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It has always tickled me that this audio sees the return of the Nimon and manages to make them a proper threat whilst staying true to their debut story and background.
Hot take: this is probably my favorite of the “Season 2” Eighth Doctor stories. Everything about it is just delightful from the storytelling, the hopping around, the monsters, the humor. It has probably my favorite rendition of the Eight/Charley dynamic and the most delightful “oh yeah I’m gonna be your best friend” version of Eight.
It is absolutely not the perfect story that is Chimes. But this is where we come into plum pudding and bulls . They’re two completely different stories. That’s kind of the magic of Doctor Who to begin with. You have a dark comedy character piece about grief one week and the next, a very fun time trotting adventure with a very fun twist that also reflects on why mortality is so important.
Hmm. Idk. Usually i’m the number one Paul Cornell fan but this time i’m… not really feeling it? Like it was good, duh. But not great, or more. Aoh well. I’ll blame it all on the other writer and keep swimming in my endless pool of blind Cornell praise that sounds reasonable
I’m not sure if it’s in the script or if it’s the direction of the delivery, but a lot of the dialogue feels really ‘written’, i guess to me. And like more than usual. Even during more casual banter it sounds like they’re reading of off a script.
Great concept, to follow a guy who lives very long and becomes bitter through the ages. A bit Rory the Lonely Centurion vibes. Maybe they got inspired by this? Probably not. So the idea sounds all masterpiece worthy, but i dont think all that much is done with it. Last episode where he meets himself is great. But there’s also quite a bit much of alien with barely understandable voice filter nonsense.
And the other parts don’t decide to do that much with the interesting concept of the guy losing his morality. Paul McGann and his beautiful voice just tells us he has. The Doctor brabbles a lot of poetic stuff, and even lampshades that he does. And don’t get me wrong i love a good old roast of capitalism among other things, but it’s more fun when it’s a theme in the story and not a 20 second sequence where i’m told that.
So like not bad. Just feels like something that should and could have been even better.
Lots of rambling in this one by me, i truly totally feel like this is a next step in my Paul Cornell arc. Minds have been shattered and feelings have been blown. Im so good at making sense you guys
Edit: oh oh and they mentioned the guy who sits in your head and lives among the dead who eats you when you’re sleeping which was exciting
I enjoyed this enough, I liked the interactions between Eight and Charley, and there were a lot of funny one-liners, but to me the whole story was so weird. I get it - Paul Cornell likes writing weird stuff. But I’m not a fan of this one.
It would probably improve if I listened to it again, but I don’t have time!
I laughed when Charley said she’d gone to an orgy once
I really enjoyed it. The Doctor’s swordfight made me very happy. Circular plots always interest me. I didn’t just listen to it, so no longwinded review.
4/5
Lots of great things about this disarmingly simple story, and great performances throughout. I loved the Dalek cameo, and bringing back the Nimon was a wonderful surprise.
Jim Mortimore’s music (available on his Bandcamp page) really does a good job of building the tension and carrying the atmosphere. The main players McGann, Fisher and Stephen Parring as Sebastian Grayle are all brilliant.
I think the sign of a good audio story is when talking/writing about it makes you want to listen to it again. It’s on my to-do list for tomorrow!
A very underrated audio. Interesting plot, good usage of a classic villain, and a ton of fun overall. Also I completely forgot Paul “the GOAT” Cornell wrote this
Another one of those stories that is just fun. I’ve finished Part 1 and am loving the Eighth Doctor in this. McGann sounds like he’s having a blast with the fast paced script. I enjoyed the little Dalek cameo hinting at a story a couple months (at time of release) off. Knowing who Grayle’s masters are, the hints of their identity are all there throughout the episode. That said, if you don’t know, the reveal later on can be extremely satisfying.
. They’re two completely different stories. That’s kind of the magic of Doctor Who to begin with. You have a dark comedy character piece about grief one week and the next, a very fun time trotting adventure with a very fun twist that also reflects on why mortality is so important.
