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Another two parter in this series, and it's a two-part sequel to 2013's "The Day of the Doctor". Going to discuss my thoughts with significant spoilers.
( spoilers )
( spoilers )
We enjoyed watching this immensely. It’s prompted by the newly rereleased remastered 1996 TV movie. But the chat with Sylvester covers his whole TV era of Doctor Who and more since then.
Bernice Summerfield: The Oracle of Delphi
Jul. 1st, 2025 10:14 amOnto another one, and this time one that's set in Ancient Greece, that sees Benny and Jason meet Socrates.
This feels like such a novel setting for the range, after a long run of futuristic (for us) scifi adventures. Benny and Jason used to have time rings that the Doctor gave them as wedding presents, though in this case I think they're using one or more time rings from the Braxiatel Collection. It's a shame these are not used more often. It's not even clear listening to this story why they've decided to use them this time, except it's on orders from Bev. And there's a strange cliffhanger at the end, which is also muddled. Though that's something that can happen a lot with this range, with confusing/under-written arc elements. Not least with the awkward split between the books/short stories and the audio adventures.
But that aside it's a refreshing and light-hearted adventure. Albeit with the threat of a devastating plague hanging over Athens ... Socrates is a superb quasi-companion for Benny, and there are lots of clever insights into Athenian society and democracy. It's particularly amusing when Benny dresses up as a man to go into the Assembly. And then Socrates dresses up as a woman ...
Jason's side plot works well, and it's just all round fun. I think this was maybe the first Benny audio that Scott Handcock wrote for Big Finish? If so it's a great start.
This feels like such a novel setting for the range, after a long run of futuristic (for us) scifi adventures. Benny and Jason used to have time rings that the Doctor gave them as wedding presents, though in this case I think they're using one or more time rings from the Braxiatel Collection. It's a shame these are not used more often. It's not even clear listening to this story why they've decided to use them this time, except it's on orders from Bev. And there's a strange cliffhanger at the end, which is also muddled. Though that's something that can happen a lot with this range, with confusing/under-written arc elements. Not least with the awkward split between the books/short stories and the audio adventures.
But that aside it's a refreshing and light-hearted adventure. Albeit with the threat of a devastating plague hanging over Athens ... Socrates is a superb quasi-companion for Benny, and there are lots of clever insights into Athenian society and democracy. It's particularly amusing when Benny dresses up as a man to go into the Assembly. And then Socrates dresses up as a woman ...
Jason's side plot works well, and it's just all round fun. I think this was maybe the first Benny audio that Scott Handcock wrote for Big Finish? If so it's a great start.
Bernice Summerfield: The Lost Museum
Feb. 28th, 2025 10:05 amFinally resuming my listening and reviewing of Benny audios from Big Finish's series!
Just as a reminder, Benny/Bernice was introduced as a companion of the Seventh Doctor in the early 1990s Doctor Who novels. She then spun off to have her own adventures, and Big Finish made a long-running series of audio adventures starring Benny, played by actress Lisa Bowerman. Benny, like the more recent River Song, is a professor of archaeology. The stories are set in a scifi universe full of Doctor Who lore and monsters. Benny is often sent to investigate an archaeological site or matter on other planets. But in the series she is largely based at the Braxiatel Collection, an archive of strange artefacts, run by the mysterious Irving Braxiatel.
My latest listen is another in the 6th season of Benny audios. In this one, Benny and her former husband / on-off lover Jason Kane go to investigate the status of a museum on a war torn planet.
This is another sometimes brutal audio to listen to, following The Kingdom of the Blind. Like that one this includes accounts of torture, though less directly, rather recounted later. But it's still a tough listen, and does capture the sense of a society in anarchy, with a complicated picture of right and wrong, and certainly not a clear-cut black and white image.
More worryingly the soundscape is chaotic and it can be difficult to follow what's going on. I don't think it was as coherent as it could have been. However there are extremely powerful musings on the role of museums in preserving and sharing culture, and also their potential misuse for propaganda and power reasons. Benny also faces some rather direct questions about the supposedly open nature of the institution she works for.
