Tag: Old Time Radio

Golden Age Article

Radio Detective Story Recommendations

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Recently, I saw a Tweet asking podcasters when was the last time that they recommended another episode of their podcast that listeners might enjoy based on the episode they were listening to. This specific activity isn’t something I do often with our podcast, since we’re working through different detective series and honestly, I can’t remember all the details of more than 3,800 episodes enough to be handing out 1:1 plot recommendations.

However, what did occur to me is that listeners who like the programs that we’re currently playing may enjoy another series from our archives that’s similar. I’ll be making specific recommendations for our current programs in podcast episodes next week. In this article, I’ll not only cover those series that we’re currently featuring, but those we’ve started, going back to Season Eleven. Note: I’m only going to do series that we did for a long time (apologies to so many of the short programs we’ve done).

Mondays:

If listeners enjoyed Dan Holiday’s adventures in Box 13, they might also like Night Beat. Box 13 is tough to find a match for and the characters’ motivation does differ. Dan Holiday needs to write novels and gets inspiration from the adventures that he’s sent on by people who mail Box 13, while Randy Stone spends his nights prowling around for a story that goes into the next edition of his newspaper, The Star. What both have in common is that not only do they each have a journalism background, but their methods lead to them investigating mysteries that you don’t really hear on other mystery programs.

Another tough program to match is Casey, Crime Photographer. No one’s going to match the exact quirkiness of Casey, Crime Photographer with the presence of unique characters like Ethelbert the bartender and the Blue Note (which is a character in and of itself), or Casey’s unique code of honor and role. However, if you want a similar style of mystery, you might enjoy Nick Carter, which was also produced in New York and has a similar style of crime fiction.

For people who love Spade, I’d suggest checking out Richard Diamond. This hard-boiled detective series starring Dick Powell, like Sam Spade, has plenty of humor, and like Spade it also has some romantic interludes. Diamond is a bit of a lady’s man and can spout a line of well-timed sarcasm. As a program, Richard Diamond has more violence than Sam Spade, and more and better singing.

Tuesday:

If you enjoyed the Australian version of It’s a Crime, Mr. Collins, you might also like The Adventures of the Abbotts, a 1955 NBC series whose scripts were later reused on It’s a Crime, Mr. Collins. The Abbotts generally features better quality acting and sound quality vs. It’s a Crime, Mr. Collins. 

If you liked the serialized radio adventures of Dick Tracy, unfortunately, we don’t have a detective program quite like that. However, you may enjoy our Old Time Radio Superman podcast.

For lovers of the Australian version of The Fat Man, I’d recommend checking out Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator. While not advertised based on weight, Barrie is established to be a big guy who gets into and out of lots of trouble.

If you were delighted by our extended revisit to Jeff Regan, I’d suggest listening to our dedicated Jeff Regan feed where you can find all the episodes we did of the series going back to our first season. Regan is another tough series to match very well: Regan’s status as an employee, his crazy uncle boss Anthony Lyons getting him involved in weird cases because of greed isn’t something you’ll find in other series. Richard Diamond may have the most in common as on this series, as some truly silly set-ups can lead to some genuine moments of hard-boiled action and peril.

Mister Chameleon was a a bit of an acquired taste for many people. If you enjoyed it, then you might also enjoy the other programs created by Anne and Frank Hummer, including Hearthstone of the Death Squad, Inspector Throne and the longest-running detective series of all-time, Mister Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons. We created a “Keen and Company” feed with all of those programs.

Several good matches for our current Tuesday series I Hate Crime are available. That Hammer Guy (the radio adventures of Mike Hammer), That Strong Guy (AU), and The Man From Homicide all feature more violent, rough-edged protagonists. They were among the series that some listeners complained about at the time, but if you like I Hate Crime, they may be worth checking out on my Hated Detectives feed.

Wednesdays:

Our last two Wednesday series, The Man Called X and Dangerous Assignment, featured stories of international troubleshooting and intrigue. If you enjoyed either of those series, you might want to check out The Adventures of Frank Race. In addition, we did another espionage-based series starring James Monks as I.A. Moto. The series is included with another James Monks-led series, The Avenger, in a combined podcast feed. In addition, even though it’s not in the detective genre, you might like Top Secret, starring Ilona Massey as a World War II/Cold War Secret Agent. We did the entire series for The Amazing World of Radio.

Thursdays 

Our last two Thursday series, Mystery is My Hobby and Philo Vance, have some similarities to each other. Both feature genius detectives solving cases with the glowing admiration of minions of the law. Fans of Philo Vance might enjoy Boston Blackie, a series that was also produced by Ziv Productions, features an organ-based theme and also utilized New York character actors. Fans of both series might also enjoy more famous genius detectives like Sherlock Holmes, Nero Wolfe, and Hercule Poirot. 

Fridays

Yours Truly Johnny Dollar is our Friday mainstay and each era is a little different in terms of what the show is most like.

With Edmond O’Brien as star, the series was one of the bleakest old time radio detective programs.The closest series to the tone and feel of O’Brien’s take on Johnny Dollar would be the Jack Webb episodes of Jeff Regan. If you’re into downbeat mysteries, you might also enjoy another short Webb-led series, Pete Kelly’s Blues, which is part of our Forgotten Detectives feed.

The John Lund version of Yours Truly Johnny Dollar was a big mix of different types of stories, including a lot of script reuse from series such as Richard Diamond. Overall the type of stories being featured were quite a bit different than the hard-boiled tales of the late 1940s and early 1950s. There are some very rich and multi-layered stories that reflect evolving listener tastes. Other programs from the mid-1940s, such as Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator and The Abbotts, are most comparable.

Saturday 

We’ve featured several Saturday procedural programs including The Silent Men and Tales of the Texas Rangers along with several shorter series. One program that procedural fans would do well to remember is our first Saturday series The Line Up, a series focused on realistic police cases, with each episode featuring a lineup scene. If you’ve enjoyed our other Saturday offerings, The Line Up is a must-listen.

If you have any recommendations or favorite golden age detective series that I’ve not discussed, feel to mention it in the comments.

Audio Drama Review, Golden Age Article

Audio Drama Review: Mutual Radio Theater, Volume 1, Week Four

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This is the final part of our review of Radio Archives’ Mutual Radio Theater, Volume 1 covering the third week of the series. For a look at an overview of the set, see the first week review.  Also see week two and week three

The Blind Gun:  The town bully murders the father of a nineteen year old blind man right in front of him. The local law refuses to do anything reasoning that it’s the boy’s word vs. the murderer’s and a blind man’s word isn’t worth as much as that of a man who can see. The young man asks an elderly alcoholic former gunslinger to teach him to shoot so he can get vengeance for his father’s death. Golden Age Stars: Vic Perrin, Marvin Miller, Parley Baer, Howard Culver 

Review: The story is about what you’d expect from this genre and hits all the right plot notes. Not only that, but the murdered father, the gunslinger, and the young blind man are written well and are quite likable characters. There’s no real shock in the outcome, although it does take a turn I wouldn’t have predicted in order to get there. It’s a good listen and delivers everything you could ask of a story like this. Grade: B 

Fontaine Harris, Hollywood Producer: It’s 1928 and a con man has bought a stake in a movie studio. However, the company’s head honcho has some odd ideas about films and our protagonist begins to suspect something’s off. Golden Age stars: Harold Peary, Barney Phillips, Shepard Menkin, Sandra Gould, Jack Kruchen, and Shirley Mitchell 

It was great to hear Harold Peary acting on radio as his performance as the Great Gildersleeve were so iconic. This one had funny moments, but didn’t reach a definitive conclusion. Doing some research, I found this story was a continuation of two prior stories that had appeared on Sears Radio Theater.  In the Sears Radio Theater, Pat Buttram (famous for playing Mister Haney on Green Acres.) plays the lead character. Here, Jesse White takes the role and he’s passable at best. 

The ending is unsatisfying and more than anything else, it just seems to stop.  It sets up a bit for the final sequel story (which would air six months later.) That’s a dubious decision that makes this hard to judge. Grade: C 

An International Sport: A young Soviet Ice Skater is planning to defect at the International Championships in London over the objections of her loyal Soviet patriot father. The KBG is aware of this and has plans to use this to their own advantage. Golden Age Stars: Shepard Menken,  Ben Wright, June Whitley-Taylor

This is fairly standard Cold War fare. Shepherd Menken does as good a job as the father as he possibly can, giving some warmth that lends believability for where his character goes in this story. It also does have a good mystery around why the Soviets are letting her go, knowing she intends to defect and what their agenda is. 

The biggest problem is that the Soviets are played in acartoonish way. When production treats them as bad guys who are figures of menace, it can work. When a production portrays them in silly stereotypical ways, it’s hard to take them as a serious threat, which undermines the story. Grade: B- 

Those Who Can…: An acting instructor and two of his students help coach a temperamental singer who is set to star in a big movie but has no movie experience. Golden Age Star: Byron Kane 

Review: This is an intriguing and engaging story. The acting instructor is an interesting character. He’s dedicated to his profession and got a lot of ideas but doesn’t always practice what he preaches. I like how the singer was played. She was stuck up, entitled, used to getting her own way, and full of herself, yet still in a way that wasn’t over-the-top and you could believe she could get by in most places by the strength of her celebrity. And of course, there’s Sandra, the acting student, who comes off a bit timid at first but really comes into her own at the conclusion of the story.  

This was just a nice piece of writing and acting. Grade: A- 

The Whale Savers: An aspiring photojournalist lands a berth on a whale saving ship bound for Antarctica. Golden Age Stars: Parley Baer 

“The Whale Savers” definitely has a viewpoint on the very hot 1980s issue of saving the whales and has a few educational moments about whaling and what whale-saving ships do as they try to stop a pirate whaler from killing a blue whale. However, this story never forgets it’s an adventure tale and it delivers. It mixes its thrilling sea and whale plot with a believable relationship that develops and resolves sensibly with the ship’s only female crew member and our glory-seeking photographer protagonist. It’s story that’s well-researched, not afraid to show it, but also never gets bogged down in unnecessary details.  

Having Leonard Nimoy narrate is fun given his most famous character, Mr. Spock, would go on a Whale-Saving mission of his own in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, a film that Nimoy also directed and wrote the story for a few years later. 

Whether this story had any indirect influence over Mr. Nimoy in writing Star Trek IV, I don’t know. However, whether you agree with its message or not, this story was one whale of a tale and a fine conclusion to the set. Grade: A 

Overall Thoughts

By nature of being an anthology program, there’s a wide variant in quality with the series. I’m so glad I got to hear certain episodes while other episodes were awful. The Western Night provided the most consistent quality. The Love Night was surprisingly strong, with some good dramas, and only one effort that was slightly subpart in week three. The mystery night was consistently passable, with no stories that stood out for either being good or bad. The adventure night was a mixed bag. After a so-so first week and a dreadful second, the third and fourth week featured some of my favorite stories of the set. Alas, the Comedy in this series is really a weak point, as so often it just wasn’t funny or wasn’t that funny.

On the other hand, the sound quality of the set really does shine through. The sound is superb from start to finish. However, at its price point, it’s a dubious value for a set where the stories vary in quality so much.

If you’re nostalgic for the show or remember the 1980s and want to go back, this could be a good set to purchase. If you love great sounding audio and have the cash, this is also a really superb listen. In addition, if your library has the Hoopla app, you can check this out and enjoy the stories that sounded like they interest you at no charge.

Rating: 3.5 out 5.0

Golden Age Article

My Favorite Old Radio Research Resources

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The following are some of my favorite and most powerful research resources for the Golden Age of Radio:

Radio Goldindex: This was created by respected radio researcher and chronicler David Goldin. It recently was hosted at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, which has helped ensure it’s always up.

You can search for programs by series title, by performer name, or by date. There are tens of thousands of programs included. Oftentimes entries are based on Goldin’s examination of actual transcription disks, so it’s helpful to settling questions about when programs aired. Unless there’s strong evidence to the contrary, I go with what’s in Goldin’s log. He’s also far better at recognizing a host of old time radio voices than I am. I also use this to help me find programs for extras I do for the app. featuring old time radio detectives in different roles or when I do a themed series on the Amazing World of Radio featuring a specific actor. I also used this when I did a special podcast gift to my mother featuring programs that aired on her birthdate a few years back.

The site does have its problems. The listings aren’t 100 percent accurate and the search by artist and search by programs aren’t perfectly synced. Also, entries have varying degrees of information on dramatic programs. Some will give just cast/crew information. Others will include plot details and even occasionally a mini-review.

Still, it’s incredibly useful and its flaws are due to the fact the Index began as a one-man labor of love.

On the Air is John Dunning’s massive encyclopedia of Old Time Radio. I bought the Kindle edition several years ago, but a listener was moving and sent me their hardback edition and it is nice to have this big physical book filled with Old Time Radio shows.

It’s an incredibly useful book. It’s particularly helpful when I’m researching obscure programs. The length of each entry varies, and the popularity of the program may determine that in part as people are going to be more interested in reading about Fibber McGee and Molly rather than pages about some obscuring singing program. It’s particularly useful in determining how long a series ran.

The book was released in 1998 and there has been additional research since then and there have been some programs discovered that aren’t listed in Dunning’s massive tome. Still, it’s an incredibly useful starting place to get basic information on a series’ stars, how long a series ran, and what networks it was on as well as a lot of little tidbits.

Wikipedia has some information on old time radio programs, but Wikipedia is always best as a starting point for research rather than as an end. Some topics are well-researched and edited, with detailed radio logs. Others have partial logs, no log at all, or has information included that’s wrong or just an urban legend. As a rule of thumb, the more obscure the program, the less likely you are to find a good article on it here.

Google Books has been a lifesaver in helping with obscure topics and programs because it searches and indexes so many different old time radio books and books on various actors that it comes up with information that’s just not available searching the Internet. I’ve gotten on some interesting rabbit trails. And this resource has also led to a few Interlibrary loans and purchases.

Log Sites:

Digitial Deli FTP, is not as updated as often as it used to be but it also has a lot of good information and articles on various radio programs. The site not only includes logs but it tends to show which old newspapers it got information from as well as often reprinting or quoting articles on a particular source. Digital Deli FTP can be a bit uncharitable with the perceived failings and disagreements of others within the Golden Age of Radio community and also can get a little political. However, despite those issues, it’s got a lot of great information on it.

Old Time Radio Program logs is a great listing of Old Time Radio episode logs by Frank Passages, Stewart Wright, and other notable researchers. The logs not only contain information about when episodes aired, but also the show’s overall production. Their log of O’Hara was invaluable in understanding how to best discuss the two circulating episodes recorded five years apart with two different stars. There are a few of them that are a bit older and maybe not as up to date, but the site is still an incredible resource.

Jerry’s Vintage Radio Logs: This is from the site of Old Time Radio pillar Jerry Haendiges. The logs are designed to feature his high-quality old time radio recordings which are available on CD and MP3. He has some program logs here that are just not available anywhere else. While some are quite old, you can tell which ones are more out of date as he always notes the last updated date. His logs for Sherlock Holmes and the Australian run of the Fat Man have been invaluable. He’s also got a lot of other great resources on his site.

Miscellaneous:

Old Time Radio Star Interviews: Years after the golden age of radio ended, many starts continued to talk about their experiences. The OTRR library has full interviews with several radio stars conducted by John Dunning and Chuck Schaeden. If you don’t want to listen to full interviews, the Breaking the Walls podcast does a great job incorporating selected excerpts that highlight interesting tidbits about radio history.

Old Time Radio Newsletters:

The Old Time Radio Researchers puts out the Old Time Radio Times every two months in pdf.

The Metropolitan Old Time Radio offers its Radio Recall newsletter to its members and has samples on its website.

Audio Drama Review, Golden Age Article

Radio Series Review: Your Hit Parade

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Your Hit Parade was one of the most successful music programs of radio’s golden age, running from 1935-53 on radio and then continuing over television until 1959.

The series evolved into playing the top tunes of the week (often in no particular order) with each song sung live on the air by one of the series’ vocalists. There are more than 100 episodes in circulation, and you can hear a little of the evolution of music over two decades. However, it should be note there’s only handful of recordings from the 1930s and even fewer episodes of the 1950s. The sweet spot for circulating episodes is between 1942 and 1949, so if you love 1940s pop music, Your Hit Parade is for you.

It’s probably my favorite era in popular music with popular music being influenced by old time country western and jazz, along with some great sentimental songs for crooning, World War II patriotic hits, and love songs that were actually about love and marriage.

There were of different vocalist who sang on the series but the most famous was Frank Sinatra, who had two stints as the show’s male vocalist. One of the delights of listening to the series is hearing Sinatra sing some songs that you wouldn’t associate with him like “The San Fernando Valley.”

Of course, Sinatra and the others had to sing some of the lesser songs including the most bizarre song to make the hit parade, “The Woody Woodpecker Song. “

This song stayed on the charts for months, including weeks as the top tune in the country. You can hear Sinatra’s frustration with having to sing this song over and over again. Most bizarre is that Your Hit Parade was based in part on what people were asking the bandleader to play and I strain to imagine adults in the 1940s asking the bandleader to play, “The Woody Woodpecker Song.”  Still, while it’s bit annoying,  it’s not offensive, it’s just bizarre that this tune was this popular with adults.

