KINCAID, THE STRANGESEEKER ---------------------------- 1996 - Present By: Stewart Wright Initial Compilation: 08/07/2001 Last Update: 06/30/2007 Copyright 2007 by Stewart Wright First Show: 09/15/1996 Last Show: Series is still in production Number of Shows: 33 and counting Audition Show: See Note: Audition/Pilot Show SERIES BACKGROUND: KINCAID, THE STRANGESEEKER is a contemporary radio drama series created in the mid-1990's by Jim French and stars Terry Rose as Michael Kincaid, a television investigative reporter, who specializes in stories that generally fall into the category of strange or unexplained events. KINCAID, THE STRANGESEEKER currently airs as part of IMAGINATION THEATRE on KIXI in Seattle and is syndicated internationally as part of IMAGINATION THEATRE on about 135 radio stations in the United States and Canada. It is also heard on XM satellite radio and around the world over the Internet. (IMAGINATION THEATRE also airs French's THE ADVENTURES OF HARRY NILE, THE HILARY CAINE MYSTERIES, RAFFLES, THE GENTLEMAN THIEF, and THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES.) Previously, KINCAID, THE STRANGE-SEEKER was heard in the Seattle area as part of IMAGINATION THEATRE on KNWX (03/26/2000 - 01/05/2003), THE PEMCO IMAGINATION THEATRE on KNWX (02/21/1999 - 03/19/2000), and The KIRO MYSTERY PLAYHOUSE on KIRO (09/15/1996 - 02/21/1999.) SERIES DESCRIPTION: Michael Kincaid is an investigative reporter for the fictional cable TV Investigative Channel and specializes in stories that are strange, bizarre, supernatural, and/or extra-terrestrial. He is assisted by his "shooter" or videographer, Shelly Mars. The emphasis of the story line and characters is often on investigating and not reporting - in fact some of his stories (cases) don't even make it to the tube. Often his boss won't believe him; you might not either unless you follow Kincaid on some of his assignments. Here's a sample story line from a KINCAID, THE STRANGESEEKER episode. In "The Place," Kincaid investigates a series of robberies in which the crooks always fire a Tommy Gun, but there are no bullet holes and no bullet casings. The fingerprints left at the crime scenes are those of criminals that have been dead for 30 years. Just your nice, neat, typical news story? Starting with the episode "The Find," Kincaid got a new managing editor, Randall Bigelow, played by Richards Sanders of WKRP IN CINCINNATI fame. Note: Audition/Pilot Show The Kincaid character first appeared in a KIRO MYSTERY PLAYHOUSE episode, "The Man Who Died Twice," on 02/11/1995. In this episode, the main character was Robert Kincaid, an investigative reporter for the fictional New York Bulletin newspaper. He investigated the death of a terminally-ill patient at a nursing home. His investigation turns up much more than just a possible case of euthanasia. Terry Rose also played Kincaid in this episode. The following background information was provided by Larry Albert of Jim French Productions. "The episode 'The Man Who Died Twice' was not a pilot per se. After the show was recorded and aired, several of Jim's friends saw the potential of this character for a series. However, we were all thinking of a newspaper series. When Jim decided to develop the show, we were all surprised to see where he was taking it. I guess you could say that 'The Man Who Died Twice' is a de facto pilot." The de facto pilot/audition and many of the early episodes of this series have been recorded before a LIVE audience. The episodes through "The Star Channel" were recorded at the Museum of History and Industry in Seattle. The episodes "A Town Called Limbo" and "A Work In Progress" were recorded at The Kirkland Performance Center (KPC) in Kirkland, WA. Jim French records shows for IMAGINATION THEATRE in front of a LIVE audience every three months at the KPC. The web site of Kirkland Performance Center is located at: http://www.kpcenter.org/ CREW: Creator: Jim French Directors: Pat French and Jim French Writers: Jim French. "A Dog Named Who" by Jim French and Terry Rose. "A Work In Progress," "The License Plate Caper," "A Fly on the Wall," and "Redone" by Terry Rose. "Gravity" by Terry Rose (See Episode Notes:) "Mr. Abbadon's Pyramid," "The Hollow Men," The "Blinovitch Event," "The Day After Forever," "A Terrible Beauty," and "Shrink Wrapped" by M J Elliott. "The Green Man" by Gareth Tilley, Terry Rose & M J Elliott. Music: Graham Pleet Sound Effects: Cheryl Jacobs, David Persson, Scott Anderson, David Freed and Sean O'Meara. Engineers: Peggy Stokes and Jason Chavy Announcers: Dean L. Smith and Jim French CAST: Starring: Terry Rose as MICHAEL