Dimension X

Dimension X was an NBC radio programme broadcast from 8 April 1950 to 29 September 1951. The first 13 episodes were broadcast live, and the remainder were pre-recorded.

Dimension X was not the first adult science fiction series on radio, but the acquisition of previously published stories immediately gave it a strong standing with the science fiction community, as did the choice of well established, respected writers in the field such as Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury and Robert A. Heinlein. Other notable writers whose stories were adapted for the series include Robert Bloch, Fredric Brown, Murray Leinster, H. Beam Piper, Frank M. Robinson, Clifford D. Simak, William Tenn, Jack Vance, Kurt Vonnegut, Jack Williamson and Donald A. Wollheim.

Producers Ernest Kinoy and George Lefferts adapted most of the stories and also provided original scripts.
Episode 1: The Outer Limit

​A test pilot on an experimental high altitude aircraft with only ten minutes worth of fuel disappears from radar for ten hours, yet returns safely. Of course, it is impossible, as is his story of contact with aliens and the dire warning they have for Mankind.

​First broadcast: 8 April 1950.
Original Story by Graham Doar.
​Cast: Joseph Julian, Wendell Holmes, Joe DiSantis, Elaine Rost, Bill Griffis, Ross Martin, Skip Homeier.
Episode 2: With Folded Hands

​A manufacturer of domestic robots finds his livelihood threatened by a new competitor, whose 'humanoids' are vastly superior to his and are devoted to the protection and service of mankind. Maybe too devoted...

First broadcast: 15 April 1950.
Original Story by Jack Williamson.
​Cast: Phillip Bourneuf, Alexander Scourby, Peter Capell, Bryna Raeburn.
Episode 3: Report On The Barnhouse Effect

A parapsychologist discovers the secret of mind over matter, a revelation of considerable interest to the military. The professor, however, is a born pacifist who will do anything to keep his secret out of the hands of warmongers.

First broadcast: 22 April 1950.
Original Story by Kurt Vonnegut.
​Cast: Bill Quinn, Ed Jerome, Karl Weber, Santos Ortega, Bob Hastings, Bryna Raeburn.
Episode 4: No Contact

A strange invisible barrier is frustrating Man's attempts to explore the depths of space. Five expeditions have been lost trying to cross it, their fate a mystery since no signal can pass through the barrier. This is the story of the sixth...

​First broadcast: 29 April 1950.
Original Story by George Lefferts and Ernest Kinoy.
​Cast: Wendell Holmes, Lawson Zerbe, John McGovern, Matt Crowley.
Episode 5: 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.

​First broadcast: 6 May 1950.
Original Story by Frederic Brown.
​Cast: Arnold Moss, Luis Van Rooten, Joan Alexander.
Episode 6: Almost Human

A scientist builds a robot - 'Junior' - capable of intelligence and consciousness, but the machine is stolen by a criminal who has other ideas for its uses. Junior, on the other hand, has plans of his own.

​First broadcast: 13 May 1950.
Original Story by Robert Bloch.
​Cast: Santos Ortega, Rita Lynn, Jackie Grimes, Wendell Holmes, Ken Lynch.
Episode 7: The Lost Race

A space crew find themselves shipwrecked on a world where the ruins of a long dead spacefaring civilization hide a deadly secret that has the power to destroy the present as it did the past.

​First broadcast: 20 May 1950.
Original Story by Murray Leinster.
​Cast: Matt Crowley, Roger De Koven, Joseph Julian, Harold Huber, Kermit Murdock, Wendell Holmes.
Episode 8: To The Future

A couple escape the totalitarian, war-torn world of 2155 for the carefree gaiety of 20th century Acapulco. Unfortunately, however, the government of the future considers them essential for the war effort and cannot allow them to escape. Inevitably, the Seekers are sent to find them... 
​
​First broadcast: 27 May 1950.
Original Story by Ray Bradbury.
​Cast: John Larkin, Jan Miner, Guy Repp, Peter Capell, Staats Cotsworth.
Episode 9: The Embassy

A detective agency is hired by a crackpot who wants them to investigate and expose a nest of Martians sent to prepare the way for an invasion of Earth.

​First broadcast: 3 June 1950.
Original Story by Donald A. Wollheim.
​Cast: Joseph Julian, Berry Kroeger, Danny Ocko, John McGovern, Elaine Rost, Bryna Raeburn.
Episode 10: The Green Hills of Earth

Classic story of a space engineer who suffers a tragic accident and ends up tramping about the Solar System singing about the life of spacers and dreaming of returning to Earth once more before he dies.

​First broadcast: 10 June 1950.
Original Story by Robert A. Heinlein.
​Cast: Ken Williams, Tom Glazer (singing), Karl Weber, Bill Griffis, Matt Crowley. Cameron Prud'homme,  Bill Zuckert, Bob Dryden, Staats Cotsworth.