tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53863909498289585912024-03-18T02:47:29.866-07:00Doc Oho Reviews...Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DocOhoReviews/
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/docohoDoc Ohohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.comBlogger1713125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-23625271872187300902023-11-27T00:48:00.000-08:002023-11-27T00:54:16.851-08:00The Star Beast written by Russell T. Davies and directed by Rachel Talalay <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxyMzN2iCOGZ4_pkBRWU4n3SQmde7qxvzgSiYy0TGcIs9nhUuHtZ3Af0X7a9P2hGmAJCy0nFE5fD6vzP8OdTptiEf70L10tHeSqmUJYB_kfSsroR_EHKnkrwp3LFe910LiuPf22sDT_EM7YNnTpTIiidgrmtihSmAzvURCE6PZVn84RtEuxx_rrcQlXBg/s639/7f271fa0-8add-11ee-aff7-37ee77c5a45c.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="359" data-original-width="639" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxyMzN2iCOGZ4_pkBRWU4n3SQmde7qxvzgSiYy0TGcIs9nhUuHtZ3Af0X7a9P2hGmAJCy0nFE5fD6vzP8OdTptiEf70L10tHeSqmUJYB_kfSsroR_EHKnkrwp3LFe910LiuPf22sDT_EM7YNnTpTIiidgrmtihSmAzvURCE6PZVn84RtEuxx_rrcQlXBg/w400-h225/7f271fa0-8add-11ee-aff7-37ee77c5a45c.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b><p><b><br /></b></p>What's it About: </b>Think Partners in Crime mixed with Journey's End with a massive dose of Doctor Who Weekly thrown in for good measure. It's a healthy reminder of when the show was the most popular thing in the media and the audience at homes minds before the show gets rolling in a brand new direction again...<p></p><p><b>Mockney Dude (Redux): </b>The least controversial decision since bringing in David Tennant in the first place is bringing back David Tennant to give the series (and crucially fandom, which for whatever reason has split down the middle in terms of controversy and opinion) a settling feeling before Ncuti Gatwa (who shows enormous promise already) takes the keys. Did I for one second feel as though this was the fourteenth Doctor rather than the Tenth? Beyond one line questioning whether he says 'love' this time around, not at all. Was I happy to see him back given my heart was full to bursting whenever Jodie Whittaker was on the screen? Oh yes. Tennant is a proven talent and still my favourite new series Doctor and he waltzes back into the show with swagger and panache. As he turns up in a central London backstreet grinning away to familiar Murray Gold music, it felt like I was back in 2008 again. You know, the last time the show was on everybody's lips. It's like he has never been away, and if had any nerves about once again being asked to raise the shows profile you couldn't tell. </p><p>The psychic paper still thinks the Doctor is a woman. He's clearly not forgotten his masterful handling of the law in The Stones of Blood and still carries that ridiculous wig around with him. I love how gentle he is with the Meep initially, nursing its hand and happy to help get it home. He's every inch the hero as he makes magic shields from his sonic screwdriver to help protect his friends. Tennant breezes through this story like he has never been away but it is during the emotional climax with Tate that he reminds us all why he is here and what he can do. He breaks his voice in such a way when he screams 'no you are not!' at Donna for calling herself nothing again. The Doctor has been living with the loss of his best friend for so long and he cannot bear to hear her say that she is worthless now they are back together. Russell being the bastard that he is forces the Doctor into the only possible situation that could break both of his hearts - he has to kill Donna in order to save London and 9 million people. </p><p><b>Tempestuous Temp:</b> When I was told that my favourite showrunner was back, I thought my luck was in. Then to discover David Tennant (my favourite Doctor) would be the incumbent of the TARDIS again I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Finally to discover that Catherine Tate, my single favourite companion of the new series and possibly beyond would be joining him I finally left all that British reserve behind and let the tears break. Series four was such a special time for me. A point in the show when it was in the zeitgeist in terms of popularity, quality and chemistry. Donna was a huge part of the equation and the run from The Unicorn and the Wasp through to Journey's End is still my personal favourite of any season of Doctor Who, classic or new. I had to pinch myself. Surely this could not be real? </p><p>Of course Donna is still missing the alien incursions even when they are right under her nose. Donna doesn't see things in black and white (she's too complex for that) but she does see things in a sense of right and wrong. And it's right that she protects her daughter. So the conversation she has with Sylvia where she has easy answers about what she feels about her transitioning feels so natural. She loves Rose, she's gorgeous and she will do anything for her. It's a simple, loving response. She's happy with her life and her family but some nights she lies in her bed and wonders what it is she has lost. There is an absence of something. Tate delivers those lines with such aching emotion. I adore how she takes the screwdriver from the Doctor during a tense moment like it is the most natural thing in the world even though she doesn't remember that life. When we learn that Donna gave away all her money to help people who were living in fear I couldn't possibly love her any more. She says it was 'the sort of thing he would do' and we don't know if she is talking about the Doctor, her Dad or her Gramps but it works with any of them. Brilliantly, selflessly, Donna agrees to sacrifice herself for her daughter, her family and all the people she needs to save. She doesn't give it a second thought. The second our Donna is back the first thing on her mind is how she gave away her money. She's back! Her assertion that brining up her daughter is an adventure all of its own is fabulous. Donna is in the TARDIS for two minutes and she's already thrown coffee on the console. We're back. </p><p><b>The Nobles:</b> My single complaint about Yasmin Finney is that she is clearly older than the 15 year old she is playing but I have been watching 20 somethings play teens in my favourite programmes since the late 80s and if that means we get a nuanced performance instead of another member of the Brood then happy days. How lovely that Donna has been living domestic bliss with a kind husband, a thawed out mother and a sweet daughter. What terrible accident has befallen Nerys? Shaun says the great love story is putting up with somebody as wonderful as Donna (with all her flaws) and not complaining about it. It's a brilliant re-imagining of Sylvia as somebody who has come to realise how special Donna is. She's so much gentler but still fiercely protective of her (the brilliant 'You!' when she realises the Doctor is about). You get the feeling that Sylvia has been deflecting every alien invasion since The Eleventh Hour so that Donna is protected. We think for one terrible moment that Wilf is dead in the Doctor Who universe and because we still reeling from Bernard Cribbins' death it hits hard...until Russell reverses that and we suddenly have the promise that we will see him in an upcoming special. </p><p><b>Great Dialogue: </b>'Sometimes I have dreams about impossible things.' </p><p>'Word of advice...you can wear a suit that tight up to the age of 35...and no further.' </p><p>'That woman from Abu Dhabi who buys your stuff...she'd love that one.' </p><p>'Nerys! Now it all makes sense. That viper in the nest! I'm not going anywhere. We could sell mad Paddington for a million quid!' </p><p>'The eyes! That's solar psychedelia!' (What a brilliant idea) </p><p>'No stun guns for me! Just die!' </p><p><b>The Good:</b> Sweeping heroic music in the way that only Murray Gold knows how, a purple haze of magic trailing from the TARDIS as it bursts through clouds of timelines and a sense of huge optimism in how expensive it all looks, the new title sequence is just gorgeous. I loved 13s for its atmosphere, sinister key drop and inky weirdness but this feels like it is making a statement that Doctor Who is punching its way into the consciousness of the Not We again. </p><p>I mirror David Tennant's response to the news that they are adapting The Star Beast for television. Absolute shock that they have the nerve to take a comic strip from the 1980s and bring it to life in 2023. But then thinking it about it it has all the hallmarks of a Davies season opener. Light, silly ('The fat just walks away...'), comic book (Judoon platoon upon the Moon) and unforgettable (Auton invasion). Plus weaving the story of Beep the Meep landing on Earth with the return of Donna and her family means you have a healthy mix of madness and emotion and I cannot think of a better way to describe Russell's approach to Doctor Who. </p><p>Go visit Camden Lock. It is a thriving market in the heart of London with the most gloriously eclectic collection of stalls, food stands and people. I hope featuring it in Doctor Who brings a hive of fans there. You'll walk through a range of humanity, wares and enticing food smells. It's one of my favourite places in England. </p><p>Milson-Wagner steelworks!</p><p>There has been some appalling anti-Trans commentary online in the wake of this episode being released very often from the people you would expect it from but at times even from surprising corners. The very reason that the positive representation is needed is because of that kind of reaction. Russell is taking hold of something that certain people want belittled and removed and giving it a safe home in one of the biggest television platforms there is and he is normalising something that is perfectly natural for a younger audience. Identity and ownership of self is a personal choice and Russell makes Rose a gentle but strong character who is dealing with her own questions, loneliness, and abuse from the kids around her. Sylvia is vital someone who wants to get it right but sometimes fails and Donna is as she always was, burning with protection for people who are mistreated. It's tackled sensitively at first before becoming a dominant theme in the climax of the story, being threaded creatively and emotionally into the narrative. I don't have all the answers on this subject because it is not something that I completely understand as I have never been through it but I am of the opinion that this a personal journey for each individual, that nobody has the right to take a personal choice of identity from anybody and I am willing to be educated and explore the idea further. I think Russell is opening a door to that in a very constructive, optimistic way. Doctor Who has forged ahead politically for most of its life and I am pleased to see with Russell back at the helm it is time to tackle some of these issues again. I was so pleased he took this stand, and I know it is offering inclusivity (some people use that word as if it is dirty, it's not) and that can only be a good thing. Bravo. </p><p>Beep the Meep. Wow. What a brilliant idea, and so wonderfully brought to the screen by all concerned. Doctor Who hasn't been water cooler chat in my world since series 4 and I'm pleased to say I've been hearing a buzz about Meep and its insidious ways since Saturday. It's leaning into the Gremlins vibe by taking this cute, innocuous creature (it's so Doctor Who that he literally squeals 'Meep Meep!') and turning it into the nastiest war criminal we have ever seen. The animatronics are extraordinary but it is how the actors behave around the puppet that brings it to life (I'm calling it the Farscape Effect) and Miriam Margoyles was the perfect choice to voice the Meep because she really captures that helpless sweetness in the creature until it unleashes its rage and fire and then she just goes to town with the madness. It's a huge success by all concerned; batshit crazy in the best Doctor Who way and utterly hilarious with it. This is the strongest indication that Doctor Who is for kids again after years and years of quite serious storytelling and this psychotic, cute as hell gonk from outer space is reaching out a hand to that portion of the audience again. Of course the is the definite article. </p><p>More Shirley please. I have adored Ruth Madeley as Hebe in the Big Finish series Purity and she is just as confident here as Shirley, UNIT's latest scientific advisor. She's armed with wit and smarts, and a badass wheelchair too. I love the line about not making her the problem when the situation is at height. Her familiarity with the Doctor felt perfectly natural and I adored how she said 'off you pop to him utterly confident in her ability to deal with the spaceship so he can go and sort his personal issues. The wave between them made me cheer. </p><p>My favourite section of the episode was the scenes at night in the Noble house. Starting with Donna discovering the Meep in the shed ('What the hell!') to Sylvia trying desperately to deflect all the madness away from Donna, to the idea of a tuna Madras (gross!) to awesome action sequence as the Wrath Warriors turn up to claim the Meep. It's emotion, farce and action all mixed up in a heady brew. It's the best firefight we've seen in Doctor Who to date as Rachel Talalay shows her stuff sweeping down the road with pyrotechnics going off, cars flying, doors exploding, CGI warriors flying and animatronics crawling through attics. Throughout all of this madness Russell remembers to keep it funny and every single 'Meep Meep!' is perfectly timed and got a big laugh from me (the man sleeping as everybody creeps past on tiptoe - including the Meep - is the best visual gag on Doctor Who in years). It's this sort of set piece that I've missed. So much goes into this five minute sequence from the writing to the acting to the directing to the special effects. It's the showpiece for me. And a word for the Wrath design, which is very faithful to the original comic but just looks gorgeous on the screen. Russell is never afraid of putting weird aliens on the telly, and this bunch are unforgettably so. There's not mistaking the fact that you are watching Doctor Who. </p><p>We haven't seen anything quite as absurd as the evil Meep raised high and baring its sinister teeth as its phallic rocket ship steams behind and its army of possessed soldiers cry 'Hail to the Meep!' I love this stupid show. The dagger drive is so ridiculous. I want more of this. </p><p>The binary/non-binary ending is bound to be divisive because it carries with it the suggestion that Rose is trans because of her mother and the Doctor merging whereas that is obviously not the case for anybody else on this planet. It's a smart use of the metacrisis, it comes with the message of 'be yourself', it truly embraces the idea in this new era that the Doctor can be male or female (I think the Jodie detractors would hope that this would be swept aside) and brings all the elements together in a very clever conclusion. It's giving a science fiction spin on a real life experience and I think Doctor Who is a place that can cope with that. It also brings huge inclusivity to anybody who is experiencing transition, it's making the language positive to children and it is using television to spread the word that this is perfectly normal. Is it cheesy? You can't make these kinds of statements without a little bit of cheese. I like cheese. </p><p>The new TARDIS interior is gobsmacking. A fusion of classic and new, huge, otherworldly and you can run around in it! I loved the atmospherics of Jodie's (I really don't mind dark) but this riff on the classic model (but with a huge budget) just feels right. The Doctor runs about in it because that is exactly what we want to do. </p><p><b>The Bad:</b> We've got all that Disney money (although I'm reliably informed that that isn't present until Gatwa shows up - which makes sense in terms of marketing the show - bring the classic/new series to an end and start again with Doctor Who Series 1)...so let's say Bad Wolf money (remember His Dark Materials?) and we open on a special effects shot that would embarrass Star Trek Voyager in the 90s and a catch up exposition dump that would make The TV Movie blush. After the astonishing visuals of Power of the Doctor I was very confused. I'm pleased this is 'bring Doctor Who to an end' trio of specials rather than a bold new start for the show because this is a very confusing and dictatorial way to do it. More to the point; who on Earth are the Doctor and Donna talking to? Us? Because that doesn't happen again in the episode so that makes this a very strange breaking of the fourth wall to kick us off. I wouldn't put it past Russell to be cheeky enough to think 'screw it, I've got to remind everybody of where we left these two characters and so let's just have them address everybody.' </p><p>Poor old Fudge has been short changed in this version of the story. He had a much bigger role in the excellent Big Finish version, which is much more faithful to the original text. </p><p>For the most part I love Murray Gold's music, but he isn't doing anything new with his music for The Star Beast. It feels exactly like series 4 again. It's like a big emotive, melodramatic fingerprint. We've been spoilt by some unique atmospherics in the previous regime. This is the only thing that feels like a step backwards to me. However Gold is too creative to get stuck in the past. I'm sure we will be seeing something bold and brilliant and new soon. And the weird orgasm breathing in the end title music is baffling. </p><p>The message to let it go is a great one - although I know plenty of men who are capable of that too. </p><p><b>Result: </b>'We've got a bloody Martian in the shed!' Utterly preposterous in all the best ways, The Star Beast is about as safe a bet as Russell T. Davies could have made whilst still being extremely confident in everything it is doing. Tennant, Tate, Sylvia, Beep the Meep, all tried and tested successes before and so it was a good chance that the audience would take them to heart again. There's two stories taking place here and both of them are great in very different ways. The story of Beep, the demented yet endearing Meep is a firm invitation for kids to start watching Doctor Who again and it manages to be in turns very sweet, utterly camp, surprising (if you don't know the origin story) and by the conclusion embracing the pantomimic. In short, all the things I love in Doctor Who. On the other hand you have Donna and Rose's story, which has the unfortunate task of having to pick up 15 year old plot threads and remind the audience of them but once that is done it runs with a character piece that explores identity, claiming yourself (both Donna and Rose do by the end of the story) and letting go. Russell imbues the script with the sort of heart only he can bring to Doctor Who and any shortcomings in the story (the pacing is a little hit and miss at times) can be ridden over with just how much this gave me the feels. And how funny it is too. I haven't laughed this much at a story in years and years (the sense of humour with the previous two showrunners just doesn't chime with me in the same way). I think this is Russell easing the audience back into his vision for the show in a very adept fashion and for anybody that thinks this is a step backwards to 2008 it is worth remembering that that was the last time the show was massively popular and so a healthy reminder of that is no bad thing. But there is no way that this sort of heartfelt fluff is all we are getting and once this introduction is out of the way the weird and the scary and the innovative will come. I watched this twice in one night and thoroughly enjoyed myself both times. Bringing back Rachel Talalay to direct what is essentially a light season opener was a stroke of genius and she ensures that all the set pieces look magnificent. I wouldn't want Doctor Who to be as slight or as message driven as this every week, but I feel as a mission statement for the series getting on a firmer footing with the general audience this had all the right moves. And for it's inclusive message, this is a vital piece of the shows history. The Beepest of all the Meepest Doctor Whos: <b>8/10</b> </p>Doc Ohohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-35491792287550147202022-12-14T05:02:00.002-08:002022-12-14T05:02:41.350-08:00Survivors Series 02 <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlMEgtqXBKU5Mdl_K8GR1ZVDI5LIT9YDw84In_QDK7RbFcYRP1Ksw7d_O80Zl7oW7S3Am2CFIEIil1Fv7UkGgsBLnxGIz_wlMlDD0YfohaHbpUl-C7WrhPHjCeDjtvPjGv4-pYPA_mOeBAgebeA4RMVCt1ePhv_xIH9DEdpOTKNrG39dilBLA4sDBy/s600/large%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlMEgtqXBKU5Mdl_K8GR1ZVDI5LIT9YDw84In_QDK7RbFcYRP1Ksw7d_O80Zl7oW7S3Am2CFIEIil1Fv7UkGgsBLnxGIz_wlMlDD0YfohaHbpUl-C7WrhPHjCeDjtvPjGv4-pYPA_mOeBAgebeA4RMVCt1ePhv_xIH9DEdpOTKNrG39dilBLA4sDBy/s320/large%20(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Welcome back to the Company's most adult and terrifying series as we embark on the second series of Survivors. After the meteoric success of the first year that managed to not only capture the fatalism and despair of the TV series but also transfer it to audio and make it sophisticated in a whole new way is there any way they can replicate that kind of triumph in series two? The answer is yes and no, because what you get is pretty much more of the same but it manages to continue to be just as well written, acted and executed with just as many disturbing moments and a feeling of disquiet that simply isn't there with other ranges. It appears there is a scattershot approach to the storytelling this time around (where the first set very much felt like a continuing story) but by the time you get to the last story it is tying up elements that were introduced in the first and it does feel like a coherent story. The cleverest part of this is episodes two and three which tell different stories at the same time and feature all the female characters in one story and all the male in the other and explores the different kinds of stories you can tell with a certain gender at the helm. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Dark Rain by Ken Bentley</b> kicks off the set in suitably intense style and features the two strongest of the original characters, Jackie (Louise Jameson) and Daniel (John Banks) having to fight for their lives and being rattled by the experience. It's a great way to catch up with the characters and remind us what their fears and motivations are and this is effectively one of those submarine stories where the water rises up around their waists and the characters no that they are going to die. Jameson and Banks deserve massive kudos for the work they do here, I have seen this situation played out loads of times before but never quite as raw and as real as it feels here. We spend a nice amount of time with our regulars from the TV series too, and this box set really integrates both extremely well (without ever going back to The Grange because the TV series is currently occurring there) and the search for Abby's son Peter is the focus, and Jenny, who is pregnant with Greg's baby. The most shocking moment in this story was Jackie's confession about her children and how she feels she doesn't deserve to die. I think she is the most uncomfortable character to be around because she is so kind and gentle and yet is clearly suffering from PTSD in a massive way. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Mother's Courage by Louise Jameson</b> is a lot of peoples favourite from the set and I can see why because it takes a very simple idea (what would happen if there was a refuge run completely by women in a post apocalyptic world) and forces our characters to face the consequences of that. I was hard on the Eighth of March set and this story goes someway to explaining why because it is a much more mature celebration of women working in Big Finish; a smart script, hard hitting themes of motherhood, friendship and female strength and terrific performances from the actresses involved. My two complaints about this story are that the idea of a community that rejects men to such an extent that it would kill Jenny's child if it was a son isn't taken quite far enough (I almost wish that the pregnancy was further along so she did have the baby and we could have all the suspense of what the sex is) and so this is all talk and no action. But also that this is very similar to the story that played out last year with our heroes stuck in a twisted community that could offer them salvation if they leave their morality to one side. However, the reactions of all the characters to this set up is excellent, the dialogue is frequently hard hitting and Jenny and Abby really come off brilliantly in this, as strong as they ever were on TV. It somehow manages to be a celebration of men and everything they bring to society, and a firm reminder of their evils too. Thoughtful stuff. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My personal favourite of the year was <b>The Hunted by Ken Bentley</b> and that seems to be for all the reasons that other people didn't like it so much. It has a thin plot - the men of the group are hunted out in the woods by a wild animal and meet up with a hunter who can help them track it down - but it soon becomes the equivalent of a horror movie as it transpires a group of survivors are taking advantage of the hunt and posing as animals in the dark to murder people. This really scared me (my other half can attest to that who had to hold my hand for the whole second half) as the boys face the laughter and mockery of murderers out there in the dark. There's a beautiful conversation between Tim Treloar's Russell and Daniel that leads to a horrific murder scene and from that point on it plays out like the horror movie Them with a life or death struggle. I genuinely was uncertain if our regulars would get out of this, even though I knew Greg couldn't be killed. The idea that people might take advantage of the collapse of society and the absence of rules to play with people and kill them really struck a chord with me. I really appreciated Ken Bentley's use of sound in the direction, and how he trusted the audience to keep up with the action without having to explain what is going on in awkward dialogue. It means you are there in this situation with Greg and Daniel, and the threat is all around you. Bernard Holley's voice is unforgettable, and he will get a bigger role in the next story. I can't remember a Big Finish that put me through the wringer more than this in quite some time. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Savages by Matt Fitton </b>brings this set to a close and is probably the biggest endorsement of the 'not suitable for children' tag that this range gets on the Big Finish website. Before I say the few things that let this down I want to say this is a strong conclusion to the set, once again featuring set pieces that set me on edge, brilliant performances and some character conclusions (Daniel finally makes a choice that crosses a line and Molly's attempted suicide is understandable, inevitable and very dramatic) that will need dealing with in the future. What made the murderers so scary in the last story was that they seemed to be enjoying themselves and the fact that there was nobody to stop them. Fitton (probably wisely) gives George Ridley a motive for why he has turned to cannibalism and because it was an act of desperation that has become a need makes him much less frightening. I can't say I felt empathy for the man (he's played a little broadly like a villain too) but his backstory, and giving him a murderer pal who does all the dirty work before he gets the pots boiling takes the edge of the violent chaos of the promise of these monstrous characters. I got strong Countrycide vibes from Torchwood, and this plays out in as vicious and unpleasant a manner. You actually hear characters eating human flesh so prepare yourselves for that. Also, the ending where both the killer and the butcher are killed means the series gets to duck away from the riveting question of what to do with these people in a society with no rules. We could have had our audio equivalent of Law and Order. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I might have more complaints than the previous set but the standard is still very high. Big Finish has caught something very dramatic and vivid with this series. I'm in awe of the convincing performances and sound design. It makes me weep that I have head back to silly old Doctor Who at some point. This is real audio drama: <b>8/10 </b></div>Doc Ohohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-77526062041206085352022-12-07T22:33:00.005-08:002022-12-07T22:43:06.866-08:00Survivors - Series 01<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPaNGPbTES_pUvNkebVaqt6uFjSBznEmiFOis1O4FX61vgGVaP9wodbdhUWLfbAfK_Hrx22JJbGrHP1Vt5sRAJX6SrxXHNWH6HbhbUMdK-YKE0tJyPv2Uf9V5hIMzzdHHebXvj3cbTaOJ-OvNQdHkBMVdQ-9_fncSFutlYlx2dfClBabPap35zNF5B/s600/large%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPaNGPbTES_pUvNkebVaqt6uFjSBznEmiFOis1O4FX61vgGVaP9wodbdhUWLfbAfK_Hrx22JJbGrHP1Vt5sRAJX6SrxXHNWH6HbhbUMdK-YKE0tJyPv2Uf9V5hIMzzdHHebXvj3cbTaOJ-OvNQdHkBMVdQ-9_fncSFutlYlx2dfClBabPap35zNF5B/s320/large%20(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Result: </b>A plausibly real and graphic series depicting the take down of the human race by a virus that ravages the world and murders a huge chunk of the population. That absolutely should resonate with the bulk of the population of this planet. Of course this first series was pre-pandemic, which makes it chillingly aware of where things are going and just how disturbing things could have ended up. Terry Nation often had his finger on the pulse. There is an air of disquiet throughout this releases that automatically elevates it above the majority of Big Finish's other ranges, a sense that this could actually happen. That the desperation of the human race to behave in appalling ways if the basic structure of society and law and order fell apart is chillingly accurate. The tension is palpable. Especially in first episode, <b>Revelation by Matt Fitton</b>, which is essentially a remake of the original pilot of TV series but introduces us to a whole new set of regulars (and brilliantly, not ALL the regulars, which means people come and go in these pockets of survivors, just as would happen in real life) and people still have a sense of hope that this illness will sweep through the population and life can be resumed once it has done its work. We know where this is heading and that life will never be the same again and so much of the tension is waiting for the other characters to catch up. There's a swift pace to this episodes, the deaths of the characters friends and family comes fairly rapidly and whilst it is contained to England there is still a real sense of spread to the setting. There is definitely a sense of don't get too close to anybody because if the sickness doesn't get them, the human beings exploiting it will. Chase Masterson and Terry Molloy make the strongest impression here, trapped in an airport with the sick and trying to figure out the scale of the situation. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Exodus by Jonathan Morris</b> ups the ante considerably in turns of character drama and doesn't have the purpose of introducing the concept of the series and can just show people reacting to the situation they have found themselves in. I thought it was the strongest of the four, and the one that truly revealed the depths of horror and emotion of the scenario that goes above and beyond the norm of BF's Doctor Who releases. Jackie Burchall is memorably introduced caring for her family (who we never hear talk) and I was just waiting for the moment when the episode told us that her husband and children are already dead and there was a frightening inevitability to that expectation. Louise Jameson's raw and devastated reaction to hearing the words said aloud is something that you will never forget. She's the strongest of an incredible cast that has bought into the reality of this horror completely. The twist later that she killed them herself to spare them from the plague and committed suicide never expecting to wake up is bleak in a way that Terry Nation excelled at. It feels like a very real reaction to a horrible situation, but is shocking operatic drama at the same time. I had goose bumps. Two characters that you think might be regulars are wiped out here too, as a community that has risen up out of the nightmare and is prepared to go to any lengths to ensure that their way of life isn't threatened. Having our heroes find salvation only to have it snatched away as they realise that a new kind of terrifying martial law a hold of this community with a chilling figure at its core, James Gillison, who will go to any lengths to keep control and things working his way. As two characters that we thought were regulars are shot in the back and one barely gets away with her life you realise that nobody is safe anymore. This is the most overtly scary instalment. I genuinely feared for the characters lives. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Gillison gets real focus in <b>Judges by Andrew Smith</b>, a drama that brings characters from the TV series into the fold. He's astonishingly played by Adrian Lukis, who gives him a sense of moral righteousness and true belief that he is right to behave in the way that he is. I absolutely believe that this kind of egomaniac would seize control if this scenario played out, that somebody would wind a community around their finger and murder anybody that threatened to even doubt it let alone act out against it. The communities in England are exchanging food and Gillison suspects that the group they are trading with are trying to poison them and thus begins as tense sequence where he goes to trade with a plan to wipe them all out. The Survivors need to try and warn them and a plan is hatched to try and stop the raid. Just who reveals to Gillison what they are planning might surprise you. It shows that this show isn't going to take the easy route. The raid takes place and lots of people die and I realised this wasn't Doctor Who territory where things tend to end well. I thought this was the weakest of the four - it wasn't setting up the story, it didn't have any overtly interesting character work (although this does flesh out Gillison more) and it doesn't have the claustrophobia of the finale - but it is still a brilliant listen. Let that be an endorsement of how good the set is as a whole. This also where they successfully integrate the new audio characters with the TV ones and it feels like a perfectly natural fit. I'm pleased they left it this long to allow the original characters to bed in. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Things come to a head in <b>Esther by John Dorney</b>, where the Survivors (both old and new) are trapped within Gillison's community and facing execution. Essentially this is an hour of this nightmare within a nightmare and it looks like nobody is going to get out alive. Gillison is willing to go without a fight and I really liked how the series refused to salvage the character, whilst it still gave him a motivation for why he was behaving so appallingly. Sometimes people have gone too far and they cannot be brought back to edge. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There's something palpably exciting about a first series that gets things as right as this that means that that excitement can never quite be captured again and Survivors starts on such a strong and unforgettable series of stories I cannot see how they will top this for sheer drama in the future. Ken Bentley deserves huge kudos for his bravura direction of this piece. He has executed so many Doctor Who's at this point that he understands the medium completely but this is a cut above even his very best work elsewhere. There's a conviction to the sound design, a willingness to deliver this in as a real a fashion as possible with minimal (and well chosen) music and a willingness to cast outside of the box. Chase Masterson shows know signs of Vienna as Maddie Price, Louise Jameson couldn't be further from Leela as the tortured Jackie Burchall but the standout turn for me was Adrian Lukis, who injects Gillison with real steel and believability. That could have been a ranting villain role and he is chillingly real. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Bravo to everybody concerned, this is brave in a way I haven't seen from Big Finish in years:<b> 9/10 (8/10, 10/10, 7/10, 9/10 </b>respectively)</div><p></p>Doc Ohohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-10333110626692608222022-11-20T22:59:00.003-08:002022-11-20T22:59:47.864-08:00Old Friends<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRm7DWAUacPIRE2r2sMiY2ezqWyVZcvk19aP1I4SFJ1eS6he4kk_62k4j7iFXYPksOFJkZAxAxm8RJKUnph1Gk_TRN_e7WdhykTqQ_lj734yDhKUd2kqCw0n4bnG6j-Rroj5qExt3YRPFJTwdgMy3wfFlIS5RRwPA7y1kFDFYDiX199UwMNwIjSj_e/s600/large%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRm7DWAUacPIRE2r2sMiY2ezqWyVZcvk19aP1I4SFJ1eS6he4kk_62k4j7iFXYPksOFJkZAxAxm8RJKUnph1Gk_TRN_e7WdhykTqQ_lj734yDhKUd2kqCw0n4bnG6j-Rroj5qExt3YRPFJTwdgMy3wfFlIS5RRwPA7y1kFDFYDiX199UwMNwIjSj_e/s320/large%20(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Fond Farewell by David K. Barnes:</b> I can remember when I first heard Ravagers and being quite appalled that Big Finish should introduce Christopher Eccleston to the world of original Doctor Who audio drama with such an uninvolving script. As a result I ducked out the range immediately and didn't return until almost a year later with this set. Had things began with something as weird and witty as Fond Farewell I would have been much more interested. This is a really tight bit of storytelling with a glorious premise; the deceased being able to attend their own wake and it milks that idea for every drop of humour and poignancy that it can. It's a murder mystery too boot and a has a lovely thread of character drama running through it too, just as you might expect from a story that is aping series one. I'm not sure about the 'old friends' premise because this is one of those acquaintances that the Doctor has met off screen (of the sort that was so prevalent in season 22) that we are visiting but it does give the set a hook to hang itself on I suppose. Helen Goldwyn is one of the safest pair of hands that Big Finish has directed stories these days and I do not mean that in a derogatory way at all. She has a lightness of touch that means her stories are bouncy and easy to listen to but she casts brilliantly too and so the words come alive in unexpected, memorable ways. I thought this rattled along at a hell of a pace and not even the prolonged flashback to explain the whodunnit reveal ruined the momentum. I can remember turning to Mark at the end of this and saying 'more please.' Best of all, Eccleston is every bit as a brilliant as he was during his TV run. Without a companion at his side he is funny, charismatic and impossible to ignore. A breath of fresh air for being short and very sweet: <b>8/10</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>The Way of the Burryman/The Forth Generation: </b>I don't think Roy Gill is discussed nearly enough as a Doctor Who writer and he is quietly one of the more assured and creative people that Big Finish has on its staff. He's one of those writers that can dive into any series and get the tone and the feel of the range just right, and characterise the regulars brilliantly too. I especially loved his take on the tenth Doctor and Donna and thought the vinyl release of The Creeping Death was more than justified. This, however, is his best story yet, and perfectly illustrates why he isn't just your regular Doctor Who hack. It takes two of the most cliched ideas (the Doctor meeting the Brigadier and the return of the Cybermen) and conjures up a story that is ghoulish, emotionally stirring and beautifully characterised. Bringing in Warren Brown's character from the UNIT series is a lovely touch and giving him a meeting with the Doctor before his great adventure sets off (and a justification for it too) adds a lot of depth to the character. The Scottish setting that is seeped in myths and legends and atmosphere is a superbly evoked in both the writing and the direction, and Gill does something that is truly chilling with the Cybermen (leaning into the idea that people who have suffered so terribly would welcome the chance to be converted) that tapped into my fear. The first episode takes its time to get to know the characters (and it isn't a massive guest cast) and to establish the setting and ideas, but come the cliff-hanger we are in horror/tragedy territory with the Cybermen on the march in what would some of the most frightening scenes had this been on the telly. I'm not the biggest fan of the Cybermen at the best of times (all too often writers tap into the idea of them being scary robots rather than the walking dead) and Gill gets them just right. Real body horror and unsettlingly tragic. Eccleston is on fire here. He has mastered the humour in the role at this point but he was always going to be a wonderful dramatic actor in the part and he dances through relationship drama, exposition and reunions here with real aplomb. I listened to this story sitting outside in the sunshine but every time I shut my eyes I could see the shattered zombie Cybermen coming out of the fog. Kudos to Jon Culshaw who has really embraced the part of the Brigadier despite any fan resistance there might be and Gill taps into just how effective this pairing can be professionally as well as personally. There's no doubting they adore each other but they have a job to do and lives to save. There wasn't one part of this that I didn't think wasn't firing on all cylinders. This walks that delicate line between nostalgia and delivering something fresh and atmospheric: <b>9/10</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>Doc Ohohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-9939273076152072242022-11-14T20:42:00.003-08:002022-11-14T20:43:34.497-08:00Vienna Series Three<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixSaYRtdnXqQRqreiXoNaAJM2c-7fe2G26eXsfoUs_-Aq6bP1bi0Og07A7qAvNnykH1u6uKeUin28DjU9gvDqLFaNt4TK0ZZTCu9UdlqjFIDS16Mer5qIDMx_CBZu1jlLfBj_jwWSvwQI17007oGwr8dV1hdNBXqu3G13iIuboFWlb_oup7riEMEMf/s600/large%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixSaYRtdnXqQRqreiXoNaAJM2c-7fe2G26eXsfoUs_-Aq6bP1bi0Og07A7qAvNnykH1u6uKeUin28DjU9gvDqLFaNt4TK0ZZTCu9UdlqjFIDS16Mer5qIDMx_CBZu1jlLfBj_jwWSvwQI17007oGwr8dV1hdNBXqu3G13iIuboFWlb_oup7riEMEMf/s320/large%20(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Big Society by Ian Potter:</b> Every season of Vienna seems to up the ante on the previous one and this is no different and as a result it seems to surprise me more and more by being one of the most agreeable spin offs that Big Finish has spun. A huge shout out to Chase Masterson from the off because she has taken hold of a character that was a little sketchy on the page (a glamorous space bitch assassin) and turned her into one of the most layered, and the most fun of Big Finish characters. She's dangerous and funny and has a heart of gold underneath it all and Masterson is pure charisma at this point. Samantha Beart is still playing her sidekick Jexie Reagen with a bizarre accent but the chemistry between the two actresses is so strong at this point that I barely noticed. I mention both of the leads because so much of this second set, and especially this first story are successful because of their really enjoyable interplay and some real effort has gone into making it feel as though they have been working together for some time at this point and that they make one hell of a team. Instead of murdering people for money, Jexie has turned Vienna to protecting people for money and in a wonderfully revealing moment at the end of Big Society, Vienna admits to her partner that sometimes performing a good deed is its own reward. It means she is far more likable than we have previously found, and given the extra dollop of humour in this set, so much funnier too. This is a furiously paced SF tale with some great ideas and creepy moments. Potter includes a chilling notion of algae and waste clone matter amalgamating into a sinister new lifeform and the Good Day drug that essentially powers all three stories this season is not only a wonderful notion in its own right but given some authenticity and considers the consequences of such a drug being available. With Scott Handcock in the driving seat the story sounds amazing and he brings all manner of impressive guest actors with him. I finished this one with a huge smile on my face and raring to go with the last two and you can't ask for much more than that from your opening salvo: <b>8/10</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Big Society by Guy Adams: </b>I'm perfectly convinced that this is one of the best scripts I have heard from Big Finish in quite a few years. This is absolutely bonkers, and brilliant. Not only is it a scathing attack on reality TV shows that put people through the wringer for the entertainment of others but it is also a hilarious action adventure feature some of the weirdest characters and fights that you will ever experience. I was laughing my head off when Vienna and Jexie