Seeing Ear Theatre

In a dank, dark corner of the Sci-Fi Channel's website lurks a long forgotten directory. In the early days of the channel they played with radio shows. But they never got the hits they wanted. So they stopped development. The pages remained but little by little it became isolated from the main page. For awhile you could still find your way there if you knew where to look. But today nothing remains connecting this to the main page. You have to have memorized the URL. http://scifi.com/set

One of the series they tried was City of Dreams by Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski. Nine were planned. Six were made. You can still find the complete archive of the Seeing Ear Theatre at http://scifi.com/set but you need Real Audio to listen to it. A lot of people don't like that program. So here are links to MP3s that someone made of City of Dreams. Get them quick. I can't guarantee how long the links will be good.


Episode 1: The Damned Are Playing at Godzilla's Tonight
Featuring Steve Buscemi

The dark, ominous tale of the bigoted owner of a small nightclub in the City of Dreams who faces a new sound, and a band that just won't quit...on either side of the grave.

"For our first story, I wanted something with teeth, something that took one of the more common supernatural tropes and used it in a way that dealt with contemporary themes. It has kind of a Lovecraftian feel, starting at the end, then finding out how we got here, and why. Where else can you get all that *and* a commentary on the state of the music industry?" – J. Michael Straczynski

http://www.yourfilelink.com/get.php?fid=193372
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Episode 2: Rolling Thunder
Featuring Andre Braugher

A father offers to give up anything to regain his lost child...and a certain Someone takes him up on it.

"We all make mistakes. Big ones, small ones, mistakes that change our lives forever. There's our life before IT, and after IT, whatever your IT happens to be. This is the story of an IT: the loss of a child's life, and what one person will endure in an attempt to correct that mistake. I wanted to ask one simple question: what is one person's life really worth?" – J. Michael Straczynski

http://www.yourfilelink.com/get.php?fid=193341
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Episode 3: The Friends of Jackie Clay
Featuring Merwin Goldsmith

Jackie Clay is the caretaker of a small cemetery in the City of Dreams who speaks to the dead and, when a crisis occurs, learns that he has friends he never knew he had.

"Having done two strong, serious, intense stories, I kinda wanted to write something a bit lighter, more redemptive, with a touch of humor. A guy who works at a cemetery and talks to the residents brings in response a logical question: do they talk back, and if so, what do they say? It's a story about friends, polite behavior, and the anger of the dead." – J. Michael Straczynski

http://www.yourfilelink.com/get.php?fid=193408
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Episode 4: The Tolling of the Hour
Featuring Campbell Scott

The clock shows no mercy. Neither does the board of directors or the CEO, who demands more than life can give, and finds himself on the business end of the clock he worships.

"We have become a society answerable to the tick of the clock, the Board of Directors, the CEO...with your average corporate employee daily crushed under the wheels of downsizing, working harder for less money so the stockholders get a ten percent per share boost. I felt there needed to be a cautionary tale about the inevitable result of grinding down people's souls, because sooner or later, the universe downsizes those who downsize unto others." – J. Michael Straczynski

http://www.yourfilelink.com/get.php?fid=193590
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Episode 5: Night Calls
Featuring Tim Curry

Something unusual is waiting for you in the intersection of a conversation between god and a man asked to build a *second* ark...what it will carry, and where it all goes, is not what you may be expecting.

"I told Brian that I wanted to divide CITY into three parts: 1-4 being fairly straightforward stories, and 5-8 being more experimental stories that play with the form of radio drama. Get everybody lulled into a false sense of security, and then start pulling the rug out. This is the first of the experimental episodes. Be sure to listen carefully, because not everything here is what it seems." – J. Michael Straczynski

http://www.yourfilelink.com/get.php?fid=193592
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Episode 6: MCSD 00121J
Featuring Campbell Scott

From: Manasee County
Sheriff's Department
Manasee County, New Jersey

The original audiotape of which this (enclosed) tape is a copy was found near the site of the Clarefield community residence 23 August 2000 by Sgt. Emile Jackson and the original copy was forwarded to the MCSD forensics lab for analysis. A second copy has been forwarded to the FBI Crime Lab in Roanoake VA for more detailed audio study.

In light of the recent tragic events of Clarefield, we appreciate any assistance your office and listeners can provide in establishing any of the identities of the persons recorded on this tape. Needless to say any information emerging from this investigation will be held in the strictest confidence. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

Captain J. J. Durham
Manasee County Sheriff's Department

http://www.yourfilelink.com/get.php?fid=193597