#Earthsearch End of walkthrough
Do I recommend?
Certainly the first two Radio serials are to be recommended. Also both novelisations were very fine companion reads. However Mindwarp is lesser both as a novel sci-fi story and later as audio drama. It is decent yes but just not required.
#Earthsearch Audio Drama 3 cont'd.
Challenger III wasn't mentioned in the original serials was it? The derelict found was Challenger II. So how exactly did Challenger III fit in with the overall exodus of the Earth? Did it just get lost in space or maybe tie-in later somehow with Earth's journey?
#Earthsearch Audio Drama 3 cont'd.
Decent last part even if the whole project is lacking. In isolation of you haven't heard the prior Earthsearch's it's not a problem as Mindwarp is peripheral to the overall saga. The bigger picture reveal at the end felt like a return of the proper Earthsearch.
#Earthsearch Audio Drama #3 "Mindwarp [3]" (Aug-02).
Final part of this somewhat lazy walkthrough of mine.
Think Colin Baker will have a larger part in this finale.
As expected part 2 ended exactly where I thought it would.
I hope the lore gets translated from the novel well.
Review: tomorrow.
#Earthsearch Audio Drama 2 cont'd.
This is early Big Finish and without seasoned TV actors it's loose and unpolished. Earthsearch was never going to win a charisma award was it?
Ewan's on the spot theories constantly being proved right did wear thin.
I did cheer when Challenger III got mentioned!
#Earthsearch Audio Drama 2 cont'd.
The 45 minute slot again means it is fast paced but again some set pieces get edited down. Janine stealing the recording device is really trimmed down from the novel.
Exploring the shelter also loses scenes.
Colin Baker is mostly going through the motions.
#Earthsearch Audio Drama 2 cont'd.
This second part is too functional. The problem Mindwarp has it doesn't have the massive ideas that permitted Earthsearch I & II to remain quite dry.
India Fisher is solid as Jenine as she matches those 1980s generic females of the first two Earthsearch serials.
Bernard's 2025 walkthrough review.
#Earthsearch: 6.5/10
OK I've not quite finished this yet. Surprisingly I've found next to nothing about this radio show online yet it was a contemporary of H2G2. I think conceptually it's very strong but lacks too much personality.
bsky.app/profile/bern...
#Earthsearch Audio Drama #2 "Mindwarp [2]" (Mar-02).
This will be the escape plan from the novel. I am guessing it will end with Ewan and Jenine reaching the cave.
Review soon.
#Earthsearch Mindwarp [1] cont'd.
Colin Baker, Nick Courtney and India Fisher are three Big Finish Doctor Who actors re-employed here. They're fine as ever but the lead actor Leon Parris as Ewan Solant is poor by comparison.
For me this isn't up to the BBC Radio 4 standard of the original.
#Earthsearch Audio Drama #1 "Mindwarrp [1]" cont'd.
The CD box says running time of 65 minutres but it's only 45 minutes long.
It's a fairly faithful adaptation but really it might've been more worthwhile if stretched to 65 minutes to keep a lot of the detail in eg the war scene was too fast.
#Earthsearch Audio Drama #1 "Mindwarp [1]" (Sep-01).
In one of the oddest commercial decisions imaginable Novel #3 gets adapted in three separate CDs by Big Finish. Why Big Finish, why?
Saying that I can see the three CDs all being neatly different to each other to match the novel.
Review soon.
#Earthsearch Novel #3 cont'd.
The idea of individuals escaping an enclosed world to reach the surface of Earth isn't particularly original especially by the 1990s so again there's little new here. Earthsearch I & II weren't fully original either but felt a lot more mind expanding than this novel
#Earthsearch Novel #3 cont'd.
Another major difference is that in Earthsearch I & II the human heroes perpetually battle artificial intelligences. There is no AI in this book nor any prototypes of the Angels at all. Not having that core ingredient makes it a different world. It does feel lesser.
#Earthsearch Novel #3 cont'd.
I do like the puzzlebox element where you know what happened in Earthsearch I & II so you continually wonder where the events in this book fit in with the established history. Ok yes it does fit in but really only very peripherally to the first two serials.
#Earthsearch Novel #3 cont'd.
