My Log- Brian (hamlet2003)

[hamlet2003]

The following is my listening log, with the episodes in no particular order.

Episodes will be rated as follows:
Not worth a second listen :(
So-So :rolleyes:
Good smile.gif
Excellent! :D

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[hamlet2003]

May 16, 1975 Rise and Fall of the Fourth Reich

Did Adolph Hitler really take his own life in the bunker at the end of World War II? This speculative episode ponders the question: "What if Hitler faked his death and was found years later by a group of men who seemingly wanted to help him return to power?" This episode is well-acted, well-written, and has a terrific ending. I could listen to this one over and over.

Genre: Science-fiction
Rating: excellent

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[hamlet2003]

Jan 8, 1974 The Bullet
Starring Larry Haines, Evie Juster

An intiguing episode that focuses on how a man's life is changed after a friend takes a bullet for him in Vietnam. Years later, as he is living his life back in the states, he begins to be visited by the ghost of his army friend. What this ghost wants threatens the man's very existence. This episode deals with the notion of destiny and how a person might not be living the life that was intended for them. Errie and effective.

Genre:Occult
Rating: Excellent

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[hamlet2003]

Jan 20, 1974 The Chinaman Button
Starring Paul Hecht

What if someone offered you a million dollars to push a button, the result of which would be that a person somewhere in the world that you will never know will die. Would you do it? That old moral question is the basis for this fine episode which also stars CBSRMT regular Mason Adams. (This same premise was used much less effectively for an episode of the New Twilight Zone years ago.)

Genre: Suspense
Rating: Excellent

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[hamlet2003]

Jan 28, 1974 Three Women
Starring Ruth Ford

Writer Stephen Lake, who lives with his wife and mother-in-law, becomes so obsessed with a female character in the novel he is writing that she begins to haunt him. The only way to escape his love for her is to kill her off at the end of the book. But will she allow that to happen?
A well-acted, well-written episode.

Genre: Drama
Rating: Good

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[hamlet2003]

Jan 29, 1974 The Man Who Heard Voices
Starring Larry Haines

A man who must care for his invalid wife discovers one day that he can hear voices in his head of things that will happen in the near future. Are the voices a blessing or a curse?

Genre: Drama
Rating: Good

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[hamlet2003]

Feb 28, 1974 A Choice of Witnesses
Starring Paul Hecht

A man is being blackmailed by a sleazy photographer with photos of him cheating on his wife. His predicament deepens when he he's approached by others who are being blackmailed by the photographer as well. They propose murdering the photographer in such a way that no one will be a suspect.
A well-acted episode that deals with an interesting moral conundrum: If you could get out of a terrible situation by committing a murder with no chance of getting caught, would you do it?

Genre: Suspense
Rating: Excellent

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[hamlet2003]

May 20, 1974 The Crack in the Wall
Starring Celeste Holme and Wesley Addy

After their daughter dies, a couple discover that they can hear her calling out to them...from the crack in the wall of their basement that cannot be sealed! This is a truly scary episode. I wouldn't suggest listening to this one when you are going to sleep. This episode stars Wesley Addy who played the partiarch in the '80's soap "Loving" and is also memorable for his weasley TV executive in the classic film "Network."

Genre: Horror
Rating: Good

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[hamlet2003]

May 23, 1974 The Bleeding Statue
Starring Patricia Elliott, Tony Roberts

A young woman journeys with her fiance back to the home of her stepfather, a once great magician, to pay her last respects. Other relatives have also arrived on the scene to hear the reading of the will, and they are prepared to kill to ensure that all of the dead man's fortune goes to them.

This episode is a little confusing. It's hard to keep the characters straight and to remember how they are related to one another. That aside, it is well-acted. It stars Tony Roberts, a CBSRMT regular and also a favorite of Woody Allen who has used Roberts in many of his films.

Genre: Suspense
Rating: So-so

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[hamlet2003]

Jul 17, 1974 The Real Printer's Devil
Starring Paul Hecht, Jada Rowland

A couple looking for a bargain on an apartment seem to find the place of their dreams. When they arrive to look at the apartment it appears they are the only ones who saw the ad in the paper. The location and the rent are perfect, even if the landlord is a little weird (he keeps a locked closet full of bizzare occult items in the apartment). Unfortunately, anything that looks too good to be true always is. This is another frightening episode. If you want a real scare, listen to this one in the dark...alone.

Genre: Horror
Rating: Good

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[hamlet2003]

Jul 22, 1974 The Deadly Process
Starring Norman Rose, Ralph Bell

A man desperate to pay off a debt is willing to steal a multi-million dollar idea from an old college friend in order to get ahead in his company. His deception results in murder. An interesting character study.

Genre: Suspense/ Occult
Rating: So-So

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[hamlet2003]

Jan 23, 1975 Sleepy Village
Starring Norman Rose, Martha Greenhouse

A couple seeking to leave behind the stress of big city life come upon a small backroad town that seems the ideal place for an early retirement...until they discover that the residents of Sleepy Village share a bizzare secret. This is a great episode, reminiscent of the hour-long episode "VALLEY OF THE SHADOW" from the original Twilight Zone tv series. The writing and performances are excellent and the story really pulls you in.

Genre: Suspense/Occult
Rating: Excellent

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[hamlet2003]

Aug 1, 1975 The Onyx Eye
Starring Frances Sternhagen

A man who is down on his luck and looking for work enters an old curio shop to buy an inexpensive present for his wife's birthday. THe mysterious shopowner sells him a small piece of onyx that looks like a human eye, telling him it will bring him good luck. It does, but for every piece of good luck it brings...it also brings horrible consequences. This is a classic tale in the tradition of the old story "The Monkey's Paw." This episode is an example of what CBSRMT does best--a great story executed well with excellent actors (including the fantastic Frances Sternhagen who plays the man's wife and the only one in the episode who realizes that the onyx eye is not a thing to fool around with. Sternhagen has been in everything from a regular spot on "ER" to a voice on the "Simpsons.")

Genre: Occult
Rating: Good

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[hamlet2003]

Sept 26, 1975 Assassination in Time
Starring William Redfield

Two people, participating in an experiment, travel back in time and find themselves caught up in the assassination plot to kill President Lincoln. Will they be able to stop it in time (pun intended)? A story reminiscent of the Twilight Episode "Back There." I'm a big fan of time travel stories but this one didn't really grab me because the characters aren't very interesting and primarily serve to move the plot forward.

Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: So-so

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[hamlet2003]

Oct 16, 1975 Stay Out of Dutchman's Woods
Starring Paul Hecht

A couple on vacation decide to picnic in the nearby woods even after the caretaker of the lodge warns them against it. They get separated and hopelessly lost. The husband comes upon a strange, beautiful young woman who seems to have a mysterious power over him. Will they become two more in the long list of people to disappear forever in the depths of Dutchman's Woods? An effective moody story that brings the Greek notion of the siren ( a woman whose voice had mysterious power over men) into a modern setting.

Genre: Occult
Rating: Good

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[hamlet2003]

Dec 31, 1975 Sagamore Cottage
Starring Carmen Matthews

Upon moving into a cottage owned by the seemingly harmless Ms. Sagamore, a couple become aware of strange scratching noises in the wall and the husband's micro-recorder picks up tiny little voices coming from somewhere in the house. Could there be a connection between these strange happenings and all the little china dolls Ms. Sagamore has on display in her house? This is one of those episodes that has stayed in my memory since I first heard it as a child. A weird story with a good cast.

Genre: Occult
Rating: Excellent

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[hamlet2003]

Dec 25, 1980 Holiday Visit
Starring Lloyd Batista and Diana Kirkwood

Joan and Skip Bartrum decide to return to her parent's home in Ruyanville for the Christmas holidays. When they attempt to take a shortcut off the interstate down a deserted backroad, they end up crashing their car in a snow bank. They walk to a nearby town that at first appears to be deserted, even though they can hear people singing Christmas carols. What is the bizzare secret of this little town and will they find a way out and reach their parents in time for Christmas? Lots of questions are raised in this episode. Few are answered. This is probably my favorite episode, primarily because it is the one I best remember from listening to the show as a kid. It's a great holiday story.

Genre: Fantasy
Rating: Excellent (sentimental favorite!)

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[hamlet2003]

May 15, 1974 Forever Man
Starring Paul Hect

Small-time hood Jack Hanley is offered an amazing proposition by an rich old man, LeRoy Frazier. Frazier will give Jack his entire fortune if Jack will agree to exchange bodies with him -- his young healthy body for Fraizer's sickly, dying old body. Is the rich man crazy or does he really have the power to do what he proposes?

Genre: Occult
Rating: Excellent

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[hamlet2003]

Jan 19, 1979 Side Effects
Starring Robert Dryden, Mandel Kramer

The owner of a drug company makes a rash decision to murder his top chemist when he threatens to expose that the company's new antibiotic is unsafe, a revelation that could mean the end of the business. As a highly respected member of the community, the man is seemingly above suspicion and the sherrif is the only one in town who is willing to find out the truth. This is a good-old fashioned murder mystery with a great twist ending.

Genre: SUSPENSE
Rating: Good

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[hamlet2003]

April 22, 1974 Wishing Stone
Starring Clorice Blackburn, William Prince

A little girl from a poor family cursed by a father who gambles away their every penny becomes the owner of a stone she believes will grant her wishes. In fact, it does seem to work although often with unexpected consequences. Though the story here is rather pedestrian, I found the characters interesting.

Genre: Fantasy
Rating: So-so

[ 26. January 2005, 08:39 PM: Message edited by: hamlet2003 ]

[hamlet2003]

May 29, 1975 Just One More Day
Starring Theodore Bikel

A neighborhood beat cop who has never pulled his gun in the line of duty has just one more day until retirement. He has been having dreams that the day will end in gunfire and then he gets word that a dangerous escaped con has been spotted in the neighborhood. Will he make it through just one more day without having to draw his gun? This episode is a straight suspense story with a nice performance by well-known character actor and folk singer Bikel.

Genre: Suspense
Rating: Good

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[hamlet2003]

Dec 16, 1974 Stephanie's Room
Starring Mercedes McCambridge

Stephanie, a woman stressed out from the lifestyle she is forced to live by being married to a career-obessessed corporate-climbing husband, returns for a visit to the home she lived in a child. The elderly woman of the retired couple that now live in the home allows Stephanie to tour the house and even visit her old room. Stephanie and the woman soon discover that that the room has a strange attraction for both of them.

This is both a bizzare story and a familiar one for anyone who has ever driven by their childhood home and wondered what it would be like to go inside and revisit their past.

