Not a fan of this Doctor Who story, which is quite surprising because I usually love a story that messes about with the structure of time. But I couldn’t quite my head around this character going backwards through time while everyone else was going forward, and it didn’t read very well. I’m also not sure there was enough balance between the Doctor and his companions, did they even do anything? Not sure. Happy to have done this one, crossed it off the list, and now move on to the next.

This was a really good entry in the Doctor Who series of adventures. We’re still with the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond before Rory got involved, and this time we’re in New York. A mammoth was uncovered from the ice and comes to life when it is unveilved in the museum… but of course all is not as it seems. I loved the story, the interesting enemy who can deal with time and the resolution to it all. A fun adventure.

I really enjoyed this Doctor Who story. It got me thinking about how these stories tend to be either set on Earth and the aliens are causing mischief, or it’s set in space and the humans are the problem. This was the latter, and it was really interesting to follow the greed and naivety of the various tribes as they dealt with the prospect of an incoming comet. It’s fun to revisit the early Amy Pond days, when her biggest issue was that dress hanging on the back of the door. Good times.

Just as a change from the festive books, I’m dipping back into the Doctor Who audiobooks. I like this one, obviously, being set somewhat on the moon. This time we have a moonbase and some quantum science allowing super quick travel, all of which is being misused by the big bad aliens. Good book, great Doctor - we’re onto the Eleventh now, with Amy Pond running around beside him - so a thumbs up from me.

I liked the set up to this story, the Doctor landing in a medieval Worcester and having to figure out what’s going on in the city. It was fun when the Doctor was getting arrested and someone else had to come to his rescue for a change. I sort of lost the plot with it as the story went on, the motivations didn’t quite work for me. But it doesn’t really matter, it’s just fun to spend time in the Whoniverse and enjoy another adventure with the Doctor and his temporary companions.

Dipping back into the world of the Doctor, and I loved this one. It was set in a futuristic shopping centre which was interesting in itself, however as you might imagine, there was an alien element about to intervene and present a pretty danger to humankind. It’s up to the Doctor to intervene, and he does that with some excellent sidekicks. It was nice there were a couple of callbacks to previous episodes of the show, as we’ve seen the Nestene Consciousness before, and it really felt like this linked into the wider Whoniverse.

I really enjoyed this Doctor Who story, something about it felt really in keeping with the TV show and I could just picture it all remarkably well in my mind. The Doctor is companionless still, but lands on a planet where there is some kind of plot afoot - this time involving the Sontarans who we know well from the TV series. A couple of plucky kids help where they can, and I love the bit where there’s an ominous way of knowing someone has been possessed - in this case a particular phrase. It gives you chills.

The final episode of series fifteen of Doctor Who was already a pretty good one, wrapping up the season nicely, but then we had a couple of surprises that tipped the whole thing sideways and raised many, many questions!

I really liked this one. Again, just like in the previous Slitheen book, the Daleks seem more scary on the page than they do on the screen. But as always, the humans don’t always do the right thing, and the scenes where the Doctor is battling to stop them terrorising a Dalek for the sake of their humanity, even though they are his sworn enemy, very well done. And the battle rages on, with some interesting temporary companions, and a good ending. I enjoyed this one.

An interesting Doctor novel this one, with another temporary companion in the form of June. They end up running around Ancient Athens and confronting the Slitheen, who are more aggressive than they appear on TV - on screen they’re more ridiculous, but here they want to do some real damage. It’s a good book, plenty of action, lots of twists and turns, and a strong ending.

This audiobook was read by Nicholas Briggs who is the voice of the Judoon in the TV show so it’s really well done and entirely engaging. Plus add to that a great story about a failing travel terminal, private detectives running around trying to figure out what’s going on, and a good mystery to be uncovered. The Doctor is without a companion again but it’s a lot of fun following him on the journey with his Judoon friend, and the plucky young detective adds another fun layer. I enjoyed this one!

