Showing results by publisher "BBC Audio" in Science Fiction

A dark, quirky parody of Desert Island Discs, Desolation Jests is a post-apocalyptic sketch show that takes a not-altogether-accurate look at the history of comedy. Featuring faux interviews with spurious celebrities, conducted by the Roy Plomley-esque host JP Doom, it poses the question ‘Which comedy sketches would you most want at your side to face the end of the world?’

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Doctor Who, this release looks back through the radio archives and highlights the wide variety of Doctor Who features and interviews which have been broadcast over the years. Dozens of extracts - many of which have been unheard since their first broadcast - illustrate how the programme has been a national institution, held in fond regard by adults and children alike.

In the great maze of the Powe Complex dwells the dreaded Nimon, a fearsome monster with immense scientific powers. The Nimon has promised to restore the Skonnan Empire to its former glory. But first it demands sacrifice - youths and maidens from the peaceful planet Aneth. The TARDIS collides with the spaceship delivering the victims, and the captured Romana is condemned to be sacrificed to the Nimon. Aided by the faithful K-9, the Doctor goes to the rescue. In the heart of the maze he confronts the Nimon and uncovers a terrifying plot to enslave the galaxy.

When the TARDIS arrives, the Doctor's companion, Tegan, is hoping to visit her grandfather. Yet the travellers learn that he has mysteriously disappeared, and the planned re-enactment of the battle has taken on a menacing tone. Local schoolteacher Jane Hampden knows how the county squire plans to celebrate May Day: with the May Queen meeting a grisly end. The village church holds the clues to what is happening in Little Hodcombe, and soon the Doctor is facing an ancient alien foe.

April, 1242: the Doctor and Ruby answer a distress call sent from medieval Russia. The signal’s sender? Ranavere, an alien girl forced to take part in a barbaric conflict between the armies of Estonia and Novgorod on the frozen surface of Lake Peipus. Ranavere wants to escape, but her distress call has summoned her warmongering sisters, intent on preserving family tradition whatever the cost.

The Doctor has a unique bond with their TARDIS. They’ve always loved the ‘old girl’ for the way she’s gone looking for trouble anywhere in the universe. The Doctor says they stole the TARDIS from Gallifrey. The TARDIS disagrees…she stole them. It hasn’t always taken the Doctor where they want to go, but it’s made sure to take them where they needed to be.

Escaping from their previous adventure on Skaro, the Doctor, Susan, Ian Chesterton (William Russell) and Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill) are inside the TARDIS when it appears to be taken over by an outside force. Bewildered and confused, the travellers become suspicious of each other’s motives, and tensions within the Ship begin to rise. The TARDIS appears to be trying to tell them something, yet the Doctor has very little idea of how to stop it hurtling backwards in Time, towards destruction.

From a problematic meeting with an alien princess to a horde of space tourists on a holiday from hell, life on the cruiser is never less than eventful. Indecisive Captain Taylor is faced with disaster when another of the fleet’s spaceships, The Indestructible III, suddenly explodes; relentlessly nice Communications Officer Karen embarks on a forbidden romance with ship’s engineer Stuart; and medical scientist Clive 55 causes chaos when he is arrested for murdering his 136 clones, and experiments with dark matter to catastrophic effect.

Best known as the author of the popular space serial Earthsearch, James Follett wrote over 50 radio dramas, 25 novels and a number of TV scripts. This gripping 3-book series, adapted and abridged for BBC Radio and read by Nigel Anthony, explores what takes place when a West Sussex village becomes cut off from the outside world by an alien force field after a UFO crash-lands.

On the serene planet Deva Loka, an expeditionary force from Earth is dangerously out of control. It's not only the peaceful race of the Kinda who are at risk. A gentle stroll in the lush jungle leads the Doctor and Adric to an unexpected confrontation - and puts them at the mercy of a maniac. But it is Tegan, lulled to sleep by mysterious wind-chimes, who comes closest to a danger than threatens not only her sanity but the existence of the whole planet.

Written by veteran radio producer Charles Chilton, Journey into Space kept Light Programme listeners enraptured between 1953 and 1958. Almost eight million people tuned in to the interstellar adventures of Jet Morgan and his intrepid crew, making it the last UK radio drama serial to beat television in the ratings. This audio collection contains the complete Series 3 of the groundbreaking trilogy, as well as the special 90-minute sequel The Return from Mars.

In a National Park in North-West America, the Doctor and Ruby are pursued by large, ape-like creatures who seem to literally disappear into the trees. When Ruby falls ill after apparently being stung, the Doctor believes the infection is extra-terrestrial in origin. They meet Dixie and Greg, two Bigfoot hunters determined to track down the mythical Sasquatch. Standing in their way is Ranger Peone, who’s adamant that the forest is too dangerous to explore. Dozens of people have vanished, or reappeared with no memory, in the last month alone. Then the ape creatures kidnap Ruby.

The TARDIS arrives in County Durham, England, in 1958. Seaham Chemical Beach was once a scene of heavy industry, long since abandoned, but now local residents are having nightmares and seeing apparitions. It isn’t long before the Doctor and Ruby are affected by the beach’s peculiar atmosphere. As they begin to forget exactly who they are, Ruby hears a distant voice calling her on. Whose memories are filling the travellers’ heads, and what is the significance of Ghost Beach, in the Sea of Despair, on the planet Farfrom? Even more importantly – who is Reg?

Laugh out loud at this 2000s sitcom featuring the outrageous time travelling Edwardian Lord Zimbabwe (Nick Romero), and his friend the German inventor Doctor Lilac (Dan Freedman). This pacy comedy has the travelling duo racing across space and time solving mysteries and thwarting evil enemies with the help (or lack thereof) of Zimbabwe’s butler, Theremin, who refuses to carry out any of his instructions, and Schrödinger, a semi-corporeal cat that exists in a superposition of quantum states of life and death.

On the crystalline planet of Yewa, the Gardens of Kubuntu are a true Eden, said to be the most peaceful destination in the universe. At least, until the Doctor and Ruby arrive. Ancient rivalries between Yewa and its more prosperous sister world of Bia are being stirred by forces unknown, threatening to plunge its people into anarchy. With Ruby swept up in the fire of the Yewan rebellion, the Doctor finds dark secrets buried deep in the planet’s ancient history – and his hopes for a lasting peace hanging by a thread.

From Andrew Lane comes an original adventure for the Eighth Doctor, as played on TV by Paul McGann, and Victorian journalist James MacFarlane.

Four original stories featuring the Eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory: In Hunter's Moon, the travellers visit Leisure Platform 9, where gamblers and villains mix with socialites and celebrities. In Touched By An Angel, the Weeping Angels are using history itself as a weapon - and the Doctor, Amy and Rory must stop them. In Paradox Lost, an ancient android is dredged from the Thames, with a message that can only be delivered to the Doctor. In Borrowed Time, by Naomi Alderman, the three friends go undercover at a bank where time is the commodity on offer for loan.

Landing on an apparently devastated planet, the Doctor and Romana make a horrifying discovery. The planet is Skaro, home-world of the Daleks. The Daleks are excavating in order to find and revive Davros, the scientific genius who first created them. They hope that he will give them the scientific superiority to break the deadlock with their Movellan enemies. Faced once more with the deadly and seemingly indestructible Daleks, the Doctor's wits and strength are stretched to their very limits.

In Marco Polo, by John Lucarotti, the TARDIS breaks down in Central Asia in the year 1289, causing the travellers to meet an intrepid Venetian explorer. In The War Machines, by Ian Stuart Black, the Doctor senses a powerful and sinister force around London's newly built Post Office Tower. In The Faceless Ones, by Terrance Dicks, the Doctor and his friends are drawn into a web of intrigue and deception at Gatwick Airport. In The Ambassadors of Death, by Terrance Dicks, the Doctor and Liz investigate the disappearance of three astronauts after their space capsule returns to Earth empty. 

In Who Are We (The Classic Years and The Modern Years) Jo Whiley takes a trip through the Whoniverse to find out how the changing attitudes of Britain have been reflected through the TARDIS's travels. It’s a tale that features Dalekmania, Dad’s Army, Mary Whitehouse, Ridley Scott, Cybermen and the JFK assassination.