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

[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.