''X Minus One'' is an American half-hour science fiction

radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...

series that was broadcast from April 24, 1955, to January 9, 1958, in various timeslots on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

. Known for high production values in adapting stories from the leading American authors of the era, ''X Minus One'' has been described as one of the finest offerings of American radio drama and one of the best science fiction series in any medium.

Overview

Initially a revival of NBC's '' Dimension X'' (1950–51), the first 15 episodes of ''X Minus One'' were new versions of ''Dimension X'' episodes, but the remainder were adaptations by NBC staff writers, including

Ernest Kinoy Ernest Kinoy (April 1, 1925 – November 10, 2014) was an American writer, screenwriter and playwright. Early life Kinoy was born in New York City on April 1, 1925; his parents, Albert and Sarah Kinoy (formerly Forstadt), were both high-school ...

and George Lefferts, of newly published science fiction stories by leading writers in the field, including

Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and ...

, Philip K. Dick, Robert A. Heinlein,

Frederik Pohl Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American science-fiction writer, editor, and fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first published work, the 1937 poem "Elegy to a Dead Satellit ...

and

Theodore Sturgeon Theodore Sturgeon (; born Edward Hamilton Waldo, February 26, 1918 – May 8, 1985) was an American fiction author of primarily fantasy, science fiction and horror, as well as a critic. He wrote approximately 400 reviews and more than 120 sh ...

, along with some original scripts by Kinoy and Lefferts. Included in the series were adaptations of Robert Sheckley's "Skulking Permit", Bradbury's " Mars Is Heaven", Heinlein's "

Universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the univers ...

" and "

The Green Hills of Earth "The Green Hills of Earth" is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. One of his Future History stories, the short story originally appeared in ''The Saturday Evening Post'' (February 8, 1947), and it was collecte ...

", Pohl's " The Tunnel under the World", J. T. McIntosh’s "Hallucination Orbit",

Fritz Leiber Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. ( ; December 24, 1910 – September 5, 1992) was an American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theater and films, playwright, and chess expert. With writers such as Robert ...

’s " A Pail of Air", and George Lefferts' "The Parade".OTR Plotspot: ''X Minus One''
/ref> The program opened with announcer Fred Collins delivering the countdown, leading into the following introduction (although later shows beginning with Episode 37, were partnered with ''

Galaxy Science Fiction ''Galaxy Science Fiction'' was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published in Boston from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by a French-Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break into the American market. World Edit ...

'' rather than ''

Astounding Science Fiction ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...

''): The series was canceled after the 126th broadcast on January 9, 1958. However, the early 1970s brought a wave of nostalgia for

old-time radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the earl ...

; a new experimental episode, "The Iron Chancellor" by

Robert Silverberg Robert Silverberg (born January 15, 1935) is an American author and editor, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple winner of both Hugo and Nebula Awards, a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, and a Gran ...

, was produced in 1973, but it failed to revive the series. NBC also tried broadcasting the old recordings, but their irregular once-monthly scheduling kept even devoted listeners from following the broadcasts. The series was re-released in

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...

form beginning on June 22, 2007. In November 2008, Counter-Productions Theatre Company became the first theater company to stage three episodes, "The Parade", "A Logic Named Joe", and "Hallucination Orbit".

Episodes based on stories by famous writers

Poul Anderson Poul William Anderson (November 25, 1926 – July 31, 2001) was an American fantasy and science fiction author who was active from the 1940s until the 21st century. Anderson wrote also historical novels. His awards include seven Hugo Awards and ...

– "The Light" *

– " Nightfall", " C-Chute", " Hostess" *

James Blish James Benjamin Blish () was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is best known for his '' Cities in Flight'' novels and his series of ''Star Trek'' novelizations written with his wife, J. A. Lawrence. His novel '' A Case of Conscie ...

– "Surface Tension" *

Robert Bloch Robert Albert Bloch (; April 5, 1917September 23, 1994) was an American fiction writer, primarily of crime, psychological horror and fantasy, much of which has been dramatized for radio, cinema and television. He also wrote a relatively small ...

– "Almost Human" *

– "And The Moon Be Still As Bright", " Mars is Heaven!", " The Veldt", "Dwellers in Silence", "Zero Hour", "To the Future", " Marionettes, Inc.", " There Will Come Soft Rains" * L. Sprague de Camp – " A Gun for Dinosaur" *

Mark Clifton Mark Clifton (1906–1963) was an American science fiction writer, the co-winner of the second Hugo Award for best novel. He began publishing in May 1952 with the widely anthologized story "What Have I Done?". Series About half of his work fa ...

– "Star, Bright" * Philip K. Dick – " The Defenders", "

Colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state' ...

" * Thomas Godwin – "

The Cold Equations "The Cold Equations" is a science fiction short story by American writer Tom Godwin, first published in ''Astounding Magazine'' in August 1954. In 1970, the Science Fiction Writers of America selected it as one of the best science-fiction short ...

" * Robert A. Heinlein – "Universe", "

", "Requiem", " The Roads Must Roll" *

– " A Pail of Air", "Appointment in Tomorrow", "The Moon is Green" *

– "The Haunted Corpse", " Tunnel under the World", "Target One", "The Map Makers" * Robert Sheckley – "Skulking Permit", "The Lifeboat Mutiney", "Protection", "Early Model", " The Seventh Victim", "Something for Nothing", "The Native Problem", "Bad Medicine" *

– "Double Dare", "The Iron Chancellor" *

Clifford D. Simak Clifford Donald Simak (; August 3, 1904 – April 25, 1988) was an American science fiction writer. He won three Hugo Awards and one Nebula Award. The Science Fiction Writers of America made him its third SFWA Grand Master, and the Horror Wr ...

– "Courtesy", "Junkyard", "How-2", "Project Mastodon", "Drop Dead", "Lulu" *

– "Mr. Costello, Hero", " Saucer of Loneliness", "The Stars are the Styx" *

William Tenn William Tenn was the pseudonym of Philip Klass (May 9, 1920 – February 7, 2010), a British-born American science fiction author, notable for many stories with satirical elements. Biography Born to a Jewish family in London, Phillip Klass ...

– "Venus is for Men"

Episodes

References

External links

* *
OTR Plot Spot: ''X Minus One''
– plot summaries and reviews
''X Minus One'' the official fansite!
at xminusone.com * *
X Minus One at oldclassicradio.com
{{Authority control 1955 radio programme debuts 1958 radio programme endings American radio dramas Anthology radio series American science fiction radio programs Science fiction podcasts 1950s American radio programs NBC radio programs

Overview

Episodes based on stories by famous writers

Episodes

See also

References

External links