|
|
Post by chuckr on Sept 17, 2019 9:05:45 GMT
Appeared in Download folders just after MR255. Enjoy!
|
|
|
|
Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Sept 17, 2019 9:11:04 GMT
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2019 9:40:19 GMT
Two 50-minute episodes, just like Resurrection of the Daleks! WOW!!
|
|
|
|
Post by IndieMacUser on Sept 17, 2019 10:02:16 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by Who Review on Sept 17, 2019 12:01:04 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by mark687 on Sept 17, 2019 22:24:35 GMT
Now this a bit of a Drama Genre Salad but its very good.
I find Cicero slightly more likeable out of his element, and Tegan and the Doctor sus his attitude quite well. Tegan and Nyssa work well together, and then there's Marc, perfectly acceptable as a Companion though
I Fear history may repeat itself in the short term in regards to 5th Doc companions.
The main plot ends up utilizing the lead characters principal talents
And unless my ear is tricking me
there's an uncredited voice
or dual role for the threat that on paper is dry but comes over highly engaging.
Regards
mark687 |
|
|
|
Post by barnabaslives on Sept 17, 2019 22:41:36 GMT
That was great, and better still that both of today's releases have been so entertaining and engaging. Quite a wonderful cast here and maybe it's the element of otherworldiness that makes for a good meeting ground but somehow the worlds of Cicero and The Fifth Doctor colliding here seemed perfectly compatible and provided some welcome color. Excellent performances (and direction, I'm sure) all around but Peter's performance really deserves special mention here (what's a word for brilliant that isn't as overused?) and a big hand for the story, too. Very glad to see Cicero in good form with his best foot forward, even while realities of his life come to the fore. That's a lot like what I liked so much about the first Cicero set, clearly not perfect (and I liked the way that the Doctor responded to things there) but you can still see him for one of the good guys and like him and admire his strength and character. The only thing I didn't like {Spoiler} I haven't been very sold on the idea of another new companion because I worry they're all doomed at the end of a short tenure, but this story got me very enthused about the prospect of Marc - a companion out of time like Katrina, only maybe this time not a doomed character, I totally hope, that would be fantastic - and then the story closes on a note of making it sound like Marc is already doomed. Arrrghhh...  |
|
|
|
Post by Whovitt on Sept 20, 2019 13:55:33 GMT
Much like Harry Houdini's War, I was pleasantly surprised by just how much I enjoyed this!  It was just good, solid fun from start to finish, and that's always a winning formula in my book. I have to say. like HHW, I do have one small niggle, as barnabaslives mentions. The marketing was already suggesting what's heavily implied at the end of the story, and I feel that the fact that it is implied is going to take away from the ultimate conclusion. But it doesn't take away from how brilliant Tartarus is, so it's not going to colour my opinion of it |
|
|
|
Post by BHTvsTFC on Sept 21, 2019 7:54:58 GMT
I loved this - pure adventure for pure adventure's sake and well written with lots of good dialogue all round. Barnett shines as the older Cicero but for me Janet Fielding makes this release her own. She gets all of the best lines and makes the most of every single one. I'm looking forward to seeing where this set goes. However I do think the last scene is going to be a bit of a red herring. {Spoiler}
The trailer and story of The Entropy Plague suggested a worse fate for future Nyssa than what happened. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2019 12:34:11 GMT
It's deliberate, I'm sure, that Tegan should mention a scene from one of those wonderful Ray Harryhausen-animated adventure films, because that visualizes exactly this adventure for me. It is, quite simply, great fun. The dialogue is terrifically witty, especially between The Doctor and Cicerro, and the pacing clips along at a good rate - never rushed, but fast enough to remain engaging. Speaking of Tegan, compare her personality here to how she was on television (and I liked her on television): she's funny, self-deprecating and hugely likeable. On television, she was simply more of whinger. Her dialogue hasn't changed drastically, but has been tweaked a little, and she is so much more fun because of it ("What did I say? What did I say??"). Part of it may be that Janet Fielding is allowed to invest her with a lighter disposition - Peter Davison has said many times that any injection of humour was frowned upon during his TV time. Tegan and Nyssa are very entertaining together. There is a darker background here, of course, not least because The Doctor is still haunted by the death of Adric at this time.
The character of Mark becomes steadily more prominent as the story roles along. I'm not sure he made a strong enough impression on the regulars to become a fellow traveller - but then the same could have been said of that young scallywag McCrimmon all those decades ago. Samuel Barnett is great here too (not a Norton Folgate double entendre in sight!). And how great to hear his Torchwood boss Tracy-Ann Oberman as the titular character - she has such a great voice. She even makes the credits voice-over sound interesting. A word also for Robert Harvey's terrific music score. Nicely understated - as is the open-ending of this story.
I'll be absolutely honest - I wasn't expecting to enjoy this anywhere as near as much as I have. I should have known better.
|
|
|
|
Post by tuigirl on Sept 21, 2019 13:53:37 GMT
Hmm. After this got so much praise I might have to cave in and get this after all.
I am generally not the biggest fan of the 5th Doctor and was not really sold on the Cicero audios, however, the mention of those old Harryhausen movies which I adore....
