Good afternoon lady and gentle readers, recently it was Big Finishes 21st anniversary of releasing Doctor Who output. Blimey 21 years, what better way to celebrate than with a list and for your pleasure I have ranked the first 100 releases of The Big Finish monthly range. This is the second round of the rankings taking from 20-16. As usual beware spoilers and enjoy!
20. Omega, its the 5th Doctors entry into the villain trilogy in the build up to Zagreus with this being my favourite entry in the trilogy. Omega is one of those characters that have a lot of story in them and hasn't been used much over the years so its quite the treat when he does come up. Apart from his two televised stories this is the first time I've come across him and I'm happy to say there is a trend of leaving Omega in a more interesting place than when we found him. I love this story, its playing games with the listener - bait and switch on multiple occasions. We're constantly on the back foot, where are we, how did we get here, is this really the right time to be referencing Talking Heads? Certain information we get during this story is wrong, which we work out fairly early on but the crux of the story is why its wrong. Up until the end of episode three nothing makes sense and then something happens that changes the nature of this play. On top of that we still have a quarter of the action to go and the story is still developing. There is a lot going on in this entry, I'd recommend watching the two Omega TV stories before listening. If you don't you'll get nothing from this story, if you do you get a heck of a play with very good re-listen value.
19. Colditz, Nazis the old Doctor Who metaphor, until we get to the seventh Doctor era where they started popping up on a regular basis. Its the 7th Doctor and Ace going up against Nazis but this time on their own territory in their own time in Colditz ****ing Castle! Full of references to the TV series and board game this part of the story is at times ripping yarns and harrowing. But wait theres more! Theres a timey wimey plot as well! We get the introduction of Elizabeth Klein and she's got about as many secrets as the 7th Doctor usually has. We have a multi layered play full of novelty value for an early appearance of David Tenant, of interest for introducing Klein and a tight intriguing play in its own right.
18. Flip-Flop, if you asked me to name one writer I've encountered in Doctor Who spinoff that I'd like to see go on to bigger and better things (who hasn't all ready) it would be Jonathan Morris. I first came across him with the book Festival of Death and since then his stuff has a high hit rate with me. This story is from the experimental stage that Big Finish went through in 2003 and sees the 7th Doctor and Mel in a story where the two discs can be listened to in either order. The play is absolutely nailed to the plot with no moment to breathe but personally I love this aspect. I've heard this story on multiple occasions in both orders and the story still works. Its a proper bonkers timey wimey comedy as opposed to the timey wimey serious story that was the previous entry. The story doesn't come with first or second discs it comes with black and white discs. Amazingly if you listen to the black disc first its a much darker story. recommended Highly!
17. Creatures of Beauty, its another 2003 experimental story this time with the 5th Doctor and Nyssa. Its also slightly timey wimey as the story is told out of order offering more multi listen value. We start the story about two thirds through and spend the majority of the play filling in the gaps and seeing events from multiple angles. Its very interesting and a play that feels like its developing more as we go through. The reason this play is so high in my personal rankings is because of the ending, let me clarify that when I say the ending I don't mean the final act or episode I mean the final few seconds of the play. Up until those moments on the first listen I had this down as a good decent story but the final seconds hold a twist that I didn't see coming and caused this play to sky rocket in my estimations.
16. Zagreus, the 50th story in the range and the 40th anniversary (along with the preceding Villains trilogy) story! After a wait of eighteen months since the last 8th Doctor story (eight years for me due to falling behind) and that cliff hanger that it ended on we finally made it! This is a proper epic story, three discs long and strap yourselves in its going to be a long ride. I know there are aspects that fandom doesn't like but I love it. Its one of my most re-listened to stories, Jon Pertwees unexpected appearance is so emotional, Nicholas Courtneys role is lovely and I love the assorted regulars from previous eras playing different parts. Theres a good slab of continuity as series regulars & unexpected friends turn up as spin offs are launched and we're plunged into the divergent arc. A story that looks backwards as well as forwards, a story with an eight year build that for me was ultimately worth it.
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