Doctor Who: Old Friends

The Ninth Doctor Adventures #1.4

by David K. Barnes, Roy Gill

Travelling the universe alone, the Doctor can’t help running into people. Some are new acquaintances, and some have a much longer history, back through all of his lives.

4.1 Fond Farewell by David K Barnes

Fond Farewell is the intergalactic funeral parlour with a difference: the deceased attend their own wake! Invited by celebrated naturalist Flynn Beckett to his memorial, the Doctor finds he's not quite the man he was. But who would steal the memories of the dead?

4.2 Way of the Burryman by Roy Gill

Young Sam Bishop is at a crossroads with girlfriend Fiona: she’s staying in Scotland, he wants to travel the world. As the Burryman celebrations begin, ghosts haunt the Forth Bridge. Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart arrives to investigate – and so does the Doctor…

4.3 The Forth Generation by Roy Gill

The Forth Generation have emerged. The Doctor, the Brigadier, Sam and Fiona are at their mercy. Is there a way to defeat them? Has UNIT learned from the past? And can the enemy’s nature be changed for the future?

Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart © Haisman & Lincoln and used under licence.
With thanks to Hannah Haisman and Candy Jar

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Audiobook

110 pages, Audiobook

First published February 16, 2022

Reviews

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nine flirting with every man in this boxset brings me much joy.

[ArwendeLuhtiene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave the former 3 boxsets a full 5/5 with no hesitation, but this particular boxset was not the best from a feminist pov, and I also found the story arcs to be less engaging than in the other boxsets :S Even so, Eccleston continues to be fantastic (xD) as Nine, and John Culshaw gives an amazing performance impersonating the Brigadier. The interactions between Nine and the Brig were definitely my favourite part about this boxset.

I'm quite disappointed with some of the themes and tropes in these stories, tho :S (spoilers below)

-The first story, for example, revolves around a recently deceased man who cheated on his wife shortly before his death, and while I have an interest in the dystopian exploration of virtual realities and the afterlife, the ultimate message of the story, spoken by the Doctor, no less, is that...she should forgive him in order to have full closure?? While the husband is portrayed as the good guy throughout the whole story, and the woman he cheated with is right there and shows 0% qualms whatsoever about hurting the wife either? Hell nope :/ It rather shows that a man wrote this, tbh :S

-As for the Cybermen two-parter...Like I said, hearing Nine and the Brig together is amazing, but unfortunately this story does not fare well in the feminist department either :S We now have a dude (Sam Bishop, who appears regularly in the UNIT series and some other boxsets) who keeps trying to convince the woman he's interested in to follow him around the world to acommodate for his world-roaming military career. She tells him her job, family and friends are very important to her as well and she would rather stay, but he keeps at it. Another trope and double standard I hate :|

And then Fiona, his love interest, who's so passionate about the history and traditions of her Scottish home, she gets captured by the Cybermen and converted. And while she becomes first Cyber-planner and the Cyber-leader, with a will strong enough to retain some part of her earlier self and strive for some free will (with the Doctor's help), cyberconversion in DW is pretty much the most dehumanized way to end up as, so I'm totally seeing this as a fridging trope to give Sam Bishop a tragic origin story.

And it's pretty chilling to think that in this story Fiona seems to only have had two options - Either accomodate for her boyfriend's career by sacrificing her own and her own desires (each of them going their own way doesn't seem to have been an option, as the story especially highlights the tragic aspect of the relationship being broken after Fiona's conversion more than the fact that she is converted in the first place :S), or be fridged and dehumanized with cyberconversion to avoid having to make that decision :S. I haven't heard any more stories with Sam Bishop yet, but so far the fact that after Fiona's cyberconverted he *still* only thinks about how she cannot go with him and keep on being his girlfriend, rather than be primarily heartbroken for his girlfriend's non-consensual dehumanization...yeah, it's not a good look at all :/

[Graham Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was searching for a new Big Finish Doctor Who story to listen to and this set caught my eye. First, because it's about the 9th Doctor and I’m always up for more of Christopher Eccelston. Two, it has the Mondasian Cybermen on the cover and I’m always up to see more of what is my favorite Cybermen variant/one of my favorite Doctor Who monsters. Finally I’ve been watching more Classic Who and have become a fan of Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart and was excited to see the Brigadier interact with a Modern Who Doctor. The three stories in the box set were ultimately all pretty enjoyable to listen to.

