Year: 2012

Categories
4th Doctor Doctor Who The Audio Dramas

Energy Of The Daleks

Doctor Who: Energy Of The DaleksAiming for London, 2015 to track down a strange energy reading, the Doctor lands the TARDIS in London, 2025, a short walk away from a protest against a corporation called Globesphere. The company promises free solar energy for the entire world, and the strange energy reading persists at Globesphere’s headquarters building. The protest becomes a riot, and Leela is arrested by Globesphere’s private security force and interrogated. The Doctor and the leader of the protest movement sneak into Globesphere and make a horrifying discovery: Globesphere’s CEO is under the control of the Daleks, who intend to use the Globesphere energy collectors, deployed across the entire face of the Earth, to wipe out the human race centuries before they become one of the Daleks’ more resilient enemies.

Order this CDwritten by Nicholas Briggs
directed by Nicholas Briggs
music by Andy Hardwick

Cast: Tom Baker (The Doctor), Louise Jameson (Leela), Alex Lowe (Damien Stephens / Robomen), Mark Benton (Jack Coulson), Caroline Keiff (Lydia Harding), Dan Starkey (Kevin Winston / Robomen), John Dorney (Robomen), Nicholas Briggs (Daleks)

Timeline: after The Talons Of Weng-Chiang; after The Wrath Of The Iceni and before Trail Of The White Worm

Notes: This was the first Big Finish audio story recorded with Tom Baker as the fourth Doctor, and was originally intended to be the first story of the first Big Finish “season” with Baker, until it was decided to hold Energy Of The Daleks back until later to prevent the Daleks from overshadowing the first Baker release. Mark Benton was also on hand for another momentous Doctor Who relaunch: in the first episode of the revived TV series, he played internet conspiracy theorist Clive, who had tracked the ninth Doctor through historical documents and tried to warn Rose against any involvement with him. Dan Starkey has played Sontaran characters in the new TV series and for Big Finish.

LogBook entry and TheatEar review by Earl Green

Categories
Tron Tron Uprising

Beck’s Beginning

Tron UprisingFollowing the fall of Tron and Flynn, Clu begins to take over the entire Grid. A mechanic program, Beck, watches as one of his friends is derezzed for merely questioning the legality of Clu’s coup, and takes action: altering his appearance to look like Tron, he destroys a huge statue of Clu, drawing the attention of one of Clu’s generals, Tesler. As striking any blow for freedom is considered an act of terrorism under Clu’s regime, Beck’s career choices rapidly narrow. He’s capture by Tesler’s lieutenant, Paige, but manages to escape, landing in the middle of nowhere – but not alone. Beck is interrogated by another program who wants to know why he has chosen to impersonate Tron. And Beck’s interrogator has reason to ask, since he is Tron.

written by Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz
directed by Charlie Bean
music by Joseph Trapanese

Tron UprisingCast: Elijah Wood (Beck), Bruce Boxleitner (Tron), Emmanuelle Chriqui (Paige), Mandy Moore (Mara), Nate Corddry (Zed), Lance Henriksen (Tesler), Reginald VelJohnson (Able), Paul Reubens (Pavel), Tricia Helfer (voice of the Grid), Charlie Bean (additional voices), Elizabeth Ho (additional voices), Meeghan Holloway (additional voices), Sam Riegel (additional voices), Keith Silverstein (additional voices), Fred Tatascione (additional voices), Keone Young (additional voices)

