Character Building Doctor Who Microfigures Series 3: Amy Pond and Sontaran

We're back again with another two series 3 figures from Character Building's Doctor Who microfigures collection. One is an alternate costume of a (repeatedly) released figure, while the other is an all new addition to the line. The figures are companion Amy Pond and a Sontaran trooper, both of whom are uncommon rarity.

Series 3's version of Amy comes from the episode Day of the Moon, donned in an all-black costume and a face covered in tally markings. To be honest there isn't a whole lot to say about this figure, because other than the tally marks (which aren't all uniform so its a nice touch), there's very little detail going on. That being said, there's more variety here than the difference between previous Amy Pond figures.

The Sontaran trooper on the other hand is a much more interesting figure, and an alien race that's been long overdue a microfigure. Sadly this Sontaran is helmet only, with a helmetless version coming out in a multi-pack at some point later this year. I don't think it would have been difficult for it to have a removable helmet, but that being said there isn't any precedent for such things and why do it when you can easily sell two different figures? There's good moulding on the armour section, although its shoulder pads do limit the arm movement somewhat. The Sontaran comes packed with a decently sized battle rifle.

So that's 10 down and only 2 to go! Hopefully the final two figures I need (Madam Kovarian and the Judoon trooper) won't take too long to get, although I shan't hold my breath as they are both rare figures. Fingers crossed!

Reviews in Time & Space: Doctor Who Season Seven Part One - An Overview

I know I'm very late to the game writing this, but following my rather strong feelings on Asylum of the Daleks and the fact that the second half of the season won't be airing for a while it seemed appropriate to split this year's Doctor Who review into sections. The two sections also reflect the two different tones the two parts will have, as we say goodbye to Rory and Amy here and say hello to Oswin next year. But enough of that, let's take a look at the episodes one by one.

I've already said everything that needed to be said about how much I hated the portrayal of the Daleks in Asylum of the Daleks (★★), so in order not to sound like a broken record I'll refrain from repeating. But what I will say is that this episode could have been so much better had it used any other monster in their place. While the introduction and resolution of Amy and Rory's apparent divorce was abrupt and reasonably pointless, the surprise introduction of Oswin was very interesting. While the smarmy, "cleverer than the Doctor" attitude being pushed might not be to everyone's tastes, the twist to her story and how this will affect next season is bound to be a topic of heated discussion. It provided great emotion, but then was spoilt by having the Daleks chant "DOCTOR WHO?" repeatedly.

Next came Dinosaurs on a Spaceship (★★★★★), which personally for me was the absolute gem of this half-season. It was a fun Doctor Who romp that blended the two aspects of the series (the historical and the science fiction), but also included a glimpse into the Doctor's dark side. We got an expansion on Rory as a character that didn't involve him dying or using Amy as a crutch, as well as introducing a member of the extended Pond family. Finally it illustrated how much better Who would be using a larger main cast again - new Who has always limited itself to one of two companions, but this episode saw the Doctor travel with a total of five other people. And it worked brilliantly.

A Town Called Mercy (★★★) was the first of this season's obligatory American episodes, despite actually being filmed in Spain. While many might have been salivating at the idea of a Western-themed Who episode, in reality there was very little in this episode that was unique to a Western setting (other than having the alien dressed as a cowboy of course). The story plays with the Doctor's morals a bit, but its all ground that's been covered before and the episode has very little to offer in terms of suspense. The truth behind the Red Dwarf simulant lookalike Gunslinger is revealed reasonably early on, and from that point on its just a case of trundling through the episode to see what they actually do with him.

Every season has some sort of character-driven episode that's relatively low on plot, and season seven's comes in the form of The Power of Three (★★★★). But to lump it in with similar offerings from previous series' would do it somewhat of a disservice, because its a very good episode. The best way to hit your audience hard when a character leaves is to build them up just before it, and here life with the Ponds is at its most comfortable. Just how much time the couple have spent with the Doctor is finally revealed, and the Doctor is at his comical best with his inability to sit still. The slow invasion storyline shows a lot of promise and long time fans will be extremely pleased with the revival of UNIT (including more tributes to the late Nicholas Courtney), but the shoddy resolution really lets down what could have been a flawless episode.

