Big Finish Reviews Continued
Melanie Bush Double Feature
Fires of Vulcan
This is a 7th Doctor/Melanie story set during the volcano eruption on Pompeii. I guess the 10th Doctor/Donna story also covered this in the Fires of Pompeii. I remember liking that one but I don't really recall it all that well.
Once again I enjoyed that this story was a straight historical, no aliens involved (ignoring the fact that according to the 10th Doctor story there were aliens). I also liked the idea of the Doctor giving up but the companion continuing to fight. Melanie is not the most popular companion but she was definitely well written here. That is what I like about Big Finish that they give new chances to characters that didn't get them in the TV series.
The One Doctor
A Melanie/Six Doctor story...I was really excited to listen to this one based on its reputation but...well let me say its still a great listen just not the best thing since sliced bread which I was lead to believe but that can happen when your expectations are too high. The one exception was episode 3...that episode was incredibly hilarious for me. But the other 3 episodes were just funny. The acting of Six, Melanie, and the fake Doctor and companion were all fantastic...And the assemblers are one of my favorite alien species. I also loved the Jelloid's little problem which was very easy to relate to.
Returning to Jamie and the 2nd Doctor
The Rosemariners
I enjoyed this, good performances by Frazer, Wendy and the guest actors and it definitely feels like a story set during the 60's era but I always kind of feel let down that they don't do more with the 2nd Doctor era. Yeah it is nice to bring back the feel of the 60's but with Big Finish you can explore things in ways the series couldn't. Well that is what I am hoping with when we get to the Early adventures, I am hoping everything won't just be "base under siege stories".
Now that makes it sound like I didn't enjoy this story, I did. It was pretty straightforward but it was still fun to listen to and Jamie, Zoe and the Doctor all got great scenes. And of course I enjoyed the Doctor watching over Jamie.
House of Cards
A Polly/Jamie companion chronicle, well it's really a Polly CC with Jamie as support (although Frazer does a lot in this besides voicing Jamie, he also narrates parts and does one other voice).
I highly enjoyed this one but that might be because I have a soft spot for the Polly/Ben/Jamie Tardis team since so little of it exists on video it is nice that with Big Finish we can have more adventures with this team. I also love seeing early Jamie discover the world.
This story is in the same vein as the Selachian Gambit. It is pretty obvious they were riding off the popularity of that one: same writer, casino story vs bank heist, and snake monsters vs shark ones but I didn't mind I enjoyed the Selachian Gambit a lot so I enjoyed this one as well.
The Doctor doesn't do much in this story until the end but he has the final pivotal scene should I say (Anneke Wills voices the Doctor during the entire audio and she is definitely not as good as Frazer but then who is?) Both Anneke and Frazer also voice this cowboy character who sounds really stereotypical but I was impressed that both Anneke and Frazer's rendition of the cowboy sound very similar.
So bottom line nothing amazing in this audio but it definitely delivers on some good old fashioned fun in my opinion. And I really want more of Polly, Ben, & Jamie.
8th Doctor and Charley
Invaders from Mars
This one was ok....Paul was great but Charley didn't get to do much. The story was also plagued by a lot of bad stereotypical American accents (which sound even worse next to Paul Mcgann's voice lol).
I liked the idea of this one, a real alien invasion taking place during the War of the World Broadcast but for me at least the execution left a bit to be desired. That being said it wasn't all bad I loved Orson Welles in this story (and whoever voiced him did a great job) and listening to this was completely worthwhile for the 8th Doctor to tell Orson I loved all your movies before he even made any. XD
Chimes of Midnight
I kept hearing amazing things about this one and I am happy to say it completely lived up to my expectations. It is now one of my definite favorites and my first really strong 8/Charlie audio story.
What I love about this one is you expect this to be a simple murder mystery with a sci-fi twist but it is so much more. It's both funny and scary, has loads of atmosphere but more importantly it has heart & meaning. It actually made me tear up a bit in the end. It also did a really great job of developing Charley and the Charley/Doctor relationship.
Next week I will be listening to another Robert Shearman Story The Holy Terror and then I think I am going to listen to the two Rocketmen CC's with Ian & Steven.
edit: Forget to mention that in House of Cards they made a really cute reference to Marco Polo.
