April 2012
This latest episode of the comedy podcast - The Day the World Stood
Still - unfolds as a series of comedy sketches involving a series of execrable puns, allusions to various cultural
and cinematic artefacts of the 1950s, and the kind of peculiarly British humour strongly reminiscent of other Fifties
hommage texts, such as Wish you Were Here, David Leland's nostalgic evocation of growing up in an East Anglian
provincial town with Emily Lloyd in the lead.
The podcast is especially appealing to aficionados of Fifties science
fiction, albeit of a peculiarly British kind. While there are references to classics such as Robert Wise's The Day the
Earth Stood Still (1951), the general style is strongly reminscent of the kind of earnest SF thrillers churned out by
Merton Park Studios, rather than the low-budget schlock horror characteristic of their American counterparts (e.g. Roger
Corman and his American International Pictures buddies).
The five-strong cast - Tim Hounsome, Alice Cubbin, Lisa Walsh, Jon
Thrower, and Matt Nation - work hard to maintain a high standard of entertainment. As with any sketch-based entertainment,
the jokes can be hit-and-miss, but they are delivered with an enthusiasm and verve that is extremely refreshing.
The actors' voice characterizations are wide-ranging and accurate (especially for those acquainted with Fifties SF conventions
and speech-patterns).
We Are Not Alone! is now in its second season. I hope it continues for sometime
to come.
