When her ex husband is kidnapped Benny sets out to rescue him. Her only clue – a dusty ancient artefact.
2 Comments
Phill
on May 8, 2016 at 1:41 AM
Beyond The Sun
“Power Beyond The Sun? That’s Bollocks!”
The second play starts with Benny actually engaged in some archaeology, as she and her students unearth an ancient ruin. Lisa is witty and sarcastic by turns with her usual effortlessness but the students are little more than clichés. Tameka is the typical spoilt little sorority brat bemoaning the lack of mod cons, whose one saving grace is that she doesn’t begin every sentence with “totally” – just every other bloody sentence 🙁 . In every other respect she’s a forgettable valley girl. Emile is a typical shy boy who just wants everyone to get on so of course he’s gay, and that’s about it for him. Jane Burke and Lewis Davis do their best but neither are given much to work with.
This story marks the first appearance of Benny’s ex-husband, Jason Kane. I’ve got used to Stephen Fewell’s performance now but I still get the nagging feeling that he sounds too well spoken and smart to get himself into half the trouble that Jason does. Still, Stephen is a fan who has actually read the books and demonstrates a good knowledge of the character, and he and Lisa’s interaction convinces as the ex married couple who continue to have a love-hate relationship.
The story itself is straightforward with a very traditional feel. In what feels like an attempt to negate this, the story initially jumps around a bit. It doesn’t jar though, and the pacing is well handled.
Jason has fallen into bad company (Sophie Aldred, more on her later), got into more trouble than he can handle and turns to Benny for help. Shortly after giving her a small figurine for safekeeping, which he claims is part of a powerful weapons system, he is kidnapped and Benny is arrested and accused of being complicit in arms dealing. She is soon cleared of any wrongdoing and sets off to find Jason, her only lead being the home planet of his “accomplice”.
The Planet Ursu seems idyllic, where the native population live a simple life that appears at first to be primitive. This turns out to be far from the case as all Ursulans are born from the Blooms, a sophisticated piece of technology that genetically engineers children in batches of 8, already half grown. This is more than just an interesting idea – it is central to the plot as the technology actually belongs to the Sunless, the race who are oppressing the Ursulans and who want it back. Since the Ursulans are sterile this will result in their extinction.
Benny meets Doctor Kitzinger, the woman in charge of the Bloom technology, a strong performance by Anneke Wills that makes this a great scene as Benny learns more about the Ursulans, the Sunless and the figurine given to her by Jason, whilst Tameka learns that the 8 they have met were actually 9 – the 9th member being Jason’s “accomplice”, Miranda.
Which brings us to Miranda herself. Sophie Aldred is clearly having fun with the role, initially being cool and condescending with Benny then gradually slipping into a bit more scenery chewing as her agenda is revealed. She is determined to get the figurine at all costs and gain the power of the alien superweapon. Colony in Space anyone? But there’s an interesting twist to her nature, and the nature of the weapon itself, which raises this above the average and her to something more than just a stock megalomaniac.
For the other characters, Scott and Leon, they are ably played by Nicholas Pegg and Barnaby Edwards but they exist mainly to espouse the Ursulan philosophy and Scott, in particular, seems only to be there to hang about while everyone notes how beautiful he is and have sex with anyone who lets him. The idealistic philosophy of the Ursulans is undermined by the artificial nature of their creation but that’s not a criticism, that’s the point. It is a clever comment that only in an artificial culture can such idealism be practiced in full, away from the rest of the universe.
As I mentioned in my review for Oh No It Isn’t, the second Benny play is as traditional as that play is not. I am not one of those people who think traditional = bad and boring. There are plenty of traditional plays that I have enjoyed immensely and this one, whilst not the best, is better than average.
The second Bernice Summerfield audio play is a distinctly more sombre affair than the bells, whistles and pants down ballsiness of ‘Oh No It Isn’t!’. Like its predecessor it starts out with Professor Bernice, out on a dig with students, discussing the ‘business’ of archaeology when something interesting turns up. Previously it was a world of pantomime and exploding suns, now it’s her ex husband Jason Kane.
The series has shown incredible success in the casting of its regulars. Stephen Fewell delights as a man just walking on the right shade of a deviant, a self depreciating man who is all too trapped by his own failings. His interplay with Lisa Bowerman is nearly spot on, despite the story hardly giving him enough to do. Bernice’s initial appraisal of him though seems almost forced and within five minutes (the only time we have to get to know him properly) he’s gone, whisked away by the plot. When he returns he’s given almost nothing to do apart from vainly protest that he’s got the bigger picture at heart. Although Fewell gives a spirited performance, the character just doesn’t have enough to do here and comes out rather weak. So not the best of introductions…
Far more attention is paid to his ‘accomplice’ in his suspected arms smuggling business, a devious young woman called Miranda, played with admirable gusto by Doctor Who stalwart Sophie Aldred. I’ll come back to her later though…
This time Bernice is accompanied nearly at all times by two students, Tameka and Emile, two bickering young characters supposed to give the story some emotional heart. Unfortunately Emile just comes off as whiney, and Tameka is in places downright annoying. I can’t work out whether this is due to the script, the actors, or their direction, as all of them are good in places and dire in others. In fact the exact positioning of the whole thing seems slightly off, toeing a fine line between adult science fiction, a sexual emotional rollercoaster and snarky comedy. Most of the comedy seems to be sarcasm, and most of the science fiction is so basic it toes a slightly awkward middle ground with no clear tone of its own.
