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.

Jago & Litefoot Series One: The Bloodless Soldier

I'm not sure how I've never heard about the ending of this one. It absolutely shocked me, and suddenly Henry Gordon Jago went from one half of a duo to someone who demanded my respect. It was especially surprising because I'm sorry to say that I was rather bored by this audio, which hasn't ever happened during a Jago & Litefoot audio for me. And then there was this ending, and suddenly I was almost in tears. What an amazing character-defining moment for Henry Gordon Jago, one I never, ever thought I'd hear. Well done Justin Richards!!
I liked Ellie's involvement in this series. I've only heard series two so far, and she's (for obvious reasons) barely in it, so I wanted to spend more time with her character. Hopefully I'll get plenty of that in this series.
On another note, Jago & Litefoot is now on iTunes, for some reason! Hmm. Unfortunately, they're $9.99 for a one-hour episode, which makes all four of them a lot more than downloading the box set from Big Finish would cost.
All in all, this is another good J&L audio that's definitely worth the slowness of the beginning for one of Henry Gordon Jago's finest hours at the end.

Arrangements for War

This is unlike any Doctor Who story I have ever heard, and I am glad for that. In what other Doctor Who story can you constantly hear beautiful music and brilliant sound design, a companion falling sweetly in love, and the Doctor becoming a wonderful mentor to a young royal lady? (And playing the third wheel a lot, which was amusing.)


I understand that this audio came out a year after Project: Lazarus, which is odd because it is a direct continuation of that story--albeit a few hours later in the TARDIS. The Doctor and Evelyn coming to terms with each other and what just happened was, once again sad, but handled well. The way Evelyn storms off, and the Doctor's cautious way of acting around her, is just a preview of the way their relationship is strained and threatening to snap in this audio. It doesn't help that they spend most of it apart from each other.
I can't think of a more lovely visual than the Doctor, in just his shirt, braces, and blue pants skipping stones across a lake talking to a young lad about relationships. Some people might think it's a bit twee or cheesy, but I really liked it. Both Evelyn and the Doctor meet the Princess Krisztina, but it's the Doctor who really gets to spend more time with and influence her. I don't think he's ever gotten this close to someone that's not a companion, perhaps besides the Brigadier. His relationship with Krisztina was very sweet ("You're one hero I couldn't bear to lose") and I wish they'd gotten more time together.
Another relationship that didn't turn out the way it could was Evelyn and Rossiter. I know that she goes and gets married to him eventually, but they don't get much of a good-bye before Evelyn has to rush off after the Doctor in the end.
Parts one through three were great, but things got rather confusing in part four. After Pokol starts firing into the crowd, it's never really said how the Doctor and Kriszta get out of there unharmed. I know that aliens were attacking (which was another weird thing--who were the Kellorans, exactly? Why were they attacking?) and so things were rather hectic, but still. It could have been more coherent.
One more thing--it seemed rather strange, at yet the same time rather nice, that all the technology and politics were a lot like Earth's--cars, phones, different time zones (when does that happen in Doctor Who?), trains, espionage. Vilag was basically Earth, except with different people and geography. I wonder why author Paul Sutton chose to do this.

All in all, a lovely, sad audio that I'll probably give a re-listen. I can't wait to go back to Evelyn, Rossiter, and the planet Vilag in Thicker Than Water.

Project: Lazarus, aka 50 Shades of Not Okay

Whose brilliant idea was it to release Jubilee, Doctor Who and the Pirates, and this audio within 6 months of each other? Nobody needs that much sadness, angst, and--dare I say it--mindfuckery in their lives. I understand that Evelyn's arc is made of pain, so angst is fine. But agony? Not fine at all. Has any other Doctor ever been so brutally tortured as Six is in this audio? His screams are really, really awful, and I wanted to cry as I heard them. He seems to be fine once he's free, but I've never heard any of the Doctors scream like that. One wonders how Colin Baker did that so convincingly. It worries me.
</rant>

<review>
Part one of this story, although it went by quick, was rather boring. I was surprised that the Professor only lasted as long as he did--it seemed like he was going to be in the story for longer than that.
I must have been the only person ever to be surprised about the true identity of Artemis, judging by other reviews I've read. I can be a bit clueless sometimes. It made me sad, as did the fact that Evelyn was so happy to see Cassie and Cassie was angry that she'd just been abandoned, basically. Way to go, Doctor. (I know, I know, it was the TARDIS, but still...I feel like he could have tried harder.)
Part two I've already touched on. Colin Baker's acting, as ever, was great, and although Evelyn was on the side for most of this story, her crying at the end was heartbreaking.

