It may not be the most beloved episode of Doctor Who (or of season 7, even), but I’ve always had a soft spot for “The Angels Take Manhattan.” I love River Song and I love film noir-style detective stories. So, of course, I love an episode where River is a film noir-style detective. And in that episode, there’s a book that’s based on her adventures as this detective—Melody Malone. It’s one of my favorite elements of the episode; I mean, who doesn’t love a good book-within-a-show? Honestly, I’d love to read a novelization of the episode written like a Melody Malone novel. And, when I first came across Justin Richards’ “The Angel’s Kiss,” I thought that’s what I’d be getting—a recreation of the book featured in “The Angels Take Manhattan.” Unfortunately, that’s not what this is.
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I’m definitely fond of the idea of combining Classic Doctors and monsters from the rebooted Doctor Who, and this box set really proves why that’s such a fabulous idea. Even when the monsters aren’t quite the best fit for an audio only story, the writing of the episodes in this box set is some of the strongest writing for a Big Finish adventure I’ve heard yet. All of the episodes are clever and engaging and I absolutely adore this box set. Classic Doctors, New Monsters (Volume 1) is a box set with four stand-alone stories featuring Doctors from the classic run of Doctor Who in adventures with monsters from the rebooted run of Doctor Who as the villains. Featuring stories from the Fifth (Peter Davison), Sixth (Colin Baker), Seventh (Sylvester McCoy), and Eighth (Paul McGann) Doctors, Classic Doctors, New Monsters (Volume 1) is a unique entry in Big Finish’s series of box sets, and one that I really enjoyed. (Spoilers ahead.) 
Thoroughly Modern Reviewer 