Doctor Who Omnibus Thread

[odessasteps]

Liked the new Episode, esp a fairly sedate Missy.

One can only hope these monks somehow tie into the Meddling Monk.

Also, all these matrix/star trek holodeck nods, but no Slartibartfast or pan dimensional mice? 

[Control]

On 2017-05-04 at 1:13 PM, Cliff Hanger said:

Holy FUCK, the next to last episode of Doom Co is nuts. I can't decide whether I love it or hate it. EDITED TO ADD: The spoiler box contains spoIles for both "Side of the Angels" and Season 4 of the one-hour 8th Doctor serial.

  Reveal hidden contents

The Meddling Monk returns for the first time since he got Lucie and Alexmurdered by Daleks, and the Doctor is suitably horrified to see the more awful bits of the High Council using him to broker a deal with the Weeping Angels, which the Angels promptly break. In the final showdown, the Doctor actually closes his eyes rather than try to protect the Monk from being consumed by the Angels, and admits after the Monk is trapped in the past that he thinks the Monk deserved worse.

Even though it's not fatal, it feels like a shocking moment and out of character for 8, but it's the only way things could go down after "To the Death."

So, Spotify has a bunch of Big Finish Doctor Who productions. Any suggestions? I haven't listened to too many Eighth Doctor ones, or any of the "Destiny of the Doctor" series.

[Cliff Hanger]

Destiny is good but it's what they call Chronicles, basically a short story narrated by a companion with one other role voiced. If you only listen to one serial on there, start with Spare Parts; it's the Fifth Doc and Nyssa landing on Mondas just as the Cyberman project swings into gear. The best 8th is Chimes at Midnight, but it absolutely REQUIRES that you listen to Storm Warning first. The 4th Doctor Adventures are a good stardt point as well. I need to go through that list and see exactly what they have to make a good beginner list.

[Control]

Thanks! I've listened to Spare Parts, Storm Warning, and Chimes at Midnight. I think maybe I've hit some of the more acclaimed ones (or maybe just ones you've suggested), so maybe I'm more of an intermediary listener than a new one.

 

edit: hey, it seems they have Jago & Litefoot on there as well...

[rainmakerrtv]

I once put together a guide for a friend of mine of some of my favorite episodes that I thought would be good starting points. I will spoilerize this for space. (Pardon the somewhat flowery language, this is how she and I write to each other.)

 

Spoiler

The 5^th Doctor (Peter Davison)

Ah, good old Pleasantly Open-Faced Pete. I always thought he got a bit of a rough deal from my generation, he seemed to get a lot of static for no other reason than not being Tom Baker. I liked him fine, a gentle contrast to Baker’s more eccentric approach. The audio plays expand his time with Peri as a companion and created one of my all time favorite pairings of her and the new companion Erimem, a Queen from Ancient Egypt.

1)      Spare Parts : until recently, this was my hands down favorite 5^th Doctor BF story (it now has competition from my #2 selection) and a strong candidate for overall Big Finish story. I was always a bit more of a Cybermen guy than a Daleks guy, and this is the definitive Cybermen story. A very gripping plot and Davison and Sarah Sutton (Nyssa) have amazing chemistry here. This also sets up the 3 part Cybermen story arc (The Harvest,  The Reaping & The Gathering) which is excellent.

2)      The Kingmaker  : My new (co-)favorite 5^th Doctor Story, a brilliant mix of comedy and drama, historical in-jokes, great suspense and William Shakespeare. Also some of the best interactions of the wonderful Peri/Erimem team.

3)      Circular Time : four short stories that show the different stages of the relationship between 5 and Nyssa, it hits several different styles within the one arc.

4)      The Church & The Crown : another Peri/Erimem standout, a pure historical story of the sort that the show had basically abandoned by the Patrick Troughton era

5)      Winter For The Adept : I didn’t really notice Nyssa too much during her time on the show but she is the most frequent classic era companion for 5 in Big Finish and this was  a strong showcase for her character

6)      The Boy That Time Forgot : Another strong outing for Nyssa that explores another forgotten character.

7)      The Demons Of Red Lodge and Other Stories : Five and Nyssa seemed to lend themselves well to the short story collections. This one has some fun topics and different, interesting styles.