When the Seventh Doctor's theme music came on at the beginning of episode three came on, I was so surprised I dropped my iPod. I don't know what I was expecting, but it sure startled me for some reason. I don't really like the Seventh Doctor--the Sixth doctor's opinion of him has clouded mine somewhat. He's rather manipulative and godlike, and I prefer Six's (and others) approach of trying to help people, but not deliberately manipulating things. However, in this audio it made me reflect on how sad the Seventh Doctor got (gets?) towards the end of his timeline. Is he perhaps one of the longest-living incarnations? I think he's lived several centuries, hasn't he? That's reflected in this audio--he's rather tired and frustrated, especially at the beginning of part three and the end of part four.

Colin Baker! Wow. How many times can I say it? Anybody who thought Colin was a bad actor on TV needs to sit down and listen to this audio and Jubilee. (Although maybe not, because they're emotionally scarring.) He puts forward one of his best performances in part four, and (spoiler): he's not even playing the Doctor! He's really treated quite awfully in Project: Lazarus, and it just hurts me to hear it. It gives him the opportunity to act up a storm, though.

Will I listen to this audio again? Probably, because as I've learned by re-listening to Jubilee, it's less painful the second time around. I don't know if I'll listen to it for the story, though. The acting was good (as I've already stated many times) but the plot was rather disjointed.

The Theatre of Dreams

I listened to this audio all in one go last night, and what can I say? Well, I'll try and describe my feelings for this audio. Here goes:

The Theatre of Dreams was an absolutely stupendous audio, and I wasn't surprised to find that it was written by Johnathan Morris. Besides Bloodtide, I've loved every one of his audios that I've heard. He's truly Big Finish's best writer. (He created Flip, after all.)

A slightly scary, mind-warping premise, I loved nearly every minute of this audio, especially because it contained Duncan Wisbey's Ormond Sacker. Holy cow, the man's voice is just delicious. I haven't listened to series 1 yet (naughty me!), so this was my first outing with Sacker. I found myself looking forward to his scenes and wishing there were more of them.

Litefoot seemed at his most vulnerable here. He usually knows what's going on before any of the other characters (just look at Litefoot and Saunders), but in this one he was pretty confused for most of it. Even at the end, he wasn't quite sure whether or not he was still dreaming. Neither was I, which I'm sure is what Morris was aiming for. It was really sweet that his greatest wish was helping Ellie, but I was secretly hoping (curse my annoying shipper heart!) that his greatest wish was getting together with Jago. (They seemed to go by first-name basis a lot in this audio. Hmm.)

Speaking of which, the beginning of this audio, bizarrely enough, contains a gay character. I was absolutely delighted, and it was handled well--because as far as I know, that was absolutely not approved of back then. Unless, of course, you were rich, in which case people tend not to pry.

Funny Jago, of course. Lots of people love him, but as proved by his greatest wish, he can be quite selfish at times. On the upside, this makes his brave and clever moments all the more wonderful--and he has a few of this in Theatre.

The supporting characters, Madame Deuteronomy and Fosco, were pretty scary at times, especially Fosco's laugh. Morris's production notes, I think, mentions how delighted (and scared) everyone in the recording studio was when Alex Mallinson did that laugh for the first time. As well they should have been.

All in all, this was an amazing episode, proving once again that Jago & Litefoot is one of Big Finish's best outputs. Certainly the most consistently good.

