11th February 2014

6th January 2014

2nd January 2014

I think you're the first person ever to comment on my frugal but exhaustive 'Recommended Purchase' tab for each adventure - it's good to see that it gets used! The short answer to your request is, "Yes, you can," - the long one is, "Yes, you can - but it's going to take a while!" As it looks like there will be few classic DVDs releases in 2014, which are all that I'm covering these days, save for the odd trip Beyond History's End, most of the free time that I have to work on the site will be spent improving its navigation and browser-compatibility.

1st November 2013

There are no plans at the moment to review anything beyond A Good Man Goes to War for the website, though reviews of the 2013 specials are planned to conclude Beyond History's End, and 2014 classic DVD releases may also be covered.  

25th September 2013

I'm glad you find them of use. For the remainder of the anniversary year, I'm concentrating on reviewing the remaining classic series 2 | entertain DVD releases and finishing off the Beyond History's End series for my blog.

The site isn't ever likely to return to its former level of updates, but I may bring all the timelines up to date next year if time permits.

7th July 2013

It's been years since I read it, but from what I recall the epilogue is after Revelation, but the main narrative is explicitly set twenty months beforehand. I wish I'd have put more detail into my Continuity Corner now!

5th June 2013

Unfortunately I don't have time to keep up with all the new releases these days, but I'm currently publishing a series of twelve reviews (one for each incarnation) on my blog entitled Beyond History's End.

20th April 2013

Thank you, that's very kind. The font in the image is FuturaDisD - you may recognise it from the covers of Region 2 DVD releases.

19th April 2013

To avoid offending Twilight devotees,  I've added the caveat "Just about...", though strictly speaking I'd said, "Everything from Varney the Vampire to Buffy is covered" - Twilight came along two years after Buffy.

17th April 2013

I have been updating it with the odd DVD review every month or two as I can't keep away, but I'm not sure if I've got the time to bring it back properly just yet, and I don't want to do it piecemeal / half-heartedly. As such, to test the water, I've set myself a goal of doing twenty reviews over the next few months: Beyond History's End, a 12-part fiftieth anniversary series for my blog, where I review one previously-unreviewed story from each Doctor (the first of which is already online); and eight DVD reviews for the nearly-regenerated The History of the Doctor (the landing page is just the start). Thanks for the 'fantastic' by the way - very kind.

23rd January 2013

I've no plans to soon as I don't have enough time, but I may in the future - I did a one-off one of Love and War recently.

8th January 2013

Hi John. That might well have been Dicks' intention, but I'd rather leave an event like The Five Doctors sat at the end of the second Doctor's timeline, as opposed to the more routine Helicon Prime. Remember though, the beauty of Doctor Who continuity is that if you don't like a concept, you don't have to accept it just because others do - with time and space and different quantum universes to play around with, there's always a workaround to be found!

28th September 2012

Hi Andy. Great idea. I'll work it into the next batch of revisions. In the meantime, I hope you've been enjoying the new, browser-friendly first and second Doctor sections.

28th August 2012

Hi Adam. I'd love to be able to cover everything again, particularly as Big Finish are firing on all cylinders at the moment with exciting new projects such as the fourth and new-look eighth Doctor audio dramas, and the upcoming Love and War adaptation. Unfortunately though, I don't have enough time to cover even the highlights at the moment - the most that I can manage to do for the site is to review the latest 2 | entertain classic series DVDs, and even that's a run-off situation. In the future though, maybe around the time of the series' fiftieth anniversary next November, I might be in a position to give the site a full reboot - but I'll have a lot of catching up to do! In the meantime, if you haven't already, check out Doc Oho's reviews of all the latest audio dramas and Daniel Tessier's occasional ones. Both Daniel and the Doc used to write for The History of the Doctor, and often review not only the audios, but novels too.

8th July 2012

Hi Zacharias. I haven’t heard this particular theory before, but as it isn’t referenced in any Doctor Who story that I’m aware of, I’m afraid I’ll have to leave it out. Interesting though.

30th June 2012

Hello! First of all - your website is fantastic!!!! It is probably the best review site I have ever found, and your reviews are great and extremely well written. However, as the subject of this e-mail states, I have a rather confusing matter on my mind. Do the 8th Doctor books, comics and audios fit together in one coherent timeline? Because I'm a MASSIVE fan of the Daleks (and classic Doctor Who, even though I'm a teenager) and when I get to thinking about Dalek history, as soon as I reach Remembrance of the Daleks, everything after that is confusing! Terror Firma or War of the Daleks? Or both? Can you be of assistance? Thanks for your time, and once again, FANTASTIC site! James Macaronas

Hi James. Glad you like the site - a lot of work goes into it! To answer your question, it’s a bit of a fudge, but they can be made to fit with a bit of imagination. Have a look at the Dalek reviews on Eight’s page, scroll to the bottom and read the “continuity corners” - they set out my (admittedly far-fetched) musings on the issue. It’s one of Doctor Who’s stickiest continuity areas!
 

