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From: Brian Kavanaugh via groups.ioSent: Wednesday, November 2, 2022 7:31 PM To: main@oldtimeradioresearchers.groups.ioSubject: Re: [OldTimeRadioResearchers] Exploring Tomorrow Jim Widner says he spent several periods at the LoC in 2010, but they did not have them. They thought they may have ended up at the University of Maryland. Not sure if anything has changed since then. Robert Silverberg is still alive. About 14 years ago there was an active discussion between him and Buddy Lortie, and he listed 10 scripts (plus Sound Decision) that he'd been paid for. He had dates attached to them, but I haven't found for certain whether those were air dates or pay dates. He did say that the script titles weren't necessarily the broadcast titles. Gordon R. Dickson's material is at the University of Minnesota. Several scripts may be for the series (and some definitely were), but it will likely take a "qualified scholar" (term on their site) to go there. Additionally, professional correspondence there between John Campbell and him might be helpful. Philip K. Dick's estate apparently has multiple episodes of his on reel to reel. Only one episode is known to be by him, so that could be a significant find. Broadcast dates for the series are *probably* December 4, 1957 (maybe a week later) through June 6, 1958, Wednesdays and Fridays, for a maximum of 54 episodes. Some sources say a week later (or more), but a May 28,1958 article in Variety noted Mutual was pulling a bunch of shows (including Exploring Tomorrow) effective Monday, June 9, and the New York radio listings for those series support that. There's also some speculation that Wednesday was the original broadcast and Friday was a repeat, but I think we have enough information to support more than 27 known episodes. Maybe there were repeats later in the run, but I don't think we know that one way or another. Can you check with someone with access to the LoC to see if the scripts are available? That would solve the episode title problem. Rodney I have started working on a new maintained set for Exploring Tomorrow. Aside from the obvious difficulties of many of the episodes having been hacked up very early on, multiple names for the same episode, and the same name for multiple episodes, the quality of several of the episodes is poor. Please check your collections and see if you have any of better quality.
Some notes on episodes: - The ones listed as missing are ones either Goldin or Jerry list as available. I have information on other episodes, but they aren't known to exist.
- The episodes had (or most likely had) official titles. But, determining what they were from available episodes is challenging.
- Many of them were based on published stories (mainly from Astounding Science Fiction), but the title may have been changed when broadcast.
- "The Stowaway" and "The Cold Equations" are two different episodes. "The Stowaway" is about a scientist stowing away on the first expedition to the moon, and "The Cold Equations" is about a girl stowing away on a medical mission to the planet Woden. "The Stowaway" is supposed to be available (per Goldin), but I've not found it.
- "The Mutant" and "Then Look Behind You"/"How Big Is a Man"/"Ethan" are two different episodes. There's no one named Ethan in "The Mutant", nor is there an alien, a wolf, or a meteor/spaceship. Goldin does not list the latter as available, but it is listed in some other places with the correct information.
- "The Happiness Effect" and "The Gift" are two different episodes. "The Happiness Effect" is about "brain writers" changing people's brains to eliminate crime, etc. (an artist comes to town and is suspected of committing a crime). "The Gift"...is about something else. Goldin and Jim Widner have two different plot descriptions, though they could be potentially the same plot. Widner's is based on a Gordon R. Dickson script (first page only) dated from 1958. Goldin's is presumably based on a copy of the episode.
- For all other episodes, I've listed alternate titles below what appears to be the most likely correct title based on what I've put together so far.
The file size and bit rate for the best versions I have are listed. Name | MiB | Kbps | The Adventure of the Beauty Queen | 46.92 | 320 | The Cold Equations - a.k.a. The Stowaway (different plot)
| 4.06 | 32 | The Convict | 2.82 | 24 | Country Boy | 4.02 | 32 | The Decision | 3.14 | 24 | Dreams | 4.54 | 32 | First Baby in Space | 46.93 | 320 | First Contact | 46.93 | 320 | The Gift (NOT The Happiness Effect) - missing | | | The Happiness Effect - a.k.a. Do It and Like It
- a.k.a. The Gift (different plot)
- a.k.a. Brain Writers
- a.k.a. The Happiness Idea
| 46.93 | 320 | The Last Doctor - a.k.a. The Last Physician
| 3.85 | 32 | Liar! | 4.61 | 32 | Look Out, Duck! - missing | | | Made in Avack - a.k.a. Made in Avak
- a.k.a. War Game
- a.k.a. Fair Fight
| 14.48 | 128 | The Mimic | 3.96 | 32 | The Moon Is New - a.k.a. The Moon Is Red
- a.k.a. First Men on the Moon
| 4.21 | 32 | The Mutant (NOT How Big Is a Man/Ethan - different plot) | 16.79 | 128 | No Way Out - a.k.a. Overpopulation
- a.k.a. Solution Impossible
- a.k.a. Immigration Impossible
| 17.47 | 128 | Noggo - a.k.a. Desert Object
- a.k.a. The Alien
- a.k.a. Nago
| 4.1 | 32 | Planet of Geniuses - a.k.a. Genius
- a.k.a. The Genius Planet
| 5.56 | 40 | The Secret - a.k.a. With All the Trappings
| 4.65 | 32 | Sound Decision | 4.28 | 32 | Speak No More - a.k.a. Telepaths
- a.k.a. Telepathic
- a.k.a. The Only Two in the World
| 46.92 | 320 | The Stowaway (NOT The Cold Equations) - missing | | | Then Look Behind You - missing - a.k.a. How Big Is a Man
- a.k.a. Ethan
- a.k.a. Man and the Wolf
| | | Time Heals | 34.1 | 192 | Time Traveler | 4.03 | 32 | The Trouble with Robots | 46.93 | 320 | Venus' Diamond Mountain - a.k.a. Inferiority
- a.k.a. The Diamond Mountain of Venus
- a.k.a. The Mountain of Diamond
| 26.38 | 192 | Vincent Deem, 1997 - a.k.a. The Man from the Past
- a.k.a. The Meddler
- a.k.a. The Stranger with Roses
| 3.22 | 32 |
|
