Audio Reviews

[Spark Doll King]

The Blue Tooth






The third in the companion chronicles and the first proper Third Doctor story, I must say I was worried by this one. The only other BF Third Doctor story I had listened to was the The Prisoner of Peladon, a story that, as I said, did a poor job of characterising the third incarnation. Thankfully my fears evaporated as the story unfolded. 

A story that gives us our first Third Doctor/Cybermen story, something so natural it's a same it was never done for real in that era, as well as an idea as to why Liz eventually parted ways witht UNIT and the Doctor. 

Compared to BF's other works, the companion chronicles of this time feel rather anemic given that they are just stories told by a single companion, one other actor and few sound effects . Yet at the same time their a much more personal feel to them, and some can be truly great. This being one of them. I also want to point out the title, which is wonderfully misleading yet not entirely. I was expecting a story about someone developing modern day Bluetooth tech in the 60s via cyber technology. The answer I got was darkly ironic to that idea.

Liz herself is well characterised, portraying an independence that was there in series 7 but just wasn't given as much attention. Caroline John is great in the role, not only in her voice acting but also in that her voice has not changed that much either. 

While the Doctor appears little in this story, he feels far more in character, witht hem trying to work in a bit, though sadly not enough, of Pertwee's mannerisms into the dialog. 

They Cybermen of the story probably the most horrifying. The first was a dentist who discovered a leftover ship from The Invasion, and was eventually converted while working with the technology. This cyberman then develops a new way to convert others, A form of liquid metal that slowly converts the afflicted into the base form of a cyberman, or more horrifically, create a swarm of cyber-mats. There's a wonderfully horrid scene in which a swarm of them burrow out of a body a man the Doctor had attempted to cure. This is not the first time the Cybermen would utilise an infectious type of conversion but this is one of my favorites versions.

The stories big downside is that we don't get to see how it truly ended. Liz is rendered unconscious and the Doctor saves the day while she's out. 

The story also ends on a bitter note, much like the Silurians, as the Brigadier orders the destruction of any remaining cybermen, rather then allow the doctor to further study a cure and the liquid metal. I should point out that I very much like this part, and is a nice reminder that while the Doctor and the Brigadier are friends, at this time he works for UNIT and has no way of stopping them from taking more drastic measures.

A pretty good story despite it's "not conclusion". 

8/10 


   

[Spark Doll King]

Out of Time


So I finally caved and gave this one a listen and on the whole I was impressed.

Tom and Tennent actually bounce off eachother very well. Their Doctors are both at a point were they are alone, post Deadly Assassin and Waters of Mars respectively, and both are in very different mind sets. Four is finally unbound from everything that tied him to the Pertwee era and is free to begin his wanderings. Ten is clearly in his "Time Lord Victorious" mind set when angered and is trying to run from his eventual fate. The two sound like their having great fun taking the piss out of eachother and when they start to get serious it actually becomes very engrossing. Tom's Doctor has his whole future ahead of him and cannot understand the ego & darkness Tennent is exuding, with Ten going so far as to subtly ridicule Tom's self doubt in Genesis, saying he DOSE have the right and that he carries on not for his friends but for enemies that lurk out there. While Tom is always a joy, Tennent  really one me over here. His Doctor was always something of an ego maniac and wrongly thinking he knew best at all times, but I was always pissed off by the wasted potential of the Waters of Mar's Time Lord Victorious idea. A fleeting glimpse of a great idea that was squashed befor it could be examined and finally I get to see some of that potential idea here. It helps really give the two Doctors' conversations weight beyond the simple rivalry of other meetings. As a last point on this subject I also love how Four tries to comfort the wounded Ten by the end, to try and help him see the universe as he used to, an idea that I empathise with greatly.

The rest of the story is ok but nothing great, the setting of the Cathedral of Contemplation and the use of Daleks is a nice middle ground that suits each Doctor's eras but nothing truly outstanding is done with it. It's more of just facilitate out Doctor's meeting and doing things. Still despite it's simplicity it was very fun. The rest of the cast are serviceable but it's really Tom & Tennent's show.

