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Post by The Matt on May 11, 2023 14:12:40 GMT
I hate to be overly negative but................this was awful. The worst of the 9DA's.
An unwanted and unneeded sequel to The Green Death. It was just an hour of talking. I don't mind stories that prioritise words over action as long as those words are interesting and their delivery capture your attention. This was just bland and boring with nothing new to say and what was said was said in the most yawn inducing way. It was all just very preachy and on the nose lecturing. No subtlety at all.
One of the worst elements was Louise Jameson. Frankly she is ridiculously overused by BF and, IMO, her talents are very limited. This was on display here. Her performance was coma inducing and that accent was awful and she couldn't even keep it up the whole way through. There was zero need for this character to be played by her other than the fact that she clearly has dirt on Jason or Nick. There must be hundreds of other performers who could have done it way better. It just came across as unnecessarily gimmicky
Callen and Doyle were exciting and interesting characters in the Red Darkness. Here they just grate.
Christopher Eccleston puts in another good performance but there doesn't seem to be any shades to his audio version. No darkness, other than a couple of throw away lines there in no mention about what he has been through.
I think the 9DA's need some kind of revamp or overhaul after this boxset. It is all becoming more of the same. The novelty of having Christopher Eccleston back is starting to wear off and surely he would like some meatier stories to get his teeth into?
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Post by timleschild on May 11, 2023 20:24:24 GMT
I hate to be overly negative but................this was awful. The worst of the 9DA's. An unwanted and unneeded sequel to The Green Death. It was just an hour of talking. I don't mind stories that prioritise words over action as long as those words are interesting and their delivery capture your attention. This was just bland and boring with nothing new to say and what was said was said in the most yawn inducing way. It was all just very preachy and on the nose lecturing. No subtlety at all. One of the worst elements was Louise Jameson. Frankly she is ridiculously overused by BF and, IMO, her talents are very limited. This was on display here. Her performance was coma inducing and that accent was awful and she couldn't even keep it up the whole way through. There was zero need for this character to be played by her other than the fact that she clearly has dirt on Jason or Nick. There must be hundreds of other performers who could have done it way better. It just came across as unnecessarily gimmicky Callen and Doyle were exciting and interesting characters in the Red Darkness. Here they just grate. Christopher Eccleston puts in another good performance but there doesn't seem to be any shades to his audio version. No darkness, other than a couple of throw away lines there in no mention about what he has been through. I think the 9DA's need some kind of revamp or overhaul after this boxset. It is all becoming more of the same. The novelty of having Christopher Eccleston back is starting to wear off and surely he would like some meatier stories to get his teeth into? No. No. No. LJ has dirt on Jason or Nick? Unsubstantiated claim. Please delete.
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Post by martinw8686 on May 12, 2023 19:59:49 GMT
I'm giving this one a miss based on the feedback. I've enjoyed some of these sets but on the whole I'd like to see 9s darker side or more serialised story telling, just my preference, no criticism of the performance or the writing.
Also happy to have Louise Jameson regularly involved with Big Finish for many years. She sounds like a lovely person when interviewed, I'm sure that's why she's working with them so often.
Her Leela cameo in War Doctor Begins: He Who Fights with Monsters was brilliant, it really showed how she's developed the character and the sadness of being part of a War her Doctor would be against.
