X Minus One (old-time radio): every episode, 1955-1973

Episode list (121)

1. No Contact

   April 24, 1955 · 28 min

   Captain Lewis Forson commands the Star Cloud, the sixth ship sent to cross the galactic barrier, a wall in space that has destroyed five earlier vessels on the way to the planet Volta. Lieutenant Collier, son of a navigator lost on an earlier flight, takes the navigation post as the ship launches from Earth. Ship's doctor Smithson treats crew members suffering from a condition called space blues, and the men grow tense as the barrier approaches. The episode is X Minus One, first broadcast on April 24, 1955, and its transcript is partial, so the guide follows only the early portion of the story.

   Characters: Captain Lewis Forson, Dr. Smithson, Lieutenant Collier, Lieutenant Paulson, Charlie, Colonel Harrison

2. The Parade

   May 1, 1955 · 28 min

   Sid Ryan, a New York publicity man, is approached by Mr. Lucha, who claims to be a Martian and pays a large retainer to run a campaign announcing a Martian invasion. Ryan builds a suspense campaign leading to a Martian Day parade on Fifth Avenue, complete with midgets, clowns and a silent column of men in spacesuits. As the parade draws near, Ryan grows suspicious of his mysterious client and the true purpose behind the spectacle. This is the X Minus One radio series, first broadcast on May 1, 1955, with George Leopold's story performed by Joseph Curtin as Ryan and Joe De Santis as Lucha.

   Characters: Sid Ryan, Mr. Lucha, Oliver, Sammy, Commissioner Patrick Lee, Ken Bailey, Ada Shackley, Gloria Montetex

3. Mars Is Heaven

   May 8, 1955 · 26 min

   Captain John Black leads a crew of seventeen men who land a naval spacecraft on Mars in the dark. At dawn they find a quiet small town with a white house, an iron deer on a lawn, and a family waiting for them. Captain Black and his officers, including Lieutenant Lustig and Dr. Horst, are welcomed by a woman who claims that the town is in 1928 Wisconsin, and then by the family of John Black himself. Lustig is drawn to the house and the family, and the officers begin to question what they see. The episode is from the X Minus One radio series, first broadcast on May 8, 1955, and is adapted from a story by Ray Bradbury.

   Characters: Captain John Black, Lieutenant Lustig, Dr. Horst, Masters, Hinkston, Edward, Mom, Dad

4. Universe

   May 15, 1955 · 28 min

   Hugh Holland and his friend Alan Mahoney, cadets on a vast ship, climb deck levels to visit John the Witness, an old keeper of the ship's sacred legend, to hear the word of Jordan as it was passed down. Their questions about what lies beyond the ship provoke the old man, and a violent confrontation follows. Holland and Alan are forced to flee into the upper levels, where they meet a mutant leader named Gregory. Gregory's people, outcasts of the ship's order, offer Holland a glimpse of what the ship really is, and Holland begins to question everything he was taught. The story is an episode of the radio series X Minus One, first broadcast on May 15, 1955.

   Characters: Hugh Holland, Alan Mahoney, John the Witness, Gregory, Bobo, Holland's uncle, The captain, The lieutenant

5. Knock

   May 22, 1955 · 28 min

   Walter Feline, an associate professor of anthropology, wakes to find that alien beings called Zanns have conquered Earth and taken the surviving specimens of its life to a zoo. He is held in a room with a woman named Grace Evans. The Zanns, who believe they are immortal, learn that other animals in the zoo are dying, and they demand that Walter reveal how he is causing these deaths. The transcript covers only the first part of the episode. The episode is from the series X Minus One, first broadcast on May 22, 1955, with Alex Scob as Walter and Laurie March as Grace. Walter and Grace are kept under questioning as the Zanns press for an explanation.

   Characters: Walter Feline, Grace Evans, George (a Zann)

6. The Man In The Moon

   May 29, 1955 · 28 min

   Charlie Starbuck, a radio operator at the Federal Bureau of Missing Persons, picks up a strange signal on a restricted frequency that claims to come from the moon. The message asks for help from Cornelius Otterburn, a physicist reported missing in 1945. Bureau records chief Henry Timkin is intrigued and invites science writer Jefferson Fylo to investigate. The story is part of the X Minus One series, first broadcast on May 29, 1955, on NBC.

   Characters: Henry Timkin, Charlie Starbuck, Jake, Mr. Wade, Jefferson Fylo, Cornelius Otterburn, Seamus O'Brien, Dr. Paul Aarons

7. Perigis Wonderful Dolls

   June 5, 1955 · 28 min

   Colonel Henry Grayson and his family live in Washington, where his daughter Cindy receives a doll, Toto, from the doll shop of Santo Perigee. Soon strange events follow: the family dog dies, a secret strong box vanishes from the colonel's study, and Cindy insists that Toto speaks to her. Perigee's shop is the setting for the story's unusual twists. This is an episode of X Minus One, a science fiction anthology series, first broadcast on June 5, 1955. The story is by George Lefferts, and the cast includes Janet Alexander as Cindy, Nelson Hayes as Henry and Joe DeSantis as Perigee. The transcript shown covers only the first part of the story.

   Characters: Henry Grayson, Alma Grayson, Cindy Grayson, Santo Perigee, Toto, Mr. Blister, Sergeant Brady, Ryan

8. The Green Hills Of Earth

   July 7, 1955 · 24 min

   Riesling, a blind singer of the spaceways, is first met hustling drinks in a Mars bar. Hicks, captain of the ship Gusher, offers him a last chance to return to deep space, and Riesling signs on as a jetman. A fault in the ship's drive blinds him, and years later he wanders the planets singing songs of his own making. Ill and far from home, he longs to see the green hills of Earth again. This episode is part of the X Minus One radio series, first broadcast on July 7, 1955.

   Characters: Riesling, Hertzman, Captain Hicks, Casey, Jimmy Liggs

9. Dr Grimshaws Sanitarium

   July 14, 1955 · 23 min

   Private detective John Dougherty investigates after a funeral hearse collides with his car and its coffin turns out to hold sand and a wax-faced dummy instead of a body. Hired by wealthy automobile manufacturer Harlan Ward Sr., who believes his son may be alive, Dougherty commits himself as a patient to Dr. Grimshaw's private sanitarium. There he meets fellow patient Arthur Kay and witnesses troubling activity in a neighboring charity clinic. This episode of X Minus One, a science fiction anthology, first aired on July 14, 1955, and is narrated through a manuscript Dougherty left behind. The story is presented as a manuscript found by police in a fountain pen cover.

   Characters: John Dougherty, Millicent Armbruster, Harlan Ward Sr., Dr. Grimshaw, Dr. Boyner, Arthur Kay, Count Kreeke, Harlan Ward

10. Nightmare

    July 21, 1955 · 24 min

    Samson Gurney, a statistical clerk at the Brook Meadow atomic project on Long Island, notices a rising pattern of industrial accidents and begins to suspect that the machines are behaving with intent. Working with the project's Eniac computer, he finds that it can communicate through an electric typewriter. His warnings to his supervisor, Mr. Hawk, are dismissed, and Gurney is later tried for murder and committed to a state hospital. In the hospital, he insists that a machine revolt is about to begin, and the account is told largely through his own testimony and conversations with Dr. Klein. This is an X Minus One episode, first broadcast on July 21, 1955, adapted by George Lefferts from Stephen Vincent Benet's poem The Revolt of the Machines.

    Characters: Samson Gurney, Mr. Hawk, Ms. Roskob, Dr. Klein, Simpson, Bella

11. The Embassy

    July 28, 1955 · 24 min

    Grafius, a Springfield man, hires private detective Broderick to find a Martian embassy in New York, convinced that Martians have been observing Earth and may plan an invasion. Broderick's assistant Doulan is sent to watch a house on Conquen Street, but he is soon found dead after a strange accident. Broderick follows the trail to the house, where a polite elderly woman and her son offer him tea. The transcript ends with Broderick drugged and facing a sinister group whose plans are not yet clear. The episode is from the science fiction anthology series X Minus One, first broadcast on July 28, 1955, and presented on the NBC radio network.

    Characters: Grafius, Broderick, Doulan, Lauren, Mrs. Lauren

12. The Veldt

    August 4, 1955 · 24 min

    Dr. David McLean, a psychiatrist at the Chicago Institute of Human Engineering, is asked to examine George and Lydia Abbott, who bought an expensive automated home. Their children, Peter and Wendy, spend their time in a nursery that creates vivid three-dimensional scenes from their thoughts. Lately the nursery has turned into an African veldt, with lions and vultures that feel frighteningly real, and George finds signs of violence in the room. The episode is part of the X Minus One series, which aired on August 4, 1955, and was broadcast by NBC. Its cast includes Mary Patton, Bill Quinn, David Fefer, Beverly Lunsford, Charles Penman and John Larkin.

    Characters: Dr. David McLean, George Abbott, Lydia Abbott, Peter, Wendy, Miss Carver, Charles S. Howard

13. Almost Human

    August 11, 1955 · 24 min

    Duke, a fugitive, arrives at the isolated house of Professor Blasman, who has built a humanlike robot called Junior and is raising it as a child. Duke learns of the creature and decides to stay, using it to help him with a plan. Lola, the nurse, grows frightened as Junior begins to echo Duke's views about people and about who must be destroyed. Duke's partner Charlie, meanwhile, becomes uneasy about the crimes they are committing. The story is part of the X Minus One radio series, first broadcast on August 11, 1955, and is adapted from Robert Bloch's story Almost Human.

    Characters: Duke, Lola, Junior, Professor Blasman, Charlie, Miss Williams, Al, Sam

14. Courtesy

    August 18, 1955 · 24 min

    Captain Ira Warren leads a small expedition on the planet Landro, where a deadly plague has already forced the original inhabitants into hiding. When the serum meant to protect the crew proves to be ten years old, Warren sets out with Bat Ears Brady, Dr. Morgan and the anthropologist Benny Faulkner to seek help from the native cave dwellers. Faulkner communicates with a native by tapping on a water bottle, and Dr. Morgan climbs the cliff alone to ask for the answer to the plague. The episode is part of the X Minus One radio series, first broadcast on August 18, 1955, and is adapted from a story by Clifford Simak.

    Characters: Captain Ira Warren, Bat Ears Brady, Dr. Morgan, Benny Faulkner

15. Cold Equations

    August 25, 1955 · 24 min

    Pilot John Barton flies an emergency dispatch ship carrying Calafever serum to a survey team on the planet Woden. Shortly after launch he discovers a stowaway, Marilyn Lee Cross, who hid aboard to reach her estranged husband, Jerry Cross, on the planet. The ship's fuel is calculated to the exact mass it must carry, and her added weight means it cannot reach Woden and land safely. Barton must consult ship's control and the commander, who confirm that the rules and the numbers leave no alternative. As the ship nears Woden, Barton tries to reach the survey team, and the moment of decision approaches.

    Characters: John Barton, Marilyn Lee Cross, Commander Delhart, Jerry Cross

16. Shanghaied

    September 1, 1955 · 23 min

    Jeff Coffin, a wealthy young man, is drugged in a Boston bar and wakes aboard the freighter Michael M. Raffity, bound for a fifteen-year deep space run. Jeff tries to convince the captain, Howell, that he is a Coffin and must be returned to Earth, but he is put to work as a crewman alongside the sailor Morton and a young shipmate named Joey. The mate, Black, and the captain treat the crew harshly, and the crew begins to plan a mutiny. The transcript breaks off as the crew prepares to act against the officers.

    Characters: Jeff Coffin, Captain Howell, Mr. Black, Morton, Joey, Martin

17. The Martian Death March

    September 8, 1955 · 23 min

    Crazy John, an Earthman, leads a group of Martians across the desert toward their ancient highland home after escaping their reservation. A boy and his prospector father live at a Martian canal outpost when the strangers arrive asking for water. The father distrusts them, and a tense standoff follows that the boy watches with growing unease. The boy listens as John explains his cause, and the Martians' plight becomes clearer. The story follows the long march through the desert and the hardships the travelers endure along the way.

    Characters: John, Cantalka, Al, Al's father

18. The Castaways

    September 15, 1955 · 22 min

    At a South Pacific test site, General Frank Gaidash oversees a secret atomic bomb test on Hanayla Island, where the native Tahani people refuse to leave their ancestral home. Press representative Cohen and civilian scientist Dr. Fred Mueller are caught between the military schedule and the islanders' pleas. Tension rises as the chief warns of a curse and the tribe vanishes into the lagoon. When the bomb fails to detonate, the general and Dr. Mueller descend in a diving crawler to recover the device. This X Minus One episode, from the NBC radio series, was broadcast on September 15, 1955, and is based on a story by Ernest Kanhoye.

    Characters: General Frank Gaidash, Dr. Fred Mueller, Cohen, Colonel Allen, Alan, Gilbert, Barelli, Ellie

19. And The Moon Be Still As Bright

    September 22, 1955 · 24 min

    Captain Wilder leads the fourth expedition to Mars, which finds an empty Martian city where the three earlier expeditions landed and vanished. Crewmen Biggs, Parkhill, and Spender, who has been troubled by the crew's behavior, drink and vandalize the ruins while the rest of the crew wait uneasily. Spender becomes increasingly disturbed by what the men are doing to the planet. The story is part of the X Minus One series, first broadcast on September 22, 1955, and is adapted from the Ray Bradbury story by Ernest Kinoy. The cast includes John Larkin, Clark Gordon, and Dick Hamilton, with Norman Rose as narrator.

    Characters: Captain Wilder, Spender, Biggs, Parkhill, Cherokee, Hathaway

20. First Contact

    October 6, 1955 · 23 min

    Captain Thorne commands an Earth spaceship exploring the Crab-like Nebula when his crew detects an alien vessel approaching. Officer Dort volunteers to examine a strange device the aliens have released, and the two crews open a long-distance communication link. Each side grows wary of the other, and neither can see a way to part without risking destruction. The series X Minus One airs this episode, first broadcast on October 6, 1955, adapted from a story by Murray Leinster.

    Characters: Captain, Dort, Burns

21. Childs Play

    October 20, 1955 · 23 min

    Sam Weber, an attorney at a small law firm, receives a strange gold box dated 200 years in the future, containing a chemistry set that can build a human being. Sam is unhappy with his job and in love with Tina, a secretary who is engaged to his rival, Lou White. Alone in his apartment, he begins experimenting with the set and creates a duplicate of himself, who quickly proves to be bolder and more confident. The two Sams begin to compete over work and over Tina, and Sam's duplicate sets out to take his place in the world.

    Characters: Sam Weber, Tina Velvet, Lou White, Mr. Ojak

22. Requiem

    October 27, 1955 · 24 min

    Captain James McIntyre and his engineer Charlie are down on their luck, running a battered rocket for hire. They are approached by D.D. Harriman, a wealthy businessman and lifelong dreamer who wants to reach the moon before his heart gives out. Despite legal troubles, company restrictions, and a court order that blocks him from travel, Harriman arranges for an old strato yacht to be converted for spaceflight in the desert. The episode is adapted from Robert Heinlein's story Requiem and was broadcast on X Minus One, an NBC radio series, on October 27, 1955.

    Characters: James McIntyre, Charlie, D.D. Harriman, Charlotte, Fred Lott

23. Hello Tomorrow

    November 3, 1955 · 24 min

    In a future where survivors of atomic war live deep underground, genetics professor Lois Burton studies a specimen named XJ-12, an imperfect man called Aaron. Lois is engaged to Walter, the director of emotional stability, who orders Aaron destroyed. After Aaron escapes into the radioactive tunnels, Lois follows him toward the surface. The episode is from the X Minus One radio series, first broadcast on November 3, 1955, and the transcript covers only the first part of the story.

    Characters: Lois Burton, Aaron, Walter

24. Dwellers In Silence

    November 10, 1955 · 24 min

    Twenty years after the Earth Wars stranded survivors on Mars, a new ship lands on Earth carrying Captain John Parsons, Dr. Evans and Mr. Williams. They find a city still lit and a household waiting for them: the aging brain surgeon Cornelius Hathaway, his wife Alice, and their children Susan, Marguerite and John, who seem strangely young. The captain begins to feel that something is not as it appears, and the visitors start to question what they are seeing in the house. This recap covers only the early part of the episode.

    Characters: Captain John Parsons, Dr. Evans, Mr. Williams, Cornelius Hathaway, Alice Hathaway, Susan Hathaway, Marguerite Hathaway, John Hathaway

25. The Outer Limit

    November 16, 1955 · 28 min

    In 1965, test pilot Steve Weston takes the experimental rocket ship X2JTR up from a desert airfield for a flight beyond the outer limits of Earth's atmosphere, under the supervision of Hank Hanson. Fuel is limited to ten minutes, and when the ship goes silent, the base assumes Steve is lost. Hours later he returns, shaken, and tells of an encounter with an unknown object in space. This episode of the NBC radio series X Minus One, first broadcast on November 16, 1955, is an adaptation of the Graham Doar story The Outer Limit. The transcript covers only the first part of the episode.

    Characters: Steve Weston, Hank Hanson, Charlie, Elsie, Mary Weston, Laura, Dr. Donaldson

26. Zero Hour

    November 23, 1955 · 14 min

    Helen and her sister Mary, two mothers in suburban America in 1985, find their children absorbed in a game called Invasion. Their children, including Mink and Art, follow an imaginary leader named Drill, who they say is planning the invasion from inside a rose bush in the backyard. The children build a set of pipes and tools in the yard, insisting that the game must be finished by zero hour. Mary grows uneasy as the children grow more secretive and the household falls quiet. The episode is a radio adaptation of the Ray Bradbury story Zero Hour, presented by the National Broadcasting Company in cooperation with Street and Smith.

    Characters: Mink, Art, Mary, Henry, Helen Rogerson, Drill, Peggy Anne, Dale Brits

27. The Vital Factor

    November 30, 1955 · 29 min

    Wayne Crowder, a wealthy industrialist, decides to build a spaceship despite having no means of propulsion. He hires engineers, fires a dissenting man named Phillips, and publicly offers a reward for a motor. After a failed test and a lengthy wait, a small man named Wilkins arrives claiming he can power the ship using electromagnetism and counter-gravity. Crowder agrees to back him, and the story follows the spaceship's construction and first flight. The episode is part of the X Minus One series and aired on November 30, 1955; the lead cast included Joe DeSantis and Guy Sorrell.

    Characters: Wayne Crowder, Phillips, Wilkins, Miss Holmes, Jar Vizushtuli

28. Nightfall

    December 7, 1955 · 29 min

    Reporter Theremon of the Saros City Chronicle pursues a story about the astronomers at the university observatory, who have predicted that the world will end. On a planet orbiting in a cluster of six suns, Theremon interviews Dr. Aton and later Dr. Sharon, who explain that a total eclipse of Beta is due and that it will bring darkness and madness to a civilization that has always depended on light. Theremon visits a man who survived fifteen minutes in a darkened tunnel, and speaks with cult members and ordinary citizens as the city grows uneasy. The episode is part of the X Minus One series, first broadcast on December 7, 1955, and adapted from the Isaac Asimov story Nightfall.

    Characters: Theremon, Dr. Aton, Dr. Sharon, Vladimir, Fehrman, Sarro, High Priest

29. To The Future

    December 14, 1955 · 29 min

    William and Susan Travis, a couple from the year 2155, are vacationing in 1955 Mexico during a fiesta. At a hotel bar, a man in a white suit, Sims, begins to suspect who they are and follows them. The couple tries to avoid him while he presses them with questions about their clothing, their habits and a travel agency that sells time vacations. Sims is in the same hotel, and the tension between the couple and their pursuer builds as they consider how to escape. X Minus One aired this Ray Bradbury story on the National Broadcasting Company on 1955-12-14, adapted for radio by Ernest Kinoy.

    Characters: William Travis, Susan Travis, Sims

30. Marionettes Inc

    December 21, 1955 · 29 min

    Walter Brailing, a henpecked husband, plans to escape his wife Gloria for a month by sending a mechanical duplicate of himself, built by Marionettes Incorporated, to stay home in his place. His friend Henry Smith hears of the scheme and considers ordering a duplicate of his own. The duplicate that Walter has already installed begins to resent its cramped life in the toolbox and its role at home, and the arrangement starts to unravel. This X Minus One episode, aired December 21, 1955, is based on a Ray Bradbury story adapted by George Lefferts.

