Tag Archives: Audio Drama Review

Sherlock Holmes: The Last Act. Audio Drama Review. Big Finish.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Roger Llewellyn.

Sherlock Holmes has long since retired and his greatest friend Dr. John Watson has died, quietly and without fuss, the way he always would. Thus begins the last tale of Victorian England’s finest detective, however, as with all great last tales, the memories and the vestige of a story that has captivated millions since Arthur Conan Doyle, is always worth re-telling from the person’s own perspective. So the history of Sherlock Holmes is captured by writer David Stuart Davies and the towering, looming presence of Roger Llewellyn.

Sherlock Holmes: The Last Act. Audio Drama Review. Big Finish. full post

(389 words, estimated 1:33 mins reading time)

Doctor Who, The Lady Of Mercia. Audio Drama Review, Big Finish 173.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Mark Strickson, Sarah Sutton, Anthony Howell, Abigail Thaw, Rachel Atkins, Catherine Grose, Kieran Bew, Stephen Critchlow.

Not everything gets recorded in time, somewhere along the line events get muddled, facts get lost in rumour and legend and gaps appear in history. These gaps, although maddening for academics that have to hazard a guess at what could have happened to certain individuals in antiquity are for writers of science fiction and historical dramas pure gold. The journey they can take people on makes for a fascinating story and in Paul Magrs tale of long forgotten Queens of pre-English History, the absorbing The Lady Of Mercia, Big Finish’s Doctor Who series does what the series does best, it gets deep down and dirty in the historical stories of Humankind.

Doctor Who, The Lady Of Mercia. Audio Drama Review, Big Finish 173. full post

(544 words, estimated 2:11 mins reading time)

Doctor Who, Eldrad Must Die! Audio Drama Review, Big Finish 172.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *

Cast: Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Mark Strickson, Sarah Sutton, Stephen Thorne, Nancy Carroll, Pip Torrens, Jessica Claire, Brian Protheroe, Mark Field.

It is perhaps fitting that some of the older foes from the classic series of Doctor Who make their way into the Big Finish roster, especially as the parent television programmes gears up for what is fast becoming a very special 50th anniversary but some monsters and villains having been used once during the 70s and 80s should be left where the memory of their time on screen can be quietly and easily forgotten and the relation to the programme left to slivers of reminiscence when the mood descends. Such is the fate of the latest release Eldrad Must Die!

Doctor Who, Eldrad Must Die! Audio Drama Review, Big Finish 172. full post

(473 words, estimated 1:54 mins reading time)

Doctor Who, The Seeds Of War. Audio Drama Review, Big Finish, 171.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *

Cast: Colin Baker, Bonnie Langford, Ray Fearon, Ony Uhiara, Stuart Organ, Lucy Russell, John Banks, Beth Chalmers, Barnaby Edwards, David Sibley.

In the best traditions of Doctor Who there is a new terrifying enemy for the fans to get to grips with but as with timey-wimey approach to the Doctor’s life, this isn’t the first time he has met The Eminence or his Infinite Warriors as he battles against them in The Seeds of War.

Doctor Who, The Seeds Of War. Audio Drama Review, Big Finish, 171. full post

(531 words, estimated 2:07 mins reading time)

Doctor Who, The Shadow Heart. Audio Drama Review. Big Finish 167.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *

Cast: Sylvester McCoy, James Wilby, Kirsty Besterman, Chase Masterton, Eve Karpf, Alex Mallinson, John Banks, Jaimi Barbakoff.

“God, I live a complicated life.” muses the seventh Doctor as the effect of time travel and his position within a story that has criss-crossed a hundred years and three of the classic doctors comes under the scrutiny of a 100 year vengance . The Shadow Heart sees the culmination of a story that started in The Burning Prince with Peter Davison, continued with the superb The Acheron Pulse with Colin Baker and now sees the weirdest but ultimately intriguing part with Sylvester McCoy.

Doctor Who, The Shadow Heart. Audio Drama Review. Big Finish 167. full post

(599 words, 1 image, estimated 2:24 mins reading time)

Doctor Who, The Burning Prince. Audio Drama Review. Big Finish 165

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating ****

Cast: Peter Davison, Caroline Langrishe, Clive Mantle, George Rainsford, Dominic Rowan, Derek Hutchinson, Caroline Keiff, Tim Treloar, Kirsty Besterman.

It is unusual to find the fifth Doctor’s incarnation adrift in time and space without any of his much loved companions keeping a watchful eye on him, to bounce their anxieties off him or even just to make sure he stays on the right side of compassion. This latest story from Big Finish, The Burning Prince, sees the fifth Doctor, played by Peter Davison, do exactly that and it is a surprisingly frightening prospect.

Doctor Who, The Burning Prince. Audio Drama Review. Big Finish 165 full post

(506 words, 1 image, estimated 2:01 mins reading time)

Doctor Who, Gods And Monsters. Audio Drama Review. Big Finish 164.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating ****

Cast: Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, Philip Olivier, Maggie O’Neill, Amy Pemberton, John Standing, Blake Ritson, Gus Brown, Tim Treloar, Elizabeth Bennett.

The final part of the latest Sylvester McCoy Doctor trilogy sees the real villain of the piece make his deadliest and fatal move in Gods and Monsters.

The latest three-part series by Big Finish sees Mike Maddox finish an extraordinary story line on a stunning high and with the supposed loss of a companion, something that the television version and the audio series don’t do that often but both of whom now have taken the bold step to give the faithful listeners and viewers something to ponder over.

Doctor Who, Gods And Monsters. Audio Drama Review. Big Finish 164. full post

(579 words, 1 image, estimated 2:19 mins reading time)

Doctor Who, Black And White. Audio Drama Review. Big Finish Audio 163.

Picture from Big Finish.com

Originally published by L.S. Media. September 1st 2012.

L.S.Media Rating ****

Cast: Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, Philip Olivier, Maggie O’Neil, Amy Pemberton, Stuart Milligan, Michael Rouse, Richard Bremmer, John Banks, James Hayward.

It is a story as old and as dear to lovers of the English language as any…and it also contains the power of Beowulf thrown in for good measure.

Matt Fitton’s Doctor Who audio play for Big Finish, Black and White, combines cleverly the power of Sylvester McCoy’s incarnation of the Doctor and the sheer majesty of the oldest tale translated and written down in the English language and somewhere in between a tale of the future and that of the past merge and blur into legendry Doctor Who status.

Doctor Who, Black And White. Audio Drama Review. Big Finish Audio 163. full post

(485 words, 1 image, estimated 1:56 mins reading time)