Showing posts with label Audios. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Audios. Show all posts
Saturday, 13 August 2016
5 Ways To Get Through The Doctor Who Drought
For the past few years, we've been used to having new Doctor Who around this sort of time. Not this year, though. So what are us poor starved Whovians to do...?
Monday, 16 May 2016
Doctor Who: 10 Best TARDIS Teams
Tuesday, 5 January 2016
Doctor Who: Other Dimensions - The Sixth Doctor's Last Adventure
The 'Doctor Who: Other Dimensions' series continues as we take a look at the story behind what we saw on TV...
'I'm a Time Lord who's out of time.'
Saturday, 31 October 2015
Scary Books To Read This Hallowe'en
The evenings have drawn in, the leaves are falling from the trees, the shops are already stocking Christmas stuff... it must be Hallowe'en again. So how should you spend your time scaring yourself silly at the witching hour? Gorging on sweets while watching the latest slasher film? Psh! From the Hallowe'en-themed reading I've done this month, might I recommend these four tomes of terror, each guaranteed to give your Goosebumps book collection goosebumps. Read on... if you dare.
Saturday, 27 June 2015
New Doctor Who is coming to Big Finish!
Today brings the exciting announcement that the independent audio drama company, Big Finish, that makes classic Doctor Who adventures is doing the same for new Who!
This thrilling news has been a long time coming - for years, the new series was completely off limits to the people of Big Finish, until they recently announced spin-off series featuring Kate Stewart and Osgood of the TV series' UNIT and Captain Jack Harkness himself in a new Torchwood continuation. But now - finally - it looks like all kinds of heroes and villains from post-2005 Who can interact with classic characters.
Firstly, the head-lining event is that River Song will be meeting the Eighth Doctor, in a sequel to the Doom Coalition series which will be released next year. Personally, I think Alex Kingston and Paul McGann will make a brilliant pair, as McGann's Doctor is so much like the modern incarnations that he'll be right at home with River.
Clearly Big Finish can't get enough of River as the Doctor's wife will also star in her own series, The Diary of River Song, which will see Professor Song travel 'across space and time, seeking out the secret rulers of the universe.'
The inclusion of River into the world of classic Who should be loads of fun - I would particularly like to see the flirtatious River meet her future husband in his first, crotchety, incarnation. And, as Big Finish also have John Barrowman onbaord, why not have a Captain Jack-River Song team-up?
But, wait, that's not all. Also heading his own series will be that favourite Doctor Who character... Winston Churchill! Narrated by the TV show's Ian McNiece, Winnie's adventures will see him meet the Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Doctors. And Daleks by the look of it.
Bizarrely, The Churchill Years will also feature a guest appearance by Danny Horn, reprising his role of the Scrooge-like Kazran Sardick from 2010's A Christmas Carol. As a character who had such a transformative story arc in his sole television outing, he seems an unlikely returning figure but I'm intrigued to find out why he's back - and teaming up with Churchill.
And that's still not all. The announcement that brings the most fannish thrill to the hearts of whovians is the Classic Doctors, New Monsters series which will see - yep, you guessed it - Doctors Five, Six, Seven and Eight facing foes of the 21st century era. Namely, the Weeping Angels (not quite sure how these silent creatures'll work on audio), the Sycorax (always thought they deserved a second go on the show), the Judoon (their booming voice is well suited to radio drama) and apparently Sontarans from the Time War. Which it seems Big Finish may be able to document now...
I, for one, am very excited for these new adventures - as it suggests such a wealth more to come. Who's to say they can't tempt modern Doctors and companions - even, dare I say it, Christopher Eccleston - to record some full-cast adventures? Or can they get Georgia Moffet onboard to create a spin-off series for the Doctor's daughter, Jenny? Or how about doing that Paternoster Gang spin-off that is such a popular idea? Or what about...
In short, this is exciting news.
This thrilling news has been a long time coming - for years, the new series was completely off limits to the people of Big Finish, until they recently announced spin-off series featuring Kate Stewart and Osgood of the TV series' UNIT and Captain Jack Harkness himself in a new Torchwood continuation. But now - finally - it looks like all kinds of heroes and villains from post-2005 Who can interact with classic characters.
