Monday, January 28, 2013

SPRING SEMESTER 2013

Blog post (from research) #4: Due Monday, February 4.

Listen to some vintage radio programs (find one online – see list at back of syllabus). 

Describe what you heard: not the story but the sound quality, the language, the voices, the format of the show. What intrigued you? What drove you nuts? 

Do some quick research and write about one in particular, or compare and contrast two of the same genre. (Approx. 250 words; 2-3 secondary sources). Wikipedia and IMDB are okay in this instance, but it's good to look beyond those references, too.

You can note the secondary sources used in your research by embedding the link as above. If you can't make that work or if you use an offline source you can cite it this way [1] at the end of your posting.

[1] http://www.princeton.edu/~refdesk/primary2.html

OR

[1] Dunning, John. On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio

20 comments:

  1. The voice quality is extremely fuzzy the whole way throughout “A Date with Judy”. The announcer gives a Tums pitch at the beginning of the show, his voice almost like a song, with the piano in the background setting the grand entrance for Judy. This singsong quality of the announcer follows throughout the show. Besides for the musical interludes and laugh tracks, the only other real sound effects audible are the phone ringing, the chair moving, the tapping of the phone. There are some moments of tapping which seem to indicate a character leaving the scene and walking up the stairs, but they don’t sound very authentic. This could mean that someone was just tapping the microphone, or an object near the microphone, which was a makeshift sound effect method used in that time (http://www.old-time.com/sfx.html). The music interlude seems to conclude every joke.

    The language is more formal, as is the conversation between Judy and her parents, and certain words, like “swell” and “snazzy”, that seem archaic to us now are used throughout the show. Judy also uses vintage, exaggerated teenage words such as “how dreamy!” and “far out!” The format of the show is a series of conversations between a total of five characters; between Judy and her parents, Judy and her dad, Judy and her mom, Judy and Oogie, Oogie and her dad, the whole family sitting together, her parents. The show begins and ends with clapping and a paragraph about the importance of Tums. After the Tums pitch, there’s a final conversation between Judy and Oogie, a long period of clapping, a spoken description of the show’s credits, and a final Tums slogan. Apparently, the show was seen as an initial summer replacement for Bob Hope’s show (http://www.myoldradio.com/old-radio-shows/date-with-judy/3 )

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  2. I decided to listen to “The Shadow” on archive.org. In terms of quality, you can tell the story was broadcasted on AM radio since it’s clear but still a little clustered. The website admitted that they have “cleaned” the background noise, and the volume of the speakers were normalized for better hearing. This would mean that the quality of the show would clearly not be as clear during its live broadcast.

    Listening to the show, I realized that every character has distinct different voice, so that the listener does not get confused with the story plot. The story itself was written very well as it was easy to picture the story in my head. Yet as it was entertaining and well written, the fact that I had no picture in front of me was annoying. I feel that if a listener were to not pay attention for a few seconds, the story would not make sense.

    The highlight of the story, by far, is when the Shadow laughs and all the characters are like “What was that!,” “Did you hear that?” It definitely hypes up the anticipation and excitement of the show.

    The radio series, “The Shadow,” was considered one of the most popular radio broadcasts of its time, and it brought radio to an entire new level. Originally airing in 1930, “The Shadow” was a mystery series that portrayed a crime fighter who had tremendous gifts to find dirty criminals no matter what lengths. (2) The show was broadcasted throughout the United States and into some parts of Canada. (1) In terms of influence, it was one of the first shows that gave their listeners some enticement to tune in. They regularly gave out prizes to listeners, which only spiked up their listening audience. (1) Lasting for nearly twenty years, thousands of listeners would constantly tune in to hear the unsolved mysteries. Its mark in radio history is unprecedented.

    “The Shadow” expanded far beyond its radio show, as it would eventually become popular among novels, comic books, cassette tapes, and various collectibles, all of which are still valuable today. (1)

    http://www.shadowsanctum.net/radio/radio.html


    http://www.oldradioworld.com/shows/The_Shadow.php

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  3. The radio show I listened to was the first episode of Gunsmoke, titled “Billy the Kid,” which was a radio program that first aired in June 1952. While I often listen to the radio when I’m driving, this was the first time I had ever listened to an “old time” radio show – previously I had just listened to music stations or National Public Radio newscasts. Listening to a 30 minute program was an interesting experience, although I found it challenging to closely pay attention to the episode’s dialog because I had no visuals to concentrate on (as opposed to reading or watching television). I found myself oftentimes daydreaming or becoming frustrated with the crackling sound quality. I also had trouble imagining what the characters looked like based solely off their voices and without much character description – in my opinion, it is much easier to get an idea of what a character looks like by reading an author’s vivid description as a source for imagery. The differences in each character’s voice was certainly intriguing, but it was not enough to captivate my attention for a full thirty minutes.

