Let’s talk about old time (and some new) radio shows

[WT Sharpe]

I’ve been reading the earlier Old Time Radio thread, and note that mtravellerh mentioned Gunsmoke. I’ve never been much of a fan of the Westerns, but I make a big exception for Gunsmoke. Although most of us who are old enough to remember the TV show will no doubt forever associate Matt Dillon with James Arness’s excellent portrayal, the radio show with William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon is a real winner as well. In the day and age when most westerns were kiddie-fare with clear-cut heroes and villains, and the only thing the cowboy kissed was his horse, Gunsmoke came along with writing and plots clearly intended for an adult audience, and a hero whose woman was a real pro, so to speak.

[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I love that one, and the late E.G. Marshall had the perfect voice for announcing those tales. I do have to admit to being slightly put-off at times with his pseudo-scientific sermonizing about how humans deny that which they cannot understand which seems to adorn every episode, but that's a small thing, and it does fit well with the genre, so I never really lost any sleep over it.

I'm a fan of the CBS Radio Mystery Theater too. I used to listen to it every weeknight and was never disappointed with it. I found Marshall's introductions and closing perfect for the series.

Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward

I have a problem with most old American Radio shows, in that what you find is mostly over-compressed Mp-3's that sound like they were recorded on Edison's original cylinder machine.

As to comedy shows, you might try Bergen and McCarthy. Edgar Bergen got away with lots that would have been censored at the time. Downright modern....

I second the recommendation for the Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy radio shows. Although the shows are decades old, they are still funny. The other radio comedians of that time (including Fred Allen, Jack Benny, and Abbott & Costello) are still funny.

Another radio-style program I've taken an interest in are the Twilight Zone Radio Dramas. They take the old Twilight Zone shows and do them as radio broadcasts using many famous stars. In the stories that I have, they take the original and enhance it, providing more depth and detail to the original stories. The ones I've listened to have been excellent.

On the sound quality of old-time radio, it is possible that it is due to the limitations of sound recording technology of that time. Many recordings of early U. S. television programs don't look that great either and a part of the reason could be the methods used to record them (such as Kinescope http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinescope).

[HarryT]

Question: All these posts make it sound as if radio is a "thing of the past" in the US. Here in the UK, the national BBC radio stations, which broadcast a lot a drama, documentaries, comedy, etc, are extremely popular. Is radio not regarded as a mass entertainment medium in the US any more? Is it just seen as a medium for music and news, and nothing else, these days?

[Fledchen]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Question: All these posts make it sound as if radio is a "thing of the past" in the US. Here in the UK, the national BBC radio stations, which broadcast a lot a drama, documentaries, comedy, etc, are extremely popular. Is radio not regarded as a mass entertainment medium in the US any more? Is it just seen as a medium for music and news, and nothing else, these days?

Radio in the U.S. is used for music, news, and talk shows (usually hosted by people on extreme ends of the political spectrum). You get some entertainment and documentary shows on public nonprofit radio stations (NPR and PRI affiliates) but mainstream commercial radio does not have much to offer. I'm a big fan of BBC and CBC podcasts because they offer content that is unheard of here in the U.S.A.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Question: All these posts make it sound as if radio is a "thing of the past" in the US. Here in the UK, the national BBC radio stations, which broadcast a lot a drama, documentaries, comedy, etc, are extremely popular. Is radio not regarded as a mass entertainment medium in the US any more? Is it just seen as a medium for music and news, and nothing else, these days?

Unfortunately true as far as I know. We have the Prairie Home Companion by Garrison Keiller when I listen to on Saturday nights, but that's about I know of as far as original shows. (and that is on public radio).

[HarryT]

Thanks for that. It's a shame, because I think that, in many ways, radio is a much better medium for a lot of forms of entertainment than TV is. You can listen to it in the car, or while you're doing something else, rather than needing to sit down in front of it, as you do with TV.

[kennyc]

I agree completely Harry. As they say (at least in 'merika) "video killed the radio stars"

It's sad really.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Question: All these posts make it sound as if radio is a "thing of the past" in the US. Here in the UK, the national BBC radio stations, which broadcast a lot a drama, documentaries, comedy, etc, are extremely popular. Is radio not regarded as a mass entertainment medium in the US any more? Is it just seen as a medium for music and news, and nothing else, these days?

Harry, I've been trying to find the source for this, but I believe that in the U.S., traditional radio shows ended on September 30, 1962. That's the day the networks, without prior notice to the radio stars, officially pulled the plug on radio drama drama and turned their full attention to television. I'll let you know if I find something on that. From what I've heard, it wasn't pretty. The stars of the radio shows didn't know about the networks' plans until they showed up for work only to find they no longer had jobs.

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UPDATE: I still can't find any concrete evidence to collaborate what I said in the previous paragraph. Until I do, please take my remarks with a grain of salt.