BBC7 features: Vonnegut, and Secret Weapons of WWII

SFFaudio Online Audio

BBC 7's The 7th DimensionRemembrance Day PoppyAs November 11th is Remembrance Day here in Canada I thought it ok to include a war history (almost alternate history) radio drama from BBC7. The play is set in Alberta on Lake Patricia (near Lake Louise). In the middle of the lake under the clear water lies the metal frame of Habakkuk, a ship for which a secret is about to be revealed. Everyone should listen for the fascinating true story of professor Geoffrey Pyke in…

Habakkuk of Ice
By Steve Walker; Performed by a full cast
1 Broadcast – [RADIO DRAMA]*
Broadcaster: BBC7
Broadcast: Thursday November 15th @ 11am and 5am
“There is a cold clear lake in Northern Alberta called Patricia. Take one of the two rowboats that lie beside the lake. Row out into the middle of the lake. Lean over the side. Open your eyes in the clear water and before your eyeballs freeze you will see the twisted metal skeletal remains that supported the body of Habbakuk, a battleship made of ice.”
*Incidentally you can read the script for the play HERE.

Next up is a “fast moving science fiction drama” by the team behind Cold Blood

The Voice of God
By Simon Bovey; Performed by a full cast
5 Broadcasts – [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Monday to Friday at 6pm and midnight
When a series of earthquakes rock Australia, seismologist, Sam Rideout and her outback guide Joshua Patamerri track the epicentre to a top secret facility researching the use of infrasound as a weapon. Following the mysterious death of the team’s seismologist, Sam and Joshua are asked to help.

Less interesting to myself (I’m not a super fan) is a collection of Kurt Vonnegut fiction including…

Report On The Barnhouse Effect
By Kurt Vonnegut; Read by Stuart Milligan
1 Broadcast – 30 Minutes [ABRIDGED]
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Sunday at 6:30pm and 12:30am
Professor Barnhouse discovers a way of channelling his mind to control the forces of nature. He sees his skill as a marvellous opportunity to secure world peace. However, the American government has other ideas.

Slaughterhouse 5
By Kurt Vonnegut; Read by Robert Jezek
4 Broadcasts – [ABRIDGED]
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Monday to Thursday at 6:30pm and 12:30am
Billy Pilgrim, is a boy soldier, an innocent abroad armed only with a pencil stub. He’s so traumatised by the experience of witnessing the decimation of Dresden by Allied bombing in February 1945 that he becomes unstuck in time, even to the extent that he experiences alien abduction.

Thanasphere
By Kurt Vonnegut; Read by Kerry Shale
1 Broadcast – 30 Minutes [ABRIDGED]
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Friday at 6:30pm and 12:30am
A military space mission is taken over by the voices of the dead, calling back to earth. How will the generals and scientist in charge cope with this sudden confrontation with mortality?

Posted by Jesse Willis

One thought to “BBC7 features: Vonnegut, and Secret Weapons of WWII”

  1. Mongoose Publishing‘s magazine, Signs And Portents #74, has a role playing game description of the Habakkuk along with this picture:

    Habakkuk

    the caption reads: “Habakkuk in comparison with an ‘Iowa’ class battleship and a ‘Nimitz’ class carrier (source unknown)”

    You can find the entire magazine in the PDF format |HERE|, the description and illustration are on pages 52 and 53.

Leave a Reply