| Title | : | Doctor Who: Dreamtime |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 184435136X |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781844351367 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Audio CD |
| Number of Pages | : | - |
| Publication | : | First published March 1, 2005 |
A city travels the stars, inhabited by stone ghosts. At its heart, an ancient remembrance of Earth. Mythical creatures stalk the streets and alien visitors have come in search of trade. But there is nothing to trade. Only fear. And death. And the stone ghosts.
For Hex's first destination in the TARDIS, it's about the strangest place he could have imagined. Weird and very far from wonderful. Adjustment to his new life could prove tough. But he will have to adjust and do more, just to stay alive, and Ace will have to be his guide through this lost city of shadows and predatory dreams.
And the Doctor is the first to go missing.
The Doctor has crossed into the Dreamtime.
Doctor Who: Dreamtime Reviews
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My least favorite of the Seventh Doctor audio adventures (so far), coincidentally (or not), written by the same man who wrote my least favorite Six & Evelyn adventure:
Doctor Who: The Sandman.
I really have no idea what happened in this story. Ayers Rock and a big chunk of Australia itself is floating through space because . . . something. And everyone's turning into stone because of bunyips or something. And if there's an antagonist, it's the aboriginal dream state itself. Or something. I really don't know what was going on, and I really didn't care. I just wanted it to end.
A shame that Hex's first trip in the TARDIS was in this strange (and boring) (and thankfully short) script. The only reason I give this two stars instead of one is because I sense there was something here I was just missing.
But I doubt it.
This story is preceded by
The Harvest, and followed by
Live 34. -
Big Finish: Dreamtime by Simon Forward
Dreamtime is Hex’s first adventure with the Doctor and Ace away from Earth. You know you’re in trouble when the characters themselves are asking “What’s going on?” and the only responses are utterly nonsensical versions of “It’s difficult to explain.”
The worst part about this whole mess is that the performances are excellent. Sylvester and Sophie sold the hell out of the nonsensical plot, so kudos to them. I liked the lizards, but overall, a waste of effort.
I really have no idea what happened in this story. Ayers Rock and a big chunk of Australia itself is floating through space because … something. And everyone’s turning into stone because of bunyips or something. And if there’s an antagonist, it’s the aboriginal dream state itself. Or something. I really don’t know what was going on, and I really didn’t care. I just wanted it to end.
A shame that Hex’s first trip in the TARDIS was in this strange (and boring) (and thankfully short) script. The only reason I give this two stars instead of one is because there was something here was just missing.
Interesting concept but the idea felt but it didn’t work out very well. -
High concept story like ...ISH or ones with non-linear, convoluted premise like Deadline, Scherzo, Architects of History, Creatures of Beauty, or Peri and the Piscon Paradox could be fun. But this one is just failed miserably to be fun, let alone have any clarity on it. Everything is cryptic and everything is unexplained, and at least half of the characters talk vaguely in riddles (not literally, but it'd probably be more entertaining if it was).
As my brain understand it, I started listening about a distress situation in somewhere in space, then Seventh, Ace, and Hex arrived in Uluru that somehow got chucked off into an asteroid drifting in space, then there are people but statues, then Ace faints (I forgot why), then The Doctor zapped out, something about Dream Commando that fights...something, alien lizards with guns, a cacophony of screaming people caught in dream, Seventh talks to a guru, and something about the end of the world.
At this point, around the third part, I fell asleep while still listening to it.
When I woke up, somehow now the story has a villain that is not anyone I remembered from characters I listened before, still cacophony of screaming people, The Doctor's impersonation tried to drown Ace, and what baffled me the most—even after everything—a talk about the native people made the super weapon being handled by woman only??? Probably I was half-asleep and or having a dissociation/derealization, but I honestly wouldn't surprise if I wasn't.
Interestingly though, I still think this story has a lot of interesting ideas, but it just landed very wrongly in the wrong media. You can't explain that many plots, that gajillion characters, that highly abstract concepts, into an audio drama without dumping the dialogue with expositions and or making it at least 7 hours long. It probably works a lot better as a written book or comic instead.
I never left a DW audio drama unfinished, I even hogged on through the Hollows of Time, Nekromanteia, and even the trauma-inducing Unbound's Exile. But I have to throw in the towel for this one. I could not and would not go through the brain-dead feeling of it all again. -
Take this for what it's worth... I also really like "Winter for the Adept" which is another story thick with atmosphere and light on plot. This story, appropriately plays on the fringes of making sense, and it kind of works, not completely, but kind of. I think if you like your Sylv and Soph in terms of "Remembrance of the Daleks" this isn't exactly your story, but if you also like "Ghost Light" and "Greatest Show in the Galaxy", you might enjoy this. I did, though it admittedly falls apart by the end.
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This actually wasn't very gripping. And it looks like I'm not the only one who was underwhelmed.
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夢の中の世界に吸い込まれて、その人は石になって....なんかわかったようなわからないようなでずーっと繰り返し聴き続けてたけどもうそろそろ限界。聴き飽きた....またいつかリベンジするとゆーことで
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Originally posted
here at Anime Radius.
