The Lost Stories (So far...)

The Nightmare Fair: After listening to The Nightmare Fair I am in two minds about the Lost Stories. On the one hand I want them to be as authentic as possible so it feels like we are literally skipping into season 23b but on the other hand I want them to be as slick and as confident as Big Finish’s usual output. Graeme Williams story opens on a great location and genuinely innovates the Toymaker with an unforgettable, unexpectedly affecting conclusion but much of what comes between is quiet, talky and unmemorable. The performances of Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant feel totally authentic and David Baillie steps into Michael Gough’s shoes effortlessly and the production is the usual high standards. I’m not sure what to make of this story to be honest, I enjoyed it for nostalgic reasons but I don’t think it stands up to the best of Big Finish’s usual output: 6/10

Full Review Here: http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.com/2011/02/nightmare-fair-written-by-graeme.html
Buy it from Big Finish here: http://www.bigfinish.com/101-Doctor-Who-The-Nightmare-Fair

Mission to Magnus: Wordy, clichéd, silly and stupid…who gives a shit? This story is an absolute laugh riot! Lisa Bowerman directs Mission to Magnus with a lightness of touch which ensures it is a very smooth ride and extremely reminiscent of the confidence of the Williams era. Fresh performances, funny lines, insane levels of inventiveness (oh right you can handle a time travelling police box but knocking a planet out of orbit is just ridiculous!), lots of great monsters and a general sense of crazy exuberance make this an incredibly fun slice of hokum. The story turns on its axis at the cliffhanger and becomes something quite different in the second episode ensuring the story keeps delivering. Turn off your critical faculties, this feels astonishingly authentic as though it has literally stepped from the mid eighties and should be thoroughly enjoyed as a lively and delightful breath of the past: 8/10

Full Review Here: http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.com/2011/02/mission-to-magnus-written-by-philip.html
Buy it from Big Finish here: http://www.bigfinish.com/102-Doctor-Who-Mission-to-Magnus

Leviathan: Now that is more like it! Leviathan is a magical little script that keeps peeling away layers of meaning as it progresses. The first episode is full of great mysteries and pleasingly turns out to be one big con and you would think that after the big reveal of the Leviathan it might rest on its laurels but the story continues to innovate until its conclusion. The Doctor has a multitude of problems to juggle up and as a result he is more incredible than ever for not breaking a sweat and even Peri gets lots to do. Its written and directed as though it could have been made at the time but unlike the first two stories it would also stand up remarkably well today, a pacy, intelligent, thoughtful story with more than enough going on to keep you thinking throughout. Extremely impressive: 9/10

Full Review Here: http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.com/2011/02/leviathan-written-by-brian-finch-and.html
Buy it from Big Finish here: http://www.bigfinish.com/103-Doctor-Who-Leviathan

The Hollows of Time: Utterly inexplicable, here you have a story with a mysterious villain who dish up some indecipherable technobabble for unknown motives! The Hollows of Time starts off well with an intriguing flashback structure, the Doctor and Peri going on holiday and promises of some Tractator action and then singularly fails to do anything interesting with all three. This isn’t a piece of drama where the plot services the characters and we go on journey with them, it’s a science lecture where the characters are sacrificed to the nonsensical, illogical plot. It’s a pity because the direction is evocative and the performances are very good but I have rarely heard an audio where the script has singularly destroyed any chance of enjoyment. This was a real shock to me because I adore Castrovalva and Frontios but The Hollows of Time is singularly Bidmead’s worst ever script (I even preferred Renaissance) and one of the most turgid excuses for a story in Doctor Who canon: 3/10

Full Review Here: http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.com/2011/02/hollows-of-time-written-by-christopher.html
Buy it from Big Finish here: http://www.bigfinish.com/104-Doctor-Who-The-Hollows-of-Time

Paradise Five: Another impressive entry in the lost stories season, if we had had a season with stories like Leviathan and Paradise Five we would have been declaring the mid eighties as the renaissance of Doctor Who! This is a quietly menacing story that keeps the mystery of the Paradise Machine and what has happened to the previous guests at arms length leaving you desperate to know what has happened. The Doctor is more playfully commanding than ever and Peri gets the chance to take centre stage and question her direction in life, in both cases it is gorgeous characterisation. It takes the unusual approach of keeping the anonymity of the high dimensions warfare and concludes with no easy answers for the cherubs and in both cases it is highly effective and thoughtful. PJ Hammond’s ideas are top notch, Andy Lane’s scripting is witty and perspicacious and Barnaby Edwards’ provides his usual stellar direction. A special mention for Gabriel and Michael; beautifully played gay villains who top the ‘I wish they could return’ list: 9/10

Full Review Here: http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.com/2011/02/paradise-five-written-by-andy-lane-from.html
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Point of Entry: Wow. Astonishingly mature storytelling and the pinnacle of the lost stories season; Point of Entry combines theatrics and devilry to create an unsettling, dark mood with moments of genuinely chilling horror. This is the story of Marlowe bewitched by the Devil, looking for a sinister muse to shape Faustus and bringing an alien menace to fruition that is laced into Earth’s bloody history. Marc Platt has written his best script yet, an ominous historical atmosphere of storms, screams and sacrifices and John Ainsworth direction offers moments of spine chilling terror. Barbara Clegg’s pitch was the perfect change of scene for this science fiction heavy season and gives Peri her best material yet. People have bemoaned that this story is too long but I wouldn’t lose one second of its brooding piquancy: 10/10

Full Review Here: http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.com/2011/02/point-of-entry-written-by-marc-platt.html
Buy it from Big Finish here: http://www.bigfinish.com/106-Doctor-Who-Point-of-Entry

The Song of Megaptera: Not quite as strong as the last two but a fine story nevertheless, The Song of Megaptera plants the Doctor and Peri in a desperate situation from the first scene and explores the nature of the Galeen and their industry with considerable panache. There are some amusing characters to keep the story ticking over and an awesome shift in location inside the whale halfway through the story. The Galeen are one of the most imaginative races we have encountered yet and it is wonderful that we got to see them televised last year. Coming after the subtle and terrifying Point of Entry this is a complete change of pace, lacking the atmosphere but far more exciting and considering the gestation period this story has had it is astonishing that the end result is this entertaining and thought provoking. It’s a story that sees the Doctor and Peri at their best and proves they are made for each other, and the show: 8/10

Full Review Here: http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.com/2011/02/song-of-megaptera-written-by-pat-mills.html
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The Macros: Listening to extras on this story it is really disappointing to hear that The Children of January was originally supposed to end this run because it would have made a far more impressive job of it! Much like the first season of Jago & Litefoot this is a disappointingly unclimactic ending to what has been a fantastic season of stories. What we have here is two disjointed plots that are brought together without finesse with the emphasis on the least interesting (the events on Capron). Irritatingly the story keeps offering potentially interesting avenues (heading to a micro world, the sailors returning from he dead, the Doctor and Peri trying to stop the experiment) but fails to follow up on them and all roads lead back to Osloo who is one of the most useless characters to ever turn up in a Big Finish story. She’s every crackpot villain the show has ever produced, every corny line, all the lack of motivation and craving power for its own sakes we have been subjected to over the years mushed into one cringeworthy, empty baddie. There are some lovely directional touches, the music is fine but the tension is sorely lacking in this uncomfortably plotted and ill-characterised finale: 4/10

Full Review Here: http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.com/2011/02/macros-written-by-ingrid-pitt-tony.html
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Farewell Great Macedon: A great loss to the TV series but a huge gain to The Lost Stories range, Farewell Great Macedon is a stunning six-part epic that only the format less Hartnell era would attempt. Like Marco Polo the story takes place on an impress canvas with months passing during the episodes and visiting some extraordinarily vivid locations. A huge round of applause should go to William Russell, Carole Ann Ford and John Dorney without whom this blistering tale would not be brought to life so vigorously and the mixture of narrators (I especially love how scenes are cut up dramatically with different voices) makes this a heady, memorable experience. I just happen to find the Hartnell historicals the pinnacle of Doctor Who’s televised achievements so this feels as though it has been made specifically for my tastes. The regulars are treated to some great material, the Doctor is grumpy, morally ambiguous and gets the wonderful sequence of walking on hot coals, Barbara enthuses about being able to experience history and enjoys a strong and affecting relationship with Alexander, Ian is the picture of bravery and protects his friends to the nth degree and Susan emotes like an emotional firework. Lisa Bowerman has been one of the standout directors to have emerged from Big Finish in the past few years (A Thousand Tiny Wings, Jago & Litefoot) but her work on this story is nothing short of masterful. She extracts all the sensuality and emotion from the script and encourages the blissful performances of the cast. Her work should be recognised for its incredible consistency and quality. Honestly at some points during this story you will think you are listening to a wiped story recording, that’s how authentic it feels: 10/10

Full Review Here: http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.com/2011/06/farewell-great-macedon-written-by-moris.htmlat-macedon-written-by-moris.html
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The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance: Whereas Farewell Great Macedon felt like a genuine Hartnell historical with a few continuity tweaks that would have been ironed out, Fragrance is a much more interesting proposition as a lost story because it explores on the idea that the TARDIS is a machine that was built by the Doctor which was never suggested in the series. However whereas Macedon was a sprawling epic of sensuality and character, Fragrance handles its powerful ideas with a brisk naiveté and doesn’t feel as if we are around long enough to get a good grasp on either the planet or Barbara’s romance. As a fascinating peek in on another take on the series it is priceless and well worth a listen and it would have made a far more intriguing pause in the action between the historical and science fiction epics than The Edge of Destruction. The ending is very bold and sees Barbara make an impossible decision and has it selfishly snatched away from her by the Doctor: 7/10

Full Review Here: http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.com/2011/06/fragile-yellow-arc-of-fragrance-written.html
Buy it from Big Finish here: http://www.bigfinish.com/201-Doctor-Who-The-First-Doctor-Box-Set

The Prison in Space: Absolute camp nonsense that long outstays its welcome, The Prison in Space is an appallingly fun piece of old tat that thankfully was scrapped before it made it to the screen to save us from such sexist, unintelligent drivel. What a shame that having the sparkling team of Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury on board is scuppered by the fact that there wasn’t a more interesting story for them to bring to life but by their very inclusion there is something substantial to make this worth listening to. Its sporadically funny but more often naively offensive and can be enjoyed as b-movie Who in the same way as The Underwater Menace. As with Mission to Magnus I think it was very brave to record something that has so much material that can pointed and laughed at and whilst I preferred the sixth Doctor Ice Warrior epic for simply being so outrageously bonkers (and similarly sexist!) there is a certain adolescent charm to this piece that meant whilst I was shaking my head with despair at the material I was also intrigued to see if it could plummet to new depths which it often managed to do. With its overtly sexist messages, wealth of escape/capture moments and agonisingly linear storytelling I’m surprised Terrance Dicks didn’t fight to get this one made! It’s a whole lot of rubbish but kind of engaging because of it and the story is elevated by some priceless Doctor/Jamie interaction, gaining a whole extra point because of it and raising it just slightly above average: 6/10

Full Review Here: http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.com/2011/06/prison-in-space-written-by-dick.htmlce-written-by-dick.html
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The Destroyers: Regardless of Sara Kingdom’s involvement, The Destroyers channels the gripping and insidious atmosphere of the 13 part Dalek epic that thrilled audiences in season three. What I love about this piece is that the homicidal pepperpots hardly appear and they are given so much unnerving build up you are literally gagging for them to make an appearance by the end. Astonishing how much menace they can create by their absence. It might be far shorter than The Prison in Space but the sound design and music are both far superior and this story comes to life with a you are there ambience that the Troughton farce can only look on at in the distance enviously. Jean Marsh as Sara Kingdom, kick ass Daleks and lashings of danger and atmosphere…how did America turn this down? Okay so there isn’t a great deal of character work involved but that’s not why we’re here…its main purpose is to kick start a series that will rock on and get people to want to come back next week which it achieves superbly. It’s a big, bold punch of sixties Dalekmania that got me insanely excited at places and I love it to pieces: 9/10

Full Review Here: http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.com/2011/06/destroyers-written-by-terry-nation.html
Buy it from Big Finish here: http://www.bigfinish.com/202-Doctor-Who-The-Second-Doctor-Box-Set

Thin Ice: Wow, that was…boring. There are many criticisms I would happily level at the McCoy era from being crass, middle class, badly plotted and cheap to name a few and also having a Doctor that only just earns his merits on the fact that half the time his performances are diabolical but I would never, ever say it was dull. Not even Silver Nemesis which is about as bad as Doctor Who gets. I was really looking forward to Thin Ice because Marc Platt’s Ghost Light is my favourite McCoy story but this Russian Martian drama lacks his debut stories atmosphere, scares or intelligence and feels bloated well beyond its ability to entertain. Ken Bentley’s usually stellar direction falls way short of the mark, the story is timidly brought to life and inexplicably lacks the bang-for-your-buck feel of the era it is trying to evoke. The regulars get little chance to shine until the last episode and the decision to keep Ace on caused more fireworks than relief and makes the whole subplot feel strangely irrelevant. After Platt’s unforgettably evocative Point of Entry this was a huge disappointment and had the 27th season opened on this note then like Battlefield cancellation might still have come a’ calling: 2/10

Full Review Here: http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.com/2011/06/thin-ice-written-by-marc-platt-and.htmlitten-by-marc-platt-and.html
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Crime of the Century: Lets get the good stuff out of the way; the introduction of Raine and her superb interaction with the Doctor. Beth Chalmers makes an instantly likable impression and has some very enjoyable scenes with McCoy which offers hope for future releases. And now for the bad; everything else. Much like Thin Ice, Crime of the Century seems to mistake a change of location for plot progression and once the introduction of Raine is out of the way the (barely registering) narrative crawls at a snails pace. The much discussed continuation of Ace’s storyline hampers the story to the nth degree (Raine literally vanishes for a good twenty five minutes in her introductory story to make way for more plodding Ace material), the guest characters are all dull stereotypes (without any memorable dialogue) and once again the piece lacks any kind of atmosphere (let down once again by an appalling musical score). Where is all the energy and madness of the McCoy era? Even the worst televised stories were imbued with a great deal of life but these two releases have a moribund mood that fails to capture the zest a dying but ever improving programme had in its last three years. Much like his novels Cartmel’s grasp of plotting is dreadful (although he cannot be criticised too much for that because this story doesn’t have a plot) and he usually has much more success at individual moments that stick in the mind but I can’t say that this was his most inspiring set of ideas either. I had to force myself to concentrate and finish this story because I was starting to drift in the third episode – but what I found most irritating is that beyond the first episode you would be hard pressed to find any substantial difference between this story and Thin Ice (an awkwardly realised foreign location, the Martian artefacts, deals between aliens and humans, the honour bound aliens, etc). Animal needs to be better than this because Raine aside, this was deathly dull: 4/10

Full Review Here: http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.com/2011/06/crime-of-century-written-by-andrew.html
Buy it from Big Finish here: http://www.bigfinish.com/204-Doctor-Who--Crime-of-the-Century

