CONTORTED PASTA

There has been so much good radio on, I have been too busy listening to it to get this list out in a timely fashion. Therefore some of these shows are expiring fairly quickly, and if you want to listen you should get a move on. For assistance in that, I am providing the expiration date for the first available episode, which I hope may be helpful.

FICTIONAL

Fatherland - This dramatisation of Robert Harris' book knocked my socks off when I first heard it 15 years ago, and the more I listen to it the more I am convinced it is the finest radio play ever made. Alternate history, Nazis won the war, hardbitten detective, pesky lady journalist – practically every noir trope, but it goes places. Oh, it goes places. It doesn't get repeated nearly as much as it used to, so don't miss this opportunity. (7 Sep)
A Study in Scarlet - Bert Coules' radio adaptations of the entire Sherlock Holmes canon (and some extras) are one of the best things ever to happen to radio drama, and 4 Extra has happily repeated the longer ones after a long absence. I have linked to the first episode of A Study in Scarlet but once you launch the player it should take you through The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Valley of Fear as well. (2 Sep)
The 39 Steps - I think I heard this one ages ago, and if memory serves it preserves some rather uncomfortable antisemitism from the book (which I assume the West End play does not) but it is a rollicking good jape otherwise. Plus, Tom Baker! (19 Sep)
Evil Under the Sun - I haven't heard this one yet, but the others in this series of Poirot adaptations have been very good so I assume this is as well. I don't like Christie's milieu as much as Doyle's – what can I say, I'm stuck in 1910 – but that's nothing against the production team here who really know how to put a radio play together. (20 Sep)
Only You Can Save Mankind - The aliens a pre-teen boy is fighting in his video game suddenly surrender, and demand safe conduct out of the war zone as per the Geneva Convention. Terry Pratchett takes the twist of Ender's Game and uses it as a starting place, exploring important ideas about humanity in the process. As a radio production this one leaves something to be desired, but it's still worth listening, especially if you haven't read the book. (18 Sep)
Journey to the Centre of the Earth - Unlike the book, which reads like 'everything we know about geology in 1864 held together with gossamer threads of plot', this adaptation focuses more on the adventure, and does a good job of subterranean atmosphere. (12 Sep)


FACTUAL

The Mark Steel Lecture - Always interesting and engagingly presented, the episode I've linked to is about Oliver Cromwell but everything else Steel talks about is worth a listen too. (1 Sep)
All The Planet's Wonders - A refreshingly joyful exploration of, in this case, astronomy, but the whole series will lift your spirits with wonder and curiosity. (3 Sep)
Radiolab - This series is a huge hit in podcast land, but I find it overproduced to the point of distraction so I've never really got into it. However, live shows cannot be edited to Kingdom Come, and I enjoyed this one – mainly about what killed the dinosaurs – hugely. (8 Sep)
Meet David Sedaris - It took me a while to come around to Mr Sedaris but I know lots of people like him a lot, so if you are one of those people, or wonder if you might be, here is your heads-up that his series of essay readings is back on Radio 4. (27 Aug)
How Perkin Brought Purple to the People - I haven't listened to this programme yet, but I know this story from James Burke, and it's a good one! There is no natural dye that gives you magenta, so a huge range of colours was unavailable to fashion, until someone created one from a fossil fuel byproduct. (indefinite)
The Infinite Monkey Cage - Radio 4's classic irreverent science show is back, this time discussing one of Dreamy Professor Brian Cox's favourite subjects: black holes. Recorded with an online audience! (indefinite)
You're Dead To Me - This series of history podcasts got at least ten pages of my book done. The host is the head geek behind Horrible Histories, then every episode he brings in a different expert and a comedian to discuss a historical subject for just under an hour. I'm pretty sure I've linked to it before, but it's started updating again. (indefinite)
Intrigue: The Ratline - Loving family man Otto Wachter died mysteriously in Rome a few years after the end of WWII. Could this have anything to do with what he got up to when a high ranking officer in the SS? If you enjoyed Fatherland you may find this a good chaser; its incredible twists and turns take you for quite a ride. (indefinite)

