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Post by omega on Apr 12, 2018 10:47:58 GMT
A Life of Crime is fun, but there's a potential character angle that never plays out that could have made things a whole lot more interesting. With Maker of Demons the writer seems to spend more time trying to show how clever he is with Shakespeare references. High Price of Parking is firmly season 24 in tone, Blood Furnace unremarkable and Silurian Candidate has the writer fanjodrelling with continuity references while playing on tired Seventh Doctor tropes and a one dimensional character blatantly based on a politician prolific for all the wrong reasons. Fiesta of the Damned is set in Spain during the Spanish Civil War and is written by Guy Adams (the latter is always a good thing). Easily the best of the six so far. Eh, I think Mel was handled fantastically in A Life in Crime, Mel saw the harshness of the universe and didn't change. She went through the fire, got burnt, felt the pain and stayed true anyway, in contrast of Seven. Maker of Demons did kind of overdo it, but Stephano's actions reflected Seven's and echoed the whole 'can't go home again' theme of this arc. This theme continued in the darkness and at times cruel absurdity of the universe in High Price of Parking. Seven's risk and gambles and machinations were reflected in actions of Stuart, as were the antagonists of the story in The Blood Furnance. The Silurian Canditate was a good place to end the arc for the year - reflecting that despite not wanting to, Seven and Ace can't go back to where they were. A Death in the Family, followed by Love and War are the logical end points for Ace and how the Doctor has affected her. In ADitF she makes the choice to leave behind the chance to make her own life with a man she loves, all to continue traveling with the Doctor, and Love and War shows how much it takes and how traumatic that is for her to part ways with the Doctor. In Silurian Candidate she gets annoyed at the Doctor for secret keeping and scheming, as has happened countless times before. There's no epiphany, no understanding of the Doctor's motives or misjudged actions. The issue of her mistrusting the Doctor isn't addressed or resolved at the end.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2018 11:11:58 GMT
Eh, I think Mel was handled fantastically in A Life in Crime, Mel saw the harshness of the universe and didn't change. She went through the fire, got burnt, felt the pain and stayed true anyway, in contrast of Seven. Maker of Demons did kind of overdo it, but Stephano's actions reflected Seven's and echoed the whole 'can't go home again' theme of this arc. This theme continued in the darkness and at times cruel absurdity of the universe in High Price of Parking. Seven's risk and gambles and machinations were reflected in actions of Stuart, as were the antagonists of the story in The Blood Furnance. The Silurian Canditate was a good place to end the arc for the year - reflecting that despite not wanting to, Seven and Ace can't go back to where they were. A Death in the Family, followed by Love and War are the logical end points for Ace and how the Doctor has affected her. In ADitF she makes the choice to leave behind the chance to make her own life with a man she loves, all to continue traveling with the Doctor, and Love and War shows how much it takes and how traumatic that is for her to part ways with the Doctor. In Silurian Candidate she gets annoyed at the Doctor for secret keeping and scheming, as has happened countless times before. There's no epiphany, no understanding of the Doctor's motives or misjudged actions. The issue of her mistrusting the Doctor isn't addressed or resolved at the end. We still need to see how Hex's absence affects Ace and how that turns the wheel. Ace was annoyed yes, but she always caved in and forgave him, because he's her Father figure and her support system (that The Doctor needed to let her outgrow.) Because Hex - sweet, kind, naïve, gentle, Hex - despite justifiably mad and angry, was never going to convince her otherwise. Hex's presence might have lead Ace to be more of an adult and open up the cracks in her relationship with The Doctor, but she was still too dependent on him and not prepared to deal with questioning him and what that meant for her, as well as compatimilising her feelings about her Father, Liam and her Mother's neglect. And then Seven's actions lead to Hex's death. And then Hex's death happened (which set Ace into a very dark self-destructive place) and resurrection, leaving Hex's entire sense of self screwed up, but with no memories of his previous life, but still Hex (despite being tainted) and no recourse for their actions and a 'get out of jail' free card for Seven and Ace to not deal with their issues or Hex's death. And when Hex did get his memories back, Seven and Ace abandoned him instead of dealing with the fallout, under of the pretense of saving him from future harm. Since then, both Seven and Ace have very much been in denial about what Hex's time this means for their relationship - Seven trying to mentor her again, despite being an adult and Ace enabling him because she feels she has no one else. And Ace clearly isn't dealing with it well - acting very child-like, much to Mel's annoyance and agiation and bewilderment at times and her relationship with Mel in part very much feels like Ace trying to restablish her relationship with Hex. It's an ongoing narrative, you have to acknowledge what has come before, even with advance pieces.