meet a sarky, bitchy escalator but by the end of the story entire buildings are coming to life and attacking other buildings with entire musical concertos compressed into a couple of seconds of devastating sound. That is the level of madness we are dealing with here. It would have been a horrible mess too if this was in the hands of a lesser director but Handcock has a delicate handle on how to bring this to life, with absolute seriousness, with superbly timed jokes hitting their mark throughout. By the end of the story where Vienna is cleverly using the logic of the competition against the villain and manipulates the villain into exposing just what an asshole he is, I was cheering. Throughout I was laughing at the smart jokes and biting commentary. And the soundscape on this one is just extraordinary. If Douglas Adams was to write a Big Finish script, it would be very like this one. Devastatingly cruel to corporate greed, hilariously characterising the strangest of people and putting the leads front and centre and allowing them to smart and silly and brilliant. If you are looking for a more realistic sort of audio then you are going to look elsewhere (but then I would question why you are listening to the adventures of a busty space assassin) but if you're here for a great time with some quirky set pieces, unforgettable dialogue and most of all a chance to truly laugh at some of the most absurd television that exists out there then you are in for a treat with this one. Confident as hell, and absolutely insanely enjoyable listening: <b>10/10</b> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Impossibly Glamorous by Steve Lyons: </b>A step down from the previous adventure but that was so good that was perhaps inevitable, but this is still a very decent end to the set and climax to the overall narrative. Any story that features Sophie Aldred camping it up as a corporate monster that is exploiting the reverse engineered Good Day drug to make millions from a depressed population cannot be a bad listening experience, and I love how the set makes Vienna and Jexie heroes by exposing the monstrousness of holding back on marketing and producing something that could make such a positive impact on this society. It's doing what the second series did, making Vienna a force for good, but with far less labyrinthine plotting and engineered twists, and thus making it feel like a more fluidic piece of storytelling. Like Big Society there is an attack on big business and how it exploits people when it could help them, and I couldn't agree more with what it is saying. The first half of this story is a little confusing and perhaps a little too comedic for its own good. There was a ton of running about and a quick succession of gags that felt a little too farcical but the whole piece rouses in the second half as Vienna emerges from her deceit to claim the day. I can't say this enough but I had a lot of fun with this and the more I am exploring the spin off ranges of Big Finish, the more I am coming to the conclusion that that is where the most original and enjoyable material is to be found. Doctor Who comes with a wealth of nostalgia and clichés but that is a finite pool of creativity. Brilliant writers like Guy Adams and James Goss are finding their voice elsewhere where they can be truly original. Vienna series three really surprised me at just how very good it is. Not because I wouldn't expect that from these writers but because I wouldn't expect to find this much talent in such a niche range. Bravo: <b>7/10</b></div><p></p>Doc Ohohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-44746956182156065782022-11-11T05:50:00.002-08:002022-11-11T05:50:40.844-08:00Master! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9rThS2SI6KP5QNXufHyN5BDmv2xSLwL5oCoK_fU0_EIXaazJ344YYCM18aYY4BCLpIsuRql3wOo3Z95k_S0XnfeoC9PG4wmIvUu3kQHHvsWS--f93VJbpro4c6BjfCQcGacGO5egfEEqSF--vY8rmnKn5cDrS_CvKsdsKk-PKb3b6HKGDVclD5uxZ/s600/large%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9rThS2SI6KP5QNXufHyN5BDmv2xSLwL5oCoK_fU0_EIXaazJ344YYCM18aYY4BCLpIsuRql3wOo3Z95k_S0XnfeoC9PG4wmIvUu3kQHHvsWS--f93VJbpro4c6BjfCQcGacGO5egfEEqSF--vY8rmnKn5cDrS_CvKsdsKk-PKb3b6HKGDVclD5uxZ/s320/large%20(2).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Faustian by Robert Valentine: </b>I'll be honest, I went into this with HUGE expectations. You cannot understand the level of devotion for the TV Movie that goes on in this house. Mark and I once acted out the entirety of the Movie in a hotel room, I got Daphne Ashbrook to do a cameo appearance and our long held ambition is to head to San Francisco (or Vancouver) and visit the locations of the film. So the idea that this set features Eric Roberts' unforgettably camp and outrageous Master has his main star is enticing from the off. Add in Vienna Salvatori, who we both adore from her own Big Finish spin off series (which I previously mentioned is far, far better than it has any right to be) and you have a level of flamboyance from the off that is hard to imagine. Basically imagine if Doctor Who was hijacked by Americans in the most entertaining way possible. I thought I was in for a fall. Surprisingly, this was a delight to listen to. The entire set and the individual stories. You're in very safe hands with Robert Valentine opening the set and as a story in its own right, this is probably the best of the set. The key word is suspense. We're all waiting for Eric Roberts to turn up and start chewing the scenery and Rob makes us wait an agonising amount of time before that happens but when he does finally emerge it is a fantastic takeover bid of the entire planet Earth. It's <i>great</i>. Before then, and this is what I think is the most impressive aspect of the series, this corner of Earth history is carved out in some detail and it is not a desirable place to be. The previous Dalek invasions have weakened governments and resources and the Corporations have taken over. It's a smart reading on the consequences of The Dalek Invasion of Earth & To the Death and proves a dramatic backdrop to the series. It means the Master doesn't need to take over the planet through brute force, but through business. His takeover bid is through a Company, rather than an Army. The script cleverly tells its story through one character, Lila Kreeg, and I was certain that at some point she was going to see the error of her ways and pull back from the experiments that could free the Master. Instead her Faustian pact with the Devil becomes a marriage of minds and promises much for the remaining two stories. This is a deliciously creepy opening gambit, really well paced and with a final ten minutes that we have all been waiting for. The icing on the cake is Eric Roberts himself. I don't want to damn him with faint praise by saying that he can't be arsed to give a performance...but there is a certain lazy indifference about how he plays every line. If this had been a role that demanded huge presence he might have been in a bit of trouble but the script and production has done so much to give him such an identity that when he shows up and starts murdering people and toppling business giants sounding like this is all a bit beneath him...well he couldn't sound more cool. This isn't a Master who is going to enjoy killing you, he's going to be a bit bored by it. Somehow that is effortlessly cool, and chilling: <b>9/10</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Prey by Robert Whitelock:</b> Enter Vienna. I've heard some complaints that people don't want these two spin offs colliding and would rather than something more original was done with the Master than prop up another range. That's fair but what works against that argument is the story itself, which uses both Vienna and the Master in such a fun way as they play a game of cat and mouse with each other. Vienna has been hired to kill the Master and how they are constantly outsmarting each other is a delight to listen to. The big mystery is who paid her to do it and that is satisfactorily paid off too. Taking the baton from the first episode, this story also continues to explore the Earth in this miserable dystopian future and we head into the Undercity where the people forage like rats and play their own festering game of politics. Huge kudos to Chase Masterson who owns the character of Vienna at this point and has really turned her into a fun and thoughtful character. Her scenes with the drone are the highlight of this story; funny and ultimately rather touching. She brings an energy and humour to the story, as does Eric Roberts and their scenes together really sizzle. I listened to this on a 90 minute train journey into London this week and I enjoyed it so much it felt like I was there in no time. The cliffhanging ending will leave you hungry for part three: <b>8/10</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Vengeance by Matt Fitton:</b> I've been burnt in the past by a Matt Fitton written finale but this turned out to be an extremely satisfying and enjoyable finale. It feels very Big Finish to bring the Master and the Daleks together and I expected little but enormous dollops of fanwank and nods to the past. What I got was a lot more substantial than that. There's Vienna, Lila, Drake and the Master all offering surprises and character reversals. It's a small cast of characters but they have all ben set up so well it affords a number of twists (I wasn't sure who could trust who halfway through this) that I didn't see coming. Masterson continues to shine and is often given the best lines and this really shows Vienna at her improvisional best having to negotiate a Dalek invasion and the Master's attempts to see her off. Then there is the delicious idea of the Daleks choosing to invade the Earth when the Master is currently in charge and the carnage that comes with him taking them down. Nicholas Briggs offers his best Dalek performance in years as the Dalek Litigator - a role I thought was absurdly uncharacteristic for the Daleks (why would they need a legal system when they just go around killing people) but actually turned out to be a fantastically devious and smart character who was a joy to listen to. And it suddenly hit me that the Movie starts with the Master on trial by the Daleks, which everybody lamented at the time, but Fitton turns into a strength here. The scenes where the Master confronts the Litigator are the best of the set and Roberts finally wakes up to explain why the Master wants to take over the entire universe. The Litigator's reaction is genuinely hilarious. I finished listening to this set and felt gorged on action, suspense, high campery and wit. The guest cast all impressed and surprised, and the setting really came alive. Chalk this up as ANOTHER Master series that Big Finish has aced: <b>8/10</b></div>Doc Ohohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-66524060042033189902022-11-11T00:06:00.002-08:002022-11-11T00:06:51.471-08:00The Eighth of March <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNZCZMWl1uU6k1ZDAqNNf0nr3refBw9XksFozDubFkVYq_PlkIeOEcyZh8q3Pavn7xGuMC9eekqxvP6X6OYtlHA1PMiKH-GqmEvH0FEj64sFx8yBwFdcCDynYS4NK565xmTHKTSkmZ2GNeXuT_pnemINMg4ksZChHq2GVt6ieQbV4_x976km2OwECo/s600/large%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNZCZMWl1uU6k1ZDAqNNf0nr3refBw9XksFozDubFkVYq_PlkIeOEcyZh8q3Pavn7xGuMC9eekqxvP6X6OYtlHA1PMiKH-GqmEvH0FEj64sFx8yBwFdcCDynYS4NK565xmTHKTSkmZ2GNeXuT_pnemINMg4ksZChHq2GVt6ieQbV4_x976km2OwECo/s320/large%20(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Emancipation written by Lisa McMullin:</b> Let me say first off all that I think this box set is a marvellous idea. To celebrate the women of Doctor Who in both fictional and a creative terms is a wonderful idea (although I still think a lack of Jacqueline Rayner and Lisa Bowerman in the writing and directing is a baffling omission) and the cover promises that is going to be a rousing set with the likes of Leela, River, Kate Stewart, Ace and Benny at the helm of these stories. Nurturing female talent is something that Big Finish has been criticised for in the past because the opening years of the company were very much a Boys club but fortunately the tide has turned and we are at a point now where with pretty much every set that the company brings out that there is a female voice in there somewhere. So far, so good. But you know when I have to start with a caveat like that that something has gone horribly wrong with the set itself. The Eighth of March, celebrating National Women's Day, is probably the least impressive release I have heard in some time and whilst there are some moments of fun to be had the overall experience is one I would not care to repeat. Emancipation has some energy and wit about it but this pairing of River Song and Leela is a little jarring. I'm fast coming to the conclusion that River brings the worst out in everybody. Posing as the Doctor (of course), she attends the Galactic Heritage Conference and prevents a Royal kidnapping with Leela at her side. They dance around each other, initially suspicious, but ultimately coming to see each others strengths in a dashabout timey wimey adventure that genuinely feels as though it has leapt from Steven Moffat's Doctor Who. Maybe that is why I wasn't so keen. There is a smugness and overconfidence to this. It behaves as though it is City of Death. Really it is more The Android Invasion. There are funny lines, and Kingston and Jameson acquit themselves well, but like so much of the River set it feels like bringing in classic elements of the show to get somebody to listen to River. Disposable fun: <b>6/10</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>The Big Blue Book by Lizzie Hopley: </b>Or when everything that could go wrong with an audio adventure <i>does </i>go wrong. I'm not sure where to start with the bad. The one thing you should never do with your audio script is to give Sophie Aldred protracted scenes of dialogue talking to herself. I have found her to be a notoriously unreliable performer and this explains why. She's shouting her head off, awkward, unnaturalistic and has no idea of how to pace the dialogue so the audience feels as though they are solving the mystery with her. Why, when you have other characters (and better characters like Bernice), you would have your protagonist talking to herself for over ten minutes baffles me. Lisa Bowerman is conspicuous by her absence (was she originally supposed to be in this more?) and her time is eaten up by a pair of alien characters so annoying, so ill characterised and so badly performed that is difficult to see how such characters could come to be. Surely somebody would have told the actors to tone it down a bit? They screech and hiss their way through the terrible dialogue with baby voices in a really unpleasant way. Next up is the sound design and music, which are probably the worst I have heard in a while. The very least you can expect from Big Finish is a polished production but this feels like it has come out of the early days of the company with ugly, unpleasant music and sound effects so loud and discordant that I was constantly taken out of the story trying to figure out what was going on. At one point there is some very loud ticking - a clock or a bomb? Beats me. Nigel Fairs recently bombed a couple of the Vienna releases and is similarly ineffective here. Lastly, the script. Hopely is a proven talent elsewhere so goodness what went wrong here. The story confines itself to a library and a spaceship where Ace tries to figure out the mystery of what has happened to Bernice. The trouble is it is all done through a long series of questions, confrontations and exposition that never once sounds like words that people would actually say aloud. There's a good idea buried inside this story somewhere (people being turned into books) but it is thrown away because it is never explored imaginatively. Just lots of shouty scenes of people threatening each other. This was so bad that I was longing for it to be over. I cannot believe that anybody signed off this story for release. Let alone for a celebratory release like this. The rarest of things, an audio entirely without merit: <b>0/10</b> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Inside Every Warrior by Gemma Langford: </b>Much better, but far from perfect. As a backdoor pilot for The Paternoster Gang I thought this was a really effective little piece. I've never been too enamoured with this set up - mostly because they are a bit of a one joke lash up and the joke was flogged to death over and over again on the TV series. Vastra and Jenny are a crime fighting couple with their comedy Sontaran stooge at their side. I thought they were most effective in The Crimson Horror where the show forgets for 20 minutes that it is Doctor Who at all and instead pretends it is a macabre horror series about this trio. Kudos to Langford then, who took this set up and dragged some emotion out of it. By the end of the story I felt that Vastra and Jenny were genuinely in love (rather than a political point, which is how the series often portrayed them) and just why they keep Strax around. On a character level, this really worked. The story, however, lacked any interest. Plenty of running around and kidnappings, an annoying turn from Nigel Fairs (not a strong set for him), and a lack of any serious engagement. At least there was the Victorian London setting that the sound designer could home in on to make this an atmospheric experience and the music, while distracting (it was really trying to push the jolly adventure tone) was a million times more enjoy able the previous story. It whetted my appetite for the Paternoster set, which I never foresaw: <b>5/10</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Narcissus: </b>The best of this set belongs to the UNIT team and given my allergic reaction to the only UNIT set that I have heard so far, that was unexpected. This script is everything that Extinction wasn't: focussed, engaging and well paced. It's lovely to hear Jackie McGee back for more fun and her part in the investigation of the dating agency revealed new colours to her character. I'm not sure how far into the UNIT series this is but Jemma Redgrave seems much more at home playing Kate Stewart on audio and Ingrid Oliver (always fantastic) gets a chance to play both Osgood and her Zygon double in some fascinating scenes about identity and how that can get skewered when there are two of you about. The plot rattles along with some nice surprises and whilst the resolution is nothing revelatory, the whole piece feels like a confident audio drama being created by a company that is a well oiled machine. Unlike the rest of this set. I'm pleased we ended on a strong note: <b>7/10</b></div><p></p>Doc Ohohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-38425386519949345532022-10-31T09:24:00.002-07:002022-10-31T09:24:15.629-07:00Lady Christina Series One <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRTa5x8cwsVBM8rspG8Lxy07-nQih_lUVfQoIis1o4Ic00ezgcgqz1CGODozgBdNGtAfmltR3CI5dqxUguW7cljjq7SE3pvrS_sfrz71uiIDHTUCuBpnJLWmVcvv1t49QXnDQDSzlX7CnqQ_wCPR4X3yfPgaPetJl9Ptpbpuu-ojm0Ebp-wwYfRWpa/s600/large%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRTa5x8cwsVBM8rspG8Lxy07-nQih_lUVfQoIis1o4Ic00ezgcgqz1CGODozgBdNGtAfmltR3CI5dqxUguW7cljjq7SE3pvrS_sfrz71uiIDHTUCuBpnJLWmVcvv1t49QXnDQDSzlX7CnqQ_wCPR4X3yfPgaPetJl9Ptpbpuu-ojm0Ebp-wwYfRWpa/s320/large%20(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>It Takes a Thief by John Dorney:</b> I wasn't the biggest fan of either Planet of the Dead or Lady Christina on television so I was wondering if this would be for me at all. These are spin offs I probable wouldn't have touched had my partner not brought an entire set of Big Finishes with him when he moved in...and after listening to the first release of this set I am so glad he did because I would have missed out on some top quality Big Finishes because I was wrong. This is really perky and fun, always waiting to spring a twist on who is who and at the halfway point I thought I had called it and thought that Ivo was the villain of the piece but John Dorney is a much smarter writer than to leave his central twist in plain sight. I was wondering if the series would be bold enough to take the one element of Planet of the Dead that I loved the most (the flying bus) and Dorney waits until the stakes are high to re-introduce Lady Christina's bizarre and brilliant form of transport in a delightful sequence. Big Finish's Running Man (Warren Brown as Sam Bishop) turns up again - this the third spin off that I have heard him in in as many weeks and he is moving up the list of favourite returning characters. He's so earthy and resourceful and fun to be around and has slipped in next the ninth Doctor, Kate Stewart and Lady Christina effortlessly. This is a globe-trotting, fast paced, witty story that flew by as I was listening. I think I was expecting glamorous parties and Lady Christina's appallingly rich family to turn up in this opening story but instead what I got was Bond at its most effervescent with alien artefacts thrown in for good measure. A delightful beginning: <b>8/10</b> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Skin Deep by James Goss:</b> A brilliant piece of character work that does unexpected things with both Lady Christina and Sylvia Noble whilst keeping them precisely in character with how they were portrayed on screen. I especially liked the use of Sylvia, because she is portrayed as an absolute monster of a mother and yet this is the most touching exploration of her aspirations to improve on her social status and meeting her match with people that are far more monstrous than she could ever be. It's a very clever piece of writing that manages to make a character fairly loathsome and thoroughly sympathetic at the same time. That's not to skip over the work that is done with Michelle Ryan, whose Christina has her own stakes in manipulating Sylvia, embarrassing her even, and then recognising what a force of nature she is. Her father proves to be the biggest monster of all, which throws sympathetic light on Christina. The finale scene between Alfred and Sylvia where she talks about her own relationship with Donna and asking him to repair his relationship with his daughter is superbly written and acted. That's not to take away from the wry satire on the beauty industry and and how this is an icky and fun monster story too. It has something for everyone. But the characters shine through the brightest. I wasn't counting on this range having much to say. I was wrong: <b>9/10</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Portrait of a Lady by Tim Dawson: </b>There are definite plusses to this tale. More Sam Bishop is a bonus because with every appearance I am liking him more and more, the brother and sister art theft duo with a warm motive for their crime is a lovely idea, the action is relentless and well scored, and Jenny Lee gives an unforgettable performance as the villainess of the piece - strait out of the Graham Williams era! But this is a pretty standard tale that feels like a mediocre Doctor Who story that has been beaten into a Lady Christina tale. About halfway through I was struggling to care about what was going on because I was zipping from location to location, and it wasn't until we went underwater (brilliantly realised) that I perked up again. This was okay. I've certainly heard far worse Big Finishes but it felt like a first draft of a script rather than a polished final version: <b>5/10</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Death on the Mile by Donald McLeary: </b>Again this is pretty good, if unspectacular proving that the most worth is in the first half of this set. I am a massive fan of the Slitheen but even I thought they were a little bit overdone here (and I loved the farting in Aliens of London). There's gas exchange and death by vinegar and nothing is particularly fresh about the race. Boom Town shocked by offering an empathetic look at the race but this isn't looking to redeem or explore the race. This is like a Big Finish reunion because it brings in both Sam Bishop but also Jacqui McGee from the UNIT range. She's no Sarah Jane Smith, but this bothersome reporter proves to be more resourceful than you might think. Helen Goldwyn directs with her usual energy and panache so it is a smooth listen but I can't say I remember much about it other than it was an agreeable, if unmemorable way to spend an hour. Not exactly the note you want to go out on: <b>5/10</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p><br /><br /></p>Doc Ohohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-3569756898340142352022-10-30T21:55:00.002-07:002022-10-30T21:58:00.696-07:00Graceless Series One<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmB7vLdYWrwO9YwY_0UgqaEbuWYPPdOO6_vtTCH-zHFwFOBrglU5FNBAYJIcuX-6ltJ-zEAM_iqK2yEk9f2PhbE2MeVsIFFILxVUX9ml5B0CdGiwwvhi-UdFvdJANOFCEeYFxdZ6MP9wOtsFxSOF6Lg6-08jRobKJYEEcGBKl1RfxAmmQrkAtEly-D/s600/large.