More Doctor Who Audio Reviews
Lost Serials
The Macra Terror This story was a bit hard to listen to because there were so many action scenes which are a bit hard to do in audio. There was this one scene where Jamie was escaping from a macra and it was probably a lot of fun visually but not so interesting to listen to.
Of course I find the macra themselves to be a bit silly looking going from the images/small clips we have of them so actually seeing them might take away from the atmosphere of the episode as well.
That being said it's not all bad. I really liked the idea of this town where everyone is super happy and being mind washed to not see these giant crabs.
This serial also is the one where we get Jamie's famous highland fling. Why couldn't they have at least kept that episode? It's also the same episode where Ben, Polly, Jamie, and the Doctor dance back to the Tardis, ah how I'd love to see both those scenes.
I also think this is where Jamie officially usurped the role of leading male companion from Ben. Ben is brainwashed to believe the macra are not there, whereas Jamie fights against the brainwashing. Of course it gave Michael Craze something interesting to do with Ben, but I think in reality the BBC was already saying Jamie is the main male character, the one who fights the brainwashing.
The Massacre of St. Bartholomew Eve This was my first non-2nd Doctor lost serial. I had watched The Time Meddler with Steven and wanted to see more of him and read good things about this serial and it certainly did not disappoint.
Like Enemy of the World the Doctor plays a dual role here. However its really Steven who shines as the leading man who befriends the Huguenots who would end up slaughtered by the Catholics. This is a pretty dark episode for Doctor Who and it ends with Steven angry at the Doctor for not changing history and the Doctor's famous speech how no one understands him (well it almost ends there). Really a wonderful serial and definitely one of the top ones I now want found.
Big Finish Productions
Resistance This was a Polly companion chronicle where her, the Doctor, Jamie, and Ben travel back to Vichy controlled France and help out with the resistance.
Well Jamie and Ben are captured early on by the Gestapo and are missing from most of the story. I would have actually loved to hear their side of the story as well. The way they escape seems kind of unrealistic but again the focus really is on Polly.
Anyways this is a very good story for Polly because as a girl from the 60's, WWII would be very close to her. Polly tries to save her Uncle who was killed during WWII, there is a really nice twist to this story which I won't spoil and there are some lovely moments between Polly & the Doctor.
The Sealchian Gambit This was actually the first Big Finish production I listened to. It's another companion chronicle but this time we have both Anneke Wills doing Polly and Frazer Hines doing Jamie. It really feels like a full cast audio because Frazer does so many voices: Jamie, the Doctor, Ben, and the monsters perfectly (he only falters when he has to do a female voice) and its also nice that we have Polly's voice added on top.
While this story isn't anything deep, it's a lot of fun (an alien bank heist) and I certainly hope to see more of this Tardis team which I think is a bit underused.
The Glorious Revolution I was really was looking forward to this story and it completely lived up to my expectations...mostly.
First I am going to go with the bad. There is a framing story where the Time Lords return Jamie's memory so he can tell them this story and then in the end they offer him to keep his memories but older Jamie refuses. I am kind of pissed they did this because the framing story isn't even necessary and it takes away minutes from the rest of the story. Also while I understand this Jamie made a life for himself (married with kids) and its painful for him to think of what he lost, I don't think Jamie would willingly forget. Of course I can argue with myself that time is relative and even if this Jamie chooses to forget, Jamie at another time may choose to keep his memories....And in my heart I do believe Jamie ultimately remembers. No one can tell me otherwise.
But anyways besides that little nonsense, this story was absolutely fantastic. It was a Jamie historical tale where he tries to help James II and change history. There are so many good scenes in this but one in particular has Jamie and the Doctor arguing in a cell (which is really Frazer arguing with himself) and really the scene is so good, I literally had chills listening to it. There are also other great scenes of Jamie having to save Zoe and the Doctor from the hangman, his realization that he was wrong about changing history, and some comedy of the Doctor and Jamie dressing up as handmaidens to steal away the king.
As a Jamie fan this was an absolutely fantastic story for him and I like as someone else said that the Doctor takes a real parental role here with Jamie letting Jamie realize for himself that he was wrong.
The Macra Terror This story was a bit hard to listen to because there were so many action scenes which are a bit hard to do in audio. There was this one scene where Jamie was escaping from a macra and it was probably a lot of fun visually but not so interesting to listen to.
Of course I find the macra themselves to be a bit silly looking going from the images/small clips we have of them so actually seeing them might take away from the atmosphere of the episode as well.
That being said it's not all bad. I really liked the idea of this town where everyone is super happy and being mind washed to not see these giant crabs.
This serial also is the one where we get Jamie's famous highland fling. Why couldn't they have at least kept that episode? It's also the same episode where Ben, Polly, Jamie, and the Doctor dance back to the Tardis, ah how I'd love to see both those scenes.
I also think this is where Jamie officially usurped the role of leading male companion from Ben. Ben is brainwashed to believe the macra are not there, whereas Jamie fights against the brainwashing. Of course it gave Michael Craze something interesting to do with Ben, but I think in reality the BBC was already saying Jamie is the main male character, the one who fights the brainwashing.
The Massacre of St. Bartholomew Eve This was my first non-2nd Doctor lost serial. I had watched The Time Meddler with Steven and wanted to see more of him and read good things about this serial and it certainly did not disappoint.
Like Enemy of the World the Doctor plays a dual role here. However its really Steven who shines as the leading man who befriends the Huguenots who would end up slaughtered by the Catholics. This is a pretty dark episode for Doctor Who and it ends with Steven angry at the Doctor for not changing history and the Doctor's famous speech how no one understands him (well it almost ends there). Really a wonderful serial and definitely one of the top ones I now want found.
Big Finish Productions
Resistance This was a Polly companion chronicle where her, the Doctor, Jamie, and Ben travel back to Vichy controlled France and help out with the resistance.
Well Jamie and Ben are captured early on by the Gestapo and are missing from most of the story. I would have actually loved to hear their side of the story as well. The way they escape seems kind of unrealistic but again the focus really is on Polly.
Anyways this is a very good story for Polly because as a girl from the 60's, WWII would be very close to her. Polly tries to save her Uncle who was killed during WWII, there is a really nice twist to this story which I won't spoil and there are some lovely moments between Polly & the Doctor.
The Sealchian Gambit This was actually the first Big Finish production I listened to. It's another companion chronicle but this time we have both Anneke Wills doing Polly and Frazer Hines doing Jamie. It really feels like a full cast audio because Frazer does so many voices: Jamie, the Doctor, Ben, and the monsters perfectly (he only falters when he has to do a female voice) and its also nice that we have Polly's voice added on top.
While this story isn't anything deep, it's a lot of fun (an alien bank heist) and I certainly hope to see more of this Tardis team which I think is a bit underused.
The Glorious Revolution I was really was looking forward to this story and it completely lived up to my expectations...mostly.
First I am going to go with the bad. There is a framing story where the Time Lords return Jamie's memory so he can tell them this story and then in the end they offer him to keep his memories but older Jamie refuses. I am kind of pissed they did this because the framing story isn't even necessary and it takes away minutes from the rest of the story. Also while I understand this Jamie made a life for himself (married with kids) and its painful for him to think of what he lost, I don't think Jamie would willingly forget. Of course I can argue with myself that time is relative and even if this Jamie chooses to forget, Jamie at another time may choose to keep his memories....And in my heart I do believe Jamie ultimately remembers. No one can tell me otherwise.
But anyways besides that little nonsense, this story was absolutely fantastic. It was a Jamie historical tale where he tries to help James II and change history. There are so many good scenes in this but one in particular has Jamie and the Doctor arguing in a cell (which is really Frazer arguing with himself) and really the scene is so good, I literally had chills listening to it. There are also other great scenes of Jamie having to save Zoe and the Doctor from the hangman, his realization that he was wrong about changing history, and some comedy of the Doctor and Jamie dressing up as handmaidens to steal away the king.
As a Jamie fan this was an absolutely fantastic story for him and I like as someone else said that the Doctor takes a real parental role here with Jamie letting Jamie realize for himself that he was wrong.