Line #19 Literature/WilliamShatnerAndLeonardNimoyReadFourScienceFictionClassics


1	An [[AudioAdaptation audiobook adaptation]] originally created by Creator/CaedmonAudio in 1979 as a four-disk LP collection named ''Science Fiction Soundbook''. Re-released on audio cassette in the 1990s, each of the following stories have been [[AdaptationDistillation abridged]] slightly, and read by a single narrator.
2
3	[[index]]
4	[[AC: Creator/WilliamShatner narrates:]]
5	* "Literature/ThePsychohistorians", from Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''Literature/TheFoundationTrilogy''.
6	* "Literature/MimsyWereTheBorogoves", attributed to Creator/HenryKuttner alone.
7	[[AC: Creator/LeonardNimoy narrates:]]
8	* ''Literature/TheMartianChronicles'', featuring "Literature/ThereWillComeSoftRains" and "Literature/UsherII" by Creator/RayBradbury.
9	* "Literature/TheGreenHillsOfEarth", by Creator/RobertAHeinlein.
10	** and "Literature/GentlemenBeSeated" (hidden as a subtitle)
11	[[/index]]
12	----
13	!!''William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy Read Four Science Fiction Classics'' provides examples of:
14	* AdaptationDistillation: Many of the stories are abridged from their normal length. ''Literature/TheMartianChronicles'' suffers the most, getting shortened to "Literature/ThereWillComeSoftRains" and "Literature/UsherII".
15	* AudioAdaptation: Creator/WilliamShatner reads [[AdaptationDistillation abridged]] versions of "Literature/ThePsychohistorians" and "Literature/MimsyWereTheBorogoves", and Creator/LeonardNimoy reads [[AdaptationDistillation abridged]] versions of ''Literature/TheMartianChronicles'' and "Literature/TheGreenHillsOfEarth".
16	* BilledAboveTheTitle: The covers of the original LP sleeves each describe their contents by listing the author's name, the title (or series title, then story title), and then the narrator at the top of the sleeve, leaving plenty of room for the cover design.
17	* {{Biography}}: The back of the 1994 audio cassette case and the back of the 1979 sleeves of the original vinyl records have short blurbs about the narrators:
18	** Creator/WilliamShatner starred as James T. Kirk in ''Franchise/StarTrek'', directed feature films and acted in ''Theatre/AShotInTheDark'', as well as authoring ''Literature/StarTrekMemories'' and other science fiction stories.
19	** Creator/LeonardNimoy starred as Spock in ''Franchise/StarTrek'' and as Paris in ''Series/MissionImpossible'', acted in films like ''Film/TheBalcony'' and ''[[Film/Deathwatch1966 Deathwatch]]'', as well as hosting ''Series/InSearchOf'' and director of several other feature films.
20	* BoxedSet: The original four-disk LP collection was packaged in a single box to hold each record sleeve. The cover art for the box borrowed the art used for the sleeve cover of Creator/IsaacAsimov's "Foundation: Literature/ThePsychohistorians", and focused on the [[RetroRocket cigar-shaped spaceship]].
21	* ComputerVoice: "Literature/ThePsychohistorians": Whenever Creator/WilliamShatner reads from the ''[[EncyclopediaExposita Encyclopedia Galactica]]'', his voice is edited to take on a reverb, making him sound more computer-like.
22	* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: Guess who the narrators are, how many stories they read, and what genre they are.
23	* InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt: The [[OrwellianRetcon revised]] title starts by naming the narrators of this adaptation (Creator/WilliamShatner and Creator/LeonardNimoy), who were even more famous than they were in 1975 when they first recorded it.
24	* OrwellianRetcon: When this [[AudioAdaptation audiobook adaptation]] was first published on vinyl, it was titled simply ''Science Fiction Soundbook''. When it was republished as a set of four audio cassettes in the 1990s, Creator/HarperCollins capitalized on the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' popularity by renaming it [[InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt with the narrators in the title]].
25	* PenName: In both the audio cassette release and the original vinyl release, Creator/HenryKuttner is mentioned to have written "Literature/MimsyWereTheBorogoves" under the pseudonym of Creator/LewisPadgett (although the cassette set [[AccidentalMisnaming misspells it]] as "Paggett"). The back of the vinyl sleeve includes an introduction by Creator/CLMoore, who claims that her husband wrote the entire story himself in one sitting.
26	* RetroRocket: The sleeve cover of the original LP for Creator/IsaacAsimov's "Foundation: Literature/ThePsychohistorians" uses a cigar-shaped rocket with wide fins and inflated landing gear at the base. The cover for the BoxedSet focused on that same image. On that rocket is the spaceship-and-sun symbol described within the story as the symbol of the Galactic Empire, whose ship is also a simple oval with flames from one end.

Context Literature / WilliamShatnerAndLeonardNimoyReadFourScienceFictionClassics