Tales of Tomorrow
Tales of Tomorrow is an American anthology science fiction series that was performed and broadcast live on ABC from 1951 to 1953. The series covered such stories as Frankenstein starring Lon Chaney Jr., 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea starring Thomas Mitchell as Captain Nemo, and many others.
| Tales of Tomorrow | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | |
| Directed by |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 85 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | August 3, 1951 – June 12, 1953 |
Cast
Besides Chaney and Mitchell, the show featured such performers as Boris Karloff, James Dean, Brian Keith, Lee J. Cobb, Eva Gabor, Veronica Lake, Rod Steiger, Bruce Cabot, Franchot Tone, Louis Hector, Gene Lockhart, Walter Abel, Cloris Leachman, Leslie Nielsen, Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman. The series had many similarities to the later Twilight Zone which also covered one of the same stories, "What You Need". In total it ran for eighty-five 30-minute episodes. It was called “the best science-fiction fare on TV today” by Paul Fairman, editor of If.[1]
Production
The idea for this science fiction television series was developed by Theodore Sturgeon and Mort Abrahams, and presented under the auspices of the Science Fiction League of America. This entity, not to be confused with the Science Fiction League, may have been a creation of the producers; author Robert Heinlein was contacted in 1951 by Sturgeon and Abrahams about their plan to "put together a league of s-f authors to write television screenplays for a new proposed TV series, Tomorrow is Yours (the original title of the show)."[2] A deal was struck with Richard Gordon and George Foley, giving the producers of the show first choice of any of the 2,000 short stories and 13 novels by the various members of the League.
Tales of Tomorrow was the first dramatized showcase for several authors, including Arthur C. Clarke.[3] Other early science fiction writers whose work was reflected in the series included Fredric Brown ("The Last Man on Earth" and "Age of Peril"), Philip Wylie ("Blunder"), C. M. Kornbluth ("The Little Black Bag") and Stanley G. Weinbaum ("The Miraculous Serum"). The show was intended for adults; at the time, most science fiction productions were targeted to children.[4] The producers wanted to blend mystery and science fiction, and to emphasize fast pacing and suspense.[5]
Episodes
Series overview
Season 1 (1951–52)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Written by | Original air date | Episode status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Verdict from Space" | Theodore Sturgeon | August 3, 1951 | Exists | |
| A man is on trial for killing a scientist, but no one will believe that he didn't do it -- or what he and the scientist discovered. | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Blunder" | Teleplay by : Charles O'Neill From an original play by : Philip Wylie | August 10, 1951 | Exists | |
| 3 | 3 | "A Child Is Crying" | Story by : John MacDonald Teleplay by : Alvin Sapinsley | August 17, 1951 | Exists | |
| A young girl with extraordinary, almost inhuman intelligence, is recruited by the military -- who discover she can see the future. | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "The Woman at Land's End" | Unknown | August 24, 1951 | Missing | |
| 5 | 5 | "The Last Man on Earth" | Unknown | August 31, 1951 | Missing | |
| 6 | 6 | "Errand Boy" | Unknown | September 7, 1951 | Missing | |
| 7 | 7 | "The Monsters" | Unknown | September 14, 1951 | Missing | |
| 8 | 8 | "The Dark Angel" | Story by : Lewis Padgett Teleplay by : Alvin Sapinsley | September 28, 1951 | Exists | |
| 9 | 9 | "The Crystal Egg" | Story by : H.G. Wells Teleplay by : Mel Goldberg | October 12, 1951 | Exists | |
| 10 | 10 | "Test Flight" | Story by : Nelson Bond Teleplay by : Mel Goldberg | October 26, 1951 | Exists | |
| 11 | 11 | "The Search for the Flying Saucer" | Mel Goldberg | November 9, 1951 | Exists | |
| 12 | 12 | "Enemy Unknown" | Unknown | November 23, 1951 | Missing | |
