Question: Has this been a good year for Big Finish?
Well, Yes and No. Without doubt the stories such as Son of the Dragon, Absolution and Nocturne have been absolute crackers with all the pace, emotional material and damn good acting that wouldn't be out of place on TV. But then there were stories such as Valhalla and 100 which were mediocre, bordering on poor. There were big changes to the line up that would see some of the biggest changes that Doctor Who has encountered in the Big Finish range since it was launched in 1999. Gary Russell, who had been the top man behind the series contributed to his final story in Nocturne and Nicholas Briggs took over. There was also a change to the story format with new three parters followed by a single stand alone story. 2007 also saw the 100th Doctor Who story produced by Big Finish to celebrate it there was a different type of story made.
2007 started with Circular Time, which was a four part story with Peter Davison and also starring Sarah Sutton who was making her first Big Finish appearance since the 2005 story The Game. This was a poor story in my opinion as it didn't really seem to have much point to it. The only good part about it was the role of Sir Issac Newton which was played by the brilliant David Warner. I ended up giving this story 2 out of 5. February saw the Seventh Doctor star in Nocturne. This was a brilliant story which had me holding on to every word and by the end of part four was completely blown away which I thought was the best story for a long time and for most of this year was the best story of the year. March saw the return of the Daleks. This was Nicholas Brigg's first story as 'Executive' Producer. This story also featured a new look CD Cover which changed for the first time since Paul McGann's first adventure in January 2001. The story had been written by Christopher H.Bidmead who for new fans who haven't seen much of 1980's Who was the script editor for the end of Tom Baker's era and the beginning of Peter Davison's time in control of the TARDIS. Renaissance of the Daleks didn't have a written by credit but a 'From an Idea by' because apparently he was unhappy with changes been made to his precious script with his name on it. Even though this happens all the time and he must have done when he was script editor he was unhappy with this happening to him. The story was interesting and when I originally reviewed it I said that he should be encouraged to write more and I still stand by that statement. April saw the first three parter followed by a standalone story in I.D and Urgent Call. The three parter was ok but was slightly confusing as I didn't understand really what it was all about but I thought that it was good as three parts because its wouldn't have time to include any boring banter. The inclusion of Gyles Brandreth was one of the few highlights in this story based purely on his voice. The single parter however was not very good as I thought it was a completely pointless episode. May saw the second new style story telling with Exotron and Urban Myth. Unlike the previous release both stories were really good and enjoyable. The characters were well written in both stories and by the end of it I thought it was a good release.
June saw a return to the traditional format of a four part story but Valhalla was a very dull story which wasn't bad or poor like Circular Time but just didn't have a point to it. Slyvester McCoy was let down in this story with a poor story and no one to bounce his character off against as Ace and Hex had been written out of it for some reason. The story was written by Marc Platt who had penned the brilliant 2002 story Spare Parts and so I had high hopes of this release but was ultimately was left disappointed with this release. July saw Bonnie Langford return in The Wishing Beast and the Vanity Box. This 6th Doctor release featured Jean Marsh who had appeared along William Hartnell in the 1965 epic Dalek Master Plan and along the seventh doctor in the 1989 serial Battlefield. The three part story was quite good as if it had been four parts then it might have stumbled a little bit. The single parter was something that I didn't like as I though that even though it was a link to the Wishing Beast story it didn't really work because the pace and language used wasn't right at all.
August saw Slyvester McCoy return to in Frozen Time which was written by Nicholas Briggs who's last penned story The Nowhere Place (2006) was a brilliant adventure. Sure enough this story was also a well written, well acted piece of sci-fi. The biggest shock of the year came when it was revealed that the Ice Warriors were in main baddies. Unlike the companion-less story of Valhalla, McCoy was given a great script and had co-stars that complimented his Doctor. Nicholas Briggs is a brilliant writer and has shown time and time again that he can write a cracking script and it is only because he is doing the Dalek Empire and Cyberman series that we don't see more of his work. Early September saw release 99 and Son of the Dragon. This in my mind is the greatest story of the year. It was the sort of story that only comes round one ever few years and had the feel of an adventure that should be made for TV on my a big Sci-Fi budget. The addition of James Purefoy was a masterstroke in an adventure which will be around for a long time before being beaten in terms of quality writing and acting. Late September saw the 100th release in the brilliantly named 100. To celebrate this milestone four of the most popular writers penned a single episode. Paul Cornell, Robert Shearman, Joseph Lidster and Jacqueline Rayner. I was disappointed by this because I thought that single part stories just don't work. The only story that worked for me was the 100 Days of the Doctor which whilst wasn't brilliant was the best of a bad bunch.
