This archive is devoted to independent productions, series too short-lived to warrant an archive of their own, and shows which fall within the categories of Sci-Fi, Horror and Adventure from series not generally associated with those genres.
Currently this archive contains plotlines for 110 shows
Beyond Tomorrow
This brief series is not notable for much, except that it was the first attempt to air a science fiction anthology on American radio, beating 2000 Plus to the airwaves by a month. The entire run lasted little longer than that, airing only 3 shows on the Mutual network from February to April of 1950 before being pulled. Apparently CBS briefly considered picking it up, but that never happened. Aka Beyond This World.
The Outer Limit
Genre: SF
Episode: Audition show
Available for Listening Booth: Y
A test pilot on an experimental high altitude aircraft with only ten minutes worth of fuel disappears from radar for ten hours, yet returns safely. Of course, it is impossible, as is his story of contact with aliens and the dire warning they have for Mankind.
A very popular story with radio producers. Versions also appeared on Escape, X Minus One , and two versions for Suspense.
Requiem
Genre: Space Exploration
Episode: 01
Available for Listening Booth: N
A tycoon with a dangerous heart condition who'd always dreamed of setting foot on the Moon hires two ex-astronauts to fly him there illegally in a ship he has built in secret. Story by Robert Heinlein.
Versions of this story also appeared on X Minus One and Dimension X.
See also 'The Vital Factor' (Dimension X & X Minus One)
Incident at Switchpath
Genre: Aliens
Episode: 02
Available for Listening Booth: Y
An coroner's inquiry uncovers an uncanny story of an alien device found in a cave that seems to be recording everything that happens on Earth. Why would anyone be interested in this planet? Based on the story The Sky is Full of Ships, by Theodore Sturgeon.
A reading of the original story was performed on Mind Webs.
Yet another version was produced for television on the program Tales of
Tomorrow, under the title 'Verdict From Space'.
Caltex Theater
I know virtually nothing about this series, other than that it is from Australia. Probably originated in the late '50's.
Forbidden Planet
Genre: Space Exploration
Available for Listening Booth: Y
A faithful adaptation of the Hollywood film of the same title.
CBC
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has been producing radio drama for decades, including many Sci-Fi and Horror subjects among its fare. Below is listed only a selected sampling from various CBC efforts; A more comprehensive archive may be undertaken at some point in the future. Due to copyrights, no CBC programs are available for the Listening Booth.
The 13 Clocks
Familiar fairy tale. Very familiar. Handsome prince, beautiful princess, and of course an Evil King - The Princess's Father. The Prince wants his daughter's hand, the King wants his head. What to do? Give Dad a 1000 jewels. He does. But...
Reviews:
Familiar, yes. But still nicely done with an engaging fantasy premise
regarding the jewels and oh yes, those 13 clocks too... - Bruce Fisher
Alien Bait
Genre: Aliens
Available for Listening Booth: N
A whimsical look at a symposium for alien abductees, done in a documentary style.
Breaking Strain
Genre: SF
Available for Listening Booth: N
A cargo ship en route to Venus suffers an
oxygen leak which leaves only enough air for one of the two crewmen aboard to
survive the trip. Story by Arthur C. Clarke.
Reviews:
Story's resolution just ok, entire production for the
most part fine. Compelling, but it won't get your mojo working. - Bruce
Fisher
Colossus: The Forbin Project
Genre: Supercomputers
Available for Listening Booth: N
A supercomputer, impervious to interference of any kind, is created to defend the free world from nuclear attack. But unbeknownst to its creators, the Soviets have built one too. Within hours of activation, the two machines learn to communicate and begin to conceive ideas of their own about world security. Based on the book by D. F. Jones, and the movie of the same title.
Reviews:
Okay. To enjoy this you really have to just go with the flow and enjoy it as a classic bit of cold war, paranoid, technology phobic drama. If
you start questioning things then it all seems rather daft. I mean, for crying out loud, when the scientists were designing this huge defence
computer did nobody think it might be a good idea to have an off switch (just in case it maybe didn't work out)? And would the President of the
United States really abdicate his responsibility for nuclear launch to a machine? With no off switch?? And nobody at the White House briefing
questioned the President about his decision (hello??)? And given that the machine can read and interpret feeds from newspapers, TV, radio,
satellite, etc, why is the operator interface a teletype? Perhaps I'm being a little harsh. Classic of the genre. Think
Terminator's Skynet, Wargames, Star Trek's V'ger. - Marcus
Lancaster
The Veldt
Genre: SF
Available for Listening Booth: N
From CBC Playhouse: A couple purchase a holo-theater to keep their son and daughter amused, but the recreation of the sweltering African savannah the children concoct is anything but amusing....Story by Ray Bradbury.
One of Bradbury's most popular stories, versions appeared on X
Minus One, the BBC, and Dimension
X.