    The radio version of Gunsmoke ran from 1952 to 1961 and took place in the Old West, specifically Dodge City, Kansas in the early 1870s. [1] CBS broadcast 480 “presentations” of Gunsmoke, featuring Matt Dillion, a marshal who was modeled after famous Western lawmen like Wyatt Earp, as the show’s main character. [2] Highly regarded radio actor William Conrad was responsible for the voice of Dillon, and upon the radio program’s completion actually directed two episodes of the television reincarnation of the show. The show was also well known for its opening sequence, which began with the sounds of horses trotting and a ricocheting bullet before the announcer would say, “Around Dodge City and in the territory on west -- there's just one way to handle the killers and the spoilers -- and that's with a U.S. Marshall and the smell of GUNSMOKE!” [3]

    Gunsmoke quickly gained a reputation as one of the more realistic radio adaptations of the Old West, as the program didn’t shy away from heavy topics such as death and even rape. American writer John Dunning noted that Marshal Dillon “played his hand and often lost. He arrived too late to prevent a lynching. He amputated a dying man's leg and lost the patient anyway.” [4] And while the program may have been somewhat graphic at times, it remains in radio lore as one of the most successful programs of a bygone era. Even the television adaptation ran for 20 seasons, until 1975.

    [1] http://www3.northern.edu/wild/th100/gnsmoke.htm
    [2] “ ”
    [3] “ ”
    [4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunsmoke

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  4. The radio program I listened to was “Harry,” an episode of the old radio spook show titled “Beyond Midnight.” The episode revolved around a girl who had an imaginary friend named Harry. While the show takes the listener through the supernatural, there are audio elements eagerly grabbing at your attention. There are background noises, like birds when the character is outside, which are piped in to make the scene seem real. There are intermissions between character conversations, and the main character narrates to paint a visual for the listener. There are sound effects like doors closing, footsteps and breathing to make the listener feel like they are in the same room as the character.
    Listening to this program today didn’t scare me. The acting seemed poor although it wasn’t possible to visually judge anything. The show was produced in South Africa, according to a website about horror radio, but I couldn’t really hear any strong accents that would have revealed it. I was too focused on the poor delivery of the lines if anything. It sounded like the lines were being read right off of the paper. It wasn’t hard for me to imagine the little girl reading off lines about an imaginary boy while standing in front of a microphone in studio rather than actually being where the program wanted you to believe she was. There was also a constant hiss in the background of the dialogue, and the sound quality can’t compare to todays. Movies nowadays have blood and gore that are the backbone to a good scare. This radio program (late 1960s) doesn’t have that luxury – it has to scare with sound. It’s a mission that it fails to deliver, at least in my opinion.
    A horror archive website said only 27 of the 43 episodes survived and that they were a replacement for a series called “SF68.” But further research indicated that much more were still intact and on file. I think the discrepancy could be due to the fact that once television replaced radio, people cared so little about radio that they failed to protect, or care to protect, its history. Beyond Midnight is an example of a radio show that is not only gone, but nearly forgotten in the minds of many and nonexistent in the minds of the young.

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  5. I listened to the radio show "The Adventures of the Abbotts- the Dead White Lifeboat" which aired on April 24, 1955. The sound quality was not as bad as I thought it would be though there was this strange background noise. At first I thought it was there for scene setting, like background wind. But it also appeared in scenes supposedly in doors so I figured it was just the audio. The voices were not as distinctive as I thought they would be. There were times in the beginning where I was confused as to who was speaking. I don't think I had ever paid so much attention to a radio program before this.

    The series follows a San Francisco couple who solves murder mysteries [1]. It debuted in 1945 and initially ended its run in 1947, but it returned 7 years later with new voice actors [2]. I was trying to find an older version to compare but i couldn't find one on the site. Apparently, at this time, "imitation [was] the sincerest form of flattery" and the series was copied almost exactly by Mutual's (a station at the time) It's a Crime, Mr. Collins [3]. It's a Crime, Mr. Collins would just paraphrase and it would even use colors in their titles, like The Adventures of the Abbotts" [4].

    I found it interesting because it was very simplistic. The show was only 30 minutes long and the myster would be solved by then. That's not like TV shows and film today. It also reminded me a lot about Sherlock Holmes, which was written before this series. I was a little annoyed at the end with how quickly it zipped through uncovering the mystery. It kind of just laid out all the facts at the end instead of allowing the audience to follow along. I'm assuming, though, that it was due to time contraints. I also thought it was a little obvious in who was the criminal in the end. However, I did enjoy listening to the show and wished it was longer.

    [1]http://boxcars711.podomatic.com/entry/index/2013-01-02T20_07_58-08_00
    [2] "
    [3]http://www.radiorecall.com/rr2004_02/counterfeits.htm
    [4] "

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  6. I listened to the radio show THE ADVENTURES OF PHILIP MARLOWE – the first episode, “Who Shot Waldo”. I love noir stories, and especially those of Raymond Chandler, so I figured this would be a good place to start for radio.
    From the start, I noticed the poor audio quality – but that may be an effect of restoration. At the beginning , the intro music at times overpowered the narrator’s voice, making it hard to hear certain words (specifically the names of the actors). I also noticed a large emphasis on sound effects – without visuals, the runners of the program had to resort to swooping effects to give a sense of place. Wind blowing, shoes clopping and doors creaking were all amplified well beyond that of television programming.
    While the voices of the actors are different enough to distinguish the characters, they also use another technique to differentiate voices – volume. Some actors are seemingly positioned far away from the microphone, distinguishing them as a different character and placing them spatially far away from the other characters in the scene.
    The show also uses descriptive language, likely to make up for the fact that you cannot see any of the characters or scenery. Thus, it sounds like someone reading a novel out loud. What irritated me the most, however, was the narrator and the protagonist were the same character. It’s unnerving to hear the same voice narrate and participate in dialogue in short succession – it’s hard to tell which is which.

    [1]http://archive.org/details/OTRR_Philip_Marlowe_Singles
    [2]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Philip_Marlowe
    [3]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqzn_lF8sOc

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  7. I decided to listen to an old Halloween episode on WKBW, which I found on archive.org. It was the show from Halloween night in 1973, and it featured several scary stories. This was my first time ever listening to an old radio show like this, and I was pleasantly surprised. The format of the show reminded me very much of a TV show: a lengthy segment of the show followed by two or three minutes of commercials, then back and forth for the entirety of the show. I was surprised how much the show followed the same format as a standard television show. As for the voices, the way the narrator spoke was very dramatic and theatrical. His monologue at the beginning actually reminded me of the introduction to a play.

    The sound quality was surprisingly good as well. There was some static but overall I was impressed with how clear it seemed. I found it interesting that there were little to no sound effects used. The only real sound effect I heard was a bit of wind and a police siren, but really the background noise was all just instruments. For the most part there was just one narrator speaking with some instruments in the background – usually an organ or a cello. It reminded me very much of an old horror movie, but I couldn’t believe how engaging it was. Though the constant music was irritating and at times there was a strange echo. Because there was only voices and instruments the characters overacted a lot which was entertaining. It was also comical how the narrator had to describe every little detail, even while the actors were speaking. It reminded me of an audiobook or a documentary.

    The War of the Worlds segment of the show closely followed the 1968 version and the majority of the show was identical to the 1971 broadcast, with few changes. [1] This tells me they probably do virtually the same show every year on Halloween. Everything was performed by DJs, which I found interesting because I thought they would bring in actors for the story segments. [2] WKBW became known for its War of the Worlds reenactments. It was actually the first radio station to air “The War of the Worlds” radio show, which was a modern version of the original show that caused a mass of panic in 1938. [3]

    [1] http://www.buffalobroadcasters.com/hist_kbwow.asp
    [2] http://librivox.bookdesign.biz/book/102505
    [3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds_(radio_1968)

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  8. I listened to "Big Town--The Fatal Fix," which aired in January of 1949. I was struck by the low audio quality that made the introductory music sound screechy at times. The techniques used to differentiate scenarios (such as making a man's voice sound tinny, in order to indicate he was on the phone) was also interesting, as they were both basic and simple, as well as effective. Other sound effects were similarly low-tech, and the voice actors seemed very careful and methodical with their tone and inflection. Every once in awhile a brief musical interlude would play, to indicate that the scene has changed and the characters were different. The series ran from 1937 to 1952, and was later adapted to both film, television, and even a comic book published by DC Comics [1]. I chose this broadcast because it chronicles a reporter (fitting for this class!) and was ranked very highly in the genre of newspaper/reporter drama series [2].

