Right.
I just finished this, and since I this time tried to avoid spoilers, I only just was reading through this thread.
Hmmm.
(sorry for the wall of text to follow, I just thought I share my honest thoughts now since I did not join the discussion in real time)
I actually quite liked Stranded 4.
And please bear with me, I will explain my impressions and thoughts concerning the issues at hand further down.
First off-
I was a bit hesitant about this release since the first half of Stranded 3 was.... not so good.
But I am happy to report that this time, it does pick up and we get a wonderful rollercoaster ride with lots of action, explosions, emotions and timey-whimey shenanigans.
I liked it.
It felt like coming back home with the TARDIS crew and the residents of the house in Baker street.
And I absolutely adored the scene with the birthday cake!!!! OMG. How wonderful was that?
Performances were great, but we have come to expect this from this team.
I also was a bit hesitant about using Colin Baker (who I usually adore) as the curator. Well, I should not have worried, Colin does great. And it somehow does work quite well for me using a different face here.
I also liked the "reveal" that the curator was a future Doctor.
It had been kind of obvious from the start, so finally putting it into words were no big deal for me.
Now we are coming onto more difficult territory.
I said right at the start of Stranded that I would HATE to have the pandemic (and Brexit! which was another issue right at the start!) included in this.
I totally get both sides of the argument here.
I also work at a testing lab, most people around me have lost friends and loved ones.
I went through some tough times with bouts of depression and we had a total of 4 restrictive total lockdowns with curfews.
When I started the last episode, I actually went into the episode seeing "Best year ever" as an ironic/ sarcastic title. I think having Liv narrating the story of the failed polar expedition at the start was a hint for this.
For the polar expedition, their survival was not a "happy ending", they basically traded one hell for another.
And this is exactly how I took the title and how I took the story.
Yes, the story tries to be "light hearted", but from what I can see, we have 2 (!!) residents of Baker street die of COVID in this.
All during this story, there is this dissonance between all the horrific things happening at the edges of the plot, and the light hearted way people try to cope with it.
And this is what I think is going on.
The story tries to present how people try to cope with hell.
I remember myself that at work, even when I was very depressed, I still tried to make jokes and lighten the mood a bit.
So we both see the horrors, but we also get some toilet paper jokes.
It was a horrific time.
So in this story, because of some weird twist, we get to see the REAL 2020, COVID and lockdown and all, in comparison to the parallel universe one.
I am honest, if I would have listened to it before the pandemic, I would have thought the writers had gone insane.
Just listen to this and try to imagine life before the pandemic.
The whole thing is insane. People dying, horror and loneliness and depression and at the same time, jokes about hoarding of toilet paper. A world gone crazy.
Life really is stranger than fiction sometimes.
For this, this is actually a very good representation and document of this time.
Without having some answers or input from John Dorney, I think we cannot solve the riddle how he intended to have this story understood.
But I go with the hint with the polar expedition, and that "Best Year Ever" might sound like an optimistic message, but was actually anything but, because 2021 in reality was worse than 2020.
Like the people coming back from being rescued in the ice, just to be faced with the hell of World War I.
But I totally and utterly agree with everyone saying this NEEDS a trigger warning on the cover.
If I had listened to this when in a more depressive mood, this definitely could have gone downward.
As it stands today, even while I was opposed to COVID in BF because I also appreciate my escapism, I think it was fine, for me at least.
Now concerning the ending and conclusion.
Again, I will be honest.
But this is EXACTLY what I expected to happen. I know Big Finish. Of course they would do this.
And honestly- I am fine with it.
Was this a cowardly ending?
No, it was an economically sensible decision.
This opens up several possibilities:
We will get more stories of
- 8, Liv and Helen
- we will get more stories of only 8 and Helen
- we will get more stories of Liv, Andy and the Baker Street gang saving the world.
Of course they would go that way.
Look at the success of the Robots! (in my opinion one of the best ranges right now, thanks to Nicola Walker)
I love Liv.
And I can also accept that Liv first continues traveling with the Doctor, but then she actually changes her mind. This is how humans work. Liv is not perfect, and yes, one might wish for character strength and integrity and honesty and faithfulness to her love.... but these are ideals.
Just look at the 6th Doctor companions Flip and Constance. Both are married, but instead of insisting that they want to be back with their respective husbands, go off on wild adventures with the Doctor.
Because in this universe, you can have both.
Just imagine the temptation.
Adrenaline is like a drug, and the companions of the Doctor are addicts.
So yeah, I can totally understand why this is happening.
It is morally bad, and it makes these heroines human and adds flaws, but that is what human characters are about. They are not perfect.
The good news is:
Liv does come to her senses.
And she obviously realizes that being a TARDIS addict is not as fulfilling as having love and a real home.
There is another number of good stories in this.
So, here it is, my honest opinion on this.
And I have to say, I actually liked Stranded 4 better than the previous one.