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Post by bonehead on Nov 19, 2021 9:06:20 GMT
The Marian Conspiracy.
As a way of softening the Sixth Doctor, Evelyn Smythe is introduced, nicely played by Maggie Stables. The idea is a neat one, and was the beginning of a new audio 'phase' of this Doctor, something Colin was very enthusiastic about. Evelyn's a good character, but I didn't instantly fall in love with her as others did. It took a few stories to get to that level. Revisiting this, I still find it all just a little too cosy, although the story has its moments. A gentle tale that lacks a little bite for me. I tnink this team works better in a truly hostile, dangerous environment, as would manifest later. As it is, an interesting first outing for Evelyn and The Doctor, rather than anything remarkable.
It's good to go back to the beginning again.
It's been a while for me and even on the best of days my memory ain't great, but as i recall I didn't really fall in love with Evelyn as a companion until Doctor Who and the Pirates. I think she was a good companion from her very first scene, but that was the story that really made me sit up and go, "Wow, she's really something special." She was praised at the time, I remember, because she was so different to usual companions. I could appreciate that. I could also appreciate one of her 'purposes' was to expose a softer side to The Sixth Doctor and his ongoing character development. I agree with you though, that it took a few stories for me to really appreciate her. There's one scene in one of her later tales, for example, that was so effective, it brought tears to my eyes!
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Post by Kestrel on Nov 20, 2021 7:26:48 GMT
Yeah, she really had some incredible range. That's why 'Pirates' impressed me so much. Not to spoil it or anything (though maybe that's okay here) the tonal shift near the end... she handled that so perfectly. And it's one of those jarring shifts that I think most actors, regardless of skill or experience, would have trouble pulling off. It completely transformed what I thought of the story itself, and the characters in it. I really think it's the -definitive- 6th Doctor story.
Though it may, perhaps, not land quite so hard with the build up beginning in 'Marian Conspiracy.' Evelyn has a fantastic little character arc, but especially early on, it's very subtle--and easy to miss entirely until things, inevitably, come to a head.
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Post by bonehead on Nov 20, 2021 11:21:51 GMT
Yeah, she really had some incredible range. That's why 'Pirates' impressed me so much. Not to spoil it or anything (though maybe that's okay here) the tonal shift near the end... she handled that so perfectly. And it's one of those jarring shifts that I think most actors, regardless of skill or experience, would have trouble pulling off. It completely transformed what I thought of the story itself, and the characters in it. I really think it's the -definitive- 6th Doctor story. Though it may, perhaps, not land quite so hard with the build up beginning in 'Marian Conspiracy.' Evelyn has a fantastic little character arc, but especially early on, it's very subtle--and easy to miss entirely until things, inevitably, come to a head. Maggie Stables also played a semi-regular villain in the Tomorrow People audios, and she was absolutely brilliant. Ice cold and evil - a million miles away from Evelyn.
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020. Doctor Who: Loups-Garoux.
As a big fan of television's Ghost Light, I was eager to hear this script by Marc Platt, at the time. The Doctor and Turlough discuss girls! Eleanour Bron, Nicky Henson and Bert Kwouk star! A werewolf tale set in Rio de Janeiro! What could go wrong? As it happens, this time-spanning story remains a firm favourite of mine. Like The Holy Terror, it commands my attention (and love) throughout its entire generous running time. Mark Strickson is 100% back in Turlough's shoes after a slightly stiff portrayal in Phantasmagoria, and Peter Davison, given a lot to do here, is brilliant. Platt's story exceeds my expectations (his name attached to a project is a guaranteed sale for me), covers a lot of emotions and ends in a weird and unsettling dream-like setting. The characters are rich and diverse. I especially liked Tulrough and Rosa's story. A gorgeous audio.
021. Doctor Who: Dust Breeding.
Strange that, at the time, the casting of Geoffrey Beevers didn't make fans suspect the return of a certain villainous character. Talk about hiding in plain sight. The reveal is a Big Finish highpoint for me, and the story is a good one. I'm not quite sure what accent Caroline John is sporting, but it seems Madame Salvadori is a well travelled character. While the returning villain's 'Phantom of the Opera'-style character is the best thing about this, it's a good tale all round. It also contains Ace's best ever line, while looking at a selection of art exhibits: "Looks like a load of Jackson Pollocks to me."
022. Doctor Who: Bloodtide.
Nice to har the return of the Silurians, with particularly good (although occasionally hard to understand) voice modulation. A real blonus too, for a Myrka to turn up! This is a good tale that has a few similarities to the previous Loups Garoux. Daniel Hogarth makes his Big Finish debut here (I think). I remember being impressed with all the weird and curious characters he played on audio, and it's a shame he no longer sems part of the repertoire. Miles Richardson as Charles Darwin is another highpoint. I do feel, though, that the mellowing of the Sixth Doctor, commendable though it is, begins to go too far here. He's so warm and cuddly that it's not always easy to identify him as the same often arch charcter we saw on television.
023. Doctor Who: Project Twilight.
Welcome to the world of Nimrod and the Forge. Wow. If only Big Finish could still release stuff as dark and grim as this under the Doctor Who banner! This is a brutal, bloody tale that reminds me a little of the Underworld film series (although this as actually good!). It may not feature Kate Keckinsale, but it does have characters 'exploding into' Evelyn's handbag. Amazing stuff. Rob Dixon is especially good as tantrum-throwing gangster Reggie Mead, and Rosie Cavaliero impresses as tragic Cassie (I wonder if she'll have a further story to tell? ). The wonderful Jim Mortimore provides an extaordinarily strong and creepy incidental score. The Sixth Doctor had a reputation on television for his dark and violent stories, and I love that this plays on that. I also appreciate Evelyn more when this no-nonsense-nut-nice elderly lady is catapulted into a world as jet black as this.
Four good stories, book-ended by two absolute classics.
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Post by sherlock on Nov 20, 2021 15:16:19 GMT
20. Loups-Garoux
Oh that was great. The fierce proactive Fifth Doctor of Caves of Androzani comes to fore.
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Post by sherlock on Nov 20, 2021 23:11:10 GMT
21. Dust Breeding
I think this is the closest Big Finish have come to doing a classic series style Master story. In that he’s just kinda here on the sidelines of the plot to unleash a thing which he ultimately can’t control anyway. Just fine all in all; not much to write home about.
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Post by grinch on Nov 20, 2021 23:12:46 GMT
20. Loups-GarouxOh that was great. The fierce proactive Fifth Doctor of Caves of Androzani comes to fore. I think the only thing that stops this one from being perfect is the fact that the sound design is quite rough in some areas. But honestly, you can’t go wrong with a Marc Platt story.
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Post by johnhurtdoctor on Nov 22, 2021 23:29:24 GMT
Number 48, Davros. Some great character work here & interesting tone with so much potential, but then its all ruined by the silly Davros backstory - {Spoiler} he didn't have the original idea for the Daleks it was his girlfriend!
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Post by mark687 on Nov 23, 2021 10:12:29 GMT
Number 48, Davros. Some great character work here & interesting tone with so much potential, but then its all ruined by the silly Davros backstory - {Spoiler} he didn't have the original idea for the Daleks it was his girlfriend! One of these days your going to surprise us all by liking a BF Who Production unreservedly. Regards mark687
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Post by johnhurtdoctor on Nov 23, 2021 10:29:52 GMT
Number 48, Davros. Some great character work here & interesting tone with so much potential, but then its all ruined by the silly Davros backstory - {Spoiler} he didn't have the original idea for the Daleks it was his girlfriend! One of these days your going to surprise us all by liking a BF Who Production unreservedly. Regards mark687 I have done, more than once. Although I am not here to surprise you or anyone else. Am I not allowed to give my honest opinion? Any real need for the sarcasm on your part?
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Post by mark687 on Nov 23, 2021 10:41:37 GMT
One of these days your going to surprise us all by liking a BF Who Production unreservedly. Regards mark687 I have done, more than once. Although I am not here to surprise you or anyone else. Am I not allowed to give my honest opinion? Any real need for the sarcasm on your part?Touche Is there ever on yours? Regards mark687
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Post by johnhurtdoctor on Nov 23, 2021 18:32:36 GMT
number 49, Master a very dark brooding chamber piece in fact with a few tweaks it would be equally effective as an audio drama without any reference to Doctor Who. All the performances are very good, even McCoy is not quite as annoying as usual. Not sure about this addition to the history between Doctor Who & the Master, but I do feel like this is very much the final confrontation between the two prior to the TV movie.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2021 22:29:52 GMT
Number 48, Davros. Some great character work here & interesting tone with so much potential, but then its all ruined by the silly Davros backstory... I loved this! I have listened to Davros many many times since it's release in 2003 and it's brilliant. A great Davros story, and one of the highlights of those early Main Range years.
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Post by sherlock on Nov 26, 2021 23:53:43 GMT
22. Bloodtide
It’s okay. It feels like a bit of general take on Darwin rather than an actual exploration of who he was at this point in his life (some years away from the theory of natural selection) and the Silurians are fine. Sixie and Evelyn are kinda just on autopilot here unusually with nothing really to write home about.
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Post by grinch on Nov 27, 2021 0:20:23 GMT
Number 48, Davros. Some great character work here & interesting tone with so much potential, but then its all ruined by the silly Davros backstory... I loved this! I have listened to Davros many many times since it's release in 2003 and it's brilliant. A great Davros story, and one of the highlights of those early Main Range years. And that monologue from Davros in the first part? Truly breathtaking.
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Post by bonehead on Nov 27, 2021 10:11:35 GMT
024. Doctor Who: The Eye of the Scorpion.
"Kishiiiiik!" That's what I remember most fondly about this story, Yanis (Harry Myers) yelling at his friend Kishik. Listening again reminds me what a great story this still is. Very atmospheric (David Darlington's sound design is always very immersive), and rich in detail. Very nearly a pure historical - in fact, I thought it was for most of the story's run - but a clever reveal unveils something different and surprising toward the end. Perhaps the finale is a bit convenient, but that doesn't bother me, because the tale is such good fun. Always worth a revisit.
025. Doctor Who: Colditz.
It's true to say there are some issues with the sound design here (is this the only time this has hampered the tale? Not bad for over 20 years worth of the monthly range), but Steve Lyons' story remains deeply enjoyable. The Seventh Doctor and Ace integrate surprisingly well into a 1944 setting. The characters are great - Toby Longworth is particularly good as Schäfer, but to have the Tenth Doctor meet Tomorrow People's John is something I never thought I'd hear (actually, I'm not sure the two of them did meet, but its great to have David Tennant and Nicholas Young in the cast). This is a really good, solid tale, with a nice gruesome ending. Tracey Childs as Klein makes her debut here - she sounds like she might be trouble-maker to me.
026. Doctor Who: Primeval.
A story written by Lance Parkin, featuring a return to Traken and featuring Susan Penhaligon and Stephen Grief should be a virtual guarantee of something wonderful. I have to say, though, that revisiting this left me as cold as did the first listening. Russell Stone's terrific score conjurs up some of the innocence and simplicity of Traken, but other than that, this is a surprisingly flat, thin storyline somewhat stretched over two discs. As a single discer, it might have been fine, if insubstantial, but to waste Grief's talents on such a standard villain is unforgiveable.
027. Doctor Who: The One Doctor.
This isn't a broad comedy, nor is it going to win any prizes for sophistication (Banto Zame indeed), but it is full-hearted, exuberant, very silly, occasionally surreal (the 'feeblest contestant' sequence for example) and simply a huge amount of fun. It is also one of those rare examples of the cast enjoying themselves conveying into audience enjoyment of the production as a whole. This is something to be entered into whole-heartedly, and the script, production and acting make that very easy to do. It was released at Christmas 2001 - twenty years ago! - and remains as charming and jolly as it did all that time ago.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 27, 2021 17:20:16 GMT
027. Doctor Who: The One Doctor.
This isn't a broad comedy, nor is it going to win any prizes for sophistication (Banto Zame indeed), but it is full-hearted, exuberant, very silly, occasionally surreal (the 'feeblest contestant' sequence for example) and simply a huge amount of fun. It is also one of those rare examples of the cast enjoying themselves conveying into audience enjoyment of the production as a whole. This is something to be entered into whole-heartedly, and the script, production and acting make that very easy to do. It was released at Christmas 2001 - twenty years ago! - and remains as charming and jolly as it did all that time ago. That reminds me, it's nearly time to dust off the CD and give The One Doctor another spin... I love it! Completely bonkers and jolly good fun, a veritable Christmas classic!
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Post by sherlock on Nov 29, 2021 17:09:22 GMT
23. Project: Twilight
A brilliantly nasty story for Sixie. A small seed which would grow into the quite the arc...
