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Post by bonehead on Jun 28, 2022 19:02:19 GMT
I will say with how female forward this set is cast wise, and how Big Finish have been over the last couple of years, it feels very weird that only one hour was written by a female identifying writer. I'd say they've got a good balance here. Sometimes I think that Big Finish just can't win. |
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Post by masterdoctor on Jun 28, 2022 20:33:54 GMT
I will say with how female forward this set is cast wise, and how Big Finish have been over the last couple of years, it feels very weird that only one hour was written by a female identifying writer. I'd say they've got a good balance here. Sometimes I think that Big Finish just can't win. I would disagree there is a balance, but I also wasn’t passing judgement on it, just simply that it surprised me. |
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Post by shallacatop on Jun 29, 2022 8:26:10 GMT
I'm actually most interested in them visiting the mighty Steel City in this set. I'm biased as it's where I'm from, but also interested how it'll be incorporated into the story; it's built on seven hills, so not the most accessible of places for our TARDIS team. And of course it was the heart of Jodie's first series. Hopefully we'll get something a little bit more than referencing the green police box anyway!
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Jun 29, 2022 8:33:51 GMT
The only thing I know about Sheffield is that the almighty awesome Def Leppard are from there.  |
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Post by Whovitt on Jun 29, 2022 14:57:55 GMT
This thread has gone very off topic and the mods have decided that it shall be temporarily locked to allow everyone to cool down. We will reopen the thread to resume discussion of the release in due course. Please do not create a new thread to continue the off-topic discussion. If any threads are created, they will be removed. We're sorry to interrupt genuine discussion for the release.
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Aug 2, 2022 9:39:53 GMT
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Post by Whovitt on Aug 3, 2022 9:15:18 GMT
The thread has now been reopened for discussion. We're sorry to have cut short discussion for this release until now.
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Post by sherlock on Aug 3, 2022 9:22:29 GMT
This is tempting but I was a bit lukewarm on Water Worlds so will see the reaction first.
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lidar2
Castellan
You know, now that you mention it, I actually do rather like Attack of the Cybermen ...
Likes: 5,628 
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Post by lidar2 on Aug 3, 2022 9:27:34 GMT
I haven't listened to Water Worlds, so I may be very wrong, but the impression I get from the covers and publicity for these 2 boxsets is that rather than being the Sixth Dr Adventures boxset this is morphing into the Hebe & Friends boxset, with Six and Mel as merely 2 supporting characters amongst many.
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Post by Sir Wearer of Hats on Aug 3, 2022 9:34:09 GMT
Sheffield, huh? Interesting choice of place... There are no aliens in Shefield… |
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Post by mark687 on Aug 3, 2022 9:43:31 GMT
I haven't listened to Water Worlds, so I may be very wrong, but the impression I get from the covers and publicity for these 2 boxsets is that rather than being the Sixth Dr Adventures boxset this is morphing into the Hebe & Friends boxset, with Six and Mel as merely 2 supporting characters amongst many. It would appear so from the synopsis, I am surprised we have a new recurring character for it immediately after a new Companion is introduced. Regards mark687 |
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Post by themeddlingmonk on Aug 3, 2022 11:42:37 GMT
I mean they’ve explained fairly clearly that the idea is that they’re giving the 6/Mel/Hebe and home base and this is essentially Hebe’s recurring family.
Unless Series 4 of New Who is the Donna and Friends show with Wilf and Sylvia?
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Post by mark687 on Aug 9, 2022 8:28:16 GMT
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Aug 9, 2022 8:34:17 GMT
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Post by theillusiveman on Aug 9, 2022 11:36:40 GMT
Just finished listening to The Mindless Ones (ironic title) by Paul Margs
you know you are off to a great start when you just finished listening to the story and finding it completely forgettable and this coming from the guy who wrote The Peterloo Massacre and The Stones of Venice!!
basically Generic villain Mr Betterman has a machine which brainwashes people into being hippies, The Doctor, Mel and Hebe meets Hebe's Friend Elise, also meeting Patricia McBride- Generic snarky female character and Toby Hadoke playing useless Husband Dean Ron (the useless Husband was Toby's own description of the character gee almost dime a dozen these days in Doctor Who)
So yeah basically if you wanted to listen to a story that set in a university just listen to The Rani Elite
4/10
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Post by mark687 on Aug 9, 2022 12:27:42 GMT
Another Release where the Reviews will make fascinating reading.
