Pointless Witterings

Starring Janet Fielding & Tim Beckmann  Written by Steve Lyons  Directed by John Ainsworth  The Doctor answers a psionic distress call sent from England in the 1920's. There, in the environs of a fairground, he is reunited with an old friend: Harry Houdini. To Adric and Nyssa the name means very little, but to the Doctor's companion Tegan he is a legend. Escape artist extraordinaire, Houdini's reputation will last for decades.  But how does Houdini know so much about Tegan herself? Is it really just guesswork, as he says? Is Houdini right to be concerned about the fairground's fortune teller, who claims to have supernatural skills? Both he and the Doctor suspect an alien influence may be at work.  What neither the Doctor nor his friends realise is that, somewhere in the shadows, a sinister and all too familiar presence is lying in wait for them... The fifth story in the Destiny Of The Doctor series sees Peter Davison's Doctor finally take the stand in a wonderfu

Starring Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant & Jamie Parker   Originally Written by Brian Finch  Adapted by Paul Finch Directed by Ken Bentley  No one lives to old age in the village. When their Time is come, they are taken and never seen again. That is The Way. And, should anyone try to break with the established order of things, then the fury of Herne the Hunter is unleashed... When the TARDIS materialises near a castle in this medieval society, the Doctor and Peri befriend Gurth, a terrified youth who is attempting to flee his fate. And Herne is closing in... Why does the local baron impose the culling? What is the secret of Zeron? And who are the Sentinels of the New Dawn? The answers lie within a cave...   Leviathan was a Lost Story that, when it was released, I knew barely anything about. I assumed it must have been dropped because it wasn't very good, especially as it was coming from the pen of an author who had never written for the show before. However, I must say this is proba

Starring Claire Huckle, Noel Sullivan & Colin Baker  Written by Terrance Dicks  Directed by Jason Haigh-Ellery  A thrilling adventure in Time and Space!  The Doctor, Crystal and Jason have survived monsters, Madame Delilah and Mrs T, but then their former enemy Karl calls them back to the Bar Galactica. The mercenary has a cryptic message concerning Ultima Thule, the location of fabled treasure - and a threat to the universe... The journey requires entering another dimension, where old enemies - and a brand new adversary - lie in wait... Oh... Oh dear. Whatever happened to Terrance Dicks? Once he was a great writer, especially with regards to his brilliant Target novelisations and his really strong TV scripts. However, it seems as if this latest Companion Chronicle has brought Dicks to his true nadir. And that's a shame, because Beyond The Ultimate Adventure has some really good elements to it. Certainly, there are parts of this story which do show some real promise. However, a

Starring Sylvester McCoy, Graeme Garden, Patricia Quinn, Nickolas Grace, Sabina Franklyn & Bonnie Langford  Written by Gareth Roberts & Clayton Hickman  Directed by Nicholas Pegg  Dark Space 8 - an advanced monitoring station floating serenely among the stars. Its crew - a dedicated and highly-skilled group of professionals, calmly going about their vital work. It's mission - to boldly host the Intergalactic Song Contest.  With representatives from myriad worlds competing, the eyes of the universe are on the station. But dark deeds are afoot aboard Dark Space 8...and people are starting to die. The haughty Queen Angvia; the gaseous gestalt Gholos; disposable pop idol Nicky Newman; erratic Professor Fassbinder; and the icily-efficient Doctor Eleanor Harcourt - all are suspects. Could old political rivalries be manifesting themselves among the contestants? Is this the work of a breakaway terrorist faction? Or has someone just got it in for singer-songwriters?  With peace in t

Starring Colin Baker, India Fisher & Sara Crowe  Written by Marc Platt  Directed by Nicholas Briggs  The Empire is lost. The Deathless Emperors are dead. The future may never happen. An urgent summons returns the noble Doctor to a planet he saved from disaster long ago. But Draconia, so elegant and so savage, is in worse turmoil than ever. Who will be next Emperor? The highest Prince? The lowest peasant? The soldier with no name? Or the Doctor himself - his life at their command? Who controls the army of deadly origami warriors? And is the truth about Charley painted on paper walls in the Emperor's tomb? History is taking revenge on the Doctor.  Considering the events and ramifications of Patient Zero, it's therefore a bit of a pity that Paper Cuts is so disconnected from the events of that story and Blue Forgotten Planet. It does mean that this story fails at being a part of a trilogy. It also sadly fails at being a gripping story, because, like Trial Of The Valeyard or Ho

