I'm curious about what other members of this board thought of the new season of DS audio dramas, Kingdom of the Dead.
1. Describe your reaction to Alec Newman as [spoiler]David. Were you excited at the prospet? I was. From the beginning I felt that he was the easiest to recast. We've never seen him at a festival or on TV since DS. I thought Jamison Selby would have been great as David as well. After all he's Selby's son and named for one of David's characters. It's great to have Alec involved in DS in a major way.[/spoiler]
2 How does David Warner stack up as a major DS villain? I've always been impressed with him. In fact, I prefer the Sapphire and Steel audio series to the TV series.
3 What about Susan? [spoiler]Do you think they should bring her back? I have mixed feelings about this. I love the actress and would love to have her back. I'm not sure if bringing Susan back would be a great idea. We have her tragic death, undoing that might cheapen the story. I'm willing to keep an open mind though. She's a great addition to the DS lore.[/spoiler]
4 [spoiler]Reactions to the cliffhanger!?!!![/spoiler]
5 Other comments
I'm surprised more fans aren't discussing the new season of audio dramas.
[spoiler] I thought Alec Newman did a nice job as David Collins. One of my favorite bits happens when the characters are each experiencing their greatest fears. At one point we hear a telephone start to ring and everyone goes quiet. I immediately gasped, "it's David's greatest fear - Quentin's ghost!" Bingo! It's good that they're bringing back more of the classic characters and referencing show history. [/spoiler]
David Warner was great as Seraph. I'm a fan of his work and enjoyed hearing his voice in this series. Lysette Anthony was very good too.
Overall, I liked this season quite a bit more than the first one. It had more of a DS feel to it, the characters felt more three-dimensional and the pacing was much better IMO. I liked the conflicts they had going on too - the various "camps" so to speak. I did have problems here and there. [spoiler] For example, how could Willie break Barnabas' thrall so easily? Was it because his love for Maggie was so strong that he could break it? The same goes for Susan during the somewhat absurd Barnabas/Quentin tug-of-war for her attention. As I recall, Barnabas' vampiric will was immensely powerful in the TV series.[/spoiler]
One thing I disliked - [spoiler] As much as I absolutely loved hearing Marie Wallace's voice, WHY did they have to make a connection to the abysmal (IMO)
Return To Collinwood?! Jessica Loomis is the character Marie played in
RtC and I can already see the link developing between these audios and
RtC. Ugh. Don't get me wrong. I think Marie was great. I just don't care for
Return to Collinwood. I'd rather see these new audios establish their own canon which plays out over time and draws from the established mythos of the classic TV series. As it evolves, I could see them weaving any number of complex tales set in the DS universe. However, if they're working toward the pre-destined endpoint of the sub-par RtC then, well, that's quite disappointing. Big Finish, if you're reading this, IGNORE
Return to Collinwood and build a better story - one with rich characterization and solid storytelling. [/spoiler]
I suppose I should cut it some slack as it was a first attempt at this kind of thing as far as
DS goes, but
RtC really didn't cut it for me.
Onward...
The ending cliffhanger!
[spoiler] Holy mackerel! The hand of Count Petofi! Okay, as over-the-top as Carolyn and David laughing like maniacs at the end was, I couldn't help but love it. It seems David and Carolyn are psychotic, spoiled brats after all!
I assume they must be under the evil influence the the bad old Count himself... maybe. Interesting. I hope it isn't years before the next series is released! I can't imagine anyone else but Thayer David in the role of Count Petofi, but I must admit I am curious to see...er...hear...what happens next. [/spoiler]
It's fun hearing many of the original actors and characters in new stories. I find I get a charge when they reference past events or characters from the TV series. I feel this set was an improvement over the first series and I hope series 3 is even better.
~Penny~
