Yet MORE Adventures in (DW) Audio Land...
May. 4th, 2011 10:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
caz963Amid all the hoo-ha surrounding the advent of S6 of DW on telly, I had a chance to listen to a few more Eighth Doctor audios while I was on Easter hols. As with the ones I've already heard, the last lot I’ve listened to are a mixed bunch, including a couple of blinders, something that should have been awesome (and sadly wasn't) and something I didn't really care for at all.
The good - The Time of the Daleks and Neverland. I know that many roll their eyes at them but I like the Daleks, okay? And it's a pretty good story as well, with Shakespeare somehow missing from history (which explains how Orson Welles didn't recognise a quote from Hamlet in Invaders from Mars and why Charley has never heard of him.) This is one of those that I managed to listen to all of in (almost) a single sitting (or actually, ironing session), and I thought the story of a megalomaniac who wanted to be the only person in history to be able to remember the Immortal Bard fairly rattled along.
The real stand-out though was Neverland, wherein we’re reacquainted with Romana (squee!), who is now the President of the Time Lords. Lalla Ward has such a wonderfully authoritative voice - you certainly wouldn't dream of messing with Romana, but she's got a fun side too and Ward plays her to perfection.
The story starts with the Doctor running away (or trying to) from a fleet of Battle TARDISes (should that be TARDII?!); he thinks the Time Lords are after him because of the paradox he created by saving Charley from the R-101 and he’s not about to hand her over to them so they can set things right by letting her die or killing her. But Charley’s having none of it – she’s grateful for the extra time she’s had and the scene where she compares the Doctor to Peter Pan and insists that it's time for her to die is brilliantly conceived and executed.
The plot hinges on the fact that time is breaking and on the threat from the "Neverpeople" who are able to break through into this universe through Charley, all because she didn't die when she was supposed to. These Neverpeople breaking through is of course A. Bad. Thing, and so the logical answer is to cut off their gateway by killing Charley, which, of course, the Doctor won't do. This leads to what is, judging from stuff I've read online, the controversial "ILU moment". I dunno. I took it as it was written - "You're my friend and I love you" - because the Doctor loves all of his companions, rather than a declaration of romantic love, which is obviously how Charley has interpreted it. Needless to say, this moment comes back to bite both of them in the bum, but IMO, it's never explained/handled very well. Also - I don't see it. (or hear it, whatever.) I know that there are people for whom Charley is one of the best DW companions, but I'm afraid I find her rather bland and - at times - annoying. I think I probably did the wrong thing by listening to the "new" EDAs first because Lucie is much more the sort of companion I prefer.
And I've never got a sense of that sort of relationship building between them. With Eight and Lucie, I could definitely feel their friendship developing throughout the course of their adventures, and I’d say there’s even a frisson that hints at more sometimes, but I’ve not – so far – found that to be the case with Eight and Charley. Just IMO of course.
Anyway, Neverland is fab and Zagreus which was BF’s 40th anniversary bash should have been brilliant. But – it’s not. The premise sounds good – the Doctor has absorbed all that anti-time and turns eeevil as a result, but unfortunately, having your leading man spend most of a 4 hour adventure locked in somewhere and talking to himself probably isn’t the best way to go. Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy are all in the cast, although not as the Doctor (well, not until near the end) and there’s the disembodied voice of Jon Pertwee in there, too, although unfortunately whatever treatment they’ve used has distorted it so much that I couldn’t understand what he was saying
The rest of the cast is peopled by other DW alumni – Nicola Bryant, Bonnie Langford, Sophie Aldred, and others. all of them playing different roles – and there’s also the return of Leela. I rather liked the relationship between her and Romana - they’re chalk and cheese and it works really well.
Other good bits include the personification of the TARDIS (voiced by the late Nicholas Courtney) having a bit of a hissy fit about being used to contain the explosion of anti-time and being jealous of Charley (!)
- and Leela’s speech about the Doctor, which, for me, has echoes… or rather, is a precursor to River’s speech at the end of FotD.
Everywhere you go they tell tales of the Doctor.
There are galaxies far away from here where children sleep more soundly, knowing he’s out there, fighting off the demons. And the demons twist and turn in fear, knowing that their enemy awaits. So long as the stories are told, he’s never really gone.
