Category: Reviews

The Doctor and the Apostle by Jeffrey A. Nelson is an analysis of Doctor Who and the writings of the Apostle Paul.

This is another volume of critical analysis trying to conflate Doctor Who with religious doctrine. I fail to understand the reasoning behind this endeavor. Doctor Who is the antithesis of religion; the central character tries to deal with problems using reason and intellect the exact opposite of religious thinking. The author does do a slightly better job than other texts which I have read on this subject but his apologetic views are very evident when he tries to defend Paul’s misogyny and attitudes towards women with The Doctor’s more enlightened opinion. There was little mention of the trans-genderism inherent with The Doctor contrasted with Paul. 5 out of 10.

Warriors’ Gate and Beyond is an anthology collecting together the direct-to-audio novelization of the TV story Warriors’ Gate, the direct-to-audio story The Kairos Ring and an original short story featuring The Eighth Doctor The Little Book of Fate. All three stories were written by Stephen Gallagher.

I found Warrior’s Gate to be somewhat confusing upon first watch and sad to say I still found it so after reading this novelization. The Kairos Ring on the other hand was a very good story and I enjoyed the character of the Civil War soldier Joshua Hawthorn and the library was used as a nice backdrop to the story. I felt myself growing angry reading the Eighth Doctor short story. Which incarnation of Romana were we seeing? If it was meant to be Romana II the story disregarded the established continuity of her rise to the presidency of Gallifrey and all of her adventures back in N-Space. Could it be a future incarnation of Romana, if so there are continuity errors here as well. Overall worth a read but it could have been much better if a little more attention was paid to established continuity 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.

The end of Ten

Satisfying and heart-warming coda to the story

The End of Time marks the end of the Second Incarnation of the Tenth Doctor after the First regenerated at the conclusion of The Stolen Earth. David Tennant is a consummate actor which is amply on display in this episode. I did not like the direction The Tenth Doctor had taken during the course of his tenure but there is no doubting Tennant’s acting prowess. I immensely disliked the dynamic between The Tenth Doctor and Rose but enjoyed his partnership with other companions. Unfortunately the emo Doctor made a return in parts of this episode. The scene with Wilf although cringy at times was heart-breaking and the coda to the episode when he revisited his old companions was touching. Some very strong moments elevate it to 8 out of 10.

Thunderbirds…To the Rescue is a short volume of comic strips compiled by Alan Fennell. The strips included are “The Earthquake Maker“, The Revolution” and “The Big Freeze.” The connection of Gerry Anderson properties to Doctor Who can be found in the novel The Indestructible Man.

The second strip in the collection “The Revolution” is a standout with its sympathetic view of terrorism a position seldom seen in western pop culture. The artwork of the strips is very good and the stories are straight forward youth orientated fare. 7 out of 10.