Kroagnon Awards 2016: Day Five - Big Finish

Welcome to the Kroagnon Awards 2016! All this week, we've been announcing all our favourite things of 2015, ranging from the broad to the niche. As well as being voted on by editors Dave, Matt and Tom, several categories have been decided by you, our readers, and industry experts.

2015 saw the release of the ninth and tenth series of Jago & Litefoot, the extremely popular Doctor Who spin-off which sees Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter resuming parts they first played in 1977's The Talons of Weng-Chiang. The first of last year's boxsets saw the investigators of infernal incidents on a cruise while the second set up events that will continue in series eleven and twelve, due out this year. This is one of Big Finish's most-loved ranges, and 2015 was a bumper year, even by its own standards, making a worthy winner of our Best Series award. We were also big fans of Dark Shadows' output last year.

Our single Best Story of 2015 is Doctor Who: Damaged Goods, which was adapted by Jonathan Morris from Russell T Davies' 1996 novel of the same name. This was a perfect example of casting, writing and post-production coming together to create a flawless piece of audio drama. Damaged Goods is, by turns, funny, scary and intriguing - often all at once. Above all, it's utterly captivating and one of the finest things Big Finish have ever released. Hooray indeed.

The Doctor Who main range has long been a popular one with customers, and 2015 was as busy a year as any. Our favourite of the thirteen offerings was The Entropy Plague, written by Jonathan Morris, which saw Nyssa leave the TARDIS as she was sealed in E-Space. Also nominated were We Are the Daleks (also by Morris) and The Secret History (written by Eddie Robson). 

Paul McGann is named our Best Lead Actor of 2015 for his role as the Eighth Doctor. Last year saw the Dark Eyes arc, which had been running since 2012, conclude and the first of four Doom Coalition boxsets released. McGann is never less than excellent, constantly bringing fresh energy and new qualities to a part he's been playing twenty years - and very regularly since 2000. Also nominated was Alexander Vlahos who plays the title character in The Confessions of Dorian Gray.

Graeme Garden once again reprised his role as interfering Time Lord The Monk in Doctor Who story The Secret History last spring, to a rapturous reception. He first took on the role opposite Paul McGann in 2010 but fitted perfectly into this Eddie Robson-penned Peter Davison story. Maureen O'Brien and Peter Purves also starred in a tale which saw the Monk meddling in the Doctor's personal timeline to take his place. Garden brought his usual air of calm superiority, coupled with excellent comic timing, earning the accolade of Best Supporting Actor.

Our Best Writer of 2015 is Jonathan Morris. It's hard to fault Jonny as a writer, especially when he writes so many stories and manages to maintain such a high standard. Last year alone, products released that he wrote include the finale to Vienna (a spin-off which he created), The Entropy Plague, an adaptation of Russell T Davies' Damaged Goods, two episodes of Jago & Litefoot, The Cloisters of Terror, and an episode of Survivors. Hats off to Jonny as we look forward to much more from him over the coming months. Also nominated was David Llewellyn, who had a brilliant 2015 with Big Finish.

Bloodlust - a Dark Shadows special - was one of the best-received series of last year (see below). With countless actors involved, recording and co-ordinating the entire project was no mean feat and so it's only right that David Darlington and Ursula Burton be named our Best Directors of 2015. Even leaving logistics aside, Bloodlust was a masterpiece of direction and the end product is a great credit to all those involved. This autumn's Bloodline looks to be just as complicated and we wish the pair the best of luck! Scott Handcock was also nominated for his efforts across several ranges.

Howard Carter contributed to numerous series and stories last year but it's for Damaged Goods that he wins Best Sound and Music of 2015. His talents perfectly matched this electric story, and his post-production work really brought it to life. One of our particular favourites was his new theme tune, which we hope will be used again with the release of Original Sin later this year.

Lee Binding has long been admired as an artist by this site, so we were glad to see him contribute all the cover artwork for Big Finish's new Torchwood range. The images were all intricate, strong and visually appealing but none more so than that of Fall to Earth, the series' second story. The use of lighting and composition in Binding's work is unparalleled, making this award an easy decision. Also nominated was anything by Tom Webster (although that doesn't narrow it down much).

The Best Value product Big Finish released last year was, in our opinion, You Are the Doctor and Other Stories. All four of these half-hour adventures for the Seventh Doctor and Ace were very well received by listeners, and given that they're available to download for just £12.99 (or on CD for £14.99) - which also includes bonus behind the scenes material - makes this a very good value purchase. Both of the novel adaptations boxsets also featured high on our shortlist.

