Spacemens Luck

 

Where Tom Corbett, Captain Video, CMDR Corry and Other Spacemen Still Live

X-1 Classic Science Fiction Radio Show

Our story opens with the announcer: “When the first space rocket lands on Mars, what will we find? Only the ruins of a dead and deserted planet, or will there be life? Intelligent life in some strange form that we can only imagine. Will we be welcomed with open arms? Or will the Martians treat us as invaders? Only one thing is certain. Some day a giant metal ship will take off from earth to travel through the black velocities, the silent gulfs of space, to descend at last into the darkness of the upper Martian atmospheres. And on that day, man will finally know the answers, the day we first land on Mars.”

This show is a radio adaption of a short story from Ray Bradbury’s classic series of short stories “The Martian Chronicles.” The short story collection chronicles the colonization of Mars by humans fleeing from a troubled and eventually atomically devastated Earth, and the conflict between aboriginal Martians and the new colonists.

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In “Mars Is Heaven” the third expedition lands on Mars on 20 Apeil 1987 and this time the Martians are prepared for the Earthlings. It is the year 2000, following two expeditions from which no reports have been received. The crew are shocked to discover a Rockwellian small town, eerily similar to those they left on Earth. The strangely familiar people in the town believe it is 1926. The ship’s captain, John Black has told his crew to stay in the rocket but the crew members soon discover old friends and deceased relatives in the town. Those who had been ordered to stay behind and guard the rocket abandon their posts in order to join the reunions and festivities and join their family members (or at least who they thought were their family members).

By what appears to be telepathy the Martians use the memories of the astronauts to lure them into their “old” houses. Members of the crew split up to spend the night in the homes of their lost comrades and relatives. The Captain Black, remains skeptical, and realizes in the middle of the night that the entire situation may have been contrived by telepathic aliens to lower the Earthmen’s guards.

To learn how this episode ends you will have to listen below. Or
I want to know how the story ends.

Broadcast Date: 55-05-08

Review:
“Mars is Heaven!” is a science fiction short story by Ray Bradbury originally published in the science fiction magazine Planet Stories, Fall 1948. “Mars is Heaven!” was among the stories selected in 1970 by the Science Fiction Writers of America as one the best science fiction short stories of all time.

An otherwise great story, the plot is a little weak, if even one member of the crew stopped to think for a single second about finding long lost relatives on Mars, the whole thing would fall apart.

As a retired Navy Officer I found it interesting that the first announcement over the ship’s announcing system was:

Sound of Bosun’s Pipe

The Captain:

“Now hear this. All right men. The smoking lamp is lit. Well, we’re on Mars. The first manned ship from earth to land here.”

This announcement told me a lot about the period this radio play was written. Using Old Navy expressions such as The smoking lamp is lit and the use of the Bosun’s Pipe (whistle for you land lubbers). Other shipwide announcements preceded with “Now hear this.” It was just the way the classic 1950′s space travel radio shows were portrayed. I presume to help the visualization of the ships since you could only see the story with your minds eye.

“Mars is Heaven!” was among the stories selected in 1970 by the Science Fiction Writers of America as one the best science fiction short stories of all time. As such, it was published in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume One, 1929-1964. It also appears as the sixth chapter of The Martian Chronicles, entitled “The Third Expedition.”

“Mars is Heaven!” was adapted as a radio drama on numerous occasions including as an episode of Escape (June 2, 1950), Two separate versions were produced for Dimension X (July 7, 1950 & January 7, 1951), Think (1953), X Minus One (May 8, 1955) and Future Tense (July, 1976). It was also adapted to the EC comic book Weird Science #18 (March-April, 1953) by Al Feldstein and Wally Wood.

In 1979 NBC aired a three-episode miniseries adaptation in partnership with the BBC with a total running time of just over four hours, titled The Martian Chronicles. The series starred Rock Hudson as ‘Wilder’, with Darren McGavin as ‘Parkhill’, Bernadette Peters as ‘Genevieve Selsor’, Bernie Casey as ‘Jeff Spender’, Roddy McDowall as ‘Father Stone’, and Barry Morse as ‘Hathaway’, as well as Fritz Weaver.

It was also adapted as an episode of the television series Ray Bradbury Theater (July 20, 1990) starring Hal Linden and Paul Gross.

Listen to the earlier version on Dimension X episode 14 Mars Is Heaven originally aired on 50-07-07

Cast:
Wendell Holmes – Captain John Black
Peter Kapell – Ship’s Doctor Dr. Horst
Bill Zuckert – Masters
Bill Lipton – Hinxton
Margaret Burlen – Old Lady
Bill Griffis – Edward
Ken Williams – Lustig
Ethel Everett – Captain Black’s Mom
Edwin Jerome – Captain Black’s Dad

Written By: Ernest Kinoy adapted from a short story by Ray Bradbury
Directed By: Fred Wayne
Announcer: Fred Collins
Commercial: None
Promotion: None

Listen below to X Minus One Episode 03 Mars Is Heaven:

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