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PriorMarcus posted:Could someone animate this into a AV for me? here's my best crack at it, three versions with steadily increased delay between frames the reason it's tiny is because you're asking for a thirteen-frame gif which even when it's just a collection of stills means that it'll be over 100 kb unless i either made it look ugly as poo poo with decreased palette or if i just made it smaller, so it's 99x99 over 150x150    I do requests, btw, if anyone wants an av of a moment from an ep of who or somethin
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Jul 10, 2015 08:05
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| # ? Jun 6, 2024 10:25 |
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For ref priormarcus if you want a full 150x150, sub 100kb gif it's gonna need to be at most 6 frames (my current av is exactly 6 frames and is 91 kb) Now that's usually very easy, just drop either every even frame or, drop every odd frame plus one (the first frame is frame "zero") which creates an uglier, rougher gif but one that still communicates the action But you can't do that because a shot of a different doctor is in every frame So, in other words, you need to figure out if you want to cut doctors one, three, five, seven, war, ten, and one other or doctors twelve, two, four, six, eight, nine, and eleven Or pick your seven least favorite, since I can just delete random frames trivially easily But yeah if you want a 150x150 gif you're looking at a six frame one, so, yeah
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Jul 10, 2015 08:24
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Jerusalem posted:And man Ark in Space still blows me away every time I watch it. Yeah the special effects are dated and to say they are bad is an understatement, but it really doesn't matter thanks to the strength of the story, the solid performances from the supporting guest actors, and Tom Baker barreling through the whole thing with wonderfully alien enthusiasm. The Special Edition DVD arrived in the mail last night, so I can't wait to sit down and watch the "behind the scenes" and the commentary on it. RTD and Moffat both say it's their favorite classic episode as well... The toughest thing about watching classic Who is remembering it's the 1970's and 1980's. It's not about the special effects, it's about the story, and this one had a story in spades. I especially liked Noah not going down the "have to hide my infection from everyone" path and going "welp, I'm hosed, time to hand it off to someone who isn't!"
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Jul 10, 2015 12:00
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Toxxupation posted:But yeah if you want a 150x150 gif you're looking at a six frame one, so, yeah It can be done, but you gotta play around with the background image a bit and cut out as many excess frame changes as possible. I created a "clean" TARDIS backdrop from the source files to use as the base backdrop and then just pasted the lego Docs over that, which dropped the filesize down to 60kb. Of course, there is still image degradation plus the fact that the Docs are clearly not the same size in each frame or (more obvious) that they're not standing at the same level each time - I'll look into grabbing a high res copy of the video and seeing if I can put something together from that that has better visual fidelity/more stable placement of the figures. 
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Jul 10, 2015 12:28
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From what I remember, bubblewrap in 1974 was this brand new product that at the time of filming no-one had seen. The trouble was that by the time of airing, it was everywhere.
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Jul 10, 2015 12:51
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Jerusalem posted:It can be done, but you gotta play around with the background image a bit and cut out as many excess frame changes as possible. This is bringing back bad memories to the time I spent trying to get my current avatar down to size.
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Jul 10, 2015 12:53
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Another version with resized/replaced figures, as well as the large version of it if anybody thinks they can get better quality from it.  Edit: And the base images:             
Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 13:28 on Jul 10, 2015 |
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Jul 10, 2015 13:21
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CobiWann posted:The toughest thing about watching classic Who is remembering it's the 1970's and 1980's. It's not about the special effects, it's about the story, and this one had a story in spades. Two things that will help with this: watch a lot of classic Who, the effects won't be as distracting after a while. Additionally, try to learn as much behind-the-scenes stuff as possible. The more you learn about the amount of effort and love that went into whatever silly-looking thing you're seeing at the time, the more it will feel like you're watching a local theatre troupe. That was one thing that came away from hearing Terry Malloy describe the Davros Chair. (Note to self, keep title for submission to Moffat and re-format as The Chair of Davros for Nick Briggs' package)
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Jul 10, 2015 13:35
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Yeah, the DVD extras are brilliant for stuff like that. As well as hilarious mental images of Michael Wisher in a wheelchair with a bag over his head smoking a cigarette during rehearsals because he wanted to get used to the limitations he'd have to put up with during actual production.
