(Cross-posted from my blog at finishbig.tumblr.com)

After being a bit lukewarm on the first episode, I think this release was a bit more engaging. For one thing, the whole premise was intriguing in its reality-bendingness. That’s something Big Finish tends to do an awful lot of, but on the other hand it’s something they tend to do incredibly well, so of course I appreciate it here.

And on top of that, I think this episode gives Tom Baker much more material to play around with than Destination Nerva did. For starters, The Renaissance Man is a lot funnier than the previous story, but for another, the premise of the story ties much more into what makes the Doctor (and the Fourth in particular) so great. Plus it provided a great opportunity to have the Doctor and Leela play off one another. At the best moments of the story, I forget that their voices sound so much older now, and it really is teatime 1977 all over again.

And I always love Ian McNiece—He’s much more than just Winston Churchill, and he proves it here with a villainous role that allows him to show his range.

Overall, the story’s great fun and I’m hungry for more.

Really enjoyed the first episode of this. Some really interesting ideas are set up very nicely. A nice addition to this range.

This is a terrifically mind-boggling story. Justin Richards, who seems to have returned to Big Finish as a regular after a few years away, has weaved a clever tale that plays with the concept of time travel in a very Douglas Adams manner. This immediately fits in with the latter era of the Fourth Doctor and Leela, who continue to prove irresistable as a double act possibly more than ever.
There are very strong and eccentric performances from the supporting cast (peformances that are nicerly restrained, given the quirkiness of their parts), especially the brilliant Ian McNeice. Great fun.

There's nothing above average about this story, although it is lighthearted and would be a good listen for younger audiences. Over all, this is a fun one. Very tongue in cheek.

7/10

As confusing for the listener as it was for Leela. I found the setting a little difficult to get into and I felt a little alienated from the supporting cast characters. Once you see what is happening it gets quite interesting though.

A story that I had been really looking foward to. This was part of the reason I bought the whole series. While I would say that it is an enjoyable story and a nice distraction for an hour. But it really wasn't what I thought it would be. The story was good enough to last for a few more episode and it really is to fast paced to be able to relax into it completely. The characters feel underdeveloped and not completely realistic (which I know is one part of the story, but they all feel to fake to be believable until the reveal at the end) A good story but nothing special.