Nazi Eyes on
Canada
Genre: Alternate History
Available for Listening Booth: N
A 5-part wartime series produced to scare Canadians into buying
war bonds, this program presented the nightmarish vision of the effects of
a Nazi invasion and conquest of Canada. It drew its inspiration from a Nazi
agent who traveled across the country in the 30's and sent a report of Canada's
strengths, weaknesses, and resources back to his superiors in Berlin. The series
employed the likes of Helen Hayes, Vincent Price,
and even Orson Welles. Each episode introduced
different families living in various parts of the country prior to the arrival
of those nazty Nazis and then showed what tragedies befell them during the
occupation. Melodramatic, grisly, often racist and very dark, but interesting as
a window on wartime attitudes and mass media propaganda.
Nightfall
See the Nightfall archive here
Theater 10:30
I know little of this series, other than it came out of the 70's, and that it was a multi-genre anthology that produced several episodes that could be called SF or horror. Standard half-hour format.
Long Shadow on the Lawn
Genre: Horror
Available for Listening Booth: N
A rural community is besieged by a homicidal maniac.
The Pedestrian
Genre: Future Earth
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: N
In a future society where the government enforces docility through television and curfews, two 'insurgents' venture out of their homes to risk a walk in the night air. Based on a story by Ray Bradbury
The Searching Wind
Genre: Horror
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: N
A couple are beset by the husband's best friend, who has an obsessive fear of winds that want to hunt him down. Very loosely based on the Ray Bradbury story 'The Wind', though the credits neglect to mention his name.
Reviews:
Don't bother - listen to the Bradbury 13 version, which is superior in
every regard. - Webmaster
The Thing in the Hall
Genre: Creatures
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: N
In Victorian London, a doctor becomes concerned for a friend who is cavorting with an 'elemental' , an entity of pure evil
See also 'How Love Came to Professor Guildea' (Escape)
The Vanishing Man
Genre: Supernatural
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: N
An aging father is at odds with his daughter's
fiance and becomes obsessed with the identity of a stranger he sees around town
whom he insists he knows, though he has never been able to catch sight of his
face.
The Wendigo
Genre: Creatures
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: N
A hunting trio into the north woods devolves into terror when
the guide vanishes, supposedly the victim of a legendary creature that prowls
the forest.
The Vanishing Point (1984-- 91)
This series produced horror and sci-fi, incorporating several 'sub-series' over the course of its long run. Below is a selected listing only. Unless otherwise noted, all episodes were half hour format.
Cage of Light
Genre: Aliens
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: N
A first contact mission specialist is put on trial for genocide when the alien race he made contact with 'disappeared' shortly after his visit to their homeworld.
Childhood's End
Genre: Aliens
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: N
A 5 part, 1 hr 30 m production based on Arthur C. Clarke's classic novel of the arrival of the Overlords, a superior alien race come to usher mankind several steps up the evolutionary ladder, whether we want it or not.
Other versions were produced for the BBC.
The Dispossessed
Genre: Aliens
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: N
The twin planets of Uras and Anara have pursued opposing socio-political ideals and thus avoided contact with each other for fear of cultural contamination. Now Shevek, a brilliant mathematician and physicist, has been invited to visit Uras, an invitation he accepts in spite of the objections of his fellow Anarans, who fear that Uras' leaders only want him to develop a new space-drive that will allow them rebuild their interstellar empire.
A six part mini-series based on the novel by Ursula K. Le Guin.
The Enormous Radio
Genre: SF
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: N
A couple in an apartment acquire an unusual radio which picks up conversations from their neighbors in the building. Could anyone resist the temptation to learn all their neighbors' secrets?
Versions of this story were also produced for Suspense and CBS Radio Workshop.
How Love Came to Professor Guildea
Genre: Creatures
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: N
Said professor despises people and holds only contempt for human affection. But love cannot be denied, and if the good professor will not accept love from a human source, he must face the prospect of an inhuman love....
Versions of this story also appeared on the CBS Radio Mystery Theater (as 'Shadow of Love'), NBC's Radio City Playhouse and Escape.
Meteor
Genre: Aliens
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: N
Minute alien colonists arrive on Earth encased in a meteor, and have no end of trouble battling the gigantic native 'monsters'. Story by John Wyndham.
See also 'Meteor Man' (Lights Out) & 'The Meteorite' (CBS Radio Mystery Theater)
The Nine Billion Names of God
Genre: Supercomputers
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: N
A computer programmer is hired by monks in Nepal to help them collect every possible name for the Almighty. A laughable project, with not so laughable consequences....... Story by Arthur C. Clarke.
Past Imperfect
Genre: Time Travel
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: N
An inventor's ruthless, self-seeking nephew turns the tables on him with the aid of his new time machine. But time is not something easily trifled with.....
The Silenian Test
Genre: Aliens
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: N
Giant alien ships descend on Earth, broadcasting telepathic messages that they are here to test mankind for inclusion in the galactic community, but they won't tell anyone what the test is beyond the cryptic phrase, 'the stars demand sacrifice'.
The Word for World is Forest
Genre: Aliens
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: N
The seemingly simple natives of a world blanketed in forest resent the arrogance of human interlopers, and the contempt they show for the local ecology. All the natives need is a leader strong enough and clever enough to match wits with their human exploiters.... Based on a novel by Ursula K. le Guin . In 3 parts, 1 hr. 30 m.
CBS Radio Adventure Theater
Also known as the General Mills Radio Adventure Theater, this show was a companion series to the CBS Radio Mystery Theater, and likewise produced by Himan Brown. Unlike its famous counterpart, however, it was primarily aimed at children, and failed to enjoy the same degree of success. Forty six 45-min. episodes were aired in 1977. Hosted by Tom Bosley.
Survival Test
Genre: SF
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: N
Two space cadets are dropped onto an uninhabited planet as a ten day trial of their survival skills. At least, the probes claimed it is uninhabited.....
The Black Arrow
Genre: Adventure
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: N
A very rushed retelling of Robert
Louis Stevenson's adventure tale of a young
squire's struggle to avenge the murder of his father during the War of the
Roses.
CBS Radio Workshop
Not to be confused with the CBS Radio Mystery Theater! Radio Workshop was designed to experiment with untried and innovative approaches to telling their stories. From early 1956 to mid '57, the series produced all manner of stories and indulged in some very unusual technical devices. Listed below are those episodes which best fit into the Plot Spot's venue. Unless otherwise noted, all shows were half hour format.
WEBMASTER RECOMMENDS:
The Green Hills of Earth; The Long Way Home; The
Space Merchants
A Pride of Carrots aka
'Venus Well Served'
Genre: Aliens/Humour
Episode: 34
Available for Listening Booth:
Astronauts landing on Venus discover a world torn by war between indigenous intelligent vegetables.
Brave New World
Genre: Dystopian Future
Episode: 01 & 02
Available for Listening Booth: Y
A 2 part, 1 hour production of Aldous Huxley's disturbing vision of a future where individualism and free thought are suppressed by drugs and a bizarre blend of economic super-capitalism and enforced social communism.
See also '1984' (Theater Guild on the Air).
The Enormous Radio
Genre: SF
Episode: 16
Available for Listening Booth: N
A couple in an apartment acquire an unusual radio which picks up conversations from their neighbors in the building. Could anyone resist the temptation to learn all their neighbors' secrets?
Versions of this story were also produced for Suspense and the CBC's Vanishing Point.
The Green Hills of Earth
Genre: Space Exploration
Episode: 77
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Classic story of a space engineer who suffers a tragic accident and ends up tramping about the Solar System singing about the life of spacers and dreaming of returning to Earth once more before he dies. Story by Robert Heinlein.
Other versions of this story appeared on X Minus One and Dimension X.
Reviews:
'The Green Hills of Earth" is a story by Robert Heinlein adapted to radio by no less than three production companies.
Dimension X, X-Minus One, and the CBS Radio Workshop. The first two, the "X" sessions paint the main character, Rhysling to
be a drunk and a jokester. He loses his sight, and goes on to write the greatest song in the galaxy, "The Green Hills of Earth." The CBS
version shows Rhysling to be a rude sot that already has this song written, but with no ending. When Rhysling looses his sight in the
CBS version, he finishes the song.
All three versions have merit, and are very well done. Please note, the actor in both "X" sessions can
sing. Not so much for the CBS version. If music is your forte, X-Minus One is better because the whole songs are played.
Dimension-X has the better acting. The CBS version is just plain edgy, Rhysling
seems very bitter about a lot of things. This is my favorite radio story. My favorite telling would have to be the
Dimension-X version. The legend of Rhysling is real in the hearts of those who believe it.
Just take a look at how obsessed Apollo XV astronauts were when looking for Rhysling crater on the
moon. - John Pote
Light Ship
Genre: Adventure
Episode: 65
Available for Listening Booth: Y
A well-produced adventure story about the tensions aboard a ship stationed to warn other ships away from dangerous shoals.
The Long Way Home
Genre: Dystopian Future
Episode: 67
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Amidst the desolation and human suffering left by World War Three, there are no countries left, only the wandering remnants of their armies, who battle one another over the Earth's dwindling resources. There are no sides, no causes, no objectives save for survival. This dark tale envisions one ragtag force who take it upon themselves to protect Newark from invasion by sea borne raiders.
Report on the We'uns
Genre: SF/Humour
Episode: 42
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Archaeologists in the future attempt to reconstruct our way of life from a collection of small artifacts, and arrive at some rather bizarre conclusions.
The Space Merchants
Genre: Dystopian Future
Episode: 55 & 56
Available for Listening Booth: Y
In a future dominated by rampant consumerism and global advertising cartels, a high-ranking ad executive is charged with the task of selling the colonization of an inhospitable Venus. But corporate conspirators and outlawed conservationists have other ideas.........A 2 part, 1 hour production based on the book by Frederik Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth.
See also 'The Merchant of Venus' (X
Minus One)
Challenge of Space
Far Centaurus
Genre: Space Exploration
Episode: 06
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Three astronauts hibernating on the first interstellar mission, a 500-year voyage to Alpha Centauri, awake to a startling discovery as they near their destination. Story by A.E. van Vogt.
Where Was Atlantis?
Genre: Mars
Episode: 05
Available for Listening Booth: Y
A mission is
launched to find the Lost City of Atlantis and their anti-gravity
technology...on Mars.
