2nd Golden Age of Radio!

I am back! Jarod is also back!! This time HE brings ME some Doctor Who radio drama!!! In January 2007, a new series of Eighth Doctor audio adventures was broadcast on BBC7. These starred McGann alongside Sheridan Smith as a new companion named Lucie Miller. There were eight 50-minute episodes in total; the first and last stories were two-parters, and the rest were single episodes. These adventures have since been released on CD and that is how we listened to it. In 2008, BBC7 broadcast the second series of The New Eighth Doctor Adventures (which Big Finish had already released on CD). All fourteen episodes were then repeated in 2009, and the final two-part story later that year. Big Finish has gone on to produce two further series of these Adventures, and four selected stories from the third series were aired in 2010, with BBC Radio 4 Extra (as Radio 7 became) skipping ahead to the fourth series in early 2013.

Today is a combination of the Name Jarod, The Book of Mormon Musical, and Dramatized Radio Shows! Hallowed Journey tells the dramatized stories from the Book of Mormon. Created in 1975 these dramas tell 184 stories richly portrayed by over 100 actors, enhanced with full sound effects and music. They were released through Covenant Communications, a division of Deseret Book Corporation, founded more than fifty years ago. Enjoy our deep dive!

This time I invite Conor on the show to dive into this "Post Golden Age" Radio Show! In 1974 long-time radio producer Himen Brown convinced CBS to green-light a new anthology of Radio Dramas, CBS Radio Mystery Theater. Radio Drama had been declared "dead" twelve years before. CBS Radio Mystery Theater was meant to appeal to an audience that remembered when old time radio drama was a popular form of family entertainment. Riding on the wave of nostalgia fever, the radio show attracted many younger listeners who would stay up late, hidden under their covers to hear the program on their bedroom radio (and many of them were not able to go to sleep after listening to the frightening program).

Devan and I, record "Live" from Dash Point State Park! We cover the High Adventure OTR! Have fun!! I know we did! :-)

My good friend Sid Sharma and I discuss this classic radio show. Although we recorded it during the pandemic, I also want to recognize the Black Lives Matter movement currently happening in the US and beyond our boarders. Sid says it best in this episode, "Fight the good fight!" I support BLM and my friends (and all people) of Color now and forever! More about the show we cover in the podcast: developed at the Blackett, Sample and Hummert advertising agency in Chicago, Captain Midnight began as a syndicated show on October 17, 1938, airing through the spring of 1940 on a few Midwest stations, including Chicago's WGN. In 1940, Ovaltine, a product of The Wander Company, took over sponsorship. With Pierre Andre as announcer, the series was then heard nationally on the Mutual Radio Network where it remained until 1942. It moved to the Merchandise Mart and the NBC Blue Network in September 1942. When the U.S. Government broke up the NBC Red and Blue Networks, Ovaltine moved the series back to Mutual, beginning September 1945, where it remained until December 1949.

Ruth called in and we had an amazing time! From fan, to guest, I am so happy we covered Dark Fantasy in a fun Ruth and Richard way! Dark Fantasy was a horror/ suspense thriller old time radio program that consisted of thirty-one short episodes that aired from November 21, 1941 until June 19, 1942 broadcasting from Station WKY in Oklahoma City. As old radio shows went, Dark Fantasy was way ahead of its time!

Kelly is back again! She's here to discuss all aspects of the season! What worked well? What didn't? You will find out on this special Season Finale :-)

Shannon Skyped in to the Pod and we had a blast getting into the Drama! Against the Storm is a radio daytime drama which had three separate runs over a 13-year period; the initial run was on the NBC Red Network from October 16, 1939, to December 25, 1942, with revivals of the series on Mutual from April 25 to October 21, 1949, and ABC from October 1, 1951, to June 27, 1952. Created and written by Sandra Michael, the drama was the only daytime radio serial to ever win a Peabody Award, for "Outstanding Entertainment in Drama" in 1941. We are so happy that Sandra created such a highly received show!

My good friend Cagney and I talk about the Original True Crime type show, Gang Busters! It is one of the earliest crime shows on radio, was created by actor-producer Phillips Lord. Deemed as the only radio program that featured authentic police cases, it debuted on NBC Radio on July 27, 1935, under the title G-Men and Lord himself as the narrator. He was later replaced by Colonel Norman Schwarzkopf, the New Jersey Police superintendent during the investigation of the infamous Lindbergh case, along with Commissioner Lewis Valentine of the New York City Police.