Notes: Originally broadcast in 10 mini-episodes, Beck’s Beginning garnered enough interest to be edited together to serve as a “prelude” to the series proper. Tron is shown to be in an extremely damaged state here, a condition that will presumably worsen until he becomes Rinzler (this animated series takes place Tron Uprisingbefore Tron Legacy). Bruce Boxleitner is the only cast member to have appeared in the live-action Tron franchise, starring as Tron (and his real-world alter ego Alan Bradley) in 1982’s Tron and 2010’s Tron Legacy. Elijah Wood is best known as Frodo Baggins from the 21st century big-screen Lord Of The Rings trilogy as well as the two Hobbit movies. Mandy Moore was the voice of Rapunzel in Disney’s all-CG movie Tangled, and has had recurring roles in Grey’s Anatomy, Scrubs, and Entourage, all while maintaining her career as a recording artist. Wood and Moore co-starred in 2002’s All I Want. Lance Henriksen’s genre resume could almost fill a book, with big-screen appearances in Aliens and several of its sequels, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, The Terminator, and The Right Stuff, and countless TV roles (including a three-year stint as star of the X-Files spinoff Millennium). Reginald VelJohnson will forever be known as Urkel’s dad from Family Matters, just as Paul Reubens will forever be associated with the character Tron Uprisingof Pee-Wee Herman. Tricia Helfer probably needs no introduction to genre audiences after starring as Number Six in the 21st century reboot of Battlestar Galactica. Director Charlie Bean worked on Batman: The Animated Series, Samurai Jack, Powerpuff Girls, Hercules & Xena: The Animated Movie and early episodes of Ren & Stimpy. Joseph Trapanese assisted Daft Punk on their soundtrack for Tron Legacy and takes over music duties here.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
4th Doctor Doctor Who The Audio Dramas

Trail Of The White Worm

Doctor Who: Trail Of The White WormThe Doctor and Leela arrive in rural England in 1979, finding a village dominated by fears of a legendary white worm who consumes animals and people alike. A man-sized trail of mucus makes it look like the legend isn’t purely superstition, and the time travelers follow the trail. The Doctor encounters the suspicious locals, while Leela finds herself on the grounds belonging to Colonel Singleton. Both of them meet Demesne Furze, who is able to help the Doctor solve the mystery of a missing girl whose disappearance sparked local fears of the white worm. But Demesne isn’t who she seems, and neither is the hooded, disfigured man who hides at Colonel Singleton’s estate. He reveals himself to be the Master, and he has enslaved the white worm to do his bidding, creating a path for even more unearthly allies to follow and conquer Earth.

Order this CDwritten by Alan Barnes
directed by Ken Bentley
music by Andy Hardwick

Cast: Tom Baker (The Doctor), Louise Jameson (Leela), Geoffrey Beevers (The Master), Michael Cochrane (Colonel Spindleton), Rachael Stirling (Demesne Furze), John Banks (Carswell / Mercenary), Becci Gemmell (Julie), Mark Field (John)

Timeline: after The Talons Of Weng-Chiang; after Energy Of The Daleks and before The Oseidon Adventure

Notes: Geoffrey Beevers played the part of the disfigured, demented Master in 1981’s The Keeper Of Traken, and has reprised the role for Big Finish Productions several times (Dust Breeding, Master). He is the only living actor to have portrayed the Master in the original BBC series, and was married to Caroline John (1940-2012), who played companion Liz Shaw in Jon Pertwee’s first season as the third Doctor. Since this story takes place shortly after Leela’s first three television stories, then chronologically (in story terms), it’s Beevers’ first appearance as the Master! Guest star Rachael Stirling is the daughter of Diana Rigg, and would appear alongside her mother in a 2013 episode of television Doctor Who after recording this story.

LogBook entry and TheatEar review by Earl Green

Categories
5th Doctor Doctor Who The Audio Dramas

The Jupiter Conjunction

Doctor WhoThe TARDIS lands on a comet which has been hollowed out and set up as a long-haul freighter making precisely-timed supply runs through the solar system. A life support system allows a community of humans to live and work within the comet, though much of their time is simply spent waiting and cultivating non-work-related pursuits. But someone has been stealing supplies from the comet’s cargo holds, and the newly arrived time travelers are obvious suspects. Nyssa and Tegan befriend a woman who is on the run from the security team, and meet her accomplice just before he dies in the vacuum of space. Turlough offers “testimony” against the Doctor, claiming that they have been stealing the comet’s supplies, to buy time and divert the attention of the security guards. Somewhere on the comet, a gaseous life form from Jupiter lurks, and some of the humans aboard the comet are making their own plans to spark a war between Earth and the Jovian life forms that Earth has yet to discover. Future history records a peaceful outcome, and the Doctor has to risk the lives of his traveling companions to ensure that it happens.

