Science Fiction Day 2026

Yesterday was Science Fiction Day. I took a break from my current jungle pulp read and read a couple of science fiction short stories. I find myself, now, at the head of yet another side trail.

One story I read was "Clash by Night" by Henry Kuttner & C. L. Moore. An undersea tale set on Venus, collected in the Baen anthology, DEPTH CHARGE. 

Kuttner revisited the setting later with the novel, FURY. This was the Venus setting David Drake later explored in two novels, THE JUNGLE and SURFACE ACTION, which were omnibused by Baen as SEAS OF VENUS.

I have a copy of FURY. I will be on the lookout for SEAS OF VENUS.

Also, I listened to an episode of the DOCTOR WHO spinoff audio-drama, COUNTER MEASURES. This series continues on with characters who first appeared in REMEMBRANCE OF THE DALEKS. 

Sort of a smaller, prototype of the UNIT concept. Big Finish Audio do an amazing job of evoking eras. Even though this is audio, it very much feels like watching a 1960s science fiction television programme. Recommended.

Destiny. ON or OFF?

In the DOCTOR WHO serial, "Destiny of the Daleks," the Daleks and their android enemies, the Movellans, are locked in a thousand-years war. They have reached a logic impasse. A stalemate. Both sides have enormous battle-fleets waiting to strike, while their computers calculate the precise moment to attack that will grant maximum potential for victory.

They've been waiting for centuries.

The Doctor knows how to break the stalemate.

One side needs to turn OFF their computers.

I think about that solution a lot lately.

Old Doctor Who is New Who, and vice versa

RE: new Dr Who TARGET Books

 

For those who don't know, many of the original Doctor Who stories' tapes were purged by the BBC, resulting in many lost episodes of the Hartnell-Troughton eras (1st & 2nd Doctor - and one episode of the 3rd--but that's another story.)

 

One of my first collector bugs was acquiring all the TARGET novelizations of those adventures. While I was at it--being a Dalek (and Cybermen fan)--I also grabbed all Cybermen and Dalek stories in the TARGET novelizations line, regardless of Doctor incarnation.

 

But a few were never novelized during the original TARGET run. Two came out via Virgin books later: POWER OF THE DALEKS and EVIL OF THE DALEKS.

 

RESURRECTION OF THE DALEKS and REVELATION OF THE DALEKS never came out.

But they will this year.

 

I've been waiting a long time to see these come into existence.

Also, they will be putting out some cherry-picked novelizations from the new series, which started in 2005.

 

Between these books, and animated reconstructions of lost episodes, and the audio dramas Big Finish are doing with past Doctors (including, now, Christopher Eccleston signed on as the Ninth) it's still an awesome time to be a Whovian. (even if I'm not happy with the current broadcasting series.)

recent listen; Doctor Who - UNIT: Dominion

Big Finish synopsis;

The universe stands on the brink of a dimensional crisis – and the Doctor and Raine are pulled into the very epicentre of it.

Meanwhile, on Earth, UNIT scientific advisor Dr Elizabeth Klein and an incarnation of the Doctor she's never encountered before are tested to the limit by a series of bizarre, alien invasions.

At the heart of it all is a terrible secret, almost as old as the Time Lords themselves. Reality is beginning to unravel and two Doctors, Klein, Raine and all of UNIT must use all their strength and guile to prevent the whole of creation being torn apart.

As you can see from the photo, UNIT: Dominion is a bit of an epic tale spanning four CDs (the fifth CD is behind-the-scenes interview content.)

This was epic, but it kept my attention all through. Plenty of setups and payoffs. In addition to Sylvester McCoy as the (7th) Doctor, the supporting characters were well done.

Elisabeth Klein continues to be one of the best, most interesting supporting characters Big Finish have created. This time around, she's been slightly reinvented. Integrated back into the proper historical timeline, she is now an efficient scientist and the Scientific Advisor of UNIT (the Doctor's old gig.) But, the Doctor has been keeping tabs on her, to ensure her Nazi previous personality doesn't reassert itself. Unfortunately, his plan has backfired and she has become almost paranoid & obsessed with "the Umbrella Man" - the Doctor.

Alex Macqueen was a real treat as the “Other Doctor.” Now that the story has been out for a few years, the spoiler can be mentioned here. The Other Doctor is, in fact, the Master; the Doctor's arch-villain. Big Finish have created their own incarnation of the Master here. Macqueen does a great job, too. Though, he is only revealed as the Master in the last episode, so we only get a taste of the Master in this story. But, it highlights how similar the Doctor and the Master truly are – two sides of the same coin.

