Warlord Games
Released May 2017

Whilst some fans might argue that the dreaded Daleks have had their own share of physical ‘upgrades’ during the course of their time on “Doctor Who”, few would surely disagree that it is actually the ‘look’ of the Cybermen that has both changed the most and the more often. In fact, one of the genuine thrills of “Warlord Games” Nightmares in Silver: Cybermen Collectors set, is that as the ten-figure pack features all of the cyborg’s “key designs from over the decades” it quickly becomes abundantly clear just how markedly different the first Mondasians appear when compared to the modern-day chic design of those which featured in Neil Gaiman’s 2013 televised adventure.

Equally as evident from these “finely-sculpted scale pewter” sculpts is the silver giants’ journey through the past fifty years and the productions canny evolution from a staggeringly complex attire which was seemingly “tacked together from anything the costume designers could find at the time” to one which relied upon “converted flight suits for their bodies” and “spray painted cricket gloves.” Each and every one of the miniatures is discernibly different from its counterparts, with even the superficially similar 2006 Cybus Industries Cyberman and its Twelfth Cyber Legion contemporary containing detailed divergences such as the removal of the Cybus logo from the later cyborg’s chest.

Unsurprisingly, painting these “emotionless space-faring” creatures to a table-top standard could not be easier, as the majority of the soulless automatons pigmentation can swiftly be achieved courtesy of a silver-coloured prime, a simple black wash and a subsequent silver dry-brush. However, those hobbyists who fancy trying to patiently ‘pick out’ all the cybermen’s tubes, tear-drop eye rings and rectangular mouths, will arguably be in for a much tougher time, on account of the detail being rather ‘soft’ in certain areas; most notably the models’ faces.

Indeed, just how the “Warlord Games” resident painter managed to achieve the sensational results shown on the boxed set’s packaging is absolutely mind-blowing and surely involved the witchcraft of a Machiavellian Carronite. Their brush-work on the likes of the 1967 “Tomb of the Cybermen” miniature is particularly impressive, with all the cyborg’s various flashing light-emitting diodes being individually highlighted, and proves to be an incredibly comprehensive painting guide to boot.

Pose-wise, this Collectors Set really does contain it all, from the rather sedentary stance of the 1976 “Revenge of the Cybermen” ‘hand-on-hip’ variant, through to the somewhat controversial mid-running sculpt of the 2013 War Cyberman; which is actually a direct copy of the silver giant depicted on the 2013 “Nightmare in Silver” advertisement poster. There’s even a thoroughly menacing version of “The Wheel in Space” Cyberman from 1968, who only seems to be missing a dejected Zoe Heriot with which to loom over, and a Legion Cyberman carrying what can only be described as a big freakin’ gun…

Sorrowfully, anyone wishing to use any of these models within the “Doctor Who: Exterminate!” table-top game itself, will have to stick to simply using the statistics and cards found for the Cyber Legion Cybermen in the starter box, as “Warlord Games” have not currently produced any Recruitment or Adventure cards based upon any of the different incarnations. True, the Nottingham-based company are planning on producing a future boxed set focusing upon “The Tomb of the Cybermen” which may well contain game cards relating to the 1967 television classic. But as to whether additional expansions concerning “The Tenth Planet” and “Earthshock” will follow depends upon sales figures.

Writer: Nick Abadzis

Artist: Giorgia Sposito

Publisher: Titan Comics

FC - 32pp
On sale: November 22, 2017

Why can’t the Doctor stay still? Like Sherlock Holmes, does the Time Lord’s mind begin to atrophy without constant, bewildering stimulation? Is that why the universe has become home, with all its random, confounding chaos and beauty? Or, is it because staying in one place means that somewhere out there, without the Doctor, disaster is allowed to fester unimpeded?

The Tenth Doctor Year Three #11 implies an answer to the Doctor’s restless nature through companion Cindy. While Gabby is learning to tame the destructive power within her, best friend Cindy is going stir crazy. As wonderful as Zhe’s private moon over Ouloumos is, there’s only so much impossibility one can witness before it becomes mundane.

