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cecesloth's review against another edition
3.0
3.1 Deeptime Frontier ⭐⭐⭐
A nice, solid opener/base under siege. Trad fans will love it. Ticks all the boxes but doesn't stand out in any way, and that's fine! not all stories can. It would be nice if the Ravenous were a little bit more terrifying though...
3.2 Companion Piece ⭐⭐⭐⭐
One of those john Dorney scripts that is too clever for it's own good (I mean this in the best possible way!) It's also complete filler and should almost be separated off as a Christmas special or something. (It's a recurring theme in my Dark Eyes/Doom Coalition/Ravenous reviews: I think at least one story in every box set can be trimmed down to make a more unified whole 12 episode series, instead of 4 bloated mini-series)
3.3 LEGEND ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A lot of fun! In keeping with my ideas on "remixing" this series, I think this would work better paired with the Christmas special from Ravenous 2, but it works well enough here to be satisfying (and a lot of fun!)
3.4 The Odds Against ????
One of those rare stories where there's so much to love, but still feels like a waste of time. In this case, the dialogue is razor sharp, the timey-wimey stuff with The Nine/The Eleven is the most creative the series has ever been (and a hell of a lot better than the usual mind-wipe reasoning that fan-wanky stories use *ahem* The Diary of River Song *ahem*) and the idea of the TARDIS team travelling with The Eleven is so good. Unfortunately, this is paired with the easiest to figure out plot twist I've ever come across in a Doctor Who and some mind-numbing running around in circles. The Ravenous is set up for a big show-down and it just... doesn't happen. They keep putting off attacking anyone throughout this whole set and it robs them of any terror they could've had.
A nice, solid opener/base under siege. Trad fans will love it. Ticks all the boxes but doesn't stand out in any way, and that's fine! not all stories can. It would be nice if the Ravenous were a little bit more terrifying though...
3.2 Companion Piece ⭐⭐⭐⭐
One of those john Dorney scripts that is too clever for it's own good (I mean this in the best possible way!) It's also complete filler and should almost be separated off as a Christmas special or something. (It's a recurring theme in my Dark Eyes/Doom Coalition/Ravenous reviews: I think at least one story in every box set can be trimmed down to make a more unified whole 12 episode series, instead of 4 bloated mini-series)
3.3 LEGEND ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A lot of fun! In keeping with my ideas on "remixing" this series, I think this would work better paired with the Christmas special from Ravenous 2, but it works well enough here to be satisfying (and a lot of fun!)
3.4 The Odds Against ????
One of those rare stories where there's so much to love, but still feels like a waste of time. In this case, the dialogue is razor sharp, the timey-wimey stuff with The Nine/The Eleven is the most creative the series has ever been (and a hell of a lot better than the usual mind-wipe reasoning that fan-wanky stories use *ahem* The Diary of River Song *ahem*) and the idea of the TARDIS team travelling with The Eleven is so good. Unfortunately, this is paired with the easiest to figure out plot twist I've ever come across in a Doctor Who and some mind-numbing running around in circles. The Ravenous is set up for a big show-down and it just... doesn't happen. They keep putting off attacking anyone throughout this whole set and it robs them of any terror they could've had.
haunted_air's review
adventurous
funny
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
sshabein's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
jjhynes's review
The Eleven just keeps getting better and better and the decision to make him one of the Doctor’s companions, out of fear, was utterly brilliant! Can’t wait to see where they take this next. Surprisingly LEGEND was the best one in this boxset, just for Helen meeting the Brothers Grimm and the Doctor eating a gingerbread house, but the return of Charlotte Pollard was incredible and the Ravenous have become a genuinely menacing threat.
crloken's review
3.0
Deeptime Frontier: This is a much better look into the Ravenous and who they are. They're even mildly scary in this one. I'm still not terribly impressed by them as an arc villain, but at least they're not trying to destroy the universe or anything, they just want to eat some Timelords; It's an understandable ambition. The aspect that makes it work is how much their very presence upsets and unnerves the Doctor. And if there's more than one Timelord around the Ravenous actually have a chance to be threatening. I'm still not entirely sold, but they are much better here.
Companion Piece: The 9 has been kidnapping all of the Doctor's companions and keeping them in cages, finding them by torturing River Song until she tells him where they are. Now the companions themselves have to escape without the Doctor's help. This is the best story of the boxset and just a really fun time in general. It's great to have Charley back and to see her working with Liv, Helen and Bliss escaping. It's a really great celebration of the Doctor's companions and was a delight to listen to.
L.E.G.E.N.D.: The Doctor meets the Brothers Grimm just as their stories themselves start coming to life. This one feels a lot like a New Who historical with it's emphasis on historical celebrities and a phenomenon based on the thing they are most famous for. It's very enjoyable, but not much more than that. It does manage to continue the new energy this arc has developed.
The Odds Against: And then it's gone. I didn't think this one worked very well at all. I still just don't think the Ravenous work very well as villains. They just whisper and rant about how they want to eat Timelords, and the Eleven has never really worked for me as a character. It was fine, but it wasn't nearly as good as the rest of the set.
It wasn't nearly as good as the second boxset, but it was still very good. I'm still looking forward to the next set though, especially since I suspect the Master's presence means that the Ravenous are a bit of a red herring, or he'll help the Doctor defeat them; Either way it should be an improvement.
Companion Piece: The 9 has been kidnapping all of the Doctor's companions and keeping them in cages, finding them by torturing River Song until she tells him where they are. Now the companions themselves have to escape without the Doctor's help. This is the best story of the boxset and just a really fun time in general. It's great to have Charley back and to see her working with Liv, Helen and Bliss escaping. It's a really great celebration of the Doctor's companions and was a delight to listen to.
L.E.G.E.N.D.: The Doctor meets the Brothers Grimm just as their stories themselves start coming to life. This one feels a lot like a New Who historical with it's emphasis on historical celebrities and a phenomenon based on the thing they are most famous for. It's very enjoyable, but not much more than that. It does manage to continue the new energy this arc has developed.
The Odds Against: And then it's gone. I didn't think this one worked very well at all. I still just don't think the Ravenous work very well as villains. They just whisper and rant about how they want to eat Timelords, and the Eleven has never really worked for me as a character. It was fine, but it wasn't nearly as good as the rest of the set.
It wasn't nearly as good as the second boxset, but it was still very good. I'm still looking forward to the next set though, especially since I suspect the Master's presence means that the Ravenous are a bit of a red herring, or he'll help the Doctor defeat them; Either way it should be an improvement.
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