Radio Recap: Wanted!

Wanted! aired on NBC radio July 7 to September 29, 1950. You might recall that was the same summer CBS ran the series Somebody Knows which offered cash to listeners who helped them solve crimes. (apparently no one ever claimed the money) By contrast, Wanted! retold true life crime cases and encouraged their listeners to help catch the men responsible without offering them cash -- yet the series claimed three arrests came about thanks to listeners' efforts.

That Somebody Knows and Wanted! aired simultaneously certainly demonstrates there was a trend towards more authentic true crime programming at the time. The big success of Dragnet must have convinced the networks it was worth trying to dip into the genre but to come at it from a different angle than that series.

While Somebody Knows dramatized crime with actors, Wanted! relied primarily on narrator Fred Collins (a familiar NBC voice) to describe the crimes with only a few dramatizations using actors. Instead of relying primarily on performers, the series interviewed witnesses and police officials about each episode's subject. This grants Wanted! a bit more authenticity than Somebody Knows. It does mean you end up with people whose performances are not professional, but since they're simply recounting their own experiences it suits the program.

When it comes to CBS versus NBC, 9 times out of 10 I prefer CBS, but this is that time I will vouch for what NBC was doing; the format of Wanted! is very simple and there isn't a lot of variety from week to the next. Still, I found the series lively, thanks to better-than-usual music, which is usually where NBC falls apart; for instance, the episode on Henry Clay Tolett gives one of the episode's criminals a recurring light-hearted theme played on a tuba to emphasize his incompetence at crime.

You can listen to Wanted! at the Old-Time Radio Researchers' Library!

Creators Credits for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Once again, I've compiled a list of the comic book creators for whom I saw evidence of their craft on screen in a new Marvel Cinematic Universe product - this time, the motion picture Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. And this was a very strong movie too; it told its own story but told it very neatly.

My master list of Marvel Cinematic Universe creator credits is on this page. I always welcome your edits!

Stan Lee: co-creator of the Kree depicted with blue skin (Captain Marvel #1, 1968); of the Kree, an extraterrestrial species (Fantastic Four #64, 1967); of Him, a gold-skinned artificial being intended to be perfect who emerged from a coccoon (Fantastic Four #66, 1967); of Orrgo, an extraterrestrial name (Strange Tales #90, 1961); of Groot, an immense tree-like being (Tales to Astonish #13, 1960); of Kraglin, an extraterrestrial criminal (Tales to Astonish #46, 1963); of Ego, the living planet, a massive creature; of the New Men, humanoid creatures mtuated from animals in the service of the High Evolutionary; of Recorders, extraterrestrial humanoid robots who observe events for their masters (Thor #132, 1966); of the High Evolutionary, a conceited scientist clad in purple armor who is obsessed with altering the evolution of other beings, uplifting animals into a human-like state; of the High Evolutionary's romantic love of knights (Thor #134, 1966)

Jack Kirby: creator of the Celestials, enigmatic extraterrestrial beings (Eternals #1, 1976); co-creator of the Kree, an extraterrestrial species (Fantastic Four #64, 1967); of Him, a gold-skinned artificial being intended to be perfect who emerged from a coccoon (Fantastic Four #66, 1967); of Orrgo, an extraterrestrial name (Strange Tales #90, 1961); of Groot, an immense tree-like being (Tales to Astonish #13, 1960); of Ego, the living planet, a massive creature; of the New Men, humanoid creatures mtuated from animals in the service of the High Evolutionary; of Recorders, extraterrestrial humanoid robots who observe events for their masters (Thor #132, 1966); of the High Evolutionary, a conceited scientist clad in purple armor who is obsessed with altering the evolution of other beings, uplifting animals into a human-like state; of the High Evolutionary's romantic love of knights (Thor #134, 1966)

Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning: co-creators of Groot's vocabulary limited to little more than "I am Groot" (Annihilation: Conquest#2, 2008); of Rocket Raccoon created from experiments upon an animal (Annihilators #3, 2011); of Gamora, Drax, Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, Mantis, Adam Warlock, Phyla and Groot banded together as the Guardians of the Galaxy, wearing matching uniforms under the leadership of Star-Lord and Rocket Raccoon; of the Guardians of the Galaxy based on Knowhere and allied with Cosmo (Guardians of the Galaxy #1, 2008); of Cosmo as a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy (Guardians of the Galaxy #12, 2009); of Groot's iterations of "I am Groot" having multiple meanings (Guardians of the Galaxy #17, 2009); of Cosmo, a Soviet dog in spacesuit with telepathic powers, based on Knowhere; of Knowhere, a city built from the severed head of a Celestial, now frequented by many extraterrestrial races (Nova #8, 2008)

Jim Starlin: creator of Gamora, a dangerous green woman who wields knives and battles Adam Warlock; of Adam Warlock wearing a red cape with his costume (Strange Tales #180, 1975); of Gamora's name (Strange Tales #181, 1975); of the Zen-Whoberis, Gamora's species; of Gamora adopted as Thanos' daughter (Warlock #10, 1975); co-creator of Drax motivated by the death of his daughter (Captain Marvel #32, 1974); of Drax the Destroyer, a green-skinned man with great power and singular focus on hunting his enemies to their deaths; of Thanos, an extraterrestrial tyrant (Iron Man #55, 1973); of Counter-Earth destroyed (Warlock and the Infinity Watch #4, 1992)

Roy Thomas: co-creator of Him taking on the alias "Adam Warlock," wearing a red costume with a lightning bolt design, wearing a jewel on his forehead; Adam Warlock serving as a subordinate to the High Evolutionary; of Adam Warlock used as an analogy for Jesus Christ; of Counter-Earth, an artificial recreation of Earth made by the High Evolutionary that was intended to be perfect but the High Evolutionary determined they were flawed and should be destroyed; of the Soul Gem from which the Infinity Gems were derived (Marvel Premiere #1, 1970)

Gil Kane: co-creator of Him taking on the alias "Adam Warlock," wearing a red costume with a lightning bolt design, wearing a jewel on his forehead; Adam Warlock serving as a subordinate to the High Evolutionary; of Adam Warlock used as an analogy for Jesus Christ; of Counter-Earth, an artificial recreation of Earth made by the High Evolutionary that was intended to be perfect but the High Evolutionary determined they were flawed and should be destroyed; of the Soul Gem from which the Infinity Gems were derived (Marvel Premiere #1, 1970)

Keith Giffen: co-creator of Star-Lord teamed-up with Mantis, Groot and Rocket Raccoon and wearing matching dark blue uniforms with red stripes; of Star-Lord favoring twin guns; Groot and Rocket Raccoon's friendship (Annihilation: Conquest - Star-Lord #1, 2007); of Drax's design with red body tattoos (Drax the Destroyer #3, 2006); of Drax wearing only pants; Drax preferring knives as weapons (Drax the Destroyer #4, 2006); of Rocket Raccoon, an anthropomorphic adventurous raccoon (Marvel Preview #7, 1976)

Sal Buscema: co-creator of the High Evolutionary driven insane, believing himself to be a god (Incredible Hulk #266, 1981); of Rocket Racccoon with the moniker "Rocket"; of Lylla, an anthropomorphic otter, Rocket's friend; of Wal-Russ, an anthropomorphic walrus, Rocket's friend (Incredible Hulk #271, 1982); of Stakar, a space-faring hero whose costume includes bands of light, ally of Yondu (Defenders #27, 1975)

Bill Mantlo: co-creator of the High Evolutionary driven insane, believing himself to be a god (Incredible Hulk #266, 1981); of Rocket Racccoon with the moniker "Rocket"; of Lylla, an anthropomorphic otter, Rocket's friend; of Wal-Russ, an anthropomorphic walrus, Rocket's friend (Incredible Hulk #271, 1982); of Rocket Raccoon, an anthropomorphic adventurous raccoon (Marvel Preview #7, 1976)

Gene Colan: co-creator of the Kree depicted with blue skin (Captain Marvel #1, 1968); of Yondu, a blue-skinned extraterrestrial with a red fin on his head; Yondu's yaka arrow, which is controlled by whistling; of Martinex, an ally of the Guardians of the Galaxy, has a crystalline body; of a team of heroes based in space called the Guardians of the Galaxy (Marvel Super-Heroes#18, 1969)

Timothy Green II: co-creator of Star-Lord teamed-up with Mantis, Groot and Rocket Raccoon and wearing matching dark blue uniforms with red stripes; of Star-Lord favoring twin guns; Groot and Rocket Raccoon's friendship (Annihilation: Conquest - Star-Lord #1, 2007); of Rocket Raccoon created from experiments upon an animal (Annihilators #3, 2011)

Steve Englehart: co-creator of Mantis, a heroic Asian woman with martial arts abilities and empathic powers (Avengers #112, 1973); of Star-Lord, alias Peter Quill, a half-alien man orphaned at a young age who becomes a space-adventuring gun-wielding hero while searching for his origins; of Star-Lord starburst insignia (Marvel Preview #4, 1976)

Arnold Drake: co-creator of Yondu, a blue-skinned extraterrestrial with a red fin on his head; Yondu's yaka arrow, which is controlled by whistling; of Martinex, an ally of the Guardians of the Galaxy, has a crystalline body; a team of heroes based in space called the Guardians of the Galaxy (Marvel Super-Heroes#18, 1969)

Paul Pelletier: co-creator of Gamora, Drax, Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, Mantis and Groot banded together as the Guardians of the Galaxy, wearing matching uniforms under the leadership of Star-Lord and Rocket Raccoon; of the Guardians of the Galaxy based on Knowhere and allied with Cosmo (Guardians of the Galaxy #1, 2008)

Mike Friedrich: co-creator of Drax motivated by the death of his daughter (Captain Marvel #32, 1974); of Drax the Destroyer, a green-skinned man with great power and singular focus on hunting his enemies to their deaths; of Thanos, an extraterrestrial tyrant (Iron Man #55, 1973)

Jim Valentino: creator of Mainframe, a computerized intelligence, ally of the Guardians of the Galaxy (Guardians of the Galaxy #5, 1990); of Krugarr, one of the Lem species, a sorcerer and ally of the Guardians of the Galaxy (Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #1, 1991)

Steve Gerber: co-creator of Stakar, a space-faring hero whose costume includes bands of light, ally of Yondu (Defenders #27, 1975); of Howard the Duck, an anthropomorphic sardonic duck (Fear #19, 1973); of the name Ogord (Marvel Presents #9, 1977)

Steve Gan: co-creator of Star-Lord, alias Peter Quill, a half-alien man orphaned at a young age who becomes a space-adventuring gun-wielding hero while searching for his origins; of Star-Lord starburst insignia (Marvel Preview #4, 1976)

Wellinton Alves: co-creator of Cosmo, a Soviet dog in spacesuit with telepathic powers, based on Knowhere; of Knowhere, a city built from the severed head of a Celestial, now frequented by many extraterrestrial races (Nova #8, 2008)

Don Heck: co-creator of Mantis, a heroic Asian woman with martial arts abilities and empathic powers (Avengers #112, 1973); of Kraglin, an extraterrestrial criminal (Tales to Astonish #46, 1963)

Mitch Breitweiser: co-creator of Drax's design with red body tattoos (Drax the Destroyer #3, 2006); co-creator of Drax wearing only pants; Drax preferring knives as weapons (Drax the Destroyer #4, 2006)

Doug Moench: co-creator of the Krylorians, an extraterrestrial species (Rampaging Hulk #1, 1977); of the Lem, an extraterrestrial race with red skin and a snake-like body (Shogun Warriors #19, 1980)

Chris Claremont: co-creator of Ayesha, an alias of Her, bearing an imperious identity (Fantastic Four #11, 1998); of Jason, elder member of Peter Quill's family (Marvel Preview #11, 1977)

Larry Lieber: co-creator of Orrgo, an extraterrestrial name (Strange Tales #90, 1961); of Groot, an immense tree-like being (Tales to Astonish #13, 1960)

Herb Trimpe: co-creator of the Lem, an extraterrestrial race with red skin and a snake-like body (Shogun Warriors #19, 1980)

Glenn Herdling: co-creator of the Animen, one of the names for the High Evolutionary's creations (Scarlet Spider Unlimited #1, 1995)

Tod Smith: co-creator of the Animen, one of the names for the High Evolutionary's creations (Scarlet Spider Unlimited #1, 1995)

Peter David: co-creator of Phyla, a heroic young extraterrestrial woman with white hair (Captain Marvel #16, 2004)

Paul Azaceta: co-creator of Phyla, a heroic young extraterrestrial woman with white hair (Captain Marvel #16, 2004)

Brad Walker: co-creator of Groot's iterations of "I am Groot" having multiple meanings (Guardians of the Galaxy #17, 2009)

Tom Raney: co-creator of Groot's vocabulary limited to little more than "I am Groot" (Annihilation: Conquest #2, 2008)

Jerry Bingham: co-creator of Her, a golden-skinned being related to Adam Warlock (Marvel Two-in-One #61, 1980)

Mark Gruenwald: co-creator of Her, a golden-skinned being related to Adam Warlock (Marvel Two-in-One #61, 1980)

Roger Stern: co-creator of Nebula, a blue-skinned villainous space pirate (Avengers #257, 1985)

John Buscema: co-creator of Nebula, a blue-skinned villainous space pirate (Avengers #257, 1985)

Ernie Hart: co-creator of Kraglin, an extraterrestrial criminal (Tales to Astonish #46, 1963)

M. C. Wyman: co-creator of Nebula's body reinforced with cybernetics (Silver Surfer #72, 1992)

Ron Marz: co-creator of Nebula's body reinforced with cybernetics (Silver Surfer #72, 1992)

Walter Simonson: co-creator of the Krylorians, an extraterrestrial species (Rampaging Hulk #1, 1977)

Gary Friedrich: co-creator of the Xeronians, an extraterrestrial species (Incredible Hulk #103, 1968)

Marie Severin: co-creator of the Xeronians, an extraterrestrial species (Incredible Hulk #103, 1968)

Val Mayerik: co-creator of Howard the Duck, an anthropomorphic sardonic duck (Fear #19, 1973)

Tom DeFalco: co-creator of the High Evolutionary using Recorders as his servants (Thor #422, 1990)

Ron Frenz: co-creator of the High Evolutionary using Recorders as his servants (Thor #422, 1990)

Salvador Larroca: co-creator of Ayesha, an alias of Her, bearing an imperious identity (Fantastic Four #11, 1998)

John Byrne: co-creator of Jason, elder member of Peter Quill's family (Marvel Preview #11, 1977)

Allen Bellman: co-creator of Ura, an extraterrestrial woman (Space Squadron #5, 1952)

Wes Craig: co-creator of Cosmo as a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy (Guardians of the Galaxy #12, 2009)

Keith Pollard: co-creator of Xandar, homeworld of the Xandarians (Fantastic Four #205, 1979)

Marv Wolfman: co-creator of Xandar, homeworld of the Xandarians (Fantastic Four #205, 1979)

Rick Leonardi: co-creator of Counter-Earth destroyed (Warlock and the Infinity Watch #4, 1992)

Al Milgrom: co-creator of the name Ogord (Marvel Presents #9, 1977)

Sam Humphries: co-creator of Star-Lord's half-sister (Legendary Star-Lord #1, 2014)

Paco Medina: co-creator of Star-Lord's half-sister (Legendary Star-Lord #1, 2014)

Radio Recap: Eno Crime Clues

Eno Crime Clues was a mystery program that aired in the early years of old-time radio. It started out at CBS from February, 1931 to December 1932 under the title Eno Crime Club; it began as a daily show but towards the end of 1931 it switched to twice-per-week. The series then moved to NBC and changed its name to Eno Crime Clues and continued from January, 1933 to September, 1936; initially it aired twice a week but eventually became a weekly program.

We have only four examples of this series still known to be in existence, together representing two two-part programs from the Eno Crime Clues era - "The .32 Caliber Kiss" (January 10 and 11, 1933) and "The Talking Skull" (March 27 and 28, 1933). Only the first half of the 2nd part of "The Talking Skull" is available, the circulating copy ends before the mystery is solved.

Eno Crime Clues is one of the earliest surviving mystery programs in all of old-time radio and for that reason it's of historical interest to fans of mystery programs. If you check out the few remaining episodes I think you'll find them very simple - very talky, light on music and sound effects. The casts were not credited but I swear the "manhunter" detective in "The Talking Skull" sounds like Hanley Stafford.

The most interesting thing about Eno Crime Clues is that it aired its episodes multiple times per week and in a half-hour format rather than the 15-minute format other such programs used. The unusual format makes it a little interesting; "The .32 Caliber Kiss" definitely has a lot of room to breathe as the characters thoroughly air out the mystery across an hour's length.

There's a completely different radio program from Mutual called Crime Club (1946-1947) that you might have heard of - apparently it gets confused with Eno Crime Clues because it was first known as Eno Crime Club but apparently there's no link between them.

You can hear the remnants of Eno Crime Clues at the Old-Time Radio Researchers' Library.

Escape Episode Guide: Part 17

Welcome back to my episode guide to the fantastic old-time radio series Escape!

• #161: "A Study in Wax" (February 1, 1953) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script: Antony Ellis. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Canada.
  Plot: Two men in a remote wintry shack try and fail to maintain their sanity through a lengthy isolation.
  Review: A haunting, terrifying and deeply tragic story about two men simply getting on each other's nerves. It may be the saddest, most somber episode of Escape and it definitely sticks with you. My Rating: 5/5 stars.
• #162: "Jetsam" (February 8, 1953) Starring: Ben Wright. Story: John Russell. Script/Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Australia.
  Plot: A drunken Englishman struggles to find a source of income.
  Review: And we're back again to author Russell. This story is very much like "Letter from Jason" (#85) but with less of an arc. Whereas "Letter from Jason" presented itself as a crime story that turned into a man's redemption arc, this has character and plot but a very perfunctory arc. He was a drunk; now he's not. My Rating: 2.5/5 stars.
• #163: "Wild Jack Rhett" (2nd version February 15, 1953) Starring: John Dehner. Story: Ernest Haycox. Script: John Meston. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: USA.
  Plot: A western town hires an infamous town tamer to clean up crime.
  Review: The first production of this story (#134) predated Macdonnell's Gunsmoke series and served like a pilot for that program; this version was produced during Gunsmoke's first year and added a few of that program's stars to the cast (notably Georgia Ellis and Howard McNear). Otherwise it's much the same as the first version and still an exceptional western drama. It's a bit strange to have Larry Dobkin recast from the US marshal to the villain, though. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #164: "I Saw Myself Running" (February 22, 1953) Starring: Georgia Ellis. Story/Script/Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: USA.
  Plot: A woman has terrifying dreams and fears she may lose her identity.
  Review: A phenomenal story, evidently designed by Antony to highlight the abilities of his wife Georgia; easily Georgia's best radio outing. There are plenty of surreal radio dream scripts going back to the experimental days of Columbia Workshop but Antony's script adds a little more terror than others and it definitely has an unsettling climax. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #165: "The Tramp" (March 1, 1953) Starring: Ben Wright. Story/Script/Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: England.
  Plot: Three Englishmen commandeer a tramp steamer.
  Review: And we're back on the high seas. A somewhat dull story - it takes a while for the story to develop any stakes and the nigh-comical accents used by every single actor verge on annoying. My Rating: 2.5/5 stars.
• #166: "The Island" (2nd version March 7, 1953) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script: Millard Kaufman. Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: Okinawa.
  Plot: A soldier who yearns to live among beautiful people on an island seems to have found his opportunity.
  Review: Stacy Harris replaced the role previously played by Harry Bartell in episode #141 while Conrad reprised his character. It strikes me as being just as good as the previous version and with Harris present reminds one of another episode where the two got on each other's nerves - "A Study in Wax!" My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #167: "The Man with the Steel Teeth" (March 15, 1953) Starring: Harry Bartell. Story/Script: John Dehner. Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: USSR.
  Plot: The Russians arrest a journalist to interrogate and torture him; then his torturer seems to want him to escape.
  Review: Starting here, Escape begins to occasionally feature scripts written by their performers, this time featuring John Dehner (he wrote 3 in total). This isn't bad at all - the uncertainty of what the interrogator is truly after is a compelling mystery and its ultimate revelation isn't what I foresaw. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
• #168: "Pressure" (March 22, 1953) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script: Richard Chandlee. Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: Pacific Ocean.
  Plot: A World War II submarine crew battle a Japanese destroyer.
  Review: Back to the high seas and the always-welcome Conrad, this time featuring a superior submarine drama than "Up Periscope" (#145) with plenty of tension and a strong conclusion. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
• #169: "The Invader" (March 29, 1953) Starring: Howard McNear. Story/Script: Michael Gray. Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: USA.
  Plot: A schoolteacher makes contact with extraterrestrials and invites them to land on Earth.
  Review: A decent science fiction story with an agreeable twist ending. It would all be pretty rote by the standards of X Minus One but for an Escape science fiction tale it's memorable, thanks mostly to McNear's great lead performance; the approach is similar to that Rod Serling would later use on the Twilight Zone. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #170: "A Sleeping Draught" (2nd version April 5, 1953) Starring: Ben Wright. Story: Westin Martyr. Script/Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: Atlantic Ocean/Australia.
  Plot: A ship ferrying convicts to Australia breaks into violence, first against the prisoners, then directed at the crew.
  Review: Another production of this high seas tale of betrayal (first done as #123) with Wright reprising the lead role but the supporting performances by the convicts are even more irritating to me here than last time. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.

You can listen to episodes of Escape at the Internet Archive! I'll be back with more next week!

Thoughts about My Pastor

Today was the final day my pastor Ven. Stephen Hambidge served as celebrant at Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Calgary. He has been the celebrant there for 29 years and has been my pastor for about 20 years.

Initially I didn't have much interest in Holy Trinity; the church had a full band that played contemporary Christian worship music, primarily rock. I had grown up with exposure to both classic hymns and contemporary music in my family church and I enjoyed both, but in my 20s I felt more comfortable with the hymns - the music was easy to follow, the lyrics were all in the hymnal, you seldom had to learn anything new.

But there's more to any church than just the music that's played. The music made the strongest impression on me when I first visited the church; I only made occasional visits to the parish because it was my sister's parish and she had offered to bring me with her once per month.

In time I was able to adapt to the choices in music, but the reason I continued to accept rides to Holy Trinity from my sister was that I had come to enjoy the sermons Stephen was preaching. I don't think I had been getting a lot from the sermons in what was my home church at that time - it was all very heady and theoretical. Stephen was quite down-to-Earth and practical. At the time he would print out a sheet for sermon notes using a fill-in-the-blank format that encouraged the congregation to pay attention to what he was teaching so that they would write out the key points of his sermon.

In time the fill-in-the-blank aspect went away - heck, eventually the sermon notes and even the physical bulletins went away - but Stephen remained consistent in the way he taught the Bible at Holy Trinity. He always took pains to explain the context behind the scriptures heard in the service, rather than using scripture in isolation. And he would always challenge the congregation to see ourselves somewhere in the readings we had heard, then apply it somehow into our lives. I was impressed that he remained so consistent, so grounded and that he saw the purpose of his sermon as a means to inspire the congregation into action, not remain passive listeners.

Stephen and I are both introverts so despite almost 20 years of his pastoring I don't have many personal stories about him - he was guest at my house twice, I was a guest at his only once; our conversations have often been perfunctory and brief. The two trips I made to Sierra Leone (in 2012 and 2014) alongside Stephen are probably responsible for more closeness between the two of us than anything else in the last 2 decades. To some extent, I wanted to remain a little apart from him - I think I feared that a little too much familiarity would make it harder to adopt the lessons from his sermons.

Stephen made the phrase "One more person, one more step" a core teaching and practice in our congregation and in whatever manner the parish adapts in the future under new leadership, I hope that remains our ideal - to be always looking out for the needs of people beyond our building, to be present and active in the world around us. I've enjoyed having him as my teacher but I'm excited for our future.

Radio Recap: Somebody Knows

Somebody Knows was a short-lived series that aired on CBS as a summer replacement for Suspense in July-August, 1950. It's an interesting snapshot of what was trending on radio at that time; crime programs were popular and so were game shows - Somebody Knows attempted to mine both audiences.

Somebody Knows featured dramatic recreations of high-profile unsolved murder cases and the investigations surrounding them. In an attempt to provoke audiences into aiding the police (and get people to listen to the program), CBS offered $5,000 to listeners who supplied information that led to a criminal conviction.

So far as I know, none of the eight episodes resulted in the cases being cracked and the $5,000 being awarded. The cases included some that remain notorious among true crime fans to this day, including the case of Elizabeth Short ("the Black Dahlia"). The details of the murders were a bit more gruesome than what was normally heard on radio. I can only assume that the success of Dragnet convinced CBS that audiences were ready for a bit more adult content in their crime shows.

Somebody Knows is a bit of an oddity, but not unheralded in old-time radio - Gang Busters had been sharing details about true crimes with their listeners for years at the time. The cash award, however, sets Somebody Knows apart from the pack. It feels a bit prescient in terms of where television and podcasts would delve in the true crime genre.

The series' didn't have the same quality as Suspense but made use of seasoned radio professionals in the cast. It is interesting to note, however, that when Suspense returned to the air after Somebody Knows they had a new producer/director - Elliott Lewis, who had risen up the ranks from acting in Suspense to creative lead. Lewis' tenure on Suspense included many episodes that proclaimed they were "based on fact" and he would get into the true crime genre both on Suspense and in a later summer replacement series, Crime Classics.

You can listen to all 8 episodes of Somebody Knows at the Old Time Radio Researchers' Library.

Escape Episode Guide: Part 16

Welcome back to my episode guide to the fantastic old-time radio series Escape! We've reached the episodes where producer/director Norman Macdonnell steps down in lieu of Antony Ellis, who should already be very familiar to Escape fans as he'd written many episodes for the program (he'd later be producer/director of Suspense).

• #151: "Robert of Huntingdon" (October 26, 1952) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script: Antony Ellis. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: England.
  Plot: The forces of Nottingham send an undercover man to infiltrate Robin Hood's Merry Men.
  Review: An unusual attempt at rather juvenile fare for Escape, but heck, you get William Conrad as Robin Hood in the bargain! It really feels like the pilot for another program but it's good rousing fun, just what you want from a Robin Hood tale! My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #152: "The Running Man" (November 2, 1952) Starring: Vic Perrin. Story/Script: Herb Purdum. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Honduras.
  Plot: A gambler is supernaturally cursed with luck.
  Review: I like the premise, the setting and the problem but the non-ending in the climax is disappointing. The story takes its time to establish the characters but seems in an awful rush to finish. My Rating: 3/5 stars.
• #153: "The Return" (1st version November 9, 1952) Starring: Larry Dobkin. Story/Script: Kathleen Hite. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: North Africa.
  Plot: A man eager to avoid struggle finds himself invited into the perfect place.
  Review: This is the first episode of Escape by writer Kathleen Hite, who will turn up a few more times; say this for her, none of her scripts are forgettable. This tale is essentially a parable so you may not have the tolerance to sit through it. The lesson is a simple one - that there is something good about struggling - and her script puts it over well. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #154: "The Loup-Garou" (November 16, 1952) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script: William Froug. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: USA.
  Plot: A resident of the Louisiana bayou is accused of being in league with dark forces by irate locals.
  Review: Definitely not a werewolf story - in fact the locals could have accused the protagonist of being a witch or a leprechaun, it wouldn't have changed the drama; this is really a screed against intolerance and for that it does a good job. My Rating: 3/5 stars.
• #155: "Incident in Quito" (December 7, 1952) Starring: Larry Thor. Story/Script: Ross Murray. Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: Ecuador.
  Plot: A researcher interested in shrunken heads realizes he now has a use for his nagging wife.
  Review: The first third plays out like a Tales from the Crypt story and is reasonably strong; strangely the scenario of the husband's guilty conscience and growing mental breakdown is less strong. I've never been that impressed with Thor as a leading man - he does "stolid scientist" well but "unhinged murderer" less convincingly; Escape has done this type of story much better in the past; see "Pollack and the Poorah Man" (#12). My Rating: 3/5 stars.
• #156: "Four Went Home" (December 14, 1952) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script/Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: Germany.
  Plot: Five soldiers in a German prison camp prepare to make their big escape.
  Review: Here's Ellis' writing at its best; really, this story would have been better suited to Suspense considering its content and that it all builds up to the actual escape attempt and how it unexpectedly goes awry. One of the more bleak scripts heard on Escape. My Rating: 5/5 stars.
• #157: "The Man Who Liked Dickens" (December 21, 1952) Starring: Terry Kilburn. Story: Evelyn Waugh. Script: John Meston. Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: Brazil.
  Plot: A man stranded in the jungle meets an illiterature man who wants nothing more than someone to read Charles Dickens to him.
  Review: A near-identical script was used years earlier on Suspense but altered the climax to give the poor protagonist a happy ending; this version is more faithful to the original tale. Joseph Kearns is perfectly cast as the helpful yet menacing villain. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #158: "Conqueror's Isle" (2nd version January 11, 1953) Starring: Harry Bartell. Story: Nelson S. Bond. Script: John Meston. Director: Antony Ellis. Setting: South China Seas.
  Plot: A wartime airplane crew are found by a society of mutants who offer mankind a peaceful existence in subjugation.
  Review: The audio of this copy is not as clean as the earlier production (episode #58) but the script is identical; it really comes down to the differences in performances. I think Bartell is great as the protagonist but not quite at the level of the previous performer, Von Eltz. My Rating: 5/5 stars.
• #159: "A Matter of Conscience" (January 18, 1953) Starring: Parley Baer. Story/Script: Antony Ellis. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Indonesia.
  Plot: After Englishmen desecrate a temple on Bali reprisals are threatened.
  Review: Terrible audio and a muddled script by Ellis, who was really off his game - it's supposed to be a whimsical story but Baer's lead performance as a Dutchman (sounding like no Dutch person I ever met) doesn't suit the humour. A serious misfire. My Rating: 2/5 stars.
• #160: "Diary of a Madman" (January 25, 1953) Starring: Ben Wright. Story/Script: Les Crutchfield. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Sahara Desert.
  Plot: German soldiers desert across the desert to form their own kingdom by might.
  Review: A very strong drama centered on Wright who is game, as long as you can handle his German accent (some of the other actors barely even attempt an accent). The title promises a character's mental breakdown and the story delivers, which is Wright at his best. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.

You can listen to episodes of Escape at the Internet Archive! I'll be back with more next week!

Radio Recap: The Man Behind the Gun

The Man Behind the Gun was a CBS radio anthology series produced by William N. Robson that was heard from October 7, 1942 until March 4, 1944. It was a wartime propaganda series, but it was a very good wartime propaganda series.

Each episode of the Man Behind the Gun would focus on a different aspect of the war. One episode was set aboard a submarine in the Pacific; another featured pilots of the RAF; one was about a medical corpsman, another a K-9 handler. World War II certainly had no lack of dramatic situations or unusual jobs and the Man Behind the Gun excelled at living out its title - bringing into focus a single person as they did their part towards the war effort.

Many of the surviving episodes feature Frank Lovejoy. In my opinion, Lovejoy was one of radio's finest actors; there was a kind of sneer in his voice that enabled him to portray cynical characters, men who were a bit world-weary. On the Man Behind the Gun his voice was well-suited to portraying either the new guy who was dubious about the situation he was in (only to come around by the end of the drama) or the veteran struggling to keep coping with a prolonged period of tension.

I think the K-9 Corps episode is the most interesting because its an aspect of the war we all know about, yet there's surprisingly few dramas about the K-9 Corps. Who doesn't love a good "man and his dog" story?

Sadly, we're lacking most of the Man Behind the Gun - there were about 70 episodes but we only have 6 currently in circulation. You can hear those 6 at the Old-Time Radio Researchers' Library.

RIP: Joshua Quagmire

Word has come through that comic book artist Joshua Quagmire passed away in May of this year. He's best-remembered as the creator of Cutey Bunny.

Quagmire was always a bit of an oddball and I suppose the scarce information about his passing or details of his personal life are appropriate from a man whose stories mocked the ideas of plot or continuity.

Cutey Bunny was a delight; for a time it was one of the most visible independent humour comics of the 1980s, to the point that the character helped launch Fantagraphics' book Critters alongside Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo. While Usagi went on to greatness and continues to this day, Quagmire's work unfortunately became more obscure.

I previously posted a retrospective on Cutey Bunny on this blog. Perhaps some day all of Quagmire's Cutey Bunny tales can be bundled together into a nice trade to help preserve this odd, funny and fascinating series.

Rest in peace, Mr. Quagmire (If that was your real name).

Radio Recap: Pursuit

Pursuit was a CBS police program featuring the adventures of Inspector Peter Black of Scotland Yard. The series ran from October 27, 1949 'til March 25, 1952. Despite a lengthy run it appears there are only about 20 episodes that still exist.

Among what remains of the series is the pilot episode (dated November 28, 1948), where the series was instead called the Hunters. The format was much the same, although the lead character was called Inspector Harvey then and was portrayed by Victor Jory (Jory didn't make it to the series). Strangely, the pilot episode is an adaptation of the Cornell Woolrich story "You Take Ballistics." It's a terrific police drama but hardly a story of Scotland Yard - Woolrich's story was an American one, so it was altered to fit the UK setting. You can also hear "You Take Ballistics" as adapted earlier on the excellent series Suspense on March 13, 1947, meaning Pursuit is something of a cousin series to Suspense.

Looking at the talent who produced the series you'll also see a lot of familiar CBS names, particularly from Suspense and Escape: William N. Robson, Elliott Lewis, Norm MacDonnell, Antony Ellis, Morton Fine, David Friedkin, John and Gwen Bagni; originally Inspector Black was portrayed by Ted DeCorsia, later by John Dehner and finally by Ben Wright; Black's sidekick Constable Moffett was sometimes portrayed by Raymond Lawrence; Bill Johnstone also appeared in many episodes in various roles.

For some reason, there was a post-war interest in Scotland Yard stories on the radio; I've already written about Whitehall 1212; the best program was in my opinion the anthology series the Black Museum but Pursuit is just one of several other examples. Pursuit had the advantage of the terrific CBS radio professionals working behind it; the series was even sponsored by Ford for a brief period in 1950. The music was usually very restrained, mostly performed on organ with a piano accompanying.

Early on, in episodes written by Morton Fine and David Friedkin, there's a slight comedic tone to the series, similar to how they wrote for Broadway Is My Beat. In one episode, Inspector Black has to obtain intelligence from the British army and is confronted by a number of different bureaucrats who keep sending him off to different departments. There's also an episode set at Loch Ness (yes, the monster is brought up) where some humour is had from the laid-back nature of the local Scottish policemen.

The series was, at times, a very strong adventure program. One episode dubbed "Pursuit in the North Sea" (July 22, 1950) featured Dehner's Inspector Black battling the black market and going to extreme lengths to get at men smuggling illicit goods. It's my pick for the best of the series.

You can find what remains of Pursuit on the Old-Time Radio Researchers' Library.

RIP: John Romita

Comic book artist John Romita - frequently called "John Romita Sr." because his son is likewise a famous comic book artist - passed away this week on June 12, aged 93.

Romita worked at various comic book companies throughout his career but he's certainly best-remembered as a Marvel Comics artist and especially for his work on the Amazing Spider-Man. Romita spent most of the 1970s and 80s as Marvel's art director, shaping the visual look of the entire Marvel Comics line; even after he stepped down from that role he had influenced so many artists that his presence continued to be felt throughout Marvel's line. When people talk about the "Marvel look" or "Marvel style" they are almost certainly referring to Romita's designs.

As a fan of Marvel's 1950s output (particularly the era where the company was known as Atlas) Romita was one of only a handful of remaining Atlas Age artists. He worked in almost every type of story from crime, horror and western to super hero; recurring features of his included Jungle Boy, Western Kid and Captain America -- unfortunately, his Captain America stories were the arch anti-communist stories that made Cap seem so deranged that they were later excised from Cap's continuity. But his 1950s output is best-remembered for all his work in romance comics.

Romita succeeded Steve Ditko on the Amazing Spider-Man; he's been noted (and criticized) for making the cast more conventionally good-looking, swerving away from the more awkward and gangly characters Ditko had drawn. Suddenly, Peter Parker went from looking like an average guy to a teen magazine cover model! I'm certainly one who prefers Ditko's visuals but I think we spider-fans are mostly in agreement that Romita did fine work on Amazing Spider-Man as he was the first to depict Mary Jane Watson, among other landmarks (Ditko had drawn cameos of Mary Jane but hadn't revealed her face). His additions to Spider-Man's antagonists weren't all up to the standards Ditko set, but the Rhino and the Kingpin definitely proved to be durable super-villains; he also gave us the Shocker, Silvermane, Man-Mountain Marko, Hammerhead... and, admittedly, the Kangaroo and the Gibbbon. They weren't all winners.

Still, there's no doubt he was one of the best super hero comic book artists and his legacy is assured; certainly his son has likewise become one of comicdom's greatest artists. Rest in peace, Mr. Romita.

Radio Recap: Secret Agent K-7 Returns

Secret Agent K-7 Returns!

...Wait, returns? Uh... where has he been? Where did he come from?

That's the first questions you're bound to ask if you seek out the syndicated radio program Secret Agent K-7 Returns (1939-1940). According to radio historians, there was an earlier program called Secret Agent K-7 that appeared on the radio in 1932 but we don't appear to have any examples of the program left. Supposedly that radio program inspired the 1937 movie Special Agent K-7.

Secret Agent K-7 Returns was a 15-minute broadcast and a great deal of those 15 minutes are spent on organ music (particularly the lengthy intro and outro), to the point that you begin to think you're in church rather than enjoying an adventure program. The titular K-7 would provide opening and closing narration to each adventure but he only seldom participated within the episode's drama. For some reason the adventures themselves featured a rotating cast of secret agents who reported to K-7; there was Agent Z and his assistant Patricia; Agent B-9 and his assistant Rita; and Agent M with his assistant Yvonne. But the different agents didn't have different personalities, methods or locales. Maybe the show used different agents because they had a rotating cast of performers.

There is some continuity in the series as allies and adversaries occasionally reappear but the series was very murky as to where and when it was based; with World War II already in play but the USA a non-active observer, the series stopped short from identifying the European and Asian nations who K-7's agents were operating against, but you don't have to strain your imagination to assume the villains were stand-ins for Italy, Germany and Japan.

Not much is known about the performers in this series; I'm sure I heard Bill Johnstone in one episode. Unfortunately, the actor who portrayed K-7 was extremely stiff; his delivery was always lifeless and wasn't helped by being the one to deliver textbook-style exposition about how spies operate. The performers in the main body of each episode did a decent job, although sound effects were sometimes lacking (the organ did most of the heavy lifting). It's not as polished as post-war shows I've covered such as Cloak and Dagger or Top Secret. Maybe the most refreshing thing about the series is that although each of the agents had a female accomplice, the female spies were seldom employed to romance information out of their enemies.

The Old-Time Radio Researchers' Group has a YouTube playlist of this program!

Escape Episode Guide: Part 15

Welcome back to my episode guide to the fantastic old-time radio series Escape!

• #141: "The Island" (1st version July 11, 1951) Starring: Harry Bartell. Story/Script: Millard Kaufman. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Okinawa.
  Plot: A soldier who yearns to live among beautiful people on an island seems to have found his opportunity.
  Review: An excellent drama; the conflict takes a while to build but the ultimate revelation of what the island is and who the people are is so good that it justifies the journey getting there. William Conrad is very good as the dreamer whose dream isn't exactly what he expected. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #142: "Macao" (July 18, 1951) Starring: Michael Ann Barrett. Story/Script: Herb Purdum. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Macao.
  Plot: A heartless American woman runs the underworld of Macao.
  Review: As a crime story this isn't too unusual; it only suits Escape because of the exotic locale. Still, Barrett is very good as the femme fatale. My Rating: 3/5 stars.
• #143: "The Earthmen" (July 25, 1951) Starring: Parley Baer. Story: Ray Bradbury. Script: Walter Newman. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Mars.
  Plot: Astronauts on Mars try to explain their origins to the Martians; the Martians consider them dangerously insane.
  Review: One of Bradbury's Martian Chronicles tales and I think it came off much better than "Mars Is Heaven" (see #111). The concept of how psychological problems would manifest among a community of telepaths is a fascinating one and leads to a shocking climax. Very nicely done! My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #144: "The Gladiator" (August 1, 1951) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script: Millard Kaufman. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: England/North Africa.
  Plot: A boxer wants to retire from the fights but a wealthy maniac forces him aboard a ship on the high seas to fight to the death.
  Review: This is a terrific pulp magazine premise and Conrad was perfectly cast but the script doesn't entirely sell the sense of peril. The criminal mastermind is also very disappointing and hammy especially when he rants "basically you have no way of life!" My Rating: 3/5 stars.
• #145: "Up Periscope" (August 8, 1951) Starring: Hy Averback. Story: Alec Hudson. Script: William Froug. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: China/China Seas.
  Plot: An American is hired by the Chinese to command a submarine against Japanese invaders.
  Review: This is a pretty good high seas submarine tale which is for some reason a scenario seldom-heard on radio despite its potential for drama. Unfortunately it's held back again by the awful attempts at "yellowface" voice acting. My Rating: 3/5 stars.
• #146: "A Rough Shoot" (August 15, 1951) Starring: Ben Wright. Story: Geoffrey Household. Script: Arthur Ross. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: England.
  Plot: A land owner shoots a supposed poacher who proves to be part of a spy plot.
  Review: This is a good story and was made into a good movie in 1953. However this adaptation is a bit stiff - the material needed a bit more intensity. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
• #147: "The Silent Horror" (August 22, 1951) Starring: Harry Bartell. Story: Hugh Cave. Script: Les Crutchfield. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Borneo.
  Plot: A man lives among a primitive tribe who are impressed by the ticking of his pocket watch.
  Review: The audio is particularly patchy in this episode, which I would rank higher if a better copy turned up. The premise is sound although it takes a while to arrive at the peril. Ultimately, this is an attempt to retell "Jimmy Goggles the God" (#31). My Rating: 3/5 stars.
• #148: "The Man Who Stole the Bible" (2nd version August 30, 1951) Starring: Sam Pearce. Story/Script: Gwen Bagni/John Bagni. Director: William N. Robson. Setting: USA.
  Plot: During Mardi Gras, a salesman steals a Bible from his hotel room then finds he's targeted by a mob.
  Review: Another very good rendition of this story (first done as #107). The production values are pretty much the same here as they were when the show was sponsored by Ritchfield Oil. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #149: "Gringo" (October 12, 1952) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script: E. Jack Neuman. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Mexico.
  Plot: A sailor goes on a treasure hunt with a wealthy man and his girlfriend.
  Review: Definitely not our first treasure hunt on the high seas nor our first story where two men's relationship is tested by the presence of a woman. The woman in this story is a little more interesting than others - even though she winds up leaving the protagonist she's not cruel. This is about average for Escape but that's still a pretty high bar. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
• #150: "The Price of the Head" (1st version October 19, 1952) Starring: William Conrad. Story: John Russell. Script: John Meston. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Solomon Islands.
  Plot: A redheaded brawler kills a man but an indigenous man offers his help - for a price.
  Review: Simply awful audio. We've heard a lot of John Russell on Escape - I gather Robson and Macdonnell were both very fond of his works about the high seas. Macdonnell also adapted this story for a pilot version of the Black Book (I wrote about the series here). I fail to see the attraction; the story boils down to a single twist which is suggested in the title and arrives mere seconds before the conclusion. But that's assuming you can even follow the garbled audio in the circulating copy. My Rating: 1.5/5 stars.

You can listen to episodes of Escape at the Internet Archive! I'll be back with more next week!

Radio Recap: Great Scenes from Great Plays

It's been some time since I reviewed an old-time radio series that was a dramatic anthology other than a mystery/crime program. Here's a very unusual one: Great Scenes from Great Plays. The contents of the series are not really that remarkable - it opens with an adaptation of "Cyrano de Bergerac" and there are adaptations of familiar plays such as "The Barretts of Wimpole Street" and "A Doll's House." There are many radio versions of these plays.

Why Great Scenes from Great Plays stands out is that it is an example of dramatic religious programming! Indeed, it was created by the National Council of the Protestant Episcopal Church and the performers were drawn from the Episcopal Actors Guild! The series aired on Mutual from October 1948 to February 1949 and because the Guild had some prestigious members it featured actors who were seldom heard in Mutual programming (Mutual didn't usually have the big budgets heard on CBS, NBC or ABC).

No doubt with the Cold War going on it was considered in the public good to promote the USA's religious freedom's - that probably helped get both this series and Family Theater (1947-1957) on Mutual. While Family Theater had Catholic origins, it promoted itself as a non-denominational program, simply promoting the concept of prayer to its listeners. By contrast, Great Scenes from Great Plays took time each week to encourage its listeners to attend church - and that if they were not affiliated with any church, to seek out their local Episcopal church. It's decidedly different and perhaps the reason its run was so much shorter than Family Theater is that it didn't conceal its denominational bias.

Walter Hampden hosted the series and occasionally performed in the plays as well; other performers included the likes of Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, Henry Fonda, Raymond Massey, Ingrid Bergman, Cornel Wilde and Madeleine Carroll (presumably at least some of them claimed Episcopal church membership). Most of the episodes still exist and are in excellent sound quality, although the last 2 episodes are a bit warbly. Sadly, we're missing a Christmas episode which dramatized the Nativity - it's also the only episode that actually told a Bible story. But from the rest there's plenty of dramas to enjoy, such as Karloff's performance as Death as in "On Borrowed Time" or Rathbone in "The Barretts of Wimpole Street."

You can hear all of Great Scenes from Great Plays using this playlist on YouTube courtesy of the Old-Time Radio Researchers' Group.

Escape Episode Guide: Part 14

Welcome back to my episode guide to the fantastic old-time radio series Escape!

• #131: "Funeral Fires" (November 26, 1950) Starring: Ben Wright. Story/Script: Charles Israel. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Pakistan.
  Plot: A doctor arrives to help fight an outbreak of plague but the corrupt and apathetic officials block his efforts.
  Review: A good drama as the new doctor is pit against seemingly every other white person in town and isn't sure who to trust. It's a little reminiscent of "Red Wine" (see #57). My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #132: "This Side of Nowhere" (December 3, 1950) Starring: William Conrad. Story/Script: Antony Ellis. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Mexico.
  Plot: A woman with $250,000 hires a pilot to get her to Mexico but the plane crashes by a village where the money is a constant problem and never a solution.
  Review: There are few adversaries so irritating as those who remain eternally cheerful, happy and seemingly-helpful, as is the case here. Watch out for a surprise appearance by Escape Snake #9! My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #133: "A Passenger to Bali" (December 10, 1950) Starring: John Dehner. Story: Ellis St. Joseph. Script/Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Indonesia/China Seas.
  Plot: A British ship picks up a man who claims to be a missionary; he proves to be a horrific nuisance but no port will accept him.
  Review: Speaking of irritating yet friendly personalities, here we have a man who is so, so lucky that he booked passage on the high seas under a stiff-upper lip Englishman who didn't simply throw him overboard. It's a good problem to create tension but the kind of problem that can only exist in a "British manners" scenario. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #134: "Wild Jack Rhett" (1st version December 17, 1950) Starring: John Dehner. Story: Ernest Haycox. Script: John Meston. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: USA.
  Plot: A western town hires an infamous town tamer to clean up crime.
  Review: We've finally reached the story that served as something of a pilot for Gunsmoke (along with "Pagosa" which Macdonnell produced for Romance the following year). As I've previously mentioned, it wasn't the first "adult western" to appear on Escape - see "The Pistol" (#90) and "Sundown" (#113). The difference is that Macdonnell would be the one to create Gunsmoke and writer Meston would be among his writing staff (to say nothing of actors like Dehner, Parley Baer, Sam Edwards and Larry Dobkin). And, of course, the other major players of Gunsmoke would be culled from Escape's recurring performers not heard here (William Conrad, Georgia Ellis, Howard McNear). But this isn't merely of historical interest, it's a very good western tale about a man who's basically the old west's Sam Spade (he's not above pretending to be corrupt). My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #135: "The Cave" (December 24, 1950) Starring: John Dehner. Story/Script: Antony Ellis. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: England.
  Plot: A man recalls a childhood Christmas where he ventured into a cave and found pirates waiting.
  Review: A story so gentle it just might... put you to sleep. I do appreciate, however, that although this story is really for children it doesn't talk down to them in the way a children's show like Let's Pretend, so kudos to Ellis on that front. My Rating: 2.5/5 stars.
• #136: "The Man Who Could Work Miracles" (2nd version December 31, 1950) Starring: Ben Wright. Story: H. G. Wells. Script: Les Crutchfield. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: England.
  Plot: A man suddenly discovers he can perform any deed he happens to think of.
  Review: Another funny performance of this script (first done as #54) with Wright reprising his role as the protagonist Mr. Fotheringay. I do prefer this to the 1st version because of one great audio joke - the sequence in which Fotheringay creates a live pheasant by mistake (pheasant noises are heard) then commands it to become a roast pheasant, abruptly followed by the pheasant's dying squawk. My Rating: 4/5 stars.
• #137: "Conquest" (January 7, 1951) Starring: William Conrad. Story: Leonard Lee. Script: David Ellis. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Himalayan mountains.
  Plot: A mountain climber is determined to be the first man to reach the top of Mount Everest.
  Review: A very good drama, carried by Conrad at his best as the climber who proves himself, yet ultimately chooses to be gracious and humble. A great melding of high adventure with a morality fable. My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.
• #138: "A Bullet for Mr. Smith" (January 14, 1951) Starring: John Dehner. Story/Script: Antony Ellis. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Switzerland.
  Plot: A spy is warned of a killer named "Mr. Smith" - who might be anyone, potentially more than one person!
  Review: A very average sort of espionage story; they namedrop Eric Ambler but this is nothing like his style (we previously witnessed in #124: "Roulette" that Ellis had difficulty writing about espionage). It wants to be a grim story but doesn't get out of first gear. My Rating: 3/5 stars.
• #139: "The Killer Mine" (February 11, 1951) Starring: John Dehner. Story: Hammond Innes. Script: Antony Ellis. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: England.
  Plot: A miner desperate for work enters into a criminal operation.
  Review: This feels just very average for Escape - it takes a while to pick up speed, which seems to be a recurring issue I'm having with Ellis' scripting. My Rating: 3/5 stars.
• #140: "The Follower" (February 18, 1951) Starring: William Conrad. Story: Patrick Quentin. Script: Les Crutchfield. Director: Norman Macdonnell. Setting: Mexico.
  Plot: An engineer finds a dead body in his home; he sets out in pursuit of his wife, afraid she's the killer.
  Review: Conrad is again quite good although the dialogue is a bit stiff and wordy. My Rating: 3/5 stars.

You can listen to episodes of Escape at the Internet Archive! I'll be back with more next week!

Follow my Church’s Livestream Worship!

At the time if posting, this is a livestream of my church, where I'm performing on worship...

Radio Recap: The Private Files of Rex Saunders

The Private Files of Rex Saunders was a radio detective/adventure series that ran briefly from May-August, 1951. It starred Rex Harrison as the hero who (unimaginatively) shared a first name; Leon Janney portrayed Rex's assistant Alec. The series was created by Himan Brown, one of radio's busiest men; he's best-remembered for producing Inner Sanctum Mysteries but was also responsible for the Adventures of the Thin Man, Bulldog Drummond, Barrie Craig and in the 1970s, the CBS Radio Mystery Theatre. Brown's fingerprints are definitely all over the Private Files of Rex Saunders if you're familiar with his work.

Certainly the presence of Leon Janney as the hero's sidekick makes the show sound a lot like Inner Sanctum Mysteries - he played a lot of characters on that show (usually villains). But the strongest influence from Brown's work certainly has to be Bulldog Drummond. That series aired in Mutual from 1941-1948 and the pilot episode of the Private Files of Rex Saunders is a recycled Bulldog Drummond script from December 24, 1947. In fact, as so much of the 1941-1948 version of Bulldog Drummond doesn't exist today for comparisons, it seems likely to me that much (or even all) of the Private Files of Rex Saunders was recycled from that series. It would have been very easy to simply change every reference from Bulldog into Rex and to change his valet Denny into Rex's sidekick Alec.

There is a strange kind of sameness to each episode; they all seem to open with Rex out taking a walk when a mysterious woman approaches him and asks for his help. Rex has a reputation as a ladies' man (much like the man who portrayed him) but seldom ever gets to romance the woman in question since they all either die before the halfway mark or turn out to be the week's villain.

The existing copies all have very crisp audio but they appear to have been clipped for syndication - the series was originally sponsored by RCA but none of the episodes have the RCA commercials one would expect. Despite the presence of a major sponsor, the series was made by NBC so featured the same recycled musical cues heard on their other dramatic programs. One episode is clearly an unedited reel as you can hear the director (Brown himself, perhaps) calling out instructions to Harrison and Harrison makes a few flubs, then repeats his lines to get it right.

The Private Files of Rex Saunders is a very generic detective series but the presence of a big name actor like Harrison makes it at least a little interesting to dig up. Harrison had a great voice but had arrived a little late for radio to make the most of his talents; at least this series left him with a decent footprint in dramatic radio's past.

You can listen to all of the Private Files of Rex Saunders using this playlist at YouTube courtesty of the Old-Time Radio Researchers' Group.

A Work in Prog-mess; or, Goodbye Ted

This week the series Ted Lasso aired its final episode on Apple TV+ and I have a few thoughts. Spoilers follow after the image...

As a general rule, I don't follow much in current television programming but Ted Lasso is a series I quickly came to enjoy and anticipate. Knowing that the showrunners intended only 3 seasons of programming that made the arrival of this final season both welcome and bittersweet, knowing there would be nothing past the final set of episodes.

The same friend who originally brought Ted Lasso to my attention - correctly realizing based on the 1st season that it was the kind of program I would like - has been very hard on season 3 and was quick to claim the series had "jumped the shark." My feelings aren't as extreme as his, but I will at least agree season 3 is disappointing when compared to the first two seasons. Seasons 1-2 were very tight television; I had a sense that the showrunners had a very clear idea of what each season's story was about and how the arcs of the lead characters would develop along the season's plot. Season 3 felt less certain of its direction.

It's probably helpful to note how the show became more bloated with time; season 1 ran 10 episodes that were about 30 minutes long; season 2 was supposed to be 10 episodes but Apple tacked on 2 extra episodes and the average length went to about 45 minutes; season 3 is again 12 episodes but each episode ran from 45 minutes to well over an hour each. The shorter episode length in season 1 forced the creators to be very succinct, for scenes to play out quickly and the dialogue to be snappy and rapid-paced; the two bonus episodes of season 2 did little to advance the season's plot but provided opportunities to develop side characters and give them space to breathe; season 3 never bored me, but I did notice how much slower the pace had become - that the show spent even more time on side characters and on letting scenes breathe. It can be nice at times to let a scene play out; then again, there's something to be said for leaving the audience wanting more.

Going into season 3, I suppose I was most concerned about what the program was going to do with the character of Keeley Jones, who had been invited to start her own public relations firm in the season 2 finale. My immediate concern when the season 2 finale ended was that if Keeley was still a main character in the show but no longer working for AFC Richmond then the show might struggle to find reasons for Keeley to be present in the show or give her storylines that were not connected to the other characters. I was unfortunately a bit prescient on that front; Keeley's PR firm was a running plot in season 3 and I'm not sure why it was - I mean, why beyond the reason that Juno Temple was still a leading performer in the series and needed to be on-screen.

The show gave Keeley her own cast of characters that were mostly there to fill in the background; the most significant addition was Keeley's CFO Barbara. Barbara was barely ever brought into focus in the show, but provided someone for Keeley to play off of. A bigger problem was that of Shandy, a model whom Keeley hired to work at her firm but who proved to be unprofessional and had to be fired. I see how this is a Keeley plot, but how is it a Ted Lasso plot? Shandy's side plot, more than anything, made me wonder what kind of story the showrunners thought they were telling. When Shandy was fired I wondered if she would come back to the series in a manner that would reveal the character's purpose - perhaps there would be a Shandy-Keeley character arc designed to mirror/contrast that of Ted-Nate. But no, Shandy was given a big introduction, was very obnoxious, then was written out. She gave us our first big Keeley plot of the season, that's it.

The 2nd Keeley plot - which started running just as Shandy was on her way out - is Keeley's relationship with her financier, Jack. I haven't seen anyone online who enjoyed this plot; Jack was introduced in the 4th episode, became Keeley's lover in the 5th, was absent in the 6th, had a major plot about how inequal their relationship was in the 7th, then broke up with Keeley in the 8th. That 8th episode was particularly contentious among fans, possibly because Jack's passive-aggressive toxicity is extremely frustrating to watch. Jack only really existed so that Keeley would have a storyarc outside of AFC Richmond that season; it kept her busy but Jack might be the character most despised by Ted Lasso fandom (even though Shandy worked hard for that honour).

Beyond Keeley, there were all kinds of supporting characters who were promoted to lead status but didn't do much; Dani was a lead character but had no character arc or even a spotlight episode such as he'd received in season 2's "Goodbye Earl"; Sam was promoted to the lead cast and got a good spotlight episode ("The Strings That Bind Us") but also had less of an arc than in the previous season. Why - when the episodes were longer than ever - did the series seem to be doing even less for beloved characters like Sam and Dani? It probably didn't help that they'd additionally promoted supporting characters Isaac and Colin to lead status (both of them had actual character arcs for the first time). It likely didn't help that Keeley and Nate's plots had largely nothing to do with the rest of the cast of characters.

I'm not certain how I feel about Nate's arc; I was prepared for villainous Nate and repentant Nate - I wound up getting both, but I'm not sure if I buy into it. Everything that happened in Nate's journey made sense as actions his character would take, but I'm still a bit flummoxed that his character's turning point - quitting West Ham - happened off screen, despite all the long drawn-out dramatic scenes that played across season 3. Similarly, Rupert's marriage falling apart, Ted and Keeley's break-up, Ted's decision to leave AFC Richmond - all of these moments happened off-screen. The 1st season used brevity to its advantage, I'm not sure why season 3 chose to elongate stories in some places and truncate them in others.

None of what I've described is that bad; heck, showrunner Bill Lawrence put his name on a lot of episodes of Scrubs that were deeply inferior. I think Ted Lasso's average was harmed by the 3rd season, but it still stands above most television comedy-dramas.

The season did come together at least in its exploration of characters being "stuck," particularly in Ted and Roy's struggles to advance; the dynamic ways in which Jamie and Colin changed during the season were a good contrast. I have no reservations in calling Ted Lasso's 3rd season quality television. But yes, the average slipped a bit; I guess it really was time to call it quits. The show's premise had always been around "becoming the best version of yourself," and that's a hard challenge for a show to meet. They tried, they put in a lot of effort. But like the pundits who appeared throughout the series, you can't help but question many of the choices the creators made.