(102) Magic Island - Comparing Notes

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Harold's Old Time Radio

Episode 102: "Magic Island – Comparing Notes"

Date: June 14, 2026
Host: Harold's Old Time Radio
Featured Program: "Magic Island"

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Episode Overview

This episode of Harold's Old Time Radio revisits the Golden Age radio serial "Magic Island", focusing on an installment where the main characters regroup to compare notes about their predicament in the mysterious underwater city of Euclidia. In this chapter, Mrs. Gregory, Joan, Jerry, and Captain Bradford (Tex) reflect on their situation, discuss their hopes for escape, and share an unusual lunch in their futuristic surroundings—all while grasping for optimism and clues that might help them return to the surface.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Current Predicament (00:30 – 02:29)

• Setting: The protagonists are trapped 400 feet below the ocean, in Euclidia, an advanced underwater city hidden from the world.
• Mood: Tension and uncertainty dominate, especially regarding escape and the fate of Tex.
• Notable Exchange:
  • Joan: “I hate to leave Tex without knowing just where he is.” (01:11)
  • Jerry: “We couldn’t help him any if we did know.” (01:14)

2. Exploring the City & Heading to Lunch (02:09 – 03:54)

• Characters attempt to brighten the mood by focusing on lunch and exploring the city’s amenities, such as high-speed rocket elevators and noiseless corridors.
• Jerry’s humor: “One nice thing about this underwater city, they don’t hide things as much as they did up in the island.” (02:17)

3. The Group Reunites—Tex Returns (04:14 – 05:16)

• Tex appears, having spoken with G47, the city’s mysterious leader.
• Short mealtime banter—food is grown under "artificial" light in Euclidia, sparking a debate on what qualifies as real sunlight.
• Tex’s entrance: “Well, well, well.” (04:14)
• Joan, with relief: “Oh, Tex, I’m so glad to see you.” (04:15)

4. The “Artificial Sunlight” Debate (05:16 – 06:49)

• Joan and Mrs. Gregory engage in a semi-philosophical argument about whether the artificial light of the city counts as sunlight.
• Mrs. Gregory, instructive:
  “The Euclidean light covers a far larger spectrum than sunlight, particularly in the ultraviolet wavelengths… The amount of health giving ultraviolet light may be accurately regulated and not depend on the season of the year…” (06:05)

5. Luncheon Surprises – High-Tech Lifestyle (06:49 – 08:06)

• Meal descriptions: cantaloupe (with a “lesson” on its origin), celery "sounds like a windstorm," and technical explanations of food preparation (dietary laboratories) and the dumbwaiter delivery system.
• Jerry, cracking wise about meals: “Me too. I mean, me neither. Oh, no, neither am I. Oh, something.” (08:17)

6. Assessing Hopes for Escape (08:26 – 09:57)

• After the meal, attention turns to their dire situation and the prospects for rescue.
• Tex reveals that the city contains submarines and even rocket ships possibly capable of escape, despite the dangerous obstacles.
• Captain Bradford (Tex):
  “The means [of escape] are here. Though our having access to them may be something else.” (10:25)
  “...He [G47] thinks we’ve done him a big favor in showing up the weakness in that boat. And he’s asked me to help him design another, eliminating the faults we found in that one.” (11:04)

7. Personal Concerns and Solidarity (09:57 – 10:49)

• Mrs. Gregory expresses most concern for Jerry and the distress his disappearance will cause his father.
• Mrs. Gregory:
  “We will advise your father the instant we are allowed to operate any means of communication.” (09:45)

