I can't help loving a bit of pretentious flowery dialogue. In these Jago and Litefoot stories, we have it in abundance. Especially from the Victorian theatre manager, Mister Jago. Professor Litefoot does not do bad either with his pretentious wit. Now we have the Doctor Who character of Leela thrown into the mix with her Sevatean warrior straight talk.
It all makes for splendid dark humour and a wonderful uncanny season 4 jaunt. This series had two fine stories out of the four. I must confess to being not to keen on the first tale set in Brighton. But the second and third just blew me away with fiendish cleverness on the part of whoever wrote the scripts. The fourth was hijacked and I felt our friends went backstage for long periods.
One of the stories, I liked, involves Oscar Wilde. The creepy tale is very clever and an absolute peach of a listen. A diabolical conundrum that is splendidly thought out. I know I am always raving about the wonderful dialogue between Jago and Litefoot but I honestly can't express how much I love it all.
In one part of the tale, Jago heaps colourful and pretentious praise upon Oscar Wild. The arrogant writer casually bats back a culinary machine gun of pretentious words that leaves Jago dumbfounded and gulping. For once the theatre manager is at a loss for words. Furthermore, he has been raked by several words that he has never heard before. It was excellent humour.
Then, to top it all, the actual story was fabulously dark and ghastly. Science fiction - horror and Gothic shivers at its sublime best. Whoever sat down and thought out this plot was very good indeed.
Then the fourth seemed to bomb a little. Jago and Litefoot are the stars and in this story, they seemed to be pushed in the background. Therefore despite having one of the most enjoyable of the stories so far, it also had one that was not so good. I might have given it three stars out of five, but I did enjoy the Oscar Wild story. That got a six out of five - lol. The overall performance earns the entire series 4 a four-star in all.
A very well presented Audible. This is the second series I have listened to while at work. I particularly liked the last story. Some splendid ideas for uncanny mystery and scientific manipulation in dangerous areas. All set in Britain of 1963. Everything seems to work well within the confined limits of that time and place. Very entertaining and well worth listening to.
A rather exciting Gothic style eighth Doctor Who story. It is set in Vienna of 1876. The Doctor jumps his Tardis from Lake Geneva in Switzerland of 1816 with his companion, Mary Shelly. At one of the cities entertainment halls, they come across a strange man wrapped in bandages and playing all the musical classics on violin or piano etc. The Doctor, in the audience, is instantly on alert because the being in bandages is none other than a Mondaisian Cyberman. The story begins to develop and we are all going for a grand Gothic ride. A real fun Big Finish adventure. I enjoyed it and would recommend to any Doctor Who fan.
In many ways, it is Mary Shelly living her own science fiction adventure. This makes it all the more fun to listen to.
I'm a total geek when it comes to science fiction. I'm a closet sci-fi buff. My friends and workmates know nothing about this aspect of me. Perhaps some of them are like me too? I would not know. I indulge more in this field of interest via the web. There are always other folks on this wavelength via the web. My wife is tolerant of these little excesses. I love Doctor Who. I've loved it since I was a kid. I remember the show from William Hartnell. I can remember many stories that are lost from the archives. I loved to be spooked by the Daleks. These wonderful bad guys. All our excesses of badness are poured into the Daleks. These pathetic looking pepper pots that defy the logic of fear. I just love the whole concept of them. Over the years we have created ways to give these bad guys excuses for being masters of the universe and looking pathetic. Now they can simply levitate up stairs. We have not quite worked out the lavatory plunger for a hand, but I'm banking on a ball of kinetic energy that glows from the sucker. It can work complex controls and all. - lol!
The web is a delight for people who enjoy Doctor Who and the spin-offs that might emerge from the retro sci-fi show. Some of these invented spin-off stories keep that old retro feel. Almost like the off-shoot annuals and comics of the 1960s decade.
I've stumbled across something called Big Finish. These are serious of audio adventures of retro TV shows etc. Among them are a large selection of Doctor Who stories. This collection is growing. You can experience new adventures of bygone Doctors and companions.
I have downloaded and enjoyed a number of these. I have barely dipped my toe in this ocean and have listened to some very clever stories. Among them is a spin-off set of stories known as 'Dalek Empire.' There are a large number of these tales and I have only listened to the first set of 'Dalek Empire' stories. The plot moves over a series of years. It involves conquest and invasion etc.
