There are 4,118 reviews so far. To add a review of your own, click on the item in question, then click the Vote link.
 |  |  |
 | This is a beautiful piece of work |
|
| | |
| What: | Arrangements for War (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
|
| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
|
| Rating: |   9 |
It's a Doctor Who episode that takes you on a roller-coaster of emotions in the 2 hours it presents you. It's a story that involves itself with the world it created instead of trying to blindly chase a plot. I always love stories that focus on characters and takes their time with them. Having the Doctor and friends live in an alien world instead of solving things in one visit.
The story doesn't try to pander to audiences with unnecessary action. It really wants you to care about what the characters are feeling. Evelyn especially, as she goes through the wringer with this one. It is an emotional experience worth purchasing. I found it surprisingly easy to re-listen as well. It's certainly one to save when you want to feel and not just be led down dingy corridors with a monster trailing the titular heroes.
If I had to make a criticism, the majority of the final act does play out exactly like a Shakespearean tragedy. If you are a fan of those then you will love this, if you aren't, you might find it a bit corny. However, it doesn't detract from the rest of the audio and the denouement is so poetic and subtle. It's a nice break from the intense action intense emotion episodes that try too hard to make you cry.
The revelations with Evelyn in this story are also extraordinary and unexpected (at least to me). I won't spoil it, but it is well delivered and well-acted. Which is exactly how I would sum up this gorgeous audio, well delivered and well-acted.
| What: | A Town Called Fortune (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
|
| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
|
| Rating: | 9 |
The beginning scene is probably the strongest part of the entire story, but the rest still holds its own very well. Except for the second half of part 1, personally, I felt that slowed things down too much. However, things picked right back up again in part 2. The story itself is a bit complex, but not in a science-fiction way. Paul Sutton (the writer) managed to create an engaging conspiracy plot set in a small western town. The villain is a bit on the nose but is very functional in his role.
The music is also astounding. Simple, yet effective and has all the twangs in just the right places to make it feel old, yet exciting! I feel the sound effects themselves such as the rifle and horse hooves could have been a lot better, but that’s a minor thing on the whole. The story was quite clever too.
Maggie doesn't have the best Colin Baker impression (which is nothing against her I'm just giving fair warning to those who might dive into this audio for the first time), but her female characters were very nuanced and on point. The guest actor did a phenomenal job in his role, and all the characters themselves were so well written.
In short: This is a fun adventure set in an old western town. The plot is great and the characters are equally so. This is a surprisingly underappreciated, but nevertheless a very fun audio!
| | |
| Easy to listen & very engrossing |
|
| | |
| What: | Colditz (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
|
| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
|
| Rating: | 9 |
This story is one of the easiest listens to get into. I found myself losing track of time while getting lost in this world and wound up halfway through the story before I realized that an hour passed. It felt like only a few minutes. It's a great one to just pick up and listen, at least for the first half. At around the time, the concept would begin to become stale, writer Steve Lyons introduces the amazing mystery wrapped in an enigma known as "Klein" (played by Tracy Childs). I won't spoil anything about her, but she is an important character in the 2010 7th Doctor trilogy "A Thousand Tiny Wings," "Survival of the Fittest," and "The Architects of History" (January 2010 - March 2010). It is an amazing concept to hear for yourself!
Not only does the story shine, but the acting and performances from everyone are top-notch. We have Sofie Aldred doing her best as always, Tracy Childs proving to be a captivating listen, and Sylvester McCoy giving a good performance this time. Not only that, but we also have David Tennant playing his first-ever role in Doctor Who. Since this came out in 2001, Doctor Who was still canceled when this episode was recorded and released. David Tennant had yet to play the titular Timelord and was still 3 years away from his starring role in Dalek Empire III. The music was neat and blended in with the aesthetic of the story as well.
All in all, this was a great, deceptive listen that both sucked me in and caught me off guard.
| What: | Loups-Garoux (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
|
| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
|
| Rating: | 4 |
This story feels longer than other monthly series stories, and I can't tell if that's because the pacing is REALLY slow or if it actually does have a longer runtime. Either way, this took a lot for me to get through, which is a shame because I loved the opening. Turlough seeing the werewolf during the parade fantastically opened the story and got me excited for more. Then we get to the train... This is the part where things got slowed down immensely as all of the lore is exposition dumped on us in-between moments where Turlough gets bullied by some werewolves and a side-plot about a girl in the desert.
The acting performances weren't bad, but they also weren't good either, even by early Big Finish standards. The microphones clipped A LOT! Especially during the train scenes. Eleanor Bron could barely get through a scene without her microphone giving up on itself, even when she was just calmly talking to the Doctor. Plus, that cover is one of the worst Big Finish has made. It's down there on the list with "The Highest Science."
Overall, it had some good ideas, but they were overshadowed by the horrid pacing and effects. It's certainly one I'm never going to revisit.
| | |
| The worst Nev Fountain story... |
|
| | |
Did you like The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit? Clearly, Nev Fountain didn't and decided to spit in the face of it.
To be honest, most of the runtime is okay. The plot felt a little slow to me, but it doesn't get truly dreadful until later on. Nicola Bryant did a fine job narrating, though doing so many characters at once alongside the job of actually narrating had its toll on her. It's one of those "good in multiple things, but not stellar in one" type of situations. The characters were also enjoyable with the plot having some good comedic elements to it. Plus, the references to Classic and Nu Who were subtle, but great.
However, the ending undoes a lot of good in the Doctor Who universe. This episode explains the literal devil as a kind of misunderstood alien for no actual reason. The way this is set up is that this "devil" travels in a box made of human bones, but since he looks scary, humans just immediately called him the devil and that's what he's been ever since.
Nev Fountain usually makes good scripts, specifically for the monthly range. He's responsible for such greats as "The Kingmaker," "The Curious Incident of the Doctor in the Night-Time" (Breaking Bubbles Anthology CD), and "The Widow's Assassin," but this one is completely unfounded. The box of bones is not connected to religion at all and is just there just because it's scary. The Satan Pit two-parter (which was released about seven years prior to this one) carefully took into account every religion and came up with an idea that wouldn't prove nor disprove anything. It was spectacularly done and well-crafted. Unlike this dismissive piece of garbage.
Fortunately, this CD isn't consequential anymore as Audio GO is now defunct and the majority of Doctor Who fans have completely missed this release. However, that doesn't excuse it from being bad in the first place. It's an unresearched mess that screws with cannon.
Side note: I'm not actually making the claim that Nev Fountain hated the Satan Pit two-parter from series 2 of Nu Who. I don't know what his preferences are.
| What: | The Lost Stories: The Macros (The Lost Stories audio dramas) |
|
| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
|
| Rating: | 6 |
This is a fine enough story that somehow turns the idea of parallel universes, tyrannical rulers, and an alien coup into something that can only be described as "meh."
The two-part finale to Colin Baker's Lost Season isn't the most epic, but it is very grandiose. It starts out as a neat little horror story set on a rusting military ship stuck in a time loop. Think of the first part of "Carnival of Monsters" without the blue people and with more of a horror atmosphere. Then, we get hit with the idea that the time around the ship is being drained by a different universe. The Doctor and Peri hop between alternate realities to try and stop a tyrannical ruler from destroying a ship and killing its crew. While that concept may sound great, the actual execution of it was boring. It somehow felt "last-minute" even though it gets introduced within the first half-hour. Not only that, but the majority of the time is spent exposition dumping and waiting for characters to do stuff. The second part gets things moving along, but even then it doesn't feel exciting. There are no real action scenes to speak of and it's mostly just sneaking around two worlds we are never properly introduced to.