Fond Farewell: This was the standalone of the volume and the most “okay” of the set. Featuring a funeral home where the deceased are temporarily brought back to life to see their loved ones at the funeral, it certainly felt like a 9th/10th Doctor era story although the twist of what’s causing the conflict felt more Stephen Moffet era story (borderline copying The Library episodes at points). While I did enjoy the Doctor’s interactions with the deceased in the flashbacks, I otherwise couldn’t connect with most of the characters and found the resolution muddled.

Way of the Burryman: This was the first story of the set I had been waiting to hear. It's part 1 of a two parter which was fine but it took a while for the conflict/monster (the Cybermen) to become clear. That was fine because we did 9 reuniting with the now retired Brigadier. I’m a sucker for scenes like this in New Who (see Sarah Jane and 10’s reunion in “School Reunion”). Considering how The Doctor just came off of fighting in the Time War, it feels fitting that Nine would be the one to reunite with the Brigadier, a soldier, to process what happened/how he changed since UNIT days. I don’t know too much about all of the Doctor’s and Brigadier’s Classic stories together, but the reunion here still works really well.

The Forth Generation: After last story’s buildup, the concluding story of the set is a standard but good Cyberman story. I was disappointed that despite it being a Mondasian Cyberman that started the invasions/is featured on the cover, its voice (and those of its armor) aren’t the Mondasian voice but sounds more like the general one used in New Who. Still I did like the variations in the standard Cybermen stories that this one used. Maybe the ending is a bit of a cop out but I did like how the threat was dealt with and how it tied back into the two part story’s emphasis on cultural heritage. And again, The Doctor and The Brigadier have great moments together.

In general I’d say this wasn’t as good a collection as I wanted but I did like it more than the other Ninth Doctor series I’ve listened to. The highlight of course was the extended time between Nine and the Brigadier, as with the best of Big Finish it makes you wish they had shown it on TV instead but the audio version is still enjoyable.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.1 Fond Farewell ~ The Doctor is invited to the funeral of an old friend. Except … the old friend, who is attending his own funeral, doesn’t remember the Doctor. This all seems odd. It’s a nice story, and Eccleston is his usual fantastic self. Truly feels like a “lost episode” (3/5).

4.2 Way of the Burryman ~ The Ninth Doctor. The Brigadier. Mondasian Cybermen. What more could you want? (4/5).

4.3 Forth Generation ~ The Ninth Doctor. The Brigadier. Mondasian Cybermen. Part 2. The Conclusion. What more could you want? I was quite literally in tears at the end of this one (5/5).

Also include bonus material with interviews with cast & crew.

[Taksya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continua la collaborazione tra Christopher Eccleston e la Big Finish, con il quarto boxset delle avventure in solitaria del nono Dottore.

4.1 Fond Farewell by David K Barnes
Il Dottore è invitato ad assistere alla cerimonia funebre di Flynn Beckett, famoso naturalista.
Ma la Fond Farewell, che organizza funerali, ha trovato il modo di far partecipare i defunti alla loro stessa veglia.
Peccato che il Dottore trovi cambiato l'avatar del vecchio amico e, di certo, sotto sotto si nasconde qualcosa di losco.

4.2 Way of the Burryman by Roy Gill
Un giovane Sam Bishop, che noi conosciamo come membro della UNIT ai tempi di Kate Steward, deve decidere cosa fare della sua vita.
Lui vuole girare il mondo, la sua ragazza restare in Scozia e, nel frattempo, vecchi fantasmi iniziano infestare la loro città natale.
Il Brigadiere Lethbridge-Stewart arriva ad investigare, presto raggiunto dal Dottore.

4.3 The Forth Generation by Roy Gill
Seguito della storia precedente, con gli stessi protagonisti ed un nemico classico, facilmente individuabile dalla copertina del cofanetto.
Non è però detto che la UNIT è il Dottore abbiano imparato come affrontare i Cybermen.

