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I've just started working my way through the Eighth Doctor's audiobooks - I'm at Minuet in Hell, having started from Storm Warning, continuing through Sword of Orion, and The Stones of Venice. They've been pretty engaging so far, although I feel the pacing is a tad off in places. The accents in MiH are certainly...um...wow...ah...colourful. 
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Jan 2, 2015 01:01
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DoctorWhat posted:I WARNED YOU ABOUT MINUET, BRO MiH is hilarious in all the worst ways.  Zero taste or restraint. The demon, Marchosias', voice just cracks me up.
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Jan 2, 2015 02:27
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Jsor posted:I don't get it... There's an old sitcom called It Ain't Half Hot, Mum . John Hurt's glorious 'tache bears a resemblance to the lead actor's; 
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Jan 2, 2015 15:21
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From some of the thread comments, I was worried at first, thinking it was just going to be 2 and 1/2 hours of dull nothing happening. I'm actually quite surprised it turned out to be an entertaining trainwreck. Nicholas Courtney has a pretty stellar radio voice too - it's Shere Khan-like in its buttery smoothness
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Jan 3, 2015 02:28
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CobiWann posted:It's truly the Plan 9 From Outer Space of Big Finish. It's bad, but laughably so, as opposed to the truly bad stuff like The Rapture. That just "boring slog" bad then?
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Jan 3, 2015 02:33
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I just finished the first lot of the Eighth Doctor audios, from Storm Warning, to Army of Death. These are just my overall thoughts on the series. I enjoyed them overall, but was surprised at how much the quality varied, even throughout a single story. That's typical for Doctor Who, but the long run-time seemed to make the flaws more glaring; there's so much padding in places, and it just completely kills the pace. The Chimes of Midnight and Scherzo really are the stand-out audios. I wasn't sure if they'd live up to the hype, but they are great radio-dramas. Both have excellent pace, both keep up the threatening atmosphere , and both have stellar voice work - the duologue in Scherzo being the series highlight. Seems almost redundant to say it, but McGann is pretty great as the Doctor, and India Fisher is fantastic as Charley. Seasons of Fear is also high up on the list, it's a neat concept and executed very well. How they handled Grayle, and showed his progession from well-meaning, but misguided, to aloof, vengeful, and uncaring, was novel. Minuet in Hell for me, trancends "bad" to become "hilariously bad". It's entertaining, for all the wrong reasons. The story is an absolute mess, the American "accents" are Dick Van Dyke levels of bad, the attempts at titillation are absurd, and the charaters meander aimlessly looking for tthe plot. Throwing in the Brigadier as well, is almost a non-sequiter. The few sparks of actually something "good", come from McGann, who can pull off amnesiac crazy quite well (I guess the writers giving the Eighth Doctor amnesia every other story gives him plenty of practise ).The other pre-Zagreus stories run the gamut of "starting strong but ending weakly" (Storm Warning, Embrace the Darkness) and "interesting idea, but mishandled" (Sword of Orion, The Stones of Venice, The Time of the Daleks). I'm not really sure what to make of Zagreus. Neverland was a good finale and introduction to Zagreus, tying together various plot aspects of the previous stories into a single narrative, but it's hard to view either story by itself as it relies so heavily on that. Zagreus is certainly the one story where I started clock-watching to see how much more of it was left, especially as it takes so long to set itself up. The Divergent Universe story arc has a fantastic start with Scherzo, but then drags on throughout the remaining stories. Some are ordeals, just endlessly going on and on and on; The Creed of the Kromon, The Twilight Kingdom, and Caerdoia being the worst such examples. The Natural History of Fear, Faith Stealer and The Last, less so. The Creed of the Kromon also introduces C'rizz, who, through no fault of the actor, has got to be one of the most boring companions I think the series has ever had. Even the reveal that he's an emotional chameleon and deliberately, but unconsciously adapts to social influence around him, as well as his species being made intentionally pliable, doesn't do much to excuse his almost non-character. A big problem with the majority of the stories, is they don't really take advantage of a universe where time (as a concept) doesn't exist. Characters age, planets/zones have day and night cycles, etc. Literally the only thing that distinguishes the universes seems to be characters saying "Time? What is this...time?". The only two that go into any sort of depth are Scherzo (zero concept of time), and The Last (repeating cyclical time). The final story of the arc, The Next Life, redeems itself slighty by having actress, Daphne Ashbrook, (Grace from the 1996 film) voice a pseudo-companion of the Doctor, if only for the tremendous chemistry both her and McGann share together. It's also a relief from the tedium of the Divergent Universe. Terror Firma is interesting. The reveal that the Doctor had companions that he forgot is interesting, but almost nothing is made of it. It's the strongest of the remaining stories, but much of it seems too rushed. Davros though, voiced by Terry Molloy, still manages to steal the show, and is consistently great every time he voices the character. Scaredy Cat, Something Inside and Absolution are probably the worst Eighth Doctor stories, I've heard thus far. Their worst aspects is that they're just super dull. Even Absolution, which ends C'rizz tenure as a companion and drives a wedge between Charley and the Doctor, seems like it's going through the motions. Other Lives, Time Works and Memory Lane, are average Doctor stories. Just fun romps, mostly. Same for Charley's final adventure with the Eighth Doctor, The Girl Who Never Was, although it's far more engaging, as Charley is a far more engaging character than C'rizz ever was. The final lot of stories before the Eighth Doctor Adventures, jumps around his timeline, and lines him up with previously unseen, or briefly mentioned companions (from an audio persepective - the rest were in related comics or novels). The Company of Friends is really four self-contained stories, which makes for a brisker pace - a relief after the monolith-like pace of some of the previous stories - and flits between the varied interactions the Doctor has with his companions, and varying levels of drama and comedy. Each companion is radically different - a nice change from boring-as-gently caress C'rizz - Fitz and Mary Shelly being my personal favourites of the stories (Fitz for the quirkiness, Mary for the drama). The remaining stories focus on the Doctor's travels with Mary. Of them, The Silver Turk and The Witch from the Well, are good solid stories, the latter suffering somewhat from jumping between two time periods without much notice (more-so reusing the actor to portray his ancestor, making it hard to discern sometimes when the characters are). Army of Death is rather awful. The story is unremarkable, aside from a giant skeleton made up of other bones, and the ending feels rather rushed. I've just started on the Eighth Doctor Adventures, I'm not too sure on Lucy as a companion, at the moment, but it is nice to have a slight antagonism between her and the Doctor.
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Jan 21, 2015 19:53
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FFS, the opening episode of the second series of the Eighth Doctor Adventures, and he's got loving amnesia again. Lucie's definitely improved as a companion, and the stories themselves seem to be consitently better on average than the previous unevenly good-or-bad monthly stories; better pacing for less padding, more light-hearted adventure-style romps, and a much more tolerable run-time.
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Jan 23, 2015 17:15
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Bicyclops posted:I like the long run-time for some of Big Finish's stories and there are definitely stories that are more suited to the monthly format, but yeah, for the hit-or-miss stuff, the one hour format really helps for it to be more bearable. I'm in that weird bit of time where Big Finish does a lot of 3-parters (with an additional one-parter), or four small stories, and it's a nice little break. Yeah, some are better for having the long run-time . Scherzo as an example - sorry to keep bringing it up - though it could possibly work as an hour drama, it would completely lessen the impact and the build-up. Then there's others like the Shakespeare Daleks, which would have much improved the story, because it's not faffing about for two hours slowly trying to set itself up on a premise that doesn't require it. Yeah, I think they've hit the right length so far, and like you said, if they need to extend the story, then it's easier to spread it over two chunks, rather than one monolith-sized nightmare.
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Jan 23, 2015 18:18
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DoctorWhat posted:Scherzo's actually only 90 minutes long, including cliffhanger music and the Doctor's fairytale story. Really? Huh, guess so. It felt longer, in a good way. Then again I was listening to it sitting in a desolate train-station at midnight waiting to get home from work. Sitting in endless unknowing time
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Jan 23, 2015 18:29
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Chokes McGee posted:I... would think they work like anywhere else. This is a horrible rabbit hole I don't want to go down, isn't it? Did you know Wookiees have three pairs of them?  Do you want to know how a sci-fi sink works, or what a star wars crapper is called? Or that the title and first paragraph of this article were genuinely on Wookieepedia for five years? Wookipeedia is amazing. 
Pesky Splinter fucked around with this message at 19:21 on Jan 23, 2015 |
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Jan 23, 2015 19:05
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MrL_JaKiri posted:Things that ruined Doctor Who forever: Steven Moffat, Russell Davies, John Nathan-Turner, Graham Williams (etc) You're forgetting, [x] Doctor regenerating, Hurt Doctor, the Doctors kissing anyone, Peter Capaldi being old (no more sexy Eccleston/Tennant/Smith delete as applicable  ), too many Daleks, not enough Daleks, too many gays, the Master being a woman!, the reboot not being like the old series, the old series not being like the reboot, being too silly, too serious oh god my brain's just melted...
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Jan 23, 2015 20:21
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Bicyclops posted:I do think it is worth noting that not all criticism is "They ruined Doctor Who!!!" though, because there is definitely a contingent of people who seem to believe that any form of even minor criticism is frothing rage. It's more how it's phrased than anything. Well, yeah, and intent behind it of course. Pesky Splinter fucked around with this message at 21:08 on Jan 23, 2015 |
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Jan 23, 2015 21:03
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It's certainly the weakest episode of series 8 overall IMO.
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Jan 25, 2015 03:28
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Glenn_Beckett posted:In comparison to the year of specials. Season 8 is super good, except kill the moon, forest of the night, and the first half of deep breath. Kill the Moon has a good idea (something weird is happening to the moon), but then veers off into bad-dumb territory. Listen was disappointing, considering it had the potential to be a really good episode, with a great introduction but it fumbles about half-way.
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Jan 26, 2015 00:40
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drat, the finale of the Eighth Doctor Adventures is depressing. 
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Jan 27, 2015 13:29
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Having finished off the Eighth Doctor Adventures, here's round two of my thoughts and opinions; Firstly, last time, I missed off mentioning three other stories. The first was Solitaire, which features only Charley, who has to match wits against the Celestial Toymaker, with the Eighth Doctor appearing only as a ventriloquist dummy who can only speak when Charley interacts with it. It's a fairly tense episode, with another great performance from India Fisher, and from the very Michael Gough-ish sounding, David Bailie. The second was Shada, an adaption of the incomplete Fourth Doctor episode of the same name. I've honestly forgotten about it - it's not that great. The other, An Earthly Child is set during the Doctor's travels alone, whereupon he makes his way to 22nd Earth, and encounters Susan, the grand-daughter he left behind, and the newly-introduced Alex, his great-grandson. While the premise is initially promising, the main plot feels underwhelming, and the family encounters are fractured and fleeting, when really it feels that they should have been a more major focus. That said, the highlight is the meeting between Susan and the Doctor, aided by the chemistry of both McGann, and Carole Ann Ford as they discuss what they've done with themselves the last twenty or so years (from Susan's perspective). Alex however...while a good concept for a character, with the potential to show both how far Susan has come, and how Alex himself would cope with his knowledge of alien heritage, is completely undersold by Jake McGann, Paul McGann's son. When he's not sounding bored, it sound like he's just reading off cue-cards. Every line he delivers is completely flat. It's more obvious when listening to the behind the scenes audio, where he's speaking normally, that he doesn't have much acting experience. It's a shame really. With those out of the way, it's on the EDA!  The most noticable aspect of the series, compared to the mothly releases, is the shorter run-times. While it doesn't sound like much, it generally results in a much brisker pace and less padding, which is a tremendous relief after some of the utter slogs of the worst episodes of the monthly adventures. That's the other major thing about the series; the average quality of the episodes have evened out - previously the monthly stories would either be, very good, or very bad with little-to-no inbetween - now there are "good" episodes, "okay" episodes, and "meh" episodes. Series one opens with the Doctor encountering Lucie Miller who has mysteriously been teleported onboard his TARDIS, sent there by the CIA for the doctor to protect her for reasons she can't recall, and the Doctor doesn't know. Lucie Miller is comparable to the Donna Noble, in the sense that they're both fairly standard 21st century women who interact with the Doctor in a fairly antagonistic manner, but calling her Donna Noble of the North would be a disservice to both characters. Not having looked up the cast, I was surprised to hear Sheridan Smith acting as the companion, though it's obvious she's having a good time in the role, and she gives a pretty good performance. Blood of the Daleks, while having a good introduction to Lucie, feels more like a middle series episode than a series introduction. It's a typical Dalek story with Daleks doing what Daleks do best, and while that's okay, I feel they could have done something else maybe. Horror of Glam Rock and Phobos are fun little adventures, the latter being my personal favourite of the first series, despite the pair sharing rather underwhelming antagonists, but making up for it in atmosphere and fun. Immortal Beloved and No More Lies share the theme of a continuing cycle of love, the first by brain-wiping clones and filling them with someone's mind and the other through a literal time-loop. No More Lies is a bittersweet story and the better of the two, while Immortal Beloved showcases the benefits of the shorter run-time, because it would be intolerable in the monthly two hour format. Human Resources is probably the best of the first series, for atmosphere, the concept, the camp, and the cliffhanger for the first part. Series two is a much more mixed bag. Dead London is a fairly confusing series opener - lots of scene changes and teleportation, with another fairly weak antagonist. Max Warp and Grand Theft Cosmos raise up the enjoyable camp factor of the series. Max Warp is essentially Top Gear...in Space but what if Jeremy Clarkson was a space-racist against Space-Argentina. While Grand Theft Cosmos is an enjoyable heist adventure and my personal favourite for the second series. Brave New Town and the Skull of Sobek are more standard stories, although the Skull of Sobek becomes rather dull by the end point. BNT covers more unexplored territory by showing the autons becoming..well, autonomous seemingly stuck in the year 1991. The Zygon Who Fell To Earth is the series, seemingly requisite, bittersweet story. It's decent, although the story resolution is too obviously telegraphed. The finale, Sisters of the Flame and Vengeance of Morbius, really doesn't feel that major. Sisters of the Flame is the better of the two, setting things up, and establishing the threat, but Vengrance of Morbius is a lacklustre snooze-fest. While it's nice to see the, seemingly-invincible, Time Lords cowering behind their limited defences, with their control of time nullified, Morbius himself is such a boring villain, and the climax zooms by so fast, it's hard to care. The third series is another mixed bag of episodes. Orbis, reveals that following from the conclusion of the last series, the Doctor has amnesia again for the fourth or fifth time, and is living a rather quiter life on some planet backwater, stranded without his TARDIS for 300 years, tending to the needs of Jellyfish people, and defending them from an invading race of mollusc/crustacean things. The tone is all over the place; it can't decide if it wants to be serious, happy, campy silliness or sad. Thankfully, the planet is wiped out and the Doctor continues on his travels with Lucie. For some reason, the writers have a really difficult time with series intros for the EDA. Hothouse, Wirrn Dawn and The Cannabilists are fairly typical, compatant Doctor stories. The Cannabilists is the best of the three, exploring AI sapience and, (for once) having a Central Command AI that isn't a malfunctioning psychopath...it's just all the drone AIs instead The Beast of Orlok and Scapegoat are more fun adventures, with a large dollap of Hammer House of Horrors for the former, and the théâtralité de la Grand Guignol for the latter, with the ususal Who sci-fi elements. The Eight Truths and Worldwide Web are acceptable stories that finish off the series story arc, they're just kinda, there. It's another build up of an antagonist that turns out to be a bunch of psychic spiders, and are just incredibly uninteresting. The fourth, and final, series is probably the strongest by far, despite suffering from a reduced appearance of Lucie Miller for the first half anyway  .Death in Blackpool is the strongest series opener by far, and is itself a continuation of plot elements from the Horror of Glam Rock and The Zygon Who Fell To Earth, in which the Doctor is taking Lucie home for her to have a family Christmas. While the antagonist is nothing special (a reoccuring thing throughout the EDA), the main focus is on the breakdown between the relationship of the Doctor and Lucie, which having seen them grow closer and closer as friends is quite Situation Vacant is an odd episode. There are parallels with the monthly adventures The Company of Friends, though Situation Vacant is more comedic and light-hearted. It also introduces the Doctor's new companion, Tamsin Drew who is the most generic companion ever devised, and has the personality of toast. Nevermore is the Poe-inspired gothic story (in space!), where the most enjoyable aspect is having all the Poe references pointed out to you. It's another one of the "meh/okay", stories where the only highlight is...well, the Poe imagery. The Book of Kells, by contrast, has much more going for it, seeing the return of the classic series villain the Monk, played perfectly by Similarly, Deimos and The Resurrection of Mars, see the return of the Ice Warriors, another race of villains from the classic series, time having been interferred with by the Monk releasing them from cryosleep decades too soon. It's also a fairly grim set of stories - lots of death and misery, but are a pretty decent pair. Relative Dimensions is refreshingly cheerful, by contrast. Having failed to give Lucie a proper Christmas in Blackpool, they decide to celebrate Christmas on the TARDIS, and invite the Doctor's relatives, Susan and Alex. What An Earthly Child, lacks in familial interaction, Relative Dimensions makes up for in spades. Even Jake McGann sounds more engaged at times. It's a pretty great episode, even though it means that Lucie, once again, leaves the Doctor, though this time on more amicable terms - touring the globe with Alex. The EDA finale is really a three-parter, with the first serving as an introduction to what the Doctor is doing, and the second to what is happening on Earth in his absence. Prisoner of the Sun is a fairly bland tale, serving as a device as to why the Doctor can't immediately drop what he is doing to return to Earth. That's really about it; it's a prison of his own morality - if he leaves there's a chance billions will die, he could escape any time, but won't. The second part, Lucie Miller, is the episode of the series, told by Lucie via flashback, with excellent voice acting by Sheridan Smith. The whole globe suffering a mysterious plague, Lucie suffering, but surviving, having lost the vision in right eye, and barely able to walk ever again. The Second Invasion of the Daleks, the resistance, the failure, the death On the plus side, this is probably the best Jake McGann has been. He actually emotes more.The final part, To The Death is a conga-line of misery-porn. Tamsin dies, Alex dies (and supposedly can't regenerate), Lucie kamikazes into the Daleks taking out most of them and the Doctor and Susan are left in utter hopeless despair, leading to a bittersweet paraphrase of the Doctor's final speech to Susan, when he left her on Earth, all those years ago. Welp, now on to Dark Eyes. Pesky Splinter fucked around with this message at 11:50 on Jan 28, 2015 |
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Jan 28, 2015 03:53
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CobiWann posted:Wow. Poor, poor Eight...I can't wait to get to them, especially since I want to see how Eight works in a season format, but man it sounds like the Doctor needs a hug after all that. They work pretty much the same as the monthly stories, really, except the series overall story arc tends to move faster, and the instigators pop up more quickly. Eight's had the most miserable existance, hasn't he? Didn't even get his own tv series Organza Quiz posted:Wait, are you saying Alex McGann's acting in the EDAs is an improvement on his acting in An Earthly Child? I haven't listened to the latter but I have listened to the EDA episodes with him and I can't imagine his acting being worse than it is in those. It was obvious from the start that he had to be someone's son because even the smallest of speaking roles in big finish go to better actors than that. Yeah, believe it or not, it's actually worse in An Earthly Child. The only change in his delivery is when he's meant to be angry - which translates to "READING. THE. WORDS. SLIGHTY. LOUDER."  He's a loving rainbow of emotions in all the other ones by comparison.
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Jan 28, 2015 04:44
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Fil5000 posted:I'm pretty sure it's Graeme Garden that plays that spoilered character and not Jim Broadbent. Man, broadbent would be great. Huh, you're right. Put it down to not reading the cast list.
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Jan 28, 2015 11:47
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Yo, Cobi, I've just been looking through your blog for the Medicinal Purposes review (I've yet to work my way through the rest of the non-8th monthly stuff yet, and the oddness of the 6th Doctor being pleased to meet Burke and Hare is rather  ), and it's missing Faith Stealer.
Pesky Splinter fucked around with this message at 00:57 on Jan 31, 2015 |
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Jan 31, 2015 00:46
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Thanks, Cobiwann! Must have been looking under the wrong tag or something.
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Jan 31, 2015 02:09
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I've recently acquired Doctor Who: Regeneration by Philip Segal - a behind-the-scenes overview of the 96 film, which also contains a production bible for a hypothetical series, had the film been a success - and thought I'd share some of the hypothetical series stuff. It's doubtful that 99% of this stuff would have ever made it into a final series, but it's interesting, all the same. Initially, it was going to be a complete retooling of the Doctor's backstory - Borusa was the Doctor's grandfather, a Time Lord named Ulysses was to have been the Doctor (via an Earthwoman) and the Master's father (via another Time Lord), making them half-brothers. He would still have been the Eighth incarnation of the Doctor, however. The planet Gallifrey is beginning to tear itself apart, vast canyons are appearing, etc, etc. Borusa is the Lord President, and he's dying, he has to pass on the Sash of Rassilon. Time Lord society is split into supporters of the Master, and supporters of the Doctor as candidate (though they have doubts of his parentage). The Doctor tells the Time Lords what he thinks of them (boring bureaucrats lacking feeling yadayadayada), and they exile him from the city, causing the Master to become Lord President. The Doctor finds some scrolls in a desert pointing towards his secret Earth heritage, talks to a dying Borusa (who incorporates himself into a crystal to power a TARDIS). The Doctor is declared persona non grata, with authorisation to terminate on sight, by the Master (to remove him being a threat to his Presidency). Due to Gallifreyan law, blood relatives are not allowed to directly kill each other (the perpetrator is killed also), so the Master has to rely on his servants, the Daleks to finish the job. The Doctor meanwhile, sets off to Earth to find his father, and his heritage. Domed Capital:  What follows are essentially remakes of older episodes, but with the Master as the primary antagonist. These aren't direct quotes, just paraphrases: The Daleks (remake of Genesis of the Daleks) posted:The Doctor is captured by the Time Lords and bought before the Master. The Master tells him he is free to travel across time and space with no further interference from the Time Lords, if he travels back in time to prevent the creation of the Daleks. The Doctor travels to Skaro and meets the mutant Kaleds. He tells them about the Daleks of the future, and they wish to help him to avoid it, so they pair him up with their scientific expert, Davros. Re-imagined Daleks:     Kaled mutant:  The Pirates (remake of The Smugglers) posted:The Doctor believes that the pirate Blackbeard, was once his father disguised, so travels in time, only to be captured by pirates looking for Blackbeard's buried treasure. The Doctor steals a map, follows it, and finds Blackbeard digging up some treasure. The other pirates attack the pair, but are defeated. The Doctor is about to ask if Blackbeard if he is his father, but he's vanished over a hill riding a horse. [The book text confirms it's his father] The Talons of Weng-Chiang posted:"The TARDIS is in present day New York, where a series of murders have been commited by the Chinese Tong of the Black Scorpion, led by Weng-Chiang [...] who, in reality, is Magnus Greel, a war criminal from the future whose experiments backfired, and who needs the lifeforce of others to survive. Hooking up with an NYPD cop, they trace the location of Greel's lair and bring the murderer to justice." Earthshock posted:"(The Cybs are the pirates of the galaxy; slash and burn marauders from the planet Mondas. Having ruined the environment of their planet, they become cybotic, made up mostly of vat-grown plastic. Since much of their body is manufactured, they are very handsome and quite vain [!?]. The Doctor often uses this vanity against them. One of the few things that can kill a Cyb is having gold dust thrown into its breathing apparatus.) Cybs:  Detail:  The Horror of Fang Rock posted:The Doctor follows streaks of light across the galaxy, that leads him to a lighthouse in 1906 at Land's End. Thick fog causes a ship to run aground, though the Doctor manages to save some of the crew. The Captain is murdered, and the Doctor is blamed because of his mysterious arrival. The Doctor believes that an alien ship crash-landed, and the alien had "absorbed" the body of a lighthouse-keeper to send a beam of light for a rescue party. The Celestial Toymaker posted:Literally a remake of the serial of the same name, but with the reveal that the Toymaker is controlled by the Master. Don't Shoot, I'm the Doctor! (remake of The Gunfighters) posted:Another exact remake. Right down to the toothache. Tomb of the Cybs (remake of Tomb of the Cybermen) posted:Same as the original, but turns out the Master was behind the Cybs thawing out. Seeing a pattern yet? The Yeti (remake of The Abominable Snowmen) posted:The Doctor travels to 1953, to Tibet to seek advice from the Dalai Lama on his father's whereabouts. Travelling with Sir Edmund Hillary on his expedition to climb the summit of Everest, he is informed of the Yeti. No one has seen the yeti clearly, but catch fleeting glimpses of thick furry bodies and their blood-curdling screams. Turns out that the Yeti aren't hideous killing machine monsters after all, but Neanderthals, having been pushed back to this last place of refuge by humanity, and they're actually really shy and nice and gentle and cuddly and The Ark in Space posted:Another exact remake of the serial of the same name. Other stories in the various drafts of the series bible were; The Cybs (remake of The Wheel in Space/Revenge of the Cybermen) posted:A very loose remake of the Wheel in Space and Revenge of the Cybermen - the Doctor recieves a distress signal from an Earth outpost on Mars, where the Cybs are stealing women and children as slaves to increase their number [!?]. The Doctor hides in a gold mine, while trying to save the women and children. The Sea Devils posted:Loose remake of the serial of the same name. The Sea Devils are attacking oil rigs and ships because the drilling has opened their undersea caverns to the world. The Master wants to control them, but the Doctor manages to drive them back to their caverns and seal them off, causing the Sea devils to return to hibernation. The Outcasts posted:I think this might have been the only completely original story! TARDIS Console Room:  The Land of Fear (remake of The Reign of Terror) posted:"Attempting to learn something about his father, who he knows once met Robespierre, the Doctor lands to TARDIS in a forest clearing 20k from Paris during the "reign of terror". Masquerading as a citizen, he slips into town, and runs into English spy James Stirling, who is plotting Robespierre's assassination." The Claws of Axos posted:Exact remake of the serial of the same name, but with the Master behind the plan, instead of being caught up in it. The Daemons posted:Remake, but with the setting changed to that of the Salem Witch trials. Shada posted:Remake of the unfinshed serial. The few changes are that Professor Chronotis is Romana's uncle (yes she appears in this draft version), and that the Doctor is interested in the location of Shada, as he believes his father is imprisoned there. The overall story arc would end with the Doctor finding his father, returning to Galiffirey, proving his parentage, becoming Lord President of Gallifrey, healing the land, defeating the enemies of peace to the galaxy, and making everyone poo poo rainbows and stuff. Domed Capital damaged: 
Pesky Splinter fucked around with this message at 01:28 on Feb 8, 2015 |
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Feb 8, 2015 01:08
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Jerusalem posted:It's been said many times before, but I'm really glad that the 1996 tv movie wasn't successful enough to kick off this earlier revival, but that what we did get was generally benign enough that people were able to embrace Paul McGann as legitimately one of the Doctors without reservation. Yeah, pretty much. The only thing that seemed to survive to the film was the whole contentious "the Doctor is half-human" thing, but it's so minor. I think having McCoy regenerate onscreen helped to ease the transition towards McGann - it made him that more official, rather than just having McGann from the start. On the one hand, it's a shame that we've only got the movie and Night of the Doctor as his only onscreen roles, because he's got great charisma, and an onscreen presence, but at the same time, yeah, not having an earlier revival has made the show better in the long run, though the movie bridges the gap quite nicely. Even considering a hypothetical series, I doubt it would have lasted long; US networks are fickle. It's highly unlikely it would have lasted to celebrate its 50th, for example.
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Feb 8, 2015 01:47
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 MacQueen is pretty amazing.
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Feb 12, 2015 21:43
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Random Stranger posted:I'm telling you people, puppet show based reconstructions would be the way to go. All we need is this, but with Hartnell and Troughton puppets. Pesky Splinter fucked around with this message at 02:59 on Feb 18, 2015 |
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Feb 18, 2015 02:49
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A ideal multi-Master story would have Delgado stuck in a time vortex, Ainley replaced by Jonathan Pryce, Beevers returning as Crispy Master, and MacQueen, Jacobi, Simms, and Gomez chewing the scenery. Oh, and Eric Roberts represented as a wax stand-in.
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Feb 20, 2015 04:44
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After The War posted:A single 90s CGI tear rolls down Gordon Tipple's cheek. Tipple lurks somewhere in the background always out of shot, never saying a word, and never showing his face  Huh, never realized they hired another actor for that scene; I always thought it was Roberts.
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Feb 20, 2015 04:50
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Trained at RADA, y'know.
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Feb 21, 2015 22:37
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adhuin posted:Dark Eyes 4! Finally! Ooooh yeah!  
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Mar 2, 2015 16:18
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Being as vague as possible, Dark Eyes 4 is pretty good. First episode has barely any relevance to the rest of the story though. MacQueen is the real highlight.
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Mar 2, 2015 21:40
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Shame they couldn't get Sean Pertwee to do it, but I think he's said he wouldn't like to, out of respect for his father, or something along those lines. Spitting image too;   Wonder if they've asked David Troughton to do the 2nd Doctor?  
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Mar 5, 2015 17:01
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adhuin posted:Isn't looks kinda useless thing for an Audio-drama? Ah yeah, sorry, crossed wires about Adventure in Space and Time, and LATE. Well, must have been a load of bull I heard then. Oh well, here's this picture to make up for it; 
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Mar 5, 2015 17:25
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Was having a lazy sunday and attempted to make a visual list thing of the audio series, with a vague idea that it could used as a quick reference to doctor specific audios. Is this sort of thing of any use to anyone at all? 
