Journey Into Space is a BBC Radio science fiction programme written by BBC producer Charles Chilton. It was the last UK radio programme to attract a bigger evening audience than television. Originally, four series were produced (the fourth was a remake of the first), which was translated into 17 languages (including Hindi, Turkish and Dutch) and broadcast in countries worldwide (including Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand and The United States). Chilton later wrote three best-selling novels and several comic strip stories based upon the radio series. The first series was created in 1953, soon after Riders of the Range (a popular Western, also written by Chilton) ended its six series on the BBC Light Programme. Michael Standing, then Head of the BBC Variety Department, asked Chilton if he could write a sci-fi programme, and Journey to the Moon (later known as Operation Luna) was the result. Each half-hour episode would usually end with a dramatic cliffhanger, to increase the audience's incentive to tune into the next episode. The original magnetic recordings of the show were erased shortly after broadcast, and for several decades it was believed that no recordings of the show had survived, although some were broadcast by the American Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS, formerly AFN) in Europe during the late 1970s. In 1986, a set of misfiled Transcription Service discs (produced for sale to overseas radio stations) was discovered, containing complete copies of the three original series (more accurately, the surviving version of the first series is a cut-down remake of the original, produced for the Transcription Service during the 1950s). This discovery enabled the BBC to begin re-broadcasting the show in the late 1980s, and release copies of the show, first on audio cassette, and more recently on CD and internet download. Fans of Journey Into Space included Colin Pillinger, Kenny Everett, John Major, Stephen Hawking, Miriam Margolyes and former Doctor Who producer Philip Hinchcliffe. (en)
Sprong in het heelal is de Nederlandse sciencefictionhoorspeluitvoering van de BBC radiohoorspelserie Journey into Space van Charles Chilton. Het eerste deel, Journey into Space - Operation Luna, werd uitgezonden op 19 oktober 1953 door de BBC. In Nederland werden de eerste drie series geproduceerd en uitgezonden door de KRO: de eerste serie Operatie Luna in seizoen 1955/1956, de tweede Het Marsmysterie in 1956/1957 en de derde Mars slaat toe in 1957/1958. De regie van deze Nederlandse series had Léon Povel. De vertaling werd gemaakt door Mr. Eddy Franquinet, die dat deed onder het pseudoniem P.R.O. Peller (uitspraak propeller, niet pee er o peller), dit op uitdrukkelijk verzoek van de minister van Justitie, om enige afstand te bewaren tussen zijn werk als rechter in Roermond en zijn vele schrijverij. De vierde serie De terugkeer van Mars, door de BBC al in 1981 uitgezonden, is pas enkele jaren geleden vertaald door Guy Sweens, waarbij Léon Povel zelf hem nog de nodige adviezen heeft gegeven. In het voorjaar van 2013, na Povels overlijden, heeft zijn jongste zoon Winfried Povel de regie op zich genomen en alsnog het spel gerealiseerd, als eerbetoon aan zijn vader en daaraan hebben vele bekende beroepshoorspelacteurs en astronaut André Kuipers, die een groot fan van hem en De Sprong was, belangeloos meegewerkt. Ook deze serie is door de KRO uitgezonden, te weten op 5, 12, 19 en 26 januari 2014 via zowel Radio 5 Nostalgia als Radio 1. (nl)
Journey Into Space is a BBC Radio science fiction programme written by BBC producer Charles Chilton. It was the last UK radio programme to attract a bigger evening audience than television. Originally, four series were produced (the fourth was a remake of the first), which was translated into 17 languages (including Hindi, Turkish and Dutch) and broadcast in countries worldwide (including Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand and The United States). Chilton later wrote three best-selling novels and several comic strip stories based upon the radio series. (en)
Sprong in het heelal is de Nederlandse sciencefictionhoorspeluitvoering van de BBC radiohoorspelserie Journey into Space van Charles Chilton. Het eerste deel, Journey into Space - Operation Luna, werd uitgezonden op 19 oktober 1953 door de BBC. (nl)