The Benny Audio Adaptations
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Big Finish The Benny Audio Adaptations |
| Produced | 1998-2001 |
| Synopsis: Benny gets caught up in a world where pantomime rules, finds her ex-husband and travels in time. |
A Review by Jamas Enright 6/3/02
When Lisa Bowerman auditioned for the part of Bernice Summerfield, for the new audio series created by Big Finish, she did so in the front room of Nick Brigg's house, speaking into a microphone sellotaped to an up-lighter. Not the most auspicious of beginnings, but don't let that fool you. Big Finish have produced audio adaptations of Virgin novels for the first season of this series, and, being Benny-obsessed as I am, I picked them up and gave them a listen.
Lisa Bowerman was not the first voice that comes to mind for the Professor, but she fits the role admirably, filling the part with Benny's flair for getting into situations beyond her control and for getting out of them again usually by less than the skin of her teeth, quipping nonchalantly all the time. Given her consistently brilliant performance, I'll concentrate on others in the audios.
Big Finish got a hold of some famous people to help out with the stories, who will be mentioned separately after the main review.
Oh No It Isn't
The first audio of the Benny
range is not the usual fare for our favourite archaeologist. Instead of
digs uncovering super-weapons, or mad people trying to take over the
galaxy, we are treated to Bernice Summerfield in Panto-land. A missile
from a supposedly dead civilisation strikes the ship Benny and company
stay on whilst surveying the world. Due to a glitch, after the collision,
Benny wakes up to find she's now wearing tights and Wolsey is a humanoid
cat. Add in dwarves and several marriage proposals for Benny, and, as one
might say, hilarity ensues. This is a small problem as any real serious
threat is undermined by a (usually bad) joke. However, there are some
moments of real tension, especially when the people discover the true
nature of their reality, which the theme music by Alistair Lock really
emphasises.
Jo Castleton and Jonathan Brüün live up to their names of Bitchy and Cute. Colin McIntyre sounds suitably aged as King Rupert. James Campbell is wonderfully camp as Dame Candy, and major points to Mark Gatiss for a Grand Vizier as Peter Sellers might have played him. Alistair Lock is the Master of the Grel, who sound at times like a group of lads out for a rumble.
This first production by Big Finish has a few problems where visual scenes can't quite be carried on audio, but give a play that stands proudly as the first audio of Bernice Summerfield.
Guest Star: Nicholas Courtney plays Wolsey the Cat, a role that you can tell he really gets into (even his photos inside are over the top). However, I can't help feeling that a younger Wolsey might have been more appropriate. This aside, he and Lisa Bowerman have a wonderful rapport, and Nicholas Courtney gives a performance both stirring and sterling.
Beyond the Sun
The search for her kidnapped
ex-husband leads Benny to the planet of Ursu, which contains an idealised
society in which there are no rules. The culture of Ursu gets explored,
especially contrasting with the 'profiteer' lifestyle of Bernice and her
two students Tameka and Emile. Bernice is out of her depth here dealing
with these people, but on the other hand, only she knows how to solve the
biggest secret of the story. An interesting take on an 'alien' culture.
Stephen Fewell makes his appearance as Jason Kane, and his and Lisa's repartee works wonderfully. You can really feel the tension between them, or at least how ticked off Bernice gets with Jason. Jane Burke and Lewis Davis are perfectly cast as Tameka and Emile, capturing their roles as young whining brats so amazingly well. Nicholas Pegg and Barnaby Edwards play Scott and Leon competently, but their characters don't really leap out in the same way that the others do.
With decent sound effects backing the story up, Beyond the Sun is a good Benny audio.
Guest Stars: Two for the price of one. Anneke Wills plays Dr. Kitzinger, the doctor who refuses to be cowed by the Sunless, and plays the character strongly. Sophie Aldred is Miranda, the 'super villianess', and hits the right tone of arrogant smugness.
Walking to Babylon (The Time Ring Trilogy - Part
1)
Two of the People, using Jason's and Benny's wedding rings (two of
the most powerful time devices in the universe), create a path back to
Babylon. As this is a breach of the Treaty, Benny has to travel back and
stop them, and once again rescue her ex-husband. Walking
to Babylon delves into Babylonian history, giving Benny a chance to
live again in another time zone, helped along by some good sound effects
to aid the atmosphere. The story is more powerful if you know of the
People and what they can do (and who their enemies are), but the story
concentrates enough on the characters more than the situation so it can
pull it off.
