What happens
Riley, a factory worker played by William Bendix in The Life of Riley, comes home exhausted on Father's Day to find his wife Peg and the children rushing out to watch Bob Hope on a neighbor's television. Feeling neglected, he refuses to let the family buy a set, insisting he will never allow one in the house. Next door, his friend Gillis and the digger Odell listen to his complaints. Riley grows gloomy imagining a lonely old age, and his frustration keeps building as the holiday arrives.
Riley's home and neighborhood in California, on Father's Day in June 1950
Characters: Riley, Peg, Junior, Babs, Gillis, Digger Odell
Listen for: Riley's refusal to buy a television set and his changing mood as Father's Day approaches
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.