Companions on Doctor Who, when it comes to their first outing in the TARDIS, never get an easy ride: Tegan is forced to carry a post-regenerated Doctor around a strange planet; Charley Pollard faced down Cybermen while Ace smashed the hell out of Daleks with a baseball bat. Seems only fair that everyone’s favorite male nurse from the near future, Thomas Hector Schofield, should get the same treatment. With a giant chunk of Australia floating through space on a meteor, filled with ghosts and stone people and dangerous monsters round every corner, Dreamtime certainly succeeds in introducing Hex to the wild and wonderful universe that awaits him in future travels.
The story itself is very spooky and beautiful in a way. It’s obvious how much time and research Simon A. Forward put into the backstory of the Dreamtime, a concept which itself originates from Aboriginal mythology. The Galyari themselves actually originate from a previous Big Finish audio, but you don’t need to listen to it to understand their part of the story. I wish I could say that the story itself made sense overall, but a lot of it went over my head and seemed overly complicated at some points. The opening scene, however, is utterly brilliant and a great way to pull in listeners – by throwing them head first into an unknown situation, get them interested, then jump to a seemingly unrelated setting shortly afterward. I also thought the switches between past and future (present?) were handled deftly and at no time did I feel confused or put off by any of the time jumps in the narrative.
It is important to note that this is Hex’s first trip in the TARDIS, which means this story also includes his first encounter with a new world, an alien species, and dangers unlike anything back home. He does so admirably, approaching everything with a sense of awe and wonder but not so much that he loses sight of what’s going on. He feels a bit odd being called upon to bring the Doctor out of the Dreamtime, rightfully thinking that Ace would be a better candidate as she knows him better, but despite all odds Hex does a fine job of helping solve the mystery of the Dreaming and saving the Doctor from the void. Ace, older and wiser since her appearance on the TV, becomes Hex’s mentor in time travel, having done it herself for quite some time. The Doctor is still playing professor for his companions, leading them through the alien world like a teacher on a field trip – well, that is, until he gets snatched up by the void and Ace and Hex have to fend for themselves.
Another something worth noting: the Doctor. Sylvester McCoy once again does a bang-up job as his respective Doctor, and the script gives him opportunity to be the wonderfully dark alien from season 26 that this reviewer enjoyed watching so much. When he plays the Not!Doctor who tries to trick Ace and ends up trying to kill her instead, he is so delightfully creepy that I almost which they had let the Not!Doctor have more scenes. He delivers one of the most memorable lines in the story – “It’s a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea” – and his Doctor’s return from the Dreamtime is a subtle and understated victory for fans who like their Time Lords a little bit devious and not afraid to muck about in the time stream.
As an audioplay, Dreamtime delivers on all fronts. A combination of a great soundtrack and a fully competent cast creates an atmosphere that is both frightening yet interesting. The world of Oz on a rock is one which draws the listener in and entices with its tales of ghosts and stone people. Yes, some of it doesn’t make sense, but once you let go and allow the play to wash over you with its cold charm and non-linear story techniques, you’ll find yourself enjoying it despite its flaws. Also, if this is how Hex is as a companion, I look forward to listening to his following adventures in the TARDIS. As the Doctor said, they’ll make a seasoned time traveler out of him yet. -
You know you're in trouble when the characters themselves are asking "What's going on?" and the only responses are utterly nonsensical versions of "It's difficult to explain."
After 3 episodes, I stopped asking myself what was going on because I couldn't be bothered to care anymore.
You know what? It's never explained. If Doctor Who is going to go all mythological, at least make a good faith attempt to rationalize it scientifically. Have that much respect for the source material.
The worst part about this whole mess is that the performances are excellent. Sylvester and Sophie sold the hell out of the nonsensical plot, so kudos to them. I liked the lizards, but overall, a waste of effort. -
Dreamtime is the first trip in the Tardis for the Seventh Doctor's new companion Hex: some splendid audio-scapes conveying the double weirdness of the landscape - Uluru is bizarre enough in the first place, but to find it on an atmospheric asteroid is extra value. I'm not sure if the plot really made a lot of sense but I enjoyed the ride.
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Some interesting ideas that didn't gel, a villain who isn't, more supernatural elements without science explanations than should ever appear in Who, and a substandard set of additional characters add up to a poor outing from Big Finish here. Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred are great as usual, but thats about as far as I can go in this confusing story set in the land down under. Or is it?
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The TARDIS brings the Seventh Doctor, Ace and new companion Hex to a seemingly dead city floating among the stars, populated by statues that may once have been people. Most startling of all on the planetoid is the familiar sight of Uluru — Ayers Rock — the heart of the Dreamtime.
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Forgot to review this one which is why the read date is earlier than the started to read date.
Interesting take on the dreamtime concept, and naturally Hex's first trip in the TARDIS throws him into the thick of what it's like to travel with the Doctor. -
The Doctor, Hex and Ace try to help a planet to live a life not in fear. Dreaming is turning people's dreams into nightmares. Can normalcy be brought back?
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Weak entry. Though any Doctor Who is better than no Doctor Who.
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Two stars for the story, one extra just because it's the Seventh Doctor