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Jul 10, 2015 13:44
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Jerusalem posted:Yeah, the DVD extras are brilliant for stuff like that. As well as hilarious mental images of Michael Wisher in a wheelchair with a bag over his head smoking a cigarette during rehearsals because he wanted to get used to the limitations he'd have to put up with during actual production. After The War posted:Two things that will help with this: watch a lot of classic Who... The vignette on Robot was very helpful - there was a great line from Elisabeth Sladen that went "the effects were shoddy, but that doesn't matter if you have a great cast, crew, and production staff." I'm sure the more I watch, the more I'll appreciate it. It's just a bit of culture shock as it were, going from the modern looking show to, well, a local theatre troupe. But so far, it's worked... ...after all, I have up to The Seeds of Doom on my DVD shelf.  CobiWann fucked around with this message at 13:49 on Jul 10, 2015 |
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Jul 10, 2015 13:47
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CobiWann posted:I have up to The Seeds of Doom on my DVD shelf. That few, eh? 
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Jul 10, 2015 13:48
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Love that Two's doing the hand-wringing thing, love how loving pleased with himself Six looks, and amused at Ten's smarmy poo poo-eating smile.
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Jul 10, 2015 13:51
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Jerusalem posted:That few, eh? We all have to start somewhere. I’m sure once upon a time there was a young man who had nothing but a copy of Wrestlemania X and The Green Death sitting on his shelf…I wonder what ever became of that man?
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Jul 10, 2015 14:06
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I love the DVD extras for Doctor Who. I really have to get through those Hartnell serials so I can buy the next one. With the steady rate at which Big Finish produces stories and me only up to A Thousand Tiny Wings and 50 years of Who to rewatch with commentary and behind-the-scenes stuff, I am probably literally never going to run out of material that is "new" to me. There's no such thing as a Doctor Who hiatus.
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Jul 10, 2015 15:10
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CobiWann posted:The vignette on Robot was very helpful - there was a great line from Elisabeth Sladen that went "the effects were shoddy, but that doesn't matter if you have a great cast, crew, and production staff." I'm sure the more I watch, the more I'll appreciate it. It's just a bit of culture shock as it were, going from the modern looking show to, well, a local theatre troupe. But so far, it's worked... (The fact that actors generally have nothing to play off of with CGI-heavy productions makes this a lot trickier with modern material.) CobiWann posted:...after all, I have up to The Seeds of Doom on my DVD shelf. Good God, man! At least get to the end of Hinchcliffe pronto!
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Jul 10, 2015 15:17
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My Doctor Who secret santa from the year before last got me two Pertwee serials and I bought the Hartnell one myself. It's slow, but I'll get through the classic era eventually.
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Jul 10, 2015 15:19
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Bicyclops posted:I love the DVD extras for Doctor Who. Doctor Who DVDs are the only ones I buy these days, honestly, and that's pretty much entirely down to the extras. If they were just vanilla releases, I'd never even bother.
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Jul 10, 2015 15:26
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After The War posted:Good God, man! At least get to the end of Hinchcliffe pronto! Why, what happens at the end?
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Jul 10, 2015 15:41
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CobiWann posted:Why, what happens at the end? Everything.
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Jul 10, 2015 16:57
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Jul 10, 2015 19:58
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Autonomous Monster posted:Am I hallucinating or is this a really loving good trailer? Let's see! Series 9 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB8fh4QUy-A Series 8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TivqZTq5u6Y Series 7B https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRQu3MvRySA Series 7A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrEUBl2pacU Series 6B https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szw0dyFtJqk Series 6A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vIsQ25Krq8 Series 5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnPUF8an-XE I think they've been getting better lately?
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Jul 10, 2015 22:50
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CobiWann posted:Why, what happens at the end? This happy little fellow will have a wonderful surprise for you!  EDIT - If you're afraid of ventriloquist dummies, don't worry! This one is just a cymbernetic body with a murderous pig brain inside it, so nothing to be afraid of! After The War fucked around with this message at 23:00 on Jul 10, 2015 |
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Jul 10, 2015 22:58
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I will say one idea that I'm pretty sure is going to disappoint everyone here if true, but was the first thing I though on seeing that trailer: Maisie Williams is probably playing Clara. She's wearing the orange spacesuit that Coleman's shown in earlier in the trailer, and while she doesn't sound especially Northern, that 'old man' crack would be very in character.
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Jul 10, 2015 23:01
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Gaz-L posted:I will say one idea that I'm pretty sure is going to disappoint everyone here if true, but was the first thing I though on seeing that trailer: Maisie Williams is probably playing Clara. She's wearing the orange spacesuit that Coleman's shown in earlier in the trailer, and while she doesn't sound especially Northern, that 'old man' crack would be very in character. ...or Moffat has a problem writing distinctive characters.