The Shadows of Death

Although it was slow in the beginning, Simon Guerrier's wonderful writing and Frazer Hine's perfect Patrick Troughton voice soon won me over for Shadow of Death. The title seems rather generic, until you get about halfway into the story and realize how perfectly fitted to the story it is.
I loved the idea of the different rates of time in this audio. It was so inventive and rather creepy. I also adored the use of the Eleventh Doctor and the Psychic Paper, and Two's line--"'I know what I'm doing'? But that's what I always say when I don't know what I'm doing." just chilled me. The same with the realization of how long Two had spent on the base. It made me rather sad, really.
One wonders why, if Big Finish is so famous for rescuing companions, they always use the companions that are best known on the show? I feel like Zoe and Jamie are always together--can't we have more Victoria, or just Jamie and the Doctor?
I can't complain, really, since Big Finish is the source of much of my happiness. All in all, this was an enjoyable and slightly creepy hour-long play.

The Jupiter Conjunction: Meh

I finished this one a few days back, but I've been so busy I can finally type this up now.
What can I say about this story? Well, I'll start with the positive things:

•  If you're looking for a "trad" story, this is a great example. I can easily see this being done during the era it's set in; except a few scenes would have required special effects that wouldn't have been realized on the screen very well.
• The cliffhanger for part two is great, even though I saw it coming. I doubted Turlough for a few seconds, but then I laughed out loud with delight. Ever since watching Enlightenment, I've been eagerly snatching up all the Turlough moments in this Big Finish trilogy that I hear. He's starting to become a very enjoyable character, as well as Tegan. I've heard numerous complaints that she's loud and annoying, but I think she's a really strong character.
• Everyone was utilized really well. The whole TARDIS team had things to do and had their little moments of glory, even if they fell by the wayside for parts of the story. (I'm looking at you, Miss Chained-to-a-desk.) 
• Finally, somebody thinks to take pictures of the alien menace! This turns out to be a major plot point, all provided by Tegan! Yay!
• The noise the Jovians made was quite freaky, especially once you knew what they did when they turned up in a scene. Besides being the effect they made when they appeared, it was also the transition sound for quite a few things, which startled me into thinking they'd suddenly appeared. Not sure if this was exactly good or not, but Big Finish succeeded in scaring me--something that's only happened on a few occasions.

The not-so-positive things:

• The idea of this story sounds pretty cool, from the outset: they're on a comet, they have to wear spacesuits, there's evil cloud things floating around. But the actual story turns into a very traditional Who-thing: the team being falsely accused of someone else's crimes, people getting chased around, etc. 
• All the female characters that weren't Nyssa or Tegan (I believe there were three or four of them?) were quite difficult to tell apart. I don't know if it's that they weren't memorable or they all sounded alike or what, but it just made the story confusing as I tried to tell one woman from another.
• It probably had to do with the fact that I listened to The Jupiter Conjunction all in one go (don't do this! Please take 24-hour breaks between each cliffhanger!), but the story just seemed...rather boring to me. It had chases, a good threat, and a suspenseful climax, but this story just didn't grab me at all.

I've been on a bit of a Fifth Doctor-era binge lately, listening to this audio trilogy and watching Enligtenment for the first time (I enjoyed it), and so my main question for Big Finish is: after Nyssa leaves in Prisoners of Fate (because I'm pretty sure she will) are we going to get some stories with just Five, Tegan, and Turlough? TARDIS Team Sassy is one I really liked on TV, even though I've only seen two stories with just the three of them. Sarah Sutton's had more stories with Peter Davison than Mark and Janet put together, so maybe it's time for her to take a break, and for Tegan and Turlough to get some time alone with Five? Here's hoping.

The Emerald Tiger: Best Music Ever

Barnaby Edwards said in his interview for this story that he wanted to make it a sort of Indiana Jones-style story. And boy, does it succeed! Where other stories are brilliant because they make you think, have you see the characters in a different way, or make you sad, The Emerald Tiger is brilliant because it is an action-adventure audio, with absolutely fantastic music. I found myself listening to the isolated music tracks over and over again.

