The Nuclear Family – Very British Futures

This week on the Very British Futures podcast, we’re turning back the clock to the shadow of the Cold War, as we examine the fourth Play for Tomorrow –The Nuclear Family – a blackly comic TV play that aired in 1982. A blend of domestic drama and speculation about the future of work in a seemingly post-industrial Scotland, it imagines a society not just living with the threat of nuclear war, but adjusting to life without manual labour and all the community which goes with it.

You can listen to the episode here or on your favourite podcast platform. For this installment I was lucky enough to be joined by Mark Donaldson, writer and podcaster, including Doctor Who podcast On the Timelash.

The Brown Family consists of Joe (father), Agnes (mother) and two teenage children, Gary and Ann. Joe was made redundant in the mid-80s, like so many other men, and in 1999 – the year in which the play is set – it is the children who are the breadwinners, working in the spare room on their computers. Joe decides that the family needs a break, the first since Gary was a baby so makes plans to visit ‘Sea Bed 6’ military base to spend two weeks on a working holiday. However, the Browns discover a lot more than just honest labour.

It’s an engaging play with a welcome sense of humour and two excellent turns from Jimmy Hanley as Joe Brown and Russell Hunter as Sgt Smellie (pronounced Smiley).

Also out this week is the latest episode of the Doctor Who – Too Hot for TV podcast. This time Dylan Rees and guest Paul Griggs are taking a look at two Sontaran stories, including my own audio adventure Conduct Unbecoming. You can find out what they thought of it by listening on your podcast app or following this link.

Slaine: The Horned God – Live on Stage

Slaine, a barbarian warrior standing bare-chested.

My friend Rik Hoskin has told me about an intriguing new UK theatre event that might be of interest to readers:

Professional storyteller Jason Buck will deliver an official adaptation of 2000AD‘s Slaine: The Horned God, based on the story written by Pat Mills, as a theatrical performance at Oxford Playhouse on 19th September. Tickets are available to buy now.

The Oxford performance is a preview show for a tour later this year; a show adapting a tale of Celtic heroes, villains, monsters, magic, dragons, demons, goddesses and gods for the stage, it’s been created by Jason in partnership with 2000AD and Rebellion.

Originally created by Pat Mills, “the godfather of British comics”, and his wife Angie Kincaid, Sláine has captured the imagination of comics readers for generations.

Set in a “time which is not a time” when Britain was rife with magic and mischief, this one-man production of Slaine: The Horned God brings together the epic heroic exploits and divine transformation of the one who would be High King of the Tribes of the Earth Goddess.

This production reimagines ancient mythologies and brings to life the traditional art of storytelling for modern audiences.

Jason Buck has been a performer most of his adult life, including gurning, comedy and sword swallowing, but his passion lies in stories.

“There’s nothing like getting lost in a story, the pictures in your head are better than film,” the prize winning storyteller says.

Jason has also written and published seven illustrated collections of stories, including Stories from the Towers of Stone and Steel and Jack in the Blood, the latter inspired by testing on Jason’s ancestral DNA.

 A teller of tall tales, a weaver of whimsies and a fashioner of fables, Jason draws on traditional favourites and new ideas. His stories are told in the oldest and best ways – as live performances for modern audiences. 

Based in the West Midlands of England, as well as a global online audience, Jason has performed across the UK and mainland Europe, blending traditional and contemporary motifs, vocal sound effects and pure, unadulterated fantasy.

• Book your tickets for Jason Buck’s interpretation of Slaine: The Horned God at Oxford Playhouse on Friday 19th September 2025 here

• Jason Buck is online at jasonbuckstoryteller.co.uk | Facebook | Instagram | Threads

Bright Eyes – Play for Tomorrow – Very British Futures

Out now on your favourite podcast platform, the latest episode of Very British Futures, covering Bright Eyes, the second Play for Tomorrow from the makers of Play for Today. Broadcast in 1982. Written by Peter Prince and directed by Peter Duffell.


