BBC 10th Doctor Audios

[Pip Madeley]

The first Doctor/Donna audio story...

David Tennant will read Doctor Who: Pest Control, the latest audio adventure from BBC Audiobooks. Pest Control will be available on CD and for download only and won't be published in book form. The audiobook is written by author Peter Anghelides.

"I'm simply thrilled that he's reading this special audio. He phoned to discuss the characterisations, and my younger son picked up. How great is that? A phone call from the Doctor!" said Anghelides.

The story is the first to feature Catherine Tate's Donna as the Doctor's sidekick, and is due for release on May 8.

[Michael Mills]

Ooo, I like the cover!

[enzo1701]

Appropriate name...

[Si Hunt]

The story is the first to feature Catherine Tate's Donna as the Doctor's sidekick, and is due for release on May 8.

I thought that was "The Runaway Bride"...

Si.

[Dirk Gently]

I think they are talking in reference to audios & to the fact that it says The Doctor's Sidekick. C.Tate wasn't the Doctor's sidekick in The Runaway Bride. Although this will be out after she has joined the Doctor in the TV series.

[Perry Vale]

The Doctor and Donna find themselves in the thick of trouble on a distant planet, where soldiers transform into monstrous beetles, and everyone falls under the threat of a huge, mechanical exterminator.....

So, anyone going to be buying this? It's a huge priority for BBC Audiobooks, and is going to have quite a bit of advertising around it.....

[Lord President]

The blurb says that music and sound effects by Simon Hunt. Is that our Si Hunt?

[Pip Madeley]

Si's too busy with PS Audios to bother with the crappy BBC.

By the way, this is only £4 at Amazon (exc P&P).

[Si Hunt]

Nothing to do with me alas!

I don't get what the big deal about this is. It's still only an actor reading a book, and not a proper dramatisation. I'd buy it if they did all new dramas like Big Finish do. That'd be great.

Si.

[Perry Vale]

I started listening to this last night. Quite interesting, just to hear DT do all the voices. His Catherine Tate impression is great!

[Pip Madeley]

The second Doctordonna audio:




The Forever Trap is released on 9th October 2008, priced £9.99.

[Rob McCow]

But do Fish get Thirsty?!?!

Hurrah for Dabnet. He's a busy boy at the moment! Warhammer Novels must be wondering where he is.

[Pip Madeley]

New one on the way:

Doctor Who: The Nemonite Invasion (Audio Exclusive)

2 CDs, due out in February!

[Rob McCow]

And so at last, someone listens to The Nemonite Invasion.

I've almost got to the end of this and I have to say, I haven't been impressed. It's as though they took a random setting with a random historical figure and a generic alien, then threaded all the familiar tropes of the new series through it.
So we get:
Doctor in pursuit of aliens at the start of the story.
Aliens possessing humans.
Sonic Screwdriver being used to prove the Doctor is alien.
TARDIS being used to prove the Doctor is alien.
One of the characters fancies Donna, but is a bit shy.
The Doctor tells Vice Admiral Ramsay how brilliant he is, repeatedly.
The Doctor tells the aliens how strong the humans are.
The Doctor warns the aliens that they should LEAVE. NOW.
Psychic Paper.
The TARDIS translates German for Donna so she can read some instructions.
The cliffhanger is that the Doctor ... is about to be executed!
The Doctor realises that there is about to be a major historical event (Dunkirk) and berates himself for not realising earlier.
The Doctor has to kill the aliens and says 'I'm so sorry'.

None of these things are bad in themselves, but they're all so familiar. What's more, I found it hard to follow. I spent the first half of the story thinking they were on a boat, when actually it was the naval base at Dover. I have no idea how the Doctor and Donna got to the U-Boat. Aren't U-Boats submarines?

And one of the characters has a vendetta against the Doctor for no apparent reason.

As for the Nemonites, well, there's nothing wrong with an alien leach that possesses people by sitting on their neck and breeds in water. It's just a bit over-familiar. Paticularly in a cut-off naval base setting.

I'm really sorry, I don't like to be so negative, but I found nothing interesting or new about this story. What's worse, the use of Zyklon B to kill the aliens is a bit on the morally dubious side, if not downright offensive.

[Rob McCow]

Moving swiftly, I just had Shining Darkness read to me by Foon (Debbie Chadzen(?)) and she was excellent. The story itself was satisfactory, though hardly very exciting. Perhaps it doesn't seem as good as the book, being an abridged version.