Christian Cawley's Blog, page 208

Big Finish’s Domain of the Voord Out in September!

Nick Kitchen is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

Not that long ago, Big Finish announced that they would be starting a new line of Doctor Who audio adventures that focused on brand new adventures with the First and Second Doctors (or the Hartnell and Troughton Doctors if your subscribing to Moffat’s naming scheme).

The Doctor Who: The Early Adventures line’s first installment is set to release next month. The brand new story, by Andrew Smith, features the First Doctor and is called the Domain of the Voord. It also features William Russell as Ian Chesterton (and presumably the Doctor!) and Carole Ann Ford reprising her role as Susan (and probably Barbara as well).

From the synopsis:

The Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara land on the planet Hydra, where Admiral Jonas Kaan leads a vast flotilla of ships trying to elude the vicious race that has invaded and occupied their world.  But his ships are being picked off one by one, vessels and crews dragged underwater by an unseen foe. The time travellers find themselves pitched into battle against the Voord, the ruthless enemy they last encountered on the planet Marinus. As they take the fight to the very heart of the territory now controlled by the Voord the stakes get higher. First they lose the TARDIS… then they lose that which they hold most dear. And that’s only the start of their troubles. In the capital, Predora City, they will learn the truth of what it means to be a Voord.  And that truth is horrifying.

Given the success they’ve had with new adventures in the Companion Chronicles, I expect that this new line will be a hit with fans of the First and Second Doctors. Doctor Who: The Early Adventures – Domain of the Voord is out in September, but is available for pre-order now.

Will you be picking this up, dear reader? Let us know!

The post Big Finish’s Domain of the Voord Out in September! appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Deep Breath Preview Press Reactions

Philip Bates is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

Deep Breath, the first episode of Series 8, had its premier in Cardiff on Thursday, and of course, the media swarmed. What do they think of Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor? What do they think of the new direction? How adorable is Jenna Coleman’s Clara?

It’s time to find out…

What’s it about?

When the Doctor arrives in Victorian London, he finds a dinosaur rampant in the Thames and a spate of deadly spontaneous combustions.

Who is the new Doctor and will Clara’s friendship survive as they embark on a terrifying mission into the heart of an alien conspiracy? The Doctor has changed. It’s time you knew him.

Peter Capaldi IS The Doctor

It seems everyone likes the Twelfth Doctor!

Total Film, very simply, sums up the press’ confidence in Capaldi: “Deep breath, relax: Capaldi knows how to fly this thing.”

The South Wales Evening Post describes his character as “unpredictable, frenzied, yet strangely vulnerable, and it is this tenderness in his character that makes him so instantly likeable,” while The Mirror puts to bed one concern: “He doesn’t skimp on energy. Quite soon… he is to be seen leaping over the London rooftops wearing just a nightgown and looking for all the world like a grumpy Wee Willy Winkie.”

Sounds like the Doctor, yep.

Den of Geek, meanwhile, says he’s “quietly broken, and really quite mysterious. He is also, and no bones about this, very Scottish. He’s also every bit as good and as interesting as you’d hope.” They go on to say that, “thus far, he doesn’t run much, he rarely shouts, and he has amazing eyebrow dexterity. He carries himself more like the Doctors of old, and he’s seemingly more interested in doing some proper detective work, rather than pegging it from place to place.”

The Herts Advertiser particularly enjoys his unpredictable nature: “[Capaldi] infuses the character with an uncertainty which has been lacking from the role for decades, leaving the audience guessing at how he is likely to react to a situation, and gasping when he does something completely shocking.”

The Telegraph highlight a line that has gone down rather well with the media: “‘I am Scottish,’ he said. ‘I can really complain about things.’” They further explore his energy, saying “Deep Breath was set in Victorian London and we saw the Doctor dance around in a nightgown on the rooftops of the city like a demented extra from Mary Poppins. Later we saw him in a derelict slum, ruminating on his new appearance with a tramp. ‘Why this one?’ he asked of his new face, horrified that his Matt Smith jawline had disappeared.”

The long journey to becoming the Doctor has apparently been worth it for Capaldi though, as The Daily Beast report: “Asked what he would say to his 8-year-old self if he was granted use of the TARDIS. He replied: “I would say to him, ‘Don’t listen to what they say about you. Wear your anorak with pride.’”

The Impossible Girl in an Impossible Situation

“Arguably, though, this is as much, if not more, Jenna Coleman’s episode,” argues Den of Geek. “Clara has been a different companion for the Doctor, in that she’s more than once proven to be one step ahead of him. Here, though, she’s just as broken as the Doctor, and Steven Moffat’s script calls for some hard acting work from Jenna Coleman to put that across, crucially giving her the screen time to do so. She delivers, not in a bombastic way, but quietly and gradually, building up her performance and the mix of sadness and confusion in her character.”

The Herts Advertiser agrees: “In many ways the greatest burden falls on the shoulders of Jenna Coleman, who must convey the fear, suspicion, doubt and ultimately acceptance which Clara experiences in dealing with this new Doctor. That she achieves this so faultlessly is proof of her strengths as an actor, and illustrates how she has evolved since joining the show two years ago.”

The Daily Beast puts her relationship with the new Doc under the microcope, saying “the new Doctor’s abrasive character, and face, comes as something of a shock after she often had the upper hand over Smith. ‘From the moment Peter turns up, she realises she’s in terrible trouble,’ Moffat explained.”

Wales Online, however, assures us that their relationship is still great: “In the Q&A after the screening Capaldi talked about this new relationship: ‘The Doctor is crazy about Clara. It’s not just about romance, it goes into deeper territory.’ It has developed from the psuedo-boyfriend relationship into a father figure.

“And the show will be much the better for it.”

The Writing

Showrunner, Steven Moffat is once again charged with introducing a new Doctor, and the press sounds to have enjoyed it – in a different way to Matt Smith’s debut in the brilliant The Eleventh Hour. “This is Steven Moffat at his most straightforward” The Herts Advertiser says, “offering a story which isn’t too clever for its own good, but instead focuses on the logical development of the narrative and motivations of his characters.”

The Daily Beast is also impressed: “The Doctor is more mature, but so is the way the new season is shot, with longer scenes, a slower pace, and more emphasis on conversation and characterization. Speaking at the premiere in London, Steven Moffat… said it was about time he updated the tone. ‘There was a danger we were getting faster every year and soon the episodes would be over in four minutes—and I thought we have to do something else,’ he said.”

“Moffat said it was still ‘absolutely phenomenal’ to witness the fans’ response to the screening,” the Guardian reports. “‘To be perfectly honest, I write it largely to entertain me,’ he said. ‘And sometimes, because the Doctor now happens to be a fellow Scotsman of roughly my age, I write to entertain Peter.’”

South Wales Evening Post, meanwhile, compares this new direction with The Other Show, stating that “it’s no coincidence that the episode has a distinctly Sherlock Holmes feel about it, as the two heroes set about collecting clues about the mystery at hand, while discovering new things about their own personalities.”

The Independent turns to the “he’s too old” argument, blowing it out of the water: “The plot contains a sharp lesson on ageist assumptions – just because the Doctor has gone grey, doesn’t mean he has lost his youth appeal.”

Ben Wheatley!

And we have a new director! Ben Wheatley, who has directed the first two episodes of Series 8, is best known for his dark films like The Kill List, and The Independent says that this new feel is fitting for Doctor Twelve: “It is one of the scarier episodes of the series, but the dark mood Wheatley creates makes the Doctor’s dark side all the more plausible.”

“Wheatley proves a strong match for the material, lending Deep Breath a cinematic identity without showing off to do it,” Den of Geek says. “Unusual camera angles, holding his shots, and with a sharp eye for character (and, yep, eyebrows), Wheatley brings something extra here. It’ll be interesting to see if he holds the same tone for his second episode.”

Total Film concurs that this cinematic direction “shares a purposeful mien with Capaldi’s “attack eyebrows” and reiterates Wheatley’s flair for witty/tense stand-offs over dinner tables.”

Ooh, You Big Tease!

Don’t panic: we’re not into spoilers here at Kasterborous, but the newspapers do share knowing glances as to what’s to come on 23rd August.

“There are nods to previous episodes and cheeky acknowledgements of previous Doctors,” Wales Online says, “but done in such a way as to delight the hard-core fans while not distracting the new.”

Den of Geek hints that, “with some flat out brilliant moments in the last third, there’s an old fashioned ethos of putting in the foundations, doing the ground work, and building on substance. As such, the big moments really hit.” The Independent, like many reviewers, tempts us with that “am I a good man?” quote that’s been extensively shown in trailers, claiming that “Deep Breath ties up many a loose end, but that question remains thrillingly unanswered.”

But the biggest tease comes from The Telegraph: “Best of all was the penultimate scene (following a very shocking and very secret cameo which will delight fans of the show), in which the Doctor and Clara showed each other their vulnerability and hinted that travelling through space and time together might be good for their souls.”

Overall

Yep, people are impressed. Wales Online calls it “an old-school TV romp, and a welcome return for Saturday nights.”

“Welcome aboard, Peter Capaldi,” says the South Wales Evening Post. “If the first episode is anything to go by, we could be in for the best series yet.” High praise indeed!

Den of Geek state that “few are going to feel shortchanged by Deep Breath. There’s a sense that the show has changed a little certainly, yet perhaps the biggest surprise is how relatively quiet much of the feature-length opener is.” And The Independent address those leaks: “This new episode fully justifies the patience of those #keepmespoilerfree fans, determined to wait it out for the Steven Moffat-approved version. It is a perfectly paced, hugely enjoyable 80 minutes of everything you want from Doctor Who – action, silly jokes and enthralling sci-fi.”

Giving it 4 out of 5 stars, The Telegraph applauds Deep Breath, simply stating something all us Whovians know: “Doctor Who is still the most intelligent, ambitious and eccentric show on British television.”

For us, 23rd August can’t come soon enough!

The post Deep Breath Preview Press Reactions appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Doctor Who S8 Premiere Deep Breath On DVD Sept 8th

Christian Cawley is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

Along with the long-awaited Doctor Who 50th anniversary boxset, September 8th will also see the DVD and Blu-ray release of Peter Capaldi’s feature-length series opener Deep Breath!

Containing the first episode from the much-anticipated Series 8 of Doctor Who, there is also another chance to watch Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor, in which Peter Capaldi was revealed as the Twelfth Doctor, a 10 minute behind the scenes feature and some further exclusive content.

The Doctor makes a spectacular return to the big screen in the feature-length debut episode of Series 8; Deep Breath. Directed by acclaimed Director Ben Wheatley (Sightseers, A Field in England) and written by Lead Writer and Executive Producer Steven Moffat, the beginning of the Twelfth Doctor’s era stars Peter Capaldi as the Doctor, Jenna Coleman as his companion Clara Oswald and sees the return of fan favourites The Paternoster Gang – Madame Vastra (Neve McIntosh), Jenny Flint (Catrin Stewart) and Strax (Dan Starkey) – in a pulse-racing adventure through Victorian London.

With an RRP: £12.99 (DVD), £15.99 (Blu Ray), you can save money by pre-ordering Doctor Who: Deep Breath right now through Amazon.

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John Guilor Reads Doctor Omega!

James Lomond is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

The good Doctor is not the first time-and-space faring eccentric to have emerged from writers’ imaginations. While Canadian television producer and originator of Doctor Who, Sydney Newman, was explicit about the influence of H. G. Wells, there is another mysterious adventurer that bears a striking resemblance to the Doctor…

Doctor Omega, from Arnould Galopin’s 1906 French novel, Le Docteur Omega, seems to be an early forerunner of the show’s format – that is, a mysterious scientist whisks ordinary companions away on and adventure through time and space, encountering monsters and peril on far-flung planets etc. The original illustrations of Doctor Omega also bear a striking resemblance to the First Doctor… appropriately you will soon be able to listen to an audio adaptation of the book, read by First Doctor impersonator, John Guilor, who provided the first incarnation’s voice for the saving-Gallifrey climax in 50th special Day of the Doctor.

Available from September 15th, at £14.99 + delivery or available from Amazon.com for pre-order at £17.99 (free delivery in the UK), Doctor Omega And The Fantastic Adventure To Mars promises to be a slice of vintage sci-fi *awesome*.

