Post by agentten on May 10, 2016 21:12:07 GMT
Hello all,
About a year ago I began a project in which I set out to listen to the first 100 main range releases in order of release. I kept note of which ones I enjoyed most as well as some notes about particular successes across the range. It was really interesting to listen to the evolution of the range, hearing the experiments with three part stories, anthology releases, and thematic trilogies. I felt as if I was enjoying each success and breakthrough along with Big Finish and it was fascinating to hear the early rough steps gradually evolve into more refined storytelling. It seemed that each time a particularly good story came along, a Spare Parts or a Chimes of Midnight for example, then about six to eight months later the stories that came out would seem to assimilate the things that worked from those particularly successful stories and I could hear Big Finish fine tuning what worked and what didn't. Some stories were still better than others, of course, but many elements of the stories seemed to become more consistent. I'll have to wait for a sale to fill in the gaps on my collection of the next hundred releases, but for now, here are some thoughts on the first 100.
The releases I most enjoyed over all:
2. Phantasmagoria
5. The Fearmonger
11. The Apocalypse Element
16. Storm Warning
17. Sword of Orion
23. Project: Twilight
24. The Eye of the Scorpion
25. Colditz
26. Primeval
27. The One Doctor
29. The Chimes of Midnight
33. Neverland
34. Spare Parts
40. Jubilee
45. Project: Lazarus
47. Omega
48. Davros
49. Master
50. Zagreus
51. The Wormery
52. Scherzo
54. The Natural History of Fear
60. Medicinal Purposes
65. The Juggernauts
66. The Game
69. Three's a Crowd
72. Terror Firma
74. Live 34
76. Singularity
79. Night Thoughts
81. The Kingmaker
84. The Nowhere Place
86. The Reaping
88. Memory Lane
90. Year of The Pig
91. Circular Time
99. Son of the Dragon
Each Doctor's best story:
Five - Spare Parts
Six - Davros
Seven - Master
Eight - The Chimes of Midnight
Doctor who most benefited from Big Finish character development: Six
Companion who most benefited from Big Finish character development: Nyssa
Doctor with the most consistently good stories: Eight
Recurring monster with the most consistently good stories: The Cybermen (Spare Parts, Sword of Orion, The Reaping)
Recurring villain with the most consistently good stories: Davros (Davros, The Juggernauts, Terror Firma)
Funniest story: The Kingmaker
Scariest story: Night Thoughts
Most thought provoking story: The Natural History of Fear
Best historical: Son of The Dragon
Best mystery: The Chimes of Midnight
Best Big Finish original companion: Charley Pollard
Best experiment with the audio medium: Live 34
Best one part story: Urgent Calls
Best Doctor/villain match-up: Six vs. Davros
Best expansion of the Whoniverse mythology: Neverland
Story that shouldn't work but absolutely does: Year of The Pig
About a year ago I began a project in which I set out to listen to the first 100 main range releases in order of release. I kept note of which ones I enjoyed most as well as some notes about particular successes across the range. It was really interesting to listen to the evolution of the range, hearing the experiments with three part stories, anthology releases, and thematic trilogies. I felt as if I was enjoying each success and breakthrough along with Big Finish and it was fascinating to hear the early rough steps gradually evolve into more refined storytelling. It seemed that each time a particularly good story came along, a Spare Parts or a Chimes of Midnight for example, then about six to eight months later the stories that came out would seem to assimilate the things that worked from those particularly successful stories and I could hear Big Finish fine tuning what worked and what didn't. Some stories were still better than others, of course, but many elements of the stories seemed to become more consistent. I'll have to wait for a sale to fill in the gaps on my collection of the next hundred releases, but for now, here are some thoughts on the first 100.
The releases I most enjoyed over all:
2. Phantasmagoria
5. The Fearmonger
11. The Apocalypse Element
16. Storm Warning
17. Sword of Orion
23. Project: Twilight
24. The Eye of the Scorpion
25. Colditz
26. Primeval
27. The One Doctor
29. The Chimes of Midnight
33. Neverland
34. Spare Parts
40. Jubilee
45. Project: Lazarus
47. Omega
48. Davros
49. Master
50. Zagreus
51. The Wormery
52. Scherzo
54. The Natural History of Fear
60. Medicinal Purposes
65. The Juggernauts
66. The Game
69. Three's a Crowd
72. Terror Firma
74. Live 34
76. Singularity
79. Night Thoughts
81. The Kingmaker
84. The Nowhere Place
86. The Reaping
88. Memory Lane
90. Year of The Pig
91. Circular Time
99. Son of the Dragon
Each Doctor's best story:
Five - Spare Parts
Six - Davros
Seven - Master
Eight - The Chimes of Midnight
Doctor who most benefited from Big Finish character development: Six
Companion who most benefited from Big Finish character development: Nyssa
Doctor with the most consistently good stories: Eight
Recurring monster with the most consistently good stories: The Cybermen (Spare Parts, Sword of Orion, The Reaping)
Recurring villain with the most consistently good stories: Davros (Davros, The Juggernauts, Terror Firma)
Funniest story: The Kingmaker
Scariest story: Night Thoughts
Most thought provoking story: The Natural History of Fear
Best historical: Son of The Dragon
Best mystery: The Chimes of Midnight
Best Big Finish original companion: Charley Pollard
Best experiment with the audio medium: Live 34
Best one part story: Urgent Calls
Best Doctor/villain match-up: Six vs. Davros
Best expansion of the Whoniverse mythology: Neverland
Story that shouldn't work but absolutely does: Year of The Pig
