Listening to it as I type this, I couldn’t remember it at all until I started, then I realized I was confusing it’s story with another later one
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Listened to Episode 1 tonight. I’m enjoying the mystery and feel that the claustrophobic museum is an excellent location for a Doctor Who story. You couldn’t do this story well on TV. I mean, it’s possible, but some of the big reveals wouldn’t be as effective. Does anyone know where this Museum is? It seems like an Earth colony since they don’t ever give the city a name. There’s not much else to say beyond is kinda weird hearing Peter miles not play a villain in a Doctor Who story.
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Finished it yesterday. It’s a really fun story. I ADORE that fourth episode twist. I’d really love a return to the setting as well. Just a 10/10 story.
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Finally gave this one a re-listen today for the club. Here are my basic thoughts:
The Good:
I love the setting of the Museum of Aural Antiquities and how the story uses it and its overall sound design as a central plot point—something that only works effectively in this format. The sound design and music bring this inventive setting to life very well (listen to this with headphones for the full experience!).
The story quickly establishes the setting and the sound-based threat, which ambitiously and occasionally jarringly sweeps over the listener. It then builds and maintains an interesting and slowly unravelling mystery, with a couple of great twists and marvellous cliffhangers. The threat is simple but effective, particularly for an audio adventure.
Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant are very recognisable here, and Bryant’s Peri isn’t quite as annoying as she tends to be on TV, even if he is unfairly treated by Six throughout most of this.
Doctor Who alumni Peter Miles (The Silaurians, Genesis of the Daleks) is great as Museum Curator Gantman. It’s amazing how Big Finish managed to hire such a high-profile actor so early on in their existence.
It is weird hearing Lisa Bowerman (Bernice Summerfield) as the villain, but she does it very well.
The entire cast is well-utilised throughout the adventure.
I love how big and majestic the tense parts are made, mostly thanks to the brilliant sound design.
The Bad:
Knowing Sixie’s softer characterization in later releases, hearing his harsher and louder TV self here is a bit jarring.
It requires some focus to keep track of some of the more intricate plot details.
The climax is perhaps a bit disappointing considering the build-up.
Score: 8.2/10
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This is one of my favorite audios and has been since I first listened to it as one of my earliest BF stories. Soaked in atmosphere, striking and memorable characters, iconic lines, a great plot… I also love the fact that almost nothing about the setting needs to be revealed other than the museum, capturing a very claustrophobic feel very appropriate to TV Classic Who, while also telling a story very specifically tailored to audio. (Yet for some reason I also can’t help but think about trying to make it work as a stage production when I listen to it.) And my god, the performances!! Especially Matthew Brenher as Visteen Krane. So incredible. I’ve heard this one many times and probably will do so again many times in the future.
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Finished Episode 2 and am just loving the political aspects of the story. The way this plays with sound and the audio medium is well done. This is also just really good Doctor Who. While he hasn’t soften as much as he later would, I’m really enjoying Colin in this. And reveal of the nature of the sound creature is really well done.
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Just listened to Episode One and, my goodness that was good. I remembered the twist directly after the opening scene finished but the rapport between 6 and Peri is spot on, the music is instantly evocative of the 80s and that cliffhanger is superb.
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There, I finished it. I may have to adjust my rating. This is an excellent political murder mystery that shows off Big Finish’s experimental side as it plays with telling a story specifically designed with the audio medium in mind. The Doctor and Peri are pitch perfect, and the single, claustrophobic setting works amazingly well. I find this is a perfect melding of experimental and traditional. The only downside is that there are a few instances where the “creature” and the sound effects are quite overbearing. That said, it works for the story. The reveal that Napton and Crane were the same entity was well done and brilliant. I especially like the Doctor and Peri’s departure, and the epilogue is deliciously dark.
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I listened to the first 2 episodes on a plane to Prague today and the last 2 in my room over some room service and coffee, and all I can say is utterly brilliant, perfect Who. I’ve always loved Sixie’s and Peri’s couple-esque dynamic, and the experimentation with different audio and making audio a key to the plot was just spot on. 
I think the only thing that made me baulk a little bit was the idea that a complex lifeform-as-soundwave could be transmitted with enough fidelity over lossy media such as radio or TV, even with HD quality digital transmission, something so alien and complex would need ridiculous amounts of bandwidth…though I guess we don’t know when this is set and at what level technology is 
It makes me want to continue my Six listenings immediately, even more than my brief foray into Six/Charley audios.
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I’ve just finished this!
I’ve got to say I wasn’t as thrilled about it as everyone else was, I thought the idea was better than the execution - the whole plot about changing the content of a speech to further a political agenda seemed a bit pedestrian for Doctor Who for me 
also it made absolutely no sense to me that there were no other copies, and deleting all record of something being changed is really easy - just bad security!
However there are some great performances, some really creepy and effective sound effects, innovative use of the medium, and a nice twist.
I give it 3/5, sorry for the low score!
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It’s okay. It wouldn’t be as fun if everybody liked everything or liked everything the same.
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True. We can all have different opinions here about Who.
& 3 out of 5 isn’t a low score @shauny wait to you see what I rate some of Who! Probably those a lot of people would give high scores to lol
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One would never call 3/5 ‘a bit mean’, at the very least…
(if you know, you know 
)
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@shauny or @deltaandthebannermen This needs the “Big Finish” tag.
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I rated this one 3.5
This script really knows how to utilise the audio medium effectively as so many have already said 
The best thing for me about this is how effortlessly Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant continues their onscreen relationship, yes they are snarky with each other but you can hear in their choices of pronunciation and inflection that they have a deep-seated camaraderie - that’s what I hear anyway
And Colin Baker, my giddy aunt does he have a voice that is perfect for audio acting chef’s kiss
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totally agree - it’s partly why Colin Baker is my favourite audio Doctor, his voice is so wonderful to listen to and he manages to really elevate even boring scripts with his acting choices
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This isn’t really part of the 6 redemption in big finish, but I do like it
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Episode 2 and still enjoying it. Lisa Bowerman is great as Parnell - manages to create a different character to Bernice using just vocal inflections. It continues to be lovely hearing Peter Miles in a non-villainous role.
Not sure about how the Doctor worked out what the sound creature was. He seemed to make quite a few leaps of logic to join the fairly disparate dots.
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Finished listening to this yesterday. Have to laugh that they got a classic ‘Colin screaming’ cliffhanger in. You could almost hear the zoom into his face ala Trial of a Time Lord.
I came to end partly agreeing with @shauny. The political machinations get a little tiresome and I still think the Doctor makes a few rather large leaps of logic to work out what’s happening at various points. There are also a few bits where Richards is clearly trying to avoid having his characters avoid describing the action which leads to quite a few scenes where I wasn’t 100% sure what was happening.
Also, the male guest cast - Barclay, Stengard and Napton all sounded a bit similar which made a few bits slightly confusing.
Overall, though, it’s an entertaining listen which tries to do something with the audio medium, mainly successfully, and has a couple of great performances from Bowerman and Miles as well as good stuff from Baker and Bryant. And I love the music.
Ulimately, though, I’m sticking with my 3.5/5 score from my original rating.
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A solid outing from the Sixth Doctor in his first solo outing. The plot is a fairly simple who-done-it and find-the-monster, with plenty of classic Six and Peri banter. The plot can drag a little but overall it is solid and well executed. The voice acting is top notch with a great sound design. Not a perfect release but solid anyway. 3.5/5
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