The idea of a clock that freezes time for everyone except the user is an old one and certainly did not originate on \"The CBS Radio Mystery Theater.\" However, this specific instance of this idea is very similar to the much later episode of \"Friday the 13th: The Series\" entitled \"13 O\'Clock:\" both clocks need blood to run and time freezes for an hour. The \"Friday the 13th.\" clock has the 13 in place of the 1 rather than the 12, however. What was interesting with \"Time And Again\" is that the protagonist can\'t think of anything to do with that frozen hour than enjoy a bit of solitude. Normally, you would use the time to commit incredible crimes while enjoying an airtight alibi. Supernatural thriller.

Excellent and probably my favorite episode of all. I must disagree with the previous post on one point. Ethan Vigil did have something very important to do during that "2 special hours" every 24 hours; he worked on his lifelong goal of a purpetual motion device. He also benefitted by losing weight, looking and feeling younger, stronger, and healthier. The key to this protaganist is he was not evil and had no bad intentions. This is an excellent episode. BTW Friday the 13th the Series was an excellent show, I call it the precourser to the X files, and that being said, The Night Stalker would be the precourser to Friday the 13 the Series.

This episode is also known as The Hourglass Clock which in my opinion is a more befitting title.

What an interesting episode! My favorite, by far, since I started at the beginning on Jan. 6. You can really feel for the clockmaker. Talk about up against it! And a clock that bites the hand that reaches inside of it? Priceless! I was waiting for this genuinely nice guy to step out of character and do something evil or dirty during his "free" hours, but it never happened. I wonder how many of us would be the same way? Still, with the lack of action, it was far from boring. Reasonable ending, too.

Because the clock maker is not to blame for any of the deaths (he doesn't know the blood that he uses to keep the clock "alive" actually results in the people dying), this is actually a story without a villain, and he is an empathetic main character. His suicide in the end is a way of also redeeming himself and ending the clock's evil. The sister-in-law in this episode is a real piece of work--from beginning to end--and we are glad that she finally gets her comeuppance. Lots of great sound effects in this episode (hundreds of clocks ticking and chiming) and a beating heart (which gives it a Poe-esque "Tell Tale Heart" feel).

John Beal starred in several episodes of CBSRMT, and has always been one of my favorites. His voice translates tragedy and woe in a way that few can equal. This episode is yet another example of Beal's fine performances that added so much to the CBSRMT.

Great episode, really atmospheric and fine acting all round.

Am I the only one who was reminded of the 1960 movie "The Little Shop of Horrors". There it was a plant, and the shop owner eventually knew what he was doing, killing people to get blood to keep the plant growing, thereby increasing his fame, and get closer to his girlfriend. But still...clock / plant, blood, close enough for me.

A man comes upon a clock with a 13th hour. The clock provides it's owner with a small gift of time every 12 hours but at a great price. An excellent listen.

Great atmosphere, characters and an evil “thing”. A favorite.

Ethan Vigil, a clockmaker who owns and operates a shop (with little help from his hypochondriac wife and her complaining sister), buys a strange clock that has a number 13 where the 12 should. Ethan soon discovers that the clock has an amazing ability to stop time for two hours a day...but to keep the clock running, Ethan must pay a terrible price. This is cool episode with great performances and an interesting Twilight Zone-ish plot. Genre: FANTASY

A clock repairman finds a clock that grants its owner an extra hour in a day. The price is just a small amount of blood. . .

One of the very best! Martin's finest work. Highly Recommended.

A clock maker / repairman buys a strange looking clock that will not run and becomes obsessed with getting it to work. When his hypochondriac, nagging wife tries to examine it she pricks her finger inside of it, saying ("something BIT me.") The clock starts up, and its beat is the sound of a human heart. It also has a mysterious 13th number on it, and when the clock's strange chime rings on that number, everything freezes except for the clock maker. He becomes addicted to the 13th hour of extra time he's given and is finally crestfallen when the clock stops. (He doesn't put two and two together that the clock stopped at the very second his wife died.) Remembering how the clock started before, he sneaks into his doctor friends office, steals a vial of blood and pours it into the top of the clock (the "brain or whatever it was" he calls it), and the clock restarts. There's just one problem...people whose blood he uses mysterious die eventually... (As I said, this episode is really an interesting study in addiction when you listen to it...)

