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Post by Star Platinum on Jan 21, 2020 3:21:59 GMT
Cyberman 2: Terror
Man, Richter really has gone off the deep end, hasn’t he?
So it sounds like the main arc is stopping the androids from genociding the humans along with the Cybermen. I’d like to see how Barbary will help to prevent that, given how richter has got an iron clad grip on him.
All in all there really isn’t much to this disc. Mostly focused on getting out from Richters thumb, we have a little bit of advancement with Paul Hunt and the rebels but that’s about it all things considered.
It’d be nice if the pace picked up, that’s really my only complaint here.
7/10
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Post by Star Platinum on Jan 21, 2020 5:40:28 GMT
Cyberman 2: Machines
I’m struggling with this series. It’s not grabbing me the way it should. Honestly it’s killed the pace I had in this listen through. Oh well, only one more episode to go.
Of the things mentioned I think that the rebels arc is the most interesting one. I want to see how Sam reigns in their trigger happy plot.
The plot is starting to move forward, but as I’m not overly invested in it, I can’t say I give a toss of what happens in the end.
I’m disappointed at Sam’s reveal to Hazel. Humans and androids have been enemies for a long time, but Hazel seems to get over it fairly quickly.
It’s not a bad story, but this set isn’t my cup tea.
7/10
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Post by Star Platinum on Jan 25, 2020 21:08:00 GMT
Cyberman 2: Extinction
Well, I’m enjoying this one more than the previous episode at least.
Well, I got the showdown between Sam and Hazel that I wanted. Now I thought Paul was partially converted in the first series? He’s awfully emotional.
I don’t overly care for Hunt’s arc in this boxset. I liked him better as the Cyberman’s tool in the shadows from the first set, here he just feels ineffective. He could have just started a conscription and converted the planet by force.
The first half is a little on the chaotic side, but I enjoyed it. The second half didn’t quite stick the landing. I don’t think that talking the cyber controller into surrendering is a really exciting end. I think this hurts the set even more to be honest.
Honestly this set hasn’t done much for me, I’m just glad it’s over at this point.
6/10
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Post by Star Platinum on Jan 25, 2020 21:17:31 GMT
Plague of the Daleks
It's really a shame about this release, a really strong trilogy ends in a fizzle.
I'd been putting off this story for a while, I just had no desire to listen to it.
I think it's biggest problem is that it's Who by the numbers. It doesn't really try and do anything new with the Daleks, or Stockbridge or even the zombies.
The entire story is just unambitious and it really shows in the performance of it's two leads.
5/10
Thank goodness it's over.
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Post by Star Platinum on Jan 26, 2020 2:05:50 GMT
Return of the Krotons
Over the last week or so, it's taken me several tries to get into this story.
It's definitely a slow burn, but it burns so slowly that it takes forever to get moving.
That's not to say that it's all bad, Colin and India are wonderful as ever. But special mention has to be made of Philip Madoc, It's no War Lord or Solon, but he's still excellent in any role.
As for the story itself, I admit I was fairly lost. It's been a few years since I've seen the Krotons so a lot of the continuity between that story and this one is lost on me. The nods to Ark in space are nice, it helps to tie the universe together in a sense. There's a few good moments sprinkled throughout the story, but I think that this is a good examples of why no one else has brought back the Krotons.
Overall, i'd say that this was the weakest of the return trilogy, but worth a listen if you're a fan of 6 and Charley.
6/10
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Post by Star Platinum on Jan 26, 2020 4:19:11 GMT
Mission to Magnus
I can’t say I’ve been looking forward to this one.
Starting at the beginning is the Doctors reaction to Anzor. After everything he’s faced, Daleks, Cybermen, and even the endless bureaucratic minions back in the 70’s that a childhood bully should not even be a bother, let alone deserve this kind of reaction is laughable.
The gender politics are pretty bad, Anzor is absolutely abhorrent. Thank goodness Martin has enough sense to kill him in Antidote to Oblivion.
The last few minutes are particularly poor, the last thing this story needed was to go over the finer points of marriage and sex.
There’s one or two good moments throughout, Colin and Nicola are good as usual. Nabil Shaban stands out as Sil. The three cha rafters have a wonderful chemistry together. I don’t remember Varos that well, but this script lets the three characters play off each other quite well, something that mindwarp wouldn’t do. I think Sil is a great character, but I’d wouldn’t mind seeing what other writers could do with him.
This could not end soon enough. I hate coming to this story, better off in the bin where it was.
5/10
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Post by Star Platinum on Jan 26, 2020 5:48:01 GMT
Death in Blackpool
The end of an era.
