SATURDAY 27 JULY 2013

SAT 00:00 Harlan Ellison - I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream (b037bvq6)
It’s 109 years after the near annihilation of humanity.

Harlan Ellison’s famous sci-fi story comes to radio with the author taking the role of the psychotic computer which has won mankind's last war.

A final battle remains, between the computer and the five surviving humans led by David Soul as Ted.

Ted .... David Soul
AM .......Harlan Ellison
Ellen.... Abi Eniola
Nimdok.. Ewan Bailey
Gorrister ... David Timson
Benny ... Jason O'Mara

Producer: Ned Chaillet

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2002.


SAT 00:30 Nathaniel Hawthorne - Rappaccini's Daughter (b00qxcff)
Student Giovanni becomes obsessed with a mysterious girl living next door. Dark sci-fi romance starring Joseph Cohen-Cole.


SAT 01:00 Mark Tavener - High Table, Lower Orders (b00h9t26)
Series 2

Episode 4

Simon is not convinced of a student's murder confession, but he soon gets sidetracked. Mark Tavener's comedy thriller stars Geoffrey Palmer and Samuel West.


SAT 01:30 Dalziel and Pascoe - Bones and Silence (b00j7p9h)
Episode 10

The detective duo fight to nail who murdered Gail Swain, and the other victims. Reginald Hill's story read by Philip Jackson.


SAT 01:45 Dick Barton - Special Agent: The Cabatolin Diamonds (b037bh90)
Episode 10

Going to Jean's aid, Dick and Freddie find the distinction between friends and enemies is becoming blurred.

The stirring 'Devil's Galop' heralds the arrival of Douglas Kelly as 'Dick Barton - Special Agent' in another thrilling tale of criminal masterminds, espionage and daring adventure.

Originally starring Noel Johnson, Duncan Carse and Gordon Davies, Dick Barton ran on the BBC Light Programme between 1946 and 1951, but sadly, very few original recordings survive.

With the original lost, this is a very authentic sounding re-recording of 'The Cabatolin Diamonds' using the original scripts and music, which was made for international distribution. Happily the audio was rediscovered in 2009, lurking in the vaults of the National Film and Sound Archive in Canberra, Australia.

Script by Geoffrey Webb.

Producer: Morris West

First broadcast in Australia in April 1949.


SAT 02:00 Alison and Maud (b007k449)
Series 2

Men Misbehaving But Only Slightly

The sisters plan a celebration for Father's 85th birthday.

Second of two series of Sue Limb's Bed and Breakfast sitcom about sisters Alison and Maud and their guests at the Abbeyfield Guest House in Norwich.

Starring Denise Coffey as Alison, Miriam Margolyes as Maud, Joss Ackland as Father, Geoffrey Whitehead as Bernard, Chris Emmett as Mr Mullet and Nicholas Grace as Leslie.

Producer: Jonathan James-Moore.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2004.


SAT 02:30 Spending My Inheritance (b00fz0wd)
Saga Louts

Sitcom by Clive Coleman, starring Kris Marshall as cash-strapped forty-something Harry, who has to watch from the sidelines as his newly retired parents start spending their hard-earned cash on themselves.

Harry's parents offer to take him and his family on holiday.

Harry ...... Kris Marshall
Jo ...... Raquel Cassidy
Brian ...... Kenneth Cranham
Liz ...... Judy Parfitt
Jess ...... Antonia Thomas
Ron ...... Stephen Critchlow
Linda ...... Janice Acquah
Aristos ...... Chris Pavlo

Directed by Sam Hoyle.


SAT 03:00 Classic Serial (b0144ybg)
Anthony Trollope - The American Senator

Episode 3

The American Senator
By Anthony Trollope
Dramatised by Martyn Wade
Part Three
Lord Rufford has run away from Arabella but she hasn't given up hope. She is determined that he will marry her but then she receives some distressing news ..

Anthony Trollope...........Robert Glenister
Arabella Trefoil..............Anna Maxwell Martin
Lady Augustus..............Barbara Flynn
Lord Augustus...............Gerard McDermott
Lord Rufford...................Henry Devas
Lady Ushant..................Joanna David
John Morton..................Blake Ritson
Reginald Morton............Daniel Rabin
Mary Masters................Penelope Rawlins
Mrs Morton...................Richenda Carey
Senator Gotobed...........Stuart Milligan
Mounser Green............Joanathan Forbes

Directed by Tracey Neale

The Story:
In this little known tale, Anthony Trollope never allows The American Senator's attitude to get in the way of plot -and his ability to weave story strands which arise out of credible motivation, psychology and emotion is as sure as ever. The characters are as finely drawn as we have come to expect from the pen of Trollope. There's the extraordinary Arabella but also the comic, kind natured and the tragic characters too.

