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Metal Loaf posted:The scene was included because the actor in question had martial arts training, and the screenwriter (Johnny Byrne trying to be Eric Saward) wanted to take advantage of her skills. Unfortunately, I imagine it's a bit hard to make your judo kick look especially convincing when your opponent is a shambling pile of crap. It first one was End of the world. The Mutants also did https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbVoHMhiQVk bobkatt013 fucked around with this message at 19:16 on Dec 3, 2014 |
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Dec 3, 2014 19:10
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The best cold open from the classic series by far is this one.
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Dec 3, 2014 19:54
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You're all forgetting The Ambassadors...OF DEATH!!!!!!!!!! in this conversation. Shame on you.CobiWann posted:So is showing my stepdaughter Warriors of the Deep the sign of good parenting, or bad parenting? There should have been another way 
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Dec 3, 2014 20:08
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Holy loving poo poo 
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Dec 4, 2014 01:23
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Deep Breath is the first episode of the 8th season of the revival, as well as the first full episode of Peter Capaldi's run as the Doctor. But it is also a continuation of the Moffat era of the revival, with continuity assured by the presence of the 11th Doctor's companion - this is very much the same thing as the shift from season one to season two of the RTD era, as opposed to the almost clean break that was Matt Smith's first episode and the start of the Moffat era. So how is the episode? I can only speak for myself, but after an 8 month wait for new Doctor Who, I was absolutely gagging for anything new and fully expected to just love every second of the episode, especially since Peter Capaldi seemed to so perfect a casting choice. So it was rather distressing that THIS was my reaction for much of the first half hour of the episode. This is a feature length episode, essentially two episodes strung together into one long one with what feels like an extremely clear cliffhanger point (the Doctor and Clara descending beneath the restaurant) in the middle. Thank God it was all done in one though, because if this episode had ended at the halfway point then Deep Breath would have been a disaster. The first thirty minutes of the episode is a schizophrenic mess of tonal whiplash, hugely disappointing as an introduction to the 12th Doctor and very much making me question just what the hell Moffat was thinking when he put it together. To start with, a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex stomps around Victorian London. When I say giant I do mean GIANT, it is monstrously huge to the point that the characters themselves comment on it, because it is far, far, far too big. Madame Vastra coolly replies to Jenny that T-Rexes actually were mostly this size and snorts at Jenny's insistence that they weren't, reminding her that she was there. The fact this dialogue exists at all goes to show the problem with the T-Rex scene. Moffat wanted a GIANT T-Rex so he put in a giant T-Rex, but it was such a ridiculous thing that he had to have his characters comment on it and ends up with this weird smug dismissal of the objections to a thing that only exists in such an objectionable state because HE put it there. This is the giant Cyber-King of the RTD era, only without the fun stupidity of a Christmas special to mollify things. Given that Moffat himself wrote in an explanation for why such a gigantic game-changing thing wasn't remembered by history, the fact he then went and threw in a giant T-Rex is even more mind-boggling. There is also the problem of the Paternoster Gang, included seemingly to help act as a grounding force for the audience between the familiarity of Matt Smith's Doctor and this new version. The trouble with the Paternoster Gang though, in my opinion, is that they've never earned their status as experts/authorities on the Doctor as a person. Vastra in particular feels very much like a shortcut character, a placeholder for some figure who has earned their "authority". Because all of her bonding experiences with the Doctor happened off-screen, mentioned in passing as opposed to unfolding before the viewer, she doesn't feel natural in her role. It's the old "show, don't tell" thing that also hindered Tasha Lem's character in the previous story (she should have been/might actually have been River Song) - Vastra talks all about her deep understanding of who the Doctor is, how regeneration works etc.... but we the viewer are left wondering just how the hell she knows all this stuff, and her so-called bond has little emotional backing to it because it's all been very intellectually laid out as a fait accompli. So when she sits in judgement of Clara and lays out explicitly why the Doctor is now an old man, it smacks a little of hypocrisy and bullshit even though everything she says makes perfect sense and is in fact quite a compelling truth. That scene could have been excellent, but by inserting such a placeholder character up against Clara, who we HAVE seen grow and bond with the Doctor, it takes away tremendously from the impact. What DOES work in the scene is when Clara stands up for herself and tears Vastra a new one for daring to judge her, showing some backbone and the first signs of what will come to be one of the great strengths of this season - Clara Oswald FINALLY getting some actual development as a character in her own right and not just being "the Impossible Girl". I mentioned the tonal whiplash, and it is nowhere more evident than in Peter Capaldi's initial portrayal of the Doctor. That can be excused in some ways due to the fact that he is newly regenerated and his brain is "rebooting", but his schizophrenic portrayal is accompanied by some utterly bizarre choices in terms of dialogue, editing, and in particular sound effects. On his initial appearance, he zips about madly talking nonsense and mistaking identities - thinking that Clara is a regenerated Handles or that Strax is Clara for instance, or not being entirely sure whether Vastra or Jenny is the green one. He talks enthusiastically to the giant dinosaur cracking jokes about how sexy she is, and tries to figure out which of the 7 dwarves Strax is meant to be (he settles on Grumpy). Removed to Vastra's home he gets upset at the notion of a bedroom and is alarmed at how furious the mirror is (not recognizing his own reflection), and is then tricked into making himself fall into a deep sleep in perhaps the worst moment of the entire episode, where he passes out complete with a cartoon sound-effect. Somebody decided to put that into the final edit. Somebody approved that final edit. Somebody watched that final edit in a preview and said,"Yep, we're keeping that." Even once the Doctor wakes up and appears to be a little more in control of himself, we get a nonsensical sequence of him rushing along the rooftops, leaping into a tree, flipping onto a horse and riding it full-pelt through the streets etc. It's like some kind of terrible overcompensation for the age of the new actor, as if the show was trying to assure viewers,"Don't worry, the Doctor can still run around like an idiot!" and the whole thing just feels like a mess. The comedy is overused, out of place, and worst of all, not particularly funny (well okay, Strax knocking Clara over with the paper was kinda funny). Happily, it is roughly around this point that things start to improve. Capaldi has a wonderful scene in a back alley where he accosts an old tramp (played by the late Liz Sladen's husband), holding a mostly one-sided conversation with him as he attempts to settle his brain down and figure out both what is happening to him and what is happening in the city (the dinosaur was "murdered" the previous night by a mysterious Half-faced Man). While the scene is mostly comedic, for the first time we really get a sense of the dark undercurrent in this Doctor's character, the sense of danger that Matt Smith's Doctor mostly kept hidden and David Tennant's tried to deny having. As he rants about the familiarity of his new face and questions what his subconscious is trying to tell him, he upsets and frightens the tramp, especially when he begins angrily demanding he give him his coat. The stuff about his face is happily handled with a fairly light touch - I really enjoy the notion that subconsciously using Caecilius' face was this version of the Doctor acknowledging his uncertainty over whether he is a good man or not - this is a theme that will spread out across the entire season and only really be definitively answered (for the Doctor himself) in Death in Heaven.   The episode finally finds it footing properly when Clara and the Doctor meet in a restaurant where they have a fantastic, quietly whispered angry conversation where they eventually realize that both came to the restaurant thinking they were invited by the other. The slowly dawning realization that they've walked into a vanity trap is brilliant, especially as they also continue their argument while doing it and Clara again reveals a little more of the individual personality/character lacking in season 7. Having walked into the trap, the Doctor sets about figuring out exactly what it is and how to get out of it. The wackiness of the first half hour is gone, and now that he is no longer distracted the Doctor extremely quickly picks up on the fact that the other patrons aren't eating or drinking.... or even breathing. They're simply going through the motions of looking like diners, there to lull the victims into a false sense of normality before the trap closes. Clara and the Doctor's attempts to leave are quickly foiled, and to their great distress they discover that they're not just victims in a trap, they're also on the menu - the waiter isn't reading them a list of meals available, but listing the various organs they have which will be of use to it. Trapped in place in their booth, the Doctor and Clara are lowered into the bowels of the restaurant, essentially marking the point where this episode would have ended if it was a 2-parter.... which thankfully it wasn't.   Trapped beneath the restaurant, the Doctor and Clara bicker wonderfully and the comedic touches come naturally instead of feeling forced ("At times like this I miss Amy" "It IS voice-activated, isn't it?") as they get out of their bondage and examine the "larder" they've found themselves in. With all the distractions peeled away and reducing the action to interaction between Capaldi and Coleman, the episode really starts to shine. They both further the plot AND establish their relationship in an entirely natural way, and it is just at this point that the audience would be starting to accept this new Doctor (and Clara would be doing the same, as audience stand-in) that it all gets stripped away and leaves both Clara and audience again pondering just who this new man actually is. It's a great touch, as the Half-Face Man wakens from his recharging and Clara gets trapped inside the larder after pulling the Doctor away as he got distracted with half-remembered memories. Despite there being plenty of time for the Doctor to rescue her, he stops, ponders the situation and then tells her there is no point in them both getting caught (echoes of the coat conversation with the tramp) and that he might need the Sonic Screwdriver so she can't have it.... and abandons her. I loved that scene because it was so immensely out of character for the Doctor, and it serves to alienate this new Doctor from Clara and the audience - to make both question who he is, whether he actually IS the Doctor. By that I mean, of course he IS the Doctor, but is he an entirely different person to the Doctors we've always known and liked? Abandoned by the Doctor, Clara is left to first try and figure out a way to escape (she holds her breath as long as she can while futilely seeking an exit) and then to keep herself alive by talking, forcing the Half-Face Man to talk and reveal information, serving both as a distraction to keep herself alive while figuring out what is going on. It's rather clunkily handled at first with a flashback to her first day as a teacher, but as she interacts with the Half-Face Man the scene grows in strength, especially because she never hides her utter terror at the inevitable pain or death she is being confronted with. She forces him to negotiate through sheer force of personality, effectively doing what we would normally expect the Doctor to do, a theme that will be repeated throughout the season. Coleman does real credit to the scene, as she not only tricks the Half-Face Man into revealing more information, but makes logical leaps from the scanty information she gets to figure out even more things. When the Half-Face Man reveals why he killed the T-Rex, she quickly cottons on to the fact that being aware of the potential application indicates prior experience, and figures out that the Half-Face Man has been on the planet for a VERY long time. But as she runs out of negotiating room and finds herself backed further into a corner, Clara also reveals that her faith in the ultimately "good" character of the Doctor is intact, as she makes a leap of faith and declares that "the other one" is right behind her. Putting her hand behind her and hoping for the best.... her faith is rewarded as the Doctor takes her hand and steps forward into her place, congratulating her for justifying HIS faith in her and mocking the Half-Face Man for being so easily outplayed.   Of course this was still a pretty hosed up thing to do to Clara, but I think it speaks well to the building characterization of this Doctor as a person who considers hurt feelings a secondary consideration - better to fake abandonment and then be there to save the day armed with better information and act from a position of strength. Does that make him a bad man? Do the ends justify the means? This is a theme that will permeate the entire season, and it is why I held off from doing write-ups of these episodes until the season was complete (sans the Christmas Special, which is still to air) - because I knew we weren't getting the complete story from this single episode. Things get a little silly again with the arrival of the Paternoster Gang, and we get another little bit of "look at how this older Doctor can still do physical stunts!" as he hangs from beneath the rising booth as the Half-Face Man ascends. But while the ridiculous fight scene takes place downstairs, we get an excellent scene between the Half-Face Man and the Doctor upstairs, as they sail above the skyline in a frankly ridiculous skin-balloon that is more hilarious than horrifying. Calmly, the Doctor shuts down the Half-Face Man's threats while coolly making his own, essentially using his words as a weapon as he destroys it's sense of self with words that are quite clearly meant to also reflect on his own thoughts and fears. The Doctor questions how much of yourself you can change before you are no longer the same person, how long you can live before you forget where your face even came from. It's a wonderfully underplayed scene, somewhat undermined both by the rather pointless callbacks to The Girl in the Fireplace as well as the clunky shot of the Doctor literally looking at his own reflection while asking these questions.  