New Year’s Eve 1999. Great Britain is part of the European State. The Euro army is in the midst of a controversial war in the Middle East. Wealthy businessman Sam Howard has come to a French prison to see his daughter Cathy, who has been arrested for being part of a conspiracy to assassinate a pro-war politician, and is now facing execution. The authorities hope he can persuade her to issue an apology regretting her actions, allowing them to commute her sentence to prison time. Waiting outside her cell, Sam’s memory flashes back to earlier New Year’s Eves. 1979 when she was six years old and left with him overnight by his ex-wife. 1989, when she was sixteen and he criticised her 60’s themed party as disrespectful to the genuine struggles of that decade. When she said didn’t care about politics, he told her to start taking an interest and challenge to official line about the coming war. Now a crowd of journalists wait outside the prison, his ex and her legal team are helpless and he must decide whether to ask her to betray her principles to save her life.

One of the good things about making this series is when a guest helps me see a programme in a new, usually better light. This was the case with Bright Eyes and my friend Jon Arnold. An experienced writer and commentator, Jon’s enthusiasm for this play about the generation gap, activism and pragmatic politics was infectious. Hope you find this an interesting episode.

You can find the episode on all major podcast platforms, including Spotify.

Crimes – Play for Tomorrow – Very British Futures

To coin a phrase “Good news everybody!” There’s been a hiatus with the Very British Futures podcast for a few months, although I have been recording several conversations. The reason was that I am presenting a mini-series about 1982 BBC anthology Play for Tomorrow and I wanted it to be hitting your ears on a weekly basis. So I couldn’t release the first one until they were all ready to go.

But today is the day and you can hear what Rod Brown (host of Nostalgia Tours podcast) and myself made of the first entry – Crimes by Caryl Churchill.

Play for Tomorrow was a short-lived experiment by television producer Neil Zeiger, who was already in charge of the well-regarded Play for Today strand of one-off plays which ultimately ran for 15 seasons between 1970 and 1984. Amongst its wide variety of original stories were modern classics like Blue Remembered Hills, Abigail’s Party and Edna the Inebriate Woman. Whilst most of its plays were realist, it occasionally ventured into science fiction, most notably in The Flipside of Dominic Hyde. It was the success of that time travel comedy that encouraged Zeiger to propose a mini-season of plays set in the near future UK, based on realistic scientific and social science predictions.

Crimes is not so much as story as a think piece, a collection of linked monologues. building a picture of a more regimented Britain in the shadow of a continued Cold War. A group of prisoners are attending a mandatory therapy session under the chairmanship of Melvyn, a successful criminal psychologist. But is Melvyn himself really in a good place to be deciding on other’s sanity?

I deliberately wanted to have some fresh voices in this mini-season, as well as some old friends. Rod Brown is a fairly recent podcaster on the seen but his Doctor Who podcast Nostalgia Tours is already building a rep for itself. He’s an excellent guest as you’ll find out in this episode. Hope you enjoy this special set of Very British Futures episodes, available on your favourite podcast app.

Farewell, Great Macedon + The Queen of Time

I’m pleased to share with you that I am the guest on the latest episode of the podcast Doctor Who – Too Hot for TV, hosted by Dylan Rees. Together we are looking back at two unmade stories from the 1960’s – Farewell, Great Macedon and The Queen of Time. Both have been recreated as dramatised audiobooks by Big Finish. I’m particularly happy with the way this one has turned out. In fact I think it’s the best of my three guest spot so far because I sound more confident and fluid and there’s a lot of interesting Doctor Who behind the scenes details to talk about.. You can listen to the episode here https://www.buzzsprout.com/864883/episodes/17368333-s5-e33-just-a-bit-of-tea-with-a-wee-lassie and all the major podcast apps.

Farewell, Great Macedon was submitted by Moris Farhi to the show’s script editor David Whittaker during the first season in 1964. It features the First Doctor as played by William Hartnell. Unusually amongst the so called “lost stories” of Doctor Who, it exists as a fully written script rather than just an outline, which helps make this adaptation feel just a bit more legitimate. Nigel Robinson, a skilled adapter of early Doctor Who stories, wrote the audio version and Big Finish mainstay Lisa Bowerman directed William Russell and Carol Ann Ford, who played two of the Doctor’s first companions. John Dorney guested as Alexander.

The TARDIS lands in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, where the travellers meet Alexander the Great who welcomes them with hospitality. But history teacher Barbara realises that they have landed a few days before Alexander’s death and with the TARDIS needing to recharge before it can leave, the four friends find themselves caught up in court treachery. It’s a splendid story and for me one of the high points of Big Finish’s Doctor Who range.

The Queen of Time features the Second Doctor, as played by Patrick Troughton and was written by Brian Hayles. Hayles had written several stories for the series and this proposed adventure owed a large debt to one of them, The Celestial Toymaker. This time Catherine Harvey adapted the detailed plot outline and Lisa Bowerman once again directed. Former companion actors Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury performed it, with Caroline Faber as Hecuba.

The Doctor and his companions are mysteriously invited to meet Hecuba, the Queen of Time and sister of the Toymaker. Trapped in her realm, the Doctor must ward off Hecuba’s romantic overtures, whilst Jamie and Zoe face a series of deadly puzzles. This is something of a misfire for me and I enjoyed getting into why I don’t like it.

As well as recommending Too Hot for TV as a great podcast anytime, I’ll take a moment to remind you that Dylan’s second book Myths and Legends, a deep cut into independent filmmakers Reeltime Pictures, will be out soon. You can find out more here.

Before I go, my friend Rik Hoskin has had a new short story published in the premiere issue of Goblins and Galaxies Magazine called “Tournament in Frow” and you can find out more below:

Goblins & Galaxies #0 Summer 2025

Busy times for friends

Hope you are well. Apologies for it being a bit quiet around the blog this year, but I’ve been working on a few projects so that I can have a bit of a podcast event in the not too distant future. It’s a mini-season of Play for Tomorrow and I want all six episodes in the can, to guarantee I can release them weekly. In addition, I’ve recorded two further installments on Codename: Icarus and The Tomorrow People, which hopefully follow soon after. Meanwhile at work I’ve been working on my first authored VR projects, as opposed to just being a consumer of other people’s apps. And there’s some other activity that I can’t talk too much about yet. So there’s going to be more regular posting soon. I also thinking of releasing some old reviews which have never been in print before but which I think have some value. Speaking of reviews, I talk about Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster in the latest episode of the Official Talking Pictures TV podcast.

Rik Hoskin is as busy as ever. Amongst his output are two short stories, one for an anthology and another for a fiction magazine.

Behind the Revolving Door: An Anthology of Choices is a forthcoming book from Celestial Echo Press.

Each of us makes a multitude of choices daily, some minor and some with major consequences. Do you eat cereal or oatmeal for breakfast? Skip it entirely? Do you or don’t you wear your lucky shirt to the sports event? What do you think the consequences would be if you didn’t wear your lucky shirt?

This anthology will be a collection of stories that will take you on a journey with the author’s protagonist as they make a decision. We will ask for stories that take them through a trial and force them to take an action, to make a choice. For example, the character comes to a fork in the road. Do they take the right path or do they take the left? Does the character find a wallet on the ground? Do they open it? Return it to the owner, or keep it? What are the consequences?  Do they encounter a second choice, going back through the revolving door? Do they find classified information, implicating a family member in a coup? What do they do with it?  What happens next? Is the character hiking through the woods, and finding a portal, not knowing where it will take them if they enter? What happens? Is it so bad that they try to return, hence going through the revolving door? There are many, many ways this theme can be interpreted.

They have invited five authors, some award-winning and some award-nominated, including Rik. The remainder of the stories will come via open submissions and they anticipate a September release.

Meanwhile the publishers of Cosmic Horror Magazine are launching a new title that promises to be a spiritual successor to Weird Tales – Goblins & Galaxies Magazine. Rik will have a story in the premiere issue which is currently launching on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/crtyra/goblins-and-galaxies-magazine

We are passionate about turn-of-the-century pulp magazines like Weird Tales and have tried with each issue to pay homage while also amplifying modern story-telling techniques and diverse voices. We want to bring that same approach to a brand-new magazine emphasizing Sword & Sorcery, Dark Fantasy, and Science Fiction.

The marvellous Dylan Rees has guested on two episodes of Very British Futures and I’ve been a guest on three episodes of his Doctor Who Too Hot for TV podcast. A few years ago he published a book about the so-called “Wilderness Years” of Doctor Who called Downtime. Now he’s shortly to release a brand new book in a similar vein – Myths and Legends: The Reeltime Pictures Story.

