BBC 7 the Week Ahead: Daphne du Maurier, Tanith Lee and more

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

BBC Radio 7 - BBC7BBC Radio 7’s The 7th Dimension commissioned the following to mark the centenary of du Maurier’s birth…

The Blue Lenses
By Daphne du Maurier; Read by Emma Fielding
2 Parts – Approx. 60 Minutes [ABRIDGED]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Sunday at 6.30pm and 12.30am
“One of the most celebrated and best-loved British authors of the 20th Century, wrote this dark fantasy exploring the sinister side of human nature. Marda West, whilst recovering from a serious eye operation, discovers that her vision has been heightened to a frighteningly new degree of clarity and the darker aspects of the human psyche which people prefer to keep hidden are on full display.”

Also from du Maurier, “First broadcast on BBC7 in 2005, a beguiling combination of romantic atmosphere, haunting psychology and assured storytelling”…

The House On The Strand
By Daphne du Maurier; Read by Julian Wadham
12 Parts – Approx. 6 Hours [ABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Monday to Friday at 6.30pm and 12.30am
First published in 1969 to critical and public acclaim, and was du Maurier’s personal favourite of all her novels. The tale revolves round the narrator Dick Young, who escapes from his troubles in the form of a new drug, which transports him six centuries back in time. But his attempts to change history bring terror to the present and throw his own life into the balance.

Also available in the week ahead, a chance to listen again to this popular, thought-provoking and gripping BBC7 thriller from 2006…

Jefferson 37
By Jenny Stephens; Performed by a full cast
4 Parts – Approx. 2 Hours [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Monday to Thursday at 6pm and Midnight
“Set in the not too distant future, clones are made purely for those who can afford it, as spare-parts for surgery. The story tells of the life for these clones and the ways in which they are de-humanised – but their fundamental humanity cannot be thwarted.”

And, another chance to listen to this BBC7 commission from 2003…

Red As Blood
By Tanith Lee; Read by Stella Gonet
1 Part – Approx. 30 Minutes [ABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Friday at 6pm and Midnight
“This dark study of the Snow White fantasy”

All of these programs will be available via the “listen again” feature for a week after airing.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Wil Wheaton Reading at Phoenix Cactus Comicon 2008

Charles

SFFaudio Online Audio

Pulp Gamer Pulp Gamer has a recording of Wil Wheaton’s reading at Phoenix Cactus Comicom 2008. There are two readings here, the first is a non-fiction story Blue Light Special where Wheaton talks about his childhood and Star Wars toys, while the second is a review of an old Star Trek: The Next Generation episode entitled Justice. Here is the |MP3|.

Subscribe to the podcast via this feed:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/PulpGamer

Posted by Charles Tan

Friction at Escape Pod

Charles

SFFaudio Online Audio

Stephen Eley reads Friction by Will McIntosh over at Escape Pod. Here is the |MP3|.

Subscribe to the podcast via this feed:

http://escapepod.org/podcast.xml

Posted by Charles Tan

Tor Forge Podcast on Book Covers

Charles

 SFFaudio Online Audio

The Tor Forge Podcast has a panel discussion held at the last World Fantasy Convention with artists such as Irene Gallo, Lou Anders, John Picacio, Tom Kidd, and Jacob Weisman on book covers. Here is the |MP3|.

Subscribe to the podcast via this feed:

http://www.tor-forge.com/GenerateRSS.ashx?type=itunes

Posted by Charles Tan

BBC Radio 4: In Our Time podcast on “The Fisher King” mythology

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

BBC Radio 4 - In Our Time with Melvyn BraggThe BBC Radio 4 program (and podcast) In Our Time is an always reliable source for academic scientific and historical discussions, a recent program on “The Fisher King” will be of much interest to fans of chivalric literature. Here’s the official line:

“In the world of medieval romance there are many weird and wonderful creatures – there are golden dragons and green knights, sinister enchantresses and tragic kings, strange magicians and spears that bleed and talk. And yet, in all this panoply of wonder, few figures are more mysterious than the Fisher King. Entrusted as the keeper of the Holy Grail itself, he resides in a castle made of magic where he lies blighted by a wound that does not heal.

He is a complex and poetic figure and has meant many things to many people. From the age of chivalry to that of psychoanalysis and beyond, he has been Christian and pagan, tragic and enduring, a sinner, a fertility god and a symbol of sexual fear and desire.”

Contributors to the program, Carolyne Larrington (Tutor in Medieval English at St John’s College, Oxford), Stephen Knight (Distinguished Research Professor in English Literature at Cardiff University), Juliette Wood (Associate Lecturer in the Department of Welsh, Cardiff University and Director of the Folklore Society) joined Melvyn Bragg in this fascinating forty minute show. To listen to the archived programme click on the “Listen To This Program In Full” button on this subpage (RealAudio required).

Listeners to the episode have made connections between “The Fisher King” and as disparate works as: Dr No, Apocalypse Now, Heart of Darkness, Discworld (to name a few).

Here’s the podcast feed for In Our Time (which unfortunately doesn’t archive its programs for more than a week):

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio4/iot/rss.xml

Posted by Jesse Willis

Radio Drama Revival: The Salmon Of Blackpool Spawning Greatness

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

Radio Drama RevivalRadio Drama Revival, has now completed podcasting another Crazy Dog Audio Theatre program in its entirety. This program aired on RTE Radio back in August.

The absolutely flooring The Salmon Of Blackpool is a four episode tale of a Hollywood screenwriter and his self-destructive subject. It is a magical achievement – on par with Infidel. The artistry and artists that created Salmon worked together to conjure what can only be described as transformative audio. Absent are any trappings of the fantastic – but what the program reveals is an unfettered drama capped by an unrelenting moral horror. Salmon explores that noir interzone between life’s meaning and life itself. In a final irony Salmon turns its own harsh gaze upon itself, there are no laughs, no remittances, no washing away of the melancholy – simply, the tale, and its central figures, grab ahold of what little ethic they can in an uncaring sea of human selfishness. Salmon won’t make you happy, it will instead shatter illusions and drain you and with its honesty. The Salmon Of Blackpool is what makes radio drama truly a great art form.

The Salmon Of Blackpool
By Roger Gregg; Performed by a full cast
4 MP3s -Approx. 100 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Part 1 |MP3| Part 2 |MP3| Part 3 |MP3| Part 4 |MP3|

And be sure to listen for next week’s show, which will include an interview with Roger Gregg.

Subscribe to the Radio Drama Revival feed via this url:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/RadioDramaRevival

Posted by Jesse Willis