The Siege of Fort Night (VG)

"The Siege of Fort Night"
The Goon Show episode
Episode: no.	Series: Vintage Goons Episode: 13
Written by	Spike Milligan
Based on	The Siege of Fort Knight
Announcer	Wallace Greenslade
Produced by	Charles Chilton
Music	Orchestra: Wally Stott Geldray: Makin' Whoopee Ellington: I Only Have Eyes for You
Recording Number	T5/AG/4661
First broadcast	27 December 1986 (1986-12-27)
Running time	31:31

The Siege of Fort Night (aka Underwater Gas Stoves for Fort Knight) is an episode from The Goon Show. It is the thirteenth show in the Vintage Goons series and was based on the series 4 episode 30 show: 'The Siege of Fort Knight'. There was a pre-recording rehearsal show at 2pm Sunday 16 March 1958, but the show was actually recorded later at 5.15pm. Both the pre-recording and recording was done at The Camden Theatre, London.

The first British public broadcast was on Radio 4 on Saturday 27 December 1986 at 12.27pm (TLN369/86LD0889).

Story

An underwater miltary gas stove is all that stands between Fort Knight and annihalation at the hands of the Biguns tribe. But can inventor, Henry Crun, construct one in time? (He can't get the wood you know). Can Major Seagoon get it to the fort on time? The journey is fraught with impossibilities… Thus unfolds this gripping saga of a Long March — long by anyone's calendar…

Music

• The BBC Orchestra was conducted by Wally Stott
• Max Geldray plays Makin' Whoopee (Walter Donaldson (music) / Gus Kahn (lyrics))
• The Ray Ellington Quartet plays I Only Have Eyes for You (Harry Warren / Al Dublin)

Technical

Originally recorded on T1/AG/4661 (Agfa FR tape stock at 15 ips ¼" tape recorded at St. Hilda's, Maida Vale).

Ted Kendall's Restoration

This tape survived intact at TS and was used to create the version included on Compendium Vol 9 and CD Vol 26. The compression and audible 'flutter' on this tape indicates that it may itself be a copy of the master tape, made at the time.