Theater Five eps 01-20

Theater Five

Theater Five was ABC's attempt to revive radio drama in the USA in the early 1960s. Produced by Edward A. Byron, the series ran Monday to Friday at 5pm, hence the series name. It was a general drama anthology series, with each episode about 20 minutes long. The series included a good bit of fantasy and science fiction. The episodes below are the genre episodes.

Episode 1: A House of Cards

A family struggle to survive in a nuclear fallout shelter, while someone outside tries to dig their way in.

First broadcast: 4 August 1964.
Original Story by George Bamber.
Cast: Bryna Raeburn, Cecil Roy, George Petrie, Guy Sorel, Vicki Vola.

Episode 2: Terror From Beyond

Aliens take over the mind of a scientist searching for extraterrestrial intelligence.

First broadcast: 5 August 1964.
Original Story by Robert Newman.
Cast: Robert Dryden, Ralph Camargo, Gilbert Mack.

Episode 3: Homecoming

A widow believes her dead husband has returned to stay.

First broadcast: 6 August 1964.
Original Story by George Bamber.
Cast: Dan Ocko, Margaret Hamilton, Mary Jane Higby.

Episode 4: Rebellion Next Week

A group of mutant children plot to take over the world.

First broadcast: 10 August 1964.
Original Story by Robert Cenedella.
Cast: Bryna Raeburn, Evelyn Juster, Ivor Francis, Bob Hastings.

Episode 5: The New Order

Government investigators stumble upon a conspiracy at a robot manufacturing plant.

First broadcast: 18 August 1964.
Original Story by Don Haring.
Cast: Robert Dryden, Jack Grimes, Jay Barney, Jack Manning, Owen Jordan.

Episode 6: Your Time Is Up

A woman has a premonition of her husband's death.

First broadcast: 20 August 1964.
Original Story by Raphael David Blau.
Cast: Natalie Priest, Betty Walker, Paul McGrath, Norman Rose.

Episode 7: Molecule Masquerade

A US intelligence agent finds he has a doppelgänger accused of murder.

First broadcast: 21 August 1964.
Original Story by Sherman H. Dreyer.
Cast: George Petrie, Vicki Vola, Luis Van Rooten, Peter Fernandez, James Monks.

Episode 8: Incident At Apogee

The world's first spacewalk is sabotaged by a jealous astronaut.

First broadcast: 28 August 1964.
Original Story by William N. Robson.
Cast: George Petrie, Joan Shea, Clifford Carpenter, Richard Hurd, Jack Manning, Ralph Camargo.

Episode 9: The Scream

A demolition worker is convinced he heard the house he is demolishing scream.

First broadcast: 31 August 1964.
Original Story by Virginia Radcliffe.
Cast: Roger De Koven, Peter Fernandez, Harry Belova, Albert Oppenheimer, Abby Lewis.

Episode 10: Outside Time

An astronaut vanishes and materialises back in mission control, with an important message for all Mankind.

First broadcast: 1 September 1964.
Original Story by Lawrence Weinberg.
Cast: Al Hodge, George Petrie, Jack Grimes, Maurice Tarplin, Richard Keith.

Episode 11: Incident At Shadow Valley

Mysterious trucker Mr. Janus stops at a roadside diner and death follows in his wake.

First broadcast: 8 September 1964.
Original Story by Raphael David Blau.
Cast: Arlene Walker, George Petrie, Jackson Beck, John Gibson, Richard Hurd, Robert Dryden.

Episode 12: First Encounter

The crew of the first expedition to the Moon are captured by invisible 'Lunies'.

First broadcast: 10 September 1964.
Original Story by Leonard Stadd.
Cast: William Mason, Toni Darnay, Robert Dryden, Jackson Beck, Bret Morrison.

Episode 13: The Noon Stars

A highly religious town is thrown into turmoil when a young boy appears who claims he can see the stars in daytime.

First broadcast: 14 September 1964.
Original Story by Richard McCracken.
Cast: Paul McGrath, Alice Yourman, Cecil Roy, Tom McDermott, Lorraine MacMartin, Evelyn Juster, Bryna Raeburn.

Episode 14: The Big Freeze

A man with a fatal heart condition is cryogenically frozen and receives a shock when he awakes two years later.

First broadcast: 16 September 1964.
Original Story by Sol Panitz.
Cast: Jack Grimes, Jackson Beck.

Episode 15: Odyssey of Number Fourteen

A reporter investigates the disappearance of an American astronaut.

First broadcast: 22 September 1964.
Original Story by Bruce Bassett.
Cast: Jon Thomas, Lenka Peterson, Lon Clark, Cliff Carpenter, Jay Barney.

Episode 16: We Are All Alone

Radio astronomers pick up a message from outer space.

First broadcast: 23 September 1964.
Original Story by Unknown.
Cast: Ralph Camargo, Teri Keane, Guy Sorel.

Episode 17: The Evil That Men Do

A scientist fails to foresee the consequences when he invents a drug to cure all criminal tendencies.

First broadcast: 24 September 1964.
Original Story by Raphael David Blau.
Cast: Ian Martin, George Petrie, Court Benson, Jan Miner, Jackson Beck.

Episode 18: Look Who's Talking

A scientist learns to communicate with dolphins.

First broadcast: 28 September 1964.
Original Story by Richard McCracken.
Cast: William Redfield, Evelyn Juster, Edward Bryce, Bryna Raeburn, Owen Jordan, June Graham, Ralph Bell.

Episode 19: Subject Number 428A

The invention of a computer which can predict a person's every action leads to murder.

First broadcast: 2 October 1964.
Original Story by Robert Cenedella.
Cast: Court Benson, Donald Buka, Ivor Francis, Jack Manning.

Episode 20: The Last Land Rush

In an overpopulated future world, the Government grants plots of land on the highway divider to anyone who can defend their plot for 24 hours.

First broadcast: 6 October 1964.
Original Story by George Bamber.
Cast: Dwight Weist, Wayne Tippett, Rosemary Rice, Sam Raskin, Fran Carlon, Cecil Roy.