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Professor Dunning is in the process of telling a few of
his students a horror story when his oration is interrupted
by a mysterious Russian who has only time to shout one word,
Nazad, before he even more mysteriously falls out of the professors
window, only to be run over by both a tram and a horse. Inspector
Lionheart is drafted in to investigate the death an investigation
which will lead him to uncover the Nazad conspiracy...
The
Scarifyers: The Nazad Conspiracy is a new audio play written
and directed by Simon Barnard, with music by Edwin Sykes,
and depending on its commercial success could be the opening
shot in a series of audio plays. It represents the first output
of new production company Cosmic Hobo. The story is set in
or around 1938 as Inspector Lionheart states that it is fifty
years since the Ripper murders, which took place between August
and November 1888.
It
is, I'm sure, with an eye on the Doctor Who fraternity
and the fans of the Big Finish audio dramas, which led to
the casting of Nicholas Courtney and Terry Malloy. For the
slightly younger amongst us, and to be truthful that would
probably be anyone under twenty-five, Nicholas Courtney played
old Five Rounds Rapid Brigadier in the original run of Doctor
Who and Terry Malloy played Davros, creator of the Daleks.
That is not to impugn either of these gentlemen's vocal talents.
Both do justice to their respective roles, though for Courtney
it must have been a walk in the park as his natural voice
conjures up images of authority figures.
That's
not to say that the show doesn't have a few minor problems,
the tale itself is a nicely paced historical/horror romp which
thankfully never takes itself too seriously. However, the
performances sometimes skirt the edge of pantomime. Some of
the more minor lines are delivered very flatly. The characters
also lean towards caricatures, rather than believable protagonists.
All this can be forgiven if you take the show at face value
as a fairly light hearted romp.
Production on the discs is very professional with a good use
of incidental music and sound effects.
It's a brave company that produces original work and on the
strength of their first disc I for one hope that this is a
commercial success. I'm sure that once the series has found
its feet it will turn out to be even more entertaining than
its first interesting instalment.
Charles
Packer
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