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Post by shallacatop on May 14, 2021 10:06:18 GMT
I'd be inclined to think it's edited at this moment in time. If it is real, then I'm not sure what Nick was expecting. It's Chris's big return that people are interested in and that would be the same regardless of who was writing it. Arguably Nick is better off that this came out in 2021 and not, say, 2007 where less time has passed and therefore different expectations are set. More eyes would be drawn to the story, and, I would go as far to say, on Chris's performance being more like what he was on screen. At the moment, it's such a big coup that just hearing him reprise the role is fantastic. It is real. You can see it in the responses to the Radio Times article not as one of Nick's, even with tweets and replies. You always go to the first source for the responses. It's still up - comes as first repsonse to this: It's not quite as abrupt as when he called out IndieMac (I think it was them) for their "crappy review" of Charley 2, at a 6/10. I thought that was a bad review too, to be fair. - for different reasons. There's no way Charley 2 deserves as much as 6/10. Half that and I think it's still generous! Ah okay, thanks for that. I didn’t know that tweets don’t always show up in the person's feed. And there’s me giving Mr Briggs the benefit of the doubt!
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Post by grinch on May 14, 2021 10:13:29 GMT
Well... yeah, surely the best part of Ravagers is the fact that Christopher Eccleston is reprising his role as the Ninth Doctor?
I mean, the writing is good and I’m thoroughly enjoying it at the moment but the fact we have new adventures with a Doctor we haven’t heard from since 2005 is by far the best part about it.
This is of course taking into consideration that Nicholas Briggs was being completely serious when he made that comment and wasn’t just making a joke.
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2021 10:20:59 GMT
I've only heard Sphere of Freedom so far, but I liked it a lot... it really is like the Ninth Doctor hasn't been away. Christopher Eccleston has got back in to the swing of The Doctor straight away, he's really hit the ground running.
The Radio Times review (linked to above) makes a point of saying it's like the Ninth Doctor has always been there in the shadows and bemoaning the lack of a grand reintroduction for the Ninth Doctor. For me, that is the high point of Sphere of Freedom! To us the Ninth Doctor has been there all along so we don't need a reintroduction taking up the first half of a story, we know who he is and we want Ninth Doctor adventures with the Ninth Doctor. People are entitled to their POV but I do think Nick got the structure right on this and I have no problems being thrown straight in to the action.
If the next two parts of Vol 1 are as good as Sphere of Freedom then I'll have no complaints...
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Post by theillusiveman on May 14, 2021 10:39:21 GMT
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Post by theillusiveman on May 14, 2021 10:44:02 GMT
i mean 3/5 isnt bad at all its decent just nothing real groundbreaking which is fine its an enjoyable release and fun
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Post by grinch on May 14, 2021 10:47:08 GMT
i mean 3/5 isnt bad at all its decent just nothing real groundbreaking which is fine its an enjoyable release and fun A good starting point for the Ninth Doctor at Big Finish I think. Which what you really want from a first volume after all.
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2021 11:15:56 GMT
Cataclysm continues where the previous story left off in much the same style. Lots of high speed dialogue and exciting loud noises. Nova is a bit of a vacuum. She represents the qualities of Steven Moffat's companions : lots of attitude, not phased by the monsters and often speaks in 'soundbites' ('bit rude', 'still believe they're CGI, Doctor?' 'You just turn up and stuff happens?' 'You're doing that pausing thing again.' etc) - whereas, love them or otherwise, RTD's companions had a bit more reality to them: they were 'real' people in impossible situations. The soldiers and Romans here are cyphers more than characters, and I found it impossible to care about them. This is sounding more negative than I intended, but it is how I feel when listening. Neither am I bashing Nick Briggs as a writer - I thought his War Doctor stories were probably the best of the lot. This story has its moments, and yes, Christopher Eccleston is on fire, but Ravagers is quite good as opposed to great. Perhaps the next episode will end things on a more relatable note.
