Category: Reviews

Decalog 4 Re:Generations is the fourth instalment in the Virgin Decalogs series — a series of books which each contain ten tales wrapping around a common theme. The first three books in the series contained tales of the first seven Doctors. This volume is after Virgin lost the license to print Doctor Who stories, they however retained the rights to characters created in their novels. This included Bernice Summerfield and Roz Forrester. This collection of stories contains accounts concerning ancestors of Roz throughout the years.

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The book has well written science fiction stories with Roz’s ancestors as the main protagonists or antagonists. I liked how the Roz ancestors in some stories were the hero and in others a villain. The stories as a whole outline a family history in such depth that is not seen with any other Doctor Who companion with the possible exception of The Brigadier. The final story documents the final days of Roz’s sister Leabie and the current state of the family following Roz’s death in the New Adventure novel So Vile a Sin. Some very well told sci-fi stories and the in-depth history of the Forrester family make this a solid read 8 out of 10.

The 1970 issue of the TV Comic Holiday Special contained two 2 page Doctor Who strips featuring the Third Doctor. The stories take place early in the Third Doctor’s tenure following Spearhead from Space in the Doctor’s timeline. The strips are in the TV Comic style and are not as good as the soon to come strips in Countdown and TV Action.

“The Assassin from Space” finds the Doctor being attacked by a crab like monster sent to kill him by aliens wanting to get rid of the Doctor before their invasion. He uses his sonic cane to defeat the monster, I wonder if this is the same cane The Eleventh Doctor uses in Lets Kill Hitler? 7 out of 10.

“Undercover” is the second story in the special. The Brigadier needs to recover a stolen piece of equipment from a foreign embassy so he sends The Third Doctor undercover to retrieve it 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.

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The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances is a classic Doctor Who story in all media and all time periods. This two part story showed what a brilliant writer Stephen Moffat is. The story is a fast paced adventure with some genuinely creepy atmospheric situations. The empty child is both creepy and sympathetic. Rose is my least favorite companion but here with the Ninth Doctor she is tolerable. The introduction of the omni-sexual Captain Jack was an important milestone in representation for the program. 10 out of 10.

Boom Town is a very under-rated story. Annette Badland is a nice villain of the piece and the crowded Tardis team of The Doctor, Jack, Rose and Mickey work well together. A nice light-hearted story set before the dour season finale. 7 out of 10.

The Daleks return in force in the two part season finale Bad Wolf and The Parting of the Ways. A humorous start to the story with the game show pastiches turns into a emotional and riveting climax. The end of Bad Wolf is one of the best cliff-hangers of the program, not necessarily for the Doctor but for the Daleks. The Ninth Doctor is the epitome “The Oncoming Storm” The ” Ka Faraq Gatri” the destroyer of worlds. 10 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.

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The Voyage of the Damned was the highest rated NuWho episode up to that point, the presence of Pop superstar Kylie Minogue I am sure contributed to this. Kylie turned out to be a good actress and was a very likable and attractive pseudo-companion. The episode was a wonderful romp through the damaged ship much like the Poseidon Adventure. The mix of different characters and personalities was quite enjoyable. This was the a continuation of the Doctor’s age controversy where he states his age as 903 when in fact he was much older according to the lore. 8 out of 10.

Partners in Crime sees the return of Donna Noble after her turn in the Christmas special The Runaway Bride a year earlier. The duo proved so popular that they were to return in a series of audio adventures and the 60th anniversary specials. The story was another light hearted fun romp with the uber cute Adipose introduced. 8 out of 10.

The Fires of Pompeii sees early appearances of future Doctor Who luminaries Peter Capaldi and Karen Gillan. The episode showcases Catherine Tate‘s acting chops and has a riveting performance by Phil Davis as the soothsayer Lucius. The Pyrovile monster was not well realized but the dynamic towards the end of the story between The Doctor and Donna was exceptional. Luckily The Doctor did not run into his Seventh persona who was there during the audio adventure The Fires of Vulcan. 8 out of 10.

An unusual piece of Doctor Who merchandise Abducted by the Daleks is a nudie film released in 2005.

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The story, such as it is, follows four women who are stranded in a wood and are abducted by Daleks who want to interrogate the women to determine the planet’s capabilities prior to invasion. The women are stripped naked and questioned by the Daleks in their spaceship. One of the women turns out to be an alien as well and is a Dalek agent. The finale of the film finds the agent captured by a hunter who is trying to capture a serial killer who skins their victims alive. The hunter is killed and the serial killer turns out to be another alien! Pretty girls and good Dalek design 7 out of 10.

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