An Arm for An Arm Part Two- Online NOW

[brandynigma]

Without any further delay...



BRENDAN JONES and SIMON HART

in

AN ARM FOR AN ARM

by Anthony Williams

Part Two

How much does Wilkins really know?
What is the Galactic Truth?
Whatever happened to Sister Jane?

Right click and save to enjoy now!

[Jon Masters]

Windows isn't letting me download this from the link ?

[SiHart]

Link corrected now!

[SiHart]

That was a great episode. I was a bit worried after last week, where the episode seemed to be mostly exposition, setting up the world, but this one was a much stronger one, with plenty of incident and some nice angry bits for Brendan to do.

I loved the way the Cyber-Controller was defeated. Very neat and very logical! The Cybermen would approve!

[brandynigma]

Also available...

Alternate Scene 19!

Bloopers!

Cast List:

The Doctor- Brendan Jones
Tom Sterling- Simon Hart
Trent Wilkins- Charles Christopher
Cybercontroller Xiong- Anthony Townsend
Cybermen/Jack- Antony Cox
Smyth- Tim Hawtin
Sister Jane- Kathy Monk
Fowler- Si Hunt
Volunteer- Lisa Cunningham

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

Also available...

Alternate Scene 19!

Bloopers!

Loved these! Well worth a listen.


Also very well done to everyone involved in episode two. Great to hear Kathy as Sister Jane (perhaps if the return of the return of Emma Bonham ever happens she can reclaim her role!) and please, please, please can we have more of Charles Christopher and Anthony Townsend!

Very well done to Ant for his Tenth Planet Cyber voices which suited this story perfectly (dare I say "Excellent!") although I hope we will get to hear more Si Hunt's fab 80s Cyb voice at some stage (in fact I do have an idea so stay tuned...)

Finally another brilliant performance from Brendan and Si especially Brendan's angry Doctor scene. Really excited to find out where they go next!!

[SiHart]

Oh the next story is a real corker... and not at all what anyone could possibly predict it'd be! Oh my yes!

[Rob McCow]

Listening now! They're on to Tom and the Doctor, as it turns out.

[Rob McCow]

Random thoughts, good and bad, loads of spoilers!


- Jack? Horray! It's Cox!
- Another mention of Massanicassa.
- Brendan's performance is pretty good, but he's maybe a little too aggressive in this one? He keeps on describing how bad the Cybermen are. He's a bit preachy, which is ironic given the parallels with cult-style religions.
- Nice background effects when the Cyber-leader turns up!
- The Cyber-voices are lovely. Good stuff from the production and all the voice artistes.
- I'm sure that's a bit of Blue Monday by New Order when they go into experiential grid!
- Uh-oh, delta-wave augmentor! Nyssa lurves to have a bit of augmentation applied to her delta waves. Which is not at all rude.
- Forty minutes! Colour me epic. It's all gone a bit new series.
- Nuns spreading plague. Infection Vector Wimpole.
- Trent gets his Darrow moment.
- And the Doctor's got a plan!
- I'm not quite tuning in to the humour on this one, sadly. Perhaps the bleak tone is working against it?
- Some doubts for Tom. And doubts for Trent!
- Nice moment of beauty for the Cyber-controller.
- Does not compute!
- Looks like the Doctor's talked another Cyber-controller to death! Rah. They should gag him.
- The Nun of Doom is back. Beware!
- The Doctor's sorted the Dreamers out too. Hope they'll be able to solve the problems of the world!
- Looks like the deathNun Jane has had a taste of her own medicine. And it's the kind of medicine that makes you illin'.
- Can Trent be trusted?
- Like the Mondas twist!
- Ooo! Big old argument! Excellent stuff from Si and Brendan in this scene!
- Hmm - still five minutes to go? And the end credits are playing!
- Naughty old Trent, eh? I knew he was up to no good.

Overall then - some good bits, but I didn't quite tune in with this one. I appreciate that this is Ant's first effort, but I think the Doctor and Tom were lead through the story, meeting the key characters on the way. That said, I especially enjoyed all the twists towards the end, plus the acting and production were all great. So a (guarded) hurrah for this story!

[brandynigma]

- Brendan's performance is pretty good, but he's maybe a little too aggressive in this one? He keeps on describing how bad the Cybermen are. He's a bit preachy, which is ironic given the parallels with cult-style religions.

Entirely intentional, and it's a character point that will-

Well, best just to say "Stay Tuned" for now.

[SiHart]

So, has anyone else heard it yet?

[Dirk Gently]

I have, and jolly good it was too. (I forgot I was a bit part in it, it was quite a shock I can tell you).

The story is a strong moral story whilst being firmly set in the Doctor Who universe. And nicely open ended for a potential sequel but also nicely finished off & didn't leave me feeling that I had been short changed with the ending.

I loved the interplay with Si & Brendan, it really is starting to heat up between you both. The ending was very 6th Doctor & Peri, and that analogy made me smile A LOT.

Is Tom being/getting too smug? Or is it the Doctor who's been shown that he is too smug & a know it all?
I had to listen to the ending twice to see why the Doctor was getting so irate with Tom. Surely it's an over-reaction to finding out that in this Universe earth is the sick twin & Mondas is the beautiful blue-green planet. Surely it's only a name, as Tom says; Mondas is where England & Oxford are. Surely its that that the Doctor loves, not the name of the planet.
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet" What matters is what something is, not what it is called.

The fact that this play has got me on this subject just shows how much I actually cared about the characters in this story. Well done to all involved.

[Jon Masters]

Locked and loaded onto the mp3 player for tonight's journey

[Si Hunt]

I've still got episode 2 to do. I've been trying to finish "Androids of Tara" before I get bored of it.

One comment about Episode 1 and that is that I enjoyed it hugely! Another is that it is quite "Doctor and Tom-centric". We follow them through the whole episode and there is not another strand with any other characters, which is just an observation really. This was largely the case with the last story as well. I did feel like I had spent a solid half hour with them by the end.

Si.

[SiHart]

Another is that it is quite "Doctor and Tom-centric". We follow them through the whole episode and there is not another strand with any other characters, which is just an observation really. This was largely the case with the last story as well. I did feel like I had spent a solid half hour with them by the end.

I have a feeling this was a conscious decision we took for the early part of the season because they were both new. It's good to get their relationship sorted out befor you split them off into seperate storylines. I think this may be important as we head off for the other stories this year...
And it also makes it different to the Paul stories too, where the companions didn't always spend very long with the Doctor in most stories (I think Massanicassa might be the excpetion where Rob spends the whole time with the Doctor, as I remember thinking when writing it that this was quite novel- Paul's Doctor was always going off on his own to do stuff)

[Jon Masters]

I really enjoyed the idea behind this story with a new twist on how the Cybermen might come about, and thought that led into the 'solution' to the story really well. It played nicely on modern concerns about cults and people working on commission, and was surprisingly left wing with its comments on how the rich divorce themselves from the problems of the world (well done Ant - there's hope for you yet ). Loved Trent's treachery at the end (very Tobias Vaughan), but didn't quite click with the twist over the planets (esp as the pre-titles had the Doctor exclaiming they were going to Mondas - why didn't Tom say anything then ?)

All the parts were well played - hats off to Charles for his suitably slimy Trent, and it was a joy to hear Tim again even if for only a few scenes. Well done also to the Cybervoices - very authentic. And the production was pretty spot on - esp the inclusion of the old Cybermusic. Only slight niggle that occasionally I struggled to hear the voices when the effects got a bit imbalanced.

Looking forward to more soon

[Anthony Williams]

I really enjoyed the idea behind this story with a new twist on how the Cybermen might come about, and thought that led into the 'solution' to the story really well. It played nicely on modern concerns about cults and people working on commission, and was surprisingly left wing with its comments on how the rich divorce themselves from the problems of the world (well done Ant - there's hope for you yet ). Loved Trent's treachery at the end (very Tobias Vaughan), but didn't quite click with the twist over the planets (esp as the pre-titles had the Doctor exclaiming they were going to Mondas - why didn't Tom say anything then ?)

When Brendan originally suggested that I could write an audio, he basically gave me two main requirements - birth of the Cybermen, in the form of a Scientology-like cult, and that I must end with the revelation that Earth was the planet that became Cyber-ised, while Mondas was really Tom's home world. I tried to convey the Doctor's frustration at this topsy-turvy universe at the end. In retrospect, I think I could have done that a little better here.

In terms of the left-wing comment - I think I'm actually a lot less right-wing than I give the impression of online. I certainly exaggerate a lot of my opinions for the purpose of stirring up debate. Ultimately, I'd describe myself as a fairly typical Libertarian - economically conservative, socially liberal and anti-corporations.

