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Some of my favorite X Minus One episodes.
These are the stories that stuck with me the most. All of them were adapted for radio by either George Lefferts or Ernest Kinoy.
“The Cave of Night” by James E. Gun
This one really impressed me because it broke from the standard format of the show. The plot unfolds through a series of tapes being assembled by a radio journalist for the nightly news program. An astronaut is sent into space, only to be stuck there. The journalist covering the story uncovers a conspiracy fit for Bob Woodward!
“Tunnel Under the World” by Frederik Pohl
This is one I remember my dad playing for me when I was a child. A man wakes up to the same day every day with a nightmare about a huge explosion. He eventually uncovers a sinister plot involving mind control, cybernetics and subversive advertising. This excellent, eerie episode would have been perfect for The Twilight Zone.
“There Will Come Soft Rains/Zero Hour” by Ray Bradbury
Another one I remember from my childhood. A rare episode where two separate stories were told in one show. The first one is about an automatic house of the future that keeps running after its inhabitants have been annihilated in a nuclear war. In “Zero Hour,” Martians use the resentment that children hold for their parents in order to conquer Earth. The themes of both stories were combined in another Bradbury story, “The Veldt.”
“Skulking Permit” by Robert Sheckley
In this light-hearted story, a long-forgotten, peaceful colony on a distant planet is contacted by Earth after 200 years. The mayor of the colony wants to make an impression on the Earthen inspectors, so he appoints a job to each of his citizens – including town criminal! A brilliant piece of satire that is genuinely funny.
“Cold Equations” by Tom Godwin
The pilot of a small ship discovers that a young girl has stowed away in the closet so she can see her husband who is on the destination planet. Unfortunately, the ship only has enough fuel for the pilot and the vacination it’s carrying to the planet, which means the girl has to go. Notable for its incredibly stark, non-Disney ending.
“Colony” & “The Defenders” by Philip K. Dick
Dick is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine. In “Colony,” a spaceship lands on a planet that appears to be empty until inanimate objects attack the crew, like The Thing. “The Defenders” depicts an Orwellian future, where people live underground and follow the progress of the “Surface War.” The original short story is probably better, as this radio play reeks of 1950’s cheese, but it’s still PKD.
“Sea Legs” by Frank Quattrocchi
A starship pilot, who has only experienced the political and social freedom of outer space, comes to Earth, his parents’ home planet. Unfortunately, he finds a beaurocratic dictatorship and misery. This story espouses an interesting concept of personal anti-authoritarian rebellion that’s very much in line with my own philosophies. It also takes place in Los Angeles.
“Universe” by Robert Heinlein and “The Sense of Wonder” by Milton Lesser
Both these stories concern enormous spaceships that have been wandering in the void for so long that they are the only sense of existence the inhabitants know. In fact, the religious, social and political environments of the societies are centered around “The Ship,” which is like a god in their minds. Some fascinating questions about religion are raised in these stories.
“Hallucination Orbit” by J.T. McIntosh
A man has been left alone on a planet to run an interstellar lighthouse for so long that he hallucinates voluptuous space women come to visit him. Much of the episode takes place in the conversations that the main character has inside his head, questioning the reality of his visitors. Extremely well-written.
“Knock” by Fredric Brown
Another humorous story. Here, a bored, cynical college professor is chosen by aliens to be the sole surviving representative of the human race, along with an emotional, young female counterpart. A satyrical take on the “Adam & Eve” concept with some hilarious dialog.
