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Happy birthday Peter Purves - 10 February 1939

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The Dalek Occupation of Winter- 8/10

The Dalek Occupation of Winter was performed by Peter Purves and Maureen O’Brien, written by David K. Barnes, and released in September 2018.

I haven’t liked a Dalek Big Finish story as much as this one in a long while.  From the get-go, I was very intrigued by the whole concept of Winter and the setup of the plot.  I was waiting for the Daleks to appear and, of course, they did and in the way I expected them to.  It was very interesting to see a different type of Dalek.  One that has been trained to be submissive and unable to show their undeniably evil side.  It was fun hearing both Steven and the Doctor essentially taunt the Daleks into making them expose themselves as the evil creatures they are.  

The concept of Winter building Daleks was very interesting.  It brings up the concept of responsibility and guilt.  Are the people of Winter responsible for the deaths of others because of the Daleks they built?  I think the obvious answer is ‘no’ but I’d say that the same question applied to say Majorian or Karna would result in a different answer.  Also thinking about how that would apply to Steven and his conscious.  It is something that is briefly discussed and seemed to weigh pretty heavily on him.

Daleks aside, I think the supporting cast was very good for this story (which has not been a trend recently).  Amala and Kenric were characters you could connect with and feel for.  Majorian and Karna were villains whom you started liking (well, at least in the case of Majorian) and felt genuinely upset after their betrayals.  

Overall, I thought this was a really good story that was not only constructed well but followed through with its quality consistently.  I’d definitely recommend this one, especially if you enjoy Dalek stories as well as ones that play with the concept of Daleks and their purpose.

8/10

Friend Death Count: 1

Steven Tortured Count: 0

The Doc does some messed up shit to Steven Count: 0

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The Sontarans- 7.5/10

The Sontarans was performed by Peter Purves and Jean Marsh, written by Simon Guerrier, and released December 2016.

I liked this story!  I was pretty neutral towards it up until the last part where it took a turn for the better.  I’ve found that Simon Guerrier has a knack for writing stories I find really okay.  The plot wasn’t anything fantastic but I think the way it wrapped up was really superb.  It managed to wrangle my waning interest back into place.  

It was interesting having a story where the Doctor meets the Sontarans.  I feel like sometimes we forget that some monsters that the Doctor has met previously yet we never see that meeting.  It was also interesting making Steven know them, giving more insight into his backstory and the wars the Earth has fought that the Doctor had no involvement in.  It also features Steven heavily, most notably the rather extensive torture that he faces.  Plus another Steven friend death.  Yay?

I didn’t find myself too shocked with the revelation that Gage was a Sontaran.  I didn’t find myself attached to any of the side characters so his betrayal didn’t affect me.  I also think that if he had revealed it in the heat of the moment rather than some one-off comment by Commander Slite it would’ve been more impactful.

I didn’t particularly enjoy the character of Tinder.  She was supposed to be a child but was 100% voiced by an adult woman and they just modified her voice in post to make her sound more childlike.  It did not work.  Other than that I had no qualms.

One observation I have been noting is that Jean Marsh’s voice sort of sounds like she just has her mouth open really wide and has a baseball or something stuck so she’s just speaking around it.  Like she’s always choking back words.  This isn’t really important to the story or this review.  Just something I noticed.

Overall, I enjoyed this story.  I might listen to it again at some point just for the fun of it.  Steven had some great moments (or not so great I suppose) that I enjoyed listening to.  Quite literally giggling and kicking my feet.

7.5/10

Friend Death Count: 1

Steven Tortured Count: 2

The Doc does some messed up shit to Steven Count: 0

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The Ravelli Conspiracy- 5/10

The Ravelli Conspiracy was performed by Peter Purves and Maureen O’Brien, written by Robert Khan and Tom Salinsky, and released December 2016.