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmB7vLdYWrwO9YwY_0UgqaEbuWYPPdOO6_vtTCH-zHFwFOBrglU5FNBAYJIcuX-6ltJ-zEAM_iqK2yEk9f2PhbE2MeVsIFFILxVUX9ml5B0CdGiwwvhi-UdFvdJANOFCEeYFxdZ6MP9wOtsFxSOF6Lg6-08jRobKJYEEcGBKl1RfxAmmQrkAtEly-D/s320/large.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>The Sphere:</b> Simon Guerrier is a writer of some aplomb. He became the strongest voice in the companion chronicle range, which in turn was one of strongest Big Finish ranges. His Sara Kingdom and Oliver Harper trilogies were justly lauded as being ambitious, packed full of great concepts and dialogue, and heartbreaking to boot. To give him his own spin off series was an obvious choice, and after listening to this set, a successful one. I did not know what to expect from a series that was going to feature the two female Tracers from the Key2Time trilogy in the main range, especially since that particular trilogy hadn't landed with me as well as I had hoped (and that it was the trilogy that kicked off the trilogies!) except that Guerrier was a sure pair of hands. The Sphere defied any kind of expectation I might have had by being so strange and discordant that as I was experiencing it I didn't quite know how to form an opinion about it, only that I was enjoying it. It has a brilliant central concept; an insidious, self sufficient sphere that lets you in but doesn't let you out...and worse, it gets you to enjoy the experience of being trapped by addicting you to the gambling and allows you to win big, but never enough to afford to get away. That's pure Simon Guerrier, right there. We get up close and personal to Abby and Zara in their living arrangements with Marek and really get under their skin and see what makes them tick. That's what I really like about this set and these characters, no matter how big the story is, it never forgets to let you experiencing how the protagonists are feeling, which means you as a listener are feeling something about the events too. Janson and Doddington are excellent in all three stories but I thought they started strong and got better with each release. My only complaint about this first release is that the music is a little loud at times, and I do not know why any writer (and it is particularly a problem in the early Star Trek seasons) would show the regulars out of character this early in the run. You know, before we have gotten to know them. But this is a slippery, memorable first step for Graceless. I was rather beguiled: <b>7/10</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>The Fog: </b>Wowzas! This is absolutely superb. One of the best 'quiet' Big Finish releases I have heard in a some time and making me hanker for the days when the company would release economic, small cast stories with this amount of atmosphere and heart month in, month out. Such a simple idea; a small town shrouded in fog that doesn't let anyone out (sounds a little like The Sphere, right?). What could be trapping the inhabitants inside, and why? It's a great mystery and wisely, Guerrier lets us get close to the townsfolk before we realise the extent of the danger they are in, so we really care about them when we start losing them. David Warner is typically phenomenal as Daniel and has a voice that is rich and plummy and made for audio. The quality of Guerrier's characterisation is thus; Daniel comes across as officious and unlikable initially and I thought we might be in for a 'burn the witches' style character but then the layers of his backstory are unpeeled and he is in turns tragic, thoughtful and very brave. By the end of the story he is an ally, and I really felt his loss. That is a hell of a journey to go with a character in less than an hour and Warner acquits himself with absolute class. Nan is great too, and once the reason behind the vice of fog is revealed she really comes into her own as she manages to encourage the rest to accept their fate and step into the other side. Abby and Zara are at their best too, figuring out the mystery that is both chilling and fascinating. A word for the post production and music, which blew me away in The Fog. Some scenes, such as the one where they all hold hands and head out in the woods to try and escape the fog really captured me in a way that an audio hasn't for a while. Top notch direction from Lisa Bowerman. I was going to give this story a 9 but I went into this set with such mixed expectations and I was so moved by the whole piece I it absolutely deserves full marks. A brilliant listen: <b>10/10</b> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>The End:</b> There was a possibility that this might have been the last we saw of Abby and Clara and so Guerrier clearly felt a necessity to give them some kind of closure and an optimistic future ahead. He achieves that in spades with this cunning piece of writing that dashes off in an new direction whenever you might start getting complacent. Think this is going to be about Marek getting his revenge? Think again when Earl Kreelpot turns up to chew the scenery and proves to be a much bigger threat. Think he is going to be the villain of the pieces? Think again when he has the most tragic backstory and backstory of the entire season. Think this is going to be about a spaceship of fools heading into terrible danger? Think again when the Graceless turn up! Think this is going to be about the Gods being benevolent? Think again when they are big sacrifices of those they are going to help. It's a story that is never quite in your grasp and it covers a lot of ground from the intimate to the epic whilst always playing with just a handful of characters. It isn't as uncomfortable a listen as the first release or as focussed as the second but a twisting SF piece that features some very memorable scenes with the two sisters having to determine what they are willing to sacrifice for the things they care about. Had this been the end of the road for this pair it would have been an excellent set to see them out on and a lovely note to say goodbye - Abby and Zara as the equivalent of human TARDISes off to help people in the universe: <b>8/10</b></div>Doc Ohohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-60403294495117001762022-10-24T19:14:00.004-07:002022-10-24T19:14:24.969-07:00Dalek Universe 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy_AGL77AQ8JnzLbWoC4jw0t0EKySf0iKmdSJgnCKQIfODUizQLpm-87jBDpDBhdWcgR7qeXVLWqj54EVzcRxaDVJhb7m9lHuVK2a_17DksRA49SPwToHJpT3zXwAp8e-SoRpANuNvFqnaOsEJL9JSdd4C9R0ue-ca5PQY7wP61HugtnX8s9ay4QOz/s600/large%20(5).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy_AGL77AQ8JnzLbWoC4jw0t0EKySf0iKmdSJgnCKQIfODUizQLpm-87jBDpDBhdWcgR7qeXVLWqj54EVzcRxaDVJhb7m9lHuVK2a_17DksRA49SPwToHJpT3zXwAp8e-SoRpANuNvFqnaOsEJL9JSdd4C9R0ue-ca5PQY7wP61HugtnX8s9ay4QOz/s320/large%20(5).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Cycle of Destruction by Roy Gill:</b> I know people who have struggled with this one but I thought it was pretty involving for the most part. We've had a two parter about the Doctor, then a homecoming for Anya and now the same is true of Mark Seven and through these tales the core regulars are being fleshed out wonderfully, and coming to understand each other much better. It feels like a merging of classic (so much The Daleks' Masterplan is present in the tone, atmosphere and plotting of these stories) and new (the deeper characterisation and time spent developing these people). There's the suggestion that with the right programming, Mark Seven could turn from ally to foe in a heartbeat as he appears to here. Joe Sims has the hardest job of acting in this range because he has to keep that cool logical demeanour and still try and suggest some personality and he walks that fine line beautifully. This is one of those high concept science fiction settings that could feel like your average Star Trek The Next Generation world but thanks to Gill (and director Ken Bentley) it is a much more hostile and creepy location than that. Some sets start with a a bang, others with a quieter character piece. This set starts and ends in that way, which might suggest that this is the difficult middle album but I don't think there is a weak link in Dalek Universe 2: <b>8/10</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>The Trojan Dalek by John Dorney: </b>You're in safe hands with John Dorney and if this isn't one of his absolute knockouts (to be fair to him he delivered that in the previous set), it is at least a very tidy and morally ambiguous piece of storytelling that raises some interesting questions. The twist that humans are being turned into Daleks might not be a new one, but its still a grisly one and it means that Tennant can gnash his teeth as he expresses the Doctor's horror about the whole affair. I've been impressed that so far in this 'Dalek Universe' that we have been spared too much of the main protagonist, which might seem like a strange comment to make since they are right there in the title but Big Finish has flogged the Daleks to death by now and the thought of Tennant powering through three sets of Nick Briggs screaming his head did not appeal. Instead they have added a little background colour to some terrific character tales. So their use here, and in such a horrific way, is welcome and rather refreshing. Kudos to the production team for forcing the listener to endure the horror of the process. I didn't think Big Finish had the nuts to push visceral horror that far anymore. Like The Daleks' Masterplan, this series has a bite. On a lighter note, the Doctor, Anya and Mark Seven are really coming along as mates and bantering like the best of them. In the previous John Dorney story he was stressing how these people have just come together. Now he is portraying just how comfortable they are together. Congrats on the shock ending that I did not see coming: <b>8/10</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>The Lost by Robert Valentine: </b>This was wonderful, and a complete change of tone. The Doctor and Anya in a strange, beautiful, eerie realm walking around and failing to find any kind of plot. That is essentially the first half of this set that is eerie in its complete lack of incident and how it forces the pair of them to try and confront their feelings about Mark and how his loss has affected them. Tennant and Slavin are fantastic together; awkward and kind, unused to sharing this sort of pain. The landscape that they find themselves in is beautiful and odd, a far cry from the fast paced science fiction settings we have enjoyed to date and the contrast is jarring, deliberately so. Then, everything turns on its head as The Lost emerges and starts playing with their heads and for motives of its own tries to corner the Doctor and Anya into staying. It's not cod psychology that is deployed her but instead the series has held its cards to its chest with the Doctor's past experiences with Anya's family and now an unforgiving light is thrown on his part in their deaths and it seems like things might never be the same again. This might have played out like some dreadful old soap but what it provokes instead is a serious, mature discussion about keeping secrets, the weight of losing people you care about and as a result Anya and the Doctor are much closer and understand each other better. At this point I think we're looking at some of the best character development in a spin off range for some time. Leighton Pugh acquits himself extremely well. He reminded me of House from The Doctor's Wife but with a more sadistic edge to his voice. This is an extremely economic Big Finish release but instead of feeling like the cheapie of the set it uses its minimal characters to strip them bare and let us see new colours. This kind of quiet character drama is right up my street, especially when it is acted this sincerely: <b>9/10</b></div>Doc Ohohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-15302062072691885712022-10-24T02:40:00.002-07:002022-10-24T02:40:07.114-07:00Vienna Series Two <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2VnobPIP-Nc0Q--WKfUrbgLQ1wmvdykPJEusAcP7o2hoy2UUlzQhuASibWeQnDLN1sHdYCQpqZknNKDc1n2eTttQyjJKtb-X0rN6m1s9rVd7__IX57kL39mfnwTJBxZ6pifEoCKqYEGjCzY1OdQLoZO6Fuj3RuMlliKoXM9lx3pAmgFILnPdFNYKo/s600/large%20(5).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2VnobPIP-Nc0Q--WKfUrbgLQ1wmvdykPJEusAcP7o2hoy2UUlzQhuASibWeQnDLN1sHdYCQpqZknNKDc1n2eTttQyjJKtb-X0rN6m1s9rVd7__IX57kL39mfnwTJBxZ6pifEoCKqYEGjCzY1OdQLoZO6Fuj3RuMlliKoXM9lx3pAmgFILnPdFNYKo/s320/large%20(5).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Tabula Rasa by James Goss: </b>What is going on with these spin off series'? You've got the creative dregs of Big Finish bringing Christopher Eccleston and Tom Baker in their first box sets with the audience scratching their heads as to how such prestige release can be so bereft of imagination. Conversely you have the best minds that Big Finish have to offer bringing to life niche ranges like Vienna and giving them an insane amount of merit. It's just bizarre, and rather wonderful. James Goss opens this set on it's best instalment and easily the best story in this range to date. It starts with the clichéd premise of everybody having lost their memory and so we learn WITH Vienna precisely what the new set up of series two seems to be - complete with a new job for the space assassin, a potential new partner and a boss. The opening scenes could have been agonising as everybody wanders around asking who they are and what is going on but Goss is smarter than that and puts them down in the middle of a crime and has Vienna and Doran go at each other like cat and dog. It is their sparky relationship that makes this so much fun. Chase Masterson is having an absolute riot with this role now, and has really embodied the character. As usual there are twists and turns but Goss keeps the plotting clean with only one major surprise and ultimately everything is tied up satisfactorily, with a brand new role for our lead and a new direction for the series. I laughed along with this a great deal and had a wonderful time listening. This has been the spin off that has really surprised me because I was expecting so little after The Shadow Heart but what has transpired is a fully realised world with some perky, surprising stories: <b>9/10</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Underworld by Cavan Scott: </b>Spoke too soon. This isn't terrible but it is exactly what I was expecting from Vienna when I started listening to the first set. The Mean Streets of Space City with Buxom Babe Vienna Salvatori on the case. What we have had from the first six releases has been much smarter and more labyrinthine than that. This is a very linear plot (which should be refreshing after all the over plotting elsewhere) and it focuses on the relationship between Vienna and her new partner Jexie. It's baffling then that Samantha Beart should be saddled with the most ridiculous accent I have ever experienced from a Big Finish character that makes every line of dialogue she says quite laughable. She's certainly impossible to take seriously. Add to that the sudden drop in quality of the sound design and music, and this was a bit of a chore to get through. It's an action packed story that is playing out like an Eric Saward Doctor Who; lots of tunnels and monsters and weapons. It's disposable fluff, and in no way offensive but the production choices on this one really hold it back: <b>5/10</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>The Vienna Experience by Jonathan Morris: </b>Here we go again, I thought, as this story started out and there were familiar beats from Morris' Vienna script from the previous season. Playing about with the nature of reality and using technology to add layers of plot within that premise. The first fifteen minutes played out as you might expect from a story that is about using Vienna's life as a thrill ride for a corporate business to exploit and market. What impressed me was just how layered the deception went in this series. There is an assumption that you have heard the first series of Vienna and so you know how these stories go with their Shyamalan style twist endings and so now you are programmed to look out for them. Imagine then that they went to the lengths of hiding the twist for the the last story in the first one with an audacious move of wasting the entire middle adventure to lull you into a false sense of security? Colour me astounded. That is some serious plotting there, and it works too. Even better it takes hold of the new format of the show, shows its ugly underbelly, and gives Vienna something tangible to defeat. So when the climax hits it feels not only satisfying to have been duped in such a smart way but that this has all been for a reason, rather than just a fun audio experience. It turns Vienna into a bit of a hero, albeit one who is willing to expose corruption but also leave the society indulging in it to pick up the pieces. Coming out of this set I felt that the universe that Vienna inhabits had been coloured in in a lot more detail and that she had emerged as a pretty awesome character. It made me want to go back and listen to The Shadow Heart with that in mind. They played a long game with this season and it paid off: <b>8/10</b></div>Doc Ohohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-44040156260165945262022-10-18T21:57:00.005-07:002022-10-18T22:01:35.696-07:00Torchwood One: Before the Fall <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSQAnKrAFP4jf3381PxVf2FVkJMXbGYkmDRRKuWVi69_tLTXxPkODq-hcaBTNhDmY7EA4ai-dT8rlR9TfY9EVdBSoXn-nHsBkzryWJBujdhOLTx4yn9ro1EOfSc1u6tjjFIEd9zenDQKPmZa1nLsgMV_wuyKm0TjoUPR_d4UV6w5lLx2KbG_3Uw6FB/s600/large%20(4).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSQAnKrAFP4jf3381PxVf2FVkJMXbGYkmDRRKuWVi69_tLTXxPkODq-hcaBTNhDmY7EA4ai-dT8rlR9TfY9EVdBSoXn-nHsBkzryWJBujdhOLTx4yn9ro1EOfSc1u6tjjFIEd9zenDQKPmZa1nLsgMV_wuyKm0TjoUPR_d4UV6w5lLx2KbG_3Uw6FB/s320/large%20(4).