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Series One

NOVEMBER 2005 - DECEMBER 2005

(2 70-MINUTE EPISODES)

  1. WILDTHYME AT LARGE     2. THE DEVIL IN MS WILDTHYME

With the third series of Iris’s audio adventures recently announced by Big Finish,

it’s high time that we got round to covering the first. Though commonly referred to as ‘Series 1’ now, there were only two Iris audios to begin with, released under the New Worlds banner in November 2005, a few months after the excellent short story anthology Wildthyme on Top. Sadly, these two productions do not match that publication in terms of quality.

Wildthyme at Large

Wildthyme at Large is the better of the two productions; perhaps not surprising as it was written by Iris’s creator, Paul Magrs. It’s also very important in Iris’s ongoing story, since it introduces the now-legendary time traveller and art critic, Panda.

The set-up is appealing. Tom - Iris’s long-suffering companion - left her company ten years ago, and is now making a living writing up their adventures as best-selling fantasy novels. He holds book signings, schmoozes with agents, goes on television shows where he claims that Iris is real and that he really travels with her - which works as a great gimmick and has upped his sales - and at the end of the day, he returns home to his sophisticated friend Panda. No explanation is given as to why Tom’s closest companion is a talking stuffed toy, and indeed, why should there be? He’s Panda. He’s a law unto himself.

A fracas ensues when Miss Wildthyme comes barging in to a signing, presenting Tom with a crystal containing all of her memories and dreams, which she asks him to hold onto for safe-keeping. Once Iris has re-appeared in his life, Tom begins to feel both guilt for passing her adventures off as fiction, and a longing to return to a life of time travel with her. However, Iris is off gallivanting around time and space with Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men. Thus ensues a lot of old rot, as dark forces trail both Tom and Iris for the secrets of the magical bus…

Katy Manning is as over-the-top and marvellous as you’d expect in her first true starring role, no longer an interloper in another time traveller’s series but a trans-temporal adventuress in her own right. David Benson also nails Panda immediately, and he’s probably the best thing in the play; his sardonic put-downs raise more smiles than anything else on offer. It’s hardly surprising that he’s the character chosen to present the blurb - he can makes a load of old nonsense sound rather sophisticated. Unfortunately though, the remainder of the cast aren’t anywhere near as good. Ortis Deley may look the part as Tom, but that’s hardly necessary for an audio production, and he’s not up to carrying whole scenes. None of the supporting cast make much of an impact either, although Duncan Wisbey’s turn as Robin Hood has its moments. Ultimately though, despite the daft appeal of the basic premise, it all gets boring rather quickly, and outstays its welcome even at only seventy minutes long.

The Devil in Ms Wildthyme

Wildthyme at Large may not have been the perfect start to Iris’s audio career, but it’s a good deal better than the second instalment, the dull nonsense that is The Devil in Ms Wildthyme. There’s a decent idea at the core of the story - the smashing of the prior episode’s memory crystal has allowed Iris’s memories to escape, and now she, Tom and Panda are finding that their identities have all been mixed up. Panda falls in love with Iris, we get glimpses into the sordid adventures of Iris’s Barbarella incarnation, and the incumbent Iris develops sudden panic attacks, rendering her helpless. Also, Tom begins to turn into a certain stuffed animal, with straw protruding from his ears. Meanwhile, a clinic dedicated to removing mysterious bodily lumps is revealed as a hotbed of demonic activity, and a great evil shall rise…

Some intriguing, creepy and amusing ideas, to be sure, but the whole thing is hard to follow from the outset, and soon collapses into complete incoherence. I had little idea what exactly was happening by the climax, but to be honest that’s as much down to my losing interest in the rather dull characters and the dreadful performances of the supporting cast. Sadly, these first attempts at bringing Iris to audio stardom are deeply flawed, and I’m not surprised that it took almost four years before Big Finish decided to try again. Thankfully, the second wave of audio productions learned from the mistakes of the first, and provide a far more entertaining experience.

Copyright © Daniel Tessier 2011

Daniel Tessier has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

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