No one would have believed that planet Earth was being watched by creatures more intelligent than humankind.But planet Earth was not only being watched – soon it would be invaded by monstrous creatures from Mars who strode about the land in great mechanical tripods, bringing death and destruction wi...
The episode discussed a radio drama adaptation of "War of the Worlds" that was broadcast in Quito, Ecuador, in 1949. This broadcast, inspired by Orson Welles' 1938 radio drama, caused widespread panic and led to the destruction of the radio station.
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In the days leading up to the show, mysterious ads appeared in local newspapers saying things like, What will happen on February 12th?
— Episode: We Interrupt This Program
Episode: We Interrupt This Program
The episode discussed a radio drama adaptation of "War of the Worlds" that was broadcast in Quito, Ecuador, in 1949. This broadcast, inspired by Orson Welles' 1938 radio drama, caused widespread panic and led to the destruction of the radio station.
"
In the days leading up to the show, mysterious ads appeared in local newspapers saying things like, What will happen on February 12th?
And there were stories about sightings of flying saucers near Quito.
Incredible as it may seem, both the observations of science and the evidence of our eyes lead to the inescapable assumption that those strange beings who landed in the Jersey farmlands tonight are the vanguard of an invading army from the planet Mars.
The nation as a whole continues to face the danger of incomplete, misunderstood news over a medium which has yet to prove that it is competent to perform the news job.
What time will it be the end of the world?
Episode: Ghostwatch
The War of the Worlds, presented as a breaking news story about a Martian invasion, was a radio drama adaptation broadcast just before Halloween.
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Ladies and gentlemen, this is the most terrifying thing I've ever witnessed. Wait a minute. Someone's crawling out of something I can see, coming out of that black hole through luminous disks.
This is Orson Welles, ladies and gentlemen. Out of character to assure you that The War of the Worlds has no further significance than if the holiday offering it was intended to be, a Mercury Theater's own radio version of dressing up in a sheet and jumping out of a bush and saying boo.
So goodbye everybody and remember please for the next day or so the terrible lesson you learned tonight. That grinning, glowing, globular invader of your living room is an inhabitant of the pumpkin patch and if your doorbell rings and nobody's there, that was no Martian. It's Halloween.
