The Big Finish Catch-Up November 2018

For those of you new to this section of the blog, I started listening to the Big Finish Doctor Who releases when they started back in 1999, getting them as they were released up to mid 2002 and release No 33 Neverland. At that time I left Uni and due to being a bit busy with life and what not I only heard one or two releases over the next few years. I started getting back into them around 2008 and was 6 years behind at that point. Due to wondering off into the Lost Doctor range and a relaxed listening pace I fell further behind. In order to catch up I'm listening to two releases a month (or more when its a 60 min single disc release, plus without seeing the cover or knowing anything about the story) and my mission to catch up continues;


Legend of the Cybermen - the finale of this main range trilogy starring Colin Baker and Frazer Hines as the 6th Doctor and Jamie is a big soppy 10/10 from me. Do not listen to this story without hearing the first two parts as this is a tightly knitted trilogy. The last story ended with us finding out where this story is set and it should throw up fond memories for long term fans. We get more of this location and much more detail than we got on TV and it enriches the story as well as this we have the plot continuing from the first two stories. There are plenty of twists with some familiar faces I can very much recommend this story albeit as part of the trilogy.

1963: The Assasination Game - at this point I need to point out a change to this catch up marathon. Due to financial reasons I have been unable to purchase the next batch of stories. Rather than stop I've gone into future stories I've bought on sale and various non main range stories I've bought over the years. This story was released in the tail end of 2013 and is part of the main range anniversary released featuring the 7th Doctor and Ace meeting up with the Counter Measures team. In all honesty its rather dull and lacks flair coming in at a rather average 5/10.

Andy Murray

Earlier today at a press conference Andy Murray announced his plans to retire this year. He hopes to retire at Wimbledon but fears next weeks Australian Open could be his last tournament. His comments include;

"I'm not sure I'm able to play through the pain for another four or five months,"

"I want to get to Wimbledon and stop but I'm not certain I can do that."

"I'm not feeling good, I've been struggling for a long time."

"I've been in a lot of pain for about 20 months now. I've pretty much done everything I could to try and get my hip feeling better and it hasn't helped loads."

"I'm in a better place than I was six months ago but I'm still in a lot of pain. I can still play to a level, but not a level I have played at."

I for one will be sorry to see Andy retire, I've always been a fan of tennis and have traded tennis live as a job at times during my life meaning that tennis is one of my most watched and enjoyed sports. Andy Murray has taken tennis to another level where in the UK its not just something that happens for a fortnight in the summer during Wimbledon. My earliest memories of Andy are of a young skinny players throwing up on court as his skills had taken him as far as his body.

He would later mature into a player of immense power and a style that included many engrossing baseline rallies. My personal highlight of his career was the 2012 London Olympic gold medal win which would catapult him to winning the US Open and Wimbledon over the next year.

Andy, this blogger wishes you all the best in retirement and will be continuing to cheer you on until you retire. Its been a crazy ride that you've taken your fans on over the years and trust me when I say that we enjoyed every minute of it.

2018 Rankings of Films I Saw in the Cinema

Good afternoon ladies and gentle readers as is tradition we start the new year off with lists about the old one. During the course of 2018 I saw nine films and ranked them as follows

The Meg - a fun OTT summer block buster where Jason Statham takes on a giant shark. As a film it was a bit of a banter and a fun evening out. 7/10

The Crimes of Grindelwald - the second in the "Fantastic Creatures" series and an alright film. I enjoy seeing new things in this cinematic universe but the film lacked a final act. 7/10

A Star is Born - a good romantic comedy that one me over with the cinema and directorial aspects rather than the story. 7/10

Ant-Man and the Wasp - a fun superhero comedic heist film. 8/10

Black Panther - another winner for the marvel cinematic universe. 8/10

Into the Spiderverse - a fun animation with various otherworld versions of Spiderman. Possibly the most engaging and edge of the seat release I saw at the cinema this year. 8/10

The Greatest Showman - yes I was late to the party and saw it in 2018, a fantastic musical with songs that are already being covered in adverts less than a year later. It gets a high mark due to the verve of the production. 9/10

Ready Player One - Steven Spielberg back to his blockbuster best in a virtual reality film full of pop culture references to my life. 9.5/10

Avengers Infinity War - this took me back to being a kid and the excitement when the X-men, Avengers and Spiderman would get together in a team up like Secret Wars. Really brought out the five year old in me. 10/10

Bohemian Rhapsody - my top film of the year a Freddie Mercury biopic starting from the beginning of Queen and taking us up to Live Aid. I saw it twice and will be watching it again, not only did it strike the right notes as a fan but it was a fun laugh out loud film  10/10