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Post by Trace on May 26, 2016 23:24:00 GMT
Same here...and I thought the same thing about Dorian's begging to be let go--that it was really a front to throw Glass off. If Dorian hadn't already figured out his (Roy's) escape plan, perhaps he was throwing Glass off in order to buy time. Either way, it's a fun story and even though Dorian is immortal, it somehow never seems less dire than it would be if death were permanent! Great story.
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Post by kimalysong on May 30, 2016 18:09:45 GMT
And this week we are doing Echoes by Gary Russell also starting Nicola Bryant & Terry Molloy.
This is one of the few I have only heard once so looking forward to listening to it again. More thoughts later!
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Post by omega on May 31, 2016 3:11:12 GMT
For me Echoes is one of the more Meh stories in the range. The performances are amazing as per usual but there isn't that spark that makes it above average. We've had forces trying to convince Dorian to renege on the deal and revoke his immortality done before, and done more effectively at that.
However this story does raise the idea that Dorian is somehow causing weird supernatural things to happen since his resurrection. There's no other way he's facing the echoes in the train just by coincidence.
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Post by Trace on Jun 1, 2016 3:06:09 GMT
When I listened to "We Are Everywhere" last week I didn't even realize that Luke Glass was portrayed by Blake Ritson! He was one of my favorites on "DaVinci's Demons". Now that I know, I think I'll listen to it again--after "Echoes"! Can't wait!
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Post by Star Platinum on Jun 1, 2016 19:46:10 GMT
Could have sworn I posted about we are everywhere. But anyway, to me it felt very much like something that torchwood would have attempted with jack at some point. Not that I'm complaining, it just happens to be my favorite episode from series three.
Echoes, I enjoyed it but it's not one of the stronger stories in the series in my opinion. My complements go to the fantastic work from Nicola Bryant and Terry Molloy for excellent performances though.
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Post by Trace on Jun 2, 2016 2:38:56 GMT
I just edited my last post because I was re-reading it and noticed I had called Blake Ritson's character "Charles" Glass! Don't know where that came from! It was "Luke" wasn't it? I edited the post.
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Post by kimalysong on Jun 2, 2016 2:42:23 GMT
I just edited my last post because I was re-reading it and noticed I had called Blake Ritson's character "Charles" Glass! Don't know where that came from! It was "Luke" wasn't it? I edited the post. Don't worry my posts are always full of typos. When I go back & reread what I wrote the next day it's embarrassing.
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Post by Trace on Jun 2, 2016 2:44:43 GMT
Loved Echoes. Terry Molloy and Nicola Bryant were brilliant as usual, and I liked the Victoria Lowell prequel conversation....a nice segue for what's to come.
Dorian didn't seem too nasty or callous here....nor did he seem like the good guy! But his taunting on the tube was engaging and mysterious, and the supposition that Dorian's connection to the supernatural has been a bit exacerbated by his recent demise, and resurrection! A good midpoint entry and once again, Alex IS Dorian Gray. It's hard for me to now accept anyone else in the role. Dorian is a main character on "Penny Dreadful", and while Reeve Carney is very good, he's just not Alex!
Looking forward to any other posts about "Echoes"!
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Post by acousticwolf on Jun 2, 2016 17:58:45 GMT
I thought the premis of the story was good and I like the idea of situating the episode on a train. There's something about a carriage full of people not knowing where they are heading. We get more of an indication that Dorian is definitely attracting supernatural events now rather than "being in the wrong place at the wrong time" (or the right place at the right time, depending on your point of view). I also don't mind the running together of episodes (with the last and next) and this is one story where narration wouldn't have worked. You need it played in real time for the story to work. All in all, not bad but not the best . Cheers Tony
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Post by kimalysong on Jun 3, 2016 11:35:40 GMT
Always love getting Doctor Who alums in a Dorian episode. I didn't recognize Nicola because I am so used to her Peri voice.
Echoes makes it clear that it was the painting that brought Dorian back. I kind of feel better about that then what I thought from the end of Blank Canvas. It didn't make sense to me why Dorian would force himself back when he chose to take his life. Although it does still beg the question why? What is the painting? In the novel the painting is a representation of Dorian's soul but I am not sure that is the case is here. In the end this story even asks where is Dorian's soul?
Trapped on a train with people talking you head off when you just want to be left alone. I can certainly relate to that.
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Post by omega on Jun 3, 2016 11:50:51 GMT
Trapped on a train with people talking you head off when you just want to be left alone. I can certainly relate to that. I had that once. I just wanted to go on reading my book but someone kept on trying to talk to me. I should have put earphones in and made a show of listening to something in my iPod, that's generally a good conversation killer. It also works when people on the street try to sell you religious books or in busy Asian markets where people call out to you if you even glace in the general direction of their stall.
