Category: Audio Drama

Universe adapted from the story by Robert A. Heinlein [RADIO DRAMA]

SFFaudio Online Audio

I bet most folks think that the closest Robert A. Heinlein came to tackling the topic of religion was Stranger In A Strange Land. But I think that novel has got too much other stuff going on in it. To get a better idea, check out his terrific 1941 short story Universe (later combined with another short story for the fix-up novel entitled Orphans Of The Sky).

Astounding, May 1941 - Universe by Robert A. Heinlein

The people of Universe live under an oppressive theocracy, with the death penalty given for heretical ideas. In the script for the radio dramatizations one character describes it as a society of “regimented slaves.”

Universe offers many, many sparky ideas – all of which are centered around religion and cosmology.

When asked about heaven the main character says this:

“The peasants believe [in] it literally but many of the younger scientists, like myself, know that it is figurative, symbolic.”

Turns that he’s wrong, that the foundations of his religion are based in a real history, that his god was once alive, and that the belief he scoffs at (and others kill in the name of), are based facts about their universe. It’s absolutely thought provoking soft sf bounded by a hard SF that only someone like Robert A. Heinlein could pull off.

And, unlike the original short story, which is rather hopeful, the end of the radio dramatization is deeply noir.

Dimension XDimension X – Universe
Adapted by George Lefferts; Adapted from the story by Robert A. Heinlein; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: NBC
Broadcast: November 26, 1950
Provider: Archive.org

X-Minus OneX-Minus One – Universe
Adapted by George Lefferts; Adapted from the story by Robert A. Heinlein; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 28 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: NBC
Broadcast: May 15, 1955
Provider: Archive.org

Illustrations of strong>Universe by Hubert Rogers and Charles Schneeman from the May 1941 of Astounding:
Universe by Robert A. Heinlein - illustrated by Hubert Rogers
Universe by Robert A. Heinlein - illustrated by Hubert Rogers
Universe by Robert A. Heinlein - illustrated by Hubert Rogers
Universe by Robert A. Heinlein illustrated by Charles Schneeman
Universe by Robert A. Heinlein - illustrated by Hubert Rogers

[Thanks to Bill Hollweg and Bob!]

Posted by Jesse Willis

19 Nocturne Boulevard: The View From Within AUDIO DRAMA (adapted from an H.P. Lovecraft story)

SFFaudio Online Audio

This is an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft short story, a very loose one, and the title is different. I think if you’ve read it you have a chance of identifying it, but if you haven’t you probably won’t.

19 Nocturne Boulevard - The View From Within19 Nocturne Boulevard – The View From Within
By Julie Hoverson; Adapted from a story by H.P. Lovecraft; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMA]
Podcaster: 19 Nocturne Boulevard
Podcast: November 15, 2010

Cast:
Richard … Philemon Vanderbeck
Edward … Bryan Hendrickson
Charles … Michael Coleman
Warren … Glen Hallstrom
Herbert … Carl Cubbedge
Auguste … Reynaud LeBoeuf

Music by Kevin MacLeod

Posted by Jesse Willis

CBSRMT: The Guy de Maupassant Murders by Sam Dann [RADIO DRAMA]

Aural Noir: Online Audio

CBS Radio Mystery Theater ran an astounding 1,399 original episodes. Unlike early radio drama series, in which popular episodes were re-staged, sometimes with the exact same script, not one of the nearly 1,400 episodes of CBSRMT episodes was re-done.

And yet, they came pretty damn close once. Episode #0715, which first aired in 1977, is called The Guy de Maupassant Murders. It takes direct inspiration in plot and structure from a short story by Guy de Maupassant called The Diary Of A Madman.

And yet The Diary Of A Madman was itself adapted as episode three years earlier!

Having heard them both I prefer The Guy de Maupassant Murders. I think that’s because I heard it first. But the performance is more interesting too, perhaps because it stars Fred Gwynne, best known for his role as Herman Munster.

When I first heard Gwynne’s performance I thought he was off – that he had just been unprofessional that day – it sounded as if he was just reading the script for the first time while they were recording – but upon a second listening I noticed that the way he delivers the lines completely fits the character and his psychology.

Judge for yourself.

CBS Radio Mystery TheaterCBSRMT #0715 – The Guy de Maupassant Murders
By Sam Dann; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 45 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBS
Broadcast: September 26, 1977
Provider: CBSRMT.com
The polymathic houskeeper for an aging bachelor judge follows the reports of a serial killer’s flagitious crimes with interest. The only clue is a note left on on each of the victims. It always reads “THOU SHALT KILL.”

Here’s a |PDF| of the story that inspired it.

Cast:
Fred Gwynne … Judge
Marian Seldes … Martha Mullins
Martha Greenhouse
Nat Polen

Episode #0062 from 1974 is available HERE and there’s handy YouTube version too:

Posted by Jesse Willis

Radio Drama Revival: The Silver Tongued Devil by Roger Gregg

SFFaudio Online Audio

Radio Drama RevivalThe Silver Tongued Devil, a Crazy Dog Audio Theatre production penned by the mighty Roger Gregg, has just been podcast on Radio Drama Revival Episode 294. Host Fred Greenhalgh, a protege of Gregg’s, describes it this way:

This saucy mockumentary tries to uncover a surprising Irish poetry sensation… while lampooning Irish culture, academia, mass hysteria, and maybe even a jab at poetry itself (aren’t all poets rich and sexy?

I first heard about The Silver Tongued Devil back in 2005 when it was reviewed as a segment of Gregg’s Diabolic Playhouse |READ OUR REVIEW|. Then, Scott described it as “an absolute treasure for fans of audio drama.”When I got the chance to hear it I completely concurred. Over the years since I posted about it’s twice more, HERE and HERE.

Crazy Dog Audio Theatre - The Silver Tongued Devil by Roger GreggHere’s Scott’s description from 2005:

This entire piece is done like a radio documentary, NPR-style, complete with interviews of average people about the “Silver Tongued Devil”. The actors who did these segments were perfect! If I had listened to this on the radio without knowing that Crazy Dog had done it, I’d have thought it was news. Who is the “Silver Tongued Devil”? He’s an incredibly famous poet from Cork who has the god-like ability to make people swoon with his words. Again, the piece is multi-layered, achieving both hilarity and poignancy.”

|MP3|

Podcast feed: http://feeds2.feedburner.com/RadioDramaRevival

Posted by Jesse Willis

The SFFaudio Podcast #176 – AUDIO DRAMA: Fred Greenhalgh’s The Cleansed

Podcast

The SFFaudio PodcastThe SFFaudio Podcast #176 – The Cleansed, Season 1, Episode 1 by Fred Greenhalgh. This is the complete first episode of the Final Rune audio drama series by Fred Greenhalgh followed by a discussion of it. Participants in the discussion include Jesse, Tamahome and Fred Greenhalgh himself.

Talked about on today’s show:
Eight episodes in season one, clothing in the apocalypse, Tamahome believed everyone was naked, field recording and all-present cast, portable recorder in South Africa, “audio postcards”, Fred’s past audiodramas, The Most Dangerous Game, Waiting for a Window, “either biblical or Star Wars”, Bruce Willis and Armageddon, conflicting world-views, “is that a turkey there?”, Fred knows how to live off the grid, The Long Walk, Fred loves Stephen King, The Stand tv version, when will we find out what ‘The Cleansed’ refers to?, violence and ideologies, Chatterbox Audio Theater on The Cleansed, like Stephen King, Fred doesn’t believe in a lot of plotting ahead or describing clothes, artist Simon Adams helps, “Paul with a P”, “The Republic is the 1%’ers”, The Cleansed Kickstarter campaign, where does Fred get his food?, the best of both worlds, a post-apocalypse for today

The Cleansed

Posted by Tamahome