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I thought I couldn't love Tom more, but he has kitties 
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Feb 25, 2015 03:22
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whatsabattle posted:So these are my replacements. El Dandy and a clown! Doink, El Dandy, and William Hartnell would be a better card than anything the WWE has put out in a good ten years.
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Feb 25, 2015 03:33
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Jerusalem posted:So apparently Tom Baker sends people autographed photos of himself holding a pile of kittens. Now, all he needs is a blue cat carrier per kitten, with a white handle on top...
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Feb 25, 2015 04:22
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Jerusalem posted:So apparently Tom Baker sends people autographed photos of himself holding a pile of kittens. Bicyclops posted:Would you hand me the phone book? Now, let's see. Flip, flip. Flippity. Ah, who have we here? Mark. Looks like Mark is in for a little surprise. Get the envelope ready! Are we sure that Tom Baker isn't Santa Claus?
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Feb 25, 2015 04:40
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Neddy Seagoon posted:Are we sure that Tom Baker isn't Santa Claus? That would have been the only casting choice even better than Nick Frost 
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Feb 25, 2015 04:47
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Four pulled a Clara and now there are thousands of Tom Bakers all over the timeline.
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Feb 25, 2015 05:00
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MikeJF posted:Four pulled a Clara and now there are thousands of Tom Bakers all over the timeline. Nah, that's just how things rolled in the 70s :bigtran:
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Feb 25, 2015 05:05
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Jerusalem posted:Nah, that's just how things rolled in the 70s :bigtran: 
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Feb 25, 2015 05:37
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Jerusalem posted:That would have been the only casting choice even better than Nick Frost Who said anything about as a casting choice?...
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Feb 25, 2015 06:00
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I am fairly averse to the string of holiday movies involving actual appearances from Santa, but one with Tom Baker as Santa is one that I would watch in the movie theaters on Christmas Day, if I had to drag my entire family with me.
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Feb 25, 2015 15:26
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The Impossible Present/The Santa Pit
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Feb 25, 2015 19:32
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Two children rip open the paper on their presents while a jolly, excited Santa looks on, grinning. The children stare perplexed into their boxes, then look wide-eyed at Santa. Santa: Look! Rocks!
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Feb 25, 2015 19:39
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Elves of Destruction
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Feb 25, 2015 19:39
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The Jolliness Patrol
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Feb 25, 2015 19:57
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The Ambassadors...of GOODWILL! TWAAAAAANG!
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Feb 25, 2015 21:29
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The Dreidel of the Daleks
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Feb 25, 2015 21:30
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CobiWann posted:The Dreidel of the Daleks Masque of the Menora
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Feb 25, 2015 21:43
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Jubileelation
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Feb 25, 2015 23:31
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 The Settling is an utter mess of a story, with a framing device that completely removes any sense of tension from the story, some bizarre characterization, and a completely unsatisfying ending. I don't know if it was intended to act as a character development piece for Hex or a kind of reflection on how even the best of intentions can lead to uncharacteristic acts of violence, or how we try to justify our actions as righteous or how difficult it is to see things from somebody else's point of view.... or maybe a mashed up combination of all three. Whatever the case, the story is such a mess that by the end the entire thing feels like it was a giant waste of time, and the resolution for the supporting characters rings hollow, feeling rushed and not at all in keeping with the content of the story. The Doctor lands the TARDIS in 17th Century Ireland, right inside Drogheda in the midst of a siege by Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarian forces. They encounter a member of the garrison who is concerned over his pregnant wife, who in turn is concerned about HIS safety, especially since she's looked down upon by the other people of the town, many of whom claim she has in some way cursed them (this will be referenced several times throughout the story and GO NOWHERE) and is to blame for their current predicament. Despite both being fully aware that Drogheda is the site of a massacre by Cromwell and his forces, Ace and Hex both eagerly ignore the Doctor's warnings to them not to get involved and rush to the frontline to see the action for themselves. This "war tourism" feels decidedly out of character for both Ace and Hex, the latter especially as he's always struck me as somewhat of a pacifist. Of course things go pear-shaped, and Hex finds himself captured by the Parliamentarian forces while something happens to Ace in combat that leaves her both presumed dead and somehow completely fine. The latter is a symptom of the underlying problem that this story has - the sense that nothing that happens seems to have any real consequence. Ace eagerly joins in the fighting on the frontline and treats the whole thing like a game, which feels decidedly out of character for her, and then when things go wrong everything becomes very muddled. Big Finish has to walk a fine line even if they don't have the restrictions the television show might have in regards to violence, gore, and even sexual content, but what we get here feels like a bizarrely sanitized record of events - allusions are made to rape in regards to the English soldiers, and while it is very obvious that this does NOT happen to Ace, there is a weird sense that the story kind of wanted to go in that direction, pulled back when they realized how terrible a decision that would be, then kind of just left a hole in the narrative because they didn't have anything to replace it with. Ace is in the middle of fighting, the Irish soldiers around her are killed (including Mary's husband) and the British soldiers advance on Ace leering as she warns them to keep away from her <scene missing> the Doctor discovers her body on the ground and fears she is dead. He checks on her and she wakes up with a start, having apparently been knocked out or choked by one of the British soldiers who presumably then just left her for dead amongst the Irish corpses, but within a few seconds she is apparently none the worse for wear and already back to her typical self - nothing that has happened to her seems to have had any consequence. This sense that nothing has consequence undermines the narrative framing of the story entirely. We're getting a kind of flashback of the story as Ace and Hex wander the corridors of the TARDIS quietly discussing events and pondering life with the Doctor and where they go from here. While it is true that most stories can be presumed to end with the Doctor and companions safe and sound, it does remove any sense of menace from the various cliffhangers as characters are put in peril even though we already know from episode one that they clearly survive the coming events of the story. There is this little mini-story going on between the two through the course of the story which also feels detached from anything going on in the flashbacks - what starts as Hex coming to terms with his actions turns into him questioning his place on the TARDIS which moves on to an out of nowhere little mini-rant about the Doctor being to blame (why he comes to this conclusion is beyond me, nothing in the story backs it up) which suddenly shifts into him awkwardly coming on to Ace, which is hilarious if only for how Ace completely rejects the notion in no uncertain terms whatsoever (so much for the idea I had from his first story that Hex was gay) and then by the end he's completely okay with things being back to the status quo without any sense as to WHY he has come to this conclusion. What makes things worse is that there was a sense that the "present day" stuff was happening somewhat removed from the events of the story, but then we discover it has been maybe a couple of hours, and the Doctor has been just outside the TARDIS doors chatting with people from the story while Hex has been "recovering". There's also a brief bit where it seems like Ace and Hex are going to pop off for a little adventure of their own, and leave a message to the Doctor to that effect.... but how were they going to do that? Ace was going to take Hex to Croydon in the 20th Century, but if they were going to take the TARDIS (can Ace pilot it?) why leave a message for the Doctor? If they were waiting for the Doctor to get back, wouldn't he be the one taking them there? Nothing seems to happen with this anyway, so I guess it is a moot point. Oliver Cromwell features as the main antagonist of the story, and some effort at least is made to show him as something more than a 1-dimensional monster. The result is a character who seems schizophrenic and, at times, sadistically cruel, which may in fact be an accurate representation of the man. It's hard to say though, since Cromwell is a hugely controversial figure who has been both vilified as a genocidal monster and lauded as a proponent of liberty. For those who don't know, an incredibly brief (and not entirely accurate) description of him is that he was a significant figure in the revolution against King Charles the 1st which eventually lead to the King's execution. He ruled England, Scotland and Ireland as "Lord Protector" in place of a King for five years, and after his death and the return of the Monarchy to England, his corpse was dug up, hung then beheaded as a treasonous criminal. At the time of this story, Cromwell was leading the Parliamentarian forces in Ireland, effectively a banishment as Parliament tried to run the Commonwealth and felt Cromwell was too dangerous and popular a figure, and that throwing him into the mire that was subjugating Ireland would keep him out of the way and maybe even take the gloss of his reputation with the army, which loved him. Cromwell's actions in Ireland have been the subject of much discussion, in Ireland he is considered a monster, responsible for massacres that were borderline genocidal. Hex comes into the story with this viewpoint, but prepared to look beyond what history has told him and try to figure out what the MAN is like as opposed to the reputation. Captured by Cromwell who takes a liking to him, Hex - believing Ace and the Doctor are dead - attempts to curb Cromwell's violence with diplomacy and prevent a similar massacre in Wexford. At first this seems to succeed, but Cromwell is a stubborn and unbending figure firmly convinced that God is not only on his side, but guiding his actions. When fighting breaks out between the two sides during the confusion of Hex's escape following Cromwell flying into a rage over blasphemy (Hex's oft-repeated phrase of,"Oh my God"), Cromwell takes it as a sign that the Irish are forcing his hand, and yet another massacre takes place. Hex attempts to save the women and children, who drown when the boats they are loaded onto sink under the weight, while the Doctor finds himself drafted into field surgery, and then helps Mary give birth to her son. Ace finds herself in Cromwell's presence as well, where again we see the toll that his generalship is taking on the man.... but any attempts to dissuade him from his chosen course of action sees him fly into a rage again, blaming everybody but himself for the fact the battles are happening, and justifying every massacre as saving the lives of many thousands more who will surely realize the futility of fighting and simply submit to Parliament's rule. Cromwell is well-written, in that he is infuriating, self-righteous, and dangerously unstable. That doesn't exactly make him particularly compelling, but it probably serves as a pretty accurate reflection of what it was like to deal with the man when he wasn't on your side or you were trying to shake him of his firmly-held beliefs. It does make the eventual resolution feel somewhat unsatisfying though, as Hex is about to be hung as a traitor while Cromwell ignores Ace's pleas to spare him, and then the Doctor's saving of Mary (dying after being shot by Cromwell when she came at him with a knife) causes him to believe it a sign from God that there has been enough death that day. So Hex is saved by the sudden decision of a seemingly mentally unbalanced tyrant, at which point everything just kind of.... wraps up without any resolution. Wexford has been taken by Cromwell, but despite Hex and Ace both actively fighting the Parliamentarian forces they are free to just walk away with the Doctor, who seems more interested in sparking the creation of The Royal Society than the actual events of the story. Nothing is resolved in terms of the English/Irish conflict, history just continues on as it always did and Cromwell learns no lesson - even Ace's reveal of his future doesn't give him pause, though to be fair there's no reason he should believe she is actually a time-traveler. Hex's actions as a soldier (I believe he outright admits he killed some of the English soldiers during the battle) is given the barest lip service despite being hugely out of character, and despite the efforts of the narrative framing there is no sense that any of the events actually had any impact on Ace or Hex beyond a few bruises. The Doctor is a non-entity for most of the story, outside of one excellent scene where he assists Mary in giving birth and easily takes control of the situation when British troops show up, all of whom quickly find themselves submitting to his non-existent authority. Sadly Mary herself becomes a non-entity by the end - all the stuff about the Irish considering her with suspicion goes nowhere, and despite both her husband and the father of her child (her husband's twin brother) being killed, the Doctor just casually mentions she and the child will be fine because there will be "plenty of Godfathers", indicating people will be eager to look after her and the kid. Why? Mary was a pariah at the start of the story, the only two men who loved her are dead, and now she's a stranger in a strange town suffering from a massacre so why would she be welcomed with open arms? Because she took a swing at Cromwell? The only people around to see that were English or the Doctor, Ace and Hex who are all leaving. The Settling is a mess, plain and simple. There is no tension, no sense that anything has impact on the characters or indeed on history itself. The antagonist is admirably constructed as a complex figure but that makes him a frustrating one to listen to, while Ace and Hex act very much out of character and then just kind of slot back into their old roles at the end of the story without any sense as to why. The Doctor is sidelined too often and it feels almost callous in how little investment he seems to have in the main narrative, more interested in planting the idea of the Royal Society in Dr Goddard's head. It's a fascinating period of history involving a fascinating historical figure, but sadly it doesn't make for a fascinating story. Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 06:03 on Feb 26, 2015 |
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Feb 26, 2015 00:09
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Yeah. The Settling had some okay character work with Ace and Hex, but the side characters, even when they're written kind of well, feel like archetypes because of the weakness of the story. It starts off kind of interesting, but it ends up dragging even by the end of part 2.
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Feb 26, 2015 05:49
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Doctor Who audio has a character played by Absy mcSpeedo? 
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Feb 26, 2015 06:17
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That's Philip Olivier if that's who you mean - I'm not familiar with anything he's done outside of Big Finish, but apparently he used to be on a British soap. Edit: Just did a google image search, and this makes Ace's,"Maybe you should work out sometime?" line after he tried to get it on with her even more hilarious.
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Feb 26, 2015 06:25
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His face is a bit dollar store/pound shop Daniel Craig, but the body's drat fine.
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Feb 26, 2015 06:28
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I just finished Eldrad Must Die and I gotta take a sec to say that the 5/Nyssa/Tegan/Turlough TARDIS team just gets better and better with each season. Particularly Janet and Peter. In their early audios you could really hear their age, but they just seem perfect now. I also love it how Marc Platt has somehow become the "go to" writer for sequels, particularly with 5 (Eldrad, Weng-Chiang, The Mara). His stories are usually top notch.
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Feb 26, 2015 06:37
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MikeJF posted:Four pulled a Clara and now there are thousands of Tom Bakers all over the timeline. If that happened booze would not exist anymore as it has all been drank.
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Feb 26, 2015 07:00
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Ok. So I can see why people like spare parts but I definitely wouldn't recommend people use it as their starting for audios.
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Feb 26, 2015 10:18
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Little_wh0re posted:Ok. So I can see why people like spare parts but I definitely wouldn't recommend people use it as their starting for audios. I agree, they should start like I did, with Scherzo.
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Feb 26, 2015 10:21
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I haven'tlistened to that yet
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Feb 26, 2015 10:48
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BSam posted:I agree, they should start like I did, with Scherzo. ...you are a brave, brave man.
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Feb 26, 2015 13:34
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Scherzo is your reward for getting through Zagreus. After three hours of fortieth anniversary fanwank*, you get a very different take on what Doctor Who can be. *I stand by my assertion that there it could be edited down to a good story, especially since I love its Vorlon take on Rassilon. Hey, that rhymes!
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Feb 26, 2015 15:41
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I am really enjoying The Condemned so far (I'm about two minutes into the last part). I want to keep listening to it so that I can get to the ending! It opens with something long-time Big Finish listeners really want to hear (Charlie encountering the Sixth Doctor), but before that can resolve or even really get started, the two are separated in a plot that involves a kidnapping by mysterious forces, a murder investigation that pairs the Doctor with the gruff, police procedural character, D.I. Menzies, a haunted house, and some Man-in-Black level undercover aliens. I particularly like how quickly they dispense with Menzies's doubt, so that we don't have to listen to the boring, back-and-forth of the Doctor trying to get the police to believe him for too long. The Law & Order-like interviews and the struggle to escape the kidnapping situation keep the story constantly moving, and the jokes about the Wii laser sword game are amusing and show that Robson understands how to put in some filler dialogue that doesn't bore. I haven't heard all of the last part yet, but so far, it's been a great listen. My one complaint: for someone who traveled with the Doctor for long enough that they have coded, numbers escape plans, Charlie is hopelessly Edwardian about things like Thai food and telephones. You'd think she'd have adapted a bit more in her travels, and she certainly isn't quite so clueless while traveling with Eight. I am beginning to quite like Eddie Robson's writing, who also penned Memory Lane, Human Resources, ID and Urgent Calls, all of which I liked, and Phobos, which was okay.
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Feb 26, 2015 16:16
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Zullily has a ton of Doctor Who merchandise on sale today. http://www.zulily.com/e/doctor-who-collection-115591.html Not all of it is great, but some of it is really fantastic.
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Feb 26, 2015 16:27
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What kind of idiotic webshop forces you to create an account BEFORE browsing their inventory?
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Feb 26, 2015 16:35
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Wearing Don't blink! boxers would be awkward for so many reasons, I don't even really know where to start.
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Feb 26, 2015 16:37
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adhuin posted:What kind of idiotic webshop forces you to create an account BEFORE browsing their inventory? I agree, I do hate that part.
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Feb 26, 2015 16:48
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They're certainly not cheap but Dark Bunny Tees has some of my favorite DW shirts. I've got this one: I might need to save up for this one though: 
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Feb 26, 2015 17:14
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Bicyclops posted:Wearing Don't blink! boxers would be awkward for so many reasons, I don't even really know where to start. What, you just remain perfectly stiff when someone's looking at them!
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Feb 26, 2015 18:08
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Everyone would have to stare at your junk to prevent your boxers from sending them back in time.
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Feb 26, 2015 18:10
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Bicyclops posted:I am beginning to quite like Eddie Robson's writing, who also penned Memory Lane, Human Resources, ID and Urgent Calls, all of which I liked, and Phobos, which was okay. Eddie is really awesome, and you should also check out his BBC Radio 4 series, Welcome to our village, Please Invade Carefully
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Feb 26, 2015 18:17
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Bicyclops posted:Everyone would have to stare at your junk to prevent your boxers from sending them back in time. Boxers that overcame the Blinovitch Limitation Effect? "Baby...tonight, you’re the Pandorica."
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Feb 26, 2015 18:45
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