Journey to the Unknown

1968 United Kingdom, United States

The seventeen episodes that made up Journey to the Unknown were a mixture of psychological suspense, medical experimentation and science fiction with a little murder and mystery thrown in for good measure -So it's not surprising to learn that executive producers Joan Harrison and Norman Lloyd had previously worked on another TV series, with the master of suspense himself...Alfred Hitchcock.

Hammer Films made the series in Britain although US filmmakers Twentieth Century Fox financed it to the tune of £70,000 per episode. This was Hammer's first venture into TV after establishing itself in the mid 1950's with cinematic retellings of such classics as Frankenstein and Dracula (although its first international success came in 1955 with The Quatermass Xperiment - US title The Creeping Unknown.)

The series premiered in the US several weeks prior to its UK debut (on ABC) but even then it was not afforded a steady run, being shown mainly in the London area with only sporadic viewings elsewhere. A steady mixture of American and British stars appeared and they included Michael Gough, Dennis Waterman (pictured above), Milo O'Shea, Stephanie Powers, George Maharis, Joseph Cotton, Nanette Newman, David Hedison, Jane Asher, Bernard Lee, Roddy McDowell, Ingrid Pitt, Barbara Bel Geddes, Jack Hedley, and Paul Daneman. The 'Unknown' referred to in the title was the Human Mind.

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Published on December 28th, 2018. Written by Laurence Marcus for Television Heaven.

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