The Gathering written by Joseph Lidster and directed by Gary Russell

What's it about: On the morning of 22 September 2006, Tegan woke up. She was expecting to spend the day relaxing at home and, that evening, tolerate a party thrown to celebrate her 46th birthday. But things don't always go as expected it's been over twenty years since she chose to leave the Doctor. She's got a job, mates... a life. Meanwhile her friend, Katherine Chambers, makes a decision that could change all their lives, and Tegan discovers that you can never really escape the past.

An English Gentleman: He is a traveller and he loves seeing, experiencing and meeting new people. Is this the first time the Doctor has used his youthful, not unappealing looks to try and gain access to somebody? The man without an appointment sums him up perfectly. The Doctor takes away your control and makes you feel like a little kid. Kathy came to Australia to hide from the Doctor because he destroyed her life once. The Great Fire of London was him; the Marie Celeste was sort-of him and he was with UNIT. Oddly the Gogglebox isn’t half as interesting with the sixth Doctor enthusing madly about it. ‘If you’re in your seventh incarnation you’d know, he knows everything.’ The Doctor has left Peri and Erimem elsewhere and when he checks up on events going on in Baltimore he soon realises that he is already there…or will be and gives it a wide berth. If the Doctor is here in Brisbane that means trouble will follow. Tegan forces the Doctor to eat his celery and makes him promise not to get anyone killed. The Doctor expected Tegan to do more with her life and finds her outlook on life quite depressing. He wishes he could have been here for Tegan to help her through her tragic news.

Trashy Tegan: Deep breath. I want to try and explain why I don’t like Tegan because it feels like half the time I have just taken an irrational hatred towards a handful of the Doctor’s companions when there is at some substance as to why. For one thing I feel that Tegan was kept in the TARDIS long past her ability to entertain, in season nineteen she had a arc of sorts of trying to get home to her job which she manages to do in the last story of the season so this is a natural end for her character. However we learn that she has lost her job and so this is the chance for her to throw off all her attitude and embrace her time on board the TARDIS but if anything she seems to be even more aggressive and irrational than ever. There are a few bright spots in her second year (Snakedance and Enlightenment) which show there are still attempts to do something with her but come her third season she literally spends entire stories (Warriors of the Deep, The Awakening, Ressurection of the Daleks) wandering around corridors failing to connect to the plot and certainly having nothing more to say as a character. Not only that but I also find people like Tegan irritating in the extreme, people think they are being in honest but are in fact rude, people who will happily make everybody uncomfortable so long as she is getting her own way and worst of all people who selfishly put their own needs above others. The final nail in the coffin as far as I am concerned is the complete failiure to follow up on any of the emotional turmoils she has been through (losing her Aunty Vanessa and being mind raped) and also Janet Fielding is a far better supporter of women’s rights than she is an actress, often sounding very unnatural saying her dialogue and failing to bring anything but wooden anger to a scene. That’s why I don’t like Tegan. It doesn’t help that my other half cannot stand her either and so whenever she is on the TV he pretends to be the wicked witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz and starts melting. To say I was a little apprehensive about her return is an understatement in the extreme. It seems my fears were pretty much justified…

Tegan starts her 46th birthday arguing with her mother. She is not overburdened with friends (great surprise); it’s just her and her work mates on her birthday. She’s not what you’d call quiet and she’s clever enough to realise the Doctor being here is nothing to do with her surprise party. Surprise, surprise as soon as she meets up with the Doctor she starts moaning, looking out for the next alien menace to mow down her family and friends, suggesting that she has never once looked back on her life with the Doctor (I refuse for one second to believe anybody would do that simply because ‘Australians don’t do nostalgia’ – you travelled through time and space you silly bitch!) and questioning whether they were even friends. ‘I’m not playing twenty questions – “what Doctor”, “when Doctor”, “how Doctor”’ – good get out of there quick Doctor before she decides to travel with you again! Something is wrong when Tegan is smiling. She does apologise for leaving him so suddenly but it’s hardly what I would call an exploration of her departure. A horrible bitter old woman (‘I’d love to stay and talk but you’re a total bitch!’). She works and she sleeps and she’s so angry! After she met him what was she supposed to do? Nothing compares to what they had. Tegan has a brain tumour and it is making her paranoid and sick and bad tempered (not that she was ever little miss sunshine!) and has a year at the most to live. She told Michael that when she was younger there was a man who had changed her life. Tegan couldn’t let go of the Doctor when she left him, like she knew her life could never be that exciting again and never even when on holiday because it couldn’t compare. She has a punch, which is full of agro! She thought she would never have to tell the Doctor there is something she doesn’t understand again. Her life since she has returned has been normal and she has been able to make her own choices. Tegan dumped Michael because she didn’t want him to remember her as a victim. She refuses to let the Doctor take her away and cure her because she is now happy with Michael. She isn’t in love with the Doctor: not now, not then and not ever. She doesn’t for a minute regret leaving him and hasn’t been holding her breath waiting for him to come back because he never really left her, he changed her for the better.

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Human technology! It’s a wonder you made it out of the swamps!’
‘Behind you!’
‘Go on, back in your box!’

Great Ideas: Kathy killed Janine and Mrs Van Gysegham by activating the Cyberman technology and she and Nate moved to Australia. She graduated, became a Doctor and set up her own practice – Chambers Pharmaceuticals. Kathy is turning Nate into a Cyberman to try and save him. Tegan got her brain tumour when she was travelling with the Doctor – it is alien.

Audio Landscape: The opening mirrors The Reaping with somebody working through a number of radio broadcasts, telephone ringing, birdsong, there is a summing up of the events in The Reaping as Kathy explains her story to a waiter, the chatter in the Gogglebox, ice cubes rattling in a drink, a van alarm, a pretty lame final explosion.

Musical Cues: Didn’t make an impact on me at all unlike its predecessor, there is a discordant electronic warble that plays throughout but that’s about all.

