Tonight we present two quiz shows recorded a little over a decade apart, but featuring the same contestant.  In the 1940s young Margaret Merrick was a frequent panelist on “The Quiz Kids,” where it was no secret that she had had polio.  Before we had the term, she was a “poster child” for what was then called “infantile paralysis.”  Margaret then appears with her husband on Groucho Marx’s “You Bet Your Life,” where she talks about her youth and the couple tackle questions about numbers in everyday life.

Though polio has nearly been eradicated worldwide, The March of Dimes still exists.  It’s currently dedicated to preventing premature birth and birth defects.  You can donate here.

Episodes

The Quiz Kids

January 24, 1943

“Would You Be Pleased If Varicella Paid You A Visit?”

3:26

You Bet Your Life

October 21, 1953

“The Secret Word is ‘Name’”

33:12

"The Baffles Puzzle"

Aired: September 15, 1973

At first, it seems to Batman like a simple matter for the police when all the encyclopedias disappear from the library.  But when Colonel Wilcox of the Secret Department of Investigation contacts the Super Friends to prevent the stealing of French lithographs, things get serious as the scent of almonds connects the two events.  It's a race then to stop the theft of $5 million while dealing with a series of threats and trying to located the missing Junior Super Friends.

John is joined by 13th Dimension webmaster Dan Greenfield to discuss this episode that sounds like it has more going for it than the pervious one.  At least, it seems that way to John.  There are many firsts for the series here, including the appearance of Clark Kent, Kryptonite, and Colonel Wilcox.  In addition, John and Dan discuss the animation choices of the episode, Wonder Woman's powers, and the cast taking on other voices.

Dan Greenfield is the editor and co-creator of 13thDimension.com, a website devoted primarily to comics and pop culture, past and present. To him, the basic food groups are Batman, Planet of the Apes, Star Trek (the Original Series), James Bond, the Beatles and the Stones. But if he had to he'd be able to subsist on Batman alone. Channel 11 in New York was his favorite syndicated channel as a kid -- you can guess why -- followed closely by Channel 5. Channel 9 didn't really enter into it unless he was home sick and there wasn't much else on. He's married to his remarkably patient wife Wendy and his best sidekick is his son, Sam. They have two cats, Lex and Zod.

Links

13th Dimension Website

Facebook page

Twitter

"Eyewitness to Murder"
Airdate: March 8, 1974
Written by William Driskill
Directed by Alf Kjellen

Synopsis: Steve witnesses the murder of a lead prosecutor's aid, but he cannot testify to it as he saw it at night with his bionic eye.  At first, Oscar wants to let it go until the Secretary calls him and Steve in to protect the lead prosecutor as they prepare their case against a major mobster.  But Steve has one thing on his mind - find the killer and prove his guilt.

John is joined by artist Jerry Lange and longtime fan Kevin Durkee to discuss this sixth episode of the series.  They discuss figuring out which of the twin assassins is which, Oscar's background, and the running scenes in this episode.  Plus, Jerry shares his original shooting scripts and we play a "With a Twist" themed game of This or That.

It's the return of the podcast as a Facebook Live show.  Join us Friday nights at 9:30EST as we discuss an episode of THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN's first season with two fans as well as featuring commentary from our viewers.  This audio will be available shortly after in the OSI Files feed.

BIONIC OPERATIVES

Kevin Durkee -

Bio: Most of the time: Water Treatment for Heat Transfer Specialist

Some of the time: Michigan Air National Guard

Hobbies include: Antique Stores, Collecting way too many vinyl records, View Masters with reels. Running 5k's with my wife.

Throwback TV favorites: Six Million Dollar Man, Bionic Women, Twilight Zone, Batman, X-Files, Battlestar Galactica and many more.

Current TV favorites: Westworld, Man in the High Castle, The Walking Dead, Lost In Space.

Jerry Lange - Based in Buffalo, New York. My personal and client works are created using traditional media including pencil, ink and watercolor and digital software Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and Indesign. I try to bring a dramatic visual narrative to my work through a mix of loose and tight media application and mark making technique. Website

"TROUBLE FOR PRINCE CHARMING"

AIRED: FEBRUARY 17, 1967

The Hornet gets involved in international affairs when a visiting prince and his fiancé are targets of a coup.  There is a great deal of potential in the idea of this story, but the limited time of the individual episode doesn't allow for it.  In addition, Jim and John question if the motivation for the Hornet's involvement is practical with the way the series is set up.  

​

The Green Hornet: A History of Radio, Motion Pictures, Comics and Television by Martin Grams and Terry Salomonson is a reference work we're consulting as we move through the series.  Pick up your copy by clicking on the link and getting it today.

Take a listen and then let us know what you think of the episode by writing us here or at thebatcavepodcast@gmail.com.

"The Cool, Cruel Mr. Freeze" & "The Joke's on Robin"

Aired September 21, 1968

We continue our look at the 1968 Filmation series with a review of a pair of stories.  First, we look at the premiere of Mr. Freeze on the cartoon as he plans to bring Gotham City to its knees with a frosty gamble that not only threatens the city, but the Wayne fortune as well.  Next, Robin is thinking he's losing his touch but we quickly learn, "The Joke's on Robin" thanks to the Joker.

In addition, John and Dan Greenfield, creator and author of the 13th Dimension website discuss the theme song and Ted Knight's contributions to the show and beyond.

Comment on the episode here or write thebatcavepodcast@gmail.com.