Above: The eighth Doctor and Davros - one of Doctor Who's stickiest continuity areas

14th January 2012 (replied to 1st July 2012)

Hi! First off, let me say that your site is fantastic. I'm listening to a lot of the Big Finish audios at the moment, and I love hearing the different opinions on the stories, and get some great insight into production as well as your own personal context for enjoying each story. Also, the way you've defined a continuity for even the trickiest of stories is incredible, and very useful for trying to listen to them in a vague sense of an order (I'm a little OCD like that, you see).

 
My only issue would be that it can be quite tricky to look up a specific story without knowing the production code or what a small portion of the cover art looks like, because of the layout for each of the timelines. While it is a very appealing format, it's not especially conducive to locating a story you're curious about but don't know much about. I would suggest some sort of text-based timeline as an alternative to the picture only ones for easy navigation, and possibly a search bar too.
 
Otherwise, I love the site, and very much enjoy reading it. Keep up the good work! James Alan Coleman
 

Hi James. I originally replied to you back in January advising that I was no longer updating the site, and that as such I wasn’t able to implement your suggestions. However, I’m now updating the site again, albeit on a very limited basis, and have begun the laborious process of trying to make all the site’s pages browser-friendly. Whilst doing so, I’ve decided to include an option to toggle between pictures and story titles on each Doctor’s index page and a search function will follow in the near future. Check out the first Doctor’s revamped index page and let me know what you think.

Sorry to hear that you will be finishing up your site soon but at least it’s for happy reasons, congratulations on the news and the very best of luck in bringing up one of the next generation of Who fans. Eoin Flaherty

Hi Eddy, just wanted to say thanks for all your hard work and I’m sorry to see you finish. I can understand that time must be a problem, especially now it’s just you. Best of luck for the future. Colin Wilson

Hey there, just dropping a note to say thanks a million for the brilliant site and sorry to hear it’s wrapping up. The site has been one of my favourite bookmarked places to go for years and I’ve always loved the imaginative and original visual design of using the covers for each Doctor’s index. Also always great to hear the thoughts on a new Who story by someone who’s deeply knowledgeable on the whole history of the character. I do wonder if it would be possible for you to review the rest of the current series (perhaps some time down the line when you have a bit more time?) purely for the sake of not stopping in the middle of a season but can understand if this isn’t possible. Anyway, not much else to add other than thanks again for giving me years and years of pleasure from your insightful, funny reviews and great site and best of luck with everything you do in the future! P.S. Loved how you slipped in the term ‘History of the Doctor’ in at the end of your recent A Good Man Goes to War review. Very fitting! Rodney Lee

Hi Eddy, just wanted to say I’ve hugely enjoyed reading your site over the years and am very sad to see it go.  It was clearly a labour of love and an absolute treat for Doctor Who fans. I understand that your family is expanding / expanded? Many congratulations! Best wishes, Steve Finney

Just visited the site. It’s all over! Celebrated / commiserated by clicking through the entire run, from Frayed to A Good Man Goes to War. What a mission. What an achievement. Good job sir. Dan Tessier

Hey! Why did you stop at A Good Man Goes to War? Because I’ve read all your reviews and loved ’em all! Tom White

Hi E.G. I’m an infrequent visitor to the site, so I’ve only just seen the news. A bit sad, but I’ve enjoyed the site - thanks for running it, and good luck with your next venture, whatever it may be. All the best, Jasper Hedger

3rd May 2011

OK - I think I’ve solved the Sirens of Time / Instruments of Darkness problem. Sort of. I’m just listening to The Apocalypse Element and it’s (fairly) clear that the sixth Doctor retains his memories of the Kurgon Wonder incident even though they never happened. This fits with the rules of Doctor Who time travel as we currently understand them. So Evelyn can be in the TARDIS during the visit and remember it even though the visit then never happens. As a result your placing is still viable.

On another front, while River and the Doctor’s timelines being precisely reversed is poetically lovely, it does play merry hell with the continuity. Firstly, if that were so, they would never need to sync diaries; every time they met, each would have had precisely the reverse set of encounters. Secondly, we know that River’s Doctor visits her just before she goes to the Library to give her the screwdriver so, while she might believe that was her last kiss, it probably wasn’t. Thirdly, they just demonstrably met out of order as she meets a much older eleventh Doctor who happily compares notes. And that’s before we bring in why she thought the tenth Doctor would already have done the Crash of the Byzantium! My guess would be that she feels that is the way it is running even if it isn’t always the case. Either that, or Moffat didn’t think this through and it’s a case of continuity drift! Colin Wilson

Well that’s saved me a job! It’s been a while since I last listened to the early sixth Doctor audios, and so I’d forgotten about further references to the Kurgon Wonder. I think we can safely leave Sirens where it is in Old Sixy’s timeline.