Firstly, the head-lining event is that River Song will be meeting the Eighth Doctor, in a sequel to the Doom Coalition series which will be released next year. Personally, I think Alex Kingston and Paul McGann will make a brilliant pair, as McGann's Doctor is so much like the modern incarnations that he'll be right at home with River.
The inclusion of River into the world of classic Who should be loads of fun - I would particularly like to see the flirtatious River meet her future husband in his first, crotchety, incarnation. And, as Big Finish also have John Barrowman onbaord, why not have a Captain Jack-River Song team-up?
But, wait, that's not all. Also heading his own series will be that favourite Doctor Who character... Winston Churchill! Narrated by the TV show's Ian McNiece, Winnie's adventures will see him meet the Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Doctors. And Daleks by the look of it.
Bizarrely, The Churchill Years will also feature a guest appearance by Danny Horn, reprising his role of the Scrooge-like Kazran Sardick from 2010's A Christmas Carol. As a character who had such a transformative story arc in his sole television outing, he seems an unlikely returning figure but I'm intrigued to find out why he's back - and teaming up with Churchill.
And that's still not all. The announcement that brings the most fannish thrill to the hearts of whovians is the Classic Doctors, New Monsters series which will see - yep, you guessed it - Doctors Five, Six, Seven and Eight facing foes of the 21st century era. Namely, the Weeping Angels (not quite sure how these silent creatures'll work on audio), the Sycorax (always thought they deserved a second go on the show), the Judoon (their booming voice is well suited to radio drama) and apparently Sontarans from the Time War. Which it seems Big Finish may be able to document now...
I, for one, am very excited for these new adventures - as it suggests such a wealth more to come. Who's to say they can't tempt modern Doctors and companions - even, dare I say it, Christopher Eccleston - to record some full-cast adventures? Or can they get Georgia Moffet onboard to create a spin-off series for the Doctor's daughter, Jenny? Or how about doing that Paternoster Gang spin-off that is such a popular idea? Or what about...
In short, this is exciting news.
Saturday, 7 February 2015
Doctor Who: Other Dimensions - Spare Parts
Fairly uniquely amongst television shows, Doctor Who has an incredibly diverse range spin-off media, in literally any medium you can think of. Other franchises might have the odd tie-in novel or comic book series but none of these stand on their own two feet as much as those in the Whoniverse. For instance, in this post, I take a look at one of the most significant of all Doctor Who stories - and it was never even on the telly...
I have a confession to make that may seriously damage my credentials as a Doctor Who fan - I don't often listen to the Big Finish audios. Don't get me wrong, I love hearing the Doctors and companions returning to their roles as much as the next person (or more, actually, as this metaphorical 'next person' is statistically unlikely to be a Who fan) but I don't purchase them regularly so I've missed out on some great adventures. Recently, I set out to rectify this by catching up with this story from 2002 which later influenced the revived series by filling in a previously-unseen part of the Whoniverse. The Genesis of the Cybermen.
Much like 'The Fires of Pompeii' and 'The Waters of Mars', the (Fifth) Doctor arrives in a place he never wanted to visit - Mondas, Earth's twin planet that he knows will become the homeworld of the Cybermen. He can't interfere this time, lest mess with established history, yet like always he really rather does.
Mondas is a planet on the edge of destruction. What's left of the populace is fooled with propaganda into offering themselves to the workforce - the heroes of Mondas who brave the planet's frozen surface. Really, the unfortunate souls are converted into... Cybermen.
Before we get to those silver giants, it needs to be said that the story makes great use of its TARDIS team. The Doctor and Nyssa as a pair works much better than the TARDIS-cramming gang that accompanied the Fifth Doctor on television. Their dynamic is somewhat reminiscent of the Fourth Doctor and Romana as it's a relationship of equals more than hero-sidekick like most Doctor and companions. And, unlike the TV stories, the heartache Nyssa has been through since meeting the Doctor - the death of her father and Adric, not to mention the destruction of her homeworld - are addressed here, helping to make Nyssa feel like a real person.
