CBS Radio Mystery Theater

Watching an old Twilight Zone episode, I heard some background music which jarred loose a memory. The memory being that of driving from Bryan TX to Lake Charles LA in the evening, somewhere between Conroe and Orange TX and hearing the CBS Radio Mystery Theater on the AM radio.

At night, over that stretch of state highway 105 and IH35, it is radio no man's land. Except on one trip I tuned in the show on some distant station not knowing what it was. The signal faded in for about 3 or 4 minutes, and then static and noise would creep in for a minute or so (hopefully during the commercials) and then the cycle repeated. Everyone else in the car was a bit irritated at the coming and going of the reception but I stuck with it. Blame for my affection of radio can now be laid at the feet of this radio show.

I don't remember that show, or much of the others I might have heard on other nights later. The draw to them must be the sci-fi, Twilight Zone -light nature of the stories, the sound effects, dialogue, and E.G. Marshall putting in his two bits introducing the acts and pointing out the chilling irony of the proceedings. It was fun for an hour or so.

Recently I located a website that has mp3 files of some of the shows - not nearly all 1399 episodes but a decent collection. The first few sound like they were taped right off the air. News casts from the top of the hour are included - news of Nixon and Watergate, sports reports with ABA basketball scores. Budweiser "when you say Bud, you've said it all" ads, Special K cereal, and PSAs from the broadcast are left in. Its a mini time capsule. They also had that late night sound of AM radio - the station is tuned in, but there is another station or a whistle or light static bleeding over the reception, threatening to wash out the dialogue so you have to listen closely.

Another I listened to had Kim Hunter voicing one of the main characters. She portrayed one of my favorite movie characters - Zira, the chimpanzee scientist who helped Charlton Heston in Planet Of The Apes - one of my favorite all time movies.

Not all the episodes are radio gold. Probably most are just average fare, maybe laughable. I don't mind too much. Its fun - a good memory.