Nebulous

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Nebulous
Comic science fiction, sitcom
Running time28 minutes
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Language(s)English
Home stationBBC Radio 4
StarringMark Gatiss
Rosie Cavaliero
Graham Duff
Paul Putner
Julia Dalkin
Graham Crowden
David Warner
Written byGraham Duff
Produced byTed Dowd
Recording studioThe Moat Studio[1]
Original release6 January 2005 â€“
19 June 2008
No. of series3
No. of episodes18
Audio formatStereophonic sound
Opening themeCreated by Malcolm Boyle.
WebsiteOfficial website

Nebulous is a

cult radio programme, attracting a number of guest appearances from famous actors.[1][3]

There have been three series of Nebulous; the first was broadcast between 6 January and 10 February 2005. The series was well received by critics, and a second series was broadcast between 5 April and 10 May 2006, with a third series commissioned by the BBC which began broadcasting on Thursday, 15 May 2008 at 23:00 BST.

BBC Radio 7.[5] Duff has also announced that he is planning to make an animated series of Nebulous.[6][7]

Production

Development

The development of the series began with the production

pilot episode, written by Graham Duff and produced by Baby Cow Productions in March 2003.[8] The episode, which eventually became "Night of the Vegetarians", featured much of the final cast, but with a number of differences: a different actor played Rory, and Sir Ronald Rowlands was voiced by Duff, while Gemini originally had two voices: a female voice played by Julia Dalkin, and a male voice by Nicholas Briggs.[9][10] Malcolm Boyle - who wrote the Nebulous theme and edited the pilot - had written an entire original score for the show. However, due to BBC radio budget limitations, this was not used in the completed series. Nicholas Briggs had also originally created a very deep, realistic soundscape, similar to those he had created for the Big Finish Productions Doctor Who audioplays, but was advised that "it's likely the listener will have distractions and will not listen to it more than once; therefore, the soundscape must be totally accessible from any point in the episode", toning down the sound effects to match the series' comic nature.[11]

Recording

The Moat Studios in

radio trailers between programmes.[11]

Plot

Setting

Set in the year 2099, the series depicts the

tarts.[16]

The Earth's geography is also radically altered. A new

Oxford University[16] and the London borough of Deptford, which is now in the Indonesian Ocean as a part of the Cockney Islands.[17] The Solar System is equally altered: Jupiter has been deep fried by Harry Ramsden's, Mercury and Neptune have been knocked together, and there was an initiative to destroy the Moon, which according to the show was deleterious to the nightlight industry.[18]

Bod,[19] the theme tune of which has become a hymn, sung in Gregorian chant.[10] Bod is analogous to God, hence the commonly used phrase "Oh my Bod
!"

Storyline

Nebulous follows the adventures of the eco-troubleshooting team "KENT" (the Key Environmental Non-Judgmental Taskforce, named after the English county of Kent). The group is directed by Professor Nebulous toward the goal of restoring a natural balance to Earth. However, they are woefully under-funded; KENT was forced to open a laundry to supplement funds.[20] There is at least one other eco-troubleshooting team based in England, but despite their common goals they have a less-than-hospitable view of each other. LOUGHBOROUGH (the Legitimate Organisation Undertaking General Humanitarian Business Operations Requiring Optimum Unconditional Global Harmony, named after the Leicestershire town Loughborough) is run by Professor Nebulous’ ex-love interest, Doctor Erica Flazenby. By comparison to KENT it is over-funded and well-equipped, with bazers, black helicopters and info pills, which provide the user with information by ingestion.[16]

Nebulous both

United Nations Intelligence Taskforce".[21] The second episode of series one, "The Loverly Invasion", is a direct spoof of the Doctor Who episode "The Claws of Axos",[22] while "The Deptford Wives" takes both its name and premise from The Stepford Wives (and also borrows from Jurassic Park).[23] From the first episode of series 3 onwards, this also began to include the recent Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood and the ITV series Primeval, with references to "baby dinosaurs falling through a hole in time" and "the sheer amount of paranormal activity in the Cardiff area alone ... starting to threaten the Earth's plausibility shield". Episode 6 of that series also parodied the tendency in British sci-fi for attempts to take over the world to start in Britain, with the chief villain (played by Tenth Doctor actor David Tennant) stating "Funnily enough, that's a tax thing," as well as one of the Ninth Doctor's nicknames, "the oncoming storm"
(with Nebulous known as "the oncoming drizzle").