I don't hate the episode, though. The music is great, the sound design was the best of the season, and the acting from both the main and guest cast somehow shine through the bland script. If only the episode itself stuck with one theme all the way throughout instead of smash cutting us into something completely unexpected. Honestly, I only finished listening to it yesterday and it's hard to remember any details for this review. It's just a bit of a forgettable stand-still. Though, I would be lying if I said I didn't at least enjoy myself. It nails the vibe of Colin's TV era in the best ways. So, even when nothing of consequence was happening, I can immerse myself in the feeling of an 80's Colin Baker episode that doesn't aggravate anyone to death.
Like I said in the beginning, it's a fine enough story (in fact I'd say it's perfectly innocent) but that also is kind of its downfall.
I did not know what to expect going into this audio, but if I had a million guesses, I never would have guessed this plot. I picked this up thinking it was going to be a light-hearted outing that brought Ianto and Rhys closer together. What I actually got was a phenomenal and emotional story about grief that blended some neat horror elements in as well.
The music was phenomenal, though used very sparingly. Most of the scenes heavily focused on the fantastic acting abilities of Kye Owen and Garrett David-Lloyd which they didn't put music over. The plot was great with a nice slow pace that steadily ramped out throughout the entire hour. There are heavy topics and political themes in this one, but unlike Chibnal's era, this one doesn't try to force the narrative. Every twist reveal was well-written, well-implemented, and very impactful. Throughout all of the horror and heartbreak, there was a fantastic infusion of comedy that won't make you laugh out loud, but sounds exactly like what people would say to try and lighten the situation. Also, the episode is very quotable. "Look, if you are going to start doing explanations, I need a beer."
If I had to nit-pick something, it would be the inclusion of “Toxic Masculinity.” The way it is presented is very petty and shallow. It plays more into stereotypes than anything else. Thankfully, the topic disappears as soon as it starts to make way for the much more important and much more real issue that many try to keep hushed.
Overall, this is a really fun, creepy, and impactful listen. I will not forget this anytime soon.
| | |
| An amazing adventure fleshing out Polly! |
|
| | |
| What: | Resistance (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
|
| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
|
| Rating: | 9 |
If you usually aren’t a fan of purely historical stories (like me), give this one a try!
It’s nice to have a story set during WWII without going the cop-out route and setting it in the trenches. Instead, this episode details what everyday people do to fight back against the Nazi regime. A couple of farmers forming a resistance group and smuggling the Doctor and Polly around is a very entertaining idea that played out well. I was a little sad to hear Jamie and Ben leave the episode within the first 10 minutes. I love this team, but rarely hear any episodes featuring all three of them. That being said, it was actively necessary for the story once you figured out Polly’s purpose in it.
Hearing Polly question herself and her role in the group brought a neat spin on what could’ve easily been another basic Doctor Who episode. It leads to some rather unexpected scenes, especially towards the end. This idea coupled with the plot twists makes this one stick out in your mind long after you’ve listened to it.
The music was on-point and the guest actor did a fantastic job. Switching between the stories of Polly and a seemingly unrelated airman that dropped into enemy lines kept the plot moving at a nice pace. I never felt bored at any point.
The last 7 minutes are a bit scattered and rush through what could’ve been an amazing third part, but due to the format, we couldn’t get a third one. It doesn’t drag down the quality by any means and it’s certainly not the most frustrating missed opportunity (I give that title to “The Witchfinders"), but it could’ve been a great addition to the script.
All in all, it’s a spectacular story that builds intensity over the hour runtime!
| | |
| Relatable and funny with genuine heart |
|
| | |
| What: | Torchwood: Fall to Earth (Torchwood audio dramas) |
|
| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
This is the perfect example of a “relatable” script done right! This hour-long plot was gripping, emotional, and funny all at the same time. It finds a perfect balance between raising tension and knowing when to release it. If you are tired of people failing at writing relatable scripts or just generally have frustration with telemarketers, then this story may suit you well.
