I think so, & I remember enjoying DE1 but not being such a fan of the sequels. In fact I seem to recall BF saying it was never intended as a multi-boxset epic but was so popular sequels were created.
I’m giving it a relisten & The Great War remains, well, great.
McGann is on top form from the off with meaty dialogue & character moments. Ruth Bradley makes an immediate impact as Molly O’Sullivan, her letters home giving some background to the WW1 setting. Brilliant sound design also. Overall an entertaining introduction to this new era for 8.
& this was when the new look for the 8th Doctor was used officially for the first time on a BF release.
Listened to the first set of this again last year and I think most of it is really good! But X and the Daleks really sucks imo. I think it’s boring, I think it’s too heavy on the technobabble, and it relies on you caring about Straxus for the twist to work, and I just didn’t.
I adore Dark Eyes. One of the first Big Finish released I actually bought and am keeping the cd’s of. It’s super nostalgic, but I also just love It’s scope and ambition. The Dalek Time Controller, the Alex Macqueen Master, so many interesting things here. I love Molly, an underrated and somewhat forgotten companion of Eight, and of course Liv’s introduction as his companion too. A new outfit! The start of the boxset era. A revolutionary point here in Big Finish history really.
Sort of. The opening of Dark Eyes does carry on from the end of the Lucie stuff. The end of that forms the Doctor’s mindset at the beginning. That said, it’s been ages since I’ve listened to that so I don’t know how much gets spoiled.
I had heard a few of the Lucie Miller stories before this but not all. I don’t think its essential to do her run. DE can be enjoyed on its own. But also can’t recall how many call backs there may be to the Lucie era.
Honestly I’d say 8 has so many jumping on points. Me personally I went with Doom Coalition 1. You’ve got 8/Charley, 8/Lucie, Dark Eyes, Doom Coalition, Time War.
Probably some others but I’d say they’re the main ones. I’ll always recommend Doom Coalition as it really is amazing, the others I went back and heard and didn’t love them as much.
I tend to say yes, because it literally follows on directly from the series 4 finale, and carries over things like Straxus and the Dalek Time Controller, but several other people have said they’ve started with it and been fine, so you’ll probably be fine
(I still reccomend Doom Coalition as a much much much better jumping on point for 8’s audios)
A fun more action packed run around moving through different time periods & planets. Ruth Bradley is really good here, asserting herself & not afraid to challenge the Doctor. In fact she seems to be the companion he needs right now.
A really nice, whats-this-all-about precredits scene.
An interesting idea & a strange situaton for Doctor Who & Molly in Tangled Web but there is a feeling of waiting for a reveal & the plot not really progressing enough.
Some inevitable technobabble & exposition in the final episode but there are enough dramatic & character moments, especially for Molly, to make up for that. Toby Jones is great of course.
So overall it was fun to revisit this boxset. McGann & Bradley are a brilliant duo. On to DE2?
Dark Eyes can be done on its own but it emotionally builds from his adventures with Lucie and I do think the character progression is better appreciate going through them in order.
In fact, I also think Lucie’s adventures builds emotionally from his time with Charley and that the character progression is better appreciated going through them in order.
DE2 completed. Its, uneven shall we say. Some interesting stories but it never really feels like a cohesive adventure in the same way the first boxset did. The highlights are definitely the characters - 8, Liv, Molly & the Master.
