The Slide

Nitcentral's Bulletin Brash Reflections: The Kitchen Sink: Media (TV, Print, Sports, etc.): Radio More or Less: The Slide
By Matthew See (Matthew_see) on Saturday, February 19, 2022 - 4:42 am:

tinyurl.com/2eyphcpd

Episode 1: Moment of Silence:
Moment of Silence is the opener of The Slide, a seven-part BBC radio series originally broadcast in 1966.

Written by Victor Pemberton who originally came up with this narrative for a possible Doctor Who story but it got rejected as such when it got submitted in 1964.

In fact Pemberton did eventually got to adapt this narrative as a Doctor Who story as it became Fury from the Deep.

Incidentally The Slide gets included in the Fury From The Deep DVD release.

The role in The Slide that eventually gets fill by the Doctor in Fury From The Deep is that of scientist Josef Gomez played by Roger Delgado later to become the Master in Doctor Who.

In a curious coincidence Gomez is the surname of Michelle Gomez who would later become the female Master, Missy.

The Slide is set in the town of Redlow and in this first episode a meeting in town takes place when an earthquake occurs.

This earthquake came as a shock to everyone as an earthquake in England is completely unheard of.

The said Josef Gomez, a scientist from Chile, comes to Redlow to offer his expertise as Chile is no stranger to earthquakes.

In fact Gomez says that earthquakes have become Chile's national heritage.
As investigation proceeds on what caused the earthquake leads to the entrance of mud but not of the ordinary kind in the cliffhanger.
The equivalent of this mud in Fury from the Deep is seaweed.
A solid first episode of The Slide with a fascinating cliffhanger with the introduction of the mud.


By Tim McCree (Tim_m) on Saturday, February 19, 2022 - 5:01 am:

This should be in the Doctor Who forum.

I mean you're clearly more interested in discussing the connections to Who, rather than the radio show itself.


By Matthew See (Matthew_see) on Saturday, February 19, 2022 - 6:05 am:

I had thought of that but I have no idea where to put it there.

Perhaps you could ask Emily on this?


By Tim McCree (Tim_m) on Saturday, February 19, 2022 - 6:15 am:

Emily has no control outside of the Who forum.

I can move the post there myself, but I won't take any such action without hearing from KAM first, since this is his forum. If he okays it, I'll do it ASAP.


By Matthew See (Matthew_see) on Saturday, February 19, 2022 - 6:40 am:

Thanks.


By Keith Alan Morgan (Kmorgan) on Saturday, February 19, 2022 - 3:11 pm:

If it's okay with Emily, I'm fine with it.

If she doesn't want it, it can stay here.


By Matthew See (Matthew_see) on Sunday, February 20, 2022 - 2:30 am:

Episode 2: Down Came a Blackbird:
Intriguing in the aftermath of the discovery of the mud which has become as hard as stone, birds have turned up dead, hence the episode title.

Also interesting is Gomez's past history is brought up and how it wasn't pleasant for him.

A not quite lucid Janet Marshall says something mysterious, mirroring the role Maggie Harris would have in Fury from the Deep.

Intriguing cliffhanger by a discovery that has been made.


By Matthew See (Matthew_see) on Sunday, February 20, 2022 - 11:24 am:

Episode 3: Analysis:
A shocking development of the mud turning water into the colour green.

Quite a development with some of the characters including Janet Marshall and Hugh Deverill in being sensitive to the light as they prefere darkness instead.

In the case for Deverill this culminated in an unpleasant argument with his wife.

Quite sad about Gomez's backstory as we learnt that he had lost his wife upon giving birth to their son.

Shocking discovery on the mud being able to multiply and the revelation of this ability marked the cliffhanger as it demonstrate this very ability.


By Tim McCree (Tim_m) on Monday, February 21, 2022 - 5:18 am:

Since Matthew has made more entries on this show, I've decided to leave the posts here.


By Matthew See (Matthew_see) on Monday, February 21, 2022 - 10:54 am:

OK.

Episode 4: Heart-Beat:
Episode title refers to the shocking discovery that the mud has a heart-beat.

The unpleasantness between the Deverills continues.
Deverill sure made his antagonism known to Gomez out in the open for people to see.

Janet goes AWOL from the hospital and Ken gets a shock of where he finds her marking the cliffhanger.


By Matthew See (Matthew_see) on Tuesday, February 22, 2022 - 9:56 am:

Episode 5: Danger Point:
Antepenultimate episode.

A shocking discovery on Janet holding a dead sparrow and her behaviour become more erratic when she forced a car that she was in off its course.

There is also erratic behaviour from Deverill as out of the blue he calls a press conference with his wife Anna saying that he had no authority to call such a press conference.

The press conference was quite a scene to listened to as Deverill explains the mud is salvation but Ken says that he is wrong on that.

Evidently writer Victor Pemberton carried this bit of exchange onto Doctor Who: Fury from the Deep which had Harris saying that they do not know what the problem is only for the Doctor to come in to say that he is wrong on that as they do know what the problem is and it is seaweed.

At this same press conference Gomez explains about the mud only to be challenged on his credibility by a reporter due to Gomez's past history.
In the aftermath of the press conference it was intense hearing Deverill's destroying the model of the town as he is resolved on what he has to do.

What a standoff between the Wilsons and the local authorities that is ongoing as this episode reached its cliffhanger.


By Matthew See (Matthew_see) on Wednesday, February 23, 2022 - 8:59 am:

Episode 6: Time Limit:

Penultimate episode.

The Slide has use of a helicopter.

Writer Victor Pemberton later employed the use of helicopters in Doctor Who: Fury from the Deep.

This episode has a trip down the sewers and Pemberton later wrote the equivalent of this with a trip down the installation in Fury from the Deep where there was an attack by the seaweed monster.

This episode introduced Margaret Griffiths a fellow MP to Hugh Deverill.

Margaret Griffiths later became Megan Jones, although not a politician, in Fury from the Deep with the shorten form of Margaret, Maggie given to Maggie Harris.

Very creepy moment when Deverill talked to his wife Anna and Anna later on revealed to Gomez that her husband was trying to kill her but she got away.

When Gomez went to see Deverill about he found that he has run off.

The trip to the sewers has the discovery of the hospital patients being there including Janet.

When Ken finds Janet there and this ends in a cliffhanger with her seeing something making her scream.


By Matthew See (Matthew_see) on Thursday, February 24, 2022 - 11:00 am:

Episode 7: Out of the Darkness:

Finale.

Writer Victor Pemberton included the line of "out of the darkness" in Doctor Who: Fury from the Deep when it was said by Van Lutyens.

Quite a solution on how to deal with the mud forming the climax of this. the finale.

Unfortunately Hugh Deverill becomes the casualty in all this.

It was quite clear early on that there was no saving him.

Enthralling resolution but it ends somberly with Gomez waning that this could happen again.

Pemberton subsequently rewrote this as Fury from the Deep for Doctor Who and then combine elements from both The Slide & Fury froim the Deep for the Doctor Who audio drama Doctor Who and the Pescatons.


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