She eggs the Doctor on, fishing for an admission of boredom. Sure there’s a busted robot to tinker with, but that isn’t an adventure. The Doctor should be out there saving planets while preventing the Tardis from being sucked into a black hole, and trying to resurrect a broken robot at the same time.

It’s the promise the Doctor made to Gabby that keeps them there. In one eventuality Gabby was abandoned and her loneliness turned her into the Vortex Butterfly. The Doctor can’t allow that to happen. Yet Cindy is right. Their stay has turned dull, and the pair dash off for a short trip to pick something up to help with the robot repairs. Here is when we, the Doctor, and Cindy, learn the consequences of staying put for too long.   

Giorgia Sposito’s art is delightful as always. It strikes the perfect balance between fun animation, and spot on reality. The artist includes just enough detail to give the world real depth, while leaving room for the imagination, turning the reader into an active participant in the storytelling.

The real strength in Abadzis’ writing is the character interplay, themes and story momentum. He allows characters to speak to each other like people. Cindy and Gabby are properly flawed and courageous. Scenes play out naturally, without the need of constant running and shouting exposition. When something big happens, as they do in the second half of issue 11, it is earned and not a desperate attempt to raise the stakes.

Like many of the Tenth Doctor comics, the plots are simple, easy to follow, and packed with the kind of jubilant energy you’d expect from the Tenth Doctor. Some of the details, however, are more complicated and tough to get a hold on. Gabby’s abilities seem to make sense, but how it all works is fairly elusive. Which is not a major problem, it’s just that so much time is devoted to discussing it that exactly what’s going on and how it’s affecting her is a tad muddled.

The short backup story this issue is an adorable return of Donna and the Adipose.

Written By: John Dorney, Guy Adams, Matt Fitton
Directed By: Nicholas Briggs

Featuring: David Tennant, Billie Piper, Camille Coduri, Rosie Cavaliero, Guy Henry

Released Thursday 30th November 2017

David Tennant returns to Big Finish for a second round of audio adventures, this time bringing his first companion Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) along with him.  This is an iconic duo from the show, and having them back together is surely to be exciting for fans. 

The opening story (Infamy of the Zaross) also brings Camille Coduri back as Rose's mom, Jackie Tyler, who calls Rose and the Doctor back to Earth to deal with an alien invasion.  But this ends up being no ordinary invasion. I wont give it away, but I rather liked the twist on this episode. It had a lot of good social commentary, and felt not only like a great premise for Doctor Who, but also felt exactly like the kind of story that would fit perfectly within the period of Doctor Who this set revisits. 

The second episode in the boxset is The Sword of the Chevalier, which takes place in the past and featured the Doctor and Rose meeting the historical figure Chevalier d'Éon, a person I'd never heard of before but, after reading up on it, I find to be a fairly interesting tale.  It's a story that mixes humor and adventure well, and features a nice creepy alien threat as well. 

Cold Vengeance, the third and final story in the set is possibly the only letdown. It isn't necessarily a badly told tale...but it just feels generic, and features what is possibly one of my least favorite of the "classic" Doctor Who monsters - the Ice Warriors. I know that I am probably in the minority on this one, but the Ice Warriors just never felt particularly interesting to me.  And really, the only thing this final episode has going for it is that you get to hear the Tenth Doctor face off against them. There is really little else driving the story, at least nothing that felt fresh or new enough. 

Ultimately, this is a great set, well worth getting.  Tennant slips back into the Doctor like he never left the role, though I do think it took Piper a little longer to slip back into the voice of Rose.  But if you loved these two as a team, you should be thrilled to get this set. It feels like slipping back in time, to those early days of the shows revival.  Recommended!

DOCTOR WHO: THE NINTH DOCTOR VOLUME 4: SIN EATERS
Writer: Cavan Scott
Artist: Adriana Melo and Cris Bolson
Publisher: Titan Comics
112pp 
On sale November 28, 2017

Titan Comics' run of Ninth Doctor adventures concludes with Volume 4: Sin-Eaters, a collection of stories featuring the Ninth Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack Harkness, except this time around, Jack has left the TARDIS in disgrace!

