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Post by fingersmash on Oct 21, 2019 17:46:07 GMT
I know like I've been really negative lately about some of Big Finish's more recent moves so I've decided to spread positivity instead. So here's a glass raised to Evelyn Smythe, Charley Pollard, Erimem, Marc, Flip Ramon née Jackson, Constance Clarke, Hex, Elizabeth Klein, Mary Shelley, Lucie Miller, Tamsin Drew, Molly O'Sullivan, Liv Chenka, Helen Sinclair, Ann Kelso, and to all the others past and future who Big Finish have allowed us to experience as they travel.
We're here to spread positivity. Why do we like them? What about them is so wonderful?
I'll start
Evelyn Smythe is a goddess on this earth. She tamed the savage beast that is the Sixth Doctor and embarks on one of the most heartfelt and beautiful arcs ever conceived for Doctor Who. A kind and caring older woman but also one who demands respect, refuses to be shoved into a corner, and stands for what she believes in, played with perfect accuracy by the unparalleled Maggie Stables.
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Post by constonks on Oct 21, 2019 19:11:30 GMT
Evelyn is probably my favourite for all the reasons listed above but Constance has been a worthy successor. She has a lovely emotional arc for someone so guarded. Hope we hear more from her in 2020!
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Post by tuigirl on Oct 21, 2019 19:33:06 GMT
I absolutely love Charley and Liv.
Charley, because she has a really fun personality and a real sense of wonder, plus she is also brave and quite intelligent. This is evened out by her being quite naive and also quite vulnerable- she comes from a sheltered high class background and sometimes it is hard for her to relate to the realities of life. She also is quite honest and can be very direct and gets some really fun lines. One of my all time favorites is: "Did they have orgies?" -"Charlotte Pollard!" - "I went to an orgy once. I didn't stay." Another thing, I utterly adore Scherzo. That is an amazing tale of how terribly wrong it can go when you fall in love with the Doctor. I never really bought any of the New Series love affair stuff, and I just think that Scherzo shows exactly what would really happen.
And then there is Liv Chenka... Where do I even start? She has to be one of my all-time favorite companions. I love her snarkiness, her sarcasm, her directness ("Let me ask you, are you evil?") and I can just totally relate with her because she is basically a better version of myself. She has seen so much and gone through so much bad stuff, that she is just not taking male cattle dropping from anyone anymore and she is also not too bothered what people think of her. Best example which cracks me up every time must be the meeting of her and Charley. Charley: "My name is Charlotte Pollard. My friends call me Charley." Liv: " I am Liv. My friends call me Liv." This basically sums up her character perfectly. I definitely love her characterization in the latest Ravenous set and was happy she got so many great lines and awesome moments. She is quite different to most of the companions we see in the TV show, which is a great change. She is also very intelligent and resourceful and deep down, sensitive. She is clever in a way that saves the lives of her friends on a lot of occasions. And she also is a person who would never give up. Even more so than the Doctor (and she is not afraid to kick his bottom if he even thinks about it).
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Post by velvetrevolv3r6 on Oct 22, 2019 5:15:24 GMT
Evelyn and Charley are stand outs to me! Although I loved what was done with Ann Kelso this year and I've got a soft spot for Bliss if I'm being honest.
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Post by slithe on Oct 22, 2019 8:25:03 GMT
Definitely think Evelyn was a standout character. The idea foil for the bombastic Sixth Doctor and able to cut him down to size in a humorous way, whilst showing that the character was not an awful crotchety shout incarnation. Wisely, Big Finish went for an older character, with intelligence to pair up against the Sixth Doctor and this played dividends. The adventures with Sixie and Evelyn from the Marian Conspiracy onwards are some of the best stories that BF ever produced and they definitely rehabilitated Sixie, making him, deservedly in my opinion, one of the best Doctors. Kudos also to BF at the time for going for a different approach with a companion - not the stereotypical 'young', distressed damsel.
Also have a soft spot for Hex. Don't think he was a successful as Evelyn, but I do think attempts to link his backstory to Twilight is a good one and shows the effect that the Doctor can have on a range of lives and people through his travels. Hex was a good mirror to showing the more manipulative, if not very dark, Seventh Doctor. His travels in the TARDIS are, by and large, not enjoyable and BF really seem to put the character through the ringer. Perhaps the Seventh Doctor is the one incarnation that you would not want to travel with? I do think Hex's arc went on too long and ended up a bit convoluted. As for Hector - no!
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Post by fingersmash on Oct 22, 2019 12:27:37 GMT
Can we take a moment of appreciation for the newest member of this group?
Marc is freaking fantastic, his chemistry with the rest of the cast is electric, and I hope we'll get to see more of him beyond next month.
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Post by whiskeybrewer on Oct 22, 2019 12:40:06 GMT
Can we take a moment of appreciation for the newest member of this group? Marc is freaking fantastic, his chemistry with the rest of the cast is electric, and I hope we'll get to see more of him beyond next month. Youve jinxed it. He's gonna die now lol
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Post by fingersmash on Oct 22, 2019 12:59:43 GMT
Can we take a moment of appreciation for the newest member of this group? Marc is freaking fantastic, his chemistry with the rest of the cast is electric, and I hope we'll get to see more of him beyond next month. Youve jinxed it. He's gonna die now lol
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Post by dannybl on Oct 22, 2019 16:31:41 GMT
How many companions have Big Finish introduced us to now?
They revitalised the Sixth Doctor with Evelyn, similar with Hex for the Seventh, and the Eighth Doctor has been allowed to breathe with his new friends - Lucie and Liv are my favourites with him
In fact I often prefer my Big Finish Doctor Who with original companions - it allows the series to breathe on their own and escape the shadow of the TV sereis a bit - plus you don't know where their stories are headed
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Post by constonks on Oct 22, 2019 16:38:39 GMT
In fact I often prefer my Big Finish Doctor Who with original companions - it allows the series to breathe on their own and escape the shadow of the TV sereis a bit - plus you don't know where their stories are headed Completely agree! As much as I love the TV companions, releases starring original companions have a "must-listen" quality because I want to know what happens next.
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Post by dannybl on Oct 22, 2019 17:35:32 GMT
In fact I often prefer my Big Finish Doctor Who with original companions - it allows the series to breathe on their own and escape the shadow of the TV sereis a bit - plus you don't know where their stories are headed Completely agree! As much as I love the TV companions, releases starring original companions have a "must-listen" quality because I want to know what happens next. And ti gives something fresh and new - I generally prefer that to 'missing episodes from the X0s' style
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2019 18:09:58 GMT
I cant really say or pick a favourite really original or established form the TV i had a fondness for each and everyone of them. I really can say That i thought Mathew Elliot from LURE OF NOMAD i wanted more of pre LURE as it was a missed opportunity to really enjoy a character and a companion only to have him ........do what he did.
Since Liv and Helen are more recent listens for me and i already love Liv i have a real warm heart for Helen a genuinely nice person and stays nice,stays warm,tries to see the best,tries to keep the peace,will go to any lengths to help solve something(Krampus Story) a pretty self sacrificing individual,not shouty not ballsy not arrogant or vicious ...She is the woman of the moment.Go Girl.
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Post by polly on Oct 22, 2019 20:55:52 GMT
I'm only really familiar with the original crop of them: Evelyn, Erimem, and Charley.
Charley was the perfect match for the dashing and dreamy 8th Doctor. I found her immediately charming.
Erimem had a great relationship with Peri and brought out a fatherly demeanor in Five.
And I'm only just working my way through Evelyn's early days, but I love that she can match Colin tit-for-tat and is unlike any other companion to date.
I think it was a great move to introduce original characters like this. The possibilities are not bounded by TV canon, and they can give their doctors something they never had.
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Post by barnabaslives on Oct 22, 2019 22:03:20 GMT
I think very highly of Charley and Lucie because I guess they have an unspoiled quality that they don't take it for granted travelling in the TARDIS. With Charley I think a sense of adventure goes with being an "Edwardian adventuress" and is written in accordingly, and Lucie seems to take things in stride without taking anything for granted. I'm sure I complained elsewhere about Clara starting to seem jaded from travelling in the TARDIS and starting to seem like she took it for granted, and Charley and Lucie seem just the opposite.
Flip seems to share some of the qualities I like about Lucie which I really enjoy, but it's interesting that I think so highly of Constance as well, even when there's a lot of contrast between her character and Flip's and I think the pairing of the two has been really good for highlighting that. Hex made a wonderful addition to Seventh Doctor stories and provided some very wonderful chemistry and conversations with Ace. I sometimes wish for more male companions that turn out that well, I'd love to see Big Finish rise to the challenge of a memorable male Sixth Doctor or Eight Doctor companion.
I seem to think quite a bit less of companions that seemed to have their days numbered from the beginning, especially some from the more recent Monthly Range stories. I really thought Daniel Hopkins was going to end up a favorite - he was at first, but things ended up a disappointment and kind of a strange and unflattering way to celebrate a UNIT anniversary. I really liked C'rizz and still enjoy those stories very much but that arc finally ended in a big disappointment for me too.
I'd probably much rather have the classic companions than new ones that implode, but Big Finish has truly given us some outstanding new ones when they're treated respectfully. It goes without saying that Evelyn goes on that list and probably Erimem, and I think Mary Shelley and Oliver Harper should go on that list too. I think things went very well with both of them even for being such short lived runs. I'm probably still a little miffed about how things ended up for Lucie and Charley but at least there can still be more stories for them.
I do sometimes wish for a run of stories with Benny as companion, or maybe someone from Torchwood - Jack, or Gwen and Rhys who I think would make brilliant Eight Doctor companions although I don't know if the BBC would allow it - because I could hopefully trust that those aren't going to end badly and the dynamics could be wonderful.
You know what's great though is that we can have such outstanding Big Finish companions without the classic companions seeming any worse for it, and in fact often better for it. If we hadn't had Evelyn I think I might have Peri fatigue and would still be wishing for someone like Evelyn. I always thought Professor Rumford from Stones of Blood would have made a brilliant companion if only for a brief run, but I think Evelyn Smythe turned out far better.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2019 22:56:09 GMT
Flip!!!
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Post by fingersmash on Oct 23, 2019 2:07:12 GMT
Can I just say I'm loving this universal love for Evelyn? It's what she deserves.
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Post by elkawho on Oct 23, 2019 3:04:17 GMT
I love so many, but my top 3 BF original companions are Evelyn, Lucie and Hex I find it interesting that my top 3 are so very different from each other. Personally, I think Evelyn is the ultimate BF companion. The first original companion that they created. She breaks the mold of what a companion could be and does it seamlessly and amazingly well. You can tell that so much thought went into that character. And she does what the best BF original companions do, she changes her Doctor in ways that we never get to see on TV. They gave her character probably the best arc any companion has had, and she deserved it. Hex is another character very "out of the box" in terms of companions, and one of the few that we mostly see go through the ringer but manages to continue to shine through the darkness. I agree that the Hector storyline is far from the best of his run, but that doesn't take away how good most of his run is. I believe his affect on Seven is long-lasting, as it should be.
And now Lucie. How could anyone follow Charley? Well, they found the right girl. I've spoke before about how much I love Lucie. She may be my all-time favorite Doctor Who companion. At the beginning of her run it seems that we just have another middle class, young English girl, but she becomes so much more. It was the first time that BF tried the RTD approach, giving companions strong family connections that end up having a part in the arc of the series, and it worked. She is full of life, and you never have to wonder what she is thinking. She becomes someone that the Doctor relies on, but can also have oh, so much fun with! I adore the character and her death continues to be one of the all-time character deaths that have affected me. Right up there with Spock, Dumbledor and Wash.
Runner up: Charley. I fell in love with The Eighth Doctor and BF while listening to that team and I still adore her.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2019 9:44:28 GMT
For me Evelyn Smythe was the best original BF companion and it's great to see her getting some love and respect here. The stories with Evelyn and the Sixth Doctor are still some of the best Doctor Who stories that Big Finish have ever produced. Charley Pollard was also a great companion. I'm not too fond of her solo adventures - companions work best for me as companions - but with the Eighth and Sixth Doctors she was a very enjoyable companion and I'd like to see her go back to where she really belongs; in adventures with the Eighth Doctor.
Lucie, Klein, Flip & Constance also deserve a nod of respect for being original companions that I enjoy, so like the OP I'll raise my glass to them too.
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Post by muckypup on Oct 23, 2019 10:23:47 GMT
Seconded for Klein, her first trilogy is my favourite main range set of stories.........
Still cannot quite get my head around her timeline/version but have given up, she just to good a companion too let it worry me.........
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Post by BHTvsTFC on Apr 1, 2020 7:17:38 GMT
I think sometimes the original companions take time to develop in the mind. For a long time I struggled with Flip; now I love the character without any specific changes being made. I think Lisa Greenwood is a very under rated actress; she never once fails to portray Flip when recording! Interestingly the same has just happened with Constance - I am marathoning her stories in time for the new trilogy and feel like I'm listening to a completely new character to the one I struggled with to begin with. Again Miranda Raison plays the 'stiff upper lip,' matronly Mrs Clarke brilliantly.
I think it helps that I've recently got back into old Sixie after struggling for a few years. Quicksilver is next on the list and am looking forward to relistening very much.
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