Torchwood - Lost Souls

Torchwood made its radio debut in ‘Lost Souls’, which centred itself around ‘Big Bang Day’ celebrating the launch of the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Jack, Gwen and Ianto are contacted by Martha Jones and fly out to Switzerland to investigate a number of mysterious disappearances around the CERN base, which UNIT are guarding.

John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Gareth David-Lloyd and Freema Agyeman all reprise their roles, along with guest stars Lucy Montgomery and Stephen Critchlow As a fan of BBC Radio 4 comedies, I was expecting some funny stuff from Lucy Montgomery, so I was surprised to hear her ‘playing it straight’ for once!

The audio could have easily made the transition to the television series and I think that’s my main gripe with it. I think audios should be different, the Big Finish Doctor Who plays are so far removed from the television series, which allows us more things to think about and visualise something different, which is the main appeal of audio stories. I just felt this episode tugged along like a normal Torchwood ‘filler’ episode and didn’t really achieve anything.

I also felt that the characters where introduced far too early, it was a case of, ‘let’s get the who’s who out of way quickly’. The constant referrals to the deaths of Tosh and Owen also got a little bit tedious, I think they are better dealt with in the TV version. I felt it lacked that little of bit extra substance that most audios, especially the Big Finish ones, have.

There are some good moments though. John Barrowman, in particular, is his usual cheeky self and it was nice to see Gareth David-Lloyd given a much larger role than his television incarnation. Although I still think that they’ve killed off the wrong male Torchwood member! It’s well worth a listen, just to experience Torchwood in another medium, if you’re a big fan, you’ll lap it up!

2.5/5

Originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the 10th September, ‘Lost Souls’ is available now on CD or download from BBC Audiobooks. Apart from the story, the CD also contains interviews with the cast.

http://www.bbcshop.com/Science-Fiction/Torchwood-Lost-Souls/invt/9781405689441

Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf

“I didn’t need drugs to be transported away from the mundanity and frustrations of life – I had the Mind Robber on VHS”

Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf

Being a Doctor Who fan, for many, is a way of life. Like any way of life, some people abandon it, some fall out of love with it and some never leave it. Toby Hadoke never left it.

‘Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf’ was (and still is) a part of Toby’s regular stand-up routine. It’s a life story set in the background of the Saturday evening battles against the evil of the universe. It tells of the joy we all feel when our favourite television program flickers into life. How we get away from real life and go, well, anywhere, with our hero – The Doctor.

We are given a tale of growing up, being bullied, going to university, getting jobs and having kids. All of these connected in some way with his obsession of a television program.

Struggles of a childhood which were spent in the company of the good Doctor, when his Dad left home or whenever Star Wars ‘fans’ had a pop. It isn’t just Toby’s tale that is unique. Many fans during those glorious years of the 70’s/early 80’s, will reminisce the same. Even those turbulent times in the late 80’s and the years without Doctor Who and the false dawn that was the 96 movie. Right through the novels, audios and fan conventions.

Even today, with Doctor Who being ‘cool’, there is still the same love, the same sense of pride. It’s now acceptable to be a Doctor Who fan. A new generation of children and families are tuning in. Toby’s obvious delight at his young son inheriting his love for Doctor Who is evident, maybe Toby would like to share his Dalek toys now? Ok, maybe not!

Doctor Who memorabilia such as books and audios are selling more than ever, fan conventions are being sold out as quickly as top West End shows. The show is watched by people all around the world, thanks to their ‘red eye flights’. DVD sales are stacking up in their millions. Has Doctor Who ever been so popular? How long will it last? Who cares, I know I’m a Doctor Who fan for life, even if they do bring The Kandyman back!

Funny, witty and cleverly written, ‘Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf’ is the fan’s fan audio and is well worth a listen. Louise Jameson also stars and Colin Baker makes a voice-over cameo. You can grab the story on CD and if you can catch him live, I would strongly recommend you do so!

Doctor Who isn’t a television program, it’s a way of life.

http://www.tobyhadoke.com/moths.php

The Eighth Doctor Adventures Series 2 Episode 1 - Dead London

"Someone's playing with us. Manipulating time and space for their own ends." The TARDIS lands in London. But which one? The Doctor and Lucie find themselves trapped in a maze of interlocking Londons from Roman times to the present day. But they are not alone in this labyrinth: a killer is on their trail.

The long wait is over, series 2 of The Eighth Doctor Adventures is here! Big Finish are going to release 8 new plays, 1 every month, until August. BBC 7 (radio) are going to be broadcasting them as well, although last year, the plays came on the radio first.

Series 2 sees the return of Paul McGann’s 8th Doctor and Sheridan Smith’s Lucie Miller. After a good first series, where my favourite stories where ‘Immortal Beloved’ and ‘No More Lies’, can they hit the ground running with new episode ‘Dead London’?

For obvious reasons, I’m not going to go into the story but it’s a good start to the series. The Doctor and Lucie are caught in a ‘temporal shift’, which transports them to different versions of London but who is behind it and why? The story is well written and 48 minutes fly by! I don’t really have anything negative to say about the story but…we’ve got a new theme! Most of the fans (well those on the net anyhow) don’t like it. The theme is a remix of the original theme but uses a terrible echo. Now I don’t mind it, I still think ‘The Trial of A Timelord’ (or the 6th Doctor’s Big Finish theme, if you prefer) is still the worst theme! The extras include interviews with the cast and a trailer for the next story ‘Max Warp’, which sounds really good!

The acting, as always, is good. Sheridan Smith is growing more as a ‘typical Doctor Who companion’ and Paul McGann is at his usual witty best. Rupert Vansittart, who appeared in the 9th Doctor TV stories ‘Aliens of London’ and ‘World War Three’ and Clare Buckfield, who is most famous for 2point4children and has also appeared in the 6th Doctor audio ‘The One Doctor’ and in series 1 of The Eighth Doctor Adventures story, ‘Horror of Glam Rock’, guest star.

Overall, it’s a great piece of audio, that’s all I can say!

9/10

You can order the CD from Big Finish http://www.bigfinish.com/21-Doctor-Who-Dead-London, however from February they will be offering a, cheaper, download service as well. I’ll be reviewing the next Doctor Who monthly release next, with Peter Davison’s 5th Doctor, along with Peri and Erimem in ‘The Bride of Peladon’. The next release, as mentioned, from the Eighth Doctor series, is ‘Max Warp’, a story apparently about ‘fast spaceship racing’. Should be fun, eh?