What are your top four BigFinish releases of all time?

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I know that’s a pretty daunting question, but I’m really interested to hear what your favourite BigFinish releases are.

Personally, these are my favourites:

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The love around here for Anti-Genesis surprises me because I thought it was pretty much panned. I didn’t enjoy it much myself but I’m not a lover of Genesis of the Daleks so it had an uphill struggle.

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Difficult, veeery difficult.

(Choices subject to change… daily)

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Ugh… I am going to name four but I might change my mind later. And I think I will choose ones I think are ‘best’ as well as favourite and from different ranges to try and narrow my list down.

  • Gallifrey: Spirit

The Guide relisten counter has me at 6 right now, but that number is definitely three times too low. Is this episode perfect? No. But it’s pretty close. It’s fun. It’s also kind of heartbreaking. It sets in motion the evnts to come. It binds Leela and Romana together forever. I could go on but I would probably never stop.

  • Counter-Measures series 3

Debated whether s2 or s3 was my favourite here, because s2 has The Fifth Citadel and Peshka which are like two of the best episodes of anything ever. But s3 has The Forgotten Village. And if you know anything about me by now, you probably know that Allison Williams is one of my favourite characters of all time ever and s3 is really all about her. Also all the episodes are brilliant.

  • Lucie Miller/To The Death

Two episodes but it counts as one. This is what really sold me on Big Finish. This episode ripping my heart out of my chest and stomping on it a million times. Lucie is so beloved to me, and the end of this series is truly a high point. It might be a little brutal for the sake of it, but within its context, it really works, and Eight with the voice memo at the end… ugh

  • War Master: The Master of Callous

Did I only listen to this boxset because of Narvin? Maybe so. But it was so deeply compelling and chilling that it made me listen to all the rest of the War Master stories afterwards. It’s probably my favourite of all the WM releases (and yes, I did enjoy Anti-Genesis too. For obvious reasons)

Special shoutouts to Gallifrey 4, Counter-Measures: The Hollow King, Bernice Summerfield: Missing Persons, Gallifrey TW3, and you said Big Finish in general and not just Doctor Who so that means I can say The Omega Factor s2 as well, which is a series I adore completely.

That counts as four, right?

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Going to have to have @PalindromeRose’s back here, Anti-Genesis is brilliant and I say that as someone who isn’t overly keen on Genesis, though it’s no Master of Callous.

If I had to cobble together a top four, and I assure you it comes with a whole lot of “ah but so and so is also a solid contender”, I’d probably boil it down to:

  • The Lost Resort and Other Stories

Three absolutely solid stories with a team I’ve loved so much. The climax of an Adric grief arc, a fun true historical that leaves me wanting even more of them and an admittedly so-so Dalek story that comes with a sad but oh so exciting companion departure. I hope we one day see more stories with this team, but there’s so much ground to cover!

  • Forty 2 (aka The Auton Infinity)

With the asking price the idea of a release composed of only a single story is an uneasy one, you need something really special to make it a satisfying purchase and this IS, it’s a true love letter to an era I love so much with an interesting unfolding mystery and a dash of Time Lord lore to top it off. An excellent release and one of Davison’s strongest performances.

  • Respond to All Calls

Something I feel the Ninth Doctor Adventures range struggles with in consistency, a lot of the sets have two good stories but a stinker to drag the set down. There are exceptions, Old Friends, Shades of Fear and Travel in Hope come to mind and could have all equally easily taken this spot, but Respond to All Calls gave me what I was first looking for when Eccleston’s return was announced, three solid stories that all feel almost like some kind of “series 0”, episodes that released in 2004 that we all somehow collectively forgot about. It’s just a fun old time, even if not pushing the envelope.

  • The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield: Blood and Steel

I was dying to recommend The Master of Callous from the War Master range, I had written the whole section! Then thought of this and had to bin it because oh gosh this is special.

If you’re not familiar with this run, I highly recommend the Bernice Summerfield sets that feature David Warner’s Doctor, particularly The Unbound Universe, Ruler of the Universe and Blood and Steel. David Warner plays a Doctor from another universe, a more outwardly rough and cold Doctor, one with greater detachment, yet with the same sense of righteousness. Warner was in ill health by the time this was recorded, and you can tell his voice has started to go, but you’d be very mistaken to assume his performance is at all dampened by it. He and Lisa Bowerman shine.

For the first time since the initial two sets with the duo, there’s a proper story arc running through the stories in the set, complete with recurring characters (big fan of the Compère) throughout and with an ofter sombre tone, this set features the Cybermen swooping into Berlin a short time before the second world war kicks off, having decided that the death toll of the war is a waste of resources they can use. As evocative as the cover art is, you’re not getting Cyber-Nazis, but you are getting the Cybermen bringing their A game, with Bernice Summerfield and the Unbound Doctor fighting to stop them taking all these people. I really can’t give away more than that, other than that if you’re a fan of Tomb of the Cybermen, there’s a fun homage to that story in here too!

