"Why are you holding that big cleaver?"
Jack Flanders is the
protagonist of several
radio plays produced by the
ZBS Foundation. Jack is an
adventurer who travels all over the world in search of
wisdom and
enlightenment and often stumbles over
metaphysical conundrums which he feels compelled to accomplish. The tales are entertaining and light-hearted, but occasionally take themselves a little too seriously. It's as if a group of talented performers and musicians and sound people joined together, lived together in a
commune, and made these audio creations for fun when they weren't meditating or doing whatever it is people in a commune do.
Jack is usually presented as a male adult somewhere between the age of college dropout and retired executive. We never really find out too much about him despite over fifty hours worth of material in the Jack Flander's library. Just wehen we think we know something about him, we're sort of proven wrong. He's been portrayed for over twenty years by the incomparably soft-spoken Robert Lorick, a man who uses his tongue to paint emotion like a painter uses a brush. Jack's your Everyman and the eyes and ears for the audience throughout the many hours of entertaining tales. You experience what he experiences in your mind's eye as if you were standing beside him.
The adventures include: The Fourth Tower of Inverness - Seven hours long. I have this one and highly recommend it as my personal favorite. Although they get a bit deep and philosophical about astral projection and reincarnation, it is utilized to further the plot. Moon over Morocco - Ten hours long. The first in a series of adventures that have actual sounds from the country of origin incorporated into the work. The Incredible Adventures of Jack Flanders - Five hours long. I have this one too, and highly recommend it for first time listeners. It's a great series that should get you hooked in no time. Begging for more. The Ah-Ha Phenomenon - A short adventure when compared to the others. Only 70 minutes. I liked the scene with the wizard, but the rest is a yawner. Other tales include The Mystery of Jaquar Reef which is over two hours long, Midnight at the Casa Luna, and Return to Inverness, the long awaited sequel to the tale that started it all.
Then there's the Dreams series. Along with Moon over Morocco, these stories include sounds and music captured by travels to those locations, and then incorporating the tapes into the stories themselves. They are Dreams of Rio, Dreams of the Amazon, Dreams of India, Dreams of Bali and Dreams of Sumatra
Besides the lush and romantic locations he finds himself in, Jack also encounters some amazing characters, including but not limited to Little Frieda, Captain Coco, The Madonna Vampira, Lord Jowls and his wife Lady Jowls, Chief Wampum Stampum of India, Old Far Seeing Art the caretaker, Mojo Sam, Kasbah Kelly, the pirate woman with the face of Mona Lisa, and of course "The Narrator" who is a character in himself, performed by Dave Herman.
Whether it's a train station or his own easy chair, a visit with Jack is a trip in itself.