In the mid 90s Verity Lambert was in talks to do a Doctor Who revival. Her choice for Story Editor was the maverick creator of One Foot in the Grave and Johnathan Creek, David Renwick. Renwick (possibly jokingly) referred to the Creek Episode "House of Monkeys" as his screen test for an Annette Crosbie Doctor. The Doctor as a creepy antrhopologist experimenting on lesser species without them realising they're been run through rat mazes. Its a natural progression from McCoy and somehow even more screwy than Saward at his most vicious.
Even if she had only written Doctor Who and the Pirates, I think Jac Rayner would still be my favourite Who writer. The fact that the rest of her catalogue is so strong is just a bonus.
If nothing else (which is thankfully not the case), all of Rob Shearman's Who stories should be experienced. They are HAUNTING! Especially Deadline, which is my favorite of the bunch
Frankly I always found his stuff overhyped if I'm honest.🤷♂️ Scherzo in particular was sold to me as one of the most pant wettingly terrifying stories in the series. And it ultimately boiled down to some cheap jump scares.
@minicle426 While I don't find Scherzo all that terrifying, I Love how it uses the audio medium in a unique way to tell it's story and respect its attempt to deconstruct the relationship between Eight and Charley
Evelyn Mourning Cassie is so dang heartbreaking I felt that Big Finish needed to have Maggie Stables say directly to the audience, "I was fine. Don't worry about me."
It's really nice to see someone giving Evelyn/Maggie her due. She more than earned it. Also, I love 'the Nowhere Place', might be my favorite adventure with Evelyn. I honestly didn't mind it when the plot goes a bit 'off the rails', I still was rather gripped by it. Even hearing just a little bit of the audio was able to conjure the unnerving, almost paralyzing sensation of dread I experienced the first time listening to it. Chilling stuff. And agreed about Knox, very disappointed that we never really got another story with him. I feel he could have been a great recurring nemesis of the Doctor, like a much more playful and theatrical Roger Delgado Master.
The ending to Arrangements for War is my all time favourite Sixth Doctor scene, although I must admit I did laugh at his "Revenge of the Sith" moment just before it started
This is brilliant and I’ve only just started it; I loved Evelyn’s character from the start, and her and Six were perfection. I only recently learnt that Maggie Stables had sadly passed away, so thank you for giving her the credit she deserves. Very interesting to know she only began acting after retiring, good on her. The Spectre of Lanyon Moor was fantastic stuff, I think it was the first Big Finish audio I bought. And with the Brigadier and the superb James Bolam, a creepy gem.
I maintain that Death in the Family is one of the best stories that Big Finish put out. It - alongside Fourth Wall and Anachrophobia - is part of the trilogy of non televised stories I was gladly sacrifice a limb to see made into a televised adventure. We got Family of Blood, so why not?
Having just relistened to Jubilee and And the Pirates Its good to other people talking about Big Finish stories. Evelyn's a great foil for Six and the sort of companion we'd be unlikely to get on television. Mostly because the BBC seems to think a companion who doesn't fancy the Doctor should only be a rare treat.
I’m so happy you enjoyed The Nowhere Place. Nick Briggs is always either brilliant or fine so I’m always surprised he’s never been asked to be co writer for a TV show episode
From what I noticed his most ejoyable stories are the ones that he controls every aspect of production, edits and delivery. Techically he's been heavily stolen from for the series 10 finale, maybe more since Moffat's reign has not one obscure classic foe that has not appeared in EDA boxsets, in addition to some ideas underexplored, but artificially inflated with numbers and bombast.
1:09:39 I was thinking about this sequence and what you said about Seven and the phrase "Mask Off" came to mind. This scene was the Doctor, who normally tries very hard to be good, kind and generally quite friendly; dropping that and letting someone see the ancient and terrifying being under that facade. The being who has demolished empires in hours, destroyed entire civilisations, displayed abilities that to some must seem like magic, who can appear from nowhere; change your world forever and then vanish. The Satan figure of multiple distinct races, where even if you kill them, they just come back with another face. A being that you should fear and pray you never do anything to anger. I mean sometimes I feel like Seven's latter years was a bit of a "Mask Off" moment for the Doctor, regarding themselves. A period where the Doctor acknowledged that for all they may wish to just be a wanderer with their magic box, they have become a major player in the universe. Most Doctors either laugh this off or try to ignore it, but Seven felt like he'd internalised it in a way few other incarnations ever did and acted accordingly. It's why McCoy's reading of the Pandorica opens speech is so good in my opinion, his Doctor feels like he could back it up, because he spent much of his tenure giving the universe ample reasons to "let someone else try first."
"Cross: I've read the files Harry. This Doctor is described as gnomic and deceptive. Sullivan: And? Cross: That means this is going to get very annoying" -Namoi Cross and Harry Sullivan on metting Seven.
A Death in the Family is my second favourite Doctor Who story overall, just coming in behind Chimes of Midnight, in fact the only thing that gives Chimes the edge over this is that A Death in the Family does require a shitload of context heading into it whereas Chimes can be listened to in isolation
@@minicle426 it's not the best Robert Shearman story, and I will say it is a little over hyped but it's still really good. I liked it more on a second listen than I did at first. It's definitely no Scherzo or Jubilee.
I recall hearing that at one point, Commodore Travers from Vervoids fell for Evelyn, but the romance was quashed by the Doctor, one reason for Travers to hold a grudge when he meets him again with Mel.
Growing up with Gen X parents, yes i was raised on The Goodies and YES I did gasp when you mentioned Bill Oddie in the Pirates episode. I'm sold. And I knew exactly what Goodies episodes you pulled two of the clips from (The Movies and Gender Education).
In arrangements for war I took that as a human colony world that had over the centuries allowed itself to forget their own past, after some dark age. On earth it's happened several times and it stands to reason it will happen in the future especially as we start colonising planets and those worlds forge their own identity.
your description of death in the family, is just most big finish 7 stories without mel in them. "spend half the final episode explaining how the plan works".. live 34 moment
Yeah there were a bunch of them but I won't be talking about them in any depth in these videos, the project is mindbogglingly giant already lol. But maybe one day.
I accept that talking about morality of something like Burke and Haire murders is interesting, actually going to them and congratulating them for it is...kinda off. Between that fucked up morality, Evelyn being written like a dumbass and Daft Jaime, this might legit be my least favorite DW story across all mediums.
David Tennant was in Big Finish before he became the Doctor? Wow, why haven't a million Whovian listicles talked about this? *Listens* No, no don't do that.
Tennant had a handful of Big Finish roles of varying sizes, his first was a story called Exile where he was a Timelord sent out to capture an alternate reality Doctor who'd regenerated into a woman (played by his then-housemate Arabella Weir from The Doctor the Widow and the Wardrobe. He'd begged her to get him a part). He also played a nazi in the 7th Doctor story Colditz who spent the whole time trying to rape Ace and had a deservedly grisly death scene.
He also played a character in the second entry in Doctor Who Unbound, a short-lived series of audio dramas Big Finish did in the vein of Marvel What-If? He played Colonel Brimmicombe-Wood, the head of an alternate UNIT squad that ends up crossing paths with the alternate Third Doctor (played by David Warner) and a retired Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. He's really great, just playing up this hard-ass, foul-mouthed, belligerent Scottish CO for all that he's worth, just the absolute antithesis to the Brig.
I've only listened to a couple of Big Finish stories, but one of them, Jubilee, also (briefly) had the silly accent problem. The Prime Minister of America's voice is so fake-sounding that I was kind of expecting him to be an English actor in-universe, meant to give the Americans the illusion of democracy. Or maybe the entire American government is secretly made up of Englishmen pretending to be American, because the Empire doesn't trust the US to make even the most minor decisions on their own. Either explanation would fit the tone of the story. I wonder if this is par for the course when Big Finish does accents.
Older ladies are so underutilized in basically any genre fiction
And they're ALWAYS the best part of it
Ever heard of Magnus Archives?
@@soarel325 1. I have.
2. I know exactly who you're referring to
3. Bless you for reminding me of her
@@soarel325 you just added another reason to check that out for me :)
In the mid 90s Verity Lambert was in talks to do a Doctor Who revival. Her choice for Story Editor was the maverick creator of One Foot in the Grave and Johnathan Creek, David Renwick. Renwick (possibly jokingly) referred to the Creek Episode "House of Monkeys" as his screen test for an Annette Crosbie Doctor. The Doctor as a creepy antrhopologist experimenting on lesser species without them realising they're been run through rat mazes. Its a natural progression from McCoy and somehow even more screwy than Saward at his most vicious.
Even if she had only written Doctor Who and the Pirates, I think Jac Rayner would still be my favourite Who writer. The fact that the rest of her catalogue is so strong is just a bonus.
If nothing else (which is thankfully not the case), all of Rob Shearman's Who stories should be experienced. They are HAUNTING! Especially Deadline, which is my favorite of the bunch
Frankly I always found his stuff overhyped if I'm honest.🤷♂️
Scherzo in particular was sold to me as one of the most pant wettingly terrifying stories in the series. And it ultimately boiled down to some cheap jump scares.
@minicle426 While I don't find Scherzo all that terrifying, I Love how it uses the audio medium in a unique way to tell it's story and respect its attempt to deconstruct the relationship between Eight and Charley
Evelyn Mourning Cassie is so dang heartbreaking I felt that Big Finish needed to have Maggie Stables say directly to the audience, "I was fine. Don't worry about me."
It's really nice to see someone giving Evelyn/Maggie her due. She more than earned it.
Also, I love 'the Nowhere Place', might be my favorite adventure with Evelyn. I honestly didn't mind it when the plot goes a bit 'off the rails', I still was rather gripped by it. Even hearing just a little bit of the audio was able to conjure the unnerving, almost paralyzing sensation of dread I experienced the first time listening to it. Chilling stuff.
And agreed about Knox, very disappointed that we never really got another story with him. I feel he could have been a great recurring nemesis of the Doctor, like a much more playful and theatrical Roger Delgado Master.
So glad you enjoyed it! Charley Pollard coming.. at some point (I'm a little erratic with my uploads lol).
The ending to Arrangements for War is my all time favourite Sixth Doctor scene, although I must admit I did laugh at his "Revenge of the Sith" moment just before it started
thanks for doing this! Big Finish has done amazing things for Doctor Who and creating Evelyn was one of their best parts adding to the World of DW
You covering most of big finish is gonna take at least a decade……..and I am all for it!
- christopher -
On the plus side I'm up to date on scripting 6 videos lol.
@@DiamandaHagan off topic, words can describe how excited I am to eventually hear your thoughts on Spare Parts and Chimes of Midnight 😊😊😊
@@xxSandt21xx Spare Parts literally made me cry first time I listened to it.
This is brilliant and I’ve only just started it; I loved Evelyn’s character from the start, and her and Six were perfection. I only recently learnt that Maggie Stables had sadly passed away, so thank you for giving her the credit she deserves. Very interesting to know she only began acting after retiring, good on her. The Spectre of Lanyon Moor was fantastic stuff, I think it was the first Big Finish audio I bought. And with the Brigadier and the superb James Bolam, a creepy gem.
I maintain that Death in the Family is one of the best stories that Big Finish put out. It - alongside Fourth Wall and Anachrophobia - is part of the trilogy of non televised stories I was gladly sacrifice a limb to see made into a televised adventure.
We got Family of Blood, so why not?
The other two, sure, but Death in the Family would mean nothing to the majority of the audience.
Because Family of Blood was such a clusterfuck of a failed adaptation. See also Fires of Pompeii
Having just relistened to Jubilee and And the Pirates Its good to other people talking about Big Finish stories. Evelyn's a great foil for Six and the sort of companion we'd be unlikely to get on television. Mostly because the BBC seems to think a companion who doesn't fancy the Doctor should only be a rare treat.
I’m so happy you enjoyed The Nowhere Place.
Nick Briggs is always either brilliant or fine so I’m always surprised he’s never been asked to be co writer for a TV show episode
From what I noticed his most ejoyable stories are the ones that he controls every aspect of production, edits and delivery. Techically he's been heavily stolen from for the series 10 finale, maybe more since Moffat's reign has not one obscure classic foe that has not appeared in EDA boxsets, in addition to some ideas underexplored, but artificially inflated with numbers and bombast.
1:09:39 I was thinking about this sequence and what you said about Seven and the phrase "Mask Off" came to mind.
This scene was the Doctor, who normally tries very hard to be good, kind and generally quite friendly; dropping that and letting someone see the ancient and terrifying being under that facade. The being who has demolished empires in hours, destroyed entire civilisations, displayed abilities that to some must seem like magic, who can appear from nowhere; change your world forever and then vanish. The Satan figure of multiple distinct races, where even if you kill them, they just come back with another face. A being that you should fear and pray you never do anything to anger.
I mean sometimes I feel like Seven's latter years was a bit of a "Mask Off" moment for the Doctor, regarding themselves. A period where the Doctor acknowledged that for all they may wish to just be a wanderer with their magic box, they have become a major player in the universe. Most Doctors either laugh this off or try to ignore it, but Seven felt like he'd internalised it in a way few other incarnations ever did and acted accordingly.
It's why McCoy's reading of the Pandorica opens speech is so good in my opinion, his Doctor feels like he could back it up, because he spent much of his tenure giving the universe ample reasons to "let someone else try first."
"Cross: I've read the files Harry. This Doctor is described as gnomic and deceptive.
Sullivan: And?
Cross: That means this is going to get very annoying" -Namoi Cross and Harry Sullivan on metting Seven.
A Death in the Family is my second favourite Doctor Who story overall, just coming in behind Chimes of Midnight, in fact the only thing that gives Chimes the edge over this is that A Death in the Family does require a shitload of context heading into it whereas Chimes can be listened to in isolation
Chimes also requires context though, just not nearly as much context.
Chimes is so overhyped...
@@minicle426 it's not the best Robert Shearman story, and I will say it is a little over hyped but it's still really good. I liked it more on a second listen than I did at first. It's definitely no Scherzo or Jubilee.
