The Two Ronnies
(BBC Audiobooks, 1976/2010)
Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie Barker were at their witty, rip-roaring, wordy best in this mid-1970s LP collection of Two Ronnies sketches, faux news items and assorted titbits – an uproarious comedy hodgepodge of what should have been said (‘and it’s goodnight from him’).
Deathhunter
by Ian Watson (Gollancz, 1981)
In attempting to cure his patient’s delusions, death guide Jim Todhunter must confront the possibility that Death is a creature to be captured and caged. Deathhunter combines slightly cumbersome world building with trippy existential ideas. It’s SF styled with a 1980s twist.
Doctor Who: The Time Monster
by Robert Sloman; dir. Paul Bernard (BBC, 1972)
Roger Delgado is a tour de force as the Master but once again a Pertwee-era story does his character no justice. The Time Monster is overlong and shambolic — its threat false, the scheme pea-brained — with bafflegab and deus ex machina to burn.
Sherlock Holmes: His Last Bow
by Arthur Conan Doyle (John Murray, 1917); audiobook read by Derek Jacobi (BBC, 2010)
There are few more beguiling characters in literature than Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, the great detective here (as ever) charming with his interpretation of clues beyond the reader’s access, in narratives no writer today would dare submit. The feat is most singular.
Jekyll and Hyde
by Charlie Higson (ITV, 2015)
Jekyll and Hyde would like to think of itself as stylish fantasy horror. While Tom Bateman brings power to both the good doctor and the beast within, the script can’t decide whether it’s going to be ham-fisted or oafish in imparting information.
Jimmy and the Crawler
by Raymond E. Feist (HarperCollins, 2013)
Jimmy the Hand is one of Raymond E. Feist’s best-loved characters. Jimmy and the Crawler reads more like a novel excerpt than a stand-alone novella; nevertheless, fans of Feist’s Riftwar Saga will appreciate this nostalgic return to storylines long since left behind.