***Spoilers Ahead***
After all that praise I gave, I will bring to light a negative about this piece: This particular episode doesn’t work with a happy, “everybody lives” ending. With the way that the episode played out, it felt forced and unsatisfying. Everything was set up perfectly. Zeynep learning what it means to sacrifice herself for others, Ianto learning what it means to be a member of Torchwood, the elongated and sad goodbye each of the characters made, all topped off with that chilling moment when Ianto found the parachute. I see no reason as to why things in literally the last 30 seconds should suddenly change after setting up a much better ending over the previous 5 minutes.
Other than that personal flaw, I have absolutely no problem with this episode. I still rate it a ten and recommend it to anyone!
| | |
| It's a mixed bag to say the least |
|
| | |
| What: | Revolution of the Daleks (BBC new series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
|
| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
|
| Rating: | 5 |
This special is the best New Year’s Special. Which by that I mean, it’s better than “Resolution” and that’s it.
The rating is exactly half because this episode had a balancing act going on. It rehashes “Resolution” but fixes the big issues with it. However, the rip-off of “Blood of the Daleks” for the second half was done poorly. The “Orange Man Bad” character was at his worst ever, but Jack was great. Yaz had some interesting character moments, but Graham and Ryan felt just as useless as they did in series 12 for the majority. Most of the episode is just characters standing around and talking and any action that happens lasts a minute tops. Then, it’s more talking and poorly done character moments.
It was disappointing as well that the Doctor was busted out of prison within 5 minutes. Another example of Chris having good ideas, but poor execution. The thing I was looking forward to the most leading up to the episode was the companions working with Jack to stop an invasion while the Doctor is powerless to do anything. Then, the Doctor makes a big escape from prison and I question why the prison thing was even introduced if it’s just going to be wasted like that.
John Barrowman is a treasure, but he only seems to work well on his own here. He has some fun moments with Yaz for a few minutes, then just becomes another side character. Which is not how he should be treated. He doesn’t play off any of the characters in a fun way like he would with 10 and Martha / 9 and Rose. I honestly forgot he was in there when he wasn’t on screen and he didn’t even show up during the final scene to say goodbye. He just “calls” the TARDIS to give a quick and almost unnoticeable goodbye.
The only thing that has improved since “The Woman Who Fell to Earth” has been the cinematography. This episode seriously proved that. The image of the Doctor standing in the doorway of the TARDIS floating above a Dalek-infested London is forever burned into my mind now. That’s the first image I’ll think of whenever Jodie Whittaker is mentioned. The music also blended well with everything and the ending with the TARDISES was clever.
All in all, it’s a mixed bag. There is a lot of bad balanced with a lot of good. At least it’s not “The Timeless Children.”
| | |
| Witty, creative, and funny |
|
| | |
| What: | The Quantum Possibility Engine (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
|
| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
|
| Rating: | 9 |
The idea this episode plays around with and the style it goes for are both utterly unique and fascinating. While some episodes may blur into one another, this one stands out. The characters were great to listen to and the main cast even get a fresh mix-up. This is the finale to a trilogy of Ace and Mel stories, but I still understood everything without having listened to “The Dispossessed.”
Although, there are some entire segments where only music plays. It is amazing music, but I’d rather get more of the story instead of straight listening to the soundtrack. I’ll do that after, thanks! I also don’t think we spend enough time in the second world. It feels like it wants to be a B plot, but skips too quickly to the end.
Overall, I usually don’t enjoy funny episodes, but this one was great! I highly recommend it, even if you haven’t listened to Dogbolter's introductory story the “The Maltese Penguin.” Because... I haven’t yet
| | |
| Favorite Big Finish story EVER! |
|
| | |
| What: | Aquitaine (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
|
| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
This is my favorite Big Finish release. I don’t believe anything will take it. This is a timey wimey adventure done to perfection. The story was easy to understand, the characters were distinctive and memorable, the cast gave it their all, and what come out at the end was a masterpiece.
The music is one of the most fantastical and best scores ever heard on Big Finish (at least for me). They were beautiful and swelled to climaxes that conveyed a dramatic tone with essences of beauty. It matched the scenery which was a beautiful jungle that was trying to kill everyone.