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Post by Audio Watchdog on May 12, 2023 20:38:18 GMT
I hate to be overly negative but................this was awful. The worst of the 9DA's. An unwanted and unneeded sequel to The Green Death. It was just an hour of talking. I don't mind stories that prioritise words over action as long as those words are interesting and their delivery capture your attention. This was just bland and boring with nothing new to say and what was said was said in the most yawn inducing way. It was all just very preachy and on the nose lecturing. No subtlety at all. One of the worst elements was Louise Jameson. Frankly she is ridiculously overused by BF and, IMO, her talents are very limited. This was on display here. Her performance was coma inducing and that accent was awful and she couldn't even keep it up the whole way through. There was zero need for this character to be played by her other than the fact that she clearly has dirt on Jason or Nick. There must be hundreds of other performers who could have done it way better. It just came across as unnecessarily gimmicky Callen and Doyle were exciting and interesting characters in the Red Darkness. Here they just grate. Christopher Eccleston puts in another good performance but there doesn't seem to be any shades to his audio version. No darkness, other than a couple of throw away lines there in no mention about what he has been through. I think the 9DA's need some kind of revamp or overhaul after this boxset. It is all becoming more of the same. The novelty of having Christopher Eccleston back is starting to wear off and surely he would like some meatier stories to get his teeth into? No. No. No. LJ has dirt on Jason or Nick? Unsubstantiated claim. Please delete. It isn’t a claim. It is an exaggeration made for dramatic affect that no reasonable person would take seriously. Please stop trying to stir the pot. That said in regard to pretty much everything he wrote, <snore>
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Post by timleschild on May 13, 2023 20:25:10 GMT
No. No. No. LJ has dirt on Jason or Nick? Unsubstantiated claim. Please delete. It isn’t a claim. It is an exaggeration made for dramatic affect that no reasonable person would take seriously. Please stop trying to stir the pot. That said in regard to pretty much everything he wrote, <snore> Not stirring any pot. I have issue with what he said.
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on May 15, 2023 2:50:06 GMT
Well, what can I say.. Just finished this boxset 1 minute ago. Really honestly enjoyed it. For some reason I forgot the 1st story was a sequel .. When The Doctor mentioned his good friend "Jo Jones".. aaww.. The last story, merging "equal rights" with UK football/soccer .. I "got it", I am not really a fan at all of the game, however I will say it takes fair dinkum talent to play it. The little monologue at the end, mentioned "tragedy".. I had to pause the story and quickly msg my 2 good mates who were born and raised in Liverpool and Derby in the 60's & 70's. We have had discussions about "Hillsborough" in the past. Something I absolutely will listen to again.
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Post by The Matt on May 15, 2023 7:21:41 GMT
It isn’t a claim. It is an exaggeration made for dramatic affect that no reasonable person would take seriously. Please stop trying to stir the pot. That said in regard to pretty much everything he wrote, <snore> Not stirring any pot. I have issue with what he said. Careful, you know the rules. Audio Watchdog is always right and it is forbidden to disagree or have a conflicting opinion to his!
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Post by Chakoteya on May 15, 2023 8:50:51 GMT
Another set of baddies turning out to be not-really baddies. Well, things are usually more nuanced in the Real World so why not in fiction too? Also it can get a tad predictable sometimes... Good stories, nicely presented, including the Historical which I really enjoyed.
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Post by timleschild on May 15, 2023 23:02:44 GMT
Not stirring any pot. I have issue with what he said. Careful, you know the rules. Audio Watchdog is always right and it is forbidden to disagree or have a conflicting opinion to his! What are you babbling on about?
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Post by Who Review on May 18, 2023 11:16:24 GMT
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Post by shallacatop on Jun 2, 2023 11:04:40 GMT
Wasn’t keen on The Green Gift. It’s a lot of talking and things unfolding immediately after it’s written to do so; there’s nothing clever or gripping in it. Louise Jameson’s inclusion was a distraction and I didn’t feel Callen & Doyle worked anywhere near as well as they did in Red Darkness. They don’t share a lot of time with the Doctor, although what time they do spend is lovely, so to have two stories covering their arrival and departure with a great big gap in the middle didn’t really work for me.
Also not sure why this needed to be a sequel to The Green Death. It feels forced.
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Post by Ian McArdell on Jun 3, 2023 17:35:22 GMT
My take is up at CultBox - enjoyed the other two, loved 'The Green Gift'.
