My Log - Charlie

[Charlie]

A young girl's fiancé commits a crime but she confesses to spare him prison. He promises to wait for her and be married when she is released in a few years. He instead marries another and the jilted girl languishes in prison - contemplating his demise when she is released.

Eventually, she is released.

[Charlie]

A strange World War I era tale of a troubled young girl, a "haunted" house, and a secret room.

[Charlie]

Two hikers in the New Mexico desert stumble on a town that at first glance seems to be stuck in the 1920's. Further events reveal much more sinister happenings.

[Charlie]

A real life husband/wife also play a married couple on a soap opera. One ends up dead on TV, one ends up really dead. The story of an obsessed fan who can't seperate fact from fiction is strangely interwoven.

[Charlie]

A series of deja vu experiences convince a college professor that he is actually from another planet.

It begins after he sees a person he is convinced is also from the same planet and is present to destroy the earth.

[Charlie]

International intrigue as a journalist and her boyfriend cameraman get in the middle of secretive affairs in Turkey.

[Charlie]

A man's rich wife gets involved in a religious cult that believes in reincarnation - that souls are reincarnated into small animals to be exact. She decides to leave her $10 million fortune to the cult and none of it to her husband. As you would expect, this presents a few problems for her husband.

Interestingly, (since this is the 2nd CBSRMT program) at the end, E.G. Marshall mentions that you are listening to the "reincarnation of radio drama" and "we hope you'll keep us alive."

[Charlie]

A serial killer wreaks havoc in a large city. Finding the connection between the victims is the key to solving the crime - but the police are having trouble to piece it together.

[Charlie]

An eccentric gentleman that lives in a "weird house without electricity", high on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean, invites a couple of old school chums for a visit. He hasn't seen them since school days many years earlier. He relates details about a painting of a woman in his bedroom to his friends - the painting talks. Both gentlemen get their chance to spend the night in the room.

That's all of the ingredients you need for this strange recipe.

[Charlie]

A man is brainwashed into thinking that he is an alien from outer space.

[Charlie]

A bagpipe playing ghost comes between a man and his fiancee. It seems that truly anything can happen in India.

[Charlie]

A confusing tale to be sure: A couple moves from Colorado to Eastport Harbor, Maine and buys a house that the combination sheriff/real estate agent tells them is haunted by a ghost.

Trouble begins when the husband's behavior becomes erratic and the wife is confused by events that begin happening, as well as problems related to business matters left behind in Colorado. The story eventually shifts back to Colorado.

This was personally fascinating when I listened, because I live just a few miles from the real city of Eastport, Maine - the easternmost city in the Unites States. The harbor there is between Eastport and Deer Island, New Brunswick and just across the bay is also Campobello Island, New Brunswick.

I have spent a lot of time in those areas.

[Charlie]

A couple of country bumpkins from (where else) Maine, go to the "big city" for their honeymoon, only to be robbed.

They become the toast of the town when the locals help them out with their every need. Things turn sour when accusations are made against the couple and the story eventually shifts back to Maine.

[Charlie]

A mild-mannered warehouse worker takes abuse from his boss while the secretary who loves him broods. Meanwhile, a vigilante rids society of undesirable types.

Make no assumptions before listening.

[Charlie]

Set in the early 1800's, a young judge becomes determined to solve the mystery of a man and his young daughter who seem to be endlessly wandering around New England in a horse drawn wagon trying to find Boston and their home.

He meets people who have encountered the pair on the road occasion and have strange tales to tell.

I rank this in the top 10% of programs.

[Charlie]

An elderly man begins having delusional nightmares which reveal a hidden past and a possible previous connection to his daughter-in-law.

[Charlie]

A classic tale reworked into a New Mexico setting around 1850: A series of tragedies plague a small town. A father dreams that his son will kill him. A son dreams that he will kill his father. A man is killed at a certain place. Another man commits a killing at the same place. A woman is married to a man that is killed, later she is married to a younger man that committed a killing.

Go figure.

[Charlie]

A man is to be poisoned on stage during the performance of a play. Problem is fantasy turns to reality when he really is croaked.

Fred Gwynn is the police detective in this whodunit.

[Charlie]

A star of the stage retires to return to the home of her birth only to be confronted by ghosts of the past.

[Charlie]

Debts come due 30 years after three men spent several days stranded on a raft floating in the ocean.

[Charlie]

This is an interesting one and it is hard to explain without giving away the ending.

2 couples conduct a séance. One of the couples has been studying the best way to go about it after failing the first time around. They are not trying to contact anyone in particular (such as a dead relative) just anyone will do - and they do make contact apparently. Seems that one of them turns out to be just the right vehicle for contacting the spirit of a dead person.

Having seemingly found success the first time around, they decide to try and hit the jackpot again and another player is brought into the game.

The person who can contact the spirit pays a heavy price for that "gift" though - and, another of the participants seems to develop a "personal relationship" with the entity that they contact.

The surprise ending will leave you scratching your head (and that is more than I will normally say in a review about the ending of a program). This one gets your interest from the get go and is worth listening to.

[Charlie]

An O Henry tale of scams and schemers. A fun program.

[Charlie]

The problems of a mentally troubled woman are unresolved.

[Charlie]

File this one under "the best of" (my top 10%).......

Two old American war buddies have a pact to meet in Paris 10 years after they helped liberate the city. They made this pact the last day they saw each other at the end of the war and had not communicated with each other at all since that time. The first mystery is whether both of them will show up - and they don't stop until you reach the end.

I shall tell no more as this is a fantastic program and is a great one to play for someone that you are trying to introduce to the program.

[Charlie]

An adaptation of a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle tale about two American brothers in England and an unsolved murder aboard a train to Manchester.

[Charlie]

This story is based in (where else do most weird things happen) Maine.

An elderly woman who lives alone in a remote area is called upon by visitors and told that she is the recipient of gifts from a wealthy gentleman who wants to make her happy - seems he likes to throw darts at a map and wherever they hit, he lavishes that person (living there) with gifts. She receives things such as trips to Mexico City, New York, and Europe.

Something about it all just doesn't seem right to her though.

[Charlie]

Personal problems are plenty for a playboy pilot in WWII.

[Charlie]

I'm not a science fiction type of guy but this is a good program.

Many years and generations into the future the population of Earth has dwindled (due to war) and it is contaminated by radioactive material.

A elderly scientist knows how to make robots. A military leader raids the galaxy and has his own ideas about the future survival of the human race. The leader of the planet believes that the radioactivity problem can be cured by breeding it out of the population.

These are the ingredients needed for this program.

[Charlie]

An lonely elderly gentleman concocts a story about witnessing a crime - which he tells to the police.

All is not so easily forgotten when he changes his mind about it.

[Charlie]

A nerdy little goober who works as a clerk in a brokerage house finds the body of a famous young female singer early one morning while walking to work.

The police aren't sure if he is a suspect or a witness - which is further confounded by his behavior.

In the end ... well, see the title.

[Charlie]

It's leap year and February 29 is approaching.

A police officer has a bad day and goes for a couple of drinks. He drinks too much and wakes up the next morning with a hangover. Big problem though - he wakes up in someone else's bed and is someone else - a gangster.

At the same time, the same thing seems to be happening at his house - the person he now is, is also waking up - as him.

[Charlie]

One of the best - an epic in my opinion. This program is not just top 10% for me - it's top 1%.

Unknown to the rest of the world, it's balance seems to hang in part upon the righteousness of 36 men in each generation who lead exemplary lives.

The main character in this story has a heart of gold but is put upon by his controlling and narrow-minded wife.

One day an old man comes to visit in the little neighborhood store that they run and informs him that he is to become one of the 36 men.

This is where it gets interesting - right at the beginning of the story.

[Charlie]

A young girl returns from her honeymoon and that very night finds her new husband murdered in their home.

As soon as she tries to report the murder to her sister and the police, everything goes haywire and it seems that she may belong in the loony bin.

[Charlie]

A few years after the Vietnam War, a veteran is visited by his best friend from the war. Slight problem - the friend was killed during the war.

