Series synopsis
The Ray Bradbury Theater is an American sci-fi & fantasy drama television series that premiered on USA Network on May 21, 1985. It ended on October 30, 1992. It was created by Ray Bradbury. It stars Ray Bradbury.
A Canadian-produced fantastic anthology series scripted by famed science-fiction author Ray Bradbury. Many of the teleplays were based upon Bradbury's novels and short stories.
Premise
A Canadian-produced fantastic anthology series scripted by famed science-fiction author Ray Bradbury. Many of the teleplays were based upon Bradbury's novels and short stories.
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Ray Bradbury as Self - Introduction
Guest cast
- Jean Stapleton
- Micheline Presle as Grandma
- David Carradine as Spender
- Janet-Laine Green as Mrs. Leary
- Jennifer Dale as Banshee
- Claire Chitham as Rosalyn Auffmann
- David Taylor
- John Glover
- David Ogden Stiers as Leonard Mead
- Josh Saviano as Willie
- Patrick Macnee as Stendahl
- Sheila McCarthy as Francine
Episodes
This series spans 6 seasons with 65 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 3 | May 21, 1985 | February 22, 1986 |
| Season 2 | 3 | February 22, 1986 | May 28, 1988 |
| Season 3 | 12 | January 23, 1988 | May 28, 1988 |
| Season 4 | 12 | July 7, 1989 | November 17, 1989 |
| Season 5 | 12 | July 20, 1990 | November 30, 1990 |
| Season 6 | 23 | January 3, 1992 | October 30, 1992 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Marionettes, Inc. John Raleigh Braling is a computer salesman who receives a cryptic message on his computer screen. Later he receives the same message in a newspaper and on a lunch bill. He tracks down source of the messages and meets a man who offers to sell him a robot replica of himself. |
May 21, 1985 |
| 2 |
The Playground When Charles Underhill was a boy, he was tormented by neighborhood bullies. When his son begins playing in a local playground, he becomes deeply disturbed when he sees a bully from his youth. |
June 4, 1985 |
| 3 |
The Crowd A neon sign artist named Joe Spelliner is injured in a car crash and sees a crowd of onlookers quickly gather. Days later he sees another car crash and notices that again the same crowd quickly gathers. He begins to investigate a series of accidents and news footage reveals that the same crowd arrives at every scene. What's more, Joe notices that the faces in the crowd match photographs of people at the city morgue. |
July 2, 1985 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Town Where No One Got Off A city writer learns a lesson when he takes an idealistic view of rural life, but discovers the truth is far different when he impulsively leaves a train to explore a small town. |
February 22, 1986 |
| 2 |
The Screaming Woman A girl can't convince anyone that she hears a screaming woman buried in the forest near her house. |
February 22, 1986 |
| 3 |
Banshee An eccentric film director plays pranks on his screenwriter, only to discover the story of a local Banshee is terrifyingly true. |
February 22, 1986 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl A hasty murderer tries to wipe off the fingerprints that he left at the crime scene... and realizes the overwhelming nature of his task. |
January 23, 1988 |
| 2 |
Skeleton A hypochondriac goes to a bone specialist for a cure to his latest ailment. |
February 6, 1988 |
| 3 |
The Emissary A lonely, bedridden boy sends his dog on a quest to locate a companion for him. |
February 13, 1988 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Dwarf A dwarf uses his writing and the distorted image of a funhouse mirror to escape the prison of his own body, but an evil showman decides to have some fun at the man's expense. |
July 7, 1989 |
| 2 |
A Miracle of Rare Device Two drifters sell views to a desert mirage, a mirage that provides miraculous views, but a rival tries to buy the land and shut them down. |
July 14, 1989 |
| 3 |
The Lake An artist returns to the lake where years before he had a childhood sweetheart who drowned. Now he must try and bring her back. |
July 21, 1989 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Mars Is Heaven As the first successful mission to Mars touches down, the men stare through the mists of the Martian dawn and finds something strange: a small town straight out of the American Midwest, filled with their long-lost loved ones. |
July 20, 1990 |
| 2 |
The Murderer Albert Brock loathes noise and prefers perfect silence. He goes around destroying the instruments of sound: radios, wrist watches, faxes, etc. His destruction of sound-infected environments at work and home lands him in a psychiatric institution. |
July 27, 1990 |
| 3 |
Touched with Fire Two men who theorize that murder only happen in hot weather, try to stop one. |
August 3, 1990 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Earthmen A crew of a spaceship return to Mars after a 20-year absence to discover a scientist and his family unaffected by their stay. |
January 3, 1992 |
| 2 |
Zero Hour In the near future, young children are persuaded to help an imaginary friend named "Drill" to play a game called "Invasion". |
January 10, 1992 |
| 3 |
The Jar A farmer impresses the townsfolk with a mysterious jar bought from a traveling carnival sideshow. |
January 17, 1992 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | USA Network |
|---|---|
| First aired | May 21, 1985 |
| Last aired | October 30, 1992 |
| Status | ended |