Thursday 10 January 2013

Doctor Who Unbound





Auld Mortality: Proof that not all stories set on Gallifrey have to be stuffy political dramas; Auld Mortality is one of the most sensual and emotional dramas yet. Bristling with imagination and intelligence and taking the idea of ‘what if?’ to its most extreme (what if the Doctor never left Gallifrey?), I was impressed how this unique production sucked me in so completely. The potential for this to stretch into a series of adventures is irresistible with the gorgeous Geoffrey Bayldon giving a beautiful performance as the Doctor and accompanied by Carole Ann Ford who gives her best ever performance as Susan. The line between fantasy and reality is one that we all have to face and I have rarely seen it handled in such an optimistic and creative manner. The last scene splits the drama two ways that really shows that the possibilities truly are endless and it remains one of the best scenes in Doctor Who. Ever10/10 

Full Review Here: http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/auld-mortality-written-by-marc-platt.html

Buy it from Big Finish here: http://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/auld-mortality-362

Sympathy for the Devil: What if the Master had been exiled to Earth rather than the Doctor? The answers aren’t pretty. Sympathy of the Devil is an odd beast for sure because the main plot that is cobbled together from elements of The Mind of Evil isn’t really very interesting but all of the peripheral elements combine to make the overall piece one that is well worth seeking out. You have the gorgeous Warner/Courtney dynamic which is so successful it scored a sequel, a lovely oily turn from mark Gatiss as the hard done by Master who was forced to live through all the invasions the Doctor failed to stop and the world building is extraordinary – painting a picture of a devastated Earth that has taken too many knocks from Silurians, Dinosaurs, Autons and the like. As an audio production it is very good indeed with some strong direction from Gary Russell and a beautiful score. I forgive this story its few sins just to be able to spend a few more seconds with David Tennant’s brilliantly rude Colonel Brimmicombe-Wood: 7/10


Full Review Here: http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/sympathy-for-devil-written-by-jonathan.html

Buy it from Big Finish here: http://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/sympathy-for-the-devil-363

Full Fathom Five: Full Fathom Five is right up my street. A concealed underwater location dripping with secrets, discussions of morality in science, twisted surprises around every corner and a truly haunting interpretation of the Doctor. I don’t give a damn that the melodrama is turned up to the umpteenth degree, this is quite simply a deliriously exciting slice of traditional Doctor Who which is so dark it is looking out at ‘normal’ Doctor Who from the other side of an evil universe mirror. This is a Doctor who is willing to murder, who curses and who has no principles when it comes to doing what he considers right. David Collins is so frighteningly good in the role I had the chills before the story was over and I kept thinking how this was just like the first Doctor when we first met him but pushed into even more extreme circumstances. I love David Bishop’s uncomplicated and direct approach to storytelling – he cuts straight through all the pretence and gets straight to the drama and as a result this story has real pace and atmosphere. Definitely a one off but a kick ass one: 8/10


Full Review Here: http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/full-fathom-five-written-by-david.html

Buy it from Big Finish here: http://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/full-fathom-five-364

He Jests at Scars: This should have been the most exciting Unbound adventure of the lot (the Valeyard’s back!) but the fact that it is possibly the worst audio adventure ever released by Big Finish says something about the quality (or lack of) of the writing. The script is stupid, illogical, crammed full of tedious amounts of continuity in place of characterisation and plotted with all the skill of a child being given sticky backed plot points and shoving them all over a wall willy nilly. Its so absurdly awful you have to wonder why someone didn’t take Russell to one side and say something. His direction is at its lowest ebb too with lots of horrid noise going on in the background of most scenes that are the only distraction from the sweaty bollocks that is playing out in the script. Immature, unsophisticated and soulless, you would be hard to find a single example of audio drama that sets its sights lower than this. I cannot think of a single reason this was made beyond a warning to never do anything like it ever again. What if Doctor Who was really, reallyshit0/10


Full Review Here: http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/he-jests-at-scars-written-and-directed.html

Buy it from Big Finish here: http://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/he-jests-at-scars-365

Deadline: What if Doctor Who never made it to the screen? One of the boldest, most subversive scripts to bear the Doctor Who logo which also rather brilliantly takes the time to insult the hell out of me. There are so many spine tingling breaths of genius to the writing it would impossible to list them all but as usual Rob Shearman has put a lot of thought into his material and ensured that there is much to think about after you have turned it off. Big Finish should be proud for producing something that is so clearly going to divide opinion and a lot of the continuity is used as a weapon that knifes you in the gut over and over. Want to hear the Doctor swearing at Susan? Want to listen to Barbara talking about her scummy ex Ian Chesterton? Want to imagine Doctor Who as the work of a failed man who cruises through life treating people like shit for the sake of his art? Want to hear the brains behind Doctor Who mistakenly appearing to molest a young boy in a cupboard under the illusion of taking him for a trip into time and space? Maybe not but I suggest that you do. This is button pushing at its best and practically every line is a gem. I can understand why I used to hate this story but now I love it and oddly its for exactly the same reasons: 10/10


Full Review Here: http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/deadline-written-by-robert-shearman-and.html

Buy it from Big Finish here: http://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/deadline-366

Exile: Arabella Weir is a fine comic and good actress but you would never be able to tell with a story this lousy to front. The script never goes for anything but the sleaziest of jokes and I find it hard to believe that there is anybody out there who would consider listening to the Doctor vomiting, getting pissed and passing wind a worthwhile experience. Its not even so bad its good…its just offensive. Sainsburys car parks, pornography, sick, swearing, poo jokes, vomit burps…Exile has got it all. The thing is we have now had an episode written by the creator of the blokeiest sitcom around (Amy’s Choice) and it was miles better than this load of old cobblers. I was convinced we had seen Big Finish’s nadir in He Jests at Scars but you have to had it to the Unbound series – two such irredeemable disasters so close together probably saw this series cancelled on the spot. One of the very few Big Finish stories I actually found it a struggle to write anything about:0/10


Full Review Here: http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/exile-written-and-direct-by-nicholas.html

Buy it from Big Finish here: http://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/exile-367

A Storm of Angels: Marc Platt has always enjoyed injecting a touch of poetry into Doctor Who but in A Storm of Angels he ups his game and conjures a story full of enchanting romantic imagery and ideas. A Steamship in space, cut treasures containing an alien intelligence, a tidal wave of flying Angels, an Elizabethan space station in orbit of the Earth, a man with a skin of jewels – yes its easy to fall under the spell of this dreamy brew of graceful creativity. Whilst the plot itself is quite thin there are simply a wealth of goodies to unearth; Geoffrey Bayldon’s masterful performance as the Doctor, Ian Hallard’s morally indignant Zeuro, gorgeous dialogue, stellar direction, an affecting musical score, dazzling imagery and set pieces and a hungry desire of what could have been. Every few minutes there is a moment that will take your breath away. It’s the rarest of things but A Storm of Angels is less of a story and more of an experience and it is best to switch off your critical faculties (because you wont find anything to feed on) and simply luxuriate into the beguiling atmosphere of the piece. Another favourite of mine: 10/10


Full Review Here: http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/storm-of-angels-written-by-marc-platt.html

Buy it from Big Finish here: http://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/a-storm-of-angels-368

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