Order this CDwritten by Eddie Robson
directed by Ken Bentley
music by Richard Fox & Lauren Yason

Cast: Peter Davison (The Doctor), Janet Fielding (Tegan Jovanka), Mark Strickson (Turlough), Sarah Sutton (Nyssa), Rebecca Front (Patricia Walton), John Cummins (Anton Falcao), Ellie Burrow (Chica St. Jude), Zoe Lister (Violet Silvaner), Ben Porter (Major Nash), Simon Blake (Manny), Philip Pope (Jovians)

Timeline: for the Doctor, Tegan and Turlough: between Enlightenment and The King’s Demons; for Nyssa: 50 years after Terminus. This story takes place after The Emerald Tiger and before The Butcher Of Brisbane.

LogBook entry and TheatEar review by Earl Green

Categories
Tron Tron Uprising

The Renegade, Part 1

Tron UprisingSecurity has tightened across the Grid after Beck’s acts of rebellion in the guise of Tron, ironically making it harder for Beck to sneak away for further training at Tron’s secret hideout. Spotted as he leaves, Beck tries to evade the Recognizers and hides inside what appears to be a cargo container, only to discover that its cargo consists of fellow programs being taken to fight on the Grid. En route to battle, Beck discovers that some of his fellow prisoners regard Tron as a hero – and others see him as a nuisance.

Tron Uprisingstory by Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz
written by Kamran Pasha, Adam Nussdorf & Bill Wolkoff
directed by Charlie Bean
music by Joseph Trapanese

Cast: Elijah Wood (Beck), Bruce Boxleitner (Tron), Emmanuelle Chriqui (Paige), Mandy Moore (Mara), Nate Corddry (Zed), Lance Henriksen (Tesler), Reginald VelJohnson (Able), Paul Reubens (Pavel), Lance Reddick (Cutler), Kate Mara (Perl), Ben Schwartz (Rilo), Tricia Helfer (voice of the Grid), Charlie Bean (additional voices), Elizabeth Ho (additional voices), Meeghan Holloway (additional voices), Sam Riegel (additional voices), Keith Silverstein (additional voices)

Tron UprisingNotes: Storyboard artist Ricardo Delgado has been either an illustrator or storyboarder for numerous productions, from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine to seaQuest DSV to Avatar: The Last Airbender to Star Wars: Clone Wars. His movie credits include Apollo 13, WALL-E, Star Trek: First Contact, Men In Black, The Matrix Reloaded, The Incredibles, and Wreck-It Ralph. A Bit, similar to the one first seen in 1982’s Tron, appears in this episode; also seen here is the ENCOM 786 Light Cycle, later seen to be in Flynn’s possession in Tron Legacy.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Tron Tron Uprising

The Renegade, Part 2

Tron UprisingBeck and Cutler refuse to fight each other, so Tesler encircles them with a force field that will contract until they’re both crushed. They begin fighting, but Cutler forfeits, and is sentenced to derezzing by Tesler. In the guise of Tron, Beck breaks Cutler out, but Paige, Tesler’s most fiercely devoted underling, is not far behind. Elsewhere on the grid, Zed has to ask for help in recovering the stolen ENCOM 786 light cycle.

Tron Uprisingstory by Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz
written by Kamran Pasha, Adam Nussdorf & Bill Wolkoff
directed by Charlie Bean
music by Joseph Trapanese

Cast: Elijah Wood (Beck), Bruce Boxleitner (Tron), Emmanuelle Chriqui (Paige), Mandy Moore (Mara), Nate Corddry (Zed), Lance Henriksen (Tesler), Reginald VelJohnson (Able), Paul Reubens (Pavel), Lance Reddick (Cutler), Kate Mara (Perl), Ben Schwartz (Rilo), Tricia Helfer (voice of the Grid), Charlie Bean (additional voices), Elizabeth Ho (additional voices), Meeghan Holloway (additional voices), Sam Riegel (additional voices), Keith Silverstein (additional voices)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Tron Tron Uprising

Blackout

Tron UprisingTron is unsatisfied with Beck’s training; the younger program is too cocky and careless in Tron’s simulated freedom-fighting scenarios. A sudden blackout, affecting the entire Grid, catches their attention. Tessler is overseeing a drilling project to tap directly into the energy that powers the entire Grid. Tron knows that this dangerous operation has to be stopped, so training time is over for Beck: he must become the Renegade in a real crisis. But Beck can’t trust anyone, not even his own friends, with his secret identity – not even when he needs their help to survive.

Tron Uprisingwritten by Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz
directed by Charlie Bean
music by Joseph Trapanese

Cast: Elijah Wood (Beck), Bruce Boxleitner (Tron), Emmanuelle Chriqui (Paige), Mandy Moore (Mara), Nate Corddry (Zed), Lance Henriksen (Tesler), Reginald VelJohnson (Able), Paul Reubens (Pavel), Donald Faison (Bartik), Paul Scheer (Hopper), David Arquette (Link), Tricia Helfer (voice of the Grid), Charlie Bean (additional voices), Elizabeth Ho (additional voices), Meeghan Holloway (additional voices), Sam Riegel (additional voices), Keith Silverstein (additional voices)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
4th Doctor Doctor Who The Audio Dramas

The Oseidon Adventure

Doctor Who: The Oseidon AdventureThe Master’s allies are revealed to be the Kraal Second Army (their First Army having already been defeated by the Doctor), preparing for a second invasion of Earth at the evil Time Lord’s invitation. The Doctor tells Leela to run for her life, and the Master orders Singleton to pursue her, a task relished by the man who feels that he civilized a corner of Africa. The Doctor is handed over to the Kraals, but they turn the tables on the Master, not trusting his motives. And with good reason: the Master is merely using the Kraals for his own purpose – and now the Doctor and Leela have to escape their enemies and discover what that purpose is.

Order this CDwritten by Alan Barnes
directed by Ken Bentley
music by Andy Hardwick

Cast: Tom Baker (The Doctor), Louise Jameson (Leela), Geoffrey Beevers (The Master), Michael Cochrane (Colonel Spindleton), Dan Starkey (Marshal Grimnal / Captain Clarke), John Banks (Tyngworg / Warner / UNIT R/T Operator)

Timeline: after The Talons Of Weng-Chiang; after Trail Of The White Worm and before Night Of The Stormcrow

Notes: The Doctor confirms that his most recent encounter with the Master before now was on Gallifrey (see The Deadly Assassin). The Kraals’ only televised appearance took place in 1976’s The Android Invasion, Terry Nation’s last non-Dalek script for Doctor Who, which also identified their radiation-soaked home planet as Oseidon. Guest star Dan Starkey has appeared in both Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures as various Sontarans and other diminutive aliens.

LogBook entry and TheatEar review by Earl Green

Categories
5th Doctor Doctor Who The Audio Dramas

The Butcher Of Brisbane

Doctor WhoOnce again, the Doctor is trying to take Tegan to Brisbane, but not to leave the TARDIS; this time she wants to show off her home town to her friends. But interference in the time vortex nearly tears the TARDIS apart; the time machine is thrown off course, and Turlough and Nyssa vanish completely. The Doctor tries to follow them through time, but instead arrives in 51st century Brisbane. Tegan is horrified to see that Earth has become polluted, and the Doctor immediately suspects that the TARDIS has been thrown off-course by the time experiments conducted by Magnus Greel, a time-traveling serial killer he dealt with in his fourth incarnation. Nyssa and Turlough end up spending three years as part of the resistance trying to expose Greel’s corruption before they see the Doctor again, while Tegan and the Doctor arrive in time to see Greel at the height of his corruption and madness. They’re horrified to see that Nyssa is now posing as Greel’s fiancee (and Turlough as her personal assistant), and that Greel’s scientific advisor, an alien named Findecker, is continuing experiments with time travel that permanently disfigure the user and force him to drain life energy from others. At every turn, someone wants the Doctor to make sure Greel dies for his crimes – but the Doctor, knowing that Greel will die in another place and time, can’t keep that promise and can’t explain why.