Hargreaves was possibly the best side character ever invented and the actor for him is splendid. The plot made everyone feel separated and everyone was given pretty equal time. Everyone had a part to play. It’s everything I could have wanted from a story. This is so underrated and not talked about enough.
Highly enjoyable!
| | |
| Good stuff, but a bit run-of-the-mill |
|
| | |
| What: | Rat Trap (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
|
| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
|
| Rating: | 7 |
This audio has a setting and villain that are phenomenal, but it’s one of those stories where you wish the writer would play around a bit.
Starting things off on the positives: the idea presented in this story is great! It has a sort of political message attached to it, but it doesn’t poke its head too far above the water. It’s an audio that crafts a great story out of a political idea, rather than making a 2-hour lecture out of it.
Despite the fact that there are three companions, each one of them is given something to do to advance the plot. Plus, there is a large number of side characters that also function as both characters themselves and more plot advancement. It’s great that Tony Lee could make such a giant cast work without everything feeling overcrowded and no character is left out. The music was also fantastic. It sounds like a darker take on the “Aquitaine” suite (which that story is my all-time favorite Big Finish story).
Now, let’s talk about what drags this audio down: It’s very formulaic. Frustratingly so. Just like “Out of Time 1.” *Minor spoilers here, I won't name specific names* The companions get split up from the Doctor immediately, one of the companions gets kidnapped, one of the side characters is secretly in league with the villain, and another side character sacrifices himself thinking that everything was his fault. This is what drags it from a 9 to a 7. The bulk of the runtime is basically a bog-standard Matt Fitton script.
Being that Tony Lee is primarily a DW comic writer, I could see this working better in that medium. That being said, there is still a good amount of enjoyment to be found in this unique audio!
| | |
| There's just nothing to love about this |
|
| | |
| What: | Heroes of Sontar (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
|
| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
|
| Rating: | 1 |
If there is one thing to learn from this story, it’s that Big Finish doesn’t understand the Sontarans.
This threatening, war-like race is entirely incompetent in this story and every single one of the characters here is an idiot! They are played for laughs during the entire audio and I hate seeing my absolute favorite DW enemies turned into the laughing stock that Alan Barnes clearly thinks they are. From cringe jokes like the Sontarans being sexist and somehow having genders themselves (even though they should have no concept of genders), to a Sontaran who had his tongue cut out during his time as a prisoner being used as a comedy bit because he can’t speak anymore and just makes weird noises now. It’s just sad really.
The Sontarans just don’t feel like Sontarans. They feel more like those quirky guards in “Paradise Towers” that are sticklers for rules to a fault. As emphasized by the gag where the Sontarans cannot shoot the Doctor unless three Sontarans are present. Nothing cool about Sontaran society is explored, even though the beginning is set on Sontar. I loved the idea of the Sontarans with more scars being the more respected ones, but Barnes managed to make even that concept a joke!
I haven’t even mentioned the rest of the audio yet which is also pretty poor. The admittedly kinda creepy side-villains and the super important elements of the Sontaran curse aren’t even introduced until we’re well over the halfway point of the story. Yet, somehow, this episode is also VERY padded for runtime, so Barnes can just write in as many jokes about the Sontarans as he can. Over 40% of the episode could be cut out entirely and you wouldn’t miss much.
Even the main cast couldn’t save this episode. Nyssa is just bland and has nothing to do. Tegan is particularly loud, stupid, and annoying in this one, and everyone seems to have it out for Turlough for some reason. I don’t even like Turlough, but even I started saying “Get off his back! You are treating him with more spite than the Sontarans in front of you!” Every bit of dialogue surrounding Turlough, whether it’d be his friends talking about him behind his back, or talking right to his face, was just a slight at him as a person.
Honestly, there is just nothing to love about this episode.
| | |
| Matt Fitton being formulaic |
|
| | |
| What: | Out of Time (Out of Time audio dramas) |
|
| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
|
| Rating: | 5 |
This is a Matt Fitton script playing into his strengths as a writer: just making something functional.
