THE RED PERIL

New Zealand Listener, Volume 35, Issue 889, 17 August 1956, Page 7

THE RED PERIL

"FE REIGHTER No. 2 calling Discovery. Freighter No. 2 calling Discovery. For God’s sake answer." "Jet, that can’t be Freighter No. 2. She’s a million miles in front of us." "You're right, Lemmy. But what else can it be?" "I dunno, Jet, but there’s something mighty funny going on around here." Y that time we are dancing up and down yelling advice to the space adventurers to answer the Freighter, or wake up, or do something anyway just to end the suspense. But we forget that to them, this space adventuring is being done in a detached fashion, scientifically as well as physically. We are in a position to say, "I told you so," if someone walked into the space ship on fifteen tentacles, but then, we are conditioned to expect the worst, and the worst usually ‘happens, on Mars, "And so Man’s first trip to Mars was over. But it marked only the beginning of Man’s dealing with that fiery planet. The invasion of Earth did indeed begin two years later-thirteen years before it was intended-no doubt, after their plans had become known the Martians thought it best to strike immediatelyand the first ships of the Martiag. invasion fleet landed in Asia on September 23, 1973. But that is another story." With these ominous words, spoken by Doc Matthews, the last serial section of Journey Into Space came to a halt. Charles Chilton, writer and producer of the series, introducing the new serial World in Peril in the BBC Radio Times, gave what is essential to all serial-acdicts--an outline of the story so far. "Jet Morgan, you will remember, left the Moon for Mars with a fleet of nine space ships, in 1971, in which year the planet was closer to the Earth than it had been since 1956, The journey was to have taken two years; six months travelling to the planet, one year exploring its surface, and another six months in Which to reurn. In fact, Jet and his ships, or what was left of them, were back on the Moon in little over a year. "Neither Jet nor any members of his crew ‘expected to find life on Mars-ex-cept, perhaps, a few simple forms of plants. How wrong they were. There's life up there all right. Mars is ruled by highly _ intelligent beings and in- habited by’ Earthmen, people who have been captured by the Martians who, apparently, visit the Earth periodically." After two months on Mars, Jet hed lost more of his ships and crews in brushes with Earthmen uncer Martian control, and had-narrowly escaped, together with Lemmy and Mitch, the prospect of becoming a zombie under the invisible Martians’ control. In the new series, World in Peril, we take up the adventures of Jet, Lemmy, Doc, Mitch and the other survivors, at the point where they have just returned from Mars to the lunar rocketship base. Here they are detained for interrogation concerning their reports of a _ highlydeveloped form of life on the Red Planet, and their frightening discovery that a Martian invasion of the Earth is planned. B Some weeks later, after strange incidents have occurred on Earth, Jet Morgan and his crew leave under sealed orders for Mars to discover more about the peril that threatens Earth,

In The World in Peril, Andrew ‘Faulds again plays the captain, Jet Morgan, with Guy Kingsley Poynter as the Canadian, Doc Matthews. Stephen Mitchell (Mitch) is played by an Australian, Don Sharp, and the part of ~_ —

Lemmy is now filled by Alfie Bass. David Jacobs is responsible for the voices of the other characters in the adventure. The music, which plays an important part in creating the atmosphere and -_

‘mood of Journey Into Space, is come posed and concucted by Van Phillips. World in Peril, now running from 3YZ and 4YZ, will begin from the YA stations in the week beginning August 27. 1YA, August 31; 2YA, August 28 (repeated August 29); 3YA and August 30. — aD a