Changes Everything review [James Goss]

I think that the sign of a real fan is the ability to enjoy a show whilst still being able to make fun and criticise it. I absolutely adore Torchwood and can readily admit that a significant portion of the first two series was substandard TV, sometimes with good ideas but ruined by juvenile humour, trying way too hard to be "adult" and horrible character choices (looking at you, Gwen and Owen) making for a group of unlikeable characters engaging in unsubtle and silly stories.

Let me reiterate that I absolutely adore the show, because despite its faults it managed to produce some stellar television that was touching, sophisticated and really down-to-earth. It hit its stride with the last few episodes of series 2 and produced the extraordinary Children of Earth and epic (if stretched) Miracle Day. It is such a shame that the show ended when it had really found itself. Thank God for Big Finish.

The New Torchwood

This is a fresh start for Torchwood and its name (a play on the first episode, Everything Changes) invites comparison to the earliest episodes of the show. Just as was done with the soft reboot of Miracle Day, we're introduced to new characters. Don't worry - they're better than Rex and Esther.

We're introduced to Tyler Steele, an overconfident and sexually-charged journalist looking to redeem his career after being disgraced. We are reintroduced to Torchwood Cardiff through his eyes just as we first met the group through Gwen. Tyler can be thought of as an anti-Gwen - whilst she was supposed to be the heart of the show (we'll ignore her disgusting affair with Owen and shameful pining for Jack), Tyler is a dick. And he works perfectly. He's the sort of person you would hate to know in real life but makes for a good flawed protagonist in that he's open and accessible in a way that Dr Owen Harper was rarely allowed to be onscreen.

We don't see as much of Mr Colchester, but he's fine. An old civil servant is just the sort of character that can shake up the dynamic of Torchwood and admonish any of the other members for engaging in the sexual immorality they all got up to early in the show. He's gay, which makes me wonder if Owen the only straight man to ever work for the organisation and what it is about being LGBT that attracts you to alien-fighting.

As for the oldies, Jack has, thankfully, not completely reverted back to the cold and inhuman leader that he so often was for the first two series and is written somewhere between that and the more relatable and likeable Jack of Children of Earth and Miracle Day. He's having sex, standing on roofs overlooking Cardiff and fighting aliens - what more could you want from him?

It's a shame that Eve Myles's role in Aliens Among Us is practically non-existent, but Alexandria Riley makes a very good Gwen Cooper. They sound enough alike that it's very easy to imagine her as Gwen rather than as an impressionist or stand-in. My initial reaction to the reveal at the end that Riley has been playing Gwen made me very worried that Gwen had been recast, so I was very pleased to learn what we do in future stories.

The Plot

Children of Earth began just before the 456 stopped all of the children. Miracle Day began with the Miracle. Aliens Among Us starts much later than both of these series, with Cardiff long since having been taken over by aliens. We're introduced to controversial and relevant issues like racism, immigration and refugees. It's an interesting approach that fills us with questions - who's taken over, how and why? It's a far looser arc than the aforementioned series but these questions are, of course, answered as it plays out.

Changes Everything can't just introduce the arc, though. It has to have its own self-contained story to avoid being forgettable and as more of a prologue than an actual story, much like Everything Changes was. (The story just wasn't all that good and we really didn't get to know Suzie well enough.) We have Tyler's attempted assassination at the beginning of the story, reintroducing Torchwood and learning about what's happened in Cardiff and then discovering and stopping the would-be assassin before a sad ending where Tyler is rejected by Torchwood.

A Good Quotation

"Tyler Steele, keep yourself in shape?" 

"Yeah."

"Weights or cardio?"

"Hot yoga and crossfit."

"A bit London but it'll have to do."

This Reminds Me...

Didn't we get pretty much the same Gwen driving scene in More Than This? Not that I'm complaining.

I'll Explain Later

How come Tyler doubts the existence of aliens? Has he never been in London at Christmas? Did the 456 incident and the Miracle pass him by? I know the Miracle wasn't alien but you'd think it would open people's minds a bit.

The Judgement

Is this a story that will set your world on fire? No, of course not, but it's a great start for Aliens Among Us, introducing us to an intriguing post-Miracle Cardiff and a brand new Torchwood that's had its base blown up and that's matured greatly before returning. This is the type of story that Everything Changes should have been. Long live Torchwood! B

The Trial of a Time Machine review [Andy Lane]

We've had the Doctor sit before a court in Trial of a Time Lord. We've had the Valeyard switch from the prosecutor's chair to the defendant's in Trial of the Valeyard. We've had Romana sit before the Inquisitor in The Inquiry. Continuing the theme of anything Gallifreyan facing legal action, The Seventh Doctor: The New Adventures begins with The Trial of a Time Machine. Now we're just waiting on The Summary Hearing of Susan Foreman.

The Doctor's Case
The TARDIS being on trial is a novel idea and arguably the main draw of this box set, aside from seeing original Big Finish stories with Chris and Roz. After all, how can a box be put on trial? The answer is that the people of Thrantas believe that, given that the ship has some sentience, it's responsible for its actions. Unlike in Trial of a Time Lord and Trial of the Valeyard, the actual hearing itself isn't the main nor the most interesting part of the story.

What the trial does allow for is some understated exploration of the Doctor's relationship with the TARDIS. It's something we've seen a lot more of in the modern series (especially Eleventh with The Doctor's Wife) but very little with the classic Doctors beyond Sixth and Eighth referring to it as "Old Girl". Here we get a fascinating idea - given that the TARDIS has sentience, has the Doctor enslaved it by stealing it from Gallifrey and flying away? It's something that he worries about in a particularly poignant moment at the end of the story. You'd be forgiven for thinking that Big Finish had run out of new ideas and facets to show of the "old" Doctors but this isn't the case. This might be one of my favourite Seventh moments despite how subtle and short it is. His pained reaction to the TARDIS's sentence is another standout moment.

The cancelled novel adaptations range was cancelled for lack of an adequate number of sales, so it seems a number of listeners might not be too aware of companions Chris Cwej and Roz Forrester. My only exposure to them so far has been Cold Fusion. The story wisely gives them a reintroduction, letting us know their background as law enforcers through natural and believable dialogue rather than espousing exposition. They clearly haven't been travelling with the Doctor for long given that he's almost training them, getting them to assess where they've landed based on what they can see.

The story begins with an intelligent but uncomplicated discussion on the nature of law and universal truths, which I (a third year law student with an interest in legal theory) wasn't expecting and thoroughly enjoyed. We also get criticism of black letter law that doesn't account for different circumstances or how harmful an act actually is to society in the short- and long-term. In fact, acts on Thrantas may or may not be a crime depending on the impact it has on the public.

Again, you might think that we'd run out of things to learn about the Doctor but clearly that isn't the case - he believes that what is right and what is wrong is dependent on where you are and what the norms are there. It would have been easy (and dull) for the Doctor to say that there is inherent black-and-white morality but instead Lane goes for something arguably more controversial. Perhaps I'm reading into this too much.

The Valeyard's Case
The nature of law and ethics was my favourite part of this story and I was looking forward to seeing what was going to happen to Thrantas after the Magistrum was released... but we didn't get any of that. Has the Doctor destroyed justice on Thrantas? We have no idea, which is a huge shame and an unfortunate consequence of this being a fifty minute story rather than a Main Range release. For that matter, perhaps I missed something but I have no idea what the TARDIS was trying to teach the crew.

Chris and Roz might be given a soft reintroduction but the scenes with them off on their own are easily the weakest of the story. The plot just isn't all that interesting and, if this is to present Chris and Roz for a wider audience after the unfortunate failure of the novel adaptations, we could have done with them taking a larger role that shows them in a more dynamic light. This is nitpicking, though.

Not a gripe with this story per se but what was wrong with Seventh's TV theme? Why did they make a new one for the novel adaptations?

I'll Explain Later

• The Doctor says that the TARDIS is incapable of communication. However, not only have we seen it communicate through beeps and boops in Clara and the TARDIS, but it's used a voice interface in Zagreus (as the Brigadier), Let's Kill Hitler (as Amy) and Hide (as Clara).

The Inquisitor's Judgement
A weird idea plus interesting things to say is a perfect recipe for Doctor Who and a decent start to this volume. The discussion of legal theory and the Doctor's worry that he's enslaved the TARDIS are standout themes, but the fifty minute format means that the ending feels somewhat rushed and the question of whether or not the Doctor was right to free the Magistrum is never brought up. Still, this is a good story and earns itself a B.

The Seventh Doctor: The New Adventures - Volume 1

The Trial of a Time Machine  |  Vanguard  |  The Jabari Countdown  |  The Dread of Night

In Remembrance review [Guy Adams]

When an alarm is triggered at Coal Hill Academy, Quill and Charlie encounter a mysterious intruder prowling around school premises. Worse, they also encounter a Dalek. Their only hope of survival lies with the stranger: a woman who calls herself 'Ace'...