However, despite a few clunkers, there are a lot of forgotten musical treasures, and some fun performances.  In addition, the series has some episodes that will surprise you such as one episode from 1938 when comic legend W.C. Fields was performing comedy with Baby Snooks “Daddy” Hanley Stafford as the announcer/straight man. In addition, there are some episodes in circulation dated after the show ceased broadcasting a radio version which I assume were the soundtracks of the TV version which were often broadcast over radio.

Overall, I enjoyed listening to the circulating episodes and I would recommend them to any listener with a taste for the pop music of this area.

Audio Drama Review, Golden Age Article

Review: Sealtest Variety Theater

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Doing a live radio broadcast from a Houston hotel ballroom to a rowdy crowd on Saint Patrick’s Day in 1949 seemed like a good idea to someone. That infamous 1949 broadcast of the Sealtest Variety Theater became one of the biggest live radio fails in history and what the series is remembered for.

The Sealtest Variety Theater had a total of 42 broadcasts between its premier in September 1948 and it going off the air in July 1949. It was hosted by Dorothy Lamour who had co-starred in most of the Road movies with the legends Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. The show featured a dazzling array of stars including Jimmy Stewart, Edward G. Robinson, Gregory Peck, William Powell, Boris Karloff, and Sidney Greenstreet along with legends such as Hope, Abbott and Costello, Jim and Marianne Jordan as Fibber McGee and Molly, Norris Goff and Chester Lauck and Lum ‘n Abner, Harold Peary as the Great Gildersleeve, and Ed Gardner as Archie from Duffy’s Tavern.

Lamour’s charisma and star power was on full display. She remained likable throughout the series run and provided nice musical performances as well. She appeared to have been enjoying the series, laughing regularly and making the audience want to laugh along with her.

Additional musical entertainment was provided by Henry Russell and his orchestra and the Crew Chiefs. The music is all pleasant to listen to and on par with what you’d hear on most other radio programs.

Through the show’s first seven months on the air, the format included plenty of music, a dramatic sketch between Lamour and the guest of the week, and a comedy bit. Sometimes Lamour performed in the comedic sketches. Other times, a comedy team like Abbott and Costello would perform a typical routine or there’d be an occasional stand-up sketch.

The comedy was pretty solid for the Golden Age. The dramatic sketches were a mixed bag. Some were fairly good, but others seemed trite, silly, or simplistic. I mostly enjoyed them, but there were a few times I felt bad that a talented actor had to work with that material.

The infamous Saint Patrick’s day performance fell during this run. The wild crowd and technical difficulties led to sound quality issues and a profanity being spoken over the air by a male voice. To her credit, Lamour remained calm through it all. It was radio veteran Gardener who lost it and ignored her attempts to keep the show on script by trying to come up with something random that would make the crowd happy.

The event made headlines and Lamour didn’t run for it. In one sketch later on where she had to boast of what deeds made her character tough enough for something, she said, “Oh yeah, well I did a show at a hotel in Houston.”

In April, the show tweaked its format. The music stayed, but the dramatic sketches and individual comedy guest spots were done away with. Eddie Bracken joined the series and it became something of a sitcom like Lamour and Bracken playing fictionalized versions of themselves, with Bracken finding ways to get himself and Lamour into trouble every week.

Bracken was a fair comic talent. In many ways, his style called to mind Alan Young’s style as an exuberant born loser who often believed Hollywood actors were exactly like the people they played in the movies.

Young filled in for Bracken in an incident that illustrates the culture of the golden age of radio. Young happened to be at the studio to record his own program and did the guess spot on Sealtest on 15 minutes notice. You couldn’t even tell the script had been written for another actor.

Overall, this is a decent comedy/music program.It didn’t have mind-blowing comedy or music, but it’s a pleasant and fun listen with some great talent. It deserves remembered for more than technical difficulties and some rowdy drunks ruining its Saint Patrick’s Day program.

Rating: 3.25 out of 5

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Audio Drama Review, Golden Age Article

My Big Finish Twenty, Part Four

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We continue our look at twenty great Big Finish releases in celebration of Big Finish’s Twentieth Anniversary.  Last week, we featured #10-6. Two week ago we covered numbers 15-11. See Part One for numbers 20-16.

We wrap up our Big Finish Twenty with my final five.