This one was a companionless Doctor story, so he was wandering around feeling a bit lonely before getting caught up in plot on a futuristic planet. There’s a fortress and a mystery, and some weird ‘repopulating the planet’ moments, and lots of talk about eyes. I don’t think this story lives up to some of the more recent ones, and the lack of companion makes it a bit less effecting, but it’s an okay read. On to the next!

I really enjoyed this book in the Doctor Who series. For this adventure, we are joined by Donna and her family, who are always good value, especially Wilf. The audiobook was read by Bernard Cribbens so it was lovely to hear his voice doing the beloved character again. For the plot, it’s not the first time that we’ve had aliens abusing the human obsession with technology, but I thought there was a great additional dimension with one of the characters having dementia and how that played out towards the end. A good read.

This was so good. These Doctor Who books can be really hit or miss, or if we’re being honest, quite middle of the road, but this one was so good. This follows Martha on that year where she has to travel the world and spread the word of the Doctor in order to save humanity. Even though it’s a Doctor-lite story (there are four mini stories scattered throughout to get your fix of the time traveller, but this is really about Martha), it’s really captivating and well done - to understand how humanity deals with this situation when he’s not there, to see how one person really can make a difference, it’s just a great read.

I wasn’t so keen on this story. There were definitely some interesting ideas at the heart of it - particularly how fickle or unsubstantiated cults can be, and of course a big focus on the differences and similarities between machines and people. Where does humanity start and end? But I don’t believe Donna would be the way she was portrayed in this, maybe a little to start with but with such coherent arguments and such a big heart, her attitude felt very out of character. Oh well, onto the next.

As a quick salve from some of the more meaty reads I’ve had recently, I listened to a quick audiobook of the next New Series Adventure story in the Doctor Who universe. This one was narrated by Russell Tovey who has a great voice and a did a fantastic job with the different characters. I was particularly impressed with his voicing of Sebastian who was an odious character and really done well. It’s an interesting story, a sort of Hunger Games hunt style with a bit of cloning in there for good measure. Very Doctor Who, although I’m disappointed Donna didn’t seem to get too involved in the outcome. Still a fun read.

I enjoyed this Doctor Who tale which featured the Tenth Doctor and Donna on an adventure in partition-era India. There’s mystery afoot, obviously, but the real joy of this story is the appearance of a certain character called Ghandi. Although in a couple of places it felt like the author was just spouting Wikipedia at us for a history lesson, the way Doctor-Donna listens and learns from Ghandi as he embraces and deals with life around him was amazing, and pretty inspirational. Lovely stuff.

I love that there are certain things you can recognise in a Doctor Who story - they’re not necessarily in all of them, but when they pop up, you know what you’re getting. This time we had a famous historical figure, although not really central to the main plot. We had some aliens trying to use and abuse humans for their own benefit, and we had the Doctor and this time Martha trying to figure it all out before it was too late. The idea of those hands moving around, a bit like the Addams Family, was very creepy, very Doctor Who.

The setup for this was really interesting - in a future where the polar ice caps are rapidly disappearing, humans gather up the remaining snow and ice and attempt to preserve it in snowglobes around the world. What a great idea for a story! The following alien attacks and Doctor figuring out what’s really going on and how to stop it as humanely as possible is pretty formulaic to the series but because of the setting and the creativity behind it, I kinda enjoyed it.

Not sure about this one, the story takes place in a castle which is always fun, and there are an interesting set of characters (particularly Bill and Bot) but I couldn’t quite get my head round the mirror. Why didn’t Martha and the Doctor turn to glass once they’d been inside? Anyway, an interesting listen, some fun moments, and a satisfying ending, so all good.

As this story started to unfold, I could absolutely picture the TV adaptation of it that could exist if anyone ever did that. A firm Western style story, there’s everything - the Sheriff, the bad guys, the threat of disease and unhelpful medicine, guns and, as it’s Doctor Who, a bit of intergalactic stuff as well. It didn’t hit the highs that the previous story did for me, but still worth a look.

