ceebee_eebee (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ceebee_eebee) wrote2008-09-25 10:17 am
ceebee_eebee) wrote2008-09-25 10:17 am
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Oh, Seven. Why so emo?
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.
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.
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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.
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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.)
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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.
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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.)
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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!
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You, kind stranger, have just made my day. Actually, my whole entire week. :D
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