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Post by polly on Oct 8, 2019 23:38:50 GMT
The Apocalypse Element
Not to knock Benny but I'm glad to be back in the main range! Sixie/Evelyn are a wonderful pair. All three releases so far have been good to great. This is certainly the most action-packed, popcorn-blockbuster type of story so far. It has an absolutely relentless pace to it.
I had thought the entire story would be the Daleks laying siege to the Temporal Powers conference (suddenly the first season of Gallifrey makes more sense!), but moving the action to the Capitol for the second half was a very pleasant surprise. I'm a sucker for Lalla Ward.
It's easy for action scenes like this on audio to devolve into a wall of noise, but I always had a good image of what was happening thanks to good sound design painting the picture for me.
There's a ton of ideas packed into this story, but they haven't come at the cost of character. Better still, it all makes pretty decent sense in the end despite a big helping of technobabble. Once again, the Daleks are crafty, and indeed their gambit to get around the transduction barrier was brilliant. They are at their best when, despite their lack of humanity, they understand it enough to use it against us.
A good release all round, liked this better than Genocide Machine.
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Oct 9, 2019 3:44:07 GMT
I just got 15 mins into "Stones Of Venice" - 8th Dr Main Range- I was interrupted by a few co-workers who wanted to discuss the new "Joker" movie with me. Oh well..! Interrupted again..!! OMG. !
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ljwilson
Chancellery Guard
It's tangerine....not orange
Likes: 5,063
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Post by ljwilson on Oct 9, 2019 7:20:35 GMT
Working in Liverpool today so have a good 3 hours on the train, which gives me plenty of time to get stuck in to Counter Measures Series 2.
Out of all the original CM sets, this one is possibly the best of the bunch.
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Post by number13 on Oct 9, 2019 10:43:32 GMT
New Benny 5: 4 Burrowed Time - Another excellent story to complete the volume; I've enjoyed it all hugely.
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Post by number13 on Oct 9, 2019 10:55:56 GMT
Number13's Log, BFDate 191007.13: On duty at the audio station to conduct a detailed sensor sweep of a totally unknown sector of the MR known as 'Bang-Bang-a-Boom!' Nothing could have prepared me for what lay concealed beyond the swirling colours of the coverart nebula. Not even reading the synopsis.
The DL array detected intense parody, deadpan performance, perfect characterisation and laughter energy at levels which no unprepared human could survive. Though my extensive training at the BF Academy had prepared me for every possible mission, I was not prepared for being so unprepared. I felt so... helpless. (Totally brilliant in every way. As a 'Star Trek' fan for almost as long as I've been a fan of the Doctor, I loved it. ) Fascinating. In the words of a young female Vulcan riding in a starship turbo lift with a senior officer sometime in 1982 - "Humour. It is a difficult concept. It is not logical." Glad to read you enjoyed it immensely, but I am sorry to say that for me 'Bang Bang a Boom!' was the audio equivalent of watching paint dry. Actually it's worse than that...it's dull Jim. Now whether my judgement is clouded by... a) a forty year plus love/hate relationship with all things Star Trek. b) lifetime membership to the club that files Doctor Who's season 24 alongside 'Love and Monsters', 'Star Treks V', 'Generations', 'Insurrection', 'Nemesis' and 'Into Darkness' (especially 'Into Darkness'..🤢), the Alien movie franchise after 'Aliens', the TV series 'V' (not the mini series), the rebooted 'Prison Break', '24 : Legacy', 'Heroes : Reborn' and umm...the rebooted 'Dallas' (what? 'Dallas' and 'Dy-nasty' (intentional) were peak viewing in my household in the eighties! I blame my parents for being members of the cult of Terry Wogan..