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Post by Star Platinum on Feb 15, 2018 23:10:47 GMT
Memory Lane
I love the visuals of this story.
Especially episode 1, the trio checking all the identical houses.
It’s an interesting story, but it doesn’t do anything to go beyond it’s interesting premise and become memorable.
7/10
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Post by Star Platinum on Feb 15, 2018 23:11:30 GMT
No mans land
Following on the heels of The Settling it’s good, but it isn’t quite on the same level.
First, I’d like to say that the hate room is such a vile concept that it makes for great story telling.
I do feel that hex’s ordeal was underplayed, he spent an entire night in the hate room, and was only slightly more aggressive?
Hex has become a bit of a punching bag, hasn’t he?
Michael Cochrane is fantastic, he’s not a cackling villain, and it’s not quite his number 2. Instead, he’s a very real, very menacing threat.
I caught the forge reference, but I don’t think anything comes from it.
It’s okay, but it pales behind the settling.
7/10
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Post by Star Platinum on Feb 16, 2018 2:03:21 GMT
Cryptobiosis
It’s not a bad story, but it hasn’t done anything to stand out.
When this story got its download option, the writer did a small piece for the Big Finish website, something about the increased role of the companion in the new series.
I personally think he hit the nail on the head, while the show is named after the doctor, the companion is more important. The companion is the lens in which we se the doctor through. That’s why the companion chronicles did so well in my opinion.
Looking back at it there isn’t much I can remember about it.
Claustrophobic journey on a stormy sea and mermaids. That’s it.
Galatea is a very lovely name, I almost never hear it.
What does the forge want with a mermaid?
Good, but unmemorable.
7/10
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Post by Star Platinum on Feb 16, 2018 4:00:16 GMT
Year of the Pig
Within a few minutes I had this pegged as a Matthew Sweet story.
Sweet has a certain way with language, I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it’s a little more eloquent than I’m used too.
As for the plot, I can’t say I kept up with it, but the script and the performances more than made up for it.
Maureen O’Brien sounded like she was having a ball the entire time!
Now am I the only one that found it odd that no one reacted to the fact that Toby was a sapient pig, or was everyone being discreet?
A wonderfully oddball story. I look forward to Sweet’s work on Jago and Litefoot.
8/10
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Post by glutamodo on Feb 16, 2018 4:40:20 GMT
Now am I the only one that found it odd that no one reacted to the fact that Toby was a sapient pig, or was everyone being discreet? No, if you count myself, then you're certainly not the only one!
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Post by Star Platinum on Feb 16, 2018 22:38:18 GMT
Frostfire
At last, The Companion Chronicles!
Hands down, one of my favourite ranges has finally arrived!
That being said, frostfire is a taste of things to come, but it hasn’t quite ironed out all the kinks yet.
It’s wordier than the future releases will be, but thankfully Platt is a skilled enough writer to use that creating a very visual place and monster.
The costar drinkel is underused, but the framing story is interesting enough that Platt can get away with it.
A promising start.
7/10
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Post by Star Platinum on Feb 22, 2018 20:48:31 GMT
Fear of the Daleks
Ugh.
A strong start with frostfire, followed up by a sure fire disappointment.
The framing device is more interesting than the actual plot, shame we won’t revisit it until John Dorney arrives.
As for the plot itself, it’s convoluted even by the Daleks standard. Astral Projection?
The author even points out a better idea for the machine, why not spilt a Dalek and use it in invasions a literal one man army.
Anyway, this is a major disappointment, one I always loath listening too
4/10
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Post by Star Platinum on Feb 22, 2018 20:49:13 GMT
The blue Tooth
The Third Doctor meets the Cybermen at last!
I love this story. It’s got a couple flaws, but that’s par for the course for the companion chronicles at this point, the format isn’t quite nailed down at this point.
I’m glad they’ll drop the whole 15 minute episode thing, I find it breaks up the flow of the episode. But this Story takes advantage of it and uses it for cliffhangers at least.
Caroline John slips back into the role of Liz Shaw wonderfully and there’s some of the best body horror for the cybermen in quite some time.