His wife and friends think he is cracking up due to stress, but the friend seems to have a reason for being back from the grave.

Classic CBSRMT bizarreness!

[Charlie]

This is quite an interesting story and it's hard to tell much about it without ruining it for the listener - and I am not one to post spoilers.

A gentleman who has little self-worth manages to marry a beautiful woman. He derives his importance from his relationship with her. But, a problem develops and the marriage ends.

He is devastated and continues on with his life for 25 years - but, in silence, without speaking to a single soul.

He takes an annual vacation to a remote seashore location each year where he spends two weeks alone in a cave.

One year he arrives to find 2 young lovers in his cave.

This is where things get interesting.

A spooky and very morbid episode. Listen and make your own judgments.

[Charlie]

A Sir Arthur Conan Doyle tale...

Set in London, an attorney comes to the aid of a young man who lives alone in a large house. The young man sprained his ankle in the street and the attorney helps him up and into the large mansion. He discovers that the young man appears to live only in one room of the mansion - which he inherited from his father.

Upstairs there is a room with a black door that is locked and sealed with a wax seal. The young man tells the attorney that he has no idea what is in the room and that he is forbidden from opening it until his 21st birthday.

A little later in our story that day arrives. At midnight, along with his new attorney friend, and his fathers most trusted employee he prepares to open the door.

This rates as a top 10% episode in my opinion.

[Charlie]

The story begins with a lady making a confession to her priest.

The setting is France; An American movie star is in town to make a film and he turns up dead.

It takes a turn or two from the confessional booth to the Vatican.

[Charlie]

This soap opera takes place over a nine year period from 1977 through 1986. It chronicles the misadventures of a man, his wife, and ... his girlfriend.

The weirdness starts in 1977 when his wife asks him for a quarter and he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a new quarter - with a mint date of 1986.

Other strange things happen and he appears to melt down.

Better to listen and judge for yourself what is happening here.

[Charlie]

A man dies.

His two sons return to town from different points to claim their booty. They were not close to their father and seem to be a couple of sniping jerks who are hungry for money.

As the will is read, events begin to unfold.

[Charlie]

A couple goes to a yard sale where a minister has passed away and his nephew is selling his things.

They are intrigued by a grandfather clock which is priced reasonably so they decide to take it home. One interesting point about the clock is that the seller tells them it does not chime, yet, it is chiming.

This clock turns out to be something of a problem and is perhaps, more than just a clock.

[Charlie]

A wealthy business executive turns 50 and his wife has found a unique present - six Japanese bells on a silken rope.

One of them, the fifth, seems to ring on its own on occasion. It starts to drive the man crazy but he won't part with them.

Add a Japenese businessman, the German proprietor of the antique shop that sold the bells, an old friend of the gentleman who is a private detective, his business assistant, and a police investigator and you've got the complete cast assembled to create this mystery.

[Charlie]

I don't like to give away the endings, or even what happens during the program as I feel it ruins it for the listener who then constantly waits for certain foretold events to happen during the program, etc.

Having said that, this is a hard program to tell much about without going into detail. So, don't read this review and just go listen to the program and you'll find that this is a program that will hold your attention. This is the kind of mystery that I like to listen to.

If you do want details, here are some (but certainly not all) to entice you into listening:

A woman has grown tired of her husband's constant job-related traveling and feels neglected.

She's not the type but she gets mad enough to go to a singles bar during one of his trips. There, she's approached by a smooth-talking fellow who is also away from home on a business trip. He offers a little excitement and suggests that she accompany him on a two-hour drive to a casino that she has never been to before.

She is reluctant but decides to live it up for once and go with him. They start out driving are soon out in the middle of nowhere on this 120 mile plus trip.
Spoiler alert: A problem develops as this fellow seems to have a heart attack while driving!

Now, she has trouble and wishes she had made different choices this evening.

This is more information than I like to give but this is a good program. Give it a listen. It kept my attention.

[Charlie]

A cunning and seemingly powerful man operates an organization that resembles a cult. It supposedly does charitable work and the money is provided by well-to-do businessmen who have joined the organization.

The leader seems to summon a god who sends down fire to impress and oppress members and the leader makes financial demands of the members.

One of them is not so comfortable with the forced giving from the outset but another has personally witnessed what happens when the giving is not up to par.

[Charlie]

An attorney with a reputation for getting his clients acquitted of armed robbery charges takes a complex case in which a young man is accused of stabbing a man who later dies.

The young man's father is convinced that he is innocent.

He claims to be innocent, but the attorney himself has doubts from the outset.

[Charlie]

Joe "The Great" Ferlini is an escape artist nearing the age of 50. But, the escape business isn't what it used to be and he works in second rate establishments.

His ego is huge. He is abusive. His wife is unhappy. His agent isn't too keen on him anymore. And, another entertainer has a case of the hots for his wife.

Now, he has an idea for a great escape trick to get publicity and catapult himself back into the limelight. He will be bound, sealed in a box, and dumped into a pond and he is to find his way out.

All of these things you will learn in the first few minutes of the program.

[Charlie]

A young lady, and a movie actress at that, has asthma problems. She's seen several specialists already and none have helped.

She goes to see another doctor and he has a novel solution to the problem that plagues her - a head transplant!

Or, perhaps this is not what is happening at all.

You listen and tell me what you think happened here.

[Charlie]

It's 1879 in the Ozarks of Southern Missouri when bizarre things happen following a quarrel between a father and son.

Nothing more can be told about this program without breaking the mystery and whenever things happen in Southern Missouri there is always a mystery waiting to happen.

This story reminds me of one of my favorite books that I never tire of reading; Buried Treasures of the Ozarks: Legends of Lost Gold, Hidden Silver, and Forgotten Cashes (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0874831067/qid=1050607352/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/102-2219335-4012126?v=glance&s=books&n=507846). You might like it too if you like this program.

[Charlie]

Let's stay in Missouri for our next adventure...

A corporate jet with a VIP on board is forced to divert to Central City, Missouri due to weather.

The VIP happens to own a plant there so he invites the young president of his company (whom he has never met) and his wife to dinner to get to know them since he just happens to be in town.

And so, an adventure begins!

[Charlie]

Adapted from MacBeth, this story takes place when clans rule Scotland and is the story of the fall of a king, then the rise and fall of a another and his wife.

[Charlie]

Kent Hatcher spent eight years as an enemy prisoner and the government thought he was dead. But, he turns up during a prisoner exchange.

His wife has remarried, his mind and body are shot, and he ends up in a mental institution.

A doctor wants to try and help him but there are some problems.

[Charlie]

This is an adaptation of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar".

Caesar is a dictator of sorts - basically a worthless moron but he is a rising star in the eyes of the people of Rome and about to be crowned King.

A group of fellow "Senators" is not happy about this and they talk another respected leader, Brutus, into joining their plot to assassinate Caesar - for the good of the people of course.

If you don't know the story, listen to see what happens. If you do, listen to hear a superb audio presentation of Julius Caesar.

[Charlie]

Classic CBSRMT! Put this one on your list to listen to.

It's 1860 and Scotland Yard has a new detective, Charles Dickens the famous author has been enlisted to help solve a murder.

Your cast of characters includes a mother and her 20 year old son who own a farm in a rural area of England.

Her husband passed away and now she has married a gentleman from London who has a daughter of the same age as her son.

The two young people do not get along well and soon on in our adventure the young man is found dead - hanging in the barn. The handyman, trusted for many years, goes missing at the same time.

The question is whether or not the young man has been murdered, committed suicide, or was the victim of some strange accident.

Charles Dickens reminds us of Sherlock Holmes as he attempts to piece the puzzle together.

[Charlie]

This is the Mystery Theater's adaptation of the Shakespeare classic "Romeo & Juliet."

Everyone has heard of Shakespeare and the average person would say "Romeo & Juliet" if you asked them to name one of Shakespeare's works. I don't think they teach this stuff in 99% of schools these days so you would be hard pressed to get someone to explain any of these stories to you as most people don't know what they are about. Of course, Mystery Theater listeners, being of the more discerning variety when it comes to entertainment, are familiar with this story. But, in case someone is reading who has arrived here for enlightenment, the gist of the story is this:

Juliet Capulet and Romeo Montague are two teenagers who belong to feuding families of the Hatfield and McCoy variety. Even their families' servants brawl when they encounter one another. These two fall in love and this, as you can imagine, creates problems for everyone involved.

