Editing Journey into Space (section)

=== ''Journey to the Moon''/''Operation Luna'' ===
Initially, the first series was simply known as ''Journey Into Space'', with the subtitle ''A Tale of the Future'' added by the ''[[Radio Times]]'', but within the BBC it became known as ''Journey to the Moon''.<ref name="OL booklet"/> The series was set in 1965 (the year in which Chilton believed humans would first walk on the Moon<ref name="JIS Again"/>), and was first broadcast in 1953–1954 on the [[BBC Light Programme]]. The series was originally intended to have 12 episodes<ref name="OL booklet"/> (one source claims 8 episodes<ref name="OL cassettes"/>), and 5.1 million people tuned into the first episode, but the first four episodes (which took place on Earth) did not prove very popular, and the audience soon shrank to fewer than 4 million.<ref name="OL booklet"/> But once the rocket set off for the Moon in episode 5, the audience reaction was much more favourable. The series was extended to 18 episodes, and by the time the final episode was broadcast, 8 million people were tuning in.<ref name="OL booklet"/>

In 1958, ''Journey to the Moon'' was re-recorded for the [[BBC Transcription Services]] (retitled as ''Operation Luna''), because the original recordings had been erased.<ref name="OL booklet"/> The first four episodes of the original series were omitted, and episodes 12 and 13 were merged into a single episode.<ref name="OL booklet"/> Today, the only surviving recording from the original 1953 series ''Journey to the Moon'' is a 5-minute excerpt from the final episode.<ref name="OL booklet"/>

Faulds, Kingsley Poynter, and [[Deryck Guyler]] were the only actors from ''Journey to the Moon'' to reprise their roles in ''Operation Luna''.

In addition to the [[#The main characters|main characters]], other characters in ''Journey to the Moon'' included:<ref name="OL booklet"/>

{| class="wikitable"
!Actor
!Character
|-
|[[Wilfred Walter]]
|Sir William Morgan
|-
|Robert Perceval
|Mackenzie
|-
|[[Deryck Guyler]]
|The Time-Traveller ("The Voice")
|-
|[[David Jacobs (broadcaster)|David Jacobs]]
|Miscellaneous characters
|-
|[[John Cazabon]]
|Earth Control
|-
|[[Alan Keith]] (*)
|London correspondent
|-
|Duncan McIntyre
|Jet's great uncle, Hector
|-
|[[Mark Baker (animator)|Mark Baker]]
|
|-
|Errol McKinnon
|
|-
|Jessica Dunning
|
|-
|Wyndham Milligan
|
|}
(*) Alan Keith (born Alec Kossoff) was the brother of David Kossoff, who played Lemmy.

Chilton wrote episode 8 of ''Journey to the Moon'' in response to a challenge from a TV producer, who considered the success of the series to be "a fluke". The producer challenged Chilton to write an episode "that could not be played equally well on television", and Chilton succeeded – a large proportion of the episode takes place in total darkness.<ref name="JIS Again"/> During the episode, Jet reads to the rest of the crew by torchlight from ''[[The First Men in the Moon]]'' by [[H. G. Wells]], the only work of fiction carried on board the ship.<ref name="JIS Again"/>

Andrew Faulds's adopted uncle, Hector MacPherson, was an astronomer, and wrote a book called ''Practical Astronomy''. Chilton bought a copy of the book, which first sparked his interest in astronomy, and later led him to write ''Journey Into Space''. In episode 7 of ''Journey to the Moon'', Jet's childhood flashback features his great uncle Hector, who was based on Hector MacPherson.<ref name="JIS Again"/>

In November 1957, Chilton wrote an episode of the [[BBC School Radio]] science series ''Our Own and Other Worlds'', titled "A Trip to the Moon", which featured edited material from episodes 5 and 6 of ''Journey to the Moon''.<ref name="TWIP booklet">{{Cite AV media notes |first=Andrew |last=Pixley |title=Journey Into Space: The World in Peril |year=2005 |url=http://www.audible.co.uk/journey/theworldinperil.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325122614/http://www.audible.co.uk/journey/theworldinperil.pdf |archive-date=25 March 2009 |type=Booklet |publisher=[[BBC Audiobooks]] |location=Bath |isbn=978-1405669900}}</ref>

The table below indicates the correspondence between the episodes of ''Journey to the Moon'' and ''Operation Luna''.<ref name="OL booklet"/>