Genre: Fantasy
Rating: Good

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[hamlet2003]

Jan 27, 1974 Time and Again
Starring John Beal

Ethan Vigil, a clockmaker who owns and operates a shop (with little help from his hypochondriac wife and her complaining sister), buys a strange clock that has a number 13 where the 12 should. Ethan soon discovers that the clock has an amazing ability to stop time for two hours a day...but to keep the clock running, Ethan must pay a terrible price.

This is cool episode with great performances and an interesting Twilight Zone-ish plot.

Genre: FANTASY
Rating: Excellent

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[hamlet2003]

Mar 20, 1975 The Doppelganger
Starring Howard DaSilva, Tony Roberts

An aging university psych professor (and dabbler in parapsychology) vows to take revenge on the college student who both gets his daughter pregnant and then forces her to get an abortion. He conjures the forces of the supernatural to call forth the man's doppleganger (double) to haunt him to death.

I enjoyed this episode but it took a long time to get past the melodrama to the supernatural elements. Good performances by the entire cast.

Genre: Occult
Rating: Good

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[hamlet2003]

Mar 21, 1975 The Man Must Die
Starring William Prince, Krsitoffer Tabori

A judge's son refuses to support his father's decision to give a murderer life in prison instead of the death penalty. The young man decides to take the matter into his own hands and goes to visit the convicted killer.

This story really doesn't seem to go anywhere and isn't much more than a surface examination of the death penalty debate.

Genre: Drama
Rating: So-so

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[hamlet2003]

Mar 24, 1975 The Deadly Double
Starring Marian Seldes

A woman is tricked by her psychotic twin sister and ends up in an asylum while her sister takes over her identity out in the "real" world. Will she be able to convince anyone of who she really is? An interesting story that moves along nicely (and particularly was relevant for me as I have an identical twin brother!).

Genre: Suspense
Rating: Good

[ 26. January 2005, 08:43 PM: Message edited by: hamlet2003 ]

[hamlet2003]

Mar 26, 1975 Death Is a Dream
Starring Mercedes McCambridge

A school teacher vows to uncover the murderer of a her policeman brother by infiltratiing the slum neighorhood where the killing occurred. Haunted nightly by a recurring dream of the murder, she takes a job as a teacher to the local kids and moves into the neighborhood hoping to find any clue to the killer's identity. She finds more than she bargains for. This is pretty much a straight drama with an important message about taking responsibility for this world in which we live.

Genre: DRAMA
Rating: Good

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[hamlet2003]

Dec 26, 1974 Turn About Is Foul Play
Starring Mason Adams

A man contemplates murdering his sickly wife so that he and his mistress can live off the wife's millions. Does he have the nerve to go through with it...or will someone else beat him to the punch? This is a good story with several nice twists and turns.

Genre: Suspense
Rating: Good

[ 26. January 2005, 08:44 PM: Message edited by: hamlet2003 ]

[hamlet2003]

Dec 12, 1974 Is the Lady Dead?
Starring Larry Haines, Joan Loring

A hard-driven business tycoon finds the love of his life while on a trip to Europe and they marry after only one week together. Shortly thereafter she dies but not before he promises to bring her back from the dead.

Genre: Occult/Drama
Rating: Good

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[hamlet2003]

Oct 24, 1975 The Summer People
Starring Tony Roberts

Jane and Mike Slater, a young couple, leave their hectic city lives to take a summer home in a sleepy little town called Granville. The residents of the town are friendly...maybe a little TOO friendly for it soon becomes apparent that they don't intend to let the Slaters leave Granville...ever.
A really superb episode that grabs you and keeps you guessing in the tradition of The Twilight Zone.

Genre: Suspense
Rating: Excellent

[ 26. January 2005, 08:45 PM: Message edited by: hamlet2003 ]

[hamlet2003]

December 9, 1974 The Fatal Connection
Starring Jennifer Harmon and Nicholas Pryor

Norma and Hal Glenford have moved into their family's old turn-of-the-century home. They are mysteriously transported (by way of a broken phone) back to the turn of the century where they are taken for Hal's great grandparents. They are apparently stuck back in time and soon discover that Hal's great grandfather had made many enemies and they may have to pay for his misdeeds. This is an interesting time travel story that suggests that sometimes the sins of the father ARE visited on the son.

Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: Good

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[hamlet2003]

Feb 1, 1974 Dead Ringer
Starring Leon Janney

Gloria Winters is driving down a road on a rainy night when she spots a man who has been the victim of a hit-and-run. She stops to help him and is amazed to discover that this man, named Leo, is a dead ringer for her husband. The two plot to murder her husband and have Leo take his place. This story is full of plot twists and double crosses that will keep you guessing.

Genre: Suspense
Rating: Good

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[hamlet2003]

January 10, 1974 No Hiding Place
Starring Larry Haines

Charles Powell is a successful corporate-climber, engaged to the boss's daughter, and seems to have the world on a plate. That is, until a dark figure from his past returns and threatens to expose Powell for his past misdeeds. The only way out may be...murder. This is a fairly straightforward tale of a man trying to run from his past.

Genre: Suspense
Rating: Good

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[hamlet2003]

January 6, 1974 The Old Ones are Hard to Kill
Starring Agnes Moorehead

Elderly Aida Canby gets more than she bargained for when she decides to take on a boader! Shortly after coming to stay, the boarder comes down with a serious illness and in the last moments of life, confesses to a murder. Aida cannot leave well enough alone and decides to investigate the murder further, unaware that she is putting herself in grave danger.
The episode boasts a wonderful performance by Agnes Moorehead which lifts this story out of the ordinary.