If they had cast this on "Dallas" then people might better know the story.

Evaluating the way CBSRMT handles this production; I say "great!"

Condensing this epic tale into a 45 minute program would be no easy task - nor would it be with any of these works. But, as one would expect, a great job in doing it was accomplished. Give a listen to this one - which includes Morgan Fairchild as Juliet.

[Charlie]

Gene Fowler is a traveling salesman selling hardware to hardware stores.

One day he is on his way home and gets a speeding ticket. He goes down to police headquarters to speak with the police about it and is surprisingly arrested for armed robbery.

It seems that he perfectly fits the description provided to the police by a victim.

Thus begins his nightmare.

[Charlie]

Othello is a high ranking officer in the Italian military. He is also black.

He falls in love with and marries a white woman of means.

This causes plenty of problems for everyone involved and Othello becomes the victim of underhanded actions.

Another good presentation of Shakespeare on CBSRMT.

[Charlie]

Merry Christmas from News Radio 78, WBBM - Chicago.

Joan left Ohio for New York 12 years ago and hasn't been home to see her family since.

Christmas comes and her husband suggests a trip back to Ohio to see her family as he has to attend some job training in that state.

So, they go.

They are driving to their destination and they get in the region of her hometown.

The area has changed a bit since she left and 20 miles or so from her hometown the map shows that the Interstate Highway is under construction and they should get off and take a smaller highway. But, the Interstate appears to go forward from there so they figure that the road has been completed since the map came out.

So, they go forward hoping to save some miles.

But, after driving for what they figure is 40 miles, and noticing that there are no exits, signs, or other cars on the freeway, they suspect something is amiss - and it is.

It's in the top 10% for this one. Be sure to listen with the family at Christmas!

[Charlie]

Fred Gwynne stars in this story of two step-brothers and a business associate of the older brother.

The business associate (an investment banker) bilked the older brother (an investor) out of a quarter of a million dollars. The younger (by 25 years) brother falls in love with the investment banker's daughter. The older brother wants revenge against her father.

They're all New Yorkers but everyone ends up together at a spa in Virginia where their lives will change - or end.

Stir once, bake for 45 minutes at $250,000 and there you go.

[Charlie]

A murder is committed - 5 actually. A policeman investigates.

Our characters include an old lady distraught over a canceled visit from her son, an immigrant grocer, a police detective, and his aunt.

Finding the killer will not be easy.

[Charlie]

Marty Carraway is a junior executive working in a Wall Street brokerage firm.

Although uneducated in the field, he's a natural and is quickly promoted to the number two position.

Prior to his promotion, he was having a fling with the big boss's secretary. Upon promotion, a door opens to a whole new set of problems, and maybe even a murder thrown in there somewhere just for fun.

[Charlie]

A farmer has been slowed down by a recent serious injury to his arm. His wife is diagnosed with a heart condition.

The farmer finds an unusual bag on his property that he can't seem to open and strange things start to happen in their area.

The choices they make are sure to affect their future.

[Charlie]

Melvin is a U.S. Senator and he has been convinced that he is the right man for the job of President.

He agrees to run and things are going great. It looks like he is a sure thing.

One problem - he has a secret.

[Charlie]

Fred Gwynne stars in this episode.

Bulwar, Colorado is a poor little Rocky Mountain town that owns a mine recently discovered to contain a wealth of gold. It looks like it will turn every resident into a multi-millionaire.

The twin Miller sisters live in this town and they could not be more opposite. Eunice seems to have good luck with everything in life, but Janice and those around her have nothing but the worst possible luck.

The town itself has a history of "bad luck" and some start to suspect that Janice is the cause - and to worry about the fate of the mine and their money.

An excellent program!

[Charlie]

Jim Beecher is a talent agent and cares for no one but himself. His wife Louise hopes that he will change.

He starts having problems when someone seems to be following him. He hears footsteps but when he turns, no one seems to be there.

[Charlie]

Bill is a business executive that lives in the past.

While his business crumbles all he can think about is visiting a place called Morrisey's - a bar that was hopping in 1939 when he was 19.

Now, it is a condemned building in a neighborhood that has been marked for complete destruction. But, not to him - when he goes back the place is there and all he can think about is the way things used to be.

Awesome program!

[Charlie]

An Arthur Conan Doyle tale of hatred.

The story starts in India and ending in England.

A man (Major John Litton - a Doctor who is a collector of things from the East) purchases a dagger from merchant in India and the next day the man contacts him and says he needs to buy it back as his life depends on it.

Later, a woman, Jennifer Wilson, enters the picture. It seems that she is a femme fatale.

Her actions lead to an interesting ending.

[Charlie]

A traveler - a man of adventure, runs into a former business partner in the Caribbean that operated a tour boat (The Laughing Maiden) and finds out that he and his employee have abandoned the business to look for a legendary treasure on an island.

Problem: An unknown "syndicate" is apparently monitoring every move in the area of the supposed treasure to snatch it away from anyone that finds it.

[Charlie]

This program is somewhat the same story line from the last review reworked.

This involves the interaction of three men, some (apparent) surviving Neanderthals, and nuclear tests in the Nevada desert.

Listen to this one and the last one back to back and see what you think.

[Charlie]

A couple is driving home from a Winter getaway and as they pass over a mountain they become stranded in a blizzard. They stop at a cabin they come to on the road.

The first problem is that there is a killer on the loose - the police are searching for a man who just killed a local family.

This program ranks among the best. It's in my top 10%.

[Charlie]

Nearly 4 years after my last review, I am back in action thanks to an iPod!

Sometimes individual episodes define CBSRMT for people. You see it all the time when people post about an episode they remember just as vividly as the day they first heard it. Or, perhaps they are looking for a memorable program that they heard some 30+ years ago.

This is one of those programs - one of the best.

A young couple is searching for a summer retreat - a place to relax and work on their projects. She is an artist and he a writer.

They spot an ad for a bed and breakfast in a newspaper and contact the proprietor. She has some unusual requirements of her guests and must call on them in the city to meet them before agreeing to host them or give them directions to the town of Granville.

She approves of them and the day comes that they drive to the quaint little town.

There seem to be no signs on the main road to the town and following the directions they are given leads them to the town only by driving down a path through a field.

When they arrive, several other things about the town seem curious and unusual.

Thus begins the adventure.

[Charlie]

A "little old lady" that loves animals doesn't show the same compassion toward humans.

A female police detective tries to piece together events in order to solve a string of killings.

[Charlie]

I first reviewed this program in 2003. I listened to it again recently so I offer you another review.

Ten years following his tour of duty in Viet Nam, a man starts getting visited by his best friend - who died in the war.

His friend was killed doing a job that he was supposed to be doing.

Now, who the bullet that killed him was intended for has to be sorted out.

[Charlie]

Set in the early 1800's, a dishonest hypnotist is dying and teaches a young doctor the ways of his work.

The hypnotist believes that if he himself is hypnotized just before his death, he will not die.

The bizarre situation is complicated by the relationship between the young doctor and the other man's beautiful wife.

[Charlie]

In the days of pioneers, a native of Mexico settles in a remote area of Virginia and gives people plenty of reason to hate him.

When he turns up dead a new sheriff and a judge are left to solve the mystery of his death.

Not an easy riddle to resolve is how a man can be killed by a shotgun blast in a room with a bolted door and no other means of entry or exit.

[Charlie]

A rich widow inserts herself into the lives of people that wronged her as a teenager. Her intent is to watch them destroy each other.

The offer of a million dollars to one man to kill another sets events in motion.

[Charlie]

A young couple drives to Southern Maine for a fall vacation stay at a small inn.

As they approach the remote inn the man admires the nearby forest and tells his wife he would like for the two of them to go for a hike the next day.

