February 7

DW: Dreamtime

Hey Guys,
welcome to the 67 adventure of the Big Finish Main Range – Dreamtime. This story we follow the seventh Doctor, Ace and the new companion Hex (The Harvest) to a mysterious place. The Uluru that is flying in space. Placing the story seems again a little difficult. It diffintly play in the far future of the earth. My source is placing it around 9.000 and the other time line the Doctor encounters around 5950, which means it is around the Solar Flares and the Evacuation of Earth – or better of the many evacuations.

Throw him in the cold water

Hex is new on the team and new in the whole time travel thing. What makes the story for me very amusing. Ace is traveling for years with the Doctor and this version of Ace is older and wiser in away. But she has seeing anything. So Hex brings the wonder and excitement in to the adventures. Back to the story. Hex has to deal with the whole program. Like I said before they land on the Uluru flying through space without a notable protective shield and people who turned to stone… hold breath that is not all. There are also another spaceship landing.
In all that mass the Doctor got turned to stone and Ace hurt, which means Hex is for a short time at least on his own.

That whole mass

It is a lot that happens in this story. There are a lot of different perspectives. We not just have the Doctor, Ace and Hex we also have the other aliens. Of course everything is contacted and it makes sense in the end. Until then you have a lot going on. It has a little bit action and shooting in it but it is mostly about believes and the roots of the culture. It is about change and growth. But that you still should honor the roots and don’t forget them. The atmosphere of the whole is not dark but also not light cost. It is something in between.

Listing or not

Yes, go and listen to it. It is not a special, grandiose story but it is solid and it kinda works. I like Hex and his story and I like the way he changes the interaction of the group. He never looks out for what says. He is afraid and has no problem to tell that but he function anyway. He still throw his sarcasm around. It is fun to listen to the three of them.

January 31

DW: The Next Life

Hey Guys,

welcome the 64th adventure of the Big Finish Main Range – The Next Life. It is last story that takes place in the Divergent Universe and is obviously with the eighth Doctor, Charley and C’rizz. Since this is the final of the story it has not just four episode but six. Still the story is filled with stuff and totally could have filled another two episodes.

What we’ve got

We finally find out more about C’rizz and his church and we also find out who is behind all this stuff that happens. So yeah it is the big conclusion story. I think must of the question are actually answered. Maybe I just forget them because I tried so much to make sense out of it.

You all know that I am not a big fan of the stories in the Divergent Universe and this one is diffidently one of the worse. The story before Caerdroia was actually good. Sadly this story can not live to it in any way. I am really disappointed in this story.

Splitting up

The Doctor finds himself alone on a beach and of course just stumbles into the danger. He got accused to have murdered a girl and now is involved in a race against the accuser. Charley and C’rizz are in the hands of Kro’ka. He shows them things to manipulated them. The first is not that bad actually. I like for example that we see that Charley is still not over the R101 events (Storm Warning). That she still get haunted by the face of the person, which wanted to kill her, before he fell to his death.

What I don’t like is that in the end it is just again about the jealousy of Charley. I really like her but this part is so annoying.

Mysterious C’rizz

I still try to make sense of all the C’rizz scenes. They are so contradictory. One moment he decides to stay with his friends and the other one he is betraying them. There is no really reason behind. Sometimes it seems like they can control him a little bit but then it looks like C’rizz is doing everything on his own. It is really hard for me to make any sense of his story. What is really sad because I really love him.

Listen or not

This is a hard. I would say no. Don’t listen to it, it is not worth the time but on the hand it concludes the story. It picks up all the clues in the story started from Zagerus. So it is an important part of the whole story and you totally need it make at least a little sense of everything. So yeah you kinda have to listen to it. But I am really excited to listen to Terror Firma.

January 24

DW: Caerdroia

It Hey Guys,
welcome to the 63rd adventure of the Big Finish Main Range – Caerdroia. It is the story with the eighth Doctor, Charley and C’rizz that leads to the final adventure of the Divergent Universe. It is one of the better stories.

