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 | Reviews for Kingdom of Silver |
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There are 4 reviews so far. To add a review of your own for this item, visit the voting page.
I would have given this 10 but the setting of another tomb wasn't original. However this aside, it is an entertaining story and pulls together more of the world of big finish with Orion, which gives the feel of depth, history and belief. The doctor is even surprised and caught off guard which is refreshing. Part four adds a real personal feel and perhaps sadness.
| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Saturday 1 November 2008 |
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| Rating: |  10 |
I must say i was more than a little dissapointed with the way the bbc brought back the cybermen in the new series of doctor who. im not saying they arent impressive, they are brilliant new designs, but the two stries to feature them are so so lame and boring it almost beggars belief. Even when appaently Age of steel took elements of the brilliant Spare Parts and yet failed to deliver the same impact as this play. Just a load of gas if you ask me. Lets hope the Christmas special sees them finally really return this year. A vain hope i imagine, but im willing to hope im impressed.
The big finish team always hit the top with cyber adventures though, and they have done it yet again with the brilliant tale known as KINGDOM OF SILVER. The acting and the storyline is what should have been put on the screen instead of the drivvel weve had so far from bbc wales. Sylveser Mccoy and everyone involved in this story seems to really enjoy this story. And Terry Molloy is great as playing a good man for a change. The cybermen are very very well portrayed and acually very well emotionless too. but this story has all the grit and impact of pare Parts whilst not being just a bland copy of other cyber tales.
The fact that its on a tomb planet again is so ok and it isnt a bad thing anyway. This is a climatic and very well produced play. This is what real cybermen stories should be about. set against a backdrop of fear of becoming metal men. The whole cast in this story is very strong indeed too. And why is it there are so many good characters who never ever beome companions.
The bonus story Keepsake is another marvel of a story. exploring the fate of the two androids in thefirst story. these really are like tales of the unexpected, just far better of course. a tale of so called superior technological people and being no better than humans of course. So this is one of the finest audio plays for a long while. Bring on the cybermen!
| By: | Doug, Pocono Summit, PA, USA |
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| Date: | Friday 12 June 2009 |
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| Rating: |  7 |
Judging from the somewhat low rating here, I didn't expect a lot from Kingdom of Silver. I was pleasantly surprised.
This is a well-paced story, with some nice character development without overdoing it. The story and dialogue flow very nicely, and I found myself drawn into the world of Tasak, with its formerly warring houses drawing together to move forward in peace, unaware of the looming Cyber threat that is about to unfold, and the off-world visitors who happen to be there, getting caught up in the events taking place. When I find the episodes are suddenly already over without me expecting it, I know it's a good story.
The sound design here is excellent, with some superb voicing work for the Cybermen, including a very interesting transformation scene... Which brings me to the one point here that is a problem for me - this story in a small way makes the Cybermen like the Borg, which I feel is a mistake. This is not the way the Cybermen have ever done things, and is inconsistent with their basic characteristics. And we have another dire musical score here, if it can be called that, akin to The Death Collectors, which is okay, but leaves me with a mixed opinion on it. It seems that the brief for these stories of the companionless-Seventh-Doctor-near-the-end-of-his-life is to frame him in a dark, dire, serious atmosphere.
The single-episode Keepsake is something of an encore for Kingdom of Silver, or a little addendum. I found it somewhat confusing to the ear/brain because two of the primary actors from the previous story appear here as well, with basically identical voicing and acting, as different characters. And as a final comment, it's really kind of interesting to realize just how much modulation has been used in the voicing of Davros by Terry Molloy in other stories, because he sounds really different here. You'd never know it was the same actor. And he does a fine job, by the way.
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| Interesting, but Predictable |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Friday 12 July 2019 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
A steampunk society with a medieval political organization has found some strange, ancient artifacts on an island. They call the site "The Heart." The Doctor arrives and connects with a pair of android agents from the Orion War (the war between humans and androids featured in other Big Finish audios) who are searching for Cyberman technology. The plot unfolds mostly as predicted - The Cybermen are reactivating, ready to convert any and all. The Doctor has to fight both the Cybermen and the political upheavals of this culture to prevent the complete takeover of the world. There is also the subplot of how the androids are becoming more human-like. This is a three plus one set, so after the main three-part story, there is a one-part follow-up in which we learn of the fate of the androids after this adventure.
