One of the best advantages of the anthology format is the freedom it gives the writers and producers to experiment. After the polite drama of Ice, these two stories have a quirkier style. Neither is altogether successful but their ambition makes them worth hearing.
Shards of a Forgotten Tomorrow
As I sat down to write my review, which would echo with a thousand half-forgotten emotions, my heart began to pulse with a slow funeral certainty. How many possible combinations of words would cry out to be born and yet be dashed into a pit of cold, clinging nothingness? The CD stares at me with its sightless central eye and oh sorry I dont know what came over me there. Its catching this kind of florid writing.
This story is full of this style. Its a kind of natural rhythm poem, which makes it very distinctive in a field largely dominated by TV-influenced scripts. In addition to the language, the plot is also non-linear for good measure. It might be a fictional documentary about the first of a new breed of humans, it might be some kind of alien observation of humanity or it could be a deluded fantasy of a vagrant woman. Theres a touch of Under Milk Wood about it all with its voices coming together to tell a story. Unfortunately the overheated narration and emoting do get a bit wearing after a while and I began hungering for a twist or a revelation that would justify the poetic language. Instead this is a gloomy slice of life drama that develops in a pretty straight line. The performances are all pretty good and its great to listen to the BTR regulars trying more emotional material. Production is great, with good use of different ambiences, such as the cassette recorder. It certainly benefits listening to the story on a decent hifi system the get the full detail of the soundscape. Ultimately Shards is a little too over-extended for what it contains, but its motives and drive carry the day.
The Six Million Dollar Brain
A piece of real time drama that ultimately disappoints because nothing really emerges from it. Its hard to explain what problem is without going into the story. Spoilers ahead.
In some stories, lots of things happen but the overall product is fairly shallow. In others, very little actually takes place, but there is a wealth of subtext. Unfortunately in this case, little happens and there are no surprises or deeper meanings. A group of fairly faceless people discuss movies around a table. A sinister, cold gentleman who acts like a villain turns out in fact to be the villain. Josiah starts off the play talking to an unseen audience and then is revealed to be an undercover policeman spying for hidden observers. So after twenty minutes of conversation that isnt particularly witty or insightful, the plot arrives in an info-dump and the only complication is that the criminal may or may not be arrested that evening. Everything is too on the nose. Why is the mcguffin a positronic brain? It could as easily have been a vase with drugs or jewels hidden in it. An artificial intelligence could have been used to introduce an unexpected new element. Perhaps its creator had been more devious than the crook knew and the brain was already fully functioning, ready to denounce him? Another angle might have been to have the characters more surprising. Make Mr Brunner of the gang more sympathetic, having some kind of nobler motive than mere greed, whilst the cop is an amoral git. The cops betrayal of the gang could have had more grey areas, maybe they had really helped him whilst he was winning their trust.
The preceding conversation around the table just meanders on and doesnt seem to affect the ending or illuminate the characters. I couldnt identify anyone as an individual. In fact, this could have been a two-hander (or three including the auctioneer) and the story wouldnt have been affected at all.
The theme music is growing on me although I still think it could be a bit punchier. So technically and musically the BTR stories sound fine, but they need better punchlines.
Gaz
Shards of a Forgotten Tomorrow
As I sat down to write my review, which would echo with a thousand half-forgotten emotions, my heart began to pulse with a slow funeral certainty. How many possible combinations of words would cry out to be born and yet be dashed into a pit of cold, clinging nothingness? The CD stares at me with its sightless central eye and oh sorry I dont know what came over me there. Its catching this kind of florid writing.
This story is full of this style. Its a kind of natural rhythm poem, which makes it very distinctive in a field largely dominated by TV-influenced scripts. In addition to the language, the plot is also non-linear for good measure. It might be a fictional documentary about the first of a new breed of humans, it might be some kind of alien observation of humanity or it could be a deluded fantasy of a vagrant woman. Theres a touch of Under Milk Wood about it all with its voices coming together to tell a story. Unfortunately the overheated narration and emoting do get a bit wearing after a while and I began hungering for a twist or a revelation that would justify the poetic language. Instead this is a gloomy slice of life drama that develops in a pretty straight line. The performances are all pretty good and its great to listen to the BTR regulars trying more emotional material. Production is great, with good use of different ambiences, such as the cassette recorder. It certainly benefits listening to the story on a decent hifi system the get the full detail of the soundscape. Ultimately Shards is a little too over-extended for what it contains, but its motives and drive carry the day.
The Six Million Dollar Brain
A piece of real time drama that ultimately disappoints because nothing really emerges from it. Its hard to explain what problem is without going into the story. Spoilers ahead.
In some stories, lots of things happen but the overall product is fairly shallow. In others, very little actually takes place, but there is a wealth of subtext. Unfortunately in this case, little happens and there are no surprises or deeper meanings. A group of fairly faceless people discuss movies around a table. A sinister, cold gentleman who acts like a villain turns out in fact to be the villain. Josiah starts off the play talking to an unseen audience and then is revealed to be an undercover policeman spying for hidden observers. So after twenty minutes of conversation that isnt particularly witty or insightful, the plot arrives in an info-dump and the only complication is that the criminal may or may not be arrested that evening. Everything is too on the nose. Why is the mcguffin a positronic brain? It could as easily have been a vase with drugs or jewels hidden in it. An artificial intelligence could have been used to introduce an unexpected new element. Perhaps its creator had been more devious than the crook knew and the brain was already fully functioning, ready to denounce him? Another angle might have been to have the characters more surprising. Make Mr Brunner of the gang more sympathetic, having some kind of nobler motive than mere greed, whilst the cop is an amoral git. The cops betrayal of the gang could have had more grey areas, maybe they had really helped him whilst he was winning their trust.
The preceding conversation around the table just meanders on and doesnt seem to affect the ending or illuminate the characters. I couldnt identify anyone as an individual. In fact, this could have been a two-hander (or three including the auctioneer) and the story wouldnt have been affected at all.
The theme music is growing on me although I still think it could be a bit punchier. So technically and musically the BTR stories sound fine, but they need better punchlines.
Gaz
New fantasy audio available from: http://zap.to/fineline
