May 31

DW: Sword of Orion

Hey Guys,

welcome to the 17 adventure of Big Finish Main Range ‘Sword of Orion’. It is a story with the eighth Doctor and Charley. They met the cybermen in the year 2503 in the Garazone System. It is long after the Cyber War but in the Orion War. I think many can already thing how the story plays from here.

Orion War

The Orion War is a war in the late 25th and the early 26th century. It takes place between androids and humans. This got also explained in the story itself. The human race is always on a war.

Surprise, Surprise

The Cybermen are not dead. The Doctor and Charley strand on an old cybermen factory. A ship and their crew trying to get everything that makes money from the factory. The new captain is fishy from the start. The story is not really surprising at all. The characters are kinda dull. One of the crew got killed and they blame the murder on the Doctor. What totally make no sense at all. But all of the characters doesn’t make much sense. I also have problems to follow who is who in this story.

Listing or not

Okay truth be told this one of the very little adventure were I thought I really didn’t need to hear it. It is not sooo bad. But the story is a little boring and the characters are all so annoying. Of course Charley and the Doctor are great but that is here not enough.

May 24

DW: Storm Warning

Hey Guys,

welcome to the 16th big finish main range Storm Warning. It is the first adventure in the main range with the eighth Doctor and he also meets his new companion Charley Pollard. The story takes place on the 5th October 1930 over France on the R101. This story takes a bit of real earth history and tells us a story of what could be the reason that leads to that.

Storway

Charlotte Pollard is a storway on the R101. She wants adventure and see new places. The first impression you have on her is that she is a very kind person who does things and mostlikely before thinking. SHe is reacting and I like her (maybe because I already know her from the later adventueres). On the R101 she meets the Doctor who really fast find out that he is in a place that is doomed.

So many things I love

This story as alot I love. There is of course the eighth Doctor, who is at fault that I became adiccted to Big Finish. I also like Charley and the Doctor. Also I already knew who the travels of these two end and know to see how they start is interessting. Also I love the stories with historical background. Give me more with this.
So there are alot of reason to listen to this adventure. The story itself is good. There is something mysterious going on this ship. Changes in the buildings plans, a mysterious passenger that is on no list and nobody has seen and a mission to forfill.

May 15

DW: Shadows of Avalon

Hey Guys,

welcome to ‘The Shadows of Avalon’ Volume 31 of the book series ‘Eighth Doctor Adventures‘. Quite obviously it has the eighth Doctor in it and his to Companions Compassion and Fitz. The reason I bought this book is that they meet in the adventure the Brigadier. You all know I love the Brig. I doesn’t know much about Compassion which would maybe helped with understanding this book. For people how doesn’t know what is going on I don’t want to spoil it but the story also a story about Compassion. So it is helpful to actually know her.

Compassion – short look at her

Compassion was first seen in the book ‘Interference – Book One’, which is the 25 volume of the ‘Eighth Doctor Adventures‘. All the information given know are just what I read about her. So it could be that there are mistakes in here. She was at some point Laura Tobin. She was one of the survivors of her home planet that was destroyed. Faction Paradox transported her to earth. But the ship need a few years more than human lifespan has. So the passengers were remembered by using biomass in remembrance tanks. It seems that Compassion is the result. Earth signals changed her so much that she started traveling with the Doctor.
When we met Compassion in this book, she waits for the Doctor to arrive. The Doctor send her to live on earth to become more human. So this is where the story starts.

Gateway

Avalon is a dream world dreamt from King Constantine. But something bad is going on in this world. A gateway opens between this world and earth. The military stumbled upon it and the Brig is investigating. The Brig is in a very bad place in this adventure. He lost his life Doris and is searching for death. As much as I hate seen the Brig in such a state, the travel he goes through in this book is kinda amazing. I am just not happy with the end of the book about this problem.
So back to the problem at hand. The humans and Fair Folk are at war and two mysterious people are meddling with the two folks.

A construct of Magic, War and Politics

This whole book is just a big conspiracy. You try to find out what these two ‘people’ are up too. The Doctor is trying to find out what is going on and leaves the Brig. The Brig totally lost in his grief is bringing the military to help the Humans and send all of them into war – into death. I don’t like the whole parts of the war. I am not a fan of war stories. Compassion and Fitz are away from the Doctor and also think that he is dead. So they got involved with the Fair Folk and send on a mission to close the gateway. A big part of the story are politics and religion stuff. And around that construct of War, Politics, Religion they spun a magical world with Dragons and other magic.

