Neil Gaiman - Neverwhere (BBC Radio 4)
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| Not the actual BBC Radio 4 logo, but bloody brilliant design. |
If you think radio plays are for the lower class, think again. The BBC has proven that radio plays are far from dead, and is possibly the only non-musical auditory art form. I think.
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| Who's the guy at the back who looks like a wrestler/Guy Fawkes mask? |
British radio, however, seems to be going the path of its American animated cousin, opting for famous A-list actors over legendary but not-quite-famous voice actors. We've seen it before, but sparingly – Cabin Pressure had Benedict Cumberbatch and Roger Allam, Absolute Power had Stephen Fry – but Neverwhere boasts of maybe the most expensive radio drama cast ever assembled.
- James McAvoy
- Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones)
- David Harewood (Homeland)
- Sophie Okonedo (Doctor Who)
- Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock)
- Bernard Cribbins (Doctor Who)
- Anthony Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
- Christopher Lee (THE Christopher Lee)
- Neil Gaiman (I know, right?)
Radio plays can be produced in two ways. First, it can be performed (and recorded) in front of a live studio audience, employing traditional techniques like using coconuts for the clippity-clop of horses. And the second way, as done by Neverwhere, is to apply the same techniques used in film soundtracks. The result is a rich, multi-layered tapestry of sound, enhanced with pretty accurate sound effects and reverb, producing an effect so flawless that you could just as well be watching a movie with your eyes closed.
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| Cumberbatch out-alpha-male-ing McAvoy. |
With 5.1 surround sound as the standard for digital broadcast, the question to ask is: Would Neverwhere sound better while lying on a bean bag, being bombarded with the full 6-speaker set-up? Chew on that.
Neil Gaiman - Neverwhere. UK. 2013.
Original rating: 8.0 / 10
Excellent directing and sound design by Dirk Maggs and Heather Larmour: + 0.4
Final rating: 8.4 /10
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2 comments :
Guiles! Anthony Head is also Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Watcher, ehem. Hehehe.
Ayan, I changed it na. Haha.
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