Doctor Who - Bad Wolf/Parting of the Ways

Bad Wolf and Parting of the Ways

I have recently been watching the entirety of Series One recently and I have just come to the finale (reviews of the previous eight episodes to come soon). The Bad Wolf theme has been built up throughout the series and personally I far prefer the current more complicated story arcs. The Bad Wolf story arc just seems a bit to simple, but at least this season has a story arc (there is one in season two, a couple of references in season three but season four the arc is just about bee's disappearing and a couple of pictures of Rose). Now onto the actual story. At first before you understand what is actually going on, I do not really know what to think of the story. Whilst the three protagonists are stuck inside the game shows this story could have gone either way. Luckily Russel T Davies wrote another cracker. There are a couple of nice references to the classic series weaved in (The Lunar Penal Colony - Frontier in Space). The last ten minutes of Bad Wolf are electric and The Ninth Doctor is mesmerizing in his end speech to The Daleks. Parting of the Ways is brilliant. The Daleks are just as threatening here as they were back in Dalek. They are an unstoppable force. This, Dalek and Asylum of the Daleks, are the reasons why this monster is claimed the greatest monster of all time. The Ninth Doctor gets a brilliant send off here and the story does seem fitting for his era. In summary, a cracking finale for The Ninth Doctor's era and just makes me sad that it ends. 10/10

Doctor Who - Boom Town

Boom Town

Boom Town is essentially a filler story but not of its own choice. It was designed to replace a couple of dropped scripts including one which involved Rose being a robot. What I love about this story and the one just before it is how much fun the regulars are having. The end of the previous two part story they were celebrated how everyone lived and here we get some really enjoyable scenes in the TARDIS and in the cafe with the regulars. This story is not one to be taken that seriously, just something which is to be really fun to watch and I love it for it. It just makes me sad that this group of TARDIS regulars are going to split up in the next story as I would love to see more adventures featuring these three travelers. In summary, this is a fun story with some good moments of character development for Rose, Mickey and The Doctor. 7/10

Doctor Who - The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances

The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances

I do not know what it was but prior to watching this recently I did not know why this one was as popular as it was. It was a good story but not a great.

 

This time however I really enjoyed this. The production department have done an amazing job in realising the era, the monsters are creepy, Captain Jack is a welcome edition to the TARDIS, the performances from all of the guest cast are mesmerising and the story is so gripping. Overall a classic. 10/10

Dark Eyes Two - A summary

Dark Eyes Two - A summary

In summary Dark Eyes Two has been brilliant. Until half way into part four I did not believe there was going to be a story arc in this release but then I eventually realised that there was one but you would need to get to the final part to understand what it is. There has been some absolutely amazing stories in this release, especially Time's Horizon which is one of my all time favourite Big Finish releases. Dark Eyes Two made The Eminence interesting and now I see it as a proper Doctor Who villain after some doubts I had about it last year. I have unfortunately ignored Liv and Molly in all of these individual reviews but I must say they have been brilliant throughout this release and I do hope both return for November's Dark Eyes Three. The Master here was very good but The Eight Doctor totally stole the show. I am really enjoying The Eight Doctor's Story Arc at the moment and despite how highly I have regarded The Eleventh Doctor's Era, I am presently more interested in where The Eight Doctor's Era is going.

Doctor Who - Dark Eyes Two - The Eyes of The Master

Personally The Eyes of The Master is not as great as the other three exceptional releases in Dark Eyes Two. Now this is only because of the fact the first three parts in my opinion were superb and this story really had a lot of work to do, especially after the extraordinary release of Time's Horizon. The story is still good though. The Master is the best thing in this release. He is brilliant. The scenes between him and The Doctor are some of the best things in the box set. My problem with this release is that I just do not find The Master's Plan that engaging. I did though like how The Timelords were brought into this and how they were manipulating everything, that was very good and helps to support a few of my personal theories about their inclusion in the new series. In summary, a good story but overshadowed by everything else in this release. 7/10

Doctor Who - Dark Eyes 2 - Time's Horizon

Time's Horizon is personally the best release on this box set. Initially I did not see what was so great about The Eminence in The Seeds of War for them to warrant a return in Time's Horizon. I was wrong. The Eminence here is really quite threatening and actually a really good villain. As usual the acting in this story is really good. The story is very gripping and is very reminiscent of the Fourth Doctor era, since later this year we will finally get to hear the original Eminence story, it does seem fitting that this story personally feels like it is from season 13. Overall an exceptional release. 10/10 

Doctor Who - Dark Eyes Two - The White Room

The White Room

The White Room begins with the return of Molly who is presently living in The Doctor's house in London. I love the idea of The Doctor having this vast house in the middle of London. It does however raise the question why has he got this house in the first place? As usual Big Finish really capture the period here and I really liked the part at the end when the church bells rang to celebrate the armistice at the end of the story. The story is actually quite chilling here and that really helped to grab my attention. Overall this was another strong release, in my opinion not as good as the two stories which sandwich The White Room but still a great release. 8.5/10

Doctor Who - Dark Eyes Two - The Traitor

Dark Eyes Two - The Traitor

Unlike the previous edition in the Dark Eyes series, this release feels more like four separate stories, whereas the original Dark Eyes release felt personally more like one long story split into four parts like the traditional format. Dark Eyes Two comprises of four stories:

 

1. The Traitor
2. The White Room
3. Times Horizon
4. Eyes of the Master

The Traitor

The long awaited box set begins with Nick Briggs action packed Dalek thriller - The Traitor. We are used to Nick Briggs writing outstanding stories and this is no exception to this rule. The script is brilliant, the acting is amazing all round and the direction is superb. The Dalek Time Controller is quite chilling in this and the discussions between it and The Eight Doctor add a new dimension to what could be seen as a quintessential Dalek story. In summary a great release to begin this box set. 9/10