Big Finish DR. WHO Audio, "The Time of the Daleks" [32]


( Plot spoilers. )

List of DW audio titles and their chronology in relation to the television series.

Big Finish DR. WHO Audio, "Embrace the Darkness" [31]

I haven't quite finished listening to this one, because I am bored. I think it would've been better as a single hour story, or maybe it's just that I don't like claustrophobic horror stories all that much. I started listening to the next 8th Doctor play, though, and it has Daleks! Yay!

List of DW audio titles and their chronology in relation to the television series.

Big Finish DR. WHO Audio, "Seasons of Fear" [30]

A new format for this one--the Doctor does some first-person narration, which I liked, because it gave me not only a bit more of his character but some scene description as well. The story ranges over several time periods in pursuit of a single baddie. It's by Paul Cornell, and has some great dialogue. Overall, it's one of the best I've heard so far.

Charley: "Another opportunity to wear a nice dress!"
The Doctor: "--Be a bit conspicuous, wouldn't it?"
Charley: "Another opportunity for me."

Note it has a cliffhanger ending, leading into the next story.

( Spoilers! )

List of DW audio titles and their chronology in relation to the television series.

Big Finish DR. WHO Audio, "The Chimes of Midnight" [29]

I listened to this one over a period of days as I walked home from work, which was probably a good thing, given the circular, repetitive nature of the story. It's an Edwardian house murder puzzle, except unlike an Agatha Christie novel, this one has issues with Time. It had some delightfully creepy moments, but I don't think the ending solution had enough...I don't know, wow factor. The tag was predictable. Still, a neat structure overall.

List of DW audio titles and their chronology in relation to the television series.

Big Finish DR. WHO Audio, "Invaders from Mars" [28] and "Living Legend" [29a]

These were a blast--"Invaders from Mars" features John Houseman and Orson Welles as characters (played by Jonathan Rigby and David Benson) and takes place in 1938 New York City, particularly fun because I listened to it while on the train leaving NYC. This time, the cheesy gangster accents were appropriate. "Living Legend" is a short story set in 1982 Italy in which the Doctor and Charley rout some alien invaders; I laughed out loud a couple of times. I recommend these.

( Plot spoilers. )

List of DW audio titles and their chronology in relation to the television series.

Big Finish DR. WHO Audio, "Minuet in Hell" [19]

Oh, the pain of those fake American accents! I assume they were trying to distinguish them for the listener, but did we really need an imitation Boss Hogg from The Dukes of Hazzard as the grandfather of a black and white movie gun moll? I was amused that the flattest of the American accents (still fake to my ear) used several Britishisms in her slang. The story was set in the new "51st State," of the U.S., which seemed to be the present time or a bit in the past (camcorder, VCR, modem sounds with email). The accents confused things for me, a bit, and I eventually gave up on placing a distinct time. "Eastern Standard Time" is mentioned, and "a hem of mountains," so the new state is probably an isolated chunk of the Appalachians, somewhere south of Virginia. There's a strong element of television Christianity from the corrupt politician who is the main villain, as well, which seemed like a reference to Jim Bakker (whose name I never thought I would type, ever, for any reason).

[rant] You know the corrupt politician is evil because he addresses a single person as "ya'll." Clearly he'd been taken over by evil forces at some point in his life. It's plural, ya'll!!! You all. [/rant]

As usual, the plot was a bizarre mishmash, but I still liked this one a lot, for several reasons, which I detail behind the cut.

( Plot spoilers. )

List of DW audio titles and their chronology in relation to the television series.

Back to the real world now. [sigh]

Big Finish DR. WHO Audio, "The Stones of Venice" [18]


I listened to "The Stones of Venice" on my MP3 player while doing various laundry-related tasks and going up and down stairs. Since the play has a lot of sound effects--mostly distant crowd noise and music--this was sometimes diconcerting. I kept thinking, "is that sound real, or in my earbuds?"

I believe this is the third story with the 8th Doctor and Charley. I am loving Eight, but Charley not so much, despite the actress being quite good. My reasons are vague and ill-formed, and of course I haven't had much material to form opinions with. That said, Charley seems to be trying to bit too hard to be intrepid, more than her ability and knowledge will allow, at least in the alien and/or futuristic situations she's encountering. Sometimes, she seems dismissive of the Doctor and his methods, and though she generally sides with the underdogs, I feel she has the faintest tinge of British imperialism. I suspect she's going to be in for a nasty shock when something happens to really shake her 1930s point of view. I think I will like her better if that happens. (Perhaps I am overthinking this!)

( Plot spoilers. )


List of DW audio titles and their chronology in relation to the television series.

Big Finish DR. WHO Audio, " "The Sirens of Time" [1]

I listened to another Big Finish audio play on my way home from Lunacon, this time the first one, a crossover involving the fifth, sixth, and seventh Doctors. Each gets an episode to himself, sans companions and sans TARDIS, then they all work together to solve the problem, an invasion of Gallifrey.

I'm not sure if it was because I was on a train with no distractions, isolated within my earphones, or because I had to pay close attention to keep track of the story, but I got very involved in listening to this one. The previous ones, I was at home and doing other things, and though I listened closely, it wasn't the same. Also, I was much more familiar with the voices and personalities of Doctors 5, 6, and 7, while I'm just getting to know 8.

That said, I thought the story was more disjointed than the others to which I've listened. Each Doctor's initial segment took place in a different time and place. Connecting/framing elements were thwarted messages from Gallifrey, women with three different accents and three variants on the same name, and hints about the invaders of Gallifrey. I was more interested in the individual "episodes" than the frame story, though. It was really interesting seeing how each Doctor's personality caused him to act and react, especially in the absence of companions. In that aspect, I felt the radio play did as well or better than the television crossovers. The proximity--one Doctor right after another--made the contrasts all the sharper.

Not sure which play I'll listen to next. Possibly one of the 5th or 6th Doctor ones.

List of DW audio titles and their chronology in relation to the television series.

Big Finish DR. WHO Audio, "Storm Front" [16] and "Sword of Orion" [17]

The Big Finish audio plays are tie-ins, like the novels, and their canonicity is debated. Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, and Paul McGann have all done radio plays, some with companions who appeared in the television series and some with companions unique to the audio plays. There is also a short series titled Dr. Who Unbound, which features alternate Doctors and universes, for instance the Doctor as female; a short series featuring Sarah Jane Smith; and a series featuring Bernice Summerfield, a long-running companion from the tie-in novels.

List of DW audio titles and their chronology in relation to the television series.

I listened to two of the Eighth Doctor stories in the last week or so. They're really good while doing housework, occupying your mind while leaving your eyes and hands free. At first, I was a little taken aback by the infodumping, but in audio, there's no other way to set a scene. There are sound effects, but they aren't nearly as effective as dialogue or even monologue. After a while, I adjusted to the style.

( A few comments on the actual plays, with spoilers. )