When: 2016 and 1963.

The Doctor's Case:

• The best moment of this story would have to be when Quill talks about how she used to think of herself as a hero, but that now she's nothing in a world full of people she hates.

The Valeyard's Case:

• A Bad Quotation:
• "How's that for technology, you arrogant, stupid, tinned racist!?"
• The best thing about School Reunion isn't that Sarah Jane Smith came back but that she'd changed and grown since leaving the Doctor. She's built a new life and isn't the young companion that she once was. Unfortunately, Dorothy McShane isn't any different to the younger Ace we've had in so many audio dramas - she doesn't sound any different than in, say, Earth Aid. It's a shame because I was looking forward to getting to see something new from Ace, but whilst School Reunion left you wanting more of Sarah and even spawned The Sarah Jane Adventures, In Remembrance does nothing for Ace.
• Most of the story is set in 2016 with Dorothy and Quill talking and interacting with the Dalek, sidelining the arguably more interesting story of Charlie being stuck in a battleground in 1963. It's something we barely see and given how time travel isn't a theme of Class, I would have thought they'd have made the most of it.

Honours Roll: Daleks get blown up in 1963.

I'll Explain Later:

• How come Quill knows so much about the Daleks whilst Charlie doesn't?

This Reminds Me...:

• The events of Remembrance of the Daleks are an important part of this story.
• Charlie suggests running up stairs to escape the Dalek. Rose tried this in Dalek.
• A Charitable Earth was mentioned in Death of the Doctor.
• Ace mentions the Bandrils from Timelash and Fenric from The Curse of Fenric.

The Inquisitor's Judgement: Considering this was the one I was looking forward to the most, I was left disappointed, especially by Dorothy who doesn't seem to have changed or grown much at all since being returned to Earth by Braxiatel. Quill was good, as usual, and Charlie's scenes in 1963 were far too short and infrequent. However, this was still an okay story and deserves a C.

Class: The Audio Adventures - Volume 2

Everybody Loves Reagan  |  Now You Know...  |  In Remembrance

Life Experience review [Jenny Colgan]

After signing up for work experience at Sevelin Laboratories, Tanya and Ram find themselves thrust into the world of medical research. But dark secrets lie at the heart of Sevelin Industries – and not everyone can make it out alive...

When?: 2016.

The Doctor's Case:

• Ram's fine, I guess.

The Valeyard's Case:

• The guest characters have nothing to them, being uninteresting scientists and authority figures. Yawn. I've seen a lot of praise for Marty
• It's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's a curious choice to have Ram appear as part of a duo twice in a row in Class's first volume.

Honours Roll: Marta killed Boris using a pathogen. She's later killed by the specimen. I kind of phased out during a lot of this story and didn't note any others.

This Reminds Me...:

• Lu Corfield played Brongwyn in Aliens & Sex & Chips & Gravy; Scott Haran played Malfi Pryn in The Year After I Died and Liz Sutherland-Lim played Alison Speer in Winter for the Adept, Farroll in Wirrn Dawn and Ling in Sympathy for the Devil.

The Inquisitor's Judgement: Before Big Finish got their hands on Class, the only character I couldn't rant about was Matteusz because he was far too likeable and in the background. Conversely, Tanya was probably the one that I disliked the most, finding her unpleasant in her talk about "the whites" and irritating in general. Rather than going for a character-driven story like the other two stories in Volume 1, Colgan gives us a monster-escapes-lab tale that we've seen and heard a hundred times before. It's dreadfully boring and I have little else to say. It earns itself an E.

Class: The Audio Adventures - Volume 1

Gifted  |  Life Experiences  |  Tell Me You Love Me

Gifted review [Roy Gill]

When a talent scout arrives in Shoreditch, Ram sees an opportunity to further his goals, whilst April strikes up a friendship with new boy, Thomas Laneford. Their choices draw all three to Carterhaugh House – but who is the mysterious Mab that waits for them there...?

When?: Ram and April are together, so this takes place between Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart and The Lost. It's 2016.

