Day: December 29, 2010

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5th Doctor Doctor Who The Audio Dramas

The Demons Of Red Lodge and Other Stories

Doctor WhoThe Demons Of Red Lodge: The Doctor and Nyssa awaken in the dark, surrounded by creatures that almost certainly mean them harm. Even the Doctor has to fight down a panic response to find a way out of the situation, until the time travelers encounter a seemingly friendly face who offers them shelter. They quickly discover the truth: they’re now locked in with something even worse.

The Entropy Composition: The Doctor, sensing that Nyssa is missing pleasant reminders of her home planet, takes her to the vast archives of recorded music on the planet Conchordia. But before they can explore the history of Traken’s music, they encounter another piece of music, a wall of sound capable of ripping living matter apart. The Doctor must track it back to its origins as a lost prog rock opus created under alien influence.

Doing Time: The Doctor, thanks to his suspicious use of the alias “John Smith”, is sentenced to serve time in a prison facility whose governor has loftier political ambitions. The Doctor came here to warn of a devastation explosion a few months into the future; he’s horrified when the prison’s corrupt governor decides to ensure that the explosion happens as part of an arranged election year publicity stunt.

Special Features: Recording commences on a DVD commentary for an early ’70s horror film, with two of the troubled movie’s surviving cast members, its director, and historical advisor Doctor John Smith in attendance. The movie is a heavily fictionalized chronicle of a legendary haunting at Red Lodge. Two of those participating in the commentary were there to witness the actual events: the creature who inhabited helpless victims to ensure its survival, and the Time Lord who tried to stop it. Their battle is not finished until the end credits roll.

Order this CDThe Demons Of Red Lodge written by Jason Arnopp
The Entropy Composition written by Rick Briggs
Doing Time written by William Gallagher
Special Features written by John Dorney
directed by Ken Bentley
music by Richard Fox & Lauren Yason

The Demons Of Red Lodge Cast: Peter Davison (The Doctor), Sarah Sutton (Nyssa), Susan Kyd (Emily Cobham / Ivy Cobham), Duncan Wisbey (Villager), John Dorney (Villager)

The Entropy Composition Cast: Peter Davison (The Doctor), Sarah Sutton (Nyssa), Andree Bernard (Erisi), Ian Brooker (Naloom), Joanna Munro (Mrs. Moloney), James Fleet (Geoff Cooper)

Doing Time Cast: Peter Davison (The Doctor), Sarah Sutton (Nyssa), John Dorney (Janson Hart), Susan Kyd (Governor Chaplin), Duncan Wisbey (Dask / Judge / Jabreth / Hobbling Pete)

Special Features Cast: Peter Davison (The Doctor), Sarah Sutton (Nyssa), James Fleet (Martin Ashcroft / Sir Jack Merrivale), Ian Brooker (Professor Bromley / Narrator), Joanna Munro (Johanna Bourke / Carlotta), John Dorney (Mr. Pinfield / Yokel / Running Man / Carriage Driver)

Notes: In The Entropy Composition, the Doctor and Nyssa discuss primal acoustic echoes of the creation of the universe, also known as “the music of the spheres.” That also happens to be the title of a humorous short starring David Tennant as the tenth Doctor, shown live to an audience at the BBC Proms Doctor Who concert in 2008, and while your mileage may vary as to whether the Tennant short (or, indeed, this audio) are “canon”, the may both involve the same “music of the spheres.” The single-episode story Special Features required multiple scripts and recording sessions: one for the sound and dialogue of the “movie” running in the background throughout the story, and one for the foreground story involving the Doctor, resulting in what was considered one of the most complex productions Big Finish had ever assembled at the time of its release.

LogBook entry and TheatEar review by Earl Green

Categories
Black Mirror Season 4

U.S.S. Callister

Black MirrorStardate not given: The stalwart crew of the starship U.S.S. Callister patrols the galaxy, constantly running into the evil forces of the tyrannical Baldak, and constantly defeating them thanks to the heroic leadership and tactical brilliance of Captain Robert Daly. But failing to praise or please Daly reveals the terrifying truth that he’s even more of a tyrant than his arch-enemy…

Stardates aren’t real: Callister, Inc.’s flagship product, the massively multiplayer virtual reality space adventure game Infinity, is a massive hit. The company’s chief technology officer, socially stunted software guru Robert Daly, is running behind on a major update to the game, but is distracted from the impending crisis by the arrival of a new programmer, Nanette Cole. But when Callister’s CEO wastes no time showing him up, Daly quietly grabs a lid from one of her coffee cups, and scans it for DNA.

