|
Post by acousticwolf on Jun 29, 2017 13:13:28 GMT
*ducking for cover* It was ok, but certainly not my favourite of this year's stories so far.
Cheers
Tony
|
|
|
Post by elkawho on Jun 29, 2017 13:24:03 GMT
I loved this story. And I loved Rufus Hound reading this story. I think this IS one of my favorites of this year's stories. I really appreciate when we get a humorous story done well.
|
|
|
Post by mark687 on Jun 29, 2017 13:29:19 GMT
*ducking for cover* It was ok, but certainly not my favourite of this year's stories so far. Cheers Tony No I agree I'd put it in the OK section rather then knock out classic
Regards
mark687
|
|
|
Post by theotherjosh on Jun 29, 2017 13:58:15 GMT
I’ve been looking forward to this one for forever. I had an idea for a very similar story, the biggest difference was that it was Drax giving the seminar rather than the Monk, but I couldn’t make it work. I shelved it and then gave up on it entirely when Planets was announced, and I think I’ll just delete it altogether, because there is nothing that I attempted that James Goss didn’t achieve a million times better here.
Humorous pieces are always tricky, simply because of how subjective humor is. It very much appealed to my sense of humor and I thought it had something of a Good Omens meets Hitchhiker’s Guide vibe. S.U.R.E. was a rather incisive bit of commentary of corporate catchphrases.
Rufus Hound is great as the Monk and he’s even better as the Monk imitating Sarah Jane Smith.
It’s eminently quotable. “Do get immunized. Some martians popped by a few years ago without a flu jab. Nasty.” “Use your biggest flying saucer, your most zappy death ray!” “I even went on that ballroom dancing program!” Now I want the Monk opposite the Doctor (Old Sixie, naturally!) on I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!
I was half-expecting (and would probably have been satisfied with) a series of gags poking fun at common Doctor Who invasion tropes, but it has a story running through it, and an engaging one too. Really liked it. I would enjoy more of these.
|
|
|
Post by chapwithwings on Jun 29, 2017 19:01:54 GMT
|
|
|
Post by number13 on Jun 29, 2017 23:41:35 GMT
An entertaining story with some great lines ("there's Lenin on an inflatable giraffe") which makes fun of science fiction (there are a Wells joke or two in there as well as all the 'Doctor Who' gags) and contemporary Britain - I loved the idea of the Monk winning "the TV ballroom dancing show" strictly because the Doctor cheated for him in the voting. And the mocking of the tedious world of corporate meetings, logos and endlessssszzzz presentations... (One joke I especially enjoyed was a sound effect - somewhere in a super-advanced interstellar corporation, the Monk is still using a slide projector to give his talk!) {Spoiler}And the running joke is what the Doctor is doing - in this story HE is The Time Meddler, at least from the Monk's viewpoint. But being the Doctor, he tidies the timelines up again later - mostly... However... although it was funny and there is a story that runs through the jokes to a twist at the end, I felt the first half had more steam in it than the second, and to call it a Fourth Doctor, Sarah and Harry story is a point of presentation worthy of the Monk himself. Technically accurate but... it's a Monk story and I liked the first-person presentation style (and told by a great Monk from Rufus Hound - I definitely like this incarnation), but the downside is this means the Doctor gets just a few short scenes, Sarah only one of note and as for Harry - poor Harry Sullivan loses out again, reduced to a walk-on part with a snippet of dialogue and a good cup of coffee. This TARDIS crew had just one, very special season on TV and I'd hoped for more from them together in their first BF 'reunion'. So for me it was a good Short Trip, but not a really exceptional one. (EDIT: I enjoyed it more on second listening when I knew what to expect from the structure. Had this not been billed as a Fourth Doctor, Sarah and Harry story I would probably have rated it higher; Harry is, sadly, irrelevant here and even Sarah's one scene could easily have been substituted for.)
|
|
|
Post by omega on Jul 1, 2017 11:17:36 GMT
On the second listen I noticed that the Monk's position with the Darkon Corporation kept changing, and realised it could the the Doctor once again trolling the Monk by restructuring him around! Considering the Doctor mucked about with the property plan, set up a beach day in Moscow and rigged the voting on Strictly, I wouldn't put it past him.
|
|
|
Post by Jeedai on Jul 7, 2017 8:49:36 GMT
On the second listen I noticed that the Monk's position with the Darkon Corporation kept changing, and realised it could the the Doctor once again trolling the Monk by restructuring him around! Considering the Doctor mucked about with the property plan, set up a beach day in Moscow and rigged the voting on Strictly, I wouldn't put it past him. The Monk states near the end that he's been popping in and out during the presentation. My guess is he was meddling with the corporate hierarchy, never noticing that the Doctor went over his head by assuming the corporation's ownership.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2017 10:30:40 GMT
I thought this Short Trip was brilliant, Rufus Hound did a great job. I loved the presentation style. I'd certainly agree that this is more a Monk story than anything else, The Doctor - and the companions especially - were only bit part players. I didn't mind that though as I found it very funny anyway, and it was very enjoyable, so it worked! I'd give this story 9/10. How to Win Planets and Influence People is another great addition to the ST range for me.
|
|
|
Post by nottenst on Jul 10, 2017 14:26:31 GMT
This is a delight. Quite a surprise.
|
|
|
Post by Ela on Sept 7, 2018 4:31:46 GMT
This was a lot of fun. Rufus Hound was hilarious in this. I love him as the Monk, could listen to him all day. A very enjoyable story.
|
|
|
Post by shallacatop on Sept 7, 2018 7:57:45 GMT
I think this one is a great example of how brilliant and flexible the Short Trips are. It’s lots of fun, it’s got a unique framing style and it’s very much a Monk story, with fleeting visits by the Doctor, Sarah and Harry. I love that in the absence of using the cast, especially as they’re my favourite TARDIS team!
|
|