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Post by bethhigdon on May 24, 2024 12:46:19 GMT
McCoy 8th Review
The Professor & Ace: The Left Hand of Darkness - Behind the Scenes
There's potentially several things you can cover in this section during the wilderness years. There's sequels, spin-offs, documentaries, articles, books, interviews, Big Finish, and various unrelated films that have nothing to do with Who but seem to be cast with nothing but actors from the old show.
But for my money, the absolute wildest thing to come out of this period is straight up Bootleg Who.
Same actors, same writers, same basic premise, same characters in all but name.. or even in name in some cases... But it's not called Doctor Who so legally it's not Doctor Who you see.
Man, UK copyright is weird.
There were two prominent bootlegs at the time.
The Stranger, staring Colin Baker, was a series of direct to video films with a few spin off audios. He and his companion 'Miss. Brown' (played by Nicola Bryant) travel through time and save the day... you know, just like in Doctor Who, but they never say their names and you never see their actual method of travel.
The second is The Professor and Ace, aka The Time Travelers, aka The Dominie... yeah this thing had a lot of monikers. It's called the Professor and Ace on Audible where I bought it so that's what I'm going with.
This was an audio series staring Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred as two time travelers, one a mysterious 900 year old alien called the Professor and the other a delinquent teen called Ace... but her real name is Alice in this, not Dorothy, so it's totally a different character guys.
It's insane!
It's glorious!
It's the closest you can get to official Doctor Who with out it actually being officially licensed Doctor Who.
Even the 60s Dalek movies are more canonical than this...
Which is in some ways is a shame as, it's actually good. Or at least the one episode that I listened to was.
The series manages to be mature without being grotesque. It succeeds where I think things like the Virgin New Adventures fails.
There's cursing, but it never feels out of character, or unwarranted, even as Ace peppers her dialogue with the usual kid friendly slang.
There's mature topics discussed but nothing is gratuitous or in your face. It's all real things being brought up like, loss, grief, and trust; bad childhoods and the effects of traumas ... not gory violence for the sake of being shocking.
There's nudity, but only in scenes that call for it in the story... like medical treatment or a bath after running around in the jungle. It's not awkwardly sexullized, but there to add realism to the story and to help ground the setting.
It's basically Who for grown ups, not 'Who for teens that want to appear grown up'. Therein lies the difference... despite what the original cover would have you believe.
Was this really needed, BBV?
Anyways, I've waffled long enough. Let's get down to the actual story shall we?
Ace becomes separated from 'The Professor' and winds up in a crashed spaceship. She's the sole survivor of the wreck and is rescued by a mysterious man named Dorsai.
Dorsai is also a survivor of a previous wreck. A group of scientists crashed landed on the planet that they had originally intended to study. With no workable communications and no hope of rescue from passing ships due to the remoteness of the planet, the group built a home out of the wreckage of their ship and continued their work.
Dorsai is the only one left now as the rest of the crew have died off one by one. Ace doesn't trust the man, but finds herself reliant on him for survival. Not only because he's the only person around who knows the area and has all of the supplies... but also because she's been blinded by the crash.
Like I said previously, this feels more like a continuation of the adventures of Seven and Ace on screen then the actual official continuations we got. Heck in some ways it's an improvement over the tv show itself!
Remember how I bemoaned about how vague Ace's arc was in The Curse of Fenric novelization?
Yeah, this actually addresses that!
We finally find out why Ace hates her mum. It's nothing we couldn't have figure out with some basic guess work, but it's still nice to actually hear it from the character herself. You know, because it something that effects her and informs her decisions... like why she travels and why she doesn't trust anyone but the 'The Professor'.
We also delve deeper into her blind faith in 'The Professor' and how shaky her strongman act really is, but in a way that feels real and frightening, and not her being manipulated by virtual gods to further some convoluted plot point.
Finally, we address the elephant in the room that I think was set up in Survival but was never fully resolved... Ace going home for real. Not just to see her school mates... whom she all quickly forgets in favor of hot catgirls... but actually returning to where she left off and confronting her problems/past.
Screw it! This is cannon to me. This is where she leaves the Doctor for real and what she and Seven were discussing in Power of the Doctor. It's my box of head-cannons and you can't take it from me!