This third novel is a bit too different from the first two Earthsearchs to stand as a worthy addition.
Earthsearch was defined by the giant vistas and vast time spanning arcs. Only really the last 20-30 pages in the reveal do we get that aand then it's mere back story.
Almost all my current walkthroughs have hit prose yet again! So only reading for me the next few days:
#Buffy- novel
#Earthsearch- kindle novel
#TheStarlost- 2 novels
#SimpleMan- Indonesian Twitter thread
#RichardDiamond- script pdfs
#10PM- Indonesian webtoon
#TheVillage- kindle graphic novel
#Earthsearch Novel #3 "Mindwarp" (20-May-94).
The original novel is seemingly a prequel but was only printed in hardback so is really really rare and pricey. Instead I got the later Kindle version (02-Apr-12) which contains minor adjustments according the James Follett's new foreword.
Review soon.
#Earthsearch Novelisation 2 contd.
This novelisation is a rather faithful adaptation. Much like Novelisation #1 nothing from the radio serial really gets embellished or expanded upon. That's ok however as the radio serial is solid so the novelisation keeps in the same vein and doesn't disappoint.
#Earthsearch Novelisation #2 "Earthsearch II Deathship" (07-Oct-82).
Quick off the heels of the second series comes the novelisation. The first book was a solid accompaniment to the first serial so I expect the same.
Review soon.
#Earthsearch II. Radio 20 cont'd.
Earthsearch is a child of the generator that is "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy". Whereas it has a totally different personality and aural quality yet like H2G2 its giant sized ideas deliver the big wow moments. Never the characters themselves.
#Earthsearch II. Radio 20 cont'd.
Though no character in this is especially memorable it's not really about the humanity of the characters. It's about the quest.
So it does feel very dated in terms of what it's served up. Sci-fi this clinical and dry works well but also just exists in the past.
#Earthsearch II. Radio 20 cont'd.
The saga is complete. There are no emotional epiphanies nor hearts on sleeves. Rather it's middle class satisfaction. Earth is saved, Angels are destroyed, the 4 can go back to Paradise. Cup of tea anyone?
This series has more legs will "Mindwarp" move it on?
#Earthsearch II. Radio ep #20 "Earthvoice" (27-Jun-82).
Earthsearch is serous sci-fi. The 1970s to early 1980s does serious sci-fi with mixed results:
Earthsearch so not as watchable as S18 of #DoctorWho (good serious sci-fi) nor cripplingly dull as #TheStarlost (bad serious sci-fi).
#Earthsearch II. Radio 19 cont'd.
With just 1 ep left in the saga I like how up in the air it is. Elke however should have a hostile takeover or other plot ready no?
Humanity's, the Angels' and the Challenger's fate are all up for grabs.
I think I read that the third series/book is just a prequel.
#Earthsearch II. Radio ep #19 "Earth" (20-Jun-82).
Finally Earth but only 10,000 humans survive.
As 1982's #DoctorWho Kinda says "Civilisations rise, wheel turns, civilisation falls". That's why Kinda is great!
This is decent radio but not especially great sci-fi.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mdjo...
#Earthsearch II. Radio 18 cont'd.
If it really is the star which the Earth went around then we are nearing the end.
There's no evidence as far that there is a functioning civilisation left there mind.
youtu.be/ISynIyIIMgs?...
#Earthsearch II. Radio ep #18 "Megalomania" (13-Jun-82).
Elke being the one in charge should've been hinted at earlier. Shame as she was likeable.
Surgeon Lieutenant General Kraken being yet another AI to battle is perhaps that idea now getting old but I like how fully unreal his world view is.
#Earthsearch II. Radio 17 cont'd.
The robots/AI in the show holds up quite well as sci-fi. OK we have 2 comedy H2G2-esque robots but the other ones and how the crew interact with their AI matches 2025. Mostly. The organic minds they have seems tagged on and wasn't really pointed out before now.
#Earthsearch II. Radio ep #17 "Death Ship" (06-Jun-52).
I was waiting for a "death ship" to arrive as that's the name of the later novelisation and lo we get two death ships!
Spaceguard-6 was the first time this show disappointed me. That idea had more mileage.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykbD...