So it was ok, but not one I'll rush to listen to again. Though the repartee between Benny and Jason was strong. Old friends rather than lovers now, but with a comfortable relationship that sees them survive a dangerous mission.
Just as a reminder, Benny/Bernice was introduced as a companion of the Seventh Doctor in the early 1990s Doctor Who novels. She then spun off to have her own adventures, and Big Finish made a long-running series of audio adventures starring Benny, played by actress Lisa Bowerman. Benny, like the more recent River Song, is a professor of archaeology. The stories are set in a scifi universe full of Doctor Who lore and monsters. Benny is often sent to investigate an archaeological site or matter on other planets. But in the series she is largely based at the Braxiatel Collection, an archive of strange artefacts, run by the mysterious Irving Braxiatel.
My latest listen is another in the 6th season of Benny audios. In this one, Benny and her former husband / on-off lover Jason Kane go to investigate the status of a museum on a war torn planet.
This is another sometimes brutal audio to listen to, following The Kingdom of the Blind. Like that one this includes accounts of torture, though less directly, rather recounted later. But it's still a tough listen, and does capture the sense of a society in anarchy, with a complicated picture of right and wrong, and certainly not a clear-cut black and white image.
More worryingly the soundscape is chaotic and it can be difficult to follow what's going on. I don't think it was as coherent as it could have been. However there are extremely powerful musings on the role of museums in preserving and sharing culture, and also their potential misuse for propaganda and power reasons. Benny also faces some rather direct questions about the supposedly open nature of the institution she works for.
So it was ok, but not one I'll rush to listen to again. Though the repartee between Benny and Jason was strong. Old friends rather than lovers now, but with a comfortable relationship that sees them survive a dangerous mission.
My early fandoms: Doctor Who
Dec. 4th, 2024 09:43 pmAnother in this slow going series from me, and this time I'm going for the easiest fandom of all for me to tackle!
I first started watching Doctor Who in 1978, aged 5, very shortly to be 6, with "The Ribos Operation" and the Key to Time 16th series with Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor paired with the glorious Mary Tamm as the first Romana. I was vaguely aware of Doctor Who before, but don't think I'd ever properly watched it. Certainly when I got my first Doctor Who annual, which featured Louise Jameson's Leela, I was utterly baffled. Though happy to go with the flow.
From that moment on Doctor Who was a fixed viewing point in our house, with Dad and me both hugely enjoying it. I loved the first version of Romana, but was shocked by the second - my first experience of Time Lord regeneration. And then we got to Logopolis, and yes, that was a shock too. Though I recognised Peter Davison from All Creatures Great and Small, and quickly took to his version of the Doctor with no problems.
I continued as a fan throughout the 1980s. Dad was often exasperated by some of the 1980s Doctors, especially Sylvester McCoy, but I remained a fan throughout. Loved the often bonkers storytelling. It did feel very much of its time. I continued to get a Doctor Who annual most years, but never joined fan organisations then like DWAS. Though I was generally reading Doctor Who Magazine every month throughout the 1980s.
I do remember trying to see a Doctor Who exhibition at Burntisland. My parents and I travelled the long distance up from the Scottish Borders by car, then got a train near Edinburgh to go over to Fife for the day. And there was supposed to be a Doctor Who exhibition there. But it wasn't there when we got there. I was disappointed. Though I do remember enjoying a helter skelter!
And then we got to 1989, and the end of TV Who. And I fell away. I remember joining a Doctor Who fan club at St Andrews University in 1990, but had a really unpleasant experience as a female fan and immediately left. It's just possible that it was a more generic scifi fan club, though if so I think it was still heavily Who leaning. I never knew about the Virgin New Adventures novels at the time, and completely stopped reading Doctor Who Magazine.
