vivdunstan

Just starting the second Eleventh Doctor boxset with audio companion Valarie. The Doctor isn't played by Matt Smith, but Jacob Dudman is doing a good job. And the first story is awesome.

Another story set away from the Braxiatel Collection, while things continue to be in chaos there. A story that starts sort of in media res, and isn't entirely successful as a result. There are also arc things that are only revealed toward the end of the story, which is a common situation in this series at this point, and again doesn't work great.

On plus it's an interesting piece of scifi, with a small cast. Reminiscent in many ways of the very recent "Timeless Passages". And overall a strong first story from writer Eddie Robson in this range. Brimming with ideas.

Arguably the most interesting thing though is the final reveal of ( spoilers ) I forgot how much I'd missed hearing that character.

And looking forward to where we go next. Which I do have a pretty good idea of, but will enjoy the journey there.

Onto another Fourth Doctor audio. So much about this one gives me joy. And what a guest cast.

( spoilers re some dialogue )

We're going into Broughty Ferry for my eye test tomorrow, and will be taking tons of Big Finish audios to Oxfams. Which is why I've been trying to get through some more of my backlog this week.

Continuing to catch up on my gargantuan Big Finish Doctor Who audio backlog.

This one is rather fun, and includes Liz Shaw's Mum as a quasi companion.

Finally getting to this. Sacha Dhawan’s Master from the Jodie Whittaker era of Doctor Who. The first boxset, with 3 full cast audio stories.

Going into spoilers for this one ... ( spoilers )

Onto another one, and this is a relisten for me. As I wrote on Gallifrey Base back in June 2010:

"Timeless Passages is indeed wonderful. I've only heard Benny on audio in some of season 3, Timeless Passages, the Diogenes Damsel, and the Companion Chronicle story. Of these Timeless Passages is easily my favourite, and requires no prior knowledge. And it's *so* timey-wimey :) I just love it."

And my feelings haven't changed, though I've now heard way way more Benny audios than I had back then. Timeless Passages is a quite superb Benny audio, and a brilliant piece of scifi storytelling. Totally standalone, so you don't need to have listened to any of the other Benny audios. As is often the case this one has a very small cast, but they are used superbly, very well acted and written, and the story keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout. A tightly plotted mystery box of a timey wimey puzzle set inside a giant library. What's not to love about that?

It's a rare Benny audio from this era still available to buy from Big Finish on CD, but also in DRM-free download. £5.99 plus shipping if ordering by post. If you hear just one Benny audio, this is the one I'd recommend by far.

Onto my next story, and it's the last episode of season 6 of Big Finish's Benny audios.

And it's a key story. I can't really say much even in spoiler space without giving too many important things away. But it certainly changes things up.

It's also impressive how full cast it feels, against so many Benny audios that feel too sparse. There's a key core cast here of Benny, Jason, Brax and one other. But then there are another eight or so cast members. And it just feels full of folk. But also very well paced in the writing. Joseph Lidster has done a fantastic job.

I do feel I'm missing out on some of the beats in this story by not having read the Big Finish Benny books around this time. Particularly some of the short story collections. However I have most of the books in house, so may dig out a few key short stories to read.

But, yes, epic, very moving, and a huge shake up to the status quo.

Finally resuming my listening and reviewing of Benny audios from Big Finish's series!

Just as a reminder, Benny/Bernice was introduced as a companion of the Seventh Doctor in the early 1990s Doctor Who novels. She then spun off to have her own adventures, and Big Finish made a long-running series of audio adventures starring Benny, played by actress Lisa Bowerman. Benny, like the more recent River Song, is a professor of archaeology. The stories are set in a scifi universe full of Doctor Who lore and monsters. Benny is often sent to investigate an archaeological site or matter on other planets. But in the series she is largely based at the Braxiatel Collection, an archive of strange artefacts, run by the mysterious Irving Braxiatel.

My latest listen is another in the 6th season of Benny audios. In this one, Benny and her former husband / on-off lover Jason Kane go to investigate the status of a museum on a war torn planet.

This is another sometimes brutal audio to listen to, following The Kingdom of the Blind. Like that one this includes accounts of torture, though less directly, rather recounted later. But it's still a tough listen, and does capture the sense of a society in anarchy, with a complicated picture of right and wrong, and certainly not a clear-cut black and white image.

More worryingly the soundscape is chaotic and it can be difficult to follow what's going on. I don't think it was as coherent as it could have been. However there are extremely powerful musings on the role of museums in preserving and sharing culture, and also their potential misuse for propaganda and power reasons. Benny also faces some rather direct questions about the supposedly open nature of the institution she works for.

So it was ok, but not one I'll rush to listen to again. Though the repartee between Benny and Jason was strong. Old friends rather than lovers now, but with a comfortable relationship that sees them survive a dangerous mission.