Dimension X: Mad Men, Martians and Madison.
Creating our first sci-fi episode.
Spoilers Ahead!
It became apparent very early on as I was putting Madison out into the audio drama ether, that the most popular genres of the podcasting audio dramas are fantasy, horror and science-fiction. Well, I’d hoped we’d covered our version of “horror” with the Halloween episode of “Dracula,” but I did want to see if Madison could fit into a science fiction OTR show. (Although, she’s a time traveler, right? So technically the entire show IS sci-fi!) My favorite of the science-fiction shows of the era has always been Dimension X.
X-Minus One would come later in the 50s, often reusing some of the same scripts originally written for Dimension X, but something about Dimension X drew me to it. Of the episodes, there were two that always stuck with me. One was called “Knock” which was taken from the poem: “The last man on earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock at the door.” (which I’d based an entire project on for a set design class I’d had in undergrad) But my favorite has always been “The Parade.” The idea that Americans are so enthralled by the manipulation of marketing that they would actually welcome their own destruction, to me, is a timeless story that worked in 1950, and is also completely feasible in our modern day.
That is the trick to 1950’s science fiction, though. And something I’ll get in-depth discussing in our “Madison’s Mad Facts” due out November 10th. The idea of themes in adult audience science fiction. Which is why we keep gravitating to it, right? We can play out all of the consequences, good or bad, of our hopes and fears in the world. Science fiction stretches the mind from “what if…” to “here, let me show you…” and is only limited by the imagination of the writer. Another reason Dimension X was so strong, because they sought out stories from the iconic sci-fi writers of the era.
So where does Madison fit in? I have looked into other anthology shows and do find them hard to envision Madison joining their stories. The characters make plot driven choices, or have backstories/relationships, that simply couldn’t accommodate Madison. (I am still looking for the right anthology script, though!). However, “The Parade” did have an assistant to the big time “Mad Man,” Sid Ryan, so it was a natural fit. Although, spoiler, in the original script the (male) assistant was actually murdered by the Martian, Loushar, as he was trying to run off to the police to warn them. But as you might expect, Madison can survive anything, including an alien invasion.
Certainly this will not be Madison’s last venture into science fiction. I’d love to find a 1950’s script set in the “future” but it being our modern day past. Or Madison in space! Yes, there will definitely be more science fiction to come… (and if you have a suggestion, I’d love to hear from you: MadisonOnTheAir@gmail.com)
