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The Paternoster Gang #8
The Paternoster Gang: Trespassers, Vol. 4: Last Stand
In Victorian England, the Great Detective, Madame Vastra, her resourceful spouse, Jenny Flint, and their loyal valet, Strax, solve conundrums, fight injustice and capture criminals - but a shapeshifting enemy is moving against them. Hunting down their foe amid London society, Vastra is driven to distraction, and the Gang ousted from their home - before a final confrontation!
2.10 I Married a Shapeshifter by Alan Ronald - The Gang visit an old friend in a haunted mansion. Miss Faversham is suffering a mysterious malady, and her engagement to the curious Lord Briar convinces Vastra she can scent the enemy. As Jenny helps supernatural investigator Harriet Cross catch a ghost, they discover something far more dangerous loose inside the walls of Briar Hall.
2.11 A Passion for Fashion by Helen Goldwyn - Society ladies are losing their fortunes and growing mortally sick - apparently infected by insatiable desire for the designs of enigmatic hat-maker, Monsieur Declerq. With the help of a shop-girl, the Gang uncover rivalry in the fashion world and a dark trade in cruel importation. They also find that Monsieur Declerq is much more than a flamboyant fashionista.
2.12 The Final Poblom by Lauren Mooney & Stewart Pringle - The villainous trespasser has finally succeeded in banishing the Paternosters from their home, using the most powerful weapon in his arsenal: the bailiffs. Stuck in a seedy boarding house, the Gang soon realise something else is afoot. Things are going missing. Something is munching its way through London, and it may be the answer to all their problems...
2.10 I Married a Shapeshifter by Alan Ronald - The Gang visit an old friend in a haunted mansion. Miss Faversham is suffering a mysterious malady, and her engagement to the curious Lord Briar convinces Vastra she can scent the enemy. As Jenny helps supernatural investigator Harriet Cross catch a ghost, they discover something far more dangerous loose inside the walls of Briar Hall.
2.11 A Passion for Fashion by Helen Goldwyn - Society ladies are losing their fortunes and growing mortally sick - apparently infected by insatiable desire for the designs of enigmatic hat-maker, Monsieur Declerq. With the help of a shop-girl, the Gang uncover rivalry in the fashion world and a dark trade in cruel importation. They also find that Monsieur Declerq is much more than a flamboyant fashionista.
2.12 The Final Poblom by Lauren Mooney & Stewart Pringle - The villainous trespasser has finally succeeded in banishing the Paternosters from their home, using the most powerful weapon in his arsenal: the bailiffs. Stuck in a seedy boarding house, the Gang soon realise something else is afoot. Things are going missing. Something is munching its way through London, and it may be the answer to all their problems...
- GenresDoctor WhoAudiobook
Audio CD
Published May 1, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 29, 2025
Oh well....
this series just was not as fun for me as the previous one.
It just never came together as well and the villain in this series is just all over the place.
I admit I was a bit disappointed.
It is still well performed and entertaining, but the whole back and forth with the villain became really tiresome by the end.
this series just was not as fun for me as the previous one.
It just never came together as well and the villain in this series is just all over the place.
I admit I was a bit disappointed.
It is still well performed and entertaining, but the whole back and forth with the villain became really tiresome by the end.
February 19, 2025
8.1 I Married a Zygon - Definitely one of the sillier ones, but it’s quite good. I often don’t enjoy the sillier ones as much, but this worked for me quite well. (4/5)
8.2 A Passion for Fashion - Fashion Kills! Literally. Fun and silly, with some rather wild implications. Good stuff. (3/5)
8.3 The Final Poblom - Evicted! Goodbye to Paternoster Row. Oh wait, maybe it’s not the end. And then we get that frelling ending! Oh and The (Eighth) Doctor makes an appearance. (4/5)
8.2 A Passion for Fashion - Fashion Kills! Literally. Fun and silly, with some rather wild implications. Good stuff. (3/5)
8.3 The Final Poblom - Evicted! Goodbye to Paternoster Row. Oh wait, maybe it’s not the end. And then we get that frelling ending! Oh and The (Eighth) Doctor makes an appearance. (4/5)
August 23, 2026
The concluding part of this second (and, so far, final) series wraps up the plot arc while adding another standalone episode in the middle. Despite the Doctor’s appearance on the cover, he is really just a brief cameo, although McGann does also get to play the villain in the final episode.
I Married a Zygon
This series has, up to this point, included several filler episodes, entertaining in their own right, but with only tangential relevance to the main plot. This initially feels like another, seeing Madame Vastra heading out to investigate a haunted house despite her disbelief in the supernatural. This time, however, the link proves to be more than tangential, hooking back to earlier episodes in more ways than one.
Of course, the supernatural can be real within the Doctor Who universe, but, in this case, the story has more of a Sherlockian feel, with this possibility never being seriously considered. This is aided by the addition of a likeable ghost hunter who, like Vastra, doubts the real existence of what she is hunting, while remaining open to the possibility. She mostly gets to interact with Jenny, while Vastra explores the strange behaviour of a contact from earlier in the series, and Strax faces a butler with a similar bent for pugilistic violence. Naturally, it departs from the Sherlock theme in that the explanation, while not magical, remains firmly out of this world and in the tone being more comic than investigatory. But it’s yet another fun story in the presence of these characters, each bringing their own skills and perspective to the plot. 4 stars.