Still it was well worth a listen 

8/10 

[rushy]

I liked Out of Time, but Tom felt more Pertwee-esque in terms of demeanour. He was predictably cuddly/heroic in a way that he never was in his own era.

[Spark Doll King]

Storm Warning


A while back I tried getting into the Eighth Doctor Novels, only to get completely stone walled by the very first book and how annoyed I became with it. So I recently decided to try out the Eighth Doctor Audios, as was suggest to me at the time I was trying to read the books.

Thankfully I was presently surprised.

The overall story had me guessing throughout, I learned about a bit of history I knew nothing about (The R101 Airship Crash) and really liked the characters.

Paul McGann is a little wooden at first, primarily when he's on his own, talking to himself, but as the story picks up and he has others to bounce off of he becomes more alive. I don't know if McGann did any work as Eighth prior to this after the Movie and I'm unshore of how the novels may have coloured the character, but if I had to describe him he's a fusion of the Tom and Davison's Doctors. Human, yet Alien but with a dark side to him that hint's a little a McCoy in his darker moments but only to taunt his enemies with his knowledge of things to come, not to trick them into falling into a trap. He also has a bit of Pertwee in him with how he can charm savage beasts.

Charley makes a great first impression; if I were it take her back-story at face value, she's a perfect companion for the Doctor. A young woman who decided to go out a start adventuring on her own terms and just so happened to meet a fellow traveller on her first jaunt. She's funny, empathic, resourceful, adaptable and makes a far better impression in her first story then most nuwho companions and even a few classic ones.

The overall theme of the story seems to be times of change and what path those change will take. How poetic that the story should be set on an airship, a technological dead end. Our caste is made up agents of the decaying British Empire and an alien race desperate for a guiding light as their way of life breaks down. Some embrace the right path of change; other cling to wrong and some character surprise you. Maybe I'm just too cynical these days but never did I expect Lord Tamworth of all people to be the person to choose peace over King & Country. Despite being a figure head for the empire, he's a man who deep down doesn't want war to break out again or to see pointless bloodshed, the type of nuanced character you rarely see in modern fiction. Nor did I expect the voice of reason Frayling to slip so effortlessly into blind imperial servant after all he had seen.

While I'm shore some may feel the part where the unmakers are scared by people roaring at them and the Unmaker Prime gets their ares handed to them by Tamworth in a fist fight a bit silly, I think it's both very funny but also an insightful commentary on the types of people who constantly think themselves superior to others, who bay for bloodshed and destruction, yet have never actually set foot on a battlefield in their lives. It's greatly symbolised in Tamworth victory as the Unmaker Prime though him weak and unworthy because he had lost his taste for war, yet it that very aspect of his character that gives Tamworth the courage to stand his ground and try to do the right thing.

I will say that I like the opening's ambiguity, this story really could kick off right after the Movie but is open enough let book fans enjoy it also. I also enjoyed the question surrounding Charley at the end. Is there something temporally wrong about her or is the Doctor making mountains out of mole hills? Time will tell.

A pretty good story despite McGann's initial stiffness.

8/10

[Spark Doll King]

Sword of Orion


The Eighth Doctor's second adventure with Charley has them them running in with tone of the Doctor's oldest enemies.

This was one of the first big finish audios I ever bought and I remember liking it at the time, and thankfully I still do, though apparently it's not that poplar among the wider fan circles. It's often regarded as a generic story with Cybermen but I feel that statment is unfair. More so then any other enemy I feel some fan genuinely forget what the Cybermen are about, even befor nuwho came along. While they have grander ambitions and actions in their history, Cybermen are not the Daleks. They are not conquerors, they are survivors and they will do it by any means necessary. As such the over all idea of Cybermen being discovered on a derelict ship  is exactly the type of horror story they perfectly fit into. While not at their most horrifying, many of the basic Cybermen aspects are used well here, with probably the stand out moment being when the our protagonists come across a broken down Cyber-Conversion factory, filled with the decaying remains of half-converted victims. Thats said I will agree there is little proper characterisation to them, but then is was Big Finish's first attempt and they do a decent job. That said it's here we see the beginning of an issue Big Finish have with their Cybermen. 

I've said befor that BF really struggles to get the characterisation of the different Cybermen types right, often haphazardly mixing aspects of different eras. By their manner of speaking these Cybermen sound like the 80s versions, which is further bolstered by the fact they come from Telos. That said their are many references to the Cyber Wars, which is a hug mess of unclarified continuity at this point but is mostly connected with the 70s Revenge Cybermen and finally the Cybermen on the cover are the Invasion 60s versions which would go on to main threat of the Cybermen mini-series. We also have Cybermats but that's less of an issue. That said this times ol Nick Briggs actually dose a decent voice for them.

McGann has clearly improved over his last story and feel more comfortable in his role and performance.  His Doctor doesn't do anything overly character defining sadly besides his little flashes of humanity towards Jansen as he requests she not take back Cyber-Conversion data to Orion. 

Charley get to do a bit more here, with her comical interaction with a sleazy merchant, her chipper personality and attempt to understand this new world she finds herself in. One might argue that she seems a little to comfortable win her surroundings, but then she is a companion eager for adventure and own the lottery by getting to travel with the Doctor. Instead of struggling with it, she embraces it, which I find very refreshing. Perhaps the most intreasting character nod is her distaste at the idea of Androids being treated as slaves. It's a nice touch given that while 1930 wasn't perfect, even by that time there was a cultural push back against slavery (infact The Slavery Abolition Act would be passed 3 years later) and a reminder that not everyone in the past was a foaming at the mouth, racist puritan.   

The main cast are sadly not as intreasting as the crew of the R101, but they ok for a bunch of space scrap merchants and crooks. Jansen is our main stand out though she's more of a mystery then a character until the end of the story.

The real meat of the story is what we learn of the Orion War, in which we learned that sentient Androids seeking to escape human persecution moved the the Orion sector and have been waging a pitched battle with humanity, with no side gaining ground. In fact when the conflict started in human space many humans and androids were killed because none could tell them apart, oh the irony.  Each side is looking for an edge and sadly for both of the, they are under the impression the Cybermen are the key to victory. A concept so intreasting it got it's own mini-series.

Over all I think this was a pretty good story. Maybe not as great as it could be but still a fun listen. 

7/10

[Cherry Pepsi Maxil]

Feb 27, 2024 13:57:08 GMT Spark Doll King said:

Sword of Orion


The Eighth Doctor's second adventure with Charley has them them running in with tone of the Doctor's oldest enemies.

This was one of the first big finish audios I ever bought and I remember liking it at the time, and thankfully I still do, though apparently it's not that poplar among the wider fan circles. It's often regarded as a generic story with Cybermen but I feel that statment is unfair. More so then any other enemy I feel some fan genuinely forget what the Cybermen are about, even befor nuwho came along. While they have grander ambitions and actions in their history, Cybermen are not the Daleks. They are not conquerors, they are survivors and they will do it by any means necessary. As such the over all idea of Cybermen being discovered on a derelict ship  is exactly the type of horror story they perfectly fit into. While not at their most horrifying, many of the basic Cybermen aspects are used well here, with probably the stand out moment being when the our protagonists come across a broken down Cyber-Conversion factory, filled with the decaying remains of half-converted victims. Thats said I will agree there is little proper characterisation to them, but then is was Big Finish's first attempt and they do a decent job. That said it's here we see the beginning of an issue Big Finish have with their Cybermen. 