8. The Biggest Revelation—Rocket Ships (11:20 – 11:49)

• Tex has been given access to Euclidia’s rocket-propelled submarines—capable of underwater, surface, and aerial travel.
• Tex, excitedly:
  “They have rocket ships built like submarines which will operate under the water, on the water, or in the air. And those rocket ships are somewhere in this underwater city...” (11:36)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Joan (resigned): “Perhaps you don’t realize when you’re licked, Jerry, but I feel rather thoroughly beaten.” (02:35)
• Mrs. Gregory (philosophical):
  “It is foolish to deprive yourself of the nourishment your body needs merely to give your mental depression full sway.” (01:55)
• Tex (about G47):
  “He surprised me plenty when he thanked me for sporting.” (10:45)
• Joan (on city’s food):
  “There’s nothing artificial about this salad either. The celery is so crisp, it sounds like a windstorm when I bite it.” (06:49)
• Tex (on their predicament):
  “We’ll get out of this place, if it takes a year or ten years.” (09:05)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:30 – 02:29: The cast recaps their predicament deep under the sea, feeling hopeless but determined.
• 03:02 – 03:54: Entering the high-speed elevator and marveling at Euclidia’s technology.
• 04:14 – 05:16: Tex’s return and beginning of lunch.
• 05:16 – 06:49: Debate about the nature of “artificial sunlight” and its implications.
• 08:26 – 09:57: Strategic recap—reviewing escape routes, discussing their adversary G47’s unlikely gratitude, and considering possible plans.
• 11:20 – 11:49: Tex’s revelation about rocket-propelled submarines—their best hope for escape.

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Tone & Language

The tone blends 1930s sci-fi wonder (with detailed, earnest discussion of advanced concepts) and warm, playful family banter. Characters exchange light-hearted quips (especially Jerry), philosophical musings (from Mrs. Gregory), and pragmatic optimism in the face of dire odds (from Tex).

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Conclusion

This “Magic Island” episode serves as both a regrouping chapter and a showcase of early sci-fi radio’s blend of suspense, technical imagination, and heartfelt character dynamics. The group remains trapped, but new hope is sparked by Tex’s unexpectedly cordial conversation with G47 and revelations of advanced technology that might someday set them free.

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Transcript

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[Narrator]

The Magic island is a very real place to Mrs. Gregory and her little party of loyal friends. The finding of her daughter Joan on the island should have brought the story of the 14 year search to a happy ending. But such is far from true. Jerry and Joan, with Mrs. Gregory and the captain, found it comparatively easy to escape from the island. Now their position is much more difficult. 400ft below the surface of the water, 200ft below the spot where the artificial island is hidden in a volcanic crater. The mysterious city of Euclidia, a complete community capable of sustaining life indefinitely, holds our friends tightly in its grip and escape seems far away.

[Mrs. Gregory]

Come, Mother, we may as well return to our quarters.

[Jerry]

Sure, Mrs. Gregory, come on.

[Joan]

I hate to leave Tex without knowing just where he is.

[Jerry]

We couldn't help him any if we did know.

[Joan]

I suppose you're right, Jerry.

[Mrs. Gregory]

He is indeed, Mother.

[Joan]

Very well, Joan dear. I'll wait quietly for news of the Captain. But why return to our quarters? We may as well continue our inspection tour of this underwater city and learn all we can about it.

[Mrs. Gregory]

It is time for our lunch.

[Joan]

Oh, boy.

[Jerry]

Grub. Grub? Yeah, you know, grub, Chow, vittles, eats foods.

[Mrs. Gregory]

Jerry hall, if you would only say what you mean I did.

[Jerry]

You just don't understand English.

[Mrs. Gregory]

Do you understand it?

[Jerry]

Do I?

[Joan]

Please, Joan and Jerry, don't start another of your arguments now.

[Jerry]

Oh, I'm sorry, Mrs. Gregory. Come on, let's go to lunch.

[Joan]

I don't feel that I care for anything.

[Jerry]

Oh, sure you do. You've got to eat something whether you feel like it or not.

[Mrs. Gregory]

Yes, Mother. It is foolish to deprive yourself of the nourishment your body needs merely to give your mental depression full sway. Hey, listen, it is indeed time for our lunch and we must hurry to eat it as we will be given only a limited time.

[Joan]

Very well. Joan. Are you sure which way we go?

[Jerry]

Oh, that's easy. We take that elevator right over there. One nice thing about this underwater city, they don't hide things as much as they did up in the island.

