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Post by themeddlingmonk on Jan 29, 2022 13:04:48 GMT
So is the order correct order?? Curse Prisoner Monster Ordeal Poison Bride Death Truth
Not sure about Ordeal…. {Spoiler} No it’s: The Curse of Peladon The Prisoner of Peladon The Ordeal of Peladon The Monster of Peladon The Poison of Peladon The Bride of Peladon The Death of Peladon The Truth of Peladon
King Peladon has already passed away by The Monster of Peladon.
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Post by elkawho on Jan 29, 2022 14:40:10 GMT
I finished the first two stories and am really enjoying this set. But does anyone sing "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" every time you hear the theme? I mean, I'm Jewish and I can't stop singing it! Absolutely, I do too! I try and space out listening to new releases (I'm still only part way through 'Watchers' and 'Terra Nostra'), to make them last longer. I've always thought of Peladon as The Trigan Empire (a lavish sci-fi comic strip from the 60s, currently being reprinted and highly recommended) in its depiction of a growing alien culture, and the first story doesn't change my view on that. It's great fun so far, with an unexpected - and if I'm honest, slightly irritating - cameo threatening to break the mood. David Troughton is great as ever, as are the rest of the cast and the story is very enjoyable so far. Oh, I adored the cameo! But I'm a huge fan, so I'm quite biased. They keep calling this range (will it be it's own range? Who knows.) BF's version of The Crown. It reminds me that they used to call Gallifrey BF's version of The West Wing. I never understood that comparison, because they never seemed alike at all. But because of this I keep comparing Peladon to Gallifrey in my mind, and Iit seems to have replaced it on the schedule. I have to say I'm enjoying the former a whole lot more than the latter. I've rarely ever enjoyed the Gallifrey range, and I really am loving Peladon.
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Post by bonehead on Jan 29, 2022 16:01:08 GMT
Absolutely, I do too! I try and space out listening to new releases (I'm still only part way through 'Watchers' and 'Terra Nostra'), to make them last longer. I've always thought of Peladon as The Trigan Empire (a lavish sci-fi comic strip from the 60s, currently being reprinted and highly recommended) in its depiction of a growing alien culture, and the first story doesn't change my view on that. It's great fun so far, with an unexpected - and if I'm honest, slightly irritating - cameo threatening to break the mood. David Troughton is great as ever, as are the rest of the cast and the story is very enjoyable so far. Oh, I adored the cameo! But I'm a huge fan, so I'm quite biased. They keep calling this range (will it be it's own range? Who knows.) BF's version of The Crown. It reminds me that they used to call Gallifrey BF's version of The West Wing. I never understood that comparison, because they never seemed alike at all. But because of this I keep comparing Peladon to Gallifrey in my mind, and Iit seems to have replaced it on the schedule. I have to say I'm enjoying the former a whole lot more than the latter. I've rarely ever enjoyed the Gallifrey range, and I really am loving Peladon. I tried to get into the Gallifrey series too, but it was a little too 'dry' for me. Peladon as an ongoing thing would be much more to my tastes. Two stories in and they've really captured the feel of the kingdom on the stormy rockface (what a truly classic image that was) and the mix of characters - old and new - is very good. Will it continue? Well, I hope so - but then I really wanted more of Eric Roberts's Master stories and there doesn't seem to be any news on that!
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Post by shallacatop on Jan 30, 2022 19:02:54 GMT
Loved this. I wasn’t massively keen on the idea when the set was first announced, but the Vortex article really won me over, with its generational, The Crown-esque approach. Great selection of stories, each doing their own thing and contributing towards the bigger Peladon picture. Amazing what a variety of writers and getting past X meets Y can do, isn’t it?
I think Ordeal was my favourite. Wonderfully understated and a cracking performance from David Troughton and a pleasantly surprising cameo to boot. Poison was a lot of fun and it’s nice to have River slot into Doctor Who without it getting continuity heavy and given the opportunity to stand on its own two feet. Death was my least favourite, but that’s no slight on the episode itself; it’s a great traditional Who story that doesn’t retread Peladon on TV. It’s perhaps the most Crown inspired, particularly the aftermath of the Aberfan disaster. And Truth was a very close second to Ordeal. Again, wonderfully understated, with an intimate cast pretty much comprising of just Paul McGann, Meera Syal & Jason Watkins, who are all on fine form. It’s so good to get a solo McGann story again, given my fatigue of Stranded and general indifference of Bliss & Charley.
Great stuff and a complete contrast to my recent criticisms of Big Finish I’ve made elsewhere on the forum this week.
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Post by Who Review on Jan 30, 2022 23:14:15 GMT
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Post by thegreendeath on Jan 31, 2022 4:20:28 GMT
Huge fan of Curse of Peladon, one of my all-time favorites. Loved the first episode of this too. Just great script and lots of unexpected twists and turns and it all felt authentically Peladon without ever feeling like a retread. I’m excited to slowly work my way through the remaining three (probably one a week).
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Post by Ian McArdell on Jan 31, 2022 10:06:31 GMT
My take on Peladon has just landed at CultBox - In short, lots of fun and holds the political/eco tones of the original tales without going too far. Adored Tim Foley's final ep!
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Post by horatiowatson on Jan 31, 2022 15:07:23 GMT
So I'm coming at Peladon completely blind. I know that Peladon is a planet (?) and that somehow Ice Warriors and the Alpha Centauri are related to it (though I only know AC through 'Empress of Mars') -- how lost will I be? Do I need to have watched or heard anything here to keep up?
EDIT: I haven't seen any of the Peladon TV stories
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Post by mark687 on Jan 31, 2022 15:47:35 GMT
So I'm coming at Peladon completely blind. I know that Peladon is a planet (?) and that somehow Ice Warriors and the Alpha Centauri are related to it (though I only know AC through 'Empress of Mars') -- how lost will I be? Do I need to have watched or heard anything here to keep up? EDIT: I haven't seen any of the Peladon TV stories You'll follow it fine no major spoilers for the previous stories in fact because you haven't seen them a couple of things in the boxset should prove interesting to a newcomer. Regards mark687
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Post by Whovitt on Feb 3, 2022 23:34:56 GMT
I must say, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this release! I'm a huge fan of the TV episodes, and I think this set explores that world in new and interesting ways. I think the continual vilification of the Arcturans was perhaps a little repetitive (just because the only one we've seen on screen was a baddie, that doesn't mean they all have to be!), but I otherwise thought that each episode explored new ground and was enjoyable throughout. My favourite of the set was probably the final story. It's nice to hear McGann's Doctor simultaneously having fun but also being serious when required. And his rendition of the lullaby genuinely gave me chills. Haunting yet beautiful. I don't know if there's a need for this set to become an ongoing range, but I certainly wouldn't be against the idea
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Post by Kestrel on Feb 4, 2022 11:14:23 GMT
Okay, immediat impressions after finishing Ordeal? I am loving this. I was not expecting that SPOILER near the end, and the dialog in that scene... so perfectly written. And I a, super psyched to see where this story goes from here. Not a fan of all the talking about The Crown in the BTS, though. I dunno. It just feels like it's a comparison that cheapens what they're doing here. I guess that's just the banality of media production, though. So I'm coming at Peladon completely blind. I know that Peladon is a planet (?) and that somehow Ice Warriors and the Alpha Centauri are related to it (though I only know AC through 'Empress of Mars') -- how lost will I be? Do I need to have watched or heard anything here to keep up? EDIT: I haven't seen any of the Peladon TV stories I barely remember anything about the TV stories, save some isolated details (Alpha Centauri was weird, Ice Warrior was awesome, and at one point the Doctor fought and then made friends with a Rancor). I would not consider them to be prerequisites. The only thing is that the Doctor has visited Peladon before, so some people there know who he is. At least so far. In general Big Finish stories tend not to rely too heavily on continuity, and are therefore pretty standalone.
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Post by mark687 on Feb 5, 2022 11:45:57 GMT
A rough Peladon Timeline from Boxset Script Editor Robert Valentine
Regards
mark687
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Post by Kestrel on Feb 6, 2022 7:02:07 GMT
Now at the halfway point and I'm still very happy with this set. Guess I should be glad(?) my health is so poor of late--it's forcing me to savor things. Thus far I'm still very much of the opinion that this needs to be expanded into a full-on range. It's a lot of fun exploring the Doctor Who universe like this without the usual tethers to the modern earth status quo or all that high-fallutin' Time Lord guff.
(Random note: anyone else amused by Thalira's voice actress? She's playing an old-ish woman, right (60s or 70s, I'd assume, possibly 50s if her granddaughter is still young) but sounds very young. It's an interesting inversion of the usual dynamic, where we have younger characters with pretty pronounced age in their voices.)
Re: Timeline, I don't think that's right. In Ordeal the king recognizes recognizes the name, "Doctor," which would prevent it from being at the top of the timeline.
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Post by shallacatop on Feb 6, 2022 7:47:28 GMT
Re: Timeline, I don't think that's right. In Ordeal the king recognizes recognizes the name, "Doctor," which would prevent it from being at the top of the timeline. It’s not at the top of the timeline. Twitter compresses an image into a specific size in its tweets. Clicking on it brings up the full image and Ordeal comes after The Curse of Peladon, which would address your point about King Peladon knowing the Doctor.
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Post by Kestrel on Feb 7, 2022 2:43:00 GMT
Okay, that makes more sense, then.
Speaking of King Peladon, did he have much presence in Monster of Peladon? His arc in the first story of this set ended in a really unexpected place to me.
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Post by mark687 on Feb 7, 2022 10:36:44 GMT
Okay, that makes more sense, then. Speaking of King Peladon, did he have much presence in Monster of Peladon? His arc in the first story of this set ended in a really unexpected place to me. No he'd died by then Thalia his Daughter was Queen in Monster. Regards mark687
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Post by bonehead on Feb 12, 2022 17:22:16 GMT
Anticipation is subjective; for some reason I was hoping for an audio equivalent of The Trigan Empire - all skins and uprising, storms and monsters, darkened passages and flaming torches. After a theme tune that seems to be God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (and quite right - everyone loves a good Aroon), things progress in an interesting way, with the storyline slowly unravelling. There’s the uncredited cameo, which I found slightly irritating, if I’m honest. Actarus could have sounded a little less human too, I thought.
A comment that has been made about the Third Doctor (the first incarnation to visit Peladon, as far as we know) is that he is occasionally a little preachy. The same can very much be said for Sixie in this story. Perhaps it’s something in the water?
Of all the Doctors to have visited the planet, I feel that McGann’s quietly studious incarnation suits the place best of all. Of course, Jon Pertwee is the outright winner, having been there visually, twice; but The Eighth Doctor really seems to fit in there, and his comradeship with Meera Syal’s Arla is a highlight.
The Truth pips The Ordeal to the top of my list, with The Death third and The Poison fourth. I might not have enjoyed this set quite as much as others, but I’m very glad I bought it.
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Post by Kestrel on Feb 15, 2022 8:10:31 GMT
Well... I'm gonna sit on Peladon for a day or so before I write up all my thoughts. I think... I think I'm gonna have quite a lot to say. Maybe not as much as with Stranded 2 or Dalek Universe... but a lot.
The big TL;DR? It's a good set. Almost great. But--and I cannot stress this enough--The Truth of Peladon is absolutely mind-blowingly brilliant. I am floored. Incredible. It's easily one of the very best stories Big Finish has ever produced. This one got knocked way, way, way outta the park.
Not entirely sure it was the most appropriate sort of story to give McGann--don't get me wrong, I'm putting this one right up to A Life In The Day and The Red Lady as one of his best stories, but it's a very dark, manipulative story--very much the kind of thing you'd expect to see from a 7th Doctor story. Which makes me wonder just where, exactly, on the 8th Doctor's timeline this story lies... and I can't even begin to guess.
Shame the BTS track was so short. I wonder if they originally wrote Truth for McCoy.
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Post by Chakoteya on Feb 21, 2022 17:19:53 GMT
Truth is a cracker of a tale. Meddling on a grand scale, playing eco-socialist-politics... with a bit of a nod to A Christmas Carol (three nightly visits) And Paul has a lovely singing voice.
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lidar2
Castellan
You know, now that you mention it, I actually do rather like Attack of the Cybermen ...
Likes: 5,811
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Post by lidar2 on Feb 25, 2022 11:18:58 GMT
Am 3 and a half episodes in - this is really good, but could have done without quite so much of the Tooting Popular Front politics.
One thing about ep 4, the Dr's m.o. seems much more like the Seven of the NAs than the Eight we know and love. I wonder if this was originally planned as a Seven story, later changed to Eight for some reason. Haven't heard the second half of it, so may revise my opinion, but so far all it needs is Seven and I could believe it was a novel adaptation of a NA I had never read.
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