Primetime old school adventures on Smartypant radio

Undoubtedly one of the most celebrated tales of all time, this is both high-octane thriller and fascinating travelogue. Phileas Fogg, intrepid Victorian gentleman-about-town, accepts a wager that he cannot travel around the world in 80 days. Naturally, he immediately sets off, accompanied by his French manservant Passepartout. They are pursued by a police officer, Detective Fix, who is foolishly convinced that Fogg is a bank robber. Much hilarity ensues. On the way, Fogg bravely rescues Aouda, a beautiful Indian princess, from a ceremony of ritual sacrifice. Unexpectedly, our thriller becomes a love story.

The year is 1866 and the maritime world is gripped by fear after reported sightings of a huge sea monster. Famous marine biologist Pierre Aronnax, accompanied by his loyal servant Conseil and the redoubtable Canadian harpooner Ned Land, joins the hunt to track down and incapacitate the creature. But their enemy is no sea beast… and they soon come face to face with the sinister Captain Nemo. The story is relentlessly thrilling, while containing beautifully written observations of underwater life.

The story begins in Hamburg, 1863. The brilliant Professor Liedenbrock, inspired by an ancient, encoded manuscript, impetuously decides to take his reluctant nephew Axel on a seemingly insane mission: to travel down volcanic tunnels to the very centre of the earth. With Hans, their intrepid Icelandic guide, they descend deeper and deeper, encountering terrifying prehistoric animals and passing through unimaginably beautiful landscapes. Will Axel ever again see his beloved fiancée Graüben? All is revealed in the incredible dénouement of this thrilling adventure.

The year is 1866; the American Civil War is at its height. Five prisoners of war hatch an audacious plan to escape their camp by balloon. After a perilous 6,000-mile journey in a fierce storm, they are ‘shipwrecked’ on an unknown Pacific island. What follows is a thrilling tale of resourcefulness, courage and suspense. Together with our heroes we learn to hunt, to make weapons and pottery, to calculate our position by the sun, to extract iron and even to make explosives from the island’s remarkable natural resources. As in all Verne’s novels, the plot is packed with unexpected and tantalising mysteries – above all, who is the invisible benefactor who repeatedly saves our heroes from certain death?

Bored with inactivity following the end of the Civil War, the fanatical members of the American Gun Club in Baltimore look for a project to fulfil their passion for firearms. Their distinguished President, Impey Barbicane, proposes an exciting new endeavour—one that will cement their names in history: they will build the largest projectile ever known to man and shoot it at the moon! The bullet will be hollowed to accommodate Barbicane and two bold companions, along with their dog, and they will claim the moon as America’s 37th state. From the Earth to the Moon describes the sometimes hilarious and always surprising events leading up to the launch of the projectile, while Around the Moon follows the three intrepid astronauts on their dangerous journey into outer space.