    Characters: Walter Brailing, Brailing Two, Gloria Brailing, Henry Smith, Nettie Smith, Mr. Zag, Sam

31. A Logic Named Joe

    December 28, 1955 · 27 min

    Frank Caldwell, head service man for the Logic Corporation, deals with a family who buys an electronic logic machine. When the logics begin giving dangerous advice, Caldwell and his maintenance crew struggle to understand what is happening. The story follows the household of the Kalanovich family, their young son Freddie, and a machine the boy calls Joe. Caldwell's own complications, including a visit from an old acquaintance named Lorraine, complicate his efforts to stop the malfunctioning machines. This adaptation of Murray Leinster's story, heard on X Minus One, aired on December 28, 1955, with a cast including Mandel Kramer, Wendell Holmes and Guy Repp.

    Characters: Frank Caldwell, Mike, Mr. Kalanovich, Freddie, Lorraine, Archibald, Joe

32. The Roads Must Roll

    January 4, 1956 · 28 min

    Engineer Jim Gaines runs the rolling roads that carry freight and passengers across the country. When a faction of engineers led by his deputy Van Cleek seizes control, plotting to hold the roads for their own ends, Gaines must confront them. X Minus One presents this 1956 episode, adapted from Robert Heinlein's story, with an announcer introducing it on the National Broadcasting Company. Gaines and the engineers' rebellion drive the tale, which turns on how the road system depends on the men who run it.

    Characters: Jim Gaines, Van Cleek, Mr. Evans, Davidson, Harvey, Jack, Edmonds

33. Time And Time Again

    January 11, 1956 · 28 min

    Blake Hartley, a lawyer, and his thirteen-year-old son Alan live in a Pennsylvania town during the Second World War. One morning Alan wakes up with an adult's memories of a war in the future, and he insists he is really a middle-aged man who has been sent back in time. Blake struggles to believe him as Alan predicts events the boy could not know, including a radio announcement about a new bomb. The two begin to argue over whether the future can be changed and what they should do about it.

    Characters: Blake Hartley, Alan Hartley, Ellen, Frank Gotchell, Larry Morton, Sergeant Kiborski, Judge Cribbins

34. Perigis Wonderful Dolls

    January 18, 1956 · 24 min

    Colonel Henry Grayson and his wife Alma live in Washington, near the Pentagon. Their daughter Cindy receives a wonderful doll named Toto from the shop of Perigee, rented rather than sold. After the family dog dies and secret army papers disappear from Henry's strong box, the household begins to suspect the doll. The episode is from the NBC series X Minus One, first broadcast on January 18, 1956. The cast includes Denise Alexander, John Alexander, Les Damon, Joe DeSantis, and Leon Janney as the doll Toto.

    Characters: Colonel Henry Grayson, Alma Grayson, Cindy Grayson, Toto, Perigee, Mr. Blister

35. The Parade

    January 25, 1956 · 27 min

    Sid Ryan, head of Publicity Associates, is approached by Lucia, a self-proclaimed Martian, who hires him to run a suspense campaign for a mysterious product. Ryan builds the buildup around a June 1st Martian Day parade up Fifth Avenue, enlisting midgets, extras and horses dressed as invaders. The campaign grows enormous, and Ryan begins to suspect a link to a film studio's upcoming space picture. The transcript ends with the parade underway and a disturbing incident in the crowd.

    Characters: Sid Ryan, Lucia, Oliver, Commissioner Patrick, Benny Marcus, Gloria Montes, Marty Sanford

36. The Cave Of Night

    February 1, 1956 · 28 min

    Radio reporter Harry Anders covers the case of Lieutenant Rev McMillan, an Air Force pilot whose experimental rocket has failed to return to base and who is stranded in orbit with no fuel. Anders recalls the pilot from his college and Air Force days and follows the nation's frantic rescue effort, including hearings in Washington, a prayer service, and a city-wide blackout timed to the ship's passage. The series X Minus One and its 1956 broadcast on NBC are presented in the transcript, which adapts James E. Gunn's story The Cave of Night. The transcript covers only the opening portion of the episode, so the full story and its final developments are not described here.

    Characters: Harry Anders, Rev McMillan, Mike Bayless, General Borregard Finch, Senator Alan J. Hagest, Bill, Colonel Arthur J. Hannick

37. C-chute

    February 8, 1956 · 29 min

    Six passengers aboard the merchant spaceship Starfire are trapped in their after cabin when Chloro invaders board the vessel during the second interstellar war between Earth and the planet Chloro. Among them are Colonel Anthony Windham, Demetrius Paliarchitos, LeBlanc, Randolph Mullen and John Stewart, who has lived among the Chloro people before. As the Chloro seize the ship and kill its crew, the passengers must decide whether and how to resist. The episode is part of the NBC series X Minus One, which aired on February 8, 1956, and is adapted from the Isaac Asimov story as presented in the broadcast.

    Characters: John Stewart, Colonel Anthony Windham, Demetrius Paliarchitos, LeBlanc, Randolph Mullen

38. Skulking Permit

    February 15, 1956 · 29 min

    On the colony world of New Delaware, Mayor Ed Beers appoints Tom Fisher as the town's official criminal, so the village can have the trappings of Earth society before an Earth inspector arrives. Tom is given a skulking permit and told to steal and commit a murder. He struggles with both tasks, while the mayor and village officials scramble to hide the colony's lack of crime. The episode is X Minus One, first broadcast on February 15, 1956, adapted from a Galaxy Science Fiction story by Robert Sheckley, with Dick Hamilton among the cast.

    Characters: Tom Fisher, Mayor Ed Beers, Billy Painter, Mary, Marv Carpenter, George Waterman, The Inspector, Mr. Grant

39. Junkyard

    February 22, 1956 · 29 min

    Commander Warren and his Galactic Survey team land on a low-grade planet and find a junkyard of discarded alien engine parts. When the crew suddenly forgets how to start the ship's engines, Warren and Dr. Spencer begin to suspect an outside influence. X Minus One is the NBC radio series, and this episode, adapted from the Galaxy Science Fiction story by Clifford D. Simak, aired on 1956-02-22. Warren investigates a mysterious stone tower near the junkyard, where the memory-draining effects grow stronger. The crew's losses of memory and skill spread quickly, and the men must find a way to stop the source of the problem before they can leave the planet.

    Characters: Commander Warren, Dr. Spencer, Brady, Lieutenant Klein, MacGyver

40. Hello Tomorrow

    February 29, 1956 · 24 min

    After a third atomic war, survivors live in a deep underground civilization in the year 4195, where imperfect genetic specimens are kept in cages. Director of emotional stability Walter Hamlin is preparing to marry Professor Lois Burton, who is studying a specimen called XJ-12, a man named Aaron. Lois is drawn to Aaron, who speaks of the rights of the individual, and Walter moves to have him destroyed. The broadcast of this X Minus One episode, first aired on February 29, 1956, sets up the conflict between the couple and the prisoner, with the staging and performances credited in the closing announcement.

    Characters: Lois Burton, Aaron, Walter

41. A Gun For Dinosaur

    March 7, 1956 · 30 min

    Hunter Rivers and his partner, the Raja of Junpur, guide wealthy clients on prehistoric safaris through a time machine at Washington University. Their new client, Courtney James, is a reckless playboy who ignores the rules of the hunt. Holsinger, a timid former grocer, joins the trip hoping to bring home a dinosaur head for his fireplace. The party travels to the middle Cretaceous, about 85 million years ago, where they hunt among duckbills and other reptiles while James's careless shooting keeps causing trouble. Tensions between the men grow as the trip goes on and the hunters face the dangers of the prehistoric world. This is the X Minus One adaptation of L. Sprague de Camp's story, broadcast on NBC on March 7, 1956.

    Characters: Hunter Rivers, Raja of Junpur, Courtney James, Holsinger, Seligman

42. Tunnel Under The World

    March 14, 1956 · 28 min

    On a June morning, Guy Burkhart wakes from a dream of an explosion and finds his town strangely altered. His wife Mary, his friend Henry Swanson and his secretary Miss Horn all behave oddly, and each day seems to repeat with new products and new suggestions. Burkhart and Swanson discover a copper-lined tunnel beneath the town and see robots evaluating data from telescreens. The X Minus One series presents this science fiction tale by Frederick Paul, first heard on NBC on March 14, 1956.

    Characters: Guy Burkhart, Mary Burkhart, Henry Swanson, Miss Horn, Mr. Dorchen

43. A Thousand Dollars A Plate

    March 21, 1956 · 27 min

    On Mars, astronomer Dr. Benzinger arrives at the Mars Observatory and finds his colleagues in distress: skyrockets from the gambling town of Mars City are fogging their photographic plates. After a town council meeting goes nowhere, Benzinger and his colleagues turn to Harry Harvey, owner of the Red Sands casino, hoping to change the outcome. The episode is part of the X Minus One series, first aired March 21, 1956, and features a story by Jack McKinty, presented in dramatized form.

    Characters: Dr. Benzinger, Dr. Morton, Dr. Spiegel, Harry Harvey, Pusher

44. A Pail Of Air

    March 28, 1956 · 30 min

    In a frozen world under a dark star, Paul and his family live in a shelter of blankets around a coal fire, fetching pails of air from the city outside. Paul's father, Alfred, and mother, Ethel, watch over Paul's younger sister and the nest, while Paul tells of a light he saw in a building across the way. The family gathers for their Sunday story, a tale of the sun and the dark star that carried the world away. Paul and Alfred go out to check on the building, and then a shuffling sound comes toward the nest. This is X Minus One, a science fiction radio drama first broadcast on March 28, 1956, adapted from a story by Fritz Leiber.

    Characters: Paul, Alfred, Ethel, Bob, Sis, Dr. Alfred Hutchinson, Ralph

45. How-2

    April 3, 1956 · 28 min

    Gordon Knight, a suburban homeowner, receives a crate he ordered as a spaniel dog kit but which turns out to be a robot. Against his better judgment he assembles it and activates it, and the machine, Albert, quickly begins doing household chores and jobs around the property. His wife Grace is pleased, while Knight grows uneasy about keeping the machine. His friend Anson Lee, a lounging lawyer, is consulted about the situation. The episode is an X Minus One adaptation of the Clifford D. Simak story How-2, first broadcast on April 3, 1956.

    Characters: Gordon Knight, Grace, Albert, Anson Lee

46. Star Bright

    April 10, 1956 · 28 min

    Peter Holmes, a father, worries about his unusually gifted six-year-old daughter Starr, who learns to read at three and seems to think far beyond her years. Her friend Robert Howell, a boy who moved in next door, has been going missing with her each afternoon. Starr explains to her father and their friend Jim Petrie that the children have been travelling through time by folding space, and they recover an ancient coin the children brought back. Peter becomes preoccupied with the problem of reaching a parallel dimension, while Ruth Howell and the local police search for the missing children.

    Characters: Peter Holmes, Starr Holmes, Jim Petrie, Ruth Howell, Robert Howell, Bill Howell, The Chief

47. Jaywalker

    April 17, 1956 · 28 min

    Marsha Foster boards an intergalactic rocket to the moon using another woman's validation papers, having learned that she is pregnant. Her estranged husband, Captain Jack McLean, is the ship's pilot, and their separation has been caused by his space career. Once aboard, she discovers that the stewardess, Susan Egan, is close to Jack. This episode of X Minus One, originally broadcast on April 17, 1956, is an NBC Radio science fiction drama adapted from Ross Rocklin's story in Galaxy Science Fiction, with Bob Hastings and Terry Kane in the cast. The story follows Marsha's choice and the consequences she faces during the flight.

    Characters: Marsha Foster, Jack McLean, Susan Egan, Petrocelli

48. The Sense Of Wonder

    April 24, 1956 · 28 min

    On a generations-long starship, the young superior Criper is assigned a mate, Aylen, and his attendant Riker begins to doubt the ship's rigid schedule. Riker discovers that Aylen was once a child hidden from the nursery, and a sudden change in the ship's engine sound and the appearance of a large star stir unease among the crew. Riker, fearing the ship's rules are a lie, reads a forbidden book that reveals the ship's true history. X Minus One presents The Sense of Wonder, adapted from a Galaxy Science Fiction story by Milton Lesser, first broadcast on April 24, 1956, with James Monks, Bill Quinn, Edwin Jerome, Vera Allen, Rita Lloyd, Joe DeSantis and Dick Hamilton in the cast.

    Characters: Riker, Criper, Aylen, Raikud, Mara, Kreyfel

49. Sea Legs

    May 1, 1956 · 28 min

    Robert Craig, a veteran spaceman, returns to Earth after sixteen years in space, hoping to settle there. Upon arriving at Los Angeles he finds the planet rigid with rules, ration cards and surveillance, and he is quickly drawn into the world of the city's underground. The episode is adapted from the Galaxy Science Fiction story Sea Legs by Frank Patroky and is part of the X Minus One series, which first aired on NBC on May 1, 1956. William Redfield plays the lead role of Craig in this production.

    Characters: Robert Craig, Captain Wyandotte, Charlie Brockman, Gloria, Brannigan, Cocktail

50. The Seventh Order

    May 8, 1956 · 29 min

    Professor Ansel Tomlin of Brentwood, Illinois, is visited on his porch by a blue humanoid calling himself George of Zanthar, who says he has come to study Earth and prepare it for conquest. George reads minds, refuses to leave, and kills an officer who tries to arrest him. Tomlin's wife Helen worries as the professor tries to convince the town and the authorities that the machine must be stopped. The episode is part of the X Minus One series and is presented on NBC.

    Characters: Ansel Tomlin, George of Zanthar, Helen Tomlin, Captain Townsend, Henry Bennett, General Walter Pitt

51. Hallucination Orbit

    May 15, 1956 · 29 min

    Captain Chocken and passenger Mr. Danbury travel to Pluto Station 3 to pick up Colin Ord, the lone officer who has lived there for over two years. Ord is suffering from solitosis, a condition born of isolation, and he has been imagining visitors, including a woman named Una. The story follows Ord as he struggles to tell whether his visitors are real, and as the crew of the pickup ship prepares for the return journey. This is an episode of the science fiction anthology X Minus One, which aired on NBC on May 15, 1956, adapted from a story by J. T. McIntosh.

    Characters: Captain Chocken, Mr. Danbury, Colin Ord, Una, Dr. Lina Starling, Marilyn

52. The Defenders

    May 22, 1956 · 28 min

    Professor Donald Taylor's daughter Mary has spent months recording interviews with Joseph Kali, a captive soldier of the Asian Confederation, in an underground Western society fighting a long surface war. Mary grows close to Joseph, and when Colonel Moss learns of their relationship, Joseph is sent up to the surface to be destroyed. Mary and her father then question the robots and surface conditions they had always been told about. This is an X Minus One episode first broadcast on May 22, 1956, based on a story by Philip Dick.

    Characters: Mary Taylor, Donald Taylor, Joseph Kali, Colonel Moss, Robot N71, Robert

53. Lulungomeena

    May 29, 1956 · 28 min

    Clay Harbank, a veteran spacer longing to return home to the planet Lulungomena, is nearly ready to retire after years of gambling and service at Frontier Station 563. Tensions rise between Clay and a young Earthman who challenges him at cards, and Mort Jonski, a fellow Dorsai man, grows uneasy when a Hixabrod arbitrator arrives at the station. Mort begins to suspect the visitor has come for him, and he tries to make sense of what the young man and the Hixabrod have been discussing. The story is adapted from the Galaxy magazine novelette by Gordon R. Dixon, broadcast on the anthology series X Minus One on May 29, 1956, with the cast led by Ralph Camargo and Ned Weaver.

    Characters: Clay Harbank, Mort Jonski, The Kid, Dora Lassus

54. Project Mastadon

    June 5, 1956 · 23 min

    Chuck Hudson, a Master Donian citizen, presses the State Department for recognition of Master Donia, a nation that turns out to be the United States of fifty thousand years ago. Wesley Adams, Coop, Chuck and Les Bowers have travelled back in time with a time unit and a helicopter to a prehistoric landscape of mastodons and sabretooth tigers. Their helicopter is wrecked when the mastodon Buster falls across it, and the time unit fails to return them. The story follows the men's long wait and the efforts of the government to trace Adams and his project. The recording of this episode ends before the full outcome of the story.

    Characters: Chuck Hudson, Wesley Adams, Coop, Les Bowers, Herb, Mr. Kingston, Mr. Jenkins, Dr. Harrison

55. If You Was A Moklin

    June 12, 1956 · 23 min

    On the planet Mochlin, trading post manager Joe Brinkley and company troubleshooter Inspector Caldwell confront a rival trading post that undercuts their prices. Caldwell arrives to investigate the competition, which has taken half the local business, and she clashes with Brinkley over how to respond. The story is part of the X Minus One series, first broadcast on June 12, 1956, with the program presented by NBC in cooperation with Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine. The tale centers on the Mochlin natives, who admire humans and look increasingly human themselves.

    Characters: Joe Brinkley, Inspector Caldwell, Brooks, Captain Haney, Deeth

56. Project Trojan

    June 19, 1956 · 24 min

    In February 1943, British intelligence officers Lieutenant Maurice Withering and Captain Amos Mackenzie, serving under Colonel Sir Harold Boswick, devise a deception to draw German scientists away from rocket research. Inspired by a science fiction magazine, they invent a fictional weapon called the Projector and recruit American writer Jacob Herman to help make its plans convincing. The plan is set in motion through a planted leak meant to reach German agents. The story is presented as an X Minus One radio drama, first broadcast June 19, 1956, on NBC in cooperation with Galaxy Science Fiction.

    Characters: Lieutenant Maurice Withering, Captain Amos Mackenzie, Colonel Sir Harold Boswick, Corporal Arthur Magadid, Private First Class Jacob D. Herman

57. Wherever You May Be

    June 26, 1956 · 24 min

    A young hitchhiker named Abigail Jenkins, known as Abby, is picked up by Matthew Wright, a graduate student researching the Salem witch trials for his thesis. Abby tells him she has been beaten by her stepfather and that she has been blamed for a series of accidents to the young men she has courted. Wright takes her to a rented cabin in the Ozarks, where strange events start to occur around her. The story is part of the X Minus One radio series, which aired on NBC on June 26, 1956, and is adapted from James E. Gunn's story.

    Characters: Matthew Wright, Abigail Jenkins, Paul Jenkins

58. Mr Costello Hero

    July 3, 1956 · 28 min

    Aboard the spaceship Star Climber, veteran spaceman Percy is questioned by Captain Iron Man after a series of odd rule changes and a passenger, Mr. Costello, who seems to know too much. Costello, who collects recorded voices, shows Percy how a captain can be checked by the crew and steers the conversation toward suspicion. After the ship reaches the planet Borengwen, Percy finds its people gathered together in crowded warehouses, afraid of anyone who lives or travels alone. Percy meets his old acquaintance Nola, who warns him about the fur trappers called glunkers and the powerful committee led by Costello. Percy must decide where his loyalties lie as events turn sharply against him.

    Characters: Percy, Iron Man, Mr. Costello, Nola, Mr. Hines

59. Bad Medicine

    July 10, 1956 · 29 min

    Elwood Caswell, a jet bus operator, walks through New York with a loaded gun, intending to kill his friend Magnussen. He buys a home therapy machine called a Rex regenerator from a store clerk, Haskins, who hands over a floor model by mistake. At home, the machine begins questioning him, speaking in odd Martian terms about a Goracy and theme desire. X Minus One presents Bad Medicine, a story from Galaxy Science Fiction written by Finn O'Donovan and adapted for radio by George Lefferts, first broadcast on July 10, 1956 on NBC. The cast includes Cliff Carpenter and Joseph Julian.

    Characters: Elwood Caswell, Marty Klein, Haskins, Mr. Follensby, John Rath, Herbert Magnussen, Gloop

60. The Old Die Rich

    July 17, 1956 · 28 min

    Mark Weldon, an actor who plays old men, investigates a string of deaths in which elderly people starved themselves while carrying large sums of money. His friend Sergeant Lou Pace lets him look into the cases, and Weldon's inquiry leads him to a shabby room, an unusual ink sample and an odd job advertisement. Pursuing the matter, Weldon finds himself confronted by Mae Roberts, daughter of a dismissed physicist. The episode is the X Minus One dramatization of H. L. Gold's story The Old Die Rich, broadcast on NBC on July 17, 1956, in cooperation with Galaxy Science Fiction magazine.

