Death and Other Occupational Hazards
by Veronika Dapunt (Bantam, 2025)
audiobook read by Chiara Goldsmith (Transworld Digital, 2025)
Dapunt delves beyond the trite-and-true comedic potential of corporate divinity and Death on Earth, instead crafting a heartfelt sibling story wrapped in low-key mystery. What humour there is, is gentle. Goldsmith’s audiobook narration adds charm to the characterisations (including an Australian Jesus!).
Red Dwarf: Lemons
(Dave, 2012)
The one bona fide classic from Red Dwarf’s Dave years. The regulars bring effortless timing and character dynamics. Naylor revels in the trivially absurd, seeding jokes for harvesting on the fly and then offering a delightful, Dwarfishly droll commentary on religious idolatry.
MacGyver, Season 5
(CBS, 2020-2021)
A sadly diminished swansong. The missions remain fun but the writers lose their way trying to integrate relationship issues and deep-and-meaningful conversations that a) the actors can’t pull off, and b) the characters for some reason can never attempt while in transit.
Doctor Who: Kingdom of Silver / Keepsake
by James Swallow (Big Finish, 2008)
An unusual three-plus-one-parter. The Cybermen themselves don’t offer much, but the androids serve (with considerably more nuance) to explore the grey area between human and artificial life. Terry Molloy plays an authority figure without megalomaniacal ambitions, which makes for a nice change!
Doctor Who: The Axis of Insanity
by Simon Furman (Big Finish, 2004)
There’s a SF idea hiding somewhere in this four-parter, but it’s overwhelmed by a soundscape of chaotic action scenes and a pointlessly cackling villain(ess). In partial mitigation, Peri and Erimem are granted some airtime. Peter Davison puts on his usual acting masterclass.
Death in Captivity
by Michael Gilbert (Hodder and Stoughton, 1952)
audiobook read by Garrard Green (Bolinda, 2015)
The mystery element sits largely in the background of this Second World War POW story—as would have been the reality! Gilbert himself was interned in northern Italy in just such a camp as depicted. The upshot is a thoroughly convincing narrative.
Doctor Who: Wave of Destruction
by Justin Richards (Big Finish, 2016)
This swinging sixties invasion story starts out in full flippancy mode and just barely injects enough seriousness to keep its regulars from losing all credibility. Tom Baker and Lalla Ward do ultimately walk that fine line, producing a fun if throwaway two-parter.
Odd and the Frost Giants
by Neil Gaiman (Bloomsbury, 2008); audiobook read by Neil Gaiman (Bolinda, 2018)
A gentle fairytale that foregrounds, in its young protagonist, a healthy, happy-go-lucky open-mindedness and lack of preconceptions. Through Odd, Gaiman subtly modernises the genre’s worldview, bringing clarity and self-awareness (plus a certain phlegmatic Britishness) to the endlessly fascinating characters of Norse mythology.
Doctor Who: The Angel of Scutari
by Paul Sutton (Big Finish, 2009)
A straight historical adventure, engagingly scripted and giving Ace and Hex some room to breathe. On the downside, Sutton resorts to the usual, lazy trope of a mentally unhinged human adversary, while needlessly dredging up famous personages (Florence Nightingale, perhaps, but Tolstoy?!).
Doctor Who: Cold Fusion
by Lance Parkin (Big Finish, 2016)
A six-parter adapted by Parkin from his own novel. In script and performance, ‘Cold Fusion’ perfectly captures (indeed, elevates) the early Davison era—an exemplar of what Big Finish can accomplish when not going through the motions or faffing about with Daleks.