Doctor Who: The Husbands of River Song
by Steven Moffat; dir. Douglas Mackinnon (BBC, 2015)
The 2015 Christmas Special takes a lighter approach than its predecessor, and not since Blackadder II has a severed head been played for such laughs. Peter Capaldi captures something of each of the first four Doctors while Alex Kingston nails her swansong.
Now We Are Six Hundred: A Collection of Time Lord Verse
by James Goss; ill. Russell T Davies (BBC Books, 2017)
By themselves Davies’ illustrations would make this a 4-star book, but the unmitigated celery stick of Goss’s verse (so-called) diminishes this to a dudgeon-inducing 1-star cash-in from the direst depths of e-space. Utterly unreadable to poets, Doctor Who fans and everyone else.
Doctor Who: Heralds of Destruction
by Paul Cornell; ill. Christopher Jones (Titan Comics, 2017)
The character of Jo Grant appears to have morphed with Liz Shaw, but this is the only off-note in an otherwise well-scripted and paced, beautifully drawn, and above all faithful depiction of Doctor Who in the Jon Pertwee dandified exile UNIT days.
Doctor Who: An Apple a Day
by George Mann (Woodlands Books, 2014); audiobook read by David Troughton (Bolinda, 2015)
David Troughton’s reading brings a lot to this gentle Christmas ‘Seeds of Doom’ homage-cum-reprise. The Krynoid remains one of the Classic Series’ more memorable monsters, although again — as with the original serial’s RAF bombardment — the means of its defeat are rather unsatisfying.
Doctor Who: The Nu-Humans
by Cavan Scott & Mark Wright (BBC, 2012); audiobook read by Raquel Cassidy
Another book that captures the whimsical bow-tie flitting of the Eleventh Doctor but none of the underlying substance. Raquel Cassidy is perhaps an odd choice given the prominence of a heavy-voiced male nu-human. [Why the affectation? They’re not ‘nu’, dammit; they’re ‘new’.]
Doctor Who: Let it Snow (Tales of Trenzalore #1)
by Justin Richards (Woodlands Books, 2014); audiobook read by David Troughton (Bolinda, 2015)
The first of several stories exploring the Eleventh Doctor’s centuries-long defence of Trenzalore (as per the 2013 Christmas Special). Justin Richards does a good job setting the scene, and the Ice Warriors are a fitting choice to bring stomping through the snow.
The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Glittering Storm
by Stephen Cole (BBC, 2007); audiobook read by Elisabeth Sladen
Elisabeth Sladen doesn’t so much read as act, her performance as Sarah Jane elevating this otherwise somewhat middling story of alien imperilment. Whatever the gold is being used for this time, however squidgy and one-dimensional the adversary, Sladen remains the consummate companion-turned-lead.
Doctor Who: The Lost Planet
by George Mann (BBC Audio, 2017); audiobook read by Nicola Bryant
The Doctor, having carelessly created a universe-imperilling problem, defeats it by running away. (If that’s a spoiler, consider yourself saved.) Mann plumbs old depths; with Nicola Bryant reading it almost feels like we’re back in the mid-80s with Pip and Jane Baker.
Doctor Who, Series 8
(BBC, 2014)
Series Eight starts with an apology, ends with a folly turned helter-skelter. In-between this, Peter Capaldi simmers rakishly: the sort of caustic, ‘dislikeable’ Doctor that Colin Baker was aiming for, only with the necessary scripts and production values to support the characterisation.
Doctor Who: The Lost Angel
by George Mann & Cavan Scott; audiobook read by Kerry Shale (BBC, 2017)
The Weeping Angels, like the Daleks before them, have faded from show-defining monsters into one-dimensional ho-hum tripe. The bits with the Doctor work well enough — as one would expect — but whenever he’s absent the writing, characters and scenario simply fail to engage.