Category Archives: Audio

Book/Audio Review – ‘Combat Magicks’ (Doctor Who)

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Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

There aren’t any Big Finish audios featuring the Thirteenth Doctor yet. Hopefully that will happen soon. In the meantime, let’s close off our look into the Jodie Whittaker/Thirteenth Doctor era of ‘Doctor Who’ by checking out the ‘New Series Adventures’ book called ‘Combat Magicks’ by Steve Cole. This is the third in a trilogy of ‘Doctor Who’ books featuring the Thirteenth Doctor, Graham, Ryan and Yaz. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Witchfinders’

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Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

Here we are on what is arguably a very good ‘Doctor Who’ episode in Series 11 of the new TV series, starring Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, Bradley Walsh as Graham, Tosin Cole as Ryan and Mandip Gill as Yaz. This is ‘The Witchfinders’ by Joy Wilkinson, which happens to be another pseudo-historical adventure. In this episode, the Doctor and her three friends visit 17th century Lancashire where a witch hunt is taking place and it’s being held by a local landowner. The episode’s guest cast includes Alan Cumming (who I’ve seen in the ‘Spy Kids’ movies, ‘X-Men 2’ and ‘The Airzone Solution’) as King James, Siobhan Finneran (who’s been in ‘Downton Abbey’) as Becka Savage, and Tilly Steele (who’s recently been in ‘The Ninth Doctor Adventures’ Big Finish anthology ‘Lost Warriors’) as Willa Twiston. There are also mud witches in the episode. Whilst the episode received positive reviews from critics at the time of its BBC broadcast, do I consider this to be one of the best episodes from Series 11 of the new TV series as well as the Jodie Whittaker/Thirteenth Doctor era? ‘The Witchfinders’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

Audio Review – ‘Timejacked!’ (Doctor Who)

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Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

Let’s close off our look into the Peter Capaldi/Twelfth Doctor era of ‘Doctor Who’ by checking out the second volume of ‘Twelfth Doctor Chronicles’ by Big Finish called ‘Timejacked!’ This is a three-part story, with the first episode called ‘Flight to Calandra’ by Matt Fitton and the second and third episodes called ‘Split Second’ and ‘The Weight of History’ by Lou Morgan. All three episodes of ‘Timejacked!’ are directed by Helen Goldwyn. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Twice Upon a Time’

Hello everyone! 🙂

Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

It’s time to check out the final story of the Peter Capaldi/Twelfth Doctor era of ‘Doctor Who’ and it’s the final story of the Steven Moffat era. Here we are on the 2017 Christmas Special called ‘Twice Upon a Time’ by Steven Moffat. As well as Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor, he gets to meet and team up with David Bradley as the First Doctor. David Bradley played William Hartnell in the 2013 docu-drama ‘An Adventure In Space and Time’. Since then, he’s played the First Doctor more than once in the Big Finish audios of ‘Doctor Who’. Also in ‘Twice Upon a Time’, there’s the return of Pearl Mackie as Bill Potts and the introduction of Mark Gatiss as the Captain. There are guest returns of Rusty the Dalek from ‘Into the Dalek’, Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald and Matt Lucas as Nardole. There are also small appearances of the First Doctor’s companions, including Polly (played by Anneke Wills/Lily Travers) and Ben (played by Michael Craze/Jared Garfield). With this being the last story of the Peter Capaldi/Twelfth Doctor era, does ‘Twice Upon a Time’ conclude it on reassuring and satisfying notes? ‘Twice Upon a Time’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

Audio Reviews – ‘The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles: Volume Two’ (Doctor Who)

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Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

To close off our look into the Matt Smith/Eleventh Doctor era of ‘Doctor Who’, it’s time to venture into ‘The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles: Volume Two’ by Big Finish, starring Jacob Dudman as the Eleventh Doctor. Back in 2019, I reviewed the first ‘Eleventh Doctor Chronicles’ box set on CD. Today, I’m sharing my reviews on the second ‘Eleventh Doctor Chronicles’ box set, which I’ve recently listened to as a download from the Big Finish website. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Day of the Doctor’

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Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

