Doctor Who BF-133 City of Spires

"Arriving in a hail of musket fire, the Sixth Doctor unexpectedly finds himself in the highlands of Scotland, where the ruthless Black Donald and his band of rebels are fighting the Redcoats. But the highland warriors no longer fight for the Jacobite cause and the English officers answer only to the mysterious Overlord. What has happened to Scotland and why are its moors littered with advanced, oil-pumping technology?"

The Doctor reunites with Jamie!! I went into his story heavily excited. But at first I never guessed that he would be this "Black Donald" guy. When the story starts, the Doctor is sent to look after the injured, but one of the soldiers shoots a man, to save him the pain. The gun shot actually made me jump! But this made me wonder what Jamie had become, if he was part of this army.

Jamie sounds like he's in good health, even if it has been twenty or thirty years ago. I was sure that this would be complicated, because Jamie's and Zoe's memory's were wiped in the end of "The War Games." It's not only the Doctor who has changed since he and Jamie first met. Jamie, or "James Mcrimmon" has become much darker, because he has seen innocent men, women and children killed around him.

It was good to hear about "The Mcrimmon piper" again. Jamie always used to talk about it when traveling with the second Doctor. The sixth Doctor even mentioned the time when he thought a Cyberman was the Mcrimmon piper.

At first, I expected this story to be completely historical. And I'll be honest, I might have preferred it if it was. This story might have been better if instead of the alien intervention, we just had a political war between the Scottish and their enemies. Much like the Highlanders.

I found it amusing how Jamie saw oil as something that wasn't useful. It was a clever plan to get oil from the past, to use it in the future. But imagine the paradox it would cause! It took me twice as long to get through this story, because I got three unrelated phone calls from different friends. But by the time episode three came along, I was rearing to go, and see this story tithe end. The cliffhanger to episode two was quite good, with the execution of both the Doctor and Jamie at hand.

Back in the Second Doctors era, there were always plenty of hot girls, but Jamie was always the one wearing the shortest skirt (ok, a kilt. But the rule still stands.) So I found it quite funny how when Jamie asked for a lift up, he told the Sixth Doctor "don't look up!" Referring to his kilt.

In conclusion, this is a good story, and it is brilliant seeing Jamie again. I look forward to hearing his other adventures, but I also think that three adventures with Jamie and the Sixth Doctor won't be enough. A must-listen for all Whovians.

8/10

Doctor Who BF123d - Doctor Who - Mary's Story

"Switzerland, 1816: at the Villa Diodati, Lord Byron's house guests tell each other tales to curdle the blood and quicken the beatings of the heart. With a monster on the loose outside, young Mary Shelley isn't short of inspiration."

Finally we get to see some Mary Shelly. At first, I was confused to why the Doctor had turned up at Mary Shelly's place of resident, in the state he was in.

It was nice to be as confused as a companion for once. I genuinely had no idea what the Doctor was talking about as fist. I was so confused at the start, because I had no idea why the Doctor looked the way he did. But I was satisfied with the explanation.

I thought that this was a prequel to the eighth Doctor and Mary Shelly adventures. For both of them. But this is the future eighth doctor, who's already experienced the "Cybermen, and Axons" with Shelly. This was an interesting thing to do, Big Finish. Very clever.

The "Frankenstein" story line was really good. If these events had happened, then I could see how Mary Shelly would base her book off it. Although, Shelly should have included the "Bigger on the inside" thing. Would have made the book tons times better.

When the present version of the Eighth Doctor arrived, I was very excited about it. "But this just means the Doctor becomes a monster, in the future... Destroyed beyond his ability to regenerate." But the TARDIS and the lightning restored him, because he landed there in a previous life.

The Doctor referred to Mary's husband, Percy as an "Idiot." And Mary told us all about her soap opera of a life. I would have thought that Mary Shelly would have had more of a comfortable life. But I guess this is before she wrote her books.

The Doctor reboots the TARDIS with a small green crystal. In my head, this was the same crystal as the one used in the new series adventure "The Rise of the Cybermen." Nothing suggests otherwise, so that's what it is.

The conversation between the two versions of the same Doctor was highly entertaining. The voices seemed different, for some reason. They bickered, and it made me think- there should be a time travel law that states: "If two versions of the same time lord bump into each other, then the older version will take the reigns, and be in charge."

The ending was fantastic. It was brilliant to hear the Doctor say "remember, Frankenstein is the name of the monster. NOT the name of the Doctor." Which in regards to the book, it's the other way round. It's an interesting twist on things.

A great story, worth a listen. Definitely listen to it if you're following the Eighth Doctor 2012 range. It's the start to what I hope will be a trilogy of great adventures. Here's hoping!

