One-word review of Doctor Who radio show at Morristown library

Eighth-graders Harry McLaughlin and Topher Bashant and sixth-grader Lachlan Strain draw their Sonic Screwdrivers, at Radio Raconteur presentation of Dr. Who at the Morristown & Township Library. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Eighth-graders Harry McLaughlin and Topher Bashant and sixth-grader Lachlan Strain draw their Sonic Screwdrivers, at Radio Raconteur presentation of Dr. Who at the Morristown & Township Library. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
0
Eighth-graders Harry McLaughlin and Topher Bashant and sixth-grader Lachlan Strain draw their Sonic Screwdrivers, at Radio Raconteur presentation of Dr. Who at the Morristown & Township Library. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Eighth-graders Harry McLaughlin and Topher Bashant and sixth-grader Lachlan Strain draw their Sonic Screwdrivers, at Radio Raconteur presentation of Dr. Who at the Morristown & Township Library. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

We asked an expert to review Friday’s Raconteur Radio production of Doctor Who at the Morristown & Township Library.

Here it is, from Harry McLaughlin, 14:

“Awesome!”

We know Harry is an expert because he and his pals, Topher Bashant, 14, and Lachlan Strain, 11, have seen all six million episodes of the British sci-fi TV series.  Plus, they brought their Sonic Screwdrivers.

(No those aren’t adult beverages — although the Friends of the Library served green Sonic Screwdriver Punch, which looked a lot like interstellar antifreeze.)

Raconteur Radio,  hatched from a now-defunct Metuchen bookstore, is the same acting troupe that captivated the library last fall with War of the Worlds.

Please click icon below for captions.

Friday’s presentation was a radio recreation of two Doctor Who episodes: Are You My Mummy? and The Doctor Dances.

For the uninitiated (including Yours Truly), Doctor Who is about an alien who fancies earth and time-travels in an old British police box, battling evil Daleks and Cybermen while trying to help humans he encounters along the way.

The series debuted in England the day after the JFK assassination, and has had many incarnations over the decades, including 13 actors in the title role.

As best we can tell, Friday’s show involved an army of young zombies created by well meaning but misguided Nanogenes.

Master McLaughlin, our succinct critic, acknowledged how the plot might prove tricky to those unfamiliar with the franchise.  But he recommended making the effort to get acquainted with Doctor Who.

“You can go from really happy to depressed and crying in a split second!” said the eighth-grader from Frelinghuysen Middle School.

His sixth-grader buddy, Lachlan Strain, still is over the moon about sneaking a Whovian reference into his school production of Beauty and the Beast.  Topher Bashant, who shares our reviewer’s penchant for brevity, also needed just one word to explain what’s to like about Doctor Who:

“Everything.”

Michael Jarmus, Laurence Mintz and Jeff Maschi of Radio Raconteur, presenting Dr. Who at the Morristown & Township Library. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Michael Jarmus, Laurence Mintz and Jeff Maschi of Radio Raconteur, presenting Dr. Who at the Morristown & Township Library. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

The Raconteurs were so good at Doctor Who that we quickly got over our disappointment that Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend would not be performing.

Let’s hope the radio re-creators return soon with their parody of Downton Abbey.  The library’s Downton Abbey Support Group (next meeting: April 15, 2015, at 7 pm) will need some cheering up after that series goes on permanent holiday next year.

ALSO COMING SOON TO THE MORRISTOWN & TOWNSHIP LIBRARY:

Wednesday, April 1, at 7 pm: The New Spirituality Book Club discusses The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle.

Tuesday, April 7, at 1:30 pm: A Beautiful Mind,  the Oscar-winning 2001 film about a Nobel laureate’s battle with schizophrenia. Sponsored by the Woman’s Club of Morristown.

Wednesday, April 8, at 7 pm:  Celebrate the 275th anniversary of everyone’s favorite Township, a municipality that doesn’t look a day over 250. Call 973-538-3473 for more.

Thursday, April 9, at 7 pm: Searching for Sugar Man, the 2012 Oscar-winning documentary about an obscure singer who discovers, belatedly, that he is a living living.

Wednesday, April 15, at 7 pm: The Downton Abbey Support Group cries in its tea.

Thursday, April 23, at 7 pm: Kimberly McCreight, author of the NY Times bestseller Reconstructing Amelia, discusses her new book, Where They Found Her.

April 29, at 2 pm and 7 pm: The Imitation Game,  Oscar-nominated film about Alan Turing, the troubled genius who cracked the Nazis’ code during WWII.

LEAVE A REPLY