Tales of Tomorrow
Tales of Tomorrow is an American science fiction anthology television series that aired from 1951 to 1953 on ABC. It was the first science fiction series on American television, predating The Twilight Zone by nearly a decade. Each episode presented a standalone story exploring speculative concepts: alien invasions, scientific experiments gone wrong, time travel, and futuristic technology. The series was broadcast live, giving it a raw, improvisational energy that survives in the kinescope recordings. Notable episodes include an adaptation of Frankenstein starring Lon Chaney Jr. as the monster, who reportedly did not realize the broadcast was live and thought it was a rehearsal. The series ran for 85 episodes across two seasons and drew on stories by writers including Arthur C. Clarke and Kurt Vonnegut. Many episodes are in the public domain because their copyrights were never renewed.
This series is:Anthology
Season 1
Verdict from Space
A defendant on trial, accused of murdering a prominent archaeologist, tells the jury an incredible story of a pending alien invasion.
Blunder
A scientist's assistant accidentally triggers a catastrophic chain reaction in a laboratory experiment, and the team must race to undo the
A Child Is Crying
A young boy with extraordinary mental powers holds a town hostage, manipulating the thoughts and actions of everyone around him. The adults
The Dark Angel
A doctor discovers that there's something medically strange about his smokin' hot wife.
The Crystal Egg
An antique dealer discovers that a strange crystal egg is a window to Mars, revealing glimpses of an alien civilization. Based on the short
Test Flight
The CEO of an aerospace company is determined to build a spaceship for interplanetary travel and a young scientist convinces him that he can perform the task--but only if he's the first person to travel on the spaceship.
The Search for the Flying Saucer
A reporter arrives in a New Mexico town to investigate sightings of flying saucers. But neither he nor some of the town's residents are actually who they appear to be.
Sneak Attack
During the Cold War, a captured American spy is his country's only hope to avert an attack by a new type of bomb.
The Invader
A scientist doing research in oceanography witnesses the crash of a UFO into the ocean and sends his son underwater to investigate.
The Dune Roller
A mysterious creature made of living sand stalks the dunes near a remote desert research station, and the scientists must determine whether it is
Frankenstein
A live television adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, starring Lon Chaney Jr. as the monster. Chaney reportedly believed the broadcast
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: The Chase (1)
A young sailor finds himself held captive on a submarine called the Nautilus and commanded by the mysterious Captain Nemo.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: The Escape (2)
A sailor being held prisoner onboard a submarine by the mysterious Captain Nemo escapes from captivity with the assistance of the captain's daughter.
What You Need
A mysterious peddler appears with the uncanny ability to give people exactly what they need before they know they need it. A cynical reporter
The Little Black Bag
A doctor from the future loses his medical bag, which falls into the hands of a man in the present day. The bag contains advanced medical
Ice from Space
A meteorite crashes in a small town, bringing with it a creeping cold that freezes everything it touches. As the ice spreads, scientists race
The Children's Room
A secret "Children's Room" at a college attracts the attention of intellectual advanced youths. One of them, Walt, is the son of a professor at the university. The professor uncovers that his son and other children are 'mutants' being groomed to assist an alien race in a distant part of the galaxy.
The Diamond Lens
Shortly before he is scheduled to go to the guillotine, a scientist confesses to a priest the fantastic reason why he committed murder to obtain the perfect diamond for use in a microscope.
Flight Overdue
The husband of an aviatrix who disappeared on a test flight finally learns the truth about his wife's disappearance.
Time to Go
A woman finds a bank that doesn't save money--it saves time.
Plague from Space
A military base commander is forced to make a terrible decision when he learns that Martians have invaded Earth using a deadly combination of bacteria and brainwaves.
Red Dust
Four members of a space party returning to Earth from Alpha Centauri try to determine what killed the other two members of their party.
The Golden Ingot
A doctor's unsuccessful experiments cause him to fall into a state of depression which has his daughter worried.
Black Planet
Two astronomers working together, seek a tenth planet. The senior fears the junior might have found it and is jealous. They are also both interested in Norma, who works with them. When, in the course of a fight between the two men, the senior scientist falls dead - the question is was he killed by the other or not. Norma's brother, a police detective has to solve the case! Leslie Nielsen, Frank Albertson amd Horace MacMahon star.
