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

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

A pre-recording session took place Sunday 17 February 1957, 5pm. at The Camden Theatre, Camden Town, London (DLO 25010). The recording for transmission was created later that same Sunday, also at The Camden, at 9pm (TLO 22507).

The first Home Service broadcast was the following Thursday at 8.30pm 21 February 1957, its ratings were 1.9 million.

The show was repeated:

• Monday 8pm, 25 February 1957, on the Light Programme to 4.1 million listeners.
• Sunday 12.00 noon, 4 September 1983 on the 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.

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 22507 (15 ips ¼" tape recorded at Broadcasting House). This tape survived in TS, but cuts made for the POTG issue were not kept, and these have been restored from the TGS disc and a domestic recording of the original transmission.

The music in the Athanaeum Club scene at the start of the show was changed in June 1957. Thus the TGS issue has the original music and the POTG the new. Why the insert was changed is a mystery – surviving documents give no clue as to the reason, and there was no repeat in the offing – the show had had its GOS airing some months before, the customary inter-series domestic repeat season had ended, and in any case this show was not one of those chosen for 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.