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After the horrific opening to the new Session Hothouse was a welcome return to normality. Whilst not original, the introduction of an old foe in a modern context, was handled well. The underlying subplot of the doctor and lucy attempting to re establish thier relationship is very strong.
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 | Krynoids - Poor Choice for Audio |
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| By: | Doug, Pocono Summit, PA, USA |
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| Date: | Saturday 18 July 2009 |
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| Rating: |   4 |
My mistake - the other reviews I thought I remembered were elsewhere, in a print zine. (See my review of Orbis.)
In the Hothouse "cd extras," writer Jonathan Morris tells of how he received his assignment from Alan Barnes (Big Finish producer, apparently?). A Krynoid story was requested. Hothouse was Morris' second attempt. He modeled it strongly on the excellent classic series story, The Seeds of Doom, which was somewhat unusual in that the TARDIS barely featured in it at all, the Doctor is more of a secret agent than his usual wanderer in time and space self, it in effect almost disregards all of the previous Doctor Who stories, and it's the military who save the day by blowing the mansion-sized Krynoid to bits with missiles. Morris basically drafted a slight reworking of these elements, also including another version of the idealistic, wealthy horticulturalist Harrison Chase, another companion in imminent danger of being infected by a Krynoid pod, and another takeover of local vegetation by the controlling Krynoid monster. Furthermore, he was apparently not informed of the new relationship between the Doctor and Lucie, due to the Doctor's memory loss from Orbis, until some late stage in the writing. A few references to it are thrown in hastily, but that major development in the previous story really is not affecting what's happening in this one.
In short, Hothouse is a cheap imitation of the original, and on audio, the very visual horror elements of the Krynoids just do not come through. The two-episode story lacks much real depth, and is rushed to its ending, with the chief Krynoid growing to its full size in the blink of an eye. Uninspired sound realization and direction also contribute to make this one a disappointment.
An almost total Rip Off of Seeds of Doom.
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| The right choice for Audio!! |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Monday 6 December 2010 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
Having read the reviews below I got the feeling that this story wouild be rather much a letdown. And yet everyone is allowed to have their own opinion. So mine has to be that I dont agree with this view at all. If you can bring your imagination into playing when listening to these tales then this is a very successful sequel to that excellent Seeds of Doom.
There are only two things wrong here within this story. The first thing is that Lucie Miller is tragically uinderused. I love Sheridan's stab at this character, she knows her in and out and she deserves better and more scenes than she's in here. The second thing is all the OMGs, some people just get tired by this after a while.
Aside from this this is a very strong outting. Paul McGann gets to be moral again, and here his stance is a bit stronger than usual, for his Doctor seems to be the most laid back and softly spoken of the incarnations of the Time Lord. He is an excellent Doctor. Good to hear him getting the chance to show us just how good he is.
Another brilliant star here is the tragic Lysette. I love this girl, she's genuinely so brilliant. Ive not seen her playing a bad character on or in anything. Something tells me she could be the perfect choice for a new companion! Well, thats just my view anyway.
The Krynoids are well realised here. With the voice treatment maybe not quite as cheap sounding as the Keeler one back in the Seeds of Doom. They sound good. And this has a suitably different theme than the Seeds of Doom too, despite the fact that they both possess a moronic plant obsessed nut. But this is not a bad thing. I love the Doctor Who idiot. Its a brilliant breed.
Blooking Horrible? No, blooming brilliant overall!
| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Sunday 6 February 2022 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
"Hothouse" finds The Doctor and Lucie trying to repair their relationship. The Doctor still cannot remember Lucie all that well, while Lucie is desperate to show that she is worthy of his trust. She wants to go back to the old times when they were best buds crashing the best parties in the universe. The story takes place on Earth, some time in Lucie's near future. The planet is hot, everything is drying up. The population is too big. Governments are collapsing. Into this mess steps a former rock musician turned environmental activist who has a radical plan for healing the Earth. The story tries to play the "he's not evil, just misguided" card, but there is a bit too much ruthlessness in our villain to make that believable. What sort of CEO of a charitable organization wanders around the place carrying guns? The main problem with this story is that it does not go anywhere we have not already been.