Fires of Vulcan
This is a 7th Doctor/Melanie story set during the volcano eruption on Pompeii. I guess the 10th Doctor/Donna story also covered this in the Fires of Pompeii. I remember liking that one but I don't really recall it all that well.
Once again I enjoyed that this story was a straight historical, no aliens involved (ignoring the fact that according to the 10th Doctor story there were aliens). I also liked the idea of the Doctor giving up but the companion continuing to fight. Melanie is not the most popular companion but she was definitely well written here. That is what I like about Big Finish that they give new chances to characters that didn't get them in the TV series.
The One Doctor
A Melanie/Six Doctor story...I was really excited to listen to this one based on its reputation but...well let me say its still a great listen just not the best thing since sliced bread which I was lead to believe but that can happen when your expectations are too high. The one exception was episode 3...that episode was incredibly hilarious for me. But the other 3 episodes were just funny. The acting of Six, Melanie, and the fake Doctor and companion were all fantastic...And the assemblers are one of my favorite alien species. I also loved the Jelloid's little problem which was very easy to relate to.
Returning to Jamie and the 2nd Doctor
The Rosemariners
I enjoyed this, good performances by Frazer, Wendy and the guest actors and it definitely feels like a story set during the 60's era but I always kind of feel let down that they don't do more with the 2nd Doctor era. Yeah it is nice to bring back the feel of the 60's but with Big Finish you can explore things in ways the series couldn't. Well that is what I am hoping with when we get to the Early adventures, I am hoping everything won't just be "base under siege stories".
Now that makes it sound like I didn't enjoy this story, I did. It was pretty straightforward but it was still fun to listen to and Jamie, Zoe and the Doctor all got great scenes. And of course I enjoyed the Doctor watching over Jamie.
House of Cards
A Polly/Jamie companion chronicle, well it's really a Polly CC with Jamie as support (although Frazer does a lot in this besides voicing Jamie, he also narrates parts and does one other voice).
I highly enjoyed this one but that might be because I have a soft spot for the Polly/Ben/Jamie Tardis team since so little of it exists on video it is nice that with Big Finish we can have more adventures with this team. I also love seeing early Jamie discover the world.
This story is in the same vein as the Selachian Gambit. It is pretty obvious they were riding off the popularity of that one: same writer, casino story vs bank heist, and snake monsters vs shark ones but I didn't mind I enjoyed the Selachian Gambit a lot so I enjoyed this one as well.
The Doctor doesn't do much in this story until the end but he has the final pivotal scene should I say (Anneke Wills voices the Doctor during the entire audio and she is definitely not as good as Frazer but then who is?) Both Anneke and Frazer also voice this cowboy character who sounds really stereotypical but I was impressed that both Anneke and Frazer's rendition of the cowboy sound very similar.
So bottom line nothing amazing in this audio but it definitely delivers on some good old fashioned fun in my opinion. And I really want more of Polly, Ben, & Jamie.
8th Doctor and Charley
Invaders from Mars
This one was ok....Paul was great but Charley didn't get to do much. The story was also plagued by a lot of bad stereotypical American accents (which sound even worse next to Paul Mcgann's voice lol).
I liked the idea of this one, a real alien invasion taking place during the War of the World Broadcast but for me at least the execution left a bit to be desired. That being said it wasn't all bad I loved Orson Welles in this story (and whoever voiced him did a great job) and listening to this was completely worthwhile for the 8th Doctor to tell Orson I loved all your movies before he even made any. XD
Chimes of Midnight
I kept hearing amazing things about this one and I am happy to say it completely lived up to my expectations. It is now one of my definite favorites and my first really strong 8/Charlie audio story.
What I love about this one is you expect this to be a simple murder mystery with a sci-fi twist but it is so much more. It's both funny and scary, has loads of atmosphere but more importantly it has heart & meaning. It actually made me tear up a bit in the end. It also did a really great job of developing Charley and the Charley/Doctor relationship.
Next week I will be listening to another Robert Shearman Story The Holy Terror and then I think I am going to listen to the two Rocketmen CC's with Ian & Steven.
edit: Forget to mention that in House of Cards they made a really cute reference to Marco Polo.