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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2018 17:58:52 GMT
Was really looking forward to this. Loved the one off from last year but this is so different it may as well be a reboot. One of the most disappointing BF releases I have purchased. Considering the excessive running time nothing much happens. A complete lack of dramatic tension (the so-called plot's resolution is the very definition of anticlimax) with unlikable characters. The lead best defined by his selfishness & total disregard for his wife. The last episode sums things up, one of the dullest most aimlessly drawn out hours of audio drama I have ever listened to.
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Post by mark687 on Jun 4, 2018 20:14:40 GMT
Was really looking forward to this. Loved the one off from last year but this is so different it may as well be a reboot. One of the most disappointing BF releases I have purchased. Considering the excessive running time nothing much happens. A complete lack of dramatic tension (the so-called plot's resolution is the very definition of anticlimax) with unlikable characters. The lead best defined by his selfishness & total disregard for his wife. The last episode sums things up, one of the dullest most aimlessly drawn out hours of audio drama I have ever listened to. Definitely!
Regards
mark687
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Post by mark687 on Jun 7, 2018 13:34:11 GMT
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Post by fantasticalice on Jun 14, 2018 21:44:58 GMT
I just wanted to chime in and say that I not only fully enjoyed this but having 2 lgbt characters(don't want to give spoilers as giving them names would be definitely spoil-y) was simply wonderful. I liked how Rome's attitudes were used as a unique backdrop for some compelling drama.
I was rather surprised at how thoroughly I enjoyed this. I did get a lucky discount that just had me unable to resist it but I was pleasantly surprised. To me this was a very strong piece about brotherhood as well as all the twists and turns of the main plot. As a woman I wouldn't have expected to love something like this so much. But I think part of that is Big Finish. I feel it is a strong piece about 2 Cicero and although it's a focus on men's relationships all the supporting female cast are really well drawn.
But very delightful. and after getting it for a song I will be very excited to pay full price for volume 2.
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Post by jjjjj on Jun 14, 2018 23:07:45 GMT
I agree, I loved this set and hope more are made. The characters are well drawn and acted, the storylines have depth and room to breathe, and I found them to be quite intelligently done. I wasn’t interested at first in this set, but being a fan of dirk gently took a chance, and am so glad I did! Just a really lovely set of stories, which went by way too fast. More please!
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Jun 28, 2018 8:38:23 GMT
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Post by aemiliapaula on Jul 10, 2018 1:29:52 GMT
Talking this up at the Classics conference I am attending this week
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Post by Ela on Aug 10, 2018 4:53:52 GMT
Just finished this box set today and I have to say I enjoyed it a lot. Hope there will be more.
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Post by elkawho on Aug 17, 2018 3:09:19 GMT
I was off dealing with my life when this came out and didn't get the chance to comment. I enjoyed this, and love Samuel Barnett more and more. I do agree that there were parts of it that dragged, but on the whole I thought it was well worth the money. If they do make more of these, I believe it will only get better.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2018 9:49:38 GMT
I was off dealing with my life when this came out and didn't get the chance to comment. I enjoyed this, and love Samuel Barnett more and more. I do agree that there were parts of it that dragged, but on the whole I thought it was well worth the money. If they do make more of these, I believe it will only get better. I judge a thing by how many relistens it gets and unfortunately it only got one further listen after the original listen. Which leaves me kind of cold for another series
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Post by BHTvsTFC on Aug 19, 2019 6:39:00 GMT
Was really looking forward to this. Loved the one off from last year but this is so different it may as well be a reboot. One of the most disappointing BF releases I have purchased. Considering the excessive running time nothing much happens. A complete lack of dramatic tension (the so-called plot's resolution is the very definition of anticlimax) with unlikable characters. The lead best defined by his selfishness & total disregard for his wife. The last episode sums things up, one of the dullest most aimlessly drawn out hours of audio drama I have ever listened to. In a way I kind of agree with the sentiment that the first episode and the other five are a different species. But I preferred the other five. Cicero is defined by a vast intelligence that is let down by a complete lacking of life skills. His selfishness comes from being totally unaware of others in the room. He feels like he is second place to his brother in their parents affections but their parents see more potential in Cicero and act accordingly to see his achieves it. Quintus' suffering only becomes apparent when he has a breakdown over Iris. He doesn't mind having slaves and it's only the horrors that befall Iris that make him aware of the hardships they suffer. I'm currently relistening to the set and find the banter between the leads natural and humourous, although it's using humour and a historical angle on modern issues. There is also a lot to interpret in what doesn't get said. I'm sure, for instance, that Terentia is very self aware and knows a lot more than she is letting on. I'm up to the episode where Piso arrives and am looking forward to wrapping up the series, as I remember very little about it's conclusion.
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Post by barnabaslives on Aug 19, 2019 19:00:47 GMT
Looking at this page again it occurs to me I still have very mixed feelings about this release. I still think it was well done and worthwhile, but I too agree in a way with johnhurtdoctor's comments. I think somehow the boxset is lacking the strength of heroic focus that is common to so many Big Finish releases, including the rest of the Big Finish originals.
I don't think the elements of Cicero's personal life were an obstacle to that any more that such elements are an obstacle to a sense of heroism and empathy in Dark Shadows or Dorian Grey where it's easy to like the characters and relate to them in spite of themselves, but I just don't think I got that with Cicero.
I hope I'm not misremembering the stories but I still have the sense that maybe the set and the series could have been much better served if it had more confidently made its best foot forward a bit more "Roman Holmes"?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2019 12:28:20 GMT
I still have the sense that maybe the set and the series could have been much better served if it had more confidently made its best foot forward a bit more "Roman Holmes"? Only issue is, that isn't really reflective of who Cicero was...
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Post by barnabaslives on Aug 20, 2019 23:00:44 GMT
Thanks, Scott. I suppose that is hard to argue with. I must say, though, that I was impressed with Cicero's reasoning skills in the first release.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 21, 2019 6:40:10 GMT
I didn't enjoy this series on first listen despite having both time and peace to listen to it uninterrupted. Perhaps it is time to give it a relisten.
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Post by pawntake on Aug 21, 2019 7:25:57 GMT
Big finish are actually doing Cicero's life story.The accounts featured in the 5 episodes are based on true events,so it really ain't fiction. If you are looking for a Roman "Sherlock Holmes" why not try
Gordianus the Finder (c. 110 BC – ??) is the fictional protagonist of Steven Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa series of historical mystery novels set in Republican Rome. He lives by his wits, investigating crimes and other cases for Roman advocates such as Marcus Tullius Cicero Gordianus interacts with non-fictional citizens including Sulla, Cicero, Marcus Crassus, Catullus, Catiline, Pompey, Julius Caesar, Quintus Sertorius, and Mark Antony
The first Gordianus novel, Roman Blood, is based on an actual murder trial in which Marcus Tullius Cicero (aided by his slave Marcus Tullius Tiro) defended Sextus Roscius against the charge of parricide. This story was the first Big Finish "Cicero" audio (Although i am not sure if Tiro featured in the BF story?)
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Post by BHTvsTFC on Aug 21, 2019 19:15:02 GMT
I enjoyed the final episode after relistening to it last night. I love low-key finales a lot where the characters get a chance to reflect. I like Quintus' mental health angle and poor Cicero is going to spend a lot of his life getting disappointed no doubt. I hope there's a series two.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 21, 2019 21:00:31 GMT
I enjoyed the final episode after relistening to it last night. I love low-key finales a lot where the characters get a chance to reflect. I like Quintus' mental health angle and poor Cicero is going to spend a lot of his life getting disappointed no doubt. I hope there's a series two. Well, in current lieu of a second series, we do get a crossover with the Fifth Doctor next month: www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/doctor-who-tartarus-1286
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Post by BHTvsTFC on Aug 22, 2019 6:11:34 GMT
^ Oh yes. Peter, Janet, Sarah and Sam. What's not to love? My favourite team, and Cicero!!! For that release to be a disappointment David Llewellyn would have to dig deep!
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Post by Ela on Aug 28, 2019 5:21:19 GMT
I enjoyed the final episode after relistening to it last night. I love low-key finales a lot where the characters get a chance to reflect. I like Quintus' mental health angle and poor Cicero is going to spend a lot of his life getting disappointed no doubt. I hope there's a series two. Well, in current lieu of a second series, we do get a crossover with the Fifth Doctor next month: www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/doctor-who-tartarus-1286Something to look forward to.
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