Annoyingly the tracks tend to be fairly long, averaging around twelve minutes a piece. There seems very little reason to only have four tracks a CD and it makes navigating around the story a pain. Also annoying is the reappearance of Bernice’s constant scribbling in her diary. It has a reason, later on in the story where everything suddenly becomes about personal morals and ethics, but at the start it makes an awkward framing device.
The other actors are almost all spot on, with Barnaby Edwards, Nicholas Pegg and Anneke Wills filling out a well rounded and intriguing cast of native Ursulans. Once the drama settles in their settlement it quickly becomes clear the true heart of the play is in the struggles of ordinary people. Sadly, as good as the moral codes and key principals which become so important to the story are, the actual enemies are strangely lacking in description.
The alien ‘Sunless’ are hardly shown at all, and only have Miranda to voice their evil plans. This problem is compounded by the fact Miranda has almost no character to her, aside from back-story attributed to her by other people, and a simple and obvious lust for power. In fact strangely she seems to shift halfway through from ‘collaborator’ with the alien invaders to their de facto leader. This is clearly about life under tyranny, not the tyrants themselves.
Beyond the Sun ticks a lot of boxes, and shows clear ambition in the range of topics it tackles, but doesn’t really ever excel. The play has its strengths, and none of the performances are bad. Its lowest point is probably the car chase, which just comes across as crass on audio. At its best it discusses the important values key to each individual, and Emille’s high point in particular is a discussion with Scott where he amusingly tries to steal the man’s principals, only to be offered Sex in return.
It tries hard, and passes through all the right hurdles, but the story doesn’t seem to have quite found its feet yet. It’s good, certainly, but not great. And I don’t, quite, know what it is that’s missing. That’s the worst thing. All the key ingredients are there and very nearly gelling. It’s a competent adventure, with deep complex characters that evolves into a deep discussion about individuality. For certain it’s definitely far more traditional than its predecessor, and a clear middle ground between them with the firsts ingenuity and this ones heart seems to be the way forwards.
Beyond The Sun
“Power Beyond The Sun? That’s Bollocks!”
The second play starts with Benny actually engaged in some archaeology, as she and her students unearth an ancient ruin. Lisa is witty and sarcastic by turns with her usual effortlessness but the students are little more than clichés. Tameka is the typical spoilt little sorority brat bemoaning the lack of mod cons, whose one saving grace is that she doesn’t begin every sentence with “totally” – just every other bloody sentence 🙁 . In every other respect she’s a forgettable valley girl. Emile is a typical shy boy who just wants everyone to get on so of course he’s gay, and that’s about it for him. Jane Burke and Lewis Davis do their best but neither are given much to work with.
This story marks the first appearance of Benny’s ex-husband, Jason Kane. I’ve got used to Stephen Fewell’s performance now but I still get the nagging feeling that he sounds too well spoken and smart to get himself into half the trouble that Jason does. Still, Stephen is a fan who has actually read the books and demonstrates a good knowledge of the character, and he and Lisa’s interaction convinces as the ex married couple who continue to have a love-hate relationship.
The story itself is straightforward with a very traditional feel. In what feels like an attempt to negate this, the story initially jumps around a bit. It doesn’t jar though, and the pacing is well handled.
Jason has fallen into bad company (Sophie Aldred, more on her later), got into more trouble than he can handle and turns to Benny for help. Shortly after giving her a small figurine for safekeeping, which he claims is part of a powerful weapons system, he is kidnapped and Benny is arrested and accused of being complicit in arms dealing. She is soon cleared of any wrongdoing and sets off to find Jason, her only lead being the home planet of his “accomplice”.
The Planet Ursu seems idyllic, where the native population live a simple life that appears at first to be primitive. This turns out to be far from the case as all Ursulans are born from the Blooms, a sophisticated piece of technology that genetically engineers children in batches of 8, already half grown. This is more than just an interesting idea – it is central to the plot as the technology actually belongs to the Sunless, the race who are oppressing the Ursulans and who want it back. Since the Ursulans are sterile this will result in their extinction.
Benny meets Doctor Kitzinger, the woman in charge of the Bloom technology, a strong performance by Anneke Wills that makes this a great scene as Benny learns more about the Ursulans, the Sunless and the figurine given to her by Jason, whilst Tameka learns that the 8 they have met were actually 9 – the 9th member being Jason’s “accomplice”, Miranda.