Arabella finds herself in the ignoble occupation of husband/fortune-hunting. She's aware that the years are passing and the strain of numerous failed relationships have made her prospects increasingly poor. She is unofficially engaged to John Morton, a diplomat, and owner of a large estate, but now the wealthy and more exciting Lord Rufford has come into view. His estate being larger and more grand. Surely he is worth fighting for?

Arabella, encouraged by her monstrous mother, Lady Augustus, decides to try and keep Morton on the back-burner (but deny her engagement in public) while engineering a series of compromising situations in an outrageous attempt to win Rufford.

But Arabella is playing a dangerous game and although her behaviour is both conniving and ruthless, she is extraordinary and powerfully-drawn and so does not become an out-and-out anti-heroine. She is, to some degree, the victim of her situation - and of her mother. She is courageous as well as devious, and she has her pride. As the tale concludes and she seeks some degree of redemption she achieves tragic status.

A parallel but secondary plot concerns Reginald Morton, an elder cousin of John, and Mary Masters, who is the complete antithesis to Miss Trefoil. Mary's absurd, domineering stepmother thinks that Mary should marry a besotted local farmer, Lawrence Twentyman but Mary is in love with Reginald Morton. Is he in love with her though? She finds support in the shape of Reginald's kind and gentle aunt, Lady Ushant, but there is the stern and grim grandmother of both John and Reginald who stands in the way of happiness because of a long-standing family feud.

Elias Gotobed, the visiting senator of the book's title, has little impact on events - but he has an important part to play as an observer of events; a gauche but vigorous critic of the antiquated elements of English society and the establishment. Gotobed's conclusions are a supplement to those which can be drawn from Arabella's tale, where greed, class-consciousness and snobbery are mercilessly displayed.

'The American Senator' is, in part, a state of the nation novel - enhanced by the parallels between Trollope's world and ours. Arabella has her modern-day equivalents, and the Senator's remarks throughout the dramatisation about the working man's passive and subservient nature have not lost their relevance.

The Author:
Anthony Trollope produced a vast collection of work about credible people and their foibles. He gained recognition as a writer who portrayed English life is a wry and honest manner with a cast of humorous and delightful characters. His portrayal of female characters is particularly skilful and Arabella Trefoil is no exception.

The Dramatist:
Martyn Wade is a skilled and talented radio writer and dramatist. He has dramatised the 'Barsetshire' novels for radio and the 'Palliser' series too. His other Trollope dramatisations have included 'Orley Farm' and 'Miss Mackenzie'. He also dramatised Ada Leverson's 'The Little Ottleys' for Woman's Hour.


SAT 04:00 Deborah Moggach - Tulip Fever (b007jm7m)
Episode 10

Sophia feels she has committed a terrible sin and must pay for it, but how? Read by Emma Fielding and William Gaminara.


SAT 04:15 Peter Wolf - Ghost on the Moor (b00sr5qc)
Haunted by a painful break-up, moors recluse Graham begins an unexpected relationship. Romantic drama starring Robert Glenister.


SAT 05:00 Beachcomber... By the Way (b0082ckc)
Series 1

Episode 4

Lord Shortcake takes up amateur dramatics, Captain Foulenough takes us back to his unsavoury childhood, Cricket is taken too seriously, and Prodnose is escorted to the graveyard in the hope he’ll take the hint...

Richard Ingrams, John Wells, John Sessions and Patricia Routledge recreate the world of the JB Morton.

Running in the Daily Express from 1924 to 1975 – JB Morton’s surreally comic ‘Beachcomber’ column paved the way for a great deal of modern humour.

Adapted by Michael Barfield with Richard Ingrams.

Announcer: Brian Perkins

Producer: Harry Thompson

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989


SAT 05:30 The Right Time (b00c693m)
Series 3

Episode 2

Facelift fracas - and a new TV quiz show for the hard of memory.

The sketch comedy for people growing older disgracefully.

Stars Eleanor Bron, Graeme Garden, Neil Innes, Clive Swift, Roger Blake and Paula Wilcox.

Written by Julie Balloo, Janet Ellis, Graeme Garden Mike Haskins, Jan Etherington, Alan Stafford, Colin Bostock Smith, Mike Pilman, Mark Brisenden and Robert Mills.

Script Editor: Jed Parsons.

Music by Ronnie & The Rex and Neil Innes.

Producer: Claire Jones

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2003.


SAT 06:00 Saturday Drama (b00jwq3g)
Frank Marcus - The Killing of Sister George

John Tydeman's adaptation of the stage play by Frank Marcus. The audience ratings for the popular daily serial Applehurst are on the slide. Will the leading character have to be sacrificed to save the show?

June Buckridge (Sister George) ...... Sarah Badel
Alice 'Childie' McNaught ...... Lucy Whybrow
Mrs Mercy Croft ...... Anna Massey
Madme Xenia ...... Frances Jeater
Bill ...... Tom Bevan
Fred ...... Keith Drinkel

Directed by John Tydeman.


