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 | Reviews for The Entropy Plague |
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There are 2 reviews so far. To add a review of your own for this item, visit the voting page.
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| A sublime finale for a superb companion. |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Tuesday 30 April 2019 |
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| Rating: |  10 |
Nyssa during the fifth Doctor's era frequently suffered from TARDISing, meaning she was always relegated to TARDIS duties. When she was allowed out of the box, one can see how caring and decent and lovely a character she is. And Sarah Sutton has long been one of my all time favourite companions. Aside from Barbara I think I would name her my second fave ever! And it is awesome with Big Finish that they have totally fleshed out Nyssa and she has now had one heck of an epic ride. I have been very very thrilled to hear Nyssa getting to be centre of attention every now and then and Sarah acting her socks off!
The Entropy Plague is very emotional to listen to for me. It has all the usual brilliant Jonathan Morris ingredients. This guy is one heck of an awesome writer, and he gives Nyssa such a monumental and superb sendoff. It really is a roller coaster ride of the highest order. And that does not mean that its only Nyssa who gets to shine in this story, because Peter Davison puts in a damned fine performance too as the Doctor. And Janet Fielding and Mark Strickson are the cherry on the cake of this excellent TARDIS crew that to me remains criminally underrated indeed.
This story never pauses for breath either, I honestly thought this story felt more like a two parter than a four parter. It flows that well. The Sandmen are a terrifically creepy and effective menace, and Pallister is an interesting character too. Jonathan always gives his characters such beefy back stories that are beautiful and often heart rending. The macabre and oppressive tone of the story doesn't dampen the emotional impact though. This story is about as good a goodbye to a companion as we get in the series. Nyssa of Traken shines like a jewel and this is a definite highlight story for her. This is as far from the TARDISized Nyssa of the 80s as its possible to get.
I am so glad that Nyssa has been one of the most frequent appearers for Big Finish. Sarah continues to really tick all the boxes of the perfect companion for me. This story may be her journeys end for now, but long may the tales with Nyssa continue!!
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| End of the Line for Nyssa (Apparently) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Tuesday 22 October 2019 |
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| Rating: |  7 |
The ending of the second e-Space trilogy had to involve entropy and collapsing universes. There really was no other option. The Doctor, Nyssa, and Turlough are tracking Tegan, kidnapped by space pirates, and wind up on the last world in the universe. Everything is collapsing, the stars are going out, food rots before one's eyes, and the remaining denizens of the universe are gathered to bargain for a passage out to another universe. At the control is a semi-mad scientist. The story is mainly a setup for The Doctor and Nyssa to argue at several points for who gets to sacrifice themself to save everyone remaining. Basically, then, the plot is a matter of continually closing off options, until one choice remains. The several good ideas in this story are marred by several bad ones. For instance, the opening of the dimensional portal can be powered only by tearing apart living beings? In terms of energy, living beings are no better source of energy than any other matter. Likewise, one gets touched by entropy and turns into a skulking monster that wants to suck the energy out of anything living? The space pirates are absurdly pirate-y. The good and the bad are moderately balanced. It is enjoyable, but I feel as if there were several missed opportunities to take a more daring path.
