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Post by vivdunstan on Feb 10, 2019 21:52:56 GMT
Just listening to the extras for story 1 now. Tom sounds so delighted with the new companion! That's marvellous
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lidar2
Castellan
You know, now that you mention it, I actually do rather like Attack of the Cybermen ...
Likes: 5,812
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Post by lidar2 on Feb 18, 2019 9:29:23 GMT
Finally managed to get my 6 year old daughter interested in a Doctor Who audio - showed her the cast picture in The False Guardian. Female Dr no 13 wasn't enough to pique her interest, but Topsy & Tim's Mummy was!
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lidar2
Castellan
You know, now that you mention it, I actually do rather like Attack of the Cybermen ...
Likes: 5,812
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Post by lidar2 on Feb 22, 2019 12:34:15 GMT
Have listened this week to the first 7 episodes. Episode 8 is for the commute home today.
Thoughts so far ...
4.1 - Sinestran Kill. A fairly straightforward season opener, does exactly what it says on the tin. Never going to set the world on fire, but an enjoyable 2 parter nevertheless. I think I was expecting a Life n Mars type story, with frank Skinner as a Gene Hunt figure. Ann Kelso is great.
4.2 - Planet of the Drashigs. Really enjoyed this. Felt a bit rushed, may have been better as a 4 parter.
4.3 - Enchantress of Numbers. Definitely should have been a 4 parter, episode 1 set it up nicely, but episode 2 crammed a lot in and moved very fast
Overall an excellent set (so far). I like the way the dialogue mad it clear Ann and the doctor had other adventures off screen as it were, so BF have left themselves room to go back and fill in the gaps. Ann is great, my only question is why has it taken them so long to give 4 a new companion? The extras said it was only because Louise Jameson was going to be unavailable, which is slightly disappointing if that is the only reason we have a new companion. New companions bring out new aspects of a doctor's character and the more variety of companions the better, the more it freshens things up. Six is the perfect example of how a big variety of new companions has kept that incarnation fresh and exciting, whereas Seven is an example of how over-reliance on one companion has made his incarnation stale, so I guess I'm slightly disappointed at the implication that for BF a new companion for 4 is a last resort solution they only did reluctantly because the TV companions were unavailable.
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Post by masterdoctor on Feb 22, 2019 16:20:52 GMT
Have listened this week to the first 7 episodes. Episode 8 is for the commute home today. Thoughts so far ... 4.1 - Sinestran Kill. A fairly straightforward season opener, does exactly what it says on the tin. Never going to set the world on fire, but an enjoyable 2 parter nevertheless. I think I was expecting a Life n Mars type story, with frank Skinner as a Gene Hunt figure. Ann Kelso is great. 4.2 - Planet of the Drashigs. Really enjoyed this. Felt a bit rushed, may have been better as a 4 parter. 4.3 - Enchantress of Numbers. Definitely should have been a 4 parter, episode 1 set it up nicely, but episode 2 crammed a lot in and moved very fast Overall an excellent set (so far). I like the way the dialogue mad it clear Ann and the doctor had other adventures off screen as it were, so BF have left themselves room to go back and fill in the gaps. Ann is great, my only question is why has it taken them so long to give 4 a new companion? The extras said it was only because Louise Jameson was going to be unavailable, which is slightly disappointing if that is the only reason we have a new companion. New companions bring out new aspects of a doctor's character and the more variety of companions the better, the more it freshens things up. Six is the perfect example of how a big variety of new companions has kept that incarnation fresh and exciting, whereas Seven is an example of how over-reliance on one companion has made his incarnation stale, so I guess I'm slightly disappointed at the implication that for BF a new companion for 4 is a last resort solution they only did reluctantly because the TV companions were unavailable. I think giving Four a new companion was done as he was uncomfortable with the notion until Jane Slavin was asked as they had work so much together as she fills in for Romana in their recording sessions. I’ve only had a chance to listen to the first part of The Sinestrian Kill but I think they made the right decision in her as Ann
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Post by mrperson on Feb 22, 2019 16:55:42 GMT
you are correct to be precise its his Son
I think it stands as one the oddest things BF have ever done.
