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Post by number13 on Jun 30, 2017 20:28:40 GMT
I couldn't find a thread dedicated to these 8 stories and thought I'd create a home in our Divergent Universe for discussion of them, as I'm finally starting a long-overdue listen to the set, so I won't clutter the 'What are you listening to today?' thread with scattered mini-reviews. www.bigfinish.com/ranges/released/doctor-who---unbound(I appreciate this is all old news to many members, but presumably not every member so I hope the thread might be useful for somebody.) I know the stories are varied and some are considered better than others (from comments I've heard); I know the first six are single-disc releases and the final two are on two CDs and I know some of the lead actors, but that's about it; otherwise I'm splendidly ignorant and looking forward to discoveries - and the first one bowled me over.... 1 : Auld MortalityWow! A truly enchanting tale by Marc Platt, a tale of other First Doctors, on another Gallifrey in another Universe where different but oh-so-familiar Time Lord politics collide with history, family, probablity and imagination. 'What if the Doctor had never left Gallifrey...?' This wonderful story shows us one or two possible answers, with the First Doctor who might have been (in more ways than one) played splendidly by Geoffrey Bayldon with some delightfully Hartnell-esque character touches as a courtesy to the First Doctor who was - in our Universe at least. Carole Ann Ford is especially good in this story as an older Susan with her own place in Gallifreyan society, the guest characters all delight and often surprise and Alistair Lock's sound design and new arrangement of the famous theme tune are excellent. Big Finish are so good at what they do that it's too easy to take the quality for granted, but every now and then as I explore their back catalogue I come across a story which seems mind-blowing in its brilliance, and for me this was one. Eighty minutes of pure magic on one packed CD, most highly recommended!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2017 11:54:28 GMT
In 2013 for the 50th Anniversary from January to November the BBC celebrated a Doctor each month. It wasn't until after this event I started thinking about the Unbound Doctors, not just the audio ones - Peter Cushing, Rowan Atkinson (my introduction to Who!), Mark Gatiss etc. They've all officially played the Doctor but are underappreciated.
Bayldon is an interesting one, as in he sounds like the Hartnell Doctor even though his story has changed. When he died I revisited Auld Mortality and A Storm of Angels, they are fantastic and I loved Carole Ann as a slightly different Susan, but you could still recognise her playing the same part.
David Warner and most of the others however are there own versions (discounting Jayston as he reprises his TV role). I'm so glad BF has found a space in the Benny audios for Warner to play the Doctor again.
That's what's great about Doctor Who, pretty much all of the individual Doctors have their own unique qualities, including the 'extra' ones.
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Post by charlesuirdhein on Jul 1, 2017 12:06:52 GMT
In 2013 for the 50th Anniversary from January to November the BBC celebrated a Doctor each month. It wasn't until after this event I started thinking about the Unbound Doctors, not just the audio ones - Peter Cushing, Rowan Atkinson (my introduction to Who!), Mark Gatiss etc. They've all officially played the Doctor but are underappreciated. Bayldon is an interesting one, as in he sounds like the Hartnell Doctor even though his story has changed. When he died I revisited Auld Mortality and A Storm of Angels, they are fantastic and I loved Carole Ann as a slightly different Susan, but you could still recognise her playing the same part. David Warner and most of the others however are there own versions (discounting Jayston as he reprises his TV role). I'm so glad BF has found a space in the Benny audios for Warner to play the Doctor again. That's what's great about Doctor Who, pretty much all of the individual Doctors have their own unique qualities, including the 'extra' ones. They all do have their own take on it. And as you say, glad Warner is back Though as we know there is a difference between officially playing the Doctor and officially playing the official Doctor, as REG discovered.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2017 13:48:38 GMT
In 2013 for the 50th Anniversary from January to November the BBC celebrated a Doctor each month. It wasn't until after this event I started thinking about the Unbound Doctors, not just the audio ones - Peter Cushing, Rowan Atkinson (my introduction to Who!), Mark Gatiss etc. They've all officially played the Doctor but are underappreciated. Bayldon is an interesting one, as in he sounds like the Hartnell Doctor even though his story has changed. When he died I revisited Auld Mortality and A Storm of Angels, they are fantastic and I loved Carole Ann as a slightly different Susan, but you could still recognise her playing the same part. David Warner and most of the others however are there own versions (discounting Jayston as he reprises his TV role). I'm so glad BF has found a space in the Benny audios for Warner to play the Doctor again. That's what's great about Doctor Who, pretty much all of the individual Doctors have their own unique qualities, including the 'extra' ones. They all do have their own take on it. And as you say, glad Warner is back Though as we know there is a difference between officially playing the Doctor and officially playing the official Doctor, as REG discovered. Poor REG. Two cracks at the whip and he still wasn't official!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2017 14:13:27 GMT
T hough as we know there is a difference between officially playing the Doctor and officially playing the official Doctor, as REG discovered.Poor REG. Two cracks at the whip and he still wasn't official! Or, for me... two cracks at playing The Doctor and awful in both of them!
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Post by constonks on Jul 1, 2017 17:35:17 GMT
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Post by number13 on Jul 2, 2017 0:02:26 GMT
2 : Sympathy for the DevilThis was the only story in the series about which I knew anything in advance. What I knew left me very excited to hear it - and I was not disappointed... I'm a Third Doctor fan (I may have mentioned this before, but Jon Pertwee is 'my' Doctor ) so this scenario was fascinating. What if the Doctor had never worked with UNIT? What would have happened to Earth and the humans who were his friends? Another exceptional story in this series, by Jonathan Clements, set in Hong Kong on the eve of the handover of power from Britain to China in 1997. But this is a different Earth; similar, but darker, more hostile and suspicious after decades of alien invasions with no alien friend to help humanity. Where an embittered old soldier who saved the world the only way he knew how, and was condemned for it, lives in self-imposed exile as a bar owner on the waterfront. The Brigadier needed the Doctor - and at long last, he finds him again just as catastrophe threatens... This is a superb UNIT action story which is even more 'Bond' than the classic series sometimes was in the 70s. Espionage and defectors, British-Chinese rivalry, alien influence and old friends reunited... It builds a gripping narrative around the central idea of one of the best Third Doctor TV stories as it might have played out - if the Doctor had not been there the first time round.... The cast is outstanding: David Warner as the 'other' Third Doctor, David Tennant as the efficient and instantly dislikable new UNIT commander, Sam Kisgart as a visitor with a long past and many secrets - and one more priceless chance to hear Nicholas Courtney as a (not of course the) Brigadier - an old soldier who had to win his battles the hardest way, changed by losing friends and comrades without the Doctor's scientific brilliance to help him. It's a great story which any 'Doctor Who' fan should enjoy - but if you are a Third Doctor fan, it's a simply fabulous piece of alternative history filled with references to other familiar stories as they were without the Doctor. Magnificent. {Spoiler Question} Does anyone know why 'Sam Kisgart' appeared under that name? Was the actor already associated with the character he plays here and wished to keep the surprise for this story? For once, the Internet did not give me the answer.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2017 1:42:09 GMT
{Spoiler Question} Does anyone know why 'Sam Kisgart' appeared under that name? Was the actor already associated with the character he plays here and wished to keep the surprise for this story? For once, the Internet did not give me the answer. I think it was the actor in question having a bit of fun. I love the Unbound stories. Such a wonderful idea to bring to life an old concept. I think there are only two or three stories that I didn't like from this range, they did an excellent job. Really hard to resist spoilers too.
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