|
Cleretic posted:I just wanted to say, when thinking about it again, that Clara isn't necessarily brought into realizing that she's in a simulation/hallucination/dream of some kind because she's necessarily that smart, or because she gets a feeling, or anything like that. In fact, it's not really on her at all that she realizes what's going on. That would mean every other human would be aware that they are dreaming, too, and some would be able to figure out how to control the Zygon clone. Rather, I think all the little weird things are simply Clara's subconscious way of warning her, i.e. she got a feeling, because after all it's all happening in her head. Burkion posted:The hilariously typical part of that? Nothing was undermined because one Osgood is still dead and we don't know if it was the human or zygon version. The reason there are two again now is because it's to show that it doesn't matter who is human or zygon and because that's how it works best in regards to the peace treaty. Sure, on a meta level nothing has changed because on the outside there appear to be two Osgoods but to me that's just a cynical perspective because in the world of Doctor Who things have changed. saucerman fucked around with this message at 23:42 on Nov 9, 2015 |
#
?
Nov 9, 2015 23:24
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 3, 2024 10:40 |
|
|
MrL_JaKiri posted:One was a zygon, got what he deserved Sucks to be a UNIT pilot / co-pilot
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 00:01
|
|
|
Jerusalem posted:
All someone has to say is "The Sixth Doctor at a language convention" and I'm there. I highly enjoyed this story as well. Baker and Bryant do a fantastic job and the villain of the piece is unique to the point that I wished/hoped that Peri's final words would set up a follow-up story down the line.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 00:23
|
|
|
...ish is goddamn fantastic.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 00:47
|
|
|
The thing about the CyberBrigadier was I didn't even realise it was supposed to be him until someone pointed it out. I assumed it was the general the Doctor was making fun of on the plane.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 00:57
|
|
|
...ish is one of those handful of stories that single-handedly legitimizes Big Finish as an institution, and one of an even smaller group that really uses the audio format to its advantage. It's a real goodie.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 01:07
|
|
|
After being three weeks behind I just got caught up and I have to say, I didn't like the Zygons two parter. Whatever idiot they had writing it doesn't know how to write human beings, thats for sure. The fact that the Doctor was perfectly fine with the Zygon extremists getting more power through killing didn't exactly match up well with the message they were trying to say in the previous two-parter either where Ashilda using the death of a man who was going to die anyway was portrayed as a very negative thing. Of course its Dr. Who and the episodes weren't meant to be watched all in a row, even if they did occur sequentially. Speaking of which, part two of the Ashilda stuff was much better than part one (which I didn't like, if you'll remember) but I don't really want to have Maisy Williams on again. The character just doesn't really interest me and I didn't think she did a great job acting in those episodes (though episode one was much worse in that regard than episode two.)
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 01:18
|
|
|
Cerv posted:Sucks to be a UNIT pilot Speaking of which, three episodes in I'm very pleased to say I'm quite enjoying the new UNIT audio series!  Hopefully it's a good sign for the other revival-era stuff Big Finish will be doing.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 01:43
|
|
|
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 02:01
|
|
|
Rochallor posted:...ish is one of those handful of stories that single-handedly legitimizes Big Finish as an institution, and one of an even smaller group that really uses the audio format to its advantage. It's a real goodie. It also almost justifies JNT's insistence that Nicola Bryant play American by actually having her background matter for once. Seriously, the climax actually hinging around the fork between British and American English is brilliant.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 03:16
|
|
|
Gaz-L posted:It also almost justifies JNT's insistence that Nicola Bryant play American by actually having her background matter for once. Seriously, the climax actually hinging around the fork between British and American English is brilliant. It also plays back into that earlier section where the Doctor rather sulkily badmouths Webster's for variations in spelling 
