Oddly enough, The Tenth Doctor Adventures, Volume 1 is reflective of exactly how the Tenth Doctor's era was: extremely uneven. The first and last episode of the set were mediocre at best, the middle episode was enjoyable, and the characterization of both the Doctor and Donna were kind of all over the place. As always, David Tennant and Catherine Tate delivered strong performances, but those performances can only go so far. The sound design is nice, and the episodes are well directed. It's just that they're let down by some uninspired monsters and uneven dialogue. I still recommend it, if only for that middle episode, The Time Reaver. That one's lots of fun, and it's nice having more adventures with Tennant's Doctor.

Full review on my blog. ( )

Highly amusing audio drama, complete with David Tennant and Catherine Tate voicing their characters. These felt like they were actual TV shows in the pacing, voice acting, and length. I really enjoyed listening to this set of episodes. I hope Serial Box gets more of them! ( )

Technophobia, by Matt Fitton, features a world in which people can no longer cope with the tech around us, from the latest voice-assisted computers to things like escalators, and even pens. This is technological incompetence on a grand scale, and there’s got to be something behind it. This story throws us right back into the DoctorDonna era. Whizz-cracking dialogue, technology wreaking havoc, and enlisting the aid of plucky non-companions to save the day. I also greatly enjoyed the ending, which was very hoist-by-one’s-own-petard.

Time Reaver, by Jenny T. Colgan, is not about the terrifying creatures from Firefly, although it’s not much less scary; it is a weapon that prolongs the agony of death for anyone who’s shot with it. Every second is a minute; every minute an hour; and so on into eternity. It is a nasty weapon, and those who want to get their hands on it will stop at nothing. Fortunately, the Doctor and Donna are on hand to save the day. I found the cold open of this story, in which the person who found the time reaver was being tortured by a criminal baddie who wanted more, so terrifying that I kind of shut down and couldn’t really enjoy the rest of the story (although I did like the customs house / coffee shop).

Death and the Queen, by James Goss, rounds out the set with a story featuring yet another wedding for Donna. She’s bagged a prince and about to become queen of a country that has had 500 years of peace. But what’s that cloud on the horizon on her wedding day? The one that’s announcing that “the price must be paid”? This was a great story, back to the fun shenanigans of the first story in the set. Donna more than holds her own AND inspires her maids to join the fight. Some of the dialogue was a bit repetitive, such as the mother-in-law exclaiming “How dare you!” when Donna administered yet another sick burn, but it was a fun story nonetheless.

I would definitely recommend this set if you liked Donna Noble as a character on Doctor Who. She was my favourite of Ten’s companions, so naturally I enjoyed myself very much. ( )