The Half-Face Man is essentially a reverse Cyberman (check out Big Finish's The Harvest!), a clockwork robot from the 51st Century whose ship time-traveled and crashed in earth's prehistoric past, and who has been trying to repair his ship and himself for millions of years, replacing mechanical parts with organic ones, endlessly searching for "The Promised Land". The Doctor mocks this as nothing more than a concept picked up by its exposure to humanity confusing its eons-old software, and further hammers home the similarities between them before declaring that the biggest difference between the two of them is that HE doesn't expect to ever make it to paradise. As Clara and the Paternoster gang struggle below, the Doctor and the Half-Face Man struggle above both physically and psychologically, with the Doctor warning that murder is against HIS programming but he'll make an exception to save his friends. Downstairs things go from touching (Strax prepares to kill himself rather than expose his allies to the robots) to the hilarious ("I can store oxygen in my lungs!"), while upstairs the Doctor ends the Half-Face Man's horrible half-life. Skewered after a fall, the Half-Face Man finally dies, taking all the other robots with it due to its status as the control unit. But how did it fall? Did it jump or was it pushed? The answer is irrelevant as far as I'm concerned because in either case, it was the Doctor who did the pushing - either physically or psychologically. Is this new Doctor a good man? Maybe he is, maybe he isn't... but in either case, you don't threaten his friends.  Clara returns to Vastra's and discovers the TARDIS is gone. Stuck in Victorian London (where another version of her lived and died not so long ago) she asks Vastra if she can work for her like Strax earlier suggested, but does so while wearing her modern day clothing. Vastra correctly guesses that Clara has already subconsciously realized the Doctor will be back for her, and of course he is - returning with a done-up console room and a new costume... and leaving her just as confused as to whether this Doctor is the same one she knows and loves. Some have questioned why Clara had so much trouble with a newly regenerated Doctor considering her exposure to all his previous lives in The Name of the Doctor, but it was never an issue for me. All those other Doctors were in HER Doctor's past, they were all people who were eventually building up to being THE Doctor - her Doctor. The 12th Doctor is something entirely new, the Doctor having moved on past his 11th incarnation, essentially a stranger to her. So while the Doctor - now settled more firmly into his new personality and no longer running around like a madman - tries to happily pick things up where they left off, she simply can't handle things, the difference is just too much for her to deal with. This is (somewhat) resolved in a very emotionally manipulative way, both in terms of the Doctor as a character and by Moffat as showrunner. Clara receives a phonecall and on the other end is the Doctor - the 11th Doctor. The Time of the Doctor has a brief scene where Clara discovers the TARDIS phone off the hook, and now she knows who he called - her. The Daleks have been defeated, the Doctor is about to regenerate, but before HE goes he wants to ask a favor for his future self. It is wonderful to see Matt Smith again, and Clara's emotional reaction is pretty great.... but was it really necessary? It strikes me as Moffat trying to be a bit too clever for his own good, and also has the rather sad effect of giving the Doctor a final final scene when his earlier final scene was so perfect. He tells her about his own fears of the future, and reminds her that no matter what front the new Doctor puts up he will still be afraid and in need of somebody to support him and be there for him. The 12th Doctor watches her talk, he and the 11th both asking the same question, and Smith gets in a pretty funny bit about being mock-dismayed at the idea of being old when he was so young. He gives Clara the definitive goodbye she missed when he abruptly regenerated and then he's gone again, and this allows for a neat little bit where an exasperated 12th Doctor reminds her that he didn't need to listen in on the phonecall because HE was the one making the call, he IS the Doctor, he was that Doctor and all the other Doctors before him - why can't she see him? Doesn't she know what that feels like? Of course she does, the Doctor always looked through her - Vastra was right about that, she did have dreams about the 11th Doctor being HER dashing young man and now he's been replaced by an old man, which itself is a sign of his utter trust and faith in her. So it is a very strong moment when she thanks HIM for making the phonecall, finally openly accepting that the 11th Doctor and the 12th Doctor are the same person, hugging him as he awkwardly cringes and tells her he isn't a hugging type of person, and she tells him he gets no choice in the matter.  Deep Breath is an episode with a horrible start and an excellent finish. It takes a long time to find its footing and continues to suffer from spurts of silliness or badly timed shifts in tone, but the bits that work are so strong that they more than make up for it. Peter Capaldi, once he gets a chance to actually emote and deliver proper dialogue instead of silly nonsense, is just as good as I had hoped he would be. The chemistry between him and Jenna Coleman is apparent right from the start, which makes her pining for Matt Smith somewhat amusing since she and him never really quite clicked together, perhaps due to the short time-frame they had to work in. Coleman is great in this and Clara gets plenty of chances to shine, but she is never better than when she is squabbling with the Doctor. The Paternoster Gang are an act that is a little too overexposed, and Vastra in particular too often gets put in the role of the person who supposedly knows and understands the Doctor better than anybody - they have a rather dragging effect on the overall story, they work much better in a story like The Crimson Horror where the comedic elements work to the ultimate benefit of the episode. The theme of the Doctor's concerns over his own moral sense of right and wrong is introduced here and serves as a very good starting point for what we'll see developed further across the season, though on a weekly basis as the series aired it did sometimes risk leaving the viewer feeling like the Doctor was an immoral rear end in a top hat. Really, so long as you can sit through the first half hour of this episode, you're in for a treat - but man, that first half hour. Oh yes, and finally - Missy. The Half-Face Man wakes to discover itself in a garden setting attended by a demented woman dressed like a crazed Mary Poppins. She happily declares it has reached "The Promised Land" at last, and questions it about the Doctor - did he push it or did it jump? She declares the Doctor is her boyfriend and loves her very much, and dances around with her umbrella after bizarrely chomping the air. At the time it aired, it was difficult to tell what the hell was going on here, and there was plenty of talk about fears of what Missy would eventually turn out to be. With the benefit of hindsight though... holy poo poo this scene is utterly perfect, and Missy is incredible. Having that extra information puts everything into a new light, and her line about how the Doctor will never hurt her because he loves her is both hilarious and utterly terrifying, because it makes perfect sense she would think this way. Missy was a troubling and confusing character for the bulk of the season on a first viewing, but a second viewing puts everything into perspective and makes her appearances feel like a fantastic bonus. I really hope we haven't seen the last of her.  