Zagreus is sort of several stories in one, and it was entertaining enough, but to be honest, I’m not sure what the hell happened, other than that Rassilon (oh yes, he turns up and is revealed to be a nasty piece of work!) interfered with the evolution of practically every species in the galaxy and sealed one particular species – the Divergence – into their own universe at the end of time because he feared their power. And now the Doctor is infected with anti-time and his dual personality, he has to leave this universe to go into that inhabited by the Divergence. He wants to go there alone, so he tries to say goodbye to Charley but she’s having none of it, and sneaks aboard the TARDIS.
It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it – I did, but I think it was more for the “ooh, listen, it’s Peri/Mel/Ace/The Brig” as someone else” – value, than for the actual story which was a bit confusing and overlong.
The audio I didn’t care for very much was Scherzo, which I know is probably an “unpopular fandom opinion”. It’s unusual in that it’s a two-hander – just the Doctor and Charley wandering around in – literally – the middle of nowhere, pondering the nature of existence and love … and music. I think this is the first time I’ve actually wanted to slap the Doctor and tell him to get over himself. I know that that’s a reaction many have towards my beloved Ten, but really, his arseholic tendencies and his ability to behave like a total git towards his companions on occasion are nothing compared to the way Eight behaves here. Fortunately, he’s not like that all the way through – and I can understand his attitude to an extent because the fact that Charley followed him when he specifically wanted her not to rather negates the reason he’s there at all. And there’s a weird plot about their being “absorbed” into each other, which I suppose is symbolic – at the end of which they’re packed off – minus the TARDIS - into the new, Divergent universe.
It’s not at all clear at first just where they are or what this universe consists of. The first story The Creed of the Kromon wasn’t the best choice with which to open a new season or a new story arc or introduce a new companion. In fact, it was a bit ikky in places. I’m not particularly squeamish, but what happened to Lida and then to Charley made me want to reach for the bucket.
Also – why the hell is C’Rizz pronounced “Keriz”? Why not just write it like that and have done with it?
Things really picked up with the next story though, The Natural History of Fear. It was one of those that sort of started in the middle, so from the off, you’re wondering what the hell is going on. Also, it’s a bit confusing to start with because none of the actors are playing their regular characters – and if I’ve got a beef about that it’s that I hadn’t had time to get used to Conrad Westmass’ voice enough to be able to distinguish him from some of the other cast members. The story has a 1984-like setting, where questions are forbidden, the motto is “happiness through acceptance” and there’s a character called The Conscience who is summoned whenever anyone dares to ask questions or have thoughts they’re not supposed to have. I was absolutely gripped by the story, even though I found the reveal to be a bit of a wtf? moment.
After that, it was back to a more traditional DW story in The Twilight Kingdom. Eight, Charley and C’Rizz end up in the middle of some sort of civil war, where one of the leaders is able to exert a kind of mind-control over the emotions of his followers. The three of them start to turn against each other – and at the end, the Doctor starts to realize that wherever they all are, they’re being observed somehow and for some as yet unknown reason. The listener has known that all along as the mysterious “Choker” (?) has referred to the Doctor’s adventures as experiments and he seems to be the one directing them from one “land” to the next.
I’m taking a short break from the Eight audios now because I think I might be ODing on them or something. I found the Creed of the Kromon such hard going that I was going to stop there, but fortunately, I finished it at a point where I didn’t have anything else with me and went straight on to The Natural History of Fear which rather restored my faith somewhat.
Instead, I’m going to poke about through some of BF’s other stuff – I’ve got some Six and Seven audios to listen to, as well as some of their other DW spin-offs, so I might give some of those a go before I come back to Eight’s adventures with Charley and C’Rizz.
Oh – I saw the other week that Eight’s new companion is to be no other than Mary Shelley. An interesting choice – have any of the Doctors had an actual historical figure as a companion before? And she’s had a fair few name-checks throughout Eight’s run so far, so I suppose it makes sense – and she’ll be (I imagine) very, very different from the fabulous Lucie-bleedin’-Miller.
The good - The Time of the Daleks and Neverland. I know that many roll their eyes at them but I like the Daleks, okay? And it's a pretty good story as well, with Shakespeare somehow missing from history (which explains how Orson Welles didn't recognise a quote from Hamlet in Invaders from Mars and why Charley has never heard of him.) This is one of those that I managed to listen to all of in (almost) a single sitting (or actually, ironing session), and I thought the story of a megalomaniac who wanted to be the only person in history to be able to remember the Immortal Bard fairly rattled along.
The real stand-out though was Neverland, wherein we’re reacquainted with Romana (squee!), who is now the President of the Time Lords. Lalla Ward has such a wonderfully authoritative voice - you certainly wouldn't dream of messing with Romana, but she's got a fun side too and Ward plays her to perfection.
The story starts with the Doctor running away (or trying to) from a fleet of Battle TARDISes (should that be TARDII?!); he thinks the Time Lords are after him because of the paradox he created by saving Charley from the R-101 and he’s not about to hand her over to them so they can set things right by letting her die or killing her. But Charley’s having none of it – she’s grateful for the extra time she’s had and the scene where she compares the Doctor to Peter Pan and insists that it's time for her to die is brilliantly conceived and executed.
The plot hinges on the fact that time is breaking and on the threat from the "Neverpeople" who are able to break through into this universe through Charley, all because she didn't die when she was supposed to. These Neverpeople breaking through is of course A. Bad. Thing, and so the logical answer is to cut off their gateway by killing Charley, which, of course, the Doctor won't do. This leads to what is, judging from stuff I've read online, the controversial "ILU moment". I dunno. I took it as it was written - "You're my friend and I love you" - because the Doctor loves all of his companions, rather than a declaration of romantic love, which is obviously how Charley has interpreted it. Needless to say, this moment comes back to bite both of them in the bum, but IMO, it's never explained/handled very well. Also - I don't see it. (or hear it, whatever.) I know that there are people for whom Charley is one of the best DW companions, but I'm afraid I find her rather bland and - at times - annoying. I think I probably did the wrong thing by listening to the "new" EDAs first because Lucie is much more the sort of companion I prefer.
And I've never got a sense of that sort of relationship building between them. With Eight and Lucie, I could definitely feel their friendship developing throughout the course of their adventures, and I’d say there’s even a frisson that hints at more sometimes, but I’ve not – so far – found that to be the case with Eight and Charley. Just IMO of course.
Anyway, Neverland is fab and Zagreus which was BF’s 40th anniversary bash should have been brilliant. But – it’s not. The premise sounds good – the Doctor has absorbed all that anti-time and turns eeevil as a result, but unfortunately, having your leading man spend most of a 4 hour adventure locked in somewhere and talking to himself probably isn’t the best way to go. Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy are all in the cast, although not as the Doctor (well, not until near the end) and there’s the disembodied voice of Jon Pertwee in there, too, although unfortunately whatever treatment they’ve used has distorted it so much that I couldn’t understand what he was saying
The rest of the cast is peopled by other DW alumni – Nicola Bryant, Bonnie Langford, Sophie Aldred, and others. all of them playing different roles – and there’s also the return of Leela. I rather liked the relationship between her and Romana - they’re chalk and cheese and it works really well.
Other good bits include the personification of the TARDIS (voiced by the late Nicholas Courtney) having a bit of a hissy fit about being used to contain the explosion of anti-time and being jealous of Charley (!)
- and Leela’s speech about the Doctor, which, for me, has echoes… or rather, is a precursor to River’s speech at the end of FotD.
Everywhere you go they tell tales of the Doctor.
There are galaxies far away from here where children sleep more soundly, knowing he’s out there, fighting off the demons. And the demons twist and turn in fear, knowing that their enemy awaits. So long as the stories are told, he’s never really gone.
Zagreus is sort of several stories in one, and it was entertaining enough, but to be honest, I’m not sure what the hell happened, other than that Rassilon (oh yes, he turns up and is revealed to be a nasty piece of work!) interfered with the evolution of practically every species in the galaxy and sealed one particular species – the Divergence – into their own universe at the end of time because he feared their power. And now the Doctor is infected with anti-time and his dual personality, he has to leave this universe to go into that inhabited by the Divergence. He wants to go there alone, so he tries to say goodbye to Charley but she’s having none of it, and sneaks aboard the TARDIS.
It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it – I did, but I think it was more for the “ooh, listen, it’s Peri/Mel/Ace/The Brig” as someone else” – value, than for the actual story which was a bit confusing and overlong.
The audio I didn’t care for very much was Scherzo, which I know is probably an “unpopular fandom opinion”. It’s unusual in that it’s a two-hander – just the Doctor and Charley wandering around in – literally – the middle of nowhere, pondering the nature of existence and love … and music. I think this is the first time I’ve actually wanted to slap the Doctor and tell him to get over himself. I know that that’s a reaction many have towards my beloved Ten, but really, his arseholic tendencies and his ability to behave like a total git towards his companions on occasion are nothing compared to the way Eight behaves here. Fortunately, he’s not like that all the way through – and I can understand his attitude to an extent because the fact that Charley followed him when he specifically wanted her not to rather negates the reason he’s there at all. And there’s a weird plot about their being “absorbed” into each other, which I suppose is symbolic – at the end of which they’re packed off – minus the TARDIS - into the new, Divergent universe.
It’s not at all clear at first just where they are or what this universe consists of. The first story The Creed of the Kromon wasn’t the best choice with which to open a new season or a new story arc or introduce a new companion. In fact, it was a bit ikky in places. I’m not particularly squeamish, but what happened to Lida and then to Charley made me want to reach for the bucket.
Also – why the hell is C’Rizz pronounced “Keriz”? Why not just write it like that and have done with it?
Things really picked up with the next story though, The Natural History of Fear. It was one of those that sort of started in the middle, so from the off, you’re wondering what the hell is going on. Also, it’s a bit confusing to start with because none of the actors are playing their regular characters – and if I’ve got a beef about that it’s that I hadn’t had time to get used to Conrad Westmass’ voice enough to be able to distinguish him from some of the other cast members. The story has a 1984-like setting, where questions are forbidden, the motto is “happiness through acceptance” and there’s a character called The Conscience who is summoned whenever anyone dares to ask questions or have thoughts they’re not supposed to have. I was absolutely gripped by the story, even though I found the reveal to be a bit of a wtf? moment.
After that, it was back to a more traditional DW story in The Twilight Kingdom. Eight, Charley and C’Rizz end up in the middle of some sort of civil war, where one of the leaders is able to exert a kind of mind-control over the emotions of his followers. The three of them start to turn against each other – and at the end, the Doctor starts to realize that wherever they all are, they’re being observed somehow and for some as yet unknown reason. The listener has known that all along as the mysterious “Choker” (?) has referred to the Doctor’s adventures as experiments and he seems to be the one directing them from one “land” to the next.
I’m taking a short break from the Eight audios now because I think I might be ODing on them or something. I found the Creed of the Kromon such hard going that I was going to stop there, but fortunately, I finished it at a point where I didn’t have anything else with me and went straight on to The Natural History of Fear which rather restored my faith somewhat.
Instead, I’m going to poke about through some of BF’s other stuff – I’ve got some Six and Seven audios to listen to, as well as some of their other DW spin-offs, so I might give some of those a go before I come back to Eight’s adventures with Charley and C’Rizz.
Oh – I saw the other week that Eight’s new companion is to be no other than Mary Shelley. An interesting choice – have any of the Doctors had an actual historical figure as a companion before? And she’s had a fair few name-checks throughout Eight’s run so far, so I suppose it makes sense – and she’ll be (I imagine) very, very different from the fabulous Lucie-bleedin’-Miller.
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Date: 2011-06-29 08:22 am (UTC)I've made no secret that I love Charley and make no apologies for that. I can only imagine you have done yourself a mischief by visiting Lucie first, as I find Charley to be as gutsy as all get-up and a character that does get a lot stronger as time goes on (all of which I'll bore you to death with at some point when I get round to giving her an essay space).
Zagreus. I have listened to it many times. At first, I wasn't sure why. Probably for the cameo-nature of the story. I now love it. Everytime I either notice a new cameo person - last time it was the late Elizabeth Sladen I noticed - or a penny drops and a bit more of the story makes sense. It is pretty dense and insanely wierd.