I really liked this Doctor Who story, featuring the Doctor and Martha landing on a ship that seems to be stuck in some kind of time situation. That’s as best I can explain it because what I really liked about this one wasn’t so much the story or the peril but the characters. They were well drawn, a lot of fun, and it’s always interesting to have a band of pirates who aren’t necessarily the bad guys, even though that’s how they first appear. A good read.

Well. Ncuti Gatwa’s first full series outing as the Doctor has drawn to a close and what an adventure it was. I last wrote about everyone’s favourite two-hearted time traveller after the bifurcation event in December which was our first glimpse at the Doctor’s new incarnation.

Another Doctor Who story and this one was a pretty down to earth and standard Whovian puzzle to be solved. I quite enjoyed it, a village that is being tormented by something, humans being the best and worst that they can be, and the battle between greed and good. The Doctor and Martha have their fair share of trouble to deal with in this but it’s got some good ancillary characters too, and was well read. Enjoyed it.

The audiobook version of this was read by Freema Agyeman and I thought it worked really well - she put some great heart into the situations, and it felt like a proper old school Doctor Who story. A civilisation being used and abused by aliens, with the Doctor and Martha helping out but not the only ones to save the day, some of the natives show real courage too. A good read.

There’s some interesting ideas in this novel, featuring the Doctor and Martha landing on a planet to save the inhabitants from a massive planet-devouring creature, only to find those on the ground aren’t necessarily much better! The humanised robots are really fun and fascinating, and the way they work together is inspiring, so a good read overall.

Another good book, this audiobook edition was read by Will Thorpe and he did a passable job at the Doctor’s quirks and Martha’s stubborn fierceness. The mystery at the heart of their adventure was good, I liked how mundane things became somewhat threatening, the autumn leaves a first hint and then the scene with the bats was terrifying. Overall a good, serviceable Doctor Who novel.

I’m still working my way through these audiobooks, read by various great names who have been in or are associated with the TV show. This one was read by Adjoa Andoh who did a really great job with the voices and I think inhabited the character of Martha really well. But I didn’t rate the story so much, it felt a bit sprawling, a bit confusing and I found it a bit hard to follow. May just have been me but there are others that are better.

I had previously talked about how excited I was for the Doctor Who specials celebrating the 60th anniversary of the show (sort of), and seeing my personal favourites David Tennant and Catherine Tate return. Well, we have three episodes done and dusted and was it worth it? YES! Here are some thoughts from the shows short run, spoilers obviously within: Bifurcating the Doctor! We now have two Doctors running around, what an interesting development! On the one hand, I can imagine DW purists not being particularly happy about this, but on the other hand, I can see the upsides to it. The weight of such momentous recent events for the Doctor must have been weighing them down so to be able to split that off and let it sit off screen for a bit is a bonus. Also, it gives David Tennant the chance to return whenever he wants - hooray! Donna’s family! Loved the introduction/return of Donna’s family, her long-suffering husband, dragon of a mother, and beautiful daughter Rose. We have representation on screen and the brilliant mama bear instincts from both Donna and her own mother Sylvia. Plus wonderful Wilf. There are no words for how lovely it was to see him, if only for one scene. Seeds for the future! I didn’t have a lot of knowledge of the Toymaker and if I’m being honest, don’t think I am much further forward even after a whole episode of his antics. But the fact he’s just in a box tucked away somewhere, and has left a golden nugget containing the Master, means we have potential for future storylines right at our fingertips. Not long to wait for more! I love that we are only moments away from the Christmas special that will see Ncuti Gatwa get his first full outing. From the small glimpse we had, his Doctor seems more warm and energised than our recent traumatised Doctors, so very interested to see what happens on Christmas Day.

The audiobook version of this I listened to was read by Freema Agyeman so it was quite nice to hear it in the voice of Martha herself. It was lucky too, because there were elements of the text that were third person and some that were first person by Martha. It sounded okay being read by Freema, but I did think it was a bit weird switching between the two like that. However, a good story, meaningful and moving as always, with deeper thoughts about extinction and the lengths you might go to to preserve history.

