I'll be glad when the war is over

[likewow]

I miss Dennis Day and can't wait till he's back from the Navy. There are a bunch of episodes from 1949 on that I've never heard.

And I like the studio shows better than the camp ones.

Also, I don't care for those auctioneer tobacco commercials.

I wonder if that's why the ratings went down after 1943? I bet people really missed Jello!

Do you feel that the war years were a bit of a letdown for the Jack Benny Show?

[Yhtapmys]

I wonder if that's why the ratings went down after 1943? I bet people really missed Jello!

Do you feel that the war years were a bit of a letdown for the Jack Benny Show?

Not at all. Some of the funniest shows were done at that time; the Christmas shopping shows, Jack listening to play-by-play sports, I'm sure everyone has their favourites.

But the shows of the 40s are different. Through the 30s, the highlight of the show was The Big Parody Sketch. That changed in the 40s; there were far fewer sketches, the pace was relaxed and the show was more about character interaction (plus new secondary characters were added along the way).

In the 50s, the show started running out of gas a bit and television sapped a lot of everyone's energies.

Jack's Hooper ratings were still high after the war; I'd guess he was in the top five every year.


Yhtapmys

[krledu]

I miss Dennis Day and can't wait till he's back from the Navy.

Yes, when the main characters were out of the show, the program did have a different feel to it. They all added their part to make the show funny. I think the biggest loss was when Phil Harris left the show. That was a whole that was never quite replaced though Bob Crosby was better on tv than on the radio.

Dennis did eventually come back from the Navy. Though, one of the more touching moments of any show, I think, was right before Dennis left the show. He stepped out of character for a momement to thank Jack and Mary for all they had done for him.

Wonder if that's why the ratings went down after 1943?

There was a (slight) slump in Jack's rating in the 1940's. Though that was when the I Hate Jack Bennny contest come into being once again boosted the ratings.

[likewow]

Yeah, I'm into the contest episodes now! Also, the Coleman's have begun making appearances! They are a delight.

I think this is when the new writers really hit their stride

[krledu]

I think this is when the new writers really hit their stride

Yea, I agree. I think the mid to late 40's contain some of the best Jack Benny episodes. I have seen some old news reels and wow you should see the amount of mail they recieved for the contest. It is unreal. It was a real hit.

[Yhtapmys]

I think this is when the new writers really hit their stride

Yea, I agree. I think the mid to late 40's contain some of the best Jack Benny episodes. I have seen some old news reels and wow you should see the amount of mail they recieved for the contest. It is unreal. It was a real hit.

Well, I can agree with Mr. Wow in that Larry Stephens wasn't exactly a wow. But we've discussed that before.

I'm not crazy about some of the location shows, but I imagine if you heard them once a week, at people did in the 40s, they wouldn't be so bad.

Yhtapmys

[likewow]

Well, I can agree with Mr. Wow in that Larry Stephens wasn't exactly a wow. But we've discussed that before.

I'm not crazy about some of the location shows, but I imagine if you heard them once a week, at people did in the 40s, they wouldn't be so bad.

Yhtapmys

I agree with that! I listen to at least four shows a week, so when a show is 'just fine' it may pale in comparison to the standouts, but that doesn't mean they're bad

Also, no need to call me 'Mister.'

'Sir Wow' will do.

[Yhtapmys]

I agree with that! I listen to at least four shows a week, so when a show is 'just fine' it may pale in comparison to the standouts, but that doesn't mean they're bad

Well, I feel bad for Larry Stephens. I don't know if they expected lightning to strike twice by getting another diamond-in-the-rough like Dennis, but he simply didn't have the acting ability to project a "character" on the air. Dennis did, Kenny Baker did, even Frank Parker did. Larry could sing and sounded like a nice guy, and that's about it. But by this point, Jack's show needed more than that. (Bob Crosby had the same down side; Phil Harris had a larger-than-life character on the show. Bob didn't).

