From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Aug 29 12:40:59 1994 Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Path: news.ifm.liu.se!liuida!sunic!pipex!swrinde!ihnp4.ucsd.edu!library.ucla.edu!csulb.edu!csus.edu!netcom.com!postmodern.com!not-for-mail From: curtw@euler.jsc.nasa.gov (Curt Wiederhoeft) Subject: P. K. Dick's _Androids_, "The Defenders" and "Colony" audio tapes Message-ID: <199408232052.PAA03301@euler.jsc.nasa.gov> Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Summary: Three reviews: "reading" PKD with my eyes closed Sender: mcb@postmodern.com (Michael C. Berch) Organization: The Internet Date: Sun, 28 Aug 1994 23:21:54 GMT Approved: mcb@postmodern.com (rec.arts.sf.reviews moderator) Lines: 177 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 curtw@euler.jsc.nasa.gov 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