    I also noticed that the women in the broadcast had very high, lilting voices--distinctly feminine, which mirrored their extremely feminine characters. (Within the first few minutes, a woman is beaten up and slashed with a knife on a dock by a shady fellow named "Shiv"). Meanwhile, the main character Steve maintains a gruff, deep, evenly-keeled voice throughout the entire broadcast, which was indicative of his hard-nosed, "manly" personality. When Willy arrives beaten and injured, it is Wilson who keeps the situation cool and Lorelei, his female acquaintance, who offers to nurse him by wiping the dirt from his wounds. The adherence to gender norms was consistent throughout the broadcast and factored into the drama that unfolded. Since the series' ratings peaked in the 1950s, this made contextual sense [3].

    [1] http://www.myoldradio.com/old-radio-shows/big-town
    [2] http://www.podfeed.net/episode/Big+Town+-+The+Fatal+Fix/2091632
    [3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Town

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  9. This was my first time ever listening to a radio show, other than the occasional sports game on today’s FM radio. I chose to listen to the long-running radio comedy series Fibber McGee and Molly (1935-1959) and the episode “The Overdue Library Book.”

    The first thing I noticed is that the sound quality is fine. While the sound is a little grainy, the speech is very audible. At the beginning of the broadcast, the show is introduced along with its major sponsor. The narrator starts by saying “The Johnson Wax Program with Fibber McGee and Molly!” The sponsor basically had the right to tag on the product with the name of the show to increase publicity and air a complete advertisement. And, because there were no visuals, it was often hard to differentiate between the show and another ad for the product. The integrated commercial was established in the first broadcast. This mean that the product could be mentioned at almost any time, and rather seamlessly, giving Johnson’s Wax a lot of play for their money. [1]

    The language and sentence structure was outdated for today’s standards, but yet stayed very true to its time in history. With phrases such as “this is an outrage” and “that gal down at the library,” the words sounded very archaic to me.

    One running gag of the show was Fibber’s closet, which sounded as if it sent hundreds of piles of junk toward Fibber’s way. Apparently, this happened in each episode and it was one part that viewers really looked forward to. Each week, listeners waited in anticipation for someone to inadvertently open that closet door. It was the one sound effect on radio that became kind of immortal. [2]

    I also noticed there was a narrator at the beginning of the episode, because there had to be someone to explain the opening scene. If there was no explanation, the listener would have no idea what was going on.

    The only thing that struck me as really weird during the broadcast was that I had no idea what to do with my eyes or where to look. I’m so used to watching someone or something visually, that I was at a loss for a place to rest my eyes.

    [1] Dunning, John. On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-time Radio. New York: Oxford UP, 1998. 245-52. Print.

    [2] Poole, Gary. Radio Comedy Diary: A Researcher's Guide to the Actual Jokes and Quotes of the Top Comedy Programs of 1947-1950. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2001. 201-02. Print.

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  10. I listened to an episode of "Quiz Kids" which featured Jack Benny. The show started in Chicago on NBC and lasted 13 years. [1] I was surprised at how good the quality of the audio was. I fully expected a lot more crackling and taps on the microphone, but instead the audio was very clear. I was intrigued by the amount of comedy that was thrown into the show. I understand that Jack Benny was a comedian, but usually trivia shows are usually serious.

    I was curious about how much the host of the show, Joe Kelly, did not know about the questions. He said on the show he was amazed at times how these children knew the answers. Kelly was quoted as saying that he was not the brightest person and he would never have known the answers to the questions if they were not on his card. [2] Kelly had actually dropped out of school after 3rd grade. [3] I think having a less educated host kept the show lighter unlike some of the trivia shows today, where a lot of the time the environment is stressful and very serious.

    I really enjoyed the fact that the questions were submitted by other children around the country. A lot of the time, children have similar interests and want to know as much as they can. It also gave me the feel that at the time it was one of the most popular shows of its time and paved the way for shows that we have today.


    [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiz_Kids
    [2] http://www.myoldradio.com/old-radio-shows/quiz-kids
    [3] http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1990-12-02/features/9004100175_1_quiz-kids-quiz-program-show-business

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  11. I listened to an episode of CBS Radio Mystery Theatre's "The Shadow" from February 4, 1940 [1]. My biggest complaint in the episode, "Return of Carnation Charlie," is mostly the confusion between voices at the beginning. The Warden and Charlie sound very similar and they both speak quickly, so it was not easy to tell which character was speaking. I am also not a fan of the organ, which is used throughout the 30-minute program to create a feeling of suspense; I know it's supposed to create a "mood," but it doesn't do anything for me, personally. I was surprised at how high the sound quality is. There are moments when it's a little hard to hear, but for a recording from 1940, I thought the sound quality was especially good.

