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PostPosted: Thu Mar 01, 2007 10:30 pm 
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Martian War Lord

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McTodd wrote:
Well, there're Baxter, Banks and, er, probably some others I can't think of at the moment...
True but they don't fit because Loz needs it to be set in the present day and Iain M. Banks' "Culture" series is set far in the future.
I am only familiar with a couple of Stephen Baxter's books 'Voyage' which the BBC have already done as a Radio Play and of course 'The Time Ships' which is a big book and probably bigger than the Beeb are looking for, Can you suggest any other titles by Baxter that fit the bill 'McTodd'?

Since my last post I thought of Robert Rankin, Sci/Fi Fantasy, \:D/ :-k but again COMEDY :a091:


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PostPosted: Thu Mar 01, 2007 10:43 pm 
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Oops, sorry, I forgot we're discussing Brit sf set postwar/present day. I was just saying that there are some serious Brit sf writers.

Do they have to be set in Britain, or just be written by Brit authors? If the latter, Baxter's 'Voyage'. Otherwise, um... *scratches head*


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PostPosted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 9:58 am 
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Martian War Lord

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McTodd wrote:
Oops, sorry, I forgot we're discussing Brit sf set postwar/present day. I was just saying that there are some serious Brit sf writers.

Do they have to be set in Britain, or just be written by Brit authors? If the latter, Baxter's 'Voyage'. Otherwise, um... *scratches head*


Set in Britain. Preferably British Author but they may go with American. It can always be reset in a British location or locations.


Lonesome, I think most Sci Fi novels are pretty visual. The challenge is to make it work on Radio. The Fog and Domain and Tommy Knockers could work.

I think I'll push my own idea though. and here's another one -
Radio Proposal

The Shift

Laurence Wilson

Concept: A top secret experiment on a prototype time machine goes terribly wrong and opens a time portal between 1955 and 2008* , causing everybody in 1955 to shift through time to the present and everybody in the present to shift through time to take their places in 1955. We would then follow the lives of people from both time periods, stepping out into strange new worlds. The shift has caused a chain reaction that will eventually wipe out time itself. Scientists in each time have to work round the clock to stop a total erasure of the universe. Whilst the politicians and Generals try and take advantage of the new worlds. Each episode we follow the lives of family’s and personnel connected by a link to the main story arc.

*or year of transmission.


Has anything like that been done? What do you think of it as a concept.

I'd like to develop it for TV too. The BBC and Channel 4 are looking for what they call High Concept stuff at the moment. Lole Lost, Life on Mars etc. Where it's not just a police show, but the guys in a coma in the past etc.


Bah bah black sheap April diamond spheres, Rigsby, Rigsby, Eight sided Pears.


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PostPosted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 10:48 am 
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Ooh ooh Mr Peevely, what about Fred Hoyle? 'The Black Cloud'; 'October the First Is Too Late'?


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PostPosted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 3:06 pm 
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Martian War Lord

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McTodd wrote:
Ooh ooh Mr Peevely, what about Fred Hoyle? 'The Black Cloud'; 'October the First Is Too Late'?


Tell me about them.


Bah bah black sheap April diamond spheres, Rigsby, Rigsby, Eight sided Pears.


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PostPosted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 7:36 pm 
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Martian War Lord

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McTodd wrote:
Ooh ooh Mr Peevely, what about Fred Hoyle? 'The Black Cloud'; 'October the First Is Too Late'?

Tell us more McTodd, it's a new one on me.
Loz, I like the idea, are the scientists from the two time zones able to communicate with one another through the Time-rift?


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PostPosted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 7:53 pm 
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Martian War Lord

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I found these if they help.
Quote:
The Black Cloud
1957

While systematically photographing the sky to detect exploding supernovae a young astronomer on Palomar discovers a myseterious black cloud south of the constellation of Orion. Almost simultaneously British astronomers deduce, from discrepancies in the positions of Jupiter and Saturn, that a major unknown body is entering our Solar System. Further observations and analysis indicate that this vast cloud of interstellar gas will pass between the earth and the sun, shutting off the sun's rays and bringing about incalculable changes on our planet.
At a closely guarded center outside of London an international group of scientists headed by Cambridge astronomer Chris Kingsley advises the British government on the fantastic problems created by the cloud. As months go by and one catastrophe succeeds another the scientists become less and less content to remain purely advisory. The conflicts between government officials and scientists provide a human and humorous element in this alarming story.


October the First is Too Late
1966

The Yorkshire Moors below Mickle Fell in August would seem a safe enough place to be, yet it was there that Richard's old schoolfriend, John Sinclair, disappeared for 13 hours. Two days later, while bathing in a mountain stream, Richard noticed that a strawberry birthmark was missing from Sinclair's back.
Climbing, music, ancient Greece and the year 5000 AD: all these play a part in Fred Hoyle's far-reaching and witty science fiction book, which teems with arresting ideas. Its central themes are time and the meaning of consciousness; around them the author of The Black Cloud and Ossian's Ride has spun a glittering web of adventure and logical surmise. In this world of dual personalities and shifting time scales it is entirely plausible that October the first should have been too late.


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PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 12:29 am 
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Tripod King

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Just got in from the pub...

Hoyle was a brilliant, maverick astrophysicist - he pioneered the concept that all elements in the universe heavier than the lightest gases were cooked up in successive generations of stars and spread throughout the cosmos by supernovae. On the other hand, he also promoted the Steady State theory of the universe - ironically, we get the term 'Big Bang' for the rival to his Steady State theory from Fred's bluff Yorkshireman's dismissal of of the concept that the universe was born in a gigantic primordial explosion.

Anyway, that's all by the by - the man was a top notch bona fide scientific intellect who also happened to write science fiction.

'The Black Cloud' and 'October the First Is Too Late' are vastly more strange and compelling than Lonesome's brief synopses, which really only introduce those stories.


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PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:25 am 
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Martian War Lord

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Lonesome Crow wrote:
McTodd wrote:
Ooh ooh Mr Peevely, what about Fred Hoyle? 'The Black Cloud'; 'October the First Is Too Late'?

Tell us more McTodd, it's a new one on me.
Loz, I like the idea, are the scientists from the two time zones able to communicate with one another through the Time-rift?


No, I thought it better if both sides just appear in their new times. The people from 55 have to work out how everything works, and who will gain use of the nukes first? Russia or America?
And those from now have to make do with the gadgets of the past. But both sides have to work toward healing the rift. And then with each new series they have to work toward putting things right. Maybe communicating with one another would come in series 2 or 3.

I'll check out the suggestions thanks.


Bah bah black sheap April diamond spheres, Rigsby, Rigsby, Eight sided Pears.


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PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 6:22 pm 
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Martian War Lord

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The more I think about it Loz the more I like the sound of it, I think it's better than your previous idea =D>

:-k The people from 2008 who have crossed over to 1955 will be able to leave messages for the 1955 people who are now in 2008.


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PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 7:05 pm 
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Martian War Lord

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Lonesome Crow wrote:
The more I think about it Loz the more I like the sound of it, I think it's better than your previous idea =D>

:-k The people from 2008 who have crossed over to 1955 will be able to leave messages for the 1955 people who are now in 2008.

I was thinking of having that not be the case. History doesn't change. Which baffles the people from 1955 all the more. Everything they inherit is exactly what was left by those from the present. they are totally lost in this new world.


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PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 7:51 pm 
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Martian War Lord

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OK.

The next question; was the Time Machine experiment that went wrong to course this cross-over in the first place, held in 1955 or 2008 or maybe some time in between, Dean Koontz wrote an excellent book a few years back called 'Lightning' There is a German chap who keeps popping up, just in time to save this American woman, when ever her life is in danger, He is a Time-Traveler but not from the future as you would think he's from 1943 or 44, but you don't learn this until you're half way through the book and it comes as a big surprise, I was wondering if you could do something similar.


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PostPosted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 1:54 pm 
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Don't forget that Fred Hoyle created and co-wrote the classic "A for Andromeda" and it's sequel "The Andromeda Breakthrough" for television in the 1960s. Another novel of his: "Osirian's Ride" deals with an investigation into an Irish community that has gained alien technology. I also remember a novella he wrote about the Loch Ness Monster which turns out to be something different than a prehsitoric beast.