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Post by bethhigdon on May 25, 2024 13:02:37 GMT
McCoy 9th Review
Question Mark Pyjamas - Short Story
The Virgin Decalogs were kind of a precursor to the Short Trips of today. An anthology series that at first focused on Doctor Who, that then went on to feature the Expand Who Universe, and finally focusing on original works with no connection to the series.
This is because Virgin lost the publishing license for Who after the TV movie. More on that later.
Question Mark Pyjamas is the final story in the second Decalog "Lost Property". The recurring theme of this anthology is all the random properties the Doctor acquires through out his travels... houses, land, condos, boats, hotels... ect.
It's an odd theme, but I haven't read the entire book yet so I can't tell you how well it works as a whole, but I can tell you that said theme is front and center within the short story I'm reviewing today.
A house the Doctor owns is stolen by a alien conman looking to set up a theme park on an asteroid. The Doctor and his companions are held hostage and forced to become a side show attraction for the park. They must quite literally 'play house' and pretend to be a 'normal' earth family for the constantly viewing audience.
I probably make the story sound way cooler than it actually is with that summary.
In reality the narrative has a very slow first half, an awkward middle, and doesn't really come together until the very end.
Part of the problem is that the Tardis crew just kind of stumbles onto the theme park and discovers the stolen house by shear coincidence. They then get captured by the villain when they try to confront him.
Rather than making the very comedic villain an unstoppable force to be reckoned with, it instead just makes our heroes look weak... especially Ace who is supposed to be combat hardened by this point.
Also they aren't forced to preform for a live audience, but are made to 'rehearse' for the villain who never shuts up.
The tension of the story is basically downgraded.
But that's alright, this is intended to be a lighthearted comedy piece.
Except it's not particularly funny.
A lot of the jokes fall flat for me. Mainly cause it only seems to have one joke.
Two foul mouthed, 'modern' women are forced to perform sanitized outdated stereotypes that they hate, and they won't shut up about how much they hate it, but they quite literally won't do anything about it with out the Doctor's permission. Hardy, har, har...
Oh and the Doctor makes a weird, out of character, sex joke at some point.
Finally, I just hate how everyone is written through out most of it.
It's like I'm walking into middle of on going argument between a poly group that I have no context for.
Why is everyone in the tardis crew so rude and bitchy to each other at the beginning? What's up with all the awkward innuendoes between them? Why has Ace regressed as a character despite supposedly being older now?
Yeah that's the real disappointment here. I know the NAs had nothing to do with the Professor and Ace audios, but it's still disappointing to go from one story where she shows actual character development to another story where she's even more immature than she was on tv.
Like the character's main conflict in the story is that despite being in her 20s now, Ace is forced to play 'the child' for the attraction. Except she is childish.
She's rude, bratty, calls her own supposed friends names behind their backs, paranoid, self-centered and more concerned with 'having fun' then actually rescuing her friends.
The narrative makes a point to say that she's 'a woman now' and 'old before her time' but then has her behaving like a spoiled 13 year old.
But it's not all bad.
As I said, things pick up as we head towards then end. After Ace decides to remove the stick up her butt and help out, we get several cute scenes.
Ace escaping the house on a motorbike, driving through the amusement park with killer robots chasing after her, laughing all the way, is just unfiltered concentrated Who.
The Doctor and Benny cooking lunch together is adorable, and I love the pay off at the end regarding the roast.
And Benny's pure joy at getting to raid the Doctor's wine cellar full of antique alcohols from around the universe is perhaps the most realized the character has ever been to me.
Like counting this one, I've only read/heard three stories with Benny in total and the character never really clicked for me until this moment. Where she's cradling a wine bottle like a baby and cooing at it, going on and on about how much she's going to enjoy drinking it.
That's hilarious.
Hopefully that humor follows her into the Benny spin-off series which we'll be covering next.
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Post by bethhigdon on May 26, 2024 16:28:41 GMT
McCoy 10th Review
Bernice Summerfield: Oh No It Isn't! - Spin-off
Part of what makes Bernice Summerfield such a long running success is that her series can function as a standalone thing rather than just a spin-off.
When Virgin Publishing lost the rights to Doctor Who back in 1996, they dug Benny (a character they had created for the New Adventures novels) out of the closet and designed a new series around her with no ties to Doctor Who what so ever.
