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Post by masolko on Aug 11, 2017 3:37:04 GMT
I listened to all 4 parts & it's brilliant! More thoughts to come this weekend, but I do have to say that Mr. Colchester & Orr absolutely steal the show. Colchester is likely to be the source of many future badge ribbon quotes.
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Post by Zagreus on Aug 11, 2017 4:35:28 GMT
So far it's been a nice blend of the S1&2 monster-of-the week structure and the S3&4 one-story structure. A great description! Episode 3, Orr, continues to the excellent episode trend. We get plot pickups form the prior episode, we continue to develop the main characters and the new aliens "invading" the city. Orr is an interesting character, I hope she sticks around as a regular. Prior to this releasing, I went on a binge of all of Torchwood on audio that had yet been released, and took a copious amount of notes on The Torchwood Archive, trying to predict things, since they seem to have seeded a lot of hints in there without us knowing. The New Year's Eve 1999 scene, where Alex Hopkins kills his team after looking into The Red Key, he sees the future events of Children of Earth, Miracle Day, and a time when "we're all replaced by something else". That and a few other scenes that weren't easy to place chronologically make me really excited for the potential Aliens Among Us moving forward Man, I can't wait to get to that.
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melkur
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 3,967
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Post by melkur on Aug 11, 2017 10:20:50 GMT
A great box set that I can't wait to hear the continuation of!
I was expecting some sort of a 'surprise' appearance at the end of the trailer for the second box, but, well, I wasn't expecting "them!"
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2017 12:30:46 GMT
Changes Everything
Well, this is excellent; I'm very glad I bought this. It reminded me very loosely of the Doctor Who TV story Rose in that we were introduced to old and new Torchwood characters through the eyes of flawed and interesting new boy Tyler (Rose ... Tyler! I just noticed that). A good RTD-style beginning for this. James Goss's story is very strong - current, compelling, nicely paced, relevant (but rarely preachy, thankfully) and full of lots of 'breathing space' for some genuine human interaction and conversations (my favourite involving the terrific Mr. Colchester, a sardonic dinosaur with a terrific range of put-downs - "Lady Ga-Ga not available?" being my favourite, great in context). A terrific opener to this series, and a favourite BF release this year for me.
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Post by Bazoolium on Aug 11, 2017 16:18:27 GMT
The Doctor Who Facebook page put up a story about this set. All the comments are people moaning that it is just audio. It's sad that these people won't give it a go. BF Torcwood has been so good, better than the TV show I'd say.
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Post by Zagreus on Aug 11, 2017 17:18:09 GMT
Have finished episode 4: Superiority Complex. Again, I spotted what was going on fairly early in, but it was still quite an entertaining ride throughout. The steady building of the throughline in each episode is a nice compromise between the Monster of the Week format and the Grand Overarching Story format that Torchwood has historically swapped between, and I can see Big Finish's experimenting with its Committee story sprinkled throughout its monthly releases paying off in how they've crafted this series. It's really good! I thought perhaps the whole parallels in this story to historical circumstances was a bit heavy handed, but it worked quite well. I really only have the one complaint about the set: {Spoiler}Eve Myles and Gwen Cooper are probably my favorite bit of Torchwood, and the releases with her that BF have put out are the ones I look forward to the most. More Than This has been the highlight of the range for me. While I enjoy the outings that focus on other characters and explore other periods of Torchwood, I really keep coming back for her. If she weren't on board with BF I probably wouldn't have invested in the series so heavily, as I didn't even start listening to these until More Than This came out. So, uh, having her front and center on the cover and on the billing but having someone else play Gwen with Eve acting as a "voice" that doesn't even appear until the end of the second episode and then only gets a few lines in the rest, leaves me a little bitter about the bait and switch.
Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed this, I love the new characters, I like the story and where it seems to be going, I like the format they've working with, but dammit I want actual Gwen, not "Not Gwen". Yeah, that's about it. Good set, looking forward to the next! edit: I see what everyone means about the Next Time trailer!
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Post by saxty on Aug 11, 2017 18:03:49 GMT
{Part 2 trailer spoiler} Was that voice at near the end of the trailer Yvonne Hartman?
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Post by mark687 on Aug 11, 2017 18:25:17 GMT
{Part 2 trailer spoiler} Was that voice at near the end of the trailer Yvonne Hartman? At the very End? No it was Billis Manager a Time Traveller who trapped Jack and Tosh in a 194l Dance Hall and tricked Torchwood into opening the Rift to get them back setting up the Series 1 Finale
Regards
mark687
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Post by saxty on Aug 11, 2017 19:47:55 GMT
{Part 2 trailer spoiler} Was that voice at near the end of the trailer Yvonne Hartman? At the very End? No it was Billis Manager a Time Traveller who trapped Jack and Tosh in a 194l Dance Hall and tricked Torchwood into opening the Rift to get them back setting up the Series 1 Finale
Regards
mark687
{Spoiler} I meant the voice close to the end who said 'it was nice while it lasted.' I thought it could be Yvonne but I cant work out who that is unless its someone new.
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Post by mark687 on Aug 11, 2017 20:02:58 GMT
At the very End? No it was Billis Manager a Time Traveller who trapped Jack and Tosh in a 194l Dance Hall and tricked Torchwood into opening the Rift to get them back setting up the Series 1 Finale
Regards
mark687
{Spoiler} I meant the voice close to the end who said 'it was nice while it lasted.' I thought it could be Yvonne but I cant work out who that is unless its someone new. That's Ro-jedda
Regards
mark687
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Post by Whovitt on Aug 11, 2017 22:44:23 GMT
Got a late listen in on Aliens & Sex & Chips & Gravy. I'm loving this series! I wasn't old enough to watch Torchwood at the time it was coming out, and it's so exciting to be able to experience the latest series 'live' There were a number of fun bits in this episode, and Mr Colchester is just fantastic. There are particular moments in fiction that I have a very love/hate relationship with - moments that are so fantastically surprising that you can't help but love them, but are generally when bad things happen, which you hate. The end of this episode is one of those; when it it happened, I sort of paused for about 10 seconds, not really believing what just happened. Beautifully done, guys, well done!