Which brings us to Miranda herself. Sophie Aldred is clearly having fun with the role, initially being cool and condescending with Benny then gradually slipping into a bit more scenery chewing as her agenda is revealed. She is determined to get the figurine at all costs and gain the power of the alien superweapon. Colony in Space anyone? But there’s an interesting twist to her nature, and the nature of the weapon itself, which raises this above the average and her to something more than just a stock megalomaniac.
For the other characters, Scott and Leon, they are ably played by Nicholas Pegg and Barnaby Edwards but they exist mainly to espouse the Ursulan philosophy and Scott, in particular, seems only to be there to hang about while everyone notes how beautiful he is and have sex with anyone who lets him. The idealistic philosophy of the Ursulans is undermined by the artificial nature of their creation but that’s not a criticism, that’s the point. It is a clever comment that only in an artificial culture can such idealism be practiced in full, away from the rest of the universe.
As I mentioned in my review for Oh No It Isn’t, the second Benny play is as traditional as that play is not. I am not one of those people who think traditional = bad and boring. There are plenty of traditional plays that I have enjoyed immensely and this one, whilst not the best, is better than average.
7/10.
Bernice Summerfield
Beyond the Sun
The second Bernice Summerfield audio play is a distinctly more sombre affair than the bells, whistles and pants down ballsiness of ‘Oh No It Isn’t!’. Like its predecessor it starts out with Professor Bernice, out on a dig with students, discussing the ‘business’ of archaeology when something interesting turns up. Previously it was a world of pantomime and exploding suns, now it’s her ex husband Jason Kane.
The series has shown incredible success in the casting of its regulars. Stephen Fewell delights as a man just walking on the right shade of a deviant, a self depreciating man who is all too trapped by his own failings. His interplay with Lisa Bowerman is nearly spot on, despite the story hardly giving him enough to do. Bernice’s initial appraisal of him though seems almost forced and within five minutes (the only time we have to get to know him properly) he’s gone, whisked away by the plot. When he returns he’s given almost nothing to do apart from vainly protest that he’s got the bigger picture at heart. Although Fewell gives a spirited performance, the character just doesn’t have enough to do here and comes out rather weak. So not the best of introductions…
Far more attention is paid to his ‘accomplice’ in his suspected arms smuggling business, a devious young woman called Miranda, played with admirable gusto by Doctor Who stalwart Sophie Aldred. I’ll come back to her later though…
This time Bernice is accompanied nearly at all times by two students, Tameka and Emile, two bickering young characters supposed to give the story some emotional heart. Unfortunately Emile just comes off as whiney, and Tameka is in places downright annoying. I can’t work out whether this is due to the script, the actors, or their direction, as all of them are good in places and dire in others. In fact the exact positioning of the whole thing seems slightly off, toeing a fine line between adult science fiction, a sexual emotional rollercoaster and snarky comedy. Most of the comedy seems to be sarcasm, and most of the science fiction is so basic it toes a slightly awkward middle ground with no clear tone of its own.
Annoyingly the tracks tend to be fairly long, averaging around twelve minutes a piece. There seems very little reason to only have four tracks a CD and it makes navigating around the story a pain. Also annoying is the reappearance of Bernice’s constant scribbling in her diary. It has a reason, later on in the story where everything suddenly becomes about personal morals and ethics, but at the start it makes an awkward framing device.
The other actors are almost all spot on, with Barnaby Edwards, Nicholas Pegg and Anneke Wills filling out a well rounded and intriguing cast of native Ursulans. Once the drama settles in their settlement it quickly becomes clear the true heart of the play is in the struggles of ordinary people. Sadly, as good as the moral codes and key principals which become so important to the story are, the actual enemies are strangely lacking in description.
The alien ‘Sunless’ are hardly shown at all, and only have Miranda to voice their evil plans. This problem is compounded by the fact Miranda has almost no character to her, aside from back-story attributed to her by other people, and a simple and obvious lust for power. In fact strangely she seems to shift halfway through from ‘collaborator’ with the alien invaders to their de facto leader. This is clearly about life under tyranny, not the tyrants themselves.
Beyond the Sun ticks a lot of boxes, and shows clear ambition in the range of topics it tackles, but doesn’t really ever excel. The play has its strengths, and none of the performances are bad. Its lowest point is probably the car chase, which just comes across as crass on audio. At its best it discusses the important values key to each individual, and Emille’s high point in particular is a discussion with Scott where he amusingly tries to steal the man’s principals, only to be offered Sex in return.
It tries hard, and passes through all the right hurdles, but the story doesn’t seem to have quite found its feet yet. It’s good, certainly, but not great. And I don’t, quite, know what it is that’s missing. That’s the worst thing. All the key ingredients are there and very nearly gelling. It’s a competent adventure, with deep complex characters that evolves into a deep discussion about individuality. For certain it’s definitely far more traditional than its predecessor, and a clear middle ground between them with the firsts ingenuity and this ones heart seems to be the way forwards.
6 / 10