Jim French Shows on Seattle Radio ------1965 - Present
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Initial Airing Of Jim French Shows On Seattle Radio ------------- 1965 - Present A Radio Series Broadcast Log By: Stewart Wright Initial Compilation: 02/01/2002 Last Update: 04/30/2019 Copyright 2002-2019 by Stewart Wright This broadcast log may not be reproduced or distributed, in whole or part, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without permission from the author, Stewart M. Wright. STATUS NOTES: Effective Friday, February 26, 2017 Jim French Productions has ceased the production of the weekly syndicated version of Imagination Theatre. Starting in July 2017, new episodes of The Adventures of Harry Nile and The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes are being produced on a less frequent basis. These episodes will only be broadcast on Seattle radio station KIXI and they will be available for listening on the Imagination Theatre YouTube channel. BACKGROUND: Jim French wrote, directed, and produced radio dramas for Seattle listeners beginning in1965. He wrote and/or produced 1002 shows prior to his death im 2017. Since then his former production manager, Larry Albert, has been added 16 new shows. While most of the shows are episodes of his various series (see SERIES DESCRIPTIONS:), there are 183 stand-alone shows. Until the advent of the syndicated Imagination Theatre by TransMedia on March 17, 1996, Jim's shows were usually only aired in the Seattle area. Jim French Productions assumed syndication operations from TransMedia in January, 2007. These shows were syndicated as part of Imagination Theatre on radio stations throughout the United States, New Zealand, and worldwide over the Internet. Effective September 11, 2016 selected episodes of The Adventures of Harry Nile, The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes were airing on the Sirius/XM satellite RadioClassics Channel #148. Starting on July 07, 2017 these shows are only heard on KIXI AM in Seattle, on KIXI‛s website and on the Imagination Theatre Youtube web page. It was only since late 2000 that initial airings of new shows normally occur on the same date on both the flagship station in Seattle, and the syndicated Page 1 of 50 April 30, 2019 Imagination Theatre. Before then, new shows were usually aired on Seattle radio prior to their syndicated Imagination Theatre initial airing. This log lists the first airing dates of all shows on Seattle radio. If a show was later incorporated into a specific series, the initial airing date as part of that series is also listed. "UMBRELLA TITLES": Over the years, Jim French's shows have aired on four Seattle stations: KVI, KIRO, KNWX, and KIXI. Each of these stations has had more or more "umbrella titles" under which his series and stand-alone shows have been aired. These local "umbrella titles" are: KVI Theater Of The Mind on KVI, The KIRO Mystery Playhouse on KIRO, PEMCO Imagination Theatre on KNWX, Imagination Theatre on KNWX, Imagination Theatre on KIXI. and Jim French‛s Imagination Theatre on KIXI. The beginning and ending dates of these "umbrella title" programs are given later in the Log. SERIES DESCRIPTIONS: The following are brief descriptions of and information about Jim French series. (More detailed information for several Jim French series in the form of series broadcast logs can be found at links listed within the series descriptions. Tower Playhouse A short-run anthology series. The series name came from the fact that the KVI studios were in the Smith Tower Building. YEARS OF RUN: 1972. NUMBER OF EPISODES: 10. STATUS: COMPLETED, NO LONGER IN PRODUCTION. LINK: http://www.old-time.com/otrlogs2/tph_sw.log.pdf The Adventures of Dameron A series about the cases of a high-priced, globe-trotting troubleshooter, Roy Dameron, and his partner, Emile. YEARS OF RUN: 1972-73. NUMBER OF EPISODES 49. STATUS: COMPLETED, NO LONGER IN PRODUCTION. LINK: http://www.old-time.com/otrlogs2/dameron_sw.log.pdf Crisis An anthology series. Mainly dramas with a few comedy episodes. Perhaps Jim's opening, used in the early episodes, best sums up the basic series concept: "Sooner or later, when you least expect it, there comes a point of no return. A dead-end from which there seems no escape. A moment in time. A moment of Page 2 of 50 April 30, 2019 Crisis!" YEARS OF RUN: 1973-77 as Crisis. See STATUS: for additional information. NUMBER OF EPISODES: 152 as Crisis. STATUS: COMPLETED, NO LONGER IN PRODUCTION. Morphed into KIRO Mystery Playhouse and PEMCO Imagination Theatre and Stand-Alone shows on Imagination Theatre. LINK: http://www.old-time.com/otrlogs2/crisis_sw.log.pdf Special Christmas Show In mid-December, 1974, Jim French recorded his adaptation of Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol" in front of an audience at The Cirque Dinner Theatre. "A Christmas Carol" was a stand-alone show was the first of over 340 Jim French radio shows that would be recorded with an audience present. While technically not part of the Crisis series, this hour-long audio drama aired over KVI on Christmas Eve and Christmas day, 1974 and 1975 as part of The KVI Theatre of the Mind programming. Stand-Alone Shows: These shows do not belong to any of the regular series that are presented on Imagination Theatre. STATUS: Completed, no longer in production 2 stand-alone shows initially aired on KIRO in 1965. 