[UPDATE - 31st December 2018]: Now has a second part, The Dan in the High Castle.
[ORIGINAL - 20th March 2018]: Not sure how I missed this last January. Still, it's luckily been repeated now (apparently ahead of a "Part 2" later in the year), so thought I'd give it a listen.
Simon Kane, perhaps best known (to me) for his ongoing work in John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme, here writes and stars in his own creation, a science fiction themed sitcom pilot. He is Martin Gay, a man who runs into his 40th birthday with a thud, and bounces off the realisation into an infatuation with Gabbie (London Hughes), a (slightly too) young "charity mugger" who is mostly into his direct debit.
Mid-life crisis firmly in place, Martin finds himself thrown into a more fantastical conflict by his boss, Daniel Kraken, who is heavily inspired by Elon Musk, declaring himself the "King of Space". Kraken is performed by David Mitchell in his familiar but always entertaining hammy style.
Martin, it would appear, has been set the challenge of saving the human race, by stealing technology from the future and bringing it back to the present. He does this with the assistance of the Time Spanner (it spans time), though there is apparently a fair bit more going on in the background, with heaven's Lady Wizard taking an interest.
And everything, of course, is narrated by Laika, voiced by John Finnemore, because "dead dogs can be funny and sad". Laika tends to be played as one of Finnemore's strengths, mild bewilderment and over-enthusiasm.
The basic plotting of this is strong, though does try to fit in possibly a bit too much setup. Given what's currently on the radio, the obvious parallel to draw is Hitchhiker's, but this definitely heads off in its own direction.
Most of the standalone jokes hit, particularly a rather brilliant one that hits one of the more common time travel scenarios spot on, and the background characters tend to be a constant delight.
There is a weakness in the deuteragonists however. Martin tends to spout the same running joke a little too often, and the speech impediment wears thin quickly. He's also very much in the "hapless hero" mould, which he plays too well, making you wish he'd show a bit of backbone occasionally. Interestingly, Gabbie is obviously designed to contrast his morose nature, being a brash, confident young woman, but she does feel over-the-top at points.
Still, it's something different, and has to be given a few allowances as a pilot. I'll certainly be looking for the next part when it's on.
Tagged: Radio Comedy Cast Sitcom Science fiction