I know you're looking at novels, but what about adapting short stories for either the Afternoon Play or for the late night slot at 11pm. There are several short stories by Arthur C. Clarke that could be considered. "All the Time in The World" about a man who's given a device to freeze time by aliens who are collecting art treasures from Earth before it is destroyed. The passages of him walking through London, frozen in a moment in time are similar to "The Day of The Triffids". "The Forgotten Enemy" about a literature teacher left behind in London frozen in a second ice age. "The Nine Billion Names of God" in which a Tibetian monastery aquires a supercomputer to list all the names of God. "No Morning After" in which aliens try to warn the human race that the Earth will be destroyed in a few days time. Unfortunately the man they pick as their spokesman is a drunkard. "Trouble with the Natives" in which two incompedent aliens sent to study Earth cause chaos. "Publicity Campaign" in which peaceful aliens arrive on Earth just as a sci-fi blockbuster about an alien invasion is released. There's also another story Clarke wrote, the title of which I can't remember, about a special effects designer who accidentally builds a working laser for a space opera and ends up setting the studio on fire.

There's also John Wyndham's stories to be considered. "Survival" about a stranded spacecraft, has already been dramatised. "Pawley's Peepholes" is another. Also "Time to Rest" - which is part of a longer story: "No Place Like Home"- about a human stranded on Mars and befriended by a friendly Martian family. "Dumb Martian," again set on Mars about a human who buys a seemingly stupid Martian slave, and "Compassion Circuit" about a terminally ill woman who's given a robot woman as a companion. There are also Stephen Baxter's stories to consider and also another novel of his: "Anti-Ice" set in a parallel nineteenth century where a power source similar to nuclear power is developed and used during the Crimean War. It's the only one of Baxter's novels thats out of print.

Robert Westall wrote mainly war and horror stories, however one "Peckforton Hill" would count as sci-fi. It deals with an automated bunker run by supercomputers, where the goverment will operate from in the event of a nuclear attack. When such an attack occurs the bunker is activated, but the Cabinet are killed enroute. However, the computers detect a lone female survivor near the entrance and let her in... There's a twist which I won't reveal.

There are also two stories written by Peter F. Cottam which count as ghost stories, but could also be considered as timeslip stories as well. "One Last Time" is set in the 1980s and deals with a building crew on a disused RAF Bomber Command airfield which is said to be haunted. One of them, Arthur who is in poor health and suffering from a brain injury, begins experiencing slips back in time to the war where he is mistaken for an RAF navigator. Eventually he experiences one last trip back where he and the Lancaster crew he's with take off on a raid only to be killed when the plane crashes. Back in the present, Arthur is found to have died in his sleep and later, his colleague is shaken when he's confronted by the ghosts of the dead aircrew; one of them is Arthur. The other "The Fog" (no conection to James Herbert's novel) has a group of people from the present caught up in the Battle of Britain and with a raid on an RAF Fighter Command airfield. A present day motorist has his car shot up by a German Heinkel; a woman is haunted by a child killed in the raid; a modern-day jet pilot transporting one of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight's Spitfires is caught up in a dogfight and the stunt fliers of a Heinkel replica being used for a war film find themselves attacked by Spitfires and Hurricanes. In a way it's similar to "The Twilight Zone".

It's a pity that the guidelines say it must be a post WWII novel otherwise I'd also suggest M P Shiel's "The Purple Cloud" originally published in 1901 and where a poisonous cloud wipes out all life on Earth leaving two survivors. H G Wells called it "Brilliant" and it's just been republished by Tartarus Press.

"Torchwood" did a variation on your idea: "Out of Time" with three people from 1953 transported to the present and having difficulty adjusting. Ther's also a story by Christopher Fowler (sorry, can't remember the title) where a boy from the 1990s and a girl from the 1890s are transported into one another's times.


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PostPosted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 11:16 pm 
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Martian War Lord

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Thanks 'M' I'll consider what you say. 8)


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PostPosted: Sun Mar 18, 2007 4:19 pm 
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I've just heard a rumour that Radio Four have commisioned an adaptation of Douglas Adams' "Dirk Gently" novels. Does that mean that the production has been settled now?

Another candidate for dramatision is a little known novel by J G Ballard: "The Wind from Nowhere". It was his first published work and unlike his later novels where his characters give into the catastrope, it's more akin to John Wyndham's novels with people trying to cope in the aftermath of a disaster. In this case fierce hurricanes that devastate the world. (Somewhat appropiate with gale-force winds sweeping the country at the moment). Another early Ballard novel is "The Drought" about a worldwide heatwave. Worth adapting in view of the concerns over climate change and the hot summers we're having at the moment. Radio Four's drama seems to be going through one of it's "sedate" patches at the moment so it could do with shaking up.


