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cecesloth's review
2.0
3.1 The Seas of Titan
⭐⭐
It starts with one of the best openings I've heard from Big Finish with The Doctor finding himself on a submarine on Titan searching for alien life, set to a lush musical score. Had this been the whole episode, it would've been fantastic, however it quickly devolves into the same old Silurian/Sea Devil story we always get.
Every character is purely a stereotypical function, every plot beat is exactly what you expect, I ended up being able to predict some bits of dialogue a minute before it happened. This was an extremely tedious, one-star experience smoothed over with some lavish post-production and I expect anything from a company who foes things "for the love of stories."
3.2 Lay Down Your Arms
⭐⭐⭐
Hilarious and informative, but I think the Doctor Who monster of the week elements adon't work, which is a shame seeing as they are given so much time. What could've been Lisa McMullin's answer to Vincent and the Doctor, turns into a cheap origin story for someone who I believe, after researching her, deserves better. Could've been a character driven masterpiece about someone who everyone should know.
(Also the dialogue tends to beat you over the head with its anti war message, which is really quite annoying actually. Show don't tell!)
3.3 Flatpack
⭐⭐⭐
A very good Doctor Who script paired with the most lackluster continuation of the Liv and Tania story. No emotional consequences of a new Doctor are dealt with, nor the fallout of Liv leaving the Doctor and him then going to war, the latter being because this is not actually being written yet and Ecclestone's unwillingness to engage in anything serious respectively.
A textbook example of Big Finish's timey-wimey approach not working again, too many stories are started and continued with others ending properly first. It makes this story feel like something recycled from Stranded with The Ninth Doctor tacked on. Also, the performances of the masked people give the game away too early
The Ninth Doctor adventures have a bad reputation and it's easy to see why if this is the quality of the range. This was my first 9 boxset, I bought it for Liv and Tania and they were so underused There are two more sets that I'm desperate to listen to after this but I doubt they'll make me stick with the range.
⭐⭐
It starts with one of the best openings I've heard from Big Finish with The Doctor finding himself on a submarine on Titan searching for alien life, set to a lush musical score. Had this been the whole episode, it would've been fantastic, however it quickly devolves into the same old Silurian/Sea Devil story we always get.
Every character is purely a stereotypical function, every plot beat is exactly what you expect, I ended up being able to predict some bits of dialogue a minute before it happened. This was an extremely tedious, one-star experience smoothed over with some lavish post-production and I expect anything from a company who foes things "for the love of stories."
3.2 Lay Down Your Arms
⭐⭐⭐
Hilarious and informative, but I think the Doctor Who monster of the week elements adon't work, which is a shame seeing as they are given so much time. What could've been Lisa McMullin's answer to Vincent and the Doctor, turns into a cheap origin story for someone who I believe, after researching her, deserves better. Could've been a character driven masterpiece about someone who everyone should know.
(Also the dialogue tends to beat you over the head with its anti war message, which is really quite annoying actually. Show don't tell!)
3.3 Flatpack
⭐⭐⭐
A very good Doctor Who script paired with the most lackluster continuation of the Liv and Tania story. No emotional consequences of a new Doctor are dealt with, nor the fallout of Liv leaving the Doctor and him then going to war, the latter being because this is not actually being written yet and Ecclestone's unwillingness to engage in anything serious respectively.
A textbook example of Big Finish's timey-wimey approach not working again, too many stories are started and continued with others ending properly first. It makes this story feel like something recycled from Stranded with The Ninth Doctor tacked on. Also, the performances of the masked people give the game away too early
The Ninth Doctor adventures have a bad reputation and it's easy to see why if this is the quality of the range. This was my first 9 boxset, I bought it for Liv and Tania and they were so underused There are two more sets that I'm desperate to listen to after this but I doubt they'll make me stick with the range.
sshabein's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Very little to dislike here! We got Sea Devils in the first, a sort of different take on War Games in the second, and having Liv and Tanya pop up in the last story was great. I enjoy them a lot.
chicafrom3's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Three adventures with the Ninth Doctor, loosely linked by the concept of secrets. All three are very good; I love the use of the Sea Devils, even though every Sea Devil/Silurian story is basically the same, and Flatpack is a great use of time loops with an excellent mystery box setup (and the Ninth Doctor having to deal with past companions is wonderful).
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