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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Nov 5, 2021 10:26:26 GMT
“Listen. Mari Lwyd. White as moonlight. Rattle-bagged and broken backed. Steed of winter who the pale men carry.
“Who are those that squire you? Slow and ceaseless, yard by yard, house by house, and door by door.”
The Mari Lwyd is a fine Welsh Christmas Tradition - the skeleton of a horse roams the streets, begging to be let in for food and warmth. Once she knocks, only the most cunning can send her away.
Ianto Jones has come to a remote village for a quiet Christmas. But the Mari Lwyd has come knocking. And she’s real."
Full cast and story info
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Nov 30, 2021 10:02:29 GMT
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Dec 14, 2021 9:43:10 GMT
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Post by bonehead on Dec 15, 2021 15:11:39 GMT
Not a nightmare, but a Grey Mare. This is, as hoped, a nicely spooky tale sprinkled with festive flavourings and well-judged Torchwood humour.
Gareth David-Lloyd is great as he always is, leading a fine small cast, and there's good, often minimalist, sound design from Richard and Lauren - especially in the realisation of the manifesting creature. Very MR James in places!
The story's a slow burner, possibly too slow in places. At times, I would have liked a little more incident in the earlier stages, but on the whole, the moments between 'waiting for something horrible to happen' and 'something horrible happening' are well balanced, and the atmosphere is nicely unsettling. I like the notion of The Pale Men.
Interesting extras too.
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Post by tuigirl on Dec 18, 2021 17:54:01 GMT
Well, it is creepy, it is atmospheric, it has likeable and believable characters.
Sound design is great.
I learned something about Welsh folklore that I had not known before.
And still....
it is a bit predictable.
Great cover, though.
I am always surprised what crazy legends and rituals different people get up to. But at a guess, running around dressed up with a horse skull is not much weirder than running around in demonic costumes at Christmas. Each to their own.
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Post by grinch on Dec 21, 2021 7:47:57 GMT
Well, it is creepy, it is atmospheric, it has likeable and believable characters. Sound design is great. I learned something about Welsh folklore that I had not known before. And still.... it is a bit predictable. Great cover, though. I am always surprised what crazy legends and rituals different people get up to. But at a guess, running around dressed up with a horse skull is not much weirder than running around in demonic costumes at Christmas. Each to their own. Yeah, this fair and pleasant land has quite a few barmy traditions. There’s even one where we roll a round of cheese down a hill and chase after it. However, unlike the Mari Lwyd perhaps that’s one that wouldn’t really work for a Doctor Who reinvention. |
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Post by tuigirl on Dec 21, 2021 17:38:01 GMT
Well, it is creepy, it is atmospheric, it has likeable and believable characters. Sound design is great. I learned something about Welsh folklore that I had not known before. And still.... it is a bit predictable. Great cover, though. I am always surprised what crazy legends and rituals different people get up to. But at a guess, running around dressed up with a horse skull is not much weirder than running around in demonic costumes at Christmas. Each to their own. Yeah, this fair and pleasant land has quite a few barmy traditions. There’s even one where we roll a round of cheese down a hill and chase after it. However, unlike the Mari Lwyd perhaps that’s one that wouldn’t really work for a Doctor Who reinvention. I totally could picture the 11th or 13th Doctors or even Sixie chasing after cheese,
But I could also picture them coming over to Germany and taking part in the tradition of stealing May trees. Trees that are put up on the first of May in the villages and the youth of the other villages try to steal those trees. I think it is an old heathen phallic fertility tradition, in case you are wondering.
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Post by nottenst on Dec 23, 2021 18:53:59 GMT
Just listened to this. It delivered basically just what was promised - a disturbing Christmas Torchwood tale with a little bit of heart. This range continues to be strong.
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Post by sherlock on Jan 29, 2022 18:53:51 GMT
A prime slice of Christmas horror…which I listened to in January.
Anyway this does what is sets out to do. A bit of Welsh folklore (that I previously knew nothing about, so I learnt something today) comes to life to give Ianto a nightmarish Christmas and it all ends rather sweetly.
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Post by sidestep on Dec 4, 2022 4:52:15 GMT
I enjoyed listening to this, it seemed very short…I was surprised the story was ending already & expected some sort of jump scare to extend it further lol but no (based on runtime it is indeed shorter compared to other TW Monthlies), but a good, entertaining story nonetheless, with a nice supporting cast.
I haven’t encountered a bad Ianto story so far (though I haven’t listened to them all yet), but his stories seems to have consistently good writing.
I like these little glimpses into the characters’ lives, & the people they encounter. Highly recommended. 👍🏻
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Dec 19, 2022 9:06:29 GMT
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