Earthsearch
Encyclopedia
Earthsearch: A Ten-Part Adventure Serial in Time and Space science fiction
radio series written by James Follett
. It consists of ten half-hour episodes broadcast. It was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4
between January and March 1981. There is also a novelisation by Follett of the same name. The series has been released on cassette and audio CD Since 2003 it has been re-broadcast, several times in the Seventh Dimension science fiction slot on BBC 7
and its successor BBC Radio 4 Extra.
Other cast (across the series):
Disappointed, Darv and Astra explore an uncontrolled zone of the ship - a place where the Guardian Angels cannot trace them and discover a space shuttle. They use it to visit the moon, which has been left behind. They discover that the Earth has been gone for half a million years and that the Challenger left Earth over one million years ago. It seems, during the Great Meteoroid Strike, the Angels lost their information about the Theory of Relativity
and since the ship has been travelling at near light-speed for over one-hundred years, more time has passed on Earth than on the ship.
The crew then travel to Kyros, a planet similar to Mars. While there, Darv and Astra are kidnapped by what remains of The Solaric Empire - an organisation that colonised the Solar System. Since the disappearance of Earth, the Empire has been based on Zelda V - one of the moons of a planet similar to our Jupiter. The Emperor Thorden agrees to join the Challenger on its search for Earth. He smuggles an armed space ferry and a warrior android aboard. Thorden explains to the crew that the Angels are just the ships control systems and if they were to find the Central Switching Room, they would be able to end the Angels' control over them and the ship. The crew and Thorden go into suspended animation. When the crew are woken, they find Thorden is dead. Darv suspects the Angels are to blame.
The Challenger picks up another ship on its radar - the Challenger Two. It appears derelict. Sharna and Telson go over in the shuttle to investigate and Thorden's warrior android Fagor ambushes Darv and Astra. They distract him and follow Telson and Sharna in Thorden's ferry. When they come to leave Challenger Two, they discover Fagor has taken it away and they must chase it. They manage to overcome an oxygen shortfall and Fagor trying to attack them and recover the Challenger.
During their examination of the crew, the Angels discover that Astra is pregnant. They must bring her out of suspended animation to protect her, but to avoid arousing her suspicions, they awake everyone. Astra refuses to go back into suspended animation so she and Darv break away from the control of the Angels. She tells Darv she is pregnant and suspects that the Angels will try to harm the baby. They set up home in an uncontrolled region where they discover a video broadcast from an instrument package left on a planet by the second generation. Darv insists that they tell Sharna and Telson. Darv and Astra say they are leaving the Challenger and they take a shuttle full of supplies down to the planet, where they set up home. Sharna and Telson follow days later.
" refer to the domineering computers. Various clues are presented in that "Earth" and its sister planet Kyros and Zelda (the latter two clearly analoguous to Mars and Jupiter) are the second, third and fourth planets of their solar system rather than the third, fourth and fifth, while Paradise is the third planet of its own solar system (as is "our" Earth), although the different planetary names are at one point attributed to an administrative change of nomenclature.
, because the cast were all still members of the BBC Radio Drama Repertory Company at the time when the Tolkien
adaptation was being made.
In the original broadcast, when Angel One and Angel Two are talking to each other Angel One's voice is heard on the left stereo channel only and Angel Two on the right (although due to the technical limitations of the recording some crosstalk can be heard on the opposite channels). In the BBC 7 broadcast they are sometimes heard on the opposite channels, indicating that entire episodes are broadcast with the stereo channels transposed. Furthermore, listeners to BBC 7's mono
DAB
service complained that they could only hear one half of these conversations, indicating that the DAB transmission may have been sometime taken from one of the two stereo channels instead of being a mix of both.
Engineering: It would initially seem that using two computers to run a star-ship lacks Redundancy
. The ship originally had 3 angels in charge, seemingly giving sufficient redundancy should one computer malfunction. However the design of the Angels was itself flawed, with the general mode of failure the development of megalomaniac tendencies. When one and two fail they destroy the third computer.
