Looking Back... Heist!

[Si Hunt]

Mike's big villain moment! The Frillington! Jann Cordelis! It can only be a brand new web page on "Heist!"

http://www.planetskaro.org.uk/audios/season2-heist.htm

Please take a read at the behind the scenes of the story. Also all the CD extras are available to download for the very first time, as well as the story itself of course.

Share your memories of the second story of PS Audios Season 2 - Simon Hart's "Heist!"

Si.

[WhiteCrowNZ]

Yeah - what a blast playing Byron Zunestra.

I just loved the character to bits the moment I got Si's script. I had several ideas for the voice of the character, and would be downstairs late at night reading in different voices. It's a shame I lost the sample recordings - but one of them was a Quinten Wilson/slick estate agent voice.

Then I tried out the kind of East European gangster, and it just kind of clicked - I sent Si Hart a sample recording to check he was okay with my direction.

The recording was a real nervous experience. I'd dislocated my shoulder about 2 weeks before hand (again) and the drive made me really tired. There were a lot of new people to meet.

Having done some recording before in radio, I was very aware I had a very shouty character - so stood a bit too far from the mike, making my recording a little too quiet for someone so shouty. I know Paul found it a bit like being shelled in the trenches. It's kind of funny, but after all that shouting and tantrums, I was pretty much wiped out!!!

Good experience though, and nice to put some names to faces. Next day was pretty fun as well doing Steve's script for Unknown Variables. It was nice to play someone who was much quieter and more introspective - a nice little antidote.

I also remember Steve asking me an interview question for the extras along the line of "have you been preparing for this character by doing anything illegal".

But most of all I remember being slightly scarred by Zygon ... truely awful soft porn fandom attempt ...

[SiHart]

Ahh Heist! I'm incredibly fond of this story, as anyone who has read the article on the new webpage will know.

It's odd, because while I was writing it, although I was enjoying it, I didn't think all that much of it. It was fun, but it seemed slightly inconsequential compared to the stuff I'd written with Si. It was only when we were recordign it that i started to think we might be making something rather better than I'd anticipated. The performances really lifted it off the page.

I'm especially fond of Mike's Zunestra who took a lot of the silly lines I'd written and made them sound really menacing and threatening. He gave Zunestra an edge that i hadn't foreseen. I love the double act with his nervous assiatnt Alex, who always seems to be on the verge of a nervous panic attack when he's with his boss.
Kathy is rather wonderful as the dodgy Jann Cordelis too, double crossing everyone, and again giving Jann a hard edge that coems across really nicely.

But really this story belongs to Ed. Ed was a joy to write for and really is the main character in this story- from the dodgy French-Russian accent for the undercover scenes, to the lovely ibnteraction with both Jann and the Doctor, Martin really got behind this script and played it to perfection.

As I've banged on and on about in the past, I'm so pleased with the easy banter between the Doctor, Ed and Jann when they all meet in the Doctor's hotel suite. It was so easy to write and the performances bring it to life in a magical, effortless way. I can't thank all the actors enough for this. Paul suddenyl seemed really confident as the Doctor when we recorded this. It was lovely to hear!

Production wise, I'd love to do it all again, knwoing what I know now, but it's not too bad for a first attempt. I enjoyed making it, but I wish I hadn't fussed too much about putting footsteps in every scene!

Si xx

[Martin Penny]

I think 'Heist!' is probably my favourite story, though my favourites tend to fluctuate quite a bit depending on what I've listened to most recently, Heist! usually stays at the top.

I think I'm right in saying that this was my second recording, so I still wasn't all that familiar with everyone. I was actually more confident being Ed than I was being Martin! I remember really enjoying the recording though, and Si Hart being very good with his direction. I'll always remember him trying to get the scene where Ed first sees the Tardis to be just right - hopefully I did it justice!

I also love it just because the story is so different, no aliens or monsters, just a Hustle type story, but still with a sci-fi edge. Mike is great as Byron Zunestra, and I wish we could get a follow up on on his 'You haven't heard the last of Byron Zunestra!' line at the end.

I'm quite pleased with my performance as well! I sometimes have a hard time listening to my own voice on audio, but I quite enjoy me in this one! It was a great script for Ed. It also started his dodgy accent fetish!

I also remember Steve asking me an interview question for the extras along the line of "have you been preparing for this character by doing anything illegal".

