What I'm Listening To

[thisbluespirit]

I finished off the remaining two Christmas at the Wells installments, The Silver King and The Shaughran, but they had a different adapter/director and were not as wonderful as the first four were (Trelawny, London Assurance, A Woman of No Importance & The Schoolmistress), but The Shaughran was quite good anyway. The Silver King did at least have Peter Jeffrey in, ruining things just the way he does on TV, though. (Peter Jeffrey has to be the most consistently villainous of the Old Brit TV Villain of the Week Brigade. He's so rarely good, and when he is, people just burn him at the stake! The BBC burned him to death twice that year, though, once for being good and once for being evil, so he can't win. Evil just had worse hair.)


I then discovered that BBC Sounds had some more Big Finish Audios up at the moment, and tried to listen to some War Doctor installments (I listened to the first one when it was a freebie ages ago), but they were on for a limited time and because of the Time War, they all had Daleks in and I object to listening to Daleks that much. I'm still annoyed about the whole Eighth Doctor run with Molly, because there were SO MANY DALEKS the whole time. Plus, the Time War is kind of depressing anyway. So I abandoned John Hurt (sorry) and moved onto the available for 1 year Classic Who offerings and went straight for:

Out of Time with both Ten and Four, which was very enjoyable, although I did not look at anything other than multi-Doctor action, and when they were wondering who the mysterious attackers breaking into this place beyond space and time could be, and then they turned out to be DALEKS, I was in revolt. Put down those damned Daleks, Big Finish!! I did like it a lot anyway, and tbf they did have the Daleks right there on the cover, I just was listening in the dark and didn't have my glasses on when I was fiddling about with my phone.

Then, Fallen Angels, which was Five + Weeping Angels from the Classic Doctors, New Monsters range, which sounded like fun and had Sacha Dhawan and Diane Morgan as a honeymooning couple sent back to the 16th C, and also Michaelangelo. It was pretty good! (I liked the way it avoided screwing up the Amy & Rory thing as well, although poor Josh and Gabby. Do they have fic, I wonder? Probably not, alas.) Although where Five, who has no companion-free gaps at all, had mislaid his companions during this, idk. Nobody mentioned it. I assume it was in the Nyssa-only period and she was Doing Science somewhere and just shrugged and got on with it while he went running about Rome.

(BBC Sounds is free to use and not region-locked, so anyone who also wants to listen to anything they've currently got up there can. Fallen Angels is here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0gsxqhf )

Now, I'm back to the various Martin Jarvis things I collected, this time with a BBC Radio adaptation of Guards! Guards! (1992), which has John Wood as Vimes, Melvyn Hayes as Nobby, Stephen Thorne as Colon, and Robert Gwilym (brother of Mike) as Carrot, plus Martin Jarvis as the Narrator. (It also claims that Death is being played by himself, but somehow I don't believe them. I suspect it must be Stephen Thorne!)

Anyway, it seems a really good adaptation so far, and I'm enjoying it. The Narrator sometimes gets to be a bit meta and actually physically in the city sometimes, which feels right (and also means that they had Martin Jarvis meet Death in a dark alley at the end of Episode 1, which I appreciated a lot.) I'm nearly at the end of Episode 3, so almost halfway through.

If you'd like to listen to it, you can stream or download it free here at the Internet Archive.

Comments

[hamsterwoman]

this time with a BBC Radio adaptation of Guards! Guards! (1992),

I did not know this was a thing! I might have to check it out, despite my general lack of success with fiction-in-audio.

[thisbluespirit]

I am getting terribly into audio plays these days, so I'm not much guide to someone who doesn't get on with them, but I liked it! I'm not sure how I feel about everybody yet, but overall most of them sounded right to me, and everyone is good, even if not necessarily how I heard them in my head. And I do like the way they handled having the Narrator be kind of an extra, ambiguous character. (Also, 1992 BBC swear blind that Death is turning up to play himself when they ask?? lol)

ETA: I'm pretty sure BBC Radio have done lots of Pratchett adaptations over the years, actually!

[persiflage_1]

Daleks, Daleks everywhere!

I've just seen on Twitter that Glynis Johns has died. 💔😢

[thisbluespirit]

Big Finish have too many pepperpots!! XD (I like some Daleks. But they should be kept for a treat.)

I've just seen on Twitter that Glynis Johns has died.

Oh, that's a shame. (Although this is one of those where I'm left going, wait... she was alive??? /o\)

[persiflage_1]

Way too many!

Aw! I admit I do that sometimes, too!

[luthien]

I was very sad to see that, too. The obituary I read didn't mention The Court Jester, but I will always remember her in that. I was just thinking the other day that she was the last surviving member of the main cast. *sigh*

[sovay]

The obituary I read didn't mention The Court Jester, but I will always remember her in that. I was just thinking the other day that she was the last surviving member of the main cast.

It is almost certainly where I first saw her, after which I would have heard her on the original cast recording of A Little Night Music.

[arcanetrivia]

!! I feel bad that I forgot that. The Court Jester has long been one of my favorite films and somehow I didn't put this together.

[sovay]

The Narrator sometimes gets to be a bit meta and actually physically in the city sometimes, which feels right (and also means that they had Martin Jarvis meet Death in a dark alley at the end of Episode 1, which I appreciated a lot.)

Okay, I have to hear that. (I also like the casting of John Wood.)

[thisbluespirit]

Okay, I have to hear that. (I also like the casting of John Wood.)

You do! It was a fun bonus; I was so not expecting it, I almost missed what was happening and had to go back a bit.

