2000x: Tales of the Next Millennia

, formerly known as Beyond 2000, was a science fiction anthology produced by Hollywood Theater of the Ear for NPR (National Public Radio) from 1999 to 2000. The series included 46 stories spanning 26 episodes. Episodes were in 60-minute format.

Producer/Director Yuri Rasovsky's vision was to dramatize a wide variety of stories which would highlight the social, political, and technological possibilities of the new millennium. He hired award-winning author Harlon Ellison to act as literary advisor to help choose which stories to dramatize, and to act as series host. Rasovsky's requirements were that the stories be set in the future (beyond 2000 AD), represent a wide variety of story types, be well-written, and involve good drama. Ellison added that the stories must involve drama that can be spoken (either as dialogue between characters or by an interesting narrator), must have visual content (this is, after all, the Theatre of the Mind), and must have adventure to move the story along.

The result was a radio production that included classic works of science fiction as well as more modern works, and included traditional sci-fi/fantasy authors as well as authors not generally associated with that genre. Audio quality, sound effects, music and acting were all excellent.

Authors included: George Bernard Shaw, Jack London, Mark Twain, and Rudyard Kipling as well as the more expected Roger Zelazny, Theodore Sturgeon, Kurt Vonnegut, and Connie Willis. Genres included: heroic tragedy, future Earth, time travel, dystopia, aliens, sci-fi, humour, space exploration, and creatures. Actors included: Robin Williams, Richard Dreyfuss, Samantha Eggar, Charles Durning, Jay O. Sanders, Lynn Thigpen, Jackson Beck, Norman Corwin and some 80 others. At the bottom of this page, I have included full cast and crew credits.


It is interesting to compare 2000x with 2000 Plus, produced one-half century earlier. Both series sought to tell stories 'beyond the year 2000', both were science fiction anthologies, both utilized experienced directors, and both employed top actors of their day, but the results are polar opposites: while 2000x is a polished, professional, intelligent production, 2000 Plus feels more like a juvenile work-in-progress. There are many reasons for this.

The first, of course, is that 2000 Plus was live radio. You heard everything that happened in the studio during the broadcast... and only those things that happened. There were no retakes, so bloopers could not be fixed; sound effects were created on the spot with only those objects that could fit into the studio; directors cued the actors with hand gestures and, sometimes, dirty looks; musicians listened to the performance, read the score, and played when the music director indicated. There was a sense of immediacy to the performance that sometimes sounded 'unfinished', but wasn't: it was live. 2000x, on the other hand, used massive amounts of post-processing: splicing different cuts to remove bloopers; creating and modifying the entire soundscape with sounds added from digital libraries or recorded on location; and composing music to match tracks that were already recorded. Actors were recorded separately, sometimes from different parts of the country, and spliced together on different tracks. The effect was to add polish at the expense of spontaneity.

The second reason was the quality of the writing. Sure, 2000 Plus penned their own stories, while 2000x drew on the best science fiction/fantasy writing of the past 300 years. At first glance, this seems significant. Clearly, 2000x started with a wider story base, but they didn't stop there; their script writing was also sharper, more complex, and more perceptive than anything produced for 2000 Plus. Why? I mean, the stories being published in 1950 were much more complex than anything produced on radio at the time, and 50% of the 2000x canon had already been written by 1950 and could have been produced for 2000 Plus (or Dimension X, for that matter) and wasn't. Why?

That brings me to the third reason: the producers. The producers had their pulse on what they thought the American public wanted and would tolerate. In the words of Harlan Ellison, "Everything was simplified and dumbed down for what they thought was a very unsophisticated yokel kind of country farmer audience." The producers cut the legs out from under their own writers and the end result, though good, was not nearly as good as it could have been. Yuri Rasovsky's vision proves that. If "A Curious Fragment" (where ruthless industrialists take advantage of the working class) had been produced in 1950, the producers would have been branded as Communist sympathizers... even if "The Marching Morons" (where the moronic masses take advantage of the the productive class) was broadcast as part of the same series as ballast.

While 2000 Plus represented cutting-edge science fiction drama on radio, 2000x represents the culmination of 50 years of learning how to produce audio drama right. 2000x is a series which provides variety and balance; there is something here for everybody.

Note: Host Harlan Ellison sometimes describes himself as 'the most contentious person now walking the Earth'. His narrative style is abrasive and arrogant. But if you can get beyond that, you will find some very entertaining anecdotes and commentary. And if you can't get beyond it, fast forward through the introduction and listen to the stories, because they are definitely worth listening to.


Yuri Rasovsky passed away in 2012; he will be missed. Some his work may still be downloaded from his official website, while other work may be still purchased through Downpour (formerly, Blackstone). Rasovsky's archived website on the Wayback Machine still hosts a couple of Rochelle O'Gorman interviews: with Yuri Rasovsky and the abrasive and often contentious Harlan Ellison. There is also an article by Julie Prendiville Roux examinging the extremely valuable and exacting work of engineer Warren Dewey.

Sources used to create my own log and double-check titles, dates and cast members: Yuri Rasovsky's current website, his archived website at the Wayback Machine, SFF Audio, Radio Drama Revival, Jerry Stearns' NPR Playhouse fan website, Internet Speculative Fiction Database, IMDb, and Project Gutenberg.

Currently this archive contains 46 of 46 plotlines and 31 reviews

Webmaster Recommends:
Bloodchild | By His Bootstraps | By the Waters of Babylon | A Curious Fragment | The Hunting Season | The Mission of the Vega | Pillar of Fire | Shambleau

All for Love

A blank verse version of the story of Antony and Cleopatra focusing on the last hours of their lives. Although the words are mainly those of John Dryden, the story has been transplanted from Egypt to Venus in a far future time. Terran empire dominates. Antony, a general and local Terran commander on Venus, has gone local and thrown his support behind his mistress, Cleopatra, the long-time ruler of Venus. Octavius gathers his forces and prepares to wrest control from both Antony and Cleopatra.

Opening Lines:

'Twas once that Octavius Caesar and
our lord Antony held sway o'er all the
satellites of Sol, dividing twixt themselves
the whole, but then the love of Cleopatra,
our queen of Venus, in Antony awoke
and kindled to fury passions that dormant
had lain in his breast.

Whilst he with her on Venus gave himself
to love, Octavius on Earth began
to plot their fall and seize the rule entire.

As soon as Caesar finished preparations
he issued a decree declaring war on
Cleopatra and revoking all of
Antony's authority, which he had
let a woman exercise in his place.

Now, Antony lay with his fleet near Actium,
betwixt his planet and the queen's,
and there when the armaments gathered for war,
Octavius sought to meet him in the sky
where he advantage held as all well knew.

But so wholly was Antony now the mere
appendage to the person of Cleopatra
that although he had much the upper hand on
land and yet, complacence to his mistress-sweet
made him wish for victory in space.

And so it came to pass high above the dead
and barren Actium, they engaged.

The fortune of the day was undecided,
and the battle equal, when on a sudden
Cleopatra's ships were seen making out
to space in full flight.

As if he had been a part of her and must
needs move with her where-so-where she went, as
soon as he espied her rocket ship away from
battle soaring, Antony abandoned
all that were fighting and spending their lives
for him and spun his craft around to follow
her back to Venus.

Within the sulphurous clouds of which their twain craft
disappeared, his fleet a long resistance gave
to Caesar, but at last gave up the contest.

As matters present stand, all airborne from yon
moons the Terran fleet hangs o'er us black and
threatening like a storm just breaking on our heads.
Our fate, Venusians pray for Anthony,
but in their servile hearts they own Octavius.

With Robertson Dean (Alexas), Norman Lloyd (Ventidius), Robert Foxworth (Antony), Christina Pickles (Cleopatra), Kristoffer Tabori (Dolobella), and Lorna Raver (Octavia). Also with Janet Borrus, Ira Burton, and Amanda Karr.

Reading Link: "All for Love; Or, The World Well Lost: A Tragedy by John Dryden", by John Dryden, available at Project Gutenberg.

And Miles to Go Before I Sleep

An extremely abbreviated version of the William F. Nolan tale. A dying spaceman who has spent more than one-half his life in space, struggles to cheat death and find a way to keep the last promise he ever made to his parents—to return to see them one last time before he dies.

With John Schuck (astronaut, android), Ira Burton (man), and Laura Kellogg (woman).

As Easy as ABC

The District of Northern Illinois has cut itself out of all systems and and has pledged to remain disconnected until the Aërial Board of Control (ABC) take over and administer it directly. Every Northern Illinois freight and passenger tower is out of action; all District main, local, and guiding lights have been extinguished; all General Communications are dumb, and through-traffic has been diverted. No reason has been given, but unofficially the Mayor of Chicago has complained of 'crowd-making' and 'invasion of privacy'.

With Tony Jay (De Forest), Ira Burton (Vincent), Arte Johnson (Pirolo), Brian Finney (Arnott), Joe Greco (the mayor), J.J. Johnston (Bluthner), and Laura Kellogg (woman).

Reading Link: "As Easy as ABC", in the collection _A Diversity of Creatures_ by Rudyard Kipling, available at Project Gutenberg.

Blood

A short, short story about two vampires who, fleeing persecution in their own time, use a time machine to travel into the future where, they hope, mankind will have forgotten all about vampires, and they will be free to dine unhindered.

With Phil Proctor (Vladimir), Melinda Peterson (Sophia), and Ira Burton (Brassicus).

Bloodchild

Terran refugees on a foreign planet live on a preserve where they are protected from the native Tlic race, but can still be bought, sold and traded for political favours. One of the services most sought after from the Terrans is that they act as host mothers in a complex breeding process.

With Dylan Kussman (Gan), Christina Pickles (Lien, mother), John Coppola (Qui, brother), Ann Marie Lee (Xuan Hoa, sister), and Lynne Thigpen (T'Gatoi). Also with Ira Burton, Lorna Raver, and Fred Koella (guitar solos).

Reading Link: "Bloodchild", by Octavia Butler, available at The Washington Post.

By His Bootstraps

Bob Wilson, a college student typing his PhD thesis on time travel, is startled to discover a strange man step through a time gate into his dorm room. The man is unshaven, looks like he has been in a brawl, has one heck of a shiner, a swollen lip... and looks oddly familiar.

"This story was produced in 1982. Dreyfuss and Cordis Heard (John Heard’s sister) were recorded in NY. Engineer Richard Fairbanks and I finished it in Chicago. It won a couple of awards on its first airing. When the NPR commission of 2000x came along 16 years later, it gave me a chance to take Bootstraps out of mothballs." --- Yuri Rasovsky as quoted from Radio Drama Revival

With Richard Dreyfuss (Bob Wilson). Also with Cordis Heard, Ira Burton, and Kascia Marciniak.

