Welcome to CBS Radio Mystery Theater
Enjoy our episode guide of all 1,399 CBS Radio Mystery Theater old time radio shows for free! You can stream or download old radio shows in MP3 format or copy radio shows to CD. We're big fans of Radio Mystery Theater and by offering shows from the golden age of radio for free, we keep the spirit of the Radio Mystery Theater alive!
CBSRMT Episode Information Next Episode
Title |
The Pretend Person |
Plot |
A woman recovering from open heart surgery has imaginary friends who help her face the multiple crises she is confronted with in her life. |
Episode |
0805 |
Air Dates |
|
Actors |
|
Writer |
|
Listen |
|
Rating |
107
|
13 Responses to Episode 0805
A woman who has open heart surgery has an imaginary friends that help her deal with the various crises in her life as she recovers.
Marianne R.
A great example of how these stories can uncover some of the hidden sadness in the human experience, and then turn it around to end hopeful. Wonderful!
Celena
I love the conversation with her husband. Especially her line "Is her thermostat in good working order?".
Steve Bergman
This story could be
about a lady that has schizophrenia. Someone who's unable to distinguish
fantasy from reality's what this story made me think of. I knew a guy like
that. I lived in a rooming house on the 2nd level with this other guy who's
name was Mark, we were the only tenants living on the 2nd floor at the time
even though there were some vacant rooms. 1 day I heard Mark walking in the
passageway & he was talking with someone but I knew there was no 1 else in
the building at the time, let alone the 2nd floor. Again.....he was speaking
with someone but getting no replies to his statements or answers to his
questions.....that I could hear, anyway. More tenants came to live & we all
complained about mark to the landlord, whose name was Willie, & eventually
Willie had to evict Mark because he was being a nuisance & did some damage to the
place from putting his fist through the wall. Anybody ever notice that the
background music is also used on the late Rod Sterling's Twilight Zone? This
was an intriguing story to say the least. Teri Keane sounds so
seductive/soothing when she speaks in the radio plays.
Tweety
I rate this episode ★★★★☆ for GOOD. Elspeth Eric’s dramatic story was filled with sorrow and despair, but a pleasant and heartwarming ending that cleared the main character’s misery away. Why Elspeth Eric didn’t give any of the characters actual names? Who really knows? The minor characters were sort of an antagonist group, but the relationship between the Woman and her mysterious Friend was the sweetest and most empathetic part of the story. SPECIAL NOTE: When the leading lady quoted the Russian writer at the 20:12 mark, about the inability to love, it came from Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel: “The Brothers Karamazov.” Another way to title this episode would be “The Woman’s Yearning” or “Death’s Sympathy.” In our Host’s Prologue, E.G. Marshall’s topic is sort of off tracked, wondering if this story is really about Liars. In ACT-1, talking about horrification by the murderer. But later on, focusing on that illness can change peoples’ emotions. In ACT-2, attitudes and changes of personalities when it comes to Hospitals. In ACT-3, the after effects for risking a life. In the end, revealed that the main character’s friend was Death all along. In his Epilogue, understand that the problem with life is being a Pretend Person and becoming a real one. The 1st half of his narrations, talking about liars & murders, not quite relevant to what the story was about. Only the 2nd half of his narrations were on point. Sound effects were OK, but enough to fill up an entire episode. All we hear are doors, rotary phones, and chair legs scraping. But the music, that was the big turnaround! The best track of all was at the 40:36 mark where it worked out in the end. But my favorite thing about this episode, was the cast: Teri Keane (as the Woman), Bryna Raeburn (as the Nurse and the Mother), Ian Martin (as the Brother and the Father), and Robert Dryden (as the Woman’s Friend and her Husband). ANOTHER SPECIAL NOTE: Himan Brown plays as the Woman’s Boss on the phone. Both Bryna Raeburn & Ian Martin performed well. Teri Keane & Robert Dryden were a fascinating pair! These 2, playing the roles of life & death, were outstanding and they should’ve performed their unforgettable scenes in a Theater and/or Film. For those that adore Teri Kean’s work and/or searching for a CBSRMT episode with an optimistic finale, check this one out. Until next time…pleasant dreams. =0)
Russell
Yawn......stretch....sigh.....Yes, another soap opera-style episode from Elspeth Eric, and Terri Keane's tense, brooding, serious, sullen voice. She appears in so many Elspeth Eric episodes and she always plays pretty much the same character....the repressed housewife. There's no mystery, no supernatural, no suspense....nothing but psych drama. There isn't anything much to say about this episode except that I feel it would have been more appropriate to have at least SOME kind of actual mystery in the plot, since this is the CBS Radio MYSTERY Theater, after all, lol! This isn't the daytime soap opera.
Amy
The best part about the episode is the ending. The ending was really good, but I won't give it away here. (Also, Himan Brown comes back at the end too.)
Amy
This is some of Elspeth Eric’s best writing. Teri Keane was perfect as a woman who is sensitive to everyone else’s needs but no one to hers. Except her friend.
Mike