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Post by elkawho on Oct 16, 2021 14:17:17 GMT
Hmm. My opinion is broadly the same as sherlock ’s. It’s certainly got that epic finale vibe to it, but it does mean a lot of stuff isn’t delved into and doesn’t feel as well thought out or detailed as it should be. If they’d been in the first or second sets then we’d have been listening to different, and, dare I say, more substantial stories. The First Son plays its hand too late and whilst the Movellans are used effectively and we get some nice content with them, it also feels at a disservice to the story. We know it will ultimately end up being River, so for it to go on so long and not get much “actual” River also feels like a disservice. I do like her presence throughout the set, though, even if she’s not actually in the final two episodes! The Mark Seven twist isn’t massively surprising and not a lot is done with it. We don’t know about his origins, why it happened or what actually happened to make him turn out how he did. It all ends up feeling like it’s baiting for a spin-off or further adventures outside of Dalek Universe, rather than serving this series. Davros has a lot of scenes but ultimately I’m not really sure he needed to be in it. His scenes with the Doctor are nice, but a redux of Journey’s End and as it’s placed much earlier for Davros, and is set during a particular gap, their interactions always feel stilted, as do his plans and motivations. The Daleks have more involvement than they do in the previous two sets, but I still don’t think it’s massively substantial. The Doctor’s interaction with them is to recap The Chase and The Daleks Master Plan and that’s pretty much it! 9 episodes and a range called Dalek Universe and we don’t get a “proper” Dalek story or a “proper” Doctor vs Dalek event. Probably the biggest issue I had was the characterisation of the Doctor and Anya. They’ve been so good and my biggest compliment about this range has been the way the Doctor has been written. In this final set he almost seems to revert back to his regular self, which feels a bit of a shame, and I’m not sure why he’s written to be like that. Same for Anya, she’s been very well served but in this set she’s almost watching events rather than actively participating and reacting to them. Overall it does a great job at linking back to the previous sets continuity wise and pulling story elements together, but in doing so seems to forget that our leads have gone on a journey too! I am quite critical in the spoiler tags, but I have given the set a 4/5, as I had a great time listening, but ultimately feel as though this set is quite reductive and hollow compared to the preceding two. I find it pretty amazing that I feel exactly the opposite from you in every single point you make. How is it possible that we listened to the exact same thing and our take-aways were polar opposites? So strange. I thought The First Son was brilliant, and I loved that they saved the actual River for the end. It felt like a reward as a listener for believing in her the whole time. (And as an aside, I loved finding out in the BTS that it was DT who realized that the reveal has been missed at all. Nice little bit of info.) I, for one, was surprised by the Mark Seven reveal. And I don't need all the back story, since it wouldn't really move this one forward. Will we get that back story some time in the future? I don't know, and I don't care. It was The Doctor and Anya's response to seeing Mark like this and the inability of "their" Mark to return that is relevant. I do like the fact that Mark never ends up remembering, or caring, about his former friends. That along informs the listening that whatever happened, it was bad enough. This is a whole new character now. But by far the biggest disagreement I have with your review is regarding The Doctor's characterization. Whaat??? I don't understand what you mean when you say that he "seems to revert back to his regular self". What regular self? I actually think he is written brilliantly and DT's performance is the best he's given as The Doctor since he brought Donna home. Ok, I'll give it since Waters of Mars. This IS 10th Doctor, series 5 for me. Volumes 1-3 are the best thing BF has released this year, and I don't see it being surpassed.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2021 14:42:10 GMT
Hmm. My opinion is broadly the same as sherlock ’s. It’s certainly got that epic finale vibe to it, but it does mean a lot of stuff isn’t delved into and doesn’t feel as well thought out or detailed as it should be. If they’d been in the first or second sets then we’d have been listening to different, and, dare I say, more substantial stories. The First Son plays its hand too late and whilst the Movellans are used effectively and we get some nice content with them, it also feels at a disservice to the story. We know it will ultimately end up being River, so for it to go on so long and not get much “actual” River also feels like a disservice. I do like her presence throughout the set, though, even if she’s not actually in the final two episodes! The Mark Seven twist isn’t massively surprising and not a lot is done with it. We don’t know about his origins, why it happened or what actually happened to make him turn out how he did. It all ends up feeling like it’s baiting for a spin-off or further adventures outside of Dalek Universe, rather than serving this series. Davros has a lot of scenes but ultimately I’m not really sure he needed to be in it. His scenes with the Doctor are nice, but a redux of Journey’s End and as it’s placed much earlier for Davros, and is set during a particular gap, their interactions always feel stilted, as do his plans and motivations. The Daleks have more involvement than they do in the previous two sets, but I still don’t think it’s massively substantial. The Doctor’s interaction with them is to recap The Chase and The Daleks Master Plan and that’s pretty much it! 9 episodes and a range called Dalek Universe and we don’t get a “proper” Dalek story or a “proper” Doctor vs Dalek event. Probably the biggest issue I had was the characterisation of the Doctor and Anya. They’ve been so good and my biggest compliment about this range has been the way the Doctor has been written. In this final set he almost seems to revert back to his regular self, which feels a bit of a shame, and I’m not sure why he’s written to be like that. Same for Anya, she’s been very well served but in this set she’s almost watching events rather than actively participating and reacting to them. Overall it does a great job at linking back to the previous sets continuity wise and pulling story elements together, but in doing so seems to forget that our leads have gone on a journey too! I am quite critical in the spoiler tags, but I have given the set a 4/5, as I had a great time listening, but ultimately feel as though this set is quite reductive and hollow compared to the preceding two. I find it pretty amazing that I feel exactly the opposite from you in every single point you make. How is it possible that we listened to the exact same thing and our take-aways were polar opposites? So strange. I thought The First Son was brilliant, and I loved that they saved the actual River for the end. It felt like a reward as a listener for believing in her the whole time. (And as an aside, I loved finding out in the BTS that it was DT who realized that the reveal has been missed at all. Nice little bit of info.) I, for one, was surprised by the Mark Seven reveal. And I don't need all the back story, since it wouldn't really move this one forward. Will we get that back story some time in the future? I don't know, and I don't care. It was The Doctor and Anya's response to seeing Mark like this and the inability of "their" Mark to return that is relevant. I do like the fact that Mark never ends up remembering, or caring, about his former friends. That along informs the listening that whatever happened, it was bad enough. This is a whole new character now. But by far the biggest disagreement I have with your review is regarding The Doctor's characterization. Whaat??? I don't understand what you mean when you say that he "seems to revert back to his regular self". What regular self? I actually think he is written brilliantly and DT's performance is the best he's given as The Doctor since he brought Donna home. Ok, I'll give it since Waters of Mars. This IS 10th Doctor, series 5 for me. Volumes 1-3 are the best thing BF has released this year, and I don't see it being surpassed. Isn't it a true sign of how good this range is though that even with Shallacatop's reservations, they still gave it a 4/5? When even all those issues stills gets a bloody good score! I'm with you in every word. I don't need to see how Mark got here, the point is that he did. Without being reductive to the character, his fate(s) are really to illicit responses from our two leads here. We're seeing the massive change through their eyes and exposition wouldn't add anything. It was more powerful just to see him not know...but then have the flicker, like when he remembered Anya's name just as The Doctor says it. I'm also with you on The Doctor's character. He's always seemed to me to (unless dealing with Gallifrey-related issues), try and not sell any hurt or pain, and act like nothing is bothering him. So it all seemed very much in-character for him here. I mean, he goes from this straight to Day Of The Doctor as the date at the end tells us - where he seemed in a very good mood so it all works fine. It works as a Season 5 for me too. It never could have been, it's far too embedded in classic Who with Dalek Masterplan and Destiny Of The Daleks lore galore (lore galore..I like that. Trademarked). Yet it works in an almost meta-way - The Doctor in set 1 was confused as he's traveled "outside" the Time War, to the other side which shouldn't be possible. And likewise, this felt like David Tennant transported to a 60s then 70s or early 80s Who season - the "other side" of Who,literally before the Time War, as it were. Especially with the Tom prequel, you could imagine that Tom regenerates into Tennant in 1981 and then we get this series shortly after as silly as it sounds.
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Post by shallacatop on Oct 16, 2021 15:54:00 GMT
I don’t think it’s that strange… I gave the set a 4/5! Was just voicing some of my issues with each story that I felt made it a lesser set than the preceding two. It’s still bloody good, just a step down, I thought.
And as for the Doctor’s character, his characterisation in Dalek Universe is my favourite thing about the whole set. He’s got that remorse and angst you'd expect post-Donna and a bit of the arrogance that he occasionally shows, which is in line with The Waters of Mars. Dalek Universe 3 feels like it losses that a touch and he feels a bit more like the generic Ten than the one of Dalek Universe. Not a criticism of David, who’s giving it his all as usual, but it felt a little bit at odds to me compared to the preceding stories. If he was like it at the very end as a lead in to The Day of the Doctor it would’ve been great, I just wasn’t sold on it happening earlier on in the set, which in turn immediately follows from the preceding two.
None of my criticisms are massive, it’s why I gave the set a 4/5. They’re just notable given how good this range has been. On reflection I’d put it down to the jump in time in the set; everything just became that little bit looser.
Can’t wait to listen to them as a 9 part epic, though. I didn’t manage a relisten before volume 3 like I did for 2.
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Post by IndieMacUser on Oct 17, 2021 12:47:05 GMT
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Post by Chakoteya on Oct 19, 2021 16:47:41 GMT
Strolls in late as usual thanks to Real Life getting in the way. Just listened to Son thanks to persistant rain today. Really enjoying this. Best line so far? DOCTOR: Well, the old ones are the best. Which I may consider as a personal motto. Go on, Anya, plug me in.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2021 18:30:40 GMT
Am guessing i may be the last person on the planet to listen to this and have tbh avoided spoilers not by choice i basically seemed to have come out of a pause button on my life and have just pressed play again so will catch up with this over the weekend ahead
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Post by nottenst on Oct 22, 2021 3:13:59 GMT
I saw a post last week in the Big Finish Audio Facebook group about this coming out and the poster enjoying it a lot. I decided to download it for my listening this week. So, one of the closest listens to release date of a Big Finish release in a long time.
I found it thoroughly enjoyable. When they lost Mark Seven in Volume 2, I was surprised he was gone so early. I still did not suspect that he would return as he did in this volume. It seemed we got a bit more than a glimpse of the old Mark Seven a couple of times in the story. His memory returning almost shut him and the Movellans down, though. Davros' joy buzzer probably has contributed to completely submerging it for any future appearances.
As far as The First Son goes, what I'd really like to hear are River's stories before and after this so we know more of just what she thought she was doing. All the guessing about her was a bit distracting.
Regarding Anya, I am glad she made it through, though I was a bit disappointed that she was not returned to the time period where we saw her back in Volume 1. That was one of the goals of the whole series. I am looking forward to seeing her again whenever she does reappear.
Overall, another great series that leaves me wanting to hear more.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2021 6:33:01 GMT
Well i have cleared a few tales and will begin this tonight and am fair looking forward to the conclusion and i am sure i will enjoy it as one and two were very enjoyable but hey....we shall see.
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Post by Chakoteya on Oct 22, 2021 16:17:52 GMT
Just done Defence...
Oh, if only I had the time to go straight into Triumph!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2021 18:58:27 GMT
And now after taking an hour and a half to get home....we begin...i will probably fall asleep Well i may be knackered but i can still be a smart cookie and late to the table but {Spoiler} Kamen Vers-is MARK SEVEN so Mark is the creator of the Movellans? If I am wrong i will eat my tights .
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Post by johnhurtdoctor on Oct 22, 2021 18:59:20 GMT
And now after taking an hour and a half to get home....we begin...i will probably fall asleep Why didn't you listen to it on the way home?
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Post by johnhurtdoctor on Oct 22, 2021 19:15:37 GMT
Why didn't you listen to it on the way home? I was listening to country music 😘 and i like to listen on my CDS first Garth Brooks?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2021 19:44:56 GMT
First Son-Lizzie Hopley
action packed beginning and then it tends to feel a little slow and the whole River/Movellan tease maybe lasts a little too long. It is solidly entertaining though and never to question other peoples design choices if anything the Movellans do stand out and are fearless especially in going about their business. Anya also feels as if she has always been with Tennants Doctor and i wonder now which role Jane Slaven prefers now Ann or Anya?Good start though...onwards we go
its just not the same on download 😭 disc two wont play for some reason at moment so it’s iPad Pro listen to it with casing in hand lol am so materialistic i know and i must remember to not post two posts in a row and use the edit button 😂...see what i did there
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2021 5:52:23 GMT
Well the final two stories are finished and So Dalek Universe comes to an end.Definitely i would say as a whole a great success,action,adventure,twists and turns revelations.It is an interesting decision to make them three story sets and would have to say it is a lot tighter every story a necessity to the arc.I did enjoy the attachment Anya vocalises about {Spoiler} Mark Seven how humans can attach significant emotions to what is potentially an object ,same as the Doctor (non human) with K9 and many a man with his car
We aren’t given as to how this origin actually occurred and perhaps this isn’t really necessary but am sure it will be “mined” sometime. The family dynamics and the revisiting of Kembel all add to the depth of the tale and Terry as Davros shines as usual...Jane Slaven works so well with David Tennant that it would be a shame not to revisit the relationship at sometime in the future when an appropriate tale develops that requires it. I think though the main awards should go to David Tennant who takes up his old role and there is a more,i don’t know how to say focus on the action and drama than trying to show how great he is ,with less of the arrogance i found in his tv version.
The great thing about this series is it has constant replayable value for me its tight its action packed the characterisations are strong and there is very little in it to fault the little nods to the past are there as a TV show it would have made a fitting story for David to go out on than the long drawn out conclusion we got on TV(IMO).
Do I need more of Dalek Universe? not particularly but I definitely would enjoy another EPIC 3x3 run with David Tennant.
Am giving it 5
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mbt66
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Post by mbt66 on Oct 23, 2021 11:37:38 GMT
I have really enjoyed the Dalek Universe and really appreciated that the wait between the sets was much shorter than the usual. It made the series feel much more like an event.
I hope Big Finish adopt this shorter timeframe more often, perhaps they could do a feature release like this each year with a different Doctor(s) each time.
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Post by Chakoteya on Oct 25, 2021 15:59:25 GMT
And that's it. Good stuff and lovely bows tied on all the potential loose ends. The format was excellent and the overall storyline nice and coherent. Please, BF, do consider doing something similar again in future, with the releases just spread over 1 year, not 2 or 3.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 25, 2021 18:04:52 GMT
And that's it. Good stuff and lovely bows tied on all the potential loose ends. The format was excellent and the overall storyline nice and coherent. Please, BF, do consider doing something similar again in future, with the releases just spread over 1 year, not 2 or 3. I can understand releases taking so long to release i think the covid lockdowns probably made this a faster release with the actors not being able to go about their usual work as would be normal but tight three episode sets did keep this fresh and tight and made a better product perhaps
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Post by Chakoteya on Oct 26, 2021 10:58:47 GMT
And that's it. Good stuff and lovely bows tied on all the potential loose ends. The format was excellent and the overall storyline nice and coherent. Please, BF, do consider doing something similar again in future, with the releases just spread over 1 year, not 2 or 3. I can understand releases taking so long to release i think the covid lockdowns probably made this a faster release with the actors not being able to go about their usual work as would be normal but tight three episode sets did keep this fresh and tight and made a better product perhaps It would require a longer lead-in with all 9+ scripts ready to go when the actors become available either to come into the studio for several days or do remote recording, but as BF have said they don't like to announce things until they have them 'in the can' anyway, and the encroaching move to download only would do away with physical production issues, it would mean they could grab the audience that don't like to wait for stuff and get the full set pre-orders in fairly quickly.
It may be the standard in a few years, Who knows?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 26, 2021 11:18:20 GMT
I can understand releases taking so long to release i think the covid lockdowns probably made this a faster release with the actors not being able to go about their usual work as would be normal but tight three episode sets did keep this fresh and tight and made a better product perhaps It would require a longer lead-in with all 9+ scripts ready to go when the actors become available either to come into the studio for several days or do remote recording, but as BF have said they don't like to announce things until they have them 'in the can' anyway, and the encroaching move to download only would do away with physical production issues, it would mean they could grab the audience that don't like to wait for stuff and get the full set pre-orders in fairly quickly.
It may be the standard in a few years, Who knows?
I hope not that CDs dont yet become a thing of the past. All the recent Cd sales means folks still buy them its just the cost of storage that is probably high too.I will accept download only when there becomes no alternative.Especially since there is no GIFT option on the website.
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Post by johnhurtdoctor on Oct 26, 2021 11:33:50 GMT
It would require a longer lead-in with all 9+ scripts ready to go when the actors become available either to come into the studio for several days or do remote recording, but as BF have said they don't like to announce things until they have them 'in the can' anyway, and the encroaching move to download only would do away with physical production issues, it would mean they could grab the audience that don't like to wait for stuff and get the full set pre-orders in fairly quickly.
It may be the standard in a few years, Who knows?
I hope not that CDs dont yet become a thing of the past. All the recent Cd sales means folks still buy them its just the cost of storage that is probably high too.I will accept download only when there becomes no alternative.Especially since there is no GIFT option on the website. I can imagine them moving to download only in the next couple years.
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