I wish we could see this story, and on a proper budget as well. I had to manage with imagining the train crash, the Silver Ghost racing along the road, the excitement of the hot air balloon, and the jeweled creatures in the Valley of the Emerald Tiger. Barnaby Edwards' stories always have very good at sound design, as well as writing and directing. His stories aren't average, and like The Wreck of the Titan, you can expect action and (were the audio to be televised) a mind-blowing setting. 

There's a great moment in part three, I think, where Turlough, Lady Adler, the Doctor, and Dawon are swimming through the underground river. Turlough obviously isn't a very good swimmer, and as he gasps for breath and then slips back under the water, the sound effect changes so that it sounds like we're underwater as well. That's the part that really stood out to me, as well as the explosions at the climax. 

Other reviewers have complimented Barnaby Edwards on the international cast he's assembled here, and everyone is at the top of their game. I looked up Vineeta Rishi, who played Dawon, and she was in televised Doctor Who as well--one of the med students in Smith and Jones.

Tegan was great, even though she wasn't in part three. Nyssa was very competent--most people seem to like her, but she seems like a rather weak character to me. (Sorry!) In this audio, however, she had plenty to do, despite being infected. In other stories where she's infected, like Kinda, she's out of the equation completely. Thankfully, Big Finish writers have learned from the mistakes of television writers. Mostly. For some reason, I loved Turlough in this story. He was funny, indignant, slightly cowardly, but showed his compassionate side when he was worried about Dawon and Tegan. This is the era of the show I'm least familiar with, but all the characters worked really well for me.

Although it's just shy of being on my list of favorites, I loved The Emerald Tiger and will probably give it a re-listen soon. If you like your Big Finish with lots of action and adventure, whilst showing off the best of all four regulars, this is the audio for you.

Audio Outfits

As I've mentioned previously, I like to be able to visualize what the companions are wearing in the Big Finish audios I'm listening to. It helps me to see the movie in my head. What's really a pain is when this outfit gets stuck in my head and I can't stop visualizing it, and then I realize that Peri's actually wearing a leather jacket on the cover, or somebody says something about the companion's outfit that's not what I'm visualizing at all. Gosh, I'm picky, aren't I? Anyway, here are some outfits. Some I've made on Polyvore.com, and some I just found online.

Barbara and Vicki from The Rocket Men:

A bunch of Evelyn's outfits:

The Sandman:

The Apocalypse Element:

Project Twilight:

The Marian Conspiracy:

Peri from The Reaping:

Tegan from The Butcher of Brisbane: (I think I Googled "ugly 80s dresses" and got this one. I love it.)

Peri from Point of Entry (complete with hat). This one was easy, because they specifically say what she's wearing, and I found the perfect dress. The hat was harder to find, though:

And that's all for now, folks! Hope they help you visualize the audios better, and sorry if they mess up your internal video.

This Audio Hurt Me - The Fourth Wall

Wow. I mean--wow. 

Ummm....

Yes, I absolutely ADORED The Fourth Wall. Rather like Jubilee, it's very funny (a lot more funny than Jubilee, at least in a more comfortable way) up until the part two cliffhanger when the crap hits the fan. Like I said in the title, this audio hurt me. I recall listening to it last night, and my chest actually started to hurt during the beginning of part three. Just like Jubilee, I shouldn't tell you what happens....but I really want to talk about it, so beware.

**Spoilers below!**

I knew that Flip was going to appear to die, at least temporarily, from the DWP. Dang it, I really wish I hadn't spoiled myself with this one. At least I didn't know any of the details, so how it happened and the Doctor's reaction was really quite a shock.

Flip was great for the first two episodes, totally taking the piss out of Lord Krarn, telling the screaming Jancey to shut up, and just mocking the entire program in general. Apparently not a lot of people liked Flip in The Curse of Davros,  but I loved her there and in this too, so it was very sad for me to listen to her die. It was handled really, really well, and the way the Doctor reacts (shouting the obvious) makes it even worse, because we know that he started to really care about her in less than a day. I loved the way she came back, too, I cheered and punched the air when it happened.

