Line #51 Radio/DimensionX


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dimensionx.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Art created by [[https://www.otrcat.com/p/dimension-x Old Time Radio]].]]
3
4	->''"Adventures in time and space, told in future tense! Dimension X!"''
5	-->--'''Original TitleSequence'''
6
7	Broadcast on the {{Creator/NBC}} radio channel from 1950–1951 in a DramaticHalfHour format, ''Dimension X'' was a ScienceFiction RadioDrama aimed at adults. This GenreAnthology would air new half-hour episodes weekly. Stories would often be adapted from the top science fiction writers of the day, and many of its episodes were later [[RecycledScript recycled]] by its successor, ''Radio/XMinusOne''. NBC would later partner with Creator/StreetAndSmith, gaining the license to [[AudioAdaptation adapt stories]] from ''Magazine/AstoundingScienceFiction'', giving it an edge in popularity on competing radio shows.
8
9	The series was directed by Creator/FredWiehe and Creator/EdwardKing, and spanned a total of fifty episodes (four of which were repeats). Most of the scriptwriting was by Creator/ErnestKinoy or Creator/GeorgeLefferts, either by adapting or creating new stories specific for ''Dimension X''.
10
11	The entire series survives today in digital form because of the [[http://otrr.org/ Old Time Radio Researchers]], who have uploaded it to [[http://archive.org/details/OTRR_Dimension_X_Singles The Internet Archive]], as well as having it available for sale in their "catalog".
12	----
13	!!''Dimension X'' provides examples of:
14
15	* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: In [[Recap/DimensionX41Courtesy episode forty-one]], an [[AudioAdaptation adaptation]] of Creator/CliffordSimak's "{{Literature/Courtesy}}" aired in 1951, humanity has colonized numerous planets, including Landro, by 1997.
16	* ActBreak: The earliest episodes don't have any breaks for commercials, but some stop midway to advertise for Wheaties, especially during the [[AdvertisingCampaigns National Wheaties Week campaign]].
17	* AdamAndOrEve: In "[[Recap/DimensionX16BeyondInfinity Beyond Infinity]]", a couple named Eva and Allen are [[IncredibleShrinkingMan shrunk down to atomic size]] in order to escape some fascist thugs. They wind up colonizing an election "planet", and their descendants live for billions of years before dying off.
18	* AdaptationalAlternateEnding: In the original "Literature/TimeAndTimeAgain" by Creator/HBeamPiper, the [[PeggySue transfer of the 43-year-old Allan Hartley's mind into his 13-year-old self's body in 1945]] is seemingly permanent. However, when it was adapted into [[Recap/DimensionX39TimeAndTimeAgain episode thirty-nine]], the process reverses after only a few hours and the older Allan dies in both body and mind in 1975. As such, the radio version leaves it ambiguous as to whether his father Blake will succeed in being elected President in 1960 and preventing the outbreak of WorldWarIII. While he only has a vague impression of the events that the next thirty years will bring, he is determined to save his son's life. Blake also has the list of the race winners up to 1970 that Allan gave him before his mind returned to the future so that he can still raise the necessary capital.
19	* AdaptedOut: In Creator/HBeamPiper's "Literature/TimeAndTimeAgain", the Hartleys have a German housekeeper named Mrs Stauber, who doesn't appear at all in the adaptation, [[Recap/DimensionX39TimeAndTimeAgain episode thirty-nine]] of ''Dimension X''.
20	* AdvertisingCampaigns: ''Dimension X'' was caught up in the "National Wheaties Week" advertising campaign during the month of August 1950. {{Act Break}}s were inserted as well as TheStinger to advertise for Americans to go buy cereal.
21	* AnotherDimension: The TitleSequence and SigningOffCatchPhrase both claim that the stories you are listening to take place in the "world" of ''Dimension X'', clarified in the [[DimensionX01TheOuterLimit first episode]] to be seeing beyond the present and [[LetXBeTheUnknown into the unknown]]. These tales come from visions of the future instead of alternate presents.
22	* AsYouKnow: In [[DimensionX01TheOuterLimit the first episode]], an [[AudioAdaptation adaptation]] of Creator/GrahamDoar's "Literature/TheOuterLimit", before the pilot leaves, Hank Hansen wants to go over procedure one last time, to make sure everything goes right (things are ''very'' likely to go wrong, and do!), which gives the audience a chance to know what should be happening and why Steve is going to be NarratingTheObvious.