When the couple ask the innkeeper and his wife to prepare for them a picnic lunch to take on their hike, they are advised to "stay out of Dutchman's Woods."

They don't listen and laugh off the warnings.

Late that evening the young wife turns up at the inn alone not knowing the whereabouts of her husband.

And away you go...

[Charlie]

This adventure is set in the future.

In this time the population has been divided into three groups - leaders, skilled workers, and everyone else.

Marriages are called "franchises". Children are "made in a franchise". When parents spend time with their children it is called a "duty visit". Everyone must be "in balance". Anytime someone is "out of balance" they must go in for "repair".

People's actions and thoughts must be in line with what is prescribed and asking questions is not allowed.

Problem's begin when a young man starts asking questions about who he is and where he came from shortly before he reaches the age where he is to be classified into one of the three groups - which will determine the kind of life he will lead.

[Charlie]

We return to Southern Maine for another story about a group of people who are staying at an inn.

A man, Professor George Weymouth, is walking along a rocky beach near the inn and finds an Indian arrowhead.

He shows it to Colonel Pingree, another guest at the inn, and learns that in 1605 a man with the same name as him, probably an ancestor, captured and killed five Indians in the same area as he explored the coast of Maine.

This sets in motion a series of events that will bring a great deal of distress to those staying at the inn.

[Charlie]

A young lady with no family and little concern for her direction in life visits an employment agency looking for a job. Apparently she has learned to simply roll with the flow of life and she is willing to take any job and go anywhere without applying much thought.

On the application she fills out, where it asks for "next of kin" she leaves the line blank.

This leads to a discussion between her and the young man at the agency in which he informs her that everyone must have someone to list. She informs him that "she is all alone in the world."

He insists that the form must be fully filled out in order for her to be considered for any job.

She picks up a pen from his desk and asks him what his name is. When he answers, she writes his name and tells him that she now knows him as well as she does anyone else in the world.

He tells her that he doesn't have any job possibilities for her other than a job as a secretary to an older man "on an island off the coast of Northern Maine."

(Note that Northern Maine does not actually touch the ocean but forgetting that fact, we continue...)

Furthermore, the job requires signing a contract and there are other unusual requirements.

She has no particular concerns about her future and will agree to anything.

She takes the job and travels to the island only to discover that the job is not at all what she expected and she desires to leave - but can't.

Meanwhile, the young man at the employment agency starts to wonder just exactly what kind of situation he sent her into.

[Charlie]

A reminder that my reviews do not contain spoilers (unless I warn you first).

My only intention is to give the reader enough information to pique interest in a program.

Sometimes this can be done in one sentence. Other times, it takes more information to set the stage.

This is one of those cases where only a few words will suffice to begin your listening experience.

This is a story of blackmail.

A man with a seemingly bright future in business and a pending marriage is contacted by a man who knows a secret about him.

As always, blackmail is a pressure cooker and it is only so long until the pressure is not sustainable.

[Charlie]

An airliner is flying from Miami to Seattle with a single stop in Kansas City.

All is well on the first leg of the flight and a group of convention-goers depart the plane in Kansas City. A single passenger gets on.

After departure on the second part of the flight the unthinkable happens.

Assume nothing until the very end of the program.

[Charlie]

Two people, a young girl and an older man, awaken from a sleep to find themselves as the only passengers on a large airplane.

They do not know why they are there. They are not easily able to even recall their names.

They talk about this strange situation for a bit in an attempt to figure out an explanation.

The plane stops briefly at an unknown destination and more people appear on the plane.

After departure they too awaken without knowing why they are there.

Join them on their flight as they start to deduce what is happening to them.

[Charlie]

A man of 70 years old and his wife, who appears to be no older than her late teens, settle into a lake house in the Adirondacks.

The apparent difference in their ages raises eyebrows with the neighbors.

When the young lady disappears, a murder investigation ensues.

[Charlie]

This is a particularly good show and despite the title, has nothing to do with whales or the sea.

In 1820, a slave (a black man of course) educates himself and learns to read.

His master refuses to believe that a slave could learn to read in spite of a Northern friend of his who is visiting and is greatly impressed by the man.

A series of unpredictable events occur as a result of the slave's desire to be free and better himself.

This show will rank in my top 10% of CBSRMT programs.

[Charlie]

An inventor works on a time-travel machine and ends up sending his daughter and her future husband back in time to an unknown destination.

They land in Washington D.C. in the days of Abraham Lincoln and end up in a boarding house where a plot is being hatched to assassinate the president.

This leads them to contemplate what might happen if they alter the course of history as they know it.

[Charlie]

A young lady is at odds with her rich father.

She and her boyfriend fall in with a couple of opportunist beatniks who devise a plan to stage a kidnapping (of her) with the hope of extorting money from her father.

Not finding satisfaction in the police investigation of her disappearance, the father hires a private investigator who attempts to piece together the truth with very few leads.

[Charlie]

A young man murders a rival (who is half Indian and half white) and blames the murder on an Indian chief - who also happens to be the victims uncle.

In spite of the willingness of the locals to simply lynch the accused, a young Thomas Jefferson insists that he be given a fair trial and attempts to discredit the story of the accuser as he defends the man.

This is a good program.

[Charlie]

A pre-president John Quincy Adams is serving as ambassador to France when he and his wife have a problem in their home (the embassy). It seems that it is haunted by a ghost.

Thomas Jefferson is also present in France at this time and gets involved in the affair.

[Charlie]

A professor and his wife are looking for a summer home. Unbeknown to almost anyone else, he is working on a time-travel machine.

It seems that space aliens are aware of his work and they hire humans to provide the perfect summer home for the man and his wife, and to prevent him from succeeding.

[Charlie]

This program ranks in my top 10% of CBSRMT episodes.

The head of the secret police in a Central American country is a brutal and ruthless man who places no value on human life - other than his own.

One day he is visited by a man who tells him that the government is about to be overthrown.

The man tells him that his only hope for survival is to take advantage of an expensive offer whereby he enters a program that his organization has developed.

They can change everything about him. Not just his looks but his speech and personality also.

He agrees to take part.

Meanwhile, those victimized by the former government are looking for their ex-leaders in order to exact revenge.

This is a good program.

[Charlie]

Another good program.

The owner of a company that operates an assembly line hires a female psychologist to determine why so many of his employees don't show up for work.

She focuses on one employee - a man named Oliver Townsend who in 8 years has not missed a single day of work, despite the repetitive and mundane work that he performs.

She decides to see what it is that makes him tick and why he is so dependable.

After talking to him, she finds out that he is fixated with a particular Civil War battle - the Battle of Shilo. It seems to be his hobby.

He invites her to visit his house. There, he has constructed an amazing model of the entire battle scene.

Upon learning this about the man, she is left to diagnose just how deep his connection with this world really is.

Another top 10% program.

[Charlie]

This is yet another of my top 10% of programs, and another with a Civil War connection.

A Pennsylvania man is driving down the highway in Connecticut when he finds that he is not feeling well and decides to exit at a small town and take a room at the local motel to rest.

In spite of the fact that he has never been to the town before, everyone he encounters seems to find him very familiar. The lady that runs the motel, and the doctor at the local hospital where he seeks treatment for what ails him - they can't quite put their finger on who he is, but they seem to know him.

Finally, one person remembers where they have all seen him.

[Charlie]

Three in a row with a civil war connection...

In 1863, a Confederate Colonel, an actress, and a masquerading British agent combine for a story of intrigue and deceit.

The Confederate Army needs equipment in their fight against the North.

Apparently, what they need can be bought from England with the appropriate amount of gold.

The plan is to ship the gold to England with a speedy return of their needed provisions.

Not everyone wants the transaction to succeed.

[Charlie]

When a man returns to his hometown with his son, a long-dead woman returns to claim him for jilting her years earlier.

A moderately complex tale of the undoing of a man who was mean to those around him and the son on which he preyed.

[Charlie]

An editorial comment before this review.

As I have stated before, I don't like to say much more in my reviews than whether or not I recommend a program and then to offer a brief review of what the program is about.

I don't like to really say more about the program than what you will learn in the first few minutes of listening to it.

