The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Last Breath, Sister Midnight, Opus, and The Electric State
Dr Who and the scourge of capitalism
JOHN GREEN surveys the remarkable career of screenwriter Malcolm Hulke and the essential part played by his membership of the Communist Party
HENRY BELL is moved by the account of scientists under seige in Leningrad who preferred to starve rather than sacrifice their life-saving work
RUTH AYLETT recommends two anthologies: one that bears witness to refugee and immigrant experiences, and the other to our political relationship to water
SETH SANDRONSKY appreciates a fresh take on a 100-year-old novel that helps to contextualise the current moment of conspicuous wealth, waste and climate chaos
A no-nonsense ex-Garda female cop, Scandi-noir’s newest flawed hero, the lure of Aussie gold, and unexpected decency in Silicon valley
JAN WOOLF doubts that soft-core musical is the best way to transmit an important story of heroism and resistance
Reviews of Ella Fitzgerald, My Morning Jacket, and Toria Wooff
[[{"fid":"74860","view_mode":"inlineleft","fields":{"format":"inlineleft","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false},"link_text":null,"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"inlineleft","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false}},"attributes":{"class":"media-element file-inlineleft","data-delta":"1"}}]]Things are not always what they seem: The Writing and Politics of Malcolm Hulke
Michael Herbert, Self-published, £21.99
MALCOLM HULKE was an active communist and a highly successful scriptwriter for theatre, television and cinema from the late 1950s into the mid 1970s whose work includes The Avengers, Danger Man and Dr Who.
As he noted in 1975: “During all The Avengers time when the most popular baddies were Soviet spies, my baddies were capitalists. No-one noticed. For seven years running I wrote subversive Doctor Who serials.”
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