REVIEW - YOU ARE THE DOCTOR AND OTHER STORIES

2015 ends with the Seventh Doctor and Ace

REVIEW - THE DIARY OF RIVER SONG: SERIES ONE

REVIEW - THE WAR DOCTOR: ONLY THE MONSTROUS

REVIEW – ALL-CONSUMING FIRE

The Seventh Doctor meets…Sherlock Holmes?

REVIEW - TORCHWOOD: ONE RULE

Yvonne Hartman isn’t on my Doctor Who favorites list. In truth, she’s actually on the “other” list. For that reason alone, this title was the one I was looking forward to the least. Even less than UNIT: Extinction. But we all know what happened when I listened to that box set! So could Big Finish do the unthinkable twice and redeem Yvonne Hartman in my eyes?

REVIEW - THEATRE OF WAR

The Seventh Doctor Novel Adaptations is one of my favorite Big Finish ranges. Its the only series in my opinion that does the partnership of Seven/Benny (and occasionally Ace) true justice. Nothing at all like the mess that is The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield. But did Theatre of War continue the trend started in Love and War, The Highest Science and most recently, Damaged Goods or did it fall flat like a bad b-movie play?

HELL BENT: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE NERDY

After the universally loved and critically acclaimed Heaven Sent, the deck against Hell Bent was stacked so high, I couldn’t help but drop my expectations just to give it a fighting chance. But before I tackle Hell Bent, I’d just like to take a moment to express my deepest sympathies to anyone who was unable to recognize I was being facetious with the “Bad” section for Heaven Sent last week and that most of my criticisms were little more than jokes designed to poke fun at nitpickers and were in no way meant to be taken seriously by any fan. I mean I started the section with a sarcastic “seriously”. Oh well, now that that’s out of the way; let’s take a look at what Hell Bent brought to the table that is Series 9.

HEAVEN SENT: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE NERDY

It’s always a challenge stepping outside of the comfort zone. It’s often a case of high risk, high reward. You can either crash or burn quite hard like Sleep No More, or you can come out looking like the best thing to happen to the world since [insert really cool advanced gadget]. Unfortunately though, there is absolutely no way to predict how successful your attempt at creativity is going to be until after the fact.

 

FACE THE RAVEN: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE NERDY

One fan’s heartache is another’s drunken after-party. That is how I choose to view Face The Raven. Surprisingly enough, Clara’s demise last week has had the unusual effect of satisfying both ends of the spectrum of her fanbase. Loyal Clara lovers wept as the impossible girl came in on a leaf and left with a raven in a gut wrenching scene, while Clara doubters, dislikers and angry villagers also managed to enjoy the episode by way of the particular method in which she left the series. Or rather the events that led up to it.

REVIEW - UNIT: EXTINCTION

It’s well documented that I am not UNIT’s biggest fan. Before The Zygon two-parter, I was no fan of Osgood and even after it, while I grew to like her because of her character development, Kate and the rest of UNIT still put me on the fence given how incompetent the latter is. If I had to select a Big Finish title I was looking forward to least, it would be UNIT: Extinction. I went in with rather low expectations. I came out of it a changed man!

REVIEW - BLOODTIDE

The Sixth Doctor and Evelyn meet Charles Darwin on the Galapagos Islands where an awakening group of Silurians have horrifying plans for mankind.

SLEEP NO MORE - THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE NERDY

Sleep No More appears to be Series 9’s version of In The Forest of The Night. It initially stood out as exemplary for a number of reasons, though it also faltered because of a number of other reasons, often elements needed to create the former. While not a flame war starter, it is still pretty decisive amongst fans. Let’s look at both sides by dissecting the exciting bits, the sleep bits and the goosebumpy parts in-between.

REVIEW - TORCHWOOD: FORGOTTEN LIVES

For the first time this series, as opposed to stepping back in time, Torchwood instead fastforwards by visiting Gwen Cooper and Rhys Williams five years after Miracle Day. Jack is missing, the Committee are at it again and why exactly is someone who isn’t John Barrowman claiming to be Captain Jack Harkness?

REVIEW – THE EYE OF THE SCORPION

The Doctor and Peri land in egypt. Expect to find sand in places you didn't even know you had!

REVIEW - MINUET IN HELL

The Eighth Doctor meets the Brigadier! Or at least that's what was supposed to happen. Oh dear...

REVIEW - SHIELD OF THE JOTUNN

The Doctor meets Vikings...again!

WHAT I EXPECT FROM THE WAR DOCTOR ADVENTURES

 

Here's my wishlist for Big Finish and Sir John Hurt! 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS - ATTACK ON TITAN: JUNIOR HIGH

Attack on Titan + Junior High + Slice of Life = Hilarity!

