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Post by shallacatop on Nov 6, 2019 18:42:17 GMT
Interstitial was a good listen. Like Tartarus, it’s not adventurous or particularly original, but it does everything so well that it’s a great end result; it’s just so enjoyable. The TARDIS team are all given great material, there’s plenty of atmosphere, the 50 minutes fly by and the soundtrack is good. I loved the Nyssa & Marc dynamic at the beginning, so I hope we get more of that.
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Nov 8, 2019 10:16:59 GMT
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Post by Ian McArdell on Nov 8, 2019 12:05:35 GMT
My take on this double-header is up at CultBox: "a pleasing gear change, with contrasting types of story on offer; one harder sci-fi, the other creepy pseudo-historical" |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2019 10:53:56 GMT
My take on this double-header is up at CultBox: "a pleasing gear change, with contrasting types of story on offer; one harder sci-fi, the other creepy pseudo-historical" Familiar avatar 🤔 |
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Post by Ian McArdell on Nov 14, 2019 10:20:48 GMT
My take on this double-header is up at CultBox: "a pleasing gear change, with contrasting types of story on offer; one harder sci-fi, the other creepy pseudo-historical" Familiar avatar 🤔 Oh no, is that one you've used? There aren't so many good Deavis photos... such a great character too! |
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Post by nottenst on Nov 15, 2019 14:26:17 GMT
Just finished Interstitial/Feast of Fear and regular interviews. The evil Nyssa was quite disturbing. Starting that one right in the middle was unnerving. A good change of pace.
My big question is about Interstitial - has anyone taken the garbled time effected dialogue and run it backwards to hear if it makes sense that way? If so, is it just dialogue we've already heard?
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Post by shallacatop on Nov 15, 2019 14:51:52 GMT
The Feast of Fear was another great instalment in this run of stories. Grim and the small cast increased the atmosphere and tension throughout. It’s Black Thursday done better and doesn’t have any of the issues I had with that tale.
I loved Tegan’s confrontation with Nyssa in the second part. This was rather a Marc-lite story, but I think the story helps to get across the varied life of a companion, particularly as one is possessed!
Great release and two brill stories that make for a good contrast.
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Post by theotherjosh on Nov 15, 2019 19:05:38 GMT
I wasn’t a huge fan of the two story main range release last time they did it, but the stories do seem to have a much better flow this time around.
Also, I fell behind with my listening and I’m jumping around quite a bit. I figured that I was fine because Big Finish has been keeping each story fairly self-contained in recent years. So, of course I jump back into listening immediately after they introduce a new companion. I don’t think that I would have named a new companion to the Fifth Doctor “Mark” because it makes me think of Mark Strickson, but that might just be me.
Interstitial
I enjoyed the story. Mark adds an element that was missing. I think the crowded TARDIS works best with this era, and something’s lacking without three companions.
One minor complaint is that the story seemed a little rushed at points, and there were bursts of exposition that felt a trifle jarring.
Is Interstitial used less commonly in the UK? The extras at the end of the story made it sound like it wasn’t widely known among the cast.
Speaking of the cast, are these a bunch of great people or what?! Doctor Who actors do seem to be genuinely nice people, but the camaraderie at the end makes me happy. It’s just so wholesome!
Feast of Fear
Good name for a story. Does Sarah Sutton have a clause in her contract that specifies that she gets to play an evil Nyssa every other year? If so, I approve.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2019 19:41:53 GMT
Serviceable stories. But neither of them were great.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2019 3:10:09 GMT
Good, solid entries. Both handle their respective runtimes rather well and we get more than a few great opportunities for character development.
I have to say, I really like Marc. I can see exactly what's coming down the track for him and I'm still growing rather fond of him. His first experience in outer space for Interstitial is what I live for in Doctor Who (and really science fiction in general). It's important to get that wonder from time to time and it's beautifully realised here. There's a real sense of occupancy to the TARDIS and lives being lived within it. It feels solid. There's a good sense of stakes too. The story itself doesn't outstay its welcome and there's a real sense of threat throughout.