Live in the Dark

The book is rather dark. It is war and the Brig is grieving. Compassion and Fitz are grieving the Doctor and feel not secure. So there is really nothing positive going on in this story. There is little hope in the people. The whole story is set in dark palace. There is no laughter or happy moments. When we get a really small moment of happiness than the grief of the Brig is making this moment painful again. So it is light lecture.

The longest I read on a book

I think I read this whole book over a whole year… a year! For my liking it was too much war and politics and the whole atmosphere to depressing. Since I didn’t know much about Compassion and Fitz is also kinda difficult to relate to, when you know so little about him. In the epilogue I actually really gets him. Maybe a little late. The only thing I really found interesting was the journey of my Brig.
So if you like politics and war and Avalon. If you like to read books with a depressing atmosphere than you are here right. Maybe when you know the characters better the story would be better. I don’t know.

February 5

DW: Dark Eyes 4 – The Monster of Montmarte

Hey Guys,

welcome to the second adventure of the Dark Eyes 4 Box The Monster of Montmarte. Again it is with the eighth Doctor and Liv which are now not searching for Molly but the TARDIS. So we are still in 1921 but they traveled to Paris. This story is bringing the first story into the whole Dark Eyes story. They are all conacted to a big story.

Welcome to Paris

Like I said before Liv and the Doctor are searching for their TARDIS. For that reason they split up to cover more ground in shorter time. When the Doctor met an artist which is telling him about the monster that is going around Paris and brings him to the Red Pagoda. Liv get followed by suspious peopel, which she of course notice every fast. They want to make a deal with her and the Red Pagoda is playing a role in it.
The Red Pagoda is like the moulin rouge and has this establishment something to do with the artists which vanish in Paris.
I can’t tell more about the story without spoiling the story.

Listing or not

I would say this is one of the weaker stories of the Dark Eyes Story. But Liv and Doctor have time to shine in it and go their own ways. The characters are nice and interessting. So it makes definitly up for the weaker story (it is still a good story). Also it makes sure to conacted the story of these box with the stories before. What makes the story so much better again.

January 29

DW: Dark Eyes 4 – A Life in the day

Hey Guys,

i finally got the fourth box of the Dark Eyes serie from the New Eighth Doctor Adventures, but know we can start with the first adventure A Life In The Day. It plays after the last adventure of Dark Eyes 3. Molly should be back in her right time line but still with Dark Eyes. This time is London 1921.

Alien

The Doctor is searching for Molly and is staying in London for that time. Liv is feeling quite alien, because everything is so different from what she knows. Like the coincidence the Doctor is finding trouble on his search. He visited Mollys old work place and find an man with serious problem. When he is around this man he find himself in a time loop for a few seconds. So he ask him to spend the day with Liv. When Liv and the man – Martin are around in the town. The Doctor and Martins sister Kitty are attack from people on the street. So everything is a mess, like always with the eighth Doctor.

Listing or not

The story is good and fun and everything a good story needs. Liv is still traveling with the Doctor they have a good chemistry. I still miss Molly. Molly is also the only thing that tells us that we are still in the Dark Eyes adventure. Apart from that it doesn’t seem like it is conacted to the Dark Eyes story. What doesn’t mean that it isn’t conacted, because so far every adventure were conated so i am sure that we will find the conaction to the other adventures apart from the search for Molly.
So yes this is definitly a go and listen to the story. But like you already know i always thing that Dark Eyes is one of the most enjoyeable stories so far.

June 18

DW: Memory Lane

Hey Guys,
welcome to the 88 adventure – Memory Lane – of big finish main range with Charley and C’rizz and of course the eigtht Doctor. The story doesn’t give us a particialar date. When you go after the names and things Kim – one of the astronauts that the Doctor meet in the story – know. She must live somewhere 2010 (that is where the AHistory put it) and the story takes places two hundred twenty-seven years after Kim and her crew are departed from earth. This means it whould be 2237 or something like this. C’rizz is telling about the TARDIS and prisons so it is shortly after ‘Something inside’.