This just sounds like something I would really enjoy.
|
|
|
|
Post by TinDogPodcast on Sept 21, 2019 17:38:58 GMT
It's a lot like last year's doctor and dragons.
Still lovely psido historical
|
|
|
|
Post by antartiks on Sept 21, 2019 19:51:30 GMT
Hmm. After this got so much praise I might have to cave in and get this after all. I am generally not the biggest fan of the 5th Doctor and was not really sold on the Cicero audios, however, the mention of those old Harryhausen movies which I adore.... This just sounds like something I would really enjoy. I'm not a fan of the Fifth Doctor either, he's one of the most borring in my opinion. But this one was quite solid, I think it was better than any episode from the Kamelion trilogy or than any episode of the Main Range this year to be honest. I still have to listen to Emissary of the Daleks and Harry Houdini's War but Tartarus may be the best that's come out this year so far, in my opinion. |
|
|
|
Post by tuigirl on Sept 23, 2019 7:26:17 GMT
Finished this last night. Well- this was a really fun light-hearted adventure.
It is full of humor and peril and running away from monsters, exactly what you expect from a relaxing, well-done but typical Doctor Who adventure.
I enjoyed it very much, the Doctor and Cicero bounce off each other wonderfully and I agree with everyone that Tegan was the silent star of the piece.
Compared to this months Harry Houdini's War, I have to say I liked Harry Houdini more. They are a bit similar, energy wise, but I just thought the setting and the characters were better and of course I love Colin.
However, this does not mean Tartarus was bad, it certainly is one of the better Main Range releases, and it never tries to be anything more than a fun, light-hearted adventure. Therefore it will never become one of the all-time greats (neither will Harry Houdini, though), for that it just lacks in depth and characterization.
There is one thing I did not like, and that is the last scene at the end.
{Spoiler}
The last scene with the Doctor coming back feels tacked on.
I am also not a fan of this blatant fore-shadowing.
So the newly acquired companion is going to die a gruesome death. Well, that must be a first at Big Finish!
My guess is that they wanted to add drama and entice listeners to buy the sequels to this.
However, if anything, this enticed me even LESS to get the sequels. In my opinion, as often as this has already happened in BF, having the Doctor foreshadow the death was completely unnecessary. And for me, I was just thinking: "There we go again. Been there, done that."
Might be something for the line of T-shirts BF is selling.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ian McArdell on Sept 23, 2019 14:05:06 GMT
My take on Tartarus is just up at CultBox - I really enjoyed this, crossing over with the brilliant Cicero BFO. Shame there wasn't more of Terentia though. Also, I love that with five stories crammed into this trilogy, it's effectively a mini-season. "Season 19b" anyone? |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2019 14:27:52 GMT
{Spoiler} The last scene with the Doctor coming back feels tacked on.
I am also not a fan of this blatant fore-shadowing.
So the newly acquired companion is going to die a gruesome death. Well, that must be a first at Big Finish!
My guess is that they wanted to add drama and entice listeners to buy the sequels to this.
However, if anything, this enticed me even LESS to get the sequels. In my opinion, as often as this has already happened in BF, having the Doctor foreshadow the death was completely unnecessary. And for me, I was just thinking: "There we go again. Been there, done that."
Might be something for the line of T-shirts BF is selling. ... or is that exactly what they want us to think, the sneaky blighters?  |
|
|
|
Post by thegreendeath on Sept 23, 2019 16:41:41 GMT
Well this was a good deal of fun. It wasn’t anything vastly original but the characters were all true to form, the worlds of Who and Cicero seemed to merge seamlessly (in fact I liked it enough to order the Cicero set) and there was some grand adventure on the way. I like Marc so far and hope he gets a few seasons of stories instead of just three and done
|
|
|
|
Post by tuigirl on Sept 23, 2019 18:08:29 GMT
{Spoiler} The last scene with the Doctor coming back feels tacked on.
I am also not a fan of this blatant fore-shadowing.
So the newly acquired companion is going to die a gruesome death. Well, that must be a first at Big Finish!
My guess is that they wanted to add drama and entice listeners to buy the sequels to this.
However, if anything, this enticed me even LESS to get the sequels. In my opinion, as often as this has already happened in BF, having the Doctor foreshadow the death was completely unnecessary. And for me, I was just thinking: "There we go again. Been there, done that."
Might be something for the line of T-shirts BF is selling. ... or is that exactly what they want us to think, the sneaky blighters? That would mean I have to get my hope up for their originality...  |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2019 18:31:23 GMT
Well this was a good deal of fun. It wasn’t anything vastly original but the characters were all true to form, the worlds of Who and Cicero seemed to merge seamlessly (in fact I liked it enough to order the Cicero set) and there was some grand adventure on the way. I like Marc so far and hope he gets a few seasons of stories instead of just three and done He probably will he is family😉 |
|
|
|
Post by thegreendeath on Sept 23, 2019 18:38:27 GMT
]He probably will he is family😉 I thought it was pretty funny in the extras where he talked about saying in his acting class “Yeah, I think my uncle does a little work with Big Finish”. |
|
It was just good, solid fun from start to finish, and that's always a winning formula in my book.
