The Glorious Revolution of 1688 has always been a significant event for me. When I was a Protestant, I celebrated it. Now that I have converted to Catholicism, I regard the Glorious Revolution as a disaster. I do find it distressing though, that so many people are unaware of this event. The writer admits that before researching for the story, he had not heard of it, having not been taught about it at school. The Stuart dynasty used to be a staple part of the British history curriculum, but it seems that modern schools avoid the Stuarts. Popular culture seems more interested in the Tudors, presenting a sanitized image of the Elizabethan 'Golden Age,' ignoring all of the achievements of the Stuart era. Thankfully, Big Finish have paid tribute to this most fascinating era with this Companion Chronicle.
Jamie's background as a Jacobite had not really been explored prior to this audio. It was nice to see Jamie in a situation where he understood what was going on and was less of a fish out of water. Yet he soon gets into trouble and has his own Aztecs moment, attempting to change history. This is brought to us via Frazer Hines who is on top form. He not only reprises Jamie brilliantly, but gives an uncanny impression of Troughton. Frazer is assisted by Andrew Fettes, who plays too roles extremely well; the tortured and embittered James II/VII and the cynical civil servant-like Celestial Intervention Agent.
On the whole, I enjoyed this story and thought it was well done. It was great hear the Second Doctor dragging up again and disguising himself and Jamie as washer women. However, it does suffer from a problem with pacing and feels rather rushed. The interesting idea of a change in timelines is not really developed. More importantly, I felt Jamie was far too quick to accept that history could not be changed. There was no sense of conflict or discomfort in his betrayal of James II/VII.
According to this audio, Jamie lived a very happy and contented life Post-War Games (+ Season 6B). This definitely conflicts with what we saw in the comic strip, The World Shapers, but I doubt anybody will complain about that.
According to this audio, Jamie lived a very happy and contented life Post-War Games (+ Season 6B). This definitely conflicts with what we saw in the comic strip, The World Shapers, but I doubt anybody will complain about that.
ReplyDeleteWell, then you were wrong. This is Big Finish's current stance of making references to stories from other media, but then happily contradicting them. Take one side and stick to it. They also, as an example, had the Eighth Doctor tell Lucie about The Bodysnatchers, but then later contradict Legacy of the Daleks.
Also, there's nothing in The Glorious Revolution to suggest a Season ^B. In fact, this makes clear there is no Season 6B.
One thing I found distasteful was the portrayal of King James. That's pure propaganda. In fact, it was his tolerance that got the bigoted revolutionaries to bring in the brutal William. Jamie's claim that there was bloodshed in Scotland and Ireland but not England was also false. There was massive scale killing in England. In addition, many people were used as slaves in the New World. In fact, for many years there were more White British people than Black Africans as slaves in what we now call the USA. Glorious and Bloodless indeed!
From a continuity standpoint, if the timeline is put right, why would the CIA agent bother coming to Jamie in the first place? Did the CIA send people to speak to Ian and Barbara? Or Sarah Jane after Pyramids of Mars? Or Duggan after City of Death?
This was the idea of the writer wanting to do a Two/Jamie story about the Glorious Revolution, and trying to force a story, rather than a good story idea.
I didn't say this was a perfect story. It's got a few problems. They just didn't spoil my enjoyment too much.
ReplyDelete"Well, then you were wrong. This is Big Finish's current stance of making references to stories from other media, but then happily contradicting them. Take one side and stick to it. They also, as an example, had the Eighth Doctor tell Lucie about The Bodysnatchers, but then later contradict Legacy of the Daleks."
I'm not saying I don't have a problem with Big Finish contradicting other stories, just that most fans would rather Jamie lived an happy life.
"In fact, this makes clear there is no Season 6B."
Possibly so. But regardless, there is a Season 6B Old debate.
I was also not entirely happy with the portrayal of James II, but I was just glad that Big Finish chose to cover this period, even if they did not get every detail right.