It's the 5th Friday of the month, third to last day of the year, and this season's final episode of Mr. Jones's Neighborhood, the children's show for reluctant adults. Host Ken Jones (no relation) welcomes Lawrence Howard and Lynne Duddy of Portland Story Theater.

Lawrence and Lynne will talk about what's in store for Portland Story Theater in 2018, including the next entry in their Armchair Adventurer series -- Polar Opposites | Amundsen, Scott, and the Race for the Pole, which recounts heroic and tragic events in Antarctica one hundred years ago.

Robert Falcon Scott and his four companions fought their way to the South Pole only to find the Norwegian flag flying there: Roald Amundsen had beaten him by five weeks. Crushed by disappointment, utterly exhausted and short on food and fuel, Scott and his companions froze and starved to death on the return journey, just eleven miles from a huge cache of provisions and supplies. Spoiler alert!

We'll also play an episode from the old-time radio show Adventures of Superman titled "Alonzo Craig Arctic Explorer" (original broadcast May 27, 1940), along with a few bits and tunes about the poles in particular, and cold things in general. It’s a beautiful, albeit frosty, day in the neighborhood!