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Post by coffeeaddict on Jul 28, 2016 20:04:40 GMT
I noticed when I was downloading the set that the running times are very different. The first and fourth stories are under an hour, while "Judoon in Chains" is 78 minutes! Whoops! I know we have a reputation for overwriting, but I'm fairly sure the final script wasn't overlong in this case; you should have seen how much we had to cut to get it down to (cough) one hour - it could have been a four-parter! I think the difference in running time is down to the nature of story; the court scenes are by their nature more slowly paced, as are the various other more thoughtful moments that are interspersed with the action. That's my excuse, anyway. I dont think anyone would have complained had it been a four parter.
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Post by paulmorris on Jul 28, 2016 22:30:15 GMT
Whoops! I know we have a reputation for overwriting, but I'm fairly sure the final script wasn't overlong in this case; you should have seen how much we had to cut to get it down to (cough) one hour - it could have been a four-parter! I think the difference in running time is down to the nature of story; the court scenes are by their nature more slowly paced, as are the various other more thoughtful moments that are interspersed with the action. That's my excuse, anyway. I dont think anyone would have complained had it been a four parter. That's very kind of you. Maybe I should make clear that we were asked to write a 10,000 word story and that's what we did; the material we cut was part of the redrafting process, ensuring the story concentrated on the important, relevant aspects rather than getting self indulgent. I need to thank David, Matt and Barnaby for their help in getting us there. It was a real team effort - everyone was keen to make the story (and the whole box set) as good as it could be.
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Post by mark687 on Jul 28, 2016 22:32:38 GMT
Hints for Vol2
The same monster in 2 of the scripts' with 2 different Doctors
All 4 monsters new to BF
Nick Briggs will be involved because after all "Nick Briggs and Doctor Who Monsters"
Regards
mark687
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Post by Shiny on Jul 29, 2016 0:44:26 GMT
I enjoyed Judoon in Chains a lot. It was different to what I expected. Tomorrow I think I'll listen to the Sontaran Ordeal. Between the four stories, this is definitely one of Big Finish's more exciting releases.
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Post by Audio Watchdog on Jul 29, 2016 0:48:07 GMT
One story in and Fallen Angels gets things off to a rousing start. Davison is in excellent form as 5 and Barnaby Edwards once again shows why he is one of the best directors that Big Finish employs. Phil Mulryne continues to prove he is one of BF's real up & comers. Top notch release.
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Post by barnabaslives on Jul 29, 2016 0:53:36 GMT
I'm very glad nothing else got cut from Chains of the Judoon. They're all fine stories but that is very definitely my favorite and I can't imagine any of it having been left out. Outstanding performances also (I honestly didn't realize it was Nick until after I'd finished the whole story, bravo!) I hope Paul McGann had a good time with The Sontaran Ordeal, it seemed like he did and he had at least a couple of lighthearted lines that were wonderfully memorable. Also thanks to James Goss for a great tale, and his pre-emptive nomenclature that has hopefully now confined an entire pharmacopeia of dubious essentials to the realm of fiction. Truly an outstanding service to humanity.
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Post by Hieronymus on Jul 29, 2016 3:53:58 GMT
Fallen Angels was very good and very scary. I jumped in brief fright more than once.
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Post by elkawho on Jul 29, 2016 4:18:36 GMT
I'm 3 stories in and LOVING it. And as much as I loved Jadoon In Chains (it really was amazing), I think my favorite so far is Fallen Angels. I think BF used the Angels better than the TV show has since Blink. I was scared at times, and I was also laughing out loud at others ("Those English. They are so passionate, no?" "I'm just not used to people doing...that around me.") I thought Peter was having a ball with it.
Tomorrow will be Eight and the Sontarans, and then I think I'll listen to the whole thing all over again.
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Post by TinDogPodcast on Jul 29, 2016 6:23:18 GMT
See. I told you not to worry
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Post by mrperson on Jul 29, 2016 16:28:16 GMT
I didn't even manage to save one episode for another day. Great box set all around! Though as for the Angels one, Minor gripe: the 'explanation' of why the two victims couldn't return to the present didn't really make sense to me. Sure, the Doctor has to pop forward and make sure he meets earlier-them for their first time in order to make sure events always play out the same way (the explanation). But why couldn't he, after doing that, pop back to pick up later-them, then drop them off in the present X minutes after early-them were zapped back?