THE ZYGON INVERSION - THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE NERDY

HAVE WE ALREADY SEEN A FEMALE DOCTOR?

Don’t worry, it’s not what you think.

REVIEW – JAGO & LITEFOOT & STRAX

Among the numerous Doctor Who spin-offs Big Finish produces, I can honestly declare that the Jago & Litefoot range rank at number one when it comes to this author’s favorites list. But what happens when New Who invades and throws a funny Sontaran into the mix? Hilarity of course!

REVIEW - THE SIRENS OF TIME

Where it all begins...again

FIRST IMPRESSIONS – BEYOND THE BOUNDARY

I took a peek at the dub for Sentai Filmworks’ new release and here's what I thought of it...

REVIEW - FALL TO EARTH

The second installment of the new Torchwood audio series features Ianto falling to earth on a private spaceflight called the Skypuncher. On the edge of my seat about whether or not Ianto would make it out alive here so he can be killed in Children of Earth, I had a listen. What I think? Read on!

REVIEW - DOOM COALITION BOX SET #1

Big Finish presents the next chapter in the life and times of the Eighth Doctor, who is one of the most developed incarnations of the Doctor. He has gone through so many story arcs (Charley Pollard, Divergent Universe, Lucie Miller, Dark Eyes) and so many changes that it’s normal to wonder what else to do with this Doctor. Big Finish decided to give us Doom Coalition, a series that looks to set a new bar when it comes to telling Doctor Who stories, regardless of format. Let’s have a look…

REVIEW - PLANET OF THE RANI

After Siobhan Redmond did such an outstanding job taking over the Rani helm from the late Kate O’ Mara, it was only a matter of before Big Finish revisited the Rani. Only this time, they decided to take us to the legendary planet we first heard about in The Mark of the Rani. But did the story live up to standards?

REVIEW - CRISS-CROSS

BIG FINISH + NEW WHO LICENCE = TENTH DOCTOR ADVENTURES!

It’s here my fellow audio aficionados! The moment we’ve all been waiting. The moment Big Finish announces their plans to incorporate Doctors from the new series into their range.

UNDER THE LAKE - THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE NERDY

This week sees the Doctor and Clara under water and encountering ghosts. Admit it: Ghost fish would’ve been cool too. It also happens to be the first episode of the second two-parter of Series 9. Let’s look at what elements floated and which sunk.

BEFORE THE FLOOD: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE NERDY

Our hero is dead…kind of. Clara is in danger…maybe. Time is being tricked out…sort of. But is this episode a satisfactory conclusion to the base under siege two-parter? A: Most definitely! Let’s take a look at the worthy, the unscrupulous and the pop culture-y bits in-between:

THE GIRL WHO DIED - THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE NERDY

During the build-up to The Girl Who Died?, the majority of hype was about Maisie Williams guest starring on Doctor Who, exciting and enticing fans of all ages and fans of Game of Thrones alike. But did this episode live up to said hype? Or did the fans (and the production team) blow one actress’ guest appearance out of proportion?

THE WITCH'S FAMILIAR - THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE NERDY

Following last week’s episode, we had been promised a better second parter to The Magician’s Apprentice. Whatever your opinion was on that episode, the promise of a better follow-up still had to be upheld. Let’s dissect if it did, if it didn’t and what remained afterwards. Spoilers for those yet to have seen the episode.

THE MAGICIAN'S APPRENTICE: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE NERDY

REVIEW - TERROR OF THE SONTARANS

Does Dan Starkey know the Sontarans well enough to pen a story for them?

50 000 VIEWS!

I may be a little late, but Enigmania has just hit 50 000 page views. You have no idea no blown away my mind is. I mean I had to really study the figure, just to find out if it was real. 50 000 page views is wonderful!

The activity on this site the last couple of days has been high and I like to think I'm giving you something worthwhile to invest your time in. And I want to thank you for that. You are the reason I'm doing this. If you're enjoying what I do, then I don't mind giving you more. It's like a drug. I'm addicted to the high you people give me every time you click on one of my articles. Thank you for your support. I hope to someday make it to 100 000 views, but for now, 50K looks pretty darn good from where I'm sitting.

Thank you for your support. Keep reading and I'll keep 'em comin'!

REVIEW - YAMADA-KUN AND THE SEVEN WITCHES

So I finally got around to reviewing this. Let the good times roll!

REVIEW - TORCHWOOD: THE CONSPIRACY

The road to Series 9 makes a pit stop because Jack is back!

RANKING BIG FINISH STORIES

Which one should you be listening to?

FIRST IMPRESSIONS - SKY WIZARDS ACADEMY

Wizards + Harem +Man Eating Bugs = ?

