Bounty hunter, law enforcement officer, but always impossibly glamorous!
The ‘Vienna’ spin-off has long been one of my favourite things in the BigFinish catalogue.
It feels distincticly American; full of these bombastic space-battles and police procedurals that you could imagine on prime-time US television.
Feel free to share your thoughts, reviews, and appreciation for the one and only…
Ms. Vienna Salvatori!
This thread was inspired by the one @sircarolyn made for Bernice Summerfield.
I have heard the MR stuff with her, but I have never felt the urge to dip into her audios - persuade me why I should? I thought she was a fun enough character in the MR but I don’t know that much about her solo stuff
Full disclosure: I’m yet to hear Series Three and the Retribution set.
HOWEVER.
What I have heard is absolutely magnificent. The pilot episode - ‘The Memory Box’ is a perfect reintroduction to her character, shifting her away from villain territory and into anti-hero.
Throughout the first two series - just like the pilot - memory manipulation is a major plot thread. It’s far more than a bounty hunter going on assassination missions, though you do still get that with stories like ‘Deathworld’ essentially being Doctor Who does The Hunger Games.
Series Two shifts the focus again, having Vienna sign up to the mysterious Crime Corps in a glittering utopian future… one with your expected seedy underbelly. The stories take on a different flavour here, but the third episode of that series is genuinely magnificent - it has a bunch of privelaged rich people indulging in the latest in amoral immersive cinema: the Vienna Salvatori experience. Essentially, she’s got an implant in her brain that allows all these people to watch her go on missions and see every aspect of her life through her eyes. Really interesting and disturbing concept.
Oooo I do like a good memory plot, and brain implants feels like a classic BF trope. Perhaps I will put these on my wishlist!
I actually reviewed the pilot and Series One when I was still using the other site - so please excuse the slightly shaky format of them. They were among the first reviews I actually ported over her to TARDIS Guide.
#1.00. The Memory Box
#1.01. Dead Drop
#1.02. Bad Faith
#1.03. Deathworld
I’ve written my reviews of Series Two quite recently, but have yet to upload them.
If you enjoy reading these reviews, do feel free to drop them a like - I’m working towards those illustrious reviewer badges.
The only real criticism I have of the Vienna range so far is the side-kick she gets in the second series - Jexie Reagan.
She’s played by Sam Beart - who most people will know as Orr in the Torchwood range - except she’s got this really… how do I put this nicely… atrocious cod-American accent whilst playing the role that takes some getting used to.
It sounds a bit like a fusion of the New Yorker “hey, I’m walking 'ere!” stereotype and Frobisher.
Make of that what you will 
So standard BF actors doing an American accent then 
Ooh, I love Vienna! Truth be told, I don’t love all her stories—the Memory Box is a personal favourite of mine, it’s a bundle of fun, but series 1 and 2 had a few duds for me. But even a script I don’t love can’t dull Chase Masterton’s wonderful performance. She’s brilliant. And I love series 3, and Retribution, and Jexie!
An extremely underrated spinoff. And I’m convinced Vienna and Jexie are dating
Not something I’ve dipped into yet, there is just so much Big Finish featuring characters I already know, that I haven’t yet tried some of the other characters yet.
But if she is anything like River Song (glamorous) then I might like it a lot…
To be honest, I could imagine Vienna and River getting on like a house on fire. Both are extremely witty too.
Sounds like a crossover waiting to happen?
Big Finish aren’t usually shy about mixing the characters up…
This is a spin off I’ve yet to check out. Sounds interesting. I might look this up at some point. 
Inspired by this thread I looked Vienna up on my streaming service.
The Memory Box + Series 1, 2 and 3 are on there 
Are there any “requisite stories” from other ranges before listening to these? 
Vienna appears in The Shadow Heart but I wouldn’t say it’s a prerequisite.
She’s a character that has never really excited me. I find Chase Masterson a bit grating on audio but I have listened to The Memory Box. Ironically, I remember nothing about it but I think I enjoyed it for what it was! I’m not rushing to listen to the rest but probably will eventually.
Enjoy it. From the first two series, I would honestly say there is only one dud episode - that being 2.2 Underworld - and everything else is amazing
‘Bad Faith’ from the first series is a hilarious comedy. Not surprising, since it’s by Nev Fountain.
Okay I’m listening to The Memory Box at the moment, about halfway through.
Vienna Salvatori sounds very much like Peri Brown sometimes right? That’s not just me hearing that 
I actually enjoyed the Memory Box rather a lot. Definitely a good pilot story for a spin-off series 
The concept of the Memory Box was really well used as a narrative device.
Vienna Salvatori (oops I said her name 
) is a believable space assassin (looking at you Doom 
) and I kind of look forward to hearing which direction they take her in in the series proper
4/5 
I’ve just finished listening to Vienna Season 1.
With all the memory shenanigans going on I am surprised that the Eighth Doctor isn’t the main character here
This season can be summed up in a single sentence:
And I love that 
Throughout the first two stories I felt like I was missing some context or background, but it was all on purpose - such storytelling just appeals to me. I am really excited to see which direction they take Vienna next (the series and the character).
Ranked list of Vienna stories so far:
And the memory shenanigans (such a good word, shenanigans) continues in the opener of season 2 in “Tabula Rosa”
Best one yet 
Chase Masterson seems to have gained a bit more “confidence” in the role of Vienna, and James Goss wrote a fantastic story here.
A locked hotel murder mystery where everyone has had their memories erased or supplanted, and an AI concierge? Now there’s a concept for a story for you
Right I’ve finished season 2 today.
I’m in love
Episode 2: Underworld was admittedly very run of the mill, and only a 3/5 but that kind of becomes clear in the finale:
The Vienna Experience.
This was tremendously good!
5/5
Vienna played the long con right from Tabula Rosa! “Vienna the cop” didn’t feel right, and I am really glad she is back in the assassination game (what a horrible thing to say actually 
)
I don’t know why but Vienna’s sidekick’s accent doesn’t really bother me that much, which kind of surprises me when I think about how I feel about Frobisher in The Holy Terror, and Tallulah (Three Ls and an H) in series 3. 
