NFET's Doctor Who Spinoff Corner

Singularity - 5th/Turlough. What starts as a simple story about invaders setting up shop as a cult in next Sunday A.D. Russia soon expands into a thoughtful meditation on coping with the inevitability of loss and death. The story risked losing me by getting too heady in the early going, dealing with multiple time periods and a large ensemble. There’s a central twist to the villains that forces a lot of clear details about them to be obscured, but once you get a sense of who they are it’s truly clever and devious. Halfway in, once it’s clear what’s going on and the story finds its momentum it becomes truly engrossing. There’s not a lot of action (and what there is feels tacked on), but there is some fascinating philosophy at play here, decisions on who in history deserves to live and when it is someone’s time to die. And when Doctor Who does dig into these big topics and finds something provoking to say that’s a mode it really excels in. A-


DotD 6. Trouble in Paradise - 6th/Peri. Off the bat, focusing a story on Christopher Columbus and correctly portraying him as a pompous, racist, and murderous asshole makes me happy. It’s nice when Doctor Who tackles the ugliness of some historical figures instead of sugarcoating them. Unfortunately, the story uses Columbus to springboard a moral debate between the Doctor and Peri about interfering in time that makes both act wildly out of character and overly simplifies both sides to the point of nonsense. The story just doesn’t have a good grasp on time travel or the consequences of it, as it throws in arbitrary element after element. The villain is ridiculous, too lame to be either threatening or funny. And it’s just unfortunate the Virgin Island natives are just nameless background characters, and the Doctor not saving them feels unconscionable given the weak argument the story presents against interfering with this event. A dud on multiple fronts. C-

77. Other Lives - 8th/Charley/C’rizz. When historicals don’t work, they really don’t work. If the elements just don’t come together for an interesting story, the lack of sci-fi elements heighten the tedium. Other Lives is either a historical comedy that’s not very funny, or a drama that’s not very dramatic, especially in the tedious first half. The closest you’ll get to an emotional reaction is in the interaction between the Doctor and Georgina, featuring a great performance from Francesca Hunt. Introducing her at the end of episode 2 is a mistake, making for a very lackadaisical first half. Another great element is Ron Moody’s Duke of Wellington, but it’s a shame the great character is stuck in a floundering subplot. The story then builds to a shockingly non-ending, making you wonder what the point of it all was. C

Sorry this took so long, Cryptobiosis literally kept putting me right to sleep everytime I tried to get through it lol.

Cryptobiosis - 6th/Peri. A bonus hourlong story about a mermaid taken captive on a early 20th century cargo ship. The mermaid part is technically a spoiler, but thank me, cause the first half is very boring if you don’t know where it’s heading. The premise, if not an instant slam dunk, still sounds like an easy way to generate drama. Sadly everyone but Nicola Bryant phones it in so hard any real interest in the story is smothered in the cradle. C-

Destiny of the Doctor: Shockwave - 7th/Ace. A strong entry in the series, by making its threat an unstoppable natural disaster our heroes can do nothing to stop but run from it, Shockwave gives itself a sense of urgency and action most DotD stories lack. It also has the honor of the story with the most to say so far. Not just a rehash of a particular era trying to capture its mood, James Swallow has a point to make about how and why people choose to live or die (not unlike Singularity, also penned by him) B+


Destiny of the Doctor: Enemy Aliens - 8th/Charley. I don’t know if this is a problem with me, but it’s felt like the audiobook format where the featured companion provides omniscient narration as well has been a hinderance on this series, sucking a lot of life and momentum out of the story. Alan Barnes knows exactly how to use the change in format to his advantage, switching up the usual Doctor Who perspective of following the Doctor and companion into a tale that will pull back the focus to show a chilling detail or narrow in and throw out the Doctor for a chunk of the narrative to emphasize Charley’s isolation. He also has a constantly moving, rollicking story, filled with action and humor. Where the other parts of this miniseries feel light, Enemy Aliens is packed with characters, set pieces, and sparkling dialog that’s thankful for the bridging narration to fit it into the hour timeframe. A-

Pier Pressure - 6th/Evelyn. Colin Baker and Maggie Stables have such wonderful chemistry, and Robert Ross does such a good job fueling that chemistry with both quick dialog and elegant prose, that a story with these three could just be people standing around talking and still be entertaining. It’s to Pier Pressure’s credit and detriment that it’s exactly that. An almost motionless story that has more fun expositing or letting its characters bounce off one another than letting things happen, it’s like a dare, trying to see how far your patience for disconnected Six and Evelyn banter will stretch. I’d say it’s a success, with Roy Hudd’s lovely take on comedian Max Miller being the X factor that pushes it into likable territory. Just don’t get upset wondering how an over 2 hour long story can still feel so slight. B-


Prole Hole , I don't blame you for lagging on Destiny of the Doctor, I wouldn't have recommended it myself until reaching these three most recent stories. Speaking of, this is the best one yet.

