What audio were you really excited to listen to and it ended up surpassing your expectations gradually?
For me it was Arrangements for War. All I knew is that it continues Evelyn’s story, but I ended up with a tense political thriller, amazing work done by Gabriel Woolf and one of Colin Baker’s absolute best performances ever.
Scherzo. I knew it was meant to be brilliant, but it still blew my expectations completely out of the water
I can say right now that Spare Parts let me down because I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought.
But in terms of episodes I thought I wouldn’t like - The Council of Nicea and The Kingmaker both jump to mind. Five on audio and historicals are two things that often don’t work for me but I was very pleasantly suprised to enjoy both a lot!
Oh yeah, I agree, amazing work
Haven’t done those yet, but the names of the audios are noted for the future :3
I’ve been meaning to listen to The Kingmaker, I might have to bump it up the list a few places
Well the 11th Doctor and Valarie audios spring to mind 
So many people on here have praised them so much that I really didn’t think they could stand up to expectations. But they do, and then some.
Still got the final two stories to go, and I am hoping to get to them this weekend 
Another vote here for the Eleventh Doctor and Valarie audios. Superb (especially “Broken Hearts”.
I’ll also add “Torchwood: Fall to Earth”. Still my stand out from a range I’ve only just delved into. “One Rule” was also a surprise for all the right reasons! I gather I have some superb stuff ahead, but I’ve got quite a way to go yet.
Finally, “The War Master: Only the Good”. Gobsmackingly good. I adored these.
(Great thread, by the way, @Five_Hundredth_Drax)
Broken in the Torchwood Monthly Range.
I’d heard a lot of amazing things about Broken, it was penned by one of my favourite writers and is the highest rated Torchwood audio currently on TARDISguide but for some reason I was still weary.
I think it’s because I didn’t find Fall to Earth to be quite as good as some people made it out to be (it was still good but the reputation made it look earth-shattering)
Broken however lives up the hype. Jesus Christ, I love Ianto so much.
Genuinely one of the most touching, intelligently written, exciting and necessary character pieces I’ve ever experienced, Ianto really needed a story like this after Torchwood Series One botched what could’ve been the best member of the cast.
Between this and Broken Hearts, I should expect any story with “broken” in the name to blow me out of the water.
I’m seconding The Council of Nicea. I remember expecting it to be generic if not boring, but it ended up being one of my favorite Who stories ever
On the other end of the spectrum, I remember being really excited for Lucie Miller/To The Death because I’d seen everyone praise it, and then it really didn’t work for me on any level
I had the opposite reaction to Broken. Everyone hyped it up so much as a perfect fix-all for Jack and Ianto’s relationship, and I felt it really fell flat in the aspect. It didn’t fill in the gaps I was told it would, and only left me with more questions. It’s still a really good audio, but I personally feel it doesn’t live up to the hype.
Scaredy Cat. Everyone said it was awful, and it ended up being one of my favourite audios to date!
I enjoyed Scardey Cat. It wasn’t outstanding but I never understood the hate it got.
The Doctor and Valerie audios. I got them because I love him trying to find Clara but didn’t know if it would live up to my expectations. They did and can’t wait to listen to Everything and Anywhere once I finish the previous one.
I thought the title was referring to audios that we had high expectations for but ended up falling flat/playing out not as we hoped.
But to answer the actual question, the most recent audio I can think of was the Quin Dilemma to an extent. The first story was great, but towards the middle I started to get a bit bored. It wasn’t until “The Thousand Year Thaw” where I was glued to the screen again, so to speak. Out of Quin’s six stories, the fifth and sixth managed to be fantastic enough that I can say that I enjoyed the entire set.
I didn’t think I’d like 100 B.C. because that era in history isn’t one I’m particularly fond of, but it’s one of my favorite audios. Swipe Right I thought I’d be annoyed by, but I enjoyed that also.
My most recent listen would be Eleven/ Valerie, but its been cited already so I’ll add the first Missy story.
I loved Michelle Gomez’ characterisation of Missy so was really looking forward to the boxset, but it was even more fun than I expected and I loved the weaving in of her outfit.