You did this? This is pretty amazing!
Last Doctor Who Story you listened to?
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Thanks. Last year I'd done this short animated test:
And some people on Reddit suggested trying a Big Finish clip. While I had some time over Easter I thought I'd finally do it.
Tried listening to The Wormery and...yeah, this was absolutely dire. Doctor Who spinoff material certainly has weird ideas about what characters should become recurring, I have no idea why they decided to use Iris Wildthyme, or have Katy manning play the character, but it was basically a complete disaster, at least in my opinion. I don't blame Katy Manning though, the story (that I could get through) was badly written and Iris is just a garbage character that no one was going to make work.
I definitely have to pay more attention to this older stuff and avoid the weirder releases, apparently Iris wasn't even a Doctor Who character originally. Her creator just stuck her in because, from what I can tell, DW spinoff material in the 90s was the Wild West. Well, at least the character doesn't show back up in the main DW audio stuff until a 7th Doctor story released in 2018, so I won't have to worry about running into her again.
I definitely have to pay more attention to this older stuff and avoid the weirder releases, apparently Iris wasn't even a Doctor Who character originally. Her creator just stuck her in because, from what I can tell, DW spinoff material in the 90s was the Wild West. Well, at least the character doesn't show back up in the main DW audio stuff until a 7th Doctor story released in 2018, so I won't have to worry about running into her again.
I just got around to listening to Field Trip, one of the Twelfth Doctor Chronicles boxset. These are the semi-narrated stories with Jacob Dudman doing a passable-but-obviously-not-Capaldi Capaldi impression and a guest star, in this case Ingrid Oliver as Osgood.
It was okay I guess, but quite low stakes and underwhelming, not particularly exciting or dramatic. Considering it was written by Una McCormack, whose Star Trek writing I like very much, I was verging on disappointed. Even the title is boring.
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It was okay I guess, but quite low stakes and underwhelming, not particularly exciting or dramatic. Considering it was written by Una McCormack, whose Star Trek writing I like very much, I was verging on disappointed. Even the title is boring.
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Finished all four sets of Stranded, and I'd have to say that's one of my favourite runs of Big Finish Doctor Who in some time. No Daleks or deranged evil Time Lords but some great and emotionally affecting stories.
Dipping back into the pool of unheard main range stories. Most of my recent listens, from around 2006-2007, have been at the least reasonably enjoyable, if sometimes more than slightly odd (The Year of the Pig, for example). But not last night's, Renaissance of the Daleks. I did not enjoy that. A bunch of largely unnecessary guest characters written and acted very badly, with American accents to match, in a mishmash of a story that's reportedly a Nicholas Briggs edit/rewrite of Christopher Bidmead's original. You might expect a character who's a black Confederate soldier from the US Civil War and talks like a bad stereotype from an old movie to have some point in the story, but no. He's just there to induce cringing and make me wish the British understood a bit more about American history and culture. Add changes to the timeline that prevent the events of the Dalek invasion of Earth from happening when it's supposed to, Dalek plans for making humans more warlike through history, toy Daleks being used as a weapon, a mysterious entity in a strange domain outside of normal time and space with a vast city made of Dalek casings... lots of ideas that add up to far less than the sum of the parts.
I don't think posting every two weeks is spamming, so here goes.
The Dark Husband. Main range story 106, with the Seventh Doctor, Ace, and Hex. I've often seen it described as one of the worst Big Finish Doctor Who stories. I'm not sure I agree. It's not as actively bad as a few others I could name. Instead, it's just totally lacking anything good: acting, characters, story, dialogue, everything is simply not good. The cumulative effect is more Is this over yet? than What in the flaming hell were they thinking (see Minuet in Hell, Nekromanteia, etc). Anyway, I got through it.