I really enjoyed this one. I look forward to listening to both the next Klein trilogy, as well as Alex Macqueen's continuing performance as the Master in the Dark Eyes series.

recent listen; Doctor Who - Masters of Earth

Big Finish synopsis;

The year is 2163. Ten years since the Daleks invaded the Earth. One year until the Doctor, in his first incarnation, will help bring the occupation to an end. But for now, their reign of terror goes on.

The TARDIS brings the Doctor and Peri to Scotland – enslaved, like everywhere else on the planet.

When the Doctor falls in with an unlikely group of freedom fighters making that dangerous journey to Orkney, he finds himself trapped – but not only by the Daleks, their robotised henchmen and their human collaborators.

By history.

Because history shows that for another year, resistance is useless...

Masters of Earth brings the Doctor dangerously close to changing his own past. In Doctor Who, this is referred to as the Web of Time. Yes, the Doctor can mess about history & future, but he must be very careful not to change his own past. If the Daleks capture him, interrogate him, they will be prepared for his first incarnation's involvement in future. Not to mention, they will learn of the Doctor and perhaps Time Lords decades or even centuries before they should.

Of course, the Doctor's own attitude & character and events plunge the Doctor into the middle of the muddle, anyway. Along the way there are prison breaks, Slythers, Vargaplants, Daleks and Robomen. All the classic 1960s Dalek elements are sharply realized through very experienced use of soundscapes plus the listener's imagination.

Colin Baker really shines in these audio-plays. He gets to work his Doctor they way he never could on television, and by-&-large, he has had far better material to work with. Hearing him battle classic Daleks is a treat.

Quatermass

On a whim, I decided to educate myself on the roots of Doctor Who, by watching some original Quatermass stories. If readers of this blog (outside the UK) know Quatermass at all, it is probably from the Hammer movie, Quatermass and the Pit - which was originally released in the US with the title, Five Million Years to Earth. (see above photo)  Before this week, it was the only Quatermass I'd ever seen, too.

But, Bernard Quatermass featured in four stories total. Like Doctor Who, he started out on television, and three of the original television serials were adapted into Hammer movies. Like the Doctor and James Bond, many different actors have played the role, even though there were only a total of four television serials and three theatrical movies. Rather than repeat a lot of data, I refer you to the wiki page.

Quatermass Wikipedia Page.

In a nutshell, Quatermass is a scientist who heads the British Experimental Rocket Group. In the first story, The Quatermass Experiment, three astronauts are sent into orbit, but only one returns. The returned astronaut behaves in very peculiar manners. Did he murder the rest of the crew? Or, did something even more sinister occur in the depths of outer space?

In the second tale, Quatermass's new atomic rocket has exploded just after launch in Australia. Struggling with failure and the loss of life, Quatermass has no time to idle as he discovers an alien invasion underway. Strange meteorites are falling, government officials are behaving oddly, and an entire English village has been razed to make way for a "food processing plant."

Quatermass is a large influence on British scifi, certainly television scifi at least. Nearly any alien invasion/conspiracy tale probably has some roots back to Quatermass. It certainly influenced Doctor Who - particularly the early Jon Pertwee years when the Doctor was exiled to Earth and constantly fought off alien incursions.

Like Doctor Who, Quatermass suffers from a loss of episodes. The first serial, The Quatermass Experiment, only has two available episode - parts 1 & 2 - of the six-part serial.

I went ahead and watched them, anyway. It held promise, and it is a shame the rest is lost.

Then I went on and finished up Quatermass II last night. It holds up very well, I think. I found it suspenseful and intriguing, though the new lead needed an episode to warm up to the role. The fifth and six parts suffered a bit of sag, but overall it kept my interest all the way through.

I am looking forward to getting through more Quatermass stories this year; the remaining television serials and the movie adaptations - especially the original Quatermass and the Pit television serial.

p.s. - for your convenience, my Quatermass YouTube playlist of the first three 1950s serials.

p.p.s. - coincidence would have it;

1.) The first Hammer Quatermass movie, The Quatermass Xperiment, finally became available on blu-ray in December. (For the North American market - it's been available in the UK.) Here's hoping the other two get the blu-ray treatment - especially Quatermass and the Pit.

2.) Spectral Press are planning on a book about the creator of Quatermass, Nigel Kneale.

Doctor Who month

Last year was the 50th anniversary of the first broadcast of Doctor Who. That makes this November the 51st anniversary, and there wasn't any of the hoopla. The eighth series of the 'new' show wrapped up early in the month, and things got quiet.

