Doctor Who: Dead Air

Brilliant story and well crafted audiobook

This is amongst the best few of the Dr Who audio books to date. The story is very good and sufficiently different from the myriad others it joins in the Dr Who universe to include a few surprises. What make it a stand out is how the story is written as though the narrative is a retrieved 'audiotape' made by the Dr. This of course lends itself perfectly to the audio book format, and the opportunity it presents was not wasted in the audio book production. Thus, whilst not quite an audio-play (as are a few of the Torchwood audio books) Dead Air is more than just a narration of the book/script.

As with all recent Dr Who scripts & books, Dead Air is a little derivative of the types of plot elements that have worked in the past. This is manifest in the type and nature of the alien foe, local human characters and setting for the story. This is fine though... The formula makes it a classic style Dr Who story with a new and interesting storyline. If anything, my only disappointment was that the story was so short. Yes it was priced accordingly, but a story this good could have been built upon and improved.

Of the dozens of Dr Who stories on audible, this is one for any listener. A good one-off for a non-Dr Who fan's collection, or a key addition for someone who enjoys the genre.

26 of 26 people found this review helpful

best yet!

This is the best audio Dr. Who story I've heard yet, and it is what I expect from a Dr. Who story - good action, the Doctor solving a problem and saving the world, and a great twist in the story!

12 of 12 people found this review helpful

Brilliant!

Doctor Who audiobook narrated by David Tennant? Don't mind if I do! If you are a Doctor Who fan and love the tenth doctor, this is a must listen. The episode is perfectly suited to audio format. This is more on the creepy side so may be better suited towards adults and older kids.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Alien Takeover

If you could sum up Doctor Who in three words, what would they be?

Intelligent, fast-paced, entertaining

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favorite character has been and always will be The Doctor because of the way he talks to solve the problem instead of resorting to violence, however it is done in a manner that isnt boring.

Which character – as performed by David Tennant – was your favorite?

Still the Doctor, i've always loved david Tennant on television and on audio books for the same reasons as above

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

of course not to long and kept me interested from the first sentence onward.

Any additional comments?

A must for any Doctor Who fan!!!

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

The Doctor Does Not Seem Himself

"Doctor Who: Dead Air" is narrated in first person by the Tenth Doctor, which sounds like it should be fun. Unfortunately, this approach really means that during the prose-y descriptive bits the Doctor sounds less like his usual zippy self and more like a slightly dull narrator. Which is a shame, because, as anyone who has seen the show, or heard David Tennant narrating other audiobooks, knows, neither the Doctor nor Tennant are dull by a *long* shot. There are a few shiningly fun moments - the exchanges between the Doctor and Layla, and the distinctly individual voices for the other original characters are a real treat. There are also plenty of gasp-worthy encounters with the monster, and a neat-ish twist towards the end, when it turns out the Doctor knew quite a bit more than he'd been letting on.

But the thing that got this a 3 instead of a 4 was the actual ending - which made the Doctor's solution, and the Doctor himself, seem ludicrously slow. The monster even TELLS him what the fatal flaw in his plan is. It's a hugely obvious mistake, and the ingenius movie-going pop-culture nut that is the Tenth Doctor should have accounted for it, especially. But he dismisses it out of hand and carries on. My reaction: Who are you and what have you done with the real Doctor?

But if the writer had let the Doctor be himself, I guess he wouldn't have had an excuse for putting in the final, blandly ominous lines. Which would have been cool, if there weren't already so many other tales all over TV, film, and literature with similar endings.

If you're looking for a Tenth Doctor audiobook to try, you might be tempted to start with this one, because it is one of the more inexpensive options. However, it doesn't do the Whoverse canon, or the Doctor, much justice. You'll be better off starting with something like "The Stone Rose" or "Feast of the Drowned."

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Great Listen

The story is read in the first person by The Doctor which makes it a very enjoyable listen.

Would be nice if it was longer of course and I would love to hear more stories read in the first person.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Vacuous villain

When adapting Doctor Who for audio presentation, it makes great sense to use a audio-centric setting, as “Dead Air” does with it’s 1960’s pirate radio station floating off the coast of England. The format also lends itself to suspenseful “In the dark” scenes where the listener is just as blind as the characters. Despite these in-built advantages, however, the story drags a bit for want of relatable characters to identify with or even a sufficiently menacing villain to overcome. Told from the first person perspective of the Doctor himself, the story right off precludes any hope of fully relating to the protagonist’s fear or dread; David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor doesn’t really suffer from these. The only way for the author to provide any exposition into the threat is for the Doctor to explain it to other characters, or directly to the listener through a clever "narration for posterity” trick. Companionless, he takes on the temporary acquaintance of a mostly helpless young lady named Layla, who he spends the story attempting to protect from an Alien weapon that has achieved some degree of sentience and (therefore?) bloodthirst. In between these moments of terror-filled tension, he provides a sympathetic, “girlfriendy” shoulder for Layla to unburden her unrequited love sob-story on to. While there are only four characters in this brief adventure, it was enjoyable to hear Tennant narrate the additional voices, which I felt were memorably done. The most off-putting element for me was deus ex machina provided by that sonic screwdriver, the crutch of lazy writers since 1968.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

So good I wish it were longer!

I love these Doctor Who books! It is a cool way to be able to get extra stories of The Doctor and be able to "read" them at work. These are so good the only bad thing is that they go too fast. I was listening to this one at work and was shocked when it ended & it was already my lunch time. They make my day go so fast. These are priced just right too so you don't feel so bad getting them without using a credit.

David Tennant is my favorite of the narrators for the Doctor Who books. I could listen to him read just about anything and be entertained! His range of voices is incredible and makes an already good book even better.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Dead Air delivers

The story is smart and has some great twists. It feels a bit rushed to me. It also feels a bit hollow at the end, but I can't say more without spoilers. The "rules" of the creature are never defined, so it just feels a bit contrived at the end. But still very enjoyable and an absolutely excellent performance by Tennant.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Dr who?

A dreadful audio version. Couldn't recognize David Tennant's voice. Very disappointing due to audio problem. Would not recommend even to Dr Who Fanatics. ;-(

1 of 1 people found this review helpful