    "The Shadow" was one of the most popular radio shows in the beginning of American radio broadcast. The main character is a "crime-fighting vigilante with psychic powers" who solves mysteries left and right [2]. I find it interesting that the main character of a radio drama series has super-natural powers because it's characteristic of the period's interest in futuristic capabilities; I think this can be pinpointed to the use of the radio itself [3]. After some years of development before becoming a household staple, the radio was extraordinary, pulling sounds, music and stories out of thin air. This development in new technologies, I think, is a direct source of the world's fascination with futuristic notions such as "supernatural powers" and served as the inspiration for the programming.

    [1] http://archive.org/details/ClassicRadioShows_626
    [2] http://www.myoldradio.com/old-radio-shows/shadow-the-not-forsale
    [3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_drama

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  12. I chose to listen to a 1940 radio show called The Blue Beetle, based off a 1939 Mystery Men comic book character [1]. I was intrigued by this superhero that seems to have been lost to time and also the idea that he was a crime-fighting beetle… somehow a vigilante beetle just sounded much more absurd to me than Spiderman. The show only ran in 1940, wi two-part episodes at 13 minutes per segment, preventing any complex plot developments.[1] Movie and radio actor Frank Lovejoy voiced the Blue Beetle in the first 13 episodes. I listened to episode 22, “The Whale of Pirate’s Folly.” The voice in the latter half of episodes was uncredited [1] which I found peculiar. Why wouldn’t they at least mention his name at the end, and why did the voice actor agree to go uncredited for his work?

    The Blue Beetle was an NYPD cop in disguise. To me, it felt like they ripped off of Batman, who appeared first in May 1939 [2] while Blue Beetle debuted a couple months later [1]. Like Batman, he had no special powers. He wore simple bullet-proof chainmail and had tools such as a beetle signal flashlight and Beetlemobile. [3] There were all sorts of sound effects throughout the show, starting with theme music that was akin to the sound of a buzzing insect to represent the Blue Beetle. Nat sound included bells on shop doors and the splash of water in addition to organ music to transition between scenes.

    The sound quality was a bit irritating for someone used to the crystal-clear digital age. It was very crackly with constant white noise in the background that made it harder for me to pay attention to what the actors were saying. I also had a difficult time differentiating between some of the actors because their voices were so similar, except for one male character whose ridiculous accent I couldn’t identify. It sounded like a bizarre combination of Russian and French but apparently I was way off because they said his name was Hans Von Schmidt. I’m guessing this is something kids in general wouldn’t notice, especially back in 1940 when American contact with foreigners was likely minimal. Now that I think about it, I certainly wouldn’t know what many accents sound like through personal contact, I only know what they’re supposed to sound like through television and movies.

    I noticed how everything the characters did was thoroughly explained unlike in television where the audience can make inferences and assumptions. It made the plot feel slow and full of menial details. For example, there was a lengthy description of how the main villain, a smuggler, got his goods past the government. Listening to this show made me realize how short my attention span must be—apparently shorter than a child in 1940. However my favorite moment of the show had to be at the end when the villain throws the Blue Beetle overboard: “But boss, isn’t that murder?” “No, just exterminating a pest!” I guess I’ll have to tune in next week to see if he makes it.

    [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Beetle
    [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman
    [3] http://archive.org/details/OTRR_Blue_Beetle_Singles

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  13. On radiolovers.com, I listened to an early episode of the Laurel and Hardy show, a critically acclaimed comedy act in the 1920s to 1940s.[1] After the program's musical introduction, the announcer gives a public service announcement urging listeners to pledge they will "Share and Play Square," to kill the black market. It was not exactly what I expected at the beginning of the comedy show and it wasn't clear at all that this was probably a government produced ad.
    In this episode, Laurel and HArdy were apparently working new jobs in a poultry market. They used lighthearted music to set the tone from the beginning and I liked how unique the characters' voices were, especially the nasally Ms. Smith.
    But after about 40 seconds of swapping lines — that were barely amusing, let alone laugh out loud funny — an obvious laugh track cut in followed by about 10 seconds of extremely loud clapping.
    The laugh track continued to pop up after every scene and it continued to drive me crazy, but thankfully the clapping was a one-time-only deal until the end of the program.
    I quickly understood the premise of the show — Laurel and Hardy will mess up whatever they're supposed to be doing and everyone else will insult them, calling them things like "mental midget."
    I wasn't at all surprised when I read it was Laurel and another character, Finlayson, who coined Homer Simpson's catchphrase, D'oh! [2] And even though you can't see the pair — the skinny British Laurel and large American Hardy used slapstick heavily in their films [3] — their dynamic and comedy still comes across.
    One thing that stood out of to me was how quickly I got lost when I got distracted. I sent one text and when I was done, I had no idea what was going on in the show or why the actors sounded like mobsters. The show did a good job explaining what was going on and making the jokes obvious, but it was still as hard to fade in and out as it is with a comedy TV show today.