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 03:23
|
|
|
With all the references to the 50th I decided to sit down and watch it again and it's just so lovely. I'd give so much to be able to see it again for the first time. "The man who regrets and the man who forgets." Rhyno fucked around with this message at 04:23 on Nov 10, 2015 |
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 04:19
|
|
|
 After the apocalpytic events of Doctor Who: Dark Eyes, the Eighth Doctor and Liv Chenka continue their adventures in space and time. But an ancient danger is stirring under the citadel of Gallifrey. The Eleven - a insane Time Lord who has retained his previous personalities - has escaped, and the Time Lords are powerless to stop him. Now the Doctor, Liv and their new friend Helen Sinclair are the universe's only chance of survival... Paul McGann is the Doctor in Doom Coalition 1. X X X X X Cast Paul McGann (The Doctor) Nicola Walker (Liv Chenka), Hattie Morahan (Helen Sinclair) Mark Bonnar (The Eleven) Robert Bathurst (Padrac) Caroline Langrishe (Lady Farina) Bethan Walker (Kiani) Ramon Tikaram (Castellan) David Yelland (Walter Pritchett) John Woodvine (Galileo Galilei) Harry Myers (Cleaver) Esther Hall (Virginia) Gunnar Cauthery (Cavalli) Ewan Bailey (Count Licori/Father Locke/Orbs) Matthew Cottle(Paine) Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Spz9OgsRihQ X X X X X Doom Coalition 1 begins a new chapter in the audio adventures of the Eighth Doctor. Introducing both a new companion and an intriguing villain, the four stories that comprise this box set mix political intrigue, old-school horror, an historical adventure, and a showdown with the fate of Earth at stake. Combined, Doom Coalition 1 is a solid series that shows vast promise for the overall story arc.  The Eleven. A Time Lord whose previous personalities live on in his mind: arguing, plotting, jostling for supremacy... He is also Gallifrey's most dangerous criminal. And he has escaped. The Doctor is recalled to his homeworld to lead the hunt. As they search the Capitol's corridors of power, the Academy halls and the cells of the highest security penitentiary, Liv realises the worst monsters may be among the Doctor's own people. For inside his fractured mind, the Eleven has a plan. And its deadly consequences will extend through space and time... The Eleven kicks off Doom Coalition 1 with a race-against-time story that would feel right at home as an episode of 24 or Spooks. Matt Fitton (Stage Fright, The Wrong Doctors and several stories in the Dark Eyes range) provides the set-up for the series by introducing the Eleven, a Time Lord who suffers from a unique form of regeneration disorder where all his previous personalities are still active inside his mind; personalities that are, for the most part, psychopathic. The Doctor (in a nice cameo by Sylvester McCoy) was responsible for capturing him and turning him over to the Time Lords for incarceration. But even locked away in the most secure prison on Gallifrey, the Eleven has a plan in motion to ensure his escape, the first part of a plan that will see the death of the Doctor's latest incarnation. Even if The Eleven was a stand-alone story, it would still be worth a listen. Fitton takes the listener to Gallifrey and in the process gives them a nice look into Time Lord society. There's the young student Kiani who was interviewing the Eleven as part of her Academy thesis (played by Bethan Walker, aka the poor pizza girl from the unfortunate Torchwood episode Cyberwoman) who becomes the Doctor's temporary companion in this story. She does a good job playing the Gallifreyan studying to be a Time Lord who knows the legends surrounding the Doctor, being awed at his presence without sinking into being an annoying fangirl. Caroline Langrishe plays Lady Farina, the current head of the Celestial Intervention Agency and someone dedicated to recapturing the Eleven without the help of the Doctor. She perfectly nails the arrogant, overconfident Time Lord vibe, casually dismissing the Doctor, his “merely human” companion Liv, and underestimating the danger of the Eleven, much to her regret. On the other side of the spectrum, Robert Bathurst's Padrac is a Time Lord who actually attended the Academy with the First Doctor. Instead of being a pompous Time Lord looking down on Liv, Padrac understands the Doctor's interest in other races, and in many ways Padrac is Liv's companion during this story. Where The Eleven excels is how quickly it moves. There's plenty of action, tension, and intrigue going on throughout this story, with all the players dealing with the Eleven's schemes and the problems they create during a chase across Gallifrey. They're thrown into danger that they're forced to either fight or think their way out of, always one step behind the Eleven. The brief moments where the action slows down allows the listener to catch their breath before diving right into the next sequence, and by the end of this fast-paced tale the listeners understand the danger the Eleven proposes but they also understand why the Doctor is going to chase him across time and space...across time and Earth.  An anomaly in time brings the Doctor and Liv to London in the 1960s, where they meet a young lady named Helen Sinclair - desperately trying to make a name for herself in the face of sexism and prejudice. Whilst the Doctor tried to uncover the secrets of a mysterious artefact, a far deadlier mystery awaits Liv and Helen in the collection of a recently deceased antiquarian. Because that's where they find the Red Lady. Because if you do, you might not like what you see. The Red Lady is a straight forward horror story along the lines of the classic Eighth Doctor story The Chimes of Midnight. John Dorney, writer of The Rocket Men, Requiem for the Rocket Men and Iterations of I, weaves a story that's a bit Lovecraftian and a bit Hammer. Following a temporal anamoly left in the wake of the Eleven's flight from Gallifrey, the Doctor and Liv land in 1960's London, where a young language scholar named Helen Sinclair is studying the collection of a deceased antiquarian who acquired a vast collection of artifacts, paintings, and writings over the years from numerous ancients cultures for the sole purpose of not letting anyone else view them. With his passing, the museum has begun to catalog the collection, only for those who gaze upon the collection to find themselves unable to turn away from a certain tapestry, even as to look at it means their certain death as the Red Lady slowly moves from a far away blur to a richly detailed figure reaching for your throat... The Red Lady is the best story of the four. Dorney puts all the horror trappings into this tale; mysterious deaths, plucky investigators, certain doom, and a desperate race against time where the outcome is in doubt. This story could have been a module for a Call of Cthulhu campaign with the way it unfolds – the more secretive a piece of information is, the more people will do anything to lay their eyes upon it. The Red Lady introduces a new companion to the TARDIS, language scholar Helen Sinclair, played by Hattie Morahan. Morahan is a veteran actor of screen, television, stage, and radio, and she dives right into the audio format with seeming ease. Her first appearance sees her defiant in the face of sexism and prejudice from her museum supervisor, and it's a delight when her next scene has her confront the Doctor and Liv in her office and stand her ground, failing to fall for the Doctor's quick words and feckless charm. It's not until the Doctor and Liv help her translate some ancient documents that she's won over, and even then it's not an instant sell for her to trust them. It's refreshing to see a companion who doesn't fall right in lockstep with the Doctor. It's with her assistance as someone who has yet to see the Red Lady that the trio manage to defeat the Red Lady in two nail biting sequences where it falls on her to be the rock for the Doctor and Liv to stand upon. Aside from being a cracker of a tale, The Red Lady serves as a great introduction for Helen, who joins the Doctor and Liv at the end of the story.  Helen Sinclair doesn't know what hit her. One moment she was trapped in a dead-end job in 1960s London, and now she is transported back to Renaissance Italy over three centuries before. Florence is a city in turmoil. A new plague stalks the streets. A ferocious behemoth rampages through the vineyards. And Galileo Galilei, celebrated scientist, astronomer and old friend of the Doctor, is imprisoned in his own villa for heresy. But why has Galileo summoned the Doctor? Who are the mysterious Fortuna and Cleaver? Why have they been sent to Earth? And what is Galileo's secret? Is it the last thing he saw before he went blind? The Galileo Trap is the weakest of the four stories, which is a bit of a letdown considering it comes from the pen of Marc Platt (Spare Parts, Ghost Light). It's still a pretty solid historical story set in Florence as a mysterious plague holds sway over the town, a plague somehow tied to the famed astronomer Galileo, under house arrest by the