Eighth Doctor Audios: Sword of Orion and Stones of Venice
It's only a short week in Brussels, and I somehow didn't make it to the gym, but I got through another two Eighth Doctor audios on the commute, the second and third of the Big Finish series with Paul McGann and India Fisher playing his companion Charley Pollard.
The Sword of Orion seems to be much loved by fans, but I really couldn't get into it. The voices of the two female guest actors were so similar that it was a while before I worked out that they were different characters, and then of course one of them turns out to be a cute robot. ( I hate cute robots.) The surprise is that it turns out to be a Second Doctor Cyberman story (Wheel in Space, I think, though I haven't seen/heard it) reheated. I recently decided (after re-watching Earthshock in particular) that No Cyberman Story Ever Makes Sense, and this was no exception. I knew I was losing interested when I found myself speculating that the hold the Tardis was stuck in, 38B, might have been named after someone's bra size.
The Stones of Venice was another matter. Starts with a fun little prologue of the Doctor and Charley, having meddled in some planet's local politics, getting shot at and deciding to call a halt to that particular adventure and go to Venice instead. Beautiful evocation of a dying city, contested by elites and cultists, with Michael Sheard putting in what must have been one of his last performances as Duke Orsino (and shout out also to Elaine Ives-Cameron, alas also recently deceased). The script is littered with references to E.M. Forster and Shakespeare. OK, I could see how the plot was going to work out from miles off, but the whole thing was done with great gusto and conviction. Also, I like the Eighth Doctor's obsession with tea.
The Sword of Orion seems to be much loved by fans, but I really couldn't get into it. The voices of the two female guest actors were so similar that it was a while before I worked out that they were different characters, and then of course one of them turns out to be a cute robot. ( I hate cute robots.) The surprise is that it turns out to be a Second Doctor Cyberman story (Wheel in Space, I think, though I haven't seen/heard it) reheated. I recently decided (after re-watching Earthshock in particular) that No Cyberman Story Ever Makes Sense, and this was no exception. I knew I was losing interested when I found myself speculating that the hold the Tardis was stuck in, 38B, might have been named after someone's bra size.
The Stones of Venice was another matter. Starts with a fun little prologue of the Doctor and Charley, having meddled in some planet's local politics, getting shot at and deciding to call a halt to that particular adventure and go to Venice instead. Beautiful evocation of a dying city, contested by elites and cultists, with Michael Sheard putting in what must have been one of his last performances as Duke Orsino (and shout out also to Elaine Ives-Cameron, alas also recently deceased). The script is littered with references to E.M. Forster and Shakespeare. OK, I could see how the plot was going to work out from miles off, but the whole thing was done with great gusto and conviction. Also, I like the Eighth Doctor's obsession with tea.