On This Day, August 30: Sherlock Holmes and Saturday Night Theatre
Also featured: Victor Herbert's Natoma.
August 30 Update
This report documents the historical provenance, broadcast scheduling, commercial sponsorship, credited cast, production personnel, alternate circulating titles, and pure narrative synopses for broadcasts transmitting on August 30 across British BBC radio drama, American operetta theater, and contemporary audio drama, Clive Merrison and Michael Williams in The Adventure of the Creeping Man on BBC Radio 4 (1997), Thomas Keneally's polar mystery A Victim of the Aurora (1980), Peter Terson's Wild Flowers and Grains of Sand (1975), and John Antrobus's comedy Looneys (1986) on Saturday Night Theatre, Gladys Swarthout in Victor Herbert's American opera Natoma for Palmolive (1935), and Jim French's Imagination Theater (1935–1998):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Wild Flowers and Grains of Sand by Peter Terson" | BBC Radio 4 1975-08-30 8:30 PM BST |
Sustaining BBC Radio Drama |
BBC Repertory Co. | Peter Terson (Writer) | ["Drama", "British", "BBC Radio 4", "Peter Terson", "Play"] |
A working-class youth struggles with social isolation and artistic longing while working in an industrial Northern foundry. |
| "Thomas Keneally's A Victim of the Aurora" | BBC Radio 4 1980-08-30 8:30 PM BST |
Sustaining BBC Radio Drama |
BBC Repertory Co. | Thomas Keneally (Author) | ["Drama", "Mystery", "Antarctic", "Thomas Keneally", "BBC Radio 4"] |
A Victorian Antarctic expedition is shattered when a despised member of the polar party is murdered inside their isolated winter hut. |
| "John Antrobus's Looneys" | BBC Radio 4 1986-08-30 7:45 PM BST |
Sustaining BBC Radio Drama |
BBC Repertory Co. | John Antrobus (Writer) | ["Comedy", "Farce", "British", "BBC Radio 4", "John Antrobus"] |
A chaotic family weekend devolves into surreal farce when eccentric relatives and uninvited guests clash over property inheritances. |
| "The Adventure of the Creeping Man with Clive Merrison and Michael Williams" | BBC Radio 4 1997-08-30 7:50 PM BST |
Sustaining BBC Radio Drama |
Clive Merrison, Williams | Bert Coules & Conan Doyle | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Sherlock Holmes", "Conan Doyle", "BBC Radio 4"] |
Holmes and Watson investigate an aging university professor who exhibits bizarre nocturnal climbing behavior after taking an experimental rejuvenation serum. |
| "Victor Herbert's Natoma with Gladys Swarthout" | NBC Red (WEAF) 1935-08-30 10:00 PM EDST |
Colgate-Palmolive Palmolive Beauty Soap |
Gladys Swarthout, Barclay | Nathaniel Shilkret Orch | ["Operetta", "Music", "Classical", "Gladys Swarthout", "Palmolive"] |
An American naval officer in Spanish California falls in love with a Spanish noblewoman while her devoted Native American companion Natoma makes the ultimate sacrifice. |
| "Crisis - Home Is the Hunter & Smoke" | Syndicated Drama 1998-08-30 |
Sustaining Audio Drama |
Jim French, Lowrie | Jim French (Creator) | ["Mystery", "Thriller", "Modern Radio", "Jim French", "Audio Drama"] |
A retired deep-cover agent discovers an old Cold War adversary has tracked him down to a remote coastal cabin for a final confrontation. |