My understanding is that Rassilon pruned the universe so that the majority of life-forms were basic bi-peds, like us. The Divergence represent the evolutionary break-aways that he aborted. He was also trying to stamp out the special bi peds such as the Vampires and the Sisters so that elite Gallifreyans had the edge over everyone. Ask me on a different day and I might tell you something else!
If you enjoyed the Romman/Leela relationship, you might want to look into the Gallifrey series. It is less sci-fi and more political than regular Who, but it sparkles with life and these gals are brilliant leads. They are also joined by 2 x K-9s and some great CIA characters. Also nice to have a story totally based on Gallifrey, and each series adds to a larger story arch.
Scherzo I LOVE. I think it may be my favourtie episode, and I think Rob Shearman is a genius. I like that it's a two hander. I think it's clever that a lot of the dialogue mirrors his other story, Chimes of Midnight. And I happen to like Eight when he's angry. And I think, for being essentially blinded to Time, he has every right to be out-of-sorts at this point. I like the fable about Sound being so deadly that runs parallel to the main content. And that the theme of the Doctor and Charley creating things (children) is reasserted. And the fight. Love it.
I had to laugh when you grumbled about C'Rizz not being spelt logically. I guess the above just looks more pleasing. It does to me, anyway. It took a long time for me to warm up to C'Rizz. I was a bit resentful of him being the gooseberry, but can see why they did it. Even if the Doctor and Charley are in love with each other, and I think they absolutely were, (although the Doctor himself confesses that he doesn't understand what that means) Doctor Who can't turn into a love story. How times have changed!
Anyway, I did give C'Rizz a second chance, and really like him now. I won't say much more about him, as you still may have a lot to go, and he's a complicated fellow.
I agree that the first two stories in the new Universe were a) eww and b) difficult, but both rewarding.
Yes! Mary Shelley! Really excited. And no, I don't think he has had an actual historic figure living about the TARDIS. I think her story will actually appear before Charley's in the timeline of things.
Great review, by the way! Sorry I was such a rambler in my response. :P
no subject
Date: 2011-06-29 10:38 am (UTC)I think we may be a bit chalk and cheese where Eight and his companions are concerned - and I'm okay with that.
Same here. I always like to hear different viewpoints anyway and sometimes it helps me to see things that perhaps I'd missed before, on my own.
I don't know what it was about Scherzo that just didn't do it for me. I've listened to it a couple of times and I can recognise that it's well-written and well-acted and I know it's very highly thought of, but my reaction to it has been rather like the reaction I have to The Girl in the Fireplace on telly, which is another real fandom favourite. I can SEE that it's beautifully put together but it doesn't work for me on a deeper level.
I loved Chimes, btw.
I did listen to Scherzo having listened to the previous Eight & Charley audios in rapid succession, so perhaps it's a case of just needing a break. I think it probably also has something to do with my feelings about Charley. I don't dislike her, I'm just pretty ambivalent about her and there were some episodes where she was starting to get on my nerves. Again, perhaps that's due in part to the fact that I listened to so many of these audios back to back without much of a breather in between. Maybe when I listen again I'll start to change my mind; it took a while for me to like Martha (and I'm absolutely NOT a Rose fan, so it was nothing to do with the fact that she wasn't Rose) and now, I love her, so I'm always open to the volte face.
C'Rizz seems to have been almost universally despised, doesn't he? Or at least in most of the reviews I've read, he was. And that's a shame, because Conrad Westmass has such a lovely voice! I don't really have a problem with him, but he didn't always get the best writing - and I do think that the relationship between him and Charley worked rather well once it got going.
I think I said in a reply to one of your comments that I've just listened to The Condemned with Six and Charley, and I liked her much more there. Perhaps that'll help when I go back.
I've got The Company of Friends sitting around here ready to be listened to in preparation for Mary Shelley. I really like the idea of there being a companion from a different era, and she's a great choice.
Thanks so much for the discussions here, and at your LJ. I have a fair few people on my flist who are DW fans, but not so many who listen to the audios, so it's great to find someone to chew the fat with, so to speak!
I've been jotting down thoughts on the audios I've been listening to recently as well - I've just been lazy and not got around to finishing it yet!
no subject
Date: 2011-06-29 06:35 pm (UTC)