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Post by omega on Jun 17, 2017 4:46:20 GMT
DOCTOR WHO - MAIN RANGE » 74. LIVE 34Released September 2005Synopsis"You're listening to LIVE 34." "LIVE 34 | News on the hour every hour | LIVE 34 | Broadcasting to Colony 34 all day every day | LIVE 34 | Constantly updated every minute of every hour | LIVE 34| Sport, weather, business, local news, interplanetary affairs | LIVE 34 | Live, independent, accurate, comprehensive | LIVE 34 all news, all day, every day | LIVE 34..." "Reports are coming in of an explosion..." "On the line now is the leader of the FDP..." "The President is about to begin his address..." "We can see bodies in the wreckage..." Written By: James Parsons and Andrew Stirling-Brown Directed By: Gary Russell CASTSylvester McCoy (The Doctor); Sophie Aldred (Ace); Philip Olivier (Hex); Andrew Collins (Drew Shahan); William Hoyland (Premier Jaeger); Zehra Naqvi (Charlotte Singh); Duncan Wiseby (Ryan Wareing); Ann Bryson (Gina Grewal); Joy Elias-Rilwan (Lula)
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Post by omega on Jun 17, 2017 4:48:51 GMT
A highly unique story, and one that's worryingly relevant today in the era of fake news. Nothing is sugarcoated, and it's a fascinating angle on the bring down the oppressor story the Seventh Doctor likes to get involved in (Happiness Patrol for example).
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Post by Timelord007 on Jun 17, 2017 8:02:22 GMT
Didn't enjoy it upon first listen but over the years I've truly appreciated what a fine clever audio drama this is.
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Post by omega on Jun 17, 2017 9:46:27 GMT
Didn't enjoy it upon first listen but over the years I've truly appreciated what a fine clever audio drama this is. It's a highlight of the experimental period of the Main Range. You've got to be in the mood for it though, as experimental stories are highly prone to being YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary).
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Post by muckypup on Jun 17, 2017 9:56:07 GMT
One of the minority of BF releases that I really don't like.
I am not one for experimental/ non traditional story telling.
It's certainally not one of the worst releases but one I don't every intend to revisit
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2017 10:13:41 GMT
Another one of my favourites. An interesting twist that takes the piety of manipulated media and turns it against the Doctor, Ace and Hex like was done on Babylon 5.
These people are immoral. Ace is a terrorist who is acting against your interests and deserves to be tortured. Hex is a liar and a coward who deserves his arrest. The Doctor is a political dissident who deserves to be knifed by a man in the crowd. You will believe what you are told to believe. The people of Colony 34 are happy. There are no mass executions, disappearances or assassinations. Nothing is wrong. Colony 34 is stable. Nothing is wrong. You're a liar if you say there is. You deserve to die if you say there is.
Only there is something wrong. You're being lied to by a conman who wants to stay in power at any cost. It's time that someone stopped him.
Deeply compelling stuff.
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Post by omega on Jun 17, 2017 10:37:10 GMT
Another one of my favourites. An interesting twist that takes the piety of manipulated media and turns it against the Doctor, Ace and Hex like was done on Babylon 5. These people are immoral. Ace is a terrorist who is acting against your interests and deserves to be tortured. Hex is a liar and a coward who deserves his arrest. The Doctor is a political dissident who deserves to be knifed by a man in the crowd. You will believe what you are told to believe. The people of Colony 34 are happy. There are no mass executions, disappearances or assassinations. Nothing is wrong. Colony 34 is stable. Nothing is wrong. You're a liar if you say there is. You deserve to die if you say there is. Only there is something wrong. You're being lied to by a conman who wants to stay in power at any cost. It's time that someone stopped him.Deeply compelling stuff. FDP claims fuel crisis not over. Fake news from sad man. The story also hammers home the idea of one side's freedom fighters being another side's terrorists far better than other stories. Even if the message loses something in that the "Jaeger" administration was doing the killings instead of the Rebel Queen. The newscast medium of the story helps a lot to sell the official word. Hang on, a power hungry politician surrounding himself with cronies and denying any media that criticise him? Sounds familiar...
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Post by Ela on Jun 18, 2017 5:26:43 GMT
I love this story. Thought it was very well done.
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Post by elkawho on Jun 18, 2017 15:06:37 GMT
This is one of my favorites. I love it when Big Finish experiments with both the format of their audios and with what the medium affords the story. Stories like this one, Creatures Of Beauty, Scherzo, Natural History of Fear, etc are some of the best things BF has done. I'd say the experimental nature of these 2x2 MR stories have been really successful as well. Even if I don't like the story, I can appreciate that the creators where trying something new.
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Post by Audio Watchdog on Jun 18, 2017 15:14:10 GMT
Easily one of my favorite 7th Doctor stories and one of my favorite Doctor Who stories from any medium.
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Post by coffeeaddict on Jun 18, 2017 15:20:54 GMT
Having spent a number of years working in radio as a reporter, anchor and jock this is one of my favourite stories. Love the format they chose and it always reminds me of how much I loved being behind the mic.
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bobod
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 2,759
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Post by bobod on Jun 20, 2017 16:06:35 GMT
Having spent a number of years working in radio as a reporter, anchor and jock this is one of my favourite stories. Love the format they chose and it always reminds me of how much I loved being behind the mic. You might be interested in one of the stories on Quartet: Hate in that case. Only a fiver, with lots of BF names attached.
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Post by omega on Jun 18, 2018 1:02:56 GMT
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lidar2
Castellan
You know, now that you mention it, I actually do rather like Attack of the Cybermen ...
Likes: 5,783
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Post by lidar2 on Jun 18, 2018 7:36:43 GMT
Great story. An experiment that really succeeds.
I think the writers did an I, Davros episode as well. 2 more writers to add to the list of writers BF should have used more.
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Post by mark687 on Jun 18, 2018 8:31:59 GMT
An early example of BFs technical skill, gets the effect its going for exactly right, Also showcases Hex well again, (Good Medic, Average Decent bloke but knows and speaks his mind.)
Regards
mark687
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Post by sherlock on Jun 18, 2018 9:01:09 GMT
Brilliant. The format works terrifically. Each of the regulars gets great material, and the revelations about 34 are nasty. One of my favourites
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Post by slithe on Jun 18, 2018 18:57:47 GMT
After the mediocre Dreamtime, this is a much better release for Hex. Would have been a lot better had this followed The Harvest (but that's another story). As already commented, this comes from a creative period for Big Finish and whilst the experimental method of story telling isn't for all, I think this one benefits from a more novel approach.
The story that I draw comparisons with Live34 is The Fearmonger. Both cover similar ideas (political shenanigans) and approach a story from a left-field direction. However, I think Live34 is the better piece. For a start, despite being released in 2005 (with inevitable comparisons between the War on Terror and the general global political climate) this one hasn't 'dated' and, sadly, feels as fresh and relevant as it did some 13 years ago. Unfortunately, The Fearmonger (for me at least) always seems rooted in the late 1980s-1990s and is a little bit too heavy handed in its attempts at political satire. Live34 is more subtle and the decision to split the narrative between the main characters (an episode apiece) is a good way of telling the story, whilst developing characterisation. Hex comes across well here - the fact that he is a medic is used as a strength and drives the plot (we never did see Ian or Barbara use their skills as school teachers), which makes it more credible. Similarly, as with the better McCoy audios, the Seventh Doctor is not always centre stage and manipulates events from the sidelines. His more subtle, cunning approach is welcomed and avoids the overreacting that plagues many of his stories. Ideally, this LIVE34 is as close to the political vision that the JNT production team had for the show in the late 1980s.
The regime itself is awful and many of the issues raised are still relevant - terrorism, fake news and the use of the media to control the political agenda. Well structured and presented.
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Post by tomstardis on Jun 18, 2018 19:31:46 GMT
This is my favourite Main Range story ever. I have listened to this countless times and still enjoy it.
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Post by Ela on Jun 18, 2018 20:06:06 GMT
It's definitely one of my favorites and one that I've gone back to.
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ljwilson
Chancellery Guard
It's tangerine....not orange
Likes: 5,061
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Post by ljwilson on Aug 12, 2019 15:25:58 GMT
Apologies for the thread bump from the archives but I'm slowly continuing my quest to get through those MR stories that I've never managed to finish.
I've always found the first half hour or so to be a bit contrived; the radio show host not sounding quite right, the bad guy in power who controls the media output and the obvious government involvement in the atrocities. I've never made it past that point until this latest attempt.
It's a bit grim, but a good story. You have to be in the mood certainly and Sylvester (my favourite Doctor) is very good throughout.
A 7 out of 10, which is a very good in my book, but I can't score it higher as it isn't quite for me.
Ps: I trawled through about 15 pages of the old 'Doctor Who' threads to find this one, there is some good stuff in there if you are bored and fancy reading it.
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