Part thriller, part scifi, part soap opera, part comedy, Claybourne was perhaps the most sonically ambitious radio drama production ever to hit New Zealand's airwaves.
Produced by Andrew Dubber & Belinda Todd in 1998, it gained something of a cult following, won a radio award for best dramatic production, and later became the most popular spoken word programme on MP3.com. It was also the first podcast radio drama series online.
SYNOPSIS:
Thompson is an American holidaying in New Zealand after his breakup nearly led to
a breakdown.
He receives a message from his employers, multinational communication giant Koestler Industries, that there’s a 'problem' at their satellite station up in the far north of the country, and that since he’s over there anyway, he should check it out.
The problem is… ‘problem’ doesn’t even begin to describe it.
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Grab a free download of all 96 episodes in your choice of 320k mp3, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire.
And stick with it. By episode 8, you'll be hooked. Promise....more
Claybourne was commissioned for New Zealand radio station Newstalk ZB in the late 1990s. It played four afternoons a week, just after 3pm - and was repeated at 1am. In both slots, it caused an audience spike in the ratings. Nevertheless it was cancelled after six months, despite having been designed with a full one year story arc.
These days, we'd probably say it got Firefly'd.
As a result, although there is some resolution, there are still quite a few loose ends left untied, and a hell of a good cliffhanger. One day we might make the rest of the show in some form or another... but to be fair, we've been saying that since 1998...
It's all a little dated now, of course, as technology-centred dramas will tend to get after 13 years, but it's still a good yarn with some really great moments.
You'll grow to know and love the characters - and then we'll kill them, horribly, one at a time.
I have finally managed to scrape the muck off the original master tapes and have polished up all 96 episodes of Claybourne for their new life in the 21st century, here on Bandcamp.
Enjoy.
credits
released June 1, 1998
Story by Jim McLarty, William Davis, Belinda Todd & Andrew Dubber
Script by Jim McLarty & William Davis
Produced by Belinda Todd & Andrew Dubber
Sound Design by Andrew Dubber & Sean James Donnelly
Music by Victoria Kelly and Joost Langeveld
CAST:
Thompson - Jim McLarty
Mata - William Davis
Karen - Angela Bloomfield
Frank - Bruce Allpress
Mike - Melwayne Edwards
Edith - Brenda Kendall
Phillip - Robert Pollock
BACKGROUND:
Claybourne was a sci-fi / supernatural thriller / soap opera radio drama, recorded and broadcast nationwide in New Zealand in the late 1990s. A total of 96 shows were produced by Pronoun Productions (Andrew Dubber & Belinda Todd), and was made with the assistance of New Zealand On Air.
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