8)      Heroes Of Sontar : Much though I love Strax, he does make it hard to take the Sontarans seriously. This helps shine a light on the more serious side of the Sontarans, forcing the Doctor and the later Team Tardis (Nyssa, Turlough and Tegan) to collaborate with the junkyard dogs of the Sontaran Army.  A gripping story and a new favorite of mine.

The 6^th Doctor (Colin Baker)

The Colin Baker era was a low point for the TV series based around a lot of elements that were out of Baker’s control. It was a period of weak and overly  dark writing and the BBC Controller of the time had it in for the show and Baker. As a result, Baker was made a scapegoat for the show’s troubles and became the only Doctor to be fired from the role. I don’t have great memories of this period, I was fading out of watching the show and the Trial Of A Timelord arc left a very bad taste in my mouth. So it was a bit of a surprise to find the 6^th Doctor stories to be the most anticipated plays when they come up in the rotation. Baker is able to bring all of the nuance that he didn’t get a chance to in the series. Prof. Evelyn Smythe is my absolute favorite Big Finish original companion. And there are some of the most complex, fascinating stories given to the 6^th Doctor. I tried hard to limit to a small number of picks, but just kept adding more as they came to me.

1)      Holy Terror – Don’t want to give too much away about this one, but it’s one you think is going one direction, then goes a completely different way, then another, then an absolutely jaw-dropping finish. And hey, Frobisher!

2)      The One Doctor – The Doctor Who Christmas Pantomime, hilarious, with Bonnie Langford (Mel) used to her best comedic effect, all sorts of brilliant references, and just a ton of laughs.

3)      … ish -  Surreal but brilliant, an instance where Sixy’s  Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness is actually a major plot point.

4)      Doctor Who And The Pirates – An awesome mix of comedy and drama and hey! The Doctor Sings!

5)      Arrangements For War – When I say that Sixy is possibly the Doctor whose plays I look forward to most, this is one of the best examples of why. An absolutely heart rending story, incredible character development for the Sixth Doctor and a real showcase for the wonderful Doctor Evelyn Smythe.

6)      Davros – The Doctor Vs Davros, man to man. Amazing fleshing out of Davros’ back story (later expanded on in the mini-series I, Davros) and an interesting new context for an old villain.

7)      Jubilee – Speaking of new contexts for old villains (one of my favorite Leonard Cohen albums), this is one of the most unique concepts for a Daleks story that I have seen. Don’t want to give away too much, but Baker is amazing in this one. This story would partly inspire “Dalek”, the episode where New Who first got really good.

8)      Brotherhood Of The Daleks – Speaking of interesting Dalek stories … the Daleks sing “The Red Flag”!

9)      Blue Forgotten Planet – Another head spinner, an emotional climax to the Sixy/Charlie Pollard storyline

10)   Peri & The Piscon Paradox – The ultimate Perpugilliam Brown story, written by Nev Fountain (partner of Peri’s actress, Nicola Bryant), it addresses a lot of the continuity tangle about the ultimate fate of Peri Brown as well as providing a bravura performance by Nicola Bryant

11)   The Wrong Doctors – What the previous story did for Peri, this story does for Mel Bush, an especially wibbly wobbly etc. story which I always especially enjoy.

The 7^th Doctor (Sylvester McCoy)

True confession time : I missed the 7^th Doctor era entirely. Just where my life was at that time, I was always favorably disposed towards Sylvester McCoy, just never got around to watching his stuff either at the time or since then. While I knew I enjoyed his plays, I was a bit startled to discover how many of them were among my favorites. I recall you mentioning you were an Ace fan. Well, there is plenty of great Ace to enjoy.

1)      Colditz – Case in point … a major turning point for Ace, the introduction of a major Big Finish character in Elizabeth Klein, and a notable pre-10^th Doctor appearance for David Tennant

2)      Bang Bang A Boom! – Another wonderful Christmas Panto, this time with Mel and Seven. As funny as the previous one, with great performances by Graeme Garden (who will later appear in a different, more significant role in the Eighth Doctor Adventures) and Patricia Quinn of Rocky Horror fame

3)      Flip Flop – A story constructed like an Escher painting. What’s not to love?

