Dorian Gray

These modern radio shows are awesome. They sound almost like books on tape, or audio movies, rather than radio shows. THe quality is so much better and the storylines are less obviously developed. Granted, I've already read the book and am familiar with the story, but even so, the drama and action is less spelled out. In the older shows the characters would talk to themselves and be like, "I better open the closet door," but in these they just use the sounds. That brings me to antother point, the sound effects are a lot more developed than in the older shows. Everything kind of sounds like it is all in the same context rather than varying in intensity and volume depending on how close the person doing the effects is to the micropohone. It seems radio drama is alot easier to pull off with computers and modern recording technology. The music was excellent. It combined the the eerie ghost sounds that are used throughout the drama with a 3/4 tune that created a kind of satanic waltz. It was most effective in setting the mood for someone who sells his soul on account of a painting.

As far as characters go, I thought they were handled pretty well. Basil was meek and a pushover as I remember, Dorian was vain and naive until he met Harry (Sir Henry), who turned him into a morally corrupt and twisted individual. Harry's lines were great in this dramatization. Everything he said was was viciously callous and indifferent to everything and everybody. Like in the book, nothing is sacred to him and he comes off as a huge jerk. I especially liked his slams on America. However, sometimes I thought they took Harry's character a little over the top by having absolutely everthing that comes out of his mouth be some sort of horribly jaded comment.