We'll make you laugh, gasp, cheer and squee with delight. But firstly cry.....

I seem to find a running theme here with BF boxsets. We have the first, which is something new and exciting and everyone loves it. Then we have the second, which follows on near directly from the last, but has a decent amount of difference from its predecessor. In some cases there is a slight delay in getting to us, but the wait is more than worth it. As for the third boxset, well, I have only a few examples for that as we are still only in late September/early October, but it goes along the gist of build on set two's best bits, throw in a game changing twist and a WTF? and HTHATGGOOTO? cliffhanger. Let's see if this is not only following that neat little formula, but also good...

FYI, HTHATGGOOTO? stands for How The Hell Are They Gonna Get Out Of That One?

DOCTOR WHO EIGHTH DOCTOR ADVENTURES REVIEW

6.03: DOOM COALITION: VOLUME 3

By Jack Ryan

BEWARE: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

The critical success of Doom Coalition cannot be underestimated. Like I said before, you've got a big huge and critically loved space epic to follow up on, and for the first half of its run, it manages to do it immensely well. But now that we're into the latter half of it's run, it has a big challenge ahead of itself; keeping the continuing listeners hooked whilst also hooking in more listeners by trying to be the best of the bunch, Does this succeed? Well, they decided to bring it out a month early (in a completely unrelated reason due to disc pressing for the CD release of the next War Doctor box) so they seem confident in it to bring it forward so late in the day...

The Eleven is free once more. After he and his companions, Liv Chenka and Helen Sinclair, just about escape the nightmare of the planet Syra's destruction, The Doctor is once more in search of the Gallifreyan psychopath and his growing entourage of madmen and madwomen. Following a stay in late 20th century Britain, with the rise of the mobile phone and a village's past calling them back, the team, along with the mysterious Professor Malone (hint, hint...) discover another Gallifreyan madman, The Clocksmith, a killer with a penchant for turning his victims into grotesque works of art. Travelling to 15th Century Prague, Tudor Britain, Modern Rome and the Archives of Gallifrey, the team must stop the Clocksmith from rebuilding the legendary Doomsday Chronometer. But an old enemy is hiding in the background, the only problems are, he hasn't met them yet, and he wants to help them...

Again, I'm trying to find words to express my utter glee at this boxset without resorting to squeefully swearing. But trust me when I say that this is some of the best writing you will ever see coming out of Big Finish. I mean we are talking up there with Nick Briggs and Rob Shearman! Doom Coalition regulars John Dorney and Matt Fitton return for two stories each on this set and immediately, by those names, you know it's going to be good. Seriously, when have these two ever written dud scripts? (Rhetorical question - please don't answer) Starting with Dorney's Absent Friends, this will give you a logical and acceptable reason to cry in public, when the Doctor and co land in an English village in 1998, where a recently erected mobile phone mast is causing some bizzare telephone calls. Following is Fitton's two stories The Eighth Piece and The Doomsday Chronometer. These really feel like a complex nu-Who two-parter, but much better. After splitting up to find the pieces of a lost Gallifreyan artifact, the Doctor and friends have to work in tandem across countries and time-periods to find the missing pieces, with both friend and foe following in every step. Finishing the set is Dorney's The Crucible Of Souls where Liv and Helen are convinced the Doctor is now regenerated. But he's with Professor Malone. And all of them are heading back to Gallifrey, where an old enemy, and a brutal betrayal awaits them... As I've said Fitton's two parter is a brilliantly constructed piece that holds it's own amidst all the timey-wimey jumping it presents. The finale is also a very good episode that explains the wider plot well and a brutal cliffhanger that I can't believe they're making us wait six months for!!! But the highlight is Dorney's opening tearjerker that needs to be listened to by practically everyone. If you hear it and are not wanting to ball your eyes out by the end then it's guaranteed that you have no soul... HELL EVEN DORIAN GRAY WOULD CRY AT THIS I'M CONVINCED!!!

Same thing with the acting, find nice words rather than happy curses. Alongside our returning cast, we have the likes of British acting legends such as Jeremy Clyde, John Shrapnell, Tim McMullan, Ian Puleston-Davies, and including Nicholas Woodeson who plays a chilling Clocksmith. Alongside nu-Who Silurian Richard Hope, we also have the likes of returning Time-Lord Robert Bathurst, Janie Dee, Glen McCready, John Heffernan, Emma D'Inverno, Kasia Koleczek and Anna Acton. All are a pure marvel to listen to when directed by the genius that is Mr Ken Bentley, especially two of these people once the revelation drops about who they are. But the stand outs of this set are the regulars. I don't know what it is about Alex Kingston, but most scenes she shares with a Doctor, they have brilliant chemistry bouncing off each other, and this is no exception. Every bit of banter between her and Paul McGann is just marvelous. But the best performances, by a Venusian Mile are Nicola Walker and Hattie Moran, who are phenomenal in every episode, but are just spectacular in the opening one.

Returning to music and sound design duties for this set are Jamie Robertson and Benji Clifford respectively. Robertson's music, not just in this set, but throughout the whole of the run so far has just been a musical treat for the ears with the way every bar, every tone perfectly conveys precisely what the scene entails, and his work here stands out, in my opinion, as some of his finest. The same can be said for the labours of Mr Clifford (who I met back in May and is a perfectly splendid chap) whose efforts here have not been in vain and makes everything sound realistic, and never have I been more sad to hear a ringtone in my life. DAMN YOU, BENJI!!!!!!

This here, ladies and gentlemen, is now officially, the bar, the high-point, the standard to be met by those that come after it. Everyone who has worked on this set should be immensly proud of themselves as they have delivered 4 hours of sheer perfection that I daresay even surpasses Dark Eyes. There are now only two questions on my mind with regards to the future of Doom Coalition. Firstly, HOW THE HELL ARE THEY GONNA GET OUT OF THAT ONE?
And secondly, with the stakes raised, both in their and our universe, will the last set meet what are now some colossal expectations?
All we can do now is await the final countdown..... (Da-da-da da-dah!)

VERDICT: 5/5 I REALLY WANT TO RATE THIS HIGHER IT'S SO GOOD!!!!! ;D