World in Peril
In which our gallant crew return to Mars to stop an impending invasion of Earth.
History
World in Peril, the third series of Journey into Space, was recorded during 1955 and broadcast only 8 months after the conclusion of The Red Planet and was a direct sequel to that series.
Musical highlights
A highlight of World in Peril is the use of the song "Green Hills of Earth", or "The Rebel Song" as Paddy Flynn calls it.
The Green Hills of Earth was originally featured in Robert Heinlein's book of the same name. The version of the song, and the music, used in World in Peril were first used in the CBS Radio Workshop adaptation of the book, broadcast in the USA on 21 July 1957.
The musical arrangement was by Clark Harrington, lyrics by Robert Heinlein with additional Lyrics by Draper Lewis and Clark Harrington. The song was sung by Everett Sloane as 'Rhysling'.
The story of The Green Hills of Earth concerns the composition of the titular song. An aged Rhysling realizes that his death of old age is near, and hitchhikes on a spaceship headed to Earth so he can die and be buried where he was born. A malfunction threatens the ship with destruction, and Rhysling enters an irradiated area to perform repairs. Upon completing the repairs, he knows that he will soon die of radiation poisoning, and asks that they record his last song; he dies just moments after speaking the final, titular verse.
This recording was compiled from the version presented at the Internet Archives with the dialogue removed.
In Journey into Space, it is sung as an anthem by the George Mitchell Choir, with a much-needed increase in tempo!
The Story
On a volunteer-only mission, the four astronauts return to Mars onboard the Discovery. They encounter former members of the Mars fleet and discover a treacherous Earth-based element to the invasion that they must struggle to defeat before the Mars fleet reaches their home world.
Episode guide
| First broadcast date | Plot summary (from Wikipedia) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 Sep 1955 | April 15, 1972. The Discovery and two freighters return to the Moon from the disastrous Mars expedition. The crew are subjected to intense questioning about their experiences on Mars, and Lemmy discovers that the Discovery is being readied for take off. B |
| 2 | 3 Oct 1955 | Jet and Lemmy go to investigate the objects in an orbital rocket, but are sent to sleep for 24 hours by a strange noise. Film footage suggests the asteroids are actually spacecraft carriers. Jet discovers that a spaceship has crashed in the Lake District. |
| 3 | 10 Oct 1955 | The crew and the Lunar Controller try to locate the crew of the crashed ship. They interview Moore, a commercial traveller who may have had contact with the crew of the ship, who recounts his experience. The crew are ordered back to Mars and are driven to |
| 4 | 17 Oct 1955 | The crew fly to Australia, then on a ship to the Moon. While preparing for the voyage to Mars, they spot unidentified objects on the lunar horizon. The take off is complicated by strange communication with control, suggesting the Moon base has been infilt |
| 5 | 24 Oct 1955 | The Discovery gets away safely; however, they cannot establish contact with Moon control, so Lemmy contacts Earth. After ships from Earth to the Moon are lost, the crew concludes that the Moon has fallen under Martian control. While refuelling from freigh |
| 6 | 31 Oct 1955 | The crew slow the ship down, and discuss where on Mars to land and the objectives of the trip. They regain contact with the strange voice, discovering it is a very confused Frank Rogers, ex-crew man of Freighter #2. |
| 7 | 7 Nov 1955 | Thinking Frank may be there, the crew decide to land near the wreck of freighter #2, but Jet and Mitch discover it to be empty. From the Discovery, Doc and Lemmy spot a fleet of Martian spheres approaching. |
| 8 | 14 Nov 1955 | Jet and Mitch fail to make it back to Discovery, and the crew all pass out as the ships approach. They wake up in a dark room and figure that they must be on one of the moons of Mars. They discover an unconscious man in the room, that Jet is missing, and |
| 9 | 21 Nov 1955 | Jet is found under his bed and the unconscious man is found to be Frank Rogers. Doc tries to bring Frank out of his conditioned state, and he reveals that the invasion is under way. Jet and Lemmy go through the floor, and are directed by the voice of Padd |
| 10 | 28 Nov 1955 | Frank regains some of his memory, revealing that the crew are aboard an asteroid ship. Jet and Lemmy meet Paddy face to face, and he reveals that he is the rebel captain of the asteroid, working with Jack Evans. Paddy receives orders to join the invasion |
| 11 | 5 Dec 1955 | Paddy leaves the crew, who learn how to manipulate the 'visionphone'. As Mitch and Frank follow them along a circular corridor using the cameras, Jet, Lemmy and Doc hear a voice they assume to be a Martian, ordering them back. |
| 12 | 12 Dec 1955 | Jet, Lemmy and Doc ignore the Martian's warnings to turn back, and Jet is knocked out after touching a door at the end of the corridor. The crew persuades Paddy to set the ship on course for Mars, so they can warn Earth of the invasion. However, he loses |
| 13 | 19 Dec 1955 | The asteroid is in chaos and the crew discover Asteroid 786/738 is on its way to sort it out. Mitch and Lemmy go to fetch a bed for Paddy, but become lost and enter the Martian's lair. They hear a familiar voice but can't place it. Paddy dies, and Jet and |
| 14 | 26 Dec 1955 | The Lunar Controller tells Mitch and Lemmy that the invasion will be facilitated by a hypnotic television broadcast. Jet and Doc go on a search for the others, and follow conditioned crew members onto the asteroid surface. Wearing Martian suits, they inve |
| 15 | 2 Jan 1956 | While the Lunar Controller is away, Jet and Doc enter his quarters from the asteroid surface. Mitch and Lemmy explain what has happened to them, and they hatch a plan to imprison the Lunar Controller and escape. |
| 16 | 9 Jan 1956 | The crew imprison the Lunar Controller, and gain his assistance by threatening to release him into space. Lemmy smashes up the computerised brain, to stop messages being sent to the rest of the Martian fleet. Frank pilots the ship as they escape the aster |
| 17 | 16 Jan 1956 | They head into orbit, transfer to Freighter #1, and attempt to contact Earth, but they cannot get their warning about the invasion through. They spot the asteroid invasion fleet approaching them from behind. Jet decides to use all remaining fuel to set on |
| 18 | 23 Jan 1956 | The asteroid fleet increases speed and overtakes Freighter #1. Jet records a warning to Earth, to be transmitted on a loop. Attempts to hypnotise the crew fail, so the Martian contacts the crew using their voices. Freighter #1 crashes onto the surface of |
| 19 | 30 Jan 1956 | Lemmy fails to contact Earth, but they are contacted by the Martian who tells them to enter the asteroid ship. The Martian reveals that he is the only one left of a race of giants, and explains his reasons for the invasion. A crew from the asteroid, inclu |
| 20 | 6 Feb 1956 | The crew are shown to luxurious quarters aboard the asteroid, and cruise to Earth as part of the invasion fleet. They are commanded to the Martian's quarters, where they are dismayed to discover that Earth has not followed their instruction to shut down a |
