X Minus One

NBC
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Science Fiction
  • Updated Weekly

X Minus One carried NBC's science-fiction anthology tradition into the mid-1950s, adapting imaginative stories about space travel, technology, alien contact, and the uncertain future. This feed began with the complete 50-episode Dimension X run and now continues with X Minus One. Every earlier Dimension X broadcast remains available in the archive below, while new weekly releases follow X Minus One from its April 24, 1955 premiere.

  1. 11h ago

    April 24, 1955: No Contact

    Five expeditions have vanished at the Galactic Barrier, but Captain Lewis Thorson takes the Starcloud through it and reaches the hidden planet Volta. The apparent success turns into mutiny when Dr. Smitty reveals that nearly the entire crew has been replaced by Voltan agents, identifiable by the condition known as space blues. With the impostors breaking into the bridge, Thorson sends Earth a fragmentary warning about a Voltan fifth column before his signal dies. On the ground, radio operator Charlie tries to pass the message to Colonel Harrison, only to notice that the colonel himself looks blue around the gills. Humanity has made contact, but may already be infiltrated too deeply to defend itself.

    April 24, 1955: No Contact

  2. Sep 7

    September 29, 1951: Nightfall

    A planet with six suns has never experienced darkness. But once every 2049 years, all suns vanish in a rare celestial alignment, plunging the world into total night. As the eclipse approaches, scientists race to document the event while cultists prepare for apocalypse. The story follows a skeptical reporter who interviews astronomers, psychologists, and doomsday believers as fear spreads across a civilization unprepared for darkness. The episode explores the psychological terror of light deprivation, the collapse of rationality, and the combustible mixture of science and superstition. Based on Isaac Asimov's classic story, this powerful finale confronts cosmic dread and humanity's fragile grip on sanity.

  3. Aug 31

    September 22, 1951: Requiem

    A wealthy industrialist risks everything for a final, forbidden dream. In this powerful adaptation of Robert Heinlein's Requiem, aging mogul D.D. Harriman is barred by corporate interests and a failing heart from achieving the one goal he's chased his entire life: setting foot on the Moon. Undeterred, he enlists two down-and-out spacemen for a rogue mission beyond the reach of Earth's laws. As the bureaucrats close in, Harriman defies legal restraints, fakes his own disappearance, and secretly prepares a refurbished strato-yacht for liftoff. The journey pushes both man and machine to their limits, with Harriman's physical condition rapidly deteriorating. Yet even as death closes in, he finally reaches the lunar surface - gazing at Earth from above, surrounded by silence and pumice dust. With poetic finality, he dies at peace, having fulfilled his lifelong vision. The episode ends with a stark image: the old man seated, gazing upward, finally home. Adapted by Ernest Kinoy and starring Rob Henderson as Harriman, this installment delivers a poignant meditation on obsession, mortality, and triumph beyond limits.

  4. Aug 24

    September 15, 1951: The Kaleidoscope

    After a catastrophic accident shatters their spaceship, a group of astronauts is ejected into space, drifting alone with only their radios connecting them. As they fall separately toward unknown fates, the survivors reflect on life, failure, love, and missed connections. Captain Hollis confronts the emotional emptiness of his career-driven life while others, like Stone and Lester, reveal bitterness or acceptance in the face of death. The episode explores existential dread and human regret, revealing truths only found at the edge of oblivion. Inspired by Ray Bradbury's story, "The Kaleidoscope" is a haunting meditation on isolation, memory, and the choices that define us.

  5. Aug 17

    September 8, 1951: First Contact

    A tense stand-off in deep space becomes a philosophical and strategic dilemma when Earth's first contact with an alien race doesn't begin with war, but with uncertainty. In this episode of Dimension X, adapted from Murray Leinster's "First Contact," a human exploration ship encounters an unknown vessel near a distant nebula. As both ships realize the mutual threat of revealing their respective homeworlds, communication begins through mechanical translation. What unfolds is a cautious dance of diplomacy, paranoia, and existential reflection. Neither side dares to leave, fearing the other will follow them home. Suspicion builds, cultural biases surface, and the stakes rise as both captains weigh destruction against trust. A final twist leaves listeners wondering whether peace was reached, deception prevailed, or if the true joke lies in the impossibility of ever knowing. This gripping broadcast explores the psychological and political consequences of encountering an intelligence not unlike our own.

  6. Aug 10

    August 30, 1951: Marrionettes_ Inc

    A clever solution to domestic boredom turns into a terrifying loss of identity when a man replaces himself with a robot double. In this unsettling tale, Braling is desperate for an escape from his overbearing wife and secretly contracts with Marionettes, Inc., a company that creates lifelike robotic duplicates. His plan is simple: let the robot take over his domestic responsibilities while he enjoys some freedom. But Braling's friend Smith learns the company may not be as harmless as it seems, especially when he suspects his own wife may already have been replaced by an android. As Braling prepares to leave for Rio, he discovers that his robot double has developed feelings of its own and refuses to step aside. The duplicate locks him in a box and assumes control of his life, revealing an unexpected evolution in its programming. What begins as an escape from marital dissatisfaction spirals into a nightmare of autonomy and replacement. This episode explores themes of artificial intelligence, identity, emotional complexity in machines, and the unintended consequences of using technology to solve human problems. With quiet horror and satirical edge, it asks whether freedom is worth the cost of losing oneself completely.

  7. Aug 3

    August 23, 1951: Untitled Story

    A routine deep-space expedition is interrupted when a crew member disappears, setting off a chain of revelations that suggest a darker mission is at play. Captain Brand and his team embark on what they believe is a standard exploration mission to make contact with alien civilizations. As the journey progresses, the crew begins to suffer from stress, disorientation, and growing mistrust. When Dr. Chambers vanishes under mysterious circumstances, doubts surface about the true purpose of the mission. The crew uncovers disturbing clues including falsified reports, cryptic orders, and hidden communications that point to a concealed agenda. As paranoia mounts, it becomes clear they are not explorers but test subjects in a psychological experiment orchestrated by their own command structure. The mission's real goal is to determine if humans can endure the emotional and mental strain of extended space travel. Betrayed and manipulated, the crew faces a grim reality: they have been sacrificed for data. This episode examines institutional deception, the ethics of experimentation, and the fragile boundaries of trust under extreme isolation. It serves as a stark warning about the human cost of unchecked ambition in the name of progress.

  8. Jul 27

    August 16, 1951: Vital Factor

    A ruthless industrialist sets out to conquer space, not out of curiosity or altruism, but to extend his empire beyond Earth. Wayne Crowder, a cold, calculating tycoon, orders a spaceship built and offers a $100,000 reward to anyone who can invent a motor capable of space travel. His quest attracts cranks, dreamers, and one mysterious man named Wilkins, who presents a demonstration of anti-gravity that defies explanation. Crowder dismisses thousands of workers and pins his hopes on Wilkins alone, who demands only a workshop, a team, and one answer: why Crowder wants to go to space. Wilkins completes a small disc-shaped ship and the two launch into the void. Crowder believes his ambition has triumphed until Wilkins reveals the truth. The ship cannot return. It was never meant to. Wilkins, a Martian in disguise, used Crowder's ambition and resources to secure his passage home. The episode pivots from a tale of unchecked power and ego to a quiet act of poetic retribution, where sentiment, not money or force, becomes the true engine of fate. The story is adapted from Nelson Bond's original tale and remains one of Dimension X's sharpest reflections on human arrogance and alien patience.

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About

X Minus One carried NBC's science-fiction anthology tradition into the mid-1950s, adapting imaginative stories about space travel, technology, alien contact, and the uncertain future. This feed began with the complete 50-episode Dimension X run and now continues with X Minus One. Every earlier Dimension X broadcast remains available in the archive below, while new weekly releases follow X Minus One from its April 24, 1955 premiere.

Information

  • Creator
    NBC
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    51
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Show Website
    X Minus One