Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Reefreshing, 5 Feb 2009
The latest Fifth Doctor audio catches up with Victorian `Mudlark' Thomas Brewster; an orphan who after being rescued by The Doctor has repaid the Timelord by stealing his TARDIS!
When The Doctor and Nyssa finally catch-up with Brewster, they discover that he has been impersonating the Timelord, with disastrous consequences for both the TARDIS and a crew of battle-hardened warriors, led by the swaggering Commander Gammedes; who are also stranded on the eponymous reef. They also encounter the blind creature of darkness - The Ruhk - can they recover the TARDIS' missing component before the beast discovers them..?
This is a solid entry in the monthly series; The Fifth Doctor played by Peter Davison seems to be growing in irascibility, whilst Nyssa is her usual unruffled self. John Pickard (Grange Hill, Hollyoaks) plays Brewster as a lovable rogue; his appearance as a member of the TARDIS crew is refreshing - a bit like Adric only far less obnoxious (and infinitely less wooden). The CD extras are as entertaining as ever and the bonus story is a real treat.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
okayish, 10 Aug 2009
I'll admit, the catching factor of this story was the title. I love Reefs, coral, tropical or otherwise. I was a bit wary; i was aware the character of Thomas Brewster features heavily in the story and i had not heard his previous stories, so i knew i'd be starting with a handicap. However, beavering into it knowing it was in the reliable hands of Marc Platt, i was hoping for a classic.
Well i didn't get said classic. There are some great moments and its certainly not rubbish - far from it - but it lacks something...cohesive. The plot is scantily thin and simple; i like a bit of twisty turny complicatedness and got none of it. The monsters - the Ruhk - are unimaginative and surfasic, providing nothing more than a backdrop for some romantic claptrap between some woman on death row and the captain of a stranded time vessel. We find out very early on that Brewster has been here before - during a time when he stole the TARDIS - and that most of the problems are his fault.
Its a good story, just not brilliant. Worth a listen but a second hearing...will just have to wait.
Also included is the one parter, The Perfect World. This is nothing more than a tie up of a plot thread and to be honest, not very gripping. I won't bother with it again.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
the two doctors, 15 Oct 2008
another audio adventure for doctor who. this one features peter davison as the fifth doctor, and sarah sutton as his companion nyssa, plus john pickard as thomas brewster, a new companion from victorian london that first appeared in the earlier story the haunting of thomas brewster.
the story runs for three episodes of twenty five minutes in duration, spread over two discs. the final track of disc one contains roughly twenty minutes worth of interviews with cast and crew, and disc two also contains a one part story called a perfect world, and eight minutes of interviews right after that.
disc one begins with a trailer for brotherhood of the daleks, the next release in this range.
time reef does follow on somewhat from the earlier releases the haunting of thomas brewster and the boy that time forgot, and they do form a loose trilogy, although you should be able to get into this one easily enough if you haven't heard them. it involves the tardis running into systems problems and landing on a reef that is stuck outside of time. a ship containing some victorian style warriors is there, and another containing a snake lady. brewster is not eager to visit the place again, because he had control of the tardis on his own for a while at the end of his first story, and only now does the doctor find some of the things he did whilst that was the case.
can the stranded people escape the reef, and the predator bird like creatures the ruhk?
a very imaginative story and one that is told at a good pace. some excellent acting from the main cast. brewster really comes into his own as a character, and peter davison does some magnificently understated reactions. the supporting cast fill their characters with good depth and style, and there are spectacular set pieces where the audio really does a good job of conjuring up images that work superbly in your imagination.
a very good story all in all, and one that could possibly have worked as a four parter.
the one part story, a perfect world, is a character drama centering on an ordinary lady living in present day london, who meets a decent man and finds that you should be careful what you wish for. there's a strong moral at the centre of this one - the kind of thing the doctor might preach to cybermen - and it's a very nice character piece all in all. even a couple of comedic supporting characters work fine.
and the ending will come as a bit of a surprise to those who follow the audio series. well done to big finish on that.
an excellent audio and well worth a listen. as mentioned you can pick this up if you haven't heard the earlier two stories featuring brewster, but I think it's better if you have, as that way you will get more out of it
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by Alan Barnes
by Paul Magrs
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![seventh doctor on audio [part two]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51FnXzBUZIL._AA60_.jpg)