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Dec 4, 2014 01:29
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I feel like all the crap in the first half was because Moffat needed to extend the runtime so a big fancy 90 minute special. There was a normal episode's amount of content, and that was all incredibly good, but then it was padded out with a mass of unfunny comedy which tempted me to turn the episode off before it got good.
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Dec 4, 2014 01:53
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SirSamVimes posted:I feel like all the crap in the first half was because Moffat needed to extend the runtime so a big fancy 90 minute special. There was a normal episode's amount of content, and that was all incredibly good, but then it was padded out with a mass of unfunny comedy which tempted me to turn the episode off before it got good. I don't know, given the almost perfect timing of the descent beneath the restaurant, I really do feel like it was written as a 2-parter and that episode 1 was primarily going to be concerned with the crazy mood swings of the Doctor post-regeneration and the upset reaction of Clara. That would have been awful as a first episode, but if you took both episodes and cut out a lot of the unfunny comedy stuff and pared the runtime down to a standard episode length, you'd have an extremely weirdly structured single episode.
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Dec 4, 2014 02:50
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Huh, I hadn't remembered how "The Doctor seemingly abandons Clara, forcing her to work by herself" was featured outside of Kill the Moon, but it sort of has the same vibe to it (minus the abortion subtext of course).
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Dec 4, 2014 03:16
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More Jerusalem write-ups! It's a Christmas miracle! I agree that there's a definite shift in the quality of the episode once Clara goes to the restaurant and away from the Trio. Once it gets to the Doctor and companion and villain, everything shifts up into high gear. The idea of whether or not the Doctor is a good man, even though it's actually asked in the next episode, really does begin here when he “abandons” her. Very Seven, but also a bit of the First Doctor in a way. For the episode's early flaws, Capaldi really does a good job of establishing the personality of his Doctor in this episode.
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Dec 4, 2014 03:27
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GonSmithe posted:Holy loving poo poo The only thing that would make it better is if shortly before electrocuting her, the silly monster shouted "GARBAGE DAY!"
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Dec 4, 2014 03:28
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CobiWann posted:So is showing my stepdaughter Warriors of the Deep the sign of good parenting, or bad parenting? Oh, Warriors of the Deep. Just like all six serials in Season 21, I can't stay mad at you . (I wonder why they ended the season one short? The world may never know.) For all its many, many flaws it still keeps with the themes of the season: the distance between those in power and those affected by it, that military strength leads to moral impotence, and that everything finally comes to down to single decisions about what's right versus what's easy (or self-preserving, generally). It's very late-Cold War, and it's probably tricky for a younger person who didn't experience it to have the same impact. Of course, the fact that we're seeing these kinds of stories again (think Winter Soldier) means it might not be such a hard bridge to cross after all...It only occurred to me as I was posting this how much Season 21 reminds me of Watchmen. Same era and similar circumstances, of course, just two years earlier. Might have to write out an analysis later. Anyway, crap monster (see also: the rest of Season 21) and The Standard Silurian Story aside, it fits into a larger whole that I appreciate. [/JNT apologia]
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Dec 4, 2014 05:17
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Remind me, is Warriors the story with the cliffhanger where the Doctor is tipped over a railing into water only a few feet below, and before he's even gone all the way over the side Turlough has already grabbed Tegan and shouted something like,"Forget the Doctor, Tegan, he's clearly dead!"?
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Dec 4, 2014 06:16
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Jerusalem posted:Remind me, is Warriors the story with the cliffhanger where the Doctor is tipped over a railing into water only a few feet below, and before he's even gone all the way over the side Turlough has already grabbed Tegan and shouted something like,"Forget the Doctor, Tegan, he's clearly dead!"? Man's just looking out for himself!
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Dec 4, 2014 11:40
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Jerusalem posted:Remind me, is Warriors the story with the cliffhanger where the Doctor is tipped over a railing into water only a few feet below, and before he's even gone all the way over the side Turlough has already grabbed Tegan and shouted something like,"Forget the Doctor, Tegan, he's clearly dead!"? Well, poo poo, obviously you've never fell backwards into a pool. It's harrowing stuff.
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Dec 4, 2014 14:20
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Jerusalem posted:Remind me, is Warriors the story with the cliffhanger where the Doctor is tipped over a railing into water only a few feet below, and before he's even gone all the way over the side Turlough has already grabbed Tegan and shouted something like,"Forget the Doctor, Tegan, he's clearly dead!"? Jerusalem posted:The Doctor/Turlough relationship has always been fascinating, particularly at this point where the Black Guardian link has been severed but the Doctor has also been left without a buffer between himself and the odd alien with dubious morality. Nyssa stayed on Terminus, Tegan stormed out of their lives in a rage, and now it is just the two of them. Turlough is sick and tired of Earth and wants to get out amongst the stars again, and he's also sick and tired of the Doctor constantly sniffing out trouble for them to get into instead of just kicking back and relaxing or just going sightseeing. This story explores somewhat the nature of Turlough's character, and his own continuing belief that he is not a very nice person at heart. In short... yes.