The Dark Husband. Main range story 106, with the Seventh Doctor, Ace, and Hex. I've often seen it described as one of the worst Big Finish Doctor Who stories. I'm not sure I agree. It's not as actively bad as a few others I could name. Instead, it's just totally lacking anything good: acting, characters, story, dialogue, everything is simply not good. The cumulative effect is more Is this over yet? than What in the flaming hell were they thinking (see Minuet in Hell, Nekromanteia, etc). Anyway, I got through it.
Is that the Quantick one with actors playing dual roles by doing imitations of Leslie Philips and Brian Blessed?
That's the one, though not being particularly familiar with Leslie Phillips I didn't pick up on that. Someone mentioned it in a review I read, though.
Actor who died last year. Famous for his liquid voice and "Oh, hello" catchphrase. Played Dr Knox in a couple of Big Finish.
Did Carry On, the Navy Lark, Casanova 73,and later years as a more serious actor, Chancer and several hanging judges.
Also voiced the Sorting Hat in the Harry Potter films, and had roles in Out of Africa and Empire of the Sun. Reached 98.
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I was too tired last night for a two-hour-long story, so, seventeen years after a fellow forum member was kind enough to send me copies of the old Doctor Who Audio Visuals, I finally listened to The Space Wail, the first one, last night.
It's very clearly the work of fans, some of whom sound like they were reading their scripts for the first time as they recorded, some of whom missed how the others were pronouncing certain names, some of whom sound a bit too much alike to tell apart. The story's also fannish and if it was ever revisited for BF I doubt much of the original remained. Rebels are rounded up and put on a prison ship to be flown a couple of galaxies away and then blown up, because that's a cost-effective form of execution. But the ship's computer has even more sinister plans in mind. Meanwhile, the Doctor (not noticeably based on any TV Doctor, presumably a new incarnation) picks up a teenage boy on a school ground to take him for a ride, in a few scenes that are not interested so much in introducing characters as in getting the Doctor a companion because the Doctor has to have a companion.
I'll listen to more, despite the shaky start. They're an important part of Doctor Who fan history that became something more, and from what I've read, some of the later ones are worth hearing for more than just historical value.
(If you don't already know all about these, the Audio-Visuals were fan-made audio Doctor Who stories released on cassette starting back in the 1980s. Some of the people involved went on to start the wonderful Big Finish Productions and one went on to start the slightly less wonderful BBV. Several of the stories in the AV range were later revised and rewritten as Big Finish stories. Nowadays you can find the audios in places like the Internet Archive, track down a copy of the 2012 book Justyce Served: A Small Start with a Big Finish (very informative book, but hard to find now), or check out archived websites like Enclave Irrelative for information, transcripts, and links.)
It's very clearly the work of fans, some of whom sound like they were reading their scripts for the first time as they recorded, some of whom missed how the others were pronouncing certain names, some of whom sound a bit too much alike to tell apart. The story's also fannish and if it was ever revisited for BF I doubt much of the original remained. Rebels are rounded up and put on a prison ship to be flown a couple of galaxies away and then blown up, because that's a cost-effective form of execution. But the ship's computer has even more sinister plans in mind. Meanwhile, the Doctor (not noticeably based on any TV Doctor, presumably a new incarnation) picks up a teenage boy on a school ground to take him for a ride, in a few scenes that are not interested so much in introducing characters as in getting the Doctor a companion because the Doctor has to have a companion.
I'll listen to more, despite the shaky start. They're an important part of Doctor Who fan history that became something more, and from what I've read, some of the later ones are worth hearing for more than just historical value.
(If you don't already know all about these, the Audio-Visuals were fan-made audio Doctor Who stories released on cassette starting back in the 1980s. Some of the people involved went on to start the wonderful Big Finish Productions and one went on to start the slightly less wonderful BBV. Several of the stories in the AV range were later revised and rewritten as Big Finish stories. Nowadays you can find the audios in places like the Internet Archive, track down a copy of the 2012 book Justyce Served: A Small Start with a Big Finish (very informative book, but hard to find now), or check out archived websites like Enclave Irrelative for information, transcripts, and links.)
