I rate this episode ★★★★☆ for GOOD. First off, kudos to our great cast: Grace Matthews (as Dorothy Melville), Norman Rose (as Phillip Melville & Jack Slater), and Russell Horton (as Robby Melville, Trevor, and Bill Lawrence). Actors such as these make CBSRMT memorable, especially for this Sci-Fi Mystery. There were emotive music tunes in ACT-1, suspicious music tunes in ACT-2, and deadly music tunes in ACT-3, especially at the 33-minute mark. These music tracks would’ve been great to add in TWILIGHT ZONE episodes. The sound effects of the birds chirping, bell tolls at 8AM, tableware clinking, footsteps, coffee maker breaking, doors, the waterfall, clock chiming at noon & 5AM, pouring of the coffee, paper note, rotary phone, the buzzer, the Emergency alarm bell, pushing of the phone number buttons, whirling of the Cosmotron, car engine, and the cassette player were helpful in this tale. In our Host’s Prologue, E.G. Marshall talks about an adventure into the Infinite so you know, right then and there, it’s going to be a Fantasy-Mystery instead of a Drama-Mystery. In ACT-1, he brings us in to meet our main character in East Denver on a spring day. Later on, he quoted Sir Isaac Newton who said, “I was in the prime of my age for invention.â€ After explaining the events in the first Act and learning the characters’ motives, E.G. Marshall asks who is being serious and who is kidding; someone’s gambling with fate. The best part was in ACT-3 when he said that humans have survived flood, famine, plagues, and war because of their ability to adapt and outwit Nature. (It makes you think how far we actually came) In the end, he asks is the unbelievable and incredible always impossible? Isn’t it that we shut out what we don’t wish to believe is possible? (Again, it makes the CBSRMT fans think outside the box on this concept) And in his Epilogue, he asks how long can we hold out against unknown faces, other beings, or other dimensions? (This is the kind of dialogue people would hear if it were an episode of the TWILIGHT ZONE and/or THE X-FILES) Now, here’s why I rated this 4 out 5 stars: the SCRIPT. It was a significant story written by James Agate, Jr., but the plot of it wasn’t quite suspenseful. There was a climax where things went back to normal, but the resolution is left out in the open; not knowing when or where these alien beings from another dimension will return. Plus, this was adapted from a Jules Verne story, but I haven’t found any story of his that matches this radio episode. Jules Verne wrote a lot of stories about Voyages on the land, in the sea, up in the air, and even out to outer space, but no story about an alien being from another dimension taking a human to repopulate their species. The title of this episode works, but a better title would be “The False Son.â€ If anybody knows which Jules Verne story is connected to this, let CBSRMT fans know. Tune into this one if you like, but also check out #0685-THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (adapted from Jules Verne). Until next time…pleasant dreams. =0)
