Tales of Tomorrow
Encyclopedia
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 featuring such performers as Boris Karloff
, Brian Keith
, Rod Steiger
, Bruce Cabot
, Franchot Tone
, Gene Lockhart
, Walter Abel
, Leslie Nielsen
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.
and Mort Abrahamson, together with the Science Fiction League of America. Its original name was going to be "Tomorrow is Yours". A deal was struck between them, Richard Gordon, and George Foley, this entitled the producers of the show to have first choice of any of the 2,000 short stories and 13 novels by the various author members of the 'Science Fiction League of America'. It was meant to be the first science fiction show for adults, as there were already many for children. It aimed to integrate mystery with science fiction, for a fast pace and suspense, it also gave authors such as Arthur C. Clarke
their first televised adaption
of their works.
also decided to try a radio series of the same name. The radio show ran from January 1–April 9th 1953. However, it was to be scripted from stories appearing in Galaxy Science Fiction
, similar to what the Dimension X
radio series had done, by collaborating with Astounding Science Fiction magazine. The radio series however didn't do as well. After only a few episodes, on February 26 it was switched to a CBS
radio production for the remainder of its 15 episode run. After the radio series was canceled the TV series soon followed. A few years after its cancellation the radio series X Minus One
, the 1955 successor of Dimension X also began exclusively using stories from Galaxy Science Fiction in their broadcasts. Four of the fifteen 'Tales of Tomorrow' stories were later re-dramatized for 'X Minus One' scripts these being; "The Stars Are the Styx", "The Moon Is Green", "The Girls From Earth", and "The Old Die Rich".
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
anthology science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
series that was performed and broadcast live
Live television
Live television refers to a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. From the early days of television until about 1958, live television was used heavily, except for filmed shows such as I Love Lucy and Gunsmoke. Video tape did not exist until 1957...
on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
from 1951
1951 in television
The year 1951 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1951.-Events:*March 22 - RCA introduces an eight-pound monochrome television camera with a 53-pound backpack transmitter, both operated by batteries...
to 1953
1953 in television
The year 1953 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1953.-Events:*January 19 – 68% of all US television sets were tuned in to I Love Lucy to watch Lucy give birth to little Ricky....
. The series covered such stories as Frankenstein
Frankenstein
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
, starring Lon Chaney, Jr.
Lon Chaney, Jr.
Lon Chaney, Jr. , born Creighton Tull Chaney, was an American character actor. He was best known for his roles in monster movies and as the son of famous silent film actor, Lon Chaney...
, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea starring Thomas Mitchell
Thomas Mitchell (actor)
Thomas Mitchell was an American actor, playwright and screenwriter. Among his most famous roles in a long career are those of Gerald O'Hara, the father of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, the drunken Doc Boone in John Ford's Stagecoach, and Uncle Billy in It's a Wonderful Life...
as Captain Nemo
Captain Nemo
Captain Nemo, also known as Prince Dakkar, is a fictional character featured in Jules Verne's novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and The Mysterious Island ....
, and many others featuring such performers as Boris Karloff
Boris Karloff
William Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...
, Brian Keith
Brian Keith
Brian Keith was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his four decade-long career gained recognition for his work in movies such as the 1961 Disney family film The Parent Trap, the 1966 comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, and the 1975 adventure saga The Wind and...
, Rod Steiger
Rod Steiger
Rodney Stephen "Rod" Steiger was an Academy Award-winning American actor known for his performances in such films as On the Waterfront, The Big Knife, Oklahoma!, The Harder They Fall, Across the Bridge, The Pawnbroker, Doctor Zhivago, In the Heat of the Night, and Waterloo as well as the...
, Bruce Cabot
Bruce Cabot
Bruce Cabot was an American film actor, best remembered as Jack Driscoll in King Kong . He is also known for his roles in films such as the sixth version of Last of the Mohicans, Fritz Lang's Fury and the western Dodge City.-Early life:Cabot was born Etienne Pelissier Jacques de Bujac in Carlsbad,...
, Franchot Tone
Franchot Tone
Franchot Tone was an American stage, film, and television actor, star of Mutiny on the Bounty and many other films through the 1960s...
, Gene Lockhart
Gene Lockhart
Eugene "Gene" Lockhart was a Canadian character actor, singer, and playwright. He also wrote the lyrics to a number of popular songs.-Early life:...
