Oh, Seven. Why so emo?

[ceebee_eebee]

Big Finish finally made the latest audio available for download yesterday, so I stayed up to a ridiculous hour listening to it because BF is my crack. The first of two September releases (WOOOO!), this one is yet another solo Seventh Doctor story. As I haven't exactly made my feelings about companion-less Seventh Doctor audios a secret, you can imagine I wasn't expecting all that much.



And in this case, the low expectations were a good idea because I found the whole thing pretty disappointing. First off, a little plot info. In Kingdom of Silver, the Doctor arrives on what the writer described as a "steam-punk Victorian era planet" that turns out to be another tomb world for the Cybermen. Now, I LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE the Cybermen, particularly in audios. Their voices work incredibly well in the format and the BF people have done some amazing things with them (see Spare Parts). Here, they were wasted. Another plot point that should have made this audio great was the fact that it tied into the 8th Doctor audio Sword of Orion (which I loved) giving us a lot more backstory into the Orion war and the androids. His temp companions here are both deep-cover android operatives and I actually liked them a lot.

The main problem I had with this story was the people on the tomb planet. They'd finally been able to end a civil war between their empires, blah blah blah, by using cyber technology to benefit all the people of their world. Fine. But the characters were all SO FUCKING STUPID. The leader of what I think was supposed to be the most powerful of the empires was one of the most naive morons ever. His second in command was pathetic. I have never wanted people to be cyberized more than I wanted these idiots to. I couldn't WAIT for the cybermen to wake up and convert them. And I really don't think that was what BF was going for.

Another problem I had with this audio is the damn emo Seventh Doctor. I love Seven. I really, really love him. But in these solo audios he is at the end of his time in that incarnation and he is more fucking emo than Ten on his worst day and I'm totally over it.

Anyway. That was a 3-part story. The other story is Keepsake, a tie-in dealing with the fate of the two Orion operative "companions" and was actually UNBELIEVABLY sad. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either and I don't really want to spoil it. This one was worth listening to.

So, there you have it. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for this latest audio, but BF is ALWAYS worth listening to and I would love to hear some dissenting opinions.

Comments

[livii.livejournal.com]

Avoiding your comments as I haven't heard this one, but, man, YES, I haven't listened to any Seven-alone yet because COMPANIONS, THEY ARE USEFUL AND AWESOME. Also, why give us Seven alone when we could have Ace, or Mel, or preferably as you know for me, Ace and Hex? Seven has some of the bestest audio companions ever. It's a pity.

[elyssadc.livejournal.com]

COMPANIONS, THEY ARE USEFUL AND AWESOME.

No joke! The BF people have said it's a scheduling issue and because Sylv is so busy it's easier to do solo stories because they can just work around him. I CALL BULLSHIT. If they can get a full cast into the studio to work with him, they can get Sophie or any of the others. It's ridiculous. The only Doctor who works in solo audios for me is Six because he's SUCH a huge presence. But even then, I only enjoy those sparingly. This is like a million solo Seven stories in a row already and I'm ready to smack a bitch.

[ravenskyewalker.livejournal.com]

The BF people have said it's a scheduling issue and because Sylv is so busy it's easier to do solo stories because they can just work around him.

That's not the only reason. Sylv has stated in interviews that he likes exploring the psychology of the Doctor when he's alone, and it looks like BF agrees. I can understand that, but prefer him interacting with Ace. (Okay, Hex can come along, too, if he must...)

I don't want Seven behaving like Ten. I'm said that Seven needs to visit Ten and whack him hard with his brolly to knock some sense into him. ;-)

This is like a million solo Seven stories in a row already and I'm ready to smack a bitch.

Yep, four of the last five were solo, with "The Dark Husband" in between. That was a fun one.

"Forty-Five" is coming out for DW's 45th anniversary in November, and will include Ace and Hex!

Oh, let me introduce myself. (It might help, yes?) I'm an old Classic DW fan, have always loved the Seventh Doctor, and am a recent BF fan (started listening in May). I'd ask if I could friend you, but my LJ isn't especially interesting, as I rarely post there. (I post mostly at SMAS, Sylv's Appreciation Society board.)

[elyssadc.livejournal.com]

You can go ahead and friend me, I'd be flattered!

Sylv has stated in interviews that he likes exploring the psychology of the Doctor when he's alone, and it looks like BF agrees.

I can definitely see that, I just don't think the scripts are helping him do it. Of the solos, the only one I really enjoyed was The Death Collectors because it was truly, truly creepy and the guest characters were excellent. The others were extremely disappointing and I don't think they did much to delve into the mind of the Doctor all that well. There were no interesting moral challenges or surprising choices. Just him being all miserable and bitter. Ugh. They need to either write better scripts or BRING BACK ACE. Or Mel. Or Hex.

[ravenskyewalker.livejournal.com]

In my comment, I see that this slipped out: "I'm said that Seven"

That was supposed to be "I've said that Seven"... arrggh.

I can definitely see that, I just don't think the scripts are helping him do it.

Agreed! He seemed overly strange and emo in Valhalla.

Of the solos, the only one I really enjoyed was The Death Collectors because it was truly, truly creepy and the guest characters were excellent.

Yes, that was deeply creepy, and the end -- "There will only be silence in death." -- yow!

