I was listening this past weekend to a show called "Those Were the Days." Hosted by a gentleman named Chuck Schaden, it re-broadcasts programs from the "golden age" of radio, mostly from the late 1930's through the early '50s.
With Halloween coming up, one of the featured broadcasts was the famous October 30, 1938 Orson Welles production of "War of the Worlds." If you're not familiar with it, the story is based on the novel of the same name by H.G. Wells, in which Planet Earth is invaded by unhappy, downright mean and violent, aliens from Mars. This radio production, set in New York and New Jersey, is possibly the most famous radio show of all.
Being a simpler time in America, with no cable tv or Internet or other distractions, many people tuned in to this show, presented partly in the form of news bulletins and with only one commercial interruption, and had the wits scared out of them. When folks heard that Martians were incinerating the US Army at a place called Grovers Mill, New Jersey and were headed for New York City, they panicked. It may just be an urban myth that people ran out of their homes intending to flee the invaders but the show did cause controversy and made Orson Welles a sensation.
The "War of the Worlds" broadcast was very well done and is a lot of fun to listen to, even in this day and age. Yet, while I was listening to the story of Martians invading the United States, I couldn't help but think: Gee, I hope President Bush isn't listening to this show or else he'll try to get us to go to war with Mars.
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