Journey #81 - The Goblins and the Gravedigger by Charles Dickens

Gabriel Grub, in the church graveyard, is seized upon by goblins, creatures seemingly more unpleasant than himself.

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This story was originally titled "The Goblins who stole a Sexton" and was extracted from Dickens' debut novel, The Pickwick Papers.

Charles Dickens (1812 – 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's most memorable fictional characters and is generally regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian period. During his life, his works enjoyed unprecedented fame, and by the twentieth century his literary genius was broadly acknowledged by critics and scholars. His novels and short stories continue to be widely popular. They include Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield, and A Christmas Carol.

B.J. Harrison is the host, and principle narrator, for the multiple award-winning Classic Tales Podcast.  The Classic Tales Podcast was awarded as one of iTunes’ Top Podcasts of 2007, and maintains a 5-star rating after over 600 reviews at iTunes.  Harrison has performed hundreds of character voices, including accents from Hungary, Russia, Ecuador, Italy, France, Arkansas, New York and many others. B.J. Harrison’s classic audiobooks are sold at Audible.com, and the iTunes Music Store. They are also available at his acclaimed website: www.thebestaudiobooks.com.

Realated Links:
Check out B.J. Harrison's latest story collection: Classic Scary Tales: Volume 1



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Journey #80 - Emily 501 by Tamara Hladik (Seeing Ear Theatre)

Sitaine Nuluhaya is an exo-archeologist and a linguist, sent on a mission in the Cygnus system to explore the ruins of an extinct culture. As a scholar of languages, she is delighted to discover an unknown, alien language, but this ancient tongue might not be as dead as she thinks…

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Seeing Ear Theater was an extension of the SCI-Fi Channel, and produced audio dramas between 1997 and 2001. Dozens of Science Fiction and Fantasy stories were produced by a dedicated and talented crew of multimedia artists, writers, actors and musicians and delivered “radio” drama via streaming audio. It managed to capture some of the top living SF writers of today, like Harlan Ellision, J. Michael Straczynski, Connie Willis, Neil Gaiman, and Kim Stanley Robinson. It also produced some classic stories, from the likes of Fredric Brown, Poul Anderson, and William Tenn.

Cast:

Anne Bobby as Sitaine Nuluhaya

Alissa Hunnicutt as Computer

Rebecca Nice as Poetry Reader

Crew:

Produced and Directed by George Zarr

Musical echoes performed by Bobby, Hunnicutt, and Nice

Sound Design by John Colucci

Related Links:

Rish Outfield reads "The Signalman" by Charles Dickens

"Kaleidoscope" by Ray Bradbury on Journey #38 (at 51m20s)

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Journey #79 - Double Feature: Sorry Wrong Number and The Diary of Saphronia Winters by Lucille Fletcher (Suspense)

The stories of two women isolated from the world and in danger.

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Suspense is a radio drama series broadcast on CBS Radio from 1942 through 1962.  One of the premier drama programs of the Golden Age of Radio, was subtitled "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" and focused on suspense thriller-type scripts, usually featuring leading Hollywood actors of the era. Approximately 945 episodes were broadcast during its long run, and more than 900 are still in existance.

Lucille Fletcher (March 28, 1912 – August 31, 2000) was an American screenwriter of film, radio and television. Her credits include The Hitch-Hiker, an original radio play written for Orson Welles and adapted for a notable episode of The Twilight Zone television series. Lucille Fletcher also wrote Sorry, Wrong Number, one of the most celebrated suspense plays in the history of American radio, which she adapted and expanded for the 1948 film noir classic of the same name.

Agnes  Moorehead (December 6, 1900 – April 30, 1974) was an American actress whose career of more than three decades included work in radio, stage, film and television. During the 1940s and 1950s, Moorehead was one of the most in demand actresses for radio dramas, especially on the CBS show Suspense. During the 946 episodes run of Suspense, Moorehead was cast in more episodes than any other actor or actress. Moorehead's most successful appearance on Suspense was in the legendary play Sorry, Wrong Number, written by Lucille Fletcher, broadcast on May 18, 1943.  She recreated the performance six times for Suspense and several times on other radio shows, always using her original, dog-eared script. She is now chiefly known for her role as Endora on the television series Bewitched.


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Journey #78 - Space Patrol: Brain Bank and Space Binoculars, plus Flash Gordon

Commander Buzz Corry sells stuff to kids and Flash Gordon heads off to Mongo.

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The success of the Space Patrol TV show on ABC spawned an almost instant radio version, which ran from 4 October 1952 to 19 March 1955 producing approximately 129 episodes. The same cast of actors performed on both shows.

Flash Gordon is the hero of a science fiction adventure comic strip, originally drawn by Alex Raymond, first published January 7, 1934.   Starting April 22, 1935, the strip was adapted into The Amazing Interplanetary Adventures of Flash Gordon, a 26-episode weekly radio serial. The series followed the strip very closely, amounting to a week-by-week adaptation of the Sunday strip for most of its run.  The series ended on October 26, 1935 with Flash and Dale's marriage.  The Flash Gordon comic strip has been also translated into motion pictures, television and animated series.

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Journey #77 - The Lone Ranger and Zorro

Icons of justice in the Old West, The Lone Ranger and Zorro protect the innocent and fight against corruption, greed, and abuse of power. These are their tales.

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The Lone Ranger first appeared in 1933 in a radio show conceived either by WXYZ (Detroit) radio station owner, George W. Trendle and by Fran Striker, the show's writer.  It has been suggested that the character was inspired by Texas Ranger Captain John R. Hughes to whom the book "The Lone Star Ranger" by Zane Grey was dedicated in 1915.  The show proved to be a hit and spawned a series of books (largely written by Striker), an equally popular television show that ran from 1949 to 1957, and comic books and movies. The title character was played on radio by George Seaton, Earle Graser, and most memorably Brace Beemer.  To television viewers, Clayton Moore was the Lone Ranger. Tonto was played by, among others, John Todd, Roland Parker and in the television series, Jay Silverheels.  A new film adaptation, The Lone Ranger, was just released this year directed by Gore Verbinski, starring Armie Hammer as The Lone Ranger and Johnny Depp as Tonto.

Zorro debuted in Johnston McCulley's 1919 story "The Curse of Capistrano", serialized in five parts in the pulp magazine All-Story Weekly.  McCulley went on to write many others.  Zorro was then featured in the motion picture The Mark of Zorro in 1920, and was a commercial success. The character has been adapted in many forms such as television, comics, and a short-lived radio show in 1957 which was written by Maria Little, directed by Robert M. Light and produced by Mitchell Gertz. Only a handful of episodes are known to have survived.  The most recent successful film adaptation, The Mask of Zorro (1998), starred Anthony Hopkins as an aged Don Diego de la Vega and Antonio Banderas as Alejandro Murrieta, a misfit outlaw who is groomed to become the next Zorro.  Its sequel The Legend of Zorro (2005), again starred Antonio Banderas as Zorro.


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Journey #76 - The Martian Crown Jewels by Poul Anderson (Seeing Ear Theater)

There is only one Martian who can help Inspector Gregg solve the mystery of the missing Martian crown jewels: Syaloch, a seven foot bird-like being who has taken on the methods of Sherlock Holmes.

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Poul Anderson (November 25, 1926 – July 31, 2001) was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories. He received numerous awards for his writing, including seven Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards.

Seeing Ear Theater was an extension of the SCI-Fi Channel, and produced audio dramas between 1997 and 2001. Dozens of Science Fiction and Fantasy stories were produced by a dedicated and talented crew of multimedia artists, writers, actors and musicians and delivered “radio” drama via streaming audio. It managed to capture some of the top living SF writers of today, like Harlan Ellision, J. Michael Straczynski, Connie Willis, Neil Gaiman, and Kim Stanley Robinson. It also produced some classic stories, from the likes of Fredric Brown, Poul Anderson, and William Tenn.

Crew:
Produced and Directed by George Zarr
Sound Design by John Colucci and David Shinn

Cast:
Bronson Pinchot as Syaloch
Felix Van Dyk as Inspector Gregg and Officer Ybarra
Nicholas Haylett as Yagamata
Marc Fine as Steinman
Martin Carey as Hollyday
Mark Evans as Ramanowitz

Related Links:

2013 Edgar Allan Poe Writing Contest - Submission Guidelines

2013 Parsec Award Finalists

Debut episode of Strewn Along The Path

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Journey #75 - Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (presented by CBC Stage)

Fireman Guy Montag begins to question his career of burning houses containing books, and wonders just what is contained within these illegal pages.

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Ray Bradbury is the world’s greatest science fiction writer. Some may argue, including Ray himself, that he writes fantasy rather than science fiction. He once said that Fahrenheit 451 was his only true science fiction work. His stories may tells us very little about science, but a great deal about the netherworld of imagination buried deep within all of us. In addition to over 1000 short stories, several novels and a handful of plays; Ray Bradbury has written poetry and scenarios. He adapted the novel Moby Dick for the movies, and has seen several of his own stroies made into motion pictures, as well as television radio shows. His writing has appeared in nearly every American magazine publishing quality fiction, and in over 100 anthologies of short stories.

The CBC Stage Series, was, for many years, the flagship program of the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation).  Stage Series radio plays ran officially from 1946-1966.  The Stage Series spawned and launched the acting careers of such notables as Lorne Greene, Christopher Plummer, John Drainie, Barry Morse, John Colicos, William Shatner and James Doohan.  In their day, the Stage Series actors were called "...the best radio repertory company in North America..." by New York Times Radio Editor, Jack Gould. The Stage Series is comprised of wonderful adaptation from classic novels, together with excellent Canadian works.

Related Links:

Fahrenheit 451 synopsis on AcademicEarth.org

Full Ray Bradbury interview on Day at Night

2013 Edgar Allan Poe Writing Contest - Submission Guidelines

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