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Big Finish: Monthly Range #258
Doctor Who: Warzone / Conversion
Warzone by Chris Chapman
At Warzone, competitors gather from across the galaxy to test the limits of their endurance and achieve their personal best. So, when the TARDIS materialises in the middle of a racetrack, the Doctor and his friends must literally run for their lives.
Conversion by Guy Adams
On the fringes of the galaxy, techno-pirates and research medics fight for the secrets of advanced extra-terrestrial technology. For the Doctor, however, a more personal battle awaits as he confronts his own guilt and the creatures that killed a friend: the Cybermen.
At Warzone, competitors gather from across the galaxy to test the limits of their endurance and achieve their personal best. So, when the TARDIS materialises in the middle of a racetrack, the Doctor and his friends must literally run for their lives.
Conversion by Guy Adams
On the fringes of the galaxy, techno-pirates and research medics fight for the secrets of advanced extra-terrestrial technology. For the Doctor, however, a more personal battle awaits as he confronts his own guilt and the creatures that killed a friend: the Cybermen.
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Audio CD
First published November 12, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 7, 2021
This release of a pair of shorter adventures continues the adventures of the former Roman slave, Marc was first introduced in Doctor Who: Tartarus, as a companion to the Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa.
Warzone starts things off with the TARDIS crew unintentionally entering a foot race with all the earmarks of a ... well, a death-game like The Running Man, The Long Walk, Battle Royale or maybe even The Hunger Games. But things are not quite what they seem (but then are they ever in Doctor Who).
Conversion finishes off the set and begins with the loose threads that were left dangling at the end of the previous story. The Doctor made a promise during Warzone and he intends to keep. Could this finally be the end of the threat Of the Cybermen?
I do like that these two shorter 2-part stories are thematically linked. It works pretty well as a loosely connected 4-parter and gives the actors a lot of room to stretch and interact. And this is exactly what sets off the devastating cliffhanger at the ending. Yikes! I guess I’m going to have to order Doctor Who: Time Apart (those sneaky scoundrels at Big Finish, just take my money, take it all).
Warzone starts things off with the TARDIS crew unintentionally entering a foot race with all the earmarks of a ... well, a death-game like The Running Man, The Long Walk, Battle Royale or maybe even The Hunger Games. But things are not quite what they seem (but then are they ever in Doctor Who).
Conversion finishes off the set and begins with the loose threads that were left dangling at the end of the previous story. The Doctor made a promise during Warzone and he intends to keep. Could this finally be the end of the threat Of the Cybermen?
I do like that these two shorter 2-part stories are thematically linked. It works pretty well as a loosely connected 4-parter and gives the actors a lot of room to stretch and interact. And this is exactly what sets off the devastating cliffhanger at the ending. Yikes! I guess I’m going to have to order Doctor Who: Time Apart (those sneaky scoundrels at Big Finish, just take my money, take it all).
October 3, 2020
The best release for the Fifth Doctor in a little while, and one that manages to keep the pace going even past the literal "run for your life" shenanigans of Warzone.
July 30, 2022
Two more stories featuring the Doctor travelling with former Roman slave Marcus in addition to regular companions Tegan and Nyssa.
Warzone - One of the main tropes of Doctor Who is that it involves a lot of running, so there's something almost tongue-in-cheek in the fact that this story sees the Doctor and his companions taking part in a marathon run on an alien planet. Obviously, there's more to the story than just the running or even the deadly obstacles that are strewn along the route but, even so, it's a major element and there's an underlying theme of taking a swipe at some people's obsession with athletics and physical improvement.
Things really get going in the second half, however, as a more sinister side of the race becomes apparent. Companion Marcus (or Marc, as he seems to be known now) proved rather uninteresting in the previous release, but here we finally get a pay-off. The story builds on what we saw of him in his debut to place him at the centre of events in a way that wouldn't be possible for most other companions. Tegan also shines, being the one who is interacting with him most but, considering it's only an hour long, there is still room for Nyssa to get some good scenes as well. 4 stars.
