Friday, 27 July 2012

Mary Tamm

Announced yesterday, 26th July, was the very sad news that Mary Tamm has passed away. I had the great pleasure of working with Mary earlier in the year and news of her death has come as a great shock.

We got along together very well indeed and Mary was always very kind to me. We shared northern roots and her Yorkshire pride was quite evident; sometimes during recording, we'd both slip into heavy Yorkshire accents and make each other laugh.

When working with Mary, I always felt that I needed to be 'on my toes'; I wanted to be as good as I possibly could be simply because she was so good and set such a high standard.

I didn't know Mary well, but I'll certainly remember her with great affection and admiration.                                        

Saturday, 21 July 2012

Radio On...

 Series I & II of Graceless are to be broadcast next week on:



A series of linked sci-fi tales by Simon Guerrier about two young but powerful girls cast adrift in a hostile universe. Can they put a troubled past behind them and make a go of their lives? Starring Ciara Janson and Laura Doddington.

Monday to Friday at 6pm and Midnight




Series I is scheduled for broadcast at 6pm and midnight GMT
on 23rd, 24th & 25th July.

This first series was recorded some time ago, before I started working with Big Finish and I had no involvement in it.



I am however involved in two of the three episodes of the second series, The Line and The Flood.

These two episodes are scheduled for broadcast on 26th, 27th July at 6pm and midnight GMT and on 28th at midnight. If that sounds confusing, here's a link to the BBC Radio 4 Extra web site: BBC Radio 4 Extra

As the broadcasts are digital, they should be available globally on-line. If you get a chance to listen, I hope you enjoy the stories.

  
Further details are available in the February posting.

Sunday, 1 July 2012

July 2012

And it's July - the beginning of a new month already and quite a bit to look forward to in terms of audio-drama releases.

The 'big news' for July is the first box set issue of an entirely new four part series, Counter Measures.


Here's what Big Finish have to say about it: 

After the mysterious events at Coal Hill School, the British government has created the Counter-Measures group, a specialist team that investigates strange phenomena and dangerous technology. Their first missions will involve a haunted warehouse, a ground-breaking artificial intelligence, a mysterious new town and a threat to the future of the country...


Four full cast audio dramas plus behind the scenes documentary:


Threshold by Paul Finch
A missing scientist and ghostly phenomena bring Gilmore and Allison to a factory in Bermondsey, and the discovery of a science that should not exist. As Rachel Jensen returns to help them, a new future for Counter-Measures is set in motion...


 





Artificial Intelligence by Matt Fitton
Investigating a suicide at the Sen-Gen Facility, the group discovers a new weapon in the Cold War – and Gilmore meets an old flame. Meanwhile Rachel discovers that she can’t trust anyone, not even the sound of her own voice...


The Pelage Project by Ian Potter
A case of industrial pollution leads the group to the new industrial town Pelage, and a dangerous meeting with its leader Ken Temple. And deep within the plant it appears that an alien invasion is already underway...
 






State of Emergency by Justin Richards
There are creatures from another dimension on the streets, and traitors in the halls of Westminster. When the government is in jeopardy, Rachel, Allison and Gilmore take on a faction staging a very un-British coup...

Directed By: Ken Bentley 

In some capacity or other, I worked on all four episodes and enjoyed the experience immensely. As a 'child of the 60's' and a great fan of TV shows such as The Avengers, The Prisoner, Doomwatch etc, this series was right up my street and as usual, I'm really looking forward to listening to it.


l-r: John Banks, Pamela Salem, Helen Goldwyn, Karen Gledhill, Hugh Ross, Stephen Greif & Ken Bentley


"John Banks is lovely, he's a chameleon."   Karen Gledhill   Vortex Magazine


l-r: The Team: Pamela Salem, Hugh Ross, Simon Williams & Karen Gledhill


'Counter-Measures is a triumph for all concerned' - Doctor Who Magazine. 


Speaking of which, my copy of May's Stargate SG-1 arrived a few days ago, so I'm listening to that quite a bit at the moment and eagerly awaiting the arrival of The Oseidon Adventure, (which seems to have elicited a generally positive response), and the second of last month's releases, The Butcher of Brisbane.

________________________________________________________________

My other audio-drama release this month is The First Sontarans and again, here's what it's all about:

1872. After finding a strange signalling device on the moon, the Doctor and Peri travel to the depths of the English countryside to track down the source of its transmissions. But they're not the first aliens to arrive on the scene.

Old enemies of the Doctor are drawing their battle lines in the forest and the local humans will be lucky to escape the conflagration unscathed.

For hidden within this village is a deadly secret - a secret that could destroy the entire Sontaran race... and reveal the terrible mystery of their creation.





Colin Baker  The Doctor Nicola Bryant  Peri Dan Starkey  Jaka Anthony Howell  Jacob 
Lizzie Roper  Jane Ross  John Banks  The Gentleman - Commander Lork - Rutan 
Cameron Stewart  Major Thessinger


l-r: Ken Bentley, Dan Starkey, John Banks, Anthony Howell, Cameron Stewart, Andrew Smith, 
Nicola Bryant and Colin Baker.



Written By: Andrew Smith
Directed By: Ken Bentley

Reviews & comments:

'...and there’s ubiquitous Big Finisher John Banks; I was saying to John earlier, in the persona of the Gentleman he scares me! Again, it’s on the page and you think, ‘That’s not bad’, but when John takes it…
I think the opening scene is really scary, it really sets it up very, very well. You think, ‘This guy’s nasty, nasty, nasty and off his trolley’ and you wouldn’t want to be in the same room as him.'

Andrew Smith - writer
 
'To say that this is a fun and engaging story would be an understatement. It’s not only one of the finest releases from Big Finish this year but possibly in their whole catalogue.'

                                                                                      Meredith Burdett - Kasterborous Online Magazine


More news as soon as it happens...