Missing early Doctor Who TV epsiodes available as Audio Dramas

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

Internet Archive - Audio ArchiveIn the Internet Archive’s Audio Archive section you can find audio from much of Season 3 of the original Doctor Who television series. This is one of the seasons for which many of the original broadcast episodes are missing (a long and infuriating story). Diligence on the part of some die hard fans, and some of the affiliate TV stations in other countries have turned up some of the video, and more of the audio tracks from this season over the decades since they were first broadcast. Since then the BBC had a Doctor Who actor (who played a companion during this time) provide narration for what would normally be a audio visual story. Here are all the completed serials:

Doctor Who - Galaxy 4Doctor Who – Galaxy 4
By William Emms; Narrated by Peter Purves
4 MP3 Files – [UNABRIDGED AUDIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC
Broadcast: Sep. 11 – Oct. 2, 1965

“The Doctor, Vicki, and Steven land on an unknown planet inhabited by the hideous Rills, with their Chumbley robots, and the Drahvins. The Drahvins try to enlist the Doctor’s help to destroy the “evil” Rills, but who are the real villains?”

Episode 1 |MP3| Four Hundred Dawns
Episode 2 |MP3| Trap of Steel
Episode 3 |MP3| Airlock
Episode 4 |MP3| The Exploding Planet

Doctor Who - Mission To The UnknownDoctor Who – Mission To The Unknown
By Terry Nation; Narrated by Peter Purves
1 |MP3| – [UNABRIDGED AUDIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC
Broadcast: Oct. 9, 1965

“On the planet Kembel three men struggle to repair their crashed spaceship in a hostile jungle.”


Doctor Who - The Myth MakersDoctor Who – The Myth Makers
By Donald Cotton; Narrated by Peter Purves
4 MP3 Files – [UNABRIDGED AUDIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC
Broadcast: Oct. 16 – Nov. 6, 1965

“The Doctor, Vicki, and Steven become involved in the siege of Troy.”

Episode 1 |MP3| Temple of Secrets
Episode 2 |MP3| Small Prophet Quick Return
Episode 3 |MP3| Death of a Spy
Episode 4 |MP3| Horse of Destruction

The über Doctor Who fans out there can also have a listen to the majority of the Daleks’ Master Plan, one of the longest serials ever made, but it is not available in its entirety.

[via Quasar Dragon]

posted by Jesse Willis

Public Domain Poul Anderson tale audiobooked, podcast

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

The Maria Lectrix podcast and its prolific narrator, Maureen O’Brien, have just completed a recording of a novelette by Poul Anderson. The story was first (and last) published in the February 1953 issue of “Space Science Fiction” magazine. Here’s what Maureen has to say about her podcasting of this tale:

“The late Poul Anderson was a writer of infinite variety, whom I defy you to define. He was also a true gentleman of the old school, as I learned on the single occasion when I got to meet him and eat dinner with him (the con committee hath its perks!). I regard it as an honor to host this tale and adapt it to audio.”

Security by Poul AndersonSecurity
By Poul Anderson; Read by Maureen O’Brien
5 MP3s – 92 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: Maria Lectrix
Podcast: August 2007
“Security introduces us to a mild-mannered scientist with a high clearance, living in what we gradually realize is a very unpleasant future.”

Part 1 |MP3| Part 2 |MP3| Part 3 |MP3| Part 4 |MP3| Part 5 |MP3|

Check out the Maria Lectrix all Science Fiction podcast feed:

http://marialectrix.wordpress.com/tag/fiction/science-fiction/feed/

posted by Jesse Willis

PodioMedia Chat interviews Dani Cutler

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

Podcast - Podiobook ChatPodioMedia chat has posted an interview with our very own Dani Cutler (also of The Audio Addicts blog and the Truth Seekers Podcast). Go have a listen to Dani talk about her ardor for Radio Drama, performing in Audio Drama, blogging about Audio Theatre and podcasting (about politics). Have a listen |MP3|, Dani with her passion, perspicacity and powerful persona, she will persuade you.

posted by Jesse Willis

New Releases for August

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio New Releases

Star Wars - Legacy Of The Force: InfernoStar Wars – Legacy Of The Force: Inferno
By Troy Denning; Read by Marc Thompson
5 CDs – 6 Hours 30 Minutes [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: August 2007
ISBN: 9780739323991
“Luke Skywalker wanted to unify the Jedi order and bring peace to the universe. Instead his wife Mara lies dead at the hands of an unknown assassin, his wayward nephew Jacen has seized control of the Galactic Alliance, and the galaxy has exploded in all-out civil war. With Luke consumed by grief, Jacen Solo works quickly to consolidate his power and jumpstart his plan to take over the Jedi.”