Prison again

The three are finding themself in a prison again. But were the story of ‘Something inside’ was dark and deep. This story is light and funny. The land in the living room of an old lady which doesn’t react in anyway than that they stay in her way to watch tv or the Doctor go of to buy ice cream. At first they think they are on the countryside but than the find out that every house not just looks the same. In every house is living the same old woman.
So the atmosphere is totally different to the adventure before.

Cell changes

The Cell is creating a really little world. At some point the cell is taking Charlies memories and create her childhood home. So we find out a little more about her past life. Which is really lovely to know more about her. She was a sweet kid. The Doctors world is just him and the other two asking about the Doctors victory. Again here is C’rizz the one how saves them again. C’rizz mind is something special and get always shown to us.

There is not much to say about it. The story is nice and as funny scenes. But it is nothing special. It is just another not bad episode of Doctor Who.

April 9

DW: Something inside

Hey Guys,

here we go with the 83 adventure ‘Something inside’ form the big finish main range. This adventure is playing somewhere after the Divergent Universe – in which this story should original take place. I assume that it also plays after Time Works. Inside the Story is no time given. So it would be a perfect fit for the Divergent Universe.

Here we go again

Big Finish want to make fun of me. This story is again a story with the future and than going to listen what happend. It feels like the story got to the start very fast. But i still dislike this way of telling stories. Again C’rizz, Charley and the Doctor lost each other again. I love it when every character can shine and this time it would be Charley. But here we see that there must be something new to be an interessting story.
The human nature is always the most interessting and this team around the time lord are amazing characters.

The human nature

There was a war that the humans couldn’t win. Everytime the humans can’t do something they found another way. This time the made a mashine that turns humans in telecnatic persons. After the war was over they tried to reverse the progress what didn’t functioned. The only other solution the humans can bring up is to bring this people into a special prison. Isn’t this a typical story about our nature. The story is really good and it makes a lot of fun to listen too.

February 27

DW: Time Works

Hey Guys,

here we go with the 80 adventure ‘Time Works’ of the main range of Doctor Who. It is another adventure with Charly and C’rizz and of course our lovely eigtht Doctor. This story was planed as a story for the Diverenge Universe but it takes place now after that events.

Clockwork

What happends between the tick and the tock? The Story is really interessting. So what is it about? The story is about time. The three of them lands in a land where everything stand still. All the people just stopped and they all have watches. So time even when there isn’t one seems really important. Of course this not the only thing. The Doctor doesn’t want to stay. He wants to go back to the TARDIS, but on the way back something goes wrong like always with the Doctor. C’rizz and Charley are still trapped in the stopped time. The Doctor lands in the moving time again. So he is in the tock and the others still in the between. What gives us my favorite option to have the Companion alot of action without the Doctor. So the two try to find the Doctor again. The Doctor tries to save these two.

The two sides

They people in that land just live for anything anymore. There is just working and sleeping. How can not work or not work good enough get dispossed. This is making us ask what is life really about.
C’rizz has that talent to find the people the right people, that explain him what happend. This ‘computer’ is building a new world – rebuilt. The quest is to make sure there is still something for the next generation.
What i really like is that C’rizz have an good developement. He cut himself a little loose form the Doctor. He is like hiding behind him. Almost every sentence starts with the Doctor would say.

What i like about the story is that in between it is told like story. An Offspeaker is telling us about the clockworkman and the voice of the woman is really intimedating. She makes an amazing job. It is a good episode. Not special, not extraordinary but a good story and nice to listen too.

January 16

DW: Other Lives

Hey Guys,
this radio play ‘Other Lives’ is the 77th adventure of the main range. It is not the next adventure with C’rizz but it is an adventure with C’rizz and Charley (in this article you find a short describtion to her – http://www.whovianandtvseries.com/doctor-who-scherzo/). The story plays in 1851 on the Great Exhibition (Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations – London, Hide Park – Crystal Palace). In the timeline it is after the haunting of Thoma Brewster and before The next doctor. For the 8th doctors timeline it lie after Scaredy Cat.
One notion before we talk about the radio play. On this radio play the ‘coming soon’ is before the story starts, which is a little bit annoying but yeah.

