Big Finish Audios: Fearmonger and Colditz
Sep. 1st, 2010 12:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beccaelizabethI only listened to two audios this weekend. I need more battery.
Colditz was good, but would have been rather better if I hadn't heard the sequels already. An unfolding mystery with twists sort of falls flat when you know the ending. But it's a 7 and Ace story, so it's mostly about Ace and her emotional journey. Among other things in this story she decides to call herself McShane, as part of trying to be more mature. Compare this Ace with later audio Ace and she's definitely managed to mature. Her plans were less than plan shaped in much of this one. Also I like it when she yells at nazis but it's not so much the safest idea. Which all adds up to much drama. So Colditz was good.
Fearmonger had some lovely twists and got stuck in to some good Doctor Who questions. It starts with an assassination attempt at a rally for the racist right wing New Britannia political party and builds up to riots before the election. This is all set in the early 21st century, I think in 2000 like the CD was released in. Ace in Colditz mentions she got her CD player from a guy from this story. The bit that gets the Doctor involved is the alien Fearmonger, an energy being that feeds on fear and stirs it up so there's more to eat. Lots of it is set on talk radio, or live radio broadcasts, so it's usefully audio shaped. And there's excellent unrolling of plot and danger and drama. Plus there's little quiet bits where Ace and the Doctor talk about how much things do and do not change. I like it plenty.
The bit that stuck in my mind and kept distracting me with plot bunnies though is the character name of the head of the New Britannia party: Harper. Sherilyn Harper, played by Jacqueline Pearce. So now I've got this idea of Owen Harper being Servalan's family somehow. We already know he doesn't get along with his mum. Add politics and stir... And since this story tangles her with the Doctor and she spends much of it convinced he's part of a UN plot against her, and she has both too much and too little information, getting her tangled with Torchwood would be plenty easy...
But even without bunnies this was a solid 7 era story with proper 7 and Ace and enough story to fill up all the parts. I like it.
Colditz was good, but would have been rather better if I hadn't heard the sequels already. An unfolding mystery with twists sort of falls flat when you know the ending. But it's a 7 and Ace story, so it's mostly about Ace and her emotional journey. Among other things in this story she decides to call herself McShane, as part of trying to be more mature. Compare this Ace with later audio Ace and she's definitely managed to mature. Her plans were less than plan shaped in much of this one. Also I like it when she yells at nazis but it's not so much the safest idea. Which all adds up to much drama. So Colditz was good.
Fearmonger had some lovely twists and got stuck in to some good Doctor Who questions. It starts with an assassination attempt at a rally for the racist right wing New Britannia political party and builds up to riots before the election. This is all set in the early 21st century, I think in 2000 like the CD was released in. Ace in Colditz mentions she got her CD player from a guy from this story. The bit that gets the Doctor involved is the alien Fearmonger, an energy being that feeds on fear and stirs it up so there's more to eat. Lots of it is set on talk radio, or live radio broadcasts, so it's usefully audio shaped. And there's excellent unrolling of plot and danger and drama. Plus there's little quiet bits where Ace and the Doctor talk about how much things do and do not change. I like it plenty.
The bit that stuck in my mind and kept distracting me with plot bunnies though is the character name of the head of the New Britannia party: Harper. Sherilyn Harper, played by Jacqueline Pearce. So now I've got this idea of Owen Harper being Servalan's family somehow. We already know he doesn't get along with his mum. Add politics and stir... And since this story tangles her with the Doctor and she spends much of it convinced he's part of a UN plot against her, and she has both too much and too little information, getting her tangled with Torchwood would be plenty easy...
But even without bunnies this was a solid 7 era story with proper 7 and Ace and enough story to fill up all the parts. I like it.