and concepts from his previous work relating to Kaldor City. Boucher gave his permission, working closely with producer Alan Stevens in creating a vision consistent with all that had gone before whilst also creating a new and interesting ongoing story. Boucher also wrote the second of the releases, the play Death's Head. The plays feature a cast principally drawn from actors who had appeared on television in Doctor Who or Blake's Seven, headed by Paul Darrow, Scott Fredericks and Russell Hunter, with, amongst others, David Baillie, David Collings, Philip Madoc, Peter Miles and Gregory de Polnay. They feature sound design, effects and music by Alistair Lock, and are co-directed by both Stevens and Lock. The first three CDs make sense on their own, as standalone stories, but the final three form a serial, and should be listened to in order. From the early releases, it seemed that the series was telling a story of political intrigue and manipulation that was gearing towards the use of the robot workforce as a means of revolution, as shown previously in The Robots of Death and Corpse Marker. However, the fifth play, Checkmate by Alan Stevens, takes the theme of manipulation to a higher level, introducing the Fendahl from Boucher's Doctor Who serial Image of the Fendahl as the series's major villain, manipulating events in Kaldor City to ensure its own emergence. Once the Fendahl's involvement was made known, it was possible to return to the series's earlier instalments and see the emergence foreshadowed: for example, Uvanov is given a painting of a Fendahleen, and Carnell muses about the existence of an alien grand manipulator whose goals and methods would be unknowable. Occam's Razor Occam's Razor is the first play in the series, written by Alan Stevens and Jim Smith. It focuses on the arrival of a mysterious figure called Kaston Iago (named for the manipulative character from Shakespeare's Othello and the noted Shakespeare editor David Kastan, played by Paul Darrow) and his insinuation into the confidence of Chairholder Uvanov (played by Russell Hunter, reprising his role from The Robots of Death). Iago helps Uvanov solve a series of murders involving Company board members, and his success earns him a permanent position as Uvanov's new bodyguard. However, as the title hints, the simplest explanation is true: Iago has been committing the murders himself, and framing another board member, in order to gain Uvanov's trust.