Sometimes the teasers at the beginning of the program will give away quite a bit of information about what is to happen - sometimes too much I think.

This program is different. I put off reviewing it for a couple of days while I tried to determine what to say about it.

I'm not really sure whether I can tell you that I like or dislike it after listening to it, or whether or not it belongs in my top 10%.

Since the word "witch" is in the title, you know that this story will have something to do with witchcraft.

The premise of the story is simple; A young couple in their early 20's (possibly living in North Carolina due to a reference in the beginning of the program) is getting started on their life together. He is a police officer and they are raising their first child - still a baby.

Suddenly, they receive word that the woman's 80-something great-grandfather (who lived in Minnesota) had remarried and then shortly afterward perished in a fire.

She seems to "have forgotten" that her great-grandfather was still alive. (That's a little strange.)

So, since the man is now dead, his widow is homeless and needs somewhere to stay. Although they have never met the woman, they agree to take her into their home.

One thing that really confused me when listening to the program is that when the couple first meet the lady at the airport when she arrives, she introduces herself as "your great-grandfather's sister." I went back and listened several times to confirm this.

Then, throughout the program, the young lady refers to the older lady as a "great aunt".

This was starting to confuse me but they do seem to indicate throughout the program that the older lady is the widow of the younger lady's great-grandfather.

I wondered if this confusion was to be part of the story but it never resurfaces so I don't know what to say about it.

Not long after the old lady arrives, she accompanies the young family to a beach-front cabin where they are to spend some vacation time.

It's there that the husband of the younger woman starts to have serious concerns about who the older lady really is and what her intentions are.

If you review this program, drop me a private message and let me know so I can read your review.

Lagavulin's Review (http://www.cbsrmt.info/macabre/showpost.php?p=31664&postcount=399) - Brian1984_2001's Review (http://www.cbsrmt.info/macabre/showpost.php?p=29940&postcount=143)

[Charlie]

One thing that fortunately doesn't happen to me very often when I listen to CBSRMT programs is the inability to understand from the outset of a program what is happening and who the players are.

This is a program where I had problems getting "into it". But, there was a point at which I finally seemed to grasp what was happening.

I'll confess that I had to listen to the first 10 minutes of the program again to zero in on the story but from there it was smooth sailing.

This story happens in the 1700's in Scotland and is tied to witchcraft and Halloween. It is an adaptation of a Sir Walter Scott classic tale.

A man without many means owes a great deal of rent to a local landlord who taxes those who live around him.

He eventually borrows the money to pay and goes to the castle with cash in hand.

He hands over the payment but the landowner dies on the spot, and before he gives him a receipt.

In the ensuing confusion, the money disappears and now the man has a real problem - he has no proof that payment was ever made.

The dead landowner's son takes charge and he too demands payment.

[Charlie]

This program begins with some confusion for me.

The teaser at the beginning of the program is not what happens in the story. It begins with some dialog between a man and his brother and one shoots the other one.

Although it is the right characters, this is not present in the show, and not what actually happens. So, I am confused about that.

If this was a dream or something I am not sure. If you figure it out, please send me a message.

This is a very good program. It is well-written and the acting is superb.

Marvin Cooper is a civic-minded person. He and his wife live in New York City and he is involved in local projects and assists those in need.

Yet, he doesn't want any kind of attention for doing so.

When he gets some attention, worlds collide.

[Charlie]

It's a good thing that the title of this episode sounds like a soap opera because that is exactly what this is.

It was interesting to listen to but that is about all I can say for this one.

The story line is fairly simple; An operating room nurse and a doctor have the hots for each other. Problem is, she is married. As (bad) luck would have it, her husband has a health problem and needs an operation. The doctor that she is "friends with" is the only doctor around capable of performing the operation.

Throw in his crazy mother and the world turns.

[Charlie]

This program also contains a teaser at the front featuring two of the characters but it does not appear in the program and the dialog is not correct for what happens in the program.

I'm not sure why that is - but to continue...

Killing Valley is the name of a small town. It's obviously named for the family of the town's leading citizen, the elderly Josiah Killing.

A native of the town, a young lady, has written her first book. It is a best seller and her publisher is clamoring for another work to be produced.

She decides that her second book will be an expose of her hometown and she is most eager to write it in order to open closets full of skeletons.

Needless to say, when word gets out about her plan, and then she returns to the town to actually write the book, she is received with less-than-open arms.

A few more variables make this an interesting episode.

[Charlie]

I first reviewed this program in 2003. I listened to it again recently so I offer you another review. I had not realized that I posted an earlier review before I wrote this one.

This is kind of a silly program but it is fun and entertaining to listen to.

Once again, the teaser at the beginning is not part of the program and not what happens in it.

Stewart Haskins is a mild-mannered man who works in a grocery warehouse.

He is competent but his boss is not and belittles him at every opportunity in an attempt to compensate for his own inadequacies.

While Mr. Haskins doesn't seem the type to garner attention from anyone, a young lady who works in the office at the warehouse has taken an interest in him on two fronts; She is a studying psychology at night at the local college and is interested in making a case study of him. And second, she seems to have feelings for him.

Meanwhile, someone termed "The Public Avenger" is depopulating the underworld.

The young lady and her professor begin a quest to determine if they possess any clues to the killings.

[Charlie]

This is an interesting program.

Set in the early 1900's, a Bostonian and his wife visit a country cottage in New Hampshire some months after he experienced a bout of influenza that nearly killed him.

It is intended as a rest period for him, but while there, he begins hiking treks around the local countryside.

On one of these hikes, he finds the ruins of an old church and for some reason circles it twice - counter-clockwise.

Apparently, this uncorks a disastrous series of events.

[Charlie]

This is a fairly straightforward plot and it would be easy to give away too many details in a review and ruin the listening experience.

Combine the following; An up and coming politician, a police detective, a prostitute, ambitious friends, and a rare 29 caliber pistol and you have an interesting story.

This one is worth a listen.

[Charlie]

This program is entertaining. It is a combination crime/ghost story.

Two men rent a run-down house in a rural area outside a small town with the intent of setting up a counterfeit printing operation.

The ditsy wife of one of the men accompanies them and she is oblivious to what they are doing.

What the trio is not prepared for is how what occurred in the home years ago will affect them now.

[Charlie]

Here is one of those rare programs that are the best of the best from the theater. Without a doubt in the top 10%.

This is one that you could have heard when it debuted in 1975 and recalled the details today. That's when writing and acting combine for their maximum effect, and what made many of us fans of this great program.

I always enjoy when people post to the forum about an episode that they vividly remember after many years and this one would be one that could fall into that category.

Stanley Morrison and his wife are accustomed to comfortable living. Mrs. Morrison grew up in an affluent family and likes the finer things in life.

The money crunch of the 1970's is taking it's toll on the couple though.

Mr. Morrison, who works in the research department of a company, is having trouble making ends meet and the couple finds that they must drop their membership in the local country club and they also start refusing invitations from their friends to attend social functions because they cannot afford to reciprocate.

Then, one day Mr. Morrison is talking to his best friend who informs him that he has found a way to make some extra money, and if interested, it is an opportunity that might appeal to him also.

[Charlie]

This program is fun to listen to but perhaps a bit short on the sort of substance that we are used to from CBSRMT. This is one of the "fluffy" episodes.

A man works as a bank teller. He is short - barely over 5 feet. He has worried and fretted his entire life and lacks self-confidence.

One day he is brought into the bank manager's office, where a police detective is present, and accused of robbing another branch of the same bank on his lunch hour.

This program did not go the way I expected and the end left me scratching my head.

[Charlie]

This is a bizarre tale from Vienna in the early 1800's.

Two concert pianists are rivals for the love of the same woman, and at the keys of the piano.

An carriage accident early in the episode leaves one dead and the other with destroyed hands.

A strange medical experiment makes one of them whole again, but not without consequences.

This kind of late-night terror is what CBSRMT would be known for through the years.

[Charlie]

A young man returns home to a port town in Massachusetts following four years of naval service in the civil war.

Although he didn't write to his girlfriend for four years, he expected her to be waiting for him. She wasn't - she married another.

He also plans to go into the whaling business but didn't know that during his military service the whaling trade dried up as the discovery of petroleum had negated the need for whale oil.

With his life in a downward spiral and his anger boiling, he must decide what kind of future path he will take.

[Charlie]

This is a Perry Mason-styled courtroom drama.

A doctor is separated from his wife. He and his mistress visit his former home in what is supposed to be a negotiating session with his wife.

Gunshots ring out and the wife is dead.

The doctor and his lady friend are charged with murder.

At the end of the story, we are told that this is apparently a true story.

Although I am no lawyer, I am sure that the prosecution does not normally call the defendant(s) to the stand to testify when they present their case.

Also it would surely be highly unlikely that the same attorney would represent two people during the same trial that are separately accused of murder.

Oh well, it's radio drama.

[Charlie]

In the early twentieth century in Vienna, a liberal-minded art dealer finds a strange young man in the streets and decides to take him into his home.

The young man is sick with pneumonia and the art dealer and his wife nurse him back to health over the next few weeks.

The young man says strange things and exhibits unusual behavior but the gentleman who took him in sees nothing but good in him.

His wife, however, sees something totally different.

This is a program that will keep you in suspense to the very end.

[Charlie]

In the year following the mugging death of a doctor's wife he turns into a drunken vagrant.

On the anniversary of her death he is on the street with a wino friend when a car nearly runs them down.

He pushes his friend to safety but is severely injured and ends up in a coma in the hospital.

He awakens to find himself in the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) 150 years earlier - trying to figure out what has happened.

[Charlie]

This story is set in Italy and involves a young man who travels to another part of the country to study.

He takes a room in a boarding house where he has a view of a beautiful and unusual garden that belongs to the house next door.

He spots a beautiful girl in the garden and longs to meet her.

But, her father is a strange character that has his own ideas about gardening - and other things.

[Charlie]

I had a little trouble at the beginning comprehending who was who and what was happening but I seemed to catch on before much of the program went by. Still, parts of this did not make sense to me. I'm sure it would be in clearer focus if I listened again.

A scientist's wife has recently died. She visits him in ghost form within weeks of her death and delivers a warning.

Meanwhile, this same man is to attend a local conference featuring scientists from around the world.

One of them is a friend of his from an East Bloc country that has somehow communicated to him a desire to defect.

The scientist has been recruited to ensure that the defection goes smoothly.

This episode is not without twists and turns.

[Charlie]

I suppose that since I point out programs that I believe to be in the top 10% of CBSRMT episodes, I should equally point out those that I believe to be in the bottom 10%. Of course I realize that a program that is in my bottom 10%, may be your favorite program but that's the freedom we enjoy as we offer reviews and share our own listening experiences.

This program is in my bottom 10%. It's filled with coincidences and is just not one that kept me hanging on the edge of my seat or even anticipating what would come next. In fact, it's not easy to believe, even if you give a lot of license to what you hear.

Set in 1931, a young police officer is about to lose his job due to cuts in the department.

It must be New York City because as a "last job", his superior asks the officer to transport a mobster cross-country from Sing Sing to Alcatraz.

As they travel by train, handcuffed together, the officer and the prisoner talk.

The mobster tells the officer that he looks exactly like his right hand man (see the title), who just happens to be married to his daughter, although she does not know she is his daughter.

Make sense so far?

As they travel along, the prisoner asks the officer to do him a favor after he drops him off at Alcatraz.

All of this you learn at the outset, and this is the beginning of the adventure.

Does the rest of the action occur in San Francisco? This is just too goofy.

[Charlie]

I had a little trouble getting interested in this one in the first few minutes but I was quickly hooked after that. This served as a reminder to me that a program should not be judged from the first couple of minutes. You have to listen to a whole program before you can give an honest opinion or a review of it to others.

This program is a sort of object-lesson. It's kind of like a biblical parable.

It's set in a fictional country and begins when a jeweler and his wife are arguing.

In the midst of that lightning strikes their home.

So as not to ruin the story for you, I will give away no more, but following the lightning strike another event occurs and then another, etc., with one thing happening as the result of the previous one.

What you take away from this story is up to you but I think it is a good program.

[Charlie]

I think the acting in this episode is very good (Fred Gwynne is in this one) and the story is interesting as well. Top 10%? Hard to say, but it is a good one.

A man incurs gambling debts and his life is threatened because of it.

He concocts a plan to get a single lady he is acquainted with to marry him.

She has money, which could be a solution to his problem, but she is very large, tall lady and he is not attracted to her.

If you don't like spoilers, don't read any farther.

She resists at first but quickly finds out that she needs to be married in order to keep control of her inheritance. (Kind of a strange and sudden development.)

So, she agrees to marry him, not knowing about the gambling debt.

Once married, she decides to go on a suicidal series of adventures - for which he has no appetite.

Fearing that he may not be able to squeeze the money out of her, he has to come up with another plan.

[Charlie]

A reminder to anyone reading my log that the unbiased review part of my posts are in black text and opinion is in red italic.

This episode is a cop story.

In the beginning of the episode the police are conducting a drug raid. They surround a house and charge it.

As they go into the house, one of the officers sees a suspect point a pistol at him so he fires his gun at him.

When the smoke clears, a young man of 19 years of age is dead, the police are unable to find any drugs, or the gun that the officer saw pointed at him.

The situation is further exacerbated by the fact that the dead youth is white and the police officer is black.

I like cop stories but it's my opinion that generally CBSRMT cop stories are some of the weaker episodes.

Having said that, I would have to say that this is one of the better ones from the cop genre.

[Charlie]

In the teaser, a man tells a newspaper reporter that he is going to have to kill his wife because she is a witch.

As the episode begins, a couple is driving through slow-moving traffic in a blinding snowstorm.

The police arrive because one car is blocking traffic.

The officer tells the lady in the car to move it. She says she can't because she doesn't drive. She says that her husband just stepped out of the car to clean snow off the back window.

The problem is, he is not nowhere in sight. He seems to have stepped out of the car and simply disappeared.

When he does turn up, stories don't match, and something far more sinister starts to emerge.

[Charlie]

A woman's husband has political ambitions and ceases to pay attention to her.

She tries to spark some romance between them but nothing happens and he focuses on his work.

One day her next-door-neighbor comes over to make a phone call.

The call she makes is to a bookie to place a small bet on a horse race.

She suggests that perhaps her friend should also make a bet - something that she has never done.

This opens the door into a world of misery for everyone involved.

[Charlie]

A woman pictures herself as nothing more than a loser.

He latest bout of pity causes here to run out on her husband and travel to Rome.

Her dead race-car driver father talks to her from the grave on occasion in a reverberated voice - including on the flight to Rome.

Upon arrival, she gets involved in another race-car experience that involves her, her dead father, the man that was involved in the wreck that killed him, a rich Italian race car owner, and an American mechanic that operates a small garage in Italy.

As the wheels turn...

[Charlie]

A Long Island couple drives all day to reach their home following a Maine vacation.

When they return to their hometown, they try to interact with the people that are a regular part of their lives. But, it is as if no one realizes that they are there.

They make a phone call and the party on the other end can't hear them. They ring a doorbell and someone comes to the door and can't see them. In every way, it is as if they are not there at all.

This quickly grows frustrating and eerie.

Then, there's a knock at the door.......

This is a very good program - in the top 10% I think.

[Charlie]

A man discovers that his wife is having an affair and finding it more than he can bear, he simply gets into his car and drives away.

He travels about 200 miles and runs out of gas in front of an old house.

Looking for help, he approaches the house and is eventually taken in by the older lady that lives there.

Meanwhile, his wife gets a telephone call from a concerned person who sees the car broken down on the highway.

This is an suspenseful program to listen to.

[Charlie]

A woman and her boyfriend perform a nightclub act in which she is blindfolded but is able to identify what is happening around her. She's a fortune-teller, mind-reader, psychic, etc., as part of the act.

They get in trouble when during one performance she reveals more than she should about one person.

[Charlie]

One of the hardest things to do when writing a program that runs nearly an hour, would have to be holding the story together.

