Appropriately seasonal seeming Undone quote

A decidedly 'meh' feeling Edna has returned home to Towcester from London and, having a lie in, is finding it difficult to get up in the morning:

"There are people whose beds love them so much that to get up at a decent time on a Saturday morning is considered an insult. I apologised to the bed and came down to find mum was already sorting and fussing."

Undone series 2, episode 5, 'Unwelcome'. It's actually an episode set in June, but it feels weirdly appropriate in freezing January.

I thought of this quote last Saturday morning when I was nice and warm in bed and really, really didn't want to get up and get dressed in the cold for work. Then, on Monday 4Extra started broadcasting series 2 of Undone... It's like they read my mind and knew a bit of frivolity and whimsy was needed at this time of year.

They did not hate it

To paraphrase Carlo Jones in Ben Moor's always excellent Undone, the book chapter for MUP has been peer reviewed, the comments have come back, and they "did not hate it".

They were very kind actually, which as someone who has never been peer reviewed, or done a chapter for an academic book before, was a nice surprise.

The next step? Read through all the feedback properly and plan what needs doing, how, when, how long it's going to take etc.

The book pile has changed quite a bit since I last took a picture of it, and reflects a combination of reading for pleasure and trying to sort my head out type reading matter.

Have also discovered that reading self help books is a legitimate form of therapy, it even has a name: Bibliotherapy, and is reckoned to be pretty effective when set against other therapies for the milder end of depression and anxiety. Given how starved of cash my local health authority and council is, it's  just as well the libraries here have decided to go big on self help books.

Undone quotes #6: The death of Get Out!

Carlo: Get Out! has gone out. Maybe we should have called the last issue Went.

(Episode 6, series 2, Undone by Ben Moor)

You can here this final episode of series 2 of Undone on iplayer until the end of Friday

Undone quotes #5: The lost temple of Nefergeeky

(Edna sulks in her teenage bedroom and recalls her main teenage solace)

"Go To Your Room!, the magazine for petulant teens. It was always full of tips on how to cover your face with your hair, how to write embarrassing poetry, posters of bands that were so obscure they hardly even showed up in their photos. And there, in the corner was my treasured pile of every single issue. The rest of my room contained other treasures, as if it was the lost pyramid of Nefergeeky, the pharaoh that did the most losing."

(Undone, series 2, episode 5 by Ben Moor)

This episode is available to listen to on iplayer until the end of Friday

Undone quotes #4: A lesson in modern journalism

Carlo: (discussing the contents of his desk at Get Out!)There's a photo of myself smiling taken for the trade press when I was appointed. And next to it one of me looking deflated for the news of my firing. They do them on the same appointment these days for convenience.

(Series 2, Episode 4, Undone by Ben Moor)

This episode is available to listen to on iplayer until the end of Friday

Undone quotes #3: "A very Undone shopping trip"

Ida: I got the chicken and look, a swiss army roll; it's a cake, but it contains lots of other little more useful cakes that come out of the side.

(Undone series 2, episode 3 by Ben Moor)

Episode 3 of series 2 of Undone is available to listen to iplayer until Saturday

Undone quotes #2: Kate and Edna take drugs in Donlon

Kate: Excuse me, I'm discussing the latest trends in punctuation with this door here, who happens to have the face of Audrey Hepburn.
Edna: What nonsense
Kate: It's not nonsense, look!
Edna: It is nonsense, that's Katherine Hepburn, come on! (Walks in barge ceiling)

(Episode 2, series 2, Undone by Ben Moor)

This episode is available to listen to on BBC iplayer until the end of Friday

Undone quotes #1: Tankerton's ansaphone message

"Hello this is Tankerton, right now, my time. Right now, your time, I'm not as here as I was my now, so please leave a message your now and in a now yet to come, I'll get back at you"

(Episode 1, Series 2, Undone by Ben Moor)

Undone Series 2

Series 2 of Ben Moor's fabulous Sci Fi comedy Undone begins a re-run tonight at 6:30pm (Saturday 8th August) on BBC 4Extra.

Since I last wrote about the series 4Extra have made some changes to their schedule, meaning that the Seventh Dimension slot now goes out once a week between 6pm and 7pm on Saturdays, rather than 6pm-7pm six days a week.

This is a real shame for me, but I can see that, in these days of austerity and funding cuts, something has to give.

Series 2 of Undone sees Alex Tregear take over the role of Edna from Sarah Solemani. While Tregear brings a different kind of energy to the role, she is equally brilliant as Edna.

Listen to Undone online

That which is done, cannot be Undone

In the run up to Christmas I wrote a piece for the excellent Manchester magazines The Shrieking Violet on the theme of alternative versions of cities, specifically Manchester through the eyes of Jeff Noon in the Vurt books and London through the eyes of Neil Gaimon and (in more detail) Ben Moor.

This marked something of a departure for me, writing wise, as despite being a fan of Sci Fi and Fantasy narratives, I don't tend to write them or write about them. Mainly because I've always suspected I wouldn't be very good at it.

It took a while to suspend this fear when writing the magazine article, but I was determined to do so because I'd spent the summer months of 2013 being absolutely obsessed with and addicted to Ben Moor's Sci Fi comedy Undone, a process made even more difficult by the fact that innumerable friends and acquaintances had become obsessed with Breaking Bad around the same time.

Undone was a radio series that went out on BBC7 between late 2006 and early 2010. It's third series has been repeated on BBC7's replacement, 4Extra, and a repeat of series 1 is due to air next week. I hope series 2 and 3 will follow.

It's good to hear that the producers and schedulers at 4Extra haven't forgotten about Moor's classic series, which was after all the longest running commissioned series on BBC7. Tasters have been airing all last week on the station, reminding listeners not only that this was a show where both Sarah Solemani and Tim Key got to cut their teeth but also that the endearing Moor (who plays Tankerton Slopes in the series) was really onto something with his concept.

Undone begins with the arrival of 21 year old Edna Turner in London from Towcester. Edna is due to start a three month trial as a journalist at the London listings magazine Get Out! and, as with all newcomers, is finding her new home a bit odd. Things become odder when she meets the enigmatic Tankerton Slopes, who introduces her to Undone, a surreal parallel version of London where there literally are Faceless Bureaucrats, a Pet Tricks club where cute furry animals perform amusing stunts, seemingly of their own volition, and bizarre magazines and TV shows such as Get A Move On! (the magazine for impatient people) and Molotov Cocktail Party (a magazine show that reviews the days riots and disturbances around the world).

Undone works on a number of levels, it is Alice in Wonderland in some respects and a very funny satire on the London media world on another level. It features likable characters, imaginative and creative storylines, twists in the narratives and charm that is rare.  

Undone series 1, episode 1, goes out at 6:30pm on Monday and continues at the same time throughout the week on 4Extra.