    [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurel_and_Hardy
    [2] http://www.heraldscotland.com/what-s-the-story-with-homer-s-d-oh-1.840349
    [3] http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2005073_2005072_2005121,00.html

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  14. The radio show that I decided to listen to was an episode of “Fat Man” which featured Brad Runyan, a character played by Jack Scott. The Fat Man was a popular radio show during that 1940s and early 1950s that was a detective drama. The success of the ratio series led to a movie, The Fat Man in 1952, directed by William Castle with a flashback-within-a-flashback storyline.

    In the beginning of the segment, I noticed that there was a narrator who introduced the story for clarification from the beginning.


    In terms of sound quality and language, listening to the show I noticed that the quality was clear enough to understand, but with noticeable fuzziness, static, and cluster. To me, the voices of the characters almost sound distant in audio (I’m not sure if that was purposely done). In addition quality, I noticed that the language used was an aspect of storytelling with a noticeable distinction between each character’s voices. I feel that the distinction on radio is a very important component due to the unavailability of visuals.

    Sources:
    http://archive.org/details/otr_fatman
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fat_Man_%28radio%29
    http://www.otrcat.com/fat-man-p-1252.html

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  15. While I was searching for radio shows, I found one particular show that sparked my interest. It was a war drama from 1950, titled “Cloak and Dagger” that only lasted five months.
    The radio series which started on May 7, 1950, was based off a war-intrigue book by Corey Ford and Alastair McBain (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloak_and_Dagger_%28radio_series%29). The show premise interested me because I enjoy historical war movies and knew that radio played and integral part World War II history. The show aired on “Summer on Sundays” according to Archive.org.
    The plot follows agents from the Office of Strategic Services (a pre-cursor to the CIA), who were sent to collect information behind enemy lines in Japan and Germany. In one episode, Captain Harry Stevens played by Larry Haines, and Lieutenant John Marco, played by Gerry Lester, played by get their way out of tribal capture using magic tricks from a “secret box.”
    After the show ended in Oct. 1950, a new spy intrigue show titled, “The Silent Men,” aired on NBC on Sundays. The plot was similar to “Cloak and Dagger” (http://www.otrcat.com/silent-men-p-1832.html), following American “heroes” in foreign lands. This showed the interest in foreign intrigue of the time and that would continue into the Cold War (http://www.digitaldeliftp.com/DigitalDeliToo/dd2jb-Cloak-and-Dagger.html).
    Archive.com notes that the score is almost identical to that of the Tales of Texas Ranger. It sounds like typical radio scores and introduction. It was very dramatic with what sounds to be lots of string instruments, percussion and clarinets. One interesting point I noticed about sound was the use of background music and sound effects for the story versus the narration. There was little to no background noise for narration. “Harry” was a narrator and character within his story, therefore the show creators need to be some sort of differentiation between his voice from scenario to narration. Background noise and sound effects helped this, but at times this added noise made dialogue different to understand.
    This particular radio program made me think about the use of foreign accents, particularly Asian accents, in late 1940s and early 1950s. The accents are over exaggerated and often use a higher pitched male voice in contrasted to the deep strong voice of the American actors. This could be just another example of the subtle propaganda from wartime America and would be an interesting topic to study further.

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  16. I listened to an early episode of the radio version of The Adventures of Superman from 1940. I have had little experience with any radio shows, modern and old time. The most non music radio I had been exposed was snippets of National Public Radio when in my parents cars on breaks from school.

    I started the 12 minute program interested to hear the story and "see" the different characters. The Adventures of Superman ran from February 12, 1940 to March 1, 1951 and stared Bud Collyer as Superman and Joan Alexander as Lois Lane [1]. The show is credited with coming up with the classic Superman opening dialog, "Its a bird! Its a plane! its SUPERMAN!" The radio show paired with the 1938 comic books launched Superman [2].

    As for my experience with the show, the production was on par with what I was expecting. We had spoke in class about how the voices had to be distictly different in order for the program to work and The Adventures of Superman clearly understood this. The characters over emphasized there pitches and even played up accents. The production did falter a bit with the sound quality and the addition of background affects. The narrator did well to set the scene of the program but apparently the producers felt it necessary to add breaking glass sound affects and the stomping of feet all through out the program.

