John Ainsworth

For the first time (I think) BF have done a single-episode story followed by a three-parter. The singleton, Klein's Tale, fills in the gaps for us between Klein growing up in a world where the Germans won the second world war, because the Seventh Doctor was cut down in a hail of bullets in 1943, and her unintentional screwing up of her own time line by appearing in Colditz. I thought it was a really neat idea - particularly when the mysterious Johann Schmidt turns up, with his knowledge of show more the Tardis, played by a very familiar voice. I don't know if it will appeal to listeners who aren't familiar with the back story, but I liked it a lot - my favourite of this month's releases.

Can't quite say the same for the companion play, Survival of the Fittest, which attempts to treat genocide and fascism about as successfully as The Suffering did with gender oppression. The aliens were decent enough but the political analysis not even up to undergraduate level. show less

Part of the "lost" season 23, "The Nightmare Fair" is a story that might have worked a lot better on television. I've read the novelizations of the story years ago, but it faded in my memory. So hearing this was almost like a new story though with a big of nagging feeling that I'd heard bits of it before.

Picking up right after "Revelation of the Daleks," "Fair" finds the Doctor and Peri heading to Blackpool for some recreation. But since this is the Doctor, things don't go entirely as show more planned and the Doctor meets an old foe who's been waiting for him with a new trap.

Written by Graham Williams, the story tries a bit hard to be funny and that may be its weakest point. Also, a lot of the second episode is various people locked in a room and debating things. There's a reason that the production team decided to start over when season 23 was finally given the green light and I can't help but feel that a lot of it was the limitations that "Fair" has. It's an interesting return of an old foe (though one that would have thrown most viewers for a loop since it was a call back of 20 plus years), but it feels padded even at two 45-minute episodes. show less

Doctor Who: The Complete History is a series of fortnightly published hardcover editions that will cover the complete history of the television series, covering everything from plot synopsis to pre-production, production, and post-production, cast and crew listings, and just about everything else that a fan of the series would want to know about the actual process of creating each of the episodes. Truly, I believe only a hardcore fan of the series will enjoy this series of books, but if you show more want some great, detailed information on the Doctor Who television series, this is it. show less

Doctor Who: The Complete History is a series of fortnightly published hardcover editions that will cover the complete history of the television series, covering everything from plot synopsis to pre-production, production, and post-production, cast and crew listings, and just about everything else that a fan of the series would want to know about the actual process of creating each of the episodes. Truly, I believe only a hardcore fan of the series will enjoy this series of books, but if you show more want some great, detailed information on the Doctor Who television series, this is it. show less