Genre: Suspense
Rating: Good

[ 26. January 2005, 08:28 PM: Message edited by: hamlet2003 ]

[hamlet2003]

Apr 16, 1974 Men Without Mouths
Starring Joe Silver, Patricia Elliott

A man's violent criminal past may be coming back to haunt him when he finds himself confronted wherever he goes by men who literally have no mouths. His "neice" and her fiance try to cure him of these terrible visions but the man's only salvation may lie within the secrets of his deadly past. The episode's premise is intriguing but ultimately I felt like it didn't really go anywhere. There is an ending that attempts to explain all that has happened but I was hoping for something a little more imaginative.

Genre: Drama
Rating: Not worth a second listen

[ 26. January 2005, 08:30 PM: Message edited by: hamlet2003 ]

[hamlet2003]

May 28, 1979 The Outsider
Starring John Beal

Doug Watson is heading home on the commuter train, his mind focused on the work he has brought home with him. When he looks up, he discovers the entire train is empty and that he has missed his regular stop. He steps off the train and finds himself in a strange little town: Hanover Hills. The residents claim that a mysterious occurence has cut them off from the world. They have not been able to leave and no one new has come into the town for thirty years and during the three decades no one in the town has aged a day. Watson is the "outsider" they have been waiting for and they hope he will have the key to releasing them back into the world.

This is a well-down "mysterious small town" episode (in the tradition of "A Holiday Visit," or "The Summer People") that reminds me of The Twilight Zone.

Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: Excellent

[ 26. January 2005, 08:31 PM: Message edited by: hamlet2003 ]

[hamlet2003]

Mar 20, 1974 The Ghost at the Gate
Starring Beatrice Straight

Elderly Alice Emery enjoys quiet evenings at home in her mansion sipping hot chocolate with her husband Charles. There's only one problem: her husband is dead. When her husband's ghost suggests she have her friend Connie move into the old house to keep her company, she decides it's a wonderful idea...but the ghost may have ulterior motives.
An amusing episode with great performances by the cast.


Genre: Occult
Rating: Good

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[hamlet2003]

Jan 12, 1974 I Warn You Three Times
Starring Joan Lorring and Mason Adams

Fred Peterson, a hotshot newspaper reporter, covers the story of a woman seemingly abandoned by her husband when he gets out of the car on a snowy night to clean the back window. Peterson soon finds himself strangely drawn to this woman, even though she warns him three times not to fall in love with her. When her husband finally turns up, he tells Peterson a fantastic tale about his wife's true identity and the danger that befalls anyone who dares to fall in love with her.

Genre: Occult
Rating: Good

[ 26. January 2005, 08:32 PM: Message edited by: hamlet2003 ]

[hamlet2003]

February 14, 1974 Under Grave Suspicion
Starring Ralph Bell

Thomas Drake and his wife are two yuppies (or "moderns" as they said in -70s lingo) with an open relationship. But Drake discovers he can no longer abide his wife, Mary-Anne, seeing other men. When Drake discovers Mary-Anne at their lakeside cabin with another man, his rage gets the better of him and kills them both. He realizes he must bury the bodies, but what if one of the neighbors spots him and what of the huge storm that is heading his way? A pretty typical psychological tale of a man pushed over the edge.

Genre: Suspense
Rating: So-so

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[hamlet2003]

May 24, 1977 Transmutations, Inc.
Starring Norman Rose

Is there really a devil? This is the question that haunts "Bones" Terwilliger, a two-bit gambler and hustler, when he encounters a transient who offers him great wealth in exchange for his soul. This episode offers an interesting commentary on the nature of evil, and the way in which our path in life is determined more by small, seemingly insignicant acts and decisions, rather than big, dramatic events.

Genre: Occult
Rating: So-so

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[hamlet2003]

Dec 21, 1976 The Lone Survivor
Starring Russel Horton

The lone survivor of a commercial airliner crash is unable to provide the authorities with any information about the accident because he is suffering from amnesia. He claims to remember nothing prior to waking up in the hospital, including his own identity. When an FBI agent gets involved in the investigation, he begins to suspect that there is more going on than meets the eye. This is a fairly intriguing episode with an ending that is satisfying but not as clever as it might have been.

Genre: Suspense
Rating: So-so

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[hamlet2003]

May 20, 1976 The Walking Dead
Starring Paul Hecht

A futuristic tale of a time when humankind has been able to genetically reproduce androids which are then used as slave labor. James Valentine owns Rex, an advanced model android capable of doing almost anything...including murder. This story deals with everything from bigotry to the nature of what it means to be "human." A good listen, particularly for the sci fi fan.

Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: Good

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[hamlet2003]

Apr 5, 1976 Time Killer
Starring Mandel Kramer

Edwin Quainlin, a professor of parapsychology (is there such a thing?) becomes so obessed with the notion of time travel that he finds he is able to will himself back into his past. In so doing, he must confront a terrible mistake he has run from all his life. Another good time travel episode.

Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: Good

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[hamlet2003]

May 29, 1981 Out of the Past
Starring Paul Hecht

An painter who is forced to make a few bucks as a courtroom artist finds the bank robbery trial he is working at connects to a haunting memory from his past that threatens to spill over into his present life. An intriguing story.

Genre: Mystery
Rating: So-so

[ 26. January 2005, 08:18 PM: Message edited by: hamlet2003 ]

[hamlet2003]

January 30, 1978 Yesterday's Giant
Starring Norman Rose

A discredited anthropologist is offered a chance to revive his career when a friend calls with a unbelievable opportunity: a chance to study a recently discovered specimen of prehistoric man....and the specimen happens to be alive ! A well-done episode with an interesting story.

