In time for Halloween, I decided to listen to a relatively spooky episode of Doctor Who starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate and featuring the return of Wilf and Sylvia. The first time that I listened to this, back when it first came out, I didn't like it. I thought it was a boring episode, but upon relistening to it, I found it to be really enjoyable. It really feels like an episode from 2008, capturing all of the characters well. While the story may not be exceptionally fast-paced, it's well-paced for this story. It takes the time necessary to get to know Justin, the only real new character and gives enough time to hear from old characters such as Wilf and Sylvia. One of the especially delightful things in this story was the interaction between the Doctor and Donna. Though their banter is always a highlight of their stories together, it was especially a delight in this story since they were pretending to be a married couple, something that I don't believe we've seen them as in other stories. It was really enjoyable hearing them call each other pet names to keep up the ruse. The ending was satisfying and finished Justin's story well. I liked how it tied back to Donna's past and was more personal to the characters than the Doctor just defeating an alien. The ending was rooted in humanity, something that I really appreciated. The major flaw that I noticed in this story was that Sylvia Noble goes along with the Doctor and Donna, even though she didn't find out about their travels until The Stolen Earth. This continuity error is painfully clear through much of the story. It makes me wonder why she wasn't questioning them more. Even so, the story was rather enjoyable even with this flaw. Overall, this was a decent episode that was much better on a second viewing and is definitely worth listening to, though it may not be the best Tenth Doctor story.
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Animators have recreated this missing episode into a wonderfully animated story. I recently watched it and really enjoyed it and noticed some interesting links to literature.
I'm just going to be reviewing the little ten-minute bonus feature of The Wheel in Space included on the DVD for The Macra Terror.
As this story is only ten minutes, I don't have much to say. The animation is at about the same level as The Macra Terror. The story isn't especially gripping. The destruction of the TARDIS added a bit of excitement to the story but after that scene was over, the story slowed down a lot. The graphics were good and the spaceship was well designed. I'm interested in seeing what the full episode looks like if the animators ever finish the story. Overall, this was a rather enjoyable short that I'm glad I took eleven minutes to watch. In this story from the Fourth Doctor Lost Stories Box Set, the Doctor and Leela are thrown into an expedition to South America and are led on a wonderful quest across the world that was a delight to listen to.
This is a really solid start to the Eighth Doctor's Titan series. It introduces new companion Josie well and feels a lot like Big Finish's Eighth Doctor Adventures series. First of all, this story captures the Eighth Doctor's personality pretty perfectly. I hesitate to call it perfect, but I can honestly think of no flaws in the dialogue. It all feels very much like it's Paul McGann speaking the lines, which is a truly wonderful thing.
Second, the artwork. It's phenomenal throughout the entire story. There are just enough details for it to look incredible yet also few enough that it doesn't look too realistic. I like the design of the Doctor's new companion; the blue hair is a nice touch. My only complaint is that the Eighth Doctor doesn't completely look like Paul McGann. The face is just a little off, especially in the shape of his jaw. That said, this isn't something I noticed when I first read this issue, but after reading some of the later ones and looking back on it, it is something that can impact how much he feels like the Doctor. This can be explained away as part of the Doctor's aging between the movie and The Night of the Doctor though. The plot is simple but good. Josie's paintings coming to life almost reminded me of other stories (perhaps The Red Lady), involving artwork, yet still felt like a fresh and original premise that I would have enjoyed seeing more of. In addition, I liked that it was set in the twenty-first century, helping it feel like the new series and The Eighth Doctor Adventures. Because of this, I felt the story would be much more accessible to new fans, especially since this story is relatively continuity free. I also really liked how this issue is a single self-contained issue. This means that anyone can buy one without worrying about not getting a copy of the next one. While it forms an interconnected story arc, it's not like the Titan's Tenth Doctor series, in which every story is a two-parter, making it hard to follow if you only get an issue occasionally. Overall, this was a really fantastic issue and it left me excited to see where the story would go next! This is it. I might actually like semi-historicals now, something I never thought I'd hear myself say. But between this and some of the other stories I've been listening to lately, I've realized all of the advantages of the format and the incredible stories they can tell.
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