Since 2004 my pal Dangerous Dave and I have been making internet radio shows. Our efforts started before “podcast” was a commonly used word…but honestly “podcast” doesn’t reflect what these things are. We do scripted radio theater, with multiple voice parts, sound effects, music, the whole kit and kaboodle.
Our sketch show, “The Dr. J And Dangerous Dave Dog & Pony Show” is celebrating its 10th anniversary…and Dave and I are starting to concoct a 10th anniversary special. But in reviewing the 20 episodes we’ve made in ten years I have been reminded that sketch shows by nature are uneven. Which is to say we’ve done some pretty nifty sketches, and then we’ve done sketches that, through writing or execution, just sort of lie there. (Yes, I said 20 episodes in ten years. This isn’t paying work, and for many of those last ten years Dave was living elsewhere so we’d be limited to his visits home.)
Since we’re in progress on the D &P 10th anniversary shindig, I thought I’d show some love to another series of ours, “Scare On The Air.” It’s a show we do much less frequently–6 episodes in eight years. But it’s a blast to do and we don’t force it; when an idea for an episode comes up we produce it.
“Scare On The Air” purports to be a spotlight of vintage radio thrillers hosted by Dave and me. In reality, the old time radio shows are our own creations.
In our first episode we present “The Canine Creeper”, a mutation of “The Shadow” about a police detective who can hear the thoughts of dogs.
Episode 2 features “Slightly Above Average Man”, a World War II-era superhero who, being 4-F, is the only man in town who can lift heavy things for people.
Episode 3 features classic radio comedy “The Wallace and Davis Show”–an episode that includes a Halloween prank in the grand tradition of “War Of The Worlds.” (I have a terrible, thick cold in this show, but Dave and our friend Jeremy Fifield were in town for a short time so we knocked it out.)
Episode 4: “Two Man Tales” includes some jokey “Titanic” gags and some nifty sound effects.
Episode 5 puts the spotlight on classic detective series “Best Regards, Jimmy Nickels” with the legendary Mel Freesburg as a Hollywood stuntman who thinks someone wants him dead.
Episode 6 is a Christmas special featuring a yuletide episode of “Flatfoot Fenster”, involving the disappearance of 48 church pews from the San Fernando Mission church.
The “old time radio” shows include commercials, which give us the chance to do some really stupid humor. My favorites include the “Space Crunchies” jingle in episode one with 50’s style reverb and Alvin and the Chipmunkesque vocals; the cigarette commercial claiming more “optometrists, podiatrists, child psychologists and other medical professionals” approve the product; and the Blap’s Beer commercials with violent threats to both male and female drinkers.
Like our other series, “Scare On The Air” features a variety of guest voices–most frequently Kalin Krohe and Jeremy Fifield. Here’s the playlist: