Theater of the Mind....

...so has radio drama/comedy been called.

Every Sunday, it has been my curse to work on Sunday in DC...a 76 mile door to door one way excursion up I-95 to work for you, the American Taxpayer. (Snide comments about federal employees are surprisingly appropriate ;) )

What makes this drive bearable is my car...a Hyundai Elantra that provides me with 3 options for getting an OTR (old time radio fix)...an aux input for my mp3 player, a cd player that reads mp3 and XM radio (which may not be with us here longer).

This morning, as I drove up, I was alongside Johnny Dollar as he investigated another insurance fraud where a "respectable doctor" is brought to justice and later as he "digs" for the truth to discover a killer.

Some have asked me in the past why I love old time radio. In some ways, its hard to explain a fascination with a form of entertainment that died years ago and despite some attempts at revival has never come back to life.

A recent post of mine mentioned I dont like much of today's tv....albeit with a few exceptions. TV can be a great informational, teaching, entertainment tool but more often than not suffers from a multitude of failures. Two examples are striving for the "lowest common denominator" (read into that gutter, non funny humor that tries to pass for humor) and a formula mentality that creates a blandness, a sameness that you have seen this before.

In its heyday, radio had a vibrant energy. There was no "sameness" all over the dial. There was a lifeblood of vitality. And this vitality was not limited to Hollywood. Not everything came from one source. You could live in Oklahoma City and create a series that would be picked up by a major network and carried nationwide. Scott Bishop did that with his series Dark Fantasy, and Richard Thorne created Hall of Fantasy in Utah. Each was picked up by a major network NBC and Mutual respectively. Or you could be WXYZ in Chicago that during the depression years came up with three series that went national and are still famous having bridged radio into television and films. Challenge of the Yukon, The Green Hornet, and The Lone Ranger are the shows that this station created.

Any one day on the radio would be a smorgasboard of variety...not only in types of programming but writing, acting, etc. Television and films are guilty of letting great visuals, flashy graphics hide hackneyed writing, wooden acting, poor direction. You can sit a dozen people in front of a tv watching the Simpsons and everyone sees the same thing. You cant go back days, weeks later and recall too much about the show....just that it was funny at the time.

Radio however did not have the visuals, it did not have the graphics. All it had was sound. And a show as well as the mediums success depended on the sound. Take the same dozen people, place them in a room with a radio and let them listen to a Johnny Dollar episode. Each one will have a different "movie" in their mind. Their Dollar will be unique and different to them because they are creating it in their mind. Tight writing, skillful voice acting and direction along with skillful use of sound effects could make the best radio show of yesterday be just as effective today.

Orson Welles realized the power of radio on halloween 1938 with War of the Worlds a broadcast that started a panic as listeners truly believed an invasion by aliens had begun. Arch Obler experimented with the effectiveness of sound as a storyteller with Lights Out. Jack Benny with his skilled writers and coworkers (not to mention his own abilities) created a skinflint cheapskate personna on his own show. That personna was so artfully crafted that a famous skit is where Benny is held up and the robber tells him twice "Your money or your life". His response "I'm thinking about it" drew one of the shows longest laughs. Why? Because it was such a perfect response by a character listeners had created in their mind. The Jack Benny of real life was nothing like the Jack Benny of the show. But because of the skills, talents of the people involved, Jack and his world seemed real life.

Of course, not all old time radio is excellently crafted. A lot is quick, rushed, or bored work. A listen to any Philo Vance show will prove that one. But there are many gems to be found. And on a lazy day, when you want to expand your mind, open up the imagination, radio theatre is a great way to go.

Some of the greatest shows of yesterday could still hold their fascination today. I see that in the interest 2 of my nephews and nieces have in the shows. I hear it every time I listen to a radio show where by the skillful and artful work by talented writers, musicians, sound effects

Reflections on Reading

My nephew Pete, is truly a remarkable guy. Bright, energentic with an interest in the classics (witness his blog Paladin's Pen)

It is while I was perusing his latest postings that my mind wandered to how rare it is nowadays to see children have such an interest, much less be exposed to them.

In a world now full of XBox's, Playstations, cable tv, computers (gaming and web)...reading especially a book, seems to be rare nowadays. Many of the stories (as Pete points out) were created to teach moral truths in a simple, effective way. Parents back in the old, old, old days usually had few books in their possessions, and those were highly prized. You would always nearly find a well read, well worn bible and perhaps a book or two of classics. Parents would use these to teach, instruct their children in simple truths and lessons.

There are many things I could say about the family unit today, but perhaps that will be for later. Instead, how much valuable learning today has been lost to the electronic vampires of today. Vampires that in a sense steal time, energy from the young.

As a child, I grew on a farm, no one really around to pal with. My first interest/love was a book. I remember many enjoyable hours reading...going to my aunt and uncles antique shop to get new books. I remember going to Cloverleaf Mall with my mom and sisters for shopping. They would always drop me off at the Walden Bookstore (one would not dare do that nowadays with their child) and knew that no matter how long they took, I'd be there when they got back.

I learned much from reading. It opened a world of learning and imagination. Over the years my tastes changed. From boys adventure/detective stories to science fiction, to mysteries and now to non-fiction...history, books were friends that I felt comfortable with and enjoyed.

It is a pity that nowadays, instead of curling up with a good book, most children prefer to watch cartoons or other kid shows on tv...play on the computer (games or surfing), or use console gaming for entertainment. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Penrod, Hardy Boys, Sherlock Holmes, have given away to Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, Pokemon games.

Something has been lost. I love to read, always will. It's a shame that in a way, the love of reading is dying. People like Peter tho, give me hope that there will always be those young minds who will love and cherish a good book.