I'd would give props to Sam Dann for thinking creatively for writing mystery stories, but this CBSRMT episode seems far-fetched. It's not the worst, but it's not the greatest either. It was clever for using the word "mosca" as the villians' last name because "mosca" is the Latin word for "fly." Tammy Grimes made her contribution as the Hostess in this tale, but not as good as E.G. Marshall did. In her Prologue, she explains that we win some, we lose some, but it doesn't quite build up the suspense. In ACT-1, she introduces our 2 main characters and left it at that. Then in ACT-2, not enough suspense or mystery to go around. Then in ACT-3, she asks us fans what really happened to our minor characters. The only good thing I did like, was her Epilogue about venturing out to the unknown, which makes sense, since we do venture into this great radio series and tune in whenever we can for another mystery. The sound effects of the rush hour traffic on 5th & Jefferson, flipping pages of newspaper ads, door knocking, flies buzzing loudly, engine motor running, the soothing music playing in the Moscas home, and the fly swatter were effective in this tale. SPECIAL NOTE: at the 39-minute 4-second mark, there's a painful static, so cover your ears. There were dramatic melodies in ACT-1, sinister & eerie tracks in ACT-2, and chilling tunes in ACT-3, so the music was effective as well. Fred Gwynne (as Lou Valentine), Evie Juster (as Lil Valentine & Mrs. Mosca), and Bernard Grant (as Mr. Mosca & Benny The Writer) were all satisfactory in this. These 3 have done tremendous work on other episodes before, but for a story such as this, these 3 deserve a better mystery. The Acting, Music, and Sound Effects: GOOD. The Script and the Hostess's Contribution: FAIR. As I said before, it's not the worst, nor is it the greatest. But I do recommend this episode to anyone who is fan of Fred Gwynne.

The sound quality of this episode left a lot to be desired. Story was mediocre in places and the story and build up just was lacking. This did not hold my attention and the fact that the characters were flies never really came together well as to why and what was going on. Anyhow it is a listen and a box to check off as I have heard it!  

I rate this episode ★★☆☆☆ for BELOW AVERAGE. I'd would give props to Sam Dann for thinking creatively for writing mystery stories, but this CBSRMT episode seems far-fetched. It's not the worst, but it's not the greatest either. It was clever for using the word "mosca" as the villians' last name because "mosca" is the Latin word for "fly." Tammy Grimes made her contribution as the Hostess in this tale, but not as good as E.G. Marshall did. In her Prologue, she explains that we win some, we lose some, but it doesn't quite build up the suspense. In ACT-1, she introduces our 2 main characters and left it at that. Then in ACT-2, not enough suspense or mystery to go around. Then in ACT-3, she asks us fans what really happened to our minor characters. The only good thing I did like, was her Epilogue about venturing out to the unknown, which makes sense, since we do venture into this great radio series and tune in whenever we can for another mystery. The sound effects of the rush hour traffic on 5th & Jefferson, flipping pages of newspaper ads, door knocking, flies buzzing loudly, engine motor running, the soothing music playing in the Moscas home, and the fly swatter were effective in this tale. SPECIAL NOTE: at the 39-minute 4-second mark, there's a painful static, so cover your ears. There were dramatic melodies in ACT-1, sinister & eerie tracks in ACT-2, and chilling tunes in ACT-3, so the music was effective as well. Fred Gwynne (as Lou Valentine), Evie Juster (as Lil Valentine & Mrs. Mosca), and Bernard Grant (as Mr. Mosca & Benny The Writer) were all satisfactory in this. These 3 have done tremendous work on other episodes before, but for a story such as this, these 3 deserve a better mystery. The Acting, Music, and Sound Effects: GOOD. The Script and the Hostess's Contribution: FAIR. As I said before, it's not the worst, nor is it the greatest. But I do recommend this episode to anyone who is fan of Fred Gwynne.

What can I say? In 1977 a very popular show on a different network [not sure I can mention the name] created the Meme "Jump the Shark", meaning the turning point when the show had brilliant writing to where the show descended into mediocrity by having the star character called the Fonz, literally jump a shark on water skis. This episode likewise is when the CBS radio show literally started swatting flies instead of jumping sharks. You know that the end of the macabre, fear you can hear Mystery Theater is near. There is no way of knowing but I'll bet that this episode was recorded at the beginning of this season but the producers held it back trying to protect their ratings. This could be the reason why E.G. Marshall quit because he didn't want to introduce this episode.