That's not to say that they erased the character's past, she's still a companion and technically the series still takes place in the world of Who, but no mentions of the Doctor nor any other BBC owned character appear or are even named dropped.
So basically you can pick up this first novel, like I did, without ever having touched any of the NAs, or even without having seen an episode of Who in your life.
Because, besides Benny herself, the only other thing that can be associated with Who is Menlove Stokes from that Fourth Doctor book we covered, The Romance of Crime. And there's no references to that story here either.
But what about the actual book? Is it any good?
Ehhhh....
I want to like it. I really do.
I love the premise. Getting caught in a augmented reality based off fairy tales!? Yes please!
Also most the characters are likable enough, even with such a large cast.
But there's one thing that really drags the whole book down.
It's the subplot between Benny and one of her students.
Through out the story Benny keeps debating about whether or not she should pursue a romance with one of the college kids that she teaches... and it's just gross.
Granted, she never goes through with it, and the narrative repeatedly points out why it's toxic, but like... why the hell would you introduce your main hero with a such a subplot anyways?
I mean if you're going to tell such a story then actually tell it. Make it the focus and draw some real drama from it. Don't shove it into the background of a completely different narrative after introducing it.
The end result is just uncomfortable and distracting. The darker subject matter clashes horribly with the surreal comedy romp that the rest if the story wants to be, and so it never feels fully resolved.
In addition it winds up undoing any hard work the book made to present it's hero as relatable and likable.
I mean, my gosh, plenty of women get a divorce without turning into pedos... seriously what the f**k?
Yeah, yeah, yeah... I know the character is in college and would technically be considered 'legal', but he's still described as a teenager several times through out the book and she's in her mid to late 30s.
Also.. She's His Damn Teacher!
However, whenever this unpleasantness is shoved aside for the actual story, it's pretty dang good.
It's charming, funny, and fun!
Even if you're not familiar with British Panto you can still follow along with the tropes easily enough as they're mostly still rooted in fairy tales and musical theater.
It's certainly more digestible then most Virgin fare, I'll give it that, but it's still not enough to make me a Benny fan, sorry.
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Post by bethhigdon on May 27, 2024 12:38:34 GMT
McCoy 11th Review
Damaged Goods - Novel
I think this book is cursed.
Or maybe it's just fall.
Everything bad happens in fall.
Short to say, I've had a very annoying week and this book did not improve my mood.
Like every Virgin NA, this novel is an example of trying too hard to be edgy. It's depressing, gross, infuriatingly gratuitous in its depictions of sex and gore, and gives it's doomed characters the most miserable of lives to the point where their eventual deaths almost seem like a mercy.
I've seen people praise RTD for showing such a gritty, grim, and realistic take on what poverty was like in the late 80s, but I can't even give that to the book. The villains are too over the top, his depictions of both physical and mental illness insultingly factious, and the massacre that the climax hinges on is too ridiculous to the point that it stops being horrifying and is just plain silly.
But it's not fun.
It's never fun.
For every fantastic sic-fi whimsy or decent characterization we're treated to, it's ruined by unnecessary bleakness and crass descriptions of vile, gross shit that often don't add anything.
(Like seriously, why keep bringing up Chris's infected ear piercing? Just why?)
I'm sorry Bernice Summerfield, you were gold compared to this crap!
Look, I don't ask much from this show other then to be fun, and this novel was a failure at that.
Thank heveans this is the last Virgin Publishing book we'll ever have to read for this marathon.
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Post by number13 on May 27, 2024 21:28:02 GMT
McCoy 11th Review Damaged Goods - Novel I think this book is cursed. ... I thought the BF adaptation was excellent and also that I would probably prefer it to the book (which I've never read) as BF would leave out the more 'edgy' bits and just do a good Doctor Who story. Sounds like I guessed right!
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Post by Alastair on May 28, 2024 10:17:10 GMT
The audio adaptation certainly smoothed over the edges in a very welcome way, particularly when it comes to who survives the ending. (If anything it goes a little too far in glossing over the trauma in service of a more pleasant aftertaste.) It felt to me like a tight two-hour movie, full of sparkling dialogue that brought out the best in McCoy. I thought it captured something of the era without repeating its more needlessly bleak and horrific indulgences.
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Post by bethhigdon on May 28, 2024 21:00:47 GMT
McCoy 12th Review
A Thousand Tiny Wings - Full Audio
I absolutely hated this story, and came very, very close to not even finishing it. This almost made me give up the marathon entirely, that's how offensive I found it to be.
