Month: October 2019

EP2970: Boston Blackie: The Dolly Preston Murder

Richard Kollmar
The police and Blackie are called to a house by a woman. They arrive to find no one in the house listed, and a witness who swears she saw a woman enter the house who was thought dead for the past three years.

Original Air Date: March 9, 1949

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EP2969: Rocky Jordan: The Dead Colleen

Jack Moyles
Rocky is offered $5,000 to find out who killed an Irish woman.

Original Air Date: July 2, 1950

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EP2968: Let George Do It: Blue Plate Special


George is called to a small town to steal a plate that a man believes is a forgery.

Original Air Date: September 3, 1951

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EP2967: Box 13: The First Letter

Dan Holiday tries to jumpstart his writing career through an ad in a newspaper. His first letter is from a woman who tells Dan she’s being blackmailed.

Original Air Date: October 17, 1947

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Video Theater 167: Dragnet: The Big Oskar

Friday and Smith investigate a petty theft.

Original Air Date: October 14, 1958

Season 8, Episode 4

Audio Drama Review: The Twilight Zone Radio Dramas, Volume 3

This is the third six episode set of the Twilight Zone Radio Dramas presented by Falcon Picture Group. This volume, like most others in the series, adapts stories from the TV Show.

“The Obsolete Man” stars Jason Alexander (Seinfeld) as a librarian in a totalitarian state who is sentenced to die because he’s been declared obsolete. I have to admit, I was nervous about this one because the TV version featured an iconic performance by the great Burgess Meredith, but Alexander does a good job carrying the performance off and the timeless message of the story still makes it work today.

“Back There”starts Jim Caviezel (Passion of the Christ) as a young man who visits a Washington DC based club and has a conversation with four wealthy men over whether a time-traveler could change history. As often happens with those sort of debates, he finds himself transported back to 1865 on the day Abraham Lincoln is assassinated and gets a chance to test his theory. This was a nice story with a good twist at the end, though a lot of the time travel stuff is never explained.

“A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain” stars Adam West (Batman) as an older wealthy man married to a gold-digging wife who he wants to please. His brother is working on a de-aging formula that works on animals and he pressures his brother into trying it on him. The TV version is not a favorite of most fans, but this was entertaining and it’s all down to Adam West’s performance. You feel sorry for this guy, who, by modern standards, we’d consider a victim of emotional abuse.

“Nervous Man in a Four-Dollar Room” stars Adam Baldwin (Firefly) as a two-bit crook who has been ordered to commit murder. He rents a cheap room and waits to do the job and encounters one person who tries to change his mind: The man in the mirror. This one works over radio and Baldwin does a good job playing both versions of his character.

“The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” finds a suburban neighborhood cut off from civilization when power fails and no one can leave. Paranoia spreads as the residents suspect one of them is in league with whatever caused this. This was a great tale of what fear and paranoia can do to a community and, by extension, to the world. It’s a chilling cautionary tale and the radio version is almost as good as the TV take.

“Escape Clause” is a Faustian bargain story where a middle-aged hypochondriac (Mike Starr) sells his soul to the devil in exchange for being able to live as long as he wants. The story is a bit of dark comedy as the protagonist finds out immortality isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, however I think the story has a more subtle message.

Overall, I probably enjoyed this Twilight Zone collection. The stories all work fairly well and there are a couple all-time classics that are well-handled. On top of that, we get to hear radio acting by some actors who never got to work much in the medium due to when their careers began.

Rating: 4.25 out of 5 

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EP2966: Dragnet: The Big Underground

Jack Webb

Friday and Smith investigate a series of inexplicable burglaries

Original Air Date: December 28, 1954

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EP2965: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: Skullduggery in Skull Canyon

Charles Russell

Johnny goes to Arizona to investigate a mine that’s stopped paying off for its owners.

Original Air Date: November 26, 1949

When making your travel plans, remember http://johnnydollarair.com

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EP2964: Boston Blackie: The Fake Accident Racket

Richard Kollmar

A reporter receives threats after he writes a story that drops a hint about a phony accident racket.

