of the more than 230 "escape" episodes, most have survived in good condition. many story premises, both originals and adaptations, involved a protagonist in dire life-or-death straits, and the series featured more science fiction and supernatural tales than "suspense". some of the memorable adaptations include daphne du maurier's "the birds", carl stephenson's "leiningen versus the ants", algernon blackwood's "confession", ray bradbury's oft-reprinted "mars is heaven", george r. stewart's "earth abides" (the program's only two-parter), richard connell's "the most dangerous game" and f. scott fitzgerald's "the diamond as big as the ritz".