{| class="wikitable"
!colspan="2" |''Journey to the Moon''
!colspan="2" |''Operation Luna''
!rowspan="2" |Brief plot summary
|-
!Episode
!First broadcast
!Episode
!First broadcast
|-
|align="center" |1
|align="center" |21 Sep 1953
|align="center" |–
|align="center" |–
|The year is 1965, and Jet's father (Sir William Morgan) launches his A.24 rocket from the Rocket Research Station at Poker Flats. But something goes wrong, and the rocket heads towards Las Vegas, out of control.
|-
|align="center" |2
|align="center" |28 Sep 1953
|align="center" |–
|align="center" |–
|The rocket hits Las Vegas, killing at least 35 people, and the Poker Flats site is shut down. Meanwhile, Jet is invited by Mitch to join his Operation Luna project – a rocket to reach the Moon.
|-
|align="center" |3
|align="center" |5 Oct 1953
|align="center" |–
|align="center" |–
|Jet is appointed the rocket's pilot, and he and Lemmy travel to Australia to meet Mitch at the secret Operation Luna base. On arrival, Mitch takes them to meet Smitty, the team's doctor, but he is found dead.
|-
|align="center" |4
|align="center" |12 Oct 1953
|align="center" |–
|align="center" |–
|Doc Matthews replaces Smitty (who died from a coronary), and Lemmy is to be the radio operator. Mitch spots a plane flying around the launch site, suspects spies are active, and advances the launch date.
|-
|align="center" |5
|align="center" |19 Oct 1953
|align="center" |1
|align="center" |26 Mar 1958
|The rocket ''Luna'' sets off for the Moon with Jet, Doc, Mitch and Lemmy aboard. Radio contact with Earth is lost. Lemmy hears odd 'music' on the radio, before contact is resumed, and a tiny meteor hits ''Luna''. No damage is sustained, but Lemmy hears the strange music again outside the ship and panics.
|-
|align="center" |6
|align="center" |26 Oct 1953
|align="center" |2
|align="center" |2 Apr 1958
|''Luna'' is turned round for the Moon landing, and Lemmy hears the 'music' again during the final approach. The crew narrate their first moonwalk by radio to Earth on 22 October 1965. While exploring a crater, Jet unaccountably vanishes from sight.
|-
|align="center" |7
|align="center" |2 Nov 1953
|align="center" |3
|align="center" |9 Apr 1958
|The crew experience strange things: Jet has visions of the past and the future; Lemmy is disturbed by the 'music' again; Doc sees a strange dome over a crater, and writes an odd diary entry without realising. Their last week on the Moon passes without incident, but as they prepare to leave for home, the ship completely loses all power.
|-
|align="center" |8
|align="center" |9 Nov 1953
|align="center" |4
|align="center" |16 Apr 1958
|The crew are stuck on the Moon and unable to trace what has caused the power failure. A fortnight passes, with the air temperature rising uncomfortably in the absence of air-conditioning. A [[Unidentified flying object|UFO]] is seen on the televiewer on the seventh day, and strange noises are heard on the tenth. When they are left with just enough oxygen to reach home, power is suddenly restored to the ship, and the UFO is seen to have landed outside.
|-
|align="center" |9
|align="center" |16 Nov 1953
|align="center" |5
|align="center" |23 Apr 1958
|Mitch is inquisitive and enters the UFO, where he is temporarily possessed by an alien intelligence. ''Luna'' takes off and orbits the Moon; on the far side, the crew encounter a fleet of UFOs, which pursues them.
|-
|align="center" |10
|align="center" |23 Nov 1953
|align="center" |6
|align="center" |30 Apr 1958
|The UFOs accelerate ''Luna'' to an incredible speed, and the crew blacks out. On recovering, they find themselves out in deep space, with no sign of the Earth or Moon. In the distance, a planet is approaching.
|-
|align="center" |11
|align="center" |30 Nov 1953
|align="center" |7
|align="center" |7 May 1958
|The crew land ''Luna'' on the planet and discover that it shares many of Earth's characteristics – oxygen atmosphere, drinkable water, carbon-based vegetation and ice-caps at both the poles. After studying the stars one night, Jet deduces that they in fact ''are'' on Earth, but that they've travelled thousands of years through time.
|-
|align="center" |12
|align="center" |7 Dec 1953
|rowspan="2" align="center" |8
|rowspan="2" align="center" |14 May 1958
|rowspan="2" |Jet discovers a prehistoric stone knife near ''Luna'', suggesting that they've travelled ''back'' in time; but there is some confusion over this when the crew discover the tracks of a great tank-like machine near their ship. One morning, a UFO exactly like the one seen on the Moon lands nearby, and a voice is heard over the radio: "Hello Luna!"
|-
|align="center" |13
|align="center" |14 Dec 1953
|-
|align="center" |14
|align="center" |21 Dec 1953
|align="center" |9
|align="center" |21 May 1958
|The crew talk with 'the voice'. They learn that the strange music they've been hearing is generated by a strange, omnipresent power that 'the voice' and his people use to drive their ships. 'The voice' warns them that they are in great danger, and persuades them to enter the UFO, which takes off. Eventually it lands again, in a city of domed buildings.
|-
|align="center" |15
|align="center" |29 Dec 1953
|align="center" |10
|align="center" |28 May 1958
|They learn more about 'the voice' and his people – they are a peaceful, scientific race from the opposite side of the universe. They learnt to travel through time when their solar system was threatened by its expanding sun. The crew explore the city, and are disturbed by a close encounter with a sabre-toothed tiger. Fortunately, the creature does not attack them, but they now realise that they have travelled back through time instead of forward. They enter a domed building, walk down a long dark tunnel, and emerge in a huge underground city. They are invited into another building to meet 'the voice', but are terrified by what they find inside...
|-
|align="center" |16
|align="center" |5 Jan 1954
|align="center" |11
|align="center" |4 Jun 1958
|'The voice' consoles the crew, who are embarrassed by their shock, and guides them to another dome where they are given a meal and beds to sleep in. Next morning, 'the voice' tells the crew about the Earth's native 'forest creatures', destructive and hostile animals, and promises to help the crew get back to their own time. While preparing ''Luna'' for take-off, the crew are horrified to realise that the 'forest creatures' are, in fact, prehistoric humans.
|-
|align="center" |17
|align="center" |12 Jan 1954
|align="center" |12
|align="center" |11 Jun 1958
|'The voice' is not pleased to learn that the crew are descended from the 'forest creatures', but in the end agrees to help them as arranged. ''Luna'' takes off and is accelerated by the UFOs; the crew blacks out. They start to ponder on the nature of time, and become concerned about their shortage of fuel, and whether they will remember their adventures when they reach their own time.
|-
|align="center" |18
|align="center" |19 Jan 1954
|align="center" |13
|align="center" |18 Jun 1958
|The crew successfully return to the Moon in 1965, but with no memory of their adventure on prehistoric Earth. However, their rations have been replaced by water and an unknown bread-like substance; Doc's diary contains a detailed account; and there's a prehistoric stone knife on board ''Luna''...
|}