Again we meet

This is the first audio story featuring the Duke Welligton. The second is ‘the Curse of Davros’. In this two stories he doesn’t have a direction interaction with the Duke. But he met him before. First the second doctor met him in the year 1805 and 1815 (PROSE: World Game). Somewhere later on the Doctors timeline he visted the Duke and makes a trip to Brighton. The Sixth Doctor was at the battle of Waterloo (PROSE: Players).

In this story the Duke seems kinda inconsquence. It feels like he his two different persons. Sometime is a nice old man, who have an really sweet conversation with Charly and than he is like ‘I am the Duke. I can do what i want’. But mostly he is a nice man that help them.

Team Dynamic

I can’t say much about it. Because i didn’t heart the stories. But it seems a little bit like Charly and the Doctor are going of for adventure and C’rizz stay in the TARDIS. Okay it just started like it. The three are a good time, because everyone of them has the talent to find problems and bring them in worse situation. What i really like about the story is that all three have their fair share of the story and had an adventure of their own. They are not limited to the Doctor.

Doctor, the Husband

The Doctor gets so many problems. The couple de Roche are the victims of a assination act. The Doctor saved them and it seems like they vanished with his TARDIS. But the Doctor has now bigger problems. He get accused of being the one that tried to kill the couple. Before he got to trial, a woman Georgina Marlow, is saying that he is her husband. He seems to look like her husband and is drawn into a family problem.

Alone in the streets

Charly is an amazing character, who never should her mouth and this story so no exception. She has a big mouth that make her meeting with the Duke really amusing. When she saw the person with pistol, she goes to warn them. All it brings her in is that, she had to leave the Great Exhibition, when it closed and met a guy – Rufus Dimplesqueeze – who wants to sleep with her, because he things she is a prostitute. She ends up alone in the nigth on the street. She is searching help at the Dukes house and is drawn into a politics.

Like Zoo

C’rizz falls in the hands of a really bad man – Jacob Crackles – that take him to make him part of show of freaks. This is one of the amazing part is that this adventure is not just really in time. It acctually make the different appearing to an theme. Many time they let it slip under the carpet. Like Martha in the time of Shakesphere and so on. But here it is aknowledge that C’rizz is looking different than other and this is what brings him in the trouble. He is trying to keep his dignity. His cell companion gave it away already.
C’rizz is not working with our moral believes. He is ready to hurt people who hurt him.

I love this story. It puts everyone in a new position. It is a totally historic story and no big bad or something. This are stories i really really miss. It just happend a few things. I love how everyone have their own storyline and the Duke and Mr. Fazackerly are amazing guest stars. The only thing that is a little special is that the Doctor tell that he never saw himself as a family man. But he already had family…But this is just one thing. For everyone listen to it. It is amazing and fun and just life.

September 26

DW: The Creed of the Kromon

Hey Guys,
here comes ‘The Creed of the Kromon’ the second adventure in the Divergent Universe with the eighth Doctor and Charley (Sherzo was the first adventure). It is the 53 part of the Big Finsh main range and plays somehow after Sherzo.

New Characters

The Doctor and Charley get to know alot of new people. One of the C’rizz is a future companion. C’rizz is a really interessting character. He is loyal and intelligent. He do stuff on his own and don’t wait for the Doctor and his plans. He is not impressed with the Doctor talents, he just like him. The most i love his sacrsm. He is ready to do would has to be done. The Ooorg is another friend. That is a big help for them in the story.

Kromon

The Kromon held other species captive and make them their willing slaves with a fluid they have to drink. They let them work for them and breed for them. C’rizz escaped from them and met the Doctor and Charley. But he is not long free. The Kromon capture them all. The Kromon is a specie that is from the structure totally defierent from the humans. So the do alot of science. The planet they are living on has not enough water for the Kromon, because of the twos suns they have. So they want travel in Space and they also make experiments to clone them.

Break out

The story is alot about break out, get captured and break out again. All three characters have a lot time to shine and their own. Even when it is the same in the episodes it is never boring. C’rizz is making the story really interessting. This story shows us again that Doctor Who doesn’t live because of the Doctor. This story is carried by C’rizz and his interaction with the Ooorg and Charley. The chemistry between them is really amazing and also the chemistry between him and the Doctor is working really good. So we will have a lot of fun with these three characters.