It seems that instead of a cataclysmic disaster that forced people into metal survival suits, this version of history sees one insane man decide the fate of his entire species because he thinks that mechanised people is the way to go. Which is far less interesting than what Spare Parts gave us (the edgy catastrophe and the slippery slide into losing emotions really gives that story a sense of sick inevitability) but what Genesis of the Cybermen gets very right is the inclusion of it's regulars in the grand plan of bringing the Cybermen into being. Both Nyssa (in a moment of kindness) and Adric (in a moment of stupidity - and bravery) play their part in setting the Mondasians on their inevitable course and we get to see Sarah Sutton in particular play scenes where she realises her part and suffers crushing guilt as a result. When the Doctor realises Adric's part in all this, Davison's line reading hilariously funny. I almost spat out my coffee. 

There's a genius plot twist that sees the characters go from the early days of the Cybermen time jumping to a point where there are prototypes ready to be copied and an army waiting in the wings which is where this story really differs from Big Finishes previous efforts to tell this story. Episode one is like a little short story of the Doctor, Adric, Tegan and Nyssa turning up on a medieval world and meeting the locals and it isn't until the final scenes that you realise the enormity of where they are. The sudden ramp up of tension with that reveal is like a knife in the gut after all the previous frivolity. The twist that the Prince hops forward in time with the TARDIS (in a very awkward stowing away on board and twist of the dematerialisation circuit) could have been very hokey but it's played superbly by Cano and Barnes writes a man out of time and not happy with what he sees in the future with real nuance. It means there is a real effort to have more than just 'how did the Cybermen come to be' be the focus of this story but the efforts of one man to try and right history politically, medically and morally too. As a dramatic device, the Prince is a great character to show how things have gone very wrong. 

In the mix is some bizarre science lectures that I could have happily have done without and poor Nyssa and Dega were forced to try and explain the science of the Cybermen. I think Barnes has toned down Gerry Davis' weird science and if this is the watered down version I can only imagine how the original synopsis read. 'That's the most unscientific thing I've ever heard' says Nyssa to the Doctor at the climax, and I like to think that is Barnes talking to Davis. 

Huge kudos to director David O'Mahony, who has proven to be quite a find in recent years (his execution of Goth Opera was outstanding too) who seems to approach each story as if it is the most important Doctor Who story of all time and not just a throwaway piece of ephemera. I think once you have been with the company for some time a feeling of complacency can set in but there is no sign of that here. The big moments in the story (such as discovering the planet is Mondas, the Prince forcing the Doctor into the future and emergence of the Cybermen themselves) are given huge weight by fantastic David Roocroft score and the performances are all energetic and steeped in the best kind of melodrama. All of the regulars are in fine form and Barnes gives them all authentic, witty things to say and moments when each of their strengths come to the fore. Huge kudos for the musical reminder of the last Gerry Davis contribution, Revenge of the Cybermen, in the last episode when the Cybermen are on the attack. 

Ultimately the story has to head for The Tenth Planet and when we first met them and so there can't be any great surprises at the climax but it still has a pleasing race against time suspense to try and stop that happening and we go via one of the better self sacrifices I've heard in a while. Meta is absolutely bonkers in all the best ways. Bravo Kelly Price.  

I went in expecting an inferior version of Spare Parts and came out with an alternative version, which is quite a shift in perception. The weaker parts of this story are Barnes trying to make Davis' mundane story work but at its best it captures that Spare Parts feeling of the future catching up with the people of Mondas and them not being able to escape it. The fact that he manages to conjure great set pieces, some wonderful characterisation of the regulars and a sweeping sense of dread is all to his credit. This was far more exciting and enjoyable than I was expecting: 8/10

The Robots Volume Three

 

The Mystery of Sector 13 written by Robert Whitelock and directed by Louise Jameson 

The Robots seems to be following the rule of most series, be it television or audio, where they begin with a bumpy first volume that shows promise, things ratchet up in volume two and then with the confidence of the base blocks of the range in place the third series begins to reap the rewards. If that's not the case and I've made that tradition up then The Robots is certainly on much surer footing in its third outing with some standout writing, direction and performances and a greater consistency of quality. This is the most Liv and Tula heavy story of the year and it wisely splits them up and lets them attack their separate investigations with their own unique talents. This is how you follow up on the promise of an exciting cliffhanger. Liv promised to investigate the corruption behind the scenes on Kaldor at the end of the previous volume and she is living up to that, albeit with some time having passed (it's exactly the sort of thing Big Finish often gets wrong - remember when the Doctor suggested he was on the trail of Rassilon in The Twilight Kingdom and that isn't followed up until four stories later in the Divergent Universe arc?). Louise Jameson steps on board to direct two stories this year and brings a fresh ear to the series with a stress on sound effects to create great moments of tension. There's a superb sequence at the start where lots of robots wrist alarms go off as medical emergencies start flooding in and Liv on the verge of discovering the secret underground is made all the more tense by the inclusion of a heartbeat-like alarm that pervades the closing scenes. I loved Liv teaming up with SV56 and their scenes have a wonderful banter that you can only get with a character who is commenting on the action with a knowing eye and a machine that cannot comprehend any of the humour - until it starts trying to be funny itself. The ultimate discovery is left open ended - you still don't understand the significance of the railway track under Kaldor at the end of this set but it has intriguing possibilities. Guy Falkes anyone? In the meantime Tula is discovering that all the Company mistakes we have seen catalogued in previous stories are being deleted from all records. I'm starting to get the impression that it doesn't matter if you're committing acts of terrorism for the Sons of Kaldor or covering up murders in the Company - whoever ultimate rules the City will be corrupt. Jon Culshaw arrives, and played a familiar sounding but very creepy character. More of him please. This really is starting to feel like a fully fleshed out world now: 8/10

Circuit Breaker written by Guy Adams and directed by Ken Bentley 

This is very dark indeed. It's a replay of the Toos & Poul story from last year but with much better dialogue, world building and a brilliant twist waiting to floor you. The more I explore the seedy underbelly of Kaldor, the less I am convinced this is as much of a utopia of the future as they tried to pass it off as in the first volume. It's certainly a much more engaging setting this way. We're down amongst the most poor, seeing just how they cope with their wretched day to day and indulge in some horrific roleplay in order to please themselves. Scenes of grown men acting out scenes with robots dressed up like their mothers telling them off should be hilariously terrible but played for real they come across as perversely, terrifyingly unnerving. Mummy why wouldn't you say you loved me, indeed. Add to this sinister business a murder investigation that Toos is trying to involve Poul in but he is reluctant because of his skin crawling robophobia and you have an episode that really strikes the right balance of sinister and revealing. Toos takes the back seat this time and we get rather deeper into Poul's insecurities than we have ever dared to go before and David Collings is more than up to the task of portraying his fears, his bravery and ultimately his deception. The twist that he is responsible for the 'murder' of the robots and has been using Ullman's theatre of cruelty to play out his fantasies of lashing out at the monstrosities comes at just the right point to floor the audience and Mark and I were looking at each other slack jawed. Bravo for taking such a frightening step with a much loved character. His actions in the last ten minutes leave me wondering where precisely we are going with him. More prestige casting in the form of Carolyn Seymour this time and although heavily accented (convincingly so), she delivers a humdinger of a performance playing the woman responsible for this nasty set up. Whether she is providing a form of therapy or merely accentuating peoples anxieties is left to the listener to decide. The creepiest story to date: 8/10

A Matter of Conscience written by Lisa McMullin and directed by Louise Jameson

This is a busy script and gets a little muddled at times but so much of what is being discussed is so interesting I can only really complain that it has a wealth of ideas and the lack of runtime to deal with them all. The idea of whether the Sons of Kaldor are terrorists of freedom fighters is raised and through the eyes of a brilliantly characterised new convert to the terror group we get to see why somebody might turn to violence to bring down the Company but also how they struggle with their conscience as they set to work setting explosives that have catastrophic effects. The moral compass swings between the Sons of Kaldor and the Company and both are seen here to be behaving in appalling ways and that whoever wins this struggle might be the lesser (or greater) of two evils. Then there is the whole business of Tarkov (from the first story of this set) and the bravura performance of Jon Culshaw who single-handed takes the insane and could-have-been-ridiculous twist about his character being the return of a familiar face and makes it work due to his superb studying of the original actors vocal mannerisms. He utterly convinces in the role, but with this unnerving spin on him it isn't just the return of an old face but pushing him in an intriguing new direction. Let's take a step back from the story for a second and look at the creators of this release. With Lisa McMullin writing, Louise Jameson directing and Nicola Walker and Clare Rushbrook in the central roles you have an all female major creative team and whilst it has taken a long, long time for Big Finish to get there, the results of doing so are a consistently thoughtful and exciting piece of work. McMullin delivers her most enjoyable script to date with lots of fascinating plots to juggle and the story rounds off in an enticing fashion with hints of an actual sequel to Robots of Death to come. It pleases me that they have waited until this range has developed an identity of its own before going there. This story proves that it has achieved that, and then some: 8/10

A confident volume; dark and insidious and very entertaining. Salivating for more. 

The Robots Volume Two

 

Robots of War written by Roland Moore and directed by Ken Bentley

Interestingly, this is exactly what I thought I would be going to get with the first series of The Robots. Our heroes trapped in a claustrophobic setting with Robots trying to kill them. So kudos to the creators for waiting until the fourth story to do an action piece that feels like Robots of Death and by this point less introspection and more excitement feels earned. I'm also getting more of a feeling of Kaldor, which was one of my wishes coming out of series one and this trip to a military installation helps to add another dimension to Liv's home. I'm not at all sure about the hierarchy protocol that is activated and means that everybody on the base is disposable leaving Liv and Tula fighting for their lives. Who on Earth thought that a protocol that insists on the murder of everybody because one person might be a traitor amongst them was a smart idea? The more I learn about The Company, the more eccentric their outlook is. There's hints of this series tying into both the eighth and fourth Doctor ranges too, with previous trips to Kaldor being mentioned and elements of those stories being tied into this narrative. Ultimately this is a big runaround to get the second series started with some particularly great robot voices that continue to terrify me because they so calmly and casually and politely inform people that they are going to be killed. There's something about a murderer with such good manners that terrifies me. Enjoyable, but I'm still waiting for the out and out classic that makes me want to shout from the rooftops about this range: 7/10 

