Doctor Who - The Hand of Peace!

[Dirk Gently]

Download in progress. Will listen to it later, can't wait!

[SiHart]

Wow!

That was wonderful. I think I have a new favourite PS Adventure.

Si xx

[Rob McCow]

Yay!

Not many people have listened to this yet, it seems, so I'll just say - Paul is Fantastic in this story! Well supported by Martin and Jonno, but it's the Doctor's show!

And if Jon was feeling smug about the first episode, he's every right to feel extra double smug about episode 2!

I was also delighted to see the Ed Bradley / Doctor continuity, with the Doctor challenging Ed's character. Yay!

[SiHart]

I'd agree- that was definitely Paul's episode! He was truly superb and I know he was having great fun while we were recording those scenes- truly he's channelling Janet Fielding for all he's worth!

Si xx

[Paul Monk]

I'm so nervous about listening to this episode.

[SiHart]

You really don't need to be.

Si xx

[Martin Penny]

Not a criticism this - and probably only because I was there, but I thought Paul was actually a lot more creepy without the Mara effect added to his voice. Of course, he's still excellent, and I think I almost always say this whenever a new story comes out - but I think this is Paul's best performance so far.

Dave's Reverend was my favorite character in the story, and he did a great job playing him, I found myself rooting for him throughout the story. If at all possible, it might be nice to see him again...

Jonno was marvelous as well, I particularly liked his 'Skeletor laugh', and Ant was perfect as K'anpo - sounding totally different to Emperor Narl. Also really enjoyed Dave Taylor as the Newsreader, especially when he was dragged off, and his replacement came on and said about 'technical difficulties'.

I also really like how Ed's somewhat selfish tendencies haven't been forgotten. I all about the continuity.

And, of course, congratulations to Jon for such fantastic dialogue - there was a whole lot of it this episode, and I think I may need to listen again as I missed a few things. The fact I've never seen 'Snakedance', and only seen 'Kinda' once, may have hindered me a little I think.

Oh! And I liked the Lethbridge Stewart reference and all the U.N.I.T goings on!

[SiHart]

So has anyone else had a chance to listen to part 2 yet?

Si xx

[Si Hunt]

I'm worried Jon has been on-line and not commented yet!

Si.

[Jon Masters]

I'm worried Jon has been on-line and not commented yet!

Si.

I only got back from camp at 4 o'clock - just finished downloading it and installing it onto my mp3 as I speak !

[Si Hunt]

That's not quick enough damnit!

Si.

[Andrew Curnow]

I listened to it just before tea - every bit as enjoyable as last week's episode, it rounded the story off very well indeed. I can only really echo what everybody has already said, in that Paul was excellent as the possessed Doctor.

I particularly liked Jon's slant on UNIT, and in fact this wasn't really a 'Doctor + UNIT story' was it - almost more of a 'Doctor V UNIT' one at times. I really enjoyed that fresh look at something, and in particular the fact that it kind of pulled the rug out from under this listener's feet by subverting his expectations of a traditional UNIT story. This was quite different, as made explicit by the final news report, and that concluding image of the Doctor sloping away before having to deal with UNIT at all.

All the cast were excellent, and Paul really took great advantage of the material, but I would just to also mention Dave's character - I'd guess it's not easy to play a different role to the usual Nick, but he did it without me ever finding myself thinking it was Nick (if you see what I mean). And the character's journey (if I can use that ghastly expression just this once) was very good too - the concluding gunshot was very well structured scriptwise, in that for a moment we're not quite sure which of the potential shooters actually pulled the trigger. Dave's bitter & hardened delivery of his last line was just perfect.

The one bit I was a little unsure of was the Doctor & Ed's final chat, which almost ran the risk of being a bit sermony, but I think it was short enough not to grate. But that's such a small niggle, in what's been a hugely enjoyable story.

Great work guys, as always - and well done to Jon, he didn't have to go into hiding over the weekend at all!!

[SiHart]

Now I did wonder when i was script editing this one whether the Doctor was perhaps being a little hypocritical at the end, considering how he'd pushed Rev Walker into doing what he'd done. I still have a nagging doubt about that whole speech at the end because of that.

Si xx

[Si Hunt]

The one bit I was a little unsure of was the Doctor & Ed's final chat, which almost ran the risk of being a bit sermony, but I think it was short enough not to grate.

No disrespect to Jon, but this was the one part of the script that during recording we suddenly realised we hadn't given enough script-editing attention. It was changed slightly in recording, and also quite heavily edited but I agree with you it is still too downbeat. To quote Martin during recording (captured on the outtakes) "You miserable git Doctor!"

Si.

[Martin Penny]

I did find it rather downbeat at the time, but I think the final version works well. I mentioned on the 'Blood Money' thread that I struggled to write an ending after a rather downbeat story.

[Paul Monk]

Martin and I also ad-libbed the last couple of lines to end the scene slightly more upbeat than was originally written

Anyway I'll post my full thoughts later.

[SiHart]

No disrespect to Jon, but this was the one part of the script that during recording we suddenly realised we hadn't given enough script-editing attention.

I suppose there were rather more pressing script editing issues really. Ah well.

Si xx

[Rob McCow]

But with all the wonderful stuff going on in this episode, it seems a shame to dwell on the little niggles!

What I really like about this one is that it takes a concept, an idea, then explores it properly. The twisty-escape at the end of the story was the best kind, I didn't guess it paticularly but it didn't seem out of place. Poor K'anpo!

Ed Bradley's an intriguing companion, even more so as time goes on! In some ways he's like Turlough done properly, in that he's generally fun and lightweight but with moments of being a bit suspicious. Rather than being suspicious all the time! He's got a nice line in panicked reactions too which is rather endearing.

The production was spot on as well, not just in the quality of the vocal recording but in the sfx and music. Nothing stood out as being out of place, which may seem like faint praise but it really isn't, there's a neatly created tone to this story which is followed throughout. It's tricky to achieve, believe me!

We also listened to Pip's Baron's Best of PS Audios on the way home and we were pleasantly entertained by that as well! It was a lovely trip down memory lane, loads of great bits from the stories. Naturally, the clips for the 'best bits' section weren't the ones that I would have chosen, but we all have our favourties!

[Paul Monk]

I loved Hand of Peace. It was brilliant. Very pacy I thought, with Ed pretty much getting the best lines.
And I had a great time. It was really nice to be evil for a change, even though I was bricking it! Well done Jon!

[Jon Masters]

You'll have to forgive the indulgence, but as I'm unlikely to get the chance to ever make an Oscar acceptance speech I'm going to blub all over PS instead.

A HUGE thank you and to everyone involve in HOP. It's one thing to hear a story in your head (or at least try to), and very much another to hear it in real life, exactly or even better than you imagined it. Let's not beat about the bush – we have a greatly talented bunch of people on PS in terms of script editing, acting , production and artwork, and I think everyone gave their all on this – hopefully because they enjoyed it so much.

It's hard to pick only particular individuals, but to Kathy and Dave TS who both made bit characters come to life, especially as in their scenes they were acting on their own (that Private Johnson was a bit of a ham though ). I loved Dave's Network moment . And Mr Hunt for his Major Bryant (spin off series ready for Radio 4), and Jonno for being so evil, and wonderful Dave for being so poignant and frightened and angry and bitter.

But hats off especially for Martin and Paul – Ed has a lot to do with holding the whole story together and Martin pulled it off superbly, and Paul – if I hadn't been so confident in your abilities, having listened to what great things you'd done already in the other audios I would never have had the guts to write this story in the first place. That laugh was truly spine-chilling. And now, of course, you can have a chance of winning a PS award as the best villain too !! And I love the final lines

Once again, the production and sound effects were faultless – huge respect to Si again for taking my writer's rambling directions and making them a reality.

