They lurk in the shadows of Toronto and travel by rooftop, protecting the innocent citizens of Canada’s brightest city from the darkest threats villainy has to throw at them.
They collect clues and analyze evidence to bring evildoers to the harsh light of justice, and along the way manage to make time for a sarcastic throw-away line or the odd cup of lightly-roasted Ethiopian Harrar.
They are the characters of Decoder Ring Theatre, and twice a month, their stories brighten any traffic-laden commute.
Decoder Ring Theatre first saw light in 1999 as a six-part mini-series of comic adventure radio programs. Led by writer Gregg Taylor, the troupe produced the original Red Panda series as satirical takes on World War Two pulp heroes. In the early series the Red Panda was partnered with a young male sidekick called The Flying Squirrel, who would later be changed to his female chauffeur. The original series was engaging and lighthearted, but sillier than the later versions and never made it to air.
As a complement to the Red Panda series, half of Decoder Ring’s broadcast season is devoted to Black Jack Justice, a podcast in old-time radio show detective format.
The show is based on the “Immortal Works of Martin Bracknell,” a fictitious pulp writer. Black Jack Justice began as a stage play, also by Gregg Taylor, about a radio show whose writer wakes from an alcohol-induced stupor to realizes that there is no script for a show that is about to go live on the air. The play features the cast “winging it” as they attempt to pull together a live production.
While both the Red Panda and Black Jack Justice got their starts as farces, the talents of Decoder Ring Theatre, as well as Gregg Taylor’s engaging writing, have turned them into beloved bi-weekly podcasts.
The Red Panda Adventures have evolved well past the satirical WWII episodes to become the story of crusading-playboy-turned-super-hero. In the mold of Bruce Wayne and Lamont Cranston, August Fenwick is a wealthy “man about town” who fights crime nightly in his guise of the Red Panda.
Aided by his chauffeur, and eventual wife, the Flying Squirrel, the two tackle fantastic criminals worthy of Dick Tracy. Voiced by Gregg Taylor and Clarissa Der Nederlanden Taylor, The Red Panda is old-fashioned, addictive fun!
Slightly less fantastical are the adventures of Dixon and Justice Detective agency, owned by Jack Justice and Trixie Dixon, Girl Detective. Voiced by Christopher Mott and Andrea Lyons, the Black Jack Justice Adventures are light-hearted but at the same time dramatic, giving the listener plenty of character development along with their hard-boiled thrills.
To date, the Justice-Dixon agency have solved over 54 cases, much to the consternation of Braithwaite’s, the big-money firm across town. The already-engaging stories of the duo are made even more entertaining by the lively cast of characters that surround them, including Taylor as gruff police detective Vic Sabien.
Every week the crew of Decoder Ring Theatre bring quality podcasts with old-time radio sensibilities to the “podiosphere” (or whatever the hell you call it) and their reach has grown over time.
Both Black Jack Justice and The Red Panda have been featured in adventure novels and comics, and the Red Panda has even become the feature in a recent e-comic.
Head over to Decoder Ring and give them a listen or three, and if you are anything like me, you’ll want to become a monthly subscriber, if only because their bi-weekly podcasts are worth much more than the overpriced coffee and not nearly as bitter.
