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Post by mark687 on Jun 12, 2022 10:12:51 GMT
Round in circles again and the execution of the plan makes no sense so nearly everyone who knows the Doctor has forgotten or had perception twisted so the Doctor's now a threat, but the plan will only finally work if one of our leads (who still aren't particularly bothered ether way I'd suggest), finds the Doc and kills them, do I have that right?
I approach next weeks Finale with mild curiosity and the the hope it makes some sort of sense.
Regards
mark687
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Post by shallacatop on Jun 12, 2022 12:12:01 GMT
Another messy 20 minutes with ever so slight development that doesn’t really make sense this late into the game. Why would you suddenly introduce some all knowing Oracle in the closing minutes of the penultimate episode? That’s just sloppy. At this stage you’d have the Oracle be the Doctor, as it’s initially implied to be earlier on in the episode, and try to speed things up a bit.
I couldn’t get used to Vastra at all and I don’t understand why she wouldn’t confront the Doctor (who she conveniently remembers despite everyone else having forgotten!), except for some fleeting excuse provided in the episode? You’d have thought she’d have a much better chance of getting through to her supposed actions rather than Cleo, Shawna & Abby who’ve achieved next to nothing collectively.
Cleo has gone from a rounded character to a cliche that constantly reminds people about the Doctor and occasionally remembers to mention her mum and brother and adds “babe” at the end of a sentence. I couldn’t believe that barb at Vastra, justifying it in the dialogue didn’t sit well with me, it just felt so out of character. Shawna’s achieved nothing all throughout Redacted and her spat with Abby is pathetic and holds no water. Abby is more proactive, but is stunted by the lack of presence over the last few weeks. And as a trio I’m still not buying their complete lack of interest in everything that’s going on or how limited their knowledge is, despite, you know, running a podcast that’s dedicated to the TARDIS and has been running longer than the events of Redacted.
I’m fascinated to see how it’ll all be addressed and resolved next week. I’d be gobsmacked if it’s remotely satisfactory.
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Post by shallacatop on Jun 19, 2022 7:37:31 GMT
… And it wasn’t remotely satisfactory. A load of nonsense and exposition, in fact. I’m not entirely sure I understood what was happening in some places; it just seemed to happen because it was written to do so.
We finally get the answer to what’s redacting people and it’s so fleeting. We get the answer to what happened to Cleo’s dad and it’s brushed over, although I suppose that’s in line with how that plot point has been great throughout the whole series. We get a strange interaction between Cleo and her mum, but where does it all come from?
The whole run has been such a mess. We went from a series that was promoted to be told via a podcast and recordable mediums, to that being abandoned partway through the first episode. And then the actual podcast achieves nothing and is little more than strange throwbacks to Tenth Doctor episodes. We spend the bulk of our time alternating between story beats that crop up just because the writers have remembered it was mentioned in a preceding episode with little development of the ongoing story. And then we get some strange wrap up that isn’t satisfactory or makes any sense.
This could’ve been three episodes and lost nothing, in fact it might’ve been more rewarding. Episode one as is, albeit the podcast actually achieving something. Episode two with characters being redacted and Cleo only the one retaining the memory. Episode three where the Doctor comes in to resolve her mistakes with Cleo’s help.
Jodie is excellent, though, and loses absolutely nothing from how her Doctor is on screen. I’ve known that for a while, as I’ve been fortunate enough to do the escape rooms, Time Fracture, etc., but I’m glad that this is a wider platform. Roll on her coming into the Big Finish fold.
Great concept and great characters let down by poor execution from the get go. I hope this isn’t the last of these endeavours because the potential is there and it’s brilliant to have something so accessible in a way that other in universe stories aren’t due to pricing restrictions, etc. I think it just needs more refining and something beyond character personas on paper and the idea that they have the licence that allows Jodie to reprise the role.
