On the evening of Halloween KFGO out of Fargo re-broadcast War of the Worlds. Once again the nation, or at least the midwest, got to here Orson Welles and his Mercury Theater perform this radio classic.

For those not familiar with this landmark work, originally broadcast on October 30th, 1938, it is an adaption of the H.G. Welles novel made to sound like a series of news broadcasts about an invasion from Mars. Presumably this change was to heighten dramatic effect but instead it fooled hundreds of Americans into thinking that martians had actually landed in New Jersey. Many of those fooled evacuated their homes and in some unfortunate instances even committed suicide. The ensuing chaos nearly ended Orson Welles' career yet many say that in the long run it solidified his fame as an entertainment genius.

Until Halloween 2003 I had never gotten a chance to listen to the broadcast in its entirety. Despite some slang and production techniques which have lost favor in the 65 years since the show originally broadcast it was very entertaining. Its hard to imagine a radio broadcast having the type of effect this one did on the population in today's era of 24 hour news yet the mind wanders back to those darkened living rooms in 1938 where often the only outside voice heard was that of the radio announcer. What a great concept! Its sad that it was so effective that people panicked and ended their lives but the genius of the broadcast shines through even by today's standards.

Thanks to today's technology you can now listen to the original broadcast any time you want. Enjoy, and let's all hope that another person with Orson Welles' talent comes along soon to save our current entertainment industry from mediocrity.