This is not a happy story. Alan Barnes makes that exceptionally clear in the cold open for this story.
It’s really sad, Lucie has faced Daleks and Cybermen, Fendaleen and Wirrn, but it’s the Doctor and Auntie Pat which drive her away.
The opening is warm enough, it gives us a taste of what could have been, if not for the Zynog.
Speaking of the Zynog, it’s a nice bit of development that it allows for the zygons. I don’t think the idea of a Zygon copying a Zygon has been approached before.
I love how unapologetically unhappy this story is. In an age over overly cheering and completely predictable hallmark Christmas movies this is a breath of fresh air. It’s unhappy, but the strong emotions bring out the best in the actors in this story. In her last scene Sheridan Smith gives one of her best performances of this entire range.
This is a fantastic finale for this Tardis team. If I had been listen back when this released, and you told me that To The Death would blow this out of the water I wouldn’t have believed you.
10/10
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Post by mark687 on Jan 26, 2020 12:18:52 GMT
Mission to Magnus I can’t say I’ve been looking forward to this one. Starting at the beginning is the Doctors reaction to Anzor. After everything he’s faced, Daleks, Cybermen, and even the endless bureaucratic minions back in the 70’s that a childhood bully should not even be a bother, let alone deserve this kind of reaction is laughable. The gender politics are pretty bad, Anzor is absolutely abhorrent. Thank goodness Martin has enough sense to kill him in Antidote to Oblivion. The last few minutes are particularly poor, the last thing this story needed was to go over the finer points of marriage and sex.
There’s one or two good moments throughout, Colin and Nicola are good as usual. Nabil Shaban stands out as Sil. The three cha rafters have a wonderful chemistry together. I don’t remember Varos that well, but this script lets the three characters play off each other quite well, something that mindwarp wouldn’t do. I think Sil is a great character, but I’d wouldn’t mind seeing what other writers could do with him. This could not end soon enough. I hate coming to this story, better off in the bin where it was. 5/10 Its a rare one this, muddles along then nose dives. Regards mark687
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Post by Star Platinum on Jan 26, 2020 21:07:46 GMT
Mission to Magnus I can’t say I’ve been looking forward to this one. Starting at the beginning is the Doctors reaction to Anzor. After everything he’s faced, Daleks, Cybermen, and even the endless bureaucratic minions back in the 70’s that a childhood bully should not even be a bother, let alone deserve this kind of reaction is laughable. The gender politics are pretty bad, Anzor is absolutely abhorrent. Thank goodness Martin has enough sense to kill him in Antidote to Oblivion. The last few minutes are particularly poor, the last thing this story needed was to go over the finer points of marriage and sex.
There’s one or two good moments throughout, Colin and Nicola are good as usual. Nabil Shaban stands out as Sil. The three cha rafters have a wonderful chemistry together. I don’t remember Varos that well, but this script lets the three characters play off each other quite well, something that mindwarp wouldn’t do. I think Sil is a great character, but I’d wouldn’t mind seeing what other writers could do with him. This could not end soon enough. I hate coming to this story, better off in the bin where it was. 5/10 Its a rare one this, muddles along then nose dives. Regards mark687 Agreed, Martin should have quit when he was ahead!
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Post by Star Platinum on Jan 26, 2020 21:07:56 GMT
A Thousand Tiny Wings
I love this story, I really do. There’s a lot to unpack in it.
Truth be told this was one of my first. I grabbed it in a sale maybe 9/10 years ago? Back when they advertised sale in Vortex to show how long ago it was.
To start, they ladies are all extreme well written. Unlike common nazi/racist depiction these are all three dimensional characters. Sylvia O’Donnell in particular is exceptionally well realized. She’s a fantastic mix of British imperialism, fascism and a truly afraid woman. Ann Bell absolutely shines. Tracey Childs is no slouch either. If you had told me that just under a decade had passed between Colditz, I’d never have believed you. Child’s slips back onto the role effortlessly.
Now Klein is one of the best characters in all of Doctor Who, this version in particular. I believe this is the first story where the doctor would recruit an actively hostile. Companion. It’s a fantastic idea that would be returned to with Mathew and The Eleven, amongst others. She’s a companion that you never truly trust. It’s such a good idea that I’m surprised the TV show hadn’t nicked it.
This story is a fine example of a base under siege. It. Builds its tension well, and you can feel the fear of the ladies building. Yet the threat knows when to play a back seat to the interplay between the Doctor and Klein. A perfect reintroduction to her character, this story is a master class in every sense.