Genre: Science-Fiction
Rating: Good

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[hamlet2003]

February 17, 1978 The Church of Hell
Starring Roberta Maxwell and Paul Hecht
Written by Ian Martin

David and Jane Francis, returning from a long vacation, discover that the old woman who had been renting their home has died mysteriously and it soon becomes clear that black magic and satanism is involved. The couple call in an expert in the occult and he determines that evil forces are still at work in their house.

Genre:Occult
Rating: Good

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[hamlet2003]

August 13, 1975 The Master Computer
Starring Robert Dryden and Augusta Dabney

Grace and Harry Clayton return home exhausted from a summer vacation and slowly come to realize that something is very wrong. No one seems to see them or hear them, the utilities to their home have been turned off, and their friends are ignoring them as if they don't exist. What is the answer to this bizzare mystery? This is a disturbing story with a well-done ending.

Genre: Mystery
Rating: Excellent

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[hamlet2003]

August 11, 1975 Age Cannot Wither Her
Starring Jennifer Harmon
Written by Sam Dann

A man is questioned by police when his wife turns up missing after a sailing excursion. Accused of her murder the man offers up an incredible alibi: his wife cannot be dead because she is immortal. His story of marrying a woman who has lived for over 400 years and is impervious to death is too amazing to believe, but it just might be true. This is an intriguing episode with good performances by the leads, raising the question of whether or not it would really be so wonderful to live forever.


Genre: Occult
Rating: Good

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[hamlet2003]

September 26, 1975 Assassination in Time
Starring Gordon Gould, Bryna Raeburn, Jennifer Harmon, William Redfield

A scientist enables a couple to travel back in time and they find themselves caught up in the plot to assassinate President Lincoln. Should they stop the murder and risk changing the future? This is a fairly run-of-the-mill time travel episode.

Genre: Science-fiction
Rating: So-so

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[hamlet2003]

March 10, 1978 I Thought I Saw a Shadow
Starring Joan Shay, Lloyd Battista, Gordon Gould, Nat Polen

A scientist conducting an experiment on invisibility decides to become his own subject. The result causes him to become separated from his own shadow and the shadow turns out to have a murderous mind of its own. This story, a mixture of suspense and science-fiction, has a somewhat silly premise but is well-executed, with interesting characters and a good plot.

Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: Good

[ 26. January 2005, 08:14 PM: Message edited by: hamlet2003 ]

[hamlet2003]

Oct 15, 1976 Point in Time
Starring Evie Juster, Ralph Bell, Norman Rose, Jackson Beck

A futuristic tale set in a totalitarian state. An elderly scientist and his sister attempt to change the miserable state of the world by sending a military leader back in time. A fairly interesting premise that never quite gets off the ground. A rushed ending doesn't help the matter.

Genre:Science Fiction
Rating: so-so

[ 26. January 2005, 08:13 PM: Message edited by: hamlet2003 ]

[hamlet2003]

May 10, 1982 Tourist Trap
Starring Paul Hecht, Teri Keane

Harry Meeker, a big city lawyer, and his wife Ruth, have a car accident and end up seeking refuge in the little town of Downsville. When they try to leave the town, they find their every effort thwarted. What is the mystery this town is hiding? This falls into the category of "strange small town" stories (e.g. "Sleepy Village," "The Summer People," and "A Holiday Visit") and is fairly good, though the ending is a little too reminiscent of several Twilight Zone episodes.

Genre: Mystery
Rating: So-so

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[hamlet2003]

July 2, 1975 Come Back with Me
Starring Howard DaSilva

A businessman who has grown weary of his life yearns for the more carefree days of his past. He discovers that when he enters the old neighborhood bar, he is able to travel back into the past. It makes little difference to him that the bar has been boarded up and condemned for years. But to those around him, particularly his business partner and his wife, the man appears to be losing his mind. This episode borrows much from several old Twilight Zones with a mildly interesting conclusion.

Genre: DRAMA
Rating: So-so

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[hamlet2003]

Jun 30, 1978 The Good Times Express
Starring Ralph Bell, Roberta Maxwell

After his plane to Boston is cancelled due to snow, a man finds his only mode of transportation to be a train: the Good Times Express and discovers that this train not only travels through space but also through time. A weird episode, well-acted.

Genre: Sci-fi
Rating: Good

[hamlet2003]

May 4, 1978 Journey to Somewhere
Starring Norman Rose, Carol Teitel

A group of people find themselves strangely drawn together as they are traveling in the same train car. Each seems to be hiding secrets which are slowly revealed as a series of events bring them closer. This episode is an interesting character study with an odd ending.

GENRE: Drama
RATING: Good

[hamlet2003]

Mar 17, 1978 Identified Flying Objects
Starring Bryna Raeburn

A woman finds her life caught up in the drama of a stranger who may in fact be an alien from another planet which plans to conquer Earth.

GENRE: Science Fiction
RATING: So-so

[hamlet2003]

Feb 2, 1981 The Man Who Saw Martians
Starring Jack Grimes

A reporter attempts to impress the girl of his dreams by faking reports of UFO encounters. The problem: some real aliens don't appreciate the bad publicity he is giving them.

A pretty lame episode.