| 13 | 13 | "Sneak Attack" | Story by : Russell V. Ritchey Teleplay by : Mel Goldberg | December 7, 1951 | Exists | |
| 14 | 14 | "The Invader" | Robert Foshko & Mort Zarcoff | December 21, 1951 | Exists | |
| 15 | 15 | "The Dune Roller" | Story by : Julian C. May Teleplay by : Charles O'Neill | January 4, 1952 | Exists | |
| 16 | 16 | "Frankenstein" | Unknown | January 18, 1952 | Exists, no closing credits | |
| 17 | 17 | "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: The Chase" | Unknown | January 25, 1952 | Missing | |
| 18 | 18 | "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: The Escape" | Unknown | February 1, 1952 | Exists, no closing credits | |
| 19 | 19 | "What You Need" | Unknown | February 8, 1952 | Exists, no closing credits | |
| 20 | 20 | "Age of Peril" | Story by : Fredric Brown Teleplay by : A.J. Russell | February 15, 1952 | Exists | |
| 21 | 21 | "Memento" | Unknown | February 22, 1952 | Missing | |
| 22 | 22 | "The Children's Room" | Story by : Raymond F. Jones Teleplay by : Mel Goldberg | February 29, 1952 | Exists | |
| 23 | 23 | "Bound Together" | Unknown | March 7, 1952 | Missing | |
| 24 | 24 | "Diamond Lens" | Unknown | March 14, 1952 | Exists, no closing credits | |
| 25 | 25 | "The Fisherman's Wife" | Unknown | March 21, 1952 | Missing | |
| 26 | 26 | "Flight Overdue" | David Davidson From an original idea by : Jim Lister | March 28, 1952 | Exists | |
| 27 | 27 | "And a Little Child" | Unknown | April 4, 1952 | Missing | |
| 28 | 28 | "Sleep No More" | Unknown | April 11, 1952 | Missing | |
| 29 | 29 | "Time to Go" | Mann Rubin | April 18, 1952 | Exists | |
| 30 | 30 | "Plague from Space" | Unknown | April 25, 1952 | Exists, no closing credits | |
| 31 | 31 | "Red Dust" | Teleplay by : Irving Elman Adapted from a play by : Theodore Cogswell | May 2, 1952 | Exists | |
| 32 | 32 | "The Golden Ingot" | Unknown | May 9, 1952 | Exists, no closing credits | |
| 33 | 33 | "The Black Planet" | Unknown | May 16, 1952 | Exists, no closing credits | |
| 34 | 34 | "World of Water" | Story by : M.J. Gorley & James V. McGlinchey Teleplay by : Mann Rubin | May 23, 1952 | Exists | |
| 35 | 35 | "The Little Black Bag" | C.M. Kornbluth Additional dialogue : Mann Rubin | May 30, 1952 | Exists | |
| 36 | 36 | "The Exile" | Unknown | June 6, 1952 | Missing | |
| 37 | 37 | "All the Time in the World" | Unknown | June 13, 1952 | Exists, no closing credits | |
| An unscrupulous P.I. is given an assignment to rob an art gallery, using a device that will stop time. With Don Hanmer, Esther Ralston, and Jack Warden. | ||||||
| 38 | 38 | "The Miraculous Serum" | Story by : Stanley G. Weinbaum Teleplay by : Theodore Sturgeon | June 20, 1952 | Exists | |
| A serum which can cure animals of any disease is tried on a human subject. With Lola Albright. | ||||||
| 39 | 39 | "Appointment on Mars" | S.A. Lombino | June 27, 1952 | Exists | |
| A mission to Mars finds valuable minerals, but one of the astronauts becomes increasingly paranoid. With Leslie Nielsen. | ||||||
| 40 | 40 | "The Duplicates" | Richard M. Simon Additional dialogue : Mann Rubin | July 4, 1952 | Exists | |
| A parallel world populated by duplicates of humanity is discovered, and one man is tasked with killing his duplicate to save both worlds. With Darren McGavin. | ||||||
| 41 | 41 | "Ahead of His Time" | Paul Tripp | July 18, 1952 | Exists | |
| In the year 2052, a scientist tries to send a message 100 years into the past to prevent the eventual destruction of mankind. Paul Tripp, who wrote the episode, also stars. | ||||||
| 42 | 42 | "Sudden Darkness" | Unknown | August 1, 1952 | Missing | |
| 43 | 43 | "Ice from Space" | E.H. Frank | August 8, 1952 | Exists | |
| A block of ice retrieved from outer space seems to freeze everything it contacts. With Paul Newman in a supporting role. | ||||||
Season 2 (1952–53)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44 | 1 | "A Bird in Hand" | Unknown | August 22, 1952 | |
| 45 | 2 | "Thanks" | Unknown | August 29, 1952 | |
| 46 | 3 | "Seeing-Eye Surgeon" | Michael Blair | September 5, 1952 | |
| A surgeon is given a very special pair of glasses. With Bruce Cabot. | |||||
| 47 | 4 | "The Cocoon" | Unknown | September 12, 1952 | |
| 48 | 5 | "The Chase" | Unknown | September 19, 1952 | |
| 49 | 6 | "Youth on Tap" | Lona Kenney Additional dialogue by : Mann Rubin | September 26, 1952 | |
| A young man in financial difficulty is offered $1000 for a pint of his blood -- but there's a catch. With Robert Alda and Harry Townes. | |||||
| 50 | 7 | "Substance X" | Frank De Felitta | October 3, 1952 | |
| A woman is dispatched to figure out how a small, isolated southern town is surviving after their only sources of food are cut off. With Vicki Cummings and Will Kuluva. | |||||
| 51 | 8 | "The Horn" | Alan Nelson | October 10, 1952 | |
| An inventor develops a musical instrument that can convey -- and dictate -- human emotions. With Franchot Tone and Stephen Elliott. | |||||
| 52 | 9 | "Double Trouble" | Unknown | October 17, 1952 | |
| 53 | 10 | "Many Happy Returns" | Story by : Raymond Z. Gallun Teleplay by : David Karp | October 24, 1952 | |
| A father discovers his young son seems to be under the influence of a man from the Moon. With Gene Raymond. | |||||
| 54 | 11 | "The Tomb of King Tarus" | Unknown | October 31, 1952 | |
| 55 | 12 | "The Window (aka The Lost Planet)" | Frank De Felitta | November 7, 1952 | |
| In this unusual meta-episode, a science fiction melodrama ("The Lost Planet") is interrupted by an unauthorized transmission of a peculiar drama called "The Window", and the real-life crew of Tales of Tomorrow try to figure out what's happening. With Rod Steiger. | |||||
| 56 | 13 | "The Camera" | Unknown | November 14, 1952 | |
| 57 | 14 | "The Quiet Lady" | Unknown | November 21, 1952 | |
| 58 | 15 | "The Invigorating Air" | Unknown | November 28, 1952 | |
| 59 | 16 | "The Glacier Giant" | Unknown | December 5, 1952 | |
| 60 | 17 | "The Fatal Flower" | Unknown | December 12, 1952 | |
| 61 | 18 | "The Machine" | Unknown | December 19, 1952 | |
| 62 | 19 | "The Bitter Storm" | Armand Aulicino | December 26, 1952 | |
| A scientist invents a machine that can retrieve sounds from the past. With Arnold Moss, and -- in her first credited role -- Joanne Woodward. | |||||
| 63 | 20 | "The Mask of Medusa" | Unknown | January 2, 1953 | |
| 64 | 21 | "Conqueror's Isle" | Unknown | January 9, 1953 | |
| 65 | 22 | "Discovered Heart" | Unknown | January 16, 1953 | |
| 66 | 23 | "The Picture of Dorian Gray" | Unknown | January 23, 1953 | |
| 67 | 24 | "Two Faced" | Unknown | January 30, 1953 | |
| 68 | 25 | "The Build Box" | Unknown | February 6, 1953 | |
| 69 | 26 | "Another Chance" | Frank De Felitta | February 13, 1953 | |
| A thief is given a chance to go back seven years and correct his mistakes, but it is harder than it seems. With Leslie Nielsen. | |||||
| 70 | 27 | "The Great Silence" | Frank De Felitta | February 20, 1953 | |
| A disease that paralyzes people's vocal cords is spreading rapidly. With Burgess Meredith. | |||||
| 71 | 28 | "Lonesome Village" | Unknown | February 27, 1953 | |
| 72 | 29 | "The Fury of the Cocoon" | Frank De Felitta | March 6, 1953 | |
| A scientific expedition discovers a giant cocoon at the remote site of a meteorite crash. With Nancy Coleman and Peter Capell. | |||||
| 73 | 30 | "The Squeeze Play" | Unknown | March 13, 1953 | |
| 74 | 31 | "Read to Me Herr Doktor" | Alvin Sapinsley | March 20, 1953 | |
| A professor with failing eyesight invents a robot to read books to him, to the concern of his daughter. With Everett Sloane and Mercedes McCambridge. | |||||
| 75 | 32 | "Ghost Writer" | Mann Rubin | March 27, 1953 | |
| A writer is hired to complete horrific tales which then seem to come true. With Leslie Nielsen and Murray Matheson. | |||||
| 76 | 33 | "Past Tense" | Jack Weinstock & Willie Gilbert Based on an idea by : Robert F. Levine | April 3, 1953 | |
| A doctor uses a time machine to bring penicillin to the people of 1923, but finds it difficult to convince anyone of the drug's efficacy. With Boris Karloff and Robert F. Simon. | |||||
| 77 | 34 | "Homecoming" | Mann Rubin | April 10, 1953 | |
| An Air Force pilot can live only in sub-zero temperatures. With Brian Keith. | |||||
| 78 | 35 | "The Rivals" | Unknown | April 17, 1953 | |
| 79 | 36 | "Please Omit Flowers" | Unknown | April 24, 1953 | |