The BBC just added all available classic episodes of Doctor Who to their iPlayer streaming service, meaning they have the entire collection of Doctor Who series old and new all under one roof. This is superbly exciting. It’s always been in the back of my mind to watch some old Doctor Who episodes, partly because I do feel bad at being one of those ’new Who’ only fans, but also because you can never have too much TV in your life.

This weekend, the BBC released a new and quite lengthy trailer for the upcoming Doctor Who specials, featuring the return of David Tennant and Catherine Tate as the Doctor and Donna respectively. I was already excited for these specials and this reunion, but now my anticipation is off the charts. I’ve had mixed enjoyment following the exploits of various Doctors under various showrunners since Russel T Davies left the show, but it has to be said, seeing that trailer just brings back such a rush of fondness for how the show was during the first couple of series… there really is an element of magic to Davies’ TV-making.

I was a bit meh about this book, if I’m honest. I liked the juxtaposition of people (hunters, naturalists, etc) searching for a beast, only for there to be a bigger threat than they ever imagined. The Lake District setting is good, but something about the telling of the tale just didn’t quite work for me. But on to the next!

Another Tenth Doctor story, this time the audiobook was read by the actor who plays Rose’s dad, Pete Tyler, and it was an interesting one. The story unfolded the same way most Doctor Who tales do - a mysterious situation, a little bit of danger, the sonic screwdriver doing what it does best, the Doctor trying to teach some compassion, and ultimately an ending where everyone learns something. But I liked this one for the added ideas of a planet allergic to infiltrators, and fighting back. We could all learn from that.

For some reason, this story didn’t grab me as much as some of the previous ones did, although when I did start to get into it, it swept along nicely. Some interesting themes towards the end - protecting art, food sustainability, and of course how poorly Africa has been treated. Not necessarily what you’d expect from Doctor Who but it never hurts to cover new ground.

Doctor Who filmed a lot in Cardiff, so it’s fun to read a story actually set in Wales. This one is about monsters taking form from the nightmares of children, which is so fitting for Doctor Who, I’m surprised it hasn’t been turned into an official episode. Anyway, this one was narrated by Anthony Head, who is, of course, brilliant, so it was a fun experience.

I was disappointed to realise that the audiobooks I’m listening to are abridged versions, I’d usually avoid abridgements in favour of the full original texts. But then I just got over it because you can’t argue with great readers telling you Doctor Who tales in a reasonable and short time. Hooray! This one was a bit pirate-y but I did like the twist at the end, and the fact that there was a scientific hurdle to the gang managing to get the Tardis away from where they had landed. Pretty good.

Another David Tennant narration and this one was fun. The great thing about Doctor Who is how it can so easily mix up the various settings - alien planets, ancient times, the distant future - but this one was plum in the modern day with a mystery around a sunken Navy ship and a lot of people appearing to jump off bridges. You always know, when a companion gets injured in one of these books, they’ll be okay, but it still doesn’t stop it being slightly heartstopping when it happens. Great stuff.

First of the tenth doctor stories, I listened to the audiobook of this because it was read by the lovely David Tennant. Nothing better than hearing more from my favourite Doctor! The story was good too, I love it when there’s an element of time travel - seeing the stone in the future makes them go back to the past and all the ramifications of that. Plus the idea of the robot genie wish-granter was brilliant, you have to be so careful with what you wish for!

Very interesting premise, this one, in which the TARDIS crew visit a planet that has banned fictional thinking. Facts or it didn’t happen. I can almost feel the inspiration moment that happened for the author - knowing that creativity and evolution of a civilisation can only happen when people are allowed to dream and think and create. What happens when all that stops? Good story, acceptable levels of danger and a happy ending.

