# Could the radio drama make a coemback? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 17, 2018, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-radio-drama-make-a-coemback/810745 "2018-03-17T19:29:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![escaped](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@escaped](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/escaped)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-radio-drama-make-a-coemback/810745/1 "2018-03-17T19:29:18Z")
Twilight Zone has been made into a radio drama. could they do this with 007 and star trek? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-radio-drama-make-a-coemback/810745/2 "2018-03-17T19:38:16Z")
In the US? I’d say almost no chance. People would choose podcasts. Other places? The BBC still does radio dramas, and apparently people like them. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-radio-drama-make-a-coemback/810745/3 "2018-03-17T23:25:44Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > The BBC still does radio dramas, and apparently people like them. But even this is surely a pretty niche affair here in the UK. Yes, BBC radio does do a couple of hours of it a day, but I suspect that’s more tradition and part of fulfilling its mandate than anything else at this point. They do make a fuss about some of their productions now and then - like the version of _War and Peace_ with John Hurt back in 2015 - but I’m not sure many people actually listen. The last BBC radio play that really broke out of the niche was probably [_Spoonface Steinberg_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoonface_Steinberg) and that was a good two decades ago. (There a sharp distinction in BBC radio between drama and comedy, with the latter having much greater cultural impact. Far more people are surely tuning in to the _Hitchhiker’s_ revival than any Radio 4 Afternoon Play.) ---
**Author:** ![Mrdeals](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Mrdeals](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrdeals)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-radio-drama-make-a-coemback/810745/4 "2018-03-18T00:13:38Z")
My areas NPR has a radio drama on the schedule. However it’s never new material, just stuff from way back when. Must be popular enough to occupy that slot, but not really my thing. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-radio-drama-make-a-coemback/810745/5 "2018-03-18T00:17:11Z")
No, but I recommend Graphic Audio to people all the time. They do audiobooks, but in addition to the narrator reading the book, actors read all the lines and sound effects and music area added. They advertise as being “a movie in your mind”. It kind of is. And it’s kind of close to a radio drama. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-radio-drama-make-a-coemback/810745/6 "2018-03-18T00:26:58Z")
No one in the U.S. will sit through a long-form, story-telling radio program anymore. What might work, for a niche audience, would be shorter, serialized podcasts. Maybe 15 minutes max, where you could download chapters at your own speed. Something, in fact, like the original radio soap operas. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-radio-drama-make-a-coemback/810745/7 "2018-03-18T01:01:00Z")
There have, in the recent past, been radio plays on some Public Radio stations. I know they existed–nothing beyond that. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-radio-drama-make-a-coemback/810745/8 "2018-03-18T02:32:23Z")
God would not be so kind. I used to have tapes of the old Shadow radio shows, wonderful for late nights at the cottage … Actually, if they are around 9 - 10 o’clock on a Saturday night, with podcasts available, it could work. But podcasts have to be at least have an hour, or they don’t last through the evening dog walk. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-radio-drama-make-a-coemback/810745/9 "2018-03-18T02:49:12Z")
Tangentially to this thread, I used to listen to [CBS Radio Mystery Theater](https://www.cbsrmt.com/synopsis.html) all the time when I was a child/teen. . ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-radio-drama-make-a-coemback/810745/10 "2018-03-18T03:33:19Z")
> [@j666](#): > > I used to have tapes of the old Shadow radio shows, wonderful for late nights at the cottage … I grew up listening to The Shadow as a kid, on my grandma’s [huge wooden radio](https://www.ebay.com/itm/Zenith-Antique-Console-Cabinet-Radio-Works/273076321662?_trkparms=aid%3D777003%26algo%3DDISCL.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D50527%26meid%3D890731f98816451882552ad95c363a9c%26pid%3D100012%26rk%3D9%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D182361991129%26itm%3D273076321662&_trksid=p2047675.c100012.m1985) with glowing tubes. I date my love of Mystery and Sci-Fi to those late nights at her cottage. My iPhone is full of old radio dramas and comedies, from iTunes and the BBC… BBC4 was, of course, the home of [Cabin Pressure](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqMhMS35-Lg&index=2&list=PLA90116E29C423164) and John Finnemore’s [other radio comedies](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-pBXdewAMQ). The second that someone comes along to produce good quality radio dramas/mysteries/comedies (or release them as podcasts) I’m on board! ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-radio-drama-make-a-coemback/810745/11 "2018-03-18T05:05:29Z")
> [@digs](#): > > The second that someone comes along to produce good quality radio dramas/mysteries/comedies (or release them as podcasts) I’m on board! You can always keep an eye (or ear) out for [https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/categories/drama](https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/categories/drama) ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-radio-drama-make-a-coemback/810745/12 "2018-03-18T05:46:43Z")
