20 Great Years of Radio, Part 9: 1946

1. Suspense (CBS): This was another terrific year for Suspense which included The House in Cypress Canyon, considered to be the one of the series' all-time greatest episodes. Some other great episodes this year included The Pasteboard Box, Return Trip and The Thing in the Window.
2. The Jack Benny Program (NBC): In this season Dennis Day returned and there was a great guest appearance by Danny Kaye. A memorable skit called "I Stand Condemned" was performed for the first time with guest star Peter Lorre, Jack went shopping for shoelaces for Don Wilson and the best of the show's parodies was a satire on The Lost Weekend.
3. The Whistler (CBS): This was a great year for The Whistler which included one of their all-time best episodes, Brief Pause for Murder. Another terrific twist ending is found in Quiet Sunday.
4. Inner Sanctum Mysteries (CBS): This was a pretty great year for Inner Sanctum too, with one of my own favourites, The Man Who Couldn't Die. Other great episodes were Skeleton Bay, Death Is a Double-Crosser and Make Ready My Grave.
5. Academy Award Theater (CBS): This was one of several post-war shows which seemed to be trying to mimick Lux. This one was pretty good - it has an adaptation of Stagecoach that I like, and I don't particularly like westerns! The adaptations of The Maltese Falcon and Shadow of a Doubt are great too.
6. The Mercury Summer Theater (CBS): This was the last of Orson Welles' great ensemble radio cast programs, a brief revival of the original Mercury Theater. This one includes a good redo of The Hitchhiker and a very good play of The Moat Farm Murder.
7. The Adventures of Sam Spade (CBS): There's very little surviving from the start of this series, but this is an incredible show. At a time where it seemed every private eye on radio wanted to sound like Sam Spade, the actual Sam Spade program was something of a parody! The light-hearted humour and sardonic dialogue in this series really sets it apart from the pack.
8. The Mysterious Traveler (Mutual): A pretty good year of this horror series, which included highlights such as Death is the Visitor, No One on the Line and If You Believe.
9. The Life of Riley (NBC): Another good year of this fine family sitcome.
10. The Shadow (Mutual): Another good year for the Shadow with some good episodes such as The White Witchman of Lawaiki and Shadow of Suspicion.