I decided -  Whovian that I am - to explore some other areas of Doctor Who this month. I read two novels and listened to one of the audio-dramas from Big Finish.

The Dalek Generation by Nicholas Briggs

The Daleks benevolent? The Dalek Foundation, creating habitable worlds for throngs of human beings? An entire generation raised up believing the Daleks are rarely-seen philanthropes? What are the Daleks really up to?  That is the mystery the (11th) Doctor must solve.

Briggs has a good handle on describing the 11th Doctor in prose. That was a strong point. The Doctor did not feel like a placeholder, or a rewritten different Doctor. He rang true as the 11th Doctor.

Ironically, the issues I have with the story are the Daleks. The plot is a fun conceit, and it is impishly enjoyable to read as the Daleks behave, engage in bureaucracy and simmer under the surface just dying to let loose with guns and screams of "Exterminate!"  The trouble is, because of that setup, there isn't a whole lot of Dalek action in the story.

The Daleks' villainous plot is another weak point. It's vague, at best. A bit of hand-waving (sucker arm waving?) at the end. Some great power (unexplained what) will cause massive galactic changes (unexplained how.)

It is a fairly fun, quick read to pass the time - as long as you don't analyze it too much.

Engines of War by George Mann

Through a bit of creative retroactive continuity, it was revealed during last year's anniversary barrage, that there had been one regeneration of the Doctor that shunned the name of "Doctor." He became a soldier and a warrior who directly engaged the Daleks in the great Time War. In the end, it was he who destroyed both the Daleks and the Time Lords, to put an end to the war.

That 'other' Doctor (or, 'War Doctor') was played by John Hurt and only appeared briefly in one episode, and then was a central part of the anniversary special that followed.

This novel gives a look into that Doctor, and also events that drove him to such genocidal actions. Engines of War is a very good story that pulls together various threads of two episodes - "The End of Time" and "The Day of the Doctor." In addition there are plenty of other references for the fans without coming off as poor fan fiction.

The Daleks' villainous plot(s) are well realized. The Time Lords, too, have their own maniacal plans to halt the Dalek advance - even if it means sacrificing billions of people to succeed. Plenty of murderous, dangerous Dalek action, too.

Can the Doctor stop the Daleks, and the Time Lords, and still come out ahead?

I liked this one, a lot. One of the best Doctor Who novels I have read.

The Light At The End (audio)

While the BBC were creating their own anniversary special last year, the folks over at Big Finish audio came out with their own celebratory story, too.

The Master, the Doctor's arch-enemy renegade Time Lord, has thrown all laws of time out the window. He crosses his own future (the Master here being played as an incarnation from the past) and sets a trap that causes the Doctor to meet his previous incarnations, tearing apart his own timeline and history in the process.  Can the Doctors unite and escape the ultimate trap before the Doctor himself is wiped from all time & space?

This was fun. The story meshes the Doctors together very smoothly. Of course, a story like this could be a convoluted, confused time travel story, but the causality plot-line is not overly complex. The reveals are well-paced enough to keep the mysteries engaging. The Doctor actors play off each other very well. There are even actors performing good mimic to the voices of the first three Doctor actors who have passed on.

A very fun romp.  Well done.

Doctor Who; Series (Season) 8

(Note; UK television does "shows" that come in "series"; US does "shows" or "series" that come in "seasons")

I've debated writing a post about this, simply because I'm lazy and I believe my wordcount could be better spent.  But as a long-time Whovian, I just wanted to sum up my thoughts on the latest Doctor Who season.

In my humble opinion, it was not a good season.

There were some good moments, and even some good episodes. I can name my top three or even top five of the season. The problem is that it would not be a list of gradual decline. There is a huge gulf between the ones I liked and the rest of the list.

My top episodes of the season were the ones where we got to see Peter Capaldi playing his Doctor to the fullest - not retreading past Doctor traits or playing second fiddle to other characters. Capaldi is an excellent Doctor. He did not fail - the writing did.

Not surprisingly, the ones I favor also had minimal moments of rule breaking or world breaking. Often, the rule breaking was done just to sell a crazy idea.

Other people have noted this tendency of showrunner and head-writer, Steven Moffat. Some fans noted it early on as being problematic.  Personally I thought Moffat generally got away with it. But this time around, the plotting seemed either repetitive or muddled or inexplicable - sometimes all three. It seemed that not only was Moffat going for the "crazy splash page," he was also going for big visuals (e.g.; Cybermen coming out of graves) and "moments." But to arrive at those visuals, concepts and moments, the plotting often contradicted character and established "rules" of Doctor Who. Characters (companions and the Doctor) were grossly inconsistent from episode to episode.

