The commute today got me through this entire Benny box that was intended to be a fresh jumping on point. I didn’t recall having fond memories of it, but how was it on relisten?
Well, in preparation for the upcoming Choose the Future read-along, I started with The Kraken’s Lament. This one’s pretty good. I find I miss the old world of Bernice Summerfield we’ve left behind, with her cast of supporting characters, I did enjoy this mythology-laden tale, and Acanthus works nicely as her companion.
After that were The Temple of Questions, Private Enemy No.1, and Judgement Day. Whereas the first story doesn’t have much to do with the titular Epoch, the remaining discs get deeper and deeper into the mystery.
Sorry to say I didn’t find the mystery, the resolution, or much else in these discs particularly interesting. There are moments, but on the whole I just didn’t feel a hook to catch my imagination. In particular, the last story, in which Benny is supposedly trying to figure out which of three realities is the real one, just fell flat. Well, except for cavemen that sounded like Muppets, they were entertaining.
I don’t think this is a good jumping on point at all, really.
Well, maybe it’s just as well this set is basically on an island in my collection. There’s only one other Benny box to come, and that’ll be at the end of my 'thon.
Relistened Fractures on my way to pick up my T & have the blood work. I listen to the Gallifrey series to and from hospital. Guess it’s because I happen to be working through this series in March when I started everything.
I listened to Lies. Do you know what? It’s the best Gallifrey yet! I think I’m about to fall in love. Romana and Leela are GOATs and Narvin, Brax, and Darkel are great to listen to!
I also started listening to The Doctor and Carnacki. It’s an atmospheric horror release, and Dan Starkey finally sounds different from Strax! I like how The Haunter of the Shore is a twist on the ghost story while The House is a different take on a haunted house tale. Today I’ll find out if the set sticks the landing.
Well, I’m excited to hear where this is going, and if the rest of the season keeps the same level of quality as Lies (or exceeds it), I’m going to be very happy!
If you don’t enioy Spirit I won’t even know what to say to you man. If you don’t like ‘perhaps it was a temperamental solenoid’ and ‘there is a wild woman inside me’ and ‘Hallan! You’re an imbecile!!’ then… well, I will simply not understand at all
They certainly can be repetitive. I think this is why it’s so easy to overuse the Daleks. I adore it when something different is tried. It’s fine having a rollicking good adventure with the Daleks but, if we just get the same old same old every year, it gets tiresome. Once in a while, it can be GREAT! It’s lovely to see (or hear) each Doctor face the ultimate Who antagonists but once a regen is probably about right. That said, when we get a novel Dalek story to tell - oh, it’s a thing of joy to me!
Listened to The Library in the Body, the first episode with Benny and David Warner’s Unbound Doctor. A great intro to whats left of this broken universe, Bowerman and Warner are stellar. She works as well with him as she does with 7 and 8. And there’s also singing space nuns
Started on Stranded, I need to listen to it for the Torchwood Timeline and also need to listen to some more Eight
I know it’s after some big events from the previous sets, but it does a solid job of being a good jumping in point so far, and I’m broadly more interested in the domestic stories it tells than something like Ravenous