Over the last couple of months I've listened to 50 main range audios. Two more and I'll have completed the first 200 of 275. Considering I listened to the first one in the range back in 2001 or 2002, that's some long overdue progress.
I used to listen to some of the main range out of sequence, but I saved most of certain strands for later -- Charlie and Six, for example, and Hex. So they've made up a lot of my recent listening. The Charlies could be a bit frustrating, but there were some pretty good stories in there. There were a number of good stories with Hex, too, but I can't say I ever fully warmed to the character. Sure, for dramatic purposes it makes sense to have the odd guy out who doesn't have the Doctor's smarts or Ace's confidence, but he too often was just too dumb. When a plot needed someone to be an idiot, Hex jumped up and reported for duty. There were times when I'd expect the Doctor or Ace to just give up on him and dump him back in Liverpool. Still, some good memorable stories like Protect and Survive.
I used to listen to some of the main range out of sequence, but I saved most of certain strands for later -- Charlie and Six, for example, and Hex. So they've made up a lot of my recent listening. The Charlies could be a bit frustrating, but there were some pretty good stories in there. There were a number of good stories with Hex, too, but I can't say I ever fully warmed to the character. Sure, for dramatic purposes it makes sense to have the odd guy out who doesn't have the Doctor's smarts or Ace's confidence, but he too often was just too dumb. When a plot needed someone to be an idiot, Hex jumped up and reported for duty. There were times when I'd expect the Doctor or Ace to just give up on him and dump him back in Liverpool. Still, some good memorable stories like Protect and Survive.
So, Torchwood: Among Us, the third season of Torchwood: The Story Continues. There were some things I liked about Aliens Among Us and God Among Us, including a number of individual stories and some of the new characters, but the whole was less than the sum of its parts, I thought. But I've listened to nine of twelve episodes of Among Us and I'm liking the approach they've taken. The stories seem more standalone for a while and then we start finding out exactly what the connections are. It's all very much a response to modern day issues like political polarization through social media and so far it's being pretty enjoyably done. Could be they'll blow the ending in the next three episodes, but I'm optimistic. Big Finish has done some of its best work in its Torchwood ranges and I hope that'll continue here.
Stephen Payne (who died a couple of years ago after publishing Starburst and TV Zone) inititially played the Doctor, but realised he wasn't a great actor and made way for Nick Briggs.
2023 is over, and depending on how you count your audios (is a Torchwood Soho box set one three-hour episode or six half-hour episodes? each part has its own title, so I say six), I've listened to 235 Doctor Who-related audios over the course of the year. At this rate, if BF goes out of business today, I'll clear up my backlog in a few years. And if it doesn't, at least they're not putting out more in a month than I have time to listen to.
I've particularly enjoyed Stranded, the last few Diary of River Song sets I hadn't already listened to, and Torchwood. The Ninth Doctor has suffered from a few weak stories and there's not much sense of direction, but I'm still enjoying having Eccleston back.
I've particularly enjoyed Stranded, the last few Diary of River Song sets I hadn't already listened to, and Torchwood. The Ninth Doctor has suffered from a few weak stories and there's not much sense of direction, but I'm still enjoying having Eccleston back.
I am halfway thought the Big Finish 60th Once and Future stories. Just listened to The Martian Invasion with David Tennant and Michelle Gomez supported by the Patternoster Row gang. I would have liked to see them together on screen.
I haven't listened to Big Finish much over the last year, I had forgotten how much I enjoy them.
I haven't listened to Big Finish much over the last year, I had forgotten how much I enjoy them.
So I had never listened to a big finish production, despite being quite impressed by how many former stars of the show they’d managed to rope in. However, I only recently realised that a lot of their stories are now on Spotify. As I was watching a fair bit of classic Who on iplayer since it was uploaded, I thought I’d complement that by listening to the odd BF drama. Mostly did this when out for a run (and I did a fair bit of running over Christmas on days when my gym was closed).
