Tales of Tomorrow

Before The Twilight Zone and before The Outer Limits, there was Tales of Tomorrow, the first science fiction series on television aimed at adult viewers. Premiering on ABC on August 3, 1951, the live drama featured several actors just beginning their careers. Lee Grant, Leslie Nielsen, Cloris Leachman, Paul Newman and his future wife, Joanne Woodward, and James Dean were just some of the players starring on episodes of the series. Many of the presentations were based on short stories authored by famous science fiction writers like Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, and Nelson Bond. Stories dealt with themes such as human mutations, nuclear apocalypse, time travel, space exploration, extraterrestrials, and alternate worlds. This book summarizes the story lines of each installment of Tales of Tomorrow and, where applicable, describes the short stories on which an episode is based. In addition, the book recounts the stories for the radio version of Tales of Tomorrow as well as some unproduced television episodes. Richard Irvin is the author of several books about television published by Bear Manor Media.