Animal: It’s The Seeds of Doom (with a dash of The Green Death politics) for the McCoy era with the Krynoids (in all but name) running rampage around a university campus. The in-yer-face tone and pace of Animal reeks of the McCoy era so lets chalk this up as a minor miracle – a story that successfully captures the noise and bluster of the late eighties! The return of Brigadier Bambera is fun and although I found Bruce’s performance a little stiff the character is supposed to be a military stuff shirt so I guess that (kind of) fits. The plot is painfully linear and doesn’t hold too many surprises and despite the first episode suggesting this is going to be something quite modern it actually winds up traditional with no great innovations. Anybody expecting the audio take on the Andrew Cartmel New Adventure Warlock will be bitterly disappointed, this is like the castrated Disney version of that book which sees the peace loving aliens wanting to free all the ickle wickle cute animals from the laboratories and gobble them up. Animal isn’t the strongest Lost Story by a long chalk, there isn’t ever a sense of threat and the ending is crushingly predictable but it is mildly entertaining for the most part and after the last two stories I will happily take that: 6/10

Full Review Here: http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.com/2011/06/animal-written-by-andrew-cartmel-and.html
Buy it from Big Finish here: http://www.bigfinish.com/205-Doctor-Who-Animal

Earth Aid: What was the point of keeping Ace on if she is going to be made to look this stupid? What is the point of a Star Trek parody when there are a hundred million better premises to start with? What is the point of introducing a new companion and wasting her so thoroughly? What the hell is the point of this season? Unbelievably three of the strongest Doctor Who writers have put their heads together and created an abomination of a season and this finale seals its fate. Its not just that the comedy isn’t funny (its more like name calling and finger pointing) or that once again the guest cast fail to rouse any interest (the only I can remember is Yanikov whose character was made up of pointing out Ace’s mistakes over and over and over and over…) or that the story takes an age to get anywhere and when it does eventually develop its doesn’t have an interesting bone to its body – its that they thought that this camp sliver of old toot would have been in anyway acceptable as a season finale. I feel sorry for Beth Chalmers who hasn’t been given a chance as Raine – I desperately hope she returns in some form (without Ace) and gets the opportunity to shine otherwise her entire run as a companion is to be shoved to the sidelines. This isn’t just a bad Doctor Who story, it’s a bad Star Trek episode as well and that is a sentence I thought I would never write. The one good thing about Earth Aid is that it has been directed with some energy (not something you could accuse Thin Ice and Century ). Survival was a sensual and atmospheric treat to close the classic series on but if Earth Aid had led to cancellation and it would have been so embarrassing: 2/10

Full Review Here: http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.com/2011/07/earth-aid-written-by-ben-aaronovitch.html
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The Elite: An excellent script that is recorded as though it is a missing 80s soundtrack that is lacking the pictures, this fulfils the remit of The Lost Stories range by giving the listener a massive dose of nostalgia and also a bloody good story. Because it starts like an archetypal Doctor Who story (TARDIS going wibbly, landing in a war zone) I thought I knew exactly how it is going to develop but it twists and turns with alarming frequency until I reached the end of episode three and was gasping with tension and had no clue how this could end (except bloodily). It’s a shame that Nyssa is sidelined so much but both the Doctor and Tegan get some fantastic material with the former allowed to unleash some real anger and the latter being the voice of common sense which is lovely because it is usually the other way round. None of the guest characters are especially memorable but they fulfil their functions in the plot well and dance around the High Priest who is pulling their strings and all the performances are energetic. The last episode reminded me of the latter parts of Inferno, incredibly fatalistic and too much for the Doctor to handle which makes his solution all the more impressive. If this story had aired as it is presented here (and production wise it wouldn’t be far off because this really is authentic 80s Who) it would be considered a minor classic. The best Davison story for ages: 8/10
Full Review Here: http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.com/2011/10/elite-written-by-barbara-clegg-and-john.html
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Hexagora: A weak story with little to recommend it beyond the glorious Jacqueline Pearce returning for another appearance in Doctor Who. Beyond that Hexagora is dreadfully dull and fighting against the unconventional storytelling of season 20 manages to be one of the most predictable, archetypal Doctor Who audios complete with a colonised race under threat, human being kidnapped by aliens and Tegan’s personal life suffering another blow. Beyond the conventional storytelling and unconvincing dialogue there is a real issue with pacing too with the music trying to suggest (in a very cod synthesised way) moments of tranquillity with the odd meaningless flash of jeopardy thrown in to try and keep things interesting. The characters fail to come to life and speak the most godawful melodrama and the regulars fulfil their functions but never stretch beyond them (the Doctor is passive, Tegan gets grumpy and Nyssa is trying to keep the peace). Its not the worst Lost Story that has been released (nothing could quite sink lower than the McCoy tetrology) and there is a basic competence to everything that unfolds in this story but it never rises to a level that I would even call average. Its one of those Doctor Who stories that is just sort of there, doing what’s been done before but not as well and we should be thankful that the TV series dodged the bullet with this one: 4/10

