I've just tried to use an ePlanning tool to submit an application for a garden shed, to free up some storage space in my flat, ,mainly for books such as McQueer's and comics. Everyone says they've never heard of a local authority suggesting a planning application for sheds but things are different here; the RAF's past is another country.
I didn't post last week, largely because I was through in Aberdeen for the Granite City Comic Con. I wasn't intending originally to go- these events are now more for cosplayers, rather than comics fans, IMO- but Nesscon in October has been cancelled so I thought: well, why not.
I had a chat with Gary Frank about Logan's Run and about Russian dystopian fiction and Doctor Who actors after I'd bought a copy of his sketchbook- and a print of Ace.I also stumbled upon a pretty wee park between Rubislaw and Seafield, called Johnston Gardens.
My return train journey to Aiburdeen was surprisingly straightforward and quiet, too, for a Saturday. Perhaps this was because you don't have to complete it by changing for a bus to and from Dyce any more. I read a funny YA book- The Gifted, the Talented and Me -and was listening to the fifth volume of Big Finish's Third Doctor Adventures. I was looking forward to it after the poignant exchanges in The Sacrifice of Jo Grant from The Legacy of Time boxset.
This set makes more use of the legendary UNIT Family than the previous plays. Caroline John's daughter Daisy Ashford plays her mother's character, Liz Shaw (who is, apparently, a traitor in the story.) She is a vocal double for the late Ms. John but even more striking is Jon Culshaw's Brigadier- an eerie impression of Nicholas Courtney.
Primord is a sequel to Inferno, the fascistic parallel world story from 1970 which also blends the second and third Quatermass series. Patrick Troughton's son Michael plays a mad army general who teams up with an aristo to create lycanthopic super-soldiers from abducted convicts.
Joe Jameson's timid private Callahan is a likeable voice and the listener is kept guessing about the eventual fate of Liz Shaw. The whole, twisty-turny production, including the Radiophonically-inspired soundtrack, is a pitch-perfect reproduction of 1970-72...
Except for John Dorney's dialogue, where the Pertwee Doctor says "back in the Day..." and Liz Shaw describes a project as a "huge ask". This is even more jarring than their usual Oop North misuse of "sitting/sat" ( They ALWAYS write lines like "But he was sat right there!" 'Ee, that's right Brexit.'Ave a brew!).
Script editor Guy Adams is clearly oblivious. His own story The Scream of Ghosts continues the line's tradition of fridge poetry titles. (cf. The Havoc of Empires). Somewhat unusually, and for the better, the menace here is a sonic one, manifesting at the beginning of the development of mobile phones. It revolves around Sgt. Benton's hobby of CB Radio too and makes use of the 1978 tv villains, the Vardans.
"I look down on him because he is lower class..."
They were given something of an upgrade in the sombre Companion Chronicle, The First Wave and they also appeared in the more frivolous 4th Doc outing, Wave of Destruction. (Simon Guerrier's companion piece Chronicle, The Cold Equations is another hard sci-fi story with a grim tone in which Peter Purves does excellent, compelling work). In this story, The Invasion of Time itself is set up
It's nice to hear John Levene's Salisbury tones as Benton again. He only very occasionally has a little sibilance - like Purves- which belies the vigour of his performance although at first, Levene does sound a little stilted.
With reservations about the modern idioms, this was the best set so far for Treloar's Doctor. Earlier efforts felt more like Past Doctor BBC books from the 00s and less like 70s tv adventures. They are respectful while still entertaining. Four out of Five Talmars.
Of course, there's one last recasting to make and I wonder how long it'll be before Big Finish announce the name of the performer playing the new Sarah Jane Smith?
Coming soon: Lucie Chuffin' Miller. Resistance is Useless. The Great Pama
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