Then, somehow, and I still don't know how it happened, I completely missed that there was going to be a new Doctor Who TV Movie in 1996. I didn't even know it was on. Martin also failed to notice that - he would have mentioned it if he'd seen it. So we completely missed it. I also had no idea for many years that Paul McGann had played the part.
And that was how things remained, until 26th September 2003, and the news that Doctor Who was going to return with a new series. I saw that news on Ceefax, and it was like a total bolt out of the blue. And prompted me to return to the series, check out some books that had come out, start reading Doctor Who Magazine regularly again, and try my first Big Finish audio: The Chimes of Midnight, with Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor I'd never heard or seen before. Listened to on my own in our new home in 2004. Magic.
I first started watching Doctor Who in 1978, aged 5, very shortly to be 6, with "The Ribos Operation" and the Key to Time 16th series with Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor paired with the glorious Mary Tamm as the first Romana. I was vaguely aware of Doctor Who before, but don't think I'd ever properly watched it. Certainly when I got my first Doctor Who annual, which featured Louise Jameson's Leela, I was utterly baffled. Though happy to go with the flow.
From that moment on Doctor Who was a fixed viewing point in our house, with Dad and me both hugely enjoying it. I loved the first version of Romana, but was shocked by the second - my first experience of Time Lord regeneration. And then we got to Logopolis, and yes, that was a shock too. Though I recognised Peter Davison from All Creatures Great and Small, and quickly took to his version of the Doctor with no problems.
I continued as a fan throughout the 1980s. Dad was often exasperated by some of the 1980s Doctors, especially Sylvester McCoy, but I remained a fan throughout. Loved the often bonkers storytelling. It did feel very much of its time. I continued to get a Doctor Who annual most years, but never joined fan organisations then like DWAS. Though I was generally reading Doctor Who Magazine every month throughout the 1980s.
I do remember trying to see a Doctor Who exhibition at Burntisland. My parents and I travelled the long distance up from the Scottish Borders by car, then got a train near Edinburgh to go over to Fife for the day. And there was supposed to be a Doctor Who exhibition there. But it wasn't there when we got there. I was disappointed. Though I do remember enjoying a helter skelter!
And then we got to 1989, and the end of TV Who. And I fell away. I remember joining a Doctor Who fan club at St Andrews University in 1990, but had a really unpleasant experience as a female fan and immediately left. It's just possible that it was a more generic scifi fan club, though if so I think it was still heavily Who leaning. I never knew about the Virgin New Adventures novels at the time, and completely stopped reading Doctor Who Magazine.
Then, somehow, and I still don't know how it happened, I completely missed that there was going to be a new Doctor Who TV Movie in 1996. I didn't even know it was on. Martin also failed to notice that - he would have mentioned it if he'd seen it. So we completely missed it. I also had no idea for many years that Paul McGann had played the part.
And that was how things remained, until 26th September 2003, and the news that Doctor Who was going to return with a new series. I saw that news on Ceefax, and it was like a total bolt out of the blue. And prompted me to return to the series, check out some books that had come out, start reading Doctor Who Magazine regularly again, and try my first Big Finish audio: The Chimes of Midnight, with Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor I'd never heard or seen before. Listened to on my own in our new home in 2004. Magic.
Bernice Summerfield: The Grel Escape
Nov. 13th, 2024 08:48 pmOn to the first in season 5 of Big Finish's Bernice Summerfield audios. And a rather unusual one, where at the start Benny's young son Peter activates Benny's time and space travelling rings, leading to a manic chase through strange times and places.
As with many Benny audios in this period this one calls back to old stories. The time rings that Peter uses to transport the group through time and space were a gift from the Seventh Doctor to Benny and Jason, in novel Happy Endings, and were also used as a plot element in a number of subsequent novels featuring Benny. Many of which were made into audios later by Big Finish.
But the story also calls back to the First Doctor TV story "The Chase". Which I haven't seen or heard, any more than I've read Happy Endings or read/heard the other time ring stories. There is even a Grel who seems to sound like William Hartnell's First Doctor early on in this audio, though I'm not sure if that was intentional! But at least I didn't need to know about the earlier TV story, even if it means I miss some of the connections.
