vivdunstan

Continuing our latest Babylon 5 rewatch, and we’re up to S2E20 "The Long, Twilight Struggle". And it’s peak Shakespearean tragedy.

The only downside for me in this otherwise superb episode is the poor overacting by the recast Draal actor. Which is a big problem for me. But the rest of the episode is stunning.

Another story set away from the Braxiatel Collection, while things continue to be in chaos there. A story that starts sort of in media res, and isn't entirely successful as a result. There are also arc things that are only revealed toward the end of the story, which is a common situation in this series at this point, and again doesn't work great.

On plus it's an interesting piece of scifi, with a small cast. Reminiscent in many ways of the very recent "Timeless Passages". And overall a strong first story from writer Eddie Robson in this range. Brimming with ideas.

Arguably the most interesting thing though is the final reveal of ( spoilers ) I forgot how much I'd missed hearing that character.

And looking forward to where we go next. Which I do have a pretty good idea of, but will enjoy the journey there.

Been too sleepy to watch any more movies. And still haven't got to Rings of Power season 2. Our Babylon 5 rewatch is also currently on hold while we try to catch up with a mass of too much recorded telly in our Sky Q box.

I have been binge watching a lot of the early episodes of Glee. Which though cliched and corny is remarkably watchable. As a musical theatre fan I'm also happily there for all the songs shoehorned in. Martin hasn't strictly been watching it, mainly commenting as he potters around that "That sounds very weird!" But he did say tonight that having sat in for a bit more he can see how the format works, and is starting to appreciate it.

I'm also watching a lot of recorded panels/talks from the recent Cymera 2025 festival in Edinburgh of science fiction, fantasy and horror writing. Have already enjoyed panels including authors John Gwynne and Cymera regular T.L. Huchu. With many more to watch in the next 3 weeks or so while I still have access to them using my purchased digital festival pass.

Onto another one, and this is a relisten for me. As I wrote on Gallifrey Base back in June 2010:

"Timeless Passages is indeed wonderful. I've only heard Benny on audio in some of season 3, Timeless Passages, the Diogenes Damsel, and the Companion Chronicle story. Of these Timeless Passages is easily my favourite, and requires no prior knowledge. And it's *so* timey-wimey :) I just love it."

And my feelings haven't changed, though I've now heard way way more Benny audios than I had back then. Timeless Passages is a quite superb Benny audio, and a brilliant piece of scifi storytelling. Totally standalone, so you don't need to have listened to any of the other Benny audios. As is often the case this one has a very small cast, but they are used superbly, very well acted and written, and the story keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout. A tightly plotted mystery box of a timey wimey puzzle set inside a giant library. What's not to love about that?

It's a rare Benny audio from this era still available to buy from Big Finish on CD, but also in DRM-free download. £5.99 plus shipping if ordering by post. If you hear just one Benny audio, this is the one I'd recommend by far.

Still struggling not to type 2024 at the top of these posts!

( earlier books )
1. Captive Queen: The Decrypted History of Mary, Queen of Scots by Jade Scott
2. A Middle-earth Album: Paintings by Joan Wyatt Inspired by Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings by Joan Wyatt
3. Could You Survive Midsomer? – A Winter's Murder: An Official Midsomer Murders Interactive Novel by Simon Brew
4. Eerie East Anglia: Fearful Tales of Field and Fen by Edward Parnell
5. Introducing Shakespeare: A Graphic Guide by Nick Groom
6. Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
7. The Principle of Moments by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson

I've written reviews of Captive Queen, the Midsomer Murders gamebook and Eerie East Anglia.

Of the others, the Tolkien paintings book was nice, though there were some curious choices, especially re the hobbits. The Shakespeare book was great in parts, but had an almost total blind spot on detailed coverage of the many plays, which felt like a huge omission. Our Mutual Friend was a delight for me, as always. And The Principle of Moments, the first in a planned trilogy, was a heady mix of fantasy, space opera and time travelling shenanigans. Probably more ambitious in its goals than it ultimately achieved. But still a riveting read, and I will read the other books.

Finally resuming my listening and reviewing of Benny audios from Big Finish's series!

Just as a reminder, Benny/Bernice was introduced as a companion of the Seventh Doctor in the early 1990s Doctor Who novels. She then spun off to have her own adventures, and Big Finish made a long-running series of audio adventures starring Benny, played by actress Lisa Bowerman. Benny, like the more recent River Song, is a professor of archaeology. The stories are set in a scifi universe full of Doctor Who lore and monsters. Benny is often sent to investigate an archaeological site or matter on other planets. But in the series she is largely based at the Braxiatel Collection, an archive of strange artefacts, run by the mysterious Irving Braxiatel.

My latest listen is another in the 6th season of Benny audios. In this one, Benny and her former husband / on-off lover Jason Kane go to investigate the status of a museum on a war torn planet.

This is another sometimes brutal audio to listen to, following The Kingdom of the Blind. Like that one this includes accounts of torture, though less directly, rather recounted later. But it's still a tough listen, and does capture the sense of a society in anarchy, with a complicated picture of right and wrong, and certainly not a clear-cut black and white image.

More worryingly the soundscape is chaotic and it can be difficult to follow what's going on. I don't think it was as coherent as it could have been. However there are extremely powerful musings on the role of museums in preserving and sharing culture, and also their potential misuse for propaganda and power reasons. Benny also faces some rather direct questions about the supposedly open nature of the institution she works for.

So it was ok, but not one I'll rush to listen to again. Though the repartee between Benny and Jason was strong. Old friends rather than lovers now, but with a comfortable relationship that sees them survive a dangerous mission.

Fun article in the Guardian today.

Continuing my (oh so nearly finished) Matt Smith era rewatch, and it's on to this spooky thriller.

( spoilers )

Catching up with another Glasgow Worldcon talk, this time about Iain Banks and his books. I've only ever read two Iain Banks novels - The Crow Road, and The Player of Games. I also recently read, and hugely enjoyed, his whisky distillery travelogue, Raw Spirit. I would definitely like to read more of his books. Though it's more likely to be his less obviously scifi ones, because I'm not really a fan of hard scifi. Fab anecdote from Ken MacLeod just now: "There was a friend of my brother's, who was a huge fan of Iain Banks, and was most indignant at this Iain M. Banks, who was cashing in on Iain Banks's popularity."

On Wednesday afternoon I was still sorting out my newly downloaded 440GB of MP3/M4B files for 700-ish audios from Big Finish. Backing them up, and running a shell script (thanks to Martin!) to automate changing the folder names from ISBN numbers. I thought I'd check what applications on my Mac can play M4B (Apple lossless format), other than the obvious iTunes. So I opened up an audio file in QuickTime player. And then happily listened to half of The Chimes of Midnight. I'd only meant to check it played briefly! I will listen to the second half later this week. This April was 20 years since I first heard Chimes, the very first time I'd ever heard a Big Finish audio, the very first time I'd encountered the Eighth Doctor. What a way to start!

It's an absolutely brilliant audio, spooky in the style of Sapphire & Steel, but with a scifi twist. The writing is very strong - written by Rob Shearman - and the acting and directing top notch. The sound effects also enhance things, helping build tension in a thoroughly scary listening experience.

Sadly this Doctor Who story is not currently available to buy on the new Big Finish website, which is in a huge state of flux since its relaunch last week. First this audio wasn't there, then it was, then it wasn't again. But when it does come back up it will probably be available to buy in download form for just a couple of pounds. It is utterly worth that, and way more.

Oh and the quote in the post title is from the audio. Which does rather love Mrs Baddeley's plum puddings. It's no wonder many Big Finish fans relisten to this audio each year before Christmas.