FUNNY

That Mitchell and Webb Sound - After taking their show to roaring success on TV, David Mitchell and Robert Webb returned to radio for one last go in 2013. They have lost none of their genius. (31 Aug)
Cabin Pressure - R4 has apparently finished its rerun of the best radio sitcom ever with Series 2 – I can only assume they're saving the rest for when the country needs a laugh again this winter. If you've missed it up till now, you can still listen to the last four episodes. (23 Aug)
John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme - More genius sketch comedy! Honestly the name should be enough to get you to listen, but if you need further convincing, well, there just isn't a dud sketch in the whole show, and it's up to, what, eight series now? (3 Sep)
Old Harry's Game - The sitcom set in Hell really hits its stride in Series 2, when the overcrowding situation in Hell forces Satan to try to make humanity a little less sinful. (indefinite?)
Listen Against - This started as a topical comedy, where the week's programming on Radio 4 got chopped and boiled into an absurd gumbo, but it's funny enough that it keeps getting rerun as a comedy in its own right. Possibly the most self-referential thing R4 has ever made. (29 Aug)
Agendum - In a similar vein of spoofing the news, this one cocks a snook at in-depth investigative reporting and punditry. (7 Sep)
Radio Active - Dipping back into the deeper archives for this one, another sort of mock news programme from the 1980s, with roving reporters and funny names and running gags ... It should be tired by now but it still makes me laugh. (2 Sep)
The Wildebeest Years - Never before have so many puns been crammed into 28 minutes. (28 Aug)
Talking and Not Talking - A rare female-fronted silly sketch comedy; one of the best for recurring characters, including Carol who is Fine and the magnificent China Lion Lady. (1 Sep)
The Horne Section - I suppose it's a variety show, but I think of it as 'a children's show for grownups,' with skits, songs, and a generally uplifting gentle whimsy that I think we all need right now. (4 Sep)
I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue - The antidote to panel games which has now become the model for panel games. They're rerunning some classic episodes so fill yer boots with such immortal rounds as One Song To The Tune Of Another and Sound Charades. (2 Sep)
Reincarnathan - R4's comedy output has not been stellar of late; this sitcom about a failed human trying to make good through a series of animal reincarnations is not genius, but is the best new thing I've heard in a while. (29 Aug)
King Cutler - Some people will listen to Ivor Cutler and think 'Is this a joke?' Others will listen and think 'Is this a joke?' but not be able to stop listening and, perhaps, in the right mood, double over with laughter. Which are you? (20 Sep)
Paul Sinha's General Knowledge - The quizmaster comes back with his arms full of facts, which he effortlessly strings together in front of our very ears. (18 Sep)

Cabin Pressure Series 4, Episode 6: Yverdon-les-Bains

A letter came for you, Skip ...

Probably not the best episode to be starting with, but when you've been following the arcs even a little bit, boy is it good.

Something I find very difficult is drawing a character looking at the 'camera' (i.e. making eye contact with the audience) so of course I pick a scene which has three characters doing just that. Not only do they have to look right individually, they all have to be looking at the same camera (i.e. me) – yet once I got Arthur right, Carolyn would be looking at the top of my head, or Douglas at my shoulder. I wish I could say I learned something, but I think mainly what I learned was what difference a few molecules of graphite make in the impression one gets of eye direction.

Just a small basket this week as I haven't had much freedom to graze the schedules ...

Cabin Pressure is back, this time a rerun of Series 4, which has reminded me I have overdue drawings. One of them is the illustration for Timbuktu, and while I've done my duty to Uskerty it always bears listening again.

Also a reminder that the last two Double Acts are only available for a little more time, so catch 'em while you can!

The Brothers Faversham: Marcus - The comedy fictional documentary series about Victorian Britain's most prominent siblings, in this case lead actor Marcus Faversham. Last week's Maximillian has two of my favourite spoof ads.

Warhorses of Letters - The final episode. Really this time. Probably.

I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue - This episode is certificate 14A

Talking and Not Talking - Laura Solon being brilliantly silly some more

Old Harry's Game - Series 2 is probably my favourite series.

99p Challenge - Barmy extemporzing on arbitrary challenges for almost no money at all

The Grand Babylon Hotel - Not exactly that much like Grand Budapest Hotel in specifics, but there's definitely an influence there.

The Harpoon - A Boy's Own magazine for the wireless

The Horne Section - with Matt Lucas and his potato song

OK, drawing time! Bye!

Okay, so, the Cabin Pressure finale ... best ever or best ever? Yes.

If a good landing is one you can walk away from, and a great landing one where you can reuse the plane, then the superlative has not yet been wordsmithed for how perfect that landing was. What magic is it that has an ending make the whole thing even better than it already was? It retroactively made already awesome episodes even more awesome. That just shouldn't be allowed. (But I'm glad it was.)

Don’t mind me, I’ll just be blissing out on Cabin Pressure over here ...

And also I brought uh, two jigsaws, a book of wordsearches, and some cables from my drawer ... they sort of came out along with everything else, and I thought, we could have fun trying to untangle them.

I had an eight-hour flight, and I thought, how can I fill it up? Well, doing a meticulously rendered pencil drawing of a cluttered room should be good.

It still wasn’t finished when we landed. (I did spend a lot of time looking at pretty clouds, though. And had a nap.)

Sadly I don’t think I will be able to listen live to the finale as 1:30pm is when out-of-town family wants to be doing things, not stuck at home listening to something with no pictures. Please spare me spoilers! I will listen as soon as I can!

I wanted to draw Herc and Carolyn, but the lines I most wanted to illustrate didn't have them together, so you get a nice diptych instead.

