Ectoplasm (radio show)
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| Ectoplasm | |
| Genre | Situation comedy |
|---|---|
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Languages | English |
| Home station | BBC Radio 4 |
| Starring | Dan Freedman Nick Romero Sophie Aldred Peter Donaldson Owen Oakeshott Colin Guthrie |
| Writers | Dan Freedman Nick Romero |
| Producers | Helen Williams |
| Air dates | 11 July 2000 to 01 August 2000 |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 4 |
| Audio format | Stereophonic sound |
Ectoplasm was a BBC Radio 4 comedy series written by and starring Dan Freedman and Nick Romero. Unlike the other radio work of Freedman and Romero, this series features single, coherent stories in each episode; it may even be possible to describe the four episodes as part of a continuous story, linked by Theremin's murder attempts.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The stories follow the adventures of Lord Zimbabwe (Romero), a "walker in the ether", or occult investigator; his friend and collaborator Doctor Lilac (Freedman), a German scientist who has invented various machines, including a time machine and a teleporter, and who breaks into megalomaniacal ravings at inopportune moments; Theremin (Donaldson), Zimbabwe's butler, an abusive, murderous, incompetent servant who refuses to carry out any of Zimbabwe's instructions; and Schrödinger, a semi-corporeal cat that exists in a superposition of quantum states of life and death (cf Schrödinger's Cat), and who is sexually attracted to women. Each adventure is initiated by a request by a different woman (all played by Aldred) for Lord Zimbabwe to help her.
[edit] Humor
As is characteristic of Freedman and Romero's work, much of the humour is derived from puns, although Theremin's abuse, Doctor Lilac's experiments (he is about to perform a bizarre experiment when Lord Zimbabwe first approaches him in each show; for example giving a woodlouse PMT) and interrupted diatribes, and Lord Zimbabwe's use of strange similes ("The secret to success, my dear Doctor, is like the aftermath of a Bombay banquet: one must keep going.") all contribute. Recurrent motifs include telephone calls from Sherlock Holmes seeking advice, and references to evil shape-changing pixie creatures (Agatha Christie's character Hercule Poirot appears in one episode; he blames all crimes on these pixie creatures.)
Each show ends with Lord Zimbabwe saying "I think we handled that rather well," and Theremin answering "I couldn't agree less, Sir."
[edit] Episode list
| Episode | Title | First broadcast |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Curse of the Mummy's Curse | 11 July 2000 |
| 2 | The Case of the Missing Lost Soul | 18 July 2000 |
| 3 | The Affair of the Baddie's Niece | 25 July 2000 |
| 4 | The Adventure of the Stupid, Ignorant Americans | 1 August 2000 |
