When the third radio series of Journey into Space took off from the BBC Light programme’ airwaves in September 1955, space travel and journeys to the moon were still but a distant dream.
Yet, six decades on from Charles Chilton’s seminal BBC radio drama epic’s original broadcast Journey Into Space remains a highly entertaining and enjoyable full cast drama series.
The third and final series of Journey Into Space – The World In Peril follows directly on from the second series of The Red Planet.
Journey Into Space - The Earth In Peril : A Brief Synopsis
The Earth In Peril takes the listener to the then futuristic time slot of April 15th in 1972 when Captain Jet Morgan and the remnants of his Mars Fleet crew are returning to the Moon nearly a year before scheduled time.
Arriving on the lunar rocket base, Jet and his crew Lemmy, Doc and Mitch plan to alert mankind of a planned invasion of Earth by unseen Martians from Mars.
It soon becomes apparent that the Martians have already been sending advanced parties ahead of their invasion fleet and are doing their utmost to intercept our heroes planned return visit to the Red Planet to gather further information.
Journey Into Space Pushes All The Right Buttons Of Listeners Imagination
Journey Into Space was one of the last great British radio series to command a larger audience than television in the mid 1950s and on hearing these episodes its easy to see why.
Charles Chilton’s scripts remain full of gripping storylines, exciting cliffhangers and electrifying atmosphere, awash with moon boots and plastic visors.
Journey Into Space recalls a time when the concept of space travel was very new, in the future and anything seemed possible, pushing all the right buttons of the listener’s imagination.
Andrew Faulds and David Jacobs Star In Journey Into Space
In the true fashion of classic radio drama, each episode of Journey Into Space is brought to life by a talented cast of actors.
Andrew Faulds gives a heroic portrayal of Captain Jet Morgan and is ably supported by Alfie Bass (later known for his numerous comic roles in film and television) as Lemmy, Guy Kingsley Poynter as Doc, and David Williams as Mitch.
David Jacobs, a familiar personality on television and radio over the last six decades provides an eclectic collection of voices throughout the episodes include the excitable Earth Control operative to the eerie invading Martians.
Each episode also features music by Van Phillips and his orchestra, which for the 1950s appears to be groundbreaking with its use of electronic incidental music which really adds to the drama.
Journey Into Space - The World In Peril Released on CD and Audio Download
This welcome Twelve-Disc release includes all twenty original episodes of Journey Into Space – The World In Peril now digitally remastered.
Complimenting the collection is an informative PDF booklet of the series history by Andrew Pixley and some wonderful cartoon strip inspired cover artwork designed by Richard Williams.
Journey Into Space – The World In Peril will be released on CD format and also an audio download from iTunes and AudioGo.