5) Jago and Litefoot Series 10

I love Jago and Litefoot. I wrote four long posts detailing the history of their wonderful audio drama adventures, so of course they’d go on this list. Their absolute best Series was Series 10. (See my review here.) The set features some great adventures including Jago and Litefoot sending letters to their younger selves, competing with each other for the attention of their biographer, and Jago being buried alive and waking up in a dystopian future. The individual episodes are superb with the finale serving as a capstone to the first Ten Series of Jago & Litefoot.

Other contenders for Best Jago and Litefoot Series for me would include Series 1, Series 3, Series 5, and Series 8.

4)The One Doctor

The Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) and his companion Mel (Bonnie Langford) arrive in what the Doctor terms as a vulgar period of history where most things are known and there’s little exploration or curiosity. The Doctor and his exploits are pretty well-known. So well-known that a con man is impersonating the Doctor with the aide of his assistant Sally. The Doctor stumbles onto his impersonator but before he can get that sorted out, an evil overlord shows up and threatens to destroy the entire star system unless the system’s greatest treasures are brought to him.

This is the best Doctor Who comedy story Big Finish has released. It has a great cast including the future Doctor Who companion actor Matt Lucas, a clever script that makes sense, while still delivering a variety of humorous situations. Overall, this is an absolute joy.

3)Hamlet

Yes, you read that right. While it’s best known for its Science Fiction and Nostalgic TV adaptations, Big Finish did two Shakespearean plays, King Lear and Hamlet. Both plays were  well-performed with stellar casts that bring these legendary stories to life. Hamlet is my favorite of the two, since I generally like Hamlet a bit more than King Lear.

Hamlet is one of the best stories ever written, but that doesn’t mean adaptations of Hamlet are all good.  There are many poorly acted and poorly executed versions of the play that involve actors giving hammy performances or droning through their lines. There was a version of Hamlet that was subject of a Mystery Science Theater 3000 riff.

This is a brilliant Hamlet. Big Finish didn’t mess around with the script but they got some very good actors to appear in it. Alexander Vlahos is a great Hamlet. His delivery is pitch perfect. He makes every line real and credible.

The big advantage of this one is the sound design. Most audio versions of Shakespeare plays tend to be either recorded versions of the play or actors just reading the lines. However, this story has a very realistic and well-done sound design done by a company that specializes in making great-sounding audio. The sound and music are never intrusive or overdone and definitely enhance the experience.

This is a tremendous production that does justice to one of the greatest stories of all time.

2) Doctor Who: The Chimes of Midnight

The Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) and his companion Charlotte Pollard (India Fisher) arrive at an Edwardian Mansion on Christmas where on the stroke of midnight, a servant is killed in a bizarre way. The Doctor and Charley find themselves drawn into the story and try to solve the mystery as reality and time seem to bend in this strange and unusual place as more servants continue to die each time midnight strikes.

This is an amazing and multi-faceted story. It’s science fiction, it’s a mystery, a dark comedy, and a satire on the English class system. It has some hilarious moments, some dark moments, and ends with some sweet and emotional moments. It features great acting, superb direction, and top-notch writing. Chimes of Midnight has been consistently listed as one of Big Finish’s best releases since it came out in 2002. (In 2015, it was voted the best monthly Doctor Who release by listeners.) It’s a story that lives up to its massive hype and is a must-listen.

1) Doctor Who: The Last Adventure

All of the Doctors who appear in Big Finish Doctor Who stories were given a proper ending to their tenure on television with their regeneration, or I should say all but one.

When Colin Baker was cast to play the Sixth Doctor, he had high hopes for a long, happy tenure in the role but ended up with a short, unfortunate tenure. His character as written was unlikable (particularly in his first story) while he was given a clashing, multi-color costume universally panned. On top of that, the show’s script editor thought he wasn’t fit for the role and said so publicly. The show went on hiatus for 18 months and when the show returned, it did so with a “trial” that reminded the audience of the recent unpleasantness. Baker did a good job with what he was given, but was ultimately fired from the show and didn’t return for a regeneration story. Instead, his successor Sylvester McCoy appeared on the TARDIS set wearing Baker’s outfit and a blonde wig.

Baker’s Doctor got a second chance at Big Finish. On audio, the Sixth Doctor became a more likable character and got several new companions while starring in a host of well-written and memorable releases including the previously mentioned One Doctor. That really gave Baker a chance to show how good a Doctor he could be and gave many fans a new appreciation of his Doctor.

