|
Post by mark687 on Feb 23, 2023 9:20:07 GMT
IN Accounts with Extended Extra Dl
Regards
mark687
|
|
|
Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Feb 23, 2023 9:39:26 GMT
|
|
|
Post by mark687 on Feb 23, 2023 15:23:39 GMT
Successfully archives it objective of reestablishing Jo, the reunion with "Her" Doctor and the touching brave decision to have art reflect life.
As to the stories they're short and to the point [The Iron Shore is slightly on a different tac to the the others]
A touching release, and possibly a new direction for a fondly regarded familiar duo.
Regards
mark687
|
|
|
Post by eldersensorite on Feb 23, 2023 19:17:37 GMT
While I did enjoy the whole set and understand Katy wants to play an older Jo from now on I do wonder if the first story would've worked better as a standalone story rather than the beginning of an ongoing thing
|
|
|
Post by nitronine on Feb 25, 2023 12:07:43 GMT
For anyone that's heard this, does it contradict The Sacrifice of Jo Jones and/or Find and Replace? I'm not super bothered about continuity issues usually but I'm just interested if this is a continuation of either of those or another "Older Jo meets the 3rd Doctor for the first time since The Green Death" story.
|
|
|
Post by mark687 on Feb 25, 2023 12:40:31 GMT
For anyone that's heard this, does it contradict The Sacrifice of Jo Jones and/or Find and Replace? I'm not super bothered about continuity issues usually but I'm just interested if this is a continuation of either of those or another "Older Jo meets the 3rd Doctor for the first time since The Green Death" story. Not a continuation of any BF that's gone before, and an explanation in story [that I can live with] why this release doesn't contradict them either as such. Regards mark687
|
|
|
Post by tuigirl on Feb 25, 2023 14:03:14 GMT
Supernature- so BF now does Hitchcock's "the Birds". Kind of. It sadly quickly devolves into a standard 3rd Doctor story plot-wise with the typical 3rd Doctor adversary (no, not the Master ). But I think the real meat is the showcase for Jo and her character and her recent loss. And of course her reunion with "her" Doctor. Katy Manning does an amazing job, and she nearly had me in tears. All in all a good start.
|
|
|
Post by tuigirl on Feb 26, 2023 19:46:48 GMT
The Conservitors- Sadly, this one did not really grip me. It was too similar to many other BF releases. Totalitarian regime, ruthless dictator, a family ripped apart by different loyalities and a kid that runs away to join the rebels.... After listening to the extras, I understand what the author was going for (mother instinct, protection / overprotection, keeping loved-ones close and safe while denying them their freedom). But it just did not work for me.
The Iron Shore- This has a a couple of very good twist in there. It is also a pretty dark story, which is a bit unusual for a story featuring Jo. The alien world also sounds quite interesting. And I loved that Jo is also doing the narrator here, Katy Manning is an amazing narrator (and audio book reader). However, this story too plays it a bit too save and for me, this is holding it back from becoming memorable or a classic.
So all in all, it was a good, enjoyable set, and especially the first story is very emotional and heartfelt. The rest is sadly a bit "average" and too close to previous BF stories. However, Katy Manning does her very best in her performance here and it is worth it just for her.
|
|
|
Post by newt5996 on Feb 26, 2023 21:13:10 GMT
The Conservitors- Sadly, this one did not really grip me. It was too similar to many other BF releases. Totalitarian regime, ruthless dictator, a family ripped apart by different loyalities and a kid that runs away to join the rebels.... After listening to the extras, I understand what the author was going for (mother instinct, protection / overprotection, keeping loved-ones close and safe while denying them their freedom). But it just did not work for me. The Iron Shore- This has a a couple of very good twist in there. It is also a pretty dark story, which is a bit unusual for a story featuring Jo. The alien world also sounds quite interesting. And I loved that Jo is also doing the narrator here, Katy Manning is an amazing narrator (and audio book reader). However, this story too plays it a bit too save and for me, this is holding it back from becoming memorable or a classic. So all in all, it was a good, enjoyable set, and especially the first story is very emotional and heartfelt. The rest is sadly a bit "average" and too close to previous BF stories. However, Katy Manning does her very best in her performance here and it is worth it just for her. I think the big issue for me is that all of these stories feel really limited in the hour long format which has kind of made the set not work.
