The Martian Invasion of Planetoid 50 [AUDIO/2023.9.12]
★★★☆☆
While Stranded awes me with how it affirms that Big Finish hasn't lost its innovative touch, the Once and Future celebration series continues to be in the realm of 'mildly enjoyable'. Is this lukewarm opinion of mine down to the bad first impression it had on me? Maybe, but all the other releases are somewhat fun, right? Surely, that's got to amount to something. It's not as if I loathe Once and Future; I enjoy much of it, and I do look forward to listening to the remaining entries -- they seem to have more promise to them than the ones we've got so far. As far as coasting releases go (which have been pretty much the entirety of this series, let's be honest... except for maybe Two's Company) The Martian Invasion of Planetoid 50 isn't offensive in any way. It knows its capacity and its purpose -- to bridge the gap and to entertain, and with the entire Paternoster gang, David Tennant's Tenth Doctor and Michelle Gomez's Missy on the shortlist... it'd be a hard task not to be entertaining.
The H.G. Wells influences are purely superficial, but a nice lick of paint always gives an adventure a taste of its own. That's one of the strengths of Martian Invasion, and it's a shame that that coat of paint doesn't go all that far. That's when the fun banter kicks in, and there's plenty of juicy stuff to admire. Ten is simply ecstatic to be there, having jumped into a future incarnation of himself, and Missy steals the show wholesale by being such a conniving and alluring villain. The Paternoster gang is appreciated as well, and Vastra's devotion for Jenny is a sweet little touch. Do I consider this particularly special? No, no I don't. It's perfectly fine; it's also very fun with a very special Time Lord pairing. I still don't think Once and Future has reached its potential as of yet... but maybe the future holds exactly what I'm looking for. For what it's worth... however Once and Future plays out, it'll always have its own novelty and I'll always like that about Once and Future -- its novelty. If Big Finish releases an entire limited-edition package of the series one day, I might be tempted to buy it (that's the highest praise any series can get; I don't buy much merch). For now, it's a more ambitious but less daring version of the Destiny of the Doctor series from Dr. Who's 50th anniversary. It wants to do something more special, but doesn't quite put in the effort in execution. Make of that what you will.
While Stranded awes me with how it affirms that Big Finish hasn't lost its innovative touch, the Once and Future celebration series continues to be in the realm of 'mildly enjoyable'. Is this lukewarm opinion of mine down to the bad first impression it had on me? Maybe, but all the other releases are somewhat fun, right? Surely, that's got to amount to something. It's not as if I loathe Once and Future; I enjoy much of it, and I do look forward to listening to the remaining entries -- they seem to have more promise to them than the ones we've got so far. As far as coasting releases go (which have been pretty much the entirety of this series, let's be honest... except for maybe Two's Company) The Martian Invasion of Planetoid 50 isn't offensive in any way. It knows its capacity and its purpose -- to bridge the gap and to entertain, and with the entire Paternoster gang, David Tennant's Tenth Doctor and Michelle Gomez's Missy on the shortlist... it'd be a hard task not to be entertaining.
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