After so many years and so many stories, Producer David Richardson had the idea of finally giving the Sixth Doctor a proper ending. This led to the Last Adventure, which features four stories throughout the Sixth Doctor’s life that ultimately set the stage for his regeneration and a final confrontation with his enemy the Valyard. Each story is told with a different companion and the stories take different tones from an eerie story about a strange train yard to a light-hearted story about doglike people who have stay indoors to avoid becoming human to a suspenseful tale of malicious evil in Victorian London (with Jago and Litefoot) to a final confrontation in the TARDIS, this box set covers a lot of ground and each chapter is well-written and well-executed. They’re not only a solid conclusion to Baker’s era, but they also each stand up as strong stories in their own right.

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Audio Drama Review, Golden Age Article

Three Old Time Radio Detective Shows That Could be Rebooted in the 21st Century

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Most old time radio programs work in part because of the era they’re set in. For most programs, trying to update them to modern times would be silly. Taking Philip Marlowe, Barrie Craig, Nick Carter, or Candy Matson out of their original contexts wouldn’t make sense.

Of course, it’s always possible to do a period piece. Although modern period pieces often suffer from creators deciding they need to transport twenty-first-century sensibilities back into historical periods.

However, some old time radio detective programs could be made well set in modern times, with a few tweaks thrown in:

1) Box 13

The original concept: 1940s series starring Alan Ladd. The reporter and mystery writer Dan Holiday places an ad in the paper, “Mystery wanted, will go anywhere, do anything.” A few episodes in, Dan hired a secretary named Susie. It seems she had undiagnosed inattentive-type ADD, which unfortunately got her dismissed as ditzy at the time.

Twenty-first Century updates: He would post his ad online and receive replies to an email address with “Box 13” sneaked into it believably. He could be an adventure blogger who posts about his adventures and lives on Patreon income and Google AdSense revenue. Also, Susie could be portrayed as not being so dumb while steering clear of making her a Mary Sue.

2) The Big Guy

The original concept: 1950s radio series starring John Calvin as a widowed single father raising his two kids on his own while also being a private detective.

Twenty-First Century Update: I always thought the original concept of the show had a lot of unrealized potential. Probably the most important thing would be to pick a tone. The surviving episodes vary too much. Some try to be adult crime dramas, while others would have appealed more to kids. I would propose making it a good family show with some comedy and the kids stumbling into his cases.

3) Mr. and Mrs. North

The original concept: A publisher and his wife solve mysteries together.

Twenty-First Century update: It’s been too long since we have a loving mystery-solving couple. Tampering would be minimal. Pam and Jerry are already equal partners in the mystery-solving department. Listening to the radio programs or watching TV episodes, it’s a coin flip as to who’ll provide the solution.

She could have a separate career that leaves plenty of time for sleuthing, such as a photo blogger. Whoever wrote it would need to be careful to avoid turning her into the  “Strong Independent Woman” stock character that has replaced the damsel in distress. Pam North’s portrayal on radio and TV is witty, resourceful, funny, and fairly well-balanced. That should be maintained in any adaptation.

Honorable Mention: Night Beat

The original concept: Reporter Randy Stone roams the night in Chicago in search of stories. He writes mostly human interest tales of the best and worst of humanity in the night. Randy has a touch of cynicism, but also a lot of compassion and morality which motivates him. He’s part philosopher, as he paints broad pictures of humanity through each encounter.

Twenty-First Century update: Wouldn’t Work.

Night Beat makes a tempting target for a Twenty-First Century reboot. However, I don’t think it can be updated successfully.

Randy Stone is at the heart of the series. Unlike Box 13, you couldn’t just have him writing for a blog. He also couldn’t still be working on a newspaper.

If there were ever reporters who were close to Randy Stone, they’ve gone extinct. In the last sixty-five years, people have become more cynical about the press, and the press has become more cynical about people.

Reporters want to bring change but through partisan reporting that brings about systemic societal change. Randy Stone’s goals were nonpartisan: to be a decent person and to call other people to be decent too, regardless of politics. His nonpartisan perspective no longer flies in modern journalism. It may have been a bit fanciful in 1950. In 2018? Totally unrealistic.

The only thing a TV or radio creator could do with a modern-day Night Beat would be to ruin it by making it partisan. This would probably happen even if it was attempted as a period piece.

However, I welcome reader comments on the programs I’ve mentioned as well as any others that you think might (or might not) work with a modern day reboot.

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