23	* AudienceMurmurs: In [[Recap/DimensionX22TheRoadsMustRoll episode twenty-two]], based on Creator/RobertAHeinlein's "Literature/TheRoadsMustRoll", there's a commotion during the emergency stop as the "roads" halt because of the strike, with indistinct shouting/screaming and sirens in the background.
24	* AudioAdaptation:
25	** [[Recap/DimensionX01TheOuterLimit Episode one]] is an adaptation of Creator/GrahamDoar's "Literature/TheOuterLimit".
26	** "[[Recap/DimensionX02WithFoldedHands Episode two]] is an adaptation of Creator/JackWilliamson's "Literature/WithFoldedHands".
27	** [[Recap/DimensionX03TheReportOnTheBarnhouseEffect Episode three]] is an adaptation of Creator/KurtVonnegut's "Literature/TheReportOnTheBarnhouseEffect".
28	** [[Recap/DimensionX05Knock Episode five]] is an adaptation of Creator/FredricBrown's "{{Literature/Knock}}".
29	** [[Recap/DimensionX06AlmostHuman Episode six]] is an adaptation of Creator/RobertBloch's "Literature/AlmostHuman".
30	** [[Recap/DimensionX07TheLostRace Episode seven]] is an adaptation of Creator/MurrayLeinster's "Literature/TheLost".
31	** [[Recap/DimensionX08ToTheFuture Episode eight]] is an adaptation of Creator/RayBradbury's "Literature/TheFoxAndTheForest".
32	** [[Recap/DimensionX09TheEmbassy Episode nine]] is an adaptation of Creator/DonaldAWollheim's "Literature/TheEmbassy".
33	** [[Recap/DimensionX10TheGreenHillsOfEarth Episode ten]] is an adaptation of Creator/RobertAHeinlein's "Literature/TheGreenHillsOfEarth".
34	** [[Recap/DimensionX11 Episode eleven]] is an adaptation of Creator/RayBradbury's "Literature/ThereWillComeSoftRains" and "Literature/ZeroHour"
35	** [[Recap/DimensionX12DestinationMoon Episode twelve]] is an adaptation of Creator/GeorgePal's "Film/DestinationMoon".
36	** [[Recap/DimensionX13ALogicNamedJoe Episode thirteen]] is an adaptation of Creator/MurrayLeinster's "Literature/ALogicNamedJoe".
37	** [[Recap/DimensionX14MarsIsHeaven Episode fourteen]] is an adaptation of Creator/RayBradbury's "Literature/MarsIsHeaven!".
38	** [[Recap/DimensionX17ThePottersOfFirsk Episode seventeen]] is an adaptation of Creator/JackVance's "Literature/ThePottersOfFirsk".
39	** [[Recap/DimensionX20TheMartianChronicles Episode twenty]] is an adaptation of Creator/RayBradbury's "Literature/TheMartianChronicles".
40	** [[Recap/DimensionX22TheRoadsMustRoll Episode twenty-two]] is an adaptation of Creator/RobertAHeinlein's "Literature/TheRoadsMustRoll".
41	** [[Recap/DimensionX23TheOuterLimit Episode Twenty-three]] is an adaptation of Creator/GrahamDoar's "Literature/TheOuterLimit".
42	** [[Recap/DimensionX25DrGrimshawsSanitorium Episode twenty-five]] is an adaptation of Creator/FletcherPratt's "[[Literature/DrGrimshawsSanitorium Dr. Grimshaw's Sanitorium]]"
43	** [[Recap/DimensionX26AndTheMoonBeStillAsBright Episode Twenty-six]] is an adaptation of Creator/RayBradbury's "Literature/AndTheMoonBeStillAsBright".
44	** [[Recap/DimensionX28TheProfessorWasAThief Episode Twenty-eight]] is an adaptation of Creator/LRonHubbard's "Literature/TheProfessorWasAThief".
45	** [[Recap/DimensionX30Competition Episode thirty]] is an adaptation of Creator/EMayneHull's "{{Literature/Competition}}".
46	** [[Recap/DimensionX31Universe Episode thirty-one]] is an adaptation of Creator/RobertAHeinlein's "{{Literature/Universe}}".
