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.
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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.