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Another free Entertainment article for you by Ned Norris
Titled: A Surefire Way to "Escape" the Daily Grind
A Surefire Way to "Escape" the Daily Grind
Article Summary: Ned Norris takes a look at one of the old time radio series of the 1940s and 50s that is often overlooked in favor of more famous shows such as Suspense.
In the 1930s, 40s and 50s, the so called golden age of old time radio, most shows were broadcast at a similar time each week. Every now and again there might be a change to the normal the schedule, but the general rule of thumb was that a consistent time each week as this became known by the listening public, which in turn build a larger audience. Although it was far from a golden rule, It was something the big networks realized worked in their favor and so was worth trying to achieve.
One noticeable exception to the above rule was a wonderful dramatic adventure anthology series called Escape, whose time-slot shifted eighteen times in its seven-year run from 1947-54. To make matters even worse it had a habit of coming and going and sometimes disappearing off the schedules altogether at short notice for weeks on end only to resurface weeks later in a completely different timeslot.
The quite fragrant disregard CBS paid to having a regular timeslot for Escape could make you think that it was just a run-of-the-mill series that was nothing but a lightweight filler for those times when the regular show was off-the-air, such as during the quiet summer months. In my opinion, and that of many old radio aficionados, this couldn't be further from the truth. Escape is probably the best adventure anthology ever broadcast.
In my opinion, Escape brings together everything that was good about old-time radio drama rolled into one. The title itself almost sums up the very essence of what radio drama is all about. Each and every episode was a micro drama carefully planned to capture the listeners attention for thirty minutes. There were over two-hundred episodes made and almost every one is as good today as it was half a century ago.
For the first few years the opening announcement varied on an almost weekly basis, but by the 1950s it had become the now famous:
Tired of the everyday grind? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you ... ESCAPE!
This may give the wrong impression as Escape was far more than a swashbuckling adventure yarn. It was a brilliantly scripted and superbly produced series that brought to listeners adaptations of classic works by famous writers as well as brand new work by unknown talent. Many of the stories were later reused by more high profile shows such as Suspense, but on the whole the Escape versions were of equal quality and sometimes more dramatically focused and atmospheric.
When Radio Life wrote "These stories all possess many times the reality that most radio writing conveys" it hit the nail on the head. This is a quality show in every way.
If you've never given this tremendous series a chance it's well worth tracking down. Whether you listen in the car on your daily commute, whilst doing the housework, relaxing in your favorite easy-chair, or snuggled up in bed - you really will be thrilled!
Article Source: http://www.upublish.info
About the Author:
Ned Norris
Ned Norris is the webmaster of
RUSC Old Time Radio (RUSC.COM) one of the best loved old-time radio sites on the Internet. It's a place where you can travel back in time and relive the golden days of radio whenever you like, download or listen online to thousands of classic shows, and enjoy regularly updated editorial and reviews on old time radio and related subjects.
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