The second episode was the one that had more work done to it in the script-editing process, and had a LOT added into it at that stage. Amusingly, Brendan thought that what I'd originally written would under-run, and so added about 10-15 minutes' worth of material to it - and it ended up being nearly 40 minutes!

Ultimately, I feel that I played it fairly safe with this one. I stuck with the Doctor and Tom, relying on the narrative to follow them. I have a few ideas for future plays, and hope to make the narrative a little more complex next time round!

[Jon Masters]

In terms of the left-wing comment - I think I'm actually a lot less right-wing than I give the impression of online. I certainly exaggerate a lot of my opinions for the purpose of stirring up debate. Ultimately, I'd describe myself as a fairly typical Libertarian - economically conservative, socially liberal and anti-corporations.

I know, hence the .

We'll have you singing 'The Red Flag' yet though

[Dirk Gently]

...and it was a joy to hear Tim again even if for only a few scenes.

You're too kind.

[SiHart]

I had to listen to the ending twice to see why the Doctor was getting so irate with Tom. Surely it's an over-reaction to finding out that in this Universe earth is the sick twin & Mondas is the beautiful blue-green planet. Surely it's only a name, as Tom says; Mondas is where England & Oxford are. Surely its that that the Doctor loves, not the name of the planet.

I think perhaps that the differences are starting to get to him. After all the stuff with Nelson and changing history, the Doctor is on the back-foot the whole time- nothing is certain for him any more. After hundreds of years of time travel and knowing everything that's got to be a difficult thing to get your head around.

[Anthony Williams]

I know that I'm rather late on this, but I've just finished listening to this! (Sorry, real life got in the way!)

As the writer, I just want to say that I am absolutely over the moon at how well this has turned out. Everyone involved in this story has really done me proud - whether it was the actors or the people involved in the other aspects of the production. I want to put a special shout-out in the direction of Mr Charles Christopher, who brought Trent Wilkins to life just as he was in my mind! Hurrah!

So, thank you all! You've made me very happy

[Ian Lethbridge-Stewart]

I've only just found the time to listen to part 2 of this one!

Wow, what can I say?

I absolutely loved this story! - This one really felt close to the 'old style Who', which personally I love!
It was a nice neat little story which, even with the twists at the end, was not too complicated (which means that I didn't struggle to follow it - I'm getting on a bit now so I need the stories to not be too complex)!

I love the performances (especially Brendan and Si, who once again shone brightly in this one).
The old style Cyber voices were very authentic sounding (both the effects and the actual way the actors spoke).
It was weird hearing Ant Cox speak to himself in some scenes though (when he was playing the cyberman and Jack), although it's not the first time that 2 charactes played by Ant have had to speak to each other
I also like the use of the old cyber stories music.

The ending with Trent (who was also brilliant by the way) was also really well done and unexpected (well I didn't see it coming anyway)!

Incidentally although I agree with some of the other posters on this thread that the story is quite Doctor and Tom focussed with no real other story strands happening concurrently with theirs, I can't say that it bothered me at all. I was so gripped with what was going on and the way in which the Doctor and Tom were piecing it togther that until it was pointed out in this thread I hadn't really noticed it!

All in all an excellent adventure - well done to all concerned and a very special 'well done' to Ant Williams for writing an excellent story that reminded me of Doctor Who - the way I like it!!!!

[Rob McCow]

High praise indeed! Ant and Brendan must feel very pleased with themselves for how this turned out.

[Anthony Williams]

Ant and Brendan must feel very pleased with themselves for how this turned out.

Indeed I am! Thank you to everyone who's said nice things about it! It's boosted my confidence in writing no end

(For which I should also thank Brendan, for encouraging me to have a go in the first place!)

[Nyder]

Just caught up with this too - well done to all concerned. My favourite line of Ep2 was the Doctor telling the Cybercontroller to switch his headlight to low beam - genius :-)

I loved Brendan's performance as an increasingly exasperated Doctor who's struggling to get to grips with this other universe. Tom is maturing quite nicely as he emerges from the Doctor's shadow. Long may his tea fixation continue! The soundscape was very good, and it even got quite "trippy" in places. You are indeed the walrus. Goo goo ga choob.

More Trent please :-)

Well done Ant!