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Mar 8, 2015 21:08
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That's the chap who sets out to make everything involved have a depressing, misery-porn, twist, isn't it? Let's see, The Rapture, Terror Firma, Master. Yep, that's the one.
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Mar 8, 2015 21:31
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Jerusalem posted:Yep, that's him. My next story is The Gathering which is also by him, and I'm really not looking forward to it at all, which is especially mad because it features Tegan and she's one of my favorite companions Urgh...he always starts off strong, and then the plot just spirals into a crumple of badly executed ideas. Thanks, it wouldn't be too difficult. Could always do something like:  Tad simplistic, perhaps.
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Mar 8, 2015 21:53
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Jerusalem posted:Yeah that seems pretty straightforward. I was thinking along the lines of companion/Doctor faces alongside titles in release order, but that might get a little busy visually. The only downside to the faces is how big everything would have to be to actually see who is in the episode. E.g:  Nope, just looked up a synopsis, it's linked to stuff in the Gathering. Pesky Splinter fucked around with this message at 23:11 on Mar 8, 2015 |
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Mar 8, 2015 22:55
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Before I dive into my overview of the Dark Eyes stories, I'd like to cover a completely insignificant thing, but one that's been bugging me through most of the 8th doctor audios. Perhaps one of the most recognisable TV themes out there, the Doctor Who theme has had as many changes, as there have been doctors. All the other doctor audios use the theme (or their most recognisable varient) from their original TV run. The 8th Doctor, as you all well know, had only one live-action appearance (prior to the Night of the Doctor special), which featured a unique arrangement of the theme; starting off, unusually, with the theme bridge (a.k.a the middle 8) before progressing into the familiar dooo-weee-oooo! section. As a result, the 8th Doctor has never had a "traditional" theme run, prompting Big Finish to consult composer, David Arnold to create an 8th Doctor theme for use in the audios. I'm not really hot on Arnold's theme, it just feels kind of flat and lifeless. Just a aural drone, rudely buzzing in the ear. This was, unfortunately, the theme from the very first 8th Doctor story, Storm Warning, all the way up to The Girl Who Never Was, (and Blood of the Daleks) before Big Finish called upon Jamie Robertson to compose a new version. His version is a more upbeat arrangment of the theme from the movie, complete with a kickass middle 8 intro  It's full of zest! There's a great vitality to it, and it resonates well with the slightly frantic nature of the 8th doctor. This was fine, until we hit Dark Eyes, where it was replaced with the Arnold version again, albeit with some slight echo. Oh well, that covered, time for Dark Eyes. Leaving off directly from the end of the miserable events of To The Death, the Doctor is in an utter state, without companions and feeling lost and aimless. Before the Time Lords intervene with news of a potentially universe-shattering catastrophe, forcing the Doctor to thwart the mysterious individual known only as 'X'. The Doctor, having a purpose again, sets off to find 'X'. The biggest structural difference in the Dark Eyes audios, compared to the previous Eighth Doctor Adventures is the much more serialised fashion of Dark Eyes - much like Zagreus, it's more like a single episode spread over four parts, rather than four episodes sharing an arc (well, at least DE1 and 4 are). The Great War is a pretty fantastic re-introduction to the eighth Doctor; lots of action and a very quick pace, as well as the introduction of new companion, Molly O'Sullivan - a WWI VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment) - a woman with extraordinarily dark eyes (voiced very excellently, and very Irishly by Ruth Bradley). Due to a mishap the Doctor encounters in No-Man's Land, Big Finish takes an unusual opportunity to update the Doctor's look; gone is the Wild Bill Hickock jacket, silk cravat, and the flowing, Oscar Wilde hair, and in its place a more modern ensemble, at the time in an attempt to visually bridge the gap between the 8th and 9th Doctors (this was prior to the TV series revelation of the War Doctor); the shorter cropped hair, the leather jacker, and the more relaxed style of dress.  Fugitives, Tangled Web, X and the Daleks are all incredibly strong stories, with the various twists, revelations and surprises being very competently handled, the climax and resolution of X and the Daleks being pretty steallar indeed. Dark Eyes 2, unfortunately takes much longer to get things in motion, the story initially being told out of chronological order. The titular Traitor is the rather dour, future spacewoman, medical technician, Liv Chenka (Nicola Walker - who delivers her lines in an convincingly weary fashion), a character who previously appeared with the seventh doctor in Robophobia. In an arrangement with the Dalek occupiers of the planet, she tends and gives medical care to the human-slave miners, much to their resentment at her compliance with the Daleks. The White Room is a fairly typical story, and doesn't have that much involvement otherwise with the general overall plot of Dark Eyes 2. The plot finally gets going in Time's Horizon, which sets up the secondary antagonist for the series, The Eminence. Eyes of the Master is my favourite story of the lot, if only for Alex MacQueen's Master. I can't overstate how much I love this interpretation; he's simultaneously charming, and slimy, charismatic and blunt, callous, and comedic. The smug, glib, purr, of a dentist before turning on the drill. Despite even his efforts though, even he can't save the abrupt and honestly, unsatisfying ending.Dark Eyes 3 is the weakest of the quartet, in my opinion. While there are highlights, such as the Master impersonating the Doctor, much as he did in the UNIT stories , for whatever reason, very little of the stories left a memorable impact. The Death of Hope, is probably the best story in this particular drama set. It's very similar in atmosphere to the (otherwise unrelated) War Doctor story, Engines of War - a planet under siege by a seemingly unstoppable adversary.Despite having listened to it less than a week ago, The Reviled is competely forgettable. Even reading synopses to jog my memory isn't helping, that's how much of an impact this story leaves. Masterplan thankfully is a tad more memorable, thanks to the interaction (and enforced co-operation) between the Doctor and the Master, and the reveal of the nature of the antagonist. Rule of the Eminence, again, has its moments, but is honestly mostly mediocre. Dark Eyes 4 is a beast of two halves; the first two episodes, A Life in the Day, and The Monster of Montmartre just seem like sheer filler. Absolutely nothing of any importance happens until the very climax of The Monster of Montmartre. The final two episodes however, are up there with Dark Eyes 1 in terms of quality - a few Eighth Doctor staples aside he briefly gets amnesia again  . Master of the Daleks and Eye of Darkness clear up the lingering plot threads, and leave a satisfying conclusion to the Dark Eyes story arc. Also it has MacQueen asking a Dalek if he "made him a grumpy grump". And if that doesn't make you want this, I don't know what will.
Pesky Splinter fucked around with this message at 02:16 on Mar 9, 2015 |
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Mar 9, 2015 01:58
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CobiWann posted:As someone who is writing a review of one of his pieces right now, Lidster has NO loving CLUE how to write an ending. And all his stories so far have "game changing'" ideas like Ace's brother or the Doctor's deal with Death that are NEVER mentioned again anywhere else in Big Finish. Lidster doesn't write audios, he writes fan fiction. My first encounter with him is in the story you're about to cover; it's still amazing to me that he introduces a pretty decent twist the Doctor has companions he's forgotten because of a memory wipe and a pretty bad twist at the same time it was Davros who did it! And he's been tracking the TARDIS!, and it's treated with almost casual indifference by the Doctor when he meets up with them. I like the concept, but hooo boy, the execution is pretty bad. And the pretty excruxiating time it takes for poo poo to happen.
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Mar 9, 2015 02:12
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Memory Lane had a pretty compelling mystery around it, and learning that it was a prison was okay, but learning the purpose behind Tom's imprisonment was...well, it rather derailed my enjoyment that I'd had til that point. It's still probably the strongest of the immediate-post Divergent universe dramas, though. --- Finally got round to those visual guide things. I'm going to cover the multi-Doctor audios, and the spin-off stuff seperately. Feel free to say if I've left anything major out, spelling mistakes, legibility, or suggested improvements and all.  These all contain spoilers for companions        
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Mar 16, 2015 02:24
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Jerusalem posted:Oh man that's really awesome, thanks for doing these. The only issue I have is that the light yellow on the blue background is hard to read (Dodo, Liz Shaw, Adric etc) and could use some kind of bordering/stroke to help it stand out. Otherwise, this is a great job, thanks for doing it. Thanks, I've made them darker colours for clarity. CobiWann posted:I like this. I like you. May I post this on my Wordpress with appropriate credit? Thanks, yeah go ahead, probably best to use these slightly corrected ones with some darker names: Linked here Astroman posted:It's great, the only thing I'd like to see is maybe an alternate version showing the stories in order by companion. For me, the way I've listened to most of the stories is "in order." So I will listen to a run of stories with the same group of companions, by Doctor. I'll look into it, but I can already tell some of it would be a nightmare trying to place chronologically. [e]: whoops! Sorry linked. VVV Pesky Splinter fucked around with this message at 23:50 on Mar 16, 2015 |
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Mar 16, 2015 13:02
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The Action Man posted:so the fact that Doctor Who can't use its profits from merchandising for the actual show's production confuses me. IIRC, it just goes back into the general BBC purse, from which they then allocate money to be spent in the various departments (news, drama, sport, etc), who in turn allocate budgets of their respective programmes. So Doctor Who is allocated a budget from whatever % of funds, set aside for Drama. At least, that's if IIRC. Jerusalem posted:To be honest, I do worry I'm kind of cluttering up the thread with these reviews, but I figured it's the quiet part of the year for Doctor Who news anyway. Still, I'd be more than happy to see any other aspect of the show (classic, revival etc) be brought up, I just hope I'm not scaring people off with all this talk about a different aspect of the show. Nah, yours and Cobi's reviews are pretty great! Reminds me I've got to start listening to more 7th Doctor stuff, though. Yeah, it'll pick up when they start releasing stuff about the upcoming series. [e]: From the last page: Gordon Shumway posted:I'm not sure if you're counting them, since they're not Big Finish, but Jon Pertwee did three audio plays before he died. Yeah, I'm planning to do a seperate thing for non-Big Finish Doctor audios (I'll have to see how hard it is to get hold of them, Pesky Splinter fucked around with this message at 04:34 on Mar 18, 2015 |
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Mar 18, 2015 04:02
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