Although it has not been confirmed, it is entirely possible that the android "Fagor" was named after a make of refrigerator which had been made available in the United Kingdom at the time of writing.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
radio series written by James Follett
James Follett
James Follett is an author and screenwriter, born in 1939 in Tolworth, England.Follett became a full-time fiction writer in 1976, after resigning from contract work as a technical writer for the British Ministry of Defence. He has since written over 20 novels, several television plays, and many...
. It consists of ten half-hour episodes broadcast. It was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
between January and March 1981. There is also a novelisation by Follett of the same name. The series has been released on cassette and audio CD Since 2003 it has been re-broadcast, several times in the Seventh Dimension science fiction slot on BBC 7
BBC 7
BBC Radio 4 Extra, formerly known as BBC 7 and BBC Radio 7, is a British digital radio station broadcasting comedy, drama, and children's programming nationally 24 hours a day. It is the principal broadcasting outlet for the BBC's archive of spoken-word entertainment...
and its successor BBC Radio 4 Extra.
Main cast
- Commander Telson - Sean ArnoldSean ArnoldSean Arnold is an English actor.He is best-known for his roles as Mr Llewelyn inGrange Hill in the 1970s and 1980s, and as Barney Crozier in the 1980s BBC television series Bergerac....
- Sharna - Amanda Murray
- Darv - Haydn Wood
- Astra - Kathryn Hurlbutt
- Angel One - Sonia Fraser
- Angel Two - Gordon ReidGordon Reid (actor)James Gordon Reid was a Scottish actor.Reid was born in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, Scotland. Educated at the former Hamilton Academy he then trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, graduating in 1962 with the Silver Medal for Acting.His extensive acting credits included the chemist...
Other cast (across the series):
- Commander Sinclair - Christopher Scott
- Simon - David Bradshaw
- The Sentinel - Alexander John
- George - John MacAndrew
- Helan - Judy Franklin
- Emperor Thorden - John Bott
- Thail - Graham FaulknerGraham FaulknerGraham Faulkner is a British former actor.His first and greatest role was as Francis of Assisi in Franco Zeffirelli's Brother Sun, Sister Moon . After that, he virtually retired from acting. He played a small number of very minor roles, but has not been involved in film or television since 1984...
- Spegal - Stephen Garlick
- The Custodian - Eve Calfe
- Fagor - Sion Probert
- Krol - Michael SpiceMichael SpiceMichael Spice was an English character actor on British television.He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of two classic Doctor Who villains opposite Fourth Doctor Tom Baker: the voice of Morbius in The Brain of Morbius ; and Magnus Greel in The Talons of Weng-Chiang .He made a number of...
- Dren - John Webb
- Lenart - Jane Knowles
- Tandor - Pauline Letts
- No. 41 - John Church
Episodes
- Planetfall
- First Footprint City
- Sands of Kyros
- The Solaric Empire
- The Pools of Time
- Across the Abyss
- New Blood
- Marooned
- Star Cluster: Tersus Nine
- Earthfall
Story
The crew of the Starship Challenger - a ten mile long survey ship - have been searching the universe for an Earth-type planet to colonise. Telson, Sharna, Darv and Astra – the third generation crew – are the only survivors of “The Great Meteoroid Strike”. After the Angels – shorten from ANcillary Guardian of Environment and Life, the ship’s control systems – explain to them how their parents died, they plan their return to Earth. However, when they reach their home solar system, they find their planet has gone.Disappointed, Darv and Astra explore an uncontrolled zone of the ship - a place where the Guardian Angels cannot trace them and discover a space shuttle. They use it to visit the moon, which has been left behind. They discover that the Earth has been gone for half a million years and that the Challenger left Earth over one million years ago. It seems, during the Great Meteoroid Strike, the Angels lost their information about the Theory of Relativity
Theory of relativity
The theory of relativity, or simply relativity, encompasses two theories of Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity. However, the word relativity is sometimes used in reference to Galilean invariance....
and since the ship has been travelling at near light-speed for over one-hundred years, more time has passed on Earth than on the ship.
