Author: Yours Truly Johnny Blogger

Audio Drama Review: Red Panda Adventures, Season 5

Season 5 of the Red Panda Adventures from, “Decoder Ring Theatre” was originally released between 2009-2010 and is set in late 1930s Toronto.

This is the first season with Kit Baxter (Clarissa Der Nederlanden Taylor) and the Red Panda (Gregg Taylor) married and it’s fun to watch their relationship evolve. Events of this seasons do appear to take place over a long block of time as at the start of the season they’re newlyweds but in the second half of the season, they’ve married well over a year.

Season 5 offers its fair share of traditional Red Panda episodes involving supervillains, and mysterious deaths. On the supervillain front, the “Puzzle Master” is one of the more solid episodes of the series so far.

Yet, at the same time, the pre-World War II stories continued to heat up as Gregg Taylor (who also wrote the series) laid the ground for the next four seasons of World War II stories. The Red Panda and Flying Squirrel keep getting in the way of the Nazis mad preparations for war and their efforts to acquire magical objects. While they have a fair bit of luck against them, the season finale makes it clear the overall effort to stop the Nazis hadn’t gone well as the Stranger arrives seeking their help to limit the damage of the defeat suffered by the Council of Mages. In addition, towards the end of the season, we meet Colonel Fitzroy, an Army officer who would play a big role in Season 6.

Overall, Season 5 was a solid season of The Red Panda Adventures. It lived up to the high standards the previous set while doing a very good job laying the groundwork for the future.

Rating 4.5 out of 5

Season 5 of the Red Panda Adventures is available for free download at Decoder Ring Theatre

EP2912: Dragnet: The Big Mannikin

Jack Webb
A woman reports her husband missing.

Original Air Date: October 19, 1954

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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
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EP2911: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: Out of the Fire and Into the Frying Pan

Charles Russell

Johnny is sent to a State fair to protect a prize hog.

Original Air Date: August 21, 1949

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

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EP2910: Boston Blackie: The ‘Killer Lightning’ Murders

Richard Kollmar

A woman and her scientist lover murder her husband by lightning.

Original Air Date: December 8, 1948

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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
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EP2909: Rocky Jordan: The Big Gamble

Jack Moyles

A racketeer tries to pressure Rocky into letting him set up gambling tables in the Tambourine.

Original Air Date: April 23, 1950

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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

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EP2908: Let George Do It: Sucker Stunt

George tries to turn the tables on a man who played him for a sucker but finds out he gave him a perfect alibi for the murder of his wife.

Original Air Date: June 11, 1951

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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
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EP2907: Sherlock Holmes: The Solitary Cyclist (Host’s Choice/Wild Card)

John Gielgud

A charming young governess is haunted by a mysterious bearded bicyclist.

Original Air Date: February 27, 1955

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
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Video Theater 162: I’m the Law: the Cowboy and the Blind Man Story

A singing cowboy asks Lieutenant George Kirby (George Raft) to help out a beautiful professional trick shooter, however she quickly becomes a murder suspect.

Season 1, Episode 2

Original Air Date: February 20, 1953

EP2906s: Frank Race: The Istanbul Adventure

Race encounters a woman in distress in Istanbul and then is hired to help her in her cause: stopping vicious black marketeers who are stealing medicine.

Original Air Date: March 19, 1949

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
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Audio Drama Review: Black Jack Justice, Season 5

Season Five of Black Jack Justice featured six new cases that aired between December 2009 and February 2010 as Jack Justice (Christopher Mott) and his partner Trixie Dixon, Girl Detective (Andrea Lyons) take on six more cases in a post-war American city.

The season kicked off with, “Requiem for an Elf” the duo’s first Christmas special involving the duo’s underworld contact Freddy the Finger getting caught in the midst of a charity Santa racket and once again needing bailed out.

The other five episodes in the season all centered around famous sayings and proverbs. It’s an idea that may have been borrowed from the golden age radio series, The Amazing Mr. Malone but it works well here, giving each episode a sense of organization. Every episode this season hit perfectly with me. “Stormy Weather”is probably my favorite so far with some of the best banter I’ve heard in the series as well as good suspenseful moments. As usual, the series’ great comedic moments are balanced by more serious action, and the final episode has a few hints of romance for Jack.

Overall, Season 5 was great fun and probably my favorite series so far.

Rating:4.75 out of 5

The entire season is free to download from Decoder Ring Theatre.

EP2906: Dragnet: The Big Tar Baby

Jack Webb

A man reports his wife kidnapped but withdraws the report in a way that makes Friday suspicious.

Original Air Date: October 12, 1954

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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
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EP2905: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: Murder Ain’t Minor

Charles Russell

Johnny takes a simple job from a disreputable man to find a woman to sign insurance. Johnny finds himself in the midst of a murder investigation.

Original Air Date: August 7, 1949

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

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EP2904: Boston Blackie: Joe Gatling Murdered Over Marked Money

Richard Kollmar

A man’s father dies and he expects to collect a fortune from a wealthy gangster in exchange for a dollar bill.

Original Air Date: October 6, 1948

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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
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EP2903: Rocky Jordan: Adventure in Zaqaziq

Jack Moyles

Captain Sabaya suggests Jordan go on an adventure for adventure’s sake…going undercover as an American black market drug buyer.

Original Air Date: April 16, 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

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EP2902: Let George Do It: Big Brother

A club owner wants to find out who socked him on the head and at the center of the mystery is a girl who has a lot of men who treat her like a little sister.

Original Air Date: May 21, 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
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