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Post by sherlock on Jun 19, 2022 8:08:34 GMT
Well that was somewhat bizarre. Firstly Whittaker is on fine form and I really liked the Doctor and Cleo talking things over and how they did the explanations regarding Cleo’s dad. Cleo is really well performed too and so the scenes of them together just sing, and those scenes happen to be 75% of the episode happily. Onto the less good parts- The plot first established in episode one is wrapped up and everything that’s happened since is basically irrelevant. Stuff like Vastra, the robots Rani was fighting get lip service but aren’t really relevant to anything. Makes you wonder what the point of all those episodes was. And turns out the lack of a villain was because there never really was one. At least one that can talk. So this was less a conspiracy and more just a really odd couple of weeks by a twisted fluke of fate. Abby and Shawna are completely demoted to supporting characters to the point that I don’t know why they got so much material across the series. Does Abby’s experience with UNIT come into play? Nope. They get together at the end because Abby says she’s changed now and I’m really not sure why. She and Shawna were just kinda there for the ride, with brief spat over UNIT. And the cardinal sin in my book- {Spoiler} The plot is solved by the girls doing another podcast which is a good idea to wrap things up.
But we don’t even get to hear it?! This is the moment this trio gets to save the world - And it’s skipped?! Honestly this series feels like it could’ve been cut down quite significantly. Detours like meeting fretting over Queen Victoria, Larry Nightingale’s involvement, messing around in UNIT all really didn’t add up to much. We had weeks of wheel spinning for what was actually quite a simple plot. Redacted was a worthwhile experiment all in all. It just clearly had more episodes than it knew what to do with.
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Post by grinch on Jun 19, 2022 20:31:55 GMT
Finally caught up with this. What a waste of an admittedly good premise this was. If it wasn’t for the talent involved, you’d honestly think this was a poorly made fan project.
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Post by roosa88 on Jun 21, 2022 12:45:10 GMT
I rather enjoyed this on the whole. Intriguing concept, some good ideas and a different approach to storytelling than what we're used to for Doctor Who audio drama. The end of each episode had me eagerly wanting to come back the following week to check out the next episode.
There's an interesting interview with the producer, Ella Watts, in this weeks edition of the Radio Free Skaro Podcast (#857 - The Blue Box Files). The one big take home from this interview is that the potential for there being more original Who audio drama made for BBC Sounds will be based on downloads (internationally), so even if you decided this particular series isn't for you it is still worth downloading and spreading the word.
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Post by themeddlingmonk on Jun 21, 2022 13:08:54 GMT
If I took anything from this, it’s that Jodie Whittaker slips very comfortably into the audio drama format.
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Post by masterdoctor on Jun 21, 2022 13:35:25 GMT
Have finished listening, and while I appreciate a lot of it, it is so bloated and so much become superfluous. Whittaker is a natural on audio however, so I hope Big Finish can get her a mic!
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Post by idle453 on Jun 21, 2022 20:10:01 GMT
I rather enjoyed this on the whole. Intriguing concept, some good ideas and a different approach to storytelling than what we're used to for Doctor Who audio drama. The end of each episode had me eagerly wanting to come back the following week to check out the next episode. There's an interesting interview with the producer, Ella Watts, in this weeks edition of the Radio Free Skaro Podcast (#857 - The Blue Box Files). The one big take home from this interview is that the potential for there being more original Who audio drama made for BBC Sounds will be based on downloads (internationally), so even if you decided this particular series isn't for you it is still worth downloading and spreading the word. I actually enjoyed most of it. There were a few character beats that seemed to me to come from nowhere, but I don't think we've known then characters long enough to say for certain. Regarding the interview, when she said downloads did she mean listening to it on BBCsounds or actually downloading it? if the second, where can I do so legally? I liked it enough to download it anyway, but I'll download to support Who regardless.
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Post by roosa88 on Jun 22, 2022 8:11:02 GMT
I rather enjoyed this on the whole. Intriguing concept, some good ideas and a different approach to storytelling than what we're used to for Doctor Who audio drama. The end of each episode had me eagerly wanting to come back the following week to check out the next episode. There's an interesting interview with the producer, Ella Watts, in this weeks edition of the Radio Free Skaro Podcast (#857 - The Blue Box Files). The one big take home from this interview is that the potential for there being more original Who audio drama made for BBC Sounds will be based on downloads (internationally), so even if you decided this particular series isn't for you it is still worth downloading and spreading the word. I actually enjoyed most of it. There were a few character beats that seemed to me to come from nowhere, but I don't think we've known then characters long enough to say for certain. Regarding the interview, when she said downloads did she mean listening to it on BBCsounds or actually downloading it? if the second, where can I do so legally? I liked it enough to download it anyway, but I'll download to support Who regardless. She meant listening or downloading on BBC Sounds (the app lets you download while the program is available) I think.