KINCAID John Gilbert as FRED "LIPPY" LIPPMAN through "A Town Called Limbo" Richard Sanders as RANDALL BIGELOW starting with "The Find" Kathryn Shield, Kelly Lloyd (in "The Reluctant Vampire" only), and Mary Anne Dorward (in "The Goblin Factory" only) as SHELLY MARS, Dean L. Smith as DEAN - the announcer Pat French as PAT - the director. Guest Stars: Larry Albert, Jessi Badami, Bill Brooks, Frank Buxton, Pat Cashman, Karen Kay Cody, Karen Corbitt, Jan D'arcy, Beth DeVreies, Mary Anne Dorward, Diane Felty, David Freed, Cynthia Geary, Demene Hall, Phil Harper, Kit Harris, Paul Herlinger, Russell Johnson, Peggy Jordan, Kelly Lloyd, Daniel von Koschembar, Rick May, Mike McLaughlin, Jerry Miller, Michael Morgan-Dunne, Jack Morton, Lee Paasch, Marlene Phillips, John Procaccino, Joy Rinaldi, Bhama Roget, Terry Rose, Chris Rose, Dave Ross, Wantland Sandel, Richard Sanders, Sarah Schenkkan, Gary Schwartz, Faye B. Summers, Stephan Weyte, Jim Wilkie, Douglas Young and others. Episode Notes: The episode "Gravity" is an adaptation of an episode of the DAMERON series, "The Berryman Chamber," which aired on KVI 06/26/1973. The plot line is quite similar to the DAMERON script that was written by Jim French, but had different characters. The KINCAID version of the script was written by Terry Rose. On 10/16/2005, "The Third Gate," a special program for the 500th week of IMAGINATION THEATRE aired on a one- time basis only. Featured were characters from various Jim French series: Michael Kincaid, Shelly Mars and Randall "Biggie" Bigelow (KINCAID, THE STRANGESEEKER), Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES), Raffles and Bunny (RAFFLES, THE GENTLEMAN THIEF), Hilary Caine (THE HILARY CAINE MYSTERIES), and Harry Nile and Murphy (THE ADVENTURES OF HARRY NILE) all appearing in one adventure as written by Jim French and British writer M. J. Elliott. SHOW NOTES: Most Jim French shows are approximately a half-hour (with commercials) in length. The following episode is double-length, approximately one hour (with commercials) long: "The Hollow Men" LOG: All dates are the date of original airing on Seattle radio. Collector-assigned titles that have surfaced are shown in square brackets [] Date Title ---------- ---------------------------------- 09/15/1996 Felicia 04/20/1997 The Place 10/19/1997 The Woman From Under The Ice 01/18/1998 Final Mission 02/08/1998 Appointment In Time [An Appointment In Time] 08/23/1998 The Dobsky Engine 10/11/1998 The Thirst Of The Blade 10/25/1998 The Goblin Factory 11/08/1998 New Guy At the Morgue 01/10/1999 Something for Everyone 02/21/1999 A Dog Named Who 08/22/1999 Writers' Block 10/10/1999 The Final Chapter 12/04/1999 The Star Channel 12/31/2000 A Town Called Limbo 09/16/2001 The Find 10/14/2001 A Work In Progress 12/23/2001 The Santa Test 04/21/2002 The License Plate Caper 09/22/2002 Natural Causes 01/26/2003 Not Another Ghost Story 07/13/2003 Gravity 09/14/2003 The Reluctant Vampire 02/15/2004 A Fly On The Wall 03/14/2004 Rhythm 04/18/2004 Mr. Abbadon's Pyramid 11/14/2004 The Hollow Men 01/23/2005 The Blinovitch Event 03/20/2005 The Day After Forever 07/17/2005 Redone 12/11/2005 A Terrible Beauty 04/16/2006 Shrink Wrapped 03/11/2007 The Green Man AVAILABILITY: THESE SHOWS ARE PROTECTED UNDER COPYRIGHT LAW and should be purchased only from authorized dealers. HELP KEEP CONTEMPORARY RADIO DRAMA ALIVE! Purchase from Authorized Dealers. JIM FRENCH WEB SITE: There is now a place on the Internet where fans of the contemporary radio dramas of Jim French can find out more about Jim, his various series, and some of the actors who star in them. Fans can even purchase some of his shows. The following URL will get you there: http://www.jimfrenchproductions.com KINCAID THE STRANGE-SEEKER Tape & CD Sets Jim French Productions has a pair of two compact disc volumes with six shows of selected episodes from this series. Volumes 3 and 4 are single CDs with three episodes each. Volume 5 is a single CD with two episodes from this series. They are available from: Jim French Productions P. O. Box 75296 Seattle, WA. 98125 1-877-875-6453 http://www.jimfrenchproductions.com/ The above address is provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement. INFORMATION SOURCES: Interviews conducted by Stewart Wright with Jim French in 1998. Larry Albert of Jim French Productions who provided episode titles, episode initial airing dates, and recurring characters information. Correspondence and conversations with Jim French and Larry Albert 1999 - 2007. Seattle Post-Intelligencer - Various Dates 1998 to 2007. Various Web pages at: http://jimfrenchproductions.com/kincaid.php