And so as we start with these words……“and now…Mystery Theaterâ€ the listener is introduced to the essence of what MYSTERY THEATER is!!!!!!…( or as our hopes expect it should be )…….a story bizarre, unique, and fascinating, while remaining extremely meaningful and relevant. Henry Slesar’s “The Slaveâ€ , like “The Rise And Fall Of The Fourth Reichâ€ amalgamates historical human atrocity with drama to give us an absorbing study of the consequence of subjecting “one human being over anotherâ€. The consequence of propitiation is the essence of our story here…….Our vitiated protagonist Cory Jensen lurks at a level so base that he requests of his “loveâ€ Inger to offer her services to his Master, Ray, who desires of Inger to “keep you warm and happy“…..And in turn the corrupted Cory says to Inger; “I’d appreciate it if you wouldâ€…..as Ray laughs in observance.

This may be accurately viewed as a “sickâ€ power struggle with unhealthy results of one human being over another. The product of this domination is masterfully manifested by Fred Gwynne. The actor truly seems to be enjoying himself. He is that good. By voice alone….he portrays a complete character!!!! The sideline observations, due to Slesar‘s writing of Cory’s “crying his heart out “ to Inger fills out our despot Ray. His laugher is beautiful…..in a sicko way. A leering genius.

Cory’s promise to Inger of course is that all of this is temporary……..â€Nine more weeks Inger, that’s all, just nine weeks and it will be “overâ€, or so he says. Cory deludes himself to believe his scheme is set as an illusory feat to get Ray to think the relationship between Cory and Inger is over……….thus true freedom may be enjoyed! But Ray is too realistic, cynical, grounded and pervasive. Ray knows they are together and seeks a new slave. In his arrogance he throws sexual overtones at Inger. She explicitly asks Ray to stop the bet. She is missing the point. He wants power. Power means control of Cory as a man and Inger as a woman…thus sexual. He wants to dominate, to own her…the money is secondary (tertiary?). He, like Cory, is defiled by the bet which is steeped in intimate motives and pervasive consequences. If he can own her, and Cory, each in their unique way…he wins……….money has become irrelevant. “You must really have something. ‘The Master is superior to the slaveâ€. The psychological “paybackâ€ is to get both to act as “slavesâ€.

The crux of the story is of course the consequence of such subservient domination. With “The Rise And Fall of The Third Reichâ€ we are presented with justifying vengeance upon the modern symbol of evil---Hitler. In “The Slaveâ€ we become immersed in the perspective of the slave himself and are shown that such horrible servitude………..NOT THE MONEY/BET……defiles Cory (the human) to desire returning humiliation to the “Masterâ€ in order to gain a sense of power…or gain his sense of self. He, like a lab rat, is conditioned, and truly out of control. His dominating environment has shaped him. Of those who ridicule his action, think of the attitude and action of the “Master Raceâ€ of the 1940’s, their actions, and what you wanted to do to Hitler in “The Rise And Fall Of The Third Reichâ€…or the real Hitler………..


It is not far fetched that Cory would turn into the monster, or the “Masterâ€ as he does. Essentially, in a moral sense, this is a grave mistake. He loses doubly. However, realistically, in the response of the real world it is perfectly believable that Cory would indeed give in to the temptation. He is corrupted. He was vulnerable and changed. It is a sad and poignant outlook…..For a 48 min radio show to present this effectively and additionally in an entertaining manner is stupendous! What an accomplishment! Thus, we the listeners hope for episodes of the CBSRMT to be like this…and remain devoted to the art of this form.


PS….my wife says I need to stop the unholy union of two ideas ( run on sentences ) and the dot dot dot ( …) does nothing to add to my writing. What do you think?