47	** [[Recap/DimensionX35TheLastObjective Episode thirty-five]] is an adaptation of Creator/PaulCarter's "Literature/TheLastObjective".
48	** [[Recap/DimensionX36Nightmare Episode thirty-six]] is an adaptation of Creator/StephenVincentBenet's "Literature/TheRevoltOfTheMachines".
49	** [[Recap/DimensionX38ChildsPlay Episode Thirty-eight]] is an adaptation of Creator/WilliamTenn's "Literature/ChildsPlay".
50	** [[Recap/DimensionX39TimeAndTimeAgain Episode Thirty-nine]] is an adaptation of Creator/HBeamPiper's "Literature/TimeAndTimeAgain".
51	** [[Recap/DimensionX41Courtesy Episode forty-one]] is an adaptation of Creator/CliffordSimak's "{{Literature/Courtesy}}".
52	** [[Recap/DimensionX43TheVeldt Episode forty-three]] is an adaptation of Creator/RayBradbury's "Literature/TheVeldt".
53	** [[Recap/DimensionX44TheVitalFactor Episode Forty-four]] is an adaptation of Creator/NelsonBond's "Literature/TheVitalFactor".
54	** [[Recap/DimensionX45UntitledStory Episode forty-five]] is an adaptation of Creator/FrankMRobinson's "Literature/UntitledStory".
55	** [[Recap/DimensionX46MarionettesInc Episode forty-six]] is an adaptation of Creator/RayBradbury's "Literature/MarionettesInc".
56	** [[Recap/DimensionX47FirstContact Episode forty-seven]] is an adaptation of Creator/MurrayLeinster's "Literature/FirstContact".
57	** [[Recap/DimensionX48Kaleidoscope Episode forty-eight]] is an adaptation of Creator/RayBradbury's "{{Literature/Kaleidoscope}}".
58	** [[Recap/DimensionX49Requiem Episode forty-nine]] is an adaptation of Creator/RobertAHeinlein's "{{Literature/Requiem}}".
59	* BlatantLies: In "[[Recap/DimensionX24HelloTomorrow Hello Tomorrow]]", the Director of Emotional Stability tells Lois, his fiance, that he will prevent [[YouAreNumberSix XJ12]]'s execution. As soon as his fiance leaves, he calls the genetic cages back and orders them to continue with the execution.
60	* BookEnds: In "[[Recap/DimensionX15TheManInTheMoon The Man in the Moon]]", the episode begins with a character reciting the names and descriptions of people who had recently gone missing. The episode also ends with that character reciting the names and descriptions of people who had recently gone missing, which now includes the protagonist.
61	* CharacterNarrator: In "[[Recap/DimensionX36Nightmare Nightmare]]", adapted from Creator/StephenVincentBenet's poem "The Revolt of the Machines", the main character, Samson Gurney, narrates the events of the episode and [[InnerMonologue his internal thoughts]].
62	* ChromosomeCasting: In [[Recap/DimensionX41Courtesy episode forty-one]], an [[AudioAdaptation adaptation]] of Creator/CliffordSimak's "{{Literature/Courtesy}}", despite having more than five characters, none of them are female.
63	* ColonizedSolarSystem: In [[Recap/DimensionX48Kaleidoscope the forty-eighth episode]], adapted from Creator/RayBradbury's "{{Literature/Kaleidoscope}}", there are colonies on UsefulNotes/TheMoon, {{UsefulNotes/Venus}}, and {{UsefulNotes/Jupiter}}.
64	* CreepyDoll: In "[[Recap/DimensionX18PerigisWonderfulDolls Perigi's Wonderful Dolls]]", the dolls made by Perigi are capable of independent movement and speech. They're also running a {{blackmail}} scheme by getting the dolls into homes with classified information.
65	* EthnicMagician: In "[[Recap/DimensionX19TheCastaways The Castaways]]", the island natives cast a curse before killing themselves by intentionally drowning in the lagoon where the bomb is being tested. [[spoiler:{{Subverted\|Trope}}, the Polynesian "natives" are actually aliens from another planet; the lagoon is holding their spaceship and they needed nuclear power because they had run out of fuel.]]
66	* EvilDetectingDog: In "[[Recap/DimensionX18PerigisWonderfulDolls Perigi's Wonderful Dolls]]", the dog, Mr Blister, is the first one to be upset by Toto, one of the eponymous dolls.