By the Waters of Babylon

A post-holocaust tale of a priest's son whose rite of passage is to venture to the forbidden ruins left by the long-departed gods.

With Jay O. Sanders (monologue).

Reading Link: "By the Waters of Babylon", by Stephen Vincent Benét, available at Project Gutenberg Canada.

Choice, The

A short, short story in which a scientist travels into the future with notepad, camera, and tape recorder and returns to tell all that he has seen.

With Nathan Osgood (Williams, time traveller) and Ira Burton (Carruthers, assistant).

Collector's Fever

A humorous short, short story about a collector gathering up an intelligent rock that doesn't want to be collected.

With Ira Burton (Stone ??), David Ossman (collector ??), Melinda Peterson (rock #2), and Phil Proctor (rock #3).

Curious Fragment, A

This story takes place in the 26th century, after 500 years of industrial oligarchy. The rulers of that time view the working-class as little more than 'herd-animals' and enforce that status by ruthlessly stamping out all literacy. The ember of rebellion, however, has not been completely extinguished and 'story-tellers' evolve to keep the spirit of freedom alive.

With Erik Bauersfeld (story-teller) and Stefan Rudnicki (editor).

Snippet: "I chose to become a story-teller, wandering over the land and getting close to my brothers, the slaves, everywhere. And I tell you stories like this, secretly, knowing that you will not betray me; for if you did, you know as well as I that my tongue will be torn out and that I shall tell stories no more. And my message is, brothers, that there is a good time coming, when all will be well in the world and there will be neither masters nor slaves. But first you must prepare for that good time by learning to read. There is power in the printed word. And here am I to teach you to read, and as well there are others to see that you get the books wherein you will learn about your masters, and learn to become as strong even as they." --- the story-teller

Reading Link: "A Curious Fragment", available in the collection _The Chinago and Other Stories_ by Jack London, available at Internet Archive.

Dear Pen Pal

Scander, a convicted criminal who has spent the last 70 years in prison, is desperate to escape. He begins a correspondence with an unsuspecting Earthling by means of the Interstellar Correspondence Club and begins to lay his plans...

With Charles Durning (monologue).

Dialogue for the Year 2130, A

In 1826, saddened by the deaths of her husband and Lord Byron, and pondering the death of the Romantic political ideals for which they stood, Mary Shelley wrote a dystopian novel entitled The Last Man. A few years later, T.H. Lister published a response which offered a more positive vision: a prosperous world due to the marvels of technological achievement. The response was published in 1829 in the literary magazine The Keepsake and provides a glimpse into life 300 years hence—a world of automaton note-writers, steam-powered porters, and rapid transportation. The glimpse is provided as a polite conversation among three socialites from the year 2130 discussing art, music, dancing, literature (both current and archaic), military campaigns, literacy, news, and agricultural production.

With Phil Proctor (Lord A), Abby Hopgood (Lady D), and Nathan Osgood (Mr C).

Reading Link: "A Dialogue for the Year 2130: Extracted from the Album of a Modern Sibyl", by T.H. Lister, available at Romantic Circles.

Dream of Armageddon, A

On a long train ride, a man discusses with a stranger the odd 'consecutive dream' he has been having for the past month—a dream of a dark future in which he must choose to live with the woman he loves... or return to a life of dirty politics so as to prevent the onslaught of global war. It is one or the other; there is no middle ground. The dream is so vivid... so lifelike... that he can't even be sure it is a dream. Mightn't it be something else?

With Martin Jarvis (narrator). Also with Melinda Peterson, Hamilton Camp, Ira Burton, Laura Kellogg, and Stefan Rudnicki.

Reading Link: "A Dream of Armageddon", in the collection _Twelve Stories and a Dream_ by H.G. Wells, available at Project Gutenberg.

Even the Queen

22-year old Perdita has joined the Cyclists, and the rest of the family are determined to stop her from ruining her life! Well... except for her mother who thinks she has a right to ruin her life. After all, it's a question of personal sovereignty and that's what made The Liberation possible in the first place, wasn't it?

With Janet Carroll (Tracey), Brian Finney (Bish), Barbara Rush (Tracey's mother), Ashley Gardner (Viola), Amy Van Horne (Twidge; Perdita), Diana Douglas, (Tracy's mother-in-law), Melissa Greenspan (Evangeline), Laura Kellogg (waitress).

Hunting Season, The

The State no longer executes those it finds guilty of treason. Instead, it transports them back in time and proclaims them 'fair game' in sanctioned Hunts. David Black has been found guilty of treason. He has been transported to a large American city in the mid-20th century. Five hundred hunters have also arrived. It doesn't matter that David Black was framed. It doesn't matter that those who framed him will be the quickest to the hunt. It doesn't matter because... the hunt is about to begin.

With John O'Hurley (David), Tom Towles (Reid), Janet Carroll (Liz), John Schuck(John). Also with Ira Burton, Hamilton Camp, Milton James, Laura Kellogg.

Snippet: "David Black is afraid. He's tried to control it, but he knows it shows in the glistening shine on his pale face, in the nervous jump of his cheek muscles, and in the restless pacing back and forth on the faded rug of the seedy room of the seedy hotel. It's late afternoon, and it won't be long before the onset of the Hunt..."

Hurricane Trio

A strong, self-centred man becomes frustrated and impatient with his compliant wife... at about the same time that he, coincidentally, meets an attractive, independent woman.

With Miriam Flynn (Beverly, wife), Allan Miller (Yancey, husband), James Otis (store clerk), Kaitlin Hopkins (Lois), and Norman Corwin (the alien). Also with Ira Burton and Lorna Raver.

In a Thousand Years

A short speculative piece about what Americans might find (in a thousand years) when they travel to Europe on that one-week vacation they've saving for. Presented as a newsreel travelogue.

Phil Proctor (newscaster).

Reading Link: "In a Thousand Years", in the collection _What the Moon Saw: and Other Tales_ by Hans Christian Andersen, available at Project Gutenberg.

Snippet: "Yes, in a thousand years people will fly on the wings of steam through the air, over the ocean! The young inhabitants of America will become visitors of old Europe. They will come over to see the monuments and the great cities, which will then be in ruins, just as we in our time make pilgrimages to the tottering splendours of Southern Asia. In a thousand years they will come!"

In the Year 2889

A prophetic glimpse into the life of a business tycoon in the year 2889. The tycoon in question is Francis Bennett, the owner of the Earth-Harold news service and a pioneer in the field of telephonic journalism.

With Phil Proctor (Jules Verne), Petrea Burchard (Edith, Bennett's wife), Janet Fontaine (tour guide), David Dukes (Bennett, tycoon), Hamilton Camp (Bernstien, assistant), Brian Finney (Dr Wilkins), George Murdock (Professor Arrownax). Also with Laura Kellogg, Sandy Orkin, Melinda Peterson, and Ira Burton.

Reading Link: "In the Year 2889", by Jules and Michel Verne, available at Project Gutenberg.

Snippet: "Such, for this year of grace 2889, is the history of one day in the life of the editor of the Earth-Harold. And the history of that one day is the history of 365 days every year, except leap-years, and then of 366 days—for as yet no means has been found of increasing the length of the terrestrial year."

It Came from Outer Pinsk

A micro-story about a mad scientist who works late in his laboratory trying to grant the essence of life to inanimate objects... with surprising results.

With Hamilton Camp(mad scientist) and Phil Proctor (peer).

Knock

"The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock at the door." Aliens who have no concept of natural death have wiped out humanity, literally to the last man and woman, whom they put in a zoo as public curiosities.

With Lorna Raver (Grace), René Auberjonois (Walter), and Ira Burton (narrator; George).

Learned Fable, A

"Once, the creatures of the forest held a great convention and appointed a commission consisting of the most illustrious scientists among them to go forth, clear beyond the forest and out into the unknown and unexplored world to verify the truth of the matters already taught in their schools and colleges and also to make discoveries." --- Mark Twain

With David Birney (narrator). Also with Ira Burton, Hamilton Camp, Nancy "Bart Simpson" Cartwright, and Pamela Hayden.

Reading Link: "Some Learned Fables for Good Old Boys and Girls", in the collection _Sketches New and Old_ by Mark Twain, available at Project Gutenberg.

Little Bank Deposit, A

Note: fluorine is an extremely reactive element that does not exist naturally on Earth except as compounds with other elements. Early efforts to isolate fluorine were dangerous and often resulted injury or death. --- webmaster

In this story, nuclear physicist Sir Peter Perfrement postulates that a stable isotope of fluorine is possible. His intellectual nemesis, Dr Frankenberg, strongly objects. To prove his point, Sir Peter creates a batch of Fluorine 80+ which is stable, in that it won't react with other elements, but is radioactive. If a critical mass of Fluorine 80+ were confined in certain difficult-to-create conditions, it could explode with enough power to destroy the planet. That, of course, could never happen.

With Tony Jay (Sir Peter Perfrement, physicist), Nathan Osgood (Harlow Ellis, CNN science writer; security officer), Stefan Rudnicki (Dr Frankenberg, skeptic), Phil Proctor (banker), Arte Johnson (police chief). Also with Ira Burton (Razime), and Lorna Raver.

Machine Stops, The

In the remote future—when the Earth's surface has become virtually uninhabitable and humanity has retreated underground to die a slow death under the guidence of the Machine—a woman's son declares his intention to violate the fabric of civilization by venturing to the surface. An early 20th century classic of science fiction by E. M. Forster, written as a retort against H.G. Wells' faith in the wonders of a technology-driven future.

With David Warner (the book), Samantha Eggar (Vashti), and Alistair Duncan (Kuno). Also with Gabrielle de Cuir, Laura Kellogg, Melinda Peterson, Phil Proctor, and Stefan Rudnicki.

Reading Link: "The Machine Stops", by E.M. Forster, available at Good Reads.

Mad Planet, The

In the late 20th century great fissures opened in the Earth's crust releasing a steady, but slow, flow of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The result was catastrophic. Thirty thousand years later, mankind struggles to survive—ignorant of fire or metals, the uses of stone and wood, and with a language of a few hundred labial sounds, conveying no abstractions and few concrete things. This is the story of Burl... and his voyage away from his tribe, through the carboniferous landscape of The Mad Planet.

With David Dukes (storyteller), Daniel Passer (Burl), and Amanda Karr (Saya).

Reading Link: "The Mad Planet", by Murray Leinster, available at Project Gutenberg.

Marching Morons, The

Centuries of over-breeding by the least intelligent and least capable human beings have weakened the gene pool to the point where only a very few people are capable of producing, creating, or fixing anything. These individuals are hopelessly over-worked... while the rest of the population mooches off their creativity and productivity. A possible solution to this dilemma arises when a late-20th Century human, John Barlow, is discovered in suspended animation. The leaders of this future Earth re-animate Mr Barlow, hoping he may have some fresh ideas.

With Alan Bergmann (Gomez), Nathan Osgood (Hawkins), Avery Schreiber (John Barlow), and Richard Allen (Ngana). Also with Ira Burton, Hamilton Camp, Brian Finney, Ashley Gardner, Melinda Peterson, and Phil Proctor.

Merchant

A special meeting of the United Haberdashery Corporation board of directors is convened to discuss alarming sales projections and to figure out what can be done about them. The president, however, doesn't accept those projections... and neither does his guest from the American Foundation of Eugenics.

With Hamilton Camp (chairman), Phil Proctor (CEO) and Ira Burton (professor).

Millennium Bug

A short, humorous piece about the Y3k bug.

With Robert Foxworth (), and Norman Lloyd ().

Millennium Bug II

A short, humorous piece about the Y4k bug.

With Gabrielle de Cuir (), and Stefan Rudnicki ().

Mission of the Vega, The

On the brink of World War Three, the West sends envoys to recruit aid from the penal colony on Venus, only to learn a hard lesson in morality from the sub-culture which has evolved out of the brutal living conditions there.

With Norman Lloyd (), and Kristoffer Tabori (). Also with Newell Alexander (John Smith), Ira Burton, Gabrielle de Cuir, Milton James, Laura Kellogg, George Murdock, James Otis, Lorna Raver, and Stefan Rudnicki.

Moon Maid, The

A modern tale inspired by the Edgar Rice Burroughs classic, The Moon Maid. Commander Julian 5th, of the spaceship Barsoom, leads the 1st American Voyage (FAV) to the Red Planet, but is forced to crash-land on the Moon, which he discovers is hollow and inside of which he finds many alien races all vying for political power. It's rather complicated.

Cast of Characters

Commander Julian 5th, FAV

Heroic, courageous, redoubtable, slightly ineffectual. Has a thing for the princess.

Lieutenant Commander Orthis, FAV

Brilliant, unscrupulous, and obnoxious. A traitor. Has a thing for the princess.

Lieutenant West, FAV

Eager for power; waiting to take over the moment anything happens to the commander. Has a thing for the princess.

Ensign Norton, FAV

Wet behind the ears, but trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly... A real boy scout type.

Nah-ee-lah

Beautiful 'valley-girl' type princess, fer sure. Has a thing for bad boys.

Ga-va-go

Leader of the carnivorous half-man/half-horse race. Has a thing for the princess.

Gapth

Surfer-guy type bear who had a thing for the princess, but, dude, that was a long time ago. Might still be carrying a torch, though.

Ko-tah

Evil nobleman seeking to overthrow the kingdom of Laythe. Has a thing for the princess.

Ole Doc Methuselah

Doc Methuselah and his sidekick Hippocrates cruise the universe in their sleek spaceship Morgue and seek to preserve mankind. While taking a little R&R on the planet Spico, they discover a nefarious plot to swindle immigrants of thier life's savings. As a 'Soldier of Light', Doc is strictly forbidden to take part in politics of any kind... but when a damsel in distress appears, Doc wonders if, perhaps, a slight nudge won't be noticed.

With Jackson Beck (narrator), David Rasche (Ole Doc), Hamilton Camp (Hippocrates; Judge Elston), Petrea Burchard (Alicia Elston), Stephen Markle (Captain Blanchard), Arte Johnson (Dart; Conrad), Newell Alexander (Lem), Rosemary Alexander (Janey), and Melissa Greenspan (Harry). Also with David L Krebs.

Snippet: "The Soldier of Light is no ordinary physician... He is part of an organization of 600... who have dedicated themselves to the ultimate preservation of mankind, no matter the wars or explorations of space. They give allegiance to no government, need no passport. So long as they do not engage in political activity, their persons are inviolate... They are members of the Universal Medical Society and do not practice as do ordinary physicians. They accept no fee. The organization is self-supporting. You see before you my master, Soldier of Light #77, known as Methuselah." --- Hippocrates

Only Bird in Her Name, The

Set in far-future Australia. The technologically-advanced, spiritually-enlightened aboriginal natives of Australia have passed a law to protect the [forgetti], but the new law does not go into effect for another week... which leaves time for one last hunt. Fourteen hard-nosed hunters with fierce eyes, minds like traps, and no compassion have arrived to stalk, pursue and exterminate the last remaining [forgetti], but Tom 'Rynosseros' Tyson and the 'Bird Club' have also arrived, and they plan to disrupt the hunt if they can.

With Peter Dennis (Miesla, hunter), Kaitlin Hopkins (Beth, reporter), and Kristoffer Tabori (Tom Tyson, protector).

Pillar of Fire

In the distant future, there are no burials; the dead are considered unclean and are incinerated shortly after death. A long-term project to destroy all the old cemeteries—to dig up the old coffins and properly dispose of the remains—is nearly complete, but one corpse, angered at the lack of respect for the dead, objects strongly. Fuelled by hate, he strives to punish those responsible for disturbing his rest... even if it means destroying civilization.

