Big Finish Audio Dramas

[Blencathra]

Those are on my list of "must haves" already. I think I mentioned elsewhere i have a thing about Time Lords. I'm pleased you like them so much Flyboy. I'm looking foward to getting my hands on them.

I'm just about to start Leviathan, one of the Lost Stories I bought when Big Finish had their offer last weekend.

[Flyboy]

I have kind of been thinking about checking out that line for a while now....

Those are on my list of "must haves" already. I think I mentioned elsewhere i have a thing about Time Lords. I'm pleased you like them so much Flyboy. I'm looking foward to getting my hands on them.

I'm just about to start Leviathan, one of the Lost Stories I bought when Big Finish had their offer last weekend.

Time Lords are epic and I've loved the series majorly.

There's a few niggles - the intro theme for S1-3 just simply doesn't fit, it feels much like the BBC News 24 intro theme. Though I suppose that does kinda work with the fact that this is a very political drama with all that comes with affairs of state and government. Series 1-3 really builds nicely to an astonishing climax, though Series 4 is a total damp squib after that, though provides some interesting ideas. Series 5 irritated me a lot, in many ways it felt unoriginal. Series 6, on the other hand - as mentioned, is absolutely brilliant. I may have already said, these ones simply can't be listened to absent mindedly, you really need to concentrate....


Leviathan? I have no idea what that's about. Luckily, I absolutely abused BF during that weekend offer, so will start on the Lost Stories in the not too distant future!

Currently listening to 'The Wrong Doctors' (I jumped ahead to Gallifrey VI because I just couldn't wait...)... and this is.... poor. Maybe I'm biased... but it's Melanie Bush. THE worst companion of all time. I am genuinely struggling to care. It should be interesting as it concerns her actual first meeting with the Doctor...but it's just ANNOYING.

[DigiFluid]

Maybe I'm biased... but it's Melanie Bush. THE worst companion of all time.

Peri and Tegan would like a word

[Flyboy]

Peri and Tegan would like a word

They can have all the words they like! But Tegan, despite her faults, wasn't anywhere near as annoying as Mel. Same goes for Peri. Their problem was that they just didn't seem to want to BE in the TARDIS....

Tegan, actually, has been improved massively in the BF dramas she's been in, and whislt Peri distinctly hasn't, at least she's not Mel - who quite frankly sounds and looks like she belongs in Ballamory and has the dramatic scope of a tea spoon. I cringe EVERY time that woman talks. If I wasn't such a bloody completist then I would be skipping over the next three 6th Doctor audios just to avoid hearing any more of her CBEEBIES style voice!

[Blencathra]

Tegan I'm ambivalent about. I don't like her or hate her. Peri I used to detest but she has grown on me a lot (same goes for Adric) but Mel.... noooooo......... I can't stand her. She drives me insane. I can remember Bonnie in Just William when she frequently said "I'll thcweam, and thcweam until I'm thick". Her Doctor Who character is much the same. However, I haven't listened to Mel on Big Finish yet, so who knows, she may grow on me as well.

[Blencathra]

Doctor Who: Thunderclap Special Offer!

http://bigfinish.com/news/v/doctor-w...-special-offer

To mark tonight's social media Thunderclap, we're making three Doctor Who titles available in a 24 hour special offer...

At 8pm on 1st July 2014, we use the Thunderclap app to shout to the world that we're Big Finish, and we love stories!

15 years ago, we kicked off our Doctor Who main range with an exciting multi-Doctor story The Sirens of Time, bringing together the Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison), The Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) and the Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) for the first time ever.

11 years ago, the Doctor encountered the Daleks in Jubilee, an acclaimed story from Robert Shearman, with a central premise of Dalek as an evil, conniving character that Robert used for the Daleks' first appearance in 2005's TV revival of Doctor Who.

And 10 years ago, the Doctor took on popular foe The Cybermen in The Harvest, a contemporary London story that introduced a new companion and chilled the blood...

From 8pm tonight, for 24 hours, each of these three stories is available for £2.99 on CD (with free postage anywhere in the world!), or £1.00 for a download.

[DigiFluid]

They can have all the words they like! But Tegan, despite her faults, wasn't anywhere near as annoying as Mel. Same goes for Peri. Their problem was that they just didn't seem to want to BE in the TARDIS....

Tegan, actually, has been improved massively in the BF dramas she's been in, and whislt Peri distinctly hasn't, at least she's not Mel - who quite frankly sounds and looks like she belongs in Ballamory and has the dramatic scope of a tea spoon. I cringe EVERY time that woman talks. If I wasn't such a bloody completist then I would be skipping over the next three 6th Doctor audios just to avoid hearing any more of her CBEEBIES style voice!

Tegan I'm ambivalent about. I don't like her or hate her. Peri I used to detest but she has grown on me a lot (same goes for Adric) but Mel.... noooooo......... I can't stand her. She drives me insane. I can remember Bonnie in Just William when she frequently said "I'll thcweam, and thcweam until I'm thick". Her Doctor Who character is much the same. However, I haven't listened to Mel on Big Finish yet, so who knows, she may grow on me as well.

You're both mad! Mel certainly is annoying, but she doesn't hold a candle to either Tegan or Peri. When I was watching through all of the original DW run, Tegan was so irritating that I nearly quit watching entirely--"Oh but Tuuuuuuuuurloughhhhh" and forever acting like she'd be late for a flight even thought SHE BLOODY WELL KNEW SHE WAS IN A BLOODY TIME MACHINE

And Peri, PERI! Arghhhhhh! Most horrendously awful attempt at an American accent I've ever heard, not to mention her bizarrely warbling voice was beyond irritating! "OhHhHhHhH DOCKTUR!"

But I digress

To mark tonight's social media Thunderclap, we're making three Doctor Who titles available in a 24 hour special offer...

I have no idea what Thunderclap is, but saw Nick Briggs tweet about this earlier today! Picked up The Harvest, and decided to check out the Cyberman series while I was at it.

I know I know, you've both just been on about Gallifrey--but there's neither physical boxset nor download-only options for buying series 1 through 3!

[Flyboy]

I have no idea what Thunderclap is, but saw Nick Briggs tweet about this earlier today! Picked up The Harvest, and decided to check out the Cyberman series while I was at it.

I know I know, you've both just been on about Gallifrey--but there's neither physical boxset nor download-only options for buying series 1 through 3!

Ah! Yes, that is a shame about the lack of downloads....

BF *do* do the Cybermen VERY well. Just like their Dalek stories! And the Cyberman boxsets are no exception! Let us know what you think!

[Blencathra]

I hadn't noticed the lack of downloads for Gallifrey. I'm old fashioned and prefer to have something tangible for my money, ie a CD, so I hadn't even looked. I wonder why they have done that? It's much more convenient to download if you don't live in the UK and I'm sure Big Finish know that. Perhaps you should ask them Digi?

As for Peri & her accent. It's revenge for Dick van Dyke In Mary Poppins. The thing is that Nicola Bryant is such a lovely person and has a lovely voice when she is being herself. I blame J-NT entirely. He should have let her be herself rather than chasing an American market with a (fake) US companion. Anyway, from what my US friends say, that's what they like about the show... the Britishness of it.

[Flyboy]

I hadn't noticed the lack of downloads for Gallifrey. I'm old fashioned and prefer to have something tangible for my money, ie a CD, so I hadn't even looked. I wonder why they have done that? It's much more convenient to download if you don't live in the UK and I'm sure Big Finish know that. Perhaps you should ask them Digi?

As for Peri & her accent. It's revenge for Dick van Dyke In Mary Poppins. The thing is that Nicola Bryant is such a lovely person and has a lovely voice when she is being herself. I blame J-NT entirely. He should have let her be herself rather than chasing an American market with a (fake) US companion. Anyway, from what my US friends say, that's what they like about the show... the Britishness of it.

There's a handful of audios on the BF site that aren't eligible for download, including the Bernice Summerfield single releases, the first four Companion Chronicles and a couple of the bonus adventures. Having e-mailed them about it last time I was in Afghanistan, I found out it's all about legalities and what not, and some of the audios aren't cleared for the download market. Very confusing.

I'm like you Blen, I like owning something physical, despite the fact that I'm running out of space, and when I move in with my partner they're all likely going to have to go into storage

[DigiFluid]

I understand where you're both coming from, and I do agree. It's nice to get something tangible; I just like to go digital first, so I don't waste money on something I don't know if I'll like.

Of course, Big Finish is batting nearly a thousand with me, so maybe I oughtn't be so concerned

[DigiFluid]

BF *do* do the Cybermen VERY well. Just like their Dalek stories! And the Cyberman boxsets are no exception! Let us know what you think!

Indeed! I've been listening to the Cyberman stories on my morning commute for the last few days (finished 1.3 this morning), and really dig them so far. Very very well done--now I'm finding myself wanting to go rewatch some classic Cybermen episodes

The Dalek Empire story....kind of soured me a little bit toward the end. I'd been loving them and the non-traditional storytelling they embraced for the first three series. The fourth was interesting in its own way, but I was baffled and annoyed that they stepped back in time rather than resolving the cliffhanger at the end of series 3. And then...no series 5 to follow up and finish it off!

As for Peri & her accent. It's revenge for Dick van Dyke In Mary Poppins. The thing is that Nicola Bryant is such a lovely person and has a lovely voice when she is being herself. I blame J-NT entirely. He should have let her be herself rather than chasing an American market with a (fake) US companion. Anyway, from what my US friends say, that's what they like about the show... the Britishness of it.

Yeah....I can't fathom how anyone thought it was a good idea. Doctor Who is such a distinctly British piece of culture, what was the sense in trying to 'Americanize' part of it? And if they had to go that way, why on Earth did they go with a) an actress who did a terrible parody of an American accent; and b) writers who didn't have a clue that there's a different between British and North American idioms.

Best I can tell, it only aggravated people on both sides of the pond. Brits didn't want an American companion, while North Americans got an "American" companion that was very obviously not.

So, like you say: thanks, JNT

[Flyboy]

Indeed! I've been listening to the Cyberman stories on my morning commute for the last few days (finished 1.3 this morning), and really dig them so far. Very very well done--now I'm finding myself wanting to go rewatch some classic Cybermen episodes

They are rather awesome - they really capture the sheer cunning of the cybermen and the terrifying implications of a backdoor invasion.

The Dalek Empire story....kind of soured me a little bit toward the end. I'd been loving them and the non-traditional storytelling they embraced for the first three series. The fourth was interesting in its own way, but I was baffled and annoyed that they stepped back in time rather than resolving the cliffhanger at the end of series 3. And then...no series 5 to follow up and finish it off!

Yes, I agree with you entirely here.

For me, the high point was the first seires (plus Return of the Daleks, a 7th Doctor special set inbetween Ep1.1 and 1.2). S2 was good, but I'm never enamoured by parallel universes... S3 felt like it lost a lot of the campy, 1950s style space opera stuff.... I totally agree ref S4. Just didn't feel right to me.

Yeah....I can't fathom how anyone thought it was a good idea. Doctor Who is such a distinctly British piece of culture, what was the sense in trying to 'Americanize' part of it?

Capt Jack.

[Blencathra]

Big Finish: Fourth Doctor novel adaptations for January

http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2014/07...ce=twitterfeed

Big Finish have released the covers for two upcoming Fourth Doctor adventures that have been adapted from original novels written for the Virgin Missing Adventures range by Gareth Roberts. The two stories are set during the Graham Williams era of the television show, featuring Tom Baker as the Doctor, Lalla Ward as Romana, and John Leeson as the voice of K-9.

The Romance of Crime
Cover - http://images.doctorwhonews.net/image.php?pid=13570
Written by Gareth Roberts, adapted by John Dorney
Directed by Nicholas Briggs

The TARDIS brings the Doctor, Romana and K9 to the Rock of Judgement; a court, prison and place of execution built into a rocket-powered asteroid. When involved in an investigation by the system's finest lawman, they begin to seek answers to some disturbing questions.

Cast: Tom Baker (The Doctor), Lalla Ward (Romana), John Leeson (K9), Graham Seed (Pyerpoint), Miranda Raison (Margo/Xais), Phil Mulryne (Shom, Hogan, Ogron 6), Marcus Garvey (Frank Spiggot), Michael Troughton (Stokes), James Joyce (Zy, Ogron 5, Barman), Joshua Silver (Charlie Nisbett), John Dorney (Eddie Nisbett/Ogrons), Jane Slavin (Blakemore, Bailiff, LIbrarian)


The English Way of Death
Cover - http://images.doctorwhonews.net/image.php?pid=13571
Written by Gareth Roberts, adapted by John Dorney
Directed by Nicholas Briggs

The Doctor, Romana and K9 arrive in 1930s London to return some overdue library books. They plan to take a rest after their recent adventures, but Romana detects a distress signal from the future and the Doctor is attacked by a suffocating green mist.

Cast: Tom Baker (The Doctor), Lalla Ward (Romana), John Leeson (K9), Terrence Hardiman (Stackhouse), Derek Carlyle (Orlick), Richard Braine (Percy Closed), Abigail McKern (Felicia), Annabel Mullion (Julia), Mark Bonnar (Porteus), Tim Bentinck (Colonel Radlett), Andrew Bone (Woodrow), Jane Slavin (Harriet)


The adventures are due to be released in January 2015 as both standard editions and also in a limited edition that comes in special packaging and a bonus behind-the-scenes disc.

________

These look good!

[Flyboy]

I am *really* looking forward to those... I love the Fourth Doctor stuff so much. It perfectly captures the classic days, and he sounds JUST right. The pacing is perfect as well!

I'm afraid I'm going to have to add another to digi's list...

About a year old...but so very good....

http://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/...common-men-716

178-fanfare-for-the-common-men_cover_medium.jpg

1963: Fanfare for the Common Men.

I was astonished, I was expecting this to be a fairly average offering, and didn't go into it with high hopes. Despite this, it's become one of my favourite BF Doctor Who adventures. As you may expect from a drama all about a timeline that's gone wrong due to the lack of The Beatles, there's a lot of awesome 60's style music. The pace of the drama is perfect, and it feels about as modern as classic Who can. I cannot recommend this one enough. Definitely worth a listen for anyone who lived through the 60s (unlike me), enjoys 60s music, or even just wants to enjoy one of Big Finish's 50th Anniversary specials*.




*Including: '1963: Fanfare for the Common Men', '1963: The Space Race', '1963: The Assassination Games', 'The Light at the End', 'The Destiny of the Doctor'.