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Highlanders, Aztec gods, icky aliens and cowboys

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CITY OF SPIRES 120 mins (two discs) £12.99 (download)/£14.99 (CD) OUT NOW! ★★★★☆

POINT OF ENTRY Big Finish 130 mins (two discs) £12.99 (download)/£14.99 (CD) OUT NOW! ★★★☆☆

SHADOW OF THE PAST Big Finish 65 mins (one disc) £7.99 (download)/58.99 (CD) OUT NOW! ★★★★☆

THE RUNAWAY TRAIN BBC Audio 60 mins (one disc) free with The Daily Telegraph OUT NOW! ★★★★☆


Fans of "THE" Colin Baker can now officially rejoice - thanks to Big Finish's new trilogy of tales and their ongoing Lost Stories series, we're getting three months of double helpings of the Sixth Doctor. And just to make things even more head-spinning, both his adventures this month have historical settings, although with very different approaches.

First up we begin a trilogy with City Of Spires, where the Doctor arrives in 19th century Scotland only to unexpectedly run into an old friend - the now ageing Highland warrior Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines). Something odd is happening to time, as a mysterious force is transforming Scotland into an industrial wasteland in its search for "black water". The Doctor teams up with Jamie to discover what's happening.

Baker and Hines work brilliantly together, and the story features imaginative concepts alongside well-played characterisation. It's thoroughly traditional Doctor Who - in some places a little too traditional, with some typical capture/escape/recapture padding, but it sets this trilogy of stories off at a fine pace.

This month's other historical adventure is Point Of Entry, which expands an unused treatment from Barbara Clegg, author of the surreal 1983 TV story "Enlightenment". It may be set in the Elizabethan age and feature a famous playwright, but it's a long way from "The Shakespeare Code". Instead, this much darker tale is based around writer/spy Christopher Marlowe, who gets the Doctor involved in a quest to recover an ancient Aztec dagger with sinister powers.

Naturally, there's a sci-fi explanation and the story features plenty of intrigue, rich dialogue and strong performances. It's just a pity it had to be so long - with both episodes weighing in at over an hour, Point Of Entry is such a bleak story that, despite plenty of entertaining moments, it ends up outstaying its welcome.

Elsewhere, in the Companion Chronicles, it's back to the Jon Pertwee era for a tale featuring '70s assistant Liz Shaw (Caroline John). Shadow Of The Past sees her and the Doctor running into trouble thanks to a crashed alien spacecraft, which may offer the Doctor a way out of his Earthbound imprisonment - but first he has to contend with its pilot. Capturing the grittier edge of Pertwee's first season, it's an atmospheric tale featuring a strong performance from John, and while you can see certain plot twists coming, the emotional impact at the finale is more than worth it.

Finally there's The Runaway Train, a BBC audiobook recently given away free with the Daily Telegraph. It's well worth tracking down on eBay if you missed it (and can't wait for the "proper" CD release in October), since it's read by Matt Smith, and acts as the Eleventh Doctor's audio debut. A lively and entertaining romp, it follows the Doctor and Amy as they try to recover a piece of alien technology in the Old West. The setting provides plenty of fun, the plot barely pauses for breath, and Smith's energetic reading is yet more proof that Who is in safe hands.

Also out this month: a reading of The Mutation Of Time, the novelisation of the second half of 12-part epic "The Daleks' Master Plan".

Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org

  • APA 6th ed.: Bullock, Saxon (issue 197 (summer 2010)). Highlanders, Aztec gods, icky aliens and cowboys. SFX p. 18.
  • MLA 7th ed.: Bullock, Saxon. "Highlanders, Aztec gods, icky aliens and cowboys." SFX [add city] issue 197 (summer 2010), 18. Print.
  • Chicago 15th ed.: Bullock, Saxon. "Highlanders, Aztec gods, icky aliens and cowboys." SFX, edition, sec., issue 197 (summer 2010)
  • Turabian: Bullock, Saxon. "Highlanders, Aztec gods, icky aliens and cowboys." SFX, issue 197 (summer 2010), section, 18 edition.
  • Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Highlanders, Aztec gods, icky aliens and cowboys | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Highlanders,_Aztec_gods,_icky_aliens_and_cowboys | work=SFX | pages=18 | date=issue 197 (summer 2010) | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=27 December 2024 }}</ref>
  • Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Highlanders, Aztec gods, icky aliens and cowboys | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Highlanders,_Aztec_gods,_icky_aliens_and_cowboys | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=27 December 2024}}</ref>


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