Project: Twilight é o primeiro e mais aclamado áudio da trilogia do The Forge. Na região sudeste de Londres o Doctor e a Evelyn se deparam com um projeto que envolve vampiros e um vírus que transforma as pessoas em vampiros. Mais uma vez eu não consigo enxergar algo tão grandioso em uma história dita por muitos como “10/10” – Sua problemática é bem rasa proporcionando poucos acontecimentos notáveis, tudo se resume em basicamente o Doctor sendo enganado achando que estava ajudando a reverter o vírus, mas na verdade o Time Lord estava ajudando a potencializa-lo, depois toda a situação é revertida no final com uma explosão e os vampiros são detidos e...é isso...sim, é só isso. Muitos exaltam o áudio pela sua temática seu tom dark e obscuro, pessoas morrendo YEAH...Sinceramente eu achei seus personagens e seus efeitos sonoros bem fraquinhos, os vampiros são um elemento um pouco estranho nessa história, além deles parecerem que estão ali só para fazer uma pose do tipo...”Olha, isso é uma história vampiro hein galera”...Eles simplesmente tem um vírus poderoso em mão porque eles tem e porque sim kkkk De uma hora para outra eles se revelam telepáticos porque sim kkkkk sei lá, é tudo meio entregue por cima, até mesmo o lance do The Forge que é explicado em um pequeno e rápido bloco da história e depois só volta a ser citado pouquíssimas vezes no áudio. Falando de um dos personagens, o Nimrod: ele é apresentado como um cara misterioso e ambíguo não-vilão da história, mas na verdade parece mais fazer uma pose de fodão tentando impor uma certa credibilidade e um certo medo...calma, não vou julga-lo 100% pois tudo deixa a entender que Nimrod voltará nas próximas partes, então vamos esperar para tirar uma conclusão geral do personagem. Em resumo, não é só a temática que resume o sucesso de uma história, é necessários outros fatores e elementos importantes na composição de uma história, e "Project: Twilight" falha entregando um conteúdo bem raso.

Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time!

"Project: Twilight – A Dark, Eerie Thriller with Rich Performances"

Project: Twilight weaves an eerie and sinister tale right from the start, immersing the audience in its unsettling world as the Doctor and Evelyn Smythe stumble into a web of mystery and danger. The story begins with tantalizing glimpses of horrifying acts and sinister characters, creating an unsettling atmosphere that tightens as the narrative progresses.

The grim setting, laced with dead bodies, blood, and macabre details, immediately sets the tone. The sound design and evocative music amplify the tension, perfectly complementing the stellar performances. Colin Baker’s portrayal of the Sixth Doctor is as commanding as ever, while Maggie Stables shines as Evelyn, whose moral grounding and sharp wit create a compelling contrast to the dark events around them.

The story’s atmosphere remains deeply uneasy throughout, with sinister undertones that keep the listener on edge. Nimrod, voiced chillingly by Stephen Chance, emerges as a standout villain. His cold, calculating nature and haunting voice linger long after his scenes, while Rob Dixon’s Reggie is equally detestable, played with a menacing edge that makes his every action discomforting.

Project: Twilight takes a fresh spin on the vampire mythos, delivering a Doctor Who twist that feels both inventive and unsettling. The introduction of the Forge and its enigmatic lore adds depth to the narrative, laying the groundwork for future stories while keeping the current plot engaging.

The cliffhanger at the end of Part 2 is a standout moment, with Nimrod’s chilling reveal sending shivers down the spine. The Doctor’s shock at encountering vampires—despised by Time Lords—is a highlight, as is his fraught dynamic with Evelyn, who challenges him on ethical and moral grounds.

As the story progresses, the darkness deepens, with Part 3 delivering an unexpected and grim twist that forces the Doctor to confront the consequences of his actions. Some of the imagery is strikingly grotesque—so much so that it would likely never make it to television—adding a visceral edge to the narrative.

