Round the World in Eighty Days

"Round the World in Eighty Days"
The Goon Show episode
Episode: no.	Series: 7 Episode: 20
Written by	Spike Milligan Larry Stephens
Based on	Around the World in 80 Days
Announcer	Wallace Greenslade
Produced by	Peter Eton
Music	Orchestra: Wally Stott Geldray: The Duke's Joke Ellington: Marianne
Recording Number	TLO 52769
First broadcast	29 March 1954 (1954-03-29)
Running time	30:29

SHOW 7/21: Round the World in Eighty Days (CD 4,Track I) Pre-Recording: Sunday 17 February 1957, 5pm, Camden. DLO 250 I 0. Recording: Sunday 17 February 1957, 9pm, Camden.TLO 22507. First Home Service Broadcast: Thursday 21 February 1957, 8.30pm. Ratings: 1.9 million. Repeats: Monday 25 February 1957, 8pm, 4.1 million (Light Programme]; Sunday 4 September 1983, 12.00 noon (Radio 4 in Smash of the Day] Transcription Service Synopsis: For the first time a radio show is presented entirely in glorious Sponcolour on the new wide Secombe.This gripping tale of adventure, on which no money has been spared, brings right into your home the thrills of a journey to the International Date Line made by fearless Harry Secombe in his 'self-drive' Zeppelin.

Round the World in Eighty Days is an episode from The Goon Show. It is the twentieth show in the seventh series.

Two pre-recording sessions took place:

• Wednesday 28 January 1959, 4.15pm/5.15pm. Aeolian Hall Studio 2 (TLO & C/DLO 76382, TLO 77924)
• Saturday 1 February 1959, 5.45pm, The Paris Cinema (DLO 76513/A)

The recording for transmission was created at 8pm on Sunday 14 December 1958, at The Camden Theatre, Camden Town, London (TLO 72138).

The first Home Service broadcast was the following Thursday at 8.30pm 3 January 1957, its ratings were 2.6 million.

The show was repeated:

• Wednesday 9.31pm, 17 December 1958, on the Light Programme to 2.3 million listeners.
• Friday 9.30pm, 6 March 1964 on the Home Service in Vintage Goons, to 0.5 million listeners.
• Friday 9.30pm, 20 August 1965 on the Home Service in Let's Laugh Again, to 0.2 million listeners (the broadcast was affected by a fault on the reproduction equipment).

Transcription Service Synopsis

'To open the scene, take a knife and cut along the dotted line. Inside you will find the Great North Road in an icy blizzard.' This is how Spike Milligan describes the setting for the start of the latest unexpurgated edition of Seagoon's memoirs. Listeners can, in fact, buy a copy (in a plain sealed envelope) at any local Second Class Slipper Bath.

Music

• The BBC Radio Orchestra was conducted by Wally Stott
• Max Geldray plays The Duke's Joke (Alan Clare)
• The Ray Ellington Quartet plays Marianne (Terry Gilkyson / Richard Dehr / Frank Miller)

Technical

Originally recorded on TLO 72138 (15 ips ¼" tape recorded at Broadcasting House).

The TLO 72138 master tape no longer exists, and the version of the show included on The Goon Show Compendium Vol 6 was compiled from the TGS disc, the POTG master tape and domestic recordings of both the original transmission and the 1964 repeat.

Show Note

Drawing upon the forthcoming movie version of Jules Verne's novel Around the World in 80 Days for inspiration, Spike and Larry had written Round the World in Eighty Days for recording on Sunday 17 February. This script developed their fascination for penguins as a source of humour, admitted that the shows no longer had proper conclusions, and had Eccles singing Frankie Vaughan's chart hit The Garden of Eden.