World of Water
A scientist discovers a solvent that is capable of dissolving the planet.
Little Black Bag
A struggling doctor takes his instruments to a pawnshop because his wife complains about their lack of money. Once in the shop, he makes a deal with the pawnbroker for $20.00 and a mysterious medical bag. Later, it is discovered that the instruments in the bag can perform "miracle cures". Upon close inspection of the instruments, a patent date of July 18, 2450 is revealed.
All the Time in the World
A man must decide whether or not he wants to survive a hydrogen bomb blast. If he does he'll be the only person remaining on earth--not a pleasant predicament.
The Miraculous Serum
A miracle life-saving serum has unintended consequences when it's tested on a female patient. Not only does it make the woman immune to diseases but to moral issues as well.
Appointment on Mars
Three astronauts arrive on Mars, sponsored by a mining company who will share the profits with them. Illness, paranoia and other problems develop until all three are dead - but what caused it?
The Duplicates
A man on Jupiter is paid a huge sum of money to travel to Earth and kill his duplicate on that planet.
Ahead of His Time
A lab technician invents a time machine and uses it to travel forward to the year 2052.
Ice from Space
A rocket returns from space with a huge block of ice inside its compartment. An Air Force officer realizes that this block of ice is a form of alien invasion.
Season 2
The Seeing Eye Surgeon
When a prominent physician dons a pair of eyeglasses he discovers that he can see into the future.
The Cocoon
A group of scientists are trapped inside a house in a remote jungle by hideous invisible creatures.
Youth on Tap (aka: Young Blood)
A 26 year old man gives a doctor a blood transfusion in return for $1,000 but the process causes the young man to age.
Substance X
A young woman goes to her hometown at the behest of a food conglomerate. Her assignment is to discover what the people of the community are using for food after their only food outlet closes. She discovers a scientist who has developed a food substitute called 'Substance X'. Anyone who diets on Substance X is unable to eat normal food from that time on.
The Horn
A scientist invents a machine that has the power to control human emotions.
Many Happy Returns (aka: Invaders at Ground Zero)
A father discovers that his son and other neighborhood children are being controlled telepathically by an alien.
The Tomb of King Tarus
An archeologist discovers that an ancient king has been able to stay alive for centuries in a tomb deep beneath the Egyptian desert.
The Window
A live television program is interrupted by a mysterious signal that shows a murder about to take place.
The Fatal Flower
Doing research in the Brazilian jungle, two biochemists develop a mysterious plant.
The Bitter Storm
A man brings back voices and sounds from the Garden of Eden.
Two Faced
To win the love of a woman, a man arranges to have the head of her former lover transplanted onto his body.
The Build Box
A little boy is the recipient of a strange box from the owner of a gift shop.
Another Chance
A man is given the chance to live the past seven years of his life over but he makes the same mistakes.
The Great Silence
The nation is hit with an epidemic in which vocal chords are paralyzed but it's actually an alien plot to control the people of the United States.
The Fury of the Cocoon
Members of an expedition into the jungle are attacked by invisible blood sucking leaches from outer space.
Read to Me Herr Doktor
An old professor with failing eyesight builds a robot named Herr Doktor to read him books that he had never had a chance to read when he was younger. The relationship between the professor and the robot is very close. The books that the robot reads give it the desire to be a complete person. Their roles become reversed. The robot begins to demand that the professor read aloud to him. Later, the robot falls in love with the professor's daughter. When she spurns the robot, it learns that the books it has been reading were wrong and it dies of a broken heart.
Ghost Writer
A writer discovers to his horror that the events in his short stories are coming true.
Past Tense
A doctor travels back in time in order to extol the virtues of penicillin and save lives but ends up being committed to an insane asylum where he falls ill and dies from a disease which could have been prevented by penicillin.
The Evil Within
A scientist creates a formula that unlocks evil. Then his wife unknowingly ingests some of the formula.
The Spider's Web
Inhabitants of an island find themselves affected by atomic radiation.
Details
- Years
- 1951–1953
- Seasons
- 2
- Episodes
- 52
- Genres
- Science Fiction, Horror, Drama
- TMDB Rating
- 6.4/10 (7 votes)
- Maturity Rating
- TV-G
- Quality
- SD
- Audio
- English
- Status
- Public Domain
- Studio
- ABC
