What is the state of current Big Finish Doctor Who?
I used to keep up with - and enjoy - the monthly ranges until they turned into the boxed sets which I was less engaged by. I recently tried Stranded and didn’t like it at all.
I get the impression that BF is producing far too much material which isn’t a good as it used to be. Is this the case?
It’s messy to say the least. They’ve gone all in on the boxset format, but with everyone and their mother getting boxsets, it’s near impossible to keep up with what there is and what’s coming out, and all of it is extremely variable in quality.
I’ve been getting a lot of fatigue with Big Finish lately, as a lot of their recent stuff seems to be BIG, EPIC PLOT OF MASSIVE IMPORTANCE with very ephemeral big bads that are impossible for them to describe in the audio format and climaxes that are essentially a wall of noise that cannot possibly get across what is happening.
I think that Big Finish worked a lot better when it was trying to be Classic Who, as opposed to New Who, as the fast paced nature of New Who does not translate well to the audio drama format. That’s not to say that all of the modern stuff is like this, but I’ve come across it a lot lately, and it’s gotten a bit samey.
Thank you. That was my impression. The old monthly range used to have the occasional dull adventure but usually was pretty enjoyable. It also felt like the old tv series. (Have to admit that I first started listening to Big Finish well before the reboot!)
I agree wholeheartedly with this. It also makes it harder on the budget of course having umpteen ranges to keep up with which is why I sadly don’t bother.
The last thing I really got excited about with big finish was the new 4th Doctor adventures if I’m honest - I’m intrigued by the 2nd Doctor things which are about to come out as well but there was something about Tom coming back to do more Doctor Who which was very special!
I’m a bit of a late comer to Big Finish and make no attempt at keeping up with everything but I pick up bits and pieces, often when on special. On of my favourites recently has been The War Master series, I’ve found that to be consistently really good.
So, you’re not wrong. Although I did enjoy Stranded. But I’m a sucker for the 8th Doc adventures. I used to buy the CDs religiously when they first came out for the first 5 or 6 years, but I never got into the box sets much. I get the odd one now, but not as much as when the monthly series was on the go. I much prefer the boxes with 3 stories in, rather than the ones with one big story and one short one. The 8th, 9th and 10th in particular are my favourites. That said, I did enjoy the 3rd Doc one with Tim Treloar and Daisy Ashford as Liz Shaw.
Thanks. I’ll check out the Third Doctor adventures.
The Classic Doctors’ stories made much more sense when it was a four-part story told in half hour chunks. Just like the old days. I think it was a mistake to move away from those, especially as there doesn’t seem to be much meta-storytelling in the box-sets for those Doctors. Or if there is, I’m missing it through lack of involvement.
McGann and subsequent Doctors suit the box-set format considerably better. I’m especially enjoying the Jonathon Carley War Doctor sets, and the War Master is always a good time.
Another thing: I’m Elevened out. Please let’s give him a long rest. He was a good idea, but the novelty wore off years ago.