Moffat has also mentioned the (not unusual) idea that the companions are our window to the Doctor. Because he is alien, we need their viewpoint. That is a fair analysis. What I don't buy is when Moffat goes to the next level and states that the show is really about the companions. No, no it isn't. The Sarah Jane Adventures are about companions. Doctor Who is about, well, the Doctor.  To me, Moffat really pushed that concept too far this season. I am not the only one who felt like we were watching The Clara Oswald Show, guest starring the Doctor.

By the time I watched the season finale, I didn't even feel like I had watched an episode of Doctor Who. All the elements were there - UNIT, the TARDIS, the Doctor, Cybermen. But the parts did not add up to the sum.

Too much style over substance. Too many gimmicks. (Nicholas Kaufmann sums up my own feelings about the 2-part finale quite well, btw.)

Some people seem to have enjoyed the season. Power to them, but I just don't see it.

My favorite of moment of the season - and even with all this season's faults, perhaps one of my top ten Doctor Who moments  - occurred during the episode, "Into the Dalek." The Doctor speaks to a Dalek;

"You see all those years ago, when I began, I was just running. I called myself the Doctor, but it was just a name. Then I went to Skaro. And then I met you lot. And I understood who I was. The Doctor was not the Daleks!"

It was an insightful character moment that harkened back the very first encounter between the Daleks and the original Doctor.

I wish Series 8 had more of that.

Whovian 2-fer

On the way to NECON last month, I had an hour & a half ride each way, so I loaded up some Doctor Who audio dramas for the ride.

Energy of the Daleks

Though released later in the series, this story was Tom Baker's first audio return to Doctor Who. It is also the first time his companion, Leela, gets to tangle with Daleks.

Speaking of Daleks, this is a welcome return to conniving Daleks with attitude and a plan for world destruction. During Tom Baker's era, Davros, the creator of the Daleks, was invented by Terry Nation. In the two Dalek appearances for Tom Baker run, the focus was more on Davros. The Daleks were reduced to (sometimes none-too-bright) foot soldiers.

This is a very convincing Dalek tale that fits right into the 4th Doctor era. You can almost see the t.v. episode in your head. (My head, anyway.) The Daleks are "old school" and there is a nice return of Robomen (first used and only seen in The Dalek Invasion of Earth.) The Daleks are behind a new "free energy" beaming scheme that will rescue the near-future Earth from its energy crisis. The Doctor intends to find out why.

It is one of those stories that you don't want to think too hard about. If the Daleks can send a scout ship with six Daleks onboard back in time to alter history, why not just send a whole fleet? Such things are easily explained away by "timey wimey wibbly wobbly," so a line or two of dialog to explain away the question would have been nice, but, whatever.

Tom Baker was the first Doctor I ever watched. I don't subscribe to the "your first Doctor is your favorite Doctor" paradigm - especially with all the Doctors to choose from now. But, I had forgotten just how enjoyable he can be as the Doctor.

This was a lot of fun.

This is nearly pitch perfect for a 4th Doctor era story. I will absolutely be visiting more Tom Baker audios from Big Finish.

The Architects of History

This story closes out a trilogy featuring the villain, Elisabeth Klein. Klein is a Nazi from an alternate timeline where the Doctor's negligence helped the Nazis to win World War 2. During their previous adventures, the Doctor obliterated her timeline and tried to enlighten her. But Klein was patient, and gained enough knowledge to abscond with his TARDIS, and establish a future Reich that spread across the galaxy. Now the Doctor has arrived to put things right - which doesn't seem very possible from his prison cell.

Klein is a wonderful, thought out villain (villainess.) I wish she could have been on the t.v. show, proper. (Let's face it, The Rani never came up to potential on t.v.)  She has motivations, she goes toe-to-toe with the Doctor and nearly pulls off her grand schemes.

I really enjoyed this one. There is a second Klein trilogy - as well as a series that focuses on her non-fascist counterpart in the correct timeline. I look forward to listening to all of them.

Happy Christmas 2013!

I hope Santa and family & friends were good to you, also!

Doctor Who leftovers

This was a banner year for Doctor Who fans.  The show celebrated its 50th anniversary.  There were specials and all sorts of tidbits and quick web interviews.  Oh, and there were sales.  Some directly related to the jubilee, some just because.

I acquired a great many audio-plays, digital short stories, ebooks and comics.