67	* FakeLoud: Whenever the [[TitleDrop title is said]], like in the TitleSequence, it has a [[PowerEchoes reverb and echo]], despite not actually being any louder than the rest of the sequence. "Dimension X!... X!... X!..."
68	* FantasticNuke: In "[[Recap/DimensionX08ToTheFuture episode eight]]", an adaptation of Creator/RayBradbury's "Literature/TheFoxAndTheForest", William Travis was working on a new and highly advanced atomic / bacteria bomb in 2155 before he and his wife Susan traveled back in time to 1950.
69	* FantasticSlurs: In [[Recap/DimensionX41Courtesy episode forty-one]], an [[AudioAdaptation adaptation]] of Creator/CliffordSimak's "{{Literature/Courtesy}}", Bat Ears Brady continually refers to the Landro natives as "Gimpoes".
70	* FillingTheSilence: In "[[Recap/DimensionX21TheParade The Parade]]", the Martians are supposedly marching in silence, but the audience can hear drums and cymbals.
71	* FindOutNextTime: After the SigningOffCatchPhrase, the narrator would summarize next week's episode, usually written with a TitleDrop involved to hint at what could happen. As this series is a GenreAnthology, such episodes were only connected by this forewarning of what was scheduled. When the episode was a rebroadcast of a previous episode, this ending was changed to reflect what the actual next episode would be. The exception is for [[Recap/DimensionX50Nightfall the last episode]], which announces that [[TheEnd the series is over]], but to [[ToBeContinued check newspapers and radios for when new episodes would begin]].
72	* FlyingCar: In "[[Recap/DimensionX29Shanghaied Shanghaied]]" mentions "taxi-copters", implying that sometime in the future [[TheTaxi taxicabs]] will be replaced by flying taxis.
73	* GenreAnthology: Each episode is a stand-alone ScienceFiction story, usually adapting from popular stories in ''Astounding'', but stories from other publishers were also solicited.
74	* IncredibleShrinkingMan: In "[[Recap/DimensionX16BeyondInfinity Beyond Infinity]]", Eva and Allen enter his father's experimental ShrinkRay to hide from the [[SecretPolice totalitarian police agency]]. However, [[YearInsideHourOutside time passes more quickly when you're small]], so their descendants are long dead within only ten seconds.
75	* LetXBeTheUnknown: The title piggy-backs on the imagination of [[AnotherDimension alternate dimensions]], these stories were all about what unknowns are in the future.
76	* NarratingTheObvious: In "[[Recap/DimensionX21TheParade The Parade]]", an announcer is describing the scene of the eponymous parade. This is normal for parades over radio, and was intended to resemble the UsefulNotes/MacysThanksgivingDayParade.
77	* NotUsingTheZWord: In [[Recap/DimensionX02WithFoldedHands episode two]], adapted from Creator/JackWilliamson's "Literature/WithFoldedHands", Mr Underhill is very insistent that his wife call the machines "mechanicals", not "robots". She points out that there isn't any difference and he counters that it makes a lot of difference in advertising.
78	* OneWordTitle: Episode 29, "[[Recap/DimensionX29Shanghaied Shanghaied]]".
79	* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: In [[Recap/DimensionX41Courtesy episode forty-one]], an [[AudioAdaptation adaptation]] of Creator/CliffordSimak's "{{Literature/Courtesy}}", Bat Ears Brady's first name is never revealed.
80	* PeopleZoo: In [[Recap/DimensionX05Knock the fifth episode]], adapted from Creator/FredricBrown's "{{Literature/Knock}}", the alien Zan conquer Earth and all the animals of the planet, including the last man and woman, are exhibited as specimens in their zoo.
81	* PowerEchoes: During the TitleSequence, the title is given a [[FakeLoud reverb and echo]]. "Dimension X!... X!... X!..."
82	* {{Precap}}: Most episodes begin with a summary of the premise, indicating who the story is about and what the central conflict will be. Some of the time, this description includes the episode name as a TitleDrop. The [[DimensionX01TheOuterLimit first episode]] instead describes the series as a whole, explaining the [[LetXBeTheUnknown unknown future]] getting [[ScienceFiction predicted]], going directly into the story from there. This same opening is [[RecycledScript reused]] for "[[Recap/DimensionX04NoContact No Contact]]".