Reviews:
A simple and forthright story that was quite fun and enjoyable. Ending was
pretty good, but left me wanting just a little. - Steve Franklin
Another Galaxy
Genre: Space Exploration
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: N
As the first
mission to go to another galaxy is being prepared, one of the astronauts slated
to go must deal with his overbearing father who insists he must go and his
girlfriend who insists he mustn't go.
Reviews:
While this production was technically well done, I didn't like it. The
characters were extremely unlikable and I couldn't find any sympathy for any of
them. Plus the end just really creeped me out, and not in a good way. -
Steve Franklin
Columbia Workshop
A long-running series (1936- 47) of more than 300 episodes, this show's run is even more remarkable considering its unorthodox methods of storytelling. The label 'workshop' denoted an experimental approach to radio drama - such as the use of music to replace voices, narration in song and verse, and canted viewpoints that stretched the listener's sensibilities. Beyond a few multi-part episodes, all were standard half-hour format.
An Incident of the Cosmos
Carmilla
The Dream Maker
The Fall of the City
Genre: undefinable
Episode: ??
Available for Listening Booth: N
A nameless city in an undefined time is
under siege from a conqueror whose armies are converging on its gates. But
perhaps the greatest danger lies within the city's denizens themselves....
Told in a series of grandly eloquent speeches.
Two separate versions were made, 1937 and 1939. The '37 version stars Orson Welles.
Reviews:
Perhaps the single greatest achievement in radio history. More impressive even
than 'War of the Worlds.' Written by a Nobel Award Winning writer, and voiced by a cast of 200, helmed by the
greatest voice in radio… Orson Welles. A program so relevant for today. A+. Highest recommendation! (Get
the original 1937 episode, not the inferior 1939 remake). -HT
An interesting experiment, but too obscure. - Bruce
Fisher
Metzengerstein
Relatives, clients, and enemies eagerly await the imminent demise of the Baron Metzengerstein, not the least among them his son, who is impatient to take the helm in the family's long history of abuses, heedless of the curse put on the family name through a stolen tapestry hanging on the castle wall. Based on a story by Edgar Allen Poe.
A version of this story was produced for The Weird Circle as 'The Tapestry Horse'
RUR
SS San Pedro
Darkness
A product of KLON in Long Beach, California, broadcast in 1979. Uncertain how many shows were made, but ten are in circulation. All were standard half-hour format.
Life Span
Genre: Super Science
Episode: 04
Available for Listening Booth: Y
A scam artist concocts a 'youth' drug, and is shocked to discover one of his test patients, an elderly woman in her 80's, growing younger - not as shocked as she, however, when the side effects start to kick in....
Toltec's Tomb
Genre: Occult
Episode: 05
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Archaeologists find a legendary lost tomb in the jungles of Mexico, and
can't resist the temptation to violate it despite an ancient curse.
See also 'Door of Gold' (Suspense)
and 'The Door of Lotim' (Crisis)
Reviews:
Yikes! This one has every formula character you would expect - there is the
wise old archaeologist, his beautiful daughter who is engaged to his redoubtable
assistant, the shady local government official, and of course the freaky native
guide who spouts on about curses and doom. Still, it is a fun listen. - Ed
Corbeil
Family Theater
A strong religious element coloured this long-running series broadcast between 1947 and 1956. It crossed several genres, and included only a few SF stories. All episodes were standard half-hour format.
At 155 Pounds
Genre: Time Travel
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Whimsical tale of an unemployed boxer who
volunteers for an experiment to send a man back through time to ancient Rome.
The Invasion
Genre: Aliens
Episode: 528
Available for Listening Booth: Y
A newspaper science editor gets a call from a renowned astronomer that an alien space armada is only hours away from the Earth.
Journey of the Pegasus
Genre: Aliens
Episode: 338
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Two astronauts on the first expedition to the Moon see 'something' run aboard their ship.
The Star
(aka 'The Other Sheep')
Genre: Space Exploration/Aliens
Episode: 483
Available for Listening Booth: Y
An expedition to a distant planet whose sun has gone nova finds the ruins left by an ancient, advanced civilization. VERY loosely based on a short story by Arthur C. Clarke.
Reviews:
A hideously bowdlerized version of the classic sci-fi
short story. The broadcast version is completely rewritten to satisfy the
religious agenda of the show, and the syrupy ending made me want to puke. Keep away, even if you
never read the story. - Seth Gaines
How did these guys ever get permission to butcher Clarke's story? I can't imagine he would agree to the way they totally turned the original ending upside down. After all, he's an atheist, I think. If I'm right, then they used his story without his permission. Hmm - not very ethical for a religious show. . . - Alex Di Pietro.
Hollywood Star Playhouse
The Tenth Planet
Genre: Aliens
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
A man's search for his missing brother, an atomic scientist,
leads to an alien conspiracy to kidnap Earth's leading minds.
Lux Radio Theater
Comprising over 900 shows over the course of more than 20 years (1934- 55), this series was one the most successful ever. Much of its success could be attributed to its most famous host, Cecil B. DeMille, who attracted top rank screen actors to portray their roles in radio versions of popular movies, mostly dramas.
