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Post by elkawho on Jun 7, 2020 3:06:23 GMT
Cyber-marathon Listen-thru!
I liked this story a lot more on second listen than I did on the first. I remember there being a lot of hype about Sixie's new companion when it was originally released and I think I was expected something different. I started this one the other day not happy to be listening to it, but I really enjoyed it. The tension around Daniel was palpable and the gut response to his actions was something I usually don't feel toward a friend of the Doctor's. There was menace to the Cybermen and the idea of Britain dying from drought is certainly a novel idea. Not the best we've heard in this marathon, but a solid and enjoyable story.
Next week is the last of our run of Cyberstories, and they are certainly good ones. Warzone/Conversion for next week.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 7, 2020 3:45:46 GMT
I missed Hour of the Cybermen during its original release, so this listen will be the first time from me.  Starring Colin Baker, written by Andrew Smith and directed by Jamie Anderson. *rubs hands together* Let's see... |
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Post by slithe on Jun 7, 2020 9:58:06 GMT
I quite like this one... It's not amazing but any means (certainly not as great as Warzone/Conversion) but does the job. It is definitely a 'better' 80s Cyberman story if that makes sense. Banks and Hardy seem to really enjoy themselves here and are delighted to be back in their roles...
Never really cared that much for Hopkins and I do think that this should have been at the 'end' of the trilogy to allow for a middle part to show the change in his character. I think this should have been the last part and I would have preferred had the character met his fate at the end. It would be another symbolic reminder of the impact that the Cybermen have on the Doctor/his companions. I would also have had a middle part with the 7th Doctor, with the Sixth being unaware of Hopkins' change.
I do wonder if, with the MR coming to an end, we will see Banks/Hardy with the 7th Doctor?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 7, 2020 14:19:12 GMT
>>> REPORT BEGINS
Yeah, not too shabby. Classic Saturday morning matinee stuff. Andrew Smith has this uncanny ability to channel Terry Nation whenever he's put behind the wheel of a returning adversary. A strong, unusual central conceit that gives the villains' scheme an unusual edge.
I'm sure we've had Cybermen use extortion as a weapon before, but it still comes across as an unusual tactic on their part. I'm more used to them as an implacable force that just rolls over whatever stands in their way. As a result, they come across as rather shrewd here. Helped in no small part by David Banks and Mark Hardy's wonderfully creepy performances. The CyberNeomorphs really work to be the most unsettling of their Cyber-cadre. Whenever the Cyberleader speaks, you get the impression that it's an effort. That ache in the voice. Plastic and metal mechanisms cajoling the decaying husks within their suits into action.
Nice bit of foreshadowing in the Doctor's worry this might turn out like Invasion of the Dinosaurs. No prehistoric reptiles, true, but there was a traitor. I can't really speak to the strength of Daniel across the trilogy, having not listened to the previous story (I'm not sure what happened to my audio queue in 2018 *scratches head*), but within the framework of Hour, he serves pretty well. A logical extension of the "benefits" of cyber-conversion. Whatever I'm missing, the performance really carries it through.
<<< END REPORT
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Post by sherlock on Jun 8, 2020 17:31:59 GMT
A very solid invasion of Earth story. The 80s Cybermen are here in all their ‘Yes Leader’/‘Excellent’ glory and work really well. The scene between the Leader and Price is quite interesting, the Leader does genuinely seem to be some studying him. Extortion is a strategy we don’t see the Cybermen use often, and the idea of them identifying water as a weakness works well.
Daniel Hopkins’ treachery is well developed (listening to Part 1 and 2 knowing he’s a traitor does put a new context on everything he says), and it’s a rare occurrence of a human actively promoting cyber conversion. On TV it’s only really been John Lumic actively endorsing conversion (and he is quite clearly insane), even the Brotherhood of Logicians only wanted to exploit the Cyberman, not join their ranks. I like the Doctor’s reaction here, more pity for Daniel than venom. If this was Season 22 Sixie, he’d have ripped Daniel to shreds, so this is a nice showcase of how far Sixie has come.
I wouldn’t say this is the best Cyberman story, but Hour does what it sets out to do. A solid return of 80s Cyberman and Daniel Hopkins story setup for a final reckoning. Shame Warlock’s Cross wasn’t that great.
This is where I check out from the marathon (I don’t own Warzone/Conversion, though based on their reputation I do intend to one day). A good group of stories all in all; the MR Cybermen stories are really consistently good (with the exception of Last).
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Post by barnabaslives on Jun 18, 2020 17:46:33 GMT
I'd have given this a full five stars as a Cybermen story - it's excellent and David Banks is absolutely awesome - but overall it gets a four over Daniel Hopkins. I bought into this part of the Monthly Range in hopes that Big Finish would pleasantly surprise me and do something less obvious than create disposable companions and then promptly dispose of them, lol, but I was a bit disappointed, and especially so because I have a hard time naming any male companions of the Sixth Doctor.
I would highly recommend it anyway - in fact, I'm generally much impressed by anything by Andrew Smith - but for me it does have that touch of what I don't like about The Boy that Time Forgot: "Here's what you wanted and see, you really didn't want it after all, did you?" lol
"Wasted opportunity" isn't a phrase that comes to mind for me often in regards to Big Finish but it does try to here. It's nice to see though how much the good points about this story outweigh that.
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Post by mark687 on Jun 18, 2020 20:52:09 GMT
This one's a very good Cyberman story (I do enjoy the 80s Cybermen with their 2 traces of emotions left, utter arrogance most of the time than peevishness when it goes wrong ) But where it fails is in the trilogy's focus, I don't think we're emotionally invested enough in Hopkins to be bothered by his actions Regards mark687 |
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Post by tuigirl on Jul 19, 2020 16:05:35 GMT
Have been wanting to do a re-listen for a while now, and only just managed to get around to it.
Well, I liked it better this time round, however, it is still not one of my favorites.
But I admit that it is an interesting story and the Cybermen are doing something different for a change.
That evaporating heat ray thing and the long term undercover plot were great.
Plus, Colin is as amazing as always.
Still, not one of my favorites. But that might just be my lack of nostalgia?
I also do not find any of the UNIT characters engaging, and the story about the traitor...
I remember when I first listened to it the reveal came to my total lack of surprise (and I also did not really care about that character).
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Post by mark687 on Jul 19, 2020 16:15:09 GMT
Have been wanting to do a re-listen for a while now, and only just managed to get around to it. Well, I liked it better this time round, however, it is still not one of my favorites. But I admit that it is an interesting story and the Cybermen are doing something different for a change. That evaporating heat ray thing and the long term undercover plot were great. Plus, Colin is as amazing as always. Still, not one of my favorites. But that might just be my lack of nostalgia? I also do not find any of the UNIT characters engaging, and the story about the traitor...
I remember when I first listened to it the reveal came to my total lack of surprise (and I also did not really care about that character). Agreed and considering they're the point of the overall trilogy its a rare storytelling miss-fire. Regards mark687 |
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Starring Colin Baker, written by Andrew Smith and directed by Jamie Anderson. *rubs hands together* Let's see...