Finally we have The Angels Take Manhattan (★★★), which seems to be a culmination of all of Moffat's favourite recurring things he's brought to the show. Amy and Rory? Check. Weeping Angels? Check. And just for good measure he's also thrown in an (unnecessary) dose of River Song. As far as companion farewells go it isn't the worst Who has ever seen but its far from the best either. The angels' inclusion is glossed upon and it only really feels like they're here for what they can do (not to mention the utterly ridiculous Statue of Liberty angel). But the biggest problem with the episode is just how much focus it gives to Amy over Rory. Granted Amy has been a regular member of the show longer but Rory does nothing but suffer in this episode, yet he isn't even granted a proper goodbye scene. Its a massive disservice to the companion that's actually grown in the last two seasons and a half (as opposed to Amy who's just got more annoying) and further proof to the sad realisation that we may never seen a full-time male companion that isn't playing second fiddle to a female lead.

So that's the end of the Ponds, and the end to a very mixed half-season. How exactly the second half will go is anyone's guess, but after seeing the Ponds take most of the limelight away from the Doctor I'm looking forward to things perhaps taking a more traditional approach for a while. As the Christmas special draws ever closer, we won't be much time in the dark about Oswin's origins and potential fate...

Reviews in Time & Space: Doctor Who Season Six - an overview

Another year, another season of Doctor Who over with. And its time for me to once again share my thoughts briefly on this year's offerings. This isn't a proper review as such, but more my opinions and ratings on thoughts on what has been my favourite TV show for as long as I can remember.

The season began with 'The Impossible Astronaut' (★★★★) way back in April. The episode was a very strong start for the season, setting up the main plot for the year with the Doctor's death and the introduction of the Silents, who'd had a lot of hype surrounding them prior to beginning of the season. Not only that, but the episode included extensive shooting in the US, which was also a pretty big deal. Exchanges between the Doctor and River began to feel a lot less groan-inducing, and resulted in some pretty good banter between the two. At this stage Rory and Amy were also working well as a married couple. Unfortunately its second part, 'Day of the Moon' (★★★) wasn't quite as good. Glossing over three whole months at the beginning put the plot in a completely different place to where we left the last episode already put it in a lower position in my mind, but despite some particularly creepy moments (the drawn out tally charts were an excellent touch) the Silents failed to live up to their hype. Still, the episode concluded with a very interesting cliffhanger, and one the would keep the audience guessing for the whole first half of the season.

'The Curse of the Black Spot' (★★) was the first true miss of the season, but certainly not the last. The siren herself was well imagined, but the story itself was pretty uninteresting, especially when following on the the previous episode's massive cliffhanger.

Neil Gaiman has always had mixed results with me, but 'The Doctor's Wife' (★★★★★) turned out to be by far and large the best episode of the season, and one of the best episodes of Doctor Who since the relaunch. With finally the TARDIS finally capable of speech, the interesting relationship the Doctor shared with his blue box could finally be shared. It dealt with a lot of history between the two characters (since the TARDIS is alive I guess it justifies as a character) and it also housed quite a few references to the classic days of Doctor Who. Personifying the TARDIS was a bold move, and one that could have gone wrong so very easily -

The two-part story 'The Rebel Flesh' (★) and 'The Almost People' (★) was certainly my lowest point of the series. Besides not needing 2 parts by any stretch of the imagination, the story was a pretty cliché piece of science fiction writing, complete with predictable characters, twists and cliffhangers and a terrible CGI monster at the end to top it off. It DID however provide the rare opportunity to see two of the same Doctor in the same place, and too much Matt Smith is never a bad thing - 'Reverse the jelly baby of the neutron flow' is a line that probably made Doctor Who fans of all ages over the world smile. It also created a red herring that would be a popular fan theory for the Doctor's death and an excellent (and unexpected) set up for the finale of the first half of the season.

'A Good Man Goes to War' (★★★★) had a lot going on it, meaning at times it felt a little rushed, but it was still a hell of a lot better than what had come before it. The stakes had been set pretty high, and element of conflict in the episode nicely reflected that. The twist was pretty obvious from a mile off, but that didn't make its impact within the story any damper. The episode also introduced to some very interesting side characters, including a Sontaran nurse and a Victorian Silurian (who also happened to be a lesbian). It's a shame these characters will probably never get a proper origin, because for me they were among the most memorable parts of the episodes and surprisingly endearing characters.