This is the inside story of Reeltime Pictures, from the earliest days of its acclaimed Myth Makers VHS tapes, through the production of its ambitious dramas and documentaries. Boasting a wealth of quotes from many of those involved, the book tells the story of one man’s passion and dedication to develop a valuable archive of material chronicling the complete production history of classic Doctor Who.

You can pre-order the book now from Telos https://telos.co.uk/shop/doctor-who/myths-legends/

Chatri Art, the man behind the marvellous music for my podcast has been in a productive phase recently and releasing several new songs on bandcamp.com I can recommend the following:

THE VOLCANOS / SESSIONS 1972-3 by Chatri Ahpornsiri and Maybin Marwell and Tony Harris, check it out here.
“Unreleased and improved sound of the music from the early 70’s with added sound, until now. I hope you will enjoy the noise we make.”

SUMMER TO REMEMBER by Chatri Ahpornsiri, check it out here.

THE LIFE AND TIME OF WITCH DOCTOR GOY by Chatri Ahpornsiri, check it out here.

SO MANY TIMES / SINGLE by Chatri Ahpornsiri and Helen W Jackson, check it out here.
“2002 Single E.P. 2 songs 2 mixes each. Helen W Jackson : vocal”

Out of this World – Very British Futures

When I started the Very British Futures podcast I wanted to shine a light on programmes that didn’t have much of a following, that didn’t get talked about much online. Since then I’ve learnt that its good to mix up such programmes with well known titles because listeners like to hear discussions of shows they’ve seen as well as discover old series.

Listen to the Out of this World episode on Spotify

Out of this World is exactly the kind of series I designed this podcast for, and researching it myself I’ve come to be sorry that more it hasn’t survived. It was the first anthology of serious, adult orientated science fiction on UK television. Although both BBC and ITV companies had produced one-off adult dramas SF dramas, such as The Time Machine (1949) and The Ship That Couldn’t Stop (1961), a fully fledged evening series of upfront SF stories was a risky proposition. As it is, Out of this World was a well-received success and would have undoubtedly have had a second season if producer Sydney Newman and story editor Irene Shubik had not left ABC to work for the BBC. But the series was reborn on BBC2 as Out of the Unknown and you can find out more about that marvelous anthology in this podcast episode.

Most of the plots were based on existing stories from the golden age of science fiction, with a couple original scripts in the mix, including an early work about body snatching invaders from Terry Nation – “Botany Bay”. Each episode was introduced by cinema legend Boris Karloff, in the urbane uncle kind of role he often played in his later career. Tragically only one episode has survived – “Little Lost Robot” but that and the other surviving material suggests a very watchable series made with love and care.

See if you agree by listening to the latest episode, in which I am fortunate to be joined by Dylan Rees, host of the Doctor Who – Too Hot for TV podcast and writer Peter Grehen. They had the challenge of listening to me describing missing stories and then reacting to them, and they had some fun insights. You can get the episode on your favourite podcast app or on Youtube.

Whilst I’m here, I glad to tell you that my friend Chatri Art, who wrote the music for Very British Futures has a new album out – The Underdogs. To listen to it, try the player below or visit his Bandcamp page.

Cruise of the Gods – Very British Futures

SF conventions have been making appearances in comedy films for decades. It’s not hard to understand why, as the exotic fantasy worlds of science fiction meeting the mundanity and compromises of the present day and its fallible inhabitants creates a gap that is ripe for observation and storytelling. Then there’s the glamour of celebrity and the shared contract of delusion that exists between artists and their fans. Fandom is a place that build marvellous communities, but also be tawdry and hurtful.

