New Doctor Who Audio - Heist! EPISODE 2 ONLINE!

[SiHart]

It was good to have Si on the performance side. He's very good you know...

Si xx

[Si Hunt]

I think we should reserve judgement on that 'til people have heard me!

I pushed for two-parters, not only because it means more stories but because modern Doctor Who has shown the way really. Partly the TV series, but mostly the Paul McGann series of Big Finish audios for BBC7 which are just excellent - they don't have cliffhangers in the middle like ours, but they show that you can make a brilliant, no-fat yet interesting Doctor Who story in 50 minutes. To my mind, a story is very unlikely to be worse by shortening it to an hour, so it's a good exercise in scripting for our writers.

Si.

[WhiteCrow]

I just noticed this, and got offended ...

Michael Talks as Byron Zunestra

Only my mother and the taxman call me Michael, friends calls me Mike, close Rugby friends call me Richard, though for documentation purposes I'm Michael G. Talks!

[WhiteCrow]

I have to say listening to the trailer that the line of dialogue "Mocha-Choca-Cappuccinos with caramel dips and fondant fancies all round", is perhaps the most evil line ever written!

[Si Hunt]

It's not been unknown for the odd error to slip into the cast lists in the CD's... apologies to the two people I simply forgot to credit on the next one! :-o. That said, it's fixed for the download so you'd have to request the CD to find out who they are. See, another reason to get one!

Si.

[SiHart]

But he doesn't say Choca! I know because Martin fluffed the line twice and I had to cut it out in the end... but to find out how and what Martin said, you'll have to buy the CD....

Oh and the cover was meant to emulate this particular series... Pip did it very well.

Si xx

[WhiteCrow]

Yeah - I cheated and took the line from the copy of the script I had on my computer. It's still a wonderfully evil line to say.

[Rob McCow]

Michael Talks as Byron Zunestra
There we go, Mike! You've earned a stage name already. After all, this is your first ever acting role, isn't it?

[cyberchris35]

I have listened to the trailer and I have to say it sounds like another good offering from Planet Skaro, I cannot wait till Saturday.

[SiHart]

Thanks Chris. Hope you enjoy it. Let us know what you think on Saturday, eh!

Si xx

[Paul Monk]

I always think its a shame we didn't have an interview with Mike.
It could've been called "Mike Talks" (Bet you haven't heard that before)

We can , after all, do anything we like and use the audio format however we want depending on the story and the writer.

When are we doing a musical episdoe then?
Or maybe even a live episode?

[Rob McCow]

Immediately after the "silent movie" episode

[Dirk Gently]

Immediately after the "silent movie" episode

I've already written it. Its rather good.

[WhiteCrow]

I always think its a shame we didn't have an interview with Mike.
It could've been called "Mike Talks" (Bet you haven't heard that before)

Yeah all I got was "what illegal activities have you been a part of" that Steve is a lousy interviewer. Like I'm going to incriminate myself on audio.

[Dirk Gently]

I always think its a shame we didn't have an interview with Mike.
It could've been called "Mike Talks"

Or "Mike Talks Answers"...


May be not...

[Rob McCow]

Yeah all I got was "what illegal activities have you been a part of" that Steve is a lousy interviewer.

I got loads out of people for the Paradise Machine interviews, but for the Heist ones everyone is really quiet and reticent! Even you, Mike!

[WhiteCrow]

Listening to that, it's so obvious that Martin Penny is currently at University, studying Chekov ...

[Andrew Curnow]

I've just this minute finished listening to it!! What an absolute romp, I loved it! Just as Doctor Who should be, it's a totally different style & type of story to Haniad, giving (as Tom would say) always that sense of a brand new adventure!

The cast were all excellent, not just the main players but even the 'bit parts' - Dave's sniffy waiter, Andrew's slightly sinister sounding administrator, Alex's constantly-terrified nervy assistant, Steve's "leader of the City Guard"...

Mike as Byron Zunestra is in that classic Who/Bond villain mould, a suave sophisticated veneer to a rotten apple; the scene with him & Alex & the police box was particularly good - and I laughed out loud at the way Byron said "Burtons". That's how it shall be pronounced henceforth. Incidentally, the whole running gag of the jacket was excellently played (loved Kathy's "That explains the jacket, I just thought you were an old scruff").

And then there's O.M. Penny as Ed... From his opening soliloquy (liked the line, "and so here I am talking to myself") to his enthusiastic first day on the job, via his brief attempt to flirt with Jan, Ed is an absolute star. The (in)famous coffee line was even funnier in context, and that accent - just an amazingly enjoyable performance that allowed Ed and the Doctor to effectively share the episode equally between them.

Nice to see the relationship between Ed & the Doctor settle into a sort of routine as well - again, I loved the bit where Ed comes back to the hotel moaning, and the Doctor says that personally he's had a great day ("Oh well that makes it all worthwhile then") then tells him to ring room service before realising it's too late. The laidback Doctor and the put-upon assistant is something a little different, and it worked really well. Paul's calm air goes so well with Martin's frenetic Ed that they're already a great team.

If I had to make one teensy comment there were a couple of scenes where there was a background 'hiss' behind one person but not the other, which presumably betrays different recording times - never enough to distract or detract, I suppose the fact that I noticed it at all is a testament to how slick these productions have now become (or maybe that affair I had with Mark Ayres has made me more aware of the hiss & pop & click brigade).

But, as I say, I just really, really enjoyed the episode, and can't wait for the Heist! to begin next week.


Edited to add: I'm certain that the lines I've quoted I've actually misquoted. So, sorry in advance to Si for that!!

[Si Hunt]

Andrew's obviously found it by himself, but I should note that the episodes are now available from The PS Audios Website Here. Enjoy!

Si.

[Andrew Curnow]

It was just sat there waiting for me!! Avocado green, that was another great line, loved it!!

[SiHart]

Thanks Andrew! I'm really pleased you enjoyed it so much.

Sorry about the hiss- it was a bit of a problem with certain performers. Andrew for instance did his lines remotely for us and so there is a noticeable difference in quality, and much of the time I had to ramp up the volume on Mike's lines because he didn't stand quite close enough to the mics... something we'll rectify at the next recording session.

Anyway, thanks for the comments on the dialogue- I had great fun writing for the Doctor and Ed. Their relationship is really coming along nicely and Martin and Paul play it brilliantly I reckon. I have to say the scene where Ed returns to the hotel room and meets the Doctor and Jann is my favourite of the entire story. It's just played to perfection and turned out even better than I imagined.

And Mike was simply brilliant too! Really quite chilling- a lot more so than i was expecting. I thought it was going to be a rather camper performance than I got!

Si xx

[Andrew Curnow]

I was thinking about this when walking the dog earlier - the Doctor and Ed are really how they ought to have handled Davison & Turlough. Turlough was always miserable as sin and utterly disinterested; Ed pretends he's like that but is actually revelling in it under the surface.

So now all you need to do is get Martin to agree to having his hair dyed ginger...

[SiHart]

You've got him pegged there Andrew. He's cynical on the outside, but enjoying it underneath.

Si xx

[Rob McCow]

All that Chekov study obviously paid off! Good oh Martin

Mike's a great villain in this, camp but not too camp! I love all the restaurant stuff in this, makes Heist a very classy story. I wonder if he has any PS Audio CD's in his collection?

[cyberchris35]

I have just listened to Heist and I have to say it was another fantastic offering from the Planet Skaro team. The story is great and the way the Doctor and Ed are working togeather is brilliant. I cannot really fault anything about this story, I can't wait for episode 2.