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Post by mark687 on Jul 15, 2019 22:47:05 GMT
Back in the day when CDs were still considered something of a novelty. I wonder if anyone still has it on cassette? Me as per the OP
Regards
mark687
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Post by project37 on Jul 16, 2019 2:09:13 GMT
I was so excited to stumble across Big Finish in 1999 and remember eagerly downloading preview clips of Sirens of Time from the website. Anyone else remember this?
My jaw hit the ground hearing Doctors 5, 6 and 7 together! So cool! I immediately ordered the CD from the sole official US distributor at the time. When it arrived, I popped it into my stereo, turned out the lights and settled in. I loved the format of giving each Doctor their own episode before bringing them together (the Fifth Doctor's being my favorite), but even then there were moments that surprised me - a bit of profanity, a weirdly unnecessary line about wiping bottoms, Davison's gravelly voice (the only one noticeably changed to my ears), and a story that seemed to take a while to get going (the first episode is unfortunately rough in this sense and it doesn't help that McCoy's performance isn't as strong as it would be in later stories). The highlight for me was really the novelty of episode 4, but otherwise this wasn't exactly the strongest start for the range.
On the positive side, I liked how the Knights of Velyshaa concept was ultimately repurposed for Dalek Empire - the first two series in particular being a particular triumph.
I think tuigirl's comment about Sirens of Time being the audio equivalent of an early b/w episode is spot on. Everyone has to start somewhere. Personally, I can re-listen to excerpts of this for the nostalgia, but I can't make it all the way through. Fortunately the acting, writing, and production has come a lonnnnnnnnnng way since then.
(For me, the first "holy smokes this is just as awesome as television Doctor Who" moment didn't happen until The Fearmonger, which still holds up for me nearly 20 years later.)
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Post by Timelord007 on Jul 16, 2019 5:54:32 GMT
....There wasn't a thread about this ? Wow.. That's because a certain Mr 'O' is currently M.I.A
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Post by Timelord007 on Jul 16, 2019 5:56:21 GMT
Like a lot of those early releases The Sirens of Time can seem quaint when compared to what would come later. The story kind of hangs together and moves along at a pretty good clip. It isn't Nick's best effort, nor is it close to his worst. I do kind of wish that as a 20th anniversary present BF would go back and, if possible, give it a shine and a new edit using today's equipment. Completely agree my friend, this is actually what i thought they would've done for the 20th anniversary.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2019 6:16:30 GMT
I was so excited to stumble across Big Finish in 1999 and remember eagerly downloading preview clips of Sirens of Time from the website. Anyone else remember this? My jaw hit the ground hearing Doctors 5, 6 and 7 together! So cool! I immediately ordered the CD from the sole official US distributor at the time. When it arrived, I popped it into my stereo, turned out the lights and settled in. I loved the format of giving each Doctor their own episode before bringing them together (the Fifth Doctor's being my favorite), but even then there were moments that surprised me - a bit of profanity, a weirdly unnecessary line about wiping bottoms, Davison's gravelly voice (the only one noticeably changed to my ears), and a story that seemed to take a while to get going (the first episode is unfortunately rough in this sense and it doesn't help that McCoy's performance isn't as strong as it would be in later stories). The highlight for me was really the novelty of episode 4, but otherwise this wasn't exactly the strongest start for the range. On the positive side, I liked how the Knights of Velyshaa concept was ultimately repurposed for Dalek Empire - the first two series in particular being a particular triumph.
I think tuigirl's comment about Sirens of Time being the audio equivalent of an early b/w episode is spot on. Everyone has to start somewhere. Personally, I can re-listen to excerpts of this for the nostalgia, but I can't make it all the way through. Fortunately the acting, writing, and production has come a lonnnnnnnnnng way since then. (For me, the first "holy smokes this is just as awesome as television Doctor Who" moment didn't happen until The Fearmonger, which still holds up for me nearly 20 years later.)
Ditto for me too. The first couple of releases feel a lot like the team finding their feet. Not too bold, not too experimental, just a fair and average attempt at recapturing that old formula from the television series. The Fearmonger and The Marian Conspiracy are where I think they first started to nail it. Ironically, when they decided to caution to the wind and to try something that the television series never did (a TV/NA hybrid and a Sixth Doctor pure historical, respectively). Stories that readily grabbed at that beneficial hindsight. I like how there was a deliberate decision to eschew mimickry of The Three/Five Doctors and go for a more original structure. It serves the story well. There are a few nice nods to the Audio Visuals (the Temperon, Calfedoria's Tri-Planetary Alliance and the Conglomerate Drudgers), but coming from Justyce in 1990 to this, there's this awestruck feeling of everything in its box. Trying not to be too self-indulgent or overly "fannish" 1 beyond an invasion of Gallifrey. It's funny listening to it now, looking at the original website, and seeing how humble it all was at the beginning. From little things, big things grow... 1 - It's nice how, just a year later, The Apocalypse Element with a new companion, Romana and a Dalek invasion of Gallifrey, actually feels less "boxy" than Sirens does. They came a long way in a very short amount of time.
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Post by Tim Bradley on Jul 16, 2019 6:46:10 GMT
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Post by Ela on Jul 16, 2019 7:49:19 GMT
Not surprised there wasn't a thread for this (though I haven't done a search "just to make sure" ). A lot of older stories don't have a thread here, but were discussed at length in previous forum incarnations. So to speak. I haven't listened to this one in a long time. I remember being a little confused by it till all the pieces came together. It was a fun story, though not one of the best ever.
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Post by Digi on Jul 16, 2019 13:21:45 GMT
Did my relisten (+ Talking ‘Bout My Regeneration) this morning. It’s very sparse, not a lot of sound design/engineering going on, and what few SFX there are come across like something that we’re found online for free with a Google search (though in 1999 it may have been Yahoo or Metacrawler). But the acting is surprisingly on-note, and the story itself is a lot better than I remember it being. It seems a bit disparate for the first three parts, but that ends up making sense both in- and out-of-universe: in- by showing why each of them came to the party in Part 4, and out- because it gave each of the actors an opportunity to shine individually before being co-stars to each other. Anyway, fun retrospective. I don’t know whether or not it’ll have anything to do with Legacy, but it was nice to take this look back at the beginning, before seeing where we’re at at 20
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Post by Hieronymus on Jul 16, 2019 13:52:00 GMT
This was among the first BF releases that I listened too. It isn't spectacular, but it isn't bad either. It's an early multi-Doctor story, and launched the main range.
I rate it the about same as The Three Doctors, a bit of fun with multiple Doctors, some good guest voices, but with a plot, monsters, and effects that aren't as polished as in later stories.
At least the BF story didn't have Gel Guards.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2019 15:24:36 GMT
Just finished listening to it... on my 23rd birthday. Certainly not among my favourites, but definitely not all that bad as a start to the medium.
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Post by project37 on Jul 16, 2019 20:43:41 GMT
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Post by mark687 on Jul 16, 2019 21:22:02 GMT
So another go round again and again its still component but not the best with the exception Colin Baker, who gives it umpth right from the start.
As others have said though, from small acorns...
Regards
mark687
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Post by Whovitt on Jul 17, 2019 4:47:06 GMT
I hadn't planned on relistening to this, but since I had the time (and because it's about four years since I last heard it) I'd thought I'd throw it on before The Legacy of Time releases tonight. I actually think this stands up really well. I didn't find the sound design or music lacking. It felt like it had exactly what it needed. I agree that Sylvester does sound a little uncertain throughout his solo episode, but I thought he'd found his feet by the time they all met up. If there was a weak episode, again, it was probably Sylvester's, but I think the story holds up quite well as a whole. I'll agree it's perhaps not among the best Big Finish has ever produced, but I'd say it's a solid 4/5. It's a lot of fun to listen to, and what more can you really ask from a multi-Doctor story? I really enjoyed it
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Post by thegreendeath on Jul 17, 2019 6:11:02 GMT
I’ve been doing a BF marathon this year and have to say I liked this a little bit better than before (probably my fourth listen since I first bought it 20 years ago) but I still remember being terribly disappointed with it when it came out.
I have often thought of it as BF finding their legs with audio writing and production but I just listened to Oh No It Isn’t and was blown away with the writing, direction, acting and sound - so I guess it was more them finding their legs with Who it perhaps just a (IMO) poor first step.
I really wish they’d started off with as stellar first Who release as Benny got. Ah well, they did an amazing job accelerating the quality and I just finished “and the Pirates” yesterday and the sheer number of classics and overall hit ratio in the first forty some releases is amazing and would make many eras of the show blush.
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Post by sherlock on Jul 17, 2019 8:39:19 GMT
Honestly I found this a bit of a chore to get through. It’s very obviously early days. The plot is fine and the Doctors are evidently warming it to audio. The Fifth Doctor’s segment is the best through being grounded in history, making the alteration to history actually have some weight.
Everything has to start somewhere.
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Post by xlozdob on Jul 17, 2019 15:16:03 GMT
How do the Knights of Velyshaa look? Has it ever been mentioned in Dalek Empire or something else?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2019 21:15:51 GMT
How do the Knights of Velyshaa look? Has it ever been mentioned in Dalek Empire or something else? I can't recall if they were ever described in an audio... but to my mind's eye they look like Blake from Blakes 7. (Well, the most famous one of them does! )
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Post by Bazoolium on Jul 17, 2019 21:59:32 GMT
I haven't listened to early Main Range releases for a while. On hearing this story again, I'm surprised at how different Colin sounds now. He certainly gives the best performance, but Davison's is great too.
Sylvester stumbles a little, but he outshines them both later in Fearmonger.
Can't say the stories are too exciting. Short trips do so much more with 30ish mins than these stories.
It's a fun little piece of Doctor Who history though.
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Post by Digi on Jul 17, 2019 22:17:44 GMT
Friendly reminder, gang: if The Legacy of Time ties into this story at all (I’m not done it yet, so I don’t know!), please be sure to hide any talk about it in this thread behind spoiler tags!
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Post by Hieronymus on Jul 17, 2019 23:36:39 GMT
...if The Legacy of Time ties into this story at all (I’m not done it yet, so I don’t know!), please be sure to hide any talk about it in this thread behind spoiler tags! I've decided to do a re-listen just in case. {Spoiler}The final moments of episode one suggest that Legacy will tie in to Sirens, but I've not listened to any of the other episodes yet.
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