Pilgrim (by Sebastien Baczkiewicz)

As anyone who reads this blog (yes, thats all two of you) will have noticed, I have a predeliction for graphic novels, and you’d be right in thinking that this blog concerns them, but sometimes something comes along that forces itself into your conciousness enough that you have to give it free reign, and let others know of it’s wonderousness.  Such is PILGRIM.

PILGRIM is the story of one William Palmer, who whilst on the road to Canterbury in 1185, was cursed to walk the Earth from that day to this after unintentionally insulting the King of the Grey Folk, or Faerie himself, by denying the existance of “the Other World”.  He now walks between the worlds of Magic and men, acting as a sort of troubleshooter where the worlds collide.

The Grey Folk are not the tiny, pretty little folk of child lore – oh no.  These are the magical folk of Pan’s kin – proud, haughty, michevious, ruthless and highly magical, who refer to us as “hotbloods” – almost a sub species, whos existance is tolerated, and whom they regard as no more than “sport”.  They value politeness and courtesy above all else – woe betide any who are rude to them – and they have their own drives and ambitions, and it’s when these clash with the world of men that the man they call PILGRIM intervenes – sometimes with great success, sometimes at great cost.  Sort of like a John Constantine for the Fairy world. 

So why am I writing this?  Simply because this show not only needs a wider audience, but it’s one that absolutely craves a TV/Comic adaptation.  The stories are sharp, witty, engrossing and horryfying at the same time.  Palmer is a man, tortured by being unable to die, trying to make sense of it all by making sure that the same fate that befell him doesn’t happen to anyone else, but he is only able to because the curse that he endures has given him much knowledge of the Other World through the centuries.  He longs for death, but knows that if he should die, many more will suffer through the whims and fancies of the Grey Folk.

As these are radio plays, much of the spirit of PLIGRIM comes via wonderful acting – in particular Paul Hilton as Pilgrim, Kate Fleetwood as Mrs. Pleasence, Jamie Foreman as Puck(who listeners may remember from the radio adaptation of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), and Anna Wing (Lou Beale from EastEnders no less).  There are of course, many well known actors here, but the forementioned are those who I feel stand out from an excellent cast list.

By the way, yes this program has an essentially British feel – and so it should.  Much is made of the fact that Palmer has been around for almost 900 years – that’s not something that could really translate to another location (such as the reletively young USA).  Also Britain’s mythology is the primary source for the back story, so come on BBC, if you can make excellent shows like Doctor Who, you should be able to do this – you did after all, make Merlin…

PILGRIM is a series of radio plays produced by the BBC (4 * 1 hour long episodes per series, 7 series in all) available on CD and at www.audible.co.uk.  It was on Audible that I listened to Series 1-4, and it’s at the point where I’m starting series 5 that I write this.