    I did like that the program was only part of the over all Superman adventures and I am sure that listeners at the time were tuning in on a nightly basis to see what Clark Kent's alter ego would do next.

    [1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Superman_(radio)
    [2http://www.supermansupersite.com/radio.html

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  17. For this assignment, I listened to a 30-minute episode of Murder Clinic, a 1940s detective crime show. Murder Clinic follows a group of elite detectives, referred to as "men against murder." Each week the program announcer interviews a detective about their experiences solving crime. The program flashes back and forth with the detective as the story unfolds. [1] Murder Clinic aired for a little over a year, during which it featured episodes written by the likes of Agatha Christie and Edgar Wallace. I listened to the very first episode, which aired in August of 1942 [2].

    "Governor Of Cape Haitian" tells the story of how American psychologist Dr. Paggolli traveled to Haiti to help the newly elected Governor uncover and overthrow rebel leader Papa Lau. I found the episode pretty difficult to follow, especially the first 10 minutes (which is unfortunate because you meet the person pretending to be Papa Lau during that time. I'm still not exactly sure who Papa Lau is.)

    A few things struck me about Murder Clinic. Having just read the "Live vs. Recording" article, I took note of how the individual network WOR Mutual, took ownership of the broadcast throughout. Television watchers rarely hear an advertisement for the network they are watching. Instead we see a logo or a single frame at the end of a show. WOR's announcement was simple, but worth noting because it's a broadcast feature that was largely replaced by television.

    "Governor Of Cape Haitian" was clearly a live performance. The audio quality and quality of sound effects got progressively better as the program went on. I had to turn down the sound on my computer halfway through the program, because I no longer needed it up all the way. Similarly several of the sound effects, like horse hooves, tropical birds chirping and the governor's dog (very clearly a grown man) grew less distracting towards the end of the show. Like live theater, radio performers and stage managers needed to adjust the show as it went along.

    I also took note of the vocal variety throughout the program. It was very easy to distinguish one character from another. Dr. Paggoilli had a higher pitched American accent (to help distinguish him from the announcer), the evil french doctor was clearly very french and the Haitians sounded exactly like what someone who has never been to Haiti might think they would sound like. The quality of vocal variety also helped separate the good actors from the bad ones. The actors seemed to be on the same level for most of the performance. Sometimes their emotions were believable, other times they sounded ridiculous. It wasn't until 22 minutes in that I was blown away by a female bit character. The actress really understood how to project without screaming and was able to use her voice to illustrate a range of emotions.

    I found myself comparing the program to theater because of techniques used by producers during the programs and theatrical directors that are replaced by video editing technology in television. Programmers used music in between scenes to signal a change in time or setting. Natural sound effects appeared at the top of each scene to help establish place. The actors used precise language to signal emotions that are difficult to convey vocally (ex: "sounds drastic"..."yep drastic, that's exactly how I feel.) A lot of these techniques are lost in television because the technology allows viewers to see emotion up close.

    Murder Clinic helped my understanding entertainment before television. The program highlights some of the challenges early broadcast performers faced in addition to how invested some of history's great fiction writers and performers were in the medium.

    [1]http://www.otrcat.com/murder-clinic-p-1636.html
    [2] http://www.mysteryfile.com/M_Clinic.html

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  18. I listened to the show Macabre, episode "Man in the Mirror" which aired on 11/27/67. The show only lasted eight episodes and is supposed to be scary so I thought that would be interesting because I have never listened to any type of radio program before. Instantly I was annoyed by the high pitched noises and nat sound in the beginning. A child was singing "Rockaby Baby" and it was shrieking to my ears. The child claims she talks to a man named Harry, but her parents take it to be an imaginary friend. I have to say I was not scared during the show and can only imagine what it must have been like sitting around a radio, hanging on every word and feeling genuinely amused. I was rather bored throughout the show and found myself struggling to focus on the audio because there was no visual stimulus.

    Although I did not enjoy the program all that much, it definitely opened up my eyes to what life was like before television for my grandparents and the older generations. It's startling how far we have come as a society in such a short amount of time in terms of technology. I'm glad radio programs are archived and preserved because they truly are a valuable piece of history, even if the content isn't as enjoyable to my generation as it once was.

    There were multiple sound effects throughout the program, clearly to set a creepy and scary mood for the listener. They also indicated a scene change and a sort of transition, I liken them to a dissolve that we would see in video. I thought the girl's voice was very hard to listen to and it was difficult to follow her conversations because she talked fast as well. The other voices were soothing and easy to listen to thankfully.

