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Post by Timelord007 on Mar 1, 2020 13:17:14 GMT
There's still scope for him to meet his match with a future (Unbound?) incarnation of the Doctor... The bottom photo reminds me of myself waking up after a one night happy time, yup definitely t he same reaction.
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Post by Timelord007 on Mar 1, 2020 13:19:50 GMT
Well, I have to say I actually enjoyed The Psychic Circus. Sure, it probably won't go down as a classic Doctor Who story in years to come, but I found it a lot better than last month's release anyway. Seven is my least favourite BF Doctor, but with no Ace to annoy me I thought Sylvester put in a solid performance in this and I found The Psychic Circus worked better for me with no companion around. It's turned out to be a good Seventh Doctor story that works well if you've seen The Greatest Show in the Galaxy. As for, you know who, well, I thought his Master was actually very good in this story and it's probably his best performance in the role. (I never really liked the idea of a "first" Master, so was happy to generally hate the character ... but he worked ok here and Dreyfus came across as menacing enough to be the Master in this story.) So yeah, an above average story that I actually liked, despite my expectations being low after last month's MR release. For fans of the Seventh Doctor's TV era The Psychic Circus is definitely worth a listen. Although it's not a spectacular release, I did find it an enjoyable listen. 3/5 Fantastic synopsis my friend, were was you when i used do my Amazon reviews you could've wrote them for me lol.
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Post by Hieronymus on Mar 2, 2020 1:35:54 GMT
I'm especially fond of Greatest Show [in the Galaxy] in particular. Ian Reddington remains terrifying, even as a stooge. Dreyfus gives a very good performance, though I'm not quite sure that the presence of the Master adds a lot to what's already there.
I'll agree with everything you've said above, but I didn't care for this story. It felt flat and disconnected. The final episode was good, but there wasn't a coherent plot, and the Master's plan is unclear. We did receive a backstory for a few characters from Greatest Show in the Galaxy, but aside from nostalgia there isn't much to recommend this release.
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Post by shallacatop on Mar 5, 2020 12:05:08 GMT
Hmm, I thought this was an odd one. I liked it enough, but it does feel disconnected, though not quite the mess of Dark Universe. The first part sets up an interesting premise, but it doesn’t really spend time exploring it, before quickly moving on to the set up of the Psychic Circus. This might be the central concept of the story, but it’s also the thinnest element with regards to the plot; there’s just not enough there. Part four is definitely the strongest and Ian Reddington is great, though the Paradise Towers link seems to come out of nowhere and perhaps needed to be better seeded earlier on.
Sylvester McCoy is really strong in this and gets some great material. He’s in the background, but it’s appropriate given he’s tiptoeing around events.
The Master’s involvement is unnecessary, as some of us speculated when The Psychic Circus was first announced. I’m not a fan of the James Dreyfus Master either. An unnecessary idea that was really born from the lack of Masters Big Finish has at the time. Having said that, the concept of a first Master - or at least a very early one - is interesting, but it’s also one that hasn’t been developed in his stories whatsoever. Every line he utters is so generic and with that comes a generic performance from Dreyfus.
I was tempted to say that the story is perhaps too clever for its own good, but I don’t think that’s entirely fair. I think it would make for a great novel with more time to explore the initial set up and opportunity to better seed some of the links.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2020 15:56:38 GMT
What was all that nonsense about
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Post by Timelord007 on Mar 8, 2020 9:33:58 GMT
Overall, i enjoyed it but we never fully understand the Master's motives of why he is manipulating the psychic circus, Sylvester McCoy brings his dark devious Doctor to the forefront which was the stories saving grace while Ian Reddington as the Chief Clown is chilling especially when he laughs.
3/5.
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Post by number13 on Mar 8, 2020 17:01:09 GMT
Overall, i enjoyed it but we never fully understand the Master's motives of why he is manipulating the psychic circus, Sylvester McCoy brings his dark devious Doctor to the forefront which was the stories saving grace while Ian Reddington as the Chief Clown is chilling especially when he laughs. 3/5. I think he went there looking to tap into the power of the gods of Ragnarok but got trapped by them instead. So everything we see him do in this story is part of his attempts to escape - foiled by the Doctor, again!
