{
  "id": 6942288,
  "title": "One Of CBS's First Sci-Fi Series Began As A Long-Running Radio Show",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/12/one-of-cbss-first-sci-fi-series-began-as-a-long-running-radio-show",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-12T15:12:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "TVLine",
    "slug": "tvline",
    "url": "https://www.tvline.com/2252753/captain-midnight-cbs-sci-fi-series-radio-show/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The pioneering television series, Captain Midnight, originated as a long-running radio show in the late 1930s. The CBS adaptation, which aired from 1954 to 1956, featured Richard Webb as the Secret Squadron leader who battled various villains using advanced technology. However, the Captain Midnight character had already made its mark in radio before transitioning to television. In the radio series, the protagonist was a WWI veteran who concealed his identity from everyone, including his Secret Squadron colleagues. When the United States entered WWII in the early 1940s, the Captain Midnight radio character quickly became involved in the war effort, engaging in aerial battles against Axis forces. Unfortunately, fading interest in the daredevil flying ace led to the cancellation of the radio drama in 1949, five years before the Captain Midnight CBS series would find new life.\n\nBeyond its radio predecessor, the Captain Midnight character also appeared in a 15-part serial film in 1942, which later aired on television as Captain Midnight's Adventure Theatre. The franchise has since expanded, with multiple comic book adaptations, including a Dark Horse Comics arc written by Josh Williamson as recently as 2012. Williamson's rendition of Captain Midnight made unconventional strides in resurrecting the character, who had been absent from pop culture for multiple decades. Despite facing challenges adapting the pilot for a modern-day audience, many aspects of the character proved timeless, as Williamson himself admitted, \"It's still a book where a guy kills Nazis, how can I not love that?\"",
  "summary": "Before CBS became a TV giant, one of its earliest sci-fi series brought a beloved radio hero to the screen, and most people have forgotten it.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}