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Post by IndieMacUser on Jun 4, 2023 12:17:47 GMT
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Post by Kestrel on Jun 6, 2023 7:04:45 GMT
Hm... I've been approaching a decision here and I think it's time to make it. Based on the consensus votes, this appears to be the least-liked 9DA set to date. I think I'll have to pass on this one.
Pretty bummed out by that. When the 9DAs were announced, I just assumed it'd be one of the (few) ranges I'd 100% (alongside NABS, WD, WM, 8DAs and GAL). Seems really weird to even form the thought in my head that I'd ever be at the point where I'd pass on more Eccleston stories.
It really feels like Big Finish has been pumping these out too quickly. I can only wonder what this range would be like if they took a bit more time between each miniseries to just sort of... reassess their direction, or consider doing something new. I'd definitely be a lot more keen on these 9DAs, even if the stories weren't any better, if they were at least taking more risks. I'd love to see what Eccleston could do with something like Stranded.
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Post by shallacatop on Jun 6, 2023 9:19:47 GMT
Northern Lights is an odd one. It took me a while to get into it and really picture the setting - quite a bare soundscape on this one I thought given the setting - and by the time I was into it, it just suddenly gets wrapped up to then be followed by an overlong epilogue. They can be effective, but the story has to earn it and in this case I don’t feel like we got enough closure on the actual plot to warrant it.
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Post by mark687 on Jun 6, 2023 9:46:36 GMT
The only thing against The Green Life is if you have an issue with sequels and or recurring guest Actors (and come on without recurring Actors the programme wouldn't have got very far)
Northern Lights a niche corner of history covered with some fairly clever beat changes.
The Beautiful Game would've worked TV,Chris Ecclestone does wonders switching from fun loving to righteous. The EP showcases sporting culture and also is a not so suitable comment of where some Fan Culture can go.
Once again high quality stuff for their EP length featuring solid performances
Does the series in general need a new original companion or a big neon flashing "Story Arc" I don't think so.
Regards
mark687
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Post by shallacatop on Jun 6, 2023 12:09:19 GMT
Loved The Beautiful Game. Great premise, Eccleston at his best and a strong guest cast; I loved that Donald was performed like Vera Duckworth, whether intended or not! As Mark said, this could’ve easily been on screen.
It’s a rocky set. An unnecessary sequel to both Red Darkness & The Green Death and two pseudo historicals that at their core are very similar, but the end product is chalk and cheese.
I’m of the view that the 9DAs need a shake up, but I’m at a loss for any suggestion or solution. I can see why Big Finish are churning the sets out, both to make up for lost time and on the off chance Eccleston decides he no longer wants to reprise the role. But as a result each set does feel quite samey and a lot of the stories are very similar to varying results. I also think part of it is the restrictions imposed given Eccleston’s reluctance to touch upon what’s on screen directly, although there are cases where it gets close and they excel (Respond to All Calls & Back to Earth), and also how tightly plotted his on screen series is.
It’ll be interesting to see what comes in Series 4, which I’d guess will be commissioned, written, etc. with feedback from at least two series of the 9DAs being out. A bit like how the 4DAs got their shot in the arm quite a few series in.
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Post by Chakoteya on Jun 17, 2023 8:24:29 GMT
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enofa
Full Member
Likes: 122
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Post by enofa on Jun 17, 2023 23:29:48 GMT
Given that he’s my least favourite Doctor on screen, I’m amazed at how much I’m enjoying his BF output. I thought his first series was ok, but the second is one of my favourite runs of BF stories of the last few years, and I enjoyed this one a lot too. Given that his only TV series was reasonably defined by a character arc focused on the darker and more tragic side of the post-Time War Doctor, I think Nine is really refreshing just having a bunch of standalone adventures, and I’m not clamouring for anything more at the moment. I’m sure there’ll be something a bit more complex coming along somewhere down the line, but for the minute this is entertaining me just fine.
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Post by timleschild on Aug 2, 2023 9:37:49 GMT
A very average addition to this range. Nothing really stood out here apart from the usual great performance from Christopher.
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