This story was insufferably annoying.  I very much found myself waiting for it to end.  In fact, I cheered when it ended because I didn’t have to listen to it anymore.  It kinda sucks because I had been anticipating this story since the title made it sound like a historical adventure.  Which it was.  In fact, it was a pure historical which should’ve made it a lot better in my books.  Except it didn’t.  Which sucks.

To be fair, the plot itself wasn’t bad.  I did enjoy the mystery and intrigue surrounding the Medici’s and theoretically, I think this story could’ve been really interesting.  My problems were not at all with the plot.  One of my issues was with the side characters (ie not Steven, Vicki, and the Doctor).  I found them not particularly interesting and sometimes inconsistent in characterization.  The character of Pope Leo X felt especially scattered with him being written as a very benevolent, “love all” type while at other times he seemed almost bloodthirsty.  There was also this weird gay thing that was vaguely mentioned?  (Now I did read the Wikipedia article about Leo X and apparently, it is speculated that he may have been gay but it still felt weirdly out of place for the story).  The character of Carla was also so infuriatingly annoying.  She started off as a hypocritical, double-crosser and then they tried to change her (?) but it failed and she just ended up as a whining fool who I had no sympathy for.

Another problem I had with this story was the acting.  Now I’ve never had a problem with a performance from Big Finish before.  Honestly, I think all their voice actors are fantastic.  This story may be the one exception.  I found the actors unconvincing and lackluster.  Their voices were very meh and some of them sounded so similar that it really took a lot of effort to figure out who was speaking.  I also found the character of the captain of the guard to be so boring.  He tried, it seemed, to be a man who was bored with his job and generally ambivalent to the world around him.  However, for some reason, that didn’t really shine through in the performance and it just seemed like the actor wasn’t acting and was just reading the words off of a page blandly.  

Honestly, I was really so excited for this story but it really just fell flat.  I’m honestly disappointed.  Also very glad I don’t have to listen to it again.

5/10

Friend Death Count: 0

Steven Tortured Count: 0.5

The Doc does some messed up shit to Steven Count: 0

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An Ordinary Life- 7.5/10

An Ordinary Life was performed by Peter Purves and Jean Marsh, written by Matt Fitton, and released December 2014.

I had been waiting for this one.  I’ve been anticipating it since it was recommended to me a very long time ago (I’ve been slacking on this goal) and I’m pleased to say it lived up to expectations.  

I wasn’t particularly sure what to expect from it.  I had no idea what it was about but was pleased with the result.  There were two main plot points running through the majority of the story– the Doctor vanishing into thin air and the racist harassment towards the Jacobs/Newman family.  Towards the end, it is revealed that Michael Newman is, in fact, an alien double.  From there, the story wraps up rather formulaically.  The Doctor arrives and helps Sara destroy the doubles and release the victims.  

I did really enjoy this story!  It wasn’t super complicated but, as I said in my previous review, a story doesn’t need to be complicated to be good.  I liked the emphasis on the mundane– Steven and Sara living together and squabbling over cooking and rent and such was a nice thing to hear.  Especially when you think of what An Ordinary Life is bookended by– the Daleks’ Master Plan.  This does have the unintended (or, I suppose, maybe intended) effect of making Sara’s death that much more devastating for Steven.  

I’d say my only main qualm with this story was that there was never really any good connection to the racism the Jacobs/Newman’s faced.  It needed to be addressed but I felt that it wasn’t particularly tied into the end of the story.  I’m not criticizing the story for having it be present (the opposite is true, I would’ve been annoyed if it hadn’t been) however, I think it needed to be addressed towards the end rather than just sort of… forgotten about.

Overall though, I really enjoyed this one!  I love the mundane and I think it was a great little adventure to give Steven and Sara a little break from the Daleks’ Master Plan.

7.5/10

Friend Death Count: 0

Steven Tortured Count: 0.5

The Doc does some messed up shit to Steven Count: 0

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I realize I did not write a review for the entirety of the Old Steven trilogy which is my bad but a) I cannot be bothered and b) it has been a while so my review probably wouldn't be accurate

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The Bounty of Ceres- 7/10

The Bounty of Ceres was performed by Peter Purves and Maureen O’Brien, written by Ian Potter, and released November 2014.

This was a well-written story that felt very “Doctor Who” even if it lacked originality.  It didn’t feel like anything special— nothing new or original but not every story has to be.  Other than that it was well constructed and paced very well.

The best part of the story was definitely the reveal at the end that Thorne was behind all the bases’ “malfunctions”.  It offered an unexpected twist that made the story more interesting.  I do feel his reasoning behind why he did it was weak and while the simplicity of it could’ve made him a frightening villain, the fact that there seemingly wasn’t any lead-up to it made it fall flat.  

This was a fun (albeit very formulaic) story that offered me a solid hour and a half of entertainment on a long car ride.

7/10

Friend Death Count: 0

Steven Tortured Count: 0

The Doc does some messed up shit to Steven Count: 0

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The Vardan Invasion of Mirth- 8/10

*Old Review*

The Vardan Invasion of Mirth was performed by Peter Purves and Stephen Critchlow, written by Paul Morris and Ian Atkinson, and released September 2019.

I really enjoyed this story!  Honestly, of the ones I’ve listened to this was definitely a favorite.  I really like the concept of a fake reality set within a virtual reality.  The story felt very meta— a story set within the television industry that turned out to be a fake set itself.  It was a good setup for the Vardans, having them come in through television waves.  It reminded me a lot of ‘The Wire’ which we did, in fact, get a callback to with Magpie Electricals.  

It’s nice having a consistent villain for Steven throughout his stories though I feel like they appear a lot.  I do have to give them the benefit of the doubt that these are being released years apart and I’m plowing through them in days.  

There were a bunch of silly Steven moments in the first half of this story.  A good chunk of it was people just talking about how attractive he was and trying to recruit him as a comedian (“I’m not a straight man!”).  

It wasn’t a very sad story which was quite nice honestly.  A fun little romp that I’d definitely recommend people listen to!

8/10

Friend Death Count: 0

Steven Tortured Count: 0

The Doc does some messed up shit to Steven Count: 0

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Across the Darkened City- 7/10

*Old Review*

Across the Darkened City was performed by Peter Purves and Nick Briggs, written by David Bartlett, and released in June 2017.

I really enjoyed this story!  I wasn’t expecting a Dalek story which, I must admit, are not my favorite villains in a radio story.  I find that they can be very menacing visually so just listening to them can be detracting.  However, considering this story pretty much had only one Dalek I didn’t find it to be a problem.  

I’m a big fan of the “Dalek finds humanity” trope.  I think it’s an interesting idea to develop.  I especially liked how it was done during this story— the constant questioning of whether or not the Dalek was actually willing to help Steven or if he was just bluffing.  Of course, in the end, the Dalek was bluffing but that wasn’t that surprising.  I did enjoy the twist at the ending where they revealed that 2-1 was the Emperor Dalek.

Being narrated by Steven, he had quite a bit to do in this story.  It’s great seeing him take charge.  He goes through a mental battle (yet again!) over whether or not he should trust the Dalek and if he was being complicit in destruction by helping 2-1.  The last few stories I have listened to have been pretty nice to Steven so it was cool hearing a story where he went through a mental quandary (not to advocate more Steven torture).

Overall, I really enjoyed this story!  I thought it was an interesting concept with more room to elaborate on in future stories if possible.

7/10

Friend Death Count: .5

Steven Tortured Count: .5

The Doc does some messed up shit to Steven Count: 0

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Fields of Terror- 8/10

*Old Review*

The Fields of Terror was performed by Maureen O’Brien and Robert Hands, written by John Pritchard, and released in June 2017.