Nonostante un inizio stand alone, la storia ci porta subito su terreni conosciuti, sia per i protagonisti che per gli avversari incontrati.
Gli scambi tra il Dottore e il Brigadiere sono perfetti, con il primo che non vuole rivelare troppo e il secondo che, dopo una prima esitazione, ritrova subito il vecchio amico di sempre.
Solite citazioni e personaggi bene in parte, ottima la scelta di dare un passato a uno dei nuovi personaggi introdotti negli audio della New UNIT.

[DrAshleyWho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-listened as part of ‘Ecclethon’, a marathon of Ninth Doctor audios and TV episodes to commemorate the 20th anniversary of New Who

The thematic linking that has defined the Eccleston boxsets so far (a nod to how interconnected the 2005 run was) is here focused on Nine reuniting with past acquaintances. Fond Farewell by David K Barnes is a stark contrast to the last times Doctor Who has done funeral-centred stories like Revelation of the Daleks in being more quirky and poignant instead of pushing the horror material to the absolute limits, but it’s merely the quiet one compared to the two-part finale Way of the Burryman/The Forth Generation, in which Roy Gill cleverly misleads the audience into thinking it’s a low-key ghost story until it reveals itself as a Cyberman story as if Monsters in Metropolis wasn’t enough of a hint (would’ve loved it if the boxset cover didn’t give it away, make it a genuine surprise!), though compared to Metropolis it’s a more standard Cyberman/UNIT story with occasional bit of spooky imagery whose trump card is the big Nine meets Brigadier story - granted this has happened in the Titan Comics series but even though it’s Jon Culshaw’s decent spin on Lethbridge-Stewart here, to have Eccleston’s Doctor finally meet him for ‘real’ is a thrill.

[Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

With solid voice acting and entertaining storylines, this box set is a fantastic (haha) finisher to Eccleston's return to Doctor Who. The characters (both new and old) are well written and engaging, complementing Nine's zany energy perfectly.

I have some small nitpicks, but they mostly have to do with the Cybermen. I'm sort of sick of them at this point. This isn't really the boxset's fault, but man oh man, I don't want another appearance for a long while. They just...irritate me, and there's only so much you can do with them thematically.

Now, it's time to resist my impulse to binge Series 1 for the millionth time. Wish me luck soldiers!

[Jamieson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The season finale for the first run of Ninth Doctor Adventures went out with a bang. When Christopher Eccleston returned to the role of the Ninth Doctor for Big Finish, fans had a hard time believing it. All four of these boxsets have been set before the TV Episode "Rose" and feature a solo Ninth Doctor traveling on his own.

This boxset, Old Friends, contains three stories. The first Fond Farewell, sees the Doctor arrived at a friend's funeral where the deceased is able to attend their own wake. But something is not right under the surface as the Doctor isn't recognized by his friend. This one deals with memory, forgiveness and death. It was deep at times, but also a lot of fun.

The second two stories, Way of the Burryman and The Forth Generation, take us to Scotland and the Forth Bridge. Here we get an older, post-Battlefield Brigadier (played nearly to perfection by Jon Culshaw), an origin story for Sam Bishop (from the UNIT: The New Series from Big Finish) and Cybermen. The inclusion of the Cybermen was kept secret right up to release, helped by their appearance in the previous boxset. This story was a lot of fun. Seeing Nine and the Brig together was great and while there were a few times where I could tell it wasn't Nick Courtney playing the Brig, it wasn't often and was totally believable. The Sam Bishop storyline is where the real emotional payout is (I won't spoil that any further), and the Cybermen plot is well done.

In all, this was a really fun boxset. I think Chris has found his Doctor again in audio and is a joy to listen to. The stories are highly enjoyable and the guest cast is really good. If you enjoyed Eccleston's Doctor and thought his tenure on TV was way too short, then these are defintely worth checking out.

