Articles Lockdown Special with Robert Stone

 

In Victorian London, a group of five young people battle monsters and solve the puzzles that seem to elude Sherlock and Doctor Watson – but in life, everything happens for a reason. Bea and her sister Jess, discover just what really did happen to their mother, and what lies in store for all of them, if the Rip in time opens fully. 

The series is utterly brilliant, and it has a strong cast, many to root for, and some that pass in the blink of an eye, but, it’s great to see them in that moment. One of these people, is Robert Stone, who appears in the first episode, as Tam Bibby, street fighter about to knock Billy’s block off, 

I caught up with Robert this week for a chat about The Irregulars and what he’s been doing during his time in Lockdown. The first part of the chat was prior to having seen his episode. Save any confusion. 

Hi Robert, I see you’re in the new Netflix series The Irregulars – are you a recognisable character or are you in disguise? 

Robert: You'll see me as long as I don't end up on the cutting room floor. Don't know which episode though, I know it starts tonight - 26th March 2021. I filmed my bit January-ish 2020, then they had to stop filming because of you know what and they resumed I think September, it was supposed to be out last Halloween. 

After the episode had aired, I caught up with Robert again.  

You were definitely not on the cutting room floor. It’s a great series. Watched four back to back episodes. It’s very addictive viewing. Are you in any other dramas I can look out for? 

Robert: Thankfully, I suppose I was integral to the scene. I'm going to try and watch it over the next week or so. 

I've only got a BBC Doctors episode coming up in a few weeks. I'll post it when it airs. 

Auditions and jobs have been scarce, as you can imagine. I did get an offer of a job on a film in the Czech Republic as a Russian Gangster but turned it down, I wasn't prepared to go back and forth on a plane with Covid carriers and all the travel that came with it, especially in Europe where it's not under control. 

I quite agree. I wouldn’t want to put myself in that situation either. I hear you also have a YouTube project, can you tell us more about that? 

Robert: Well, in the first lockdown, I sat there twiddling my thumbs, no work, no life and I had an idea. To be honest I had it a few years ago about a Doctor talking to patients about their ailments, I actually robbed it from the series Behind Closed Doors the Doctor Surgery Program. I used to sit there every time making jokes about the patient and their ailment, I know it was wrong, I just didn’t know how to format it; I didn’t want to set up a surgery situation but as Skype and Zoom became popular I had that light bulb moment. 

So, I got my tablet computer and did my first one, people raved about it so that spurred me on to do more and getting a better camera and equipment, I’m into my sixth one now. I play all the characters and write, produce, direct, perform and edit everything. They were a bit rough at the beginning, you can see the evolution here

http://artechniques.com/behind_closed_doors.html   

I just put them on Facebook at first to see the reaction, it was positive so I then pushed them over to YouTube. Some of the subjects, characters, language and situations are a bit dodgy, to be fair most of them are, I didn’t think YouTube would publish them but they did and off I went, can’t stop me now. 

I call it a comedy melodrama.

Thanks for the catch up, Robert.

 

Beyond The Hub The Irregulars Review by DJ Forrest

 

Netflix's new supernatural crime drama is set in Victorian London and headed up by a group of teenage misfits, all living below ground in their cellar home, starring McKell David, Thaddea Graham, Jojo Macari, Darci Shaw and Harrison Osterfield. 

When a Rip in time between worlds is opened up, (remind you of anything) all manner of evil enters, and while young Jess is trying to make sense of her nightmares, The Linen Man played by Clarke Peters, offers her help as an Ipsissimus - rubbing a butterfly onto her arm, allowing her access to other people's minds, just by touching their arm. Through this ability, Jess is able to help catch some of the worst of people imaginable - and believe me, there are a lot of those in this series. 

There is a link between Sherlock Holmes and his partner Dr Watson, and Sherlock's lost love Alice, played by Eileen O'Higgins, and two members of the young detective group living beneath the world in their cellar. - again, remind you of anything? 

Aside from it feeling like an early take on Torchwood, let's not forget that rips in time have been used in more than the Whoniverse, let's not forget Primeval here. The Irregulars are a group of 5 young people from two different walks of life. Leo, who we see from the off is a Prince of the Realm, whereas his counterparts in the story, including young Bea, who he forms a relationship with, are street urchins, just trying to get by, and not afraid to go out on a limb and get it. It gives a little different take on how you expect every street urchin to behave, considering the last thing you watched was the musical Oliver... 

Now put aside your Sherlock Holmes fantasies for now because this one is not a likeable character. He's weak and pathetic and very hard to engage with. Dr Watson seems quite the bastard (s'cuse my French), and even I wanted to see him bumped off mid way through the season, but you know he can't, for obvious reasons. Although the characters are played exactly like the books and films you remember, this explores their lives AFTER the fame and glory of cracking so many cases. Sherlock's addiction has reached a point where he's given up on sleuthing, because his one true love has stepped between worlds, never to be seen of again and he's pining for her, and love, as we all know, hurts like crazy, and Sherlock can only find comfort in opium. 

Dr. Watson however, keeps 221b Bakers Street alive, and recruits Bea and her friends to find out information about each and every case they work on, which ignites interest and passion in Bea, who you can tell enjoys the investigations, and it helps her and her sister Jess, understand about their mother, and why they were put in the care of the church, and later the workhouse, by events that are caused by the Linen Man. 

It's a really enjoyable, entertaining series and I truly hope a second one is in the making. Naturally, there were a few faces from Who and Torchwood, which warrant this review. Robert Stone (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang bouncer) appears in the first episode as a street fighter, which Billy is completely outmatched by. Clarke Peters I've already mentioned, Emma Cuniffe (Doctor Who - Night Terrors), Simon Ludders (Doctor Who - New Earth/Thin Ice) are to name but a few. 

Written and created by Tom Bidwell who also plays a character in the series and directed by Joss Agnew, Johnny Allan and Weronika Tofilska, if you haven't seen it yet, save it to your List and enjoy it when you can. I loved each and every episode and it did feel Torchwoodesque but on a smaller, younger scale, and I really hope we haven't seen the last of these wonderful characters.