One of the delights in listening to podcasts is finding archival materials republished in this new medium. Contrary to those who think digital media is all about the present day, digital networks have unleashed an archival publishing impulse in enough people to define a very different set of media.
Today's case in point: the Radio Nostalgia Network has been podcasting classic science fiction and horror. I just listened to a fine dramatization of Ray Bradbury's brilliant "Zero Hour." It was aired on WMUK, for a series called Future Tense. There was at least one other version. Just listen and enjoy. Preferably late at night, alone, or with very charming children.
[I hope this isn't too many links for your spam filters -- most links to MP3s]
Future Tense consisted entirely of remakes of scripts used on an older (and better?) show, X Minus One.
Zero Hour is one of the most adapted Bradbury stories. In addition to Future Tense/X Minus One, it was also adapted on Dimension X (a 50s competitor to X Minus One). Finally, it was adapted by both Suspense and Escape, the two big-budget "mainstream" anthology radio series. As I recall, the Suspense version is the scariest.
Archive.org now carries mp3 of classic radio, including all the series above, although I can't find the Escape version (let me know, and I'll YouSendIt to you).
My favorite Bradbury adaptation on OTR would have to be Suspense's adaptation of Kaleidoscope, starring William Conrad and Howard McNear (of "Floyd the Barber" fame).
Posted by: HP | July 07, 2007 at 22:18
HP, that's fabulous! Comment made it through just fine.
And now I understand how I have two different versions of "Zero Hour" on my mp3 player.
Wasn't Rod Serling involved with a radio show called Zero Hour?
Posted by: Bryan Alexander | July 08, 2007 at 23:45
The radio show Zero Hour was an attempt to revive the radio drama format in the 70s. Serling didn't have much to do with it beyond lending his voice to the opening segments. (It was late in his career when he was suffering from depression and pretty bitter about the state of things.)
I've listened to Zero Hour, but I didn't care much for it -- most of the episodes were done as five-part serials (Monday through Friday). I prefer self-contained stories. They were primarily adaptations of detective mysteries and police procedurals; no SF or supernatural angles, and that's what I like to listen to. And the casting was right out of the '70s stable of "guest stars" familiar from shows like The Love Boat -- remember Bert Convy? Judy Carne?
Datajunkie (on hiatus) once posted the whole series as a series of .zip files. I don't know if the links are still active, but the post has a brief overview and an episode guide.
Listening to the show, I found myself more fascinated by the ephemera -- ads and PSAs and bits of news captured in the recordings -- than I was in the shows themselves.
Posted by: HP | July 09, 2007 at 08:52