Stardate still not given: Nanette Cole awakens in an unfamiliar (and alarmingly revealing) uniform, aboard what appears to be a spaceship. She explores until she finds the bridge, full of people who appear to be her new co-workers at Callister, Inc. …only to be told that, like them, she is an image of the real Nanette Cole, extracted from a DNA sample, who will now be left with no option but to play out Robert Daly’s twisted sci-fi fan fantasies. She immediately comes to the conclusion that the U.S.S. Callister needs a change of command.

written by William Bridges & Charlie Brooker
directed by Toby Haynes
music by Daniel Pemberton

Black MirrorCast: Jesse Plemons (Robert Daly), Cristin Milioti (Nanette Cole), Jimmi Simpson (Walton), Michaela Coel (Shania), Billy Magnussen (Baldak), Milanki Brooks (Elen Tulaska), Osy Ikhile (Nate Packer), Paul G. Raymond (Kabir Dudani), Hammed Animashaun (Pizza Guy), Tom Mulheron (Tommy), Aaron Paul (Gamer691)

Notes: Toby Haynes has numerous genre directing credits, including a series of very well-regarded episodes of Matt Smith‘s era of Doctor Who Jimmi Black MirrorSimpson is a regular on HBO‘s Westworld, while multiple Emmy winner Aaron Paul – heard in a voice-only role here – was one of the stars of AMC’s popular series Breaking Bad. This episode obviously spoofed the original Star Trek (and, toward the end, the J.J. Abrams retooling of classic Trek for the big screen), as well as a certain somewhat suspect subset of its fandom.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Black Mirror Season 4

Arkangel

Black MirrorAfter her three-year-old daughter Sara causes a scare by wandering away from a public park looking for a stray cat, Marie has Sara implanted with a device called Arkangel, still in the trial phase, allowing Marie to look at a tablet and immediately see Sara’s location, vital signs, and even what Sara sees. She can even control what Sara sees with a filter system that can audiovisually censor any input causing the girl undue stress, though within a few years she drops the filter and lets Sara see the world as it really is. The Arkangel product line is eventually abandoned, and Marie puts away the tablet…until Sara’s rebellious adolescence arrives, and then Marie resumes surveillance of Sara’s every move and begins intervening in her daughter’s life, with disastrous consequences.

written by Charlie Brooker
directed by Jodie Foster
music by Mark Isham

Black MirrorCast: Rosemarie Dewitt (Marie), Brenna Harding (Sara), Owen Teague (Trick), Angela Vint (Anaesthetist), Jason Weinberg (Surgeon), Nicholas Campbell (Russ), Aniya Hodge (Sara, age 3), Sabryn Rock (Pippa), Edward Charette (Young Man at Park), Carlos Pinder (Man who finds Sara), Jenny Raven (Jasmine), Paul Braunstein (Anthony), Sarah Abbott (Sara, age 9), Nicky Torchia (Trick, age 12), McKayla Twiggs (Meryl, age 9), Kaleb Young (Cal, age 10), Matt Baram (Dr. Usborne), Michelle Cornelius (Schoolyard Teacher), Kaden Stephen (Boy in Fight), Abby Quinn (Meryl), Tosh Robertson (Hiro), Dempsey Bryk (Cal), Ronica Sajnami (Store Employee), Michelle Groux (English Teacher), Edie Inksetter (School Nurse)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Black Mirror Season 4

Crocodile

Black MirrorIncident 1: Driving home across Iceland from a concert, young couple Mia and Rob run over a bicyclist, killing him. They drag the body, his belongings, and his bike over to the edge of a lake, throwing him in to get rid of any evidence.

Incident 2: 15 years have passed, and Mia is now a successful businesswoman with her own family. But Rob shows up to tell her that he’s finally found the identity of the man they accidentally killed 15 years ago, and intends to write an anonymous letter to his still-grieving family. An argument becomes a struggle, and Mia kills Rob and disposes of his body, witnessing an accident involving a pedestrian outside shortly afterward.

Incident 3: Shazia, an insurance adjuster, carries around a portable device that can retrieve and record people’s memories, a normal part of her job in settling accident claims. Her investigation into a recent accident involving a pedestrian leads her to Mia, unaware that attempting to probe Mia’s memories could be the last thing she ever does. But at what point is Mia finished killing?

written by Charlie Brooker
directed by John Hillcoat
music by Atticus Ross, Leopold Ross and Claudia Sarne