The Doctor's Case:

• A Good Quotation:
• "I've got all the grace of a drunk hyena."
• "She even took my phone. Do you know how dull it is just sitting?"
• The April-Ram relationship was an extraordinarily weak part of the TV show. It was difficult to buy into the impassioned love-making of Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart and the relationship that followed with Ram being unlikeable and April being boring. There seemed no reason at all that these two characters would like each other and they had next-to-no chemistry during their solo adventure in Brave-ish Heart. That's where Big Finish comes in, restoring the intelligence that April had early on in the show before it was sacrificed for Tanya's genius (a fourteen year old hacking Kate Stewart's UNIT?) whilst jettisoning the silly heart-sharing device and smoothing out Ram's edges a little and showing some kindness to Tom. They tease one another.
• Mysterious and unusual new kid at school is a tried and tested trope that was inevitably going to be used at some point in Class. Rhys Isaac-Jones's Tom is a sympathetic and likeable enough character that shares an interesting relationship with April, quickly bonding with her over poetry. I choose to believe that the reveal that he's from 1967 isn't supposed to be a twist because it was far too obvious.

The Valeyard's Case:

• A Bad Quotation:
• "Don't you recognise class when you see it?"
• Sophie Hopkins starts off sounding a little awkward and uncomfortable with the audio format.

Roll of Honours: Tom is aged by Mab and then killed by her using vines.

I'll Explain Later:

• Were Ram and April ever this close in the TV show?
  
  

This Reminds Me...:

• April says "just biscuits", a line delivered by a Russian lady in Thin Ice that I quote a lot in what I like to believe is a good impression.
• Deirdre Mullins previously played Effenish in The Very Dark Thing, Naomi Davies in Charlotte Pollard: Series 2 and Osen in Beneath the Viscoid.

The Inquisitor's Judgement: I will never pretend that I was a fan of Class. I watched it out of loyalty to Doctor Who and a fondness for Katherine Kelly and I never looked forward to watching it. The Metaphysical Engine, or What Quill Did was definitely the best episode and the only characters I had any fondness for were Matteusz, Ram and Quill, although the latter two could frequently be unpleasant. However, I bought both volumes of Class: The Audio Adventures because I have faith that Big Finish can take the ideas and characters from the flawed show, streamline them and colour them in and make a decent audio series. My optimism was, as I expected, well-founded with even April being a believable and interesting character rather than the sword-wielding cipher from the show. Like with the Torchwood Main Range, the characters are given time to shine and develop by limiting the number in a story and letting them share some chemistry. There's a solid plot, some great characterisation and a memorable villain. The Audio Adventures is looking like it might be Class's Children of Earth. Gifted is good and earns itself a B.

Class: The Audio Adventures - Volume 1

Gifted  |  Life Experiences  |  Tell Me You Love Me

Instant Karma review [David Llewellyn, James Goss and Jonathan Morris]

Toshiko Sato has just come out of a relationship with an alien, the perfect cover to join a mindfulness group which she suspects has been killing people by stopping their organs or causing their heads to explode. 

She's right.

When and Where?: Cardiff, 2007, between Greeks Bearing Gifts and They Keep Killing Suzie.

The Doctor's Case:

• The first two series of Torchwood were frequently a bit rubbish, not only in terms of stories but in terms of character development as well. Fortunately, Big Finish are on the case. Ianto forgetting about Lisa and suddenly beginning a sexual relationship with Jack, who he seemed to hate, makes a lot more sense thanks to Broken. This time, they're dealing with the fallout of Greeks Bearing Gifts (the first of two Tosh-centric episodes, the last being To the Last Man). She's feeling weak and betrayed by Mary but recovering from her hurt over hearing her teammates' thoughts.

The Valeyard's Case:

• Unfortunately, this story is unfocused and not really that interesting, perhaps as a result of it having three writers. Simon and Janet have powers somehow and after Simon kills his dog, Janet kills him. That's all there is to it. Early on in the story, it looks like Tosh and Simon might have some sort of interesting relationship, but they quickly become enemies, depriving us of what could have been a good focus - Tosh developing a friendship with a vigilante. Instant Karma would have been no different if Tosh had never joined the mindfulness group, which is forgivable if the main character learns something or has their own arc along the way. Tosh doesn't.

I'll Explain Later:

• How did Simon and Janet get their powers? Where did they come from?

This Reminds Me...:

• Tosh makes oblique references to her telepathy and the results of that, as well as her relationship with Mary, from Greeks Bearing Gifts.