As already mentioned, Bloodlust was an immediate hit with Big Finish's audience. Our awards reflect that as you lot voted it your favourite new Big Finish range of 2015. The twice-weekly format was so popular that 2016's Bloodline looks set to replicate it. Judging by the talent behind the series, no doubt its popularity will also be replicated - look out for a large Dark Shadows presence in next January's awards.

Although it's already been released, this category was decided before 2015 was out. The Prisoner has been one of Big Finish's most hotly-anticipated series of recent years, and has already lived up to the considerable hype. We're also looking forward to the fifth and final series of The Confessions of Dorian Gray.

That's it for this year's awards! Thank you to everyone who's contributed and helped make them happen - we've certainly enjoyed ourselves. If you have anything to say about any of our choices, leave a comment on one of our posts, or if you'd like to write for the site you can email us here.

Kroagnon Awards 2016: Day Four - Doctor Who

Welcome to the Kroagnon Awards 2016! All this week, we're announcing all our favourite things of 2015, ranging from the broad to the niche. As well as being voted on by editors Dave, Matt and Tom, several categories have been decided by you, our readers, and industry experts.

The third episode of 2015's Doctor Who series was our favourite. Under the Lake was written by Toby Whithouse, directed by Daniel O'Hara and saw the Doctor and Clara arrive in a base haunted by ghosts at the bottom of a lake. This was a perfect synergy of the talents of contributors in front and behind the camera, creating an atmospheric and involving tale. Next on our list was Heaven Sent. Read our review of Under the Lake here.

It's hard to believe 2015 was only Peter Capaldi's second year leading the series, such is the assured professionalism he brings to the role. This last year saw his Doctor mellow from the more antisocial incarnation of 2014 to a much more amiable figure. It's without a second thought that he is named our Best Actor of 2015, and we hope he remains in the role for many years yet.

Starring in Toby Whithouse's Under the Lake and Before the Flood, Sophie Stone's portrayal of Cass was extraordinary. Even leaving aside the fact that this was (somehow) the first time a deaf actor had played a deaf character in Doctor Who, Stone's performance was memorable and engaging and as such, Cass emerged as one of the most popular guest characters of 2015. 

Doctor Who in 2015 brought with it a host of exciting new and familiar villains but our favourite was the head of the Zygon revolution, Bonnie, as featured in The Zygon Invasion and The Zygon Inversion. Jenna Coleman gave a markedly different performance to her usual portrayal of Clara, showing the range of her abilities, getting to be much colder and steely than normal. It was an extremely strong performance that just managed to edge out Julian Bleach's return as Davros at the top of the season.

Toby Whithouse has been a regular contributor to Doctor Who in the Steven Moffat era, having written his first episode for the 2006 series. His two 2015 episodes - Under the Lake and Before the Flood - were another show of his innovative and exciting writing style, and it's for this two-parter that he is named our Best Writer of last year. We hope Whithouse continues to contribute to the series as he is one of its most reliably entertaining writers.

As in 2014, Rachel Talalay helmed the two closing episodes of Doctor Who's main run last year. Once again she did so in great style, bringing us the series' first single-hander and the return of Gallifrey in two feature-length episodes - Heaven Sent and Hell Bent. These were among the most cinematically-staged stories of 2015, and were even more popular than her début. Also nominated in this category was Hettie Macdonald, director of The Magician's Apprentice and The Witch's Familiar. 

As well as being a highly accomplished camera operator (including on productions such as Peter Harness' Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell) Richard Stoddard is a rising star in the world of cinematography. This year he served as Director of Photography on four episodes of Doctor Who - Under the Lake, Before the Flood, The Girl Who Died and The Woman Who Lived. His work here speaks for itself and it's a credit to Stoddard that he win this award against the stiff competition of Suzie Lavelle and Mark Waters. More please.

Serving as Executive Producer on the 2015 episodes of Doctor Who, Brian Minchin is perhaps the least celebrated of the core production team, but deserves equal credit for what many are calling the best era the programme has ever enjoyed. It's certainly true that the series would be poorer without his influence and one of the most interesting things that hasn't been discussed in the wake of Chris Chibnall's appointment as Doctor Who's showrunner from 2018 is whether Minchin will be there alongside him. We can but hope.

You probably don't know Will Oswald's name but he has edited more episodes of Doctor Who since 2005 than anyone else. In fact, his closest rival, Mike Jones, has under half the number of episodes to his name that Oswald does. It's thanks to him that episodes such as last year's Under the Lake, Before the Flood, Zygon story and two-part series finale emerge so polished, exciting and professional. Being an editor is a thankless task to the wider viewing public, so we felt it only right that the accolade for Unsung Hero this year went to Will Oswald.

2015 was not short of Doctor Who merchandise, but our favourite was The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who, written by Dr Marek Kukula and Simon Guerrier. This blended fact and fiction to create an interesting look at how the science of Doctor Who compares to what we know as fact. There's a few highly entertaining short stories in here from respected authors such as Una McCormack, David Llewellyn and Jonathan Morris. Read our original review here.

Our final category for today is the one you voted on. Heaven Sent was an instant hit with viewers, and so it's no surprise to reveal that you voted it your favourite episode of 2015. It was a tour de force for Peter Capaldi, who spend most of this dramatic hour alone, and showcased what the current production team is capable of.

Join us tomorrow for our final round of awards, this time focusing on

the productions of audio company Big Finish!

Kroagnon Awards 2016: Day Three - Music and Books

Welcome to the Kroagnon Awards 2016! All this week, we'll be announcing all our favourite things of 2015, ranging from the broad to the niche. As well as being voted on by editors Dave, Matt and Tom, several categories have been decided by you, our readers, and industry experts. And Jonny Morris.

Kicking off today's round of awards is our Album of 2015, Froot by Marina and the Diamonds. The Welsh/Greek singer-songwriter's third album was her third UK top ten hit and yielded popular singles such as Happy, I'm A Ruin and Forget. Froot saw Marina move back towards the sound of The Family Jewels after the floor-filling sonics of Electra Heart, and was one of the most innovative and intelligently-crafted albums of the year. Adele's 25 naturally followed shortly behind.

Although it was released at the tail-end of the year, Adele's Hello quickly ascended the charts and spearheaded an inevitable revival of her global fanbase. Now, a month into 2016, her onslaught of the music industry shows no signs of letting up, with her follow-up single When We Were Young released last Friday. Both tracks are taken from 25. Also nominated was Years & Years' hit King.

Jonny Morris writes: "I can’t claim to be up-to-date with the latest music scene. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy new music – I’ve starred Emotion by Carly Rae Jepsen on Spotify – but as I haven’t listened to Radio 1 since Mark and Lard split up, it only really comes to my attention via recommendations. So my nomination of my single of 2015 is a track which wasn’t even a single but the opening track of an album of old Elvis recordings given a Philharmonically Orchestral treatment. Now, I know what you might be thinking, I was thinking it too. But, giving it a chance, listening to the first song, I was amazed. It worked. It was the same song, but it just sounded bigger. As big as Elvis’ voice, you could say. It did that great thing of taking old music and making it sound new – of making the dead sound alive."

Jonny Morris is a writer, tweeter and father. Visit his blog here.

Following David Bowie's tragic demise on 10 January, there was a resurgence in sales of his music, but Lazarus, the final single to be released while he was alive, had already been met with a positive reception. It was clearly a popular track with you, our readers, too as you voted it your favourite single of 2015. You also nominated Little Mix's Black Magic.

2015 was a huge year for London-born Jess Glynne with four singles hitting the top ten, and three of those rising right to the top, meaning she has now sung on five number one songs in under two years. Last year also saw the release of her debut album, I Cry When I Laugh, which reached number one too. After a long few years of hard work, it was really rewarding to see it all pay off for her. Also nominated was Adele, who returned to the world of music with quite some force as the year drew to a close.

Barely anyone knows who Public Service Broadcasting are, which is a shame as they bring something different, if not chart-topping, to an increasingly monotonous industry. Their blend of archive audio with newly-composed scores is unique and often insightful. Their 2015 album The Race for Space concerned the 1960s USA/USSR pursuit of space flight and the lead single, Gagarin, is a highlight. Definitely one to check out if you haven't already.

This song is truly terrible. Perhaps even as bad as last year's 'winner', It's My Birthday by Will.I.Am and Cody Wise. Avoid at all costs.

Concerning a man just trying to make the internet a nicer place, James Goss' Haterz is one of the most original books of recent years. Containing a startlingly accurate commentary on users of social media in 2015, Haterz is witty and intelligent in equal measure and thoroughly recommended. We also enjoyed Penguin's first two Books of British Short Story.

Of all the 101... or 1001... books, 1001 TV Series to Watch Before You Die, edited by BBC iPlayer maestro Paul Condon, is easily the most essential. It goes through television history from around the globe, right up to the present day, and features direct but intriguing entries from industry experts, including a few who will be familiar to readers of this site.

Una McCormack writes: "I strongly recommend Memory of Water by Emmi Itaranta. This is a vivid post-apocalyptic novel, set in a world of plastic seas and water shortages. It’s written in an intense and lyrical style: I found myself dreaming about it for weeks after. Incredible to think this is the author’s first novel."

Dr Una McCormack is a lecturer in Creative Writing at Anglia Ruskin University, and a New York Times-bestselling author. Visit her website here.

That's it for today! Come back tomorrow when all our awards will be about

the television adventures of Doctor Who!

Kroagnon Awards 2016: Day Two - Film

Welcome to the Kroagnon Awards 2016! All this week, we'll be announcing all our favourite things of 2015, ranging from the broad to the niche. As well as being voted on by editors Dave, Matt and Tom, several categories have been decided by you, our readers, and industry experts.

2015 was full of smash-hit blockbusters but Jurassic World was among the best-loved. It continued the popular Jurassic Park series and starred Chris Pratt in his highest-profile role yet. The film currently stands as the third highest-grossing of all time, with total takings standing at $1.52 billion. This was a very difficult category to decide and Jurassic World only just edged out the fantastic Birdman.

Sticking with Jurassic World, Chris Pratt is named our Best Actor in a Film of 2015 for his role as Owen. It's been announced that he will return to the role for a 2018 Jurassic World follow-up so look out for his name on this list in another three years. Last year he also appeared in the widely-panned Jem and the Holograms in film and on television appearing once more as the much-loved Andy in the sublime Parks and Recreation. Michael Keaton was also nominated for his leading role in Birdman.

Although it was released in 2014 in most places, Birdman actually came out in 2015 here in the UK, so Emma Stone's award for Best Supporting Actor in a Film still counts in our book. She was fantastic as Michael Keaton's daughter and fought off tough competition in the form of Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Oscar Isaac to win this award. Stone also appeared in Irrational Man and Aloha last year - and look out for her later this year in La La Land.

For his work on SPECTRE, his second James Bond film, Sam Mendes is named our Best Director of 2015. He also helmed Skyfall, the franchise's fiftieth anniversary special, to great acclaim, but has sadly said he doesn't want to return to Bond any time soon. Mendes also served as Executive Producer on Penny Dreadful last year.

For his stunning cinematographic direction on Birdman, Emmanuel Lubezki easily sweeps the gong for Best Director of Photography for 2015. For those that don't know, there are no discernible cuts in the entire film - in other words, it looks continuous. But beyond that, the footage is remarkably beautiful and each frame really is like a photograph. We were also fans of Hoyte van Hoytema's contribution to SPECTRE.

John Williams is named our Best Composer this year for his work on Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the eagerly-awaited seventh episode of the series. Despite only being released in December, the film has already broken all kinds of records and Williams is once again receiving broad recognition for his musical talents. A well-deserved award. Also nominated was Thomas Newman for his soundtrack to SPECTRE.

Our readers' favourite film of last year was the summer blockbuster Avengers: Age of Ultron, which saw all kinds of famous actors get together for another instalment in the Avengers film series. The Avengers will all return in 2018 and 2019's two-part budget-busting action-fest Infinity War but there are plenty of related films coming out before then, such as this year's Captain America: Civil War and Doctor Strange.

The film we're looking forward to most in 2016 is Ghostbusters, the reboot of the much-loved film series. Starring Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon, the film has been directed by Paul Feig and is due out on 15 July in the UK. We look forward to it making the shortlist for our awards next year.

That's it for today! Join us tomorrow when we'll be naming all our favourite

Books, Music and Live Events of 2015!

Kroagnon Awards 2016: Day One - Television

Welcome to the Kroagnon Awards 2016! All this week, we'll be announcing all our favourite things of 2015, ranging from the broad to the niche. As well as being voted on by editors Dave, Matt and Tom, several categories have been decided by you, our readers, and industry experts.

Our favourite TV series of 2015 was without a shadow of a doubt Cucumber, from the mind of Russell T Davies and produced by Red Production Company and Adjacent Productions for Channel 4. Starring Vincent Franklin as Henry, this touching drama featured some truly memorable and traumatic moments, and indeed episodes that easily make it a worthy winner of this award. Also nominated was BBC Two's The Last Kingdom.

It might come as no surprise after the previous award, but Vincent Franklin receives our award for the Best Lead Actor of last year. As well as a remarkable turn as Henry in Cucumber (and Banana) Franklin also appeared prominently in high-profile series such as Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. Our runner-up was Viola Davis for her role as Annalise in How To Get Away With Murder.

Our award for the Best Single Episode of 2015 goes to the finale of The Last Kingdom. Airing last Autumn, this series told the story of territory troubles in ninth century Britain. The final episode was the pinnacle of this standout series, giving Alexander Dreymon excellent material. Also nominated in this category was the phenomenal 12 Days of Christine episode of Inside No. 9. But more on that next...

Yes, for her turn as the eponymous Christine, Sheridan Smith is our favourite guest actor of last year. In the touching 12 Days of Christine, the strongest episode of Inside No 9 yet, Smith played a woman reliving her life in her final few moments. Smith is always sensational, often making our soulless staff well up, and fully deserves this award. This decision was unanimous; there was no runner-up.

For his work on AKA Sin Bin, the ninth episode of Netflix and Marvel's Jessica Jones, John Dahl is our Best Director of 2015. Although he only directed one episode of that show, he certainly made an impression. Dahl has also received critical acclaim for his direction on popular shows such as Ray Donovan and Hannibal. Also up for this award were Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith for their handling of the Cold Comfort episode of Inside No 9.

A predictable outcome, perhaps, but for his work penning every episode of Cucumber and all the best ones of Banana, Rusty is our Best TV Writer of 2015. He ran those two shows with extreme skill and the quality of commentary (both subtle and overt) was unparalleled. Davies has adapted A Midsummer Night's Dream for television to screen in 2016, which we await eagerly. Peter Nowalk was also nominated for his work as creator, showrunner and writer of How To Get Away With Murder.

Stephan Pehrsson is our favourite TV cinematographer of last year, thanks to his sterling work most prominently on Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, but he also worked on the fantastic The C Word, You, Me and the Apocalypse and The 12 Days of Christine amongst others. This is a well-deserved award in a category that's becoming increasingly competitive.

Murray Gold is one of the best known composers television has to offer, thanks for the most part to his work on Doctor Who since 2005. It's actually for Cucumber that he wins this award though, with his extremely memorable and catchy score, featuring everything from choirs to zips. It's one of our very favourite soundtracks, and it's a real shame it doesn't look like it will ever be released now.

Our most underrated series of 2015 was the outstanding Top Coppers. This was easily one of the funniest shows last year had to offer, but received criminally low ratings (geddit). We here at Kroagnon certainly hope Mahogany and Rust - along with the Chief of course - make a return in the near future. Also nominated in this category was The Last Kingdom.

Scott Handcock writes: "Hannibal is, quite simply, one of the most sublime television series I have ever had the pleasure of watching. Exceptionally well-plotted, beautifully played and realised in every aspect, this isn’t a typical case of style over substance. This is a series where style and substance combine to produce something genuinely affecting and electrifying. The first two seasons had me hooked - I even had nightmares based on Hannibal Lecter, I binged on them so quickly - and the third season didn’t let up either. Its final episode, The Wrath of the Lamb, delivers a deft climax that not only wraps up the active storylines, but honours everything that came before, showcasing the brilliant talents of Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy as the programme’s main protagonists. They absolutely ended on a high: an incredible ending to a truly perfect series."

Scott Handcock is probably best known to readers of this site as a writer, director and producer of audio drama inspired by Doctor Who and Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray for Big Finish Productions. He has also recently script-edited Harry Price: Ghost Hunter for ITV. Many thanks to Scott for taking the time to write for us.

2015 was another busy year for Coronation Street and you - our readers - clearly revelled in it, voting it your favourite soap of the year. The ITV production, set and filmed in Manchester, just edged out EastEnders and Emmerdale, which came joint second. No other soap received any votes. It must be Neighbours' turn soon.

For whatever reasons, you seemed to get a lot of satisfaction from Clara Oswald's death in Sarah Dollard's episode of Doctor Who last autumn, and it's consequently been voted our readers' favourite TV moment of 2015. Clara, played by Jenna Coleman (seen here about to sneeze), bowed out in the tenth episode of series nine but returned in both of the final two and is now flying the cosmos in her own TARDIS.

Finally for today, we come to our Most Promising Series for 2016. Although the entire third series of Endeavour has now aired, this nomination was made before it had even begun and it looks to have been a worthy one. Writer Russell Lewis and stars Shaun Evans and Roger Allam have all been on sterling form already this year, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Endeavour picking up a few gongs in our awards season next January. Also one to watch this year is the upcoming second run of Jessica Jones.

That's it for today, but join us tomorrow when we'll be announcing our awards for

2015 in Film!