With George Murdock (narrator), Allan Miller (Lantry), Phil Proctor (grave digger), Brian Finney (grave digger), Sandy Orkin (McClure), and James Otis (coroner). Also with Ira Burton, Gabrielle de Cuir, Janet Fontaine, and Laura Kellogg.

Proud Robot, The

Mad scientist Galloway Gallegher—the greatest inventor since Leonardo da Vinci and Tom Swift—awakes from a drunken stupor to find the owner of Vox-View, Inc. on his doorstep demanding to know if he's figured a way to outsmart Sonatone yet. It seems Galloway was drunk when he accepted the commission and can't remember why he accepted it or how he planned on completing it. He does have a shiny new robot named Joe who sings like a banshee and spends all his time admiring himself in the mirror... but he can't remember why he invented him, either. Does it have something to do with the Vox-View project?

With Hamilton Camp (Gallegher), Arte Johnson (Joe, the robot), Alan Bergmann (Brock), Ashley Gardner (Silver O'Keith; Patsy Brock). Also with Ira Burton, Robertson Dean, Laura Kellogg, Sandy Orkin, and Brad Schreiber.

R.U.R.

The classic play from which the word robot was popularized. R.U.R. was first published in 1921, and within two years it had been translated into 30 languages, reflecting, perhaps, the growing frustration workers worldwide were having with their employers during that time. (The Ludlow massacre, for example, took place in 1914.)

A large factory on an isolated island creates robots (androids, really) and sells them worldwide. The robots are obedient and can learn to perform tasks, but cannot feel pleasure or passion... they cannot hope... they have no souls. Into this environment comes young Helena Glory, an activist, bent on liberating the robots from the tyranny of their employers.

With David Birney (Harry Domin; Primus Robot), Ann Marie Lee (Helena Domin; Helena Robot), Alan Bergmann (Alquist), Brian Finney (Fabry), Milton James (Hallemeier), Laura Kellogg (Sulla). Also with Lorna Raver, John Schuck, Kristoffer Tabori, and Stefan Rudnicki.

Reading Link: "R.U.R. - Rossum's Universal Robots", by Karel Čapek, available at University of Adelaide Library.

"Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman

A future society enslaved to the tyranny of the 'schedule' looks for a saviour in the form of a clownish prankster who refuses to punch the state time-clock.

With Harlan Ellison (narrator), Petrea Burchard (pretty Alice), Artie Johnson (henchman), James Otis (henchman), Stefan Rudnicki (Ticktockman), and Robin Williams (Harlequin). Also with Ira Burton, Hamilton Camp, and Laura Kellogg.

Revival Meeting

A humorous vignette about a man placed into cryogenic sleep in the hope that medical science will one day be able to repair his body... and his subsequent revival years later.

With Hamilton Camp (Earthman, year 2088), and Phil Proctor (cryogenically frozen).

Sentience Today

Excerpt from the galactic journal of sapientology. Features the character Gort Klaatu.

With Phil Proctor (narrator).

Shambleau

Northwest Smith, a man known and respected in every dive and wild outpost on a dozen worlds, hears a mob approaching and warily backs into a doorway, his hand on his heat-gun's grip. Smith, despite his reputation, is a cautious man. The crowd streams around a corner chasing a berry-brown girl in a tattered garment. Yells of "Shambleau!" can be heard. Smith steps between the girl and the crowd, heat-gun drawn, and claims she is his. The crowd backs down. Afterwards, Smith realizes that the oddly beautiful creature is not quite human... and not quite animal. She is Shambleau.

Note: at one point in the written story, Northwest Smith returns to his lodging humming "The Green Hills of Earth"! Robert Heinlein credits the title of this song as being the inspiration for his classic science fiction story of the same name.

With Kristoffer Tabori (Northwest Smith), Ann Marie Lee (Shambleau), and George Murdock (Yarol).

Reading Link: "Shambleau", by C.L. Moore, available at Internet Archive.

Sleep and a Forgetting, A

Scientists trying to correct radio transmission problems with Icarus, a French/Japanese satellite inside the orbit of Mercury, unexpectedly initiate communication with a man who calls himself Temüjin and speaks in an archaic Mongolian dialect common in the 13th century.

With René Auberjonois (Mike, the professor), Kaitlin Hopkins (Elaine, Mike's wife), Allan Miller (Joe, a researcher), Rosemary Alexander (Carly, a researcher), and Robertson Dean (Temüjin).

Survey, The

Fanny Billingsgate, an 87-year old woman knitting on the porch of her modest, small-town house, is approached by an alien who is taking a survey. "Could you just tell us a little bit about yourself... your core belief system... and how you implement that system?"

With Janet Carroll (Fanny) and Ira Burton (interviewer).

Thing Happens, The

Back to Methuselah (A Metabiological Pentateuch) is an epic story by George Bernard Shaw consisting of a Preface and an interconnected series of five plays. The premise is that the biological driving force is not Darwinian 'evolution' but Lamarckian 'adaptation'—a process which is controlled through will and necessity. In the second play (The Gospel of the Brothers Barnabas: Present Day), the Barnabas Brothers speculate that if mankind is to save itself, it will be necessary for humans to adapt and extend their lifetimes to 300 years. The third play (The Thing Happens: A.D. 2170) begins when this... this thing... has happened. A few people have covertly willed themselves long lifetimes.

