Out of the Unknown (partially found BBC sci-fi series; 1967-1971)
The series title card from 1967.
Status: Partially Found
Out of the Unknown was a British sci-fi anthology series that aired from 1965-1971 that was produced by BBC and aired on BBC2 in four series. The stories were dramatizations of sci-fi short stories, and while most were of already published stories, some were written for the show. In the show's final year, it transitioned to almost exclusively original horror/fantasy stories, with only one episode ("Deathday") being an adaptation of a pre-existing literary work.
History
Like many other BBC shows of the time, during the early 1970s, a number of episodes were wiped so the tapes could be re-used. A total of 49 episodes were produced and aired on BBC2, however, only 20 of these episodes still exist in their entirety, mostly from series 1. There are a few episodes that have small video clips existing, complete audio recordings of episodes, and small audio clips without video of some lost episodes. Off-screen photographs, known as tele-snaps, were taken of many first and second series stories including some of the missing episodes.[1]
Availability
All of the surviving episodes were released on DVD in November of 2014 by the BFI.[2][3] Series 1 is the most complete series of the show, with only a scattered handful of episodes from the other three series remaining (four from Series 2, one and a half from Series 3, and five from Series 4).
The only surviving material from the missing episodes are audio extracts, short video clips and productions stills. For example, the end credits exist for "Andover and the Android" and "The Fox and the Forest", sourced from a BBC Graphics Department showreel. Four episodes ("Beach Head", "The Naked Sun", "The Yellow Pill" and "The Uninvited") exist as complete (or almost complete in the case of "The Naked Sun") audio recordings, with the surviving photographs used to reconstruct the episodes for the DVD release. As "The Uninvited" has so few surviving images, the original camera script was instead presented with the surviving audio, an unconventional reconstruction to make the episode somewhat more viewable for the DVD.
Of 49 episodes produced, only 20 and a half remain, with "The Little Black Bag" only existing partially, missing twenty minutes of footage, mainly from the first act.
Episode List
Series 1
| Episode | Title | Airdate | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 101 | “No Place Like Earth” | 4 October 1965 | Found |
| 102 | “The Counterfeit Man” | 11 October 1965 | Found |
| 103 | “Stranger in the Family” | 18 October 1965 | Found |
| 104 | “The Dead Past” | 25 October 1965 | Found |
| 105 | “Time in Advance” | 1 November 1965 | Found |
| 106 | “Come Buttercup, Come Daisy, Come...?” | 8 November 1965 | Found |
| 107 | “Sucker Bait” | 15 November 1965 | Found |
| 108 | “The Fox and the Forest” | 22 November 1965 | Lost |
| 109 | “Andover and the Android” | 29 November 1965 | Lost |
| 110 | “Some Lapse of Time” | 6 December 1965 | Found |
| 111 | “Thirteen to Centaurus” | 13 December 1965 | Found |
| 112 | “The Midas Plague” | 20 December 1965 | Found |
Series 2
| Episode | Title | Airdate | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201 | “The Machine Stops” | 6 October 1966 | Found |
| 202 | “Frankenstein Mark 2” | 13 October 1966 | Lost |
| 203 | “Lambda 1” | 20 October 1966 | Found |
| 204 | “Level Seven” | 27 October 1966 | Found |
| 205 | “Second Childhood” | 10 November 1966 | Lost |
| 206 | “The World in Silence” | 17 November 1966 | Lost |
| 207 | “The Eye” | 24 November 1966 | Lost |
| 208 | “Tunnel Under the World” | 1 December 1966 | Found |
| 209 | “The Fastest Draw” | 8 December 1966 | Lost |
| 210 | “Too Many Cooks” | 15 December 1966 | Lost |
| 211 | “Walk's End” | 22 December 1966 | Lost |
| 212 | “Satisfaction Guaranteed” | 29 December 1966 | Lost |
| 213 | “The Prophet” | 1 January 1967 | Lost |
Series 3
| Episode | Title | Airdate | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 301 | “Immortality, Inc.” | 7 January 1969 | Lost |
| 302 | “Liar!” | 14 January 1969 | Lost |
| 303 | “The Last Lonely Man” | 21 January 1969 | Found |
| 304 | “Beach Head” | 28 January 1969 | Lost (reconstruction exists) |
| 305 | “Something in the Cellar” | 4 February 1969 | Lost |
| 306 | “Random Quest” | 11 February 1969 | Lost |
| 307 | “The Naked Sun” | 18 February 1969 | Lost (reconstruction exists) |
| 308 | “The Little Black Bag” | 25 February 1969 | Partially Found |
| 309 | “1+1=1.5” | 4 March 1969 | Lost |
| 310 | “The Fosters” | 11 March 1969 | Lost |
| 311 | “Target Generation” | 18 March 1969 | Lost |
| 312 | “The Yellow Pill” | 25 March 1969 | Lost (reconstruction exists) |
| 313 | “Get Off My Cloud” | 1 April 1969 | Lost |
Series 4
| Episode | Title | Airdate | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 401 | “Taste of Evil” | 21 April 1971 | Lost |
| 402 | “To Lay a Ghost” | 28 April 1971 | Found |
| 403 | “This Body Is Mine” | 5 May 1971 | Found |
| 404 | “Deathday” | 12 May 1971 | Found |
| 405 | “The Sons and Daughters of Tomorrow” | 19 May 1971 | Lost |
| 406 | “Welcome Home” | 26 May 1971 | Found |
| 407 | “The Last Witness” | 2 June 1971 | Lost |
| 408 | “The Man in My Head” | 9 June 1971 | Found |
| 409 | “The Chopper” | 16 June 1971 | Lost |
| 410 | “The Uninvited” | 23 June 1971 | Lost (reconstruction exists) |
| 411 | “The Shattered Eye” | 30 June 1971 | Lost |
Gallery
See Also (Other programs that may/not may wiped by BBC)
- 1953 British Grand Prix (partially found footage of Formula One race; 1953)
- Adam Adamant Lives! (partially lost BBC children's TV series; 1966)
- Anne of Green Gables (lost TV mini-series; 1972)
- Dad's Army (partially lost episodes and sketches; 1968-1970)
- Doctor Who (partially lost episodes of British science-fiction TV series; 1963-1974)
- Jazz Goes to College (partially found BBC jazz concert series; 1966-1967)
- Late Night Line-Up (partially found Beatles "Abbey Road" special; 1969)
- Madhouse on Castle Street (partially found BBC television play; 1963)
- Requiem for a Heavyweight (partially found BBC Sunday-Night Theatre TV play; 1957)
- The Complete and Utter History of Britain (partially found British sketch comedy TV series; 1969)
- The Quatermass Experiment (partially found BBC sci-fi serials; 1953)
- The Sad Story of Henry (lost live BBC broadcast adaptation of "The Railway Series" books; 1953)
- Top Of The Pops (partially lost British music series; 1964-2006)
- United! (lost British soap opera; 1965-1967)
- Zingalong (partially found British children's series; 2002-2004)