I'm not going to bother trying to sanitize it for re-posting as I think the foul language is warranted as it conveys my feelings better.
However, given time and distance I do think I can explain my reasoning more clearly.
I don't dislike this story for humanizing Nazis. I dislike it for trying to humanize Nazi philosophies. And in doing so the writers completely misrepresent what fascism actually is.
The original Nazis may have called themselves National Socialists but they had nothing to do with real socialist philosophies or economics. In fact the first people Hitler murdered were socialist students who publicly denounced him and his party.
And they certainly weren't more progressive on women's rights or anything! That's utter nonsense to even suggest it as a motivation for why the two women in the story would be for fascism, which is a political system that survives on constantly 'othering' people.
Nor does it have anything to do with collectivism vs individualism, even as the story tries desperately to center itself around this theme. That's just cold war style propaganda used to con people into accepting Neoliberalism; that ultimately leads to fascism anyways as it does nothing to curb rich people from abusing their power.
No, real fascism is more akin to feudalism then anything else.
Don't believe me?
Steve Bannon, former campaign manager for Trump, current campaign manager to RFK Jr, and world known far-right political strategist, has gone on public record before as stating how he believes we should return to divine right of kings and so on.
This is why Nazis old and new can masquerade as either socialist or capitalists as they are fundamentally neither. They're economic beliefs are the same as their political beliefs... "shut up and do as you're told peasant."
And of course, because they are liars at heart they will pretend to be whatever they think will gain them power. They don't care about any of the issues they will claim to care about, and they'll call themselves anything under the sun other than a Nazi.
You can always point a fascist out though, by the fact that fascists will use bigotry as a tool to gain power by stealing basic rights from people, and distract the uneducated from their real positions. Because, surprise, surprise, no one sane actually wants to return to feudalism! There's no other logic that actually justifies their bigotry as bigotry is inherently illogical.
Therefore what pisses me off about the story is that the two characters in support of Nazism are allowed to have logical debates and sound underling reasoning for what is ultimately a garbage philosophy that only the most selfish, delusional, cruel, and self centered of people would have.
It's the belief system of bullies and abusers, and only bullies and abusers fall for it.
Humanizing Nazis in literature is not about making fascism sound reasonable, but about showcasing that even outwardly 'normal' even sometimes 'nice' people can become monsters if they are allowed to hurt and dehumanize others without consequence.
Given the rise of the far-right in today's world, the authors of this story are not only lazy in their research but also irresponsible in their depictions of colonialism, bigotry, and fascism.
Shame on them and shame on Big Finish for making this.
This is trash!
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Post by bethhigdon on May 29, 2024 16:24:36 GMT
McCoy 13th Review
Companion Piece - Miscellaneous
The Telos novellas were a series of short books that covered a variety of Doctors. At only a hundred pages or so, with just a handful of chapters, the novellas are too brief to be full novels but too long to be short trips. They're something in between, hence why I'm covering one in this section of the marathon.
This particular novel involves the Seventh Doctor and his new companion Catherine being embroiled in an interplanetary religious war in the far, far future, after being accused of being witches by the Catholic church.
So good things out of the way first.
There's a lot of nice world building and a very interesting and layered look at how religion might evolve in a futuristic space setting. Unlike other Doctor Who stories, or even other science fiction in general, the church in question isn't treated a thinly veiled criticism of religious beliefs in general nor is it used as a means of taking pot shots at current authority structures but an actual realistic look at how religion intertwines in daily life for both good and bad.
As someone who is religious myself I deeply appreciate the thought and respect that went into this story.
The central mystery that carries the story is also intriguing and the character work is good. Especially for the Doctor. Even if Cat does come across as Ace-lite sometimes, but that might be intentional given her origins.
Which leads to the down sides of the book.
There's just not enough time for the story to develop it's plot and bring things to a satisfying conclusion. It's inroniclly too short and the ending too abrupt.
The story just stops when it reveals it's big twist at the end and as such there are a lot of unanswered questions. Not just unanswered mysteries, like what happened to the malfunctioning Tardis at the beginning, nor unexplained basics, like why would androids need to eat or breathe, but it also leaves with the question of what's next?
Where do the characters go from here now that they know the truth?
