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Post by Star Platinum on Nov 29, 2017 4:06:30 GMT
The Dark Flame.
If I had to describe this story, I’d say; Ow, the edge.
I’m not a fan of this story. Not by a long shot.
The regulars are well acted, but they’re split up far too soon for my liking. Given that this’ll be the last we see of this Tardis team and how well they play off each other that’s a shame.
My issue is the villains of the story and some of the material. Slyde seems to be evil for the sake of being evil. He’a Almost one dimensional. Not to mention the sheer imagery in this story. Remnax being stabbed in the head, violent deaths and all around violence, this isn’t a happy story.
If this is where doctor who is destined to go, I’m done.
4/10
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Post by Star Platinum on Nov 30, 2017 1:07:24 GMT
Dalek Empire 2;: Dalek war part 4
That was great.
It took a little bit to get started, but having the whole thing done as a flashback gave it a definite sense of finality.
Definitely a bloodbath for the main cast.
I think the mentor gave up a little bit too easily, maybe she’ll be back for Dalek Empire 3?
I think this is the first release with behind the scenes material. It was an interesting listen. Hearing how the sound design was done and the out takes were great.
9/10.
On to doctor who and the pirates, I hate that story. Been dreading it more than nekromanteia.
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Post by Star Platinum on Nov 30, 2017 3:16:51 GMT
Doctor who and the pirates, or the lass that lost a sailor.
This is, to put it bluntly, terrible.
We have Evelyn who can’t tell a story to save her life. The doctor, the only sane person in the room singing his heart out. Helen Goldwyn who spends most of the story trying to show them the door. Not to mention Simon Pegg practically redefining the term camp. Oddie grinds as jasper and lastly Jen is childish and frankly annoying.
I think my issue with this story is for a story that has such serious subject matter, it’s not treated serious. A few times Rayner tries to wrong foot the listener, but it just comes off as a waste of time.
Now the singing. Again this clashes with the subject matter. I seriously don’t like musicals. But in this case, having the cast repeatedly break out in time undermines the situation.
For someone that wrote her brilliant debut, Rayner has dropped the ball massively. Both in this and 100bc.
I preferred nekromanteia.
3/10
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Post by Star Platinum on Nov 30, 2017 7:05:50 GMT
Auld Mortality
A great start to a new spinoff!
How appropriate that in the lead up to the divergent universe arc, we have a mini series where divergence from continuity is at the very heart of it.
We start with a Doctor that never left Gallifrey, who elected to hide his life away being suitably subdued by Badger sand Quences. (Not having braxiatel is a missed opportunity in my opinion.)
It’s nice to see a grown up Susan. Shes matured wonderfully and it’s nice to know that at least one reality she had a family that grew and prospered. It’s a shame that the ankle is still giving her trouble.
Geoffrey Balydon is excellent at being the Doctor, there are moments in which he practically channels hartnell, and yet he still takes the role and stamps his mark on it.
My only issue is that coming up on the end of the story, I really struggle to follow what’s going on.
All in all a great start to a fantastic range.
8/10
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Post by Star Platinum on Nov 30, 2017 19:07:12 GMT
Creatures of Beauty
That was very confusing.
Chronological order aside, from what I could wrap my head around it was a pretty good story. Briggs took risks for this one and I think they payed off for the most part.
Nyssa and the doctor are well acted, and the world seems to be a very complicated one. Even the doctor leaves wondering what kind of impact he’s had.
Good, but I’d like to hear it in the proper order.
7/10
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Post by Star Platinum on Nov 30, 2017 21:17:47 GMT
Sympathy for the Devil
Another win for the unbound team!
The Doctor arrives 20 years too late and it seems things have gone poorly without him.
The plot is pretty straight forward, but it allows us to explore the unit era as if the doctor had never arrived.
Warner is fantastic as the Doctor, although he’s not quite the Doctor we meet up with in the much later box sets. He’s always sided with the underdog, but it seems a few of them have gone on to become rather infamous.
The Brigadier has become a shadow of his former self. A man drinking his problems away, forced to face his past once again as the doctor reenters his life.
David Tennant is the standout in this story. His character is a proper bastard, but I can’t help but smile whenever he tears a strip off someone. He plays well with the rest of the cast and helps bring out the best of them. The closest we’ll ever get to a brig/10 story, I lament that we’ll never get one.
Gatiss plays the Master well and brings a silky threat to the character, a natural progression of what Delgado brought to the role. Look forward to hearing from him again.
Another strong tale from this range. 8/10
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Post by mark687 on Nov 30, 2017 21:41:38 GMT
Creatures of Beauty That was very confusing. Chronological order aside, from what I could wrap my head around it was a pretty good story. Briggs took risks for this one and I think they payed off for the most part. Nyssa and the doctor are well acted, and the world seems to be a very complicated one. Even the doctor leaves wondering what kind of impact he’s had. Good, but I’d like to hear it in the proper order. 7/10 Even the doctor leaves wondering what kind of impact he’s had.
But the audience do in the end its kind of all his fault
Regards
mark687
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Post by mark687 on Nov 30, 2017 21:48:03 GMT
Doctor who and the pirates, or the lass that lost a sailor. This is, to put it bluntly, terrible. We have Evelyn who can’t tell a story to save her life. The doctor, the only sane person in the room singing his heart out. Helen Goldwyn who spends most of the story trying to show them the door. Not to mention Simon Pegg practically redefining the term camp. Oddie grinds as jasper and lastly Jen is childish and frankly annoying. I think my issue with this story is for a story that has such serious subject matter, it’s not treated serious. A few times Rayner tries to wrong foot the listener, but it just comes off as a waste of time. Now the singing. Again this clashes with the subject matter. I seriously don’t like musicals. But in this case, having the cast repeatedly break out in time undermines the situation. For someone that wrote her brilliant debut, Rayner has dropped the ball massively. Both in this and 100bc. I preferred nekromanteia. 3/10 Really?!
I think the change in pace is shockingly brilliant I agree regarding Oddie but otherwise I feel it represents BF at their inventive best.
Regards
mark687
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Post by Star Platinum on Nov 30, 2017 22:48:09 GMT
Creatures of Beauty That was very confusing. Chronological order aside, from what I could wrap my head around it was a pretty good story. Briggs took risks for this one and I think they payed off for the most part. Nyssa and the doctor are well acted, and the world seems to be a very complicated one. Even the doctor leaves wondering what kind of impact he’s had. Good, but I’d like to hear it in the proper order. 7/10 Even the doctor leaves wondering what kind of impact he’s had.
But the audience do in the end its kind of all his fault
Regards
mark687
You know, I used to believe that the 5th doctor was the least competent of all of them. On the whole, I found that his passive nature let things spiral too far out of control before he could get the situation in hand. He lost Africa, burned London, unwillingly helped create the cybermen, not to mention what he did to Nyssa in prisoners of fate. Even in his ffinal story, he doesn’t really change anything. He barely escapes with his life. Now, that opinion has softened over the years, but generally I’ve doubted his ability to get things done. If he were to show up, and offer me a chance to join him, knowing what I do. I’d tell him not a chance in hell. That being said I still do enjoy him and his stories.
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Post by mark687 on Nov 30, 2017 22:57:35 GMT
Even the doctor leaves wondering what kind of impact he’s had.
But the audience do in the end its kind of all his fault
Regards
mark687
You know, I used to believe that the 5th doctor was the least competent of all of them. On the whole, I found that his passive nature let things spiral too far out of control before he could get the situation in hand. He lost Africa, burned London, unwillingly helped create the cybermen, not to mention what he did to Nyssa in prisoners of fate. Even in his ffinal story, he doesn’t really change anything. He barely escapes with his life. Now, that opinion has softened over the years, but generally I’ve doubted his ability to get things done. If he were to show up, and offer me a chance to join him, knowing what I do. I’d tell him not a chance in hell. That being said I still do enjoy him and his stories. And don't forget Mars's Atmosphere (or lack of)
Regards
mark687
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Post by Star Platinum on Nov 30, 2017 23:22:12 GMT
Project: Lazarus
A story in two parts.
The first part is one hell of a doozy. Cassie’s certainly had a rough go of it these past few years.
Nimrod is just as vile as ever, gunning down Cassie in cold blood.
This has really shaken Evelyn. The she’s loosing confidence in the doctor and learns the hard way that he can’t save everyone.
Now for me, the real meat of the story comes in the second half. The seventh doctor faces a blast from the past, oddly enough, it’s a past he can’t remember.
Him locking horns with Colin is a sight to see, I mean hear. It’s a great chance for Colin, he gets to play his doctor slightly more darkly in this second half and gets some real great material near the end when he learns the truth of his existence.
There’s big repercussions coming from this story for sixie and Evelyn. Looking forward to them.
A great and unique way to listen to a main range story.
8/10.
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Post by Star Platinum on Dec 1, 2017 0:32:45 GMT
Full Fathom Five.
Another brilliant unbound.
I won’t go into what the divergence is, but it’s one that I hope never comes to pass in the series.
Collings is an excellent, if cold Doctor. He’s almost a response to the antihero movement that became popular in the 90’s.
Another outstanding story, and one of the finest endings to a Doctor Who I’ve ever heard.
9/10
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Post by glutamodo on Dec 1, 2017 2:58:59 GMT
To me I find it maybe a little ironic that you're so liking the Unbounds, but disliked the one where the Main Range went kind of bonkers, with The Pirates. (I don't care much for many musicals either, but I didn't dislike that particular episode, myself)
Still, nice to see you continue rapidly digesting these and throwing out your reactions.
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Post by Star Platinum on Dec 1, 2017 5:57:54 GMT
MFlip-flop
A story capable of being listened to in any order. A fair story, with some unfortunate similarities to real life.
For the record I listened to the white disc first.
It’s a good enough story, but the idea that Morris shot for limits just how deep he can go with the story.
The world in the white disc has some unfortunate parallels with the world as it is right now, but I won’t go any further than that. I don’t care to get political here.
My biggest issue with the story, is that getting the story ready to loop back on itself, there is a lot of repetition. If you listen to the first disc, you basically know where the second disc is going to go.
Flawed, but good proof of concept. It does exactly what it sets out to do.
7/10.
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Post by Star Platinum on Dec 1, 2017 6:04:32 GMT
To me I find it maybe a little ironic that you're so liking the Unbounds, but disliked the one where the Main Range went kind of bonkers, with The Pirates. (I don't care much for many musicals either, but I didn't dislike that particular episode, myself)
Still, nice to see you continue rapidly digesting these and throwing out your reactions. I’ve always been of the opinion, that if there’s a really good story to be told, damn the continuity. My issue is with pirates is that there’s Alan unrepentant silliness to it. Shearman is similar, but he knows when to draw the line. In his stories the doctor and companion are bastions of sanity. Where as in pirates they both leap head first into the silliness.
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Post by Star Platinum on Dec 1, 2017 6:31:35 GMT
Flip-flop
A story capable of being listened to in any order. A fair story, with some unfortunate similarities to real life.
For the record I listened to the white disc first.
It’s a good enough story, but the idea that Morris shot for limits just how deep he can go with the story.
The world in the white disc has some unfortunate parallels with the world as it is right now, but I won’t go any further than that. I don’t care to get political here.
My biggest issue with the story, is that getting the story ready to loop back on itself, there is a lot of repetition. If you listen to the first disc, you basically know where the second disc is going to go.
Flawed, but good proof of concept. It does exactly what it sets out to do.
7/10.
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Post by Star Platinum on Dec 2, 2017 18:25:31 GMT
He jests at scars
For a story set in a range free from continuity, this one is trapped by it.
Gary Russell weaves a tale so full of continuity references that it’s hard to fit anything else in.
Suddenly Mel has become a bad ass gun toting hero out to get the valeyard (yeah, that didn’t really work for me.) Worse yet, after his victory, the Valeyard has become a bumbling idiot, incapable of getting anything right!
Granted, there are a few good scenes here and there (shout out to the example he makes of Ellie!) and Jayston puts in a good performance. But this can’t stop the train wreck that is this story.
4/10
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Post by Star Platinum on Dec 3, 2017 3:48:48 GMT
Omega
I’m really split about this one.
On one hand, you have a good story which is a well acted, a dream cliffhanger in part 3 and an amazing plot twist.
On the other it comes off as a bit lifeless in parts. The comedy clashes with the tone and it doesn’t make the impact that its successors do.
Peter Davison is phenomenal. One of his best performances yet. He really sells the conflict he goes through at the end of part 3/ start of part 4.
It’s a good story, but it fails to standout.
7/10
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Post by Star Platinum on Dec 3, 2017 19:27:31 GMT
Deadline
Doctor Who you utter bastard!
A brilliant story from the mad mind of Robert Shearman.
Derek Jacobi gives a phenomenal performance acting the life of a sad old man, pondering what could have been.
There’s a lot of research that’s gone into this story, I spotted a couple parts based off anecdotes from the early days. And a few of the scenes seem to be inspired from the Daleks and the masters of Luxor respectively.
There’s a few twisted moments (setting small rodents alight, telling Susan to bog off.) as well as a moment right at the end which makes me wonder how much of it happened the way we saw it.
This story comes together and tells a very human drama in a way that no other doctor who ever could.
The best unbound, without a doubt.
10/10
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Post by Star Platinum on Dec 6, 2017 17:56:29 GMT
Davros
Utterly gripping.
This is about as perfect as it gets.
A gripping plot, amazing actors, great direction and a character driven story.
These elements come together to bring us Davros.
Arnold Baynes has brought Davros into his company in order to give him an edge against his competitors. He’s getting more than he bargained for.
Colin Baker is magnificent. Here in full season 22 glory. He’s loud, unapologetic and trying to stop Davros before he starts killing.
Terry Malloy matches Baker blow for blow in this story. In this character examination of Davros, he not only battles the Doctor, but he gives up a glimpse into the world that created him.
Bernard Horsfall, not to be outdone by the two leads rises to the occasion admirably. A man with a considerable amount of power, he’s not above bending the laws to get his way. He’s smart, ambitious and arrogant. All qualities that lead to his downfall.
Rounding out the major players is Wendy Padbury as Lorraine Baynes. She’s quite studied in Davros’ history. She primarily serves as a vehicle to show up his backstory. But she’s a great character in her own right. A role that could have been poorly done in the hands of a lesser actor. She finely tows the line between naive and vile.
One of the single best releases in Big Finish’s catalogue.
10/10
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