BIG FINISH CLASSICS REVIEW
HG WELLS' THE FIRST MEN IN THE MOON
By Jack Ryan
BEWARE: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK
Onto number two of six as, after the brilliant, alas slightly melancholic, beginning to the HG Wells season with The Invisible Man, we now move on to what seems to be the more, fantastical and whimsical of Wells' stories. Well especially out of the six we have given here. Amidst translucent terrors, futuristic fears, augmented animals. time twisting and a war of the worlds, we are given a nice little jaunt to the moon, with an eccentric jolly professor and a businessman. Well, it starts off nice and jaunty...
On a nice little random day, Maria Bell meets a Mr Bedford. Nothing seemingly bizarre about that. At first... Because Mr Bedford has a story to tell. A story about an unwritten play, an escape from greedy thugs, a meeting with a mad professor named Cavor, an idea so far-fetched they might as well follow it, and how two men, beyond all the challenges presented, succeed and become the first men on the moon. And that is when the troubles really begin, for while they are the first men on the moon, and in the moon.... they're not alone....
Tackling Wells' fantastical tale for this release is the team of writer, Jonathan Barnes, and director, the glorious Lisa Bowerman. And to say they do a good job with this release would be a great understatement. Barnes gives us a brilliant and very human take on Wells' whimsical tale and, through the directing, the two of them give us a story that reignites the passion of exploration and the inquisitive nature of humankind, especially concerning what is out there, beyond our veil of air. And even though the story shifts in tone from the first part to the second, Barnes and Bowerman show their ease and familiarity with handling the story's new direction.
On top of Barnes' writing and Bowerman's directing, a good story needs stellar acting. And although the cast is small for this release, all present bring their best work and then some. Of course, though, the highlight of the cast in this is the brilliant and formidable double act that Nigel Planer and Gethin Anthony give us as Cavor and Bedford, showing a relationship that starts off as business partners and grows into a friendship spanning a journey to the moon. But the rest cannot be forgotten, with Chloe Pirrie as a woman Bedford imparts his tale to, but knows far more than lets on, David Horovitch as the unsettling Grand Lunar, and Alan Cox as just about the rest of the characters, and all are amazing in who they play and what they give...
As for the music and sound design, a new name (at least, new to me) has entered the fold, in the form of Peter Doggart. And for my first exposure to him, he presents a brilliant flair for his work, showing a range of sounds from unsettling lunar creatures, to the maddest of bar brawls of Terra Firma, and a brilliant score that ranges from the whimsical, to the exciting, to the utterly thrilling. If this is his first shot at working for Big Finish, then please keep him on as he has more than earned it...
Two down and there are no signs of growing stagnant or slowing down. The First Men In The Moon shows just how timeless and inspiring the tales of the father of science fiction are. From some top rate adapting and directing, to a brilliant if small cast, and some stellar sound design, this is a release where you can't second guess where it is going to go. If this and the Invisible Man show us the shape of things to come, we are in for something truly amazing....
VERDICT: 10/10 So brilliant, you'll bring it to the Moon and back! ;D
HG Wells' The First Men on the Moon is available to purchase on CD or download from the Big Finish website here, or from all good stockists.
Covers (C) Tom Newsom
No comments:
Post a Comment