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The_Doctor
Mar 29, 2007

"The entire history of this incarnation is one of temporal orbits, retcons, paradoxes, parallel time lines, reiterations, and divergences. How anyone can make head or tail of all this chaos, I don't know."
See that makes more sense to me, as yes it's where Gallifrey should be, so it could be where the Master escaped from in the final moments, the 12th Doctor gets there and then helps it vanish again to who knows where properly.

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Burkion
May 10, 2012

by Fluffdaddy

MrL_JaKiri posted:

Oh, so they are basing it closely on Alien :v:

You know, I want to see the sequel to THAT ending. Screw ALIENS, I wanna see a super smart Ripley Voiced Xeno terrorizing human bases and making those weird people/face hugger things.

Astroman
Apr 8, 2001


Angela Christine posted:

By the time they get to the wedding, the Doctor realizes exactly what she really is: a broken little girl that he failed to rescue in time. He feels responsible, and to some extent he really is responsible. If he hadn't been so noisy, hadn't made so many afraid of him, then Amy and Rory's children would probably have been perfectly average.

She'd still have been a Time-Head Baby. :colbert:


Android Blues posted:

My only problem with River is how her relationship with the Doctor goes from her being his peer, someone who can match his wits and challenge him, to her being his desperate, doomed fan. It feels like a weakening of the character to have her be obsessed with him, sad about it, and have those feelings be as one-sided as they are.

Not just in the Library two-parter, but even in Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone and Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang, River is very much the Doctor's equal. As Series Six and Seven go on, though, there's an increasing focus on moments of pathos that just paint her as tragically in love while the stoic Doctor must heroically patronise her so as not to hurt her feelings. It's a shame.

I think it's more a story of how someone can go from imitating someone to actually being their peer or better. Kinda like the way Clara basically "became" The Doctor in the past couple of episodes. Before you had the "Companion as Ideal Companion" with the RTD era, or "Doctor via Intellect Transplant" with Doctor-Donna. River and Clara are companions learning to BE another Doctor.


Senor Tron posted:

That's amazing. I have to believe that Moffat intends to bring Gallifrey back before his time is up, and when he does it will have to call back to that scene.

He WILL show it, and I'm starting to think that's what the calculations we've seen all season are for. At first I thought it was the Doctor trying to find Gallifrey. Now I'm thinking more it's "even the 12 previous lives weren't enough time to get all the calculations finished" so he has to finish everything and show up to save Gallifrey.

Solaris Knight
Apr 26, 2010

ASK ME ABOUT POWER RANGERS MYSTIC FORCE

ewe2 posted:

IDK about anyone else but I didn't need reminding of Ghostbusters II.

But Ghostbusters II is great, ESPECIALLY the Higher and Higher scene :colbert:

Ms Boods
Mar 19, 2009

Did you ever wonder where the Romans got bread from? It wasn't from Waitrose!
Happy 51st anniversary, folks.

computer parts
Nov 18, 2010

PLEASE CLAP

Ms Boods posted:

Happy 51st anniversary, folks.

I guess Teefury is giving away that box now.

Senor Tron
May 26, 2006


So lets say I just spent a couple of hours on a Sunday night slightly editing the all Doctors scene from Day of the Doctor, that wouldn't retroactively make me a virgin right?

PriorMarcus
Oct 17, 2008

ASK ME ABOUT BEING ALLERGIC TO POSITIVITY

Senor Tron posted:

So lets say I just spent a couple of hours on a Sunday night slightly editing the all Doctors scene from Day of the Doctor, that wouldn't retroactively make me a virgin right?

Depends on the quality of the finished product.

I'd be legit interested in seeing it.

Senor Tron
May 26, 2006


It's ended up really short, I'd have to get hold of the soundtrack to do it how I really want to.

CobiWann
Oct 21, 2009

Have fun!

Senor Tron posted:

So lets say I just spent a couple of hours on a Sunday night slightly editing the all Doctors scene from Day of the Doctor, that wouldn't retroactively make me a virgin right?

That would be the most awkward regeneration scene ever.

Senor Tron
May 26, 2006


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bEmE-9K6oPs

Yeah, I know the TARDIS shouldn't be able to materialise inside an older version of itself, but I had to hide the tv camera in the shot, so let's just say a wizard The Moment did it.

Jerusalem
May 20, 2004

Would you be my new best friends?

Ms Boods posted:

Happy 51st anniversary, folks.

I keep wanting to be pedantic and say it's actually the 50th Anniversary, but then I remember that even amongst us spergy Doctor Who fans nobody actually cares about that distinction :)


Wouldn't have worked in the episode, but this is still a cool concept and surprisingly well edited.

The_Doctor
Mar 29, 2007

"The entire history of this incarnation is one of temporal orbits, retcons, paradoxes, parallel time lines, reiterations, and divergences. How anyone can make head or tail of all this chaos, I don't know."

Jerusalem posted:

Wouldn't have worked in the episode, but this is still a cool concept and surprisingly well edited.

I think it would have if they'd built up to it a little. The Master wasn't lying, Gallifrey was where it was meant to be, but at the point in space/time for it to be snatched away again in seconds.

DoctorWhat
Nov 18, 2011

A little privacy, please?

Senor Tron posted:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bEmE-9K6oPs

Yeah, I know the TARDIS shouldn't be able to materialise inside an older version of itself, but I had to hide the tv camera in the shot, so let's just say a wizard The Moment did it.

:krad:, dude!

Trin Tragula
Apr 22, 2005

Senor Tron posted:

So lets say I just spent a couple of hours on a Sunday night slightly editing the all Doctors scene from Day of the Doctor, that wouldn't retroactively make me a virgin right?

No, but it might make you a Virgin Missing Adventure :v:

Diabolik900
Mar 28, 2007

Jerusalem posted:

I keep wanting to be pedantic and say it's actually the 50th Anniversary, but then I remember that even amongst us spergy Doctor Who fans nobody actually cares about that distinction :)

Pretty sure your pedantry would be incorrect here, unless you think the first anniversary was in 1965 for some reason.

TinTower
Apr 21, 2010

You don't have to 8e a good person to 8e a hero.
I don't know what got the bigger reaction when I saw it in the cinema: "Calling the War Council of Gallifrey: this is the Doctor!", "No sir, all thirteen!", or "You know, I really think you might". I have to admit I loving loved all three lines.

MrL_JaKiri
Sep 23, 2003

A bracing glass of carrot juice!

Jerusalem posted:

I keep wanting to be pedantic and say it's actually the 50th Anniversary, but then I remember that even amongst us spergy Doctor Who fans nobody actually cares about that distinction :)

1st anniversary: 1964. 50th anniversary = 1964 + 49 years = 2013. This isn't a millennium in 2000/2001 issue.

Jerusalem
May 20, 2004

Would you be my new best friends?

MrL_JaKiri posted:

1st anniversary: 1964. 50th anniversary = 1964 + 49 years = 2013. This isn't a millennium in 2000/2001 issue.

Well poo poo, no wonder I'm single.

MrL_JaKiri
Sep 23, 2003

A bracing glass of carrot juice!
Basic arithmetic is what the ladies go for, yes

Dabir
Nov 10, 2012

Jerusalem posted:

Well poo poo, no wonder I'm single.

But maybe there's actually two of you.

Linear Zoetrope
Nov 28, 2011

A hero must cook

Senor Tron posted:

Yeah, I know the TARDIS shouldn't be able to materialise inside an older version of itself

Sez you

PriorMarcus
Oct 17, 2008

ASK ME ABOUT BEING ALLERGIC TO POSITIVITY

Senor Tron posted:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bEmE-9K6oPs

Yeah, I know the TARDIS shouldn't be able to materialise inside an older version of itself, but I had to hide the tv camera in the shot, so let's just say a wizard The Moment did it.

I think the image of Matt and One together should come in together a little later. We should see him starting to talk before the flashback so we know that's what were seeing. Without context, it makes it seem like Matt is a ventriloquist.

The clip needs to be inserted when Matt makes the reveal, or Tennant, after the dramatic music has started.

But... I love this idea a lot and the TARDIS hiding the camera is genius.

PriorMarcus fucked around with this message at 23:52 on Nov 23, 2014

Pwnstar
Dec 9, 2007

Who wants some waffles?

Don't forget to watch the Five(ish) Doctors after the Day of the Doctor and all that.

CobiWann
Oct 21, 2009

Have fun!

Dabir posted:

But maybe there's actually two of you.