|
|
|
Post by tuigirl on Feb 26, 2023 21:32:18 GMT
The Conservitors- Sadly, this one did not really grip me. It was too similar to many other BF releases. Totalitarian regime, ruthless dictator, a family ripped apart by different loyalities and a kid that runs away to join the rebels.... After listening to the extras, I understand what the author was going for (mother instinct, protection / overprotection, keeping loved-ones close and safe while denying them their freedom). But it just did not work for me. The Iron Shore- This has a a couple of very good twist in there. It is also a pretty dark story, which is a bit unusual for a story featuring Jo. The alien world also sounds quite interesting. And I loved that Jo is also doing the narrator here, Katy Manning is an amazing narrator (and audio book reader). However, this story too plays it a bit too save and for me, this is holding it back from becoming memorable or a classic. So all in all, it was a good, enjoyable set, and especially the first story is very emotional and heartfelt. The rest is sadly a bit "average" and too close to previous BF stories. However, Katy Manning does her very best in her performance here and it is worth it just for her. I think the big issue for me is that all of these stories feel really limited in the hour long format which has kind of made the set not work. Yeah, you could be right. In some cases, these short stories work well. I actually enjoyed the first story, it had just the right scope. But the world building of the alien worlds in the other two stories did indeed suffer.
|
|
|
Post by Who Review on Feb 28, 2023 12:38:08 GMT
|
|
|
Post by shallacatop on Feb 28, 2023 16:30:32 GMT
I think this suffered from a lack of direction and vision, to be honest. None of the stories are bad, but they really struggle with balancing what it is they're trying to do. They're emulating the Third Doctor era, but are stuck in the trappings of a two parter, which just isn't enough time to do any of these particular plots stories. They occasionally make reference and incorporate this being a present day Jo, but for the most part hark back to being a 3DA dynamic with the Doctor.
Supernature is the strongest story because it lets Jo take centre stage and has her independent of the Doctor for some time. The speech about Cliff didn't really land for me, to be honest. It's beautifully performed by Katy, but it just feels drawn out and that took me out thinking of how close Katy & Stewart were and that getting her to perform in such detail felt a bit off to me. I appreciate it wouldn't have been done without Katy being fully on board, it's just how I felt listening.
The Conservitors was quite messy as a result of the short runtime. Being a two parter is often worse than a solid 60 minutes for me, as the leadup in the first part to the cliffhanger for the most part could be condensed nicely to the opening 10 minutes, giving plenty of scope for the more interesting areas to be explored.
The Iron Shore was solid enough, but again the short runtime really hampers it from being explored to its full potential. I liked that Jo was at the forefront, but I don't think it really leaned into the present day version, and I didn't really see the need for the narration.
This is the first blip for the Jo Jones era at Big Finish. It's not a massive blip, but I do think this set and its use of Jo Jones pales in comparison to the character's use in other ranges. I think if this is to be an ongoing run of stories, then there needs to be some consideration to the direction they want to go in. They need to be more than a rehash of the Third Doctor era and they need to really consider where Jo is in her timeline.
|
|
|
Post by Kestrel on Mar 1, 2023 14:28:38 GMT
Hm... really bummed at the response this set seems to be getting. I've never been the biggest fan of Jo, but the other stories they've done with an older incarnation were pretty damned excellent (I am still haunted by A Quiet Night In, and I remember The Death of Jo Grant being pretty darned good, too) so I had kinda high hopes for it.
|
|
|
Post by tuigirl on Mar 1, 2023 17:43:31 GMT
Hm... really bummed at the response this set seems to be getting. I've never been the biggest fan of Jo, but the other stories they've done with an older incarnation were pretty damned excellent (I am still haunted by A Quiet Night In, and I remember The Death of Jo Grant being pretty darned good, too) so I had kinda high hopes for it. It is not bad, the first story is emotional and pretty good to be honest. It is just that the other two stories are more average and like the others are saying.... they just needed more time and space to breathe. If you do amazing world-building with a planet that has an impossible ocean with iron cliffs- then go for it and do world-building! Do not just have a small tiny location in an abandoned dock! This is not TV! You are not contrained by budget! Well, except they were constrained by run-time and it suffers for it. Sad really. This could as well have played out in a dock in average-rundown-shore-town/ UK.
|
|
|
Post by Timelord007 on Mar 2, 2023 1:10:33 GMT
Hm... really bummed at the response this set seems to be getting. I've never been the biggest fan of Jo, but the other stories they've done with an older incarnation were pretty damned excellent (I am still haunted by A Quiet Night In, and I remember The Death of Jo Grant being pretty darned good, too) so I had kinda high hopes for it. It is not bad, the first story is emotional and pretty good to be honest. It is just that the other two stories are more average and like the others are saying.... they just needed more time and space to breathe. If you do amazing world-building with a planet that has an impossible ocean with iron cliffs- then go for it and do world-building! Do not just have a small tiny location in an abandoned dock! This is not TV! You are not contrained by budget! Well, except they were constrained by run-time and it suffers for it. Sad really. This could as well have played out in a dock in average-rundown-shore-town/ UK.
