The Sutekh story is written by Ian Winterton with art by Adrian Salmon. Salmon’s art style is not my favorite style and the story grounds Sutekh into too much of a straight science fiction story. Sutekh should be more god-like in my opinion 7 out of 10.
The art of John Ridgway is phenomenal, I love his realistic style harking all the way back to classic Doctor Who Magazine comic strips like Voyager. Mark Griffiths expands on the Omega miniseries also published by Cutaway and tells a story of Omega attempting to escape his anti-matter isolation. 9 out of 10.
I absolutely love these expansions of the Whoniverse by Cutaway. This series has future issues featuring the Tharils, Drax and Iris Wildthyme! They also publish miniseries with Lytton, Paradise Towers, Orcini and other characters. Is there any other science fiction franchise with an expanded universe as rich and diverse as the Whoniverse.
My mother was from Eastport, Maine and growing up we would often have a comfort meal from her childhood. The Mainers refer to it as dried fish but it is more commonly called bacalao. The Maine version of the dish consists of salted and dried cod or pollack, caramelized onions, potatoes and either salt pork or bacon.
The salt fish must be soaked in several changes of water
Traditionally salt pork is used we have substituted bacon
Boiled baby potatoes
Onions
After soaking overnight and several changes of water boil the fish
The components of the meal
Mix all together
Nostalgia alone rates it 9 out of 10 for me. Alex 8 out of 10.
Alex and I have been enjoying the Root Beer of the Month Club for several months and this brand was one of the selections. Zuberfizz makes this creamy style root beer that really stood out from the rest so we purchased a pack to enjoy.
The root beer has a rich creamy taste and goes down very smoothly 9 out of 10
Doctor Who The Complete History was a series of hardback volumes which came out every two weeks and covered 3-4 stories each. These were in-depth volumes covering the production of each episode from the first in 1963 to the end of the Peter Capaldi era of the show. In addition to the extensive production notes there were also merchandise and publicity updates and actor profiles. The quality of each volume was exceptional overseen by several different editors. The volumes were only available in the UK and Ireland so were difficult to obtain in other locations. I am more of a Watsonian fan but if you are a Doyalist you will greatly appreciate these books. Even so I give the entire series a solid 8 out of 10. I will rate each episode covered below.
The Planet of Evil sees The Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane fighting an anti-matter monster. The stage setting is phenomenal with a very believable jungle landscape. The always reliable Prentis Hancock and a very well played Ewen Solon as Vishinsky showcase some interesting characters. 7 out of 10.
The Pyramids of Mars was my favorite Doctor Who story for a long time. The atmospheric backdrop of Egyptology and Victoriana only added to the story of the evil god Sutekh played fabulously by Gabriel Wolf. Michael Sheard as Laurence Scarman was a great Dr. John Watson type character that I thought would have made a great companion to the Doctor. Two moments stick out to me; The Doctor’s alien-like reaction to Scarman’s death and the riddle posed by the two servo units on Mars. 10 out of 10.
The Android Invasion is only the second non-Dalek story written by Terry Nation for the program. The story is a pedestrian effort which wastes the final appearances of Harry Sullivan and John Benton in the program. The first episode with The Doctor and Sarah discovering the reality of the quaint village they have stumbled on is very good and the unveil of the Sarah Jane android at the end of the second episode is a great cliffhanger. 7 out of 10.
Doctor Who The Complete History was a series of hardback volumes which came out every two weeks and covered 3-4 stories each. These were in-depth volumes covering the production of each episode from the first in 1963 to the end of the Peter Capaldi era of the show. In addition to the extensive production notes there were also merchandise and publicity updates and actor profiles. The quality of each volume was exceptional overseen by several different editors. The volumes were only available in the UK and Ireland so were difficult to obtain in other locations. I am more of a Watsonian fan but if you are a Doyalist you will greatly appreciate these books. Even so I give the entire series a solid 8 out of 10. I will rate each episode covered below.
After endless reruns of the first four seasons of Tom Baker’s era on PBS I was greatly looking forward to the next set of episodes to drop. I must say that I was disappointed in the Key to Time season. The first story covered in this volume is The Power of Kroll the fifth story in the arc. Despite another appearance by Phillip Madoc I did not find the story of gun runners, swamp people and environmentalism very enticing. 6 out of 10.
The Armageddon Factor was the conclusion to the arc and I enjoyed the appearance of The Doctor’s classmate and fellow member of the DecaDrax. The six parts were a little long in the tooth and tended to drag at times but Lalla Ward was a welcome addition to the cast. 7 out of 10.
The last story covered in the volume was the first story in season 17 The Destiny of the Daleks. This story featured the return of the Daleks, Davros and Terry Nation. I enjoyed the addition of the Movellans in the story as an opposing robotic race. A big downfall was Terry Nation forgetting that the Daleks were not actually robots but were mutants inside mobile tanks!! Despite this I though Lalla Ward was very charming as the new incarnation of Romana. Her regeneration scene was a bit silly but her subsequent characterization was spot on. 7 out of 10.
