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Post by martinw8686 on Jan 29, 2024 17:07:13 GMT
The first 4 - 6 sets, I was so excited to hear more of the 9th Doctor but once I'd gotten to Hidden Depths I've felt so dissapointed by this range.
My main gripes are,
9 feels a little watered down, with the characters' darker edges missing. I know Chris wants to play the part veering away from the trauma of the Time War, but I do enjoy this iterations temper, especially when he voices his thoughts on humanities stupidity and social injustices.
The stand-alone companionless stories are growing tiresome. The range desperately needs a story arc or 2 - 3 part adventures, maybe even a 6 part multi set adventure. 1 hour stories can only do so much.
Each set of 3 adventures seems to have at least one dud in the bunch.
I've noticed the sets have begun to form a pattern of a returning monster or friend being the selling point. For example,
9 meets the Cybermen 9 meets the Brigadier 9 meets the Sontarans 9 meets the Sea Devils 9 meets Liv and Helen 9 meets the Vashta Narada 9 meets Bernice Summerfield
Maybe I'm being too harsh but I'd love some stories actually exploring some character depth and reflection.
Chris is a fantastic actor, but based on my impression built up of the sets I've heard, the range feels superficial and directionless.
Will I feel differently about the sets I've yet to hear? They look very much cut from the same cloth?
I'd say my individual dissapointment is more an issue, than anything particularly bad, some stories have been great but I can't get past what I want for further adventures with the 9th Doctor.
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Post by relativetime on Jan 29, 2024 18:01:44 GMT
I feel pretty similarly. The stories have been good, but without the forward momentum for the Doctor’s character or without some companions to follow instead, it almost feels like the range is stuck spinning its wheels in a weird way. I don’t really need more Time War angst, I just need something deeper going on whether it’s a season long mystery or whatever.
If these sets are going to cost an arm and a leg, at least make it feel worth it basically.
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Post by timleschild on Jan 29, 2024 19:08:10 GMT
I disagree. I love Chris' portrayal. I love that this range doesn't have big arcs & just focuses on the story of the week style. Maybe more two-parters now & again, like in Old Friends. Maybe a set of adventures with Rose. But I hope we don't get the big heavy arcs & multi-part epics. Not having an ongoing companion allows for some brief but important one-off friendships, Travel in Hope did this wonderfully with each main character finding their own voice & strength by meeting with & working with the Doctor.
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Post by Sir Wearer of Hats on Jan 29, 2024 19:47:51 GMT
I find it an incredibly charming range, Chris is playing the Doctor precisely how I’d ask any actor hired by me to play the role - curious, caring, tired of the bull dust he encounters buts still kind enough to hold a dying person’s hand without flinching. There’s only enough angst needed for the drama to unfold. There’s only enough doom for the stakes to have a real sense of tension. He’s not “I’m the Doctor, I’m eleventy-one years old from the dead planet Gallifrey, I am the oncoming storm, monsters fear me and I’m a sad, lonely, bitter man pretending to be nice” He’s “hello, I’m the Doctor. Fancy a mint vindaloo?” who’ll sit with someone as they weep and empathise because we all know he”s been there. If he’s happy, he’s genuinely happy, not “putting on a face for the humans in the room, but secretly his soul is dark with foreboding”. If he’s sad, he’s genuinely sad and not “the Doctor knows true suffering…” if he’s angry there’s none of this “when the Doctor’s mask slips and we see the real Doctor beneath”/“you are a good Dalek” stuff that certain writers and fans obsess over, no he’s angry because someone deserves a good shouting-at and he’s right there and very cross.
Long may this continue, frankly.
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melkur
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 3,967
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Post by melkur on Jan 29, 2024 21:31:28 GMT
I think I'm in a similar boat, to be honest. Whilst I'm not NOT enjoying the 9th Doctor boxset run, I think I'm soon going to be reaching the point of pre-ordering the bundles for the "sake" of getting them, and not because I'm desperate to see what they're doing the range next.
I don't mind the anthology releases, as such, but it would be nice if we could get the occasional arc-set every once a while (like the very first one) or maybe delve into a slightly 'darker' era of the 9th Doctor era (not that, yes, Christ is interested in doing that)...
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Post by cwm on Jan 29, 2024 21:42:45 GMT
Ravagers is the worst kind of vanity publishing, if anyone other than Nick had submitted it it quite simply wouldn't have been recorded.
Other than that highlights have been Girl, Deconstructed, Planet of the End, Monsters in Metropolis, Old Friends in general, Auld Lang Syne, Break the Ice and Below There; it's a fairly solid range, it hasn't had many all-time classics (apart from Auld Lang Syne) but it rarely produces an outright stinker, and there's plenty of examples of good, solidly made Who.
That said, I think the current setup has somewhat hit its limit after thirty-six straight pre-Rose solo adventures, and something different when/if there's another run would be welcome.
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Post by timleschild on Jan 29, 2024 22:38:38 GMT
Ravagers is the worst kind of vanity publishing, if anyone other than Nick had submitted it it quite simply wouldn't have been recorded. Yes, Briggs just insisting that he be the one to write the first story. Completely out of step with the rest of the range thus far.
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Post by martinw8686 on Jan 29, 2024 22:51:43 GMT
I respect a lot of people enjoy the less agnsty interpretation of the Doctor. We have seen a lot of time war trauma since 2005, so fair enough. I do enjoy seeing the Doctor give bad guys and pompous idiots a telling off, and Chris on TV was great at switching from cheerful to angry at the drop of a hat.
I'm very much switched off the range until the set of 3 stand alone stories changes.
I just feel the one part stories have become very samey and I don't need to hear anymore given there are other ranges I prefer.
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Post by theillusiveman on Jan 30, 2024 5:47:05 GMT
While I hate to be a contrarian I found the ninth doctor adventures to be an utter wasted potential Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed most of series one particularly boxsets 2&4 But past that series’s two had a few good stories in the first Boxset after that I quickly lost interest As most stories feel like filler and series 3 while I preordered mainly for the sake of having the CDs for collection I haven’t listened to
The main issue of contention is that there the characterisation of the ninth Doctor I know this is an issue because of Christopher eccleston wanting to have a lighter character which given this is post time war 9 I find it completely out of character as I would imagine a much more sombre and darker Doctor given the grief and loss and it feels absent here like a whole chapter of 9’s life is missing
I mean you could have the head canon that this is an unbound version of 9 who didn’t go though the time war
I hope series 4 has rose and they set it during series 1 and while it’s probably never going to happen I would have loved to have seen 9, rose and Captain Jack but given the bbc and eccleston not having a good relationship with Barrowman at the moment
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Post by theillusiveman on Jan 30, 2024 5:49:18 GMT
I think I'm in a similar boat, to be honest. Whilst I'm not NOT enjoying the 9th Doctor boxset run, I think I'm soon going to be reaching the point of pre-ordering the bundles for the "sake" of getting them, and not because I'm desperate to see what they're doing the range next. I don't mind the anthology releases, as such, but it would be nice if we could get the occasional arc-set every once a while (like the very first one) or maybe delve into a slightly 'darker' era of the 9th Doctor era (not that, yes, Christ is interested in doing that)... Agreed I think a “Dalek Universe” style mini series is desperately needed
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Post by grinch on Jan 30, 2024 20:26:23 GMT
Ravagers is the worst kind of vanity publishing, if anyone other than Nick had submitted it it quite simply wouldn't have been recorded. Other than that highlights have been Girl, Deconstructed, Planet of the End, Monsters in Metropolis, Old Friends in general, Auld Lang Syne, Break the Ice and Below There; it's a fairly solid range, it hasn't had many all-time classics (apart from Auld Lang Syne) but it rarely produces an outright stinker, and there's plenty of examples of good, solidly made Who. That said, I think the current setup has somewhat hit its limit after thirty-six straight pre-Rose solo adventures, and something different when/if there's another run would be welcome. Oh yes, I recall at the time that when everyone got over the initial shock of Eccelston reprising his role there was a lot of backlash regarding how borderline incomprehensible the plot of Ravagers was.
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Post by sherlock on Jan 30, 2024 22:04:16 GMT
I keep meaning to revisit the range as I’ve only heard most of it once. I do like how Eccleston’s pitching his performance, even if it’s not truly the Nine of TV.
Whilst I enjoyed the one-shot character drama this range has made its bread and butter, the reason I stopped buying it was my appetite for them was simply satisfied. A Dalek Universe/Valarie arc style shakeup would probably peak my interest again, just as something more ambitious.
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Post by shallacatop on Feb 2, 2024 9:29:42 GMT
I think it's generally an OK range, with some terrific highs and some truly lacking lows. Like sherlock, I think the key thing for me is that my appetite for them was satisfied. For me, that was at the end of the first series, but Back to Earth really appealed, was fantastic, and so I went into the second series. Part of it is that whilst I love Nine on TV, I am perfectly content with his tight knitted era and it's plotted and arranged like that for a reason. To see it continually expand, albeit in the form of a prequel to his TV run, and to get a completely different portrayal from Eccleston just reinforces how happy I am with what we got on screen. Respond to All Calls & Back to Earth were the perfect embodiment of what I'd expect a Ninth Doctor range to be and scratch that itch. I wouldn't be against a bit of a shake up; if you're going to sort of defy the era portrayed on screen, then you may as well do it radically!
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Post by elkawho on Feb 3, 2024 16:26:35 GMT
I mostly like and enjoy this range, but to be honest I really want to love it. I liked Callen and Doyle. They were different kinds of companions for the Doctor and I was hoping they would stay around. They brought something exciting to the range, but he got rid of them so fast. I feel like it was a wasted opportunity. If there is something lacking it is any sense of emotional core.
The range kind of feels like the early 4DAs, when that range was stuck on the nostalgia for 4th Doctor era instead of moving forward into a new one. Greanted, the issue here is that they are trying to stay away from certain things about the Ninth Doctor era. His war weariness and PTSD. However it is starting to feel as if something is missing. That a part of Nine is being ignored. Can you imagine the Ninth Doctor we are getting in these stories meeting the Dalek in Dalek? Would he have the same reaction? Would he get freaked out and just try and kill it? I'm not so sure.