Ryan is my guest! We have a couple swears in the discussion, but other than that it's clean lol! The two of us are sheltered in our homes, so we were able to have a deep dive into the world of Archie Comics and we learned a lot!!! A direct spin-off of the popular teenage comic strip created by Bob Montana, Archive Andrews was one of the first wanting to win a teenage audience by doing a situation comedy show completely for them, and with them in the audience at the broadcasts. Archie and his pals continued success was very much an outgrowth of the post World War II baby boom. It was the classic American suburban kid with his pals, at home and especially, at school. All the well-known characters of the comic book are here in the radio adventures: Archie, his best pal, Jughead, Veronica, nemesis Reggie, and Betty - who is in and out of love with Archie, almost on a daily basis. Of course, Archie's parents are on the scene, and we can't forget dreaded Mr. Weatherbee, Archie's High School Principal.The show was done "before a live audience" as they say in today's sit-coms, and the teenagers who thronged the show were excited and boisterous, to say the least. The kids still love Archie Comics, and Archie and all his friends are still going strong after all these years! A popular franchise, for sure!

Gretchen Lilly calls in, and we talk about the famous Annie! I love what commenters are already saying about Little Orphan Annie: These episodes are for those people who enjoy harkening back to a much more nostalgic time. However, since I was a child, I squirmed whenever I saw orphan Annie cartoons in the newspaper. I just could not bear to see those boiled oyster like eyes without any eyeballs. Definitely horrible. And that is why when I listened to just one episode of orphan Annie today, I just wished that someone with some sense would have used some other photograph to advertise this radio program. Little Orphan Annie must have been one of the hardest-working marketers of the era! The way the promotional giveaways and trinket-sales are woven into the storylines gets pretty intense.

Dan Forman helps me go over the 4th Detective show in a row! It was a fun one. The Adventures of Philip Marlowe was a radio series featuring Raymond Chandler's private eye, Phillip Marlowe. Robert C. Reinehr and Jon D. Swartz, in their book, The A to Z of Old Time Radio, noted that the program differed from most others in its genre: "It was a more hard-boiled program than many of the other private detective shows of the time, containing few quips or quaint characters. We had a great improv after as well! Enjoy!

OMG Kelly returns for a guest spot! We had a limited time together, so we made a Podcast! It's the 3rd in a line of Detective stories so we cover: Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar! Each story started with a phone call from an insurance adjuster, calling on Johnny to investigate an unusual claim: a suspicious death, an attempted fraud, a missing person, or other mysterious circumstances. Each story required Johnny to travel to some distant locale, usually within the United States but sometimes abroad, where he was almost always threatened with personal danger in the course of his investigations. He would compare notes with the police officials who had first investigated each strange occurrence, and followed every clue until he figured out what actually happened.

Continuing in our line of Detectives, Eric Studer and I listen to The Falcon. It premiered on the American Blue Network in April 1943 and continued on the air till around September 1952. The introduction to the show began with "The Adventures of the Falcon." Then continuing with a ringing phone call to the Falcon, also known as Michael Waring, from a woman in which her voice is never heard. He would reply to her and another adventure would follow. Waring was snappy and sarcastic with the incompetent police who were inevitably unable to solve the mysteries without his help. Like the films, the radio plots mixed danger, romance and comedy in equal parts.

This episode actually references the Corona Virus effect. Jack is my special guest! Richard Diamond Private Detective is our show of choice! The series was unusual in that there are many episodes which featured hard-boiled fisticuffs and gunfights. Then the series shifts to Richard Diamond showing up at his girlfriend Helen Asher’s (Virginia Gregg) to serenade her as he softly sings and plays the piano and the two banter back and forth. It’s an unusual series that only Powell could make work.