The first one I did was I Davros, which probably went on a bit too long and got a bit repetitive but was nonetheless interesting, even if it doesn’t sit comfortably with how the Capaldi era showed his backstory (but hey when has that ever been an issue in DW?).
I did the Iceni story next as it was the first Tom Baker story to pop up. Really enjoyed it; the always liked pure historical stories as a kid and was pleasantly surprised to learn that this was just that. And of course it was great to hear Tom.
I next did the Chimes of Midnight as I’m a sucker for a Christmas ghost story; sadly I did it on just the wrong side of Christmas to really get the best of it (and I run in daylight!) but it was a lot of fun nonetheless.
Although not a fan of McCoy, I next did Master. Spotted the twists miles away but it still entertained. McCoy’s rolling Rs etc work a lot better on an audio drama than on tv, IMHO.
The most recent I did was Spare Parts, which I enjoyed though I think it ran out of steam (steampunk?) a little near the end.
Not sure what I’ll listen to next. I don’t think any of the Nine or Ten ones are free on Spotify yet so I’ll probably do more Tom Baker or Paul McGann stories or some multi-Doctor stories. Happy to heed people’s recommendations.
The first one I did was I Davros, which probably went on a bit too long and got a bit repetitive but was nonetheless interesting, even if it doesn’t sit comfortably with how the Capaldi era showed his backstory (but hey when has that ever been an issue in DW?).
I did the Iceni story next as it was the first Tom Baker story to pop up. Really enjoyed it; the always liked pure historical stories as a kid and was pleasantly surprised to learn that this was just that. And of course it was great to hear Tom.
I next did the Chimes of Midnight as I’m a sucker for a Christmas ghost story; sadly I did it on just the wrong side of Christmas to really get the best of it (and I run in daylight!) but it was a lot of fun nonetheless.
Although not a fan of McCoy, I next did Master. Spotted the twists miles away but it still entertained. McCoy’s rolling Rs etc work a lot better on an audio drama than on tv, IMHO.
The most recent I did was Spare Parts, which I enjoyed though I think it ran out of steam (steampunk?) a little near the end.
Not sure what I’ll listen to next. I don’t think any of the Nine or Ten ones are free on Spotify yet so I’ll probably do more Tom Baker or Paul McGann stories or some multi-Doctor stories. Happy to heed people’s recommendations.
They've got the first 50 of the main range which are of pretty high quality for the most part.
If you like historicals then The Marian Conspiracy which introduces a new companion for the 6th Doctor and The Fires Of Vulcan which is Mel's first appearance in the range are both decent.
Jubilee probably has the best reputation of the first 50. The One Doctor also well loved.
Storm Warning is the first McGann story and there's an ongoing storyline so it makes sense to listen to his in order. They also have the 8th Doctor Adventures which were designed to be more like the new series. They are really good but are set at a later point in his life than those stories in the first 50 so there might be spoilers.
I think they only have the first season maybe of Tom Baker, Iceni is the best of them but the rest are fine. Baker gets much better stuff later on.
Think they have the Colin Baker Lost Stories which are mostly pretty good.
Early Companion Chronicles also on there. They are narrated rather than full cast but very good overall.
If you like historicals then The Marian Conspiracy which introduces a new companion for the 6th Doctor and The Fires Of Vulcan which is Mel's first appearance in the range are both decent.
Jubilee probably has the best reputation of the first 50. The One Doctor also well loved.
Storm Warning is the first McGann story and there's an ongoing storyline so it makes sense to listen to his in order. They also have the 8th Doctor Adventures which were designed to be more like the new series. They are really good but are set at a later point in his life than those stories in the first 50 so there might be spoilers.
I think they only have the first season maybe of Tom Baker, Iceni is the best of them but the rest are fine. Baker gets much better stuff later on.
Think they have the Colin Baker Lost Stories which are mostly pretty good.
Early Companion Chronicles also on there. They are narrated rather than full cast but very good overall.
