When we think about sci-fi anthology series, the show that comes up the most is The Twilight Zone and for good reason. The iconic series offered viewers high-concept science fiction blended perfectly with social commentary and frequently delivered stunning twist endings that would leave one thinking about them long after the credits rolled. However, while The Twilight Zone is well-known, there’s another sci-fi anthology series that, while not as well known or remembered, is equally as brilliant with unsettling and timeless tales from one of sci-fi’s most important writers and now, all 85 episodes are available to stream completely free.
The Ray Bradbury Theater originally debuted and ran for a total of 85 episodes spread across six seasons. The series originally debuted on First Choice Superchannel in Canada and on HBO in the United States in 1985, with subsequent seasons on USA Network, finally concluding on October 30, 1992. The series is now available now for free on a number of platforms, including Fawesome, Pluto TV, Roku, and Hoopla.
Every Episode of The Ray Bradbury Theater Was Written by Bradbury Himself
The Ray Bradbury Theater is a unique sci-fi anthology series in that Bradbury himself solely wrote every single episode with each episode based on short stories or novels that he wrote—though some episodes would occasionally include elements from other stories. Bradbury himself appeared in each episode in a manner of speaking, with each episode opening up with a shot of the author in his office looking at his various mementos that he explained through narration were used as his inspiration for stories. The first season also saw Bradbury appear on-screen during some of the stories.
It makes for an interesting framing, but The Ray Bradbury Theater is special for other reasons as well, Part of what makes Bradbury such a giant of literature is how his work is less about the unusual situations that his characters find themselves in, but rather about the psychology of those characters. It’s something that is evident in his more famous works, like Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles, but comes into sharper focus with the individual episodes of The Ray Bradbury Theater. The episodes—which are ell self-contained stories—are able to more carefully examine the characters by putting them into situations that are based on the human condition and examine themes like love, loneliness, trauma, fear, and more in ways that feel both otherworldly and hauntingly real.
And, because the stories were his own creations and he was the sole series writer, Bradbury was able to fully explore the stories in ways that worked for his imagining of them. The result is a very slept-on series that is thought provoking, terrifying, and deeply interesting. There’s nothing else quite like it and it’s a series that you should get to know by streaming free.
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