humor – Page 14

GeekBlips: TV that inspires

SFFaudio News

Robyn Lass, the editor of GeekBlips.com asked me to contribute to a “blogger opinion” article, kind of a mind meld like post (of the kind SFSignal.com regularly does). Here’s the question she asked:

“If you could have the ability/gadgetry of your favorite science fiction TV or Movie character and join them – in their world – on one of their adventures, who would it be and why?”

Yeah. So, I wasn’t sure I could answer the question. Join their adventures? That’s not me exactly. But, there was something there. I thought about it for a few hours. Then, I finally wrote this:

A few years ago there was a pirate broadcast called Prisoners Of Gravity that would regularly interrupt a lame TV Ontario nature show called Second Nature. Lasting just under a half hour, it was hosted by a crazy Canadian who had strapped a rocket to the roof of his Camaro, launched himself into space and then crashed into an orbiting satellite. From there, in his high castle, Commander Rick (aka Rick Green) lived, surrounded by the things he’d brought with him: computers, comics and lots of paperback books.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, a shadowy crew of SF fans would rove the bookstores and Science Fiction conventions recording interviews with the creators of SF and Fantasy. They’d take the interviews with writers like Robert J. Sawyer, Alan Moore, Ray Bradbury, Neil Gaiman and Garth Ennis, and upload them all to Commander Rick in the satellite. From there Rick would record these interviews onto audio cassettes and keep them for use in his live broadcasts. He would also make use of the telephone and satellite video feeds that he had access to in order to record live interviews with his guests during the show. The programs were compiled and broadcast with the help of a mute, but highly intelligent, computer named NanCy. Topics discussed were different every episode,with individual shows on censorship, superheroes, humor, religion, fairy tales, Mars, cyberpunk, war, overpopulation, sex and much, much more.

The series aired 139 episodes over a five years mission – it is rumored that Commander Rick died (having perhaps run out of food) – but it is also rumored that he returned to earth – since then NanCY has managed just a very few transmissions in the form of reruns. There was no better news magazine program that explored SF, Fantasy, Horror and comics and their various themes and ideas.

I’ve been thinking it would be really great to strap a few solid rocket boosters to the roof of my own car and do my own show. In the meantime I’ve been bidding on ebay for used spacesuits. One day I may win one.

You can see the original article |HERE|. You’ll find a few other peoples’ answers too.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Aural Noir Review of The Adventures Of Sexton Blake

Aural Noir: Review

SFFaudio Essential The Adventures of Sexton Blake
Based on the character created by Harry Blyth; Performed by a full cast
2 CDs or MP3 Download – Approx. 2 Hours [RADIO DRAMA]
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks / Perfectly Normal Productions
Published: September 2009
ISBN: 1408410540
Themes: / Mystery / Adventure / Crime / Steampunk / Airships / London / Exmouth / Willesden /

Britain’s iconic and most prolifically chronicled sleuth explodes back into action in a brand new series of thrilling Adventures packed with incident and hilarity!

Back in 2006 we had a story about the new co-venture between Perfectly Normal productions and BBC Audiobooks. Audio drama legend Dirk Maggs was set to revive several “cult British comic characters.” This is the first of these. I hope there will be MANY MORE!

Sexton Blake, a renowned Baker Street detective, and his youthful assistant Tinker regularly face peril with deceptive disguises and flying fists. In between investigations they return to their Baker Street rooming house for endless lashings of tea and heaping plates of kippers. Their landlady, Mrs. Bardell, makes the food, debriefs the great detective, and commiserates with her neighbor, Mrs. H. (she’s also a landlady to another famous Baker street detective). The story begins aboard a runaway locomotive at the tail end of a kind of locked room mystery – after a few shootings by the various suspicious characters and a brief detour into the dining car’s wine cellar, the villain is revealed -only to escape by auto-gyro. When Blake returns to his Baker street residence he’s soon embroiled in a new investigation brought on by the arrival of a beautiful American actress. The investigation is both serpentine and ingenious, and it leads directly into the next – one in which an incredibly capable and amnesic woman saves Blake and Tinker from a false charge of burglary. Their investigation into her curious abilities and former profession lead Blake and Tinker into a house of deathtraps (or is that a deathtrap house). The action finally culminates in a thrilling saber duel atop a Zeppelin! At the beginning of each new episode there’s a mini-scene from an unrelated Sexton Blake adventure – each depicting Blake defeating either a rapscallious villain or a villainous rapscallion.

The Adventures Of Sexton Blake is jam packed with as much rib-tickling raillery as The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide To The Galaxy. The script is unbelievably clever and funny. It features a kind of endless stream-of-consciousness wordplay that clearly follows in the tradition of Douglas Adams, Monty Python, and The Goon Show. What sets it apart from it’s forebearers is a strict adherence to the medium. The only possible way to tell this tale is as an audio drama. Perhaps the most amazing aspect is vaguely amazing feeling I got while listening to it. There’s this kind of general consensus by all the characters to LARP their way through the adventure. No one character has the final word on anything, and every character in the scene is constantly throwing new nuance on the mental pictures being created in the listener. It’s not so much a mystery you can solve by following the clues, it’s more of an adventure you can ride with a flashing smirk.

These adventures are brilliantly envisioned by a terrific combination of skilled comedic acting, an engaging theme song and thousands of layered sound effects. I’m betting the script was at least twice as thick, per minute, as a typical (or ordinary, or normal) one. The outstanding cast and crew has made The Adventures Of Sexton Blake a play that can stand shoulder to shoulder, chin to chin, and eye to eye, with the finest audio dramatizations ever produced – and not feel even the slightest weak in the knees. This is very highly recommended listening!

Crew:
Written by Mil Millington and Jonathan Nash; Directed by Dirk Maggs
Sound Design and Music by Paul Weir
Produced by David Morley

Cast:
Simon Jones ….. Sexton Blake, Adventuring Detective
Wayne Forester …. Tinker, his Plucky Assistant
June Whitfield …. Mrs Bardell, their Doughty Housekeeper
Graham Hoadly …. Professor Kew, a Spindly Cackler
Lorelei King …. Miss Elizabeth Mary-Louise Tarabelle Beauchamp
Simon Treves …. Inspector Coutts Of Scotland Yard
Felicity Duncan …. Miss Terry, Window-Leaping Adventuress
Susan Sheridan …. Mrs Hudson, Housekeeper To A Neighbouring Detective
Malcolm Brown …. Count Ivor Carlac, a Villainous Juggernaut
Philip Glassborow …. Cyril, A Grim Assassin
Oscar Sharp …. The Frantic Caller
William Franklyn …. The Mysterious Waiter

Posted by Jesse Willis

Assorted new LibriVox Science Fiction short stories

SFFaudio Online Audio

Here are three short Science Fiction stories with a humorous bent. They’re taken from a new LibriVox audiobook called Coffee Break Collection 001. Book coordinator Bellona Times sez:

“This is a collection of short (15 minute or less readings) stories suitable for a coffee break at work or a short commuter ride. Emphasis for this collection is Humor in various genres — fiction and non-fiction.”

Beyond Pandora has been recorded previously (for the Short Science Fiction Collection Vol. 014) – it’s an SF story that tries hard to make a scary medical problem funny. I’m not sure that it succeeds with the humour, but it might be a fruitful line of medical inquiry anyway.

Graeme Dunlop brings his Australian accent to the reading of Hard Guy. This story too has been previously recorded (in Short Science Fiction Collection Vol. 015). It’s a hitchhiker and road gangs story set on an atomic highway.

The all new (to audio) story in this collection is Poppa Needs Shorts. It’s a silly little story that trades on a peculiarity of the English language. But it also makes a very interesting point, namely that toddlers are actually practicing scientists! Sure, baby-proofing your house might make it safer for your baby, but it defeats many of the experiments that your tiny scientist can perform. It’s a very clever tale. Narrator Patti Cunningham does a nice job reading it too.

Beyond Pandora
By Robert J. Martin; Read by msjodi777
1 |MP3| – Approx. 5 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: September 11, 2009
The ideal way to deal with a pest—any menace—is, of course, to make it useful to you… From Analog September 1962.

Hard Guy
By H.B. Carelton; Read by Graeme Dunlop
1 |MP3| – Approx. 7 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: September 11, 2009
There will be fine, glittering, streamlined automobiles in 2000 A.D. Possibly they will run themselves while the driver sits back with an old-fashioned in his hands. Perhaps they will carry folks down the highways at ninety miles an hour in perfect safety. But picking up a hitch-hiker will still be as dangerous as it is today. From Amazing Stories April 1956.

Poppa Needs Shorts
By Walt Richmond and Leigh Richmond; Read by Patti Cunningham
1 |MP3| – Approx. 13 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: September 11, 2009
Given valid data, you can reach completely wrong conclusions. But given a wrong conclusion, you can still get a right answer! From Analog Science Fact & Fiction January 1964.

Posted by Jesse Willis

BBC Radio 2: The Adventures of Sexton Blake

Aural Noir: Online Audio

This just in… The Adventures Of Sexton Blake starts broadcasting on BBC Radio 2 next Friday night (July 31st at 9.15pm U.K. time) for six weeks.

Sexton Blake may not be a super familiar name to everyone today but according to wikipedia and a few fansites that wasn’t always the case. Created in 1893 Blake was an instant hit when he was born and made resident of Baker Street in the very month Sherlock Holmes was “killed off” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Perfectly Normal productions said this new production should also be available on the BBC iPlayer – and we checked, it’s already showing up as a Radio Downloader subscribable show.

Here’s the trailer |MP3|

The Adventures Of Sexton Blake

Sez Weir (who did the sound design and composed the music for the show):

“Whilst [The Adventures Of Sexton Blake is] more fantasy and crime than straight science-fiction, it stars Simon Jones, better known as Arthur Dent from the classic radio series, The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy. Following broadcast, the show will then be available in a much extended form on CD and as a high quality special edition download from our site.”

COOL!

The Adventures Of Sexton Blake
Based on the character created by Harry Blyth; Performed by a full cast
6 Parts – Approx. 90 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 2
Broadcast: Fridays @ 21:15-21:30 beginning July 31st 2009
Britain’s iconic and most prolifically chronicled sleuth explodes back into action in a brand new series of thrilling Adventures packed with incident and hilarity! – The name that spells HURTLING ADVENTURE! –
SEXTON BLAKE, (Simon Jones, The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy) and his plucky assistant TINKER (Wayne Forester, Captain Scarlet), aided by MRS BARDELL (June Whitfield, Absolutely Fabulous) battle Diabolical Masterminds, Beautiful Thieves and Dastardly Assassins. – The name that spells DOOM for VILLAINY! – Nearly four decades after his last public incarnation, Sexton Blake remains an icon, a contemporary of Sherlock Holmes who outlasted his fellow Baker Street Sleuth to become hugely popular through books, films and radio during the 20th Century. In his 100-plus years of existence Blake has been portrayed in every possible way, from jobbing detective to Britain’s Saviour. This new series weaves new, fantastical and very funny tales set in a brightly coloured early 20th century world such as that portrayed in the 1920s Union Jack stories, where villains are inevitably dastardly and it’s a matter of course to resolve a case in a sabre-duelling climax atop an exploding zeppelin. – The name that spells … SEXTON BLAKE!

Cast:
SIMON JONES……Sexton Blake, Adventuring Detective
WAYNE FORESTER……Tinker, his Plucky Assistant
JUNE WHITFIELD……Mrs Bardell, their Doughty Housekeeper
GRAHAM HOADLY……Professor Kew, a Spindly Cackler
LORELEI KING……Miss Elizabeth Mary-Louise Tarabelle Beauchamp
SIMON TREVES……Inspector Coutts Of Scotland Yard
FELICITY DUNCAN……Miss Terry, Window-Leaping Adventuress
SUSAN SHERIDAN……Mrs Hudson, Housekeeper To A Neighbouring Detective
MALCOLM BROWN……Count Ivor Carlac, a Villainous Juggernaut
PHILIP GLASSBOROW……Cyril, A Grim Assassin
OSCAR SHARP……The Frantic Caller
WILLIAM FRANKLYN……The Mysterious Waiter

We got vids too…

I’m really digging this!

[Thanks to Paul Weir and Roy!]

Posted by Jesse Willis

Review of Anne Manx and the Empress Blair Project

SFFaudio Review

Anne Manx and the Empress Blair Project
Starring Claudia Christian, Ellen Muth, and Robin Atkin Downes
2 CDs – 2 Hours [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: RRCA (Radio Repertory Company of America)
Published: 2009
ISBN: 0977134210
Themes: / Science Fiction / Humor / Private Eye / Government / War /

Before she meets the Empress Blair, Anne Manx (Claudia Christian) wants nothing more than to spend her quiet vacation getting a tan. Empress Blair (Ellen Muth), though, has a compelling problem. Her father has been killed, and she fears she’s next. If Anne Manx can keep the Empress alive for a mere two months, she’ll reach her eighteenth birthday and take over for her father. Complicating things is Mr. Logan (Robin Atkin Downes), who shows up just in time – but whose side is he on? Nothing is ever easy for Anne Manx, and she’s rapidly running out of lives.
|MP3 SAMPLE|

This is the fifth installment of the Anne Manx audio drama series from Angelo Panetta and the good folks over at The Radio Repertory Company of America. Anne Manx is a superhero of sorts in this series, which can best be described as a comic book for audio. What’s special about Anne Manx? She doesn’t stay dead, but the number of her lives are limited. She’s got a job that requires those lives, too – she’s a planet-hopping private eye, and each episode presents new problems. In Anne Manx and the Empress Blair Project we find her on vacation at the Caraboo Islands, but the Empress Blair (of the planet Eranix), who’s sure she is a target for murder, interrupts Anne’s holiday. It takes a little convincing, but Manx agrees to help, and we’re caught up in another entertaining episode.

There are several things that set these RRCA productions apart from others. The quality of the actors is the most obvious. In this episode: Claudia Christian (Babylon 5), Ellen Muth (Dead Like Me), and Robin Atkin Downes, who is is a superior and popular voice actor that we’ve also seen on a B5 episode or two. I’ve enjoyed Claudia Christian as Anne Manx since the first episode (Anne Manx in Lives of the Cat). She’s tough, sexy, and I can’t imagine another actress in this role. Her co-stars in this one make the production an all-around joy to hear.

Another thing that I’ve mentioned in previous reviews is the script. This is a smart script that, though it doesn’t miss too many chances for sexual innuendo, is really funny at just the right places. Kudos to Larry Weiner for another job well done.

And lastly, the quality of the sound. Effects, music, and words combine in a way that I never wonder what the setting is, never wonder who is speaking, and I never lose the story. It’s easy to become completely immersed as a listener. My mind fills in the pictures, and I thoroughly enjoy listening.

So much so that I may just go find the first one and start over… back soon.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Story Speiler: Accidental Death and All The World A Grave

SFFaudio Online Audio

Here are another two excellent unabridged audiobook short story offerings from Roy Turnbull…

The first, Accidental Death by Peter Baily, is definitely Science Fiction. It’s about an ill-fated expedition to an alien planet with some friendly, though dangerous, tennis-playing aliens. It speculates on the nature of luck in a first person present tense narrative – which is fun.

The second story, All The World A Grave by C.C. MacApp, is either Fantasy or Science Fiction, depending on your view of human nature. I take it as very apt satirical SF, in the same vein as The Space Merchants – as such, and despite its vintage, it has some very promising economic stimulus ideas for the new Barack Obama administration. Go economy, go!

Accidental Death
By Peter Baily; Read by Roy Turnbull
1 |MP3| – Approx. 20 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Story Spieler Podcast
Published: 2009?
Provider: Internet Archive
From Astounding Science Fiction February 1959. The most dangerous of weapons is the one you don’t know is loaded.

And All The Earth A Grave
By C.C. MacApp; Read by Roy Turnbull
1 |MP3| – Approx. 16 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Story Spieler Podcast
Published: 2009?
Provider: Internet Archive
From Galaxy Science Fiction, December 1963. There’s nothing wrong with dying—it just hasn’t ever had the proper sales pitch!

Posted by Jesse Willis