A clockmaker acquires a strange clock that gives to the owner an extra two hours per day. But nothing comes for free. I can’t say any more without spoiling the story. This is a fantastic episode with an amazing premise. Brilliant script Written at a time when Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is called “Chronic Inadequate” hehe

To me, this Ian Martin play was always a study and of and allegory to addiction. Although someone else paid a higher price, look how Beal's character had to steal to support his peculiar, deadly "habit" much like someone addicted to drugs, and how he reached a point where he couldn't live with what he was doing. Two sections of this play that are the RMT at its finest: A) when he's describing the clock's workings and appearance, talking about "wooden pinions, wooden gears" with that eerie soundtrack behind him, and; B) Beal's voice, (and the soundtrack behind it) as he starts the clock up again saying "It's heart was beating!". Brilliance in dramatic, albeit fatalistic, radio production.

I was 13 or 14 when I stumbled across the CBSRMT late at night, in bed, with my transistor radio and one of those stupid, chintzy, white earpieces they used to have. This was the first episode I ever heard and I was enthralled. I'm so excited that this web site exists and I will definatly make a donation to keep it up and running.

IMO, one of my favorite, FAVORITE all-time RMT shows. And it is, indeed, beneath the eerie clock stuff, a well-done chronicle of the affects of addiction.

Is it only a coincidence that I'm bidding on an old clock on Ebay this week? Not to even attempt a deconstruction, but here we have a plot device that is often used on RMT. What starts as a smaller crime or sin excalates into larger and larger ones. As an addict needs more and more of his/her drug to achieve the same high. It's the Dr. Jekyl-Mr. Hyde progression. CBSRMT does something similar setting forth the moral of the story in its demon-haunted tales. A blackmailer slowly increases the payments demanded on the victim, and in this story, the clock demands more blood at more frequent intervals. To put it in hypothetical terms, say that one week I break into an old-time radio theatre fan's house and steal all his/her money. The next week I might feel the need to break into 3 or 4 houses owned by radio mystery theatre fans. This escalation continues, the violence increases, perhaps by logrithetic proportions, and all too soon nukes are raining down around the planet. As I've said before, I hate it when that happens.

I think Bryna is the "Lego" of CBSRMT. They just hand her a script and whatever story it is, weird, scary, stupid or good like this one, she just take's in to stride and performs great.

I enjoyed the weird idea behind this one- a vampire clock- cool!

A classic episode. One of my true favs of the mystery theater. I remember listening to this one at work and I just loved the ending. "Once around is enough for all of us".

The main character in the story was well crafted; he seemed amiable enough but turned out to be something of a villain. A top notch RMT.

I'll quote a previous post because the experience was so like my own--with edits: "I was 10 or 11 when I stumbled across the CBSRMT late at night, in bed, with my transistor radio and one of those stupid, chintzy, white earpieces they used to have...I was enthralled. I'm so excited that this web site exists and I will definatly make a donation to keep it up and running."

Gang, This is probably the last time I'll request a "double header". However, these are two of my all time favorite shows on the RMT, and when I listened to them again I had to request these two because: - They're both written by Ian Martin. - He plays, in both episodes, a kindly but slightly befuddled doctor. - There are vampires in both, but they're not the "Count Dracula" stereotype. - In fact, one could say the concept of "applied vampirism" is in play. Someone is either intentionally or untentionally getting something of benefit besides just staying alive. - The "protagonist" has bad things happen to his family. - In both episodes, the one we come to view as the protagonist decides he has to...well, I'll let you listen. Two notes: - John Beal, the "Time and again" lead, was once thought to be the next Jimmy Stewart. I've yet to hear him turn in a bad performance on the RMT, even when he's saddled with a not ideal script. - I always compliment the RMT music. Listen to the music sequence immediately after his wife has died, when he's getting ready to leave his doctor's office. That segment there (to E.G.'s outro of the segment) was, IMO, an example of the RMT at its finest.

It must have been early hits like this one, along with "The Chinaman Button", "Lost Dog", and "Out of Sight" (Next week's selection) that attracted an early fan base. I love the haunted timepiece stories. I always wondered if the clock in this one might have been made by the same clockmaker as the clock in "Hickory, Dickory, Doom". The music is great in this one. I should more carefully analyze music in my reviews since it does a great deal to establish mood. An excellent selection. I really enjoyed hearing this one again.

Looks like we have two shows of the week... this morning listened to both and the subject is Vampyres. This one would be a clock that kills via what I would call blood proxy. Changing blood to water or something else either way sucking the life out of the blood from a distance eventually killing the donor. Of course what would one do with that extra thirteenth hour alone, I think we all strive for that extra hour in the day to do an almost forgotten project or I guess alone time is good. I give this one a strong 3. I am always a sucker for a good clock story, dang where did I put my copy of A Clockwork Orange.

