Review: 4th Doctor Adventures 1.01 - Destination Nerva

Why Briggs? Why?

Fourth Doctor and Leela

 
Cast:

Fourth Doctor - Tom Baker
Leela - Louise Jameson
Dr. Alison Foster - Raquel Cassidy
McMullan/Pilot - Sam Graham
Laura Craske - Tilly Gaunt
Giles Moreau/Jenkins - Tim Bentinck
Jim Hooley/Drelleran 1/Security Guard - Kim Wall
Lord Jack/Drudgers/Drelleran 2 - Tim Treloar

Synopsis:

"After saying their goodbyes to Professor Litefoot and Henry Gordon Jago, the Doctor and Leela respond to an alien distress call beamed direct from Victorian England. It is the beginning of a journey that will take them to the newly built Space Dock Nerva… where a long overdue homecoming is expected.

A homecoming that could bring about the end of the human race."

Review:

Ah, Tom Baker has arrived at Big Finish. Shame that his first story was a bit of a let down. It was a very slow start with not much happening for a while, and when the pace did pick up, everyone was running about not knowing what was happening. Which is a sentiment i shared with the characters. People were doing stuff, there was plenty of action, but there was no story progression of any sort till very near the end then everything got wrapped up in the blink of an eye just as it started getting interesting. By the end of part two I was looking forward to another two parts but obviously, two parts is all we get.

There were parts of the story that i really liked and had that touch of Briggs, especially towards the end, but for the most part was too dragged out and slow. Nicholas Briggs has wrote his first story that I didn't really care for. I don't know what to believe anymore.

Other than my gripes about the storyline, Tom Baker was okay and Louise Jameson was great as usual. Overall it was enjoyable but I expected much more.

Score:

0/7 - Non-existant
1/7 - As bad as you can get
2/7 - Poor
3/7 - Quite poor / too many poor points / didn't like it
3.5/7 - Neither good nor bad / undecided
4/7 - Quite good / plenty of good points / liked it
5/7 - Good
6/7 - As good as you can get
7/7 - Impossible perfection


Written by: Nicholas Briggs
Directed by: Nicholas Briggs
Produced by: Big Finish
Released: 31 January 2012

Doctor Who Special: The Five Companions

Ian Chesterton meets The Doctor and Other Companions

Fifth Doctor, Ian, Steven, Polly, Nyssa, & Sara Kingdom

 
Cast:

Fifth Doctor - Peter Davison
Ian Chesterton - William Russell
Steven Taylor - Peter Purves
Sara Kingdom - Jean Marsh
Polly Wright - Anneke Wills
Nyssa - Sarah Sutton
The Daleks - Nicholas Briggs
Sontarans - Dan Starkey

Synopsis:

"Inside a cluster of fused-together derelict spaceships, four of the Doctor's oldest friends - and one of his newest ones - are lost and confused. They don't know how they got there or what they're meant to be doing - but as the place is infested with Daleks, Sontarans and dinosaurs, their first priority is staying alive.
To their collective relief, the Doctor turns up and has a reasonable idea of what's going on. If the six of them work together, they can escape this place and get home. But, unexpectedly, others may be working together to ensure they all die here..."

Review:

I enjoyed this, but not so much because of the story. The story had plenty of action with The Daleks facing off against the Sontarans, a few dinosaurs thrown in too, and The Doctor and his companions trying to escape the situation. It was a good fun story I guess but not exactly going to win awards or make you think or anything. The best part about this audio was having the five companions and The Doctor meet and interact with each other throughout the story. I did like the return of Dwarf Star Alloy and the performances from Nicholas Briggs and Dan Starkey were good as the Daleks and Sontarans respectively. There's a nice moment where The Doctor's talking to Polly about the times they travelled together

So, the story is fun, but the real treat here is The Doctor catching up with the companions and the companions w--king together. The storyline itself wraps up rather poorly but that can forgiven.

And of course, Ian was the star of the show here, and The Doctor practically said it himself. Four regenerations on and he still recogninses Ian as the awesomeness that he is.

Score:

0/7 - Non-existant
1/7 - As bad as you can get
2/7 - Poor
3/7 - Quite poor / too many poor points / didn't like it
3.5/7 - Neither good nor bad / undecided
4/7 - Quite good / plenty of good points / liked it
5/7 - Good
6/7 - As good as you can get
7/7 - Impossible perfection


Written by: Eddie Robson
Produced by: Big Finish
Directed by: Ken Bentley
Released: December 2011