''Elastic Planet'' is a six-part

radio comedy Radio comedy, or comedy, comedic radio programming, is a radio broadcast that may involve variety show, sitcom elements, sketch comedy, sketches, and various types of comedy found in other media. It may also include more surreal or fantastic elemen ...

series, first broadcast on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

in 1995, taking the form of a surreal documentary reminiscent of ''

Connections Connections may refer to: * Connection (disambiguation), plural form Television * '' Connections: An Investigation into Organized Crime in Canada'', a documentary television series * ''Connections'' (British TV series), a 1978 documentary tele ...

''. It was written by Ben Moor, narrated by

Oliver Postgate Richard Oliver Postgate (12 April 1925 – 8 December 2008) was an English Animation, animator, puppeteer, and writer. He was the creator and writer of some of Britain's most popular children's television programmes. ''Bagpuss'', ''Pingwings' ...

and produced by

Jon Naismith Jon Naismith (born 1965)England and Wales, Birth Index 1916-2005 is a producer mainly known for his work on BBC Radio, primarily comedy, including ''You'll Have Had Your Tea'', '' The Unbelievable Truth'' and '' About a Dog''. Since 1991 he has ...

. The series deals with subjects such as the decline of the British dust industry, bad spelling rings and cheese sculpture. The series has been repeated on

BBC 7 BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It mostly broadcasts archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes, and is the sister station of Radio 4. It is the pri ...

and

BBC Radio 4 Extra BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It mostly broadcasts archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes, and is the sister station of Radio 4. It is the pri ...

on various occasions.

Cast

Various roles in the show are taken on by the cast members Ben Moor, Dan Strauss,

Kerry Shale Kerry Shale (born 4 June 1952) is a Canadian actor based in London, England. His BBC Radio 4 comedy-drama ''The Kubrick Test'' was broadcast in 2020. He is the co-host of ''Is It Rolling, Bob? Talking Dylan'', a podcast about Bob Dylan ...

, and

Michael Troughton Michael Troughton (born 2 March 1955) is an English actor, teacher and writer. He is best known for his television roles including Melish in ''Minder'' and Sir Piers Fletcher-Dervish in '' The New Statesman''. Early life Troughton was born a ...

. Others appearing included

Neil Mullarkey Neil Mullarkey is an English actor, writer and comedian. Early life and education From 1972 to 1979, Mullarkey was educated at Kingston Grammar School, an independent school for boys (now coeducational), in Kingston upon Thames, followed by R ...

Geoffrey McGivern Geoffrey M. McGivern is a British actor in film, television, radio and stage, as well as a comedian. He is best known for originating the role of Ford Prefect in ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Career He played Ford Prefect in the ...

Miriam Margolyes Miriam Margolyes ( ; born 18 May 1941) is a British and Australian actress. Known for her work as a character actor across film, television, and stage, she received the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mrs. Mingott in Marti ...

Rebecca Front Rebecca Louise Front (born 16 May 1964) is an English actress, writer and comedian. She won the 2010 BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Comedy Performance for '' The Thick of It'' (2009–2012).Jennifer Lipma"Bafta for Jewish actress Rebecca Front" ...

Fiona Allen Fiona Allen (born 13 March 1965) is an English comedian and actress, most known for her work on Channel 4's '' Smack the Pony'' between 1999 and 2003. Career Allen has appeared in many sketch shows, including ''We Know Where You Live'' (Channel ...

Doon Mackichan Sarah Doon Mackichan (; born 7 August 1962) is a British actress, comedian and writer. She co-created, wrote and performed in the double-Emmy awards, Emmy-award-winning ''Smack the Pony''. She frequently collaborates with Armando Iannucci and S ...

and

Alexander Armstrong Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong (born 2 March 1970) is an English actor, comedian, radio personality, television presenter, singer and farmer. He is the host of the BBC One game show ''Pointless'', and is a weekday morning-show presenter on C ...

Episode guide

# The Babies # The Train # The Shape # The Zoo # The Objects # The Travel

References

External links

*
The ''Elastic Planet'' homepage by the author, Ben Moor
BBC Radio 4 programmes BBC Radio comedy programmes 1995 radio programme debuts Surreal comedy radio series Mockumentaries {{UK-radio-show-stub