Doctorwhonews.net was given the combined pleasure and honour of having an in-depth chat over the internet to these 3 imaginative and uniquely skilful individuals, who combine skill with words and pictures to tell spellbinding stories, based on Ben Aaronovitch's original book series 'Rivers of  London'. (A list of the novels follows at the end of this article).

The hope with the comics of 'Rivers' was to 'move the franchise a bit sideways' according to Ben  and '[have] a chance to get pictures drawn. The whole adventure of fun stuff. Comics are a lot of fun.'

Jokingly, and warmly Ben pointed out the sheer hard work Lee Sullivan puts into his visual, to which his response was "No I don't  think of [those] fondly at all [tricky] cafe scenes at the moment. Or don't do any [art] set in a fair ground."

Andrew Cartmel then elaborated on the aims and hopes further: "Ben always wanted to write comics because he kept having  these great comic ideas that he'd tell me. [And was especially keen to do Batman]".

That turned the conversation into which comic franchises and authors were favourites with Ben and Andrew:

Ben stated how he was '[an] agnostic in comics' and that he 'read ones that [he likes with no] favourite universe. "I like Alan Moore."

Andrew seconded this opinion: "You can put me down for that too. Alan Moore is the greatest comic writer who ever lived...[and] a huge influence on me as a writer".

I then queried Ben on the influence of London itself, asking how it generated ideas for stories, for characters, and social commentary:

 "[Based on my home city being London I choose to set the story [there]. I am blessed that [my home town] London is the greatest city in the world, and the most interesting. Apart from that it is mainly because I am a Londoner. Andrew is just stuck with it!

Some concurrence from Andrew: '[I was born in London myself]..and I do love London it is very true.'

I then turned to the topic of successfully balancing humour and drama; which to my mind, as a child of the McCoy era, was one of the biggest pluses of that period in Doctor Who history.

Andrew put it as such "When you are writing it has got to be a mountain range and not a plateau, or a prairie. It has got to have variation. Humour is a brilliant way of alternating with the drama; hence the term 'comic relief'. [If something is relentless drama] then you understand the desperate need for variation."

Ben agreed with his long-time colleague and friend: "What he said."

Characterisation and having believable villains was the next topic for debate with my interviewees:

Andrew believes that an 'interesting [villain] is the crucial thing', more so than how they might be relatable to a given reader.

Ben elaborated on the aim of a "realistic thing in quite a realistic world." and also how "[antagonists] have that kind of balance. We don't have super villains....We don't really have bad people."

Andrew then gave further elaboration "What Ben calls moustache twirlers [or]  melodramatic, one-dimensional villain[s]"

 

We then had a bit more of a chat on characterisation in general:

Andrew emphasised how "with character development, unless you create likeable [and] interesting characters, then all the stuff that happens to them is just irrelevant."

Ben then tied this to the central character of 'Rivers of London' - Peter Grant - being a detective and how he fulfilled a given 'function' in this kind of 'detective genre':

"If you think about the [most popular/ well-known] detectives like [Inspector] Morse, [Miss] Marple .. [and] Sherlock Holmes they are, what happens to other people to develop their characters...[thus] you don't need to worry quite so much with detectives. So [regarding overall characterization] it's organic, and [how much a given character grows depends] on what [those characters] want to do usually."

Then talk by Andrew over how the basic foundation of good character elements will allow a strong story to unfold overall  "[as a budding writer one finds] that other characters tend to take over [and the story writes itself] It's wonderful when that  happens, which it does if you just persist."

This then led to Lee sharing some of his own thoughts on how enjoyment can be found in giving visual interpretation  to characters: "Nightingale is the one that fascinated me most.. because he is a guy out of time [and..] quite a bit older  than he looks. So it's fun [making] him look a bit stiff and slightly ill at ease with today."