Genre: Science-fiction
Rating: Not worth a second listen

[ 26. January 2005, 08:58 PM: Message edited by: hamlet2003 ]

[hamlet2003]

October 28, 1978 A Question of Identity
Starring Bryna Raeburn, Jackson Beck, Ian Martin, Russell Horton

A jewel courier arrives in Europe and finds himself caught up in a "sting" when his jewels disapear from his hotel's safe and nobody remembers his ever checking in as a guest.
A mildly intriguing story though the ending was predictable. Note: A different episode with the same title was broadcast on 11/12/1976.

Genre: Mystery
Rating: So-so

[ 26. January 2005, 08:58 PM: Message edited by: hamlet2003 ]

[hamlet2003]

Nov 2, 1981 Between Two Mirrors
Starring Marian Seldes

E.G. Marshall introduces this episode this way: " Today's tale takes you into the fourth dimension. Into the realm of a world in which the past, present and future are one and time moves forward and backward in unexpected ways." This is truly odd episode that involves a pair of lovers whom time and death cannot keep apart.

Genre: Fantasy
Rating: Excellent

[hamlet2003]

November 17, 1980 The Eleventh Plauge
Starring Russell Horton, Ian Martin, Lloyd Batista

The crew of a spaceship is given orders to travel to a distant planet and retrieve an old man marooned on the planet. The problem: the old man doesn't want them on "his" planet and threatens to reign down the biblical plagues of Egypt on them if they don't leave. This is an entertaining episode, somewhat reminiscent of Shakespeare's "The Tempest" and the 50's film "Forbidden Planet," which was a sci-fi adaptation of the Shakespeare play. My only gripe: one actor plays the voice of two of the crew members but his voice is too distinct to convince us they are separate characters.

Genre: Science-Fiction
Rating: Good

[ 30. January 2005, 10:12 PM: Message edited by: hamlet2003 ]

[hamlet2003]

January 16, 1980 Prisoner of Machines
Starring John Lithgow

In some future time, a group of soldiers are held prisoner by their enemy and are gaurded by a group of conscience-less robots. Lithgow is great in this interesting story of man versus machine.

Genre: Science-Fiction
Rating: Good

[hamlet2003]

August 23, 1976 The Train Stops
Starring Norman Rose, Eugene Francis

Another odd psychological tale from writer Elspeth Eric. Set in a small town that is connected to the rest of the world by a train, a widowed father discovers that his daughter has become infatuated with a mysterious man who regularly comes through town on the train. Whether or not this episode includes supernatural elements is entirely up to the interpretation of the listener.

Genre: Drama
Rating: So-So

[ 28. January 2006, 04:06 PM: Message edited by: hamlet2003 ]

[hamlet2003]

April 5, 1981 Garden Of The Moon
Starring Kim Hunter

A cosmetic executive is determined to aquire the formula for a miraculous rejuvenating cream sold by a strange little shop that specializes in natural products that have been saturated with moonlight. Moonlight? You heard that right. Despite her husband's warnings to be wary of this strange shop and the odd effects its products are having upon her, the woman pursues her goal to discover the secret of the moonlight products...and pays a heavy price for the knowledge. A strange little episode with a great performance by Kim Hunter.

Genre: Sci-fi
Rating: Good

[ 28. January 2006, 04:06 PM: Message edited by: hamlet2003 ]

[chris pine]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by hamlet2003:
[QB] May 28, 1979 The Outsider
Starring John Beal

Doug Watson is heading home on the commuter train, his mind focused on the work he has brought home with him. When he looks up, he discovers the entire train is empty and that he has missed his regular stop. He steps off the train and finds himself in a strange little town: Hanover Hills. The residents claim that a mysterious occurence has cut them off from the world. They have not been able to leave and no one new has come into the town for thirty years and during the three decades no one in the town has aged a day. Watson is the "outsider" they have been waiting for and they hope he will have the key to releasing them back into the world.

This is also one of my all time favorite old radio programs and so far my favorite rmt. I remember when I first heard it back in 1979... I was 14 then and this happened to also be one of a few that I have actually recorded on cassette. It is one of those shows that you are just so cought up in... I also think it is simply very well done form techinical and acting perspective.. FOr example when at the end he return home and the "blue marble rock" falls out of his pocket and his wife goes to pick it up you can hear the inflextion in her voice as if she is bending down to pick it up... small detail but all adds up to a wonderful show!I say it is: Excellent

Chris Pine

[hamlet2003]

November 3, 1975 The Mortgage
Starring Larry Haines, Marian Seldes, Robert Dryden, Robert Maxwell, Russell Horton

A man's normal life may be turned upside down when his "good samaritan" actions end up getting his picture published in the newspaper. Fearful that someone out of his past will see the photo and expose his doublelife, he must decide which identity is real: the one he is living now, or the one he left behind years ago in a foreign country.

This is a well-developed thriller with several good twists.

Genre: Thriller
Rating: Good

[ 28. January 2006, 04:06 PM: Message edited by: hamlet2003 ]

[hamlet2003]

Janurary 22, 1981 The Final Mind
Starring Norman Rose, Ann Williams, Paul Hecht, Robert Dryden

A futuristic tale in which a gifted scientist becomes president after developing a protective force field device that ends world war. Then the story takes a decidedly metaphysical turn as the scientist seemingly transports his very soul into the cosmos.