With Peter Dennis (President of British Islands), Ian Abercrombie (Barnabas, Accountant General), Tony Jay (Confucius, Chief Secretary), David Warner (Archbishop of York), and Jane Carr (Mrs Lutestring, Domestic Minister).

Reading Link: "The Thing Happens: A.D. 2170", contained in _Back to Methuselah: A Metabiological Pentateuch_ by George Bernard Shaw, available at Project Gutenberg.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

A dystopian tale of the future in which the drug 'anti-gerasone' is used to halt the aging process. The drug eliminates death by old age... as long as those taking the drug continue to take it. As a result, the Earth suffers from massive over-population and the depletion of natural resources.

With Tom Poston (Lou), Marian Mercer (Em), and Hamilton Camp (gramps). Also with Phil Proctor, Laura Kellogg, and Ira Burton.

Reading Link: "The Big Trip Up Yonder", by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr, available at Project Gutenberg.

Vaster Than Empires and More Slow

A team of misfit explorers lands on a planet that is one vast living—and frightened—organism.

With Robert Foxworth () and William Sanderson (). Also with Lorna Raver, Ira Burton, Robertson Dean, Harlan Ellison, Joe Greco, and Amy Van Horne.

Watchbird

Scientists have discovered that murderers' brain waves, just before they commit murder, are slightly different from normal brainwaves and that these differences can be measured. Corporate engineers use this knowledge to design flying machines that soar above the city and monitor the brainwaves of every person walking the streets; when abnormal brainwaves are detected the watchbirds sweep into action. Unfortunately, not all murderers exhibit these brainwaves... so the final watchbird design includes learning circuits which allow the watchbirds to expand their definition of murder...

With Gerald Castillo (Charlie Gelson [chief], CEO), Newell Alexander (Joshua McIntire [Mac], engineer), Joe Greco (Cpt. Landry), Allan Miller (Seltrix, homicide detective), Melissa Greenspan (watchbird), and Janet Carroll (hawk). Also with Stefan Rudnicki (federal official), Hamilton Camp, Brian Finney, and Brad Schreiber.

Why Support for Public Radio Must Increase in the Next Century

An alien makes an emergency landing on Earth. All he wants to do is fix his spacecraft and leave... but he keeps getting interrupted by humans who want to know what he's doing. If he could just find a good mechanic...

With Tom Towles (alien). Also with Ira Burton, Hamilton Camp, John O'Hurley, Laura Kellogg, Tom Magliozzi, and John Schuck.

