Can I just say a few words about FanExpo, Canada's premire science fiction / fantasy / gaming / horror / comics / awesomness event? *ahem* Adam West! Burt Ward! William Shatner! Stan Lee! Julie Newmar! Joan Collins! Felicia Day! Michael Dorn! Summer Glau! Son of Santo! And of course... Decoder Ring Theatre! That's right, your favorite Audio Drama company will be in the Small Press/Artists Alley area all weekend August 27-29 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. We'll have "Tales of the Red Panda" books at rock-bottom prices, including (fingers crossed) the launch of the all-new Tales of the Red Panda: The Android Assassins! Plus posters, buttons, postcards, good times, Crime Cabal Audiobooks and your some of your favorite cast members to meet and greet! So get your tickets today, and join us at FanExpo!

Well, as usual when miraculous things happen, I really had nothing to do with it, but we've got us a shiny new Members Page for our Beloved Monthly Donors! Courtesy of BMD Jesse, may I present www.iheartcomputer.com/drtmembers! Bulk downloading! No popups! No passwords! Just enter the email address associated with your Paypal account (unless you've given us an updated address at some point, then use that one) and a cornucopia of Earthly Delights awaits! Any trouble, just pop us an email and let us know, but so far the reviews are off the charts! So head on over if you're a monthly donor, and if you're not... maybe you ought to be!

Yes, gang, we've enjoyed the radio play on CIUT so much, we're hungry for more! The Red Panda Adventures and Black Jack Justice are now available for broadcast license through PRX, the Public Radio Exchange, and they're free as a bird for any station that wants to play 'em!

What we're hoping each and every one of you will do is email the links to the series pages to the program director or general manager of your local public radio station, campus or community station, what have you, with a quick note about why you love the shows and want to hear them over the air!

Help the DRT army grow! Email these links today!

http://www.prx.org/series/31690-black-jack-justice

http://www.prx.org/series/31691-the-red-panda-adventures

Well, folks have been on my case to set up a Facebook Fan Page, so I've gone and done just that. And to keep the content a little different, here you'll be able to read along with scripts and this week view two fun videos made during the recording of Red Panda #55! Join up and help us spread the word here

And don't forget to follow us on Twitter!

That's right, it's your big chance to hear a bad guy of your own fiendish imagination throw it down with Canada's Greatest Superhero mano et mano!
Together with our friends at TopWebComics.com we're having us a little Create A Supervillian Contest, and three lucky winners will hear their creations brought to life when the Seventh season of the Red Panda Adventures hits the airwaves!
So don't miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime chance! Visit TopWebComics.com today!

Mad Monkey artwork created by Jason at SarcasticArtist.com

If a whole week off has you pining already for some two-fisted pulp justice, never fear... the second installment of the Tales of the Red Panda pulp novel series is available at Amazon.com - Right Here in fact!
So if you long for another good old-fashioned "Yes Boss" adventure, get on board! And once you have, don't forget to post your review and help spread the word!

Cover art is by Lee Gaston, design by Allan Cooke and our Editor De Luxe is Erin Fife.

Sinister forces are at work, striking within the very heart of the city's elite with powers that seem otherwordly. are the attacks radom? Simply for profit? Or is an unknown predator hunting our masked heroes themselves? if the mysterious Ajay Shah really does have powers that rival the Red Panda, will even the Terrific Twosome of Toronto be able to resist the might of... The Mind Master?

Well, we've not only moved back into the Hard-Boiled world of Jack and Trixie for a spell, we've also released this year's Christmas episode, Requiem for an Elf. So it seems like an awful good time to remind you to revisit our other holiday specials this season! Last year's A Very Decoder Ring Christmas can be found for download right here:

A_Very_Decoder_Ring_Christmas.mp3

And don't forget to fight a little crime this year with the Red Panda and the Flying Squirrel in Tis the Season.... get it right here:

Red_Panda_Adv_30_-Tis_The_Season.mp3

And God Bless Us, Every One!

There are certain folks who are doing everything they can to see that Decoder Ring Theatre will be around for years to come. They are the few, the proud, the monthly donors. I have spoken much about the need to build up a brave and hardy band of listeners to provide us with a stable source of funds if we are to continue to bring you all new audio adventure, mystery and comedy... and lest you thought this was all stick and no carrot, I present the Decoder Ring Theatre Monthly Donor's Page! All of the script collections and HQ Downloads that were once for sale in our Lulu store are there for free, together with regular releases of HQ Downloads of this season's shows, last season's shows and the Showcase programs - never before available! We'll also have "lost treasures" like the unproduced scripts for episodes 7-12 of the original "goofball" Red Panda mini-series, an unpublished novel and stage scripts from yours truly, and the regular chance to win great prizes, like autographed "game used" scripts! So swing by today and see what you're missing... and sign up for monthly support of Decoder Ring Theatre to get your download password today!

As we close in on the start of another new season, having passed the momentous milestone of 1,000,000 downloads on our main podcast feed, we have two delightful bits of news to share. First of all, Black Jack Justice will begin it's run on CIUT-FM 89.5 in Toronto on Friday Aug 28th, and will air Fridays during the "Take 5" program. We've had some air before of course, but this is a complete run through the series with a regular schedule in a major market. This we like. Listen in and tell your friends.
Secondly, you have a chance to weigh in with some future programming for our "Play it Again" Summer coming up in 2011, so swing by the Fan Forums to have your say!

Why did I leave the "Crime Cabal" cover up? Because it looks nice and I want you to buy it. Please see the post below, then come back for this one.
Back? Excellent. I was just going to mention that the end of the universe is indeed nigh. I know this because Decoder Ring Theatre is now on Twitter. At the moment, it's mostly updates on scripts in progress, though when we get back into recording I may let the cast "tweet" live from the studio.... If Scotty Moyle can behave himself that is. Anyway, you can find us at www.twitter.com/Decoder_Ring. 'Nuff said.

It's an exciting week here in the Decoderverse, my friends. The Mass Market Edition of the first Red Panda pulp novel Tales of the Red Panda: The Crime Cabal is now available! If you missed out on the Direct Market edition, here's your chance to enjoy this in-continuity Pulp Mag style adventure of the Terrific Twosome of Toronto set between seasons 1 & 2!
If you've already enjoyed the book in it's earlier edition, not much has changed. It has had a darned good editiorial thrashing courtesy of our new series editor Erin Fife, and we've incorported the "August Fenwick" identity into the story, but otherwise the story itself is unchanged... but we could still use your help! Visit the AMAZON.COM page and contribute a review, a rating, some tags or "tags for serach"... post the link in your blogs, facebook, myspace or any other corner of the internet that is yours! Help us reach new readers and new fans for your radio heroes!

In what has become our favorite Canada Day Tradition, Earth's first and finest source for all things audio SFF Audio has posted a grand and glorious review of Season 4 of The Red Panda Adventures! Not only is it a swell review but the series has been awarded the coveted SFF AUDIO ESSENTIAL award for the third time (and fourth for the podcast at large). Pop on over and read it for yourself!

You’ve probably noticed the new ads in the shows, and yes… it’s true. There is some advertising in place for the foreseeable future, and it has us comfortable about our basic operating costs being covered in a way that we’ve never been.

But it is moments such as these that make a fellow wonder what could be. It’s great to be able to keep the wolf from the door, but can we grow beyond this point… create even more, expand our reach and continue to bring our own brand of adventure, mystery and comedy into more lives for years to come?

I feel certain that the answer is “yes”, but it will never happen with ad revenue alone. To grow beyond this point we will need stable, predictable support from you, the listeners.

Since 2005, we’ve been bringing these stories to a strong and growing audience. You’ve spread the word, helped us pay the bills and always demanded more. Now you have the opportunity to ensure that DRT can keep on doing that voodoo that we do so well for the long term. If you’ll look at the sidebar on the right, you’ll see we now have an option to “subscribe” - in the financial sense.

You don’t need to pay to get our shows. You never have and you never will. But I do ask you, who have grown to care about what we do… what is a new story worth to you? Is it worth a buck? Then perhaps a $2 monthly contribution is right for you. More? There is a lovely $5/month button right there for your dining and dancing pleasure.

If these shows have become important to you, and you feel a personal stake in helping Decoder Ring Theatre to grow, please join the team today. If you would like to set up a regular contribution at another amount, please contact us and we’ll see what we can set up!

