Issue 9
Hi! Hope you are well. It may have seemed quiet on the Fine Line front but we've been busy behind the scenes.
The first "Agents of Psyence" story Truth and Bone by Rik Hoskin is nearly ready for release. It's a much brasher, comicbook kind of production than the Doctor Who stories but underneath the fireworks is a set of interesting characters and a developing storyline which will bring the forces of good, evil and the uncommitted together in a great battle. The six stories of season one have been worked out on paper and will see plenty of new names involved, both writing and acting, as well as Fine Line alumni. I've decided that this range will only be released in CD format, although the Who stories will continue to be available on cassette as well, for the benefit of those supporters who have always been collecting them that way.
In a change of style we are going to start recording stories out of sequences, which should mean a faster release rate later on. So next month should see us recording season two story Madhouse by Zoltan Dery, a haunted house chiller with time travel overtones. This story should be the third story to be released however. Next up will be Final Frame by Lawrence Ahlemeyer which brings season one and the Raman arc to a conclusion. Then Season Two begins with a story by Adrian Hudson which introduces a new companion. Other scripts are swimming around and we'll hopefully be getting organised around all these unfinished scripts soon.
In the meantime I will be producing a short story called Consequences. It was inspired by the good news that Brisbane 4RHP will be broadcasting Trick of the Light and Second Chance soon. Since Second Chance ends so open-endedly I felt that the season needed a better cap for people who had been listening every week, hence this short coda which will provide some clues to the way season one will end and also work as a teaser for Adrian Hudson's story. It will star Joe Binks and Matthew Kopelke, co-founder off the Back to Reality audio group (https://www.backtoreality.cjb.net). Following its broadcast on 4RHP, it will be eventually put on the web site as an MP3, probably following the release of Final Frame so as not to spoil the surprises in that story.
Web Site
James Leatherbarrow's original album Dark is being re-released at the same price as other Fine Line CD's with the added bonus that it is professionally pressed and printed. See the web site for more information and three sample tracks you can listen to.
I've added the linking script for Hunting Yarns, a SF anthology linked by the Doctor and Raman as they travel through the TARDIS searching for an intruder. As you may have read elsewhere on the site, this was the story which we partially recorded before I suffered from a severe bout of apathy and decided it just wasn't turning out as well as I wanted. Nevertheless there are some scenes and dialogue I'm quite pleased about and I'd be curious to know what others think of it. As well as that I've HTML'ised an old CT article about comedy and added that as well.
Season 27
I am helping out Paul Ebbs and Steve Johnson with distributing their Season 27 Doctor Who stories. As well as fulfilling old orders, I'm happy to take new ones. Check out their web site (https://www.season27.co.uk) for details of their three acclaimed stories, all written by Paul Ebbs. Please feel free to send orders to the Fine Line address. If you are waiting for CD's then they should be with you soon. In addition you will soon be able to order both Season 27 and Fine Line CD's with your credit card, via the Paypal service.
Meanwhile in this spirit of inter-group co-operation, there are some interesting plans in motion for another team-up with the popular Timelord site (www.timelord.co.uk), following the success of the "Cardinal Wolsey" audio. More details later but for now why not delve into Timelord's huge collection of short stories, articles, artwork and the JM&KH downloadable Doctor Who videos and audios.
Gareth's Self-Promotion Bit
Sadly the Sci-Fi News web site www.madaboutscifi.com is changing hands to a new company and as a consequence my two columns are being discontinued.
Do You Have a License to Save This Planet?, the BBV video which I co-wrote with Paul Ebbs is now in the shops or available from BBV Online (www.bbvonline.co.uk)
New Audios Out There
Avoid "Layton's Mission" like the plague. A very disappointing new audio series starring Michael Wade and Anneke Wills, it is set in a future dystopia where a scientist may have discovered a way of travelling to parallel worlds. However this potentially interesting idea is buried under acres of whinging and cyberpunk cliches.
Much, much better is "Doctor Who - Loup-Garoux" which brings the Fifth Doctor and Turlough in conflict with werewolf society. Plenty of meat (if you'll forgive the pun) in this story and some sublte shadings make this one of Big Finish's most satisfying releases in a while.
Also from BF is "The Tomorrow People" which is a light-hearted adventure which both celebrates the 70's series and gently pokes fun at it too. Perhaps a little short (approx. 46 minutes) for its price tag but well done.
BBV's fourth season kicks off with an enjoyable pulp melodrama called The Barnacled Baby in which a Zygon becomes the latest addition to a Victorian freak show. A great cast gets into the spirit of this black comedy.
I hope I'll have some more detailed info about our new Who stories next time round.
Gareth Preston
Friday, 20 July 2001
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