There's more to the story and there just isn't room to tell it.
It feel less like a short story and more like a full novel that was edited down to fit the page count.
Especially when it starts to jump from scene to scene with little transition after about the half way point.
That said, wanting more of the story, is basically praising with faint criticism. This is easily the best Seventh Doctor prose story that I've ever come across. Not just for the marathon, but just like in general. I highly recommend it.
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Post by bethhigdon on May 30, 2024 14:38:40 GMT
McCoy Ranking Favorite Story: Search Out Space - It just makes me happy. It's silly and fun and I ask nothing more from this show other than to be fun. Least Favorite Story: A Thousand Tiny Wings - this story can be summed in one word and that word is 'offensive'. 1. Search Out Space (minisode) 2. The Professor & Ace: The Left Hand of Darkness (behind the scenes) 3. Battlefield (tv story) 4. Companion Piece (miscellaneous) 5. Nash Reviews Classic Doctor Who: Dimensions in Time (fan work) 6. Dalek Attack (video game) 7. Bernice Summerfield: Oh No It Isn't! (spin off) 8. Seaside Rendezvous (comic) 9. The Curse of Fenric (novelization) 10. Destiny of the Doctor: Shockwave (short audio) 11. Question Mark Pyjamas (short story) 12. Damaged Goods (novel) 13. A Thousand Tiny Wings (full audio)
A very mixed bag this round, but onwards and upwards to the next era which is Eight's, and then we'll finally be caught up.
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Post by bethhigdon on May 31, 2024 12:30:39 GMT
McGann 1st Review The Enemy Within: Doctor Who the TV Movie - Novelization
I swear, until my dying day, I will never ever just call this story 'the tv movie'. Like how stupid a title is that?
And you can't just call it "Doctor Who" cause that would be too confusing.
The BBC just needs to get over itself and make 'The Enemy Within' subtitle official and be done with it.
But enough pedantics, lets get on with the actual review.
Now, just to clarify, I read the original version of this novel that was first published by the BBC in 1996. There was a later Target re-release where some of the material was edited or changed. The biggest difference, that I know of, is that the reissue drops the half-human stuff completely, but obviously I haven't read that version so I can't confirm that.
As for this rendition it works rather well as an adaptation. We get deleted scenes added back in, more backstory on the characters, and more explanation/lore for what exactly is going on regarding the eye of harmony.
The plot is still a little messy, but it's overall more fleshed out than in the original film, and it cuts out silly scenes like Grace preforming surgery in a ballgown or the Doctor wondering around naked in an abandoned hospital room full of broken glass... things that would not be allowed in a real hospital no matter how shit US healthcare may be.
Yet, for all it's stupid moments, the movie has a charm to it that the novel can't quite replicate, for no other reason than the fact that it's a novel.
It can't recreate the montage scenes of the Doctor regenerating as Frankenstein plays in the background, or as the clock strikes down to midnight and we see all the various parties going on as the world is about to end. Nor can it convey the same sense of comedic timing or on screen chemistry that real actors can do in front of a screen.
That's kind of what the movie hinges on; it's editing, acting, and scrumptious set/costume design. The film is very much style over substance, but who cares when its so much fun?
So while the novelization is certainly interesting, and I'm glad that I read it, I'll probably stick with the actual movie going forward.
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Post by bethhigdon on Jun 1, 2024 12:14:54 GMT
McGann 2nd Review
The Company of Thieves - Comic
The Doctor and his companion, Izzy, land aboard a space freighter right when it's being attacked by pirates. They must escape the space-faring mercenaries and get back to the Tardis, but along the way they confront a crazed scientist, a talking gun, and a Cyberman with a soul.
This was really good. It's easily one of the better comics we've come across.
At the only three parts long the comic manages to keep up a brisk pace without feeling rushed or overcrowded despite juggling a lot of new concepts.
The best of these new ideas is Kroton, the Cyberman who can still feel. This is his introduction story and he really sells the comic. I'm actually interested in checking out more just for this character.
But that's not to say that the other characters are bad either. The pirate captain, his mutinous first mate, the insane hermit scientist, and his sentient gun; all mange to be really colorful and memorable in just a few short pages.
Ironically it is the mains, The Doctor and Izzy, who are the least interesting here, but they aren't bad. The Doctor is still the Doctor, and Izzy gets to be active and contribute to the story. She's just is a little generic here, but that's mostly because the story is focused on setting Kroton up as a new companion.
