Seagullslost's Doctor Who (and others) audio reviews

The Quest of the Engineer                                     The Fourth Doctor Adventures 9.4                                               On a planet that reconfigures it surface, the Doctor, Romana, Adric and K9 are seeking info on a CVE. They encounter the ‘Engineer’ who is also interested in CVE’s, though there is more to him and the planet than at first seems. I had to check that I had started with part one, as it begins with Adic having been arrested for taking K9 though the streets where technology is forbidden. They meet Rigis Tel played by George Layton (perhaps more noted in DW circles as being the Space pirates) and go on to find the truth about the planet. As for the plot… Well it is tempting to say what plot. The planet is… mild spoiler… a giant space ship. Being a Hitch...

Murder At Moorsey Manor                                   Jago and Litefoot 7.3                                                                                                               Moorsely manor is where this adventure takes Jago and Litefoot. Taking on the alias of invited guests at a meeting of Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts, they hope to find someone who can help prove their innocence.  All would be well except that the guests soon learn that one of them will die on the hour, every hour, and there’s no escape. This is a pretty solid audio. Though I wasn’t bowled over by it, it is good, As usual for me I didn’t get a go...

The Night of 1000 Stars                                             Jago and Litefoot 7.2                                                                              Jago, Litefoot and Ellie are holed up in Baker Street, still fugitives. The arrival of Leela would seem to be a bit of a boon, yet there is something ‘other’ in the group. This is almost one long conversation between the four. There’s a picture where, at first glance seems to be normal, but then on second look there’s something closer to home. Remorse - as Leela names it, an entity feeding on the guilt and sadness from the past. The title alludes to the fact that Jago presents each of the four as a theatre show. As they tak...

Pandemonium                                          The Ninth Doctor Adventures 4.5                                                                             Once again its the Powell Estate, this time the Doctor and Rose discove local historical figures are suddenly appearing. Though I would prefer something a bit more sci fi/spacey I’ll take what I can get. Its the Ninth and Rose. With Camile Caduri as Jackie Tyler its a not a bad combination. So Jackie has Edith Nesbit in her living room, writer of Five Children and It etc. also quite the protester, filling up the space with placards. So what is going on. This is by no means a deep or complex adventure. Leaning more to the comedy side of thi...

The Monstrous Menagerie                                       Jago and Lifefoot 7.1                                                                                                           Once again its about remembering where things were left at the end of the last set. Litefoot was in court accused of murder and he and Jago went on the run. Luckily they have some help from an old friend (Professor Dark aka The Doctor) and they set themselves up in a house on Baker Street where the meet Arthur Conan Doyle and things get a little meta… One of the main jokes/reoccurring themes is everyone asking when Arthur is going to bring back Sh...

The Dispossessed                                Doctor Who The Monthly Adventures 242                                                                        The Doctor, Mel and Ace arrive in a present day Earth setting, much like Ace’s or Rose’s home - a tower block estate. However they soon find themselves transported to a pocket dimension, a tower block, zombies and no way out… With this set inWithin Manchester it did give me 9th Doctor vibes, along with it feeling like Rose’s home. But also hints of Survival, and a reference to Paradise Towers so it does have a ring of treading old ground. It's not a complex story, Mel and Ace have their adventure, while the Doctor has his. There’s also a couple that are managing to survive, and...

Frankenstein                                             Big Finish Classics                                                                                   Frankenstein’s monster is one of those things that seems to have always been around, lampooned and retold in so many different ways, that we know more about the fame than the original creation. I remember the Frankenstein Unbound film in the early 90’s with John Hurt. I do have a copy of the novel, though I’m not sure if I’ve actually read it or that its been so long since I did. As with the Invisible man last year, with this on sale its a chance to catch up on  a classic. This stars Arthur Danville as Victor and Nic...

The Dark Planet Doctor Who The Lost Stories 4.1 The Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan are way back in the early times of the universe. On a strange planet with crystal structures and odd statues, and a fight between the light and the dark…. This has all the hallmarks of an early adventure. Much like the Senorites, it has that isolated, unknown element where the rules of Doctor Who had not yet been set. I do like those stories as everything was new and it really could go anywhere and do anything.  With only four cast members and narration, it does come across as an extended Companion Chronicle. William Russell plays Ian and the Doctor with Maureen as Vicky and Barbara. It was much easier to tell the Doctor and Ian apart - a ‘My boy’ here and there made it obvious. However there was little difference between Maureen’s Vicky and Barbara. So, other than sometimes not realising which character was speaking, I didn’t feel like I’d enjoyed a Barbara adventure. I listened to this mostly on a ...

Maelstrom                                                                         The Sixth Doctor Adventures: Water Worlds 1.3                                             Another water world. Here the people share bodies. Things aren’t going well and the population was uploaded and held as data. When needed, their minds are downloaded into one of the few bodies that are left. Its an interesting situation the TARDIS crew find themselves in, especially since the arrival of new people also means three new bodies that can be used… They also discover evidence that the marine life of the planet have been experimented on to see if minds can be downloaded into them. It is a standard adventure, I do feel that ...

The Tides of The Moon                                             The Sixth Doctor Adventures: Water Worlds 1.2                               With Hebe joining the TARDIS, and being a marine biologist the Doctor takes her to the nearest ‘water world’. Its nearer than they think though - The Moon 2 billion years ago… Though it is our moon it could be any planet really. The local are plagued by some creatures full of teeth called the Sheega, as usual the Doctor and co are sacrificed, and there’s more to life on prehistoric moon than even they are aware of. There is some nice stuff with Hebe. In the fact she touches one of the aliens gills and realise how many times she’s taken offence when someone has done that to her wheel chair.  I wasn’t that well when I listened, and there is stuff I missed. So thi...