Black MirrorCast: Andrea Riseborough (Mia Nolan), Kiran Sonia Sawar (Shazia Akhand), Andrew Gower (Rob), Anthony Welch (Anan Akhand), Claire Rushbrook (Police Detective), Joshua James (Gordy), Noni Harper-Brown (Adelle Leonce), Brian Pettifer (William Grange, Dentist), Jamie Michie (Simon Nicholls), Armin Karina (Farshad, Hotel Receptionist), Stefan Orn Eggertsson (Finn Nicholls), James Eeles (DC Lydon), Olafia Hronn Jonsdottir (Felicity Carmichael), Diljia Imana (Ali Akhand), Sigurdur Sigurjons (Room Service Man)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Black Mirror Season 4

Hang The DJ

Black MirrorAs arranged by an artificial intelligence called Coach, which handles dating and matchmaking, Frank and Amy are randomly paired together. As with all of Coach’s matches, an “expiry date” is set, giving Frank and Amy 12 hours in an isolated cabin to get to know each other, but regardless of how well it goes, in 12 hours each will be picked up by a self-driving car, and Coach will pick their next partner. Frank is then paired with a girl who seems to show irritation at everything he says, and is alarmed to finds that Coach has decided this relationship will last for a full year. Amy’s next relationship is predetermined to last nine months. But when Amy and Frank bump into one another at a party, it heightens their respective relief that their current relationships are only temporary. Some time after that, Coach puts Frank and Amy together again, and they mutually agree not to look at the expiry date of their relationship. But when Frank’s curiosity gets the best of him, it seems he and Amy have no future.

written by Charlie Brooker
directed by Tim Van Patten
music by Alex Somers and Sigur Ros

Black MirrorCast: Georgina Campbell (Amy), Joe Cole (Frank), Gina Bramhill (voice of Coach), George Blagden (Lenny), Gwyneth Keyworth (Nicola), Jessie Cave (Edna), Luke Manning (Mike), Tim Pritchett (Norman), Alex Tamaro (Butch), Che Watson (Silverfox), Bruce Chong (David), Anna Dobrucki (Patty)

Notes: The episode’s title is a lyric from the Smiths’ 1986 single “Panic” which coincides neatly with how Frank and Amy feel about their other partners – “Burn down the disco / Hang the blessed DJ / Because the music that they constantly play / It says nothing to me about my life”. The song’s closing refrain plays over the end credits.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Book Of Boba Fett, The Season 1

Chapter 1: Stranger In A Strange Land

The Book Of Boba FettFresh from the belly of the Sarlacc, Boba Fett fights his way to the surface of the Dune Sea on Tatooine, but the injured bounty hunter is an easy target of everything from Jawas to Tusken Raiders. Stripped of his armor and weapons, Fett faces a series of trials with nothing but fierce determination to stay alive.

Fresh from helping a fellow Mandalorian carry out a daring attack on an Imperial cruiser, Boba Fett has returned to Tatooine, killed Bib Fortuna – heir to the criminal empire of Jabba the Hutt – and has assumed the throne that once belonged to Jabba. With Fennec Shand, a particularly capable assassin, at his side, he begins accepting “tributes” from the locals, but when he dares to step outside of his fortress without a large retinue of armed guards, Fett discovers that moving in on the Hutts’ old territory in and around Mos Espa won’t be accepted easily.

The Book Of Boba Fettwritten by Jon Favreau
directed by Robert Rodriguez
music by Joseph Shirley
music themes by Ludwig Gorannson

Cast: Temuera Morrison (Boba Fett), Ming-Na Wen (Fennec Shand), Matt Berry (voice of UK2-B), David Pasquesi (Mok Shaiz’s Majordomo), Jennifer Beals (Garsa Fwip), Daniel Logan (young Boba Fett), Wesley Kimmel (Tusken Kid), Xavier Jiminez (Tusken Chief), Joanna Bennett (Tusken Warrior), Dawn Dininger (Rodian Prisoner), Barry Lowin (Garfalquox), Robert Rodriguez (voice of Dokk Strassi), Frank Trigg (Gamorrean Guard), Collin Hymes (Gamorrean Guard), Marlon Aquino (Twi’lek Server), Andrea Bartlow (Twi’lek Server), Stephen Oyoung (Dokk Strassi performance artist), Chris Bartlett (UK2-B performance artist), Leeanna Vamp (Droid Server performance artist

The Book Of Boba FettNotes: Since Jabba’s sail barge is still smoldering from its destruction in Return Of The Jedi (1983) and ripe for the picking by Jawas, it’s fair to assume that Fett’s escape from the Sarlacc happened in a matter of hours rather than days (and certainly a long way from Threepio’s thousand-year estimate, though that figure may have been dictated by Jabba’s PR department). Jabba’s presence at the Boonta Eve podrace at Mos Espa in The Phantom Menace (1999) suggested that his palace is in close proximity to that city. Daniel Logan, as young Fett, appears only a scene from Attack Of The Clones (2002).