My personal Randomoid Selectortron narrowly escapes destruction by the Juggernauts and brings me to...
Doctor Who: Son of the Dragon
Starring: Peter Davison as the Doctor, Nicola Bryant as Peri, and Caroline Morris as Erimem
Format: Two full-cast CDs (or download) of four half-CD episodes
Silly? The antagonist gets a little campy at times, but no more so than many Doctor Who antagonists
Standalone? Yes, although it also has a role in Erimem's character arc
Recommended? Yes
My reactions to this story contain spoilers for it and possibly mild spoilers for The Kingmaker.
Friday, November 30, 2018
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
#38 Doctor Who: The Juggernauts
Thanksgiving weekend interrupted my journey, but now I'm ready once more to activate the Randomoid Selectortron. My next selection is...
Doctor Who: The Juggernauts
Starring: Colin Baker as the Doctor and Bonnie Langford as Mel
Format: Two full-cast CDs (or download) of four half-CD episodes
Silly? Some callbacks to the First Doctor era are a bit silly, but generally no.
Standalone? Yes; timeline placement is rather specific but is not important to the events of the story.
Recommended? Only for Davros completists.
My reactions to this story contain spoilers for it and slight spoilers for the Doctor Who audio story Davros.
Doctor Who: The Juggernauts
Starring: Colin Baker as the Doctor and Bonnie Langford as Mel
Format: Two full-cast CDs (or download) of four half-CD episodes
Silly? Some callbacks to the First Doctor era are a bit silly, but generally no.
Standalone? Yes; timeline placement is rather specific but is not important to the events of the story.
Recommended? Only for Davros completists.
My reactions to this story contain spoilers for it and slight spoilers for the Doctor Who audio story Davros.
Saturday, November 17, 2018
#37 Doctor Who: Dust Breeding
Let's launch the Randomoid Selectortron away from the forgettable Vienna and see where it goes next...
Doctor Who: Dust Breeding
Starring: Sylvester McCoy as the seventh Doctor and Sophie Aldred as Ace
Format: Two full-cast CDs (or download) of four half-CD episodes
Silly? One element of the premise is silly but it's not an important element and isn't dwelled on extensively.
Standalone? This is an indirect sequel to events in the novel Storm Harvest. The aliens from that novel appear here without being given a detailed description.
Recommended? Yes due to its low price and the Big Finish debut of a significant actor.
My reactions to this story contain spoilers for it, other Big Finish releases featuring the same villain, other Big Finish releases featuring the character of Bev Terrant, and The Fearmonger.
Doctor Who: Dust Breeding
Starring: Sylvester McCoy as the seventh Doctor and Sophie Aldred as Ace
Format: Two full-cast CDs (or download) of four half-CD episodes
Silly? One element of the premise is silly but it's not an important element and isn't dwelled on extensively.
Standalone? This is an indirect sequel to events in the novel Storm Harvest. The aliens from that novel appear here without being given a detailed description.
Recommended? Yes due to its low price and the Big Finish debut of a significant actor.
My reactions to this story contain spoilers for it, other Big Finish releases featuring the same villain, other Big Finish releases featuring the character of Bev Terrant, and The Fearmonger.
Friday, November 16, 2018
#36 Vienna: The Memory Box
Flung from a devastated greenhouse, the Randomoid Selectortron spins wildly, recovering into a safe landing at...
Vienna: The Memory Box
Starring: Chase Masterson as Vienna Salvatori
Format: One full-cast CD (or download) with no episode breaks
Silly? Possibly not intended as silly, but sci-fi twists pile up to a degree that I could not take seriously as actual storytelling.
Standalone? Yes.
Recommended? No.
My reactions to this story contain spoilers for it.
Vienna: The Memory Box
Starring: Chase Masterson as Vienna Salvatori
Format: One full-cast CD (or download) with no episode breaks
Silly? Possibly not intended as silly, but sci-fi twists pile up to a degree that I could not take seriously as actual storytelling.
Standalone? Yes.
Recommended? No.
My reactions to this story contain spoilers for it.
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
#35 Eighth Doctor Adventures: Hothouse
The Stylophone plays the Randomoid Selectortron out of the 70's and I again spin the giant virtual wheel, finding my next stop to be...
Eighth Doctor Adventures: Hothouse
Starring: Paul McGann as the eighth Doctor and Sheridan Smith as Lucie Miller
Format: One full-cast CD (or download) of two half-CD episodes
Silly? No.
Standalone? No. Plot points follow from the preceding Eighth Doctor Adventures release, Orbis, and there is no recapping.
Recommended? Yes if listening to Eighth Doctor Adventures as a series.
My reactions to this story contain spoilers for it and for Orbis.
Eighth Doctor Adventures: Hothouse
Starring: Paul McGann as the eighth Doctor and Sheridan Smith as Lucie Miller
Format: One full-cast CD (or download) of two half-CD episodes
Silly? No.
Standalone? No. Plot points follow from the preceding Eighth Doctor Adventures release, Orbis, and there is no recapping.
Recommended? Yes if listening to Eighth Doctor Adventures as a series.
My reactions to this story contain spoilers for it and for Orbis.
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
#34 Eighth Doctor Adventures: Horror of Glam Rock
My Randomoid Selectortron parts ways from UNIT for now and takes me to...
Eighth Doctor Adventures: Horror of Glam Rock
Starring: Paul McGann as the eighth Doctor and Sheridan Smith as Lucie Miller
Format: One full-cast CD (or download) with no episode breaks
Silly? Somewhat, mostly in musical references and whimsically improvised science-fiction gizmos.
Standalone? Yes; future episodes build on it, but not in a way that leaves it anything but self-contained.
Recommended? Yes.
My reactions to this episode contain spoilers for it, and possibly mild spoilers for later Eighth Doctor Adventures installments revisiting a character from it.
Eighth Doctor Adventures: Horror of Glam Rock
Starring: Paul McGann as the eighth Doctor and Sheridan Smith as Lucie Miller
Format: One full-cast CD (or download) with no episode breaks
Silly? Somewhat, mostly in musical references and whimsically improvised science-fiction gizmos.
Standalone? Yes; future episodes build on it, but not in a way that leaves it anything but self-contained.
Recommended? Yes.
My reactions to this episode contain spoilers for it, and possibly mild spoilers for later Eighth Doctor Adventures installments revisiting a character from it.
Monday, November 12, 2018
#33 UNIT: Time Heals
The Randomoid Selectortron has meandered into E-Space and back, and now it brings me to...
UNIT: Snake Head
As I explained previously with UNIT: The Coup, I am treating UNIT as a single tightly linked serial, and therefore am overriding the Randomoid Selectortron to select the episode following my previous UNIT listen:
UNIT: Time Heals
Starring: Nicholas Courtney as Lethbridge-Stewart, Siri O'Neal as Emily Chaudhry, Nicholas Deal as Robert Dalton, Michael Hobbs as Francis Currie
Format: One full-cast CD (or download) with no episode breaks
Silly? No.
Standalone? No. There are no strong connections to the previous episode, but major plot threads are begun in this episode and left unresolved.
Recommended? Yes.
My reaction to this story contains spoilers for it and for the first UNIT audio season in general.
As I explained previously with UNIT: The Coup, I am treating UNIT as a single tightly linked serial, and therefore am overriding the Randomoid Selectortron to select the episode following my previous UNIT listen:
UNIT: Time Heals
Starring: Nicholas Courtney as Lethbridge-Stewart, Siri O'Neal as Emily Chaudhry, Nicholas Deal as Robert Dalton, Michael Hobbs as Francis Currie
Format: One full-cast CD (or download) with no episode breaks
Silly? No.
Standalone? No. There are no strong connections to the previous episode, but major plot threads are begun in this episode and left unresolved.
Recommended? Yes.
My reaction to this story contains spoilers for it and for the first UNIT audio season in general.
Friday, November 9, 2018
#32 Doctor Who Companion Chronicles: The Invasion of E-Space
My Randomoid Selectortron departs Windcliff Asylum and transports me to...
Doctor Who Companion Chronicles: The Invasion of E-Space
Starring: Lalla Ward as Romana
Format: One CD (or download) of two half-CD narrated two-actor episodes.
Silly? No.
Standalone? Yes, although its continuity placement within the timeline of the TV series is relevant.
Recommended? No.
My reactions to this audio contain spoilers for it.
Doctor Who Companion Chronicles: The Invasion of E-Space
Starring: Lalla Ward as Romana
Format: One CD (or download) of two half-CD narrated two-actor episodes.
Silly? No.
Standalone? Yes, although its continuity placement within the timeline of the TV series is relevant.
Recommended? No.
My reactions to this audio contain spoilers for it.
#31 Dark Shadows: Clothes of Sand
Having gotten through the unfortunate coincidence of listening to The Fearmonger across an actual election day, I return to the Randomoid Selectortron hoping for it to randomly select something far more escapist...
Dark Shadows: Clothes of Sand
Starring: Kathryn Leigh Scott as Maggie Evans
Format: One narrated two-actor CD (or download) with no episode breaks
Silly? No.
Standalone? The listener is expected to know about Maggie Evans's arc from the TV show, but some recapping is present.
Recommended? If Maggie Evans's Dark Shadows arc is of interest.
My reactions to this story contain spoilers for it and for other material about Maggie Evans.
Dark Shadows: Clothes of Sand
Starring: Kathryn Leigh Scott as Maggie Evans
Format: One narrated two-actor CD (or download) with no episode breaks
Silly? No.
Standalone? The listener is expected to know about Maggie Evans's arc from the TV show, but some recapping is present.
Recommended? If Maggie Evans's Dark Shadows arc is of interest.
My reactions to this story contain spoilers for it and for other material about Maggie Evans.
Friday, November 2, 2018
#30 Doctor Who: The Fearmonger
My Randomoid Selectortron emerges from beneath the Viscoid, shakes itself dry, and randomly selects me to...
Doctor Who: The Fearmonger
Starring: Sylvester McCoy as the seventh Doctor and Sophie Aldred as Ace
Format: Two full-cast CDs (or download) containing four half-CD episodes
Silly? Satirical, but less silly about it than satirical seventh Doctor TV episodes were.
Standalone? Yes.
Recommended? Yes as a Doctor Who adventure with some verisimilitudinous political flavor, but not for any coherent political message.
My reactions to this story contain spoilers for it.
Doctor Who: The Fearmonger
Starring: Sylvester McCoy as the seventh Doctor and Sophie Aldred as Ace
Format: Two full-cast CDs (or download) containing four half-CD episodes
Silly? Satirical, but less silly about it than satirical seventh Doctor TV episodes were.
Standalone? Yes.
Recommended? Yes as a Doctor Who adventure with some verisimilitudinous political flavor, but not for any coherent political message.
My reactions to this story contain spoilers for it.
Thursday, November 1, 2018
#29 The War Master: Beneath the Viscoid
My Randomoid Selectortron encountered the opening salvos of a Dalek invasion but is undamaged, and I escape to...
The War Master: Beneath the Viscoid
Starring: Derek Jacobi as the Master
Format: As I listened to it, one full-cast CD-length download; also sold as the first part of The War Master: Only the Good
Silly? Only as a misdirect on the Master's part.
Standalone? More than you'd expect for the free-teaser first episode of a set; the ending leads into subsequent events, but there is a definite ending to this story and not really a cliffhanger.
Recommended? Yes, especially if an evil William Hartnell impersonation sounds fun.
My reactions to this story may contain spoilers for it.
The War Master: Beneath the Viscoid
Starring: Derek Jacobi as the Master
Format: As I listened to it, one full-cast CD-length download; also sold as the first part of The War Master: Only the Good
Silly? Only as a misdirect on the Master's part.
Standalone? More than you'd expect for the free-teaser first episode of a set; the ending leads into subsequent events, but there is a definite ending to this story and not really a cliffhanger.
Recommended? Yes, especially if an evil William Hartnell impersonation sounds fun.
My reactions to this story may contain spoilers for it.
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