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>New Girl by Joseph Lidster:</b> If there is one thing that you can count on with Joe Lidster is that he wont just churn out another nostalgia fest and if I feel that Big Finish might have lost its edge as it has become a formidable engine of storytelling then it is this writer that waves the flag for more dangerous creative times. He also brings something dynamic and unique to the table (even with The Rapture, which I am growing increasingly fond of over the years for its willingness to be completely different to anything else Doctor Who has ever done) and marrying him up with Torchwood, where he chalked up one of his impressive television credits, is a Promethean matrimonial bliss. This is the best instalment of the set because it isn't going for bangs and whistles but instead focuses entirely on character. It has the unenviable job of bringing to life Torchwood One after it's demise in Army of Ghosts/Doomsday and has to make it a credible environment to tell further stories in after they were painted (ambiguously) as the villains in Doctor Who. Lidster creates an entire cast of characters and paints them sensitively and likably, and in having Rachel Allen live out a first day in Torchwood exactly like Gwen in Day One he pulls off a deceitful narrative trick. It's unlike me to guess a twist before it hits but I cottoned on about halfway through the episode and this was a party trick so strong that I had figured out the who and not the how so when the fraud unfolded I was still in awe of how everything was carefully thought through. It's very much the Russell T Davies approach to the Doctor Who spin off universe; character first and I really appreciated that. Tracey Ann Oberman's Yvonne is immediately one of the coolest characters to appear in a Big Finish and this might be unkind to say but I think she is a far more engaging head of Torchwood than either Jemma Redgrave's Kate or John Barrowman's Jack. There's inscrutableness there in her modern day approach to management and I felt as though she is as likely to shoot you in the head as give you a promotion and she'd do both with a smile. Sassiness is the order of the day and so to see her position under threat before the first episode is out is another fantastic touch. The more I think about it, the smarter this script is. It celebrates a version of Torchwood that RTD created but gives it a unique identity and a lease of life for future storytelling...AND it is a great story in its own right too. Fantastic: <b>10/10</b> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Through the Ruins by Jenny T Colgan:</b> It entirely depends on what you are looking for in Torchwood. Mark preferred this instalment whereas nothing was going to top the opener for me. There's a confidence to this range which comes from Scott Handcock, who oversees much of this, but also this is being brought to life by Barnaby Edwards who I think is one of the strongest Big Finish directors. Add the gorgeous voice of Jenny Colgan to the mix and you have a trifecta of talent that is impossible to deny. My one disappointment was that the fallout of Yvonne being deposed feels a little quiet after the brilliant cliff-hanger ending and the team away day initially feels like a very odd direction for the story to take. I was just waiting for the moment when trudging through the forest and getting to know each other turned sour and when it did it had that Torchwood nastiness to it that I rather admire. The best scenes feature Yvonne and Dave, who become the odd couple on the run together, attempting to figure out just what the masterplan is and how it factors into planet XXX (can you think of a more Torchwood name for a planet?). This is comedy gold but its dealing with all the exposition too and Oberman is having the time of her life playing up the jokes. What I love is how Yvonne, whilst clearly the superior intellect, refuses to demean Dave. She needs him and there is a respect there as he has his world turned upside down by exposure to the extra-terrestrial. Mark guessed Rachel's motive and I guessed that her plan was going to come to fruition at the end of this episode (dramatically it was the only place it could naturally hit) but that didn't make it any less satisfying. She's not a monster but she's behaving in a monstrous way and all that is left is to see how or if Yvonne can bring her down: <b>8/10</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Uprising by Matt Fitton: </b>Satisfying, but mostly because Yvonne gets to sassily walk into Torchwood and take back her position in a sequence of effortless cool that left me applauding. I think it was always going to be a matter of time before she usurped Rachel but it is a ten minute sequence that proves why the character is perfect to lead this arm of the spin off. She does everything but file her nails as she sits back in the big chair with nothing but her force of personality. Like Torchwood Believe it is the final few scenes that hit the hardest. Yvonne makes a decision that left me wondering if I am supposed to like her. Rachel is superbly characterised and has been given some time to let her true colours and motivation shine and to have that all taken away from her when it is so much a part of who she is just so she can be used as a resource feels...wrong. But in a way where I am left questioning my reaction to the decision. That's the sort of ambiguity I like. Otherwise this does run on the spot a bit waiting for the climax and I wasn't at all convinced about the secondary plot on an alien world that we never get to visit. It's there to up the plot stakes and provide some word peril but I never really connected with hat side of the story at all. As such this probably could have been a much tighter two story narrative which focussed entirely on its (excellent) character work. What I took from this as whole is just how viable this period of Torchwood is as an avenue for more stories and how pleased I am that that was allowed to continue. And more Yvonne please. She's just the best: <b>7/10</b></div>Doc Ohohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-69054923978220041802022-10-18T20:58:00.000-07:002022-10-18T20:58:00.202-07:00Torchwood: Believe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHohV45EUY6KtfwdsToduqKGVr3oxjzPt-wKWxg4NGPaGjnGm6NmSFOZRuAe63MTw6F2LivGGNKSICUsw73mrkEkmXIx43CyUdqcnBr3WCM8W4ztJALS_mNI4jcGVFg4S6fPQIwfeyL7R3uedJnKcliCExhmyHb1jreC2vDOkPBsi9MQXcANUtH746/s600/large%20(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHohV45EUY6KtfwdsToduqKGVr3oxjzPt-wKWxg4NGPaGjnGm6NmSFOZRuAe63MTw6F2LivGGNKSICUsw73mrkEkmXIx43CyUdqcnBr3WCM8W4ztJALS_mNI4jcGVFg4S6fPQIwfeyL7R3uedJnKcliCExhmyHb1jreC2vDOkPBsi9MQXcANUtH746/s320/large%20(3).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Believe by Guy Adams: </b>A near impossible task to try and get right is handed to Guy Adams. The entire Torchwood cast brought together for one recording session and a script needs to be fashioned that satisfies the hordes of fans that want more of the season one/two era of the show. It's exactly how I figure Peter Anghelides felt when he had to write Warship, which featured all of the Blakes' 7 cast that were still with us at the time. To Adams' credit, he does a stunning job of writing a Children of Earth style epic that involves everybody, has something to say, feels like a properly modern piece of storytelling and feels every bit as edgy and dark as Torchwood ever did. No part of this feels like a stunt but rather precisely the sort of measured storytelling that should have been told when Chris Chibnall was spearheading the show. Instead of giving us everybody all at once, Believe is split very smartly into three segments as the Torchwood team split up and investigate the Church of the Outsiders. Tosh and Owen own the first disc and take the espionage route by getting close to the one of the Church leaders, Gwen and Ianto take the reins in disc two and try and infiltrate the Church and get close to one of it's disgraced ex members and Jack is saved for the last disc after a brilliant cliff-hanger that I'm sure John Barrowman adored bringing to life. Am I allowed to mention John Barrowman anymore since Big Finish cut their ties with him? This material exists, and he is a part of it and I am able to separate the character from the actor, so I have decided that yes, I absolutely can. Jack is used brilliantly in the last segment when it appears that he has gone rogue and is ready to expose his true nature in order to stage a coup in the Church. The only scenes that I really object to (and it is VERY Torchwood) are Owen and Tosh and their disturbing power games during a sex scene with Layton. Owen has always been a bit of sick puppy but there are some uncomfortable gender dynamics happening here that didn't sit well with me. Everything else is pretty much gold and it leans into that brilliant Children of Earth cloak and dagger atmosphere of everybody pulling in the same direction to defeat a genuine threat to the planet. The Greys are a chilling (and slightly comical) idea and the scenes where they invade the Hub are genuinely unsettling. What surprised me was where all the best scenes landed. After the plot had finished and the Church had been foiled. You get fifteen minutes of character scenes that deal with the fallout of a three hour treatise on faith and organised religion. Jack condemns Val in an angry scene that speaks for the family of every person who has been sacrificed to a cult, there is an unforgettable scene between Ianto and Erin that shows the hopelessness of somebody who has given themselves to an exposed cause and Gwen gets the best moment of all where she makes scathing remarks about the despondence of the human race that would rather focus on the mundanities of their own lives than the glorious of outer space. It's downbeat and reprehending in the best Torchwood fashion but brought to life with dialogue this sharp and by actors this good it doesn't feel like it is just shitting on the human race for the sake but that it genuinely has something to say. Of the cast I thought that Naoko Mori and Gareth David-Lloyd acquitted themselves the best and I will certainly be seeking out more of their individual stories in the future. This is a huge undertaking; slick, thoughtful and dramatic. Colour me impressed: <b>9/10</b></div>Doc Ohohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-48855305899169164412022-10-18T03:07:00.002-07:002022-10-18T03:08:04.716-07:00Classic Series, New Monsters: The Stuff of Nightmares<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN7v7j_e1mlxLEB74rXQzde10-DO1YIW3oVlr8UQiJVr-iLtWhjs8kGVLBSJ_YD9GZ1ccVbt1bfUlt2PzGRoGqeC-dUejyRhQj_gQUcQ5sMOenN2EI64TBLs9m4zlXIDjlYK1NmVKs-w25FWgBY3jdNSIJ6rvb_ioZbbgCW5OZseSFpIcbeU5JU8te/s600/large%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN7v7j_e1mlxLEB74rXQzde10-DO1YIW3oVlr8UQiJVr-iLtWhjs8kGVLBSJ_YD9GZ1ccVbt1bfUlt2PzGRoGqeC-dUejyRhQj_gQUcQ5sMOenN2EI64TBLs9m4zlXIDjlYK1NmVKs-w25FWgBY3jdNSIJ6rvb_ioZbbgCW5OZseSFpIcbeU5JU8te/s320/large%20(2).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>The House that Hoxx Built by Tim Foley:</b> Genuinely unsettling, and given I thought this was going to be the weakest of the set, imagine my surprise when it turned out to be my favourite? What you have here is two hoary old clichés, smart technology and a haunted house and it merges the two together with a massive sprinkling of characterisation that makes the whole piece sing. Who would have thought a carbon clone of The Moxx of Balhoon would transpire to be one of the more likable guest characters we have had in a while? And brought to life by Dan Starkey you have no sign that Strax is anywhere to be seen. Tim Trelor and Sadie Miller really impressed me too; I was listening to this by candlelight in the garden and kept grabbing my partners hand every time there were serious echoes of the third Doctor and Sarah. I think his hand was sore by the end. There's slight hints that the Doctor's time is coming to an end but like Hartnell in his last gasp of brilliance, Treloar still plays him with maximum charm and moral outrage. He's brilliant, and I could absolutely believe this was season eleven team. Massive kudos for that. Barnaby Edwards is here so the atmospherics are on point (this is the man who gave us The Chimes of Midnight) and the story unfolds with plenty of spooky incident, explanations and an uplifting climax. I came away feeling I had listened to one of the most refreshingly unpretentious and original horror tales from Big Finish in some time: <b>9/10</b></p><p><b>The Tivolian Who Knew Too Much by Robert Valentine: </b>I've never really rated the Tivoli as an alien race; the concept is fun enough but this is the sort of thing that Douglas Adams would throw away with a devastatingly witty line and what has happened is that we've a handful of stories that labour the point. So again, big surprise that Rob Valentine (who is emerging as a real find from Big Finish) manages to forge a gorgeous character out of this premise and the simple but sunny idea that Timble Feebis just wants to have a holiday away from alien invasions. He wants no part in this madcap caper in Rome that the Doctor and Leela keep dragging him into, has no desire to be a hero of any kind and tries to escape their dangerous clutches as much as possible. It's a star turn from Robert Daws as Timble, who gets to go on a great journey and discover the joy of finding his confidence and ability. That's the character work running through this like a stick of rock but the periphery elements are just as bubbly too. A terrific location (I want every alien invasion to come to Rome from now on), the Doctor and Leela at their most irreverent as they relax into this pacy comic adventure and some glorious stereotypical gangsters. There is a serious side to this story, involving potential mass murder and enslavement, but what I really took away from this story was the pleasure and wit of the escapade and that Tom Baker seemed to be having the time of his life. And you can't help but be dragged along with that: <b>8/10</b></p><p><b>Together in Eclectic Dreams by Roy Gill: </b>Big Finish isn't above dropping a companion in our lap without explanation (and strangely it seems to be the sixth Doctor that is gaining friends by the bucket load, hence Gill's clever use of the same idea here) and so I was prepared to accept that she was the genuine article as long as she was characterised robustly. She was, and yet Mark wasn't convinced at all. Given this story is about Dream Crabs, guess which one of us ended up with egg on our faces? The thing that you would imagine this story would be built around - the sixth and eighth Doctors meeting - barely registers and I think this is deliberate because the idea of multi Doctors has been flogged to death by now. It's a perfectly fun scene that is part of the larger story. Doing these 'what is real and what is flimflam?' stories are tenapenny these days and so you have to either go for a brilliantly constructed script (which Moffat does with Last Christmas) or really attempt to subdue your audience with the freakishness of the unreality, which both Gill and director Barnaby Edwards really achieve here. I was never sure from scene to scene what was real and what wasn't and more disturbing concepts dripped into the story and the reactions of the cast were disturbingly accurate and discomforting. Like the third Doctor tale I got the sense that this was at the end of the Doctor's life and so being handed one last adventure by the crabs with a kind and loyal friend was rather touching. This was all atmosphere and weirdness but I thought the entire cast acquitted themselves beautifully: <b>8/10</b><br /><br /></p><p><b>If I Should Die Before I Wake by John Dorney:</b> This is the celebrated story in the set and I have confession to make - I fell asleep while listening to this. Ironically when it is about the power of storytelling and dreams. That is no way an a deprecation of this tale, which is a typically genius script from John Dorney, but just that my memories of this tale are scattershot because I have heard it in pieces (going back to listen to what I missed after I listened to the end when I woke up). I can say this; it's like Paul McGann and India Fisher have never been away and this is back to their series two charisma, driving the story with the sheer force of their personality. The dialogue is thick and fast and Dorney manages to take the idea of telling a narrative and pick it apart like the master craftsman that he is. At first the Doctor is in control of the story that he is telling and making the smart remarks but slowly Charley takes the reigns off him, picking apart the details and taking up the mantle. How the script leaps back and forth between the two of them is ingenious because it shows precisely how each character individually improvises within a story that they are telling but is running away and confounding them. I can only think of a few times where a script has self consciously thrown the limelight on the differences between two characters, their individual strengths and concluded that they absolutely belong together. The X-Files' Bad Blood comes to mind. If I'm making this sound like a dry intellectual piece then never fear, this is amalgamation of storytelling tropes drawn together with verve and conjured up vividly by Barnaby Edwards (perhaps the greatest contributor to this incredible set of tales) that leaves you feeling you've been on a hell of a ride. Top notch language at play here:<b> 9/10</b> </p>Doc Ohohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-24225017051177516512022-10-17T02:41:00.004-07:002022-10-17T02:41:40.521-07:00UNIT: Extinction <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEineaaOm0InpN4YXN-3bCksi7Jst0TSVcjlytTKIbTTz40HayUMDjz8_PQIh2lK_8_BCC6PNfAmdqltMImstGQFT9qfvdj0rkFp7esWsu5Tz0NcXVSHvuQEhHyLTF3JsGW4zOUzrK8vzIDpUhHg117ys8NqE6lg-UgPBCaLU-1M0cScr-kiAonOhyIj/s600/large%20(6).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEineaaOm0InpN4YXN-3bCksi7Jst0TSVcjlytTKIbTTz40HayUMDjz8_PQIh2lK_8_BCC6PNfAmdqltMImstGQFT9qfvdj0rkFp7esWsu5Tz0NcXVSHvuQEhHyLTF3JsGW4zOUzrK8vzIDpUhHg117ys8NqE6lg-UgPBCaLU-1M0cScr-kiAonOhyIj/s320/large%20(6).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>By Matt Fitton & Andrew Smith: </b>Can someone please enlighten me as to who this set is for? Because for the first two, eventless, episodes, I found myself hoping this wasn't just going to be a retread of Spearhead from Space. Meteorite showers, Auton dummies, great tentacled Nestene Consciousness. The only thing that felt truly original was that this story was being told on a grand world-spanning stage. But in terms of creativity this is following on beat for beat what happened in the 70s (even down to the human stooge - this time with a plastic skull) and I don't see the point in creating a series around an ultra modern version of UNIT if all you are going to put out are trips down memory lane. The recent Bambera set felt precisely like a 90s series of UNIT, with all the rampant action and madcap stories that would have come with it. This just trips through one cliché after another, barely bothering to disguise that it is after fanboys cash who want to hear Auton sound effects whilst Jemma Redgrave fails to emote around them. Some positives do emerge; Ingrid Olivier has a great naturalistic presence and Warren Brown (Big Finish's Running Man) brings a lovely earthy feel to one of the episodes and generally the production is solid and easy on the ear. Jemma Redgrave sounds like this is the last thing in the world she ever wants to be doing and I cannot for the life of me imagine why nobody gave her a note to wake her up a bit. In Flux she was practically ignored but showed more emotion in two scenes of Survivors of the Flux than she does in the four hours that this plays out over. It's a baffling turn, especially when getting the regulars right is pretty much the one thing you can always guarantee on audio. After hours and hours of talk about 3D printers, action set pieces and promises of world domination, Nick Briggs shows up as the most annoying news reader you've ever heard AND the Nestene Consciousness. And it finally all ends with the laziest rip off of Rose from Series One and left me thinking what on Earth the whole thing was about. There could have been a comment on consumerism, or our reliance on plastic, or even an exploration of a military force containing alien incursions. When I saw the names Andrew Smith and Matt Fitton on this I figured it would be back to basics for UNIT but I didn't in my wildest dreams think it would be quite this bare: <b>4/10</b></div><p></p>Doc Ohohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-51019977440499708262022-10-17T02:27:00.001-07:002022-10-17T02:43:07.088-07:00Vienna Series One <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikIDXG0d47LnHjt0DusAeyeJYVsrkm6r8Hp5l3bNQlB26zwvcmYtv3FSYKKu5a0v7itNZL4YCrA33k5-lzr2UtHCarzLtJ_HYKkkWAfQz1AY7YQnnU4_DwkCYCzAc_jFiZcO8L7iNPuy-2LYui0w-Ck8m9kTZTHDouzUUzugF8hAhNW0nAHC2luC7G/s600/large%20(5).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikIDXG0d47LnHjt0DusAeyeJYVsrkm6r8Hp5l3bNQlB26zwvcmYtv3FSYKKu5a0v7itNZL4YCrA33k5-lzr2UtHCarzLtJ_HYKkkWAfQz1AY7YQnnU4_DwkCYCzAc_jFiZcO8L7iNPuy-2LYui0w-Ck8m9kTZTHDouzUUzugF8hAhNW0nAHC2luC7G/s320/large%20(5).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Dead Drop by Mark Wright: </b>A more than reasonable opening for the first Vienna box set with plenty of incident, reversals and action. At times it might feel like you have dropped in on a particularly arc heavy episode of DS9 featuring cosmic super villains, space battles and, well, Chase Masterson. Vienna is not a character I expected to be able to get behind but in Masterson's hands she is sassy and smart, and thoughtful too. Personally I would rather listen to Vienna than River, and they pretty much have the same specs. Vienna is stuck in an impossible situation here, without all of her usual tactics to rely on and so we get to see how clever she is when she has to improvise. That was a smart move. I have no clue what the Judge Dredd style cityscape on the cover is all about since this does not feature in any of the stories in this set. I'm not too sure about the cliff-hanger ending though, especially when it has no resonance with the audience whatsoever: <b>7/10</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Bad Faith by Nev Fountain: </b>I wont get bored of saying that Nev Fountain is one Big Finish's best and his inclusion here adds some prestige to the set. Every now and again Big Finish go after religion (Faith Stealer) but this is the more thoughtful of the few I have listened to, and certainly the most labyrinthine. Clearly this is a series that is being run on a budget and there are only a few characters to play about with and this forces Fountain to be deceptive and use them all twice over, with some brilliant twists about their identity. Having two opposing religions attempting to bring each other down and somebody using the science fiction elements in the story to attempt to bring them together in a painful way really worked for me. There's a ton of funny lines too, because organised religion is very easy to take the piss out of, but Fountain focuses mostly on the absurdity of faith itself for his gags. I'd like to see more stories like this but it does seem that the Vienna series is trading itself on its shock revelations. Maybe the last story in this set will be a little less plotted and a little more character based. Strongest of this box set:<b> 8/10</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>DeathWorld by Jonathan Morris:</b> This wants to be Red Dwarf's Back to Reality and Hunger Games AND Vienna's backstory reveal, and more besides. That's my biggest complaint. This probably plotted to the hilt if I know Jonny Morris but the story is over stuffed with ideas and revelations and I felt overloaded halfway through and there was still a whole heap more to come. Sometimes simpler is better, but that doesn't seem to be this series' USP. A shame because the ideas are great and the direction of this story (and the set as a whole) is superb. Chase Masterson has to try and play Vienna in lots of ways in this story and really engages with the opportunities that it gives her. My other half is right, what Vienna needs is a partner to bounce ideas (and banter) off of. I hear that is the direction we head in set two. This is not a bad audio, it's just a little overwhelming for an hour. It feels like Morris wanted to write the whole set and instead put a whole sets worth of notions into one story. To his credit he makes it work. Just: <b>7/10</b></div><div style="text-align: right;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>Doc Ohohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-4572295368927588872022-10-16T21:29:00.002-07:002022-10-16T21:31:32.779-07:00Purity Undreamed <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMpg_R7xu7Yt-URq41NHPYlgt2YTZfCQxTMDqTZw2lmUswk_2C7VV1bN2yub8lj-_bHAKVQilO4iZ0r0sfYi1rDEdAFCKW1MMTJGJYOc5xpKbr6BzIdejOa0WUawdLEcsM5XRMzIdVvFPIQyUCOjIsFiguDFKBcqnd5wBqJgxgggd_dOkEe1g8L-UP/s600/large%20(4).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMpg_R7xu7Yt-URq41NHPYlgt2YTZfCQxTMDqTZw2lmUswk_2C7VV1bN2yub8lj-_bHAKVQilO4iZ0r0sfYi1rDEdAFCKW1MMTJGJYOc5xpKbr6BzIdejOa0WUawdLEcsM5XRMzIdVvFPIQyUCOjIsFiguDFKBcqnd5wBqJgxgggd_dOkEe1g8L-UP/s320/large%20(4).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>The Mindless Ones by Paul Magrs:</b> I always look forward to a Paul Magrs script because he writes with such a deft sense of humour and creativity. You know you aren't going to get a Death to the Daleks ripoff with Paul, and he always remembers that audio is a celebration of language and that the dialogue is one of the greatest weapons of this medium. He takes a university setting, which series 10 proved to be a massive win for Doctor Who (mind we had already had a dry run with Evelyn Smythe), and makes it the ideal place for the Doctor, Mel and Hebe to have a stop off. Honestly, the plot is slight and plays second fiddle to everything that this story is setting up for this set but the characters are so much fun to be around that that doesn't matter one jot. Giving the sixth Doctor a set of regulars around him (there are four women at his side throughout this set) and doing surprising things with them is a brilliant coup on the part of Jac Rayner. Mel is smart and bolshie here, Hebe relaxes at last in her homecoming, and newbies Elise and Professor McBride are sweet and icy cold in turn. I particularly loved Imogen Stubbs' turn as the clinical and argumentative Professor, making no attempts to make you like her and yet you feel a certain affinity for her regardless. The Doctor is prepared to give her a chance, especially when she helps to save the day. This is all character and considering that is my in to Doctor Who I was in my element. I listened to this set on the beach with my fella and it was a wonderful day of audio surprises: <b>8/10</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Reverse Engineering by Jonathan Morris: </b>Using Professor McBride as a way of bringing the Doctor into the action was a stroke of genius. It gives the set a sense of coherence. And given the subject matter of this story (to try and create the perfect human) it makes absolute sense of the twist that is to come in the next set. The tale that transpires here is pretty familiar; part base under siege, part mad scientist. It features a lot of frenetic energy and some scary moments but what really stands out is the character work again. I'm really starting to like McBride now, despite the feeling that something is off about her. Hebe and Mel are working together brilliantly and make an enormously likeable pairing. This is the traditional filler in the middle of two glorious character tales and is probably needed for this to feel like Doctor Who rather than a spin off of Dr Who and his fabulous New Gang. Psychotic hominids are scary! Fun, and doing more work to make the last instalment hit: <b>7/10</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Chronomancer by Robert Valentine: </b>Oh boy. There is a scene in this story that I would love to tear out and hold up as exactly what Doctor Who can achieve when it is firing on all cylinders. Professor McBride's true colours are revealed and the Doctor, in an understated moment of riveting drama, tells her why she is exactly what he hates about the universe as a whole. I was sitting under the pier on the beach listening surrounded by people on a warm day and it was like everybody had vanished and only Colin Baker and Imogen Stubbs existed in this sequence of disquiet. When Doctor Who dares to make a point like this, to truly expose the worst of humanity and show its disgust and anger, I am often taken aback. When it is written and acted this well, I'm astonished that this silly show can make this kind of point this well. The rest of this story is enjoyable to listen to but the tale of SF antics really is only there to prop up the scintillating character work that has been laced through this set. Hebe gets an unforgettable moment with McBride too, and the last ten minutes leave you with gasping at how a character can go from being so resourceful to our new antagonist. It's effortlessly done and the cliffhanging ending left me desperate to hear more. What's that? This isn't out until next year, you say? Big Finish! The individual stories in this set play second fiddle. The character work is unbelievably good. On it's own merits, Chronomancer is worthy of a 7. McBride takes this to a: <b>9/10</b></div>Doc Ohohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-90740274846857932412022-10-16T20:59:00.000-07:002022-10-16T20:59:04.778-07:00Dalek Universe 1 <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8bXmJa7wr8kDzVuiz1nXojRkOwHYyhaGm4Da6-Y2icEg4-NgSc3hH_IyLgY7pjWZNr5_KSZ0mEQOaJx7O0hJPbvXAam3nVkJGYc56kyO8g8KADpXeYpCy7I0m9S0w8hYE5HAR4fIYgM3ISc63dNRABkx4rvwsYGtMaFbSmPYicr9CsYNsx1UHuYBL/s600/large%20(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8bXmJa7wr8kDzVuiz1nXojRkOwHYyhaGm4Da6-Y2icEg4-NgSc3hH_IyLgY7pjWZNr5_KSZ0mEQOaJx7O0hJPbvXAam3nVkJGYc56kyO8g8KADpXeYpCy7I0m9S0w8hYE5HAR4fIYgM3ISc63dNRABkx4rvwsYGtMaFbSmPYicr9CsYNsx1UHuYBL/s320/large%20(3).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Buying Time by John Dorney: </b>Imagine taking all the staples of Terry Nation's obsessions in the sixties and turning it into a New Series series of adventures featuring the Tenth Doctor? How on Earth would that work? Imagine creating a companion for the Fourth Doctor who turned out to be a brainwashed Space Security Agent played by Jane Slavin who becomes a regular in this Big Finish spin off? Imagine cherry picking Mark Seven, mooted from the Dalek series in America in the mid 1960s and having him make up the third in this set of regulars. A trip to Kembel, avoiding terrifying predators, vacationing time travel and sinister businessmen. That's a ton of ingredients, both old and new, and for a moment it feels like this is (like so much of Big Finish) a massive nostalgia fest with a bit of audio polish. And yet this assignment has been handed to John Dorney, still one of the best that Big Finish has on its payroll, and he turns all this fanwank into something immediate, pacy, fun, and shocking. I really wasn't sure about this set of characters coming together at this point but somewhere along the line this becomes one of my favourite line up of regulars from ANY Big Finish range. It's a long game, this series, and it fleshes out the time period and the characters brilliantly along the way. Dorney kicks things off with a effortlessly enjoyable listen, and then just as you are starting to relax into the story, he punches you in the face with an unforgettable cliffhanger that floors you with its possibilities. Doctor Who cliff-hangers on audio are tenapenny and this is one of the very best. A strong beginning: <b>9/10 </b> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>The Wrong Woman by John Dorney: </b>More magic, but Dorney turns this story on it's head and makes it a very piece about a massive con on both the audience and the characters. How he gets away with the cheat is exactly the sort of creative resourcefulness I have come to expect from this writer. Introducing another old character in such a funny way is genius and of course the Monk gets a Whittaker style spin, and Gemma Whelan is madly entertaining in the role. What's also important is how the characters start to form a team to bring down the threat of undisciplined time travel. Tennant is having an absolute ball with this, and it's exactly the sort of longform storytelling that his Doctor was afforded in the comics (remember the brilliant Magenta Pryce arc?) but couldn't really indulge in on TV where the episodes needed to be unique pieces of work with the trappings of serialisation each year. How Dalek Universe builds its own mythology using elements from The Daleks' Masterplan (this is essentially a massive love-in for that incredible story) and then runs with them, really, really works. Taken as whole, this is a showcase story for Big Finish. The most popular Doctor (in the eyes of the public), the return of an old foe, strong characters and concepts and a real sense of verve and confidence in the writing and direction. Anybody who has chipped out of Big Finish, this might be the perfect avenue back into the world of audio drama. I don't think you'd regret it: <b>9/10</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>The House of Kingdom by Andrew Smith: </b>You know what you are going to get with Andrew Smith. A competent script with competent characterisation and functional dialogue. So imagine my surprise when I listened to The House of Kingdom and he has been touched by the Dalek Universe magic too. This is a dark little character tale that gives focus on Anya and her family. If you would have told me that Jane Slavin would convince as a space Security Agent with a heart of gold I might have laughed in your face (I would imagine her playing a character like Mrs Monyahan in The Spectre of Lanyon Moor) and yet this has turned out to be an inspired piece of casting. Her character featured in some memorable tales in the Fourth Doctor Adventures and transferring her into this range was a savvy move that takes everything that happened in that season and adds weight to it. The Varga plants were one of my favourite elements of Mission to the Unknown so it is glorious to see them getting some focus here in some memorably nasty moments. Tennant can play the empathetic Doctor so well and he gets the chance to get close to Anya here in an unexpected way. They are setting up the range for fireworks to come as secrets about the Doctor's past with Anya's family are kept under wraps for now but he is able to get to know her better. I walked away from this set with a huge smile on my face. I was expecting the usual Big Finish wank, and what I got was a fully formed spin off range with plenty of substance as well as style and lots of unforgettable moments. Go figure: <b>8/10</b> </div><p></p>Doc Ohohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-11088717718639914252022-10-16T20:26:00.002-07:002022-10-16T20:26:20.020-07:00The Sixth Doctor and Peri Volume One <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQLpaqWm3fCAIWayE5V5bI9N8qw_4wqyqdB_GPrO9FVUMJcAaL7V7Ca8Biztl80bqgCKhHDwrtauJ-AKGdTiCWL6S-JUsDGmXCbHvo4oFKy5Lydo2ZJLlY-DdUYgcxALpbCFc4LGOzSh7z-HSMUnJM2BP_kfAVRSQlskuOiyk_mX5q0eDxJipf753G/s600/large%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQLpaqWm3fCAIWayE5V5bI9N8qw_4wqyqdB_GPrO9FVUMJcAaL7V7Ca8Biztl80bqgCKhHDwrtauJ-AKGdTiCWL6S-JUsDGmXCbHvo4oFKy5Lydo2ZJLlY-DdUYgcxALpbCFc4LGOzSh7z-HSMUnJM2BP_kfAVRSQlskuOiyk_mX5q0eDxJipf753G/s320/large%20(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><b>The Headless Ones by James Parsons & Andrew Stirling-Brown:</b> The weakest in this set and still very good indeed. The set up is a little protracted, and the conclusion seems to come around swiftly, but I thoroughly enjoyed all of the historical detail and the characterisation of the secondary characters. You can tell Scott Handcock's confident direction a mile off and the sixth Doctor and Peri have never felt more maturely played. It's a shame that this isn't a pure exploration of another culture and that the majority of the cast is English, because it feels like the story what's to have it's cake (be exotic) and eat it (not have to cast around). Props for the extraordinary sequence where the Doctor is attacked and Colin Baker plays every part of the sequence simultaneously. Not quite enough to keep my interest throughout: <b>6/10</b><p></p><p><b>Like by Jacqueline Rayner: </b>What a superb concept, cherry picked straight from the Black Mirror episode Nosedive and given a Doctor Who spin. The aliens in danger giving the Doctor's actions a sense of immediacy reminded me of A Christmas Carol, but it does mean that we are always aware of the countdown as he tries to convince a society of social media obsessed drones to commit an altruistic act. Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant are having an absolute ball with this acidly funny script - one of Jac Rayner's best (and that is saying something) - with a smart and silly reading of the whole endorsement through likes idea. When it is broken down like this (and I don't think any of us has been immune over the years) it does seem absolutely absurd to take so much worth from other people pressing a button. To create a society that builds its hierarchy out of social media status is brilliant. To drop the Doctor, who doesn't give a fig about such things and watch him flounder, is hilarious. To have Peri, who understands how to manipulate the system, out think this society is genius. The story is intercut with hilarious ads and how the Yobulans are absorbed into this world says even more about how we mock and cajole things we don't understand to make them safe. I was very impressed with this story. It could have been worthy (because how it scathingly pulls apart online culture is very worth listening) but instead it is laugh a minute: <b>9/10</b></p><p><b>The Vanity Trap by Stuart Manning: </b>A surprise win that I wasn't convinced about at all in the first third. It felt like this was going to be 'the Doctor and Peri visit Hollywood' with all the chuckles and shallowness that comes with that. Instead it becomes a dark SF tale and a very decent character piece, taking the vain and OTT character Myrna Kendall and doing some surprising and thoughtful things with her. Sarah Douglas gives a brilliant turn and how the time shenanigans converge around her means that we get to see her at various stages of her life, and the life she might have led. Halfway through it becomes Sapphire and Steel in Hollywood, and that is a far more enticing prospect. Props to the direction, which means the complicated story never loses you, and for the script that keeps the 'vanity is a weakness' concept at its heart but never falls into the trap of becoming a rip off of The Vanity Trap by Paul Magrs. Again, Sixie and Peri are superb. This set really does highlight them at their best: <b>8/10</b></p><p><b>Conflict Theory by Nev Fountain: </b>An insane script, appropriately so, from the ever-reliable Nev Fountain. You know you're going to get something a little different and quirky from this writer but this time he has outdone himself by taking a Doctor Who story and turning it on it's head so 90% of what we think we are listening isn't quite what we think at all. It's also a brilliant summation of the sixth Doctor and Peri's relationship, with some surprisingly dark and freakish things to say about this initially toxic but ultimately loving friendship. There were moments where I thought they were both acting entirely out of character but so convincing was the psychology in play that I wondered if we were genuinely going to a place where the Doctor would go to extraordinary lengths to protect Peri, and that Peri might actually have to kill the Doctor. The setting is genius; a whole bunch of robotic Freud's divvying out cod psychology to a bunch of automated neuroses and the whole thing becomes a massive endorsement of the Doctor/Peri pairing as they ultimately take down a facility that has caused evil to spread into the universe. Brilliant turns from Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant (again), more excellent direction and an atmosphere of disquiet, and ultimately triumph. I loved this: <b>9/10</b></p>Doc Ohohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-31398588743437025762022-06-28T07:01:00.001-07:002022-06-28T07:01:16.966-07:00Shadow of the Sun written by Robert Valentine and directed by Nicholas Briggs <div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn5ShX-gvx6i5v8MlYky7TVDel90IfGWKq8sar15NHIkZeiZkNWU0r06cu9OSpl3zmVDxlVPI_ZME3TQjqb6I5GDFxgfsEsNzqzdHfzswNe50ZmWFhdQnrf21ISWLU8_rLrtEvWUClzb3A78UKc3RKsKqpG8tSuDtKpox1E0hiX7enEpoyA_0I-N0F/s600/large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn5ShX-gvx6i5v8MlYky7TVDel90IfGWKq8sar15NHIkZeiZkNWU0r06cu9OSpl3zmVDxlVPI_ZME3TQjqb6I5GDFxgfsEsNzqzdHfzswNe50ZmWFhdQnrf21ISWLU8_rLrtEvWUClzb3A78UKc3RKsKqpG8tSuDtKpox1E0hiX7enEpoyA_0I-N0F/s320/large.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-weight: bold;">This story in a nutshell:</b> After an accident, the TARDIS lands on a luxury star-liner. Leaving their ship to repair itself, the Doctor, Leela and K9 find themselves facing a great terror: mingling at a cocktail party. Something seems awry behind the pleasantries, however. Guests are going missing, and equipment is breaking down. When the Doctor investigates further he discovers that the star-liner is literally on course for disaster. But no-one seems surprised by this information, still less troubled. What’s going on? And can the Doctor and his friends save everyone... when nobody wants to be saved?</div><br /><b>Teeth and Curls:</b> The Doctor dares to suggest that his middle is prudence. What a nerve. Ironically, Tom Baker is at his most confident in the early stages of the story (and that is very confident indeed) until he walks into a catch-22 situation. His friends are a terrible nuisance and he likes to think that they take after him. There's a wonderful moment where the Doctor pretends to have something profound to say...just to give Leela enough to attack the focus of his attention. <br /><br /><b>Noble Savage:</b> Leela flatters the Doctor by suggesting that when she first met him that she wanted to travel with him because he was a great and wise man...that frequently needed saving. Louise Jameson is precisely the actress you want to give a speech about the pointlessness of sacrificing yourself and she imbues her words with real emotion and desperation. The fact that she gets through to two people is the result of the earnestness of Leela's proclamation. <br /><br /><b>Standout Performance: </b>A huge round of applause for the prolific Barnaby Edwards, who manages to take ahold of what could have been a thankless part (the autopilot of the ship) and twists it in the most sinister character in the story. And that is a story with a Death Cult and an insane cult leader. His impassive voice (loaded with sarcasm, at times) reminds me of the Robots of Death. He'll open an airlock and suck you into space but he'll be incredibly polite while he does so. <br /><br /><b>Great Ideas: </b>Cruising the solar system at some point in the 26th Century, not even the Doctor could have perceived why this cruiser is sheltering in the shadow of the sun. He's convinced this is a place of drama, celebration and living it up...but not that they are have one last galactic knees up before burning to a crisp and ascending to a higher plane. Doctor Who tackling a suicide cult is not the sort of real life horror that Big Finish has the nuts to dive into these days and I admire the audacity of inserting the ebullient fourth Doctor into a story where the people he is trying to save don't want him to do that. There was a sick feeling in my gut early on when I realised that if even he does manage to save the day, he wasn't going to thanked for it. Does he have the right to involve himself in what is effectively a religious exercise where all the people involved are perfectly content to die? Leela is a great choice for this story too, because she is manipulated into a situation where she has to beg people to want to live (which isn't her usual style at all). The Helios Society believed that the Earth's nearest star contained a habitable paradise. <br /><br /><b>Standout Scene:</b> In a gloriously unexpected moment, the Doctor declares that the ship is heading into the sun and that within the hour they will all be dead. When he makes melodramatic portents of doom like that he isn't usually greeted with utter indifference as he learns that everybody is very well aware of the fact, and they welcome it. His words are twisted from a warning into the portent of a glorious future. I loved the cliffhanger too; which is very much a take on the 'Dead men do not require oxygen' mould but it is still a glorious moment of jeopardy as Leela faces ejection for espousing anti-Heliotopian sentiments. Having to realise the moment when the disaster hits, with all the accompanying screaming and frying, isn't what I expected to be listening to on a pleasant Sunday afternoon. <br /><br /><b>What the Writer Said:</b> My thinking behind writing SHADOW OF THE SUN was basically to comment on the whole 'my opinions are as good as your facts' thing. It was conceived post-Brexit and pre-Covid, and while you can read either situation into the story, initially my thinking was more along the lines of the Flat Earth movement (although Brexit does play into it with the character of disaster-profiteer, Hix). The members of the Helios Society have decided to test their belief that the Sun is a habitable paradise by flying a spaceship into it. In a religious context, what they'd be doing is testing God – and I understand gods frown on that – but in a secular sense it's simply madness, a disagreement with reality which they can only lose. And that's an interesting situation for the Doctor, Leela and K9 to wander into!<br /><br /><b>Result: </b>Shadow of the Sun uses the one hour format of the fourth Doctor adventures to fantastic effect with the story effectively having four quarter hour segments that continually push the story along in a very engaging way. It opens with the Doctor and Leela visiting a spaceship and crashing a party and it looks as though this is going to go the way of an amiable Graeme Williams story before Robert Valentine hits with a dark twist that pivots the story off into much more insidious territory. Once the danger has been established, it is a race against to try and stop the catastrophe and when it is clear that that wont happen it is all about the Doctor and Leela salvaging as much from the situation as they can. The story stops to ponder on the very sinister idea of a Death Cult and the sort of faith you need to engage with to give up your life so freely and I really appreciated the thoughtful ending where there are no easy answers about the catastrophe that has occurred. Or even if those who did believe they were going to a better place were wrong. It's all tied up in a fine production with some terrific sound design and a score that veers between sombre and derring do depending on the tone of the scene. It's not many writers that would dare to let Tom Baker's Doctor exit the story feeling defeated by his perceived failure but it goes to show that there are still fresh avenues to take this incarnation down. If all this sounds dreadfully serious then I have misled you. It's a punchy, pacy hour with Tom at his height and more substance than I have come to expect from these two parters. Given this was the first story recorded remotely, it is a complete success story, and it paved the way for Big Finish to continue their work during a period where they couldn't get the actors to the studios. Pioneering: <b>8/10</b>Doc Ohohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-43170746787258963092022-06-20T14:44:00.001-07:002022-06-20T14:44:01.762-07:00The Rotting Deep written by Jacqueline Rayner and directed by Helen Goldwyn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMr3QhB_gOII4hWrh302SOtsK5CCt7JmtN98x_yDlwpwxLIVhJU-JpGzh1jol9AiBxfZ9iFDmAZJA4E7YbrPfR2HYW0GJn_q2Il6hiXxG60Stg0nEvTAXrGgIIGR54UULVIFdEFT1-9Tv-Gnkd9KzPvP44xvs1ugCYQfNrXeCQY7fBb8moCNvyEmLe/s600/large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMr3QhB_gOII4hWrh302SOtsK5CCt7JmtN98x_yDlwpwxLIVhJU-JpGzh1jol9AiBxfZ9iFDmAZJA4E7YbrPfR2HYW0GJn_q2Il6hiXxG60Stg0nEvTAXrGgIIGR54UULVIFdEFT1-9Tv-Gnkd9KzPvP44xvs1ugCYQfNrXeCQY7fBb8moCNvyEmLe/s320/large.