Showing results by author "Robert Sheckley" in All Categories

X Minus One premiered in April 1955 on NBC and ran until January 1958. Like its predecessor series, Dimension X, X Minus One featured stories by the greatest names in modern science fiction: Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Clifford Simak, Robert Bloch, and many more.

X Minus One premiered in April 1955 on NBC and ran until January 1958. Like its predecessor series, Dimension X, X Minus One featured stories by the greatest names in modern science fiction: Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Clifford Simak, Robert Bloch, and many more.

X Minus One premiered in April 1955 on NBC and ran until January 1958. Like its predecessor series, Dimension X, X Minus One featured stories by the greatest names in modern science fiction: Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Clifford Simak, Robert Bloch, and many more.

X Minus One premiered in April 1955 on NBC and ran until January 1958. Like its predecessor series, Dimension X, X Minus One featured stories by the greatest names in modern science fiction: Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Clifford Simak, Robert Bloch, and many more.

X Minus One premiered in April 1955 on NBC and ran until January 1958. Like its predecessor series, Dimension X, X Minus One featured stories by the greatest names in modern science fiction: Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Clifford Simak, Robert Bloch, and many more.

It's the 21st Century and the ugliness of war no longer exists, except on a very personal level. Nowadays, people like Marcello Polletti, seller of Roman sunsets, and Caroline Meredith, lithe, beautiful, blonde, and backed by corporate sponsors and the Roy Bell Dancers, hunt, chase, and kill each other for sport and for the entertainment of the masses - until something oddly like personal human feelings pops up to confuse the players and up the stakes...as each of them seeks to kill their 10th victim and rise in the ranks of the hunters.

Take a look at a dark, deadly future where the game is hunting and the results are killing - human to human - with status, money, power, and sex as the prizes. The operation runs underground and Frank Blackwell is a new recruit who is destined to change the game and turn it into legitimate popular entertainment for the masses.

In 2092, the world's ecology is in ruins, drought and famine are widespread and survival is a never-ending challenge. Harold Erdman leaves his dying community with one goal, to make his way to Esmeralda, an island paradise run by the Huntworld Corporation which has turned public murder, among willing competitors, into a thriving and lucrative business. Can he survive the journey and then the many rounds of deadly competition on his way to the Big Payoff.

Learn the truth behind the mask of Hollywood in these 10 bizarre tales of dreams and dream weavers, movies and movie-makers, by some of the most respected fantasy writers of our time.

A space explorer wearing a force shield encounters a little problem when he makes first contact. Based on a story by Robert Sheckley, this episode of X Minus One originally aired on July 11, 1957.

As the winds howl, two men stationed on an alien world ignore the natives' advice - and head into danger. Based on a story by Robert Schekley, this episode of X Minus One originally aired on October 3, 1957.

Elwood is a homicidal maniac with a gun who seeks help from a robot psychiatrist. Only problem is, this one is designed to treat...Martians. Based on a story by Robert Sheckley, this episode of X Minus One originally aired on July 10, 1956.

Salvatore commands the battleship Endymion. He's seen his share of battles and fought them bravely, too. So he doesn't hesitate when beautiful Princess Hatari pleads for his help. She wants to regain her throne, but it may be more than Salvatore can accomplish, for the deadly race known as the Balderdash has taken over the planet Melchior--and now, even his own men have turned against him!

On a distant planet, a marooned man is joyous to see a ship landing. But what does the crew make of him? Based on a story by Robert Sheckley, this episode of X Minus One originally aired on September 26, 1957.

A lonely man accepts a free offer from a matchmaking service: success guaranteed. Based on a story by Robert Sheckley, this episode of X Minus One originally aired on January 9, 1958.

The colonists on New Delaware are told they need to be "civilized". That means they must have jails. The only problem is, they have no criminals. Based on a story by Robert Sheckley, this episode of X Minus One originally aired on February 15, 1956.

Step into a haunting post-apocalyptic world where imagination is the only tool left to reshape reality. Proof of the Pudding by Robert Sheckley is a thought-provoking science fiction tale that explores the boundaries of creation, perception, and human connection.

Set in a world where every comfort and convenience comes at a staggering cost, the story follows Carrin, an ordinary man crushed beneath the weight of debt in a society obsessed with technological luxury. As he reflects on the tragic suicide of a neighbor and prepares for a visit from a relentless finance agent, Carrin confronts the unsettling truth about consumerism, inherited debt, and the price of happiness.

When two space travelers encounter a planet of proud warriors with a bizarre concept of honor, diplomacy takes an unexpected turn. Sheckley's signature wit and social commentary shine in this clever exploration of alien values and human folly.

Beside Still Waters by Robert Sheckley is a quietly powerful science fiction novella that explores the nature of companionship, memory, and human longing in the loneliness of deep space.