I really enjoyed this story!  I was hoping for a pure historical (which I had assumed it would be considering the setting) and was pleased it was.  For a while, it seemed like it wasn’t going to be (that is, there was an alien element to it) but honestly, I wouldn’t have minded.  This story was written extremely well– especially its elements of horror.  I didn’t find it necessarily scary, per se, but the tense moments were very well written and definitely held an element of suspense which isn’t necessarily an easy thing to do.

That being said, the plot was pretty simple with not much complication but that wasn’t much of an issue.  I had a theory at the beginning of why the Phantom Monk was chasing Lagrange which did not turn out to be 100% true but it was partially true which gave me some satisfaction.  Having a story that is impossible to guess where it will end isn’t necessarily a mark of good writing which I think is demonstrated well here.  Pritchard was able to set up an intriguing story, giving hints as to where it would go and letting the listener decipher it for themselves rather than relying on a character to bring out a previously undisclosed piece of information that would solve it all.

Steven didn’t have a particularly big feature in this story which was fine.  It was nice seeing Vicki in the spotlight and giving her something to do.  I might have liked a little more of a relationship developed between Vicki and Nicole but there wasn’t much time so if that had been done then perhaps it would’ve felt rushed and crammed in. 

Overall, I found this to be a really well-written, intriguing mystery.

8/10

Friend Death Count: 0

Steven Tortured Count: 0

The Doc does some messed up shit to Steven Count: 0

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The Locked Room- 7/10

Third in the Old Steven Trilogy

*Old Review*

The Locked Room was performed by Peter Purves, Alice Haig, and Lisa Bowerman, written by Simon Guerrier, and released in June 2015.

I had a lot of trepidation going into this one.  I had heard that it was a very bad story and really not worth my time.  But honestly, I enjoyed it!  It reminded me of a bottle episode of Star Trek where the whole story is self-contained on the starship.  Which is sort of funny since usually bottle episodes are due to budget constraints for sets which isn’t really a problem Big Finish needs to grapple with.  

I thought the story dealt with some interesting themes of morality and death, especially towards the end.  Was there a bit of a cop-out?  Possibly.  But sometimes it is better to leave those things ambiguous as they are quite controversial and truthfully there isn’t a black-and-white answer to what is right and what is wrong.  

It was nice getting a call back to Oliver and the Vardans.  They’re not a super terrifying villain but they work well with Steven.  I like Sida as a character and it’s always interesting to get more backstory into Steven and what his time ruling the Savages’ planet was like.  

Was this the best story to go back into for starting up my quest through all the Steven media?  Probably not.  But it is what it is and there are some I’m looking forward to so onwards!

7/10

Friend Death Count: 0

Steven Tortured Count: 1

The Doc does some messed up shit to Steven Count: 0

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The Founding Fathers- 5/10

Second in the Old Steven Trilogy

*Old Review*

The Founding Fathers was performed by Peter Purves, Alice Haig, and Lisa Bowerman, written by Simon Guerrier, and released in June 2015.

I’ll be honest, I’m writing this review a while after finishing this story but I still remember it pretty well.  

I wasn’t super happy with this story.  It was sort of blah, to be honest.  There wasn’t much of a plot nor was it very good.  It seemed like Guerrier was trying to do too much but didn’t have time to develop any of it and was left with vague plot points that barely fit together.

The ending was confusing and convoluted.  I was unsure about how the lighting strike thingy happened and how the plot got there in the first place!  The ending was strange and felt rushed as if the scraps of the plot were suddenly woven together.

I did like the relationship between Ben Franklin and the Doctor was sweet and I can definitely see how they would be friends.  This was an old Steven story, hence the inclusion of his narration and his granddaughter.  I’m still not 100% sure where this trilogy is going to lead, but according to some mildly reputable sources, it’s not going to end well.  

Overall, this was a confusing story was was mildly boring and not particularly worth a listen.

5/10

Friend Death Count: 0

Steven Tortured Count: 0

The Doc does some messed up shit to Steven Count: 0

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The War To End All Wars- 9/10

Old Steven Trilogy Part One

*Old Review*

The War to End All Wars was performed by Peter Purves, written by Simon Guerrier, and released in April 2014.

I really, really love this story.  It’s perfectly political and a very well-structured metaphor.  It can be a bit preachy and a bit obvious but I can forgive it especially when it’s as well crafted as this.  

We get an insight into what Steven is doing post-The Savages and let me just say, upfront, good god Big Finish give him a goddamn break.  Not only was he deposed (which, to his credit, was technically his idea and carefully crafted) but he was imprisoned.  Not to mention his daughter died…

On the topic of his daughters… he had three of them, his favorite of which was named Dodo.  No that didn’t break me at all!  And of course, she had to be the one who died.  Alas.

The war story was very cool and incredibly engaging.  I love the idea of one power supplying both sides of a war with weapons making it an unwinnable war.  Sure, the end result of “Oh it was just a pleasure planet and there was no real conflict” was a bit boring but I can overlook that.  Steven running for governor (?) was very cool and it was nice seeing him try to infiltrate the system from the inside.  Added with an overall critique of big military powers.  *chefs kiss*

I found this story to be an interesting analogy for the Vietnam War- whether intentional or not.  Now that may just be because I was recently studying that in AP English Language but I thought it made sense.  Combine that with the similarity of it to A Private Little War from Star Trek: The Original Series.  But I digress, I’m just namedropping at this point.

Overall, this was a well-created story with an interesting twist and well-done background and political undertones.

9/10

Friend Death Count: 0

Steven Tortured Count: 1 (kinda) 

The Doc does some messed up shit to Steven Count: 0

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Upstairs- 6/10

*Old Review*

Upstairs was performed by Maureen O’Brien and Peter Purves, written by Mat Coward, and released in September 2013.

I was skeptical upon starting this story.  The description didn’t look very good and I wasn’t excited to put myself through this story.  But it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.  That being said, it wasn’t fantastic either.  The first half of this story was very intriguing.  I love the concept of an attic in which each room was a different time period.  The reveal at the end was… a bit strange but I was eager to listen to the second half.  Boy was that a disappointment.  They sorta dropped the ball on the whole temporal thing completely changing the focus of the story to something less interesting.  Alas.

ALSO MORE MUSHROOMS.  WHAT IS UP WITH THAT?  I AM TIRED OF MUSHROOMS.  BIG FINISH STOP MAKING STORIES WITH MUSHROOMS I AM BEGGING YOU.  PLEASE.

Moving on… The interactions between Steven, Vicki, and the Doctor were great.  A lot of fantastic moments and fun little comedy beats.  Vicki also described Steven as her older brother and the Doc as her grandfather *clutches heart*

Steven got to act all fancy and dignified and it was hilarious.  The story was pretty nice to him which is good considering what’s to follow *stares nervously*. 

Maureen O’Brien’s Scottish accent is very funny I loved it a lot.

I wouldn’t recommend this story but I also wouldn’t scream at you to not listen to it.

6/10

Friend Death Count: 0

Steven Tortured Count: 0 

The Doc does some messed up shit to Steven Count: 0

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Return of the Rocket Men- 8.5/10

*Old Review*

Return of the Rocket Men was performed by Peter Purves, written by Matt Fitton, and released in November 2012.

This story was A LOT better than I remembered.  Tbh, it’s probably better than The Rocket Men (which I love, don’t get me wrong).  The plot is more interesting and, although I love the Ian & Barbara dynamic/plot in TRM, I found Steven’s plot overall just better.  

I do, however, think that the Rocket Men are less intimidating than Big Finish thinks they are.  Just an observation.

We get a bit of backstory for Steven in this which is always nice.  It’s uh not a *nice* addition to his backstory but it’s Steven Taylor so what did you expect?  He gets tortured quite a lot, both his legs are shattered and then he has to watch himself be tortured.  Oh, and he gets shot.  Fun times.

The story plays to Steven’s strengths which is really important to me.  He gets to show off his pilot and scientific skills as he flies a few vehicles.  We also get Steven realizing that he may want to leave the TARDIS and while it’s utterly heartbreaking it is also nice to see some development there.  

This story repeated the “when do you know” transition from TRM which I found interesting.  It was used in a slightly different manner but it worked very well.  

Steven’s dynamic with the Doctor and Dodo was also great here.  Dodo got many cute moments (singing happy birthday to him, making a friend, saving the prisoners).  Also, may I mention, Peter Purves’ Dodo voice is fucking hilarious and I love it so much.  For once, the Doctor and Steven weren’t really at odds and we get a sweet moment between the two at the end.

Overall this was just a really great story that definitely one-upped its predecessor.  

8.5/10

Friend Death Count: 1

Steven Tortured Count: 6 

The Doc does some messed up shit to Steven Count: 0

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The Anachronaunts- 4/10

*Old Review*

The Anachronauts was performed by Peter Purves and Jean Marsh, written by Simon Guerrier, and released in January 2012.

Some stuff happens, Steven, the Doctor, and Sara crash, and like, some other stuff happens.

Not going to lie, I can’t really give enough of a fuck to write a proper summary for this.  This story annoyed me.  Not in like a god, this annoyed me to a point of anger but like, your little sibling’s annoying friend.  

The first quarter of this story was wildly inconsistent in keeping my attention.  I was intrigued, then not, then interested, then not, then I was again.  The second half of this story felt so disconnected from the first half and even the ending didn’t really help bridge the gap.  

Man, I don’t even really know what to say other than it was a very meh story and I basically can’t bring myself to care about it.  So much happened and yet.  Nothing happened at all.

Anyway, there were some cute Steven/Sara moments and I am now lowkey shipping them so that’s cool.  Steven was almost killed so that’s loads of fun. 

Man, I don’t even know what to say.

4/10

Friend Death Count: 0

Steven Tortured Count: 3 

The Doc does some messed up shit to Steven Count: 0

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Tales From the Vault- 9/10

*Old Review*

Tales From The Vault was performed by Daphne Ashbrook, Yee Jee Tso, Katy Manning, Mary Tamm, Wendy Padbury, and Peter Purves, written by Jonathan Morris, and released in July 2011.  

Upon accepting a new position as the night watch for UNIT’s ‘Museum of Terrors’ Charlie Sato gets a personal guided tour by Captain Ruth Matheson who shows him just a few of the wonders the vault holds.  Wanting to know more, Sato gets personal accounts of the Doctor’s adventures as told by his companions.

Wow, this story really was just peak comfort for me.  It reminds me of The Three Companions but better.  TTC is a sweet story but the plot itself isn’t anything interesting but this story was something very different.

The small tales felt well-rounded and intriguing and I loved how they connected in the end.  In my opinion, Steven’s tale was the most interesting.  It also nicely tied into the previous stories with the jacket and Kali Carash which evolved into a cool ending for the whole story.

But who wants to hear about the plot?  Not me that’s for sure.  Sure it was a plus but I personally just wanted to hear this for Daphne Ashbrook.  I love Grace Holloway and although she can’t come back (give the BBC the rights to Grace and Chang Lee.  I’m coming for you, Fox) it was so nice to hear her in a Doctor Who role again.

I actually really enjoyed Matheson and Sato as characters and I know they’re in other stories so I may have to listen to those as well.  The classic companions are, of course, a great aspect of this story.  I’m an absolute sucker for multi-companion stories (more so than multi-Doctor stories but shhh) so obviously, it was very enjoyable for me.  

Overall this was just a really fantastic story that would be very hard to dislike.  I’ll definitely re-listen to this bad boy multiple times.  I just loved it so much.

9/10

Friend Death Count: 0

Steven Tortured Count: 0 

The Doc does some messed up shit to Steven Count: 0