😋) into the headcanon tray marked "DANGER! REACH FOR THE MIND BLEACH! IT NEVER HAPPENED!" c) the fact that the writers of 'Bang Bang A Boom!' gave us (in my opinion) the far more amusing 'The One Doctor'. ...I simply cannot say, but the end result is that I feel that resistance to 'Bang Bang a Boom!' is definitely NOT futile. I just didn't find it that funny. Sorry. Glad to read you enjoyed it immensely, but I am sorry to say that for me 'Bang Bang a Boom!' was the audio equivalent of watching paint dry. Actually it's worse than that...it's dull Jim. It's odd I couldn't seem to remember this story featuring Trek parody. I might have mixed up details of it with another early MR story, but I'd think I'd have fond memories of something like that. I went to give it another listen after number13's glowing recommendation and only made it 15 minutes before having to give up, I'm sorry to say. Maybe if I'd stuck it out I'd have made it to better parts, but I really did find the opening tedious. Maybe it's just the weather, I have no idea. Fair enough guys, our Vulcan friend was correct (of course!) - humour is not logical. I loved BBAB from the first so-sincere log entry by Dr. Harcourt (a mix of Crusher & Troi for sure!) and her expository info-dump conversation with Prof Fassbinder... I could see they were going to be constantly taking the McCoy... But then I do love Trek (except the horrible 'Insurrection' and 'Nemesis', with you on both of those Brigadier! ) and so I loved the close parody of the two original series episodes which formed the core of the story. The scene with Queen Angvia and the Doctor (you know the one) had me in stitches - it wasn't like that for Kirk!
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Oct 9, 2019 11:42:40 GMT
"Minuet In Hell" is locked, loaded and ready to listen tomorrow.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2019 11:49:07 GMT
"Minuet In Hell" is locked, loaded and ready to listen tomorrow. Best of luck with that one mate🤪😂
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2019 11:50:20 GMT
New Benny 5: 4 Burrowed Time - Another excellent story to complete the volume; I've enjoyed it all hugely.
Was it the best box set probably not but I found something to enjoy in every story of the set. It was good to have new writers brought on board to spread the Benny love
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melkur
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 3,971
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Post by melkur on Oct 9, 2019 12:57:46 GMT
Over the past couple of days, in preparation for today's release, I've been listening to the previous 'Ravenous' boxsets, which I've really enjoyed.
'Just started part 2 of 'The Day Of The Master' & am looking forward to seeing how this all plays out!
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Post by theotherjosh on Oct 9, 2019 14:21:23 GMT
It seems like forever since I’ve posted here.
Peri and the Piscon Paradox
I’ve owned this one for a couple years but this is my first time listening to it. I bought it from Nev Fountain at a con, and since I listen to Big Finish almost exclusively through the app, it was always just slightly more convenient to pick another story over this one.
No one writes Peri quite as well as Nev. I am an enormous fan of his style and would like to see more of his work in the monthly range. They’re funny in a way that really appeals to my sense of humor, but the humor is always in service of the story.
The John Nathan-Turner Memoirs aka “I have been persuaded to stay”
I find myself profoundly conflicted after listening to this. He feels like he would have been an absolutely exhausting presence, but did more to spread Doctor Who across the globe than anyone and we wouldn’t have the last several series of the Classic run or the revived series without him.
I don’t think I learned much that I hadn’t already heard from other sources, but it was engaging and informative.
Emissary of the Daleks
I’m several months behind on monthly range release and I decided to listen to them in order, but I messed that up because I thought this came before Tyrant.
I’m not a huge fan of Dalek stories. I can take them or leave them. But there was something comforting about returning to Nick’s various Dalek voices after an absence. It was like coming home.
Stories sometimes take a while to get going, but this one jumped right in with both feet and I appreciated that. It fits neatly into the formula of Pertwee era Dalek stories, but it’s executed with such panache that it’s quite an enjoyable ride.
I think the element that really elevated it for me was the titular Emissary of the Daleks.
Be patient. You are not winning a game called justice, you are living a life called justice. Bertolt Brecht tells the story of a man living alone who answers a knock at the door. There stands Tyranny, armed and powerful, who asks, "Will you submit?" The man does not reply. He steps aside. Tyranny enters and takes over. The man serves him for years. Then Tyranny mysteriously becomes sick from food poisoning. He dies. The man opens the door, gets rid of the body, comes back to the house, closes the door behind him, and says, firmly, "No."