The Spae Wife of Feast of Fear has to be one of the more vicious little creations I've come across in Who for a while. There was some genuinely unsettling imagery with a blindfolded Doctor in a cage and Nyssa cracking the whip in a carnival of suffering. The choice to start the story in media res was strong too. If you twisted my arm and said I could only pick one story to be doubled in length, I reckon it'd be Feast. I'd have liked to explore 19th century Ireland a bit more and there was enough grim, Gaiman-esque atmosphere to sustain a bit more story.
Almost at Warzone now... *closes one eye* Alright, let's see.
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Post by slithe on Dec 1, 2019 9:46:08 GMT
Good, solid entries. Both handle their respective runtimes rather well and we get more than a few great opportunities for character development. I have to say, I really like Marc. I can see exactly what's coming down the track for him and I'm still growing rather fond of him. His first experience in outer space for Interstitial is what I live for in Doctor Who (and really science fiction in general). It's important to get that wonder from time to time and it's beautifully realised here. There's a real sense of occupancy to the TARDIS and lives being lived within it. It feels solid. There's a good sense of stakes too. The story itself doesn't outstay its welcome and there's a real sense of threat throughout. The Spae Wife of Feast of Fear has to be one of the more vicious little creations I've come across in Who for a while. There was some genuinely unsettling imagery with a blindfolded Doctor in a cage and Nyssa cracking the whip in a carnival of suffering. The choice to start the story in media res was strong too. If you twisted my arm and said I could only pick one story to be doubled in length, I reckon it'd be Feast. I'd have liked to explore 19th century Ireland a bit more and there was enough grim, Gaiman-esque atmosphere to sustain a bit more story. Almost at Warzone now... *closes one eye* Alright, let's see. Feast of Fear I was really, really impressed with. It is a nice little story, which is almost a mirror to Black Orchid - historical, mistaken identity, starting in media res, underlying nastiness and savagery. It fitted the era, but was a step up from what we usually saw at that point. In particular, I doubt the 80s culture would have portrayed a lesbian relationship on TV so openly and in a positive way. I agree that Feast of Fear could have been extended - but would it have lost its power? There is just enough there to give us a hint of the unpleasantness - the idea of the starving populace is unpleasant and the parallels between the Spae Wife draining them of emotion is a good hint at the starvation/draining of Ireland by the English lords. Marc and Tegan make a good team, but would it have been a lot more of them 'wandering' and making comical asides if the run time was extended? Possibly, the interaction with Nyssa and Tegan could have been developed a bit more. Are we really sure that it was The Spae Wife making those comments/influencing Nyssa or Nysaa herself. Travelling with the Doctor hasn't exactly been good for her - the loss of her father, Traken, Adric and the horrors along the way show that time travel in the TARDIS is far from a bowl of cherries. I wonder if that could have been extended a bit - is the Doctor also a form of the Spae Wife but on his companions? Interesting, that the story hints more at the naive Fifth Doctor - trying to help a creature, albeit foolishly. Yet in Warzone/Conversion, he abandons others willingly to save Marc? Is the Fifth Doctor who he is either - the dialogue with Tegan in Conversion suggests not. I've only thought about this since revisiting Feast of Fear after listening to the whole trilogy. Once the three stories have been listened to, it is worth going back and listening out for any clues. They are subtly there - but Feast of Fear does raise a lot of questions about 'who' the characters are and their motives. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2019 12:17:52 GMT
