The Incredible Adventures of Jack Flanders is a

radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

produced by the

ZBS Foundation ZBS Foundation, a small non-profit audio production company, was founded by Thomas Lopez (aka "Meatball Fulton") in 1970 with a grant from Robert E. Durand as a working commune, located on a donated farm in Upstate New York. ZBS stands for "Zero Bu ...

and

Meatball Fulton Thomas Lopez, aka Meatball Fulton (born 1935), is president of the ZBS Foundation and one of the foundation's founders. He writes and produces the ZBS Foundation's audio drama productions. When he was working in radio in the 1960s, Lopez took " ...

. It is the fourth of the

Jack Flanders Jac Flanders, full name Jonathan L. Flanders, is the protagonist of a series of audio dramas produced by the ZBS Foundation. He is the creation of writer and sound artist Thomas Lopez and is played by actor Robert Lorick. Jac is an adventurer w ...

adventure series.

Plot

The series begins with the unexpected late-night delivery of an overstuffed green velvet armchair to

, courtesy of "Venus Velvet" (a person unknown to Jack). Falling asleep in this armchair draws Jack into a sometimes amusing, sometimes nightmarish dream world populated by

sky pirates ''Sky Pirates'' (also known as ''Dakota Harris'') is a 1986 Australian adventure film written and produced by John D. Lamond, and directed by Colin Eggleston. The film was inspired by Steven Spielberg's ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981), as we ...

crewing winged sailing ships, winged reptilian "fromborks", mad sorcerers dueling in mechanical demons, tap dancing marsh wizards who assist Jack in his negotiations with the Lords of Death and more. The nominal plot line concerns the fact that Jack unintentionally causes a mustache to appear on the lip of the Black Mona Lisa, a particularly vicious pirate originally from Philadelphia. The problem begins when he looks at her image on her Wanted posters, although the effect extends to the Pirate Queen herself when Jack meets her. Jack must travel "beyond the Never Mind" in order to discover who did send him the green velvet chair, and why.

Analysis

The Incredible Adventures of Jack Flanders is not a direct sequel to the preceding

adventures, as ''

Return to Inverness ''Return to Inverness'' is a 2000 radio drama, the twelfth in ZBS's Jack Flanders series. The serial was written and directed by Meatball Fulton, as a sequel to the 1972 story ''The Fourth Tower of Inverness ''The Fourth Tower of Inverness'' ...

'' is to ''

The Fourth Tower of Inverness ''The Fourth Tower of Inverness'' is a 1972 radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialo ...

'', although it does include characters from them, such as Mojo Sam, Doctor Mazoola and Little Frieda. It is also rather different from its predecessors, both in structure and content, as it lacks any significant reference to Eastern philosophy and religions, and it was designed to be broadcast in half-hour episodes rather than shorter episodes. The final episode features an extended series of 'clips' from ''The Fourth Tower of Inverness'' as each character is seen 'dreaming' previous adventures. Overall, it has a faster paced and more straightforward storyline. Jack recognizes some characters from ''

'' and '' Moon Over Morocco'', but not others. Little Frieda and Doctor Mazoola are well disposed towards him, but there is no recognition on either side. When Jack first sees her, he remarks on a strange 'little girl' that appears on the ship and they introduce themselves to each other. In contrast, Jack greets Old Far-Seeing Art as an old acquaintance, and refers to their meeting one another at Inverness. There is a running joke concerning the

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known ...

and in particular the artist

Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, , ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, and conceptual art. Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso ...

- famous for painting a parody of the Mona Lisa with a mustache and goatee. After Jack first encounters a

Wanted poster A wanted poster (or wanted sign) is a poster distributed to let the public know of a person whom authorities wish to apprehend. They generally include a picture of the person, either a photograph when one is available or of a facial composite ...

for the sky pirate 'The Black Mona Lisa' and causes a mustache to appear on her image as a result, he tries to hide his own identity by using the pseudonym of Marcel Duchamp. Later he and the 'Marquis of Carumbas' are busking in the realm of the 'Never Mind' and the Marquis introduces Jack's act as ''

Nude Descending a Staircase ''Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2'' (French: ''Nu descendant un escalier n° 2'') is a 1912 painting by Marcel Duchamp. The work is widely regarded as a Modernist classic and has become one of the most famous of its time. Before its first pres ...

'', another work by Marcel Duchamp.

Credits

Robert Lorick Robert Lorick (died January 2016) was a lyricist, actor, and writer, best known as a Broadway lyricist and for his work portraying Jack Flanders, the lead character in a series of ZBS Foundation audio adventures produced from 1972 until Lorick's ...

* Little Frieda - P.J. Orte * Doctor Mazoola & Narrator - Dave Herman * Captain Swallow - Owen MaGee * Marquis of Carambas - John Wyn Evans * Mojo Sam - Dave Adams * The Pirate Queen - Cara Pitts * Old Far-Seeing Art & Chief Wampum -

* Owl Eyes - Chris Henry * Sorcerer - Paul Felzone * Waitress - Jane Crawford * Sailors & Pirates - Jim Lewis, Rogan English, Skip Penk, Neil Atkins, Don Chaplin, Marty Hughes, Richard Lepp & Bob. * Written by

* Music by Tim Clark Produced at the ZBS Studios, Fort Edward, NY

Quotes

Jack: "Were you expecting me?"
Marquis of Carambas: "Oh yes, I was just poling through these slimy marshes praying that some buffoon like you would pop into my punt."

Jack: "I just keep acting like everything is real?"
Marquis of Carambas: "Yes. Just like in real life."

External links

ZBS Foundation

Whirlitzer of Wisdom fansite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Incredible Adventures Of Jack Flanders American radio dramas ZBS Foundation