Episode 107
Don’t Do It Again, Todd
Saturday 22 April 2017
The walls between realities were fairly porous back in 1986, which is why we find ourselves this week in a terrifying parallel universe where the Hiatus never happened, and the original plans for Season 23 actually came to fruition. Beware.
Buy the stories!
Here are the four stories that we spend most of our time discussing:
- The novel of Slipback was published in 1987, but it’s now out of print. It’s still available in its original form as an audiobook. (Audible US) (Audible UK) (Audible AU)
- The Nightmare Fair was first published as a novel in 1989, and is long since out of print. The Big Finish audio version was recorded in 2009.
- The Ultimate Evil was also published as a novel in 1989. It’s nearly impossible to find. Sadly, Big Finish have been unable to persuade Wally K. Daly to let them produce an audio version. Sorry, Brendan.
- Mission to Magnus was published as a novel in 1990. Like the rest of these books, it’s now out of print. The Big Finish audio version was recorded in 2009.
We also mention these Big Finish lost story adaptations:
- The Song of Megaptera by Pat Mills
- The Hollows of Time by Christopher H. Bidmead
- Point of Entry by Barbara Clegg and Marc Platt
- The Guardians of Prophecy by Johnny Byrne
- Power Play by Gary Hopkins
- The Macros by Ingrid Pitt and Tony Rudlin
- Paradise 5 by PJ Hammond & Andy Lane
- Leviathan by Brian & Paul Finch
- The First Sontarans by Andrew Smith
Todd’s dream Season 23
If you’re willing to let Todd into your head, why not try listening to his dream Season 23, the stories he wishes had been produced had the Hiatus never happened?
- The Nightmare Fair
- The Song of Megaptera
- Leviathan
- Slipback (US) (UK) (AU)
- The First Sontarans
- The Macros
- The Hollows of Time (possibly)
Notes and links
Fans of genuinely funny and brilliant radio comedy featuring wacky computers and morose robots will enjoy The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, particularly the first radio series. (Audible US) (Audible UK) (Audible AU)
Slipback’s two computer voices are played by Jane Carr, who plays bald Centauri alien Timov Moralli in a number of Babylon 5 episodes, including Soul Mates. She also plays Malcolm Reed’s mother on Enterprise. In that role, she actually has hair, which just goes to show how impressive her range is.
One of Slipback’s computer voices is hideously reminiscent of the presenter of the 1990s Australian children’s programme, Mulligrubs. Take a look here, if you dare.
Fans of the Planet of Women trope will enjoy the reference to the planet Cygnet XIV in the Star Trek episode Tomorrow is Yesterday, in which Captain Kirk is annoyed to find the Enterprise computer flirting with him after its overhaul at the hands of that planet’s engineers.
Whether you like it or not
We have only one (or four) stories left to cover in the Colin Baker era. And because we can’t bear to say goodbye to him so soon, we’re planning a Very Special Episode about some of Colin’s best Big Finish audios. To prepare for that episode, you might like to listen to these audio stories:
- Jubilee, by Rob Shearman.
- The One Doctor, by Gareth Roberts and Clayton Hickman.
- Doctor Who and the Pirates, by Jacqueline Rayner.
- The Brink of Death, by Nicholas Briggs, which is the final story in The Last Adventure box set.
Follow us!
Brendan is on Twitter as @brandybongos, Nathan is @nathanbottomley, Todd is @toddbeilby, and Richard is @RichardLStone. The Flight Through Entirety theme was arranged by Cameron Lam. You can follow the podcast on Twitter at @FTEpodcast.
We’re also on Facebook, and you can check out our website at flightthroughentirety.com. Please consider rating or reviewing us on iTunes, or we’ll release a horrifying charity single berating you for failing to do so.
Bondfinger
Meanwhile, over at Bondfinger, we have finally arrived at the Rassilon Era, with Timothy Dalton’s first film as Bond, The Living Daylights.
Of course, we also have plenty of Rodgecasts online, and there are other Bonds available as well. You can keep up with all the Bondfinger news on Twitter and Facebook.