I've said befor that BF really struggles to get the characterisation of the different Cybermen types right, often haphazardly mixing aspects of different eras. By their manner of speaking these Cybermen sound like the 80s versions, which is further bolstered by the fact they come from Telos. That said their are many references to the Cyber Wars, which is a hug mess of unclarified continuity at this point but is mostly connected with the 70s Revenge Cybermen and finally the Cybermen on the cover are the Invasion 60s versions which would go on to main threat of the Cybermen mini-series. We also have Cybermats but that's less of an issue. That said this times ol Nick Briggs actually dose a decent voice for them.

McGann has clearly improved over his last story and feel more comfortable in his role and performance.  His Doctor doesn't do anything overly character defining sadly besides his little flashes of humanity towards Jansen as he requests she not take back Cyber-Conversion data to Orion. 

Charley get to do a bit more here, with her comical interaction with a sleazy merchant, her chipper personality and attempt to understand this new world she finds herself in. One might argue that she seems a little to comfortable win her surroundings, but then she is a companion eager for adventure and own the lottery by getting to travel with the Doctor. Instead of struggling with it, she embraces it, which I find very refreshing. Perhaps the most intreasting character nod is her distaste at the idea of Androids being treated as slaves. It's a nice touch given that while 1930 wasn't perfect, even by that time there was a cultural push back against slavery (infact The Slavery Abolition Act would be passed 3 years later) and a reminder that not everyone in the past was a foaming at the mouth, racist puritan.   

The main cast are sadly not as intreasting as the crew of the R101, but they ok for a bunch of space scrap merchants and crooks. Jansen is our main stand out though she's more of a mystery then a character until the end of the story.

The real meat of the story is what we learn of the Orion War, in which we learned that sentient Androids seeking to escape human persecution moved the the Orion sector and have been waging a pitched battle with humanity, with no side gaining ground. In fact when the conflict started in human space many humans and androids were killed because none could tell them apart, oh the irony.  Each side is looking for an edge and sadly for both of the, they are under the impression the Cybermen are the key to victory. A concept so intreasting it got it's own mini-series.

Over all I think this was a pretty good story. Maybe not as great as it could be but still a fun listen. 

7/10

WOW, only £2.99 to download on the Big Finish site. As a huge Cyberman fan I feel compelled to listen to this. I think I listened to an 8th Doctor/Charley story about ten years ago. I believe it was Seasons of Fear, but I can't remember all that much about it.

[Ludders II]

Storm Warning and Sword of Orion!
Now you're going back to the days when I actually used to enjoy Big Finish.
I agree Storm Warning was a pretty good start for the eighth Doctor, and I liked Sword of Orion even more.
I think listening to the eighth Doctor audios in order is best, because there's a bit of an arc to each season. Although not to the point where you can't listen to them randomly.

[Ludders II]

Feb 27, 2024 14:59:40 GMT Cherry Pepsi Maxil said:

Feb 27, 2024 13:57:08 GMT Spark Doll King said:

Sword of Orion


The Eighth Doctor's second adventure with Charley has them them running in with tone of the Doctor's oldest enemies.

This was one of the first big finish audios I ever bought and I remember liking it at the time, and thankfully I still do, though apparently it's not that poplar among the wider fan circles. It's often regarded as a generic story with Cybermen but I feel that statment is unfair. More so then any other enemy I feel some fan genuinely forget what the Cybermen are about, even befor nuwho came along. While they have grander ambitions and actions in their history, Cybermen are not the Daleks. They are not conquerors, they are survivors and they will do it by any means necessary. As such the over all idea of Cybermen being discovered on a derelict ship  is exactly the type of horror story they perfectly fit into. While not at their most horrifying, many of the basic Cybermen aspects are used well here, with probably the stand out moment being when the our protagonists come across a broken down Cyber-Conversion factory, filled with the decaying remains of half-converted victims. Thats said I will agree there is little proper characterisation to them, but then is was Big Finish's first attempt and they do a decent job. That said it's here we see the beginning of an issue Big Finish have with their Cybermen. 

I've said befor that BF really struggles to get the characterisation of the different Cybermen types right, often haphazardly mixing aspects of different eras. By their manner of speaking these Cybermen sound like the 80s versions, which is further bolstered by the fact they come from Telos. That said their are many references to the Cyber Wars, which is a hug mess of unclarified continuity at this point but is mostly connected with the 70s Revenge Cybermen and finally the Cybermen on the cover are the Invasion 60s versions which would go on to main threat of the Cybermen mini-series. We also have Cybermats but that's less of an issue. That said this times ol Nick Briggs actually dose a decent voice for them.

McGann has clearly improved over his last story and feel more comfortable in his role and performance.  His Doctor doesn't do anything overly character defining sadly besides his little flashes of humanity towards Jansen as he requests she not take back Cyber-Conversion data to Orion. 

Charley get to do a bit more here, with her comical interaction with a sleazy merchant, her chipper personality and attempt to understand this new world she finds herself in. One might argue that she seems a little to comfortable win her surroundings, but then she is a companion eager for adventure and own the lottery by getting to travel with the Doctor. Instead of struggling with it, she embraces it, which I find very refreshing. Perhaps the most intreasting character nod is her distaste at the idea of Androids being treated as slaves. It's a nice touch given that while 1930 wasn't perfect, even by that time there was a cultural push back against slavery (infact The Slavery Abolition Act would be passed 3 years later) and a reminder that not everyone in the past was a foaming at the mouth, racist puritan.   

The main cast are sadly not as intreasting as the crew of the R101, but they ok for a bunch of space scrap merchants and crooks. Jansen is our main stand out though she's more of a mystery then a character until the end of the story.

The real meat of the story is what we learn of the Orion War, in which we learned that sentient Androids seeking to escape human persecution moved the the Orion sector and have been waging a pitched battle with humanity, with no side gaining ground. In fact when the conflict started in human space many humans and androids were killed because none could tell them apart, oh the irony.  Each side is looking for an edge and sadly for both of the, they are under the impression the Cybermen are the key to victory. A concept so intreasting it got it's own mini-series.

Over all I think this was a pretty good story. Maybe not as great as it could be but still a fun listen. 

7/10

WOW, only £2.99 to download on the Big Finish site. As a huge Cyberman fan I feel compelled to listen to this. I think I listened to an 8th Doctor/Charley story about ten years ago. I believe it was Seasons of Fear, but I can't remember all that much about it.

Have you listened to any 7th Doctor audios at all?
If not, I think you'd enjoy them. I really grew to appreciate Sylv and Sophie in particular through the early BF stories. They really capture the spirit of the Doctor and Ace's relationship.

[burrunjor]

Sept 10, 2023 19:22:12 GMT Spark Doll King said:

Out of Time


So I finally caved and gave this one a listen and on the whole I was impressed.

Tom and Tennent actually bounce off eachother very well. Their Doctors are both at a point were they are alone, post Deadly Assassin and Waters of Mars respectively, and both are in very different mind sets. Four is finally unbound from everything that tied him to the Pertwee era and is free to begin his wanderings. Ten is clearly in his "Time Lord Victorious" mind set when angered and is trying to run from his eventual fate. The two sound like their having great fun taking the piss out of eachother and when they start to get serious it actually becomes very engrossing. Tom's Doctor has his whole future ahead of him and cannot understand the ego & darkness Tennent is exuding, with Ten going so far as to subtly ridicule Tom's self doubt in Genesis, saying he DOSE have the right and that he carries on not for his friends but for enemies that lurk out there. While Tom is always a joy, Tennent  really one me over here. His Doctor was always something of an ego maniac and wrongly thinking he knew best at all times, but I was always pissed off by the wasted potential of the Waters of Mar's Time Lord Victorious idea. A fleeting glimpse of a great idea that was squashed befor it could be examined and finally I get to see some of that potential idea here. It helps really give the two Doctors' conversations weight beyond the simple rivalry of other meetings. As a last point on this subject I also love how Four tries to comfort the wounded Ten by the end, to try and help him see the universe as he used to, an idea that I empathise with greatly.

The rest of the story is ok but nothing great, the setting of the Cathedral of Contemplation and the use of Daleks is a nice middle ground that suits each Doctor's eras but nothing truly outstanding is done with it. It's more of just facilitate out Doctor's meeting and doing things. Still despite it's simplicity it was very fun. The rest of the cast are serviceable but it's really Tom & Tennent's show.

Still it was well worth a listen 

8/10 

Really enjoyed that story too. Even though by the time I heard it I was done trying to think of New Who and old Who as being in the same canon, I still enjoyed Ten and Four's interactions. 

[burrunjor]

Feb 27, 2024 18:05:14 GMT Ludders II said:

Feb 27, 2024 14:59:40 GMT Cherry Pepsi Maxil said:

WOW, only £2.99 to download on the Big Finish site. As a huge Cyberman fan I feel compelled to listen to this. I think I listened to an 8th Doctor/Charley story about ten years ago. I believe it was Seasons of Fear, but I can't remember all that much about it.

Have you listened to any 7th Doctor audios at all?
If not, I think you'd enjoy them. I really grew to appreciate Sylv and Sophie in particular through the early BF stories. They really capture the spirit of the Doctor and Ace's relationship.

I love Enemy of the Daleks. I think that's honestly one of the best Dalek stories in any medium and was a big influence on my Dalek adventure as it I think it really showed how dangerous they were on an intergalactic scale. I loved that scene of the female soldier having PTSD about the Dalek war she was in. 

[burrunjor]

Who did the OP? Was it Maxil or the guy who keeps changing his name? (I know his real name as I know him on FB but obviously I won't divulge that here LOL.)

Either way I actually just got that Sixth Doctor and Peri Dalek adventure for my birthday. I'm still to listen to most of my BF audios that I got for my birthday actually. I've listened to some of the Paternoster Gang so far and it's been great fun, but I need to get round to Frankenstein and the Dalek adventure.

[rushy]

I remember Enemy of the Daleks being a great romp, with the music harkening back to the electric guitar used in Survival. Plus the way they paid homage to the famous "do I have the right" dilemma without directly referencing it was very clever.

[burrunjor]

Feb 27, 2024 18:39:26 GMT rushy said:

I remember Enemy of the Daleks being a great romp, with the music harkening back to the electric guitar used in Survival. Plus the way they paid homage to the famous "do I have the right" dilemma without directly referencing it was very clever.

Enemy of the Daleks I honestly think would make a great DW film, as it does seem to have a bit more of an epic feel to it, and the monsters visually would probably be too much for a tv episode. 

[Spark Doll King]

Feb 27, 2024 18:18:51 GMT burrunjor said:

Who did the OP? Was it Maxil or the guy who keeps changing his name? (I know his real name as I know him on FB but obviously I won't divulge that here LOL.)

Either way I actually just got that Sixth Doctor and Peri Dalek adventure for my birthday. I'm still to listen to most of my BF audios that I got for my birthday actually. I've listened to some of the Paternoster Gang so far and it's been great fun, but I need to get round to Frankenstein and the Dalek adventure.

That would be yours truly.

Honestly Masters of Earth is a great story, I just was a bit nitpicky due to my love of Invasion of Earth.

[Spark Doll King]

Feb 27, 2024 17:59:54 GMT Ludders II said:

Storm Warning and Sword of Orion!
Now you're going back to the days when I actually used to enjoy Big Finish.
I agree Storm Warning was a pretty good start for the eighth Doctor, and I liked Sword of Orion even more.
I think listening to the eighth Doctor audios in order is best, because there's a bit of an arc to each season. Although not to the point where you can't listen to them randomly.

Honestly it's been a real pleasure listening to these, I've actually been really indifferent to DW lately thanks to nuwho but thanks to these audios I've got my passion back again.

I'm even going to give the books a try again, but this time I'm using a Text to Speech to let me enjoy them more. I have sever dyslexia so sometimes sitting in reading is a real chore.