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Post by alohamicha on Jun 5, 2016 6:19:30 GMT
Well, hello there. Got invited to this group listening of Dorian Gray by Kim the other day and finally decided to follow through.
At first I thought "Echoes" might not really be the best one to join your little circle but I wanted to give it a try anyway. Kim said I don't have to be clever as long as I'm having fun with it, so here we go.
My first thought about "Echoes" was that I couldn't remember what it was about at all. Not like some other stories. I'll have to admit it has never been one of my absolute favorites but I listened to it again moments ago. Did my homework so to speak.
It's still one of the stories that will never join my little circle of all time favorites but I must confess, it grabbed me anyway.
It's just the way Big Finish tells them and all the great acting. Not only Alex as Dorian, who doesn't need a single word to be said about. He's just brilliant as Dorian. It's the whole package...
Since my childhood I've never really liked audio plays anymore. But finding this range changed it. Now I'm hooked and listen to it more than music.
It's like you can see the characters right in front of you. You are with them IN the story, not just watching from the sidelines. I was on that train in "Echoes". You may know what I mean.
After all still not one of the stories I may listen to as often as others but absolutely great work done by talented and passionate people.
Can't wait for relistening all the others, although I already missed some of my favorites because of my belated joining.
But really a great idea to have such a group listening and I'm glad I joined you all. See you next week.
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Post by kimalysong on Jun 5, 2016 10:11:21 GMT
Can't wait for relistening all the others, although I already missed some of my favorites because of my belated joining. But really a great idea to have such a group listening and I'm glad I joined you all. See you next week. If you have something to say about older stories we already discussed feel free. You can always move backwards in this discussion. And welcome to the forums!
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Post by elkawho on Jun 6, 2016 0:03:22 GMT
I have been so busy these last few weeks that I was very behind on my listening. I'm all caught up now so here goes my comments on Series 3 so far. Before I get to individual stories i want to first comment on the different structure for series 3 than the other Dorian series. I know people have complained about the lack of narration, but I think it works so well for this set. I just love the immediacy and danger that the lack of narration adds to these stories. After Running Away With You there needed to be a real shift in these stories to get across the idea that nothing is the same as it was before. At the start of the series we don't really know what happened to Dorian and where the series could go any longer. The narration on the previous sets is a comfortable reminder that no matter what happens, Dorian survives. How he gets from the beginning to the end, and what he does to get there are where the tensions lie. But here we don't really know that any more. Nothing is certain, nothing is clear We are finding these new rules and states of being along with Dorian. That's very unique and exciting for this series. That is why, for me, Series 3 sparkles, and is probably my overall favorite series (by a narrow margin) of this range.
Blank Canvas: Chilling, creepy, scary, horrifying and brilliant. The first time I listened to this I was in the car and I had to turn it off because I was scaring myself silly. I thought I was going to get into an accident. Bernard Holley, what a voice. I thought he was great and a little scary in The Mayfair Monster, even though he wasn't trying to be. In this he's truly terrifying. To be honest though, I'm not sure exactly what he is any longer. He says that he's Dorian, but it just doesn't feel right. Is he the painting? If so, that brings up so many new questions. I'll come back to this later.
The Needle: The Fallen King of Britain is one of the stories that I enjoy least in this range. I haven't been able to put my finger on why. I think this is why I didn't recognize Simon the first time I heard this. On this second listen, I knew who he was and was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed this more than his original story. And while Dorian does seem scared of the plague mask ghosts, I think it's kind of cool that he seems more angry at the human stupidity and that now he can't get his money than the death of any of those people.
We Are Everywhere. I LOVE this story. I hope that it doesn't say more about me than than the audio. Luke Glass is a terrific antagonist and I, too can see how this could have been a Torchwood story. I love how Dorian turns the tables on him.
Echoes: I agree with those that say that this is the weakest story in this set. That may be due to it not being a complete story in its own right. At least it doesn't feel that way to me. It seems to be meant as a way to link some plot threads together and also to set up some ideas to take us into the rest of the series and beyond. Why do these people want the portrait? Who or what are they really? Is the portrait now something different than it was before Dorian's sacrifice? These are just a few. That being said, boy do I love Nicola Bryant and Terry Malloy.
There. I'm all caught up.
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Post by Trace on Jun 6, 2016 3:10:48 GMT
Welcome to the group, alohamicha! Yes, by all means, if you feel like commenting on some of the audios we've already done, please do! Love revisiting them through new listeners ears, which brings me to:
elkawho--thanks so much for the detailed review of all the audios for series 3! All interesting comments--especially your thoughts on narration or lack thereof. I think you put my thoughts on this into words perfectly. I felt the same way...that it was needed for the first two series, but would have lessened the impact in series 3 (simply because of how this series unfolds after "Running Away With You". Now, if I recall, it's back for series 4, and I seem to recall really liking it, so goes to show BF really DO know what they're doing! haha!
