melkur
Chancellery Guard
Likes: 4,021
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Post by melkur on Jul 13, 2024 1:04:21 GMT
I finally got round to listening to this a couple of days ago (we're away at the moment, and most of the hotels we've been to haven't had business centres) and, whilst this isn't necessarily my favourite release in the world, I'm at least interested-enough in seeing this goes...
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Post by mark687 on Aug 16, 2024 15:18:21 GMT
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Post by mark687 on Aug 20, 2024 14:37:31 GMT
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Aug 23, 2024 8:17:40 GMT
Out now
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Post by sherlock on Aug 23, 2024 13:31:30 GMT
For a series about the darker sides of the universe, Part 2 is unexpectantly fun. Its probably the most light-hearted story the War Master has ever appeared in.
The Master finally shows up in his own story and it’s fairly standard stuff if you’re familiar with this incarnation (cosying up to his victim playing nice sweet old man), but his frustration with John adds a nice new layer. His motivation for Dark Gallifrey is pretty simple; it’s really just another McGuffin to pursue in a long, long line for him.
Captain John is an interesting foil for the Master, being a much less intense villain than him. Once again you can kind of see the problems with the shopping list inspiration however as John’s motivation for going to all this trouble to get to Dark Gallifrey is…sell it I guess? He just doesn’t have a believable stake in this more lore heavy corner of the universe. It’s really weak, so you can kind of see why most of this story is about getting to Dark Gallifrey rather than what they actually do when they get there. Because once they get there, well he has nothing to do.
The more latter day Benny here (same old adventurer at heart, but somewhat weighed down by regrets) is an interesting spin on her, and maybe something we’ll get more of when her own range reboots this autumn. We have so many characters kept in amber and never growing older, so to see Benny actually do that is nice. Let her character evolve.
So all in all a fun journey to Dark Gallifrey, but the destination seems to offer less than the journey. Maybe Part 3 will change this.
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Post by 20fridge on Aug 26, 2024 4:45:38 GMT
I have to second the thought that this is the most light-hearted story featuring the War Master. Which isn't surprising given that Captain John is also featured. Benny would work in either a darker or lighter story. This was so much fun! The back and forth between John Hart and the Master is hilariously cartoonish. I was surprised with how quickly they got to Dark Gallifrey, I figured they would get there at the end, not part-way through. Given the ending, I'm really curious to see what part three is all about. However, I have to say that my favorite part was {that cameo} the Unbound Doctor cameo at the end. It's the most perfectly in character Deus Ex Machina. Having the Doctor show up to save Benny at the last minute (as they had pre-arranged) says so much about the depth of their friendship. Also, it was really nice to have just a little more David Warner as his Doctor.
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Post by antartiks on Aug 27, 2024 12:28:52 GMT
"That" cameo kinda made me more emotional because we didn't know it would happen this time around. Loved it.
I found this episode to be much better than the previous one. More lighthearted as the previous commentaries have said and it's a bit of a breath of fresh air for the War Master, even though he's acting as his usual despicable and cruel self. How surreal is it to have John Hart come back to meet Benny and the War Master.
I'm not enjoying this as much as the Morbius trilogy but I'm eager to listen to the final episode. Nice stuff.
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Post by martinw8686 on Aug 28, 2024 8:25:47 GMT
I might be in the minority here but how on Earth was James Masters cast in a British production with that ahem "accent", it's diabolically bad, so much so it distracted me from the story.
I was aware of him playing Spike in Buffy, which being a 90s American show, it's understandable a dodgy British accent could pass the production net, but how did he get that "accent" approved for casting in Torchwood?
I don't follow Torchwood so this character is new to me, but my God that awful accent jarred. It's up there with Dick Van Dyke and Don Cheadle for quite possibly the worst attempt at a British accent I've ever heard.
I get that Masters is handsome and charismatic but why not simply let him use his own accent?
Rant over, I promise! Sorry if I sound a little mean but bad accents on audio take me out of the drama.
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Post by theillusiveman on Aug 28, 2024 10:45:10 GMT
I might be in the minority here but how on Earth was James Masters cast in a British production with that ahem "accent", it's diabolically bad, so much so it distracted me from the story. I was aware of him playing Spike in Buffy, which being a 90s American show, it's understandable a dodgy British accent could pass the production net, but how did he get that "accent" approved for casting in Torchwood? I don't follow Torchwood so this character is new to me, but my God that awful accent jarred. It's up there with Dick Van Dyke and Don Cheadle for quite possibly the worst attempt at a British accent I've ever heard. I get that Masters is handsome and charismatic but why not simply let him use his own accent? Rant over, I promise! Sorry if I sound a little mean but bad accents on audio take me out of the drama. Honestly I prefer his British accent over his American one
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Post by sherlock on Aug 28, 2024 10:47:20 GMT
I might be in the minority here but how on Earth was James Masters cast in a British production with that ahem "accent", it's diabolically bad, so much so it distracted me from the story. I was aware of him playing Spike in Buffy, which being a 90s American show, it's understandable a dodgy British accent could pass the production net, but how did he get that "accent" approved for casting in Torchwood? I don't follow Torchwood so this character is new to me, but my God that awful accent jarred. It's up there with Dick Van Dyke and Don Cheadle for quite possibly the worst attempt at a British accent I've ever heard. I get that Masters is handsome and charismatic but why not simply let him use his own accent? Rant over, I promise! Sorry if I sound a little mean but bad accents on audio take me out of the drama. I think in context of Torchwood it’s kinda supposed to be bad, as John’s very deliberately pitched as cheesy b-tier villain. Perhaps doesn’t work outside of that context.