Matt Fitton isn't a writer I get too fussed about. He can make an hour-long story of whatever you ask him to, but he doesn't do much outside the box. He's mostly used to balance out the continually experimental John Dorney in the 8th Doctor box sets. With that in mind, this script definitely needed a different writer. It’s not bad per-say, I quite liked the idea of the setting, and involving Dalek supreme was also a great idea.
Although, you can't absorb yourself into the setting of this one all that well. Sure it's a complicated place to begin with, but the Doctors kept bombarding us with technical jargon to explain the cathedral. The first ten minutes practically was just either one of them telling us the cathedral is multi-dimensional. They repeated the same stuff over and over, just with different wording. Not only that, but the Dalek invasion didn't allow for much exploration to be done at all with this cool environment. The entire story takes place in four rooms.
The banter between Baker and Tennent was cool when it got going, though it certainly took its time to do so. Tennent masquerading as a lost tourist was funny in the beginning, but when the action started, he was still deceiving his younger self for no reason. At one point Tennent even says that Baker has figured him out, but then continues to try and deceive him for another 10 minutes before finally revealing who he is. It was also weird how Tennent practically played the companion role and seemed like he didn't know the Doctor at all. Tennent asks the Doctor more questions than the actual companion of the episode. That aspect made it feel like both Doctors were not equals.
There was still some great stuff though. The actual plot was tight and well-crafted, and the nods to both Nu and Classic Who were great. Particularly, the reference to "The End of the World" (one of my favorite eps from Eccleston's season). That bit was my favorite. The climax and resolution were both fantastic, practically faultless in my books.
All in all, this isn't a bad episode by any stretch of the imagination, but I wished for something a bit less formulaic from an episode with both an astounding setting and the most iconic Doctor Who team-up. I'm looking forward to the other "Out of Time" releases!
| | |
| A very poor representation of 10 & Donna |
|
| | |
| What: | Death and the Queen (Tenth Doctor Adventures audios) |
|
| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
|
| Rating: | 4 |
First off, the plot and the overall story are extremely admirable, and I was in love with the character of Death. Yet, Matt Smith was really annoying in this one. Oops, sorry, I mean David Tennant. The writers really screwed up David and made him sound like Matt Smith at his most annoying. David was forced to overact practically every line and was constantly doing things that were stupid (such as walking out and losing a wrestling match with a skeleton and pretty much everything he did/said in the flashback to meeting the prince). He was also completely oblivious to Donna when she was expressly telling him she wasn't happy. That entire scene was honestly aggravating and not like the tenth doctor at all. Poor characterization everywhere with these two. Donna herself seemed to be poorly done too, but not to the extreme David was at. She felt more like the Donna from Runaway Bride, and not Donna from series 4 (which is who we had during the previous two stories).
The actual plot again is one I will praise, and the resolution was clever in a good way. I loved the poetic ending this one had and it really was something special. If only the poor characterizations didn't overshadow it. Some people reading this may think I'm exaggerating, but if you listen to it you will understand what I mean.
So to sum up, death was the best character in this masterful story, but David Tennant was the weakest ever. This could have been a masterpiece if the writers could have written for him better. It's not something that will dissuade me from ever listening to it again, but it's also one I'm not wanting to experience anytime soon.
I totally recommend "Time Reaver" and "Technophobia" though, they are the much better releases of this box set. They don't have any of the poor character writing I mentioned in this one.
| What: | Time Reaver (Tenth Doctor Adventures audios) |
|
| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
|
| Rating: | 9 |
This was a fantastic example of Big Finish's take on the 10th Doctor and Donna. The characterizations are a bit exaggerated during some moments, but in this story, it doesn't happen all that often. The story and setting are both classic Big Finish, but with David Tennant and Catherine Tate playing Doctor and Companion.