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Post by sherlock on Nov 30, 2021 23:52:40 GMT
24. The Eye of the Scorpion
A great historical turn for Five, only let down by a somewhat under-developed alien threat. Historical stuff is all top notch though.
25. Colditz
This was the first MR in this run through where the soundtrack really stuck with me. Story-wise it’s relatively simple, but serves Ace’s character well and sows so many ripe seeds for Klein later down the line.
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Post by bonehead on Dec 1, 2021 13:22:06 GMT
028. Invaders from Mars.
This story kicked off the second Eighth Doctor series for Big Finish, and it seems clear they had more time to work on the stories and the accompanying arc than they did with the first. I'll listen to these in two blocks of three to make up the whole - this is the good half, followed by the not-quite-so-good half. For all that. Mark Gatiss's story is typically brisk but fun, and that seems to be what it's supposed to be. A 'romp', if you dare, with The Eighth Doctor saying things he wouldn't normally say, and American accents that are - to my ears - a good deal less convincing than those featured in the previous 'Minuet in Hell'. Perhaps it is because this is a kind of pastiche story, but no-one seems to complain about the accents in this one - it's comedic, so it doesn't seem to matter. Either way, it doesn't bother me. Again we have top-notch sound design and an amazing cast - David Benson, Mark Benton, Simon Pegg, Jonathan Rigby and Jessica Stevenson. Fun to listen to, but not quite as much fun as the cast seem to be having.
029. Doctor Who: The Chimes of Midnight.
Yes, this is every bit as good as its reputation suggests. There are some who say the constant 'reset' is somewhat irritating, and I can see that, but this story retains its brilliance nearly twenty years after its release. It's a wonderful piece of Doctor Who; it's a wonderful piece of audio. It's scary, funny, touching and has a splendid finale. Russell Stone once again more than excels with the music and Andy Hardwick's sound design ensures we know exactly what's going on, even when we don't know exactly what's going on! And of course, Christmas wouldn't be Chirstmas without a word for Rob Shearman, who has received so many platitudes for this. Quite right too.
030. Doctor Who: Seasons of Fear.
Such was the brilliance of the previous story, I often feel this one has been a little overlooked. To my mind, this is a very different story, but just as brilliant as its predecessor. Considering I still consider Paul Cornell's previous Main Range entry to be pretty much the nadir at this point, I wasn't sure what to expect from 'Seasons of Fear'. What we get is a simple, but very clever tale, embellished with all kinds of wonderful twists, cameos and surprises. The returning monster (uncredited! Imagine that!) is a true joy, even if the return is short-lived. It's all part of a richly told tale and a great way to spend just under two hours.
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Post by bonehead on Dec 2, 2021 14:42:01 GMT
031. Embrace the Darkness.
This is a delirious, sweaty, grimy, disorientating, frightening story, the kind of story that made me wonder if this was the same writer responsible for ‘Sirens of Time.’ The first episode is a dark masterpiece, and the others don’t quite live up to it, but the settings are laid out - the ROSM robots, the strange whispering voices etc. – and then everything goes completely bonkers. The ending wraps up what is actually a fairly straightforward story, but the way in which it is told is very good, and highly unsettling. Oh, and once again, Jim Mortimore’s score is fabulous.
032. Time and Daleks.
When Terry Nation was running out of ideas for the Daleks (in 1965!!), he had them placed in various improbable situations for ‘The Chase’, which emerged as a series of events rather than a great story. On audio, Justin Richards has them say improbable things. In this case, Shakespeare. What? Why? Well, it’s never been done before and, er … Trapped in a sub-timey-wimey plot line (did I really just say sub-timey-wimey?), this, I’m sorry to say, left me cold. Even the novelty of hearing Clayton Hickman as a Dalek didn’t inspire any interest.
033. Neverland.
I’ve never been a massive fan of Alan Barnes’ writing. For me, he has more misses than hits. ‘Neverland’ straddles the two. It’s a big, bombastic finale to the series, and a lead-in to the next. It isn’t quite as emotionally wrenching as perhaps it would like to be, and it isn’t quite as involving, either. It’s good, but it ain’t great. Nice to have Vansell back, earning his stripes as a bit of a g*t, and Lalla Ward’s Romana too; there’s an effort made, I think, to recapture her relationship with the Eighth Doctor that she had with the Fourth, which doesn’t quite come off.
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