Showing titles in Dramatisations

PRIMEra: Last thirteen million years. Technology: Military (blatant), limited time-awareness. It’s perhaps unwise to think of the Sontarans as a species, as such. A homunculus breed hatched by the million and engineered for full-engagement warfare, the Sontaran military machine is regarded by many time-active cultures as an “occupational hazard”: a force of nature rather than a race, compelled by duty and genetics to acquire new technologies for its endless war effort. It should be remembered, however, that with the backing of a higher power even the crudest of breeds can become something quite different.

Even before the outbreak of the 'War in Heaven', Faction Paradox was regarded as the most unpredictable (and opportunistic) of the time-active powers. Aware of the precarious nature of history - but under no obligation to protect it - while the other Great Houses were still attempting to uphold a “universal order”, the Faction was following its own, far more ambiguous, protocols.

Right from its creation, the secret intelligence service of Great Britain was touched by a streak of ritual: its initiations were usually occult, its codes based on astrological or alchemical ciphers. When Faction Paradox first entered Earth history in the 1700s, the Service took an immediate interest in the new arrivals’ own ritual practices, and in the inevitable feud between British and Faction agents no single figure was as important as Sabbath.

Era: Human historical (later period). Technology: Military (self-contained), non-time-active. By the end of the fifth millennium AD, the homunculi created by the human species - clones, cross-breeds, fighting-machines and artificial intelligences of all descriptions - outnumbered humanity by more than thirteen to one: But even so, there were no creations like those of Peking. Heading a 1,000-strong army of individually-crafted automata, the 12 commanders were self-aware embodiments of the oriental zodiac, forged to a strict astrological design, and said to incorporate history itself in their operating program.

The demise of Earth was followed by a period in which there was, effectively, no such thing as the human species; a period in which humanity suddenly found itself released from its heritage, with genetic manipulation and vast tracts of space separating the survivors from everything they’d once been.

It’s now acknowledged that the Great Houses were largely responsible for creating the current shape of history, not simply by interfering in major events (although they may have dabbled) but by engineering the entire framework of history as a single definite structure. What’s less well-known is just how easy it is to access that structure’s foundations. Before the War, it was usual for Great House installations to be linked to the Houses’ “records library”, buried in the framework beneath normal time.

Two classic tales from acclaimed British science fiction writer John Wyndham. In The Chrysalids, ten-year-old David is a happy, ordinary boy, untroubled except for occasional strange dreams about a mysterious city – until he befriends Sophie, who is unlike anybody he has met before: she has...

A Cyber War rages throughout the galaxy. The Earth-aligned worlds are fighting for survival against the cold, emotionless might of the Cyber Bloc - an alliance of planets whose inhabitants have undergone cybernetic conversion in the name of racial superiority.

The year is 1690. Isaac Collins is sailing to America to establish a new life for his family. Suddenly, during a strange and unnatural blizzard, he discovers a single blood-red pearl. A pearl that seems to sing to him.... The pearl will be going on a journey. Passed down through generations, bringing luck both good and bad. But what does it want? Why is its journey so linked to the Collins family? And who will ultimately take ownership of the crimson pearl?

'We're surrounded by the living dead, and you're worried about breaking the law?' Supernatural investigator Tony Peterson is summoned by the devious witch Cassandra Collins to the bustling city of New Orleans. On the trail of the mysterious Voodoo Amulet, they're hunted through bars, hotels, train stations and graveyards by the police, criminals, black magicians and zombies. Can Tony and Cassandra escape with their lives...and their souls?

'Hope is his cruellest torment.' Josette DuPres Collins gambled her soul - and lost it - in an ill-conceived bid to destroy her rival, Angelique. Now the Dark Lord has sent his emissary to bring Josette to her place in hell. Only a last-minute intervention can give her a final chance at redemption. But as Josette struggles to win back her soul, she realizes that her guide's life and soul are inexorably intertwined with her own. And so, as the sands of time flow, Josette begins her final journey....

'One of you is a murderer! None of you are above suspicion. You all had something to lose.' Moments after welcoming his guests to a party, millionaire Harrison Pierce is murdered. But his death is only the first of many as, trapped on an isolated island, his guests start to die in increasingly bizarre ways. Attorney Tony Peterson must join forces with a woman who destroyed his life years before, the beautiful but deadly Cassandra Collins. But can she be trusted?

'My curse...to be the greatest painter who ever lived! And yet to never be able to see them for myself!' The year is 1893, and struggling artist Charles Delaware Tate works alone in a garret in New York City. Frustrated by his lack of artistic genius, he seems doomed to a life of misery and failure. And then he meets Eloise Verinder...and his whole world changes.

'We'll play the game of make believe....' Jenny Collins was once a beautiful singer, married into a rich family. Now she lives locked in a tower at Collinwood. Her husband has left her, her children have been taken away, and the horror and isolation have driven her mad. The only person she ever sees is Beth, the maid who brings her food. Together they play a game - re-creating the past, reliving everything that poor mad Jenny lost.

Welcome to Bigipedia - the omniscient friend you know from your computer and laser watch takes over your PC for 30 minutes in a unique experiment in broadwebcasting.... This is the complete first and second series. Launched on an unsuspecting public, Bigipedia is a massive mash-up of Google, Microsoft, Apple, Wikipedia, MySpace, Yahoo and Amazon, all vying for your attention, love, money and occasionally vital organs. Sponsored by Chianti, the world’s worst-ever beverage with its series of ever more off-putting straplines (“Chianti - legally, wine”).

Carolyn Stoddard is lost. Widowed at an early age, she's the lonely rich girl, drinking her life away as her friends grow up and move on. But Carolyn's life is about to change. Because Carolyn is about to be given a set of choices. And those choices will determine whether she is allowed to live or die. It's closing time at the Blue Whale, but for Carolyn Stoddard the night is far from over. It's time to face the music....Dreams that are becoming nightmares for them both.

"Don't live in the darkness, Amy Jennings." Adolescence is difficult enough, especially when your family members are vampires and werewolves. But somehow Amy Jennings survived it. Now a young woman, Amy has come back to Collinsport, determined to forget the horrors of childhood and start anew. But growing up means confronting the truth about the world around you and Amy's rite of passage has only just begun.

Cyrus Longworth has a secret. On the outside he's the quiet handyman helping out with odd jobs. But his neighbours don't know about the voice inside his head. Sabrina Jennings has a secret. She's just moved in across the street, here to teach at the local school. But her new husband is nowhere to be seen. They could live happily ever after. But the dark secrets of Collinsport cast long shadows....

Edinburgh, 1920. Seizing upon the possibility of a reunion with his closest comrade from the trenches, Dorian arrives in the capital city of Scotland on Halloween! Guisers are out in force, disapproving gentlemen walk the streets...and a sinister department store has a great deal more on offer than it might initially advertise. Note: The Confessions of Dorian Gray contains adult material and is not suitable for younger listeners.

Kew, 1879. On the verge of adulthood, the sudden arrival of a forbidding housekeeper makes Dorian Gray’s life a living hell.... Kew, 2012. Now converted into flats, Dorian’s family home has become a very real hell for his latest tenants, and the memories of his childhood are finally catching up with him.... Note: The Confessions of Dorian Gray contains adult material and is not suitable for younger listeners.