All right, let's talk about 'em. First and foremost, Spare Parts reminds you of how good the Cybermen can be when used correctly. In the modern series, the Cybermen's primary goal has been to upgrade and convert humanity. When they were first introduced, however, their aim was the survival of their species - converting others into Cybermen was just a by-product. Spare Parts rectifies this change and spins a scarily believable tale about the Cybermen being born from a species on the brink of extinction, desperate to survive - at whatever the cost.
This is the thinking of the scientist behind the Cybermen. Though this story goes against the expected idea of creating a Cyber-Davros - just as the TV series did in 'Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel' in John Lumic - it retains their creator as an important character, as well as giving the Cybermen a greater autonomy. She's certainly a more layered individual than Lumic's selfish Bond villain and suits the more tragic backstory of the Cybermen. These are not genetically-engineered monsters like the Daleks. The Cybermen are us.
For all its plusses, though, the audio has its flaws. While the world-building is well done, the smaller character moments which are meant to really ram home the horror of the Cybermen are not handled with as much emotion as they were in, say, The Age of Steel. That said, Spare Parts gets the most important thing right - the Cybermen. Returning to those strange squawking voices from 'The Tenth Planet', they are an impressive piece of characterisation through sound. For any Doctor Who fan wanting to upgrade to Big Finish, this is the story that will convert you.
I have a confession to make that may seriously damage my credentials as a Doctor Who fan - I don't often listen to the Big Finish audios. Don't get me wrong, I love hearing the Doctors and companions returning to their roles as much as the next person (or more, actually, as this metaphorical 'next person' is statistically unlikely to be a Who fan) but I don't purchase them regularly so I've missed out on some great adventures. Recently, I set out to rectify this by catching up with this story from 2002 which later influenced the revived series by filling in a previously-unseen part of the Whoniverse. The Genesis of the Cybermen.
Much like 'The Fires of Pompeii' and 'The Waters of Mars', the (Fifth) Doctor arrives in a place he never wanted to visit - Mondas, Earth's twin planet that he knows will become the homeworld of the Cybermen. He can't interfere this time, lest mess with established history, yet like always he really rather does.
Mondas is a planet on the edge of destruction. What's left of the populace is fooled with propaganda into offering themselves to the workforce - the heroes of Mondas who brave the planet's frozen surface. Really, the unfortunate souls are converted into... Cybermen.
Before we get to those silver giants, it needs to be said that the story makes great use of its TARDIS team. The Doctor and Nyssa as a pair works much better than the TARDIS-cramming gang that accompanied the Fifth Doctor on television. Their dynamic is somewhat reminiscent of the Fourth Doctor and Romana as it's a relationship of equals more than hero-sidekick like most Doctor and companions. And, unlike the TV stories, the heartache Nyssa has been through since meeting the Doctor - the death of her father and Adric, not to mention the destruction of her homeworld - are addressed here, helping to make Nyssa feel like a real person.
All right, let's talk about 'em. First and foremost, Spare Parts reminds you of how good the Cybermen can be when used correctly. In the modern series, the Cybermen's primary goal has been to upgrade and convert humanity. When they were first introduced, however, their aim was the survival of their species - converting others into Cybermen was just a by-product. Spare Parts rectifies this change and spins a scarily believable tale about the Cybermen being born from a species on the brink of extinction, desperate to survive - at whatever the cost.
This is the thinking of the scientist behind the Cybermen. Though this story goes against the expected idea of creating a Cyber-Davros - just as the TV series did in 'Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel' in John Lumic - it retains their creator as an important character, as well as giving the Cybermen a greater autonomy. She's certainly a more layered individual than Lumic's selfish Bond villain and suits the more tragic backstory of the Cybermen. These are not genetically-engineered monsters like the Daleks. The Cybermen are us.
For all its plusses, though, the audio has its flaws. While the world-building is well done, the smaller character moments which are meant to really ram home the horror of the Cybermen are not handled with as much emotion as they were in, say, The Age of Steel. That said, Spare Parts gets the most important thing right - the Cybermen. Returning to those strange squawking voices from 'The Tenth Planet', they are an impressive piece of characterisation through sound. For any Doctor Who fan wanting to upgrade to Big Finish, this is the story that will convert you.
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| Fun fact: the Cybermen's ear handles conceal headphones which constantly play Big Finish audios to keep them motivated. |
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