AB's best show, C2C, Dreamland or Dark Matter?

[henge0stone]

Which Art Bell show format did you enjoy the most?

Coast to Coast AM: the more open talk radio where anything is discussed. Open lines mostly, but guests here and there and lets not forget Ghost to Ghost on Halloween.

Dreamland: Linda Howe Paranormal reports followed by a guest on usually similar paranormal and strange topics. Callers only really ask questions.

Dark Matter: Pretty much the same as Dreamland except no Howe at the start. A couple scattered open lines but mostly guest oriented (only 13 episodes though so who knows what would have been)

If I was forced to choose I would have to say Dreamland since paranormal topics are my favorite part. Linda Howe traveling the world interviewing people was always fun. You got the sense that someone was actually looking into this stuff seriously. On the other hand C2C's randomness is always fun.

I find when I'm at home I usually like to hear Dreamland and guest oriented C2C shows but when I'm at work I like the more random open lines segments. Not sure why that is.

[Delphi]

I agree with you my man... Dreamland was the shit

[dan7800]

Art, do a once a week Dreamland episode.

[VtaGeezer]

I wonder how Wesley Strieber ended up with the legal rights to the "Dreamland" show/podcast title.

[For Whom the Bell Tolls]

Dreamland was my favorite.

[b_dubb]

Wesley? I think Art just gave it to him.

[Uncle Duke]

Dreamland had some great shows, but I much preferred C2C to Dreamland.  The more freewheeling nature of C2C allowed Art to do what he did best, ad lib and spar good-naturedly with his callers, especially during open-line segments.  His ability to milk callers for all the entertainment value they were worth still amazes me, and he did it with a style that was at the same time both whimsical and thought provoking.  I think what I liked most was he was genuine, he didn't adopt some over-the-top radio persona or flavor-of-the-month shtick.  His matter-of-fact manner made what he did sound so easy, something I personally didn't understand or truly appreciate until his successors made it all too apparent.

[Morgus]

I wonder how Wesley Strieber ended up with the legal rights to the "Dreamland" show/podcast title.

When Art Bell retired the first time in the late 1990s, he gave his weekend show Dreamland to his friend Whitley Strieber.
Then Art returned for his weeknight show "Coast to Coast AM" for a few more years before retiring again and the network gave that to Noory.
Originally both shows were owned by PremRat, but the network dropped Dreamland after a year or two airing with Strieber as host. After that Whitley continued it on his own as an internet-only podcast funded by subscribers to his website service.

[Wintermute]

Best: Art Bell C2C in the late 1990's. Always got a kick out of the NYE shows. We'd have then on during parties.

Worst: Dark Matter... To me the first week was laughable. The Kaku interview was painful. The airing of dirty laundry was a blast of hot garbage.

Dreamland had it's moments.

[Delphi]

Best: Art Bell C2C in the late 1990's. Always got a kick out of the NYE shows. We'd have then on during parties.

Worst: Dark Matter... To me the first week was laughable. The Kaku interview was painful. The airing of dirty laundry was a blast of hot garbage.

Dreamland had it's moments.

What?  You didn't like Dark Matter?  It had a great response

[Uncle Duke]

Best: Art Bell C2C in the late 1990's. Always got a kick out of the NYE shows. We'd have then on during parties.

Worst: Dark Matter... To me the first week was laughable. The Kaku interview was painful. The airing of dirty laundry was a blast of hot garbage.

Dreamland had it's moments.

Have to concur with you about DM, in hindsight it was pretty grim.  The Art v. George, and then later Art v. SXM hatefest dramas aside, the show just wasn't very good.  Sure, there were a great number of us who were over the moon when Art came back, and at least initially our objectivity was blurred, if not blinded.  Today, listening to the majority of those shows is a chore rather than entertainment.

The biggest issue relative to DM for me was the overall quality of Art's guests.  With a few exceptions, the talent were either tired retreads (RCH, Strieber, Reed, Leir, Hogue, Greer etc) long past their sell-by dates spewing the same old, same old, or absolutely God awful guests (Timothy Good, the "UFO crash" kid in Nevada, the Chunga led GIS, the Ghost Buster girls, Fox, Sparks etc) Art either couldn't wait to dump or seemed embarrassed by.  A few of his DM guests (Faddis, Karam, Heiser, Shostak) I though brought their A game to the air, but they were too few and far between.

Art himself also seemed changed, not surprising considering he was on the air more out of spite and in the spirit of revenge against Noory/Premier than anything else.  At the time I described Art as sounding grumpy, more like the old guy shaking his fists and yelling for those damn kids to stay out of his yard than the affable, compelling host I recalled from his prime.  The effect was heightened toward the end as he endured/imagined all the issues and slights from/with SXM.  I also believe Art was disillusioned by the quality and quantity of his callers (with the exception of some strange character from Australia who seemed to get on air repeatedly), and of course frustrated by those who insisted on calling in with cell phones. All in all, I think Art was relieved to be out from under DM and all the problems, real or perceived, he struggled with in the program's mercifully short run.

[cweb]

Art himself also seemed changed, not surprising considering he was on the air more out of spite and in the spirit of revenge against Noory/Premier than anything else.  At the time I described Art as sounding grumpy, more like the old guy shaking his fists and yelling for those damn kids to stay out of his yard than the affable, compelling host I recalled from his prime.  The effect was heightened toward the end as he endured/imagined all the issues and slights from/with SXM.  I also believe Art was disillusioned by the quality and quantity of his callers (with the exception of some strange character from Australia who seemed to get on air repeatedly), and of course frustrated by those who insisted on calling in with cell phones. All in all, I think Art was relieved to be out from under DM and all the problems, real or perceived, he struggled with in the program's mercifully short run.

It's funny, I didn't really notice this until more recently and contrasted DM with old Coast/Dreamland. He did seem more pissed as DM went on and less like that cool eccentric guy everyone wanted to chew the fat with.

I'd hope that if he does come back, it's from a love of broadcasting instead of a hatred of soulless corporate radio.

[Wintermute]

cweb and uncle duke... you are hitting the nail on the head in regards to Dark Matter. The guests, the dirty laundry, the perceived problems that seemed like manufactured drama. I still to this day do not understand what the "streaming problem" was. I have an old-azz DINC2 running Android 2.3 for streaming and it worked fine.

Like many folks, I have MP3s of the DM shows and have re-listened to what I could stand. "Grumpy" is a nice way to put the demeanor. I'd say that after the second week it was more like "I don't feel like being here, so lets hurry this up".

[phrodo]

Dreamland was definitely my favorite and I still listen to the archives over and over (along with selected C2Cs). Every time I hear "The Oh of Pleasure" it just sets the mood for interesting entertainment. Hope he re-includes The Oh in his re-boot show.

[cweb]

Every time I hear "The Oh of Pleasure" it just sets the mood for interesting entertainment. Hope he re-includes The Oh in his re-boot show.

Same here. I'll pop on a Dreamland while mowing the lawn on a sunny afternoon, and once that song plays I know it's gonna be a good afternoon.

...As I sip the beer and listen to LMH talk about mutilations.

[bateman]

Dreamland was definitely my favorite and I still listen to the archives over and over (along with selected C2Cs). Every time I hear "The Oh of Pleasure" it just sets the mood for interesting entertainment. Hope he re-includes The Oh in his re-boot show.

Same.

[DanTSX]

I wonder how Wesley Strieber ended up with the legal rights to the "Dreamland" show/podcast title.

A few free Weeberings and stock in C Crane chinese radios

[DanTSX]

Dreamland was the best, but on an individual basis,  there were better Coast episodes.

[fromwomewhere outthere]

Dreamland was the bomb. Great format, fast and flowing.

[TurningDownMyRadio]

I didn't mind dark matter. I thought it was a pretty good listen. I didn't like dreamland too much. Coast was by far my favorite. I enjoyed Arts communication with his callers.

[phrodo]

I didn't mind dark matter. I thought it was a pretty good listen. I didn't like dreamland too much. Coast was by far my favorite. I enjoyed Arts communication with his callers.

Them there's fightin words pandabearbitch.

[jan78]

Dreamland was definitely my favorite and I still listen to the archives over and over (along with selected C2Cs). Every time I hear "The Oh of Pleasure" it just sets the mood for interesting entertainment. Hope he re-includes The Oh in his re-boot show.

yeah I never tire of hearing the Oh ! Love it.  There's nothing else like it.

[TurningDownMyRadio]

Them there's fightin words pandabearbitch.

Let me add a bit of context to my comment. I have never been a LMH fan. She was always a bit too radical for me. Also, I heard these shows about 10 years after the fact and I don't feel they hold up as well as coast did. Again, this is just my opinion. -PandaBearBitch

[Zetaspeak]

I was more of a C2C fan than Dreamland. I liked the unpredictability of the nightly show that you never knew what direction it was going to take. Deamland was good but a little too formatted (which of course a lot would view as a positive) but I always like the "take a ride" style of C2C.

[puddintame]

Dreamland was wonderful in Art's inimitable fabulous style.  Whitley sucks.  Whitley thinks he has to assume some kind of "awesome" tone of voice which ruins the whole thing for me going in.  Why does he do that?  It is so unnecessary and would gag a maggot.  I call it his "sepulcher" voice. What a phony act he puts on!   Stupid and amateurish!  Cheesh!  There is no question here.  Dreamland was just as great as C2C before Whitley got his stupid ridiculous paws on that formerly excellent show.  The only thing Whitley has ever got going for him is Linda Moulton Howe.  Why does she do it?  I don't think it enriches her in any way--not even publicity. How big can that particular audience be?

[puddintame]

Let me add a bit of context to my comment. I have never been a LMH fan. She was always a bit too radical for me. Also, I heard these shows about 10 years after the fact and I don't feel they hold up as well as coast did. Again, this is just my opinion. -PandaBearBitch

There was a long time that I didn't care for Linda.  It sounded to me like she was READING her reports.  I finally figured out that is just the way she speaks. It is certainly precise and she does her homework better than anyone else we've ever heard on the radio. I am always eager to hear her on the once-a-month that Snoory allows.  Radical, no.  Outspoken, truthful and experienced with much study and investigation, yes! 

[albrecht]

Dreamland was great. C2C was also great but when there was a solid guest I liked DL a bit better. Hard to say though since both were great. G2G were awesome and I even enjoyed the New Years prediction shows, especially reviewing the bad ones and the crazy caller's predictions. I hope the new show is C2C style but also has a weekly or at least monthly DL-style show. Especially since I'm concerned with not many people having landlines and, at least initially, lack of listeners (compared to an AM radio simulcasted on so many stations) to get a lot of good callers.

[henge0stone]

The only problem I have with Dreamland has nothing to do with the show itself. Since it wasn't archived in SWIT like Coast the quality of the Dreamland shows is nowhere near as good (well sometimes it is). I was looking forward to hearing 8-1997 Bud Hopkins but there is a loud piercing sound in the file. It's too bad

[ksm32]

"Grumpy" is a nice way to put the demeanor. I'd say that after the second week it was more like "I don't feel like being here, so lets hurry this up".

Nail on the head? That statement completely pounds it all the way in thank you. So....... Yup.   And the thing about guests? Week one, night three, (drum roll please).. The alien in the freezer story! (stop that fucking drumming) 

That was the clear as day writing on the wall for me.

[ksm32]

The Dreamland into was painful. The show was pretty good.