[Lucas Johns · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fond Farewell by David K Barnes
A brilliant opener to the set. I really enjoyed the premise and the character of Professor Flynn however the twist villain felt a bit uninteresting as the character didn't get much time in the story. The premise carries the story, Doctor Who is one of the only series that I can name which is able to have such inventive and futuristic ideas. 8/10

Way of the Burryman by Roy Gill
Starts off really strong and I really enjoy Jon Culshaw's impression of the Brigadier although he has not changed his impression much for an older Brigadier. The interactions between the ninth Doctor and the Brigadier are the main reason I brought the set and it does not disappoint for me at least. For some reason this is Sam Bishop's origin story (along with The Forth Generation) which is quite interesting but random. The main mystery of the story is a little interesting. There isn't much to say as I do not want to give away any spoilers but this is mostly set up for The Forth Generation. 7/10

The Forth Generation by Roy Gill
The Forth Generation is clearly supposed to be the series finale of the Ninth Doctor Adventures. This had me really excited as Way of the Burryman leads directly into this audio. However, I fell asleep during my first attempt at listening to this. I lost interest when I realised the cybermen in this set who are supposed to be Mondasian Cybermen don't have the Mondasian voices. Now it may seem like a nitpick but for me this was a devastating aspect of The Forth Generation. I did not mention the cybermen voices in the Way of the Burryman section as that mainly focuses on one damaged cyberman who has a distorted voice therefore one could assume it is an exception from the rest. The overall plot itself is fine but every time I think about this set I just think about the cyberman voices. I believe this might also be a problem with Jenny - The Doctor's Daughter: Volume 2 Still Running "Altered Statues" which also contained a Mondasian Cyberman on the cover. However, I cannot confidently confirm this as I have only listen to the audio trailer of that set. Nonetheless, the Brigadier is great, so is Sam Bishop and the Ninth Doctor. 5/10

Overall 20/30 (my four star rating has been rounded up).

[The Post Monument · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fond Farewell - 3.5 stars
Way of the Burryman - 3 stars
The Forth Generation - 3 stars

Overall - 3 stars

[Jamie Holland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story 1 - 4*
Story 2&3 - 4.5*

[Jamie Revell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This features two new stories featuring the Ninth Doctor both on the general theme of the collection’s title, although otherwise quite different.

Fond Farewell – The Doctor attends the funeral of someone with whom he shared a previous (unseen) adventure to discover that, in addition to an unexpected technological twist to the funeral proceedings, something about the deceased isn’t quite right. The resulting story is, in part, a base-under-siege, but there’s more to it than that, with the nature of the villains more nuanced than at first appears. It’s a story that works well with Nine and gives him a chance to show more of his serious side than the goofier take we have had in the earlier volumes of this series (it’s a funeral, after all). The presence of the companion surrogate in this story is also tied directly into it, rather than being somebody else just caught up in its events. On the downside, the explanation for events was less creepy than the one I’d thought it was going for, albeit tragic in a different way – and it still works. 4 stars.

Way of the Burryman/The Forth Generation – The second story is a two-parter, with individually titled episodes in the style of the era. The Brigadier has, of course, met all of the first seven Doctors on screen and with the Eighth Doctor in both audio and novel format but, until this release, had only encountered the Ninth in some of the comics. In the obvious absence of Nicholas Courtney, he’s played by Jon Culshaw in this one, but it’s clear that he’s intended as the main draw here. Fortunately, the story of which he is part is itself a strong one (in a way that 8th Doctor meeting Minuet in Hell definitely wasn’t). As the cover indicates, it’s a Cyberman story, although the main villains don’t turn up until nearly the half-way mark, with the first episode instead dealing with a more low-key mystery about ghosts on an island in the Firth of Forth.

That’s all set-up for the second half, which also ties in earlier stories in this audio range and introduces us to a young Sam Bishop (from the UNIT audios) as a backup companion still working with the regular army. The mystery of the first episode solved, we get a much more traditional Cyberman story from then on, with some dramatic scenes and strong emotional beats amid reflections on how much both the Brigadier and the Doctor have changed since the UNIT years on TV. As in the previous episode, the more serious take on the Ninth Doctor brings it up a notch compared with some of the strained wackiness in the previous volume. It also makes some good use of the setting by the Forth Bridge, and is an unusual instance of the second half of a two-parter being better than the first. 4.5 stars.

[Danny Welch · Rating 5 out of 5]

So it's the last set in the first series of Ninth Doctor adventures! I was excited for this one to see 9 and The Brigadier originally but when they revealed The Cybermen were in it too at the last possible moment, I was hyped!

Fond Farewell:
When The Doctor goes to a funeral to see his old friend, The Professor get laid to rest, he's horrified to find out his old friend has come back from the dead to share his final goodbye. But something is very wrong here, why are the androids acting strangely and why can't the Professor remember meeting the Timelord? Soon people start dying and The Doctor hasn't got a lot of time on his hands.

This was a very mature and melancholic story about death and the grieving of a widow, it has its fair share of humor but overall David K. Barnes has written a great character drama with a strong emotional core to it. 9/10

Way of The Burryman:
The Doctor on his quest to reunite with his old friend The Brigadier finds himself on an island of ghosts in Scotland alongside Sam Bishop before his recruitment at UNIT. But something far more sinister is hiding in plain sight and The Doctor may just give it what it wants.

This was a really atmospheric story with some spine-tingling moments, it's lovely to see Nine and The Brigadier together, something we've all wanted for a very long time now, and Roy Gill has done a brilliant job bringing the two together! There are a few instances where the dialogue wasn't the best but everything else comes together so well, I can sort of forgive it.

A very fun start to the finale of this series of adventures with The Ninth Doctor, can't wait to see how it all comes together in The Forth Generation! 8.5/10

The Forth Generation:
With The Cybermen on the march, The Doctor and his friends are in a race against time but some of them might not make it on the other side.

This was an incredible finale, it's action-packed, creepy, and absolutely heartbreaking. It does everything a Cyberman story does when they're at their absolute best, strong character dynamics and emotion, the polar opposite of The Cybermen.

Roy Gill is a writer who almost never disappoints, UNIT Dating and now this? I can't wait to see what he has in store for us all next! 10/10

Overall the past four boxsets have been absolutely fantastic from start to finish! Can't wait to see what they have in store for us all in Series 2! 27.5/30

[April Mccaffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A strong 3 stars.

Much better than the last ninth Doctor adventures: Lost Warriors.

The 9th Doctor adventures have been such an up-and-down roller coaster for me. In my honest opinion, I don't think the range as a whole work as a boxset. They need individual stories to flesh out, and I think there's only so much they can do with the 9th Doctor traveling on his own. Also the Doctor just flirting with most of the men is great.

1. Fond Farewell

This was a fun one to listen too. I liked the characters Flynn, Whitby and Sasha. I thought they were well developed and acted for the time frame they had. Not the most unique idea, but still a lot of fun of being invited to your own funeral trope.

Way of the Burryman & The Forth Generation by Roy Gill

This year seems to be the year of Cybermen stories for me, for some reason. I love Cybermen, they have terrified me ever since I was a kid watching series 2 for the first time. I always preferred them over the Daleks. With having listened to so many cybermen stories and some very similar together, I wasn't overly wowed but I actually enjoyed it nonetheless. I especially loved the scene of the Cybermen marching on the seabed floor, very pirates of the Caribbean moment there with the skeletons walking on the seabed.

I've also never listened to Jon Culshaw as the Brigadier before, but I thought he did a very good impression. You can certainly tell he worked hard to get the voice right and was lovely to hear the Brigadier and 9 meet again. Bridadier can also tell Nine has been through the wars recently which breaks my heart.

I also enjoyed Sam and Fiona. I thought they were interesting characters, but again, sort of similar to what i listened to before recently.

Overall, much better set of stories here imo.

[Ellen Schoener · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another set of stories from Big Finish, featuring the Ninth Doctor.
This time, we get one individual story and a two-parter.

Fond Farewell- hmm. This story was not my cup of tea.
Yes, it was original, and something we do not get often in Who.... but somehow I felt it was just a petty (but murderous) soap opera... So the whole massacre only happens because the wife cannot forgive her husband cheating on her?
I give them credit for originality and trying.... but just not what I am going for in my escapism adventures.

The cyberman two-parter: This is more like it.
The first part is nicely creepy, we get some nice character introductions (like Sam Bishop) and of course there is the Brig!
I have to say, since I was at first a bit critical of this re-cast, he is getting better and better at it. Great job.
While the first part of the two-parter is creepy and mysterious, mixing ancient folklore with science fiction, the second part is more the usual Cyberman run-around.
It is still fun and all, but it is pretty clear from the start how this would be playing out.

I admit this set of stories was not as good as "Respond to all Calls", "Lost Warriors" and "Into the Stars". It was just missing the certain something that made the other sets great and in my opinion relied a bit too much on recurring characters like the Brig and Sam.
It is still better than Ravagers, tough.
But while Ravagers in my book barely makes the 3 stars, this one is more like 3,5 .

