quipxotic | Entries tagged with fifth doctor

Is it just me or has this month been particularly full of bad news? Combine that with any personal stress and it's easy to feel overwhelmed.

This weekend I've tried to take a break from all of that, with middlin' success. On the plus side, it's been a pretty good writing weekend:

I've updated my long-neglected Rogue One/The Mummy fusion drabble story "The Lost City of Jedha." It was nice to get back into the world of this silly little story.

I've added drabbles for the Sixth Doctor story "Memories of a Tyrant." I liked the first half of this audio, but some aspects of the second half made it hard for me to suspend my disbelief, which is why all the drabbles come from the first half.

The next chapter of "Hill House Five" is also online. So far in the story there's been a whole bunch of talking without much action; hopefully that will change in the next chapter.

Current Music: "Truth (feat. Tate Tucker)" - Devon Gilfillian

I added a few drabbles for "The Moons of Vulpana" to the Seventh Doctor Drabbles yesterday. I was excited for a story set on a world of werewolves, but good lord what a slog. Alpha-this and Omega-that, so not my cup of tea. Anyway "An Alien Werewolf in London," the third audio in the trilogy, is out as well and I'll try to write drabbles for it this week. Speaking of which, check out the cover art for that one.

I also jumped ahead in "Hill House Five" and jotted down something for one of Nyssa's dreams/visions/what-have-you. As

sanguinity can tell you, I'm fond of using dreams as a framing device for backstory and this one draws on some imagery from a Big Finish Short Trips audio "The Toy." I highly recommend the audio to anyone even remotely interested in the Fifth Doctor era or Nyssa.

I'm still writing the tour of the house, although I think I'm FINALLY getting to the end of that. Which means of course now I'm starting to think I need to figure out a better way to give an intro to the house and the people living in it that doesn't take so long. Remind me why this writing malarkey is a fun hobby...

Edit to add: this has nothing to do with my writing, but Eighth Doctor vs the Valeyard during the Time War!

Current Mood: blah
Current Music: "The End" - The Newton Brothers

After a lot of planning and outlining, I'm actually at work at "Hill House Five." It's just really slow going and feels doubly so since I've written all of it before with a different TARDIS team in my now abandoned "Hill House Eight." I'd hoped to be able to use more of what I'd written previously than I think I'll be able to, which is a bummer. Want an example of why? Under the break I'm going to post the beginning of the second chapter of both versions. The second chapter because I haven't written the first, a "present day" intro featuring the Twelfth Doctor, Bill, and Nardole, yet. None of it's scintillating, it's all just setting up the setting and the situation, but for a few chapters that are all having to do the same work the changes are interesting, at least to me.

And just one more warning, all of this is really rough, so I'm sure it has all sorts of errors and issues. I guess what I'm saying is reader beware.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy
Current Music: "The Red Room" (Haunting of Hill House) - The Newton Brothers

I had a great time listening to "Dark Eyes 2" and writing a whole bunch of drabbles for it this week. The set has some weaknesses, but overall all four stories are solid, enjoyable in their own ways, and offer a lot of variety in both theme and setting. I had forgotten how much Liv has changed since these audios (which are her second, third, and fourth appearances) and what great chemistry she and Molly had together. It's a shame Ruth Bradley's other acting projects essentially meant Molly was written out of Dark Eyes 3 and 4; I would have liked to have had many more Molly and Liv stories. I wonder if this is the first and only time all of the TARDIS crew have had some kind of medical training (with Molly being a World War I era nurse and Liv being a MedTech)? Eight's meeting with Alex Macqueen's Master in "Eyes of the Master" is delicious, of course, and "Time's Horizon" is one of the best Eminence stories Big Finish has created. Plus, I really like the Eighth Doctor's arc. He starts out nearly as light and Tiggerish as during the early Charley Pollard stories and ends up...well, not that.

I also wrote some drabbles for "Torchwood: Green Life" featuring John Barrowman's Captain Jack Harkness and Katy Manning's Josephine Jones. Jo and Jack make a great odd couple team and it's an all-around good story that can be enjoyed whether or not you've seen the Third Doctor serial "The Green Death."

