We're going back to 1975!!!
The first is The Ghosts of Gralstead which already
contained something I'm not very fond of - 6 episodes! It was called doglegging
back in the classic series, but most of the time, 6 episodes just felt like 2
too many for me. The Ghosts of Gralstead is one of the exceptions
though! The pacing from start to finish feels moderate and at times brisk.
There is very little padding and when there is, it is covered up with fantastic
dialogue.
Rating The Ghosts of Gralstead:
9/10. A solid, benchmark story depicting what the Philip Hinchcliffe is all
about!
One of the most popular times in
Doctor Who was the Philip Hinchliffe era. Famous for gloom and doom, dark and
Gothic, this box set promised to take us back to 1975.
Composed of two stories, The
Ghosts of Gralstead and The Devil's Armada, the former being a
6-parter, the latter being a 4-parter, I was most curious to see if Big Finish
could pull off the grim atmosphere the era is renowned for. More importantly, I
wondered if they would be able to make the era enjoyable for me. Because for me
personally, the stories set during this particular era of Doctor Who don’t
comprise a lot of my favorites. Of the 16 stories, I've only seen 10 and I only
like 3, so I knew I'd be tough to please.
The first is The Ghosts of Gralstead which already
contained something I'm not very fond of - 6 episodes! It was called doglegging
back in the classic series, but most of the time, 6 episodes just felt like 2
too many for me. The Ghosts of Gralstead is one of the exceptions
though! The pacing from start to finish feels moderate and at times brisk.
There is very little padding and when there is, it is covered up with fantastic
dialogue.
Like most of 6-parters, I took my
time listening to it and enjoyed every moment of it. Tom and Louise are on top
form and their characters even more so. Leela finds a kindred spirit whose
company makes the listener want to hop into the story and join them. There is
just something about the blunt, uncultured Leela that captures your ears.
Making up her own names for things to make it easier for her to understand.
It's adorable.
The Fourth Doctor is his usual
clever self, albeit a little more detached and insensitive at times. This is
clearly visible during one of the scenes in the second episode. Like me, you'll
probably go: "That's pretty cold Doc!
The supporting characters have, I am
pleased to inform, no duds. At least not for me and I usually always find at
least one to hate. Usually there is at least one character that comes across as
unlikable or annoying that drops the story's score for you. Gralstead has none.
They all come across as reasonable and given that we have six episodes, each
one of them receives time to develop and charm us. On the topic of the cast,
it's nice to see how large it is for this story. It's unusual for a story to
have 12 characters, but as I said before, the six-parter allows/requires
additional characters to function.
The villain for this piece might be
the only thing that drags it down. At times, you'll go 'oh please shut up' or
as you get to know them better, you'll probably go 'I wish we’d get to the part
where you die already'. A well-thought out character granted; it's just a shame
they come across as such a whiny pain in some parts. Takes away all the menace!
The Devil's Armada is a complete 180 on the scale.
Taking place in Elizabethan times, the tale brings us witches, imps,
overzealous religious followers and a priest. It's also incredibly boring! How
weird that I'd enjoy a story I usually criticize for being too long when the
story that's just the right length fails so miserably? The Devil's Armada is filled with cliche tropes (you know how I
love those), all of which you’d expect to see in such a tale, making it feel
like it’s just trying to tick off all the standard boxes required for a this
type of story to work.
What also makes this story so hard
is the pace. It ranges from moderate to unnaturally slow, focusing more on
side-quests than getting to the bottom of the main plot. The first episode is
specially mixed and depending on your attitude towards it, will cause it to
either go on being better or worse. It's also filled with cliche characters to
go with the cliché tropes it’s filled with. Nothing you haven’t seen like a
dozen times before.
The Devil's Armada
does contain the best line of the two stories in this little gem
from Leela early on: Elizabeth the 1st? Is that like November the 5th?
How precious is that?
The concept behind the monster
however is great. There are shades of The Fearmonger and Midnight,
but overall, it still manages to do a good job over the enemy used in
Gralstead. There is a sinister hide and seek mystery game going on in this
story that is more entertaining when compared to the scenes featured in
Gralstead.
Rating The Devil's Armada: 7/10.
Good ideas, but some bad plot focuses.
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