| 80 | 37 | "The Evil Within" | Manya Starr | May 1, 1953 | |
| A scientist's wife inadvertently drinks a serum designed to bring out evil. With Margaret Phillips, Rod Steiger, and James Dean. | |||||
| 81 | 38 | "The Vault" | Unknown | May 8, 1953 | |
| 82 | 39 | "Ink" | Unknown | May 15, 1953 | |
| 83 | 40 | "The Spider's Web" | Frank De Felitta | May 22, 1953 | |
| Castaways find themselves on an island inhabited by strange radiation-affected creatures. | |||||
| 84 | 41 | "Lazarus Walks" | Unknown | May 29, 1953 | |
| A dead man comes back to life with the ability to detect lies. With Olive Deering and Joseph Wiseman. | |||||
| 85 | 42 | "What Dreams May Come" | Unknown | June 12, 1953 | |
Radio series
While the television series was still being produced in 1953, ABC ran a radio show of the same name from January 1 to April 9, 1953.[6] The radio series differed from the television series in that its scripts were adapted from stories appearing in Galaxy Science Fiction.[7] Another radio series, Dimension X, had had a similar relationship with Astounding Science Fiction magazine.
The radio series was not successful. After only a few episodes, on February 26 it moved to CBS for the remainder of its 15-episode run.[8] The TV version was canceled shortly afterward (the last episode was shown on June 12, 1953). A few years after its cancellation, the radio series X Minus One (a 1955 revival of Dimension X) debuted, again adapting stories published in Galaxy. Four of the fifteen Tales of Tomorrow stories were later adapted for X Minus One. These were "The Stars Are the Styx", "The Moon Is Green", "The Girls from Earth", and "The Old Die Rich".[8][9]
Release to public domain episodes
Most of the TV episodes are in the United States public domain.[10] Additionally, five of the surviving radio series episodes are now in the public domain in the United States and available for free download at Internet Archive. Live TV episodes were captured on kinescope. Of the 85 TOT episodes produced, around 40 have been released on various DVD sets, along with another handful on VHS, which for years was the only place to find “A Child Is Crying”, one of the most memorable episodes of the series[11]
See also
- Captain Video and His Video Rangers, first science fiction adventure series in United States television. It was aimed at juvenile audiences.
- Out There, a 1951 anthology series.
- Science fiction on television, a look at the history of science fiction from various countries, and when they first appeared on television.
- Science Fiction Theatre, an anthology series released about three years later.
- Space Patrol, a science fiction adventure series that was being produced at the same time, aimed at juvenile audiences.
References
- If v1#1 p. 151
- The Heinlein Archives, website;
- Arthur C. Clarke, "The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke", Preface to 'All the Time in the World' ISBN 0-575-07065-X.
- The Billboard (magazine), May 19, 1951, page 11
- The Billboard (magazine), August 18, 1951, page 9
- Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 653. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
- Science Fiction Television. By M. Keith Booker, page 5, ISBN 0-275-98164-9
- Tales of Tomorrow Radio: Details; Production information and review sources on the radio series Tales of Tomorrow.
- Full listing of all "X Minus One" episodes; at Internet Archive.
- "tales of Tomorrow TV". 16 November 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
- Tales Of Tomorrow: The Inside Story on TV's 1st Sci-Fi Anthology, website;
External links
- Tales of Tomorrow at IMDb
- Episode 1 of the television series- Verdict from Space; 40 others is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
- List of Tales of Tomorrow television episodes, and link to radio series collection on Internet Archive.
- Tales of Tomorrow: Radio collection, 5 episodes from the radio series available for free download at the Internet Archive.
- Tales of Tomorrow episode guide.
- OTR Plot Spot: Tales of Tomorrow - plot summaries and reviews.
- Tales of Tomorrow at CVTA with episode list
- Tales of Tomorrow: The Inside Story interviews with show creators