A few weeks back, we presented the radio drama version of the classic film, “Sunset Boulevard.”  Tonight, “The Jack Benny Program” is going to render (in the best sense of the word) its version.  Mary is out sick, but her real-life sister, Babe, is on hand to play the Gloria Swanson role.  Then we present three episodes of the little-known Basil Rathbone series, “Word Detective.”  These three-minute investigations into word origins were really just ads for the Underwood typewriter company, but they are informative and entertaining nonetheless.

Episodes

The Jack Benny Program

March 25, 1951

“Sunset Boulevard”

2:33

Word Detective

November 2, 1959

“Tangerine”

November 5, 1959

“Melba Toast”

November 6, 1959

“Stoic”

32:34

Episode 55—Rim of the World

Science fiction writer Scott Pearson and cohost Ella Pearson interview Zack Stentz, screenwriter and producer of the Netflix film Rim of the World, which follows the adventures of four teenagers caught in the middle of an alien invasion while at summer camp. After the interview, Ella and Scott review the film.

Segments

Intro :28

The Interview

The Synopsis 1:30

Eighties Nostalgia and Inspirations 2:43

A Contemporary Teen Adventure 4:10

Rim of the World Highway 4:43

Kids of Diversity 5:30

Greenlit on the Fast Track 7:17

Multitasking Movies and TV 8:04

Writer on the Set 8:58

Stories from Location 10:02

Working with McG 11:10

Big Trouble in Little China 13:54

Booster Gold 14:35

Lore 16:35

Thor 17:32

The Sarah Connor Chronicles 20:40

Terminator and Picard Trailers 21:33

Trek Fans Since Walking 22:18

X-Files Worries 23:00

Old-School TV vs. Streaming 23:45

The Twilight Zone 26:20

Tin Tin 27:14

Netflix, Streaming, and the Future 28:13

The Review

Here There Be Spoilers 32:56

Ella Wants More 33:56

ZhenZhen and 13-Year-Old Ella 34:54

A Contemporary Teen Adventure Redux 35:46

The Young Actors 37:40

The Classic Summer Camp 38:09

The Classic Alien Invasion 39:45

The Classic Three-Stooges Slap 40:40

Easter Eggs and Callbacks 41:07

Action and Character Moments 45:32

The Mystery of ZhenZhen 46:20

Back to the Invasion 48:00

The Kids and the Grown-Ups 49:08

The Man in the Jail 49:34

Seventy Miles to Go 51:15

The Joy of Bicycling 51:58

Ella Wants the Theatrical Release 53:26

Final Comments 54:25

This week, we have two programs we’ve never presented before.  Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall had their own adventure radio series in the 1950s, “Bold Venture.”  It was part “Casablanca” and part “African Queen.”  Bogie plays the proprietor of a Havana hotel frequented by conmen, gamblers, and treasure hunters, and every week brought the couple adventure and excitement.  Next, it’s America’s favorite bow-tie-wearing redhead, “Archie Andrews.”  Light on the adventure, but high on the domestic comedy and teen-aged shenanigans, here Archie finds the simple act of getting dressed for a date to be quite a challenge.

Episodes

Bold Venture

April 23, 1951

“Spanish Gold”

02:47

Archie Andrews

July 10, 1948

“Archie Gets Dressed for a Date”

30:27

 “Sunset Boulevard” is justifiably regarded as one of the finest films ever made.  The tale of faded silent-era film star Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), desperate to make a comeback, and the screenwriter she dragoons into working for her (William Holden) has been a favorite with critics and viewers since its premiere in 1950.  Although the film noir classic loses its striking visuals in this radio adaptation, the fact that it sticks so closely to the original dialog and has

Swanson and Holden reprise their Academy Award-nominated roles makes listening to this “Lux Radio Theater” production the next best thing to watching the film.

Episode

The Lux Radio Theater

September 17, 1951

“Sunset Boulevard”

2:06

Episode 54—Hidden in the Shadows

Science fiction writer Scott Pearson and cohost Ella Pearson interview Jaine Fenn, winner of the British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Short Fiction in 2016. Jaine tells us about her geek origins, how she got into writing, and her stories and books, including her new novel Broken Shadow, the second of her two-part Shadowlands series.

Segments

Intro :28

Life in Devonshire 1:29

Getting Geeky on the Telly 2:14

Finding Tie-In Fiction 4:10

A Storyteller’s Beginnings 7:25

Discovering Le Guin 8:35

The Linguistic Astronomer 10:20

Sidebar: Tolkien’s Granddaughter 10:44

Geeks at University 11:31

Linguistics in Writing 11:59

Astronomy and Maths 13:08

Generations Geek and Tolkien 14:26

Genre Writing as a Career 15:18

Role-Playing Games 17:43

Learning and Teaching Writing 19:00

Short Stories 19:39

Beginning Novels 21:29

The Hidden Empire Series 22:37

The Shadowlands Duology 25:19

Worldbuilding the Shadowlands 29:14

Language in the Shadowlands 33:48

Patriarchy and Class in Hidden Sun 38:57

The Ending of Hidden Sun 41:16

Sidebar: Living in the Past 42:00

Broken Shadow 48:45

Making the Reader Work 49:36

Playing Text Games 50:59

Writers and Synchronicity 51:56

What’s Next…Can’t Say 53:05

Star Trek: Discovery 53:57

Current Reading and Viewing:

The Corporation Wars 56:55

The Kingdoms of Elfin 57:27

The Good Place 58:40

The Expanse 59:55

Language in the Expanse and Sci-Fi 1:02:20

Star Trek, Canon, and Other Sci-Fi Shows 1:04:13