The Inquisitor's Judgement: Tosh can fade into the background very easily and it's when she's paired up with a decent character with whom she shares an interesting relationship that she really shines. Look at her with Mary in Greeks Bearing Gifts, Jack in Captain Jack Harkness, Tommy Brockless in To the Last Man, Owen in Believe (where the two truly stole the show) or Stephen Heinz in torchwood_cascade_CDRIP.tor. She was an engaging character in Zone 10 because she was being a leading lady, driving the story onwards on a solo mission, like she never was on TV. Instant Karma is one of her weakest stories, where the plot would unfold the exact same way if she hadn't been present. Simon is the real main character of this story and, even then, it's not a particularly exciting one. Instant Karma is disappointing, and that earns it a D.

Torchwood Main Range

Goodbye Piccadilly  |  Instant Karma  |  Deadbeat Escape

Believe review [Guy Adams]

The deceased Dr Owen Harper has come across a religion, one that preaches that humans must leave this dull rock and soar amongst the stars for the next stage of evolution. But there are anti-extraterrestrial organisations in the way of this exodus, like UNIT. And like Torchwood.

When: Gwen will later mention the Nostrovites, meaning that this takes place between Something Borrowed and Fragments. Tosh tells Owen that she's sorry for what he's going through, so it's presumably sooner rather than later.

The Doctor's Case:

• A Good Quotation:
• "Am I the only one who still treats Torchwood as top-secret?"
• "I've got a brain." / "Yeah, but he doesn't want to have a go on that so, you know, we'll just have to fall back on other body parts."
• "Auberginus from the planet Balti."
• It retrospectively seems a missed opportunity that neither Doctor Who nor Torchwood have done the Church of Scientology before. A controversial and controlling cult that believe in intergalactic wars and aliens seems obvious for a science fiction show but it's not been done until now.
• Owen could often be an unlikeable character onscreen, but here Burn Gorman's given some very good material. His talking to Tosh through her earpiece is frequently hilarious and his confession that he hates the Church for giving people false hope when he knows there's nothing beyond life adds more richness to his character. He was always a better character dead than alive, so Big Finish's choice to have him so was definitely the right one. Another character that was done a disservice on the show is the quiet and under-explored Tosh. In Part 1, we learn a lot about her attitude towards sex and her making Owen listen to her is a weird new dimension to her.
• The Greys strip away everything about themselves. They sew alien masks onto their faces and insert robotics into their limbs. The idea that someone could be so lonely and so full of self-hatred that they could go to this extent to do away with their old-selves and start anew is intriguing.
• Ianto's time at the Church is a great listen. The sad young woman who never felt she belonged until she joined the Church; the weird consultation in the same vein as Scientology's audits; the body horror of the greys; and the fact that the Church seems to be preying on those who think themselves worthless.
• The ending of Part 3 is made up of a handful of great scenes. We've got Jack's powerful speech to Val about how she has to accept responsibility for the actions and welfare of the members of her church; Tosh tells Owen about her anger and tells him that he was a bad leader; and Gwen tells Andromeda that, ultimately, no one cares about outer-space.
• Jack involved himself with the Church because he feels somewhat trapped in Cardiff. This is a facet of Jack rarely seen and is far better than overlong shots of Jack watching over the city from a rooftop.
• Arthur Darvill is unrecognisable as the absolutely disgusting Layten. Was that really sweet Rory Williams? I didn't realise until I looked at the cast after listening. What a scumbag.

The Valeyard's Case:

• This is the first time we've seen the original Torchwood together since the end of series 2, but when Part 1 begins it's business as usual. It would have been nice to reintroduce the team and remind us of the warmth between them before the plot kicks in. Instead we get an awful lot of exposition over the Torchwood theme song, about the real-life Kevin Warwick and the fictional Church.
• Jack is involved with the Church. This doesn't come as a huge surprise after he knew about the disappearances in Adrift and he turned out to be working with Red Doors in Aliens Among Us. It's presented as something groundbreaking but we've seen it before, plenty of times.
• Cutting away from Ianto to the other teammates in Part 2 is something of a nuisance. Scheduling was obviously not very easy, but if you can't get them all together then perhaps focusing each episode on a different character (or pair of characters) is the way to go.
• Gwen's thread throughout Believe was important in that it got Andromeda to the Hub, but it wasn't too interesting to listen to and was easily the weakest part of each episode.

This Reminds Me...:

• Jack knows more than he's letting on again.
• Bandrils appeared in Timelash.
• Jack's speech is very Oswald Danes.

