|
Post by thewatcher on Mar 20, 2022 10:48:16 GMT
Blood of the timelords was quite boring story and James Dreyfus (a nasty man anyway) was bad a very cliche version of the master and the whole story had lots of cliche
|
|
|
Post by elkawho on Mar 20, 2022 14:44:47 GMT
I loved almost every second of both of these stories, the only exception being the end of Blood of the Timelords. I had to go back and listen to it again because I thought I missed something. It just kind of ended. But the performances were excellent. I loved James Dreyfus in this. He was wonderful and I did not pick up that he was so many characters. Maybe I can separate the actor from the character better than some, but I really did enjoy his performance.
I love every performance that I've ever seen or heard from Annette Badland, so there's no surprise that I loved her in this. (Most recently. her role in Ted Lasso is a gift.) Emma Noakes was terrific as Elanora. I like that they cast an actress who sounds so young on audio for a part of a very old Timelord. It works so very well for her character arc. I love Timothy X. Attack's writing and hope to hear more from him in the future.
The Ravencliff Witch was fantastic from beginning to end. Every character worked, and Tom seemed to be having a great time with both of these stories. Highly recommended to anyone on the fence about buying them.
|
|
|
Post by bonehead on Mar 20, 2022 16:39:03 GMT
Was it Jonathan Rigby or Mark Gatiss who came up with the term ‘folk horror?’ I’m delighted to say it’s become ‘quite the thing.’ Anyway onto The Ravencliff Witch (Ravencliff is a name that just reeks ‘sinister’): they say that lightning doesn’t strike twice, and yet here is another absolute cracker of a story. Rich with atmosphere, pauses before … revelations, spooky stories, and a reuniting of Holmes and Watson (well, Nick Briggs and Richard Earle).
Whenever the Doctor makes a friend over the age of, shall we say 50, comparisons are instantly made with the lovely Evelyn Smythe, and yet Nerys Hughes is so delightful as Margaret Hopwood, she’s instantly a very welcome character in her own right. Hughes is exceptional in Torchwood, but Hopwood is a very different character – I was expecting someone more light-hearted, which shows how limited my imagination is – a very pleasant surprise. Her chemistry with Tom – who is also on top form – is instantly wonderful. This is a wonderfully atmospheric piece, and it gets quite dark in places. The style reminds me of Jon Pertwee’s second series, which is no bad thing. I had a ball with this – every character is nicely written and played and I know I’ll return to this more than once. Both stories make great use of the four-episode format. One of the best 4DA box-sets yet in my view.
|
|
|
Post by thewatcher on Mar 20, 2022 17:03:27 GMT
Was it Jonathan Rigby or Mark Gatiss who came up with the term ‘folk horror?’ I’m delighted to say it’s become ‘quite the thing.’ It was Piers Haggard
|
|
|
Post by bonehead on Mar 20, 2022 17:24:17 GMT
Was it Jonathan Rigby or Mark Gatiss who came up with the term ‘folk horror?’ I’m delighted to say it’s become ‘quite the thing.’ It was Piers Haggard I can't believe I've looked this up. The English Journal referred to superstition and 'folk horror' in their pages in 1936. Shirley Jackson's The Lottery was described in The Irish Times as 'arguably the most influential North American folk horror text' in 1948.
Piers Haggard's Blood on Satan's Claw certainly remains one of the best examples though.
Here ends today's lesson!
|
|
|
Post by thewatcher on Mar 20, 2022 17:40:19 GMT
I can't believe I've looked this up. The English Journal referred to superstition and 'folk horror' in their pages in 1936. Shirley Jackson's The Lottery was described in The Irish Times as 'arguably the most influential North American folk horror text' in 1948.
Piers Haggard's Blood on Satan's Claw certainly remains one of the best examples though.
Here ends today's lesson!
ok cool i looked and found Piers in old horror mag from 2003 i have read the lottery very good short story
|
|
|
Post by shallacatop on Mar 21, 2022 19:46:54 GMT
I feel as though I don’t have as much to say as I usually do (hooray?) for The Ravencliff Witch, but I absolutely loved it. One of those productions where everyone and everything is firing on all cylinders. I loved Margaret and can’t wait for her return, although I’m actually disappointed that she’ll be sharing running time with Leela she’s that good!
Great set, loved Tom on his own and cant wait for the second volume.
|
|
|
Post by tuigirl on Mar 21, 2022 19:51:28 GMT
Since this gets such high praise, I decided to give this a go. Let's see what I think....
|
|
|
Post by Audio Watchdog on Mar 22, 2022 13:54:04 GMT
I’ll echo pretty much everyone else by saying what an enjoyable 4th Doctor box set. The first story was a great bookend to the TV story which would have preceded in 4’s timeline and the second story was a great mixture of Bob Holmes, Nigel Kneale & P.J. Hammond. I loved the introduction of 4’s soon-to-be-companion Margaret Hopwood. My only nitpick was having Nick play two parts where it was so clearly him in both. Otherwise, this was top drawer Who & Big Finish.
