The Inimitable Jeeves
by P. G. Wodehouse (Herbert Jenkins, 1923); audiobook read by Jonathan Cecil (BBC, 1990/2009)
This fix-up novel brings together eleven Jeeves & Wooster short stories, the linking thread of which is Bertie’s friend Bingo Little, whose compulsive falling in love brings endless trouble to his old school chum. Jonathan Cecil’s reading lends zest to the mishaps.
The West End Horror: A Posthumous Memoir of John H. Watson, M.D.
by Nicholas Meyer (E. P. Dutton, 1976)
Unlike so many of the wannabe Sherlock Holmes writers now unleashed upon the world, Meyer captured much of Arthur Conan Doyle’s tone and style, his pastiche cheapened only by an unseemly predilection for shoehorning Holmes and Watson into meeting famous historical personages.
Doctor Who: Mawdryn Undead
by Peter Grimwade; dir. Peter Moffatt (BBC, 1983)
Doctor Who’s take on the Flying Dutchman offers up what should have been a staggering moral quandary, played subtly by Peter Davison but undercut by the plot’s bumbling Brigadier resolution. Turlough is a welcome addition, the exuberant synthesiser music perhaps less so.
Carry On, Jeeves
by P. G. Wodehouse (Herbert Jenkins, 1925); audiobook read by Jonathan Cecil (1991)
This collection of short stories forms the perfect introduction to one of literature’s great characters: the valet Jeeves, who carries himself with a reserved brand of Holmesian all-knowingness, manipulates social situations and takes on a near omnipotence in saving Bertie Wooster’s bacon.
Doctor Who: Vengeance on Varos
by Philip Martin; dir. Ron Jones (BBC, 1985)
A rare instance of a decent Sixth Doctor script. Colin Baker is still left with little to do but (a) run about and (b) look smugly unconcerned, but Varos at least gives a sign of how good his tenure could have been.
Horse Pie
by Dick King-Smith (Doubleday, 1993); audiobook read by Andrew Sachs (Bolinda, 2014)
Dick King-Smith knew his animals and knew how to write for children, crafting a gentle middle grade story of an old donkey whose morals save the day. Andrew Sachs pitches his reading nicely, bringing distinct personality to horses, donkey and humans alike.
The Navy Lark, Series Six, Volume 1
(BBC, 1963)
Though tending to hammer the same nails over and over, radio sitcom The Navy Lark (any episode) showcased all the ingredients necessary to sustain a long-running comedy. Familiarity brought the audience close, breeding contentedness. Starring Jon Pertwee and Ronnie Barker, among others.
Psmith in the City
by P. G. Wodehouse (A & C Black, 2010); audiobook read by Jonathan Cecil (Chivers, 1997)
Wodehouse’s glib paean to the banking profession exhibits some of the style but little of the intricate substance of his later works. The loquacious Psmith has his charms, yet the narrative voice is comparatively lacking, the plot rather straightforward in its weave.
The Professionals #5: Blind Run
by Ken Blake (Sphere, 1979)
Although not one of the best Professionals novelisations — a verdict that rests as much on the quality of the three episodes depicted as upon the writing — Blind Run nevertheless captures much of the on-screen action and the charisma of its three leads.
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’).