**Spoilers End**

Hats off to the acting of guest stars Yasmin Bannerman and Martin Hutson, who I actually took the time to look up. I usually need to be able to imagine everything just right in my head in order to enjoy the audio fully. This often comes down to me planning out companion's outfits so I know what they're wearing. About the beginning of part three, I started visualizing Yasmin Bannerman (playing Doctor Shepherd) as black, and it turns out she is! 

Even weirder, she played Jabe in the Ninth Doctor's second ever story, The End of the World! Way to go for Big Finish for keeping it in the family.

I loved the pathos Yasmin Bannerman brought into the role. She was a great temporary companion for the Sixth Doctor, and I was quite surprised that the Doctor blamed all the death and destruction on her decisions. She took full responsibility, however, which I feel doesn't happen a lot in Doctor Who stories. 

Also, it was amazing the difference between Martin Hutson's portrayal of Matthew and his portrayal of Lord Krarn. 

At one point in the story, the poor guy ends up talking to himself for several scenes! Highlight for spoilers: I was really sad when he died, and I thought that the Doctor might have found a way to save everyone killed by Lord Krarn and his Warmongers. He could have, but writer John Dorney said he wanted all the deaths to have an impact.
The Porcians were good, too. I found myself finding quite bad for them, and was glad that they were in the story as long as they were. They were actually pretty cute, and the concept of the Porcians being the galaxy's worst invaders was hilarious. (Until it took a turn for the depressing.)

One of my few gripes was that while Matthew got to help the Doctor out, and Olivia showed that she was better than her character, I was disappointed by how Nick/Jack was handled. The actual Jack character was wonderful, and I could see so many other action flick characters in him. But Nick wasn't much better, just a walking ego. ("And the Oscar for the biggest git goes to...!") I wonder if John Dorney did that on purpose, or if it was just a stereotype. I mean, I would hope that no famous actor would run from danger yelling "Out of my way! Talent coming through!"

All in all? If you have $12.99 to spare, or even if you have to save up a bit, you should absolutely go and buy The Fourth Wall. 2012 has been an amazing year for Big Finish, with the majority of the stories being good at worst. (Or so I've heard.) The Fourth Wall is a perfect example of one of their fantastic audios.

Destroy the Infinite Announced

In showing everyone once again just how prepared Big Finish is, they've announced a prequel to this month's Doctor Who Main Range release The Seeds of War. Although I have not heard that audio, I understand that  the villain in that piece is a strange being called the Eminence, which the Doctor mentions he's met (and fought, presumably) before.

Big Finish just announced today that the Doctor's first encounter with the Eminence is in an audio called Destroy the Infinite, which has already been recorded. Even though it's scheduled to be the sixth release in the Fourth Doctor Adventures, series 3.

Gentlemen at Big Finish, hats off to you. It's almost infuriating how you know things that are going to happen in the next few years or so, and then don't tell us the name of something about two months before it comes out. But I still love you.

PS: If you aren't already subscribed to the Big Finish podcast on iTunes, you should go do that right now! They're brilliant, and you really get to know David Richardson and Nick Briggs and Paul Spragg and all the other wonderful people who are behind the BF stories and plotlines. The latest three are excerpts from the BF panel at Gally, in which many questions are answered, and also Paul Spragg and Nick Briggs in their office, being cute and reading out emails.

Jago & Litefoot Series One....

...is now in my possession! Yes, it came in the mail two days ahead of schedule, so now I can (practically) listen from The Mahogany Murderers to Jago & Litefoot: Series 5 without interruption! Okay, so maybe I'm missing 2 out of 5 box sets, but who cares? (Well, me. If anybody would like to gift to me the series 3 box set, it's on Amazon for about $35.00.)

Singing Pirates and a Lesson

Doctor Who and the Pirates, Or the Lass that Lost a Sailor is quite a mouthful and also the first Big Finish play I ever listened to. I first learned about it when I was browsing the Doctor Who TV Tropes Page and saw something about a musical audio drama. I promptly bought it off iTunes (don't do this--you pay $4 more than what the Big Finish site offers) and listened to it just for the singing. I thought it was wonderful and hilarious, although the Doctor and Evelyn didn't make much of an impression on me.

And here's where the lesson part comes in. For a month or so, this was the only Big Finish play I owned. I bought others, yes, but I saved them for the longest time and didn't listen to them. I've probably heard ...and the Pirates about fifteen times, which is not the thing to do with these plays. If you're going to re-listen, WAIT A WHILE. The impact and enjoyment just decreases each time. Yes, I practically have ...and the Pirates memorized, but I barely listen to it now because it's just gotten old.

I'm not saying don't listen to this play (I mean, besides The Scorchies it's the only Big Finish musical) but I'm saying that you shouldn't listen to Big Finish plays too many times. And don't spoil important parts of the plot for yourself, either, which will take away the gasp-and-ohmygosh-ing factor of the cliffhangers. People always say the best way to listen to a Big Finish play is to wear big headphones and sit down and listen with no distractions, but more important is to not listen to a play too many times. Pay attention and you won't have to listen to it again to understand it. You can only experience the shock of the end of Jubilee part two or The Kingmaker part three once.

Some Audio Favorites, Part Two

What it says on the tin. Part two of my favorite audios post.

The Spectre of Lanyon Moor

Sadly, the last three parts of this tale don't live up to the first, but the first part makes up for that. The atmosphere was intense--I could visualize everything, from the dewy path the Doctor and Evelyn walk down to the foggy moor at night to the fougou Evelyn and the Doctor explore with a flashlight. Plus, you get the bonus of the Brig thrown in!
I have to say, the cliffhanger of part one is, for me, the scariest moment of Big Finish that I've heard so far. That awful laugh is terrifying, and the fate of that poor girl and Evelyn's reaction kept my hand clamped to my mouth for at least five minutes.
The Curse of Davros

Philippa Jackson. Holy cow. You want to see Rose done well, go and listen to The Curse of Davros and explain to me what it is that makes this character so good. She's not that different from Rose--they're both working-class teenagers with lousy boyfriends--but for some reason, I really felt a connection with Flip, where I loathe Rose.
I already knew the massive...thing...about this audio that shall not be said here, but that only lessened my enjoyment of it slightly. I loved the sound design, and the music, and the use of present-day England and nineteenth-century France, and most of all Flip. Well done Johnny Morris, Colin Baker, and especially Terry Molloy. Now please bring back Lisa Greenwood!

The Mahogany Murderers

Ah, Professor George Litefoot....*sighs* I mean, what? Sorry!
I'll say it: Professor George Litefoot is an absolutely brilliant character, always one step ahead of everyone else and yet incredibly vulnerable and alone. I have completely fallen in love with him and Trevor Baxter's portrayal of him. Henry Gordon Jago is wonderful, obviously, but Professor Litefoot holds a special place in my heart (which he shares with the Sixth Doctor and Martin Freeman's John Watson).
I saved this audio for the longest time before finally listening to it all in one night...and I adored it. It was absolutely hilarious, and I instantly knew that Jago & Litefoot were made for each other. Call them what you will--a couple, bros, married--but I honestly believe they are soul mates. Don't look at me, go and listen to one of their audios. You'll spot it within the first three minutes or so.
This is the beginning (well, in Big Finish, at any rate) of their adventures together, and whether you like the story or not, you'll like them.

Some Audio Favorites, Part One

I figured I ought to have this kind of post as one of my first ones, to give any readers of mine out there (pfft like I'm gonna get readers) an idea of audios I like. Here we go!

Point of Entry

It was about halfway through this one when I realized how amazing it was. I was able to visualize everything so well, like Peri and the Doctor's clothes, the astral plane part of the story takes place on, the rain on the curfewed (apparently that's not a word) streets...Peri as Queen Elizabeth was hilarious, but the rest of the audio was serious and a bit scary. The sound of those flies buzzing around....ugh.
On a weirder and slightly fetish-y note, I really liked the visual of an unconscious Peri and Six being carried out of the burning house. It was really sweet how Tom wouldn't leave them to burn alive and insisted he and Kit get them out of there. When I finished the audio I was just like, "Wow. That was incredible." I've heard other people say this is a good one, which I doubted until I heard it. Fantastic job, Big Finish, and of course to Nicola and Colin.