Isn’t it Odd: I’m not convinced that Kathy was an interesting enough character in The Reaping to bring her back in The Gathering and give her such a large slice of the action. It is nice to see some of the consequences of that story (especially some discussion about Janine’s death and what happened to Nate) but beyond that she is a pretty empty character. And besides which why give Kathy such a huge slice of the action when Tegan is practically ignored? Wow this really is an eighties story – the first disc is 18 tracks long and the Doctor doesn’t make an entrance until track 8! The Reaping handled Peri with far more aplomb than The Gathering handles Tegan, for a starters Peri is vital to the story all the way through whereas halfway through the first episode of Tegan’s spectacular comeback and all we have experienced is a 2 minute phone call with her mother (some would consider that a blessing). Whereas The Reaping had a real emotional thrust from the start this story is very oddly structured and has two beginnings which aren’t connected – Kathy telling the story to the waiter which opens the story and the Doctor landing once again (although from his point of view for the first time) on the Gogglebox which happens somewhere in the middle of episode one. By this point the story should be well underway but I still have no idea what this is supposed to be about, why any of the characters are relevant or if there even is a threat. Unfortunately all this flaws are highlighted against the crisp and emotive plotting of the last story. The 8687 links are tenuous to say the least, anybody expecting a clever revelation will be disappointed to hear that the Doctor used the name of the bar to stop himself remembering these events from his past. Is it beyond the realms of possibility that Peri’s best friend as a child would wind up to be one of Tegan’s closest friends as an adult – it does seem a bit of stretch? The scenes between the Doctor and Tegan at her birthday party where she bitches and moans and then spits out that she has a brain tumour are deeply uncomfortable and not in a pleasant way – it feels wrong for a show as wonderful as Doctor Who to sink to this level of depression. I couldn’t believe the first cliffhanger, not only because it was duff but also because it meant that the first episode literally ran on the spot for 50 minutes still not revealing one iota of a plot! Dait Abuchi gives a terrible performance as Michael, he fails to convince as Tegan’s ex lover and plays his concern for her with a stiff clumsiness that makes Tegan’s taste in men as unfortunate as ever. There are scenes between Michael and the Doctor where they bitch over who is closer to Tegan, where he tells the Doctor he was the reason that she wouldn’t marry him and that there is every possibility that she was in love with him – how deeply so-cringeworthy-my-I-get-chills-down-my-spine embarrassing. Jodi is a disturbingly provocative character – someone who enjoys upsetting people and getting her own way through bullying. Surely Kathy is so thick to think that what she is doing is ethically responsible? Whilst I am glad that they matched up the superb homecoming plot for Peri with the far more attractive Cyberman plot in The Reaping wouldn’t it have made more sense to have run these two stories with consecutive Doctors to avoid all the ‘I must make myself forget’ nonsense? The climax is beyond underwhelming – the Doctor convinces Nate to kill himself sounding almost bored as the audience as he does.

Notes: The Doctor is trying to reach the Ice Caves of Shabadabadon and winds up on the Gogglebox (which is precisely what happens in The Reaping). We get to meet Allen for the first time.

Result: The antithesis of The Reaping so it is astonishing that both stories came from the same writer – a barely plotted (you don’t discover there is a plot until the second episode) Cyberman story with nothing interesting to say about the creatures and some truly horrible characterisation of the guest cast to add salt to the wound. None of the characters are remotely likable and hardly any of them have any depth beyond bolshie Australian, misguided Doctor and jilted ex lover. This was a chance to bring Tegan back to life with some real sparkle but it turns out she left the Doctor and denied her previous lifestyle, turned away friends, lost herself in her boring job and resented pretty much her entire life – I never thought they could have made Tegan even more obnoxious and unfriendly than she was during her three year run and I have never been more displeased to be proven wrong. The Gathering suggests that travelling with the Doctor can poison your mind and that’s a concept so disgusting I don’t even want to consider it. As much as the last scene tries to suggest she is happy the proof of her dull, repulsive, miserable lifestyle wafts from every scene in this play. A very hard story to like and a huge disappointment after the sterling effort in The Reaping. What’s that? Tegan’s coming back again? Really looking forward to that: 3/10

Buy it from Big Finish here: http://www.bigfinish.com/87-Doctor-Who-The-Gathering

The Reaping written by Joseph Lidster and directed by Gary Russell

What’s it about: On the morning of 9 May 1984, Peri woke up. She was expecting to spend the day relaxing in Lanzarote and, that evening, leave her mother and stepfather to go travelling with some guys she'd only just met. But things don't always go as expected as her friends and family discover when, four months later, she returns home having travelled further than anyone could have imagined. Meanwhile her friend, Katherine Chambers, mourns her father and Peri finds herself meeting some other familiar faces.

Softer Six: After fudging the seventh Doctor’s characterisation spectacularly in The Rapture (or at least asking far more of Sylvester McCoy than he can give) and then boldly learning from his mistakes and acing his character in Master (rather than externalising everything he went for the opposite tack and had the Doctor calmly internalise his menace and it was terrifying) now Joseph Lidster has the chance to tackle the sixth Doctor and he does a superb job. He never forgets that old adage of Colin Baker’s that he enjoys playing up the alieness of the character and there are several moments where he almost crosses the line with violent suggestions that I really admire. There’s one astonishing sequence where the Doctor suggest the Doctor’s should have stopped trying to fight Daniel Woods’ wife’s cancer because she was always going to die anyway to prove a point that you should never give up – the dialogue could sound extremely controversial but played as deftly as it is by Colin Baker it is an extraordinary moment of kindness, rather than a pointless shock moment. The Doctor doesn’t know what takes Peri so long to get ready because its not as if she ever ends up wearing very much! The Doctor is not particularly impressed by Allen’s sales pitch to Peri and so in true sixth Doctor style he feels compelled to interrupt and jazz it up a bit! Ouch, when Peri asks to be taken home when discovering that somebody she knows has died the Doctor states quite bluntly that being thousands of years in the future everybody she knows is dead! Don’t give up your day job and become a counsellor, Doctor. Peri asks the Doctor not to turn this homecoming into some adventure and she doesn’t want him to go too far because she wants to keep on travelling with him. The Doctor has a very special ability of convincing people that they have met him before and – oh what a laugh they had that time! The reason he wears his ridiculous clothes is because he is undercover as an American working for British Intelligence! He walks into a police station boasting that he is a member of UNIT but unfortunately the local US constabulary have no idea what he is talking about. I know we have seen so many scenes where the Doctor opens his pockets out and its guffaw city at what we discover inside but this is one of the best examples – tickets to the first night of the Rocky Horror Picture Show and ‘What on Earth’s an Oyster Card?’ With the Doctor investigating Anthony Chambers death this story almost feels like a dry run for The Condemned where he works with the greater Manchester Police – oddly the most colourful of incarnations works very well investigating the seedier elements of humanity. Its nice that some of the old violent sixth Doctor isn’t completely gone and his logical argument that he should either be released or he will throw a cup of scolding coffee in his captors face is rather wonderful. He rather likes being called a peculiar young man and he thinks there is nothing worse than being gaudy and ostentatious! His young friend is dealing with family issues but the Doctor doesn’t have issues. How funny – the Doctor holds the cup of coffee for a few hours! Interesting that Janine accuses the Doctor of bringing children into his terrifying lifestyle. The Doctor has a surprisingly forthright relationship with Janine who happily tells him he is an arrogant sod! He tried to happily skip over the conversation about putting Peri in danger on a regular basis! In a rare complimentary moment the Doctor tells Janine that she should be proud of her daughter. When Peri met the Doctor he was sweet, he died and he came back to life (but not like a Cyberman!) and he came back looking very different. ‘Have all the Cybermen finally died? Oh dear…never mind!’ Peri wishes that her Dad was still here.