Amongst films and television that have depicted this are Staggered, G.B.H, Paul, Free Enterprise, Frasier, Community, The Big Bang Theory and most famously Galaxy Quest. Less well known but a marvelous example of this sub-genre is the 2002 TV movie Cruise of the Gods. Made by Baby Cow Productions for the BBC, it stars Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan as actors Andy Van Allen and Nick Lees. Both were the stars of an imaginary 80’s tv show Children of Castor. The show was set on a post-apocalyptic Earth, minus the USA (“America is Pollux!”) and featured a New Wave pop group who survived to become the inheritors of humanity. Now in 2002, Nick is globally famous for the US show Sherlock Holmes in Miami, whilst Andy is a barely working actor, supporting himself as a hotel porter. We learn that Andy has been a self-centred jerk most of his life. His lack of success and his resentful reliance on his cult fame has left him lonely and bitter. Most of the film takes place on a cruise ship taking holidaymakers, including a SF convention, around the Greek islands. Andy is the guest of honour, along with the show’s writer and a former actor who played a mutant in the opening credits. But his minor celebrity is overshadowed when Nick turns up completely by chance, filming the latest episode of his series. Andy is initially furious, but when Nick offers him a chance to appear in his programme, Andy sees an opportunity to finally become a star again.

SF conventions on cruise ships are regular events, but there is an extra nostalgia for me in seeing this manner of grassroots event, with guest panels, discussions and competitions, in an era where many conventions have largely become merchandise markets. The film features several actors who would become famous in the Noughties, including David Walliams and James Corden. As well as amusing guest appearances playing themselves from Jack Jones and Brian Conley. It’s a funny, feelgood drama that gently pokes fun at fans but without cruelty.

Cruise of the Gods is the subject of the latest episode of Very British Futures. You can listen to the podcast on Goodpods or any of the major podcast platforms. My guests, actor Cliff Chapman and podcaster Dani Wray, had originally recorded an entirely different episode about The Comic Strip Presents, but due to my clumsiness I lost the recording. So they very generously offered to record a new episode. I had toyed with the idea of covering Cruise of the Gods for a while. Whilst it is not science fiction, it is definitely about British cult television. Hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed recording it.

VR Documentaries for Mental Health Awareness and Empathy

A large part of my role as a Technical Officer in Higher Education is developing and investigating Virtual Reality headsets. One of the main challenges for integrating virtual reality technology into degree education is making it relevant. Finding apps which demonstrate the strength of immersive tech in providing something which flat screens and videos cannot. So as part of my job I am always on the lookout for new VR apps which achieve this, and in the last few months I have come across three excellent titles which I am currently advocating to academics at Brooks. Goliath: Playing with Reality, Impulse: Playing with Reality, and Emperor. I ran them all on a Meta Quest2 or Quest3.

Goliath: Playing with Reality

A man with the gaming nickname of Goliath, tells his life story and his struggles with schizophrenia and depression. His story is depicted as a series of games, beginning in the 8bit era and moving to fully 3D worlds and eventually reality. Following an unhappy childhood, Goliath becomes a DJ in the dance scene before his self-medication of alcohol and recreational drugs leads to psychosis and hospitalisation. Here his climb back to independence begins, in which online gaming provides a community.

Goliath sounds as if it will be alienating for non-gamers but I’ve seen several people who’ve never worn a headset before, pick it up and play it intuitively. A lot of game is fairly passive, just to be watched, but there are some nice interactive ideas, such as passing the controller over a stream of lights to turn it into sound and a simple game of “shoot the negative thoughts” which appear as wasp-like sprites. Goliath’s monologue is engrossing, augmented by Tilda Swinton as the narrator. The only downside is that to get the full effect you need to set aside 30 minutes for the whole story.

Available for Quest 2, Pro 3, 3S & Steam VR
Price £4.99
Website https://goliathvr.io/

Impulse: Playing with Reality

What is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and what is happening in the brain? This app follows four stories of real young people whose lives have been affected by ADHD and how they have learned to cope with it by understanding the patterns of their behaviour.

After an initial game which helps visualise the neurological theory behind ADHD, the four stories play out in parallel, with the characters and surroundings appearing in your room as puppets moving around 3D sets. Key thoughts must be turned into graffiti on the walls of your room. This app uses the Quest3’s spatial awareness and mixed reality capability to the fullest. From Anagram, the makers of “Goliath”, it is a more active, game like experience. Tilda Swinton again provides the narration. Again, perhaps its only drawback for classroom use is that it is 40 minutes long.