9/10
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Post by Star Platinum on Feb 22, 2018 20:51:07 GMT
The beautiful people
I don’t know how he does it, but Johnny Morris gets season 17. It’s one of my favourite seasons and he gets it right every time.
There’s some great jokes and Lalla puts in a great turn.
7/10
The chapter titles can go though.
An interesting first season for the companion chronicles, it feels as though they weren’t sure what they wanted to be, but that’ll settle down soon enough.
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Post by Star Platinum on Oct 8, 2019 0:38:16 GMT
Seems to have been quite some time since I've posted here. I hugely underestimated the behemoth of a task I undertook.
That being said, what the hell, no idea how long I'll last this time but what have I got to lose by startnig up again!
Blood of the Daleks, pt 1
It's amazing just how well Lucie jumps off the page.
She comes in fully formed and taking no prisoners. McGann has got his energy back after the less that stellar divergent universe, and you can tell the passion is here again.
I missed the Frankenstein allusions in my previous listens to this half of the story, but they work quite well in the context.
Looking forward to part 2!
8/10
Circular time: Spring
The first 4 part anthology knocks it out of the park! Four top notch stories on two discs, how could anyone resist.
By far the most visual of the four stories, the amount of world building the writer does is staggering given his limited time.
It seems that after playing Breath of the Wild, I can't help but picture this particular race as the Rito. Though I imagine Zero as a man in a very cheap bird costume.
All in all a promising start to a fantastic anthology.
8/10
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Post by Star Platinum on Oct 8, 2019 1:10:10 GMT
Circular Time: Summer
I could listen to this one on repeat all day.
David Warner is one of the single finest actors with Big Finish and every single story he stars in is an absolute delight.
I could listen to a full box set of him ranting as Isaac Newton.
Also, funny how Nyssa doesn't remember Houdini despite meeting him some time ago, in the future.
10/10
Circular Time: Autumn
My least favourite story in this set.
it's not a bad story by any means at all, it's just one that doesn't gel for me.
The possibility of Nyssa leaving is zero, given terminus, so that plot line falls flat. The cricket arc falls flat simply because it's not a sport that gets much if any coverage in canada.
The more subdued pace is nice after the mile a minute antics of Warner in the last story, but I find it's a little sedate for me.
7/10
Circular Time: Winter
Another excellent story, topping off an fantastic first anthology.
The story starts off rather hazy and slightly unfocused, but once the allusions start to make sense, the story becomes crystal clear. A nice touch for a story about dreams.
I'd say that this story in particular Davison gives his best performance. I find whenever he isn't the doctor, he really seems to take it to the next level.
The plot thread that leads into Cobwebs and Prisoners of Fate doesn't quite work for me. The Doctor isn't in his right mind for majority of this story, so him pulling off the lie he said he would doesn't quite sit perfectly with me.
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Post by Star Platinum on Oct 8, 2019 17:53:02 GMT
Blood of the Daley’s, pt 2
I think this one is the slightly weaker half of the pair of stories, but that won’t stop me!
The focus pulls more on Martez which gives Haley Atwell plenty of good material to work with. It’s no wonder her career has taken off so nicely.
McGann and smith shine together, but they haven’t yet had a chance to form their fantastic bond, given they’re separated for most of the story.
I think my only misgiving with this story is that it retreads both Genesis of the Daleks and the Dalek civil war.
The question I find myself asking is do we really need another Dalek Civil war? Whether we do or not, Steve Lyons serves up a story which is a great companion introduction and a high action story with something for everyone.
8/10
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Post by Star Platinum on Oct 9, 2019 6:58:51 GMT
Nocturne
I’m not sure what to say.
This story failed to hold my attention.
What I recall is average. Some novel ideas (planet making its own sound.) A few bits of great chemistry and dialogue( the manipulation scene in part one and the doctors apology.
I couldn’t tell you anything else though.
Utterly average, completely unengaging.
5/10
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Post by Star Platinum on Oct 9, 2019 7:42:10 GMT
Horror of Glam Rock.
I’ve never been a fan of this story. I always felt that while the base under siege is a strong format, this particular set of villains was rather on the weak side.