    Sources: [1] http://www.myoldradio.com/old-radio-episodes/macabre-the-man-in-the-mirror-ep-3/1
    [2] http://www.blogtalkradio.com/scarefm/2012/08/18/macabre--the-man-in-the-mirror
    [3] http://archive.org/details/TheHorror4


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  19. I listened to "The Case of the Sleepy Camel" from the radio show Rocky Jordan, selecting the show itself randomly, and the particular episode because, I mean, come on...how are you going to see a title like that and not click it?

    The protagonist, after whom the crime/mystery-themed show is named, is the owner of the Cafe Tambourine in Cairo. He frequently engages in risky business, thwarting evildoers and unraveling mysteries as any good restauranteur ought. The show had a previous stint under the title A Man Named Jordan, where he owned a cafe of the same name. Listeners were first introduced to Jordan there in 1945, but the episode I listened to had an original airdate of January 16, 1949.

    Following the introduction of the plot and some ominous intro music, I noticed the use of music with a distinctly eastern tone. It's something that I'd describe as an "Arabian Nights" type feel for lack of a better modifier. They may not have used a sitar, but it's the type of music where that flavorful ethnic instrument would've undoubtedly fit. Research reveals that the music was critically acclaimed for its authenticity, and that the show also referenced real-world locations in Egypt to add to the level of detail.

    Jack Moyles, the man who voiced Rocky, had a voice that I found striking, albeit a bit antiquated. You don't seem to hear people speak with that type of twang in their voice, but it reminded me of voices that I'd heard from old radio in the past.

    The sound quality of the recording was on point aside from a bit of static, and I was mostly impressed with the arrangement of sounds, with a few exceptions. The way in which the nat sounds dropped in as the narration faded was well executed. I feel like it helped contribute to the imagery, allowing you to envision yourself walking into Jordan's Cafe Tambourine in the midst of some outlandish argument about a camel that doesn't do anything but sleep. However, the accents of the natives seemed a bit contrived to me, and the layering of sounds when multiple people were talking in close succession was sometimes cluttered, distracting me from the actual dialogue.

    I was wondering why Moyles' voice sounded slightly different in the segments he narrated when compared to his dialogue. My initial theory on this was that the narration was prerecorded, but I don't know if that technology was available to them. Perhaps it was just a different/louder microphone.

    A small difference I noticed between the show and typical modern television was the pacing of the dialogue. In my estimation, it sounded like the actors were reading lines, because retorts came immediately after or sometimes slightly before another character finished their lines. That back-and-forth banter didn't strike me as having quite the same flow as genuine conversation or conversation in film-where lines are memorized-but this a minute detail.

    [1]http://www.thrillingdetective.com/jordan_r.html
    [2]http://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=12982
    [3]http://archive.org/details/RockyJordan

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  20. I listened to a comedy show on radiolovers.com, Amos ‘n’ Andy. The episode was from April 28, 1944.

    Amos ‘n’ Andy was a radio and television show that Wikipedia describes as being set in “a stereotypically dysfunctional black community.”

    Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, two white men who met in Durham, North Carolina, both had some radio experience and joined together to propose a series about “a couple of colored characters.” Their show was called Sam ‘n’ Henry and began on January 12, 1926.

    The show became quite popular and Gosden and Correll requested that the program be syndicated across the country. WGN rejected the proposal and owned the rights to the characters of Sam and Henry that Gosden and Correll created.

    The creators of the show later said that they named the characters Amos and Andy after hearing two elderly African-Americans greet each other by those names in a Chicago elevator, according to Wikipedia.

    Gosden and Correll performed all the male voices on the show and it became one of the first shows to be distributed by syndication across the country. Other stations broadcast the program by means of recordings, according to Wikipedia.

    The sound quality of the episode I listened to was quite good. The episode ran 26:13 and featured quick, snappy dialogue. I was intrigued, but not surprised, by the fact that white men were portraying African-American men on the radio. In all likelihood, black men were not offered the opportunity to do similar work on the radio in the 1920s.

    I didn’t think the show was particularly funny and thought the jokes were predictable. A major plotline of the show involved a character named Kingfish not wanting to see his father-in-law. (Some things haven’t changed.) Wait! Kingfish then learns that his father-in-law has some money and wants to invest it. Now, Kingfish wants to meet the man and impress him.

    The radio show Amos ‘n’ Andy was also a television program on CBS. It lasted 65 episodes from 1951-1953 before it was cancelled. The network then wanted to the show to be in syndication, but felt it needed more shows, so the cast was brought back to film 13 more episodes, according to IMDB.

    Sources:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amos_'n'_Andy
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043175/
    http://www.amosandy.com/

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