[Big Finish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Finish_Productions) does a lot of genre audio dramas, mostly for _Doctor Who_ but they have branched out into other properties too. They seem popular with a particular crowd, though I’ve never listened to one. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-radio-drama-make-a-coemback/810745/13 "2018-03-18T10:18:06Z")
> [@bonzer](#): > > But even this is surely a pretty niche affair here in the UK. Yes, BBC radio does do a couple of hours of it a day, but I suspect that’s more tradition and part of fulfilling its mandate than anything else at this point. Radio 4’s Afternoon Play seems to reliably get 800,000 or more listeners a day, which I think most TV shows would be happy with in that time slot. I’m not as familiar with RAJAR figures as I am with BARB, but my impression is that, in radio terms, that’s very good indeed. Another reason the BBC continues to support radio drama is that it’s an inexpensive and effective way of developing new talent. A lot of writers, actors, directors and producers have started in radio drama and comedy. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-radio-drama-make-a-coemback/810745/14 "2018-03-18T12:41:39Z")
I also doubt they’ll make a comeback, at least not the way things are at the moment. However, if you have XM radio, there’s a channel dedicated to them. XM 148, Radio Classics. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-radio-drama-make-a-coemback/810745/15 "2018-03-18T19:44:36Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > You can always keep an eye (or ear) out for > > [https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/categories/drama](https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/categories/drama) Thanks to everyone for suggestions – I also searched “BBC4” and found quite a few “videos that are just audio” on Youtube. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-radio-drama-make-a-coemback/810745/16 "2018-03-18T20:08:10Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > No one in the U.S. will sit through a long-form, story-telling radio program anymore. I think this a big part of it. ISTM that radio dramas require a fairly high level of concentration to follow, maybe because it’s only one sense. Even while watching TV today, many people are simultaneously doing things on their phones or computers, and I suspect that it’s easier to “partially pay attention” to a TV drama than it is with a radio drama. > [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > There have, in the recent past, been radio plays on some Public Radio stations. > I know they existed–nothing beyond that. There may well have been others, but NPR famously did [radio dramatizations of the original Star Wars trilogy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_(radio)) (ANH in 1981, ESB in 1983, and RotJ in 1996) – though, I don’t know if those qualify as “the recent past.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-radio-drama-make-a-coemback/810745/17 "2018-03-18T20:59:46Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > ISTM that radio dramas require a fairly high level of concentration to follow, maybe because it’s only one sense. Are they any different in this respect than standard audiobooks? Plenty of people listen to audiobooks while driving, walking, or exercising. You’d think there would be a fair amount of overlap between the audience for audiobooks and for audio dramas. (And, [Audible.com](http://Audible.com) offers a fair number of audio dramas.) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-radio-drama-make-a-coemback/810745/18 "2018-03-18T21:19:35Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Are they any different in this respect than standard audiobooks? Plenty of people listen to audiobooks while driving, walking, or exercising. You’d think there would be a fair amount of overlap between the audience for audiobooks and for audio dramas. (And, [Audible.com](http://Audible.com) offers a fair number of audio dramas.) You’re likely right (and I listen to Audible audiobooks). My suspicion is that the cost of producing a radio drama is somewhat higher than for making an audiobook (or a podcast) – multiple voice actors, developing a script, SFX, etc. I think that’d it’d certainly be _possible_ for someone to try to revive the “audio drama” format, but I’m not sure that it’d be viable on radio anymore. [Radio listenership is declining rapidly](http://variety.com/2017/music/news/traditional-radio-faces-a-grim-future-new-study-says-1202542681/), particularly among younger listeners (who look to online and digital services instead). I think it could be possible for audio dramas to succeed in a podcast or streaming format, however. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-radio-drama-make-a-coemback/810745/19 "2018-03-18T21:47:03Z")
> [@bonzer](#): > > The last BBC radio play that really broke out of the niche was probably [_Spoonface Steinberg_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoonface_Steinberg) and that was a good two decades ago. Just looked at that link. Narrated by “a 7 year old autistic girl who is dying from cancer?” [Wow](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IllGirl). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-radio-drama-make-a-coemback/810745/20 "2018-03-19T00:59:31Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Tangentially to this thread, I used to listen to [CBS Radio Mystery Theater](https://www.cbsrmt.com/synopsis.html) all the time when I was a child/teen. > > . I came in to mention this,. They ran new radio dramas back in the 1980s. So radio certainly had at least one comeback. I also recall that one of the Boston radio stations used to run old radio shows back in the late 1980s. And it wasn’t a Public Radio station, either. I got a hoot out of the old pre-TV “Dragnet” episodes. And here in the Boston area we have the Post Meridian Radio Players that put on new editions of old radio dramas, sex-reversed Star Trek episodes, and new works and adaptations. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-radio-drama-make-a-coemback/810745.md?page=2)