Ravenous Four

*Insert Literally Any Missy Quote From This Box-set Here*

Whisper by Matt Fitton

Such a brilliant concept for a story in the audio format, if given enough time to develop, and you know, proper effort, this would have been a treat, but as is, it's a perfectly fine episode that seems ultimately like filler even if important stuff is going on. Our main cast is continually excellent, Nicola Walker, Paul McGann, Hattie Morahan and Mark Bonnar are such a quadruple threat, and I'm so glad to have spent eight boxsets with them. If anything, Ravenous Four is the end of an era, but also, just like any other set, it has to have it's random episode you could put on at any time, it's normal episode not burdened down by the plot. And that's something, as Ravenous is decidedly not burdened by plot. You could have told this story in three boxsets! Maybe two and a half! 

Bring Me Knitting: His trust of the Eleven, although gradually being built up to over several stories, still doesn't make much character sense.

Shoot Shoot Gun Gun: Liv is suddenly a gun toting kind of person, and although she never has trusted the Eleven (wisely so,) before she was the only common sense and now she's waving a gun all over the place. She's utilized well as soon as Day Of The Master happens, so I'll allow it. 

I Could Do So Much More: On the other hand, Helen and The Eleven's bond is convincing, and extremely well utilized, giving her and Liv a different sort of character dynamic (which is what you need for such a gorgeous TARDIS team) 

The Eleven: Still gorgeous, I am all for putting this guy front and center in this set. In Ravenous Three and Four he gets his best material since Doom Coalition One.

Overall: Dead Meat, barely forging off filler episode status, but still very decidedly a monster of the week show. All the same, this could have been done infinitely well by any author other than Fitton (Who is a very certain kind of author, good at some things, and terrible at others). I'll have to make a Matt Fitton write-up later. 7/10

Planet of Dust By Matt Fitton

Geoffrey Beever's time to shine, the decayed Master has always been one of Big Finishes best utilizations of underdeveloped television characters. Actors for The Doctor and Master are always carefully chosen, and my god is ol' Crispy exceptional in big finish, given a range of stories and quality he was never on television. This story is less about The Doctor, Liv or even Helen, but it is about The Eleven and The Master, both so very close to completing their plan, in a strange villain face-off. It's not as if The Doctor, Liv and Helen are absent in presence, no, but The Eleven and The Master's scenes together are delicious. This is the kind of writing that Fitton can handle. 

Bring Me Knitting: The Doctor's indignation at what The Master has done to this planet is phenomenal. 

Shoot Shoot Gun Gun: Liv is finally proven right when it comes to the Eleven, and thank god, she's back to normal, dear lord. Nicola Walker still knows how to play this character so well, her "I told you so!" is snippy, frustrating, and somehow endearing. 

I Could Do So Much More: Not Helen's time to shine, but she gets plenty later on. Helen is far from a secondary companion like Mickey or Jack, but at the same time she gets a short end of the stick far less than Liv. Bares thinking about...

The Eleven: I love the Eleven when he's like this, not always screaming, not furious and bloodthirsty, but quietly dangerous and prone to snap on someone at any moment. He wasn't like this for the majority of Doom Coalition or Ravenous, but he's like this in his introduction, and he's like it here. 

He's also like it in Dark Universe. He can be hammy and loud and overbearing, even comical, The Eleven, but when he gets quiet, nothing can scare me more. 

And You Will Obey Me: Geoffrey Beevers gets to have the death he was owed for dozens of audios, and it...is glorious. One of his finest hours. I love that this incarnation of the Master is so stripped back. Not a refined Delgado, this is just a terrible deformed person speaking in a silky soft voice, doing terrible, terrible things. 

Overall: I love this. 8.5/10

Day of The Master by John Dorney

And here we are. One of Dorney's best scripts, and it also has some of the most to do. Luckily, it's beyond phenomenal fan-service, while also justifying itself in it's own right and bringing to an end the arc with the Eleven and Ravenous that has been built up for so long. This story is delicious. 

Sir Derek Jacobi and Michelle Gomez, I believe, are Big Finishes two biggest assets in terms of actors. Incredible people doing incredible work. Combine this with the gold of the Doom Coalition and Ravenous team, and this is a finale unlike anything ever done before or since.

Beyond well written. Everyone is electrifying, from Paul McGann and Eric Roberts having the rematch we've wanted since 1998, to Liv and The War Master performing a Last Tango in Halifax reunion while summoning up the best cliffhanger in Big Finishes history (Discounting Doctor Who and The Pirates) to Helen and Missy having better chemistry than the already stellar chemistry Gomez had with Clara, Bill and Nardole. Not to mention The Eleven's final act, Mark Bonnar is exquisite and you can't tell me otherwise. 

I'm done. I just can't. Not only does this story fill itself to the brim with fan-service and action, but it also justifies every single thing it does, including the three Master chemistry we've wanted for so dang long. It's not put in there because it was to sell sets, no, this story needed to be told. I cannot begin to exemplify how good this one is. 

The best payoff since...I don't know, something good. 

I can't write any more, I just can't. 

Never fire John Dorney, Big Finish. 

Both Parts: 

10/10, for story factor, completely discounting the sheer emotional fanboy joy this gave me, like seriously, I'm ignoring that completely, it's that good, I am ignoring the fanservice, please listen, this is so good, holy crap 

UPDATE: