Torsten Diersen and Oliver Schultze speak in their podcast “Plastic in the ear” about cinema, series, radio plays, games, collectible figures and everything between retro charm and current pop culture. They talk in detail about her life and work with the “Queen of Radio Plays”, Heikedine Körting:
For ROLLING STONE Plastik im Ohr has chosen the ten best “Europe” radio plays of all time:
“Hui Buh in new adventures(1973)
Burgeck Castle is being modernized and Hui Buh has his hands full trying to prevent that. Construction machines are sabotaged, craftsmen are frightened and the castle is gambled away in a dice game. But King Julius the Third can fix it and so the ghost can continue to wreak havoc in the castle.
The only radio play in the series in which Helmut Kolar lent his voice to the ghost, as Hans Clarin was unable to do so at the time. In 1975, this episode was re-recorded with Hans Clarin for continuity reasons. The Kolar version was first offered as a bonus track in the Hui Buh nostalgia box in 2021, but is not yet available as a single radio play.
“Riddle about… the green hand” (1976)
In Enid Blyton’s classic, the children Nick, Peggy, Mike, Nora and Jack come across a mysterious series of burglaries that always leave a green handprint behind. When they track down a circus and a gang of thieves, the summer adventure turns into a dangerous detective game – until the “green hand” is exposed.
It is the first radio play in the Riddles about… series, the content of which is certainly interchangeable with many other Enid Blyton adventures. Nevertheless, the creepy cover and the direct introduction without music are particularly noteworthy here. The cover is an immediate spoiler, at least if you know the story. The radio play opened the door to a Blyton parallel world at EUROPA alongside the “Five Friends”.
“Dracula: The Story of the Famous Vampire” (1976)
The realtor Jonathan Harker travels to Transylvania to find a property in London for Count Dracula. It quickly becomes clear that the vampire has other ambitions. While the Count prepares his journey, Harker manages to escape from the castle. Back in London there is a showdown with Professor Van Helsing.
Free adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel about the most famous vampire in the world in a version of the radio play “Dracula – Hunt of the Vampires” originally created in 1970 and directed by Konrad Halver, adapted by Heikedine Körting. The version mentioned here underwent various dialogue changes and cuts in order to make the material a little smoother for young ears.
The chamber play-like dialogues were also enriched with atmospheric sound effects and additional music in order to create a stronger radio play dynamic. In contrast to the original Halver version from 1970, this version of the radio play has not yet been exploited on CD or in streaming. The cover art is one of the most beautiful by the artist Van Vindt (Olof Hilfet).
“20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” (1977)
Towards the end of the 19th century, a sea monster hunted by the “Abraham Lincoln” turns out to be the submarine of the embittered Captain Nemo, who sinks the ship and takes the shipwrecked Professor Aronnax, his servant Conseil and the harpooner Ned Land on board. Trapped in the deep sea, escape plans are made while all sorts of adventures are experienced.
Loving radio play adaptation of the Jules Verne classic of the same name with a brilliant Horst Frank as Captain Nemo and Richard Lauffen as Professor Aronnax. Both also appeared in the series “Timm Thaler” as Baron de Lefouet (Frank) and Anatol (Lauffen). This radio play is generally considered to be the best of the four Jules Verne settings published by EUROPA.
“The Boys of Horrorstein Castle” (1978)
Tells about the boarding school high above the lake, where Stephan and his friends compete against the neighboring Rosenfels girls’ school with brilliant pranks. But between tests of courage and school tricks, real friendship grows. Europe captures the humor, warmth and sense of freedom of this youth story with unmistakable retro charm.
The Schockensteiner cast is the who’s who of EUROPE’s late 1970s youth radio plays. In addition to the outstanding story, the episode is a contemporary document of the youth language of the time. The Schockensteiners recorded group and crowd sounds that were used in other radio plays for many years. We are still waiting for a streaming release. The vinyl records and cassettes can be found at flea markets.
“War in Space” (1978)
Dark, the commander of the Orion spiral arm of the galaxy, allows the Empire’s prisoner Duchess Daughtal to escape so that she can lead him to the Starduster’s lair, thereby sealing the fate of free humanity in the Milky Way.
Pursued by the RAD, the most powerful spaceship in the galaxy, and accompanied by the robots Gamma-qu and KUT-2, Duchess Daughtal sets out to defeat Dark and thus protect the world of Vadigan from the Empire.
Not only does the name of the radio play suggest certain similarities, but also the storyline and the protagonists are probably borrowed from the “Star Wars” that appeared a year earlier.
HG Francis has clearly used the elements of the film here, which from today’s perspective can even be seen as a homage to the work of George Lucas.
“Five Friends in the Fog” (1979)
The five friends are once again on the trail of a secret – this time in the eerie creepy heath, where fog and legends mix. An old blacksmith knows more than he says, a plane circles over the heath at night, strange lights flicker in the dark. Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy plunge into the adventure – a classic European thriller with goosebumps and heart.
The title song is sung by Carsten Bohn. The song still exists and is still used because it was sold to EUROPA as a lump sum including all exploitation rights. The fans of the Five Friends are very happy with this solution and can ignore the fact that the main roles have already been played by three generations of different speakers.
“The Duel with the Vampire” (1981)
Episode 6 of the European horror series takes reporter couple Tom Fawley and Eireen Fox to an eerie hotel, where nightly screams and a trail from the fireplace point to horror. Between the werewolf myth and the vampire legend, a classic European shocker unfolds – dark, theatrical and masterfully spoken by Horst Frank and Brigitte Kollecker.
But who is Senior Petersen? Senior Petersen is said to have “said something about a wolf man,” the doc reports. Mystical: Petersen has not appeared before. We also learn in this great radio play that werewolves can be ticklish. In addition to Frank and Kollecker, Cordula Hubrich and Joachim Wolf shine.
“Phonophobia – Symphony of Fear” (2015)
A leisurely sightseeing flight in a hot air balloon ends in a tricky situation.
The “Korphonikum”, an invention that is intended to enable music not only to be heard, but also to be tasted, smelled and seen. But the sounds produced can not only create positive sensory impressions: the Japanese composer Yamada and the ensemble can also create fear and cold, which the Three Question Marks soon experience firsthand.
Another special case for Justus, Peter and Bob. After the great live success of “Master of Chess”, a story developed especially for the stage, which will be staged as a live radio play and presented by the original speakers.
“Cockroaches – Death Brood of Parasites” (2025)
It sounds as if EUROPA has rediscovered its dusty effect tapes from the 70s and 80s: scratching doors, grinding chains, rustling cellar air – all original, all retro goosebumps. A modern horror radio play that grabs old fans with familiar sounds and delights new ones with its dirty, authentic horror.
It is a B-movie horror film for the ears that knows how to convince with the arguing couple and the classic horror story. There is hope that the series, which is reminiscent of the horror series of the eighties, will offer more than 18 episodes this time.