Surviving Snowmageddon: Two Big Finish Doctor Who Audios

Thankfully, yesterday proved to be a busy day with the promise of new work, and the thawing of massive amounts of snow. So much so that I was able to accomplish something I did not have time to do - catch up on listening to audio dramas via Big Finish Productions.

(For a guy who had a local station playing old time radio shows, I've been negligent on that point, but here I go)....

My first selection was from Big Finish's Destiny of the Doctor series (which was a monthly series of adventures with the "classic" series Doctors. However, their Ninth Doctor audio, Night of the Whisper, is a truly gripping listen. Combining some classic pulp tropes with a slightly more futuristic tone (think "The Spider running around a future Las Vegas), this is a cracking good story, and Nicholas Briggs does a really good Ninth Doctor. (So much so that I kind of wish that, in future audios, they would "cheat" and have him perform the role without the BBC's permission....but that would be wrong).

To be honest, I was quite prepared to dislike The Butcher of Brisbane - after all, it was a prequel/sequel to The Talons of Weng-Chiang (my favorite classic Who story) written by Marc Platt, who is not one of my favorite writers (why Power of the Daleks was wiped but Ghost Light wasn't I'll never know)....and it appeared to be a recipe for disaster. In short, it's not all that bad - there's a bit of timey-wimey in the plot, and there is a sense of inevitability, but in between....there's some great political machinations, some great character moments, and quite honestly, it's the kind of story that handles time paradoxes better than Steven Moffatt has in the past.

Both stories are available in CD or digital download - and you don't have to wait until the cold of winter to enjoy either of them. 

The LIGHT AT THE END is for TIME OF THE DOCTOR

(Mild spoilers for both)

With all the celebrations of Doctor Who's 50th anniversary - and the media blitz surrounding November's Day of the Doctor, you might think that I'm a little burned out on Who....and actually, I am. So much so that I've been wallowing in pulp literature....but eager to watch the recent Christmas special, Time of the Doctor, which received numerous coverage as being "Matt Smith's swan song."

I will say this - the last 25 minutes are sheer heartbreak and drama, and are really gripping television. The sad thing is that you have to wade through the first 35 minutes. Time of the Doctor isn't that bad - it's just a little too mechanical. Choosing to "tie up" many long standing plot threads since The Eleventh Hour, Steven Moffatt's script comes off as more of a checklist of exposition, focusing on "oh, that's why that happened" style storytelling - so much so that when the last 25 minutes began, I felt an overwhelming urge to turn off the video.

I'm glad I didn't, because those 25 minutes provide the most heartfelt goodbye to a Doctor since The Parting of the Ways (for those of you who are classic fans, think Logopolis). Although it gets a bit over the top with a specific cameo....it never feels out of place, and dramatically appropriate. With Smith being the Doctor of choice for several new fans - despite the catch phrase nature of his Doctor - this is a sorely needed touch. At the end, we have the drama, and with Capaldi's first scene....well, it's going to be a heckuva long wait until August 2014.

But if there was one work that eased the pain of burnout, it was Big Finish's 50th Anniversary story The Light At The End. I'm not really what you would call a Big Finish fan - mostly, I'm reeducating and relearning how to listen to audio dramas (having them on in the background while performing other tasks is never a good idea). But Nicholas Briggs (aka "The Voice of the Daleks") writes a really engaging story - one that uses all of the classic Doctors (including the first three with soundalikes of varying quality) in very clever and creative ways.

(Oh, and I loved the way he explains a slightly out-of-continuity Master portrayed by Geoffrey Beevers. I know I said "mild spoilers", but you really need to hear how that line is said with that delivery).

Given the presence of the remaining classic Doctors (including Tom Baker and Paul McGann, who really deserve all of the accolades they're receiving for their new series appearances), this is definitely a must-listen....but also a great reminder as to why Who endures - beneath it all, there's both a sense of intelligence and a strong sense of fun.

Which is what I hope Moffatt remembers when writing episodes for next year.

Gearing Up For THE BAR TAB OF RASSILON

Eagerly prepping to head out this afternoon for the premiere "broadcast" of The Bar Tab of Rassilon, coming on the heels of last night's Zone 4 recording, which...well, all I'll say is that I demonstrate that brevity is the soul of wit, and that pal Brant has a huge editing task ahead of him.

But this morning, was pleasantly surprised to see that a review of a Big Finish Sherlock Holmes audio written for The Baker Street Blog was a featured headline on the Big Finish Productions website. Here's a snapshot:





And if you want, you can simply watch (at 1:00 pm Chicago time) via the embed below, and leave comments. Enjoy! (Or, join us at http://www.livestream.com/egentv)

Watch live streaming video from egentv at livestream.com

I Know Cool People, Part Two

(Part One For Those Keeping Count)

Imagine, if you will, those heady days of 1995 - I, in my young explorer stage, have just returned from Toronto on trip to see my favorite sketch comedy troupe, and I decided to make a return trip to Los Angeles - meet up with some pals from the Prodigy online service, another pal from Wyoming, and attend a Dark Shadows convention.

I've spoken of my love for Dark Shadows previously on the blog, and was fortunate enough to then meet D. Lynn Smith, who had worked with producer Dan Curtis in the past. Fortunately, though the magic of Big Finish, she has written not one, but two incredibly cool audio plays which play to the strengths of the show - more character sketches and monologues than all-out action.

Both stories are simple two-handers, and do something that I rarely see in any kind of spin-off media; not only create stories with long-standing characters that are stand-alone, but also - very deftly - remind you of the vast backstory. You don't have to have watched any Dark Shadows on DVD, but after these two audios - which have the requisite amount of creepiness - I think you'll add it to your Netflix queue.

If you want to order, you can head to the Big Finish entries for Echoes of Insanity and Final Judgment to order (and I don't receive a dime). You can also listen to the Big Finish podcast where several writers note the show's similarity to Doctor Who.

And yes, even though I know many cool people, these two blog posts prove that, yes indeedy, I have some really remarkable pals.