The DINSAUR Interplanetary Gazette

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Dinos Speak!
Dinosaurs on the Radio

Once upon a time, there was Radio, but it wasn't Radio like today. Before 1950 when television sets became popular, everyone depended on radios for news, music and entertainment. Especially for entertainment!  There were soap operas, comedy shows, and all kinds of dramas including Science Fiction.  Most of these programs stopped in the 1950's, but in some countries like England, Canada, and the United States  radio dramas are still produced. In fact,  radio became more popular again in the US when Star Wars was dramatized for National Public Radio (NPR).

The Dinosaur Interplanetary Gazette is pleased to present two of the greatest dinosaur dramas ever broadcast: The Sound of Thunder and, soon, A Gun for A Dinosaur.  If you have RealAudio software, you will be able to hear them just like they were broadcast many years ago!

| The Sound of Thunder | A Gun For A Dinosaur | Get RealAudio |

The Sound of Thunder
from a short story by Ray Bradbury
Broadcast on SF68, South Africa, 1968

| Introduction | The Sound of Thunder | Resources |Thanks |

Introduction

    "A Tyrannosaurus rex. The Tyrant Lizard., the most incredible monster in history. Sign this release. Anything happens to you, we're not responsible. Those dinosaurs are hungry."

    Eckels flushed angrily. "Trying to scare me?"

    "Frankly, yes. We don't want anyone going who'll panic at the first shot. Six Safari leaders were killed last year, and a dozen hunters. We're here to give you the severest thrill a real hunter ever asked for. Travelling you back sixty million years to bag the biggest game in all of Time. Your personal check's still there. Tear it up."

    Mr. Eckels looked at the check. His fingers twitched.

    "Good luck," said the man behind the desk. "Mr. Travis, he's all yours."

    They moved silently across the room, taking their guns with them, toward the Machine, toward the silver metal and the roaring light.

from The Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury
Ray Bradbury starting writing short stories when he was a teenager. Born in 1920, he grew up in the Waukegan, Illinois in the American Midwest and loved to "delve in the town library to read about dinosaurs or Time Machines."

Many years later, in 1952, Bradbury wrote a short story about both dinos and Time Machines for Colliers magazine. It also appeared in a book called R is for Rocket. The story was dramatized for a South African radio program  It was one of the approximately 18 episodes of SF68 which ran for less than a year in 1968.

The Sound of Thunder is not only an exciting adventure about a T. rex, but also a very early story about how ecology and evolution can go wrong! It is hard to tell which part of the story is scarier, the dinos or what happens because someone is not careful with nature.

Ray Bradbury has written hundreds of stories including Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles, and he has won many, many prizes as a writer. He did his own television show called The Ray Bradbury Show which also dramatized this same story.

The Sound of Thunder
by Ray Bradbury

 
as broadcast on
Bradbury 13
A radio Anthology Series
available through Sounds of Yesteryear
Length: approximately 27 minutes 8 seconds
Format: RealAudio - streaming
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(Alternate Version not currently Available)
Producer/Writer: Michael McCabe
Announcer: Dennis Smith
Cast: Unknown
Sponsor: BioTex cleaning solution
Series Title: SF 68
Country of Origin: South Africa
Year: 1968
Length: approximately 30 minutes
Format: RealAudio
Note: This recording comes from an American collector who, back in 1968, preserved this show by taping it off of his shortwave radio. That means the radio signal travelled half way around the world!  For this reason, the quality is not perfect. Sometimes, the sound disappears entirely and is staticy. It is the best we have, however, until someone finds a better recording.
    Okay.
    Settle down.
    Turn off all the lights,
    and close your eyes.
    Now,


Click on this link to The Sound of Thunder  and   l  i  s  t  e  n . . . . . . .
 
 

Real Audio
To hear these programs, you need may to have the RealAudio or RealPlayer software installed on your computer. Netscape and Internet Explorer usually come with the software already installed. But if nothing happens when you click on the link, then you will need to install it yourself. It is not very hard. Just follow the directions at www.realaudio.com
Resources
Old Time Radio
Sounds of Yesteryear - Award Winning Old-Time Radio
Old Time Radio Reference Logs


Ray Bradbury

 
The Official Ray Bradbury Website

Ray Bradbury Central A collection of articles and pictures.

(If you purchase any of the following books through our website, it helps to support The Dinosaur Interplanetary Gazette)
Dinosaurs : Stories by Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, and Many Others; Martin H. Greenberg; Hardcover; $20.66

Classic Stories 1 : From The Golden Apples of the Sun and R Is for Rocket ~ Ships in 2-3 days, Ray Bradbury / Paperback / Published 1990  Our Price: $5.59 ~ You Save: $1.40 (20%)

Sound of Thunder /Cassette  Ray Bradbury / Audio Cassette / Published 1994 Our Price: $5.99 + $1.85 special surcharge (Back Ordered) - Out of Print 12/99

A Sound of Thunder /Screaming Woman /Audio Cassette(Old Time Radio)Ray Bradbury / Audio Cassette / Published 1986  Listr Price: $5.95  Out of Print.
 

 
RealAudio Home Page
Ray Bradbury on the Radio - A Listing
 
A Gun for a Dinosaur
    X Minus One - 560307 - Gun for a Dinosaur  28:27
 
Special Thanks to:
 
Bill Bragg at YesterdayUSA who helped set the original 1999 page up.
Ken Kitowski, Magna cum MegaUltra, University of Wisconsin,  Stevens Point which supplied the server space for the original web page
Sam Grossman who found these radio shows and arranged the whole thing!




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(c) 1998, 2006 Edward Summer, All Rights Reserved
Created 1/98, revised 4/2/98, 6/5/06