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| What: | The Beautiful People (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Monday 1 November 2021 |
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| Rating: |   7 |
"The Beautiful People" would have sat very well in Doctor Who 1979. It's slightly satirical, joke-filled, and not too taxing on the brain cells. That said, the story plays out fairly well, following the logic of an evil genius who takes dieting to the extreme. Lala Ward is a very good reader, keeping the pace going and not overdoing the impressions. Fans of the Graham Williams / Douglas Adams variety of Doctor Who will like this one.
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 | A mystery in the bloodline |
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| What: | Tomb Ship (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
This episode didn't enamor me as much as I thought it would at first, but it takes up until the ending for the listener to fully appreciate this one. This is an adventure, through and through!
This Indiana Jones-styled adventure in space did not disappoint when the final credits rolled, but it did take a bit of work to get there. I couldn't tell some of the characters apart and the audio mixing had a few issues, but those are minor on the whole. The biggest issue this story faced was the fact that it was too visual. Not only with the setting, but the whole idea of tomb-styled booby traps doesn't work the best in audio. On paper it's great, and the scriptwriters did their best with it, but it slowed down the pace a little too much during some places. However, as you get further along into the story, you realize that you are there less for the traps, and more for the twists. Said twists aren't on a "World Enough & Time" level, but they infused an interesting bit of drama that I was keen to hear play out.
The biggest draw for this episode is the ending. It took me until the final 10 minutes to realize that all I had listened to beforehand was buildup. The climax of the story was expertly acted, The sound design was immaculate, and the music was phenomenal. It had an intensity to it that too few monthly stories attempt. Like I said at the beginning, this is an adventure, through and through. As the cast grew and shrank, motives learned, and loved ones lost, you really get a sense of how much had happened in the past 2 hours. Other audios may feel like standstills or like not much happens (looking at you, "Scavenger"), but this story kept moving and everything culminated into a stellar ending!
Side note: For context, there is a character in this episode that was originally introduced in the previous story "Moonflesh." It's not critical to know who she is, but that is where she is from. This is technically her trilogy, though, she doesn't appear until very late into the story.
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| Great, just needed to be more confident |
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| What: | Tales from New Earth (Miscellaneous audio dramas) |
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| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
Great set, just needed more confidence in itself
This set did a really great job at expanding the world of New Earth. Both inside New New York and beyond. It really takes a great approach to expand upon the different religions and species that were introduced in episodes like “New Earth” and “Gridlock.” It has more of a Companion Chronicles approach to its production (partly narrative, partly acted). Being a fan of that series, it was easy to slip into that format. Plus, having a series set in a Doctor Who location, but without the Doctor, himself is a cool idea. Until the Doctor actually popped in, that is.
I was invested in seeing the inexperienced Devon grow over the four-hour box set and really come into his own, but unfortunately, the Doctor won’t let him. When the Doctor comes in, he completely takes center stage and Devon is stuck in the role of secondary companion (as the second main character of the episode usually does more than him). I even forgot Devon was there at some points when Tennant’s incarnation took over. You can tell 10 was just thrown in because Big Finish was worried the box set wouldn’t sell. But honestly, it doesn’t need him there for any of the episodes, much less two of them.
My favorite from the box set is the last story, “The Cats of New Cairo.” It really invested me in the world-building and the hierarchy of cats. Plus, it felt like a properly epic conclusion. It was exciting hearing the main villain shout to all the underlings, and even though you can’t see anything, you get a very clear picture of how screwed the world is going to be! There are some places of patchwork in the episode and the denouement is rushed, but that doesn’t detract from the episode much. The rest of the audio definitely makes up for it.
Now, I will give a few notices. If you are sensitive to PC stuff, you’ll be fine with this set. The main character is gay, but he’s an actual character and not used as a political concept. He’s written very maturely.
For those that swing the other way, I will put out a trigger warning. This set deals in the “bury your gays” trope. It’s not just there to be there, it does have a narrative purpose as fuel for Devon’s character, but it is still there and something the entire box set is kinda reliant on. This one might be worth a skip if that bothers you.
All in all, this is not a “blow your socks off” story, but it is a lot better and deeper than what people who haven’t listened to it give it credit for. The characters are fun, the stories are consistent, and it’s easy to re-listen to. I recommend trying this one if you see it on a sale sometime.
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| Overall, strong run, but a few nitpicks |
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| What: | The Weeping Angels of Mons (Titan graphic novels) |
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| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
My review will be of each of the stories separately...
1) THE WEEPING ANGELS OF MONS: Many believe that the Weeping Angels will never reach the menace they first had during “Blink,” but this story takes a remarkable stab at it!
The DW comics universe gives us this beautiful, gritty, and fantastically drawn WWII story with aliens. Seriously, the art style is great here. The hard lines add a gritty feeling that is contrasted by both previous releases and future ones too. It helps tell the story and is stand-out. This is my favorite visual representation of WWII.
There isn’t a large and complex story filled with multiple plot twists in this comic. It’s a straight action-adventure piece with some horror elements. We are in WWII, here are your characters, there are Weeping Angels, go!
Everything felt even, the characters were nice, and the way that this story utilized the Angels was unexpectedly clever. I was literally sitting there thinking; “Okay. This is bad. How are they going to get out of this one?” And then something unexpected, but completely logical happened and it got me strangely excited. I literally started whooping and cheering in my room. That shows how powerful and intense these comics can be.
The only downside to this comic is David Tennent’s exuberance being exaggerated again. He feels like Matt Smith more than he does David Tennent here, as most Doctor Who media outside the TV show tends to do (Yes, that includes Big Finish, which is why “Death and the Queen” is poor. Check out my old review on it).
Overall, if you are looking for a place to start the DW comics, or are a little iffy about 10’s adventures, I would give you this as my recommendation! Volumes one and two are great and this is my favorite comic story yet! Excited to see what happens in the third installment!
9/10
2) ECHO: You ever heard of Technobabble?
Following up the mature, gritty, and long "The Weeping Angels of Mons" (which was pretty fantastic), we have this rushed little mess of an otherwise neat premise. Essentially, Gabby goes back to Earth to visit her family and the duo uncover a strange phenomenon where people can't stop screaming. It's a neat idea that could have made for an intriguing read, but the previous story didn't leave the artists enough pages to flesh it out correctly.
The alien explanation behind everything is in-your-face and turns what could've been a slowly building mystery into a non-stop action piece. During the action, the Doctor reams lines and lines of random technobabble to explain what the aliens are, the weapons they are using, and what their plan is. It's basically a Wikipedia page, but with one or two more explosions than your average encyclopedia. Then, the duo travels to one location and magically fix everything with the wave of the sonic screwdriver... I usually like the sonic screwdriver, but the comics are more and more just using it as a scapegoat.
Although, this isn't a total trainwreck. The art here is stunning. It really shows off the team's capabilities after going from a gritty and bleak warzone to a sprawling cityscape featuring glowing alien whales. The visual of peoples' screams being stolen from their bodies was unsettling and very well handled. The tone is constructed perfectly through the visuals, but the script doesn't match it. The action, while rushed, was kind of fun too. Plus, Gabby was on top form here. I really like her character. In just a few stories she seems so capable of being in the Doctor's world for the long run.
All in all, the only real downside to this story is that there wasn't enough of it.
7/10
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| A cinematic audio drama? HECK YES!! |
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| What: | The Middle (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
Can I call an Audio Drama cinematic? That doesn’t matter because I will definitely use that word to describe this one. The setting is novel for Doctor Who and there really isn’t anything like it in New Who, Classic Who, or even the audios before and after this. It’s set in a sprawling, colorful, and beautiful futuristic city and it stays in that elegance for the entirety of the audio. Not once does it have characters run down gloomy corridors, or explore the slums. It keeps the beautiful, cinematic feel all the way to the end.
