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Brief History of Space
Journey Into Space began as a science fiction series broadcast on BBC radio in the 1950s. It launched in 1953 and ran for three epic series by the end of which time it had been broadcast all around the world and had become a legend of radio. The cliff-hanging adventures of Jet Morgan and his crew were originally 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 to the moon in Operation Luna took place in 1965. They later travelled to Mars in The Red Planet in 1971. The final serial told the tale of The World in Peril and was set in 1973.
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. Lemual Barnett, more commonly known as Lemmy, was played originally by David Kossoff and later by Alfie Bass. Both were famous comedy actors but played the role straight with the occasional laugh. 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 a little dated when listening today but after a couple of episodes when the perils of space kick in they become more believable. Chilton imbued his scripts with much authenticity. His rockets took off at the right speed and nobody could beam down to a planet - they had to pilot and land a spaceship. 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.
Jet's adventures on radio were rested in 1958. The BBC wanted another series but Charles Chilton was exhausted by the workload. There were three novelistations published between 1954 and 1962 orignally in hardback but also as PAN paperbacks. A comic strip adaption in Express Weekly presented three new stories: Planet of Fear, Shadow Over Britain and The World Next Door.
A number of one-off plays follow on from the original series but with different cast members. These were orignally broadcast on radio 4 and include The Return From Mars, Frozen In Time and The Host.
The Return From Mars was a 90 minute play broadcast in 1981 which igonred the comic strips and instead followed on from The World In Peril. It was part of a season of science fiction plays prompted by the success of The Hitch-Hikers' Guide To The Galaxy in it's original radio incarnation. The one-off play was directed by Glyn Dearman who went on to direct EarthSearch.
A brand new series Space Force was commissioned by Radio 2 in 1982 and broadcast in late night slots in 1984 and 1985. This featured entirely new characters but was in a similar vein to Journey Into Space.
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 were 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 on both series.
The first two series of Journey Into Space were released on CD in 2006 but sadly the sales of the expensive second boxset were not good and as a consequence the planned third release did not materialise. However, all three series have been made available as mp3 or wma downloads from various online booksellers at a much cheaper price.
In 2008 the words "Journey Into Space" were heard once again over the airwaves when Radio 4 brought us "Frozen In Time" a new 60 minute adventure broadcast as The Saturday Play. This time David Jacobs was Jet aged 30 years older following an accident which took place after the completion of Operation Neptune.
BBC Audiobooks released this play on CD as well as a talking book of the first novel, "Journey Into Space" - the novel of the record breaking radio serial, which had been long out of print and difficult to find for many years. The complete and unabridged reading was by read by Aliens acotr William Hope and featured new music conveying the eerieness of space composed by Simon E Power.
In 2009 Radio Four will broadcast a new 60 minute play "The Host" starring David Jacobs and Tony Stephens. It is expected to arrive in June. The music is by David Chilton, son of Charles Chilton, and it is directed by Nicolas Russell-Pavier.
"Today it still enjoys a huge fanbase, with active websites and keenly received repeats on BBC7." Paul Donovan, The Sunday Times, 2008.
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