Completely agree.
|
|
|
Post by bonehead on Mar 16, 2023 20:58:30 GMT
Supernature by Matt Fitton.
Any story that shares its title with one of the greatest disco tracks ever (in my opinion, of course), can't be all bad. Yes, I would have liked to see the interesting ideas explored further, but on the whole, Supernature fitted it's two-episode structure well.
If blogger Al Hunter is meant to be an irritant, then she certainly is. What a monstrous creation. I'm not sure her redemption is entirely convincing. Tim Treloar’s Third Doctor is on blistering form though, he gets more like Jon Pertwee all the time. He even gets a ‘who?’ when he’s introduced. I love the way he calls Jo ‘Mrs Jones’. Speaking of Jo, Katy Manning's terrific in this; Matt Fitton's script is suitably emotion-fuelled, with Cliff's fate not revealed fully until the end - and Katy plays it all wonderfully. A beautiful last scene, I thought.
|
|
|
Post by bonehead on Mar 24, 2023 19:53:59 GMT
The Conservitors by Felicia Barker.
This was a nice dystopian, political story, the like of which Barry Letts flirted with back on television in the early '70s. Nice acting and sound design, but as others have said, it all seems too condensed to fit the two-episode format imposed upon it. Lots could have been made of events here with a longer story, and while the previous Supernature fitted the format well, this one seemed to have ideas that warranted more explanation. I'm not a fan of short stories for The Third Doctor, it's as simple as that; I like something to get my teeth into, and the brevity of The Conservitors did it a bit of injustice.
I've just listened to this after watching a bit of the new Season 9 Blu Ray Collection, and it reinforces how brilliant Tim's take on The Third Doctor is. That his voice should convince after watching Jon Pertwee so recently is a real testament to his skills. Katy Manning is on top form here. Kudos to Big Finish for providing us with such a convincing older Jo Jones, more confident, capable and no-nonsense - as she would be at this time. Katy takes this and runs with it, producing a brilliant take on Jo. Mad as a hatter, of course, and absolutely in line with character we ghot to know all those years ago.
|
|
|
Post by timleschild on Mar 26, 2023 18:09:28 GMT
Only listened to Supernature, it was ok. If the plan is just to replicate the 70s 3 & Jo era it worked I suppose but it was quite average & as it set 50 years after their adventures why is the score so early 70s? Does not work.
|
|
|
Post by timleschild on Mar 27, 2023 9:34:34 GMT
Listened to the whole thing & the remaining 2 stories were quite boring, the narration unnecessary. Will not be buying any more of this range if it continues. I get that Katy finds it difficult to play young Jo but this seems to be the only reason to do this. Maybe get 3rd Doctor with a new companion in adventures set prior to this. Maybe the real reason he came back to earth was to catch up with Jo after something terrible had happened?
|
|
|
Post by bonehead on Mar 30, 2023 18:36:34 GMT
The Iron Shore by Lizzie Hopley.
I listened this without having no prior knowledge. I didn't even read the synopsis. Looking back, it's no surprise to see Lizzie Hopley's name attached to this; she's a favourite writer of mine and I thoroughly enjoyed this final story. In fact, I've enjoyed all the stories in this latest set. I love it when Big Finish plays to its own strengths - only they could have a new Third Doctor adventure featuring a decades-older Jo. Apart from anything else, it's an approach that has allowed Katy Manning to deliver some of her best ever performances in my view. Without being shackled to reproducing her '70s voice, she's free to let rip with an often barnstorming performance - Jo's not afraid to give The Doctor a piece of her mind too, which adds a nice break in their cosy familial relationship.
I loved everything about this - the acting, the story, the way in which the story was told (loved the narration) and the often psychedelic incidentals - in fact, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I just wish the stories had been longer. Having said that, the pacing here is swift and nothing is ever given the chance to drag. If my only criticism of this set is that I wanted more of it ... that's no criticism at all really.
|
|