The Naked Sun

On a hostile planet

The Naked Sun screenshot

Delia created the sounds effects and music sequences for the BBC TV adaptation of Isaac Asimov's book The Naked Sun, directed by Rudolph Cartier for the BBC TV series Out Of The Unknown in which "Detective Baley must solve a murder on the planet Solaria, where reclusive people have their every need attended to by robots."

It was filmed 23rd-26th July 1968 with studio recording on the 8th and 9th August and broadcast on BBC on 18th February 1969 while Delia's notes say it was recorded on the 7-8-9th August.

Delia's papers include the full rehearsal script as well as her notes and fragments of her score for it.

Musical annotations in the rehearsal script

From the annotated pages of the rehearsal script:

p.5-9   Scene 3: the Solarian Transport Capsule in motion:
        "Music: A high humming note"
        "A Stab"
        "Music rising to a blinding crescendo;
         loud burst of electronic noise"

p.14    Scene 4: Making contact with Doctor Thool

p.23    Telecine 3: "Ext. Solarian landscape. Day."
        "Music: a high sustained chord indicating birds and flowers, a brook"
        BALEY and DANEEL walking. BALEY: "It's a lie!"

p.25    "Music, Dramatic"
        BALEY: Air ... I can't breathe ...
        DANEEL: It was you who eished to
        get accustomed to the atmosphere,
        partner ...
        "Electronic music as camera pans towards sun,
        emerging from clouds."
        "CRESCENDO"
        End telecine 3.

p.39-40 Scene 11: "Int. baby farm. Entrance hall. Day."
        "Music: Suspense"

p.40-42 Scene 12: "Int. baby farm (foetal laboratory). Day."
        "Music indicating the wailing of babies"

p.44    "Music: Excitement" crescendo to "CRASH"

30:02.4-34:04.4
p.54    Telecine 4 and 5: Baley and Gladia walking on the Solarian surface
        "Landscape peaceful and serene"
        ...
p.56    GLADIA: Are you sick?
        "Music (Similar to page 25)"
        ...
        GLADIA: Close you eyes ...
        BALEY: No ... can't stand it ...
p.57    "Crescendo and climax"
        End of telecine 5 and scene 15

p.60    Scene 17: INT. THE PURPLE ROOM
        "MUSIC: Busy, high pitched note"
        ROBOTS: Contact Dr Leebig! Contact Dr Thool!

p.69    Music: "CRASH - END"
        BALEY: You fool - it's a robot!
        ...
        DANEEL:  Partner Elijah - the human is dead.
        TELECINE 6: Ext Solariam landscape. Day.
        MUSIC: Tha landscape but in a sad, minor key.
        BALEY: I'm seeing you?
        ...
p.71    GLADIA: I'm not afraid ... your hand ...
        MUSIC ENDS GENTLY
        End of telecine 7 and scene 20.

p.74    (BALEY HAS STOOD UP AND STARTS TO
         MOVE THE SLIDING CEILING PANELS)
        MUSIC: CRESCENDO SIMILAR TO PAGE 9
               BUT INCREASING TRIUMPHANTLY
        ...
               ENDS WITH A GREAT CLIMAX

Papers

• All of Folder TRW 6891, containing the rehearsal script (DD151706 to DD152242).
• DD152306: Letter from Rudolph Cartier to Desmond Briscoe dated 2 July 1968
• DD152319: Handwritten notes
• DD152409: "MASTERS: LIBRARY TAPE 1" 1-18
• DD152422: "MASTERS: LIBRARY TAPE 1" 19-32
• DD152445: "LIBRARY TAPE 2 - MASTER"
• DD152500: Notes for sound creation
• DD152547: List of musical elements M1 to M17
• DD152604: List of musical elements M18 and M19 and notes
• DD152618: Notes for effects M1-M17
• DD152628: Notes for TK3, TK5, TK6 with precise timing
• DD152646: Diagrammatic scores
• DD152702: Notes "Tues 23rd "beautiful bird babies" technique/theory"
• DD152714: Notes
• DD152739: Schedule p.1 "FIRST RECORDING DAY: Thursday, 8th August"
• DD152748: Schedule p.2 "FIRST RECORDING DAY: Thursday, 8th August"
• DD152807: Schedule p.3 "SECOND RECORDING DAY: Friday, 9th August"
• DD152816: Schedule p.4 "SECOND RECORDING DAY: Friday, 9th August"
• DD081333 in the folder The Living World is dated 30.10.68 and mentions Naked Sun tapes, maybe because it reused sounds from The Naked Sun.

Availability

• Broadcast on the BBC on 18th February 1969.
• According to the Internet Movie Database, "This episode was wiped by the BBC and no copy of it is known to exist."
• In the BBC Sound Archive on tape TRW 6891: "4 reels, master and makeup".
• Three of Delia's musical sequences were renamed by the BBC in 1976 and released on Out Of This World (1976) and Essential Science Fiction Sound Effects, vol. 2 (1993):
  • Heat Haze (00:58)
  • Frozen Waste (01:08)
  • Icy Peak (00:46)
• Six fragments have survived as off-air recordings from when it was broadcast, of which one contains the tail of another of Delia's sounds for when, "On the planet Solaria, Baley – after passing out through exposure to the planets atmosphere - awakens in a house specially built for him by the Head of Solarian Security".
  • The Naked Sun - Scene 4
• There is a reconstruction with the original sound on a DVD from the British Film institute.
• The audio from the reconstruction DVD is available on dropbox.com
• The BBC Broadcast Archive contains a tape of the sound only:

Item: 2B00E8BFB_001
ID: LDP9232W
Title: OUT OF THE UNKNOWN: THE NAKED SUN
Broadcast: 18/02/69
Catalogue: LONPROG
Catalogue Page: 9894831
Item Duration: 00:49:32.000+01:00
Subject: Science fiction mystery drama 'The Naked Sun' by Isaac ASIMOV.
NB:ONLY SOUND REMAINS
Name: PATRICK, Roy; CARGILL, David; ASIMOV, Isaac (AUT); NOBLE, Trisha; HALLETT, Neil; LEIGH-HUNT, Ronald; STASSINO, Paul; MAXWELL, Paul; MULLER, Robert (SCR); ROBINSON, John; CARTIER, Rudolph (DIR); COLLINGS, David; JAEGER, Frederick; HICKS, John; BURRELL, Sheila; HARDY, Raymond; WEATHERUP, James (DGN); TAYLOR, Gerald; CHITTY, Erik; BROMLY, Alan (PRD); MARTIN, John Scott

External links

• Out Of The Unknown fan site entry for The Naked Sun
• Out Of The Unknown Season 3 Clips Guide at zetaminor.com