Okay, there isn’t really an umbrella title for this particular release, so I will just describe it and review the pair of stories contained within/  This is a limited edition Doctor Who audio set featuring two episodes that were adapted from original novels written by Gareth Roberts.  John Dorney adapted both novels for the audio play format. Nicholas Briggs directed both stories as well.  Tom Baker stars in both stories alongside Lalla Ward and John Leeson, who reprise their roles as Romana and K9.  Of course, this release is from those well known lovers of stories, Big Finish Productions.

The Romance of Crime is the first story here with a guest cast that includes Miranda Raison, Michael Troughton, James Joyce, and Jane Slavin.  The TARDIS brings the Doctor and his friends to an inhabited asteroid known as the Rock of Judgment.  A dangerous criminal who was thought executed has made a startling return in which not everyone can remain in control of their mind and body.  This is a pretty good romp with solid performances.  Tom Baker sounds great, and none of the chemistry seems to be lacking in the main cast members.  I wish there was something that stood out in this episode for me, but it was a serviceable presentation from Big Finish.

The English Way of Death has a solid enough guest cast which includes Terrence Hardiman, Derek Carlyle, Abigail McKern, and again Jane Slavin.  The Doctor is needing to return some overdue books to t.  a library in 1930’s London, but a distress call from the future and a dangerous green mist means the library needs to wait a little longer to shelve their missing volumes.  This episode was a little better than its companion piece, but still there was not a whole lot that stood out.  It’s always a delight to hear Tom Baker in these audio plays, but I was once again not exactly enthralled by this piece.  I wasn’t repelled either, so I guess Roberts and Dorney accomplished that.

The sound effects were well realized, and the it did sound very much like the era in the television series it was supposed to represent.  I enjoyed the set well enough, but it’s another one not likely to leave a lasting memory on me until I decide to give it another whirl.

 

 

The Crooked Staircase is the third novel by Dean Koontz to feature vengeful widow, Jane Hawk.  It was first published in 2018.

Jane Hawk is a former FBI agent who is stunned by the sudden suicide of her beloved husband but finds that the idea did not occur to him on its own.  She finds a deeply buried government program involving mind control.  Two malevolent operatives are on her trail.  Her young son is in the care of two dedicated allies, but her efforts there may not be enough to keep him from danger.  Jane is on the trail of more leaders of this group known as Arcadians and finds herself having to employ some ugly tactics to get the answers she needs.

In recent years, Koontz seems to continue his fascination with rogue government operatives and strange conspiracies involving subtle domination by the state, so this series seems to be more of the same.  Although Jane Hawk is compelling enough for me to not mind following her.  Koontz still has a unique prose style to keep the sometimes overly familiar plot somewhat fresh.  The killer duo known as Dubose and Jergen are eccentric yet evil enough for me to relish the final confrontation with Jane Hawk whenever that happens.  There isn’t much I would consider extraordinary about this novel, but the good news is that it does not stand out as anything terribly obnoxious either.

It was at least good enough for me to be willing to read the fourth installment. But before that, I will try out The Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi as my next literary indulgence.

Murder By Contract is a film noir thriller that was released in 1958.  Irving Lerner is the director with Ben Simcoe listed as writer.  Vince Edwards plays a somewhat philosophical hit man named Claude saving up to buy a house.  Phillip Pine, Herschel Bernadi, and Caprice Toriel are also part of the cast.

Claude is a contract killer who doesn’t use a gun but dispatches his victims in a variety of ways.  After proving his efficiency at the beginning of the film, two men hire him to kill a witness set to testify in a high profile trial.  Claude is somewhat hesitant when he learns his latest target is a woman.  Claude is an interesting character in that he would be described as am existentialist.  He has a somewhat perplexing moment where he snaps at a hotel server for an apparently lack of ambition or something and still gives him a fairly generous gratuity.

Claude is a somewhat interesting character.  The movie is acclaimed for being somewhat stripped down to basic movie making or something.  The soundtrack is pretty simple with a repetitive guitar riff throughout the film. The film has moments where it drags a bit though.  There are some interesting moments, but the ending didn’t really satisfy all that much.  I do appreciate the effort to see what could be done with the most basic elements of film making.  I am not sure if I need to see this movie again in order to appreciate something that I missed, but the first viewing didn’t exactly leave me in a rush to make another attempt.

The Silencing is a thriller directed by Robin Pront from a screenplay written by Micah Ranum.  The cast includes Nikolaj Coster-Waldeau, Annabelle Wallis, and Hero Feinnes-Tiffin.

The film starts off with the corpse of a young woman drifting down a river which flows through an impressive forest background.  Coster-Waldeau  plays a drunken former hunter who now runs a sanctuary for wildlife in honor of his young daughter, who had gone missing five years earlier.  Wallis plays a young, pretty sheriff who starts an investigation into the murder of the young woman who was fished out of the river.  Anyway, it doesn’t take long to figure out that some lunatic is out in the woods hunting young women.  One is rescued by the drunken protagonist.  The sheriff has a troubled brother who she feels overly protective toward.  Everyone is a bit of a mess.  One or two people discover a bit of nobility within themselves.

So when this movie started, it seemed to hold some promise.  I started to be intrigued. When the aspect of someone hunting people for sport became apparent, my interest started to wane somewhat.  The performances were not bad, and some of the action scenes sort of jolted my attention back, but I ended up dissatisfied with the final revelations.  It’s one of those movies I should have enjoyed more, and it’s a little hard to articulate why it fell short.  I think the basic premise was not terrible, but the motivation behind some of the characters’ decisions just seemed absurd.  People are absurd anyway, but this movie goes in directions that really stretch the credulity.  Anyway, it’s fine if one really needs to see something new during this whole pandemic business, but it’s not worth any real effort beyond that.

The Mirror Crack’d is a British mystery film released in 1980.  Guy Hamilton is the director while Jonathan Hales and Brent Sandler adapts the screenplay from a novel written by Agatha Christie.  Angela Lansbury is in the lead as Jame Marple, one of Christie’s best known sleuths.  The cast has some pretty heavy hitters of the cinema for that time.  Notable cast members are Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and Tony Curtis.  A very young Pierce Brosnan is in this in an uncredited appearance before his fame hit full stride.

A Hollywood studio has chosen St. Mary Mead for the location of shooting a historical piece about Mary, Queen of Scots, and Elizabeth I.  The two leading ladies have a long standing rivalry.  A fan is poisoned at the reception, which piques the interest of the ever curious Jane Marple.  Miss Marple is the best known of fictional elderly spinster detectives.  The detective inspector investigating the case happens to be a nephew of Miss Marple, so an injury to her foot does not keep her sidelined too long.

I liked Lansbury’s performance of Miss Marple, but the make-up was pretty ghastly.  She is wearing either a white wig or had her hair dyed.  The production team would have done better to just let her keep her natural reddish hair color at that time, even if it didn’t quite match Christie’s description of Miss Marple.  This adaptation was pretty mediocre overall though.  It’s a talented enough cast, but something about the writing just didn’t work for me.  I may have just been too distracted by Lanbury’s appearance.  Of course, I am used to her presentation in Murder, She Wrote, so I just think the performance in this film didn’t need to be too dissimilar from that.  I actually have the upmost respect for Angela Lansbury, and whatever downfall there may be in her performance is likely not her fault.  I found that some of the other actors were overacting a bit, but the setting sort of lends itself to that.  The basic story itself was fine, but it has been a long time since  read that particular novel.  Anyway, I was expecting better since there were so many Hollywood legends involved, but I just couldn’t stay connected to it.  I think the writing and direction is more to blame than the actors though.

Shadow of the Sun is a Doctor Who audio play written by Robert Valentine and directed by Nicholas Briggs.  Tom Baker returns as the Fourth Doctor as is joined by Louise Jameson as Leela and John Leeson voicing K9.  The guest cast is comprised of Paul Herberg, Fenella Woolgar, Glen McCready, and Barnaby Edwards.

Big Finish Productions has moved this story ahead of schedule by a few years since it was recorded while at height of the lockdown in the United Kingdom due to the coronavirus pandemic.  The cast was able to perform from their various residences with the sound techs putting it all together for a pretty satisfying story.

The TARDIS materializes aboard a star-liner in the middle of a party.  The Doctor, Leela, and K9 find that equipment has been breaking down and guests have been disappearing.  The Doctor makes a more alarming discovery in that the ship is on a direct course to collide with a sun.  He is even more alarmed when no one else seems to share his concern.

The story sort of explores the notion of cults and dangerous beliefs that could lead to some self-destructive tendencies.  Not much is more self-destructive than deliberately heading into a sun.  There is also a problematic autopilot that does not want to cooperate.

Overall, the episode is satisfying but not much new ground is broken here.  The post production work is top-notch as always though.  The sound effects were convincing, which is also expected.  The performances were all solid.  Tom Baker still sounds great for a man of his age, which is 86 now, in case anyone didn’t know.  Sometimes, I can hear it in his voice, but not enough to dampen my enthusiasm whenever a new Fourth Doctor adventure is on the horizon.

This is still quite a triumph for Big Finish regardless in that it is a testament to their determined ingenuity to provide new entertainment during the most difficult of times.  The story itself may not be a standout, but it’s quite good.  All of the cast seemed competent and enthusiastic in the effort put forth.  Because Big Finish did manage to find a way around some serious roadblocks brought on by the Bug,  this still is a very special episode and worthy of more than one listen.

Lake Artifact is a film with some horror, some science fiction, and according to IMDb, some comedy, although that last descriptor is a little hard to identify.  Bruce Wemple is the writer and director of this obvious B movie.  The cast includes Sheila Ball, Thomas Brazzle, Adrian Burke, and Catharine Daddario.  A few other actors were there as well, but they weren’t any more recognizable than those already mentioned.

A group of friends decide to spend a weekend at a place curiously named Paradox Lake where they are joined by a mysterious stranger with a case of beer and an intriguing, dour demeanor.  As they arrive at this cabin near the lake, it doesn’t take long to notice strange discrepancies such as photos of themselves that no one remembers taking.  There is a strange old man lurking in the woods, and no one seems to be able to leave easily.  The story is interrupted by interviews that supposedly help explain the history and legends of Paradox Lake.

This is a low budget offering, but I have to say, I have seen worse.  I got a little more interested in it than I anticipated.  The performances weren’t terrible.  The characters were somewhat interesting.  There were a few hints dropped about the background and dynamics between some of the characters that were predictable.  I thought there was some real effort to come up with something original and much of the effort is almost successful.  There is still plenty of room with some level of exasperation with this film. Too many loose threads are left dangling for my preference.  It’s not a straight-forward tale since parallel realities and time loops enter the fray, but Wemple could have still put more effort into a cleaner ending, unless he is angling for a sequel or something.

Anyway, I wouldn’t necessarily make a viewing of this a major priority, but it had just enough surprises and suspenseful moments where I wouldn’t label it a complete waste of time.

The Higher Frontier is a Star Trek novel written by Christopher L. Bennett and takes place between Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.  This book delves into the period which led to James Kirk finally accepting his promotion to admiral as Spock takes on the role as captain of the USS Enterprise.

A race known as the Aenar has all been wiped out when this novel begins, and the Enterprise is assigned to investigate the attacks as the second five-year tour comes to an end.  Kirk and company are reunited with telepath Miranda Jones and Medusan ambassador Kollos who first appeared in the television episode Is There In Truth No Beauty?.  The novel is full of references to other previous novels and television episodes.  It seems that the crew’s recent encounter with V’Ger had awakened latent ESP abilities in many people throughout the Federation which has generated in brutal attacks from beings known as the Naazh.  The story explores the different prejudices and suspicion directed to those with unusual abilities.

Bennett can indulge in a little too much exposition between characters for my liking sometimes, but I ended up still enjoying this latest effort when it was all done.  I am not one of those fans who need to be revisit previous stories much and was at first a little exasperation to the callbacks littered throughout this one, however the main plot ended up keeping me hooked.

I also liked that the story sort of unfolds over a period of almost over a year as well.  We see the crew face the idea of their careers finally moving them away from each other.  Spock even has to examine his choice of refusing command in a new light.  There was a sense of real conflict between the idea of the main characters staying together where they knew they performed well and valued and allowing the natural progression of career trajectory to play out.

Bennett packs quite a few personal dramas among the characters which could get a little distracting from the action, but he also makes them a bit more tangible and realistic than what was sometimes presented in the television series and movies.  Anyway, even if there were some practices that sometimes fail to endear me, I find this novel to be one of the better ones in the range.  It’s good to revisit this particular crew in a period of their lives that leaves plenty of room for creating new adventures.

I will next be reading another installment of a series featuring Jane Hawk, a recent widow with a unique set of special skills, that allows her to bring down an agency that was behind the very troubling suicide of her husband.  Suicides are troubling anyway, but Hawk has something to target here in The Crooked Staircase by Dean Koontz.

Scorched Earth is a Doctor Who audio play presented by Big Finish Productions.  Chris Chapman is the writer here with John Ainsworth serving as director.  Colin Baker returns as the Sixth Doctor with Lisa Greenwood and Miranda Raison joining him as Flip Ramon and Constance Clarke, respectively.  The guest cast is comprised of Philip Delancy, Christopher Black, James Boswell, and Katarina Olsson.

The TARDIS materializes in July 1944 in a small French village which has recently been liberated from Nazi occupation as the Second World War is reaching its conclusion.  In the midst of the celebration, they have labeled one of their denizens a traitor, and their rage is feeding an extraterrestrial entity which resembles a large ball of fire.  Another French citizens has also learned how to connect with this creature, and he is not ready to forgive and forget.  Although Flip and Mrs. Clarke have bonded tightly through their previous adventures with the Doctor, the time and place of their latest stop will strain that friendship as their very different backgrounds exposes how much they have yet to learn about each other.

While Flip Jackson is one of a long line of present-day young female companions accompanying the Doctor, Constance Clarke was found in 1940’s serving as a WREN at Bletchley Park during World War II.  She gets a glimpse at the end of the war and discovers that her willingness to forgive the other side doesn’t come so easily either. Flip finds herself sympathizing with a young Frenchwoman who had dared to fall in love with a Nazi soldier who was later killed.  The hatred from her fellow villagers is what ends up feeding the fiery presence that the Doctor must have removed from Earth before even more unimaginable destruction is unleashed upon the human race.

There are some interesting interactions and conflicts at play.  The creation of this alien menace is somewhat unique but not as engaging as I had hoped.  Flip and Mrs. Clarke’s dispute ends up being the more engaging piece to this story.  There is a reluctant alliance with captured Nazi soldiers that occurs that smacks of a certain courage in the writing.  These particular Nazi soldiers do seem to renounce their previous misdeeds, so it isn’t that Chapman offers any real sympathy to their cause.  It did strike me as an interesting move to offer some path to redemption for Nazi characters that is usually not presented in today’s entertainment.

This particular main cast continues to impress with their energy and chemistry.  Colin Baker still continues to revel in his continued involvement with these latest stories.  A little tension between the two women does offer a shake up that does play out as genuine.  Mrs. Clarke finds herself needing to rediscover her sense of forgiveness and humanity, which adds another dimension to her already fascinating persona.  I do wish that more attention was paid to Flip needing to be more understanding of what Mrs. Clarke had faced during her participation in the war effort of her time.

All of the performances were engaging though.  Even if I wasn’t quite as impressed with the alien threat bearing down upon our heroes, there was plenty of other gems to be found in other facets of this story.  It’s probably not a huge spoiler to say that this particular TARDIS crew is not done yet, which doesn’t disappoint me at all.

Vivarium is a supernatural suspense film that is one of the more bizarre ones I have seen even for this genre.  Lorcan Finnegan serves as director for this screenplay written by Garret Shanley.  Finnegan and Shanley also share story credits.  Apparently Finnegan had done some short film previously from which this current piece is based.  It’s a small cast with Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots.  Jonathan Aris and Eanna Hardwicke are a couple of other cast members of some note.

So the story starts off with a young couple in the market for a new house and meet a very unusual real estate agent where they are introduced to a suburban housing development known as Yonder.  The houses are even more eerily alike than most suburban neighborhoods these days.  The couple known as Tom and Gemma find themselves abandoned at the house and cannot find their way out of the unusually labyrinthine neighborhood.  Then the box with the baby inside arrives, and their stay gets even weirder.

There was a real effort at something original here, which I appreciate.  There are times where the film drags a little, but Eiesenberg and Poots give pretty convincing performances.  It’s hard to be too critical of some the decisions written considering the concept is so bizarre.  Not too many answers are given by the time this film ends, but I somehow found that fitting.

Anyway, it was a pretty interesting move to have a suburban setting to be distorted in something so nightmarish.  This film isn’t the first one to play with that notion, but this particular one was one of the better efforts.