Radio Drama: Difference between revisions
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Of all the influences on the early days of television, none were so direct and widespread as Golden Age [[Radio]].
The dawn of commercial radio began in 1920, with the first commercial stations, but little can be confirmed before 1926, since few authenticated recordings exist. It was in 1926 that [[NBC]] made its first broadcast, initially as the separate "Red" and "Blue" networks. Early broadcasts were primarily news or sports related, but ''The Happiness Boys'', a vaudeville duo, began a show in 1921 which continued until 1940. The "Golden Age" proper began around 1929. NBC was soon joined by [[CBS]].
One noteworthy thing to happen during the Golden Age of radio was the episode of ''[[
Many of the Golden Age radio dramas eventually [[Sound to Screen Adaptation|made the move to television]], and several co-existed on TV and radio. But by the mid 1950s, televisions were becoming commonplace, and radio went into a decline. Most authorities agree that the "Golden Age" ended on September 30, 1962, with the final episodes of ''[[Suspense]]'' and ''[[Yours Truly Johnny Dollar]]''.
Most Golden Age radio dramas suffer from some percentage of [[Missing Episode|missing episodes]], but, at least after the earliest days, these are surprisingly uncommon: Audio recording was cheap and the technology highly available, so recordings of 1930s and 1940s
The advertising structure for Golden Age radio differed greatly from modern television. Shows typically had a single sponsor, which provided all the advertisement for the show. Actors would occasionally [[Enforced Plug|deliver in-character endorsements of the sponsor's product]]. As a result, an account could dry up, leaving the show commercial-free while the network "sustained" it. Economic forces being what they were, advertisements were almost always for consumable products (that is, automakers and long distance carriers need not apply), such as gum, wine and soap (which was mostly advertised during daytime dramas, leading to the term "[[Soap Opera]]"). One side effect is that almost all recordings of Golden Age radio drama available today still include the original commercials.
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It may also be worth noting that Golden Age radio shows tended to run much longer than television shows. The longest-running radio show was ''[[Amos And Andy]]'', which began life in 1926 on NBC Blue under the title ''Sam and Henry''. It ran until 1960. The comparative ease and cheapness of production may have been a contributing factor (not to mention the fact that, lacking precedent, no one knew that 20 years was a long time for a show to run). However, since the audience didn't have to see the actors, it was easy and common to pull off a [[Sister Becky]] (''[[Yours Truly Johnny Dollar]]'' went through ''six'' actors in the title role).
Today, most radio dramas are one-off or miniseries events. One rare exception is ''[[A Prairie Home Companion]]'', a long-running variety show hosted by Garrison Keillor.
In the United States, these are produced primarily by public radio affiliates. [[The BBC]] also produces a number of these on the other side of the pond, the best known of which is the original incarnation of ''[[The
Often, the radio broadcast is mostly a formality, as the production is primarily intended to sell on cassette or CD. Sometimes, radio release is dispensed with altogether. [[Big Finish]] has produced audio dramas exclusively for CD release for several years, including [[
The
With the rise of Internet multimedia, the radio drama, along with many other types of audio programming, has received a new lease on life. The production equipment required to create an online audio show is included with most computers, and the bandwidth required to stream an audio program is well within the financial reach of amateurs, and workable over a solid home connection. Many new online audio programs, known by the neologism "[[
Most of the [[Formats]] and [[Category Show Genres|genres]], as well as many [[Tropes]] that are [[Older Than Television]], originated on radio, especially:
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{{examples|Notable and influential early radio series include:}}
* ''[[Abbott and Costello]]'' (1940-1949)
* ''
* ''[[The Adventures of
* ''[[The Adventures
▲* ''[[The Aldrich Family (Radio)|The Aldrich Family]]''
▲* ''[[Radio/Amos And Andy|Amos And Andy]]'' (1928-1955)
▲* ''[[The Archers (Radio)|The Archers]]'' (1951-[[Long Runners|present]])
▲* ''[[Bob and Ray (Radio)|Bob and Ray]]''
* ''[[Bold Venture]]'' (1951-1952)
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* ''[[Sherlock Holmes]]'' (1930-1956)
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{{examples|Notable revival era shows include:}}
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* The [http://www.zbs.org/ ZBS Foundation] (
{{examples|Notable British series that continued after the format died in the USA include:}}
* ''[[
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* ''[[The
* ''[[Torchwood:
{{examples|[[CBC]] Radio One}}
In Canada, [[CBC]] Radio One typically
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:
[[Category:Radio]]
[[Category:
[[Category:
▲[[Category:index]]
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