Journey Into Space: The Host
Journey Into Space was a BBC Radio science fiction serial first broadcast from 1953 to 1956. Three series were originally broadcast, all written and produced by Charles Chilton.
The first series, Operation Luna, was originally titled Journey To The Moon and broadcast in 1953/4. The first four episodes, set on Earth, were not popular with audiences, but the serial grew in popularity when the story blasted off for space in episode five. The tapes of this first series were erased, but the series was re-recorded and re-broadcast in 1958, under the new title Operation Luna, but with the first four episodes omitted. The second series, The Red Planet, was the last time that a BBC radio show achieved a higher rating than its TV opponent.
Operation Luna followed the adventures of Captain ‘Jet’ Morgan and his crew, as they attempt the first Moon landing, only to encounter a fleet of UFOs who send them back in time.
The second series, The Red Planet, broadcast in 1954/5, sees Jet and his crew travelling to Mars, where they discover a plot by the Martians to invade Earth.
The third series, The World In Peril, broadcast in 1955/6, was a direct continuation of the story begun in series two, and followed Jet Morgan and his crew's return to Mars in an attempt to avert the impending Martian invasion.
The Return From Mars was a revival of Journey Into Space, written by Charles Chilton for Radio 4’s Saturday Night Theatre in 1981, and continues the story from approximately the end of The World In Peril, with the crew returning to Earth after thirty years in space, missing presumed dead.
Frozen In Time was another stand-alone story, written by Charles Chilton and broadcast in 2008. Returning from a trip to Neptune, the crew awaken from suspended animation in order to rescue a stranded mining expedition on Mars.
The Host was a further one-off episode, this time written by Julian Simpson, and broadcast in 2009, which sees the crew thwart the plans of a sentient information being to take over the Universe.
The first series, Operation Luna, was originally titled Journey To The Moon and broadcast in 1953/4. The first four episodes, set on Earth, were not popular with audiences, but the serial grew in popularity when the story blasted off for space in episode five. The tapes of this first series were erased, but the series was re-recorded and re-broadcast in 1958, under the new title Operation Luna, but with the first four episodes omitted. The second series, The Red Planet, was the last time that a BBC radio show achieved a higher rating than its TV opponent.
Operation Luna followed the adventures of Captain ‘Jet’ Morgan and his crew, as they attempt the first Moon landing, only to encounter a fleet of UFOs who send them back in time.
The second series, The Red Planet, broadcast in 1954/5, sees Jet and his crew travelling to Mars, where they discover a plot by the Martians to invade Earth.
The third series, The World In Peril, broadcast in 1955/6, was a direct continuation of the story begun in series two, and followed Jet Morgan and his crew's return to Mars in an attempt to avert the impending Martian invasion.
The Return From Mars was a revival of Journey Into Space, written by Charles Chilton for Radio 4’s Saturday Night Theatre in 1981, and continues the story from approximately the end of The World In Peril, with the crew returning to Earth after thirty years in space, missing presumed dead.
Frozen In Time was another stand-alone story, written by Charles Chilton and broadcast in 2008. Returning from a trip to Neptune, the crew awaken from suspended animation in order to rescue a stranded mining expedition on Mars.
The Host was a further one-off episode, this time written by Julian Simpson, and broadcast in 2009, which sees the crew thwart the plans of a sentient information being to take over the Universe.
Part 1
Jet and the crew of the Ares are awakened from cryosleep early, after a distress call is received from a derelict spacecraft. On boarding the vessel, the crew detect no life signs, but a voice speaks to them over their radios. Jet recognises the voice as that of JJ Andreev, an astronaut thought long dead. The voice is determined to be a ‘personality construct’ of the dead astronaut, uploaded to the ship’s computer system. Andreev demands to be taken on board the Ares and takes the crew hostage. Doc’s life-signs scanner is used to shut down the ship’s computer system. On returning to the Ares, the crew discover that Andreev has transferred into their computer system, via the scanner. Andreev takes over the Ares and diverts the ship to a research base on Saturn’s moon Enceladus. He manages to transfer into the base’s computer system and takes control of the base, shutting down all power, and threatening the lives of 47 people in cryosleep. The crew discover that all the base’s power has been diverted to the lab, where they discover micro-organisms, collected from under the ice of Enceladus, are rapidly multiplying. First broadcast: 27 June 2009. Original Story by Julian Simpson. Cast: Toby Stephens, Jot Davies, Alan Marriott, Chris Pavlo, David Jacobs, Jana Carpenter, Basher Savage. |
Part 2
The crew determine that the DNA of the micro-organisms is being re-written, to evolve them into something else. Jet enters a virtual world, where the crew of the station in cryosleep can interact, and contacts Andreev, confirming his suspicion that his old friend is being controlled by another force. Whilst in the virtual world, Jet makes contact with the entity controlling Andreev, known as The Host, and discovers it is a sentient information being from the Oort cloud at the edge of the Solar System, which is evolving the micro-organisms to create a physical body for itself, in order to propagate more easily through the universe. Andreev distracts The Host, allowing the crew to upload a virus to the station’s network, which overloads The Host with information. The Ares sets course for the Oort cloud, with Andreev installed as the ships new computer system, in order to contact The Host.. First broadcast: 27 June 2009. Original Story by Julian Simpson. Cast: Toby Stephens, Jot Davies, Alan Marriott, Chris Pavlo, David Jacobs, Jana Carpenter, Basher Savage. |