Doctor Who isn’t always sympathetic to this point of view, but there are situations where open defiance will get you killed. Sometimes we have to choose which course of action is the least bad, or which one will keep us alive to fight another day. I felt for her plight.
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ljwilson
Chancellery Guard
It's tangerine....not orange
Likes: 5,063
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Post by ljwilson on Oct 9, 2019 15:58:03 GMT
Manhunt (CM.2.1) This is brilliant stuff. If you haven't got in to Counter Measures then take it from me it is maybe the best range BF have ever done, above Doctor Who in my book. Sir Toby and his inferred last action is chilling...for the good of Queen and country of course.
The Fifth Citadel (CM.2.2) This is probably even better than the opener. A terrible tragedy and an even more shocking way it is dealt with. Celia Imre is brilliant as the doomed scientist.
Great stuff.
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Post by fingersmash on Oct 9, 2019 16:48:34 GMT
Ravenous 4. Okay, let's see where this is going.
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Post by barnabaslives on Oct 9, 2019 19:04:31 GMT
Ravenous 4. It's really capped off the series nicely, like the frosting on a cake. Performances and stories both top notch.
Also attempting a re-listen to The Fifth Traveller, a somewhat neglected title on my part from The Early Adventures if I can get through it without interruptions. It's another that make such a strong impression on me that I feel less like I need to hear it again soon, but this time around I realize I'd forgotten how good everyone sounds in this.
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ljwilson
Chancellery Guard
It's tangerine....not orange
Likes: 5,063
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Post by ljwilson on Oct 9, 2019 20:43:10 GMT
A relisten to SJS 'The Tao Connection' and 'Comeback' in that (wrong) order.
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Post by number13 on Oct 10, 2019 11:29:28 GMT
"Minuet In Hell" is locked, loaded and ready to listen tomorrow. Best of luck with that one mate🤪😂 I like it anyway!
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Oct 10, 2019 11:29:57 GMT
"Minuet In Hell" is locked, loaded and ready to listen tomorrow. Best of luck with that one mate🤪😂
U don't like this one?
:-)
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Post by barnabaslives on Oct 10, 2019 11:39:23 GMT
Best of luck with that one mate🤪😂
U don't like this one?
:-)
Paul McGann and Nicholas Courtney together is of course priceless, but may we say that Minuet in Hell has attracted a number of negative reviews (a few parts of which I'm tempted to agree with)? Also, I know we're given to being strange and senseless here in the states, but naming a state "Malebolgia"? More likely this would happen to a small Slavic European country, I would think. :-)
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2019 11:47:23 GMT
U don't like this one?
:-)
Paul McGann and Nicholas Courtney together is of course priceless, but may we say that Minuet in Hell has attracted a number of negative reviews (a few parts of which I'm tempted to agree with)? Also, I know we're given to being strange and senseless here in the states, but naming a state "Malebolgia"? More likely this would happen to a small Slavic European country, I would think. :-) Ironically, the original story released in 1986(?) was set in Bedlam and featured Medmenham Abbey's Hellfire Club attempting to summon Lucifer. The remakes of the Audio Visuals stories tend to be fairly good, but unfortunately, I think Minuet ended up more a shuffle than a courtly dance. The script for the original is available here and here. As was tradition, it really put the AV!Doctor through the wringer.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2019 11:54:38 GMT
Best of luck with that one mate🤪😂
U don't like this one?
:-)
Its toooooooooo long.
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ljwilson
Chancellery Guard
It's tangerine....not orange
Likes: 5,063
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Post by ljwilson on Oct 10, 2019 11:59:32 GMT
Peshka (CM.2.3) Great sense of paranoia in this one and I like the real footage from the 60's of the riots (etc.)
This afternoon I'm going to try and finish 'Unregenerate!'
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