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| Genre | Comedy drama | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Running time | 4 hours 52 minutes | |||
| Country of origin |  United States | |||
| Language(s) | English | |||
| Starring | Robert Lorick | |||
| Announcer | Dave Herman | |||
| Written by | Meatball Fulton | |||
| Directed by | Meatball Fulton | |||
| Recording studio | United States | |||
| Original release | 1978 – present | |||
| Website | http://www.zbs.org/ | |||
| Jack Flanders chronology | ||||
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The Incredible Adventures of Jack Flanders is a radio drama produced by the ZBS Foundation and Meatball Fulton. It is the fourth of the Jack Flanders adventure series.
The series begins with the unexpected late-night delivery of an overstuffed green velvet armchair to Jack Flanders, courtesy of "Venus Velvet" (a person unknown to Jack). Falling asleep in this armchair draws Jack into a sometimes amusing, sometimes nightmarish dream world populated by sky pirates crewing winged sailing ships, winged reptilian "fromborks", mad sorcerers dueling in mechanical demons, tap dancing marsh wizards who assist Jack in his negotiations with the Lords of Death and more. The nominal plot line concerns the fact that Jack unintentionally causes a mustache to appear on the lip of the Black Mona Lisa, a particularly vicious pirate originally from Philadelphia. The problem begins when he looks at her image on her Wanted posters, although the effect extends to the Pirate Queen herself when Jack meets her. Jack must travel "beyond the Never Mind" in order to discover who did send him the green velvet chair, and why.
The Incredible Adventures of Jack Flanders is not a direct sequel to the preceding Jack Flanders adventures, as Return to Inverness is to The Fourth Tower of Inverness , although it does include characters from them, such as Mojo Sam, Doctor Mazoola and Little Frieda. It is also rather different from its predecessors, both in structure and content, as it lacks any significant reference to Eastern philosophy and religions, and it was designed to be broadcast in half-hour episodes rather than shorter episodes. The final episode features an extended series of 'clips' from The Fourth Tower of Inverness as each character is seen 'dreaming' previous adventures. Overall, it has a faster paced and more straightforward storyline.
Jack recognizes some characters from The Fourth Tower of Inverness and Moon Over Morocco , but not others. Little Frieda and Doctor Mazoola are well disposed towards him, but there is no recognition on either side. When Jack first sees her, he remarks on a strange 'little girl' that appears on the ship and they introduce themselves to each other. In contrast, Jack greets Old Far-Seeing Art as an old acquaintance, and refers to their meeting one another at Inverness.
There is a running joke concerning the Mona Lisa and in particular the artist Marcel Duchamp - famous for painting a parody of the Mona Lisa with a mustache and goatee. After Jack first encounters a Wanted poster for the sky pirate 'The Black Mona Lisa' and causes a mustache to appear on her image as a result, he tries to hide his own identity by using the pseudonym of Marcel Duchamp. Later he and the 'Marquis of Carumbas' are busking in the realm of the 'Never Mind' and the Marquis introduces Jack's act as Nude Descending a Staircase , another work by Marcel Duchamp.
Produced at the ZBS Studios, Fort Edward, NY
Jack: "Were you expecting me?"
Marquis of Carambas: "Oh yes, I was just poling through these slimy marshes praying that some buffoon like you would pop into my punt."
Jack: "I just keep acting like everything is real?"
Marquis of Carambas: "Yes. Just like in real life."
ZBS Foundation, a small non-profit audio production company, was founded by Thomas Lopez in 1970 with a grant from Robert E. Durand as a working commune, located on a donated farm in Upstate New York. ZBS stands for "Zero Bull Shit". The commune's purpose was to raise consciousness through media, specifically full-cast audio dramas. The foundation is "one of the most prolific producers of contemporary radio drama."
Jack Flanders, full name Jonathan L. Flanders, is the protagonist of a series of audio dramas produced by the ZBS Foundation. He is the creation of writer and sound artist Thomas Lopez and is played by actor Robert Lorick.
The Fourth Tower of Inverness is a 1972 radio drama, produced by the ZBS Foundation. It is the first of the Jack Flanders adventure series, and combines elements of American culture and Old-time radio, with metaphysical concepts such as past life regression, Sufi wisdom, Tibetan Buddhism and shamanistic communication with the natural world.
Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe is a science fiction radio drama series by the ZBS Foundation, written by Thomas Lopez. The first series, Ruby: Adventures of A Galactic Gumshoe, was created in 1982. In each story, the title character Ruby is hired to solve a metaphysical problem. New series have been released every few years, reaching Ruby 10 in 2018. Ruby is played by actress Laura Esterman.
Laura Esterman is an American actress, known for portraying Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe in contemporary radio dramas, and for her Drama Desk Award and Obie Award winning performance in the 1992 original stage production of Scott McPherson's Marvin's Room.
Moon Over Morocco is a 1974 radio drama, the second in ZBS's Jack Flanders series. Originally broadcast as fifty twelve-minute episodes, the serial was written and directed by Meatball Fulton.
Return to Inverness is a 2000 radio drama, the twelfth in ZBS's Jack Flanders series. The serial was written and directed by Meatball Fulton, as a sequel to the 1972 story The Fourth Tower of Inverness, the first in the series.
Midnight at the Casa Luna is a radio drama, produced by the ZBS Foundation. The two parts of the story were released individually in 1998 and 2000; part two has the title The Hungry Ghosts. It is the eleventh of the Jack Flanders adventure series, and combines elements of Americana and Old-time radio with metaphysical concepts such as Sufi wisdom and Tibetan Buddhism.
The Ah-Ha Phenomenon is a radio drama, produced by the ZBS Foundation. Released in 1977 this is the third of the Jack Flanders adventure series, and combines elements of Americana and Old-time radio with metaphysical concepts such as Sufi wisdom and Tibetan Buddhism.
Dreams of Rio is a radio drama, produced by the ZBS Foundation. It is the fifth of the Jack Flanders adventure series, and combines elements of American culture and Old-time radio with themes of lost cities, jungle exploration and shamanism. It immediately precedes but is not part of the "Travels with Jack" adventures, each of which is entitled Dreams of ...
Dreams of the Amazon is a radio drama, produced by the ZBS Foundation. It is the sixth of the Jack Flanders adventure series and the first of the Travels with Jack sub-series. It combines elements of American culture and Old-time radio with themes of lost cities, jungle exploration and shamanism. It is a loose sequel to Dreams of Rio and while it is not necessary to have heard that story first it will help to understand some of the references.
Dreams of India is a radio drama, produced by the ZBS Foundation. It is the seventh of the Jack Flanders adventure series and the second of the Travels with Jack sub-series. It combines elements of American culture and Old-time radio with themes of Sufism, Hindu mysticism and poetry.
Dreams of Bali is a radio drama, produced by the ZBS Foundation. It is the eight of the Jack Flanders adventure series and the third of the Travels with Jack sub-series. It combines elements of American culture, Old-time radio and Sufism.
Dreams of Sumatra is a radio drama, produced by the ZBS Foundation. It is the ninth of the Jack Flanders adventure series and the fourth of the Travels with Jack sub-series. It combines elements of American culture, Old-time radio and Sufism.
The Mystery of Jaguar Reef is a radio drama, produced in 1996 by the ZBS Foundation. It is the tenth of the Jack Flanders adventure series. It combines elements of American culture and Old-time radio with themes of pirates and aliens.
Dreams of the Blue Morpho is a radio drama, produced by the ZBS Foundation. It is the thirteenth of the Jack Flanders adventure series and the first of the Travelling Jack sub-series. It combines elements of Old-time radio with psychic phenomena, supernatural beings and energies.
Somewhere Next Door To Reality is a radio drama, produced by the ZBS Foundation. It is the fourteenth of the Jack Flanders adventure series and the second of the Travelling Jack sub-series. It combines elements of old-time radio with psychic phenomena, supernatural beings and energies.
Do That In Real Life? is a radio drama, produced by the ZBS Foundation. It is the fifteenth of the Jack Flanders adventure series and the third of the Travelling Jack sub-series. It combines elements of Old-time radio with psychic phenomena, supernatural beings and energies.
The Eye of Van Gogh is a radio drama, produced by the ZBS Foundation. It is the sixteenth of the Jack Flanders adventure series and the fourth of the Travelling Jack sub-series. It combines elements of Old-time radio with psychic phenomena, supernatural beings and energies.
Orchids and Moonbeams is a radio drama, produced by the ZBS Foundation. It is the seventeenth of the Jack Flanders adventure series and the first of The Fantastic Voyages of Captain Jack Flanders sub-series. It combines elements of Old-time radio with psychic phenomena, supernatural beings and energies.