Tales of Tomorrow

Well before "The Twilight Zone" and "The Outer Limits", there was a similar anthology series on ABC, "Tales of Tomorrow". The show generally was written very well but unfortunately its budget was practically nothing. As a result, some of the shows were just awful (such as "Read To Me, Herr Doktor") because the 'monsters' were just hilariously bad and some were brilliant ("The Window") because these episodes did NOT rely on special effects or aliens. It's a shame, however, that the show has been mostly forgotten--as these later series sure owe it a debt of thanks for paving the way for horror/sci-fi/fantasy anthology shows.

Fortunately, if you want to see the show, you can! Yep, following the links on IMDb or by going straight to archive.org you can download the shows or watch them online for free, as they are in the public domain. Give them a try, you'll likely enjoy them despite their limitations.

Watching this program back in the early 50's was a real treat; to say it scared the hell out of me would be an understatement. Here we had a live show with minimal sets and special effects; yet the writing was such that every story was totally believable. This caused me more than a few sleepless nights! I'm sure Rod Sterling learned a thing or two; some of his Twilight Zone episodes are eerily similar. Later anthology programs (Science Fiction Theatre, One Step Beyond, Outer Limits, etc.) never had the same impact on me (perhaps because I was older), though the more recent 'Tales from the Darkside' seemed to stir up a little emotion. I haven't watched any of the 'Tales from Tomorrow' tapes; maybe some memories should remain 'just a memory'.

The episode titled "A Child is Crying" provides a striking example of what can be achieved by good writing. "A Child is Crying" guest-starred Robin Morgan of "Mama" in a "Children of the Damned" style Cold War message story. There were maybe four actors in the cast and a single set. In the words of my best buddy: "It scared the Hell out of me!"

I have never heard anything about this series, therefore I cannot guarantee whether it was broadcast by the Brazilian TV in the 50's. I have just bought this DVD and enjoyed the three episodes of about 20 minutes running time each:

"Frankenstein", with Lon Chaney Jr., is the less original of the three. It is a theatrical representation of Frankenstein, a short version of the story. My vote is six.

"The Crystal Egg" ("O Ovo de Cristal"), a tale of H.G. Wells, is certainly the best episode. The ambitious owner of a shop, Mr. Cave (Edgar Stehli), has a client with a great interest in a cheap crystal egg, and he decides to consult Prof. Vaneck (Thomas Mitchell) about what might be the weird object. Prof. Vaneck finds the landscape of Mars in the egg, and becomes obsessed by his discovery. He tries to keep the crystal egg for him, and the story has a tragic end. The direction of Charles S. Dubin keeps the attention of the viewer until the last scene. My vote is seven.

"Appointment on Mars" ("Encontro em Marte") presents three explorers - Captain Robert "Robbie" (Leslie Nielsen), Bart (William Redfield) and Jack (Robert Keith Jr.) – that find uranium in Mars. They have to share their findings with the sponsor of the expedition, and the atmosphere and greed seem to affect the group. The direction of Don Medford is only reasonable, and the tragic surprising conclusion does not work well. My vote is five.

In the end, "Tales of Tomorrow" is a worthwhile entertainment as a whole, especially to satisfy the curiosity of how was the first sci-fi series on TV. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Contos da Escuridão" ("Tales From the Darkness")

Here's a bit of trivia for anyone who's a fan of Universal monsters or Lon Chaney:

Lon Chaney starred in this TV show's rendition of the horror classic, and it was filmed live. Unfortunately, when Lon Chaney got dressed up in the Frankenstein Monster makeup (looking similar to Robert DeNiro's incarnation, by the way) and began performing the role live before millions of watchers, he didn't realize that it was the actual performance. He was dog-drunk and was sure that this was only a rehersal. Therefore, instead of smashing chairs and tables, he merely picked them up, pretended to throw them, and then put them back down on the ground....to be smashed for the actual performance. As a result, the episode didn't make a lot of sense, but it sure was fun on a camp-level.

Just figured someone might enjoy this bit of information.