Good, solid entries. Both handle their respective runtimes rather well and we get more than a few great opportunities for character development. I have to say, I really like Marc. I can see exactly what's coming down the track for him and I'm still growing rather fond of him. His first experience in outer space for Interstitial is what I live for in Doctor Who (and really science fiction in general). It's important to get that wonder from time to time and it's beautifully realised here. There's a real sense of occupancy to the TARDIS and lives being lived within it. It feels solid. There's a good sense of stakes too. The story itself doesn't outstay its welcome and there's a real sense of threat throughout. The Spae Wife of Feast of Fear has to be one of the more vicious little creations I've come across in Who for a while. There was some genuinely unsettling imagery with a blindfolded Doctor in a cage and Nyssa cracking the whip in a carnival of suffering. The choice to start the story in media res was strong too. If you twisted my arm and said I could only pick one story to be doubled in length, I reckon it'd be Feast. I'd have liked to explore 19th century Ireland a bit more and there was enough grim, Gaiman-esque atmosphere to sustain a bit more story. Almost at Warzone now... *closes one eye* Alright, let's see. Feast of Fear I was really, really impressed with. It is a nice little story, which is almost a mirror to Black Orchid - historical, mistaken identity, starting in media res, underlying nastiness and savagery. It fitted the era, but was a step up from what we usually saw at that point. In particular, I doubt the 80s culture would have portrayed a lesbian relationship on TV so openly and in a positive way. I agree that Feast of Fear could have been extended - but would it have lost its power? There is just enough there to give us a hint of the unpleasantness - the idea of the starving populace is unpleasant and the parallels between the Spae Wife draining them of emotion is a good hint at the starvation/draining of Ireland by the English lords. Marc and Tegan make a good team, but would it have been a lot more of them 'wandering' and making comical asides if the run time was extended? Possibly, the interaction with Nyssa and Tegan could have been developed a bit more. Are we really sure that it was The Spae Wife making those comments/influencing Nyssa or Nysaa herself. Travelling with the Doctor hasn't exactly been good for her - the loss of her father, Traken, Adric and the horrors along the way show that time travel in the TARDIS is far from a bowl of cherries. I wonder if that could have been extended a bit - is the Doctor also a form of the Spae Wife but on his companions? Interesting, that the story hints more at the naive Fifth Doctor - trying to help a creature, albeit foolishly. Yet in Warzone/Conversion, he abandons others willingly to save Marc? Is the Fifth Doctor who he is either - the dialogue with Tegan in Conversion suggests not. I've only thought about this since revisiting Feast of Fear after listening to the whole trilogy. Once the three stories have been listened to, it is worth going back and listening out for any clues. They are subtly there - but Feast of Fear does raise a lot of questions about 'who' the characters are and their motives. Yes, I do like how there wasn't a song and dance made of the fact. That's the thing about normalising things like LGBTQIA relationships (speaking as someone who's the A), the more you single it out -- the less you're normalising it. It's why I like depictions of romances with the Doctor like Loups-Garoux or The Wormery. There's heartbreak, absolutely, but the difference isn't treated as something to gawk at. It's simply another aspect of the Doctor. Well, flash forward to The Cradle of the Snake when Turlough's joined the TARDIS: Nyssa's certainly not anymore immune from the Mara's influence than the Doctor was. She indulges the twin temptations of vanity and petty subterfuge. My personal theory is that after Tremas, the Doctor became a sort of stepfather figure. A mentor. But, on a personal level, she's often the one to protect him, not vice versa. In the Mulder and Scully vein. Nyssa had to do a lot of growing up very quickly and despite concessions like finding out not all of the Union was destroyed, we never really see where all those feelings go. Perhaps, during a lot of her initial time with the Doctor, she's processing. Keeping busy, but still, processing. Five's caging by the Spae Wife is almost this metaphor for his coping mechanisms in a way. He recites facts, figures, astronomical data (in every sense of the term) to keep the emotion at bay. Over the course of this trilogy, we've never quite seen the Fifth Doctor this way since he lost Patience in Cold Fusion. By the time of Conversion, it feels like a great deal's come out of the box and I mean a great deal. Staving it off for however long has only make it more severe. |
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Post by Tim Bradley on Dec 31, 2019 12:31:12 GMT
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lidar2
Castellan
You know, now that you mention it, I actually do rather like Attack of the Cybermen ...
