Category Archives: Audio Drama/Radio Plays

The Time Tunnel: The Nightmare Begins. Audio Drama Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Seán Carlsen, Rachel Handshaw, Safiyya Ingar, Jay Reum, Holly Ashman, Helen Bang, Edwin Flay, Nicholas McArdle, Fiona McClure, Glen McCready, Peter Rae, Flavie Ravenhill, Vitas Varnas.

There are many examples of cult American television series that have undergone the rounds of constant possible adaption for the modern eye, and most have failed to deliver upon the story first laid down in stone, instead deciding that the story had to be told again from the beginning with a brasher, edgier, and dare it be said, a more idealised portrayal when it comes to the relationships and the body of the self within the parameters of the narrative.

The Time Tunnel: The Nightmare Begins. Audio Drama Review. full post

(511 words, estimated 2:03 mins reading time)

V: Visitation. Big Finish. Audio Drama Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Annabel Baldwin, Janie Dee, Jack Myers, Geoffrey Aymer, Nicholas Briggs, Hannah Brown, Jesse Dunbar, John H Elson, Louise Falkner, Raj Ghatak, Helen Goldwyn, Kate O’ Rourke, Gesella Ohaka, Logan Ritchie, Arabella Smith-James, Andrew James-Spooner, Holly Spooner, Sam Stafford.

The allegories and symbols that were explicitly portrayed on the hit American television series V were so plain to the naked eye that the viewer never once had to question that the sci-fi classic was truly about the representation of war, collusion, consent by power, and the requirement of all citizens to take a stand against the evils of fascism.

V: Visitation. Big Finish. Audio Drama Review. full post

(597 words, estimated 2:23 mins reading time)

Sherlock Holmes: Short Stories. The Adventure of The Speckled Band. Audio Drama Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Hugh Bonneville.

One of Sherlock Holmes finest adventures, and a particular favourite of his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of The Speckled Band is always worthy of adaption; its use of sleight of hand and its ability to blend into the gothic marks out in the realm of stories such as The Hound of the Baskervilles, or even the sense of inevitable of doom as found in The Final Solution, as one of grandness and the science behind deduction firmly established.

Sherlock Holmes: Short Stories. The Adventure of The Speckled Band. Audio Drama Review. full post

(405 words, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)

Sherlock Holmes: Short Stories. The Adventure of the Dancing Men. Audio Drama Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Hugh Bonneville.

Unless you have been privileged to find yourself curled up with the complete works, or have had the self-discipline to sit through the master of detective fiction’s presence on screen thanks to invaluable performances by Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke, you could be forgiven for missing out on some of the more obscure tales that don’t involve the idea of glowing, spectral growling dogs, the plaster casts of Napoleon, or even the much admired trip to the falls of Reichenbach.

Sherlock Holmes: Short Stories. The Adventure of the Dancing Men. Audio Drama Review. full post

(404 words, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)

Philip Palmer: Precious Blood. Audio Drama Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Owen Teale, Oliver Ryan, Richard Corgan, Elen Rhys, Pooky Quesnel, Amy Morgan, Sian Rees-Williams.

It is an inalienable fact of life that there are people in this world to whom they believe the sun revolves around them, but who are so toxic, certainly narcissistic, enough to ensure that their actions not only elevate themselves in the eyes of their neighbours and fellow townsfolk, but are assured enough in their desires to make sure that their offspring are denigrated, caused undue suffering, and in the end could pay for their parent’s deceptions with their own lives.

Philip Palmer: Precious Blood. Audio Drama Review. full post

(401 words, estimated 1:36 mins reading time)

Central Intelligence. Audio Drama Series Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Kim Cattrall, Ed Harris, Johnny Flynn, Geoffrey Arend, Rob Benedict, Elena Delia, Kerry Shale, Matthew Marsh, Eric Meyers, Laurel Lefkow, Julee Cerda, Jennifer Armour, Philip Desmeules, Rufus Wright, Nathan Osgood, Dana Haqjoo, Akie Kotabe, Adam Sina, Bijan Daneshmand, Jamie Bogyo, Majid Mehdizadeh-Valoujerdy, Wayne Forester, Sarah Alles-Shahkarmi, Isabella Nefar, Walles Hamonde, Natasha Arancini, Hubert Hanowicwz, Will Hislop, Andi Jashy, Arita Sadiku.

Central Intelligence. Audio Drama Series Review. full post

(576 words, estimated 2:18 mins reading time)

Doctor Who: Stranded 2. Big Finish Audio Drama Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Paul McGann, Nicola Walker, Hattie Morahan, Rebecca Root, Tom Price, Tom Baker, Oscar Batterham, Stewart Clarke, Jeremy Clyde, Jon Culshaw, Joel James Davison, Annabelle Dowler, Ewan Goddard, Avita Jay, Anjli Shaw-Parker, Homer Todiwala, Venice Van Someren, Amina Zia.

Time and memory are not always compatible bed follows. Quite often the two fight each other for the supremacy of the human experience, one taking from the other without a second thought, almost at war in terms of progression.

Doctor Who: Stranded 2. Big Finish Audio Drama Review. full post

(511 words, estimated 2:03 mins reading time)

Doctor Who: Stranded – 1. Big Finish Audio Drama Boxset Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Paul McGann, Nicola Walker, Hattie Morahan, Rebecca Root, Tom Price, Tom Baker, Aurora Burghart, Jeremy Clyde, Alan Cox, Joel James Davison, Raj Ghatak, Robert Portal, David Shaw-Parker, Clive Wood, Amina Zia.

You may love somewhere and proudly call it a home from home, a favourite place to be, an affinity with the locals, a connection with its history; but if you find that you have become Stranded, marooned upon its beaches because your mode of transport has given up the ghost and no sign of rescue is forthcoming; then your paradise, that one place you like to visit and catch up with its inhabitants can suddenly turn into a world of dull routine, your visit now a land of disagreeable anecdotes as you understand the point of view by those always trapped in the grey where once you saw colour.

Doctor Who: Stranded – 1. Big Finish Audio Drama Boxset Review. full post

(521 words, estimated 2:05 mins reading time)

Lucy Worsley: Lady Killers. Series Three. Radio Series Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

We can discuss crime in its most violent form, that of the act of murder, all day, the subject matter is of a constant interest to many, the chance to play detective with no formal training, offering a conclusion via an opinion, and yet we will only offer measured or emotional thought when it comes to men accused and found guilty of the heinous offence; when it comes to discussing women who fall from grace we often gloss over it with platitudes or the observance that the act itself was one of subversion of gender.

Lucy Worsley: Lady Killers. Series Three. Radio Series Review. full post

(467 words, estimated 1:52 mins reading time)

Doctor Who: Time War 5 – Cass. Audio Drama Review. Big Finish.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Paul McGann, Emma Campbell-Jones, Sonny McGann, Nadia Albina, Gareth Armstrong, Nicholas Boulton, Nicholas Briggs, Michael Chance, Ian Cunningham, Indigo Griffiths, Jaye Griffiths, Grieg Johnson, Simon Shepherd, Homer Todiwala.

In all of space and time in which the Great British public have been entertained and engaged by the mysterious and enigmatic being from Gallifrey, there are a number of shocks reveals that assure the series, whether on television or in audio format, retains its loyal fanbase that one moment we all wish for, the surprise that keeps the tale blowing us away and allows that little shriek of former childhood to be heard as we revel in the moment and just what it could mean.

Doctor Who: Time War 5 – Cass. Audio Drama Review. Big Finish. full post

(574 words, estimated 2:18 mins reading time)