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Post by mark687 on May 31, 2022 23:21:03 GMT
The Spoiler Theory I have on the Backstory Everlyn may've stayed longer on Earth after "and the Pirates" and may've met UNIT or a future Doctor with a more sophisticated version of The Space Time Telegraph which she gave Students access to without telling 6th an intriguing premise Regards mark687
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Post by sherlock on Jun 1, 2022 9:42:43 GMT
I try to only buy things on sale and I still spend way too much. Kinda regret grabbing Water Worlds, though. I'm at the halfway point, and wow. The actors are all giving it their all... but these scripts ain't great. I do like Hebe, though (after being rather one-note in the first story, it was great fun seeing her immediately get super flirty with the fishman. She also has good chemistry with the Doctor and Mel, when she's allowed to be a character, at least (oh boy oh boy will I have a lot to say in that when i get to writing up my final thoughts). That said, I think Big Finish kind of shot themselves in the foot by with her. Hebe is stuck forever inside of Mel's tenure as companion. It just seems... unnecessarily limiting. I think it would've been cool to slowly build up a new TARDIS team for Colin Baker's Doctor, like they've been able to do with McGann's, untethered from the TV show's continuity. ... Anyway, I'm popping in here prematurely because I have a question. Well, several, actually, but only one that matters. Basically... I'm confused on Evelyn's role in Hebe's backstory. I though that {Spoiler} Evelyn left the TARDIS to get married to that one guy on that one planet, and spent the rest of her life there. Did she go back to Earth? I vaguely remember the 7th Doctor visiting her on her deathbed, but did that scene occur on Earth? What exactly happened with her? Or is the implication rather that Evelyn did the Amy Pond thing a d was working as a tutor in-between TARDIS excursions? {Spoiler} I think the implication is that she left such devices with her students after the close call in Doctor Who and the Pirates, where she only knew what Sally was planning because she happened to be home to stumble on her note.
Plus it would be very in-keeping with Evelyn’s character to insist that in-between jaunts in the TARDIS, she keep her tutoring going.
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Post by bonehead on Jun 1, 2022 17:43:32 GMT
I think The Rotting Deep is an excellent title. The story I found to be a mixed bag - perhaps that is to be expected with a two-parter that introduces us to a new companion. How to put this? I found the first episode featured the best moments of the story, and the second featured the best moments of Hebe. To begin with, I feared that everyone had always to be lining up to apologise for saying something insensitive to her (especially dear old Mel). Careful analysis of the dialogue and promotional blurb for this set leads me to believe Hebe may be a wheelchair user. I'm being sarcastic of course - but a little more subtlety would have been nice. I did feel as if the point was being clumsily over-stated. Happily, part two revealed to us Hebe's actual character - and she became likeable and, well, real.
The set up was better than the main thrust of the story, I thought. Some of the characters were rather over-the-top, although I did like the crusty old Ancient Mariner character. He's played by James Smilie who was not only a regular on Prisoner Cell Block H, but also popped up on The Tomorrow People back in the 70s amongst many other things (two of my favourites shows) - unless there are two James Smillies. Nice to see him working for Big Finish. The whodunnit element of the story was a little late in arriving, but gave Colin and Bonnie some good deducing to do.
The star of this, though, is Steve Foxon, who did the sound design and music. He's been with Big Finish a while and has managed to produce here some really immersive stuff, the kind of soundscape I was hoping for in a set called Water Worlds.
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Post by sherlock on Jun 2, 2022 10:55:53 GMT
I tried The Dream Nexus but just couldn’t get into it so gave up 20 minutes in. It just didn’t seem to have anything to offer beyond the usual tropes of “hostile alien planet, human soldiers”. I’ll give it another go some other time I think.
