Writer: Simon A Forward
Director: Helen Goldwyn
Featuring: Bonnie Langford

Big Finish Release (United Kingdom):
First Released:  February 2018
Running Time: 35 minutes)

Mel-evolent is available now, from Big Finish.

Written by Terrance Dicks
Read By Carole Ann Ford

Released by BBC Audio - May 2017
Available from Amazon UK

Planet of Giants is kind of a lesser story in the long Doctor Who canon and it's Target Novelization, as well as this subsequent audiobook, are really no exceptions. While the shrunk TARDIS crew being terrorized by big bugs and giant cats or getting stuck inside matchbooks is at least visually fun, the story itself has always been somewhat forgettable for me. Before I began listening, I tried to think of anything I could actually remember of the story, beyond the visuals of The Doctor and company being the size of ants.  Nothing came to mind. I remembered there was some kind of plot involving the regular sized humans, but what they were up to I couldn't recall. Listening to the book I realized why, it just isn't that compelling a story. 

An accident in the TARDIS causes the doors to fling open before they've materialized, and to compensate for the pressure, the TARDIS shrinks, including it's passengers. The plot they must foil involves some scientists and an evil business man, who have developed an insecticide so powerful it destroys all bugs and creatures it touches, even humans if given enough dosage.  Of course being so tiny, Barbara's brief touch with it overwhelms her immune system, and if they don't get to normal size soon, she may die...and they have to somehow stop the businessman too, all while being no more than an inch tall. 

I think that there is potential in the story, but it just never really works. It probably never worked, as the original television serial was initially four parts, but they cut it down to three in editing. They probably saw a clunker and decided to shrink the effects of that. That pun is intended and I make no apologies. But that is at least an interesting thing about the novelization (and audiobook), as many scenes that were cut from the final televised version (and lost to time like so many 60s episodes) are adapted into the novel by Terrance Dicks.  So at least from a historical standpoint, there is something that was lost recaptured here. 

Not that what is restored makes this any more interesting. As an audiobook, Carole Ann Ford does a decent job reading it, though she doesn't have a wide range of voices to pull from, so it isn't as varied as some of the best audiobooks (in this range or otherwise).  The subtle sound effects and occasional bits of music help here and there, but again, it is a story that relied mostly on the visual gags of our heroes being tiny, that is completely lost in the audio version (or even, I'm sure, the prose version), so losing the most worthwhile gag of the story hurts the enjoyment factor a lot. 

Not a great story, not the most exciting narration by Ford, but at roughly two and a half hours (unabridged!), it at least doesn't waste too much of your time. 

Written by Scott Gray

Artwork by Michael Collins, David A. Roach, & Adrian Salmon

Paperback: 180 pages

Publisher: Panini UK LTD

The Eleventh Doctor's tenure in Doctor Who Magazine comes to a close in fine fashion, in The Blood of Azrael. Joining him in his final set of adventures is Clara, and together they meet Famous British Pilot Amy Johnson, battle Animated Characters in an evil Amusement park, take on a mental parasite, lose the TARDIS and save Cornucopia from an ancient Artist who kills for his art.

In the opening story featuring Amy Johnson, the Doctor and Clara take on an evil bug that uses telekinetic powers to make Sand Monsters, which is fun. They even save Johnson from her eventual young death at sea by saving her and placing her on Cornucopia (and not changing history because her body was never found). They then travel to Tickle Town, an Amusement Park where the walls are closed off and the visitors can never leave...and they are kept in line by Holograms of the Animated Characters the park is themed around. In a strip that was published in the 50th Anniversary Issue, they take on a mental parasite that makes the Doctor believe he is a boring bureaucrat afraid to change the rules, using a mental parasite as a good excuse to make a bunch of references to old friends and foes for the Anniversary.

The Doctor and Clara then end up in a corrupt auction world, where in order to save Clara from being auctioned off herself, the Doctor puts the TARDIS on the auction block, hoping to disrupt the systems of the Auction Planet.  It does the trick, but while Clara is saved, the TARDIS is lost.

