Nebulous: The Complete Series 1-3

A BBC Radio Sci-Fi Comedy

By: Graham Duff

Narrated by: Mark Gatiss, Rosie Cavaliero, Graham Duff, Paul Putner, Graham Crowden, David Warner, Julia Dalkin, full cast

The hilarious cult comedy classic starring Mark Gatiss

The year is 2099 and planet Earth is in crisis. A change in its orbit has resulted in days being 25 hours long (except Thursday, which hasn't existed for over a decade) and the extra months of Janril, Febtober, and Marchuary. In a post-apocalyptic England, the cattle-clasm has wiped out the majority of livestock and climate change has formed the drizzly season of Hamble. However, hope is at hand for the planet in the form of Professor Nebulous (Mark Gatiss, League of Gentlemen).

The brilliant professor is head of the eco-troubleshooting organisation K.E.N.T. (the Key Environmental Nonjudgemental Taskforce) and it's his job to save the world. Sure, he might have nearly killed one of his colleagues and destroyed the Isle of White when trying to move it in order to get more sunlight, and yes, the organisation is so underfunded it subsidises its work by running a launderette, but, Nebulous and his team of maverick misfits are determined to get Mother Earth back on track.

In this hilarious sci-fi comedy, the professor and his colleagues must pit their wits against sentient dust, killer cacti, naked aliens and the evil Dr Klench (David Warner, Titanic, Star Trek VI) who is bent on world domination. Will Nebulous ever be able to overcome the past trauma inflicted by his professional clown parents? Are tarts really extinct? And can K.E.N.T. save the day before the spin cycle finishes? In Bod we trust!

Nebulous is a comedy classic written by Graham Duff and also stars Graham Crowden, Paul Putner, Rosie Cavaliero and Julia Dalkin. Guest stars include Steve Coogan, David Tennant, Julia Davis and Brian Blessed.

Content Warning: Some of the humour in this series may cause offence.

Cast and credits

Written by Graham Duff

Directed by Nicholas Briggs

Produced by Ted Dowd

Composer Malcolm Boyle

Professor Nebulous - Mark Gatiss

Dr Klench - David Warner

Paula Breeze - Rosie Cavaliero

Rory Lawson - Graham Duff

Harry Hayes - Paul Putner

Gemini - Julia Dalkin

Sir Ronald Rolands - Graham Crowden

Other parts played by Matthew Wolf

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 6 January - 10 February 2005 (Series 1), 5 April - 10 May 2006 (Series 2), 15 May - 19 June 2008 (Series 3)

©2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Critic reviews

"Graham Duff's series sounds like a winning blend of Doomwatch, Quatermass and British silliness that has cult written all over it." The Times

"Doctor Who fans may well have found a new love-object." Guardian

Delightfully silly

Great voices. Funny. Silly. Great listen. Highly recommend. I am not sure i need to say much more.

Fun sci-fi that takes itself seriously

I bought the single season offering when it first came out and was pleased to get this offer of all three seasons. Professor Nebulous oversees a team of post-Withering scientific investigators solving problems on Earth, in space and occasionally in deep Time. Professor Nebulous is haunted, not only by his clown-family past, but also by a single awful mistake that darkened his career. David Warner is a terrific villain as the diabolical Dr. Klench. This future world is peopled with great characters like The Sentient Candle of Luxemborg, the Infernons in their heat-insulating cloaks and the Lovelies with no clothes at all.

By turns goofy, satirical and surprising, Nebulous represents the best of sci-fi humor as only the UK seems capable of producing.

Truthfully, I have listened to the entire series ten times.

Too Stupid

I, of course, know that this is meant to be silly but it is still just a little too stupid for me to take. It's fine in small doses but after about halfway through, I grew tired of the same old jokes - especially the clown thing, that was never funny and just got more annoying each time. The audio quality is also a bit hard to understand unless you wear headphones.