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Post by lidar2 on Jan 2, 2020 14:29:40 GMT
Feast of Fear I was really, really impressed with. It is a nice little story, which is almost a mirror to Black Orchid - historical, mistaken identity, starting in media res, underlying nastiness and savagery. It fitted the era, but was a step up from what we usually saw at that point. In particular, I doubt the 80s culture would have portrayed a lesbian relationship on TV so openly and in a positive way. That aspect of it struck me as unconvincing and somewhat anachronistic, the idea that a homosexual couple would and could be so open in nineteenth century Ireland - a very socially conservative and Roman Catholic place - although maybe someone who knows more about LGBT history will correct me? |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2020 15:16:52 GMT
Feast of Fear I was really, really impressed with. It is a nice little story, which is almost a mirror to Black Orchid - historical, mistaken identity, starting in media res, underlying nastiness and savagery. It fitted the era, but was a step up from what we usually saw at that point. In particular, I doubt the 80s culture would have portrayed a lesbian relationship on TV so openly and in a positive way. That aspect of it struck me as unconvincing and somewhat anachronistic, the idea that a homosexual couple would and could be so open in nineteenth century Ireland - a very socially conservative and Roman Catholic place - although maybe someone who knows more about LGBT history will correct me? There's a reason people joined the carnival in the first place - because they've been ostracised by their families, etc, and so join a band of travellers who are more unconventional. Otherwise, they'd most likely have stayed at home. |
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lidar2
Castellan
You know, now that you mention it, I actually do rather like Attack of the Cybermen ...
Likes: 5,641
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Post by lidar2 on Jan 2, 2020 15:31:41 GMT
That aspect of it struck me as unconvincing and somewhat anachronistic, the idea that a homosexual couple would and could be so open in nineteenth century Ireland - a very socially conservative and Roman Catholic place - although maybe someone who knows more about LGBT history will correct me? There's a reason people joined the carnival in the first place - because they've been ostracised by their families, etc, and so join a band of travellers who are more unconventional. Otherwise, they'd most likely have stayed at home. Fair point but surely, for purely pragmatic reasons in the society in which they lived, they'd have been a bit more coy about it with anyone other than close friends? |
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Post by slithe on Jan 3, 2020 9:04:18 GMT
That aspect of it struck me as unconvincing and somewhat anachronistic, the idea that a homosexual couple would and could be so open in nineteenth century Ireland - a very socially conservative and Roman Catholic place - although maybe someone who knows more about LGBT history will correct me? There's a reason people joined the carnival in the first place - because they've been ostracised by their families, etc, and so join a band of travellers who are more unconventional. Otherwise, they'd most likely have stayed at home. The very contradictory thing (and just shows the ignorance of it all) about attitudes to homosexuality in Victorian society (and before/since) is that lesbianism was not illegal/criminal. Whilst two women living together and openly showing affection in public would have been frowned upon, it was not illegal. It might lead to some tutting and rolled eyes, but that was about it. To put it crudely, most people did not think lesbians could 'do' anything sexual (or did not want to imagine it) and many imagined that women being affectionate/kind to each other was 'part' of being a woman. So, the couple in Feast of Fear may have just been seen as 'friends' with some sniggering/snide comments. They may have pushed social mores too far with their display of affection (a public marriage might do that), hence the need to join the Carnival. However, many would have joined something like that to 'escape' the humdrum tedium of village life, grinding poverty and the chance to see the world. Fitting in with others would also have played a key role. For homosexual males, the opposite was true. Most of the laws were not against being homosexual per se, but against sodomy. Technically, two consenting males, regardless if they were of the age of consent (which was only fixed at 16 for heterosexuals in the late 1800s to protect young girls and 21 for male