Last Chance to hear CBC Radio's Tradition of Drama

As the CBC copes with its 10+% cut to its budget, one of the casualties to lament is the closing down of CBC Radio's tradition of radio drama.

I was late to this element of CBC, but the weekly radio show became a dearly anticipated treat on Thursday morning/late night, especially after I cancelled my cable TV subscription. Although I could never get into the long running series, Afghanada, Canada's Tour of Duty, all that much, other shows like Monsoon House, Backbencher and Trust Inc. have been wonderful listening in a way that televison can't really match. Certainly, a war series like Afghanada on CBC TV could not have been made with all the production values it would have demanded.

Now, you have one last chance to hear what I mean as CBC Radio's final drama series, Trust Inc., repeats its season starting this morning. It's a fun serio-comedy about a PR firm as they go about their trade managing the truth and the public's perception of it for clients who are often as dubious in character as the spin-doctoring they are expecting from the firm.

What really makes this series special that is that it has an intriguing use of the online materials like a fictional blog by the series' character, a presentation of The Post Telegraph, the series' newspaper where a reporter character writes, and even video clips that illustrate key points of the action of series. Of course, it's also podcast and is available on Itunes.

So, while you still have a chance, check out this terrific series today at 11:31 am and 11:06 pm and listen to  the final product of CBC Radio's dramatic tradition that extends through its 70 year history.
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Regrettably as I have learned this morning, CBC has grown more neglectful of its publicly posted broadcast schedules and the network is rerunning the final season of Afghanada on Radio One. So, enjoy that series as Canada's public broadcaster's commitment to radio drama comes to a close.