Tag: BBC

BBC: WS has Gaiman’s Anansi Boys as a Radio Drama

SFFaudio Online Audio

BBC World ServiceA BBC World Service adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys starring Lenny Henry is going to be broadcast on BBCWS Radio stations later today.

God is dead. Meet the kids. When Fat Charlie’s dad named something, it stuck. Like calling Fat Charlie “Fat Charlie.” Even now, twenty years later, Charlie Nancy can’t shake that name, one of the many embarrassing “gifts” his father bestowed — before he dropped dead on a karaoke stage and ruined Fat Charlie’s life.

Anansi Boys - Audio DramaAnansi Boys
Based on the novel by Neil Gaiman; Performed by a full cast
1 Broadcast – 1 Hour [AUDIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC World Service / World Drama
Broadcast: Nov 17th 2007 @ 20:01 GMT

This program should be available on the World Service’s “listen again” program for 7 days following the broadcast.

Posted by Jesse Willis

A plethora of pleasures from BBC7

OnlineAudio

BBC 7's The 7th DimensionThe next will be one of the busiest weeks ever heard on BBC7, with dramatizations and readings galore! Thankfully, all will be available through the BBC7 ‘listen again’ service. There are two novels by John Wyndham, a vintage Sherlock Holmes vs. vampire story (there have been severals by many hands over the years) as well as a rebroadcast of a popular new original drama (fans of which will be pleased to hear that a second series is set to air in early 2008)…

Undone
By Ben Moor; Performed by a full cast
5 Broadcast (5 Episodes) – [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Sundays at 6pm and midnight (for 5 weeks)
Edna Turner has just moved to London to work on a listings magazine and is naturally excited. Her boss is the friendly Carlo and while her bedsit isn’t exactly a palace, she gets down to work. An encounter at a music club with the strange Tankerton Slopes leads her to travel to the bizarre parallel city of “Undone” and a mission to send radical TV developer Marlboro Fagpacket back home. Read more about Undone on Ben Moor’s site.

A “gripping dramatisation by John Constable”, first broadcast in 1998 airs this Saturday…

Radio Drama - BBC7 - ChockyChocky
Based on the novel by John Wyndham; Performed by a full cast
1 Broadcast – 90 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC7
Broadcast: Saturday @ 12pm (rerun @ 1am) UK Time
Many children have imaginary friends but one father becomes rather concerned that his son, Matthew, is a bit old to have one. His concerns deepen as his son becomes increasingly distressed and blames it on arguments with this unseen companion. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that the friend is far from imaginary, but is an alien consciousness residing inside Matthew’s mind—a fact that is of intense interest to shadowy government forces.

First broadcast on Saturday Night Theatre back in 1981…

Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula (AKA The Case of the Sanguinary Count)
Based on a novel by Loren D. Estleman; Performed by a full cast
1 Broadcast – [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC7
Broadcast: Sunday at 10am and 8pm
Doctor Watson’s account of how the great detective Sherlock Holmes battled the evil forces of Count Dracula.

A “chilling” 1982 production that first aired on BBC Radio World Service…

Radio Drama - BBC7 - The Midwich CuckoosThe Midwich Cuckoos
Based on the novel by John Wyndham; Performed by a full cast
3 Parts – [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Wednesday – Friday at 6pm and midnight
Another alien impregnation theme – but this is where it all started – a sleepy English village may be the birthplace for the end of the world.

A season of four tales from around the world exploring the weird and the wonderful, first broadcast as a special commission on BBC 7 earlier this year…

Fantastic Tales – Hell Screen
By Ryunosuke Akutagawa; Read by Togo Igawa
2 Parts – [UNABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Monday – Tuesday at 6.30pm and 12.30am
A horror story set in medieval Japan in which a powerful Lord clashes with an arrogant painter, leading to tragedy.

Fantastic Tales – Alarm Clock On The Night Table
By Zoran Zivkovic; Read by Anna Massey
1 Broadcast – [UNABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Wednesday at 6.30pm and 12.30am
An unusual occurrence forces an elderly woman to confront a tragedy from her past.

Fantastic Tales – The White People
By Arthur Machen; Read by Ioan Meredith and Louise Collins
1 Broadcast – [UNABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Thursday at 6.30pm and 12.30am
An intriguing tale which explores the nature of good and evil and the origins of sin.

Fantastic Tales – Delhi
By Vandana Singh; Read by Shiv Grewal
1 Broadcast – [UNABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Friday at 6.30pm and 12.30am
A man living in present-day Delhi is haunted by visions of the city as it was in the past and how it will be in the future.

Posted by Jesse Willis

BBC7 For Halloween Week

OnlineAudio

BBC 7's The 7th DimensionBBC 7’s The 7th Dimension has two ghoulishly good readings airing this week as well as a lengthy radio dramatized version of the most famous vampire story ever told:

The Fall Of The House Of Usher
By Edgar Allan Poe; Read by Sean Barratt
STREAMING AUDIO – Approx. 30 Minutes – Stereo – [UNABRIDGED]
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Sunday October 28th and Sunday November 4th
Poe’s chilling short story about a family’s descent into madness.