The crew then travel to Kyros, a planet similar to Mars. While there, Darv and Astra are kidnapped by what remains of The Solaric Empire - an organisation that colonised the Solar System. Since the disappearance of Earth, the Empire has been based on Zelda V - one of the moons of a planet similar to our Jupiter. The Emperor Thorden agrees to join the Challenger on its search for Earth. He smuggles an armed space ferry and a warrior android aboard. Thorden explains to the crew that the Angels are just the ships control systems and if they were to find the Central Switching Room, they would be able to end the Angels' control over them and the ship. The crew and Thorden go into suspended animation. When the crew are woken, they find Thorden is dead. Darv suspects the Angels are to blame.
The Challenger picks up another ship on its radar - the Challenger Two. It appears derelict. Sharna and Telson go over in the shuttle to investigate and Thorden's warrior android Fagor ambushes Darv and Astra. They distract him and follow Telson and Sharna in Thorden's ferry. When they come to leave Challenger Two, they discover Fagor has taken it away and they must chase it. They manage to overcome an oxygen shortfall and Fagor trying to attack them and recover the Challenger.
During their examination of the crew, the Angels discover that Astra is pregnant. They must bring her out of suspended animation to protect her, but to avoid arousing her suspicions, they awake everyone. Astra refuses to go back into suspended animation so she and Darv break away from the control of the Angels. She tells Darv she is pregnant and suspects that the Angels will try to harm the baby. They set up home in an uncontrolled region where they discover a video broadcast from an instrument package left on a planet by the second generation. Darv insists that they tell Sharna and Telson. Darv and Astra say they are leaving the Challenger and they take a shuttle full of supplies down to the planet, where they set up home. Sharna and Telson follow days later.
Mythological approach
Earthsearch eventually reveals itself as an inverted creation myth, providing a possible "factual" story which could lie behind various Earth legends. The story deliberately misleads the listener in order to gradually reveal that the planet Paradise is in fact the Earth of human history as we know it (with the original "Earth" being a previous forgotten homeworld for the human race) and that the legends of authoratitive and fear-inducing "angelsAngel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
" refer to the domineering computers. Various clues are presented in that "Earth" and its sister planet Kyros and Zelda (the latter two clearly analoguous to Mars and Jupiter) are the second, third and fourth planets of their solar system rather than the third, fourth and fifth, while Paradise is the third planet of its own solar system (as is "our" Earth), although the different planetary names are at one point attributed to an administrative change of nomenclature.
Trivia
Most of the regular cast had cameo roles (sometimes playing more than one character) in BBC Radio's 1981 production of The Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings (1981 radio series)
In 1981 the UK radio station BBC Radio 4 broadcast a dramatisation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings in 26 half-hour stereo instalments...
, because the cast were all still members of the BBC Radio Drama Repertory Company at the time when the Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
adaptation was being made.
In the original broadcast, when Angel One and Angel Two are talking to each other Angel One's voice is heard on the left stereo channel only and Angel Two on the right (although due to the technical limitations of the recording some crosstalk can be heard on the opposite channels). In the BBC 7 broadcast they are sometimes heard on the opposite channels, indicating that entire episodes are broadcast with the stereo channels transposed. Furthermore, listeners to BBC 7's mono
Monaural
Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction is single-channel. Typically there is only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or channels are fed from a common signal path...
DAB
Digital audio broadcasting
Digital Audio Broadcasting is a digital radio technology for broadcasting radio stations, used in several countries, particularly in Europe. As of 2006, approximately 1,000 stations worldwide broadcast in the DAB format....
service complained that they could only hear one half of these conversations, indicating that the DAB transmission may have been sometime taken from one of the two stereo channels instead of being a mix of both.
Engineering: It would initially seem that using two computers to run a star-ship lacks Redundancy
Redundancy (engineering)
In engineering, redundancy is the duplication of critical components or functions of a system with the intention of increasing reliability of the system, usually in the case of a backup or fail-safe....
. The ship originally had 3 angels in charge, seemingly giving sufficient redundancy should one computer malfunction. However the design of the Angels was itself flawed, with the general mode of failure the development of megalomaniac tendencies. When one and two fail they destroy the third computer.
Although it has not been confirmed, it is entirely possible that the android "Fagor" was named after a make of refrigerator which had been made available in the United Kingdom at the time of writing.