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Post by shallacatop on Jun 23, 2022 6:45:21 GMT
I thought the DWM article about Redacted was an interesting read. It’d been in the pipeline for a few years; kicked off in 2019, pilot in January 2020 and then finally commissioned late 2021.
Donna was originally going to feature but then told not not to “for obvious reasons now”, although I’d imagine that’s more to do with the fact you’d have to undo her ending rather than her appearing in the 60th, but that seems to fly over their heads. K9 was also due to appear as the Oracle in the penultimate episode but weren’t allowed. I think that explains why that character comes out of nowhere and doesn’t work; as a K9 cameo it becomes much more appealing.
I felt a complete disconnect between what Juno Dawson and Ella Watts were saying and what we actually got, though. They talk about stuff more in-depth and with more meaning than what transpires in the end product. Even down to the way they portray the three leads, who are very much likeable and rounded, particularly in those first few episodes, but they just get hampered by the plot, or lack thereof, dictating what they should do and how they should react. Ends up becoming a disservice.
They do have ideas for a second run, but at this stage I’d rather the commitment goes towards another Doctor Who spin-off on BBC Sounds. That’s not to say the trio can’t put in an appearance down the line.
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melkur
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 3,965
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Post by melkur on Jul 3, 2022 6:15:05 GMT
As I'm on holiday at the moment, and spent most of the day in the car, today I (finally) got round to marathoning this &, whilst it was a little bit too 'OMG babes, TOTES!!" for my liking, yeah it alright, I guess?
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Post by sherlock on Mar 9, 2023 14:52:33 GMT
Hmm…
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Post by mark687 on Mar 9, 2023 15:12:16 GMT
Surprising but if they judge the balance between message and story a bit better. Regards mark687
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Post by sherlock on Mar 9, 2023 20:10:01 GMT
Well this seems to be confirmation -
Nothing against Goss, but this does feel somewhat disappointing decision.
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Post by nucleusofswarm on Mar 9, 2023 20:58:06 GMT
Whether you like Redacted or not, really lousy of the BBC not to at least give her an explanation. Even a trad 'Thank you but we're going in a different direction' would've been better.
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Post by masterdoctor on Mar 9, 2023 21:45:41 GMT
Yikes. An entire series of Who centred around queer women and produced by queer women is being handed off after a successful first season to a male producer without so much as a chance for Watts to return is genuinely really sad.
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Post by shallacatop on Mar 9, 2023 21:51:37 GMT
I wasn’t keen on Redacted overall, and would much rather another series completely instead of a renewal, although there’s certainly potential with some amendments, but to remove Ella Watts isn’t the right decision. Indeed I’m surprised that the rest of the cast and crew would be prepared to carry on; she is the reason for its existence after all.
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Post by theillusiveman on Mar 10, 2023 0:09:13 GMT
Oh wow Redacted was one of the worst doctor who spin offs of all time So seeing it get a sequel is a surprise
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Post by nucleusofswarm on Mar 10, 2023 1:42:14 GMT
Yikes. An entire series of Who centred around queer women and produced by queer women is being handed off after a successful first season to a male producer without so much as a chance for Watts to return is genuinely really sad. It's how petty it seems that's sticking in my craw about this - to not only ignore her own wishes but also to not even have a meeting or some actual communication just feels too deliberate to simply be accidental thoughtlessness (at least, with Dawson still on, doesn't seem like this was an anti-LGBT thing thankfully) or corporate machinery. Like, for the sake of argument, if Watts had had some difficulties making the first season, why not use Goss as a co-producer, as an extra pair of hands, rather than push her out altogether?
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