Thank you both for weighing in!
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Post by omega on Jun 6, 2016 4:39:54 GMT
Echoes: I agree with those that say that this is the weakest story in this set. That may be due to it not being a complete story in its own right. At least it doesn't feel that way to me. It seems to be meant as a way to link some plot threads together and also to set up some ideas to take us into the rest of the series and beyond. Why do these people want the portrait? Who or what are they really? Is the portrait now something different than it was before Dorian's sacrifice? These are just a few. That being said, boy do I love Nicola Bryant and Terry Malloy. There. I'm all caught up. At this point the go-to thing to do with antagonists is have them want Dorian's Portrait or some variation thereupon, like the Lost wanting it destroyed back in Houses in Between.
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Post by alohamicha on Jun 6, 2016 14:39:13 GMT
Welcome to the group, alohamicha! Yes, by all means, if you feel like commenting on some of the audios we've already done, please do! Love revisiting them through new listeners ears... Thank you, maybe I will. Problem right now for me is, I never really listened to all of them in the right order. I started with Series 4, because at that time is was all I could get my hands on in my own country. Afterwards I had to have them all and ordered the rest from Big Finish. But I never really got to listening them in chronological order. My bad. Reading some of this really great analysis here about development, change in storytelling and character changes over the series so far, I really wanna start at the very beginning and for once do it the right way. I got a lot homework to do, but a good one. I'm doing my best and love being here already. Some interesting new view points to the whole Dorian range. If you have something to say about older stories we already discussed feel free. You can always move backwards in this discussion. And welcome to the forums! Thank you too for the warm welcome. I'm afraid I will, because some of my favorites are from Series 1 & 2. But since I'm going to listen to all of them again anyway - this time in chronological order - there will be some more posts of me. And I still haven't read the whole discussion so far. But I'm working on it.
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Post by kimalysong on Jun 7, 2016 0:50:17 GMT
Moving on to Pandora. Sorry this is a bit late but looking forward to everyone's thoughts.
I like Pandora a lot it guest stars the lovely Annette Badland & what an ending. I didn't see it coming. I didn't look at the guest list so I think I was as surprised as Dorian was.
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Post by omega on Jun 7, 2016 1:49:57 GMT
Pandora is one of the highlights of series 3. It's slower paced but still very enjoyable. Annette Badland (I've listened to Equilibrium recently where she was also amazing) is wonderful as Gwennie, one of the nicest and most sympathetic characters in the whole range who actually survives to tell the tale, albeit with a heavy heart. The tarot cards are a great touch (can't believe CoDG hasn't delved much into cursed objects aside from the Portrait), and in the interviews we learn the writer, Xanna Eve Chown (brilliant name by the way), brought her own deck to the studio with her. I'm watching Dark Shadows at the moment, and am at the point where there's a character who often consults her own deck.
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Post by Trace on Jun 7, 2016 23:32:39 GMT
What a fun, enjoyable (albeit, sad) tale! Annette Badland (who is SO remarkable in her small, but pivotal role on "Outlander") is such a brilliant character actress...I had forgotten she was Gwynnie until I re-read the cast list. There was nothing in the character's voice that led me to picture Annette....I was kinda picturing the look of Dame Judi Dench because Gwynnie describes herself as short, grey hair in a blue cardigan. It just seemed more of a Judi Dench role! When kimalysong reminded us that it was Annette, I had to re-listen to the whole story because I love her so much on "Outlander".
This was a nice departure from the usual horrors of the range--I think Dorian even comes off as kind and caring here. He truly does seem to care for Gwyn and especially for Zak, as he worries what effect Zak's reading may have on him. For someone who clearly annoyed and irritated Dorian when he first entered the shop, it's a rather sweet bit of concern that he shows for Zak's welfare.
I love stories about the Tarot! Jbmasta mentions them in relation to Dark Shadows, and they do play an important part many times in that original series. The descriptions of the hearts-desire deck are so vivid and wonderful!
I love how the story shows a bit more of how Dorian begins to assist Victoria, and that relationship still has a lot farther to go. Of course, the shocker (happily so!) ending is the biggest highlight here. I totally didn't see it coming, and without naming names, I cannot WAIT to see how THIS little development happened--and what comes next! (Yes, I knew at one time, but as I mentioned a few weeks back, I had only listened to series 3 once, when it was first released...I think I must have been going through something stressful or very troubling at the time, because this all seems very new to me....and wonderfully surprising!)
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