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Post by project37 on May 10, 2022 18:14:13 GMT
Interesting to read the latest responses as I'm personally still enjoying it. It's designed to be a bit different than the audio drama I normally consume and so I'm approaching it as such. This is written as short serialized fiction (Juno mentioned that it was meant to be commute-friendly, which is when I listen) and so far I'm enjoying the balance of original character moments, links to various parts of post-2005 Doctor Who (including the mobile game!), and curious unfolding plot where loved ones are disappearing and the rest of the world is gradually forgetting important things except for {Spoiler}Cleo apparently the only one on the podcast that can remember the Doctor. I'm always up for trying new things with Doctor Who and so far, the first four of ten episodes have been really interesting and great fun for me. I get why it's not for everyone, though.
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Post by shallacatop on May 11, 2022 7:00:26 GMT
Interesting to read the latest responses as I'm personally still enjoying it. It's designed to be a bit different than the audio drama I normally consume and so I'm approaching it as such. This is written as short serialized fiction (Juno mentioned that it was meant to be commute-friendly, which is when I listen) and so far I'm enjoying the balance of original character moments, links to various parts of post-2005 Doctor Who (including the mobile game!), and curious unfolding plot where loved ones are disappearing and the rest of the world is gradually forgetting important things except for {Spoiler}Cleo apparently the only one on the podcast that can remember the Doctor. I'm always up for trying new things with Doctor Who and so far, the first four of ten episodes have been really interesting and great fun for me. I get why it's not for everyone, though. I’m really glad you’re enjoying it, but what’s different about it? Since they didn’t follow through with the recordable device hook that they sold the series on, I wouldn’t say there’s anything unique or new. It’s just a rinse and repeat of people forgetting stuff mixed with a throwback to a Tenth Doctor story that’s getting less and less relevant as the podcast blends into the background and the leads are seemingly not getting anywhere / in denial. We’ve had over an hour of it now - more than a third of the series - and gotten nowhere; even the leads are feeling less distinct and likeable than they originally were because the plot is restricting them. You can do a lot in 20 minutes and be commute friendly, there’s nothing new or restricting with that format, yet Redacted seems to find it hindering. Glad you’re enjoying it, but not really seeing (hearing!) any of this uniqueness you describe in your post. The cliffhanger shows signs of development, so I hope it really picks up and runs with it from here.
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Post by project37 on May 12, 2022 17:54:03 GMT
Interesting to read the latest responses as I'm personally still enjoying it. It's designed to be a bit different than the audio drama I normally consume and so I'm approaching it as such. This is written as short serialized fiction (Juno mentioned that it was meant to be commute-friendly, which is when I listen) and so far I'm enjoying the balance of original character moments, links to various parts of post-2005 Doctor Who (including the mobile game!), and curious unfolding plot where loved ones are disappearing and the rest of the world is gradually forgetting important things except for {Spoiler}Cleo apparently the only one on the podcast that can remember the Doctor. I'm always up for trying new things with Doctor Who and so far, the first four of ten episodes have been really interesting and great fun for me. I get why it's not for everyone, though. I’m really glad you’re enjoying it, but what’s different about it? Since they didn’t follow through with the recordable device hook that they sold the series on, I wouldn’t say there’s anything unique or new. It’s just a rinse and repeat of people forgetting stuff mixed with a throwback to a Tenth Doctor story that’s getting less and less relevant as the podcast blends into the background and the leads are seemingly not getting anywhere / in denial. We’ve had over an hour of it now - more than a third of the series - and gotten nowhere; even the leads are feeling less distinct and likeable than they originally were because the plot is restricting them. You can do a lot in 20 minutes and be commute friendly, there’s nothing new or restricting with that format, yet Redacted seems to find it hindering. Glad you’re enjoying it, but not really seeing (hearing!) any of this uniqueness you describe in your post. The cliffhanger shows signs of development, so I hope it really picks up and runs with it from here. Oh, I find it to be delightfully different and refreshing. It's a Doctor Who audio production that doesn't really feature the Doctor. That's pretty bold, especially for something aimed at a broader audience. At this point, Jodie's performed for what...maybe three minutes out of the hour so far? The Doctor is a constant presence via the podcast and characters from past adventures sharing fading memories of those events during their interviews, but isn't necessarily the focus for a change. For me personally, the appeal is audio Doctor Who storytelling through the lens of younger characters who are very much on the sidelines. They're intrigued and WANT to know more about the Blue Box's connection to weird underreported incidents, but don't necessarily have the tools to connect the dots. Even Cleo admits that she'd initially been doing the podcast just for fun and didn't necessarily believe as much as her friends did. I think that's important to help set these "Doctor Who Fan Club" characters a bit apart from what we'd seen on television with LINDA or even Clive.
I take your point about the pacing of the overall mystery and general "rinse and repeat" format across the story so far, but for me, the joy in these 20 minute episodes is really in getting time learning more about the original characters as they try to piece things together. Cleo's relationship with her brother, the tension with her mother, and the mystery of her dad's disappearance. There's also the unspoken jealousy/longing brewing with Abby and Shawna. That's an interesting change to focus on those sorts of things for a Doctor Who audio production. Plus it helps that their chemistry is great and Cleo is such a fun and engaging lead (I was really impressed to read that this is Charlie Craggs' acting debut).
I'm also enjoying the journey. The Nest Cottage series started as monologues/duologues and gradually evolved into more full-cast productions. I have no idea if/how Redacted will evolve over the next few weeks but I'm still happily into it and looking forward to finding out.
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Post by shallacatop on May 12, 2022 20:45:11 GMT
I’m really glad you’re enjoying it, but what’s different about it? Since they didn’t follow through with the recordable device hook that they sold the series on, I wouldn’t say there’s anything unique or new. It’s just a rinse and repeat of people forgetting stuff mixed with a throwback to a Tenth Doctor story that’s getting less and less relevant as the podcast blends into the background and the leads are seemingly not getting anywhere / in denial. We’ve had over an hour of it now - more than a third of the series - and gotten nowhere; even the leads are feeling less distinct and likeable than they originally were because the plot is restricting them. You can do a lot in 20 minutes and be commute friendly, there’s nothing new or restricting with that format, yet Redacted seems to find it hindering. Glad you’re enjoying it, but not really seeing (hearing!) any of this uniqueness you describe in your post. The cliffhanger shows signs of development, so I hope it really picks up and runs with it from here. Oh, I find it to be delightfully different and refreshing. It's a Doctor Who audio production that doesn't really feature the Doctor. That's pretty bold, especially for something aimed at a broader audience. At this point, Jodie's performed for what...maybe three minutes out of the hour so far? The Doctor is a constant presence via the podcast and characters from past adventures sharing fading memories of those events during their interviews, but isn't necessarily the focus for a change. For me personally, the appeal is audio Doctor Who storytelling through the lens of younger characters who are very much on the sidelines. They're intrigued and WANT to know more about the Blue Box's connection to weird underreported incidents, but don't necessarily have the tools to connect the dots. Even Cleo admits that she'd initially been doing the podcast just for fun and didn't necessarily believe as much as her friends did. I think that's important to help set these "Doctor Who Fan Club" characters a bit apart from what we'd seen on television with LINDA or even Clive.
I take your point about the pacing of the overall mystery and general "rinse and repeat" format across the story so far, but for me, the joy in these 20 minute episodes is really in getting time learning more about the original characters as they try to piece things together. Cleo's relationship with her brother, the tension with her mother, and the mystery of her dad's disappearance. There's also the unspoken jealousy/longing brewing with Abby and Shawna. That's an interesting change to focus on those sorts of things for a Doctor Who audio production. Plus it helps that their chemistry is great and Cleo is such a fun and engaging lead (I was really impressed to read that this is Charlie Craggs' acting debut).
I'm also enjoying the journey. The Nest Cottage series started as monologues/duologues and gradually evolved into more full-cast productions. I have no idea if/how Redacted will evolve over the next few weeks but I'm still happily into it and looking forward to finding out.
Great post and thanks for taking the time out to respond. I love the characters and absolutely see what you do in them, but I think certainly in the last couple, they’ve become more cliche as the story is inadvertently stopping their development. But the quote you’ve shared is interesting; I said in my post about episode 4 that the cliffhanger hopefully presented a turning point, so seems like that’ll happen and give the series the push I think it needs. I still maintain that it should’ve happened earlier, or kept to the podcast confines from episode one, but if it doesn’t let up from here then it’ll be a real treat.
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Post by shallacatop on May 15, 2022 9:55:55 GMT
Ah, that was more like it! Great that the ball is finally rolling and really intrigued to see where it goes next and I loved the interactions between Cleo, Abby and Shawna and it was great to hear them have a proper and heartfelt conversation again. I could’ve done with a few less “babes”, mind!
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Post by sherlock on May 15, 2022 11:34:58 GMT
Well the plot shuffled forward at last, and the redacting shown here sounded really nasty (in a good way). Hopefully things continue picking up next week.
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Post by project37 on May 15, 2022 13:34:23 GMT
Episode 5 - ooooh that was good. Love the change of pace and balance of humor and tension (!) - wow, those final moments!
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Post by sherlock on May 22, 2022 8:19:22 GMT
Well so much for the plot advancing, as this mystery just isn’t progressing. Instead of we get another little tour of continuity references and then a bit of drama to drive the team apart. The character work is good and sincerely done but I want to hear the characters actually doing something and making some progress on this plot.
Also Osgood goes on about how impressive the three are…but they’ve accomplished nothing! They just talked online about some urban myths they didn’t really believe in. In a universe where they had actually solved something in past 6 episodes that would’ve felt earned, but they just haven’t.
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Post by shallacatop on May 24, 2022 15:42:24 GMT
Everything just ground to a halt yet again. We’ve well and truly gotten to the point where the characters are limited by the material they’ve been given. How can I care about Cleo occasionally referencing her dad and brother when a scene later her and Shawna are suddenly recording videos for social media and seemingly forgetting where they are or what they’re doing? Similarly why should I be interested in the material with the Doctor when this is the second time it’s happened and it’s not being appropriately handled? Inevitably the next episode will have them all question Cleo on the Doctor again! I really cannot reconcile what they’re facing here coupled with what research they’ve done for their podcasts and how they react to stuff. It just isn’t believable.
Still, I really liked the interaction between Osgood and Abby.
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Post by mark687 on May 29, 2022 10:07:15 GMT
Well that was more going round in circles
Regards
mark687
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Post by sherlock on May 29, 2022 12:17:09 GMT
The sluggish pacing continues. People are disappearing and only Cleo can remember them - this was established in episode 3! Why is this still being treated as some sort of twist. Meanwhile Cleo and Shawna resent Abby for not going along with their assumptions last week and ditching UNIT, because apparently in their eyes friendship means unquestioning backing to your friends’ decisions no matter what.
Anyway there are ghosts now, a tiny step closer to an antagonist showing up.
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Post by grinch on May 29, 2022 12:42:03 GMT
Have to agree after finally catching up. Writing really isn’t improving and it is coming across as more like a poor man’s Sapphire and Steel at the moment.
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Post by Deleted on May 29, 2022 14:32:50 GMT
I gave up on it! No substance and just a lot of running around. If this is how the BBC make Doctor Who on audio thank f*** Big Finish have the licence to do it properly!
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Post by themeddlingmonk on May 29, 2022 15:44:19 GMT
I’m just hoping that the next episode properly introduces the Doctor giving Cleo someone who is actually on the same page as her.
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Post by shallacatop on May 30, 2022 5:46:23 GMT
The sluggish pacing continues. People are disappearing and only Cleo can remember them - this was established in episode 3! Why is this still being treated as some sort of twist. Meanwhile Cleo and Shawna resent Abby for not going along with their assumptions last week and ditching UNIT, because apparently in their eyes friendship means unquestioning backing to your friends’ decisions no matter what. Anyway there are ghosts now, a tiny step closer to an antagonist showing up. Completely agree. The way Cleo and Shawna are being with Abby is a prime example of what I’ve been saying about the leads being really likeable, but being limited by the material they’re given. It’s to the point where I’m beginning to resent them.
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Post by fitzoliverj on May 30, 2022 19:07:49 GMT
"Redacted" has grown on me, but - is it Shauna? - really irritates me, she seems to be possessed of a string of prejudices that nobody is calling her out on. OK, admittedly she *was* kidnapped by a mysterious military force, granted, but she's been established as the kind of person who wouldn't have felt much difference if they'd asked nicely.
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Post by mark687 on Jun 5, 2022 11:44:18 GMT
A slight step up from the last few weeks minor plot advancement and character points.
Regards
mark687
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Post by shallacatop on Jun 5, 2022 19:25:13 GMT
Nice to get some minor progress to the story, but frankly this sort of development should’ve come four weeks ago. I thought Craggs & Quin-Ankrah were incredibly wooden this week, I’m not sure why because I keep saying the leads are the highlights, but everything sounded like it was just being read. It’s not helped by so much of the dialogue being descriptive, which is a cardinal sin of audio!
And Doon Mackichan’s Vastra is awful. Completely unrecognisable.
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Post by shallacatop on Jun 10, 2022 21:00:54 GMT
Redacted is getting a radio outing on BBC Radio 4 Extra from Sunday 26th June @ 18:00. They’ll be airing episodes daily.
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Post by sherlock on Jun 12, 2022 8:17:57 GMT
Well in-keeping with the Thirteenth Doctor’s TV exploits, the final episode has had a lot of questions dumped on it and won’t have long to answer them. Good luck.
I liked this episode and frankly wish we’d got it two episodes ago. It finally throws some meat on the bone of the plot and keeps things moving whilst doing it. The new Vastra grew on me as the story went along. Still not sure why Shawna is taking Abby staying with UNIT for a bit so personally, especially when she’s contributed a grand total of nothing to investigating this plot herself so it’s not like she achieved much riding solo.
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