Pure science fiction here; the script reminds me of something from Dimension X or X-1 in the 50's. A madman wants to melt all the world's ice and create a catastrophic flood. The howling wind sound effects make it easy to visualize the barren, wintry landscape. Suspend belief and enjoy this one; I thought it was a very good episode.

This one starts out quite interesting. Tony Roberts plays a Canadian naval officer on an ice breaker clearing a channel near the arctic. When the men on his ship finish their duty and head for home, they're astounded to see that the ice has completely melted in an area that's normally frozen over. Other airborne observations confirm that other parts of the area are experiencing similar warming. Returning to his base to discuss the matters with a superior officer, the men are interrupted by an eskimo leader who, along with his fellow villagers, aren't happy. They're standing by a pile of seals who normally might be food if they'd been hunted, but who have died mysteriously..they're convinced the military had something to do with this. In the meantime, one of the naval officers, a pilot, is trying to locate a certain ice floe and succeeds in finally doing so, but sees something else apparently quite extraordinary...they lose radio contact with him immediately thereafter. Convinced he's gone, the officers later get autopsy results on one of the seals. The officers suspect radiation poisoning or burns, but the autopsy indicates the seals died of exposure to intense heat. Based on that and the other information they've learned, Roberts' character and his superior believe they are faced with an ultrafast and deadly melting of the polar ice cap, and that some type of incredible, unknown force is involved...

This episode was somewhat original--it focused on an ice cutter slicing its way through the polar ice caps. It met its doom by running into an evil force hellbent on melting the polar ice caps consequently flooding the world. Biblical, Asian and other historical accounts are highlighted in this episode. A good listen. 4 stars.

Yikes. An intriguing premise, but I couldn't stand this one. Despite the Bond-esque villain and the northern setting, the accents and cultural references are so off that it can't even qualify for cheesy fun.

Its one of my all time favorite.

Top rating!

I rate this episode ★★★★☆ for GOOD. Some episodes on CBSRMT are in the Drama-Mystery category. Some are in the Fantasy-Mystery category. This particular one, written by Percy Granger, falls into the SciFi-Adventure-Mystery category. It's amusing from start to finish and it gets more interesting as the scenes change. But the ending should've been better. The Resolution was there, but the Climax needed an epic, yet a dramatic scene for our main villain. Another way to Title this would be "Sitting On Top Of The World" because that's exactly where our story takes place. Or another Title: "Stark Raving Mad" because that's exactly what our main villain is feeling in this suspenseful tale. Speaking of suspenseful, the music tracks were the perfect fit as tension between scenes increased. And the sound effects of the howling wind, doors, footsteps, walking through the snow storm, rotary phone ringing, radio static, coordinates on the map, snow falling underground, the laser gun, dinner plate with a fish, fire sparks for the flint, opening the prisoner's door cell, and the ice breaking were the right sounds for this "chilling" tale. In his Prologue, E.G. Marshall brings up the topic of humans & our shifts through temperatures. In ACT-1, he mentions the Arctic & Polar regions and then later discusses Ice as an extreme form of water that must be avoided on principle; like he was trying to say water is the villain in this story. Then in ACT-2, he talks about glaciers and then later, trying to imagine the water flooding the whole planet. In ACT-3, he mentions the Earth flooding in the story of Noah, which was suppose to be a lesson and/or warning for the human race. But then, at the end of our final Act, he tells the story about a candidate who retired too early on election night, thinking he won as President. Someone telephoned and said, "He isn't President anymore." I don't know which President E.G. Marshall was talking about, but THAT was a great cautionary tale for anyone that thinks about planning to retire too early, just like our main villain did. In his Epilogue, he mentions a riddle by the Queen of Sheeba and King Solomon's answer involved the land beneath the Red Sea; it saw the sun before it was flooded with water, and this story almost came close to that end. E.G. Marshall's narrations were okay in the first half of the story, but he got better in the second half. But the best part of all, was this great cast: Tony Roberts (as Captain Joe Gates), Earl Hammond (as Wynn & Kullabak), Arnold Moss (as Raven & the Guard), and Ian Martin (as Colonel Edward Champ & Sonic). Tony Roberts definitely deserved this leading role; one of his best roles in this series. Kudos to Earl Hammond for playing a pilot & an eskimo. Kudos to Ian Martin as well for his acting credibilities; good as his writing. But I think Arnold Moss really stole the show for playing the main villain. He was like a cross between Vincent Price & Mr. Freeze. And the words he spoke in ACT-2, really gave me chills, like he was the type of villain we can never understand unless we walk a mile in his shoes and see how he's the dark hero in his dark world. Bravo, Arnold Moss! If you're a fan of Arnold Moss and/or a fan of Percy Granger, this is one episode that I'd recommend. Until next time…pleasant dreams. =0>

FYI: The election E.G. referenced was the 1976 election (practically a current event at the time) where President Ford woke up to the news that Carter won. Great review/analysis!

My absolute favorite

that's awesome!!!

love listening to it on the radio when I was so young

The villain, Raven, does make me think of Vincent Price, as said by Russell earlier, not only in general, but a character in 1 of VP's movies by name of MASTERS OF THE WORLD, a story written by Jules Verne, with a setting b4 airplanes were on the scene, he, VP's character, is the skipper of a flying machine which resembles a zeppelin. With this zeppelin, which is armed with mega firepower, he tries 2 put an end 2 all wars by taking it upon himself 2 sink warships with the aerial bombardment available @ the time of which the movie takes place. This seems 2 be comparable 2 what Raven tries 2 do with the polar ice in this story. Raven, very much so, with his verbal mannerisms, does make me think bery much of Vincent Price, though. This is a well written radio play & the entertainment industry, in my opinion, was @ a loss when VP passed away shortly after he made his last movie, EDWARD SCISSORHANDS. Such a tearjerker of a movie.

Absolutely loved this episode. My daughter and I were highly entertained by Raven's deep, dark insane voice, which led me to be keenly aware that I knew Arnold Moss from other tv shows and movies. He actually guest stars in an episode of my original Star Trek collection: "The Conscience of the King!"