Month: October 2021

Audio Drama Review: The Red Panda Adventures, Season Ten

The War is over and young Harry Kelly is back, although his absence during his time in the military is still unexplained. The Red Panda and Flying Squirrel are now parents. With the Red Panda well into his middle-aged years, he’s looking for an exit. Could the new superhero emerging be the key to giving Toronto’s Terrific Twosome a chance to ride into the sunset?

The Tenth Season of the Red Panda Adventures (unlike the previous nine) is only six episodes long. The season deals out another run of pulp fiction adventures as the Red Panda takes on old foes and new and also manages some clean-up of all the mad science and magic running about in his world during the War. There are some really solid battles and fun adventures to be had.

Yet, the series overall theme is of transition. There’s a sense that at this stage, our heroes are being pressed to the limit of their abilities and dealing with threats that might begin to get beyond them. Emotionally, they’re ready for the exit, they just need the confidence to know the city is left in good hands. The finale of Season Ten is satisfying and makes for a good chronological close for the adventures of the Red Panda.

The season is a cumulation of years of work. Writer and star Gregg Taylor to take his characters on a journey through a heroic career from close to the start of their career to finish. The Red Panda and Flying Squirrel began their careers during the Depression at a time in real life where mystery men like the Shadow, the Green Hornet, Doc Savage, the Spider, and the Black Bat captured the public imagination. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, they began to be supplanted by the cape and costume crowd: Superman, Batman, Captain America, and Wonder Woman. The Red Panda and Flying Squirrel clearly fit into that former tradition, stayed around during the War, and chose to give way to the new generation of heroes at the end. It’s a really imaginative way to do the arc, and Taylor did a tremendous job plotting this out and also helping the characters to grow and change over the series without becoming unrecognized for who they were at the start.

While this marks the end of their chronology, with 114 half-hour episodes over the course of a career that spanned fourteen or fifteen years, there are plenty of lost opportunities for “lost stories.” And we’ll get around to reviewing many of them here eventually.

Rating: 4.25 out of 5

The Red Panda Adventures Season Ten is available for free from the Decoder Ring Theatre Website

EP3596: Tales of the Texas Rangers: The Broken Spur

A rancher is killed and his home is burned to the ground.

Original Air Date: August 12, 1950

Become one of our monthly patreon supporters at patreon.greatdetectives.net

Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net.

Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715

Take the listener survey…http://survey.greatdetectives.net

Give us a call 208-991-4783

Become one of our friends on Facebook.

Follow us on Instagram at http://instagram.com/greatdetectives

Follow us on Twitter @radiodetectives

EP3595: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The San Antonio Matter

John Lund

Johnny goes to St. Petersburg to investigate the death of an ex-bootlegger.
Original Air Date: April 28, 1953

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

Take the listener survey…http://survey.greatdetectives.net

Give us a call 208-991-4783

Become one of our friends on Facebook.

Follow us on Twitter @radiodetectives

EP3594: Philo Vance: The Poetic Murder Case

Two drama critics are murdered and poetic clues are left behind.

Original Air Date: November 7, 1947

Learn more and save half price on annual membership plans at (www.onedayu.com/oldtimeradio). Plus, you can try two weeks for free. That’s one day u dot com slash old time radio.

Take the listener survey…http://survey.greatdetectives.net

Give us a call 208-991-4783

Follow us on Instagram at http://instagram.com/greatdetectives

Become one of ourfriends on Facebook.

Follow us on Twitter@radiodetectives

EP3593: Man Called X: Monte Carlo

Herbert Marshall

The Man Called X gotes to Monte Carlo to find out why a young American official got involved with a married woman…and then in a duel in which he was killed.

Original Air Date: May 4, 1951

Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net

Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net.

Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715

Take the listener survey…http://survey.greatdetectives.net

Give us a call 208-991-4783

Follow us on Instagram at http://instagram.com/greatdetectives

Become one of ourfriends on Facebook.

Follow us on Twitter@radiodetectives

EP3592: Jeff Regan: A Thousand Violins–Almost

A violinist hires Regan and International to find out why his fiancée broke off their engagement.

Original Air Date: January 4, 1950

Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net

Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net.

Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715

Take the listener survey…http://survey.greatdetectives.net

Give us a call 208-991-4783

Become one of ourfriends on Facebook.

Follow us on Instagram at http://instagram.com/greatdetectives

Follow us on Twitter@radiodetectives

EP3591: Casey, Crime Photographer: The Piggy Bank Robbery

Stats Cotsworth

A young photographer tells Casey that his apartment was burglarized by a professional and all that was stolen was his sixteen-month-old son’s piggy bank.

Original Air Date: January 29,1948

Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net

Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net.

Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715

Take the listener survey…http://survey.greatdetectives.net

Give us a call 208-991-4783

Follow us on Instagram at http://instagram.com/greatdetectives

Become one of ourfriends on Facebook.

Follow us on Twitter@radiodetectives