4)      Master – A very moving story that sheds light on the backstory of the Doctor and his nemesis

5)      Live 34 – A story done in the style of a news broadcast (I have a bit of a weakness for that) that keeps you getting right up until the end.

6)      The Settling – Each Doctor gets a signature Big Finish original companion, for the Seventh it is Thomas Hector “Hex” Schofield and this is his shining hour. The Doctor faces off with Oliver Cromwell at the siege of Drogheda .

7)      Kingdom Of Silver/Keepsake – A great Cybermen story, along with a second mini-story that provides  a moving coda to the main plot.

8)      The Magic Mousetrap – Too many surprises to spoil, I will just say it has the return of a long missing Classic era villain. A mystery wrapped in a riddle wrapped in an enigma tied up in a Doctor Who episode

9)      A Death In The Family – Possibly the peak of the Seventh stories. A huge epic battle with a major Big Finish villain. If you liked Ace before, you will love her here. If you didn’t like Ace before … I’m not sure I want to know anyone who doesn’t like Ace

10)   Gods And Monsters – The final movement of a 3 part storyline and the character arc of a major character, the Seventh Doctor’s signature villain returns in an epic battle of wits

The 8^th Doctor (Paul McGann)

It’s rather a shame that an actor as good as Paul McGann has such a sparse televised record as the Doctor : one unevenly written TV movie and one brilliant but brief webisode. His Big Finish canon, however, is pretty awesome. Tending a bit more towards longer story arcs than the other Doctors, there are a lot of great plays showing the character development from the whimsical eccentric of the TV Movie to the world-weary traveler that shows up in Night Of The Doctor. Also has some fascinating original companions, including  “Edwardian Adventuress” Charlotte Pollard and the great Lucie Bleedin’ Miller.

1)      Chimes Of Midnight – This one is particularly heart rending, but with sly wit mixed in with the pathos. Charlotte really shines in this.

2)      The Natural History Of Fear – I am at a bit of a loss to describe this one, except that I don’t know of any Doctor Who story quite like it. Once again, it keeps you guessing right until the end.

3)      Seasons Of Fear – Taking place across several different eras and locations, this has several of my favorite historical jokes and also has hints towards the climax of the first major story arc

4)      Time Works – The Doctor takes on Clockwork Men a couple of months before “The Girl In The Fireplace” in a vaguely steampunk story.

5)      Other Lives – After the heaviness of the Divergent Universe arc, a more fun episode, the Doctor and crew in Victorian England with more historical in-jokes.

6)      Time Of The Daleks – The final part of the Dalek Empire arc, the Doctor vs Shakespeare loving Daleks. Just as glorious as that implies.

7)      Lucie Miller/To The Death – One of the heaviest stories in Big Finish, the roaring climax to the whole New Eighth Doctor Adventures series and laying the groundwork for Dark Eyes.

8)      The Company Of Friends – A short story collection featuring companions from across the different branches of the Expanded Universe, all fun and interesting stories and the last one sets up the final Eighth Doctor arc of the main range

9)      The Silver Turk – The first story of the Mary Shelley arc (yes, that one), another great Cybermen story with a lot of pathos.

 

[Cliff Hanger]

odessa, with his multi-year head start, is a much better source for this shit than me.

 

A couple of spinoffs worth grabbing:

The 2005 UNIT series is sadly out-of-continuity now, but it's a really neat white-knuckle thriller. The Brig is forced i nto retirement as the UK starts to retreat from UN commitments and pushes hard for a national-level agency to take over alien hunting duties, despite their having a shady reputation. I had always hoped for Emily  Choudry to pop back up again, but it was never meant to be.

 

On another  note: now that the War Doctor serial is over, as much as it sucks to say it's hard to recommend.  Some individual episodes are pretty perfect, but taken as a 12-episode season it's lacking, especially at the current price.  The whole affair is hamstrung by the fact that the War Doctor's entire character arc takes place in "Day of the Doctor."  To get from "Night Of" to there, he has to spend the entire 12-episode run as an angry open wound, surrounded by The worst Time Lords and denied any opportunity to form attachments.  It's not bad like the first Charlotte Pollard box set or anything, just hard to justify at $35 for 3 eps and not quite what you probably want from THE Time War story.  

 

[odessasteps]

I actually listen to very little Big Finish stuff. I bet Matt has listened to much more than me.

[rainmakerrtv]

I was always surprised they didn't do more with UNIT, seemed like the most sure fire spin off. Possibly Nicholas Courtney's health issues and eventual passing held it up. It looked like they might give it a go with Ruth Masterson and Charlie Sato, but nothing ever came of it, and it pretty much stayed in limbo until Kate Stewart and Osgoode came along.

[Control]

I really hate this "President of the Earth" shit.

[odessasteps]

Next week also like a redo of when the master took over the world (Aka Tennant in a cage)

[odessasteps]

#brazzers

[odessasteps]

As with most Gatiss episodes, opinion seems split on the ice warriors episode.

although a tad formulaic, i liked it, with its Verne-ness and such. Wished the cameo had not been spoiled (and by a DW writer to boot). 

[Bustronaut]

Cameo?

[odessasteps]

2 hours ago, Mike Zeidler said:

Cameo?

Spoiler

Alpha Centauri

 

[Control]

It was entertaining. I actually think it would have worked as a two-parter: the Victorian soldiers were interesting enough that you could have given the primary couple more background, maybe even have shown us them finding Friday during the Boer War (or whatever it was), and ended first episode with the Empress returning. Just a thought.

nuWho is often at its best when it takes the time to develop each story's supporting characters (e.g. Blink, Midnight, Silence in the Library) and they've really gotten away from that it seems. 

[odessasteps]

This episode would been even more amazing had we not known the villains or the surprise at the end ahead of time.

[Eivion]

I enjoyed the episode, but have to agree with that assessment. They should have tried to keep that a secret.

[odessasteps]

I think the serious fan would have maybe deduced the villains, based on the costuming of their heads.

But I don't think anyone would have had a clue about the reveal. 

[TheVileOne]

Moffat leaving Doctor Who can't come fast enough.

[Spritenaut 32]

Michelle Gomez and Peter Capaldi have a lot of chemistry.  I would probably dig seeing a season of Missy as the Doctor's companion.  Though, all things being even, I'd probably prefer to see them together in another show.  One I like.

Rumor is Pearl Mackie is leaving too so the new showrunner will probably have a clean slate to work with.

Like last night's ep quite a bit.  Not high on the season as a whole.

[Matt D]

That first bit with the whole "Doctor Who" thing was insufferable (though we probably would have really dug it six years ago?) but in general, I did like the episode. What's most interesting would be the idea of keeping on Bill into next season but this being a real status quo change to her (obviously not 100% but...). Obviously they won't do that.

[odessasteps]

A cyber companion? First since Handles.

[odessasteps]

I guess people can start fantasy booking who or what they want to see in the Xmas episode. 

Save finale talk for later. 

[Spritenaut 32]

OK, as a casual fan, I wasn't sure who that was in the cliffhanger

Spoiler

The first Doctor?

Felt like there was a lot to like in the first haf of the ep, but the second half seemed really overwrought.  Read a review recently that observed they've gotten away from making the stakes personal.  Completely agree.  The show hasn't been great at humanizing the extras.  The Doctor flies in, saves the masses, and leaves.  Since we know he'll save the day in the end, it's safe, mundane storytelling.  Feel like the episode would have been more effective if they focused more on Bill or the Dr.-Master-Missy stuff.  Really, the episode reminded me an awful lot of Matt Smith's last ep (which was similarly overwrought, imo).

The Master-Missy relationship was fun, though I didn't like how they left things.

If Moffat overseeing the Christmas show?  

[odessasteps]

Yes, moffat is writing the xmas special,  although chibnall is writing the part with the next doctor, as moffat did in rtd's last episode.

i think almost all last episodes, esp nuwho era, are overwrought. Remember tennant's long drawn out "i dont want to go" travelogue before dying? 

I think in general, two parters have had much better first halves than second. 

Spoiler

Yes, thats the first doctor, dressed as he was when he regenerated in the tenth planet. David Bradley played William Hartnell is Gatiss' movie about the show's creation.