Bernice Summerfield: The Judas Gift
Aug. 14th, 2025 09:24 pmOnto another in this pivotal season of Big Finish's Bernice Summerfield audios spun out from 1990s Doctor Who novels, and it's definitely into spoiler space for this one.
( spoilers )

( spoilers )

Book clearing
Aug. 7th, 2025 10:22 pmStill on operation reduce the piles of books around the house, giving most to charity. Managed to find 20 more books to donate in a couple of short bursts this evening and just now. Had set myself that target today. Plus a chunky limited edition OOP Big Finish Doctor Who boxset. Going to Oxfam's.
We still have far too many books I'm not using and won't be able to use even more as my neurological disease progresses. Would like to get some floor space back. At the moment too many places in our bungalow resemble my former PhD supervisor Charles's office, which was filled with book piles too!
Today's book grab was an eclectic range, including book history (journals and academic books), cultural history, roleplaying game books, and comic books. Some alarmingly chunky books among them! Can see a sense of progress in the study. But much more still to clear out. For another time.
We still have far too many books I'm not using and won't be able to use even more as my neurological disease progresses. Would like to get some floor space back. At the moment too many places in our bungalow resemble my former PhD supervisor Charles's office, which was filled with book piles too!
Today's book grab was an eclectic range, including book history (journals and academic books), cultural history, roleplaying game books, and comic books. Some alarmingly chunky books among them! Can see a sense of progress in the study. But much more still to clear out. For another time.
Bernice Summerfield: The Oracle of Delphi
Jul. 1st, 2025 10:14 amOnto another one, and this time one that's set in Ancient Greece, that sees Benny and Jason meet Socrates.
This feels like such a novel setting for the range, after a long run of futuristic (for us) scifi adventures. Benny and Jason used to have time rings that the Doctor gave them as wedding presents, though in this case I think they're using one or more time rings from the Braxiatel Collection. It's a shame these are not used more often. It's not even clear listening to this story why they've decided to use them this time, except it's on orders from Bev. And there's a strange cliffhanger at the end, which is also muddled. Though that's something that can happen a lot with this range, with confusing/under-written arc elements. Not least with the awkward split between the books/short stories and the audio adventures.
But that aside it's a refreshing and light-hearted adventure. Albeit with the threat of a devastating plague hanging over Athens ... Socrates is a superb quasi-companion for Benny, and there are lots of clever insights into Athenian society and democracy. It's particularly amusing when Benny dresses up as a man to go into the Assembly. And then Socrates dresses up as a woman ...
Jason's side plot works well, and it's just all round fun. I think this was maybe the first Benny audio that Scott Handcock wrote for Big Finish? If so it's a great start.

This feels like such a novel setting for the range, after a long run of futuristic (for us) scifi adventures. Benny and Jason used to have time rings that the Doctor gave them as wedding presents, though in this case I think they're using one or more time rings from the Braxiatel Collection. It's a shame these are not used more often. It's not even clear listening to this story why they've decided to use them this time, except it's on orders from Bev. And there's a strange cliffhanger at the end, which is also muddled. Though that's something that can happen a lot with this range, with confusing/under-written arc elements. Not least with the awkward split between the books/short stories and the audio adventures.
But that aside it's a refreshing and light-hearted adventure. Albeit with the threat of a devastating plague hanging over Athens ... Socrates is a superb quasi-companion for Benny, and there are lots of clever insights into Athenian society and democracy. It's particularly amusing when Benny dresses up as a man to go into the Assembly. And then Socrates dresses up as a woman ...
Jason's side plot works well, and it's just all round fun. I think this was maybe the first Benny audio that Scott Handcock wrote for Big Finish? If so it's a great start.

Onto another Fourth Doctor audio. So much about this one gives me joy. And what a guest cast.
( spoilers re some dialogue )
We're going into Broughty Ferry for my eye test tomorrow, and will be taking tons of Big Finish audios to Oxfams. Which is why I've been trying to get through some more of my backlog this week.

( spoilers re some dialogue )
We're going into Broughty Ferry for my eye test tomorrow, and will be taking tons of Big Finish audios to Oxfams. Which is why I've been trying to get through some more of my backlog this week.

Doctor Who finale - spoilery thoughts
May. 31st, 2025 10:14 pmGoing to put these in a firm spoiler cut. Only read these when/if you have seen the episode.
( spoilers )
( spoilers )
My favourite Doctor Who companions
May. 28th, 2025 09:25 pmWas just pondering this. If I focus on a decade at a time, pulling out my absolute favourites, it would go:
1960s - Jamie (to be fair I haven't seen/heard all of this era of Who)
1970s - Sarah Jane and Romana I
1980s - Peri and Ace
1990s - nope, going to pass!
2000s - Rose and Donna
2010s - Amy and Clara
2020s - Ruby
And if I narrow those down to a top 3 favourite list:
1st - Sarah Jane
2nd - Romana I
3rd - Clara
Interesting that my favourite pre-dates my time watching as a Who fan. I only started watching as a youngster with Season 16 in 1978. I'd then see Sarah Jane Smith in K9 and Company, and "The Five Doctors". Then watched loads of her old stories before she returned to Doctor Who and got her own spinoff series.
Romana I was my first ever Who companion as a viewer. Great starting point!
And although Clara has her flaws, and annoys a lot of people, I really like her. There's a very "classic" feel to her, both as written and acted. So she definitely earns her place on my list.

1960s - Jamie (to be fair I haven't seen/heard all of this era of Who)
1970s - Sarah Jane and Romana I
1980s - Peri and Ace
1990s - nope, going to pass!
2000s - Rose and Donna
2010s - Amy and Clara
2020s - Ruby
And if I narrow those down to a top 3 favourite list:
1st - Sarah Jane
2nd - Romana I
3rd - Clara
Interesting that my favourite pre-dates my time watching as a Who fan. I only started watching as a youngster with Season 16 in 1978. I'd then see Sarah Jane Smith in K9 and Company, and "The Five Doctors". Then watched loads of her old stories before she returned to Doctor Who and got her own spinoff series.
Romana I was my first ever Who companion as a viewer. Great starting point!
And although Clara has her flaws, and annoys a lot of people, I really like her. There's a very "classic" feel to her, both as written and acted. So she definitely earns her place on my list.

Belatedly finishing listening to this first boxset, pairing the Eleventh Doctor (played by Jacob Dudman) with companion Valarie (played by Safiyya Ingar). This pair's stories slot in between TV's "The Snowmen" and "The Bells of St John", with the Doctor looking for Clara, but ends up travelling for a while with future cyberneticist Valarie, who also has super human strength, being part cyborg.
This pairing is great, and I'm looking forward to listening to the rest of their stories. The Eleventh Doctor feels written true to form. And yes, well acted, and sounding close enough. Valarie is a confident and brave companion, much better written than many of Steven Moffat's female companions. It's also a surprisingly emotive series of stories, really moving at times.
On the downside these audio boxsets are extremely expensive from Big Finish, even in download only form. I picked up a lower cost CD bundle before one of the boxsets went out of print on CD. You do get 3 stories in each of these boxes, and there are 4 boxes for the Eleventh Doctor and Valarie arc. So there's a lot of storytelling. And it's very imaginative and well done. But it's still a hefty investment. At least on CD there is something that can be sold on after, or in our case donated to charity for them to make a bit of money. But I would thoroughly recommend them as superb examples of Doctor Who audios.

This pairing is great, and I'm looking forward to listening to the rest of their stories. The Eleventh Doctor feels written true to form. And yes, well acted, and sounding close enough. Valarie is a confident and brave companion, much better written than many of Steven Moffat's female companions. It's also a surprisingly emotive series of stories, really moving at times.
On the downside these audio boxsets are extremely expensive from Big Finish, even in download only form. I picked up a lower cost CD bundle before one of the boxsets went out of print on CD. You do get 3 stories in each of these boxes, and there are 4 boxes for the Eleventh Doctor and Valarie arc. So there's a lot of storytelling. And it's very imaginative and well done. But it's still a hefty investment. At least on CD there is something that can be sold on after, or in our case donated to charity for them to make a bit of money. But I would thoroughly recommend them as superb examples of Doctor Who audios.

Doctor Who: Wish World
May. 24th, 2025 09:32 pmGoing into spoiler discussion for this one: ( spoilers )
I've been continuing to slowly rewatch the early Peter Capaldi incarnation stories. But not feeling the urge to blog about them individually. And also, frankly, struggling to keep watching fully through many of them.
I find this early stage of his Doctor so phenomenally unlikeable. I watch it for Clara, not the Doctor. And then I constantly wonder why she sticks with him. I'm used to post regeneration trauma and all. And, hey, I watched through the Sixth Doctor stories 40 years ago. But I don't have the patience for it this time. And I'm finding it a particularly difficult set of stories to rewatch.
Against that Peter Capaldi's casting was one of the most exciting for me in Doctor Who ever. And he would go on to be superb in the ninth season, with the Doctor's character and relationship with the companion heavily reworked. But I struggle to rewatch much of season 8. I still think it was a fundamental mistake in approach by Steven Moffat.
Yet there are some absolute standout classics even in this year. "Listen" and "Flatline" are both superb. And I have a really soft spot for "Mummy On The Orient Express", despite the Doctor/companion extreme angst.
But, yup, not a happy fan rewatching at the moment. It's just as well I'm enjoying the Fifteenth Doctor's new stories on TV so very much!
I find this early stage of his Doctor so phenomenally unlikeable. I watch it for Clara, not the Doctor. And then I constantly wonder why she sticks with him. I'm used to post regeneration trauma and all. And, hey, I watched through the Sixth Doctor stories 40 years ago. But I don't have the patience for it this time. And I'm finding it a particularly difficult set of stories to rewatch.
Against that Peter Capaldi's casting was one of the most exciting for me in Doctor Who ever. And he would go on to be superb in the ninth season, with the Doctor's character and relationship with the companion heavily reworked. But I struggle to rewatch much of season 8. I still think it was a fundamental mistake in approach by Steven Moffat.
Yet there are some absolute standout classics even in this year. "Listen" and "Flatline" are both superb. And I have a really soft spot for "Mummy On The Orient Express", despite the Doctor/companion extreme angst.
But, yup, not a happy fan rewatching at the moment. It's just as well I'm enjoying the Fifteenth Doctor's new stories on TV so very much!
Doctor Who in the cinema
May. 2nd, 2025 10:19 pmJust checking for local cinemas near us showing the Doctor Who finale on 31st May (they're screening the last two episodes of the current season together). It's on in the Odeon (just up the road from us, in Douglas) and Cineworld (in Camperdown). And that's just in Dundee. We will be watching it at home. But yup, it's broadcasting in many UK cinemas. Vue too.