Critical Praise for Kaldor City: Taren Capel

 

"The strongest Kaldor City of the series so far... Performance-wise, Kaldor City is as rich as ever; it's Darrow, Russell Hunter and Scott Fredericks' Carnell that make the last 15 minutes so unbeatable. Also putting in good work are Trevor Cooper and Brian Croucher, as the delightfully violent Rull and Cotton."
--Vanessa Bishop, Doctor Who Magazine

"As the Tarenist plot grows, Taren Capel reveals yet more layers of double-crossing and deceit amongst the primary characters... the actors make the most of their characters' uneasy relationships, and the barbed interactions in Taren Capel are among their best. Both plot and characterisation are first-rate. It is notable that the female characters are strongly defined. This fourth episode manages to be both an engaging story in its own right and an unsettling taste of what is to come."
--Gina and Gemma, Celestial Toyroom

"The cast, the production quality, the stories, are all a real joy. I think Taren Capel is the best so far. I take my hat off to Alistair Lock.... when I was listening to Taren Capel I was thinking Alistair Lock must have set off a nuclear bomb in a glass factory. But it is of course the small details as well as the massive explosions that help to create the sense of a real world. I think what is a real pleasure for me above all is to have something intelligent that I will be able to listen to again and again and get something new from it each time. "
--Marilyn Burghes

"I think the thing that impresses me most is that they are consistently top quality in all departments - story, direction, acting, characterisation, production, music, etc. I don't think there's a weak link. I view the series as the more adult and intelligent end of the audio market."
--Pete Gilham

"I've been listening to Taren Capel and... well to be honest I'm now really impatient to hear Checkmate. I thought this was the most viscerally enjoyable of the Kaldor Citys to date."
--Daniel O'Mahony

"Damn fine. Jaw-dropping dramatic moments. Every well-crafted second of those attacks and explosions was appreciated. And the voice artists should be no less complimented just because they showed up and showed off yet again."
--Peter Fagan

"Fans of the Doctor Who related aspects of this series should particularly appreciate this instalment. David Bailie joins his former Storm Mine colleagues Russell Hunter [Uvanov] and David Collings [Paullus] to re-create the role of Dask, alias Taren Capel.... But is Paullus really the name of Collings’ character, or is he actually someone else? Intriguing... By the conclusion of this intricate narrative, it is difficult to tell for sure who is working for whom and who is only pretending to be working for whom. ."
--Richard McGinlay, Sci-Fi Online

"It’s actually quite difficult to review the fourth in a series when you have already been greatly impressed with the first three offerings; what do you say without repeating yourself? Suffice it to say that this is unquestionably the best so far, which I consider to be an astonishing achievement in the light of what has gone before. The script is flawless, the acting is as superb as ever, the characterisation continues to deepen (Carnell’s part particularly catches the attention in this respect), and of course there is plenty of action. It seems almost unfair to single out any particular individual, but let’s say there is a certain explosion for which Alistair Lock deserves some kind of award! But the entire production is a feast for the ears and the imagination on many different levels, and it is a great credit to every single person involved."
--Sarah McEvoy, AVON

"The best yet, in my opinion. As always the sound effects give a great background atmosphere and enable the listener to picture scenes far better than some theatre shows. Carnell is most definitely the star of the show, calmly playing chess in the face of adversity... Rull and Cotton are, of course, still the voice of the common man with little time for their superiors and give us a few snippets of what life is like on Kaldor to boot."
--Gina the Dormouse, Lysator

"One of the notable qualities of the three previous releases is that they're not afraid to shift the balance of power and the individual characters' allegiances. The latest installment not only continues the trend but upsets the board, reshaping the whole landscape of the series much sooner than I would've expected. It compares very favorably with the "Blake's 7" end-of-season cliffhangers. One of the complaints about the series in DWM has been the lack of any major use of the robots in the story. Personally I thought that to make such a criticism was misguided... That said, I was pleased to see the hints about Taren Capel come to fruition, and very pleased that in going back to the robotic roots of this fictional society you've ramped up the stakes far enough to justify making the robots a focal plot point. I'm looking forward eagerly to more 'Kaldor City'."
--Andrew McLean

"I think the Kaldor City audios get better and better with each release. I love the way that the status quo has been completely shook up by the events of this story and given what happens at the end, I'm eagerly awaiting the next story!"
--Simon Catlow

"Great characters, involving stories, fine actors and very high production values... I can't wait for the next chapter. Before listening to 'Taren Capel' my only minor quibbles were that I'd have liked more Robot involvement and a few more references to the events and characters in 'The Robots of Death'. I think you've pretty effectively silenced me on those points!"
--Martin Buck

 

A full review of "Taren Capel" by Luke Parker is also available on this site.