Martian Chronicles

The Martian Chronicles is a joint British/American science fiction television miniseries. It aired in three installments from January 27th, 1980 to January 29th, 1980. The show was produced by Charles Fries Productions, Stonehenge Productions, Polytel International Film and the British Broadcasting Corporation. The episodes were directed by Michael Anderson with scripts written by Richard Matheson, based on the novel by Ray Bradbury.

The show takes viewers through a journey that includes an expedition of the planet Mars, the discovery of life, the extinction of the Martian species, and the need to colonize the red planet after the Earth is destroyed in nuclear Armageddon.

The Martian Chronicles featured an ensemble cast of characters which included Rock Hudson as Colonel John Wilder, Gayle Hunnicutt as Ruth Wilder, Bernie Casey as Major Jeff Spender, Christopher Connelly as Ben Driscoll, Nicholas Hammond as Commander Arthur Black, Darren McGavin as Sam Parkhill, Roddy McDowall as Father Stone, and Bernadette Peters as Genevieve Seltzer.

Notes & Trivia

 * The tagline to this series is "A warning to all mankind". Another tagline is "Making contact was the beginning of the end".


 * The TV miniseries is based on a series of short stories by Ray Bradbury that were collected together under the title The Martian Chronicles in 1950.


 * Ray Bradbury was unimpressed with the film during its initial press screening in 1979, and referred to it as "boring" during an interview.


 * Actor Nicholas Hammond is also known for playing the role of Peter Parker in the 1977 TV series The Amazing Spider-Man.


 * Actor Roddy McDowall has been in numerous sci-fi adventure projects, but is best known for his work in the Planet of the Apes multimedia franchise, where he played several different ape characters including Cornelius, Caesar, and Galen.