2000 Plus

was the first purely science fiction, adult anthology to hit the airwaves.* It aired over the Mutual network from the spring of 1950 until very early in 1952. Nearly 100 episodes were produced, but fewer than 20 survive. Episodes were in standard 30-minute format.

Unlike its contemporary rival Dimension X, which drew much of its material from the sci-fi pulps of the time, all 2000 Plus stories were original. Production values and acting were excellent, and it's a great pity that the series was so short-lived and that so few episodes survive. The script-writing of the surviving episodes is variable—some are fairly childish, some are quite good. The best of the surviving episodes, however, can't match the best of Dimension X, Exploring Tomorrow, or X Minus One... although with so many lost episodes, it is hard to judge the quality of the entire series. Even though most of the scripts were not credited, it seems likely that series creator Sherman H. Dryer (himself a writer) penned a few of them.

Based on the quality of the few surviving episodes, it is tempting to think of 2000 Plus as an 'experiment' in radio: a desperate, yet half-hearted, attempt to try anything, even science fiction, in an attempt to forestall the growing influence of television. I don't buy it.

First of all, there was nothing half-hearted about this effort. While the writing was, at times, juvenile and amateurish, the cast and crew were all seasoned professionals. The mean age of the cast was 38, backed by 10-15 years of solid acting experience. Actors included: Ed Latimer, Luis Van Rooten, Lon Clark, Gilbert Mack, Ralph Bell, William Griffis, Bryna Raeburn, Mason Adams, Joseph Julian, Hester Sondergaard, and Nat Polen! Names which should be familiar to any fan of old time radio. The director, Sherman H. Dryer, had previously directed a couple of series about progress made through science: Exploring the Unknown and The Human Adventure.

Secondly, this was 1950, and there was a collective yearning for science and technology to provide security and to increase the standard of living (from self-driving cars to robot servants, from polio vaccines to pace-makers, from solar power to 'super-atomic calculating machines'), while at the same time there was fear and distrust of that same science. This was, after all, a mere 5 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Communists were expanding their reach throughout the 3rd World. The Korean War had just started. McCarthy was ramping up the Red Scare campaign.

And finally, this wasn't a 'desperate attempt' to hold on to the past... it was a bold attempt to grab the future. The 1950s saw a six-fold increase in science fiction films and a 3-fold increase in science fiction pulp magazines. There was an arms race... and a race to the moon. And at the beginning of that decade, at the very cutting edge, was the sci-fi anthology 2000 Plus: "Who can say what is impossible in the world of tomorrow? Let us go into the future... into the years beyond 2000 AD!"

Science and Technology: the promise, the power, the threat. America was ready for it all.

So, this is the context you should bear in mind while listening to these stories. The science may not have been as sophisticated as it is today, and you may be tempted to pass these stories off as 'corn' or 'camp', but these stories reflect the times in which they were written, and enthusiasm for the future was just as strong then as it is now.

[*Well, maybe. According to Digital Deli Too, Beyond Tomorrow might have beaten 2000 Plus to the airwaves. At least three episodes and a pilot were produced, but it is unclear if any of the episodes actually aired. If they did, they probably aired very early in 1950, beating 2000 Plus by a month or two.]

Sources used to create my own log and double-check titles, dates and cast members: Digital Deli Too, RadioGOLDINdex, Nightkey's OTR Errors, IMDB, On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio (John Dunning), and Billboard magazine. The Lost episodes listed below, and their plots, were taken from the 2000 Plus log at the Digital Deli Too.

Currently this archive contains 16 of 16 plotlines and 26 reviews

Webmaster Recommends:
Flying Saucers | The Other Man

Jeff Dickson Recommends:
Space Wreck | A Veteran Comes Home | When the Worlds Met | Worlds Apart

Alone    *LOST*

"The story of a man who finds himself alone in the world." --- Pacific Stars and Stripes, 1953/01/29, as quoted at Digital Deli Too.
[I've heard rumours that this episode exists but is not in circulation; every copy I've found with this title is actually "Worlds Apart" --- webmaster.]

Break in the Chain, A    *LOST*

"What will the criminal be like in Two Thousand plus? Join in the hunt for thugs who are bent on robbing the world bank in 'A Break in the Chain'." --- Pacific Stars and Stripes, 1952/10/16, as quoted at Digital Deli Too

Brooklyn Brain, The

A thick-headed dimwit hopes that being the subject of a science experiment will help him win the love of his dream woman.