A few months later, the second half of the season opened with 'Let's Kill Hitler' (★★), which actually turned out to not have very much to do with Hitler at all. Instead it was about River's origins and how she was brought up to kill the Doctor, which was done in a horrifically predictable fashion. To make matters worse, the whole big plotline of Amy looking for her child seemed to just stop with this episode, making me wonder if it had all been such a big deal in the first place.

Thankfully next came 'Night Terrors' (★★★★★), which was easily my favourite episode of this half of the season and my second favourite of the overall season. A great emotional story, some genuinely creepy monsters and Matt Smith showing off his Doctor's quirks and eccentricities made this episode a pleasure to watch. When Moffat eventually steps down from the helm of Doctor Who, I'd like to see what Mark Gatiss could do with the show if he had the chance.

Following on from that was 'The Girl Who Waited' (★★), which perhaps was my breaking point with the Ponds. While the story played with some interesting time travel concepts (such as paradoxes and alternate futures) and easily had the best display of the 11th Doctor's manipulative sides, the story's overpowering emotional drive was too much. Future Amy waited 40 years for the Doctor and Rory to come and save her and felt betrayed that it took that long? Boo hoo, Rory waited for Amy for 2000 years and you don't see him constantly bringing it up. 'The God Complex' (★★★) was a better episode, if mostly forgettable. What I did enjoy about it was some great comedy easter eggs in the background (Silurian in a suit and tie), a surprise nod to a classic villain and finally a goodbye to the Ponds (for now).

Going in to 'Closing Time' (★★★★) I wasn't expecting too much, mostly because I'm not a fan of James Corden. But what I will say is that the episodes he appear in definitely bring out the best in Matt Smith. 'The Lodger' did it, and this certainly did too. Alone again, the Doctor is shown a very different light, becoming increasing aware and accepting of his incoming demise. The dynamic between Craig and the Doctor is very different to the one between the Doctor and any of his companions from the modern series, which is extremely refreshing. It was also nice to see the return of proper Cybermen (their 30 second cameo in 'A Good Man Goes to War' notwithstanding) and the first modern series appearance of Cybermats, even if they were underused (and somewhat superfluous) to the episode. Still underuse is sometimes better than overuse, and they weren't what was most important to the episode - they'll get their chance to shine yet.

So, with the season being mostly duds for me, was the finale going to be able to pull it all back. And thankfully, the answer was yes - 'The Wedding of River Song' (★★★★★) managed to help a lackluster season go out with a bang. The episode delved in what would happen if you tried to change a fixed point in time, and the result was a pretty interesting alternate take on the world using famous landmarks and people. Much like many of Moffat's episodes the story did play around with time a lot, but it made good use of the seeds sown in earlier episodes and the end result was equal parts thrilling, touching, 'scary', and exciting - everything a Doctor Who episode should be. The 'wedding' of River Song was handled excellently, and could equally have been great closure on the character as well as opening more doors for any potential returns in the future. And most importantly, it just goes to show the Doctor really is one step ahead of everyone else, and always has a plan.

But the best bit of the episode? Nicholas Courtney's death finally getting the in-show recognition it deserved. It didn't impede on the episode, but had the perfect level of emotional impact for both the Doctor and the audience. He may not have worked with Courtney, but the Doctor's look of sorrow and loss at the news of the death of the Brigadier perfectly summed up the sorrow of Courtney's family, friends and fans alike when the world lost one of the best and most loved Doctor Who companions from the classic series.

So my final thoughts on the season? Overall quite weak, but then again also includes some the best episodes since the relaunch. Matt Smith continues to dominate as the Doctor, but I think perhaps it's time that both the Ponds and River Song moved on. A season comprised mostly of stories where the Ponds are in mortal danger has made me become somewhat bored of them, to the point where in this season I began to wonder if Moffat thought they were more important than the Doctor himself (admittedly this did begin to die down after 'The Girl Who Waited'). River still has some element of mystery remaining to her, but perhaps some things are better left unsaid to keep the audience guessing - too many revelations will only serve to destroy the all-important aura of mystery that the Doctor has. But with Gillan definitely signed on for another season, it doesn't look like we'll definitely be saying goodbye to the Ponds quite yet. Hopefully they'll have a slightly less intensive role in the next season, which after today's episode I can quite happily say I'm looking forward to again.