I don't care for programs that throw you for a loop at the end. I like it when all points converge at the end with an ending that has made the hour's listening worthwhile and is surprising, yet believable.

Sometimes a program will take a 90 degree turn at the end and introduce elements that have not been part of the program at all, in order to reach a conclusion.

I don't like that and I always feel let down when that happens.

This program is one that is able to hold the story together for a climactic ending that is clever, makes sense, and was not anticipated.

To me, that is successful writing (and in this case, good acting too).

It's in my top 10% of programs and in another one that exemplifies what CBSRMT is to me.

This review may appear to contain spoilers but all of this you will learn in the first few minutes of the program:

It's 1950 and Frank Wallace is a respected judge.

He has a problem though - once in a while he gets the urge to go out at night into the streets and find someone and just kill them. Then, he goes home and writes down the details in a diary that he keeps.

He's done it before but a new wrinkle is that some of the murders he committed are blamed on other people - and those people end up in court before him.

[Charlie]

This is a light-hearted program about a woman that lives alone (save the housekeeper) in a big house following the death of her husband.

He's dead, but he's still around - in ghost form, and he visits every evening.

Things get whacky when he suggests to his widow that she might be happier if she asked a lifelong friend to move in and share the house with her.

I must confess that this is one of the rare CBSRMT programs that I grew tired of before it was over. However, as always, I had to listen to the end to see what happened.

[Charlie]

Burt Fowler seems to be ready to reach the pinnacle of his career as he is slated to be named president of the company where he has spent his life. But, at the last minute the board of directors makes a change, deciding that a younger man should get the job because he speaks the language of young consumers.

After getting the bad news he has to get away from the office and asks his secretary of 24 years to go for a ride in the country.

As they drive, they happen upon a yard sale and stop.

He spots an old crystal radio receiver - built from plans that he designed as a youth when he entered a magazine contest and won.

He buys it for a dollar and starts listening to it.

It's what he hears when he listens that is the basis for this adventure.

[Charlie]

This is the story of a botched bank robbery and what happens afterward.

Phillip Chambers and his wife live in a comfortable New York City suburb.

They find themselves in the middle of a mess when Mr. Chambers doesn't do what he should do.

[Charlie]

A young lady is hired as governess for two children. But, when she arrives to start her job, she discovers that the two are not children at all but young adults that are kept inside an old house and treated as if they are 10 years younger than they really are.

Add a ghost and murder to the story as well as the nanny's desire to find out who has a reason to keep the young people hostage in their own home and you have the ingredients for this strange mystery.

[Charlie]

This episode features Tammy Grimes who would later be a host of CBSRMT.

A woman's is 35, her rich husband is 70.

He talks incessantly in an analytical fashion about every detail of any subject of discussion to annoying degrees. She hates it.

She starts walking in her sleep and as a result he insists that she visit a doctor for help.

When she does, she startles the doctor with the revelation that she is going to kill her husband.

[Charlie]

Anthony Price is a 33 year old struggling American writer that lives in squalor in Rome while he tries to produce a quality work. He is at odds with his father and is generally an unhappy pessimist.

Eventually, things turn around for him and he returns to New York.

Then, a number of events follow.

This is a creative use of writing and an interesting listen through a sequence of events.

[Charlie]

Alex Hunter of Illinois is having trouble with his beautiful young wife. He's 55, she's 33. He fears her unfaithful and starts to feel that things might be better if she were dead.

As it happens, some number of years ago Mr. Hunter served as the foreman of a jury that sent a man to prison.

Now that man is out and feels that he has scores to settle.

He approaches Mr. Hunter and tells him that he is going to kill him.

All of this happens in the first few minutes of the program. There's a lot more action to come.

[Charlie]

From the art world...

Vicki Bradford and her new husband are honeymooning in Venice.

She had been studying there two years earlier when she was the victim of a burglary. Following that, she returned to the US and started teaching.

As they travel to Italy she carries the photograph of a painting that was discovered while she was in Italy by a professor that she studied under.

Now, he seems to have disappeared and their behavior causes them to come under constant surveillance.

[Charlie]

Harry Beggs has served 21 years in prison for a robbery and the resulting death of a security guard.

He is released and telephones the wife that he has not seen in ten years to ask her if he can come home to her and the daughter that he has never met.

(His wife was not much on visiting him in prison.)

On the phone, she gives him the bad news that he is no longer welcome in his home.

He goes to a bar and is approached by a young man that knows who he is and is interested in a cut of the never-recovered money from the robbery.

This is just the opening of the program. The events unfold from there and the story goes full-circle.

Don't miss the ending.

This is a good episode. I'll put it in my top 10% of programs.

[Charlie]

The Fleming's are a young couple who have moved west in the mid-1800's so the young man can be the town doctor for a small town.

When they arrive, it has been arranged for them to live in a large old house that will be part home/part hospital.

Just as quickly they start to have supernatural problems related to the house and a mystery will have to be unraveled.

[Charlie]

Note that the correct title of this program is "The Ideas Of March" and not "The Ides Of March."

A woman has a incredibly vivid and terrifying dream that on March 12, (a date two weeks in the future) her husband will be killed in a plane crash as he takes off on a flight to Chicago.

It's not until after the dream that her husband tells her that he has to go to Chicago on that very date for a business meeting.

Believing the dream real, she does everything she can to prevent him from going.

This is another good episode that you will likely never forget after listening.

Suggested additional listening: Theater Five - 640820 - Your Time Is Up (http://www.cbsrmt.info/macabre/showpost.php?p=33397&postcount=15).

[Charlie]

This is not necessarily my type of program but some people will love it. It's without a doubt cut right down the middle of what CBSRMT is all about.

It's actually a classic story and the acting is very good. In fact, so good, that I felt I was there when listening.

We are told at the beginning of the program that this is a story about a werewolf.

This somewhat complex tale is told from the perspective of something that happened long in the past and is told by Ernie Simpson, who was in the employ of "famed psychologist of the occult, Dwayne Carter".

In July 1912, Carter and Simpson part company in London as Simpson is to accompany a Reverend Manning and his wife, their daughter Joan, the Reverend's understudy - a young Canadian named Peter Sangree, and a small party, to a small Baltic Sea Island for what is described as a vacation.

They are all going to live in primitive conditions on the island.

Events that occur soon after their arrival cause Simpson to summon Dwayne Carter to join them as soon as possible.

Carter will have to try to keep them all alive, and to determine what is happening around them.

[Charlie]

I recently listened to this program and I do not recall having heard it before.

I can honestly say that this is one of the best CBSRMT programs that I have ever heard. It had me hooked from the very beginning and is just the kind of program that represents what CBSRMT is to me.

Speaking of beginnings, a lot of what we hear at the beginning of a program really sets the stage for the rest of the listening experience. Sometimes it is hard to understand what is happening and it can be ten minutes or more before I start to grasp who is who and what is happening.

This program is crystal clear and from the beginning I was right along for the ride.

I plan on compiling a "best of the best" disc of programs in the future, and this one will be on it without a doubt.

If you want to hear a good program, skip my review and go listen to it right now.

If you would like to read my review, I will set up the first few minutes of action.

Listen to E.G. Marshall's take on the uses of a summer cabin at the beginning.

It's late on Saturday night and Ken Harris and his wife Martha are spending a quiet evening in their apartment. Mr. Harris is reading and Mrs. Harris is working on needlepoint.

A surprising ringing of the doorbell reveals an unexpected visit from their friend Stu Ralston.

We quickly learn from the ensuing conversation that Stu's wife, Claudia, apparently jilted him a year earlier and ran off. Although no one seems sure what happened, she disappeared, has not been heard from since, and is regarded by police as a "missing person."

Occasionally, Stu takes a drive to places that he and his wife spent time in a sort of search for her or for clues about what might have happened.

He's just returned from one such outing - a drive to Shadow Lake where Ken and Martha Harris own a seasonal cabin. It was a place that Claudia liked to spend time.