83	* {{Precursors}}: In "[[Recap/DimensionX07TheLostRace The Lost Race]]", an adaptation of Creator/MurrayLeinster's "Literature/TheLost", the titular species are an ancient race who constructed the canals on Mars and the ruined cities on Titan, Centaurus II, and Centaurus III, around one hundred thousand years ago. Their influence extended to more than a thousand planets before they mysteriously destroyed themselves. The archaeologist Mr Howell determines that the Lost Race were a race of highly evolved monkeys who were being slowly mutated by atomic energy. He concludes that they committed mass suicide as they could not stand the idea of turning into human-like creatures.
84	* RadioVoice:
85	** In [[Recap/DimensionX03TheReportOnTheBarnhouseEffect episode three]], adapted from Creator/KurtVonnegut Jr.'s "Literature/TheReportOnTheBarnhouseEffect", the observation control is being heard over the radio, so additional distortions are added in to indicate that they're not in the room.
86	** In "[[Recap/DimensionX04NoContact No Contact]]", whenever they hear back from Earth (in the form of Charlie), the voice is distorted and fainter to indicate that the signal is weak, despite using UHF radio.
87	** In "[[Recap/DimensionX19TheCastaways The Castaways]]", an echo is added to the characters attempting to disarm the bomb to represent their communication by radio.
88	** In "[[Recap/DimensionX21TheParade The Parade]]", voices over the phone lines have a lower volume and very mild distortion to represent that they're on the phone. The operators are slightly louder, with a Jersey accent.
89	** In "[[Recap/DimensionX22TheRoadsMustRoll The Roads Must Roll]]", voices over the phone are scratchy and gain a reverb to indicate that the person isn't present. They're usually preceded by varying types of buzzes to indicate a call, too.
90	* RecruitersAlwaysLie: "[[Recap/DimensionX29Shanghaied Shanghaied]]" opens by describing the recruiting posters for the Deep Space Star Runs. "Seek your future in the Stars" is the tagline quoted by the characters.
91	* ShrinkRay: In "[[Recap/DimensionX16BeyondInfinity Beyond Infinity]]", Dr Winsler has built a prototype shrinking/growing machine. Objects put into the cylinder can be shrunk down smaller than an atom. The maximum shrinkage is measured in angstroms.
92	* SigningOffCatchPhrase: "You have just heard another adventure into the unknown world of the future, the world of... ''[[PowerEchoes Dimension X!... X!... X!...]]''" After saying this catchphrase, the narrator would announce [[FindOutNextTime what the next episode would be]] and the ClosingCredits.
93	* {{Theremin}}: The theremin is one of a number of instruments that Creator/AlbertBuhrman tended to choose for the music. Its distinctive sound made radio listeners easily identify that they were listening to a futuristic ScienceFiction story. When the TitleSequence was revised to include references to ''{{Magazine/Astounding}} Science Fiction'', a piano and theremin play to indicate a transition to the episode's story.
94	* TwoFacedAside: In "[[Recap/DimensionX24HelloTomorrow Hello Tomorrow]]", the Director of Emotional Stability tells Lois, his fiance, that he will prevent [[YouAreNumberSix XJ12]]'s execution. As soon as his fiance leaves, he calls the genetic cages back and orders them to continue with the execution.
95	* WorldWarIII: In "[[Recap/DimensionX08ToTheFuture episode eight]]", an adaptation of Creator/RayBradbury's "Literature/TheFoxAndTheForest", a devastating atomic / bacteriological war is being waged in 2155. William Travis says that half the world is dead and the other half is dying.
96	* XMakesAnythingCool: The title relies on the imagination of [[AnotherDimension alternate dimensions]], these stories were all about the [[LetXBeTheUnknown unknown]]; what is to come and how exciting it would be.
97	* YearInsideHourOutside: In "[[Recap/DimensionX16BeyondInfinity Beyond Infinity]]", the subatomic world that Eva and Allen are hidden in has a different sense of time than we do in our macroscopic world. The ten seconds that pass in our world represent billions of years for the subatomic world.
98	* YouAreNumberSix: In "[[Recap/DimensionX24HelloTomorrow Hello Tomorrow]]", specimen [=XJ12=] is a {{Mutant\|s}} with a twisted leg. Because he is not "genetically perfect", he is given a label instead of a name. [[spoiler:His name is actually Orin.]]

Context Radio / DimensionX