Turning to River, I would imagine that Moffat originally envisaged her as a one-off character, and so when he decided to bring her back for Series 5 he had to fudge a few continuity points – River’s “Crash of the Byzantium” line being the most prominent. The “meeting each other backwards” angle is just the latest example of drama taking precedence over established continuity.

Now that said, you make a very good point about it subjectively seeming that the Doctor and River’s lives are running opposed to one another, even when, strictly speaking, this isn’t always the case. After all, how many of us generalise, particularly when feeling sorry for ourselves? We must also bear in mind that this is River – hardly the most trustworthy of sources in any situation.

Above: The Crash of the Byzantium, as seen in The Time of Angels

 The “Crash of the Byzantium” line (which, if I recall correctly, precedes River’s realisation that the Library’s Ten is the youngest Doctor she’s ever encountered) begs a more interesting question, in my view, as even if River had seen Ten’s picture prior to Silence in the Library, she would remember which face the Doctor had on when they teamed up during the Byzantium affair. This suggests that – if the line was not just an example of an old River lauding it over a young Doctor – River will ultimately encounter Ten, Eleven and at least one future Doctor, but will never be sure as to which order these incarnations occur in. Perhaps rumours of the Doctor’s death have been exaggerated after all…

Addendum from Chris McKeon...

I read the Postbag about River Song and I thought I could offer some background on the continuity drift: from what my friends told me (and this is back when David Tennant was still the Doctor but after his departure announcement) River Song was in fact meant to re-appear but the intention was once more alongside Tennant: Moffat tried to convince him to stay for Series 5 (and presumably 6), but when Tennant decided to go after being a bit undecided, the production team had to choose what to do then with River: her dialogue in Series 4 was really saying Ten was still her Doctor, just in his future.

Above: “There is only one reason I would ever tell anybody my name. There is only one time I could.”

Ultimately after at first considering to relegate River to Ten’s books and comics (and even for a time scrapping the character completely) the team just decided to fudge the continuity a little and place her with Eleven. It makes her Library version a little odd but it mostly works - the way I see it is the River of Series 4 is in fact originally a future Ten companion, but with the timeline scrambling with Gallifrey’s return in The End of Time and the odd Doctor regen-eration, time is re-written and River gets ‘pushed’ so to speak into Eleven’s timeline - hence the consistent menti-oning of re-written time of last year - it’s subtle messaging. It’ll never be mentioned on-screen but that’s the best real reason and way to reconcile the now odd Ten / River dynamic of 2008.
 

Addendum from Daniel Tessier...

There doesn’t necessarily have to be a problem with River recognising Ten or not realising he’s not met her before in the Library if we assume that they had add least one encounter between Forest of the Dead and The End of Time. We never saw it, and it’s not been mentioned, but I don’t think there’s anything to rule it out. As for the “Crash of the Byzantium” line - I guess, even though River has pictures of all the Doctor’s incarnations, maybe she doesn’t know what order they came in. Perhaps he just gave her a box full of old holiday snaps, or she pinched an old sim card from his camera phone, and she pieced together what she could from there. I can just imagine her grilling him about his various faces and him refusing to let her in on the precise order!

1st April 2011

Hi, Just thought I’d drop a quick line and say how amazed I am with your great website. I consult it rather more than I watch Doctor Who these days, so thought it was about time I gave credit where it was due and said keep up the great work. If you are at the ACT III convention this month it’d be nice to say Hi in person and thanks for all the entertaining reviews you write. If not, hope this e-mail suffices. Philip Clarke

It’s funny you should say that, as I spend more time working on it than I do watching Doctor Who these days! I won’t be able to make it to ACT III, unfortunately, but thank you for the kind words in any event. 

2nd April 2011

Hello, I’d just like to say, I’m very impressed with your site. It’s clear that everybody involved puts a lot of their time into it and the result is amazing. Every review is nicely written, and entertaining in style. If there’s one area of improvement it would have to be the very small amount of fan fiction. Hopefully there will be more of that to come in the near future. Thanks very much! Rob Christie

Thanks for the feedback Rob. If you like fan fiction, you’ll be pleased to hear that Daniel Tessier and I are presently working on a trilogy of free-to-download audio books for the site, the first instalment of which - Wolfshead - should be available within the next few months. The series will be performed by James Bolton of Rother FM.

Above: “One can almost see the spectre of Old Sixy looming behind him,

rubbing his pragmatic hands together with glee...”