Now that the 50th anniversary episode has come and gone, I have leftovers not unlike Thanksgiving turkey leftovers.  Here are some that I consumed recently;

Doctor Who 50th Anniversary BBC/Puffin short stories.

11 short stories, released digitally, one per Doctor.

I mostly enjoyed the stories, though none really jumped out at me as being declared a classic in the future.  The only one that really didn't appeal to me was the 1st Doctor's story.  Far too much physical derring-do for the 1st Doctor.  It didn't feel very much like the 1st Doctor, at all.

My favorite was the 2nd Doctor story, which involved the Necronomicon hijacking the TARDIS.  But, I'm biased toward Mythos stuff right now.

I bought each story individually, but they are going to be collected for a print anthology (and, I would suspect, an e'anthology.)

IDW's Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time, 12 issues

To celebrate the 50th year of Doctor Who, IDW Publishing ran Prisoners of Time over the course of the year.  Each incarnation of the Doctor got a turn in each issue, with a 12th issue wrap-up of the linking story.  The issues mostly followed the same pattern - an unrelated adventure that ended with the Doctor's companions being kidnapped by an unknown villain.

The villain reveal was a good one, if you've been watching the recent show.  It made sense.  The stories were fun, though some of the issues had art styles that did not appeal to me, at all.

Overall,  Prisoners of Time is a good comics celebration of Doctor Who's 50th anniversary.

The Night of the Doctor

Last Thursday, the Whoniverse exploded over a 6+ minute "mini-sode" that was released online as a precursor to the upcoming 50th anniversary special, The Day of the Doctor.

It is titled, aptly enough, The Night of the Doctor.

I was very fortunate to click through to the mini-sode first thing in the morning, and avoided all spoilers.

It was a big shocker, because somehow, someway in this age of the Internet, the secret was not leaked.  But now we can discuss it.

"I'm a Doctor.  But probably not the one you were expecting."

Paul McGann was back, on-screen, as the Doctor's eighth incarnation!

The last time he was seen in the role was 1996.  That was for the t.v. movie - his one and only (until now) visual appearance as the Doctor.

No surprise, I can't stop pondering The Night of the Doctor. Sure, McGann's surprise appearance was an undeniable wow! factor, but there's more than that.

It's no throwaway extended scene - it's a story, loaded with backstory presented with tight writing.

This rundown sums it up well.

http://southlondontoday.com/doctor-who-10-amazing-things-that-happened-in-the-night-of-the-doctor-minisode/

I would add a few other points.  First off, this is not a role McGann dusted off after 17 years.  Yes, he has not been on-screen as the Doctor in all that time, but he has been playing the Doctor in audio-plays for a number of years now.  He knows exactly how his Doctor acts and sounds, and he was able to bring it all to those 6+ minutes of the mini-sode.

Also, the themes present throughout the current run of the series are in here, too.  One aspect of the new show has been exploring how the Doctor saves his companions and how they, in turn, save him - from himself.  It is very telling that here at the end, when the Doctor chooses to no longer be "the Doctor," there is no companion to talk him out of his decision.

For those non-Whovians reading, think of it as an incredible piece of Doctor Who flash fiction.  It might even be interesting to watch it and see how much backstory you can work out.  I have an advantage there, but I still think a helluva lot was conveyed on-screen.

The Night of the Doctor

Between Moffat's laser-focused dialog and McGann's pitch-perfect performance, this might be the best 6+ minutes of Doctor Who ever.

Doctor Who: The Dalek Project

Doctor Who: The Dalek Project.

This graphic novel has an interesting genesis history.  Originally, it was slated to be a 10th Doctor story, but it had similarities to a television episode of the 11th Doctor, "Victory of the Daleks."  The episode aired nearly at the same time the book was to be released, so the book was put on hold.

Now, it has been resurrected as an 11th Doctor story (though, using the 10th would have distanced it from the t.v. episode - but, whatever.)

Finding Dalek remains while excavating a World War I battlefield, a group of archaeologists soon need the Doctor's assistance when the Daleks come to life.   The story then moves back in time, to the First World War, where the Doctor happens upon a strange house of an English munitions manufacturer.  Certain rooms open to other vistas - trenches on the European front, and a similar munitions factory in Germany.  Both sides believe they have created the ultimate weapon that will win the war - Daleks.  It's the Doctor's job, of course, to show everyone how wrong they are and to stop whatever master plan the Daleks have engaged.

Visuals are good.  I enjoyed the rendering of the primitive proto-Daleks with their tread tracks, heavy machine guns and iron crosses.