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Genre: Aliens
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
An alien spaceship lands in Washington, but its sole occupant escapes the authorities and seeks temporary refuge with a local family while trying to determine how best to deliver a cryptic message to the people of the Earth.
Based on the classic film; Michael Rennie reprises his role as Klaatu.
King Solomon's Mines
Genre: Adventure
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Jaded veteran safari guide Alan Quartermain is coerced into accepting a job to lead an expedition into unexplored country to locate a rich heiress' missing husband, who vanished searching for the legendary diamond mines of King Solomon. Based on the film of the same name and starring Stewart Granger and Deborah Kerr.
Reviews:
Excellent production, acted with all the dramatic impact of the film. I've
never been much of a Stewart Granger fan, but perhaps his being a big game
hunter contributed to his gritty portrayal of Quartermain. - Webmaster
Lost Horizon
Following an escape from civil unrest, a hijacking, and a plane crash, a party of four finds itself stranded in the frigid mountains of Tibet. The remote lamasery of Shangri-La offers refuge and hospitality. Here our characters behold a beautiful, ideal world, but one which holds many a secret and enigma.
Other radio versions include: Academy Award Theatre, Everything for the Boys, Favorite Story, NBC University Theatre, and Theatre of Romance.
Reviews: The 1937 film Lost Horizon on which this production is ostensibly based made many changes from the original James Hilton novel, and not always for the best of reasons. A romance, for instance, develops in the book between an Englishman and a Chinese. In the film, the Chinese lady becomes a Russian, presumably in order to avoid offending racial sensibilities of the general public, who might have disapproved of a relationship crossing racial lines. The Lux production restores the original relationship found in the novel, returns many characters absent in the film, and follows the original plot of the book to the extent possible in a forty-five minute radio play. Interesting exchanges between a narrow-minded Christian missionary woman and an aspiring lama which were neglected in the movie have also been restored. At the same time, the radio dramatisation retains the best element of the film version -- the debonair performance of Ronald Colman. The only drawback: while it is in very good sound quality, the version I have of the Lux episode has only the forty-five minutes of the dramatic portion of the show. The missing openings and closings might contain some commentary as to why the book version was preferred over the film version of Lost Horizon on this most Hollywood of shows. - Anonymous
The Naked Jungle
Genre: Adventure
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
An iron-willed South American plantation
owner is determined to prevent a plague of army ants from overrunning his land. Based
on the film of the same name. Stars Charlton
Heston.
Versions of the original story 'Leiningen vs the Ants' appeared on Escape , Mystery in the Air, and Suspense.
The War of the Worlds
Genre: Aliens
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
A version based on the George Pal film, boasting a strong cast and sound effects drawn right from the movie.
See all the radio versions of this story listed on the Famous Authors on Radio page.
Macabre
Little is known or survives of this series, unusual for the fact that it is a production of Armed Forces Radio, and employed servicemen for actors. Broadcasts began in 1961 and continued for several years. There were an unknown number of episodes, all in half hour format.
The Avenger
Genre: Horror
Episode: 06
Available for Listening Booth: Y
A writer who violates a sacred native temple in the African jungle returns to civilization, but cannot escape the long arm of vengeance.
The Crystalline Man
Genre: Horror
Episode: 07
Available for Listening Booth: N
An expedition to the Arctic uncovers the body of a man apparently formed of crystal in a cavity under a glacier. They take it back to a museum where it proceeds to thaw....
The Edge of Evil
Genre: Horror
Episode: 08
Available for Listening Booth:Y
A New England cleric attempts to verify whether a creepy mansion owned by an evil scientist is haunted or not.
Final Resting Place
Genre: Horror
Episode: 01
Available for Listening Booth: N
A carny tricks a newly wedded groom into allowing himself to be buried alive.
Reviews:
Macabre is a bit campy, but in a good way. This is a creepy episode that
really bothered me. The notion of being buried alive is just about the only
concept in horror that affects me and this definitely did. - William
Loeffler
The Midnight Horseman
Genre: Horror
Episode: 05
Available for Listening Booth: N
An art collector can't resist purchasing a painting of a savage medieval horseman, whom legend holds will return to life through the portrait if under the right circumstances.
Weekend
Genre: Horror
Episode: 02
Available for Listening Booth: N
A group of medical students are confined to an isolated island and drugged with an experimental substance.
Mercury Theater on the Air
Dracula
Genre: Vampires
Episode: 01
Available for Listening Booth:N
Bram Stoker's tale of the Lord of Vampires who moves to England where the neighbors aren't so aware of his true nature. Premiere episode.
Reviews:
Welles and Co. manage to resist the urge to "improve" the story
which so many filmmakers (particularly Coppola) succumb to. The narrative
dependant nature of radio allows for the journal entry style
of the book to carry over. Despite having to cut out huge chunks of story to fit
into sixty minutes, it manages to remain coherent. My only beef is that it's not
made clear in the script why Harker went to Transylvania in the first place.
