An anthology series is a radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different cast in each episode, but several series in the past, such as Four Star Playhouse, employed a permanent troupe of character actors who would appear in a different drama each week. Some anthology series, such as Studio One, began on radio and then expanded to television.
Etymology
The word comes from Ancient Greek ἀνθολογία (anthología, "flower-gathering"), from ἀνθολογέω (anthologéō, "I gather flowers"), from ἄνθος (ánthos, "flower") + λέγω (légō, "I gather, pick up, collect"), coined by Meleager of Gadara circa 60 BCE, originally as Στέφανος (στέφανος (stéphanos, "garland")) to describe a collection of poetry, later retitled anthology – see Greek Anthology. Anthologiai were collections of small Greek poems and epigrams, because in Greek culture the flower symbolized the finer sentiments that only poetry can express.
Radio
Many popular old-time radio programs were anthology series. On some series, such as Inner Sanctum Mysteries, the only constant was the host, who introduced and concluded each dramatic presentation. One of the earliest such programs was The Collier Hour, broadcast on the NBC Blue Network from 1927 to 1932. As radio's first major dramatic anthology, it adapted stories and serials from Collier's Weekly in a calculated move to increase subscriptions and compete with The Saturday Evening Post. Airing on the Wednesday prior to each week's distribution of the magazine, the program soon moved to Sundays in order to avoid spoilers with dramatizations of stories simultaneously appearing in the magazine.
Drama
Academy Award Theater
Arch Oboler's Plays
The Campbell Playhouse
Cavalcade of America
CBS Radio Workshop
Earplay
Four Star Playhouse
Lux Radio Theater
Hollywood Star Time
The Mercury Theatre on the Air
The Screen Guild Theater
Stars over Hollywood
Genre series
Radio anthology series provided a format for science fiction, horror, suspense, and mystery genres (all produced in the US, unless noted):
Mystery House (1929–c. 1944) The Witch's Tale (1931–38) (written by Alonzo Deen Cole) Lights Out (1934–47) (written by Wyllis Cooper/Arch Oboler) The Hermit's Cave (1935–c. 1945) Famous Jury Trials (1936–49) Dark Fantasy (1941–42) (written by Scott Bishop) Inner Sanctum Mysteries (1941–52) (created by Himan Brown) The Whistler (1942–55) Suspense (1942–62) The Mysterious Traveler (1943–52) (written by Robert Arthur, Jr. and narrated by Maurice Tarplin) Creeps by Night (1944) Mystery Playhouse (1944) (hosted by Peter Lorre) The Strange Dr. Weird (1944–45) (15-minute shorts, written by Robert Arthur, Jr. and narrated by Maurice Tarplin) The Haunting Hour (1944–46) The Sealed Book (1945) (written by Robert Arthur, Jr.) Mystery in the Air (1945–47) (starring Peter Lorre) The Weird Circle (1946–47) Murder at Midnight (1946–50) Quiet, Please! (1947–49) (written by Wyllis Cooper, starring Ernest Chappell) Escape (1947–54) The Unexpected (1948) (15-minute shorts) Destination Freedom (1948–50) Murder by Experts (1949–51) The Hall of Fantasy (1949–53) 2000 Plus (1950–52) (the first adult science fiction series on radio) Dimension X (1950–51) (featured adapted stories by authors including Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury and Kurt Vonnegut) ABC Mystery Theater (1951–54), anthology, crime and mystery series Sleep No More (1952–56) (featured Nelson Olmsted narrating his own adaptations of stories) Theater 10:30 (1955) (Canadian) X Minus One (1955–58) (revival and continuation of Dimension X)
The final episode of Suspense was broadcast on September 30, 1962, a date that has traditionally been seen as marking the end of the old-time radio era. However, genre series produced since 1962 include:
The Black Mass (1963–67) The Creaking Door (1964–65) (South African) Beyond Midnight (1968–69) (South African) The Zero Hour (1973–74) (hosted by Rod Serling) Mystery Theater (1974–82) (created by Himan Brown of Inner Sanctum Mysteries) Nightfall (1980–83) (Canadian) The Cabinet of Dr. Fritz (1984–85) (broadcast in "3D-Sound" stereo) 2000X (2000) (literary adaptations) The Twilight Zone (2002–03)
Television
In the history of television, live anthology dramas were especially popular during the Golden Age of Television of the 1950s with series such as The United States Steel Hour and The Philco Television Playhouse.