Starring Colin Baker, Lynda Bellingham & Michael Jayston  Written by Alan Barnes & Mike Maddox  Directed by Barnaby Edwards  There is some evil in all of us - even the Doctor. Transported aboard the Time Lords' orbiting courtroom, the Doctor once again encounters the Valeyard, an amalgamation of the darker sides of his nature. This time, however, the Doctor isn't in the dock. This time, the Valeyard is the defendant, accused of a crime so terrible that the presiding Inquisitor is forbidden to reveal it even to the court, nor even to his counsel for the defence...the Doctor.  If the Valeyard is found guilty, he'll be executed. Execute the Valeyard, and the secret of his origins dies with him. A secret that the Doctor is desperate to know...and which the Time Lords will stop at nothing to protect.  When this release was announced, I became increadibly excited. The Valeyard is proberbly the most interesting point in Doctor Who continuity, but one that has been wilfully

Starring Carole Ann Ford & Wayne Forester  Written by Ian Potter  Directed by Lisa Bowerman  The TARDIS lands in Berlin in the 1930's, where Hitler and his National Socialist party are in the ascendant.  Some of the greatest scientific minds are gathering here: Einstein, Heisenberg, Planck, Schrödinger, Wigner. The people who will build the future of planet Earth.  But The Doctor and Susan have brought something with them. Something apparently harmless, something quite common. Yet something that could threaten the course of history... The Alchemists is a tale of two halfs. The more successful part of the story is a spy thriller in 1930's Berlin, while the less successful part is certainly the historical elements of the story. While in one hand, the spy parts of the story add tension and interest to the story, the history lesson drags the story down as a whole. It also moves at a terribly slow place, causing whole sections to feel completely unnessary. Therefore this story i

Starring Michael Praed & Nicholas Briggs  Originally Written by David Whitaker & Terry Nation  Adapted & Directed by Nicholas Briggs  The space ship Starfinder is taking two dangerous criminals for trial on Earth. En route, they crash through a meteor storm and have to make an emergency landing on Skaro - the planet of the dreaded Daleks. But Captain Redway and his faithful crew don't anticipate any trouble. After all, the Daleks were defeated fifty years ago and now they are completely inactive. But when a crate full of mysterious devices is discovered and the Daleks start to come back to life, it becomes clear that there is a traitor amongst the Starfinder's crew... A traitor intent on reactivating the power of the Daleks!  The last of Big Finish's range of Stageplays is quite a unique specimen. The original production of Curse Of The Daleks has very little material existing, so the release of this audio was many Who fans first chance to experience this story.

Starring Colin Baker, Eric Loren, Lysette Anthony, Leslie Philips & Maggie Stables  Written by Robert Ross Directed by Barnaby Edwards  Ford's Theatre, Washington, Friday, 14th April, 1865. The assassination of Abraham Lincoln.  The place, the date and the event which made history. Or did it? Someone has been tampering with time, muddying the waters of history for his own purposes. Time itself is out of joint and the chief culprit is the enigmatic Doctor Knox.  Somehow the Doctor and Evelyn must put history back on track before the future dissolves into chaos. But Knox may be the least of their worries... Assassin In The Limelight may have been four years in the waiting back in 2008, but considering that Medicinal Purposes isn't the most well appriciated release ever, it was probably worth the gestating time. And while Assassin In The Limelight won't be winning any awards or topping any favourite Doctor Who story lists, it is still a good listen that's worth a coupl

Starring Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton, Leslie Ash, Christian Coulson & John Pickard  Written by Jonathan Morris  Directed by Barnaby Edwards  Thomas Brewster is haunted by the ghost of his drowned mother. But she is not the only apparition to disturb his dreams. Every few years, he is visited by a mysterious blue box... Helped by his new assistant, the young Scots scientist Robert McIntosh, the Doctor struggles to unravel the twisted knot of temporal implausiblities which bind the TARDIS to Thomas Brewster. Meanwhile, lost in the stews of Victorian London, Nyssa must face a host of spectral creatures gathering in the fog.  The Haunting Of Thomas Brewster was my first Big Finish audio, so considering that I'm still subscribed today to pretty much every Doctor Who range, it must have worked. One thing that immediately makes this release stand out to others in the main range is centring it around one guest character. And while Thomas would become a short-term companion to both The

Starring Colin Baker, Leslie Phillips & Maggie Stables  Written by Robert Ross  Directed by Gary Russell  Edinburgh, 1827. The infamous body snatchers William Burke and William Hare are at large. The local prostitutes dull their fear with cheap whisky. The graveyard owls are hooting. Business is good. When accidental tourists the Doctor and Evelyn Smythe stumble upon one of Britain's most lurid, illuminating chapters in history, a simple case of interest in the work of dedicated man of science Doctor Robert Knox quickly turns sour.  Just what is that time-bending Scots mist? Whatever it is may put the very fabric of the universe under threat... As always.  Medicinal Purposes is one of those of audios that never seems to get recognition, despite the fact that it has some particularly good elements. It's actually quite an enjoyable little piece, self contained and admitly small scale, but not every story can deal with alien invasions and the destruction of the universe. The a