A Passion for Fashion
The standalone story, with no real connection to the wider plot, sees the gang investigating a hatmaker whose creations are both entrancingly popular and apparently deadly. It’s the sort of daft conceit that suits the series, poking fun at the trend in 1890s fashion for huge feathers and excessive (to modern eyes) hat ornamentation. The story itself is a decent mystery, throwing up a few twists along the way to the eventual science fiction explanation.
That explanation does, however, feel rather contrived, so your enjoyment may depend on how far you’re willing to accept the intended absurdity of it all. But there’s quite a bit of fun on the way towards it, and some insight into the characters through their different views on events. The main antagonist is a good one, and not entirely unsympathetic, although ultimately the story ends up being rather slight. 3.5 stars.
The Final Poblom
The final episode has the task of wrapping everything up, with the arc villain apparently victorious and the Gang having to figure out how to turn the tables once again. There are some reflections on Victorian poverty along the way, but soon those are replaced by the poblom of the title; an alien being causing a range of issues for our heroes. This is where the Doctor makes his brief appearance, although he has very little to do with the plot.
There’s certainly daftness and weirdness in the story, but it’s not the strongest that this season has produced, despite the threat to our heroes’ lives being ramped up. The villain, for example, does relatively little, a necessary antagonist, but not fleshed out and rather less interesting than he was in some of the earlier episodes. The ending is rather strange, too, giving the impression of having been hastily written at the last minute – possibly to cover a decision not to make a third season. So, perhaps not the best send-off the series could have had, but it still works, and there’s a final dose of fun with crazy plans and a bonkers monster along the way. 4 stars.
I Married a Zygon
This series has, up to this point, included several filler episodes, entertaining in their own right, but with only tangential relevance to the main plot. This initially feels like another, seeing Madame Vastra heading out to investigate a haunted house despite her disbelief in the supernatural. This time, however, the link proves to be more than tangential, hooking back to earlier episodes in more ways than one.
Of course, the supernatural can be real within the Doctor Who universe, but, in this case, the story has more of a Sherlockian feel, with this possibility never being seriously considered. This is aided by the addition of a likeable ghost hunter who, like Vastra, doubts the real existence of what she is hunting, while remaining open to the possibility. She mostly gets to interact with Jenny, while Vastra explores the strange behaviour of a contact from earlier in the series, and Strax faces a butler with a similar bent for pugilistic violence. Naturally, it departs from the Sherlock theme in that the explanation, while not magical, remains firmly out of this world and in the tone being more comic than investigatory. But it’s yet another fun story in the presence of these characters, each bringing their own skills and perspective to the plot. 4 stars.
A Passion for Fashion
The standalone story, with no real connection to the wider plot, sees the gang investigating a hatmaker whose creations are both entrancingly popular and apparently deadly. It’s the sort of daft conceit that suits the series, poking fun at the trend in 1890s fashion for huge feathers and excessive (to modern eyes) hat ornamentation. The story itself is a decent mystery, throwing up a few twists along the way to the eventual science fiction explanation.
That explanation does, however, feel rather contrived, so your enjoyment may depend on how far you’re willing to accept the intended absurdity of it all. But there’s quite a bit of fun on the way towards it, and some insight into the characters through their different views on events. The main antagonist is a good one, and not entirely unsympathetic, although ultimately the story ends up being rather slight. 3.5 stars.
The Final Poblom
The final episode has the task of wrapping everything up, with the arc villain apparently victorious and the Gang having to figure out how to turn the tables once again. There are some reflections on Victorian poverty along the way, but soon those are replaced by the poblom of the title; an alien being causing a range of issues for our heroes. This is where the Doctor makes his brief appearance, although he has very little to do with the plot.
There’s certainly daftness and weirdness in the story, but it’s not the strongest that this season has produced, despite the threat to our heroes’ lives being ramped up. The villain, for example, does relatively little, a necessary antagonist, but not fleshed out and rather less interesting than he was in some of the earlier episodes. The ending is rather strange, too, giving the impression of having been hastily written at the last minute – possibly to cover a decision not to make a third season. So, perhaps not the best send-off the series could have had, but it still works, and there’s a final dose of fun with crazy plans and a bonkers monster along the way. 4 stars.
February 4, 2026
I Married A Zygon - 4 stars
It took me a while to fully get into this, namely a whole year but when I got into it, it was a great ride.
A Passion for Fashion - 3.5 stars
From the beginning, it was obvious who the antagonists were, and the plot is just so-so, but I really did enjoy the female performances in this.
The Final Poblom - 3 stars
It started out very confusing, then less confusing, and then a bit more confusing. I'm not a fan of the plot but the concept itself is pretty interesting.
It took me a while to fully get into this, namely a whole year but when I got into it, it was a great ride.
A Passion for Fashion - 3.5 stars
From the beginning, it was obvious who the antagonists were, and the plot is just so-so, but I really did enjoy the female performances in this.
The Final Poblom - 3 stars
It started out very confusing, then less confusing, and then a bit more confusing. I'm not a fan of the plot but the concept itself is pretty interesting.
May 18, 2025
If only they did four stories … we wouldn’t need a fast forward post-script.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews