Polaris, also known as the North Star or Pole Star, is always visible in the night sky and aids navigation. "North of Polaris" is an episode of Escape about a group of astronauts who travel twenty million miles to visit a post-apocalyptic planet. A small surveying crew has to spend 48 hours there, but this is a place where armies of rats have become the masters and humans are the scavengers. Their challenge is to stay alive in this dead world until their ship comes back to get them.
"North of Polaris" has a lot to say about atomic warfare and the arrogance of mankind. It was written for Escape by Charles Smith and stars William Conrad, Hy Averback, Eddie Firestone, Vivi Janiss, Ralph Moody and Frank Gerstle. Suspense did a similar but shorter episode called "Report from a Dead Planet" in 1960.
"North of Polaris" aired on May 17, 1953.
Download Escape.1953.05.17_North_of_Polaris.mp3
(Photo of Polaris by NASA and the Hubble Space Telescope.)
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