Jack and David bring a double feature from the G-rated Bells in the Batfry from John Bell to the R-rated Sander Cobb from Steven Cardinal.
Episode 483- Sonic Stains
Lothar Tuppan from Broken Sea Audiobrings us the latest in his continuing fantasy epic Sword of the Crimson Tatters, episode 5!
Elementary Audio, My Dear Watson
The versatile and brilliant Derek Jacobi dons the famous deerstalker as Sherlock Holmes in the latest adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle‘s classic- The Hounds of the Baskervilles.
Fangoria magazine describes the new release of Sherlock Holmes: The HellHounds from Canadian filmmaker and actor Anthony D.P. Mann’s multi-media production company, Bleak December Inc. will release the new audio drama later this year and plans future audio releases of full-cast adaptations of FRANKENSTEIN, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE. DRACULA will be available as of September 30th – just in time for Halloween!
Crime Classics in Chicago
If you’re in the Chicago area, the Kimball Street Theater will be putting on Crime Classic on October 4th.
“Crime Classic,” an old-time radio drama with Radio Players West and the Elgin Symphony Orchestra trombone section will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 4 at the Kimball Street Theater of the Elgin Academy, 261 Dundee Ave., Elgin. It is presented by Chamber Music on the Fox. General admission is $20; student tickets $10. For information, go to www.ChamberMusicOnTheFox.org.
So get your ticket while you can, and go watch some incredible live Radio Drama!
OTR (Old Time Radio) finding NTL (New Time Listeners)
There’s a huge discussion in the modern audio drama realms that often ends up being confrontational. The New Time listeners and the Old Time Listeners represent a stark contrast in the listening habits of those who love radio plays. This can be a good thing, in that the medium is growing so large that we are able to break down into smaller groups. However, I’ve always felt that there’s good stories in old time radio shows as much as there is in new time podcasts.
Jay Powell in this Columbia Daily Herald article has also discovered new life in the great OTR shows. Mr. Powell writes about his love of the CBS Mystery Theater series he heard first in his teens:
When I was in my pre-teen years, back when mp3 downloads were still in their infancy, I discovered that there was more out there than just songs and movie soundtracks I could store on my iPod. Some of my favorite memories from those days were nights spent listening to the radio program, “CBS Radio Mystery Theater.”
These were episodic dramas produced between 1974-1982, often with a tinge of horror and the macabre, running between 40 minutes to an hour. The format was a throwback to old time radio shows like “The Shadow” or “The Hall of Fantasy,” complete with sound effects and special guest stars. I still remember the loud creaking door at the start of each episode and host E.G. Marshall saying “Come in…welcome,” before launching the listener into another fear-filled hour.
The stories often involved haunted houses, a killer on the loose, or ghosts from a person’s past. A tale or two from Edgar Allan Poe (my favorite writer at the time) would also pop up on occasion. Listening to those stories was a tradition for me night after night as the lights went out and I crawled into bed, hoping to have the bejeezus scared out of me once more before I went to sleep.
There were other shows I discovered later on, such as “The Inner Sanctum Mysteries,” “Suspense,” even the old Mercury Theater programs starring Orson Welles. Something about having to imagine the scenes as I closed my eyes and put on the headphones had a way of immersing the listener into that world, almost in a dreamlike state.
Read the rest of Mr. Powell’s love letter to the OTR and start listening again with new ears in archive.org
The Archers Highlight the Issues of Domestic Abuse
We’ve mentioned before that the BBC long running audio drama series The Archers have been helping a charity highlight the issues of domestic abuse. As this story line winds down, Helen Titchener, is on trial for the murder of her husband. The Slough Express writes:
A domestic abuse charity from Slough is hoping a hit radio show’s harrowing storyline will help bring the plight of domestic abuse victims ‘to the forefront of everyone’s minds’.
The tale of Helen Titchener, from BBC Radio 4’s The Archers, came to a gripping conclusion on Sunday.
She was accused of attempting to murder her abusive husband Rob, who had subjected her to months of physical and mental abuse.
During a special hour-long episode, a jury found her not guilty.
After the show’s conclusion, Becky Spiller, head of services at The Dash Charity, told the Express that the storyline helped address some misconceptions people have on domestic abuse victims.
Becky said: “In the case of Helen and Rob they’re quite a well to do middle class couple.
“People sometimes have a preconception in their heads that only a certain class of people will be victims of domestic violence.
“But it can be very difficult to leave an abusive relationship, especially when children are involved, and this storyline has really highlighted that.
“The issue needs to be talked about more and brought to the forefront of everyone’s minds.”
Audible Channel Surfers
From Yahoo:Amazon.com just added a new perk to its Prime program.
Prime subscribers in the U.S. will now enjoy unlimited free access to a new short-form digital audio service from Audible Inc. called Audible Channels. Subscribers also will get a rotating selection of more than 50 audiobooks from Audible’s catalog.
Audible describes itself as “the world’s largest provider of expertly performed audiobooks.” Amazon owns the company.
Audible says its Audible Channels service allows subscribers to “listen to original audio series from an award-winning team whose mission is to take listeners to new places.” Audible Channels also offers “playlists handcrafted for every interest.” According to Amazon:
Audible Channels features a consistently refreshed, thoughtfully organized selection of original programs, distinctive comedy, lectures, and audio editions of standout articles and news from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Foreign Affairs, Charlie Rose, McSweeney’s, The Onion, and other leading periodicals.
Audible Channels is normally available with the purchase of a monthly subscription, but is now free to Amazon Prime members. They can access Audible Channels for Prime by downloading the Audible app for Apple iOS, Android and Windows 10 devices.
In addition to Audible Channels, Prime members will now be able to stream a rotating selection of Audible’s audiobooks, which include:
- Top-rated audiobooks across a range of genres.
- Celebrity-narrated classics.
- Shared listening experiences for the family.
Prime is Amazon’s subscription service. Other subscriber benefits include:
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Free two-day shipping with no required purchase minimum
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Free video streaming, including movies and TV series
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Free unlimited music streaming
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Free unlimited photo storage
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Free access to more than 800,000 e-books
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So if you love Audio Books and Audio Series of all kinds, here’s another opportunity!
Old Timey Detective Still New Timey Awesome
Caroline Crampton waxes love in this New Statesman article about a classic 1970’s posh detective Peter Wimsey. Check out how her housemate is intrigued:
Walking into the kitchen on a Monday evening to find, as ever, the radio blaring, my housemate asked a question that had clearly been plaguing him for some time. “Who is this Peter Wimsey?” he demanded. “You’re always listening to his strange posh voice.”
Strictly, the answer is that Ian Carmichael is Peter Wimsey – or at least he was in the seminal BBC radio and television adaptations of Dorothy L Sayers golden age detective novels made in the Seventies. These are still irregularly repeated across the BBC radio network, and it always feels like I’ve solved a mystery myself when I finally catch an announcer saying “. . . and now, a spot of sleuthing with Lord Peter” and hear Carmichael’s plummy RADA tones ringing out. Somehow, the Hull-born Carmichael inhabits the character of Wimsey – the Eton and Oxford educated younger son of a Duke who turns to mystery-solving after traumatic experiences in the First World War – better than any of the others who tried over the course of the twentieth century.
Read more Caroline’s love for this British classic and look for it too on BBC too!
Sonic Sith
Everyone’s favourite villainous Emperor Palpatine actor, Ian McDiarmid is back to his roots in a new six part audio drama.
According to the Aberdeen Journal:
The Scottish born actor will star in, Akiha Den Den, the work of Peterhead-born producer and writer, Neil Cargill, and the series features a full cast, original music score, and has gained the backing of Aberdeen Performing Arts and Creative Scotland.
The episodes will be released fortnightly through a dedicated Akiha website, via iTunes; SoundCloud; Stitcher and TuneIn, with others to be added. So have a listen when it releases!
Episode 482- Tin Tunes
Tonight David and Jack have Songonauts episode 2 from Jonathan Mitchell and David Devereux’s exciting and compelling series Tin Can episodes one and two as Season 12 storms on!
Don’t forget to send us your audio memories of the past 500 episodes of The Sonic Society!