This was a fun comic, and I liked it a bit more than its predecessor, The Only Good Dalek.  

The first pass of the story, starring the 10th Doctor.

Post Vacation Blues

Post vacation blues - but, not really.  I had a great week off.  For the first time in a long time, the vacation felt longer than it actually was.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe because we did lots of different things rather than one.

We spent a few days at York Beach, Maine.  Specifically, the Short Sands beach - which is smaller and very rocky.  But, the kids did not care.  They were happy to dig holes, collect mountains of rocks, and jump in the waves.

Aside from that, it was just days at home.  I did some personal shopping, scored some nice goodies.  This past weekend was wonderfully full of serendipity.  Spur of the moment, we had lunch with my parents on Saturday.  My sister and most of her family spontaneously stopped by my parents' house while we were there.  (They were also on their way home from a different Maine locale.)  Sunday night, we decided on dinner at a local establishment and bumped into our friends there.  They live in town, but we haven't seen each other in person in a very long time.  It was really great.

I even had some sense of accomplishment as I started cleaning out the home office yesterday in anticipation of a redo of the room.  We thought about hiring someone to build-in bookcases, etc., but we've decided to take our time.  I'll order a few custom pieces at a time (e.g.; storage cabinet, custom-sized bookcase) and work a wall at a time myself.  That'll spread the cost over some months.

I did not get much reading done.  Well, I didn't get much reading done on The Twelve Children of Paris.  It is a large enough physical book that I didn't want to lug it on vacation.  I brought my Kindle instead, and read a handful of tie-in Doctor Who short stories that have been released this year to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the show.  So far my favorite was the Second Doctor story, which featured The Necronomicon.

Back to the groove or grind, as the case might be.

Doctor Who: Frozen Time

Frozen Time (Doctor Who audio drama)

Plot:  In the early 21st century, Lord Barset mounts an Antarctic expedition to find the remains of his grandfather's 1929 lost expedition.  But Barset's motivation is not purely genealogical.  Barest believes there is a pre-human reptilian civilization buried under the ice.  He is half-right.  The Doctor knows better, but after a million-year coma, his memory is fragmented and he might not recall what they need to know in time to save themselves and the planet.

Strong points: Maryam D'Abo as Genevieve.  The tease defrostings;  Ice Warrior?  No, it's the TARDIS.  Ice Warrior?  No, it's the Doctor.  Ice Warrior - yes!  McCoy's performance as the amnesiac Doctor.  Lord Barset believes he's on the trail of Silurians (and he's not.)  The denouement tease that perhaps Genevieve had a few more adventures with the Doctor before returning to the ship.

The Ice Warriors.  They sound right, and they have layers to their society - they aren't just an entire race of baddies and this story remembers to highlight that.

(Originally when this was released, the Ice Warriors' appearance was kept secret - that would have been a strong point, too, but by this time most everyone knows they are in this adventure.)

Weak points:  The setup fails to suspend disbelief.  I'm not sure even the Doctor could have survived frozen for a million years, Time Lord induced coma or not.  Would the Doctor really aid a prison facility - even one for his foes?  Would the Doctor agree to a Martian prison for the most dangerous criminals existing in Antarctica on Earth (of the past,) knowing what will happen in the future of that planet?

Frozen Time is a good Doctor Who story if you go along for the ride and don't think too much about how it all came together to start the adventure.

more capsule reviews

In the Courts of the Crimson Kings by S. M. Stirling (novel)

A sequel to his Edgar Rice Burroughs' Venus series homage, The Sky People, Stirling takes us to Mars for his own vision of Barsoom.  Aiming for a modern take on the sword-&-planet genre, we get an interesting mix of a scifi anthropologic/archaeological tale that morphs into a rousing adventure with airships and wildly imaginative bio-tech.  The opening sequence, a scene where various classic scifi pulp authors watch the first Mars landing together (in an alternate history to our own,) is worth the price of admission alone.

Moanin' at Midnight - The Life and Times of Howlin' Wolf by James Segrest and Mark Hoffman (biography)

I'd been meaning to read this for a very long time.  I know the basics of Wolf's life, but not the details.  Like so many early bluesmen, it's hard to believe he survived to old age.  Also surprising was his sense of discipline to his work ethic.  Music was his job.  He expected his band members to perform sober and well-dressed.  Considering he was one of the wildest of the Chicago bluesmen when he performed, I was surprised to learn that.  It is fascinating to read about Wolf's early solo rambling around the South.  He met and played with the early greats – Charley Patton, Son House, Robert Johnson - long before he went electric & got to Chicago.  It's dumbfounding that given his vocal styling he was never tapped for “field recordings” in his early days as other bluesmen were.  Because he didn't record until after he went electric, there are only a handful of later solo acoustic songs.  I will be seeking them out.

Thieves' World (anthology) by Robert Lynn Asprin & Lynn Abbey

This is the original anthology that launched the Thieves' World continuing series of anthologies and novels.  Various authors try their hand in a shared sword-&-sorcery world.  Though I sometimes felt the grit and nastiness went too far (a backlash against sanitized fantasies of the day?) generally the stories were enjoyable sword-&-sorcery and I'll get around to reading more of them.

Kingdom Come (graphic novel)

A sprawling epic across the DC universe as a new wave of violent super-powered vigilantes displace the old guard.  Drummed out by popularity of lethal force, Superman retreats for ten years while humanity lives in fear of the gods among them.  Lured out of retirement, Superman soon establishes a new order that is much resented by many of the younger breed.  Meanwhile, the government, Lex Luthor and even Bruce Wayne are edgy about the great civil war that is about to erupt between the super-heroes.  Compelling storytelling, “painted” style of comic makes the heroes look very real and among us. It lives up to its hype, I believe.  Worth seeking out.

The Scarlet Citadel (graphic novel)

Like The Phoenix on the Sword, this is a wonderful and faithful comic adaptation of the original Robert E. Howard Conan tale.  The artwork is stunning again.   Nothing wrong here, at all.  It is excellent!

Kingdom of Silver (Doctor Who audio drama)

The Doctor finds a world where Cybermen of the past have worked their way into the mythology of the people.  The populace experiment with “silver” which cures disease and provides other boons.  But it also means that as they approach the dawn of their technical era, the waiting Cyber tomb hidden underneath the world might awake.  A companionless Seventh Doctor allows Sylvester McCoy to deliver a touch of melancholy to his performance as the Doctor.  Terry Malloy, mostly known for his portrayal of Davros - the meglomaniac creator of the Daleks - plays a good-though-misguided-guy, for a change.  This is a solid audio adventure for the Doctor.

The Doctor vs. the Daleks, again (Dark Eyes)

Doctor Who
Dark Eyes (4 part story)
8th Doctor Adventures
Big Finish (audio-plays)

This is a sprawling box set of four adventures of the Doctor, all directly connected to a woman named Molly and the Daleks that are pursuing her.  The Doctor rescues Molly, only to find the Daleks on their trail regardless of where they travel in time & space.  But the Daleks are not alone in their efforts, and the Time Lords have their own agenda to stop the Daleks' plan.

Nicholas Briggs (writer/director/producer) and Paul McGann (the Doctor) both have an interest in the history of the First World War, and details abound in the setting of the first adventure.  Molly, for one, is not a nurse nor a sister of a religious order, she is a V.A.D. (First I'd learned the difference, myself.)  The Doctor also has an appreciation for Sopwith Camels.

The next three adventures put the Doctor and Molly on a path through World War II, the 1970s and futuristic planets.

There's a lot here for Doctor Who fans - particularly if you enjoy the new series (2005-present) and the original series.  Briggs, along with Moffatt, have both claimed they want to keep the Time War mythic and not delve into details.  But, they can't help referencing it.  In the case of the t.v. series, it is a major backstory.  Here, in Dark Eyes, it's a bit of a tease though tastefully done.  The machinations of the Time Lords, here in this story, certainly earn them no favors with the Daleks nor the Doctor.

Also, McGann gets a new costume (which, yes, might seem unnecessary for an audio line.)  But, it allows the 8th Doctor to finally get away from the overused photoshopping of poses and costume that are 16 years old and redundant by this point.  He also dresses a bit more casual and even opts for leather.  Though it seems this was McGann's personal choice, one wonders if there wasn't some planned foreshadowing of the 9th Doctor's fashion sense.

Time, space, history, future, Daleks, Time Lords and the Doctor.  And most importantly, well done.  This story has it all.

Dreamland

Doctor Who: Dreamland

This was a pleasant surprise.

I'd bought this one a while ago, just because I'm a completist - I piggybacked it on some Amazon order or other.  I spotted it in my Doctor Who Annex and decided to finally watch it.

The Doctor stops at an American roadside diner for a bowl of chili.  Rather than food, he comes face to face with an alien artifact, large bug aliens, MIBs, Roswell aliens, U. S. military conspiracy, Area 51 and a flying saucer or two.  He makes friends, defeats enemies, and saves the Earth - again!

The CGI animation is stiff and no-frills - which is a bit odd when you have access to CGI.  But,  a few minutes of hearing David Tennant as the Doctor (again) made me put aside any misgivings about the visuals.  This a fun story, and as much as Matt Smith's current run as the Doctor has been enjoyable, seeing something 'new' from Tennant was pure joy, even if his face was animated by a computer.

The DVD set also comes with a bonus disc of the Greatest Moments specials that featured highlights and interview snippets from cast & guest stars.  They were a fun review of the Eccleston and Tennant years (minus the last specials from Tennant.)   Of course, I wish it had been a full retrospective back to the original series - especially when delving into old foes.

It made me & my wife want to re-watch the current (2005-) series all over again.

The Doctor vs. the Daleks

Doctor Who
Lucie Miller (4.9) & To The Death (4.10)
8th Doctor Adventures
Big Finish (audio-plays)

In the last quarter of last year, Big Finish ran quite a few sales on their Doctor Who line of audio-dramas if you went the download route.  I had some of the initial CDs, but lost track for a while.  It seemed like a good time to get back into it.  Being a Whovian, having the CDs as collectibles is always tempting, but the downloads were priced very low at sale time, so I skipped the CDs (also saved shelf space at home.)

Lucie Miller and To The Death are two parts of a single tale that closes out the 8th Doctor's 4th Big Finish series.  (The numbering is a little confusing because Paul McGann also had many 8th Doctor Adventures in the main release line before they spun him out specifically.)

Anyway.  The Daleks are back.  Back on Earth.  Back in the 21st century.  Lucie Miller, the Doctor's off-and-on again companion for most of this season is trapped, crippled by a disease unleashed by the Daleks before their invasion.  The Daleks are following a very familiar pattern.  Susan - the Doctor's granddaughter - is exiled on Earth and she notes it is the same as before - referencing the television serial, The Dalek Invasion of Earth.  And the Doctor has failed to answer desperate summons from his friends and family.

Overdue reviews

Men of Bronze by Scott Oden

Great historical epic, rich in details from daily life to battlefield carnage. Setups and payoffs work well from the opening skirmish, through the political intrigue through to the crescendo of the final battle.  When Greek mercenaries swap their allegiance from Pharaoh to the Persians, the Phoenician Hasdrabal Barca leads his own mercenary company - the Medjay - to stamp out the traitors before it is too late.  Oden was directly inspired by Robert E. Howard - in fact, his first novel attempt was a Conan novel, but he came to understand his niche might be found in historical fiction.  And we readers are all the richer for his decision.  If you want a historical that is action-oriented and set in a period you don't usually read about, this would be a great change of pace for your reading list.

Plague of Shadows (Pathfinder Tales) by Howard Andrew Jones

Good adventuring with a nice angle, as someone else noted, "what happens when elves get too old for this s*&^?" A blend of D&D adventuring with tones of Jirel of Jory and the western, Unforgiven. The payoffs here are setup through characters, hard truths and exposed lies. I look forward to Jones' next entry in the Pathfinder universe, and I need to check out some of the other authors and novels of this world.

Sharpe's Havoc by Bernard Cornwell

Fun Sharpe romp, as usual. This time around Sharpe and his riflemen are trapped behind enemy lines in Portugal while under orders from a duplicitous colonel. Fine blend of historic details, fun characters and action.

Assimilation² (graphic novel)

Star Trek: the Next Generation Meets Doctor Who!  The Borg meet the Cybermen!  Could a Whovian who generally enjoyed Star Trek: the Next Generation resist?  No, because resistance is futile!

Yes, it's a geek fest.  But, it's not a bad crossover.  Featuring the current Doctor, the 11th, played by Matt Smith, and his companions Amy & Rory.  Some details are lost in the rush to have all the characters meet from across the two universes.  The Borg merging with Cybermen makes sense.  The Borg showed they weren't afraid to penetrate dimensions in Star Trek: Voyager, and the current restart of Doctor Who's Cybermen started in an alternate universe.  It is never satifactorily explained why the TARDIS and the Doctor and his companions universe hopped, though.  But, we're here more for the ride than the how & why.

There's even a Captain Kirk / 4th Doctor (Tom Baker) flashback as the universes start to produce new memories when their timelines collide.

I read this as individual issues over last year, I did not get the current collected trade paperbacks.  The painted art-style took some getting used to.  When I heard they were doing this crossover, honestly, even I wasn't too interested until I learned it would be the Cybermen and Borg.  I always said the Cybermen were the original Borg.

If you're a fan, it works.  Check it out.