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Post by polly on Jul 29, 2020 19:37:26 GMT
The Spirit Trap
There's a Jago and Litefoot sale on just in time for a new devotee such as myself...so just my luck the only discounted items are the ones I've already got. Bah! Anyway, this story makes it three for three so far. It seems as though a charlatan is taking advantage of Ellie's grief, but even as Jago set to work trying to expose her, I had a feeling there'd be more to it than that. As so often happens with some of these shows, I'd prefer it if they let a ghost story just be a ghost story without all the rationalizations. Science fiction nonsense is just as unreal as supernatural nonsense, and you run the risk of deflating the atmosphere when you make that switch. What I do quite like is basing a story around Ellie's character like this. She gets a great deal more screen time than before, and it adds real depth to her. I like that the events of Bloodless Soldier haven't been forgotten, and we get the occasional tease that the truth will out. The sound design impressed me as well, especially the vocal effect within the spirit realm or whatever. I've heard that sort of thing before, but the specific pitch of Jago's voice made it sound really creepy. Speaking of, Jago was rather hilarious in this. His attempt to sing to himself to keep up his spirits petering out miserably. Threatening that'd he would definitely hit someone with a point-blank shot...even if it's his own foot. This is the first story where I have anything resembling a complaint, but it's a very strong effort nonetheless.
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Post by sherlock on Jul 29, 2020 19:42:40 GMT
Counter-Measures: Threshold
The first scene of garbled nonsense did not set the tone well, but after the titles sequence the story pulled itself together nicely. The team dynamic from Remembrance is revived with ease, and the setup at the end nicely sets up a bit of conflict as well.
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ljwilson
Chancellery Guard
It's tangerine....not orange
Likes: 5,063
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Post by ljwilson on Jul 29, 2020 19:48:10 GMT
Counter-Measures: ThresholdThe first scene of garbled nonsense did not set the tone well, but after the titles sequence the story pulled itself together nicely. The team dynamic from Remembrance is revived with ease, and the setup at the end nicely sets up a bit of conflict as well. I quite like the garbled nonsense!
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Post by grinch on Jul 29, 2020 21:05:35 GMT
Around the World in Eighty Days (Jules Verne)
Have fond memories of this story having first read it some many years ago. Back when I was young and innocent. Well, young at least.
Listening to this adaptation I have to say I can’t believe I didn’t think of this before but Leslie Phillips is perfect casting for the character of Phileas Fogg. Jim Broadbent’s ever persistent Detective Fixx was a lot of fun as well.
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shutupbanks
Castellan
There’s a horror movie called Alien? That’s really offensive. No wonder everyone keeps invading you.
Likes: 5,705
Member is Online
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Post by shutupbanks on Jul 29, 2020 22:39:41 GMT
The Wormery
Never listened to this before and was really looking forward to it but I guessed the twist by the end of episode 1. I never guess the twist. I didn’t enjoy this as much as I wanted to: the signposting if the rubbish idea as a ripoff of the Doctor’s own experience just felt like owning up to it, to be honest. The writing was great, though: it’s the most fun I’ve ever had with a Paul Magrs script but it just didn’t quite gel for me.
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Post by sherlock on Jul 29, 2020 23:28:18 GMT
Counter-Measures: Artificial Intelligence
60s style brainwashing paranoia and strong characterisation of the regulars. Good stuff, I’m enjoying how this series is progressing.
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Post by number13 on Jul 30, 2020 1:10:01 GMT
Counter-Measures: ThresholdThe first scene of garbled nonsense did not set the tone well, but after the titles sequence the story pulled itself together nicely. The team dynamic from Remembrance is revived with ease, and the setup at the end nicely sets up a bit of conflict as well. I quite like the garbled nonsense! Same here, I thought it was about as daring a start to a new range as could be. And it set the tone (no pun) for the astonishingly high-quality sound designs of classic CM; even by the usual BF standard of excellence, they are superb.
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Post by number13 on Jul 30, 2020 1:16:09 GMT
I've had Tales from New Earth for a while (recommended by Whovitt for one as I recall) and finally getting round to listening.
Really enjoyed 'Escape From New New York' with the huge diversity of lifeforms and characters (the Duke of Brooklyn would have been amazing in CGI! ) and 'Death in the New Forest' was good if a little more conventional in storyline. I hadn't time to listen to 'The Skies of New Earth' but I did sneak in the first ten minutes or so and liked the direction it was going (up, mostly )
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Post by Whovitt on Jul 30, 2020 1:33:16 GMT
I've had Tales from New Earth for a while (recommended by Whovitt for one as I recall) and finally getting round to listening.
Really enjoyed 'Escape From New New York' with the huge diversity of lifeforms and characters (the Duke of Brooklyn would have been amazing in CGI! ) and 'Death in the New Forest' was good if a little more conventional in storyline. I hadn't time to listen to 'The Skies of New Earth' but I did sneak in the first ten minutes or so and liked the direction it was going (up, mostly ) I'll admit I don't remember too much about it these days (having just checked, it's been getting on two-and-a-half years since I heard it), but I remember it being surprisingly enjoyable. There's a particular sequence I recall though involving some awesome music, a bear, and a jetpack, which felt like it was worth the price of entry alone Kieran Hodgson also pulls off a pretty reasonable David Tennant impression, and I felt the Churchill Years-style narrative structure worked quite well here too.
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Post by tuigirl on Jul 30, 2020 7:36:50 GMT
Finished the Robots. I loved the courtroom drama! Yay, Liv!
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Post by number13 on Jul 30, 2020 10:54:34 GMT
I've had Tales from New Earth for a while (recommended by Whovitt for one as I recall) and finally getting round to listening.
Really enjoyed 'Escape From New New York' with the huge diversity of lifeforms and characters (the Duke of Brooklyn would have been amazing in CGI! ) and 'Death in the New Forest' was good if a little more conventional in storyline. I hadn't time to listen to 'The Skies of New Earth' but I did sneak in the first ten minutes or so and liked the direction it was going (up, mostly ) I'll admit I don't remember too much about it these days (having just checked, it's been getting on two-and-a-half years since I heard it), but I remember it being surprisingly enjoyable. There's a particular sequence I recall though involving some awesome music, a bear, and a jetpack, which felt like it was worth the price of entry alone Kieran Hodgson also pulls off a pretty reasonable David Tennant impression, and I felt the Churchill Years-style narrative structure worked quite well here too. I'm just getting to the flying Solar eco-Bear. Yes I think Kieran Hodgson does a very good job as Ten and I like his Devon character. I'd not realised TFNE was part-narrated in the CCs/EAs style but I like that style when appropriate and the rich descriptions it allows the writers to work in, very useful in such an imaginative new world as we're seeing here.
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Post by christmastrenzalore on Jul 30, 2020 17:00:24 GMT
Vortex Ice / Cortex Fire This was an excellent couple of stories.
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Post by polly on Jul 30, 2020 19:07:45 GMT
The Similarity Engine
Wrapping up the first series with a story that ties off most of the storylines from Mahogany Murderers up to now. It's largely composed of unfinished business, but the added element of the dangerous black ore certainly upped the stakes from just evil wooden men. Ellie got her turn for prominence last time, and now it's Quick who gets some extra focus, which is very welcome. Nothing beats the repartee of Jago and Litefoot, but Quick's no slouch in that department either, if bickering with the Professor over his handwriting is anything to go by.
I very slightly prefer Litefoot to Jago (though I can't deny Jago is funnier), so I like that he was a little more dominant in this story because Jago was in the hospital. Just as Jago begged for Litefoot's life in Bellova Devil, Litefoot threatens Tulp should anything happen to Jago. Aww. The scenes in the mortuary with the burnt mahogany replica were some of my favorites from the whole box set.
Dr Tulp's end goal is not exactly the most original, but I found the means interesting. Like I said, that black ore in the hands of unknowning Victorian characters is more chilling than all the blood drinking lyncanthropes you can shake a stick at. And his astral voyages reminded me of Tolkien's sadly unfinished Notion Club Papers. The reveal of his hands is suitably shocking, though in hindsight I don't think you needed an extra monster/being/whatever involved on top of everything else.
