The Big Show Radio Program

Background

Science Fiction and Fantasy dramas over Radio never really seemed to catch on in the United States as they had in Canada and Great Britain during the Golden Age of Radio. There were isolated successes in the genre in America as early as the late 1930s. While juvenile science fiction and fantasy adventures were an important presence in the 1930s and 1940s, these genre remained relegated to a predominantly juvenile audience. Individual episodes of the genre occasionally found their way into many popular radio drama 'experiments' of the era, such as Columbia Workshop, the later CBS Radio Workshop, and the works of Arch Oboler. Far and away the most important experimental Radio drama writer of the era was Norman Corwin. Wyllis Cooper also made a name for himself throughout the era as a fantasy writer equally versatile with horror, westerns, comedy and psychological drama.

These were the writers that young Ray Bradbury would have heard while growing up in Illinois, Arizona, and Southern California. Indeed, by the time Ray Bradbury was in his mid-20s his own fantastic short stories began finding their way into Radio. Though apparently reticent to cite his own Radio drama influences during the era, he does cite the comedy team of Burns and Allen as a major influence from the era; certainly an inspiration to move forward with his own writing.

Ray Bradbury began writing daily upon moving to Arizona with his family. He claims to have written every single day since. Though his own accounts vary widely, by the time his family finally settled in Southern California, Bradbury was in his mid to late teens. Indeed he's reported to have been selling newspapers on the corner of Norton Avenue and Olympic Boulevard in what is currently known as Korea Town in Los Angeles. Various biographical works refer to Bradbury as being 14 before leaving Waukegan, Illinois, while at the same time stating that Bradbury attended Los Angeles High School for his education. Bradbury himself reportedly cites L.A. High School teachers Snow Longley Housh and Jeannet Johnson as personal mentors from the era.

Upon graduating from L.A. High in 1938, Bradbury 'published' his first short story, Hollerbochen's Dilemma (1938) in Imagination!, an amateur science fiction fan magazine. Bradbury reportedly published another four issues of his own fan magazine, Futuria Fantasia, in 1939. Bradbury's first paid submission, Pendulum, was first published in an issue of Super Science Stories in 1941.

By 1942, Bradbury reportedly found his own 'style' with his The Lake, which was said to have encouraged him to give up selling newspapers in 1943--at the age of 23--and devote all of his energies to his writing. By 1945, Bradbury's short story, The Big Black and White Game, found its way into Best American Short Stories.

By 1946, Ray Bradbury found himself writing for Radio: NBC's Molle Mystery Theatre aired Bradbury's Killer, Come Back To Me (adapted for radio by Joseph Ruscoll), starring Richard Widmark and Alice Reinhart. That first adaptation led to numerous adaptations of his stories over radio throughout the Golden Age of Radio and beyond:

1946 Molle Mystery Theatre
1947 World Security Workshop
1947-48 World's Greatest Short Stories
1947-60 Suspense
1949 Radio City Playhouse
1950-51 Dimension X
1950-53 Escape
1951 Lights Out
1952 NBC Presents Short Story
1953 Think (ABC Radio Workshop)
1954 The Golden Apples of The Sun (BBC Home Service)
1955 X Minus One
1956 CBS Radio Workshop
1956 Biography In Sound
1959 Thirty Minute Theatre (BBC Light Programme)
1962 There Will Come Soft Rains (BBC Third Programme)
1968 SF '68 (SABC)
1968 Leviathan 99 (BBC Radio 3)
197x Summer Raptures of Ray Bradbury
1971 Studio '71
1971 There Will Come Soft Rains (BBC Radio 4)
1973-75 The Unknown World (BBC World service)
1973 An Experiment in Drama
1973 CBC Plahouse: Bradbury Times Five
1974-76 Future Tense
1974 Marionettes Incorporated (BBC Radio 4)
1975-77 Mind Webs
1975 Chicago Radio Theater
1976 Norman Corwin Special (NPR)
1976 Spider's Web
1977 Adventure Theater (AFRTS)
1977 August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains (BBC Radio 4)
1982 Fahrenheit 451 (BBC Radio 4)
1984 Bradbury Thirteen (NPR)
1984 October Country
1984 Vanishing Point (CBC)
1986 Ghost Story (BBC Radio 4)
1988 Future Imperfect (BBC World Service)
1989 Sci-Fi Radio (NPR)
1991 The Golden Apples of The Sun (BBC Radio 5)
1991 Kaleidoscope (BBC Radio 4)
1991 The Smile (BBC Radio 4)
1992 Fear On Four (BBC Radio 4)
1993 Imagination Theater: The Adventures of Harry Nile
1993 KIRO Mystery Playhouse
1994 The Shoreline at Sunset (BBC Radio 4)
1995 A 75th Birthday Tribute to Ray Bradbury
1995-97 Tales of the Bizarre
2000 An 80th Birthday Tribute to Ray Bradbury
2000 2000x (Beyond 2000)
2003 Fahrenheit 451 (BBC Radio 4)
2004 Walking Stories (BBC Radio 4)
???? Theatre 10:30 (CBC)

While the above list is by no means all-inclusive, it represents the enduring popularity of Ray Bradbury's fiction over Radio the world over. BBC Radio and CBC Radio, in particular, have showcased Ray Bradbury's work over and over again until the present day.

Series Derivatives:

Notes on Provenances:

The most helpful provenances were BradburyMedia website, the log of the radioGOLDINdex and newspaper listings.

What you see here, is what you get. Complete transparency. We have no 'credentials' whatsoever--in any way, shape, or form--in the 'otr community'--none. But here's how we did it--for better or worse. Here's how you can build on it yourselves--hopefully for the better. Here are the breadcrumbs--just follow the trail a bit further if you wish. No hobbled downloads. No misdirection. No posturing about our 'credentials.' No misrepresentations. No strings attached. We point you in the right direction and you're free to expand on it, extend it, use it however it best advances your efforts.

We ask one thing and one thing only--if you employ what we publish, attribute it, before we cite you on it.

We continue to provide honest research into these wonderful Golden Age Radio programs simply because we love to do it. If you feel that we've provided you with useful information or saved you some valuable time regarding this log--and you'd like to help us even further--you can help us keep going. Please consider a small donation here:

We don't pronounce our Golden Age Radio research as 'certified' anything. By the very definition, research is imperfect. We simply tell the truth. As is our continuing practice, we provide our fully provenanced research results--to the extent possible--right here on the page, for any of our peers to review--or refute--as the case may be. If you take issue with any of our findings, you're welcome to cite any better verifiable source(s) and we'll immediately review them and update our findings accordingly. As more verifiable provenances surface, we'll continue to update the following series log, as appropriate.

All rights reserved by their respective sources. Article and log copyright 2009 The Digital Deli Online--all rights reserved. Any failure to attribute the results of this copywritten work will be rigorously pursued.

[Date, title, and episode column annotations in red refer to either details we have yet to fully provenance or other unverifiable information as of this writing. Red highlights in the text of the 'Notes' columns refer to information upon which we relied in citing dates, date or time changes, or titles.]