Journey to the Unknown

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. 

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

Read Next...

Dennis Waterman

Set partly on a building site, a boy (15-year old Dennis Waterman) and a girl (16-year old Judith Geeson) meet secretly in a partly-built block of flats each day after the builders leave.

Also starring Dennis Waterman

Nightmare Man

The gruesome discovery of a mutilated female body begins a frightening science fiction tale.

Also tagged Suspense Series

Poker Face

Stylish character driven murder mystery series, adapting the inverted detective story format popularised by Columbo, centred round a casino worker with a 'special talent', who goes on the run from her boss when he threatens to kill her

Also tagged Mystery

Flight of the Heron

Epic period drama made by Scottish Television and based on D.K. Broster's 1925 novel centred round fictional events at the time of the non-fictional Jacobite Rebellion of 1746 and leading up to the battle of Culloden.

Also released in 1968

Weavers Green

Britain's first rural twice-weekly soap opera centred around village life in East Anglia, seen through the experiences of local a vet. All Creatures Great and Small meets Emmerdale.

Also starring Dennis Waterman

Detective TV series 1964 & 1968

BBC anthology series in which each week a different famous literary detective is brought to the screen. The series spawned several long-running series including 'Cluff,' 'Father Brown,' and 'Sherlock Holmes'

Also starring Michael Gough

William

Series based on Richmal Crompton’s Just William books, starring young Dennis Waterman as the scruffy, mischievous schoolboy William Brown, the eternally eleven-year-old ringleader of chaos

Also starring Dennis Waterman

The Queens Champion

Loyalty and treason on the eve of the Armada in this eight-part BBC serial featuring some of television's best known names

Also starring Jane Asher

The Stone Tape

Nigel Kneale's classic ghost story represents possibly his best work outside of his legendary 'Quatermass' series.

Also starring Jane Asher