''Tales of Tomorrow'' is an American

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

series that was performed and broadcast live on ABC from 1951 to 1953. The series covered such stories as ''

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...

'' starring Lon Chaney Jr., ''

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' () is a science fiction adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne. It is considered a classic within its genres and world literature. It was originally serialised from March 1869 to June 1870 i ...

'' starring Thomas Mitchell as Captain Nemo, and many others.

Cast

Besides Chaney and Mitchell, the show featured such performers as

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), known professionally as Boris Karloff () and occasionally billed as Karloff the Uncanny, was a British actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstei ...

, James Dean,

Brian Keith Robert Alba Keith (November 14, 1921 – June 24, 1997), known professionally as Brian Keith, was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his six-decade career gained recognition for his work in films such as the Disney family ...

, Lee J. Cobb,

Eva Gabor Eva Gabor ( ; February 11, 1919 – July 4, 1995) was a Hungarian-American actress and socialite. Gabor voiced Duchess and Miss Bianca in the Disney animations ''The Aristocats'' (1970), ''The Rescuers'' (1977), and ''The Rescuers Down Under'' ...

, Veronica Lake,

Rod Steiger Rodney Stephen Steiger ( ; April 14, 1925 – July 9, 2002) was an American actor, noted for his portrayal of offbeat, often volatile and crazed characters. Ranked as "one of Hollywood's most charismatic and dynamic stars", he is closely associ ...

, Bruce Cabot, Franchot Tone, Louis Hector, Gene Lockhart, Walter Abel, Cloris Leachman,

Leslie Nielsen Leslie William Nielsen (February 11, 1926November 28, 2010) was a Canadian actor and comedian. With a career spanning 60 years, he appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, portraying more than 220 characters. He made his a ...

, Joanne Woodward and

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and activist. He was the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Paul Newman, numerous awards ...

. 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.''

Production

The idea for this science fiction television series was developed by

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

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)." 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. Other early science fiction writers whose work was reflected in the series included

Fredric Brown Fredric Brown (October 29, 1906 – March 11, 1972) was an American science fiction, fantasy, and mystery writer.D. J. McReynolds, "The Short Fiction of Fredric Brown" in Frank N. Magill, (ed.) ''Survey of Science Fiction Literature'', Vol. ...

("The Last Man on Earth" and "Age of Peril"),

Philip Wylie Philip Gordon Wylie (May 12, 1902 – October 25, 1971) was an American writer of works ranging from pulp science fiction, mysteries, social diatribes and satire to ecology and the threat of nuclear holocaust. Early life and career Born in Bever ...

("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. The producers wanted to blend mystery and science fiction, and to emphasize fast pacing and suspense.

Episodes

As an anthology show, each episode had a self-contained plot. Every episode started with a brief bit of narration that mentioned the show's sponsor(s).

Series overview

Season 1 (1951–52)

Season 2 (1952–53)

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. The radio series differed from the television series in that its scripts were adapted from stories appearing in ''

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 Edi ...

''. Another radio series, '' Dimension X'', had had a similar relationship with ''

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 ...

'' 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.''Tales of Tomorrow Radio: Details''
Production information and review sources on the radio series ''Tales of Tomorrow''. 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".

Surviving episodes

Most of the television episodes are in the United States

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

. 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 The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

. It was broadcast live and so the 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 Tales Of Tomorrow: The Inside Story on TV's 1st Sci-Fi Anthology
website;

References

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.

- plot summaries and reviews.
''Tales of Tomorrow: The Inside Story'' interviews with show creatorsThe TV DB
{{Fantasy and science fiction radio programs 1950s American science fiction television series 1951 American television series debuts 1953 American television series endings 1950s American anthology television series American Broadcasting Company television dramas American radio dramas 1953 radio programme debuts 1953 radio programme endings ABC radio programs Radio programs based on television series Horror fiction radio programmes American science fiction radio programs Black-and-white American television shows American English-language television shows American horror fiction television series American live television series Science fiction anthology television series