Chimes of Midnight – a classic?

Ask any Big Finish fan to name their favourite Doctor Who release and most will mention the Robert Shearman story This Chimes of Midnight. Released in 2002, directed with great panache by Barnaby Edwards and now available on download for a mere £2.99, this is a fantastic Eighth Doctor and Charley Pollard story. Is it the very best?…

The Peterloo Massacre reviewed

Once in a while, Big Finish releases something potent, something absorbing and something attracting the label of future classic. The current Fifth Doctor trilogy has been good (Waters of Amsterdam and Aquitaine), but The Peterloo Massacre by Paul Magrs is magnificent. It’s a pure historical and gives clear roles for both Nyssa and Tegan, and tells…

Signs and Wonders reviewed

After the disappointments of both Revenge of the Swarm and Mask of Tragedy it’s time to turn my attention to Matt Fitton’s Signs and Wonders. Matt set the ball rolling by resurrecting Hex / Hector in Afterlife – what has he lined up in this return to Liverpool? Warning – spoilers!

Farewell Great Macedon – a classic reviewed

Farewell Great Macedon is the main story in the Lost Stories: First Doctor Box Set. Written by Moris Farhi who also originated the other story in this set The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance. The story is told by Carole Ann Ford and William Russell with John Dorney taking the part of Alexander the Great. Told over six…

Big Finish 50th Anniversary Sale

Guess what – a sale for the 50th anniversary! This one is simple – 10% off for the whole weekend on any purchase of a Doctor Who connected range. The exceptions are: Not the Destiny of the Doctor Range No pre-orders subscriptions No subscriptions. This still gives plenty of choices – grab some classics, plug some…

Jubilee – a classic reviewed

The fortieth main range release from Big Finish was Rob Shearman’s Sixth Doctor story Jubilee  a tale that famously became the seed for the Ninth Doctor story Dalek. Putting to one side both  the fact that this story was uniquely selected (so far) as the trigger for a TV episode this story is, in it’ own right, a classic. Come now…

Cyberman sale: May 10 – 12 2013

So another sale is the ‘something for the weekend?‘ from Big Finish to coincide with Nightmare in Silver. Plenty of good titles here amongst the 20 releases covering Main Range, Companion Chronicles, Eighth Doctor Adventures and others. The range of titles is such that it gives a chance to dip into something new or, if you are…

A Death in the Family – a classic reviewed

Popping up in the Big Finish Day 3 weekend sale, A Death in the Family is a classic Seventh Doctor story written by Steven Hall (who wrote this, The Word Lord and some Gallifrey stories) and featuring Ace, Hex and Evelyn this story follows on immediately from Project: Destiny and is rated by almost everybody (The TimeScales rates it 9.4…

Spare Parts – a classic reviewed

July 2002 saw the release of the Fifth Doctor story Spare Parts written by Marc Platt and charting the origin of the Cybermen. This intense, dark story is widely given as a fan favourite in polls and is clearly a contender for the label of classic. I came to this fairly early in my listening but when…

Doctor Who and the Pirates – a classic reviewed

April 2003 saw the release of Doctor Who and the Pirates (aka The Lass that lost a Sailor), a Sixth Doctor story written by Jacqueline Rayner, directed by Barnaby Edwards and featuring Maggie Stables as Evelyn. This is one of the infrequent musical stories and is regarded by many (including me) as a Classic. I have…

The Sword of Orion – a classic reviewed

Released in 2001 this was the second story for the Eighth Doctor and Charley Pollard and is also an example of an AudioVisual tale being re-purposed as a Big Finish story. Written and directed by Nick Briggs this of course stars Paul McGann and India Fisher and a sizeable cast including Barnaby Edwards, Toby Longworth and Mark…

A plenitude of Peris – the Piscon Paradox reviewed

So, thanks to Colin’s time in the jungle, I acquired a copy of the much rated Peri and the Piscon Paradox. I quickly realised that this was exceptionally good value being a double-CD release – I am not aware of any other Companion Chronicles being more than one disc. Inevitably I pondered before listening – knowing it…