Evelyn is my favorite! This is great, thank you
Thank you for a very wonderful video about my favorite audio companion of all time 😊
Can't wait to see more of your videos on Big Finish.
omg i can't believe i missed this, one of my fave youtubers talking about a very high quality bit of media i enjoy, how could i be 2 days late lol
Fun fact, Lesley Philips last role was as Alfred in the Harley Quinn Animated Series.
Thank you so much for this series
I recall hearing that at one point, Commodore Travers from Vervoids fell for Evelyn, but the romance was quashed by the Doctor, one reason for Travers to hold a grudge when he meets him again with Mel.
Mighta come up in a book, I'm not as versed in the books as I am with the audios. But it sounds just about right lol.
Your description of Seven is pretty accurate ngl
Growing up with Gen X parents, yes i was raised on The Goodies and YES I did gasp when you mentioned Bill Oddie in the Pirates episode. I'm sold. And I knew exactly what Goodies episodes you pulled two of the clips from (The Movies and Gender Education).
The other was from Black and White Beauty!
(Goody Goody Yum Yum)
Spectre Of Lanyon Moor is probably one of my favourites. I know it's not terribly exciting but it's like a comfort story for me
Great video
9:56 Which then leads into the Dalek Empire spin off... the 3rd of which involves a pre 10th Doctor Tennant.
i may need to go for private mozart because i do so adore john sessions!
thank you!
In arrangements for war I took that as a human colony world that had over the centuries allowed itself to forget their own past, after some dark age. On earth it's happened several times and it stands to reason it will happen in the future especially as we start colonising planets and those worlds forge their own identity.
your description of death in the family, is just most big finish 7 stories without mel in them. "spend half the final episode explaining how the plan works".. live 34 moment
This makes me feel like relistening to Evelyn stories again
Wow I love some of the stories in this video I think I might check them out. Also little side note there where new adventure books?
Yeah there were a bunch of them but I won't be talking about them in any depth in these videos, the project is mindbogglingly giant already lol. But maybe one day.
I should probably get around to listening to death in the family. Just worried it might be too painful.
So the Big Finish wasn't just some one-in-done story but a new series? I didn't know that.
How did you think they ran over 20 years
I'm confused, what do you mean?
@@DiamandaHagan I'm new to Who and thought the Big Finish was a singular story instead of a collection of tales.
@@wdcain1 Ooh, nah it's like the TV show but all the Doctor's have stories being made at the same time.
@@wdcain1 it's a company that produces audio dramas, they've done 1000s of plays, have you checked there website
Hehehehe...Nimrod...
I accept that talking about morality of something like Burke and Haire murders is interesting, actually going to them and congratulating them for it is...kinda off. Between that fucked up morality, Evelyn being written like a dumbass and Daft Jaime, this might legit be my least favorite DW story across all mediums.
David Tennant was in Big Finish before he became the Doctor? Wow, why haven't a million Whovian listicles talked about this?
*Listens*
No, no don't do that.
As Ten says: No. No, no, don’t. Just…don’t.
Tennant had a handful of Big Finish roles of varying sizes, his first was a story called Exile where he was a Timelord sent out to capture an alternate reality Doctor who'd regenerated into a woman (played by his then-housemate Arabella Weir from The Doctor the Widow and the Wardrobe. He'd begged her to get him a part).
He also played a nazi in the 7th Doctor story Colditz who spent the whole time trying to rape Ace and had a deservedly grisly death scene.
He also played a character in the second entry in Doctor Who Unbound, a short-lived series of audio dramas Big Finish did in the vein of Marvel What-If? He played Colonel Brimmicombe-Wood, the head of an alternate UNIT squad that ends up crossing paths with the alternate Third Doctor (played by David Warner) and a retired Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. He's really great, just playing up this hard-ass, foul-mouthed, belligerent Scottish CO for all that he's worth, just the absolute antithesis to the Brig.
This was fantastic. Evelyn is the best.
I've only listened to a couple of Big Finish stories, but one of them, Jubilee, also (briefly) had the silly accent problem. The Prime Minister of America's voice is so fake-sounding that I was kind of expecting him to be an English actor in-universe, meant to give the Americans the illusion of democracy. Or maybe the entire American government is secretly made up of Englishmen pretending to be American, because the Empire doesn't trust the US to make even the most minor decisions on their own. Either explanation would fit the tone of the story.
I wonder if this is par for the course when Big Finish does accents.
Yeah, I found the same problem with Minuet in Hell. That story had the least convincing Southern accents in fiction.
12:00 I do hope the actors were taking the piss and not really trying to put on those ridiculous accents!
I think Tennant as Daft Jamie was his only good contribution to Doctor Who.
I don't dislike 100 BC. It's a silly comedy, if a bit dumb in its humor
It was a simple goof story