My friend and I talk about a scary show! Also we have reference to a Cruise Ship, but it was recorded before Corona was causing havoc so that was a coincidental subject. NBC Presents: Short Story was a half-hour program offering dramatizations of contemporary American short stories by famed writers. It ran from 1951 to about 1953! If you like Edgar Allan Poe, you'll enjoy this episode :-)

Today's special guest is my good friend, Allison!!! We listen to: The Baby Snooks Show. It was an American radio program starring comedian and Ziegfeld Follies alumna Fanny Brice as a mischievous young girl who was 40 years younger than the actress who played her when she first went on the air. It's a fun one.

My Guest today is Noah Bruckshen and we had a blast! My Friend Irma tells the story of a extremely dim-witted blonde stenographer named Irma Peterson, played by Marie Wilson, and the daily high-jinx that she gets into with her screwy friends.

Michael Pirkle is our special guest as we cover Space Patrol. The radio version ran from 4 October 1952 to 19 March 1955, for 129 episodes. The same cast performed on both shows. The writers, scripts, and directors were reused between the radio and TV incarnations, but the radio broadcasts were not limited by studio sets and became more expansive in scope than the television programs. Although there was seldom any deliberate crossing-over of storylines, some of the television villains regularly appeared on the radio (notably Prince Bacarratti), and during the "Planet X" story, both the TV and radio versions explored the rogue planet's invasion of the Space Patrol universe.

Season 3 is here! We have Minki Bai as a guest. A reviewer in Variety called Templeton "that perennial summer replacement favorite." His radio program, Alec Templeton Time was first broadcast from 1939 to 1941, returning in 1943 and 1946–47. It was sometimes known as The Alec Templeton Show. It was fun to discuss and improvise our own version!

Kelly and I did it! Season 2 finished at last!!! You have to listen to see what we are doing for Season 3! We are grateful to our listeners and their support! :-)

Today we welcome guest host Dhira Brown to the show!!! We cover a Western series based on her suggestion. Have Gun – Will Travel is an American Western series that was produced and originally broadcast by CBS on both television and radio from 1957 through 1963. The television version of the series was rated number three or number four in the Nielsen ratings every year of its first four seasons, and it is one of the few shows in television history to spawn a successful radio version. It debuted November 23, 1958, more than a year after the premiere of its televised counterpart!

We have Jacob Chapman back on the show!!! This week we are talking about Our Miss Brooks. It was an American situation comedy starring Eve Arden as a sardonic high school English teacher. It began as a radio show broadcast on CBS from 1948 to 1957. When the show was adapted to television (1952-56), it became one of the medium's earliest hits. In 1956, the sitcom was adapted for big screen in the film of the same name.

New year, New decade (really) so the time for a new Old Time Radio tale for us is in order. Kelly and I listen to Escape!!! It aired 1947 - 1954

"Tired of the everyday grind? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you… Escape!"

One of radio's greatest series of high adventure, the radio show Escape will transport you to the high seas, Caribbean jungles, and beyond. Escape aired on CBS Radio for the first time on July 7, 1947. The show, which consisted of both original and adapted episodes, featured a life or death situation from which the characters had to escape, hence its title. The show lasted until September 25, 1954.

In todays special Holiday Episode, not only do we have a great guest star: Austin, but we cover the December 24th episode of The Jack Benny Program! The show starred no less than Jack Benny himself, and was a comedy series than went on-air for more than 30 years in both radio and television. It premiered on NBC Blue on May 2, 1932, and had its last episode on CBS radio on May 22, 1955, producing a total of 931 episodes. The TV adaptation, which was just a continuation of the radio program, was aired from 1950 to 1965. The show made use of a show-within-format, where each character's role was no other than themselves. It would start with a performance from the orchestra, or sometimes a joke between Benny and Wilson. This was followed by gags between Benny and the rest of the cast, usually about the day's news, or about the characters themselves, most especially something about Benny's life.

We welcome Jacob Chapman to the show as a guest star as we cover The Zero Hour! Chosen by the Mutual Broadcasting system for having a theme of tales of mystery, adventure and suspense, it was a 1973 to 1974 two-season radio drama anthology series hosted and scripted by Rod Serling and produced by JM Kholos. The series used old top radio stars such as Edgar Bergen, and Richard Crenna, as well it featured current top TV stars of the time such as Patty Duke, John Astin and Susan Oliver.