The Wheel Of DarknessThe Wheel of Darkness
By Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child; Read by Rene Auberjonois
12 CDs – 13 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Published: August 2007
ISBN:1594839417
“At a remote monastery, they learn that a rare and dangerous artifact the monks have been guarding for generations has been mysteriously stolen.”


The Bright Child by Tommy WallachThe Bright Child
By Tommy Wallach; Read by Tommy Wallach
Publisher: Podiobooks.com
STATUS: In Progress
“The Bright Child is a fantasy novel in the mold of Philip Pullman or C.S. Lewis. Parker Sante, a chubby eighth-grader whose best friend is the view out his attic window, has recently been kicked out of his high school for almost killing another boy. His mother doesn’t know what to do with him, and is ecstatic when he is accepted to a new private school that promises to be one of the best in the country, Bright Child Academy. The family moves to Yreka, a small suburban town in the Pacific Northwest, so Parker can attend. Finally, he’ll be able to start fresh.”

The Bright Child by Tommy WallachTerra Incognita
By Gary Hicks; Read by Gary Hicks
Publisher: Podiobooks.com
STATUS: In Progress
“Drawn together apparently by the hand of fate, Trent and Cole escape the oppressive totalitarian domed city that has nurtured them all their lives. Outside they discover a world they could never have imagined. They are pursued by the city Militia, intent on returning them to the secretive entity that oversees every facet of the city.”

posted by Jesse Willis

Review of Local Custom by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Audiobook Review

Science Fiction Audiobook - Local Custom by Sharon Lee & Steve MillerLocal Custom
By Sharon Lee and Steve Miller; Read by Michael Shanks
1 MP3-CD or 8 CDs – Approx. 10.5 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Buzzy Multimedia
Published: 2005
ISBN: 0979074916 (MP3-CD); 096572557X (CDs)
Themes: / Science Fiction / Romance / Space Opera / Galactic Civilization / Love /

“Each person shall provide his Clan of origin with a child of his blood, who will be raised by the Clan and belong to the Clan, despite whatever may later occur to place the parent beyond the Clan’s authority. And this shall be Law for every person of every Clan.”

So far there are seven novels set in the Liaden Universe, though this one isn’t the first published it is chronologically the first to happen. Local Custom is a simple story, a Romeo And Juliet, tale, except with a happy ending and a few more spaceships. Master trader Er Thom yos’Galan is from the planet Liaden, an honour based society of humans. His family, and especially his mother are demanding an heir from Er Thom, as is only right and proper. But Er Thom cannot think of the traditional contract-marriage to some Liaden clan daughter when his true love is back on Terra. Anne Davis, a professor of Liaden studies on Terra had a brief affair with Er Thom years ago. When Er Thom shows up on her doorstep her secret and his duty will embroil them in a galaxy spanning scandal which threatens the honour of clan Korval.

Much of the interest here is in the worldbuilding, Liaden culture is richly imagined and the idea of “melant’i” is fodder for lots of drama. Melant’i, is a conveyed honour, not dissimilar from that created by Jack Vance for The Moon Moth. While the resolution of complex culture clashes makes for good drama, the effect here also makes many long dialogue scenes.This was coupled with a general lack of description – I didn’t know what anybody or anything looked like. The plot, centering around Er Thom’s marital fate, is spread thinly – while the novel never actually bores I kept wondering when something meaty was going to happen – very little did, this is a personal family drama set in a science fiction setting. Sharon Lee and Steve Miller have obviously built themselves an interesting universe here, and I think it’d be one worth visiting again, especially if there is a story in it with a wider-ranging plot. Fans of the series are vehement in their ardor for it.

Some of the exposition is placed at chapter or scene beginnings, mostly notes on Liaden history and cultural norms. This helped the general flow of the telling. Also helpful was Buzzy Multimedia’s engagement of screen actor Michael Shanks for the narration. Shanks appears as Dr. Daniel Jackson on Stargate SG1, but he’s a capable narrator, giving distinction to male and female character alike. There were a few times where I thought I heard Shanks stumble over a word, but generally these were in dialogue, and they may have been deliberate – they certainly didn’t detract from the production. The first three chapters are available for FREE MP3 download on the Buzzy website.

Posted by Jesse Willis