Busty Babe: Probably my favourite scene in this entire story is a very heated exchange between Peri and her mother, which works beautifully because you can see precisely how Peri came to be how she is. It’s a long overdue and extremely revealing homecoming, giving this latest Cyberman story an equally strong character thread to fall back on if the story doesn’t work out. Our first chance to see Peri’s life in Baltimore, her relationship with her mother and what happened exactly before she met the Doctor in Lanzarote. I really love how Nicola Bryant plays the younger Peri with such insane enthusiasm – she really does sound as though she is eighteen years old! Janine knows her daughter – if she’s in trouble there’s bound to a boy involved! She has been travelling with the Doctor so long she takes the piss out of his theatrical delivery with he is excited! Quite the Oscar Wilde today! Nicola Bryant gets to play the urgency of Peri’s situation at discovering somebody she had long forgotten about in the Doctor’s travels is dead – she knows she cannot change the past and save Anthony but she just wants to go to the funeral. Its an interesting thought, you always expect everybody to be left in a sort of holiday pattern when you go travelling with the Doctor, that you will return where you left off and nothing will have changed – this is a terrific reminder that life goes on. Only Peri’s mother would wear fuchsia to a funeral and be the one making the speeches – given her striking personality you can see so much of her mother in Peri. Janine thinks Peri thinks the world revolves around her. Peri comes face to face with the consequences of her disappearance at Lanzarote – Janine accused Howard of being responsible for her death when she went missing and their marriage (naturally) fell to pieces. Peri is surprised that it has only been four months when she has actually been away for years. There’s a wonderful scene where Peri and Kathy catch up on old times and its written so well you learn all sorts of snippets about Peri’s childhood – misbehaving at the Prom, making out with Nate and hearing about her circle of friends. Its nice to finally have some background for her character – there is something very new series about this that really works. Peri finally gets to tell her mum that she moved on from her Dad’s death too quickly and Janine gets the chance to chew out her daughter for worrying her so much with her disappearing act. Peri was always the popular one and everybody loved her at school and since she’s been gone people have been interested in Kathy. Can you imagine how awful it would be to hear your best friend and your mother talking about how much better it has been since she has been gone? After hearing that I think Peri shows real braveness in facing them and pretending she has heard nothing. I love that Peri manages to unearth Anthony’s message from beyond the grave – she’s far too used to this sort of thing now. Janine doesn’t recognise Peri anymore and she wants to know what has happened to her daughter and she tells her mother that this is what she does now, fighting monsters and she’s proud. The Doctor suggests that they don’t have time for the soap operatics but Peri insists that they do and explains that she was all ready to go to Morocco when she left the hotel in Lanzarote but got tangled up with the adventure on Sarn and decided to stay with the Doctor (and he has been trying to get rid of her ever since!). We get to see Peri not only trying to deal with somebody she once knew half converted and slightly mad but also trying to calm down his two kids who happen to be her best friend – to her credit she does a fine job. When Peri thinks the Doctor is walking to his death she is devastated and wants to rush in after him. She explains that the Doctor died for her and that she cannot lose him again. He’s her best friend and the bravest person she has ever met. There’s a parallel between Peri’s relationship with the Doctor and her relationship with her mother, a lovely touch. What I really love about this story is that it finally puts to rest the misconceived opinion that the Doctor and Peri don’t like each other. When she tells the Doctor at the end of the story that she isn’t going with him, that she cannot leave her family again he is clearly devastated and she can barely hold back the tears. Their ‘you’ll miss me’ ‘You’ll miss me too’ is perfect. The fact that he then visits the Gogglebox so he can see how she gets on proves how much he cares about her. In final scene where the Doctor comforts Peri at her mothers graveside is agonisingly poignant and the performances of Bryant and Baker are exceptional. The Doctor takes her away from all the pain and whilst it is really upsetting, a little part of my heart melted as well.

Standout Performance: Colin Baker excels as ever but this is Nicola Bryant’s chance to shine and I think (despite some real competition with The Kingmaker and Point of Entry) this may well be her most accomplished performance as Peri. It’s an impressive chance to look at where her character came from and Bryant seizes the opportunity to explore her past and to show how much she has grown since travelling with the Doctor. How frustrating to be treated as the same cool, image laden brat when you have spent the last couple of years fighting for your life and finding yourself. How wonderful to be able to show your doubting mother that you has made something of herself.

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘1984, its never as good as the book.’
‘Don’t come any closer. I’ve got coffee and I’m not afraid to use it!’ ‘To all our listeners we ask that you be like us…’
‘Find your old family and make them like you…’
‘Two Peris for the price of one!’
‘But the way he talks to you…the way you talk to him!’ ‘That’s just the way we are. We argue but that doesn’t mean we don’t like…or love each other!’
‘You are responsible for the final destruction of my race. It is suitable that you create the new Cyber race.’ – hints at the Doctor’s future.

