The Ray Bradbury Theater

The Ray Bradbury Theater

1985
The Ray Bradbury Theater
The Ray Bradbury Theater

The Ray Bradbury Theater

7.3 | TV-14 | en | Drama

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.

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Seasons & Episodes

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EP23  The Tombstone
Oct. 30,1992
The Tombstone

A bickering couple checks into the last available room in a small hotel only to discover that the previous occupant left a tombstone in the room. No one gets any sleep as the wife is now convinced the room is haunted.

EP22  Great Wide World Over There
Oct. 29,1992
Great Wide World Over There

Cora Gibbs is an illiterate woman living on an isolated farm with her much older husband. When her educated nephew Benjy visits for the summer, she sees her opportunity to connect with the "great wide world over there" by sending and receiving mail.

EP21  Fee Fie Foe Fum
Oct. 28,1992
Fee Fie Foe Fum

A vicious prankster convinces his wife's mean old grandmother that he is planning to kill her and her pets and grind them up in the new garbage disposal that he bought for her.

EP20  The Handler
Oct. 27,1992
The Handler

A small town mortician takes a perverse delight in exacting postmortem revenge against his enemies, until his day of reckoning arrives.

EP19  Some Live Like Lazarus
Oct. 24,1992
Some Live Like Lazarus

A young couple falls in love but his domineering mother comes between them; when the old woman finally dies--forty years later--the next step is not very clear.

EP18  Downwind from Gettysburg
Oct. 17,1992
Downwind from Gettysburg

Walter Bayes has devoted his life to creating a robot duplicate of Abraham Lincoln to inspire the American people to recommit themselves to the nation's ideals. On the night of its unveiling, however, a maniac named Booth plots to assassinate the Presidential automaton.

EP17  Silent Towns
Oct. 10,1992
Silent Towns

A technician accidentally stranded on Mars by a sudden evacuation searches desperately for another human being on the desolate world. When he finds an equally lonely woman, she is not what he was expecting.

EP16  Sun and Shadow
Oct. 03,1992
Sun and Shadow

An American film crew arrives in a Mexican village to shoot a TV commercial; Ricardo, a townsman, interferes with the filming because he resents his life being treated as a colorful prop by these arrogant interlopers.

EP15  The Dead Man
Sep. 26,1992
The Dead Man

A lonely middle-aged woman moves to a small town to take a job as a manicurist and finds she is strangely drawn to local eccentric Odd Martin--who claims to be dead.

EP14  The Long Rain
Sep. 19,1992
The Long Rain

When an army spaceship crash lands on a world where it never stops raining, the four survivors try to reach the Sundome that has been erected on the planet and provides the only shelter. But exhaustion hits and predatory plants await.

EP13  By the Numbers
Sep. 11,1992
By the Numbers

The manager of a hotel pool drills his young son with military precision, leading to tragedy.

EP12  The Anthem Sprinters
Aug. 21,1992
The Anthem Sprinters

An American author on a visit to Dublin stops by a pub where he is caught up in the excitement over a local sporting event known as "anthem sprinting." In this challenge runners compete to see who can get out of the theater fastest during the pause between the end of the film and the start of the Irish national anthem and this time the stakes are the American's first edition of Joyce versus the pub's Sean O'Casey autographed playbill.

EP11  Tomorrow's Child
Aug. 14,1992
Tomorrow's Child

An experimental childbirth procedure results in a couple's baby being born into another dimension. The child's non-human appearance puts a lot of strain on the new parents and threatens to send the wife into madness.

EP10  The Happiness Machine
Jul. 17,1992
The Happiness Machine

A family man, incorrigible dreamer and small-town inventor is inspired to build a machine that can create happiness. However, his wife makes him realize the irony of such concept.

EP9  The Lonely One
Jul. 10,1992
The Lonely One

After discovering the body of the latest victim of the serial killer known as The Lonely One, Lavinia persuades her friends to go to the movies to take their minds off the tragedy. The result is a long, scary midnight walk home for the increasingly terrified Lavinia.

EP8  The Martian
Feb. 21,1992
The Martian

A Martian welcomes grieving parents who move to Mars.

EP7  Let's Play Poison
Feb. 14,1992
Let's Play Poison

After witnessing a student's accidental death because of bullying, a teacher vows to put children in their place but they plan to do the same to him.

EP6  The Utterly Perfect Murder
Feb. 07,1992
The Utterly Perfect Murder

As a boy, piano prodigy, Douglas, was tormented by a gang of bullies, led by Ralph. Now, fifty years later, Doug looks for closure in his life, by traveling back to his hometown and getting his revenge.

EP5  The Concrete Mixer
Jan. 31,1992
The Concrete Mixer

A Martian's reluctance to attack Earth stems from what he read in his alien comic books.

EP4  Colonel Stonesteel and the Desperate Empties
Jan. 24,1992
Colonel Stonesteel and the Desperate Empties

A boy and a neighbor invent a fake mummy to stir up the townspeople and relieve the boredom of the last days of summer.

EP3  The Jar
Jan. 17,1992
The Jar

A farmer impresses the townsfolk with a mysterious jar bought from a traveling carnival sideshow.

EP2  Zero Hour
Jan. 10,1992
Zero Hour

In the near future, young children are persuaded to help an imaginary friend named "Drill" to play a game called "Invasion".

EP1  The Earthmen
Jan. 03,1992
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.

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7.3 | TV-14 | en | Drama , Sci-Fi | More Info
Released: 1985-05-21 | Released Producted By: Atlantis Films , Alberta Filmworks Country: United States of America Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:
Synopsis

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.

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The tv show is currently not available onine

Cast

Ray Bradbury

Director

Producted By

Atlantis Films , Alberta Filmworks

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Reviews

gridoon2018 The best thing about "The Ray Bradbury Theater" is its diversity: you never know what the next episode will bring you. There is sci-fi (both on Earth and on Mars), tales of the supernatural, mystery, horror, black comedy, just plain comedy, heartwarming stories, etc. The most disappointing thing is how many of the episodes don't have a memorable punchline or payoff, something that is required in this type of anthology show. Sometimes Bradbury's stories get lost in translation due to the generally dismal production values, or the usually unimaginative directors. But other times the stories themselves begin with a great idea that is never developed; too many endings make little sense or leave you wondering "Huh? Is that it?". There are episodes that make 22 minutes feel like an eternity; there are also episodes that achieve a kind of poetry. I won't go extensively into specific titles, because everyone has their individual tastes; I will just mention three episodes that I think are painfully unwatchable ("Colonel Stonesteel and the Desperate Empties" "There Was An Old Woman", "Exorcism"), and three that are clever and successful ("Touch of Petulance", "By The Numbers", "The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl"). Most of the others are somewhere in between. The DVD of this show is extremely cheap (under 10 US dollars), but you'll find out why: they have stuffed all 65 episodes in 5 discs (13 in each), resulting in frequent, and distracting, pixelization. Still, you can't beat that number of episodes for that price.
AMar_rom Every episode (totally 65) in this TV series is based on a short story written by Ray Bradbury. I have seen most of them and I am more than happy on the way Bradbury's stories are presented on screen. The lack of budget for some episodes at least does not get in the way and the presentation exposes sufficiently well Bradbury's imaginative power.Bradbury is one of my favorite novelists. He is (perhaps) mostly known for his science-fiction novel 'Fahrenheit 451' and the compound stories of 'The Martian Chronicles'. Nonetheless, his strength I think lies to his short stories that contain a rich blend of many themes ranging from lighthearted comedies to horror stories of the macabre. These episodes (for the most part produced for cable TV) do a more-than-decent job of introducing us to Bradbury's universe and can be an ideal starting point for many viewers to discover Bradbury. 'The Ray Bradbury Theater' is a must for fans and highly recommended for everybody.
etpowell Ray Bradbury will doubtless be remembered as one of the 20th century's most brilliant writers. This series captures some of his best short stories, including some fairly obscure ones, quite well. In many episodes, Bradbury does a special introduction, giving the viewer a tidbit of background about the story, which is a nice touch. If there is one major flaw in this show, it is the production values. The show was an independent production, shot on a modest budget for cable TV. The first few episodes were done for HBO and the remainder for USA Network. The visual effects are lackluster, even for the time in which it was produced, and many of the episodes seem a bit dated--not exactly modern but not quite vintage either. Still, Bradbury's amazing ability to spin a yarn comes through to save things. Had the show been based on material from a lesser writer, it would have been unwatchable.
Cristi_Ciopron It was a discrete, wise, quite, charming and weird TV show.Pére Bradbury's filmed sketches were on TV during my adolescence, and they shaped my idea of a Sci—Fi show and of how it should look (and taste, as well…). That's why a later exposure to TV space operas was practically useless—I was lost for the space—opera ,and educated, as it were, by Pére Bradbury's quiet marvels and paradoxes—nice, wise ,gentle things, often with a humorous or a paradoxical side …;and by the '80s TWILIGHT ZONE (whose score still thrills me …).These humble things looked to a 13—14 yrs. old quite exquisite and stylish and even maybe somewhat sophisticated; never dull or disappointing. This was my idea of a Sci—Fi show, of vintage Sci—Fi TV. The intro was unforgettable—Pére Bradbury in the elevator, than entering his small office—the toys, the objects around his office ….We were told he never took the plane; we felt that his mind was imposing, and the oldster looked friendly and peaceful.At the same age, I had the pleasure of reading a weekly magazine that sometimes offered a Bradbury short story (it offered a short story—sometimes two, if even shorter …--each time …), and then the treat was manifold. I think that there, in that magazine, I first encountered Bradbury's literature in its printed form.I remember your TV show,Pére Bradbury,with fondness and gratitude;it was first—hand Sci—Fi.It cultivated the taste for the concise TV sketch.