 Ben than showed his appreciation for Lee's work, adding to his statement into just how much work goes into the  characters being drawn:

 "The quality work you get with Lee [is considerable]. He does not just go [in kamikaze] with his artwork] ... None of the  [other artists Andrew and I were to work with before the Rivers series got off the ground] were not a patch on Lee, who is amazing."

 Having read and enjoyed the premiere issue of 'Rivers': Nightwitch and noticed its globe trotting aspects I decided to ask if  travel to other capital cities had inspired Lee in terms of his approach to comics' art and the portrayal of various things?

Lee stated how "Every city has got a good feel to it.. the impressive ones are [those with] most contrast to where you come from, I guess. Tokyo [stands out despite being] nearly 30 years ago... The western bits they bolted on top of their culture are very recognisable but then you realise that at home you don't put your washing machine outside of your house. That is a cultural difference and you can do that [there] because they are made of plastic. Because they are plastic, they can be made in all candy colours. And so these kind of things are wonderful without having to go somewhere different."

I then enquired about comic book storytelling as a specific storytelling framework, and how it can be used to try and get perhaps a less than realistic reflection on our world [on occasion]. Andrew responded "in terms of art.. Ben does something called an 'art shift', where we might move from he realistic to the cartoony."

Ben then backed this up stating "What I like about writing the comics is that you have access to all sorts of techniques you can't use in a book. and now we have acquired someone of} Lee's capabilities [to portray all these characters, and visual elements].."

Andrew gave a hint of an upcoming Rivers issue later on in the new Nightwitch run:  "he has just done a fantastic [art] piece that looks like a Russian icon, and is absolutely gorgeous I have to say." 

Ben again spoke of the storytelling techniques: "[with our] comic book storytelling techniques.. the people are more realistic, but not so much the settings or the things that happens to them."

I then queried how the comics and the ongoing novel series interlink with one another and Ben put across how he treats them all as the same thing. "Some are comics and some are books. I don't really think of [the two as separate entities]. They are all part of the same universe, and so all are equally important. I have a very playful attitude to my universe. I am not too po-faced about it. I have put as much creative energy into the comics [for [ the characters, the new things and the ideas. And I know that Andrew does. I don't have a hierarchy of canon."

I then asked Andrew how a climax or cliffhanger is shaped in the storytelling he and Ben serve up with each issue:

"We do put a lot of thought into what is a left hand page, and what is a right one, as that [is crucial in determining] what is a surprise to the reader. You wait for them to turn the page over and reveal something."

Unfortunately time was finite for us, even if the Doctor knows a way round that issue, so the interview did draw to a close, but a lot of laughter and amusement that (often) embodies a harmonious working unit was clearly evident, over the Skype internet connection that I had, with the talented triumvirate.

Please have a look at the full interview in the review section later this week, which includes further chat on Lee's illustrious back catalogue of work, and how he goes about realising his creative vision as an artist.

 

****

                                                                            Ben's published Rivers of London book series to date:

 

                                                                             1) Rivers of London

                                                                             2) Moon over Soho

                                                                             3) Whispers Underground

                                                                             4) Broken Homes

                                                                             5) Foxglove Summer

                                                                             6) The Hanging Tree

What makes a great season premiere, at least in the case of Doctor Who in its modern guise? Ask Russell T. Davies, and judging by the four openers he gave us between 2005-2008, odds are that he'd suggest a light-hearted tone which allows for a run's freshman episode to come off as a fast-paced, comedic romp, thereby easing both long-term fans and newcomers in gently before subsequent instalments up the ante in terms of scale, past continuity elements and developing an individual season'™s overarching plotline(s). As for Steven Moffat's preferred strategy, one would have to imagine based on recent debut outings like "Asylum of the Daleks", "œDeep Breath" and "The Magician'™s Apprentice" that he'™d advocate opting for a more ambitious start, one which doesn't so much ease the fandom back in as ensure they'll stick around for the remainder of the season, all while quite possibly resurrecting a monstrous species from the past.