Very entertaining and great to listen to if one works outdoors as I do. I would highly recommend this well written and wonderfully presented audio story. It has a great retro feel with actors that inject a great atmospheric feel through dialogue etc.
Wonderfully atmospheric. A real trip down memory lane too. Sylvester McCoy's Doctor with Ace. A clever story of a grand and extra special library on an outback planet. The whole presentation of this story is splendid. The Daleks are after all the knowledge they can get and have a diabolical plan to get at such desired things. If you are a Doctor Who fan, I would highly recommend this one. Splendid fun.
A very entertaining audiobook. A Big Finish product. The Fifth Doctor (Peter Davidson) and his companion Nyssa land on the planet of Mondas. Doctor Who fans will know that Mondas was Earth's twin planet with a humanoid race living upon it. They are, of course, Modasians. The last remnants of Human/Mondasians are living under curfew. Each night squads of Cybermen come out to collect the last people for the processing factories. This was a Genesis of the Cybermen story and very compelling. If you are a Doctor Who fan, then this story is a must. Primitive Cybermen like those in the last William Hartnell story are rather chilling as they patrol the back streets of a dying civilisation in the last throws of extinction. Slowly person by person, being converted into the unfeeling and coldly logical Cybermen.
The big kid, which still lives inside of my 58-year-old body, loves Doctor Who and his glorious enemies. Especially the Daleks! I can remember, as an infant, being terrified and compelled by the splendid bad guys. I recollect the later William Hartnell stories. Most of all, The Dalek Master Plan. The whole thing about the Daleks was scary yet very necessary to me. I enjoyed being spooked by them. I wanted them to be defeated but never completely destroyed. They always had to come back with another diabolical plan.
At the beginning of a Doctor Who Dalek story, there always seems to be a character that is nicely prepared for the big ghastly finish – a sooner or later reckoning with the Dalek death ray. A laser blast that engulfs its victim in a hideous and deadly aurora. A ball of pulsating energy in which the victim’s photographic negative withers in the final stages of agony before dropping to the floor dead. Sometimes coupled with an agonising and blood-curdling shriek!
1. Power of the Daleks Lesterson.
As I kid, I remember the first Patrick Troughton story. I knew that the character of Lesterson in The Power of the Daleks would get exterminated. He started off thinking he knew what he was doing – much against the Doctors warnings. Then he was discovered coming out of the production line capsule. I have that vague memory of him trying to pathetically amuse and patronise the Daleks as he nervously tries to talk his way out of his predicament. It was to no avail as he was bathed in the deadly energy glow. His body form went to negative and then he seemed to linger before dropping lifeless to the floor.
2. The Day of the Daleks - The Controller
I also knew The Controller from Day of the Daleks was going to meet the same type of fate. The Controller was a robust character who led the downtrodden human slaves for the Daleks. He was no more than a superior slave and not really a bad person. Just someone trying to make the best of a bad job. He was untrustworthy material for the Daleks. When the Controller saw an opportunity to defeat the Daleks he secretly joins the conspiracy by aiding the Doctor’s escape but was later discovered. When he stood before the Dalek who made the accusations of treachery, the Controller went bravely before being bathed in the deadly energy glow that briefly turned his body form to a photographic negative. The glow went and he fell to the floor dead.
3. Genesis of the Daleks - Ronson.
Then there was the kindly Ronson from Genesis of the Daleks. A man that we all liked. A Kaled scientist who had genuine concerns about the way the development of the advanced mutations of his people was going. He was concerned about the mutated Kaleds being put into the mark one travel machines and having all their emotions removed except for hatred. Hatred was enhanced. I knew this well-intentioned man would become a victim of the Dalek death ray. As it happened, he was technically the first ever victim of a Dalek. Davros, the creator of the Daleks, accused him of being a Thal spy and orders him exterminated in front of the science committee.
Ronson, in his final moments, is given space as his fellow scientists back away from him. The man stands there, vainly trying to protest his innocence. The scream comes from Davros, “Exterminate!”
Ronson is pleading, “No Davros…”
The Dalek ray zaps and poor Ronson’s body is bathed in the negative glow as he withers and screams in agony. Then the engulfing glow vanishes as Ronson lies dead across a table. I think Ronson was the most likeable of the characters that I remember getting exterminated. Not that the others, I’ve mentioned, were bad. The others started off a little up themselves but realised the error of their ways before getting exterminated by the Dalek heat ray.