Like twins

In this adventure the three of them finally start to put a few things together and are trying to trick Kroka to give them information. They not just land in a maze but also the Doctor is ‘split’ in three versions of himself. All three are kinda annoying. The go in groups. One Doctor on his own, one with Charley and the other with C’rizz. It is kinda fun. How the Doctors are discussing with themself. The way Charley and C’rizz try to deal with them.

The Maze

The maze is kinda crazy – with big talking rabbits. There are clocks when nobody knows time there. It remembered me of the Alice in Wonderland. I actually don’t know if this was ment that way but it certainly did. It is so much fun listing to the Doctor and his friends finally fighting back. This story is full of great ideas and potential sadly I think many of it goes unattached.

Listing or not

It is one of the best stories of the Divergent Universe. It has a good story with a lot of hints for what his actually behind everything that happens around them. The Doctor fighting back, figuring stuff out. It is great to listen to it. The other adventure was more like going through it without really figuring out what Kroka may want. They go on and on and on. This story changes the pace and lifts the power play to another side.
The characters are great and the story is good. So yes go and listen to one of the three stories I like in this Divergent Universe.

January 16

DW: The Last

Hey Guys,

welcome to the 62nd Adventure of the Big Finish Main Range – The Last with the eighth Doctor, Charley and C’rizz. Set again the Divergent Universe. This time they land in a dead world, in an eternal winter, the aftermath of a poisoned war. After this there are two stories left, which is way to little for the little information we get.

The only surviviors

The three arrive in this dead world. They search of shelter when the ceiling is coming down on them. Surprise, surprise! C’rizz is going to find help for Charley, who can’t move and the Doctor. When he comes back with a survivor they are gone. So he goes with the survivor and tries to find out what is going on.
The Doctor and Charley land in a bunker under the earth with the last survivors of this war – the politicians.

The war end all wars

Truth be told I like this scenario. I read a lot of this what happens after an atomic war books and this story is really similar from the setting. The world is dying because of the war. The one final war that ends all wars.They were right. All wars are over because no one survived.
The most different thing are characters. Like we know from Doctor Who there are crazy characters and this story doesn’t disappoint in that. For me she a little to crazy but it kinda works in the story.

Same old

Yeah, I tiered of C’rizz on his own. But I also love that he has an important role in this story. That he finds out what happened, he is brought to challenging situation and I love that one. But it is nothing new. It is a circle, a big red button. Something I always hated about Moffats Era. The no consequences. This story is not that bad. But I it still no that good…

January 9

DW: Faith Stealer

Hey Guys,

welcome to the 61st adventure of the Big Finish Main Range – Faith Stealer with the eighth Doctor, Charley and C’rizz. The three are still in the Divergent Universe. This time they visited the Multihaven.

Multihaven

Multihaven is a place were different churches live together. You have a religion to work around in this town. The Doctor claims that they are Tourist and C’rizz is their god. After five seconds the people already talk about the religion was there forever. It remembered me a little of the movie ‘Franklin’. With the stupid religions.
But Multihaven should be a peaceful place were everyone is respected.

C’rizz pain

The reason they go to Multihaven is that C’rizz is still plagued by nightmares of the day he killed L’da. So the Doctor is trying to find a place where C’rizz can calm down and rest. But of course nothing is going to plan. C’rizz in his bad condition find himself victim to the new church that wants to overtake all relegions.nd
I love it to get to know more about C’rizz but we don’t find out very much about him. Sadly again we have Charley and the Doctor running around and C’rizz left behind and on his own. It seems like almost every episode is built up like this.

Listen or not

The story is not bad. It is an interesting setting. But like also almost all episode from the Divergent Universe there is more potential in it than they used. I am getting tired of Charley and the Doctor and C’rizz always on his own. Just mix them a bit. Also I wish that we would get more than hints about C’rizz and his past. But apart from that the story is good and you can listen to it. It is definitely one of the better one.

January 2

DW: Medicinal Purposes

Hey Guys,

welcome to the 60th Big Finish Main Range Adventure – Medicinal Purposes with the sixth Doctor and Evelyn. This time they land in Edinburgh in the year 1828. It is a history story about the body snatchers William Burke and William Hare. But it is not a simple history story they bring someone else in that has great potential for a great enemy.

