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Post by Dana Delany's Chinese Husband on Jun 14, 2012 15:27:04 GMT -5
Year of the Pig: Year of the Pig is an audio story released by Big Finish Productions in December 2006. Written by Matthew Sweet and featured the Sixth Doctor and Peri. The guest cast includes Paul Brooke, Michael Keating (Blake’s 7 and a returning Doctor Who guest star), First Doctor companion actor Maureen O’Brien (Vicki) as another character and Adjoa Andoh who had appeared in TV Doctor Who which included playing Martha’s mum Francine. Remarkably speaking from this year 2012, Year of the Pig was released before Adjoa Andoh first appeared as Francine Jones in the 2007 season but already had TV Doctor Who to her credit when she played Sister Jatt in the 2006 season opener New Earth but her face was covered with cat prosthetics due to Sister Jatt being a cat. For a pig-themed story it is remarkable to note that Year of the Pig was released mere months before the original transmission of the 2007 TV story Daleks In Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks which had featured pig creatures but not a story that had featured Adjoa Andoh as Francine. Paul Brooke played the performer Toby The Sapient Pig and I was quite surprised to find out that there was a performer by that name although he was long deceased before the setting of Year of the Pig. Year of the Pig is a jolly good romp of a story as it is extremely fun in a lot of places including the mystery about Toby’s history. My enjoyment of this story was helped by how much the cast seemed to enjoy making it. Considering that it was released in December 2006 it was definitely a suitable story due to its atmosphere to have been released in time for Christmas 2006.
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Post by Dana Delany's Chinese Husband on Jun 27, 2012 16:44:32 GMT -5
From the Doctor Who News Page: David Warner has been cast as a guest star in the next season in an episode to be screened in 2013. David Warner had played an alternative version of the Third Doctor in Big Finish’s Doctor Who Unbound audio series and is an actor who has appeared in both Doctor Who and Star Trek. The episode is by Mark Gatiss and also guest stars Liam Cunningham and directed by Douglas Mackinnon.
Joining Jessica Raine for Phantoms of the Hex is Dougray Scott and written by Neil Cross and directed by Jamie Payne.
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Post by Dana Delany's Chinese Husband on Jun 27, 2012 17:04:01 GMT -5
P.R.O.B.E.: The Devil of Winterborne: In 2011 I found out the passing of Nicholas Courtney (the Brigadier) and Lis Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith) during or shortly after viewing The Sarah Jane Adventures season 2 which included an appearance by the Brigadier on the DVD release. More than a year later in 2012 came the passing of another former companion in Caroline John (Liz Shaw). So it is with sad coincidence that like Nicholas Courtney and Lis Sladen, I was watching Caroline John in a production she was in when learning of her passing. In Caroline John’s case it is The Devil of Winterborne released in 1995, the second in the P.R.O.B.E. independent video series from BBV in which Caroline John reprised her role as Liz in the 1990s when she was an investigator for P.R.O.B.E. (Preternatural Research Bureau). Saw it on Youtube in 10 parts starting here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JFa1oBEOP0Along with Caroline John, the cast has other Doctor Who alums. Unlike Caroline John, these other alums, Peter Davison, Louise Jameson, Terry Molloy and John’s husband Geoffrey Beevers all played different characters instead of their familiar Doctor Who characters. In Davison’s case he could not play the BBC-owned The Doctor in a non-BBC production. Instead he played the headmaster of a boarding school when a gruesome murder took place nearby. Also appearing were Mark Gatiss, who in his capacity as writer wrote all of the P.R.O.B.E. series including The Devil of Winterborne, and his fellow League of Gentleman Reece Shearsmith. With The Devil of Winterborne, Gatiss has written a chilling mystery. Overall it is not bad but also quite disturbing in seeing rituals of a cult. P.R.O.B.E. has been said to be a forerunner of fellow spin-off Torchwood and like Torchwood, The Devil of Winterborne is definitely not for children’s viewing.
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Post by Dana Delany's Chinese Husband on Oct 4, 2012 20:50:50 GMT -5
Carnival of Monsters: The Carnival of Monsters I am talking about here is not the Jon Pertwee story from season 10 but it is instead the documentary with that name that was shown as part of Doctor Who Night in 1999. It can be seen on Youtube starting here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_nQOu_eNncNarrated by Fenella Fielding it is overall not a bad overview about the monsters who had appeared in Doctor Who up to point in time. It is unsurprising that narrator Fielding declared that the Daleks are the king of all the monsters.
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Post by Dana Delany's Chinese Husband on Oct 4, 2012 21:48:41 GMT -5
The Brilliant Book of Doctor Who 2012: This book looks at behind the scenes of Doctor Who season 36.
