Doctor Who: Classic Doctors, New Monsters - Volume 4: Broken Memories

Classic Doctors, New Monsters

by Jonathan Morris, Jacqueline Rayner, David K. Barnes

Four new adventures featuring classic Doctors encountering monsters from the new series of Doctor Who!

4.1 Invasion of the Body Stealers by Jonathan Morris - Visiting the crystal forests of Systalzyn, the Fourth Doctor and Sarah encounter a crashing spaceship and race to find survivors. But not everyone they meet on this colony world is in their right mind - the body-hopping Harmony Shoal have set their sights on invasion!

4.2 The Queen of Clocks by Jacqueline Rayner - The Sixth Doctor and Mel come to the rescue when they find a castle under siege from Clockwork Droids. But in a kingdom run with painstaking precision, time is running out for the Queen of Guyenne.

4.3 The Silent Priest by David K Barnes - In search of solace from the Time War, the Eighth Doctor is caught between rival criminals and the law in the city of Sunset. Who is the mysterious Priest with the key to ending the violence? And if the Doctor really has visited Sunset before, why can't he remember?

4.4 The Silent City by David K Barnes - Sunset City is thriving, the tourists are spending. But something about the place doesn't make sense - and the casino seems to be in the business of redistributing the wealth. In the midst of it all, the Seventh Doctor faces the consequences of actions he has yet to take.

Genres: Doctor Who, Audiobook

Audio CD

Published March 1, 2024

About the author

Jonathan Morris is one of the most prolific and popular writers of Doctor Who books, including the highly-regarded novels 'Festival of Death' and 'Touched by an Angel' and the recent guide to monsters, 'The Monster Vault'. He has also written numerous comic strips, most of which were collected in 'The Child of Time', and audios for BBC Audio and Big Finish, including the highly-regarded comedies 'Max Warp' and 'The Auntie Matter', as well as the adaptation of Russell T Davies’ 'Damaged Goods'.

Recently he has started his own audio production company, Average Romp. Releases include a full-cast adaptation of Charles Dickens' The Chimes', an original play, 'When Michael Met Benny', and three episodes of a SF sitcom, 'Dick Dixon in the 21st Century'.

For details visit www.averageromp.com

He also originated his own series, Vienna and script-edited the Nigel Planer series 'Jeremiah Bourne in Time'. He’s also written documentaries and for TV sketch shows.

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Reviews

[Danny Welch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic Doctors, New Monsters is a series of box sets that are a great jumping-on-point for new listeners. New series monsters with Classic Who Doctors, what more could you want? Broken Memories was initially meant to come out last year so when it was announced the set would be delayed by a few months, it's not a surprise that people were disappointed. But now it's finally here and I'm so excited to finally get into it!

Invasion of The Body Stealers:
Visiting the crystal forests of Systalzyn, The Doctor and Sarah uncover the wreckage of a crashed spaceship. Inside a sole occupant still survives, but its head has been scarred. Visiting the local facility, The Doctor and Sarah soon find that people are being removed from the equation one by one, their brains replaced by the criminal masterminds known only as Harmony Shoal. But why are they here and what do they mean for humanity's future? For The Doctor, this is only the beginning of his misadventures with the criminal gang.

Jonathan Morris has written a brilliant script that is terrifying and hilarious in equal measure. It's perfect for Season 13, with its B-movie horror vibes and score, to its disturbing depiction of gore and violence. It's a story that's a lot of fun with plenty of puns. 4 and Sarah are characterized spectacularly here and I'm dying to see this duo again already! 9/10

The Queen of Clocks:
The Sixth Doctor and Mel arrive to find a castle in the middle of a human colony under siege from clockwork droids. The Kingdom is on the verge of destruction, food supplies have run out, the people are frightened and the droids are preparing to rip the people to pieces for mechanical components. Time is running out and the clocks are ticking.

