No 11728, Thursday 16 Jun 2016, Spinner

Col is having network issues. Thanks Ramesh, I'm back online.

ACROSS
1   Ace marksman, famous cinematographer or granter of wishes sent from heaven? (8,4) SHOOTING STAR [MD]
10 Necessary, so it was written after degree (5) BASIC {BA}{SIC}
11 Cheat faltering idiot with no qualification (9) CONDITION {CON}{IDIOT*}{N}
12 Novel's surprisingly unquiet, excluding climax (6) UNIQUE UNQUIEt*
13 Genuine crush on a girl overwhelming Spinner (8) ORIGINAL {ON A GIRL*} around {I}
15 Father's ship left Barbados finally, getting travel permits (9) PASSPORTS {PA}{SS}{PORT}{b...oS}
16 Imprisons training partners (4) PENS {PE}{NS}
20 Textrous starts to set cryptic challenge (4) TEST {Te...s}{SET*}
21 Display ultimately people-centric, energetic form of governance (9) DEMOCRACY {DEMO}{p...iC}{RACY}
24 Cost-effective electronic company adopts negative amplification (8) ECONOMIC {E}{CO}{NO  MIC}
26 Husband involved in lawsuit appears before some special courts (6) CHASES {C{H}ASE}{Special}
28 Most charming setter's tips detailed and presented differently (9) PRETTIEST {SETTER+TIPs}*
29 Increase applause when starting late (5) RAISE pRAISE
30 You might inherit from these women fine accents with a touch of nasality (12) ANCESTRESSES {A{Nasal}CE}{STRESSES}

DOWN
2   Letting go of drug? Last hope is undergoing rehabilitation in health centres! (9) HOSPITALS &lit {LAST HOPe}* around AL (Addendum - {LAST+HOPe+IS}* - See comments)
3   Definitely lost in female's absence (2,6) OF COURSE {OFf}{ COURSE}
4   Batting on 100, Hayden begins to move slowly (4) INCH {IN}{C}{Ha...n}
5   Destroyed in one great wave (10) GENERATION*
6   This includes extremely nerve-wracking stuff (6) THINGS {THI{Ne...nG}S}
7   Rule to regulate drinks? Good! (5) REIGN {REI{G}N}
8   Ali's first fight over (5) ABOUT {Ali}{BOUT}
9   Innumerable borders protecting the French (7) ENDLESS {END{LES}S}
14 Perhaps illness describing a single? (10) LONELINESS &lit ILLNESS* around ONE
17 Too much for one-time tax? That's describing VAT, basically! (9) EXCESSIVE {EX}{CESS}{I{Vat}E}
18 Try to woo a model upfront (7) ATTEMPT {A}{T}{TEMPT}
19 Pursuing gold, burn down small fruit gardens (8) ORCHARDS {OR}{CHARD}{S} (Addendum - {OR}{CHAR}{D}{S} - See comments)
22 'Rhymester' Spinner's introduction to crosswords is imaginative (6) POETIC {POET}{I}{Cr...s}
23 Fool hides, man remains (5) ASHES{AS{HE}S}
25 Works of art from old (chiefly pre-modern) age (5) OPERA {O}{Pre-modern}{ERA}
27 Awaken kind man's temper, almost (4) STIR {ST}{IRe}

GRID

No 11727, Wednesday 15 Jun 2016, Aspartame

ACROSS
9   Spouse during a disagreement? (8,7) SPARRING PARTNER [CD]
10 Track down remote controlled vehicle collecting samples of extraterrestrial creatures (7) RECOVER {Ex...l}{Cr...s} in {ROVER}
12 Hindu father became French royalty (7) DAUPHIN {HINDU+PA}*
13 Bare males posing in a straight line — that’s hot (5,4) LASER BEAM*  Clue would have worked without 'in a straight line' also
14 Big dealer sold a building (5) ELDER DEaLER* Big or Bigger?
15 Ask Buzzer to have corner with cryptic hints, to begin with (7) BESEECH {BE{S}E}{Cr...c}{Hi..s}
18 Well-mannered but given to servile compliance (7) COURTLY [DD]
21 Was custard inside a container? (5) ASCUS [T]
23 Chord is produced from it (5,4) VOCAL CORD (~chord) &lit
25 I write about weapon that is land-based (7) PENGUIN {PEN}{GU{I}N} From the clue wording we get {I}{PEN} about {GUN}
26 Check trendy speaker (7) INVOICE {IN}{VOICE}
29 Aunts and tots ballet dancing is of lowest priority? On the contrary (4,3,3,5) LAST BUT NOT LEAST*

DOWN
1   Emperor obtained backing of a third of the Rastafarians (4) TSAR [T<=]
2   Cosmetic surgery on cat requires money (4) TALC {L} in CAT*
3   Cross-stitching on royal’s vest takes a bit of effort (8) TRAVERSE {A} in {R+VEST}* and {Ef...t} There's an R missing in the fodder
4   Right to enrol for a main course (6) ENTREE [DD]
5   When everyone gets a 16 (8) EPIDEMIC [CD]
6   Group of dancers march audibly (6) TROUPE (~troop)
7   Won’t he do the furnishing precisely? (2,3,3) ON THE DOT [T]
8   Unyielding Greyjoy lost happiness, became a shade (4,4) IRON GREY {IRON} {GREYjoy}
11 Encourage oriental to recall story from start to end (5) ELATE {ELAT<=}<=>{E}
15 Live with an Olsztynian resident who’s tall and thin (8) BEANPOLE {BE}{AN}{POLE}
16 About to break polished sink on Cockney head? That causes worry (8) SICKNESS {SI{C}KN*}{'ESS} Can Cockney head can lead to (-n)ESS or 'ESS
17 They own money? Not a single note (4-4) HAVE-NOTS {HAVE}-{NOT}{S} Anno not clear (Addendum - {HAVE}-{NOTeS}&lit - See comments)
19 A French learner too not right and not fair (8) UNLOVELY {UN}{L}{OVErLY}
20 Text lanky Yankee read in class bit by bit (5) LYRIC Acrostic
22 Small, plump, blunt (6) STUBBY {S}{TUBBY}
24 Earring made by thief worn on cheek (4-2) CLIP-ON {C{LIP}-ON}
27 I am a Muslim leader (4) IMAM {I'M}{A}{Mu...m}
28 Removes packaging, tastes broth of stomachs (4) EATS tASTEs*

GRID