Tag: I Don't Do Sci-Fi

An Evening of Seventies Television – I Don’t Do Sci-Fi

If you listen to my podcast Very British Futures than chances are you know about I Don’t Do Sci-Fi, the podcast produced by good friends of mine. This Christmas, Kevin Hiley and Rebecca Wray produced a two-hour special episode for YouTube featuring clips from Dani Wray’s least favourite decade – The Seventies. Joining her and Rebecca to watch this smorgasbord of vintage television was myself and John Isles.

Despite the title of their podcast, the one genre this night did not cover was science fiction. Instead we commented on a wide range of mainstream, mostly peak-time television, interspersed with period adverts. It was a fun night and the team have tracked down some fascinating moments of pop culture. From farming soap Emmerdale, to a music special from Lena Zavaroni and Bonnie Langford, to period drama Affairs of the Heart, to the classic Blue Peter lineup of Purves, Noakes and Singleton and much more. I hope our commentary is as entertaining if you watch it.

More from their website: “There are lots of common phobias: Heights, snakes, spiders, Mr Tumble. Regular listeners of the podcast will know that Dani has a phobia of a whole decade! Her face scrunches up in uncontrollable disgust whenever films and TV from the 1970s come up! So for this festive episode, we’ve sat her down (contrary to popular belief, body restraints were mostly unnecessary) to watch a bumper selection of 1970s British television!

“We wanted Dani to have an authentic, ordinary 1970s viewing experience so instead we’re watching chunks of soap operas, sit-coms, prestige drama, variety shows, science programmes, adverts, and more! So come with us back to that distant land of monster sideburns, flares, polluting cars, three day weeks, casual sexism, and a whole lot of brown! Joining Dani, Rebecca and John for this holiday special is returning guest Gareth Preston, who actually lived through the 1970s, and almost came out of it sane!”

Watch it on YouTube now!

I Don’t Do Sci-Fi – The Stone Tape

I had the great pleasure recently of joining my friends Rebecca, John and Dani to record an edition of their podcast I Don’t Do Sci-Fi. This time, Dani was being exposed to Nigel Kneale’s 1972 BBC Christmas Day ghost story – The Stone Tape. It is a pioneering blend of science fiction, horror, and psychological drama that has left a lasting impact on viewers and critics alike.

The story revolves around a team of scientists and technicians from Ryan Electronics who move into an old Victorian mansion called Taskerlands, which has been converted into a research facility. Their objective is to develop a new disruptive technology that surpasses anything in the existing market. However, they soon discover that Taskerlands has a dark history and an eerie presence lurking within its walls.

In a room said to be haunted, Jill, the lead computer programmer sees the ghost of a terrified Victorian maid. Soon, everyone bar one young man can hear her screams.

The team conjecture that they have uncovered a phenomenon nicknamed the “stone tape theory,” a concept suggesting that buildings can absorb and replay the energy of past events, essentially becoming a recording of the past. This notion serves as the central theme of the play, blending elements of the supernatural with scientific exploration. When the experts try to understand the process better, hoping to turn it into the next generation of consumer technology, they learn it has psychological effects too. Whilst Jill begins to fear that there may be deeper layers to the stone recording, but containing what?

It stars Jane Asher, Michael Bryant, Iain Cutherbertson and Michael Bates, and was directed by Peter Sasdy. I’d last seen it on the big screen in 2022 as part of the excellent Nigel Kneale Centenary celebration in London, organised by Jon Dear and introduced by Ms Asher herself.

I had a great time talking about my enthusiasm for this play, but what did Dani think of it? You can find out by listening to the podcast on your favourite app, or online at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/idontdoscifi/episodes/Season-1–Episode-6-The-Stone-Tape-e1u91c5 Or on YouTube.

Episode 6 of I Don’t Do Sci-Fi

Whilst I’m on the plugging trail, let me also mention that I am currently working on the sounds for the next Bolton Little Theatre production – The Ladykillers – which is running from 26th June and 1st July. It’ll be a funny night and you can find out more here.

Here Lies Amicus & I Don’t Do Sci-Fi

Hope you are well. I’ve been lucky enough to be invited on to two more excellent podcasts recently – Here Lies Amicus and I Don’t Do Sci-Fi.

Here Lies Amicus is the brainchild of Cev Moore and is an in-depth review of the films of legendary Sixties and Seventies exploitation studio Amicus. Run by Milton Subotsky and Max J Rosenberg, Amicus were one of Hammer Films’ main rivals and often fished in the same pool of actors and filmmakers as the people at Bray Studios. Probably best remembered now for their horror anthology movies like Tales from the Crypt and Asylum, Amicus also made pop music vehicles, thrillers and also two low budget science fiction movies: The Terrornauts and They Came From Beyond Space. This double bill was the subject of the October 2022 episode Amicus in Outer Space!

Here is a link to the Spotify page. The podcast is also available on most popular platforms.

To be honest I thought I had mentioned this at the time but looking back through my blog I shamefully omitted to post about it. I know Cev through our mutual association with the Official Talking Pictures TV podcast, where he also has an interest in reviewing the channel’s fantasy output. He kindly provided some useful background info on the two films, in addition to us re-watching them. Whilst neither film is great, they both have a lot of interest in them. The Terrornauts is more ambitious, featuring scientists being abducted and taken to an ancient alien space station to defend the solar system from an invasion fleet, but consequently it falls so much further, betrayed by wooden dialogue and bargain basement model work. They Came from Beyond Space is another variant on the alien possession trope, set in the Home Counties and having more than a touch of The Avengers about it. Unfortunately, the thin plot is padded out with a lot of busywork about infiltrating the aliens’ base and has a dull lead in Robert Hutton. Nevertheless, I had an excellent time discussing both titles with Cev.

Moving bang up to the date with a podcast only released yesterday – I Don’t Do Sci-Fi is the spiritual sequel to last year’s impressive Tripodscast, from the same team of Dani Wray, Rebecca Wray, John Isles and Kevin Hiley. It’s a conversational podcast based on the concept that Dani is an SF novice who in the past has had little exposure to a lot of the genre. So her friends are showing her examples of futuristic fiction, starting with the cult BBC drama Star Cops. Most episodes will feature a special guest and kindly I was invited to be part of the debut. Recording in person is always fun and we had a lively time revisiting the series which I covered in my own podcast last year.

You can listen to the series here or on your favourite podcast app. Hope you enjoy both series.