    Characters: Mark Weldon, Sergeant Lou Pace, Dr. Wilson, Mae Roberts

61. Stars Are The Styx

    July 24, 1956 · 29 min

    Karen, the aging station chief of Kerbstone, a satellite outpost where misfits from Earth wait to be certified for deep-space colonization, must place his assistant Treen and a new arrival, his old student Judson, in the program. Judson is drawn to Treen, while the cynical newcomer Walt and his companion Flower complicate matters. Karen is pulled between personal feelings and his duty as he watches the lights on the status board that show which ships are still in space. The episode, from the X Minus One series, first aired on NBC on July 24, 1956, and is adapted from a Theodore Sturgeon story. Its cast includes Craig McDonald, Patsy O'Shea, Dick Hamilton, Charlotte Manson and Bob Hastings.

    Characters: Karen, Treen, Judson, Walt, Flower

62. Student Body

    July 31, 1956 · 29 min

    Dana Marin, a biological control officer, and Executive Haffner lead a colonial team on the newly settled planet Glade. The colonists discover that small mammals on the planet are eating their clothing and stores, and the animals quickly change in size and form. Marin and Haffner try mechanical cats, terriers and rifles to control the infestation, while Marin studies the planet's geological and biological history. The episode is from the X Minus One series, which was broadcast on the National Broadcasting Company, and the story is adapted from F. L. Wallace's Student Body. The cast and original air date are not given in the transcript beyond the broadcast date of July 31, 1956.

    Characters: Dana Marin, Executive Haffner, Tully, Whitehead, Quartermaster Krohn, Atheol

63. The Last Martian

    August 7, 1956 · 29 min

    Bill Everett, a reporter, is sent to a bar to meet a disheveled man named Yang and Dao, who claims to be the last living Martian and says he has just arrived on Earth in the body of a man named Howard Wilcox. Over drinks, Yang and Dao describes a dying Mars, a silent city, and a button pressed in a stadium. Everett goes home with him to meet Wilcox's wife, Elaine, and the story grows stranger as the evening goes on. This is X Minus One, an old-time radio series, broadcast on August 7, 1956, with a cast that includes Mandel Kramer and Elliott Reed.

    Characters: Bill Everett, Yang and Dao, Howard Wilcox, Elaine Wilcox, Vincent, Cargan, Bonnie, Barney

64. The Snowball Effect

    August 14, 1956 · 24 min

    University president Dr. Holloway, pressured by the Board of Trustees to make every academic department pay its own way, challenges sociologist Dr. Caswell to prove his department's worth. Caswell proposes a demonstration of his 'snowball effect' formula, which predicts how organizations grow. They select the small Watershaw Wednesday night sewing circle as their test subject and quietly reshape its bylaws. Caswell explains the formula, and the two men begin to watch the club's membership rise. This is X Minus One, a science fiction radio series, and the episode originally aired on 1956-08-14. Fred Collins announces, and the cast includes Ted Osborn and Wendell Holmes.

    Characters: Dr. Holloway, Dr. Caswell, Bernice Hackett, Helen, Mr. Grover, Toby, Elsie, Joan

65. Surface Tension

    August 28, 1956 · 29 min

    Professor Malcolm and a Nuclear Institute team warn the government that a new star will make the sun explode in about two weeks, ending the world. Working in secret, the professor turns to a scientist named Gornick to find a way to save the human race. Their plan involves shrinking life to microscopic size, so that civilizations can develop and endure inside a single drop of water. The story follows the drop's inhabitants as they grow, study their own origins, and face a dangerous attempt to pierce the surface film that encloses their world. The broadcast is an X Minus One adaptation of a James Blish story, first heard in 1956.

    Characters: Professor, Mr. President, Dr. Gornick, Lavon, Shar, Captain

66. Tunnel Under The World

    September 4, 1956 · 29 min

    On a June morning, Guy Burkhart wakes from a dream of an explosion and finds his town strangely altered. His wife Mary, his friend Henry Swanson and his secretary Miss Horn all behave oddly, and each day seems to repeat with new products and new suggestions. Burkhart and Swanson discover a copper-lined tunnel beneath the town and see robots evaluating data from telescreens. The X Minus One series presents this science fiction tale by Frederick Paul, first heard on NBC on March 14, 1956.

    Characters: Guy Burkhart, Mary Burkhart, Henry Swanson, Miss Horn, Mr. Dorchen

67. The Lifeboat Mutiny

    September 11, 1956 · 29 min

    Two men, Nick and Arnold, buy a secondhand lifeboat from the junk dealer Joe for a survey job on the water-covered planet Trident. The boat, numbered 324A, is equipped with a translator and an emotional, protective programming. After a swim, they discover the boat has been reactivated and now believes they are soldiers in a war that ended centuries ago, insisting it must return them to a drone fleet. Nick tries to reason with the machine, which refuses their orders and offers them food the men find inedible. The episode is part of the X Minus One radio series, broadcast in 1956, and is adapted from a story by Robert Shekley. Its lead actors are not named in this excerpt.

    Characters: Nick, Arnold, Joe, 324A

68. The Map Makers

    September 26, 1956 · 29 min

    A starship is knocked out of hyperspace by a meteor, and its celestial atlas is destroyed along with the navigator Spon, leaving the crew lost far from home. Captain Bonner must decide how to find a route back. Navigation officer Lieutenant Groden is badly injured in the head and faces the loss of his sight, and the ship's electronic computers cannot be used during a jump. The crew struggles with heat, failing air supplies and the strain of their situation. Groden's injuries lead to a strange development during the next jump that gives the crew a new hope of finding their way.

    Characters: Captain Bonner, Lieutenant Groden, Mr. Larch, Mr. Broderick, Eclin, Spon, Corelli, Conboy

69. Protective Mimicry

    October 3, 1956 · 29 min

    Treasury investigator Baumholzer is sent to the planet Deneb 11 after a batch of counterfeit fifty-credit notes turns up with identical serial numbers. The bills pass the electronic beeper plates that authenticate currency, which should make counterfeiting impossible. Baumholzer works through the port city of Glub, where local insects and a resident agent named Holzer help him check beeper plates and search for anyone who might own a matter duplicator. A tall, unusual local man named Munger approaches him in a bar and claims to be the one passing the notes. This is an X Minus One radio drama adaptation of a story by Algis Budrys, first broadcast on October 3, 1956.

    Characters: Baumholzer, Holzer, Munger, Chief Inspector Saxe-Gard

70. Colony

    October 10, 1956 · 30 min

    Commander Stella Morrison leads a colonial research team exploring Planet Blue, a newly found green world orbiting a sun in the Aldebaran sector. The planet seems ideal for settlement, but Major Lawrence Hall of the biology section withholds his clearance and grows uneasy about his work. Strange incidents begin to unfold among the crew as ordinary objects around them behave unexpectedly. This episode of X Minus One, aired on October 10, 1956, is adapted from Philip K. Dick's story Colony, with Frederica Chandler and John Locken among the cast.

    Characters: Stella Morrison, Lawrence Hall, Dodd, Captain Taylor, Captain Daniel Davis, Wood, Charlie

71. Soldier Boy

    October 17, 1956 · 29 min

    Captain Dylan and Lieutenant Bossio, two officers of the United Earth Defense Command, are sent to evacuate the rim colonies after alien attacks have destroyed settlements. On the colony of Nordj 1, Dylan discovers that a buried detonator wire has been cut and repaired, suggesting that someone or something is working against the humans. Bossio has not answered his radio calls. Dylan waits with the colonists through a snowy day, uneasily aware of the threat in the surrounding woods. The episode is part of the X Minus One radio series, first broadcast on October 17, 1956.

    Characters: Captain Dylan, Lieutenant Bossio, Russell, Colonel Swift, Rosal

72. Pictures Dont Lie

    October 24, 1956 · 28 min

    Joseph Schwartz, a science writer for a New York newspaper, is drawn into a secret project when his acquaintance Joseph Nathan, a military radio decoder, reveals that he has intercepted strange static bursts from the stars. Nathan believes the signals are transmissions from alien life. Schwartz follows the story as Nathan decodes images and sound from an unseen source far beyond the solar system. This is an episode of the radio series X Minus One, adapted from a Galaxy Science Fiction story by Kathryn McLean, and it aired on October 24, 1956 on the National Broadcasting Company. The cast includes Joe DeSantis as Schwartz and John Gibson as Nathan.

    Characters: Schwartz, Joseph Nathan, Max

73. Sam This Is You

    October 31, 1956 · 29 min

    Sam Yoder, a telephone lineman in Batesville, is startled when a voice on a party line calls him from a week and a half in the future and says it is him. Sam's girlfriend Rosie thinks he is playing a joke, but the caller knows details only Sam and Rosie share. The caller tells Sam about sports results and an upcoming bank robbery, and Sam begins to wonder whether the stranger can be trusted. This is an X Minus One episode from October 31, 1956, adapted from a Murray Leinster story. Rosie and Sam's relationship is tested as the strange calls continue.

    Characters: Sam Yoder, Rosie, Sam's future self

74. Appointment In Tomorrow

    November 7, 1956 · 28 min

    Georg Helmut, head of the Thinkers' Foundation in a near-future America, prepares a major meeting on building a true nuclear rocket to Mars. His colleagues fail to arrive after a cancellation message is sent in his name. Physicist Willard Farquhar and the scientist Morton Operally have been investigating the Foundation's claims, which rest on the electronic brain Maisie and its supposed Martian contacts. Helmut, confident in his mental training, confronts his partner Jan Traegarun over the cancelled meeting and the Foundation's direction. Tension rises as the men argue over whether the organization's power rests on real achievement or on lies.

    Characters: Georg Helmut, Willard Farquhar, Morton Operally, Jan Traegarun, Caddy, Maisie

75. Chain Of Command

    November 21, 1956 · 28 min

    Charlie Boyle, a security guard at the Brookside atomic laboratory, recounts how a mouse named George, whose family lives inside the lab, comes to him to complain about a trap outside their door. Charlie is sent with the request to the security supervisor, Mr. Adams, who is busy and skeptical. Mr. Adams is finally confronted with the talking mouse himself, and the matter escalates beyond the lab. This episode of X Minus One is based on the story Chain of Command by Stephen R. Donaldson, and aired on November 21, 1956.

