[Audiobook Review] Dan Abnett - The Silent Stars Go By

The concept of a winter-world is an oldie in sci-fi terms, but it’s a goodie. And it’s to this setting we turn for Dan Abnett’s new Doctor Who romp – featuring old adversaries the Ice Warriors!

When it comes to action, there’s no better writer than Dan Abnett and paired with the inimitable delivery of Michael Maloney, The Silent Stars Go By does well to conjure up the scenes of a treacherously cold lost world that has forgotten its original heritage.

This might be officially touted as an 11^th Doctor adventure, but Maloney clearly had Tom Baker in mind when narrating the Doctor’s lines, and it actually works a treat – the likeness is spot on, plays in some wonderfully humorous lines and is at its best in the brilliant confrontation with the Ice Lord in Part 5. Full of menace and rich in the history of the show – it’s a classic Doctor/baddie confrontation and written with perfect suspense.

That said, for all that this adventure has its high octane moments, it’s not without its lulls too. At six hours long, parts of the tale can feel rather wordy and there’s a lot of exploratory stuff mid-way; part three in particular feels rather padded out. Equally though, the extended running time gives the story room to build a proper sense of setting, giving it a richness of texture you rarely get in the TV episodes.

Amy and Rory feel rather periphery to the action, but this is all the more to allow the Doctor more time to be brilliant himself – the effect is of giving The Silent Stars Go By the flavour of a classic series adventure, or indeed classic sci-fi; those golden greats of the 60s pulp fiction era.

The descriptions of the ice warriors themselves are brilliant – they’re given genuine menace and gravity; their monstrous, hulking size really coming across. Likewise, the other enemies of the piece – the trans-humans – are fantastically realised; horrible Necron-esque creations of fused flesh and metal. On the other end of the scale, there’s  the large supporting cast of west-country-accented natives who serve a rather good job of filling in the mystique of the post-Earth world.

Doctor Who - The Curse of the Black Spot

Doctor Who - Here be pirates! This week we all strapped in for a swashbuckling tale of curses, sword-fights and other assorted high-seas paraphernalia, and boy was it a jolly good romp. Perhaps the most surprising thing is that The Curse of the Black Spot represents the first 'regular' (as in, not a special or two-parter episode) since last year's The Lodger. After the drama and tension of the Pandorica finale, The Silence, with a little bit of Katherine Jenkins sprinkled in between, how would the show now cope delivering a regular 45 minute episode?

The answer is of course, very well indeed - especially as Doctor Who can be counted on as a show to never be truly 'regular'. Any worries that this might be another Fear Her were swiftly eliminated. Despite the many pirate cliche's on offer, they never became cheesy or annoying, instead offering a rich and dynamic environment for the Doctor to explore. Much has been said about how the show always fares more poorly in 'historical' episodes; well, how about a 'historical' that suddenly turns itself up on its head half-way through and throws in a brilliant sci-fi twist. We find out that a space-ship is actually occupying the same location as Captain Avery's vessel, and with this discovery, the tale is given a whole new lease of life.

Thrown from the chilling tone on the deck of the 17th century ship where the wonderfully gorgeous and mysterious Lily Cole has been enchanting sailors to their death, we now find ourselves in an equally creepy medical bay. Here, things get very Star Trek Voyager as it is revealed Lily Cole's Siren is in fact part of an 'automated sickbay'; a kind of virtual doctor. The show proceeds to do what it always does so well, The Doctor triumphing through pure logic, saving the day (and Rory's life).

For a character that never once spoke, Lily Cole managed to inject a real presence into the episode. Her elegant beauty and stunning model looks were exactly what the role needed; you felt like you could almost be drawn into the TV screen by her charms,  zapped up into nothingness like the poor sailors afflicted by the black spot. Major credit must go to the special effects team too for this episode; anyone who watched the accompanying Confidential show will have seen how much went into creating everything on screen, and it all looked utterly convincing; a far cry from the 'rubbery' nature that afflicted certain parts of the show a few years ago *cough* (the Slitheen...)