The location shows may suffer a bit for a couple of reasons. One is the cast is playing to the live audience, not the radio one in its jokes. The base shows have a military slant to some of their humour. The location shows not on bases have local jokes, together with an obviously-reading, ill-at-ease civic official added to the mix.

Another reason is the format is not the sitcomish one of the post-war era, nor the 'sillyness a-flying before a big sketch' of the Jell-O years. It's kind of in between, and its pretty much the same structure for all of them. I don't understand why the writers felt Rochester had to call all the time. After all, he's Jack's valet. Shouldn't he be with Jack?

I like the auctioneer spots; mind you, I used to voice radio commercials for a living. Repetitive hard sell is not my favourite kind of commercial, but I find them interesting relics of the past. Regardless, someone must have liked them because American Tobacco wouldn't have used them otherwise. And the best part is it didn't take long for Jack's writers to parody those in the body of the show itself.

There was some really clever advertising in the post-war shows, besides the ones worked into the body of the show. I like the times when the opening spot had the jingle with lyrics that were akin to the plot of the show. That was a great concept.

Still, the war years had some pretty good shows. There are several where Jack is interviewed by Joe Kearns and discusses how he found his cast members. He did some in New York which I quite like. And I think they came up with 'Sympathy Soothing Syrup' during the war, too.

Yhtapmys
"Drive Your Blues Away!"

[krledu]

Well, I feel bad for Larry Stephens. I don't know if they expected lightning to strike twice by getting another diamond-in-the-rough like Dennis, but he simply didn't have the acting ability to project a "character" on the air. Dennis did, Kenny Baker did, even Frank Parker did. Larry could sing and sounded like a nice guy, and that's about it. But by this point, Jack's show needed more than that. (Bob Crosby had the same down side; Phil Harris had a larger-than-life character on the show. Bob didn't).

I tend to disagree with you there. I don't think it had as much to do with Larry as it did with the writers. The writers didn't even try to put much effort in developing a character because they knew that Dennis was coming back. Jack even said that. I think he could have become a great character given the chance. He did have a pretty good voice. Larry was more of just a place holder. Which character did you like the best out of Dennis, Frank Parker, and Kenny Baker? I liked Dennis the best, probably because he was the most develped and versatile actor

[likewow]

Oh gollygoodess! It's hard to pick. I give Dennis the edge because he was so darn funny and charming. I love his voice. I do like Kenny Baker a lot too, but he didn't seem quite as believable as a naive young guy. He often seemed to be in on the joke, whereas Dennis really seemed to be that silly kid.

I've only heard a few pre-Kenny Baker shows, so I'm not familiar enough with Frank Parker to have an opinion.

[likewow]

[quote="Yhtapmys"]

Another reason is the format is not the sitcomish one of the post-war era, nor the 'sillyness a-flying before a big sketch' of the Jell-O years. quote]

Well put! I feel the same way about the late 30s shows. I love the spontaneity! Hilarious bloopers from the Kenny Baker years

[Yhtapmys]

The writers didn't even try to put much effort in developing a character because they knew that Dennis was coming back. Jack even said that.

Which is completely illogical. Nobody knew when Dennis was coming back; after all, there was a war on, it wasn't like he could pack up and go home when he wanted. They knew they had Larry Stephens for lord-only-knows how many seasons. If you have a radio show worth millions to, and answerable, to an ad agency, a network and a sponsor, would you put someone on the air and deliberately downplay him? The aforementioned three would throw a fit. It doesn't make sense.

I think the writers/Jack simply discovered Larry was such a stiff actor they decided not to push him past his limitations. So he sang and they gave him a few lines.

I think we've discussed Dennis vs Kenny here before; Dennis was far more versatile. He was a real find.

Yhtapmys

[krledu]

I'm just telling you what I heard a writer say in an interview. I don't think it was planned that way but they just never put much effort into his character. He had funny lines and he sang well but just never had a definite character. It could have been that he was a stiff actor and didn't play well. I'm not sure about that fact. Though, I have to say I really like Dennis the best as the naive tenor singer on the show.