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Post by Kestrel on Dec 15, 2021 18:48:04 GMT
Quote of the story: " I've got a camera hidden in my nostril." I don't think it's much of a secret here that I... am not... the biggest fan... of Peri Brown. Shocking, I know. But this story came to me very highly recommended by multiple people, so I gave it a shot. And I'm very glad I did. You know what? It kind of slaps. Granted, Nicola Bryant's far-from-flawless American accent was still distracting, but I at least got a good laugh from her pronouncing skeletal as skʌlitoʊl instead of skɛlətəl (here's crossing my fingers and hoping I remember my IPA well enough for that to make sense). Anyway, this is a great timey-wimey story that pits Peri against Peri (and it turns out she doesn't much get along with herself, which... is not unexpected). It also follows the same basic structure as the much-maligned Flip-Flop, from the monthly range, but to much greater effect, with each half of the story told from the perspective of a different Peri. Who is really the focus of the episode (which is also.... not unexpected). Bryant delivers a very solid performance here, accent aside, and it's hard not to feel for the older Peri here--her life is not what she'd've wanted it to be. Which, you know, is pretty damned relatable, huh? I really appreciate that Big Finish was both willing to give Peri an unpleasant post-TARDIS life, as well as to refrain from retconning that unpleasantness. It makes the setting--and characters--feel more real. They're just people, and they make mistakes, and they have to live with them--and keep on living with them. And, of course, we also get a delightfully wacky performance from Colin Baker as he bumbles about pretending to be a Piscon. Which basically looks exactly like THIS in my imagination, yeah? It's definitely worth giving the first half a re-listen after the second, just to more fully appreciate just obvious that "twist" really was in hindsight--yes, there's voice modulation, but you can still hear Baker's familiar cadence and sense of humor seeping through the costuming. Honestly I'm very tempted to give this one a 5/5. Easily the best Peri story I've seen, and while I can't say I like the character any more now, my feelings have certainly... softened. It also helps, I think, that I've recently gone through the latter seasons of Classic Who (still haven't started the last one yet, though) and Peri, even at her most annoying, is nowhere near so bad on audio as Mell and her constant shrill shrieking was on screen. But, really, there's just one thing holding it back. Generally Peri tends to grate on me because she is often very judgmental and derisive. A very abrasive personality, yeah? But she while was fine--engaging even--here, the story still bent over backwards to be needlessly mean-spirited. Specifically, I'm talking about the constant mocking of people's physical appearance. It just feels... grotesque and dehumanizing the constantly refer to people as fish. Granted this isn't the kind of bigoted dehumanization we often see in racist media, but it still made me uncomfortable. Or maybe "slightly disgusted" is the better term. I suppose it was meant to be funny, but the humor just didn't work for me. It's very much punching-down, yeah? Ah well. Definitely a great yarn all the same, though. Really glad I took a chance on these Companion Chronicles--they've all been pretty good so far.
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Post by bonehead on Dec 15, 2021 18:55:53 GMT
Quote of the story: " I've got a camera hidden in my nostril." I don't think it's much of a secret here that I... am not... the biggest fan... of Peri Brown. Shocking, I know. But this story came to me very highly recommended by multiple people, so I gave it a shot. And I'm very glad I did. You know what? It kind of slaps. Granted, Nicola Bryant's far-from-flawless American accent was still distracting, but I at least got a good laugh from her pronouncing skeletal as skʌlitoʊl instead of skɛlətəl (here's crossing my fingers and hoping I remember my IPA well enough for that to make sense). Anyway, this is a great timey-wimey story that pits Peri against Peri (and it turns out she doesn't much get along with herself, which... is not unexpected). It also follows the same basic structure as the much-maligned Flip-Flop, from the monthly range, but to much greater effect, with each half of the story told from the perspective of a different Peri. Who is really the focus of the episode (which is also.... not unexpected). Bryant delivers a very solid performance here, accent aside, and it's hard not to feel for the older Peri here--her life is not what she'd've wanted it to be. Which, you know, is pretty damned relatable, huh? I really appreciate that Big Finish was both willing to give Peri an unpleasant post-TARDIS life, as well as to refrain from retconning that unpleasantness. It makes the setting--and characters--feel more real. They're just people, and they make mistakes, and they have to live with them--and keep on living with them. And, of course, we also get a delightfully wacky performance from Colin Baker as he bumbles about pretending to be a Piscon. Which basically looks exactly like this in my imagination, yeah? It's definitely worth giving the first half a re-listen after the second, just to more fully appreciate just obvious that "twist" really was in hindsight--yes, there's voice modulation, but you can still hear Baker's familiar cadence and sense of humor seeping through the costuming. Honestly I'm very tempted to give this one a 5/5. Easily the best Peri story I've seen, and while I can't say I like the character any more now, my feelings have certainly... softened. It also helps, I think, that I've recently gone through the latter seasons of Classic Who (still haven't started the last one yet, though) and Peri, even at her most annoying, is nowhere near so bad on audio as Mell and her constant shrill shrieking was on screen. But, really, there's just one thing holding it back. Generally Peri tends to grate on me because she is often very judgmental and derisive. A very abrasive personality, yeah? But she while was fine--engaging even--here, the story still bent over backwards to be needlessly mean-spirited. Specifically, I'm talking about the constant mocking of people's physical appearance. It just feels... grotesque and dehumanizing the constantly refer to people as fish. Granted this isn't the kind of bigoted dehumanization we often see in racist media, but it still made me uncomfortable. Or maybe "slightly disgusted" is the better term. I suppose it was meant to be funny, but the humor just didn't work for me. It's very much punching-down, yeah? Ah well. Definitely a great yarn all the same, though. Really glad I took a chance on these Companion Chronicles--they've all been pretty good so far. A very thoughtful post and a really interesting read, as always.
My view is that the end reveal is a colossal one, which made me think about Peri in a different way - kind of the point of course - and makes me feel desperately for her. It also puts into perspective her time with the Doctor, at least initially which, given the pattern of her life, is an astonishingly brave and thing to do. Alternatively, while the ending is a huge shocker and Nicola's playing of it superb (I'm from the UK, so I'm not an expert on whether her American accent is accurate or not), we have an awful lot of questionable 'comedy' to wade through to get to that point. Unlike a lot of listeners, I'm not a huge fan of Nev Fountain's writing for Who, I'm sorry to say. Even his much acclaimed 'The Kingmaker' continues to leave me cold. Rather like Douglas Adams' stuff, but with none of the charm.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2021 19:02:09 GMT
Quote of the story: " I've got a camera hidden in my nostril." I don't think it's much of a secret here that I... am not... the biggest fan... of Peri Brown. Shocking, I know. But this story came to me very highly recommended by multiple people, so I gave it a shot. And I'm very glad I did. You know what? It kind of slaps. Granted, Nicola Bryant's far-from-flawless American accent was still distracting, but I at least got a good laugh from her pronouncing skeletal as skʌlitoʊl instead of skɛlətəl (here's crossing my fingers and hoping I remember my IPA well enough for that to make sense). Anyway, this is a great timey-wimey story that pits Peri against Peri (and it turns out she doesn't much get along with herself, which... is not unexpected). It also follows the same basic structure as the much-maligned Flip-Flop, from the monthly range, but to much greater effect, with each half of the story told from the perspective of a different Peri. Who is really the focus of the episode (which is also.... not unexpected). Bryant delivers a very solid