Game REVIEW: Doctor Who: Evacuation Earth (DS)

Ever wondered what you get when you cross Doctor Who with a cheap imitation of Professor Layton? The answer is, unsurprisingly, an appalling game.

Evacuation Earth begins with a fairly interesting plot - The Doctor and Amy arrive in the Lake District in the far future, where the last remnants of humanity are preparing the leave the planet due to the incoming solar flares (the same ones mentioned in the season 5 episode The Beast Below) and get caught up in the evacuation due to the TARDIS going missing on-board the ship. Meanwhile the Silurians also have plans to evacuate the Earth and later some Daleks (who seem to be from the games Wii-counterpart Return to Earth) who are also in need of the Doctor's help/have their own dastardly plans. It'd be a plot that could carry an episode of the series - if it wasn't so damn short. The game is made up of a measly four chapters - the Daleks are beaten almost as soon as they turn up and the game can easily be completed in three hours (well, that's the time it took me, and I was playing it at a rather leisurely pace).

The gameplay, as I mentioned earlier, is nothing more than a cheap imitation of Level-5's Professor Layton series - so much it almost feels like plagiarism. You walk around areas, solving puzzles with give a set amount of points (which decrease every time you get the puzzle wrong). These puzzles are have three hints you can unlock spending these points and the answer is accompanied by a little 3-step animation (but instead of Layton or Luke, it's a materialising TARDIS). Of course these puzzles aren't half as engaging as the ones present in Layton - most of the time they amount to spot the difference or put some puzzle pieces back together. The only difficult puzzles are four sliding tile type ones - and they aren't even compulsory ones! Half the time the puzzles have little to do with the plot (picking out a fish for a crew member, rearranging a work rota etc.) and are really jarring to the story. Sometimes there'll be a few puzzles that feel like they belong in a Doctor Who game, such as charting a spaceship course or avoiding some patrolling Daleks, but its rather scarce. The game's main problem isn't how easy it is though, it's how poorly made it is. Controls are glitchy (things flash onto screen without pressing them, you'll press one side of the screen with the stylus and it'll select the other which makes the Sonic Screwdriver steady hand games really frustrating) and the puzzles are poorly worded (there's at least one instance where the answer doesn't match the question, therefore completely wrong, and that is downright unacceptable for a mass produced game).

To be honest I shouldn't have expected much from a game by Asylum Entertainment (responsible for games starring the likes of Peppa Pig and the Teletubbies) but I expected something at least relatively professional. Other sites have said that this game is great for younger children, but to be honest unless I was about 5 I'd feel exactly the same about this game as I do now. The only thing is game has going for it is a semi decent plot (and the cutscenes are probably up on youtube by now anyway) and some good 11th Doctor-esque dialogue. If this is this bad, I hate to see what Return to Earth is like, because apparently Evacuation Earth is a masterpiece by comparison...

My wait for a decent Doctor Who game continues.

Book REVIEW: The Only Good Dalek

In attempt to both add something a little new to the blog AND break up the current cluster of figure reviews, here's a new section devoted to manga, novels, comics and all things book. The first thing up for discussion is the brand new Doctor Who graphic novel The Only Good Dalek, by Justin Richards & Mike Collins and starring Matt Smith's 11th Doctor and Amy Pond.

The synopsis reads;

Station 7 is where the Earth Forces send all the equipment captured in their unceasing war against the Daleks. It's where Dalek technology is analysed and examined. It's where the Doctor and Amy have just arrived. But somehow the Daleks have found out about Station 7 - and there's something there that they want back.

With the Doctor increasingly worried about the direction the Station's research is taking, the

commander of Station 7 knows he has only one possible, desperate, defence. Because the last terrible secret of Station 7 is that they don't only store captured Dalek technology. It's also a prison. And the only thing that might stop a Dalek is another Dalek...

