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BBC Science
Fiction |
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The BBC have "kept the light flickering"
with solid radio drama right thru the last 40 years Not the least of which is their outstanding
contributions to the sci-fi genre. Having avidly listened to and restored a
lot of their best stuff, I have arrived at the following selection of
programs: Satellite Seven: Written by Angus McVicker, Satellite Seven, is part
science fiction, part mystery, part, spy tale and part adventure. It revolves around a British space
mission to be the first to photograph the far side of the moon and a spy's
mission to sabotage the project. It is told by a 15-year old teenage boy and
deals with his view of the happenings.
Graphically told and enthusiastically portrayed by a talented team of
actors, Satellite Seven consists of eight episodes, each of 15 minutes
duration. Orbiter X: The prefabricated components of the space station
Orbiter X have been rocketed into orbit. They are about to be assembled by a
teams of astronauts from the Commonwealth Space Project, headquartered at
Woomera in Australia. But the first group under Capt. Jack Bradley, on board
Orbiter 1, mysteriously go missing. Orbiter 2 is sent on a rescue mission,
plunging Capt. Bob Britton, Capt. Doug McClelland & Flight Engineer Hicks
into an exciting and amazing adventure that will see them on the Moon and in
space battling a mysterious and evil force. A very exciting story with a strong narrative and
great sound effects (with up to forty different recorded effects), this radio
series runs for 14 episodes, each of 30 minutes duration. Orbit Zero One: An astronomer in residence at an English university
receives a call from a colleague who claims to have picked up intelligent
signals originating from the edges of the Solar System. His investigation of
the matter leads to the discovery of strange glowing cylinders which suck
both heat and matter from everything around it. Unchecked, they could turn
the Earth into a freezer as cold as deepest space. Six episodes, each of 30
minutes duration Closed Planet: A crippled starship is compelled to make landfall on
a remote colony world, where the locals refuse to allow the crew to disembark
except under the strictest control. What terrible secret are they
hiding? 60 minutes duration The Duneroller: An unknown objects falls from the sky in pieces
scattered across the dunes. But the pieces begin rolling over the sand,
killing people who get in the way as it tries to rebuild itself. 60 minutes duration The Slide: There is a sudden appearance of a large fissure in a
new town called Redlow in Kent.
When torrents of seething mud start emerging from the fissure,
scientist Joseph Gomez is brought in. It is soon learned the mud contains a
reproducing organism with the power of mind control over people. It isn't long before the mud becomes
a killer. Redlow is declared a
disaster area and the country is put on a state of emergency as other
fissures start appearing. This excellent and involving radio drama, was well
received. Script Editor, Victor Pemberton went on to greater success as a
writer for television. The Slide
is notable because it is believed that the story line was re-written to
become "Doctor Who - Fury From The Deep" for BBC TV. Seven episodes,
each of 30 minutes duration. The Steve Gallagher Trilogy: The Steve Gallagher Trilogy is a group of three
serials about the relationship between man and machine in a future where the
lines dividing the two become increasingly, and more dangerously, blurred.
Each segment of the trilogy contains its own storyline, though naturally it
makes more sense as a whole. The series is not actually from the BBC, but a
product of Piccadilly Radio out of Manchester, UK. The Last Rose of Summer (1978) is in the future where the
world's population resides entirely in the City, a megalopolis controlled
down to the minutiae of everyday life by Central Command, a supercomputer. A
lowly nobody by the name of Mitchell decides that this just won't do. He
embarks on a crusade to overthrow the system, hunted down by Randall, one of
the hardcore 'Elite', enforcers trained since birth to serve the State - 6
episodes each of 30 minutes duration Hunter's Moon (1979) takes up with The Central Computer destroyed
and society on the verge of collapse, only to be 'saved' by the advent of the
Council, tyrants who have seized power in the vacuum. Randall, contaminated
by his exposure to Mitchell, is packed off to a polar prison complex. Then a
new threat emerges: an alien race arrives - the Wekk - who rape planets to
build their Worldships. Having patterned Mitchell's persona into a mechanical
simulacrum, they begin building an army of simulacra to overwhelm the Earth.
The Council has even sold out to the Wekk to save their own hides. Only
Randall, Lobo - a fellow convict - and the Mitchell simulacra stand in their
way - 8 episodes each of 30
minutes duration. The Babylon Run (1980) is set hundreds of years later, in a time
when Man has spread out to the stars, a commercial charter makes a forced
landing on the Babylon asteroid, a luxury resort for the super rich. Their
ship damaged, they are dismayed to find the complex abandoned due to an
incoming 'something' on a collision course. If that weren't bad enough, there
is mutiny brewing, and Babylon itself is not what it seems to be - 4 episodes
each of 30 minutes duration. Dan Dare: Better known to readers of the comic book Eagle as Dan Dare, Pilot Of The Future, Colonel Dare was chief test pilot for
the Interplanet Space Fleet. Along with his batman, Albert Fitzwilliam Digby, he would gallantly fly his spaceship Anastasia, into space adventure. His arch enemy
was the Mekon of Mekonta,
leader of the Treens
who was probably the original Ôlittle green manŐ from Venus, with ideas of
world domination. He was constantly thwarted by Dan and his stiff upper
lipped chums, which included one of the MekonŐs own number, a Treen named
Sondar. Dan first adventure, titled Venus by enthusiasts was the blue print for an
ambition BBC radio dramatization in 1990. Told in 4 parts each of 30 minutes
duration, 'tis a great sci-fi adventure yarn. Want to check out an episode of Orbiter X? - ItŐs a great example of the quality
of BBC Sci-Fi! This first episode of Orbiter X can be freely downloaded to your
computer - just right button click on any link below and chose "Download
Linked File" (or words to that effect). The file is on an average about
26Mb - download time will depend on your (broadband) speed ORBX_1959-09-28
No.1 The First Step To The Stars These two MP3 Discs contain the complete
adventures of these classic BBC Sci-Fi shows: A. Satellite Seven 1.
S7_1958-04-30
Pt.1 Mystery Island.mp3 2.
S7_1958-05-02
Pt.2 Whispering Voices.mp3 3.
S7_1958-05-07
Pt.3 Counterspies.mp3 4.
S7_1958-05-09
Pt.4 The Launching Bay.mp3 5.
S7_1958-05-14
Pt.5 Late Night Rendezvous.mp3 6.
S7_1958-05-16
Pt.6 Zero Hour.mp3 7.
S7_1958-05-21
Pt.7 The Spy.mp3 8.
S7_1958-05-23
Pt.8 Moon Messenger.mp3 B. OrbiterX 1.
ORBX_1959-09-28
No.1 The First Step To The Stars.mp3 2.
ORBX_1959-10-05
No.2 Conflict In Space.mp3 3.
ORBX_1959-10-12
No.3 The Master Plan.mp3 4.
ORBX_1959-10-19
No.4 Flight To The Moon.mp3 5.
ORBX_1959-10-26
No.5 Inside The Moon Station.mp3 6.
ORBX_1959-11-02
No.6 Breakaway.mp3 7.
ORBX_1959-11-09
No.7 The Price Of Survival.mp3 8.
ORBX_1959-11-16
No.8 Marooned In Space.mp3 9.
ORBX_1959-11-23
No.9 Operation Salvage.mp3 10.
ORBX_1959-11-30
No.10 Return To Woomera.mp3 11.
ORBX_1959-12-07
No.11 A Flight Against Time.mp3 12.
ORBX_1959-12-14
No.12 Building The Space Station.mp3 13.
ORBX_1959-12-21
No.13 The Net Closes.mp3 14.
ORBX_1959-12-28
No.14 The Final Round.mp3 C. Orbit Zero One 1.
OOZ_1961-04-21
Pt.1 The Unseeing Eye.mp3 2.
OOZ_1961-05-19
Pt.5 The Frozen World.mp3 3.
OOZ_1961-04-28
Pt.2 The Cylinder.mp3 4.
OOZ_1961-05-12
Pt.4 The Voices.mp3 5.
OOZ_1961-05-05
Pt.3 The Power.mp3 6.
OOZ_1961-05-26
Pt.6 The Unseen.mp3 D. Closed Planet 1.
CP_1962-10-24
Closed Planet.mp3 E. The Duneroller 1. BBCDR_1961-01-26 The Duneroller.mp3 F. The Slide 1.
BBCTS_1966-02-13
Pt. 1 Moments of Silence.mp3 2.
BBCTS_1966-02-20
Pt. 2 Down Came a Blackbird.mp3 3.
BBCTS_1966-02-27
Pt. 3 Analysis.mp3 4.
BBCTS_1966-03-06
Pt. 4 Heartbeat.mp3 5.
BBCTS_1966-03-13
Pt. 5 Danger Point.mp3 6.
BBCTS_1966-03-20
Pt. 6 Time Limit.mp3 7.
BBCTS_1966-03-27
Pt. 7 Out of the Darkness.mp3 G. The Steve Gallagher Trilogy The Last Rose of Summer 1.
SGTLRS_1978-xx-xx
Episode No.1.mp3 2.
SGTLRS_1978-xx-xx
Episode No.2.mp3 3.
SGTLRS_1978-xx-xx
Episode No.3.mp3 4.
SGTLRS_1978-xx-xx
Episode No.4.mp3 5.
SGTLRS_1978-xx-xx
Episode No.5.mp3 6.
SGTLRS_1978-xx-xx
Episode No.6.mp3 Hunter's Moon 1.
SGTHM_1979-xx-xx
Episode No.1.mp3 2.
SGTHM_1979-xx-xx
Episode No.2.mp3 3.
SGTHM_1979-xx-xx
Episode No.3.mp3 4.
SGTHM_1979-xx-xx
Episode No.4.mp3 5.
SGTHM_1979-xx-xx
Episode No.5.mp3 6.
SGTHM_1979-xx-xx
Episode No.6.mp3 7.
SGTHM_1979-xx-xx
Episode No.7.mp3 8.
SGTHM_1979-xx-xx
Episode No.8.mp3 The Babylon Run 1.
SGTBR_1980-xx-xx
No. 1.mp3 2.
SGTBR_1980-xx-xx
No. 2.mp3 3.
SGTBR_1980-xx-xx
No. 3.mp3 4.
SGTBR_1980-xx-xx
No. 4.mp3 H. Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future 1.
DDPF_1990-xx-xx
Episode No.1 - Disaster.mp3 2.
DDPF_1990-xx-xx
Episode No.2 - Divided We Fall.mp3 3.
DDPF_1990-xx-xx
Episode No.3 - Mekon of Mekonta.mp3 4.
DDPF_1990-xx-xx
Episode No.4 - Battle Stations.mp3 |