Christmas Show: Richard Diamond, Private Detective (December 21, 1951)

“Christmas Show” is an episode of Richard Diamond, Private Detective, the old-time radio show, first broadcast December 21, 1951. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Richard Diamond, a private detective, closes his agency for Christmas and decides to tell his favorite holiday story. He reimagines Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol with his police department friends, casting a miserly businessman named Scrooge who despises Christmas and mistreats his employee Bob Cratchit. When three spirits visit Scrooge on Christmas Eve, they show him his past, present, and future, leading him to confront the consequences of his selfish ways.

New York City, on a side street off the Bowery, during Christmas time, with scenes in Scrooge's office, his room, the Cratchit family home, and a graveyard.

Characters: Richard Diamond, Ebenezer Scrooge, Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim, Jacob Marley's ghost, The Ghost of Christmas Past, The Ghost of Christmas Present, The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

Listen for: A comedic retelling of A Christmas Carol with modern-day characters and fast-paced banter; the three spirits' visits to Scrooge; Scrooge's transformation and his ultimate generosity toward Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim; the ending celebration with caroling.

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.