I liked Frozen Time, apart from a major plot point that had me saying "WTF? Come on!"

I liked him solo in Return of the Daleks, because the end made me think "Working with the Daleks, but actually working to destroy them for all that time, and doing that at the risk of his life -- that's so much the Oncoming Storm right there, yay!" (BTW, I really don't know the continuity of that one; it's far ahead in Seven's timeline, but isn't apparently one of the "main" stories. It was released as a DWM special , I think.)

[elyssadc.livejournal.com]

I liked him solo in Return of the Daleks

Ahhh, yeah! I'd forgotten about that one. I always sorta lump it in with the rest of the Dalek Empire series which I haven't ever really been able to get in to. A little too unrelentingly dark, even for me. But yeah, that was a story that really made use of the companion-less Doctor idea. More like that, plz!

[livii.livejournal.com]

"Forty-Five" is coming out for DW's 45th anniversary in November, and will include Ace and Hex!

You, kind stranger, have just made my day. Actually, my whole entire week. :D

[ravenskyewalker.livejournal.com]

Pleased to be of service, ma'am!

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

I haven't heard this one yet and it doesn't sound like I should be in any hurry. I haven't really cared for any companion-less audio so far that I can think of. The good ones have the companions playing significant roles.

Also? If Seven is more emo here than Ten at his worst, it sounds frankly horrifying.

I will listen to a nice Seven-Ace-Hex or Seven-Mel story instead, I think.

[elyssadc.livejournal.com]

Yeah. If you don't buy they all, then this is definitely one you can skip.

If Seven is more emo here than Ten at his worst, it sounds frankly horrifying.

IT IS!!! The only interesting thing I've gotten from these as far as his character goes is that I kind of understand a lot more of where Eight came from. Why he seemed so childlike in a lot of ways. Cool discovery, but not worth 4 depressing solo audios.

[elliptic-eye.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the heads-up, because a solo Seven story intrigues me much (perhaps because of th delicious crack a solo Six story like Davros is made from?). I think I'll give this one a miss for now and check out your rec of The Death Collectors instead...

[elyssadc.livejournal.com]

You're quite welcome! I hope you enjoy The Death Collectors as much as I did. Also, if you dig solo Six, I love I.D. sooooooo much. It's nothing particularly grand or epic, but it's a tight little story that's really well done, hilarious in parts, and very re-listen-able.

[ravenskyewalker.livejournal.com]

Big Finish finally made the latest audio available for download yesterday,

I bought it from Who North America a couple of weeks ago and listened to it today for my birthday. :-D

But the characters were all SO FUCKING STUPID.

Amusingly, my opinion tends to be that a lot of incidental DW characters are incredibly effing stupid, and it can be a real problem. I tend not to like it when the plot is advanced by characters forgetting their intelligence, but it happens far too often.

Another problem I had with this audio is the damn emo Seventh Doctor. I love Seven. I really, really love him. But in these solo audios he is at the end of his time in that incarnation and he is more fucking emo than Ten on his worst day and I'm totally over it.

Now that I've heard this, I actually disagree. He was so much worse in Valhalla, practically dragging himself around moaning about how he needed to retire, so that I wanted to hit him over the head with his own brolly (just as I want Seven to whack Ten).

In this, he seemed functional and non-depressed. Maybe I need to relisten (no big hardship), but his outbursts didn't seem all that much worse than his overemoting on-screen. Let me be on record as saying that, while I love the Seventh Doctor, he didn't need to act as if he was more impressive when he got overwrought and shouted, because I found him much more compelling when he was quiet. Sylv was unfortunately harking back to that in KoS, but I don't think Seven was on the Valhalla level of bemoaning his life.

The other story is Keepsake, a tie-in dealing with the fate of the two Orion operative "companions" and was actually UNBELIEVABLY sad. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either and I don't really want to spoil it. This one was worth listening to.

A haunting, heartbreaking little story. Worth hearing, yes.

I would love to hear some dissenting opinions.

In a sense, I'm dissenting now. ;-)

[elyssadc.livejournal.com]

Now that I've heard this, I actually disagree. He was so much worse in Valhalla, practically dragging himself around moaning about how he needed to retire, so that I wanted to hit him over the head with his own brolly (just as I want Seven to whack Ten).

Oh god, yes. Valhalla was so hideously, unrelentingly emotastic that I think it has permanently scarred me for all further solo-Seven audios. I go into each one of them with expectations so low that it's hard to imagine enjoying them. Which I think is part of the problem. I'm already predisposed to disliking them. Thinking back, he really wasn't that bad in Kingdom of Silver but he still wasn't great. That whole opening scene where the android comes into the TARDIS and Seven acts all mysterious and enigmatic just annoyed me. I only like the Doctor to act that way when his companions are around to call him out on it. That set a very negative tone for me and the story just never recovered.

Also, the writer (I think it was the writer, might have been the producer) talked in the extras about how Seven is especially good in scenes where people don't believe him and he has to be all affronted and shouty about how right he is and why won't anyone trust him, etc. etc. I disagree. I think that is some of the weakest characterization for Seven. I think Five and Six do that kind of affrontery (is that a word?) MUCH better.

Eh. I don't know. I agree with some of what you are saying, but I still didn't like it. Too much stupid. But I appreciate the dissenting opinion. ;-) I just want his companions back! More fun - less emo, damn it!