BF 092: Nocturne

[SiHart]

The Doctor, Ace and Hex visit another war!



On the human colony planet Nocturne, there is suffering and blight, tragic symptoms of an ages-old war. Never the less, Nocturne is also one of the Doctor's favourite places in all of time and space, because it is here that a late, great flowering of human art - the High Renaissance - is taking place.

He has been back here, many times. It is a place of music and art which he finds inspirational and uplifting. It is a place he wants to share with Ace and Hex. It's always been a safe haven for him, a world of friends and laughter.

But with strict Martial Law imposed on the front-line city, and the brutal scourge of interstellar warfare vicing the system, how safe can anyone really be?

There is a note of death in the wild, midnight wind...

Cast List
The Doctor Sylvester McCoy
Ace Sophie Aldred
Hex Philip Olivier
Korbin Thessenger Trevor Bannister
Will Alloran Paul David-Gough
Lothar Ragpole Eric Potts
Lilian Dillane Ann Rye
Cate Reeney Helen Kay

Si xx

[Si Hunt]

there is suffering and blight

(Annette Crosbie-esque) For Goooooooodssss saaaaake Victorrrr!

And spot the cheapie cast!

I tell you what though, that cover is bloody fantastic.

Si.

[SiHart]

Trevor "Are You Being Served" Bannister probably wouldn't be all that cheap... possibly.

Si xx

[Si Hunt]

I assumed he was that BBC Books writer! Which one was he in AYBS? The one who was in "Dalek Invasion of Earth" with the big ears?

Can I marry that cover? Look at the little TARDIS! Issosweet!

Si.

[SiHart]

It's not Trevor Baxendale Si! It's Mr Lucas from AYBS... the "young" one....



Si xx

[Si Hunt]

He's the sort isn't he?

Si.

[Rob McCow]

That cover gets my "Cool Robot" Seal of Approval!

Traditionally it's been Davison who's got the rubbish adventures, but these days McCoy is coming back strong with awful release after awful release. Only Cool Robots can save the 7th Doctor now!

[Dirk Gently]

Writer: Dan Abnett
Director: John Ainsworth
Starring: Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor
Release Date: February 2007
Recorded: 26 & 27 September 2006
Sound Design and Music: Steve Foxon
Production Code: 7WF
ISBN: 978-1-84435-180-0

On the human colony planet Nocturne, there is suffering and blight, tragic symptoms of an ages-old war. Never the less, Nocturne is also one of the Doctor's favourite places in all of time and space, because it is here that a late, great flowering of human art - the High Renaissance - is taking place.

He has been back here, many times. It is a place of music and art which he finds inspirational and uplifting. It is a place he wants to share with Ace and Hex. It's always been a safe haven for him, a world of friends and laughter.

But with strict Martial Law imposed on the front-line city, and the brutal scourge of interstellar warfare vicing the system, how safe can anyone really be?

There is a note of death in the wild, midnight wind...

This story takes place after "Survival".

Cast List

The Doctor Sylvester McCoy
Ace Sophie Aldred
Hex Philip Olivier
Korbin Thessenger Trevor Bannister
Will Alloran Paul David-Gough
Lothar Ragpole Eric Potts
Lilian Dillane Ann Rye
Cate Reeney Helen Kay

Quite an apt release seeing as Survival will be out on DVD soon.

[Rob McCow]

Ace! Mr.Hex! I really hate you, so I'm taking you to another War!

[Dirk Gently]

I've done the first disc & it seems to me that the writer listened to 'Whispers of Terror' & '...ish' & thought, "I can write a story like that!" And so far it's better than '...ish' but not as good as 'Whispers' IMO.

Disc two soon.

[SiHart]

It's here.

We haven't put it on yet.

Same as ever then!

Si xx

[Rob McCow]

Yes, oddly enough I didn't actually say "Let's celebrate our anniversary with Nocturne!"

The McCoy picture on the inside sleeve is really scary.

[Dirk Gently]

It's not a bad story but it does have a machine at the end that the Doctor just happens to knock up which is probably expected but never-the-less is a let down.

Not a bad story but crucially not a great one. 6.5 / 10.

[Si Hunt]

I'm not loving this I have to say. I'm on Episode 3 and it's okay, but I'm finding it confusing. I haven't connected with any of the characters, and the confusing, slightly alienating sub-"Robots of Death"/"Ish" plot isn't thrilling me.

