Fred Greenhalgh, or Radio Drama Revival, writes:
Hey Jesse,
Wanted to point you to what should be some pretty appealing Radio Drama Revival episodes for SFF Audio listeners. I’ve gotten permission from Yuri Rasovsky to broadcast a few stories produced for the Beyond 2000 series… If you’re not familiar with it, it was a series commissioned by NPR back in the day and featured a startlingly great compilation of writers no less than Kurt Vonnegut, Robert Heinlein, Ray Bradbury, Ursula K LeGuin… http://www.irasov.com/faves.htm
Wow! Thanks Fred!
I agree with Fred, this is truly exciting audio. And there IS a whole lot to love in these professional productions from 2000X series (aka Beyond 2000). Check out the top shelf actors in these productions. And, then check out the sound quality! As Fred mentions in the podcast, it is all in an absolutely pristine stereo goodness.
Rossum’s Universal Robots asks a question, which has haunted the Science Fiction since: What does the creation of an artificial life form mean for the fate of humankind?
2000X – R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots)
Based on the play by Karel Čapek; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 1 Hour 11 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMA]
Podcaster: Radio Drama Revival
Podcast: June 4, 2010
Helena, the daughter of the president of a major industrial power, arrives at the island factory for a tour of Rossum’s Universal Robots. The original stage play premiered, in Czech, in 1921.
Robert A. Heinlein’s By His Bootstraps deals in some of the inherent paradoxes that would be caused by recursive time travel.
2000X – By His Bootstraps
Based on the short story by Robert A. Heinlein; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 57 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMA]
Podcaster: Radio Drama Revival
Podcast: June 11, 2010
Bob Wilson locks himself in his room to finish his doctoral thesis on time travel. Suddenly a stranger appears in his dorm room and tells him to stop writing and start listening. The interloper, who looks strangely familiar, calls himself “Joe” and explains that he has come from the future through a Time Gate. First published in the October 1941 issue of Astounding Science Fiction under the pen name Anson MacDonald.
Starring:
Richard Dreyfuss
Cordis Heard
Kascia Marciniak
Ira Burton
Crew:
Adapted, Produced and Directed by Yuri Rasovsky
Sound Fesign by Richard Fairbanks
Posted by Jesse Willis
By His Bootstraps is great. I remember one by Octavia Butler that was…er…special.
Thanks for sharing, Jesse! It’s a huge treat to be able to share these works, especially in their full stereo glory (the paid downloads on Audible are sadly all mono).
Hearing this just keeps making me wonder what NPR could be doing for radio drama if they were really interested in keeping it alive.
When are you podcasting more of these?