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Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2024 11:18:36 GMT
I might be in the minority here but how on Earth was James Masters cast in a British production with that ahem "accent", it's diabolically bad, so much so it distracted me from the story. I was aware of him playing Spike in Buffy, which being a 90s American show, it's understandable a dodgy British accent could pass the production net, but how did he get that "accent" approved for casting in Torchwood? I don't follow Torchwood so this character is new to me, but my God that awful accent jarred. It's up there with Dick Van Dyke and Don Cheadle for quite possibly the worst attempt at a British accent I've ever heard. I get that Masters is handsome and charismatic but why not simply let him use his own accent? Rant over, I promise! Sorry if I sound a little mean but bad accents on audio take me out of the drama. He spoke like that in S2 of Torchwood (a big get just a few years on from Buffy and Angel where he was the fan fave) - not much choice for BF.
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Post by martinw8686 on Aug 28, 2024 13:39:01 GMT
I might be in the minority here but how on Earth was James Masters cast in a British production with that ahem "accent", it's diabolically bad, so much so it distracted me from the story. I was aware of him playing Spike in Buffy, which being a 90s American show, it's understandable a dodgy British accent could pass the production net, but how did he get that "accent" approved for casting in Torchwood? I don't follow Torchwood so this character is new to me, but my God that awful accent jarred. It's up there with Dick Van Dyke and Don Cheadle for quite possibly the worst attempt at a British accent I've ever heard. I get that Masters is handsome and charismatic but why not simply let him use his own accent? Rant over, I promise! Sorry if I sound a little mean but bad accents on audio take me out of the drama. He spoke like that in S2 of Torchwood (a big get just a few years on from Buffy and Angel where he was the fan fave) - not much choice for BF. Is the character popular? Did BF have to make the choice? I'm sure there are plenty of similar characters in The Whoniverse with less grating voices. When he's being lovey dovey towards Benny with that "accent", it was so icky I felt sick! I've got to listen to part three but apart from that, I will avoid anything with Captain Hart like the plague. James Masters seems like a nice guy from the BTS, so I have nothing personal against him, but that "accent" in my headphones was too creepy and irritating for my liking.
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Post by theoncomingpenguin on Aug 28, 2024 14:17:17 GMT
I might be in the minority here but how on Earth was James Masters cast in a British production with that ahem "accent", it's diabolically bad, so much so it distracted me from the story. I was aware of him playing Spike in Buffy, which being a 90s American show, it's understandable a dodgy British accent could pass the production net, but how did he get that "accent" approved for casting in Torchwood? I don't follow Torchwood so this character is new to me, but my God that awful accent jarred. It's up there with Dick Van Dyke and Don Cheadle for quite possibly the worst attempt at a British accent I've ever heard. I get that Masters is handsome and charismatic but why not simply let him use his own accent? Rant over, I promise! Sorry if I sound a little mean but bad accents on audio take me out of the drama. TBF, whilst he’s going for a British accent, the character isn’t actually British as far as I’m aware. So at least it can still make sense in-universe.
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Post by nardolespinoffwhen on Aug 28, 2024 16:45:05 GMT
I had to rewind to check I caught it right but it sounded like James Marsters implied he'd been to London recently and recorded something with Derek Jacobi specifically for Torchwood - did anyone else catch that?
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Post by theillusiveman on Aug 30, 2024 1:13:49 GMT
Well listened to part two found it much more fun and engaging especially being in chronological order rather than what part one did The war master was mostly fun, Captain John was enjoyable and I did like the comedic moments Bernice was great and the cameo appearance was lovely done if anything I wish that he would have met the master in the story but ah well
Wonder how part 3 will go
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Post by mark687 on Aug 30, 2024 14:13:37 GMT
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Post by vivdunstan on Aug 30, 2024 17:56:06 GMT
Belatedly listening to part 1. I loved hearing this pairing again. They're a joy together, and even with the more frail sounding Doctor (for understandable real life reasons) the repartee and fun is a delight. The story was interesting, with a lot of nice elements. However I found the backwards storytelling frustrating, and wished it had been done in a simpler forward chronological way. It was interesting listening to the extras that the actors recorded it that way. I wanted to hear that version! But an intriguing start.
I am most excited about the next audio, so hope to get to that very soon. It's lined up on my iThingies and Mac.
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Post by vivdunstan on Aug 31, 2024 20:29:16 GMT
Followed up with Part 2 last night. Much better, and made me grin constantly. The backwards and forward fencing, and constant manuevering as well, between Captain John and the War Master was delightful. And there were many surprises in store. Benny continues to be fab, of course.
When the audio started and gave us the rundown for Part 1 (which I had disliked the backwards storytelling of) I thought "That's how I wanted to hear it!"
Oh and listening to the extras I was phenomenally thrown when James Marsters spoke in his native American accent. Big Buffy fan here. So yup, that was a "But! But!" moment.
Well done team.
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Post by nottenst on Sept 9, 2024 16:49:00 GMT
Just listened to Part 2. That was most enjoyable. I think so far this set works with Part 1 being Benny/Doctor. Part 2 being Benny/War Master/John. And I presume Part 3 is mostly War Master/John. What they are trying to do in this whole series makes more sense. I am looking forward to Part 3 when it arrives later this month.
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Post by Sir Wearer of Hats on Sept 13, 2024 21:06:10 GMT
War Master part two redeemed ONLY by the repartee during the “trying to kill each other” scene and the beautiful cameo from you-know-who. Was that Tennant as the shuttle salesman?
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