The Plasticine Man
| "The Plasticine Man" | |
|---|---|
| The Goon Show episode | |
| Episode: no. | Series: 8 Episode: 13 |
| Written by | |
| Announcer | Wallace Greenslade |
| Produced by | Roy Speer |
| Music |
|
| Recording Number | TLO 44618 |
| First broadcast | 23 December 1957 |
| Running time | 33:28 |
The Plasticine Man is an episode from The Goon Show. It is the thirteenth show in the eighth series.
A pre-recording session (TLO 44618A) took place Sunday 22 December 1957, 5pm, at The Camden Theatre, Camden Town, London. The recording (TLO 44618) for transmission was created later that same Sunday, also at The Camden, at 9pm.
The first Home Service broadcast was the next day, Monday, at 8.30pm 23 December 1957, its ratings were 1.1 million. The show was repeated on the following Thursday at 9.30pm, 26 December 1958, on the Light Programme to 2.3 million listeners.
Transcription Service Synopsis
Great excitement heralds the discovery by American archaeologists of a Stone Age dustbin skeleton at Stonehenge. Anxious to restore Britain's lost prestige, Neddie Seagoon, a musician of extreme talent who longs to be discovered, is buried at Stonehenge and later produced as a perfect specimen of the Plasticine Age. He escapes, but has difficulty re-establishing his real identity, and is forced to seek the help of his old Commanding Officer, Major Bloodnok.
Music
- The BBC Radio Orchestra was conducted by Wally Stott
- Max Geldray plays The Duke's joke (Alan Clare)
- The Ray Ellington Quartet's number was edited out from this show due to time constraints. However, on the Transcription Service version the Quartet plays Jack the Bear (Duke Ellington)
Technical
Originally recorded on TLO 44618 (15 ips ¼" tape recorded at Broadcasting House).
The TLO 44618 master tape survived intact in TS and was used for the version of the show included on The Goon Show Compendium Vol 7. However, the TGS version of the show included "Jack The Bear", the Ray Ellington number omitted from the domestic transmission, and this was taken from the TGS disc. Evidently, Ellington felt that "Jack the Bear" was too good to waste, as it was performed again the following week[1]
Show Notes
- The last recording before Christmas 1957 comprised The Plasticine Man on Sunday 22; again, this edition caused editing problems for Roy and meant that the whole of the number by the Ray Ellington Quartet was removed from the show.
- Described as a ‘Christmas Edition’ in the Radio Times, the billing for this broadcast was embellished by a cartoon depicting Peter as a turkey, Harry as a pudding and Spike as a jolly Santa.
- However, the Sunday Graphic painted a very different picture of Spike in its edition of 22 December; it revealed that Spike had just spent three days lying in a dark room at home, totally incommunicado and with his doctor commenting, ‘Overwork. Overwork. Complete rest now, or something worse’ later.' He also seemed bitter towards Peter Sellers, noting ‘He has changed a great deal. Now everything he does is part of his war against the human race.’[2]
References
- ^ Kendall, Ted (2012). The Goon Show Compendium Vol 7 (Booklet 2). BBC Worldwide. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-4458-9133-0.
- ^ Pixley, Andrew (2012). The Goon Show Compendium Vol 7 (Booklet 1). BBC Worldwide. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-4458-9133-0.
