Storm Warning

Oh, this was just fun. I was looking forward to this one, it being Eight's first audio, but didn't know quite what to expect. And then I got this--with gorgeous characters, some great concepts of aliens, and the introduction of both a new Doctor (at least to Big Finish) and a new companion. I've only heard one story with Charley before, Invaders from Mars, and I've heard part of The Condemned. I didn't think she was much to shout home about. But then I heard this one, and heard how sweet and "plucky" she was, and thought that this wasn't going to be so bad after all.

• I'd heard about Ramsay the vortisaur online, so I was really looking forward to his intro here. At the beginning of the audio I thought the vortisaurs were going to be the main monsters or something, but then they didn't really have much involvement. That's all right, thought--the Triskele were much more interesting.
• Nick Pegg alert! He's got a very distinctive, put-upon voice, and I loved him as Captain Swann in ...and the Pirates. I wish he was in Big Finish more often. Turns out he's a Dalek in the new series, too! Lucky guy.
• At first I didn't care for the character of Lord Tamworth, but near the end I was rooting for him, and was really happy with what happened to him. Alien civilization led by an upper-class Britisher. What a great idea.
• Another character I liked was Chief Steward Weeks. I liked to him almost immediately, and it was tragic how he was talking about his little son just before he died. I realized about halfway into the play that of all these characters I was having so much fun with, none of them besides Eight and Charley would survive. Big Finish has a knack for this, so watch out getting attached to any minor characters.

All in all, a really fun release I'd recommend to anyone. It wasn't sparkling, but it  exceeded my expectations. I'm looking forward to more Eighth Doctor and Charley stories.

The Settling

Whew. Where to begin?
I was looking forward to this audio, since it was written by Simon Guerrier. I've heard a lot of good things about him and what he's done with the Companion Chronicles. This story did have a framing device rather like the CCs--Ace and Hex re-telling their bits of the story while they wander around the TARDIS, recovering from their experiences. And what experiences they had! This is a really trying audio for everyone, especially Hex. Companions always have to learn about history the hard way, don't they? Hex goes into battle multiple times, faces Oliver Cromwell, gets beaten up by Cromwell and his men, is almost hanged...It's rather nice to see companions actually being affected by the events of a certain story after they've gone back into the TARDIS. I feel like we see the companions and the Doctor from an outsider's point of view; from the participants of the story's points of view. At the end, the Doctor and his companion(s) go off into the TARDIS,and most of the time we don't hear them discussing it in the console room. That story is never mentioned again. But if you were travelling around all the time, seeing so much death (as one does with the Doctor, unfortunately), you'd be affected. Of course you would. Not being affected is just bad writing.
Thoughts:

• "Actual midwife Seventh Doctor" is how one of my friends described this story. And oh, gosh, that was sweet. Seven taking care of people. Screw medical history, when there are hundreds of soldiers lying around dying, Seven whips out his sonic screwdriver and goes to work. 
• The part two cliffhangers are, for some reason, usually the best, and this one was no exception. No danger , no being trapped, no big reveal. Just that a baby's coming and the Doctor will have to deliver it. Fabulous. He does really well, too, and keeps his calm under the pressures of midwifery. 
• The moment where the Doctor finds Ace's body and thinks that she's dead is just heartrending. She does seem to recover quite quickly, though, where just few seconds before she was speaking so hoarsely. Like I said before, not enough time is given for companions to recover after being tortured or injured or put through a traumatic experience. 
• Well, I take that back. Big Finish usually handles that quite well. I mean, when you think about the events of Project Lazarus, it seems as if the Sixth Doctor just shrugs off being almost tortured to death. But then he puts himself and Evelyn down on a peaceful planet where they can get minimally involved. And then he gets a month of doing not much (at least not his usual running around), and why? Probably because he almost died at the Forge, and needs time to get his strength back.
• This was just a depressing audio in general. I mean, our audience-identification character Mary lived, but all the men at Wexford died, and god, those women and children whose boats sank under the weights? It's just sick to think about, all that carnage for no good reason.
• I loved the idea of lemon trees in the TARDIS library. Thank you, Big Finish, for showing us more of the interior of the TARDIS than the new series ever does. (And they even tried last series, too. Tsk tsk.)
• Big Finish does it again, taking a historical character no one likes (Queen Mary springs to mind) and making them so human with Oliver Cromwell. Doctor Who has a knack for going beyond the dry history books and giving us the nitty-gritty, realistic portrayals of people. I thank them for it.