That aside, upon listening I’ve realized that it’s true strength is it’s characters. Everyone is fleshed our and well performed. The doctor and Lucie themselves are particularly well performed.
The start of the aunts pat arc is the most noteworthy thing to come from the story this time.
All in all it’s a standard base under siege, elevated by some excellent performances. Given the musical nature of the story. It’d be an excellent candidate for the vinyl treatment. Unfortunately I have the feeling that a single word will prevent that.
8 /10.
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Post by Star Platinum on Oct 9, 2019 21:40:58 GMT
Renaissance of the daleks.
I can’t sit and listen to this in good conscience.
An affront to the usual excellent standards of the main range.
They should have just abandoned this script when bimead walked away.
1/10
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Oct 9, 2019 21:44:26 GMT
Horror of Glam Rock. I’ve never been a fan of this story. I always felt that while the base under siege is a strong format, this particular set of villains was rather on the weak side. That aside, upon listening I’ve realized that it’s true strength is it’s characters. Everyone is fleshed our and well performed. The doctor and Lucie themselves are particularly well performed. The start of the aunts pat arc is the most noteworthy thing to come from the story this time. All in all it’s a standard base under siege, elevated by some excellent performances. Given the musical nature of the story. It’d be an excellent candidate for the vinyl treatment. Unfortunately I have the feeling that a single word will prevent that. 8 /10. There is an early 5th Doctor story with a "word" as well to describe a certain ethnicity. My ears perked up when I heard it, it's set in that particular time frame when that vernacular was common. I cringed.
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Post by Star Platinum on Oct 10, 2019 18:04:54 GMT
Horror of Glam Rock. I’ve never been a fan of this story. I always felt that while the base under siege is a strong format, this particular set of villains was rather on the weak side. That aside, upon listening I’ve realized that it’s true strength is it’s characters. Everyone is fleshed our and well performed. The doctor and Lucie themselves are particularly well performed. The start of the aunts pat arc is the most noteworthy thing to come from the story this time. All in all it’s a standard base under siege, elevated by some excellent performances. Given the musical nature of the story. It’d be an excellent candidate for the vinyl treatment. Unfortunately I have the feeling that a single word will prevent that. 8 /10. There is an early 5th Doctor story with a "word" as well to describe a certain ethnicity. My ears perked up when I heard it, it's set in that particular time frame when that vernacular was common. I cringed. It’s unfortunate that, despite big finish being such a progressive company, that these things can still happen.
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Post by Star Platinum on Oct 10, 2019 18:09:32 GMT
Immortal Beloved.
One of my favourites of this season of EDAs despite not being the strongest story released.
It’s a small scale story, with good performances from just about everyone.
The weakest aspect of the story is that’s the Doctors arrival wouldn’t have really changed anything. They’d have gotten one last use out of the RSK machine, then otherwise they story would have played out relatively close to what actually happened.
A fairly average story, lifted by some great performances.
7/10
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Oct 10, 2019 20:10:00 GMT
There is an early 5th Doctor story with a "word" as well to describe a certain ethnicity. My ears perked up when I heard it, it's set in that particular time frame when that vernacular was common. I cringed. It’s unfortunate that, despite big finish being such a progressive company, that these things can still happen. I know this has been debated a lot on here. The only thing I guess you can say (not in "defence" or "justification" or "condoning" etc) the language at the time the story is set is authentic to the surroundings. And that's all that needs to be said about that LOL
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Post by Star Platinum on Oct 10, 2019 20:32:35 GMT
It’s unfortunate that, despite big finish being such a progressive company, that these things can still happen. I know this has been debated a lot on here. The only thing I guess you can say (not in "defence" or "justification" or "condoning" etc) the language at the time the story is set is authentic to the surroundings. And that's all that needs to be said about that LOL
It's a fine line that arguments like this walk. Do we airbrush history to make it more palatable, or do we go for accuracy, and show history warts and all? I personally prefer accuracy, despite that possibly making for uncomfortable viewing (I'm looking at you, Rosa). As for the usage of such language, I'd rather it'd be avoided, I find it hard to justify. Or at least put a viewer/listener advisory on the front.
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