More Dirk Gently!

Following on from the dramatisation of Douglas Adams's first Dirk Gently book last year, the second book - The Long, Dark Tea-time of the Soul - is now being dramatised on BBC Radio 4. Harry Enfield (British comedian), Billy Boyd (Pippin from LotR) and Peter Davison (the 5th Doctor) are back as Dirk Gently, Richard McDuff and Simon Draycott who become involved with some Norse gods. I enjoyed the first episode (though I'm afraid it's not online anymore) and am expecting the rest of it to be as good as the first series (which is also available to buy now in shops).

Christmas tidings

There are a few seasonal specials out there on the web. Firstly Radio Drama Revival has Waiting for Father Christmas, a drama about a woman reassessing her life from the wonderful Wireless Theatre Company and also a special Christmas episode of the Red Panda (in rhyming couplets!) from Decoder Ring Theatre. Buffy between the lines has also got several seasonal episodes with stories and a "Christmas EP"!
Update: Also the Sonic Society have a special "Jack and Shannon Christmas Card" with an extra special bonus for us Firefly fans!

If you're interested in old time radio shows there's also a list of episodes with Christmas themes to download for free at Old Radio Fun, with shows ranging from classic, to religious to super-hero and fantasy.

Of course the BBC has many special seasonal programs including

A ghost for Christmas
BBC7, 20th-21st Dec
Childrens ghost stories.

Adrian Mole at Christmas
BBC7, 24th-26th Dec
Adrian Mole's Christmas diary.

Jennings at School - Happy Christmas Jennings
BBC7, 24th Dec
The late Jennings author Anthony Buckeridge appears as Mr Wilkins in a seasonal dramatisation of life at Linbury Court School.

Hercule Poirot’s Christmas
and
The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding
BBC7 25th Dec
Seasonal Poirot mysteries by Agatha Christie

The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain
BBC7 27th Dec
Charles Dickens' last Christmas story is a vivid account of a man tormented by his past.

MR James at Christmas
BBC Radio 4 24th-25th Dec
Derek Jacobi introduces five new chilling dramatisations of MR James' ghost stories. MR James (1862-1936) was arguably the finest writer of ghost stories that England ever produced, influencing the likes of HP Lovecraft, Ramsey Campbell and Stephen King. Warning: apparently these are very scary!

Looks like there's lots of audio fun out there to share with/escape from the family!

Happy holidays!

Happy birthday BBC7!

The BBC digital radio station dedicated to drama and comedy, BBC7, is turning 5 on Dec 15th. I'm sure you'll all join me in wishing them a happy birthday, and thank them for all the wonderful stories they provide for us!

The special birthday edition on Saturday is playing requests from the listeners and includes

Theo: This delightful drama about the various owners of a rare cinnamon plush bear has always been a firm favourite with BBC 7 listeners. Written by Moya O'Shea it stars Martin Jarvis, Ross Livingstone, David Collings, Jane Whittenshaw and Stephen Critchlow. Directed by Tracey Neale, it was first broadcast in 1995.
12midday and 1am.

Diary of a Madman: This is another much requested monologue. The insight into the mind of a man sliding into madness is powerfully portrayed by Kenneth Williams. Originally broadcast in 1991, it was dramatised by James Burke from Nikolai Gogol's novel.
5.20pm, 11.20pm and 6.20am

as well as many popular comedies. The following week also includes some Christmas ghost stories to get us into the holiday spirit. All BBC7 programs are available as 'Listen Again' from their website for a week after broadcast.

A Thanksgiving audio feast!

In honour of Thanksgiving BBC7 is running a special Stars and Stripes season of American dramas for the next three weeks. This includes dramatisations and reading of many famous American works including Last of the Mohicans, Little Women, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Handmaids Tale, Children of the Corn (Stephen King) and various works by Edith Wharton, Raymond Chandler and Kurt Vonnegut.

Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys

This Saturday 17th Nov at 8pm (presumably GMT) the BBC World Service is broadcasting a brand new audio dramatisation of Neil Gaiman's book Anansi Boys. It should be available to listen to on the website for a week after broadcast (click on radio player). It has some famous British comedy actors (Lenny Henry, Matt Lucas) and is promising to be very good.

More info can be found at the Wikipedia entry and Neil Gaiman's great blog.

BBC7: Undone

I've just discovered this series being broadcast on BBC7. Undone is set in London and its parallel city 'Undone' where what we consider odd is normal, and where turns of phrase are real. It's very amusing with some unusual ideas and clever writing.

The first episode was broadcast last Sunday at 6pm and will be up for a week - it sounds like each episode is a separate story though, so it shouldn't matter if you tune in later. This first series is a repeat (though I haven't heard it before), with a brand new series following it.

Radio soap starts podcast

The BBC Radio 4 soap The Archers has just started being distributed as a podcast. This is the first BBC radio drama to be podcast, and hopefully won't be the last.

The Archers has been running since 1950 and features the lives of a small farming community in Britain. Unlike US soaps it is a bit more realistic and less sensationalist - it intersperses stories about normal village life (which can be a little banal!) with more exciting stories. For any newcomers to Ambridge, the website contains more information and background than you'd ever want to know!

Update: Another BBC radio soap Silver Street from the BBC Asian Network is also now being podcast. It's a "gritty daily radio soap set in a vibrant urban community".

BBC radio

This week BBC Radio 7 are rebroadcasting the multi-award winning "Bleak House" adapted from Charles Dickens' novel. It's an amazing production - dark and atmospheric - and definitely the best of Dickens' stories in my opinion. Like all BBC productions it will be on their website for a week.

Also on R7 this week are the repeats of last years Big Finish "Doctor who" audios (hopefully preceding some new ones!), and Douglas Adams' "Dirk Gentley's Holistic Detective Agency" is starting on BBC Radio 4 on Wednesday 3rd October. Oh, and I know it's not really drama, but there's a new series of the hilarious Old Harry's Game on R4! We're positively being spoilt!

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

Any Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy fans out there? Well, BBC Radio 4 will be producing a brand new radio drama of another of Douglas Adams' books - Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. It's got a great cast and is being produced by the same team who did the recent Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy dramas. The first episode starts at 6.30 BST (5.30 GMT) on Wednesday 3rd October 2007, but all episodes will be available to listen to on the website, for a week after airing. After that I'm sure it'll make it's way onto CD.

I'm sure it'll be amazing - enjoy!

Doctor Who audio dramas

Well, I was going to leave this post till later, but I've noticed that BBC R7 are starting rebroadcasting the McGann Big Finish audio dramas. They're starting with the episode 'Shada' (10-12 Sep), which was originally written by Douglas Adams for Tom Baker's doctor, but the filming was never finished. This is followed by 'Storm Warning' (13-14 Sep), the first episode with Charley. Big Finish do a lot of very good Dr Who (and other sci-fi) audio dramas, starring a lot of the original actors (including Dr's 5-8) which you can buy from their website, however they're not cheap. Last year BBC R7 broadcast a number of their audios, and are hopefully doing so again this year, so keep an eye on their website (the audios are available for 1 week after broadcast).

There are also many fan produced audios available for podcast. The Sonic Society had a number of Dr Who audios in their summer season - the Westlake Films Fineline production of Madhouse was particularly well done with a good story and sound effects. They have many other productions (Dr Who and other) on their website to download for free which I'll definitely be checking out, and even some video films which look interesting! Other sources for fan-produced Dr Who audios on the web are Darker Projects, Dream Realm Enterprises and Doctor Who Audio Dramas and BTR Productions