I will say, however, the last 10-15 minutes is a bit of a mess, but the rest of the audio flows really well from one idea to the next. Easily the best of the box set.
| | |
| It's basic & familiar, but also funny |
|
| | |
| What: | Torchwood: Sync (Torchwood audio dramas) |
|
| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
|
| Rating: | 7 |
Suzie Costello’s second Torchwood story is a shallow retread of the familiar plot of “Boom Town.” But, it is still somehow pretty fun!
Suzie and Margaret are bound by an extraterrestrial device. Which, is exactly what you think it is. Alien bracelets attach themselves to Suzie and Margaret. “If the bracelets move too far apart from each other... ZAP!”
The exploration of Suzie’s character was intriguing. At least, when Margaret wasn’t there to practically shout to the viewer “Hey! This is how you should feel about Suzie! I’ll speak aloud her character traits for you!” Meanwhile, Margaret herself was a mixed bag. Again, she was mostly there to shout Suzie’s character traits, but the abstract exploration of her character was very well done. Lines like “I love Solitaire. A game where you have all the cards, I could play that for hours!” really does a great job at showing who Margaret is, instead of telling the viewer. However, she’s also fickle. She keeps saying that she doesn’t want to kill Suzie because Suzie is necessary and Margaret doesn’t want to drag her dead body everywhere, but then she tries to kill Suzie anyways! Multiple times. Whether it be by a car crash or physically hunting Suzie.
Although, most of the poor characterization issues aren’t as in-your-face as other stories like “Death and the Queen.” This story keeps a fun tone with some neat dark humor moments. It’s unique to see a Torchwood episode that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Making funny episodes in this range could bring something really unique to Big Finish. The banter in this episode is certainly not your typical Doctor Who jokes! Plus, the ending was quite clever. I didn’t expect it to be honest!
All in all, this is nothing stand-out, but it’s fun. The characters are the main focal point, but the writing is hit-or-miss with them.
| | |
| Andy Davidson at his best! |
|
| | |
| What: | Torchwood: Fallout (Torchwood audiobooks) |
|
| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
|
| Rating: | 9 |
What a great example as to why Andy Davidson is a phenomenal character!
This is a very strong story featuring my favorite and mostly-underrated character from the spin-off, "Torchwood." We get a great insight into what Andy's everyday life is like as a cop while also seeing that routine get interrupted by a menacing alien. I won't spoil anything about the story, but it is one great ride. We see a lot of development in the character and this story showcases his willingness to help people, despite wanting absolutely nothing to do with Torchwood. It is important to mention that this story takes place after "Miracle Day." You don't need to watch Miracle Day to understand the story (because I haven't seen it and I could still understand everything perfectly), but just know that the Torchwood team is broken up at this point.
Everything from Tom Price's narration, the music that plays, the sound design, and the actual words on the page are extremely solid. It's nothing that will completely blow you away, but man is this just a strong piece of science fiction. Nothing gets overdone and the characters are extremely likable!
| | |
| False start, but really compelling after |
|
| | |
| What: | Torchwood: Made You Look (Torchwood audio dramas) |
|
| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
|
| Rating: | 8 |
“Made You Look” is a fine enough episode that, had it not messed up in the beginning, would've been a perfect 10
Hearing the idea of a being that actively messes with both the main character and the audio format itself is amazing. It's lovely to hear when an audio can pull something like that off. However, it takes a while for this idea to work. Going into this audio, one would expect a slowly building narrative that works to isolate the main character and play on paranoia. Unfortunately, the first 10-15 minutes are rushed. We get the basic rundown of how the villain works right out of the gate in a way that feels clunky and not well thought out. These ideas should have built up naturally over the narrative, but instead, we start off with a clunky example of the villain's powers.
After this, the episode then decides it wants to slow down into the snail's pace, atmospheric plot it wanted to be from the beginning. This transition is jarring and takes a little bit to get used to. However, when both you and the story settle into a groove, it is an amazing experience. The atmosphere is tense, not being able to see anything yourself plays to the story's advantage, and the villain makes you, the listener, feel like you're losing your mind too.
I cannot praise this story enough after the first 10 minutes, however, I also can't forgive the first ten minutes.
