Nobody should ever recommend an Elspeth Eric show unless it is "A Horror Show". She is CBS RMT's wprst writer.

THE BLACK ROOM was also excellent. One of the best CBSRMT episodes ever. (But it wasn't Elspeth Eric's usual, sappy style.)

Wow, pretty harsh. Every one has their own opinion, by the way: you spelled worst wrong: why I mention? Nobody is perfect so people shouldn't throw stones.

i think it's all a matter of taste.. i tend to like many of her psychological scripts that get me to stop and think. while some of her work is utterly eyerolling, some of it is worthy of respect. while this tale may not be the best or to all of our tastes, Elspeth Eric was featured in (at least) 115 shows as either writer or actress, but mainly writer. she's bound to have come up with some real stinkers, but i think overall, she offered a style and a perspective that was lent well for the RMT. again, i think it's all a matter of taste. just sayin, is all.

This is a typically unconventional Elspeth Eric script--her stories rarely follow traditional dramatic "arcs," and this one is no exception. Indeed, as E.G. Marshall indicates at the end, this is a virtual docu-drama on the subject of astral projection. I found it consistently interesting in a kind of abstract way, though as a story it has little dramatic impetus. By the way, some of the music heard in the episode is the same as what plays during the climactic "stargate" sequence in 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. I've noticed this music pop up before on CBSRMT, always in dream sequences or "cosmic" scenes. Not my favorite, but an interesting listen. The comment is unproductive and completely irrelevant to a discussion of "Body and Soul," which is the point here. (And the episode mentioned in the post is titled "A Horror Story," not "A Horror Show.")

I thought this one was okay. It seemed slow-moving but, given the theme and the fact that it was descriptive in nature more than it was active, that's understandable. Although, at times, it was too descriptive (ex: describing the doctor's set jaw and furrowed brow; the mother with her arms out, palms facing the daughter). The language, at times, sounded less like what a person would actually say or think but a narrative ostensibly required to paint a picture in the radio listener's mind. Basically, I think she talked too much. The doctor didn't seem all that great. It sounded like she had cancer? At any rate, she was dying and then, because she opened her eyes, he pronounced that she was going to be okay? Why? Wasn't she just as sick as before she went on her little trip? Overall, I wondered if it was perhaps supposed to pack more of an emotional, thoughtful punch than it did or if it was basically intended just to say "here's one interpretation of astral projection."

i agree with the assessment of Elspeth Eric... this episode was not one of the more endearing scripts she put together. my reason for choosing it was to provide something different and fresh, even though it may have been a bit slow and self-serving. it's my guess that Eric herself had probably had a hospital incident in her life when she wrote it, or maybe someone she knew. it seems to me that she likely wrote based on her own experiences and emotional attachments. and when a show like this may have been a big deal for her, everyone listening just kind of shrugs and says, "umm, okay." anyhow, point is, no need to apologize for anything here. and Draegerman, your participation is always cherished here, and you're always here in spirit. i'm so very sorry to hear of the loss you've recently faced. this was is nothing short of horrible. i believe that supporting those men and women who have offered their service, knowing the extreme risks, is paramount. my sympathies to anyone who has lost or knows someone who has lost a loved one in this terrible conflict. peace.

"Body and Soul" isn't one of my favorites either. But I think it's good as a "change-up" pitch/show; it does educate about what a so-called "out of body experience" might be like to the person going through it. Carl Sagan has some good speculations on the phenomenon in some of his writings. But it's a show I usually skip when listening to a series of shows on a long drive, etc. Still, this show . . . well if every sunset every evening was stupendous and glorious, we'd soon lose our appreciation of grand sunsets; we need the less flashy ones to provide a scale against which to judge the very best.

I'm still on the fence about this one. I thought it was a great topic in discussing the out of body experience, but I felt cheated that we didn't learn more. I felt the show started out well enough to grab the listener's attention, she can see through walls, see what others are doing, overhear conversations... but then the story seems to stall. What's the deal with her mother? She couldn't communicate with her verbally? And why doesn't the daughter talk to them for so many years? I don't buy the idea that she wanted to get out and experience life. Who doesn't talk to their parents in their twenties? She never needed money? Mrs. Burton feels elated in the "after life", but where is she, what does she see? Maybe I'm looking for the light at the end of the tunnel theory which opens to the pearly gates. And by the way, did anyone else notice there is no reference to heaven? I agree that this may not have been one of the best written, most dramatic, edge of your seat shows, but if I find myself thinking about the story idea hours later, then the writer did what she was suppose to do and that is to get the listeners to think.

Elspeth Eric's episodes are among the best. Each is a fine blend of poignant sentimentality and subtle strangeness.

This is one of my most loved programs. Elspeth Eric hit so much happeneing in my life, and I can say hearing this was a blessing to me. I will listen to this program many, many times over the next years, and I hope that Ms. Eric knows she was a wonderful writer in my opinion.

I see that this one isn't well-liked, but I enjoyed it for two reasons. The first is that I was 20 years old when this would have first aired. The 1970s were a time that it seems that everyone was fascinated by ESP and extra-body experiences, life after death. The second is that I had an experience in college that was probably just a dream, but it felt like an out-of-body experience. I was lying on my dorm room bed studying for a chemistry exam, when I felt like I was flying above the room, and could observe myself studying. (I flew down the hall, and that was about it). It was such an odd feeling, and nothing noteworthy occurred (except that i could see myself from up above). Even though it was the 70s, I had never taken illicit drugs (I actually rarely ever took aspirin - i don't think tylenol nor ibuprofin were introduced yet) - and I was not a drinker. But it was the 1970s, and people were spontaneously combusting in the streets (or so was always rumored) - planes and ships were disappearing in the Bermuda Triangle. I never bought in to reincarnation or any of that, but I was still always fascinated by it. This story brings me back to those days - it would have fit in with many other stories of that time.

Typical Elspeth Eric weirdness. Not much to say.