Genre: Science-Fiction
Rating: Good

[ 25. February 2006, 11:30 AM: Message edited by: hamlet2003 ]

[hamlet2003]

February 25, 1981 A God Named Henry
Starring Ralph Bell, Joan Shea, Roy Owens

A browbeaten man finds his sailboat caught in a storm and is transported through a dimensional portal to an iddylic island where the natives regard him as a God. I enjoyed the strange quality of this episode and the poignant ending.

Genre: Drama
Rating: Good

[ 25. February 2006, 11:29 AM: Message edited by: hamlet2003 ]

[hamlet2003]

March 23, 1981 The First Day of Eternity
Starring Norman Rose, Robert Dryden, Earl Hammond, Tracy Ellis

A wealthy industrialist intends to be the first to find the secret to eternal life, and he doesn't particularly care who he steps on or destroys to acheive his goal. He finds the secret to immortality, but it's not at all what he was expecting.

Genre: Drama
Rating: Good

[hamlet2003]

September 18, 1981 The Land of Dreams
Starring Kristopher Tabori, Earl Hammond, Marian Haley

In a future society where super computers control every aspect of human life and forbid reproduction, a young couple decides they will secretly have a baby. A somewhat moralistic tale of what might happen to a society that relies to much on faceless technology.

Genre: Science-Fiction
Rating: Good

[hamlet2003]

July 16, 1975 Goodbye, Karl Erich
Starring Kevin McCarthy

A german doctor agrees to take on the case of a young man who has been strangely mute for years. The doctor's efforts to bring the young man back to the normal world seem successful until the young man becomes involved in the rise of the Nazi party in pre-WW2 Germany. A strange but effective episode.

Genre: Drama
Rating: Good

[hamlet2003]

November 9, 1976 The Colony
Starring Tony Roberts, Morgan Fairchild, Frances Sternhagen, Guy Sorel, Jackson Beck

A couple on a cross-country vacation are shocked when they witness a UFO outside the small town of Colony. When they report the incident to the local authorities, they discover that the town's inhabitants are harboring a terrible secret. Yet another of the CBSRMT "strange small town" stories, and this one is quite good in the way it maintains the mystery.

Genre: Sci-Fi
Rating: Good

[ 17. March 2006, 09:59 PM: Message edited by: hamlet2003 ]

[hamlet2003]

May 26, 1978 Arctic Encounter

Starring Mason Adams, Mandel Kramer, Bryna Raeburn

An American military plane and a Russian plane both mysteriously lose power over the arctic and crash land. They soon discover that they are at the mercy of a strange alien presence that seeks to assimilate the energy of any lifeforms that come near it. This is a weird and intriguing story with good characters. It builds slowly towards a satisfying ending.

Genre: Sci-fi
Rating: Good

[hamlet2003]

Jan 8, 1981 In the Dark
Starring Teri Keane, Carol Teitel, Ray Owens, Ralph Bell

This episdoe is written by Elspeth Eric. I'm not typically a fan of Eric's stories, but this one was very different.

It takes place in some totalitarian state - past? present? Future? A woman returns to her home after being away for a month to discover that her husband has disapeared and no one seems to know what happened to him, nor are they even willing to talk to her about his disapearance.

She soon comes to fear that the "secret police" have spirited him away. But why? No one - not her neighbors, not the others in her village, nor anyone in the government will tell her anything.

As I listened to this story unfold, I couldn't help but be drawn into comparisons with the situation in Iraq, both under the tyranny of Hussein, and under the current occupation. It is an intriguing and frightening episode. What would it be like to have the government come in the night and take away your family member, with no formal charges, no explanation, and no way to know if that loved one is dead or alive?

Genre: Drama
Rating: Good

[hamlet2003]

June 8, 1981 Stranded
Starring Marian Seldes, Gordon Gould, Bernard Grant

After an accident, two astronauts are forced to abandon their spacecraft and take their chances in a "lifeboat." They crash land on an alien planet only to discover that it is inhabited, by creatures all too frighteningly like themselves. I enjoyed this episode but see if you can't predict the ending coming from a mile away.

Genre: Sci-fi
Rating: Good

[ 20. March 2006, 03:39 PM: Message edited by: hamlet2003 ]

[hamlet2003]

March 30, 1981 The Dead Come Alive
Starring Marian Seldes and Ralph Bell

A professor's arrival in a small town brings mixed reaction when he advertises his ability to bring people back from the dead. He announces his plan to perform this miracle in the town cemetery. The town's mayor is dubious of the man's claims while others seem bent on keeping him from performing his miracle.

This story seems to inspired by (if not a direct rip-off of) the Twilight Zone episode "Mr. Garrity and the Graves." The two stories end differently, with this CBSRMT version ending in a conventional murder mystery/detective scenario. Still in all, an enjoyable episode.

Genre: Drama
Rating: Good

[hamlet2003]

Feb 18, 1981 Stand-In for Murder
Starring Paul Hecht, Teri Keane, Carol Teitel

A scientist seeks a way out of a loveless marriage so that he can run-off with his mistress (who also happens to be his research assistant). The problem: his wife holds a terrible secret that she would use against him if he ever dared leave her. His solution: create a clone of himself and use it to get rid of his wife once and for all.

This is a mildly interesting story but it never really gets going.

Genre: Sci-fi/Drama
Rating: So-so

[hamlet2003]

April 11, 1975 The Phantom Stop
Starring Norman Rose, Nat Polan, Bryner Rayburn, Carol Titel

A browbeaten husband longs for his past and his life with his first wife. Trying out the new subway one day, he discovers a mysterious stop and soon learns that stepping off the train at the right spot will reunite him with his long dead first wife. Writer Ian Martin must have been a big fan of the Twilight Zone episode "A Stop at Willoughby" because this is almost a scene-for-scene homage. Still in all, an effective story.

