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Post by Who Review on Nov 2, 2023 13:29:54 GMT
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Post by denyer97 on Nov 2, 2023 15:52:53 GMT
Just listened to ‘The Devouring.’ A really engaging, solid story in my opinion. I’m a big fan of Audacity already, she seems generally very different to any other companion we’ve had before and I look forward to seeing where her story goes. I’ll be saving the next story for tomorrow but with Tim Foley at the helm, I have no concerns. As others have commented, it’s so refreshing to have a completely new strand for the Eighth Doctor. Great stuff so far.
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Post by themeddlingmonk on Nov 2, 2023 16:17:12 GMT
I am anticipating the backlash when everyone gets to the end of the box set things are gonna get wild.
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Post by sherlock on Nov 2, 2023 17:21:28 GMT
The Devouring is a very promising start. Audacity is a great injection of new energy to kickstart this new era of the Eighth Doctor. It just all feels new and dynamic again; a sense which, at least for me. has been missing from the Eighth Doctor since Stranded 1. Between this and Time War 5’s refreshing of that era, I think I may be back onboard with Eight.
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Post by martinw8686 on Nov 2, 2023 17:53:02 GMT
I am anticipating the backlash when everyone gets to the end of the box set things are gonna get wild. That's such a tease, I wasn't planning on listening to this for a while but may have to now!
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Post by mark687 on Nov 2, 2023 17:57:34 GMT
Lovely solid introduction for Audacity The Devouring is a bit Brihginton meets 4th Doc gothic The Great Cyber War is Revenge of the Cybermen done with serious earnest Paul's on form and Jaye Griffiths sounds surprisingly engaged (nice little The Bill reunion as well ) As for the twist I don't dislike it, just not sure Why its been done Regards mark687
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Post by tuigirl on Nov 2, 2023 21:30:21 GMT
Well this starts out suitably weird. Audacity certainly is.... different and the Doctor will have his hands full. I will have to listen to the 2 part story tomorrow night to find out more about her character to know what to make of her. As she herself says.... she can be a bit much.
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Nov 2, 2023 22:59:22 GMT
Interesting to note on the official BF facebook page they have specifically asked people to not discuss spoilers..
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2023 23:12:03 GMT
Interesting to note on the official BF facebook page they have specifically asked people to not discuss spoilers.. Well, they asked for people on FB comments to avoid them (fair enough - you can scroll on them without looking them out) and asked reviews to avoid them. Fair enough too - a review outlet shouldn't spoil events. That's all they asked. But on a thread marked spoilers, a long standing policy of our forum being that it's fair game once released, when talking about titles we've paid for....nah. Anyone entering a spoiler thread knows to expect, well, spoilers!
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Nov 2, 2023 23:20:04 GMT
Interesting to note on the official BF facebook page they have specifically asked people to not discuss spoilers.. Well, they asked for people on FB comments to avoid them (fair enough - you can scroll on them without looking them out) and asked reviews to avoid them. Fair enough too - a review outlet shouldn't spoil events. That's all they asked. But on a thread marked spoilers, a long standing policy of our forum being that it's fair game once released, when talking about titles we've paid for....nah. Anyone entering a spoiler thread knows to expect, well, spoilers! ^ Absolutely ! If it's marked spoilers- and you willingly click on the link and willingly read it..It's on you.
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Post by mark687 on Nov 2, 2023 23:22:35 GMT
Interesting to note on the official BF facebook page they have specifically asked people to not discuss spoilers.. Also despite that they haven't said how long we should keep stum for Regards mark687
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2023 23:23:02 GMT
Only done The Devouring so far.
Firstly, Jaye Griffiths has been great for decades. Loved her back in Bugs and The Bill and was gutted when her decent support role in UNIT during Series 9 turned out rather short lived at the hands of The Zygons.
Audacity here is well named, as the Doctor remarks on his entrance into affairs. I love that she's already an over the top, flamboyant character and The Doctor is just witness to her, well, audacious way of raising money for the poor. Some lovely dialogue throughout from Lisa McMullin. She has a very deft comedy touch for side characters and is able to write Audacity as bold and brash...but caring and empathetic. Jaye's wonderful voice adds to affairs - she can pull off having agency over weaker men while being warm when worries hit. The dialogue tells us some think she's "a bit much", so I think people who do prefer more passive, traditional companions may find her just that but it's 100% intentional. And welcome, frankly. Though McGann with a male companion is something long overdue, or is that just someone who grew up with Fitz Kreiner in the books.
