Last Doctor Who Story you listened to?

[Emperor-Tiberius]

Oh, I don't agree almost at all. I like Dominion a lot, its probably too long, but I enjoyed the main characters in it, and especially MacQueen's Master, who is like a much darker, proper version of what Ainley had wanted to had done with the part. He might've been my favorite audio Master, were it not for Geoffrey Beevers, who is my all-time favorite Master, ever.

As for McCoy, I genuinely didn't like him a lot when I started watching OldWho back in the day, but the lockdown last year gave me a chance to experience his work in BF (I've not listened to almost nothing he's done until last year) and reassess his work in the BBC years. Now he's a firm favorite. I love his layered, tragic Doctor. Now, granted, McCoy may be a bit limited, especially compared to all the actors before him, but he's a consumnate actor who gets to mine and produce a phenomenal version of this great alien called the Doctor. And naturally, I find him pretty good in Dominion.

And... yeah, why is this called UNIT? It really doesn't posit itself as a proper UNIT story as it has no actual UNIT representative character to stand in for the story. Its weird.

 

[Christopher]

Oh, I don't agree almost at all. I like Dominion a lot, its probably too long, but I enjoyed the main characters in it, and especially MacQueen's Master, who is like a much darker, proper version of what Ainley had wanted to had done with the part.

I wouldn't call his version "dark," at least not in Dominion. He seemed more like a cocky, fun-loving Master.

As for McCoy, I genuinely didn't like him a lot when I started watching OldWho back in the day, but the lockdown last year gave me a chance to experience his work in BF (I've not listened to almost nothing he's done until last year) and reassess his work in the BBC years. Now he's a firm favorite.

I've always liked him. He has a fantastic voice, such a lyrical delivery and rhythm. He and Colin Baker have my two favorite Doctor voices.

And... yeah, why is this called UNIT? It really doesn't posit itself as a proper UNIT story as it has no actual UNIT representative character to stand in for the story. Its weird.

Well, they'd previously established the timeline-rebooted Klein as UNIT's scientific advisor, so that was the link, but apparently that was a fairly recent change in the character.

I think this was meant as the pilot for a sort of "UNIT: The Next Generation" series, establishing new characters rather than reusing old ones. But BF doesn't seem to have had much luck getting traction for original UNIT characters. This is the third unrelated group I've encountered, after the Vault duo that Daphne Ashbrook and Yee Jee Tso played in Companion Chronicles/The Worlds of Doctor Who and Col. Chaudry's lot from the previous miniseries.

I'm not sure I'd say Dominion isn't a proper UNIT story, though. The majority of it is about "the Doctor" helping UNIT's scientific advisor, commander, and soldiers fend off alien attacks on present-day Earth, similar to the Pertwee era (think of Klein as a latter-day Liz Shaw). There's a larger Doctor/Master story arc on top of that, but then, that was the case in Pertwee's second season, to an extent. So structurally it's a UNIT story. It's just that the characters representing UNIT aren't that memorable.

And it certainly feels more like a conventional UNIT story than the Chaudhry series, which was largely about political intrigue and conspiracies.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

I wouldn't call his version "dark," at least not in Dominion. He seemed more like a cocky, fun-loving Master.

Yeah, I am talking of his overall stint over at BF, including his run in Dark Eyes and Masterful, and also The Two Masters, where he acts opposite Beevers as well. But you're right, he's of the campier Masters group in general, I'm just impressed by the way he manipulates his timber to imply menace, a tremendous feat for an audio-only performance.

I've always liked him. He has a fantastic voice, such a lyrical delivery and rhythm. He and Colin Baker have my two favorite Doctor voices.

I love 'em both now. As far as voices go, and that's not strictly how i'd rank the Doctors either, probably Tom Baker's my fave, followed by Troughton (no one does "oh dear" nearly as well as he did), then McGann and then McCoy and Colin tied with Pertwee.

The thing that is not often commented on, is how un-aged his voice is, McCoy's. Davison's is definitely an older sounding one, though his incredible acting balances that difference out, and Colin's did get noticeably older as releases went on and on. But McCoy sounds pretty much the same as he did back in the day - and clearer even, as I'd often had to turn the subtitles on the DVD to understand him (as a Greek, Scots' accents by such fluent speakers can be a challenge sometimes). Even Tom sounds older, and they did admit to digitally enhance (though only a little, admittedly) to make him sound as he did back then. I don't think they used this method on him. His basic fallacy, however, is his interest in the story. When the story's interesting and complex, you can tell he reads the script with interest and enthusiasm and joy, whereas when the script is either subpar or just ok, he might overdo it and overact certain parts within it.