Night's Black Agents

Jamie is my second-favorite companion (Sarah Jane being the first) and Six is my favorite Doctor, so it's no surprise that I loved this audio. I haven't heard the trilogy this is set in the middle of yet, but I can't wait to.

About two minutes into this one I practically threw my headphones across the room--or on the ground, at least. I just want to see (or at least hear) Jamie and the Doctor together, and I loved that it was ingrained in Jamie's subconscious to trust and care about this weird man. I also love Frazer's voice, and hearing him impersonate Colin was a real treat. Great story, great acting, but it won't make sense unless you've already heard or know what happens in The City of Spires.

Voyage to Venus

I'm not sure if I'd even seen The Talons of Weng-Chiang before pre-ordering this audio. I don't think I had. All I knew was that the Jago & Litefoot audios were really good, and here were two for a dollar each. When I did get the audio, I listened to it on a night when I was really tired, and taking a break from all the homework I had. It instantly cheered me up and left me with a smile on my face. Funny, clever, and visually stimulating (you can see the colours and everything!) this is a good jumping-on point for Jago & Litefoot. At least, it is if you're cheap like me and don't want to wait for a Big Finish sale to buy the box sets. 

(Yes, I own three of the box sets now, plus The Mahogany Murderers and Voyage to the New World. You could say this was the start of my obsession with Professor George Litefoot. Enough on that coming up.)

Thoughts on Jubilee: Second Time Around

Ah, Jubilee. I remember listening to it last October. I listened to one part each night, and when I finished part two I rolled around in my bed for several minutes, repeating the last few lines to myself in shock. The next day I kept repeating them in my head, finally racing up to bed at 10:00 precisely to hear the next part.
And proceeded to cry myself to sleep in the middle of part three. I had to finish the rest of the play the next day.

I'm not going to spoil it for you here if you haven't heard all of Jubilee yet. When everyone talks about it as a really good play, they fail to mention how SCREWED UP it is. Which was fine for me at the time, since I knew next to nothing about the play. I'm glad nobody spoiled it for me. (Like the DWP did for The Curse of Davros, but that was my fault entirely. They did tell me to turn the podcast off if I hadn't heard it yet.) But why do people never talk about Jubilee, besides putting it on a "Best of Big Finish" list?
Thinking about the play after finishing it the first time, I came to reflect how important Evelyn is to the story. She's the only one who hasn't gone completely mad. Rochester, Miriam, the dalek, Farrow, Lamb (although he's just a product of the broken society), and even the Doctor(s)--they're all rather insane, aren't they? The Doctor has centuries of prejudice against the Daleks, but Evelyn's met them before and she can even sympathize with this lone dalek from the get-go. We feel awful for it, in a way the tv episode based on this play cannot hope to compare to. One wonders what "Dalek" would have been like, had it been adapted from the play more faithfully.
The second listen, I was struck even more than the first time just how philosophical Shearman gets. It's beautiful. And painful, yes. From the Doctor's first line, we are dropped into a tale about the dangers of ignoring and changing history to suit our own ends. Doctor Who has taught me just how similar the past and future are to the present. People love, hate, die, dream, have families, talk, laugh...things we don't think about when reading a textbook. That's not the reason I love the show so much--not a major one, anyway. It's a perk, for me. What I'm getting at is that I know the Doctor's right. He tells Evelyn that "you haven't seen history! Just someone else's present day!"
And then the sickening thing is, she see her own present day. And everything is so wrong, and so different and scary, it's not a past, present, or future she knows. This audio belongs to Evelyn, the afore-mentioned only sane person and the one the dalek chooses to save time and again. She's so brilliant and compassionate, it's a small wonder I decided to cosplay as her. (That, and I had all the right clothing.) A truly wonderful companion, and I hope she returns to Big Finish soon.
Although not in an audio as emotionally scarring as this one...