Destiny of the Doctor: Night of the Whisper - 9th/Rose/Jack. Even with 50 years of stories there’s still some genre pastiches Doctor Who hasn’t tried for size. It’s a blessing that they’re take on Nolan’s Batman films isn’t an embarrassment. Instead it soars through rain soaked cityscapes and a violent criminal underground. While keeping up excitement and momentum has been hard for the previous Destiny stories, “Whisper” makes it look effortless, with several thrilling action scenes that are expertly written and match the mad pace of a great RTD story. Helping is a bombastic score that imitates the best of Zimmer. Nine, Rose, and Jack are a TARDIS team with a tragically short amount of material, and it’s a blessing that a rare addition to their legacy is as good as this and characterizes all three perfectly. Where the story obviously stumbles is in Nicholas Briggs’ narration, which can’t capture Rose or Jack’s voices at all, and stumble when he has to voice a woman. But his portrayal of villain Wolfsbane (subtle!) is a great scenery chewing performance, and he gets Eccleston’s cadance just right enough to make you nostalgic. Another shining entry in a series that’s trending upwards. A-

I remember really enjoying the first 45 minutes to an hour of Night Thoughts, Nathan Ford's Evil Twin! But then I fell asleep. And when I woke up it was the end and I was confused.

(deja vu)
(looks back in thread)
(right, I already mentioned this)

Time Works - 8th/Charley/C’rizz. Every Doctor stumbles into having a signature kind of story. The Second Doctor has the base under siege, Three for action/spy stories, Seven for mind screws. Big Finish has created the formula for the Eighth Doctor, stories set on planets with intricate and complicated rules, based around societies that feel truly alien. Part of this is from the large shadow the Divergence Arc casts, this story is one that was written and never used for that arc. The world of “Time Works” is a fascinating one indeed, one where civilization is micro managed by a computer down to the second, one that can even control its citizens between the seconds. How it accomplishes this is unexplained, and maybe that’s for the best. There’s a fairy tale quality to the story, it’s lyrical and soft. It has a bit of a problem with pace and scope though, with so many characters juggle and so much of the world to explore it’s easy to forget that Charley and C’rizz spend three episodes hanging out in one room. Still, it’s a wonderful and fun tale, and you can tell McGann lights up when he gets a script like this. B+

Feeling very positive about this pair of audios, cause they both have pluses, you get it.

80.5. The Veiled Leopard - Peri/Erimem/Ace/Hex. A twisty Pink Panther inspired farce where the new wave 5th crew has to protect a priceless diamond being stolen in the first half, followed by a story about Ace and Hex trying to steal the same diamond. The perspective flip is a clever device that allows for a lot of narrative satisfaction when the flip happens, but even more enjoyable is the character dynamics being built upon here. Like Evelyn before them, Erimem and Hex have come into their own as all-star companions, and this story only emphasizes how great the sibling like relationship between the two pairs are. It’s a shame the two never truly meet, with all the chemistry crackling between the usual pairings in this episode I can just imagine how fun it would be to throw all four together. B+

81. The Kingmaker - 5th/Peri/Erimem. The best Big Finish stories do things that could never be done on TV. Mostly this involves stories that creatively use the radio format (this one has another stellar example of taking advantage of the audience’s blindness), but the standout element here is how hard it is to believe a story this ridiculous, this anachronistic, this bawdy, the non-canonical, this INSANE could be put officially under the Doctor Who. But I’m glad pseudo-officially is good enough, cause this is a treasure of a tale, one with both serious musings on the nature of fate and destiny, and on how and why to hide the truth, and also one that is hilarious. Nev Fountain’s script is a joke machine with each beat containing a few punchlines, some whizzing past in the asides, others landing hard. The story is just as complex in plotting as in joke telling, separating the Doctor and his companions between two years of distance allowing it to mess around with multiple timelines. It’s confusing, but the rewards for keeping up are immense, especially for Stephen Beckett’s deadpan Richard III, who steals the show. Another triumph. A+

Destiny of the Doctor: Death’s Deal - 10th/Donna. Ten and Donna! That’s what works about this story. Ten and Donna!! Catherine Tate narrates it and perfectly gets back into the character, Ten is characterized well as the overenthusiastic, overapologizing guy he is. Ten and Donna!!! The story itself is just a cliche survival story on a jungle planet, surviving weird creatures, keeping the good guest characters alive while watching the bad characters act like dicks to their deaths, whatever. It’s all worth it to hear this band back together again. B

Nathan Ford's Evil Twin - "Something Inside" just isn't very good. Sadly. I remember thinking at the time that the 8th Doctor range was something I was starting to lose faith in a little - McGann is still unquestionably great, but Charley bores me by the point, C'rizz just isn't engaging, the Divergent Universe stuff really achieved nothing, and though still capable of greatness the hits seemed less common than the misses. The idea of the script isn't terrible but it's not brilliant either, and it doesn't really do much - a lacklustre script with characters you don't care about a leads that aren't engaging enough just makes this dull. Not awful, just plodding and all a bit pointless really. Memory Lane and Absolution wont do anything to change this opinion...