The mystery about Burke

When the Doctor realized were he is he wants to meet Burke and Hare. They stole bodies and killed people but the Doctor that works with the bodies is responsible for saving many lives with this work. The Doctor things that out of a bad thing can come something good. The mystery starts when nobody seems to know the name Burke which seems wrong since he will get blamed for the murders in a few days. Of course the Doctor starts to investigate.

With a little help from friends

The Doctor and Evelyn involve a young lady Mary and Jamie Wilson or Daft Jamie (spoken by David Tennant by the way). Evelyn and Mary are visiting Doctor Knox. He is an arrogant asshole. But he is also quiet more than he seems or quiet less. I like the characters in this play and the way Evelyn is dealing with it. How she deals with knowing that Jamie will die in the end, dealing with the Doctors strange way of seeing things. But most I love that we see how good she understands the Doctor.
Many people traveled with the Doctor but I think only really few people really understood him. Evelyn is definitely one of them. I love the developement of their relationship. She was at a point where she thought about leaving the Doctor because she could deal with his way of cooping and here in this story. She understands his way of cooping and even when she doesn’t agree with him she accepts it.

Listen to it or not

Definitely go and listen to it. First of all it is a story with Evelyn and she is amazing. Than this story shows so much of the developement of their relationship. The story is good and present us with a very promising new enemy of the Doctor. Also it is a historical story and you all know love those.

December 26

DW: The Harvest

Hey Guys,

welcome to the 58th adventure of the Big Finish Main Range – The Harvest. It featured the seventh Doctor and Ace. We also met for the first time Hex Scofield the new companion of the Doctor. This story takes place in London 2021 October the 12th, which also Hex birthday. What is also kind of important is that this story is the last part of a trilogy. The other parts are The Reaping with the sixth Doctor and Peri and The Gathering with the fifths Doctor and Tegan.

The triology

I really loved the other two stories. They were about cybermen and what life means. They were great and now we have the last part of the story. This story can definitely stand alone. You just see it as the final part when you really listen to the other two. It has nothing directly to do with Cathy – or not with the Cathy from the other two parts. When you haven’t listen to the stories this story is even more surprising because you didn’t know from the start that this about cybermen. But it also doesn’t disturb the story.

Never have seen through real eyes

Like I said in the beginning we met Thomas Hector Scofield in this story. It is his birthday and it is a real bad day for him. He works in the hospital as a nurse. When a good friend of him get wheeled in the A&E and dies. On his birthday party on this evening he meets Ace – who is undercover working in the hospital – and got attacked by a really fast man.
From that point Hex is lost. He is involved and he just can’t walk away. So I think he is perfect for these two.
The other part of the story is a man waking up from surgery. This man is feeling and seeing for the first time and he seem really happy about it.

Listen to it or not

Yes, listen to it. It is an amazing trilogy. I love Hex from the first moment. He is fun and totally over his head. After he met the Doctor is like ‘Oh my god’ all the time. But he never backs out. He is with the Doctor and Ace from the start till the end. He is panicking but also he is getting things done. What I really love about is that the Doctor and Ace accept him from the start. It is not like C’rizz where neither the Doctor nor Charley are really letting him become part of the group.

December 19

DW: The Twilight Kingdom

Hey Guys,

welcome to the 55th adventure of the Big Finish Main Range – The Twilight Kingdom. It featured the eighth Doctor, Charley and C’rizz. Like the adventures before this is set in the Divergent Universe. It is one of the better stories of this storyline.

What is going on

Like in the stories before the Doctor and his companions stumble through this different zones searching for the TARDIS. It seems that this time they find each other in a kind of war. The soldiers that takes them in are waiting to go to the front line of this war. But the place is different. It changes people. Without a really struggle the people of this base make a soldier kill this officer.