The show was good but not one of my favorites. I guess I had a hard time with this story because of the protagonists relationships. The protagonists clearly has a bad relationship with his mother-in-law as demonstrated by their outward hatred of one another. He also doesn't seem to have much of a relationship with his wife who is emotionally distant at best. When his wife dies under mysterious circumstances he doesn't seem very distraught. In fact he is so obsessed with the clock that the passing of his wife doesn't seem very important at all. Yet when his mother-in-law succumbs and he finds out about the other victims, he comes to the conclusion that the clock must be silenced. Given his obsession with the clock and his lack of feeling toward the victims (particularly his wife and mother-in-law) I had a hard time identifying with his decision at the end. I think this story could have been made a lot stronger if the mother-in-law had been "bitten" by the clock first. An escalation of his concern over what was happening would also have made the ending more plausible. Finally, if he had a strong loving relationship with his wife we might have better understood his decision at the end and would have felt more compassion for his predicament. Having said that, I always enjoy the special effects and found them to be very compelling in this episode. On to the second episode...

I reviewed this in my listening log and gave it a perfect score - one of my favourite episodes. What I found compelling about this episode was the exploration of ones own moral limits. What would you do to be able to have those extra hours every day? Very similar notion to The Chinaman Button (Episode 15, January 20, 1974) which aired exactly a week earlier - would you cause the death of an unknown person to achieve your own goals? How will we be affected once we have made that decision. good pick!

Took me a while but I have caught on to the double-show... In this one the clock-maker Ethan actually refers to "the mechanical vampire." Didn't entirely grasp the significance of the "perpetual motion machine" he keeps referring to, but it does fit into the overall concept. Of the two shows this week I preferred this one slightly over the other. At the beginning the idea of finding the testament at a curio shop reminded me of Hickory Dickory Doom. I haven't heard too many of the really early shows, they definitely have a different "look" to them (more polished maybe, and the music tends to be more prominent, not just as emphasis). And EG Marshall sounds more like Raymond (the "horror host" of Inner Sanctum in the 40's from which his narrator was derived, along with the squeaking door) than in later seasons, especially the way he says "pleasant ... dreams?". I will definitely check out some more of the 1974 shows.

This is one of those episodes that I can listen to over and over. I like the use of the narration to tell the story and to give us a sense of how the main character is reacting internally to all that is going on. The one thing in the episode I find a little lame is the idea that the main character is obsessed with developing a perpetual motion machine and so he loves having an extra hour a day to work on it. WHY he is so set on developing such a thing is never explained. It just seems like a weird plot detail that never goes anywhere (other than it fits with the "time" theme of the episode.) I like the sound effect that is used when the clock is activated. It's perfect. This episode has always reminded me of "Little Shop of Horrors" since it too tells a story of a shopkeeper who keeps around a seemingly harmless object (a plant) that feeds on the blood of others and in return gives the shopkeeper what he has always dreamed of.

The clock in this episode is certainly sinister and our main character sure seems to enjoy the extra time he gains each day. Everything comes at a price and the clock exacts a rather hefty fee.

i enjoyed this one and was glued to it til the end. i've seen several shows lately where the main character tells his story in a confession. i don't think i'd be tempted by the extra 2 hours a day even if nobody had to die for them. the clock maker had no redeeming qualities. he was selfish. at first i thought his mother-in-law was the bad guy ,even the doctor didn't like her. later i realized the guy was a jerk. the twilight zone version of this was funnier but this show was anything but funny. i gave it a 5.

Only behind "The Hand" as the best I've heard so far. Creepy. Suspenseful....and a nice tough of revenge on the sister.

I guess I never understood why at the end he didn't take an axe to the clock or set it on fire to get rid of it for sure. Just because it's at the bottom of a river or lake doesn't mean that it's destroyed. In addition, he could've tried it right after his sister-in-law got "caught" by it since he felt so bad about all the other people.

I listen to these stories when I go to bed. This one gave me the creeps! I had nightmares last night after falling asleep to this story. I'm 50 so it proves that you're never too old for a scary story to get to you!

I was one of those many children who stayed awake at might listening to Radio Mystery Theater on an AM radio hidden under my pillow. Listening to a broadcast out of Reading PA in 850 WEEU, I couldn't wait to get to bed by 9pm and catch the next episode. They were all so exciting and frightening. When this episode was broadcast in early 1974 I was 6, about to turn 7 years old. For some reason this episode, Time and Again, stands out in my mind as especially interesting and exciting. One of my all-time favorites! Thank you Radio Mystery Theater for providing these online for all to enjoy again!