[Jason Prince · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid end to the first season in spite of the slightly convoluted two-parter. I absolutely adored the concept of Fond Farewell, and it had me think about the pros and cons of such a service if it were to become a reality. The two-partner had many great lines and references to the Doctor's past with the Brigadier, but it was hard to follow some of the specific dialect they used at times i.e. no idea what was going on with the Berry stuff. Nonetheless, all of this volume was backed up by great performances from Eccleston and co, and I'm sure the future volumes will be just as fantastic.
Fond Farewell - 9/10.
Way of the Burryman - 8/10.
The Forth Generation - 9/10.

First Season Ranking:
1. Monsters in Metropolis - 9.5/10.
2. Planet of the End - 9/10.
3. Fond Farewell - 9/10.
4. Fright Motif - 9/10.
5. The Forth Generation - 9/10.
6. The Hunting Season - 9/10
7. Way of the Burryman - 8/10.
8. Girl Deconstructed - 8/10.
9. Catastrophe - 8/10.
10. The Curse of Lady Macbeth - 7.5/10
11. Food Fight - 7.5/10.
12. Sphere of Freedom - 7/10.

[A room full of books~ :) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Would usually have been a 3-star rating, but I had to dock it a full star downwards thanks to the first story's 'handling' of a cheating plotline (the rightfully{!}-ticked-off wife is the baddie in the story and is told by other characters to fully forgive her cheating husband to 'give herself closure' {WTF?}, *AND* the woman that the jerk cheated with has zero remorse nor any twinge of conscience at what she had done whatsoever-- and this is portrayed as just all fine and normal for some reason?!), as well as some other ~interesting~ uses of female characters in the other stories. (Another reviewer actually summed all this up quite nicely before me, so I'll just link to that here as well: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ) Anyway, it had some good ideas, but it could *definitely* have used some better writing at times here.

[Chris Limb · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final volume in Christopher Eccleston's debut "season" for Big Finish comes to a very satisfactory close with two stories (a one and a two-parter) as rewarding and epic as anything seen on screen during his short TV tenure.

Links loosely in to the earlier installments with a light touch story arc and finally gives us a 21st century TV incarnation of the Doctor meeting the Brigadier albeit via the medium of Jon Culshaw's uncanny impersonation of the late Nicholas Courtney. In addition Eccleston himself is pretty much indistinguishable from the ninth Doctor we were first introduced to over 15 years ago with subtle hints of the turmoil beneath the surface that the viewer would come to know well during the 2005 season.

The good news is that more is on the way. Fantastic.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. Fond Farewell
自分の葬式に来てほしいと頼まれたドクターは葬式に本人がいて驚く。実は最後の別れを言うために当人の意識をA.I.に移したサービスなのだという。

最後のお別れを言える方がいいのか、でももう一度死ぬというかお別れをしないといけないので余計に辛いのではないかとも思ったり。不倫された奥さんが不倫相手の記憶を消したくなった気持ちも若干わからないでもなく。
次回いよいよブリゲディアに会いにいくようなので楽しみ！
2.Way of the Burryman
ブリゲディアに会いにスコットランドに到着したドクター。幽霊探しをしているサムとフィオナに興味をもち同行する。ブリゲディアはUNITの顧問アドバイザーとして現役復帰をしており、スコットランドで幽霊騒ぎの謎をとこうとしていた。

ついにドクターとブリゲディアが再会。変わらないブリゲディアに大喜びのドクターが可愛かった。でもタイム・ウォーのことを言い出せないドクター。話せばいいのに。ブリゲディアは素直じゃないドクターのことをかなり心配している感じ。幽霊かと思いきやサイバーマンが現れてしまった。"
3. the Forth Generation
フィオナがサイバーマンに捉えられサイバーキングとなってしまったものの彼女の記憶を呼び戻すことでサイバーマンの侵略を止める。他のサイバーマンに記憶を取り戻させるかどうかはフィオナの意志に任せると言うあたりはなんだかグッときてしまった。
ドクターとブリゲディアの関係もすごく良くて、お互いすごく信じてるし、でも表面的にはさりげない感じで。
これが最後かもしれないのだけれども、でも機会があればまた再会してほしいなぁ。
9とブリゲディアすごくよかった。