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Post by bonehead on Jun 2, 2022 16:19:04 GMT
1.2 The Tides of the Moon by Joshua Pruett.
This was a little like the latter part of The Rotting Deep. Whereas Hebe continues to appeal as the new, and probably Doctor Who's most apologised-to, companion, the story itself is pretty average. It reminds me a lot of those tales we used to get in Doctor Who annuals - really nice settings but nothing hugely special beyond that. That's alright, though - it's strange that 'water worlds' have been so sparingly used over the years, so its good that we visit such locations here. Lots of scope for Steve Foxon's further expert exertions into rolling tides and the like, if not massively scintilating drama. The 9DAs prove that a single-disc (or a two-part) story doesn't need to do without relatable personalities, but this story is peopled by characters who simply talk about themselves and their situations - understandable then that their personality is not what Hebe finds desirable! Also, Big Finish and Bonnie Langford have done wonders with the character of Mel, but I feel she's being undermined to bring Hebe's traits to the fore.
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Post by tuigirl on Jun 7, 2022 17:07:25 GMT
So finally I listened to this! Well, what can I say? The first story, "Rotting Deep" is absolutely fantastic and one of the most original, fresh and interesting stories BF have done in a while. The box set is with it just for this story. I cannot give higher praise than that.
Hebe, the new wheelchair bound companion is a great idea and well executed. She is a strong character who stands her ground and she is highly intelligent. She also manages to be different from the very frequent strong female companions we had so far. Well done!
As for the other two stories in this set, they are more average stories and pretty much what we are used to by BF by now. Sadly, these types of stories all somehow bleed into one, at least for me. But at least the first story is an absolute blast. I first thought it would go down the road of Hitchcock's "The birds" but then took a very different road.
I have not yet listened to the audio book.
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Post by elkawho on Jun 8, 2022 11:07:32 GMT
So finally I listened to this! Well, what can I say? The first story, "Rotting Deep" is absolutely fantastic and one of the most original, fresh and interesting stories BF have done in a while. The box set is with it just for this story. I cannot give higher praise than that. Hebe, the new wheelchair bound companion is a great idea and well executed. She is a strong character who stands her ground and she is highly intelligent. She also manages to be different from the very frequent strong female companions we had so far. Well done! As for the other two stories in this set, they are more average stories and pretty much what we are used to by BF by now. Sadly, these types of stories all somehow bleed into one, at least for me. But at least the first story is an absolute blast. I first thought it would go down the road of Hitchcock's "The birds" but then took a very different road. I have not yet listened to the audio book. So interesting since I had the exact opposite take on this boxset. I hated the first story, barely made it through, and I though each story got stronger. Another example of how two people can hear the same story and take away completely different things. Glad you enjoyed it!
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Post by Kestrel on Jun 8, 2022 16:25:19 GMT
So finally I listened to this! Well, what can I say? The first story, "Rotting Deep" is absolutely fantastic and one of the most original, fresh and interesting stories BF have done in a while. The box set is with it just for this story. I cannot give higher praise than that. Hebe, the new wheelchair bound companion is a great idea and well executed. She is a strong character who stands her ground and she is highly intelligent. She also manages to be different from the very frequent strong female companions we had so far. Well done! As for the other two stories in this set, they are more average stories and pretty much what we are used to by BF by now. Sadly, these types of stories all somehow bleed into one, at least for me. But at least the first story is an absolute blast. I first thought it would go down the road of Hitchcock's "The birds" but then took a very different road. I have not yet listened to the audio book. So interesting since I had the exact opposite take on this boxset. I hated the first story, barely made it through, and I though each story got stronger. Another example of how two people can hear the same story and take away completely different things. Glad you enjoyed it! Now there's a fence I can sit on! I'll be writing up my thoughts in whole soon enough, but I kind of agree with both of you. Usually letting a story rest for a bit and giving yourself some distance provides clarity... but with Water Worlds I keep waffling between thinking I'm being overly critical (especially of that first story) and overly lenient. I just cannot seem to find the right balance.
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Post by Chakoteya on Jun 18, 2022 9:09:47 GMT
Tides was an interesting take on the prehistory of our little double-planet system... But this box set is taking me ages to get through, because every time I settle down with a nice cup of tea to listen... after 5 minutes the water sound effects have me hitting pause and dashing for the loo. Hey ho.
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Post by Chakoteya on Jun 21, 2022 8:37:31 GMT
Maelstrom...
Probably the weakest of the lot for me, and plenty to dislike. The sea creatures get very short shrift, but at least we got Nimmy March playing 3 characters.
(Go search her if you don't already know, she's got a lovely family history.)
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Post by bonehead on Jun 29, 2022 10:22:53 GMT
1.3 Maelstrom by Jonathan Morris.
Finally got round to listening to this, which might tell you how I felt about this set. 'Pleasant' is the word that comes to me for some reason. The stories are okay, but nothing special. Hebe emerges as being rather lovely, as does her relationship with Mel and The Doctor - but I'm not sure Colin needs another companion. Couldn't one of the others have met Hebe? That said, it's always great to hear from Old Sixie, although I'm not sure this set does him many favours in terms of drama or excitement. Perhaps it was a mistake listening to this set after Wink, which, apart from featuring classic villains, was a fast and pacy, exciting tale with plenty of enjoyable quieter moments. Water Worlds, which I still think is a great title and setting for these stories, doesn't really compete. I think this was my favourite story.
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Post by tuigirl on Jun 29, 2022 17:53:15 GMT
1.3 Maelstrom by Jonathan Morris.
Finally got round to listening to this, which might tell you how I felt about this set. 'Pleasant' is the word that comes to me for some reason. The stories are okay, but nothing special. Hebe emerges as being rather lovely, as does her relationship with Mel and The Doctor - but I'm not sure Colin needs another companion. Couldn't one of the others have met Hebe? That said, it's always great to hear from Old Sixie, although I'm not sure this set does him many favours in terms of drama or excitement. Perhaps it was a mistake listening to this set after Wink, which, apart from featuring classic villains, was a fast and pacy, exciting tale with plenty of enjoyable quieter moments. Water Worlds, which I still think is a great title and setting for these stories, doesn't really compete. I think this was my favourite story.
To be frank. Hardly anything out this year has so far competed with Wink.
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Post by bonehead on Jun 29, 2022 19:51:02 GMT
1.3 Maelstrom by Jonathan Morris.
Finally got round to listening to this, which might tell you how I felt about this set. 'Pleasant' is the word that comes to me for some reason. The stories are okay, but nothing special. Hebe emerges as being rather lovely, as does her relationship with Mel and The Doctor - but I'm not sure Colin needs another companion. Couldn't one of the others have met Hebe? That said, it's always great to hear from Old Sixie, although I'm not sure this set does him many favours in terms of drama or excitement. Perhaps it was a mistake listening to this set after Wink, which, apart from featuring classic villains, was a fast and pacy, exciting tale with plenty of enjoyable quieter moments. Water Worlds, which I still think is a great title and setting for these stories, doesn't really compete. I think this was my favourite story.
To be frank. Hardly anything out this year has so far competed with Wink.
I agree, but that is because Wink is so good, not because other output is so bad (in my view!). Water Worlds, I felt, is pretty underwhelming.
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Post by mrperson on Jul 19, 2022 18:15:01 GMT
Ok, I didn't notice the "Interlude" extra content until just now, so this is only based on the first three. But... it's largely a "meh" from me, and an example of why I prefer the two-hour format. Each of these episodes had a reveal/resolution that felt too rushed and shaky for me.
The characters in "The Rotting Deep" generally irritated the hell out of me, and that plot just doesn't make sense. They're somewhere around 2000, and phytoplankton is so toxic that desalinating it and doing nothing more will turn you psychotic? Bleh.
The Tides of the Moon was going fine until it got near the end and everything had to be wrapped up very quickly thanks to the one-hour format. The wrap-up was one of the more difficult to swallow explanations I've listened to. Earth's center of gravity shifting because it's still forming wouldn't bring the moon closer to it, for one thing, and there just wasn't any sort of *why* as to how those particular gravity fluctuations caused the populace to regress to some earlier form in their evolution. This is sci-fantasy, but I tend not to like the farthest-out stuff.
Maelstrom? It was a bit better, but still felt rather rushed towards the end. (And I wasn't entirely sold on the idea of failed experiments to transfer stored memories into animal brains created some kind of psychic monster, but I suppose it's not all that far from the usual sci-fantasy reach).
But overall, meh. I also agree about the rather on-the-nose approach to Hebe.
I do like the increased use of curses-but-not-curses. "What the flood?" Might as well just go for it and have people say "smeg" in another story.
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Post by ollychops on Dec 1, 2022 19:45:37 GMT
So… finally finished this set and unfortunately wasn’t taken by it at all. Found all of the stories to be bland and forgettable, not even Sixie/Colin could help improve them. Might be my least favourite Six run at BF.
Not sure that the two-part format helps these stories either. They might be slightly improved if they had more time to breathe.
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Post by tuigirl on Dec 3, 2022 12:59:09 GMT
Finished the Dream Nexus. Since this was a freebie coming with Water Worlds, I cannot be overly critical. I like the performance, but the "Sixie voice" needs work. It sounds more like the 2nd Doctor. The story it self is a bit standard, but fun enough and would actually have been fun if done as a full cast drama. I liked that both Mel and Hebe are used to the advantages of the respective character, especially since Mel gets to use her skill as a computer programmer.
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Post by mark687 on Feb 19, 2023 16:08:15 GMT
Regards
mark687
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Post by thegreendeath on May 29, 2023 20:44:54 GMT
I just picked this up last week as I was put off a bit by the generally so-so reviews and didn't love the secondary characters in the first episode that was sent to newsletter subscribers. I've now listened to "The Rotting Dead" twice and have to say that I loved it. Having a little of a break from Big Finish I think made me a lot more engaged and able to enjoy the secondary characters for the silly fun they brought. Hebe meanwhile was a great character and had a few lines that were really funny, especially when winding up Mel. And that last little bit where the connection was made between her and a previous character was beautifully written and performed.
I'll also just comment further about taking a break. I find in general whenever I start feeling burnt on Big Finish, I take a few months off (I've really only listened to 40 part 2 and Kaleidoscope in 2023) and it works a treat to remind me why I love them. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that.
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Post by thegreendeath on Jun 19, 2023 23:32:31 GMT
Slowly worked my way through this. Overall the Rotting Deep was my favorite. I’ve listened to both it and Tides of the Moon twice (Tides benefited greatly from a second listen), but only Maelstrom and Dream Nexus once. Tides was thoroughly entertaining though the core ideas were pretty simple, whereas Maelstrom was a brilliant idea (the limited bodies shared by multiple consciousness) in an okay story. Really hope it comes alive on second listen.
Time Nexus was also quite good and well integrated with the set. I remember being disappointed that the interlude for 40 wasn’t part of the ongoing storyline for the sets. Overall, thought the set was well worth my time and money.
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Post by thegreendeath on Jun 23, 2023 4:38:12 GMT
Listening to Maelstrom again, I’m struck by how good the ideas and script are but how the editing and music undercut them in ways that made it hard to stay engaged with the story. The languid music would work a great for a slow creeping thriller, but it’s well out of place in this sort of piece. This is a story that demands that the soundtrack move with the action, to rises and falls on cue, instead it just sort lingers unrelated to the story beats.
As for the editing, this story screams out for a few quick cuts but instead of giving it that, the strange choice is made to let there be a moment of dead air. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the cliffhangers.
I feel a little sorry for the author, who really does pull out one of the better ideas for a story in recent memory but is hamstrung from factors outside their control. I should also say that the cast lend uniformly excellent performances but are hindered by the leaden editing and music choices.
I gave it a 3/5 but it could have been a 5 with a little more craft and care in the post production.
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