Full Review Here: http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/hexagora-written-by-paul-finch-from.html
Buy it from Big Finish here: http://bigfinish.com/releases/v/doctor-who-hexagora-414

The Children of Seth: Not your typical Big Finish story, The Children of Seth will probably take you two or three listens to fully understand it and appreciate all of its riches. Like Kinda and Snakedance the scripts are extremely wordy, full of juicy dialogue, excellent world building and intriguing characters. As an audio experience this is far more denser than we are used to, rather than an action adventure this is an exploration of ideas and concepts in a very mythical way but like Bailey’s TV stories if you are willing to put the effort in and look at its roots you will get a lot out of it. The main difference between this and the other Lost Stories is that it is that creates worlds out of ideas rather than visuals and as such it is most like classic Doctor on television that I recognise. Ken Bentley deserves a lot of credit for making this marbled story come to life so hypnotically, the actors are extremely good (any story being played by actors with the calibre of Honor Blackman and David Warner deserves your attention) and there is a real pace and momentum to the piece, aided no end by Yason and Fox’s blissful musical score. Whilst there are some nice moments for Tegan and Nyssa it’s a story that puts the Doctor centre stage which is a relief because since his TARDIS became overcrowded in the main range again the fifth Doctor has felt a little sidelined. Here Davison gets the chance to take centre stage again and engage with some truly bizarre science fiction concepts. On a basic level this is Doctor Who exploring a society and sifting through its layers until it exposes the rotten core at its heart but with Marc Platt fleshing out the characters and the culture it is much more than that. The scant explanations and sophisticated layering might leave you a little bemused but take care unwrapping this one and you might be surprised at what lies inside. Beguiling: 9/10

Full Review Here: http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/children-of-seth-written-by-marc-platt.html
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The Foe From the Future: Hugely enjoyable and perhaps a victim of its own success, The Foe From the Future captures the era it is set in so well and received such rave reviews that it is almost squarely responsible for the two, ultra traditional and often mundane, seasons of 4DAs that followed. I realise it is unfair to start a review of a story this enjoyable by casting aspersions on it’s accomplishment, but the truth is this is the template for what follows but nothing can quite match it’s piquancy. John Dorney is one of Big Finish’s star writers and rarely puts a foot wrong and when it comes to authentically capturing a era this could be his greatest achievement to date. There is a giddy thrill at the very idea of bringing Tom Baker and Louise Jameson back together that imbues this entire production with a touch of magic and coupled with Dorney’s witty, adventurous script it is enough to leave you beaming like a madman. This comes in at almost three hours worth of listening but it passes by like a dream, Banks-Stewart has penned a story that consistently innovates and surprises and Dorney ensures that the interaction between all the characters is witty and wonderful. Because I enjoy more complicated, radical stories this isn’t the sort of nostalgic tale I would want to hear week in, week out but as a one-off kiss to the past there really is no finer example. What delights especially is how you can see precisely how this could have been filmed had it been made back in 1977, there are no concessions made to the fact that this is an audio rather than a television production and it exchanges budget for imagination and humour to intoxicating effect. Had I listened to The Foe from the Future first instead of Destination Nerva I think my approach to the Tom Baker released might have been very different indeed. The Foe from the Future is a rare thing indeed, one of those much vaunted stories that deserves all the plaudits that are thrown at it. Stop what you are doing, stick it on and get whisked back to a time when Doctor Who was the most glorious television on the box: 10/10

