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Post by antartiks on Jan 20, 2022 12:21:07 GMT
Can we get a poll please? I apologize, I wasn't here yesterday to edit the topic. I've added the poll.
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Post by sherlock on Jan 20, 2022 17:54:01 GMT
Eclipse was also just alright. It’s nothing revelatory and really not surprising in its twists, but McGann and Fisher keep things lively.
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Post by Max The Autist on Jan 21, 2022 1:55:40 GMT
All in all I'm rather disappointed but not to the point I was with the further adventures of Lucie Miller box set. It wasn't a bad time, really, but the stories tended to fall apart at the end. All of these stories had some SERIOUS potential to be much better as 4 parters rather than 2 parters. Also, we need to stop letting Nick write stories flat out. He is so hit or miss, but the worst thing is that his misses tend to be mediocre which honestly is worse than them being horrible because at least you can rant about horrible stories. Still the Orion one was good. Aside from the mummy story they're all 8/10's for me. Mummy is 7/10 leaning HARD to 6/10 but not quite there. Not a bad time, Writhing Mass is the best story with Eclipse as a close second. I wish they had more time to work with, all of these stories needed more time to be REALLY good (if Mummy could have been). Definitely worth it if you like Charlie. Also we now need a Gee and 8 box set. They gave 4 story ideas as well! I am SO in need of 8 and a gorilla traveling through time together XD
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Post by sherlock on Jan 21, 2022 17:49:10 GMT
The Slaying of the Writhing Mass was a much needed step up. It knows exactly what tone it’s going for and just embraces the chaos that ensues.
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Post by sherlock on Jan 22, 2022 12:17:56 GMT
Heart of Orion
Erm, didn’t Deeva die in Sword of Orion saving Charley by giving her a life support system, not saving the Doctor? I thought I was misremembering the first time the claim she saved the Doctor came up here but I checked wiki second time it came up and they back me up there. This seems a pretty fundamental error so did Deeva give the Doctor oxygen at another point in Sword that I’ve forgotten? EDIT-Nick Briggs even repeats this claim in the behind the scenes and then they play a clip from Sword proving she actually saved Charley! What?!
Anyway I though this was a story of two parts really. Halfway through the first part it all seemed to be Eclipse-style predictable, which the not-surprising cliffhanger didn’t help, but part 2 actually threw in some decent twists. It’s kinda nice to have an Orion War story which is devoid of Cybermen and more about android identity.
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Post by mark687 on Jan 22, 2022 12:21:59 GMT
One slight disappointment surprised there was no YouTube Trailer made for this?
Regards
mark687
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Post by mark687 on Jan 22, 2022 12:26:15 GMT
Heart of OrionErm, didn’t Deeva die in Sword of Orion saving Charley by giving her a life support system, not saving the Doctor? I thought I was misremembering the first time the claim she saved the Doctor came up here but I checked wiki second time it came up and they back me up there. This seems a pretty fundamental error so did Deeva give the Doctor oxygen at another point in Sword that I’ve forgotten? EDIT-Nick Briggs even repeats this claim in the behind the scenes and then they play a clip from Sword proving she actually saved Charley! What?!
Anyway I though this was a story of two parts really. Halfway through the first part it all seemed to be Eclipse-style predictable, which the not-surprising cliffhanger didn’t help, but part 2 actually threw in some decent twists. It’s kinda nice to have an Orion War which is devoid of Cybermen and more about android identity. Yes anyone dare to write into the Podcast with this observation? LOL Regards mark687
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Post by The Matt on Jan 22, 2022 15:38:56 GMT
I didn’t think she died. Wasn’t she just left floating in space. I thought I remembered the Doctor telling Charlie that one day she maybe found and reactivated?
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Post by tuigirl on Jan 22, 2022 19:37:16 GMT
First- I do NOT like the new jingle for BF at the beginning. Cringe. Now. Just finished the first 3 stories. Hmm. Well, Charley is back. Yay. The performances are top notch, you cannot fault any of them. Especially of course the leads. It is great hearing them back, and this has been a fun ride. I feel well entertained. I do not know what I expected, honestly, these are good entertaining stories. But I get when some of you say that they feel disappointed. I am missing the "bang" I was expecting. These stories are just soooo.... standard. Maybe I am in the fandom too long? Have I heard everything by now?
The Mummy speaks- well, it is fun, I got a few great laughs out of it. But the twist the story revolves around? By now, knew if was coming before I had even pressed play. Also, yes, I LOVE meta jokes. I love fandom jokes, I like when pop-culture references itself and makes fun of itself. But I think this was laying it on a bit too thick. Some of the conversation was JUST pop-culture references firing at each other. Yes, it was clever, but.... maybe a bit too clever and too much all at once. But yeah, I did laugh, and Charley and the Doctor were great, so there is that.
Eclipse- I had not listened to a lot of BF recently. But still, from the few I did listen to. I still got a Deja Vu on this one. Yes, nice story, but I could never shake that voice at the back of my head reminding me that I heard something similar only just recently. Even with the 8th Doctor in it. Vibe, atmosphere, near similar setting. I wonder who made the choice to have another story like this in this set? Again, on it's own, not a bad story. You cannot praise the lead actors enough for their performance. Fun. But not much more to it. Also- the sledgehammer environmental message. I worked in wildlife research. I was part of the ecology department at uni. I embrace green, and I love insects. But honestly? Even I thought that was laying it on too thick. Yes, I got the message. No use rubbing my nose in the tree sap anymore, thank you.
Slaying of the Writhing Mass- this one is more original and plays about with some of the Doctor Who tropes and time travel tropes and it also goes quite meta with it. It stays fresh and is well written, and there are several funny, exciting and wonderful scenes in it. But again, the resolution is pretty much clear from the start.
Am I too critical? Yes, I enjoyed myself, but none of these stories are a revelation or close to becoming classics. Yes, maybe hoping for a second "Seasons of Fear" was a bit much to hope for. But still, I expected at least slightly better than what we got....
So far, I think this is on par with the Lucie Miller set.
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Post by sherlock on Jan 22, 2022 20:29:58 GMT
First- I do NOT like the new jingle for BF at the beginning. Cringe. Now. Just finished the first 3 stories. Hmm. Well, Charley is back. Yay. The performances are top notch, you cannot fault any of them. Especially of course the leads. It is great hearing them back, and this has been a fun ride. I feel well entertained. I do not know what I expected, honestly, these are good entertaining stories. But I get when some of you say that they feel disappointed. I am missing the "bang" I was expecting. These stories are just soooo.... standard. Maybe I am in the fandom too long? Have I heard everything by now?The Mummy speaks- well, it is fun, I got a few great laughs out of it. But the twist the story revolves around? By now, knew if was coming before I had even pressed play. Also, yes, I LOVE meta jokes. I love fandom jokes, I like when pop-culture references itself and makes fun of itself. But I think this was laying it on a bit too thick. Some of the conversation was JUST pop-culture references firing at each other. Yes, it was clever, but.... maybe a bit too clever and too much all at once. But yeah, I did laugh, and Charley and the Doctor were great, so there is that. Eclipse- I had not listened to a lot of BF recently. But still, from the few I did listen to. I still got a Deja Vu on this one. Yes, nice story, but I could never shake that voice at the back of my head reminding me that I heard something similar only just recently. Even with the 8th Doctor in it. Vibe, atmosphere, near similar setting. I wonder who made the choice to have another story like this in this set? Again, on it's own, not a bad story. You cannot praise the lead actors enough for their performance. Fun. But not much more to it. Also- the sledgehammer environmental message. I worked in wildlife research. I was part of the ecology department at uni. I embrace green, and I love insects. But honestly? Even I thought that was laying it on too thick. Yes, I got the message. No use rubbing my nose in the tree sap anymore, thank you. Slaying of the Writhing Mass- this one is more original and plays about with some of the Doctor Who tropes and time travel tropes and it also goes quite meta with it. It stays fresh and is well written, and there are several funny, exciting and wonderful scenes in it. But again, the resolution is pretty much clear from the start. Am I too critical? Yes, I enjoyed myself, but none of these stories are a revelation or close to becoming classics. Yes, maybe hoping for a second "Seasons of Fear" was a bit much to hope for. But still, I expected at least slightly better than what we got.... So far, I think this is on par with the Lucie Miller set. This was exactly how I felt. These stories just felt so…meh by and large. I don’t think there was anything bad about them per se, just very so-so. They filled their time and the performances were good, but I really doubt I’ll ever give them a second thought really. Which is a shame given how trailblazing the original Eight/Charley run was. I do wonder if I just need a break from Who for a bit. I might throw myself back into Big Finish’s Sherlock Holmes material.
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Post by tuigirl on Jan 22, 2022 20:40:47 GMT
These stories are just soooo.... standard. Maybe I am in the fandom too long? Have I heard everything by now? This was exactly how I felt. These stories just felt so…meh by and large. I don’t think there was anything bad about them per se, just very so-so. They filled their time and the performances were good, but I really doubt I’ll ever give them a second thought really. Which is a shame given how trailblazing the original Eight/Charley run was. I do wonder if I just need a break from Who for a bit. I might throw myself back into Big Finish’s Sherlock Holmes material. I am so happy I am not the only one feeling this way. Thank you!
I was just missing that spark. Spark like in conversations like "I have been to an orgy once." -"Charlotte Pollard!" - "I didn't stay." Stuff like this, instead of doing several scenes of incredibly clever pop-culture references.
I actually made another thread, in the general section, where I tried to put in words what has been bothering me with the latest releases.
Just so we do not take up any space here.
I also do not think it is native to BF or Who, in general.
We went through a phase like this in my German audio series. Which they, Thank God!, have now limited to the live stage shows, and the audio plays are mostly just stories. On their own. Without the weight of meta self-referencing.
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Post by Whovitt on Jan 23, 2022 1:04:42 GMT
Perhaps unsurprisingly, I'm here to add my voice to the underwhelmed crowd. I agree that McGann and Fisher were on good form here (and India didn't seem to be squeaking any more, which is something I remember happening for a while there), but I found every script to be a bit lacking. (Full spoilers below, so read on at your own risk)
The Mummy Speaks! I've become very wary of any script with Alan Barnes' name on it after Anti-Genesis. The over-reliance on recycling old dialogue in that was beyond frustrating for me, but it at least had me more prepared for this story than I otherwise would have been. The constant call backs to City of Death got pretty aggravating for me. Yes, we get it, the Doctor's been in Paris before. MOVE ON! I didn't mind the reference to The Reign of Terror though, if only because it broke up the monotony of the CoD ones. And then there was the gorilla... I HATE that kind of "humour" in Doctor Who. I don't think it's funny at all, and it obliterates any level of verisimilitude a story might otherwise have for me. As to the plot, I guess it was alright. "Sentient bug swarm" doesn't feel like a very original idea though, and inhabiting the bodies of dead humans certainly isn't.
Eclipse Several Who cliches rolled into one, with a complete rip-off of the end of Planet of the Ood to boot. It was obvious right from the get-go that the authorities were behind the disappearances and that the Eclipse was just misunderstood. The eco-friendly theme felt like I was being beaten to death with a tree (ha ha, ironic, no?). Our main guest star was boring and the villain completely one-note. I'd say this story might have benefitted from an extra episode or two, but that would have been purely for character-related purposes. The plot certainly didn't need to be longer than it was (which I mean as a good thing; it didn't outstay its welcome). I have one question though: where did the wounded moth the Doctor flew away on come from? Charley was threatened and taken away, and then he happened upon our boring guest star (honestly can't remember his name) who happened to know where a wounded moth was. I never got any sense of how that came to be. One the positive side, there was a joke I loved from this one - the Doctor eats some sap and says it's bad; a few seconds later, he continues complaining and Charley tells him he should stop it eating it then. Funnier in context than written out like that, but it was a highlight of the story.
The Slaying of the Writhing Mass Not only did this story play the ridiculously predictable "there's a character in a mask, so we 'don't know' who it could possibly be, only for it be a character we already know" trope, but it plays it TWICE!!! The first wasn't a surprise, so why the hell would the second be? I know people have been saying this story was a step up for this set, but I don't agree with that at all. If anything, it's a step down. If they'd pulled this trope once, I'd say it was on par with the other stories, but pulling it twice was just pointless. Honestly, the rest of the story hasn't stuck with me at all. I was too disappointed by the repeated predictability.
Heart of Orion Oh boy... Android commits genocide on colony of humans. Oh, wait, I forgot! No, she didn't. Android replaces Charley with android Charley. Oh, wait, I forgot! No, she didn't. Android has to be destroyed so that she can't transmit an activation signal to other androids. Oh, wait, they can just burn out the transmitter. Come the end of the story, the android can still transmit a signal, just a totally different signal to kill all of the other androids...
NICK BRIGGS: Oh, wait, I forgot!!!
Seriously... I was actually thinking this story was alright (barring the completely meaningless cliffhanger) until the second or third "I remember now!" moment. It was just kind of insulting. "Oh, look at all the terrible things that have happened", followed by "PSYCHE! Not one terrible thing actually happened at all!" It was just bad. Just bad.
_____
I think others may be right. Maybe I need to take a break from BF Who for a while. I'd actually been talking to someone about that the other day. The vast majority of new releases just don't excite me any more, and the majority of those that do generally end being very generic. I might post fuller thoughts on that in the thread over in the General section.
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Post by elkawho on Jan 23, 2022 15:39:42 GMT
Not going to rehash what people have said. Yes, good to hear Eight and Charley. Underwhelmed by the first two stories. The second two were better, but I wanted so much more.
But I will say that I was thankful for 4 stories again, rather the the 3 per set that we have been getting lately. That was a very nice touch.
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Post by Who Review on Jan 23, 2022 16:13:17 GMT
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Post by Digi on Jan 24, 2022 1:50:34 GMT
Finishing up The Mummy Speaks! right now and having an absolute ball. Was it the 'deepest' story ever? No. Do I care? Also no. This story was fun as hell, I loved every minute.
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Post by Max The Autist on Jan 24, 2022 15:36:47 GMT
I didn’t think she died. Wasn’t she just left floating in space. I thought I remembered the Doctor telling Charlie that one day she maybe found and reactivated? Correct, I registered to HoO in preparation, the level of setup for a potential sequel with a living Deeva in it is off the charts.
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Post by Digi on Jan 25, 2022 3:34:00 GMT
Finishing up The Mummy Speaks! right now and having an absolute ball. Was it the 'deepest' story ever? No. Do I care? Also no. This story was fun as hell, I loved every minute. Listened to Eclipse today. I don't know whether it was the tone, the 'dive right into the story already in progress' approach, or the story itself, but this one didn't quite click for me. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I actively disliked it, but I'd struggle to say that I enjoyed myself as well. Where with the previous story I might've been happy with it being a 2h adventure, with Eclipse I'm grateful it was over in just one.
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Post by Sir Wearer of Hats on Jan 25, 2022 7:28:03 GMT
Well, I thoroughly enjoyed “The Mummy Speaks!”
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Post by Digi on Jan 25, 2022 16:56:16 GMT
Just finished The Slaying of the Writhing Mass. Good, entertaining. Better than Eclipse, not as good as The Mummy Speaks. Has a similar 'fun, don't take things too seriously' vibe to it as Mummy did.
As an aside, where before I was of a mind of 'well it sucks but whatever, no big deal,' as I listen through this set I'm learning to truly despise the new Big Finish ident.
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Post by Sir Wearer of Hats on Jan 25, 2022 22:23:14 GMT
I had no idea how much I missed that theme tune. I also had no idea how much I enjoyed “tigger eight” as opposed to “rabbit eight”, he’s a joy to behold, befriending gorillas, insulting emperors etc etc And 20 years?! It wasn’t that long between Time and the Rani and Sirens of Time!
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