SERIES: THE CHALLENGE OF SPACE
Starring: Donald Monat (Narrator), Hal Orlandini, Michael Mayer,
Gabriel Bayman, Clive Parnell, Lynda Stuart, Diane Appleby
James White, Brian O’Shaughnessy
Writers: Donald Monat, June Dixon, Hal Orlandini
Producers: Donald Monat & June Dixon for Springbok Radio
Total Episodes: Broadcast: 62 Archived: 62
First Episode B/C: 19/05/1969 Last Episode B/C: 12/10/1970
Radio Station: SABC – Springbok Radio
Synopsis:
Sponsored by Carling Black Label Beer, this series examined man’s early ventures into space. The
space race of the 1950’s and 1960’s spawned this series, especially the Apollo missions to the moon
in the late 1960’s. The series was narrated by Donald Monat as the character Charles B Ryan and
was broadcast on Springbok Radio on Monday evenings and was eventually replaced by “Carling
Country”, another series sponsored by Carling Black Label beer.
A total of 10 episodes are doing the rounds with collectors internationally. These episodes seem to
have originated from John Wright, who sent these recordings on reel to reel tape to a friend in the
USA. The donation of many reel to reel tapes to this society by the late Neil Gesson, saved this
series in it’s entirety. A complete set of this series will be donated to the SABC Sound Archive in
Johannesburg for national preservation.
List of episodes preserved within the Springbok Radio Preservation Society of
South Africa Sound Archive:
Nr B/C Date Episode Title
01 19/05/1969 X-9 Commander (First Episode)
02 26/05/1969 My Destiny-The Stars
03 02/06/1969 Women Must Wait
04 09/06/1969 A Wake for Johnny
05 16/06/1969 Women in Orbit
06 23/06/1969 6500 Mile Stroll
07 30/06/1969 The Invisible Shotgun
08 07/07/1969 10 Miles to the Moon
09 14/07/1969 A Legend is Born
10 21/07/1969 Moon Landing
11 28/07/1969 The Prints on the Moon
12 04/08/1969 Space Station Nr 1
13 11/08/1969 The Eyes that Guard the Plough
14 18/08/1969 In the Beginning
15 25/08/1969 The Long Road Out
16 01/09/1969 The Earth Still Spins, Commander
17 08/09/1969 Climb to Safety
18 15/09/1969 The Sample
19 22/09/1969 Unknown-UFO’s
20 29/09/1969 Re-entry with Rubbish Bins
--- 06/10/1969 No Episode-Special Sarie 1969 Programme
--- 13/10/1969 No Episode-Special Sarie 1969 Programme
--- 20/10/1969 No Episode-Special Sarie 1969 Programme
--- 27/10/1969 No Episode-Special Sarie 1969 Programme
--- 03/11/1969 No Episode-Special Sarie 1969 Programme
--- 10/11/1969 No Episode-Special Sarie 1969 Programme
21 17/11/1969 The Planetarium
22 24/11/1969 Space Commander
23 01/12/1969 Another Galaxy
24 08/12/1969 Look the Other Way
25 15/12/1969 C.Q.-Anybody Out There
26 22/12/1969 Where Was Atlantis?
27 29/12/1969 Ergot
28 05/01/1970 The Seven Ages of Man
29 12/01/1970 The Centauries
--- 19/01/1970 Moon Landing (Repeat of B/C 21/07/1969)
30 26/01/1970 The Way Back
31 02/02/1970 The New Colonisers
32 09/02/1970 A Clapper for the Bell
33 16/02/1970 Time Must Have a Stop
34 23/02/1970 Mars, The Red Planet
--- 02/03/1970 The Prints on the Moon (Repeat of B/C 28/07/1969)
35 09/03/1970 Promethius IX is Missing
36 16/03/1970 The Third Passenger
37 23/03/1970 The Pioneer
38 30/03/1970 The Emergency Passenger
39 06/04/1970 Big Brother in the Sky
--- 13/04/1970 In the Beginning (Repeat of B/C 18/08/1969)
40 20/04/1970 The Lost Lake
41 27/04/1970 Retrospect-Intergalactic Travel
42 04/05/1970 Ultimatum
43 11/05/1970 Screwball Satellite
44 18/05/1970 Object Myra XVI
45 25/05/1970 Modern Icharus
46 01/06/1970 Assignment for George
47 08/06/1970 Commander’s Privilege
48 15/06/1970 Unaccomplished Mission
49 22/06/1970 This is His Cross and he Bears it
50 29/06/1970 Mission Abort
51 06/07/1970 World in Microcosm
52 13/07/1970 The Plague
--- 20/07/1970 Climb to Safety (Repeat of B/C 08/09/1969)
53 27/07/1970 The Dead Planet
--- 03/08/1970 No Episode – Special Transmission
--- 10/08/1970 No Episode – Special Transmission
54 17/08/1970 The Forgotten World
55 24/08/1970 Women in Orbit (Repeat of B/C 16/06/1969)
56 31/08/1970 The Neglected Factor
57 07/09/1970 Dark Mercury
58 14/09/1970 Saturn’s Rings
59 21/09/1970 The Generation Gap
60 27/09/1970 The Odyssey of Flight 33
61 05/10/1970 The Life Form
62 12/10/1970 Unscheduled Landfall (Final Episode)
List Compiled by The Springbok Radio Preservation Society of South Africa. February,2007
