INFORMATION AND HELP TO THE NEW COLLECTOR - PART XIII

spark RADIO SCIENCE FICTION spark

by Terry G.G. Salomonson

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This is the third look at programming on radio. In the sixth and seventh part of this series, we looked at radio serials. In the eleventh portion we reviewed radio westerns, not all of them, but most of them. With this look back, we will be looking at science fiction. I will look at broadcast science fiction in two ways. First, what I will refer to as "full time si-fi." These are programs that were primarily nothing but science fiction. Second will be "part time si-fi." This is programming science fiction scripts among other types of scripts like drama. Anthologies are where you will find sprinklings of science fiction. I'm sure that I will overlook a few broadcast series, but you will at least get the bulk of what was programed in this country. I say this country, because I will not be examining the great science fiction programs from the BBC, CBC, Australia, or South Africa in this installment.

One of the earliest programs was entitled FRANKENSTEIN. Authored by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (08/30/1797 - 02/01/1851), it was first produced for Australian radio starring George Edwards in 1931. This thirteen episode broadcast was aired over the CBS network in 1932, a year after the Universal film release starring Boris Karloff. It very closely follows the original book thus differing from the Hollywood film version.

Space Ship BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY was first heard 11/07/32 on CBS as a five times a week series. This 15 minute program was heard at 7:15 p.m. Sponsored by Kellogg, Curtis Arnall was heard as Buck and Adele Ronson as Wilma. This first attempt ended on 06/17/33, but returned to the air Monday through Thursday from 10/02/33 - 06/29/34 and then 09/03/34 until 12/26/35. Both of these series were sponsored by Cocomalt and heard at 6:00 p.m., and again starred Curtis Arnall. Matt Crowley took over the role of Buck starting on 12/30/35, for Cream of Wheat, and continued until 05/22/36. The series then moved to MUTUAL for a short three times a week run from 04/05/39 - 07/31/39. Sponsorship came from Popsicle. The shortest MUTUAL run was from 05/18/40 until 07/27/40 with a format change to 30 minutes on Saturdays at noon. Finally, with the lead change to John Larkin, Buck was last heard from 09/30/46 until 04/14/47 at 4:45 p.m. 5 times a week for General Foods.

Several years after Buck Rogers took to the air, the audience could tune into THE AMAZING INTERPLANETARY ADVENTURES OF FLASH GORDON starring Gale Gordon. The series was sustained on MUTUAL beginning 04/27/35 and continued for twenty-six weekly Saturday episodes, ending on 10/26/35. There was in preempted Saturday, 06/29/35, during this run. This series dovetailed into THE ADVENTURES OF JUNGLE JIM when Flash Gordon and Dale crashed on their return to earth, in the jungle, and were married. A second series entitled THE FURTHER INTERPLANETARY ADVENTURES OF FLASH GORDON began on 10/28/35 as a five day a week series. It ended on 02/06/36 after 74 episodes and was sponsored by Groves Nose Spray. Nothing is known about the cast credits, but 4 episodes do exist. I have heard rumors about a third series, but have never been able to pin down a title or any dating information.

THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN. Next on the science fiction list would have to be SUPERMAN. Originally syndicated from 1938 to 1940, it became part of the MUTUAL lineup on 02/12/40 starring Clayton "Bud" Collyer as the man of steel. The series went through many broadcast changes over the years. Starting as a sustaining broadcast three times a week from 02/12/40 until 03/09/42, the program then was heard five times a week from 08/31/42 until 01/01/43. Sponsorship for Pep began on 01/04/43 with the program continuing as a five day a week program until 06/30/44. Starting on 07/04/44 the program changed to twice a week until 09/28/44, again with Pep sponsorship. Pep continued sponsoring the program as a five day a week series from 01/15/45 until 06/27/47 and finished with the 09/29/47 until 12/26/47 broadcasts. The last of the 15 minute programs were heard from 12/29/47 until 01/28/49 on a sustaining basis. MUTUAL changed the format of the program to 30 minutes and broadcast its last series three days a week from 01/31/49 until 06/17/49. MUTUAL broadcast a total of 1,910 of the 15 minute programs and 62 thirty minute programs. The series then moved to ABC starting on 11/12/49 as a 30 minute program. Michael Fitzmaurice took over the lead role and continued until the last broadcast 03/01/51. The ABC run was carried on a sustaining basis and out of these 89 broadcasts, 52 were repeats of earlier scripts.

BEYOND TOMORROW. From the beginning of the SUPERMAN broadcasts in 1938, no other series were produced that were strictly dedicated to science fiction until 1950. Individual scripts were used from time to time, and we will look at those later in this installment, but no new series were developed until BEYOND TOMORROW. This series was first heard as BEYOND THIS WORLD on 02/23/50. This was an audition or pilot program for the new CBS series BEYOND TOMORROW, but it was short lived. Only three additional programs were aired. 04/05/50 "Requiem," 04/11/50 "Incident At Switchpath" and 04/13/50 "The Outer Limit" (which was the script that was used for the audition program). But now the stage was set for a flood of science fiction radio dramas.

TWO THOUSAND PLUS. Considered the first adult anthology science fiction series on radio, MUTUAL radio aired this program from 03/15/50 until 01/02/52. Some of the latest research for this series by Jay Hickerson gives the following broadcast schedule: 03/15/50 - 02/28/51, 03/02/51 - 05/11/51, 07/08/51 - 09/23/51 and finally 09/26/51 - 01/02/52. That would account for a possible 89 broadcasts, but there may have been a few preempted dates. Also, several dates conflict in November of 1950 with traditional dating of some script titles. This is also supported by the latest information available from James Widner and Meade Frierson, III. So while we are still looking for additional programs to enjoy, more detailed information is needed.

DIMENSION X. NBC was next in presenting serious science fiction on the air. On 04/08/50 "The Outer Limit" was aired as the premiere broadcast for DIMENSION X. The series last for fifty broadcasts ending on 09/29/51. Stories from some of the top writers were used week after week. Graham Doar, Kurt Vonnegut, Robert Bloch, Ray Bradbury, L. Ron Hubbard, and Ernest Kinoy were among the celebrated authors who's writings were dramatized. This series is one of the favorite science fiction programs among old time radio collectors.

SPACE PATROL. Originating on television, SPACE PATROL soon found a home on the ABC radio network. Starting out as a 15 minute program, it quickly moved into the 30 minute format. First heard 09/18/50 it aired twice a week as a sustained program until 01/08/51. Sponsorship was picked up by Ralston and the program became a once a week staple on Saturdays from 08/18/51 until 03/27/54. The last year, again on Saturdays, was sponsored by Nestles and heard from 04/03/54 to 03/19/55.

TOM CORBETT, SPACE CADET. With the success of SPACE PATROL, ABC was quick to get another juvenile science fiction program on the air. TOM CORBETT, SPACE CADET was the answer and became popular from the start, but was short lived. Sponsorship was immediate with Kellogg, and was heard twice a week from 01/01/52 until 07/03/52..

TALES OF TOMORROW. Another of the thirteen or so programs that started on television and found its way to radio, was TALES OF TOMORROW. Only 15 programs were aired on this series and all were hosted by Raymond Edward Johnson (of INNER SANCTUM MYSTERIES fame). Many of the scripts were adapted from stories in GALAXY magazine. One interesting item about this program was that in its short life on the air, it was heard over two different networks. The first nine broadcastst (01/01/53 - 02/26/53) were produced for ABC. The last six (03/05/53 - 04/09/53) were heard over CBS. As far as I can determine at this time, all were produced on a sustaining basis.

THE PLANET MAN. Juvenile program syndicated from 1952 to 1953. 78 fifteen minute broadcasts were aired. Pure science fiction, but of little note. 76 episodes are available.

CAPTAIN STARR OF SPACE. Starring John Larch, this series was heard over the ABC network from 06/02/53 until 05/27/54, twice a week. Very little is known about the series and only five broadcasts are currently available to collectors out of the 104 that were produced.

X MINUS ONE. The most ambitious effort to provide science fiction to the listening radio audience was X MINUS ONE. Following in the tradition of DIMENSION X, X MINUS ONE was top notch in all aspects of scripts, acting, and sound effects. Again, most of the stories came from Galaxy Magazine and were penned by Ray Bradbury, Ernest Kinoy, Stephen Vincent Benet, Robert Bloch, Graham Doar, and many others. The series was heard starting 04/24/55 on Sundays until 06/05/55. After taking a short break, it resumed again on Thursdays from 07/07/55 to 11/10/55. A move to Wednesday nights was from 11/16/55 until 03/28/56. Followers of the series then changed their listening habits to Tuesday nights between 04/03/56 and 09/11/56. After a two week break, the series continued on Wednesday night from 09/26/56 to 04/24/57. The last broadcasting change was to Thursday nights from 06/20/57 until the final broadcast on 01/09/58. One last attempt was tried to resurrect the series with the 01/17/73 experimental broadcast of "Iron Chancellor." The push to bring the series back ended with that program. This was a real loss. As good as the program was, most listeners (and indeed collectors today) didn't realize that the X MINUS ONE budget was being cut constantly with the inroads that television was making on the sponsorship dollars. As more and more advertising dollars were pulled away from radio, many economy moves were made. Live music became prerecorded, script authors and script adaptation authors were offered only minimum pay for their efforts, and actors involved in the productions barely made scale. But still, everyone gave their best and it is evident, even today, when you listen to the programs.

EXPLORING TOMORROW. During the broadcast run of X MINUS ONE, the MUTUAL network decided to give science fiction a try again. Between 12/11/57 and 06/13/58 the series EXPLORING TOMORROW was heard. When the series left the airwaves, it became the last network attempt to produce and broadcast science fiction on radio. 31 broadcasts were made and 28 of the broadcasts have survived. There is some minor problems with the correct titles of programs circulating between collectors, but the bulk of the series exists.

Now, let's turn to where science fiction scripts appeared from time to time as part of other programs. In some cases, the reader may take issue with me feeling that some of these broadcasts are more in the fantasy or supernatural catagory instead of science fiction, and they may be right. But sometimes the line that separates these divisions is a little blurred. I will not list the broadcasts in chronological order, but rather list the programs in alphabetical order followed by the science fiction stories that appeared on them.

CBS Radio Mystery Theatre (01/06/74 - 12/31/82)
Too many science fiction broadcasts in this series over the years to list them individually. The series had over 2,950 broadcasts, including repeats, for the eight years that it was on the air.

CBS Radio Workshop  (01/27/56 - 09/22/57)  87 total broadcasts.
  01/27/56  # 1  Brave New World, Part 1
  02/03/56  # 2  Brave New World, Part 2
  02/17/56  # 4  Season Of Disbelief / Hail And Farewell
  09/14/56  #34  A Pride Of Carrots
  11/11/56  #42  Report On The We-uns
  02/17/57  #54  The Space Merchants, Part 1
  02/24/57  #55  The Space Merchants, Part 2
  07/21/57  #76  The Green Hills Of Earth
  08/18/57  #80  The Celestial Omnibus

Crisis  (11/22/73 - 12/29/77)  152 total broadcasts.  Too many
  titles to list here in this installment.

Dark Fantasy  (11/14/41 - 06/19/42)  31 total broadcasts.

Escape  (07/07/47 - 09/25/54)  241 total broadcasts.
  02/22/48  # 36  How Love Came To Professor Guildea
  05/09/48  # 52  The Time Machine  (Repeat 10/22/50)
  09/05/48  # 64  Dream Of Armageddon
  09/19/48  # 66  The Man Who Could Work Miracles  (Repeat 12/31/50)
  03/05/49  # 70  Conqueror's Isle  (Repeat 01/11/53)
  03/26/49  # 75  The Adaptive Ultimate
  02/07/50  #109  The Outer Limit
  03/30/50  #116  Green Splotches
  06/02/50  #125  Mars Is Heaven
  07/25/51  #159  The Earth Men
  03/29/53  #189  The Invader
  08/23/53  #210  The Man From Tomorrow
  10/04/53  #216  Zero Hour

Family Theatre  (02/13/47 - 01/31/62)  Over 760 total broadcasts.
  08/23/50  #184  20,000 Leagues Under The Sea  (Repeat 11/06/51 & 04/22/53)
  09/30/53  #338  The Journey Of The Pegasus
  11/11/53  #344  The Martians And The Coys  (Repeated 12/16/59)
  07/07/54  #377  The Last Smash
  10/13/54  #391  U.F.O.
  11/10/54  #395  At 155 Pounds
  01/12/55  #403  Stranger In Town
  07/03/57  #528  Invasion

Favorite Story  06/25/46 - 04/19/49)  119 total broadcasts.
  07/02/46  #  2  The Diamond Lens
  09/24/46  # 14  Frankenstein
  10/01/46  # 15  20,000 Leagues Under The Sea
  10/15/46  # 17  Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde
  02/18/47  # 35  Dr. Heidegger's Experiment
  11/11/47  # 57  The Man From Yesterday
  02/03/48  # 69  The Sunken City
  09/21/48  # 89  The Time Machine

The Hall Of Fantasy  (08/22/52 - 09/26/52, 01/05/53 - 09/28/53)
                    45 total broadcasts.
  07/20/53  #35  Out Of The Sky
  07/27/53  #36  The Automaton
  08/10/53  #38  The Man From The Second Earth

Hollywood Star Playhouse  (04/24/50 - 02/15/53)  142 total broadcasts.
  09/07/52  The Man From The Tenth Planet

Lights Out
  (01/01/34 - 09/03/47)  381 total broadcasts.
  08/12/36  #137  Across The Gap  (Repeat 11/03/42) (Also aired
                    as "And Adam Gegot")
  03/10/37  #167  Chicken Heart  (Repeat 02/23/38, 11/24/42)
  03/31/37  #170  Homus Primus
  06/13/37  #181  The Meteor Man  (Repeat 12/22/42)
  01/26/38  #202  Oxychloride X  (Repeat 02/16/43)
  10/13/42  #273  The Revolt Of The Worms  (Repeat as #10 in the
                    syndicated 1964-65 season, and as # 3 in the
                    syndicated 1971-72 season)
  08/24/43  #318  Sub-Basement
  08/31/43  #319  The Immortal Gentleman
  07/28/45  #326  The Rocket Ship  (Repeat as "The Rocket From
                    Manhattan" as # 8 in the syndicated 1964-65
                    season, and as #22 in the syndicated 1971-72
                    season)
  1964-65 Season  # 3  Special To Hollywood
  1964-65 Season  # 4  The Day Sinatra Got Fat

Lux Radio Theatre  (10/14/34 - 06/07/55)  926 total broadcasts.
  01/04/54  #849  The Day The Earth Stood Still
  02/08/55  #896  War Of The Worlds

The Mercury Theatre On The Air  (07/11/38 - 12/04/38)  22 total broadcasts.
  10/30/38  #17  The War Of The Worlds

Mysterious Traveler  (12/05/43 - 09/23/52)  370 total broadcasts.
  04/09/44  # 19  Beware Of Tomorrow
  10/07/44  # 43  The Man The Insects Hated  (Repeat 07/27/47)
  01/13/45  # 56  Escape Through Time
  12/29/46  # 84  If You Believe
  02/02/47  # 89  Voice From Tomorrow  (Repeat 07/26/49)
  02/09/47  # 90  Five Miles Down  (Repeat 07/04/50)
  12/30/47  #134  Escape To 2480  (Repeat 11/21/50)
  06/22/48  #159  Zero Hour
  08/02/49  #215  The Planet Zevius  (Repeat 05/01/51)
  10/11/49  #225  The Last Survivor

NBC Short Story  (02/21/51 - 05/30/52)  49 total broadcasts.
  01/04/52  The Rocket