The Game

(Note: This review was written back in late May.)

I can't honestly say that I've enjoyed many Fifth Doctor audios besides 2012's The Emerald Tiger. You might know, from reading some of my other reviews, that I'm not too fond of Nyssa, and she turns up a lot in Five's audios. But that all changed in The Game. Big Finish has done quite a few political audios--Arrangements for War, Council of Nicea, Live 34, Gallifrey. Of this list, I've only heard Arrangements for War and now The Game, but I've found myself absolutely adoring the political intrigue. It's probably because as long as an audio is well-written and contains characters that I care about, I'll like it--never mind the setting or situation. And wasn't Nyssa great in this audio? Whereas the Doctor was mostly (ineffectually) fighting against Naxy, Nyssa was actually getting things done.

• William Russell. Oh my goodness. I knew he was in this audio (his first one for Big Finish, this was pre-Companion Chronicles) but I had no idea he was that important to the audio or that good. He almost made me cry near the end. I teared up at least. The fact that he knew Five so well, and why he knew so well was ingenious,  and really rather heartbreaking.

• That being said, when does Five have time to stop 36 wars? He's rarely away from his companions, except for The Burning Prince. Maybe he does it before the beginning of that one? If not, I imagine that he just takes a break from Tegan & Turlough and does them all in one go. That would be, say, five wars stopped every two weeks (allowing time for capture, ones that were easy to stop, and eating/sleeping/being knocked out). That's what, about twelve weeks? Approximately three months? No big deal for him, if Doing Time is anything to go by.

• I didn't know that this was a six-parter coming into it, but the format worked well, and it didn't feel too long or too short. I'd rather stick with four-parters in the future, though.

• I read somewhere that this episode was intended for the Sixth Doctor before they realized that a sporty audio would be much better suited to the Fifth Doctor. You can tell, though, that some of the dialogue was written for Six. No matter what Steven Moffat says, all the Doctors have different voices.

• Thank goodness the minor characters' voices sounded different. Being American, I can sometimes find it difficult to tell British actors' voices apart, and so it was nice to have some variety in accents and tonal quality for the main males.

• It sounded as if they were leaving Morian for a sequel hook, and Five was even like "Well, I guess I'll be seeing him again". But I guess they didn't go that route, because Morian only shows up in The Game. I doubt they'd bring him back, it having been seven years and all. Then again, look at the Forge/Hex arc.  That's been going on since what, 2003? And it was just resolved last year. That's nine years. Well, if they wanted to bring Morian back for some more political thrillers, I'd gladly listen to them.

Quick Reviews, Part 2

The Harvest
 Oh, Hex. I've been looking forward to this character's introduction since hearing him in The Word Lord and Night Thoughts, and I was glad that he got such a good one. His reaction to the TARDIS is probably the most realistic and one of the best. His little catchphrase of "oh my god" is cute. (Just like the actor himself. Quite a hunk, this nude model.) One weird thing about this audio is Seven's use of modern slang, like "freaked out", "okay", and "hang on a mo". 8/10

The Witch from the Well
I came into this one not knowing what to expect and actually got quite a bit out of it. The timey-wimey-ness worked out well in the end, which was a better resolution than I'd heard for a while in BF. It also had some great characters in Alistair and Agnes. 8/10
 The Haunting of Thomas Brewster
Although the strange beginning rather alienates you, what with no Doctor or Nyssa, this story develops into something rather extraordinary. Once again, Big Finish brings in some great characters, only to kill them off--although this gives Davison the chance to show some emotion, where his Doctor is usually just pleasant, affronted, or impatient. The ending could have been better and the music got annoying, but otherwise this was a great audio. 9/10

Live 34
Since hearing Arrangements for War and The Game, I was looking forward to another political episode, which BF does really well. This audio was fantastic. A near-absence of the regulars, no theme song, and the unusual radio format all contributed to the original yet effective nature of Live 34. I realize that this was experimental, and yet I wish they'd try a purely radio audio again. 10/10

