This second story - Good Night, Sweet Ladies - sees Benny arriving on the Moon of Adolin. Only the sights aren't quite what was described to her. Instead of craters and spacewalking, there are two confused survivors struggling through an abandoned labyrinth.
Be warned: Although I won't spoil the contents of this story, I will assume you've already listened to The Revolution.
From the opening monologue Benny gives that easily manages to chill your soul all the way to the core, you find yourself imagining the worst about to happen. That there is no hope or way out. It's evidenced further by lack of Doctor in this story. Or Ace for that matter. Well not totally, but it's more of a cameo than anything else. Good Night Sweet Ladies is a classic Benny stand alone tale as she continues her assignment for the Doctor by looking for Ace on the Moon of Adolin. The opening scene sets up what is sure to be a grim and frightfully entertaining story - then it doesn't!
I will start off by praising Lisa Bowerman's performance as Benny. This is one of her best portrayals yet and that is saying something as Benny is so full of life and fun that most of her adventures are so enjoyable. Unfortunately Good Night Sweet Ladies has third party obstacles that drags down your enjoyment of the tale. This script features a small cast consisting of three other characters. One of whom is John Finnemore who plays a character called Steven Day who becomes Benny's companion for this adventure.
I praise John for almost literally summoning Day off the page and bringing him to life. It's a shame the character is so annoying and boring and irritating to listen to that he might as well have stayed on the page. If he isn't reminding everyone how scared he is ever five minutes, then he's complaining how they should turn and head back every other minute. You really struggle to enjoy this story with him around and he's not the only one!
Sheila Reid plays Claire, a woman who speaks in cryptic tones. Cryptic is good and entertaining, but for this tale, there really is a valid case for too much of a good thing. While the cryptic answers annoys both Benny and the audience, the eventual payoff is worth it. There is a dark and sad secret surrounding this character that makes Benny's speech at the beginning even more unbearable to listen to a second time.
Another thing that jumped out at me was the pacing of this story. It's extremely padded (mostly by Day and his list of complaints) which made it difficult for me personally to listen to the whole thing in one go. I think I spend four or five days on a story that was only 52:01 minutes long. As opposed to the Revolution which I listened to immediately and sat through until the end. This story is a personal one for Benny and had she not been saddled with such a frustrating supporting cast, I really believe I could've enjoyed this story quite easily.
Rating this episode: 5/10. Right idea, wrong execution!
Catch up with the first review looking at "The Revolution"
I will start off by praising Lisa Bowerman's performance as Benny. This is one of her best portrayals yet and that is saying something as Benny is so full of life and fun that most of her adventures are so enjoyable. Unfortunately Good Night Sweet Ladies has third party obstacles that drags down your enjoyment of the tale. This script features a small cast consisting of three other characters. One of whom is John Finnemore who plays a character called Steven Day who becomes Benny's companion for this adventure.
I praise John for almost literally summoning Day off the page and bringing him to life. It's a shame the character is so annoying and boring and irritating to listen to that he might as well have stayed on the page. If he isn't reminding everyone how scared he is ever five minutes, then he's complaining how they should turn and head back every other minute. You really struggle to enjoy this story with him around and he's not the only one!
Sheila Reid plays Claire, a woman who speaks in cryptic tones. Cryptic is good and entertaining, but for this tale, there really is a valid case for too much of a good thing. While the cryptic answers annoys both Benny and the audience, the eventual payoff is worth it. There is a dark and sad secret surrounding this character that makes Benny's speech at the beginning even more unbearable to listen to a second time.
Another thing that jumped out at me was the pacing of this story. It's extremely padded (mostly by Day and his list of complaints) which made it difficult for me personally to listen to the whole thing in one go. I think I spend four or five days on a story that was only 52:01 minutes long. As opposed to the Revolution which I listened to immediately and sat through until the end. This story is a personal one for Benny and had she not been saddled with such a frustrating supporting cast, I really believe I could've enjoyed this story quite easily.
Rating this episode: 5/10. Right idea, wrong execution!
Catch up with the first review looking at "The Revolution"
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