Harold's Old Time Radio: Fear on Four “Every Detail but One” (1988-02-07)

Host: Harolds Old Time Radio
Episode Date: September 26, 2025
Original Airdate (Show): February 7, 1988
Summary by AI

Overview

This episode of "Harold's Old Time Radio" features the chilling radio drama “Every Detail but One” from the classic BBC horror anthology series Fear on Four. The story centers on Jenny, a heavily pregnant woman, who begins to receive disturbing phone calls and ghostly visitations hinting at premonitions and psychic bonds. The tale weaves psychological horror with supernatural ambiguity, exploring telepathy, fate, and the lasting trauma of loss. The episode is both an intimate character drama and a meditation on the human need to find meaning in the inexplicable.

Key Discussion Points & Story Progression

Radio Studio Framing: Setting the Paranormal Tone

[00:32] Edward d'Souza (The Man in Black):

• Introduces episode six and links the number to prophecy.
• Sets a foreboding mood: "Certainly today's story features that power and a very frightening prophecy."

Jenny’s Distress Begins

[01:47] – [03:40]:

• Jenny is established as the protagonist. She is pregnant and receives mundane phone messages from friends and her mother, interspersed with strange, breathy anonymous calls.
• First supernatural disturbance:
  • Phone call with only heavy breathing. Jenny tries to dismiss it, but unease grows.

Ghostly Encounters Intensify

[03:40] – [06:54]:

• Recurring voice calls for help, addressing Jenny by name (“Jenny, help me.”). Jenny expresses mounting distress to friend Leslie.
• Leslie attempts rationalization: Urges Jenny to dismiss the incident as crank calls, but Jenny is visibly shaken.

Exploring the Paranormal: Talk Show Segments

[01:47], [04:57], [05:23], [12:15]:

• Intermingled with narrative, “radio show” sequences feature Hazel Brown interviewing Jonathan Weiss about psychic phenomena (ghosts, telepathy, poltergeists).
• Weiss:
  • "I could quote you literally hundreds of cases of telepathy, divination, distant viewing, that sort of thing." [05:23]
  • On psychic experiences: "When someone has a psychic or paranormal experience, it often affects them very deeply. Their whole picture of the world is suddenly turned completely upside down." [14:33]

Jenny’s Crisis Escalates

[06:49] – [14:24]:

• Jenny’s distress escalates with repeated supernatural phenomena: voices calling from TVs, the feeling of a presence in her room.
• Leslie and others remain supportive but skeptical.
• Jenny’s mental state deteriorates; friends and family try to help her rest or rationalize the incidents.

The Prophecy and its Horrific Fulfillment

[19:01] – [21:35]:

• Jenny, left alone, makes another desperate attempt to communicate with the entity via electronics.
• The ghostly voice (“Danny?” “Are you my baby?”) confirms a psychic or maternal connection; Jenny is devastated when told it is “too late.”
• Jenny’s mental and emotional state collapses. She attempts suicide.
• Haunting imagery: The sense of a psychic link with her (unborn) child who is dying or seeking help from the beyond.

Aftermath: Grief, Guilt, and the Mystery of Fate

[22:34] – [25:45]:

• Jenny is found alive but dies in hospital; her baby is saved.
• Leslie, wracked with guilt, blames herself for leaving Jenny alone.
• The story interweaves another case of failed prophecy—a woman who seemingly predicts a space shuttle disaster, but her vision is a year too early.
• Jonathan Weiss: "She took it for granted that she was seeing the present, but she wasn't. She was seeing the future." [26:37]
• Hazel Brown (on Jenny): "When I broke in and found her... she said, 'my baby's dead', over and over again." [25:45]

Epilogue: The Persistence of Grief and New Life

[26:51] – End:

• Leslie and Tim contemplate adoption, realizing the baby left behind is “everything we've always wanted.”
• The story closes with an image of a tiny coffin in a churchyard, juxtaposed with hope for the new child as the circle of loss and prophecy closes.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Thematic Quotes

• On Psychic Phenomena:
  "It's like a sort of occult recorded replay."
  —Jonathan Weiss [16:25]

• On Fate and Destiny:
  "And the concept of a fate or destiny that's mapped out for you... is something you find in the myths and legends of every race on Earth."
  —Jonathan Weiss [16:56]

• The Prophecy Twist:
  "Every detail but one. She took it for granted that she was seeing the present, but she wasn't. She was seeing the future."
  —Jonathan Weiss [26:37]

• Jenny’s Despair:
  "He's dead. My baby's dead. I killed him."
  —Jenny [21:35]

• Leslie's Guilt:
  "I should have realized the state she was in. I shouldn't have left her on her own."
  —Hazel Brown (Leslie) [23:52]

Memorable Dialogue

• The Ghostly Voice:
  "Jenny... help me." —Ghost/Spirit (Danny) [03:40, repeated through episode]

• Supernatural Maternal Bond:
  "Are you my baby?" – "Yes." – "What?" —Jenny and Ghost/Spirit [20:29]

Emotional Highlights

• Discovery of Jenny:
  "When I broke in and found her, I thought at first it was the baby, you know? Then I realized... She was still alive. She spoke to me..."
  —Hazel Brown (Leslie) [25:45]

• Bittersweet Hope:
  "She's everything we've always wanted. She's a beautiful, healthy baby."
  —Hazel Brown (re: Jenny’s baby) [27:05]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introduction & Prophecy Theme: [00:32]
• First Disturbing Call: [03:40]
• Paranormal Definitions (Talk Show): [04:57]
• Ghost Calls Jenny by Name: [06:59]
• Police Involvement: [07:54]
• Further Supernatural Visitation: [13:29]
• Leslie Tries to Help Jenny: [14:22]
• Jonathan Weiss on the Trauma of the Paranormal: [14:33]
• Jenny Tries to Communicate with the Spirit: [19:22]
• Climax—Death of Unborn Child: [21:35]
• NASA Prophecy Anecdote: [22:16], [26:28]
• Hospital Scene—Jenny’s Death: [23:33], [24:08]
• Aftermath—Adoption Discussion: [25:19]
• Closing Reflection & Credits: [27:38]

Tone and Atmosphere

• Language: Gentle, conversational, often resigned, with moments of gallows humor between friends.
• Mood: Gradually mounting dread; shifts from skepticism to sorrowful acceptance of tragedy and the unknown.

Conclusion

This Fear on Four episode deftly combines ghost story conventions with psychological insight, using a web of conversations—real and spectral—to illuminate the ways in which people cope with loss, fate, and the inexplicable. The title, Every Detail but One, encapsulates the story’s meditation on prophecy: how even a perfect vision can miss a crucial fact or fail to avert destiny. Ultimately, the episode leaves listeners with a shiver and a sense of uncertainty that lingers long past its closing music.