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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on May 8, 2022 9:31:41 GMT
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on May 10, 2022 8:20:02 GMT
Out now
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on May 10, 2022 8:55:10 GMT
Ok.. Did I hear a "Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy" reference in the 1st 10-15 mins?
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Post by mark687 on May 10, 2022 11:40:14 GMT
Another 3 decent EPs with more uncanny vocal interpretation from JC, 2 good twists on standard troupes, a believable evolution of the other indigenous people of Skaro and strong performances from each Eps lead support character.
Regards
mark687
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Post by shallacatop on May 10, 2022 14:04:48 GMT
Bit underwhelmed, to be honest, especially given how strong the preceding two sets were. Nothing bad, but nothing reaches its potential either.
The Keeper of Light really fizzled out in the last 15 minutes after such a strong build up. The promotional material feels a touch misleading too; they've brought in related actors for the cover and news article, but none of it really plays into the story. Ken Bones isn't even in the set as The General at all and there's not one mention of Cass. It ultimately ends up being some odd "it was all a dream" / in media res hybrid that doesn't feel satisfying.
Temmosus is two different stories that don't really work together. You don't get enough with the Thals for it to feel substantial, nor do you with the Dalek plot either. When they come together at the end, it feels forced rather than natural. And I was disappointed with how little Rossa McPhillips comments in Vortex actually reflect in the episode.
Rewind is the strongest of the set. A Doctor lite lead by Ignis, who's brilliantly played by Sarah Moss. There's some lovely interactions between her and the War Doctor when they do meet, but the concept of the story doesn't really develop and the supporting cast are superfluous to requirements really. It needs to sell that concept better to justify those interactions, I think.
Great that the team continued to do something different, but I think the execution was lacking this time, unfortunately. I also missed that continuing storyline they were developing for the War Doctor in the preceding sets, pushing him that little bit further, and on reflection he doesn't have that much presence in Battlegrounds due to the nature of the opening story and more limited involvement in the other two.
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Post by mark687 on May 10, 2022 20:54:37 GMT
Out now Regards mark687
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Post by sherlock on May 10, 2022 21:23:25 GMT
The Keeper of Light
I actually liked how that played out. I get the sense from the ending that the Doctor knew full well what was happening all along, just let things play out as long as he felt he could. I’m a little surprised Campbell-Jones’ other role didn’t get directly acknowledged, but there’s definitely an implication from her involvement.
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Post by bonehead on May 11, 2022 12:38:34 GMT
3.1 The Keeper of Light by Phil Mulryne.
This opener is, for me, saved by the revelation at the end. Other than that, I'm sure this might have made an effective TV story, because its very visual, but as it is, we have characters relentlessly describing what every one can see is happening, often with cod accents. The companion Layla is standard - never afraid, sardonic, eager to put The Doctor right about things. I found myself disappointed by the initially fascinating lead character, who always recoiled from The Doctor title because of his perceived dark ways - here a cuddly, happily-quipping old man who is quite content to accept the mantle. The villain is standard and very panto, chuckling theatrically at his own villainy, except when his plan is scuppered without much effort. Before I got to 'that' ending, I found myself thinking: what's the point of a range featuring a dark Doctor, when the Doctor isn't allowed to be dark (presumably because of a BBC dictate)?
Of course, the revelation, featuring by far the best scenes, explains all this in an effective way. There are reasons the story I've just listened to is clumsy and overly familiar - but the fact is, the story I've just listened to is clumsy and overly familiar, just to get to a rather more interesting finale. At least Jonathan Carley still sounds uncannily like John Hurt; it's just a shame he isn't often given more to get his teeth into.
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Post by IndieMacUser on May 11, 2022 20:20:12 GMT
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Post by sherlock on May 11, 2022 22:00:22 GMT
Temmosus was okay. The hints at Dalek politics was the best part and the Thals characterised distinctly.
It’s a bit weird that the Time Lord/Thal dynamic comes down to Time Lords being arrogant snobs and nothing more to it really (this was the same as when The Eternity Cage had them reject the Sontarans for same reasons). It’s just feels a bit simplistic really. Also the happy-ish ending felt far too Doctor-ish for the War Doctor.
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Post by bonehead on May 12, 2022 16:12:24 GMT
3.2 Temmosus by Rossa McPhillips.
Nice to hear some really chunky Dalek voices in this. Sometimes, especially when compared to their telly counterparts, they can sound a bit flat on audio - not so here. They fair crackle out of the speakers. Good too, to hear Kimus from The Pirate Planet as Captain Dylon. Also, it's not every day you hear Louise Jameson saying 'shut it.'
The extras are interesting in that writer Rossa McPhillips was initially dispirited because all of his initial story pitches had been done by Big Finish before, exposing the problem with having such a huge back catalogue. The story is a good one; I enjoyed the quiet moments more, but the battles were suitably explosive and the Daleks particularly eager to dispatch many of the characters we'd come to know. It hasn't quite blown my mind in the way the first set did, but it's good solid stuff. Rossa also writes for the upcoming Torchwood: War Chest, which I look forward to.
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Post by sherlock on May 12, 2022 18:32:59 GMT
Rewind
Quite a good concept (though I think I suggested a similar idea I had on this forum a few years ago so I would say that) and well characterised lead, who is a rare ray of positivity amongst the Time War. I don’t quite buy some of the War Doctor’s motives here as what he’s doing is very Doctorish and he has to be talked into doing something more ruthlessly pragmatic that you’d think would be this incarnation’s go-to, though I did appreciate the ambiguity about whether things work out or not; I’m inclined to lean not, but then I do have an tendency to like Time War stories to end miserably (which probably says something about me but let’s not go there).
Overall, a decent set. It’s not a trailblazer, but just another consistent entry for this range.
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Post by Who Review on May 13, 2022 10:56:38 GMT
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Post by bonehead on May 13, 2022 12:58:40 GMT
3.3 Rewind by Timothy X Atack.
A fine performance from this story's lass-with-a-northern-accent Ignis Abel (Sarah Moss), who acts as a good narrator to the latest Dalek onslaught. Just as well, because we spend a lot of time with her. One of the things these stories do well is to reinforce the nature of the Daleks as utterly relentless and truly nasty - not always the stars of the show, but forever making their presence felt. As always, Timothy Atack's dialogue shines. The story, playing with the two main thrusts of these sets - 'time' and 'war' - is very good, executed in a very engaging way in conversations between the well drawn-out characters. On the evidence of this and Blood of the Time Lords TXA is proving to be another excellent new writer for BF.
After an uninspiring start, this set has proven to be a success and has guaranteed my pre-order for the next one. Oh, and although it's been said time and time again - Jonathan Carley is uncannily good.
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Post by Digi on May 19, 2022 1:00:07 GMT
Enjoyed this set. The last episode in particular was quite good.
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Post by adamelijah on Jul 3, 2022 3:42:50 GMT
Haven't listened to the last episode, but I have to talk about the end of Temmosus because my head hurts.
So, at the end of the episode, there's a bomb of the ship, the Doctor doesn't know to diffuse but demands terms from Tamasan to resolve the situation and she agrees to all of them including giving Thals equal representation on The War Council because the War is much there's as Gallifrey's.
Ignoring whether the Thals really could/should be equal partners in the Time War, the problem is that this story ends on the idea that the Time Lords did give half the seats on the War Council to Thals and that throughout the rest of the Time War half the War Council are Thals.
While Gallifreyan governance is nonsensical, this seems to be painfully so. Would it make any sense for a Commodore in the field to unilaterally change the War Council? Wouldn't Rassilon have something to say about this? If she doesn't have the power, it makes the Doctor look foolish for asking or her foolish if she thought she could.
You practically have to ignore the ending for most of the other Time War stories to make sense. The only way this one can ever be reconciled is if we get a Gallifrey episode where the Thals are kicked off the War Council because I'm just not buying that we had a half Thal War Council through the rest of the Time War.
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lidar2
Castellan
You know, now that you mention it, I actually do rather like Attack of the Cybermen ...
Likes: 5,788
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Post by lidar2 on Jul 3, 2022 22:12:33 GMT
Haven't listened to the last episode, but I have to talk about the end of Temmosus because my head hurts. So, at the end of the episode, there's a bomb of the ship, the Doctor doesn't know to diffuse but demands terms from Tamasan to resolve the situation and she agrees to all of them including giving Thals equal representation on The War Council because the War is much there's as Gallifrey's. Ignoring whether the Thals really could/should be equal partners in the Time War, the problem is that this story ends on the idea that the Time Lords did give half the seats on the War Council to Thals and that throughout the rest of the Time War half the War Council are Thals. While Gallifreyan governance is nonsensical, this seems to be painfully so. Would it make any sense for a Commodore in the field to unilaterally change the War Council? Wouldn't Rassilon have something to say about this? If she doesn't have the power, it makes the Doctor look foolish for asking or her foolish if she thought she could. You practically have to ignore the ending for most of the other Time War stories to make sense. The only way this one can ever be reconciled is if we get a Gallifrey episode where the Thals are kicked off the War Council because I'm just not buying that we had a half Thal War Council through the rest of the Time War. Good point. Hadn't occurred to me when I listened, but you are quite right
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lidar2
Castellan
You know, now that you mention it, I actually do rather like Attack of the Cybermen ...
Likes: 5,788
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Post by lidar2 on Jul 3, 2022 22:13:39 GMT
I liked this set. Thought the Thal captain in the 2nd episode sounded like Chris Tarrant on Who Wants to be a Millionaire, which was a bit off-putting.
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Post by tuigirl on Apr 2, 2023 19:58:28 GMT
Not as good as the previous ones. It just feels like filler material. The cliff-hanger at the last episode was interesting, though. I wonder of they pick up from it again or leave it hanging, as one of the few times the Doctor could not save everyone.
And yes, I totally agree with the points made above avout the Thals on the War Council. In what way do the Thals equal the might of the Time Lords? A couple of them on the council, okay. But I think anything more will not be accepted and totally negated by Rassilon.
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Post by Alastair on Apr 2, 2023 20:30:13 GMT
This series has the same trappings for me as the John Hurt sets, and frankly most Time War series. You enjoy it in the moment, you appreciate the solid character work, you say “that was really good”, but good luck recalling it a week later. No fault of the individual stories and writers; more a byproduct of the sheer volume of Big Finish output.
THAT SAID: Rewind is a very happy exception. Beautifully written, an exceptional guest performance from Sarah Moss (whose poetic passion reminds me of Kae Tempest), and exactly the kind of story I want from the Time War: one that shows what mass-scale temporal weirdness can do to ordinary lives. One that can help explain why Cass chose to turn and run.
A few months after listening, it lingers with me in a way only my favourite audio stories can.
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