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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Sept 8, 2020 8:32:19 GMT
The Flying Dutchman by Gemma Arrowsmith The Doctor, Ace and Hex find themselves on a seemingly deserted boat in the middle of the ocean. Eventually locating the crew, they discover that the men have been in hiding to avoid the attack of the legendary ghost ship The Flying Dutchman that they’ve recently glimpsed approaching through the fog. But ghosts don’t exist. Do they? Displaced by Katharine Armitage The Doctor, Ace and Hex arrive inside a mystery. An ordinary house where something extraordinary is happening. There are no occupants, the doors are sealed, and someone - or something - is attempting to communicate. And when the TARDIS locks them out, Ace and Hex suspect the Doctor of his usual tricks. But the truth is even more disturbing...
For more info simply follow the links
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Post by antartiks on Sept 8, 2020 12:52:35 GMT
Didn't expect this to come out before The Eighth Doctor box set. But I don't mind, I'll be listening to this as soon as I can.
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Post by mark687 on Sept 8, 2020 13:08:13 GMT
Cheers for the Poll
Very similar to 2 11th Doc TV stories but slightly more mature and continues the recent MR trend of Sapphire & Steel weird happenings and confinement.
Very good performances from the TARDIS Team plus Carly Day and Patience Thomlinson in particular.
Regards
mark687
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Sept 9, 2020 0:16:39 GMT
Cheers for the Poll Very similar to 2 11th Doc TV stories but slightly more mature and continues the recent MR trend of Sapphire & Steel weird happenings and confinement. Very good performances from the TARDIS Team plus Carly Day and Patience Thomlinson in particular. Regards mark687 Helps when you take the 15 seconds to research how to do the poll LOL
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Post by mark687 on Sept 9, 2020 20:45:53 GMT
As Noted elsewhere MR Subscriber Bonus ST DL The Beast of Muir has been added to Accounts
Regards
mark687
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Post by shallacatop on Sept 11, 2020 14:10:05 GMT
I didn't think The Flying Dutchman amounted to much. I liked the Ace sub-plot, but the bulk of the story amounted to a lot of shouting and not much else. I think stories set on ships are a great concept on paper, but don't often work well in execution. I appreciated this attempting to be different, but I don't think the end result was all that interesting. And I felt Sylvester was particularly weak.
Oh, do you reckon Hex is a Nurse, by the way? He only mentioned it three or four times...!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2020 14:23:47 GMT
I didn't think The Flying Dutchman amounted to much. I liked the Ace sub-plot, but the bulk of the story amounted to a lot of shouting and not much else. I think stories set on ships are a great concept on paper, but don't often work well in execution. I appreciated this attempting to be different, but I don't think the end result was all that interesting. And I felt Sylvester was particularly weak. Oh, do you reckon Hex is a Nurse, by the way? He only mentioned it three or four times...! What is his timeline again...?he dealt with COVID probably....he will be sure to mention that next time
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2020 14:25:45 GMT
I didn't think The Flying Dutchman amounted to much. I liked the Ace sub-plot, but the bulk of the story amounted to a lot of shouting and not much else. I think stories set on ships are a great concept on paper, but don't often work well in execution. I appreciated this attempting to be different, but I don't think the end result was all that interesting. And I felt Sylvester was particularly weak. Oh, do you reckon Hex is a Nurse, by the way? He only mentioned it three or four times...! They met in 2021 🤪
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Post by elkawho on Sept 12, 2020 4:13:58 GMT
I thought these stories were just ok, which is disappointing because I always look forward to new Hex stories. And I felt that this was Sylvester's weakest performance in some time. It actually sounded to me like he was just reading lines without listening, especially in Displaced.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2020 4:23:45 GMT
I thought these stories were just ok, which is disappointing because I always look forward to new Hex stories. And I felt that this was Sylvester's weakest performance in some time. It actually sounded to me like he was just reading lines without listening, especially in Displaced. It can happen with Sylvester when he is good he is good...am still looking forward to listening though as I enjoy this Tardis Crew especially before the ruined Hex (IMO) heroic sacrifice in Gods And Monsters
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Post by shallacatop on Sept 12, 2020 7:46:11 GMT
I think Sylvester is the weakest Doctor Big Finish have when it comes to not being on form. It can come across as just reading the lines, with no thought or even a slight hint to his complex persona as the Doctor. And I think that’s pretty much it; Sylvester puts on a layered performance as Seven, so when he’s off he’s really off.
You don’t really get that with the others. If Paul is having an off day, those sarcastic tones just about manage to carry him. Tom was notoriously playing himself in the first few series of the Fourth Doctor Adventures, but he just about managed to get away with it because he himself has the qualities of his Doctor and it was still a novelty to get new material from him.
But when Sylvester is on form, he stands amongst the greats.
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ljwilson
Chancellery Guard
It's tangerine....not orange
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Post by ljwilson on Sept 12, 2020 7:53:04 GMT
I think Sylvester is the weakest Doctor Big Finish have when it comes to not being on form. It can come across as just reading the lines, with no thought or even a slight hint to his complex persona as the Doctor. And I think that’s pretty much it; Sylvester puts on a layered performance as Seven, so when he’s off he’s really off. You don’t really get that with the others. If Paul is having an off day, those sarcastic tones just about manage to carry him. Tom was notoriously playing himself in the first few series of the Fourth Doctor Adventures, but he just about managed to get away with it because he himself has the qualities of his Doctor and it was still a novelty to get new material from him. But when Sylvester is on form, he stands amongst the greats. 7 is my favourite doctor, I think, and I haven't heard this release. But yes, you are right - there are times when his inflections etc are way off the mark, almost like he is reading the script for the very first time and his delivery doesn't fit the scene. I noticed this when listening to Nocturne recently.
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Post by tuigirl on Sept 12, 2020 8:54:49 GMT
Have not heard this yet. Maybe later? Anyways, this criticism towards Sylvester reminds me of his panel at the convention where he criticizes Sean Connery of sounding the same whatever he does... Sylvester even imitated Connery. Hmmm, makes me think.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2020 9:21:26 GMT
Have not heard this yet. Maybe later? Anyways, this criticism towards Sylvester reminds me of his panel at the convention where he criticizes Sean Connery of sounding the same whatever he does... Sylvester even imitated Connery. Hmmm, makes me think. He describes himself as a very instinctive actor - certainly not a method actor. He'll go with how he feels at that moment and hope it works. Presumably, he relies on a director to advise him if he is going wrong. This absolutely results in what has been said on this thread - he can have off days that don't seem to affect the other Doctors. But when he's on fire, he's blazing!
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Post by number13 on Sept 12, 2020 13:06:52 GMT
I enjoyed The Flying Dutchman a lot. It's a 'Scooby-Doo' isn't it? Which gets high nostalgia points from me anyway! You know the thing - it all seems very spooky when the gang turn up in the old haunted ship/mansion/castle/funfair etc., and then the "ghosts" turn out to be people in facepaint organised by a character with a grudge planning to get his way by exploiting superstition and fear of the unknown. And he'd have gotten away with it if it hadn't been for that meddling kid! And some helpful time travellers.
I thought I'd worked out where the story was going and how the characters fitted together - then it did a 'Kerblam!'-like switchover and broke the usual Who stereotypes about who is likely to be the goody and the baddy. But it also did two very traditional pieces of Who character development which work every time imo - the character who finds confidence to be herself and the character who abandons his superstitious beliefs and becomes a rational person.
Maybe it's a British thing, but I also enjoyed the tone and style. Ace and Hex had some serious person-to-person moments with other characters, which worked well, but the not-so-jolly shipmates were just one 'ar-harr' this side of going the full Panto at times and with 21stC-dialogue breaking into their usual "scurvy crew" language. As when pointed out that their mutinous new 'leader' was actually hiding at the back of the fight, the reply was 'he's got a different leadership style'; very nautical 18thC I don't think.
And having the 'principal boy' actually being a girl extends the Panto tradition (where the 'principal boy' is a male character played by a female actor), while her "magical" transformation from Cabin 'Boy' into the First Mate was the classic 'rags-to-riches' ending. It's an impossible promotion for any 15-year-old on any ship at any time, if you think about it in reality, but in this style of story it's just what we expect. Anna leaves home in disguise to seek her fortune, and because she's the hero, she succeeds, with a bit of help from a wandering 'wizard' and his friends and a nobleman who learns to be a better person, in part because of the example Anna sets him. (Curtain call, applause!)
And of course there was lots of shouting! It's only because it was audio that we couldn't see the thigh-slapping, gurning and lip-curling that went with it, but I imagined it anyway.
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Post by barnabaslives on Sept 13, 2020 2:32:28 GMT
I enjoyed The Flying Dutchman a lot. It's a 'Scooby-Doo' isn't it? Yes it is, right down to the luminescent pirates, lol. I thought the Scooby card was better played with the Paternoster Gang not long ago, but might as well get a laugh out of that enjoy it for what it is. I think the format was utilized well enough - okay the first story wasn't really that much of a mystery but it was a good people story and easy to connect with supporting characters, and the second story actually did have me guessing a bit as to what was going on. I don't know why I didn't have the difficulties with Sylvester's performance that others have reported. I though his performance might have been a bit subdued perhaps, but I thought he was on good form nonetheless. Overall, the pair of stories isn't going to get five stars out of me, but I gave it 4 rounded down from 4.2. On my scale 4.3 is about where my favorites start showing up so not that bad actually.
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Post by timegirl on Sept 13, 2020 18:52:54 GMT
Just listened to The Flying Dutchman, It was okay. It reminded me a lot of that pirate episode during 11’s era, okay but not much to it. I liked how they subverted the oh it’s aliens, that often happens with seemingly supernatural beings and the scooby hoax was kind of cute. Even though I liked the message that Ana should be herself I thought the execution of this was like something out of a horribly cheesy after school special. I did not even realize at first Archie was meant to be disguised as a boy, I just assumed she was a tomboy like Ace. The whole dialogue in this subplot just seemed way too obvious and cringey to me. I was half expecting “full house” music to come on during Ace and Ana’s heart to heart and for them to break the forth wall and say “and knowing is half the battle” . I think it’s an admirable message they were trying to have and I liked that Ana was a kindred spirit with Ace, I just wish they executed it better and didn’t feel like a very special episode of a bad sitcom. The rest of the story I already forget half of what happened. Some good bits, some very very cringey bits, and some just forgettable bits.
Side note: Started Displaced, and I adore it, so creepy!
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Post by Digi on Sept 14, 2020 12:46:09 GMT
Flying Dutchman was okay, but really enjoyed Displaced. Except...I don't know why, but the final five minutes or so seemed to take absolutely forever.
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Post by timegirl on Sept 14, 2020 22:49:54 GMT
Just finished Displaced, I loved it! Very creepy and atmospheric. It reminded me of a slightly more optimistic and bittersweet version of Home Truths. That creepy little song that plays through it gave me the chills and made my eyes water every time. My only slight criticism is that I would have liked things to stay a bit more mysterious at the end but overall it was brilliant!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2020 4:41:30 GMT
Perhaps the Poll should be altered to reflect individual stories in these releases?
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