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Dec 4, 2014 14:27
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 The house on Fleming's Island had been left to rot. Ever since a strange and unexplained death soon after it was built, and plagued with troubling rumours about what lurked there, it remained empty and ignored for decades until the Cult moved in. As twenty people filled its many rooms, the eerie building seemed to be getting a new lease of life. But now it is empty again. The cult found something in its corridors... and then vanished. Trapped on the island one dark night, the Doctor, Tegan, Nyssa and Adric look into the building's mysteries, its stories of madness and death. Their only chance is to understand what terrible thing has been disturbed here... before it consumes them utterly. Peter Davison is the Doctor in Iterations of I. X X X X X Cast Peter Davison (The Doctor) Janet Fielding (Tegan) Sarah Sutton (Nyssa) Matthew Waterhouse (Adric) Sinead Keenan (Aoife) Joseph Radcliffe (Jerome Khan) Andrew Macklin (Robert DeValley) Teddy Kempner (Donal Dineen) Allison McKenzie (Imogen Frazer) Written by: John Dorney Directed by: Ken Bentley Trailer – http://www.bigfinish.com/releases/popout/the-fifth-doctor-box-set-1014 X X X X X Mathematics. The universal language. To some people, mathematics comes easily. To others, it’s nearly impossible. To a select few, it holds the keys to the secrets of the universe. No matter where one goes - a different culture, a different country, a different planet, even a different galaxy – math is the one constant they never changes. Wherever you go, the square of the hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides. The ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter is approximately 3.14159 whether you’re on Earth, Jupiter, the Death Star, or the USG Ishimura. When the Voyager probes were launched in 1977 on a journey that would take it beyond the limits of our solar system, scientists included a golden record that contained several mathematical equations, constants, and concepts, figuring that an advanced society would be able to decode the numbers. This would allow them to figure out at what RPM the record should be played as well as using the pictographs and formulas on the surface of the record itself to figure out the origin of the Voyager probe; a pale blue dot called Earth, far beyond the stars. What if, somewhere in another time or another dimension, there was a creature so absolutely alien and foreign to us that the only way to not only communicate with it but to just perceive it, was through the use of mathematics? And what if the creature’s “form” of choice was the most imaginary of numbers? Penned by a Big Finish veteran, Iterations of I finds the Doctor, Adric, Nyssa, and Tegan trapped on a mysterious island off the Irish coast, hunted by a creature they can barely comprehend. Starting off with a creepy atmosphere and ramping up from there, the TARDIS quarter turn in a great performance with a script that adds tension, humor, science, and action together for an adventure that’s easily more than the sum of its parts. The mansion on Fleming’s Island has seen death before. First, the young wife of its namesake owner died in a locked room decades earlier. Then a cult took advantage of its drop in market value to move in and conduct their rituals in privacy, before mysteriously vanishing without a trace. Now, it’s the Doctor’s turn. After a botched landing by Adric and Nyssa renders the TARDIS unreachable, the three of them, accompanied by Tegan, seek shelter in the house from a brewing storm. Inside, they find huge computers, rows of databanks, smashed radios, and cut telephone lines. Outside, they find a boat rendered unusable and several hastily dug graves. Joined by the local constable, a pair of poachers, and the boyfriend of a scientist hired by the cult before their disappearance, the mystery of Fleming’s Island begins to unfold. What were the scientists working on before turning their anger on the equipment? What secrets rest in the databanks of the vast computers? And why does the psychically attuned Nyssa struggle to enter the mansion? The answers can be found in one simple letter with many meanings. i. i. i. i. i. i. i. Iterations of I is the second story in the Fifth Doctor Box Set from Big Finish, reuniting the cast of Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding, and Matthew Waterhouse. The first story in the set, Psychodrome took place early in their adventures, immediately following the first televised serial for this particular lineup. In contrast, Iterations of I takes place near the end of their time together. This story slides right between the television serials Black Orchid and Earthshock, complete with a reference to Cranleigh’s book of adventures and the presence of early 1980’s computing technology which could take up an entire room. It’s a very good place in continuity for this this serial, as it easily allows for any number of new journeys for this particular collection of companions before the tragic death of Adric at the end of Earthshock. As opposed to the “getting to know you” thread that was woven into the fabric of Psychdrome, the TARDIS is a tightly knit family by the beginning of this story, as shown by the fact that Tegan has become a willing member of the crew as opposed to stressing about getting back to Heathrow. They still bicker and snipe at one another, but with love and respect as opposed to doing so out of uncertainty and strife. John Dorney is a long time veteran of Big Finish Productions on both sides of the microphone. He starred in stories such as Faith Stealer, The Last, and A Death in the Family, as well as playing part of Bob Dovie in the 50th anniversary audio The Light at the End. He’s also penned over a dozen stories for Big Finish, including the Fourth Doctor Adventure The Wrath of the Iceni and the acclaimed Companion Chronicle Solitaire, with India Fisher reprising her role as Charley Pollard. Dorney puts his experience to good use with this script, easily one of the strongest Big Finish has offered. The first episode sets the mood for the story, as it’s obvious that something is amiss with the house on Fleming’s Island. Not only is it devoid of life, but the scientific equipment has all been smashed to pieces…except for the computers. Nyssa’s psychic openness, touched upon in Kinda, Snakedance and Primeval also comes into play, establishing that there is indeed something “wrong” with the mansion. The second episode slowly ramps up the slope on the tension, using a few standard haunted house tropes such as an open window and whispering voices, but also using those tropes to help with the introduction of the mysterious creature. Instead of introducing it all at once, Dorney’s script establishes its presence and its capabilities through not only its reactions to the characters, but through the use of a scientist’s personal audio journals that adds up the evidence into one horrifying equation. The third episode is a good bit of scientific explanation and technobabble, but it gives the surviving characters a chance to all put in their two cents and lay out exactly what they’re up against. The fourth episode pulls it all together with a kidnapping, a desperate chase, and an ending that, while slightly cheesy, shows the power and the proof of true love. Dorney’s willing to also use humor to break the tension and give the listener and characters a moment of relief, either through the Doctor’s mid-sentence concern about Adric and Nyssa flying the TARDIS, the “I didn’t scream” reactions of the secondary characters to something spooky that’s just happened, or by using Tegan either as the recipient of a joke or the giver of one. But when the tension come back, it comes in a very simple but effectively horrifying way, as the victims of the entity on Fleming’s Island are, through the use of voice modulation and a simple scream, reduced to their component digits in a way that’s absolutely chilling on audio. While listening to this story, I was reminded of the Sixth Doctor audio …ish about a sentient word. And also of the 1980’s horror movie by John Carpenter, Prince of Darkness, about a group of scientists studying a canister of mysterious fluid that contained the essence of “Anti-God.” Iterations of I definitely leans on mathematical and scientific concepts to tell its story and does so in a very solid manner, almost like something out of a Christopher Bidmead serial. The technobabble and background to the number fits inside the story’s framework in a very snug manner, thanks to the presentation of the audio logs and the third episode group “data dump.” The complex concept of the monster challenges the listener to pay attention to the story to understand what’s going on, making the payoff even better once all the pieces are in play. They might get a little lost in the weeds at times, but Dorney keeps the explanation tight, pulling all the threads together in a way that will make a listener go “ok, I don’t quite understand the concept, but I get the idea.” And just when it looks like the serial is going to pad time on the way to the climax, there’s an action brought about by a human character that makes perfect sense and doesn’t feel forced in, leading to the big chase scene and escape from death that punctuates the fourth episode. The only concern I had with the script for this story was the “love conquers all” type of ending, but in a unique way it manages to channel the “everyone’s dead” ending from Warriors of the Deep on a more positive note. I’m going to step out on a limb and make a bold proclamation. After Spare Parts, this just might be Peter Davison’s best performance with Big Finish. At least, it’s the best one I’ve heard from him in a long time! Maybe it’s just the fact that the last time I listened to a Davison audio (before the Box Set) was in July, where an excellent Davison performance was dragged down by the low quality of the story itself. That’s right, I’m looking at you, The Roof of the World. Where Psychodrome gave us a Doctor still coming to terms with his regeneration and the strangers in his TARDIS, Iterations of I gives us a more confident Doctor, one willing to make educated guesses, but also one willing to admit when he’s wrong. What Davison adds to his performance this time out is the sense of unease that the Doctor is feeling about the whole situation. Restoring the lights is his primary concern, he loves to hear local superstitions as they might give insight to the current situation (such as figuring out a locked room has a hidden window switch), and he’s willing to admit that he doesn’t know for certain, but it’s his best guess. Perhaps the highlight of Davison’s performance is showing just how clever the Doctor can be; the creature might be evil, but it also just might be trying learn, or “iterate,” how to communicate with a different dimension…an experimentation process which is invariably fatal to humans! Is the creature evil, or curious? Whatever it is, one of the story’s highlights is when the Doctor manages to distract the creature with nothing more than a simple analog calculator! Iterations of I is a story tailor made for the character of Adric, math genius. Matthew Waterhouse pitches his voice upwards in an effort to match his it to Adric’s age, which is a bit jarring, but more readily acceptable if one’s listened to Psychdrome beforehand. With his curious nature on display, as soon as Adric realizes the situation that he and his friends find themselves in can be quantified at a complex mathematical equation, he leaps into action in an attempt to both solve the nature of and then trap the creature inside a series of numbers. Adric is confident, but there’s also a hint of desperation in Waterhouse’s performance. At the very beginning of the story, he’s attempting to fly the TARDIS in an attempt to impress the Doctor! In the third episode, while the Doctor is explaining everything, the listener can hear Adric working in the background, typing on the keyboard and ocassionally adding his own opinion and thoughts, but otherwise entirely focused on the task at hand. It’s nice to have Adric’s attempts to catch the creature take several minutes to set up, showing its complexity, as opposed to the standard “a few keystrokes and we’ve caught him” cliché that often shows up with computers. At the end of the story, when Adric is taken hostage (oh, ADRIC), his Alzarian side comes into play as he struggles with his captor, a nice call back to his alien origins. If anything, Waterhouse’s performances in both of the Fifth Doctor Box Set audios show that he’s matured as an actor and some of Adric’s flaws as a character could be placed on the writers and his own immaturity. If Adric came back for another audio TARDIS go around, I definitely wouldn’t approach it with trepidation based on the strength of Waterhouse’s return! It took a while to get Janet Fielding back into the TARDIS, but so far she’s taken the opportunity to run with the character that Big Finish has given her and made Tegan a joy to listen to as opposed to a shrill harpy. Much as we’re dealing with an “older and wiser” Adric in this story near the end of his character arc, we’re also seeing how Tegan has adapted to life inside the TARDIS. She’s willingly on board with the Doctor, forgoing the chance to go back to Heathrow from Ireland in order to travel alongside him. But this doesn’t mean Tegan’s a pushover by any means. Janet Fielding plays Tegan as smart and intelligent enough to know that it’s time to get the hell off of Fleming’s Island. The character is still sarcastic and thinks she’s the only sane person in the room, but she’s definitely a softer character then we heard in Psychodrome. Her and the Doctor (really, Fielding and Davison) trade barbs back and forth, but not in the “what the hell is wrong with you” kind of way, but in the “yes, yes, the creature will go for the loudest person in the room, thank you for pointing that out” vein. And she also points out that while the Doctor might seem insane, listening to him is usually the safest option. Tt’s Tegan who cuts through the third episode bull session with the simplest of observations from growing up in Australia where everything is trying to kill you. Every creature has a weakness. All they have to do is figure it out. Once again, the presence of Janet Fielding and Matthew Waterhouse overshadows Sarah Sutton’s solid performance as Nyssa. Her weakness to psychic attacks sidelines her a bit during the opening scenes, but this established her as a conduit for the mysterious creature. Nyssa is the first to fall under its spell, caught in a recursion loop and repeating the letter…or number…i over and over again. Once recovered, Adric suggests that a little light electrical engineering might be just what she needs…and we all know Nyssa is just square enough that fixing a radio is definitely what the doctor ordered. With math as the scientific basis for this story, Nyssa’s expertise in biological and physiological matters takes a back seat, which makes Nyssa do a bit more of the background “heavy lifting” as it were, with a slight focus on the death of her father in The Keeper of Traken and how she’s come to terms with it during a quiet scene with one of the secondary characters. This doesn’t mean her performance should be considered anything less than the quality turns Big Finish listeners have come to expect from Sutton, it just means that her presence is downplayed as opposed to Tegan’s and Adric’s. The supporting cast focuses on the lovers of Imogen Frazer, played by Allison McKenzie, and Joseph Radcliffe’s Jerome Khan. A students of Maths at university, Frazer is only heard through the apocalyptic audio logs that the Doctor finds in her bedroom. McKenzie does a great job going from excitement at discovering the new life form to unease as they attempt to communicate with it to sheer terror as she realizes it won’t let, or any of the cultists, depart the island. Radcliffe’s performance goes the other way, anxiety at his lover’s fate giving way to acceptance at her death, ending with a hint of hope at what might be to come if Jerome is willing to take a calculated risk. Andrew Macklin does a fine job as Robert DeValley, the corrupt local constable who wants nothing more than to get everyone off the island with all their pieces intact until he realizes that the mouthy mathematician could manipulate the Stock Exchange and make him a pretty penny. And in the role of “secondary characters that provide exposition, answer questions, and get a bit of development before dying horribly” is the stellar pair of Teddy Kempner and Sinead Keenan. Fool Circle Productions once again deserves a notation for the fine audio landscape they lay out with this story. The computers and printers sound like they could have come right out from the 1980’s, complete with dot matrix printing and the loud clacking of keys being punched. The desolation of the island, save for the howls and wind of the oncoming storm, really comes across with the cries of seagulls and waves crashing against the shore. The sounds of the creature’s attacks, at mentioned earlier, stand out for the use of voice modulation and the simple deconstruction of its victims into their simplest forms come across as spine-tingling when heard on audio. The highest praise I can give this serial is that I wish it had been done on television! Using a dilapidated mansion set and an updated version of the special effects from The Mind of Evil, a tale like this could have been a definitely “jump behind the couch” story. The cast and crew takes the script from John Dorney and run with it, giving Big Finish one of its best stories in years. Combined with Psychodrome, the Fifth Doctor Box Set is a triumph for the company and a great return for Matthew Waterhouse to the role he’s best known.  Synopsis – Iterations of I showcases the strong script and production value, as well as the performances of its actors, to bring the story of an alien being, in the form of a sentient number, to life in a chilling and terrifying affair. 5/5 Next up - The Doctor and Peri journey to Los Angeles 2009 to do battle with a Piscon. His name is Zarl, and he's a fish of utmost evil. Fortunately, to stop him there’s help from an unexpected source: a future version of Peri. She knows Zarl's dark secret… Nicola Bryant is the companion is…Peri and the Piscon Paradox.
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Dec 4, 2014 15:37
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I am almost 100 percent sure that little bits of the incidental music (the bits that are actually a piano and not someone just blaring bass) in the audio drama No Man's Land are straight up just cribbed from John Williams's soundtrack for the hit holiday movie, Home Alone. It's really weird.
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Dec 4, 2014 15:52
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"No Man's Land" was the first BFA story I listened to. The second was "Red" (or, as it is perhaps more accurately called, "Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrred").
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Dec 4, 2014 15:55
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I'd like to take this oppertunity to apologize to my Secret Santee that I haven't ordered your gift yet due to being swamped with finals. Sorry!
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Dec 4, 2014 16:14
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Metal Loaf posted:"No Man's Land" was the first BFA story I listened to. The second was "Red" (or, as it is perhaps more accurately called, "Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrred"). Is everyone's first BFA some random inconsequential release from the mid-2000s? Mine was The Gathering, and I can't even remember why I picked that (or how I ever proceeded to my second audio after that awful piece of Lidster). Probably because it was one of the few main range ones you could get for a fiver back then.
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Dec 4, 2014 16:19
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Solaris Knight posted:I'd like to take this oppertunity to apologize to my Secret Santee that I haven't ordered your gift yet due to being swamped with finals. Sorry! I have to admit that I'm jealous of mine because I like part of his gift so much. Must fight the temptation to just keep it for myself.
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Dec 4, 2014 16:21
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Forktoss posted:Is everyone's first BFA some random inconsequential release from the mid-2000s? Mine was The Gathering, and I can't even remember why I picked that (or how I ever proceeded to my second audio after that awful piece of Lidster). Probably because it was one of the few main range ones you could get for a fiver back then. My first was Blood of the Daleks!  I think it was a pretty good starting point.
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Dec 4, 2014 17:42
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One of the gifts I bought for my Santee isn't shipping until the 11th, so it's going to be kind of tight getting there before Christmas. I'm so sorry and I hope he likes it oh god what if I got terrible things 
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Dec 4, 2014 17:43
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Forktoss posted:Is everyone's first BFA some random inconsequential release from the mid-2000s? Mine was The Gathering, and I can't even remember why I picked that (or how I ever proceeded to my second audio after that awful piece of Lidster). Probably because it was one of the few main range ones you could get for a fiver back then. Mine was Sirens of Time! I wanted to go in order, you see. I stopped doing that with a quickness after I listened to Phantasmagoria
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Dec 4, 2014 17:45
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Jerusalem posted:Remind me, is Warriors the story with the cliffhanger where the Doctor is tipped over a railing into water only a few feet below, and before he's even gone all the way over the side Turlough has already grabbed Tegan and shouted something like,"Forget the Doctor, Tegan, he's clearly dead!"?  Hello? I'm still down here, I could use a hand up. It's like I can still hear him! You humans, always willing to delude yourselves with things you'd rather see! *sighs*
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Dec 4, 2014 17:51
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Forktoss posted:Is everyone's first BFA some random inconsequential release from the mid-2000s? Mine was The Gathering, and I can't even remember why I picked that (or how I ever proceeded to my second audio after that awful piece of Lidster). Probably because it was one of the few main range ones you could get for a fiver back then. My first was Storm Warning, quickly followed by Spare Parts, because of this very thread’s recommendations! I enjoyed them enough that I picked up Sword of Orion and The Stones of Venice right after, but it took me over a year to get around to them, because I had a hard time hearing the first two audios and thought the production quality was poor. Turns out my headphones just sucked and I didn’t know my iPhone had a “Spoken Word” setting. And it just took off from there. I do listen in order, mainly because I bulk purchased 1-50 and 51-100 during a Big Finish sale. I don’t regret it, as there are hits and there are misses, but overall I’m very satisfied with the work Big Finish has put out.
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Dec 4, 2014 18:12
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Forktoss posted:Is everyone's first BFA some random inconsequential release from the mid-2000s? Scherzo here. Nope, no idea why either. 
Almost Ordinary fucked around with this message at 18:15 on Dec 4, 2014 |
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Dec 4, 2014 18:13
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Forktoss posted:Is everyone's first BFA some random inconsequential release from the mid-2000s? Mine was The Gathering, and I can't even remember why I picked that (or how I ever proceeded to my second audio after that awful piece of Lidster). Probably because it was one of the few main range ones you could get for a fiver back then. Nope, mine was The Light at the End. Then Storm Warning.
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Dec 4, 2014 18:16
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My first/only big finish to date was the copy of light at the end I received in last years secret santa
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Dec 4, 2014 18:17
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Storm Warning into Chimes at Midnight, followed by a random smattering of early BF audios...almost entirely ones that I could get for $3 or on sale at various points.
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Dec 4, 2014 18:20
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RaythFalstar posted:Scherzo here. Nope, no idea why either. A very good audio. Not a very good first audio.
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Dec 4, 2014 19:49
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RaythFalstar posted:Scherzo here. Nope, no idea why either. Scherzo for me too. It was amazing, no loving idea what was going on but I was hooked.
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Dec 4, 2014 20:52
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God DAMNIT with all of the Dalek as statue jokes, I just want to make a silly joke about "A Dalek statue trying to kill people? It'll never happen" But I also like not being probated
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Dec 4, 2014 21:30
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CobiWann posted:Synopsis – Iterations of I showcases the strong script and production value, as well as the performances of its actors, to bring the story of an alien being, in the form of a sentient number, to life in a chilling and terrifying affair. 5/5 This sounds fantastic, right up my alley.... but it's gonna be awhile before I get caught up
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Dec 4, 2014 22:17
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My first was Sirens of Time, back in July of 1999. Listen to the very first release on its release, and haven't missed one since.
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Dec 4, 2014 23:13
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This seems like the perfect time to ask. If I'm watching through the original series in order, when should I start throwing the audios in there? Or are they really a different enough take that I should just treat them as their own, and start listening whenever I get the urge?
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Dec 4, 2014 23:50
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surc posted:This seems like the perfect time to ask. If I'm watching through the original series in order, when should I start throwing the audios in there? Or are they really a different enough take that I should just treat them as their own, and start listening whenever I get the urge? You can probably pick up the Eighth Doctor at any time, since he didn't really have much of a TV presence. His stories also go in order and form "seasons" kind of, so they're almost like their own separate thing. I advise starting on the Main Range and buying the Eighth Doctor ones specifically, since they're much, much cheaper for the early stories, which have some thread favorites such as Chimes of Midnight. The bulk of the audios in the Main Range are the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Doctor, so in my opinion, as long as you're watching through the TV show, you might as well at least get to their serials so you can get a feel for their companions before picking those up. Six's run, particularly with Evelyn, is very different from his TV stuff, so that's also probably a safe bet.
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Dec 4, 2014 23:57
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RaythFalstar posted:Scherzo here. Nope, no idea why either. BSam posted:Scherzo for me too. Scherzo was the first one I listened to, as well! I loved it and it got me hooked on Big Finish. Bicyclops posted:A very good audio. Not a very good first audio. Clearly, it's not so bad as a first audio, after all.
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Dec 5, 2014 00:58
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The Holy Terror was the first audio I listened to all the way through, after false-starts with The Sirens of Time and Spare Parts.
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Dec 5, 2014 01:15
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surc posted:This seems like the perfect time to ask. If I'm watching through the original series in order, when should I start throwing the audios in there? Or are they really a different enough take that I should just treat them as their own, and start listening whenever I get the urge? I wouldn't try to slip the audios into order, just watch the original series and then listen to the audios afterwards. They're produced to take place between certain televised stories but they were produced long after the classic series had finished, and it's pretty clear that they're being written with the "whole story" of these various characters already known. In some cases they'd even weaken the impact of particular stories, in my opinion - I'm thinking mostly of The Caves of Androzani, where the Doctor's actions re: Peri took place when she was basically a complete stranger to him. The audios establish a far deeper rapport between the characters, which weakens the rather eye-opening resolve of the Doctor in that story in my mind. Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 04:21 on Dec 5, 2014 |
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Dec 5, 2014 02:31
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