This final story ties into some previous arcs as well, the Lake family and their Project Wonderland from Hunters of the Burning Stone are heavily featured in the final story, and the concept of the Necrotist (the artists that kill for their art) were first introduced in the Eighth Doctor era, and made a brief return in the Eleventh Doctor's "Sticks & Stones" (which can be found in The Chains of Olympus). The final story is nice because it doesn't involve having to save Earth, but save Cornucopia and a wide variety of aliens from a Human...which makes a nice twist on the usual. 

It's another great set of stories from writer Scott Gray and gives the Eleventh Doctor a nice exit from his pretty solid tenure in the strip (a tenure that was, in some ways, generally more consistent than his own TV run).  The best part is that instead of breaking things up again, the whole arc is nicely packaged in this one volume.  The Eleventh Doctor's time on the strip was an improvement over both the Ninth and Tenth Doctor strips, as they continued the trend of quality storytelling and solid arcs that returned to the strip during the Tenth Doctor's final year in the strip. 

N-FX Game Design Studio
Warlord Games
Released January 2018

For many fans of the classic “Doctor Who” Television Series, there isn’t a more iconic image than that of the Cybermen stirring from their lengthy hibernation in the first story of Season Five, “Tomb Of The Cybermen”. Carefully choreographed, with a hauntingly eerie music track and terrific sound effects, the sequence has been burnt into the memory of many a Patrick Troughton devotee since it was first broadcast way back in September 1967.

Now, for those wargamers who have long sought both the vault and its striking Cyber-head insignia as an appropriate backdrop for their Cybermen models “N-FX Game Design Studio” have released their excellent-looking “Doctor Who Cybermen Display Stand” as part of the “Doctor Who: Into The Time Vortex” miniatures range by “Warlord Games”.

Standing 170mm in height and made of MDF, this rack additionally comes already painted in a bright metallic silver, and despite its several pieces requiring some assembly, the parts fit together so snugly, that arguably no glue seems to be required whatsoever. Indeed, the joints are so tight that I'd actually recommend you don't try to simply push them together using brute strength, but rather cover the separate pieces with a piece of cardboard or some such, and then gently tap them into place with a small modeling hammer.

This process really does transform the platform into an extremely stable plinth for your Mondasians, and even though the stand is being advertised by the Nottingham-based company as "comfortably" accommodating nine figures, with three abreast on each row, I'd argue it can easily handle twelve of the silver giants if they’ve been mounted on just 25mm circular bases.

Ordinarily, I’d leave a review concerning a simple display stand there, but in this case the detail etched within the frame by “N-FX Game Design Studio” is so good that I’d recommend purchasing a few of them for use as Cyber-platforms within a Cyber-base. One could certainly bring out both the Cyber-head emblem at the rack's top, as well as all the grating and buttons carved into its sides, with just a straightforward black/brown wash (perhaps suggesting age) and subsequent silver dry-brush.

Considering that "Warlord Games" are imminently about to release both an actual “Tomb Of The Cybermen” scenic set (also designed/produced by the excellent "N-FX Game Design Studio") and an accompanying set of metal miniatures tied into the classic story, I think a bank of these platforms down one end of the tabletop or perhaps positioned in each corner, would look awesome and add some additional height to any Telosian battlefield...

Writer: Matt Fitton, John Dorney
Director: Ken Bentley
Featuring: 
Paul McGann, Rakhee Thakrar, Jacqueline Pearce, Nicholas Briggs

Big Finish
Released: Tuesday 31st October 2017
Running Time: 5 hours

Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor has enjoyed something of a resurgence in recent years, most notably, in audio, via the Dark Eyes and Doom Coalition sagas.  Now, however, we journey back into a period of The Doctor’s canon that is largely undocumented compared to his classic incarnations, namely the war between the Daleks and the Time Lords, more commonly known as the Time War.

1.1: The Starship of Theseus

The eerie opening of this first episode evokes a time when Doctor Who, as a show, was less about the complicated story arcs and more about cybermen with silver foil suits.  However, with cinematic ideals close at hand, we join a commander of a squad of Time Lords on a mission that, at this point, still leaves us in the dark.  After an opening theme with sweeping orchestral tones, we are then hit by the comic relief of ending up in an unexpected scenario.  Specifically, in a broom cupboard with The Doctor and an unfamiliar individual who is, ostensibly, his companion.