Army of Death
I didn't expect much of this story, and didn't get much out of it, either. It was okay. The parts with the ghostly "Harman" were suitably creepy, and the Doctor got quite a few good lines. Otherwise this story was passable, but not likely to top anyone's best of list. 7/10

Castle of Fear
Wow, this audio was FUN. Smart, hilarious, and with a great cliffhanging ending, I adored every minute of Castle of Fear. I actually liked Nyssa in this audio! There were some excellent gags, making this one of the funniest BF stories I've ever heard. The music was brilliant, too! I can't wait to hear The Eternal Summer to figure out how Nyssa and Five get out of this one. 10/10

Quick Reviews, Part 1

The Bellova Devil
A gorgeous, fun audio made more wonderful by the introduction of Ormond Sacker. Having already heard him in The Theatre of Dreams, I knew he wasn't evil, and so was very entertained by everyone thinking he was here. 10/10

Company of Friends
Gosh, this audio was just fun. Fitz's story was disappointing because I'd heard a lot about his relationship with the Doctor and then this part was a bit meh. I really loved Benny and Izzys' stories, on the other hand. It was my first Benny story and I found myself loving her. I was wary of the Benny range before, but now I want to listen to them all! She was funny and smart. And then, Izzy: I don't think I've ever identified with a companion as much as Izzy (besides Flip). Her obsessive nature is a lot like my own, and I really enjoyed the adventure she and the Doctor had. A solid 8/10

Colditz
This audio was just kind of...meh. I know Klein is important, but the rest of this audio wasn't very good. Ace can be rather annoying, and she seemed rather shrill in this audio. It was fun to hear David Tennant as a Nazi, though. What a way to go, too. those noises were just eww. 5/10

Heroes of Sontar
I heard a lot of complaints about this audio, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. Some of it was funny, but most of the gags they attempted didn't really work. Tegan was surprisingly, effectively bossy, and Turlough was, as usual, cowardly until the last minute when he is suddenly brave. 5.5/10

The Silver Turk
I had high hopes for this one since I'd heard so much about it, and therefore had it slightly built up in my mind. I was rather disappointed, unfortunately. Mary Shelley was quite brilliant in this one, with her reticule full of useful things. Befriending the cyberman (with a name, no less!) was an interesting thing for the character to do, and I liked it. A lot of the sounds in this audio were really unsettling, and I hated the fact that Bradfish got killed off and then was wooden person-ised. Big Finish has killed off so many minor, one-off characters that I've almost gotten used to it, but it still irritates me. 7/10

Phantasmagoria
This being Big Finish's second ever DW episode, i was pleasantly surprised how good it was. The sound design wasn't as brilliant as it is in the more recent stories, but it was still fine. Turlough was disappointingly under-used, since I came to this episode looking for that fun Turlough alone with 5 pairing, but he got some good moments in pt. 4. I loved the character of Hannah and the secrets behind her, but this was yet another good side character to get killed off. Odd that Doctor Hollywell creeped me out, but it's probably because of the character he plays in The Holy Terror. 7.5/10 for a slow beginning and the use of Turlough, but a good resolution.

Flip Flop

All right....I'm going to attempt to understand this one. Here goes:
I listened to the Black disc first. Once I was done with the White disc I wanted to go back and listen to it all again in order to fully understand the story, but I was afraid my head might explode from trying to understand this audio. At first I thought it was like a spiral, looping downwards, but then I realised that it's actually a figure eight: the story goes in a circle on one world and then switches over the other world where it completes another circle, and vice-versa if you listen to it in a different order. But how was it that there were two Mels and two Doctors coming in from the same point in time? Why was it different? I have a theory here, or rather two theories: The first one is that there are two universes, both created when Stewart and Reed went to kill the President. It was a decision, and decisions create universes. One decision was to let the president live, and one was to kill her. This sort of explains why there are two different Mels and two different Doctors who are coming from the same situation (the Quarks on the spaceship). My second theory actually makes more sense, and is even more clever on Johnny Morris's part. There are actually two different stories going on, not one continuous one. The Black disc is one story, and the White disc is the other. The main focus of each story is Stewart and Reed and their involvement with the assassination attempt. Whew. Usually I love Johnathan Morris, he's done some fantastic novels and audios, and deserves to write a TV episode. But this story just seemed too confusing.
Other notes:

• Recently I read a description of Mel saying that she was "bossy and practical", and I thought to myself: what a good way to sum up her character. I wouldn't have chosen those adjectives myself, but considering her Big Finish stories and the best of her character in TV episodes, those are really the best ways to describe Melanie Bush. No screaming for this Mel: she's all morals and asking the right questions and respecting the Doctor, but at the same time taking absolutely none of his bullcrap.
• The way the Slithigees feigned helplessness when they, in effect, ruled the world was absolutely terrifying. Yes, they were blind, and yes, they seemed polite, but boy did they get people to do anything they wanted.
• The Doctor says at the end of both discs that the other Doctor and Mel will fix things, but that means that nobody does. And how could he? Pauxataunee is pretty much beyond help, and short of blowing up the fleet before they arrive 30 years previous, I can't think of anything any of the Doctors could have done to save the day. How bleak.
• Yes, that was a sex scene. Moving on...
• Another Christmas-time story! That brings the list up to:
• Chimes of Midnight
• Winter for the Adept
• The One Doctor
• Voyage to Venus (okay, so they sing a Christmas carol. It counts.)
• Flip Flop
• Big Finish doesn't usually physically or mentally torture Seven (they save that for Five and Six)--heck, I don't think he ever gets tied up. So the way that wonderfully creepy Professor Capra tortured him and Mel was surprising and rather scary.

All in all, an extremely confusing audio. Someday, I plan to make a color-coded chart for both this audio and The Kingmaker. If you are not paying absolute attention and possibly taking notes, you will get very frustrated by trying to understand it. I recommend a re-listen. If your head doesn't explode.

The Demons of Red Lodge and Other Stories

The Demons of Red Lodge:
It's rather thrilling to hear the Doctor scared, isn't it? That's what this audio is all about (or at least the beginning of it, anyway) and so when we get our confident Doctor back, it's a relief. There are moments in the Fifth Doctor/Nyssa audios where you can really care that the Fifth Doctor cares an awful lot about his female companion. There are a lot of those in this one, especially when he goes to save her from being...what, absorbed? by her clone/self/thing. The part with Nyssa remembering her father felt a bit shoe-horned in there, but it tied in nicely with the next story.

The Entropy Composition:
I didn't think this episode had much potential when I first started listening to it, but it got quite interesting about halfway through. The premise--a deadly song--works really well and is fantastically creepy. The story really picks up once they get to earth, and I thought Nyssa's trying to talk like a rocker from the sixties was hilarious. The laugh at the end was terrifying, and the fact that I was listening to it at about 11:00 at night didn't help.

Doing Time:
It always depresses me when it's revealed that the Doctor's spent a lot of time away from his companion. It happens more often than I would like, too, which may have had something to do with why this audio bothered me. I mean, there was a Duncan Wisbey Alert, which is always nice (I like to keep an ear out for him, although he sounded nothing like Sacker) and I totally thought that Nyssa had gotten married for a few seconds, but the Doctor in solitary for six months?! That's awful! But anyway, Nyssa had some good development in this audio. She can exist without the Doctor, and does quite well adjusting to a normal life. She gets a job, a haircut, a crush, and everything. Hopefully the Doctor got to relax for a bit after this one, though. Poor Five.

Special Features:
This was an odd one. I can't decide whether I liked the fact that they were clearly making fun of Doctor Who commentaries or not. If you listen to the Nicholas Courtney, Carole Ann Ford, Mark Strickson, and Elisabeth Sladen commentary on The Five Doctors, for example, it's brilliant and hilarious. But this commentary was just so....awkward. I think that was rather the point, though; that the director and actors  were embarrassed by the work they had done all those years ago. The Doctor is quiet during most of it, which made me think--of all the Doctors (not actors, mind you) to record a DVD commentary, only Five, Seven, and possibly Nine would be quiet during it. The rest would basically take over, contradicting everyone else and providing amusing anecdotes. Nyssa wasn't in this one much, but I can't help thinking that she would find acting rather pointless and silly, but the Doctor seemed to have gone to quite a lot of effort to get her the part.

All in all, a fairly enjoyable little series of stories. It's rare for me to enjoy a Five/Nyssa story--Big Finish have done so many of them, and Nyssa's far from one of my favorite companions--but I had fun listening to this one.