Asking for favourite releases is an interesting question, because a lot of my favourite stories aren’t coming into it. All of these answers are box sets because (Forty 2 aside) they come with multiple stories I really enjoy, rather than just the one. Quantity is celebrated alongside quality in this perspective, which is especially important when recommending people buy releases, even if the highs aren’t necessarily what you consider the highest of highs.

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See, that really shocks me. I’ve heard nothing but praise for ‘Anti-Genesis’.

Usually, I hear it heralded as one of the best releases in the range - alongside ‘The Master of Callous’ and ‘Killing Time’.

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‘To the Death’ is a great shout. One of the greatest things Nicholas Briggs has ever written.

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Certainly over at Gallifrey Base it wasn’t often mentioned favourably - although like all these things there were people who did enjoy it. I know I’ve listened to it - one of only 2 War Masters I have, and I wasn’t massively impressed but it’s good to know it is liked. Maybe, eventually, I’ll give it another shot.

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Highly reccomend giving it another go. If it clicks, it’s magnificent.

Actually just set up a thread asking how people would rank the War Master sets.

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Personally, my four favourite releases (just the ones I love the most/had the most fun listening to) are probably:

A Death in the Family
Farewell Great Macedon
Lucie Miller/To the Death
Absent Friends

all absolutely phenomenal stories (yes I know Absent Friends is part of Doom Coalition 3)

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I’m not sure of a full four, but my highest rated boxset is Torchwood: Among Us 2
an 8/10, a 9/10, and two 10/10s

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This is so off the top of my head but in order of release:

1. Creatures of Beauty. Gutting, powerful story. The atmosphere is so cold and dangerous, Nyssa’s interrogation is so brutal and shocking, and I’ll never forget that final episode.

2. Circular Time. I cry every single time. The best regeneration story for me.

3. A Death in the Family. Just yeah… yeah

4. More Than This, from the Torchwood range. A wildcard after three MR stories but oh, this one means so, so much to me. I don’t even think the first half is particularly special, but the resolution is… wow.

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I feel like I haven’t listened to enough audios for this. My top two are easy picks, but there are just too many I’d like to put in the next two slots that it’s impossible to pick.

1. Scherzo. This one changed me as a person, honestly. I’ve listened to it for the first time more than a month ago (feels much longer, honestly), and I have yet to recover. I quote and reference it at every opportunity. If I could give it an extra star, I would. This is more than my favourite audio, it’s more than my favourite Doctor Who story; it just might be my favourite anything of all time.

2. Coffee. My second ever Big Finish audio, and forever my favourite Torchwood audio by far. Nothing can compare to seeing Ianto’s entire life with Torchwood Three through his time in this one coffee shop. It give him some much needed depth that we don’t really get in the show.

Not sure that Living Legend counts as a proper audio but I’d still like to give it a shout out. I think it’s a lot of fun and being only 20 minutes means I can listen to it on shorter commutes.

A few others that could make this list are Rhys and Ianto’s Excellent Barbecue, Fall to Earth, Dinner and a Show, Broken, Peach Blossom Heights, and The Natural History of Fear. Yes, everything I listened to is Torchwood and Eighth Doctor only. I’ll get to the other stuff eventually.

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Im in the same boat of my top two are easy picks but there are so many that I could put as the last two and its just impossible to choose

top two would be

Spare Parts

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Scherzo

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God yeah Coffee is so good

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My sample size is rather small and narrow but for me:

  • Neverland

Absolutely love the world-building and concepts explored in this audio, especially irt Gallifrey, the Web of Time, Neverpeople, the Oubliette of Eternity etc. Just!! Love this kind of unique Deep Lore and this audio fed me so well. Ngl it set such high expectations that Zagreus and the Divergent Universe arc was kinda disappointing lol.

  • Iterations of I

Really love the spooky atmosphere and the sentient numbers are SUCH a cool concept. Plus a great s19 team story in general

  • Omega

This one purely for the major plot twist of it actually being Omega the whole time, not Five. Absolutely blew my mind when listening to it for the first time.

  • The One Doctor

Absolutely funniest audio I’ve listened to so far and set a high bar for any others to beat humour-wise. Listened to it while I was busy packing to move house and would have to sit down and catch my breath every so often because I was laughing so goddamn hard

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Really glad to see ‘Iterations of I’ get a mention.

When people discuss that box set, they usually only ever talk about ‘Psychodrome’.

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Honestly, Psychodrome was wasted being set so early on with that team. What’s the point of doing a a character- and relationship-based psychological deep dive on characters who barely know each other at that point.

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