Journey to the Unknown
| Journey to the Unknown | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Science Fiction |
| Written by | Various |
| Directed by | Various |
| Presented by |
Patrick McGoohan Sebastian Cabot Joan Crawford |
| Theme music composer | Harry Robinson |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 17 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Joan Harrison Norman Lloyd |
| Producer(s) | Anthony Hinds |
| Location(s) |
MGM-British Studios Borehamwood Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Hammer Film Productions |
| Distributor | 20th Century Fox Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | September 26, 1968 – January 30, 1969 |
Journey to the Unknown is a British anthology television series produced by Hammer Film Productions and 20th Century Fox Television and executive produced by Joan Harrison and Norman Lloyd which aired on ABC from September 26, 1968 to January 30, 1969.
Format
The series had a fantasy, science fiction and supernatural theme very similar to the American television series The Twilight Zone and dealt with normal people in everyday situations that found themselves having to experience something a bit out of the normal. It featured both British and American actors: American actors included George Maharis, Vera Miles, Barbara Bel Geddes, Patty Duke, Carol Lynley, Joseph Cotten, Stefanie Powers and Brandon deWilde, along with familiar British actors such as Dennis Waterman, Jane Asher, Kay Walsh, Roddy McDowall, Nanette Newman, Ann Bell and Tom Adams. A total of seventeen episodes were produced.[1]
Directors of the episodes included Roy Ward Baker, Alan Gibson, Robert Stevens, Don Chaffey and Michael Lindsay-Hogg.
In America, eight episodes from the series were broadcast as four made-for-television films consisting of twinned episodes along with new segment introduction footage provided by actors Patrick McGoohan, Sebastian Cabot and Joan Crawford serving as hosts:
| Title | Host | Segments | Airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Journey into Darkness | Patrick McGoohan | "The New People" and "Paper Dolls" | 1969 |
| Journey to the Unknown | Joan Crawford | "Matakitas is Coming" and "The Last Visitor" | June 15, 1970 |
| Journey to Murder | Joan Crawford | "Do Me a Favour and Kill Me" and "The Killing Bottle" | January 31, 1971 |
| Journey to Midnight | Sebastian Cabot | "Poor Butterfly" and "The Indian Spirit Guide" | October 31, 1971 |
Opening title sequence
The series had a memorable and famous whistled theme tune composed by Harry Robinson of Hammer Film Productions and a title sequence featuring a creepy roller coaster at a dark, abandoned amusement park (originally filmed at Battersea Park Fun Fair in the London Borough of Wandsworth, London).
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Eve" | Robert Stevens | Paul Wheeler, Michael Ashe | September 26, 1968 |
| A shy sales clerk (Dennis Waterman) falls in love with a mannequin (Carol Lynley) in his department store. Based on the short story Special Delivery by John Collier | ||||
| 2 | "Jane Brown's Body" | Alan Gibson | Anthony Skene | October 3, 1968 |
| A woman (Stefanie Powers) attempts suicide, but is rescued; she has amnesia, and has to recall everything gradually. Based on a story by Cornell Woolrich | ||||
| 3 | "The Indian Spirit Guide" | Roy Ward Baker | Robert Bloch | October 10, 1968 |
| A widow (Julie Harris) hopes to get in touch with her dead husband, but knows most people claiming to be spiritualist mediums are fakes; she hires a detective to help her weed out the phonies. He sets up some scenarios to appear that he's identifying fakes so that she'll keep paying him. Based on a story by Robert Bloch. | ||||
| 4 | "Miss Belle" | Robert Stevens | Sarett Rudley | October 24, 1968 |
| An embittered spinster (Barbara Jefford) has turned against all men and is raising her niece Roberta as a proper young lady—in spite of the fact that Roberta is actually Robert, a boy. A drifter (George Maharis) starts to work for Miss Belle... Based on the short story Miss Gentilbelle by Charles Beaumont | ||||
| 5 | "Paper Dolls" | James Hill | Oscar Millard | November 7, 1968 |
