Screening the Futurecamera, George Mélids produced Un Voyage dans ne (A Voyage to the Moon), a brie, delight fal sab bag of eisematic ticks, based loosely on > ence fiction progeniters Jules Varne Was tei’ ad «popular eco thus country. The U Fury lterery visions of tomor: ms, most of them nove vanished, Such as One Hundved Yoars Hence (1908), Ja 2 Year 2000 (1912), nd The Flying Torpedo, (16) In these pioneering years, several films were set Jn future suled by imperious women au Iaoque response to the drive for universal {dnd women’s sights: In the Year 2016: Locking Forward, (1940). {Low humat and sensational tricks were thus the mainstays of most of these eazy fut fms, reflcting the mediums strong fay ties to vaudeville, One film emerging from the intelec tual ferment of Weimar Germany signifcantiy broke this ole Pits ang BMetopote 120) be Inspited by Lang's iret tip to Mentatean in 1024, 2 coloseal city of the future a atunning landscape of pig towers and an wnderworld af oP workers enslaved to machines, It remains ' frightening and powerful experience, and th oy scionce fiwon film ofthe sien. era Burlesque veturned tothe futuristic im with the 1030 release of the giddy American soutieal comedy Just Imagine, ‘sim ‘he distant future, Just imagine te New York City of 1980. Though ‘meets-gi pot and silly songs Spectacular miniaturized 20% Gotham” sul astonishes sparkling towers of light, ary suspension bridges and swarms of strange vehicles on land and in th prossion era lena of Jus imagine, wae going to be ally, evotously fasfuture, Buck Rogers and ‘2 good time doing so. Futuristic pistols, and swift rocket ships no doubt aided the beroes in their sifloss conquests, but it was their mattered more. Science fiction even entered the popular Western serials of the 1990s. Gene Autry 5nd his roisteing cohorts on the "Radio Ranch lacovered « bizarre futuristic world-—the “Solem lle City of Murania”~far boneath a canyon is the {amar landscape of she American WestOne of the most eagerly anticipated movies of fo Come lant he ent, But Wells Cameron Menai ings Ih por mndentious script and William ‘clumsy diction doomed the fm to box of noth in Great Betain and flequent and popular. not only bacause of te bronthtaking sete for "Everytown, the fms shining technecratie Utopia, but also presciont vision ofa manifos ‘Two films that appeared toward the end the deegde— nether of heim exp farriti nay In Last Hongon (1937), memory of tha past ana dreams of the future sere telossoped knto-a place that becomes an idea—"Shangr la," uncosnupeed bby modem civilization yet miraculously, even int perislly, comfortable. Few were immune to the fantasy of escape and discovery in Last Horizon, land fewar stil have been able to roast the sim Appeal of The Wiard of Or (1990) Pie Land of OF ‘Bay have been at free site bewildering CT ‘think we're not m Kansas anymore"), but it femorged as a place of adventure and reward, the Stuff of dreams of the future Few futuristic flms, with the exception of some matinee serial, were made in the 194 ‘with Hollywood preoccupied with war fs, sus cals and, later, with the nasty resliem of fr) noir ‘shed, obiteratod by the horrors of global war and nuclear destruction. The prospect ofa future ito thing setting of Five (1 Ended (1998), and Pa The implied time for most of these fms was "the near futuro," a device which not only velleved the filmmakers of staging elaborate foruretc vans but also reinforced the message that apocaly The stark power of Stanley kramer's Oh the Beach (4956) in great part derives from its immediacy On he Been, 1959 land utter believabiity. Relatively few flmmaiters Shite hasowring faced the threat as directly as Kramer, preferring Bech vas an a to substitute various ouphemiems for the bomb na the caming confies, Awl beasts activated of rented by atomic radiation. ich asthe giant ante in Them! (1854), trampled cheovgh a gene of ‘ut of apanese fm inaustey Godaita ia 1984‘the movies, romet 51 ‘ime {ant planets pleasant visits to earth in the movies (if not in "real fo"), nterplanotary travel was a tworsided Siding Gor futhor Robe tell. The ap fought to fia visions of the future hat fsppeal, the apace apere disappeared as a