Let’s stay here

Of course the others C’rizz and Charley are also effected. Charley even more than C’rizz – at least at the start. It is about control and Charleys hurt feelings. The story brings up again the pain in Charley. For me it is a little bit annoying. This constantly wishing to be back at the beginning before Zagerus. Before they told each other that they love each other before the Doctor rejected her later.
It also makes it hard for C’rizz to really find his place in this group. Our characters are all put in a situation were they have to accept change. But all three of them kinda fight against it.

Listing or not

For me this is one of the better stories of this storyline. It is emotional and has a good story. So yeah go and listen to it. I love C’rizz and his interaction with the others of the group. The way they all try to deal with the new situations. It kinda shows us more about the characters and their maybe hiding feelings.

December 8

DW: The Natural History of Fear

Hey Guys,

welcome to the next adventures of Charley, C’rizz and the eighth Doctor in the 54th adventure of Big Finishs Main Range – The Natural History of Fear. The story takes place in the Divergent Universe. I really like C’rizz and the new dynamic he brings in between Charley and the Doctor. Like many stories in the Divergent Universe you are totally confused at the start of the story.

Is this still Doctor Who?

Yes of course it is. One thing that Big Finish always does amazingly is creating Doctor Who new. The story start with the three of them doing something they are not so sure about anymore. Following by a replay of the scene between the Doctor and Charley in the story ‘Zagerus‘. Than there is a cut and the voice of Charley is talking about a TV show. It isn’t Charley…or is it? If she is does she remember? C’rizz and the Doctor also speak characters that doesn’t seem to be the usual persons. I was utterly confused but you just have to let go of all this and just listen to it really carefully because it gets more confusing.

A new world

The world that is created here is a very cold and lonely world. Questions are forbidden and it seems like people can be overwritten. There are really strength rules. It remembers me a little bit about Psych Pass. But this story seems to want mainly just to confuse you and that does it brilliantly. We don’t know what happened to the Doctor and his friends, what is the meaning behind the story and how does this world is built. So many questions you are not allowed to ask.

Listen to it or not

The story is part of the Divergence universe. A small part to the big picture they are trying paint here. I was just confused the most of the time and the spark just didn’t sprung over. I still would listen to it because of the bigger picture of this whole storyline. But in the end I didn’t like the story very much.

October 24

DW: Zagreus

Hey Guys,

welcome the 50th adventure of the Big Finish Main Range – Zagreus. This story is set directly after the adventure Neverland, which means this adventure is with Charley and the eighth Doctor. It is an adventure to celebrate the 40th birthday of Doctor Who. It is 4 hours long and so lot longer than the other stories. Another special part is that all the companions that worked for Big Finish are playing in the story but most have a different part than we know.

Special Guest

It is lovely to have Romana II in the story again. After Neverland she thought the Doctor and Charley are dead. But she finds out that she was wrong. Leela brings her a message from Rassalon and they start to travel to the Dark Tower. It is the first time Leela and Romana meet and the start of great friendship. But I am really annoyed how they adresse Leela in the story – Savege. Even when I never was a great fan of Leela and the fourth Doctor but she is a great Companion. She is intellegent and lovely.

The Brig is back

Or is he. The Brig has a really big role in this story. But he is not really the Brig. The TARDIS – or a part of the TARDIS – takes the shape of the Brig to help Charley to find out what is going and how they can help the Doctor. They live through certain parts of history that have something to do with the Divergence.

Am I Zagreus

The Doctor is going crazy. The Anti-Time in his body forms the personality of the Zagreus. Zagreus and the Doctor are fighting for the upper hand and try to find out what is going on in the TARDIS. The story is quite confusing and you slowy unwrapping what is going on in this story. I think there is a lot going on in this story. It is about what the differents between love and friendship. It is about the pain about having the feeling to be left alone.

Listing or not

Zagreus is a good story that explains everything that was unclear about the overcasting story. The end set us up for new adventure in another Universe. It is lovely to hear all the familar voices and who they play with it. I like the theme friendship and what it means to the Doctor and the TARDIS. Because most part of the story are about these two. In the last part I am annoyed by Charley. I hate it when you can do something but you start judging others doing the same. But yeah go and listen to it.