Classic Sci Fi TV: Our ongoing look back at many of the classics of science fiction and fantasy television.
What Is It? This early anthology series focused mostly on science fiction stories drawing from classics such as “The Crystal Egg” (H.G. Wells), Frankenstein (Mary Shelley), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Jules Verne) as well as works from other genre authors.
Aired: ABC, 1951-53, 2 Seasons Totaling 85 Episodes
Notable Guest Stars: Lon Chaney, Jr., Boris Karloff, James Dean, Cloris Leachman, Leslie Nielsen, Paul Newman
Developed By: Theodore Sturgeon, Mort Abrahams
Is It Must-Watch Sci Fi? Yes. It might be a rough watch for those accustomed to more modern production values, but this was a serious attempt to bring science fiction to television with stories adapted from genre authors.
The Skinny: In television’s infancy, science fiction was considered a genre that appealed mostly to kids. Shows like Captain Video and His Video Rangers, Space Patrol, Tom Corbett Space Cadet, and more were geared for a younger audience and proved quite popular at the time. But there were some attempts to handle the genre in a way that appealed to adults as well, and Tales of Tomorrow is one of those examples. It was preceded by Lights Out (more on that one at this link), a show that also ventured into supernatural, horror, and suspense. Tales was originally proposed by sci fi authors Theodore Sturgeon and Mort Abrahams (initially title Tomorrow is Yours) in association with the membership of the Science Fiction League of America. The producers had access to over two thousand science fiction stories that they could adapt for the series. And they did it without pandering to the audience or trying to follow the example of the kiddie space operas that more commonly represented the genre at that time.
Since this was the early years of television, there was not much in the way of special effects that could be used to enhance the episodes. Therefore, the creative team had to rely on strong stories to keep the audience engaged, and they definitely succeed on that front. Because of the wealth of source material they had to pick from, they were able to bring plenty of good tales to the show’s lineup, and they did it despite the dearth of sfx technology available to them. The episodes did not always end with that twist that would later become a trademark of The Twilight Zone, but this series definitely had its share of poignant tales that got their message across.
The show is definitely crude when compared to modern productions, looking more like stage adaptations of sci fi stories. But that was the way television worked in the early ’50s, and Tales of Tomorrow pulled it off. You have to adjust expectations accordingly when going back to watch these old episodes, and the video quality is often marginal at best (more on that below). But it is definitely worth catching at least a few episodes of this show to see some good science fiction tales from the early days of television.
Cancelled Too Soon? Perhaps. This show proved popular enough in its early run that CBS rushed the short-lived Out There into production to compete with it. But apparently the ratings for Tales from Tomorrow in its second year were not high enough for ABC to keep it going into a third season. But it did produce a notable run of 85 total episodes.
Should It Be Rebooted? Yes. They should bring this show back and adapt some of the original episodes while also adding new stories. And they should stick with the stripped-down production angle. That would make it a very economical series that lives and dies by its stories not sfx-overload, something we have far too much of these days. This would also be a great way to get independent filmmakers involved and it could survive on its merits without having to draw huge ratings because it would not be too expensive to produce. This is a reboot that definitely needs to happen.
Interesting Fact: The video quality of the episodes from this series, Lights Out, and other television shows from the time is poor because all we have left from the live broadcasts are kinescopes. These are filmed recordings of the episodes as they were broadcast over the television. Videotape was in its infancy at that time and was not used to record the live productions, so kinescopes were the only option to archive the episodes. Unfortunately, that makes it harder to enjoy the episodes because of the poor quality, but this show is still worth checking out for its good stories and historical significance to sci fi TV.
Where Can You Watch It? The series is now in the public domain and so it is widely available, but unfortunately I have not found one location with all 85 episodes. There were DVD releases, but those only cover about half of the show’s episodes and are now out of print. There are multiple Roku channels with old sci fi and fantasy shows that typically have episodes available, including one dedicated solely to the show. You can also find episodes on YouTube.
Read More About the Show: Wikipedia | IMDb.com
More Classic Sci Fi TV at This Link
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