1. You simply must have the most awfully lovely super-scrumptious flight.

The voice-off between Roger Allam and Tony Head has to be one of the classic moments in radio comedy. Glorious. And it brings us one of my favourite descriptions, 'like Stephen Fry's favourite uncle' – a lesser writer may have been proud to show off the word 'avuncular' but Mr Finnemore evolves it two or three steps into something even more illustrative and also hilarious. avuncular < Stephen Fry < Stephen Fry's uncle < Stephen Fry's favourite uncle = the epitome of avuncularity. Brilliance.

Herc's design was inspired by one of the crowd characters Shiyoon designed for Frozen, who I had to turn around when this series was airing. I have no idea if he made it into the final movie, but he was a perfect Herc. I deliberately did not look to see if I still had his rotation on file before drawing this, so how close the similarity might be after a few years is anyone's guess.

2. Do you have anything less ... sharky?

A good friend and former landlady is the most wonderfully saintly woman with the most sinister smile, so I tried to do some justice to that with Carolyn. Inspiration also, more obviously, from Bruce the Shark. I attempted this drawing a few months ago and failed miserably so I'm pretty happy it showed up when it needed to.

Of course, if we’d been drinking vodka, you wouldn’t be able to smell it!

My main agenda with drawing this was to make Martin’s hat look better on Arthur than Martin.

I knew I still had Limerick on the books, but I had legitimately forgotten about Fitton, despite having thumbnailed it last weekend. So here it is at last! And that's me caught up, save for today's episode (Qikiqtarjuaq). I did a pre-sketch but it's going to need a lot of elbow grease, and my wrist is telling me the elbow may not be the problem here. So, tomorrow. Probably. Maybe.

I blame the Chinese.

I don't know how many times I listened to this episode this spring.

No, literally, I don't; I had to re-import the files into iTunes so the play count is all off.

(it was a lot.)

Ahahahaha, ha, yes, when I was a girl – no, when I was a boy – I was never a girl.

Hands up everyone who didn't realise at first that there was a different guy doing Martin in this episode ...

Apparently this is considered one of the weaker episodes? I've never had a problem with it ... it gets a bit awkward at times but that's kind of the whole idea behind it, isn't it? Audience awkwardness is the definition of sympathy, i.e. 'feeling-with'. So I think it's tremendously successful. Then again I've found myself cornered in my fair share of conversations, so maybe I'm specially placed to appreciate it.

I've been looking forward to drawing Linda for days now. She's loosely based on someone I knew in Grade 7, who I thought was one of the most beautiful girls I'd ever seen, but who was also a bit of a bully. Not that I think Linda's a bully at all, she just seemed a good fit for the look, and gave me an excuse to draw her.

For the record, I haven't forgotten Limerick, in fact I have it scanned and ready to colour, I just need to give it a decent chunk of time, so you probably won't see it till the weekend.

'Obsessive' is just a word the disorganized use for the focused.

Gdansk should have been the first episode of Series 2, but for broadcast it got swapped with Helsinki for reasons. Because of this, Helsinki was the first episode I listened to.

I'm not exactly sure how I missed the first series, because I listen to a lot of Radio 4 and the 6:30 comedy slot is hallowed time. But I missed it. Months later, a good friend of mine, who was a fan of Benedict Cumberbatch before he was cool, started bugging me to listen. 'Eh, it's a sitcom,' I replied, preferring panel games and sketch shows; 'you just like it because it's got your man Ben in it.' A little while later, one of her friends (more of a R4 fan than a Cumberbatch one) also suggested it would be something I would like, and I waved that away as well. I think it's because the show sounded like Deep Trouble, which hadn't struck a chord.

This was sometime between falling in love with the Worst Journey radio play and getting sucked into Scott historiography big time, so I was looking for things to extend the original dramatic pleasure and decided to look up the radio career of the actor who played Cherry so perfectly. Lo, he was in an episode of this Cabin Pressure thing! Radio 4 rather craftily ran (or reran) Series 2 shortly after this discovery, so I tuned in, and wouldn't you know my luck, Matt Green was in the first episode. And it was good. Really amazingly good. I began to see the point those friends were trying to make. And then the credits rolled and the mystery was solved – it was the responsibility of John Finnemore, someone whose work I knew from The Now Show and That Mitchell and Webb Sound, and whose name seemed to be attached consistently to comedy of the highest quality. He was one of the few people on my list of Anything These People Do, I Will Listen To. I was a little cheesed off at said friends that they hadn't mentioned the fact of his creatorship when they first tried selling me on the show, but pleased enough that they got it on my radar I didn't make a fuss. The rest is history.

And Matt Green was only ever in one episode ... *

Anyway, because of this origin story, I drew Kieran as a 14-year-old version of Cherry. To some, he is the most irritating character in the whole series, but I can't hate him, I owe him too much.

*Correction: he also played Amsterdam ATC in Gdansk, but I never recognise him in that so I keep forgetting.