The Light of the World
Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 12:33 pm
On the Air: March 18, 1940-March 21, 1941, NBC, 2:45 p.m. ET; March 24, 1941-1943, NBC, 2 p.m.; 1943-June 2, 1944, NBC, 2:30 p.m.; June 12, 1944-March 1946, CBS, 10:15 a.m.; Dec. 2, 1946-June 2, 1950, NBC, 2:45 p.m.
The Speaker: David Gothard, Bret Morrison, Arnold Moss
Announcers: Ted Campbell, James Fleming, Stuart Metz
Theme Song: Original music
Premise: Few would have guessed that a soap opera based on the Good Book would ever have been created and that if it had, it would have gotten on the air. Fewer still would have believed that such a serial could have lasted for more than a few weeks. But public response can be a surprising barometer. When The Light of the World gained a berth at NBC, large numbers of listeners liked what they heard and kept it on the air for a decade. Its action was based on the narratives of the Old Testament, most of them recounted in multipart dramatizations. Casts were constantly changing, requiring a rather large repertory company to remain "on call" for short-term acting assignments. Many of the "regulars" who appeared in World maintained running parts in other serials. This was one of a few closed-end radio dramas, with each story arriving at a natural terminating point. One of the byproducts of the ultimate conclusion was that the audience could drift in and out of the plots as listening habits allowed; the brevity of such story lines didn't mandate the total attentiveness that was required for some open-ended dramas broadcast over long periods of time. The fact that this biblical series was sponsored throughout its run (and by a single advertiser, no less!) said a great deal about its quality and its commitment to faithfully interpret the scriptural context. Because a large portion of the audience was familiar with the plots, many of them readily followed the story lines, resulting in listener identification at an optimum level.
The Speaker: David Gothard, Bret Morrison, Arnold Moss
Announcers: Ted Campbell, James Fleming, Stuart Metz
Theme Song: Original music
Premise: Few would have guessed that a soap opera based on the Good Book would ever have been created and that if it had, it would have gotten on the air. Fewer still would have believed that such a serial could have lasted for more than a few weeks. But public response can be a surprising barometer. When The Light of the World gained a berth at NBC, large numbers of listeners liked what they heard and kept it on the air for a decade. Its action was based on the narratives of the Old Testament, most of them recounted in multipart dramatizations. Casts were constantly changing, requiring a rather large repertory company to remain "on call" for short-term acting assignments. Many of the "regulars" who appeared in World maintained running parts in other serials. This was one of a few closed-end radio dramas, with each story arriving at a natural terminating point. One of the byproducts of the ultimate conclusion was that the audience could drift in and out of the plots as listening habits allowed; the brevity of such story lines didn't mandate the total attentiveness that was required for some open-ended dramas broadcast over long periods of time. The fact that this biblical series was sponsored throughout its run (and by a single advertiser, no less!) said a great deal about its quality and its commitment to faithfully interpret the scriptural context. Because a large portion of the audience was familiar with the plots, many of them readily followed the story lines, resulting in listener identification at an optimum level.