Very enjoyable.
Interesting facts of the episodes including learning that the apartment complex used in Night Terrors was the same used for the King of the Castle serial created by K9 creators Bob Baker and Dave Martin (and because of that fact I saw King of the Castle not so long ago).
Good pieces that are attached to the episodes concerned including the Planet of the Rain Gods comic strip that was originally written as the lost opening scene of The Doctor's Wife.
In addition to all this was the free download offer (since expired) of the audiobook of the novel Night of the Humans read by Arthur Darvill (Rory) and that turned out to be quite an enjoyable adventure to listen to.
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Post by Dana Delany's Chinese Husband on Oct 4, 2012 22:13:50 GMT -5
Soul’s Ark: www.imdb.com/title/tt0284505/Released by BBV in 1999 and this was presented like a Doctor Who spin-off although there is no indication from within this film of how it is related to Doctor Who. Saw it on Youtube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z3-KlrG55gIt starred Doctor Who alums Colin Baker, Wendy Padbury and Carole Ann Ford as different characters. Soul’s Ark is rather confusing on what it is actually about and perhaps it should not be a surprise that it was directed by a Western Union, an obvious pseudonym. Frustratingly Soul’s Ark ends with “To Be Continued…” as no sequel was ever made.
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Post by Dana Delany's Chinese Husband on Nov 27, 2012 19:44:30 GMT -5
ABC1 will be having repeats of Doctor Who around the new Christmas Special The Snowmen on Boxing Day – Sunday 23 December 5:55pm – The Waters of Mars Christmas Day 5pm – Doctor Who at the Proms (2010) From December 29 repeats of episodes begins with Let’s Kill Hitler on Saturdays and Sundays at 6pm. dwca.org.au/?q=blog%2Fabcs-doctor-who-christmas-schedule-revealed
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Post by Dana Delany's Chinese Husband on Nov 27, 2012 19:46:10 GMT -5
The Darksmith Legacy - The Colour of Darkness: The Colour of Darkness is the third book in The Darksmith Legacy series. Written by Richard Dungworth and released in 2009. It featured the Tenth Doctor travelling on his own without a regular companion. Very thrilling book taking place in the midst of a village on the planet Karagula especially since the village is childless. Also eerie is the woman with powers.
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Post by Dana Delany's Chinese Husband on May 24, 2013 14:42:25 GMT -5
Bernice Summerfield: The Oracle of Delphi: The Oracle of Delphi is the penultimate story of Benny season 7. Written by Scott Handcock, it was released by Big Finish Productions in November 2006. In this story Benny and Jason arrives in Athens in 430BCE where they encounter a mysterious cult, the war with Spartans and a certain man called Socrates. A very fun story with Benny and Jason being in the midst in this point in time. It was especially fun having Socrates being a character in it and quite intriguing on the revelation about the cult and its leader.
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Post by Dana Delany's Chinese Husband on May 31, 2013 10:39:23 GMT -5
Blackout: Blackout is an audio story featuring the Eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory. Written by Oli Smith and released in September 2011 and narrated by Stuart Milligan (who appeared in the TV series earlier in the year playing US President Richard M. Nixon in the season 36 opener The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon). Blackout is also the name of a BBC TV series that had starred Ninth Doctor Chris Eccleston. Blackout takes place in 1965 New York which sadly would become the setting for Amy and Rory’s swansong The Angels Take Manhattan albeit earlier in the timeline in the 1930s. Unlike The Angels Take Manhattan, Blackout does not feature the Angels. It instead has New York City having a blackout just like it says in the story title. It was caused by the presence of aliens who also employ the use of a disease on the populace. In this story Amy and Rory are separated from the Doctor for much of it but the Doctor wasn’t alone in his scenes without them as he was accompanied by Clint the cab driver. Clint, from the way he is characterised by Milligan’s narration, sounds he could have been a good stand-in companion for the Doctor in the TV series. Overall it is not a bad story to pass the time.
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Post by Dana Delany's Chinese Husband on Jun 1, 2013 1:40:02 GMT -5
Remembering Nicholas Courtney: Remembering Nicholas Courtney is an interview with the late Nicholas Courtney who had played the Brigadier in Doctor Who. It is part of The Legacy Collection DVD release but it can be seen on Youtube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfb6HrbFRvIThe interview with Courtney was recorded shortly before his death in 2011. It is marvellous account from the man himself about his life and career including of course his work as the Brigadier. To add to all this Fourth Doctor Tom Baker pops in during the interview while Sixth Doctor Colin Baker and Peri actor Nicola Bryant walking past Courtney and interviewer Mark McManus along a corridor. Remembering Nicholas Courtney is a great tribute and great send-off to the man who would always be the Brigadier.
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Post by Dana Delany's Chinese Husband on Jun 11, 2013 18:36:21 GMT -5
The Killing Stone: Captain Mike Yates during the Pertwee era of Doctor Who was played by Richard Franklin. Franklin made his last regular appearance as Yates in the Pertwee swansong Planet of the Spiders although he made a cameo in the twentieth anniversary The Five Doctors but he turned out to be a phantom and not the real Yates. So Planet of the Spiders was the last time that the real Mike Yates was seen in the Doctor Who TV series. Franklin in the 1990s decided to write what became of Yates after the events of Planet of the Spiders in a novel called The Killing Stone but it was unpublished. The Killing Stone however was adapted as an audiobook released by BBV in 2002 and read by Franklin.
The Killing Stone plays like a Doctor Who story only it mostly focuses on Mike and this came years before the Doctor-lite episodes in Doctor Who.
As well as Yates there are appearances substantial or fleetingly by the Brigadier, Benton, Sarah Jane and even the Master and the Fourth Doctor.
Franklin has written a very good story about Mike Yates that is ultimately about Yates’ redemption due to the circumstances that he had left UNIT in Doctor Who.
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Post by Dana Delany's Chinese Husband on Jun 11, 2013 20:26:39 GMT -5
Wolfshead: www.doctorwhoreviews.co.uk/Fan%20Fiction_files/Wolfshead.pdfWolfshead is fan fiction from the Doctor Who Reviews site and written by EG Wolverson. I read Wolfshead on the PDF format along with listening the audio reading of it which was presented as a two-parter made up of Wolfshead & All of History’s Heroes. The Doctor here is not any of the official Doctors but to my understanding the one that was presented in the 2003 web story Scream of the Shalka played by Richard E Grant. This story pits the Doctor in the Robin Hood legend and it was quite a revelation that one of the familiar characters of the said legend has a direct connection with the Doctor. A very fun mixing of the Doctor Who and Robin Hood mythos.
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Post by Dana Delany's Chinese Husband on Jul 7, 2013 20:59:10 GMT -5
The Killing Stone: Captain Mike Yates during the Pertwee era of Doctor Who was played by Richard Franklin. Franklin made his last regular appearance as Yates in the Pertwee swansong Planet of the Spiders although he made a cameo in the twentieth anniversary The Five Doctors but he turned out to be a phantom and not the real Yates. So Planet of the Spiders was the last time that the real Mike Yates was seen in the Doctor Who TV series. Franklin in the 1990s decided to write what became of Yates after the events of Planet of the Spiders in a novel called The Killing Stone but it was unpublished. The Killing Stone however was adapted as an audiobook released by BBV in 2002 and read by Franklin. The Killing Stone plays like a Doctor Who story only it mostly focuses on Mike and this came years before the Doctor-lite episodes in Doctor Who. As well as Yates there are appearances substantial or fleetingly by the Brigadier, Benton, Sarah Jane and even the Master and the Fourth Doctor. Franklin has written a very good story about Mike Yates that is ultimately about Yates’ redemption due to the circumstances that he had left UNIT in Doctor Who. Apparently it got mentioned in DWM that Richard Franklin had reworked The Killing Stone into his new book Operation H.A.T.E.: The Truth Behind The Killing Stone but all the Doctor Who character names had to be changed for legal reasons since The Killing Stone was never a project that was sanctioned by the BBC. It looks like that Franklin finally got to publish The Killing Stone as a book even though it meant renaming it and adjusting the characters so that the book would not look like it is related to Doctor Who on the surface.
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Post by Dana Delany's Chinese Husband on Jul 7, 2013 20:59:33 GMT -5
Iris Wildthyme and The Sound of Fear: The Sound of Fear is the first episode of Iris Wildthyme season 2. Written by Mark Michalowski and released by Big Finish Productions in February 2009. Iris and Panda arrives on Radio Yesterday, a radio station on a space station which plays classic songs of the past hence the name of the station. It was on Radio Yesterday that Iris meets Sam Gold, someone who was significant to Iris’ personal past but until that moment Iris had forgotten about due to her time travelling determining the length of her personal past. Sam Gold was played by Miles Richardson who is already familiar to Doctor Who Big Finish fans for playing Irving Braxiatel in the Benny and Gallifrey series. There were some neat references to Big Finish’s main Doctor Who range with events of the Seventh Doctor story Bang-Bang-A –Boom! being mentioned. The Sound of Fear has fun villains in the form of the Naxians and also done well was the part played by their accomplice. The Sound of Fear does very well in playing on the theme of nostalgia with the name of Radio Yesterday reflecting well on Iris seeing Sam for the first time in a long time. A very fun story for the good old times for Iris.
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