Subject: P. K. Dick's _Androids_, "The Defenders" and "Colony" audio tapes

From: [email-masked] (Curt Wiederhoeft)
Date: Sun, 28 Aug 1994 23:21:54 GMT

Well, based on the synchronicity of the post from C-man, (who's
apparently Time-Warner AudioBooks' net rep), and somebody
mentioning the classic PKD story "The Defenders," I thought I'd
post a review  of the last three Dick stories that I've experienced.
I use the word "experienced" because I didn't read these, I listened
to them.  Everything listed here is available on cassette, either
from a friendly local retailer or from a friendly mail-order
house.  So here goes.

1. _Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep_, from Time-Warner
AudioBooks.  Read by Matthew Modine with Calista Flockhart.
Abridged. Released Summer 1994. $17

All in all, an excellent adaptation of the novel that inspired
"Blade Runner."  The box contains the caption "Abridgement approved
by the author."  I'm not sure what to think of this.  Obviously, Phil
Dick didn't anticipate the popularity of books on tape, so I have to
assume that he signed a blanket release when he sold the film rights
to the Ladd Company.  Whatever, the script is very faithful to the
original novel.  The first chapter is lifted virtually intact from
the printed page, with only a few words and phrases omitted, so I
didn't bother to read along after that.  That's what books on tape
are about, isn't it?  The text is pure PKD, however they managed to
shorten it.

Modine and Flockhart do a good job of providing unique voices
for practically every character.  I read a comment somewhere that
a listener was having a hard time disconnecting this tape from the
film, but I didn't have that problem.  Modine's Deckard is a perfect
representation of Dick's existential protagonist.  He has very little
in common with Harrison Ford's film noir detective.  Eldon Rosen gets
the appropriate "mad scientist" treatment (as PKD wrote him), nothing
like the Tyrell character in the film.  The only resemblance between
tape and film that *struck* me was J.R. Isidore.  Modine reads these
lines in a very good imitation of Willim Sanderson's J.F. Sebastian.
One almost expects him to introduce "My other brother Darrell." (Daryl?)
The scene in which Pris systematically dismembers Isidore's spider
is chilling, through a combination of Dick's writing and Flockhart's
absolutely emotionless delivery of Pris' lines.

Now, on to the negative side.  Unfortunately, Modine either doesn't
understand the difference between "immigrate" and "emigrate," or
he pronounces the latter as the former.  Whatever, a sharp editor
("prooflistener?") should have caught this flub along with a short
list of other mispronunciations.  IMHO, flawless execution should
be the standard in this format. A mispronounced word that pops up a
dozen times is VERY grating, moreso than the occasional printed typo.

The recording itself is excellent.  The box says it's a digital
recording, so if it becomes immensely popular among the Blade Runner
cult, it'll be possible to see a CD release someday.  The recording
contains some very appropriate music, apparently composed just for
this tape.  It fades in at a few rather unexpected moments, but never
becomes intrusive.

Final rating:   Adaptation 9, Performance 8, Technical 9
Thumbs-up for:  Any SF fan, maybe a few non-genre listeners

________________________________________________________________

2. "The Defenders," presented by the *X Minus One* radio series
on May 22, 1956. Full cast recording.  Unabridged. Released by the
Radio Yesteryear Company. $4.98 (tape also includes "Hallucination
Orbit" by J.T. McIntosh)

This is pure fun!  The short story that inspired Dick's novel _The
Penultimate Truth_ gets a new treatment, and a new approach here.
For those who haven't read the story or the novel, it concerns the
misadventures of a group of Americans living far underground, with
robots or "leadies" sent up to carry on the nuclear war with the
Soviets.  As you might expect from Dick, the reality of the above-
ground situation isn't exactly what the characters have been led to
believe.