TWO Jerusalems?!?

Jerusalem
May 20, 2004

Would you be my new best friends?

CobiWann posted:

TWO Jerusalems?!?

We're Gentlemen.... of the Old School.

Senor Tron
May 26, 2006


PriorMarcus posted:

I think the image of Matt and One together should come in together a little later. We should see him starting to talk before the flashback so we know that's what were seeing. Without context, it makes it seem like Matt is a ventriloquist.

The clip needs to be inserted when Matt makes the reveal, or Tennant, after the dramatic music has started.

But... I love this idea a lot and the TARDIS hiding the camera is genius.

Totally agree, it's why I need to grab the soundtrack, to be able to push further forward into the Dalek fleet attacking in space shot immediately after.

If you hold on the First Doctor too long into that it is even weirder with the weapons fire sounds over the top of him so I have to end it when it does. But then that forces me to basically insert the shot when I do, because having it start later and finish at the same time would make it a literal blink and you miss it shot.

edit: The other option is to stick in it later on, after the reveal of the First Doctor flying in, when the "you might say I've been doing it all my lives" line happens.

Senor Tron fucked around with this message at 00:42 on Nov 24, 2014

Trin Tragula
Apr 22, 2005

CobiWann posted:

TWO Jerusalems?!?

Don't worry, it's easy to tell them apart, one of them has a Scottish accent.

egon_beeblebrox
Mar 1, 2008

WILL AMOUNT TO NOTHING IN LIFE.



The past few days, I've listened to "Zagreus" and "The Light at the End," and watched "The Three" & "Five Doctors," "Remembrance of the Daleks" and "The Day of the Doctor." Anniversary Overload. (My wife, surprisingly, was fine with this use of time)

Worst is easily "Zagreus," even though there are individual parts I really like. McCoy and C. Baker's performances, especially. It's just... Too Much.

"The Light at the End" and "The Day of the Doctor" are sort of tied for best for me. The one thing I'd been hoping for was Tom Baker to interact with both Paul McGann and Matt Smith, so I got lucky there. The stories both being very good was helpful.

"The Three Doctors" is pretty silly, in a (more or less) good way. I like Omega, and seeing Troughton in color. It's too bad Hartnell was in ill health, because I'd love to have seen him working with UNIT.

"The Five Doctors" has always been a tremendous wasted opportunity to me. The Doctors should have interacted more.

"Rememberance" is a fun anniversary story, and it has an Anti-Dalek bat, and for that, I will always love it.

So now we're about to watch "An Adventure in Time and Space" again.

Moral of the story: A patient wife who you've managed to convert into somewhat of a Doctor Who fan, it's kind of a must if you're a mega-nerd like me.

PriorMarcus
Oct 17, 2008

ASK ME ABOUT BEING ALLERGIC TO POSITIVITY

Senor Tron posted:

edit: The other option is to stick in it later on, after the reveal of the First Doctor flying in, when the "you might say I've been doing it all my lives" line happens.

I thought about that too. Visually it makes more sense with that line but then the quiter pace wouldn't sit right once all the bombast has started. You could maybe lift that line and move it forward. I'm not sure how much you want to start playing around with sound editing though, I hate sound editing.

CobiWann
Oct 21, 2009

Have fun!

egon_beeblebrox posted:

Moral of the story: A patient wife who you've managed to convert into somewhat of a Doctor Who fan, it's kind of a must if you're a mega-nerd like me.

On one hand, my wife is a huge Who fan of both the old and new school and loves David Tennant, so I lucked out there!

On the other hand, she thinks Matt Smith was a horrible Doctor and doesn't understand Paul McGann at all.

(then again, she gushes about the Resident Evil movie series. I don't understand Alice. At all)

Senor Tron
May 26, 2006


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tA6769XE7a8

Updated version, moved the First Doctor shot to slightly later and used audio from the soundtrack to cover over it. Blends really well out, but going into the edit the audio is a bit jumpy, best I could do.

After The War
Apr 12, 2005

to all of my Architects
let me be traitor
All things being equal, I still wouldn't trade the Doctor's "this year, the Master's finally gonna let me kick that football!" scene for anything.

egon_beeblebrox posted:

"The Three Doctors" is pretty silly, in a (more or less) good way. I like Omega, and seeing Troughton in color. It's too bad Hartnell was in ill health, because I'd love to have seen him working with UNIT.

He would have engineered the downfall of the organization through a series of elaborate pranks. gently caress the Man.

After The War
Apr 12, 2005

to all of my Architects
let me be traitor
And this was at the tail end of the last thread, but I only caught up last night. For US Goons, Red Dwarf has an additional tie to Doctor Who in that it was often tagged on after a "movie-style" serial (usually an hour and a half) to make it a full two hours. Our local station, Maryland Public Television called this sci-fi programming block "The Zone" even after they had dropped Blake's 7 because they always ended it with Jack Horkheimer, Star Hustler. :3:

The BBC put up a page of actors who have appeared on both Doctor Who and Red Dwarf, and there are more than I'd realized. Mark Williams, sure, he's hard to miss, but the lady who sang the theme song?
http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/news/2013/11/22/doctor-dwarf/

Bicyclops
Aug 27, 2004

I'm one episode into Memory Lane and I hope that it lives up to its potential because so far it is very interesting.

I missed River chat, but the assumption that people think she's bad because of some hive mind is obnoxious. She's bad because she's Bernice Summerfield, a bizarre Mary Sue who by the end is at once the Doctor's weird, adopted daughter and girlfriend, so that they can have her recite weird poetry about when a good man goes to war and also have Matt Smith say "Yowza!" about her. She gets to be a Time Lord when the script wants her to be, she gets to be a naive villain when the scripts wants her to be and she gets to be the typical Doctor-worshipping companion when she wants to be.

The idea of a companion-esque character who the Doctor does not interact with in chronological order had a lot of potential and it was wasted on making River a boring, all-encompassing fanwank.

bobkatt013
Oct 8, 2006

You’re telling me Peter Parker is ...... Spider-man!?
Yes Doctor Who Secret Santa! Last year I got some great Tom Baker cassettes.

I am a big fan of the 3 and 4th doctor. I also like the 11th and 12th. My favorite companions are the Brig, Jo, Sarah Jane, and Rory.I am not really into the audios. I am an XL in shirts. I have all the DVDS I want, and it would be cool to get stranger Doctor Who merchandise.

CobiWann
Oct 21, 2009

Have fun!


Shortly after surviving the perils of Logopolis, Castrovalva and the machinations of the Master, the new Doctor and his new crew could be forgiven for wanting to take a breather from their tour of the galaxy.
But when the TARDIS lands in a strange and unsettling environment, the urge to explore is irresistible... and trouble is only a few steps away.

The world they have found themselves in is populated by a wide variety of the strangest people imaginable - a crashed spacecraft here, a monastery there, even a regal court. And not everyone they meet has their best interests at heart.

With the TARDIS stolen, and the very environment itself out to get them, the travellers face an extremely personal threat. They'll have to work as a team if they want to get out alive... but can you really trust someone you barely know?

Peter Davison is the Doctor in Psychodrome.

X X X X X

Cast
Peter Davison (The Doctor)
Janet Fielding (Tegan)
Sarah Sutton (Nyssa)
Matthew Waterhouse (Adric)
Robert Whitelock (Rickett)
Phil Mulryne (Magpie)
Camilla Power (Perditia)
Bethan Walker (Javon)

Written by: Jonathan Morris
Directed by: Ken Bentley

Trailer - http://www.bigfinish.com/releases/popout/the-fifth-doctor-box-set-1014

X X X X X

One of the strengths of Big Finish’s time with the Doctor Who license has been its knack for breathing new life into the Doctor’s companions.

While I stand by the saying “there are no bad Doctors or companions, just bad writers and producers,” the truth of the matter is that some companions stand out over others. Let’s be honest. Sometimes, the Doctor’s companions were given short shrift, either by the writers, by the producers, or just not being able to “click” with the Doctor over a long period of time. What Big Finish has done is taken these companions and given the actors and actresses who played them a chance to spread their proverbial wings a little more via the audio format. Someone like Peri, who on television was known for being choked by the Doctor and…well, let’s just say there was a reason the dad’s really liked her…has been given a chance to shine alongside the Fifth and Sixth Doctors, actually showing off her academic skills and allowing listeners to focus more on Nicola Bryant’s acting than assets. And then there’s Mel, who was a shrieking computer expert who did a lot more screaming than hacking. Big Finish has allowed to calm down, mellow a bit, and show Bonnie Langford’s dramatic chops with Seven as well as indulging in her panto background with Six. On a personal level, the journey of rear end-kicking companion Ace into rear end-kicking companion Dorothy McShane has also been great to watch as Big Finish has laid out a long-term story where Sophie Aldred has brought her character from teenage delinquent to possible Time Lord recruit.

With their track record of success…can Big Finish rehabilitate a character who is quite possibly the least liked companion of all time?

Psychodrome is set very early in the travels of the Fifth Doctor. With Adric, Tegan, and Nyssa by his side, the Doctor finds himself on a strange planetoid, where nightmarish creatures skitter through the tunnels and various groups of humans struggle to survive. Reuniting the four actors for the first time in over 30 years, Psychodrome itself sports a very basic and rudimentary plot that calls back to the Fifth Doctor era through its use of music and sound effects. The focus is more on the interactions between the characters as they attempt to establish their relationships and friendships, especially in the final episode. It works on a level that listeners familiar with the characters can enjoy, but might leave any newcomers scratching their heads at the callbacks and references to previous television serials.

The TARDIS is pulled into the heart of a hollow planetoid orbiting a red dwarf. Upon further inspection by the Doctor, he and his companions realize that the planetoid is actually a space station, inhabited by the enlightened and the savage who call it home, those who have come to explore, and those who have been brought there due to a crashed colony ship. As night falls, the Doctor, Adric, Tegan, and Nyssa find themselves separated from each other. In the dark, all four are confronted with their unconscious fears and doubts. They just don’t know they’re being confronted yet…

Matthew Waterhouse’s character, Adric, was a young, brash, cocky, and very, very brilliant mathematician from a negative universe called E-Space. He stowed away in the TARDIS at the end of the Fourth Doctor serial Full Circle and was present when the Fourth Doctor regenerated into the Fifth Doctor in Logopolis. His shocking death at the end of Earthshock was an event that either traumatized the children of Britain or caused them to break out into spontaneous cheers. Anyone familiar with the character Wesley Crusher from Star Trek: The Next Generation would immediately find the same faults with Adric. Both were teenage geniuses who often tried to surpass the wisdom of their older peers, coming off as smug and arrogant in the process. Adric in particular tended to treated Nyssa and Tegan, his companions in the TARDIS, as “only women” who couldn’t hold a candle to his mathematical genius. More often than not, he would try to prove himself just as brilliant and as clever as the Doctor, which would backfire in spectacular fashion. And every now and then, he would turn traitor to the Doctor, often “as part of his plan,” and work for the story’s villain in some capacity.

In defense of Waterhouse, at the time he was cast as Adric he had very little on-screen acting experience, had undergone a family tragedy with the suicide of his older brother, and also had to deal with the BBC culture. Waterhouse had always been a fan of Doctor Who, and going from a huge fan to actually working on the show…it’s like seeing how sausage is actually made. It’s enough to make one consider becoming a vegetarian. After this departure from the show, Waterhouse kept a low profile, performing more and more on stage and becoming a published author. He had separated himself from Doctor Who so much that a 2010 interview with Doctor Who Magazine was given as much press and promotion as the upcoming wedding of Amy and Rory in The Big Bang! After, he began to contribute to DVD commentaries, reuniting with his fellow actors along the way. For years, Waterhouse had been asked by Big Finish to return to the role of Adric, but he always politely declined. It wasn’t until 2013 that the 52-year old Waterhouse finally agreed to return to the role of the 18’ish year old Adric. When asked about it in Vortex magazine, Waterhouse said he had always been worried about trying to voice a teenaged boy as an adult, but instead of viewing it as a concern, he took it upon himself to see it as a challenge.

Upon the announcement that Waterhouse would be joining Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, and Sarah Sutton for two audio adventures, released together in the officially titled bundle The Fifth Doctor Box Set, fans were left to wonder in anticipation. Adric was the last of the still-alive “classic” companions not to work with Big Finish, and landing Matthew Waterhouse was a major coup. But could the Big Finish magic work on a companion more polarizing than an Ice Warrior?

First things first…the story opens with Adric showing Tegan to her room, which is Romana’s old room. And yes, Waterhouse’s voice has changed. A LOT. There’s a deeper resonance and a higher inflection in his tone. It really threw me off for the first episode as I struggled to see Adric the character in the story and not Matthew Waterhouse the actor reading the lines. It was a problem I also had with Janet Fielding’s delivery as Tegan; the passage of time and the changing of the voice meant the Australian accent was off JUST enough to be noticed. As Psychodrome progressed, I found myself focusing less on the voices of Adric and Tegan, and more in the delivery and inflection of their dialogue. The Adric everyone knows and loves/loathes is easily present, and that’s a good thing, as writer Jonathan Morris (who’s done a bevy of Doctor Who novels and a few Big Finish pieces such as the classic Protect and Survive as well as the solid-but-divisive pieces Bloodtide and Flip-Flop) doesn’t set up to “rehabilitate” Adric or attempt to “fix” the character. What Morris and Waterhouse do is instead lay the character of Adric out exactly as he was in Season Ninenteen – young, brash, cocky, haughty, but deeply insecure and afraid of failure as well, trying to both prove himself to “the girls” while also seeking their praise and acceptance. Maybe it’s the maturing of the actor that helps Waterhouse present Adric as seeking the Doctor’s praise and attempting to do the “right” thing without coming off as “punch him the face” arrogant, instead being more along the lines of “oh, Adric, grow up.” It’s enough for me, as someone who had only seen The Visitation from Adric’s time on the show by the time of listening to the audio (full disclosure, I have seen Castrovalva since) to go “Adric’s not THAT bad.” But that’s based on one audio and one television serial alone, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

As I mentioned, Janet Fielding’s Tegan is just a bit off. And her performance here was a bit of a shock to me. I knew that Tegan was sarcastic, acidic, and mouthy (to the point where she called herself “just a mouth with legs”) but I was a bit taken aback by just HOW much so she was in Psychodrome. It’ll take a listener a bit to realize that this is a Tegan who had missed her first day of work thanks to the Doctor, who found out that the Master killed her beloved aunt simply to be a dick, and had been whisked away by a madman with a box alongside an arrogant mathematician and an ice queen of a bio-scientist. Tegan has every right to be as rude and as caustic as she is in Psychodrome; she’s out of her comfort zone and scared out of her wits! Once I realized that, her performance made much more sense. Fielding plays “scared, so putting up a front” very well. There’s no doubt Tegan doesn’t want to be in the TARDIS and wants to get the hell out of there and back to Heathrow Airport, but when push comes to shove and she has to be brave and step up, she does. She still thinks the Doctor is completely mad, and spends much more time with Nyssa than Adric, of course. But there’s warmth and humanity when Tegan had to take care of a sick man and keep him safe from a group of savages, and stands up for the Doctor and herself at the end, even while admitting just how insane everything it.

This is Waterhouse’s first Big Finish audio, and Fielding has starred in several. Sarah Sutton, however, is a Big Finish veteran going ALL the way to January 2000 and the company’s fourth monthly range release, The Land of the Dead. Nyssa’s time in Psychodrome is torn between two themes; trying to help the inhabitants of the Psychodrome with a rapidly-spreading plague and coming to grips with the death of her father at the hands of the Master and destruction of her home planet in Logopolis. With Waterhouse and Fielding’s performances at center stage, Sutton takes a bit of a back seat here; which is fine considering how much focus has been given to Nyssa over the years by Big Finish. I hope that Nyssa’s coping with her father’s passing is touched upon in future audios with a little more depth. It’s given little more than lip service here by the dialogue, though it turns out to play a bigger part with the set-up and climax to the audio. Sutton has always played Nyssa with her emotions turned down to about a ‘3’ on the dial, so a subdued performance is expected. It’s just lost in the shuffle with Adric and Tegan’s return to the TARDIS, though one can sense Nyssa’s “eagerness” when she tries to help the plague victims. It’s in her wheelhouse, a way to truly help someone and distract her from her grief.

“Who are all these people, and what are they doing in MY TARDIS?” “Who the hell is the Doctor and what are we doing in HIS TARDIS?” The Big Finish audio adventures of the Fifth Doctor have seen him travelling with companions who know him and trust in him. Psychodrome goes the other direction; the Doctor doesn’t truly know the people who are travelling with him, and the companion traveling with him are still dealing with a post-regeneration Doctor. Peter Davison, as always, is smashing, playing up the Doctor’s personal insecurities while boldly taking charge of the larger situation. He tries to comfort his companions, but shoots right back when they respond in a biting manner. The need to keep them safe it there, but he finds it “a bit insulting” when he realizes just how Tegan views him; as a throwback to the age of British colonial explorers! Davison plays a Doctor still trying to find himself, but the hints of Time Lord are just under the surface. He has faith in his companions, but he doesn’t know if he quite trusts them yet. Those fears and insecurities play a vital role in the story’s climax, reminding me of the Eleventh Doctor story Amy’s Choice.

Even if the characters aren’t quite united yet, the chemistry between the actors is right there on the proverbial screen. Morris’ script sets the story squarely between the first Fifth Doctor serials Castrovalva and Four to Doomsday. It sees the four characters bicker and argue amongst themselves as they truly don’t know one another yet, but are required to trust each other with their lives in this dangerous place. It comes off a little bit as a family arguing around the dinner table with hints of “you’re not my real Doctor” and “send Adric to his room” thrown in. The plot itself is almost secondary, as we never find out who built the Psychodrome or what its’ true purpose it. Instead, the focus is on the Doctor, Nyssa, Adric, and Tegan. All four have strong feelings towards each other, initial opinions and focus on certain negative character traits, which become reflected among the setting and the supporting cast. There are so many characters, but they’re all played by the same actors; Phil Mulryne, Camilla Power, Bethan Walker, and the closest thing to a “villain” for the story, Robert Whitelock, aka the villain’s lackey from The Bells of Saint John. All four play three parts and play them well, varying enough in delivery and tone that I was prepared for a long list of cast members before glancing at the credits. Whitelock’s King Magus is the last man standing, and he plays on the Doctor’s insecurities and the fears of the companions during his moment of triumph, pulling all the narrative threads together and explaining just who all these characters and why they’re in the Psychodrome in the first place. This does lead to an “everyone shouts at the villain” climax. But the climax to Psychodrome isn’t meant to be physical. It’s purely psychological and emotional, allowing the four characters (and their actors) to express themselves and their feelings towards in a way the “previous” story Castrovalva and the “next” story Four to Doomsday failed to do, and it WORKS, with a hint of over-the-top acting that comes about solely because the story is being told in an audio format.

Where Morris’ script falters, however, are the callbacks and past references. Morris mentions Adric’s time in E-Space and on the Starliner, the murder of Nyssa’s father at the Master’s hands and the fate of her planet, and adds in a deep seeded fear for Tegan. References are made to the E-Space Trilogy of serials, The Keeper of Traken, Logopolis, and Castrovalva. On one hand, these references appeal to long-time viewers who are familiar with the stories and the events within. On the other hand, while reference things such as Adric’s old universe and Nyssa’s father are fine and dandy, dropping the name “Castrovalva” without any other context, or a line about Tegan’s lipstick drying on the TARDIS well, might throw listeners for a loop. Now granted, we’re not talking Ian Levine levels of continuity here or a densely layered story where knowledge of previous stories is essential. The callbacks directly tie in to the story and the concerns and fears of the TARDIS crew. But I felt that in order to get Psychodrome’s full effect, I would need to go back and watch those mentioned stories. Granted, they’re actually GOOD stories and worth a look, but it’s risky for listener to feel like they’re missing something because they don’t know a particular episode of television. Yes, the story focuses on the early days and it’s important to have narrative anchors, but the anchors were just a bit too heavy not to be noticed. Also, there’s few “nudge nudge” moments towards things that viewers know will happen; Tegan’s exclamation of “rabbits,” the Doctor saying “brave heart, Tegan” and Tegan telling him to never say it again, and the villain of the story wondering what will happen when Adric dies during his time with the Doctor. “Rabbits,” that’s fine, but the other two are heavy-handed and standout in the otherwise fine dialogue.

Other than that, Psychodrome is a very solid and very good Fifth Doctor story, all the way down to the frequent cuts between scenes (kudos to director Ken Bentley for keeping the pace quick and not letting a scene bog down before moving on to the next one) and the sound effects and music. Good lord, the sound effects by Fool Circle Productions. Having watched Castrovalva after listening to Psychodrome, it was eerie just HOW alike the two stories sounded, all the way down to the sounds of nature and the echo of footsteps on stone and marble floors and the music referencing some of the incidental music from Logopolis and Castrovalva, about as early 80’s as background themes could get! All they needed was some audio wobbling of the TARDIS console and the BBC should have slapped some animation on this story and call it a recreation of a “lost” Fifth Doctor story!

