The Monthly Adventures #016 - “Storm Warning” by Alan Barnes
The beginning of the Charley Arc is a thrilling first contact story set on an airship hours before it crashes, causing the deaths of everyone on board. McGann and Fisher kill it in their debut but the story plays itself too straight - 7/10
The Monthly Adventures #017 - “Sword of Orion” by Nicholas Briggs
Briggs creates another empty space where a story should be. Sword of Orion is a story where I have literally nothing to talk about. A rich world does not excuse doing absolutely nothing new with the Cybermen, the Doctor and Charley, most of the plot. I’m getting tired of having to write short reviews - 6/10
The Monthly Adventures #018 - “The Stones of Venice” by Paul Magrs
A gorgeous, beautiful and sombre fairy tale set in a sinking Venice. A little forgettable but with some incredible ambition, some incredible ideas and an incredible style. Paul Magrs is clearly a very special writer - 8/10
The Monthly Adventures #019 - “Minuet in Hell” by Gary Russell and Alan W. Lear
One of the absolute strangest Doctor Who stories in existence, a hot mess full of Americans, demons and full on actual magic. Much reviled and much discussed, Minuet in Hell is a bizarre but endlessly fun misadventure - 6/10
The Monthly Adventures #020 - “Loups-Garoux” by Marc Platt
A surreal dreamscape filled with werewolves and spirits, Marc Platt delivers a unique if messy story set in a barren Rio. Full of great ideas and an immersive world but with a story that bit off more plot threads than it could chew - 6/10
The Monthly Adventures #021 - “Dust Breeding” by Mike Tucker
Mike Tucker returns with what I can only assume is an apology for The Genocide Machine. A bleak and atmospheric horror story with multiple great antagonists unfortunately shifts focus and becomes more of an action than a chiller, but enjoyable throughout - 8/10
The Monthly Adventures #022 - “Bloodtide” by Jonathan Morris
Atmospheric historical set in the Galapagos islands that basically remakes Doctor Who and the Silurians but with less communism. A harmless bit of fun, nothing to write home about - 7/10
The Monthly Adventures #023 - “Project: Twilight” by Cavan Scott and Mark Wright
A truly different story. Bleak and grim but never pointlessly cynical. We and the characters are out of our comfort zone and all the zany monsters and cartoonish megalomaniacs have left, and we’re left with real, nasty people. A dark masterpiece that teeters on cruel - 8/10
The Monthly Adventures #024 - “The Eye of the Scorpion” by Iain McLaughlin
Works well as Erimem’s introduction, but pretty much as nothing else. The story’s pretty much as generic as can be, but still somewhat entertaining. Truly a middle of the road story, I enjoyed it, but wouldn’t call it good - 7/10
The Monthly Adventures #025 - “Colditz” by Steve Lyons
A milestone audio that introduces Klein, begins the 7, Ace and Hex line of stories and is the 25th entry of The Monthly Adventures. A great pure historical mixed with an alternate timeline story that has some unfortunate sound design but is incredibly solid - 8/10
The Monthly Adventures #026 - “Primeval” by Lance Parkin
A prequel to The Keeper of Traken that oddly enough decides to ignore Nyssa and instead focus on the Doctor constantly walking into very obviously set up traps. The worldbuilding is fantastic but the story just isn’t there -5/10
The Monthly Adventures #027 - “The One Doctor” by Gareth Roberts and Clayton Hickman
A bizarre and endlessly fun self-parody of the camper side of Doctor Who that is genuinely hilarious and one of the better executions of a Douglas Adams style comedy. Just a shame it had to be written by Gareth Roberts - 8/10
The Monthly Adventures #028 - “Invaders from Mars” by Mark Gatiss
Big Finish’s most iconic run of stories begins with another Gatiss script that battles too many plot threads but ends up being a fun run around with some fun characters - 6/10
The Monthly Adventures #029 - “The Chimes of Midnight” by Robert Shearman
It’s The Chimes of Midnight. There is nothing new for me to say about The Chimes of Midnight. But if you want to read me rambling about my favourite Doctor Who story for far too long, hat’s off to you - 10/10
The Monthly Adventures #30 - “Seasons of Fear” by Paul Cornell and Caroline Symcox
A big, shouty blockbuster with the Doctor and Charley chasing down a very stupid immortal who just decides to warn them of their murder, which he committed, giving them ample time to stop him. Fun but a complete and utter mess - 6/10
The Monthly Adventures #31 - “Embrace the Darkness” by Nicholas Briggs
An immaculate, genius, terrifying horror story that had me on the edge of my seat until halfway through where it completely loses the plot and becomes a torrent of indecipherable technobabble. Very promising but unfortunately doesn’t stick the landing - 7/10
The Monthly Adventures #32 - “The Time of the Daleks” by Justin Richards
One last slog to get through before the Dalek Empire miniseries is over. Yet another episode full of dull Daleks and running in circles that has some really cool ideas begging to be the centre of attention but instead we’re just focused on an exhausting loop of a plot - 4/10
While I do have fun with it and enjoy the story, I find that Time of the Daleks is essentially Evil of the Daleks and Day of the Daleks mashed together with added Shakespeare.
The Monthly Adventures #33 - “Neverland” by Alan Barnes
A surreal nightmare that explores time paradoxes and Gallifreyan society makes for an utterly bonkers series finale with amazing atmosphere and brilliant scale. Drags a little too much but still a stellar idea box - 8/10
The Monthly Adventures #33½ - “The Maltese Penguin” by Robert Shearman
Not technically a Main Range story but how could I skip over a Shearman script? Very easily actually, this one’s a bit of a disappointment. A very faithful love letter to a genre I don’t like with every cliché and trope left in. The comedy’s as good as usual and I like a couple characters but it’s a story that very sadly just isn’t for me - 6/10