Perhaps someone reading this can help me! the Mystery Theater came on AM radio when I was in high school. I seem to remember one episode, of which so far I cannot find any info about. I was about a very intelligent man named something like "Johnny Clock?" You must remember, I was 13=14 years old at the time. All I remember from the opening is someone wanted to see Johnny, and a group of men came in, one being dressed in a suit and the other as a janitor. The man thought the guy in the suit was Johnny Clock, but it was the janitor--They did this for the safety of this highly intelligent man! I could have the character names wrong, but I do remember that plot. I have been wondering for years if this was a story on the CBS Mystery Theater or not! My email is below, email anytime if anyone can help! Thank You--Mike Antonaccio

I loved this episode. I am finding that I really like episodes with John Beal in them. He is very good in this episode! Russell does such a good job of reviews! He has covered the mechanics of the episode very well. The episode was predictable on some levels but there was enough mystery that I was not disappointed at the ending!

For Halloween listening for young schoolkids, "Time and Again" has little gore, but plenty of creepiness

A mechanical device that takes blood and stops time, now that is a great concept for a story. The Title, however, doesn't sound mysterious for the CBSRMT series. It should've been called "13 O'Clock," "Golden Hours," "Mechanical Vampire," or better yet "The Vampire Clock." In ACT-1, a man brings the clock to the Clock Maker's business and says it came into his possession when its owner died. The big mystery here, is to wonder who really was the previous owner. But the best part was at the 41-minute 15-second mark in ACT-3 where we get to hear the horrifying surprise in the plot. As for E.G. Marshall for being the host, I liked his Prologue where he mentioned William Shakespeare's HAMLET as he quotes about time itself. Plus, he narrates for every action there's a reaction and discusses MAN VS. TIME at the end. Well done, E.G. Marshall. The cast is terrific. John Beal (as Ethan Vigil the clock maker), Grace Matthews (as Henrietta; John's wife), Bryna Raeburn (as Harriet; Ethan's sister in law), and Ian Martin (as Dr. Jacob Royce). Half of the characters were likable, half were detestable, but they created tension in every Act. The sound effects of the variety of clocks ticking, door tapping, footsteps, the Heartbeat of the clock, the clock chiming in echo, the clocks striking on the hour, the rotary phone, and the creepy stealthy footsteps were perfect to build up the suspense. It was a nice touch to use music from the 51st episode of the TWILIGHT ZONE called "The Invaders," however, it felt like it needed more in ACT-2 and ACT-3. But at the 47-minute mark when the clock's heart stops beating, there's that split second of dead silence. A chilling resolution. If you love fantasy-myteries & radio commercials, tune in for this one because it has commercials of Budweiser, Suburban Savings, Kellogg's Special K, Shop Right, Himan Brown's announcement of the CBSRMT's address: Box 5152 Radio City Station New York 10019, Joe Franklin's Memory Lane Radio Show, The Creeping Claw Radio Show with Gene Shepherd, Patricia McCann on the McCann Program, and Jon Winget of Winget News Digest.

A mechanical device that takes blood and stops time, now that is a great concept for a story. The Title, however, doesn't sound mysterious for the CBSRMT series. It should've been called "13 O'Clock," "Golden Hours," "Mechanical Vampire," or better yet "The Vampire Clock." In ACT-1, a man brings the clock to the Clock Maker's business and says it came into his possession when its owner died. The big mystery here, is to wonder who really was the previous owner. But the best part was at the 41-minute 15-second mark in ACT-3 where we get to hear the horrifying surprise in the plot. As for E.G. Marshall for being the host, I liked his Prologue where he mentioned William Shakespeare's HAMLET as he quotes about time itself. Plus, he narrates for every action there's a reaction and discusses MAN VS. TIME at the end. Well done, E.G. Marshall. The cast is terrific. John Beal (as Ethan Vigil the clock maker), Grace Matthews (as Henrietta; John's wife), Bryna Raeburn (as Harriet; Ethan's sister in law), and Ian Martin (as Dr. Jacob Royce). Half of the characters were likable, half were detestable, but they created tension in every Act. The sound effects of the variety of clocks ticking, door tapping, footsteps, the Heartbeat of the clock, the clock chiming in echo, the clocks striking on the hour, the rotary phone, and the creepy stealthy footsteps were perfect to build up the suspense. It was a nice touch to use music from the 51st episode of the TWILIGHT ZONE called "The Invaders," however, it felt like it needed more in ACT-2 and ACT-3. But at the 47-minute mark when the clock's heart stops beating, there's that split second of dead silence. A chilling resolution. If you love fantasy-myteries & radio commercials, tune in for this one because it has commercials of Budweiser, Suburban Savings, Kellogg's Special K, Shop Right, Himan Brown's announcement of the CBSRMT's address: Box 5152 Radio City Station New York 10019, Joe Franklin's Memory Lane Radio Show, The Creeping Claw Radio Show with Gene Shepherd, Patricia McCann on the McCann Program, and Jon Winget of Winget News Digest.

