Ramblings re: the Eighth Doctor.

[ceebee_eebee]

So, I've been listening to the Eighth Doctor audios again and loving every second of them. Paul McGann is a friggin' genius. I'm talking Colin Baker levels of audio-Doctor genius here. Anyway, I'm listening to Terror Firma again right now and I've realized I don't remember much of this story at all! I don't know why, because it's crazy good, and it's got me thinking.



First of all, I think Terror Firma is one of the best directed audios in the whole BF line. The pacing, the script, the non-linear storytelling are all so well done. Sometimes those same concepts fall flat with BF, but here? Perfection. There are moments in this story where I am just blown away by how great it sounds, ya know? Top marks on this one for taking full advantage of the audio format. And also top marks for the script writer for doing something daring with Davros. He is (BY FAR) my least favorite recurring villain, but in this audio I'm hooked. He is scaring the crap out of me and that's pretty damn cool.

But the really awesome part of this story is the Doctor's relationship with Gemma and Samson. In only a few tiny snapshots and some exposition I find myself LOVING them. And loving him WITH them. It kills me that this is all we get to see of their time on the TARDIS because the chemistry between them and Eight is magical. And about 800 times more believable and engaging than his relationship with Lucie.

Now, don't get me wrong. I really, really like Lucie Miller as a character and I think Sheridan Smith does a great job with her. My problem lies entirely with her chemistry (or complete lack thereof) with McGann. I just don't buy them. While I enjoy some of their audios, I just don't care about their relationship in the slightest. I don't believe they actually give a crap about each other either. And that makes me sad because they deserve better. Maybe it's the writing or maybe it's the actors, I don't know. I just don't really care for them as a team.

Gemma and Samson, on the other hand, are BRILLIANT with McGann. They just seem to have so much fun together. And the interplay between them makes me all gleeful. That crack about how he'd rather be the cool uncle, the way Gemma and the Doctor tease Samson about his hangover, the fact that they would get him such a thoughtful b-day present...that was a TARDIS team having fun and loving the adventure. Why, oh why can't BF do a series with those three?!?! I would kill for that, man.

Anyway, if you haven't listened to this audio I recommend it HIGHLY. And I'd love to hear what others think about Gemma and Samson. So, thoughts?

Comments

[doyle_sb4.livejournal.com]

100% agree on Gemma and Samson, and Eight and Lucie. The scene with Samson talking about meeting the Doctor and the montage of their adventures is beautifully done. I wish we could have had more of their adventures too - yes, we already know how they leave, but that's true of Nyssa, Turlough, Peri, Mel and Evelyn too.

[elyssadc.livejournal.com]

Exactly! BF could get a ton of mileage out of Gemma and Samson. I'm not sure how long Sheridan Smith is signed on for, but if McGann is willing to keep going in the role, and they still don't want to deal with the Time War, that would definitely be a great direction for the Eighth Doctor. I think another part of why I liked the 2 of them so much is that it seems McGann works best with a TARDIS team. I love some of the stories with just him and Charley (Chimes of Midnight and Scherzo are two of my most favorite audios ever), but I like them even better with C'rizz in the mix. It's like McGann really comes alive when he's given a team to work with.

Oh, and I've got a question for you. What is it, specifically that you don't like about Eight & Lucie?

[doyle_sb4.livejournal.com]

I was really keen for a new Eight companion and I like Lucie herself but I think they got the series off to a very bad start by having her introduction story be a two-parter where she and the Doctor quickly get separated and hardly interact (compare the first stories of Rose, Martha, Donna, Evelyn, Charley...) Still, I thought that a companion being foisted on him would make for an interesting dynamic for a few episodes, but it's Doctor/companion business as usual by the end of the very next story. It felt unearned, and the stories themselves weren't good enough to keep me interested when the relationship didn't convince me; I still haven't heard the last story of season 1, or any of season 2.

[elyssadc.livejournal.com]

Dude, you are so right. But I think you might actually enjoy Human Resources. It's the only one I've actually felt compelled to listen to several times. Funny and clever and the Doctor/Lucie relationship actually works pretty well.

But you have hit it on the head about the unearned thing. It's like all of a sudden we are supposed to believe that they are really close, but why? I haven't seen (heard) anything along the way to show my why they even like each other. Maybe you're right, maybe it's the lazy writing. We've certainly had people on the TARDIS before who either didn't want to be there, or who started out with the Doctor for nefarious purposes, but they all just seemed to work a lot better than Lucie.

Oh, and I think they never should have switched to the hour-long format. By doing that they've given up one of the biggest benefits of the BF format.

[doyle_sb4.livejournal.com]

We've certainly had people on the TARDIS before who either didn't want to be there, or who started out with the Doctor for nefarious purposes, but they all just seemed to work a lot better than Lucie.

*nods* With Eight and Lucie there's no big moment that gives a reason for their relationship to be different from that point on, like when Barbara really lets the Doctor have it at the end of Edge of Destruction or Tegan gets left home and realises it might not be what she really wanted after all, or Turlough chooses the Doctor over the big shiny diamond; we're just meant to take it as read. I'll have to give Human Resources a go, though - now that Eight isn't in the main range of monthly releases, I need my fix...

[estellemayhem.livejournal.com]

> Oh, and I think they never should have switched to the hour-long format.

I agree with you completely. A lot of the one-hour episodes seem too rushed to me. The explanations that come out in the added on interview segments are sometimes interesting and help me understand the stories better.

Estelle

[elyssadc.livejournal.com]

A lot of the one-hour episodes seem too rushed to me.

Right? One of the things (if not THE thing) I love most about the BF audios is that their length gives you enough time to really get to know all of the guest characters. You care about what happens to them. It's not possible to have that level of involvement when you only have an hour to tell a story. With the tv-show, the visuals can bridge some of that gap, but not when it's just audio. You need at least an hour just to really get a feel for who everyone is. Bad choice, BF. Bad choice.

[estellemayhem.livejournal.com]

Stories for the other Docs are still in 2-CD format, which is good for the reasons you cited. I guess Nick Briggs was keen to emulate the TV show when he opted for single CD ep's for the Eighth Doctor and Lucie audios. At least the first season on the latter included two-parters. I especially enjoyed Human Resources.