What does it sound like?:
This is series of about 20 books but I’m singing the praises here of the superb Radio 4 dramatisations that I discovered about 18 months ago and have been working my way through.
The stories revolve around Charles, an actor now well out of the first flush of his career. Charles has all the cynicism of someone steeped in a profession that hasn’t delivered on its promises to him and yet he remains utterly in love with, as well as he tries to hide it at times. Charles has such a knack of being wrapped up in murder and intrigue that these could have been called Midsummer Mummers as the body count grows in each series of 4 episodes.
What does it all *mean*?
That might put some of you off as it sounds like standard potboiler fayre but the ace in the hole here is Bill Nighy as Charles who brings a warmth and humour to the part and the scripts that lift these way above routine Afternoon Play Radio 4 material (good though those can be, of course). The supporting casts are never less than good but it’s Nighy who makes it far more than the sum of its parts. If you had to pigeonhole these it would be “comedy drama” I suppose – certainly they are funny and charming rather than dark. The music stabs between scenes are fantastically Afterword-friendly as well – Charles could easily post here in his gaps between jobs.
Goes well with…
With 15 of these to enjoy, mainly in 4 half hour episodes per story, I didn’t dip into the source material until the last week when I decided to read the most recent book. Interestingly, it’s darker than any of the adaptations and far less humorous; whether that’s the overall style of the books or just a result of the plot (Charles finally starts to come to terms with his drink problem), I can’t say, but I didn’t enjoy the book as much as the radio plays.
Release Date:
All available but outside of iPlayer Radio releases you’ll need to buy online or CD
Might suit people who like…
A comfort blanket
Sounds like fun. I’ll give them a go.
Dive in anywhere. There is a tiny story arc over all of them but you really don’t need to listen to them in any order – I didn’t
I love the books but I’m still confused how he manages to get employment as I don’t think he has ever received a good review for his acting.
I’ll give these a go thanks.
Wonderful review. You have me totally convinced me that I must treat myself to these.
Bill Nighy is a national treasure.
Just watch Lone Scherfig’s Their Finest if you don’t believe me.
Haven’t read many of these, but my favourite title, as opposed to book, is Cast in Order of Disappearance.
Probably my favourite show anywhere – radio or tv. Jeremy Front deserves a lot of credit for adapting Simon Brett’s books, as he brings them up to date without being glaringly contemporary.
You’re totally right, Ainsley: in the latest mystery, Charles has an in-depth discussion about how the US version of Rubber Soul has a different track listing. In a previous episode, the linking music was the vastly-underrated Sittin’ on my Sofa by the Kinks. Charles Paris is the Afterword made into a comedy-drama.
There’s only one complete four-parter on the bbc at the moment. Here’s a link:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000j9jx/episodes/player
If you want more, Fourble is your friend.
https://fourble.co.uk/podcast/charlesparis1
And from there, if you have AllMyTube or one of the other download helpers, you can download…
Fourble is an astounding resource, btw – never come across it before.
Me neither – linked to a download of 80 episodes of Ed Reardon’s Week. Result!!
Oh yes, working my way though Ed’s adventures, a most enjoyable way to wile away the time