Stephen Fewell returns as Jason, as he will be for the next two stories, playing the under-handed and deceiving yet likeable rogue well. Barnaby Edwards returns as John Lafayette, pulling off the stiff Edwardian attitude with aplomb. Nigel Fairs and Anthony Keetch play WiRgo!xue and !Ci!ci-tel well enough, but Steven Wickham as the drone steals the scenes with his humour.
As the first part of the trilogy, giving Benny the chance to time-travel opens up all sorts of possibilities, the business with the People adding an extra touch for those in the know.
Guest Star: Elisabeth Sladen plays Ninan-ashtammu, the head priestess who has a tendency to say whatever comes into her head, and thus comes across as somewhat vacuous despite the effort Ms. Sladen puts into the role.
Bonus: A bonus on this CD is an interview with Lisa Bowerman and Stephen Fewell, when they talk about how they got the part and the work they've done, including Birthright. I, for one, would love to hear more about the behind-the-scenes making of this series.
Birthright (The Time Ring Trilogy - Part 2)
Benny appears in 1909 and Jason appears on Antıkhon, and then it's all go
as Benny gets swept up in a murder mystery and Jason tries to save an
entire species. The story flits nicely between the two plots, and it ties
in with Walking to Babylon in a number of ways that
work well. Events build on a curve as Jason unwittingly aids in the end
of the human race and Benny isn't even aware it's an issue.
John Wadmore as Jared Khan commands attention, and leads most of the scenes he is in. I really liked Benjamin Roddy as Charlie, the accent surprisingly not becoming irritating. Quite a few people help to round out the characters, some appearing only briefly, but all contributing to the overall effect. Stephen Fewell turns in his typically decent portrayal of Jason.
Birthright plays well, with a good emphasis on the story, leading to a worthy dramatic conclusion.
Guest Star: Colin Baker is the voice of Mikhail Vladamir Popov, a policeman from Russia trying to trace his daughter's killer. His performance here is understated, but fits in well with the story, and his character works well with Benny.
Just War (The Time Ring Trilogy - Part 3)
The last part of the trilogy sees Benny, 26th Century archaeologist,
expert on the 20th Century, stuck in the middle of the Second World War,
and caught up in events all too real for her. Lisa Bowerman deserves extra
credit for her performance here, as Benny is maltreated at the hands of
the Nazis, and we the audience can tell it's too much for her. Jason gets
involved in the events too, but even he ultimately can't help Benny. This
story sees Benny the human, and shows her to be very human.
Mark Gatiss and Nicky Goldie play the two Nazis well, keeping them believable. Maggie Stables is competent as Ma Doras, and Michael Wade is great as the forthright Obert Oskar Steinmann. Stephen Fewell matches Lisa Bowerman's performance with his own great performance of Jason, although I'm not sure where his technical knowledge came from.
A great third part of the trilogy linking well with the other two parts, Just War is a memorable Benny adventure.
Dragons' Wrath
This is classic Benny.
Artefacts, secret orders, megalomaniacs, murder mysteries and
death-defying climaxes! There did seem to be some production problems with
some dialogue and scenes ending abruptly. Nevertheless, the adventure and
excitement here is exactly the sort of thing we expect from our favourite
archaeologist. The plot line comes across as brief in a few situations,
with the odd line covering for a whole scene, but it still packs a lot in.
Nigel Fairs does a wonderful job as Dr Nicholas Clyde, coming across as believable and establishing a good relationship with Benny. Jez Fielder is a pair of half-moon spectacles from a cackle with his Librarian Reddick, reminding me of Martin Short's Frik from Merlin. Jane Burke gave a competence to Dr Truby Kamardrich, and Gary Russell, at times, made Mappin Gilder come across like an over-enthusiastic puppy.
After a season of a wide range of stories, Dragons' Wrath wraps up things up with a true Benny story.
Guest Star: Richard Franklin is well cast as Romolo Nusek, imbuing the character with a sense of charm as well as menace when needed. Great stuff.