- Harry Leshko
Hell on Ice
Genre: Adventure
Episode: 14
Available for Listening Booth: Y
A recreation of the ill-fated 1879 attempt to reach the North Pole by ship. The expedition becomes trapped in the ice as the winter closes in.
See also 'Arctic Rescue' (Suspense) and 'The Captain of the Pole Star' (CBS Radio Mystery Theater)
The Hitch-Hiker
Genre: Supernatural
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
A fellow going on a cross country car trip keeps meeting up with the same pesky spectral hitchhiker that he has no intention of picking up.
Welles also performed this script on Suspense
Reviews:
This was my first encounter with OTR (I read the script in a middle school
reader), so it's one of my favorites. As a fun note, I timed the phone call at
the end, and he only got one minute out of the three minutes of long distance he
was entitled to. - Harry Leshko
The War of the Worlds
Genre: SF/Aliens
Episode: 17
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Undeniably the most famous - or infamous - radio broadcast of all time. Orson Welles' dramatization of his namesake's immortal SF classic was so terrifying that it had many listeners believing an invasion by Martians was actually taking place. Presented like a news report and removed to contemporary America, Welles' approach proved a little too effective for the gullible public. So great was the impact on society that this one broadcast has earned a place in America's cultural heritage. Based on the story by H.G. Wells:
For a complete listing of all the versions of this story
produced for radio, see the Famous
Authors on Radio page.
Murder at Midnight
A short-lived series which ran from mid 1946 to mid 1947, all episodes are standard half-hour format.
Dead Hand
Genre: Horror
Episode: 01
Available for Listening Booth: N
A pianist loses his hand (not to mention his mind) in an auto accident, and contrives to kill to obtain a new hand to be grafted onto his arm. The only problem is that his chosen victim had a penchant for theft and violence....
See also 'The Hand of Botar' (Hall of Fantasy)
The House that Time Forgot
Genre: Ghosts
Episode: 17
Available for Listening Booth: N
A couple purchase a beautiful country home only to find that the former owners, who died in a boating mishap decades earlier, are not quite done with it yet.
The Kabbalah
Genre: Occult
Episode: 15
Available for Listening Booth: N
A writer on the occult comes into the possession of a manuscript that can foretell the future, but exacts a terrible price.
Terror Out of Space
Genre: Aliens
Episode: 23
Available for Listening Booth: Y
A project to transmit and detect signals from space succeeds better - or worse - than intended when a hostile ET follows the signal down to Earth.
Later redone as 'Terror From Beyond' for the series Theater 5.
Mutual
Radio Theater
Our Man on Omega
Genre: Humour
Episode: 02
Available for Listening Booth: N
The world waits in breathless silence for the return of Ned Bummer, the first man to make contact with ETs, returning to Earth aboard an alien spaceship. Stars Richard Crenna; narrated by Andy Griffith.
Mystery in the Air
A summer series from 1947 which presented stories of the macabre out of classic literature and presented by Peter Lorre. Standard half-hour format.
The Horla
Genre: Supernatural
Episode: 08
Available for Listening Booth: Y
A 19th century Parisian gentleman becomes convinced that some incorporeal fiend is slowly taking possession of his soul. Story by Guy de Maupassant.
NBC Presents: Short Story
An anthology series from 1951-52 which crossed genres to find
its material. Many classic horror tales
found their way onto this series, as well as dramas and comedies. My research on
this series is still in its infancy, but there seem to be about 60 or so stories
that might fit the Plot Spot's venue. All shows were half-hour format.
The Lottery
Genre: Horror
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Shirley Jackson's disturbing classic of an annual lottery held in a remote rural community, whose prize is... well, best not dwelt on.
The Rocket
Genre: Space Exploration
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: N
A junkyard dealer who dreams of going to Mars gets hold of a
discarded test rocket, and decides to use it to take his family there -- in a
manner of speaking.
Nightmare Theater
An obscure series hosted by Peter Lorre, broadcast from the fall of 1953 to the fall of '54. Although on air for a year, only a few episodes seem to have survived. All are in standard half hour format.
Hybrid
Genre: Super Science
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Research scientist creates new a hybrid plant. But it has an unusual odor. Similar to carrion and blood. And no wonder it's carnivorous, growing and hungry.
Reviews:
Nice little old fashion B movie type Sci Fi horror tale, but with an ending
that's too abrupt. Far more simpler and elemental the it's longer and more
elaborate sister killer plant yarn, The Day of the Triffids. But
basically done well in the hyperbolic melodramatic fashion of the 50s.- Bruce
Fisher
The Purple Cloud
Genre: Super Science
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Steve and Mike see a purple shaped mushroom cloud over the city in the distance. Couldn't be a nuclear blast ...but then the phone and radio go dead, the sky is filled with jets, and later even their car goes dead ...
Reviews:
Good tension and suspense. And also a morality tale. Nothing great here, but
still a compelling 24 to 25 minutes of mind theater. - Bruce Fisher
OMNI Audio
Experience
A brief anthology series out of the 1980's produced by Omni magazine, with a limited run of only 4 programs and released on cassette. A great pity the series is so minimal, as its production values were every bit on par with Bradbury 13 -- not surprising since both series were overseen by Mike McDonough. All shows were half-hour format.