Captain Avery, again, brilliantly cast - His kinship with the Doctor - both captain's of a sort, was wonderful. The developing relationship with his stowaway son added a real human element to the episode too, as did Amy's efforts to resuscitate Rory in the closing scenes. And then you had Amy herself; now she could give Keira Knightly a good run for her money after this episode! From Curse of the Black Pearl to Curse of the Black Spot, Doctor Who doing 'Pirates' really was better than I ever imagined it could be, and really fills me with hope for future historical episodes.

(Also, I wonder if any fans out there will come up with any links between the pirates heading off into space at the end of this episode with classic series episodes The Pirate Planet or Enlightenment.)

The BBC drama department delivers the goods once again with 'Exile'

John Simm, for me, stands as one of the greatest actors of our generation. Charming the nation with his inspired portrayal of The Master in Doctor Who as well as his staring role in Life on Mars, there's something about him that effortlessly portrays a mix of the everyman and a deeper, darker mysteriousness. And it's these qualities he brings so well to new drama Exile, the story of a son returning home after losing his job to find his father has dementia.

The show's opening was disorientating, snapshots and visual memories offering us a glimpse into the life of Tom (Simm's character) as his work life fell to ruin about him. Breaking free from his high-up role on a glossy men's magazine, he storms off up the motorway in his flashy sportscar, the rain pouring down outside, the scenery becoming ever more grey.

It's easy to bandy around the word 'gritty' about drama series like this, but Exile's strengths come from its grittyness being precisely more than that. It doesn't feel artificial in the slightest, instead the lives unfolding in front of us are profoundly real. From Tom's sister Nancy (a source of brilliant comic relief throughout the episode) to his old school mate, there is always a sense that you could just as easily find yourself amongst these characters yourself. They're wonderfully understated; no over the top personalities or quirky character traits here - only the hum-drum facts of every day life. People get on with the duties and work assigned to them, day in, day out - monotony is a fact of life.

And it's the coping with these realities that form the backbone of Exile, for Tom's father is afflicted with Alzheimer's. Initially unable to cope with the man's debilitating illness, Tom is driven to frustration and drink. This is his escape, just as he escaped as a young man, leaving for London. And it's not just Tom that we see this frustration in - a local barmaid practically throws herself on him, eager for the excitement her stale marriage is clearly not providing. And in a brilliant twist, we later find out that this barmaid is the wife of Tom's old school friend. As you can imagine, sparks fly.

It's almost a shame Tom and his old friend fall out in a way, as their scenes of re-union - going for a drink and fish and chips - revelling in old memories, catching up and sharing their troubles is genuinely moving. It's a moment of genuine man to man openness; a glimpse of softness in a harsh world.

From this first episode, you got the distinct impression Exile was firmly within the walls of family drama; dealing with the effects of disability. Indeed, the complexities of Tom and his father's relationship provided the foundation for so much of this episode. But towards the end, the show felt as if it was rapidly growing towards a thriller, suggesting crime elements would be forthcoming in later episodes. It was a shocking turn, backed up on detective-like work as Tom uncovered old documents regarding a local council boss in his father's office.

I guess the question now is whether the show will be able to balance the two distinct brands of drama equally, or if it will abandon one to thoroughly pursue the other. Either way, this episode got things off to a cracking start and I eagerly await the conclusion.

Incidentally, if the character of Tom's father (played so wonderfully by Jim Broadbent) has piqued your interest in dementia and you want to find out more about the condition, the Maria Mallaband Care Group have come up with this rather handy info-graphic, the full version of which can be viewed on their website.

Doctor Who - The Impossible Astronaut

With the first episode of the new series of any show that's as established as Doctor Who, you need to let your audience know that you're well and truly back. And you've got to keep pushing, keep achieving, keep shocking and wowing them and confirming again and again why you're the most amazing show on British TV. And Doctor Who somehow managed to do all that and more with The Impossible Astronaut.

I've only ever felt down once by a Doctor Who series opener and that was Partners in Crime. That episode felt so utterly grounded in the trivial, comedy laced world of the everyday that in so many ways it just fell flat - but The Impossible Astronaut couldn't have been further away from all that. Indeed, at any other time, it might have almost felt like too much. Sweeping us along in a series of riotous twists and turns that delve deep into both the Doctor's present and his future, you're never quite sure what's going to happen next. This is about as far from a 'straight' Doctor Who story as you could get, and coming from the brain of the genius Steven Moffat, it's a prime example of him winning on every level, once again.

This was bold and ambitious, wonderfully powerful - the very essence of what Doctor Who is. To put something this challenging out on TV at 6pm highlights just how adored this show is. What other show would be afforded the luxury to do something like this with its plot? We all saw what happened to Outcasts, but with Doctor Who, we take all this in our stride and follow Matt Smith and Co. along for the ride.

There were so great moments in this episode it's hard to single a handful out, but special mention has to be given to The Silents. It's fair to say they represent the show's best and most scary new monsters since the Weeping Angels (another Moffat creation). In their eerie black suits and almost 'classical' alien appearance, they melded old and new to conjure up something that seemed utterly terrifying. Their power to make all who see them forget about it instatly is a brilliant plot device, but for me, just the look of the things and the way they were framed in the camera won me over.

You'd see them in the distance, the lens blurred - almost as if you were only seeing them out of the corner of your eye. And then when one emerges, threateningly close to Amy in the bathroom, you almost leap back from your TV. Their cold, calculated, silent menace is the kind of stuff Doctor Who has always done at its very best, but injected into these new, terrifying monsters, those chills and thrills feel reinvigorated and new. When The Silent zaps the woman in the bathroom, my mouth fell open in sheer awe - this felt raw, untamed, far more visceral than the show had gone in a long time. As the scraps of the woman's flesh drifted to the floor, you knew in an instant that this series of the show would take things to new heights.

And that it did: The Doctor died. Properly. He actually, fully died. This was the first time we had ever seen the 'if you kill him quickly enough, he won't have time to regenerate' theory put to the test. And boy did it come as a shock. Again, the cinematography was spot on - we saw the Doctor in a tortuously far away long-shot, framed against the beautiful expanse of the lake. And then suddenly the astronaut reaches out and blasts him. And as the energy flowed around his hands and face, despite everything we knew about Matt Smith staying on in the role, I still almost thought for a second that we would see him regenerate. The Doctor couldn't actually die, could he? But then came the next blast and he crumples to the ground. Dead. It was a card we never expect the show to deal, but there we had it. And it was this little plot device, coupled with his casual return in the cafe, that mark this episode out as a true landmark.

When the trailers for this series first started appearing on TV, I talked a little about how Doctor Who going to America was the greatest of all his adventures. Forget time and space, this was the real unexplored land. And with its wide, sweeping vistas of desert and the immaculately recreated Oval Office, it really felt like it. There was an ever-present sense throughout the episode that we were visiting somewhere new and exciting. President Richard Nixon was brilliantly cast, as was Canton Everett Delaware. Their presence reminded me, in a way, of when Captain Jack first appeared back in 2005. It's the American feel; for a show as ingrained in Britishness as Doctor Who is, there's something exciting about hearing American voices in it - (and speaking of America, how brilliant were the Star Trek references in the bathroom scene).

I haven't been River Song's biggest fan, but in this episode, she did finally begin to win me around. Her cockiness seemed toned done as she found herself in unknown territory. She feels her coming death encroaching and it transforms her as a character. The cheekiness is still there, but now it is textured with some genuinely touching and emotional scenes.

And what a cliffhanger! Kicking off the new series with a two-parter was inspired. Cliffhangers are a real forte of Doctor Who, and this episode went into it with all guns blazing - quite literally. I'm already counting down the days till next Saturday...

Is Kylie being lined up for the BBC's 'Who Do You Think You Are'?

I read a very intriguing story in the Metro this morning regarding producers of ancestry/family tree show Who Do You Think You Are? looking to sign up Kylie Minogue for the next series of the show. Let's just stop and think about that for a second. Actual Kylie Minogue.

I'm a massive fan of this show in its own right and have been watching it for years. It always manages to be utterly absorbing, interesting and factual - I'll be hooked, even when the featured celeb isn't one I particularly care for.

I reckon Kylie would be the perfect choice for something like this and I'm sure there'd be a whole host of fascinating stuff for her to uncover. So fingers crossed she does end up doing it! I'm almost as excited as when it was announced she was doing Doctor Who!

Metronomy - The English Riviera

Metronomy's The English Riviera seems to be swiftly becoming one of those 'buzz' albums that everyone is talking about as newspapers and blogs around the country sing its praises. But in this instance, that praise is entirely justified.

Take single The Look for example, with its New Order-esque basslines. It's full of trippy, retro synthesizer riffs that could be straight out of Blade Runner soundtrack. Meanwhile, Corinne is like early Depeche Mode or OMD - a Just Can't Get Enough for the 21st century. There's even some funky Spandau Ballet guitar in there too. From start to end this album reads like a kind of 80s who's who compendium of influences; the trademark elements of so many bands melded into a sound that is carefree, joyous and almost childlike.

The real skill of Metronomy though comes in the fact that throughout all these touchstones of influence, it is always the band's own sound that remains most prevalent. Every song comes under their own distinct stamp. Within that individual stamp comes a tranquility, a funky vibe conjured up from rubbery basslines like those on laid-back We Broke Free. As the track slowly slides along, flowing and wave-like, guitar is worked in subtly - becoming part of the track instead of distracting from it.

The overall tropical summer feel that surrounds the whole album is at its strongest on Everything Goes My Way, with added female vocals mixing things up a bit. She Wants has more of the feel of a Duran Duran album track - a rustling, clicky beat driving a sense of low menace while guitar lines stab away.

Standing opposed to this, Trouble has the delicate kind of guitar work that made the Foals' Total Life Forever such a critical darling. Working in jazzy influences too the sunshine is almost palpable here. Indeed, the Foals album is the closest comparison to The English Riviera - there's a similar vision in the kind of world the band is attempting to create, and with so many different layers of sound going on here, it's a vastly involving world.

It's on tracks like The Bay where the album achieves what it sets out to do best - funky basslines and quirky lyrics reaching a crescendo in high powered choruses that fade away to twitching, minimal verses. There's a restless energy here, that feeling of when you've had a couple of beers and have that irresistible urge to dance. And it's important not to forget that on many levels this is fundamentally a dance album. Maybe not in the traditional sense of what that entials, but the music is most definitely danceable - and seeing it in that aspect gives it a whole extra dimension.

Loving Arm is full of Doctor Who-esque swirling synthesizers that sound so retro they're practically prehistoric - the track is full of primeval charm, as if it's some kind of fossil dug up on the shores of a windswept beach. Here, as with so much of the album, the band strikes the perfect equilibrium between indie, pop and dance. That sense of menace returns, but it's a menace that goes hand in hand with a bewitching beauty. It's like the old fairy tales, the danger that you can't help but fall for.

Joe Mount's vocals seem at complete ease throughout the album; he feels comfortable in his own skin, utterly confident in the message and sound he wants to convey. That's what The English Riviera is all about, a fantasy land existing exactly to his specifications; a fantasy land that for a while, we are invited into too.

The English Riviera is out to download now.

It's behind you!

Forget alien planets and deepest, darkest outer space; in Doctor Who, the real great undiscovered land is America. Apart from dabbling visits in the 90s TV movie and 2005's Dalek episode, the show has on the whole shied away from the US. But as this brilliant prequel to the new series shows, all that is about to change...

'Hello, this is the president...' - the sheer gravitas on offer in just those five simple words rachets up the excitement for the new series to whole new levels. As for mysterious voices on tape recorders coming down a phone line, this kind of thing is all very familiar territory for the show. But it's that awful, horrible drop in your stomach as the alien behind the president is revealed that really gets you. My God...

Steven Moffat always was the show's master at sending the chills right to your heart, but this is simply sublime.

Doctor Who series six... the wait is nearly over!

Have I mentioned before how fucking excited I am for the new series of Doctor Who? What with Outcasts coming to an end, I've been missing my weekly sci-fi fix, and when it comes to science fiction, Doctor Who is the show to end all shows. It really is the pinnacle of British TV drama and I always await its return every Easter with baited breath.

And this time round it's all about Matt Smith's second year as the Doctor; he excelled in his first series as well as in last week's brilliant Christopher and his Kind. We've all seen the US based trailers and the return of River Song and series six looks set to be potentially the show's biggest yet. Doctor Who goes BIG, as it were. Something this brand new trailer seems to emphasise even more...

Featuring a myserious astronaut cloaked in darkness, this is Doctor Who going in for the all out properly spacey sci-fi (something that at times it has held back from in recent years, instead going for the more 'domestic' focus of 'real life' stories). Consider my appetite well and truly whetted...

Why the BBC's new sci-fi drama Outcasts is just so good...

In the US, mysterious sci-fi shows are ten-a-penny. We’ve had Lost, and now The Event. So it was about time the UK got its own slice of the action – and show that TV series can be intelligent, adventurous and not spoon-feed its viewers. There’s a need for shows that trust their viewers to stick with them for the long haul, to invite them in, to say ‘Come along for the ride, see through our eyes, hear through our ears. Enjoy the whole process instead of just the big pay-off in the finale.’ And so, filling in to what I like to call the ‘Silent Witness slot’ in BBC1’s schedule, we have Outcasts.

One of the reasons it is so good is because not only is it a brilliant sci-fi, but it is a brilliant drama too. It’s this fundamental element that stands at the heart of the show, driven forward by the excellent cast, ensuring that while there is a whole host of mysterious, futuristic goings on, there is always a core theme of great dialogue and character interplay.

This is a serious show, and as such, probably bears far more in kin to the likes of Star Trek than that holy grail of BBC sci-fi, Doctor Who. Now, I’m a massive Doctor Who fan, but I’m sure as many other fans will testify, there will be days when you want your sci-fi without all the comedy trappings and ‘funkiness’ that are a fundamental part of Doctor Who. And in terms of sci-fi that is ‘serious’, Outcasts has it in bucketloads. It’s not even so much that it’s gritty – that all time favourite word for describing drama’s – because it isn’t. Instead it depicts a world that seems to be hanging on by the finger-tips; the average citizen kept in relative bliss while the inner workings of society revolve around the truth that they still really know so little about the world they’ve chosen to call home.

One of my favourite moments from the first two episodes is when President Tate addresses the captain of the space-ship in orbit around Carpathia. Those high-above the planet, floating in the vast expanse of space have travelled for five years from Earth – and as it slowly dawns on us that most of them are not going to make it... well, it was one of the most deeply moving moments I’ve seen in a TV show in a long time. And as the captain made his Titanic-esque ‘going down with the ship’ speech, you felt like you were there with the President, hoping and praying that at least some of those poor souls would survive.

But what about the cast? President Richard Tate is perfect, encompassing all the gravitas and order needed for such a role, but maintaining those rough edges of unsurity at times that tell the story of a man who has had his role thrust open him.

It’s a delight to see Daniel Mays in the role of Cass. He was absolutely brilliant in Ashes to Ashes, and in many ways plays a similar role here. He’s essentially a police-man again, unpredictable, head-strong and with a biting wit. Some of the shows best one-liners come from him, especially his banter with Jack. He’s got that rogue-ish charm going on, the classic blokey every-man, but with deeper layers of secrets hidden deep, deep down.

And then we have Fleur, playing a brilliant counterpoint to Cass. In many ways she’s very similar to him; strong, intelligent, with an almost tomboyish streak. But whereas Cass has a dark side to him, Fleur has a vulnerability, that softens her and transforms her into perhaps the shows central heroine.

This is the great wild-west, playing out in the future. A lone fortress of sanctuary amidst a barren desert of unknowns. But what a beautiful desert it is though. Filmed in South Africa, the show has pulled a pure winner here, everything is absolutely breathtakingly stunning. The cinematography is simply wonderful, almost painting-like. It feels at once arty, but hyper-futuristic. Earth-like, but also inherently alien. I’m glad the show has decided to keep the CGI shots to a minimum, because quite-frankly it doesn’t need them.  Aside from obvious cases like shots of the space-ship and the wide shots of Forthaven in its entirety, there’s an organic natural-ness to the rest of the visuals that at times is bewitching and enchanting, and at others, highly unsettling.

Two episodes in, the plot is still cloaked in shadows and mystery. But already the characters have more than come into their own. You feel for this ragged band of survivors, these outcasts, you want them to succeed. One of the reasons I’ve always loved sci-fi so much is because of its capacity to conjure up vivid new worlds, provide an escape from the normal rules and confines of our world. And in terms of Outcasts, the show has done this admirably. There’s still a lot for us to learn about Carpathia, and I’m right there with the characters, eager to experience more.