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Post by number13 on Apr 12, 2018 13:08:52 GMT
They’ve intrigued me but I’ve not actually stepped into the Seventh Doctor Ace and Mel adventures yet, is it worth starting with A Life of Crime or are there any particular highlights? The High Price of Parking is the standout for me (and looking back at our discussion thread, most of us liked it very much.) It's lots of fun, and it's by John dorney. You could just hop in and enjoy it without worrying about arcs. Recommended.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2018 13:14:17 GMT
They’ve intrigued me but I’ve not actually stepped into the Seventh Doctor Ace and Mel adventures yet, is it worth starting with A Life of Crime or are there any particular highlights? They are all awful, and far and away the worst thing the monthly range are doing at the moment.
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Post by mark687 on Apr 12, 2018 13:20:59 GMT
They’ve intrigued me but I’ve not actually stepped into the Seventh Doctor Ace and Mel adventures yet, is it worth starting with A Life of Crime or are there any particular highlights? The High Price of Parking is the standout for me (and looking back at our discussion thread, most of us liked it very much.) It's lots of fun, and it's by John dorney . You could just hop in and enjoy it without worrying about arcs. Recommended. Agreed for new listeners that you don't treat them as an Arc and if you like TV Ace you'll enjoy them.
I'd recommend
Fiesta of the Dammed
The High of Parking
The Blood Furnace
Regards
mark687
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Post by mark687 on Apr 12, 2018 13:31:21 GMT
They’ve intrigued me but I’ve not actually stepped into the Seventh Doctor Ace and Mel adventures yet, is it worth starting with A Life of Crime or are there any particular highlights? They are all awful, and far and away the worst thing the monthly range are doing at the moment. Not awful but they definitely weren't as good as the rest of the Range lately IMO.
However this forthcoming trilogy does seem to have at least 2 titles in it that sound intriguing.
Regards
mark687
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Post by number13 on Apr 12, 2018 13:40:29 GMT
The High Price of Parking is the standout for me (and looking back at our discussion thread, most of us liked it very much.) It's lots of fun, and it's by John dorney . You could just hop in and enjoy it without worrying about arcs. Recommended. Agreed for new listeners that you don't treat them as an Arc and if you like TV Ace you'll enjoy them.
I'd recommend
Fiesta of the Dammed
The High of Parking
The Blood Furnace
Regards
mark687
Yes I enjoyed 'The Blood Furnace' too - but it wasn't so generally popular for some reason, I think? Not sure why it wasn't so popular - it's a very good story and I'd like to hear more of the aliens' ancient background. I've yet to hear 'Fiesta' (but it's Guy Adams so I know it'll be good.) Definitely young 'TV Ace' - I assumed these stories were set before Hex and was very surprised to find they weren't. But it doesn't bother me much, they're time travellers, they could be from anywhen in their timelines. I like Ace and Mel when they're well written like they are in those stories, whichever period they are supposed to be from. And played brilliantly - for me they were the double highlight of 'Parking'.
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Post by chrism1999 on Apr 12, 2018 20:17:42 GMT
Mel's past catches up with her ... could this mean the long awaited appearance of Tony Selby as Glitz? Fingers crossed, but not holding my breath Honestly, I think if Big Finish were going to get Tony Selby, we'd have heard him by now. It's the big strange universe, though. I could see Glitz swapping bodies to get out of tight spot and leaving some associate or poor innocent to his fate. I recall Nick mentioning in his Facebook Q&A that there was an actor from the later classic era that they were certainly interested in working with, but was now retired or unable to work due to ill health, and I think it was Selby.