WEBMASTER RECOMMENDS:
Rescue Party; And the Moon be Still as Bright
And the Moon be Still as Bright
Genre: Mars/Aliens
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
As though wiping out the Martian race with Earthborn diseases weren't enough, humans demonstrate a hostile contempt for what relics and monuments the Martians left behind-- until one man with a conscience and a gun decides to stand up for the dead. Story by Ray Bradbury; part of the Martian Chronicles future history.
Other versions of this story originally aired on Dimension X & X Minus One
See also 'The Martian Death March' (X Minus One & Dimension X); See the full listing of Martian Chronicles stories under 'Ray Bradbury' on the Famous Authors on Radio page.
The Off Season
Genre: Mars/Aliens
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Having displaced most of the Martians from their cities and homes, emigrant Earthmen are settling in for the long haul. Sam Parkhill looks forward to owning the first hot dog stand on Mars, but a cryptic warning from a Martian native might suggest a different outcome. Part of Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles series.
Rescue Party
Genre: Aliens
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Arthur C. Clarke's story about space travelers on a mission of mercy to save what inhabitants of a world they can from an impending supernova, only to find a bizarre mystery once they arrive.
Reviews:
A well done thriller across the board. Writing, acting,
production values, etc. Check it out. - Bruce Fisher
No Title
Genre: none
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: N
6 minutes piano and orchestra track (by Greg Hanson?), followed by 'Sleepscape', a 10-minute audio drama by Innovations Consulting Inc. (corporate drama? :-), and a final 4-minute segment called 'Think a thought' by Ken Nordeen. The whole track is less than 24 minutes.
Reviews:
An odd hodgepodge of material that is neither in line with nor worthy of the
rest of the series. The only part that is any good is the piano track, which has
a haunting, bittersweet melancholy to it, but as far as audio drama is
concerned, don't hope for anything remotely resembling the other episodes. -
Webmaster
Radio City
Playhouse
I know very little about this series, other than it ran on NBC from mid 1948 to New Year's 1950, and covered a wide variety of genres, including a few tales of the fantastic. All episodes were in the standard half-hour format.
How Love Came to Professor Guildea
Genre: Occult
Episode: 043
Available for Listening Booth: Y
One of several renditions of this classic story of a professor whose contempt for human feelings invites the affections of an invisible entity.
Versions of this story also appeared on the CBS Radio Mystery Theater (as 'Shadow of Love'), CBC's The Vanishing Point and Escape.
Note on Danger B
Genre: SF
Episode: 042
Available for Listening Booth: Y
A high-velocity rocket plane test causes the test pilot to
undergo a strange transformation.
Strange Identity
Genre: Occult
Episode: 021
Available for Listening Booth: Y
A war widow spots her thought-to-be-dead husband on a passing bus, and begins a search for him that proves it is better to let the dead lie.
The Wind
Genre: Horror
Episode: 063
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Ray Bradbury tale of a man haunted and hunted by a wind that wants to steal his soul.
Versions were also produced for Bradbury 13 and Theater 10:30 (as 'The Searching Wind')
Reviews:
Not the best version of this great story; listen to the Bradbury 13 rendition
instead. - Webmaster
Sears Radio Theater
Helmed by ex-Suspense producer Elliot Lewis and broadcast weekdays from early 1979 to the fall of that year, this program offered shows from several genres, with a different theme tied to each day of the week. The few sci-fi oriented stories appeared on Adventure Fridays, hosted by Richard Widmark (later in the series, by Howard Duff). 129 episodes were produced, but only a few fit the parameters of this site. The series was picked up by the Mutual Broadcasting System and rebroadcast in 1980 as The Mutual Radio Theater.
No Greater
Dream
Genre: Super Science
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: N
Scientists John and Mary are in love, but Mary has terminal leukemia. They
attempt to preserve her soul in a glowing glass vile attached to the coffin
where Mary is laid to rest.
Reviews:
Well don't look for any Science in this piece of pseudo Science Fiction.
It's 'Donovan's Brain' without the brain. Neither in the story itself or for the
writing of the story. How this astounding transmutation was supposedly accomplished,
well... it just was - ok. If your taste buds opine for heady portions
of ham and corn securely locked together in the dialog and acting and then
snuggly wrapped around schmaltzy enough to smell hearts and flowers music, then,
this is for you. - Bruce Fisher
Then There Were None
Genre: Aliens
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Astronauts' space ship lands on a planet of carnivorous giants. Predictable horrors and altercations envelope and threaten the crew's safety and security.
Reviews:
Nice little old fashion comic book type space opera with a Twilight
Zone twist we've all seen and heard a number of times before. But still
suspenseful and exciting enough to generate some nice classically lurid Sci-Fi
mind theater. Enjoy. - Bruce Fisher
Two Faces of Evil
Genre: Space Exploration
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Astronaut Jason Tucker and his clone Juvan are sent together on a mission into deep space to retrieve a very expensive robot computer, but Tucker has secret orders that command him to return to Earth, without his companion. Unbeknownst to him, Juvan also has secret orders that mandate him to do the same.