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enofa
Full Member
Likes: 122
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Post by enofa on Feb 8, 2024 0:23:06 GMT
Nine is my least favourite TV Doctor and this range has been a blessing for me as I’m finally able to enjoy one of my favourite actors in the role. I don’t like the post-Time War angst on any level, I don’t like the bullying side of his TV portrayal, and I don’t especially like Rose. And while I completely understand the function of the format, I find it sad that a fair amount of Nine’s screen time is given over to basically introducing the show and its format to a new audience. So I was really happy to basically have Chris doing some trad Who for once. The first series I thought was patchy - Ravagers the obvious low point, and Culshaw’s Brig veers into uncanny valley territory for me spoiling my enjoyment of that story - but I found the second series really solid, with Auld Lang Syne a major highlight. Benny’s presence has guaranteed the next box gets a purchase from me too.
That said, I agree that a format change would work really nicely for his fourth series. Dalek Universe is a great example, or if not that, then at least something more arc-based or serialised over each box. We’ve had a couple of ideas that have popped up in later stories, but otherwise all the releases have basically been interchangeable in terms of order or theme, so it’d be really nice to have something to move things forward.
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Post by Whovitt on Feb 8, 2024 7:17:02 GMT
Personally, I've never really felt this range has ever produced an exceptional box set. There have been some great individual stories among the sets, but I couldn't look at any of them and say "every episode in that one is great".
While it was initially great to hear Eccleston back in the role, there's a serious disconnect between his performance in the TV show and most of these stories, which I think is a real shame. I love the darker edge his character had on TV, and I don't know why that has to be completely* sanded away for most of these stories. It does show itself occasionally (Break the Ice, for instance), but the happy-go-lucky Ninth Doctor is starting to get a little samey and, dare I say it, boring at this point. I think an arc could really shake things up and get this range properly interesting again, like how I felt when it was first announced. Something to raise the stakes a little, rather than constant "monster of the week" style stories. We've had two proper multi-part stories in this entire range so far (eleven box sets, including this month's), and they were both in the first series! Some variety really wouldn't go amiss.
I'll probably keep buying the releases even if they don't do an arc or some-such as, like I say, there are some really great individual episodes in this range that are worth sticking around for, but I'd really love for them to try something a little different sometime soon. Three stand-alone episodes, at least one with a returning element, is just not conceptually interesting any more.
*He doesn't have to have AS dark an edge in the audios, but he frequently doesn't even have an edge at all!
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Feb 8, 2024 7:27:03 GMT
Personally, I've never really felt this range has ever produced an exceptional box set. There have been some great individual stories among the sets, but I couldn't look at any of them and say "every episode in that one is great". While it was initially great to hear Eccleston back in the role, there's a serious disconnect between his performance in the TV show and most of these stories, which I think is a real shame. I love the darker edge his character had on TV, and I don't know why that has to be completely* sanded away for most of these stories. It does show itself occasionally ( Break the Ice, for instance), but the happy-go-lucky Ninth Doctor is starting to get a little samey and, dare I say it, boring at this point. I think an arc could really shake things up and get this range properly interesting again, like how I felt when it was first announced. Something to raise the stakes a little, rather than constant "monster of the week" style stories. We've had two proper multi-part stories in this entire range so far (eleven box sets, including this month's), and they were both in the first series! Some variety really wouldn't go amiss. I'll probably keep buying the releases even if they don't do an arc or some-such as, like I say, there are some really great individual episodes in this range that are worth sticking around for, but I'd really love for them to try something a little different sometime soon. Three stand-alone episodes, at least one with a returning element, is just not conceptually interesting any more. *He doesn't have to have AS dark an edge in the audios, but he frequently doesn't even have an edge at all!
Yes ^.. A bit of an edge, some grunt, a hint of the dark times.. More well rounded ..
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Post by timleschild on Feb 8, 2024 9:08:27 GMT
The Empty Child is the way Eccelston wants to be. He said that Moffat got his doctor in that one.
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Post by bonehead on Feb 8, 2024 9:16:02 GMT
I think the Ninth Doctor range is consistently good. That said, I've not been compelled to get every single one like I have with the 3DAs, for example.
Keeping Chris happy is a priority of course, and I remember hearing that Nick Briggs had to re-write Ravagers because it was initially too dark'n'doomy (presumably Chris made the request), so if he's asking for a lighter variant of The Ninth Doctor, I'm not sure what Big Finish can do (an ongoing story arc would be good, I agree). Initially he didn't want to do any Big Finish at all, but he was swayed. Perhaps he can be swayed into rediscovering his Doc's darker nature.
Whatever happens, the range seems to ticking along very nicely at the moment, I think.
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Post by Timelord007 on Feb 8, 2024 13:22:04 GMT
Mixed, I wish they'd do longer stories because the longer ones they done have been excellent.
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