Friday, April 10, 2009

Hi everyone,

Well, the TZ episode "Two" was recently mixed and I believe it airs very soon on the network. This episode, written by Montgomery Pittman and adapted for radio by Dennis Etchison stars Don Johnson as a weary soldier, sometime after WWII with Chicago actress Oksana Fedenuschen as a soldier from the opposite side.

This two-character drama starred Charles Bronson and Elizabeth Montgomery in the TV version. The TV version had very little dialog, in fact the continuity script (transcript of the soundtrack) from CBS archives is barely two pages long. Dennis had to do a lot of creative writing for this one to work.

Another challenge was that the man was the only one who spoke English, and the woman said a total of three or four words - in a foreign language. To do it this way for radio would mean that she almost disappears completely from the play, and merely adding more lines for him would make it an endless monologue for the man. The point to the story is that they are two soldiers from opposite sides who can't communicate. So Dennis created a sound transition at the beginning, wherein her words in a foreign language fade through to English. Thereafter we are able to hear her thoughts in English, though her spoken words to him remain in a foreign tongue. It's a remarkable story with that I hope you won't miss.

I've always been a big fan of Don Johnson, so getting to work with him on TZ was a thrill for me. Usually when I record a star, they do two shows. Don starred in this episode and in "Execution" which airs in a few months. He was simply brilliant and I could tell he was having a fun time with it. He loves radio drama and kept dropping his pages once he didn't need them (just like the radio stars from the 40s used to do : ) Don nailed both shows and I can't wait for you to hear them.

On the MYSTERY THEATER front, we've been making progress on the site, which is at www.mysterytheater.com

You now can hear the show streaming at 9 pm Monday through Friday and you can download episodes of the Mystery Theater shows for only 99 cents each if you order it the week after it airs. If you wait more than a week though, the price is $2.99 each, so make sure to order them when they are at 99 cents each. Christopher Lee is awesome as your guide to the best in mystery, detective and science-fiction that radio has to offer. Episodes of the Old-Time Radio shows should be available soon, so keep checking back. We got word that KFWB in LA will be airing Mystery Theater weeknights very soon. I'll make an announcement when that happens.

I am now hosting my own radio show. It's called HOLLYWOOD 360, heard every Saturday night LIVE from 7 pm till Midnight at Chicago powerhouse station WIND AM 560. If you are within earshot of the station, I hope you'll tune in. For those outside the Chicagoland area, you can hear it streamed on the web at http://560wind.townhall.com/

HOLLYWOOD 360 spans everything Hollywood, from today's most current showbiz headlines to radio, TV and Film Nostalgia. I present, movie, DVD and theatre reviews, celebrity and industry expert interviews, trivia contests and a whole lot more. For fans of old-time radio, I play 4 old-time radio shows each week, thanks to Radio Spirits so please support them at www.radiospirits.com. I play one comedy, one Detective, one Sci-Fi or Western and one Mystery/Horror show.

Last week on HOLLYWOOD 360 I interviewed Annette O'Toole. This week I'm interviewing Mike Starr and Chicago casting guru Claire Simon. Guests in upcoming weeks will include Malcolm McDowell, Stacy Keach, Sean Astin, Michael York and many others.

Well, I'm off for now. I hope you'll tune in all the radio shows we offer! See you next time for more NEWS FROM THE ZONE!