8/10

Doctor Who Fourth Doctor Adventures S01E01- Destination: Nerva

"After saying their goodbyes to Professor Litefoot and Henry Gordon Jago, the Doctor and Leela respond to an alien distress call beamed direct from Victorian England. It is the beginning of a journey that will take them to the newly built Space Dock Nerva… where a long overdue homecoming is expected."

This story continues straight from "The Talons of Weing-Chiang." There is a mention of Henry Gordon Jago and Professor Litefoot, and the Doctor states that they're best staying in their Victorian gear for this adventure. To start, this story seemed very gothic, which matches the Fourth Doctors season at the time, perfectly.

It's brilliant to hear the fourth doctors voice again. Big Finish have captured his Doctor perfectly. The BBC audios were more "Little Britain" Fourth Doctor, instead of the real one.

It was good to see the Doctor return to Nerva. I'll never forget "The Ark in Space", with Sarah and Harry transporting sound the space station. Those memories will stay with me forever.

Everything the fourth doctor says is brilliant. He has some fantastic lines, and doesn't sound "too silly" as he often could be in the television series. For once, though, I agree with Tom Baker- the fourth Doctor would probably work better without a companion. He's awesome enough to take on both roles, by just playing the Doctor. "My Doctor" was Jon Pertwee, but when I was first looking at Doctor Who, I had only two classic DVD's. "Spearhead in Space" and "Logopolis." I went with Spearhead, and ever since, I've been in love with everything "Doctor Who" related. I am a proud Whovian. But Tom Baker was very nearly "My Doctor."

At the first mention of Nerva, the Doctor chuckles. This reminds me of the previous memories of Nerva, and shows that the Doctor enjoyed his time with Sarah Jane as much as we enjoyed watching her.

Leela is extremely violent, throughout, and truly is a tribe member. When I was listening to the first episode, she attacked two people in the first twenty minutes!

I remember thinking when I purchased this episode "What will happen in Nerva, this time? Will everyone be in a frozen state? Will it be taken over by an alien race?" But I wasn't expecting everything to be fully operational. This marks a great end to the Nerva trilogy.

Already I'm excited to listen to season two of the fourth Doctor adventures! Romana, Daleks, and Jago and Litefoot to look forward to! I am so happy the Fourth Doctor signed up for Big Finish.

So, a ship that was stolen from 1985 was boarding Nerva, whilst a strange infected man asked people to shake his hand. Did anyone else imagine that he looked like one of those creatures from "Seeds of Doom"? Just a bit more impressive?

The one thing that annoyed me about this story is the fact that they didn't give a reason for the Doctor not to go to the TARDIS. He was cut off from it seconds later anyway, but he said "the chances of the TARDIS making a precise journey to earth is..." But he should have just taken the chance, and ran towards the TARDIS!

This story just didn't seem right. I loved pretty much everything about it (with the exception of the characters of the supporting cast) but it feels like something is missing. This is the start to a great series of adventures, and this is the only let-down of series one of the Fourth Doctor adventures. I shouldn't like it... But I do. Oh well, it's no harm done. It's still an entertaining listen.

8/10

Doctor Who BF-161 The Butcher of Brisbane

"Adopting the alias of Weng-Chiang, the 51st century war criminal Magnus Greel will one day arrive in Victorian London by Time Cabinet – only to meet his doom, his plans undone by the Time Lord known as the Doctor."

It feels like I've been waiting for this story forever. Not only is it more of my currently favourite TARDIS crew, but it's also the return of Magnus Greel, who hasn't been seen since another favourite of mine "The Talons of Weing-Chiang."

I like the idea that this is actually a prequel and a sequel to TTWC. But I can't remember if Magnus recognised the Doctor by name in the televised adventure. I'll have to rewatch the story again.

I really liked the idea of Nyssa pretending to love Magnus so she could find out what he was really up to. Creating sympathy for the character I've thought of as "A really evil being" for years, is a difficult task. And Big Finish did it incredibly well.

I had a very vivid image in my head of Mr Sin chasing people round with a knife, and I found it hilarious, even though I'm sure it was meant to be a serious scene. I guess there's no way for me to escape the low production values of classic who.

All the cast made brilliant performances, I knew that I recognised Magnus' voice, and it turned out that he portrayed Mister Dred in a Sarah Jane Adventures episode. As soon as I realised, all I could imagine was Magnus walking round wearing a suit and sunglasses.

I liked the idea of both groups having an intelligent person with them. Turlough and Nyssa went one way, and the Doctor and Tegan went the other. I still haven't warmed up to Nyssa, though. Maybe it's because two intelligent minds in the TARDIS isn't as fun? I don't know.

In conclusion, this is a fantastic story, and didn't let me down in the slightest. Brilliant mental imagery is created throughout. And it's always good to see the Fifth Doctor and Tegan bicker. Even if Miss Jovanka has always secretly annoyed me...

8/10