Well, they'd previously established the timeline-rebooted Klein as UNIT's scientific advisor, so that was the link, but apparently that was a fairly recent change in the character.

Beyond her, however, you don't really have any other memorable UNIT character to base a series on. And she's memorable because she actually travelled with the Doctor once, albeit a different version of herself. But still.

I think this was meant as the pilot for a sort of "UNIT: The Next Generation" series, establishing new characters rather than reusing old ones. But BF doesn't seem to have had much luck getting traction for original UNIT characters. This is the third unrelated group I've encountered, after the Vault duo that Daphne Ashbrook and Yee Jee Tso played in Companion Chronicles/The Worlds of Doctor Who and Col. Chaudry's lot from the previous miniseries.

I liked that duo. Have you listened to their Mastermind appearence? That explains why they ended up where they did according to The Worlds of Doctor Who.

I'm not sure I'd say Dominion isn't a proper UNIT story, though. The majority of it is about "the Doctor" helping UNIT's scientific advisor, commander, and soldiers fend off alien attacks on present-day Earth, similar to the Pertwee era (think of Klein as a latter-day Liz Shaw). There's a larger Doctor/Master story arc on top of that, but then, that was the case in Pertwee's second season, to an extent. So structurally it's a UNIT story. It's just that the characters representing UNIT aren't that memorable.

The way I saw it was as an elaborate UNIT story within DW, I guess. At best, this feels like a major event, which is fine.

And it certainly feels more like a conventional UNIT story than the Chaudhry series, which was largely about political intrigue and conspiracies.

Yeah, that is true.

 

[Christopher]

I liked that duo. Have you listened to their Mastermind appearence? That explains why they ended up where they did according to The Worlds of Doctor Who.

Hoopla didn't have that. As I remarked, I was very unimpressed by Ashbrook and Tso in Worlds. Their performance was unconvincing and flat; they sounded like they were just sitting in a booth reciting words from a script, rather than making it sound like they were real people experiencing real emotions and reactions. I figure that American/Canadian TV actors don't generally have as much experience at audio/radio acting as British actors get, so they just didn't have the knack.

 

[diankra]

If you get the chance, listen to Outbreak of Fear, a 1982 radio serial set vaguely in the Frost continuity. By accident or design, Nicholas Courtney plays Superintendent Chadwick, whose true identity becomes a major plot point.

 

[Christopher]

If you get the chance, listen to Outbreak of Fear, a 1982 radio serial set vaguely in the Frost continuity. By accident or design, Nicholas Courtney plays Superintendent Chadwick, whose true identity becomes a major plot point.

What's the Frost continuity?

 

[diankra]

What's the Frost continuity?

The Touch of Frost novels, and later the TV series starring David Jason. Early on the PC narrator says that he is on temporary transfer from Denton, Frost's base.

 

[Christopher]

The Touch of Frost novels, and later the TV series starring David Jason. Early on the PC narrator says that he is on temporary transfer from Denton, Frost's base.

I'm American. None of those proper names mean anything to me.

 

[diankra]

I'm American. None of those proper names mean anything to me.

Ah! The Frost tv series ran for 15 seasons, Outbreak of Fear is earlier and in continuity with the books that led to the series.

Spoiler: Outbreak of Fear

Chadwick eventually turns out to be a brigadier heading a special unit dealing with odd incidents

 

[Steve Roby]

Decided to start back up again listening to my BF audios with the Time Lord Victorious stuff, and having listened to the two Master Short Trips, the Eighth Doctor half of Echoes of Extinction, and He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not (and having read the comic stuff months ago), there's not much continuity there, is there? Also, the Kotturuh are purely a fantasy concept, and I like Doctor Who to be a bit more science fictiony. Still, I've got to put a dent in this backlog somehow.

 

[Christopher]

Okay... I've been trying to inventory just what other Big Finish stuff is left on Hoopla that I haven't listened to, and I found a few things that I didn't find before. Here's what the options are.