Toos and Poul written by Andrew Smith and directed by Ken Bentley 

Andrew Smith is such an odd writer. I don't think he ever writes anything bad and his intentions are always there to provide entertainment and insight into his chosen characters. But I rarely think his dialogue sparkles, his plots tend to simmer rather than boil and I cannot think of a time where he has surprised despite his prolific Big Finish output. This is one of his better scripts in terms of character and he has the extreme good fortune to be assigned to the story that features the return of Toos and Poul to the fold and not content with relying on the audience being thrilled at the fact he has a great stab at catching us up with their lives and relationship since the Sandminer incident. The best thing here is their relationship, which has continued beyond Robots of Death; Poul dealing with his robophobia in an enforced way in order to help with this investigation and Toos refusing to give up on her friend despite him trying to walk away. It helps that Pamela Salem and David Collings are saying the words, they truly convince  in their reprised roles and you don't for a second miss Nicola Walker or Clare Rushbrook because they are such engaging actors. It's a good thing the character insight is so strong because the murder mystery (with a suspect pool of two) is barely adequate; it lacks suspense and the answers that spill are obvious and a bit underwhelming. More insight into Kaldor though, with a chance to get outside the city and see the view on robots from people who aren't dependant on them. If the mystery had been better structured and the murderer reveal had had some kind of impact this would have really shone. The last scene as good as says this wasn't the main reason Toos called on Poul, it was just side issue before they could get to the important stuff. Bring back Toos & Poul, just give them a more substantial story to lead next time: 7/10

Do No Harm written by Sarah Grochala and directed by Ken Bentley

A terrific end to the volume with a script that has a brilliant idea at its heart and doesn't run out of steam right up until the final moments. If you would have told me that a courtroom drama presided over by a robot judge and with a robot defendant in the dock would be the best story of the entire series to date I probably would have laughed in your face. Because Grochala structures the story with the courtcase and the actual events running concurrently there is huge suspense in listening to the story unfold. Who is doctoring the evidence? Did a robot murder 700 people for the greater good? Was it acting against its programming for a sinister organisation. The episode refuses to end up quite where you think it is going to go (I asked Mark to pause it to give him my theory of why the Company was behind it all and all tied into some marketing scheme of a new kind of AI and of course I was completely wrong) and it ends with both a surprising verdict that made me gasp out loud and a brilliant final speech from the robot about humanity's failings. You get a sense of a city that is tearing itself apart, anti-robot feeling is fuelled by the courtcase and the Sons of Kaldor are stirring the pot. Liv works well in the unlikely role of a makeshift lawyer and the story works brilliantly because despite the fact it is an emotionless automaton you have huge sympathy for the robot being accused of murder. I have been so impressed by all the robot characters so far and just how easy it is for me personify them. The only serious complaint is the use of the last minute witness to throw new light on the case but that is such a well trodden cliché of this type of story it might feel odd if they hadn't shown up. There's loose ends to tie us into the next series (I guess that is always going to be the case) but for now this is a great example of how keep this series engaging. Let's go for volume three: 9/10

The Robots Series One

 

The Robots of Life written by Roland Moore and directed by Ken Bentley

An oddly jazzy theme tune for such an introverted series that focuses on uncanny valley over action - I was half expect a robot army to come marching over the hill when this opened with militaristic drums. It caught on mind, I was humming it to myself by the end of the third episode. This is a competent opener that does everything that it needs to do without making great waves. Liv is back on Kaldor, we're introduced to her sister, she gets a job, embroiled in a mystery and it brings to light some strange goings on with the robots. I haven't explored the Kaldor City audios and so I can't really compare the two but the potential here comes from Nicola Walker and Claire Rushbrook; believable as sisters and actually driving stories because of their jobs as medics and technicians and the stress on the psychology of the robots and how they affect the people around them - which was the scariest aspect of The Robots of Death. The actual investigation here - the elderly medic murdering people by mistake and blaming it on a robot - is serviceable without ever being particularly riveting. Would it entice me to seek out more if I hadn't already bought the set? Doubtful, but it lays plenty of seeds invisibly that will be picked up later which means sticking with the series reaps rewards: 6/10 

The Sentient written by Robert Whitelock and directed by Ken Bentley 

Much better! This is exactly what I thought I would be going to get from a series called The Robots - freaky as fuck facsimile people behaving in an awkwardly naturalistic way. Vissey is a brilliant creation and played to perfection by Venice Van Someren. The early scenes of her role play sessions with Til are the creepiest of the year. She's played like a little girl, but she's capable of learning and adapting, of striking out, of taking control of situations and forcing conversations about class war and genocide. The fact that the voice is so saccharine is what makes her so frightening. There's a disconnect between how she sounds and how she is behaving and it is really uncomfortable to listen to. I loved the realisation of her scenes in the mediaweb too - chatting happily with other artificial lifeforms in the robot equivalent of social media. At first Liv & Tula feel a little surplus to requirements but they take on a very important role towards the end of the episode where they effectively have to save the whole city. That's where this falls apart for me; Vissey is uncomfortable to listen to those early scenes because she is so benign but once she becomes a super villain that wants to poison the entire population all subtlety is lost. A shame, I can see real potential in keeping her around and playing the long game with an sickly sweet AI that can learn and best it's creators. Props to Jaye Griffiths who does stellar work as Vissey's creator. There's an uncomfortable running theme of robots taking the place of human beings in peoples affections that will really come to fruition in the next episode. I was gripped for the first 30 minutes, less so for the climax. More like this please, I enjoy being put on edge like this: 8/10

Love Me Not written by John Dorney and directed by Ken Bentley 

What would you do if you lost your partner and somebody sent a ready made and reprogrammable robot round to help you with the grieving process? I think you know where I am going with this and instead of ending this set on a big, bold noisy Big Finish spectacular, John Dorney instead opts for a touching and intimate look at what you are capable of when you are grieving. I was constantly caught between thinking that Volar was very disturbed in indulging in his make believe home with his fake dead wife and asking myself if I would do anything different if I was in that situation. It's the sort of domestic affair that you can get into with a science fiction angle when you aren't stuck within the rules of Doctor Who and it plays out very convincingly. I really liked how Liv & Tula refused to pity him but instead peel away his layers of deception and try and help him. There's a soapy subplot about a possible affair between Skellen and Jadar that doesn't really go anywhere and it takes a long to get all the characters into Volar's house and exposing his make believe family but when you are there it is butt clenching time again as everybody plays along for a bit and you are waiting for somebody (anybody) to drop the bomb and say 'your dead wife is a robot!' I thought the interaction between the Chenka sisters was much punchier here too, benefitting from Dorney's ear for funny lines. The whole thing rounds off pretty quietly and I was wondering where the series goes from here after three relatively contained character pieces but there is a dangling carrot at the end as a familiar face from Robots of Death turns up to suggest that there is some mileage yet in the idea of sentient robots: 7/10

I went into this set wondering what it would have to offer me. I'm not too keen on Liv Chenka at the best of times - Walker is a great actress but is often given leaden characterisation in her Doctor Who stories - and a series about robots (it's what's on the tin!) rather than people wasn't going to grab my attention. What surprised me were the creepier scenes in this set that left me feeling weirded out because Big Finish is so neutered these days in it's everything through Cardiff that I didn't think it could get under my skin like this anymore. What I would like to see going forward is a better sense of Kaldor itself. Because of the nature of these stories we only really visit a few houses, a hospital and robot facilities and handful of characters. Kaldor was never seen in Robots of Death but it was painted with such vivid detail, far more detail than they manage here in three hours. I'm definitely up for more though. Despite my reservations, the robot characters are fantastic. And Walker is far more palatable divorced from Doctor Who. Go figure. 

The Star Beast written by Russell T. Davies and directed by Rachel Talalay

What's it About: Think Partners in Crime mixed with Journey's End with a massive dose of Doctor Who Weekly thrown in for good measure. It's a healthy reminder of when the show was the most popular thing in the media and the audience at homes minds before the show gets rolling in a brand new direction again...

Mockney Dude (Redux): The least controversial decision since bringing in David Tennant in the first place is bringing back David Tennant to give the series (and crucially fandom, which for whatever reason has split down the middle in terms of controversy and opinion) a settling feeling before Ncuti Gatwa (who shows enormous promise already) takes the keys. Did I for one second feel as though this was the fourteenth Doctor rather than the Tenth? Beyond one line questioning whether he says 'love' this time around, not at all. Was I happy to see him back given my heart was full to bursting whenever Jodie Whittaker was on the screen? Oh yes. Tennant is a proven talent and still my favourite new series Doctor and he waltzes back into the show with swagger and panache. As he turns up in a central London backstreet grinning away to familiar Murray Gold music, it felt like I was back in 2008 again. You know, the last time the show was on everybody's lips. It's like he has never been away, and if had any nerves about once again being asked to raise the shows profile you couldn't tell. 

The psychic paper still thinks the Doctor is a woman. He's clearly not forgotten his masterful handling of the law in The Stones of Blood and still carries that ridiculous wig around with him. I love how gentle he is with the Meep initially, nursing its hand and happy to help get it home. He's every inch the hero as he makes magic shields from his sonic screwdriver to help protect his friends. Tennant breezes through this story like he has never been away but it is during the emotional climax with Tate that he reminds us all why he is here and what he can do. He breaks his voice in such a way when he screams 'no you are not!' at Donna for calling herself nothing again. The Doctor has been living with the loss of his best friend for so long and he cannot bear to hear her say that she is worthless now they are back together. Russell being the bastard that he is forces the Doctor into the only possible situation that could break both of his hearts - he has to kill Donna in order to save London and 9 million people. 

Tempestuous Temp: When I was told that my favourite showrunner was back, I thought my luck was in. Then to discover David Tennant (my favourite Doctor) would be the incumbent of the TARDIS again I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Finally to discover that Catherine Tate, my single favourite companion of the new series and possibly beyond would be joining him I finally left all that British reserve behind and let the tears break. Series four was such a special time for me. A point in the show when it was in the zeitgeist in terms of popularity, quality and chemistry. Donna was a huge part of the equation and the run from The Unicorn and the Wasp through to Journey's End is still my personal favourite of any season of Doctor Who, classic or new. I had to pinch myself. Surely this could not be real? 

Of course Donna is still missing the alien incursions even when they are right under her nose. Donna doesn't see things in black and white (she's too complex for that) but she does see things in a sense of right and wrong. And it's right that she protects her daughter. So the conversation she has with Sylvia where she has easy answers about what she feels about her transitioning feels so natural. She loves Rose, she's gorgeous and she will do anything for her. It's a simple, loving response. She's happy with her life and her family but some nights she lies in her bed and wonders what it is she has lost. There is an absence of something. Tate delivers those lines with such aching emotion. I adore how she takes the screwdriver from the Doctor during a tense moment like it is the most natural thing in the world even though she doesn't remember that life. When we learn that Donna gave away all her money to help people who were living in fear I couldn't possibly love her any more. She says it was 'the sort of thing he would do' and we don't know if she is talking about the Doctor, her Dad or her Gramps but it works with any of them. Brilliantly, selflessly, Donna agrees to sacrifice herself for her daughter, her family and all the people she needs to save. She doesn't give it a second thought. The second our Donna is back the first thing on her mind is how she gave away her money. She's back! Her assertion that brining up her daughter is an adventure all of its own is fabulous. Donna is in the TARDIS for two minutes and she's already thrown coffee on the console. We're back. 

The Nobles: My single complaint about Yasmin Finney is that she is clearly older than the 15 year old she is playing but I have been watching 20 somethings play teens in my favourite programmes since the late 80s and if that means we get a nuanced performance instead of another member of the Brood then  happy days. How lovely that Donna has been living domestic bliss with a kind husband, a thawed out mother and a sweet daughter. What terrible accident has befallen Nerys? Shaun says the great love story is putting up with somebody as wonderful as Donna (with all her flaws) and not complaining about it. It's a brilliant re-imagining of Sylvia as somebody who has come to realise how special Donna is. She's so much gentler but still fiercely protective of her (the brilliant 'You!' when she realises the Doctor is about). You get the feeling that Sylvia has been deflecting every alien invasion since The Eleventh Hour so that Donna is protected. We think for one terrible moment that Wilf is dead in the Doctor Who universe and because we still reeling from Bernard Cribbins' death it hits hard...until Russell reverses that and we suddenly have the promise that we will see him in an upcoming special. 

Great Dialogue: 'Sometimes I have dreams about impossible things.' 

'Word of advice...you can wear a suit that tight up to the age of 35...and no further.' 

'That woman from Abu Dhabi who buys your stuff...she'd love that one.' 

'Nerys! Now it all makes sense. That viper in the nest! I'm not going anywhere. We could sell mad Paddington for a million quid!' 

'The eyes! That's solar psychedelia!' (What a brilliant idea) 

'No stun guns for me! Just die!' 

The Good: Sweeping heroic music in the way that only Murray Gold knows how, a purple haze of magic trailing from the TARDIS as it bursts through clouds of timelines and a sense of huge optimism in how expensive it all looks, the new title sequence is just gorgeous. I loved 13s for its atmosphere, sinister key drop and inky weirdness but this feels like it is making a statement that Doctor Who is punching its way into the consciousness of the Not We again. 

I mirror David Tennant's response to the news that they are adapting The Star Beast for television. Absolute shock that they have the nerve to take a comic strip from the 1980s and bring it to life in 2023. But then thinking it about it it has all the hallmarks of a Davies season opener. Light, silly ('The fat just walks away...'), comic book (Judoon platoon upon the Moon) and unforgettable (Auton invasion). Plus weaving the story of Beep the Meep landing on Earth with the return of Donna and her family means you have a healthy mix of madness and emotion and I cannot think of a better way to describe Russell's approach to Doctor Who. 

Go visit Camden Lock. It is a thriving market in the heart of London with the most gloriously eclectic collection of stalls, food stands and people. I hope featuring it in Doctor Who brings a hive of fans there. You'll walk through a range of humanity, wares and enticing food smells. It's one of my favourite places in England. 

Milson-Wagner steelworks!

There has been some appalling anti-Trans commentary online in the wake of this episode being released very often from the people you would expect it from but at times even from surprising corners. The very reason that the positive representation is needed is because of that kind of reaction. Russell is taking hold of something that certain people want belittled and removed and giving it a safe home in one of the biggest television platforms there is and he is normalising something that is perfectly natural for a younger audience. Identity and ownership of self is a personal choice and Russell makes Rose a gentle but strong character who is dealing with her own questions, loneliness, and abuse from the kids around her. Sylvia is vital someone who wants to get it right but sometimes fails and Donna is as she always was, burning with protection for people who are mistreated. It's tackled sensitively at first before becoming a dominant theme in the climax of the story, being threaded creatively and emotionally into the narrative. I don't have all the answers on this subject because it is not something that I completely understand as I have never been through it but I am of the opinion that this a personal journey for each individual, that nobody has the right to take a personal choice of identity from anybody and I am willing to be educated and explore the idea further. I think Russell is opening a door to that in a very constructive, optimistic way. Doctor Who has forged ahead politically for most of its life and I am pleased to see with Russell back at the helm it is time to tackle some of these issues again. I was so pleased he took this stand, and I know it is offering inclusivity (some people use that word as if it is dirty, it's not) and that can only be a good thing. Bravo.  

Beep the Meep. Wow. What a brilliant idea, and so wonderfully brought to the screen by all concerned. Doctor Who hasn't been water cooler chat in my world since series 4 and I'm pleased to say I've been hearing a buzz about Meep and its insidious ways since Saturday. It's leaning into the Gremlins vibe by taking this cute, innocuous creature (it's so Doctor Who that he literally squeals 'Meep Meep!') and turning it into the nastiest war criminal we have ever seen. The animatronics are extraordinary but it is how the actors behave around the puppet that brings it to life (I'm calling it the Farscape Effect) and Miriam Margoyles was the perfect choice to voice the Meep because she really captures that helpless sweetness in the creature until it unleashes its rage and fire and then she just goes to town with the madness. It's a huge success by all concerned; batshit crazy in the best Doctor Who way and utterly hilarious with it. This is the strongest indication that Doctor Who is for kids again after years and years of quite serious storytelling and this psychotic, cute as hell gonk from outer space is reaching out a hand to that portion of the audience again. Of course the is the definite article. 

More Shirley please. I have adored Ruth Madeley as Hebe in the Big Finish series Purity and she is just as confident here as Shirley, UNIT's latest scientific advisor. She's armed with wit and smarts, and a badass wheelchair too. I love the line about not making her the problem when the situation is at height. Her familiarity with the Doctor felt perfectly natural and I adored how she said 'off you pop to him  utterly confident in her ability to deal with the spaceship so he can go and sort his personal issues. The wave between them made me cheer. 

My favourite section of the episode was the scenes at night in the Noble house. Starting with Donna discovering the Meep in the shed ('What the hell!') to Sylvia trying desperately to deflect all the madness away from Donna, to the idea of a tuna Madras (gross!) to awesome action sequence as the Wrath Warriors turn up to claim the Meep. It's emotion, farce and action all mixed up in a heady brew. It's the best firefight we've seen in Doctor Who to date as Rachel Talalay shows her stuff sweeping down the road with pyrotechnics going off, cars flying, doors exploding, CGI warriors flying and animatronics crawling through attics. Throughout all of this madness Russell remembers to keep it funny and every single 'Meep Meep!' is perfectly timed and got a big laugh from me (the man sleeping as everybody creeps past on tiptoe - including the Meep - is the best visual gag on Doctor Who in years). It's this sort of set piece that I've missed. So much goes into this five minute sequence from the writing to the acting to the directing to the special effects. It's the showpiece for me. And a word for the Wrath design, which is very faithful to the original comic but just looks gorgeous on the screen. Russell is never afraid of putting weird aliens on the telly, and this bunch are unforgettably so. There's not mistaking the fact that you are watching Doctor Who. 

We haven't seen anything quite as absurd as the evil Meep raised high and baring its sinister teeth as its phallic rocket ship steams behind and its army of possessed soldiers cry 'Hail to the Meep!' I love this stupid show. The dagger drive is so ridiculous. I want more of this. 

The binary/non-binary ending is bound to be divisive because it carries with it the suggestion that Rose is trans because of her mother and the Doctor merging whereas that is obviously not the case for anybody else on this planet. It's a smart use of the metacrisis, it comes with the message of 'be yourself', it truly embraces the idea in this new era that the Doctor can be male or female (I think the Jodie detractors would hope that this would be swept aside) and brings all the elements together in a very clever conclusion. It's giving a science fiction spin on a real life experience and I think Doctor Who is a place that can cope with that. It also brings huge inclusivity to anybody who is experiencing transition, it's making the language positive to children and it is using television to spread the word that this is perfectly normal. Is it cheesy? You can't make these kinds of statements without a little bit of cheese. I like cheese. 

The new TARDIS interior is gobsmacking. A fusion of classic and new, huge, otherworldly and you can run around in it! I loved the atmospherics of Jodie's (I really don't mind dark) but this riff on the classic model (but with a huge budget) just feels right. The Doctor runs about in it because that is exactly what we want to do. 

The Bad: We've got all that Disney money (although I'm reliably informed that that isn't present until Gatwa shows up - which makes sense in terms of marketing the show - bring the classic/new series to an end and start again with Doctor Who Series 1)...so let's say Bad Wolf money (remember His Dark Materials?) and we open on a special effects shot that would embarrass Star Trek Voyager in the 90s and a catch up exposition dump that would make The TV Movie blush. After the astonishing visuals of Power of the Doctor I was very confused. I'm pleased this is 'bring Doctor Who to an end' trio of specials rather than a bold new start for the show because this is a very confusing and dictatorial way to do it. More to the point; who on Earth are the Doctor and Donna talking to? Us? Because that doesn't happen again in the episode so that makes this a very strange breaking of the fourth wall to kick us off. I wouldn't put it past Russell to be cheeky enough to think 'screw it, I've got to remind everybody of where we left these two characters and so let's just have them address everybody.' 

Poor old Fudge has been short changed in this version of the story. He had a much bigger role in the excellent Big Finish version, which is much more faithful to the original text. 

For the most part I love Murray Gold's music, but he isn't doing anything new with his music for The Star Beast. It feels exactly like series 4 again. It's like a big emotive, melodramatic fingerprint. We've been spoilt by some unique atmospherics in the previous regime. This is the only thing that feels like a step backwards to me. However Gold is too creative to get stuck in the past. I'm sure we will be seeing something bold and brilliant and new soon. And the weird orgasm breathing in the end title music is baffling. 

The message to let it go is a great one - although I know plenty of men who are capable of that too. 

Result: 'We've got a bloody Martian in the shed!' Utterly preposterous in all the best ways, The Star Beast is about as safe a bet as Russell T. Davies could have made whilst still being extremely confident in everything it is doing. Tennant, Tate, Sylvia, Beep the Meep, all tried and tested successes before and so it was a good chance that the audience would take them to heart again. There's two stories taking place here and both of them are great in very different ways. The story of Beep, the demented yet endearing Meep is a firm invitation for kids to start watching Doctor Who again and it manages to be in turns very sweet, utterly camp, surprising (if you don't know the origin story) and by the conclusion embracing the pantomimic. In short, all the things I love in Doctor Who. On the other hand you have Donna and Rose's story, which has the unfortunate task of having to pick up 15 year old plot threads and remind the audience of them but once that is done it runs with a character piece that explores identity, claiming yourself (both Donna and Rose do by the end of the story) and letting go. Russell imbues the script with the sort of heart only he can bring to Doctor Who and any shortcomings in the story (the pacing is a little hit and miss at times) can be ridden over with just how much this gave me the feels. And how funny it is too. I haven't laughed this much at a story in years and years (the sense of humour with the previous two showrunners just doesn't chime with me in the same way). I think this is Russell easing the audience back into his vision for the show in a very adept fashion and for anybody that thinks this is a step backwards to 2008 it is worth remembering that that was the last time the show was massively popular and so a healthy reminder of that is no bad thing. But there is no way that this sort of heartfelt fluff is all we are getting and once this introduction is out of the way the weird and the scary and the innovative will come. I watched this twice in one night and thoroughly enjoyed myself both times. Bringing back Rachel Talalay to direct what is essentially a light season opener was a stroke of genius and she ensures that all the set pieces look magnificent. I wouldn't want Doctor Who to be as slight or as message driven as this every week, but I feel as a mission statement for the series getting on a firmer footing with the general audience this had all the right moves. And for it's inclusive message, this is a vital piece of the shows history. The Beepest of all the Meepest Doctor Whos: 8/10 

Survivors Series 02

Welcome back to the Company's most adult and terrifying series as we embark on the second series of Survivors. After the meteoric success of the first year that managed to not only capture the fatalism and despair of the TV series but also transfer it to audio and make it sophisticated in a whole new way is there any way they can replicate that kind of triumph in series two? The answer is yes and no, because what you get is pretty much more of the same but it manages to continue to be just as well written, acted and executed with just as many disturbing moments and a feeling of disquiet that simply isn't there with other ranges. It appears there is a scattershot approach to the storytelling this time around (where the first set very much felt like a continuing story) but by the time you get to the last story it is tying up elements that were introduced in the first and it does feel like a coherent story. The cleverest part of this is episodes two and three which tell different stories at the same time and feature all the female characters in one story and all the male in the other and explores the different kinds of stories you can tell with a certain gender at the helm. 

Dark Rain by Ken Bentley kicks off the set in suitably intense style and features the two strongest of the original characters, Jackie (Louise Jameson) and Daniel (John Banks) having to fight for their lives and being rattled by the experience. It's a great way to catch up with the characters and remind us what their fears and motivations are and this is effectively one of those submarine stories where the water rises up around their waists and the characters no that they are going to die. Jameson and Banks deserve massive kudos for the work they do here, I have seen this situation played out loads of times before but never quite as raw and as real as it feels here. We spend a nice amount of time with our regulars from the TV series too, and this box set really integrates both extremely well (without ever going back to The Grange because the TV series is currently occurring there) and the search for Abby's son Peter is the focus, and Jenny, who is pregnant with Greg's baby. The most shocking moment in this story was Jackie's confession about her children and how she feels she doesn't deserve to die. I think she is the most uncomfortable character to be around because she is so kind and gentle and yet is clearly suffering from PTSD in a massive way. 

Mother's Courage by Louise Jameson is a lot of peoples favourite from the set and I can see why because it takes a very simple idea (what would happen if there was a refuge run completely by women in a post apocalyptic world) and forces our characters to face the consequences of that. I was hard on the Eighth of March set and this story goes someway to explaining why because it is a much more mature celebration of women working in Big Finish; a smart script, hard hitting themes of motherhood, friendship and female strength and terrific performances from the actresses involved. My two complaints about this story are that the idea of a community that rejects men to such an extent that it would kill Jenny's child if it was a son isn't taken quite far enough (I almost wish that the pregnancy was further along so she did have the baby and we could have all the suspense of what the sex is) and so this is all talk and no action. But also that this is very similar to the story that played out last year with our heroes stuck in a twisted community that could offer them salvation if they leave their morality to one side. However, the reactions of all the characters to this set up is excellent, the dialogue is frequently hard hitting and Jenny and Abby really come off brilliantly in this, as strong as they ever were on TV. It somehow manages to be a celebration of men and everything they bring to society, and a firm reminder of their evils too. Thoughtful stuff. 

My personal favourite of the year was The Hunted by Ken Bentley and that seems to be for all the reasons that other people didn't like it so much. It has a thin plot - the men of the group are hunted out in the woods by a wild animal and meet up with a hunter who can help them track it down - but it soon becomes the equivalent of a horror movie as it transpires a group of survivors are taking advantage of the hunt and posing as animals in the dark to murder people. This really scared me (my other half can attest to that who had to hold my hand for the whole second half) as the boys face the laughter and mockery of murderers out there in the dark. There's a beautiful conversation between Tim Treloar's Russell and Daniel that leads to a horrific murder scene and from that point on it plays out like the horror movie Them with a life or death struggle. I genuinely was uncertain if our regulars would get out of this, even though I knew Greg couldn't be killed. The idea that people might take advantage of the collapse of society and the absence of rules to play with people and kill them really struck a chord with me. I really appreciated Ken Bentley's use of sound in the direction, and how he trusted the audience to keep up with the action without having to explain what is going on in awkward dialogue. It means you are there in this situation with Greg and Daniel, and the threat is all around you. Bernard Holley's voice is unforgettable, and he will get a bigger role in the next story. I can't remember a Big Finish that put me through the wringer more than this in quite some time. 

Savages by Matt Fitton brings this set to a close and is probably the biggest endorsement of the 'not suitable for children' tag that this range gets on the Big Finish website. Before I say the few things that let this down I want to say this is a strong conclusion to the set, once again featuring set pieces that set me on edge, brilliant performances and some character conclusions (Daniel finally makes a choice that crosses a line and Molly's attempted suicide is understandable, inevitable and very dramatic) that will need dealing with in the future. What made the murderers so scary in the last story was that they seemed to be enjoying themselves and the fact that there was nobody to stop them. Fitton (probably wisely) gives George Ridley a motive for why he has turned to cannibalism and because it was an act of desperation that has become a need makes him much less frightening. I can't say I felt empathy for the man (he's played a little broadly like a villain too) but his backstory, and giving him a murderer pal who does all the dirty work before he gets the pots boiling takes the edge of the violent chaos of the promise of these monstrous characters. I got strong Countrycide vibes from Torchwood, and this plays out in as vicious and unpleasant a manner. You actually hear characters eating human flesh so prepare yourselves for that. Also, the ending where both the killer and the butcher are killed means the series gets to duck away from the riveting question of what to do with these people in a society with no rules. We could have had our audio equivalent of Law and Order. 

I might have more complaints than the previous set but the standard is still very high. Big Finish has caught something very dramatic and vivid with this series. I'm in awe of the convincing performances and sound design. It makes me weep that I have head back to silly old Doctor Who at some point. This is real audio drama: 8/10 

Survivors - Series 01

Result: A plausibly real and graphic series depicting the take down of the human race by a virus that ravages the world and murders a huge chunk of the population. That absolutely should resonate with the bulk of the population of this planet. Of course this first series was pre-pandemic, which makes it chillingly aware of where things are going and just how disturbing things could have ended up. Terry Nation often had his finger on the pulse. There is an air of disquiet throughout this releases that automatically elevates it above the majority of Big Finish's other ranges, a sense that this could actually happen. That the desperation of the human race to behave in appalling ways if the basic structure of society and law and order fell apart is chillingly accurate. The tension is palpable. Especially in first episode, Revelation by Matt Fitton, which is essentially a remake of the original pilot of TV series but introduces us to a whole new set of regulars (and brilliantly, not ALL the regulars, which means people come and go in these pockets of survivors, just as would happen in real life) and people still have a sense of hope that this illness will sweep through the population and life can be resumed once it has done its work. We know where this is heading and that life will never be the same again and so much of the tension is waiting for the other characters to catch up. There's a swift pace to this episodes, the deaths of the characters friends and family comes fairly rapidly and whilst it is contained to England there is still a real sense of spread to the setting. There is definitely a sense of don't get too close to anybody because if the sickness doesn't get them, the human beings exploiting it will. Chase Masterson and Terry Molloy make the strongest impression here, trapped in an airport with the sick and trying to figure out the scale of the situation. 

Exodus by Jonathan Morris ups the ante considerably in turns of character drama and doesn't have the purpose of introducing the concept of the series and can just show people reacting to the situation they have found themselves in. I thought it was the strongest of the four, and the one that truly revealed the depths of horror and emotion of the scenario that goes above and beyond the norm of BF's Doctor Who releases. Jackie Burchall is memorably introduced caring for her family (who we never hear talk) and I was just waiting for the moment when the episode told us that her husband and children are already dead and there was a frightening inevitability to that expectation. Louise Jameson's raw and devastated reaction to hearing the words said aloud is something that you will never forget. She's the strongest of an incredible cast that has bought into the reality of this horror completely. The twist later that she killed them herself to spare them from the plague and committed suicide never expecting to wake up is bleak in a way that Terry Nation excelled at. It feels like a very real reaction to a horrible situation, but is shocking operatic drama at the same time. I had goose bumps. Two characters that you think might be regulars are wiped out here too, as a community that has risen up out of the nightmare and is prepared to go to any lengths to ensure that their way of life isn't threatened. Having our heroes find salvation only to have it snatched away as they realise that a new kind of terrifying martial law a hold of this community with a chilling figure at its core, James Gillison, who will go to any lengths to keep control and things working his way. As two characters that we thought were regulars are shot in the back and one barely gets away with her life you realise that nobody is safe anymore. This is the most overtly scary instalment. I genuinely feared for the characters lives. 

Gillison gets real focus in Judges by Andrew Smith, a drama that brings characters from the TV series into the fold. He's astonishingly played by Adrian Lukis, who gives him a sense of moral righteousness and true belief that he is right to behave in the way that he is. I absolutely believe that this kind of egomaniac would seize control if this scenario played out, that somebody would wind a community around their finger and murder anybody that threatened to even doubt it let alone act out against it. The communities in England are exchanging food and Gillison suspects that the group they are trading with are trying to poison them and thus begins as tense sequence where he goes to trade with a plan to wipe them all out. The Survivors need to try and warn them and a plan is hatched to try and stop the raid. Just who reveals to Gillison what they are planning might surprise you. It shows that this show isn't going to take the easy route. The raid takes place and lots of people die and I realised this wasn't Doctor Who territory where things tend to end well. I thought this was the weakest of the four - it wasn't setting up the story, it didn't have any overtly interesting character work (although this does flesh out Gillison more) and it doesn't have the claustrophobia of the finale - but it is still a brilliant listen. Let that be an endorsement of how good the set is as a whole. This also where they successfully integrate the new audio characters with the TV ones and it feels like a perfectly natural fit. I'm pleased they left it this long to allow the original characters to bed in. 

Things come to a head in Esther by John Dorney, where the Survivors (both old and new) are trapped within Gillison's community and facing execution. Essentially this is an hour of this nightmare within a nightmare and it looks like nobody is going to get out alive. Gillison is willing to go without a fight and I really liked how the series refused to salvage the character, whilst it still gave him a motivation for why he was behaving so appallingly. Sometimes people have gone too far and they cannot be brought back to edge. 

There's something palpably exciting about a first series that gets things as right as this that means that that excitement can never quite be captured again and Survivors starts on such a strong and unforgettable series of stories I cannot see how they will top this for sheer drama in the future. Ken Bentley deserves huge kudos for his bravura direction of this piece. He has executed so many Doctor Who's at this point that he understands the medium completely but this is a cut above even his very best work elsewhere. There's a conviction to the sound design, a willingness to deliver this in as a real a fashion as possible with minimal (and well chosen) music and a willingness to cast outside of the box. Chase Masterson shows know signs of Vienna as Maddie Price, Louise Jameson couldn't be further from Leela as the tortured Jackie Burchall but the standout turn for me was Adrian Lukis, who injects Gillison with real steel and believability. That could have been a ranting villain role and he is chillingly real. 

Bravo to everybody concerned, this is brave in a way I haven't seen from Big Finish in years: 9/10 (8/10, 10/10, 7/10, 9/10 respectively)