Full Review Here: http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/the-foe-from-future-written-by-john.html
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The Guardians of Prophecy: ‘From what I recall from the legends they say that when Mallador ruled Serenity it was as if a great shadow was cast over the land. A world in perpetual darkness! A pandemonium of madness, cruelty and endless suffering…’ This is my kind of Lost Story! Its not only a faithful recreation of its era with effortless characterisation of the regulars, a persistent but catchy score and plenty of set pieces but it is also a terrifically engaging story that flaunts some evocative ideas and imagery. It’s a story that conjures up a lustfully exciting planet featuring landscapes such as a city of the dead necropolis, a labyrinth bursting with horrors and a prison housing the bedtime horror stories of the Time Lords. The first two episodes are mostly set up but they aren’t simply exposition - there is a feeling that the story is building up to something special as we explore the planet and its mythology. Such emphasis is placed on the terrifying consequences of Prophecy dying the end of episode two is one of the most exciting cliffhangers the Lost Stories have offered us yet. Its another Lost Story win for Ken Bentley who has assembled a very strong cast and seems to relish the chance to bring such a theatrical piece to life. As mentioned the musical score is utterly authentic to the era whilst remaining dramatic and exciting and the soundscape for Serenity is to die for. If a sign of a great Doctor Who story is a strong Doctor and a strong villain then Prophecy scores on that count too with Colin Baker and Stephen Thorne triumphing in their roles and both benefiting from strong characterisation in Jonathan Morris’ generous script. There’s enough to remind you of The Keeper of Traken to feel satisfied (dungeons, Melkur and politics) but The Guardians of Prophecy builds up a mythology all of its own and winds up being far more epic and dramatic than Byrne’s debut story. This could happily have been made at the time because it is a coup of evocative ideas over a blockbusting budget and that (for me) was the classic series’ winning formula. A delight to listen to: 9/10

Full Review Here: http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/guardians-of-prophecy-written-by.html
Buy it from Big Finish here: http://bigfinish.com/releases/v/doctor-who-the-guardians-of-prophecy-416

Power Play: Probably the Lost Story that I was anticipating listening to the least, Power Play didn’t let me down on that score. The thought of the sixth Doctor and Victoria being paired up didn’t fill me with any excitement and anything that might have come from this reunion is squandered thanks to Deborah Watling’s abysmal performance. There is no other way to describe it. Sounding like she has had one drink too many, needs to swallow down some phlegm and that the HRT has been overdosed, I was either squinting to try and understand what she was saying or cringing with embarrassment when I could decipher her overdone hysteria. Its rare to find a performance that is so attention grabbingly awful in a Big Finish production and even rarer that the return of an element from the past feels this perfunctory. However Hopkins does portray Victoria as a useless, wailing victim so you can’t exactly say his characterisation is perfidious. Lacking the charming characterisation of Other Lives or the apocalyptic urgency of The Last, Power Play proves that most writers do mature over time like a fine wine and this journey into 80s storytelling lacks many of the essential ingredients that might have made it work. The (intriguing) ideas are only superficially discussed, the is pacing all over the place, the cliffhangers superfluous and the characters little more than ciphers to service the story rather than anything worth investing in (the protestors are, without exception, completely hollow). Episodes one and two are all experience and no explanation and episodes three and four are all explanation (or rather exposition) and no experience, I preferred the latter half of the story because the hysterics of the early episodes were brought down to an acceptable level and the whole play was much more manageable once people stopped shouting and started talking. Plus some of the ideas on display did have merit. Don’t let Simon Robinson score any more of these stories, his style is a collection of discordant sounds that polluted any good will I might have had towards this adventure. A more robust, melodious score would have made this a much more pleasing experience. Dominic is a great silky smooth villain with a wonderful modus operandi but he deserved a much better playing field to strut his stuff on: 5/10

Full Review Here: http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/power-play-written-by-gary-hopkins-and.html
Buy it from Big Finish here: http://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/doctor-who-power-play-417