As this synopsis suggests, the story deals with the possibility that there could ever be a good Dalek - a topic that has been brought up in various Doctor Who stories over the years. What this graphic novel has that the other stories don't though is a story complete with twists and turns where the reader is never really sure what side certain Daleks are on. This is the Daleks at their very best once again and something the new series (bar Dalek) has never really captured (although the 10th Doctor novel Prisoner of the Daleks did in spectacular fashion). Not only that, but the

re's plenty of classic references for the more knowledgeable Doctor Who fan. Within the first few pages there's Skaro's landscape, robomen, ogrons, slythers, varga plants and a heap of background cameos of classic Dalek designs. The art even bears similarity to (my much loved) TV21 Dalek comics of the 60s - particularly the spaceship interiors which look fantastic alongside the blue strategist battle computer Daleks.

All in all this is a must have for Dalek fans - great story and great art all around which brings the Daleks out back on top.

Game REVIEW: Doctor Who Adventure Games episode 2 - "Blood of the Cybermen"

City of the Daleks was a mixed bag. As a Dalek fan I highly enjoyed the game, but it did leave some things to be desired - the game didn't run particularly well for me, the plot seemed rushed and the game play was repetitive (with far too many steady hand type games). But for a free game it was more than enough to satisfy and I hoped that the next installment 'Blood of the Cybermen' would build upon some of these mistakes. And it did.

Set, the Doctor and Amy encounter an Arctic exploration team over ran by Cybermats, who have injected the team with a nano virus to make them zombified Cyberslaves. These Cyberslaves in turn are being used to free a Cybership crashed that into the ice long ago. Feels very much like a homage to John Carpenter's The Thing, and is in fact even mentioned within the game itself!

Admittedly the game play isn't that much different to City - missions, puzzles, sneaking etc, somehow it manages to feel like a far better experience as a whole. The game may benefit from the fact the Cybermen themselves aren't present from the get-go, instead only turning up in the final act as opposed to dodging Daleks right away in City. The Cyberslaves are quite an interesting sub race, zombified humans with cybernetic parts. Something I'd quite like to see turn up in the series rather than the diabolical CyberShades of The Next Doctor. They aren't quite as attentive as Daleks - so the sneaking is a little easier if just as repetitive. However much like before keep an eye on Amy, I was killed several times by her getting spotted following along behind me.

The game isn't that long (I finished it in just over 2 hours) but for a free game that's a pretty good length and the various collectables does make for good replay value.

But for me the biggest question lies in just which kind of Cybermen the ones present in Blood are. While its instantly apparent that they have the design and mannerisms (delete, upgrade, lightning bolt powers etc) of the parallel world Cybus industries models present in Nu-Who, there are also a lot of elements that to suggest that perhaps these are in fact Mondasian Cybermen. The first and perhaps most significant one lies within the plot itself - an Arctic excavation team finding a crashed Cybermen spaceship. Now until The Pandorica Opens (and even that isn't 100% proof), Cybus Cybermen have not only seemed uninterested but also incapable of space travel. The ship itself buried within the ice also looks strikingly similar to the tombs of Telos seen in the (arguably best) Cyberman story Tomb of the Cybermen. The ship also had to have crashed in the past in order for it to have been covered in that much ice - Cybusmen are even less adept at time travel. Mondasian Cybermen (while they have crude knowledge of it) wouldn't need to have time travelled because of their origins.

Next comes the inclusion of the Cybermats - a creature not seen Revenge of the Cybermen in the 70s and connected closely to the Cybermen of the Troughton era. While it is again not impossible to conceive that parallel earth Cybermen would use Cybermats, much like the concept of space travel it is a huge leap to have these seemingly primative Cybermen suddenly using nanotech viruses to turn skin straight into metal. Finally and initially the most obvious is the lack of the Cybus 'C' on the chest of the monsters - instead they have a simplified design of their face, as do the Cybermats. Again this is a trait common with Troughton era Cybermen.

Either way it doesn't detract from the story and its fun to guess as to which Cybermen these really are. If they do turn out to be Mondasians, I'm somewhat glad they haven't been completely redesigned because I am actually quite fond of the design itself.

While it may feel shorter, Blood of the Cybermen is definitely a step up from City of the Daleks in terms of gameplay and how smoothly it runs. The plot is also very good, and wouldn't have felt out of place as a proper episode. If you're in the UK and have a computer that can run this game I do recommend giving it a go - with a lack of Dr Who until Christmas this will kill the wait for a few hours.