10/10
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Post by Star Platinum on Jan 28, 2020 1:55:09 GMT
Leviathan
The first outstanding story of the Lost Stories.
I love how this story unfolds, it starts off small and keeps throwing more and more anachronisms at this he listener. Yet everything is perfectly timed and nothing feels rushed at all. You simply can’t pace a story any better than this.
The two Finchs do an excellent job of subverting the expectations that the story sets. When I first listened to this I had no idea this medieval seeming story would turn into one about generational ships sailing through the stars. Well done.
I hadn’t realized that Nicola had such good material in this story. I wish she had more material like this in her time on TV.
The one little annoyance is knowing how the story plays out, that Tardis scene right at the I’ve gotta say, this has me really excited for Sentinels of the New Dawn.
I can understand why this wasn’t made for TV it would have been very hard on their budget at the time. Still the shows loss is Big Finish’s gain. But I do lament that this never made it to TV. This would have been heralded as one of the best stories in Colin’s original run.
Utterly wonderful and amazingly modern. A story to be treasured.
9/10
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Post by Star Platinum on Jan 28, 2020 3:09:43 GMT
Bernice Summerfield and the Criminal code.
A straightforward Benny adventure, with guest appearances from the Doctor are a nice treat.
I wish BF would use this VNA team more often. While I get that Benny is one of the greats, and demoting her to side kick isn’t the best look, it’s a fantastic team for a reason, and I wish Big Finish would take advantage of it.
I enjoy the first half of the story better than the second. While Benny using powers is great, I love the nitty gritty intrigue of the first half on the story.
After years of playing Benny, Lisa Bowerman has playing the character down to a fine art at this point. Over the years, there may have been some poor stories, but I can’t think of a poor performance from Bowerman.
It’s a fun story that uses an under utilized team (at least at Big Finish)
8/10
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Post by Star Platinum on Jan 28, 2020 21:48:42 GMT
The Suffering
That first little bit is rather meta, isn’t it? Though it’s been done once or twice at this point.
So I’m not overly crazy about part one it feels like hand of fear part 1, but with extra steps. The pacing is glacial at times. I expect that to be partly because it was expanded to a 4 parter after it was first written but so far not much has happened in the first part.
There’s a few jokes that work, the Doctor driving and steven’s skeleton adventure are both pretty good.
I’m wondering if Maureen O’Brien and Peter Purves recorded separately. The plots for the two of them don’t tend to overlap to much. It hurts the story in my eyes. After nearly 50 years you re unite the characters, only to keep them separate? Not crazy about that.
Part 4 is a real tonal shift, it ads a really nice weight to the story. It really sells what the women had to do just to get the right to vote.
It’s not a perfect story by any means, I think doubling the length hurt it. But it does a good job of capturing the struggles of suffragettes.
I don’t think it’s overly good that Rayner takes the entire gap between season 2 & 3, it feels more limiting than it should be.
7/10
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Post by Star Platinum on Jan 29, 2020 2:40:59 GMT
Klein's Story
I'd never realized that Klein's introduction to Faber paralleled Liz Shaw's introduction to unit.
The really nice thing about this story is while it acts as a recap to colditz, and yet it doesn't just go well this happened, then that happened ect. it works as a prequel and a reminder for listeners how haven't listened to it in a long time of how colditz played out, but it does it in a way that expands that particular story.
Getting Paul Mcgann is a fantastic treat, I wonder if they advertised that when they released it.
The last few minutes are really good, the outrage, and Klein just seething is fantastic.
Overall, it's a nice recap to bring viewers back to speed on who Klein is, and it sets up a few little things for Architects of History.
8/10
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Post by Star Platinum on Feb 1, 2020 21:33:57 GMT
Survival of the fittest.
An oddball story that’s a nice change of pace.
I’d like to start with the Vrill. It’s not that often that we get creatures that are truly alien, and the Vrill are so well realized that they come off very well in this story. The really nice part is that the difference is made clear right away and used as a strength to the story.
This is a nice story Klein’s arc. She’s started to come around to the Dictors way of thinking. Her reaction to Steffen’s use of master race really caught her off guard. She’s not quite thinking in complete fascist terms. I wonder, if she hadn’t taken the key, where her character could have gone.
I really think the three part format serves this particular story quite well. The plot moves at a brisk pace and doesn’t seem to dawdle at any point like some four parters can.
I’m glad that Clements left room for some more stories with this particular Klein at the start, I’d love another trilogy with facist Klein at some point.
I really like the unique way this story uses the Tardis translation. I can’t think of another story which uses this feature we take for granted.
A story unlike any other, I highly recommend this release.
8/10
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Post by Star Platinum on Feb 2, 2020 1:46:54 GMT
The Hollows of Time
I don’t know how to describe it, but this story feels lifeless. The incidentally music is quite sparse. Gives the story a very quiet feel.
In addition there’s really no hook in this story.
The framing device completely robs any dramatic tension the story has.
Strangely enough, every time I pause and resume this story, the app switches to How to win planets, which is frankly a huge improvement over this. It’s like the app feels my suffering.
Bad stories can be a good thing at times, some of them are so bad they’re good (I’m looking at you, prison in space.) But this is dull, lifeless and an utter bore. Useful only as a cure to insomnia.
This getting canned was a mercy.
3/10
How to win Planets is pretty good though.
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Post by Star Platinum on Feb 2, 2020 23:16:11 GMT
The Architects of History
A excellent end to one of the best trilogies Big Finish has produced.
I like the general reaction to the temporal affairs. That fear is completely understandable. Imagine living in fear of being arrested for something you were supposed to do in the future. The base staff capture this perfectly.
I like how the doctor from the true timeline overwrites this timelines. It’s a nifty little ability that won’t be used again, but I do like it.
I really like the selachians as a monster. On paper, they sound like Sontarans but as Sharks instead of Potatoes. In practice they’re quite different. I love that they have two settings. Comedy and brutal violence. This story is very much the latter. With how they act and their ferocity it’s an excellent case of showing just how far this timelines doctor was pushed by making a pact with them.
If I had to put a single flaw in this story, it would be Rachel. I find that she can come off as a little too melodramatic at times. She comes off someone that likes to moan about things.
I love the last part of this story. It just becomes so bleak after the Doctor gets in the Tardis. Tendexter setting the base to explode, the pilots report on the destruction of earth and the final confrontation between the Doctor and Klein is sheer perfection. It’s worth listening to the entire story for.
Absolutely wonderful.
9/10
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Post by Star Platinum on Feb 3, 2020 0:08:23 GMT
The Doctor’s First XI
The first subscriber special in this journey!
I’m not entirely sure why I have this story to be honest, I picked this trilogy up in a bundle a very long time ago, back when they advertised sales in the Vortex magazine.
I’m surprised that big finish hasn’t done this style before, Star Trek did more than a few of this genre (Samaritan Snare springs to mind)
I do like the ethical dilemma and that’s presented, but the Doctor and Romana don’t feel overly threatened.
Critchlow, a staple of the subscriber specials does a good job of reading the story, he gives each character a distinct voice while keeping them interesting to listen to.
I do feel that not giving this story to the fifth Doctor was a misstep, he’s the biggest cricket buff of the lot. But I think that with the time frame the story plays over really makes it only work for the Doctor and Romana (and I’ll gladly take more stories with the Tamm Romana.)
It’s a fine, if slow story. 7/10
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Post by Star Platinum on Feb 3, 2020 2:34:45 GMT
Paradise 5
I like just how much focus this story is putting on Peri. She’s getting far more than just asking, “what’s that Doctor?”
I’ve gotta day this story is moving just a little too slowly for my liking, we’ve had lots of warnings, but nothings really happened in the first half.
I didn’t see the cherubs as former guest coming, wonder what the motivation of Michael and Gabriel was for that.
It’s not bad, a little on the slow side like Hollows, but not as sleep inducing.
Overall it feels like there wasn’t quite enough material to cover four episodes.
Upon listing to the extras, I realize this would have been a trial story, that explains why peri had such strong material, episode one having originally been planned to introduce a new companion.
It’s not a slight to Nicola, but I wish we could have had Bonnie Langford. Just to make it a little more era accurate.
Entertaining enough, but incapable of making the leap from entertaining to great.
6/10
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Post by Star Platinum on Feb 15, 2020 23:35:56 GMT
The emperor of Eternity
Another misfire I’m afraid to say.
It’s frustrating that when Jamie has figured out the entire plot, he’s still ignored. I know it’s nothing new, but it’s always frustrating to see him treated like this.
I don’t know if it’s the script or Deborah Watling herself, but the story comes off rather lifeless. Chinese culture has been beautifully represented in its black and white glory in Marco Polo, yet this comes off as dull and drab.
I would have liked a few more pure historical for Victoria. Put her in a situation where she wasn’t always screaming her lungs out at various monsters. Now if they’re going to be like this, I’m glad it didn’t happen.
A poor outing.
6/10
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