cinema:"2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY"floodgates of the science fiction fm, ate wake canse two sequels, The Ei pire Strite Back (1980), and ecurn of the Jed {1989}; the expensive and tedious Star Trak (1978) nd its lively Soquel, Star Trek I: The Wrath of ‘aan (1982), snc Disney's technically aston Simul:aneously with Lucts" phenomenal sue cess, another Hollywood wundertind, Seven Spielberg, brougnt out his magical homage to UFO ovios of hl chldtood, Clone Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). Rowe yen later, Sp topped his own and everyone else's succeaso wth ET. The Rxeraterrertral (1981), ths most profitable lm in history. Despite a harrage of daz Bling science fiction eects, neither Close Encoun fers nor ET can be said to bo truly fot ‘me, lke the 1960s fms on which they dope {ain thet power by this very juxtaponition ‘undane lath the othor worldly, ofthe pes ‘th the fue, Most futuristic fms in recent years have clearly been targeted at juvenile mareet il txeeutives, chet eyes on the bottom line, seem to have decided thatthe future on fm wil now com bine muscleman epics, medieval "swerd-and Sorcerer" movies, and space opera, An exception {0 this odd gente ls Ridley Scots Blade Runner 862), babed on ¢ short novel, Do Androids Dream of Boceric Sheep? by respected selence-fcton Svctor Php X Dick Guided by the extraordinary vision of designer Sya Moad, Blade Runner wae 2 remarkable evocation of the world af the future, fn abysmally polluted and bleak Los Angelos ‘more forty yours hence. Tha haunting images of Blade Rungor~the constantly biackoned and rainy form a remarkable and depressing litany of pres lent anxieties about technology and the ature, In ‘ns such ae Biado Runner and Road Wartion here is no shred remaining of tha technactetc optimism and innocent thrils of eater fimed Finding the Future on the Airwaves no fature—flled with astonishing gadgets, ex ic environments, and vigorous, adventuros people—has served 25 a dramatic setting for radio find television programs vistually since the bogin hing of the brosdeast media, The entertainment mast appoal nad long been proven in popular it Sratare, Infact, radio got ie fret futuro ary ‘whan Buck Rogere made a leap from newspaper fanny pages tothe alrwavos in 1901, Fifteen min le episodes of "Buck Rogers in the 25h Contry” aurea three times a week in the 1030s, The vie wacity and frantic pace of the comic strip carried ‘vor into the radio show; t became virtual & spealing cartoon." Charactors like Buck and Wilma Deering, tha wisatd inventor Dr: Huss and their nemesie Klor Rane were simple, fat SSerishly colored and funny in the paere Bulpe ae weil as on radio. "The Buck Rogers scenario is pure space opere, ‘Buck Rogers, working for the American Radio active Gas Company, is overcome hy casbon gas in Sh abandoned coal tine, and enters «state Suspended animation. When he awales, nesely five nundred years later, he dacovers that Amer (araly was American wenophebia so thinly veed) "hough savally aided by sidekie or his beautiful land often curiously barefoot) giana, the crusade of Buck Rogere and ofl future heroes in poplar culture is essentially the ervsade of the otarmined and defined by malee snd the narBask Ropes tye ane games, 1890010806 ce ii 1 ee rT 10) aro Fogets than with ey ce media car (our win the except of Bus ara ‘Sommer icky Mouse Many of 8 tape were ado premiums cheap tye ot ‘Bounce ebered in ercnge ron ops Fram the product sat bythe ede show's “Back Rogers 2491 AD,” 1905 fot 380, chef the phanomensl aucoase of Buck agers was duo the bilan: gape i velous machines. Buck awoke in the twenty-fifth ‘eontury with his 19206 ascumptions intact "The radio program was wldly poplar. Mil lions of people, alts a6 well a culdran, tuned in ‘ovory week and wore keptin chit-hanging sus- ypenso. The Star Wars generation, sccustomed £0 ‘Seoing thei future in suporrealistic images, has @ herd time understanding the appeal of a radio drama lke Buck Rogers. It shouldbe remembered ‘that listeners to che vadlo program had access 0 ‘an incredible number of Buick Rogers visual aids. [Not the least of theae wae the comic strip tlt, ‘which, though not droety aligned with the peo (gram, sll