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Nightfall - The Debt (Aired April 2, 1982)
Nightfall is a radio drama series produced and aired by CBC Radio from July 1980 to June 1983. While primarily a supernatural/horror series, Nightfall featured some episodes in other genres, such as science fiction, mystery, fantasy, and human drama. One episode was even adapted from a folk song by Stan Rogers. Some of Nightfall's episodes were so terrifying that the CBC registered numerous complaints and some affiliate stations dropped it. Despite this, the series went on to become one of the most popular shows in CBC Radio history, running 100 episodes that featured a mix of original tales and adaptations of both classic and obscure short stories. Nightfall was the brainchild of producer Bill Howell, who was best known at the time for his work on CBC Playhouse and the cult favorite adventure series, Johnny Chase: Secret Agent of Space. (Howell later went on to be executive producer of CBC Radio's highly-popular series, The Mystery Project, which ran from 1992 to 2004.) When CBC Radio was revamped and given an expanded budget in 1980, Howell approached the newly-appointed Head of Radio Drama, Susan Rubes, about his idea for a supernatural/horror anthology series that would push the envelope. THIS EPISODE: April 2, 1982. Program #57. CBC origination, NPR network, WPBH-FM, Middlefield, Connecticut aircheck. "The Debt". Sustaining. A superb shocker of the grisly-gory genre. A fraternity initiation turns into a life-long shriek. Very well-done! The WPBH-FM rebroadcast date is June 6, 1982. John Richard Wright (writer), Henry Ramer (host). 1/2 hour.