, Walter Abel
Walter Abel
Walter Abel was an American stage and film character actor. His eyes were brown and his height was five foot ten inches....
, Leslie Nielsen
Leslie Nielsen
Leslie William Nielsen, OC was a Canadian and naturalized American actor and comedian. Nielsen appeared in more than one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying more than 220 characters...
and Paul Newman
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
. The series had many similarities to the later Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)
The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...
which also covered one of the same stories, "What You Need
What You Need
"What You Need" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It is based on the short story of the same name by Lewis Padgett .- Synopsis :...
". In total it ran for eighty-five 30-minute episodes.
Production
The idea for this science fiction television series began by Ted SturgeonTheodore Sturgeon
Theodore Sturgeon was an American science fiction author.His most famous novel is More Than Human .-Biography:...
and Mort Abrahamson, together with the Science Fiction League of America. Its original name was going to be "Tomorrow is Yours". A deal was struck between them, Richard Gordon, and George Foley, this entitled the producers of the show to have first choice of any of the 2,000 short stories and 13 novels by the various author members of the 'Science Fiction League of America'. It was meant to be the first science fiction show for adults, as there were already many for children. It aimed to integrate mystery with science fiction, for a fast pace and suspense, it also gave authors such as Arthur C. Clarke
Arthur C. Clarke
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
their first televised adaption
Literary adaptation
Literary adaptation is the adapting of a literary source to another genre or medium, such as a film, a stage play, or even ace video game...
of their works.
Broadcast History
| Season | Time Slot |
|---|---|
| 1 (1951-1952) | Friday at 9:30 pm |
| 2 (1952-1953) |
Radio series
While Tales of Tomorrow the television series was still being produced in 1953, ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
also decided to try a radio series of the same name. The radio show ran from January 1–April 9th 1953. However, it was to be scripted from stories appearing in Galaxy Science Fiction
Galaxy Science Fiction
Galaxy Science Fiction was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by an Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break in to the American market. World Editions hired as editor H. L...
, similar to what the Dimension X
Dimension X
Dimension X was an NBC radio program broadcast on an unsponsored, sustaining basis from April 8, 1950 to September 29, 1951. The first 13 episodes were broadcast live, and the remainder were pre-recorded...
radio series had done, by collaborating with Astounding Science Fiction magazine. The radio series however didn't do as well. After only a few episodes, on February 26 it was switched to a CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
radio production for the remainder of its 15 episode run. After the radio series was canceled the TV series soon followed. A few years after its cancellation the radio series X Minus One
X Minus One
X Minus One was a half-hour science fiction radio drama series broadcast from April 24, 1955 to January 9, 1958 in various timeslots on NBC.-Overview:...
, the 1955 successor of Dimension X also began exclusively using stories from Galaxy Science Fiction in their broadcasts. Four of the fifteen 'Tales of Tomorrow' stories were later re-dramatized for 'X Minus One' scripts these being; "The Stars Are the Styx", "The Moon Is Green", "The Girls From Earth", and "The Old Die Rich".
Public Domain episodes
Many of the television episodes, and five of the surviving radio series episodes are now in the public domain in the United States, and available for free download at Internet ArchiveInternet Archive
The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
.
See also
- Captain Video and His Video Rangers, first science fiction adventure series in United States television, aimed at juvenile audiences.
- Out ThereOut There (1951 TV series)Out There was a short-lived science fiction television program broadcast on Sundays at 6:00 p.m. EST on CBS Television from October 28, 1951 thru January 13, 1952. It only lasted twelve half-hour episodes before being cancelled. The awkward time slot may have led to its failure...
, an 1951 anthology series. - The Outer LimitsThe Outer Limits (1963 TV series)The Outer Limits is an American television series that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1965. The series is similar in style to the earlier The Twilight Zone, but with a greater emphasis on science fiction, rather than fantasy stories...
, an anthology series. - Science fiction on televisionScience fiction on televisionScience fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...
, a look at the history of Science fiction from various countries, and when they first appeared on television. - Science Fiction TheatreScience Fiction TheatreScience Fiction Theatre is an American science fiction anthology series that aired in syndication from April 1955 to April 1957. It was produced by Ivan Tors and Maurice Ziv.-Overview:...
an anthology series, released about 3 years later. - Space Patrol, another science fiction adventure series that was being produced at the same time, also for juvenile audiences.
External links
- 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.
- Tales of Tomorrow - radio show plot summaries.