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Radio Soap Opera Discussion


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Yes.  Some of the radio soap tv transfers used new stories (like Young Dr Malone--I'm not sure about Irna's The Brighter Day which briefly seemed to be a hit on TV).  But GL used essentially the same scripts, just with narration added for the radio version.  The cast would perform the TV version live, and then would go to the radio studio and record tomorrow's radio episode (which in a way would serve as a rehearsal for the TV live version the following day--if that makes sense).  This lasted until 1956.  So I guess if you missed it on TV you could listen on radio.  I believe that before this the radio version was done live.

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Both radio and TV versions of TGL were the same so anyone who missed the TV episode could catch up later on radio.

 

This discussion of radio writers and TV follow through is fascinating.

 

I'm not sure that Irna had much to do  with Days beyond some early involvement years before the show debuted. Wasn't there a lawsuit from Ms Phillips over ownership of the show?

Edited by Paul Raven
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By the way, I'm probably the only person in the entire world who would care (especially in 2020) but that article is wrong in the way they describe Ted's shooting. Ted and Meta weren't having an "hysterical argument" at all. In fact, just the opposite. Meta was pretty calm and cold when she shot Ted. 

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Thanks! In this era where TV/Film productions have shut down due to the pandemic, it would be so easy and safe to do a radio/audio production remotely.

 

Too bad this type of storytelling has all but died in North America.
 

Though I know the Christian radio drama Unshackled is still in production and going strong...

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Unshackled is still in production? I'm literally shocked by that news. I thought it was reruns I was listening to 20 years ago!

 

 

Wikipedia has her listed as "story editor" for Days but doesn't list what years. I think I had read that she was pretty involved in Days at the beginning but kept a low profile. I would imagine she gave Bill Bell the ideas for stories and then let him go with it.

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Yes, Unshackled still produces new content (though I believe they’ve cancelled some recent shows due to the pandemic).

 

In many ways, if you try to ignore the religion overtones/propaganda (unless that’s what appeals to you of course), it can be a pretty damn compelling show and it’s produced the same way as the old radio soaps were to this day - with a live organist and all! 

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Well, I'm a Christian so I didn't mind the spiritual aspect but I never got really into it (even though I love OTR) because I'm more into the serial format and Unshackled was anthological. I just am surprised it's still in production. I wonder if it rivals The Archers at this point for radio drama longevity. 

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Unshackled was broadcast a few months before The Archers, but its volume of episodes is much less. The Archers has produced over 19,000 episodes so far while Unshackled has produced just over 3,600.

 

But runtime on Unshackled is 30 mins, while The Archers is 12 (formerly 15) mins.

Edited by BetterForgotten
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