4. Revelation of the Daleks - Vogel.
Vogel and Kara
My next memory, and perhaps my favourite, was the extermination of Vogel in Revelation of the Daleks. To be fair to the character of Vogel, he knew exactly what the Daleks were and was stealthily against them from the start. The character of Vogel is delightfully repulsive to me. He is a Uriah Heep type character. A snide and a complete crawler to his employer Kara. They (Kara and the subservient Vogel) both have delusions of grandeur concerning their cleverness against Davros and his Daleks. They believe they have outwitted the mad creator of the Daleks. During an over presumptuous celebration drink to the obliteration of Davros, they are rudely interrupted by a Dalek delegation. The actor, Hugh Walters, plays Vogel with a superb show of empty bluster as he tries to scold the Daleks for their rude interruption. In the most arrogant and camp voice he reproaches them.
“How dare you.” He blasts in his ladylike voice.
It is wonderful theatrics. We all know what is coming and his character has been nicely fattened up for the kill. I remember gloating and enjoying the scene because this character is a snide who has sent a knight and his squire on a deadly fool’s errand for his and Kara’s gain.
The Daleks delegation has no time for such a man off ill-deserved confidence. The Dalek heat ray engulfs him. The nasty side of me is treated to Vogel screaming and withering in the negative glow. When the deadly glow abates, Vogel has a lingering moment of thespian theatrics. He is still alive for one last pathetic and pitiful look at his mistress and employer Kara. He then falls to the floor dead. I loved this scene. It made me feel so wonderfully wicked and then I felt ashamed of myself. The actor was brilliant in his portrayal of this despicable man who only wanted to destroy the Daleks but is somehow portrayed as bad.
Kara kneels down beside Vogel’s dead body and says. “How inconvenient…” and then goes on to make a reference to how difficult it is to find good accountants these days. This was all smashing and fun stuff. I was 26 by this time and still watching the show with my sons. They were glued to it.
I had just finished a book and then noticed I had downloaded this audio from Big Finish on my mobile app. I thought I would give it a go as it was only 71 mins in length. I was very surprised at how well the production was done. The sci-fi drama was very atmospheric with the old Doctor Who bad guys, the Daleks. In this particular story, there is no Doctor Who. Instead, we are taken to a planet called Vegas. There is a human colony there and it is about to be invaded. The dialogue was splendid and I would say this story is rather adult. Although it was only 71 mins long, it is part one of a four-part story. If the other episodes are as good as this, I will be pleased. I shall listen to the others in due course. If you are retro Doctor Who fans looking for something a little more adult and with a bit of a bite; then I would recommend giving this a go.
I only downloaded UNIT: The Coup. It was a freebie on Big Finish. It is a prequel to a series of UNIT audio adventures. As a taster, it was an enjoyable short story. About 20 mins or a little more. The late Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier from Doctor Who tv series) plays the retired veteran who is now known as Sir Alister Lethbridge Stewart. As a taster it was good. More adult too. On the basis of this appetiser of sci-fi stories, I'll download the next full-length story in the near future.
The big kid inside this 55-year-old body got all excited this week. A missing Doctor Who story from 1966 was brought back under an animation. I remembered watching the first ever Patrick Troughton story when I was five years of age. I can remember near Christmas time with pictures in the newspaper of Ben and Polly (The Doctor's travelling companions) They were kneeling down with the dreaded Daleks in the background. It was the final episode of the six-part story and the Daleks went on an extermination spree. I was looking at it from behind the armchair. Not daring to turn my eyes away. I eagerly bought the BBC download the other day and have been watching an episode each day. Today was the sixth and final animated adaptation and the Daleks went on that good old killing spree. I was back in 1966 again in my old house in Limehouse, East London. Good old days and the adaptation via animation made me swoon with nostalgic little boy memories. GREAT STUFF! :D
This single episode story was a prelude to THE DALEK MASTERPLAN. The Doctor was not in this introduction story, but what followed was a twelve episode story. Thirteen episodes if one includes this single introduction story.
A man rows his boat home to his house, which is; as one can see, rather remote and isolated. The man does not get disturbed to much as his house built on a rock on the river Drina near the western Serbian town of Bajina Basta. He wanted a little isolation for the more contemplative life style of prayer that the postman might not deliver unwanted bills.
With strong a contemplative spirituality network of very singular self indulgence; life in the wilderness is no life game or life story for most people.
Perhaps most of us might think it a little extreme, but it depends on how much isolation a person craves.
1. Did you enjoy the dreadful thought of the War of the Worlds Tripod Fighting Machines from Mars?
2. What About the War of the Worlds 1953 Radio Broadcast?
3. Or the Jeff Wayne War of the Worlds Musical?
Imagine it from the cool maths game point of view. The Martians did not make an allowance for a world of warships. Therefore, war and thunder spitting from the ironclad's guns would take the complacent Martians, in their fighting machines, by surprise.
Science Fiction Lovers Indulge This Thought.
Imagine, if you will, how it would have been to be a Victorian sailor from retro British times of 1898. You are on board HMS Thunder Child and the ship is picking up strange semaphore messages from the shore stations. Invaders from Mars are striding about and destroying the entire fabric of our nation. Would you believe such outrages things? The entire ship would be alive with speculation and disbelief. These sailors were destined to see three Martian fighting machines and confront the colossal edifices in battle.
As an impressionable young lad, I always found myself pondering such things.
I would walk about in my dream thinking, “If I was in that story, I would do this or that.” I found myself wishing for all sorts of adventures.
When I read H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds, I remember getting a tremendous lift out of the short excerpt when an ironclad called H.M.S. Thunder Child attacked three Martian tripods in the River Blackwater to save a paddle steamer full of refugees.
It was not more than half a page and the uplifting and brave event was short-lived. Yet it achieved great admiration from me as a young and impressionable avid reader. Anyone who has read War of the Worlds or listened to Jeff Wayne's musical adaptation will know.
In my mind's eye, I wanted to know more about the crew and the bold ironclad. I found myself reinventing a small section of the story from a whole new perspective. I wondered what it would have been like to be on such a ship that cruised into legend, blazing away at the Martian abominations in defence of mankind.
Have you ever enjoyed H.G. Wells War of the Worlds, an all-time classic Science Fiction story written in 1898? It tells of a Martian invasion that begins in Britain in the County of Surrey just South West of London. Close to a town called Woking. In fact, if you ever visit the town there is a statue of a Martian tripod in the shopping centre. If you have read this story, you will know of the ironclad H.M.S. Thunder Child that is forced to defend the paddle steamer full of refugees. Do you wonder what it would be like to join the crew a few days before the event? You could follow the brave men on their terrible journey around the coastline and up the River Blackwater to Maldon and the final confrontation with three Martian tripods?
From Mars, the meteorites shot through space-bound for Earth and conquest over all life forms that live there. The Martians were unfeeling towards mankind as humans are to sheep or other lesser creatures.
The meteorites land in fields and woodland. After a time, there emerges the terror of mankind. Colossal tripods, before which, humanity flees as the onslaught of the fighting machines begins. People are destroyed by heat rays and black toxic gas. Those that survive are forced to flee the pursuing devastation.
Aboard H.M.S. Thunder Child, the crew are blissfully unaware of the savage terror. Only the new Captain knows and only upon the journey, at sea, do the crew begin to learn the unbelievable news from semaphore stations.
Amid all of this, the mighty little ironclad, H.M.S. Thunder Child must play her role to the full and rely on the bravery of a small crew.
War of the Worlds pastiche
Britain in 1898.
The Martians really came and this is the alternative history of that dreadful event. Join the crew of HMS Thunder Child as she prepares to embark upon her doomed voyage, before her demise and courageous battle with three Martian tripod fighting machines at the River Blackwater in the county of Essex, England, UK.
Captain McIntosh and his brave crew can hardly believe the semaphore messages sent from the shore stations. The news is so uncanny and fantastic that none can accept the stories of Martians falling from space. All hands of HMS Thunder Child must keep a dreadful appointment with destiny as they cruise towards the dire outcome awaiting them.
The War of the Worlds first terrified audiences in book form in 1898, as the first-person narrator tells us the adventures of an unnamed protagonist and his brother as Martians invade Earth. But there were other characters with stories to tell.
C. A. Powell delves into H. G. Wells’ War of the Worlds and offers fans of the original novel a brand new perspective on the invasion of Earth. In The Last Days of Thunder Child, we see this classic through the eyes of the Royal Navy crew members of HMS Thunder Child and the land-based Ministry of Defence. With this pastiche novel, you will have an even greater understanding and appreciation of the original classic.
Modern-day Science fiction has a lot of things that the writers of the past had to quite literally makeup. Computers, communication devices and space travel are all real. Somehow, though the creativity of the writers of science fiction today still pushes the boundaries of imagination that few other genres manage to do. However, it is not just science fiction, or more likely science fact, writing that has pushed the envelope when it comes to good storytelling.
