Decoder Ring Theatre

Sun, sand, the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean... What could be more relaxing than an extended tropical vacation? With pleasure craft mysteriously disappearing from the waters around a sinister and seemingly deserted island, just about everything. Can even our vacationing man of mystery and his fearless fighting female resist... The Song of the Siren?

Our mysterious masked marvel has spent many years protecting the citizens of Toronto from the worst of the worst. A man makes a lot of enemies that way, and every one of them has had long days and nights in a prison cell to consider their next move. Can even the Red Panda be prepared for... A Dish Best Served Cold?

Life isn't always easy for a Police Detective. Especially with Chief O'Mally breathing down his neck about a kidnapping ring. But at least Andy Parker's second job, as a trusted agent of The Red Panda will allow him to pawn off a nice, impossible robbery on the Terrific Twosome of Toronto. Or at least it would... if the two worst cases in town weren't one and the same!

They say a man meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it. Which means that whatever you do, and whatever the result might be, your fortune cookie can smile at you and say "see? I told you so." For some folks that road may lead to a destiny of great importance or heroic meaning. For others, it might lead to a face-down posture in a puddle somewhere. I suppose no one can tell. Except the cookie, and it ain't talkin'.

A certain hack writer who shall remain Shakespeare is of the opinion that the quality of mercy is not strained. He obviously doesn't ride the bus past the stylish world headquarters of Justice and Dixon all that often, 'cause around here both the quality and quantity of mercy are strained beyond any reasonable breaking point, and old friends are no exception.

A client who seems a little too eager to pony up his retainer, the feds sniffing around like the wolf at the door and witnesses who keep blossoming into corpses. It's almost enough to make a certain police Lieutenant seem like a welcome sight. Almost.

When a snoop-and-peep that paid turned into a murder case that almost certainly didn't, it meant one thing: Jack suddenly got interested. For the Girl Detective, it's just one more reason to strangle the big lug... but even a clock that's stopped is right twice a day... isn't it?  

It has been remarked more than once that there's always a calm just before the storm. Certified meteorological phenomenon or old wives saw, it was still true as often as it wasn't. And if that storm was destined to wash away Marilou Arden, it looked like it just might take a certain pair of gumshoes with her.

It is a season not to be trusted, my friends. It can dress up sadness as nostalgia, tackiness as whimsy and grey-green slush as "Christmas snow"... but it didn't seem like all the holiday spirit in the world was going to do the little man in the red suit and even redder puddle of his own blood much good, now was it?

The struggle against dark times has been a long and bitter one, and the fight to not give in to that darkness is constant. A rash of inexplicable disappearances cause the police to conclude that the citizens of the city are losing that unequal struggle. But can it really be a rash of suicides, or is there something much deeper, much darker behind this? And will even the Red Panda be able to resist when... Terror Walks The Night?

The newspapers trumpet murder and mayhem almost every day, and there's more than enough to keep the Terrific Twosome of Toronto busy in their own hometown. So why are they racing off to the Big Apple in spite of their own strict "no meddling" policy? Can even the Red Panda bring the guilty to justice when... Murder Wears a Mask?

A stranger awakes in an alley with no memory, no clue who he is and only a dim impression of his mission. All around, shadowy forces are closing in. Who is he? Does he hold the missing piece of the puzzle the Red Panda needs to save the city? Will the carefully laid plans of justice run off the rails or will it all go... Just Like Clockwork!

Scientific scerets are being stolen by a sinister superfiend with a mind for mazes and the morals of a monster. But when the Terrific Twosome of Toronto are made an offer of "help" that they can't refuse, will they ever best the mighty will of... The Puzzle Master?

A forgotten foe from our masked marvel's past returns, exhibiting astonishing new powers. Is this the opening overture of a new concerto of crime, or is there more than meets the eye to the... Flight of the Bumblebee!

A nice, quiet honeymoon was probably too much to ask, wasn't it? But after a string of adventures, our crime-fighters are finally headed for home. And if they happen to be carrying a mysterious amulet the Nazis would kill to recover, that's just all in a day's work. But when murder strikes mid-air, the Red Panda must find a killer who strikes with deadly... Nightshade!

Are there any two phrases in the English language that offer as much delight at "mildly dystopian" and "not-too-distant future"? If there are, they can only be "career criminal" and "one last big score". And yet for all those comfortable tropes, expect the unexpected from... Shinkei!

From Tim Prasil, author of "Magic of the Movies" and "The Crasher", our showcase presents this thoughtful and engaging tale. What makes a mind? Is it the ability to calculate? To learn? Or without the power of the imagination is there something missing essential to life itself? And if we suddenly found ourselves able to create such a life.... what would we say to it? We present for your consideration... Thinking In Ternary.

Our pals from International Falls, Minnesota sit in with the band this week as the first of two Spotlight episodes we'll be bringing you this summer shines on the good folks from Icebox Radio Theatre. Beat the heat with this tale that is Chilling in more ways than one. The Icebox Radio Theatre production of Thing On The Ice!

Phil Bledsoe's iconic hero Blaze Bing, Rodeo King was brought to us just two weeks ago. But behind evey tale of heroes is another story. Sometimes darker, sometimes sadder, but always unexpected. This week we bring you just such a tale with Tales of the Rodeo King!

Thrill once again to the thunder of hoofbeats and the roar of blazing six-guns as the Decoder Ring Theatre Summer showcase presents the first in a pair of Western Adventure tales from the imagination of Phil Bledsoe! This week, we present tale of the old west right out of the golden age of radio drama with Blaze Bing, Rodeo King!