Ghost
dir. Jerry Zucker (1990)
From the fading afterglow of 1980s filmmaking comes this endearing and enduring romantic fantasy (with dark undercurrents, plus virtuoso comedy from Whoopi Goldberg in her multi-award-winning support role). Patrick Swayze makes for a competent ghost; Demi Moore stars as his bereaved lover.
Wyrd Sisters
by Terry Pratchett (Victor Gollancz, 1988); audiobook read by Celia Imrie (Isis, 1996)
Terry Pratchett tells comic stories within stories within Shakespearian tragedy as the King of Lancre is murdered and Granny Weatherwax and her fellow witches take centre stage in the unfolding history of his succession. Celia Imrie does a wonderfully witchy job narrating.
Batman: The Lazarus Syndrome
by Simon Bullivant & Dirk Maggs (BBC Radio 4, 1989)
A nostalgic fiftieth anniversary celebration, authenticated by Michael Gough’s appearance as Alfred but with a storyline more suited to comic book form than audio drama. Commissioner Gordon hears word that the Batman is dead. Bruce Wayne, meanwhile, seems not to be himself…
Doctor Who: The Romans
by Donald Cotton (Target, 1987)
Without reference to the televised serial, this odd and irreverent epistolary novelisation comes across as something of a fever dream. Even in context, it takes liberties in elevating and expanding upon the plot’s farcical elements. Nonetheless, a funny and uncommonly erudite read.
The Professionals #6: Fall Girl
by Ken Blake (Sphere, 1979)
Even though the prose is pulpy, the odd turn of phrase is enough to suggest this TV tie-in—three straightforward action retellings that bring back the memories—was churned out by a decent author (as it happens, British SF writer Kenneth Bulmer).
Clouds of Witness
by Dorothy L. Sayers (T. Fisher Unwin, 1926); audiobook read by Ian Carmichael (BBC, 1992/2009)
An unhurried mystery from which the protagonist seems oddly removed. Lord Peter Wimsey is a character cut from the Wodehouse mould, yet the writing—despite its occasionally witty turn of phrase—leaves him untethered, a whimsy (as it were) without true purpose.
Rumpole of the Bailey
by John Mortimer (Penguin, 1978); audiobook read by Robert Hardy (Bolinda, 2014)
Based on the TV series, this book is as much about the tribulations as the trials of Horace Rumpole, an eccentric and oft-thwarted, poetry-quoting English barrister. Rumpole’s wins may be pyrrhic at best, but are humorously bolstered by his free-flowing, sardonic ruminations.
The Big Lebowski
dir. Joel Coen (1998)
The Big Lebowski shouldn’t work—the script is indulgent, the kidnapping/ransom plot meanders convolutedly—yet somehow it does. Jeff Bridges is unforgettable as The Dude (a mellow but acerbic hippie), backed by John Goodman as his Vietnam War- and bowling-obsessed friend.
Mostly Harmless
by Douglas Adams (William Heinemann, 1992); audiobook read by Martin Freeman (Bolinda, 2006)
An ingeniously plotted novel—by far the most coherent of the Hitchhiker’s books—and one in which Adams at last paid attention to characterisation; but the effect is spoiled somewhat by an incongruous (if by then expected) jokiness in the prose style.
Doctor Who: Corpse Marker
by Chris Boucher (BBC, 1999); audiobook read by David Collings (BBC, 2015)
Back in the late 1970s Chris Boucher established the character of Leela, wrote the classic Doctor Who story The Robots of Death, and script-edited Blake’s 7. Little surprise, then, that his robots sequel Corpse Marker showcases the better qualities of all three.