November 30, 2003 - 750304 - The Pit and the Pendulum

[vgarci]

This week's program is presented for your review by BVA18 (Bill).

For those who do not have the program, you can download it (with or without a Streamload account) at: www.streamload.com/vgarci (http://www.streamload.com/vgarci)

[brian1984_2001]

I love this retelling. It"s done tastefully and they give credit to Poe who inspired the story.

Norman Rose was perfect as Mr. X.

Great selection!

[Texas]

My favorite male (Rose) and female (Seldes) voices on the RMT are great on this. I agree that Rose was well-cast...I've never quite heard him this cool-sounding even when he was a bad guy in other roles. Great choice! I also like Tony Roberts in his part.

[vgarci]

I liked this modernized version of Poe's classic tale. The writing was solid and the subject matter, a formula for a weapon of mass destruction, was relevant with today's political climate. Our protagonists were likeable and the tale made us think, "What would I do if put in the same situation?" There was certainly enough to make this tale a worthy retelling of the original.

[Fizzlestix]

I was ready for "yet another version" of this one, and to be honest, I kind of sneered when I saw that it was the SotW. In high school, we spent weeks on this one in a Lit. Class... then in college, it was covered extensively in another course. It was enough to cause the aforementioned sneer.

However, perhaps knowing the tale so well as it was, I was delighted with this adaptation. It was well played and Mr. X (Norman Rose) was especially convincing. I just loved the updated version of it overall. It was fresh and still grasping.

Excellent choice on this one!! Thanks,

Fizz

[Steve]

Well, I guess I'll have to play odd-man-out this week. I really didn't care for this version of the story at all. I often [i:44277ebc3c]do[/i:44277ebc3c] enjoy RMT's modernized adaptations. For example, I think their version of The Tell-Tale Heart is excellent---very compelling. But this one just didn't work for me. I thought the whole trick ending was pretty hokey AND predictable, and that Mr X was pretty over-the-top. Actually, I thought he was pretty [i:44277ebc3c]funny[/i:44277ebc3c]. He had me crackin' up. :lol:

Also, overall, I just don't care for secret agent, spy counter-spy, or mental torture scenarios. Yeah, that was a really controlled experiment. Psychiatrists standing by to stop the test at the first signs of mental breakdown? Give me a break. Now if the guy had been a really top-flight secret US government agent, he would have figured out how to knock off Mr X with a ball-point pen or a wad of chewing gum or something. Or maybe the wife seduces Mr X and then gives him a few Emma Peel karate chops and throws him in the pit. THAT would have been a good story! :D

Until next time...

Steve

[brian1984_2001]

Steve,

I agree with you for the most part on the secret agent stuff. But I do like the mental torture stories. I think they are one of the most effective stories in radio because it's the easiest story through which to build tension.

I enjoy them I think more than most RMT fans. That's why I liked "Out of Sight" so much while almost nobody else liked it. I was able to overlook the gratuitously overt feminist message and enjoy a good story. Not something I always accomplish with other types of stories.

BTW, I had to put a script of Sam Dann down there with Elspeth's worst entry. Take my advice, avoid "My Kingdom for a Horse" at all costs! There must be an error in the credits because it sounded very little like Dann and a lot like Eric.

[Steve]

Hi Brian,

I gotta tell ya, I'm beginning to see your point about Elspeth Eric. I've been listening to a lot of episodes lately and, with the sole exceptions of [i:15925d7955]The Transformation[/i:15925d7955], [i:15925d7955]The Walls of Jericho[/i:15925d7955], and possibly [i:15925d7955]...Bobby Deland[/i:15925d7955], I can't even make it all the way through many of her plays. She definitely wrote some of the worst. ([i:15925d7955]Mind Over Matthew[/i:15925d7955], P! U! What a stinker!)

However, her adaptation of [i:15925d7955]The Transformation [/i:15925d7955]is still my very favorite episode, so I gotta give her some credit. It's really a gem. (Although I think [u:15925d7955]Mary Shelley's[/u:15925d7955] awesome storytelling probably has more to do with why I like it than anything else. Also Kevin McCarthy's performance and the overall high production values---Hi Brown did a bang-up job producing and directing that one.)

Still think [i:15925d7955]P and P[/i:15925d7955] sux tho'. :wink:


Steve

[dave]

not a bad show but i really like the origional so i was a bit biased against it.
i never had the feeling that the man and wife were in real trouble. it was like watching a tv. series when you know the stars won't get killed off.

mr. x was good. i think if he would have acted a little more psycho i would have been more worried. maybe because i was sucked into BLIZARD OF FEAR ( good show) i was more cautious this time.

the wife's strength of will was a good part of THE PIT.
i onlt gave it a 3. maybe i was too rough.