Genre: Drama
Rating: Good

[hamlet2003]

April 17, 1975 Through the Looking Glass
Starring Ann Sheppard, Ken Harvey, Evie Juster, Jack Grimes, Russell Horton

Kathy and Doug Sellars soon learn that the odd couple that have moved in next door are harboring a strange secret that could very well change the future of the planet. This episode is both mystery and science-fiction and unfolds nicely. It also doubles as a cautionary tale about how we treat this planet that we call "home."

Genre: Science-Fiction
Rating: Excellent

[hamlet2003]

March 27, 1975 The Velvet Claws
Starring Evie Juster, Gordon Gould, Arnold Moss, Gilbert Mack

A framing story of a man visiting his psychiatrist leads into yet another version of the CBSRMT "strange little town story" theme. The main character finds himself strangely drawn to the town, a woman who lives there, and the possibility that his true destiny lies in some past life he has experienced. Oh, and something weird about cats! An odd story that never really goes anywhere.

Genre: Supernatural
Rating: So-so

[hamlet2003]

October 14, 1977 The People of Sissora
Starring Ralph Bell, Evie Juster, William Griffis

A man comes to believe that the earth is under the threat of an alien invasion, and somehow he is part of this threat. A chance encounter with a man in a restaurant unleashes "racial memories" in which he begins to recall how a race of aliens seeded themselves on the Earth of the past in order to one day spring forth and destroy all human life on the planet. But will anyone believe his amazing story?

Genre: Science-fiction
Rating: Good

[hamlet2003]

July 8, 1975 The Triangle
Starring Mercedes McCambridge, Paul Hecht, Bryna Raeburn, Robert Dryden

The lone survivor of a commerical airliner crash in the Bermuda Triangle at first claims she remembers nothing of what happened or how she managed to stay alive while all others disapeared and seemingly perished. Over time, however, she begins to reveal a story of being rescued by a strange city of people who offer her and the other passengers a whole new life, away from the cares and troubles of the world in which we live. This is an odd episode, but well-crafted and well-acted.

Genre: Drama/Fantasy
Rating: Good

[hamlet2003]

May 9, 1975 Voices of Death
Starring Norman Rose, Mary Jane Higby, Earl Hammond, Ian Martin

A corporate executive's colleagues think he is losing his mind when he begins to claim to hear strange voices coming from an old crystal radio -- both voices from the past and voices that seem to spell doom for the world. The man decides he must try to save the world from destruction. The problem: only he seems to be able to hear the mysterious voices. I found this story intriguing but the ending was definitely confusing.

Genre - Drama/Fantasy
Rating - So-So

[hamlet2003]

May 2, 1978 The Figure in the Moonlight
Starring Patricia Elliot, Paul Hecht

A college professor comes into possession of a strange piece of art with an image that keeps changing, as if it is playing out scenes from an evolving story. He comes to realize that the engraving is trying to send a message of a crime from the past-- a crime which has implications for someone he knows in the present day. This story reminded me of the Roddy McDowell episode in the original "Night Gallery" tv movie. In the story, a murderer is terrorized by a painting with a shifting image that shows the murder victim coming to get his revenge. This CBSRMT episode is effectively creepy and present a good mystery.

Genre - Supernatural
Rating- Good

[hamlet2003]

June 17, 1971 The Final Step
Starring Marian Seldes, Norman Rose, Earl Hammond, Roberta Maxwell

This is a tale of revenge involving a holocaust survivor who is certain she has tracked down the doctor who killed her family in a prison camp. But does she have the right person and is he really guilty? This episode was fairly interesting but could have used a stronger ending.

Genre: Drama
Rating: So-so

[hamlet2003]

August 14, 1981 The Lovely People

A therapist likes to mix in her supposed talent for fortune-telling in order to boost the confidence of her clients. When a young man comes to her desparate for some good news, she fortells that he will wed a wealthy woman. All seems well until his new bride mysteriously dies. An interesting story with a nice performance by Kim Hunter.

Genre: Drama
Rating: Good

[hamlet2003]

July 17, 1975 Nightmare's Nest
Starring Gordon Gould, Rosemary Rice, Mary Jane Higby, Maryanne Rice

A reclusive, emotionless scientist seeks solace at a mysterious country estate where he hopes to finish some important work in peace and quiet. At first the house seems the perfect setting, with its sprawling grounds, huge rooms, and garden maze. But soon the scientist comes to discover that the manor is haunted by a mysterious spirit who is seeking him out for a special purpose. This episode sets the mood of the story excellently and carries the characters and plot through to an interesting finish.

Genre: Supernatural
Rating: Excellent

[hamlet2003]

July 11, 1975 The Widow's Auxiliary
Starring Lincoln Peterson, Karl Titel, Gordon Gould, Cort Benson, Arnold Moss

On the surface, it is apparently an honor to join the "executives' auxiliary" -- a prestigious and secretive cabal of up-and-coming and highly successful corporate executives. One young engineer is thrilled when he is asked to join, but his wife becomes frightened by the prospect when she discovers that the auxiliary is not what it seems. She learns that once her husband is "initiated," he will never be the same again. This tale mixes a little bit of "The Stepford Wives" in with a story of world domination, robots, and extraterrestial life.

Genre: Science-fiction
Rating: Good