Big Finish Doctor Who Review - The Perpetual Bond
The Perpetual Bond review
This is another audio which I like better on re-listen. Though I did like it the first time around as well, it didn't make much of an impression on me then. appreciated ertain things more this time, possibly because I listened to it with the intention of writing a review and therefore paid mor attention o certain details
One of those things were how good the descriptions of the places and people were. You see, this is a Companion Chronicle: A story told by (and from the perspective of) a companion. This particular one is a First Doctor story as told by Steven Taylor (mostly) and a (for this story) new character called Oliver (though not nearly as much). Their descriptions made it very easy to visualize what happened and what things looked like.
The Story
The TARDIS lands in 1960's London, where mushroom-like aliens have an agreement with the minister to sell human slaves to other races. The Doctor and Steven team up with Oliver, business an with a secret, to stop them.
Cast & Characters
I've seen a lot of praise for Frazer Hines take on the Second Doctor, but not NEARLY enough for Peter Purves take on the First Doctor. In my opinion, it's the closest any of the companion actors have come to sound like Hartnell, and probably the closest I'm ever gonna get to hearing MY Doctor on audio. That aside, Purves also does a great job at portraying Steven, a companion who's truly gone up in my estimation since I've listened to his Companion Chronicles. Oh, I always liked him fine, but not as much as I do now. I think he has a really interesting relationship with the Doctor which feels different to that of many other companions, in a way I can't really put into words. Also, I almost find it odd how much a can relate to Steven, despite not really having much in common with him, besides being human. But perhaps being human is enough in this case.
Anyway, let's leave Steven, at least for now, and talk about Oliver. When we first hear Oliver, in the very first scene of the audio, he finds out that some secret of his has come out and that the police is after him. I'd say that's a rather good way of making a character interesting from the get go. Of course, I already know his secret as I've heard the other two companion chronicles he's in, but a first time listener may find the mystery around the character rather intriguing. Though, despite the fact that he seems to have committed some kind of crime, he otherwise comes off as a good guy who puts himself at risk for the sake of stopping the slave trade.
As for the supporting characters... I don't have much to say, other than that they feel kinda stereotypical.
Final Summary
While the plot isn't exactly original, which might be one of the reasons that this felt rather average on my first listen, The Doctor's way of dealing with the situation was rather clever, I think, and I find both Steven and Oliver to be interesting and likable characters. It's an okay story, with good descriptions and great portrayals of the regular characters of the Doctor & Steven, as well as Oliver.
I'd recommend it mainly for those portrayals as well as for the introduction of Oliver, who is a good, though sadly short-lived audio companion.
Next Up: The Mahogany Murderers
This is another audio which I like better on re-listen. Though I did like it the first time around as well, it didn't make much of an impression on me then. appreciated ertain things more this time, possibly because I listened to it with the intention of writing a review and therefore paid mor attention o certain details
One of those things were how good the descriptions of the places and people were. You see, this is a Companion Chronicle: A story told by (and from the perspective of) a companion. This particular one is a First Doctor story as told by Steven Taylor (mostly) and a (for this story) new character called Oliver (though not nearly as much). Their descriptions made it very easy to visualize what happened and what things looked like.
The Story
The TARDIS lands in 1960's London, where mushroom-like aliens have an agreement with the minister to sell human slaves to other races. The Doctor and Steven team up with Oliver, business an with a secret, to stop them.
Cast & Characters
I've seen a lot of praise for Frazer Hines take on the Second Doctor, but not NEARLY enough for Peter Purves take on the First Doctor. In my opinion, it's the closest any of the companion actors have come to sound like Hartnell, and probably the closest I'm ever gonna get to hearing MY Doctor on audio. That aside, Purves also does a great job at portraying Steven, a companion who's truly gone up in my estimation since I've listened to his Companion Chronicles. Oh, I always liked him fine, but not as much as I do now. I think he has a really interesting relationship with the Doctor which feels different to that of many other companions, in a way I can't really put into words. Also, I almost find it odd how much a can relate to Steven, despite not really having much in common with him, besides being human. But perhaps being human is enough in this case.
Anyway, let's leave Steven, at least for now, and talk about Oliver. When we first hear Oliver, in the very first scene of the audio, he finds out that some secret of his has come out and that the police is after him. I'd say that's a rather good way of making a character interesting from the get go. Of course, I already know his secret as I've heard the other two companion chronicles he's in, but a first time listener may find the mystery around the character rather intriguing. Though, despite the fact that he seems to have committed some kind of crime, he otherwise comes off as a good guy who puts himself at risk for the sake of stopping the slave trade.
As for the supporting characters... I don't have much to say, other than that they feel kinda stereotypical.
Final Summary
While the plot isn't exactly original, which might be one of the reasons that this felt rather average on my first listen, The Doctor's way of dealing with the situation was rather clever, I think, and I find both Steven and Oliver to be interesting and likable characters. It's an okay story, with good descriptions and great portrayals of the regular characters of the Doctor & Steven, as well as Oliver.
I'd recommend it mainly for those portrayals as well as for the introduction of Oliver, who is a good, though sadly short-lived audio companion.
Next Up: The Mahogany Murderers