The Spaceship: The Complete Series 1 and 2: A BBC Radio Sci-Fi Comedy

James Fleet stars as Captain ‘Flashdance’ Gordon Taylor in this science fiction sitcom set in the 22nd century

It’s the year 2104, and a fleet of research cruisers has been launched into space on a mission to seek out new life. Every moment on board has been captured, preserved and transmitted back to Earth – and in these unique recordings from The Really Invincible III, Macclesfield Division, we get to eavesdrop on all the goings-on of the plucky but inept crew...

From a problematic meeting with an alien princess to a horde of space tourists on a holiday from hell, life on the cruiser is never less than eventful. Indecisive Captain Taylor is faced with disaster when another of the fleet’s spaceships, The Indestructible III, suddenly explodes; relentlessly nice Communications Officer Karen embarks on a forbidden romance with ship’s engineer Stuart; and medical scientist Clive 55 causes chaos when he is arrested for murdering his 136 clones, and experiments with dark matter to catastrophic effect.

Having survived a trip into a black hole, the team run into trouble with some murderous plant life; get into a spot of bother with a marauding, undead space pirate; contract a mystery plague that causes them to age at an alarming rate; and find reality reflected back at them in the mirror at the end of the universe...

Created by Clayton Grange writers Paul Barnhill and Neil Warhurst, who also play Stuart and Clive 55, this zany space comedy features an ensemble cast including James Fleet, Emily Joyce and Rosie Cavaliero.


Written by Paul Barnhill and Neil Warhurst
Directed by Sally Avens

Cast
Captain Gordon Taylor – James Fleet
Melissa Patterson – Emily Joyce
Karen Trex – Rosie Cavaliero
Stuart Jackson – Paul Barnhill
Clive 55 – Neil Warhurst
Princess Urrgh/Captain Ponter/The King of the Dwapeye – Stephen Hogan
Urrgh Emperor/Ion – Jason Chan
Narrator – Nicholas Boulton
Trevor – Rob Hastie
The Pendula Verbularis – Anna Bengo
Captain Jones – Simon Treves
Therapy Computer – Joannah Tincey
Spam – Ben Crowe
Doreen – Rachel Atkins

First broadcast BBC Radio 7, 27 June-1 July 2005 (Series 1), 25–29 February 2008 (Series 2)

© 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd