ljwilson
Chancellery Guard
It's tangerine....not orange
Likes: 5,062 
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Post by ljwilson on May 3, 2021 12:38:25 GMT
A complex, funny and a very 'English' Doctor Who story. From the setting of the village Pease Pottage, the local amateur dramatics rehearsals at the village hall, various characters from points in this isles history, it is both familiar yet all a bit weird.
We have a villain who has existed in various time periods, the odd dinosaur eating the geraniums, time explosions, out-of-time events, a visiting UFO on a corporate yuppie training mission and to cap it all off....two Mels and two Doctors.
It becomes hard to completely follow in places but it remains entertaining throughout. Excellent stuff from Matt Fitton, who gives a nice shout out to the history dept. of Sheffield Hallam University which I attended.
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Post by Kestrel on Dec 19, 2021 0:57:12 GMT
I went into this thinking it was probably going to be confusing, dealing with multiple incarnations of the same characters, all played by the same actors. And... it was. While you could kind of tell them apart, at times, it was more due to what they were saying rather than how they spoke. Which generally functioned to blur the lines separating scenes to a kind of dull haze.
But given how convoluted the scenario is here, and how warped and wrinkled the 6th Doctor's continuity is as a result, perhaps that lack of clarity works to the benefit of the experience. It's less of a story to follow than a ride to go along with.
The whole story winds up being this chaotic mess that's a lot of fun to see (or, rather, hear) play out. Dwelling less on "fixing" the big continuity holes from the TV show and more the Doctor's character, juxtaposing the abrasive, haughty 6th incarnation from the TV show with the platonic ideal much more grounded and empathetic Big Finish incarnation. It really drives home just how much the Doctor has changed--and highlights the fact(?) that the 6th Doctor never really had an "ending" era. After he pops off with Mel at the end of Trial of a Time Lord, that's it. And, presumably, excepting the stories with Peri, all of his audio adventures are set after that scene--which isn't something that had really registered with me before now.
Though I must admit, I remain confused on the 6th Doctor's timeline--all of this commotion, and he still hasn't actually met Mel for the first time yet.
Speaking of whom, this story really highlights just how different audio Mel is from TV Mel. A lot of attention gets paid to Big Finish reinventing the 6th Doctor, but they likewise reinvented Mel--to her substantial improvement.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2021 6:34:33 GMT
Was one of those tales that benefitted from headphone listening
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Post by Timelord007 on Dec 19, 2021 9:30:03 GMT
Loved it, it takes a couple of listens to understand all the complexities of the plot but overall i had a fun time with this one.
4/5.
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Post by tuigirl on Dec 19, 2021 10:17:57 GMT
Yeah, agreed, this is one that has to be listened to a couple of times.
I love it.
I think Colin does a great job playing the two versions of his Doctor, and I really was able to tell them apart, I basically could hear the blue coat!
It is a fun audio, well performed and featuring a bonkers story.
What is not to love?
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Post by Kestrel on Dec 20, 2021 0:34:37 GMT
♩Peas ♫ Pottage ♩Hot
♩Peas ♫ Pottage ♩Cold
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Post by tuigirl on Dec 20, 2021 8:39:35 GMT
♩Peas ♫ Pottage ♩Hot
♩Peas ♫ Pottage ♩Cold But that is nearly as iconic as "It wouldn't be Christmas without it" |
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Post by Ela on Dec 22, 2021 3:03:28 GMT
It was a fun story, but not one of my favorites.
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Post by Sir Wearer of Hats on Dec 22, 2021 9:49:13 GMT
♩Peas ♫ Pottage ♩Hot
♩Peas ♫ Pottage ♩Cold God that rhyme got old. |
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Post by tuigirl on Dec 22, 2021 18:38:19 GMT
♩Peas ♫ Pottage ♩Hot
♩Peas ♫ Pottage ♩Cold God that rhyme got old. But what a great way of keeping track of the time distortions. Perfect for audio. |
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Post by chronotis on Dec 23, 2021 10:28:39 GMT
I thought it was great right up to the point where...
{Spoiler}
The Sixth Doctor followed his people's example, acted like a second rate god, and rewrote Mel's timeline. Completely robbing her of any agency in her early life. No wonder the universe hates the Time Lords. |
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Post by Kestrel on Dec 23, 2021 23:04:37 GMT
I thought it was great right up to the point where...
{Spoiler}
The Sixth Doctor followed his people's example, acted like a second rate god, and rewrote Mel's timeline. Completely robbing her of any agency in her early life. No wonder the universe hates the Time Lords. At least it happened off-screen this time, so to speak. And didn't involve her crying and begging him not to. Yeesh. |
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Post by Ela on Dec 27, 2021 19:48:48 GMT
Part of my problem with the story was that it was described to me as a "when Mel first met the Doctor" story, but that's really not what it is. It's kind of a mess with regard to Mel's time line with the Doctor.
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Post by Kestrel on Dec 29, 2021 8:26:50 GMT
Part of my problem with the story was that it was described to me as a "when Mel first met the Doctor" story, but that's really not what it is. It's kind of a mess with regard to Mel's time line with the Doctor. Yeah, same. I definitely wasn't expecting them to make the Doctor's timeline even more confusing. I don't think we've ever gotten a proper audio explanation for their first meeting, have we? And this confusing continuity is already layered over the confusing continuity from both Trial and the very unceremonious regeneration scene they gave "the 6th Doctor." |
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