Adventures of Stephen Brown

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Opening title from the series (c)Beacon Productions

Algy, Stephen and Harri from the episode Jigsaw (c)Beacon Productions

The Adventures of Stephen Brownis a science fiction series that is broadcast weekly on Six TV in the Southampton and Oxford areas, a free-to-view terrestrial RSL channel, and is soon to be shown on the internet channel TV Chichester. Six or seven new stories appear each year and due to its tongue-in-cheek nature and lack of pretentiousness the show has built up a small cult following.

Usually consisting of 14 episodes per year, the series centres around the adventures of an alien being called Stephen Brown, portrayed by Ryan Brady who has recently replaced Chris Wilkes who was SB from 2000-6. He is accompanied on his travels on his spacecraft The Venturer by his loyal companions Harri (Sarah Wright), and the primitive Algy (Ben Johnson). They are joined by their faithful robot, Robo. Stephen's arch-nemesis is the criminal known as The Death, dressed entirely in black and sometimes accompanied by his thuggish follower Blocklon.

The current run of episodes has ended with the cliffhanger Kaos Theory Episode Two. Six TV is now screening other productions made by Beacon, including an ad-lib soap The Parsons, and blooper show The Beacon Files. Episode Three of Kaos Theory is planned to open the new series which is currently being filmed, with a tentative release date of Spring 2007.

1 Overview
2 Cast and characters
- 2.1 Cast notes
- 2.2 Companions
3 Production
- 3.1 Production credits
- 3.2 Production notes
4 Locations
5 External links

[edit] Overview

Stephen Brown in The Venturer's control room, Robo visible in background upper right (c) Beacon Productions

Stephen Brown was born on the planet Rubart, home of the Melastones. As a child he was framed for the murder of his brother, an event he blames on The Death. Stephen's father took him to Earth in his spacecraft The Venturer and re-married there, having a daughter called Lizzie. Stephen and Lizzie eventually recovered The Venturer and set off on their own adventures.

The Venturer is an advanced spacecraft run by an intelligent computer called Robo. Venturer normally travels in subspace but is capable of travelling through time. The ship is also equipped with a teleport system, which forms the method by which Stephen and his companions travel back and forth between The Venturer and the planets they visit.

Amongst the many adversaries that Stephen Brown has faced there are the Tubcons, a robotic army created by the maniac Savdro, and the Terricins.

As of writing (late August 2006) there are currently 360+ episodes, the latest being 'Kaos Theory', a multi-part adventure in which The Death returns to Earth to summon the demon Kaos to destroy Stephen Brown and his companions.

[edit] Cast and characters

The Death swings into action (c) Beacon Productions

Stephen Brown - Chris Wilkes (2006 season), Ryan Brady (2007- )
Harri - Sarah Wright
Algy - Ben Johnson
The Death - Robert Hampton
Blocklon - Matthew Hampton
Robo - voice of Jeremy Field

There are often also various other characters in episodes. These are usually one-off characters who don't appear again. However they are often played by crew members or actors who have appeared in previous episodes as different characters.

[edit] Cast notes

Between 1987 and 1999 four different actors played the role of Stephen Brown. Chris Wilkes has played the part for the last six years up to 2006. Wilkes took a brief break from his role in 2004, with Matthew Lambourne playing Brown in his absence. New SB Ryan Brady has been joined by Chris and former lead actors Stephen Launay and Joshua Ive in a special 20th anniversary story.

[edit] Companions

Lizzie travelled with Stephen on The Venturer for many years. Emma fell in love with Stephen before breaking his heart. Other companions include Sarah, Jimmy (rescued from London during the Blitz), and Astradis Kanasis aka Astra. Stephen's current companions are Harri and Algy is a loyal primitive from a tribal race.

[edit] Production

[edit] Production credits

Title Music - Jonathan Leech
Title Sequence - Beacon Visual Design
Camera Operators - Stephen Launay, Matthew Hampton and Ryan Brady
Boom Operator - Jonathan Leech
Financial Advisor - Warren Pike
Visual Effects - Daniel Cook, Scott Cook, Ben Johnson
Designer - Stephen Launay
Incidental Music - Mat Hasker
Script Editors - Paula Cartwright, Daniel Cook
Story Editor - Neil Miller
Producers - Chris Wilkes and Matthew Hampton
Directors - Matthew Hampton, Stephen Launay, Daniel Cook, Steve Churchett

[edit] Production notes

Southampton-based Beacon Productions, a voluntary based video group which started up in July 1987, produce the series on a very low budget. The series was created by Stephen Launay.

Beacon Productions has a membership of around 60, with an age-range of 16-mid 60s. The members take turns appearing in productions. Some of the members have acting experience, mainly on the amateur dramatics circuit, while most of the crew have at some point worked in local television.

The Adventures of Stephen Brown began as an audio tape serial in 1987. From 1990 onwards the series became transferred from audio to video, the last audio story being produced in 1999 when the audio stories were finally dropped.

The club's name will return to "Beacon", with the "productions" tag being gradually phased out during 2007 after 13 years use.

[edit] Locations

The Tubcons aboard their ship (c) Beacon Productions

The series is filmed mainly in the Locks Heath area, near Southampton. The club owns a small studio for interior scenes. The show has used many locations, including the New Forest, Lee-on-Solent, Portsmouth and longer trips out to Blackgang Chine on the Isle of Wight, St Malo in France and London.

The club has been fortunate to enjoy cameo appearances from celebrities over the years when they have been appearing in panto at the Kings Theatre, Portsmouth. Celebrities who have popped up in Stephen Brown over the years include Spencer Kelly (2001), Mark Raffety from Neighbours (2002), EastEnders' Leila Birch (2002), Tony Adams from Crossroads (2002) and Jansen Spencer from Neighbours (2003).