The Slide

Last updated

The Slide is a sci-fi radio serial in seven parts by Victor Pemberton. The story begins with an earthquake in Southern England, and then the local wildlife starts to disappear. It starred Roger Delgado as Professor Josef Gomez, Maurice Denham as Hugh Deverill MP, David Spenser as Dr. Ken Richards and Miriam Margolyes as Mrs. Wilson. The producer was John Tydeman and sound effects were by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. [1]

Contents

The Slide was Victor Pemberton's first science fiction story; it was accepted as a radio serial commissioned by future Doctor Who producer Peter Bryant. [2]

BBC Genome lists the programme as first transmitted on the BBC Light Programme on 13 February 1966 at 19:00 with the next six episodes following weekly. BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast a repeat run of the serial 10 - 18 August 2020.

The story in Doctor Who

Victor Pemberton originally submitted The Slide to the BBC TV series Doctor Who in 1964; it was rejected by script-editor David Whitaker, but following a revision it did inspire the story Fury from the Deep . The story was to feature the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicki discovering sentient mud invading London from a fishing bay.

In September 2020, the serial was included as a bonus feature on the DVD & Blu-Ray release for the animated reconstruction of Fury from the Deep . [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Doctor Who</i> British science fiction TV series

Doctor Who is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterrestrial being called the Doctor, part of a humanoid species called Time Lords. The Doctor travels in the universe and in time using a time travelling spaceship called the TARDIS, which externally appears as a British police box. While travelling, the Doctor works to save lives and liberate oppressed peoples by combating foes. The Doctor often travels with companions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Light Programme</span> Former British national radio station (1945–1967)

The BBC Light Programme was a national radio station which broadcast chiefly mainstream light entertainment and light music from 1945 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2. It opened on 29 July 1945, taking over the long wave frequency which had earlier been used – prior to the outbreak of the Second World War on 1 September 1939 – by the BBC National Programme.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Whitaker (screenwriter)</span> English television writer and novelist

David Arthur Whitaker was an English television writer and novelist who worked on the early years of the science-fiction TV series Doctor Who. He served as the programme's first story editor, supervising the writing of its first 51 episodes from 1963 to 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Gatiss</span> British actor, screenwriter and novelist

Mark Gatiss is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer and novelist. He is best known for his work in television acting in and co-creating shows with Steven Moffat. Gatiss has received several awards including a BAFTA TV Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Peabody Award, and two Laurence Olivier Awards.

The Tomb of the Cybermen is the first serial of the fifth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was originally broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 2 to 23 September 1967.

Doctor Who is a British television science fiction series, produced and screened by the BBC on the BBC TV channel from 1963 to 1964, and on BBC1 from 1964 to 1989 and since 2005. A one-off television film, co-produced with Universal Pictures and 20th Century Fox Television, was screened on the Fox Network in the United States in 1996.

Pick of the Pops is a long-running BBC Radio programme; it was based originally on the Top 20 from the UK Singles Chart and was first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme on 4 October 1955. It transferred to BBC Radio 1 from 1967 to 1972. The show returned to the BBC in 1989 and its current production run started on BBC Radio 2 in 1997.

<i>Galaxy 4</i> 1965 Doctor Who serial

Galaxy 4 is the first serial of the third season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by William Emms and directed by Derek Martinus, the serial was broadcast on BBC1 in four weekly parts from 11 September to 2 October 1965. In the serial, the First Doctor and his travelling companions Vicki and Steven arrive on an arid planet, where they encounter the beautiful but dangerous Drahvins and the hideous but friendly Rills, two crash-landed species in conflict with one another. Both species wish to escape as the planet is set to explode in two dawns, but the Drahvin leader Maaga wants only her people to make it out alive.

The Power of the Daleks is the completely missing third serial of the fourth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 5 November to 10 December 1966. It is the first full story to feature Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor.

<i>Doctor Who</i> missing episodes Currently lost episodes of Doctor Who

Several portions of the long-running British science-fiction television programme Doctor Who are no longer held by the BBC. Between 1967 and 1978, the BBC routinely deleted archive programmes for various practical reasons—lack of space, scarcity of materials, and a lack of rebroadcast rights. As a result, 97 of 253 episodes from the programme's first six years are currently missing, primarily from Seasons 3, 4 and 5, leaving 26 serials incomplete. Many more were considered lost until recovered from various sources, mostly overseas broadcasters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reece Shearsmith</span> British comedian (born 1969)

Reeson Wayne "Reece" Shearsmith is an English actor, writer and comedian. He was a member of The League of Gentlemen, with Steve Pemberton, Mark Gatiss, and Jeremy Dyson. He later created, wrote and starred in the sitcom Psychoville, with Pemberton, as well as the dark comedy anthology series, Inside No. 9. He has had notable roles in Spaced and The World's End.

<i>Fury from the Deep</i> 1968 Doctor Who serial

Fury from the Deep is the completely missing sixth serial of the fifth season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in six weekly parts from 16 March to 20 April 1968.

Victor Francis Pemberton was a British writer and television producer. His scriptwriting work included BBC radio plays, and television scripts for the BBC and ITV, including Doctor Who, The Slide, Timeslip, Tightrope and The Adventures of Black Beauty. His television production work included the British version of Fraggle Rock, and several independent documentaries including the 1989 International Emmy Award-winning Gwen: A Juliet Remembered, about stage actress Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies.

<i>Doctor Who</i> season 5 Season of television series

The fifth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 2 September 1967 with the first story of season 5 The Tomb of the Cybermen and ended on 1 June 1968 with The Wheel in Space. Only 22 out of 40 episodes are held in the BBC archives; 18 remain missing. As a result, only 2 serials exist entirely. However, The Abominable Snowmen, The Ice Warriors, The Web of Fear, and Fury from the Deep have had their missing episodes reconstructed using animation.

<i>Doctor Who</i> season 2 Season of British television series

The second season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who was originally broadcast on BBC1 between 1964 and 1965. The season began on 31 October 1964 with Planet of Giants and ended with The Time Meddler on 24 July 1965. Like the first season, production was overseen by the BBC's first female producer Verity Lambert. Story editor David Whitaker continued to handle the scripts and stories during early production, handing over to Dennis Spooner as the season began to air; Spooner subsequently left his role by the season's end, and was replaced by Donald Tosh for its final serial. By the season's end, Lambert was the only remaining production member from the team responsible for creating the series.

<i>Doctor Who</i> season 1 Season of British television series

The first season of British science fiction television programme Doctor Who was originally broadcast on BBC TV between 1963 and 1964. The series began on 23 November 1963 with An Unearthly Child and ended with The Reign of Terror on 12 September 1964. The show was created by BBC Television head of drama Sydney Newman to fill the Saturday evening timeslot and appeal to both the younger and older audiences of the neighbouring programmes. Formatting of the programme was handled by Newman, head of serials Donald Wilson, writer C. E. Webber, and producer Rex Tucker. Production was overseen by the BBC's first female producer Verity Lambert and story editor David Whitaker, both of whom handled the scripts and stories.

<i>Inside No. 9</i> BBC TV dark comedy series

Inside No. 9 is a British black comedy anthology television programme that first aired on 5 February 2014. It is written by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith and produced by the BBC. Each 30-minute episode is a self-contained story with new characters and a new setting, almost all starring Pemberton or Shearsmith. Aside from the writers, each episode has a new cast, allowing Inside No. 9 to attract a number of well-known actors. The stories are linked only by the number 9 in some way, typically taking the form of a door marked with the number 9, and a brass hare statue that is in the background of all episodes. Themes and tone vary from episode to episode, but all have elements of comedy and horror or perverse humour, in addition to a plot twist. Pemberton and Shearsmith took inspiration for Inside No. 9 from an episode of Psychoville, a previous project, which was filmed in a single room – this in turn was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's Rope.

References

  1. "Light Programme 13 February 1966 on BBC Genome". BBC. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  2. "Victor Pemberton radio drama - DIVERSITY WEBSITE". Nigel Deacon. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  3. "'Fury From The Deep' cover art and special features revealed". BBC. Retrieved 3 August 2020.