Still Not listened to it... I will, honest guv'nor!

"Apocalypse" - oh dear. If Doctor Who fandom went through its initial childhood with Doctor Who Weekly/Doctor Who Monthly, then the first quarter of the NAs are very much its adolescent phase - capable of flashes of greatness, but more often just shouting, "I am grown up! Look, violence and tits!" "Genesys" did it, and here we are with "Apocalypse" - not as gratuitous as "Genesys", mercifully, but still struggling for a way forward given that the restrictions of the TV show have been removed. The Tymewyrm plot feels extraneous, but not much surprise there... This has a base level of competency and nothing else at all - just completely forgettable.

84. The Nowhere Place - 6th/Evelyn. A haunting story, one that sets about creating a great mood and atmosphere. Both the spaceship and train this story takes on feel well defined, and are populated with interesting characters attacked by a fascinating threat. It takes a lot to pull off a final act that’s mostly exposition in an entertaining way, but Nicholas Briggs has the right amount of imagination to make it stick. B+

I started the companion chronicles!

Frostfire - 1st/Vicki/Steven. A story that works as an excellent introduction to this line of narrated stories, Maureen O’Brien spins a tale that takes great care with its setting. The Regency era frost fair makes for a delightful backdrop for the Doctor to meet Jane Austen (who feels sadly underused) and encounter an icy phoenix with flames that freeze. There’s a clever narrative trick in the end, but the best parts of this story is the little details that make for an evocative world. B+

I thought I would stop posting Gallifrey reviews for each installment and do one for the whole series, but these next four episodes proved to be a lot richer than the first, so I wrote about them individually. Here's a review dump!

Gallifrey: Spirit - “Spirit” scales down the scope to take a close look at Romana and Leela’s friendship. How their worldviews differ and why they need each other. It’s an effective character builder, with some good insight and humor, but there’s not much else. It’s attempt to have a story is laughable. B-


Gallifrey: Pandora - “Pandora” brings all the conflicts in the season to a head remarkably fast, it feels like a season finale in the middle of the season! It brings the arcs of Braxiatel and Wynter to huge climaxes, rapidly escalates the threat of Pandora, dives deep into Gallifreyan backstabbing and double crosses, and delivers a genuinely creepy and fascinating mystery. It’s a near platonic ideal, a true show of force for the potential of this series. A-


Gallifrey: Insurgency - “Insurgency” slows down a bit to reset the series’ story, right before barrelling down straight into the climax. The political side to Gallifrey has never been more important, as the story directly tackles the issue of xenophobia in a way that resonates on a fiction planet as well as it does in 2005 Britain and 2016 America. It’s a rare feat to make a story this charged not feel didactic, and Steve Lyons deserves applause. Romana is brought to her lowest point yet, and Lalla Ward absolutely owns her material. The set up to the climax is so intense, this season has in the span of two episodes become one of my favorite Who things. A


Gallifrey: Imperiartrix - An orchestral climax that brings all the themes and characters at play in this season into sweet harmony. Romana is cut down even further, all the better to give Lalla Ward even more of a fabulous showcase. Though the political wheeling and Matrix/time travel screwery make what’s going on is a little muddled and hand wavey, it’s built on the emotional growth, and regressions, of strong, dimensional characters. Epic in scope, intimate in its detail this series has proven Gallifrey to be essential Who listening. A-

Nathan Ford's Evil Twin - Just a quickie reply this time, but to say that I completely agree about Red (definitely one of my favourite Mel outings) and a really terrific atmosphere that just doesn't let up until the end - love it.

And very excited to see you kick off The Companion Chronicles. In some ways I actually think the CC are some of the most innovative and interesting material BF has managed to produce, and they manage to do something which sounds easy but which is almost never actually achieved - they give a genuinely different perspective on Doctor Who. It's extremely welcome, there's not a bad performance in the entire range, and I absolutely and utterly adore the CCs.

And I haven't heard Gallifrey. Yet.

Memory Lane - 8th/Charley/C’rizz. There is such a fantastic conceit to this story, one that slowly unfolds itself with twists unfolding up until the last episode, which concludes with a bit of elegant problem solving. Our main crew is at a high point here, with the Doctor, Charley, and C’rizz all given great material. There’s some really funny dialog, and the crew’s bickering is put to good use here as there’s a lot of fun interactions. McGann is great here, emphasizing the whimsical side of his Doctor. that A very enjoyable story that helps redeem a troubled era. A-

The Blue Tooth - 3rd/Liz. A simple but effective Cyberman story. The dread builds slowly, with disquieting details building and building until the body horror filled conclusion. Caroline John makes for a great narrator, really selling Liz’s terror and confusion. However Liz herself isn’t a very effective protagonist, taking a backseat role, reacting more than acting. This story really exemplifies what’s novel about the narration format because it allows for natural tangents and digressions to flesh out Liz’s character, but it also requires some things to be described second hand, which creates this sense of removal. It’s also hard to follow who’s talking in a given scene sometimes. Still, an all around solid story. B