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Post by antartiks on Apr 11, 2021 11:54:43 GMT
This after the final listen I really enjoyed really it is just one big episode and eventually by the end of the set I could easily imagine Rory with all the little tics and visual nuances Arthur would have given him on screen. Joanna Van Kampen definitely was standout in her role and I Loved Samantha Bearts appearance with Rory which added some emotional depth against Rory.there was a little special scene of Rory reminiscing of home and duck ponds which actually reallly touched me as am sure will touch anyone who has been away from home. I know Amy is a 50/50 with some loving some hating but am 100% Amy fan and hope our trio get back together at some point and am definitely onboard for Camelot ,wow two releases this year that I have loved Master and Rory,Lone Centurion. I of course have to admit I had to recall first why he is a nestene Duplicate and also this is an alternate timeline and that was fun getting my brain around all of that again. So congrats Scott Handcock ,Arthur,the guest cast and the writers for pulling it off its Not really a negative...but theme tune could have been more rousing....perhaps another try 😂 I would have done the bundle but release July 22 ??but at least they committed to a second volume which is more than they did for any of the originals Agreed, The Lone Centurion and Master have been the highlight of 2021 so far from me. Wasn't expecting them to turn out so good.
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Post by thelonecenturion on Apr 12, 2021 16:23:35 GMT
Adored this set. Lived up completely to my anticipation when it was announced.
1. Gladiator - An interesting start to the set, focussing mainly on setting up what the people of Ancient Rome were like and the various power dynamics. Some really funny moments in this, and overall it works really well to set up the second and third stories. It could have been more evenly paced, but other than that it was thoroughly enjoyable. 9/10.
2. The Unwilling Assassin - Rory's role in this story lends itself to the comedy it goes for, and again I find it difficult to fault that. This is Sarah Ward's first script for Big Finish and I hope she writes more, as the characters in this story were written really well, and played to that same standard by the cast. 9/10.
3. I, Rorius - Jacqueline Rayner understands Rory perfectly. This script is funny (the joke that Darvill mentions in the behind-the-scenes had me laughing out loud), but it also has some beautiful character moments, and examined Rory really well. The cast is superb, and it's a perfect ending to this first volume of adventures. 10/10.
Overall, this set was amazing. I actually really loved Rob Harvey's music and sound design, though I know it's been somewhat divisive, and Handcock's direction throughout was brilliant. The idea of having Rory in a different position in each story works really well, because it allows each story to do something different. It's just such a shame we've got to wait over a year for the next one. I really hope there's more than just two volumes, because I'd love to hear as much as possible of Rory's adventures protecting the Pandorica. I can't recommend this one enough.
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Post by Chakoteya on Apr 14, 2021 10:43:02 GMT
Only listened to story one so far, and early on I was thinking 'Carry on Cleo' and expecting to have Markus and Spencius selling off the British slaves... Thank goodness it found it's own nearly unique feet from them on. I'd forgotten the 'centurion' was plastic. Of course, he's not really a Centurion because he's not in command of 80 legionaires. But at least he had a sword, so he could be called a gladiator when in the arena... ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/6343532/images/mW7FMmAyG_vqxkNOJyyh.gif)
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Kestrel
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 2,693
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Post by Kestrel on Apr 17, 2021 4:55:45 GMT
This one was very much a mixed bag for me. It absolutely failed to sell me on the idea of the range, and in most other contexts I'd probably refrain from buying any additional sets. That I won't be doing so is due entirely to the fact that Arthur Darvill is such a joy to listen to.
Which wasn't to say I think this is a bad set of stories... just kinda mediocre and underwhelming. largely because, I think, they try very hard to be funny without really understanding how humor works--the simple truism that if everything is a joke, then nothing is.
And this desire to be "funny" results in some very contrived narratives that don't hold up much to scrutiny. "Wouldn't it be funny if Rory was the Roman Emperor?" Is a fine premise for a story, and could even serve as an effective vehicle for comedy... but it would require setting up a sequence of events that could reasonably result in that outcome. An ex-Gladiator/ex-Assassin is not going to be in the line of succession, ever, and no amount of support from a random soothsayer off the street will change that.
And then there's the Empress' whole plot: she wants to kill her husband, which should be super easy, because he's kinda stupid and not at all concerned about the possibility of assassination. So she contrives several attempts to manipulate the Emperor into raising his guard, only to use Rory to make him lower it again.
Look: suspension of disbelief matters. It is, in fact, the main thing that matters. Characters and settings need to be consistent and coherent.
Then theres the problem with the constant repetition of the same jokes. The, "lol, the Emperor's gay," thing wasn't terribly funny the first time 'round, and by the seventh or eighth time all I could do was wince. The best joke in the whole set, "That time I sacrificed our daughter," was legitimately funny the first time... and then it's repeated verbatim a few minutes later.
It feels almost cynical--like those trite, condescending cartoons I hate as a kid that had zero faith in the audience's capacity to understand anything, and therefore repeated everything. Case in point: spending an entire episode building up to an ironic death, only for the dying character to stop, mod-throes, and declare, "That is painfully ironic." GEE, THANKS FOR LETTING US KNOW.
All of which might be more tolerable in media aimed at a younger demographic, but I don't really get the sense that Rory was ever meant to be that.
So, yeah. I don't really do scores, but if I did, this'd be a 6/10 at best--and that'd be with a substantial boost from the sheer delight of seeing Rory again. I definitely got the sense here that the writers didn't really have any stories they wanted to tell, just a bunch of jokes they thought would be funny--and humor cannot survive in a vacuum.
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Post by mark687 on Apr 23, 2021 19:57:48 GMT
Rory Lone Centurion Update Music Suite DL added as Bonus Content to Accounts
Regards
mark687
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Post by thelonecenturion on Apr 23, 2021 20:15:59 GMT
Rory Lone Centurion Update Music Suite DL added as Bonus Content to Accounts Regards mark687 Yes!!! I sent in an e-mail asking whether this was possible, so I'm really glad this has happened!
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Post by thelonecenturion on Apr 30, 2021 9:13:45 GMT
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Post by grinch on Apr 30, 2021 9:23:19 GMT
Huh. Looks like we know what approach Big Finish will be taking to Camelot with all this talk of ‘alternate timelines’ and the like.
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Post by johnhurtdoctor on Apr 30, 2021 9:43:15 GMT
Tried to listen to this as I wanted something fun but gave up about halfway through the first episode.
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Post by Chakoteya on May 1, 2021 11:33:42 GMT
Finally got round to listening to the rest of it. Silly, 'Hilarious', but nicely done. Not sure I'm too keen on them messing with Camelot. I got very aerated when Star Gate SG1 did in season 9, and don't really want to raise my blood pressure like that again... ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/6343532/images/mW7FMmAyG_vqxkNOJyyh.gif)
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Post by Ian McArdell on May 19, 2021 9:42:09 GMT
My review of The Lone Centurion has recently landed on CultBox: "... a lot of fun – possibly not everyone’s cup of tea, but certainly doing something no other Doctor Who spin-off does."
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Post by shallacatop on Jun 1, 2021 7:38:44 GMT
I think this set has had more promotion / social media push by Big Finish than any other one I can recall. Both the individual set, the following one and the bundle. Makes me wonder if it's not performed as well as expected? The reception was mixed at best, so it's not got that word of mouth that, say, Master! had, to name a recent release.
For me this set lacked heart and didn't play to Arthur's strengths, which are two biggest sins it could commit. The idea is sound, but the execution left a lot to be desired, I thought. An Anthology with Rory in different periods with different plots would have helped; at least it'd give variety and at least something might have stuck.
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Post by mark687 on Aug 16, 2021 11:37:32 GMT
Vol 2 Camelot now due for Release in February 2022
PRODUCTION UPDATES | Due to unavoidable production delays, the dates of several releases have been changed: Doctor Who: Short Trips Volume 11 will now arrive in February 2022, The Twelfth Doctor: Timejacked moves from February 2022, to November 2021 and The Lone Centurion 2 will now be released in February 2022. We are very sorry for any disappointment caused.
Regards
mark687
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Post by nottenst on Jan 17, 2022 20:41:40 GMT
I had forgotten all about this until I saw mention of Volume 2 recently. So, I just listened to this. It was a lot of fun with a good measure of heart, especially in "I, Rorius".
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