 |
The new episode can be heard online until next Saturday online at BBC Radio 4: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/arts/saturday_play.shtml Even if you heard the show already give it a click, because the Beeb use the number of hits on their iplayer to measure a show's popularity. Let's see if we can't give Chris Moyles a run for money! If it gets a enough clicks the BBC may commission more science fiction plays in the future. Also visit the BBC Radio 4 messageboard to leave your comments on the show. Don't post them on BBC7 as BBC7 didn't commission "Frozen In Time"! Look under "drama and readings." http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbradio4/F2766771 When Lord of the Rings was broadcast in the same Saturday afternoon slot about 7 years back it got a huge response and increased listenership. Journey Into Space is one of the four most popular sci fi and fantasy audio dramas of all time anywhere in the world - so this is our chance to prove that Jet Morgan could beat Frodo in a fight anyday. Journey Into Space was a science fiction series broadcast on BBC radio in the 1950s. It began in 1953 and lasted for three series by the end of which it had become a radio legend. The cliff-hanging adventures of Jet Morgan were broadcast on the Light Programme and enthralled millions of listeners in the age before television dominated home entertainment. Besides Jet, the Captain, there was cockney radio operator Lemmy Barnett, Doc Matthews and engineer Steven Mitchell. Their first trip was to the moon in Operation Luna. They later travelled to Mars in The Red Planet. The final serial told the tale of The World in Peril. The three stories were written by the man responsible for creating and producing the series, Charles Chilton - a producer whose credits included the Goon Show and Riders of the Range. Chilton had the unnerving method of writing each half-hour episode only days before the recording and also made pioneering use of tape and electronic effects. When transcription recordings of the show were made, the trilogy was sold abroad to 22 different countries.
Andrew Faulds played Jet and was later to become Labour MP for Warley East. Lemmy was played originally by David Kossoff and later by Alfie Bass. Both were famous comedy actors but the character was played as a believable common man rather than cockney stereotype. Canadian playwright Guy Kingsley Poynter played Doc, while the Australian engineer Mitch was played in turn by Bruce Beeby, Don Sharp and David Williams. Most other voices were played by a young impressionist, David Jacobs who was later to become the presenter of Juke Box Jury and one of the original presenters on Radio One. The characters may seem like Commonwealth stereotypes at first but after a couple of episodes when the perils of space kick in they become more believable. Chilton imbued his scripts with much authenticity - for example all the rockets took off at the right speed. It this documentary feel coupled with the eerie music of Van Phillips which made the series so engaging. Only audio drama could convey the isolation of space and create such a gripping atmosphere in the mind of the listener. After novelisations and comic strip adaptions, Jet's adventures were rested in 1958. There were a few spin-off series in the 1980s. The Return From Mars was a 90 minute play broadcast on BBC Radio Four. Space Force was an entirely new series broadcast late at night on Radio Two. When the original transcription recordings of Journey Into Space were rediscovered at the end of the decade they were repeated in full on Radio Two gathering a whole new legion of fans. They have been released on BBC cassette throughout the 1990s in various abridged forms. In 1999 Radio 4 broadcast Journey Into Space... Again an affectionate look back featuring a reunion of author Chilton and actors Andrew Faulds and David Jacobs. It was broadcast as part of Moon Day celebrating the anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing. Radio 4's The Archive Hour covered Journey Into Space with a full one hour special hosted by David Jacobs in 2000 and there was also a look back over the career of Charles Chilton in 2004. Since 2003 BBC7 has been the home of Journey Into Space broadcasting repeats of all three series as well as the 90 minute special The Return From Mars several times as part of the popular Seventh Dimension strand. They also repeated the 1980s follow up series Space Force and interviewed Charles Chilton about his work. The first two series have been released on CD and even though they have now sold out sales were not fast enough for the Beeb to issue series 3 on CD. All three series have been made available as mp3/wma downloads from various online booksellers. In 2008 the words "Journey Into Space" will once again rocket over the headlines when BBC Radio 4 broadcasts "Frozen In Time" a new adventure following on from the original series and updating it slightly for a modern audience. David Jacobs will take over the role of Jet. BBC Audiobooks are also releasing a talking book of the first novel, which has been out of print and hard to find for many years. The reading by William Hope will be complete and unabridged and available in May. "Today it still enjoys a huge fanbase, with active websites and keenly received repeats on BBC7." Paul Donovan, The Sunday Times
This is a non-profit making site designed to celebrate and take a retrospective look at a wireless legend. It is created in the web site author's spare time and has a worldwide audience. Please send your comments to the guestbook. |
|