From a little (compulsive) nosing around the web, and (more than) a little translation software compensating for my (pitiful) GCSE French, the similarities with Who are quite remarkable. To begin with the illustrations by Rapeno from the 1906 edition do look a lot like Hartnell’s version of our favourite Time Lord – all white hair and Edwardian coat tails…

Riffing on “Carvroite” from H. G. Wells’s The First Men on the Moon (1901), he’s invented a substance that is repelled rather than attracted by gravity, cunningly named “Repulsite” (yes it’s a rubbish name and when I say riff I sort of mean *steal*). However Repulsite apparently also repels time. This is used to create a vessel that transports Omega, his neighbour and his manservant to Mars. There they encounter monsters and get embroiled in a war between two dwarf-like races, assisting one side to victory and getting captured and locked-up in the process…

All sound rather familiar? In fact, on the submarine part of their adventure (and why wouldn’t there be?) they are attacked by a reptilian merman that threatens to break through their hull. Doctor Omega then tinkers with some circuitry and manages to electrify the exterior, killing the Sea-Devil – I mean reptilian merman. All sounds slightly reminiscent of – well all of Doctor Who really…

If that’s not enough, Arnould Galopin (1865 – 1943) went on to write L’Homme au Complet Gris (1912) where one of his own fictional characters was teamed-up with none other than Sherlock Holmes. Need I say more? Doctor Omega has Who all-over it. What do you think Kasterborites – curious?

Do you think Le Docteur Omega could have been an indirect influence on Who in some way or did it just seek inspiration from similar sources like H. G. Wells? Any other influences you think are worth exploring?

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Moffat Cagey Over NuWho 10th Anniversary Special

Alex Skerratt is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

It feels as if the 50th anniversary party has only just ended (although it’s about to start again with this DVD boxset!); the sun is rising, the street-sweepers are out in full force, there’s an overwhelming sense of contentment and fading euphoria, and we’re all contemplating a sausage and syrup bagel from the McDonald’s breakfast menu.

And yet the peoples of the Whoniverse are already attending carefully, as another celebration is fast approaching – the NuWho 10th anniversary!

Yes, in March next year, it will be 10 years since the leather-wearing Ninth Doctor swaggered confidently onto our screens, his Northern tones resonating in the lair of the Nestene Consciousness, his Anti-Plastic gleaming like a sword. What plans does the BBC have to mark this momentous occasion? Can we expect an anniversary special featuring a few more forgotten incarnations of the famous Time Lord? Or will Christopher Eccleston finally make the trip of a lifetime and turn up in person, baggy jeans and all?

Let’s pass on a 10th anniversary special and see the Twelfth Doctor’s arrival as a clean slate, a bold and exciting new era of the show’s history.

“No” is the short answer to that one! Steven Moffat has been quite clear about his plans for the next year of Doctor Who, and it doesn’t involve any 10th anniversary shenanigans. Speaking at the world premiere of the new series, Moffat exclaimed:

“We’ve only just done the 50th! After the huge fuss over 50 years of Doctor Who, I think it’s time to settle down and move forwards. So we’re not planning that… unless I’m lying.”

10 years though – that really is an achievement, isn’t it?

“Russell [T. Davies] said ‘we could get 10 years out of this. None of us could imagine that nearly ten years later it would be getting a bigger and bigger reaction every year. So that’s just phenomenal, absolutely amazing. It’s terrifying, but dear God I will miss these days when I’m back on BBC 28.”

It’s hard to remember the time before Doctor Who came back, when there was a growing sense that the programme had niched itself and could never really fulfill the sophisticated demands of a 21st century audience. And whilst Steven Moffat admits there was an air of trepidation in the Cardiff production office, he never had any doubt that the show would be a success again.

“It was Russell doing it in those days,” he said, “and I was lucky enough to write a two parter. I was absolutely confident, because I wasn’t in the firing line. I read Russell’s first script, which was so brilliant, it was exactly right. It was perfectly faithful to the old show, and yet it was the new show, and I remember thinking this is going to be the biggest show on television. I told them they had nothing to worry about: easy for me to say, they just looked pale and terrified in the way I now look pale and terrified.”

He’s right, of course – how many other TV shows celebrate their opening episodes with a worldwide cinema release? Doctor Who is huge at the moment, and we’re living right in the middle of a golden age. Having become a fan in the post-Television Movie period of the show’s history, which consisted mainly of token VHS releases and BBC novelisations, I never dared to hope of a proper TV comeback; I’d have to make do with The Curse of Fatal Death instead!

And awesome as it is, I agree wholly with Steven Moffat here, (assuming he’s telling the truth!) Let’s pass on a 10th anniversary special and see the Twelfth Doctor’s arrival as a clean slate, a bold and exciting new era of the show’s history. Save the party poppers for 2063!

What do you think, Kasterborites? Would you like to see some form of television event to mark 10 years since Doctor Who‘s revival? Or are you content to keep moving forward into an Eccleston-less 2015? Let us know!

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Doctor Who Series 8 Deep Breath Synopsis

Christian Cawley is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

The BBC has finally released details of Deep Breath, sharing a synopsis of Doctor Who Series 8′s premier as the show begins its world tour before its August 23rd TV broadcast.

Following yesterday’s Cardiff and London launch, it makes sense for some official details to come along…

When the Doctor arrives in Victorian London, he finds a dinosaur rampant in the Thames and a spate of deadly spontaneous combustions.

Who is the new Doctor and will Clara’s friendship survive as they embark on a terrifying mission into the heart of an alien conspiracy? The Doctor has changed. It’s time you knew him.

That should keep us going for a few days! Note that as yet the BBC is not revealing the broadcast time, but as Deep Breath is 75 minutes long, expect to be parked on the sofa for a while (if you’re not behind it).

We are 15 days from the TV premier of Deep Breath,  when Peter Capaldi’s Doctor will finally be thrust into the homes of millions across the country.

I don’t know about you, but I am seriously excited.

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Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Collector’s Edition Details Confirmed

Christian Cawley is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

Want to enjoy the full Doctor Who 50th anniversary experience once again? On September 8th a new collector’s edition will be released on DVD and Blu-ray, featuring the highlights of 2013′s time-travelling milestone.

This limited edition collector’s box includes the 50th anniversary special The Day of the Doctor; Matt Smith’s farewell episode The Time of the Doctor; the Series 7 finale The Name of the Doctor and the Eighth Doctor’s (Paul McGann) surprise regeneration into John Hurt’s War Doctor in The Night of the Doctor.

The collection also includes an exclusive cut of the read-through of The Day of the Doctor, featuring Matt Smith and David Tennant, as well as deleted scenes, new-to-DVD cinema trails and Mark Gatiss’ award-winning drama about the genesis of Doctor Who An Adventure in Space and Time finally available for the first time on Blu-ray.

Topping all of this off is the hilarious Five-ish Doctors – starring Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and a host of special guests.

Both releases are available on DVD and Blu-ray, RRP £40.84 and £45.95. You can, however, order from Amazon where the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Collector’s Edition DVD is just £30. Meanwhile, the Blu-ray Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Collector’s Edition is £34.

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Fan Events From Doctor Who World Tour Streamed On YouTube!

Christian Cawley is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

BBC Worldwide has announced that several of its fan events taking place around the world as part of the Doctor Who global tour will be streamed live on its Doctor Who YouTube channel so that fans can participate anywhere!

The stars of the show Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman as well as Lead Writer and Executive Producer Steven Moffat (as his tour schedule allows) will be taking part in Q& A sessions in various cities ahead of special screenings of Series 8’s opening episode Deep Breath.

The events to be live streamed are:

South Korea, Saturday 9th August, 8.30PM (approx)

Q&A session from The 63 Building, Seoul, South Korea

Australia, Tuesday 12th August 7.20PM (approx)

Q&A session from The State Theatre, Sydney, Australia

Mexico, Sunday, 17th August, 12PM (approx)

Q &A session from The Metropolitan Theatre, Mexico City, Mexico

Details of the Brazilian live stream will be announced in due course.

These live stream events form part of a wider digital offering for fans to connect them to all the activity happening during Doctor Who: The World Tour. The BBC Worldwide digital team will also be producing and delivering content from the tour on local Doctor Who Twitter feeds, Tumblr, the official Doctor Who Facebook as well as additional content on YouTube. Fans are also encouraged to create their own content and tagging #DWWorldTour (although some users have already started using #DoctorWhoWorldTour).

Amanda Hill, Chief Brands Officer for BBC Worldwide says: “This Doctor Who global tour isn’t just about the lucky few that manage to get tickets for the events, it’s about connecting with fans all over the world, wherever they are. Live-streaming our fan Q&As as well as offering content on all our social platforms will allow everyone to join in the experience and hear from the stars of the show.”