1 stand-alone show initially aired on KVI Theater Of The Mind. 97 stand-alone shows initially aired on KIRO Mystery Playhouse. 83 stand-alone shows thus far have initially aired on the various local incarnations of Imagination Theatre. Dramatization of Historical Events In the summer of 1975 Jim French wrote and produced at least 3 half-hour original dramatizations of historical events for KVI’s Theater of the Mind. None of these shows are known to exist. To see what information is known about these shows, look for "Lost Shows" in the Summer, 1975 portion of the LOG. The Adventures Of Harry Nile Stories about a 1940's - 1960's private detective. Series is set in Los Angeles and Seattle with a few episodes taking place in Chicago and elsewhere. Started as part of the Crisis series. YEARS OF RUN: 1976 to Present. NUMBER OF EPISODES TO DATE: 301. STATUS: STILL IN PRODUCTION. LINK: http://www.old-time.com/otrlogs2/hrynl_sw.log.pdf Notes: Crisis/The Adventures Of Harry Nile: Four episodes of The Adventures Of Harry Nile ("West For My Health," "Seattle Blues," "The Neptune Trading Company," and "Malibu") were first aired as part of the Crisis series. When Jim decided to make a "Harry Nile" series these shows were aired again in late 1977 as the first four episodes of Page 3 of 50 April 30, 2019 The Adventures Of Harry Nile series. Possible "Lost" Episode: Information received from Jim French Productions in July, 2008 indicates that an episode, "Two Sets Of Tweeds," was recorded and scheduled to air sometime in June, 1978. However, there is no proof that this episode was actually broadcast and no copy of this episode is currently known to exist. The script for "Two Sets Of Tweeds," was later extensively modified and broadcast as "A Scheduled Murder" on 11/13/2005. The Strangeseeker (Previously Kincaid, the Strangeseeker) Series about a television investigative reporter, whose specialty are stories that generally fall into the categories of strange or unexplained events. YEARS OF RUN: 1996 to Present. NUMBER OF EPISODES TO DATE: 47. STATUS: COMPLETED, NO LONGER IN PRODUCTION. Note: With the 07/21/2013 broadcast of the episode "Treasure Trove," the series title was changed. LINK: http://www.old-time.com/otrlogs2/ss_sw.log.pdf The Further Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes Additional adventures of the world's first and most famous consulting detective by Jim French and other writers. YEARS OF RUN: 1998 to Present. NUMBER OF EPISODES TO DATE: 135. STATUS: SERIES STILL IN PRODUCTION. LINK: http://www.old-time.com/otrlogs2/fash_sw.log.pdf Call Simon Walker A series about an international troubleshooter. Used reworked The Adventures Of Dameron scripts. YEARS OF RUN: 2002. NUMBER OF EPISODES: 2. STATUS: COMPLETED, NO LONGER IN PRODUCTION. Raffles, The Gentleman Thief Based on stories by E. W. Hornung, the brother-in-law of Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A. J. Raffles is, by day England's most famous Cricket player and by night an equally accomplished burglar. YEARS OF RUN: 2004 to Present. NUMBER OF EPISODES TO DATE: 19. STATUS: COMPLETED, NO LONGER IN PRODUCTION. LINK: http://www.old-time.com/otrlogs2/raffles_sw.log.pdf The Hilary Caine Mysteries Based on stories by M. J. Elliott. Hilary Caine, a cross between Sherlock Holmes and Ellery Queen whose cases are set in 1930s England. YEARS OF RUN: 2005 to Present. NUMBER OF EPISODES TO DATE: 22. STATUS: COMPLETED, NO LONGER IN PRODUCTION. LINK: http://www.old-time.com/otrlogs2/hilary_sw.log.pdf Page 4 of 50 April 30, 2019 Mr. Darnborough Investigates Series featuring the character Freddie Darnborough, a detective similar to literary character Lord Peter Wimsey. YEARS OF RUN: 2005 to Present. NUMBER OF EPISODES TO DATE: 3. Status: COMPLETED, NO LONGER IN PRODUCTION. The Classic Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes Adaptations of the original Conan Doyle adventures of the world's first and most famous consulting detective. YEARS OF RUN: 2005 to Present. NUMBER OF EPISODES TO DATE: 59. STATUS: COMPLETED, NO LONGER IN PRODUCTION. Notes: The production of “The Hound Of The Baskervilles” is comprised of three double-length shows. "The Return Of Sherlock Holmes" is a combination of two Conan Doyle stories: "The Final Problem" and "The Empty House." LINK: http://www.old-time.com/otrlogs2/classicsh_sw.log.pdf The Anthony Rathe Chronicles New, present-day mystery series, involving the investigations of Anthony Rathe, a retired lawyer.