Quiet Please  06/08/47 - 06/25/49)  105 total broadcasts.
  07/27/47  #  6  I Remember Tomorrow
  10/06/47  # 17  Not Enough Time
  02/02/48  # 34  Pathetic Fallacy
  03/29/48  # 42  Quiet Please  (Repeat 06/25/49)
  06/14/48  # 53  Not Responsible After 30 Years
  07/26/48  # 57  The Man Who Stole The Planet
  08/09/48  # 59  The Thing On The Fourable Board
  10/03/48  # 67  Meet John Smith, John
  11/07/48  # 72  Adam And The Darkest Day
  11/21/48  # 74  One For The Book
  12/05/48  # 76  Very Unimportant Person
  05/08/49  # 98  Other Side Of The Stars
  05/21/49  #100  The Oldest Man In The World

Radio City Playhouse  (07/03/48 - 01/01/50)  72 total broadcasts.
  06/13/49  #43  How Love Came To Professor Guildea
  10/02/49  #59  Conquerors' Isle

The Sealed Book  26 total broadcasts.
  07/29/45  #20  Beware Of Tomorrow

So Proudly We Hail  (06/01/41 - 09/26/41, 10/10/48 - 08/25/57)
  12/09/51  #166  Terror At Polgar
  01/06/52  #170  Matter Of Time
  01/10/54  #275  Experiment In Space
  02/05/56  #383  The Man From Mars

Suspense  (06/17/42 - 09/30/62)  945 total broadcasts.
  05/18/44  # 92  Donovan's Brain, Part 1  (Repeat as 60 minute
                    program on 02/07/48)
  05/25/44  # 93  Donovan's Brain, Part 2
  11/03/52  #485  Frankenstein  (Repeat 06/07/55)
  02/15/54  #539  The Outer Limit  (Repeat 03/17/57)
  04/05/55  #592  Zero Hour  (Repeat 05/18/58 and 01/03/60)
  07/12/55  #606  Kaleidoscope
  09/01/57  #714  Man From Tomorrow
  02/11/62  #912  The Man Who Went Back To Save Lincoln

Theater Guild On The Air  (12/06/43 - 06/07/53)
  11/19/50  Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde
  04/26/53  1984

Theatre Five  (08/03/64 - 07/30/54)  260 total broadcasts.
  08/05/64  #  3  Terror From Beyond
  08/10/64  #  6  Rebellion Next Week
  08/18/64  # 12  The New Order
  08/21/64  # 15  Molecule Masquerade
  08/28/64  # 20  Incident At Apogee
  09/01/64  # 22  Outside Time
  09/10/64  # 29  First Encounter
  09/16/64  # 33  The Big Freeze
  09/22/64  # 37  The Odyssey Of #14
  09/24/64  # 39  The Evil That Men Do
  09/28/64  # 41  Look Who's Talking
  10/02/64  # 45  Subject 428A
  10/12/64  # 51  All The Bright Young Ones
  11/06/64  # 70  Living Credit
  11/13/64  # 75  Deedle, Deedle, Dumpling My Son X-1
  11/24/64  # 82  The Talkers
  11/26/64  # 84  The Neighbor
  12/24/64  #104  The Wish Fulfillment Machine
  12/28/64  #106  Five Strangers
  01/14/65  #119  The Wandering Spaceman
  01/27/65  #128  Tomorrow 6-1212
  02/08/65  #136  Cold Storage
  02/17/65  #143  Post Time
  02/18/65  #144  It's A Work Of Art
  03/24/65  #168  Point Of Impact
  04/21/65  #188  Those Wonderful Stamps From El Dorado
  07/26/65  #256  In Absence Of All Intelligent Life

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Next Part XIV - BROADCASTING OTR PROGRAMS

If there is an area of information that you, the new or well established collector, would like to see in this series, please feel free to write me. Any questions, comments, or suggestions will be carefully considered. I can be reached through this internet web site or the following addresses:

Terry Salomonson
P.O. Box 347
Howell, MI 48844-0347

email: terryotr@ismi.net

Copyright © 1997 by Terry G.G. Salomonson. All rights reserved.


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