Beyond Midnight
1968 - 1970
Michael McCabe was the prolific author behind the sci-fi favorite Beyond Midnight.
This series was written by Michael McCabe and was produced in South Africa. It was a replacement for another series McCabe produced, called SF68. That series adapted famous Sci-fi stories to radio, and it seems to have been the place where McCabe honed his craft. The subject matter to Beyond Midnight was more horror oriented, including madness, murder, and supernatural sleuths! What survives today doesn't involve a horror host per se, but a few include framing narration (by someone involved in the plot) while others just start up the story with no announcer or lead-in whatsoever. So it's possible the regular host or announcer was left off (edited out) of the recordings. The host-- if there was one-- may have only been heard by those who listened to this series when it first aired. It's another radio mystery we may never know for sure, but we're lucky to at least have some of the recordings! According OTRplotSpot.com, there are 43 known episodes, of which the recordings of 27 have survived. Other logs indicate 107 episodes were made, of which only eight are unknown or not available. The logged air dates suggest the series ran an extra year as well, into 1970.
The Standard Intro:
Announcer: " Viotex, the new soap and prewash powder, presents Beyond Midnight, by Michael McCabe".
An Opening Narration:
Narrator: "I'm an old sailor. I cross the Atlantic pretty often. I have my favorite ships you see. I have a habit of waiting for certain vessels I favor. It may be prejudice, but I was only cheated out of passage once in my life. I remember it very well. It was one June. And the Kenshatka, which was a voyage I loved to travel on. I say was, because she emphatically no longer is. She was uncommonly clean in the on aft. She had enough bluffing off in the bows to keep her dry. And the lower births were more than double. She had a lot of advantages. But I won't cross that duck pond in her again. Why? You'll find out. You'll find out the terror that occurred in the upper birth in the June crossing of the Atlantic that year, when all the drowned souls that ever were, endeavored to drag me... Beyond Midnight!"
An Ending Narration:
(It would spoil the surprise ending, so no comment.)
The Standard Closing:
Announcer: "Beyond Midnight is presented every Friday night at half past nine by Biotech. The new soak and pre-wash powder. The program is adapted to broadcasting and produced by Michael MacCabe."
Hear An Actual Episode!
(Courtesty of Oldtimeradiofans.com)
The Room (same as the first one listed above.)
OTR Plot Spot synopsis of various episodes from Beyond Midnight: http://www.otrplotspot.com/Beyond%20Midnight.htm
**rev. 7.1.18 © 2007 Monsterwax Sci-Fi & Horror Monster Trading Cards