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Post by omega on Aug 12, 2017 5:03:20 GMT
Bilis is back in the next set!
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Post by omega on Aug 12, 2017 12:10:38 GMT
It's also confirmed that Exodus Code at least, and probably the Titan Comics stuff is canon within the Big Finish Torchwood continuity. It's mentioned that Jack took recovered tech from the Hub for the Ice Maiden, and was kicked off there.
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Post by SG. on Aug 12, 2017 12:22:31 GMT
So Daleks get mentioned by Mr Colchester. With all his talk about being in the army, is it an indication that he's been involved in some Dalek skirmish in the past? An unnamed soldier in a story we've seen before?
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Post by mark687 on Aug 12, 2017 12:44:35 GMT
So Daleks get mentioned by Mr Colchester. With all his talk about being in the army, is it an indication that he's been involved in some Dalek skirmish in the past? An unnamed soldier in a story we've seen before? He's definitely my favourite newbie he seems to know or suspect a lot of what's going on and acts in a positive or at least the for the Greater Good way could be an Ex UNIT man I suppose.
Regards
mark687
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Post by Zagreus on Aug 12, 2017 18:18:43 GMT
It's also confirmed that Exodus Code at least, and probably the Titan Comics stuff is canon within the Big Finish Torchwood continuity. It's mentioned that Jack took recovered tech from the Hub for the Ice Maiden, and was kicked off there. Yeah the writers for Torchwood is a pretty small stable. The people doing the audio originals made mention of the BBC full-casts and vice-versa, and were often the same people. Similarly, it was the same people writing the books, so you get, for instance, Red Skies making mention of the events of Long Time Dead, even though they're two different ranges. So I'm not surprised that you still have that interplay going on now, with the BF writers, who are again some of the same folk who've been writing Torchwood since the show began, making sure to keep the continuity tight and in keeping with the other media ranges. I quite like that, actually.
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Post by masolko on Aug 12, 2017 21:26:38 GMT
This set is completely brilliant. Pacey, edgy, full of great storytelling & dialogue, and most of all bringing forward several new characters with excellent performances...I love this set and can't wait until the next set drops in October. Odds are I'll have listened at least 4 times by then. Seeing this team evolve is going to be quite a ride.
Mr. Colchester is a quip-machine of the highest level. He brings a cynical viewpoint coupled with competence and guts that make him an enjoyable everyman character. Here's hoping they do a Colchester-focused story or perhaps a one-off in the monthly range exploring the character's background. As I said earlier, Mr. Colchester is going to be the source of many badge ribbon quotes for a long time to come.
Tyler looks to be a wildcard moving ahead. His shady past & desire to redeem himself have already come into conflict. Jack seems to be keeping him close in more ways than one, yet he also shut him out of actually joining the team. It feels like that decision will be extremely significant as we move ahead. Will Tyler sell the team out or eventually be brought into the fold? It's Torchwood, so I suppose both are entirely possible in who knows which order.
Orr is a an amazing character and has tremendous potential. Their background raises several interesting questions. How does one define themself if they don't even remember their original form, assuming they even had one? What sort of experiences did they have prior to being gifted to Vincent Parry? Will Orr settle into a somewhat stable form or be constantly shifting? I hope they do stick around for long-term. The ending of "Orr" & the conversation with the hotel in "Superiority Complex*" were show stealing. Casting Sam Béart was a masterstroke as she always bring something different to every role. I wouldn't even recognize it was the same actress who plays Jexie Reagan if it weren't for the credits.
It's too early to tell much about NG as we don't know her full motivations. Did I miss the actual possession of Gwen or is that still a mystery? I'm curious about how they will reveal the truth, plus how everyone will react. Is NG going to be a permanent replacement for Gwen? That could be a tough sell for Jack & Rhys (obviously). The ending of Episode 2 was an utter gut punch. On the cover it looks like Ng is somewhat mirroring Gwen's pose. That makes for a nice subtlety that doesn't stand out until after you've realized the trick.
One other thing that stood out to me as strong is the characters having biases and prejudices that come about throughout the set. Mr. Colchester seems fairly anti-alien and okay with taking out all of them. Tyler's reaction to Orr seems to be based in more than their taking on the form of a past lover. Here's hoping these attitudes are addressed and challenged in the near future.
*I just got the joke of the title "Superiority Complex." Fantastic.
[/spoilers]
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Post by hamsterexastris on Aug 12, 2017 21:32:19 GMT
{Spoiler}Did I miss the actual possession of Gwen or is that still a mystery? Still a mystery.
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Post by omega on Aug 15, 2017 8:28:44 GMT
Couple of things Scott Handcock posted on Gallifrey Base regarding Gwen in this set of stories: {Spoiler}"Gwen" is played by newcomer Alexandria Riley, hence sounding different. Eve then makes her true presence felt at the end of part two, confirming it's not really the Gwen we know out there. So no colds, etc - just a different actress playing a character playing Gwen Cooper... and still eight episodes of this series left {Spoiler}Yes, "Ng" is our cunning casting code (Not Gwen) and I'm not saying anything more... we're only one box set down
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Post by IndieMacUser on Aug 15, 2017 12:00:59 GMT
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