(One also might wonder why, in the Doctor's future, he doesn't have everyone hang a bunch of mirrors from themselves pointing every which way when going to encounter Angels. Sure, it'd be clunky....but it'd be a lot safer.)
Maybe I missed something. Oh well, still an outstanding episode.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2016 17:04:45 GMT
I LOVED this boxset! Four very distinct stories, the Sycorax one seemed a weak link; Fallen Angels worked the Angels in beautifully, Judoon in Chains was fun and e last one? Eighth Doctor + Sontarans at last in the Time War
I'm buzzing with excitement for Vol2, we know next to nothing but this concept was the one I was most excited about when NS stuff was announced. I hope some of the new monsters can be somehow done with Doctors 1-4; the First Doctor and the Silence would be good as well as 2nd/Angels; 4th/Slitheen in full 'Season 17' mode
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Post by escalus5 on Jul 29, 2016 17:12:23 GMT
I decided to listen to the set in reverse order because I was eager to hear the Time War story starring McGann.
"The Sontaran Ordeal" is quite good. It reminded me of an American western cavalry film in a sci-fi context, which is nothing new but always welcome and done with skill and flair by Andrew Smith. The downbeat ending adds a lot of detail to the Eighth Doctor's increasingly futile attempts to obstruct the fallout of the Time War, and also why Eight becomes something of a pariah (as illustrated in "Night of the Doctor").
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Post by escalus5 on Jul 29, 2016 17:15:36 GMT
I noticed when I was downloading the set that the running times are very different. The first and fourth stories are under an hour, while "Judoon in Chains" is 78 minutes! Whoops! I know we have a reputation for overwriting, but I'm fairly sure the final script wasn't overlong in this case; you should have seen how much we had to cut to get it down to (cough) one hour - it could have been a four-parter! I think the difference in running time is down to the nature of story; the court scenes are by their nature more slowly paced, as are the various other more thoughtful moments that are interspersed with the action. That's my excuse, anyway. I wasn't complaining, just observing! Looking forward to your story!
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Post by TinDogPodcast on Jul 29, 2016 18:42:20 GMT
Oooh. A thought
Classic doctors Torchwood monsters...
Maybe not.
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Post by elkawho on Jul 29, 2016 19:24:10 GMT
Another thought: I thought Nick Briggs was phenomenal in this. I kept thinking how hard this was on his voice, yet he really does make Kybo sound like a well-rounded Jadoon. to be honest, I couldn't imagine how they were going to do that story. I fall into laughter every time I hear the Jadoon speak on TV, but that only happened once in this. Hat's off to Mr. Briggs for finding the softer side of the walking rhinos.
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Post by acousticwolf on Jul 30, 2016 16:00:15 GMT
I still haven't managed to listen to any of these, but really can't wait judging from the comments so far.
Cheers
Tony
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Post by levi3o4 on Jul 30, 2016 18:28:52 GMT
Who's ready for some dissenting opinions? Overall, I'd say only two of the stories in this box-set were good, and the other two... leave a little something to be desired. Without getting into too much detail: Fallen Angels: People have said that they assumed the Weeping Angels would work better in a visual medium, and THEY WERE RIGHT. There WAS loads of clunky action-description dialogue - particularly in the beginning and in the end. And Howard Carter's use of scare-chords as a sound effect... well, I honestly thought it was a fascinating experiment, but ultimately a failed one. *Sudden violin* "Oh no, Doctor, it moved!" *Sudden Violin!* *Sudden Violin!*
I understand that this was meant to evoke the climax of... um... every single Weeping Angel story out there. But it went a little too derivative, I'd say. The same basic plot as Blink, with a little "Angels Take Manhattan" thrown in for good measure, wrapped in a celebrity historical format and a Dan Brownian "art conspiracy" plot. Everything plays out as a "variation on a theme," which would be great if a) that weren't the exact problem the parent series has with this rather one-note villain, and b) if the variation were executed successfully. As it is, we get a rather nice set of ideas and a fun little Fifth-Doctor story, and that's about it. 6/10
Judoon in Chains: Loved this story. Disagree with a lot of people in that the ending is definitely overlong - it's essentially a 10-minute shouting match between the Doctor and a villain who could have been subbed out for any other villain with any other motivation and the story would have worked equally well. Which is a shame, because the ideas behind the trial were great - loved the 19th-century court that got commandeered into a Judoon trial, and the judge eventually just going with it. And yes, Captain Kybo's story - the real meat and potatoes of the episode - was great, with a well-judged, measured performance from Nicholas Briggs and an ending that feels as though Big Finish have carved out a beautiful little corner of continuity for themselves that they can return to whenever they want. Oh, and Colin Baker is on top form, as well, primo Sixie! 8/10
Harvest of the Sycorax: And then we get this episode. Sorry, James Goss fans, I know he's written some great stuff - I personally LOVED Death and the Queen - but this episode is just condescending garbage. While it provides some interesting cultural development for the Sycorax (and made me never want to hear the phrase "Sycorax Rock" ever again - way to beat a good joke into the ground!) - the part of the story that focuses on the people is just... bad. Maybe Goss was trying to do RTD-style satire, or maybe even 7th-Doctor-era satire, I don't know. But dozens upon dozens of jokes that all boil down to "medication is bad for you" and "millennials are the scum of the Earth and going to destroy our future" do not for humor make, unless your style of humor is about patting yourself on the back because you feel so superior. The writer takes what could have been a legitimate concern - the phenomenon of over-prescription, which IS a serious problem - and throws the baby out of the bathwater and people with actual mental illness under the bus, treating those listeners who actually DO benefit greatly from medication as though they are weak, whiny children who don't know what's good for them. And all the "humor" about devices and tablets and "an era of self-absorption" is just millennial-bashing at its "finest." It's ignorant and reactionary, worse yet, boring. Even a comedy you disagree with can be good if you get more than an endless variation on the same three jokes for an hour. Oh, and he actually pulls off a REALLY adorable meet-cute between two lesbians, which had this reviewer cheering - until he kills one of them off not five minutes later. Which, if you pay attention to the entertainment landscape of 2016 TV, is the sort of decision that should set your eyes rolling all the way up and around their axes. Even Sylvester McCoy's delivery was tainted by the lines he had to say (though that last bit might just be my personal bias and not the reality of the performance). Overall, a series of bad decisions from an otherwise fantastic writer. 3/10
The Sontaran Ordeal: A return to form for this box-set. A better-than solid Sontaran story - the scene where Jask tries to convince Sarana Teel to release him felt downright Hartnell-era - and a nice little swash-buckler for McGann. I felt that the obligatory "A would-be companion hates the Doctor because TIME WAR" scene aped The Night of the Doctor a little bit too much - a consistent problem with this box-set, actually, with most episodes over-relying on story beats from the source material - but that didn't ruin what was otherwise a fun, thought-provoking episode, and one of the best Sontaran stories in general. Pity the Sontarans aren't actually anew monster (and no, them being "Time War" sontarans does nothing but update their motivation), but I'm not going to hold that against the story. 8/10
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Post by kurumais on Jul 30, 2016 22:37:29 GMT
listened to the 6th doctor and judoon story and it is terrible. i keep thinking this must be self indulgent fan fic not profession writers working for big finish the characters actions and attitudes don't seem the least bit reasonable. everything seems plot convenience. truly dreadful. it was a chore to listen to. i couldnt wait for it to end.
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Post by paulmorris on Jul 31, 2016 11:20:22 GMT
i keep thinking this must be self indulgent fan fic not profession writers working for big finish In what way "self indulgent"?
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Post by mrperson on Jul 31, 2016 14:51:38 GMT
listened to the 6th doctor and judoon story and it is terrible. i keep thinking this must be self indulgent fan fic not profession writers working for big finish the characters actions and attitudes don't seem the least bit reasonable. everything seems plot convenience. truly dreadful. it was a chore to listen to. i couldnt wait for it to end. It wasn't my favorite story of the lot, but I really don't follow whatever lead you to that particular take on it, especially the bits about contrivance, unreasonable behavior, and "fan fic". Personal tastes vary quite a bit....
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