Slipstream (radio drama)
Genre | BBC 7 |
---|---|
Starring | Tim McMullan, Rory Kinnear, Joannah Tincey |
Written by | Simon Bovey |
Original release | 24 March – 28 March 2008 |
No. of series | 1 |
No. of episodes | 5 |
Audio format | Stereophonic sound |
Slipstream is a
Bovey described the premise of Slipstream in an interview as follows: "It's set in 1945 when the Allies' victory in Europe is a forgone conclusion and everyone is fighting for a piece of the spoils. And then the UFOs are sighted. Part political thriller, part war story, part future shock."[2]
This radio drama combines a story of a raid by
Plot
The British airforce finds themselves helpless against a mysterious new Nazi aircraft that is capable of fantastic speeds, and shoots down 150 Allied bombers during one of their bombing missions. After hearing of the bomber raid disaster, Major Barton coerces the code word "Slipstream" from a German prisoner via torture just before the prisoner dies. He persuades his leader to allow a commando raid on an experimental aircraft development site in Germany, where the Slipstream seems to have been built. The target is located between advancing American and Russian forces, who have their own agendas and may reach it before the British.
As part of his team, Barton conscripts Kate Ritchie, a British research scientist whose brother may have been lost in one of the bombing raids. To fly the Slipstream back to Britain once it has been captured, Barton recruits a German
In Germany the raiders enter an underground factory, the
Determined to secure the Slipstream for Britain, Barton and his men ambush and destroy an American squad who come to the factory. Kate and Jürgen learn what they can about the Slipstream, which seems to be built around an alien artifact that crashed into the Brazilian jungle in 1929, and was taken by the German
As the Americans and Russians close in, Jürgen pilots the Slipstream back to Britain with Kate and Barton aboard, but once the war is over, politics take over and the Slipstream has to be handed over to the Americans. The British are unsuccessful in studying it because it will not fly for any of their pilots, and bring Jürgen back for one final attempt before the craft is handed over. He takes off into outer space, apparently to return the artifact to its creators.
Cast
- Major Bill Barton - Tim McMullan
- Flugkapitän Jürgen Rahl - Rory Kinnear
- Dr. Kate Ritchie - Joannah Tincey
- Lt. Dundas - Ben Crowe
- Teazle - Sam Pamphilon
- Frau Schenk - Rachel Atkins
- Voice of Slipstream - Laura Molyneaux
- Brigadier Erskine - Peter Marinker
References
- ^ Slipstream on BBC Radio 4 Extra website.
- ^ Interview with Simon Bovey, The Thunder Child Science Fiction and Fantasy Web Magazine and Sourcebooks, 2007.