It’s a far old cry from Matt Smith and Karen Gillan touring the UK in 2010, isn’t it?

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Doctor Who Series 8 Hits US Online Video Services

Joe Siegler is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

As we edge closer to the start of the new series of Doctor Who, the promotion machine has geared up. Plenty of other examples have been detailed here on the Big K, but today comes a push on United States online stores to sell the new series, quite literally.

On all of the following US video services (iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Xbox Video Store, & PSN Video Store), the 1:05 version of the Doctor Who Series 8 trailer is available as a “free purchase”.   If you are reading this article, then I’d say you’ve already seen it.

However, what IS new is a 2:31 video clip called “Casting Peter Capaldi”.   It features the talkings of Steven Moffat and Jenna Coleman discussing how the show is different with Peter, and that Peter was the only one that Steven & Mark Gatiss were calling in for auditions, etc.   Steven mentions also that he wrote three short scenes for Peter to audition with.    Each one was written “for” Chris Eccleston, David Tennant, and Matt Smith’s doctors, and apparently, Mr. Capaldi slam dunked it.   We know the rest.

The video clip is also referred to as an “exclusive”, although I’m not clear as to where it is exclusive to as it appears in multiple video stores.    All the various video services are offering the full Series 8 as some sort of subscription/”season pass”.   The price for these is around $24.99 in SD, and $37.99 in HD (it varies a dollar or two depending on which specific service you’re looking at).  Using iTunes as an example, if you purchase their “season pass”, the episodes are delivered to your account early in the morning (usually around 3AM Eastern Time) the day after it airs on BBC America.

In addition to the clips available now, it was also announced that Deep Breath will be released on September 9th in the United States as a standalone release on DVD & Blu-ray.   No details yet on what might be on the discs insofar as extras goes (or if these are just barebones releases), but hopefully more information on those shows up shortly.  The DVD/Blu-ray covers for Deep Breath are shown below, although covers are reportedly subject to change.

We’re in the final stretch people, the clock’s about struck twelve.

 

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Reviewed: Masquerade

Meredith Burdett is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

Masquerade does two things over the space of two CD’s: it serves as a fantastically creepy and menacing story in its first half and then falls on hard science fiction ideas similar to its 1980s counterparts from Doctor Who’s original run during the Peter Davison years.

The story opens with Nyssa and the Doctor dressed in wigs and period clothing as guests at the estate of the Marquise de Rimdelle, a once-popular socialite who is now isolated in her house due to a strange and foreboding mist that clings to the ground of her house.

But events are far stranger than that. The Doctor and Nyssa seem to believe the lie that they’re leading; they’re not just pretending to be of the period but seem to be convinced that they belong to it, something that piques the listener’s interest straight away. Eerily, on the outskirts of said estate is a mysterious machine, one that watches and waits but never intervenes, until now – something has interested The Steamroller Man’ and more than likely, as we find out, it’s to do with the presence of the Doctor and his friends.

Props must go to Stephen Cole who perfectly mixes Doctor Who with not only Sapphire and Steele but also the Emma Peel episodes of The Avengers from the 1960s. Masquerade’s first half is a wonderful thing, full of mystery and intrigue as well as some unsettling moments. The Doctor’s loss of memory is unnerving and reminds the listener how dangerous the world can be if we don’t have the Time Lord watching out for us.

The second half however, seems to fall slightly flatter, as the plot switches period settings and isolation for alien spacecraft and talk of Shadow Matter Universes and space plagues. The switch is one that leaves the listener feeling slightly disorientated as the two halves try to form a whole but never quite manage it. That’s not to say that Masquerade doesn’t keep one entertained, but as the action moves from one highly regarded setting to another altogether more basic one, the attention starts to wane.

Peter Davison is the true star of the story, in every sense of the word, managing to keep the tale grounded. His puzzlement at the beginning, bemusements in the middle and grief at the end help to remind us just how good his Doctor is. A special notification must go to director Ken Bentley who keeps the play flowing smoothly and brings Andrew Dickens as the mysterious and oddly terrifying Steamroller Man to life with a tremendous voice.

Perhaps this is not the strongest of the Fifth Doctor stories in its trilogy this year but for its first half at least, it’s certainly the most original.

Masquerade is available on CD or via download from Big Finish now.

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