"Did you not see the markings on their casings? Dalek Scientists." From the Dalek Time Controller to the “benevolent” Daleks from a parallel dimension, Big Finish’s expansive Doctor Who audios have always been a wonderful source for interesting and obscure Dalek variants. Sometimes these simply have to be left to interpretation, but those that manage to grace the CD artwork the perfect inspiration for custom figures. And with the release of Infernal Devices , the second box set in the new War Doctor range, another has joined them. Appearing on the cover of its second part A Thing of Guile is a new version of a Dalek Scientist , specifically the ones that appeared during the last great Time War between the Daleks and the Time Lords.

Most of my Doctor Who figure reviews these days are opened with my lamenting the demise of the long-standing 5" scale line in favour of the newer 3.75" scale, but for once here's a review of a brand new figure that isn't a remould or re-release! Even if this scale is on its way out (and those signs are increasingly pointing to 'yes'), Character Options and Underground Toys have conjured up one last hurrah with a figure that would sorely be missing from people's collections had it not been made. Appearing in the 50th anniversary special The Day of the Doctor and played by the legendary John Hurt , here is the long awaited 5" Other Doctor figure. Of course, the "Other Doctor" is a stupid name that's being used on all his merchandising, so for the rest of the review I'll be referring to him by what most fans call him - the War Doctor .

So it's finally here. On the 23rd November at precisely 17:16pm the very first episode of Doctor Who aired, and at the time I'm sure no one thought we'd still be here 50 years later. The show has experienced some turbulent times over the years, but in the last eight years has arguably bounced back bigger and stronger than ever, and was in perfect position to celebrate its golden anniversary in style. There have been plenty of wonderful productions to celebrate this momentous occasion - Big Finish's own multi-Doctor crossover audio "The Light at the End" , Gatiss' moving docudrama about the birth of the show "An Adventure in Space and Time" and even a wonderful skit of Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy (that's Doctors 5, 6 and 7) going on an epic quest to earn a place in the anniversary special. Each has served a different purpose and celebrated in its own special way, but this is the big one - the television 50th anniversary...