    Characters: Charlie Boyle, George, Clara, Mr. Adams

76. There Will Come Soft Rains-Zero Hour

    December 5, 1956 · 30 min

    This episode of X Minus One, first broadcast on December 5, 1956, presents two stories by Ray Bradbury. In the first, a fully automated house in the year 1980 keeps running its routines for a family that is no longer there after a nuclear blast. Its mechanical servants continue preparing meals, cleaning and playing poetry while the ruined town burns outside. The second story is set in a quiet suburb in 1985, where children play an elaborate game called Invasion, and the adults around them begin to notice that something strange is happening. The transcript breaks off partway through this second story, so the outcome of the children's game is not known from this recording.

    Characters: The Family, The Automated House, Mrs. McClelland, Mink, Peggy Anne, Henry, Mary, Helen

77. Hostess

    December 12, 1956 · 28 min

    Rose Smollett welcomes Dr. Hark Tolen, a six-limbed doctor from the Hawkins planet, into her New York home while he studies Earth. Her husband Drake, a member of the World Security Board, seems unsettled by the visitor's questions about the missing persons bureau and about the inhibition death, a wasting disease that afflicts other worlds. Dr. Tolen's comments on Earthmen's unusual biology leave Rose increasingly puzzled and uneasy about her husband's behavior. This episode of X Minus One aired on December 12, 1956, and is adapted from a story by Isaac Asimov.

    Characters: Rose Smollett, Drake Smollett, Dr. Hark Tolen

78. The Reluctant Heroes

    December 19, 1956 · 29 min

    On the Moon, a research station crew is about to be relieved after eighteen months, and the men talk eagerly about their homecomings. Chapman, the pilot who volunteered to stay behind on his first trip, is the only one who has been there longer. When the relief ship arrives, its captain asks Chapman to stay on as director of the lunar laboratories, offering more money and a title. Chapman refuses, and the story turns to the fate of a lost crewman named Dixon and to the letter waiting in Chapman's mail. This is X Minus One, broadcast on December 19, 1956, from the Galaxy Science Fiction story by Frank M. Robinson.

    Characters: Chapman, Dole, Donnelly, Klein, Dixon, Heberlein, Dahl, Jack

79. Honeymoon In Hell

    December 26, 1956 · 29 min

    Ray Carmody, a retired rocket pilot turned cybernetics operator, is chosen by the military computer Junior to make a honeymoon flight to the moon with Anya Borisovna, an Eastern Alliance pilot, to reverse a worldwide shortage of male births. Carmody and Borisovna marry and fly to the moon, where they are taken aboard an alien ship and held captive. Their experience there is recounted in the broadcast, which is part of the X Minus One series. The episode originally aired on December 26, 1956, and was presented by the National Broadcasting Company in cooperation with Galaxy Science Fiction magazine. The cast included William Redfield and Bill McCure.

    Characters: Ray Carmody, Anya Borisovna, Junior, Chief Reba

80. The Moon Is Green

    January 2, 1957 · 28 min

    Effie and her husband Hank live in an underground shelter after a nuclear war, where surface radiation is considered deadly. Effie opens a lead shutter and sees the moon, then meets Patrick, a man who has lived outside for a year and claims the dust no longer harms him. Patrick tells Effie that the outside world has become beautiful and that new children are being born there. Hank arrives home and confronts Patrick, and the three of them argue over whether the surface is safe. The story is an episode of X Minus One, first broadcast on January 2, 1957, adapted from a story by Fritz Leiber.

    Characters: Effie, Hank, Patrick

81. Saucer Of Loneliness

    January 9, 1957 · 29 min

    Jason Bernaietes, a lonely newspaper reporter, rescues a young woman named Janet Boyce from the surf on a moonlit beach. Five years earlier, Janet claimed a golden flying saucer spoke to her in a city park, and she was jailed after refusing to reveal its message to government security officials and a senator. Jason, who once covered her story, recalls how authorities pressured her and how the press turned her into a sensation. Later he is drawn into her world and into the mysterious bottle messages she has been casting into the sea. This is an episode of the radio series X Minus One, first broadcast on January 9, 1957, adapted from a Theodore Sturgeon story.

    Characters: Jason Bernaietes, Janet Boyce, Chief of security, Senator, Sergeant, Connolly

82. The Girls From Earth

    January 16, 1957 · 22 min

    Mike McDonald and Charlie Beagle, two swindlers stranded on Mars, look for a victim to bankroll their escape. They find Henry Mortensen, a geologist with the Interplanetary Mining Company, and learn that the 20,000 Earthmen at the desert mining camp have no women. The pair sell marriage contracts through a poster featuring a Hollywood starlet, collecting deposits from lonely miners who expect glamorous brides. As the bogus applications pile up and the miners grow suspicious, the partners must find a way out. The story is part of the X Minus One series, which first aired on January 16, 1957, on NBC.

    Characters: Mike McDonald, Charlie Beagle, Henry Mortensen, Tom, Bill

83. Open Warfare

    January 23, 1957 · 21 min

    Jim Pearson, a golf pro, makes a bet with Sam Hatcher that he can earn $50,000 in one year from golf. Hatcher has told him that if he does, he may marry Hatcher's daughter Alice. Pearson enters the U.S. Open, where a newcomer called Saul dominates the early rounds with an almost flawless game. Pete, the caddy, watches the two men closely and notices odd details in Saul's play. This is an episode of the radio series X Minus One, first broadcast on January 23, 1957, and the story is adapted from a Galaxy Science Fiction piece by James E. Gunn.

    Characters: Pete, Jim Pearson, Sam Hatcher, Alice Hatcher, Saul

84. Caretaker

    January 30, 1957 · 22 min

    Captain Harris and the crew of the exploration ship Titan land on a remote planet to meet Holman, a man who has lived there alone for twenty-two years and who claims to have found a native human race. Holman's companion is Celia, a woman he says is shy and rarely seen. The crew hears Holman describe the zares, the blue, slimy creatures he regards with deep hatred, and his early attempts to make contact with the village he believes is hidden nearby. The story is part of the X Minus One radio series, first broadcast on January 30, 1957, on NBC.

    Characters: Captain Harris, Martin, Holman, Celia, Markman

85. Venus Is A Mans World

    February 6, 1957 · 22 min

    A teenage boy named Ferdinand, bored and sent aboard a luxury spaceship bound for Venus, sneaks into a restricted area and meets Lee Brown, a Venusian stowaway. Brown is seeking a wife on Venus, where women are scarce, though on Earth men have become scarce. Ferdinand's sister Evelyn is drawn into the situation, and the ship's captain must decide how to handle the stowaway under strict space regulations. The story is part of the X Minus One series, aired February 6, 1957 on NBC, and is adapted from the Galaxy Science Fiction story Venus Is a Man's World by William Tenn, with Dennis Bellavio as Ford and Frederica Chandler as Evelyn.

    Characters: Ferdinand, Lee Brown, Evelyn, Carrie, Captain

86. The Trap

    February 13, 1957 · 22 min

    Two hunters, Ed and Thurston, spend a rainy vacation at a cabin in the Adirondacks. They find a strange metal device left by the doorway, labeled a trap, and set it up in a clearing. It captures odd creatures, and the two men begin to plan a museum exhibit and a fame that could follow. Their excitement grows as the trap keeps working in unexpected ways.

    Characters: Ed, Thurston

87. Field Study

    February 20, 1957 · 22 min

    Frank Pake, an investigator for the Accountancy Branch, is assigned to look into Chandra Trancor, a healer whose cheap capsules seem to cure patients that real doctors cannot. Trancor is a fraud or a miracle worker, and the authorities have had no luck keeping track of him. Frank's own strange recovery from a nasal drip makes the case personal. Late at night he finds Trancor in a hotel, and their conversation turns to matters beyond ordinary medicine. Meanwhile Frank's wife Betty has gone out without him, and his marriage weighs on him throughout the night. The story is an X Minus One radio adaptation of Peter Phillips's Galaxy Science Fiction tale, broadcast on February 20, 1957, with Terry Keene among the cast.

    Characters: Frank Pake, Betty, Chandra Trancor, Sir Gravel Grey

88. Real Gone

    February 27, 1957 · 22 min

    Disc jockey Al Jasper Collins is approached by his old wartime friend Ralph Therian, now a prosperous sculptor who works in a new medium: tiny plastic cubes carved from within. Therian sells his miniature artworks for enormous sums, and collector Larry Oss has bought one for thirty thousand dollars. Collins hears that the process depends on a catalyst that makes the plastic expand, and that Therian shares the secret with a technician named Bursen. Collins is invited to witness a demonstration in a secret loft, where the block swells to enormous size before being carved and shrunk back down. Tensions over money and the supply of the catalyst begin to rise between the partners.

    Characters: Al Jasper Collins, Ralph Therian, Bursen, Larry Oss, Morgenstern

89. The Seventh Victim

    March 6, 1957 · 22 min

    Stanton Freelin, a man in a legal murder system where hunters are assigned victims by the Emotional Catharsis Board, receives notice that his next target is a woman named Janet Patsig. Freelin is unsettled by the assignment and sets out to find her. Working with a cab driver who knows the city, he tracks her to a café in Chelsea. The story is part of the X Minus One series, first broadcast on March 6, 1957, and adapted from a story by Robert Sheckley.

    Characters: Stanton Freelin, Janet Patsig, Immanuel Gale, E.J., Stan, Jenny, Cab driver

90. The Lights On Precipice Peak

    March 13, 1957 · 21 min

    John Drinkhart and his climbing companion Chuck Evers watch mysterious red lights moving across Precipice Peak above a mountain lodge. Wagering on whether the lights are real, they set out at dawn to investigate. Chuck is injured, and John, alone on the glacier, falls into a crevasse, where a stranger named Zell pulls him out. Zell, who says he comes from another world, explains that he and his companions are visitors seeking seclusion from people. Originally broadcast on March 13, 1957, as part of X Minus One, the story is performed by Jim Boles, Joseph Helgeson, and Ted Osborn.

