Graceless Series One

The Sphere: Simon Guerrier is a writer of some aplomb. He became the strongest voice in the companion chronicle range, which in turn was one of strongest Big Finish ranges. His Sara Kingdom and Oliver Harper trilogies were justly lauded as being ambitious, packed full of great concepts and dialogue, and heartbreaking to boot. To give him his own spin off series was an obvious choice, and after listening to this set, a successful one. I did not know what to expect from a series that was going to feature the two female Tracers from the Key2Time trilogy in the main range, especially since that particular trilogy hadn't landed with me as well as I had hoped (and that it was the trilogy that kicked off the trilogies!) except that Guerrier was a sure pair of hands. The Sphere defied any kind of expectation I might have had by being so strange and discordant that as I was experiencing it I didn't quite know how to form an opinion about it, only that I was enjoying it. It has a brilliant central concept; an insidious, self sufficient sphere that lets you in but doesn't let you out...and worse, it gets you to enjoy the experience of being trapped by addicting you to the gambling and allows you to win big, but never enough to afford to get away. That's pure Simon Guerrier, right there. We get up close and personal to Abby and Zara in their living arrangements with Marek and really get under their skin and see what makes them tick. That's what I really like about this set and these characters, no matter how big the story is, it never forgets to let you experiencing how the protagonists are feeling, which means you as a listener are feeling something about the events too. Janson and Doddington are excellent in all three stories but I thought they started strong and got better with each release. My only complaint about this first release is that the music is a little loud at times, and I do not know why any writer (and it is particularly a problem in the early Star Trek seasons) would show the regulars out of character this early in the run. You know, before we have gotten to know them. But this is a slippery, memorable first step for Graceless. I was rather beguiled: 7/10

The Fog: Wowzas! This is absolutely superb. One of the best 'quiet' Big Finish releases I have heard in a some time and making me hanker for the days when the company would release economic, small cast stories with this amount of atmosphere and heart month in, month out. Such a simple idea; a small town shrouded in fog that doesn't let anyone out (sounds a little like The Sphere, right?). What could be trapping the inhabitants inside, and why? It's a great mystery and wisely, Guerrier lets us get close to the townsfolk before we realise the extent of the danger they are in, so we really care about them when we start losing them. David Warner is typically phenomenal as Daniel and has a voice that is rich and plummy and made for audio. The quality of Guerrier's characterisation is thus; Daniel comes across as officious and unlikable initially and I thought we might be in for a 'burn the witches' style character but then the layers of his backstory are unpeeled and he is in turns tragic, thoughtful and very brave. By the end of the story he is an ally, and I really felt his loss. That is a hell of a journey to go with a character in less than an hour and Warner acquits himself with absolute class. Nan is great too, and once the reason behind the vice of fog is revealed she really comes into her own as she manages to encourage the rest to accept their fate and step into the other side. Abby and Zara are at their best too, figuring out the mystery that is both chilling and fascinating. A word for the post production and music, which blew me away in The Fog. Some scenes, such as the one where they all hold hands and head out in the woods to try and escape the fog really captured me in a way that an audio hasn't for a while. Top notch direction from Lisa Bowerman. I was going to give this story a 9 but I went into this set with such mixed expectations and I was so moved by the whole piece I it absolutely deserves full marks. A brilliant listen: 10/10 

The End: There was a possibility that this might have been the last we saw of Abby and Clara and so Guerrier clearly felt a necessity to give them some kind of closure and an optimistic future ahead. He achieves that in spades with this cunning piece of writing that dashes off in an new direction whenever you might start getting complacent. Think this is going to be about Marek getting his revenge? Think again when Earl Kreelpot turns up to chew the scenery and proves to be a much bigger threat. Think he is going to be the villain of the pieces? Think again when he has the most tragic backstory and backstory of the entire season. Think this is going to be about a spaceship of fools heading into terrible danger? Think again when the Graceless turn up! Think this is going to be about the Gods being benevolent? Think again when they are big sacrifices of those they are going to help. It's a story that is never quite in your grasp and it covers a lot of ground from the intimate to the epic whilst always playing with just a handful of characters. It isn't as uncomfortable a listen as the first release or as focussed as the second but a twisting SF piece that features some very memorable scenes with the two sisters having to determine what they are willing to sacrifice for the things they care about. Had this been the end of the road for this pair it would have been an excellent set to see them out on and a lovely note to say goodbye - Abby and Zara as the equivalent of human TARDISes off to help people in the universe: 8/10