The Deliberation:

• Episode 1 is a promising start to the box set. It's dominated by an Owen-Tosh team-up, which we've never really seen before, and we learn new things about both characters, like why Owen hates religion and what Tosh thinks about sex. Although the whole team are together at the beginning and won't be again until the end, little is made about the long-awaited reunion with it mainly being about expositing information as quickly as possible.
• Episode 2 introduces a load of new questions and with it a thirst for answers. Just as we learnt more about Owen and Tosh in the first episode, in this one we get a glimpse of how Ianto felt before he became close with his colleagues. Things seem to be build to a crescendo.
• Episode 3 is somewhat underwhelming in how the Church is defeated, but the ramifications of its destruction are bittersweet. The most interesting thing about the story other than Tosh and Owen was the members of the Church, why they joined and what they got from it. This is explored well with Davey Russell, Erin and Jack's speech to Val, but the Greys weren't explored as well as they could have been. It would have been fascinating to learn more about them and why they do what they do, as well as what they'll do now.

The Inquisitor's Judgement: Believe avoids being self-indulgent about the reunion of the original Torchwood and chooses to play out as just another adventure for them, which is the right decision to make however disappointing their time all together at the beginning feels. It finds new things to say about characters that we've seen introduced, evolve and die, but it can't be said that Believe belongs to anyone but Owen and Tosh. On the show they might have been largely unlikeable and boring respectively but Big Finish have done wonders for them, adding depth and here giving us a reunion between the two that I didn't know I needed. The Church (a great idea) isn't explored a whole lot, Gwen's plot is utterly forgettable and the finale was slightly underwhelming, but otherwise this is a very good story deserving of an A.

Torchwood Special Releases

Herald of the Dawn  |  Believe  |  Machines

The Revolution review [Nev Fountain]

When and Where: Arviem II in the 27th century. The Doctor is travelling alone (having left Ace on Gallifrey) and is wearing his question mark pullover. This is between Many Happy Returns and Good Night, Sweet Ladies.

The Doctor's Case:

• A Good Quotation:
• "As I thought, there's nothing archaeologically significant about this floor." / "Thanks for that expert analysis." / "No charge."
• "It's a bar. Citizens come in here to imbibe intoxicating liquids for the purpose of inducing unconsciousness."
• "I hope you're not engineering miracles. That is a Category A Science Crime."
• "This isn't easy, Doctor, but I don't want you to come with me. I just don't think this is your kind of adventure. This isn't the kind of adventure where we do something frightfully clever at the end where everybody ends up more-or-less happy. This is the kind of adventure where I fire my guns at them and they fire their guns at me and the one who fires their guns the most number of times wins. It's just a lot of shooting and shouting and you don't fit in here. Most of the time you are the most wonderful, inventive, clever person I've ever met and you have quite definitely the finest brain in the galaxy but here... here you're just an odd little man saying odd little things and you're just getting in the way."
• Everything the robots say.
• The rebranding of the series was presumably to bring in a new audience, meaning that this story has to introduce Benny and let us get to know her. The way that they chose to do this was with something of a reboot, making this a perfect jumping-on point. The presence of the Doctor, too, is a good way of making the series feel accessible to newcomers.
• The Doctor has been affected by Renk Van Magnastein and isn't his usual self, meaning Sylvester McCoy is able to let his hair down, as it were, and not be too dour and dark. This is occasionally taken a little too far but is a nice reminder of the genial and friendly Seventh Doctor of season 24 (with the exception of the abominable characterisation in Time and the Rani). He's the companion in this story and is even referred to as much. It's always good to see him Aceless.
• Aside from Benny and the Doctor, we have Inquisitor Xavier, who's fine, and Renk. Renk is a fun and flirty character who you would never guess was the bad guy.
• This story is probably the funniest Big Finish I've ever listened to, being consistently hilarious. There deserves to be far more good quotations above.

The Valeyard's Case:

• A Bad Quotation:
• "Doctor, please! Send me a sign!"
• The Doctor does, at times, become too comic a character. This is most noticeable with his worship of his future-self, who he believes is behind the story's events.

I'll Explain Later:

• What's with the McCoy theme song?
• Why is the Doctor wearing his linen suit on the cover? He's said to be wearing his question mark pullover in the story.

The Inquisitor's Judgement: The beginning of a new era for Professor Bernice Summerfield, this audio is a great one. It's laugh-out-loud funny with a decent plot, great performances and a sense of fun throughout. The Revolution is very good, and that earns it an A.

The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield Volume 1

In Living Memory  |  The Revolution  |  Good Night, Sweet Ladies