Cygnus Alpha / Time Squad is the second novelization of the first season episodes of Blake’s 7. These novelizations were written and published by Big Finish to celebrate the program’s 40th anniversary. Marc Platt author of the seminal Doctor Who stories Ghost Light and Lungbarrow was the author of this volume.
Marc Platt is always a dependable writer and does not disappoint here. These stories see the completion of the team with the rescue of Gan and Vila from Cygnus Alpha and the addition of Cally in Time Squad. The stories complete a riveting beginning of this phenomenal series. With the introduction of all the main characters we see a group of imperfect people come together against a corrupt regime with varying degrees of commitment. Blake’s 7 is the polar opposite of the better known Star Trek where we see a dystopian future where the foibles of everyday people are still in evidence. We see the characters display their individual traits with Gan’s loyality, Vila’s cowardness, Blake’s zeal and Avon’s complex nature on full display. Well written and accurate rendition of the episodes. 8 out of 10.
It is totally unfair to judge a person by a few lines of text in this autobiographical travelogue but Griffiths paints himself as someone I would not like to know. The chain smoking person he himself represents comes across as unsavory. I found this book a disappointing mixture of two genres. The travel part of the book was more about Griffiths endeavors to get to the areas he was looking for rather than the site itself. On the other hand the autobiographical bits were too minimal to catch your interest. The death of his mother was touching and poignant but there were not enough of these anecdotes. 6 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.
In contrast to the previous story, Love and Monsters is a universally despised episode of the series that I feel is under-appreciated. The monster was a little silly but as it was devised by a fan I have no problem with it. The “Doctor Lite” aspect was new and may have been an initial surprise for viewers. I liked the members of LINDA and was genuinely upset with their deaths. I would have liked to see them in a Big Finish audio series with them. The “fellatio” joke at the end of the episode did not bother me. 7.5 out of 10.
Now Fear Her is a generally loathed episode of the series and I could not agree more. The story itself is slow and uninspiring and The Tenth Doctor and Rose interaction permeates the entire story to the point of nausea. The child actress is not as bad as many reviewers comment on, the story lets her down. 5 out of 10.
Army of Ghosts / Doomsday is a story with many memorable scenes and concepts. The first meeting on TV between the Daleks and Cybermen is one of the best scenes in the entire series firmly placing the Daleks as the ultimate villain. The quotes from The Daleks “This is not war, it is pest control” and “we could defeat the Cybermen with just one Dalek” still resonate and send chills down this old school Whovian. I love the concept of parallel worlds and find it a grossly under-utilized aspect of the series. The first appearance of Freema Agyeman and the introduction of the character of Yvonne Hartman are nice additions. Although it goes against my view of The Doctor/ Companion relationship as more of one of a master and pet the end of the episode on Bad Wolf Bay was well played and emotional. 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 Girl Who Waited gave us tour de force acting performances from Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill. The story is well paced and the scenes towards the end are heart wrenching. The understanding of the consequences of time travel shows on The Eleventh Doctor‘s face and the decision he and Rory are forced to make resonates with the viewer. An outstanding story but one you may not want to revisit too many times. 10 out of 10.
The God Complex is another outstanding story. The diverse group of characters are all well rounded and Rita especially is one that would have made an excellent companion. What The Doctor’s greatest fear in “his room” was is a source of endless debate among fandom. It was nice to see the pseudo-Nimon as the monster. 9 out of 10.
Closing Time sees the return of Craig Owens from the episode The Lodger. Steven Moffat is the best showrunner in my opinion, not only is he a consummate writer authoring some of the best stories ever written but he also fully grasps the time spans involved in the Doctor’s life. The Doctor is thousands of years old and the televised stories only make up a tiny fraction of his life. Two hundred years have passed since the previous story The God Complex for the Doctor. The narrow focus of showrunners like Russell T Davies does not account for such large gaps of time that we do not see on TV, in fact there is little room in his series to squeeze in any additional adventures. It is hard to look past my personal dislike of the actor (James Cordon) and recognize his performance as Craig but it is both charming and sympathetic. 7 out of 10.
