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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: Alien
Worlds: Slowly
rotating, at the edge of deep space, one thousand kilometres beyond the
atmosphere of 21st century Earth, is the Arthur C. Clark astronomical
observatory Star Lab. Here, Star Lab research director Mora Cassidy, along
with scientists and technicians of the International Space Authority, watch
over the countless suns, planets and star systems that fill the universe. Alien
Worlds was produced and broadcast
in 1979 and deals with the interplanetary peacekeepers on Star Lab. It was created by LeeHansen, who also
produced and directed all 26 broadcast episodes in the two seasons. He also
produced a further 4 episodes for an anticipated third season, which did not
eventuate. This
show is absolutely outstanding - it even rates its own website: http://www.alienworlds.com/main.htm J.
Michael Straczynski, creator of the
TV series "Babylon 5" contributed scripts for the series. Thirty episodes, each of 30 minutes
duration BTW:
This show isn't really BBC or even
UK - its Universal Studios, Hollywood voiced by Charles McGraw and Olan Soule
etc - but the style of this show fits in with the rest of the programs on
this 2 CD set so its included here (and badged under BBC Sci-Fi) 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. 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. 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. These
two MP3 Discs contain the complete adventures of these classic BBC Sci-Fi
shows: A. Alien Worlds Season I 1.
AW_1979-04-07 The Sun
Stealers (I).mp3 2.
AW_1979-04-14 The Sun
Stealers (II).mp3 3.
AW_1979-04-21 The
Starsmith Project (I).mp3 4.
AW_1979-04-28 The
Starsmith Project (II).mp3 5.
AW_1979-05-05 The
Night Riders of Kalimar (I).mp3 6.
AW_1979-05-12 The
Night Riders of Kalimar (II).mp3 7.
AW_1979-05-19
Resurrectionists of Lethe (I).mp3 8.
AW_1979-05-26
Resurrectionists of Lethe (II).mp3 9.
AW_1979-06-02 The Keeper
of Eight (I).mp3 10.
AW_1979-06-09 The
Keeper of Eight (II).mp3 11.
AW_1979-06-16 The ISA
Conspiracy (I).mp3 12.
AW_1979-06-23 The ISA
Conspiracy (II).mp3 13.
AW_1979-06-30 The ISA
Conspiracy (III).mp3 Season
II 1.
AW_1979-07-07 The
Kilohertz War.mp3 2.
AW_1979-07-14 The
Adventure of the Egyptian Necklace (I).mp3 3.
AW_1979-07-21 The
Adventure of the Egyptian Necklace (II).mp3 4.
AW_1979-07-28 Time
Clash.mp3 5.
AW_1979-08-04
Deathsong.mp3 6.
AW_1979-08-11 The
Infinity Factor (I).mp3 7.
AW_1979-08-18 The
Infinity Factor (II).mp3 8.
AW_1979-08-25
Earthlight (I).mp3 9.
AW_1979-09-01
Earthlight (II).mp3 10.
AW_1979-09-08 The
Seeds of Time.mp3 11.
AW_1979-09-15 The
Madonnas of Zanzibar Alpha (I).mp3 12.
AW_1979-09-22 The
Madonnas of Zanzibar Alpha (II).mp3 13.
AW_1979-09-29 The
Himalayan Parallel.mp3 Season
III 1.
AW_1979-xx-xx (29) A
Dream Within a Dream.mp3 2.
AW_1979-xx-xx (30) A
Question of Conscience.mp3 3.
AW_1979-xx-xx (27) The
Leukocyte Maneuver.mp3 4.
AW_1979-xx-xx (28) The
Parallax Deception.mp3 B. 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 C. 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 D. 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 E. OrbiterX 1.
ORBX_1959-09-28
Episode No.1.mp3 2.
ORBX_1959-10-05
Episode No.2.mp3 3.
ORBX_1959-10-12
Episode No.3.mp3 4.
ORBX_1959-10-19
Episode No.4.mp3 5.
ORBX_1959-10-26
Episode No.5.mp3 6.
ORBX_1959-11-02
Episode No.6.mp3 7.
ORBX_1959-11-09
Episode No.7.mp3 8.
ORBX_1959-11-16
Episode No.8.mp3 9.
ORBX_1959-11-23
Episode No.9.mp3 10.
ORBX_1959-11-30
Episode No.10.mp3 11.
ORBX_1959-12-07 Episode
No.11.mp3 12.
ORBX_1959-12-14
Episode No.12.mp3 13.
ORBX_1959-12-21
Episode No.13.mp3 14.
ORBX_1959-12-28
Episode No.14.mp3 F. 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 G. Closed Planet 1.
CP_1962-10-24 Closed
Planet.mp3 H. The Duneroller 1. BBCDR_1961-01-26
The Duneroller.mp3 I. 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 |