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Post by johnhurtdoctor on May 14, 2021 11:38:09 GMT
I'm rationing myself with this, trying to savour it so only listened to Spheres (twice which gives you an indication as to what I thought). Great fun, much like with 8th Doctor this is a new beginning for 9 without the baggage of his TV season. Enjoyed it immensely.
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Post by project37 on May 14, 2021 13:31:49 GMT
Listened to the first episode during my morning walk and plan on savoring these over the next few days instead of binge-listening. A few spoiler-free thoughts after hearing Sphere of Freedom... I've seen it said elsewhere but I really applaud the creative decision to *not* recreate Saturday nights in 2005. The Tennant audios haven't aged well for me personally because most of them tread water within a general style and tone. Many of them feel more like supplements to his television episodes rather than exploring new territory (and I recognize the creative boundaries the team had to respect).
I agree with Eccleston's take that his television episodes stand very strongly on their own, so I was very pleased to hear what felt like a natural step forward for the Ninth Doctor in terms of characterization, plot, supporting cast, and even the music (I was dreading Murray Gold-lite). I appreciated the effort to cast fresh voices, establish new characters, limit the technobabble, and set a new tone. It's not 2005, it's 2021, and with this first story at least, I got a Ninth Doctor that was familiar yet doing something different and interesting instead of trying to recreate the past. I love that! I'm only one episode in, but I respect and appreciate the bold choices made here and what they accomplished (introducing a companion before Rose and somehow making her quite likeable!). It's not an all-time classic by any means, but it's a solid start that has me wanting to hear more. Maybe a 7.5/10? That said, it's been a while since I've felt energized about new BF Doctor Who, and so far this is delivering. Oh, sweet summer child. Little did you know...
Went on a long walk this morning and just decided to finish listening. Well, that was certainly Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor in a Big Finish Production. I wanted to like this more than I did.
The technobabble showed up in full force, it was an odd decision to split up the Doctor and Nova when we barely know her, there were remixes of familiar ideas (Meddling Monk-style history mix-ups, Time Lord technology creating universal havoc, even the UNIT Dominion ghostly Doctor silently observing a female scientist for years and unnerving her in the process), and while I enjoyed the generally faster pace, the story itself quickly started to feel noisy and convoluted. The elements were there (upbeat Doctor, spunky companion, random quirky caricatures plucked out of time and tagging along for the adventure, sinister adversary with an advantage), yet the whole thing didn't come together for me and left me feeling a bit detached. It was terrible to start feeling bored when these episodes are on the shorter side! .
If this was any other Doctor, I'd give this set a 4. But it's Christopher Eccleston, who is such a pro and gives an outstanding performance here. Still, that only bumps it up to a 6 for me. Sorry to not be over the moon about it. Even if I didn't click with it, this was the script that convinced him to come back. And it's clear from listening to the extras that the cast was equally invested in it. I still applaud the ambition and direction, and am hopeful that varying things with shorter self-contained episodes and other writers will connect better for me. I don't mind epic boxset stories, but it's rare that they actually come together for me personally.
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Post by shallacatop on May 14, 2021 14:04:24 GMT
Listened to the first episode during my morning walk and plan on savoring these over the next few days instead of binge-listening. A few spoiler-free thoughts after hearing Sphere of Freedom... I've seen it said elsewhere but I really applaud the creative decision to *not* recreate Saturday nights in 2005. The Tennant audios haven't aged well for me personally because most of them tread water within a general style and tone. Many of them feel more like supplements to his television episodes rather than exploring new territory (and I recognize the creative boundaries the team had to respect).
I agree with Eccleston's take that his television episodes stand very strongly on their own, so I was very pleased to hear what felt like a natural step forward for the Ninth Doctor in terms of characterization, plot, supporting cast, and even the music (I was dreading Murray Gold-lite). I appreciated the effort to cast fresh voices, establish new characters, limit the technobabble, and set a new tone. It's not 2005, it's 2021, and with this first story at least, I got a Ninth Doctor that was familiar yet doing something different and interesting instead of trying to recreate the past. I love that! I'm only one episode in, but I respect and appreciate the bold choices made here and what they accomplished (introducing a companion before Rose and somehow making her quite likeable!). It's not an all-time classic by any means, but it's a solid start that has me wanting to hear more. Maybe a 7.5/10? That said, it's been a while since I've felt energized about new BF Doctor Who, and so far this is delivering. Oh, sweet summer child. Little did you know...
Went on a long walk this morning and just decided to finish listening. Well, that was certainly Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor in a Big Finish Production. I wanted to like this more than I did.
The technobabble showed up in full force, it was an odd decision to split up the Doctor and Nova when we barely know her, there were remixes of familiar ideas (Meddling Monk-style history mix-ups, Time Lord technology creating universal havoc, even the UNIT Dominion ghostly Doctor silently observing a female scientist for years and unnerving her in the process), and while I enjoyed the generally faster pace, the story itself quickly started to feel noisy and convoluted. The elements were there (upbeat Doctor, spunky companion, random quirky caricatures plucked out of time and tagging along for the adventure, sinister adversary with an advantage), yet the whole thing didn't come together for me and left me feeling a bit detached. It was terrible to start feeling bored when these episodes are on the shorter side! .
If this was any other Doctor, I'd give this set a 4. But it's Christopher Eccleston, who is such a pro and gives an outstanding performance here. Still, that only bumps it up to a 6 for me. Sorry to not be over the moon about it. Even if I didn't click with it, this was the script that convinced him to come back. And it's clear from listening to the extras that the cast was equally invested in it. I still applaud the ambition and direction, and am hopeful that varying things with shorter self-contained episodes and other writers will connect better for me. I don't mind epic boxset stories, but it's rare that they actually come together for me personally.
Thanks for this post and for sharing your thoughts. You've explained my thoughts better than I did in my own post. I agree with you completely; I gave this a 6/10 or 3/5 but if it was any other established Doctor with Big Finish it would've been a 4/10 or 2/5, which is a rarity for me. I love Doctor Who so usually it gets at least a 6! But as it's Eccleston, it did get a higher score and that's from someone who thought he was great, but also thought he was almost a new incarnation rather than the TV persona I know and love. As you say, it's the script that convinced Chris to come back and he and the cast sound like they're having the time of their life, so it's not without merit. Similar to John Hurt and Only the Monstrous; I rate that higher than Ravagers, but it's comfortably the poorest of the four sets for me, but it was enough to get John on board!
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Post by timegirl on May 14, 2021 14:40:49 GMT
Listened to the first episode during my morning walk and plan on savoring these over the next few days instead of binge-listening. A few spoiler-free thoughts after hearing Sphere of Freedom... I've seen it said elsewhere but I really applaud the creative decision to *not* recreate Saturday nights in 2005. The Tennant audios haven't aged well for me personally because most of them tread water within a general style and tone. Many of them feel more like supplements to his television episodes rather than exploring new territory (and I recognize the creative boundaries the team had to respect).
I agree with Eccleston's take that his television episodes stand very strongly on their own, so I was very pleased to hear what felt like a natural step forward for the Ninth Doctor in terms of characterization, plot, supporting cast, and even the music (I was dreading Murray Gold-lite). I appreciated the effort to cast fresh voices, establish new characters, limit the technobabble, and set a new tone. It's not 2005, it's 2021, and with this first story at least, I got a Ninth Doctor that was familiar yet doing something different and interesting instead of trying to recreate the past. I love that! I'm only one episode in, but I respect and appreciate the bold choices made here and what they accomplished (introducing a companion before Rose and somehow making her quite likeable!). It's not an all-time classic by any means, but it's a solid start that has me wanting to hear more. Maybe a 7.5/10? That said, it's been a while since I've felt energized about new BF Doctor Who, and so far this is delivering. Oh, sweet summer child. Little did you know...
Went on a long walk this morning and just decided to finish listening. Well, that was certainly Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor in a Big Finish Production. I wanted to like this more than I did.
The technobabble showed up in full force, it was an odd decision to split up the Doctor and Nova when we barely know her, there were remixes of familiar ideas (Meddling Monk-style history mix-ups, Time Lord technology creating universal havoc, even the UNIT Dominion ghostly Doctor silently observing a female scientist for years and unnerving her in the process), and while I enjoyed the generally faster pace, the story itself quickly started to feel noisy and convoluted. The elements were there (upbeat Doctor, spunky companion, random quirky caricatures plucked out of time and tagging along for the adventure, sinister adversary with an advantage), yet the whole thing didn't come together for me and left me feeling a bit detached. It was terrible to start feeling bored when these episodes are on the shorter side! .
If this was any other Doctor, I'd give this set a 4. But it's Christopher Eccleston, who is such a pro and gives an outstanding performance here. Still, that only bumps it up to a 6 for me. Sorry to not be over the moon about it. Even if I didn't click with it, this was the script that convinced him to come back. And it's clear from listening to the extras that the cast was equally invested in it. I still applaud the ambition and direction, and am hopeful that varying things with shorter self-contained episodes and other writers will connect better for me. I don't mind epic boxset stories, but it's rare that they actually come together for me personally.
You took the words right out of my mouth! While I found myself getting a bit teary eyed hearing my first Doctor’s voice again I haven’t been that impressed by the plot. I am glad they are trying something new rather than rehashing what we have already seen with 9 ( although I would love to see him with Rose again eventually if the story was right), but I feel like I barely know Nova. I like the idea behind her being a tough sarcastic indentured chef from the future seeking a better life but I feel like we don’t really get to know that much about the dynamic of her with 9. I am half way through “Cataclysm” right so it could be get better. Is anyone else having difficulty following the plot? I keep having to rewind certain bits. I kind of wish they would slow down a bit and have more room for 9 and the rest to breathe. I did like the twist in part one but now that character is a bit less interesting and generic now that we know who they really are. In fact I kind of enjoyed the character they were pretending to be far more than their true identity. Still Christopher Eccleston does sound fantastic as 9 and it is wonderful to hear him after all these years! You can tell he is giving it his absolute all! I especially love the bits of sarcasm and sass he has in his dialogue. The story is a little bit too generic for my taste. I am not really that much of a fan of run arounds which is what this whole box set feels like to me so far. I would prefer more character based stories that really took their time for 9. I am hoping that we get more character based stories further into 9’s run with BF. I really want to like 9 and Nova as a TARDIS team but I need to learn more about how they work together in order for that to happen. No matter what though I am still glad Chris is back as 9!
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Post by x2magneto on May 14, 2021 14:55:01 GMT
I think Briggs should have done just the first episode. He's good at beginnings. As a series picks up steam, though, he gets a bit flat. This set was, like others have mentioned, fairly average, and that isn't a crime. It was very standard, but Chris elevates the hell out of it. It isn't just his enthusiasm either, I noticed. It's experience. His acting experience and growth shines like crazy. I'm in for the long haul.
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Post by johnhurtdoctor on May 14, 2021 15:33:01 GMT
I think Briggs should have done just the first episode. He's good at beginnings. As a series picks up steam, though, he gets a bit flat. This set was, like others have mentioned, fairly average, and that isn't a crime. It was very standard, but Chris elevates the hell out of it. It isn't just his enthusiasm either, I noticed. It's experience. His acting experience and growth shines like crazy. I'm in for the long haul. Yes, like John Hurt Chris is such a great actor across various mediums & it really shows here.
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Post by sillytilly on May 14, 2021 15:40:01 GMT
I think the first episode was my favourite of the set.. I liked that it kept jumping back to The Doctor telling the story of what happened. It built up the story nicely. It did feel like a pretty standard story and the story was definitely elevated by Ecclestons presence. Overall I did enjoy it but it was nothing groundbreaking. I do think I need to give the last episode a relisten though as a few bits lost me a bit.