Decoder Ring Theatre has wrapped our recording sessions for the season, as our players head their various ways for different summer gigs, but we won't be missing a beat with our releases. Our masked Pulp Heroes will continue to keep 1930's Toronto safe for a few more episodes before the Season Four finale... and then we have a full Summer Showcase coming up. We have western adventures with Blaze Bing, Rodeo King written by Phil Bledsoe... Crasher and Magic of the Movies author Tim Prasil returns with one of the best new audio stories I've ever read... we turn our Spotlight to Icebox Radio, one of my favorite new audio groups that deserves to reach a wider audience... and we kick things off on May 30th with the first of a two part story by Bill Cunningham that combines the dark suspense of the hero pulps with the pulse-pounding thrills of the movie serials... The Knightmare! All this and much more!

Here's a nice bonus feature for fans! Decoder Ring Theatre was asked to create a special radio adaptation of two chapters from Dennis Richard Murphy's wonderful new book Darkness at the Stroke of Noon, available from Harper Collins. You can hear the results right HERE!

I have been remiss in not plugging Lesley Livingston's shiny new book Wondrous Strange, mostly because it was an invitation for people to wonder where their copy of Tales of The Red Panda: The Crime Cabal was... But now that we're proceeding apace with the mailings of the pre-orders (see The Tales of the Red Panda blog for more) I can at last plug with a degree of impunity. DRT fans will recall the divine Ms. Livingston as the voice of "Control" in Deck Gibson: Far Reach Commander, and a number of memorable supporting turns, such as the vile Mrs. Mynack in the Red Panda Adventure The Sweet Tooth. Thanks to the good folks at Harper Collins Ltd., she has now moved from the stylish but unsatisfying ranks of the "brilliant but unpublished" to become... well, I guess you just call it a writer. In any event, you should buy her book and read it. Learn more from her website HERE

It's an exciting time here in the Decoderverse, my friends. Not only are we enjoying our shiny new Web HQ, but you're about to get a chance to see your favorite Gumshoes at long last!

Yep, Black Jack Justice will be making it's Webcomic Debut on Tuesday the 16th of December over at Addictive Comics! It's the new Scott Sigler joint, so you know it's going to be (a) Awesome and (b) Huge. Come on by and see us!

By now you must have noticed the shiny new digs. Yes, it was time the ol' website got a bit of a wash and a brush-up, wasn't it? Here's how it works in a nutshell... You'll always find our latest episode right on the main page. After that, you just have to look on the "Shows" page, and it'll be right there. Unlike our podcast page, we'll now be listing the episodes from the start, to make it easier for new listeners. But if you're not crazy about the changes you can always pop by the original Podcast page, which will carry on unchanged at decoderring.libsyn.com

Here's a photo from a recent recording session after a hasty bit of math revealed that we had just finished recording our 100th episode! It was Black Jack Justice 32, though that won't actually be the 100th episode that airs, I'll be more like the 106th or 107th.... but never mind. Pictured are: (front l to r) Peter Nicol, Andrea Lyons, Kevin Robinson, Hans Messersmith, (back) Gregg Taylor, Chris Mott.

Yeah, I know... I've been pretty lazy lately. Preoccupied, you might say. It ends now. To shake you out of your summer doldrums, we present the latest in our exclusive content for vistors to our Fan Boards at Audio Drama Talk.com- It's another live recording from our long, long ago past... and what it lacks in recording quality and coherent plotlines it... well... aw heck, it's a rare track! A B-Side! Go get it, wouldya? It's DRT Deep Cuts #5 - Oil Be Home... LIVE! EDIT: The thread is still there... but the "Deep Cuts" files have been moved to a permenant home on the fan boards... just click here!

EDIT: Holy Cats! I've been too preoccupied to strut about our recent rave review for Season Three of The Red Panda Adventures over at SFF Audio.com. Check it out!

Are you one of the few that still haven't got the hang of visiting our fan boards at http://www.audiodramatalk.com yet? Well get with it - that's where all the cool freebies are and this week we've got TWO.

First of all, yes, it's our latest installment of Decoder Ring Theatre Deep Cuts, and it's our All-Deck Gibson Special! Celebrate the return of Matt Wallace's interpid space adventurer with this behind-the-scenes special. It's available for direct download only on the Fan Boards, so head on over to: THIS THREAD!