[Steven Shinder · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew that this boxset would come out on Christopher Eccleston's birthday. The premise of "Fond Farewell" is kinda funny given an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm that aired not too long ago. The other two stories have Nine interacting with the Brigadier. The moments where they get to talk to each other personally are my favorite moments. While it might’ve been nice for the Brigadier to have met a NuWho Doctor onscreen, there was never a moment when I didn’t believe Jon Culshaw was the Brigadier. Also nice that Nine gets to face Mondassian Cybermen. And again, it really does feel like The Doctor is still getting over having fought a war.

[Nicolas Lontel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un bon trio d'épisode pour conclure cette "saison", le double-épisode final en fait beaucoup en même temps (épisode avec des rappels historiques, les Cybermen, la réunion avec le Brigadier, un épisode de génèse pour Sam Bishop) d'où la nécessité de l'espacer un peu plus et de laisser le temps aux histoires et aux relations de bien se poser.
J'apprécie aussi beaucoup plus cette humanisation de cyberman que la finale avec Bill Potts, ça semble fonctionner un peu plus à l'audio, ou en tout cas, le scénario est peut-être un peu mieux construit pour permettre cette humanisation.

[Marcel Driel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first story has a brilliant idea, but lacks a bit in the execution; the characters are kinda flat and not much is happening. It’s a solid episode, but the idea deserved a better story.

The second story has much better characters with some great dialogue, but also a pretty mundane story with an ending that came out of nowhere and was only there to justify the third part.

The third one is the worst unfortunately. The characters from the middle story are reduced to shouting exposition and there are way too many talking Cybermen (some of them with voices that are hardly comprehensible). Second half was much better, though and it had a bittersweet ending.

[Sara Habein · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always want more when I finish one of these Ninth Doctor sets. Maybe it's because there are only 3 stories compared to, say, the Eighth Doctor's four stories at a time, but it's also because these are done so well. Also, this time the Brig shows up! Jon Culshaw's version of him is very much like the original man's distinctive voice, and between him and the Cybermen showing up, we get to see the Ninth Doctor interact with some characters that he didn't get to during his TV days. Good stuff, all around.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fond Farewell:
5/10
Verdict: Optional

Decent set-up, characters and location with an alright escalating threat. Unfortunately this story doesn't feel like it has much more to offer other than that, it tries to do something poetic with the plot at the end but the twist is very predictable and I don't feel anything for these characters. Not a bad story, just a very forgettable one.

Way of the Burryman / The Forth Generation:
5/10
Verdict: Optional

Generally, this story is fine. Every element is just fine, the cybermen are fine, the setting is fine, the characters are fine, the drama is fine. I mean it's hard to say anything about this story, because nothing ultimately stands out as even slightly exceptional.

[ava · Rating 5 out of 5]

fond farewell: 9/10
way of the burryman: 10/10
the forth generation: 10/10

“perhaps you need someone to keep you in fighting order, too.”

i know christopher has gone on to do more audios but i felt like this particular boxset was the most perfect prologue to series 1 and beautifully sets up nine being more open to travelling with someone again. the two-part finale was incredibly good with a great supporting cast and a great plot (i may be a bit biased cuz i love cybermen but seriously it was great).

[Finlay O'Riordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first story is decent, and it's nice to see Nine and The Brigadier interact. Eccleston and Culshaw have great acting chemistry.

I felt the Cybermen stories to be quite disappointing. The setting was a bit too small scale when there's supposed to be a full scale legion of the things with all different designs at work. Perhaps something more planet wide and apocalyptic would've suited here.

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as exceptional as the previous two sets, though one can't help but be pleased by the appearance of the Brigadier. The last two stories are a twofer - this makes the first story feel somewhat out of place, despite the similar themes.

[Debra Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ninety doctor solves a problem at a future funeral then battles old cybermen with the brigadier.

[Jurgen · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.1 'Fond Farewell' by David K Barnes: 5*
4.2 'Way of the Burryman' by Roy Gill: 5*
4.3 'The Forth Generation' by Roy Gill: 5*

[Christopher Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this box set so much really enjoyed it.