Great Ideas: We’ve heard about the Ice Caves of Shabadabadon before, haven’t we? I wonder if we will ever get there! The Doctor has taken Peri on a quite detour to the Gogglebox, one of the human races great achievements. Deep down inside the moon (‘My moon?’ says Peri!). The Gogglebox lets you experience anything – any visual or auditory recording. The Sergeant at the police station tries to murder the Doctor with cyanide. The Cybermen have long memories and very thorough records – they recognise Peri from their experiences on Telos. 20 people buried since Anthony took the job at the graveyard ready to be converted into Cybermen, including Maureen. A Cyberman who feels fear…brrr. Control the police force and tell everybody to stay at home and then everybody is in the right place for the Cybermen to come around and convert them. Cybermen marching through the suburbs where everyone is safely lock indoors, kill them and each family rises from the dead and they go on marching. Peri forces Anthony/Cyberman to watch a video of his birthday party and he is mesmerised by the emotion. These Cybermen are from the future, a dead race using the dead of the Earth to try and live again. Their time ship is Time Lord technology which they have acquired from the future. Baltimore, Anthony Chambers, all of it was a trap for the Doctor because he couldn’t resist not investigating. There is a link between the Time Lord and its user, which the Cyber Controller didn’t have and when he travelled in time he was battered by the ravages of the vortex. He had access to all of recorded time and knew that murdering Anthony Chambers would bring Peri…and thus the Doctor back to America 1984. The climate of fear was not for the benefit of the human race, it was for the benefit of the Doctor all to lure him here and take the Cyber Controller back in time to the dawn of humanity and make them all one. From their birth the human race will be Cybermen. The Doctor takes the Cyber Controller to the real birth of the Cybermen – 1984 Mondas where he will be destroyed in two years time when they attack the Earth. In a final bitter shock Janine dies fiddling about with the Cyber equipment that Peri put in the basement.

Audio Landscape: The theme music melds into a radio broadcast, static as we go from programme to programme, the overlapping voices in the Gogglebox, Peri in the booth going from news story to news story, Mrs Van Gysegham’s insane driving ability, swerving through the traffic, there’s an astonishing scene that we hear from the POV of a Cybermen listening to Peri mourn at the graveside, the bustle of the police station, children playing in the streets, the chatter at Anthony’s wake, rain hitting the window in Peri’s room, the rain falling in the graveyard, Anthony’s raucous birthday tape, Anthony breaking free of his grave with a chilling Cyber voice, police sirens, the Cyberman time ship sounds awfully like the eighth Doctor’s console room, I almost had a fangasm when the 80’s Cybermen collides with the 60’s version, birdsong.

Musical Cues: David Darlington’s score is mournful and beautiful, playing up the tragic events that unfold. I really love the guitar theme that plays over the funeral scenes; we haven’t heard such great use of the instrument since Loups-Garoux.

Standout Scene: The cliffhanger is exceptional because Joe Lidster has spent enough time building up the threat of the Cybermen and dealing with Anthony’s death in a very emotional fashion and as those two threads collide you know the shit is going to hit the fan! Nathaniel’s death is horrible; his father stumbles towards him saying ‘Hold me’ and crushes him until his back breaks all to convince the Doctor of their intent (his reaction: ‘I’ll destroy you, I swear!’ is gripping). Its awesome how they mirror the scenes in the Gogglebox – Peri dashing off in horror at the beginning of the story and the Doctor doing the same at the end. Notes: The Airship R-101, the Red Planet, St Garts Hospital – the opening radio broadcasts takes us through a montage of Big Finish continuity.

Result: A revelatory story for Peri, Joe Lidster writes a script that explores her character like never before and really give her substance. Nicola Bryant grabs hold of this opportunity and gives her most assured performance as Peri, ably backed up as ever by Colin Baker and they once again prove what fantastic chemistry they have. It’s an innovative Cyberman story too which I find something of a novelty, often the metal meanies are dumped into a story for no rhyme or reason but to boost ratings or increase sales. Lidster takes the Cybermen and gives their story a definitive ending and a new beginning and their brilliantly over complicated plan could only come from a mechanical mind. Some tasty moments of body horror, a genuinely emotional exploration of losing somebody to the Cybermen and subtle blanket of control over America – somebody is finally exploiting the potential of these creatures. Its Peri’s homecoming that makes the most impact, Joe Lidster takes all the domestic elements that made The Rapture such a disaster and skilfully provides some emotionally choking moments in this outstanding tale: 10/10

Artwork by Simon Hodges @ http://hisi79.deviantart.com/

Big Finish Survey

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Red written by Stewart Sheargold and directed by Gary Russell

What’s it about: Subject 2660 Celia Fortunate, designated citizen of the needle. Subject experiencing traumatic, violent delusions during waking moments. Subject remains pacified and under control of Whitenoise. Medication has been prescribed. Subject 0357 Vi Yulquen, designated Matriarch of the needle. Subject is under constant surveillance due to her wish to experience harm. This is in direct contravention of Whitenoise's programming. Also supplier of the drug classified as Slow. Editing is required. Subject 0841 Chief Blue. Technician in symbiotic relationship with this Whitenoise system. Knowledgeable in human psychological evaluation. Subject has been diagnosed a voyeur, and has a dangerous obsession with the Red Tape. Machine augmentation is favoured to curb this defect. Subject [error] Melanie Bush, designated companion of subject 3999. Subject [error] is not chipped and is a threat. Her ability to harm has not been checked, compromising the continued security programming of this Whitenoise system. She must be inhibited. Subject 3999 the Doctor. Subject has committed homicide. This subject now in constant redline. His propensity for violence remains unchecked. Analysis suggests synchronisation with the killer. The Doctor will attempt to kill again. He must be stopped.

The Real McCoy: Wow! Who would have thought there could be such a devastating amount of mileage in exploring the seventh Doctor facing his own violence? Sylvester McCoy gives an astonishingly good performance in this story, possibly his best for the range to this point, he manages to be frightening and sympathetic – it’s an astonishingly intense take on his character. What an interesting stance for the Doctor to take, standing up for the right for people to hurt each other. I think the last time we had something this interesting to explore within the Doctor was in Creatures of Beauty when his decision to leave Gallifrey was put under the microscope. The Doctor has always been opposed to violence and war but when those feelings are restrained within us by Whitenoise he is even more appalled that people should be manipulated and controlled in such a way. When violence becomes the lesser of two evils does that make it acceptable? Interesting stuff and a moral mine of gold for Stewart Sheargold to unearth. The Doctor states that people should be allowed to make those choices and to take responsibility for their own actions and I have to say I agree with him, even though the world would be a safer environment if those impulses were controlled. The Doctor walks out of the TARDIS feeling there is definitely something wrong. The last time he did that was The Fires of Vulcan and that story was an absolute treat with one of McCoy’s finest audio performances. The Doctor has the rather unfortunate effect of people suspecting ‘guilty until proven innocent’ of him. Uses his million and one uses brolley to access the systems mechanics! He always gets the last laugh. Attempts have been made to eradicate all violent impulses but the Doctor knows that violence always bleeds through – he’s appalled that they are being denied very real, very necessary emotions. He cannot be controlled; he’s always the random element, the spanner in the bonnet, the bee in the works! McCoy really goes for it when the Doctor is chipped and it’s gripping. When he wakes up the Doctor is gripped by violent impulses and McCoy is really frightening – this is a new side of his character that I hope we don’t see too often (brrr…). When Uviol snaps his wife’s neck he learnt that from the Doctor. He abhors violence and it is never the moral option because he has seen things that would make you curl into a stuttering ball of denial for the rest of your life. He’s done those things, pulled the trigger, pressed the button, detonated the bomb – it doesn’t make you feel any better because you win. He’s never been so close to death, to killing before – usually he is two steps removed from the state of play. He exists synchronously with the killer, redlining at all times because there is a temporal aspect to this – a psychic spillage in time. The killer reached out and pulled the TARDIS here. He has destroyed races, destroyed worlds and sometimes he even enjoyed it, he is capable of so much violence…the Doctor teases Red with his potential violence but I wonder how much of this that he means. He admits that he has bottled his violent impulses for so long once he has trapped Red within the Slow and he is now finally going to release them all and kill it. He tells Mel he could be violent – he could be.

Generous Ginge: What a shame that this is one of Bonnie Langford’s last audio adventures in the main range since she has come so far in this medium, throwing off the stereotype of her television persona and creating a real person in Melanie Bush. Its stories like Red that see Mel pushed to the limit and forced to confront some pretty uncomfortable scenes that show the character at her best. With The Fires of Vulcan, The One Doctor, The Juggernauts and Red we have managed to see a whole new side to Mel that suggests that she might just be the ideal companion for the Doctor after all. Mel is worried that the Doctor is cracking up on her. She can’t hold back if torture is on the cards. She tells the Doctor to never presume anything about a foreign society. She had enough of being called Red at school. Mel pretends that she is going to let Draun feel in all the best ways before grabbing a bottle and smashing it over his head – go girl! She’s an honest person to a fault and she’s afraid she is responsible for her own actions. ‘Make her red like her name…’ – poor Mel is under the influence of Slow and almost murdered by the Doctor! She can’t teach them to be more human but she can tell them the difference between right and wrong. Because Mel isn’t chipped she’s such a wonderful curiosity – she can hurt people and I loved the sequence where Yulquen refuses to tell her where the Doctor to try and make her inflict pain on her! Always on the side of right but she is right beside the Doctor when he burns whole planets. Why does it always come down to the last minute (its always much more exciting, that’s why!).

Standout Performance: Whitenoise is a wonderfully calm and frightening character and John Stahl plays the part with a level, controlled purr that is all the more chilling because it is restrained. I have always been an admirer of Sandi Toksvig and it thrills me that she should get to play such a meaty role in a Doctor Who story – she’s very convincing as the part time Slow and violence dealer. I loved the scene where she told Mel she bears her no malice but she would love to be able to kill her, to complete that emotion. Brrr…

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘It is a defect of your species this violent intent but I have cured that…’
‘But I want you to hurt me!’
‘After a wave of crime and murders people got it out of their system.’
‘Will you only believe me when my hands are around your throat?’
‘But the point is you could hurt me. And I wouldn’t mind! I don’t think I should tell you where the Doctor is. I think you should force it from me…’
‘I want your violence…’

Great Ideas: Some big, imaginative ideas being explored in the last handful of stories, a healthy reminder of how Doctor Who can stimulate some astonishing creativity. Red condition, turning into a homicidal mainiac and killing your lover, neighbour, friend whilst repeating the word ‘Red…red…red…’ The TARDIS was warned away and then forced out of the vortex, violent time disruption that played havoc with the telepathic circuits. Whitenoise does live within the limited physical or temporal parameters that the human race sets for itself. He thinks that physical pleasure is the precursor to violence and so he removes the urge. All citizens are chipped and when they have a violent impulse they get a small, barely noticeable electric shock. The chip doesn’t stop the thoughts of violence, just the actions. The Red Tape, a recording of real violence that is not fictional. I love how the greatest compliment you can give somebody is to wish harm on them. A killer, overriding the chip and manifesting in hosts and forcing them to commit harm – that’s almost is scary as removing those desires. Every ship goes through the Sphere; Whitenoise infects your ships systems and brings you in so he can chip you. There was a vote between those who wanted to be under the machine, controlled and free of violence could remain in the Needle and those who wanted otherwise would have their chips decommissioned and be forced to leave for the safety of those in the Needle. After so long under the machine those that left were disgusted by their capacity for violence and they learned and they chose not to harm – that’s fascinating, psychologically speaking. Force people not to be violent and those urges break through and they want to harm, give them the choice and after experiencing the horrors of those urges they choose not to. Is the red condition affecting Whitenoise? Everybody could potentially be the killer; the red infection hides itself in the chip. In their quest to create the perfect society it has given this infection precisely what they have tried to stop. The most expedient way to stop Red is by turning of their chips and allowing them all to succumb to their violence anyway. Celia is the carrier, the killer; she is a time traveller and who attracted the Doctor to the Needle. Celia is from the 45th Century, an era of technocrats and machine driven life – they can create a biological temporal link to the machines that they use. She is to all intents and purposes the time machine herself. When she was chipped, when Whitenoise brought down all her barriers and unwittingly let out her violence it corrupted his own systems and fed on all its subjects mass wish for harm. In a moment of chilling calmness and infected himself by the Red, Whitenoise starts slaughtering all of the subjects on the Needle – that’s his cure to stopping them from being infected. Yulquen realises now the pleasure of violence is of being denied it, that makes you want it like a drug. Its great that Yulquen is forced to control her own emotions again, away from Whitenoise’s castration.

Audio Landscape: The silky smooth voice of Whitenoise, the story opens with scenes of a number of brutal murders, the montage of reds as the murders are being watched, a scream that merges into an electronic warbling of redredredred, Yulquen is listening to a deluge of insanely violent sounds, the approaching dirigible, Mel falls of the building and lands with a thump on a dirigible, elephant trumpet, fire crackling, Mel under the influence of slow, the Doctor talking to Mel and linked through the killer – what a trippy, hallucinatory experience, slowing down the scream to Celia saying redredredred, Whitenoise calmly saying his subjects name whilst killing them one at a time, Yulquen stabs Draun, the Red infection sounds like a child,

Musical Cues: There is an ominous background hum playing throughout the story that will keep you on edge. I really like the almost fairytale quality to the calming lullaby that plays over the murder scenes. Plus there is an electronic beat that turns up during the murder scenes that makes the story very exciting in spots.

Isn’t it Odd: Does Gary Russell ever get bored of using that football chant?

Standout Scene: The first murder (‘I’m hurting you…’) that the Doctor commits (‘I’ve wanted to do this for such a long time…’) is really terrifying. His rolling of ‘rrrrreeeedddd’ burrows into your ears…

Notes: Possibly my favourite Big Finish cover – absolutely striking and visualising the outbreak of violence in the story brutally.

Result: What struck me straight away was how clear and crisp Stewart Sheargold’s storytelling is, his premise of crushing violent impulses actually causing homicide coming straight to the fore and explored through some genuinely disturbing set pieces. There is no pretence that this is going to be an action adventure, Red is set in a gripping, Orwellian environment that has plenty to say about the violence that is hidden in all of us. Imagine if this story had been broadcast during season 24? I love it when Big Finish play about with different styles, ones which weren’t attempted on the TV and The Fires of Vulcan and Red offer a very different peek at what could have been. Gary Russell’s direction is astonishingly good, never shying away from the horror of being consumed by the urge to murder. He makes this a gripping, uncomfortable experience and creates a fascinating environment for the story to take place in. We have hadn’t had such an incredible run in the main range for quite some time - The Kingmaker, The Settling, The Nowhere Place and now Red…Gary Russell is certainly going out with a bang. One of the most adult and disturbing audios: 9/10

Buy it from Big Finish at http://www.bigfinish.com/85-Doctor-Who-Red

Katy Manning Interview

Jon Pertwee was a very much a Doctor of action as well as words. How do you think Matt Smith measures up? Would you say there are any obvious similarities, or is he very much his own man?
What a beautiful boy Matt Smith is and Jon would be so proud of what he is doing with the part. There have been so many brilliant actors playing the role of the Doctor – and there is not a weak link amongst them. My beautiful Nick has recently departed and I get a little teary eyed every day to think about it. I have to wander off when I get too upset; I have to look at all the wonderful things that there are in the world compared to my little moment of tragedy. But Nick was so special at helping me when I was upset or confused – he was a true gentleman. Richard Franklin said to me the other day ‘Katy darling, there’s only three of us left now!’ Nick was the quintessential Brigadier; you just can’t imagine anybody else doing playing that part. Poor Jon and Roger gone too… (Joe: Katy has promised me to stick around for a long, long time!). Roger was such a loss to acting, he didn’t have to act menacing, it was a very clever performance. As much as the other actors have done a splendid job since (I especially like the latest Master) nobody could play that role like Roger. Its all very easy ignoring the fear of the situation when the Master is acting in a crazy way but Roger made the Master real, he was frightening because you couldn’t quite understand him.

After recording The Mists of Time and The Doll of Death, it was reported that you weren’t keen on recording any more stories as it didn’t feel right Jon not being present. What changed your mind, and do you see yourself continuing as Jo for as long as possible?
It was devastating to be playing the part without Jon. I did become more comfortable in the role and by the time we got to my personal favourite, Find and Replace I was just losing myself in the reading. Then of course I was given that delicious script from Russell T Davies, which was a wonderful continuation of Jo’s story. My trouble is that I forget that I am an actress and I use public transport all the time – I got on a train the other day and found myself near a very excited group of schoolboys of about 8 or 9 who saw my in the Sarah Jane episode and then later that evening I was on the train and confronted by a gorgeous Tranny on the tube who said ‘I loved you in Me and Jezebel!’ Its astonishing to have such a cross section of fans.

How did you come to write Not a Well Woman?
I wrote Not a Well Woman nine years ago when I was in America and I put it away in a cupboard knowing I would find it again someday. It was originally written for the stage and had one performance in New York with all sorts of theatre owners attending with plenty of excuses to leave during the interval but none of them did. They were all ready to go ahead and make it but far too many people got involved and I was moving back to Australia. When I pulled it out again imagine 100s of handwritten pages all over the floor! It was such a joy to re-write it and finally put the story to rest.

Not a Well Woman has a non-linear narrative that hops about throughout Pansy’s life – how did that come about?
I find it very hard to write a linear story, if I was going to write a story in chronological order I would be an accountant darling! I wrote it as the memories came back to me and one interpretation of the play could be that Pansy is remembering snatches of her life as she is dying which off course wouldn’t be remembered in linear order. Another reason I think it is told out of order is because I think on the other side of my brain; I hear rhythms rather than voices. I sound totally mad don’t I? (laughs madly).

How much of the play was based on your life?
The story is basically my life; I wanted to say that there are so many things in life that are fascinating (oh don’t I sound pretentious – please don’t quote this!) and to show how one might live through life seeing through my eyes. Some of the story is creative and there are bits and pieces of other people’s stories but on the whole it is a story that only I can tell. My childhood was seen through blurred eyes so I heard so acutely at a young age voices far more clearly than anything I saw. When I was younger I lived in my world which was quite different to everybody else’s, wearing glasses back then was far more alienating than it is now – what’s the saying, ‘Men don’t make passes on girls who wear glasses.’ My glasses were hand ground glass, they take about 3 weeks to make and they were so heavy they had to be taped to my head. Only my very close friends see me in my glasses now – that’s how my friends know that I am comfortable with them. The trouble is it is not the same as being blind – because as such you are given help but I was caught somewhere between seeing and not seeing where nobody could tell there was a problem. You can just picture some of the problems I have had in my life, imagine a younger actress emoting furiously to herself and not realising her co star has walked off the stage and dear Jon Pertwee was always grabbing me to stop me walking off cliff edges whilst we were filming Doctor Who! People had to stand at the edge with a white flag saying ‘Watch out! Manning’s coming!’ Or they would shout ‘Cut!’ and I would keep on running for another ten minutes because I didn’t realise everybody had gone off for lunch! And imagine…taking the wrong kids as far as the school gates! (more laughter!)

I found removing the trappings of a Doctor Who story gave you far more opportunities to look at life for what it really is. Where you given free reign to write what you wanted?
I’d already written it darling! I have such love and responsibility for playing Jo but as a person I have the need to create and that wont always be a child friendly piece. This story needed to come from me and so I just went with my instinct. I understand rhythm far more than I have knowledge of writing so I hope you found that when you were listening that the rhythm was there. I wrote it with a pencil, my heart and a rhythm.


I found that there was so much honesty in the play that you don’t always find in fiction these days in fear of being controversial. In particular Pansy admitting that she care form a bond with her children because she cannot hold them plus her holding back from helping her daughter who has attempted suicide.
It can be provocative but it’s those moments that I hope people who have been through listen to and say ‘I’m not alone.’ Pansy is not afraid to be honest – she says at one point ‘why should I have a nervous breakdown just to make you feel better.’ When I was a mother I had no friends as children and it is hard to form that connection but you have to see the responsibility through of having children. There’s no help – it is a conscious decision that has to stay with you for the rest of your life and I really wanted to put that across. I found it very important to write with honesty. Nowadays everything is labelled so nobody takes any responsibility for their lives but there is so much that we have to take responsibility for. And the hardest thing sometimes is to stand back when somebody is hurting (like Pansy does with her daughter) and not make the event about you. You need to be strong for them. Children don’t see life like adults; they don’t have the experience to see how everybody else is feeling. You need to be strong for them – you can go around the corner and have your own little nervous breakdown when you are out of sight.

Not a Well Woman was life affirming despite its subject matter. Does it sum up your philosophy of life?
Pretty much! If you plan your life you’ll never do anything! You have to have a go and not think to yourself what’s the worst thing that can happen? My father said to me and this has stayed with me throughout my life ‘Success is having tried and failiure is not having a go.’ It’s so important to do these things now because otherwise you will look back with so many regrets.

Toby Robinson’s work was technically superb.
Oh he did such a wonderful job and he was so enthusiastic about it all. In some ways it’s easier for me because I just have to deliver the script then poor Toby has to go away and make it all a reality. He has a wonderfully creative side to him and I couldn’t be happier with the overall result. When I listened to the story back I think my own feedback was: ‘Well I didn’t bore me!’ – sorry Toby!

How was the overall experience of playing all the characters?
Playing all the characters is very exciting, I read it whilst I write so its not like I had to make up the characters when I hit the studio. My partner Barry says it is wonderful to be around me when all my voices come out! I wrote the lyrics for the rap song (Joe: including one line that made me choke on my coffee!) – maybe that could be my new career, as a rapping OAP!

Do you see a future in not a Well Woman?
I would love to take to the stage now!

Moving onto Iris Wildthyme, a favourite of mine. How do you find playing the character?
I love her! Once I didn’t have to do it with the Doctor I found I could make her naughtier, knocking back the booze and being cheeky but what I love about her character is that despite all her extremes she’s smarter than she looks. I’ve had such a great time playing her – me and Colin did one and we had such a great rapport, always sending each other up and Peter Davison said the most wonderful thing (and you simply must quote this!) to me when we started recording one with him – he looked up and said ‘Is she really playing it like that?’ (We have to take a break for a second whilst the laughter subsides!). I would love to be able to physicalise her – that’s what we should do…campaign for Iris to be on the telly! Oh and I adore David Benson – there is a quip between every line we record!

How do you find working for Big Finish?
Big Finish has gone from strength to strength and have been a huge supporter of actors. I mean it is simply a joyous place to work and I get to see all the people I adore. Lovely Lisa Bowerman, my darling Gary, David Richardson who is such a sweetheart… They are wonderful. What’s lovely is that get such good actors involved and you know that the finished piece will be well directed, with great technical expertise and, of course, a fabulous lunch (Joe: I must get to a recording…everybody I have interviewed has praised the Big Finish lunches!). You can quote this – I recorded Not a Well Woman in a day! We started at 10 and had an hour for lunch and we were all done by 5.30! This Monday I am recording the Many Deaths of Jo Grant, which touches on Jo’s self sacrifice that crops up through her time with the Doctor. What’s lovely about Big Finish is that I get to talk with Paul and Mark and have a little bit of Katy input into the scripts. People listen to me and my dear Gary working together and having fun and say ‘Does he really talk to her like that?’ – he’s a dear friend (and when he asked me to play my part in Gallifrey with my normal voice I felt naked – its been so long since I’ve heard it!).

It was a truly wonderful hour and a half I spent chatting with Katy Manning – she made me heave with laughter and as you can see we talked about all kinds of wonderful things. For the full Katy Manning experience get yourself a copy of Not a Well Woman, now available from Big Finish and see just how fabulous her life has been!

Not a Well Woman written by Katy Manning and directed by Nicholas Briggs

What’s it about: Freefall with Pansy Maude! From Hollywood parties to African huts and beyond... Extremely visually challenged, Pansy’s quirky view of life is possibly tinged by the way she sees it - or not as the case may be. Pansy is free thinking, foolish, fearless, feisty and fabulous, but she is wrapped in a sunny world of soft edges and clouds of smiling colours, as she ventures into the dark shadows of menace, violence and self destruction. Why not suck it and see?

Precious Pansy: What a complete waste of time living in this world and not being able to see – what an awesome way to tell an audio story through the eyes of somebody who does see as well as the rest of us, a truly sensory experience. Always managed to avoid parties, even as a child but now they are a regular occurrence in her life. Was given enormous glasses when she was younger, so huge they had to be taped to her head and she could just about see albeit through a sheet of glass. Pansy instinctively learns to make up for what she doesn’t have. Imagine looking at your babies and not being able to see them, that’s heartbreaking. If you can’t see or hold your children the only connection you can make is to name them. Much to her twin’s relief she didn’t name them after her favourite football team – Aston Villa! Pansy wants to work because she knows her work but she doesn’t know her children – she can’t make herself feel something for the children that are held at a distance. Tears and hopelessness wont make her a better mother – I love how real Pansy is, saying the things that other women don’t dare to say in fear of being judged. Posthumously her father received the Order of the British Empire. Pansy took part in a controversial play that got her letters of hate, letters of congratulation and even the odd date – it surprised the shit out of everybody! Politely asked to leave every school in London, pushed on to more appropriate places of education who would be more receptive to her literary idiosyncrasies. Oddly enough during her car accident the only part of her that remained unscathed was her eyes, her thick black glasses saw to that. Pansy’s hormone fuelled pregnancy is brought to life with terrifying honesty – this can only be written by somebody who has been through the torrent of emotions pregnancy can bring! You have to cheer when Pansy is accosted by Austen who wants to have her – she tells him to fuck off! Pansy feels somewhat intangible once she has let her children go.

