The Space Age

"The Space Age"
The Goon Show episode
Episode: no.	Series: 8 Episode: 6
Written by	Spike Milligan Larry Stephens
Announcer	Wallace Greenslade
Produced by	Roy Speer
Music	Orchestra: Wally Stott Geldray: Limehouse Blues Ellington: Satin Doll
Recording Number	TLO 41101
First broadcast	4 November 1957 (1957-11-04)
Running time	30:17

The Treasure in the Tower is an episode from The Goon Show. It is the fifth show in the eighth series.

The recording session for transmission (TLO 40562) took place Sunday 27 October 1957, 9.155pm. at The Camden Theatre, Camden Town, London.

The first Home Service broadcast was the next day, Monday at 8.30pm 28 October 1957, its ratings were 1.5 million. The show was repeated the following Thursday 9pm, 31 October 1957, on the Light Programme to 2.6 million listeners.

Transcription Service Synopsis

The Tower of London,
not in 1957 or 1600.

What does it feel like to be split in two – metaphorically speaking of course' In this episode the Goons find themselves living in the year 1600 – during which they bury a priceless treasure at the Tower of London – and simultaneously in the year 1957. in which they set out to discover the treasure. Perhaps this ingenious script will launch a new theory on the nature of time!

Music

• The BBC Radio Orchestra was conducted by Wally Stott
• Max Geldray plays Limehouse Blues (Douglas Furber (lyrics) / Philip Braham (music))
• The Ray Ellington Quartet plays 'Satin Doll (Duke Ellington / Peter Strayhorn / Johnny Mercer)

Technical

Originally recorded on TLO 40562 (15 ips ¼" tape recorded at Broadcasting House).

The TLO 40562 master tape no longer exists, and the C/TLO from BBC Wood Norton was used for the version of the show appearing on Compendium 7, with the opening exchange between Greenslade and the band restored from the TGS disc..

8/6 - The Space Age. Originally recorded on TLO 4110 I. This tape no longer exists, and the C/TLO from Wood Norton was used for this issue. Material which appears only on the TGS issue was retrieved from disc. This indicates that TS were by now certainly making their own recording of the performance, rather than the prior practice of taking a copy of the domestic tape on transmission. This would in any case have happened for the TS-originated "Vintage Goons" episodes (qv) which were recorded in parallel with this series, and given that the St Hilda's (TS) recording channel would have been manned for these, it was convenient to take the domestic show in the same way.

Show Notes

• The Space Age – again inspired by the news of Sputnik. This instalment went down well with the Home Service when broadcast on 4 November, and Jim Davidson (Assistant Head of BBC Light Entertainment) wrote to Roy, ‘I am very happy to pass on favourable comments … Would you be good enough to extend congratulations to all concerned, and to yourself a special 'thank you'.’