The artwork is good. It makes good use of the black and white format to really create bold contrast and easily readable silhouettes without sacrificing too much detail.
Even if the Doctor does look a little insane in a few panels.
But that's kind of part of the charm.
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Post by bethhigdon on Jun 2, 2024 20:34:31 GMT
McGann 3rd Review
The Adventures of Henrietta Street - Novel
Well that sucked.
I don't know why, but I was under the impression that the BBC Eighth Doctor books were generally more well regarded than the previous Virgin New Adventures. I assumed that this was because they were less try-hard edgy and fake mature because there was more BBC oversight.
I was wrong.
The Adventures of Henrietta Street is every bit as tasteless, offensive, and immature as any NA I've ever read. Worse... it's even more pretentious than any NA I've ever read, and that's really saying something!
But I'm getting ahead of myself... what is the book about?
So Gallifrey has recently been destroyed... Not by the Time War, but in some other conflict. Something to do with alternate dimensions... It's okay though cause eventually the books will reverse this decision just in time for RTD to destroy the planet again in the revival series. (No wonder he likes Chibnall's own retcon of Gallifrey's alive status.)
Therefore, cut off from his home and the Tardis, the Doctor falls ill and finds refuge in a late 1700s house of prostitution. He befriends the girls working there, and they become his 'army' against a new foe that has slipped through the cracks between dimensions now that the Time Lords are no longer around to hold them back.
His plan is to make an uneasy alliance with all the witches of the world and one man who wishes to replace the Doctor and become a Time Lord himself. And to accomplish this, the Doctor has to get married.
Did I lose you yet?
Yeah, by this time, like with the NAs, the BBC books were becoming more and more insular as they tried to appeal to their current audience of hardcore fans rather than trying to make the series accessible. So there's a lot of backstory and lore that the novel just expects you to already know.
It's not impossible to follow if, like me, you haven't read all the books up to this point, but it's not a very inviting read.
Then there's the issue with the book's 'gimmick'. Save for the opening chapter, the entire book is written like a bad History Channel documentary. You know the kind, the ones that claim aliens built the pyramids and that President Kennedy is secretly still alive.
It's annoying. I would have prefer to read the story in pure letter form like Dracula or just have a normal telling. Trying to do both with a Lemony Snicket type narrator doesn't work... mainly cause the author takes himself way too seriously.
Also I hope you don't like actual science fiction, cause none of it is to be found here. The story doesn't even pay lip service to it. It's pure fantasy with the Doctor as a wizard and ordinary humans capable of real ass magic with no explanation at all.
Oh and the female orgasm can stop time and summon demons, apparently....
This is the part that really offends. I mean I don't care for the gore and burning the innocent priest alive on a cross is perhaps a step too tactless... but claiming women have magical powers just because they're women smacks of that second wave girl power bullshit that drives me up the damn wall every single time.
Placing women on a pedestal rather than treating them like real human beings is every bit as offensive as telling them they belong in the kitchen.
Oh and there's an unpleasant subplot where the Doctor is grooming a 16 year old girl to marry him.
To be fair, it's not intended to be romantic/sexual in any way, and he doesn't actually go through with it. But that's only because the girl runs away, and we're supposed to see this act of agency as a 'betrayal' or some shit.
It's gross.
Also it doesn't even really matter cause he winds up marrying someone else anyway and it's dubious as to if said wedding was even necessary. Like what does it actually accomplish narrative wise other then to transport everyone to the demon dimension... even though it's established in the story that there are plenty of other ways to get there?
And I'm not even going into the stupidly of the Doctor's rival being able to transplant one of the Doctor's hearts into his own chest and that magically giving him time travel. In fact everything about Sabbath is beyond dumb and I hope to never come across the character ever again.
Anything else? ... Oh yes, the Doctor's wife reminds me of River Song and not in a good way. Moffat really didn't have an original concept to his name, did he?
So yeah, I don't recommend this one at all. Hopefully the next story will be more fun.
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Post by bethhigdon on Jun 3, 2024 13:01:11 GMT
McGann 4th Review
Special Report (50 Essential Questions): Doctor Who Magazine #312 - Behind The Scenes
We haven't come across the Doctor Who Magazine often in this marathon outside of a few specials. It's ironic given how long running and integral to the franchise the magazine is.
DWM is the world's longest running television magazine. Starting off in 1979 and still in print today, the magazine was essential in keeping the fandom alive during the wilderness years. So it's only fitting that we cover it during McGann's era.
Today's article is a break down of the various areas of DW fandom with fan questions to various authors, producers, artists within the franchise of what to expect in the following year.
Amusingly enough much of the tv section is discussing what it would take to bring the show back on air. It's interesting to see who's predictions would be correct just a few short years later.
The merchandise section focuses mostly on home video sales and the brand new Doctor Who website. While the audio and book sections are discussing the processes of getting their respective eighth doctor series off the ground and what to expect in the future.
It's mildly interesting stuff, in the same way opening a time capsule is interesting. Amusing but no longer relevant.
Outside of the main article there's a couple parts of a comic, a look back on The Power of Kroll, previews of upcoming stories, a fun little quiz, and reviews of various old tv episodes and then recent audio and novel releases... including one on The Adventuress of Henrietta Street!
Needless to say their review was far more positive than mine. I really don't understand the appeal. It's not that special, guys.
Still this was a fun little journey through time, but perhaps it's better just to read the more current issues and get the reprints of the comics.
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Post by bethhigdon on Jun 4, 2024 12:35:28 GMT
McGann 5th Review
Shada - Webcast
So while Paul McGann never got another full onscreen story outside of the movie, he did get an animated adventure broadcasted on the BBC website back in 2003.
It's a retelling of the Fourth Doctor story, Shada, which was never completed due to studio strikes at the time. Since then there have been many attempts to re-create this lost story and this is just one of those many. Only with the Eighth Doctor in place Tom Baker.
I'm of two minds about the special.
One the one hand, it's generous to call this story 'animated'. It's really a motion comic. Later Shada versions will up the animation quality, hence why the BBC is more keen on promoting them over this one.
However, it's still watchable, and it gives us another McGann story to consume in between the movie and the 50th short. Giving his 'tv' era more bones.
But, it's really a disservice to McGann that the only other broadcasted story he has is just the leftover scraps from a previous Doctor. Like you could have given him something more original guys; something that wouldn't be overshadowed later by other remakes.
And yet, it's to my mind the best version of the story. Shada as a narrative isn't really all that special, and Douglas Adams has written better, even for Who. It's only gained a cult like status because it's a lost story.
This is the most polished version narrative wise and McGann sparkles in the role as always. I never miss Tom Baker while watching and fully accept the story as McGann's. I also really like his dynamic with Romana II here far more than I did with her and Four back in the day. More of them please.
So all in all, if you want more Eighth Doctor stories that you can actually watch, I recommend tracking this down.
If you're more interested in a faithful recreation of the lost episodes then one of the newer animations might do you instead.
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Post by bethhigdon on Jun 5, 2024 12:50:13 GMT
McGann 6th Review
The Man Who Wasn't There - Short Audio
Well that was cute.
The Doctor takes Charley to meet one of her childhood heroes, the adventurer Pedro Mon Marchè. But wherever they turn up the man seems to be missing, as if stolen out of time. It's up to the Doctor and Charley to figure out what has happened to him before it's too late and the Time Lords take matters into their own hands.
Charley isn't one of my favorite companions by any means, but this story went a long ways towards humanizing her better than any of the other stories I've heard her in. She still grates from time to time, but she's at least more sympathetic here.
The atmosphere and music is really nice as well. But the real treat was the bowler hat timelord cameo from TotA. Whom I still headcannon as Brax.
If I had any criticisms of this story it's that the 'solution' to the problem is fairly obvious early on and it takes forever for the characters to catch up. Also this story trip is nearly as long as regular NuWho episode, so not all that short.
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Post by number13 on Jun 5, 2024 22:11:50 GMT
McGann 6th Review
The Man Who Wasn't There - Short Audio
Well that was cute.
The Doctor takes Charley to meet one of her childhood heroes, the adventurer Pedro Mon Marchè. But wherever they turn up the man seems to be missing, as if stolen out of time. It's up to the Doctor and Charley to figure out what has happened to him before it's too late and the Time Lords take matters into their own hands.