An excellent finale. And one that leaves me with a real hook into the next box set. Litefoot & Sanders?!
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Post by Audio Watchdog on Jul 30, 2020 19:18:18 GMT
The drama tease of The Lovecraft Invasion before moving into the released version.
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Post by grinch on Jul 30, 2020 19:46:32 GMT
The Great War (Nicholas Briggs)
I think we tend to forget what with your Doom Coalitions and Ravenous’s just what a breath of fresh air this and the rest of Dark Eyes was at the time.
It’s a really harrowing depiction of the Great War with all its horrors on full display and Molly O Sullivan immediately makes a great first impression. She’s acerbic and very blunt but in the end it’s all an act. A lovely depiction of what it must have been like to be a nurse... sorry VAD at the time. Emotions must come second and be placed to the side to get the job done.
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Post by tuigirl on Jul 30, 2020 20:25:15 GMT
The Great War (Nicholas Briggs) I think we tend to forget what with your Doom Coalitions and Ravenous’s just what a breath of fresh air this and the rest of Dark Eyes was at the time. It’s a really harrowing depiction of the Great War with all its horrors on full display and Molly O Sullivan immediately makes a great first impression. She’s acerbic and very blunt but in the end it’s all an act. A lovely depiction of what it must have been like to be a nurse... sorry VAD at the time. Emotions must come second and be placed to the side to get the job done. Dark Eyes is a master piece.
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Post by sherlock on Jul 30, 2020 23:13:24 GMT
Counter-Measures: The Pelage Project
Another really good story. This series is going from strength to strength.
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Post by polly on Jul 30, 2020 23:32:40 GMT
Frostfire
Thought I'd listen to some Companion Chronicles since that's what I was supposed to be doing in the first place, before I got distracted by Jago & Litefoot. Generally speaking, they're one of my favorite ranges, but my memory of Series 1 is that they're pretty clunky and BF hadn't quite mastered the format yet. And that is true here to some extent. This is far more reliant on Vicki's narration in places where later stories would use as much natural dialogue as possible.
Having said that, Marc Platt is one of the best First Doctor writers around, and for my money you can't beat a winter tale for audio atmosphere. Which is one thing I think they got right even as early as this. And it's a good story in its own right. Ice skating, dancing with Jane Austen, and malevolent cinder-thingies. And all that narration is far from unpleasant to listen to. I actually think Maureen O'Brien is still able to make young Vicki sound incredibly close to how she did in the 60s. She's up there with Frazer Hines in that respect.
Vicki's departure on TV was pretty weak, in my opinion. I've never been fond of writing off companions so they can go get married to someone they just met. So I liked having a glimpse of what her life is actually like in a time so far before her own. Better still, that framing device is intertwined into the main story so well that before/after becomes a matter of perspective. I think in some cases later on the framing device was kind of a formality and rather unnecessary, but here it's an essential part of the narrative.
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Post by Hieronymus on Jul 31, 2020 5:59:00 GMT
Counter-Measures: The Pelage ProjectAnother really good story. This series is going from strength to strength. The series had only two weak stories for me. Not two bad stories, just two that were not on par with the excellence of the rest of the series.
{Spoiler} There was only one episode in the series that flopped for me, and that was for the utter codswallop of the scientific underpinning on which the entire story was based. Rachel and Allison would never make such an elementary mistake in fundamental science. I won't say which story, but if you have a solid grasp of basic science you'll spot it easily.
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Post by grinch on Jul 31, 2020 11:33:16 GMT
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (Alvin Schwartz/Stephen Gammell)
An audio read by George S. Irving of Heat Miser. Admittedly, the stories are all just a collection of old folktales which aren’t exactly that terrifying when not accompanied by Stephen Gammell’s horrifying artwork.
The late Mr Irving’s marvellous reading more than makes up for it though. Gets into the full ghoulish spirit of the thing with cackles, sound effects and everything.
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