Regards
mark687
Agree. 100% {Spoiler} Made no sense to me so the intended thrill was lost on me. But I guess I am not the huge fan some here are or those from BF. Never seen The Daleks' Master Plan from which these characters were taken. Then again nor have many as most of it has been lost! Very weird idea from BF. That explains why I didn't get it...
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Post by vivdunstan on Feb 23, 2019 0:18:50 GMT
Just listened to 8.3 The Enchantress of Numbers.
I enjoyed that a lot. But I found the use of flashbacks and out of order-ness in the second part confusing. I would also have preferred more explanation of block transfer computation. It's been a very long time since I saw Logopolis etc!
However the period setting was a delight, I really liked the grand house runaround, and Tom, Jane and Finty Williams were great. Oh and as a computer science graduate it was lovely to hear an original story with Ada Lovelace in it.
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Post by vivdunstan on Feb 23, 2019 2:18:02 GMT
And straight on to 8.4 The False Guardian: Well that was curious! I rather liked the idea of a sanatorium in space. And someone thinking he is Mavic Chen was amusing, even for me who doesn't exactly know the story of Daleks' Master Plan. As for the big reveal, well I liked the anticipation. I'm not sure what to make of the identity though! Erm, amused to be honest, rather than either underwhelmed or excited. I'm very much enjoying Ann as a companion, though I still think she's somewhat underdeveloped character wise. I do like her detecting side coming to the fore though. And Tom is positively revelling in this new setup, which is great. So yes, thumbs up, though I'm not sure what Big Finish were on when they conceived this idea!
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Post by Ian McArdell on Feb 26, 2019 9:31:03 GMT
My take on Volume 1 is now up at Cultbox - much enjoyed!
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Post by shallacatop on Mar 9, 2019 19:18:12 GMT
The Sinestran Kill is a lovely little opener. Tom’s in his element, Jane Slavin makes a great introduction as Ann Kelso and Frank Skinner is always good value. It’s rather new series like in approach, similar to the premieres and introductory episodes we’ve had since the show came back.
Planet of the Drashigs is fun, but nothing new. Big Finish have done Doctor Who meets Jurassic Park three times recently; the Vashta Nerada stories and The Curate’s Egg, so the timing is unfortunate. It doesn’t overstay its welcome and Ann is a breath of fresh air, so it’s not a bad thing. It’s nice to have a contemporary companion with the Fourth Doctor again, rather than the continuous use of Leela and Romana, who don’t seem as flexible and are at complete opposite ends of the scale being a primitive savage and a intelligent Lady of Time, respectively.
The Enchantress of Numbers is right up my street, having a computing background myself. It’s a nice little story, but it seems out of place in this set. The talk of block transfer computation and Ann amazingly knowing all about computers and viruses makes me think it was a rejected story from Series 6 of the series. It’s unfortunate that Ann seems out of character here, but is also very much sidelined. Perhaps not the best story to put in her opening set, though it’s good in its own way.
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Post by shallacatop on Mar 10, 2019 18:47:27 GMT
The False Guardian was lots of fun. Anything that mentions lapsang souchong is fine in my book! Ann is a great companion and I love how she’s using her detective skills in this. Although her comment about using the same password for everything was jarring, much like her knowing about computers and viruses in the previous story.
I didn’t know who the cliffhanger was referring to specifically, as I’m not familiar enough with the source material, but I got the gist and the build up was well seeded throughout the story. It seemed to me as though it was written to be absurd and was performed as such, so it served its purpose.
Looking forward to moving on to 8B!
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Post by Ela on Jul 19, 2019 21:04:57 GMT
Well, I enjoyed this set of stories overall.
The Sinestran Kill was a fun little introduction to WPC Ann Kelso.
The Planet of the Drashigs was enjoyable as well.
Enjoyed The Enchantress of Numbers, I liked having a historical focusing on Ada Lovelace.
Maybe I was missing something, but I'm not sure what the title of The False Guardian was referring to. I guess the guy who thought he was Mavic Chen? In any case, interesting set-up for the next part of the story.
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Post by mark687 on Jan 20, 2024 12:42:57 GMT
Enchantress of Numbers wins Award
Regards
mark687
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