Original Air Date: March 2, 1949

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EP2963: Rocky Jordan: Dilemma

Jack Moyles

Rocky is asked by a woman to protect her daughter, who is kidnapped and taken to a wealthy man’s house.

Original Air Date: June 25, 1950

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EP2962: Let George Do It: Murder on Vacation

George wants to go on vacation to a seaside village where he stayed at a boarding house that served fish stew. He finds she’s stopped hosting guests and he discovers a mystery over a gold cup.

Original Air Date: August 27, 1951

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EP2961: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Big Scoop Matter (Listener’s Choice Standard Division #1)

Johnny is called to protected an insured reporter on the trail of a big story that could make him a target for murder.

Original Air Date: November 11, 1956

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Audio Drama Review: Space 1999: Breakaway

Space 1999: Breakaway is Big Finish’s feature-length audio drama re-imaging of the first episode of the 1970s Gerry Anderson TV series Space 1999.

Commander John Koenig (Mark Bonnar) returns to his post in command of Moonbase Alpha in order to facilitate the launch of a probe towards the planet Meta. However, he arrives to find a mysterious illness said to be fake takes out the pilot of his ship and has ravaged the primary crew of the Meta Probe. Doctor Helena Russell (Maria Teresa Creasey)  is trying to find some way to stop the illness while Commissioner Simmons (Timothy Bentinck) of the World Space Commission is thwarting her for fear the word of the illness will spread and stop the launch of the Meta probe.

In the interest of full disclosure, I did not grow up watching Space 1999 and have no nostalgia investment in the series. I did watch the TV episode  Breakaway” which has been made available on YouTube by DVD manufacturers Shout Factory prior to listening to the audio version. My initial impression of the TV episode is its fine. There are some interesting concepts, but it’s a bit dry for my taste.

However, the Audio Drama was superb. Writer Nicholas Briggs takes a fifty minute TV episode and turns it into an audio drama twice that length. While this is usually a recipe for a padded mess, I’m happy to report that’s not the case. The audio version has all the key plot points of the TV script with a lot of enhancements. The character feels more real and fleshed out. The pseudo-science of the series is a bit more realistic and grounded, with several aspects of the plot being far better explored over audio. The script is well-paced, it never drags. It held my interest from start to finish.

The acting is really good. I’d only heard Bonnar playing a Doctor Who enemy in Big Finish’s Doom Coalition and Ravenous box sets, so this is a very different performance. His performance is grounded, believable, and really engaging. Commander Koenig’s a man trying to make sure the Meta Probe, a project he’s put years of his life into, gets off the ground while also trying to protect the life of his crew. The story begins to reveal those goals may not be compatible. Creasey turned in a solid performance playing a character that could have easily been unlikable due to how harsh she is, but what came through is that Dr. Russell (Creasey’s role) is acting out of concern for human life and her anger is entirely appropriate.

The soundscape has nods to the original series,  but it feels modern and cinematic. The audio version also features some superb including a great new take on the original theme.

My only criticism is there’s a scene where a news interview cuts to a documentary to facilitate exposition.  That’s it, everything else is great. The listener should be warned that this is, in effect, the feature-length pilot episode that will set the stage for a new Space 1999 series and therefore raises a lot of questions that will be answered in the regular series.

Overall, this superb audio drama sets a high standard for the rest of the range.

Rating:4.5 out of 5

Space 1999: Breakaway is currently available exclusively at Big Finish’s website.

EP2960: Dragnet: The Big Lens

Jack Webb
Friday and Smith go to Georgia Street Receiving Hospital to investigate the case of a woman who was kidnapped.

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EP2959: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Melanie Carter Matter

Charles Russell

Johnny is called in to protect an elderly wealthy woman who fears her family members plan to kill her.

Original Air Date: November 12, 1949

When making your travel plans, remember http://johnnydollarair.com

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