Big Finish 104 and 105

[eve11]

Dude, if these two are any indication of the upcoming year, holy hell, is it going to be a good one...


Bride of Peladon: This audio had a fantastic old-style episode feel to it. Mystery, murder, mayhem, and a collection of original characters who were sympathetic and flawed and who made me freaking care about them. Great writing. And one scary-ass freaky Osiran, holy crap. And wow, what a fantastic finish for Erimem! I will miss her, and I was so afraid they'd kill her or wipe her memory or something similar, but they didn't, and while it may have been a miraculous yet scientific recovery, I can't help but be pleased. Brave Heart, Erimem! Taking out Sekhmet with no hesitation by poisoning your own blood, wow.

And poor Doctor got batted around *again* by an Osiran, and by a few other things this episode too, but oh did they play it well. Peter Davison was in top form. It was eerie too, how he played the almost-regeneration scene as a foreboding foreshadowing to the real thing, when it came along. My heart ached even though I knew he would live. In typical Doctor Who style it all got wrapped up a little too quickly for my tastes, as they just shot ahead a few (days? hours?)-- a bit-- and reintroduced both characters who'd been at death's door as now perfectly healthy. But if that's the only problem then it's generally one I'm prepared for in the Whoniverse, so I can be a bit put out but it does not really lessen my squee all that much :)

I loved seeing all of the facets coming together in this one, and there was great action from the fantastic spaceship crash through to the final confrontation (but oh! Pandora! And Zixlier! And even Boy-who-was-Timothy-Lattimer and the miners! *cries*)... and Peri, oh Peri I love you so much in this episode. Peri and Erimem are the best companions ever! And I must look up Peladon episodes now to see the Aggador and Alpha Centauri-- Fabulous voice acting on part of the entire cast in this one. This has to go in my top ten favorites. *realizes again that Erimem will no longer be with the team... cries*





The Condemned: This one was more of a subdued mystery than the previous, but still a good adventure. I was a little put off by Charley's sudden anachronism though; she'd traveled with the Doctor for a long while, they had to have visited future Earth from time to time, right? I liked DI Mensis, though I thought she might be an alien the whole time, that would have been fun ;) It was a good mystery, and it had Six coming through with his usual aplomb-- loved him using the DNA modulator to escape from the cops, and also diffusing the bomb at the end: "There we go... Oh no, wait! Okay, now it won't explode!" lol. I have no idea how an alien race can take over the earth by insinuating themselves into buildings but... *handwaves* More good acting from the supporting cast too, especially the main villain guy (I forget his name). For a moment there I thought he and Antonia were going to turn out to be rogue Time Lords themselves, but no. Still, it was a very entertaining adventure and mystery. And Charley gets a few more trips with the Doctor, ha, this should be interesting. As for the fact that he saw her in "100 Days of the Doctor"-- well, she has been marooned for a good long while, probably tattered, longer hair, generally a lot less posh than she would have been when he saw her with the Eighth Doctor at the poker table. And not to mention, the Sixth Doctor was not feeling at his best during that time either. So, it's not out of the realm of possibility that he wouldn't recognize her.



Bring on the next ones! Woohoo! Also, the new download function is super easy, and quick, and I am very, very happy! :) :) :)

Comments

[spiralsheep.livejournal.com]

I've been coveting Bride of Peladon ever since it was announced so I'm glad to hear it's worth buying. I love the two telly Peladon stories with all my heart but I have to admit that, in the case of the second (and possibly both), the novelisation is better than the serial.

[eve11]

Definitely worth it; it's one of the best forays I've heard in a while. MHO only, of course :)

[isweedan]

Dude, if these two are any indication of the upcoming year, holy hell, is it going to be a good one...
So very exciting!

Bride of Peladon was indeed terribly spiffing - I was very shouty at my iPod for the last 15 minutes or so. I did NOT want Erimem to die.

I know what you mean about feeling the need to watch the Peladon stories - you've got to wonder if there's some small cool detail you've missed.

[eve11]

I enjoyed Bride of Peladon immensely, and as my first introduction to Peladon, it did pretty darn well :) Yay, this year is going to be fun!

[harkalark.livejournal.com]

In regards to what was said above about the novelisation being better than the TV version, oh hell yes. My first Peladon experience was the book version of "The Curse of Peladon," which I thought was pretty good. (I was about 13 at the time.) Then I saw the episode a couple of years later and was appalled at how cheesey and crappy it seemed in comparison (Alpha Centauri and Arcturus especially). The sequel "The Monster of Peladon" was even worse with the miners with their bee-stripped afros.

But that was a long time ago, and I was a cynical sarcastic teenager and didn't care for a lot of the Pertwee era because of its overabundance of 70s cheese. When I got this audio, I first went back and watched the two Peladon stories for the first time in years, and they weren't that bad after all. In fact, as I listened to the audio, I realized that I did the right thing in catching up with the TV stories, as there's a lot I would have missed out on. They did a really good job with this one, and it was in keeping with the mystery of the TV stories, never being sure who was the bad guy, etc.

And I loved it when Peter Davison sang the Venusian lullaby. I wonder how silly he felt doing that in studio. :) Jon Pertwee's rendition of it was a guilty pleasure of mine back in the day (pretty much the only parts of the stories that I liked), though it would be years before I learned that it was in fact the same tune as "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen."

[eve11]

I've only seen two Pertwee arcs (Spearhead from Space and Mind of Evil) but I enjoyed them a lot. I really need to grab the Peladon ones from somewhere. First, though, I'm working on "Genesis of the Daleks".

I noticed the lullaby was "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" but only in Part 4, and not the first time the Doctor used it in the audio. And well, for anyone who can get through the script of "Winter for the Adept" or some of the other eariler audios, I imagine humming a little lullaby is a cakewalk! ;)

[jimcleave.livejournal.com]

Alpha Centauri from the Peladon stories is one of my favorite Who aliens--a very effete and polite cyclopean walking octopus. :) It'd be cool to do a story set on Alpha Centauri with a whole planet of those dudes. And Aggedor is a cute big ol' fuzzy critter.

I think the second Peladon episode may have been the last Ice Warrior story. Is there any word yet on whether the new series will revive the Ice Warriors? They were a mainstay of Dr. Who in the old days--they were literally Martians--but after Mariner and Viking revealed Mars to be barren, they disappeared from the series. Fans have clamored for years that they'd like to see them return.

[eve11]

I don't know about Ice Warriors. They show up in the audios a few times.

I am very curious about Alpha Centauri! I love it when writers go the extra step to make aliens not only look alien, but act and sound alien too, with completely different social mores.