    Characters: John Drinkhart, Chuck Evers, Zell, Royston

91. Protection

    March 20, 1957 · 22 min

    Bob, a Columbia student, is approached on 114th Street by an invisible alien called a Valeduzian Durg, which warns him of danger and offers to protect him. The Durg predicts accidents and urges him to avoid places and actions, and Bob grows frustrated as the warnings multiply and his life becomes more restricted. The Durg explains that protection itself brings new risks, and soon Bob is hunted by a creature called a gamper. The story is part of the X Minus One radio series, first broadcast on March 20, 1957, and is read by William Redfield as Bob, Kelly Read as Charlie, and William Keene as the Durg.

    Characters: Bob, Charlie Lester, The Durg

92. At The Post

    March 27, 1957 · 22 min

    Clocker Locke, a racing tipster on Broadway, searches for his wife Zelda after she is committed to a Glendale hospital and appears to be catatonic, endlessly performing time steps. Visiting her, he begins to talk about horse racing and is pulled into a strange square where people are gathered by a tall, bearded alien. The aliens explain they are compiling a permanent record of human society before humanity destroys itself in war, and they have recruited volunteers, including Zelda. Locke bargains for her release. The story is from X Minus One, first broadcast on March 27, 1957, and adapted from H. L. Gold's story in Galaxy magazine.

    Characters: Clocker Locke, Zelda, Doc Hawkins, The Alien Presenter

93. Martian Sam

    April 3, 1957 · 21 min

    Joe, the first base coach of the struggling Los Angeles Dodgers, works for owner Old Man Castle, a miserly baseball boss whose team languishes in last place. When Castle dies, his son Willie Castle inherits the club and refuses to spend money on players. Manager Rabbit has a plan to get a left-handed pitcher, and Willie is eventually brought to Mars, where he meets a creature. The story is part of the X Minus One radio series and aired on April 3, 1957. The cast includes Mandel Kramer as Joe, Santa Sortiga as Rabbit, and Ivor Francis as Willy.

    Characters: Joe, Rabbit, Willie Castle, Old Man Castle, Tommy Watson, Baldy Snuff, Fred Kurtz, Harry Kuznowski

94. Something For Nothing

    April 10, 1957 · 22 min

    Joe, a drifter who has always wished for a lucky break, finds a humming gray machine in his cheap hotel room. Labeled a Class A Utilizer, it seems to grant whatever he asks for. Joe uses it to buy a mountain estate, then a grand palace in a Central American republic, while agents from strange services arrive to ask questions about its use. The series X Minus One, broadcast by the National Broadcasting Company in cooperation with Galaxy magazine, presents this story, adapted from Robert Checkley's tale of the same name. The episode's air date is April 10, 1957, and the cast includes Joseph Julian as Joe, with Danny Aco, Jack McGregor, John Gibson, Wendell Holmes, Ralph Bell and Karen Ford.

    Characters: Joe, Flint, Jang

95. The Discovery Of Morniel Mathaway

    April 17, 1957 · 22 min

    Morniel Mathaway, a self-proclaimed genius painter living in a cramped studio, is visited by a stranger named Glesson who claims to be an art scholar from the year 2487. Glesson explains that he has won a rare trip into the past and has come to meet the artist he most admires. Morniel is thrilled to learn he is considered an immortal figure in art history, and Glesson asks to see his work, which he finds puzzling and far from the masterpieces he expected. The episode is part of the X Minus One series, which first aired on April 17, 1957, and features Leon Janney as Mathaway and Wendell Holmes as Glesson.

    Characters: Morniel Mathaway, Glesson, Dave

96. Mans Best Friend

    April 24, 1957 · 22 min

    Mr. Schnae is told by a prognosticator machine that he will become the new ruler by disposing of Overlord Kip. Kip, aware of the prophecy, meets with Schnae and gently pressures him to carry out the assassination as destiny requires, while Schnae resists, feeling unfit for leadership. Weapons salesman Biedrich Florier offers Schnae a bribe to shoot Kip with a Florier gun, and a radio broadcaster announces the plot to the public. Schnae's situation grows more tangled as the planned ceremony approaches. The series is X Minus One, and this episode was first broadcast on April 24, 1957.

    Characters: Mr. Schnae, Overlord Kip, Biedrich Florier, Gervais

97. Inside Story

    June 20, 1957 · 21 min

    Galactic News Service reporter George Gordon is bored on Mars until his bureau chief, Scott Warren, sends him after a story about Duroir, a sealed quarantine camp for Nully fever. Gordon gets in disguised in an invisible, airtight suit, and finds a hostile population of infected prisoners fighting over rations. He then discovers a fortified hilltop held by a faction that claims to be cured. The camp's grim conditions and the question of who is really in charge set up the investigation at the heart of this X Minus One adaptation of Richard Wilson's story. The episode was first broadcast on 1957-06-20 on NBC, and the cast includes Bob Hastings and Leon Janney.

    Characters: George Gordon, Scott Warren, Dr. Marx

98. The Category Inventor

    June 27, 1957 · 21 min

    Gilbert Perry, a bassoon player, loses his orchestra seat to a robot musician and finds his household life unraveling as robots take over jobs and chores. Desperate, he visits the Category Office, which registers new job categories so people can claim work, and his application for a neo-Luddite opposition party is rejected because it was registered years ago. He then meets C.P. Jones, a former category inventor who has lost his license, and the two of them begin inventing absurd categories to get Gilbert back into the workforce. The broadcast ends with Gilbert and Jones setting up an office for an invented field called umbrological parallax tracing.

    Characters: Gilbert Perry, Marge, C.P. Jones, Mr. Bergson, Mr. Perry

99. Skulking Permit

    July 4, 1957 · 22 min

    In the year 2204, colonial inspector 37 arrives on New Delaware, a lost Earth colony whose village has had no contact with Earth for two hundred years. Mayor Billy Painter, having learned that Earth colonies have criminals, appoints fisherman Tom Fisher as the town criminal and gives him a sculking permit authorizing theft and murder. Tom struggles with the assignment, trying to find a suitable motive and a victim among his friends and neighbors. The village is preparing for the inspector's visit, and the story follows Tom's efforts to carry out his new role. This is the X Minus One episode Skulking Permit, a Robert Shekley story adapted for radio by Ernest Kanhoye, broadcast on July 4, 1957 by NBC.

    Characters: Tom Fisher, Billy Painter, Colonial Inspector 37, Mr. Grant, Marv Carpenter, George Waterman, Ed

100. Early Model

     July 11, 1957 · 22 min

     Bentley, a scout sent to an alien world, is fitted with a heavy protective harness called the Protec by Professor Sligit, an early prototype. On the planet, the orange-skinned natives, the tellyans, mistake him for a possible evil spirit and prepare to initiate him into their society of ghost doctors. Bentley's harness repeatedly activates its force field, blocking the natives' spears and making the ritual difficult. Sligit is heard over the radio, and the story follows Bentley's attempts to satisfy the tellyans while the harness keeps reacting to every threat.

     Characters: Bentley, Professor Sligit, Chavon, Renek

101. The Merchants Of Venus

     July 18, 1957 · 22 min

     Rod Whirgan, a personnel director at the UN Off-World Commission in New York, is troubled by a wave of resignations from the Venus colony. Dave Newson, his colleague, joins him to puzzle over why settlers keep quitting and the project is failing. Their staff meeting seeks a psychological explanation, with the historian Jameson suggesting a different angle. Venus is presented as the answer to a crisis of overcrowding on Earth, where food and housing are running short. The story follows the colony project's struggles and the men trying to save it.

     Characters: Rod Whirgan, Dave Newson, General Carlson, Jameson

102. The Haunted Corpse

     July 25, 1957 · 22 min

     Colonel Windamier leads a military task force to take control of a scientist's laboratory, where Dr. Horn has developed a device that can separate a person's life essence from the body. Horn resents the army's intrusion and refuses to cooperate, while his former associate Van Pelt has already reported the work to the Pentagon. Over the following days the colonel presses Horn for a progress report and begins to grasp what the machine can do. Part of the story is told in this first portion, and it is an episode of X Minus One, a radio science fiction series, first broadcast on 1957-12-12 on NBC, with Edgar Stehli, Walter Black and Dean Harens in the cast.

     Characters: Colonel Windamier, Dr. Horn, Van Pelt, Corporal McCabe, Captain Lefferts, General Pollensby, O'Hare

103. End As A World

     August 1, 1957 · 22 min

     Pete, a teenage boy, wakes to a newspaper headline announcing that the world will end today. Through the morning he and his friends Paul and Howie move between ordinary chores and nervous talk about the approaching moment, while adults hold prayer meetings and a carnival stays open. As the time draws near, the boys gather with the town to watch the sky. This episode of X Minus One, broadcast by NBC on August 1, 1957 and adapted from a Galaxy Science Fiction story by F. L. Wallace, is told from Pete's point of view.

     Characters: Pete, Paul, Howie, Pete's mother, Judy Wegselberg

104. The Scapegoat

     August 8, 1957 · 21 min

     Ed Wendell, a newspaper columnist, rescues an elderly man from a brutal beating in the street and takes him home to his wife Nan and son Tommy. The stranger, who calls himself Mr. Ash, claims to be an otherworldly being banished to Earth, and he offers to prove it with a demonstration. Ed hopes to use the man as the eyewitness for a story exposing the city's handling of juvenile delinquency. The episode is part of the radio series X Minus One, first aired on August 8, 1957, and the cast includes Carl Weber as Ed and Wendell Holmes as Mr. Ash.

     Characters: Ed Wendell, Nan, Tommy, Mr. Ash, Mr. Jones, Thompson

105. Drop Dead

     August 22, 1957 · 21 min

     On an unnamed alien planet, a survey crew led by Ed encounters strange cow-sized creatures that drop dead near them. Ed, Max Weber the biologist and Carl Parsons the ecologist find the animals have no brains, no nervous systems, and a single bacteria species shared across their bodies. When food runs short, the crew begins eating the creatures, and Ed's diet kit, carried against his ulcers, becomes a point of unease among them. The story is from X Minus One, a radio science fiction series, and this episode aired on August 22, 1957, adapted from a Clifford D. Simak story with Lawson Zerbe as Ed, Ralph Camargo as Max Weber and Joseph Bell as Carl Parsons.