Available for Quest 3, 3S
Price: £5.99
Website: https://weareanagram.co.uk/project/impulse

Emperor

Following a heart attack, a father suffers both from aphasia and partial paralysis. You take on his role and occasionally that of his adult daughter as she tries to help him with his therapy and learn more about his past. Seeing through his eyes, we travel through his memories, seeing surreal combinations created by his disrupted language processing.

Part story, part disability simulation, the therapy sections are the best part of this app, giving an insight into what it is like to be in a body that will not respond as you remember it used to. The drawn art animation is beautiful and the commitment to the whole app using hand tracking means it is intuitive to use for beginners and experienced VR users alike. The full experience is 45 minutes long. Has English, French and German options. Olivia Cooke is the voice of the daughter in the English version. Created by Astrea.

Available for Quest 2, Pro, 3, 3S
Price: FREE
Website https://astreaimmersive.io/full-line-up/emperor/

I am keen to find any more examples of these kind of apps. If you know of one, please let me know in the comments.

Doctor Who – Dark Contract

After the success of his first BBC Audiobook, Will Hadcroft is back with a new Doctor Who short story, this time featuring the Fifth Doctor, Tegan, Nyssa and Adric, and read by Matthew Waterhouse. He’s delivered an entertaining little SF adventure with a subtext about human exploitation by both other humans and extraterrestrials.

Cover artwork

Still trying to return Tegan to Heathrow airport, the Doctor instead lands the TARDIS in 1830s London. Happily the air hostess turns out to be something of a Charles Dickens fan, so her disappointment is mollified by a chance to explore the setting of most of his novels. The Doctor warns his companions that the real London is much more squalid and dangerous world than is usually shown in the movies. In fact he’s so cautious he even insists they all change into appropriate period clothes for once, which is a fun idea and leads to an entertaining reveal sequence when they step out of the Ship. But the listener already knows that sinister forces are at work. A retired admiral has become an investigator into the odd and inexplicable. He has heard of unexplained disappearances around the workhouses, and desiccated bodies being discovered, killed in a manner beyond human capabilities. Before the Doctor and his friends can begin properly investigating, all four of them are abducted and separated by different parties.

In his first Doctor Who audiobook The Resurrection Plant, Hadcroft had shown a particular interest in darker, exploitative side of the Industrial Revolution and he continues the theme in this story, arguably to even greater effect since much of the unpleasantness he describes is historical fact. Splitting the team up, he depicts the workhouse, the streets and criminal gangs trading in women’s lives with an interesting but balanced amount of detail, illustrating the harshness and injustice without descending into gory shock value. In fact this story would have worked as a pure historical, with a little reworking. Without giving too much away though, there is an alien antagonist to be faced. Bodies drained of life is something of a staple in Doctor Who adventures, as is beings who regard humans as a resource rather than sentient equals, but ultimate resolution to the main mystery is pleasingly Doctorish and ultimately hopeful.

All the regulars are well-depicted. Tegan and Nyssa get some moments of sisterly banter and later prove to be adept at rescuing themselves for once. Adric is headstrong and feels a bit of an outsider in this decidely messy human enviroment, giving some hints of his growing homesickness. There’s a striking moment where he admits to mourning the ‘death’ of the older Fourth Doctor who fitted the father-shaped hole in his life, replaced by a younger man with whom he struggles to connect with, in same comfortable way Tegan and Nyssa appear to. Meanwhile the Doctor is enthusiastic, a touch rueful and there’s an amusing moment where he is annoyed with the “youthful whine” in his voice when he attempts to assert his authority. Matthew Waterhouse does an pretty credible impersonation of Peter Davison’s voice, can still sound convincingly younger as Adric, but makes Janet Fielding sound like a cockney. His natural reading voice is very listenable to though and he does a good job with the guest characters. David Roocroft’s sympathetic sound design does a great job of illustrating Victorian London without drowning us in street barkers, steam horns, and clipclopping carriages.

Doctor Who – Dark Contract is an assured, entertaining trip back to Doctor Who circa 1982. Written with intelligence and with something deeper to say both about our fairly recent past and our responsibilities to each other. It can only enhance Will Hadcroft reputation as an author.

You can buy Dark Contract from all good bookshops and online retailers.