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Post by grinch on Jan 6, 2021 19:21:19 GMT
Possibly the most unique story Doctor Who as a franchise has ever produced. And a story that could only have ever be done in an audio format.
What did you all think?
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Jan 6, 2021 21:49:27 GMT
Not a story for a 1st time listener that's for sure.. Very "intricately worded", not a fun romp.  |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2021 22:25:44 GMT
Just started this tonight ironically, only listened to part 1 but i’m very impressed so far.
Certainly miles better than the last story, and this is coming from someone who’t didn’t mind it as much as some people do so looking promising so far!
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Post by Star Platinum on Jan 7, 2021 5:07:04 GMT
The single finest story ever produced by Big Finish as far as I’m concerned.
I remember listening to this for the first time on an exceptionally cold day in winter, waiting in a car with the heat off.
I was asked to come inside, I just remember my incredible disappointment at being asked. I was so enthralled by the story, that I was quite content to stay in a car with no heat with temperatures of -20 instead of going inside and returning to it later.
It’s a real shame that Mortimer only wrote this single script for Big Finish. I’d buy a second one in a heartbeat!
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Post by whiskeybrewer on Jan 7, 2021 12:06:00 GMT
Fantastically Told Story in my opinion. It weaves together so well
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Post by elkawho on Jan 9, 2021 16:28:18 GMT
I think this was the story was THE story that sold me on audio as a exceptional medium for story telling. Such a fantastic piece of work. 5/5
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shutupbanks
Chancellery Guard
There’s a horror movie called Alien? That’s really offensive. No wonder everyone keeps invading you.
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Post by shutupbanks on Jan 10, 2021 6:18:21 GMT
An amazing set up that could really only be done on audio. I mean, the stuff they put the characters through was astonishing, so much so that the twist came as a relief rather than a shock.
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Post by mrperson on Jan 10, 2021 18:20:55 GMT
Absolutely loved this one.
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Post by project37 on Jan 10, 2021 21:30:44 GMT
I think it's worth noting that in addition to writing it, Jim Mortimore also did the music and sound design. The craftmanship is astonishing - you pop on the headphones and start listening and there's this overwhelming sense of unease, that something is very, very wrong. It's uncomfortable but compelling. The first episode cliffhanger is terrifying: India Fisher's performance at the end is made even more unnerving when it crashes into the wrong version of the DW theme (the opening version instead of the closing credits version that then suddenly and weirdly melts into noise). Loved the weird edits of Neverland woven into the script as well.
It's also odd because this (of all stories!) was the first release with new companion C'rizz after he joined the Doctor and Charley.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2021 21:50:01 GMT
Just started this tonight ironically, only listened to part 1 but i’m very impressed so far. Certainly miles better than the last story, and this is coming from someone who’t didn’t mind it as much as some people do so looking promising so far! Yeah it was amazing, it gave me that feeling that i’m sure we all get when we hear a story we know is superb. I felt it when listening to The war Master 1, i felt it listening to master and i felt it here. Excellent storytelling, if i were to give it an arbitrary number it would be a ten for sure. |
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Post by tuigirl on Jan 11, 2021 8:38:40 GMT
I love absurd and weird stories.
This one is really experimental and particularly weird.
It takes some time to get into, and might require a couple of listens to understand it.
It is a challenging listen.
But it is very well done, both the writing and the fantastic performance by the leads.
One of BF's stand out audio dramas.
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Post by Tim Bradley on May 26, 2021 6:37:00 GMT
Hello everyone! I've heard this story. Gosh darn crikey! I've no idea what I listened to.  Tim |
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2021 7:42:12 GMT
It's difficult to pin down Jim Mortimore's style in a single sentence. I can remember reading Parasite, one of his NA books, and the first time the Artefact is described to you, your jaw just hangs open. You get vertigo. It puts Rama and its like to shame. There is something viscerally powerful about that imagery and the ingenuity that comes with it. The Natural History of Fear borrows quite a lot from his own style. In much the same vein. Not metatext, but supertext. A story that doesn't nudge-nudge at its own medium, but holds it by its ears and swings it around like a searchlight. Everything to a purpose, even how an audience digests it.
Above... The audio.
Below... The themes.
Between... The characters.
Without... The expectations.
I've got three of Mortimore's anthologies on my shelf and I can say, this isn't even his most wild. There are stories out there, where they're told in pictographs and ticker-tape text. Yet, Natural History is done with beautiful economy, specifically for audio. You couldn't do it every month, you'd burn yourself out, but it's testament to just how well it's constructed that I can remember large chunks of it verbatim from first listening. A must for listen and relisten from the Monthly Range.
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Post by elkawho on May 26, 2021 22:21:26 GMT
I just listened to this one again a few days ago. I get something different from it every time. I still believe it's a unique and exceptional piece of work.
You've now make me want to read some more of Mortimer's work, @wolfie53. Thanks!
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2021 23:05:12 GMT
I just listened to this one again a few days ago. I get something different from it every time. I still believe it's a unique and exceptional piece of work. You've now make me want to read some more of Mortimer's work, @wolfie53 . Thanks! I can help with that. Thebes Publishing have a short story by him with Erimem available for free on their website -- Moments of Passing. There's also Campaign, a (well, it starts out as) First Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara novel and evolves from there. Definitely the same ethos and aesthetic of something like Natural History, there. Enjoy! |
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Post by Ela on May 28, 2021 18:02:15 GMT
It's a great story. Really surprising in the way it ends up. I did not see that coming at all.
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Post by tordred on Aug 26, 2021 22:52:09 GMT
Relistened for the first time in a few years, just amazing, maybe even better knowing the twist. Everything Jim Mortimer did was great, but Paul and India also can't be praised enough. Amazing performances, and so soon after another high point with Scherzo
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Post by mrperson on Aug 29, 2021 21:16:53 GMT
Another thread, another repetition: this is one of my favorite Who stories ever.
Utterly brilliant. I had an inkling that something was up but for the life of me I couldn't work it entirely out until that little bit near the end. "And how many arms do you have...?" or whatever it was
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Post by Tim Bradley on Apr 16, 2022 17:49:38 GMT
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