Seagullslost's Doctor Who (and others) audio reviews

Red Planets Doctor Who The Monthly Adventures 241 A Russian cosmonaut is nearing Mars, Ace is in wartime Germany while The Doctor and Mel are in present day UK, the Russian communist Uk that is…. I had thought that perhaps Ace wasn’t in this, as they mention they dropped her off. But when the story picks up she’s saved a man from being killed as he was attempting to get over the wall. Things aren’t so good for the Doctor and Mel though, as Mel remembers a different timeline to what really happened. At one point a president Reagan is mentioned, the disbelief that the actor Ronald Reagan could become president of the USA, Is there no one else called Reagan? I listened to just over the first episode when I had to stop, and was disappointed I had to wait to carry on. We don’t really know what’s going on, but its intriguing. We’re not giving a lot of info as the details are revealed slowly. But it has to do with what’s on Mars. Ace introduces herself as Dorothy its a bit strange to hear he ...

Empire of the Racnoss Classic Doctors New Monsters 2.2 A distress call finds the fifth Doctor way back in time, the Timelords are fighting the Racnoss.  The Doctor decides to help one of the Racnoss. It does strike me that if my people were fighting an enemy I might be inclined to side with my people, but that’s by the by. If you remember the way the Racnoss spoke in the runaway Bride then this is how they speak all through this and as with a lot of alien voices they’re not the best on audio, but again its a minor quibble. The story itself: Racnoss double dealing and betraying each other for the leadership and the children of the Racnoss. To be honest I think the Racnoss should have stayed a on episode monster. Though there were twists along the way I really didn’t care. It wasn’t engaging. Its not a bad story but neither is it a great adventure.

Night of the Vashta Nerada Classic Doctors New Monsters 2.1 A team are sent to Funworld, a leisure park world to find out what happened after to all the people who worked there. The only find the 4th Doctor, and skeletons of the employees…. I’ve never really been a fan on the 4th Doctor on audio - I don’t know why, but I enjoyed this. Its an odd collection of people who make up the team. The owner of Funworld, the pest control expert, a tech expert and a psychic. And the Doctor joins them to investigate. Its not too dissimilar to the first series, its rehashing the original stories the monsters appeared in. So as they look for answers to the missing crew, the skeletons, the discovery that they cut the forests down to build the park. The Doctor is already aware of the Vashta Nerada, if this had ben the Doctors first encounter with them it would have been more interesting. I listened in dribs and drabs, not the best way, but there was nothing here that stood out. So while I did enjoy it ...

The First Sontarans Doctor Who: The Lost Stories 3.6 I bought this nearly a year ago and have just found time to fit it in. I gather this was commissioned for Colin Bakers first season before then change to 45 minute episode and was cancelled due to the two Doctor also featuring the Sontarans. Due to be set on the Marie Celeste, it was changed and only a reference and a mention of the Daleks remain. A group of aliens are living on Earth in the late 1800’s, but what are they doing there? And what’s there problem with the Sontarans. There is a lot packed into these 4 episodes, so much so that it feels much longer - not a complaint. Some storiies I’ve come a way from trying to remember what did happen.  Episode one seems to have the Doctor and Peri go from place to pace with no real intention. Starting on the Moon they discover a reciever/transmitter and make their way to Earth to follow up. Interrupting a cock fight leads them to a tavern where they meet someone else and go back to t...

 Photograph To Remember The Paternoster Gang: Heritage 1.2 While Jenny and Strax take time off they visit a photographer whose photos have an unearthly aspect to them, Madam Vasra meets someone whose back from the dead and isn’t quite the person they were. I wasn’t that impressed with the first episode in this set, though I find I quite enjoyed this. The gang meet an alternative version in that Vella, another Silurian, Stonn - a Sontaran and a human are the Bloomsbury bunch. Its interesting with Vastra and Vella catching up and sharing experiences.  Though I didn’t listen in one go there were a couple of time when the plot seemed to shift, Strax suddenly being chased by zombie types. I do feel that this would have benefited from being longer or the first in a two parter.

Shadow Of The Moonlight Star Cops: Conflict 5.2 The release of a new film staring Coral Goldfinch, with its premier on the Moon. Well as she stars as the commander of the Star Cops where else would you have the premier? Its an interesting idea - a film featuring the Star Cops. The leading lady is making a come back, after the death of her daughter, though things take a turn when her boyfriend Striker Torrance is murdered. I was going to say that the features the whole team, but I’ve realise that Alice isn’t present. In the last episode she was escorting a prisoner back form Mars so she’s not back yet. Its an enjoyable audio, somewhat standard. But it has a couple of good twists that ramp up the tension towards the end and and make it a cut above the norm. There is a nice call back to previous member of the Star Cops, so for long tern fans its a nice touch. Also is mention of Kenzy’s new romance. This loses marks for the constant use of autospy in place of post mortem and the use of fla...

The Hunting Ground Doctor Who The Monthly Adventures 246 Present day Iceland and a body has been found in the snow and the Doctor maybe be the only suspect. Yrsa, from the police is the stand in companion for this story. Her father, also in the police, was murdered not that long ago. So she has a vested interest in the case. This doesn’t quite follow the usual pattern of Doctor Who stories. The Doctor and Yrsa following  tracks to a compound, rather that a runaround and a more limited cast of characters. Its quite a refreshing change from the usual earth settings. With the body, the cold and somewhat bleak backdrop it seems that this was going to be quite a dark serious outing. Yet when the Doctor and Yrsa split up the Doctor meets a clerk with two heads that seem to do little more than bicker at each other, adding an unnecessary comedic element. We find that there is an alien whose hunting humans and there is more going on that it seems at first. The middle two episode are just ov...

Too Many Masters Missy Series 2.4 At the end of the last adventure the Monk had turned up. Reunited since their last meeting in Divorced, Beheaded, Regenerated. Its been a year or so since I listened to the first set of Missy so as usual, though I remember the story, how it ended is less so. But since a lot of stories ended with the Master apparently dying only to be alive and well next time, its not that important. Rufus Hounds Monk is great, about as different to Peter Butterworths version as David Tennets Doctor is to William Hartnels. Michell Gomez Missy is fantastic - sometimes you can tell actors are more reading the lines rather than inhabiting the role,. Michelle is every bit bit as good as she is/was on TV. The Organs catch up with them in this episode. The Master never paid them for the work they did in Frontier in Space, with the Master being a man they mistake the Monk for the Master. Not that that gets Missy off the hook s they both get taken prisoner. Missy and the Monk a...

The Unwinding World The Companion Chronicles 9.2 Vicky attends a meeting, an assessment to see how’s she’s settled in, how her friends, The Doctor, Barbara and Ian are doing. Their jobs, the flat etc.. This is a really good example of how to use the medium and format to its best. The first in this range put me off for years, it was only the Mahogany Murderers that tied into the Jago and Litefoot series, that made me give them another try. Like that, this is mostly a conversation between Vicky and Connie, so when talking about events involving The Doctor, Ian or Barbara its a much more natural way of those characters being in the story while the actors are not (first person narration isn’t something I enjoy). As you might have guessed it starts with some mystery as we join the story already in progress, and as we find out they’ve been on this world for at least 3 months. Which has necessitated in them getting jobs and somewhere to live in lieu of the TARDIS. Itself having been taken. So...