I also seem to recall your response being something along the lines of an outraged "What kind of question is that?!"

[Si Hunt]

I have to say, although Pip isn't here, the cover to "Heist!" was one of his best too. Love the design, and everyone looks good on it (even me!)

Si.

[WhiteCrowNZ]

"The classic tailors Burtons I’d say."

Love that line!

Elsewhere wasn't it Fires of Pompei we watched? Which was the second in the series. Saying this, cos this was the first time Donna really "clicked" for me as a character - it felt like a very good episode, though I've not rewatched it since.

[Paul Monk]

I love this story. I'll say more later but what I will say now is that Mike is the most terrifying baddie EVER!

[Andrew Curnow]

I really enjoyed Heist! - it's a personal taste probably, but the fact that it starts 'mid-adventure' (as it were) really appealed to me, being a very NA-y thing to do.

I particularly enjoy Martin's Ed, the man of a thousand voices, and really, although the whole cast are pretty darned good, Martin steals the show. The script gives him the chance (from the opening "...and here I am standing in a field talking to myself" monologue onwards) and Martin takes full advantage of it!

I have a memory of being a bit unsure, on first listen, as to the ending - not the multi-twists, which worked really well without being confusing, but the fact that the Doctor doesn't really save the day. But on second listen I'm not so sure that's a valid complaint - he succeeds in getting the TARDIS back, and probably more to the point he is fully vindicated in his choice of trustworthy friends. He doesn't like Zunestra, he doesn't trust Jan, but he fully places all his faith in Ed, and that selection turns out to be spot on.

And I agree with Si about the cover, it's very simple but incredibly effective and just fits the style of story like a glove.

[SiHart]

I knew exactly what i wanted for the cover and Pip didn't let me down. I asked him if he could amke it look like the Hustle promo pics and he really did come up with the goods, even if it was pinker than I expected.

Si xx

[Ian Lethbridge-Stewart]

I love this story. It's very different and wonderfully 'fresh' as a result.
Martin is superb as always, as is Paul and Mike.
I'd actually forgotten that I have a breif cameo in this one too - which as my cameo roles go, is one of my favourites.

Love the cover too; although there's something very familar about Jann's gun

[SiHart]

Love the cover too; although there's something very familar about Jann's gun

I think we owe you royalties for its use, don't we Andrew?

Si xx

[brandynigma]

I listened to this one for the first time today (along with Protii). It was a thumping good story, with clear roots in Hustle. However, it wasn't Hustle dusted down and jammed into a Doctor Who shaped hole- it was a considered adaptation of the Hustle formula into the world of Doctor Who.

Ed continues to impress, but every performance was pitch perfect. Of all the stories I've heard to this point in the run (Protii to Haniad, excluding Soap- that's tomorrow), I've found this to be Paul's most fun performance to date. Of course, that's like saying the Genesis of the Daleks was the most intense performance for Tom at that point- he was still bloody brilliant to that point! The Doctor's sparring Zunestra is delightfully funny and tense, and his genuine disappointment (and subsequent relief) in Ed is tangible.

What I love is the fact that not all the character histories are completely spelled out. We don't know the exact circumstances of Zunestra, Jann and Mike's prior relationships, and it doesn't really matter. These may have bogged the story down, which instead whips along at an incredible pace.

The music choices were excellent, and again adding to the atmosphere 'borrowed' for the story. After all, there's nothing wrong with Doctor Who doing other people's stories. My favourite Doctor Who of all time is The Androids of Tara, after all!

Heist is simply marvellous.

"I'll have the rhubarb crumble- and don't hold the custard!"

[SiHart]

I think 'Heist!' is probably my favourite story, though my favourites tend to fluctuate quite a bit depending on what I've listened to most recently, Heist! usually stays at the top.

Heist is simply marvellous.

Aww. Thanks! That's made my day.

As I've said before, I'm incredibly proud of this story and I'm still delighted by the reactions it's had since it was first released.

Si xx

[Paul Monk]

The Doctor's sparring Zunestra is delightfully funny and tense,

Glad you liked that. I'd met Mike for the first time earlier that day and he was both funny and made me feel tense!

[SiHart]

Careful Paul. If you cross Mike Talks you'll end up very, VERY DEAD!



Si xx

[SiHart]

We're having a listen to this one again after the Heist shenanigans this week in Doctor Who. Even if I do say so myself, it's really rather good!