Cast

Following positive reviews and high listening figures, the second series was able to attract a number of guest appearances from well known actors, including Peter Davison, Steve Coogan, and Kate O'Mara. The third series featured appearances from Julia Davis and David Tennant.

Reviews

Reception to Nebulous was generally positive: a reviewer from

Hitchhiker's without the philosophy or Red Dwarf without the energy", going on to say that show is "funny, but not seriously so".[24] A reviewer for Doctor Who website UnitNews also initially expressed concerns about the level of jokes in the show, but later claimed "I should have been more patient because when they did arrive, coinciding with the introduction of the character Harry, they were relentlessly funny".[25]

References

  1. ^ a b c Project Lifeline Archived 21 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Nebulous City, URL accessed 16 March 2007
  2. ^ a b "Radio Choice". The Times. 1 January 2005. Retrieved 18 March 2007.
  3. ^ a b "Radiohead". The Times. 1 April 2006. Retrieved 18 March 2007.
  4. ^ "Nebulous City News". Archived from the original on 29 August 2005. Retrieved 12 February 2007.
  5. ^ "BBC Radio Broadcasts by Year for Nebulous".
  6. ^ Duff, Graham. "News Section of Graham Duff's Website". Graham Duff. Retrieved 13 May 2009.
  7. ^ Wolf, Ian. "Nebulous". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 13 May 2009.
  8. ^ Simpson, Robert (20 January 2005). "Interviews: Graham Duff (2005)". Unofficial Hammer Films Site. Retrieved 18 March 2007.
  9. ^ a b c "Graham Duff Interview". Nebulous City. Archived from the original on 21 February 2007. Retrieved 18 March 2007.
  10. ^ a b c "Nick's Nebulous Notes". BBC Cult Television. Archived from the original on 6 November 2006. Retrieved 18 March 2007.
  11. ^ a b "Nicholas Briggs interview". Nebulous City. Archived from the original on 21 February 2007. Retrieved 18 March 2007.
  12. ^ a b "Night of the Vegetarians". Nebulous. Season 1. Episode 1. 6 January 2005. BBC Radio 4.
  13. ^ "The Lovely Invasion". Nebulous. Season 1. Episode 2. 13 January 2005. BBC Radio 4.
  14. ^ "The Past Must be Destroyed". Nebulous. Season 3. Episode 2. 22 May 2008. BBC Radio 4.
  15. ^ "The Man Who Polished The Sun". Nebulous. Season 1. Episode 6. 10 February 2005. BBC Radio 4.
  16. ^ a b c "The Dust Has Landed". Nebulous. Season 1. Episode 3. 20 January 2005. BBC Radio 4.
  17. ^ "The Deptford Wives". Nebulous. Season 2. Episode 1. 5 April 2006. BBC Radio 4.
  18. ^ "The Destiny of the Destinoyd". Nebulous. Season 2. Episode 4. 26 April 2006. BBC Radio 4.
  19. ^ "Madness Is A Strange Colour". Nebulous. Season 1. Episode 4. 27 January 2005. BBC Radio 4.
  20. ^ "The Coincidence Machine". Nebulous. Season 1. Episode 5. 3 January 2005. BBC Radio 4.
  21. ^ Ellis, James (6 January 2005). "Mark Gatiss". Gallifrey MSN Group. Archived from the original on 3 November 2007. Retrieved 21 March 2007.
  22. ^ "Nebulous Who". BBC. 6 January 2005. Archived from the original on 4 February 2007. Retrieved 21 March 2007.
  23. ^ "Nebulous Series 2 Preview". Unofficial Hammer Films Site. Retrieved 21 March 2007.
  24. ^ "A gloriously pompous production". The Daily Telegraph. 11 January 2005. Archived from the original on 14 October 2007. Retrieved 18 March 2007.
  25. ^ "Nebulous review: BBC Audio". UnitNews. 20 February 2007. Retrieved 18 March 2007.

External links