Jacqueline Rayner has written an incredible script that is so beautifully clever, heartbreaking, terrifying, and at times quite funny too. This is a really powerful story with some very charismatic characters, emotional scenes, and a truly shocking twist that made my jaw drop. The ending of this story is honestly one of the best Big Finish has ever done and that in my eyes is massive praise. Endings can be hard to piece together, but when they're firing on all cylinders they become truly remarkable and incredibly memorable. 10/10

The Silent Priest:
Sunset City used to be a place of beautiful splendor, tourists across the galaxy would come here for vacations. But since the economy has degraded, the people within its confines are suffering and only the rich can afford to stay. Mobsters run amock on the street, killing any unfortunate innocents that get caught in the crossfire However, two criminal gangs have their eyes set on a church and it's up to The Doctor to find out what the church's secret is and how he can end a terrible war.

David K. Barnes has written a terrific first installment to a 2-part adventure that starts with the 8th Doctor and concludes with the 7th Doctor, there aren't many stories you can do with this approach but with the Silence involved, the possibility presents itself. It's an atmospheric story inspired by the noir-crime movies of yesteryear and Barnes has done a really good job piecing together an engaging story that has an amazing sense of world-building, which is helped beautifully by the sound design making the world feel as bleak and alive as it should be. I will admit though it is one of those stories where The Doctor is thrown to and fro between the two hostile groups, which is fine and all but considering so many stories have done this, it feels like quite a cliche at this point. 9/10

The Silent City:
Sunset City is thriving, it has entered a second golden age. But the authorities are all the same very suspicious, especially of the criminals that run a casino supposedly having put aside their wrongdoings and making sure the city is safe. The Doctor has arrived, but investigating the situation he doesn't see anything wrong, that is until a billionaire is kidnapped and that's when he realizes that someone is playing a dangerous game and manipulating the minds of others. Someone is manipulating from the shadows and this time it isn't The Doctor.

David K. Barnes has written a fantastic script that brilliantly concludes what was set up in the first part. It's another well-pieced-together noir-crime drama type of story with moments of tension and horror. I love how it very much does feel like this story is set near the end of 7's life, as he seems like such an incredibly depressed character who looks back on his life, not with fondness but a sadness towards everything he has done throughout it and all the people he has hurt. I love how Barnes uses 7's tendency for manipulation to bite him back in the ass, it's a nice bit of karma but it's also kind of sad all things considered. Definitely the strongest of the two episodes in my opinion. 9/10

Overall: 37/40

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Invasion of the Body Stealers - A fun romp with Tom Baker, too bad we didn’t also get the original Sarah Jane, but Sadie Miller does a nice job. (3/5)

The Queen of Clocks - Another fun romp, this one with Colin Baker and Mel, Bonnie Langford. Thankfully there’s no law firm or court room anywhere in to be seen (or heard). (3/5)

The Silent Priest - Oh! This is a good one! Very “film noir” and twisted. I’ve always liked the concept of the Silent. And having the (Eighth) Doctor (Paul McGann) engaged with them during the Time War is very provocative and fascinating. (4/5)

The Silent City - Part Two! But a typical prequel/sequel with timey whimey stuff with Sylvester McCoy. Lots of fun, but I think I enjoyed the first part a bit more. In any case, the Silence are used quite effectively throughout both parts. (4/5)

Also, I have to add that I’ve been lucky enough to have met Paterson Joseph, and he is just a wonderful person.

[Sam Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.1: Invasion of the Body Stealers by Jonathan Morris

I was pretty excited for this one at first, because I thought the pairing of the fourth doctor and the Harmony Shoal was very interesting. I was expecting it to be like the 70s hammer horror style like “The Brain of Morbius.” Instead I got the most boring story ever. It’s the most bog-standard Doctor Who story I’ve listened to in a long time. The Doctor and companion meet the bad guys, and they defeat them. Complete with cringy villain one-liners, and a really stupid way to defeat the villains. Seriously, the villains were being really stupid at the conclusion, just so that the doctor could be able to defeat them. Jonathan Morris has never been my favorite big finish writer, but this is a new low. He doesn’t even use the aspect of mistrust very much. The Harmony Shoal can put their brains into human bodies and act like and pretend to be that person. But in this story that just say”hahaha we will destroy the world!” And the characters are almost nonexistent. No characterization. They’re all just redshirts, and the Doctor isn’t even interesting in this story. He’s not smart, witty, and sarcastic like the fourth doctor usually is. He just spouts plot information, and defeats the villains. What a disappointment.

