Plum Pudding Reviews

NCJDDAS: The Elder Thing Part One Of Two Chapter One “Age is power,” said the Old One, leading the others through the temple.  “Although you become frail, and your mind starts to go, and really, it’s kind of shit,  the ultimate truth is those who live for centuries become unbeatable.” He led the crowd behind them, his servants, and travelers that had come to this planet to see the sights, (the fools!)  He and and his servants all decorated in tribal wooden masks, leaves and bead necklaces, they were some of the highest technologically advanced beings this side of the time lords.  The facade would drop momentarily. He kept walking, spouting his boring monologue to the crowd of tourists. “You see, my travelers, that’s what this old civilization thought. And like many before, they strived to live forever.” “Live forever?” Perked up a disbelieving tourist.  “Yes, they had an ancient cultural ritual where they sacrificed people to the god...

I'm sorry, I just can't make fun of this cover... The Diary of River Song Series Five The Sheer Awesomeness radiating from River 5 is unmistakable. I mean, yes, you do get all these guys together in Ravenous Four, but come on, the insanity when this boxset dropped was unreal, the first appearances of both the Eric Roberts Master and Missy as well in Big Finish was a shock unlike any other. And although it's not the strongest River set, it's incredibly enjoyable and/or decent throughout, and as one of my first introductions to how Big Finish does the master, I was not disappointed. The Bekdel Test by Jonathan Morris This feels like it was broadcast on television. Exceedingly Moffatian, the Bekdel Test is a delight, with two of Moffat's leading ladies (who incidentally have better chemistry together than anyone else before or since) interacting in a fantastic way. Sometimes as I've mentioned in previous reviews, your synopsis only really needs to be...

Yes, I am reviewing the Elevator one, now calm down Torchwood Aliens Among Us 1 Aliens Among Us (1 at the very least) is incredibly inspired, and although maybe not the best thing Big Finish have done, is incredibly enjoyable, and brings back/introduces a new Torchwood team in a format similar to the best Series Two episodes. It's good, okay? Torchwood has gotten rather excellent, under Big Finishes reign, long may it serve, and It's created some excellent new characters to go with the team, most of which are the highlight of the set. Jack is also a lot more like Doctor Who Jack, IE, fun, and not a broody bitch. Gwen is much the same, except, well.... Changes Everything by James Goss Changes Everything is an intentional ripoff of the other Torchwood pilot, Everything Changes, as it introduces a new member to the Torchwood team, and- oops, got you there, didn't it?  Changes Everything is a hell of a fake out, introducing Tyler nearly exactly like Gwen, ...

Are You Bothering Her?  The first thing I thought when this was announced was that it was a terrible idea. I love Donna, I thought, but she's inherently a side character. Removing her from the Doctor, although okay, would not be a good side idea to sustain a spinoff, especially since she is a comedic character.  Oh, come off it, past me, it's Big Finish.  Donna Noble Kidnapped is not the best release they have ever done, but in the grand tradition of The Auntie Matter, Sync, and The Bekdel Test, it is one of the most fun and enjoyable audios to listen to, and regardless of theme, and drama, four hours of fun adventures with Donna is everything that this universe needs. What this spinoff does is give Donna agency beyond the Doctor, and although heavily pay off the comedic elements, also focus on the softness beneath Donna's hard exterior that is why the audience grew so attached to her.  Also, I swear Catherine Tate is involved in the writing process, bec...

Christmas time is here...Happiness...and fear... Blood On Santa’s Claw and Other Stories by Nev Fountain and 3 Aliases Part One: Blood On Santa’s Claw The anthology opens with The Sixth Doctor, Peri and New Companion Joe arriving in a century where everything is a religion. This fun concept is used to maximum effect throughout the set, and the world building of this century is astonishingly cool. Peri and Six were a pair on television that I didn't care for, but they're exceedingly comfortable here, Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant clearly love working with each other, and that's the best chemistry two actors can have. On the other hand, it doesn't feel sappy between them, and as this anthology shows, the pair can have real drama with Joe upsetting their dynamic. It's meticulously plotted for a one part story, the entire set is, but every single line has it's purpose. I adore Peri micromanaging how The Doctor introduces her and Joe. And I especially lik...

NCJDDAS: How The Monk Got His Habit Back (Based On A Pitch by Peter Harness) (Also really, really not that) Chapter One The Man the people called the Monk lay in the armchair, relaxing to the mood of his music. He had been wondering how the people of Moscow would appreciate 1978 Pop Music. He was definitely not high. He kicked the air, giggling. The music from his console blared. Ra Ra Rasputin, Lover of The Russian Queen!  There was a cat that really was gone! Ra Ra Rasputin, Russia's greatest love machine!  It was a shame how he carried on! The Monk adjusted his Crown. His TARDIS had recently been disabled by a certain Miss Missy Masters. What a cow. It had of course, not taken him long to repair (in the grand scheme of things, it actually took several years) and he was back on course, doing whatever he liked. In the meantime, he only had one change of clothes, and they were King Henry The Eighth's royal gown. So he had a crown to go with it. Figures. R...