Diamond Helmet, The    *LOST*

Doom Machine, The

Irritated by human failings, a scientist working to harness solar power creates a robot to assist him in his efforts, because robots—as everyone knows—are incapable of error... [I think this episode exists, but is not in circulation; the plotline is taken from a version which was broadcast later on Suspense. --- webmaster]

Notes:
See also: "Almost Human" (Dimension X and X Minus One), "The Automaton" (Hall of Fantasy), "Beware of Tomorrow" (Mysterious Traveler and Sealed Book) and "The Doom Machine" (Suspense and 2000 Plus).

Earth vs Alexander Corday, The    *LOST*

"Scientist goes to moon to plot Earth's destruction." --- Wisconsin State Journal, 1950/06/14, as quoted at Digital Deli Too

Explorers from Space    *LOST*

First Men, The    *LOST*

Flower of Evil, The    *LOST*

Flying Saucers

An alien spacecraft appears over an Air Force base. In a dazzling display of military logic, the local General decides the wisest response is to shoot at it—igniting a series of rather unfortunate consequences.

Giant Walks, The

A megalomaniacal scientist concocts a serum that transforms men into titans, with the intention of creating a super-race for world conquest.

Snippet: "What's the matter, Westin? Don't you think it would be valuable to give yourself to Science?" -- Dr Ellsworth

Green Thing, The

Patients in a sanitarium share a common nightmare of a 'green thing' threatening them in their sleep. But how can they all have the exact same dream?

Hosts above the Thunder    *LOST*

Insect, The

The wife of a scientist experimenting with an arthropod growth-ray gets trapped in the laboratory by one of his more successful efforts.

With Joan Shea (Betty), Larry Robinson (Bill), Ralph Bell (George) and William Griffis (the Dean).

Journey into the Germ World    *LOST*

Living Dead, The    *LOST*

"A scientist joins the land of the dead." --- Pacific Stars and Stripes, 1953/05/04, as quoted at Digital Deli Too

Man Who Conquered Time, The    *LOST*

"A man uses machine to project himself into year 10,000 A. D." --- Wisconsin State Journal 1950/04/12, as quoted at Digital Deli Too.

Man Who Found Himself, The    *LOST*

" 'The Man Who Found Himself' is the unusual futuristic tale of a man whose personality was altered by a psychoanalysis machine, presented on the 2000 Plus program Wednesday night (KMAC 8 PM)." --- San Antonio Light, 1950/06/07, as quoted at Digital Deli Too.

Man Who Tried to Stop June 8th, The    *LOST*

Men from Mars, The

Two kids, denied the opportunity to take a trip to Mars, decide to build their own damn rocket.

With Ronald Liss (Micky), Ronnie Jacoby ?? (Dink), Solette McMann ?? (Mabelle), Ed Latimer (the father), John Griggs (), and Sandy Fickert ?? ().

Other Man, The

Scott Douglas returns home one evening to discover that he is being sought by the World Security Police for murder. And so is Scott Douglas...

This show is sometimes incorrectly tagged as "The Man Who Found Himself". A later version appeared on Theatre Five as "Molecule Masquerade".

Robot Killer, The

A suburban couple win a robotic house-servant in a contest; sounds ideal, except that the wife is mentally unstable and has a taste for homicide.

Rocket and the Skull, The

Communist spies, saboteurs, and extraterrestrials intrigue over a critical American space launch.

Rocket to the Moon    *LOST*

" 'Control the Moon and you control the world' is the watchword for peace in the years 2,000 plus. How the future policy makers of the world will be about this task will be unfolded on KCKG—KCRK's 2,000 Plus broadcast tonight at 8 o'clock." --- Cedar Rapids Gazette, 1950/04/19, as quoted at Digital Deli Too

Silent Noise, The    *LOST*

Space Wreck

Titanic in space. On its maiden voyage, the interplanetary passenger liner Golden Star is struck by a meteor and set adrift.

Sphinx, The    *LOST*

Temples of the Pharaohs, The

Two astronauts fall through a time warp and crash-land in ancient Egypt, where they find themselves guests in the court of the Pharaoh.

That Which Lives in a Steel Head    *LOST*

Time Out of Hand    *LOST*

Veteran Comes Home, A

A traumatized war vet returns from the Martian War to his family on Earth, only to discover to his horror that his son can't wait to enlist.

When Machines Went Mad

In an uncertain future, within a computerized city, a small knot of revolutionaries challenge the tyrannical Master Controller.

When the Worlds Met

Martians arrive on Earth to deliver a dire warning to the primitive, warlike natives.

Worlds Apart

A space expedition returning from Neptune find themselves arrested and imprisoned for reasons unknown.

This episode is sometimes incorrectly tagged as "Alone".

Snippet: [two prisoners call to a rescuer] prisoner 1: "Hello there. Who is it?" rescuer: "It's me, Reynolds." prisoner 2: "Reynolds, the chess-playing physicist."

Copyright © 2000-2024 www.otrplotspot.com