I am less than a minute into “Symmetry of Death” and the American accent is so comically bad that I assume the reveal will be that the character isn’t actually American.
4 Likes
Going for a 9-10 hour both ways road trip this weekend, just me and my dog. I got a list prepped for all the audios I’m gonna listen to while I drive, love to get thoughts!
8 Likes
Counter-Measures: 1.1 Threshold
Pure pure class. This simply doesn’t lose its lustre. I am treating myself to a relisten of Counter-Measures and, yowzer, what a treat it is!
A fantastic opening story which does many things well. First off, it keeps things simple with a lovely bit of disciplined storytelling. A clear mystery and problem, properly developed. The atmosphere is, at times, decidedly creepy and the story sticks to basics. I just adore disciplined storytelling that allows you to become immersed in the world they have created.
Secondly, as a (re)introduction of the counter-measures team AND the introduction of Toby Kinsella (who will become hugely important to the ongoing team), it delivers a masterclass. Rachel Jensen, Alison Williams and “Chunky” Gilmore are all introduced in a way that is a delight for those of us who have known them ever since Remembrance, yet deftly enough that it works as a good intro for people who have never seen that story. To paraphrase the Third Doctor, “Never seen ‘Remembrance’? Good grief, man, what’s wrong with you?”
Oh. I have so much more to say but - for now - that’ll have to do.
Pamela Salem. Wasn’t she wonderful?
Yes. Yes she was. 
8 Likes
I’m full VNA mode today because I’m also listening to the Novel Adaptation of Love And War - I’m about half-way through, and I’m gonna say it. I don’t think this works as an audio play at all, really, and should probably have stayed a book. It is, frankly, too big, and introducing too much at once. I feel like I need the time you spend reading a book and absorbing it properly to actually give this the attention it deserves. So much is lost in the rather inconsistent location tracking, the million characters, the hazy-ish villain, there’s some attempts at prestige-TV flashback jumpcutting at the beginning that don’t translate to audio at all well, and the performances are wildly inconsistent across the board. a problem you simply don’t have with novels because when you read a book, you sort of (if you’re me at least) imagine all your mental actors as uniformly talented. There’s no way to get past the tonal difference of basically every one of the rebels’ performances.
Plus of course The Doctor is barely in the first half, and when it’s just Sly’s voice anyway a lot of (what I presume is supposed to be) menace and discomfort evoked by his actions are sort of lost. I don’t know, it just hasn’t hit for me in the way I was expecting it to.
Quick edit to say that the highlight for me in this is definitely Bernice Summerfield - Lisa Bowerman inhabits the character with both believability and a slightly elevated fairy-tale charm. If I were Paul Cornell, I’d absolutely be having harsh words with Steven Moffat behind closed doors about copyright infringement.
7 Likes
I listened to the first 2 stories the other day, and these were my thoughts exactly! I hope she starts doing some more murdering in the rest of the stories, because she doesn’t seem so evil and dangerous when she isn’t killing random bystanders just because she wants to
3 Likes
Best bit of the War Master range is in The Sky Man where Derek Jacobi gets to tear apart a bunch of malnourished farmers with his bare hands while defending a vineyard, imo.
8 Likes
Well…
This post was sponsored by 12 murdering Missys.
4 Likes
The War Master is something I definitely want to get into at some point, I’ve heard the Master is really evil in that 
6 Likes
I would apologize for the mild spoiler but as you’re hunting actively for Master-related violence, I’m using it as a selling point - War Master is phenomenal (I say that only having actually listened to two releases, but they’re both so sick that I’m going to go and put it on right now) and the thing I spoiled is like, the eighth worst thing he does in that range. Master of Callous is I think, probably in the top 5 Big Finish stories ever, for me.
8 Likes
Finally finished Missy and The Monk series!
7 Likes
yeah ohhh Counter-Measures is so good!!!
6 Likes
Now that I’ve got some new headphones, I can listen to audios again! Starting with A Forest of All Seasons, which I really enjoyed as an outing for the First Doctor, Steven and Vicki. An intriguing scenario, spot-on characterisation of the TARDIS team, and all topped off with a great performance from Peter Purves (how old is he supposed to be again? He barely sounds older than he did in the sixties!). The whole thing slotted really well into late season 2/early season 3, and I really need to get back to that era by listening to the recording of The Myth Makers at some point (although I don’t want to say goodbye to Vicki…)
9 Likes
Almost halfway through Aftershocks and genuinely baffled at how Doctor of War is so goddamned boring with such a cool premise and performances
9 Likes
Yeah! It has no end of potential, but it still manages to be mind numbingly boring
5 Likes
Still enjoying The Box of Terrors but my mind does wander a bit too much when its an audiobook.
5 Likes
I don’t understand the vision of opening a cool parallel universe with a unique incarnation and not giving him agency for two stories. I was so bored, and by the end annoyed, at Aftershocks I gave my third ever 1.5* rating and wrote up a rant (calling it a proper review is generous):
7 Likes
I’ve only listened to the first Doctor of War set. I found Dust Devil confusing and hard to follow. The other two were fine, but it soon became clear that the set wasn’t as linked as it had it had been made out to be.
7 Likes
Yeah I had the same issue with Dust Devil and with Aftershocks. I won’t be listening to the second set at all, as I only went for the first for NarvinQuest TM
4 Likes
If I remember my opinions correctly the second set is marginally better? But the finale was horrible
3 Likes
This is why I never got round to the second set 
4 Likes