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Jul 10, 2015 23:06
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After The War posted:...or Moffat has a problem writing distinctive characters. She's said three words MikeJF fucked around with this message at 23:18 on Jul 10, 2015 |
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Jul 10, 2015 23:12
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After The War posted:EDIT - If you're afraid of ventriloquist dummies, don't worry! This one is just a cymbernetic body with a murderous pig brain inside it, so nothing to be afraid of! WHAT DID THEY DO TO TOBY?!? 
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Jul 10, 2015 23:14
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CobiWann posted:WHAT DID THEY DO TO TOBY?!? Don't think Toby would be alive by the time Mr Sin was created
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Jul 10, 2015 23:31
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Bicyclops posted:With the steady rate at which Big Finish produces stories and me only up to A Thousand Tiny Wings Stop posting and listen to it, man!
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Jul 10, 2015 23:36
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Gaz-L posted:I will say one idea that I'm pretty sure is going to disappoint everyone here if true, but was the first thing I though on seeing that trailer: Maisie Williams is probably playing Clara. She's wearing the orange spacesuit that Coleman's shown in earlier in the trailer, and while she doesn't sound especially Northern, that 'old man' crack would be very in character. You mean the same orange spacesuit that drat near everyone who's worn a spacesuit in the revival has worn? That orange spacesuit? My honest prediction is that she is an entirely new character and she's being familiar with the Doctor because she met him earlier in the episode.
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Jul 10, 2015 23:37
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MikeJF posted:She's said three words Seven. Or is this an in-joke I'm not getting?
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Jul 10, 2015 23:40
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Dabir posted:Seven. Or is this an in-joke I'm not getting? Oh, sorry, seven, misremembered. My point stands, though.
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Jul 10, 2015 23:44
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I've been listening to the Bernice Summerfield audios, and here's some random thoughts; Lisa Bowerman as Benny is pretty great. Miles Richardson as Irving Brrrrraxiatel is pretty great. They love to throw in weird and hard to follow meta-stories, and they love to split the narrative into tie-in books that are stupidly expensive nowadays (seriously, $120 for a 190 page novella) - although fortunately I've managed to find copies of a rather less costly nature. Also, they feature a Lidster story where the twist makes perfect sense, and has meaningful, and far-reaching consequences.
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Jul 10, 2015 23:57
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MikeJF posted:She's said three words What I was getting at is that it's pointless to say "X character is Y character because they say similar things" when Moffat is so fond of using the same voice and personality over and over again.
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Jul 11, 2015 00:06
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After The War posted:What I was getting at is that it's pointless to say "X character is Y character because they say similar things" when Moffat is so fond of using the same voice and personality over and over again. I don't know, I -really- don't know what you could be talking about.
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Jul 11, 2015 00:14
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Gaz-L posted:I will say one idea that I'm pretty sure is going to disappoint everyone here if true, but was the first thing I though on seeing that trailer: Maisie Williams is probably playing Clara. She's wearing the orange spacesuit that Coleman's shown in earlier in the trailer, and while she doesn't sound especially Northern, that 'old man' crack would be very in character. The Girl Who Waited, but in reverse.
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Jul 11, 2015 00:25
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Gaz-L posted:Stop posting and listen to it, man! I heard it! I somehow didn't know that this was the beginning of the Klein trilogy until Klein was introduced. Gaz-L posted:I will say one idea that I'm pretty sure is going to disappoint everyone here if true, but was the first thing I though on seeing that trailer: Maisie Williams is probably playing Clara. She's wearing the orange spacesuit that Coleman's shown in earlier in the trailer, and while she doesn't sound especially Northern, that 'old man' crack would be very in character. That was my instinct, but given who Maisie Williams is, I think she'll be playing someone different. Either way, that is a rockin' trailer. 
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Jul 11, 2015 15:24
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I was idly reading back through the 2013 Christmas special thread and found this post:Vitamin P on page 20 posted:I just found a sheet of paper in a drawer from a few years ago, when I was babysitting a mates kids, and we wrote down Doctor Who episode ideas because they were mad into it at the time. Most were kind of dull but You can't go up or down even stairs, The moon is an egg and All the egyptians *illegible*, could have legs.
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Jul 11, 2015 15:26
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qntm posted:Let's see! Smashing. Do you have links to the RTD years?
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Jul 11, 2015 15:43
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Looking back through these made me remember how much I was absurdly hyped for S05 in a way that's been lacking since - and this is coming from a massive Capaldi fanboy - I think it was largely due to how much Smith does in a minute and a half. It basically meant my mourning time for 10 was roughly the length of The End of Time credits.
