''My First Planet'' is a British radio

sitcom A sitcom, a Portmanteau, portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troup ...

written by Phil Whelans. Set on a newly founded space colony, second-in-command Brian Palmer (

Nicholas Lyndhurst Nicholas Simon Lyndhurst (born 20 April 1961) is an English actor. He began his career as a child actor and became best known for his role as Rodney Trotter in the sitcom '' Only Fools and Horses'' (1981–2003). He also had major roles in oth ...

) finds himself unexpectedly in charge when their intended leader dies and must work with the colonists to ensure their survival. The series is produced by David Tyler for

Pozzitive Television Pozzitive Television is a production company formed by producers Geoff Posner and David Tyler in 1992. Pozzitive have won awards including six BAFTAs, two Golden Roses at Montreux, multiple British Comedy & RTS awards, seven Sony Awards and ...

and broadcast on

BBC Radio 4 Extra BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British Digital radio in the United Kingdom, digital radio broadcasting, radio station from the BBC, broadcasting archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes nationally, 24 hours a ...

. The first series initially aired in 2012 and the second in 2014.

Cast

* Brian -

* Lillian -

Vicki Pepperdine Vicki Pepperdine (born 1961) is an English comedy actress and writer. She was nominated for two BAFTA TV Awards for co-writing the BBC sitcom '' Getting On'' (2009–12), and was also nominated for a British Comedy Award for her portrayal of D ...

* Mason -

Tom Goodman-Hill Tom Goodman-Hill is an English actor of film, television, theatre and radio. Early life Brought up near Newcastle upon Tyne, he qualified as a teacher before turning to acting. During his time in Newcastle, he regularly acted in amateur perform ...

* Archer - Phil Whelans * Carol -

Cariad Lloyd Katie Cariad Lloyd (born 21 August 1982) is a British comedian, actress, writer, and podcaster who has been performing since 2007. She is a member of the improvisational comedy group Austentatious, the host and creator of ''Griefcast'', and a ...

(series 1), Letty Butler (series 2) * Richard -

John Dorney John Dorney is a British writer and actor best known for stage roles at theatres including the National Theatre, the BBC Radio 4 sitcom '' My First Planet''; and his scripts for the Big Finish '' Doctor Who'' range. His script ''Solitaire'' wa ...

Series one

Series two

Reception

The first series received coverage as 'Pick of the Day' in ''The Times'', ''The Daily Telegraph'' and ''The Independent'', with ''The Daily Telegraph''s Gillian Reynolds commenting: "What makes it funny is that its characters are (and remain) all too recognisably human".

References

{{reflist BBC Radio comedy programmes 2012 radio programme debuts