This is a fun Doctor Who read, featuring the Ninth Doctor and Rose head back in time to investigate a mystery surrounding Neanderthal Man. It’s got great action sequences in there, but also some thoughts about humanity, what it means and what we can do better. I’m not sure the underlying motives of the ‘villain’ were well explained but it didn’t detract too much from the story.

With Doctor Who in the news recently following the excellent farewell to Jodie Whittaker’s iteration of the character, it wasn’t a surprise when Disney+ announced they would be the home of the show in the US, rather than BBC America. It’s a big streaming platform and the connection makes some sense. I wasn’t expecting further details to emerge of this deal which turns out to be more than just a place to park the existing show.

It’s been a while since I purposely sat down and watched an episode of Doctor Who live as it aired on TV, but the combination of Jodie Whittaker’s last episode and the promise of centenary celebrations from the BBC made me think this was one to make the effort for. And it turns out, it really was. A ninety minute special, the show was packed full of great story and wonderful characters and did, ultimately, culminate in the cliffhanger to usher in the next DW era.

I mean, the Doctor, Rose and Jack on an adventure in the depths of wintry Russia with submarines! What’s not to like? Well, the life-sucking blue monster blobs and a terrifyingly deadly Stonehenge-style circle, but otherwise, all good! It’s a great adventure, the Doctor thinking on his feet as always, and I loved Jack coming into his own with his fierce loyalty and no-man-left-behind attitude. I think Rose was a bit underused in this story, but there were a lot of characters to keep track of so no harm done.

It feels like we’ve been waiting for this short Doctor Who series for a long time but somehow, even though I was keen to see what happened, I didn’t feel the normal hype that I usually would. I can’t put my finger on why, although I’m wondering if at this point I just want to get on to the second Russell T Davies era and see what that brings.

I remember reading this before, and I actually blogged about it at the time. This book was released as an app, and it was one of the first reading experiences I had on a phone. As a book, I said it was fine, a bit predictable, a super quick and easy read (obviously, being part of the excellent Quick Reads initiative), not challenging but doing the job well. I pretty much agree with that although I think I enjoyed it more this time round as I was just reading the book rather than thinking about the whole app concept as well.

It’s always fun when Rose comes home and her mum gets involved in the adventure, and I love Mickey being a reluctant hero all the time - such an awkward love triangle going on there. A good adventure with a sensible ending, and plenty of scope for the Doctor and Rose to go on and do more, as we know they do!

In a festive season where everyone’s plans have gone awry, we instead focus on the Christmas content we know and love. There are so many TV Christmas specials out there, but only a few that I revisit on a regular basis. Here’s a countdown of five of them… Vicar of Dibley - The Christmas Lunch Incident Just a joy from start to finish - Geraldine trying to do the best for her parishioners at the expense of her own sanity, as usual! The brussel sprout competition, the giant portions, the incredible conversations at Alice’s house. It’s lovely.

Picked up the audiobook to accompany me on some arduous cleaning duties, and it was great. I enjoyed this much more than the first one. Camilla’s reading was really good, her portrayal of The Doctor just the right amount of quirky. My only complaint about this story is that the Doctor and Rose spend too much time apart. The moments where they come together are so fun - particularly the scene where he’s using Eastenders clues to help Rose appear to be a genius. But a good story, with a baddie we know all too well, and lots of good space travel nonsense to be enjoyed. Roll on the next one!

The most recent series of Doctor Who came to an end a week or so ago, the second full series to feature the Thirteenth Doctor, Jodie Whittaker. But is she really the Thirteenth Doctor? Such revelations in this series! Spoilers and stuff follow, so do be careful if you read on. I’m talking to myself again. That’s a good sign. Firstly, Jodie continued to be wonderful. Her Doctor had a bit more emotional fallout to deal with this time round, and it was interesting to see her isolating from the group a little bit towards the beginning of the series. It just showed off Jodie’s range though, and the one moment that stands out for me is when she was talking to herself in that final episode. So good and so difficult to do without looking weird.