3 stories virtually from the perspective of a newer character Professor McBride (so much so Mel is virtually redundant), Mcbride's take on things is provocative from the off and gets downright amoral and "dangerous" as the set progresses . Its a contradictory subtle yet not performance from Imogen Stubbs
As the stories are 2 Parters their plot light so may result in some head scratching resolutions, and its debatable how it advances Hebe as a character in any way. (25 minute 2 Parters are not ideal when there's a large Cast and a message to convey)
3/5 Purely cause Colin, Ruth, and Imogen really do their best to sell it.
Regards
mark687
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Post by theillusiveman on Aug 9, 2022 13:50:12 GMT
Finished Episode 2 Reverse Engineering
A step up from Episode 1 good old Jonathan Morris
Plot was decent and actually had stuff happening
Good cliffhanger to episode 1
Good performances
7/10
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Post by shallacatop on Aug 10, 2022 9:12:36 GMT
In the first set we get three very similar stories that are driven by our new companion, Hebe. In the second set we get another three very similar stories that are driven by a new companion, Patricia. Not one of the stories feels substantial or with any real identity or indication it knows what it wants to be. We've just got a large lead cast going through the motions and the episodes unfolding because they're written to be like that, rather than any natural storytelling. It just results in a lot of mostly irrelevant talking in part one leading to a cliffhanger that's swiftly resolved in part two, followed by some more talking and then the realisation that it's meant to be a story with a conclusion, so we get some bizarre and sudden resolutions and cue the theme tune.
Hebe gets no further development. Patricia is one sided and her eventual reveal is both unsurprising and underdeveloped because she didn't have anything going for her beyond snipes and digs at people. The Doctor does some preaching and then we move on to some more talking and then once again a realisation that we're meant to be telling a story so we better conclude it. Mel might as well not be in the set, same for the introduction of Elise, and the Doctor just feels like he's playing second fiddle. I do like stories where the Doctor is in the background, it can be very effective, but it needs to be properly done. This is just a symptom of four lead characters in a string of very similar 60 minute stories.
And all the use of Sheffield results in is a very brief scene in the Botanical Gardens in the last episode, followed by the obligatory mention of the police box. So much for "a dimensionally transcendental artefact lost somewhere in the city"; it's two minutes away from where they were in the first episode!
Jacqueline Rayner producing this set should be a match made in heaven. Paul Magrs writing for the Sixth Doctor should too. Instead we've just had a run of two types of story with two new companions that aren't particularly rounded or given the opportunity to be thrown into a variety of scenarios. I can't say I'm excited for the future, as it seems to be very rooted in what little has been established in Purity Undreamed. And enough of the clunky 5 minute set ups for the next instalment.
If they want to tackle views and themes in this range, and that seems to be the case, then it needs to produce a variety of stories and differing lengths. It's just a cookie cutter template with the odd bit of clunky dialogue at the moment with little development. It just gives the view of them not really knowing the direction of the range, which I know isn't the case, it's just the constraints imposed aren't selling it.
