Chris Cwej was a companion of the Seventh Doctor during the end of his New Adventures run of original novels. After the novels he remained on Gallifrey. Cwej: Requiem was published in April 2024 and was written by James Hornby from a story by Andy Lane. This novel is meant to be a jumping on point for a series of upcoming Cwej novels.
Chris Cwej is an interesting character, I quite like the later New Adventures novels with him, Roz and Benny. The series is set firmly in the Whoniverse as long as you overlook the licensing restrictions. The Time lords are referred to as Superiors, the Tardis is a time ship complete with a six sided console, The Doctor is called The Defector and the superiors have a female president (Romana?). The novel is fast paced and violent with Cwej mixed up with Timelord machinations. This is a solid start to the proposed series and I am looking forward to the continuation. 8 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 Hungry Earth / Cold Blood sees the welcome return of the Silurians to Doctor Who. This Chris Chibnall penned tale is a good character piece, we see The Doctor as his most alien with his interaction with the young boy and Amy‘s anguish over Rory‘s “death” is quite moving. The interplay between Ambrose and the Silurian demonstrates the worst of humanity. 8.5 out of 10.
Vincent and the Doctor is one of the best episodes of Doctor Who. Tony Curran gives a wonderful performance as Vincent bringing to life a realistic portrayal of mental illness. We have come a long way in depicting mental illness since Zaroff in The Underwater Menace. His ability to see beyond the natural world allows him to see Amy’s sadness of the missing and not remembered Rory. The final scene in the Musée d’orsay is one of the best in the entire series. The pop song Chances by Athlete blends perfectly with Vincent’s amazement at seeing his work in such a hallowed venue. Bill Nighy as Doctor Black is also memorable, he would have made a fine Doctor. 10 out of 10.
If you can look past the presence of James Corden playing Craig Owens in The Lodger it is a above average episode. This light-hearted romp shows The Eleventh Doctor at his most bouncy and silly and plays well with the budding relationship between Craig and Sophie both of whom give quality performances. 8 out of 10.
These books use alternate timelines and parallel universe tropes to enable The Doctors to meet and interact with various literary figures. Keeping this conceit in mind they are enjoyable romps. I do wish we could get more serious fiction in the vein of The New Adventures or Eighth Doctor Adventures with current publishing efforts but we will take what we can get. This book sees the Eleventh Doctor and Clara meet up with Long John Silver and his companion Janey Hawkins. We also see them joined by The Paternoster Gang and River Song. Jenny bonding with the Pirate Nanny and sharing stories of their rough lives growing up was moving and Vastra using the Tardis laboratory was maybe the best depiction of the Tardis lab tht we have seen. Even Strax got to use his nursing skills. With so many characters there was not room for everyone and Clara was the one sidelined for a good portion of the narrative. 8 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.
A Good Man Goes to War is the Avengers Endgame moment for Doctor Who. The Doctor gathers up a collection of his old Allies to rescue Amy from Madame Kovarian and her cohorts. We see the introduction of the Paternoster Gang, and the wonderful Christina Chong as Lorna Bucket as well as the return of Dorium Maldovar and Captain Henry Avery. The deaths of Strax and Lorna after the battle are both touching. The scene with Rory and the Cybermen as the cold opening is memorable and iconic. The final moments with River finally revealing her backstory is one of the best moments in the show. 10 out of 10.
Let’s Kill Hitler completes River’s origin story following directly on from A Good Man Goes to War. Nina Toussaint-White gives a fine performance as Mels an earlier incarnation of River. A light-hearted beginning to the story leads into a poignant finale highlighting the relationships of The Doctor, River and Amy. 9 out of 10.
A number of licensed aliens such as the Sontarans, Krynoids and Autons appeared
… as well as BBV’s own Cyberons
Dancing aliens
I was never a fan of comedy pastiches of my favorite show and this is no exception. I found this effort especially silly and over the top. I feel McCoy was wasted even though he is channeling his comedy roots. It would have been much better to draft a story using the licensed characters and having McCoy in a pseudo-Doctor role to avoid copyright violations. 5 out of 10.
