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When the royal family of Brit-Cit is wiped out by a terrorist
attack and the unsuspecting heir to the throne is discovered
on the streets of Mega City One, Judge Dredd is dispatched
to protect the young king and finds himself thrown into a
world of demanding divas, cockney kidnappers and souvenir
teacups...
After
the previously released, dramatically intense, Dredd
audio War Crimes (which is incredible, incidentally),
Big Finish play the latest release almost entirely for laughs.
For
King and Country
sees Dredd travelling to Brit-Cit as he escorts a new, young
king who is to take the throne after the previous royal family
were killed by an assassin. The new monarch, er... King Justin,
is the illegitimate son of the now deceased prince and has-been
popstar Brightly Shines. Shines throws herself into her new
role as the Queen Mother, but Justin doesn't really want the
job of being the king of such a dismal and backward country.
This
audio has many impressive little touches which add to the
comedy. There are plenty of subtle (and tons of not so subtle)
jokes. These include the Queen pinching a few lines from a
well known Pulp hit; the militant group of the Terry
and June Appreciation Society claiming responsibility
for the assignation of the Royal Family (I know some of them
- they'd never do it!); the list of Shines's current pop songs
(Oops! Is it that time again?, Oops! I'm a girl
and a love droid, baby and Damn! Smack me harder! One
more time!); and a look at American stereotypical views
of us Brits (a nation with bad teeth who see curry as our
national dish).
The
whole story is neatly linked together by a newsreader from
the BCBC (Brit-Cit Broadcasting Corporation) which adds another
comedic touch. Some of his news bulletins are fantastic -
an example being the news that TV series Last of the Nuclear
Winter Plonk has finally been axed.
Cavan
Scott's script is littered with cultural jokes, but I thought
the ending was a little too well signposted. Many listeners
may well have worked out the conclusion before the halfway
mark - but then Dredd does make a closing remark that points
to the fact that this is a little clichéd. And when
the villain reveals themselves Dredd tries to get them to
explain their plan - in a Bond villain style - only to be
told that they can't possibly sum up their great plan in a
short soundbite - again, a nice dig at conventional clichés.
There are also twists within twists and more than a few surprises
that you won't see coming, but I though that the main villain
was a little too obvious.
John
Ainsworth does another great job of directing the action -
even more impressive than usual as he also plays the role
of Polearm the royal robot assistant.
Ian
Brooker's Dicky Davidson is a very passable spoof of David
Dickinson from the BBC's Bargain Hunt and I
noticed that Helen Goldwyn's American accent descends into
a Lancashire shriek occasionally - most noticeable when she's
shouting. While this may not have been intentional, it did
add an extra comedic element to the recording.
But
enough! Stop reading this and order your copy from Big Finish's
website now. Believe me you won't be disappointed. It's bloody
hilarious.
Darren
Rea
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