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Post by omega on Apr 12, 2018 20:42:28 GMT
Honestly, I think if Big Finish were going to get Tony Selby, we'd have heard him by now. It's the big strange universe, though. I could see Glitz swapping bodies to get out of tight spot and leaving some associate or poor innocent to his fate. I recall Nick mentioning in his Facebook Q&A that there was an actor from the later classic era that they were certainly interested in working with, but was now retired or unable to work due to ill health, and I think it was Selby. BRIAN BLESSED had to miss a guest appearance as a bad guy in The Girl Who Died,
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2018 20:51:02 GMT
I recall Nick mentioning in his Facebook Q&A that there was an actor from the later classic era that they were certainly interested in working with, but was now retired or unable to work due to ill health, and I think it was Selby. BRIAN BLESSED had to miss a guest appearance as a bad guy in The Girl Who Died, Now, I wonder which part he would have played?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2018 21:28:48 GMT
BRIAN BLESSED had to miss a guest appearance as a bad guy in The Girl Who Died, Now, I wonder which part he would have played? Ashildr
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Post by themeddlingmonk on Apr 12, 2018 21:44:11 GMT
Now, I wonder which part he would have played? Ashildr Would have made Series 9 a whole lot better to be fair.
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Post by Audio Watchdog on Apr 12, 2018 21:57:13 GMT
They are all awful, and far and away the worst thing the monthly range are doing at the moment. Not awful but they definitely weren't as good as the rest of the Range lately IMO.
However this forthcoming trilogy does seem to have at least 2 titles in it that sound intriguing.
Regards
mark687
I think Mark is pretty much correct. Of the three Main Range Doctors, the 7th Doctor/Mel & Ace trilogies of the past two years have far and away been the weakest but Fiesta of the Dammed, The High of Parking and The Blood Furnace were all good to very good indeed.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2018 9:15:14 GMT
Not awful but they definitely weren't as good as the rest of the Range lately IMO.
However this forthcoming trilogy does seem to have at least 2 titles in it that sound intriguing.
Regards
mark687
I think Mark is pretty much correct. Of the three Main Range Doctors, the 7th Doctor/Mel & Ace trilogies of the past two years have far and away been the weakest but Fiesta of the Dammed, The High of Parking and The Blood Furnace were all good to very good indeed. I would pretty much agree with that. Fiesta of the Damned has actually become something of a favourite of mine, across all the Doctors' ranges. I'm still very excited about the forthcoming titles, although The Quantum Possibility Engine, I think, is one of the 'clunkiest' names for a story in recent memory. Brilliant picture. What a great team. I love them to bits.
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Post by whiskeybrewer on Apr 13, 2018 11:37:36 GMT
Now, I wonder which part he would have played? Ashildr "YOU'RE THE HYBRID, DOCTOR!"
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Post by Ela on Apr 13, 2018 16:36:36 GMT
They’ve intrigued me but I’ve not actually stepped into the Seventh Doctor Ace and Mel adventures yet, is it worth starting with A Life of Crime or are there any particular highlights? They are all awful, and far and away the worst thing the monthly range are doing at the moment. I didn't think any of them were awful. I enjoyed listening to all of the Seventh Doctor, Ace, and Mel stories, to be honest.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2018 17:43:59 GMT
They are all awful, and far and away the worst thing the monthly range are doing at the moment. I didn't think any of them were awful. I enjoyed listening to all of the Seventh Doctor, Ace, and Mel stories, to be honest. I didn't think they were awful either, Big Finish don't really do awful, but I would accept that the Seventh Doctor - and yet more Ace - stories were the weakest releases of the range. The Fifth and Sixth Doctor have had some exceptionally good Main Range releases of late mid you, so something has to be the least favoured out of a range with that many releases. For me, it's those Seventh Doctor stories.
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Post by Ela on Apr 13, 2018 18:28:39 GMT
I love Ace and I love Sophie Aldred, so there can never be too many Ace stories, as far as I'm concerned. At least, I haven't reached my limit yet.
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Post by omega on Apr 19, 2018 8:51:38 GMT
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Post by mark687 on Apr 19, 2018 9:18:32 GMT
I just realized the Sidebar Photo of the Doctor's gone, so we've got full unblocked cover art for the first time in years for the Range that's an unexpected bonus.
Regards
mark687
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