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My favorite dramatic medium is the radio play. I grew up listening to them on the BBC, mostly on Radio 4, and learned to appreciate the special blend that words and visual imagination can bring to a drama. Then I moved to America, a land bereft such delights and resigned myself to doing without.
Then, a few years ago, I discovered the BBC Radio web site and with that the ability to listen again to any drama broadcast in the prior seven days. I did not look back. I now listen to almost every broadcast play, the 5 weekly Afternoon Plays and the Saturday and Friday dramas. Usually when I get home from work – a 45 minute play is the perfect way to unwind.
Most are good, some are excellent and there are few uninteresting examples. I've recorded a few that bear up repeated listening. One of these is Time After Time by Gerry Jones. It's a suspense story based on a man who finds himself in an unknown hotel in an unknown town, having forgotten his name or why he is there. As the action progresses, he finds himself in situations that keep repeating themselves, and, as his self-knowledge increases, he realises he has to break the cycle of 'time after time' to escape from wherever he is.
The play begins and ends with the beautiful Frank Sinatra performance, "Time After Time". So here it is.
Great tip – I listen to BBC radio online a great deal, but have not listened to the dram. I do, however, listen to old time radio shows, a HUGE number of which are available for download at the Internet Archive (a tremendous resource for all sorts of audio and video treats). I listen to both American and English radio dramas, mysteries, and detective stories, along with the occasional comedy show.Radio drama is incredible, (in my opinon), because it permits us to create images for ouselves. TV and movies are prescriptive, and continually trying to outdo the violence or effects of the past. Radio… it's all in your head.
Richard, I didn't actually know that there were still such a thing as radio dramas! Some of my most vivid childhood memories are of my whole family pulling up chairs in front of an floor model radio and listening, on a regular basis, to: Inner Sanctum (The Skreaking Door), Amos 'n Andy, Judy Canova (I forget her character).Lone Ranger, Fibber McGee and Molly, and every day my mom listened to Young Doctor Malone. What memories you have dredged up with this post. :up:
I haven't looked for Judy Canova (though I did once harbor teenage desires for her daughter Diana), but the rest of those shows are all available through the Internet Archive, along with a lot of others (The Great Gildersleeve, Same Spade, Blackstone, the Magic Detective, Our Miss Brooks, etc.).
You brought up some I had forgotten. We also listened to The Great Gildersleeve, Sam Spade (sometimes) and Our Miss Brooks. I was delighted in later years to see Our Miss Brooks with Eve Arden in TV series.
As I said, they are free for the taking (most are in the public domain now) from The Internet Archive. I have thousands of episodes on a PC. I put them on my MP3 player, and I'm never wanting for entertainment. Last night I listened to "Barry Craig, Confidential Investigator," and "Philo Vance."Today, I am making it my goal to hit BBC 4, and to check out the schedule so that I can listen to some of the dramas Richard referenced.
I have not explored The Internet Archive nearly as much as I should – I need to get into it. Thanks for reminding me, Matt!I'm so glad that you and Linda also enjoy radio drama! :)There are also a lot of BBC Radio 7 as well.
The Lux Radio Theatre programs contain some of my favorites. Most are adaptations of classic movies, starring that actors who played on film. For example, Humphrey Bogart is in "The Maltese Falcon"BBC 7? As if 4 wasn't enough! 😆
I have never heard of any of these places, so I have several hours of surfing ahead.
Here's a another great source for (American) old time radio programs: Zoot Radio. You have to become a member to get at the thousands of downloads, but it's free, and I haven't been hassled by ads or anything as a result of my membership.
A really nice song. I could have done without the "big finish" orchestral stuff at the end, but…Why is it that we never hear these days anything except the crappy Sinatra songs like "My Way" and "New York, New York"????Well anyway, I guess being an 80s guy that my song by that title is Cyndi Lauper's.
I remember the Lauper song – even Miles Davis covered it, if I recall correctly. Pretty. Yes, why is that all we hear are crappy Frank Sinatra songs (and I could add the dreadful 'Duet' performances to those you've mentioned)? It wasn't until I dug a little deeper myself that I realised that Sinatra was a great singer, and not just a peddler of schmaltz for cheesy lounge lizards. 😀
I forget the name of the song, but Sinatra did that one with the lyrics "when I was seventeen/it was a very good year." He's just awesome on that one.