This is a story that takes a weird concept and runs with it. Initially, it seems like a basic euthanasia plot, but then a striking twist happens concerning “the end” that took me by surprise. I won’t spoil it, but it did feel a bit absurd upon first listening. Yet, over time they take this laughable concept and add just enough seriousness to it that I actually believed it. The cliffhanger of part 3 is what made me enjoy the concept of the end much more than I had previously.
This is the first episode I’ve heard with Flip or Constance and the fact that they are broken up gave me a great idea of what they were like without one overtaking another. I love these kinds of stories that seed companions or even the Doctor into the normal, everyday life of the world they are on and have each work on the inside. My only problem is that I wish this concept was pushed further.
As is surprisingly frequent with Big Finish, the ending was poor. The last 10 minutes or so were tacked on, messy, and took away from the original plot rather than create a great ending for it. It wasn't the worst ending, but it did end up being a bit of an annoyance really. That being said, this is still a sensational audio drama that puts you in the mindset of one of the most beautiful cinematic landscapes you can imagine!
| What: | Resolution (BBC new series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
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| Rating: | 2 |
Here we are promised to have a sprawling, earth-shaking epic, but most of the run-time has the companions and the Doctor being stuck in the TARDIS, while Ryan berates his father.
The tone was all over the place. From boring soap opera to boring “sci-fi.” It did, however, have an excellent beginning. The Dalek loose in the sewer was creepy and well implemented, and the idea of it taking over human bodies was genius. I seriously loved that bit, and wanted that to be the whole episode. Sadly, that’s not the case. What does happen instead is the Dalek leaves the sewers and tries to rebuild its casing on an earth junkyard. This sends us into a boring new plot.
I literally laughed out loud when the junkyard Dalek was on screen because it looks stupid. Also, I want to point out that there is no way that a Dalek could build a new, fully functioning, missile-loaded battle tank in less than an hour in an abandoned shed. Plus, I think it’s absurd that it was blown up by a bomb fashioned out of a microwave at the end. It is so tacky and last minute.
This episode was also played for laughs most of the time but in a very forced manner. Specifically, the one-liner told about drunk people on New Year. I also hated how the show completely got rid of UNIT in the stupidest joke possible. The entirety of series 11 tries too hard to be too new and “relatable.” Most of the damage this series has done is irreparable. UNIT cannot come back now (or at least it can’t in a way that doesn’t feel like “Uh oh, we screwed up. Put them back in, put them back in the show!”)
Honestly, there is so much wrong with this and series 11 as a whole, I cannot describe it all here. So, I will instead talk about what could have made this episode good: Having everyone stay in the sewer and split up. One by one everyone is taken over by the Dalek as it tries to learn more about the Doctor. Making this a slow-burning horror story would have been the best way to go, especially since that is how it starts (only for it to take a hard shift in tone that lasts the rest of this snooze-fest).
So to sum up, stupid overpowered Dalek that’s blown up by a microwave, and people on New Year having their WiFi shut down for a little while as the high stakes...
At least it looks pretty.
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| This is a beautiful piece of work |
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| What: | Arrangements for War (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
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| 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) |
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| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
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| 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!
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| Easy to listen & very engrossing |
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| What: | Colditz (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
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| 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) |
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| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
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| 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.
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| The worst Nev Fountain story... |
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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) |
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| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
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| 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.
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| An amazing adventure fleshing out Polly! |
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| What: | Resistance (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
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| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
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| 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!
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| Relatable and funny with genuine heart |
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| What: | Torchwood: Fall to Earth (Torchwood audio dramas) |
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| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
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| 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!
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| It's a mixed bag to say the least |
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| What: | Revolution of the Daleks (BBC new series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
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| 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.”
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| Witty, creative, and funny |
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| What: | The Quantum Possibility Engine (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
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| 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
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| Favorite Big Finish story EVER! |
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| What: | Aquitaine (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
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| 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!
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| Good stuff, but a bit run-of-the-mill |
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| What: | Rat Trap (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
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| 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!
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| There's just nothing to love about this |
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| What: | Heroes of Sontar (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Jared Star, Portsmouth, United States |
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| Date: | Wednesday 27 October 2021 |
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| 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.
