Tag Archives: Colin Baker

Doctor Who: The Lost Stories. Point Of Entry. Audio Drama Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, Matt Addis, Luis Salo, Sean Connolly, Tam Williams, Gemma Wardle, Ian Brooker.

It can be a source of bemusement to those seek the literary inside the Doctor Who universe that the soul of Kit Marlowe has not made an appearance, let alone an impression on the world; for a man to whom English literature would be sorely poorer without having picked up a pen and to whom the world of early espionage and skulduggery would be infinitely more boring to read about, Christopher Marlowe remains intriguingly still persona non grata, not only in the world we inhabit but in the fictional tales that could be wrought.

Doctor Who: Planet Of The Rani. Audio Drama Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Colin Baker, Miranda Raison, Siobhan Redmond, James Joyce, Olivia Poulet, Dominic Thorburn, Tim Bentinck, Chris Porter.

There are characters so underused within the whole of the Doctor Who world that when they come along in a story that is just right for them, the heart feels the pressure of sadness that they have been ignored for so long. The Rani, one of the great members of The Doctor’s own celestial race, is one such character and whilst she has appeared on television, portrayed by the wonderful and much missed Kate O’ Mara, the link between the screen and Big Finish audio has perhaps been short, even if it has been sweet.

Doctor Who: Last Of The Cybermen. Audio Drama Review. Big Finish.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Colin Baker, Frazer Hines, Wendy Padbury, Lucy Liemann, Kieran Hodgson, Nicholas Farrell, Nicholas Briggs.

The Cybermen are never more dangerous than when completely and utterly defeated. Time and Time again from the edge of extinction, from the void between realities and the darkness of space they have survived, regrouped and in some cases have even nearly rivalled the Daleks for their natural predisposition to conquer and enslave; for they are a monster that never quite knows when to finally give up.

Doctor Who: The Rani Elite. Audio Drama Review. Big Finish.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, Siobhan Redmond, Andrew Bone, Becky Wright, Mike Noble, Charlie Morton.

In the saddest of circumstances comes lightness, it just may take a while for the listener to see it for what it truly is.

When a much loved actor from a television programme passes on it can be hard to imagine anyone playing their character again. In the world of soap-operas they could, if they so desired perhaps get away with an actor coming in a year or two later having had facial surgery or recovering from a major operation. In others, the character would just be allowed to be retired and thought of with ceremonial fondness every now and then. In science fiction though, the sheer possibilities are endless and enjoyable.

Doctor Who: Masters Of Earth. Audio Drama Review. Big Finish.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, Tracy Wiles, Brian McCardie, Sean Biggerstaff, Hugh Ross, Damian Lynch, Nicholas Briggs.

It can be a staggering thought at times, that even after over 50 years of storytelling, filmed adventures and audio escapades, that there is still moments in which to find a large, near timeless thrill in a new tale set in the world of Doctor Who. Masters of Earth is one of those audio dramas so beloved of its makers Big Finish, that it allows the listener to sit back, relax, to a point and remember why they might have fallen in love with Doctor Who in the beginning.

Jago And Litefoot: The Hourglass Killers. Series Four Box-Set, Audio Drama Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Christopher Benjamin, Trevor Baxter, Louise Jameson, Conrad Asquith, Lisa Bowerman, Terry Malloy, Elizabeth Counsell, Christopher Beeny, Mike Grundy, Colin Baker.

All the secrets are soon to be out in the open, nearly all anyway, as Justin Richards brings the fourth season of the adventures of Jago and Litefoot to an edifying and interesting conclusion in The Hourglass Killers.

Jago And Litefoot: The Lonely Clock. Series Four Box-Set, Audio Drama Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Christopher Benjamin, Trevor Baxter, Louise Jameson, Lisa Bowerman, Victoria Alcock, Christopher Beeny, Mike Grady, Alex Mallinson, Colin Baker.

For many, the idea of terrorism on British soil is a fairly recent state of affairs, something that started in the 1970s when political events close to home spilled out onto the streets of Britain and has carried on into the 21st Century as ideologies clash, sometimes with devastating results.

Jago And Litefoot: Beautiful Things. Series Four Box-Set. Audio Drama Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Christopher Benjamin, Trevor Baxter, Louise Jameson, Conrad Asquith, Lisa Bowerman, Alan Cox, John Sackville, Christopher Beeny, Mike Grady, Colin Baker.

The continuing adventures of Jago and Litefoot, of mysterious machinations and the blood and death of inexplicable things are possibly on the hands of much changed old friend and Beautiful Things will suffer for it.

Jago and Litefoot: Jago In Love. Series Four Box Set Audio Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Christopher Benjamin, Trevor Baxter, Louise Jameson, Conrad Asquith, Lisa Bowerman, Elizabeth Counsell, Matt Addis, Christopher Beeny, Mike Grady, Colin Baker.

After the final events of Series Three’s Chronoclasm, it would be understandable if Jago and Litefoot, Victorian London’s pre-eminent Detectives, were to think of taking it easy for a while. The nerves shattered, the lives of those around them changed and their long standing friendship with Leela pushed to a limit which thankfully did not break, who would blame them for getting back to the normality of London life?

Doctor Who: The Widow’s Assassin. Audio Drama Review. Big Finish.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, Tim Chipping, John Banks, Andrew Dickens, Fiona Sheehan, Glynn Sweet.

A year seems far too long to wait for the dulcet, attention-grabbing tones of Colin Baker’s incarnation of The Doctor to play with the listener’s ears in a way that would have cat’s purring contentedly and theatre audience’s gripped. Even in the calmest moments, the time between time, the resonance of his delivery is nothing short of exquisite and somehow it still rankles that the B.B.C. at the time were so short sighted in their appraisal of his era in Doctor Who.