depicted the seine, copyrighted charac: {ers in similar escapades. One could easily picture [Buck and Wilma behind the voloes coming out of the radio eet. In addition, Buck's image suddenly appeared ‘on countless products, mostly toys for ehldren, ‘The "Buck Rogers” radio program was sponsored bby makors of breakfast food products, such as Co ‘comalt. Numerous “box tap” premiums were of {otod. The fst Buck Rogers premium was e tinted photograph of slightly wibby "Suck" and "Wl. Ima"—the actors from the radio program in futur [Stic garb. Rings, medals, badges, books, card Board cutouts, tin igurines—uterally millions of "Buck Rogers items were churned out. Self projec tion into the future wae thus made easier by con Child's faneasy piowuo ofthe fate, was supposed {to become a complete part of one's life, not fast 8 radia program or imag to click on and off ‘Buck Rogers" alted forte fst time on ‘November 7, 1892; the next day, Americans, infu: Fated by the country’s quickening sido into oco nomic depression, turned Herbert Hoover out of ollice. Things had to get better in the New Deal future; thoy could seareely have gotten worae, ‘The next walve months, especially the winter ‘month of 1632-24, ooinided with the absolute ‘nat ofthe Great Depression. “Buck Rogers” pro- ‘ded one af the many getauray vehicles for Aner Jeans in those bleak, defeating years It provided smote than simple diversion: i afered convincing ‘mages of «future world. This altemate reality Tooked a litle dangerous and certainly adven: trous, but could also be wondrous and fn, One of the most notorious events in media histary af well ant the hiatry af fusuism came 1 1898. On Hallowoon night of that year. Orson Wells and John Houseman's “Mercury Theatre,” ‘radio dramna series with high clase and low rat ings, presented a dramatization of FG. Wells tor lying novel of 1888, War of the Words. Update to contemporary New Jereey, Welles’ adaptation ‘was a brillant amalgam of thester and pesto. Socumentary. The brodeart etnick an exposed (rash of the Hindonberg in Now Jessey andthe ggressive moves of iter, Musvoli ana the ‘lapanese. The numerous stories of mase panic land hysteria which it caused have passed into the tealm of public logend. “After the vitle seashbucklers of outer space teft radio for other folds, there was very lite f fre loft to find on the radio dal unt th 19500 During that docada, which we sazociate 99 closaly withthe fier successes of taleviion, several brandnew drama enthologies devoted to scence ‘ction ran on national network radio In fact untt ‘Dimension X" alr in 1950, radio hat had no ‘major science fiction series with broad appeal to Adults. "Dimension X"—adventure in time and ‘pace, told in future tange"—was 4 series of hall Inout dramatlations of short stories by Ray Brack Dury, Robert Heinlein, Ine Asimov, and Kure Voategut among othore, Like ite suecessor® ‘Exploring Tomotrow" (1957-58 ts theme music was "Aa Time Goes By") and the more highly ‘garded "Minus One” (1955-8), “Dimension X ‘Was closely allied with contomporary science fc ton magazines, Capitalizing on suck popular 2sn invasions and fying sa planetary rocket vel thove radio dramas, long forgotten in the Shadow ofthe fabulous science fcton movies and Campy television programs of she period, are an Sinportant line in th chain of nding the future. ‘omilions ofistoners, they wore, as the into: duction to “Minus Ono" nvoned, "stories of the future, adventores in which you'l ive a milion ‘Souldcbe yours over a thousand maybe worlds. ‘Taroughout the 1920s snd "30s, the idea of tolovinion in aur future nested the popular ima {ation a few technologies ever have. The range Of predictions for television technology was broad, land most ave outlandish in retrospect, but with the technology so unproven all predictions hac note o less equal clnim on plasty. Doctors (would diagnose patients in the future via televi Sos, cvilane would heip the mllzary spot enemy vision. There might oven be Murder by Television, 2 murky and altogether dreadful movie of 1955, in which Bela Lugosi plays {Guat sole, bt perpetrating and exposing the heinous crime ew visions of television's future were as lurid as this one. In the 1936 film Things to Come, for instance, a sagacious elder inthe year 2085 tes telavsion to instruct his granddaughter in tho quaint and pathetic history of vaniahee cv New Yori skyline ana Brooklyn Br "in meh of popular culture, tolevision was seen aba future moans of two-way communica tion, father than what i tray became, hat Is fesentially «one-way medium devoted to mass fntertainment, on the model of broadeast radio, “Raclo finde lta eyes,” announced the Saturday Evening Post, inn felictous phrase of 1928, “The futuce of telovicion asa surveillance tool was also foreseen, sometimes Baefly, some:times comically. EM. Forster, in an unusual pioce of science fictian, The Machine Stops (1909), exe fated a bleak subterranean world of the futuse, in Which humans, totally isolated from ono another, communicated solely by television. A neatly cor- femporaneous cartoon from the American humor tmagesine Life (1911) dopiets a scone from a future ‘Gentleman's Gen, crammed with ondgete, includ {ng a mochnical butler, a machine that allows one 1 seloct among various fragrant breezes, and 8 television to kegp track of errant offepring. "Now ‘That We Have Television, a comic poster fom 1925, offers a similar forocast wives wil beable, ‘through television surveillance to eaten their Saliying husbands in flagrante delicto, “The fearful smpliceions of such predictions even when wrapped in comic packages, | pressed many poople. George Orwell wrote 1994 fh tho late 1040s when television was on the brink of success, combining television survellance with fotalitarian social control to produce the ching specte of "Big Brother. ‘Gradually, attention shifted from predictions bout the technology of television ta cantident predictions about programming and ite effect a Society. Radio pioneer and everiul cer ofthe NBC television network, Davia Sarnot! took the torical fight In 1931, asserting that: “Television ‘will give new wings tothe talents of restive land interpretive genivs " Samnotf was over helmed by the potential of radio und television {oireach millions: "The bfetime audience of Demosthenes was not as giaat as a one-night a: dlonce of Amos and Andy." Radio erie Harriet Horne promised the middle-class readers of Cl- lior's in 1945 that: “The video set in your living room will be more than a toy. Within ou Lifetime willbe the greatest force for wold enlightenment And freedom tha history hes over known: ‘Television fifilld few ofthe predictions ‘made for it, bocoming neither a stongly eden ‘sonal fore ticularly innovative in pro gramming. variety shows, original and lassical drama, and family comedios were trans ferred with few alterations from Broadway, the ‘movies, and radio tothe tiny Mickering screens. The relatively primitive technology of early tele: sion, of course, contibuted tothe limited hot WIL ECSTASY BE A CRIB ow Tat We Have Tein” 109 (xt. 7) Bonar nach ‘etnies woe ‘atch the atention of passersby. 25captain Video was not only the classic heron ‘entor, he was also a figure of authority, an inter Galactic cop from the twenty-second century ‘Sclonee" on Captain Video was manifost in the numerous handy devices which the Captain had Invented. Aiding ium and his sdokick, the young, Video Ranger, in thelr struggles against future vi Taine lneluding TV's fret robet, Tabor) was an in pressive arsonal which included an "opticon sc [meter a "vedio sellometar,” anda "cosmic ray ‘ibrator.” The inventions and the sets were made of cardboard and castott materiale, whatever ould be afforded within the $25.00 weekly special bffocts budget. Whenever invention and adven fre flagged on this live progrem, Captain Video fusned ta hie “remote velo carrer” and checked ia ‘ith his “agents” on earth-—cowboy haroos in ips fom 1940s western serials! “Captain Video" twas so popular that it was expanded to six days @ toek six months afters debut, end temained on ‘he air in some form for seven years Probably the best remembered children's space progratn of the 1980s le “Tom Corbet Space Cadet "Inspired by « Robert Heinlein novel {premisred in 1980 and remained on the air 02 five yonrs. Three times wookly, the fitecn minute programs followed the adventutes of a group of feonaged cadets at the Space Academy in 2350 ‘AD. Four hundred years after the Cold War ton- Sions of 1950, war no longer exists, atleast be tween earthly nations wil have banded together ina commonwealth. Tom numbered among his Buddies tlovision' iret sympathetic lion, Astro, f Venusian cadet; Tom's giiiend was a doctor— oan Dale. With technical adviee supplied by Willy Ley, internationally renowned rocket specialist, "Tom Corbett" was scientifically more accurate than tho unintentionally hilarious "Captain Vie 20," "Tom Corbett” wat also the most heavily Imerchandised of sl early space shows, especially uring ie fies two years, whon tho sponsor was Kellogg's, with all those corel box tops Ever ‘nll, there wore 138 separate products with ‘Tom Combet's name on them, ranging from com: plete costumes ana helmets to Tom and Joan dolls. ‘Space Patrol” which fret aired in June of 22 Playing with the Future What is this thing wo call “the fu ture" if not fantasy? This is the ‘hard question posed by toys and ‘Gained for children which purport fo reflect the future. With toys, the future is identified with make-be lieve, put-on style, « Buck Rogers “Halloween costume. In our culture, fas in most, children are the vessel Sf our mast devoutly held expecta tons and hopes. Tuvuristic toys are overwhelming 1y dependent on—evan defined Bynthe media, Since the popu Janization of radio drama in th 1920, merchandise for the juvenilo. {market has been linked with pop lar radi programs, movies, and television series. From the Buck Rogers Dood of the 1850s, through the countless products spinning off trom “Tom Carbote” and “Spase Patrol," down to "Star Tre" and ‘Star Ware” barrage of recent times toys and other products have been 2 major part of children’s exper! Gnae of the foture, Futuristic toys are, almost by definition, space toys. According to Dopularcultur, the feature e going fe take placo in a sing, vast lo (ele outer space. This is especially fvidont in the yoars after World War, and is parioulary true of the fantasy worlds created fo chil- dren. A child with indulgent par (nts could fil his or her roam with Slovene of space tops, futrisio fur hlcure, bedspreads, and linclourn Fotous with aseroide and satis ‘Most of the space toys ofthe 1940s {and 198de were made in Japan, i tial of tin (reportedly recycied Space Toym ca. 146-65 (ot 196,196) At epee inanunc ang te ‘ofall typee were being made of plstc.20 “Man in Space” ‘An event of signal importance in the shaping of popular nerevptions of tho future occurred an March 8, 1985. That evening, milions of “American television viewers tuned Into "Disneyland, a program that Dad only been on the air fora ‘months, and saw “Man in Space, the fist of three “sence factual ‘pocial programe oreaesd by Walt Disney Productions. "Man in ‘Space’ was inspired by a series of ‘article in Colter’ on space explo {ation (1952-59), written by Werntor von Broun, Willy Lay, and Heine Haber, and iivstrated by ‘Chesley Bonostall. The three space Sefentits, along with Erase | Stubtinger, eventually worked in ‘lose collaboration with the Disney | team producing the TV sorte, at ‘Man wn Space” 1868 Webs van Braun ty Ey Wo ley re tho same time, infact, that thoy wore all advising the US govern ‘meat on its embryonic space program “The Disnoy series combined ant ‘mation and some gooty comedy (with carefully considered projec tons ofa realistic future in space, Up until this time, the astronautical future on talevision had boon strict Jy a juvenile affair Now the med tum was taking dhe mattor seriously, and the program waa extremely in ‘uentiat President Eisenhower por sonaly roquosted a copy of the frst ‘rogram trom Wale Dienoy. aid Scrooned it fr the Pentagon brass. ‘ive monthe aftr the first air date {or “Man in Space,” Esonnower an ‘nounced the governments plane for launching the fst US satelite, 41951, was the crestion of airforce veteran Mike ‘Moser, who had eoncsived the program wlule fy {ng and fighting in the Paci during World Warf ‘Moser later seid he had wanted to design a pr fram that would bring the favure to lide ust ac he hhad grovra up with Buck Rogers and Flash Gor don, More clearly than other programs, “Space Pe trol” was influenced by recent military history and bby media characters already seen ae “classic, Buzz Cony was the thitievheentury commander of Space Patra’ rocketship. (Like cowboye and detectives, future space heroes apparently teed Snappy nicknames) As the show opened @ na ator enticed viewors to "travel into the future with Buzz Corry and his erewr As Tom Cotbetts twenty-fourth century planet was peacefully gow: ‘emed by @ "Commonwealth of Barth” 30 was the thirtieth century galaxy aerenely organized at ‘The United Planets." The Space Patol peace keepers engaged in conflict with various extrater- rostral eniseroante, mad scientists, roneuade ‘liens, ionstera,sobots even (curing a tip back ‘ward in ume) with a tbe of Amasonst Of global ‘Seopolitical confices there wera howe, Such cate ‘Jorical liitations made the Good Guys easy to ‘entity; ideological diferences were 20 mesey to deal with anyway. The implication was that the incredible level of technological advance achieved by the thirtieth contury (or twenty fourth or ten: ‘pr fist) had led to radical changes in global pelt (cal behavior, The assortion was proposterous, of ‘course, sinco so ite ge in hunran relations and futitudes appesred to heve changed. Like Bella ‘y's bloodlessly achioved socal revolution of the twenty-first century in Looking Backward, the fu ture in popular culture se sents change as not only ‘With the exception of uadie space operas television in the 18502 and 1960s took very few limpses at tho future. A fw dramatic ar thologies explored futuratio themes °Science Fiction Theatre” (1955-87); “Out There" (1951) "Tales of Tomorrows" (1981-89); and "Aen tate Space’ (1958), the decade's most relistie space show. Though usualy grounded in a paranoid or surteal present, "The Twilight Zone” (1989-64),The Jetsons “The Jetsons" first appeared on prime-time television in 1962 Hanna Barbora Productions had re ently soared a phenomenal success with ies “prehistoric” cartoon se es, “Pho Flintstones,” and decided to try out this “sitcom” forms in a futuristic sorting. Tho Jetsons fam! Yy included George, he breadvin Dar, who worked at Spacely Space ‘Age Sprockets at a completely auto inated, nsufferably boring Jb: Sane his foyaly and sense vat Sud, a porky teonager: and Etro, Ey ee telnluded a dog, ow, ond. Doar rot mat, Soi, Al | ie of popular expectations of « | aiutosiy gedpery fare. the | Show aed fom the scons ot | Sie nstnes in primo ine | and war eancaind afer ove sceon | Rovartean the sous ur dnsone" episnes barony rarely ‘oo bent om rar sheds shee 1964 presented some memorable futuristic episodes 1m 1965, ong after the haleyon aye for apace adventure shows on tolovsion, 4 science fiction rogram premiered that eventtally surpaesed thers in populanty. "Star Trek,” which ran for ‘nly three seasons and seventy-oight eploodes Wad concaved ss an antidote vo the "id atu” of the 1950s. The format was a simple one, endlessly proven on television core cart of characters, al ‘ways on the move ("to boldly go where no man has gone before... in weekly encounters ‘with antagonists or people in distress. Producer Gene Rodenbery, involang a popelar TV western, ‘sew his crontion ar "a "Wagon Train to the stars > focused on the story, not on the twenty tied cen ary hardware, whieh, on one level, made vie fut of budget necessly. Inthe fist two seasons, Several distinguished science fiction writers worked on the series. Though the work o Elison, Theodore Sturgeon, and Richard on (among others) was nomogenized by staf titers, mich of ther original alent survived. The row of the Starship Enterprise became cherished Sharactoro~the vile but sensitive Captain Kirk the gruff but kindly medical officer, Dr." Bones MeCoy: the glamorous and brillant Unura, anc tepectlly the inscrutable. nfuriasingly “logics Mr Spock, a Vulean alan with pointy ears ‘Though the erow, with the Blade Unusa and the ‘Asian Me. Sulu, seemed to reflect newly en: lightened attitudes, the program, lke ies 19906 re tives, was dominated by brave white males. The ‘iter of "Star Tok" has made popular calure, history, spinning off ita coustiess eyndicated re thins, spawning thousands of worshipil devotees (CTrokkies"), and inspiring tne big-budget Holy ‘wood movies me “Star Tro” 1997 “Space... Te at on at