History Radio / RidersRadioTheater

* {{Cameo}}: The week's musical guest usually gets a small speaking part in the episode as well.

* {{Catchphrase}}: Several, but the most obvious is Ranger Doug's "That would be the easy way, but it wouldn't be... [[AudienceParticipation the Cowboy Way.]]"

-->''Is this the end of Riders in the Sky?!''
-->--'''Too Slim,''' on too many occasions to number

->'''Bosco Bell:''' ...Not only that, but Warner Brothers is talking about starring Riders In The Sky in a remake of Literature/WutheringHeights. What do you think about all this, cowboy?
->'''Ranger Doug:''' Well Bosco, [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/Rawhide we don't try to understand 'em, we just rope, tie, and brand 'em]].
* WesternCharacters: Obviously.

'''Riders Radio Theater''', was a {{Radio Drama}} (well, comedy/drama) performed by Music/RidersInTheSky that aired on National Public Radio regularly from 1988 to 1995. Set as an anachronistic western melodrama, the stories follow Ranger Doug, Woody Paul, Too Slim and their compatriots as they fumble, yodel, and hero their way through misadventures and regular adventures - usually opposite the villainous A. Swinburne Slocum and his henchman Charlie.

* ActorAllusion - In one episode, Too Slim is introduced as "the man credited as starting the 'Paul Is Dead' rumor". Fred [=LaBour=], who plays Too Slim, is often falsely credited as the man who started the rumor. If asked about it, he will go out of his way to specify that, although he did make-up most of the "clues" that conclude Paul [=McCartney=] is dead, he did not create the rumor itself.
* AnachronismStew - Set in an anachronistic period where ranching, rustling and riding is still a thing but seems to sometimes cross over into modern day times as well, as if there's a special force that keeps Tumbleweed Valley rooted in the late 19th century while the rest of the world moves on, but moving between the two is seamless and doesn't seem odd to anyone. Just as an example, one story involved Slocum building a clandestine nuclear reactor in an abandoned mine.
* BrainsAndBrawn - Slocum and Charlie.
* BreakingTheFourthWall - "What do you say to that, soldier?" "I say POO, sir!" "You say POO?" "I SAY POO!" "POO?" "POO! I.. I said it.. I said it three times now." "That's about two times more than you.." "I HAVE A COPY OF THE SCRIPT, TOO, SIR."
* {{Cameo}} - the week's musical guest usually gets a small speaking part in the episode as well.

* CardCarryingVillain - A. Swinburne Slocum. Because, in his own words, "The Plot demands an evil man. It's a dirty job, but [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfwFanO6rkQ someone's got to do it]]."
* CatchPhrase - Several, but the most obvious is Ranger Doug's "That would be the easy way, but it wouldn't be... [[AudienceParticipation the Cowboy Way.]]"
* CliffHanger - Every episode ends this way (well, except for the final episode of each arc, of course).
* {{Cowboy}} - Just about every single character, given the western setting.
* DeadAir - Parodied with the commercial for "[[https://soundcloud.com/ridersinthesky/105-meltdown-on-the-mesa#t=8:06 Dead Air: The Best of Riders Radio Theater]]".
* DeadpanSnarker - A great many of Woody Paul's lines, despite an earnest delivery, seem to absolutely drip with irony.
* EndingTheme - "So Long, Saddle Pals"
* IncorruptiblePurePureness - Ranger Doug, provided he hasn't [[TraumaInducedAmnesia hit his head recently]].
* LargeHam - in keeping with the radio melodrama theme, all the main characters.
* LethalChef - Sidemeat's biscuits are [[CatchPhrase the hardest substance known to man]].
* MediumAwareness - All the characters at one point or another seem to be aware of the audience, the narrator, the existence of the show's script, sometimes even interacting with them. Ranger Doug and Slocum both have explicitly taken actions because of [[InteractiveNarrator something they heard the narrator just say]].
* PowerTrio - perhaps of the KnightKnaveAndSquire variety - the trio being:

* The local {{Schoolmarm}} is named... wait for it... [[MisterDescriptor Miss Marm]].
* RecursiveCanon - In the "Ongoing Saga of The Cowboy Way" segments (a parody of B-Western serials), guest stars or characters making their first appearance tell Riders In The Sky that they love the radio show, implying Riders Radio Theater exists in the "Cowboy Way" universe.
* RecycledPremise - Riders Radio Theater is an audio version of Riders In The Sky's first television series: Tumbleweed Theater (minus the public domain films that played on the TV show). Many sketches that first appeared on the TV show were word-for-word brought over to Riders Radio.
* TheDragon - Charlie is this to Slocum. He's much larger, stronger, and more intimidating, but dumb as a post and needs "the Boss" to tell him what to do.
* TheGoodGuysAlwaysWin - This show seems completely immune to DarkerAndEdgier
* TheSheriff - Obviously, "High Sheriff" Drywall
* TheWestern - Self evident, and see above in Anachronism Stew.
* TraumaInducedAmnesia - The "Phantom of the Valley" arc involves Ranger Doug losing his memory and believing himself to be a Zorro {{Expy}} after awakening in said Expy's lair.

* WesternCharacters - Obviously.

Recorded live at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in Nashville, Tennessee and Emory Theater in Cincinnati, Ohio (The Queen City of the West), the show not only had story exposition but also featured musical guests and short comedy skits.

Incidentally, these are the same guys who would eventualy perform the theme music to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RabCYSDLOo Woody's Round-Up]] in WesternAnimation/ToyStory2.

Incidentally, these are the same guys who performed the theme music to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RabCYSDLOo Woody's Round-Up]] in WesternAnimation/ToyStory2.

* CardCarryingVillain - A. Swinburne Slocum. Because, in his own words, "The Plot demands an evil man. It's a dirty job, but [[https://myspace.com/ridersinthesky/music/song/someone-s-got-to-do-it-89101057 someone's got to do it]]."

'''Riders Radio Theater''', also sometimes known as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riders_in_the_Sky_%28band%29 Riders in the Sky]] (the name of the group that performs the show), is a {{Radio Drama}} (well, comedy/drama) that airs on National Public Radio. Set as an anachronistic western melodrama, the stories follow Ranger Doug, Woody Paul, Too Slim and their compatriots as they fumble, yodel, and hero their way through misadventures and regular adventures - usually opposite the villainous A. Swinburne Slocum and his henchman Charlie.

Recorded live at the Emory Theater in Cincinatti, Ohio (The Queen City of the West), the show not only has story exposition but also featured musical guests and short comedy skits.

Incidentally, these are the same guys who performed the theme music to [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dv-faHqmiVM Woody's Round-Up]] in WesternAnimation/ToyStory2.

* RecycledInSpace: In 1991, CBS gave them their own Saturday-morning series. It was basically ''PeeWeesPlayhouse'' '''in the Wild West!''' The two series even had designer Wayne White in common! [[note]]Since CBS pulled ''Playhouse'' from the repeats roster following Paul Reubens' 1991 arrest, it's possible that the network commissioned ''Riders'' as "in-the-style-of" filler until the debacle blew over. The show came and went with little fanfare, and is mostly forgotten today.[[/note]]

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* CrossDressingVoices - as the cast is entirely male, any female supporting character is usually one of the Riders doing falsetto. And usually [[SoBadItsGood not particularly convincingly]].