Considering that he was tasked with scribing the first serial in what is only the second ever run of Twelfth Doctor strips from Titan Comics, one could hardly have blamed writer Robbie Morrison for taking the first of these two strategies, thus enabling those who've somehow managed to go their entire lives without watching or reading a single televised or printed episode of Who to approach the tale with ease. Yet quite to the contrary, with "Clara Oswald and the School of Death Part 1", Morrison has produced a storyline which not only harkens back to "œSchool Reunion" with its setting in the sinister Raven'™s Isle academic institute, but actively relies upon its readership having at least an above average awareness of the show's pre- and post-2005 mythology in order for them to fully appreciate the intricacies of the narrative being conveyed. Some touches are subtle, not least the uncanny resemblance Ms. Dee (the member of staff who calls Clara over to investigate mysterious happenings involving the waters surrounding the secluded Scottish school) bears to a certain presenter of the YouTube series Doctor Who: The Fan Show, but in other instances, this reliance upon past continuity has a clear detrimental impact on Part 1's overall structure and quality.

For the sake of preserving the issue'™s fan-appeasing cliff-hanger, this reviewer will refrain from spoiling the identities of this multi-part serial'™s antagonists, but suffice to say that their debut (in printed form, anyway) is foreshadowed in a manner not at all dissimilar to the way in which the Silurians made their return to the TV series in 2010's "The Hungry Earth / Cold Blood€", with the Twelfth Doctor investigating these extra-terrestrials' presence with shades almost identical to his immediate predecessor while Clara assesses matters from a position that places her in the firing line to a far greater extent than the Time Lord. This structural familiarity in itself unfortunately reeks of a lack of inspiration on Morrison's part, particularly given that he introduced threats like Hyperios in such an innovative manner in his Year One strips, as does Rachael Stott'™s designs for these antagonists. The latter essentially render one of the show's more iconic alien species as nothing more than an identikit bunch of reptilian humanoids who could quite easily find their way into just about any work of sci-fi and who lack virtually any resemblance to their classic era counterparts. Some visual tweaking of an alien race'™s appearance to modernize them slightly will always be expected, of course, but considering that the Silurians'™ reinvention at least allowed them to partially retain facets of their former appearance via their facial masks, that Stott has seemingly put much less effort into paying homage to the original design of these acclaimed alien creations from the Pertwee era -there'™s another clue -“ represents nothing less than a huge disappointment.

With all of that being said, branding this largely competent first chapter of Year Two as a complete failure would equally be a step too far. What Morrison and Stott lack in narrative ingenuity and satisfying creature design, they more than compensate for with a superb attention to detail -“ both visually and through dialogue - in terms of capturing the characters of the Doctor and Clara as we saw them in Season Nine last autumn, leading to both constructs exhibiting the same sassy wit, almost childish rebelliousness (particularly in the case of Capaldi's expertly reinvigorated incarnation) and overriding zest for life that made them such a dynamic duo to see develop over the course of the 2015 run. Better yet, we get some deliciously gothic visuals afforded by Stott to Dee's chilling capture as well as an inspired juxtaposition of the purposefully grim, drab vistas of Raven's Isle with the explosive opening set-piece's depiction of crowds of colourfully-dressed aristocrats. Indeed, it's an aesthetically bombastic opening outing which gets its leads just right even if the secondary cast mostly fall into the same archetypes of the shady teacher, the hapless miscreants who don't conform to the rest of the student body and the like.

Rather than matching some of Davies or Moffat'™s finest openers, then, "Clara Oswald and the School of Death - Part 1" kicks off proceedings for Year Two in somewhat unspectacular fashion. Much as it portrays the Doctor and Clara in their glory days with remarkable accuracy while keeping its imagery fresh by juxtaposing visually eclectic settings, the strip struggles to offer much in the way of original narrative material on account of its reliance on past episode structures and its failure to depict its returning antagonists in a satisfying way. As always, the final product remains perfectly readable - and a far cry from Who's weakest modern storylines, that'€s for sure - but given that fans of the comic-book medium aren't exactly lacking for alternative options to this strip these days, Morrison and Stott may well have to work that much harder in the issues ahead to convince readers to return immediately for future instalments rather than aping Clara's approach of taking "œthe long way round".

After a slightly average start to the new trilogy of Master stories with last month’s AndYouWillObeyMe, this reviewer is pleased to confirm that VampireoftheMind is a much more enjoyable affair. It’s difficult to account for this and there are probably a number of factors such as Justin Richards’ writing, the more interesting cast of characters led by Colin Baker on top form even during the slightly predictable denouement, or just the simple fact (with the greatest respect to Geoffrey Beevers whose portrayal in Master set a high standard which no subsequent actor has yet reached although Michelle Gomez has come pretty close) that Alex Macqueen’s incarnation of the Master is just so much fun to listen to.

It seems to have become de rigueur in the Big Finish canon for the Master to regularly cross his own timeline and this play is certainly no exception. There remains an air of mystery around the origins of the Macqueen incarnation since he first appeared in 2012’s UNIT: Dominion, with the suggestion in subsequent releases that he originated at some point after the events of The TV Movie. There is the briefest suggestion of a post-regenerative trauma in this story which suggests that the eagerly anticipated team-up with his earlier self in next month’s The Two Masters may yet shed some more light on these matters. Of course, given that the Seventh Doctor had clearly had no recollection of meeting this incarnation there is a rather predictable ruse used in the story’s conclusion to ensure continuity is maintained but for the sake of enjoyment this is easily forgiven.

A particular mention should also be given to Kate Kennedy as Heather Threadstone, who becomes the Doctor’s de facto companion for this story (or to some extent he becomes hers with some verbal sparring which fondly reminds of his intellectual equality with the much-missed Maggie Stables as Evelyn). There is definitely scope left for Heather to return in future stories which would certainly be a welcome possibility.

Like last month’s release, this play has a mostly standalone plot although there are clear thematic similarities with the Master’s gift for mind control once again proving to be of major importance. However, the closing moments of the play suggest that there is definitely more going on than has at first been apparent and would definitely suggest that the conclusion of this trilogy will be something to look forward to. In the meantime, this play is very much to be enjoyed on its own merits. Even if not the most original story ever, it is still an awful lot of fun.

Following hot on the heels of the highly acclaimed The Peterloo Massacre, this is the start of a trilogy of adventures which will pitch three different Doctors against two incarnations of his long-running Time Lord nemesis, the Master, who first appeared on TV 45 years ago.

This play feels very much like a standalone story and it is a rare occasion that finds the Fifth Doctor unaccompanied by any of his usual companions (continuity is satisfied by a fleeting reference to Tegan, presumably accompanied by either Nyssa or Turlough, having been sent off to a garden centre in 1984). It is also the first time that there has been a direct confrontation on audio between just the Fifth Doctor and the Master (leaving aside the multi-Doctor confrontation with Geoffrey Beevers’ Master in the 2013 special The Light at the End and an encounter with the Anthony Ainley incarnation in the 2013 Destiny of the Doctor story Smoke and Mirrors, narrated by Janet Fielding). Leaving aside the obvious reasons for the Fifth Doctor having not met the Master since his TV era, writer Alan Barnes includes a seemingly obligatory reference to the Beevers’ incarnation having crossed his own timeline as the Doctor has already met his future self. Although long-time listeners will know that Beevers’ Master has a rather more complicated timeline than the Fifth Doctor realises and may just as easily have crossed his own past timeline from after the loss of his Trakenite body.

The story opens in the present day in the village of Hexford (whether this is intended to be one and the same as the Hexford which featured in the BBC Audio ‘Nest Cottage’ series which featured Tom Baker is unclear) and finds the Doctor accidentally starting a bidding war at a local auction from suspiciously familiar sounding grandfather clock. There is also a local mystery over a newly dug grave which purports to contain the mortal remains of a certain Michael Masterson which the Doctor assumes may be a rather obvious pseudonym. During the first half of the play, the Master remains very much a shadowy figure in the background although it is clear that his influence has been felt by several of the characters. Geoffrey Beevers finally arrives properly in the story for the start of Part Three which details a flashback to 1984 of how the Master originally arrived in Hexford, apparently on the run because there is a price on his head. Beevers clearly relishes playing the more manipulative side of the Master’s narture as he suborns some local teenagers into helping him survive by increasingly illegal means. The play reaches a suitably dramatic if not entirely unpredictable conclusion as the actions of the 1980s teenagers come back to haunt them in the present day and finally bringing the Doctor and the Master together. Peter Davison gives a convincing performance throughout the play which ultimately is rather standard Big Finish fare. He certainly seems to enjoy his scenes with Beevers. Some mention should also go to Sheena Bhattessa as Annie whose character proves to be the most interesting during the first half of the play but unfortunately undergoes a not entirely convincing development during the second half.

The play may at first seem a little unremarkable and stands very much on its own with no major plot threads left dangling at the end. There is however, one unanswered question relating to why the Master is suddenly on the run from bounty hunters which will presumably become apparent later in the trilogy. Possibly not the best audio play ever but still an enjoyable character piece. The next two plays will have to work a lot harder though to reach the high bar set by the 2003 play Master to which this trilogy will inevitably bear comparison.

So finally the most hotly anticipated Big Finish release since their Doctor Who license was expanded to include the new series of 2005-2013 has arrived. It’s been six years since David Tennant left the television series and yet just as he did on TV in the 2013 special The Day of The Doctor, he still effortlessly embodies the Tenth Doctor. Reuniting him with Catherine Tate for three new stand-alone stories set at inexact points during the Doctor’s travels with Donna Noble during the 2008 TV series is an obvious move. Despite, a less than auspicious beginning to their TV partnership in the 2006 Christmas special The Runaway Bride, the Doctor and Donna are still thought of as one of the most fondly remembered partnerships of the post 2005 series and hopefully this set of new adventures will be the first of many.

 

Technophobia by Matt Fitton

“Doctor, stop saying dongle!”

Prolific Big Finish scribe Matt Fitton sets the bar high for the Big Finish debut of the Tenth Doctor. What starts of as a story about Technology taking over develops into a much more sophisticated and sinister plot. The sixty minutes it takes to listen to this adventure whizzes by with similar pacing to the Russell T Davies written scripts of the 2008 TV series. Big Finish does here what it does best in managing to make a story featuring a handful of characters seem epic. Special mentions should go to Niky Wardley as Bex and Rory Keenan as Kevin, both great proto-companion characters. Wardley is no stranger to long-time Big Finish listeners having previously portrayed the Eighth Doctor’s companion Tamsin Drew. It’s also nice to hear Rachael Stirling as Jill Meadows, although it seemed a little strange to have someone so well known in a small role.

 

Time Reaver by Jenny T Colgan

“Somewhere there is a planet of the boys just dancing about in their pants…”

Established novelist Jenny Colgan recently wrote ‘The Boundless Sea’, the opening episode of the well-received first series of The Diary of River Song. For an author with a reputation for writing great historical stories, Time Reaver is a depature in being set at a futuristic space port planet albeit with a distinctly Pirates of the Caribbean atmosphere. For the most-part this story is a swashbuckling romp and as such Howard Carter’s music scoring which clearly seeks to imitate the Murray Gold TV scores really comes into its own here.

Some nice casting again in this story with special mentions to Terry Molloy as Rone and newcomer Sabrina Bartlett as the tom-boyish Cora. As is typical of Colgan’s Doctor Who novels, there are some great moments of pathos intermingled with the action and whilst Catherine Tate tends to get some of the best lines, David Tennant’s parting shot is perfectly judged.

