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Ahahaha went to a script reading with Peter & fans where we did a repeat of this scene with him as Tegan.
I'm kicking myself for not jumping up to do it the first time, but I got to pull out my best Janet for a different scene.
Surprisingly, I did NOT volunteer for Nyssa, because Tegan's easier to imitate (at least a little!)
Team Five
idk I wanted to try them in different outfits, and I think it also kinda gives off mystery inc. vibes?
Guys...I’m like...so close to completely abandoning all reason and buying a ticket to Gallifrey One
How would I explain what the older! Nyssa Arc is like? ( I know someone who is hesitant to listen to them because they don’t want Nyssa’s personality “fixed” by Big Finish)
I keep trying to write a brief answer and failing.
So here goes.
I’ve been a Nyssa fan pretty much since Keeper of Traken first aired in the US, and I think the older!Nyssa TARDIS has become my favorite TARDIS team. EVER.
It’s like the Nyssa of Big Finish’s Season 19b audios— Circular Time, 1001 Nights, or even Castle of Fear— came back after spending several more decades doing what she already does, and now she’s more knowledgeable (mainly about diseases, though it doesn’t come up much). Since she’s older, she’s more assertive/confident— she’s not pushy about it, she’s just not as meek, and if she’s paired off with Turlough or Tegan she’s usually subtly in the lead. Although older!Nyssa varies by scriptwriter; some don't seem to take her age into account, while others exploit the fact that she’s more experienced.
In fact, the complaint from some fans is that older!Nyssa is exactly the same as she’s always been, so what was the point? I don’t think that’s true— if nothing else, she developed a friendship with Turlough, which there wasn’t time for on TV— and it allows the writers to split the TARDIS team and still have Doctor/companion or companion/companion working together.
One aspect of older!Nyssa that does come into play— only in a few stories, but I wish it had been more— is that since part 4 of Circular Time had post-Terminus Nyssa cross timelines with the Fifth Doctor at the end of his incarnation, older!Nyssa (for whom that adventure is her past, his future) has to conceal part of her life from him which he doesn’t learn until later, to avoid paradox. That means she confides in Tegan about those things. Also, Turlough tells Nyssa a few things about himself that he did NOT tell the Doctor until his backstory came out in Planet of Fire (this only comes up in one story, Kiss of Death, but it’s a nice touch).
What’s magical about the older!Nyssa arc that it brings together four actors and characters who really work well together. Even their inevitable frictions are good character dynamics, more interesting than pointless bickering and sniping.
TL;DR: Big Finish didn’t “fix” older!Nyssa, because she didn’t need to be fixed. They just gave her better stories and more opportunities to be Nyssa, even in a crowded TARDIS. Because she’s no longer eclipsed by the more assertive, noisier characters.
The only trouble I have about the older!Nyssa arc is that towards the end (Prisoners of Fate, Entropy Plague) they heaped more angst on her shoulders, as if having her planet destroyed and the Master murder her father and then wear his body wasn’t bad enough. But how she reacts to that angst is absolutely in character, hearkening back to her actions in Keeper of Traken, Castrovalva, Arc of Infinity and her choice at the end of Terminus.
Just warn them not to listen to Rat Trap, which I believe got her character wrong in a fundamental way, but that has nothing to do with her age. Anyway, it’s icky.
( @regenerationwho updated guest list)
ETA: Oh !@$#! I’d forgotten I failed to get into the Tea before it was sold out. :(
Finally got around to writing an in-depth review of Big Finish’s adaptation of Cold Fusion.
As usual, I’ve written a spoiler-free review, then there’s a large horizontal divider, and below that a “Spoilerific Comments” section which is what it says on the can. This time, my spoiler-commentary is almost as long as the review, since I have a lot of thoughts about this special (imperfect, but very enjoyable) audio.
Feeling down about today’s news, so I put on my magic purple Tegan con shirt.
(Main art on back for people standing in queue behind me, which also ensures they’re not having to stare at my boobs to read it.)
