August 29

DW: The Time of the Daleks

Hey Guys,

welcome to the new history with the Dalek as the ruler of earth in the 32nd adventure of Big Finish Main Range – The Time of the Daleks. It is another story with the eighth Doctor and Charley. It takes place in London, New Britain in the years around 2050s. Also it is the fourth part of ‘Dalek Empire‘. You don’t need the knowledge of the other stories but it is part of a four episode long Story (The Genocide Machine, The Apocalypse Element, The Mutant Phase and The Time of the Daleks) and get it own spin-off.

Shakespeare biggest fans

The story starts with the Doctor find out that Charley doesn’t know who Shakespeare is. We remember that in the story ‘Invaders of Mars‘ Wells didn’t know Shakespeare either. So yeah this is the story were a lot of the hints get explained. The leader of New Britain Mariah Learmann makes a deal with the Daleks. The Daleks are apparently fans of Shakespeare. So Learmann helps them to repair their ship and they help her save Shakespeare.
That sounds like fun, doesn’t it?!

A nice change

The other stories were quiet dark. This is not a light story but it is more fun the others. Just the thought of Daleks being fans of Shakspere or Daleks moving around and quote him. It makes the story lighter than the others before. Because the rest is obviously rather serious. Also in this story is a little bit more action than in ‘Embrace the Darkness‘. Daleks don’t talk long they just act. That is one reason I love them. Most bad guys just talk and talk and you think that if they would stop talking they may succeed.
In the TV-series I often found myself thinking that Daleks became a joke. But here the Daleks are rather out numbered and out gunned but they not afraid because they are still superior. You don’t need an army. One Daleks is more than enough.

Listing or not

‘The Time of the Daleks’ is a good story. It makes clear that there is a bigger problem and the Daleks are using this. The Daleks are on their best. This makes fun to listen too. Daleks quoting Shakespeare made my day. So yeah go listen to it.

August 22

DW: Embrace the Darkness

Hey Guys,

welcome to 31st adventure of Big Finish Main Range – Embrace the Darkness. It is again an adventure with the eighth Doctor and Charley. It takes places at Cimmeria IV there is no date given and my favorite source doesn’t put it to the ‘important’ stories.

Educational Reasons

This is a story I love. The Doctor wants to avoid a group of Time Lords so he lands near the planet Cimmeria IV. They are drifting through time and watch the changes of the planet. It was once a beautiful and colorful planet and then the light just goes out. The Doctor doesn’t know the reason behind and things why not watch if they find out what happened.
There is no other reason than pure curiosity.

They take the light

The story as a quite dark atmosphere. The story plays a lot in the darkness. The characters are not able to see and the situation seems for them rather hopeless. There are creatures with this whispering voice. You don’t know who they are or what they want. Just that they take the lights. Between all that they have to deal with a rescue robot who makes their life a lot harder than it has to be.

Listing or not

Listen to ‘Embrace the Darkness’. I love stories like this. It is a mystery that needs to be solved and it did get solved. Slowly step for step you understand more what is going on. It is nice to listen to this adventure. Also we find a few hints of the future stories that come up.

August 15

DW: Season of Fear

Hey Guys,

welcome to the 30th adventure of Big Finish Main Range – Season of Fear. The Doctor and Charley traveling through the times of britain in this story. It plays in 305, 1055 and 1806 also on the 31st december 1930 in Singapore. The reason that Charley was on the R101 was that meeting with the young Alec Grayle. When Charley goes on her date, the Doctor meets a man who is immortal and claimed to had killed the Doctor.

Tell it in our own words

This story is told from the Doctor to someone we don’t know or better we just don’t know who he is talking to. So there are this moments that are told from the Doctors view. It makes the jumps in time more easier to follow and understand what is going on in this story. The atmosphere is quite dark. The possible death is hanging over his head and he tries to find out what is going on.

Promise of Immortality

Grayle comes in contact with aliens that promising him immortality. It is hard for me to understand why he chooses to become immortal. Immortality is more a curse than a blessing. You understand more and more about the reasons for the actions of Grayle. Of the disappointments he had to face. We see how all the years change him until nothing of the original person is left.
It is quite an interesting journey.

Listing or not

Definitely go and listen to it. It is a good story and the journey of Grayle is interesting and a little bit similar to the story of ME just with a better outcome or more interesting outcome. There are also little mentioned of things that are explained in the later stories. Small hints of the overall storyline which started with the adventure Invaders of Mars.

August 8

DW: The Chimes of Midnight

Hey Guys,

welcome to the 29th adventure of the Big Finish Main Range – The Chimes of the midnight. The eighth Doctor and Charley lends in 1906 London inside a Edwarian House and in mystery they need to solve. Before I listend to it I already heart a lot of this story. How good and well loved it is. It was so good that they actually re-released as a vinyl version.

Darkness everywhere

The Doctor and Charley lands in that House but it is dark – really dark. There are a few mysterious things like a name in the dusk that can’t be removed. Charley writting her name in the dusk and it vanished as she never written it. That is just the start.
The next time they find each other in a murder scene. The servant Edith Thompson got drowned in the sink and the other servants are knowing the Doctor as the inspectore of Scotland yard.

Darkness coming back

This story is a dark one. It is not particalor horror but you can feel the darkness everywhere. The atmosphere they are created with really simple things is quite dark and mysterious. I for one didn’t expecting this out of the story. It is a mystery that needs to solved and you try to find out with the Doctor together. It is not a fun story it is dark and full of death and sadness and ill treating of people.

Listing or not

This story is amazing and one of the best I heart from the eighth Doctor and Charley. It is dark and mysterious and you can investigate next to the Doctor what is actually going on. There are enough close. But as so many stories like that I didn’t get them. The second time you listing to it, you asked yourself how you can miss all that. So yeah go and listen to The Chimes of Midnight.

August 1

DW: Invaders from Mars

Welcome Guys,

to the historical adventure of Big Finish Main Range – Invaders from Mars – about the invasion on the 30 October 1938. Oh sorry I ment the 31 October 1938. The Eighth Doctor and Charley stubble across another invasion.

Let’s go and invade the earth

Here we are again the 200th invasion of earth. The Doctor and Charley actually wants to visit Singapore but they land in New York City. Both of them find a dead man and try to find out what is behind his death. There is so much going on in this series. There is the broadcast of the ‘War of the Worlds’, the dead private detective, an alien weapon is on the market and then there is also a kidnapping. How is it all connected? Is it all connected? What is actually going on here. On top of everything there is an alien invasion going on or is there?

Everything not quiet right

There are a few little things that are mentioned in this story that aren’t quiet right. Like the date of the actual broadcasting of ‘War of the Worlds’. All this things lead as to the story that will go over the next 6 episodes. I actually didn’t get all that little mistakes. But people who actually live in america may know more about it.

Listing or not

I really like the grand idea behind this story. All the different little stories that of course expand to one big story are not that bad. I actually like the story. It is a little mysterious and also fun. There is so much going on in this story that you have to listen to it very carefully to get everything quiet right like the wrong stuff. So yeah go and listen to this story.

July 25

DW: The Eye of the Scorpion

Hey Guys,

the 24th adventure of the Big Finish Main Range – The Eye of the Scorpion – leads to egypt. The fifth Doctor claims in the story that he and Peri must be around 1400 BC from hieroglyphics. It seems that the real history doesn’t know exactly when Amenhotep II reign ended in 1401 BC or 1397 BC. This story is a pseudo historic story. It is the story about the daughter of Amenhotep II Erimem.

Who will become pharao

Erimem is in this story ment to become the pharaoh. Who knows a little about egypt know that their wasn’t a pharaoh named Erimem. The Doctor knows that too and is afraid that she will die in the revolution that is to start about the fact if Erimem actually can become pharaoh. There are people who doesn’t like the thought of a woman being pharaoh.

Friends and Traitors

But Erimem is an interesting character and I really like the side characters Fayum and Antranak. Antranak is the general of the palace guards and is trying to protect Erimem. Fayum is a priest in the royal court. The story definitely lives through these two and that friendship between them. The chemistry between the characters is amazing. It is so easy to fall in love with this characters which I hadn’t like that in a long time.

Listing or not

I really love egypt. When I was young I read so much about it and was so interested. Sadly nothing from the knowledge survived but I still love everything about egypt. Maybe I should get back into it. The story itself doesn’t held much ‘real’ history in the story about Erimem but there is much information about the time in the little details in the story telling about the land and their culture. This is already a good reason to listen to this story. Second the story is great and the characters are lovely.
The atmosphere is mostly lightly and fun. Peri and Erimem make good team and it is fun to listen to them. But it still has his moments seriousness and sadness. It is a great story and also introduced a new companion of the Doctor. So yes go and listen to it.

July 20

DW: The Romans – rewatch

Hey Guys,

welcome to the vacation in acient rome. The Romans is a story with 4 episodes and tells about what happend to them after they crash landed. We visit rome in the year 64 AD. Their is a story ‘Byzantium!’ from the Past Doctor Adventure Book series that is stated to play between The Rescue and The Romans.

A little bored

The little family is make a little vacation for already a month. Vicki gets a little bored. She wants adventure and the Doctor can’t sit still any longer. So he and Vicki are traveling to rome. When Ian and Barbara were attacked by slave traders and sold at an auction.
The story starts slow and gets a little darker when they got sold and the Doctor and Vicki stubble over corpse.

Start of Comic relief

The third episode was the reason for critic. There are a few comical scenes in it that for me doesn’t fit into the story. Nero is chaising Barbara throw the rooms and his slave behind them to fix his appereance. I get the wish to bring something new to Doctor Who and it is what makes the series still so amazing after 50 years. But I don’t like it very much in this story.
In this story is a lot of drama. Ian and Barbara are sold as slaves. The Doctor is finding himself surrounded by attempted murder.