• Dalek Empire I to IV: This seems to be the entire series aside from a couple of side stories.
• Cyberman 1 & 2: Apparently complete.
• I, Davros: Apparently complete.
• Bernice Summerfield: Only the five box sets released from 2011-2013, starting with Epoch. Apparently there are 11 seasons before those. How lost would I be if I listened to these?
  
• Charlotte Pollard: Only Series 1. The last Charley story I heard was Zagreus, I think, just before the alternate-universe arc, so I think I'd be missing a lot in between. And I'm not that fond of Charley in any case, so I can skip this one.
  
• Iris Wildthyme: Everything except series 1, frustratingly. But then, apparently she's had a lot of prose adventures too, so I wouldn't be getting a complete run in any case. I'm surprised they have this at all. Any problems starting with series 2?
  
• Graceless 1-3: Apparently these are spinoffs of the Key 2 Time miniseries that I've only heard the Companion Chronicles tie-in to, so I can do without these.

And that's all I could find. Disappointingly, Hoopla doesn't have the Sarah Jane Smith audio series. They have all these side characters but they don't have her?

 

[diankra]

Okay... I've been trying to inventory just what other Big Finish stuff is left on Hoopla that I haven't listened to, and I found a few things that I didn't find before. Here's what the options are.

• Dalek Empire I to IV: This seems to be the entire series aside from a couple of side stories.
• Cyberman 1 & 2: Apparently complete.
• I, Davros: Apparently complete.
• Bernice Summerfield: Only the five box sets released from 2011-2013, starting with Epoch. Apparently there are 11 seasons before those. How lost would I be if I listened to these?
  
• Charlotte Pollard: Only Series 1. The last Charley story I heard was Zagreus, I think, just before the alternate-universe arc, so I think I'd be missing a lot in between. And I'm not that fond of Charley in any case, so I can skip this one.
  
• Iris Wildthyme: Everything except series 1, frustratingly. But then, apparently she's had a lot of prose adventures too, so I wouldn't be getting a complete run in any case. I'm surprised they have this at all. Any problems starting with series 2?
  
• Graceless 1-3: Apparently these are spinoffs of the Key 2 Time miniseries that I've only heard the Companion Chronicles tie-in to, so I can do without these.

And that's all I could find. Disappointingly, Hoopla doesn't have the Sarah Jane Smith audio series. They have all these side characters but they don't have her?

If the last Charlie you heard was Zagreus, you're missing a lot, including her initial departure and her second stint in the TARDIS, but may not really matter.
Grace less is perhaps most memorable for changing Amy's name to Abby, due to the tv series using the initial name for a different character.

 

[Starscape]

• Bernice Summerfield: Only the five box sets released from 2011-2013, starting with Epoch. Apparently there are 11 seasons before those. How lost would I be if I listened to these?

The intention behind Epoch was to make it a natural jumping on point for new listeners. At first Bernice is interacting with all new characters and some of the older characters are re-introduced as the box sets progress.

It's fine to start here without any knowledge of Bernice's backstory, in fact it might be better. I had a potted knowledge of Benny's history before starting with Epoch, which lead to my initial confusion as when in her timeline these stories existed.

 

[Christopher]

It's fine to start here without any knowledge of Bernice's backstory, in fact it might be better. I had a potted knowledge of Benny's history before starting with Epoch, which lead to my initial confusion as when in her timeline these stories existed.

I read a fair number of the New Adventures novels she was in, so I'm familiar with the character. But anything specific to the audios is unknown to me.

 

[Christopher]

Well, I've just finished the third of the four Dalek Empire miniseries. The first two series were okay, but darker than I care for; it's kind of amazing how bleak things can get with the Daleks when the Doctor isn't around to whip up a solution in 4-6 episodes, though the story takes place over so many years and on such a galactic scale that it's hard to believe that some incarnation of the Doctor didn't stumble across it at any point. I also found the story a bit too convoluted in some of its premises and plotting.

Series III is interestingly different, since it's about a subtle Dalek infiltration ploy in contrast to the huge massive galactic conquest of the last one. I don't think it really needed to be six episodes, but it benefits very much from having a pre-Doctor David Tennant in the lead role (this was less than a year before the new series debuted on TV). His character Galanar is a lot more sedate than his Doctor, but Tennant does his usual excellent job, and it was a real thrill at the end to hear him confronting the Dalek Supreme directly and pontificating about why they would never be superior to humanity. It was like an audition for the Doctor. (It was also amusing earlier on when he went undercover as a physician and people addressed him as "Doctor.")

Some things were more annoying, though. Steven Elder was strident, loud, and obnoxious as Siy Tarkov, and I got sick of his constant aggrieved shouting at everyone. I didn't need six episodes of that. Also, why are the Daleks in this series so obsessed with saying the word "im-meeee-diatelyyyy!" at the end of every instruction they give? Looking over the transcripts, it seems that was only an occasional thing in Dalek stories, mostly in "The Daleks" and "Planet of the Daleks." Briggs really went overboard with it here, to the point that it became farcical.

I'm surprised to see from the wiki that the fourth and final miniseries is set during the events of the first one, instead of continuing from the cliffhanger of DEIII.

 

[Christopher]

Done with Dalek Empire. I didn't care for Volume IV at all. Noel Clarke's lead character was a cartoonishly ultra-capable, ultra-macho character, the brilliant hotshot pilot who can fly anything and who's the galaxy's greatest warrior, except he's reluctant and bitter because his family was fridged, and it's like a satire of every exaggeratedly macho action hero ever, except it's played straight. Well, aside from the part where he starts having paranoid delusions. It was just so ludicrously over the top. And since it was set during the first miniseries, we knew that nothing that happened in it would really matter in the long run. I guess its main draw was having Maureen O'Brien and Clarke play new characters, but it's not like Vicki and Mickey (hey, they rhyme) were ever among my favorite companions. And that's not even getting into the recent allegations against Clarke.

 

[diankra]

Done with Dalek Empire. I didn't care for Volume IV at all. Noel Clarke's lead character was a cartoonishly ultra-capable, ultra-macho character, the brilliant hotshot pilot who can fly anything and who's the galaxy's greatest warrior, except he's reluctant and bitter because his family was fridged, and it's like a satire of every exaggeratedly macho action hero ever, except it's played straight. Well, aside from the part where he starts having paranoid delusions. It was just so ludicrously over the top. And since it was set during the first miniseries, we knew that nothing that happened in it would really matter in the long run. I guess its main draw was having Maureen O'Brien and Clarke play new characters, but it's not like Vicki and Mickey (hey, they rhyme) were ever among my favorite companions. And that's not even getting into the recent allegations against Clarke.

When I gave it a bad review, Nick Briggs was really unhappy.

 

[Christopher]

I'm nearly done with the first Cyberman series, the one Briggs wrote, and a lot of it just feels like a rehash of stuff from the Dalek series -- another massive war, another ruthless enemy pretending to be humanity's friends in order to convert us into them, another Sarah Mowat character having a similar fate with regard to her connection to the villains. And the bit about the sexy android spy seducing the male lead to cure him of first-stage Cyber-conversion felt kind of sexist.

Also, the timing doesn't make sense. It's set in the 26th century and depicts Telos as having been destroyed, but "Tomb of the Cybermen" is set 500 years after the last known human-Cyberman contact, which has got to be much further in the future ("Earthshock" is in the early 26th century itself). So it doesn't fit the series continuity.

Mainly I'm seeing it through to get to the second series by James Swallow, both because I know him (we were on a virtual Shore Leave panel together just last weekend) and because he generally does good work.

One interesting thing is how it uses more than one Cyberman voice treatment, with some sounding more like the Troughton-era vocoder monotones and some more like the ring-modulated voices of the Davison era (I don't remember what the "Revenge" Cybermen sounded like). Although there was one Cyberman voice where I could tell that Briggs was emulating the singsong delivery of the Mondasian Cybermen, but they used the later ring-modulator effect on it, incongruously.

 

[diankra]

Tomb is often thought to be before Earthshock, though then it should be 400 years.

 

[Christopher]

Tomb is often thought to be before Earthshock, though then it should be 400 years.

Hmm... I just checked my copy of Lance Parkin's A History of the Universe, and it agrees with that, though it fudges things by assuming the events of "The Moonbase" were kept secret and they were dating from "The Tenth Planet." Hmm, wonder why I thought "Tomb" was so far ahead, then.

It still seems rather odd to blow up Telos entirely in the audio. What if someone used it in a story set later? Not to mention the scientific absurdity of the premise that a simple asteroid strike was enough to shatter a planet, but then, Doctor Who has hardly ever had much in the way of good science (except, ironically, in the stories by Cybermen co-creator Kit Pedler).