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.