Tales of Tomorrow
1953
Above image courtesy of Tune In For Terror © 1992
Host: Omentor, aka, Raymond Edward Johnson.
What do you get if you mix Inner Sanctum Mysteries with X Minus One? That answer: Tales of Tomorrow, which not only featured mature science fiction stories from Galaxy Magazine, but Inner Sanctum's popular host, "Raymond" Edward Johnson. Mr. Johnson went under the faux name of "Omentor" for this series. His character had supposedly traveled to us from the distant future. He sounded like regular Raymond, using the same vocal mannerisms and even his trademark chuckle, but the script was sprinkled with sci-fi references instead of morbid puns. Another thing missing was Inner Sanctum's Hammond organ. Instead, the background used a jazzy cacophony of "music" (if you could call it that). A muted trumpet would underscore many of Omentor's comments, while a xylophone struck dissonant chords. (The people of the future must have very abstract musical tastes.)
The stories themselves are quite good. Especially worthy of note is "The Other Now", starring Dick York, who would later make a splash on TV, guest starring on shows like Thriller ("The Incredible Dr. Markasan") and co-starring with Elizabeth Montgomery on Bewitched. Unfortunately, Tales From Tomorrow only lasted from January 1 to April 9th. Although recordings of the show survived, they have rather poor sound quality. Luckily, many of the same stories would later be recreated on X Minus One, including "The Stars Are The Styx", "The Girls From Earth", "The Moon is Green", or "The Old Die Rich". But although the stories were basically the same, they are still different. Maybe future technology will allow us to clean them up as good as new and hear them as they were intended. The real shame is that only 15 episodes were made before the series was cancelled for no apparent reason. Perhaps Tales From Tomorrow was just too much ahead of its time...
The Standard Intro:
(Music: Jazzy chaotic theme plays.)
Announcer: "Tales of Tomorrow! Tales beyond human imagination... until they happen."
(MUSIC: Dramatic sting.)
Announcer: Tales of Tomorrow: "Syndrome Johnny", by Charles Dye
(MUSIC: Climax and out.
Host: "This is your host, Omentor, saying Hello for ABC."
(MUSIC: UNDER)
An Opening Narration:
Host: "Question - can I predict the future? Answer - No. I make no prognostications. I tell my remarkable tales only because I've been into the future, and on my journeys I've noted one thing -- history repeats itself. With variations, of course."
"The story tonight is a repetition, in a way, when you recall the great plagues of the Middle Ages. They had the 'Black Death' then. In my tale of tomorrow, however, it's the 'Syndrome Plague.' There's a difference in that the Syndrome Plague was not spread by vermin or animals -- but by a very well-kept human being. There are other differences, as you'll see -- As you'd know if you read, in Galaxy Magazine, the story called -- 'Syndrome Johnny.'"
(MUSIC: UP AND UNDER )
(SFX: BATTERY OF TELETYPES -- ESTABLISH AND DROP UNDER.)
Host: "Headquarters, Federated States of America, 2090 AD. In this nerve center of the Western Hemisphere, all is normal except the blood pressure of Lucius McVane, who heads the office of Health Control. McVane is scanning the latest newspaper editorials concerning his organization and, to put it mildly, is fit to be tied. In a case like this, the first person to enter the office is the one to take the blast.
(SFX: DOOR CLOSE -- SHUT OUT THE TELETYPES)
Host: "It was Julio Camba, a special investigator for the department."
Hear it now, FREE!
(Courtesy of TennesseeBillsOtr.com)
Here over a dozen episodes for free here!
"The Other Now" - A mesmerizing story of a man who mourns the death of his wife from a freak accident. When he finds her diary, he discovers she's still alive... in another dimension.
"The Moon Is Green" - As the Earth rots in the radioactive aftermath of WW3, a lonely woman longs for escape from her cruel husband and the confines of their radioactive bunker. She wonders if she is insane when she hears someone outside the lead shutters, a man professing to be fine in spite of the poison dust.
"Martians Never Die" - When one of the few explorers of Mars returns to Earth with a Martian pet, he causes problems for his wife's lover who wants to kill the husband. The pet, you see, is a bodyguard, with a most unusual defense mechanism.
Read up to three scripts at GenericRadio.com.
Read the script Sydrome Johnny (courtesy GenericRadio.com)
Read the script to Martians Never Die (courtesty of OTRR group)
Read the script to The Drop.