The first arc of the two contained in this collection sees the Doctor imprisoned in an outer space correctional institute, accused of murdering his newest companion, Tara. Rose goes undercover to find him and discovers terrible experiments are being used to purge the institute's resident criminals of their darker personalities – experiments that create monstrous beings from the subject's dark personalities. Suffice to say, the Doctor is no exception to this fate!

We've seen the Doctor's dark-side manifest as the villain in multiple stories on television and beyond before now but both writer and artist find an interesting new angle on this idea, especially in the artwork from Adriana Melo, which has echoes of The League of Extraordinary Gentleman's grotesquely deformed Mr. Hyde to it. Great as the idea is though, the mere two issues it plays out in never quite seem enough, especially when writer Cavan Scott adds in an additional plot thread regarding the institute's power source. A rushed conclusion with little time to dwell on the emotional fallout the story kicks up doesn't help much either.

The Sin-Eater arc ultimately wraps up too quick to truly satisfy, with many potential story avenues going unexplored in favour of mass carnage and a burning need to quickly move on to the continuing plotline surrounding the absent Jack Harkness. Picking up on the dangling plot thread that is Jack's missing two-year memory, Scott lets his imagination run riot with a fine flashback tale that gives us a glimpse of the Captain's Time Agent exploits, before dovetailing into a Blade Runner-esque sci-fi noir adventure that sees Jack attempting to find the key to his missing memories and hunt down an elusive figure from his murky past.

As a finale, it satisfies, though a needlessly shoehorned-in classic villain, a rather convoluted conclusion, and a very rushed goodbye does make it a hard story to truly love. There are some great Time War references peppered throughout though that certainly adds another interesting layer to the legendary conflict that would make a great story arc in and of itself.

Overall Sin-Eaters is a decent if somewhat rushed conclusion to the Ninth Doctor's current comic book adventures. Scott delivers plenty of references and fun Easter Eggs for fans to spot, whilst the artwork, whilst occasionally rough, does lend itself well to both arc's respective tone.

If you've waited with baited breath to discover more about Jack's mysterious past, you may be disappointed or even a tad confused, but as an epic Ninth Doctor finale, Sin-Eaters certainly has no sins to confess! 

Written by Eddie Robson

Directed by Ken Bentley

Cast:Sylvester McCoy (The Doctor), Sophie Aldred (Ace), 
Bonnie Langford (Mel Bush), Julie Graham (Carolyn), Jade Anouka (Danuta), Todd Heppenstall (Stuart Dale), Clare Calbraith (Orla), Louis Tamone (Vinny), Ignatius Anthony (Lee).

Big Finish Productions - Originally  Released August 2017
Available Now on General Release 

The second installment of the recent trilogy of adventures for the Seventh Doctor alongside Ace and Mel finds them coming back to a fairly familiar setting of Merseyside in 1991. It seems slightly odd that having had several previous adventures set in Liverpool owing to the presence of former companion Hex that neither he didn’t even rate a mention. This combined with Ace’s more youthful persona which has shown through in recent audio adventures has led this reviewer to wonder if this series is set prior to the arrival of Hex although for reasons that will be elaborated on in my review of the next release this seems unlikely.

Leaving these minor gripes aside, it seems appropriate to put Ace and Mel into a time which might have been contemporary if this series of adventures had followed on directly from the TV series’ cancellation in 1989. As such we are introduced a new element of Mel’s backstory in the shape of her ex-boyfriend Stuart, played by Todd Heppenstall who has an instant rapport withBonnie Langford that allows the listener to believe they really could be old university chums. In this story Stuart appears to have had a significant reversal of fortune since he and Mel last met as he is now managing a shipyard which seems to have bucked the trend of the early 1990s recession and be successfully ship-building with the help of his mysterious financial backers, the Dark Alloy Corporation. At this stage enter the sinister Carolyn, played as a fun villainess byJulie Graham, it isn’t spoiling too much to reveal that she is a character with much more going than on than is initially revealed.