SAT 07:30 Punt PI (b00b9y3h)
Series 1

Episode 3

Steve Punt turns private investigator, examining little mysteries that perplex, amuse and beguile.

He explores the area around Dark Peak in the Peak District, which can claim to be Britain's own Bermuda Triangle. Over 50 aircraft crashed there in a space of 30 years.


SAT 08:00 The Frankie Howerd Variety Show (b007jr40)
From 24/10/1978

Frankie Howerd receives Meals On Wheels by mistake and proves guilty of doing jury service...

Plus stars from the world of entertainment - Acker Bilk, Brian Coshall, Lois Lane and Alan J Bartley.

Music from the Max Harris Orchestra

Scripted by Rory McGrath, Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran.

Producer: Richard Willcox

First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in October 1978.


SAT 09:00 Comedy Greats (b007k228)
1980s

Episode 2

Decade by decade, Barry Cryer showcases some of the funniest and finest shows ever broadcast by the BBC.

OK, yah? The original 1980s Sloane Ranger - complete with leg-warmers and shoulder-pads - presents six favourite shows plucked from the schedules of BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 4:

* Naked Radio
(23rd March 1985)
The Scottish comedy team pokes fun at topical events. Recorded at the Glasgow Theatre Club at the Tron. Stars Ian Aldred, Ron Bain, Andy Gray, Tony Roper and Elaine C Smith. From 1985.

* The Grumbleweeds
(10th August 1980)
Impressions and sketches in an episode of the long-running series featuring the musical comedy band of Graham Walker, Albert Sutcliffe, Carl Sutcliffe, Maurice Lee and Robin Colvill. From 1980.

* The Jason Explanation... of Myths and Legends
Does the Loch Ness monster really exist? Is there life after death? Why do fingers and toes go all crinkly in the bath? David Jason explains all with Sheila Steafel and Jon Glover. From 1981.

* The Million Pound Radio Show
Series 2 (8/8)
Back to the days of Mrs Thatcher, Sir Clive Sinclair and Brookside courtesy of Andy Hamilton and Nick Revell's sharp-edged topical humour. From 1986.

* The Big Fun Show
Series 1 (5/6)
Sketches galore in the series starring Paul Merton, Julian Clary, Tony Hawks and Josie Lawrence - before they hit the big time. From 1988.

* Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Ep 4/6
The improv game before it moved to TV. Clive Anderson hosts more ad-lib fun with Stephen Fry, John Sessions, Kate Robbins and Griff Rhys-Jones. From 1988.

Produced and scripted by Peter Reed

Made for BBC 7 and first broadcast in July 2003.


SAT 12:00 Melissa Murray - Good News (Omnibus) (b037gm2k)
Following a serious misdiagnosis, Adrienne is forced to confront some unexpected issues.

Adrienne ..... Rosie Cavaliero
Mal ..... Neil Dudgeon
Fred ..... Aimie-Ffion Edwards
Louise ..... Christine Absalom
Doctor ..... Nicholas Murchie
Cashier ..... Hannah Wood
Robot ..... Ben Crowe
Barman ..... Michael Shelford
Mary ..... Philippa Stanton
Alan ..... Robert Blythe
Written by Melissa Murray
Directed by Marc Beeby

First broadcast in five parts on BBC Radio 4 in 2013.


SAT 13:15 Baldi (b007jln9)
Series 2

Schecter's Knot

The priestly sleuth wonders if extreme professional jealousy is behind a talented professor's death. Stars David Threlfall.


SAT 14:00 Round the Horne (b007k3n2)
Series 3

Episode 3

More swashbuckling for Kenneth Horne as 'The Three Musketeers' continues, a sea shanty from Rambling Syd Rumpo, plus Julian and Sandy go bona cruising.

With Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden and Bill Pertwee.

Recorded at the BBC's Paris Studio in Lower Regent Street, London. Announcer: Douglas Smith

Round The Horne was born out of the demise of BBC radio comedy Beyond Our Ken, after the end of writer Eric Merriman's involvement. Using the same cast and producer, Barry Took and Marty Feldman were persuaded to write the scripts - which led to four series that ran between 1965 and 1968 - packed full of parodies, recurring characters, catchphrases and double-entendres.

Music by Edwin Braden and the Hornblowers and The Fraser Hayes Four.

Producer: John Simmonds

First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in February 1967.


SAT 14:30 Dad's Army (b007jm2h)
Series 1

The Showing Up of Corporal Jones

Corporal Jones will be forced to retire from the platoon, unless he manages to complete an assault course in 15 minutes....

The comic exploits of a Second World War Home Guard platoon in Walmington-on-Sea.

Adapted for radio from Jimmy Perry and David Croft's TV scripts by Harold Snoad and Michael Knowles.

Captain Mainwaring …. Arthur Lowe
Sergeant Wilson …. John Le Mesurier
Corporal Jones …. Clive Dunn
Private Godfrey …. Arnold Ridley
Private Frazer …. John Laurie
Private Pike …. Ian Lavender
Private Walker …. Graham Stark
Major Smith …. Jack Watson
Announcer …. John Snagge

Producer: John Dyas

First broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 in April 1974.


SAT 15:00 The Frankie Howerd Variety Show (b007jr40)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]


SAT 16:00 Saturday Drama (b00jwq3g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]


SAT 17:30 Richard Tyrone Jones's Big Heart (b037525c)
Of Coke Dealers and Cardioverters

Series Title: Richard Tyrone Jones's Big Heart
Programme/episode title: Of Coke Dealers and Cardioverters

Richard Tyrone Jones, healthy, gym-going poet, man about town and aspirant womaniser, finds himself, on his thirtieth birthday, stricken by an unexpected present: heart failure. Confined to hospital with a a dilated, literally-big heart, surrounded by old men, stuck on drugs and drips and forced to cope with curious medical procedures and even curiouser fellow patients, will he die, or worse, be doomed to life in a mobility scooter at home with his parents in Dudley?

Based on Richard's Wellcome Trust supported solo show each episode illuminates a different aspect of the experience of illness and facing your own mortality. Half-way between a sitcom and real-life storytelling, Richard will explain some of his illness's progression through direct address and his own poems.

Richard Tyrone Jones is a poet and writer and director of spoken word at the Edinburgh Festival Free Fringe.

It was written by Richard Tyrone Jones
With additional material by Michael Mixy Riccardi

Studio engineer and editor - Matt Katz

Produced by Nick Walker
A Top Dog production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 18:00 The Scarifyers (b008kl16)
The Devil of Denge Marsh

Episode 3

Lionheart faces a watery demise, as Dunning unleashes a being from the dawn of time. Stars Nicholas Courtney and Terry Molloy.


SAT 18:30 The Female Ghost (b00nj7cx)
The Cold Embrace

When handsome young artist Josef betrays his delicate fiancée, her retribution is eerily appropriate...

The first of four ghostly stories by women dramatised by Christopher Hawes.

Mary Braddon's eerie tale stars Stephanie Turner as Mary Braddon, Jonathan Firth as Josef, Alison Pettitt as Gertrude, Ioan Meredith as the Postmaster, John Hartley as Father, Carolyn Jones as the Woman, Hugh Dickson as the Passenger, Tracy-Ann Oberman as Parisienne and Chris Pavlo as the Fisherman.

Producer: Marion Nancarrow

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1997.


SAT 19:00 Comedy Greats (b007k228)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


SAT 22:00 Meera Syal's Asian Comedy Night (b01qdwwr)
Episode 1

Meera Syal and Tommy Sandhu introduce a celebration of British Asian stand up comedy from the BBC Radio Theatre in London.

With Shazia Mirza, Imran Yusuf, Humza Badman, Kulvinder Ghir, Hyde Panesar and Pakistan's first stand up comedian Sami Shah.

Producer: Jon Holmes

Made for the BBC Asian Network by Tonic Productions and first broadcast in July 2012.


SAT 22:30 Another Case of Milton Jones (b00r2cm9)
Series 4

Test Pilot

Written by Milton with James Cary ("Think The Unthinkable", "Miranda")

In this episode, Milton's a daredevil test pilot and Top Gun who gets tangled up in a fiendish plot to replace the turkey twizzler... So if you find yourself daydreaming about owls, dodos, Papua New Guinea, a helicopter made of spoons and a comfy pillow made of chicken giblets then you've quite definitely caught "Another Case Of Milton Jones"

He's joined in his endeavours by his co-stars Tom Goodman-Hill ("Camelot"), Dave Lamb ("Come Dine With Me") and Ingrid Oliver ("Watson & Oliver").

Britain's funniest Milton and the king of the one-liner returns with a fully-working cast and a shipload of new jokes for a series of daffy comedy adventures

Each week, Milton is a complete and utter expert at something - Top Gun aviator, Weatherman, Billy Elliot-style dancer, World-beating cyclist, mathematical genius and Extreme Travel Entrepreneur ...

... and each week, with absolutely no ability or competence, he plunges into a big adventure with utterly funny results...

"Milton Jones is one of Britain's best gagsmiths with a flair for creating daft yet perfect one-liners" - The Guardian
"King of the surreal one-liners" - The Times
"If you haven't caught up with Jones yet - do so!" - The Daily Mail

Produced & directed by David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 23:00 The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries (b0084qwv)
A Surfeit of Lampreys

Gentleman sleuth Inspector Alleyn probes a grisly death of the head of a spendthrift aristocratic family. Stars Jeremy Clyde.