Conversion - The Cybermen promised on the cover make their appearance in the second story of the set and it's a good one for fans of these particular monsters. The mournful alien doctor who can't quite get the hang of human interaction is a bit tiresome at times, as are the characters that the Doctor and Tegan bump into in their part of the story. But this isn't the strength of it, which is looking back at the events of Earthshock and examining the characters' reactions to it now that the bad memories are being brought back by the return of the Cybermen.
Nyssa gets to help save the day in the Doctor's absence and we also see a softer side of Tegan as she begins to question some of her life decisions travelling with the Doctor. Marcus has rather less to do, but he remains pivotal to the story, which makes us care about what happens to him through his interaction with the regulars. There's great acting all around, with Davison being particularly strong as the Doctor struggles to prevent history being repeated.
The story ends on a minor cliffhanger, which has no direct connection to the main plot but nonetheless feels like a logical extrapolation of it... all to be followed up, presumably, in the next Fifth Doctor release. 5 stars.
Warzone - One of the main tropes of Doctor Who is that it involves a lot of running, so there's something almost tongue-in-cheek in the fact that this story sees the Doctor and his companions taking part in a marathon run on an alien planet. Obviously, there's more to the story than just the running or even the deadly obstacles that are strewn along the route but, even so, it's a major element and there's an underlying theme of taking a swipe at some people's obsession with athletics and physical improvement.
Things really get going in the second half, however, as a more sinister side of the race becomes apparent. Companion Marcus (or Marc, as he seems to be known now) proved rather uninteresting in the previous release, but here we finally get a pay-off. The story builds on what we saw of him in his debut to place him at the centre of events in a way that wouldn't be possible for most other companions. Tegan also shines, being the one who is interacting with him most but, considering it's only an hour long, there is still room for Nyssa to get some good scenes as well. 4 stars.
Conversion - The Cybermen promised on the cover make their appearance in the second story of the set and it's a good one for fans of these particular monsters. The mournful alien doctor who can't quite get the hang of human interaction is a bit tiresome at times, as are the characters that the Doctor and Tegan bump into in their part of the story. But this isn't the strength of it, which is looking back at the events of Earthshock and examining the characters' reactions to it now that the bad memories are being brought back by the return of the Cybermen.
Nyssa gets to help save the day in the Doctor's absence and we also see a softer side of Tegan as she begins to question some of her life decisions travelling with the Doctor. Marcus has rather less to do, but he remains pivotal to the story, which makes us care about what happens to him through his interaction with the regulars. There's great acting all around, with Davison being particularly strong as the Doctor struggles to prevent history being repeated.
The story ends on a minor cliffhanger, which has no direct connection to the main plot but nonetheless feels like a logical extrapolation of it... all to be followed up, presumably, in the next Fifth Doctor release. 5 stars.
September 16, 2020
A big improvement over
Interstitial / Feast of Fear
, this pair of stories is essentially one story. The cover makes it clear that we have Cybermen involvement, and the arc running through these latest 5th Doctor episodes is the Doctor dealing with the loss of Adric and resolving not to let it happen to one of his traveling companions again.
If there's a fault here, it's that Warzone plays out a bit like the very recent Tartarus with Our Heroes™ forced to overcome a series of obstacles.
And if you're wondering if Big Finish's trend of inserting lesbians into every episode still holds true, wonder no more! The answer is of course there's a lesbian couple! Never doubt Big Finish's dedication to signaling its woke cred.
If there's a fault here, it's that Warzone plays out a bit like the very recent Tartarus with Our Heroes™ forced to overcome a series of obstacles.
And if you're wondering if Big Finish's trend of inserting lesbians into every episode still holds true, wonder no more! The answer is of course there's a lesbian couple! Never doubt Big Finish's dedication to signaling its woke cred.
December 1, 2021
Doctor Who: Warzone / Conversion - 4.25/5 stars :
For my first story with Marc in it, he seems like a fairly decent addition to the Nyssa/Tegan TARDIS team. These stories definitely feel quite fast-paced and tightly written being 2 parts each.
Warzone by Chris Chapman- 4/5 stars :
The TARDIS team end up in a Hunger Games esc story where it's revealed that the contestants have been getting ‘upgraded’ to compete. Marc, the new companion, gets badly injured and is ‘fixed’ by 200% where he is partially converted into a Cyberman. This story is quite fun, but I did find it a bit all over the place in the second part as the Doctor and crew rush off and leave the two main side characters to fight the Cybermen on their own.
Conversion by Guy Adams - 4.5/5 stars :
Marc is being taken by the Cybermen through his partial conversion. Meanwhile, the Doctor and Tegan talk about Adric’s death, where the Doctor comes to the terms with the fact that he didn’t even like Adric. The Cybermen are stopped and the Doctor and Tegan fall out, the Doctor leaves his companions behind. This story has an emotional pull that actually deals with the death of a companion while preventing the death of another. It will be interesting to see how this resolves in other stories.
For my first story with Marc in it, he seems like a fairly decent addition to the Nyssa/Tegan TARDIS team. These stories definitely feel quite fast-paced and tightly written being 2 parts each.
Warzone by Chris Chapman- 4/5 stars :
The TARDIS team end up in a Hunger Games esc story where it's revealed that the contestants have been getting ‘upgraded’ to compete. Marc, the new companion, gets badly injured and is ‘fixed’ by 200% where he is partially converted into a Cyberman. This story is quite fun, but I did find it a bit all over the place in the second part as the Doctor and crew rush off and leave the two main side characters to fight the Cybermen on their own.
Conversion by Guy Adams - 4.5/5 stars :
Marc is being taken by the Cybermen through his partial conversion. Meanwhile, the Doctor and Tegan talk about Adric’s death, where the Doctor comes to the terms with the fact that he didn’t even like Adric. The Cybermen are stopped and the Doctor and Tegan fall out, the Doctor leaves his companions behind. This story has an emotional pull that actually deals with the death of a companion while preventing the death of another. It will be interesting to see how this resolves in other stories.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 4, 2019
Wow, utterly mind blown! This has to be one of the bleakest and most emotional release that Big Finish have released in a long while and it's brilliant! The Two stories are linked together, with Warzone being a marathon gone too far and Conversion was a shock. The Doctor is put to his limits in these two stories with him both terrified and angry, which brings a powerful performance by Peter Davison. This also adds a lot more to Marc's character and what happens with him is heart breaking!
Warzone: 10/10
Conversion: 10/10
Warzone: 10/10
Conversion: 10/10
November 15, 2019
Awesome performance by Davison. Not the biggest fan of the 5th Doctor, but here he is allowed to show lots of raw emotion. Frustration, desperation and anger... we get to see who this Doctor really is deep down.
This made me become really invested with this TARDIS team and now I am looking forward to the next installment. This is a first for me with a 5th Doctor story. Well done.
This made me become really invested with this TARDIS team and now I am looking forward to the next installment. This is a first for me with a 5th Doctor story. Well done.
November 28, 2019
Sooooo good
January 26, 2020
The doctor and companions run into the cybermen.
January 7, 2025
Now I have the context for The Doctor ending up by himself in Time Apart.
July 5, 2022
The 258th release in the Doctor Who Monthly Adventures from Big Finish, this release is made up of two linked stories. The first, Warzone, sees the Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison), Nyssa, Tegan and new companion Marc arrive in the middle of race. Except the race is deadly save for special bracelets which none of the Tardis Crew have. When Marc is injured, Tegan authorizes treatment while the Doctor and Nyssa work to shut things down. The second story, Conversion sees the Doctor and Tegan visit a Cyber-conversion factory to try and save Marc while Nyssa stays behind as has to protect Marc from a crazy medical scientist. Whereas I wasn't overly enamored with, but still enjoyed, Marc's introduction story Doctor Who: Tartarus, and was bored with his second story Doctor Who: Interstitial / Feast of Fear, I really enjoyed this release. Granted, I enjoyed the first story a lot more, but this was still really good. The Cybermen were used well without being the focus of the story. Worth checking out.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews