A female stowaway finds out she has endangered the space ship bound for her husband's planet because there's not enough fuel to carry an extra passenger. Exciting story by Tom Godwin that shows how great of a medium radio can be.
August 25, 1955
Rating: ****
A female stowaway finds out she has endangered the space ship bound for her husband's planet because there's not enough fuel to carry an extra passenger. Exciting story by Tom Godwin that shows how great of a medium radio can be.
August 25, 1955
Rating: ****
So-so story about a man kidnapped onto a star ship on the eve of his wedding.Sept 01, 1955
Rating: **
This is definitely of the "Space Western" flavor. Earthlings (picture them with cowboy hats on space horses) have colonized Mars and have rounded up all them "derned murderous" Martians that look like spiders (picture bugs with war paint and feathers) into reservations. But one man, named "Crazy" John (who sounds mysteriously like a cosmic Tonto) wishes them to be freed. Kind of trite, but a well-told story.Sept 08, 1955
Rating: ***
This story starts out as just a conflict about a new bomb being tested on a South Sea island. The natives of the island refuse to leave the island where "our fathers and our father's fathers are buried." It turns out they have alterior motives. The reason for the title "The Castaways" finally becomes clear in the surprise ending. A good story written by Ernest Kinoy.Sept 15, 1955
Rating: ***
A repeat of the Premier espisode (see #000)Sept 22, 1955
Rating: ***
This is the first contact between two alien space ships, one from Earth (with crew members sounding like worried B-actors) and one from a non-human ship (with the captain sounds like he is pinching his nose when he talks). They are similar to each other, but are also afraid that the other will follow them back to conquer their home planets.Nice story by Murray Leinster.
October 06, 1955
Rating: ***
A quiet man receives a "Build-A-Man" kit from the future. He ends up building a man that improves his career and his love life. It helps so much that he doesn't become necessary anymore.This is a fun story by William Tenn.
October 20, 1955
Rating: ***
One of the richest men in the world who financed expeditions to the moon is physically not allowed to travel into space. He wants to walk on the moon if it's the last thing he does. The emotions of the main character carry well in this story by Robert Heinlein.October 27, 1955
Rating: ***
In the 42nd Century (that should be far enough ahead in time for anyone), a couple living underground is happy to be scientifically approved to have children, which they hope will be immune to the radiation on the Earth's surface.Nov 03, 1955
Rating: ***
The Earth has been annihilated by radioactive wars. A space ship from Mars discovers the famous scientist Cornelius Hathaway, almost 80 years old, has survived the blasts. What is curious is that his wife and children have also survived, but they have not aged. The children still look like they are in their teens and 20's. And Hathaway's wife is a beautiful woman. What could be happening? All is explained at the end in this excellent Ray Bradbury story.Nov 10, 1955
Rating: *** 1/2
Way in the future (1965), Steve Weston is the guinea pig, about to be sent into space where he has just enough fuel to complete his experimental mission, then return to earth. He can't stay out too long, as that is the "outer limit" of what he can do. A lot of little turns and added surprise developments, like his wife delivering their first child just as he leaves. Really fun when you consider this was first broadcast before the first U.S. rocket into space. Good sound effectsBy Graham Dore.
Nov 16, 1955
Rating: ***
It's a beautiful peaceful day in 1985 (all futuristic stories have to be in exact decade-increments). But children play with a rose bush that tells the children to prepare for an invasion from another planet, which will occur at Zero Hour.Nov 23, 1955
Rating: ***
A ruthless tycoon desires space travel just to show he is the master of the world. "Money and determination can buy anything," he says. Excellent story by Nelson Bond with voices that match the good/evil personalities of the characters.Nov 30, 1955
Rating: ****
An astronomical event that hasn't happened in over 2000 years is about to cause the sun and all the stars to be extinguished for 15 minutes. Scientists say people will go insane when this happens. A strange cult thinks that this is a sign that the world is about to end. This is a Isaac Asimov story that reads better than it plays here.Nov 30, 1955
Rating: **
A couple of tourists to Mexico in 1955 are actually time travelers escaping an evil society from the future. But the government police have come back to return to them to their duties. Good story by Ray Bradbury.Dec 14, 1955
Rating: ****
X minus One
NOTE: All the episodes are now here... enjoy!
X Minus One was a science fiction radio series on NBC from April 1955 through January 1958. The show feature stories written by some of the big names in 1950s science fiction, like Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, and Issac Asimov.
The X Minus One series followed in the footsteps of another great sci-fi series called Dimension X which appeared on the airwaves in 1950-51. Some of the X-1 shows were later rebroadcast on X Minus One. X Minus One truly was one of the forefathers of the science fiction television/radio age.
Each X Minus One starts with this intro, to the sound effects of a rocket lifting off:
Countdown for blast-off. X Minus 5, 4, 3, 2, X Minus 1, Fire. From the far horizons of the unknown come transcribed tales of new dimensions in time and space. These are stories of the future. Adventures in which you will live in a million could-be years on a thousand maybe worlds. The National Broadcasting Corporation in cooperation with (Galaxy Magazine, then Astounding Science Fiction) presents . . . . X Minus One
Comment:
It's amazing how relevant many of the 1950s science fiction stories still are... take away the chrome rocket fins and aliens, and suddenly you've got the evening news.
Pete Comely
Other stuff out there
MindWebs. More free Old Time Radio Sci-fi.
More X-Minus One
Botar. MoreX minus One Radio Sci-fi.
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Episodes
- 000 And The Moon Be Still As Bright
- 001 No Contact
- 002 The Parade
- 003 Mars is Heaven
- 004 Universe
- 005 Knock
- 006 The Man in The Moon
- 007 Perigi’s Wonderful Dolls
- 008 The Green Hills Of Earth
- 009 Dr. Grimshaw’s Sanitorium
- 010 Nightmare
- 011 The Embassy
- 012 The Veldt
- 013 Almost Human
- 014 Courtesy
- 015 The Cold Equation
- 016 Shanghaied
- 017 The Martian Death March
- 018 The Castaways
- 019 And the Moon be still as bright
- 020 First Contact
- 021 Child’s play
- 022 Requiem
- 023 Hello Tomorrow
- 024 Dwellers in silence
- 025 The Outer Limit
- 026 Zero Hour
- 027 Vital Factor
- 028 Nightfall
- 029 To the Future
- 030 Marionettes, Inc.
- 031 A Logic Named Joe
- 032 The Roads Must Roll
- 033 Time And Time Again
- 034 Perigi’s Wonderful Dolls (Rebroadcast)
- 035 The Parade (Rebroadcast)
- 036 Cave Of Night
- 037 C-Chute
- 038 Skulking Permit
- 039 Junkyard
- 040 Hello, Tomorrow
- 041 A Gun For Dinosaur
- 042 Tunnel Under The World
- 043 $1000 A Plate
- 044 A Pail Of Air
- 045 How-To
- 046 Star Bright
- 047 Jaywalker
- 048 The Sense Of Wonder
- 049 Sea Legs
- 051 Hallucination Orbit
- 050 The Seventh Order
- 052 The Defenders
- 053 Lulunganeena
- 054 Project Mastadon
- 055 If You Was A Mocklin
- 056 Project Trojan
- 057 Wherever You May Be
- 058 Mr. Costello, Hero
- 059 Bad Medicine
- 060 The Old Die Rich
- 061 Stars Are The Styx
- 063 The Last Martian
- 062 Student Body
- 064 The Snowball Effect
- 065 Surface Tension
- 066 Tunnel Under The World
- 067 The Lifeboat Mutiny
- 067 The Map Makers
- 069 Protective Mimicry
- 070 Colony
- 071 Soldier Boy
- 072 Pictures Don’t Lie
- 073 Sam, This Is You
- 074 Appointment In Tomorrow
- 075 (Repeat of episode 17)
- 076 Chain Of Command
- 078 There Will Come Soft Rains
- 079 Hostess
- 080 The Reluctant Heroes
- 081 Honeymoon In Hell
- 082 The Moon Is Green
- 083 Saucer Of Loneliness
- 084 The Girls From Earth
- 085 Open Warfare
- 086 Caretaker
- 087 Venus Is A Man’s World
- 088 The Trap
- 089 Field Study
- 090 Real Gone
- 091 The Seventh Victim
- 092 The Lights On Precipice Peak
- 093 Protection
- 094 At The Post
- 095 Martian Sam
- 096 Something For Nothing
- 097 Discovery Of Morniel Mathaway
- 098 Man’s Best Friend
- 099 Inside Story
- 100 The Category Inventor
- 101 Skulking Permit
- 102 Early Model
- 103 The Merchants Of Venus
- 104 The Haunted Corpse
- 105 End As A World
- 106 The Scapegoat
- 107 At The Post
- 108_Drop Dead
- 109 Volpla
- 110 Saucer Of Loneliness
- 111 The Old Die Rich
- 112 Tsylana
- 113 The Native Problem
- 114 The Wind Is Rising
- 115 Death Wish
- 116 Point Of Departure
- 117 The Light
- 118 Lulu
- 119 The Coffin Cure
- 120 Shocktroop
- 121 The Haunted Corpse
- 122 Double Dare
- 123 Target One
- 124 Prime Difference
- 125 Gray Flannel Armor
- 126 The Iron Chancellor
Donate for Bandwidth?
I have preset the 'donate' amount at $2... I don't think anyone should donate more than that... I would rather people download and enjoy the stories.
Myself, I just need to find the space for the MP3 files. :-)