The time has come for ‘The Day of the Doctor’ by Steven Moffat – the 50th anniversary special of ‘Doctor Who’. This was shown on BBC TV on the 23rd of November 2013. It stars Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald, Billie Piper as the Moment and John Hurt as the War Doctor. There are special guest stars like Jemma Redgrave as Kate Stewart, Ingrid Oliver as Osgood and Joanna Page as Queen Elizabeth I. The story also features the Daleks as well as the return of the Zygons, who previously appeared in their first TV story ‘Terror of the Zygons’. There are surprise guest cameos of Doctors and companions that a keen ‘Doctor Who’ fan would need to look out for. 😀 This is a ‘Doctor Who’ anniversary special that’s highly rated by the fans. Do I agree with that? Do I think that this is a better anniversary special than ‘The Five Doctors’, the 20th anniversary special? Does it cover everything that I want to celebrate about 50 years of my favourite TV show? Are there things that I like about ‘The Day of the Doctor’? 😀 ‘The Day of the Doctor’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Crimson Horror’

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Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

It’s time for us to check out ‘The Crimson Horror’, which happens to be the second contribution made by Mark Gatiss in Series 7 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series (the first one being ‘Cold War’). In this ‘Doctor Who’ episode, Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor and Jenna Coleman as Clara visit Victorian London in the year 1893. There’s the return of the Paternoster Gang, including Neve McIntosh as Madame Vastra, Catrin Stewart as Jenny and Dan Starkey as Strax. Interestingly, the Paternoster Gang mostly appear in the first half of the episode, since the Eleventh Doctor and Clara don’t appear until the episode’s second half. 😐 An unnerving mystery takes place at a utopian community in Yorkshire called Sweetville, led by the late Dame Diana Rigg (well-known for playing Emma Peel in the 1960s TV show ‘The Avengers’) as Mrs. Gillyflower. There’s also Rachael Stirling (Diana Rigg’s real-life daughter) as Ada. Can our heroes solve the mystery as to what’s happening with ‘the crimson horror’? ‘The Crimson Horror’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

CD Review – ‘Wink’ (Doctor Who)

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Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

To close off our look into the David Tennant/Tenth Doctor era of ‘Doctor Who’, I’m sharing my latest review on the Big Finish audio drama called ‘Wink’, which is the third and final story of the ‘Out of Time’ trilogy, starring David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor and Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor. I’m pleased that I’ve finished checking out the ‘Out of Time’ audio dramas of ‘Doctor Who’ by Big Finish, having enjoyed the first ‘Out of Time’ story with David Tennant and Tom Baker, and ‘The Gates of Hell’ with David Tennant and Peter Davison. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Christmas Invasion’

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Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

Today, we begin the David Tennant/Tenth Doctor era of ‘Doctor Who’, as we check out the first Christmas Special in the new TV series. It’s time for ‘The Christmas Invasion’ by Russell T. Davies, starring David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor and Billie Piper as Rose. This Christmas Special also features Camille Coduri as Jackie Tyler, Rose’s mum, and Noel Clarke as Mickey Smith, Rose’s former boyfriend. There’s also the return of Penelope Wilton as Harriet Jones from ‘Aliens of London’/’World War Three’. This ‘Doctor Who’ adventure introduces us to the Robot Santas as well as the blood-obsessed Sycorax. Will the new Tenth Doctor recover from his recent regeneration to save the planet Earth from the Sycorax? ‘The Christmas Invasion’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

CD Review – ‘Back to Earth’ (Doctor Who)

Hello everyone! 🙂

Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

We close our look into the Christopher Eccleston/Ninth Doctor era of ‘Doctor Who’ by checking out the first collection of Big Finish audios in Series 2 of ‘The Ninth Doctor Adventures’ called ‘Back to Earth’. This is following on from me checking out Series 1 of ‘The Ninth Doctor Adventures’ in 2022, including anthologies like ‘Ravagers’, ‘Respond to All Calls’, ‘Lost Warriors’ and ‘Old Friends’. For this year, I’ll only be checking out ‘Back to Earth’ in Series 2 of ‘The Ninth Doctor Adventures’. I’m hoping that I will catch up on more ‘Ninth Doctor Adventures’ by Big Finish soon in 2024. Continue reading