The anthology science fiction television series Out of the Unknown aired on BBC2 over four series between 4 October 1965 and 30 June 1971. The first two series were made and broadcast in black and white, and the latter two in colour. Many Out of the Unknown episodes were adaptations of short stories and novels. In such cases, the list below credits the story to the original author and lists the adapter in the following column. Instances where an adaptation was broadcast under a title different from that of the original work are footnoted as appropriate. Where a script was an original commission, the screenwriter is credited as the author and the “Adapted by” column is marked “n/a”.
Only twenty episodes of the series survive in the archives today, with an additional episode only existing partially (missing approximately 20 minutes). The “Exists?” column indicates whether an episode has survived or not. In some cases, short clips and/or audio recordings of missing episodes have survived – these are indicated in the footnotes. Series 1 Series 1 was broadcast on Monday nights at 8:00pm. It was produced by Irene Shubik. Two episodes are missing, while ten survive, making it the most complete season of the show.
EpisodeTitleStoryAdapted byDirectorAirdateExists?101“No Place Like Earth”This was an adaptation of two stories by Wyndham: "Time to Rest" and its sequel "No Place on Earth".John WyndhamStanley MillerPeter Potter4 October 1965Yes102“The Counterfeit Man”Alan NoursePhilip BroadleyGeorge Spenton-Foster11 October 1965Yes103“Stranger in the Family”David Camptonn/aAlan Bridges18 October 1965YesLater remade as an episode of Journey to the Unknown.104“The Dead Past”Isaac AsimovJeremy PaulJohn Gorrie25 October 1965Yes105“Time in Advance”William TennPaul EricksonPeter Sasdy1 November 1965Yes106“Come Buttercup, Come Daisy, Come...?”Mike Wattsn/aPaddy Russell8 November 1965Yes107“Sucker Bait”Isaac AsimovMeade RobertsNaomi Capon15 November 1965Yes108“The Fox and the Forest”Ray BradburyTerry NationRobin Midgley22 November 1965NoSome short video clips survive from this episode.109“Andover and the Android”Kate WilhelmBruce StewartAlan Cooke29 November 1965No110“Some Lapse of Time”John BrunnerLeon GriffithsRoger Jenkins6 December 1965Yes111“Thirteen to Centaurus”J. G. BallardStanley MillerPeter Potter13 December 1965Yes112“The Midas Plague”Frederik PohlTroy Kennedy MartinPeter Sasdy20 December 1965Yes
Series 2 Series 2 was broadcast on Thursday nights at 9:30pm, except "The Prophet", which was broadcast on Saturday only two days after "Satisfaction Guaranteed". It was produced by Irene Shubik and the script editor was Michael Imison. Nine of the thirteen episodes are missing.
EpisodeTitleStoryAdapted byDirectorAirdateExists?201“The Machine Stops”E. M. ForsterKenneth Cavender & Clive DonnerPhillip Saville6 October 1966Yes202“Frankenstein Mark 2”Hugh Whitemoren/aPeter Duguid13 October 1966No203“Lambda 1”Colin KappBruce StewartGeorge Spenton-Foster20 October 1966Yes204“Level Seven”Mordecai RoshwaldJ. B. PriestleyRudolph Cartier27 October 1966Yes205“Second Childhood”Hugh Leonardn/aJohn Gorrie10 November 1966NoSome short audio clips survive of this episode.206“The World in Silence”John RankineRobert GouldNaomi Capon17 November 1966No207“The Eye”Henry KuttnerStanley MillerPeter Sasdy24 November 1966No208“Tunnel Under the World”Frederik PohlDavid CamptonAlan Cooke1 December 1966Yes209“The Fastest Draw”Larry EisenbergJulian BondHerbert Wise8 December 1966NoSome short audio clips survive of this episode.210“Too Many Cooks”Larry EisenbergHugh WhitemoreJohn Gibson15 December 1966No211“Walk's End”William Trevorn/aIan Curteis22 December 1966No212“Satisfaction Guaranteed”Isaac AsimovHugh LeonardJohn Gorrie29 December 1966NoSome short video and audio clips survive from this episode.213“The Prophet”This was an adaptation of Asimov's short story Reason.Isaac AsimovRobert MullerNaomi Capon1 January 1967No
Series 3 Series 3 was broadcast on Wednesday nights at 9:00pm. It was produced by Alan Bromly and the script editor was Roger Parkes. All the scripts used in this series were commissioned by Irene Shubik. This was the first series to be made in colour. Only two episodes are known to exist (one partially), making it the most incomplete season of the show. This season also has the most surviving off-air soundtracks, with three in total used to reconstruct their respective episodes.
EpisodeTitleStoryAdapted byDirectorAirdateExists?301“Immortality, Inc.”Robert SheckleyJack PulmanTerence Dudley7 January 1969No302“Liar!”Isaac AsimovDavid CamptonGerald Blake14 January 1969No303“The Last Lonely Man”John BrunnerJeremy PaulDouglas Camfield21 January 1969Yes304“Beach Head”Clifford D. SimakRobert MullerJames Cellan Jones28 January 1969NoA complete audio recording of this episode exists. (reconstruction exists)305“Something in the Cellar”Donald Bulln/aRoger Jenkins4 February 1969No306“Random Quest”John WyndhamOwen HolderChristopher Barry11 February 1969No307“The Naked Sun”Isaac AsimovRobert MullerRudolph Cartier18 February 1969No (reconstruction exists)308“The Little Black Bag”C. M. KornbluthJulian BondEric Hills25 February 1969PartiallyApproximately 30 minutes of this episode has survived. Additionally, some audio clips of missing scenes also survive.309“1+1=1.5”Brian Haylesn/aMichael Ferguson4 March 1969No310“The Fosters”Michael Ashen/aPhilip Dudley11 March 1969No311“Target Generation”Clifford D. SimakClive ExtonOriginally adapted by this writer for Out of this World (1962).Roger Jenkins18 March 1969No312“The Yellow Pill”Rog PhillipsLeon GriffithsMichael Ferguson25 March 1969No (reconstruction exists)313“Get Off My Cloud”Peter PhillipsDavid ClimiePeter Cregeen1 April 1969No
Series 4 Series 4 was broadcast on Wednesday nights at 9:20pm. It was produced by Alan Bromly and the script editor was Roger Parkes. Unlike previous series, only one episode was an adaptation. Six of the eleven episodes are missing, leaving five episodes surviving. A reconstruction using surviving audio exists for one episode.
EpisodeTitleStoryAdapted byDirectorAirdateExists?401“Taste of Evil”John Wilesn/aMichael Ferguson21 April 1971No402“To Lay a Ghost”Michael J. Birdn/aKen Hannam28 April 1971Yes403“This Body Is Mine”John Tullyn/aEric Hills5 May 1971Yes404“Deathday”Angus HallBrian HaylesRaymond Menmuir12 May 1971Yes405“The Sons and Daughters of Tomorrow”Edward Boydn/aGerald Blake19 May 1971No406“Welcome Home”Moris Farhin/aEric Hills26 May 1971Yes407“The Last Witness”Remade as an episode of Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense under the title “A Distant Scream”.Martin Worthn/aMichael Ferguson2 June 1971No408“The Man in My Head”John Wilesn/aPeter Cregeen9 June 1971Yes409“The Chopper”Nigel Knealen/aPeter Cregeen16 June 1971No410“The Uninvited”Remade as an episode of Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense under the title “In Possession”.Michael J. Birdn/aEric Hills23 June 1971No (reconstruction exists)411“The Shattered Eye”David T. Chantlern/aPeter Hammond30 June 1971No
Notes
References
External links Out of the Unknown episodes at IMDB