Order this CDwritten by Marc Platt
directed by Ken Bentley
music by Fool Circle Productions

Cast: Peter Davison (The Doctor), Janet Fielding (Tegan Jovanka), Mark Strickson (Turlough), Sarah Sutton (Nyssa), Angus Wright (Magnus Greel), Rupert Frazer (Dr. Sa Yy Findecker), Felicity Duncan (Ingrid Bjarnsdottir), Daniel Weyman (Ragan Crezzen), Daisy Ashford (Sasha Dialfa), John Banks (Eugene Duplessis / Chops)

Notes: The Doctor claims to be a Time Agent (The Talons Of Weng-Chiang, The Empty Child) to conceal his true identity. Findecker was established in – of all things – a Brief Encounters short story by Warren Ellis in a 1991 issue of Doctor Who Magazine; that story did not mention Findecker’s species or origins, only his surname, leaving Butcher Of Brisbane writer Marc Platt plenty of room to create a character. At the end of the story, Greel uses his time cabinet to escape (with Mr. Sin in tow), and his next stop is foggy Victorian London, where he will once again meet the Doctor (this time in his fourth incarnation, who has yet to experience this adventure), this time working with the formidable team of Jago & Litefoot, in The Talons Of Weng-Chiang.

Timeline: for the Doctor, Tegan and Turlough: between Enlightenment and The King’s Demons; for Nyssa: 50 years after Terminus. This story takes place after The Jupiter Conjunction and before Eldrad Must Die!.

LogBook entry and TheatEar review by Earl Green

Categories
7th Doctor Doctor Who The Audio Dramas

Protect And Survive

Doctor WhoThe Doctor is missing from the TARDIS, which is particularly alarming since the TARDIS is in flight. While Hex takes what seems like the most reasonable course of action – panic – Ace tries to land the TARDIS, bringing the timeship down in England in 1989. Oddly, the TARDIS’ police box exterior has turned white, and Hex and Ace find a couple preparing their cottage for the unthinkable: the world is on the brink of nuclear war, and the government has sent out pamphlets describing how its citizens can build and stock their own fallout shelters within their homes. Ace and Hex discover that history is following a different course than the 1989 they remember, but when they try to go back to the TARDIS and leave, they discover that it has dematerialized on its own, leaving them trapped. Ace decides to “borrow” the couple’s car to drive to London to contact UNIT to help her reach the Doctor, but she’s caught red-handed… just as sirens signal the beginning of World War III. An uneasy alliance becomes a necessity, especially when Hex is blinded by the blast of the bomb, but survival becomes a luxury – one that won’t be afforded to all four of them… unless, of course, they do things differently the next time.

Order this CDwritten by Jonathan Morris
directed by Ken Bentley
music by Wilfredo Acosta

Cast: Sylvester McCoy (The Doctor), Sophie Aldred (Ace), Philip Olivier (Hex), Ian Hogg (Albert), Elizabeth Bennett (Peggy), Peter Egan (Moloch / Announcer)

Notes: The radio announcements that recur throughout the story are based on real radio scripts and pamphlets that were prepared by the British government as part of the real “Protect & Survive” public information campaign to be deployed ahead of an imminent nuclear attack on British soil. The pamphlets mentioned were actually designed and printed, but not distributed until their existence was revealed by the newspapers, and public outcry forced disclosure of the campaign in 1980. This story shares that title with the first episode of Gerry Anderson’s Space Precinct (a space police series which played on the phrase’s similarity to “protect and serve”).

Timeline: after Lurkers At Sunlight’s Edge and before Black And White; possibly simultaneous with House Of Blue Fire

LogBook entry and TheatEar review by Earl Green

Categories
Star Trek Star Trek Continues Star Trek Fan Films

Star Trek Continues

Star Trek Continues

This is an episode of a fan-made series whose storyline may be invalidated by later official studio productions.

Stardate not given: In the wake of Janice Lester’s attempt to take over his body and take command of the Enterprise, Captain Kirk waxes philosophical before ordering the ship underway once more.

Watch Itbased on scenes from Turnabout Intruder by Arthur H. Singer
extended script by Vic Mignogna
directed by Jack Marshall
music by Fred Steiner
additional music by Vic Mignogna

Cast: Vic Mignogna (Captain Kirk), Todd Haberkorn (Mr. Spock), Chuck Huber (Dr. McCoy), Chris Doohan (Mr. Scott), Grant Imahara (Sulu), Kim Stinger (Lt. Uhura), Wyatt Lenhart (Chekov), Alena Van Arendonk (Dr. Lester), Darrel Guilbeau (Dr. Coleman)

Star Trek Phase IINotes: This short vignette reprises scenes from the end of Turnabout Intruder, attempting to match the lighting, staging and direction of what ended up being the final moments of classic Star Trek on TV. Kim Stinger previously played Uhura in the fan-made series Star Trek: Phase II, episodes of which were directed by Vic Mignogna. Star Trek Continues is a joint venture between Mignogna and the makers of the fan series Starship Farragut. Chris Doohan, the son of the late James Doohan, steps into his father’s role here (as he did for the Starship Farragut animated episode The Needs Of The Many).

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green

Categories
Phase II / New Voyages Star Trek Star Trek Fan Films

Going Boldly

Star Trek: Phase II

This is an episode of a fan-made series whose storyline may be invalidated by later official studio productions.

Stardate not given: Following a mission that ended with the loss of several crew members, the Enterprise is recalled to Starbase 4, where Starfleet gives the ship a new set of experimental warp engines and a few other modifications. The crew gets a chance to grieve for their fallen comrades, and Kirk gets the Enterprise’s new orders.

Watch Itwriter not credited
director not credited
music by Fred Steiner and James Horner

Star Trek Phase IICast: Brian Gross (Captain Kirk), Brandon Stacy (Mr. Spock), John Kelly (Dr. McCoy), Charles Root (Mr. Scott), Jasmine Pierce (Lt. Uhura), Jonathan Zungre (Chekov), Bobby Quinn Rice (Ensign Peter Kirk), Wayne Johnson (Ensign Walking Bear), Chris Doohan (Lt. Arex), Jay Storey (Kyle)

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green

Categories
Star Trek Star Trek Fan Films Star Trek: Secret Voyage

Whose Birth These Triumphs Are

Star Trek: Secret VoyageHer five-year mission completed, the U.S.S. Enterprise sits in spacedock awaiting a complete refit, with the crew on extended shore leave or reassigned. But the recent discovery of a rare, powerful variant of dilithium crystals has the Federation racing to open diplomatic channels to acquire it for themselves from a reclusive, xenophobic race called the Gimtao. Captain Mercer is quietly put in command of the Enterprise with a mere six months – the ship’s pre-rebuild overhaul period – to establish diplomatic relations with the Gimtao. But Mercer’s mission is anything but simple: some of his crew is hand-picked, and some have been assigned from above, and some simply aren’t happy to be there. Some members of Mercer’s crew may even have their own agendas. Worse yet, this chaotic crew finds itself in the crossfire: another species is already at war with the Gimtao.

Watch itwritten by Craig Sheeler & John Mess
directed by Craig Sheeler
music by Michael Klubertanz

Star Trek: Secret VoyageCast: Tyrone Loukas (Captain Calvin L. Mercer), Mo Stones (Ms. T’Vas), Annie Thalrose (Dr. Miranda Krenaire), Nicole Chauvet (Commander Unara Ivos), Stormie Daye (Ensign Akamu Albright), Devin Kolovich (Ensign Jack Dubois), Robert Shivley (Lt. Commander Ben Jones), Sean Collet (Dr. Thomas Cage), Chris Rodriguez (Admiral Hernandez), Christopher Sheeler (Lt. Robert Banks), Bryan Sheeler (Ensign McCall), Shane Zellow (Ensign Thopson), Trevor Cartwright (Dr. William Brenniese), Daniel Trujillo (Lt. Combs), Shawn Dinsmore (Red Shirt), Nicole Collet (Red Shirt), Alex Lingle (Gimtao Council), Al Kermode (Gimtao Council), Jason McGuinness (Gimtao Council), Travis Loukas (Gimtao Council), Black Yelavich (Gongdea Warriors), Nathan Ferrier (Gongdea Warriors), Rose Hill (23rd Century Reporter)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
7th Doctor Doctor Who The Audio Dramas

Black And White

Doctor WhoNo sooner have Ace and Hex found refuge in the black TARDIS then they realize they’re not alone inside it: Captain Lysandra Aristedes, formerly of the Forge, seems to be in control, along with Private Sally Morgan, a soldier the Doctor once rescued from the Bluefire Project. Aristedes and Morgan claim to have been traveling with the Doctor for some time, hunting down and fighting the same kind of elder gods from which Ace and Hex have only just escaped. The black TARDIS then materializes within the white TARDIS, but neither pair of the Doctor’s companions trusts the other enough to let them take off with a working TARDIS. Aristedes allows Ace to accompany her, while Morgan is assigned to go with Hex. Each TARDIS, black and white, arrives several years apart on seventh century Earth; Ace and Aristedes meet a brash future warrior king named Beowulf, while Hex and Morgan meet Beowulf at the end of his reign (and his life). An alien arms dealer named Garundel is also on Earth in this time period, peddling wares beyond human understanding. With teams from the TARDIS at the beginning and end of his rule, King Beowulf’s life could become a tale beyond belief…

Order this CDwritten by Matt Fitton
directed by Ken Bentley
music by Jamie Robertson

Cast: Sylvester McCoy (The Doctor), Sophie Aldred (Ace), Philip Olivier (Hex), Maggie O’Neill (Lysandra Aristedes), Amy Pemberton (Sally Morgan), Stuart Milligan (Garundel), Michael Rouse (Young Beowulf), Richard Bremmer (Old Beowulf), John Banks (Weohstan), James Hayward (Wiglaf)

Notes: The white TARDIS first appeared in The Angel Of Scutari, while the black TARDIS first appeared in Robophobia. Garundel recovers from this story and encounters the seventh Doctor much later in Starlight Robbery (2013).

Timeline: after Protect And Survive and before Gods And Monsters

LogBook entry and TheatEar review by Earl Green

Categories
Doctor Who New Series Specials

Pond Life

Doctor WhoIt’s just another day in the life of Amy and Rory – a life that’s routinely thrown into disarray by the comings and goings of a rogue Time Lord, that is. As if it’s not enough that he’s constantly calling and leaving messages about his adventures, he leaves them a gift: a subservient Ood to help out around the house. But between their discomfort with typical Ood behavior and the Doctor’s frequently ill-timed visits, life with the Ponds is anything but normal, and increasingly it’s anything but relaxed and pleasant.

Order the DVDwritten by Chris Chibnall
directed by Saul Metzstein
music by Murray Gold

Doctor WhoCast: Matt Smith (The Doctor), Karen Gillan (Amy Pond), Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams), Paul Kasey (Ood)

Notes: The Doctor says that the Ood wandered aboard the TARDIS during “the Androvox conflict,” a reference to an intergalactic war criminal and refugee encountered by Sarah Jane and her young friends in the Sarah Jane Adventures stories Prisoner Of The Judoon (2009) and The Vault Of Secrets (2010), and whose ship was at the heart of the Doctor Who universe’s interpretation of the Roswell UFO incident (the animated adventure Dreamland, 2009). Pond Life premiered as five short segments during the week prior to the premiere of Doctor Who’s seventh season, with an “omnibus” edition collecting all five segments into a five minute mini-episode available shortly before Asylum Of The Daleks.

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green