Trouble With Lichen
By John Wyndham; Read by Joanna Tope
5 Parts – [ABRIDGED]
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Monday through Friday at 6.30 pm and 12.30am
“Biochemist Diana Brackley and her boss Francis Saxover have discovered that a rare strain of lichen can slow the ageing process. Idealistic Diana embarks on a lifelong mission to ensure that their discovery will benefit man-, and more particularly, woman-kind. But the trouble with lichen is that there’s not enough for everyone…”
Directed by Eilidh McCreadie.

Dracula
Adapted from the novel by Bram Stoker; Performed by a full cast
7 Parts – [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Monday – Friday at 6pm and midnight (concludes Tuesday 6th Nov)
A chilling dramatisation of Bram Stoker’s vampire tale. Young solicitor Jonathan Harker travels to Transylvania and his encounter with Count Dracula has unsettling consequences. Frederick Jaegar stars as Dracula, and the cast includes Bernard Holley, Phyllis Logan, Sharon Maharaj and Finlay Welsh. Dramatized for radio in 7 parts by Nick McCarty and first heard on Radio 4 in 1991, the director was Hamish Wilson.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Zombie Astronaut revisits FRESH BLOOD

SFFaudio Online Audio

Zombie AstronautThe Zombie Astronaut has Fresh Blood! This was a series of 10 horror radio dramas written especially for BBC7. ZA is one of our favorite mp3 webzines and this is precisely why! Any of these treats would make good listening any time of year, but as Halloween approaches you’ll dig them all the more. Before listening to the Zombie’s collection, you can hear about where the idea for the Fresh Blood collection came from. Interview with creative director Kate Rowland in RealAudio format |Part 1| and with Paul Arnold and Colin Guthrie (producers of 8 of the 10 dramas) |Part 2|Part 3|.

BBC7 Fresh Blood

Fresh Blood – A Fare To Remember
1 |MP3| – Approx. 13 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
It’s not always good to chat up your cabbie – especially when you’re talking about having an affair with his wife.

Fresh Blood – Absolute Silence
1 |MP3| – Approx. 14 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
A man has been deaf since he was a boy, since the mysterious disappearance of his family. When his hearing returns immediately following an odd incident, it’s the most wonderful thing that’s happened to him in ages – until one night he hears the sister he lost ten years ago singing…

Fresh Blood – Eat Your Heart Out
1 |MP3| – Approx. 14 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
It’s Tales From The Crypt meets 8 Mile, a tale of a rap battle gone wrong.

Fresh Blood – The Boy Who Cried Woof
1 |MP3| – Approx. 14 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
A boy just wants his workaholic dad to see him in a school play. When he’s stood up and a spacecraft appears while he waits for his dad to pick him up, he opts to go with them instead. He learns the aliens have taken a real shine to dogs, the animal they consider the most affectionate on Earth, learning then they intend to turn him into a dog – their dog.

Fresh Blood – The Blue Room
1 |MP3| – Approx. 13 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
There’s a blue room in the far corner of the girl’s bathroom that most girls find unsettling, but Carol and Pam, the school bullies, don’t fear it – not nearly enough.

Fresh blood – By The Light Of The Moon
1 |MP3| – Approx. 14 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Solomon’s waiting in a restaurant. He’s planned a very special evening but his guest isn’t quite what he expected.

Fresh Blood – Falling To Pieces
1 |MP3| – Approx. 12 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Mel’s got man trouble, and when she literally starts to fall apart, it’s up to big sister Kate to put her back together.

Fresh Blood – Inner Critic
1 |MP3| – 14 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
There’s a spiteful wee voice in Danni’s ear crushing her spirit. Imaginary or real, can she get rid of her vicious inner critic

Fresh Blood – Meatballs Are Murder
1 |MP3| Approx. 14 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Sol is used to waking up in strange flats after all night parties. But they’re not usually as well furnished as this one.

Fresh Blood – The Cupboard Beneath The Stairs
1 |MP3| – Approx. 14 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Four friends re-stage a 60’s moon-shot in a Farnborough semi. It’s space travel, Jim, but not as we know it.

Posted by Jesse Willis

William Gibson’s Burning Chrome to air on BBC7

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BBC 7's The 7th DimensionBBC7‘s Yes it is a re-run, but what a re-run it is! The 7th Dimension slot has aired Burning Chrome at least a couple times previously. The first time was way back in 2003. I’ve heard this Gibson story more than once now, and it is a terrific listen. First published in Omni magazine back in 1982 it tells the story of professional hackers trying to pull off a big heist. One line from this story — “…the street finds its own uses for things” — has become a widely-quoted aphorism.

BBC7 The 7th Dimension - Burning Chrome by William GibsonBurning Chrome
By William Gibson; Read by Adam Sims
2 Parts – [UNABRIDGED]
BROADCASTER: BBC 7 / The 7th Dimension
BROADCAST: Oct. 18th & 19th (Thursday and Friday) @ 6.30pm and 12.30am (UK Time)
Set in the world of cyberspace and computer hacking. Bobby Quine and Automatic Jack are trying to figure out a way of pulling off the one big score that will make them rich. But industrial espionage is a dangerous business, especially when they decide to rip off Chrome, the most ruthless figure in the local mob subsidiary.

posted by Jesse Willis