Been listening to a great deal of Big Finish audios the past couple of days, due to a number of special releases I had pre-ordered ages ago finally being released. The first was UNIT: Dominion, which seems to be setting up both a continuation of their UNIT spinoff series as well as plenty of brand new story threads that I'll need to keep an eye out for. A 4 hour long epic featuring the 7th Doctor near the end of his life, this will certainly benefit from relistens, as it had a lot going on. Definitely an epic listen, to say the least. Also, one humdinger of a twist is given that has made me very, very excited for future releases, for any future releases to see what Big Finish has planned next...
Also listened to Love & War, an adaptation of one of the New Adventures novels from the 90s. There's a love story in it that I'm not sure I was entirely convinced by, but I'll say this much: it has made me very keen to check out more of the original NAs, as it's one of the darkest depictions of not just the 7th Doctor, but the Doctor altogether. He makes a decision, a decision that may have saved millions but at an incredibly high cost so easily that to say he broke his companion Ace's heart is putting it incredibly mildly.
Lately, the Doctor's 7th incarnation has been growing to be one of my favourite parts of his very long life, as it's easily the darkest he's ever been. Oh yes, we've had the angry 9th Doctor, we've had the 10th Doctor at his lowest/one of his best (depending on your point of view) points in The Waters of Mars, not to mention the stuff the 8th Doctor has been through in books and audio...but the 7th is the Doctor when he's not simply a hero. He's a chess player, usually playing against the worst the universe has to offer on a grand scale, never afraid to use anyone as pawns - including his companions. Later incarnations will have anger, hate, even fear giving them reason to do things they might regret. The 7th has no such excuse. He does these things because he feels he has to, no matter what the consequences to his friends or his very soul.
"I fight monsters. I win."
But what's also interesting about the audio is why it was done in the first place: it's the 20th anniversary of Benny Summerfield, introduced in the original novel and becoming a companion of the Doctor before getting first her own novel series and then her own audio series (which I've yet to listen to bar one story, but I'm aiming to correct that). She's a pretty likeable character, I've gotta admit, and a far cry from Ace, as much as I love her. Again, really keen to check out more of her stuff, now.
Now, onto a story I've also been looking forward to: Voyage to Venus, featuring the 6th Doctor and two of my favourite characters ever, Jago & Litefoot. Absolutely love this pair, so to hear them again with the Doctor is a joy to listen to. Hell, anything with Trevor Baxtor and Christopher Benjamin in is a joy to listen to! 
Originally Posted by alkanto
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