 

Death and the Queen by James Goss

“Are you going to ruin all my weddings?”

James Goss has previously contributed some great audio plays to both Big Finish and BBC Audio, however, perhaps because of the high bar set by the first two adventures, this one didn’t quite seem to gel. That being said, there is still a lot to enjoy. The slightly unusual quasi- fairy-tale setting of Goritania works quite well and the highlights are the verbal sparring scenes involving Donna and the ferocious Queen Mother played by Alice Krige. Blake Ritson is also a welcome addition to the cast as Donna’s intended Prince Rudolph. The inclusion of one of the Tenth Doctor’s trademark “I’ve always wanted to meet you” lines may have long-time Big Finish listeners scratching their heads at an apparent continuity error but this a minor point. Overall, a fun story with some good performances with the highlights being the early scenes where the Doctor plays gooseberry to Donna and Rudolph and the later scenes when the Doctor finds a would-be replacement companion in the shape of the extremely practical maid Hortense played by Big Finish regular (and sometime companion to the Seventh Doctor) Beth Chalmers.

 

Overall, these three stories are a joy to listen to with the first two being particular highlights. Tennant and Tate remain as engaging a team as they did on television and it is hoped that we will hear more from both of them before too long. As already mentioned the soundscapes are well-realised and Howard Carter’s work on the sound design and music ensures that these stories feel very much in keeping with the 2008 television series. On the basis of this and of other recent new series related releases featuring UNIT, River Song and The War Doctor amongst others, it is to be hoped that this is only the start of many new audio adventures for the Tenth Doctor. It’s certainly far from being all over. With the recent news that Big Finish’s license has been extended until 2025, it seems fitting to conclude with a quote from one of last year’s milestone releases: Our future is in safe hands.

I must confess that I am a novice to these new fourth Doctor stories. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, as quite obviously, the years have rather marched on since Tom was featured on my television on an early Saturday evening

I hit play, Baker's classic theme kicked in, I was in heaven. From my point of view, this episode could easily have been called Wave Of Nostalgia.

Indeed, Tom Baker and Lalla Ward do sound older, but their fantastic chemistry is still present, and to also have John Leeson onboard as K9 is pure bliss to this 46 year old Who fan. I found myself quickly forgetting that the actors were older, and their voices had changed a little, instead I was sucked into the story. Laughing at Baker and Ward's excellently written comedy moments (can you imagine Romana handbag shopping?).

The story is actually quite throw away, which if you think about it, is nostalgic in itself, as the dating would place this in season 17, which did of course include the fantastic City of Death, but also included the not so classics The Horns of Nimon and The Creature from the Pit (saying that though - I'm one of the few that love Nimon).

The Doctor, Romana and K9 find themselves in 1960s London, where they stumble into a mystery involving an unconscious Professor, MI5 and a pirate radio station. An alien threat is invading through our transmissions (it's a threat that the fourth Doctor has come across before - if you can name them from that synopsis, give yourself a pat yourself on the back!). Can the Doctor, Romana and K( save the day before it is too late? Of course they can!

For me though,  it wasn't about the story, it was about getting my TARDIS 'A Team' back together. There's intrigue and threat. There's a great cliffhanger. The dialogue is cracking, and very funny, (in a way that is very reminiscent of Douglas Adams) there is also beautifully nonsensical technobabble abound (modulated frequency wave cancellation signal anyone?). 

Along with the three leads, this episode also features Karl Theobald (Plebs) as Mark Lancaster, Phil Mulryne as Barnaby Miller, Alix Wilton Regan as Jill and John Banks as Derek. Wave Of Destruction is written by Justin Richards and confidently directed by Nicholas Briggs.

As well as the main story, this CD/ download also features interviews with the cast and crew. Wave Of Destruction has given me a real taste for Baker's audio adventures, I'm looking forward to the next one.