Decoder Ring Theatre

"I don't know how long I sat there... reading the name on the door over and over until my scrambled brain could make sense of it... Drake Finn Investigations..." Detective Drake Finn is like a lot of hard-boiled, down at the mouth kind of private eyes. Except he lives in a dark and dangerous future where who the Ominframe says you are is exactly who you are and always will be. Until an access protocol that can change all of that is put on the table. Then all bets are off... and a tough guy who's just been poured a sparkling glass of brain damage doesn't have half a chance... does he?

And now, our Showcase presents another adventure with Matt Wallace's Deck Gibson: Far Reach Commander! Years ago Deck left Earth's isolationist Quasar Corps behind him. He traded in his old life, keeping Earth "safe" from a Galaxy of wonder, for the command chair of the Far Reach One. It was not a decision he ever paused to regret. He assumed the Quasar Corps had long forgotten him. He was wrong.

When Far Reach Control intercepts a distress call from members of a mysterious race, there is little time to spare. Only the pilot of the Far Reach 1, the only member of Earth's feared Quasar Corps ever to fly under an alien flag, is close enough to assist. Can Commander Deck Gibson leave the past behind and protect the galaxy of wonder into which he has been thrust?

And now, our Showcase presents The Crasher another chilling tale of suspense from a world just beyond the borders of our own. A young writer looking for a fresh start and a clean slate finds himself in the quiet town of Halfway. The perfect place to finish his novel and get his career back on track. But sometimes life has other plans for us. Another masterful script by Magic of the Movies author Tim Prasil

This week, the Summer Showcase is proud to present The Magic of the Movies by Tim Prasil. A tale of suspense told late at night around a Hollywood bar... A tale of fame and fortune lost, and a terrible secret found. The sad ramblings of a forgotten man? You be the judge...

A symposium in the city has the world's greatest scientific minds together under one roof. A fine opportunity to advance mankind's knowledge - and perhaps a target too tempting to resist! But with that masked mystery man The Red Panda, the fearless fighting female The Flying Squirrel and their army of agents on the case, the conference is safe from any threat in the world. But what about... The World Next Door?

When you put on a mask and fight for what's right, secrets are your stock and trade. They protect you, and those around you, from those that would seek to end your quest for justice. But when those secrets are compromised, the shield can become a sword in the hands of a vengeful enemy. What will happen when that moment comes for our heroes? When the mask slips, just a little? And what fury will come crashing through The Hidden Door?

   Dark forces are gathering. Powers that have long slept are stirring once more; a coming storm of otherworldly evil. So our heroes have been warned. But can any warning prepare The Red Panda and The Flying Squirrel for the unknowable? Or will the Terrific Twosome of Toronto fall before The Black Hand?

An incognito visit to a traveling circus? Well, even masked heroes get the occasional evening off... or do they? When members of a high-flying family of acrobats find themselves accused of a crime, The Red Panda has even more reason than normal to clear their names and see justice served. After all, even masked heroes take a girl home to meet Mama once in a while... don't they?

  Sometimes crime is so easy to spot. The thug in the alleyway, the mugger on the street... And other times the strangest little things can turn out to be the most sinister. Say... five hundred pounds of bananas that vanish into thin air. Or a load of plastic coconuts. Crimes on a theme? A new menace taking shape? Or is it a simple case of... Monkeyshines?

    In hard times, people stick together. They help one another as best they can with the little they have. And always they cling to the one thing that keeps them going: Hope. But there are monsters in the darkness. Men made beasts who use that hope as a lure to prey upon those who have little else left. When creatures such as this begin to ply their vile trade in Toronto, they will pay a price for their treachery. For in this city, Justice is served freely, and by the Red-Gauntleted fistful!

Friends can sometimes be a pain in the you-know-where, but you'd sure be sunk without 'em. When Freddie the Finger has a deal turn south on him, it's only natural that he turn to his ol' pal Jackie. But with the Girl Detective still miffed over an unpaid bill, things get a little complicated. To say nothing of the corpse, or the strong possibility of more just like it. Yes sir, friends can be real Mixed Blessings at times...

Jack and Trixie's new client is a truly impressive side of beef, if the girl detective does say so herself. A prizefighter on his way to the top, until some shady types decide it might be best if he were to lose his next match... or else. Now its up to our heroes to find out who's in back of the scheme and if this is a fight they can win... or will they all get their tickets punched for the Palookaville Express?  

To say that Jack and Trixie were surprised to get a call from Braithwaites, the biggest spit-and-polish detective agency in town, was putting it mildly. But to be invited to dine with the Gentleman Detective himself at his Club? That's just downright shocking - or at least very very suspicious. But if Big Larry Braithwaite thinks he can con Jack Justice into taking a train wreck of a case off his hands by stuffing our hero so full of prime rib that he can't see straight... well... yeah, that'll probably work.

They say that every dog will have his day, and that might be true - but there are always consequences to be faced afterwards. Jack and Trixie could swear to that; after seventeen consecutive divorce cases they're starting to go a little squirrely. What they really need is an honest to goodness puzzle to walk through the door. A little murder, a little mayhem... maybe a nice kidnapping just to break up the monotony. Be careful what you wish for...

  Jack's been slumming it in sunny Florida, enjoying the fresh air and sunshine all in the name of thirty-five dollars a day (plus expenses). Trixie's been in their palatial offices, enjoying the No Jack. Five days later they're flush, reunited and on a divorce case... all's right with the world, right?  Wrong. If everything's sunny, who's the crazy on the rooftop with the high-powered rifle, and why is he gunning for our gumshoes? Looks like they'll have to find out in a hurry... or they and the client Jack was standing in for are all about to learn... The Trouble With Doubles!

Is Jack and Trixie's new client dragon lady or ingenue? In either case, can they get their paws on a ten thousand dollar marker held by a shady underworld type before her wedding march turns funeral dirge? If so, can they do it without strangling each other? And just for an extra kick, can they pull all of this off while paying loving tribute to one of the greatest detective shows in old-time radio?!? Find out as they crack the case of The Purloined Format Caper!

Because you asked for it! And we thought it sounded like fun! You've followed their thrilling exploits for a season and a half of Red Panda Adventures. You've been very good. You've earned a little backstory. This week we flash back to some of the earliest days of a certain wealthy young gad-about's exploits as a masked man of mystery and show you The Very First Meeting between The Red Panda and Kit Baxter, who later became the fearless flying female known as The Flying Squirrel!

  Dark forces are gathering on the horizon. Powers that have long slept and now awaken to a new world, ripe for the plucking. Ancient secrets are whispered that, were they spoken aloud, would threaten all that lives... Kind of a tall order for a masked mystery man and his trusty sidekick. But when a friend's life is at stake, The Red Panda must turn to a mysterious figure from his past to help him seal... Merlin's Tomb!

Cynthia Muldoon, daughter of one of the city's finest families, has disappeared. Has she been kidnapped, as her family fears? Or run off with some young man, as the police suspect? And what, if anything, does any of this have to do with a chocolate shop that Kit Baxter seems preoccupied with? If the Red Panda is to find the answers, first he'll need to pull The Sweet Tooth