Church for heresy. Platt gets the historical aspects down cold (along with the idea of alien tourists visiting Earth for a holiday) and also does a good job giving Morahan a chance to show just how much Helen is a fish out of water when it comes to time travel, as opposed to the standard cliché of a companion paying lip service to the concept while navigating the past with relative ease. The problem with this story is the one-dimensional nature of its villains, two bounty hunters hired to capture the Doctor and take him to the Eleven. There is little more to their characterization than the fact that they're aliens and they hate each other. Veteran actor John Woodvine is fantastic as Galileo, however, a brilliant man who is slowly getting older but still has his wits and his wit about him, chiding the Doctor for falling into such an obvious trap. Throughout Doom Coalition 1, Nicola Walker (Ruth Evershed from Spooks) does a great job as Liv Chenka, a human from the planet of Kaldor who gets mixed up with the Doctor during the events of Dark Eyes and stays with him after the conclusion of that story arc. Haven't yet heard Dark Eyes, I can only speak for her turn in this series of stories. But she's definitely a companion worth listening to. From the in media res introduction of the pair during The Eleven, Liv is a companion who has tangible chemistry with the Doctor; smart, brave, giving as good as she gets, willing to trust in what the Doctor says even when she believes she shouldn't, and most importantly there to point out the flaws in the Doctor's plans when even he doesn't see them. Walker's delivery in the audio format is so natural and nearly flawless, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the Doctor and Liv first met during the events of Dark Eyes.  The Satanic Mill - a vast Victorian factory floating in the deep of space. As the Doctor closes in on his quarry, long buried animosities come boiling to the surface on this ancient and powerful satellite, in a final confrontation that could have unimaginable consequences. And even that is only the beginning... Since the box set is called Doom Coalition 1, it shouldn't come as a surprise that The Satanic Mill doesn't quite settle accounts between the Doctor and the Eleven. This is Edward Collier's first story for Big Finish and it does a great job showcasing the Eleven and his plans for the Doctor. The Doctor, Liv, and Helen discover the Eleven is holed on in an slave-labor run industrial mill orbiting the far side of Earth's sun and travel there to stop his nefarious plans. But this is exactly what the Eleven wants because if there's one thing the Doctor can't resist, it's a chance to free the oppressed masses... The Satanic Mill is a straight-forward story that follows in the footsteps of The Eleven. It moves quickly and brings the listener along for the ride as the TARDIS crew is quickly seperated and forced to work their way through the Eleven's machinations. Liv and Helen have their moments in freeing the laborers and doing their best to save the Doctor from the Eleven's trap, but this story is all about the Eleven. The Eleven is an amazing concept for a Time Lord whose regenerations have simply gone wrong. Instead of having the memories of his previous incarnations, it turns out that those incarnations are still prevalent in both his head and his speech. The Eleven (so named because this is his eleventh incarceration) is in control, but more often than not his other selves will have their say, spewing out their hatred and venom and worst of all opinions on the current situation, much to the annoyance of the Eleven. There are eleven different accents, eleven different personalities that have to be portrayed in the Eleven's performance, and Mark Bonnar (Line of Duty) is simply AMAZING in the part. From his very introduction in The Eleven all the way to his mad scheme to use a prototype stellar converter to turn the Earth's sun into his own personal Eye of Harmony, Bonnar gives all eleven personalities their own unique voice. To hear it is an experience I can't do justice in text. It's the kind of performance that should win some kind of award because Bonnar deserves recognition for it. The box set format, four hour-long episode every few months, seems to fit Paul McGann very well. His energy and enthusiasm is readily apparent throughout all four stories with a Doctor fired up and eager, almost to the point of zealousness, to stop the Eleven and bring him back to Gallifrey. It's the zealousness that is of interest to me. While Big Finish has slowly been showing how the Doctor is being broken emotionally by the events leading