This is an enjoyable tale of double-crossing, alien espionage, the science of magic and a reinforcement of the old fable that you should never go into business with mysterious strangers who probably aren’t human. Whilst Ace and the Doctor get into all the usual sort of trouble, and as ever Sophie Aldred and Sylvester McCoy are on great form as usual, this story really belongs to Bonnie Langford’s Mel. For the first time since she rejoined the TARDIS crew last year (and indeed since she left originally left Pease Pottage with the Sixth Doctor – see the novel Business Unusual and the 2013 audio play The Wrong Doctors) we see her back in rightful time and place and seriously tempted to stay there.

Overall another fun story to accompany The High Price of Parking, although listeners will possibly hope for something with a little more originality from the concluding story for this year The Silurian Candidate.

Warlord Games
Released October 2016

Tom Baker’s seven year reign as the Doctor undeniably produced some of the most memorable villains to have appeared on the television show, with Robert Banks Stewart’s Zygons being somewhere at the very top of that list. Indeed, despite only (initially) appearing in the 1975 four-parter “The Terror Of The Zygons”, the shape-shifting extra-terrestrials are apparently David Tennant’s ‘favourite monster from the show’.

Roll forward a staggering thirty-eight years to the 50th anniversary special "The Day of the Doctor", and the refugees from the planet Zygor finally made an indelible mark on the science fiction programme by joining the likes of the Daleks, Cybermen, Ice Warriors and Sontarans, as one of the travelling Timelord’s repeated foes… and subsequently also the subject matter of another of “Warlord Games” 38mm scale metal model sets for their “Doctor Who: Exterminate!” miniatures game.

Clearly sculpted to capture the likeness of the “shape-changing humanoids” as they appear in the 2015 episode "The Zygon Invasion" as opposed to their Loch Ness encounter with the Fourth Doctor, these incredibly detailed miniatures only prove to be something of a slight disappointment in the fact that there are only two figures per box; as opposed to the three models found inside the Nottingham-based company’s Judoon and Silence sets. Admittedly, this does mean that the orange sucker-covered aliens can be purchased at a lesser price to those aforementioned expansions, but due to the nature of their stances, I certainly found it hard to significantly ‘bend’ any arms in order to create even a semblance of variety with additional Zygons.

Fortunately, “Warlord Games” have apparently listened to fan feedback on this tiny issue, and are hoping to produce a third pose in the future. In addition, the two sculpts currently available are absolutely spot-on, and are simply packed full of deadly menace and disconcerting viciousness; especially the one whose arms are slightly raised as if it’s about to launch a devastating electrical discharge attack.

Painting-wise, these miniatures are an absolute joy to pigment, with the standard ‘layer/ink/dry-brush’ technique making them arguably tabletop worthy within a matter of minutes. For those who apply a more ‘considered approach’ towards the painting of their miniatures however, “Warlord Games” do provide a detailed palette guide for the Zygons on their “Into The Time Vortex” website. Although quite interestingly, these instructions do suggest that hobbyists might wish to apply some black/dark grey to the aliens’ feet and hands. Not a colour choice which has ever actually appeared on the televised versions, but with hindsight possibly makes some sense for an extra-terrestrial race who can apparently use electricity as a weapon…

As with the Judoon and Silence sets, non-collectors wishing to use the miniatures with the “Doctor Who: Exterminate!” rule-set, may become a little disappointed that the faction’s official Recruitment and Adventure cards can only be found within the miniature game’s starter box, and don’t actually accompany the models. Abilities such as “Poison Barbs”, “Call For Help”, “Friend Of Foe?” and “Conceal Identity” really help imbue a Zygon force with all the menacingly stealthy tactics of their television counterparts, so, at least until “Warlord Games” finally manage to post PDFs of them on their website, it really is worth investing in the game’s main boxed set in order to get your hands on these cards.