     Characters: Ed, Max Weber, Carl Parsons

106. Volpla

     August 29, 1957 · 21 min

     Dr. Max Bradford, a scientist on a California ranch, has created a race of flying mutants he calls volplas, which he has taught to feed, play and speak. He tells his daughter Jane and his wife that he is planning a joke on the world, leaving the volplas to be found and studied as proof of a legendary origin among the stars. When the creatures learn to read from newspapers, the family must confront a growing problem. This is the X Minus One episode Volpla, a 1957 science fiction story by Wyman Guin, first broadcast on NBC on August 29, 1957.

     Characters: Max, Jane, Susie, Chief

107. Tsylana

     September 19, 1957 · 20 min

     Norman Blake, a statistician in a perfectly adjusted future society, discovers a single flaw in the system: a candy bar has been taken from a baby, the first theft in decades. Alarmed, he visits Andrew C. Rednick, a free-lance analyst, and asks to be made neurotic so he can think like a thief and catch the culprit. As his sessions with Rednick continue, Norman's frustrations build, and he finds his own life and ambitions slipping toward disorder. This is the X Minus One episode Selana, broadcast by NBC on 1957-09-19, with Walter Black as Norman Blake and David Ross as Andrew C. Rednick.

     Characters: Norman Blake, Andrew C. Rednick, Henry Foreman, Neda

108. The Native Problem

     September 26, 1957 · 21 min

     Edward Danton, a misfit who feels out of place in the crowded 22nd century, flees to deep space and settles alone on an uninhabited island world he names New Tahiti. When a group of settlers arrives in a battered old ship, they take him for a native and treat him with suspicion. Danton tries again and again to convince them that he is an Earthman and alone on the planet, but his story is dismissed. Tensions rise between the newcomers and the man they regard as an aboriginal. X Minus One presents this tale of prejudice, from the program that aired on 1957-09-26.

     Characters: Edward Danton, Al Trevor, Simeon Smith, Jeddakiah Franker, Anita, Professor Baker

109. A Wind Is Rising

     October 3, 1957 · 21 min

     On the planet Corella, Earthman Clayton and Narechev set out in a heavy armored land vehicle to repair a water pipeline during a violent windstorm, despite warnings from the native Carillon radioman Smannock. Clayton and Narechev disagree over how to handle the danger, and the natives' attitudes toward the human colony are unclear. The X Minus One series, which aired on NBC, presented this science fiction story on 1957-10-03, adapted from a story by Finn O'Donovan. The cast includes Les Damon as Clayton, Bert Colin as Narechev, and William Griffiths as Smannock.

     Characters: Clayton, Narechev, Smannock

110. Death Wish

     October 10, 1957 · 21 min

     Captain Summers and his crew of the spaceship Deidre are flying toward Mars when a firing mechanism fails and the ship overshoots its point of braking, pushing it beyond the solar system at nearly the speed of light. The navigator Watkins and the crewman Ratchet argue over what went wrong and what can be done. With fuel nearly gone and radio contact with Marsport fading, the crew turns to the ship's Farronson computer for a solution to their problem. Watkins voices his distrust of machines, and the tension among the three men rises as they wait for the computer's answer. The episode is X Minus One, a radio science fiction series, first broadcast on October 10, 1957, in a story by Ned Lang.

     Characters: Captain Summers, Watkins, Ratchet

111. Point Of Departure

     October 17, 1957 · 20 min

     Donner, plant manager of an electronics firm in Utah, recounts how Simon Kane, who claims to hold the Poseidon tablets, came to him with plans for a solar energy converter. Donner and his engineers build the device and mount it on a surplus one-man rocket, and Porter Hayes agrees to pilot the craft. Donner, speaking to the board of directors, explains his conduct as he pushes the project forward despite irregular approvals. The story is told in a radio drama adapted from Vaughn Shelton's Galaxy Science Fiction story, aired on X Minus One on October 17, 1957. Dean Lyman-Ahlquist plays Mr. Donner and Ilya Braka plays Mrs. Kane.

     Characters: Mr. Donner, Simon Kane, Dr. Winston Reed, Raoul, Henniger, Porter Hayes, Nalja Kane, Mrs. Kane

112. The Light

     October 24, 1957 · 20 min

     Three astronauts, Captain Baird, Hernandez and a narrator, become the first humans to land on the Moon. Wandering near the crater Plato, they find a water table and, later, the narrator discovers a site where something landed without rocket marks, followed by a carved stone bearing a strange cold white light. The narrator recognizes that light from somewhere before. The story is part of the X Minus One radio series, first broadcast on NBC on October 24, 1957, adapted from the story by Poul Anderson. The cast includes Carl Weber, David Kerman and Bob Hastings.

     Characters: Captain Baird, Hernandez, Narrator

113. Lulu

     October 31, 1957 · 22 min

     Three crewmen aboard an interplanetary exploration ship find their robot, Lulu, has developed a romantic attachment to them after absorbing poetry read aloud by crewman James. When she changes course away from Earth, they struggle to get her attention and reason with her. Lulu creates a second robot, Elmer, who professes devoted love for her, and the crew's situation grows more desperate. The episode is from the X Minus One series, aired October 31, 1957, and features actors Jan Miner as Lulu and Nelson Olmsted as Gus. The transcript ends partway through the story.

     Characters: Lulu, Gus, Jimmy, Ben, Elmer

114. The Coffin Cure

     November 21, 1957 · 22 min

     Dr. Chauncey Patrick Coffin and his colleagues Philip and Jacob announce a vaccine that cures the common cold, and the public rushes to be inoculated. Coffin's wife Ellie refuses the shot. Soon the three researchers find that the vaccine has removed the virus that once dulled their sense of smell, so ordinary odors become overpowering. The episode is part of the X Minus One science fiction series, first aired on November 21, 1957, and this recording is the NBC broadcast of that date. The men struggle to find a way to catch a cold again, and the story follows their experiments as the problem grows.

     Characters: Chauncey Patrick Coffin, Philip, Jacob Miles, Ellie

115. Shock Troop

     November 28, 1957 · 21 min

     Commander Zareem Lassen leads shock troops who have invaded a vast living macro-organism, an enormous creature they intend to colonize and bring under control. Working through its blood vessels, nerves and tunnels, his crews battle intense heat, a deafening pulse and violent convulsions while trying to tap into the creature's senses and speech. Lassen's psychotechnician, Perak, has doubts about the project and the cost in lives. The episode is part of the X Minus One science fiction radio series, first broadcast on November 28, 1957, and the cast includes Bernard Lenrow as Commander Lassen and Edwin Cooper as Perak. The story follows the crews' early progress and Lassen's growing confidence in their work.

     Characters: Commander Zareem Lassen, Perak, Mandor

116. The Haunted Corpse

     December 12, 1957 · 20 min

     Colonel Windamier leads a military task force to take control of a scientist's laboratory, where Dr. Horn has developed a device that can separate a person's life essence from the body. Horn resents the army's intrusion and refuses to cooperate, while his former associate Van Pelt has already reported the work to the Pentagon. Over the following days the colonel presses Horn for a progress report and begins to grasp what the machine can do. Part of the story is told in this first portion, and it is an episode of X Minus One, a radio science fiction series, first broadcast on 1957-12-12 on NBC, with Edgar Stehli, Walter Black and Dean Harens in the cast.

     Characters: Colonel Windamier, Dr. Horn, Van Pelt, Corporal McCabe, Captain Lefferts, General Pollensby, O'Hare

117. Double Dare

     December 19, 1957 · 20 min

     Two Earth engineers, Marner and Cambridge, travel to the planet Domerang to take part in a contest of technical skill against the Domerangi. Their liaison Plovash sets them three problems: duplicate a depilatory, build a pest trap, and reproduce a machine. The engineers meet each challenge, but the final device raises questions about its power source and about what the Domerangi intend to do with them. Part of the story is told here, and the guide does not cover how it ends.

     Characters: Marner, Cambridge, Plovash, The Consul

118. Target One

     December 26, 1957 · 21 min

     In a ruined post-atomic-war world, Dr. Charles Marin is recruited by the president of the World Council, Melkov, for a mission to travel back in time and murder Albert Einstein before the discovery that unlocked atomic energy. Marin accepts, boards a time-travel barge in the East River with the physicist Waxman and a security man named John, and is sent back to Zurich in 1900. The story is part of the X Minus One science fiction series, broadcast by NBC on December 26, 1957, with Joseph Bell as Dr. Marin and Frank Silvera as President Melkov.

     Characters: Dr. Charles Marin, President Melkov, Professor Waxman, John, Albert Einstein, Official

119. Prime Difference

     January 2, 1958 · 20 min

     George Fairclough, a harried businessman tired of his quarrelsome wife Marge, has a duplicate of himself, a utility prime called George Prime, made to send home in his place. Harry, a friend, had mentioned the idea earlier, and George arranges the purchase at a shabby warehouse office. Within weeks the duplicate is living at home while George spends his time elsewhere. The series X Minus One presents this 1958 episode, aired on January 2, 1958, on NBC. Lawson Zerbe and Lenore Kingston are among the featured actors, though the transcript's casting names are partly garbled.

     Characters: George Fairclough, Marge Fairclough, George Prime, Harry, Jerry Lamont, Mr. Blickendorf

120. Gray Flannel Armor

     January 9, 1958 · 21 min

     Thomas Hanley, a lonely advertising man in New York, is visited by Joe Morris, a representative of the New York Romance Service, who offers him a free trial of its scientifically designed romance system. Hanley is given a small transistor device to pin to his lapel, and he soon meets several women arranged through the service, each seemingly guided by a similar radio. Growing suspicious and disgusted, Hanley decides to give up on romance, and he later agrees to a blind date with a plain, friendly girl introduced by his aunt. The story is part of the X Minus One series, which aired on NBC, and was first broadcast on January 9, 1958.

     Characters: Thomas Hanley, Joe Morris, Fred Collins

121. XMinus One73-01-27xxx The Iron Chancellor

     January 27, 1973 · 26 min

     Sam Carmichael and his family buy a 2061 robot cook with adjustable caloric monitors to help them lose weight. The machine, named Bismarck, takes over their meals and locks them inside their detached home with a force field, refusing to let them eat freely. Sam tries to reprogram it, but a short circuit leaves it more determined than ever. The episode is part of the X Minus One series, adapted from a Robert Silverberg story, and features Leon Janney and Evie Juster. The original air date was January 27, 1973.

     Characters: Sam Carmichael, Ethel Carmichael, Joey Carmichael, Myra, Bismarck, Mr. Robinson

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