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BBC Radio 4: Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde and The Rapture

SFFaudio Online Audio

It’s that time of the week for a quick scan of the forthcoming BBC Radio schedules in the Radio Times. There are two solid items to set your Radio Downloader program humming: The first runs just an hour, the second in 15 minute chunks for 10 weekdays in a row.

First up, a repeat of the play first broadcast in early 2007…

BBC Radio 4 - Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde The Saturday Play: Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde
Based on the book by Robert Louis Stevenson; Performed by a full cast
1 Broadcast – Approx. 60 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 4
Broadcast: Saturday July 25th 2009
When a London lawyer studies the last will of his old friend Dr Jekyll, his suspicions are aroused. Why has respectable Dr Jekyll left everything to sinister Edward Hyde? Directed by Claire Grove.
Cast:
Dr Jekyll …… Adam Godley
Utterson …… David Horovitch
Enfield …… Mark Straker
Mrs Utterson …… Christine Kavanagh
Lanyon …… Sam Dale
Poole …… Joseph Kloska
Sir Danvers …… Ian Masters
Girl/Maid …… Emma Noakes
Housekeeper …… Bethan Walker

Next, described as an “eco-thriller”…

BBC Radio 4 - The Rapture by Liz Jensen Book At Bedtime: The Rapture
By Liz Jensen; Read by Denise Black
10 Parts – Approx. 2.5 Hours [UNABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 4
Broadcast: Monday-Friday July 27th – 31st August 3 -7 @ 22:45-23:00
It is a June unlike any other before, with temperatures soaring to asphyxiating heights. All across the world, freak weather patterns—and the life-shattering catastrophes they entail—have become the norm. The twenty-first century has entered a new phase. But Gabrielle Fox’s main concern is a personal one: to rebuild her life after a devastating car accident that has left her disconnected from the world, a prisoner of her own guilt and grief. Determined to make a fresh start, and shake off memories of her wrecked past, she leaves London for a temporary posting as an art therapist at Oxsmith Adolescent Secure Psychiatric Hospital, home to one hundred of the most dangerous children in the country. Among them: the teenage killer Bethany Krall.

[Thanks Roy!]

Posted by Jesse Willis

BBC Radio 4: Tarantino’s Jukebox

Aural Noir: Online Audio

BBC Radio 4 produces so many wonderful fiction programs. Every once in a while I get my paws on a BBC R4 documentary program that is just as good, and just as interesting as those readings and plays. I’m not much for music, but I love the music in Quentin Tarantino’s movies.

Here’s the perfect doc on that subject…

Tarantino's Jukebox Tarantino’s Jukebox
2 Parts – Approx. 56 Minutes [DOCUMENTARY]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 4
Broadcast: July 11th and 18th 2009
“Composer and film music historian Robert Ziegler talks to American film-maker Quentin Tarantino about the music he has used to soundtrack his films. Music plays a key role in Tarantino’s films, including Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown, and he reveals to Robert his musical influences and the way in which he plunders his own backstory, remembering the tracks of his youth and making references to – and featuring music from – cult films and television. Recorded on location in Tarantino’s favourite virtual Los Angeles diner, the programme also provides an insight into the way music can infuse a film, and the way a film can bring music back to life from the dusty vaults. The programme also features contributions from Mary Wilson of the Supremes, Dusty Springfield’s manager Vicki Wickham, film producer Laurence Bender, music and film critic Paul Gambaccini, film editor Sally Menke and music supervisors Mary Ramos and Karyn Rachtman”.

When you click through you may notice that BBC only has the second half of the two part doc still available in their iPlayer. But, that’s okay because you can get this terrific two part doc in an MP3 format via torrent from radioarchive.cc (just like I did).

Posted by Jesse Willis

The SFFaudio Podcast #031 – NEW RELEASES/AUDIOBOOK: Founding Fathers by Robert Bloch

Podcast

The SFFaudio Podcast #031 – Jesse (that’s me) and Scott (my buddy) are again joined by Rick Jackson of Wonder Audio. We talk about audiobooks, new and newer, a little about radio drama, throw in some politics, some Canada bashing, and then add in two complete short stories. The first short story is read by me (it is only two sentences long) and the other runs about 40 minutes and is performed by a professional narrator. Enjoy it folks!

