Nineteen Ninety-Four

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Nineteen Ninety-Four is a BBC Radio 4 comedy series and a book written by William Osborne and Richard Turner. The six-part radio series was first broadcast in March 1985, [1] and the book [2] published in 1986. The title is a reference to the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell.

Contents

BBC Radio 4 Extra rebroadcast Nineteen Ninety-Four between 17 August [1] and 21 September 2011. [3]

Cast

Episodes

#TitleOriginal airdate
1"Work is Freedom [1] "23 March 1985 (1985-03-23)
Edward Wilson is hired by the Ministry of the Environment and gets embroiled in mysterious government machinations.
2"Freedom is Choice [4] "30 March 1985 (1985-03-30)
Sub-Officer Edward probes a mysterious incident in Cumbria and ends up leading a revolution.
3"Choice is Progress [5] "6 April 1985 (1985-04-06)
After an eventful night with Sophie, Edward can't find his office but finds his job title changing with alarming alacrity.
4"Progress is Power [6] "13 April 1985 (1985-04-13)
Edward's knack for blunt honesty gets him noticed in a bad way.
5"Power is Happiness [7] "20 April 1985 (1985-04-20)
Edward could be up for promotion - but will it go to his head?
6"Happiness is Work [3] "27 April 1985 (1985-04-27)
Edward is now in charge of the Environment - but for how long?

Nineteen Ninety-Eight

A sequel series of six episodes entitled Nineteen Ninety-Eight broadcast in 1987 continued the plot line. It was published as a book [8] in 1988 and rebroadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra from 8 February to 14 March 2012.

Cast

Episodes

#Original airdate
128 March 1987 (1987-03-28)
Can Edward keep his girlfriend and avoid explosions?
24 April 1987 (1987-04-04)
Edward wakes up with urgent news, but who will listen?
311 April 1987 (1987-04-11)
On the run, Edward meets the Leopard - will he survive?
418 April 1987 (1987-04-18)
Edward's quest for truth becomes the Movement.
525 April 1987 (1987-04-25)
Even Edward's allies find themselves absorbed by AmJap.
62 May 1987 (1987-05-02)
Edward and Tabitha finally face their foe - Colonel Brad.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "BBC Radio 4 Extra - Nineteen Ninety-Four, Work Is Freedom". BBC.
  2. Osborne, William; Turner, Richard. Nineteen Ninety-four. Arrow Books. ISBN   978-0-09-945150-1.
  3. 1 2 "BBC Radio 4 Extra - Nineteen Ninety-Four, Happiness Is Work". BBC.
  4. "BBC Radio 4 Extra - Nineteen Ninety-Four, Freedom Is Choice". BBC.
  5. "BBC Radio 4 Extra - Nineteen Ninety-Four, Choice Is Progress". BBC.
  6. "BBC Radio 4 Extra - Nineteen Ninety-Four, Progress Is Power". BBC.
  7. "BBC Radio 4 Extra - Nineteen Ninety-Four, Power Is Happiness". BBC.
  8. Osborne, William; Turner, Richard. Nineteen Ninety-eight. Sphere Books. ISBN   978-0-7221-6581-2.