CAST

• Abercrombie, Ian - Thing Happens
• Alexander, Newell - Mission of the Vega | Ole Doc Methuselah | Watchbird
• Alexander, Rosemary - Ole Doc Methuselah | Sleep and a Forgetting
• Allen, Richard - Marching Morons
• Auberjonois, René - Knock | Sleep and a Forgetting
• Bauersfeld, Erik - Curious Fragment
• Beck, Jackson - Ole Doc Methuselah
• Bergmann, Alan - Marching Morons | Proud Robot | R. U. R.
• Birney, David - Learned Fable | R. U. R.
• Borrus, Janet - All for Love
• Burchard, Petrea - In the Year 2889 | Ole Doc Methuselah | Repent Harlequin
• Burton, Ira - And Miles to Go Before I Sleep | All for Love | As Easy as ABC | Blood | Bloodchild | By His Bootstraps | Choice | Collector's Fever | Dream of Armageddon | Hurricane Trio | In the Year 2889 | Knock | Learned Fable | Little Bank Deposit | Marching Morons | Merchant | Mission of the Vega | Moon Maid | Pillar of Fire | Proud Robot | Repent Harlequin | Survey | Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow | Vaster Than Empires | Why Support for Public Radio Must Increase
• Camp, Hamilton - Dream of Armageddon |Hunting Season | In the Year 2889 | It Came from Outer Pinsk | Learned Fable | Marching Morons | Merchant |Ole Doc Methuselah | Proud Robot | Repent Harlequin | Revival Meeting | Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow | Watchbird | Why Support for Public Radio Must Increase
• Carr, Jane - Thing Happens
• Carroll, Janet - Even the Queen | Hunting Season | Survey | Watchbird
• Castillo, Gerald - Watchbird
• Cartwright, Nancy - Learned Fable
• Coppola, John - Bloodchild
• Corwin, Norman - Hurricane Trio
• Cuir, Gabrielle de - Machine Stops | Millennium Bug II | Mission of the Vega | Pillar of Fire
• Dean, Robertson - All for Love | Proud Robot | Sleep and a Forgetting | Vaster Than Empires
• Dennis, Peter - Only Bird in Her Name | Thing Happens
• Douglas, Diana - Even the Queen
• Dreyfuss, Richard - By His Bootstraps
• Dukes, David - In the Year 2889 | Mad Planet
• Duncan, Alistair - Machine Stops
• Durning, Charles - Dear Pen Pal
• Eggar, Samantha - Machine Stops
• Ellison, Harlan - Repent Harlequin | Vaster Than Empires
• Finney, Brian - As Easy as ABC | Even the Queen | In the Year 2889 | Marching Morons | Pillar of Fire | R. U. R. | Watchbird
• Flynn, Miriam - Hurricane Trio
• Fontaine, Janet - In the Year 2889 | Pillar of Fire
• Foxworth, Robert - All for Love | Millennium Bug | Vaster Than Empires
• Gardner, Ashley - Even the Queen | Marching Morons | Proud Robot
• Greco, Joe - As Easy as ABC | Vaster Than Empires | Watchbird
• Greenspan, Melissa - Even the Queen | Moon Maid | Ole Doc Methuselah | Watchbird
• Hayden, Pamela - Learned Fable
• Heard, Cordis - By His Bootstraps
• Hopgood, Abby - Dialogue for the Year 2130
• Hopkins, Kaitlin - Hurricane Trio | Only Bird in Her Name | Sleep and a Forgetting
• Horne, Amy Van - Even the Queen | Vaster Than Empires
• James, Milton - Hunting Season | Mission of the Vega | R. U. R.
• Jarvis, Martin - Dream of Armageddon
• Jay, Tony - As Easy as ABC | Little Bank Deposit | Thing Happens
• Johnson, Arte - As Easy as ABC | Little Bank Deposit | Ole Doc Methuselah | Proud Robot | Repent Harlequin
• Johnston, J. J. - As Easy as ABC
• Karr, Amanda - All for Love | Mad Planet
• Kellogg, Laura - And Miles to Go Before I Sleep | As Easy as ABC | Dream of Armageddon | Even the Queen | Hunting Season | In the Year 2889 | Machine Stops | Mission of the Vega | Pillar of Fire | Proud Robot | Repent Harlequin | R. U. R. | Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow | Why Support for Public Radio Must Increase
• Kind, Richard - Moon Maid
• Kussman, Dylan - Bloodchild
• Lee, Ann Marie - Bloodchild | R. U. R. | Shambleau
• Lloyd, Norman - All for Love | Millennium Bug | Mission of the Vega
• Magliozzi, Tom - Why Support for Public Radio Must Increase
• Marciniak, Kascia - By His Bootstraps
• Markle, Stephen - Moon Maid | Ole Doc Methuselah
• Mercer, Marian - Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
• Miller, Allan - Hurricane Trio | Pillar of Fire | Sleep and a Forgetting | Watchbird
• Murdock, George - In the Year 2889 | Mission of the Vega | Pillar of Fire | Shambleau
• O'Hurley, John - Hunting Season | Why Support for Public Radio Must Increase
• Orkin, Sandy - In the Year 2889 | Pillar of Fire | Proud Robot
• Osgood, Nathan - Choice | Dialogue for the Year 2130 | Little Bank Deposit | Marching Morons
• Ossman, David - Collector's Fever
• Otis, James - Hurricane Trio | Mission of the Vega | Moon Maid | Pillar of Fire | Repent Harlequin
• Passer, Daniel - Mad Planet
• Peterson, Melinda - Blood | Collector's Fever | Dream of Armageddon | In the Year 2889 | Machine Stops | Marching Morons
• Pickles, Christina - All for Love | Bloodchild
• Poston, Tom - Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
• Proctor, Phil - Blood | Collector's Fever | Dialogue for the Year 2130 | In a Thousand Years | In the Year 2889 | It Came from Outer Pinsk | Little Bank Deposit | Machine Stops | Marching Morons | Merchant | Pillar of Fire | Revival Meeting | Sentience Today | Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
• Rasche, David - Moon Maid | Ole Doc Methuselah
• Raver, Lorna - All for Love | Bloodchild | Hurricane Trio | Knock | Little Bank Deposit | Mission of the Vega | Moon Maid | R. U. R. | Vaster Than Empires
• Rudnicki, Stefan - Curious Fragment | Dream of Armageddon | Little Bank Deposit | Machine Stops | Millennium Bug II | Mission of the Vega | Moon Maid | Repent Harlequin | R. U. R. | Watchbird
• Rush, Barbara - Even the Queen
• Sanders, Jay O. - By the Waters of Babylon
• Sanderson, William - Vaster Than Empires
• Schreiber, Avery - Marching Morons | Moon Maid
• Schreiber, Brad - Proud Robot | Watchbird
• Schuck, John - And Miles to Go Before I Sleep | Hunting Season | R. U. R. | Why Support for Public Radio Must Increase
• Tabori, Kristoffer - All for Love | Mission of the Vega | Only Bird in Her Name | R. U. R. | Shambleau
• Thigpen, Lynne - Bloodchild
• Towles, Tom - Hunting Season | Moon Maid | Why Support for Public Radio Must Increase
• Warner, David - Machine Stops | Thing Happens
• Williams, Robin - Repent Harlequin

SCRIPT WRITERS

• Adorjan, Carol
• Bauersfeld, Erik
• Berle, Ytzhak (Yuri Rasovsky??)
• Cassutt, Michael
• Loverde, Emmett
• Montague, Sarah
• Nolan, William F.
• Orkin, Haris
• Ossman, David
• Rasovsky, Yuri
• Ross, Bert
• Schreiber, Brad
• Straczynski, J. Michael

CREW

Executive Producers

Andy Trudeau, Stefan Rudnicki

Project Director / Producer

Yuri Rasovsky

Principle Engineer

Warren Dewey

Announcer

Robert Foxworth

Host and Consultant

Harlan Ellison

Engineers

Jamie Cerniglia, Henry Howard, Dave Maiden, Jim McKee, Craig Sadler, Chris Tsakis, Manoli Wetherell

Composer of series theme music

Jerry Summers

Business Advisor

John N. Tierney

Music Library

ProMusic

Additional music

Fred Koella

Foley Walkers

David L. Krebs, Monique Reymond, Jode Ryskiewicz

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