It's a truly bizarre set of adventures, that's often extremely funny. The Grel chasing Benny and team are consistently good value on entertainment grounds. And the dialogue between Benny, Jason, their friend Sophia and robot assistant Joseph is also often laugh out loud hilarious.
Oh and I didn't previously know who the Grel were either - they first appeared in Doctor Who novel Oh No It Isn't, another Virgin New Adventures story Big Finish turned into an early Benny audio, that I haven't heard either! But the very useful Tardis Wiki told me probably all that I needed to know, with the description "Squid-like humanoid". And it was fine.
In a nutshell this was a lot of fun. It also creatively developed the ongoing story of Benny, young Peter and Jason. And I laughed a lot. Though I'm not a fan of the new Benny title music. The previous theme was much more fun. Also sounded a lot less like Space Invaders or Galaxian.
As with many Benny audios in this period this one calls back to old stories. The time rings that Peter uses to transport the group through time and space were a gift from the Seventh Doctor to Benny and Jason, in novel Happy Endings, and were also used as a plot element in a number of subsequent novels featuring Benny. Many of which were made into audios later by Big Finish.
But the story also calls back to the First Doctor TV story "The Chase". Which I haven't seen or heard, any more than I've read Happy Endings or read/heard the other time ring stories. There is even a Grel who seems to sound like William Hartnell's First Doctor early on in this audio, though I'm not sure if that was intentional! But at least I didn't need to know about the earlier TV story, even if it means I miss some of the connections.
It's a truly bizarre set of adventures, that's often extremely funny. The Grel chasing Benny and team are consistently good value on entertainment grounds. And the dialogue between Benny, Jason, their friend Sophia and robot assistant Joseph is also often laugh out loud hilarious.
Oh and I didn't previously know who the Grel were either - they first appeared in Doctor Who novel Oh No It Isn't, another Virgin New Adventures story Big Finish turned into an early Benny audio, that I haven't heard either! But the very useful Tardis Wiki told me probably all that I needed to know, with the description "Squid-like humanoid". And it was fine.
In a nutshell this was a lot of fun. It also creatively developed the ongoing story of Benny, young Peter and Jason. And I laughed a lot. Though I'm not a fan of the new Benny title music. The previous theme was much more fun. Also sounded a lot less like Space Invaders or Galaxian.
Bernice Summerfield: Death and the Daleks
Nov. 7th, 2024 01:07 pmOn to the extra long final audio in season 4 of Big Finish's Benny audios. And this one is rather unusual, starting in media res, following a dramatic setup only covered in print in the Big Finish book of short stories Life During Wartime. ( big spoilers ... )
Overall a really strong audio, though I think the book/audio mix wasn't fully effective, even if it was far less of a problem for me than I expected it to be.
Overall a really strong audio, though I think the book/audio mix wasn't fully effective, even if it was far less of a problem for me than I expected it to be.
Bernice Summerfield: The Draconian Rage
Oct. 24th, 2024 12:41 pmContinuing Big Finish's series of audio adventures with Doctor Who spinoff character Bernice Summerfield. And we get to this one. Which sees Benny off to an alien world, negotiating courtly intrigue, deadly plots and some truly horrific treatment.
This is the first Benny in a while where I'm not familiar with the alien species depicted. Shock horror I have never seen 1973's "Frontier in Space" (first aired when I wasn't yet a year old). So I've had to look up to find out about the species and its history. And even what it looks like. That's ok, I'm fine with that.
What I'm less happy about is that this audio is a sequel - and not in a slight way - to an earlier Big Finish main range Doctor Who audio featuring Benny, Ace and the Seventh Doctor. To be fair that Doctor Who audio was originally released just a few months before this Benny audio. But at this distance of 21+ years I'm listening to the later audio and haven't heard the earlier one. And as a listener - or reader, or whatever - I always feel frustrated, admittedly somewhat irrationally so, when there's a major callback to a previous story I don't know. I feel I'm unfairly missing out on stuff, and not getting the full feelings I would if I'd heard/read the earlier one.