|
|
|
Post by Chakoteya on Mar 22, 2022 14:06:20 GMT
Can't help wondering when they got Tom to do that gosh-pathetic intro for them... Wouldn't have been when these were recorded, I'm sure. Blood: - loud, silly OTT Time Lord stuff. Welcome to L-Space, I thought all librarians knew about that. Ook!
|
|
|
Post by tuigirl on Mar 22, 2022 21:23:17 GMT
Finished Blood of The Timelords. I liked it. It was very well performed. To judge this, you need to ask yourself- what could you do with an adventure that has a small cast, is set at a library and has a semi-mythological monster somewhere and of course (!!) some running around the bookshelves? (sound familiar? ) Well? For this limited scope of things, this works out very well and is maybe the best they could get out of it. They also added some Timelord sprinkle (so a huge library is basically a Gallifreyan retirement home?). It is not perfect, however. This is not "Silence in the Library". Still, for what it is, very good. I also liked the Master in this. He appears to be some kind of curious mix of Beevers and Ainley. He works well for me, although he does quite reach the levels of Beevers and Jacobi. So yes, this purchase was already worth it for me. Now I am curious about meeting this witch.
|
|
|
Post by tuigirl on Mar 23, 2022 19:56:17 GMT
Ravencliff Witch. Well, this certainly has great pacing and flawless, engaging performances. The main characters were well developed and likeable. Setting was great, seashore, light house, mysterious power station... The story itself however was rather typical Who style. I admit I had expected a bit more. But by no means a bad story. I just would have expected a bit more atmosphere and mystery and dread. A bit more "Horror of Fang Rock" if you will.
Instead, well, it just comes down to the usual suspects and a lot of technobabble.
|
|
|
Post by ollychops on Mar 29, 2022 20:32:12 GMT
As someone who has found the Big Finish Fourth Doctor output to be a bit middling (but Tom always putting in a stellar performance and raising the material) aside from a few exceptions, I have to say that I think Blood of the Time Lords might be one of my favourite Fourth Doctor stories from Big Finish. It had such a great gothic atmosphere and the guest cast were all on fine form (even Dreyfus, whose Master I felt was served really well here, which is ironic given it's his last outing...). I think the only negative is, like elkawho said, there's not much of a resolution in the final episode, it just kind of stopped before the Doctor gave a quick rundown of what happened which was a slight damper on an otherwise brilliant story.
On to the Ravencliff Witch now...
|
|
|
Post by Chakoteya on Mar 31, 2022 13:50:48 GMT
Seagull droppings = near the coast?!?!?!? ROTFLMAO!!! Gulls can be found everywhere in the UK that there are easy food pickings - used to be just landfill sites even in the Midlands, now it's most High Streets with fast food shops!
|
|
|
Post by grinch on Mar 31, 2022 14:12:35 GMT
Seagull droppings = near the coast?!?!?!? ROTFLMAO!!! Gulls can be found everywhere in the UK that there are easy food pickings - used to be just landfill sites even in the Midlands, now it's most High Streets with fast food shops! Oh yeah, seagulls can be ravenous. I know someone who swears blind he once saw a flock of them strip an entire discarded turkey to the bone.
|
|
|
Post by Chakoteya on Mar 31, 2022 16:27:47 GMT
Finished listening. Ravencliffe was a good one.
Of course, I kept seeing Dungeness as the power station, and the surviving sound reflectors are at Greatstone Lake on Romney Marsh between the airport and the holiday camp. So, well located geographically too, right in Tom's back yard almost.
|
|
|
Post by Ian McArdell on Apr 11, 2022 8:37:34 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Digi on Apr 13, 2022 12:46:45 GMT
Struggled a little bit with Blood of the Time Lords....I wouldn't say it was bad, all the elements of a great story were there, but I do think the runtime did the story a disservice. Had it been a 2- or even 3-parter, it would have been much tighter and not felt like it was dragging quite so often.
The Ravencliff Witch -- fabulous story. Somehow simultaneously low-key and exciting, I thought this one was a note-perfect "Tom-era" story, the sort of thing I could imagine with no effort at all happening on my TV screen.
|
|
mbt66
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 3,081
|
Post by mbt66 on Apr 15, 2022 12:23:01 GMT
Blood of the Time Lords was Bloody Brilliant!
I loved the setting and the characters…you can never have too many villains. But the greatest of all was The Master.
I can understand why Big Finish created a new incarnation, because the story warranted it. And Big Finish made the perfect casting choice, because James Dreyfus was perfect.
I wasn’t impressed with him in The Destination Wars, but in this he excelled.
Just based in this performance (so please don’t shout at me) it is such a shame we won’t hear any more of his Master.
|
|
|
Post by theillusiveman on Apr 15, 2022 12:36:46 GMT
Blood of the Time Lords was Bloody Brilliant! I loved the setting and the characters…you can never have too many villains. But the greatest of all was The Master. I can understand why Big Finish created a new incarnation, because the story warranted it. And Big Finish made the perfect casting choice, because James Dreyfus was perfect. I wasn’t impressed with him in The Destination Wars, but in this he excelled. Just based in this performance (so please don’t shout at me) it is such a shame we won’t hear any more of his Master. Completely agree it’s such a shame that Bf won’t bring him back But Atleast Dreyfus went out with a good story with Blood of the time lords than The Psychic Circus
|
|