Jamie Revell
This is the conclusion to what's effectively been a 16-episode “season” of 8th Doctor stories that, by this point, has built up quite a complex storyline. Considering how much had to be resolved and tied together, it's a surprisingly good finale, although obviously far from self-contained. The 8th Doctor stories are really knocking it out of the park at the moment.
• Ship in a Bottle – As implied by the title, this is effectively a “bottle show”, featuring just the Doctor and his companions trapped inside a time pod careering into oblivion with no apparent means of escape. This allows plenty of time for reflection, with the characters discussing their varying attitudes to the predicament. It's also an examination of why the Doctor needs companions, with Liv being particularly strong in this one. It's arguably a slow burn, although there are obviously moments of tension as the crew make various attempts to resolve the quandary, but it's well placed, given the need to wrap everything up in the remaining three episodes.
• Songs of Love – River Song faces off against the Sonomancer in a story that contrasts the nature of their respective romantic relationships. Indeed, this only features the Doctor in the closing moments and even the companions are side-lined, only briefly present and reacting to events rather than driving them. Instead, the story is set on Gallifrey, as we see the Coalition's plans moving towards fruition, and discover their true motives (which do turn out to be logical, even if their methodology is extreme). As befits a story that's largely based around River, there are a number of ties to the new series, and while there's relatively little action, there's enough scheming and manipulation to make things move along quickly.
• The Side of the Angels - The connections to the new series are at least as strong here, in a story that brings back the Weeping Angels, and, in particular, builds on ideas and references in both The Time of Angels and The Angels Take Manhattan. It's the historical story for this particular volume, being set in 1970s New York, although it might as well have been the present day. featuring a group of Time Lords - two of whom are recurring characters from elsewhere in the audios - trying to come up with their own alternative plan to beat the Doom Coalition. Unsurprisingly, it all goes wrong, and there's some really good use of the Angels in a story that's high on tension as things move towards the climax.
• Stop the Clock - That final confrontation comes here, in another story set on Gallifrey. It manages to pull a number of threads together, with the three main villains of the series arc apparently on the verge of their final victory. There's plenty of action as the story runs in what's apparently more or less real time and there's a particularly good scene with the Eleven tormenting one of his psychologically damaged victims. While the main plot arc is concluded at the end in a satisfying way, there's also a cliffhanger of sorts, leaving things open for the next set of adventures.
This is the conclusion to what's effectively been a 16-episode “season” of 8th Doctor stories that, by this point, has built up quite a complex storyline. Considering how much had to be resolved and tied together, it's a surprisingly good finale, although obviously far from self-contained. The 8th Doctor stories are really knocking it out of the park at the moment.
• Ship in a Bottle – As implied by the title, this is effectively a “bottle show”, featuring just the Doctor and his companions trapped inside a time pod careering into oblivion with no apparent means of escape. This allows plenty of time for reflection, with the characters discussing their varying attitudes to the predicament. It's also an examination of why the Doctor needs companions, with Liv being particularly strong in this one. It's arguably a slow burn, although there are obviously moments of tension as the crew make various attempts to resolve the quandary, but it's well placed, given the need to wrap everything up in the remaining three episodes.
• Songs of Love – River Song faces off against the Sonomancer in a story that contrasts the nature of their respective romantic relationships. Indeed, this only features the Doctor in the closing moments and even the companions are side-lined, only briefly present and reacting to events rather than driving them. Instead, the story is set on Gallifrey, as we see the Coalition's plans moving towards fruition, and discover their true motives (which do turn out to be logical, even if their methodology is extreme). As befits a story that's largely based around River, there are a number of ties to the new series, and while there's relatively little action, there's enough scheming and manipulation to make things move along quickly.
• The Side of the Angels - The connections to the new series are at least as strong here, in a story that brings back the Weeping Angels, and, in particular, builds on ideas and references in both The Time of Angels and The Angels Take Manhattan. It's the historical story for this particular volume, being set in 1970s New York, although it might as well have been the present day. featuring a group of Time Lords - two of whom are recurring characters from elsewhere in the audios - trying to come up with their own alternative plan to beat the Doom Coalition. Unsurprisingly, it all goes wrong, and there's some really good use of the Angels in a story that's high on tension as things move towards the climax.
• Stop the Clock - That final confrontation comes here, in another story set on Gallifrey. It manages to pull a number of threads together, with the three main villains of the series arc apparently on the verge of their final victory. There's plenty of action as the story runs in what's apparently more or less real time and there's a particularly good scene with the Eleven tormenting one of his psychologically damaged victims. While the main plot arc is concluded at the end in a satisfying way, there's also a cliffhanger of sorts, leaving things open for the next set of adventures.