I really ought to start keeping track of which Big Finish I've already heard. I got two-thirds through this story before realizing that I'd heard it before. Nonetheless, I enjoyed listening to it, and it was a reminder of all the reasons why short trips are so wonderful.
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If you haven't listened to this story yet, then I beg you to please stop reading and listen to this story. It's absolutely fantastic and one of my new favorite Eighth Doctor stories. As is often the case, this review will have spoilers for this episode and I heavily suggest listening to the story before reading this review. Autons! We really don't get many stories with them, which is a shame, since I feel like they have a lot of potential. Their last appearance on television was the first episode of the modern series, Rose. Outside of that, I believe they showed up in one NDA book with the Tenth Doctor and in the anthologies, Tales of Trenzalore and The Target Storybook. They may appear here and there but they haven't had many major appearances since the Third Doctor era. Thankfully, this story gives them another chance and does it brilliantly.
My favorite thing about the autons' appearance is that it was so unexpected yet fit so well. I find that these tend to be the best kinds of twists and this made for a really delightful story. I really liked the use of the same date multiple times. I felt that it was an intriguing plot point and it drew me into the story. It kind of reminded me of Memory Lane, a main range story with the Eighth Doctor, Charley and C'rizz. Both stories presented picturesque suburban scenes but for very different reasons, yet they both worked wonderfully. Overall, this was a really enjoyable story that I would definitely listen to again and that I'd highly recommend to anyone interested in the Eighth Doctor's Big Finish appearances.
First things first, it's clear that this story is basically a rip-off of Top Gear but with spaceships and a murder thrown in. That is glaringly obvious from the beginning of the episode. There's not really anything that makes the story stand out except for the ending, in which (spoilers), it's revealed that no one actually died, something rather unusual and unique for a Doctor Who story. The other main point I want to make is that Lucie felt a bit out of character in this story. She's very much like Donna in that she challenges the Doctor frequently and they often have good banter in their stories. Lucie didn't feel that way to me in this story. She felt right in scenes with other characters, but when she was with the Doctor, she didn't really feel like the Lucie Miller we all know and love. Outside of those two things, there's nothing too special about this story. It's unique in it's spaceship-game-show vibe, but there's nothing else that really stands out. I listened to it less than a week ago and could barely tell you the plot, a sign I often find indicates that a story is either average or below average. Even so, next Wednesday we'll be reviewing the next Eighth Doctor Adventures story, Brave New Town, a story that succeeds where this story fails. This review will have spoilers for this book, the Dalek miniseries that is part of Time Lord Victorious, and Defender of the Daleks.
I've been meaning to listen to this story for some time now. Eight and Charley is one of my favorite TARDIS teams, so it was nice to be able to hear a new episode from them since I've listened to the majority of their other stories.
Sadly, my review series for Titan's Eighth Doctor miniseries comes to a close with what is perhaps the best story of the lot. Spoilers for this series will be present.
Like the previous story, this one wasn't the best. Once again, it was set in the past and brought up characters at the end of the story that barely appeared at the beginning, which was rather confusing. This was my primary grievance with the story, but overall, I didn't find it to be interesting story, especially when compared to the other stories in this miniseries. My main complaint is one of the stylistic choices made with how the art on some pages is organized. When there's a full-page with a set of a few images closely related, the lines between panels are blurred, making it so that multiple copies of each character appear on the page, leading to confusion as to what the order of the panels is and what exactly is happening. Thankfully, this only hindered my reading and enjoyment a few times. Otherwise, the art was as good as it always is, and was creative in a way not possible with the budget of the television series. I really enjoyed the flashback towards the end of the story and the revelation that it was the servants who had defeated the aliens in the past, not the wealthy family. I also liked the point the Doctor made about how the rich and famous often take credit in history from those in a lower social position from them. Overall, this was a decent story, with the Doctor and Josie being as well-characterized as ever.
This is a really solid start to the Eighth Doctor's Titan series. It introduces new companion Josie well and feels a lot like Big Finish's Eighth Doctor Adventures series. First of all, this story captures the Eighth Doctor's personality pretty perfectly. I hesitate to call it perfect, but I can honestly think of no flaws in the dialogue. It all feels very much like it's Paul McGann speaking the lines, which is a truly wonderful thing.
Second, the artwork. It's phenomenal throughout the entire story. There are just enough details for it to look incredible yet also few enough that it doesn't look too realistic. I like the design of the Doctor's new companion; the blue hair is a nice touch. My only complaint is that the Eighth Doctor doesn't completely look like Paul McGann. The face is just a little off, especially in the shape of his jaw. That said, this isn't something I noticed when I first read this issue, but after reading some of the later ones and looking back on it, it is something that can impact how much he feels like the Doctor. This can be explained away as part of the Doctor's aging between the movie and The Night of the Doctor though. The plot is simple but good. Josie's paintings coming to life almost reminded me of other stories (perhaps The Red Lady), involving artwork, yet still felt like a fresh and original premise that I would have enjoyed seeing more of. In addition, I liked that it was set in the twenty-first century, helping it feel like the new series and The Eighth Doctor Adventures. Because of this, I felt the story would be much more accessible to new fans, especially since this story is relatively continuity free. I also really liked how this issue is a single self-contained issue. This means that anyone can buy one without worrying about not getting a copy of the next one. While it forms an interconnected story arc, it's not like the Titan's Tenth Doctor series, in which every story is a two-parter, making it hard to follow if you only get an issue occasionally. Overall, this was a really fantastic issue and it left me excited to see where the story would go next! |
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