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| Sam Thorne | |
| Continuity: | Tales of Tomorrow |
| Notability: | Main character |
| Type: | Scientist |
| Gender: | Male |
| Race: | Human |
| Location: | Lightning Island, Lake Michigan |
| Status: | Alive |
| Born: | 1904 (approx) [1] |
| First: | "The Dune Roller" |
| Actor: | Bruce Cabot |
Sam Thorne was a fictional scientist featured in episode fifteen of Tales of Tomorrow entitled "The Dune Roller". He was played by actor Bruce Cabot.
Biography[]
Sam Thorne was a biologist who worked alongside his colleagues Cap Zanser and Carl Burgess on Lightning Island in Lake Michigan. He was also very close to Carl's wife Jennie and his daughter Sally.
In 1952, Sam Thorne made an amazing discovery. From analyzing samples of a strange quartz-like mineral found on the island, he learned that these rocks were slowly growing and fusing together with one another at an alarming rate. Doctor Burgess added to the mystery by illustrating how the rocks generated waves of intense heat under certain conditions. The two men examined the minerals further, attempting to reproduce the conditions that first prompted the geological mutation. Burgess theorized that the rocks originated from a meteor that crashed in the lake area many years ago.
The two scientists retired from their studies long enough to have dinner, but when they returned to the laboratory, they found that one of the rock samples had rolled out of its container, off the table, onto the floor whereupon it burned a hole through the door and kept on going.
A short time later, Sam received a panicked telephone call from Cap Zanser who claimed to have seen strange, mysterious lights coming out over the lake. Sam and Carl went out into the thundering rain to try and find Cap, but when they did, they discovered him dead on the shore of the lake; an apparent victim of a lightning bolt. Sam decided to wrap the body up and bring it down to the boat house until they could give him a proper burial.
As the evening wore on, Sam learned that his theory was correct: the intense heat that killed Cap came from a nearby meteor which was reconstituting itself, drawing together all of the mineral deposits that once comprised it. Sam knew that this growing, mutated meteor posed a thread to him and the others so he went down to the shore armed with a supply of dynamite. He detonated the explosives, seemingly destroying the meteor. Carl, Jean and he returned to the lab, never realizing that the meteor was still intact and was still continuing to grow.
Notes & Trivia[]
- Actor Bruce Cabot also played the role of Doctor Terrell in the episode "Seeing-Eye Surgeon".
- The character of Sam Thorne was re-imagined under the name Iane Thorne in the 1972 feature film adaptation of "The dune Roller" called The Cremators.
- This version of Sam Thorne is not to be confused with Police Chief Sam Thorne from "The Saucer" episode of The Invaders.
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ Date approximated based upon the age of actor Bruce Cabot.
 This article relates to characters featured in and pertaining to the Tales of Tomorrow television series. This template will categorize articles that include it into the Tales of Tomorrow characters category. |