The big story with Psychodrome, of course, is Matthew Waterhouse’s return to the role of Adric, and a triumphant return it is. But the importance of the event hopefully won’t overshadow what is a drat fine early Fifth Doctor story, with strong performances and production values that echo that heady time when a dashing young man, a brilliant scientist, a mouthy Australian, and an arrogant mathematician roamed the galaxy in a beat up blue box.



Synopsis – Adric is back, as Psychodrome sees Matthew Waterhouse slide right back into the controversial role with a script that highlights the fears, concerns, and insecurities of not only the companions, but those of the Fifth Doctor. 4/5

Next up - The house on Fleming's Island had been left to rot. It is empty again. A cult found something in its corridors... and then vanished…

Peter Davison is the Doctor in…Iterations of I.

Sydney Bottocks
Oct 15, 2004
Probation
Can't post for 61 days!

After The War posted:

And this was at the tail end of the last thread, but I only caught up last night. For US Goons, Red Dwarf has an additional tie to Doctor Who in that it was often tagged on after a "movie-style" serial (usually an hour and a half) to make it a full two hours. Our local station, Maryland Public Television called this sci-fi programming block "The Zone" even after they had dropped Blake's 7 because they always ended it with Jack Horkheimer, Star Hustler. :3:

The BBC put up a page of actors who have appeared on both Doctor Who and Red Dwarf, and there are more than I'd realized. Mark Williams, sure, he's hard to miss, but the lady who sang the theme song?
http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/news/2013/11/22/doctor-dwarf/

I watched DW on Chicago PBS station WTTW (or as it used to be said in their "Man in the street"-style station IDs: "WTTW, Channel 11, in Chicago! :haw:"), and as such have many happy memories of Sunday nights during the 1980s: comedies at 11 and 11:30 PM (stuff like Monty Python, Blackadder, Whose Line, Dave Allen at Large, Fawlty Towers, etc.), then DW at midnight, and then afterwards another British comedy (usually The Two Ronnies, tho sometimes they'd air another Python episode). After that we'd usually get the "underground/indie" film-type shows (I mainly remember Image Union, which mostly showed offbeat films and stuff by Chicago-area filmmakers; and Alive From Off Center, which drew from a more global range of films and such). Good times. :)

Also they used to show Blakes 7 during the week; I think it aired Monday thru Thursday, late enough in the schedule that it was immediately followed by the aforementioned Jack Horkheimer. :v:

Astroman
Apr 8, 2001


Believe it or not, I first saw Blake's 7 airing afterschool M-F on my local PBS station!

I just finished my first 4th Doctor, and Peter Purves/1st Doctor, audios. Both were really good. Peter Purves' Hartnell isn't as good as Frazer Hines' Troughton, but it's still quite good. He does a solid job of channeling his younger self, but Maureen O'Brien really stole the show as Vicki. Uncanny. Even more so then Wendy Padbury's Zoe, if only because of the sheer difference when she uses her "normal" voice narrating.

A lot of people say Vicki is just a low rent Susan replacement, but I always had a soft spot for the Vicki/Steven TARDIS team and that era. This was a great return to form. I'm definitely on board for more Peter Purves audios, and same for T Bakes. The interviews after his were awesome. :allears:

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Jerusalem
May 20, 2004

Would you be my new best friends?

CobiWann posted:

Synopsis – Adric is back, as Psychodrome sees Matthew Waterhouse slide right back into the controversial role with a script that highlights the fears, concerns, and insecurities of not only the companions, but those of the Fifth Doctor. 4/5

Sounds quite interesting, I do have to say that part of Big Finish's appeal is that they get to actually give characters a chance to develop some depth and explore some themes that seemed to be lurking under the surface of the mostly self-contained stories from the 80s. I can't say I'm particularly excited to hear MORE Adric, but that's because I'm only familiar with him from television and it might be nice to see somebody actually try to provide some context to his actions.

And more Tegan is ALWAYS good.

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