up to the Time War (without being able to mention the Time War, although that all changes in 2017), hearing the angry determination in the Doctor's voice as he rushes right into the Satanic Mill knowing full well it's a trap and demanding in no uncertain terms to know the Eleven's long-term plans even as the Doctor is making his escape from certain death is a bit eye-opening. There's no boredom or sleepwalking on the part of McGann, and its his enthusiasm as well as the Doctor's that keeps the listening interested throughout this box set. The Eleven gets away of course, but Doom Coalition 1 ensures that listeners will be eager, not frustrated, at his escape. Four solid stories (with The Red Lady being the best of the bunch) and an amazing villain provide the hope that the long term story spanning four box sets will be worth the listen the entire way through. Cobi's Synopsis – One of the most unique villains in the show's history along with three solid episodes and one absolute cracker make Doom Coalition 1 a great start to the next epic story arc for the Eight Doctor. Next up - As a dark chapter dawns for the universe, a friend is at hand. But how can River Song help the Doctor if she can’t meet him? Paul McGann is the Doctor in...Doom Coalition 2
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 04:21
|
|
|
Rhyno posted:With all the references to the 50th I decided to sit down and watch it again and it's just so lovely. I'd give so much to be able to see it again for the first time. It really is incredibly good, from start to finish it's just excellent.... and the whole ending from the Doctors coming up with their "fairly terrible" plan to all of them standing together looking out towards "home" is utterly superb. CobiWann posted:Cobi's Synopsis – One of the most unique villains in the show's history along with three solid episodes and one absolute cracker make Doom Coalition 1 a great start to the next epic story arc for the Eight Doctor. Goddammit I gotta catch up on the 8th Doctor Adventures so I can catch up on Dark Eyes so I can catch up on THIS!
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 04:31
|
|
|
Imagine how far behind I feel! I only just watched Pyramids of Mars for the first time today!
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 04:44
|
|
|
CobiWann posted:Imagine how far behind I feel! I only just watched Pyramids of Mars for the first time today! That was one of, if not THE, first classic serials I ever saw. It or Pirate Planet. Please tell me what you thought of it.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 04:51
|
|
|
Jerusalem posted:It really is incredibly good, from start to finish it's just excellent.... and the whole ending from the Doctors coming up with their "fairly terrible" plan to all of them standing together looking out towards "home" is utterly superb. The day it aired I was such a mess. I'd just lost my grandmother, I was in immense pain from dental issues so when the last few minutes hit and I heard that voice I was in tears in seconds. I confess I did just get a little misty watching the ending again just now.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 04:57
|
|
|
Rhyno posted:Kate Stewart is awful. I kind of liked Kate Stewart when she first turned up, she was all about being her own person rather than just the Brigadier's daughter, and she was all about science and changing the way UNIT did things. It seems like with every subsequent appearance, they've just turned her into a stand-in for the Brig, losing the science and being more military. Hell, she even said "Five rounds rapid!" in this last episode. Also, it seems like the guy writing this two parter didn't quite know what kind of show Doctor Who was, and Moffat had to step in for part two. In part one, the Doctor just goes along with the plan of killing all the Zygons as they're preparing the UNIT raid and just casually says that it would be nice to have one alive. I kept waiting for him to shut down the UNIT commander who was mandating that the Zygons all get shot, but all he did was protest the drone strike. He didn't even try to stop it, which I felt could have easily been accomplished with the sonic, rather than have the drone operator see Zygons posing as her family and not be able to go through with it.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 04:59
|
|
|
The_Doctor posted:It’s time for… Since I can't PM you, yearly reminder that Maera Sior and I shouldn't get each other because it wouldn't be fair to the postal service or other goons.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 05:38
|
|
THE 2015 DOCTOR WHO THREAD SECRET SANTA!