11th April 2011

Hi Eddy. A few things, none of them important! Just read the review of Resurrection and wanted to say how much I loved the image of the sixth Doctor “rubbing his pragmatic hands together” - what a fab image. Anyway, I’ve started listening to the Big Finish audios and I’m not certain I agree with your placement for the sixth doctor section of The Sirens of Time. Not that I can suggest anywhere else! The issue I think is twofold. Firstly, at the end the timeline resets and the conquest of Gallifrey never happens. Specifically, Sancroff dies so the Knights never attempt to get time travel, never create the Kurgon Wonder and both the fifth and sixth doctor sections never happen. And there’s the crux of the problem - the sixth doctor section no longer occurs, so he never visited the Kurgon Wonder, which didn’t exist anyway. Unfortunately it seems the author of Instruments of Darkness hadn’t picked this up and so kindly puts a reference to the Kurgon Wonder where there shouldn’t be one. The second issue is about Evelyn. The Doctor thinks the TARDIS has been destroyed and is, understandably, upset by this. However, if he thought his companion had died with it, I can’t help but feel he would have mentioned it. The only sensible explanation I can think of is that, after these events, another object was declared the Kurgon Wonder. Colin Wilson

Blimey, Colin - you’ve certainly done your homework! I’m not too concerned at the Doctor keeping a lid on his grief at Evelyn’s apparent death - just look at the opening of Time-Flight or the end of Absolution for examples of his poker face - but the point about the Kurgon Wonder never being created is a very interesting one (particularly as it is difficult to reconcile Instruments of Darkness with the rest of the sixth Doctor and Evelyn’s adventures in any event). I’ll have to have a good think about this one...

14th April 2011

Dear Daniel, a great review [of The Minister of Chance], we very much appreciate your support, thank you so much. Best wishes, Juliet Bonham Carter, Radio Static

15th February 2011

’ello, I’m a big fan of your website and am aware you’re incredibly busy as it is as but please could you review the second Doctor Lost Stories and The Destroyers - for the cover art alone it’d make me so very happy! Thank you very much and keep up the good work. Tim McNivern

Will do, Tim. All being well, a review of the second Doctor Lost Stories box set will appear on the site in the next few weeks.

25th February 2011

Just stumbled across your truly fabulous website. Most impressed! A small point on the Continuity Corner for The Death of the Doctor: the charity set-up by the mysterious Dorothy was called “A Charitable Earth”, not just “Charitable Earth”, thus allowing the acronymic ACE pun. I shall no doubt spend a lot more time browsing in the coming weeks. Colin Wilson

Thanks! I never picked upon that. Consider the Continuity Corner amended.

15th January 2011

Just reading your review of The Jade Pyramid. I have to disagree with your continuity view. I would put this somewhere in the region of ‘The Forgotten Rory’ rather then The Forgotten Army. The story begins with the Doctor proclaiming he’s brought Amy somewhere nice, something he’s striving to do at the start of Vincent and the Doctor, which is why I think personally it’s set between Cold Blood and Vincent and the Doctor. Eoin Flaherty

Good point, well made. I’ve shifted it.

Above: In defence of The Chase - coming soon...

21st January 2011

What’s happened to Joe Ford’s Hartnell reviews?? I haven’t seen any since he did The Web Planet months back. Will Simonsen

I understand that Joe’s busy setting up an online fanzine at the moment, so watch out for that, but I also know that he’s keen to put the defence for The Chase forward sooner rather than later, as it’s a favourite of his, so watch this space. Incidentally, he has reviewed The Crusade and The Space Museum since he did The Web Planet - click here and here to read his reviews.

29th January 2011

I like your UNIT “Sandwich Theory” - still doesn’t manage to explain everything, but as fudges go, it’s one of the better ones I’ve read. I prefer Lance Parkin’s 1990s theory though:

“The late eighties / early nineties fit the UNIT era almost perfectly - the Cold War was over, China was hardline communist, the British government was unstable, there was a female prime minister, the UN was powerful, environmental issues were at the forefront of political debate, there was video conferencing, British scientists were working on their own space probes and Microsoft were putting a computer in every home and making IE’s attempts at world domination look half-hearted. To top it all, a trend for seventies retro meant that the fashionistas were all dressing like Jo Grant. The Doctor’s reference to Batman in Inferno was clearly because he’d just seen the Tim Burton movie. It’s uncanny.”

So do I, come to think of it! The bloody 1990s all along...

Above: Back the from the premiere of Batman!

The UNIT dating controversy is finally resolved (and About Time...)

29th January 2011

Hi. Just wanted to say how fantastic I think your site is. I’d also like to offer you the use of a cover I have produced for Freakshow, the free Companion Chronicle that came with Doctor Who Magazine, as well as The Ratings War and No Place Like Home. Simon Garner

Thank you Simon, that’s kind. Your Freakshow cover is currently brightening up that story’s page, pending the release of the official CD cover later this year.