4.2: The Queen of Clocks by Jacqueline Rayner.

At first I thought this story was going to be another repeat of the first story. At the beginning it had all the same problems. But I was quite surprised by that twist ending, and it completely changed my opinion on the rest of the story, and now I think it’s much better. Very well written script with interesting characters and dilemmas. I always love it in a Doctor Who story when there’s just a little conversation between the Doctor and companion in the tardis after a particularly affecting moment. A definite improvement from the previous story.

4.3: The Silent Priest by David K. Barnes

This one was really good. I really got the noir thriller feel from the very beginning of the story, with a rundown and broken city with all kinds of gangs and fights going on. The mystery at the center of the story is very interesting, and there is some interesting character development done with the Doctor while he is thinking about the time war. It also has a really cool ending. This is definitely my favorite story of the bunch.

4.4: The Silent City by David K. Barnes

In my opinion not quite as good as “The Silent Priest,” but it still has a really good story, interesting characters, and a very well done conclusion that makes you think. I also really like the setting of this one. It’s the same planet but before all of the gang wars, so it’s more sunny and happy everywhere, but you still get the feeling that something dark is lurking underneath the surface.

[Ellen Schoener · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another box set containing 4 individual stories.

Invasion of the Body Stealers.
Well, the first story was a nice distracting run-around, perfect for me to keep awake during a long train journey.
There is not really a lot of substance to it and the story is the same old- aliens try to start an invasion to a colony, lots of people are killed, the Doctor and companion intervene, get arrested at some point, but just in the nick of time, the Doctor works some magic and the threat is banned and the Tardis is off to repeat the same thing somewhere else.
Man, this sounds cynical.
It is not as bad as is sounds, as I said, it was an entertaining run-around for a train journey, unobtrusive but also shallow. Not really anywhere on my re-listen list for anytime soon.
However, the lead actors are on fine form and give a great performance.

The Queen and the Clock.
The second story with Sixie and the Clockwork droids is better, it has some clever twists and turns and a heartbreaking twist at the end. Great story and great performances.

Silent Priest.
Well, who would have thought that a Silent would fit in well with a noir crime story in Sin City?
It kind of does.
Performances are great, especially McGann.
I just get the feeling that the Doctor is a bit surplus to requirements, because the Silent is pretty good at drawing the strings in the background.
The Silent is more like Batman in Gotham city in this, he is not really a monster (as per the title of this box set).
All in all entertaining story.

The Silent City.
Well, another Doctor Who Sin City story, with gangsters, a shady casino and a very unlikely crime boss.
Sylvester is great in this.
He can a bit hit and miss with his performance, but this definitely was one of his better performances.
However, the story was just not up my alley.
It was as well made as the previous ones, but not really my cup of tea.

All in all a good set of stories. The performances of all the leads were great.
However, for me, it does not reach the brilliance that was the first two sets in the series.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the end of the day, Doctor Who: Broken Memories does exactly what it sets out to do. It delivers a collection of stories that combine classic Doctors with villains from the show's modern era. What makes this particular set so enjoyable, though, is the way each story recontextualizes those villains, either by digging deeper into why they act the way they do or by shining a new light on them. With the exception of its two-part finale, this is one of those box sets where you could easily listen to whichever story you wanted, in any order you wanted to. And that's honestly the joy of it. It's a simple, entertaining romp through Doctor Who's past and present in the most enjoyable way possible.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly, I think I preferred the first couple stories.

[Joseph S · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really, really good set. The four story sets are always >>>>>> the three story sets.

Also, the way they use The Silence was unique. Lovely, stuff.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Finlay O'Riordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

We had to wait a while for this one to come out, but every story here is a strong one and it was nice to finally have some content for The Silence again.