Doctor Who: The Faceless Ones
by David Ellis & Malcolm Hulke; dir. Gerry Mill (BBC, 1967/2020)
The mostly lost Patrick Troughton story brought to life by way of animation. This one is well-acted and a nice blend of atmosphere and intrigue, albeit a tad overlong and that the antagonists insist on lumbering themselves with a moonboot-sized Achilles heel.
Rose Tyler: The Dimension Cannon
(Big Finish, 2019)
Rose’s quest across the multiverse begins with two wonderfully melancholic stories before losing its way trying to force the intrinsic emotion of the doomsday scenario (particularly when relying on minor characters resurrected from Russell T Davies’ Rose novelisation). Nevertheless a welcome return.
★★★★☆ The Endless Night by Jonathan Morris
★★★★☆ The Flood by Lisa McMullin
★★★☆☆ Ghost Machines by AK Benedict
★★☆☆☆ The Last Party on Earth by Matt Fitton
Doctor Who: The Home Guard
by Simon Guerrier (Big Finish, 2019)
Once revealed, the scenario doesn’t actually make much sense. As an atmosphere piece, however, this intrigues nicely (and doesn’t unravel as much as, say, The Android Invasion). Elliot Chapman and Frazer Hines are remarkably on-point in channelling Ben and the Second Doctor.
Dr. Thirteenth
by Adam Hargreaves (Penguin, 2019)
Hargreaves takes his series of Doctor Who / Mister Men mashups out in one last glorious blaze of banality. Again, the illustrations aren’t bad, but the story is pointless and what little connection it has to Doctor Who is pure Russell T Davies-era.
The Black Archive #30: The Dalek Invasion of Earth
by Jonathan Morris (Obverse Books, 2019)
A bit light on actual analysis but nevertheless an impressive piece of research, comparing different iterations of The Dalek Invasion of Earth (both televised and film versions at script, broadcast and even novelisation level) to establish who was responsible for which elements.
Doctor Who: The Macra Terror
by Ian Stuart Black; dir. John Davies (BBC, 1967/2019)
While lost Doctor Who stories often work well just in audio form, significant portions of The Macra Terror unfold without dialogue – making it an astute choice for reconstruction. Patrick Troughton’s Doctor and the titular giant crabs fare particularly well in the animation.
Doctor Who: The Silurian Candidate
by Matthew J. Elliott (Big Finish, 2017)
A rehash of the usual ‘humans versus Silurians’ ethical quandary, offering little new and debased still further by the Silurians acting (and sounding) like Daleks and also a ‘strewth, bloody awful’ excuse for an Australian character. What humour there is falls flat.
Doctor Who: The Drowned World
by Simon Guerrier (Big Finish, 2009)
A bit short and not exactly self-contained but told in an original, engaging fashion. Robert (Niall MacGregor) is a well-measured framing character and Jean Marsh provides a most welcome voice from the past, reprising and expanding on her role as Sara Kingdom.
Doctor Who: Shadow of the Past
by Simon Guerrier (Big Finish, 2010)
Another clever script by Simon Guerrier, staying faithful to the spirit of early UNIT-era stories. Present-day Liz Shaw (Caroline John) tells of an earlier adventure and then picks up its threads. Unfortunately some ‘big moment’ plot contrivances detract from the emotional resonance.
Doctor Who: Warriors’ Gate
by Stephen Gallagher, writing as John Lydecker
restored from the original extended manuscript (1981); audiobook read by Jon Culshaw (with John Leeson as K9) (BBC Audio, 2019)
Even in heavily expurgated form, the version of Warriors’ Gate published in 1982 outshone all but a few of the original Target novelisations. The 2019 audiobook restores Gallagher’s original manuscript, revealing a dreamlike SF classic with exceptional depth of story and characterisation.