31st January 2011

Hi, I was wondering whether you have any entries for the Sarah Jane Smith audio series from Big Finish, or, if not, if you intend to in the future? John Jackson

In short, no and yes. I want us to cover all the Big Finish spin-offs eventually, and Sarah Jane Smith is on the hit list for this year - provided that it shows up in a Big Finish sale at some point!

Above: Half of the top slice in the UNIT sandwich - troops mop up after the Cyberman invasion of 1975

31st January 2011

“Sandwich Theory?” All I can say is WOW. Not what I expected. I really don’t have anything else to say except that 1975 was one heck of busy year, apparently. As a “Revisionist”, I take the opposite approach and spread The Web of Fear to The Seeds of Doom from 1967 to 1976. That ultimately derives from the fact that (to me) it seems to be the best way to tie the majority of the NAs, MAs and PDAs into the televised stories. Jason Robbins

I’d argue that “Sandwich Theory” contradicts far fewer stories than most UNIT dating theories (most of the books you mention only make vague references to the 1970s... and one or two the 1980s!) but, even so, I suspect that I’m firmly in the minority on this one!

18th December 2010

Hi. I was just wondering when you planned to review the Myths and Legends DVDs. Eloise Baker

It’s been on the list for a while, but for now I’m trying to get the rest of the November and December 2010 releases reviewed. Hopefully I’ll be able to pick up a copy early next year - it might have even come down in price by then!

19th November 2010

Really enjoying your [Sarah Jane Adventures] reviews Dan, but you made little error in this one [Lost in Time]. It reads “preparing for her execution as a traitor by her vengeful sister” when Mary was her cousin. Unless I’m misreading what you’re saying. In which case, I apologise. We also barely covered her in school - I seem to remember learning something about others’ influences in Edward’s decision, but I don’t re-member the details. I must admit, given the time frame, I kept thinking of The Marian Conspiracy - no resemblance in the stories, of course, just the setting. Rebecca Waybourne

Thanks for that Rebecca - the review has been amended.

Above: History 101 - ¿Que pasa?

22nd November 2010

Love the site so much! Any chance we could have an English version of the History 101 review? I, umm, can't read Spanish. Craig Land

I’ll have to see if I can get the site’s telepathic circuits working properly again. It looks like that particular review has left our readers as perplexed as History 101 left me...

31st October 2010

Hi Eddy, I’ve just read your review / summary of Gallifrey series 1-3. It was an excellent and fascinating article; you clearly know more about the series than I do. It was actually very useful as I’m currently doing pre-production script work for Episodes 3 and 4. As well as going back and listening to some previous episodes, articles like yours are very helpful as an overview. Anyway, I’m waffling. I hope you enjoy Series 4. Very best wishes, Sean Carlsen

Hi Sean. I’m gratified that the review was of use to you. As should have been evident from it, I thoroughly enjoyed the first three series of Gallifrey and your character in particular, and I’m very excited to hear that he’ll be back for the fourth run. Roll on March 2011!

Above: Gallifrey will return in March 2011, in a five-disc box set available from Big Finish Productions

19th October 2010

Hi, let me first start by saying I LOVE your Doctor Who website, it’s so informative and comprehensive. I just have one question (which may be completely silly, and if so I apologise) about navigating your site. Sometimes I come to The History of the Doctor to read you guys’ thoughts on a particular story, but don’t know its cover image off the top of my head. From the main page for each Doctor, is there any way to tell the title of the story each image links to? Some of them have the story title in the URL when I mouse-over them in Google Chrome, but most just have a string of letters and numbers. Is there some simple way to find a particular story that I'm just missing? Jason

That’s a good question. If you use Internet Explorer 7.0 (or higher), when you hover the mouse over a particular story’s image, a small text box will appear with the story’s title in it. Regrettably this feature will not work in any other browser that I’m aware of. I’m slowly working towards making the site compatible with other browsers, but given the size of the site and my lack of expertise (I’ve effectively taught myself HTML) this is going to be a long process. Also in the long-term, I’m planning to add a search function to the site’s index page, which will enable readers to simply search for the story that they’re looking for (provided that they know its title). In the interim, all I can suggest is that you bite the bullet and use Internet Explorer when visiting the site. I realise that everybody bar Bill Gates hates it, but it’s the only way to view the site as intended; at least for now.