*Insert Literally Any Missy Quote From This Box-set Here* Whisper by Matt Fitton Such a brilliant concept for a story in the audio format, if given enough time to develop, and you know, proper effort, this would have been a treat, but as is, it's a perfectly fine episode that seems ultimately like filler even if important stuff is going on. Our main cast is continually excellent, Nicola Walker, Paul McGann, Hattie Morahan and Mark Bonnar are such a quadruple threat, and I'm so glad to have spent eight boxsets with them. If anything, Ravenous Four is the end of an era, but also, just like any other set, it has to have it's random episode you could put on at any time, it's normal episode not burdened down by the plot. And that's something, as Ravenous is decidedly not burdened by plot. You could have told this story in three boxsets! Maybe two and a half!  Bring Me Knitting: His trust of the Eleven, although gradually being built up to over several storie...

NCJDDAS: Going Home A Short Trip I wish I hadn't asked The Doctor what my family was doing. The Master had mentioned it, as a taunt, or a flirt, and I was curious. I knew it was a bad idea as soon as it exited my mouth, but there was no taking it back, but I did want to know, so I asked. The Doctor had smiled at the time, and made some excuse. Tried to distract me with a trip to Disneyland. Which worked. But I was still curious. And I was still an idiot, so I asked again. By then, it was a while after Roman had joined the TARDIS. The Doctor said she and Roman had some kind of special bond, and that he used to be a hot girl. Couldn't care less. Not that that's a bad sort of thing. But Roman's a bit of an ass. So, I expected ridicule when I brought it up again. Probably from him. "You're stupid, Danny!" or something like that. and Then the Doctor would take us to Disneyland again so I would forget about it, and Roman would complain the entire time. I...

I hope the print I leave will be Light, but Apposite... The Sixth Doctor Last Adventure is phenomenal, in that it serves as a sort of showcase to Big Finishes incarnation of the Sixth Doctor, showing his interplay between him and four of his companions, as well as Jago and Litefoot in four gorgeous stories that both summarize his era and complete his character arc. No Peri or Evelyn, sadly, but I mean, come on, this stuff is as good as it gets. The End Of The Line by Simon Barnard and Paul Morris Mysterious, gritty, petrifying and original, The End of The Line is a triumph. The deftness with which it explains its multiple timeline narrative is unparalleled, and the characterization of its guest characters is done better than any other story I’ve ever heard, excepting The Chimes of Bloody Midnight. The brilliance of this piece is best jumped into without any context, and it’s a throwback to the early Sixth Doctor experimental days, where Six established himself King of The Mon...

Live 34, reporting every hour, every day...Live 34... LIVE 34. LIVE REVIEWS EVERY SO OFTEN FROM PLUM PUDDING ON LIVE 34. Live 34 is one of the better uses of the audio format, an experimental story (Big Finish never fails them) of a supremely good caliber, with some dark material to boot, and despite only peripherally being a Doctor Who story, positively excels at what it does.  LIVE 34. LIVE 34 IS AVAILABLE EVERY HOUR, EVERY DAY. YOUR REVIEWS DIRECT FROM COLONY 34. Live 34 is ingenious in what it does, Ace being utilized especially well, her persona fits so well with the themes of rebellion that it’s trying to show, and Seven’s background influence has never been so powerful. Hex, who I’m not exceedingly familiar with, also acquits himself very well, in a script that although atypical, features all three of them well, despite them not being the focus. LIVE 34. INDEPENDENT, ACCURATE AND COMPREHENSIVE. The Newsreaders are also well cast to boot. Even if it feels like it’s g...

This is the fifth UNIT boxset. Do I care that this is my first actual UNIT review? No.  UNIT is a series that is strange, as it hardly focuses on any character outside of Kate and Osgood, our new series mainstays, and introduces three voids as our new characters, Josh, Shindi, and Bishop. They’re all very military, and the series focuses on, at least to my opinion, the wrong things. The best episodes are when they do something imaginative with character. The series can be very bloated, as often they ignore imagination to do a stereotypical Earth invasion story over four hours, instead of the format they have in either this or the seventh and eighth sets, which serve the stories much better. Four hour length is something that hardly ever should be done. When there are five boxsets of four hour story length, it really is a problem, as it stops feeling fresh and action packed and large scale, and just...bloated. So I’m reviewing this one first. The Dalek Transaction by Mat...

Hungry... Deeptime Frontier by Matt Fitton Although this one is a redux of Seizure, it's a redux in the way Aliens is a redux to Alien.  It by no means defuses the fantasticness of seizure, and if anything, the Ravenous feel all the more dangerous here. That's the point of this series now, we're delving into the horror area, and even if the Ravenous are stereotypical in their preying on fear, they work. They're effective. Expect to be scared. Bring Me Knitting: Paul McGann often gives the same performance as the Doctor, so it's always a revelation when he somehow manages to strip back another layer and gives an even more unique performance. His "campfire ghost story" technique here is exceptional.  I'm Sorry About The Doctor: Liv, Helen and The Doctor have melded into the perfect unit. Rarely do I feel a TARDIS team so effective, that the Doctor can go off and do other things while Liv and Helen investigate something, either alone or t...