Now I was told much that I needed to know about the prior story in this audio. But I had no familiarity with a past prominently featured and mentioned character. And little emotional connection with the past events at all. So that aspect of things fell very flat for me.
But there was much to like. Beware though some truly gruesome things happen in this audio. Which you are not spared from by hearing just the audio only. If anything that may make things even worse. Extremely effective sound effects! But yes, I enjoyed, with a major proviso.
This is the first Benny in a while where I'm not familiar with the alien species depicted. Shock horror I have never seen 1973's "Frontier in Space" (first aired when I wasn't yet a year old). So I've had to look up to find out about the species and its history. And even what it looks like. That's ok, I'm fine with that.
What I'm less happy about is that this audio is a sequel - and not in a slight way - to an earlier Big Finish main range Doctor Who audio featuring Benny, Ace and the Seventh Doctor. To be fair that Doctor Who audio was originally released just a few months before this Benny audio. But at this distance of 21+ years I'm listening to the later audio and haven't heard the earlier one. And as a listener - or reader, or whatever - I always feel frustrated, admittedly somewhat irrationally so, when there's a major callback to a previous story I don't know. I feel I'm unfairly missing out on stuff, and not getting the full feelings I would if I'd heard/read the earlier one.
Now I was told much that I needed to know about the prior story in this audio. But I had no familiarity with a past prominently featured and mentioned character. And little emotional connection with the past events at all. So that aspect of things fell very flat for me.
But there was much to like. Beware though some truly gruesome things happen in this audio. Which you are not spared from by hearing just the audio only. If anything that may make things even worse. Extremely effective sound effects! But yes, I enjoyed, with a major proviso.
Continuing my Benny audio listen, and taking a slight detour from the official Big Finish Benny audio season 3, to listen to another story slotting into the middle of season 3. So I'm in the right chronological order, but listening to a Benny story that was released separately from the others.
This story is the fourth in a series of linked Excelis Saga Doctor Who stories from Big Finish, set on a mysterious world, featuring the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Doctors. All 4 stories, as well as a separate music suite, are available together in a collected download bundle.
The earlier Excelis stories with the various Doctors are worth listening to. Guest star Anthony Head is particularly strong. But this 4th story is separate, and can be listened to on its own. Benny has arrived accidentally at Excelis, where she finds a decaying empire, and learns of a mysterious artefact "The Relic". And meets enigmatic time traveller Iris Wildthyme. Iris is another spin-off character from the Doctor Who books published in the Wilderness Years of 1989-2005. She is well acted by Katy Manning, and always worth listening to.
This story itself is a mixed bag. On plus, the scenes with Benny and Iris - usually together, but sometimes apart - are great value. However far too much of the rest of the script involves mega info dumps. So much for the "show don't tell" school of writing. To be fair it had material to recap from the earlier stories. But that could have been handled better, rewritten, or trimmed. It's a shame, because the core scifi idea that the story spins around is strong. And the pairing of Benny and Iris is dynamite. But the whole package needed to be presented in a different way.
I'm glad I listened to it again though. But I'm more critical this time around of the writing.
Best quote: "A handbag!"
This story is the fourth in a series of linked Excelis Saga Doctor Who stories from Big Finish, set on a mysterious world, featuring the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Doctors. All 4 stories, as well as a separate music suite, are available together in a collected download bundle.
The earlier Excelis stories with the various Doctors are worth listening to. Guest star Anthony Head is particularly strong. But this 4th story is separate, and can be listened to on its own. Benny has arrived accidentally at Excelis, where she finds a decaying empire, and learns of a mysterious artefact "The Relic". And meets enigmatic time traveller Iris Wildthyme. Iris is another spin-off character from the Doctor Who books published in the Wilderness Years of 1989-2005. She is well acted by Katy Manning, and always worth listening to.
