Two tales of troubling times for travellers.

The third batch of stories introduced by the Mighty Tharg himself presents problems in time and space, with no sign of a friendly alien in a police box to come to the rescue.

The longer story is based on Kelvin Gosnell and Eric Bradbury’s 1981 story with a prisoner in the Tower of London awaiting execution. He’s got a very unlikely tale to recount – or at least one that sounds distinctly unlikely to his contemporary audience. As is the case with the best of these Future Shocks, the twist in the tale comes as a surprise yet makes perfect sense – and there’s a great cast bringing it to life (including Rebellion’s own Jason Kingsley and a suitably chilling* performance by Ruth Bratt as the ultimate monarch.

The second story is The English Phlondrutian Phrasebook, which comes from a prog released only a few weeks later. This is an Alan Moore/Brendan McCarthy original that’s expanded quite a bit from the format they used. Nathaniel Tapley and Jake Yapp’s script gives the story an extra edge, with Yapp also thrown in to the deep end as the learner against Lizzie Roper’s teacher.

As before Rick Blything’s sound design gives both stories the necessary aural context, and Tapley’s direction moves things smartly along.

Verdict: Another engaging pair of timeless short trips. 8/10

Paul Simpson

*contractual obligation after last review

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