Black And White

Well, this is news to me too!

Revealed by Big Finish on 10th August, the full cast list and the real cover for this month's audio release, Black And White. Here's what they have to say:

"We've kept it a secret for long enough; here's the real cover for Doctor Who: Black and White, which reveals the answer to a question posed in Protect and Survive!

As some of you may have guessed by now, we've been a little bit sneaky recently about our current 

Doctor Who main range Sylvester McCoy trilogy - and here's the cover to prove it! Yes, the one displayed on the website and elsewhere hasn't been the finished article, because it gives away the fact that Lysandra Aristedes (last heard in Project: Destiny) and Sally Morgan (of House of Blue Fire fame) are back!

 And in case you think that's everything out in the open, keep listening...  "

The TARDIS arrives in the land of the Danes, where a young warrior seeks to rid the kingdom of Hrothgar from a cruel and terrifying demon. The brave young warrior is Beowulf; the monster is Grendel... or so his name will one day be written. But what's written down in black and white is sometimes very far from the truth – as the Doctor knows, and his companions are about to discover.

Sylvester McCoy The Doctor Sophie Aldred Ace Philip Olivier Hex   

Maggie O'Neill Lysandra Aristedes Amy Pemberton Sally Morgan  

Stuart Milligan Garundel Michael Rouse Young Beowulf Richard Bremmer Old Beowulf  

John Banks Weohstan James Hayward Wiglaf

I'm intrigued by all the subterfuge and wondering what might be in the pipeline, yet to be revealed.

More news just as soon as it breaks... ! 

...original details posted below.

The Horus Heresy: Grey Angel

 Listen to an extract: The Black Library - Grey Angel (MP3)

On a distant world of the Imperium, an agent of Rogal Dorn finds himself the prisoner of a Legion whose loyalties may be divided. Shackled and bound, the former Luna Wolf must fight a battle of wits with his captor, lest the course of the Horus Heresy take an unexpected turn. Will his very presence drive his erstwhile allies into the arms of the Warmaster or will maintaining the status quo prevent another Legion from turning traitor? And just who is the mysterious Space Marine aiding him from the shadows?

A Horus Heresy audio drama written by John French. 

Performed by John Banks, Toby Longworth and Ramon Tikaram.

 _____________________________________________________________

The above extract is from the first of three Warhammer audio-dramas in the series The Horus Heresy, which I recorded recently along with Toby Longworth and Ramon Tikaram, directed by Ken Bentley. The release schedule might not be strictly accurate, but as I understand it, the first story, Grey Angel is available now as an MP3 download. In late November - early December, the second story Garro: Sword of Truth is released on CD and in April 2013, the final story Garro: Burden of Duty, together with Grey Angel are also released on CD. Details may change as the situation becomes clearer and I'll update as soon as possible as I'm already aware of the very high levels of anticipation for these stories.

Online reviews & comments:

Excellent!
Rated 5 out of 5 by Mark-Anthony

'Listened to it yesterday, the voice action and the sound effects, plus the music were perfectly synchronised. John Banks was perfect for Luther and it was nice to see Toby Longworth back as Loken. The story was great as well, the appearance of the mysterious character at the end and what he had lost made for a bitter-sweet and ambivalent ending.'

There's much more to come on these stories and some great artwork... can't wait!

The Dark Planet

I'm breaking my own rules here by mentioning an audio-drama not scheduled for release until September 2013. But I'm blaming Alex Mallinson for having come up with such stunning cover art and Big Finish for whetting everyone's appetite!

And so...

The Lost Stories, Big Finish’s audio productions of stories that were devised for television but never made, will return in 2013 for a fourth and final season.

“It’s been a hugely satisfying – and sometimes Herculean! – job
reviving these previously lost adventures,” says producer David Richardson, “but we feel that with these last four stories that the line will have run its course. These new tales are for the first three Doctors and, like the hugely popular Farewell Great Macedon, they’ll be told with a mix of enhanced narration and dialogue.

“The first three stories all have a theme – they are all adapted from original paperwork submitted by Brian Hayles, who wrote The Ice Warriors, The Seeds of Death, The Curse of Peladon and The Monster of Peladon.”

The series kicks off in September 2013 with The Dark Planet, which is six episodes long and has been adapted by Matt Fitton. The story is performed by William Russell and Maureen O’Brien with guest stars John Banks and Charlie Norfolk, and is set on a world where light and dark are at war.

“It was an extraordinary experience to record this,” says David. “The script feels so authentic to the era that Maureen was convinced she’d actually filmed it back in the Sixties. She took quite some convincing that it hadn’t actually already been made!”

In the original series, William Russell played 'Ian Chesterton' and not only does he reprise that role here, he also gives a pretty good vocal portrayal of the first Doctor, William Hartnell. I'm old enough to remember Doctor Who from the very beginning and it was therefore a particular pleasure to have spent several days in the studio working with William on this adventure. A true legend to any Doctor Who fan and truly a gentleman, I feel proud to have been a part of this project and to have had the great honour of working with William Russell.

There'll be more news and further updates on this story in thirteen months time!

So, July has come and gone - and what a month it was.

On the plus side, I had a fabulous time working on another Dr Who story with a great company, all of whom seemed to be having as good a time as I was. At the moment, I can't go into detail as to what the story involves, who the cast are or when it might be scheduled for release, although I'm thinking almost certainly not until some time next year. BF are already announcing titles for 2013, so when it happens, it'll come as a surprise to all of us. I was also offered a really exciting new project to work on, but more of that later.

On the negative side, as I've already mentioned on this site, was the very sad news that Mary Tamm had passed away. We worked together only a few months ago and I had no idea at all that she was ill; I can only admire her professionalism all the more.

There was a great flurry of interest, reflected in a huge boost in page hits, after it was announced that Graceless Series I & II were to be broadcast on Radio 4 Extra, so thanks for that and if you did listen to the stories, I hope you enjoyed them. I also hope there'll be more BF drama to come on radio. Apparently, the world's attention, when not listening to Big Finish audios, is focussed on some sporting activity currently taking place, although if I mention the event by name, I might well find myself facing a law suit!

...here we go then: Black And White, the August CD: unfortunately, the second trilogy of Stargate SG-1 stories, also scheduled for release this month, has been delayed for a little while and should hopefully now be available in September. I'm still waiting to receive copies of Counter Measures and The First Sontarans from July, although the first episode is now posted on this site and I'm naturally looking forward to listening to the rest of it!

And so, without further ado - Let The Games Begin!

Black And White

The TARDIS arrives in the land of the Danes, where a young warrior seeks to rid the kingdom of Hrothgar from a cruel and terrifying demon. The brave young warrior is Beowulf; the monster is Grendel... or so his name will one day be written. But what's written down in black and white is sometimes very far from the truth – as the Doctor knows, and his companions are about to discover.

Sylvester McCoy The Doctor Sophie Aldred Ace Philip Olivier Hex Stuart Milligan Garundel  
Michael Rouse Young Beowulf Richard Bremmer Old Beowulf  

John Banks Weohstan James Hayward Wiglaf

Written by Matt Fitton
Directed by Ken Bentley 

Black And White is the second of three stories featuring Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor:

...and finally for this month - the work I mentioned above has in fact already started. I've had the scripts for a couple of weeks, as there's quite a bit of preparation to be getting on with before we go into the studio later in the month. Once again, I can't go into detail at the moment as to what the work specifically involves, but I can tell you that I'm thrilled and indeed honoured to have been offered such an opportunity - I can only hope that I make a decent job of it. We'll see...

More news as it happens.... !