Main Range 242. The Dispossessed (Spoilers)

I'm glad you found some things to like about it. To each their own though, I guess - I really liked the focus on the new characters, I thought it was absolutely wonderful that in this story the supporting characters seemed less disposable and one-dimensional than they often seem to. 

I loved the first three episodes and thought the wrap-up episode was just kind of okay. I really liked having Mel & Ace together for a lot of the action.

Just finished listening up to this. A rather mixed bag this one. On the one hand, I thought it was a step down from Red Planets (with the final episode being particularly poor). On the other, it wasn't a complete write-off and is certainly better than some of the 7th-Ace-Mel stuff we've had over the past couple of years.

The premise of this is an interesting one - an isolated group of survivors, a being that exists on the physical and meta-physical planes and the irony that a survival mechanism ends up becoming a prison. For an audio adventure, there is quite a lot of 'visual' elements here - the deserted, run-down tower block in the dead of night sealed off from the world is very striking and probably imagination makes this more spectacular than would have been the case with 1980s budgets and production values. The Arkallax's flat and domain are also well imagined and are quite striking.

The plot starts of reasonably well enough and Episodes I-III do enough to keep the listener entertained. However, there isn't really much 'new' here - we've heard this approach before with recent BF releases, such as the High Price of Parking and the Condemned (of which is a much better take on a living building). The story also harks back very much to Paradise Towers (Mel makes those parallels very clear and evident throughout in the early dialogue). After having a politically complex tale in Red Planets, with multiple stories running at once - this is far more pedestrian. Sadly, the characterisation is also very 2D - Arkallax ends up as the 'stereotypical baddie' and Episode IV doesn't make this any better (the insane laughing and booming voice play to the worst stereotypes in the genre); Isobel ends up very much a 'stereotypical northerner' as well, which undermines the characterisation.

The main cast are reasonably well served. Aldred gets to play Ace as a 'typical' 1980s teenager, which is refreshing. Langford does a good effort and the relationship between her and Aldred is much better in this trilogy than before. McCoy varies here - his quiet almost mischievous portrayal in the first half is rather undone by the 'manic' approach he takes at the end. The fourth episode is particularly plagued by this, which is a real disappointment.

The elements are there for a good story - it is imaginative, but sadly it is never really driven. The ending is too much a deus ex machina approach and is resolved far too quickly (and without explanation). Whilst I applaud the team for making it clear that this is part of a trilogy and segueing into the next story, this is a rather forgettable released that is nowhere near as good as it is predecessor. I really hope that this isn't the start of a poor run for McCoy - there's still 3 releases to go!

A step back somewhat for the MR. Pity, this is probably the first underwhelming release since The Silurian Candidate.

It's something he's had since 1987 as the character for me. He nails it..then the next line blows it. Very erratic, struggles to do anything angry with volume and can be mercurial or terrible in any given moment. He's the only actor to play the part who makes me cringe sometimes and I really don't like saying that. In spite of that, he's far from my least favourite Doctor as when he nails it, I prefer him to Pertwee for one.  On audio some of McCoys weaknesses are clearer, sadly. 

I'll say those moments don't make me cringe, but they do take me out of it a bit cause I find myself picturing Sylv in the booth and thinking "oh, he's having fun again, isn't he?"

I'd like to rate this higher. The premise is fine, and the split teams of (1) Ace/Mel and (2) the Doctor and others are nicely used.

But there seems so much padding, and so many visual things that are not communicated effectively enough for me on audio. I also found Sylvester's performance really variable in this. And the last episode is awful.

But I preferred the simpler storytelling to the approach of the previous month. I just wish other things about it had been better.

I thought it was an interesting story and an interesting premise. I do enjoy have Ace and Mel together, as well. So overall I enjoyed it.