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The Recall Man

By: David Napthine, Steve Chambers
Narrated by: full cast, Jeremy Swift, Andrew Harrison, Paul Brennen, Janet Dibley
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Summary

Seven gripping dramas featuring forensic psychologist and memory expert Dr Joe Aston

Returning to his home town of Middlesborough on a six-month attachment to the Teesside police, criminal psychologist Joe Aston is called in for seven unusual and baffling cases. As a specialist in the controversial field of 'recovered memory', his skills are crucial: only he can uncover the truth by persuading victims, witnesses and suspects to remember what they'd rather forget....

In Doctor Joe Aston Investigates, the 'recall man' tackles the only suspect in a murder case: a scientist suspected of killing her boss.

Making Waves finds a confused diver claiming to have witnessed an old murder: can his memory be trusted?

In Over the Border, Aston probes a taxi driver who may be the sole witness to a gangland killing, but claims to remember nothing.

In Stepping Out, he finds his position under threat when rival psychologist Beth Webster is hired to investigate a spate of attacks on young women.

Taken by Surprise sees Aston resorting to unorthodox methods to secure an identification of the main suspect in a kidnapping case.

In Can't See for Looking, a witness to an arson attack swears she saw a rhinoceros throwing a petrol bomb: can Aston discover what she really saw?

Finally, in Best Forgotten, the forensic psychologist uncovers fresh information about an unsolved robbery from 1952 - but the newfound facts have some unwelcome implications....

Written by David Napthine and Steven Chambers, these gripping dramas star Jeremy Swift as Dr Joe Aston, with Paul Brennen as DC Patten, Janet Dibley as DI Reynolds and Andrew Harrison as DC Hamilton.

Credits

Written by David Napthine and Steven Chambers

Produced and directed by Toby Swift and Mary Peate

Starring Jeremy Swift as Dr Joe Aston

Doctor Joe Aston Investigates

Grace Hayle - Rosie Cavaliero

Dl Karen Dennis - Carolyn Pickles

Tom Aston - Colin MacLachlan

DC Patten - Paul Brennen

DC Talbot - Sue Scott Davison

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 7th December 2001

Making Waves

DC Patten - Paul Brennen

DC Talbot - Sue Scott Davison

Defence Counsel - Andrew Harrison

George - James Gaddas

Jane - Elizabeth Carling

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 31st October 2003

Over the Border

DC Patten - Paul Brennen

DI Reynolds - Janet Dibley

Tommy - Vincent Friell

DC Hamilton - Andrew Harrison

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 7th November 2003

Stepping Out

DI Reynolds - Janet Dibley

Beth - Tessa Peake-Jones

Linda - Sue Scott Davison

Nicola - Suzanne Heathcote

DC Hamilton - Andrew Harrison

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 14th November 2003

Taken by Surprise

DC Patten - Paul Brennen

DI Reynolds - Janet Dibley

Bill - Andrew Dunn

Tony - Gerard McDermott

Moira - Susan Jameson

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 26th September 2005

Can't See for Looking

DC Patten - Paul Brennen

DI Reynolds - Janet Dibley

Donna - Sharon Percy

Billy - Michael Imerson

Alison - Colleen Prendergast

Steve - Wayne Foskett

Asif - Shiv Grewal

Mickey - Michael Hodgson

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 3rd October 2005

Best Forgotten

DC Patten - Paul Brennen

DI Reynolds - Janet Dibley

Tom - Colin MacLachlan

Frankie - Maurice Roëves

Sue - Sheila Tait

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 10th October 2005

©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
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What listeners say about The Recall Man

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Gentle - good for car journeys

Series of seven self-contained stories in which Joe helps the police with witnesses or victims who have memory problems. As other reviewers comment, the stories tend to meander to a close without a definitive moment of denouement or solution to the crime being investigated. This is a stylistic choice by the creators and just took me a couple of episodes to adjust. Whilst Joe is the main character and ‘good guy’, I did find his behaviour a bit questionable and he seems to struggle with accepting women in authority/formal roles. Perhaps an artefact of its time … the maverick male detective was a popular trope then.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Quirky and gentle

An interesting array of cases approached from an unusual angle. Some of the stories feel unfinished.

The performances were varied with most of the characters having inappropriate accents. I have noticed often that actors think that Teessider’s have a watered down geordie accent- we don’t. Some of the geographical details are also incorrect.

Overall moderately pleasant to listen to but lacking pace and depth and probably not worth a credit.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Boring

Not the greatest story I've bought. Very slow and low key. The climax of each tale is so subtle that you don't realise it's happened. Also, a lot of the main character voices sound similar and do its difficult understand who is speaking. Didn't like it and didn't finish it, as it literally put me to sleep one evening.

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1 person found this helpful