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Jul 11, 2015 17:43
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  Summer to winter, the seasons turn. In the springtime of a distant future, the Doctor and Nyssa become embroiled in Time Lord politics on an alien world. During the stifling heat of a summer past they suffer the vengeful wrath of Isaac Newton. In the recent past, Nyssa spends a romantic golden autumn in an English village while the Doctor plays cricket. And finally, many years after their travels together have ended, the two friends meet again in the strangest of circumstances. Four seasons. Four stories. Now close the door behind you, you're letting the cold in... Peter Davison is the Doctor in Circular Time X X X X X Cast Peter Davison (The Doctor) Sarah Sutton (Nyssa ) Spring: Jamie Sandford (Hoodeye) Toby Longworth (Redklaw) Lois Baxter(Carrion) Teresa Gallagher (Snowfire) Hugh Fraser (Zero) Summer: Jeremy James (Guard) Sunny Ormonde (Molly) Trevor Littledale(Jailer) David Warner (Sir Isaac Newton) Autumn: Jamie Sandford (Andrew) Toby Longworth (Jack) Jeremy James (Anton) John Benfield (Don) Winter: Jeremy James (Lasarti) Sunny Ormonde (Anima) Written By: Paul Cornell and Mike Maddox Directed By: John Ainsworth Trailer - http://www.bigfinish.com/releases/popout/circular-time-257 X X X X X ”Charles Bowden” posted:Summer is always the best of what might have been. ”Albert Camus” posted:Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower. ”Candace Bushnell” posted:Thank goodness for the first snow, it was a reminder – no matter how old you became and how much you’d seen, things could still new if you were willing to believe that they still mattered. Bicyclops posted:In academia spring is actually a 12 part story, and every part is written by Joseph Lidster. Circular Time is something a little bit different from Big Finish – four stories, all featuring the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa, looking at the concept of “time” from different points of view. Without sharing any sort of continuity, four stories does mean that they run the risk of being rushed and not given a chance to breathe. Each vignette manages to have its standout moments, be it a thought-provoking storyline or a series of great performances from guest star David Warner and main player Sarah Sutton. Spring – The Time Lords have another mission for the Doctor. Cardinal Zero, a high ranking Time Lord, has decided to throw off the shackles of Time Lord society, telling the Grwat Council to go hang and retiring to a quiet planet. In the rainforests that cover its surface, incredible cities reach high into the sky as a race descended from avians practice a twisted form of justice; the sins of the criminal are paid for by inflicting punishment on the youngest family member. Nyssa is appalled, the Doctor simply wants to ensure Cardinal Zero isn’t damaging the time stream, and Cardinal Zero has his own plans to uplift this society to great heights… Spring is a half-hour story that could have been fleshed out into an hour long two-parter.. The Doctor and his companion arrive somewhere, get involved heavily with the locals, while a villain waits in the wings, gloating. Hugh Fraser’s Cardinal Zero isn’t a villain in the full sense of the word, but he definitely has his plans for the Doctor. Spring definitely lays out the story in a very predictable manner, hitting the listener over the head at times and causing me to blurt out in the car “oh, Doctor, don’t be such a bloody IDIOT” at one point as he plays right into Zero’s hands. Fraser is full-on Time Lord; brash, cocky, arrogant, polite when he wants, ruthless when he needs to be, and absolutely believing only he knows what’s best for the avian people. Zero is also a master of regeneration (the Doctor has a line earlier about “different genders, different bodies, different…species. Don’t ask” would send Tumblr into a FREAKING tail spin if any of them heard this story) which ties very heavily into the story’s climax. Bouncing off of the concept of regeneration, Spring talks about how time can transform something frozen into something beautiful. In order for avian society to push past an ingrained legacy of barbaric justice, something that’s a “tradition” and “something they’ve always done,” Cardinal Zero much bring forth a radical change to become the Prophet of avian legend. In this case, time’s effect is one that’s ingrained deep in the avian culture, and it takes a major event to cause the avian to break the chains of tradition and let society bloom into something new and wonderful. Five’s presence in this story is simply to be a “Doctor ex machina” and Nyssa mainly provides commentary on both the society’s flaws and the Doctor’s efforts. The actual plot by Zero is a bit thin and relies on “I knew you were going to do that,” but everything does come together nicely in the end. Davison and Sutton have the same chemistry they always have (“Nyssa?” “Run?” “You know me so well. RUN!”), which helps Spring serve as a decent opening story for Circular Time. Summer – The Doctor and a companion, Nyssa this time, once again find themselves in the Tower of London in the 17th century. This time, the incarceration the Doctor’s fault; while in the local pub he was distracted by an argument at the next table and passed Nyssa a handful of currency from the future, including one from an alien race. The bartender cried forgery, but the person at the next table, Isaac Newton, realizes there's something more to the Doctor and his companion... Summer is the most straight-forward story in this anthology. The Doctor and Nyssa are locked in the Tower of London and must find a way to convince Isaac Newton to let them go. Sir Isaac Newton is played by David Warner, and for his performance alone Circular Time is worth picking up. An incredibly versatile character actor, Warner’s been in horror flicks (Toe Omen, Waxwork, thrillers (Time After Time), done tons of voice work, and performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He’s also an Emmy winner for his work in the miniseries Masada. Doctor Who fans known him as the Ultravox-loving Soviet scientist in the Eleventh Doctor episode Cold War as well playing an alternate universe Doctor in two Unbound stories by Big Finish. But mainly everyone should know him for just being an incredibly awesome guy. Isaac Newton, to put it simply, is of the most brilliant men who ever lived; a scientist, philosopher, astronomer, biologist, physicist, mathematician, member of a heretical Christian sect, and an English patriot through and through. Warner nails nearly every aspect of Newton's personality in just under half-an-hour, touching not only upon his many academic pursuits, but also his patriotism for England and his massive ago. The story's resolution focuses more on Newton than anything the Doctor and Nyssa do, although once again Davison and Sutton play off each other wonderfully as two very smart individuals try to get into the mind of someone who just might be smarter than either of them while quietly blaming each other for the mess they're in. But Summer is all about Warner as Newton. The climax of the story comes about when Newton takes the various coins (an Irish coin from 2003, a 1953 pence from the United Kingdom, an American quarter minted in 1974, a Roman piece, and a triangular piece of currency from an alien race) and uses them to conclude that the British Empire will fall, an alien race will invade Earth in the 22nd century (a direct reference to the First Doctor classic The Dalek Invasion of Earth!), and his name will be all but forgotten. It's a brilliant little piece of acting from Warner that engages the listener by making them realizes Newton was indeed that brilliant. The scene sums up the story's central theme that time, especially, is all in how you read it. The past is concrete, written in stone, and can never be changed. All we can do with the past is look at it and use that information to help define our future. Autumn is a intimate story. The Doctor is spending a summer in the Hampshire town of Stockbridge, helping its local cricket team avoid regulation. But even though his skill on the pitch helps keep the team competitive, his attempts to distance himself from his teammates, mixed with some of his companions views on politics and people, causes friction off the pitch. Meanwhile, Nyssa plans to use the time to write a novel in an attempt to purge her feelings about the destruction of her home planet, Traken, as a result of the Master's schemes. It's a novel about a happy place where the people are good, but it's hard to write a story without conflict or a villain. The presence of a young man who's feelings for Nyssa are obvious doesn't make the writing process any easier, especially since Nyssa might be reciprocating those feelings... The Doctor's indulgence in cricket tells a very simple story, but one that's central to the entire nature of the Doctor; not all who wander are lost. The Doctor is never meant to settle down and is never meant to find a place to call home other than his TARDIS. That's the Time Lord he's meant to be, going where he needs to go (or where the TARDIS takes him) to help people before quietly leaving for his next adventure. Davison portrays the Doctor in this story as someone who knows he will be leaving soon (as soon as the final game of the season is over) and does his best not to make any long-term attachments with a hint of acceptance and weariness in all his actions during this story. But Autumn is a story all about Nyssa. Sarah Sutton does an absolutly wonderful job as Nyssa tries to put pen to paper as therapy. Her home planet is destroyed, the Master has taken her father's face to use as his own, and everyone she's ever known is lost. But all she ever knew before the Doctor arrived was peace, prosperity, and progress. She finds it hard to write any type of story because she truly has no reference of conflict outside of her time with the Doctor. The attentions of Andrew, played by Jamie Sanford, are something that Nyssa has never experienced before either. It's a half-hour story, so listeners understand what will probably happen between the two young lovers (yes Circular Time is the “did Nyssa just get laid” story, but it's all done off-screen and INCREDIBLY tastefully). But the journey there, with Nyssa slowly opening up to Andrew and Andrew slowly realizing that Nyssa is from another world, is so well done over a short period of time, especially the ending where Nyssa leaves Andrew to continue traveling with the Doctor. She's not ready to settle down, but she's changed during her time in Stockbridge, while the Doctor is simply ready to go wandering about through the universe once again. Autumn is when summer dies, but acorns fall, animals prepare to hibernate, and all things prepare, after winter, to change. Time, as Autumn shows us, changes all things. Nyssa has left behind her feelings about the death of Traken and is ready to move on, but to move on to more death and destruction from traveling with the Doctor. But on the other side, when she finally does decide to leave the Doctor, comes hope and rebirth, after making it through the fall and surviving the winter. (note – the absolutely “off the top of my head” paragraph above works best if you set Autumn as taking place between Time-Light and Arc of Infinity) Winter is the strangest of Circular Time's stories. The Doctor and his wife Anima are experiencing an incredibly harsh winter on their farm. The wind keeps blowing the barn door open and slamming it shut, making the Doctor worry that the noise will wake his children Tegan and Adric. Nyssa tells her husband Lasarti about the strange dream she keeps having about the Doctor, years after leaving him during the events of Terminus. Believing the Doctor is calling out for help, she asks him to allow her to use his new machine that allows its user to experience a lucid dream, where they can walk around and interact within the dream. Later that night, Nyssa once again meets the Doctor, who doesn't remember her and demands to know why she's in his house. But as the minutes passed, and the wind howls, the Doctor begins to remember who she is. And the banging of the barn door draws both of them outside, where the sound of the storm begin to resemble the evil laugh of a villain long overdue... Winter is an interesting tale of what might go through a Time Lord's mind during regeneration. The events of Winter take place inside the Doctor's mind during the final episode of The Caves of Androzani as he stumbles towards the TARDIS carrying an unconscious Peri in hopes of finding the antidote for the spectrox poison coursing through both their veins. The act of regeneration is causing his mind to collapse, synapse by synapse, and it's vital that the Doctor bring the blizzard and discover the source of the loud banging, as it just might be his next incarnation waiting to be let out. On one hand, since the actual act of regeneration has never been explained with that level of detail Winter risks coming close to being nothing more than fan fiction. On the other hand, it makes an effort to explain the events of the Fifth Doctor's traumatic regeneration and the mental presence of his past companions and the Master, including some of the Doctor's dialogue as he lies on the floor of the TARDIS waiting for the regeneration to truly kick in. As a story, it's unique and takes a neat look at regeneration. I compared and contrasted it to the Tenth Doctor's regeneration during The End of Time, as Ten's final journey was physical where Five's was mental... Winter sees Peter Davison as a man slowly accepting his fate. He doesn't want to accept it, but he knows there's really no other choice. There's no sense of “I don't want to go” or “You were fantastic. And you know what? So was I.” Maybe it's just 1980's television vs. 2000's television, but Davison just gives off a “this has to be done, and it's going to get done, I'm just not going to be smiling and grinning the entire way.” The weariness that always seemed to hang around Five comes full circle. His time has ended, and the time of the Sixth Doctor has begun. Time brings forth both endings and beginnings, as such. Paul Cornell, writer of Human Nature/Family of Blood, has a hand in all four stories, with Mike Maddox penning Spring/Summer based on ideas from Cornell and Cornell composing Autumn/Winter on his own. The directing from John Ainsworth is solid, the sound work from David Darlington is up to the usual Big Finish standard, and where Maddox's gives us two solid adventures that could make up hour long serials all on their own, Cornell's episodes take a different look at the Doctor, forgoing the grand alien experience for something more personal on both the part of the companion and the Time Lord. In that regard, Circular Time deserves praise for breaking from the norm and giving Big Finish's listeners something a little different. It's nice to know that amidst saving planets and fighting evil, there's time in the Doctor's lives for those quiet moments. They might not make for the most exciting stories, but every one and then it's nice to just sit back and enjoying things by taking a little time. Pros + Davison and Sutton have their usual spot-on chemistry + David Warner! + Sorry, I'll type that again. DAVID WARNER! + Two stories that take a different look at the Doctor's lives Cons - Short run times shortchange a few moments  Synopsis – Circular Time gives us some different looks at how time affects the Doctor and Nyssa with all four stories providing a solid level of entertainment, from David Warner's incredible performance to a closer look at Nyssa's grief over Traken and wrapping up with a unique take on what might have been going through the Fifth Doctor's mind during his last moments. Next up - There is a note of death in the wild, midnight wind... Sylvester McCoy is the Doctor in…Nocturne.
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Jul 11, 2015 21:53
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