homosexuals in the 1960s, then 18 in 1994 and 16 in 2000), would either be guilty of sodomy/buggery. Initially, the penalty for this was death by hanging, later reduced to a prison sentence. Similarly, a father, who killed a man who had anal sex with his son, also had a defence in law as well. Ironically, the whole prejudice was based on the view that such practices were 'unnatural' (citing the Bible - which really only specifically mentions male homosexuality) and also a 'fear' that this could 'corrupt' masculinity (even though the Spartans disprove that!!). Homophobic and prejudicial attitudes were therefore encouraged by all sections of society, with the use of penal sanctions as a way of controlling conforming behaviour. When male homosexuality was decriminalised in the 1960s in the UK, the state reverted to other informal ways to sanction homophobia -the most obvious being the infamous Section 28 under Thatcher. Whilst it is unlikely that male same-sex couple would have been tolerated in Feast of Fear, a female couple would probably have avoided detection for reasons mentioned above. BF also need to do a 4 part story where the Doctor meets Alan Turing... The father of modern computing meeting Sixie would be a great story (especially with Mrs Clarke). |
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Post by elkawho on Jan 4, 2020 18:54:33 GMT
There's a reason people joined the carnival in the first place - because they've been ostracised by their families, etc, and so join a band of travellers who are more unconventional. Otherwise, they'd most likely have stayed at home. The very contradictory thing (and just shows the ignorance of it all) about attitudes to homosexuality in Victorian society (and before/since) is that lesbianism was not illegal/criminal. Whilst two women living together and openly showing affection in public would have been frowned upon, it was not illegal. It might lead to some tutting and rolled eyes, but that was about it. To put it crudely, most people did not think lesbians could 'do' anything sexual (or did not want to imagine it) and many imagined that women being affectionate/kind to each other was 'part' of being a woman. So, the couple in Feast of Fear may have just been seen as 'friends' with some sniggering/snide comments. They may have pushed social mores too far with their display of affection (a public marriage might do that), hence the need to join the Carnival. However, many would have joined something like that to 'escape' the humdrum tedium of village life, grinding poverty and the chance to see the world. Fitting in with others would also have played a key role. For homosexual males, the opposite was true. Most of the laws were not against being homosexual per se, but against sodomy. Technically, two consenting males, regardless if they were of the age of consent (which was only fixed at 16 for heterosexuals in the late 1800s to protect young girls and 21 for male homosexuals in the 1960s, then 18 in 1994 and 16 in 2000), would either be guilty of sodomy/buggery. Initially, the penalty for this was death by hanging, later reduced to a prison sentence. Similarly, a father, who killed a man who had anal sex with his son, also had a defence in law as well. Ironically, the whole prejudice was based on the view that such practices were 'unnatural' (citing the Bible - which really only specifically mentions male homosexuality) and also a 'fear' that this could 'corrupt' masculinity (even though the Spartans disprove that!!). Homophobic and prejudicial attitudes were therefore encouraged by all sections of society, with the use of penal sanctions as a way of controlling conforming behaviour. When male homosexuality was decriminalised in the 1960s in the UK, the state reverted to other informal ways to sanction homophobia -the most obvious being the infamous Section 28 under Thatcher. Whilst it is unlikely that male same-sex couple would have been tolerated in Feast of Fear, a female couple would probably have avoided detection for reasons mentioned above. BF also need to do a 4 part story where the Doctor meets Alan Turing... The father of modern computing meeting Sixie would be a great story (especially with Mrs Clarke). Yes! I actually hoped Criss Cross would have an appearance by Mr. Turing and was disappointed a bit when it didn't. Because of this post I went and did a quick bit of research on Section 28 since as an American I am completely ignorant of many things in British law. Holy hell, what a nightmare for the LGTBQ community and their allies. What a terrible law. |
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Post by slithe on Jan 5, 2020 9:35:35 GMT
Yes! I actually hoped Criss Cross would have an appearance by Mr. Turing and was disappointed a bit when it didn't. Because of this post I went and did a quick bit of research on Section 28 since as an American I am completely ignorant of many things in British law. Holy hell, what a nightmare for the LGTBQ community and their allies. What a terrible law. Section 28 was an awful piece of legislation, which did untold damage/harm to many in the LGBTQ community. It was only repealed in 2003, which meant I grew up with this law very much in force. Was not a great time. The Happiness Patrol (although pre-Section 28) captures many of the Thatcher era attitudes towards homosexuality - albeit subtly. The current issue of DWM also mentions the themes that were explored by Cartmell regarding Ace and her sexuality. |
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Post by number13 on Jan 21, 2020 12:12:27 GMT
Well behind events here but catching up on the (current) MR at last! Two strong stories, contrasting in their settings but both character-driven pieces that make very good use of the larger TARDIS team. Either or both could easily have been four-parters imo, in particular I'd have liked 'Feast of Fear' to have more time to explore the history of Ireland, the spread of the famine and so on. Maybe to have seemed to be a pure historical - until the carnival rolled into town... But dropping us into the middle of events worked well and 'scary Nyssa' was excellent. Sarah Sutton has played quite a few 'possessed Nyssa' roles now hasn't she  and yet they don't all sound the same by any means - different styles and effects of possession coming through really well in her performances. 'Feast of Fear' was unexpectedly 'Gothic' for the Fifth Doctor with the 'walking dead', living husks and the like and it all worked very well with a time-honoured ending - friendship and love conquer all. Tegan rescues Nyssa by recalling their friendship and Brianna triumphs through her love for her wife. If the 'Spae Wife' was a psychic vampire, then that theme of love reminded me a bit of one of Ireland's greatest gifts of fiction to the world - Dracula. There too it's the friendship and love between the little group who oppose him which is their greatest strength, holding them together despite all the vampire can try to pull them apart. I wish we could have met some more of the carnival people from before the 'Spae Wife' arrived, an eclectic group of non-conformists I'd guess, who didn't fit their 'expected' lives in their isolated villages and in the proverbial way 'ran off to join the circus' (or the carnival in this case) to find freedom on the road. I do like 'Doctor Who' stories which feature 'Time' as a key factor (surprisingly rare in Classic TV Who) and 'Interstitial' was a very good example. Of course, it pushed my Third Doctor-fan buttons to hear them encountering Interstitial Time again and to hear Sgt. Benton's shrewd description of Interstitial Time once more - 'between Now! and Now!' I was a bit surprised there wasn't a comment from the Doctor to highlight the links with 'The Time Monster' but they were pretty clear. That 'Chronon crystal' which Tegan had was surely the same stuff as the crystal of Kronos once housed in Atlantis wasn't it? And whatever she thinks she's evolving into, from the visual description, isn't it clear that Prof. Kalu is fast becoming a Chronovore? - a glowing white 'energy presence' which can flit through Time at will. One more little nod to 'The Time Monster' when the Doctor comments to Marc that (in 'Tartarus') that wasn't his first Minotaur. (Nor indeed, was it his second, but only one of the three was real, by my count. Discussing the realness of Minotaurs underlines why all this is fun, doesn't it? ) I thought Marc was very good indeed in these stories, again, and with some tantalising hints too. His wonder at seeing the stars from space was well done, but is it just me or is he coping very very well for a small-town boy who's never been out of Cumae in his life? Two points (which may be old news to you, I haven't heard the next stories yet so I'm carefully in the dark about Marc ) : in 'Feast of Fear' he comments that being a juggling clown is harder than the Circus Maximus. How would he know what the Circus Maximus was like, he'd never left Cumae before - had he? Secondly, did you notice the spot of Roman imperial superiority coming through? Marc looks down on the 'Picts' and 'Celts'. Because, even though he was a slave, he was a Roman? Or for some other reason? As the Fifth Doctor once said - 'Time will tell. In the TARDIS it always does.' I hope BF take their Time in telling us; I'm enjoying this TARDIS crew a lot and hope for much more from them before the inevitable...
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