I have literally been listening to old time radio shows for two decades. But I will admit, I gravitate to some of the same ones. Before the jokes about “white girls like true crime,” I was falling asleep listening to noir detectives solving murders. I launched Madison on the Air with the one I’ve listened to the most over the years, Dragnet. I listen through archive.org to all of my OTR. I just pick a show, start at episode one and go… and with Dragnet having 298 episodes… it keeps me busy. And so most of the first episodes I chose back in Year One were shows I already was very familiar with. Superman was the only one I’d never listened to before. I’m not a fan of the kids’ shows. I mean… they’re kids’ shows. But when I found the script for a Superman/Batman cross over… well… I AM a fan of Batman.
As the show continued on, I started taking suggestions from other people. I’d never listened to TheShadow, but it had been my mother’s favorite when she was a kid. From there, I started building online friendships with some terrific people who were listening to Madison and were requesting shows I’d never even heard of! Our Christmas episode, Candy Matson: YUkon 2-8209, was one I never knew existed and I am SO glad I was told about it! A female detective in 1949? With a gay best friend? How is it possible? Sadly, only 14 of the 90+ episodes still exist, but what a treat! Same went for The Saint. Vincent Price? Yes, please! How had I never run across this one? Our specific episode was recommended to me and what a blast it was to adapt it! And this month’s The Challenge of the Yukon was recommended to me by one of our Year Two recurring cast members, Sharon Grünwald. I LOVE dogs! (more on that in the next Musings) Sharon specifically recommended the episode “A Pack of Bacon” with our “Corporal Standish” role. And, natch, she needed to play our narrator.
So, what I’m trying to say is PLEASE SEND ME YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS! Now, admittedly, Our Miss Brooks is at the top of my suggestion list from many different people. But I have looked into that show and, honestly, I can’t put Madison in a comedy. The styles clash too much. I tried. But there are a ton of dramas, noirs, anthologies, horror, science fiction, you name it! With over 3 decades of material, there is no way I have even scratched the surface. So if you have one I haven’t done yet that you’d like to hear, you can comment here or email me at MadisonOnTheAir@gmail.com
And, as Madison says at the end of every episode, “Thank you guys SO MUCH for listening!!!”