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PostPosted: Sun Mar 18, 2007 6:39 pm 
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Martian War Lord

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morrisvan wrote:
I've just heard a rumour that Radio Four have commisioned an adaptation of Douglas Adams' "Dirk Gently" novels. Does that mean that the production has been settled now?

Another candidate for dramatision is a little known novel by J G Ballard: "The Wind from Nowhere". It was his first published work and unlike his later novels where his characters give into the catastrope, it's more akin to John Wyndham's novels with people trying to cope in the aftermath of a disaster. In this case fierce hurricanes that devastate the world. (Somewhat appropiate with gale-force winds sweeping the country at the moment). Another early Ballard novel is "The Drought" about a worldwide heatwave. Worth adapting in view of the concerns over climate change and the hot summers we're having at the moment. Radio Four's drama seems to be going through one of it's "sedate" patches at the moment so it could do with shaking up.


Thanks. They told us to steer clear of Douglas Adams; that must be why. No the matter is not settled. Thanks for the extra info.


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PostPosted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 9:57 am 
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Anyone have any news on Radio Four's plans to dramatise a sci-fi novel. Is it still going ahead?


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PostPosted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 12:23 pm 
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Martian War Lord

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morrisvan wrote:
Anyone have any news on Radio Four's plans to dramatise a sci-fi novel. Is it still going ahead?

I think Loz is working on his own story for it, but he must be out of town or his PC has packed up, as he's not posted anything for a couple of days. :-k


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PostPosted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 8:00 pm 
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Martian War Lord

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Here I am.

They are definitely doing a Sci Fi season. My ideas got rejected as to visual. What Sci Fi Story isn't. You have to write it in a way that works for radio that's all.
But others got the gig.
I'm working on this something more akin to a dark fantasy. About a family who hide behind a field of corn that never dies. They keep a secret, an ancient bag that conceals the object of your dreams, but at a great price, A stranger turns up seeking the bag and BANG!!!!!


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PostPosted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 8:15 pm 
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Martian War Lord

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What's in the bag?, What's in the bag?, What's in the bag?, please do tell. [-o<


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PostPosted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 8:23 pm 
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Martian War Lord

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Lonesome Crow wrote:
What's in the bag?, What's in the bag?, What's in the bag?, please do tell. [-o<


It's the thing that you most desire. Whatever that is. So it can be many different things, depending on the person who looks in. The family protect it from getting into the wrong hands but they are like prisoners to it, and want to escape. One of them hatches a plan that she hopes will lead to the final destruction of the bag.


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PostPosted: Mon Apr 30, 2007 6:27 pm 
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Martian War Lord

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Is this going to be a book? or are you writing it with the intention of turning it into a radio-play?


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PostPosted: Mon Apr 30, 2007 7:17 pm 
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Martian War Lord

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Lonesome Crow wrote:
Is this going to be a book? or are you writing it with the intention of turning it into a radio-play?

It's going to be a radio play, and then maybe a book or a movie later. I have to go with my strengths at the moment. Which is playwright and Radio playwright.
I just want to get a bit more successful in those genres and then it's novels all the way.
I got loads of children's novels I want to write. But they'll all take time, and I need to build on my reputation as a playwright first.


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PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2007 8:09 pm 
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Martian War Lord

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Loz wrote:
I got loads of children's novels I want to write.

You write them Loz and I'll illustrate them. :wink:

About 12 years ago my brother used to tell his daughters stories about a Dragon called Gordon if I remember correctly, Gordon had lost all his teeth because he didn't clean them [-X and he had to have a set of dentures made :a103: :lol:
The stories worked my Nieces have excellent teeth today. I told my brother he should write the stories down, I even did this picture of Gordon and his new dentures, hoping it would encourage him to do so. but nothing came of it. :a009: I might try and get the stories out of him and write them myself. :twisted:


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PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2007 10:37 pm 
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Martian War Lord

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Great dragon but hang on wasn't he in the Listerine commercials?

And you are so getting the illustration gig.


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