FIRST IMPRESSIONS - GANGSTA

This series has been hyped as one of the best of the season. Do I agree?

REVIEW - RETURN TO TELOS

The Fourth Doctor meets the Second Doctor…kinda.

REVIEW - THE WAREHOUSE

 Doctor Who meets Warehouse 13…kinda.

RANDOM RANTS: WHY NO STEINS;GATE MOTHERF**KER!

It's been a long time since I did a random rant, but I feel like I need to do a big one and it's aimed directly at you FUNimation. Like what the f*ck are you waiting for?

REVIEW - THE FATE OF KRELOS

The penultimate episode of the fourth season of the FDAs is here.  

40 000 PAGE VIEWS! THANK YOU!

Hey guys!

It's a milestone posting today. Thank you so much for all your support. As you can see, Enigmania just passed 40 000 views and I am ecstatic! This is how you start off a Monday and I can tell you that there is a lot more in store this month so don't stay away too long. Once again, I thank you for following this blog. I thank you for (hopefully) enjoying this blog and I hope you'll stick around until at least the 100K mark (aiming high huh?).

THANK YOU FOR THE RESPONSE GUYS!

Thank you everyone...

Now, you may have noticed I've been quiet for a while. It's because the last couple of weeks have been very tough for me. I was involved in a car accident (nothing major), but the car had to be written off and the guilt of my parents having to spend so much money buying me a new set of wheels has been awful. It was an accident and nobody's fault, but that doesn't soften the blow by any measure.

Life at work has also been hell as we have a very verbally abusive boss who delights in breaking spirits. He literally took a cup full of coffee and let it fell on the ground just to make a point to the cleaning lady that she as doing a shitty job. It's really bad and with the car thing, not to mention how overall difficult it is to find work, I've been both depressed and uninspired to write anything new. I am mostly over everything. My boss hasn't changed, but I'm trying to not let it get me down.

I've also seen the response to the We Are The Daleks review I did a couple of days. It has been huge. It has been viewed by more people than any of my other Big Finish reviews and I just want to say thank you for your support. It's little things like these that help inspire me to write more because I feel obligated to return the favor. I want to get as many people to enjoy Big Finish as I can and I hope these reviews help those of you who are new or don't possess the luxury to spend fortunes on audio dramas every month.

I've noticed I'm only a couple 100 views away from 40K page views, but I feel I should get this out of the way and tell you all how much I value your support and I hope that this site helps you equally, if not more so in return. Thank you!

REVIEW - WE ARE THE DALEKS

Welcome back Melanie Bush!

PROJECT YAMADA: CLIP #1

REVIEW - DOCTOR WHO: THE ADVENTURES OF BERNICE SUMMERFIELD VOL 2

It was very hard for me to decide whether or not I should even do this review. In part because of the regret and disappointment I felt at the end of the previous Doctor Who: New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield box set. I’m not gonna lie. I was less enthusiastic about the second volume than I am for another season of Clara Oswald. So did this second installment fare any better than volume 1?

PYRAMID OF SUTEKH

Oh dear…

Well, it seems we’re not going to learn our lesson. The exact same thing that plagued the previous volume is present in this first story in which Benny stumbles upon Sutekh’s tomb and has to keep the titular mummy from being reborn. This story is lackluster at best and the only thing I can praise about it is the characterization of Sutekh and the fact that he is in this story.

The first ten minutes is just Benny talking to herself in monologue. If only the script would give her some kind of sidekick to speak to and wouldn’t drag this plot development out for ten minutes before actually doing so. Unfortunately the Doctor is locked out of the plot (AGAIN!) by the writer and the eventual companion we are introduced to is about as one-dimensional as a robot. That’s a joke only those unfortunate enough to have listened to this story will get. Haha! 

I take major offense to the title of this series starting with ‘Doctor who’ but not actually giving us a proper team up like proper crossovers are supposed to. Has no one watched say The Avengers, or Flash/Arrow or even Raildex? I understand that this is the adventures of Bernice Summerfield, but if you’re not going to use the character of the Doctor properly or at all, why brand it as ‘Doctor Who’? Why not ‘The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield…featuring the Doctor’?

This story also seems to adjust how powerful Sutekh is depending on what the plot needs at the time. This can get grating as one moment he can think away a space attack fleet and in the next has trouble moving a couple of rocks. The technobabble in this tale also reaches ridiculous heights even for technobabble. Nobody really wanted to explain all the crazy stuff that goes on so if you get a handwaved explanation, don’t expect it to make much sense.

Rating: 5/10.

THE VAULTS OF OSIRIS

Ironically, this story proves just how well these crossover box sets can work without reducing one character to sidekick/buffoon status. Benny teams up with Ace McShane as they search for the Eye of Horus. Justin Richards proves that you can have two main characters from different corners of the Whoverse work together and treat both as equal stars.

I will say this: The flashback sequence at the start which leads to the two characters meeting up is good! I’m talking Series 6 good. Not the astronaut on the beach bit, but the montage of Eleventh Doctor exploits before that. This is a pro, as well as a con as that flashback could’ve easily been a great story on its own.

The Doctor is even less involved in this story, but Ace is there to pick up the slack. Benny is worried about Ace’s TARDIS driving skills and has a right to be…Ace has only had one at the Academy and it didn’t go well that time. Likewise, Benny kissing up to the TARDIS deserves its own mention. The dialogue in this story is fantastic and the adventure itself is nothing to sneeze at. This feels a lot like Indiana Jones meets Relic Hunter inside Doctor Who. Just a simple adventure with two contrasting, yet very complimenting main characters who can get the job done. Now why can’t we do the same for the Doctor and Benny damnit?

Rating: 8/10.

THE EYE OF HORUS

Now this is I’m talking about! This right here. The Eye of Horus. This is what I expect from these boxsets! This series climbs with each adventure and this story is utterly brilliant. Benny winds up in ancient Egypt and runs into…the Doctor?

Ah Egypt! We need more Doctor Who stories set in Egypt. It’s a setting with a rich and exotic environment and great mythos to explore and I would love to actually see it as opposed to hearing about it. Wouldn’t you? Like Eye of the Scorpion, this is a masterful tale full of conspiracies, revenge, tragedy, love and lots of drunken Egyptians. 

But the biggest advantage is the fact that it contains the Doctor and he is not under siege or pushed to the sidelines. He is a prominent figure in the story and he is used expertly. The Seventh Doctor has always been dark, but some of his actions here will add another degree of suspicion and disgust for the Doctor’s seventh persona. It is fantastic to hear Sylvester McCoy add another layer to his Doctor that at the same time doesn’t interfere with our normal perception of him. And did I mention prominent role?

This story also makes good use of Benny, but I mean in how it treats her in respects to the Doctor. She is justified when she’s right and she’s justified when she’s in the wrong. While she still feels more prominent than the Doctor, it is lessened to the degree that I can accept it as the distance between them is very insignificant.

Hats off to Sutekh who just hams up every scene he’s in and just goes with it. It is brilliant listening to Gabriel Woolf recreate Sutekh in each of these stories. A worthy foe indeed.

However, this story isn’t perfect. It has two issues. For one thing, the source of the conflict is created by the most unlikely set of plot conveniences I have ever encountered. It is staggeringly bad. It’s like the universe wants this to happen. Screw logic or suspension of disbelief. Secondly, the first and last scene of this story distracts from the plot and serves literally no purpose at all.

Rating: 9/10.

The Tears of Isis

How does that saying go? Out with a whimper, instead of a bang? Sums up this last story perfectly. The second volume of Doctor Who: The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield comes to a crashing crescendo as the Doctor, Benny and Ace face off with not-Sutekh. That’s right. There is no big grand battle. Instead, we are treated to a dull black comedy which lacks humor.

And the same problems that plagued this series at the start is back again. Benny is talking to herself because the plot can’t wait to split her up from the Doctor and Ace. The only problem, I don’t know which plot is duller, hers or the TARDIS duo’s. Benny encounters a cult dedicated to Sutekh and we learn what cults do when their apocalyptic predictions come true.

What did the Doctor do to be treated this badly by the narrative? He is the star of this universe and this story just treats him like a helpless coward, completely disregarding his personality and tossing him aside for two thirds of the story. And Ace…oh Ace. She about as involved as the Doctor in this story. Thinking about it, I can’t recall her doing anything even remotely useful to the plot. So why are both of them in here? This is the Doctor and Ace McShane damnit! They deserve better.

And let’s not get started with Sutekh. Like every other main character that isn’t Benny, he doesn’t really show up until half the story is finished and even then, he becomes just another cartoon villain. This is sad people. The plot is paper thin. The guest characters are awfully unlikeable and uninteresting to listen to. In fact, this story is so bad; I actually turned it off midway to listen to The Secret History (absolute cracker of a story) before coming back the next day to see how everything gets resolved.

And it gets resolved with not one, but TWO incredibly dull and unimaginative Deus Ex Machinas both in the same five minutes. What a way to sort things out? 

Rating: Rating: 2/10. One point for Lisa Bowerman and one point for the fact this series is finally over. Thank Sutekh!

I am afraid I cannot recommend this box set. I respect you guys/girls way too much to recommend you spend 30 pounds on a box set that is only about fifty percent worth it.