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 11: There Will Come Soft Rains/Zero Hour

There Will Come Soft Rains: An automated house faithfully continues its daily routines after its occupants — and the rest of humanity — have long gone.
Zero Hour: Suddenly, children from all over the country are playing a new game called Invasion, with Zero Hour set for 5:00, today. But is it really just a game?

​First broadcast: 17 June 1950.
Original Story by Ray Bradbury.
​Cast: Bill Griffis, Agnes Young, Peter Lazer, Butch Kavell, Denise Alexander, Rita Lynn, Roger De Koven.

Episode 12: Destination Moon

The first manned mission to the Moon must overcome government censure and numerous physical obstacles to succeed. Based on the George Pal film of the same name. Includes news announcement of the start of the Korean War.

First broadcast: 24 June 1950.
Original Story by Robert A. Heinlein.
​Cast: Santos Ortega, Luis Van Rooten, Ralph Bell.

Episode 13: A Logic Named Joe

An enterprising computer company releases a machine capable of answering any question put to it. Unfortunately, some of the questions people want answers to are not ones that members of a civilized society should be asking...

First broadcast: 1 July 1950.
Original Story by Murray Leinster.
​Cast: Joseph Julian, Roger De Koven, David Anderson, John McGovern, Joseph Boland, Adelaide Klein.

Episode 14: Mars Is Heaven

The first astronauts to land on Mars discover... Earth — a planet where their long-dead loved ones are waiting for them in a small Midwest town just like home. Part of Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles series.
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​First broadcast: 7 July 1950.
Original Story by Ray Bradbury.
​Cast: Wendell Holmes, Peter Capell, Joseph Julian, Bill Zuckert, Bill Lipton, Bill Griffis, Ethel Everette, Charme Allen, Cameron Prud'homme.

Episode 15: The Man In The Moon

The Federal Missing Persons Bureau receives a desperate radio message from a crank who claims to be calling from the Moon. Of course the call is dismissed, until a minor functionary begins to suspect that the call is related to a strange series of disappearances over the past several years.

​First broadcast: 14 July 1950.
Original Story by George Lefferts.
​Cast: Luis Van Rooten, Santos Ortega, Raymond Edward Johnson, Joe DiSantis, Larry Haines.

Episode 16: Beyond Infinity

Seeking an exclusive on a revolt in a totalitarian nation, an American journalist contacts the underground movement and is lead to a laboratory where a scientist is experimenting with shrinking objects to microscopic size. The revolutionaries plan to use the technology to smuggle arms into the country, but the secret police are hot on their trail...

​First broadcast: 21 July 1950.
Original Story by Villiers Gerson.
​Cast: Les Damon, Lotte Stavisky, E. A. Krumschmidt, Joe DiSantis, William Keene, Gregory Morton, Leon Janney.

Episode 17: The Potters of Firsk

A liaison officer from Earth is caught between a steely planetary administrator and a fanatical alien cult who kidnap and murder people to use as raw materials for their sacred pottery.

​First broadcast: 28 July 1950.
Original Story by Jack Vance.
​Cast: Wendell Holmes, Karl Weber, Raymond Edward Johnson.

Episode 18: Perigi's Wonderful Dolls

A doll maker sells a mother an unusual doll which seems capable of responding to people, presumably by recording voices and replaying them in its own voice. Is it just a bit of technical wizardry, or is there something more to this doll than meets the eye? 
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​First broadcast: 4 August 1950.
Original Story by George Lefferts.
​Cast: Les Damon, Joan Alexander, Denise Alexander, Joe DiSantis, Leon Janney.

Episode 19: The Castaways

Nuclear testing on a remote Pacific island goes awry when the natives — rather than be relocated — threaten to commit mass suicide to put a curse on the project.

​First broadcast: 11 August 1950.
Original Story by George Lefferts and Ernest Kinoy.
​Cast: Santos Ortega, Gregory Morton, Danny Ocko.

Episode 20: The Martian Chronicles

A compilation of several of Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles stories, weaved into a single story line. Includes abbreviated versions of 'There Will Come Soft Rains' and 'And The Moon Be Still As Bright'.

​First broadcast: 18 August 1950.
Original Story by Ray Bradbury.
​Cast: Inge Adams, Roger De Koven, David Anderson, Donald Buka.