This weekend I'll hopefully have a chance to write some drabbles for the "Third Doctor Adventures vol. 5." Both stories in the set are enjoyable and Jon Culshaw's Brigadier and Daisy Ashford's Liz Shaw are fantastic. I know there's a lot of debate in Doctor Who fandom about recasting the roles of actors who have died. Personally, I don't have a problem with it if it's done with care and respect, which has certainly been the case for this volume and the Second Doctor stories where Elliot Chapman plays Ben Jackson. On the other hand, I don't like what Big Finish has done with the recasting for the first First Doctor crew because Carole Ann Ford and William Russell are still alive and performing.

Anyway, back to the Third Doctor set, one of the few negatives for me has been hearing how anti the Jo Grant/Mike Yates ship Katy Manning is (which comes up in the behind the scenes interviews for vol. 5 and recently in her social media posts about the set). She's obviously entitled to have opinions about the character she's played since 1971, it's just I don't have a lot of ships and this is one I like. It won't stop me from shipping it, but it does make me sad.

I'm also going to try to get back into writing Hill House Eight this weekend, which I'm going to have to change to Hill House Five. I just had too many problems making Liv and Helen work in that setting and I'm hoping that I'll have better luck with Tegan and Nyssa. And while Five isn't Eight, there are similarities, which will hopefully allow me to keep some of the aspects that made me want to write the story in the first place.

On the audiobook side of things, I finished Persuasian last weekend. It was fantastic, but then it is my favorite of Austen's books.

Current Mood: sad
Current Music: "Before I Let Go" - Beyoncé

After working on them some last week and in between football matches today, I've finally finished the drabbles for Scratchman. They're spread between the Fourth and Thirteenth Doctor drabbles and hopefully do a decent job of encapsulating some of the batshit scenarios in that book.

Big Finish has a sale on Master audios going on for the next few days. I won't describe them in detail (I tend to do that all the time over on Tumblr and it gets old to talk about the same audios over and over), but I'll mention a few briefly. Click on the link above if you want the sale link and password because I'm going to be linking to the regular story pages below.

There are several really good Short Trips in the sale. "I Am the Master" was both written and read by Geoffrey Beevers (aka "the crispy Master") and is told completely from the Master's point of view. Even if you know nothing about this version of the Master, it's well worth picking up for its both hilarious and horrifying look at why the Master does what he does. Two of my favorite Fifth Doctor Short Trips, "The Toy" and "The Gardens of the Dead," are included. "The Gardens of the Dead" focuses on Turlough soon after he's joined the TARDIS crew and his conflicting desires (to survive the deal he made with the Black Guardian by killing the Doctor, and to embrace this opportunity to find a place where he's accepted). "The Toy" is a stand-alone adventure that also digs into Nyssa and the Doctor's pasts on the home planets they've both lost. "The Switching" is a Third Doctor era body-swap story and it's a lot of fun.

If you haven't picked up the cross-Doctor trilogy of "And You Will Obey Me" (Fifth Doctor), "Vampire of the Mind" (Sixth Doctor), and "The Two Masters" (Seventh Doctor), you really should. It's one of the best main Doctor Who range trilogies Big Finish has ever done and features both the Beevers Master and Alex Macqueen's version of the Master. I'm also very fond of the Fourth Doctor & Leela stories "Requiem for the Rocket Men" and "Death Match" which introduce a potential love interest for Leela named Marshall.

Dark Eyes volumes 2-4 are included in the sale. Vol. 2, which introduces Liv to the Eighth Doctor, is one of my favorites of that storyline. Vol. 3 is the weakest of the bunch, despite featuring an amazing audio where the Macqueen Master and the Eighth Doctor have to work together to escape a self-destructing spaceship. Vol. 4 is a bit of a mixed bag, but it has "A Life in the Day" which is among my favorite John Dorney stories.

