Tales of Tomorrow

I was lucky enough to see this series in first run! Fortunately, the episodes are still available on videotape. (I salute those who preserved the films.) This was in many ways more experimental than "Twilight Zone" and similar programs. And here's an example: I recall the episode where the program opened with a typical and excellent Tales Of Tomorrow science-fiction storyline. Just as the audience got into the live action, the entire play and its cast and even its crew were disrupted by an actual on-stage emergency! (This, of course, was a play-within-a-play, but the "reality" of it was stunning!) Seek out taped episodes, and learn what television once, long ago, could do, and how creative it could be, and what it wasn't afraid to try.

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!"

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'.

I picked up a dollar DVD of TALES FROM TOMORROW especially for the Lon Chaney "Frankenstein" episode (yeah, everyone knows he was drunk and thought it was a rehearsal --- he was pretty good nonetheless). I must have a different DVD from the previous posters because everyone else mentions "The Crystal Egg" and "Appointment on Mars" but no one has said anything about "The Dune Roller" which, to my mind, is the best episode of the four. Of all three it suffers most from its low budget. When your title menace is a huge, terrifying "creature" at some point the audience expects to see it, even if it turns out to be only a crude puppet. In this case the menace remains off screen at all times but the story is still very effective, thanks to good writing (reminiscent of 50s British Sci-Fi like X THE UNKNOWN and THE CRAWLING EYE) and a very strong central performance by Bruce Cabot, who up until now I'd never thought of as a particularly impressive actor. "The Dune Roller" would make a good feature film, or would have when modestly budgeted science fiction thrillers were still a commercially acceptable genre.

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")