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><b>What's it About: </b>A mysterious SOS summons the Doctor and Mel to an oil rig in the North Sea where a dwindling group of survivors awaits rescue from a lethal menace. One of their number is Hebe Harrison, a wheelchair-using marine biologist who is definitely more than she seems. Can our heroes escape the rig? And just what is killing off the rig's beleaguered crew?</div><br /><b>Softer Six: </b>We're at a point where the sixth Doctor and Mel travelling together for Big Finish is old hat and yet it still feels like a rewarding and exciting thing to me. I adore their chemistry; gently ribbing and intimate and they both have a real lust for adventure. The Doctor quotes Rosetti and a quote never sounds more poetic than in Colin Baker's plummy tones. Even better, he makes an Are You Being Served? gag. Jac Rayner really understands how to make this Doctor sing but given she was largely responsible for his second wind on audio (both The Marian Conspiracy and Dr Who and the Pirates feature some of his best ever characterisation) that isn't surprising. The Doctor's coat reminds Hebe of a beautifully coloured sea slug (but to get to that lovely observation with have to endure the dreadful Ghostbuster gag: 'You aint afraid of no coat!'). Jac Rayner remembers to give the sixth Doctor some bite and in a pretty tense moment he screams at one of the guest characters that all they think about is themselves. He decides that he likes Hebe very quickly, and admires her smarts. The Doctor does pause before granting Hebe access to their adventures but it's clear he has been pretty bewitched by her already. <br /><br /><b>The Intergalactic Bush:</b> Mel is a great character to pair up with Hebe because she is precisely the sort of ultra polite sort that will walk on tiptoes around somebody in a wheelchair trying desperately not to offend them. Hebe bursts that bubble straight away by having a go and then instantly apologising and immediately there is a relaxed chemistry between the pair. Mel is shat on by a bunch of seagulls, which provides a moments relief. She manages to get on her high horse with everybody else on the rig, and nobody does moral righteousness than Melanie Jane Bush! Let's hope that Hebe doesn't call Mel Melanie Mel all the time - the last thing we need is another The Doctor in the Tardy Box. I remember reading that Bonnie Langford didn't want Mel to scream on audio but clearly she has changed her mind...and clearly Langford is a little more tentative about doing so because her voice doesn't have the welly it used to. It does allow for a wonderful gag about Mel's 'noise' being worse than the monster of the week. She has been stung by a jellyfish, it is completely justified. <br /><br /><b>Newbie:</b> Hebe, like the shrub. The reason that everybody is talking about this new set is fresh new companion Hebe and whilst I wouldn't want to be the person that says a companion has a USP, they have chosen to represent a disabled character in the TARDIS, which comes with many interesting logistical and creative possibilities. At first I feared that Hebe would be only about the wheelchair, which I have heard some people complain that she is, but if you put yourself in the mind of somebody who cannot walk I can only imagine that that would be on your mind predominantly. I thought it was handled with great sensitivity here, and whilst Hebe has something of a chip on her shoulder at first, she soon realises that she is in the hands of people she can trust and in an all important moment (one of the sixth Doctor's best on audio, I would go as far to say) he asks her to unburden herself of anger in a quite beautiful scene. She doesn't want anyone making decisions for her and it sounds like that has been happening for her entire life. As a child she was annoyed about the story of The Little Mermaid but it wasn't because she did a deal for a pair of legs but rather because she gave up the wondrous world under the sea to explore ('She gave it all up for some stupid Prince!'). It began Hebe's obsession with marine life, and subsequently her career. She doesn't run away, in any definition of the word run. When she was at university she created a group called the Lame Ducks, re-claiming the slur and owning it. They were united in their imperfections. <br /><br /><b>Audio Landscape:</b> My partner and I listened to this story on the seafront at Eastbourne, literally the perfect environment for this kind of sea-based story and the scenes of attacking squawking gulls left us looking overhead just in case the swarms in the sky were coming in for the attack. <br /><br /><b>Standout Performance:</b> I realise Mandy Simmonds' Skye is supposed to be one reef short of a barnacle and under a great deal of strain but her insane laughter in episode two and hysterical breakdown stretch credulity to the limit. When her excuse for such murderous behaviour is because she loves the Earth more than anybody else, you know you are on pretty shaken ground with the character. 'Mother Gaia calls me home!' She couldn't have died soon enough. <br /><br /><b>Sparkling Dialogue:</b> 'Passion for the wonders of this planet is not something you need to apologise for.'<div>'I think you've fought very hard to be angry because angry is better than scared, or patronised, or infantilised. And I like anger. Anger can change the world. But would you allow me, and Mel too, to take that burden from you, just for a moment.' <br /><br /><b>Great Ideas:</b> How glorious that the SOS that we hear at the beginning of the story is so satisfyingly answered at the end of the story. I was wondering if this would be a mystery that would go unsolved but what Rayner does instead is tie the answer into a gloriously warm piece of nostalgia featuring an old favourite of the Big Finish world. It's beautiful how the two scenes bookend the story giving it a real sense of structure. <br /><br /><b>Isn't it Odd:</b> I'm not sure that any of the guest characters manage to squeeze out of the caricature mould; being either obnoxious, bullying, frightened or morally explosive. Sometimes they were all within one scene. I couldn't remember anybody's name after my first listen, and I was unconvinced that they were genuinely in any peril because the tone of the performances was so heightened. The story also suffers from being quite a simple narrative but a pretty obscure threat until the last minute. At first I thought it was the seagulls, then the barnacles, then the jellyfish...before it turned out that the antagonist this week is the water itself. Which wouldn't be a problem if we hadn't already done that in the much scarier Waters of Mars in the New Series. <br /><br /><b>Standout Scene:</b> The scariest scene comes when Hebe is at the hands of the water when the fame hunter of the gang drinks some and is taken over and he taunts her viciously over her disability and threatens to make her the victim of his recording of the ordeal. It's really rather revolting. <br /><br /><b>Result: </b>The setting is perfect for a good old fashioned creepy base under siege story. That isn't quite what we get because the guest performances err on the side of comical, which occasionally takes you outside the action but there is certainly enough plot here to pass an hour amiably. The sound design is very strong and gives you an immediate sense of place. The focus is new companion Hebe, and she is given a strong introduction (although not as strong as Rayner gave Evelyn) because the story puts her front and centre and much like Russell T Davies does with Rose, she isn't always entirely likeable. There's a bit of ice to thaw with this character and fortunately the Doctor is at his most charming and that has begun already and by the end of the story they have reached an understanding and a commitment to each other. I liked her very much, not despite her occasional frostiness but because of it because I like it when we get to see all shades of a character. It's very easy to make somebody all smiles and gushing (actually that's Mel) but to offer up somebody this rounded in an hour is a real achievement. A story like The Rotting Deep sounds like it might dripping with horrific incident but instead this is quite a light affair, with one or two violent moments. As an introduction to Hebe it hits it's ambition but as a story in it's own right it suffers from the same problem I find with so many hour long Big Finish stories these days, it's passable, unambitious fare. This gets an extra point just for the love letter to Evelyn Smythe. Because Big Finish can't mention her enough, and it gets a beautiful reaction out of Colin Baker: <b>7/10</b></div>Doc Ohohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-78616357390036748642022-06-05T09:23:00.002-07:002022-06-05T09:23:25.390-07:00The Mind of the Hodiac written by Russell T. Davies and Scott Handcock and directed by Scott Handcock <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPVXi8X6SkuC-Hc2TzwS_JJezi-IZmIftbdJptT4VRtEPpGPVwjtlllm1N-ZXUxGDkZzXQLEMzox-cQldWI0y9AFDOdTxyZgjCz0Zv4bxDUzNzAfaU7OrHSMn56ZzrDE2JeaX8mOoipKZlMK6TbrLfZxifVYIsehTYThKmmTgyfA1YLCkiXJQBl0XO/s600/large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPVXi8X6SkuC-Hc2TzwS_JJezi-IZmIftbdJptT4VRtEPpGPVwjtlllm1N-ZXUxGDkZzXQLEMzox-cQldWI0y9AFDOdTxyZgjCz0Zv4bxDUzNzAfaU7OrHSMn56ZzrDE2JeaX8mOoipKZlMK6TbrLfZxifVYIsehTYThKmmTgyfA1YLCkiXJQBl0XO/s320/large.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b><p><b><br /></b></p>What's it About:</b> In the depths of space, the mysterious Hodiac is manipulating the Galactic Stock Exchange to raise money. His aim? To hire mercenaries for a deadly quest across the stars. Meanwhile, on Earth, an ordinary British family is plagued by a series of psychic events. The one thing connecting these events is a magnificent patchwork coat - which just so happens to belong to the Doctor! <p></p><p><b>Softer Six:</b> The Doctor is happily reading The Wind in the Willows because it does no harm to keep in touch with a little magic. Mel says there is a good bit of Toad in the Doctor; pioneering, devil-may-care, reckless, the adventurous spirit, a pain...never day die. Having been brought up on The Wind in the Willows and Doctor Who, I can definitely see the parallel. Toad (as irritating as he was to his friends) was always my favourite character. There's a glorious moment when the scanner opens and the Doctor cries that all of time and space is the open road and there's to explore. It's the sort of material I would have loved to have seen Colin get whilst he was on television. I'm not sure how anyone can possibly object to the sixth Doctor quoting literature, since he was doing that ever since he stepped out of the TARDIS on Jaconda. He doesn't like not understanding things and rather petulantly states that when that happens it isn't fair. I rather love his proud exclamation that he is going to leave their destination up to the TARDIS (as if that isn't what happens all the time anyway). The Doctor gets a lovely moment when he gets to bamboozle a guard which reminded me of McCoy in Dragonfire but the guard is given lovely touches of RTD characterisation that made it sing. </p><p><b>The Great Ginge:</b> If the Doctor is Mr Toad, that makes Mel Ratty. The Doctor attempts to give an entirely nonsensical explanation for what is going on in the TARDIS and Mel, as curt as ever, calls him out on it. There's a lovely warmth between the two of them and there is no sense that Mel doesn't trust the Doctor completely. That's why she is so appalled when starts behaving in a disreputable manner when they reach the family home. Mel is delighted to be back in a suburban setting after a series of showy and colourful adventures, you get the sense that she yearns for a bit of normality after waltzing around the universe with the most bombastic of Doctors. Often Mel is used as an avatar to express how appalling people are behaving ('you're despicable!') but for once it is entirely justified when she cannot comprehend how Mrs Maitland has been convinced by Mrs Chinn that the horrors that have beset her household are the work of God punishing her for breaking her matrimonial vows. In a wonderful moment of comedy, Mel gets to impersonate a religious zealot and it is exactly the sort of fun that Bonnie Langford should have been having on TV. Pairing up Mel with a child feels fresh and fun, she gets to be protective and a little petulant when dealing with an emotional adolescent. </p><p><b>Standout Performance:</b> If there's one thing that you can guarantee with a Doctor Who story on television or audio and that is if Annette Badland is involved you are bound to have a grand time with her scenes. She gets to chew the microphone outrageously as the preposterous and irresponsible Mrs Chinn. I'm still not entirely sure the story needs the psychic investigation subplot but the story would be much less entertaining without Badland's presence. This is season seventeen fabulous, every line a delight. 'I smell...a <i>discovery!</i>' 'Let's not stand around like grinning ninnies!' Because this is such a grotesquely characterised villain (I say villain because she behaves appallingly whilst never quite reaching for world domination) you can't help but detect strong traces of RTD's anti-religious sentiments. Everything terrible thing she does is to reach out touch a higher power. She's both absurdly comic and slightly terrifying in that respect. This is obviously considered something of a prestige Big Finish release and so they pulled out all the stops and with no less than sixteen actors involved, this is as full cast as these stories get. T'Nia Miller is the standout draw and I was surprised that her part felt a little underwritten but just made Sutara Gayle's Nan standout all the more. Gayle really sells the emotional material. What could have been an agonising celebration of family above all else becomes something quietly profound as she plays the age-old Hodiac with no regrets of the life that she has made for herself on the Earth. </p><p><b>Sparkling Dialogue: </b>'Some people call it the Music of the Spheres' 'Well it's certainly not the Archers.' </p><p><b>Great Ideas:</b> Davies is making political, social and economical points even at this point of his career. The line about a worker being 'devalued' is something that I heard myself bandied around. The idea that you can be boiled down to a number which determines your value is terrifying. Coming from a writer that draws upon the personal strengths and weaknesses of all his characters and doesn't criticise them for it, this has to be a deliberate point about the clinical appraisal system of the executive world. The Hodiac is reaching across the stars for a woman, described as 'like a sister, and something more.' Searching, and determined to never give up. Was I the only person who made a connection between the institute of the psychic science (on the thirteen floor, ahem) and BURPS from The Sarah Jane Adventures. After their father left, things in the Miller household started going wrong, things moving and going missing and then as time went on it became more insistent. Mrs Chinn gets in touch because she wants to pay Mrs Miller to investigate the psychic phenomena in their family. The Hodiac aspects are born to different worlds; the male and the female, they adopt an appropriate form, live out their lives and then the cycle begins again. The Hodiac is never together, that is how it thrives. Separate, experiencing different cultures. One of the aspects has become arrogant and frightened, and he is clinging to this existence and wants to cheat death by becoming God. He wants to find the aspect living on the Earth, purge everything that makes her human and force her to feel his love. It's an intriguing layer of SF concepts but I'm not entirely sure I completely understood what the point of the Hodiac was, except to exist to allow Nan to stress the value of the family that you create rather than the family you are born into. Perhaps that is enough. With Russell, I am used to a great thematic unification of ideas but the SF elements here are merely a catalyst to explore the characters. It's played for comedy, but if you were the right way inclined you could say that the Hodiac arriving on the Earth resembles a manifestation of God. </p><p><b>Isn't it Odd:</b> 'Big Finish; for the love of stories...' It's a bizarre catchphrase, isn't it? 'We love stories' was a bit on the nose but it was sharp, punchy and to the point. This offshoot declaration of romance for storytelling lacks the same kind of impact. It's a bit...twee, and it doesn't set these stories off on the right foot. It's time to rename the company. 'For the satisfaction of Finishing Big.' The first episode could easily be half the length with the amount of plot it has to offer and could get the family and the Doctor and Mel to the Bechman Centre in a handful of scenes. It would lose some of its rich characterisation but it would certainly get to the point a lot quicker. The discourse on capital feels fitting in the mid eighties ('This is it! The Day of the Middle Man!') but there is a great deal of running time given over to the acquisition of the Tungsten Warriors that doesn't really go anywhere. I'm so used to RTD getting to the point with a dense single part script these days that this does feel authentically...relaxed in its pacing. Things step up a gear in the second episode but getting there might try some people who aren't enamoured with The Wind in the Willows' patience. The cliffhanger (Mel screaming!) is very funny as realised. </p><p><b>Standout Scene:</b> The story makes a lot of noise about the family members but keeps Nan in the shadows for the most part and so I should have figured that she was going to have a pivotal role in the story. However, when the moment comes and the Doctor calls her out as the other aspect of the Hodiac I was taken by surprise (my other half wasn't, so I can only imagine that is me not paying enough attention). It's a fantastic moment too, one of those astonishingly gentle scenes where the sixth Doctor gets to be empathetic and sensitive and reach out. Baker sparkles. </p><p><b>Result: </b>Conceptually, this is very exciting for me. Russell T. Davies is my favourite Doctor Who writer and Sixie has always been my favourite Doctor and so the idea of bringing these two greats together in a Big Finish adventure is very enticing. A script written by the man who would eventually reshape what Doctor Who can do written in the mid-eighties before his career had taken of is such a tasty peek into the developing creative mind of a genius. What transpires is a fascinating hybrid of what was and what is but with an emphasis on the latter rather than indulging the former. The Doctor and Mel take an age to enter the story (much like Revelation of the Daleks they don't impact the larger narrative until the end of episode one) but rather than waste time with pointless bickering scenes, Davies uses this as an opportunity to explore their relationship and to give the Doctor a chance to wax lyrical on the wonderful absurdities of his lifestyle. <i>Very </i>New Series. There's a slightly cheesy science fiction plot about a lifeform that has been split across several worlds wanting to be brought together (not a million miles away from the high concept stories of season 20) but that is married to a touching and heartbreaking treatise on family and the emotional bond that transcends species. We've even got space mercenaries stomping about the place, but that's offset with a wonderfully theatrical turn from the ever reliable Annette Badland as the doctrinaire, Mrs Chinn. Even the Doctor's coat has a plot purpose rather than a representation of ghoulish eighties garishness. It's a mishmash of classic and new with scenes that would have felt completely out of place in Saward era Who (the domestic drama that exudes warmth and genuine emotion) but would have pre-dated precisely where the show was about to head in the Cartmel era and beyond. He would have paved the way once again. The fusion of all these elements doesn't sit completely easy and ultimately this quite a simple story about a being that is trying to unify itself that could have been told in a hour without the complications of the galactic stock exchange, psychic investigations and the like but the whole piece is put together with such care that it is a pretty smooth listen as a whole. I especially liked the score, which stood out in a way that little music does for Big Finish these days. Colin Baker hasn't been written <i>this </i>well for a while now and he responds extremely favourably to the material, and his chemistry with Bonnie Langford is so effortless at this point it is a joy to hear them being written for with such love of the characters. The Mind of the Hodiac lacks the weight and drama of Damaged Goods but it is a satisfying curiosity and there were scenes in the last episode that left me with a lump in my throat in the way that only a good Russell T. Davies story can. Props to Scott Handock for taking on the mantle and delivering such an enjoyable listen. I'd pay just to hear Colin Baker say 'Poop Poop!': <b>8/10</b> </p>Doc Ohohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-38469878246894086552022-04-20T19:23:00.000-07:002022-04-20T19:23:08.361-07:00VOY - Warlord <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijG5-wJzcGAJUzpXiKL6p51QK4X8pT8panaSn9l9Sy0Wp9LSvzFUdlZMd3x5xWurtUN917nBsg9y543OqVmcN_9SngQmJ3NiOYiQC3qJIUxUzasvQmcyoS5dh1iOwdxCSfNylHRkhn1EJPsWk0qbsmlrXsw2Ww29XNMJUsjQM1eNlIBZBeZQrfuEP7/s1036/MV5BYjIyYjAwNzctYWFlMi00YTdhLTgyMjctMzE1MzAyN2FmNzQzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjIyMzMxMTk@._V1_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="777" data-original-width="1036" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijG5-wJzcGAJUzpXiKL6p51QK4X8pT8panaSn9l9Sy0Wp9LSvzFUdlZMd3x5xWurtUN917nBsg9y543OqVmcN_9SngQmJ3NiOYiQC3qJIUxUzasvQmcyoS5dh1iOwdxCSfNylHRkhn1EJPsWk0qbsmlrXsw2Ww29XNMJUsjQM1eNlIBZBeZQrfuEP7/s320/MV5BYjIyYjAwNzctYWFlMi00YTdhLTgyMjctMzE1MzAyN2FmNzQzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjIyMzMxMTk@._V1_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b><p><b><br /></b></p>Plot: </b>Lisa Klink is a rare female name writing for 90s Trek and I realised whilst looking her up that I had no idea what episodes she had helmed, which surprised me when I saw that she had 12 instalments under her belt. It's an eclectic bunch of episodes too, with a couple of standouts (Resistance, Dreadnought, Remember) and just as many duds (this, Sacred Ground, Favourite Son) and some real vanilla shows in between (Displaced, Scientific Method, The Omega Directive). She's credited as writing the teleplays more often than not which means she is responsible for the dialogue rather than the story, which might explain why it is such a variable cluster of episodes. She might be able to put Shakespeare into the mouths of the characters but that doesn't mean she can turn premises such as 'Harry Kim discovers his long lost race in the Delta Quadrant' into art. <p></p><p><b>Character: </b>The worst excesses of Neelix's characterisation hit during his relationship with Kes where he turned out to be controlling, jealous and childish. We see glimpses of that here but because Kes is inhabited by Tieran for the majority of the episode and this is where she breaks up with him we don't get to see an actual conversation between the two characters where 'our' Kes gets to express that the way Neelix behaves in a relationship is unacceptable. Instead our sympathies are supposed to be with him because she appears to rather summarily dump him on a date. I really needed Neelix to understand that he wasn't cut adrift because of a random Star Trek plot but because he treated her unacceptably for two seasons. For the half season that Kex remains single on the ship what emerges is a rather sweet friendship between the two of them, which is probably what it should have been all along. It is certainly less icky. Ethan Phillips was under the impression that a scene filmed for Fair Trade later in the season that saw the break up of the two characters cemented had made it into the episode but was later corrected and he was left with the feeling their their separation in this episode is a bit muddy. He's not wrong. </p><p><b>Performance:</b> There is nothing subtle about Lien's performance as Tieran as Jennifer Lien chews the scenery with remarkable gusto and declares every line as if her life is dependant on it...but let's be honest it is far more entertaining then her usual flat delivery and she injecting some real gusto into an episode that is utterly predictably and obviously plotted. The joy of these possession episodes is to see the regular actors behaving out of character and Lien is going for Shatner high camp rather than Rosalind Chao sinister (The Assignment) but it is still a fun turn. She's completely uninhabited, which is rather refreshing, and makes me wonder if we have wasted Lien's potential as she played the good girl for three years. What's astonishing are the moments where Kes fights back in for control of her mind and we see her teeth as she takes him out. I would have loved to have seen a lot more of this Kes. <i>'I'll find every crack in your defences, you'll feel yourself crumbling from within, your sanity slipping away. I won't stop until you're broken, and helpless. There's nowhere you can go to get away from me. I'll be relentless and merciless...just like you. </i></p><p><b>The Good:</b> There's a great scuffle in the transporter pad where Mulgrew elbows Lien's into the wall violently and she retaliates by punching her in the face. It's so weird to see these two characters in combat that it really bites. </p><p>There's some interesting sexuality on display because Kes is inhabited by man. Tieran is not above coming on strong to Ameron whilst he is in the body of Kes, which is close to a male/male flirting scene that you are going to see on Voyager and Lien plays the scenes where Tieran flirts with Tieran's girlfriend with an overt sense of wanting to get her into bed as soon as possible. Tieran is suggesting a polygamous relationship with Nori and Ameron, which he is clearly up for but she resists. There's plenty of cheating going on here (it takes possession for characters to express gay tendencies) but I appreciate the effort all the same. For Berman era Trek, this is erring on daring. The moment where Tieran uses Kes to force herself on Tuvok certainly made me sit up and pay attention. </p><p><b>The Bad:</b> Any episode that starts with a close up on Neelix's face as he experiences orgasmic joy whilst a woman in the hideous Talaxian male up massages his hideous webbed feet is asking for trouble. The Paxau resort on Talax is our holodeck locale of the season and it is every bit as tedious as Lord Burleigh's manor in the previous season. What baffles me is that this show is capable of getting this sort of thing right; Sandrine's and the Captain Proton programmes were fun and visually different but more often than not we are stuck with stuff like this and Fair Haven. There's nothing wrong with the idea of Voyager's crew hanging out on a beach resort but this clearly isn't a beach resort but the 90s Star Trek colony set redressed slightly (only slightly) and given some artificial sunbathing lighting. It's not a locale with any substance or any style. That's my problem. Add in Tom Paris' revisions, which is to add a bunch of women in skimpy leotards and some Caribbean music and you're in for a wonderful (I jest) time. According to my co-host on Untitled Star Trek Project, Nathan Bottomley, the pre-credits sequence usually indicates exactly what we are in for for the rest of the episode but there is no sign of that here. Just educating us on how revolting Neelix's feet are (as if we couldn't have guessed that already) as he dances with said women because the camera ensures that we get full disclosure before the end because the make up team have bothered to dress them up. </p><p>No good ever comes of helping survivors of a wreckage in Star Trek. Remember when Bashir beamed aboard the Kobliad ship in The Passenger and the evil conscience of war criminal Rao Vantika is transferred into his body. You should, because this episode is ripping off the plot beat for beat. We should have been immediately suspicious of Kes' behaviour because it is pretty unusual of her to throw her arms around grieving patients in the Infirmary. Remember, when Star Trek characters act out of the ordinary it is always because they have a malicious conscience inside of them.</p><p>The same thing that makes this such an entertaining bit of old tosh (the fact that this society seems to be a bunch of corrupt turncoats) is exactly why it is impossible to give any kind of a fig about the planet of the week, or believe in them for a second. </p><p>Five minutes from the end of the episode and Tieran is still in full control of the planet. That can only mean one thing. We're in for a shift and unsatisfactory resolution to the episode. </p><p><b>Result: </b>The joy of Warlord is that we get to spend most of the episode behind the lines with a bunch of backstabbing villainous types who are all trying to kill and betray each other, and in watching Jennifer Lien give the archest performance as the villain since side of season three of TOS. That means that this episode is essentially a massive comic strip that you can't take at all seriously and with some obvious plotting and insanely over the top lines it ends up being a bit too broad to get a handle on. Kes goes evil isn't the worst premise of the season and her extreme behaviour (murdering and coming on to anyone that comes in sight) means that at least we are seeing something novel. I just wonder if with a little more restraint that this might have been a lot more impactful, and potentially frightening. Instead it's hilarious, and not for all the right reasons. This is basically Game of Thrones as a theatrical comedy. Take of that what you will. </p><p>**1/2 out of ***** </p>Doc Ohohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-85245825347221079202022-04-19T16:55:00.001-07:002022-04-19T16:55:09.946-07:00TNG - Code of Honor<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfV5GB1lN75YZy13tSPfH57vvpewqtPq6ZQCpI_eUMUajcvW9s1T4sr5yXZvLrSQT7hswISTGcmPFUXV0G1kk8_XEgnA2IAko5IIqg1x86Xj7P49B2q7d0YzWh0kwjWRq_SS-wFMY01G6CLH0V86X_h9VYj5ESryXdj1Rjwzvb4tMgWYRelCfYPGzh/s1200/codeofhonor-yar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfV5GB1lN75YZy13tSPfH57vvpewqtPq6ZQCpI_eUMUajcvW9s1T4sr5yXZvLrSQT7hswISTGcmPFUXV0G1kk8_XEgnA2IAko5IIqg1x86Xj7P49B2q7d0YzWh0kwjWRq_SS-wFMY01G6CLH0V86X_h9VYj5ESryXdj1Rjwzvb4tMgWYRelCfYPGzh/s320/codeofhonor-yar.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b><p><b><br /></b></p>Character: </b>Why does Patrick Stewart sound like a robot during the opening Captain's Log? There is a definite feeling of Stewart being at sea in the role at this point and slowly feeling his way into a part that he would eventually come to cherish. He's so stiff and awkward throughout, like he is suffering from imposter syndrome. 'She's a rather lovely female' he says of Tasha to Lutan in a moment of misogynistic diplomacy. 'With the power of the Enterprise we could overwhelm this planet easily and just take what we want...' <p></p><p>This is essentially the Lieutenant Yar episode from season one and proves to be as over the top and as ridiculous as the character herself. She's such a liability that I fail to see the reason that Picard is so insistent on getting her back. He's willing to go to war in order regain his Security Officer who by her own confession (several times, agonisingly) is horny for her captor. Astonishingly at the climax it is clear that Yar still desires Lutan despite the fact that he has behaved like a sexist pig throughout. The only reason she doesn't want to keep him is because there would be complications with her career. How did Denise Crosby play any of this with a straight face? </p><p><b>Terrible Dialogue:</b> In a hilariously inept sequence where Troi informs the Captain that Yar was bowled over by being coveted by such a 'basic male image' such a Lutan, Tasha declares: 'Troi, you're my friend and you tricked me!' It might be the worst written scene in TNG's run and that is against some pretty stuff competition. </p><p>'Lutan wants you to be his First One!' 'Impossible Yarena, I am a career Starfleet Officer!' </p><p><b>The Good:</b> Whilst this episode does feature the artificial TOS-style exterior planetary backdrop that is very popular in the early episodes, I did appreciate how they inserted the set into the matte painting of the planet. The nicest thing I can say about this episode is the quality of the handful of the visuals. </p><p><b>The Bad:</b> We should have known that we were going to be in trouble when Lutan beams upon the Enterprise in arrogant ceremony and declares a woman being Chief of Security an astonishing thing. It was a production choice to have the entire population of this planet being played by African actors because the script only specified that the guards were. Jonathan Frakes and Brent Spiner both go on record as saying that this episode is racist and the worst episode that TNG put out. I'd agree with the first part of that statement (it is certainly troubling that this society, entirely consisting of black actors, is seen as behaving in a primitive fashion in it's obvious sexism and love of violence and superstition) but I wouldn't say this is the worst episode of TNG. Top ten, for sure. But there are far less visually interesting episodes along the journey than this. Even the score is in on the racism, leaning on stereotypical themes. The Ligonians talk in a simple, broken English, seem astonished by the great technology of the Federation and have an unusual and creepy interest in the women. </p><p>There's a very funny moment when Yar is kidnapped by the Ligonians and Picard barely raises an eyebrow and turns to the camera in such a lackadaisical fashion that you would swear that he expected this move was always going to happen. The direction and performance are so lazy it feels like nobody is making any effort. Even funnier is the scene where Dr Bev demands to talk to Picard about her son and then drops that he is hiding in the turbolift the entire time because he isn't allowed on the Bridge. </p><p>Isn't it hard to believe that the Federation cannot synthesize a vaccine that this bunch can conjure up. The script needs a reason for the Enterprise to stay and sort out this problem with Lutan and Yar otherwise Picard would be well within his right to send a couple of photon torpedoes at the planet and warp out of there. We're estimating deaths in the millions if the vaccine isn't obtained. </p><p><b>Result: </b><i>'I fight for the vaccine!'</i> I find it astonishing that anybody would show up to Star Trek to watch something as insulting as this. Insulting in terms of treating the audience with a complete lack of intelligence with storytelling as simple as this, that they would want to experience a culture that is made up out of racist and sexist clichés, and that they would be invested in regulars that are characterised this appallingly. How the show ever recovered from an episode quite this offensive is beyond me. This is the sort of backwards script that the writers of the Original Series would have rejected on the spot. Beyond the 'threat' of not obtaining the vaccine, there is no substance at all in this episode and given we have no interest in where this going even that is beyond caring about. So it is the fate of Tasha Yar, who is treated as both a sex object and a horny teenager in a script that damages the character beyond repair. I think this is going for an Arena style action sequence in the finale, but this time replacing Kirk and a Gorn for a couple of grunting women fighting over the chance to become a sex object of a man. The biggest insult is that I took the time to watch this and write this review. There is no end to Code of Honor's shame. </p>Doc Ohohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-88264243368626273062022-04-18T22:44:00.001-07:002022-04-19T13:37:19.331-07:00DS9 - Chrysalis<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKg8wNYxSLwB3TfbzF7fo0r_yPrATx4EiB6A8IRjnFxOMZzPU1HL8vjw6mYEvF-aztCPx7DhRbDn5R3674Yu1-eGt95VP01TQEnnUleLrOEUzfHxHog5aCwewQJxZpteH3aIhUOtX0fpp_Rqj9jcvoDc8Fb8nc6sDQfxQAjuVOP7fI6t4NhJaMQy7B/s709/MV5BMWEyYzgyMWMtYjg3Ny00YjUxLTliNWItYTkzMTNhYWI0YWFmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTAwMDk1MjM@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="709" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKg8wNYxSLwB3TfbzF7fo0r_yPrATx4EiB6A8IRjnFxOMZzPU1HL8vjw6mYEvF-aztCPx7DhRbDn5R3674Yu1-eGt95VP01TQEnnUleLrOEUzfHxHog5aCwewQJxZpteH3aIhUOtX0fpp_Rqj9jcvoDc8Fb8nc6sDQfxQAjuVOP7fI6t4NhJaMQy7B/s320/MV5BMWEyYzgyMWMtYjg3Ny00YjUxLTliNWItYTkzMTNhYWI0YWFmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTAwMDk1MjM@._V1_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b><p><b><br /></b></p>Plot: </b>I suppose the big question is did we need a return appearance of the Jack Pack after their memorable debut in Statistical Probabilities last year and your answers depends on how much mileage you think they have as characters. I often complain that Star Trek introduces one shot wonder characters that get their moment in the sun but no chance to further expand their characters (mostly in shows on the move like TNG and VOY) and DS9 has a better hit rate of bringing people back to further delve into the depths of their character. Sometimes it backfires because the characters are really dreary (Bariel, Shakaar) and other times it works beautifully because the characters continue to evolve and become part of this shows ongoing secondary cast (Kai Winn, Garak). The Jack Pack were memorable because they so far outside the norm of what Star Trek usually presents us; a group of socially inept, almost dangerously unpredictable genetically enhanced people who have been embarrassingly shuffled aside by the 'perfect' Federation society into an Institute. It was a fascinating comment on what a society does when it has square pegs trying to fit into its round holes and the answer is to study and control them. They were very likeable because of their extreme character traits and broad performances. So the question is does the show take them to the next level here...or calm them down a little? Is it DS9 increasing it's repertoire of recurring characters or flogging something again that has already been covered? They're essentially cartoon characters here, to provide comic relief whilst the sweet and tragic story of Serena unfolds around them. Jack's obsession with changing the cosmological constant is amusing, but I'd say that Lauren's vampish behaviour and Patrick's ability to cry at the drop of a hat verge on the side of caricature here. <p></p><p><b>Character:</b> Rene Echevarria manages to succinctly reveal just how alone Bashir is in about 30 seconds as all of his friends dash off to various social activities without him. Most of them are in relationships by now, which has continued to elude him. He's such a handsome, smart man that it is hard to imagine why that would be...until he opens his mouth. Instead he spends his evening in bed studying mutating viruses. Poor Bashir was considered a bit of a pariah in the first couple of seasons because he was characterised so irritatingly as a man who never knew when to shut up, close his legs and keep his opinion to himself. I'm of the opinion that the reveal of his genetic manipulation by his parents was a bold and brilliant move that reversed the fortunes of the character in the early years. Suddenly there was a reason why Bashir was so eager to impress, and achieved so highly at school, and tried so desperately to make friends. He was an outsider, he was different. And it meant that Siddig was able to measure his performance a great deal more and tackle way more exciting plotlines. So bringing in a series of characters who reveal how things could have (and probably should have) gone for him was a great idea. There but for the grace of God, go I. </p><p>Sisko is such a thoughtful, considerate man but sometimes he has to tow the Starfleet line as the lead of this show. He's there to remind Bashir that this bunch of misfits once threatened to bring down the Federation in favour of the Dominion in their previous appearance, and shows appropriate horror at them turning up and posing as an Admiral and their staff. </p><p>Hurrah for Ezri Dax for reminding Bashir of what an abject failure he is. What a counsellor she turned out to be. </p><p><b>Performance:</b> Salie silently stole the show in Statistical Probabilities and really gets to show off what she can do here. It's a warm and childlike turn, with moments of haunting silence when you realise she is always on the verge of withdrawing again when things get too overwhelming. </p><p><b>Sparkling Dialogue:</b> 'That's a stupid question' 'Will you stop saying that!' Turns out you can shove on an Admiral's uniform and stroll onto DS9 with a bad attitude and say this a few times and you're access all areas. Or at least you are if you happen to bump into Nog. </p><p>'I have a new man in my life...that gorgeous little Ferengi.' </p><p>'If I had to find someone to replace Atlas and hold up the world it'd be Miles. He'd do it with a smile too.' </p><p><b>The Good: </b>You might say that the Do-Re-Mi sequence is indulgent and unnecessary but I think it is a well choreographed and performed song that serves a genuinely plot purpose. Serena learns how to speak again the most beautiful fashion and Bashir sees that spark of life in her that really attracts her to him. It's one of my most played scenes in DS9's run because it is so damn catchy. You have been warned. Hurrah for O'Brien who is the only person who actually says the words 'Julian, she's your patient' and looks a little uncomfortable about the whole thing. Mind, I think the episode is suggesting he's unhappy because Serena has taken his boy toy away (especially given the lengths they go to to not say how much they love each other later in the season). </p><p><b>The Bad:</b> The only reason I cannot imagine that Julian Bashir's friends don't point out that his behaviour towards Serena is predatory is because they understand that he is a lonely guy who means well. But if you had a friend who was a Doctor who worked hard to get a patient out of a catatonic state but then emerged as essentially a child and then he tried to seduce that patient...wouldn't you have a few things to say? What helps is the sincere performances of Siddig and Faith Salie and their terrific chemistry but at the back of my head I couldn't help ask why this wasn't ethically forbidden. Or someone didn't just say 'oh yuck.' The weirdest moment comes when Julian makes the suggestion he takes this duckling to Risa for a frisky holiday. I would have excised that line completely. Almost as bad as him breaking into her quarters when she doesn't turn up on their date. </p><p><b>Result: </b>Julian Bashir. The only man a woman will fake a coma to prevent from going on a date with him. 90s Trek romance have a track record of being of unconvincing chemistry or being packed too densely into 40 minutes of screen time with no chance of the pairing to convince. Think Meridian, Unforgettable and any episode featuring Leah Brahms. Neither one of these is a problem with Chrysalis because the chemistry between the actors has been established in a previous episode and the episode takes it's time to establish the couple and why they might turn to each other. However it completely fails to approach the ethical issues of a man in a medical profession taking advantage of somebody in his care. That's the elephant in the room here and I find it very odd that it isn't addressed more thoughtfully, especially for a show that is willing to embrace thorny subjects like DS9. We know Bashir isn't that sort of man these days but if he was a one shot Doctor character and Serena was our regular in distress I wonder how this would play out. The episode ensures that our sympathies are with both characters and it is beautifully acted and scored. Bashir's salvation comes when he realises what a douche he is being and pulls back from could have been the relationship he has always longed for for her own good. This is sweet episode, with slightly icky undertones that stop it from being the best DS9 single episode romance (for my money that is still Rejoined). The Jack Pack provide some nice laughs along the way. Essentially this is paving the way for the Bashir/Ezri romance later in the season. </p><p>*** out of ***** </p>Doc Ohohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.com0