What happens when two giants of speculative fiction double-book a getaway cottage...
What happens when two giants of speculative fiction double-book a getaway cottage...
A one-minute trailer for Season 1 of Untrue Stories, in which George Orwell and H. G. Wells argue about tea, go time travelling, and sort of accidentally-on-purpose overthrow western democracy. Includes material from episodes one through five.
Untrue Stories is a comedy-drama sci-fi serial that puts its own surreal spin on classic science fiction.
Written and produced by Robin Johnson. Starring Robin Johnson as George Orwell and the voiceover; Patrick Spragg as H. G. Wells; Joanna Lawrie as Mrs Watchett; Tara Court as Julia; Alexander Walsh as the BBC announcer and Isaac Asimov; Liselle Nic Giollabhain as Thought Captain Rutherford; and Canavan Connolly as the Morlock. The music was composed and performed by Robin Johnson on kalimba, mountain dulcimer and electric bass, and sound effects were sourced from freesound.org (all effects used were released under a CC0 "no rights reserved" licence.)
A transcript of this trailer is available here.
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[The Untrue Stories theme music, a jangly chill-out style tune played on kalimba, mountain dulcimer and electric bass, plays in the background throughout the trailer.]
VOICEOVER: The story you are about to hear... is untrue.
MRS WATCHETT: H. G. Wells, this is Mr George Orwell, he's a—
H. G. WELLS: —dreadful big-footed Trotskyist hack!
VOICEOVER: When two of speculative fiction's greatest writers accidentally double-book a getaway cottage...
H. G. WELLS & GEORGE ORWELL: [Simultaneously] What's he doing here?
VOICEOVER: ...an argument about tea...
[Sound of whistling kettle]
ORWELL: There are eleven rules to making a nice cup of tea.
WELLS: Are you the tea police now?
VOICEOVER: ...escalates into an aeon-spanning adventure...
[Sound of trundling bicycle, followed by cheery bicycle bell]
WELLS: This is a very special bicycle, Orwell.
VOICEOVER: ...of time travel...
[Wibbly-wobbly sci-fi sound effect]
WELLS: What year is it?
VOICEOVER: ...and political machination.
[Click and crackle of an old-fashioned radio]
PASSABLE IMPRESSION OF SIR DAVID FROST: [old-time radio filter, crackling] A surprise landslide victory for the totalitarian Ingsoc party—
[Click. Radio crackle stops]
VOICEOVER: Classic science-fiction authors...
ORWELL: Margaret Atwood, meet Ray Bradbury.
RAY BRADBURY: Holy Martian Chronicles!
VOICEOVER: ...in their own worlds.
[Sound of helicopter]
CAPTAIN RUTHERFORD: [Megaphone effect] Stop! [Sound of glass breaking] Thought Police!
[Sound of sci-fi laser gun, followed by rockfall]
WELLS: Morlocks?
MORLOCK ["demonic" filter]: We won't eat you.
JULIA: You've got your fingers crossed behind your back.
ORWELL: Isaac... Asimov.
ASIMOV: Robots are cool.
[Sound of thunderous robot stomping, fading out.]
VOICEOVER: Find Untrue Stories wherever you find podcasts.
[Music fades out]