"Smoke and Mirrors," the Fifth Doctor story in the "Destiny of the Doctor" series is included, as are the War Master box sets, and box sets from the UNIT, Gallifrey, River Song, and Missy ranges. "Dust Breeding" is in there too; it's an odd Seventh Doctor and Ace story that I feel differently about every time I listen to it, but it's certainly worth the $.99 they're asking for.

Current Mood: busy
Current Music: "Monsters" - Los Coast

I love Dracula. I own a couple of copies, from a second-hand paperback version to an annotated hardback to a combo app/interactive game/e-book type thing, and of course I've watched various films and TV shows based on it. I'm aware of its faults and issues, but it's one of those stories I love despite everything.

For the last few weeks I've been listening to Audible's full-cast version before I go to sleep. You know what's really annoyed me this time? The men repeatedly mentioning how glad they are that they're "saving" Mina by not telling her anything they're doing to combat Dracula. I suspect it's the actors' performances that make that repeated theme come across as so condescending and smug, but somehow it's never had as much impact on me before.

Anyway, I just made it through that part and into the section where they're destroying the coffins of dirt, meaning the end is in sight. on the whole I've really enjoyed this version, especially the voice actors who are all spectacular.

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This weekend was busy on the drabble-writing front, including:

The Second Doctor, Jamie, & Victoria Short Trip “Year of the Drex Olympics;”

The Fifth Doctor & Nyssa audio “Moonflesh;”

And the recent Seventh Doctor & Mags story “The Monsters of Gokroth.”

Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: "Papercuts" - Tedious & Brief

This is cross-posted from Tumblr, so if you've seen it there you can ignore it here. (I mean...you can ignore it even if you haven't seen it there, but you know what I mean.)

It’s Peter Davison‘s birthday and Big Finish are doing a Fifth Doctor sale. If you’re new to the Fifth Doctor there are some excellent audios in this list that are perfect introductions to this version of the Doctor and his companions. Just a brief note: I’ll link to the pages for each audio below, but if you want the sale price you’ll need to go through the link above (CELERY is the access code if it asks for one).

The Memory Bank and Other Stories (Five and Turlough) - Turlough is one of my favorite companions. He’s devious and self-centered, which makes his moments of honesty, self-sacrifice, and nobility all the more deliciously amusing and makes him a wonderful foil for the Fifth Doctor. This audio is a collection of four short stories, all of which are enjoyable. My favorite is the first one, “The Memory Bank,“ because it gives you a bit of Turlough’s backstory.

The Peterloo Massacre (Five, young Nyssa, and Tegan) - This story is set during August 1819, a period of growing conflict between businessmen and their employees. I won’t say much more for fear of spoilers except that, while historicals are a bit hit or miss with me, this one is quite good. If you like more character-driven stories, this one is for you.

Aquitaine (Five, young Nyssa, and Tegan) - Perhaps my favorite Fifth Doctor story ever. It’s got all kinds of elements I love: a spooky setting, a creepy mystery, interesting science fiction elements, and a cool robot. But the best part of this one is the relationship between the three leads. It’s a perfect introduction to the Fifth Doctor, if you’re looking for one.

The Waters of Amsterdam (Five, young Nyssa, and Tegan) - This one is set immediately after “Arc of Infinity,” when Tegan rejoins the team. While not one of my favorites, it’s a decent story that provides a bit more backstory for Tegan and what her life was like after she left the TARDIS at the end of “Time-Flight.“

The Secret History (Five, Vicki, and Steven Taylor) - Although this is a very good audio, it’s probably not ideal for new fans of either Doctor Who or the Fifth Doctor. It’s also the last audio in a trilogy that finds the Seventh, Sixth, and Fifth Doctors time-shifted into adventures originally experienced by their Third, Second, and First selves (respectively). However, if you are a fan of the First Doctor, timey-wimey shenanigans, or Byzantine history, you will probably enjoy this story.

The Entropy Plague (Five, older Nyssa, Tegan, and Turlough) - This is the last story in an E-Space trilogy, so if you’re not also going to pick up “Mistfall‘ and “Equilibrium,” you’ll want to skip this one. If you do plan on listening to this audio, listening to “Prisoners of Fate” beforehand will help you understand the situation with Nyssa’s family. Although this audio is important in Nyssa's timeline, in my opinion it’s not particularly strong as a stand alone story.

Equilibrium (Five, older Nyssa, Tegan, and Turlough) - Second story in the E-Space trilogy and, unlike “The Entropy Plague,” this one can be listened to as a standalone story. This is another of my favorite Fifth Doctor audios because of the focus on the relationships between the four leads. It’s also very atmospheric, complete with a castle on a frozen world, a royal court that hides a dark secret, and a problem that even the Doctor can’t solve.

Mistfall (Five, older Nyssa, Tegan, and Turlough) - First story in the E-Space trilogy and a sequel (or perhaps more accurately, a prequel) to the Fourth Doctor TV story “Full Circle.“ Although this isn’t a favorite of mine, it’s an interesting story that can be enjoyed even if you haven’t seen “Full Circle” (which I haven’t).

The Fifth Doctor Adventures Volume 01 (Five, Adric, young Nyssa, and Tegan) - This box set is a bit of a mixed bag. I hated the first story, “Psychodrome,” but the second one, “Iterations of I,” is another of my favorite Fifth Doctor audios. “Psychodrome“ is set immediately after the Fifth Doctor’s first TV story, “Castrovalva.“ The TARDIS crew is so OOC in this audio and I suppose that’s on purpose - meant to show that they’ve not yet grown into the team they’ll eventually become - but to me it was just annoying. “Iterations of I“ is a haunted house story with a bit of math and 1980s technology mixed in. Again, the highlight of this audio is the relationships between the main characters, but it’s also the story that made me fall in love with John Dorney‘s writing.

Tomb Ship (Five and young Nyssa) - This isn’t my favorite TARDIS team BUT I love this story. It’s basically Doctor Who does Indiana Jones in space and is so much fun.

1963: Fanfare for the Common Men (Five and young Nyssa) - This one for me was pretty forgettable, but a lot of people like it. Imagine a version of the 1960s where the Beatles are replaced by a mysterious group called the Common Men. Sound interesting? Then you may want to give this one a try.

The other audios in the sale are “Moonflesh” and “Masquerade,” both Fifth Doctor and young Nyssa stories, but as I’ve not listened to either one I can’t tell you anything about them. All offers end April 18th.

Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: "No Myth" - Michael Penn

Let's see, what have I been up to lately...

I've got a couple of audiobooks that I'm listening to at the moment. I've started working my way through the Lord Peter Wimsey books by Dorothy L Sayers and I like them, for the most part. I'm also listening to Audible's version of Dracula, which is narrated by a full cast including Alan Cumming as Dr. Seward and Tim Curry as Van Helsing.

As far as fan fiction goes, I've posted drabbles for the Fifth Doctor audio "The Kamelion Empire," the Seventh Doctor/Bernice Summerfield story "The Hesitation Deviation," and the Seventh Doctor TV serial "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy," which I watched for the first time this weekend. Of those three, "The Kamelion Empire" was the standout by far. It focused on the relationships between the Fifth Doctor, Kamelion, Tegan, and Turlough, which means lots of juicy conflict and hard-won friendship. The story's writer, Jonathan Morris, also gave a fairly good in-story explanation for why Kamelion disappears from the TV series for so long, which is a nice, geeky extra. "The Hesitation Deviation" is good also, but I'd listened to it for the first time months ago and am just now getting around to writing for it. As for "The Greatest Show on Earth"...well, I'd say it was a disappointment but I wasn't really expecting much based on the gif sets floating around. It's not a story I'll be in a hurry to watch again.

Today I finished listening to the audiodrama version of Love and War. I've tried to listen to it before but found it too depressing. This time it was fine - not a favorite, but okay. I'm starting to think the Virgin New Adventure books aren't really for me; the only one I've really liked has been Theatre of War. Anyway, I'll probably write drabbles for Love and War later this week.

"Hill House Eight" is not dead but it's...stuck. I keep trying to get it unstuck, but I'm starting to think I have some basic structural issues that need to be addressed/changed. I don't know...I guess we'll see.

Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: "Missed Connection" - The Head and the Heart

February was such a mess for me both personally and professionally that I'm just now getting caught up with my fandom interests and writing. Last week I added some drabbles for various Short Trips (those are Big Finish's Doctor Who short stories) and other audios:

"The Astrea Conspiracy," the first Twelfth Doctor story on Big Finish, was released at the end of February. It's a historical about Aphra Behn, who I'd never heard of before, and it's read by Neve McIntosh who plays Madame Vastra in the series. It's good and I certainly enjoyed it, although the ending is a bit anticlimactic. The drabbles for that audio begin here.

"The Revisionists" came out in January and features the Fourth Doctor, Leela, and the Brigadier teaming up to hunt ghosts in a hotel. I really liked this one, in part because it allows Leela and the Brig to get to know each other. I also enjoy the story's overarching theme about how a person's ancestors can impact their present/future. Drabbles for that audio begin here.

"The Devil's Footprints" came out in December 2018 and features the Seventh Doctor and Melanie Bush. I've got mixed feelings about this one; it comes across as a bit unfinished, but it is very atmospheric and there are some good bits for Mel in there. The drabbles for it begin here.

And while it's not a Short Trip, I might as well mention that the drabbles for the Fifth Doctor/Tegan/Turlough/Kamelion stories "Black Thursday / Power Game" are also online. "Black Thursday" is a historical about a coal mine disaster and "Power Game" features a mysterious 1980s game show.

Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: "Sisyphus" - Andrew Bird

Drabbles for the Fifth Doctor audio "Devil in the Mist" by Cavan Scott are now online. I enjoyed this one quite a bit and, despite my skepticism about resurrecting Kamelion, Big Finish and Jon Culshaw did an excellent job with him. He had a lot more depth and vulnerability here than in his TV episodes (which wouldn't be hard since he was only in them a hot minute due to technical issues). Plus they pulled off a combination of creepy menace and guileless innocence in this version of the robot, which makes sense for the character's backstory and seems like something that would be pretty hard to do. I also really enjoyed the amount of character moments Turlough and Tegan got - Tegan leading her own group of crash survivors and Turlough both taking care of the Doctor and being forced into taking on some Doctor-ish physical heroism. All that and talking Hippos in space armor makes for a good time.

While I was writing these, I also moved around some other Fifth Doctor drabbles to give a bit of a narrative break between “The Entropy Plague” and “The King’s Demons” and to cut down on the amount of Kamelion-free content between “The King’s Demons,” “Doctor Who: Excelis Dawns,” and "Planet of Fire." Probably no one but me will notice or care about that, but if Kamelion is going to be in the audios now it doesn't make sense for him to disappear without comment for such long stretches of time. I know it didn't bother the show runners at the time, but it bothers me. Anyway, the long and short of that is that the drabbles for “The Sirens of Time“ and “Ringpullworld” now appear earlier in the chronology and I may move a few others forward as well.

"Haunting House Eight" is...nowhere really. I need to get back to working on it and hopefully I'll be able to today. At least that's the plan.

Current Mood: awake
Current Music: "Broken Horses (Santo Domingo Edit)" - Twin Shadow

Drabbles for the Fifth Doctor, Tegan, and Nyssa Short Trips story "The Mistpuddle Murders" by Simon A Forward are now online. The audio is a cozy "Agatha Christie meets Beatrix Potter" mystery, wonderfully narrated by Sarah Sutton. I'll never understand why Sarah Sutton isn't in all the things because she's such a fantastic actor; her version of Tegan is particularly good.

I also finished the "Warlock's Cross" drabbles last night and am very pleased with them, so that's two more backlog stories written for.

Current Mood: busy
Current Music: "Astro Jump" - The First Contact