song and the other music was also previously used in the 1950s and 1960s in other CBS-owned radio and television dramas (Perry Mason; Rawhide; The Fugitive; Gunsmoke; Have Gun Will Travel; Suspense; Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar; etc.), in addition to Twilight Zone, as it was all owned by CBS. Scope Despite the show's title, Brown expanded its scope beyond mysteries to include horror, science fiction, historical drama, westerns and comedy, along with seasonal dramas during the Christmas season: An adaptation of A Christmas Carol, starring host E.G. Marshall as Scrooge, was broadcast every Christmas Eve with the exception of 1974 and 1982. In addition to original stories, there were adaptations of classic tales by such writers as O. Henry, Ambrose Bierce, Algernon Blackwood, Wilkie Collins, Arthur Conan Doyle, Charles Dickens, H. Rider Haggard, Henry James, Guy de Maupassant, Edith Wharton, Oscar Wilde and others. Brown typically devoted the first full week of each January to a five- or seven-part series on a common theme. These included a full week of stories by an American writer, (Edgar Allan Poe in 1975, Mark Twain in 1976); week-long adaptations of classic novels (The Last Days of Pompeii in 1980, Les Misérables in 1982); and original dramas about historical figures (Nefertiti in 1979, Alexander the Great in 1981). The works of Russian writers, including Gogol, Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, were also adapted. Criticism Radio historian John Dunning has criticized the quality of the show's script writing, arguing that Brown used writers for many scripts "who were by their nature performers" rather than writers. Notable performers Prominent actors from the stage, radio, film and television performed on the series. Notable regulars included Mason Adams, Lloyd Battista, John Beal, Robert Dryden, Ralph Bell, Howard Da Silva, Keir Dullea, Patricia Elliot, Morgan Fairchild, Bernard Grant, Veleka Gray, Jack Grimes, Fred Gwynne, Marian Hailey, Larry Haines, Paul Hecht, Celeste Holm, Russell Horton, Kim Hunter, John Lithgow, Roberta Maxwell, Mercedes McCambridge, Kevin McCarthy, Arnold Moss, William Redfield, Tony Roberts, Norman Rose, Alexander Scourby, Marian Seldes, Kristoffer Tabori and Michael Tolan. The series introduced a new generation of listeners to many of the great radio voices, including Joan Banks, Jackson Beck, Virginia Gregg, Victor Jory, Mandel Kramer, Marvin Miller, Dan Ocko, Santos Ortega, Alan Reed, Rosemary Rice, Anne Seymour, Arnold Stang, Les Tremayne, Lurene Tuttle and Janet Waldo. A number of well-known veteran and future stars of stage, film and TV