REVIEW: “Doctor Who: The Shining Man” by Cavan Scott

shiningSo, I finally managed to finish a Doctor Who book that didn’t involve the War Doctor. And I enjoyed the heck out of it! Doctor Who: The Shining Man is one of the three most recent Doctor Who novels published by the BBC recently. It is written by Cavan Scott and involves the Doctor and Bill investigating strange events that have been happening in a small British town.

The Shining Men are everywhere. You spot them out of the corner of your eye. Abnormally tall, with long lank hair, blank faces, and blazing eyes. If they catch you, they’ll drag you away to who knows where. No one is safe. They’re on every street corner. Waiting. Watching. Shining bright. Of course, it’s a hoax. It has to be, right? It started as a joke, a prank for Halloween. Then it went viral. Idiots dressing up as monsters. Giving folk a scare. Silly masks and fright wigs. No one gets hurt. Because bogeymen aren’t real. Until people start going missing and lights burn in the darkness. Burning like eyes. But help is on its way, in the form of a strange man called the Doctor and his friend, Bill. The Doctor will keep us safe. The Doctor will stop the monsters. Unless the monsters stop the Doctor first… (Courtesy of the BBC summary)

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REVIEW: Doctor Who S10E04 “Knock Knock”

doctor-who-knock-knock-promo-pics-11The fourth episode of the tenth series of Doctor Who has just aired, so it’s time to review it! This week’s episode of Doctor Who was entitled Knock Knock and was written by Mark Bartlett and directed by Bill Anderson. In this episode, Bill (Pearl Mackie) and several of her friends move into a creepy old house owned by a mysterious Landlord (David Suchet). As the house starts making noises, Bill’s friends begin to disappear. What is causing these noises and disappearances, and can Bill and the Doctor put a stop to it before it’s too late? As always, this review will have spoilers for the episode – so, stop reading now if you haven’t seen it!  Continue reading

REVIEW: Doctor Who S10E03 – “Thin Ice” (spoilers)

thin-ice-promo-pics-1Welcome back to another review of the tenth series of Doctor Who! This week’s episode, entitled Thin Ice, was written by Sarah Dollard and directed by Bill Anderson. In the episode, the Doctor and Bill arrive in London, 1814. The entire city has turned out for the biggest Frost Fair in decades. But beneath the frozen Thames, revellers are disappearing, snatched through the ice and pulled into the depths where a terrifying monster lurks. Will the Doctor and Bill stop the slaughter before they too are dragged into the icy waters? Like all previous reviews, this one will contain spoilers, so if you haven’t yet watched the episode, now is your chance to turn back and avoid being spoiled. Continue reading

REVIEW: Doctor Who S10E02 – “Smile” (spoilers)

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       The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) and Bill (Pearl Mackie)

We’re back for another review of Doctor Who! As always, this review will not be spoiler free, so if you’ve yet to see Smile, then you should probably watch the episode first. This week’s Doctor Who is called Smile and was written by Frank Cottrell-Boyce and directed by Lawrence Gogh. Smile takes the Doctor and Bill into the distant future as they land on a planet inhabited by microbots whose sole job is to make sure the humans who will soon be living there are happy. However, something has gone wrong, and these microbots have killed the entirety of the skeleton crew (the group of humans sent to prepare the planet for colonization). It’s up to the Doctor and Bill to find out what’s happened and why before the colonists arrive and suffer the same fate as the skeleton crew.  Continue reading

REVIEW: Doctor Who S10E01 – The Pilot (Spoilers)

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                    The Doctor and Bill

The new season of Doctor Who premiered today with an episode called “The Pilot”, directed by Laurence Gough and written by showrunner Steven Moffat. This episode begins Peter Capaldi’s final season as the Doctor (and Moffat’s as showrunner) and introduces Pearl Mackie as new companion Bill Potts. From the BBC Website: in this episode, two worlds collide when the Doctor meets Bill, and a chance encounter with a girl with a star in her eye leads to a terrifying chase across time and space. Bill’s mind is opened to a universe that is bigger and more exciting than she could possibly have imagined. But who is the Doctor, and what is his secret mission on Earth?

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