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Post by Timelord007 on Mar 9, 2020 8:40:57 GMT
Overall, i enjoyed it but we never fully understand the Master's motives of why he is manipulating the psychic circus, Sylvester McCoy brings his dark devious Doctor to the forefront which was the stories saving grace while Ian Reddington as the Chief Clown is chilling especially when he laughs. 3/5. I think he went there looking to tap into the power of the gods of Ragnarok but got trapped by them instead. So everything we see him do in this story is part of his attempts to escape - foiled by the Doctor, again! Thanks for clearing that up my friend.
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Post by number13 on Mar 9, 2020 12:05:20 GMT
I think he went there looking to tap into the power of the gods of Ragnarok but got trapped by them instead. So everything we see him do in this story is part of his attempts to escape - foiled by the Doctor, again! Thanks for clearing that up my friend. You're welcome! *casually juggles 17 balls while typing* do do, do do, do diddly diddly do...
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Post by barnabaslives on Mar 9, 2020 13:27:18 GMT
Every time I look at this thread I'm tempted to agree with others that The Master was unnecessary here, but I still think the story was better served by having a double threat. I guess the Chief Clown seems like 80% of the threat level it needed and The Master about 150% of the threat level it needed? For that, I think it probably did well to focus where it did.
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Post by grinch on Mar 9, 2020 18:29:12 GMT
Rather curious one this. I will agree that a lot of it is merely just setup for the establishment of the Psychic Circus but I rather like how figures such as Kingpin and the Chief Clown get some extra development. Ian Reddington and Chris Jury are simply great in this, both sound like they haven’t aged a day and I do like the more manic over the top Chief Clown compared to the more grim and calm version we get in the original television story.
I will agree though that the brief sojourn to Paradise Towers is rather odd and does feel a bit out of place. (Was half expecting Kroagnon to make a brief cameo!)
In terms of the Master, I feel like Dreyfus has finally become more comfortable in the role which is evident in his performance. A lot of people (not all of them necessarily on here I might add) have said that the role of the Master does feel almost throwaway or rather inconsequential in this. Personally, I think his role is rather fitting. The idea of him merely being a pawn to the Gods of Ragnarok echoes how the Chief Clown is just a servant to him yet holds dominion over his fellow performers. At least, that’s just my interpretation.
All in all, not an amazing story but enjoyable never the less.
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Post by theillusiveman on Apr 5, 2020 8:24:34 GMT
I Found The Psychic Circus quite enjoyable, 7 gave a more upbeat and jovial performance and the cast did a great job I thought James Drefyus knocked it out of the park - his Master is felt more natural cold and serious- a great pre-delgardo incarnation though sadly i understand there is a heated debate regarding the actor's opinions and that yeah in the future he wont be in the audios anymore so perhaps maybe they should give his master a regeneration story and then move on with a new actor
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Post by Ela on Aug 16, 2021 3:23:30 GMT
I had a hard time following this one, to be honest. I remember the characters and elements of The Greatest Show in the Galaxy and Paradise Towers that played into the episode, but maybe not well enough. Similar to what shallacatop said, elements of the story felt disconnected to me. And I didn't really see the point of bringing in the Master, to be honest. I don't think he needed to be there to make a good prequel, though people made some good points about his purpose and goals in being there. But I kind of agree with Mark's point that the Master's being there undercuts the Chief Clown.
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Post by Kestrel on Nov 30, 2021 8:05:19 GMT
I just watched The Greatest Show in the Galaxy and, uh, hrm... that was a weird one, huh? Kinda curious how this one ties into the TV story. Does the Pychic Circus get taken over by another megalomaniacal mesmeric alien? That's really gotta suck.
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Post by theillusiveman on Nov 30, 2021 8:20:26 GMT
I just watched The Greatest Show in the Galaxy and, uh, hrm... that was a weird one, huh? Kinda curious how this one ties into the TV story. Does the Pychic Circus get taken over by another megalomaniacal mesmeric alien? That's really gotta suck. Not quite
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