I loved this episode. I am finding that I really like episodes with John Beal in them. He is very good in this episode! Russell does such a good job of reviews! He has covered the mechanics of the episode very well. The episode was predictable on some levels but there was enough mystery that I was not disappointed at the ending! Check this one out and comment you all!

Does anyone remember the episode that had in it a man who committed a crime (murder i believe), then had to travel in his car, was on the verge of getting away with it, when he pulled through a toll plaza and was stopped for having been the 1,000,000th car. Presumably blowing his alibi?

@Mike The "Johnny Clock" episode is "One Girl in a Million."

ne of my favorite commercial ads are from Ep. #0022-TIME AND AGAIN. There were commercials for Budweiser, Suburban Savings, Kellogg's Special K, Shop Right, Himan Brown's announcement of the CBSRMT's address: Box 5152 Radio City Station New York 10019, Joe Franklin's Memory Lane Radio Show, The Creeping Claw Radio Show with Gene Shepherd, Patricia McCann on the McCann Program, and Jon Winget of Winget News Digest.

One commercial which stands out was for a diet product named "AYDS", pronounced "aids". I'm sure lots of CBSRMT fans on here have heard the adverts during the show. What a sad trick of fate that the makers chose that name prior to the acronym "AIDS" being given to the syndrome caused by HIV. Now those ads have a creepiness they never could have foreseen; one of the catch phrases was "AYDS can make you shed weight fast".

I absolutely LOVE the episodes with the old commercials! They bring back such fond memories..

the episodes remind me of a time before TV, when one had to use the imagination and life was not so complicated. Good job CBS

I realize a lot of people seem to love this episode, but it isn't one of my personal favorites. None of the characters are that likable to me, and the premise, (a clock that needs blood), is just too creepy for me.

@Tihmotheus, I think the episode you are trying to remember might be "The Man Who Asked for Yesterday." At the end, he escapes with a fortune of jewels, but he is caught. There were other shows that are similar. You could also be remembering "It's Simply Murder" about a hen-pecked husband who dreams he murders his wife, and just before he wakes up, he is trying to escape in a car, etc. Both of those episodes happen to be two of my favorites, so I recommend them, even if they aren't what you're trying to remember.

I actually think the episode Tihmotheus was trying to remember was something else, and I almost can remember the episode, but I am not sure which one it was. Another more involved comment on this episode. To make a long rant short, it's a really lame story, lol! It's definitely not my favorite episode. Why would anyone go to so much trouble just to gain one, measly hour? An hour is hardly anything to get all worked up and obsessed over. I could understand it better if the clock had given him many hours and days of extra time, or if he had the power to stop time any time he felt like it, but it doesn't make much sense why he would be ready to kill, steal blood from a hospital, abuse, and all the other things he did, (or almost did), just to keep the clock going for the extra hour he got. It hardly seems worth it to me and it seems very unrealistic that anyone, (except maybe the President, who has so little time to accomplish anything, lol), would go to so much trouble for just one, measly hour. Also, the constant ticking sound effects in the background is enough to drive me crazy! They are much too loud. The best part about this epsiode was the use of the mood music. The score was well done.

I may be able to help narrow it down (re: the unknown episode about the driver awarded for being a toll plaza "millionth" patron) I recall listening to the episode on an RCA 'Golden Throat' table radio. I was given my Grandfather's radio while visiting out of town for his funeral. He died in April 1974. I was 17 at the time. Our family moved out of state in the early summer 1976. My little radio shack only existed during that period of months. I don't know why exactly what is special about the episode. I enjoyed many in my little attic closet. Illuminated only by the dial light and the glow of vacuum tubes. But, as many attest herewith. . . the escape and theater of the mind was addictive.

@Tihmotheus: "The Garrison of the Dead," episode 0250.

*episode

Loved this episode! Halloween scary and creepy. The ads were great as well of the days when things were affordable! LOL. All around a really good radio mystery with just right amount of hair standing on end twists.

This is a great episode.

Great episode.