The radio play differs from both its source story and the later novel
in its "reason" to venture into the war-torn aboveground.  Without
spoiling too much of what happens, I'll just say that a pair of
young people find themselves willing to risk exposure to a radioactive
wastelend rather than keep their forbidden love a secret, adding an
element of suspense that just isn't there in the original story. (The
novel's another thing entirely.  If I recall correctly, an especially
altruistic character braves the trip in order to obtain an organ
transplant from another enclave).  I sincerely hope that PKD was involved
in this adaptation, as it seems like the kind of change he *would* have
made, having a year or so to reflect on the written story, and trying
to make it an effective dramatic presentation.  Another bonus is the
fact that the enemy is only referred to es exactly that, "The Enemy."
It's nice to see that the *X Minus One* folks didn't jump right on the
Red Scare bandwagon.  The acting isn't exactly award-winning caliber,
but it's better than the average episode of "Gunsmoke."

If you're under 40 (like I am), and you missed out on the Golden Age of
radio, this is a great way to experience nostalgia you never knew you
had!  I've always enjoyed reruns of old radio broadcasts (yes, even
Abbot and Costello's "Who's On First?" routine.  Call me a sap), and
it was great to find radio plays written when Dick was almost part
of the mainstream.

The sound is the best that can be realistically be expected from a 38-
year-old, possibly off-the-air tape.  The volume modulates at a few
points, but only enough to bother those who also can't tolerate
listening to greats like Billie Holiday because of bad source tapes.

Final rating:   Adaptation 9, Performance 7, Technical 5
Thumbs-up for:  Anybody who enjoys early Philip K. Dick

________________________________________________________________

3. "Colony," presented by the *X Minus One* radio series on October
10, 1956. Full cast recording.  Unabridged. Released by the Radio
Yesteryear Company.

This episode is an almost exact duplicate of the original story,
with only a little technobabble omitted.  It seems to have been
adapted for radio only for the purpose of the titillation provided
by the penultimate scene (gratuitous radio nudity!).  While the
acting and sound quality are uniformly good, the fact that there
were no changes to the script, and the fact that this tape must
be special-ordered and custom made (at a rate of $12 per hour of
tape and about a month to do the work) make me reluctant to
recommend it to anyone but the most rabid Dick fan.

It does, however, have one interesting aspect.  In the dozens of
*X Minus One* episodes that I've now listened to, this is the ONLY
one in which the commander/protagonist is female.  People talk a lot
about Dick's mysogyny, but the other SF pros writing radio plays
at the time (Silverberg, Bradbury, Simak, Siodmak, etc.) weren't
exactly providing a lot of opportunities for women in leadership
roles.  So there.

Final rating:   Adaptation 10, Performance 8, Technical 6
Thumbs-up for:  Die-hard Dick fans only

________________________________________________________________

Disclaimer: I have no connection with either Time-Warner or
Radio Yesteryear.  I'm only a satisfied customer.  I am, of
course, willing to discuss either of these companies or their
products with any interested netter.  Oh yeah, and NASA and
Lockheed don't endorse my opinions either.

Curt Wiederhoeft

[email-masked]
WWW- http://l14ep.jsc.nasa.gov     Will design spacecraft for food.

%A   Dick, Philip K. 
%T   Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
%I   Time Warner AudioBooks
%C   Los Angeles, CA
%D   1994
%G   no ISBN
%O   2 cassettes, approx. 90 minutes, $17.00
%K   Cassette tape, books on tape

%A   Dick, Philip K. 
%T   The Defenders
%B   X Minus One
%I   Radio Yesteryear
%D   May 1956 (original broadcast)
%G   no ISBN
%O   Cassette, $4.95
%K   Radio broadcast, audio cassette tape
%S   The Best of Old Time Radio
%V   963

%A   Dick, Philip K. 
%T   Colony
%B   X Minus One
%I   Radio Yesteryear
%D   October 1956 (original broadcast)
%G   no ISBN
%O   Cassette, $12.00
%K   Radio broadcast, audio cassette tape
%S   The Best of Old Time Radio
%V   2180