VOYAGE TO THE NEW WORLD - #9

Ok so after the rather abrupt ending of Voyage to Venus we finish off the duo with a colonial, historical Voyage to the New World. I did like these two stories however I'm not disappointed that it has ended. I was thrown in at the deep end not knowing how or when or why the Sixth Doctor met up or invited them to travel with him. But it has been fun and I have enjoyed both these stories.

From the light-hearted Steampunk we get a more emotional and timey-wimey story, but unlike the usual mind bending conundrum Voyage to the New World is more of a pointless venture but clever none the least, without giving too much away the real plot only comes together right at the very end; although this can be a good thing this time it’s more of a long confusion than anything. To be honest this audio is worth the second listen only because it’s quite hard to grasp the first time round but by the second time you should get it. Yes it does drag but not that much, this is only because its slow paced and not that engaging, thing is Matthew Sweet does write a great script it’s just well...wordy; I think this would have yet again worked better as a full cast or a novel but it does work well it just fails to be what it is.

It is also directed better than Voyage to Venus and has better characters but there is no room for character development however the story is wrapped up nicely and a comical cliff-hanger leaves you smiling as yet again Jago and Litefoot (Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter) steal the show and Colin Baker does show his colours more than in Voyage to Venus when he was sort of shoved in the corner/cave for a bit.

The story is also a great historical adventure and covers a part of history that has not been WHOified but its main point which is time can be re-written scenario has been done before plus the ghosts don't make sense! The Doctor experiences this type of time confusion or temporal whatever's every week! So.. *spoilers* why should the ghosts be people that should of existed???

Yet again this story is similar in many ways to Voyage to Venus but is like the yang of Voyage to Venus's ying, it works! Don’t get me wrong and is distinguishable but eh! It’s kind of...petty.

Nothing else really to say! If you want to get it by all means get it but I wouldn’t recommend it, both of them are quite average, but if you want to get one of them then it’s worth getting the other.

6/10

I feel I owe this tale an apology, as I came in to the 6th Doctor/Jago and Litefoot tales expecting something quite celebratory. I thought Voyage to Venus was adequate for this, however this tale was serious Who and I felt the magical dialogue which should have occurred with three fantastic characters never really appeared. I feel it deserves a second listen and with the knowledge in mind of the more serious setting I may enjoy it more.

VOYAGE TO VENUS - #8

I haven't got any Jago and Litefoot series yet and to be honest I'm quite tempted; because both of them in this story are an absolute delight and are really the highlights of this audio thanks to the superb acting of Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter whom make this audio have heart (light-hearted) that is, because that's what this audio is about, a bit of fun! But I sadly being a spoil sport and a miserable old man well... young man, can’t let this story have its glory it should deserve. I'm sorry but... that is how it goes.

I am a big fan of Steampunk so when I knew this story would feature a Steampunk setting, YES! I was happy, Steampunk does suit the two Victorian travellers very well and with a mix of the sixth doctor and the 80's music, Jonathan Morris created something original yet new. Voyage to Venus is a simple story but yet it has a lot going for it, I think this type of story would have been better off as a full cast 4 part story, although it didn't feel rushed there was that nagging sense that I wanted more from it. I also didn't really get any themes apart from a bit of colonial things which may or may not lead into Voyage to the New World, but because it was a bit of fun I didn't need bother try to depict it. Like I said simple story, effective, but done before without giving any plot away.

What I wasn't sure on was the time it was set in I always thought that humanity went on to distant planets and galaxy's not Venus, and surly they would have already terraformed it? Or mined it? I don't know anyway stay focused Tom getting of topic! So the ideas are hit and miss who cares its Steampunk!

Right so the negatives: I liked the language used it was different, but, I did have to rewind it a lot to make sense (or try to) understand what he said, it also gets confusing but at some points it is comical, I found Voyage to Venus hard to visualise as well, it’s probably down to me being tired a little, but I did have a coffee beforehand. I also found the brilliant Hugh Ross or Vepaja hard to understand what he or it was saying; yet again rewinding...again
I do really like the story it’s just a little too complex for a light-hearted 1 part story which is sort of my main problem with it really.

overall, this is a great and fun story, truly, it is well written and directed, it can cause confusion so you have to listen carefully, it has some great scenery and ideas just too much for a 1 part audio, in some ways its basic but it’s for fun yep FUN!...FUN!!...FUN!!!...FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But I do have to listen to my heart and it says...

7/10