Captivating Katy: What a tour de force for Katy Manning – playing an array of superb characters and since she has written and preformed this piece you genuinely feel she is inside the heads of these characters. When she said she had a whole lot more voices inside her head during the extras of Find and Replace she was not wrong. Pansy has a squeaky voice, similar to her Jo Grant; she adopts a 20-a-day accent for the lingerie shop owner, a very cute 4-year-old Pansy and the afro-Caribbean accent for the woman she assumes is her mother, a Scottish Doctor, gruff Rodney the bastard lover, a French ballet teacher, Irish perverts, the butch fella working in the coffee adverts, the stiff upper lipped fabulous Mrs Cope, Joycie’s African accent, the pompous British Airways intercom voice (my God that is so accurate!), the Captain, the drugged up Pansy is genuinely terrifying, playing two characters in a farcical play, Kenny the Australian nanny, horn ball Austen – all the voices coming together at the end is hugely schizophrenic experience. What an amazing acting experience.

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Welcome to trashy lingerie!’
‘When you can’t see anybody can be your mummy.’
‘Can I just ask…what are you doing in the closet?’
‘My work is my life and that’s what I hold onto. When I can hold onto my children then they’ll become my life.’
‘Why is there always glass…?’ ‘More glass…this time I broke through it, a windshield and a plate glass window…’
‘Serve God and suck my dick and lick my scrotum!’ – my coffee went for a Burton at this point!
‘Doing things alone often eliminates the difficulties of having to explain. When I need help I’ll ask for it after its past. Don’t ask me what’s wrong with me while its wrong with me because I’ll make something up.’ – Its almost like Katy Manning is inside my head at some points during this play.
‘I want the children to do everything that will fill them with possibility’ – so simple but really that sums up parenthood beautifully.
‘Different pieces of the Pansy puzzle were coming together’ – Katy sums up the drama perfectly.
‘There’s a teenage disease called ‘Life Sucks’ that’s universal! Life may not get any easier but it may get funnier. Suck it and see.’

Great Ideas: Red satin nipple peeping bras, feathered crotch less panties, jewel pumps with vertiginous heels and cheeky little maids outfits – Wowza if I was straight guy I would find myself in a spot of trouble! Who hasn’t been in the situation where they have thrown a party and as a result you are the person who cannot leave? In dance once you have learnt the steps you don’t need to see, you just feel. I love the term ‘secret secrets’ – the people who you tell them to are few and far between. What every woman in labour needs = a tine spray of Chanel Number Five! In farce it is obligatory for at least one female to appear in her underwear and one male to drop his trousers and of course a convoluted plot of mistaken identity! Who hasn’t turned up at the wrong airport?

Audio Landscape: Nicholas Briggs has been at this game for a long time now and has a superb grasp of the audio medium. You would think hopping about throughout Pansy’s life with such alarming frequency would be confusing but not a bit of it – we leap from location to year with ease, the narrative making perfect sense however it is Toby Hryrek-Robinson who deserves the praise for bringing the story to life with such an impressive array of authentic sound effects. Sirens, cars honking, a buzzer, polite chatter, crackling fire, ballet music, pouring a drink, ears ringing, heart thumping, car crash, ambulance siren, snakes hissing, lions grumbling, phlegm clearing marauders, a growling jeep, a bath, a trippy hallucinatory experience as Pansy tries her first drugs, heavy rain, seagulls screaming, the bustle of the airport, heartbeat, a long breath, birdsong, the delirium of Pansy on the hospital bed hearing all the voices calling out to her. Given Pansy’s trouble with her eyes it means the soundscape has to be more realistic than ever to give this a sensory experience and Toby Robinson deserves huge kudos for allowing us to enter Pansy’s world so vividly.

Musical Cues: Toby Hryrek-Robinson provides one of the best musical scores I have heard in ages, taking the listener on a tour of exotic locations and the many decades of Pansy’s life. I adore piano playing so the tinkling of the ivories during the party was right up my street. There’s a gorgeous rendition of Pachabel’s Canon, which is one of my favourite pieces of music ever. Loved the music during the Zimbabwe sequences – I was grooving about the house much to the raised eyebrows of my husband! That god-awful music blaring from TJ’s room! A lovely lullaby playing Waltzing Matilda on bells.

Standout Scene: Just the thought of somebody smacking a supercilious little squirt on the bottom with a British passport at the airport because they are trifling over excess luggage made me howl with laughter – it sounds like the plan journey from hell! When talking about painful acting experiences due to bear blindness I was reminded of Katy’s comments on location filming for Doctor Who! There’s an astonishing moment of poignancy when Tilly attempts to commit suicide and Pansy has to try and control her emotions and let her daughter deal with her actions in her own way – speaking as somebody whose sister tried to commit suicide many times when I was growing up it gave me a rare peek into how my mother must have been feeling at the time. Katy playing Austen beating Pansy is terrifying.

Result: A deliriously enjoyable trip through the life of Pansy Maude who sees her life through different sheets of glass, be it helping her see the world, holding her back from her children or embracing her in a car accident. Katy Manning has written a funny and poignant non-linear narrative that ties up the most important events in this incredible woman’s life. The first person narration allows you to get close to Pansy and the astonishing number of characters Katy manages to play convinces you for a moment that this is a full cast drama! I took a lot from this lyrical piece of storytelling, that it is wonderful to be able to see the world in your own way and that you need to get out there and live your life, embracing all the good times and learning from the pain. Not a Well Woman touches on strong themes motherhood, suicide and drug abuse and yet it is never a maudlin, serious piece – you finish the tale with a real sense of optimism. A brilliant kick-start into this range of original audio dramas, a very personal piece and a character I would love to hear more from despite the open ended climax: 9/10

Buy it from Big Finish here: http://www.bigfinish.com/1-Drama-Showcase-Not-a-Well-Woman

The Third Zone Issue Two - Extra

Originally my intention was to write a season long piece covering the eighth Doctor Adventure Season Four given that it has just come to an end but given my tendency to ramble in reviews I have decided for the sake of the sanity of our readers to split it into two halfs.

The upside is that I have added an extra section to The Third Zone that covers my firest five reviews of the season - Death in Blackpool to Deimos - and I hope you enjoy reading them!

http://the-third-zone.blogspot.com/p/eight-doctor-adventures-series-four.html

The second half of the piece featuring the dramatic events of Ressurection of Mars through to To the Death will be published in the third issue of the fanzine plus some exciting interviews with Nick Briggs and Niky Wardley to discuss the seasons developments.