Watch it or not

I love historical stories. The comedy elements are not mine. But they are not that much we had worse episodes like that in the new series of Doctor Who. The Romans is maybe not that good at the story telling but it is good story to get to know Vicki a little better. Also it gives us a chance to the Doctor interact with her. It is like he is replacing Susan (The Dalek Invasion of Earth) with Vicki.

July 18

DW: Project: Twilight

Hey Guys,

in the 23rd adventure of the Big Finish Main Range – Project: Twilight – they in invite us to the casino ‘The Dusk’ owned by plain old vampires. This story is the first part that featured the Forge. The Forge is an enemy that follows the Doctor through more stories than this one. Created as a long story it includes the adventures Project: Lazarus, Project: Destiny and a spin-off novel Project: Valhalla and a short story named Twilight’s end.

This story takes place the present day. In the story itself is no date given. But in Project:Destiny is stated that it happens on the 23rd August 2001.

What happened and who are the Forge

First of all the story is about what happens behind the curtains of the casino. The vampire are working on a cure for what happened to them. This is actually a really interesting setting. This vampires are made by experiments. Experiments that are conducted by a Government organisation named the Forge. The people we met here are victims or were they victims?

The question is who are your friends, who can you trust? What are the goals everyone is having? I like settings like that were you don’t know what they are planing. Were you don’t know if they are still the victims or are they already the perpetrators? This whole story is a grey zone and it is amazing.

Great Character Moments

Evelyn has amazing scenes in this story. She and Cassie – a woman who works in the casino – have so many great scenes together. Cassie is an amazing side character with so many layers and good background story.
You can judge her or feel with her. Her story hopefully doesn’t end here. There is so much potential left.

Listing or not

Go and listen to this story. I really liked it. Stories that play in this gray zone are amazing. There isn’t a clear line between good and evil, sometimes not even between victims and perpetrator. What is your right of survival and what is just cruelty. Where begins right and were starts wrong? Just it is an amazing story and I am sure the following stories in this storyline are also amazing.

July 13

DW: The Rescue- rewatch

Hey Guys,

welcome to first adventure without Susan (The Dalek Invasion of Earth) named The Rescue. For the first time they introduced a new companion – Vicki Palister –  to the group of the Doctor, Ian and Barbara. Vicki’s ship crashed on the planet Dido in the year 2493. She is a young girl and one of the only two survivors of their crew. It is a really short story with just two episodes.

They were a friendly race

The Doctor visited the planet before and stated that the people are friendly. But Vicki seems to be afraid of them and they actually doesn’t make such a friendly impression to Ian and Barbara. Vicki helps Barbara after she falls over the cliff. Later she explains her the situation she and Bennett are in. That these creatures killed the rest of the crew. At the same time Ian and the Doctor are trapped in a dungeon.

Missing a part

The Doctor is really sad about Susan’s departure. He stands a little beneath himself. Barbara and Ian try to make it easier for him. But she still missing. I wasn’t a big fan of Susan. But she was important to the other Crew members. The Rescue deals in a beautiful way with her absence. All the little things that shows the pain in the Doctors face. Vicki on the other hand lost her father and is alone and also needs to fill empty space in her heart. It is really sweet to see the Doctor trying to take care of Vicki.

Watching or not

The Rescue is a really short but good story. It is nothing special. Vicki seems in this really similar to Susan what is for me not the case. Yes she cries but she just lost family and can’t deal with death. It is a promising start for a new team. I like the dynamics between Vicki and the others that is shown here. I think Vicki makes the stories less dramatic.

July 11

The Tenth Doctor Adventure: Cold Vengeance

Hey Guys,

the Ice Warriors are going to wake up from the icy sleep in the last episode of the Tenth Doctor Adventures Box Set – Cold Vengeance. The Doctor and Rose lands on Coldstar which is a freezer satellite from the company Coldstar. There is no date given. But it takes places five hundred years after the ten-year war between the Ice Warriors and the Humans.

Meeting the pirates

Like I said before the Doctor and Rose lands on the Coldstar satellite where they meet space pirates and a refuse collector Lorna. Which for all we know could already enough for a whole story. But now the Ice Warriors are awaken and seek revenge for the war crimes of the humans.

Being apart

In every story before I said that there this lightness to all the stories. This is the darkest story so far in this Box Set. I think it is because most of the time the Doctor is with the Space Pirate and Ice Warriors. So Rose is with one Space pirate and the refuse collector. The lightness comes from how they act around each other. It is still not a dark story but darker than the rest.

Listing or not

Go listen to it. Isn’t that a surprise. This story is really good. We got good old Ice Warriors and really good characters like Lorna. The Doctor Rose know each other really good. They saved the day so often and they believe in them as a team and in their knowledge. That brings a lot of problems that could have been easier when they would stop talking and start listing. This is really amazing. Go and listen to the person that makes the Doctor listening.