[Mrs. Gregory]

That is true, Jerry. We will be able to find our quarters at any time.

[Joan]

It's very obvious that the Euclideans don't feel it necessary to take any further precautions against our escaping. They know we can't escape.

[Jerry]

Oh, gee, Mrs. Gregory, quit acting so down and out. We're not licked yet.

[Joan]

Perhaps you don't realize when you're licked, Jerry, that I feel rather thoroughly beaten.

[Mrs. Gregory]

We are in no danger, Mother, and we have unlimited time in which to plan. There is still hope.

[Jerry]

Sure there is. Here's the elevator. I know it's the right one because the girl submarine commander showed it to me.

[Mrs. Gregory]

We must go quickly or the luncheon will be removed.

[Jerry]

Yeah, we have to eat just when these fellows want you to, or they take it away from you. Now, hang on tight, Mrs. Gregory. The commander said this elevator was mighty fast.

[Joan]

If she thought it fast enough to warrant her warning, it would probably be terrifying.

[Mrs. Gregory]

There are a number of handles which we may grip with our hands.

[Jerry]

Yeah, and those handles look pretty shiny, like somebody's been hanging on plenty. Well, get set. Here we go.

[Mrs. Gregory]

Can you operate this, Jerry?

[Jerry]

Well, I can try. Well, I guess I can run it all right.

[Joan]

At least we've been shot upwards some distance in almost no time.

[Mrs. Gregory]

I think this will be where we leave the elevator.

[Jerry]

I know blame well. It's where I leave it. That was too fast for me.

[Mrs. Gregory]

We are on the proper level. The section containing our quarters is just ahead.

[Joan]

You're a good guesser, Jerry.

[Jerry]

I must be. I sure didn't feel any too sure when that elevator would land us.

[Mrs. Gregory]

Though we are now walking on the noiseless steel, the corridor outside our quarters is noiseless. I think we are correct.

[Joan]

Yes, that should be the door right over there.

[Jerry]

Hey, wait a minute. Sounds like another elevator coming.

[Captain Bradford (Tex)]

Well, well, well.

[Joan]

Oh, Tex, I'm so glad to see you.

[Jerry]

Did you come up in one of those rocket elevators?

[Captain Bradford (Tex)]

I sure did. And when those things take you places, you really get there.

[Joan]

Where have you been?

[Captain Bradford (Tex)]

Talking to G47. I'll tell you all about his weed. That lunch signal gives only so much time. Isn't that right, Joan?

[Mrs. Gregory]

That is correct, Captain. We will have only a few hundred seconds in which to enjoy our luncheon.

[Jerry]

Well, maybe we can eat it in a few hundred seconds, but we sure can't enjoy it much.

[Captain Bradford (Tex)]

This is our door, isn't it?

[Joan]

I think so.

[Jerry]

We're home.

[Joan]

Home. Oh, Jerry.

[Jerry]

Oh, I'm sorry.

[Captain Bradford (Tex)]

What's the matter?

[Mrs. Gregory]

Mother has been very depressed and Jerry and I have had no success in attempting to Improve her frame of mind.

[Captain Bradford (Tex)]

Oh, forget it, Pat. Now, let's see what these Euclidean wizards have brought us for lunch.

[Joan]

Oh, boy.

[Jerry]

Fresh cantaloupe. Well, go ahead, Joan.

[Mrs. Gregory]

Go ahead.

[Jerry]

Oh, make your wires crack. Dig up some fancy name that none of us ever heard of for cantaloupe.

[Mrs. Gregory]

It is not necessary to correct you at this time. Cantaloupe is the proper designation for this form of muskmelon, Though your pronunciation of the name leaves something to be desired.

[Jerry]

Okay, what is it?

[Mrs. Gregory]

Cantaloupe. The name being derived from the castle in Europe where this melon was first grown. Cantaloupe.

[Jerry]

Well, cantaloupe. Cantaloupe. It's swell.

[Joan]

Indeed it is, Jerry. Ice cold and perfectly ripened.

[Captain Bradford (Tex)]

I have to hand it to these Euclidean gardeners. They make food taste better than we can. They grow it under artificial light.

[Joan]

Are you sure this melon was grown here, Tex?

[Captain Bradford (Tex)]

Positive. G47 told me that everything eaten in Euclidea was of their own production.

[Jerry]

It sure couldn't be any better if it had grown under real sunlight.

[Mrs. Gregory]

I think you are all making a mistake when you refer to the sunlight of this underwater city as artificial.

[Joan]

How can we be mistaken, Joan? We're under the ocean. This light doesn't come down through the water. We know it's manufactured here. Therefore it's artificial. Surely there's no argument as to that.

[Captain Bradford (Tex)]

Afraid not, Joan. It just isn't sunlight. Not real sunlight.

[Jerry]

It does the work all right, though.

[Mrs. Gregory]

Precisely. It performs all the functions of sunlight. Therefore, it is sunlight. The Euclidean light covers a far larger spectrum than sunlight, particularly in the ultraviolet wavelengths. And when properly controlled by quartz filters, the amount of health giving ultraviolet light may be accurately regulated and not depend on the season of the year, the altitude, condition of the atmosphere, relation of the sun to the zenith, and countless other factors which prevent people in your world receiving a constant amount of the beneficial shorter waves.

[Captain Bradford (Tex)]

All right, Joan, I give up. These Euclideans certainly look healthy enough, even if they do live under the sea. And if they can do everything with artificial light that we can do with the sun, there's plenty of room for argument over the use of the word artificial.

[Joan]

There's nothing artificial about this salad either. The celery is so crisp, it sounds like a windstorm when I bite it.

[Jerry]

No, I haven't heard it bite harder.

[Joan]

Oh, I think I'm making enough noise, Jerry.

[Captain Bradford (Tex)]

Now, that's better, Pat, that laugh did you good.

[Mrs. Gregory]

Indeed it did, Mother. You must not allow yourself to become so sad and worried.

[Joan]

I'll try to Remember that, Joan. After all, we're all in the same predicament. And if the rest of you can be cheerful about it, there's no reason why I shouldn't.

[Jerry]

Now you're talking. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. I don't see how anybody could be anything but cheerful with a meal like this in front of them.

[Mrs. Gregory]

I would say there was but little of the meal left in front of us at this time.

[Captain Bradford (Tex)]

That's right, Joan. We've certainly eaten. As if we never expected to get another meal.

[Jerry]

Looks like we didn't eat this one any too fast.

[Joan]

Why, the table is sinking through the floor.

[Mrs. Gregory]

It is indeed. We were late in arriving for our lunch.

[Captain Bradford (Tex)]

So that's where all this food comes from. I thought of noiseless servants just jumping in and out with huge trays while we weren't watching.

[Jerry]

This thing works just like a dumbwaiter.

[Joan]

It seems to. I suppose there is a passageway below this section where food is delivered to the living quarters from the kitchen.

[Jerry]

Well, I'll bet you're right. But I'll miss my guess. If they call them anything as common

[Mrs. Gregory]

as kitchens here, you may be sure they do not. On Euclidea, the chambers where the food is prepared are referred to as the dietary laboratories.

[Jerry]

Uh huh. I knew it.

[Captain Bradford (Tex)]

These scientists just can't resist dressing everything up in technical terms, can they?

[Joan]

They do seem to lean that way. But if all our meals are as appetizing as that one was, I'm not at all interested in what they call their kitchens.

[Jerry]

Me too. I mean, me neither. Oh, no, neither am I. Oh, something.

[Mrs. Gregory]

Oh, that floor section nearly caught my foot.

[Captain Bradford (Tex)]

I was watching for it. I knew they wouldn't leave a hole where that table went down. Well, now that we've had our lunch in 200 seconds, or whatever it was. Now let's talk about what we've accomplished so far.

[Jerry]

Well, we know that the volcano eruption that the scientists put on scared away that fleet of ships. Johnson has come down here to try and rescue us.

[Joan]

And we know that with them went our last hope of rescue.

[Captain Bradford (Tex)]

No doubt of that. We'll never be allowed to reach any means of communication here. But there's always the chance of escape.

[Mrs. Gregory]

I agree with you, Captain. Escape from this city below the sea would seem difficult and may prove an impossibility. But until that is proven, I feel that we should hope and continue to learn all we may about the city.

[Jerry]

Good girl, John.

[Captain Bradford (Tex)]

That's the spirit. And Pat, I want you to get in line with the rest of us. We'll get out of this place. If it takes a year or 10 years.

[Joan]

I'll do my part, Tex. And for myself, I'm not so greatly worried. I've spent over 14 years looking for Joan. And now that I've found her, I can be fairly content anywhere with her and with Utex. But it's Jerry I'm so worried about.

[Jerry]

Well, gee, I'm all right. Why worry about me? I'm a swell time here, and I can stand anything. The rest of you can wait.

[Joan]

Isn't that Jerry? Your father will be terribly distressed over your absence. If only we could get word to him that we're alive and well. The poor man must be nearly out of his mind.

[Jerry]

Yeah, I guess it is sort of rough on dad.

[Mrs. Gregory]

We will advise your father the instant we are allowed to operate any means of communication.

[Captain Bradford (Tex)]

We sure will. Now, in the meantime, let's plan and keep thinking.

[Joan]

Did you learn anything of value to us in talking to G47?

[Captain Bradford (Tex)]

Plenty. But I haven't figured out how we can use it.

[Jerry]

What was that, Captain?

[Captain Bradford (Tex)]

Well, the one thing I was most worried about as far as our escape is concerned, was the fact that the island is submerged and is going to stay that way for an indefinite period. At least a few months. Until the world has forgotten us completely and given us up for lost. I thought all the submarines, planes, radios and everything we might use for an escape were in the island. But they're not.

[Joan]

They're not?

[Captain Bradford (Tex)]

They're not.

[Mrs. Gregory]

Oh, that is splendid, Captain Bradford. There are means to escape from this city where we may have access to them.

[Captain Bradford (Tex)]

The means are here. Though our having access to them may be something else.

[Jerry]

I'll bet it will be. Don't forget, we stole one of their submarines the last time we escaped. And when they got it back after Joan blew it up with those bombs in the Catalina Channel, well, it wasn't anything but a bunch of junk.

[Joan]

And G47 will be very bitter over the loss of his submarines. Naturally.

[Mrs. Gregory]

They're expensive beyond belief and difficult to construct.

[Captain Bradford (Tex)]

I thought of all those reasons for the old boy to be mad at us. And he surprised me plenty when he thanked me for sporting.

[Jerry]

He did what?

[Joan]

G47 thanked you for almost destroying that beautiful boat?

[Captain Bradford (Tex)]

He did, and he meant it.

[Mrs. Gregory]

But I do not understand that, Captain Bradford. G47 cared more for those submarines than anything on Euclidea.

[Captain Bradford (Tex)]

Right, and that's why he was grateful to us. We showed him that his idol had feet of clay. The submarines weren't as perfect as he thought, or we wouldn't have been able to render that one helpless so easily. He thinks we've done him a big favor in showing up the weakness in that boat. And he's asked me to help him design another, eliminating the faults we found in that one.

[Joan]

Tex, it's. It's almost unbelievable. G47 has asked you to help him on a new submarine.

[Captain Bradford (Tex)]

He has?

[Jerry]

Oh, boy. There's your chance to begin to plan for our escape.

[Captain Bradford (Tex)]

And more than that, I'm to be allowed to see the rocket ships.

[Joan]

They actually have rocket ships?

[Mrs. Gregory]

I told you of the rocket propelled airships.

[Captain Bradford (Tex)]

Better than that, Joan. They have rocket ships built like submarines which will operate under the water, on the water, or in the air. And those rocket ships are somewhere in this underwater city. Somewhere that we'll finally locate. And when we do, when we do,

[Jerry]

we'll know how to escape from.

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