It's probably because they aren't in the forefront of it all and aren't shoved in our faces. I haven't seen Peri, but I have seen some of Mel and I dunno what it was but she was shoved in our faces expecting to be this fantastic companion but all she was was annoying. Maybe with the 'age' of the actress now it's more mature and things. Unfortunately with Dr. Who a lot of the companions it was their first acting gig. Now later they've experienced more and can change and adapt.
... "shoved in our faces"? I don't remember Mel's introduction being significantly different from that of any other new companion, and certainly not anything that led me to believe she was supposed to be dramatically better than any of the many who'd come before her.
For me, it's the quality of the scripts. Admittedly, it's been a very long time since I watched most of Peri and Mel's episodes, but even as a teenager I thought what I was watching was kind of crap. (Don't even get me started on the costumes, or on Nicola Bryant's accent.)
I didn't care for either companion until I heard repeatedly how much better they were in the audios, so I gave both "The Veiled Leopard" and "Bang-Bang-A-Boom" a try and was very pleasantly surprised. Peri was quick-witted and plucky; Mel was smart, cheerful, and resourceful; and I enjoyed the heck out of both stories. The writing was much, much better than I remembered the old Six- and early Seven-era scripts were, and while I still find Bryant's accent lolariously bad, I'm now willing to listen to more audios with Peri (as well as Mel), and may even re-watch their TV episodes to see if I appreciate them more now.
I didn't care for either companion until I heard repeatedly how much better they were in the audios
I haven't listened to any classic audios yet, but I admit to feeling the same exact way about Amy Pond and the Eleven/Amy friendship until I heard the excellent audio "The Silent Stars Go By".
I think ALL who have appeared in the audios have benefited from it, not just Mel and Peri. Big Finish have fleshed out the characters more, especially in the Companion Chronicles where they get to tell the stories completely from their point of view, giving a unique insight into the character's way of thinking. Even the full cast audios have a better balance between character and plot development than any part of the TV series in my opinion. They've also explored Doctor-companion dynamics that got little to no exposure in the TV series. To use the already mentioned companions as examples, both Peri and Mel only had two TV stories with the Doctor they were originally introduced with, but Big Finish have given the teams of Five & Peri and Six & Mel more stories, which I think is great as I personally believe they worked better than Six & Peri and Seven & Mel.
Huh, I like to chalk it up to Big Finish being awesome. Most of the audios I've heard have a bunch of interesting character development that might not have fit into standard tv episodes. I know a lot of the Classic companions had to deal with sexism of the time, which probably showed up in how they were portrayed- definitely with Peri. Not to mention years of perspective means that the writers probably had a better sense of what worked for the characters and what didn't.
On a related note: anyone have any Six and Peri audios to recommend? I actually like them both and would love to hear some audios.
I'd reccomend the Lost Stories. They are audios made from stories that were submitted for the TV series, but were never filmed.
There are alot of Six and Peri ones among those, while there are only 5 in the main range. Not that those aren't good, but I personally think the lost stories are better than the main range audios with Six and Peri. Personally I liked The Nightmare Fair, Leviathan and Paradise 5 best, but people have different tastes. If I knew more about yours I could tailor the reccomendations to what I think you'd like.
Oooh, I will check out the Lost Stories, I haven't seen that line before, I don't think.
As for preferences, hmmm....basically I enjoy anything with a good story and a chance for the companion to have some good moments and not be treated like an idiot. I find the "alien planet" stories a bit more interesting that the historical ones, though I like them both. I also enjoyed how in the show how Peri and Six snarked at each other and had that back and forth, so some of that that would be nice.
I'm also working my way through Gallifrey right now so I probably don't need anything focused on political intrigues.
I also want to get some Six and Evelyn at some point, but I think that's in the future ("Jubilee" is apparently amazing?)
Well, in that case I think you'd enjoy most, if not all of the sixth Doctor (and Peri) lost stories (I'll be reviewing the first of them in the near future btw) and possibly their main range stories too. Big Finish rarely have the companions treated like idiots and I've enjoyed nearly all stories they've made to some degree. I think the balance between plot and character focus have been better overall in Big Finish's output than in the TV series.
Oh, and I agree with those who say Jubilee is amazing. It's my all time favorite dalek story. in my opinon, it's like a better version of 'Dalek' from the 2005 season. they have very similar story lines, but with some differences. Though I do think Evelyn in general is amazing, not just in Jubilee. She's a brilliant companion who works perfectly with the sixth Doctor.
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I didn't care for either companion until I heard repeatedly how much better they were in the audios, so I gave both "The Veiled Leopard" and "Bang-Bang-A-Boom" a try and was very pleasantly surprised. Peri was quick-witted and plucky; Mel was smart, cheerful, and resourceful; and I enjoyed the heck out of both stories. The writing was much, much better than I remembered the old Six- and early Seven-era scripts were, and while I still find Bryant's accent lolariously bad, I'm now willing to listen to more audios with Peri (as well as Mel), and may even re-watch their TV episodes to see if I appreciate them more now.
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I haven't listened to any classic audios yet, but I admit to feeling the same exact way about Amy Pond and the Eleven/Amy friendship until I heard the excellent audio "The Silent Stars Go By".
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I think it was quality of writers and the media.
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sexism of the time, which probably showed up in how they were portrayed- definitely with Peri. Not to mention years of perspective means that the writers probably had a better sense of what worked for the characters and what didn't.
On a related note: anyone have any Six and Peri audios to recommend? I actually like them both and would love to hear some audios.
Reply
There are alot of Six and Peri ones among those, while there are only 5 in the main range. Not that those aren't good, but I personally think the lost stories are better than the main range audios with Six and Peri. Personally I liked The Nightmare Fair, Leviathan and Paradise 5 best, but people have different tastes. If I knew more about yours I could tailor the reccomendations to what I think you'd like.
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As for preferences, hmmm....basically I enjoy anything with a good story and a chance for the companion to have some good moments and not be treated like an idiot. I find the "alien planet" stories a bit more interesting that the historical ones, though I like them both. I also enjoyed how in the show how Peri and Six snarked at each other and had that back and forth, so some of that that would be nice.
I'm also working my way through Gallifrey right now so I probably don't need anything focused on political intrigues.
I also want to get some Six and Evelyn at some point, but I think that's in the future ("Jubilee" is apparently amazing?)
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Oh, and I agree with those who say Jubilee is amazing. It's my all time favorite dalek story. in my opinon, it's like a better version of 'Dalek' from the 2005 season. they have very similar story lines, but with some differences.
Though I do think Evelyn in general is amazing, not just in Jubilee. She's a brilliant companion who works perfectly with the sixth Doctor.
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