It's just about holding my attention for the first 30 minutes of a car journey I have to make anyway. But if I was sitting at home listening to this, I'd have nodded off long ago.

Hey hey.

Si.

[Si Hunt]

I've finished this and I'm glad it's out the way. I struggled to find anything to latch onto, to be honest - no memorable characters or particuarly unique storyline strands. The "monster as a sound" is just a rip-off of "Whispers of Terror" and "Ish" really isn't it? And the dullest TARDIS team of them all. YAWN!

Si.

[Raston]

I've not heard this yet, but if Si Hunt didn't like it then its probably cracking!

Si should probably take a break from BF if he is finding it such a chore. Perhaps he's just lost the magic for now?

[Pip Madeley]

Why is ladies man Mr Hollyoaks Sex In The City Beefcake 2007:



playing a companion to Sylvester McCoy's Doctor?

I don't get it, it seems very odd that he'd want to be part of it, unless he's being paid a lot, or being blackmailed by Jason William Hague Ellery... or perhaps he's just a really big fan of Time And The Rani?

[Si Hunt]

Mr Olivier is still a jobbing actor, and not a massively in-demand one at that, despite his pin-up status. I would think going in to record an audio play once every three months is a nice, pleasant little gig for him.

Si should probably take a break from BF if he is finding it such a chore. Perhaps he's just lost the magic for now?

Or perhaps, heaven forbid, it could just be that this particular release was devoid of much "magic". Check your facts Andrew - I loved last month's "Circular Time".

Si.

[Raston]

Or perhaps, heaven forbid, it could just be that this particular release was devoid of much "magic". Check your facts Andrew - I loved last month's "Circular Time".

Si.

Ok Si, as i've not heard it yet i can't comment on it. I didn't read your views on circular time so i didn't realise you liked that one.

But i was getting the impression that you seem to view the arrival of a new BF story as a chore more than a joy-if you don't then thats great though. But sometimes it does seem like you say how much you wont like a story even before it arrives, and that strikes me as it seeming like you have had BF overkill a bit and could perhaps do with a break from them for a little while or whatever.

I appreciate we all like all sorts of BF stories, and i hope you didn't mind my little joke about you not liking it meaning i will though (while that will be true of some it will equally be untrue of others)

[Si Hunt]

sometimes it does seem like you say how much you wont like a story even before it arrives

That's not true at all, I never decide before I listen. I'm always willing to be pleasantly surprised, but if you've had a run of mostly bad stories, then you're going not going to expect the next one to be fabulous. By the laws of expectation, I'm giving each release more of a chance by not expecting it to be great.

Believe it or not, I don't relish dissing a story. I write an article on every release I listen to and you've no idea how much effort I go to trying to find positives so as not to come over a killjoy. But at the same time a high % of releases have been very average for a long time, and it's not just me saying that, read other peoples comments as well.

The only other person to have commented on this story so far is Tim, and he wasn't bowled over. Everyone's entitled to their opinions, but I think you'll find that I'm very rarely alone in finding a release dissapointing, so it's you, rather than me, that is of the minority opinion in liking dull-fests like "Dream Time" and others.

Si.

[SiHart]

We rather enjoyed this one yesterday. McCoy seemed to be more in the ball than in other recent releases, which was nice. We liked the quiet little scene between him and Sophie in pt 4- that was really well done. The story was fairly enjoyable- a good solid, average release, or maybe above average considering the current standard.

Did anyone else find the CD extras at the end of disc 2? Some nice interviews there.

Si xx

[Rob McCow]

Yeah, this one was pretty good but not a classic by any stretch.

I did like the 'bait - Beethoven' joke though!

Soapy, Sexy and Sylv were on good form throughout.

[Si Hunt]

Gah! I spit on your justice!

Si.

[Paul Monk]

I quite enjoyed this but it was nothing special. As someone said before the whole sound monster idea has been used before.
The big problem I had with it though was the lack of urgency or danger. We were continually told that the creature was out there in the city and could destroy the whole of Nocturne but there was never really any actually sense of this.
Still never mind. Sylv was quite good (although it always sounds like his voice was recorded with maximum reverb) and Sophie was great. I quite like this newer maturer sounding Ace.

[Wayne]

I forgot to mention that i heard it about about a week ago. By now i've forgotten absolutely everything about it. In fact, 10 minutes after i'd finished it, i'd forgotten absolutely everything about it.