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Post by mark687 on Aug 10, 2022 9:26:48 GMT
I'm not sure this range or new era really knows what it wants to do aside some very, very broad strokes of a recurring villain. In the first set we get three very similar stories that are driven by our new companion, Hebe. In the second set we get another three very similar stories that are driven by a new companion, Patricia. Not one of the stories feels substantial or with any real identity or indication it knows what it wants to be. We've just got a large lead cast going through the motions and the episodes unfolding because they're written to be like that, rather than any natural storytelling. It just results in a lot of mostly irrelevant talking in part one leading to a cliffhanger that's swiftly resolved in part two, followed by some more talking and then the realisation that it's meant to be a story with a conclusion, so we get some bizarre and sudden resolutions and cue the theme tune. Hebe gets no further development. Patricia is one sided and her eventual reveal is both unsurprising and underdeveloped because she didn't have anything going for her beyond snipes and digs at people. The Doctor does some preaching and then we move on to some more talking and then once again a realisation that we're meant to be telling a story so we better conclude it. Mel might as well not be in the set, same for the introduction of Elise, and the Doctor just feels like he's playing second fiddle. I do like stories where the Doctor is in the background, it can be very effective, but it needs to be properly done. This is just a symptom of four lead characters in a string of very similar 60 minute stories. And all the use of Sheffield results in is a very brief scene in the Botanical Gardens in the last episode, followed by the obligatory mention of the police box. So much for "a dimensionally transcendental artefact lost somewhere in the city"; it's two minutes away from where they were in the first episode! Jacqueline Rayner producing this set should be a match made in heaven. Paul Magrs writing for the Sixth Doctor should too. Instead we've just had a run of two types of story with two new companions that aren't particularly rounded or given the opportunity to be thrown into a variety of scenarios. I can't say I'm excited for the future, as it seems to be very rooted in what little has been established in Purity Undreamed. And enough of the clunky 5 minute set ups for the next instalment. If they want to tackle views and themes in this range, and that seems to be the case, then it needs to produce a variety of stories and differing lengths. It's just a cookie cutter template with the odd bit of clunky dialogue at the moment with little development. Agreed the EP Length does not work here with large Casts and multiple plot threads 2 4 Part stories in each set would've worked fine. Regards mark687 |
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Post by shallacatop on Aug 10, 2022 9:42:40 GMT
I'm not sure this range or new era really knows what it wants to do aside some very, very broad strokes of a recurring villain. In the first set we get three very similar stories that are driven by our new companion, Hebe. In the second set we get another three very similar stories that are driven by a new companion, Patricia. Not one of the stories feels substantial or with any real identity or indication it knows what it wants to be. We've just got a large lead cast going through the motions and the episodes unfolding because they're written to be like that, rather than any natural storytelling. It just results in a lot of mostly irrelevant talking in part one leading to a cliffhanger that's swiftly resolved in part two, followed by some more talking and then the realisation that it's meant to be a story with a conclusion, so we get some bizarre and sudden resolutions and cue the theme tune. Hebe gets no further development. Patricia is one sided and her eventual reveal is both unsurprising and underdeveloped because she didn't have anything going for her beyond snipes and digs at people. The Doctor does some preaching and then we move on to some more talking and then once again a realisation that we're meant to be telling a story so we better conclude it. Mel might as well not be in the set, same for the introduction of Elise, and the Doctor just feels like he's playing second fiddle. I do like stories where the Doctor is in the background, it can be very effective, but it needs to be properly done. This is just a symptom of four lead characters in a string of very similar 60 minute stories. And all the use of Sheffield results in is a very brief scene in the Botanical Gardens in the last episode, followed by the obligatory mention of the police box. So much for "a dimensionally transcendental artefact lost somewhere in the city"; it's two minutes away from where they were in the first episode! Jacqueline Rayner producing this set should be a match made in heaven. Paul Magrs writing for the Sixth Doctor should too. Instead we've just had a run of two types of story with two new companions that aren't particularly rounded or given the opportunity to be thrown into a variety of scenarios. I can't say I'm excited for the future, as it seems to be very rooted in what little has been established in Purity Undreamed. And enough of the clunky 5 minute set ups for the next instalment. If they want to tackle views and themes in this range, and that seems to be the case, then it needs to produce a variety of stories and differing lengths. It's just a cookie cutter template with the odd bit of clunky dialogue at the moment with little development. Agreed the EP Length does not work here with large Casts and multiple plot threads 2 4 Part stories in each set would've worked fine. Regards mark687 Yeah, I’d have been happy with two sets of 2x4 parters, or even two sets of 2 parter and a 4 parter, or a 2 parter and 4 parter first set and a 6 part epic second with Patricia becoming a presence. It’s also the little things like they’re 3x2 parters and not 3x60 minute stories. That can completely alter the structure of a story; it’s not just a case of throwing a cliffhanger in the middle. In a 60 minute episode, what could be Part 1 could be condensed into 10 minutes without an issue. I think it’s a mistake to do two sets with each one comprising of very similar stories. I think it’s a mistake to introduce a new companion after Hebe has only just had her debut and not been given a variety of adventures. I think it’s a mistake to do a string of two parters and trying to make them into something else. To do all of those together and there’s just nothing substantial or anything particularly enjoyable. |
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