As per usual though, the unfamiliarity with characters is quickly surpassed by the potential for comedy, curiosity and confusion, even if things seem to remain unclear for a while.  Eventually, however, the confusing and seemingly tenuously linked threads do converge and not really in the way you would necessarily expect.  Not wishing to spoil anything, the opening story of this box set, whilst it starts off rather mundanely in comparison to some, has a conclusion that is worth waiting for.

1.2: Echoes of War

This episode starts out with a rather comedic opening that, like the story preceding it, seems to share vague similarities with The Sirens of Time.  It also serves to make sure that the Daleks are in the foreground, as they rightly should be given the subject matter.  The jungle world that The Doctor and those traveling with him land on is nowhere near as peaceful as they might like.  Various elements of adumbration direct Whovians familiar with Dalek history to a particular train of thought that is unfortunately not explored further or quelled in any way.

Rather than an action-packed chase through the undergrowth, this is an interesting exploration of the impact of the Time War on those not directly on the front line.  Briggs’ delivery of the Dalek lines is almost certainly the highlight of the episode, with the insight into the psyche of The Doctor’s greatest enemy being interspersed with moments of reflection on just how volatile that foe can be.  We also gain a partial insight into the Time Lords determination to eliminate any opposition, regardless of the end result.

1.3: The Conscript

Instead of being a standard Doctor and an enemy story, this continuation introduces us directly to the Gallifreyan army and their training regimen.  References to some of The Doctor’s television appearances are very much appreciated, with confident scriptwriting and delivery showing a great difference between those fighting the Time War and those caught up in the chaos.  Whilst plot-wise, strictly speaking, very little actually happens, we as the audience get to see new sides to The Doctor and the Time Lords as a whole.  Regardless of opinions on the actual plot of this episode, the resultant cliff-hanger is worth the wait.

1.4: One Life

A so far linear story now takes a turn into the confusing, with the concept of a Time Lord weapon and it’s ramifications on the timeline.  Interspersed with flashbacks of two characters new to the Whoniverse, this final episode is very much the interesting denouement that is expected, even from a first box set in a series.

A well-formulated script, with several interesting twists and turns, combined with a cast who deliver their lines with a flare to bring this story to fruition.  This installment, if nothing else, shows promise for the rest of the exploration of The Eighth Doctor’s adventures during the Time War.

Written by Terrance Dicks
Read By Louise Jameson

Released by BBC Worldwide - February 2018
Available from Amazon UK

Louise Jameson, who portrayed Leela alongside the Fourth Doctor in the 70s, reads Terrence Dicks' Target Novelization of one of her earliest episodes, and it's another solid unabridged audiobook of this classic line of novels.  As I stated in my review of The Ambassadors of Death, my familiarty with the Target line is somewhat limited.  I only really knew that they existed and that in the years prior to home video, a lot of fans were more familiar with the books than they were the original TV episodes. But from what I've gathered just listening to these two audiobooks, this really was a wonderful line of books, faithfully adapting their TV counterparts, while still feeling fresh. I've seen The Robots of Death a couple of times, I know the story, and yet this audiobook still felt fresh.  There are scenes I remember quite clearly, like the early TARDIS scene with the yo-yo and the Doctor giving his enigmatic explanation of how the TARDIS can be bigger on the inside...but Jameson's reading of it felt like I was getting it new again.

One thing I am enjoying is that these audiobooks, while unabridged, aren't terribly long.  This one was only about three hours or so long.  I listened to it in an afternoon while cleaning up around the house. A real long novel unabridge on audio can be up to 11 hours long, but these little adaptations of the show weren't terribly long books, but they weren't dumbed down either. Dicks does a great job taking the televised version, and turning it into a book that is both short and sweet, yet not compromising what the television version was all about. 

Jameson does a solid job reading this as well, and the occassional bit of music or sound effects help make the action soar. I don't know if I'd ever have time to sit and actually read every Target Novelization, but getting to sample them via the audiobook is not a bad route to take.  If you are curious about these old books, find a story you like that has been released in this format by BBC Worldwide so far, and give them a listen.  This was always a good story, and at three hours your time commitment is minimal.