We cover Dragnet and this is our first Crime Genre! This series was broadcasted from June 3, 1949 to February 26, 1957 on NBC at various times and days, starring Dragnet starred Jack Webb as Detective Sergeant Joe Friday. Various partners throughout the show's run were Sergeant Ben Romero (Barton Yarborough), Ed Jacobs (Barney Phillips), and Officer Frank Smith (Ben Alexander). Webb was the creator/Director of the series and wanted everything to be as authentic as possible, down to the last sound effect. The stories were based on actual police files and "the names were changed to protect the innocent". Dragnet broke a few radio taboos as well, such as dramatizing sex crimes. Children also were killed on occasion as in the episode "Twenty-Two Rifle For Christmas". The series eventually went to television and ran there for many years. The familiar DUM DE DUM DUM, the first four notes of the opening theme composed by Walter Schumann, became a pop culture legend and was forever associated with Dragnet.

Kelly and I are back at it again! It is a special one too! "Five Minute Mysteries" was broadcast on the MBS (Mutual Broadcasting System) from 08-10-1947 thru to 03-27-1950. Listening carefully to every word spoken about these terrific (but brief) mysteries was essential, as each mystery was very well written. We have a fun version of our own to offer too!

Reminisce with us on our Radio Journey so far! Thanks for listening! Season 2 coming soon, please like and subscribe! 

The Saint was a radio adventure program in the United States that featured a character described as a Robin Hood type person who, in his attempt to help people, remained just one step ahead of the police and crooks—both of whom he combatted. It was created by author Leslie Charteris. As the program's introduction said, The Saint who's alias is Simon Templar was "known to millions from books, magazines, and motion pictures." Several versions of the program appeared on different networks.

We cover the iconic Shadow Radio Show! The program, loosely adapted from the popular pulp magazine series, told the story of Lamont Cranston, a wealthy young man-about-town who used his hypnotic powers to cloud men's minds so that they could not see him, fighting crime as an Invisible Avenger known only as The Shadow.

We cover a new (to me) show called Theatre Five. It was a radio drama series, presented by ABC between 1964 and 1965. The series used an anthology format, presented a number of short (20-minute) radio plays, across a number of genres, a number of which reflected topical issues contemporary with its airing. Enjoy!

Today we go Sci-Fi with X Minus One! This is an American half-hour science fiction radio drama series that broadcast from April 24, 1955 to January 9, 1958 on NBC. It is well known for high production values in adapting stories from the leading American authors of the era! X Minus One has been described as one of the finest offerings of American radio drama and one of the best science fiction series in any medium. Enjoy!

Our first ever guest star is introduced, who is it? Why it is Bennett Lewis and he's amazing! As expected, we have another great episode and this week we cover: The Unexpected! This was actually a 15-minute terror melodrama that aired in 1958. It featured weird stories with very unexpected twists, hence the title. The goal was to shock the listeners, which the show succeeded in doing so! 

We listen to a different episode of Old Time Radio days, and it is Suspense! In fact it was one of the premier drama programs of the Golden Age of Radio, and subtitled "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." The show focused on suspense-thriller type scripts, usually featuring leading Hollywood actors of the era. The formula for the show usually had plot devices that were followed nearly every episode: the protagonist was usually a normal person suddenly dropped into a threatening or bizarre situation; solutions were "withheld until the last possible second"; and evildoers were usually punished in the end. Great Radio! We enjoyed reviewing the show and making our own episode!

We discuss an Old Time Radio Show and then make our own version! Our first episode covers the Radio Show: My Favorite Husband. It was first broadcast as a one-time special on CBS Radio on July 5, 1948. Their new series Our Miss Brooks had been delayed coming to the air, so to fill in the gap that week CBS aired the audition program (like a pilot) for My Favorite Husband. Lucille Ball and Lee Bowman played the characters of Liz and George Cugat. A positive response to this broadcast convinced CBS to launch My Favorite Husband as a series. Bowman was not available, so when it debuted later that month it starred Lucille Ball and Richard Denning as the leads. The rest is History!!! They lived at 321 Bundy Drive in the fictitious city of Sheridan Falls, and were billed as, "two people who live together and like it." Tell us what you think!!!

Welcome! Can't wait to bring you guys on this journey with us! If you like OTR, then this will be a very fun show for you! 😊