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Post by mark687 on Nov 13, 2019 12:32:52 GMT
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Post by mark687 on Nov 13, 2019 15:22:49 GMT
Very Good Indeed
Could easily imagine this on TV at the time and its a bit sobering that some of the themes are still relevant
Still not entirely sold on Dreyfus (judgement purely based on performance) he's not smooth and charming like Delgado, Beevers and Jacobi, nether is he joyfully camp like Aninely and McQueen, its almost like he's got very good material that he can't quite get but still thinks he's nailed it.
If this truly is the last time we'll see the Series 4 TARDIS Crew reimagined I shall miss them and Thank you very much to Elliot Chapman, its been a consistently fine tribute.
Regards
mark687
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Post by catbark on Nov 13, 2019 15:44:02 GMT
If this truly is the last time we'll see the Series 4 TARDIS Crew reimagined I shall miss them and Thank you very much to Elliot Chapman, its been a consistently fine tribute. Hear hear! I can still remember when the casting was announced via the podcast and we got a brief and tantalising snippet of Chapman in-studio as Ben. I love the Second Doctor era and he played an excellent part in recreating it for some fab new adventures. |
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Post by paz on Nov 13, 2019 19:14:02 GMT
Why does this seem to be the last time Elliot will feature as Ben? What a shame if so. If there was some announcement, I've missed it.
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Post by shallacatop on Nov 13, 2019 21:17:05 GMT
Why does this seem to be the last time Elliot will feature as Ben? What a shame if so. If there was some announcement, I've missed it. There’s not been an announcement as such. Elliot posted on Twitter to promote The Home Guard coming out, but mentioned it would be his last time playing Ben. He then clarified by saying it marks him appearing in the same amount of stories as Michael Craze and he feels that to record any more would be inappropriate. That could easily change. Fans could reassure him that it wouldn’t be appropriate and it could alter his opinion. Big Finish certainly haven’t said anything about stopping releases with Ben & Polly. |
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Post by paz on Nov 13, 2019 23:05:49 GMT
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Post by IndieMacUser on Nov 14, 2019 12:07:28 GMT
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Post by Star Platinum on Nov 14, 2019 22:27:42 GMT
I've enjoyed this one.
Issues with Drefus aside, he cuts a competent master and some of his musical cues really do evoke the ones that were used with Delgado.
Elliot Chapman does another excellent job with his swan song, I'm glad he goes out on a high.
Once again,Simon Guerrier delivers an excellent story with several great twists!
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Post by barnabaslives on Nov 15, 2019 1:00:22 GMT
There’s not been an announcement as such. Elliot posted on Twitter to promote The Home Guard coming out, but mentioned it would be his last time playing Ben. He then clarified by saying it marks him appearing in the same amount of stories as Michael Craze and he feels that to record any more would be inappropriate. That could easily change. Fans could reassure him that it wouldn’t be appropriate and it could alter his opinion. Big Finish certainly haven’t said anything about stopping releases with Ben & Polly. I do hope he changes his mind. Personally, if the number of stories where Elliot appeared as Ben exceeded the stories where Michael appeared as Ben, I don't know what to think of it except it being very much a good thing. With all due respect to Michael, Elliot is Ben now as far as I'm concerned, and I'm sure he must have the right to appear in however many stories he'd like. |
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Post by Hieronymus on Nov 15, 2019 20:26:18 GMT
I felt the story was a bit lackluster compared to what I usually expect from Simon Guerrier. This is no reflection on the main cast or production, just the lack of strong writing. I do agree with what has been said elsewhere about Dreyfus as the Master: he is adequate, but does not seize the reigns of this role. It is a pedestrian Master we've gotten, and not on par with other actors who've taken on the mantle. The writing was still clear, the characters and plot were well laid out. There was a bit of a mystery with an innovative twist to the story. The main cast performed well (as always) and some of the guest cast were quite good. Production values were high, and I appreciated the sound design and music. Some of the sound and music cues gave the listener information above and beyond the dialogue, which served the story well.
I was entertained, but there isn't anything that raised this story above sea level for me. |
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tuigirl
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 6,634
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Post by tuigirl on Nov 16, 2019 17:37:21 GMT
Just finished this. It was alright. Especially the beginning with all the suspense and {Spoiler}
The Doctor beating up and threatening to shoot his companions
was quite nice for a change.
In the end it became the usual Doctor vs. Master story.
It was well done but nothing really special.
I also have to agree that this Master was not very distinctive... sometimes you could have thought he was sounding like McQueen,
sometimes like a mix of the others... nothing to set him apart from the other incarnations.
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Post by bohnny on Nov 18, 2019 23:37:40 GMT
Anyone aware why Elliot Chapman/Ben is not listened in the credits at the end of Ep 4? Seems like the kind of thing that must have been deliberate.
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Post by causality on Nov 20, 2019 16:59:05 GMT
I certainly hope its not Elliots Last time he has become a highlight of this range for me.
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Post by causality on Nov 24, 2019 6:20:51 GMT
so strange when you first hear Elliot appear as Ben ....you see Michael.
I love the Ben Jamie and Polly dynamic and hope that ELLIOT continues I think that would be a greater honour to Mike
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Post by gregm on Nov 25, 2019 6:20:38 GMT
Some speclation that might be too much of a spoiler for plot details... {Spoiler}
The background to what is happening in this story seemed to echo The War Games - the Master is working for a mysterious employer who is recreating a warzone from the Earth's past. I'm in two minds on this, and never a fan of 'The War Chied is the Master' theory. On the other hand, the ending might see the Master in a position from whuch he'll escape for Terror of the Autons... |
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Post by Timelord007 on Dec 1, 2019 8:24:22 GMT
I enjoyed this one, good story, brilliantly performed by the cast, James Dreyfuss i thought didn't put his own stamp on The Master though & while not a bad performance he kinda played it safe.
However i get the feeling there could be a arc here for a future Master box set.
I rate it 4/5.
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Post by lidar2 on Dec 5, 2019 9:40:20 GMT
I enjoyed this tale overall, although it wasn't quite the "instant classic" that I was hoping for from the premise - Two vs. the pre-Delgado Master.
I think the story wasn't quite epic enough for me, the Master's scheme seemed fairly low-key by his standards. I guess, in its defence, it is supposed to show that the Master is still developing into the villain we love to hate, and this is how he starts using a technique that later becomes part of his modus operandi. Which makes a sort of sense, but the story just lacked a certain something.
Performance wise, unlike some of the comments above, I thought Dreyfus was fine, his voice has a certain silky quality to it that is ideal for the Master. He was noticeably absent from the Extras, especially at the end when Guerrier and Wills talk about a pre-Delgado Master and we would normally have expected a comment from the actor playing the part, which I assume was deliberate on BF's part. I definitely prefer sane, silky Masters like Dreyfus, Delgado, Beevers, Jacobi to the insane joker-ised incarnations like McQueen and Simm.
As for Eliot Chapman's non-credit at the end and his decision to stop playing Ben, I think taking the two together and reading between the lines that could be his response to the Dreyfus controversy. His stated reason for stopping - that he had equalled the number of episodes Michael Craze did - doesn't quite stack up* by my reckoning. If this is what he has decided then that is of course his prerogative, but to make a gesture that likely means nothing whatsoever to Dreyfus and only succeeds in disappointing BF and BF listeners seems a bit counter-intuitive - in effect punishing the innocent while the guilty walk free. But this is all speculation on my part.
* Craze did 9 stories on TV, Chapman has done 11. If we are counting episodes Craze's 9 stories totalled 40 episodes (7x4, 2x6) although he was absent from 3 episodes of the Faceless Ones and 1 episode of Power of the Daleks, so I make it 36, but there could be another week off I have missed, whereas Chapman has done 34 (6x4, 10x2). I think he may possibly have been absent from an episode of the Yes Men, so maybe his tally is only 33? If these figures are wrong then please correct me and apologies to Eliot Chapman.
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