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Post by grinch on May 14, 2021 17:07:23 GMT
Finally finished it.
Thought this was an extremely good start to what I hope ends up being a long running range. Story was serviceable although it does have some issues which many have already stated on here so I won’t bother repeating myself. Only real weak point in this I have to say is the character of Nova. Comparing her to Bliss is a rather good comparison as someone has already done here because I felt like I never really got the chance to know her as a character.
Eccleston is on fine form here and I don’t know how much audio work he has done before this but it honestly sounds like he’s never been away. Simply fantastic.
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Post by johnhurtdoctor on May 14, 2021 18:04:53 GMT
Finally finished it. Thought this was an extremely good start to what I hope ends up being a long running range. Story was serviceable although it does have some issues which many have already stated on here so I won’t bother repeating myself. Only real weak point in this I have to say is the character of Nova. Comparing her to Bliss is a rather good comparison as someone has already done here because I felt like I never really got the chance to know her as a character. Eccleston is on fine form here and I don’t know how much audio work he has done before this but it honestly sounds like he’s never been away. Simply fantastic. He's done some other audio, he was particularly good as Winston Smith in a BBC radio adaptation of 1984.
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Post by timegirl on May 14, 2021 20:54:38 GMT
Just finished “Food Fight” ! Did anyone else have trouble understanding the sound mixing in the scenes between 9 and Audrey in this story? It was very difficult to understand what 9 was saying in those scenes. I am glad we learned a little bit more about Nova in this one and that was a very interesting twist at the end with her as well! I liked the stuff with the overcrowded TARDIS and all the different displaced people. Now that I have listened to the whole box set I think I will give it a 3/5. I absolutely love hearing Chris as 9 in this but the plot was too much of a generic run around and often hard to follow. I am definitely looking forward to further releases as I have a feeling it will get even better as it goes along and no matter what it’s worth it to hear Chris as 9 again!
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Post by Digi on May 14, 2021 22:05:12 GMT
Just finished “Food Fight” ! Did anyone else have trouble understanding the sound mixing in the scenes between 9 and Audrey in this story? It was very difficult to understand what 9 was saying in those scenes. I am glad we learned a little bit more about Nova in this one and that was a very interesting twist at the end with her as well! I liked the stuff with the overcrowded TARDIS and all the different displaced people. Now that I have listened to the whole box set I think I will give it a 3/5. I absolutely love hearing Chris as 9 in this but the plot was too much of a generic run around and often hard to follow. I am definitely looking forward to further releases as I have a feeling it will get even better as it goes along and no matter what it’s worth it to hear Chris as 9 again! Personally no, I didn't really have any trouble with it....
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Post by timegirl on May 14, 2021 22:12:32 GMT
Just finished “Food Fight” ! Did anyone else have trouble understanding the sound mixing in the scenes between 9 and Audrey in this story? It was very difficult to understand what 9 was saying in those scenes. I am glad we learned a little bit more about Nova in this one and that was a very interesting twist at the end with her as well! I liked the stuff with the overcrowded TARDIS and all the different displaced people. Now that I have listened to the whole box set I think I will give it a 3/5. I absolutely love hearing Chris as 9 in this but the plot was too much of a generic run around and often hard to follow. I am definitely looking forward to further releases as I have a feeling it will get even better as it goes along and no matter what it’s worth it to hear Chris as 9 again! Personally no, I didn't really have any trouble with it.... Interesting, it sounded very muffled to me 🤔
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Post by relativetime on May 15, 2021 1:08:09 GMT
It's not going to be my favorite box set of all time, that's for sure... but I did end up preordering the next set immediately after listening to this. This was still a lot of fun and it's all down to Eccleson's fantastic performance - oh how I've missed him!
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