Fantasy stories such as Harry Potter and Percy Jackson have much of what Tolkien wrote about in the Lord of the Rings and that CS Lewis wrote about in the impressive and still hugely popular Narnia novels. Readers now as they did then need escapism, something to take them out of the humdrum or stressed out world we live in. Readers need to somehow believe that there is perhaps an alternative existence and hope they can close their eyes and wake up in a dream.
Jules Verne took readers on amazing adventures, under the sea and to the centre of the earth as well as to the moon. His stories were born out of a love for adventure and travel. The only one of his adventures that has not become a reality is to the centre of the earth. But still, we have not sent a man to the core as yet. The best writers tell stories of adventures in places in faraway places with the impossible being just part of the story in the fact that it is just or maybe somehow could happen. Modern-day Clive Cussler stories have much of the adventure contained in a Jules Verne story. True they are aimed at a more mature audience but for the reader, his books are believable escapism with a perfect blend of possible, impossible and who knows if it could be possible. Raise the Titanic? It has been done with other ships so why not?
But what is it that makes a writer write a book that enthrals a generation of readers?
The popularity of Narnia and Middle Earth are still as popular today as they were in the mid-1900s when they were conceived and written. There was something in them that made each page come alive and something that is as real today as it was then.
The reason why the books were and are so popular is adversity. When Tolkien’s and Lewis’ books were written, the world was in a state of turmoil. The depression was ending when Tolkien published the Hobbit in 1937 and World War II had just ended five years prior to the publication of the Lion, the Witch and the wardrobe. People needed cheering up, times for most people times were hard, there was no TV, cinema was a treat and money was scarce for many forms of entertainment.
Books and reading became an affordable and enjoyable pastime that has remained today. Modern books in paperback or hardback outstrip sales of e-books despite the convenience of a Kindle but nonetheless, books are still popular. It could be said that many modern authors are heavily influenced by other writers and this is not surprising. Despite this, great stories still emerge. Even if there is a hint that we may have heard the story before.
Yes, we live in a tough world but it is nowhere near as dark and worrisome as it was in times past. The world is not at war, countries are not being invaded and while the economy could be better, it is nowhere near as bad as it was in the 1930s. Writers of science fiction, fantasy and adventure have to dig a little deeper to find their inspiration and make a book a bestseller, they need to find some adversity that the world can understand.
People want to read, they want good stories, and there are many great and lesser-known authors today who enthral readers. Harry Potter did a good job of getting kids to read and for many struggling writers the story behind JK Rowling gave them the courage to write. The reason for the success of Harry Potter was that it was a story like nothing before. Witches, Wizards and Muggles took the world by storm and the success is a story all on its own. It worked because of originality, some crazy almost believable storyline and it stretched the imagination of the reader to the perfect sweet spot.
Other authors can inspire writers and always will but it takes some form of adversity to create an original bestseller. JK Rowling had long train journeys and nothing to do and Harry, Ron and Hermione popped into her mind. Rowling’s characters and the theme was unique, other writers try to “write a book like” another author, Rowling didn’t. While a story may well be enjoyable, it is perhaps a little predictable, the sense of trying to be a Mark Twain, Edgar Rice Burrows or CS Lewis and the fact someone is aspiring to this level is just too difficult to ignore. Those who imitate a style or rewrite the same or similar plot will sell, the escapism will always work but for success originality is the key, taking readers to new places in between the pages of their minds.
Writers over the generations have taken readers to places they could never imagine and places they would be too scared to imagine. Edgar Rice Burroughs took readers into the Jungle Tarzan and to Mars with John Carter, two extremes that were and still are in many cases impossible to live in reality. His stories are still popular and fresh today.
Not many people will know that Robert E. Howard a writer of what is commonly called Pulp Fiction died at the age of 30 in 1936. Howard was a prolific author of many books and stories that inspire thousands of authors every day. Howard took people out of this world in some of the most well-read and well-known stories and themes specialising in Sword and Sorcery stories and ending his final years before his suicide writing westerns. Howard’s influence today in much of the fantasy and adventure stories is close to impossible to deny, he was a master who died too soon.
The combination of the influence of other writers and some form of adversity makes for good reading. If a reader can relate and the imagination is pushed into a sweet spot of almost real readers will turn the page. It is hard to think where we would be today without the writers of the past who have blazed a trail for the writers of tomorrow who dare to dream and then put it down in words.