This story itself is a mixed bag. On plus, the scenes with Benny and Iris - usually together, but sometimes apart - are great value. However far too much of the rest of the script involves mega info dumps. So much for the "show don't tell" school of writing. To be fair it had material to recap from the earlier stories. But that could have been handled better, rewritten, or trimmed. It's a shame, because the core scifi idea that the story spins around is strong. And the pairing of Benny and Iris is dynamite. But the whole package needed to be presented in a different way.
I'm glad I listened to it again though. But I'm more critical this time around of the writing.
Best quote: "A handbag!"
Bernice Summerfield ("Benny") was introduced as a companion of the Seventh Doctor in the Virgin New Adventures Doctor Who novels in 1992. Which I totally missed, falling away from Who fandom completely between 1989 and 2003. I even missed the 1996 Paul McGann TV movie, not even knowing that it was happening!
Big Finish started making audio adventures starring Benny in 1998, with her played by Lisa Bowerman. These audios primarily explored her life as the archaeologist working for the Braxiatel Collection. Which also built up an ensemble group around her. 11 series of audios were made between 1998 and 2010, though things were complicated by character and plot developments being split between the audios and books that were being published by Big Finish at the same time. I have read some of these books, and have listened to some of the audios. But still have to go through it all properly, or at least as much of it as I can. I do have quite a lot of the Big Finish books in hand still waiting to read.
After this Big Finish issued a number of audios relocating Benny to another setting, with a totally different ensemble set of characters. I didn't enjoy these, so gave up on them quickly. But I did like what followed, a series of "The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield" audio boxsets pairing Benny with the Seventh Doctor again, and then with an alternative universe version of the Doctor, the "Unbound Doctor", played by David Warner. I really like the Benny and David Warner audios, though have only listened to some of them so far. These continued until David Warner's sad passing in 2022. And there are also some different audios featuring this pairing out this summer.
The more complete approach to listening to the Benny audios would be to go back to the first one in 1998, "Oh No It Isn't!". But for preference reasons I'm going to the start of season 3, which I started listening from a while back, enjoyed a lot, and am keen to resume from. At this point Benny is working for the Braxiatel Collection, and has a baby son Peter.
First up is "The Greatest Shop in the Galaxy", which is a laugh out loud mix of timey wimey stuff, encountering other species, and blatant consumerism. Oh and a small spherical robot assistant, called Joseph, who constantly goes "Boing!". I like this one a lot.
Big Finish started making audio adventures starring Benny in 1998, with her played by Lisa Bowerman. These audios primarily explored her life as the archaeologist working for the Braxiatel Collection. Which also built up an ensemble group around her. 11 series of audios were made between 1998 and 2010, though things were complicated by character and plot developments being split between the audios and books that were being published by Big Finish at the same time. I have read some of these books, and have listened to some of the audios. But still have to go through it all properly, or at least as much of it as I can. I do have quite a lot of the Big Finish books in hand still waiting to read.
After this Big Finish issued a number of audios relocating Benny to another setting, with a totally different ensemble set of characters. I didn't enjoy these, so gave up on them quickly. But I did like what followed, a series of "The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield" audio boxsets pairing Benny with the Seventh Doctor again, and then with an alternative universe version of the Doctor, the "Unbound Doctor", played by David Warner. I really like the Benny and David Warner audios, though have only listened to some of them so far. These continued until David Warner's sad passing in 2022. And there are also some different audios featuring this pairing out this summer.
The more complete approach to listening to the Benny audios would be to go back to the first one in 1998, "Oh No It Isn't!". But for preference reasons I'm going to the start of season 3, which I started listening from a while back, enjoyed a lot, and am keen to resume from. At this point Benny is working for the Braxiatel Collection, and has a baby son Peter.
First up is "The Greatest Shop in the Galaxy", which is a laugh out loud mix of timey wimey stuff, encountering other species, and blatant consumerism. Oh and a small spherical robot assistant, called Joseph, who constantly goes "Boing!". I like this one a lot.
