Coast To Coast
Season 11, Episode 06
June 19, 2023
Four radio stories by Jack J. Ward
Re-Imagined Radio presents four short science fiction radio stories by Jack J. Ward, Canadian award-winning writer, director, actor, and producer of audio drama. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia. That's about as far East as one can drive a car in Canada, before running into the Atlantic Ocean. We call this episode "Coast to Coast," to signify that Jack and his radio dramas comes to us here on the Northwest Coast of the United States from the Northeast Coast of Canada, through radio, the teleportal trans-experiental time warp theatre of the mind.
Access the episode script
Background
The four short science fiction radio stories presented in this episode were all written and directed by Jack Jamie Ward, an award-winning writer, director, actor, and producer of audio dramas, and more. He likes to use the term "audio drama" to signify what he does.
So, when Jack called, from Nova Scotia, Canada, saying he heard Re-Imagined Radio and wanted it for his Sonic Society, well, boy howdy, we were excited! In return, we asked Jack to send samples of his own audio dramas. He sent several, each in the genre of 1950s science fiction adventure stories heard on the X-Minus One series. We picked four to share in this episode. Each are part of his Wave Front anthology series. They showcase Ward's broad range of creative ideas. And, they're very interesting, and fun!
LEARN more about Jack J. Ward and his extensive bibliography
Resources
The Sonic Society
The Mutual Audio Drama Network
Sonic Cinema Productions
Jack Ward's
autobiography at The Sonic Society
Production
Contents
Re-Imagined Radio presents four short science fiction radio stories by Jack J. Ward. Each is in the style of the X Minus One radio series. Each is an episode of Ward's The Wave Front Shorts Anthology series, 2006-2021.
"Galaxy Master versus the Varn"
In this story, a Hollywood movie actor, Edward Quinn, who plays the character title character "Galaxy
Master," is abducted by aliens, the Varn, because they feel his portrayals of the galaxy's leading
villain eclipses their own reputation. Quinn's agent, Hal, negotiates with N-Chuck, lead representative
for the Varn, to replace Quinn in the upcoming "Galaxy Master" movie. The Varn are happy to establish
themselves as the baddest villains in the galaxy. Hal is happy with the prospect of making more money
from the change. Edward? Well, he is taken away by the Varn. This story is typical of Jack's
imagination, and his particular love of the works of Harry Harrison. Ward credits Harrison's novel
Bill the Galactic Hero as inspiration for "Galaxy Master versus the Varn."
"Reservations"
In an afterlife you wait at a nice restaurant before your final destination is decided. That outcome, in
Ward's imagination, is uncertain, thanks to time travel. In "Reservations," Ward enjoys crossing the
boundaries between faith and fantasy and science and science fiction, asking questions about how the
dangers of a time travelling interference might mess up someone's eternal destinations. If there were a
place to go after this one, and everything is planned, how does new and unnatural technology propel
people into, out of, or through those plans by some eternal wardens? Another tribute to Ward's
imagination.
"Alien Invasion Cancelled"
In this radio drama, Ward asks, "What if aliens decide not to help Earthers because the effort would not
be valued on social media? What would humanity be like, truly, should we have absolute proof of aliens
in our skies? How would we respond given our voracious appetite for untempered tabloid entertainment?"
Ward is fascinated with human obsession to be mirrored in the technology of others. Does how we see
ourselves in the modern age depend on how we want to be seen and how all our "followers" want to engage?
People entering the world of social media as "Influencers" must navigate a labyrinth of choices between
doing what the current social beliefs allow online, while pushing to stand out from the noise of the
many other YouTubers, Bloggers, TikTokers, and Podcasters that have their own voices and content.
"Trans-Humanity"
Our final radio story by Ward is about the last woman on Earth and her resistance to being incorporated
into the cloud. Ward says, "the idea of 'being human' has been challenged by such visionaries as Aldous
Huxley, Alvin Toffler, and Ray Kurzwell. "As an English teacher and lover of all things representing the
terrible mortality of being human," he says, "the idea of leaving all that behind for a kind of
permanence online where pain, sorrow, loss, and limitation is abhorrent to me. Some of the greatest
artists in the history of humanity have come from those who lived in very strict limitations of health
and perception. Imagination from the wetware of our brains transcends the digital landscape of a very
orderly computer server system."
Credits
"Galaxy Master versus the Varn," "Reservations," "Alien Invasion Cancelled," and "Trans-Humanity" written
and produced by Jack J. Ward
Episode Produced and Hosted by John F. Barber
Sound Design, Music, and Post Production by Marc Rose
Promotional Graphics by Holly Slocum Design
Promotion
Press
Ward, Jack J. COAST TO COAST: Four short stories by Jack J. Ward→. The Sonic Society, 18 June 2023.
