Oops... All Packer & Ratcliffs

Oops... All Packer & Ratcliffs was a special slate of new episodes of *It's All Been Done Radio Hour.* It was written and directed by Jerome Wetzel, who also served as Foley artist.

The show was conceived when troupe member Dallas Ray left the show in February 2020 for a career opportunity. *Packer & Ratcliff* was not in a good spot to end it, and Jerome immediately asked Dallas to return to finish out a story arc and leave the characters in a good place. Dallas agreed, but was not available on Saturdays per the career above, so a Sunday was planned.

This was intended to be a 13th full show in 2020, but due to the pandemic, ended up not being performed for the public. On Sunday morning, September 27, 2020, cast members Chase McCants and Dallas (Packer and Ratcliff) gathered at creator Jerome's house to record together. They ran through the show, with most scenes only needing a single take. They did perform the theme song five separate times.

Technical director Shane Stefanchik and music director Kristin Green were also present to record audio and teach an original song, and recorded guest spots that day as well. Nick Arganbright (T.I.M.) was invited to be there, but chose to record on his own instead due to the virus. He did not record new boopity-boops for all the time travels, so ones from past performances were lifted and inserted. The rest of the actors recorded their roles on their own and sent them in to be edited together.

The show was made up of five episodes of *Packer & Ratcliff* and four commercials, one with the main duo, and three installments of *In Your Windows*, which Dallas also starred in. The main episodes contained an arc where the two struggled to repair their relationship following their extended separation. Long-simmering elements were included, as the Cowboy Joe origin had been planned for October 2018, then pushed to 2019, before it was covered here. Zombie Jesus had also been floated for awhile. T.I.M. had his own subplot that followed up on the short from 2019.

Despite the higher episode count, it wasn't any longer than the usual monthly show. This is mostly because guest parts were minimized in favor of focusing on the leads, making each installment shorter. Episodes were edited together and released throughout 2021, as if they'd been part of the ongoing program, spread out over the year.

## **Segments**

* *Packer & Ratcliff* "Bohemian Nights"
* Commercial *In Your Windows* "Frosted Glass"
* *Packer & Ratcliff* "Zombie Jesus"
* Commercial *In Your Windows* "Rear Window Part 1"
* *Packer & Ratcliff* "The Tea Party"
* Commercial *In Your Windows* "Rear Window Part 2"
* *Packer & Ratcliff* "The Origin of Cowboy Joe"
* Commercial *Packer & Ratcliff* "Last Words:
* *Packer & Ratcliff* "Immortal Love"

## **Performers**

Not all troupe members were offered roles, though as many were included as possible. The show was narrated by Darren Esler.

## **Guest Stars**

* Eva Espey was the ninety-second guest star and this was her second appearance. She played a younger version of Nikki Smith, as the similarities between the two actresses had been noticed, in the finale.
* Karen Perta is a former troupe member and this was her first time guesting after leaving the troupe. She reprised her role as Lucy in the first four episodes.
* Matt Schlichting was the thirty-eighth guest star and this was his eleventh appearance. He reprised his role as Angelo in the first four episodes.
* Nikki Smith was the eleventh guest star and this was her sixth appearance, reprising the role of Nikki Smith in an older version in the finale.