Brian Gulliver's Travels

Brian Gulliver's Travels is a satirical comedy series and also a novel created and written by Bill Dare, first broadcast on 21 February 2011 on BBC Radio 4. A second series first broadcast on 25 June 2012 on BBC Radio 4 Extra. The series is a modern pastiche of the Jonathan Swift novel Gulliver's Travels.

Brian Gulliver's Travels
GenreSatire/Sitcom
Running time30 minutes
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Language(s)English
Home stationBBC Radio 4 (Series 1)
BBC Radio 4 Extra (Series 2)
StarringNeil Pearson
Mariah Gale
Paul Bhattacharjee
Created byBill Dare
Written byBill Dare and Dan Tetsell (Series 2: Ep 3)
Produced bySteven Canny
Original release21 February 2011 – 30 July 2012
No. of series2
No. of episodes12
WebsiteAt BBC Radio 4

Plot

The series revolves around the character Brian Gulliver, played by Neil Pearson. Gulliver is a travel documentary presenter who at the beginning of series is revealed to have been missing for six years, claiming to have travelled to the previously undiscovered continent of Clafrenia. His stories lead him to being put in psychiatric hospital where they believe that he is suffering some sort of delusion. In each episode he is visited by his daughter Rachel (Mariah Gale), who writes about the countries that he claims to have visited.[1]

Production

Brian Gulliver's Travels is created and written by Bill Dare. According to the BBC website: "For years Bill Dare wanted to create a satire about different worlds exploring [Rudyard] Kipling's idea that we travel, 'not just to explore civilizations, but to better understand our own'. But science fiction and space ships never interested him, so he put the idea on ice. Then Brian Gulliver arrived and meant that our hero could be lost in a fictional world without the need for any sci-fi."[2]

The BBC website also says that the original Gulliver's Travels was the only book that Dare read whilst he was at university.[2]

The Book

The novel, inspired by some stories in the radio series, is published by Pilrig Press, 4 July 2013.

It begins:

"At half past ten, nine days after my 21st birthday, I made my way to a psychiatric hospital in Highgate, North London, to meet my father, who had been missing for six years. In the two weeks since his reappearance, he had sent numerous emails in which he described “extraordinary worlds, and curious beings".

Reception

Of the novel, Ian Hislop wrote: "A modern tale that keeps the flavour of the original classic, cleverly managing to provoke both laughter - and thought".

Gillian Reynolds, radio critic for The Daily Telegraph, praised Brian Gulliver's Travels saying that Gulliver was a "marvellous character" and that the series was "allusive, relevant, full of surprises, satirical in the true spirit of Swift. And very funny."[3] Talking about the first episode, which was a satire on health and doctors, she said: "A nimbler reflection on achieving a national state of health is hard to imagine."[4]

A review of the first episode in The Stage said that, "the point of Bill Dare's highly original format was to both satirise and issue a warning about the nanny state" and that, "The series began on an amusing and thought-provoking note."[5]

Merchandise

The first episode of Brian Gulliver's Travels was made available on the BBC's "Comedy of the Week" podcast on 28 February 2011.[6] Likewise, the first episode of the second series was also released in the "Comedy of the Week" podcast (9 August 2012). The entire first series was released by AudioGo on 8 August 2011.[7]

The novel is available at many retail outlets and online stores including Amazon, Waterstones, and Pilrig Press.

Episodes

Series One
No. Episode No. Title Original airdate
11"Gelbetia"21 February 2011 (2011-02-21)
Brian talks about his adventures in Gelbetia, a country run by the medical profession.[8]
22"Juradia"28 February 2011 (2011-02-28)
Brian tells Rachel about his travels in Juradia, a country where every other person is a lawyer.[8]
33"Osminia"7 March 2011 (2011-03-07)
Brian talks about the country of Osminia, a land which has a different understanding of the family.[8]
44"Sham"14 March 2011 (2011-03-14)
Brian discusses his travels in Sham, a place which believes strongly in alternative therapies.[8]
55"Erosia"21 March 2011 (2011-03-21)
Brian talks about the country of Erosia, a country which has unusual sexual politics.[8]
66"Jampoa"28 March 2011 (2011-03-28)
Brian talks about his time in Jampoa, a country which is obsessed with fame.[8]

Series Two
No. Episode No. Title Original airdate
71"Chamanoa"25 June 2012 (2012-06-25)
Brian talks about his adventures in Chamanoa, an island where naturists who support genetic engineering and have designer babies battle nurturists who believe in educating their children.[8]
82"Lessington"2 July 2012 (2012-07-02)
Brian tells Rachel about Lessington, a country where ignorance reigns.[8]
93"Gravinia and Plumpf"9 July 2012 (2012-07-09)
Brian describes the land of Gravinia, where the military is revered, and has been at war with the pacifist country of Plumpf.[8]
104"Anidara"16 July 2012 (2012-07-16)
Brian recalls his travels in Anidara, a country where humans are farmed for their meat and experimented upon by strange animals.[8]
115"Hermicia"23 July 2012 (2012-07-23)
Brian talks about the country of Hermicia, which consists of the altruistic Manchevan people and the selfish Cononans.[8]
126"Kognitia"30 July 2012 (2012-07-30)
Brian looks back at his adventures in Kognitia, where people like to easily forget anything bad and people who cannot forget at will are considered "impaired".[8]

See also

References
  1. Wolf, Ian. "Brian Gulliver's Travels". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  2. "Brian Gulliver's Travels: Episode 1". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  3. Reynolds, Gillian (21 February 2011). "Today's radio highlights". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  4. Reynolds, Gillian (22 February 2011). "Classic Serial: Show Boat, Brian Gulliver's Travels, Private Passions, radio review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  5. "Radio review - drama". The Stage. 25 February 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  6. Sykes, Jaine (10 January 2011). "New Radio 4 Comedy of the Week podcast: Launches Today". BBC Comedy Blog. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  7. "'Brian Gulliver's Travels' Merchandise". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  8. Wolf, Ian. "Brian Gulliver's Travels - Episode Guides". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
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