However, the plot becomes somewhat convoluted in Part 4, where the intricate threads of the story threaten to overwhelm the pacing. The conclusion, while serviceable, feels abrupt and slightly unsatisfying, leaving a few loose ends dangling.

📝Verdict: 8/10

Project: Twilight is a haunting and atmospheric story elevated by its performances, music, and sound design. Despite a slightly rushed ending, it introduces compelling lore and memorable villains, making it a standout entry in the Sixth Doctor’s audio adventures.

I guess I was just left weirdly indifferent to Project: Twilight, even with the surprising amount of violence.  As the start of something I know will be followed up on later and does have its fans, I certainly expected more.  It's a weird choice for Evelyn to be in a story like this and I am baffled they didn't focus on her in more historical stories.  I do like how we get into a lot of world building through this story.  I can definitely appreciate aspects of Project: Twilight through that.  There's moments I really like where Evelyn is reflecting on her travels with the Doctor but there is a certain tone and sense to the story that a person wouldn't really enjoy the experience either if this was the sort of thing they were stuck experiencing.  I suppose I'd rather Big Finish experiment with darker ideas than just do the same bland thing over and over again so even though I didn't really enjoy this story much, I can't begrudge it's stranger choices.

I can tell you it is one of those stories I want to like. I can hear the quality and effort clearly put into the production. I can appreciate it is different and Evelyn is still a joy, even here, so I am predisposed to want to like all of her stories.

But I found it long and a little self-indulgent. It reminds me a little of how the Virgin New Adventures realized they didn't have to worry about censorship but then veered hard into dark content.

I have no issue with that, specifically, but it feels like it didn't have much purpose here other than to hype up the vampires. Which I think the world building around The Forge actually did better than the violence. The graphic stuff just kind of made me depressed here.

This is part of a series of reviews of Doctor Who in chronological timeline order.

Previous Story: Bloodtide

Wow, that was awful. This story is like if you melted down all the worst parts of season 22 and concentrated it into one painfully terrible adventure. It's so edgy and gratuitously violent for no real reason. I didn't need to hear a man explode and then all the blood and organs splatter on the walls and floor. And I definitely didn't need to hear it a SECOND time. I hate how badly characterised the Doctor is here, he's so stupid. He trusts the mysterious people running the shady casino who don't flinch when a man explodes in front of them for literally no reason and then gets shocked when they turn out to be evil. He puts Evelyn in needless danger and even gets tricked into making a super-virus for the vampires. This story likes to pull a lot of things out of nowhere, like the aforementioned super-virus or when a character gets attacked and then says "did I forget to mention my armour?" as a lazy way of explaining why nothing happened to him.

While I really like Maggie Stables so far as Evelyn, she was downright insufferable in this story. No fault of her performance, but rather the writing. Like the Doctor, she made a lot of out-of-character decisions like leaving Cassie with someone who was clearly going to torture her. That whole sequence was ridiculous because the Doctor told Evelyn to stay with Cassie only for Evelyn to believe a lie that the Doctor "needed her to fetch something". It was a pointless decision made just so the writers could shove in some torture scenes. This story manages to make the 2 hour long snoozefest that is The Apocalypse Element seem like a short trip, and this is half an hour shorter. It's a shame because I genuinely enjoyed the atmosphere at the start and the soundtrack was phenomenal.

Overall, this is an exceedingly dull and needlessly gory story. I understand that this is the start of a very important and expansive arc in the Main Range so if the rest of those stories are anything like this I'm going to have a hard time.

Next Story: The Maltese Penguin

15.06.2022

Is ThE dOcToR pReJuDiCeD? i GuEsS hE wAs. He WaS aLsO rIgHt.

I hate this type of stories. They lead up to one conclusion but end up with the opposite, with neither of them working, resulting in net zero information. It's like you've listened to the void, except the void has a few sequels coming up post-credits. Also f**k them for renouncing some aspects of vampire mythology. "Oh, we're not afraid of crucifixes or garlic, stupid. It's not books, how could you thinks that * spits in the face*". Sure, it's not like you're in Doctor Who story. Fuck that. They should own it. 1/5