We learn that the Harris couple spend a lot of time at the cabin during the Summer - but it's Winter now, and Stu is concerned that someone has broken into the cabin because it appeared to him that lights were on inside and he thinks that he saw a shadow move across the window. Thus, the reason for his visit on this night.

This greatly concerns Ken Harris but at this time of night they can do nothing.

The next morning he rises early in order to drive to the lake and investigate. A snowstorm is raging outside but he is insistent on going.

Mrs. Harris wants him to stay home and deal with the issue when the weather is better but he is determined to go.

He wants to go alone, but she insists on accompanying him - so, they set out.

This is only the beginning of this excellent program.

[Charlie]

This is a murder mystery. It's a good and creative program.

Augusta Sanderson is a female professor of agriculture.

She has discovered a way of growing a clover with increased protein. This would have application in eastern countries where goats could produce more milk after eating it - bringing a great increase in health to those living in that area.

The problem is the people that she is trying to help - they are throwing up roadblocks for apparently religious reasons.

Then, there's a murder. Professor Sanderson stands accused.

[Charlie]

This will be the first review of a program that is a new encode offered by the folks at the CBSRMT Yahoo! Group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cbs_rmt/).

They came into possession of some vinyl records that had CBSRMT episodes on them that were for broadcast use by the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (http://www.afrts.osd.mil/).

They have, as of this date, offered the first four of their encodes for download and I have listened to, and will review those programs.

A movie crew is on location in a third-world country and going against advice travels into unsecured territory to shoot a scene.

The movie production company is headed by the good-looking man who is starring in the movie.

While there, a local bandit (named "Numero Uno") prevents them from leaving until his conditions are satisfied.

He doesn't want money or the attractive female co-star - his condition is that the producers plain-jane wife spend a night with him.

[Charlie]

A professor has conducted extensive research into a lost civilization on the Iran/Afghanistan border and after years of obscurity is possibly a candidate for the Nobel Prize as a result of his findings.

One day the professor is visited at his home by a young researcher who has evidence that contradicts some of his findings - something that could eliminate his chance for the prize and further recognition.

Soon, there will be a murder investigation.

For a while, I thought I was listening to a radio version of "Columbo."

[Charlie]

This is a story of shipwreck in the early 1800's.

On a voyage from India to England a man and woman survive the wreck of a ship that went down in a storm.

They manage to make it to a small island where they will live for some time.

Not much more should be said about this episode as events will unfold throughout the program.

I liked this program. It could be top 10% material. It's a good listen and an adventure. I found the hour spent listening to this program to be enjoyable and I think that says a lot for any program.

[Charlie]

There are several CBSRMT programs that are a re-worked story from a previous episode.

This one is similar in nature to 740526 - Death By Whose Hands (http://www.cbsrmt.info/macabre/showpost.php?p=33167&postcount=105) in that is deals with the same theme.

It is not necessary for me to give too much information as I don't want to ruin the listening experience for you but let me say that you should not assume that the program is so similar that there are no surprises, and the ending - well, you will have to listen.

A killer has committed five murders inside a hospital in recent weeks and security is heightened.

A plan has been devised to catch the murderer.

But, it is what will happen after the killer is caught that will create the suspense in this episode.

[Charlie]

A couple of buddies get together on D-Day every year for a reunion to re-live their World War II days in France.

One man's daughter and the other man's son are now engaged to be married and they are living in New York - the site of this year's reunion. (The other man lives in Iowa where he is the president of a bank.)

Doug, the son of one of them, is a computer engineer and has been involved in the development of a hand-held computer that can only be described as a sort of "Magic Eight-Ball." People ask it questions, and it prints out an answer on a small tape.

He and the other man's daughter are getting ready to attend a charity fund-raiser and use the computer to tell people's fortunes as a way of raking in donations.

Before they leave, the young lady demonstrates the computer to her father and future father-in-law. But, it provides some disturbing answers to the questions they ask it - and that sets the stage for the rest of this adventure.

[Charlie]

Valerie Reynolds is a rich young American woman living in Paris. She's also a former Olympic skier. Her boyfriend, Jeff Garrett, also an American, is a television corespondent.

He's just returned to Paris from an assignment in the Mideast to find out from her brother that she departed for Holland some weeks ago.

He had been receiving letters from her that were postmarked from Paris so this makes no sense.

Deciding that the only thing to do is to travel to Holland, he goes there and when he arrives all indications are that she has jilted him for another man.

This is an enjoyable listen.

[Charlie]

Ted Mallard is a businessman who has a branch office in London. He travels there frequently.

Upon returning to New York from his latest trip he is detained by customs and arrested for smuggling cocaine.

He is jailed without bail.

He maintains his innocence and his wife Myra believes him but a police officer visits her in the hope of getting her to persuade her husband to cooperate with the investigation. He tells her that her husband is part of a smuggling ring and that he keeps another woman in an apartment as part of a double-life that he is leading.

He denies it and she is left to try and determine whether or not she has been duped by the man she thought she knew.

This is a pretty good whodunit type of episode.

[Charlie]

It is not necessary to relate a lot of details about this episode in order to review it.

Set in the early 19th century, a climbing boy is brought to an English home and the lady of the house experiences out-of-body experiences.

Meanwhile, her husband hosts his mistress and her husband as guests in the home.

A family friend and the local doctor are also on-hand to observe the goings-on.

Understanding what a "climbing boy" is, is key to understanding part of this episode. More information is available by searching Google for "climbing boy" (http://www.google.com/search?q=climbing+boy).

In brief, they were young, and often orphan, boys for whom society had no regard. They were as young as four years old and sent scrambling up chimneys, sometimes scalding hot, in order to clean them out.

This frequently resulted in their deaths.

The practice was eventually outlawed.

[Charlie]

This is a little bit different kind of program.

At the beginning of the program, you are told that a husband is going to frame his wife for murder. You are asked if you can figure out where he will make a mistake in the process.

Rather than face divorce and the loss of (his wife's) money, a man murders his wife's friend and frames her for it.

It's easy for him to trick his wife into taking the gun he used to commit the murder into her possession when she thinks he will use it to kill himself.

After she is found guilty and send to prison, her friends and a police investigator believe her to be innocent but it's figuring out how to prove it that stumps them.

[Charlie]

A young woman graduating from college marries a much older man (a professor) because he is rich.

After their marriage they move to South America so he can conduct research.

One of the customs of the tribe that they live with is that they make those accused of wrongdoing drink from a spring that will apparently prove whether or not they are guilty. If you're innocent you are supposed to be fine and if not, you die.

The water is known to be clean but they witness an accused woman die when she is forced to drink it.

The real trouble starts when the tribe's chief accuses the professor's wife of being unfaithful to her husband and asks her to drink the water.

[Charlie]

Following the death of her father, 35-year-old Julia heads west on the train to meet her Uncle Caleb. He's her only remaining relative.

He's also the stationmaster at a train station out in the middle of nowhere in mountain country. It's a place that the train doesn't even stop daily but the old man makes an appearance there each day as part of his job. Anytime a train is scheduled to pass by he's there in case it stops, or if a switch needs to be thrown.

She's been writing to him in advance of her journey but she doesn't know a lot about him. Her father never had much to say about him even though they were brothers.

When she arrives, he's surprised because he thought that she was coming two weeks later.

He lives in a charming cottage that is at the top of a flight of stairs leading from the train station. She notes that when looking at the staircase from the bottom that it seems to go on forever.

They climb to the top and she settles in to take up residence with the old man.

She finds him a curious person. He has some unusual habits and things that he does are somewhat puzzling. Some things about the house seem unusual too.

Not long after her arrival, a couple appears at the cottage. They have a cabin on a path off the stairway about halfway up.

They had not planned on visiting their cabin this year but plans changed and they decided to come after all.

They too have always found the old man unusual and they've held some suspicions about him.

But, when they find his niece there, they decide to take a more active interest in the happenings at the house at the top of the stairs - if for no other reason than to make sure the girl is safe.

Don't assume anything when listening to this program. It has a couple of twists and turns and is not predictable - which is good!

It's a very interesting program and I loved the setup - the stairs going up into what the old man calls "oblivion" is enough to pique curiosity.