| A set of quadruplets (played by Roderick and Barnaby Shaw) are telepathically connected as they feel one another's pain and share skills and talents; Michael Tolan and Nanette Newman play teachers who investigate. Based on the novel The Paper Dolls by L.P. Davies. | ||||
| 6 | "The New People" | Peter Sasdy | Oscar Millard and John Gould | November 14, 1968 |
| A young American couple (Robert Reed and Jennifer Hilary) move to England, where they find their neighbors are a bit too friendly and helpful. Based on the short story The New People by Charles Beaumont. | ||||
| 7 | "One on an Island" | Noel Howard | Oscar Millard | November 21, 1968 |
| Shipwrecked on a desert island, a man (Brandon deWilde) is soon joined by two companions, but jealousy overwhelms him. Based upon a story by Donald E. Westlake. | ||||
| 8 | "Matakitas is Coming" | Michael Lindsay-Hogg | Robert Heverley | November 28, 1968 |
| A researcher (Vera Miles) is transported back in time, and apparently trapped with a librarian (Gay Hamilton) inside a deserted library with a mad serial killer, Andros Matakitas (Leon Lissek). | ||||
| 9 | "Girl of My Dreams" | Peter Sasdy | Robert Bloch and Michael J. Bird | December 5, 1968 |
| A waitress (Zena Walker) can foretell the future and knows when people are going to die. An unscrupulous man (Michael Callan) finds out about it and exploits her. Based on the short story Girl of My Dreams by Richard Matheson). | ||||
| 10 | "Somewhere in a Crowd" | Alan Gibson | Michael J. Bird | December 12, 1968 |
| A television news anchor (David Hedison) witnesses several tragic accidents, and notices that the same five people are present on each occasion. Based on the short story The Crowd by Ray Bradbury. | ||||
| 11 | "Do Me a Favour and Kill Me" | Gerry O'Hara | Stanley Miller | December 19, 1968 |
| A down-on-his luck actor (Joseph Cotten) asks a friend to kill him so his family can have the insurance money. The murder will happen randomly, with the actor not knowing when or where, and his friend will not respond to any attempt to contact him. Now the actor decides he doesn't want to die, but how can he call it off? Based upon a story by Frederick Rawlings. | ||||
| 12 | "The Beckoning Fair One" | Don Chaffey | William Woods and John Gould | December 26, 1968 |
| A young man (Robert Lansing) recovering from a nervous breakdown moves into a haunted house. The ghost is a beautiful girl, and he falls in love with her, overlooking his living fiancee (Gabrielle Drake). Based on the novella The Beckoning Fair One by Oliver Onions. | ||||
| 13 | "The Last Visitor" | Don Chaffey | Alfred Shaughnessy | January 2, 1969 |
| On vacation at a resort, a young woman (Patty Duke) is plagued by a mysterious visitor which the proprietress (Kay Walsh) informs her is her estranged husband. | ||||
| 14 | "Poor Butterfly" | Alan Gibson | Jeremy Paul | January 9, 1969 |
| Invited to a costume party at a wealthy mansion, a man (Chad Everett) finds that everything looks as it did in the 1920s. Then he meets a girl who keeps saying she needs to leave.... Based on the short story Poor Butterfly by William Abney. | ||||
| 15 | "Stranger in the Family" | Peter Duffell | David Campton | January 16, 1969 |
| A boy can control people, sometimes leading to their death. Both a scientist and the agent of a struggling actress (Janice Rule) would like to get their hands on him. | ||||
| 16 | "The Madison Equation" | Rex Firkin | Michael J. Bird | January 23, 1969 |
| A detective investigates the electrocution of a computer technician and discovers it's no accident. Barbara Bel Geddes and Allan Cuthbertson play the scientists who developed the computer. | ||||
| 17 | "The Killing Bottle" | John Gibson | Julian Bond | January 30, 1969 |
| In order to get his hands on the family inheritance, a man (Barry Evans) must have his brother declared insane. The brother hates anyone who does harm to living creatures, so they show him a butterfly killing bottle, hoping he will go mad and assault the owner (Roddy McDowall). Based on the short story The Killing Bottle by L.P. Hartley. | ||||
References
External links
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