performance here, accent aside, and it's hard not to feel for the older Peri here--her life is not what she'd've wanted it to be. Which, you know, is pretty damned relatable, huh? I really appreciate that Big Finish was both willing to give Peri an unpleasant post-TARDIS life, as well as to refrain from retconning that unpleasantness. It makes the setting--and characters--feel more real. They're just people, and they make mistakes, and they have to live with them--and keep on living with them. And, of course, we also get a delightfully wacky performance from Colin Baker as he bumbles about pretending to be a Piscon. Which basically looks exactly like this in my imagination, yeah? It's definitely worth giving the first half a re-listen after the second, just to more fully appreciate just obvious that "twist" really was in hindsight--yes, there's voice modulation, but you can still hear Baker's familiar cadence and sense of humor seeping through the costuming. Honestly I'm very tempted to give this one a 5/5. Easily the best Peri story I've seen, and while I can't say I like the character any more now, my feelings have certainly... softened. It also helps, I think, that I've recently gone through the latter seasons of Classic Who (still haven't started the last one yet, though) and Peri, even at her most annoying, is nowhere near so bad on audio as Mell and her constant shrill shrieking was on screen. But, really, there's just one thing holding it back. Generally Peri tends to grate on me because she is often very judgmental and derisive. A very abrasive personality, yeah? But she while was fine--engaging even--here, the story still bent over backwards to be needlessly mean-spirited. Specifically, I'm talking about the constant mocking of people's physical appearance. It just feels... grotesque and dehumanizing the constantly refer to people as fish. Granted this isn't the kind of bigoted dehumanization we often see in racist media, but it still made me uncomfortable. Or maybe "slightly disgusted" is the better term. I suppose it was meant to be funny, but the humor just didn't work for me. It's very much punching-down, yeah? Ah well. Definitely a great yarn all the same, though. Really glad I took a chance on these Companion Chronicles--they've all been pretty good so far. A very thoughtful post and a really interesting read, as always.
My view is that the end reveal is a colossal one, which made me think about Peri in a different way - kind of the point of course - and makes me feel desperately for her. It also puts into perspective her time with the Doctor, at least initially which, given the pattern of her life, is an astonishingly brave and thing to do. Alternatively, while the ending is a huge shocker and Nicola's playing of it superb (I'm from the UK, so I'm not an expert on whether her American accent is accurate or not), we have an awful lot of questionable 'comedy' to wade through to get to that point. Unlike a lot of listeners, I'm not a huge fan of Nev Fountain's writing for Who, I'm sorry to say. Even his much acclaimed 'The Kingmaker' continues to leave me cold. Rather like Douglas Adams' stuff, but with none of the charm.
You know as much as its interesting it just kind of isnt my kind of WHO story |
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Post by Kestrel on Dec 16, 2021 22:31:18 GMT
It's certainly very different. I do wonder if Colin Baker was "assigned" the story or volunteered, because it's rapid-fire comedic tone is very much in line with the kind of Doctor Who stories he personally seems to like.
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Post by Chakoteya on Dec 20, 2021 17:20:36 GMT
It was fun.
I'm not a CC fan, but this one piqued my interest and I'm glad I listened if only for the laughs.
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Post by komodo on Dec 21, 2021 1:20:52 GMT
Its a while since I listened to this. I am not a fan of Peri and have always felt that she shouldn't have so many stories squeezed into her time with 5. I'm also not a big fan of companion chronicles. Despite all of this I found the Piscon Paradox to be a masterpiece. It a really well built timey-wimey story with Peri as the main character and two doctors as her companions.
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Post by Ela on Dec 22, 2021 3:02:14 GMT
I loved this story. I thought it was well written and performed and enjoyed it way more than I expected to.
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Post by tuigirl on Dec 22, 2021 18:36:59 GMT
I think the real genius of the story is, that it starts as the same old, same old story.
I remember when I heard it the first time, and started with part 1, I was like "oh yeah, well, we have heard stuff like this before, this is getting ridiculous. Why does everyone like this?".
And then it turns the premise on it'ts head and while it continues to be fun and comedy, it also adds all these tragical elements.
It really plays with your emotions- it will make you laugh and cry.
I did neither call the twist nor, shame on me!, did I recognize Colin's distorted voice when I heard it the first time.
So it caught me unawares and it went from "same old" to "OMG, now I get why everybody loves this!".
Being a fan of Sixie and Peri, this did of course also help.
Great performances, good writing and nice twist and play with emotions.
Full marks from me.
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