John Wood does seem like a good choice, and Melvyn Hayes is clearly the most Nobby-like an actual human being could be. I hadn't expected Carrot to be Welsh, but also: of course. I'm unsure how I feel about Helen Atkinson-Wood's Sybil, but she's basically being the dragon version of Barbara Woodhouse which: fair play to them, she is, really.

[luthien]

I liked Out of Time a lot. I listened to it a while back, and then got overwhelmed by just how many stories Big Finish was producing, and getting confused over which ones fitted together and how. I must try to get back into them. I have a War Master series ready and waiting, which I'm bound to enjoy.

Also: Stephen Thorne. Such a distinctive voice. I remember him from a few memorable guest roles in 70s Doctor Who. Will have to check out that adaptation of Guards! Guards! too.

[thisbluespirit]

They are like a factory these days! I just relisten to the early series(es) a lot and pick up the odd newer one whenever I can, from the offers and BBC Sounds and whatever.

The War Master series probably has Daleks as well! XD (Damn the Time War!)

Stephen Thorne. Such a distinctive voice. I remember him from a few memorable guest roles in 70s Doctor Who. Will have to check out that adaptation of Guards! Guards! too.

Yeah, I mean; given that to not credit Death, he has to be a cast member already and they have Stephen Thorne as Colon, and, well, Stephen Thorne! (He's also Treebeard in the lovely BBC Radio LotR as well.)

[lurking_latinist]

I'm with you on Big Finish having too many Daleks in everything - I mean, with Nick Briggs in charge I suppose it's natural enough, but still. Have I mentioned the Bechdalek Test? A story passes if it has two Daleks having a conversation with each other about something other than the Doctor. I prefer if it fails. XD

Death played by himself! Intriguing!

[thisbluespirit]

Have I mentioned the Bechdalek Test? A story passes if it has two Daleks having a conversation with each other about something other than the Doctor. I prefer if it fails.

LOL

Death played by himself! Intriguing!

That's what they say, but they also have Stephen Thorne in the cast as Colon, so I have my suspicions!! XD

[el_staplador]

I am so sick of Daleks! I think every showrunner should be challenged to do at least one season (or whatever) without them.

[thisbluespirit]

I think New Who has to use them once a season because of the conditions set down by Terry Nation estate (which is why you sometimes get one random Dalek cameo or something instead!), but I don't think the TN Estate are making BF use them THAT much; I think Nick Briggs just loves doing the voices and he's in charge, alas. BUt, yeah, the second you overuse them, they stop meaning much.

[lyssie]

I've always assumed that BF have a similar deal with the BBC for their licensing regarding Daleks. Like, five Dalek stories must be done before they can use X classic villain or something.

(I, too, am v v tired of daleks. And cybermen, too)

[thisbluespirit]

I can't imagine theirs is that much worse than the BBC's, which seems to be one appearance per year (and people have taken that very literally to get round it on occasion, like in s10), so either Nick Briggs really loves doing the Dalek voices, or Dalek stories just are more popular with the BF-buying public (us aside, obv).

[sallymn]

Thank you for the link!

[thisbluespirit]

My pleasure! <3

[liadt]

I guess when the boss of BF is the voice of the Daleks your ears are doomed, doomed;p

Aw for the last two Christmas instalments not being as good.

Melvyn Hayes is a good choice for Nobby:)

[thisbluespirit]

I guess when the boss of BF is the voice of the Daleks your ears are doomed, doomed;p

*shakes fist at Nick Briggs and his plunger*

Aw for the last two Christmas instalments not being as good.

They were interesting and all, but the first four were really great and complemented each other beautifully and the adapter/director did a brilliant job on them. I can't say I was surprised that the final two couldn't quite live up to that - it's not even really a criticism, the others were just that good!

Melvyn Hayes is a good choice for Nobby

I think Melvyn Hayes may be the Nobbiest it is possible for an actual human being to get.

[liadt]

For a screen version prosthetics would be needed as Melvyn Hayes is too good looking for Nobby, like most of the human race, lol.

[john_amend_all]

I remember the original broadcast of Guards! Guards!. I've probably still got the off-air cassette tapes I made of it somewhere, too.

ETA: I also remember the Radio Times had a little paragraph to go with the first episode about Melvyn Hayes playing Nobby.

[thisbluespirit]

I remember the original broadcast of Guards! Guards!. I've probably still got the off-air cassette tapes I made of it somewhere, too.

I'd say you could convert it and upload it to the IA, but it's already there, so that would be a bit of a waste of your time. XD

Melvyn Hayes does seem a particularly Nobbyish person to cast!

[sovay]

Crashing back into this post on grounds of radio as my mother just, five or ten minutes ago, mentions to me that she is listening to the Charles Paris mysteries with Bill Nighy and thinks I would like them; she is at present in the last section of The Cinderella Killer.

[thisbluespirit]

They do sound like they might be fun! I can see they've been going a while. The first two seem to be on Radio Echoes, various others on the IA and the latest two (incl. The Cinderella Killer) on BBC Sounds, anyway. (I like wikipedia's description of him as an actor who does work much but every time he does someone gets murdered. I mean, you can see why directors would be reluctant to employ him XD)

[paranoidangel]

I agree there are too many Daleks in Big Finish. There's been a few audios where I've got excited about the characters/actors in it and then discovered it's a Dalek story and consequently not bothered with it.

[thisbluespirit]

We'll send Nick Briggs a petition with all our two signatures begging him to lay off the Daleks! <3

[lyssie]

Three! I haven't listened to a bunch of the later McGann stuff due to them.