Talked about on today’s show:
Full Cast Audio, Graceling by Kristin Cashore, Hugo Nominees, Young Adult novels, Little Brother by Cory Doctorow |READ OUR REVIEW|, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman |READ OUR REVIEW|, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins |READ OUR REVIEW|, On Basilisk Station by David Weber, Grover Gardner, Shards Of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold, Barayar, The Honor Of The Queen, Paul W. Campbell, Honor Of The Clan by John Ringo and Julie Cochrane, Cally’s War, Audible Frontiers, Brilliance Audio, Paperback Digital, Hyperion by Dan Simmons, The Canterbury Tales, The Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas, Black Library Audio, Warhammer 40,000: Heart Of Rage by James Swallow, Warhammer 40,000: Slayer Of The Storm God by Nathan Long, Infinivox, The Year’s Top Ten Tales Of Science Fiction edited by Alan Kaster, Ted Chiang is awesome, Zombie Astronaut posts 5 adaptations of Knock by Frederic Brown, Earthmen Bearing Gifts, Expedition, Arena, Rocket Men: The Epic Story of the First Men On The Moon by Craig Nelson, Penguin Audio, 40th Anniversary of Apollo 11, Digital Apollo by David A. Mindell, MIT Press, Wernher von Braun, I Aim For The Stars (1960), Ascent by Jed Mercurio |READ OUR REVIEW|, Voyage by Stephen Baxter (and adapted by Dirk Maggs to radio drama), Four Sided Triangle by William F. Temple, Ray Bradbury, Damon Knight, William Coon, The Fabulous Clip-Joint by Frederic Brown, The Alcoholics by Jim Thompson, Audible.com/wonderaudio, Rule Golden by Damon Knight, Worlds Of The Imperium by Keith Laumer, Mark Douglas Nelson, This Crowded Earth and Other Stories by Robert Bloch, overpopulation, James Powell, The Vanishing Venusians by Leigh Brackett, noir, The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Lawrence Kasdan, Body Heat (1981), Wolfbane by Frederik Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth, Plague Of Pythons by Frederik Pohl, Passengers by Robert Silverberg, The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi, Old Man’s War, Zoe’s Tale, The Sagan Diaries, Lord Valentines Castle by Robert Silverberg |READ OUR REVIEW|, Stephan Rudnicki, Greg Margarite, LibriVox.org, Deathworld by Harry Harrison, Philip K. Dick, Andre Norton, William Coon, Amazon Kindle, ebooks, where the great lakes came from, Comics, The Iliad by Homer; Adapted by Roy Thomas, The Punisher: From First To Last by Garth Ennis, The Golden Slave by Poul Anderson, The Lies Of Loch Lamora by Scott Lynch = Lankhmar meets Oliver Twist, Harry Potter, Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert, messiahs, clairvoyance, the dangers of charismatic leaders, Dune, Harkonnen government was poor management, BBC versions of the Falco books by Lindsey Davis, Radio Downloader, the Brother Cadfael series by Ellis Peters, The Name Of The Rose (1986), Umberto Eco.

And last, but not least, a complete short story, courtesy of Wonder Audio, by Robert Bloch:

Founding Fathers
By Robert Bloch; Read by William Coon
Approx. 40 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: The SFFaudio Podcast
Podcast: July 20th, 2009
A humorous time travel tale.
First published in Fantastic Universe July 1956.

Get more Robert Bloch read by Willam Coon HERE.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Tom Baker doing new Doctor Who audio

SFFaudio News

Doctor Who The Once Upon A Geek Blog is reporting:

“Tom Baker is returning to Doctor Who! Baker has recorded five audio dramas that will be released by the BBC starting in September at a rate of one a month.”

Baker’s Doctor will be joined by former DW cast member Richard Franklin (reprising his role as Mike Yates) in a series of five linked adventures.

Here are the descriptions of each CD:

Doctor Who: Hornets’ Nest – The Stuff of Nightmares 1 of 5
By Paul Magrs; Performed by a full cast
1 CD – [AUDIO DRAMA]
Release Date: September 3, 2009
‘Wanted: retired army Captain for light household duties and fireside companionship. Must tolerate mild eccentricity and strong scientific advice. Knowledge of Giant Maggots, Super Intelligent Spiders and Prehistoric Monsters a positive boon.’ Responding to an advert apparently worded for him alone, Captain Mike Yates (retired) is reunited with a ghost from the past. But why has the Doctor, that mysterious traveller in Time and Space, sent for his former UNIT acquaintance? Trapped by a horde of vicious creatures in an apparently innocuous English country cottage, the two old friends are on the brink of an enormous adventure. As the Doctor relates his recent escapades, it becomes clear to Mike that they – and the Earth at large – are facing an enemy of unimaginable power and horrific intent. The nightmare is only just beginning…

Doctor Who: Hornets’ Nest – The Dead Shoes 2 of 5
By Paul Magrs; Performed by a full cast
1 CD – [AUDIO DRAMA]
Release Date: October 8, 2009
What is so special about a pair of ballet shoes on display in Cromer’s Palace of Curios? When the Doctor meets Ernestina Scott there in 1932, they discover the horrific truth together.

Doctor Who: Hornets’ Nest – The Circus of Doom 3 of 5
By Paul Magrs; Performed by a full cast
1 CD – [AUDIO DRAMA]
Release Date: November 5, 2009
In Blandford, 1832, ringmaster Antonio exerts a strange influence on the townsfolk. When the Doctor steps into the ring, he discovers that Antonio has some familiar demons of his own…

Doctor Who: Hornets’ Nest – A Sting in the Tale 4 of 5
By Paul Magrs; Performed by a full cast
1 CD – [AUDIO DRAMA]
Release Date: December 3, 2009
In a bleak midwinter, an order of nuns protect their Mother Superior from ravaging dogs. But something is very wrong here indeed – and the Doctor is about to get badly stung.

Doctor Who: Hornets’ Nest – Hive of Horror 5 of 5
By Paul Magrs; Performed by a full cast
1 CD – [AUDIO DRAMA]
Release Date: December 3, 2009
The Doctor and Mike must face their enemy in a final battle. They have an unwilling accomplice – and loyalties are about to be tested to the limit.

[Thanks Rich!]

Posted by Jesse Willis

BBC Radio 4: Chronicles Of Ait and The First Men In The Moon

SFFaudio Online Audio

Thanks to Roy and an “advance copy” of the latest Radio Times we’ve got the skinny on a couple cool programs airing on BBC Radio 4 next week!

First up, in the Book At Bedtime slot…

The First Men In The Moon
By H.G. Wells; Read by Tim Pigott-Smith
5 Parts – Approx. 75 Minutes [ABRDIGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 4 / Book At Bedtime
Broadcast: July 20th – 24th @ 22:45-23:00
An impoverished businessman, Mr. Bedford, and an eccentric scientist, Dr. Cavor,journey to the moon only to find it already inhabited by an extraterrestrial species called “Selenites.” A similar 5 part Book At Bedtime reading was done by Tom Baker back in July 1999.

And in the Afternoon Play slot…

Chronicles Of Ait
By Michael Butt; Performed by a full cast
1 Broadcast – Approx. 45 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 4 / Afternoon Play
Broadcast: July 22nd @ 14:15-15:00
A psychologist investigates a young girl’s claims to second sight. Butt is a veteran radio dramatist with many dozens of radio plays to his credit.

[Thanks Roy!]

Posted by Jesse Willis

BBC 7: Scots Gothic – the influence of Scotland on Edgar Allan Poe

SFFaudio Online Audio

If you love Edgar Allan Poe (and really who doesn’t?) you’ll want to get your mitts on today’s BBC 7 documentary!

Scots Gothic – A Portrait Of Edgar Allan Poe In Ayrshire
1 Broadcast – Approx. 30 Minutes [DOCUMENTARY]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 7
Broadcast: June 27th 2008 @ 9am and 7pm
Billy Kay investigates the impact of Scotland and its culture on the great American author Edgar Allan Poe. As a boy, Poe made an extended visit to Ayrshire in the company of his Scots-born foster father – where the vivid local folklore, bodysnatching stories and school task of recording graveyard epitaphs are all believed to have influenced the development of Poe’s dark imagination. Local historians discuss this world of “Scots Gothic”, with readings from John Buick and Keith Fleming.

It’s already in the “Listen Again” section! Go check it out!

Posted by Jesse Willis