SNS: Cruel Immortality

Next up in the SNS audios: Cruel Immortality by Nigel Fairs.

STEEL: I used to work with someone.
MRS P: Was she very pretty?
STEEL: Probably.

The main problem with Cruel Immortality, and this is a problem with all of Nigel Fairs' scripts, is that it comes across as severly padded. The first episode is something that should have been done in about five minutes. At least, this is the impression on a first listening. On a second listening, I can now see how Nigel is placing in all the elements he will use later, which is script writing as it should be, but one wonders if it should take two listenings to get it. (There are many stories that do require more than one go-through, but considering that most people only have hte patience for a first and only go-through, can they be successful stories, no matter how rewarding the second go-through is?)

The big "secret" of the piece is pretty obvious from episode one. There are still some twists, but the basic relationship is straight forward. It would be nice if Steel picked up on it as quickly as the audience does, but we have to endure a bad Wilde reference for an episode before it comes clear to him (the last 'twist' is the one that took me the longest to realise, but I got it around the same time as she did (he writes cryptically)).

(There are some other things that don't make sense no matter the how many times I go through this: Why 'Ted'? Why do the carers leave Steel and the Beast alone? Why were the Beasts the way they were? Hey ho...)

This story is a sequel to Water Like A Stone in some ways, and in other ways it follows up on Adventure 6 (the Cafe one). Some references are more overt than others (the music man was definitely one that I only got on the second listening). In true SNS style, some plot points aren't made entirely clear, but we finally get a hint as to what happened after the TV series.

I'm sure the actors in this are all well known and highly venerated, but I can't say I have heard of them before. They all perform well, but I can't gush like the producer can.

(There is a bonus disc included for subscribers, detailing behind the scenes of the "first 11 stories". However, as there are only 11 stories over the two seasons, I might just wait a while before listening to talk about the later stories.)

This script was penned by Nigel Fairs to quickly fill in a gap after Gary Russell pulled out. It has many of his usual problems with padding, but is far better after a second listening.