Diamonds Are Forever: Review Of Big Finish Audio Episode ‘Grand Theft Cosmos’

By Shannon Lush

Doctor: Eighth (Paul McGann)

Companion(s): Lucie Miller (Sheridan Smith)

Writer (s):  Eddie Robson

Director: Barnaby Edwards

Producer: Nicholas Briggs

Duration: 1 episode, 60 minutes.

Following on from the problematic ‘Skull Of Sobek’ which I reviewed in the previous entry, the next release in production order, ‘Grand Theft Cosmos’, is, quite simply, refreshing.  The story is simple;  in 19^th  century Sweden, The Doctor and Lucie are traveling on a miracle of the ages, an electric train. While Lucie grumbles over being forbidden to bring her iPod for fear of cultural contamination, The Doctor engages in conversation with an expert in the works of the artist Claudio Tardelli. Turns out Tardelli is more than he seems;  he’s an alien and his work contains dangerous by-products that can and do harm the  fabric of the universe. The Doctor has been attempting to suppress the man’s work across time and space, going so far as to ensure that is continually discredited. But now his work is being snapped up by the King of Sweden. The expert, Simonsson, has been charged by His Majesty to hunt for Tardelli’s little-known and rare work. The Doctor realizes that he is responsible for creating a collector’s market for Tardelli’s work, given the man disappeared in the 17^th century.

Steve's guide to New Whovians

by Stylin' Steve

As I said on the podcast, this week my friend Gerry asked me "What is Doctor Who and why is it so popular these last few years." Word for word, here is my answer;

"Doctor Who is a British Sci-Fi show that's been on for the past 50 years. It's about an alien time traveler who calls himself The Doctor and his adventures with different people tagging along."

Who A'Ween: Cryptids, Monsters, And Legendary Creatures In 'Doctor Who'

by Shannon Lush

Writer's note: This particular blog entry was patched together, must like Frankenstein's Monster, over a period of time. For several days, I had suffered from debilitating stomach flu, and was only able to write sporadically, if it all. Thus, if some of the narrative appears disjointed at times, please factor in, it was written at various times through a period of almost two weeks. Thanks, hope you enjoy it, and Happy Halloween!

For a television series such as 'Doctor Who', based on the premise of a time traveling alien who encounters and opposes all manner of devious and demonic monsters, the idea of utilizing classic monsters as antagonists 'should' have been a slam-dunk. After all, the modest budgets allocated each season were stretched to their limits in creating new and unique alien monsters every week; why not present home-grown versions of classic cryptids such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, Dracula, etc.? Not only would it save valuable exposition, as the vast majority of the viewing audience were no doubt familiar on 'some' level with these legendary creatures, but the design work was, essentially, already done for the production team, as the basic visual framework for these characters existed within the public mind already. On paper, then, it is odd that more stories involving these creatures were not pitched, and even odder that there was such a relatively small amount of appearances that did make it to the screen.

Why I Hate The Eleventh Doctor

by Shannon Lush

As the leaves wither and die on the trees and the kids prepare their costumes, I contemplated a Halloween-themed blog this week. Then I decided, since many have cause to question my reasoning, to detail, finally, the 10 reasons I hate the Eleventh Doctor, instead.