EDIT: The thread is still there... but the "Deep Cuts" files have been moved to a permenant home on the fan boards... just click here!

And just in case that's not enough for you, how about these special Decoder RingTones, made by special request from our listners! Download a Zip file with 2 special Ring Tones, 1 Black Jack Justice and 1 Red Panda Adventures! Come by THIS THREAD to get 'em!

And if you'll cast your gaze to the picture by this post, you'll see a great Bruce Timm-style Red Panda created by AudioDramaTalk member LeeshaJoy! I think he's pretty swell. So get off yer duff and come on by!

-GT

Well, there was a huge response to our last installment of Decoder Ring Theatre Deep Cuts - our special releases of exclusive outakes, rarities and other weirdness - so let's keep it rolling. As always with Deep Cuts, this is an exclusive for our Fan Boards over at AudioDramaTalk.com... so stop on by and pick up the new B-Side while it's fresh, and say hi while you're there! You can find it at This Link! NOTE: There is some strong language in some of these outakes. And a lot of giggling.

EDIT: The thread is still there... but the "Deep Cuts" files have been moved to a permenant home on the fan boards... just click here!

 We'll be back next Saturday with our thrill-packed Season Finale of The Red Panda Adventures: The Field Trip! Don't you dare miss it! - GT

Well, we had a lot of fun the other week with our first release of Decoder Ring Theatre Deep Cuts... so let's do it again! Deep Cuts is our name for our vast collection of out-takes, B-Sides, rarities and assorted bric-a-brac for fans of our shows, and it's only available for direct download from the Fan Boards at AudioDramaTalk.com! Our last release was very much of the "out-take" variety, so here from the other side of the coin is the rarest rare track we've got... a very rough recording of a live show we did almost 10 years ago as a fundraiser of the studio recordings of the original "goofy" Red Panda mini-series. It's DRT Deep Cuts #2 - Dynamite Dame LIVE, and you can only get it via THIS LINK! EDIT: The thread is still there... but the "Deep Cuts" files have been moved to a permenant home on the fan boards... just click here!

In other news, I've been negligent in not mentioning that the fantastic portrait of our masked heroes done for us by Chuck Lukacs is available for sale as a print from his online shop... I've got one of these, and they look fantastic! Get yours today at: http://www.earthenwoodstudio.com/html/print_gallery.html

Here's a fun new feature I'm running over at our fanboards at audiodramatalk.com - DRT Deep Cuts! From time to time I'll be posting outtakes and other strange stuff in THIS THREAD - including today's post, taken from a rcording session this very morning for RPA #48.

These are posted at You Send It, so the link is good for 1 week or 100 downloads only! It's the ultimate B Side/rarity/easter egg thingie! So check back often at audiodramatalk.com and collect & trade 'em all!

(warning: these are not always going to be completely clean.) EDIT: The thread is still there... but the "Deep Cuts" files have been moved to a permenant home on the fan boards... just click here!

Well, the return of the masked protectors of 1930's Toronto caused quite a stir this week, and I've been asked by several folks for an update on the progress of the Tales of The Red Panda pulp adventure novels promised way back when chapter one of The Crime Cabal appeared in Astonishing Adventures! issue #1. I can report that the book is done and the long, dull search for a publisher is underway... and promise you that when you can at long last pick up a copy for your very own, you'll be the first to hear about it!

 And meetcha back here next Saturday for an episode you'll have to hear to believe - The Terrible Two! -GT

Welcome one and all to Decoder Ring Theatre's shiny new Podcast page. We're gearing up for a new series of releases starting this fall... We'll be taking Canada's Greatest Superhero back to his 30's crimebusting roots in the all-new Red Panda Adventures... followed by crime and punishment with that hardest-boiled of Private Eyes, Black Jack Justice. In the meantime, and to warm-up the podcasting airwaves, we'll be re-running our original Red Panda mini-series, originally recorded as a pilot project in 2000 and released through our website www.decoderringtheatre.com last year. If you already have these six thrilling (and rather silly) episodes, don't worry - all-new stories and characters are on the way! Check this space or add us to your podcast list and you won't miss a single thrilling adventure! And remember, we love to hear from you. Drop us a line at info@decoderringtheatre.com