|
Post by mark687 on May 17, 2023 20:29:41 GMT
1st Review
Regards
mark687
|
|
|
Post by Sir Wearer of Hats on May 18, 2023 8:37:22 GMT
Wow… that’s an impressive spread of opinions (one 4, one 3 one 1),
|
|
|
Post by Who Review on May 18, 2023 11:07:10 GMT
|
|
|
Post by mark687 on May 18, 2023 15:01:12 GMT
Regards
mark687
|
|
|
Post by elkawho on May 19, 2023 4:03:37 GMT
Loved it. Carley impresses me over and over again. And Case's story is fascinating. Masterful storytelling. Now I need to go to sleep.
|
|
|
Post by shallacatop on May 19, 2023 14:42:40 GMT
I thought it was a weird set and I can't quite put my finger on why... it feels disparate? Nothing quite comes together.
We begin with A Mother's Love, which has a nice concept, but treads water for its runtime getting the War Doctor and Case back together. I feel a bit sorry for Noga Flaishon being given that brief; I see no reason why they couldn't have been back together at the beginning, or at least handled very quickly in the opening minutes. Handling the story like that loses an hour of the runtime, but also is at odds with the way none of the other stories directly lead on from one another, meaning there's no reason for such a big set up.
Berserker is the strongest of the set but has so many different things going for it that none of them are as well executed as they could be. Sunspire and its people essentially become cannon fodder and everything about preserving their species quickly gets omitted. The Berserker Dalek doesn't live up to its premise and skulks around for the most part, despite that being the opposite of this particular Dalek variant. And Case gets some lovely material, but interspersed with the other story elements, plus the continuous moving on to different things, it doesn't land as well as it should.
Memnos then moves on from the cliffhanger and gives us this great big concept of a constantly growing Time War archive, but moves on within 10 minutes. Due to how truncated the Case material was in Berserker, I think Memnos has a hard time in actually getting across what's happened to her, and she ends up being in the background for a good chunk of it, so the story falls flat again. The Doctor and the Dalek Time Strategist have battled it out so many times now, but every single occasion almost feels like the first time it's happened. Arguably appropriate for a Time War, but it doesn't stand out compared to any other Dalek encounter, when for me, the encounters should be akin to the Doctor and Davros; the Time Strategist is essentially his Time War equivalent. And frankly that cliffhanger at the end should've happened earlier on in the set and been resolved in Comrades-in-Arms; as it stands I sort of wonder what we've earned as listeners in the preceding three hours.
I think A Mother's Love is ultimately a wasted hour, Berseker & Memnos are solid in their own right, if unremarkable, with the overall set lacking in a core vision. I've no doubt that Enemy Mine will bring everything to a nice conclusion in December, but at the same time I feel disappointed that this set hasn't done enough to justify the prolonged arc. All that aside, Carley & Awad are excellent and make for a very distinct duo.
|
|
|
Post by jbatty8 on May 29, 2023 10:17:33 GMT
I agree with the disparity comment, they are all linked and yet the linking is clunky, however I love the actors and I think the Case character had been a fresh addition compared to some recent new companions that have appeared.
Great set though, one of the strongest ranges in recent years for me, I do look forward to them, hope they continue.
|
|
|
Post by IndieMacUser on Jun 3, 2023 19:42:05 GMT
|
|
|
Post by sherlock on Aug 15, 2023 17:53:22 GMT
Just starting on this set. A Mother’s Love was a neat spin on the old rogue AI concept, though I agree with others that it’s odd that the Doctor and Case spend so little time together.
|
|
|
Post by Sir Wearer of Hats on Aug 15, 2023 20:21:21 GMT
Shouldn’t Case’s artificial eye be Dalek blue?
|
|
|
Post by sherlock on Aug 17, 2023 19:05:38 GMT
I liked Berserker. I’m not sure the “one take” gimmick really works on audio (it’s just not as effective without a visual dimension) but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The portrayal of the War Doctor is bang on to my mind. My only gripe is it feels like we missed a beat regarding the threat to Case’s health; I feel like the hospital setting of the first story could have been used to set that up a bit more elegantly.
|
|
|
Post by sherlock on Aug 18, 2023 8:58:46 GMT
Memnos again feels like we’ve missed a beat since how the previous story ended. This was the one of the Time Strategist’s better outings and I liked how the Doctor’s using Case as a weapon came back around. The cliffhanger did seem to render much of the story redundant though, but I guess we’ll see where Enemy Mine takes it.
Overall, a decent outing for the War Doctor. Not quite the height of He Who Fights With Monsters, but it continues this range’s generally reliable quality.
|
|
|
Post by tuigirl on Oct 23, 2023 15:44:21 GMT
This continues to be a strong range. I am tired of Daleks and the Time War, but I have to admit, the War Doctor stories continue to surprise and engage me. This set of stories is better (IMHO) that many other things I have listened to lately, including the 60th Anniversary offering. I actually liked all 3 of these stories. For me, all of them were very well performed, well paced and had a very creepy atmosphere. Especially a Mother's Love and Berserker had some great atmospheric moments. Besides all the action, we also get some more character work, and Case (as a rescued Dalek cyborg) continues to be an interesting companion- with an edge, since we can never be 100% sure that she is indeed "in control".
|
|