Charley isn't one of my favorite companions by any means, but this story went a long ways towards humanizing her better than any of the other stories I've heard her in. She still grates from time to time, but she's at least more sympathetic here.
The atmosphere and music is really nice as well. But the real treat was the bowler hat timelord cameo from TotA. Whom I still headcannon as Brax.
If I had any criticisms of this story it's that the 'solution' to the problem is fairly obvious early on and it takes forever for the characters to catch up. Also this story trip is nearly as long as regular NuWho episode, so not all that short.
(Yay for Charley! )
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Post by bethhigdon on Jun 6, 2024 13:03:58 GMT
McGann 7th Review
The Stones of Venice - Full Audio
We got another Charley and the Doctor adventure.
This one is very mid. Not bad, but not anything amazing either.
The Doctor takes Charley to visit Venice into the far future, before it's destined to sink in the ground. Only to find the city over run with party goers who seem to have a death wish. There's also mutant fish people who are planing a revolution, a cult trying to revive a dead woman, and everyone is talking about a curse on the grand duke who rules the city.
Let me go ahead and get my biggest complaint out of the way.
The story, despite being set in the future does not feel every much like the future. Outside of the mutant fish people who now work as gondoliers, the story could easily have been set in the past.
Why on earth would future Italy have Dukes and Queens with any real political power? Why hasn't the mode of transportation changed in hundreds of years? Why are they still relying on boats to evacuate people and art and not helicopters or trans-mats? Why is the city cut off from the influence of the rest of the world? Why doesn't the Italian or World government step in to over see the disaster? Why isn't there scientific inventions to help prevent the lost of historic buildings at least? Why aren't the people that are still left in the city not partying on boats or barges, or keeping boats nearby? Why would people in the 23rd century still believe in magic but not aliens?
It doesn't make any sense from a world building perspective. The story is certainly atmospheric, but it sacrifices logic to wax poetic about the nature of life and death and power of love ect. ect. ect.
Now for some positives... The acting is good. Paul McGann is on form as always. The plot maybe nonsensical but the characters are at least intriguing. Lost of nice atmosphere, music, and dialogue.
So basically it's your average Doctor Who fair, though it leans more fantasy than sci-fi as tends to be the trend with Eighth Doctor stories I'm finding.
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Post by bethhigdon on Jun 7, 2024 12:42:46 GMT
McGann 8th Review
Pieces of Eighth: S1E2 (A Matter of Life and Death) - Fan Podcast
Pieces of Eighth is a fan podcast dedicated to exploring the various media that feature the Eighth Doctor.
They've been running for seven seasons and you can find them on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Radio Public.
Their second ever episode features interviews with both the writer and the artist for the Eighth Doctor mini series comic A Matter of Life and Death.
Very professional and informative, this podcast series seems like a good reference for those wishing to discover more of the Eighth Doctor. I would recommend checking them out.
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Post by mark687 on Jun 7, 2024 21:58:29 GMT
McGann 8th Review
Pieces of Eighth: S1E2 (A Matter of Life and Death) - Fan Podcast
Pieces of Eighth is a fan podcast dedicated to exploring the various media that feature the Eighth Doctor.
They've been running for seven seasons and you can find them on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Radio Public.
Their second ever episode features interviews with both the writer and the artist for the Eighth Doctor mini series comic A Matter of Life and Death.
Very professional and informative, this podcast series seems like a good reference for those wishing to discover more of the Eighth Doctor. I would recommend checking them out.
Created and Presented by Kennysmith writer of BFs VORTEX Mag and Forum Member Regards mark687
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Post by bethhigdon on Jun 7, 2024 22:18:53 GMT
McGann 8th Review
Pieces of Eighth: S1E2 (A Matter of Life and Death) - Fan Podcast
Pieces of Eighth is a fan podcast dedicated to exploring the various media that feature the Eighth Doctor.
They've been running for seven seasons and you can find them on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Radio Public.
Their second ever episode features interviews with both the writer and the artist for the Eighth Doctor mini series comic A Matter of Life and Death.
Very professional and informative, this podcast series seems like a good reference for those wishing to discover more of the Eighth Doctor. I would recommend checking them out.
Created and Presented by Kennysmith writer of BFs VORTEX Mag and Forum Member Regards mark687 I knew at some point I would run into a forum member's involvement in one of my reviews lol.
That's cool to know. Thanks for sharing.
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