Familiar Faces New Adventures series
"Zygons: Absolution" by Paul Ebbs
The neo-Christian colonists of Ganta 4 fish the oceans and trade their catch with the corporation mining the planet. But one day there's a much bigger creature in their nets, something that hunts them. When one colonist is carried off and later returns, it's called a miracle by their religious leader. But the miners are surprised when the colonists suddenly cut off communication.
Peter Miles turns in a believable performance as the charismatic leader of the colony, but Bryonie Pritchard as Justine Hallon, the company representative, is the character more listeners will identify with, as she tries to find out what is happening to the colony.
Directed by Tim Saward, some of the religious scenes are
overladen with 'amens', but the plot is set out well, with
some nicely unpredictable twists.
Approx. 60 minutes
Familiar Faces - New Adventures series
"Krynoids: The Root of All Evil" by Lance Parkin
The Ministry of Agriculture is called to investigate a
weed infestation on a farm in Yorkshire. But the only
match the two investigators find for the weed is a
listing from the Chase Foundation of two seed pods from
Antarctica.
This is a fast-paced traditional story with the standard
elements used well. The isolated setting sets up the creepy
factor and the usual disbelieving policeman has been made
into a believable person. The sound effects are used
well--the rattle sounds of the Krynoid, the whip sound of
the tentacles--and Steve Johnson has designed some very
chilling music. The dialog verges at times on the talky side,
but all in all, this is a good story with strong characters.
The cast includes Catherine Church as Eve Black, Mark Donovan
as Karl, James Warrior as Jeff Ogden, Neil Bull as Martyn
Harris, and Holly King as Sally Ogden. Post production and
music by Steve Johnson, and Paul Ebbs directed.
55 minutes.
Recommended.
Familiar Faces - New Adventures series
"Sontarans: Silent Warrior" by Peter Grehan
The GM cargo ship 'Genesis' has a number of problems.
Its clone tanks don't contain livestock but stowaways,
its computer system, Sentinel, is suspicious of one of
the two-person crew, and a lifepod containing a strange
traveler named Alex has just been brought on board.
Why did Sylvia work out a deal with the Sontarans,
and what is their plan? Is Alex's arrival merely
an accident? Why does Sentinel assume Alex is an
enforcer?
Directed by Tim Saward, 'Silent Warrior' is a
well-plotted story with strong characters. John Wadmore
is excellent as Field Major Starn (and, I suspect,
several other Sontarans). Starn is not the average
Sontaran, which makes this audio interesting. Alex is
an fascinating new character, very calm and polite under
pressure, very observant--useful since he's in space
as a watcher for his people--and very interested in
history. He also knows a Sontaran when he sees one.
The listener might notice some similarities at first
to Lockwood, Michael Wade's role in the Auton series,
but the character moves on from that.
The cast includes Paula O'Grady as Sylvia Tanner,
John Wadmore as Field Major Starn, Polly Pritchett
as the very endearing Sentinel and Michael Wade as
Alex. Post production and good space music designed
by Michael Neilson. One complaint I do have is that
there's no theme music for this series, something
I miss.
60 minutes.
Recommended.
Both "Zygons" and "Krynoids" stories are included together
in a two CD package.
Recommended
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