|
Burkion posted:That was one of, if not THE, first classic serials I ever saw. It or Pirate Planet. It's probably not the first one I saw, but the earliest episode I can remember seeing is the first Aldric episode. Those loving spiders 
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 06:04
|
|
|
It's time for that post again. I'm thinking of taking the plunge and getting into Big Finish, but I've read enough of this thread to know that there's plenty of it, and a lot of the early stuff, that's not so good. What's a solid jumping off point? I'd probably rate myself as most interested in 3, 4, 6 and 8 (with the appropriate actor where possible). Also I'll probably mostly be listening while playing Guild Wars or some other similarly mindless task if that effects any recommendations. Roach Warehouse fucked around with this message at 06:18 on Nov 10, 2015 |
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 06:15
|
|
|
A common recommendation for 8 is Storm Warning (which is okay) to introduce you to the Doctor/Charley pairing (which is great), but probably a better jumping on point for both the 8th and 4th Doctors would be their respective "Adventures" series, which are more in the vein of the revival format. Roughly 45 minute self-contained episodes with a generalized season-long arc, it makes for a smooth transition. For the 6th Doctor, the very early story The Marian Conspiracy is quite good and introduces you to probably his best companion - Evelyn - though the next few stories after that vary wildly in quality. One constant is that Colin Baker is almost always good though.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 06:53
|
|
|
I agree with Jerusalems recommendations. If you're more budget conscious, the first 50 monthly releases are 2.99 £/$/€ each so try one of them. edit: On other Big Finish news: http://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/the-big-200-choose-your-number-one-doctor-who-main-range-release You can vote for the Spare Parts as the best Monthly release. There might be 19 other candidates. Issaries fucked around with this message at 07:33 on Nov 10, 2015 |
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 07:25
|
|
|
Thanks guys. I'll let you know how my newfound poverty suits me.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 07:42
|
|
|
I'm a big believer that you should always listen to stuff yourself rather than let people prejudge a story for better or worse - take their opinions as guidance but don't be a slave to it - a story others may like or dislike you may feel the opposite for example (see the latest couple of episodes of this season for example!). With that said, I highly recommend you at least be aware that Joseph Lidster's style of writing is - in my opinion - incredibly ill-suited to a show like Doctor Who, and any stories he has written should be approached with that in mind.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 08:16
|
|
|
Gordon Shumway posted:I kind of liked Kate Stewart when she first turned up, she was all about being her own person rather than just the Brigadier's daughter, and she was all about science and changing the way UNIT did things. It seems like with every subsequent appearance, they've just turned her into a stand-in for the Brig, losing the science and being more military. Hell, she even said "Five rounds rapid!" in this last episode. I feel like if I were writing her, I'd try to make this an intentional take on it. That while she respects her father and his role (that she now has), she's eager to change the course of things away from his brutalist style and step out of his shadow... but there's only so much she can do to redirect an international fighting force away from military responses, and even she can't help but fall back into learned habits and tactics. Like with Capaldi becoming more of a rock star type this season, it wouldn't necessarily change anything about her character, it'd just provide context to it.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 09:15
|
|
|
adhuin posted:I agree with Jerusalems recommendations. If you're more budget conscious, the first 50 monthly releases are 2.99 £/$/€ each so try one of them. I was going to vote Spare Parts, but Davros is on that list.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 10:04
|
|
|
I gave it to Chimes of Midnight - those other two are good but Chimes is just exceptional.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 10:12
|
|
|