9th October 2010

Lovely review [of The Gathering] - I, too, was thrilled to have put to rest the idea that Tegan was in love with the Doctor. I don’t know who does the continuity corner bit, but I wanted to comment on it. I’m sure it’s already known, but it says that “Given that the Doctor is apparently travelling alone in this story, we assume that these events take place shortly after Peri and Erimem have been dropped off in Monte Carlo” but the Doctor actually said in the audio (to Alan) that his companions were in Monte Carlo, so no assumption necessary. I apologise for my nitpickyness. Love the site there, and have many more reviews to go through. Rebecca Stephens

Glad you enjoyed that particular review - I’m very fond of Joseph Lidster’s two Cybermen stories. As for the ‘Contin-uity Corner’ gaffe, I’ll hold my hands up to that one. Usually whoever writes the first review drafts the story’s ‘Continuity Corner’, and in this case I’d forgotten all about that line of dialogue. Consider it amended, and please let me know should you spot any more howlers!

27th September 2010

I think you guys might be in for a bit of trouble. As you’re (no doubt) aware there’s an upcoming trilogy of Big Finish stories with Evelyn Smythe coming out (yay!) and the first one (The Crimes of Thomas Brewster - double yay!) also has DI Menzies in it - the police woman who was in the Doctor / Charley (Mila) stories, you know? I think the trouble you might be in for (and this is only speculation on my part - we won’t know for sure until they come out) is that if the Doctor recognises her it means that the Charley stories come before the Doctor / Evelyn stories, and you have them placed afterwards on your website. (As I’m sure you’re aware. Sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, it’s just that I think that this site is beyond awesome and I’d hate to see it criticised for little things.) Well, I suppose we’ll have to wait until January to find out for certain. Kathleen Jackson

You might well be right, depending on when the new batch of stories take place from Evelyn’s point of view. Until now, we’ve always placed the sixth Doctor / Charley stories after the sixth Doctor / Evelyn stories as their production codes suggest a later placement. We will of course review the matter in January though...

Above: Father Time - a “Top Ten” candidate?

26th September 2010

Love the website. Great review of Father Time. Will you guys do more top ten lists? Austin Flinn

Thanks - Father Time is a big favourite of mine, so I was really looking forward to reviewing that one. We would like to do more top ten lists, and our top ten novels might be an appropriate place to start...

24th September 2010

Great website. However, I’m sad to say I have a bone to pick: why in your spin-off section is there only Big finish and TV stuff, and no BBV, Magic Bullet, Time Hunter, Faction Paradox etc? Cyrus Troche

Simply because we haven’t got round to covering them yet. However, we have recently discussed adding both Time Hunter and Faction Paradox sections, particularly as Obverse books have some new Faction Paradox stuff in the pipeline which we’re all very excited about, but we still have almost over thirty BBC Books’ eighth Doctor novels to get reviewed before we can justify pouring time into all the Doctor Who spin-offs that we’ve yet to cover.

24th September 2010

Hello. Your TV / Big Finish chronology list is a great piece of work - but am I right in thinking it doesn’t include the BBC’s own non-TV audios? If so, any chance of amalgamating those into the order...? All the best. Mat Coward, www.matcoward.com

You’re right - that list only includes televised Doctor Who stories (November 1963 - May 1996) and Big Finish Doctor Who releases (July 1999 - June 2010). I put it together in response to an e-mail received back in June that didn’t mention the BBC radio dramas. At the moment I don’t have any plans to expand it to include Slipback, The Paradise of Death, The Ghost of N-Space et al, but if you’re interested in how those productions fit in with things, you should check out our third and sixth Doctor sections. Eventually, I hope to have a downloadable list of all Doctor Who stories available on the site - books, radio productions; the lot - but that’s probably a few months off, at best, given how busy we all are at the moment. Stay tuned!

18th September 2010

Hi there. I’ve only just discovered your site. Just brilliant. I love it. Thanks so much for all your coverage of our releases. David Richardson, Big Finish Productions

Thanks for taking the time to drop us a line. It really means a lot to us that you like the site as we’re all huge Big Finish devotees - the quality and quantity of your output never ceases to amaze us. Long may it continue!

23rd August 2010

I find your website very useful and informative so I’m sorry that the first time I write to you is to inform you of an error of story placement. You have placed An Earthly Child BEFORE Blood of the Daleks, but An Earthly Child’s sleeve notes clearly say that Lucie Miller has just left the Doctor’s company. It is only because I support the sentiment and dedication you and others put to the site that I bring this to your attention. Keep up the good work! Mark Davis

That’s quite alright - I hadn’t spotted that! Consider it duly shifted.

16th August 2010

Great websie guys, just one thing. Your review of Judgement of the Judoon, a tenth Doctor novel, has one whopper of a spoiler in the quote. Thankfully I didn't read the review before the book otherwise I might have got pretty peeved. Eoin Flaherty

Fair point. Whilst we do say that “all reviews and articles may contain spoilers” on our index page (and they invariably do!), the quote you referred to is particularly outrageous! Needless to say, I’ve removed it. I’m also going to mark-up any “spoiler free” reviews in future, starting with Situation Vacant, for the benefit of those who prefer to read reviews before rather than after the event.

Above: Coming soon... Situation Vacant

14th August 2010

I’ve been listening to the first couple of stories in Season 4 of the Big Finish 8th Doctor Adventures (namely Situation Vacant and Nevermore.) Looking over your site again (loving the new look, by the way... rather more sleek than the old one, I feel, particularly the updates page), I’ve just noticed that you haven’t yet reviewed them. Are you planning on waiting until the end of the series to review them, if at all? I’m just very much looking forward to seeing some reviews of the stories, as they haven’t really started to appear yet.

With Big Finish’s main monthly range I prefer to listen to each ‘season’ as a whole, once I’ve received all three CDs. With the new eighth Doctor season though, I don’t intend to wait until next year to listen to them all, and in fact I’m planning to write a review of Situation Vacant at some point this week, once I’ve finished Dalek Empire III. Reviews of the rest of the series will follow on a monthly basis thereafter.

29th July 2010

I hope you will forgive the intrusion but I am having difficulty finding The Daleks’ Master Plan on DVD. I’m writing in the hope that you will be able to help me locate it.

The surviving three episodes of the serial (Day of Armageddon, Counter Plot and Escape Switch) were released as part of the Lost in Time DVD box set (BBCDVD1353) in November 2004. The cheapest that Lost in Time retails for online at the minute is £9.87 at Base, but Amazon only charge a few pennies more. To properly enjoy the serial, I’d suggest purchasing Lost in Time together with the BBC Radio Collection soundtrack, which features Peter Purves narrating the surviving soundtracks of all twelve episodes as well as their Mission to the Unknown teaser. Amazon is offering it cheapest at the minute at £14.99, though I’m sure you could pick up a used copy on eBay for less.

Above: “PR things” encroaching upon reviews...

12th July 2010

I’ve been following your website for quite a while, now, and I absolutely love it! As an international fan (I’m over in Australia), I don't often get to see much about Doctor Who, or discuss much, but this reviews site, in particular your reviews, makes me feel a part of the wider world, in the way that you often refer to PR things in your reviews (such as the mention of the voiceover in the credits of Vincent and the Doctor.

I have one question. On the site, you've place The Runaway Train after the first batch of Matt Smith novels. However, at the end of The Forgotten Army, the Doctor mentions going to the Delirium Archive, which was, of course, where we first see the Doctor and Amy in The Time of Angels. Is there any particular reason for this placing? Or am I just being thick?

BTW... I am probably the world's only Mel fan, and I love reading over your review of her stories, as you provide a decent explanation as to why you don’t like her, not just the usual “It’s Bonnie Langford! Of course she’s going to be awful!” so I thank you for that! Craig Land

Thanks! I’m glad that you enjoy the site. We all try to put as much as we can into our reviews and so it’s nice to see that the little touches are being appreciated. Turning to the The Runaway Train’s placement, I’ve checked with Dan and we both agree, it’d be neater placed earlier so that The Forgotten Army can segue into The Time of Angels. Consider it moved!

12th July 2010

I think this is an incredible website everyone. I really enjoy your reviews and look forward to a new one each week. Keep up the good work! Jack Green

11th July 2010

Do you take reviews of new series DVDs?

At the minute I have my hands full keeping up to date with existing contributions to the site, so I’m not actively looking to recruit any more contributors or cover any new areas. That said, I would consider posting one-off reviews of the five new series box sets (well, six once the first Matt Smith season is released), and in the next six months we’ll finally be tackling Gallifrey, Dalek Empire III, Dalek Empire: The Fearless and Cyberman.

28th June 2010

Firstly, I just want to say that I really like your website. It's very informative and it looks really great. I was just wondering if you knew anywhere where I can get my hands on the Gazz Regular font for free? I noticed you've used it quite a bit in your site.

Gazz Regular - the font used on all the BBC’s eleventh Doctor merchandise - can be downloaded for £19.00 from Fonts.com, or many other online foundries. As it’s a commercial font, unfortunately it comes at a price.

11th June 2010

Is there any way I can get a list of stories from each Doctor in chronological order. What I mean to say is there a list of televised / Big Finish Doctor Who stories in chronological order? Roddy McDougall

There’s no official list so far as we know, though Big Finish do generally offer loose guidance as to where their stories fit in with the television series. We’ve put together a downloadable list of where the Big Finish releases fit in with the television series for you, but remember - this is only our view, not Big Finish’s, and in a number of cases we disagree with the guidance given (for reasons usually set out in our ‘Continuity Corners’ on the site itself). Please also note that we’ve only listed multi-Doctor stories (The Sirens of Time etc) once, in relation to where they’d occur for the older Doctor, as presumably you want this list for putting your CDs on the shelf in order. I have no idea where you’re going to put the Circular Time or Company of Friends CDs though...  

20th May 2010

Just stumbled across the site and have to say I love it! The pictorial listing of every story (be it a Virgin book, BBC adventure, Big Finish etc) for each Doc in chronological order is really inspired. And it's right up to date as well. Fab. Been like a kid in a sweet shop, jumping from section to section. Question Time is being completely ignored on TV just now :) I immediately flicked to reviews of some of my favourite Big Finish stories. Have to say, I'm agreeing with practically everything you write lol. “Peter the Great”

Thanks for the kind words. The pictorial timelines seem to be proving very popular with our readers, though someone completely agreeing with our reviews is probably a first (and a last!)

19th May 2010

I’m in New Zealand, love the site! Tim Pollock

8th May 2010

Heard about your site on this month’s Big Finish Podcast. Love the site. Randall Thomas

For readers that haven’t heard the May Big Finish podcast, they can download the relevant excerpt by clicking   

17th March 2010

Eddy, there haven't been any DVD reviews up on your site for ages now. How come you've stopped doing them? Will Simonsen

I’ve not stopped reviewing the classic series DVDs; I’m just taking a little break from them! As much as we’d love to be able to keep up with all the latest releases, our priority has to be to cover new stories first and foremost, and at the end of the day DVD reviews only replace already-existing television reviews on the site. Cost is also an issue - this year I’ve been catching up with Companion Chronicles and one or two other things, and sadly there’s only so much money in the pot. My wife insists that we squander so much every month on food and warmth! She’s funny like that.

Above: Artwork from the Frontier in Space DVD release

19th January 2010

Do you have any plans to add reviews of the Time Hunter or Faction Paradox series to your site? You cover several of the other spin-off ranges. Felice

Not at present, though this is no reflection on either of them. It’s simply a matter of prioritising - we still have a large number of outstanding BBC Books’ eighth Doctor novels and Big Finish Companion Chronicles to cover first.

11th January 2010

I am currently going through the seventh Doctor stories and I use your site a lot to compare with what I have put together. I have a couple of questions about your sole story placements as I am curious as to if you have specific reasons for some of them. How did you determine Project: Lazarus before Last of the Titans? Return of the Daleks before Master? Jason Robbins

Blimey! Where to start? Well, I should start by saying that over 2010 we’re going to be “showing our working” on the site a lot more, at least in relation to stories like those that you’ve mentioned which could feasibly take place during any number of gaps. As a general rule though, unless there are any continuity references in the stories that assist, we place them in production code order (if they have a production code); failing that, release order; and, just be to difficult, we often just shuffle them about on a whim, as we have done with both Return of the Daleks and Master, which we have placed right at the end of the seventh Doctor’s timeline as we like to imagine the tone of the adventures darkening as the regeneration looms large, and it seems fitting that the Doctor’s seventh life should draw to a close with a brace of dark and contemplative ‘event’ stories.

Above: The Doctor just prior to his seventh regeneration

Last but not least, we have placed Project Lazarus before Last of the Titans as its authors once stated in an interview that it was set after Excelis Decays, and so we placed Last of the Titans in the next available slot.

12th October 2009

10th September 2009

I really like your site, the reviews that you post are interesting to read and they also come across in a more positive way which makes a nice change to read than a lot of other sites. Thanks for the work and effort that you guys put in. James Duffield

Thanks. It’s especially good to see their our positivity is appreciated, although it wouldn’t be much a fan site if we were just spleen-venting all the time!

26th August 2009

11th March 2009

24th January 2009 

I’m just watching the film Dr Who and the Daleks starring Peter Cushing. In it he has his granddaughter Susan with him. I’m assuming the Doctor is human in this film. When did Doctor Who become a Time Lord from another planet?

You’re right - in both this movie and its sequel, Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150AD, the character “Dr Who” does indeed appear to be a human being with a human family. The two movies starring Peter Cushing were made in the 1960s as a spin-off from the television series, in which the Doctor has always been portrayed as an alien from another planet. As such it isn’t a question of when the Doctor became a Time Lord - the movies were never intended to fit in with the continuity of the television series. All the same, many fans posit that these movies take place in an alternate quantum reality, where the Doctor was always a human being.

21st November 2008 (in response to our Brotherhood of the Daleks review)

Just to say - I really appreciated your lovely Brotherhood review, Eddy. Glad you enjoyed the play. Alan Barnes, Big Finish Productions

30th September 2008 (in response to our Trial of a Time Lord DVD review)

Stunning artwork? Blimey, I’m very flattered. Thank you. And I got the gig off the back of the pics I did for the Endgame documentary, so full circle there for me, in one line of a review. Does my heart good to know that the hours of slaving are worth it :) Robert Hammond, www.robhammond.net

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