Audio and radio play reviews

Review: Doctor Who – Return of the Krotons

Return of the KrotonsOne of the greatest of all Doctor Who writers was Robert Holmes. Creator (to varying degrees) of the Autons, the Master, the Sontarans, virtually everything to do with the Time Lords and sundry other Doctor Who arkana, he also wrote perhaps the best ever story, Caves of Androzani; no lesser person than Russell T Davies thinks he wrote some of the best dialogue in British television history.

However, his first piece of Who writing was a particularly arse piece of work for Patrick Troughton. The Krotons, which starred Welsh god Philip Madoc in the first of his many Who appearances, was a slightly dull piece originally intended to be a serial in its own right. It featured the Doctor, Zoe and Jamie landing on a planet run by South African monsters who want to drain the brains of the intelligent natives. And that was about it. For four episodes.

Here, after no particular clamouring that I’ve detected, is the triumphant return of the Krotons. A bonus play for subscribers to Big Finish’s plays, it’s written by, directed by and stars Nick Briggs and also features the sixth Doctor and Charley – and Philip Madoc, even if he isn’t playing the same part as in the original.

Good job it’s free though.

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PlayStation Shoot

In a move vaguely reminiscent of the old BMW/Clive Owen ads, PlayStation’s got a bunch of directors and producers (including Michael Winterbottom and Jerry Bruckheimer) together to shoot short movies:

Shoot! is a brand new venture for PlayStation and a very exciting initiative for film-making. It brings six of the most promising international directorial talents together with the six of the most respected names in the film industry today, to make six short films commissioned exclusively for PlayStation.

We’d love to know what you think of their films, some of which are already available and some which will be released later this month through the PlayStation Network (available in High Definition through a PS3 or PSP) or 7 days later at www.psshoot.com (in standard definition).

Each week one of the films will be released to download (for free) along with further video content which tells the story of how that film was made, from its pitch to its production and interviews with the respective directors.

Here’s a video about it. What do you think?

Heroes: Fugitives – Preview

Three exciting previews here for everyone who’s still bothering to watch Heroes. The first and best is from the BBC’s Heroes: Unmasked and, because it’s the Beeb, will only play for UK viewers. However, it’s about three minutes of behind-the-scenes footage, clips and interviews so is worth watching – if only to see who’s absolutely definitely going to be in… the first episode of the the fourth volume. And doesn’t Ali look fetching in red?

The second is pretty much the same but is shorter, lacks some of the interviews, and is in YouTube quality but should be viewable by Americans and Canadians:

The last is the US "next episode" preview so everyone’s probably seen it, it’s low quality and you can’t really see much. But doesn’t Ali look fetching in a sort of pinky-lilac? Hope you’re all having some happy holidays!

TMINE

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and what can Santa Rob bring you next year?

Rudolph

It’s that time again everyone. Time for my annual Festivus break, whatever Festivus is. I have minimal plans to blog until January 5th – there certainly won’t be a Daily News until then – so I’ll see you all back here on that date. Behave though since I’ll be watching.

But, as is our new tradition, let’s take this as an opportunity to have a reader survey. What sorts of things would you like to see on this here blog in 2009? More of the same, less of the same, or something completely different? At the very least, a blog software upgrade some time in the New Year should give you the ability to sign in with your Blogger or Facebook account, so you don’t need to ask for that.

Anyway, leave your requests below in the comments and I’ll decide what gets the chop and what stays alive when I get back. Ali Larter and Joanna Page are staying, of course, and do I need to even discuss the popularity of Sitting Tennant? I think not.

In the meantime, a Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year to you all and thanks as always to everyone who’s left a comment for livening up the place!