So I'm that guy who was pushing his way through the Big Finish monthlies starting from the very first. I've just finished the first part of the twentieth story "Loups-Garoux" and I just wanted to talk about the first "season" of the Eighth Doctor stories (Storm Warning to M̙i̟̬ṇ̫̠͉̫̗ͅ- uhh, M̆i̔nuͫ͗-͋̉̆̄ͭͥ er, M̜̥̣̮̬͑̀ï̻͋̍n͉͈u̞̺̭̲̝̓͗̂ͪͅe̖̤͓͍̟͖̪͊ͦ̈̍̇̆t ̩̗̂ͯͤ̀̀̅́ï͉̥͇̟̔n̼̙̞̼͆͒͒ͯͧ̐ͅ-̱͖̰̳̰̠̾̄̈́̐͌ well, you know the one). Paul McGann was "my first Doctor". When I was 8 years old the Doctor Who movie aired and it frightened the ever-living hell out of me. But watching it again as an adult, you can absolutely see McGann's acting chops stand up against, say, everything else about that production. His performance in The Night of the Doctor was stellar, and the main reason I was so keen to dive into Big Finish was to hear more of him. So knowing that his stories were coming up was kinda what kept me slogging through even the most boring of the earlier audios. Before I'd started listening, Charley was, for me, the most "legendary" of the Big Finish companions. From bits and pieces here and there I'd picked up from various sources (including these very forums) I knew a little about what was to come for her (I'm a sucker for crossover time trickery). So as I loaded up Storm Warning you could say I was probably the most excited for a Big Finish story I'd ever been ... ... but when all was said and done I was incredibly deflated. I didn't like a single one of the Eighth Doctor's initial stories. And it was mainly because of Charley. She's just terrible you guys. She's so unevenly written it's not funny. There isn't anything realistic about her - she's annoying, "too smart" (seriously, the fact that the second outing for a woman from the 1930s takes place on a spaceship in the far flung future should mean that she has *some* difficulty adjusting to the environment) and, worst of all, reminds me of a Season 2 Rose, if Season 2 Rose was turned up to 11. Sadly I think her best outing was actually in M̱̮̯̼͖̜͕̐̇̌ͤ̅̒͘i͉n̻̣͉̲̱͙͓ͨͭ̔͑̎͒ͧu̼̳̻é̮t̟̮͍̪̦̙̱̀͗̈͌͡. It's not a slight against India Fisher - she seems to be doing the best with what she's got - but man, the fact that none of the Eighth Doctor stories are any good really bums me out for the future. I want to experience his entire arc - does the Charley story get any better, or should I just bite the bullet and skip to the Eighth Doctor Adventures (or even further forward to Dark Eyes or Doom Coalition)? After the horridness that was the 1996 movie, all I wanted from Big Finish was to finally experience Paul McGann being good in a story that is also good. Is that too much to ask?
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 11:14
|
|
|
The McGann stories absolutely do get better, the next one's still a bit shaky but after that it's pretty much one home run after another. The first four stories honestly aren't the best for anyone involved - I think they're perfectly adequate romps (except for, well, you know), and I'm actually a bit partial to The Stones of Venice myself, but none of them are by no means spectacular. Stick with the monthly range though, because Big Finish is just about to hit their stride, and you're going to want to be there when they do.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 11:30
|
|
|
I agree with you about Charley. Just jump to the Eighth Doctor Adventures, they're generally better (and at the very least the poo poo ones are shorter). Bear in mind though that the EDAs and Dark Eyes get ludicrously expensive if you want them all, though. E: when it comes to the Sixth and Seventh Doctor though you're near loads of great stories cargohills fucked around with this message at 11:34 on Nov 10, 2015 |
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 11:30
|
|
|
Listen to Scherzo at some point. Scherzo kicks rear end. Don't bother with the rest of the arc it's from though (I guess Natural History of Fear is good too but that's it. Creed of the Kromon is the worst loving thing ever) Yeah Eight/Lucie is a way better team up than Eight/Charley.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 11:43
|
|
|
I'd recommend running through to Neverland at least before wanting to skip to the 8th Doctor Adventures. If you like Neverland, the follow-up Zagreus is unfortunately a bit of a bloated mess but worth it for getting through to Scherzo which is absolutely amazing. After that, C'Rizz shows up and gets in the way for the entire Divergent Arc 
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 11:54
|
|
|
MrL_JaKiri posted:It was delivered well, it had the political understanding of an angry libertarian teenager.  Because people just go do "War" because they want "war." No, states go to war because they have specific greviances and desires which have not been resolved through diplomatic channels. But this isn't the thread for that.Anyway. I thought Capaldi was good, but the content of the speech mediocre, and the bad guy Zygon was pretty bad. I actually cringed a bit at the final endpoint of the episode with the Osgoods. I skipped a few pages of the thread to ask this question because I need to catch a bus: If the Truth and Consequences, NM thing was just a recent development in the "Truce" situation, why were the buttons labelled that way?
