The, er, fourth Fourth Doctor season started quite strongly with a nostalgia- fest from Nicholas Briggs- a homage to Death to the Daleks. However, the next installment faltered immediately...
The Darkness of Glass: Justin Richards should be the modern day Terrance Dicks. He has written for every tv Doctor, I think, and his stories are appropriate for all ages. He came to Elgin Library in August 2013 to talk to our kids about writing. And yet, his material is so stodgy and dull.
In this audio, a magic lantern show comes to murderous life on an Edwardian island. This could be a compelling comic story but the visuals don't work at all on audio. The stock characters are one-dimensional and there is not a shred of atmosphere. 1 out of 5 Talmars.
Requiem for the Rocket Men: This is the first of a two-part story ( equivalent perhaps to a Classic Doctor six-parter). It also makes use of the Master's point of view and is structurally more interesting than its predecessors. The eponymous Rocket men are space pirates who have previously appeared twice in the Companion Chronicles series. I find the homage to BBC screenings of King of the Rocket Men ( and the later Rocketeer) a little unconvincing- I don't think Verity would have gone to such hackneyed material in the first place. I did enjoy the story but one of the twists was previously used in last years' The Widow's Assassin and, therefore, I totally saw it coming this time. 3 out of 5 Talmars
Death Match: Matt Fitton's sequel to Rocket Men sees Leela kidnapped by the Master and forced into gladiatorial games on a space station. I was reminded superficially of 2005's BBC novel Match of the Day, which is a better piece of writing. The fate of Leela's romantic interest Marshall is stultifyingly inevitable but the high- camp flirtation between the Master and his patron Kastrella was amusing. Louise Jameson and Tom Baker have a comradely reationship in this series and their pleasure and commitment inform its tone. 2 out of 5 Talmars.
Trial of The Valeyard: a Xmas subscriber bonus disc, this is an audio sequel to 1986's The Trial of a Time Lord. It stars the late Lynda Bellingham and Michael Jayston who, although sounding quite elderly, still has presence and venom. The three leads bring great verve and attack to the script.
The Trial season is not a great favourite of mine and the origins of the Valeyard remaining frustatingly obscure here- so what's the point? Also, the story of the Doctor's "final" incarnation contradicts December 2013's Time of the Doctor and, I suspect, the 1998 BBC novel Matrix. This raises the hoary question of canon, of course: which version of "history" takes precedence? Should BF stories "overrule" BBC books? 1 out of 5 Talmars in any case.
The Roundheads: my favourite release of the last couple of months is truly an audiobook, rather than a play. It's a reading of Mark Gatiss' 1997 love letter to Gerry Davis' historical romances and one of the early PDAs from BBC Books.
Read by Anneke Wills, who played Polly on tv, it's a very visual story although it becomes increasingly complex as the three main plot strands converge. There's a little more violence and darkness -including a reference to syphilis!- than would be permitted during a 60s teatime slot. It's also very much an adventure for Ben and while the young sailor's piratical exploits seem at odds with a Cromwellian adventure, that's very much in the vein of its inspiration, The Highlanders. Wills brings energy, charm and a certain melancholy to her performances, particularly since two of her co-stars have passed. 5 out of 5 Talmars
I have to confess, Dougie, that your reviews of these audio productions leave me even less inclined to listen to them than normal. However, don't feel too bad, as my normal inclination is about zero anyway. As I've probably said before, I find the BF CDs terribly self-indulgent and their stories simply not interesting enough to be continued past one disc. I came to that conclusion after listening to their first two Daleks sets, which I've never managed to get through without falling asleep. And I'm as big a Daleks fan as you're likely to find. You seem to be blogging less regularly these days. Losing interest or simply busy?
ReplyDeleteVery busy! My idea was to keep one blog for "new product" and the other for "old" but it's hard enough to keep one going. I expect to post a bit more often in the summer. And of course, I almost never post about the other books I read, like Alan Cumming's memoir or Mrs. Hemingway or Olive Kitteridge..
ReplyDeleteI find the anticipation of the audios is often more rewarding than the listening. Sometimes they are very entertaining. However,this time, the audiobook was superior.