Reviews:
The Wrath of Zeus
Genre: Future Earth
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
A high tech whodunit. The world is at peace, and thanks to a super computer that now controls the weather, a golden age looms on the horizon - until catastrophic storms begin raging across the planet causing devastating carnage.
Reviews:
Good enough premise. Writing, acting, and production values, ok. Couple of
corn elements. Clearly not the best, but still pretty good. Definitely worth a
listen. - Bruce Fisher
A very realistic portrayal of a future in which man had conquered weather control, but with unlooked for results. Although the story device of one person gaining control of a system which could affect the world in either positive, or negative ways depending on how it is put to use, and using it for destructive purposes in order to gain power is not exactly new. I first encountered a similar plot device in "X Minus One, The Roads Must Roll," but in this story the destruction actually occurred, while in "Roads" it was only used as a threat against those who opposed the power crazed madman. This story, however, is different from "Roads" in a few more ways, such as the true nature of the threat being unrevealed until the final act, and women being in prominent work roles, rather than simply being the super-scientist's supportive little wife, or girlfriend. All in all, an exceptional scifi romp through the universe of "What Could Be."- Fallen Angel
Tales of Tomorrow
A radio spin-off of ABC's television show of the same name, this short-lived series lasted only a few months in early 1953, producing a total of 15 shows culled from the pages of Galaxy magazine. Only about a third of the episodes survive, and the few recordings I've heard have been very scratchy, almost inaudible. Only surviving shows are listed here. All were half hour format.
WEBMASTER RECOMMENDS:
Morrow on Mars
Betelgeuse Bridge
Genre: Aliens
Episode: 03
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Aliens like giant snails arrive on Earth with the intention of setting up interstellar trade, but just how good a deal will they cut for the primitive natives? Story by William Tenn.
The Girls from Earth
Genre: SF
Episode: 12
Available for Listening Booth: N
A pair of women roam the galaxy in search of true love. Not the same story as the X Minus One episode of the same title. Story by Frank M. Robinson
Martians Never Die
Genre: Aliens
Episode: 11
Available for Listening Booth: N
A Martian is discovered and brought to Earth, with very unfortunate results. Story by Daniel Lucius.
The Moon is Green
Genre: Dystopian Future
Episode: 10
Available for Listening Booth: N
For years following a nuclear holocaust, a husband bullies his wife to never open the windows of their shelter, for fear of the terrible mutants who live outside. But the temptation proves a little too much for her. Story by Fritz Leiber.
A version of this story later appeared on X Minus One.
Morrow on Mars
Genre: Mars
Episode: 14
Available for Listening Booth: Y
A hard-boiled news editor on Mars is approached by a quirky scientist who insists that there is an unnatural and catastrophic shift occurring in the planet's orbit. This show has survived better than most of its compatriots.
The Old Die Rich
Genre: Time Travel
Episode: 13
Available for Listening Booth: N
An unusual number of elderly turn up dead with money stuffed in their pockets and yet having died of starvation. The investigation leads to an unscrupulous woman who is using a time machine to send people back to make fortunes for her.
Versions of this story also appeared on Future Tense and X Minus One.
The Other Now
Genre: Supernatural
Episode: 04
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Following a near fatal car accident in which his wife is killed, Jimmy Patterson becomes convinced his wife is still alive in an alternate reality, and that the timelines are beginning to intersect. Stars Dick York.
Watchbird
Genre: Robots/ Dystopian Future
Episode: 08
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Omnipresent robot drones programmed to detect and intercept violent crimes before they occur prove to be a bit too well designed. Story by Robert Sheckley.
Other versions of this story were produced for 2000 X and SF 68.
Theater Guild on the Air
1984
Genre: Dystopian Future
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
George Orwell's classic about one man's tortured search for love and meaning in a war-torn, dystopian future dominated by 'Big Brother'. Stars Richard Widmark.
Another version was produced for NBC University Theater. Also the BBC did 2 separate versions.
See also 'Brave New World' (CBS Radio Workshop), and '2462' (Suspense).
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Genre: Horror
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: Y
Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale of a scientist whose search for the dual essence of human nature and morality carries a heavy personal price for success.
Versions of this story also appeared on
the BBC, CBS Radio
Mystery Theater, Favorite Story, Weird Circle, NBC Short Story,
and the U.S. Steel Hour.
The Weird Circle
I've found out little about this series, except that it was broadcast from spring of 1946 to the fall of 1947. It relied on tales from classical authors, as well as a few scriptwriters. 78 episodes in total; standard half hour format.
The Diamond Lens
Genre: Super Science
Episode: 57
Available for Listening Booth: Y
A scientist discovers a civilization under his microscope.
The Ghost's Touch
Genre: Ghosts
Episode: 42
Available for Listening Booth: Y
A doctor concocts a dangerous drug that makes the subject impervious to pain. He wants to try it out on his cousin, but her dead lover has a serious problem with the idea.
The House and the Brain
Genre: Supernatural
Episode:
Available for Listening Booth: N