Finally, a big thank you for all the kinds words. I can't claim credit for all of the sparkling dialogue, but all the plotting – for better or worse – was my own. I wanted a story where UNIT let the Doctor down, and the Doctor went more evil than IoT or Mindwarp – and we got that in spades. I apologise to all the other writers I nicked stuff off – hopefully you didn't notice stuff from Meglos, or almost a whole scene from Haniad in which case I got away with it.
The final speech was all my fault – rather than it being a lecture, I wanted to show how sad and frustrated the Doctor was that humanity was just as bad as ever, and how hurt he felt on being so let down by UNIT. I should have made that more explicit in the lines or the directions, and TBH Messrs Hunt and Hart (that well known firm) did query it at the time. And the Mara voice – again, my decision – and I hope that everyone picked up on the hint of something happening during the climactic scene when Paul's voice changes back to normal, as that was mainly why I wanted the voice effects in the first place.

It's been a great learning experience for me ,and I'm hugely pleased that I managed to write a PS audio at all, I thoroughly enjoyed the process and I would recommend to anyone thinking about doing it to have a go – I'm already toying with ideas for another one.....

[Alex]

I've just listened to both parts tonight, and really enjoyed it. I'm a big fan of the Mara so was fascinated by the cliffhanger to the first part, and really interested to see in what direction Jon took them in. That it led to the Doctor's possession was a superb twist, especially as I thought Paul was excellent as the evil Doctor, in what was his best performance yet.

All of rest of the cast were superb too, with Mr Tudor especially impressing, indeed I didn't recognise that it was him till I looked up the cast list and didn't think once of Nick. And as a big fan of Ed Bradley it was great to see him back, to me he really drives the plot on and it's clear that Jon had a lot of fun writing for him. Plus Dave was great as the newsreader, and everyone else involved turned in top performances too.

I'm so used to the superb production values that I didn't think they could be topped - but they were once again even better than before, and I thought the use of various pieces of epic sounding music really added so much to this great play.

If I've any minor quibbles, it's the aforementioned sermon-y bit of the Doctors, but also the death scene where he described it as being "like a jam jar". It just sounded a bit odd to me, and pulled me out of the reality of the situation. But hey, tis only a very small point, and bar that I thought this was an excellent production!

[Rob McCow]

Both of the first two stories this year have been war-heavy with a downbeat ending - this season has a bit of a theme

[Pip Madeley]

I think this series can be described as 'The One With All The Wars'

[Ian Lethbridge-Stewart]

As usual I'm having trouble keeping up to date with the episodes; there just aren't enough hours in the day. However I listened to both episodes yesterday and thought it was wonderful. I knew nothing about the story before hand (I didn't even listen to the trailer) so everything was a complete surprise. I love the modern day setting (which is unusual for me as I like the alien planets stuff generally). The bit where the Doc goes off to Somerset just reminded me of those Pertwee stories where he'd drive off in Bessie to some local project or scientific centre or other to check on unusual developments. The references to Planet of the Spiders were nice, without being too in your face and fan w*nky.
As always Martin's portrayal of Ed was just brilliant - I really do like this character. Dave Tudor's reverend was also a joy, and as has been mentioned elsewhere I never once thought of him as being played by the same person who plays Nick - I particularly like the slow, deep voice.
Paul is really on form in this one, and his evil performance in the second episode is top notch - oh and I must say to Si, that I love the voice effects used for the Mara - it sounds exactly the same as in the original series and just as creepy. On the subject of the Mara, what a bolt from the blue that was; I certainly didn't see that one coming!!! Excellent story idea Jon; you should do some more if you get a chance.

Top marks for everyone - even those who I've not mentioned - everyone performs well in this. The only problem I'm going to have now is trying not to see Ant Cox's head superimposed on top of K'anpo's every time I watch Planet of the Spiders!!!!

[Martin Penny]

Just listened to Pip's documentary on the CD, which was great fun!

"The Doctor is often underestimated by his enemies, to whom he appears to BE A FOOL! JABBERING ON ABOUT TEA!!!!!!