October's release was Absolution which saw the first eighth Doctor story with C'Rizz and Charley since Memory Lane in late 2006. This was the second story in three which I thought was brilliant. Not because it wrote out the character of C'Rizz but because of the way of the exit. It was the most emotional story that has ever been done and actually made me Miss C'Rizz. Absolution saw three guest roles in the form of Robert Glenister who stars in the BBC Drama Hustle, Christopher Villers who stars in the ITV soap Emmerdale and Natalie Mendoza who stars in the BBC drama Hotel Babylon. November saw Peter Davison in The Minds Eye which had Owen Teale who had starred opposite Davison in The Caves of Androzani in 1984. The Mind's Eye was a really good story that was enjoyable but was let down by the single part story. December's story saw the exit of Charley in The Girl Who Never Was. Now this story was supposed to be the great ending for a character that had been with the eighth Doctor since he started the Big Finish plays in 2001. However I found it a little disappointing because it was more complicated than it needed to be. The ending was really heart breaking and was the perfect ending to a fine character. The special release that accompanied the The Girl Who Never Was. Return to the Web Planet saw the 5TH Doctor and Nyssa encounter the Zarbi in a story that was quite interesting. Another big name was Sam Kelly who was famous for starring in the BBC Comedy 'Allo 'Allo.
This has been a big year for spin-off releases. January saw all four parts of the Companion Chronicles released. These feature companions of the first four Doctors who cant (or wont in Tom Baker's case) appear in audios. Maureen O'Brien read as Vicki for the First Doctor, Wendy Padbury read as Zoe for the Second Doctor, Caroline John read as Liz Shaw for the Third Doctor and Lalla Ward read as Romana II for the Fourth Doctor. The success of this series led for Big Finish to produce a second series which started in October. By the end of 2007 Peter Purves had read as Steven Taylor for the First Doctor and Frazer Hines read as Jamie McCrimmon. Both these audios continued to the strong stories that had been produced by the first series. The lack of 8th Doctor stories in the regular range was down to the fact that the Doctor was busy on the digital radio station BBC7 in eight brand new adventures. This was a success because it had created a new companion in the form of Lucie Miller who was played by Sheridan Smith. These stories were released every month from January to August. The success of the series must have made the writers and producers decide that C'Rizz and Charley were surplus to requirements. If that's the case then they have replaced two well established characters with one that isn't quite on par with them but with time has the potential of being one of the greatest companions in the audio Doctor Who's.
2007 also saw the return of the most successful spin-off series that Big Finish has ever had. Dalek Empire returned with two former Doctor Who stars taking the lead roles. Noel Clarke who had played Mickey Smith from 2005 to 2006 played Silus Kade and Maureen O'Brien who had played Vicki from 1965-66 was playing Angnes Landen. The series is really well written and any doubts that I had about whether Clarke would be right for the role or whether Nicholas Briggs had left it to long since Dalek Empire 3 went as soon as Part 1 was released.
So that has been 2007 in the Big Finish universe. 33 releases and out of the regular releases the following returns saw a average rating of 3.62 which was an improvement from 2006. It actually was the second highest rating since the Doctor Who range began only losing out to the 2001 rating of 3.83.
So what can we expect from 2008? Well I hope that they don't do as many three part stories followed by a single story because they just don't work. Also I hope that the quality of the stories continues to improve like they have done this year. More stories that don't have companions would also be good even though there should be at least one with every companion.
2007 has been a great year for Big Finish and 2008 looks like it could be even better.
Well, Yes and No. Without doubt the stories such as Son of the Dragon, Absolution and Nocturne have been absolute crackers with all the pace, emotional material and damn good acting that wouldn't be out of place on TV. But then there were stories such as Valhalla and 100 which were mediocre, bordering on poor. There were big changes to the line up that would see some of the biggest changes that Doctor Who has encountered in the Big Finish range since it was launched in 1999. Gary Russell, who had been the top man behind the series contributed to his final story in Nocturne and Nicholas Briggs took over. There was also a change to the story format with new three parters followed by a single stand alone story. 2007 also saw the 100th Doctor Who story produced by Big Finish to celebrate it there was a different type of story made.
2007 started with Circular Time, which was a four part story with Peter Davison and also starring Sarah Sutton who was making her first Big Finish appearance since the 2005 story The Game. This was a poor story in my opinion as it didn't really seem to have much point to it. The only good part about it was the role of Sir Issac Newton which was played by the brilliant David Warner. I ended up giving this story 2 out of 5. February saw the Seventh Doctor star in Nocturne. This was a brilliant story which had me holding on to every word and by the end of part four was completely blown away which I thought was the best story for a long time and for most of this year was the best story of the year. March saw the return of the Daleks. This was Nicholas Brigg's first story as 'Executive' Producer. This story also featured a new look CD Cover which changed for the first time since Paul McGann's first adventure in January 2001. The story had been written by Christopher H.Bidmead who for new fans who haven't seen much of 1980's Who was the script editor for the end of Tom Baker's era and the beginning of Peter Davison's time in control of the TARDIS. Renaissance of the Daleks didn't have a written by credit but a 'From an Idea by' because apparently he was unhappy with changes been made to his precious script with his name on it. Even though this happens all the time and he must have done when he was script editor he was unhappy with this happening to him. The story was interesting and when I originally reviewed it I said that he should be encouraged to write more and I still stand by that statement. April saw the first three parter followed by a standalone story in I.D and Urgent Call. The three parter was ok but was slightly confusing as I didn't understand really what it was all about but I thought that it was good as three parts because its wouldn't have time to include any boring banter. The inclusion of Gyles Brandreth was one of the few highlights in this story based purely on his voice. The single parter however was not very good as I thought it was a completely pointless episode. May saw the second new style story telling with Exotron and Urban Myth. Unlike the previous release both stories were really good and enjoyable. The characters were well written in both stories and by the end of it I thought it was a good release.
June saw a return to the traditional format of a four part story but Valhalla was a very dull story which wasn't bad or poor like Circular Time but just didn't have a point to it. Slyvester McCoy was let down in this story with a poor story and no one to bounce his character off against as Ace and Hex had been written out of it for some reason. The story was written by Marc Platt who had penned the brilliant 2002 story Spare Parts and so I had high hopes of this release but was ultimately was left disappointed with this release. July saw Bonnie Langford return in The Wishing Beast and the Vanity Box. This 6th Doctor release featured Jean Marsh who had appeared along William Hartnell in the 1965 epic Dalek Master Plan and along the seventh doctor in the 1989 serial Battlefield. The three part story was quite good as if it had been four parts then it might have stumbled a little bit. The single parter was something that I didn't like as I though that even though it was a link to the Wishing Beast story it didn't really work because the pace and language used wasn't right at all.
August saw Slyvester McCoy return to in Frozen Time which was written by Nicholas Briggs who's last penned story The Nowhere Place (2006) was a brilliant adventure. Sure enough this story was also a well written, well acted piece of sci-fi. The biggest shock of the year came when it was revealed that the Ice Warriors were in main baddies. Unlike the companion-less story of Valhalla, McCoy was given a great script and had co-stars that complimented his Doctor. Nicholas Briggs is a brilliant writer and has shown time and time again that he can write a cracking script and it is only because he is doing the Dalek Empire and Cyberman series that we don't see more of his work. Early September saw release 99 and Son of the Dragon. This in my mind is the greatest story of the year. It was the sort of story that only comes round one ever few years and had the feel of an adventure that should be made for TV on my a big Sci-Fi budget. The addition of James Purefoy was a masterstroke in an adventure which will be around for a long time before being beaten in terms of quality writing and acting. Late September saw the 100th release in the brilliantly named 100. To celebrate this milestone four of the most popular writers penned a single episode. Paul Cornell, Robert Shearman, Joseph Lidster and Jacqueline Rayner. I was disappointed by this because I thought that single part stories just don't work. The only story that worked for me was the 100 Days of the Doctor which whilst wasn't brilliant was the best of a bad bunch.
October's release was Absolution which saw the first eighth Doctor story with C'Rizz and Charley since Memory Lane in late 2006. This was the second story in three which I thought was brilliant. Not because it wrote out the character of C'Rizz but because of the way of the exit. It was the most emotional story that has ever been done and actually made me Miss C'Rizz. Absolution saw three guest roles in the form of Robert Glenister who stars in the BBC Drama Hustle, Christopher Villers who stars in the ITV soap Emmerdale and Natalie Mendoza who stars in the BBC drama Hotel Babylon. November saw Peter Davison in The Minds Eye which had Owen Teale who had starred opposite Davison in The Caves of Androzani in 1984. The Mind's Eye was a really good story that was enjoyable but was let down by the single part story. December's story saw the exit of Charley in The Girl Who Never Was. Now this story was supposed to be the great ending for a character that had been with the eighth Doctor since he started the Big Finish plays in 2001. However I found it a little disappointing because it was more complicated than it needed to be. The ending was really heart breaking and was the perfect ending to a fine character. The special release that accompanied the The Girl Who Never Was. Return to the Web Planet saw the 5TH Doctor and Nyssa encounter the Zarbi in a story that was quite interesting. Another big name was Sam Kelly who was famous for starring in the BBC Comedy 'Allo 'Allo.
This has been a big year for spin-off releases. January saw all four parts of the Companion Chronicles released. These feature companions of the first four Doctors who cant (or wont in Tom Baker's case) appear in audios. Maureen O'Brien read as Vicki for the First Doctor, Wendy Padbury read as Zoe for the Second Doctor, Caroline John read as Liz Shaw for the Third Doctor and Lalla Ward read as Romana II for the Fourth Doctor. The success of this series led for Big Finish to produce a second series which started in October. By the end of 2007 Peter Purves had read as Steven Taylor for the First Doctor and Frazer Hines read as Jamie McCrimmon. Both these audios continued to the strong stories that had been produced by the first series. The lack of 8th Doctor stories in the regular range was down to the fact that the Doctor was busy on the digital radio station BBC7 in eight brand new adventures. This was a success because it had created a new companion in the form of Lucie Miller who was played by Sheridan Smith. These stories were released every month from January to August. The success of the series must have made the writers and producers decide that C'Rizz and Charley were surplus to requirements. If that's the case then they have replaced two well established characters with one that isn't quite on par with them but with time has the potential of being one of the greatest companions in the audio Doctor Who's.
2007 also saw the return of the most successful spin-off series that Big Finish has ever had. Dalek Empire returned with two former Doctor Who stars taking the lead roles. Noel Clarke who had played Mickey Smith from 2005 to 2006 played Silus Kade and Maureen O'Brien who had played Vicki from 1965-66 was playing Angnes Landen. The series is really well written and any doubts that I had about whether Clarke would be right for the role or whether Nicholas Briggs had left it to long since Dalek Empire 3 went as soon as Part 1 was released.
So that has been 2007 in the Big Finish universe. 33 releases and out of the regular releases the following returns saw a average rating of 3.62 which was an improvement from 2006. It actually was the second highest rating since the Doctor Who range began only losing out to the 2001 rating of 3.83.
So what can we expect from 2008? Well I hope that they don't do as many three part stories followed by a single story because they just don't work. Also I hope that the quality of the stories continues to improve like they have done this year. More stories that don't have companions would also be good even though there should be at least one with every companion.
2007 has been a great year for Big Finish and 2008 looks like it could be even better.
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