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 14:46
|
|
|
McGann Season 2 is absolutely what made me a Big Finish fan, and I usually suggest people go straight from Storm Warning to Invaders From Mars. Somebody I'm just starting out asked me if there were really stories in between, since the two fit so well. Chimes of Midnight made me a believer, Neverland made me a convert. If you're a McGann fan, you owe that one to yourself. But it's the culmination to an arc that starts off with things just a little off (that time trickery you like) and gradually escalating to full-blown catastrophe by end. Maybe Embrace the Darkness is a little out of place, but its a fine story that does what it wants to and succeeds better than anything from McGann Season 1. Time of the Daleks has way too much going on, but builds up season's main threat and has some cool ideas as well as giving is Manipulative Daleks for the first time since Troughton. But Neverland, man... it was exactly what I wanted Big Finish (and Expanded Universes in general) to be: treating everything in "the Canon" (for lack of a better term) as a giant toybox to be played with as they saw fit, without fear of losing newcomers afraid of backstory (the first few RTD years) or falling into fanwank obsession (lots of the novels... and Zagreus, unforutnately). At the same time, there's a willingness to take all this in a new direction and make the stories very much their own. And, despite the infamously messy follow-up, it also gave us the Gallifrey spin-off to do those things even more.  Funny thing is, after Minuet, I was exactly where you are: "This stuff is okay, but ultimately it's your standard  tie-in." Now I'm lost in the madness of my "listen to everything" undertaking, and those calm, simple days are but a half-remembered dream. So maybe you shouldn't do Season 2.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 15:03
|
|
|
After The War posted:Since I can't PM you, yearly reminder that Maera Sior and I shouldn't get each other because it wouldn't be fair to the postal service or other goons. Of course! I need to find the Secret Santa organiser I used last year which let you choose options like 'X cannot give to Y'.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 15:18
|
|
|
The_Doctor posted:Of course! I need to find the Secret Santa organiser I used last year which let you choose options like 'X cannot give to Y'. Can whoever I get actually like S9 please? Sure I've got a neat thing to give but at this rate it's a niche audience.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 15:33
|
|
|
You obviously haven't been around these threads very long if you think this season is disliked. Edit for a little more content: Every week right after a new episode airs there is a rush of posts from people giving their high level "I liked/disliked it" assessments. Then for the next week the discussion tends to get dominated by the people who didn't like it (even if they were the minority). Then two or three times a season someone will come in and complain that nobody else likes it, and someone will have to explain all of this. This has happened every year since I began watching the show. The last two episodes have gotten a very negative reception, but overall the reception to this season has seemed (to me at least) very positive compared to the past few years. Diabolik900 fucked around with this message at 15:43 on Nov 10, 2015 |
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 15:35
|
|
|
Time of the Daleks has way too many similar-sounding humans who I kept losing track of and doesn't set scenes very well. We jump from the dictator of Britain giving her speech about not giving up power to the rebels listening in on a radio in their camp and when I first heard it I thought they were just backstage, had no idea who or what they were supposed to be.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 16:10
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 3, 2024 10:40 |
|
|
Well, I signed up for the Secret Santa. I hope whoever I give something to is satisfied with whatever I can think of to give them! In the meantime here is a very bad picture of my Doctor Who DVD stack. If you're either my Santee or just curious as to what those blurry low-res titles are, here is a list. I'm liking Series 9, incidentally. Not quite as good as 8 for me yet, but we still have a lot to go. Even the Zygon two-parter worked for me in the end, but then again so did Kill The Moon.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2015 16:23
|
|