Love that McGann's Doctor isn't the centre of affairs here, he's present throughout but he never overshadows our debuting companion. He's clearly got to help solve events and figure out why the stars aren't what they seem, but it never becomes him taking over events while Audacity's role fades as can often be the case once the main threat hits. When she gets the "Bigger On The Inside" moment, she's not bothered- people are in danger and that's more important than her own awe. I can see some sorts hating her "I trust no man.." dialogue but a woman of her era who had to struggle every day just to stand still, at risk of losing everything constantly? Makes sense to me. She'd be a suffragette leader if born later. She doesn't hate men, just never had a reason to trust a world with little to offer but patriarchy.
A lot of the supporting characters were little more than caricatures and played very, very broadly. That only becomes an issue where we're supposed to feel sorry for her "widow" later on in events. He's been a cartoon character till now, so hard to feel the stakes and impact with him then. Still, I loved the rescue of Audacity at the end. What a lovely payoff to her not being interested in the "time travel" aspect of the TARDIS earlier on. Now, it's been her salvation.
Maybe it's dealt with, but ummm...couldn't Iggy have come with her at the end? Neither even considers the idea and The Doctor didn't suggest it. The Doctor could set them up anytime, anywhere in comfort, still together. We do get the dialogue that she probably would have travelled with The Doctor anyway so Iggy wouldn't have been carried over but it's almost like the script knew that, so didn't bother to acknowledge even the possibility.
Still, cracking intro.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2023 23:31:06 GMT
Interesting to note on the official BF facebook page they have specifically asked people to not discuss spoilers.. Also despite that they haven't said how long we should keep stum for Regards mark687 On their FB page? As long as they ask. On OUR forum (which, lest we forget, exists because BF themselves decided to not have an official one anymore) the mortarium ended the minute the story came out, as Shane said. Spoil away - we're here to discuss the stories, not tease them.
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Post by mark687 on Nov 2, 2023 23:37:15 GMT
Also despite that they haven't said how long we should keep stum for Regards mark687 On their FB page? As long as they ask. On OUR forum (which, lest we forget, exists because BF themselves decided to not have an official one anymore) the mortarium ended the minute the story came out, as Shane said. Spoil away - we're here to discuss the stories, not tease them. I will say this Davy you'll definitely have some thoughts on it Regards mark687
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Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2023 0:19:24 GMT
Well, I'll let yo know in an hour or so, Mark!
The Great Cyber War Part 1
Audacity's insistence that she's honoured to travel in time but WILL learn to pilot The TARDIS herself is terrific. Again, Foley captures the setup of "she's boisterous..and humble" aspect.
Blimey, Galta is Trudie Goodwin! I mentioned in the first story loving Jaye in The Bill back when, well, Trudie played June Ackland, one of THE Bill characters for decades. True TV royalty. I've never been a fan of Return of The Cybermen (what a waste of Kevin Stoney) and hate the gold-allergy for Cybermen. So this has my back up a bit from the off...but can has a low bar to get over!
Keith Drinkel as Oberon Fix giving a nice classic era reading of the genius...but obviously villain listening in to The Doctor and Galta. His "Thank you, Doctor" when he hears the Doctor call him a genius? Very Master-like. When he and THe Doctor have their meeting, it's a very 60s or 70s like reading from both in terms of how villains and Doctors interact - all subtle menace with faux manners and charm. Yet it seems he is a red herring and the others who have worked with the Cybermen are the accidentaly villains. But...don't have a golden Cyberman statue and then NOT use it on the cover! Like the Stained-Glass Dalek in the MRs, some things just HAVE to be seen!
The Silver Sea, an ocean of half formed failed Cybermen used as cannon fodder and attack dogs, quite an image. McGann saying Audacity passed her audition because of "being held prisoner and an awful lot of corridors..." is far, far too cute for my liking. I don't mind a bit of meta-ness in the right story, this is not that.
So, a lot of set up, mostly. As you'd expect from a Part One. Audacity takes a back seat for most of it. But it does a good job of setting up this status quo in a similiar way that Dalek Universe did. A world defined by Cybermen, without them featuring untill the stinger at the end.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2023 1:23:46 GMT
The Great Cyber War Part 2 Love the dynamic set up that Audacity thinks that the Cybermen would be welcomed because of the suffering of the proletariat. Mass suffering by one race over another? It'd be an interesting concept to explore more in fuller stories devoted to the theme. Audacity's empathy for the poor of the Vogans matches her introduction. Fighting for the oppressed is her aim in any setting. Foley writes the adventure in a very space opera like fashion. Fleets arriving, cybermat sabotages, ramming their base...all very full of tropes. But tropes that fit well. It feels like a Blake's 7 affair in a lot of places. "Grab the glitter guns and glitter bombs.." - sounds more like something you'd hear at a merch table at an Ariana Grande concert! But I'm glad the show embraces silly canon like those names, or Movellan looks, Alpha Centauri etc. Who's doing all these Cybervoices? They're all over the place - especially the American sounding leader! Christopher Robbie's Revenge voice was odd...this is silly. The meat of the piece is traditional Base Under Siege stuff. Barricades, enemies slowly attempting to break down doors. Lots of running around and avoiding traps, laying others. In contrast to The Devouring, that's fine though. Tropes can be tropes for a reason. Everyone acts the way they should. They sell the threat. They're not the caricatures of the opening story. They're not massively defined either but they're archetypes we can quickly attach to. "Human beings...indomitable" is another meta line I don't like being added. That's two stories back to back Foley has cute lines for an audience pop more than for any in-universe reason. All the story wraps up rather bluntly. We leave the Cyber War lickety split, and McGann's festive idea at the end just at the credits? Over just as quick. I guess it depends on where this is heading but as a standalone? Wow did it feel like they'd got 20 mins left to tell....but 5 minutes to tell it. That ending eh? Well, is this a set up to a new companion team? A one-off return for Charley? Or a reminded that - one day - Nick WILL write CHarley Series 3! This is early on for Charley and The Doctor too, she's still trying to get across Asia, so it's not like we are getting an older version with more story potential. She's before Invaders From Mars, it's that early. So the Charley who met Colin and had her solo series is STILL waiting for new material. The extras don't even mention her. It's a very odd way to end the set. VERY odd. And what did I post this morning before it came out? I love that we're getting a fresh era. Oh, there's Charley within two stories. Really? Come on. Let things breathe, BF. The only people happy with that are the ones who would freak at not knowing where on McGann's timeline thread to put these! Frankly, regardless of context, Charley shouldn't be here. It's Audacity's time to endear herself. We should leave thinking of her, not a companion who was only in McGann stories last year again after all. I'd hope she's only in next month's set for a story then Jaye gets the rest of the box. Why BF have so many double female TARDIS companions teams is beyond me. This series being a break from Liv and Helen stories was great but to turn it into Charley and Audacity would be a mistake, I think. I hope it's a short stint, like Martha in S4 on the TV. Still - with minor quibbles this was a mostly damn solid set with performances pitched well. Audacity herself went missing way too much for me once the Cyber-ness took over and the "well, I'm not enjoying this...let's go see Charley" ending will need context to decide whether it's good or bad but hey. I enjoyed it.
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Post by eightelements on Nov 3, 2023 8:24:14 GMT
Remember all the way back to Jago & Litefoot Series 3, when Leela was added as a regular? In the interviews they talked about avoiding introducing Who elements for the first two series to allow the range to stand on its own before tying it in to Who.
Imagine modern BF...
I'm sorry. I can’t finish this post. I'm laughing too hard.
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Post by bonehead on Nov 3, 2023 9:29:25 GMT
Does that mean she'll be back in the Bleak Midwinter set next month? If so, so much for a new start for the 8DAs.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2023 11:16:54 GMT
Does that mean she'll be back in the Bleak Midwinter set next month? If so, so much for a new start for the 8DAs. Yes, her scene at the end explicitly sets up Christmas and Winter in dialogue. She's only in the set to do so, really. Doesn't say anything else other than "Yes, I've met the Cybermen too...." when Audacity fills her in on the first adventure with The Doctor. I like Charley. But..Audacity has ONE story to shine before McGann's (rather than The Eighth Doctor's..) first ongoing companion comes back into it? Is she even that much of a draw that fans will buy the next one for her presence? We're now on Charley's second returning project with The Doctor - three if we count Doom's Day - before her own solo series' 3rd box which has been Jekyll and Hyde'd even longer than that project.
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Post by bonehead on Nov 3, 2023 11:37:51 GMT
Does that mean she'll be back in the Bleak Midwinter set next month? If so, so much for a new start for the 8DAs. Yes, her scene at the end explicitly sets up Christmas and Winter in dialogue. She's only in the set to do so, really. Doesn't say anything else other than "Yes, I've met the Cybermen too...." when Audacity fills her in on the first adventure with The Doctor. I like Charley. But..Audacity has ONE story to shine before McGann's (rather than The Eighth Doctor's..) first ongoing companion comes back into it? Is she even that much of a draw that fans will buy the next one for her presence? We're now on Charley's second returning project with The Doctor - three if we count Doom's Day - before her own solo series' 3rd box which has been Jekyll and Hyde'd even longer than that project. Thanks Davy. I'm pretty unhappy about this. I like Charley and India is lovely, but Bleak Midwinter was advertised as the continuation of a new start for the Eighth Doctor (which is one of the reasons I pre-prdered it), and now it seems it's just the subject of yet another returnee. If I was feeling overly dramatic, I'd suggest that putting a release on pre-order and then subsequently changing the line-up amounts to false advertising. As it is, no more Who pre-orders for me; I'll wait for the reviews. This kind of thing is taking the mickey now.
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